First Official Weigh In

It’s official. I’ve lost weight! To the people I see everyday, this comes as no surprise, but for some reason this is a shocker for me. I’ve been weighing myself on a semi-regular basis at home for a few months now and my weight hasn’t fluctuated very much, clearly my scale is not working at home.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor to get my knee checked out because it has been bothering me from the numerous falls (more about that later). I used the visit as an official weigh in day so that I can get an accurate reading of the weight I was in October to compare against my current weight. Drum roll please….! I’ve lost about 15 pounds, shout out to..... me! It probably doesn’t sound like much since it’s over such a long period of time, but I’ve gained a lot of muscle weight in these last few months.

I’m really excited and motivated by this as it is a confirmation of my hard work and commitment. I’ve been asked about my weight change several times over these last few months and I am pleased to say that I am motivated by my figure skating endeavors. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it will be easier to “jump” if I’m lighter and stronger.

Over these last few months I’ve done a good job of slowly cutting the “crap” out of my diet. I’ve been taking pictures of several of my meals over the last few weeks and I’ll be sharing more details about my diet soon.

Now, back to the doctor’s appointment. I visited the doctor because I noticed that my knees started to make “clicking” noises when I bent them. This worried me because I thought something was torn, I've taken numerous falls on my knees at this point, who knows what's going on down there? I also feel a significant amount of pain when I am exercising/moving around a lot. I’ve confirmed that nothing is torn/broken, but I need to continue wearing the brace for extra support and I need to do some exercises to strengthen the muscles around my knees. Good times. I had a friend (in residency) check out my knee before this official visit and she told me I’d probably have to stay off the ice for a couple weeks, thankfully this is not the case. So, I can continue doing what I love: being on the ice <3

Understanding Your Body

After being sore for 4 days last weekend, I’ve started to do some reading on nutrition and figure skating. I figure that I must be doing something wrong if I’m this sore after months of skating, even on my 3 hour days. I thought I could handle it by now, but it’s still hard. 

I also asked my close friend for some advice about healing my sore muscles. We had an interesting conversation about heating verses icing. I remember mentioning in a previous post that the ice pack and heating pads have become my best friends, but in a short period of time that has changed. You see every body is different and some heal much better with heat and ice, while others heal better with just one. 

Through this experience I’ve learned that using a heating pad is very comfortable in the time that I use it, but ultimately doesn’t help my muscles to feel better. Icing on the other hand is somewhat painful, especially at the beginning, but really helps my muscle soreness. One of the best things about skating is getting to know more about how your body functions. Learning how it heals and how it moves will ultimately transform the way I eat, sleep, and exercise on my way to a stronger me.

I'm Not Dying From The Pain!

Well ladies and gentlemen, the day has finally come! I was on the ice for three hours yesterday and this morning I didn’t wake up sore. Now, if you’ve been keeping up with my posts, then you probably know that on my three hour ice days I can barely move when I get home and I have trouble getting up on the following day. Last week I had a three hour day and my muscles were sore through the weekend. 

This is a huge accomplishment for me! I did a few things differently yesterday and I believe they greatly impacted my health following a difficult session. I drank a ton of water, I kept my body moving, I ate right after practice, and I went to a yoga class at night. 

A few days ago, I was reading up on figure skating nutrition and I learned a few new things. Not surprisingly, water was at the top of the list. In order for muscles to recover fully after a workout, you have you hydrate, a lot! Yesterday, I drank 64 oz of water in the time between my practice and bedtime. The second thing I did differently was kept my body moving. Usually after these practice sessions all I want to do is sleep and while this was still true yesterday, I kept myself from napping. But mostly because I had to get to my second job. There I walked, jumped, jogged, and stretched with the kids on the playground. Despite my lack of energy I kept it up and felt like I wasn’t dying, so that was a good sign! On the nutrition site, they also mentioned that eating was very important right after a session. So I packed myself a healthy snack and ate on my way home. It consisted of low-fat string cheese (1), almonds (10), triscuit wheat thins (15), and a small bag of carrots. When I got home I was still hungry so I had yogurt and a piece of wheat bread with crunchy peanut butter.  The last thing that I believe made the biggest change for me today was the yoga. 

I attended my first yoga class at my gym. I have never before done yoga in a class like this. Now on to the experience itself, it was meh. I felt lost for a quarter of the time. I was tired. I had to keep looking around to get clues from other people, and it was really humid in the room (on purpose). Following this learning experience, I felt amazing. My body was restored, my muscles felt “fresh” and once again - I didn’t feel like death! 

I went home, ate a salad, and was passed out by 9:45. I slept really well, like really really well and woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on another day. I am so happy that I made this progress because I feel like my body is ready to get back on the ice for another long session today.

Makeup Sessions - Thank God!

Well sure enough I was still sore from the strain on Saturday and didn’t make it to class, but I called the rink and they said I could make up both classes! The only other day that works in my schedule is the Wednesday evening class. I was a bit apprehensive about going since my favorite coach isn’t going to be there, but I have to make up those days somehow. The good thing here? I get to skate on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings for two weeks in a row, horah!

Today I also re-started my membership at Lifetime fitness! I am overjoyed about this, it’s been on hold for like a year. It’s so freaking expensive, but will ultimately be worth it. I know that getting shape at the gym is really going to impact my ability to skate. My goal is to be at the gym every single day. I know everyone says this and doesn’t follow through, but I am headstrong. If that membership is costing me $70 a month that means I am going to be there every single day. Or else (I’ll come up with a punishment soon).

Missed Class

I missed class last Saturday, because unfortunately I was sick. I had to rest up at home, I knew that if I decided to use my energy (or lack thereof) on the ice I’d probably end up in bed for another week. Thankfully I did get better, so I decided to also get back working out at home. I found some “awesome” off the ice workouts online and combined them with my usual for a superhuman workout. I call it superhuman because well it will practically destroy anyone who attempts it. I’ll post a picture of it soon! So, I attempted this new workout and while doing the superman move (which I’ve never attempted before) I strained two muscles in my thighs. Just lovely. I doubt I’ll be on the ice this Saturday. Again.