Words and photo by Nevin Martell
No diet can succeed without a strong exercise component, so I’ve been working out a lot for the past three weeks. You may be surprised to learn that this is no different than my routine before I began the Protein Bar Challenge. When I started writing about food fulltime several years ago, I knew that my body would be hit hard by the drastic lifestyle change. I vowed that I would work out five or six times a week, in the hopes that all this athletic activity would balance out the uptick in calorie consumption.
Unfortunately, even doing long runs in Rock Creek Park, starting Pilates at Willow Street Yoga, and hitting the stationary bike for hour-long stretches after particularly decadent meals did next to nothing.
Now all that calorie burning, on top of my healthful meals from Protein Bar, are having a noticeable effect (10.5 pounds to be exact). In an effort to keep things interesting, I’ve tried a few new workouts to challenge myself. The most memorable was with Protein Bar founder Matt Matros, who introduced me to spinning at Biker Barre in Capitol Hill last week. It couldn’t have been more different than the stationary bike workout I usually do.
The room where the bikes were set up was part spa, part nightclub. The lights were down during class to help the self-conscious leave their hang-ups at the door and so that everyone would simply focus on their ride. The only illumination came from a few fake candles on the floor and the screen of the laptop that served as the high-energy jukebox for the duration of our intense 45-minute session.
Instructor Katie Fouts coached the class with the kind of adrenalized inspirationalism that’s usually reserved for drill-sergeants-turned-preachers. She told us when to crank up the resistance, pick up the pace, or change our positions. I was sweating within two minutes of the class kicking off, and I didn’t stop until Fouts guided us across the virtual finish line while what sounded like a dance remix of the Clash of the Titans theme song blared out of the overhead speakers.
According to online exercise calculators, I expended about 500 calories over the course of the class. That means I burned off approximately 25% of my current daily caloric intake in less than an hour. The morning after the class, I discovered that I had shaved off half a pound from the previous day. Maybe this positive progress means I should add spinning into my regular workout rotation.
STATUS REPORT
Day: 21
Weight: 209
Pounds lost: 10.5
As well as reading my posts about my Protein Bar Challenge here on the Plate blog, you can follow my progress on Twitter @nevinmartell (hashtag #proteinbarchallenge) or on Facebook.
