Day 75 - Huh

A little physical therapy update.

Last week my doctor recommended I see a PT. He said there was one in his office that was great. I thought about making an appointment with him, but it's a bit too far up-town and I figured if I have to go like 2-3x a week, I'd prefer one closer to my office. So I disregard his recommendation and begin my search.

I went to my insurance company's provider search and found a couple close ones. I took a look at each of there websites. And decided to call the one with the best site. (Being an interactive creative director I have issues trusting organizations with crappy sites) The receptionist who answered my call didn't have the professional sound I expected. She was an extremely loud talker, kind of crass and a little too um, something. I tend to pass judgements too quickly sometimes so I decided to ignore my gut and schedule an appointment.

So today at noon I began my 6 block trek down to their office in a crazy typhoon like rain storm with 20 mile/hr winds. Every now and then I had to dodge a flying broken umbrella. 5th ave was littered with them. Anyway, I finally get to the office.

The lobby is a bit shady and shoddy looking and as it turns out — they are located on a 6th floor walk up!

HUH?? What the hell? Who the hell thought it was a good idea to open up a PT office at the top of a walk up?

Once again, I should have trusted my gut, but I choose to give them a shot.

I finally make my way to the top and that's when I just had enough. The office was shabby and dirty looking. Exercise equipment was placed in the waiting room along with ripped seats that were taped up. There was no one in the waiting room except for some weirdo wearing pink scrubs. Who, by the way, I would never let touch me. Not even for a billion dollars.

The receptionist asked if she could help me and all I could say was...

Did you guys really think it was a good idea to rent space at the top of a 6th floor walk up? I mean seriously. How do your patients even make it up here?

I was definitely a bit snotty and um bitchy.

She smiled and said, oh I'm sorry I never asked what was wrong with you on the phone. I told her don't worry about it because I will not be staying for my appointment. Thanks anyway. And I ran the hell outta there.

Lessons learned:

follow recommendations

trust your gut

don't trust a book by it's website

Day 74 - Believe it!

Catching you all up.

I can't believe we are so close to the end. Not that it's really the end. I plan to take all that I have learned through this process and keep moving forward. I am however looking forward to enjoying a glass of wine and maybe something sinfully sweet. Also, I know my body is looking forward to having a day off. My back has still been bothering me so I finally went to the doctor. He believes it might be Sacroiliac joint dysfunction. I went for x-rays on Friday to rule out a stress fracture and he prescribed me physical therapy 2-3x a week for 6-8 weeks. I'm hoping to get in with someone this week.

Patrick emailed us the other day about people who become obsessed with trying to perfect their bodies. I have to say I think I have a healthy vision of myself. I am completely satisfied with how my body looks today. And if it wasn't for my need to finish what I started I would be ok with going into sustain mode from here on in. However, not completely happy with the size of my arms right now. They each have grown a half inch. I don't know about you all but a 12 inch bicep on a 5.1 girl is a bit much. I decided to only do the low number of reps for our bicep and tricep exercises even though I still have the strength to do more. Is that terrible?

Day 68 - Update

Nothing too new to report here. Just wanted to check in.

New day 67 photo's are up. I think not much has changed since last week.

I'm pushing through the large sets/ reps handed to us this week. I'm hanging in there with the diet. I'm tired, I'm sore, but I'm still going.

Dreaming of day 90... I'd love to be able to be as kick ass as this guy.

hmm...fat chance though. This guy is in a league of his own. haha

Day 65 - Sunshine

photo by Joel Zimmer

First, I have no idea why I am up at 7:30 on a Saturday. I was really hoping to sleep in. Oh well...

So a quick update...I totally think Orbit and Trident were the cause of my severe gum and/or tooth pain. I only chewed 1 little piece yesterday and the day before and I am feeling so much better. So bye-bye gum. I'll miss you Strawberry Mint and Passionberry Twist.

Onto today...the weather forecast calls for 71 and sunny. Woohoo, I have a pretty big day planned. Since I'm up early I think I'm going to go to the 10:30 am Capoeira class. That way I can get out early because later I want to clean up my backyard a bit and head over to Lowes or Home Depot for a ton of flowers and other goodies to plant. I also have a little balcony that I that I want to beautify with some hanging window boxes. I'm hoping they have some cheap ones.

Yay. I love Spring!!

ps...have any of you noticed how long our orange process bar is? It's officially behind the Day!! Great job fellow Peakers. Hang strong!

Day 63 - Oi vey the pain

My mouth is killing me!



My gums and teeth have become ridiculously sensitive over the past month. I'm not exactly sure what the hell is going on. It used to be just the right side of my mouth, but starting last night, it is now both. I can't can even chew lettuce or egg whites without excruciating pain. I see a periodontist every 3 months for a deep cleaning because my gums are receding. My next appointment isn't until April. Ugh!

I looked up causes of tooth sensitivity and one of them is acidic foods. Have I been eating too many acidic foods? Is it the pack a day gum habit I started since starting the Peak? I can't take it anymore. I've been popping Advil like it is candy and it doesn't seem to be helping anymore. I just ran out to the Pharmacy and bought some Ambosal so I can eat my lunch, but all it did was make my mouth numb and as soon as I started eating the pain returned.

I'm hungry god damn it and I want to eat my lunch!!!! I'm hoping my periodontist is available next week. Otherwise I might have to start pureeing my meals. Ill gross, the thought of that just made my stomach turn.

Day 60 - Thank you Dr. Zizmor

About a month ago Patrick mentioned that after a while on the Peak we might see some breakouts on our skin. He said not to worry too much about it, that it's just our body getting rid of the last bit of toxins in our system. Well, I must be a little behind schedule because we are 2 months into this program and I'm breaking out like a hormonal 6th grader. It's been like 2 weeks now and I'm growing very tired of these zits. When will it end? I seriously do not want to have to call Dr. Zizmor!!

Day 58 - FCP

Went to capoeira class this afternoon. I knew my body was already tired and hurtin from last nights work out but I had no idea just how bad it was going to be. I was basically at complete muscle failure 10 min into the start of the class. Today, Foca had us do Capoeira circuit training. It basically was the FCP, " The Foca Condition Project", and that sh*t was no joke. 7 stations about 1.5 - 2 min each.

1. pisão rodando

2. Queda take down

3. Step up Jinga on a stack of really high mats

4. Jump rope

5. Jinga with 10lb weights in your arms

6. Down to push up, jump back up martelo kick

7. Same thing

And do it again...

Then a 1/2 hr of floreios. Headsprings, sdobrados, macacu...

Oh and before all that was warm up, consisting of running, push-ups, jumping jack like things, etc.

There were points where I really thought I was going to die or at the very least pass the hell out. So needless to say I am SPENT.

Foca did tell me that I did a really good job in class at the end though and that just made it all worth it. Trying my best to keep up and do PCP at the same time. It's seriously a difficult task.

Gonna eat lunch take a nap and hope to have energy for my PCP workout. Not too sure how that is going to go after an hour and a half of FCP. Obrigada Foca!!

Day 57 - Wouldn't it be crazy...

Wouldn't it be crazy...

If I ate a cookie right now.

Wouldn't it be crazy...

If I went to happy hour after work and had a glass of wine.

Wouldn't it be crazy...

If I went home, skipped my workout, put on my PJ's and curled up on the couch with a giant bowl of popcorn and a movie.

Good thing I'm not crazy.

54 - Update

Patrick emailed me after my last posting. He reminded me that PCP is a two way street and that if I'm feeling like something is off in my diet that I should just email him and they will try to find something that works more for me. He explained why my portions were so lean and reassured me that by the end of this I will be eating like a normal person again. Needless to say, I'm feeling much better about the Peak today. I'm still extremely tired and weak feeling, but I have a new hope and I am beginning to see the light at the end. It's a very, very, teeny tiny spot of light, but a light none-the-less.

So here's another update. I measured myself around day 1 and haven't again until today. I was worried that I was beginning to bulk up, a worry all of us women are having but it was exactly the opposite. Check out these numbers:

Total inches lost: 7.5

Now check out these tape measuring skillz!!

Day 52 - Indulgence

I had my 2nd indulgence last night. It was my friend and co-worker, Jenn's birthday and we met her out. Both her and my other friend, Ginasta were so excited when I told them that I decided to use up my indulgence and have a couple drinks. I went for my old staple, Goose and soda with a slice of lemon. So refreshing. I estimated that each drink was probably around 140 calories, since 1 ounce of vodka is around 70 calories. Club soda has 0 and a squeeze of lemon, well who cares. By my 3rd one I started to feel a pretty good buzz. I stopped at 3-3.5. ...Some stupid ass drunk girl grabbed one of my drinks thinking it was hers and when I told her to put it down she rolled her eyes, left it on a ledge and it spilt. I obviously yelled "WTFB" but she took off so quickly into the crowd, and that is where we left it. I think she might have gotten sight on my guns. Anyway...I am way too old to be fighting in a bar, so I'm glad that was the end of it.

Sorry I diverge, back to the indulgence. I expected to feel ill today, but in fact I feel great. I did however notice that my face was red and my pores were enlarged when I woke up. Another thing was that the alcohol left me starving, so when I got home last night I ate the following: 2 cups of air popped popcorn, sm banana, sm apple, and a whole wheat English muffin with sugar free jelly. I know that the drink had something to do with my voracious appetite but I also think that a huge part of it is my diet. I seriously do not think it is healthy to only eat a small banana and an egg white for dinner. And to tell you the truth, I haven't followed that or last week's version with an added small apple once. I always try to, but by 10pm or so I am extremely hungry and that makes my angry and I end up eating something else. It's always something with in the PCP diet but it's always outside my allotted grams.

Lately I find myself not trusting this process. I do not want my abs to look like some sort of quilt or like Poca mentioned, "Madonna's disgusting arms." What drew me here was the idea of eating real food and feeling the healthy effects of a no sugar, no salt diet. I have a pretty positive body image and in fact, this might sound cocky, but I know I am hot just as I am. What I was looking for was just a more improved version of myself, healthier, more fit, stronger in my Capoeira game. When in fact, I feel exhausted, stiff, weak and cranky all the time. Plus, my Capoeira game is totally suffering. Because of the PCP workout I can only find the strength to train 2x a week. So when I go to class I come in far behind the rest who have already been working on a sequence or move the rest of the week.

I'm not going to quit this, if any of you had that idea enter your mind. I always finish what I start, but I will say I am not a true believer.

PS...my friend still hasn't come for a visit and I'm pretty sure that time has come and went.

Day 49

Men, I'm warning you right now this post is all about women stuff.

So the last couple of days have been really hard. One thing I have never mentioned is that about 3 years ago I was diagnosed with PMDD. One of my initial hopes was that with a healthy PCP lifestyle my symptoms would decrease. Well in fact this month it's here with a vengance. Some months are better than others, but when it's bad it's really bad. I have every single highlighted item on the list below and the ones in red are the ones that really interfere with my daily life.

These usually last about a week to two weeks a month and subside after, you know after my friend comes. But, that little bastard doesn't seem to want to come this month. This has happened the last time I trained hard and lost some weight. I didn't get it for like 6-8months.

It really sucks because I am so cranky, I just hate everything and everyone right now, I am completely EXHAUSTED all the time, my back is KILLING ME, I want to eat everything in the house. And by the way that's just what I did the other night. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, all I have in the house are healthy things so I ended up downing the following; 6 pitted dates, an extra apple, an extra egg white, 5 dried pineapple rings, cup of Kashi 7 whole grain cereal puffs with skim, 30 grams of a whole wheat baguette, I think there might have been some cold yams and I'm sure there is some other things I can't think of now...anyway this was after my evening snack so I already had consumed all my food for the day. Even after that I was still hungry but I made myself go to bed. I really want to eat something else tonight but right now I am just too tired to move.

I trained Capoeira tonight and my lack of coordination, focus, extreme fatigue and backache made it really freaking difficult. I had to fight hard not to just pick up and walk out of class. Then I came home and had to do my timed jumps. That sucked even more. My shins are so sore and I couldn't keep a rhythm to save my life. Ugh...I think I'm done for the night. Going to bed. Can't wait till this time next week when I can feel like myself again.

Day 47 - I got couscous on my keyboard

Today started out pretty rough. Monday's kill me. Have I said that before? Once again after working all day and teaching I didn't get home until 10:30pm or so. It was too late to jump rope and do my full PCP workout so I did the elliptical and 8 min abs. Working out that late makes it really hard to fall asleep. So after only about 4-5hrs of sleep I woke up pretty damn grumpy. My mood lightened after I had a successful design presentation with a client.

I took Patrick's advice on switching up my food more so today I made couscous, with broccoli, carrots, and all sorts of other mixed veggies and baked chicken breast for lunch. I'm shocked that I actually like the granular little carb. The last time I tried it I pretty much hated it. I did end up spilling some on my keyboard. Those little suckers are quite sticky and are really hard to get out between the keys. I advise not eating them at your desk.

Another thing that cheered me up is this video that a fellow Capoeirista posted on Facebook. It might be the best Capoeira video ever!!!