Hypoxi and a New Attitude

So, since we last left off two fairly big changes have been made to my life.

1. I started hypoxi.

2. I broke up with my boyfriend.


So in other words, I was able to drop some dead weight. And then I started hypoxi (boomtish!).


I'm going to begin with the break up first. It was June, I was sluggish, fat, unmotivated and stuck in god awful rut of a relationship that was fueled by food and bad habits of every kind. I had more or less given up dancing, was inactive and generally quite depressed, bitter and resentful of my partner for making me this way.

So I changed it.

Ending a relationship that's toxic can be a lot like starting a new one. In fact it is a new one, it's a reconnection with the self. And that is exactly what I started to experience.

Immediately I began to feel a little revitalised, I no longer felt trapped and I felt like I was able to happy and free with no set backs or burdens. Within the month, I had multiple people compliment me on my vibrance - whatever I was doing was obviously working quite well for me!

I didn't start a new exercise regime straight away, I didn't need to just yet. I was just happy rediscovering who I was on my own. I found myself deliberately doing some tid bits of incidental cardio just for the brief thrill (jogging up stairs and loving that burn, anyone?).
What it did do, was set me up for a new, fresh mindset that was accepting and ready to make a positive change.

Hypoxi

Whilst training was supposed to start in August for Warrior Dash, I caught a bit of a nasty virus with a lingering, deep cough that limited more or less anything I tried to do workout wise. Around mid-September, it had disappeared enough for me to try something I have been wanting to try for years - hypoxi.

Hypoxi is amazing. For those that don't know, the general idea of it is to pedal consistantly on a bike, keeping your heart rate in the fat burning zone (varies slightly depending on size, but average around 130-140 bpm). This is no ordinary bike, no sir. The bike part of the machine sits in an air tight chamber, with a vacuum that happens every so often. The idea of this is that it draws the blood to your colder areas of your body - your fat areas. It's meant to be for targetted weight loss in those stubborn areas such as stomach, hips and thighs.

 No one laughs this much during hypoxi.

The results I got were amazing. Obviously, you also need to eat well. This is no miracle cure where you can eat fat all day long and still get skinny (aren't those things always skeptical?) Given I (generally) eat a moderately clean diet, this part was quite easy to maintain. The best way to get results is to do this in a set of 12 sessions over a month which equates to roughly every second day. At face value, you're at least doing 30 minutes of cardio every second day - good stuff, right?

 

After week two of this, I also returned to the gym where I have loyally been doing one personal training session with my old trainer a week, so that was the only other exercise I was doing. After two weeks, I was already getting complimented on how much "weight" I had lost and how great I was looking. An added benefit of hypoxi is that it's also great for your skin and reducing cellulite. This machine is all kinds of amazing.

 

There are other things you can add to your "package" to enhance results such as using the hypoxi body suit thing which is basically a lymphatic drainage suit or you can use the vibraplate for 10 minutes before hand to stimulate blood flow, so I did that as well.

 

Whilst it left a $800 hole in my wallet, I really have to say it was money well spent. The fact that it does cost so much was actually an added incentive. If I wanted to eat something bad, I'd just think "I really do not want to waste that eight hundred bucks. I should probably not eat this." My results are as follows:


 

Before Hypoxi (8.10.12):                                         After Hypoxi (6.11.12):           

                           

Weight: 70.9kg                                                             Weight: 69.2kg

Waist: 79.5cm                                                               Waist: 72.5cm

Stomach: 96.5cm                                                           Stomach: 90cm

Hips: 100.7cm                                                                Hips: 97.4cm
Bottom: 107.4cm                                                           Bottom: 103.4cm

Legs: 92cm                                                                     Legs: 87.1cm

Relaxed Leg: 56cm                                                        Relaxed Leg: 53.4cm

Contracted Leg: 57.5cm                                                 Contracted Leg: 55.2cm

Knee: 36.8cm                                                                 Knee: 35.5cm

 

                                                 TOTAL CM LOSS: 31.9cm

                                                 TOTAL KG LOSS: 0.8kg

 

DAFUQ.

 

So given how stubborn my body is, evidently I was hella pleased with these results. I really wish I had taken before and after photos, the waist and leg difference is incredible. As always, my hips were stubborn, but I was pretty damn happy with this. I will most definitely be doing more once I can gather up the monies.
My weight had barely changed, but the measurements speak for itself. At the end of the day, that's what you're counting anyways.

Can only go onward and upwards from here!


-MM

Relapse and Many New Things

Guh I haven't posted since June.

Which basically sums up a whole relapse that obviously happened. Just goes to show just how much keeping a blog can help you stay on track.

I have decided to take on Warrior Dash in February (even in the heat - I know. Believe me, I know.) and was meant to start training in August.


So that didn't happen.

Or in September.

October I did some things.


So in 3 days, serious training begins, and you are going to hear it all. I'm going to do a bit of a mass blog today, I have some things to catch y'all up on. (Yes, I said y'all.)

-MM