Day Nine through Eleven

Day Nine


I had originally signed up for one week, but I extended into week two because results have been great, and I am getting so much stronger.

I had been dreading the hike up Elfin Forest, which had been really difficult last week for me.  It is only 1.6 miles up or so, however it is very rocky and almost entirely steep uphill.

I made much better time this week, got up there with fewer breaks and respits, and even went an additional steep hill to get to the overlook.  It was an even greater view than before!  I was quite proud of myself.

Then we came back and did another boot camp, and I survived that as well.

There were only 3.5 workouts today.  I don't consider yoga a full workout because its not the biggest calorie burner out there, but it helps to increase the flexibility for all the workouts to come later in the week.

This experience is still challenging, no doubt... but I find it a lot easier to get through each exercise in week two.  I guess my body is changing.  And that is what I signed up for right?

Day Ten


Wednesday of course is one of the days with five workouts.  Wednesday's toughest feat is the stairs on the beach.  The plus of the activity was that we saw wails while we were doing chest presses with the resistance band.  The challenge of the activity was the quadricep burn of running up and down the stairs.

Just as last week we had stations at each level of the stair case and we would run them in between.  I was doing one leg triceps dips















One of my trainers, Johnny, was cheering me on through oblique twists

But the greatest part was just taking in the fresh ocean air and the waves while working out
















At the end of the day we jammed to the sweet sounds and moves of Zumba.  This time, the class ended with Soca music.  And as tired as I was (really about to fall over) the fresh swift rhythms of the socalypso music gave me a second wind and recharged me.   Johnny played an old school jam, the one that goes "Moving to the left, moving to the left everybody..." (I know my soca fanatics will remember that one).  And when the song said jump and wave, I was jumping the highest, somehow.  What a fun time!

Day Eleven


Today we had a different hike along the beach;  Torrey Pines beach.











                                                                            Last week I did not make it to the top because of a lack of time, but this week I did.  And I took lots of pictures along the way of the climb.

I saw another whale while I was high up there.

And this trip would be incomplete without a dip in the ocean water.

Johnny and I kicked off our shoes and made the 2 mile trek back to the vans on the beach.  The water was so freezing, I really could only let my feet touch.

The group soon returned to home base for another workout for building muscle and boxing cardio.

Another fulfilling day.  The days are going by extremely fast now, I can't believe tomorrow is my second to last full day here.  I will miss this place.

Days Six through Eight

Day Six

On Christmas Eve and we got to sleep in for 30 minutes.  Our first workout started at 6:45 AM instead of 6:15!  Isn't that wonderful!?

Our first workout was Zumba again, back by special request (from me).  A great kickstart to the morning.

After that we had breakfast, an egg & mushroom fritata with guacamole and salsa.  Delicious!

After breakfast we had a super circuit session, where we mixed cardio and weight training.  I did a bit of elliptical, and a bit of treadmill mixed with upper and lower body strengthening.

After our snack we had an aquaerobics workout to soothe muscles and keep the heart rate pumping.  

That was our last workout for the day and after lunch I went to visit Ms. Miriam and her family and stayed with them for Christmas eve and Christmas.  

We partied hard the whole night into the next day, and somehow I managed to stick to my plan.  I drank no alcohol, and didn't eat after 7pm.  That's how I managed to lose the 7 pounds.  Before I left on Saturday I was weighed a little early, just so I could see how I would do on my own.  On Saturday morning, I had lost 5 pounds.  On Monday it was up to 7 pounds.  So exciting!

It amazed me a little bit since I didn't do as much Cardio over the weekend.  I walked to the supermarket from Miriam's house, and broke out in a sweat from dancing at the club on Christmas eve, but nothing like I've been doing for the last eight days.  And I still lost two pounds!  It makes me hopeful for the future when I leave here at the beginning of next week.

Given that I was the only person at the party not drinking, I was also the designated driver.  So I had the lovely treat of speeding a Benz down the highway in San Diego, such an adrenalin rush... I bet that burned some calories too.  ;) 

Day Seven

We got back on Christmas day in time for dinner.  We had a special Christmas dinner of Surf and Turf with a lobster tail, small steak, mixed veggies and mashed sweet potatoes.  It was delicious.  And we had our first dessert of the week, Buche de Noel (Christmas Log), it had no sugar and was fat free.  Imagine a dessert like that, it tasted exactly like it sounded, less, but it was still a treat given that my tongue has not tasted dessert this whole week.  

Day Eight

It's Monday today, and we are officially in week 2!  7 new people arrived, and we are now officially veterans at the camp.  Today was still challenging, but it wasn't so bad because we new what to expect.  I'm still recovering from the weekend sleep schedule (or lack thereof), but I've managed to stay up on everything.  I had such great weight loss results that I'm really going to have to push myself even harder to match the same results next week.  The body really gets used to the level of exertion, so if you don't keep pushing a little past the limit, the calorie burn won't turn into weight loss as effectively. 

This morning we went on a Lagoon walk, about 3.2 miles long.  It took me 55 minutes to complete at a slight speed walk.  The second workout was a band burn, using resistance bands to strengthen the muscles, with a focus on the arms.  I graduated from the pink bands to the blue bands this week with more resistance.

The third workout was beach boot camp, similar to day one (part two).  And we ended with a 50 minute walk along the beach for extra cardio.  

My body is still sore, but it is getting stronger day after day.  I will have to work to maintain my new muscles.

Today was another good day and I am looking forward to pushing again tomorrow.

7 pounds this week, GONE!

More updates later but that's the most exciting thing of today, my weigh in after 7 days.

Day Five

Today I felt stronger than yesterday.  I was a bit fatigued, but I just kept it slow and steady and I reached another mountain top.  This is my second mountain top this week!

We started out today with cardio as usual.  This morning's cardio was Cardio Kick Boxing.  Another circuit cardio training and strengthening workout.  It was fun, I can really punch hard!  We had a shadow boxing, abs and the works.

Then we had breakfast, yogurt and granola parfait.

Immediately following we had an exercise design class and talked about how to maintain our fitness level after this experience.  I learned the importance of continuing to shock your body.  Exercise design should include a mixture of aerobic, anaerobic, circuit/cross-training, and flexibility.  What do each of those mean?

• Aerobic means cardio or anything that is heart rate intensive.  For example: boxing, hiking, biking, Zumba, walking (3.5mph or faster or uphill), running etc.
• Anaerobic means resistance training and strengthening.  For example: resistance band training, weight lifting
• Circuit/Cross training is a combination of aerobic and anaerobic.  For example: bootcamps, interval training, etc. 
• Flexibility is yoga and other forms of stretching that increase your range of movement

It is important to incorporate 2-3 of each type of exercise into your plan every week.  For weight loss, we should be exercising 5 times per week, at least 60 minutes per day.  For more optimal results 80 minutes per day is better.  

Oftentimes men lift too many weights and don't do enough cardio, and women do the opposite and don't include enough strength training.  Both are needed for results.  More muscle burns more fat when you're in the cardio zone.

Okay that's it for my free lesson.

After the class we had another extreme boot camp on the lawn.  There were different stations such as chest pull, punching bag drag, rope lifting, stability ball knee crunches, and pulling your partner across the field with resistance bands.  The last one I mention was a challenging one.  The more your partner pulled back on the resistance, the more you had to push to get across the field.  During my second go round, I asked the trainer to run with me so I could try to push a little harder.  And I ran instead of walked across with him trying to pull me back.  It was really tough, but I felt really good to complete it.  I feel like I'm getting much stronger.

After boot camp we had lunch then went to Whole Foods for healthy grocery shopping tips.  Jessica, the nutritionist, brought us through each isle and talked about the harms of preservatives, what to look for on the label, and many other tips.  For example:

• all natural peanut butter is more healthy than skippy or peter pan.  
• Not all protein bars are created equal, they are often high in sugar.  I.e. Zone bars have 15g of sugar, which is equal to a bowl of frosted flakes.  Think Thin and Jay Bar are some of the healthier protein bars in whole foods.  
• You should not consume more than 7 grams of sugar in one serving of anything, therefore we have to beware of sugar levels in cereals, salad dressing, and lots of other things.  You should have a good protein to carbohydrate ratio in all foods you eat, at the very least 4 carbs to every 1 protein.  We should always add protein to carbs to make us feel full faster.
• In cereal, Kashi is a good choice, but beware of Go Lean brand that is high in sugar, most are over 7g
• Uncured bacon is the most healthy if you can't go for turkey bacon
• Look for food/meat without nitrate, ask for nitrate free deli meat
• The serving size for deli meat is 2 oz. so ask for a precut 2 ounces so you know how many slices per serving before they slab them all on there
• The more orange a cheese is the more processed it is, that is why mozzarella string cheese is one of the healthiest
• Whole grain is best in pastas, breads, pitas, crackers, etc.
• Canned foods are high in sodium, look for low sodium canned foods and soups
• Soda expands the stomach and makes you eat more, if you must have soda have Zevia made with a non-sugar sweetener
• Agave nectar is a nice replacement for maple syrup
• Arrowhead Mills Buckwheat, or other whole wheat pancakes are a good substitute for regular pancakes, and you can add protein powder in the pancake mix to get closer to your carb protein ratio
• Look for yogurt that has less than 12-15 grams of sugar, if you don't like Greek yogurt that has protein, add protein powder to your yogurt.  Avoid flavored yogurt and add Truvia and your own fruit to flavor.  Same with oatmeal, and steel-cut is the best
• Udos Oil and Flaxseed oil are good for arthritis 

Ok that's the end of the second free lesson.

After the supermarket run we went on our final workout of the day, the double peak challenge.  It wasn't  a hike exactly because the road was paved, but it was uphill the entire way.  A steep steep hill!

This is a bad picture of the hill I came up, of what was behind me.

 This is a photo of what was in front of me:

 And this is a picture of the view from up there

It was amazing, I'm starting to see why people love California so much.

And then I reached the mountaintop!  Or the top of the double peak.  And saw this: 

And it was worth the climb.

After this climb, we returned back for dinner of an appetizer salad and turkey, sweet potatoes and mixed vegetables. 

Day Four

This is our schedule for today's workout.  Our cardio circuit was one on the treadmill in an interval training style with high level exertion and recovery.  I did a mixture of hill incline and jogging for my high level.  I'm not much of a runner so I only jogged on the one minute intervals and climbed very steep hills on the three minute intervals.

After the cardio circuit we had a lovely Mexican style breakfast.  It was like a breakfast burrito without the bread.  It was delicious and filling.  The cheese covered item was beans.  And the item on the right of the tomatoes was a picante freshly made salsa.  All things are cooked with herbs and vegetables grown at the resort.                                                                 

The workout after breakfast was another hike, but this time it was on the beach.  Terry Pines to be exact.

It was gorgeous!  The ocean was full of life, the view was lovely.









Then we arrived at a sort of mini mountain that you could climb up from the beach.
From this climb you could get an even better view of the ocean.

This is my new friend Lindsay and I.  She is my roommate at the resort. 

After the climb we came back for a time management session, on how to fit workouts and food preparation into your day.

Then finally the last two sessions.  Muscle strengthening with a lower body and core focus.  10 round boxing (60 mins) with boxing and core cardio stations.  Then a yoga session to wind down for the day.

Today was challenging, but much more manageable than yesterday.  I'm sore but not as exhausted.  One and a half more days before rest!

Day Three

Today was a peak performance day.  We had 5 (yes 5!) workouts today.  Right now, at 9:39pm (PST) I have burned 4900 calories since I woke up this morning, that is approximately 1.28 pounds.  Then, if you subtract the 1200 calories of food I am eating each day, that leaves me having burned 3700 calories today.  Therefore I lost about 1.05 pounds.  Weight loss is simply a mathematical equation (even though it's really not that simple).  By the end of this blog posting, I will probably be at 5000 calories burned.

The great thing about exercise is after you are finished, the body continues to burn calories at an accelerated rate.

Today, I really saw how much my body can handle, and how much I can endure if I just push myself past my limit.  Today was a day of breaking limits.  I have never worked out 5 times in one day in my life, and now I have!  I feel like a superstar.

Here's the quick rundown of what happened on day three:

This morning started out at 6am (as all mornings do) with a protein shake.  We had our morning workout at 6:15am, Spinning and Sculpting ( a mix of cardio and upper weight training) for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Then we had breakfast of Farro Porridge (still don't know what that was, but it reminded me of oatmeal.  I'll have to google it later), flaxseeds, toasted almonds and coconut.   We also had a bowl of strawberries and raspberries that I didn't eat because I still do not like any berries except blueberries.

After breakfast we had another Beach Bootcamp (50 minute workout), but this time we were up off the stand and running stairs.


It was a gorgeous view, but probably the most challenging workout yet.

We ran up and down stairs for cardio and between each set of stairs there were two strengthening and conditioning stations.

Conditioning included resistance band exercises, throwing a 10 pound ball, push-ups and chair dips for triceps.  We did our chair dips and push-ups on the benches at the bottom of the first set of stairs.  And the 10 ball throw, at the top of the second set of stairs.  Then we did the resistance band sets in the middle of the two stair cases, as shown below.













After the Beach stairs workout, I waddled back to the van and we returned to the resort for our energy snack ( fruit and string cheese).

Next, we had a nutrition education session on smart choices when eating out.  Did you know In and Out burger has a meal that is 1700 calories by itself?
(It's a west coast fast food restaurant, like an upgraded McDonald's with fresh meat instead of frozen)

The highlight of lunch was a carrot and ginger soup that tasted better than butternut squash soup.  Amazing!

Our third workout was a weight training (1 hour) workout that focused on upper body strength.  They have this  technology called TRX suspension for core workout.  I did a plan with my legs in looped bands strapped to a wall that caused me to elevate my legs in the air.  It was quite tough but I kept pushing.  Hold for five, down for five, hold for five, down for five.  At some point I will get to the entire 30 second set in one take.

Our fourth workout 15 minutes later was Zumba.  They have one brother on the fitness training team named Johnny.  He is from London, but has a background from Guyana and Dominica, so he has some great moves.  He taught Zumba, very high energy.  By that point I was so beat that I couldn't shake my hips like I usually do, but I got through the entire hour class.  It was still fun despite my fatigue.

Our fifth and final workout was a much needed aqua aerobics class that helped to sooth the muscles while we continued to keep moving.  During the class I realized that I forgot how to swim for the most part, but I was still able to make very slow laps across the pool.  At the end we stretched in the hot tub, which was amazing and so appreciated after the long day.

Our dinner (at 5pm) was and appetizer salad and Mediterranean Seafood Cioppino, I had a modified shrimp only version, but the rest of the group had a mixture of Sea Bass, Muscles and Shrimp with a side of brown rice.  It was delicious.  And now, like I mentioned above, I have reached my 5000 calorie burn before bed.

Today was great, it really tested my endurance.  I look forward to tomorrow.  Seriously, I do.

Day Two

Today was a little more designed for a little recovery, although it was still quite challenging.  We started at 6am and had a nasty nutrition shake.  Then we went to the fitness center for circuit training (a.k.a. "Full Body Attack) for an hour.  It was focused on the upper body, with a punching bag segment, push-ups, plank, rowing machine, etc.

We had breakfast at 8am: scrambled eggs, sauteed mushrooms, spinach, steel cut oatmeal and tomato soup.  Big breakfast, I know right?

They were stuffing us with healthy food to prepare us for our four mile hike, up this steep mountain like forest and back down again.  I have pictures for this activity!

After three quarters of the way up, I thought I couldn't make it anymore, but I kept pushing, and I survived it.  And when I got to the top, I played Martin Luther King's speech "I've been to the mountaintop,"  I thought it was fitting.  It was inspiring too, I never get tired of hearing his messages, they ring true even today.

We were very sore in the legs when we returned, mountain climbing really works out the quadriceps.

We returned to have lunch three hours later.  We ate soup and salad with green chicken, two table spoons of chick peas, and two table spoons of cous cous.  It was very filling.  I have not been hungry at all yet.  As long as I don't stay up to late, which I don't usually do because I am so exhausted after its over.

After lunch we had a chef from the resort come to demonstrate how to cook seafood in a healthy way.  Her name is Teri:

She showed us how to prepare Ahi:

and Garlic Shrimp:

I will share some tips in another post on cooking tricks, for flavor without fat.

Then we had extreme bootcamp, another circuit training but total body.  And finally a lovely stretch session.

It was a hardcore day, but still easier than yesterday.

Kind of amazing that I'm still standing.  I burned almost 5000 calories today.

That's all for now!

Day one part 2

After lunch we drove to the beach nearby for a boot camp. It was a bit intense, and quite messy. There were 12 stations with a mixture of different types of strength training and endurance. There were stations such as rope pull, where we dragged a weights rope across the sand; 10 lb ball chest pass, weighted sittups, weighted punching bags, plank, and moving pushups between a ladder. It left everyone sore but it was achievable.

Then we came back and did 45 minutes of cardio on our gym machine of choice because it started raining.

Finally we ended with dinner, the group had seared ahi tuna, while I being No Fish Natalie, had roasted turkey slices with brown rice and mixed veggies.

I went to sleep at 7pm west coast time.

The first workout

I put on the heart monitor they gave us early in the morning, around 8am. Before I started the first workout I was at about a 700 calorie burn, now I am at 1340 calories after the workout.

This workout was call the band burn, it was a combination of cardio and strength training for one hour.

This morning we had orientation, talked about nutrition and fitness, received our new heart rate monitors, and had a light breakfast of poached eggs and tomatoes. We had our first weigh in, measurements, and before picture. Before the first workout I had a snack of string cheese and an apple.

What I learned today is as women age it is important to lift more weights to preserve the muscles and prevent stiffness. Cardio alone, is not enough.

I also learned that I will go through sugar withdrawal that might cause me sickness and mood swings, but it represents my body detoxing off of the usual crap,

Protein helps you feel more satisfied with less. White carbohydrates lead to mood swings.

I am having lunch right now, miso vegetable soup, turkey and vegetables.

That's all for now.

Day One at the Fitness Camp

Here in sunny California, it is a bit chilly, but beautiful all the same.  I landed in the late morning in San Diego International Airport to embark on my first fitness camp (also known as, fat camp) experience.  We are staying at the lovely five-star La Costa Resort and Spa, overlooking a vast golf course.  This will also be the place that we will be playing sport games, pulling 20 pound weights a mile uphill, dancing zumba, and getting fit with boot camp.

This week is jam-packed with a variety of workouts, chef-prepared meals all day (properly portioned) and a group of hopefully like-minded individuals, all with the same goal: to shed some fat, look and feel better.

This evening for dinner we had a salad starter, mashed cauliflower potatoes, steamed string beans, mixed squash vegetables, and a small piece of filet mignon (size of your palm).  I was pretty full afterwards.  I just have to rush to bed before I get hungry again.

I'm both excited and nervous about what is to come.  We start tomorrow morning at 5:30am.

I'm proud of myself for even making this attempt.  I hope I can get the jump start I need and be sustainable after I leave this place.  I hope I can be faithful to this blog, I will invite a couple of people to read so I know I have an engaged audience that might be waiting for the next post.

Here's to good health!