8 Week Challenge - Day 16

Today I had my second appointment with my dietitian. I was really looking forward to it because I wanted to ask what had caused my weight gain. According to the dietitian I had done well with my meal plan in week 1 (when I lost a kilo), but not so well in week 2. The difference was (according to him) the carbs that I was eating during dinner. The weird thing is that the meal plan I got in week one says to eat a serve of carbs during dinner, something I didn’t do in week 1. My banana cake binge last Thursday was of course a big no-no. It is frustrating though. I exercise so hard that I burn more calories than I consume and I still gain weight.

The dietitian has stripped me from all carbs for my afternoon snack and dinner. He also stripped me from my daily treats. Now all I can have is 3 little pieces of chocolate once per week. He recommended taking tablets to regulate my blood sugar so I won’t have any cravings at night time. Today I ate exactly according to my new meal plan and I ate a total of somewhere between the 800 and 900 calories. Pretty low if you ask me, especially considering the fact I burned 1200 calories with exercise this morning.

Cardio

• 30 min. Cross trainer - level 3 - 12/13 km/h
• 45 min. Bike riding - level 7/8 - 85/90 rpm
• 30 min. Treadmill - 5.6 km/h

8 Week Challenge - Day 14 & 15

Yesterday I had another day off, but today I started week 3 of the 8 Week Challenge feeling all fired up again. Monday is my weigh-in day and I was looking forward to seeing lower numbers on the weighting scale. The shock was pretty big when I saw that I had gained a kilo. According to my personal trainer I had not gained weight, but it was probably just water or food from yesterday. I can not explain the kilo weight gain. All I can say is that it is pretty frustrating to put so much time and effort into it while it doesn’t reflect that on the scales. It is frustrating me, but the anger fuels me to work out even harder.

Cardio

• 30 min. Cross trainer - level 3 - 13/14 km/h
• 15 min. Bike riding - level 7 - 85/90 rpm
• 45 min.  Cycle (spinning) class

Weight/Resistance

• 2 laps of Walking Lunges
• 2x 15 reps Chest press 20 kg
• 2x 15 reps Seated row 30 kg
• 3x 10 reps Leg press (knees/feet together) 60 kg
• 2x 15 reps Hip abduction 30 kg

8 Week Challenge - Day 13

Today I had promised myself to do a bit of extra cardio. I aim to do an hour of cardio five times a week, but today I did an extra half hour to compensate for the big banana cake binge of last Thursday (yesterday I did an extra hour of cardio).

I started off with half an hour on the cross trainer, 15 minutes of bike riding and after that I did a RPM (spinning) class. The RPM instructor decided to replace one recovery track with an extra hill track. My legs were pretty heavy and I could feel the muscles burning, but I am happy to say that I made it through the class.

Cardio

• 30 min. Cross trainer - level 3 - 13/14 km/h
• 15 min. Bike riding - level 7 - 85/90 rpm
• 45 min. RPM (spinning) class

8 Week Challenge - Day 11 & 12

Yesterday I had the day off and things were going very well. I was eating ultra healthy until hubby came home with a banana cake for me. Why on earth he bought it for me has got me stuffed because he knows I am doing that challenge. But, since I can have one treat a day, I thought I could have a little slice. Wrong! I ended up eating way too much! I just could not stop myself.

So today in the gym I felt I needed to pay for that banana cake binge. I did 2 hours of cardio and resistance training. Tomorrow I am going to do extra cardio as well. I can’t take any risks anymore; I really want to lose weight in week 2.

Cardio training

• 30 min. Cross trainer - level 3 - 13/14 km/h
• 30 min. Bike riding - level 7 - 85-90 rpm
• 60 min. Body Step class

Resistance/Weight training

• 2 laps of Walking lunges
• 2x 15 reps Chest press 15 kg
• 2x 15 reps Seated row 25 kg
• 3x 10 reps Leg Press feet/knees together 50 kg
• 2x 15 reps Hip abduction 30 kg

8 Week Challenge - Day 10

Today I started on the cross trainer and did my resistance/weight program. After that I had a session with my personal trainer. We went through my eating diary, he took my measurements and he checked out how much body fat I had.  My overall body fat percentage is 36.3%. In a way I was shocked and in another way I was relieved. I was hoping real badly that it would be under the 40%, but still 36.3% of me is pure fat. The good thing is that I can work on that and that’s why I am doing this 8 week challenge. At the end of the session the PT gave me a total-body stretch and massage.  After my PT session I did a body combat class to finish it all off.

Body Fat Measurement

• Bicep: 14%
• Tricep: 29%
• Shoulderblade: 16%
• Stomach: 36%
• Overall: 36.3%

Cardio

• 20 min. Cross trainer - level 3 - 13/14 km/h
• 60 min. Body Combat

Resistance/Weight

• 2 laps of Walking lunges
• 2x 15 reps Chest press 15 kg
• 2x 15 reps Seated row 25 kg
• 3x 10 reps Leg press feet/knees together 50 kg
• 3x 15 reps Hip Abduction 25 kg