Training with Pamela: Linden’s Success Story
Post by Pamela | November 14th, 2011
For the last 12 weeks, you’ve been getting a training update from Linden. She’s been sharing her side of the story, opening up about what it’s like to start this journey.
I’ve remained quiet since introducing her to you. I wanted this to be her story, unfiltered and real. Now that she’s spreading her wings and going forward on her own I thought it would be okay to throw in my 2 cents.
With Linden’s permission, let me share how she fared on this first leg of the journey. Here are some basic stats:
Weight Lost: 13.4 lbs
Body Fat % Decreased: 2.3%
Fat Lost: 9.3 lbs
Inches off Waist: 3.5 inches
This in 12 weeks that included:
- One week of assessment sessions (very light workouts)
- One twisted ankle (jumping off a roof)
- Unable to run for 2 weeks after hurting knee
- Trips home to be with family, including one emergency trip due her grandmother’s illness.
My point is these weeks were not perfect. She had life coming at her from every direction. Obstacles presented themselves on almost a weekly basis. Sometimes we only got one session in. Sometimes runs had to be moved or abbreviated. Yet she persevered.
She knew that she had to take control of her health before it took control of her. I am so very proud of her for turning to me that morning last summer and saying I need to do something.
Something for many people can take a lot of forms: starvation diets, dangerous hormone injections, fads and gadgets. But she knew in her heart that something, if it was going to work and be lasting, had to be a permanent change in how she lived.
And it wasn’t easy. She pushed back on sugar. Her food journal had gaps and it was never perfect. But as she started to have more good days than bad and to treat her herself like the athlete she is things started to happen. She noticed, friends noticed. I saw her beam at the compliments at our Twitter meet up. I saw her confidence increase. I saw her grow strong-mentally and physically.
Perfection shouldn’t be the goal because, as you can see, it rarely happens. The goal should be do something real and sustainable, making changes that are both impactful and livable. Linden did this, bit by bit and week by week. She changed things that alone didn’t seem big, but when combined lead to some pretty satisfying results. As she continues down this road she will continue to transform. Perhaps if we are lucky she will continue to share her journey with us. After all she’s not really on her own. She has you, me, friends and family that want to see her succeed. She’ll never be alone on this journey again.
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Training with Pamela: A Different Kind of Finish Line
Post by Linden | November 4th, 2011
Usually, when you cross the finish line, it’s time to rest and recover, but this is a different sort of finish line. I’ve spent the last 11 weeks working with Pamela, and now, as I cross this finish line, I’m looking ahead to see a healthy lifestyle based on changes—physical, mental, emotional—that I’ve made over the past three months.
To solidify what I’ve learned, I’m going to use this last post to reflect on what I’ve learned and the changes I’ve made.
First, let me tell you briefly about the half marathon that was supposed to be the end of this fitness blogging experiment. You can read the full story on my blog, but 9 days before the St. Louis Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, I was involved in a 2-dog collision at the dog park and my MCL, a ligament in the knee, was sprained. No running for me for at least 6 weeks.
Now, on to what I’ve learned.
Working Out
What a relief! I’ve written before about how easy it is to work out with Pamela, when you have someone designing your workouts and coaching you along as you do them, but something that I learned (which I already knew…) was that having a scheduled time for work outs makes them happen. I will now be scheduling in my workout times and honoring them like Pamela is waiting for me. Before, I’d schedule work outs occasionally, but “something more important” (grading, house work, resting, Farmville, etc.) always came up. No more. If I really want to be comfortable in my own skin, I need to treat my workouts as an appointment.
I’ve also learned that I don’t need a gym membership or an expensive exercise machine. I can build muscle with my own body weight, some free weights, kettle bells, resistance bands, and an exercise ball or Bosu ball. Another relief! The best part about this truth is that it makes me way more likely to continue working out.
Eating
This was a big one for me, but I knew it would be from the beginning. I’ve learned so much in this area that I think I’m going to use a list to share it all with you.
- Eating healthy is, on some level simple. Put wholesome, nutritious food in my body and avoid chemical-laden pre-processed foods as much as possible.
- It takes either strong willpower or planning to take that simple idea and put it into practice. If I want to fill up on veggies and not Cheez-its or Snyder’s Buffalo Chicken Pretzel Bites (and I do!), I need to make sure I have veggies to eat. If I want to eat three servings of veggies per day, I need to do it intentionally. It just ain’t gonna happen by chance.
- I need to buy different food in the first place. I bought all that unhealthy food for years, and that is what I filled my cabinets with, so that I what I reached for when I was hungry. Now all I need to do is fill my cabinets with wholesome, nutritious food.
- I need to avoid certain combinations of foods that trigger overeating. For me, that includes Dr. Pepper and Cheez-its or those Buffalo Chicken Pretzel Bites I mentioned earlier. It seems that I just can’t control myself with those combinations in front of me. I can eat a healthy portion and stop if I have just the Cheez-its or just the Dr. Pepper, but not both. What are your trigger foods?
- Pre-processed means pre-digested. When I make food from scratch using wholesome, nutritious ingredients, my body will burn more calories breaking that food down because it hasn’t already been broken down by the food manufacturers.
- There is a lot to learn about the food available on the grocery shelves, even the seemingly healthy food (because let’s be honest, I am not going to make every single thing I eat from scratch). For example, my husband bought these Kraft Milk & Granola bars, and I thought the ingredient list looks pretty good. When I went over it with Pamela, she pointed out that there were four types of sweeteners listed, and they all sounded great: sugar, honey, molasses, cane sugar. But using different sweeteners means that sugar won’t be the first ingredient. Instead, the ratio of sugar to carbs will tell you if there are too many sugars in that “healthy” snack.
- Counting calories isn’t that bad, especially when you have a clear goal and solid advice. I used to HATE counting calories. Took away all the joy of eating for me. But when Pamela asked me to start doing so, I actually enjoyed carefully portioning my food and trying to eat well throughout the day. The difference? I now know why I am counting calories.
- Cutting just 500 calories a day means losing a pound a week. Five hundred calories is nothing, especially when you’re making wholesome, nutritious food choices and avoiding empty-calorie pitfalls to the best of your ability.
The list could go on. The basic idea? You’ve gotta want to actually do something about your weight, not just take the easy and impermanent way out with pills or surgery. And then you need to take it seriously. That doesn’t mean it can’t be fun or delicious, but being healthy, not dieting!, has got to be up there on your priority list. After all, “If you change nothing, nothing will change.”
Did you miss one of Linden's Posts? See them all at this link!
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Training with Pamela: Hijacked!
Post by Linden | October 27th, 2011
Ha! This is what happens when Linden leaves her documents open on the computer! She had this really great, truly inspiring post almost finished, but then she left to walk the dog. Now you have to read my story.
First, let me introduce myself. I’m Linden’s husband, Rob. I was real happy when Linden started working with Pamela. I mean, I’ve always thought my wife was beautiful, but when your woman isn’t happy with her body, there isn’t much a man can say to make her believe that you really truly think she’s beautiful, ya know? But no way was I getting on board with this whole veggie-eating, favorite-shunning diet. I’ve only gained a few pounds in the last few years eating pretty much what I want. And my clothes always fit. No need to go overboard.
Until last week.
I needed some new dress pants, so I bought a couple in my size. They didn’t fit, and I didn’t want to take them back because we got a great deal on them. My only other options? Lose a few pounds. I had just started running again anyway, but I think the real key to fitting back into those slacks is eating less Funyuns.
I’ve been watching Linden portion out her food using the kitchen scale or measuring cups for weeks now, so I thought that would be the way to go. I finally asked her about the food changes Pamela is asking her to make--more veggies and less processed foods—but I don’t think I gotta do all that. I think it will make a huge difference just to eat more normal portions.
But I had to check out some calorie counting apps on my sweet Nexus S. That’s when Linden explained this whole “calorie deficit” thing that Pamela has taught her, so one night I find myself getting measured in about 18 different places so that we can estimate my body fat percentage so that we could then calculate my basal metabolic rate, so I that I could then eat about 500 fewer calories a day, which adds up to shedding about a pound a week. Once we had that all figured out, I got to play with those healthy apps some more. I’m using DailyBurn for calorie counting and iMapMyRUN+
It’s actually been pretty fun! I’m still eating what I want, but in healthier portions. I’ve already lost 3 pounds! And now Linden can’t say I don’t support her healthy eating thing. Win-win, right?
--Linden here. Luckily I found this before Rob sent it off to Pamela for me! Guys, stop reading. Ladies, don’t you just hate how quickly some men can lose weight?! Well, Rob is running hills pretty much every day, and he takes the dog for a walk as his cool down. I still haven’t quite convinced him about the whole “veggie eating” thing yet, but just give me a couple weeks… 
Did you miss one of Linden's Posts? See them all at this link!
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Training with Pamela: On My Own
Post by Linden | October 21st, 2011
As I write this, Pamela is in Paris. France, not Missouri, by the way. I love traveling, I love Europe, and I love experiencing foreign cultures. So naturally, I’m envious that someone else is overseas and I’m not! Thankfully, Pamela and Brian are tweeting pictures and fun stories about their vacation, though, so I don’t feel like she’s too far away, and that’s nice. It’s nice for my travel bug and it’s nice for this fitness journey that I’m on.
We only had one session the week that they left, and during that time, Pamela and I went through the workout she had planned for me to do while she’s gone. We’ve talked about the equipment that I own, so she knew what I have to work with, and this workout session uses what I’ve got. There are two things I like about this.
- I don’t have to buy anything this week in order to stay on track with our workouts.
- I now know one great workout that I can do at home! It’s challenging, and it gets my heart rate up, and I don’t have to go to a gym to do it.
I told you last week how intimidated I feel at gyms, so I love that Pamela truly met me where I’m at, not just physically, but also with the assets that I have. Several of the exercises use my body weight, but I’ve got an exercise ball, so she included a couple that take advantage of that.
Now, the hardest part was making sure I did my workout on my own. I printed out a medication check list I found at CalendarsThatWork.com and edited it to become a workout check list. I scheduled all my workouts for the week, including my runs, and put it in the binder with my food journal. I’m checking it every morning to see what I need to do for the day. I think this is a routine that I can stick to once I have to do this on my own.
I needed her on Saturday, though. I ran a 10k race, and I did not live up to the expectations I had set for myself. Something went terribly wrong in the calf department, and I felt like my legs were working against me the whole time. I tweeted about it, and Pamela wrote back with a suggestion. How about that! I gotta be honest with you; when I’m on vacation, I don’t check my work email, much less respond. But this woman is dedicated. If she believes in me and the process we’re going through to take time out of her French vacation, how can I let her down by taking a vacation from eating healthy or working out?!
So I don’t like that I’m not in Paris, but I know that Pamela and Brian are having a fabulous time and that I’ll get to hear about all of their adventures in more than 140 characters soon enough! I also now know that I can do this on my own (with a little help every now and again), and that is a great feeling.
Did you miss one of Linden's Posts? See them all at this link!
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Training with Pamela: What to Expect in a Workout
Post by Pamela | October 13th, 2011
If you are like me, working out with free weights or machines is scary! When I would try to use the machines at my local Y, I was intimidated. Intimidated by the seemingly simple machines with levers and seats to adjust: had I adjusted the seat or arm rests to the right position in order to get the most from them? And what weight should I start off at? How quickly should I add weight?
I’d read up on building up the weight you can lift beforehand, but I think performance anxiety erased all that I’d read when I was staring at that machine. And I haven’t even mentioned the intimidating fit people around me at the gym! You know them, the beautiful people who already know how to use the machines. I can feel them scoffing at my ineptitude. Sometimes I’d skip the machines and do a few exercises with free weights to avoid the machines, but even then I felt limited and inexperienced.
Working with Pamela has eliminated my insecurities and filled my working out bag of tricks with an arsenal of activities to do. And it’s not scary at all.
Each session, we start by warming up my muscles. We walk in place or do curtsy lunges or high knees. Then, she tells me what we’ll be doing that day. Sometimes, we do interval exercises using nothing but my own body to keep my heart rate up and help build the endurance I need in running. Other times, we focus on core-strengthening activities. We do workouts of mini circuits, super sets, and alternating sets. We’ve done an entire session with kettlebells
And then, before each exercise or set, Pamela models the exercise. While I’m doing it, she corrects my form and counts my reps. Sometimes she even works along with me, demonstrating the form and tacitly encouraging me.
All of this, I love. I sort of love that I don’t have to think about what to do, about how to challenge different muscle groups, about how to focus on those very important core and stabilizing muscles.
This is a great reason to work with Pamela, and even more so if you are like me and know nothing about working out. It might just be the best reason. Besides the eating accountability and encouragement and and and… 
Did you miss one of Linden's Posts? See them all at this link!
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