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June 04 Making progress....Football season is almost over and now we can really focus on weight loss. So far, Tracy has lost 10 lbs and converted quite a few fat pounds to muscle. Football and building a garden have contributed big time to the change. Just 35 more lbs to go and Tracy will reach her goal.
Lisa has converted quite a few lbs to muscle as well and continues to get stronger and stronger. We both look forward to using the summer to refine our eating habits, slim down and GET STRONG! January 28 Muscle weight woesAh, the woes of muscle weight. Getting in football shape is doing great things for our stamina, our speed, our strength and our waist lines (Tracy has not had a Dr. Pepper in 2 weeks-and has finally passed the unpleasant stage) but it's doing nothing for our numbers. We are both exactly where we started out in the first place. So, in order to jump-start, motivate, kick-in-the-pants...whatever, we are going to find the fabulous weight tracker ticker things so many sites seem to have, buy batteries for the camera and get this show on a good road. We have completly enjoyed see all the amazing sites everyone else has put together, and our question is...WHERE DO YOU ALL FIND THE TIME? Please, please share your time secrets.
Otherwise, workouts have been great. Our coaches keep us hopping, our menus are improving and we are learning to breathe again. Other than the unfortunate incident where Lisa broke Tracy's nose during a drill (it was an accident, but man did it sting!) getting fit and strong is starting to emerge as reality, not just a cloudy goal. January 21 Football fitnessFOOTBALL DRILLS TO HELP YOU MIX UP YOUR WORKOUT
(Or, the crazy crap Lisa and Tracy do on Sundays and Wednesdays in order to get in shape)
Yesterday morning was football practice number 4 since Lisa and I started the million pound match up. Conditioning is key to our team success and coach is always thinking up new conditioning activities to keep the feminine grousing to a minimum.
Yesterday, we did hillsprints and hill bear crawls. Now, I firmly believe in the importance of conditioning, but crawling uphill with my butt in the air and a 120lb receiver racing up my ass telling me to go faster is not my idea of motivation. If Coach wasn't 6'5" and 300lbs he might have been blowing that whistle every time he tooted.
Fortunately, the rest of the lineman types (women who are of sturdier body types) protested as well. Next time, we will split ourselves off so the "little" people we protect during the game can bear crawl up the hill like a bunch of striped-ass monkeys, while us bigger ladies lumber along in the fashion of actual bears. This drill is great cardio however with the added benefit of strenghthing shoulders, abs and arms. The hill sprints strenghten your thighs. If you can't bear crawl, crawling up the hill is still a good work-out.
After the bear crawling, we split up in our defensive units. Our defensive line coach loves to make us do a drull called the 4-point wave which is where we are on our hands and toes with our feet moving. When he points a direction, we roll that way and return to our 4 points. Now, it could look like 3 whales flopping helplessly on the sand, and early in the season is has resulted in a wreck or two, but the idea is to train your mind to think and your body to react quickly. It's good cardio, good for your abs and shoulders, but it also requires a sadistic friend willing to make you roll over 3-4 times in succession without laughing or otherwise.
At the end of practice we did 10 minutes of jog sprints. Now, if there is a group of you out there somewhere, or if you have a sadistic friend willing to sit and blow a whistle at irregular intervals, I highly suggest this type of exercise. We all line up on one side of a football field with the intent to run back and forth across the width. Coach blows one whistle for sprint and two for a jog (or vice versa-although by the end both my sprint and my jog are looking about the same-Lisa concurs). The whistle blows should be spaced erratically so the sprints produce both short burts of speed and long bursts of speed with recovery jog time in the middle. This one opens up my lungs and gives me a great idea of my progress. Every season I can gauge my fitness during this drill by what parts of me are burning, which parts are numb and which parts I left behind me on the last sprint.
A variation of this is the buddy run. We select a buddy and then line up on the sideline with the intent to run across the field. The first buddy takes off at the whistle. When buddy 1 reaches the opposite sideline, she raises her hand. Buddy #2 then runs across the field to buddy #1. When #2 reaches #1, #1 takes off back to the other sidline. This is a timed run, 5-10 minutes and you go back and forth this way until the final whistle blows or time runs out. This drill gives you good recovery time-unless you're like me and your buddy always seems to be the running back who can run a 40-yard dash in 5 seconds. But, I try to stay positive and hope that she appreciates the extra long recovery time she gets from me. :) January 17 Horrible startFRUSTRATED!!!
Okay, this is Tracy. I have to travel quite a bit for my job and now that I'm keeping track, my on-the-road eating habits are atrocious. Not only do I make horrible choices for meals, but my mind has created twisted little ways to justify the garbage I eat. "It's okay Tracy, you're in a hurry. McDonald's doesn't have calories if you're in a hurry and you have to drive all day.....or my favorite...You work on your feet all day, that will burn off the donut in about an hour, then you will deserve Taco Bell for lunch....You'll be much more pleasant to the customers if you have that Dr. Pepper." I HAD GONE 5 DAYS WITHOUT A DR. PEPPER AND I BLEW IT!!!
So, I purchased a little Igloo cooler and have been filling the freezer with those little microwaveable steamer bags of vegetables. Any other healthy foods that will fit in the cooler will go along with me too. I am bound and determined to eliminate fast food from life unless it's as a special treat-and only then it will be good choices.
I was so depressed when I came back from my last trip. I had gained a pound. And working out while on the road is difficult. There has to be a better way. I will gladly welcome suggestions from anyone. January 04 The enemies...Enemy #1-Tracy's addiction
Enemy #2-Lisa addiction
Tracy's alternative solution: TEA! Lots and lots and lots of herbal tea!
I might pee all the time, but the system will run cleaner, my teeth will be happier and all that sugar won't be riding around with me in spare tire form. Sorry makers of Dr. Pepper...you might see a marked decrease in sales in Vancouver, WA. :)
Lisa's solutions to the chocoholic syndrome: Gum, Water and more Gum!
Why we joined the million pound Match-UpMy dad died of a massive heart attack at the age of 57. My brother has been struggling with hypertenstion for years. My sister is battling Type 2 diabetes. Both Lisa and I grew up watching our moms try every diet and weight loss plan that promised results. I remember Cambridge, grapefruit, Jane Fonda and the shrill encouragement of Richard Simmons blaring from the TV early in the morning. Our knees hurt, our backs hurt and our clothes don't fit. As a young athlete, I never dreamed I would grow up to care about calories. Now, I have no choice. We joined the Million Pound Challenge to help us make a major life change back to the fit, energetic, healthy people we used to be. And, I want to know what it feels like to wear a two-piece bathing suit. January 03 Starting the Million Pound Match UpHello, my name is Tracy. I'm a former athletic skinny person stuck in an excuse-making, M&M eating, chip and dip loving, Dr. Pepper guzzling fat person's body. Over the past couple of years I lost my grip on my health and turned into a person I don't recognize. Now, tired of the startled scream that escapes me every morning when I look in the mirror, my partner suggested we join the million pound challenge so we will recognize ourselves again. We have grown quite fond of the Biggest Loser show and think it's the best motivator in the world. My partner and I both play women's full-contact football. Practice starts in 2 days and we both are not fit and ready. I am dragging around an extra 40 lbs or so. I won't say what Lisa is dragging around because she's at the gym right now and that earns her the right for anonymity for one day anyway...
This is my first blog, (I know, welcome to the next century) but I am excited about it. I have been avoiding blogging because it seemed so anonymously public. At this point though, I'm ready to feel good again and if that means making my struggle with the fat-monster public as a motivator, then that's what I have to do.
So, here is where we both are fitness-wise right now....
I am 35 and a former college soccer and rugby player. I have been playing football for 7 years and love it. I used to be the starting right guard, but Ms. Lisa won my position last year when I started struggling with weight, motivation and health issues and she got really good at the game. I want my spot back. Period. So there will be some healthy in-house competition this year. Ideally, she will move over to the right side and I will take the left side back over. My goal is to lose 35-40 lbs and maybe leave the offensive line behind for something more active and fun like receiver. I am currently 192 lbs.
This is the previous me:
And this is the current me with padding and with pads:
Hi, my name is Lisa. I used to be a record-setting power-lifter. I joined the football team a couple of years ago and that is where I met Tracy. We became a squishy couple together. My goal is to keep my starting position on the football team, lose weight, encourage Tracy toward her goals (while keeping the starting spot) and to return to competive power-lifting by August. I'm tired of being fat. I currently weigh 206 lbs but last night I was 211-isn't that strange? My ideal lifting weight would be around 175 SOLID pounds.
This is the previous skinny me:
This is me squishy:
Welcome to our journey toward good health and great bodies.
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