Ups and downs of finding my curves

Into my second month at Curves I was invited to join the Curves Complete program. This 90 day Curves Complete program incorporates motivation, diet and exercise to help you lose up to 20 pounds over the course of the 3 months.  I went into it with great ambition but had a feeling that it would be tough.

I’ve had no issues working out 4 times a week, that’s easy.  I love the circuit. It’s still fun and the staff are great at keeping things fresh with their classes.  I even attend a Friday morning oldies zumba circuit with some ladies who are enjoying life to the fullest at their ripe age of over 80. So fun! My mom is visiting us for 3 weeks so I enrolled her at Curves with the sole intention of taking her to the oldies Zumba circuit. She’s absolutely enjoying Curves, so much so that after the Zumba class she stays on to workout and I crawl home! Go figure!

The motivation part of the  Curves Complete program is helpful. You meet  with the trainer atleast once a week to go over your regime and to get advice and encouragement. I must admit that one month into this program, I’ve only met with the motivator once…I know. No wonder my results are poor! I vow to do better next  month!

Okay now to the food.  This is the hardest part. The program generates a menu that’s easy to follow for most people. My main realization was that I wasn’t  eating enough (I know!). I incorporated snacks between meals as a starter. Next big realization was that eating a balanced  meal was important. A traditional meal would  have  included pasta or rice along with some protein and veggies. Hey I thought that was quite healthy. Wrong! Curves Complete showed me that I need to strike a balance by making a meal with 2 proteins and 2 starch or 1 fruit 1 fat  and 2 starch.

If I wasn’t  in the mood for eating their suggestions, I could easily exchange out of the meal, but in acordance to the balance between the starch, protein, fruit and fat. That’s how I snuck in my biriyani and nasi goreng! For ethnic diets like mine it can get complicated..but if your diet consists for pasta, sandwiches and even McDonalds… it’s much easier. Here are the suggested exchanges. And by the way… corn and spaghetti squash are starches.. not veggies (what!!?!?).

Exchange – 1 dairy + 1 protein + 2 nut
Exchange – 1 fruit + 1 protein + 2 nut
Exchange – 1 fruit + 2 protein + 1 fat
Exchange – 1 starch + 1 dairy + 1 protein + 1 nut
Exchange – 1 starch + 1 fruit + 2 protein
Exchange – 1 starch + 1 protein + 2 nut
Exchange – 1 starch + 2 protein + 1 fat
Exchange – 2 starch + 2 protein

It is a tough program and I was doing okay for the first two weeks…but then my parents came to visit..and yes  I stopped trying to stick to the program. I mean it’s tough when my mom’s trying to shove rice and twenty curries down our throat for every meal. Oh and let’s not forget  the mangos she’s constantly feeding us. And the ice cream I bought. Oh and the cookies my sister in law made. SIGH.

I’m going to take a break and come back to the food portion once my parents leave. Just  easier that way! So how did I do at the weigh in this month? NOT GOOD! I lost some weight but also seemed to have gained some. Though in all honesty there’s two possible reasons 1) the last time I got measured after the workout (this apparently is not recommended) 2) Different ladies measured me each time (it’s best to have the same person measure as they each have their own positioning).  To date I’ve lost 2.7 pounds and 3.75 inches (you might recall that I lost 4 inches last time…).