Its been a while friends! Sorry about that! Although, I feel like its hard for me to keep up the blog when I don't keep up with myself. I haven't been doing so hot on the whole diet scene! Yes, I have been keeping up at the gym! But for being at the gym as much as I am, and not losing weight, I know my diet has been WAY off! Now I'm not trying to make excuses for myself, cause I don't care if its the holidays, I KNOW what to eat.. I just simply chose not to do the right thing!
But Saturday is a new year... 2011! Time to get serious again... I feel like a broken record tho... I've probably said this at least 3 or 4 other times on here.. But this time, I won't cheat myself out of what I deserve!
I'm doing Biggest Loser again this year, and I am VERY excited about our team! Our team is actually a group of nearly all BL contestants from last year, another friend who has been working out with us for a while, and a friend of a friend! So, we're going to be AMAZING! Not to mention two awesome trainers (Travis and Dorian!) That said, we're going to have to train extra hard to keep up with all those folks that are just starting out! Their bodies are going to get a "shock" to their system since they haven't been working out... a shock that our bodies will not get!
The plan for BL is to lose 50lbs... 50lbs in 10 weeks... 5lbs a week! If I don't stray from my diet, I know that is super realistic!! I've done it before, I can do it again! So the planning starts now! Daily menus, strict weekly workout plans! My life will pretty much consist of cooking, eating right, and working out (With the obvious hockey and work mixed in there too!)
Tomorrow I'm finalizing my New Years Resolutions!! I'll have several, and they'll be pretty strict. What's the point in making an easy resolution?!?
2011 is the year I want to complete the first part of this journey (The losing part)!! With hard work and lots of dedication, I should have NO problem!!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
DAY 7!!!
The Final day!! Day 7 of my Post-Thanksgiving Marathon!
Today's workout consisted of a 5K and 1/2 of Turbo Kick! I'm so sore!!
Travis and I after the race!
Jingle Bell 5K run went OK! The course was so-so.. When we were on streets, it was fine, but as soon as we hit the trail, they didn't clear it off well enough, so I didn't run much after the first like 1.5 miles!! And to think I came in maybe a minute or two off my pace from the Hot Chocolate Race... Now I wish I would have tried to run a bit on the snowy/slushy stuff!!! Travis ran with me.. so I at least had someone pushing me and making me run! I'm waiting for my final results, but I'm still proud of the race!!
Post-Race, I ran upstairs to catch the last 1/2 of Turbo Kick!! Amanda remixed it into Turbo Kick Extreme Round 2 (TKX2).. Lets just say its a killer!! I know I just ran a 5K and all.. but I'm pretty sure that I just wanted to pass out!! It's going to be a major calorie burner!! With that and the race, I was completely spent by the time I got home!!
So all in all, my Post-Thanksgiving Marathon went REALLY well!! I lost 5lbs and ran my second 5K, all while having a great time! And isn't that what it's all about... Having a great time?!? And I am VERY Thankful that tomorrow is my rest day!!
Today's workout consisted of a 5K and 1/2 of Turbo Kick! I'm so sore!!
Travis and I after the race!
Jingle Bell 5K run went OK! The course was so-so.. When we were on streets, it was fine, but as soon as we hit the trail, they didn't clear it off well enough, so I didn't run much after the first like 1.5 miles!! And to think I came in maybe a minute or two off my pace from the Hot Chocolate Race... Now I wish I would have tried to run a bit on the snowy/slushy stuff!!! Travis ran with me.. so I at least had someone pushing me and making me run! I'm waiting for my final results, but I'm still proud of the race!!
Post-Race, I ran upstairs to catch the last 1/2 of Turbo Kick!! Amanda remixed it into Turbo Kick Extreme Round 2 (TKX2).. Lets just say its a killer!! I know I just ran a 5K and all.. but I'm pretty sure that I just wanted to pass out!! It's going to be a major calorie burner!! With that and the race, I was completely spent by the time I got home!!
So all in all, my Post-Thanksgiving Marathon went REALLY well!! I lost 5lbs and ran my second 5K, all while having a great time! And isn't that what it's all about... Having a great time?!? And I am VERY Thankful that tomorrow is my rest day!!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Day 6!!
Day 6 of 7 of my Post-Thanksgiving Marathon!!!
Today was great! Workouts were great (I had to do 10 push- ups because I was a smart-ass.. Opps) Food was on target! (Except I allowed myself a piece of pumpkin bread after dinner cause I wanted it)
I also decided to see how this week has been going weight wise.. so after my AM workout, I went down to the locker room to weigh in.. and WHAT DID I SEE ON THE SCALE?!!?
307
That's 5lbs down from when I weighed-in last Saturday!! WOOP WOOP! That excites me! Now to just keep it up!
Tomorrow, I'm running in my 2nd 5K!! Its the Jingle Bell Run for arthritis! Should be lots of fun! Except ONE THING... This is what it currently looks like outside:
And yes.. I have already shoveled my front walk and salted it!!
Several inches of snow already... and possibly a couple more before the race starts at 10AM tomorrow.. Not to mention temps in the upper 20's/low 30's!! YIKES!!
Here's to hoping I can stay warm and I don't slip on ice/snow!!
Today was great! Workouts were great (I had to do 10 push- ups because I was a smart-ass.. Opps) Food was on target! (Except I allowed myself a piece of pumpkin bread after dinner cause I wanted it)
I also decided to see how this week has been going weight wise.. so after my AM workout, I went down to the locker room to weigh in.. and WHAT DID I SEE ON THE SCALE?!!?
That's 5lbs down from when I weighed-in last Saturday!! WOOP WOOP! That excites me! Now to just keep it up!
Tomorrow, I'm running in my 2nd 5K!! Its the Jingle Bell Run for arthritis! Should be lots of fun! Except ONE THING... This is what it currently looks like outside:
And yes.. I have already shoveled my front walk and salted it!!
Several inches of snow already... and possibly a couple more before the race starts at 10AM tomorrow.. Not to mention temps in the upper 20's/low 30's!! YIKES!!
Here's to hoping I can stay warm and I don't slip on ice/snow!!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Day 5!!
Day 5 of 7 in my Post-Thanksgiving Marathon is here and pretty much gone!!
Workouts... Awesome!!
Food... AWESOME!!
I was right on track with my food today, except a little low on calories!! But that will be fine! It was balanced between carbs, protein, and fat (55%/25%/20%)... so that's all that matters to me!!
AM workout was training with James! PM workout was 1/2 of Turbo Kick.. (For some reason, my knees have been really bothering me, and I had to stop 1/2 way thru and rest them up).. and Power Hour with James! Made it thru Power Hour without a ton of pain!! Luckily we didn't do any lunges... But Thursday nights are crazy calorie burners with lots of running and stairs!!
As of right now... The Jingle Belle Run is looking questionable! We're supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow Friday night/Saturday morning! And I don't know about you... but I'd rather not go running in snow and break myself on a patch of ice! But, I'm currently hoping that the snow stops EARLY and then can clear the course of all ice and snow before the race starts!! I really want to run it (Even tho my mind is screaming NOOOOO)!!
Workouts... Awesome!!
Food... AWESOME!!
I was right on track with my food today, except a little low on calories!! But that will be fine! It was balanced between carbs, protein, and fat (55%/25%/20%)... so that's all that matters to me!!
AM workout was training with James! PM workout was 1/2 of Turbo Kick.. (For some reason, my knees have been really bothering me, and I had to stop 1/2 way thru and rest them up).. and Power Hour with James! Made it thru Power Hour without a ton of pain!! Luckily we didn't do any lunges... But Thursday nights are crazy calorie burners with lots of running and stairs!!
As of right now... The Jingle Belle Run is looking questionable! We're supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow Friday night/Saturday morning! And I don't know about you... but I'd rather not go running in snow and break myself on a patch of ice! But, I'm currently hoping that the snow stops EARLY and then can clear the course of all ice and snow before the race starts!! I really want to run it (Even tho my mind is screaming NOOOOO)!!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Day 4!!
Day 4 of 7 in my Post-Thanksgiving Marathon!
Workout... Great!
Food... Great!
Waking up at 4:30 for AM Power Hour is NEVER easy!! But having the day off and knowing I could nap it out afterwards, I got up and went for Power Hour with Maggie (MISSED HER)!! It was all strength and Oh boy.. my wings hurt afterwards!!! (We refer to our chest/shoulders/biceps/triceps as our wings!!)
After a good long nap and a relaxing day... I hit up the gym for some training with Travis.. We ended our training with some crazy set on the rowing machine!!! Unfortunately, out time went way over for training, and I missed most of Turbo Kick, so decided to skip the rest of it and head to Hy-vee to get some awesome food for the rest of the week!! Luckily I was only 100 calories off of my goal calorie burn for the day! So it's all good!
Tomorrow, after morning training, I'm gonna try to play around with food and see what I come up with!! Definitely needing some new foods to keep me interested in the good stuff!!
Sooo half way thru the Post-Thanksgiving Marathon week and things are looking great! A couple more days of training and workouts, then Saturday (day 7) I've got the Jingle Bell Run!! My second 5K!! I can't wait! It's going to be FREEEZING and more than likely snowing... but it's going to be a great run with Team Postreven!!
Workout... Great!
Food... Great!
Waking up at 4:30 for AM Power Hour is NEVER easy!! But having the day off and knowing I could nap it out afterwards, I got up and went for Power Hour with Maggie (MISSED HER)!! It was all strength and Oh boy.. my wings hurt afterwards!!! (We refer to our chest/shoulders/biceps/triceps as our wings!!)
After a good long nap and a relaxing day... I hit up the gym for some training with Travis.. We ended our training with some crazy set on the rowing machine!!! Unfortunately, out time went way over for training, and I missed most of Turbo Kick, so decided to skip the rest of it and head to Hy-vee to get some awesome food for the rest of the week!! Luckily I was only 100 calories off of my goal calorie burn for the day! So it's all good!
Tomorrow, after morning training, I'm gonna try to play around with food and see what I come up with!! Definitely needing some new foods to keep me interested in the good stuff!!
Sooo half way thru the Post-Thanksgiving Marathon week and things are looking great! A couple more days of training and workouts, then Saturday (day 7) I've got the Jingle Bell Run!! My second 5K!! I can't wait! It's going to be FREEEZING and more than likely snowing... but it's going to be a great run with Team Postreven!!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Day 3!!
Day 3 of 7 in my Post-Thanksgiving Marathon!!!
Workout... AWESOME!!!
Food... Not so great!
Wasn't really feeling it in the morning, but still got in 5 miles on the bike, 2 miles on the elliptical, and 1 1/2 walking the track!! When I don't have a training session or Power Hour/Turbo Kick (On Saturday mornings), I really just use the morning time to get moving.. If it wasn't for that, I'd be chilling at TJ's house not burning many calories!!
Night time is really where its at! Power Hour with James tonight was a great workout... Not much cardio.. but loads of strength!! It feels like we've been doing tons of cardio all the time! It was kinda nice to take a break and work on some strength training, even tho my muscles are sore now! Then I got my sweat on in Turbo Kick!!
Overall, I will have burned over 4500 calories for the day..I won't know the exact number til midnight! And that just wont happen tonight, cause I've got Power Hour in the morning! You know you spend a lot of time at the gym when one of the trainers complains that she hasn't seen you lately! (Because she hasn't been there).. So I promised Maggie I would make it to the morning Power Hour... Its sooo early!
With the next 8 days off, I'm going to work on my food intake! Lots to do with that! Going to try ANYTHING that will help me eat healthy, but not take a ton of time to prep... cause if I leave anything to the morning, I usually end up running out of time before I have to leave for work!!
Here's to making Day 4 better!!
Workout... AWESOME!!!
Food... Not so great!
Wasn't really feeling it in the morning, but still got in 5 miles on the bike, 2 miles on the elliptical, and 1 1/2 walking the track!! When I don't have a training session or Power Hour/Turbo Kick (On Saturday mornings), I really just use the morning time to get moving.. If it wasn't for that, I'd be chilling at TJ's house not burning many calories!!
Night time is really where its at! Power Hour with James tonight was a great workout... Not much cardio.. but loads of strength!! It feels like we've been doing tons of cardio all the time! It was kinda nice to take a break and work on some strength training, even tho my muscles are sore now! Then I got my sweat on in Turbo Kick!!
Overall, I will have burned over 4500 calories for the day..I won't know the exact number til midnight! And that just wont happen tonight, cause I've got Power Hour in the morning! You know you spend a lot of time at the gym when one of the trainers complains that she hasn't seen you lately! (Because she hasn't been there).. So I promised Maggie I would make it to the morning Power Hour... Its sooo early!
With the next 8 days off, I'm going to work on my food intake! Lots to do with that! Going to try ANYTHING that will help me eat healthy, but not take a ton of time to prep... cause if I leave anything to the morning, I usually end up running out of time before I have to leave for work!!
Here's to making Day 4 better!!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Day 2!!
Day 2 of my Post-Thanksgiving Marathon is in the books!!!
Power Hour in the morning focused mainly on strength by using the resistance bands and LOTS of push ups!! Oh.. and would it even be a PH with Dorian if we didn't do flutter kicks?!?
Finished up my workout day with some ass kicking Travis style! OMG... I know I say this all the time, but he might have tried to kill us today! Between running, jumping rope, and lifting weights, it was a killer workout! I thought at one point my chest muscles were just going to rip off my body!!
Today was my official weigh in day and I was DOWN 2 pounds from last week!! FINALLY.. Got thru a holiday without gaining weight! Watch out! Of course, Thanksgiving dinner wasn't nearly as good while I was eating just turkey and cous cous... but being closer to my goal weight feels so much better than Cheesy potatoes and green bean casserole taste!
Day 3 is coming up fast! On the workout itinerary is AM - Various Cardio.. and PM - Power Hour and Turbo Kick!! Let's see how many calories I can burn tomorrow!!!
Power Hour in the morning focused mainly on strength by using the resistance bands and LOTS of push ups!! Oh.. and would it even be a PH with Dorian if we didn't do flutter kicks?!?
Finished up my workout day with some ass kicking Travis style! OMG... I know I say this all the time, but he might have tried to kill us today! Between running, jumping rope, and lifting weights, it was a killer workout! I thought at one point my chest muscles were just going to rip off my body!!
Today was my official weigh in day and I was DOWN 2 pounds from last week!! FINALLY.. Got thru a holiday without gaining weight! Watch out! Of course, Thanksgiving dinner wasn't nearly as good while I was eating just turkey and cous cous... but being closer to my goal weight feels so much better than Cheesy potatoes and green bean casserole taste!
Day 3 is coming up fast! On the workout itinerary is AM - Various Cardio.. and PM - Power Hour and Turbo Kick!! Let's see how many calories I can burn tomorrow!!!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Post-Thanksgiving Marathon!
So its the week after Thanksgiving! Now, I didn't splurge, but it does mean that there are only 5 more weeks till the end of 2010! So I've decided to institute a Post-Thanksgiving Marathon... But not in the 26.2 mile sense.. More like an event with greater than normal, length or duration or requiring exceptional endurance (Yeah, that's the definition out the dictionary)
The plan is between Trainings, Power Hour, and Turbo Kick, I'll have something to do at the gym everyday this week! (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... I'll have multiple things to do!) I've got my meals planned out, so I have no option to eat crap! And I'm making a commitment to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night!
This is the week that I've been needing for a while! Burning some crazy calories, eating the best foods for my body, and relaxing enough so I don't get hurt!!
Started out this week with a CRAZY workout with Travis today... I was sweating like.. Uhhh.. Ummm... A really sweaty person?!? Let's just say it was a great workout!! I burned 780 calories in the hour I was with him!!
And even tho I said I wouldn't be going to Power Hour tomorrow morning at 5:45am... I think I will!! That will give me two awesome calorie burning workouts on Monday too!! YAY!
The plan is between Trainings, Power Hour, and Turbo Kick, I'll have something to do at the gym everyday this week! (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... I'll have multiple things to do!) I've got my meals planned out, so I have no option to eat crap! And I'm making a commitment to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night!
This is the week that I've been needing for a while! Burning some crazy calories, eating the best foods for my body, and relaxing enough so I don't get hurt!!
Started out this week with a CRAZY workout with Travis today... I was sweating like.. Uhhh.. Ummm... A really sweaty person?!? Let's just say it was a great workout!! I burned 780 calories in the hour I was with him!!
And even tho I said I wouldn't be going to Power Hour tomorrow morning at 5:45am... I think I will!! That will give me two awesome calorie burning workouts on Monday too!! YAY!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thankful!
This Thanksgiving I have a lot to be thankful for, especially in my weight loss journey! Here are just a few of the many thank yous!!!
To my AMAZING trainers!
You push me farther than I ever thought I could go and you believe in me more than I believe in myself sometimes. To my current trainers: Travis, Dorian and James.. and to my past trainers: Kendel, Amanda, Ryan, Amber and Maggie!
THANK YOU!
To my Gymmies!
You guys make me look forward to going to the gym everyday! If people realized how much fun we had, working out would be a lot more popular! To the crazy old people in the mornings, my Biggest Loser girls, my Power Hour crew and my Turbo Kick family!
THANK YOU!
To all my friends!
You support and encourage me all the time and I'm very grateful! I love all the e-mails, messages and texts I get to tell me how proud I am making you. I hope I can continue to make you proud!
THANK YOU
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
For everything you do for me! I love you all!
To my AMAZING trainers!
You push me farther than I ever thought I could go and you believe in me more than I believe in myself sometimes. To my current trainers: Travis, Dorian and James.. and to my past trainers: Kendel, Amanda, Ryan, Amber and Maggie!
To my Gymmies!
You guys make me look forward to going to the gym everyday! If people realized how much fun we had, working out would be a lot more popular! To the crazy old people in the mornings, my Biggest Loser girls, my Power Hour crew and my Turbo Kick family!
To all my friends!
You support and encourage me all the time and I'm very grateful! I love all the e-mails, messages and texts I get to tell me how proud I am making you. I hope I can continue to make you proud!
For everything you do for me! I love you all!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Opening up!
Sorry guys..
I seem to have slacked a bit on the "writing a new blog every day in November"... But I haven't slacked elsewhere!! I'm still losing weight!! YAY!! Up to 136lbs down... (That would be 314)
Its funny to me how open I am about this stuff!! Before, I would have NEVER told me weight, or my measurements, or my clothing size to ANYONE!! Heck, I didn't tell my size to my best friend for a VERY long time!
But now that its constantly changing for the better, I don't mind it at all!! I proudly tell everyone who asks that I've lost 136lbs so far! I have definitely become more open on lots of stuff...
Now its time to get that up to 150!! I'm getting SO close! I need to get back to a SUPER strict diet! I feel like I'm ALWAYS writing this on here.. but I'll do it for a couple days.. then have an OPPS day... A day where I don't feel like planning anything out, so I just fly by the seat of my pants, and just hope that everything is going ok!
With so much time off in December, I am going to try to come up with a system to put together meals and options to make it easier for myself! Maybe that includes making everything on Sunday and freezing it.. or simple options for fast and easy meal preparation!
Any ideas are more than welcome!!
I seem to have slacked a bit on the "writing a new blog every day in November"... But I haven't slacked elsewhere!! I'm still losing weight!! YAY!! Up to 136lbs down... (That would be 314)
Its funny to me how open I am about this stuff!! Before, I would have NEVER told me weight, or my measurements, or my clothing size to ANYONE!! Heck, I didn't tell my size to my best friend for a VERY long time!
But now that its constantly changing for the better, I don't mind it at all!! I proudly tell everyone who asks that I've lost 136lbs so far! I have definitely become more open on lots of stuff...
Now its time to get that up to 150!! I'm getting SO close! I need to get back to a SUPER strict diet! I feel like I'm ALWAYS writing this on here.. but I'll do it for a couple days.. then have an OPPS day... A day where I don't feel like planning anything out, so I just fly by the seat of my pants, and just hope that everything is going ok!
With so much time off in December, I am going to try to come up with a system to put together meals and options to make it easier for myself! Maybe that includes making everything on Sunday and freezing it.. or simple options for fast and easy meal preparation!
Any ideas are more than welcome!!
Friday, November 19, 2010
1/4 Mile!!!
Great Food Day... Great Workout Day!!! GREAT DAY IN GENERAL!
When I started, the track was for walking!
During Biggest Loser, I started jogging the straights, walking the curves.
During Power Hour, I ran a full lap around the track for the first time!!
TODAY, training with Travis, I ran two full laps around the track for the first time!
That's a 1/4 of a mile people!! Soo happy about that one! My head told me I couldn't do it.. Travis told me I HAD to do it! And after I did it, I wondered if I could keep going..
Its a great feeling to accomplish something I never thought would be possible! Next on my radar is to get past these freaking 300's... I don't know when the last time I weighed under 300... All I know is I never want to see a 3 infront of my weight again!
I'll weigh in tomorrow and see how far I've got to go!!
When I started, the track was for walking!
During Biggest Loser, I started jogging the straights, walking the curves.
During Power Hour, I ran a full lap around the track for the first time!!
TODAY, training with Travis, I ran two full laps around the track for the first time!
That's a 1/4 of a mile people!! Soo happy about that one! My head told me I couldn't do it.. Travis told me I HAD to do it! And after I did it, I wondered if I could keep going..
Its a great feeling to accomplish something I never thought would be possible! Next on my radar is to get past these freaking 300's... I don't know when the last time I weighed under 300... All I know is I never want to see a 3 infront of my weight again!
I'll weigh in tomorrow and see how far I've got to go!!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
No plans..
My day has been a classic example of what NOT to do!! Not so much in the exercise department, cause I totally rocked that out! But more in area of food!
Last night, I just didn't feel like doing any planning for today, so I went to bed!! Waking up this morning, I didn't want to think.. so I grabbed an apple, oatmeal, and a nature valley granola bar!
Yeah.. That would be an OK start to the day.. Too bad that was all I had planned out!! I ended up eating the apple and oatmeal (With flax and agave nectar) for a pre-workout meal...
My problem lies after that.. The fact that I skipped lunch in favor of a nap.. and then my next pre-workout meal consisted of a pop-tart and an energy drink! Round out my dinner with cottage cheese and a sweet potato...
WOW!! No balance what-so-ever!!! Also, I don't believe I hit my calorie intake for the day either! So tomorrow will be different! I've got a plan working.. I'm getting up early to make sure everything is ready to go!!
One day won't kill me.. It's when I get lazy and start stringing those days together that I get off course!! Let's get moving in the right direction again! Tomorrow is a new day!
SUCCESS IS MY ONLY OPTION!!!
Last night, I just didn't feel like doing any planning for today, so I went to bed!! Waking up this morning, I didn't want to think.. so I grabbed an apple, oatmeal, and a nature valley granola bar!
Yeah.. That would be an OK start to the day.. Too bad that was all I had planned out!! I ended up eating the apple and oatmeal (With flax and agave nectar) for a pre-workout meal...
My problem lies after that.. The fact that I skipped lunch in favor of a nap.. and then my next pre-workout meal consisted of a pop-tart and an energy drink! Round out my dinner with cottage cheese and a sweet potato...
WOW!! No balance what-so-ever!!! Also, I don't believe I hit my calorie intake for the day either! So tomorrow will be different! I've got a plan working.. I'm getting up early to make sure everything is ready to go!!
One day won't kill me.. It's when I get lazy and start stringing those days together that I get off course!! Let's get moving in the right direction again! Tomorrow is a new day!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Long time no see!!!
I love when I see people that I haven't seen in a long time!!
Today, I saw my friend Eric, whom I haven't seen since last October when his team played in Peoria!! It made me smile when he noticed such a big difference in my size!
Photo comparison!! 2009 
2010 
Looking good, feeling good!! (By the way, I just had to get new jeans.. cause my last pair were too big!! YAY for another size down!)
Today, I saw my friend Eric, whom I haven't seen since last October when his team played in Peoria!! It made me smile when he noticed such a big difference in my size!
Looking good, feeling good!! (By the way, I just had to get new jeans.. cause my last pair were too big!! YAY for another size down!)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Thinking.....
I got to thinking about the timing of this whole journey tonight!
Why didn't I do this earlier??... Why did it take me nearly 25 years to realize that I need to take control of my health and lose this weight?!? I just wish that I would have thought of this earlier! For some reason, today I feel like I've wasted so much of my life!
I can't thank my gymmies enough for always being there for me!
Why didn't I do this earlier??... Why did it take me nearly 25 years to realize that I need to take control of my health and lose this weight?!? I just wish that I would have thought of this earlier! For some reason, today I feel like I've wasted so much of my life!
I can't thank my gymmies enough for always being there for me!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Stretch me out!!
You always hear that you need to stretch out when you are done working out.. And I fully agree!!
After my 5K, I did not stretch, and my muscles tightened up and were sore for a couple days! Not a good feeling!
I make sure to stretch out after all my workouts! And whenever its an option, I make my trainer Travis stretch me out! It feels awesome to get your muscles stretched for you!
Travis torturing.. errr.. I mean, stretching my quads!!
So make sure you stretch out after your work outs! All your muscles... legs, arms, shoulders, back, hips... All of it!!
After my 5K, I did not stretch, and my muscles tightened up and were sore for a couple days! Not a good feeling!
I make sure to stretch out after all my workouts! And whenever its an option, I make my trainer Travis stretch me out! It feels awesome to get your muscles stretched for you!
So make sure you stretch out after your work outs! All your muscles... legs, arms, shoulders, back, hips... All of it!!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
OPPSS!!!
Well... we've got two fails going on right now!
#1.. Somehow on a Friday night in which I was doing basically NOTHING, I break my blog writing streak at 11 days! Opps, Sorry guys! And that was one of my goals too.. THAT SUCKS!
#2.. I also completely failed the Vegan thing! My problem is, even some stuff labeled as "soy" or "veggie" products still have casein or whey protein in it!! BOOOOO!! So for the past 3 days, I've been completely Vegetarian.. But not Vegan!! I think if just work on getting more veggies into my diet and not so much processed crap, I'll be good!
Now onto my complete successes!!!
Power Hour was great this morning! I burned 930 calories during it!! That's a record for Power Hour! And it was ridiculously simple! Since it was only Margie and I, we both put on boxing gloves, and one of us would box, while the other one ran a lap... when that person got back, the one boxing would head out! We did that for an hour.. 930 calories!!! WOOP WOOP!
Oh and get this... While we were boxing, Dorian has me punching all over the place and then he puts it on his chest and says punch... Umm ok! So I did it.. then he puts it on his face and says punch... Oh my! So I did it, and he told me to "Punch hard, don't be afraid"... You don't have to tell me that twice! So I did! And I maybe punched him in the eye!!! Not hard enough for a black eye.. but maybe next time :-)
Bahahaha! I had to take a picture.. Its like my trophy.. or something like that!
Then I went and burned another 960 calories during Turbo Kick!! 1890 calories burned during JUST the gym portion of my day!! All in all, it was an AWESOME workout day!! I ended up burning 5,131 calories! WOOP WOOP!
Skipping my off day tomorrow in favor of some training with Travis!! Gotta burn those calories!!
#1.. Somehow on a Friday night in which I was doing basically NOTHING, I break my blog writing streak at 11 days! Opps, Sorry guys! And that was one of my goals too.. THAT SUCKS!
#2.. I also completely failed the Vegan thing! My problem is, even some stuff labeled as "soy" or "veggie" products still have casein or whey protein in it!! BOOOOO!! So for the past 3 days, I've been completely Vegetarian.. But not Vegan!! I think if just work on getting more veggies into my diet and not so much processed crap, I'll be good!
Now onto my complete successes!!!
Power Hour was great this morning! I burned 930 calories during it!! That's a record for Power Hour! And it was ridiculously simple! Since it was only Margie and I, we both put on boxing gloves, and one of us would box, while the other one ran a lap... when that person got back, the one boxing would head out! We did that for an hour.. 930 calories!!! WOOP WOOP!
Oh and get this... While we were boxing, Dorian has me punching all over the place and then he puts it on his chest and says punch... Umm ok! So I did it.. then he puts it on his face and says punch... Oh my! So I did it, and he told me to "Punch hard, don't be afraid"... You don't have to tell me that twice! So I did! And I maybe punched him in the eye!!! Not hard enough for a black eye.. but maybe next time :-)
Bahahaha! I had to take a picture.. Its like my trophy.. or something like that!
Then I went and burned another 960 calories during Turbo Kick!! 1890 calories burned during JUST the gym portion of my day!! All in all, it was an AWESOME workout day!! I ended up burning 5,131 calories! WOOP WOOP!
Skipping my off day tomorrow in favor of some training with Travis!! Gotta burn those calories!!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Switching it up!
I've come to the decision to try to go Vegan for 2 weeks! It is going to be VERY hard! I can live without meat... But I do love eggs, cheese, yogurt, milk! Lots of good things made from yummy animals! But, I know it will be really good for me, and a really good challenge!
Today was going pretty well, until I had some goldfish for a snack!! Shoot, they are made with cheddar! Opps! That's what I get when I work with children!
But today my meals looked like this?
Breakfast:
Oatmeal with agave nectar, ground flax seeds, and raspberries!
Pre-workout snack:
Mango Smoothie (Kinda high in calories.. but over 3 servings of fruit in the bottle)
Lunch:
Avocado + Tomato Sandwich (Made with whole grain bread)
Cucumber slices
Goldfish
Pre-workout snack:
Oatmeal Squares (My favorite cereal)
Dinner:
Protein shake (Would have had more, but ran out of calories + needed high protein)
So overall, not terrible! Although, I guess my protein shake had animal protein in it.. but it was made with almond milk! I'm going to have to start getting creative to get all my protein in and not have to turn to protein shakes!
Totals today...
5188 calories burned
1822 calories consumed
3366 calorie deficit
WOOP WOOP!
Today was going pretty well, until I had some goldfish for a snack!! Shoot, they are made with cheddar! Opps! That's what I get when I work with children!
But today my meals looked like this?
Breakfast:
Oatmeal with agave nectar, ground flax seeds, and raspberries!
Pre-workout snack:
Mango Smoothie (Kinda high in calories.. but over 3 servings of fruit in the bottle)
Lunch:
Avocado + Tomato Sandwich (Made with whole grain bread)
Cucumber slices
Goldfish
Pre-workout snack:
Oatmeal Squares (My favorite cereal)
Dinner:
Protein shake (Would have had more, but ran out of calories + needed high protein)
So overall, not terrible! Although, I guess my protein shake had animal protein in it.. but it was made with almond milk! I'm going to have to start getting creative to get all my protein in and not have to turn to protein shakes!
Totals today...
5188 calories burned
1822 calories consumed
3366 calorie deficit
WOOP WOOP!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Come on Baby, make it hurt so good!
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don't feel like it should
You make it hurt so good
Between the cardio I did on my own this morning, and Travis' attempt to make my arms fall off, I am just beyond sore!
I started off the day with getting in a mile at 15:19!! YAY! So excited with how close I am getting to 15 minutes!! WOOP WOOP!
Then came training tonight... Travis always asks how we're feeling, if anything is sore.. Well, my usual answer is I'm good! Today, that was NOT what he wanted to hear! So his decision... MAKE IT HURT!
We did an hour of JUST biceps and shoulders... From 6 minutes straight of bicep curls (With 17.5lbs weights).. to dragging Travis around on a rope doing shoulder presses... We did it all.. and it hurts!!
Everything hurts... It doesn't help that my sciatica decided to flair up tonight! BOO! And there's no rest for the weary! I've got 2 trainings, 2 Power Hours, and 2 Turbo Kicks before I get my rest day on Sunday!! Here's to Sunday getting here quickly!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Back in the game!
After 4 days off, I was so ready to get back to the gym today! The rest was great for my body! I felt great waking up this morning... but let me tell ya, I feel it again tonight!
I started out the day ready to hit the gym hard... Then I got there and realized that A LOT of my stamina was gone! All I wanted to do was sit on the bike and ride it out for a while...
Although I did get off my bike and jump on the elliptical for 40 minutes!
THANK GOD for Power Hour and Turbo Kick!!! I finally perked up for those and got a good calorie burn in! In fact, I burned over 4700 calories today! WOOP WOOP!
It was hard to take that long off of the gym! But it's even harder going back! I didn't feel 100%! It's crazy how fast you can lose your stamina! I was huffing and puffing just jogging around the track once! But hopefully, I'll be able to grab it back quickly! Tomorrow morning I'm hitting it hard, no matter WHAT! I've gotta take responsibility for my own calorie burn outside of trainings, Power Hours, and Turbo Kicks!
I started out the day ready to hit the gym hard... Then I got there and realized that A LOT of my stamina was gone! All I wanted to do was sit on the bike and ride it out for a while...
Although I did get off my bike and jump on the elliptical for 40 minutes!
THANK GOD for Power Hour and Turbo Kick!!! I finally perked up for those and got a good calorie burn in! In fact, I burned over 4700 calories today! WOOP WOOP!
It was hard to take that long off of the gym! But it's even harder going back! I didn't feel 100%! It's crazy how fast you can lose your stamina! I was huffing and puffing just jogging around the track once! But hopefully, I'll be able to grab it back quickly! Tomorrow morning I'm hitting it hard, no matter WHAT! I've gotta take responsibility for my own calorie burn outside of trainings, Power Hours, and Turbo Kicks!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Please Don't Stop The Music!!
Music is part of my life... especially at the gym! It's what gets me going when nothing else can! It's my way to escape the reality that I'm on a treadmill and not actually running anywhere!
And of course, my favorite thing to do at the gym, TURBO KICK, is all about the music! I can hear a song on the radio and instantly my arms and legs start to punch and kick and go thru the Turbo routine that matches that song!
I don't think I could get thru running in general without my song playlist!
Here's my list of songs that gets me thru running and other random workouts:
Blah Blah Blah - Ke$ha
Bottoms Up - Trey Songz
F**k You! - Cee Lo Green (Not for my younger followers)
Shots - LMFAO and Lil Jon
Haven't Met You Yet - Michael Buble
Shut It Down - Pitbull
Drop It Low - Ester Dean and Chris Brown
Please Don't Stop the Music - DJ Dizzy
Whip My Hair - Willow Smith
Bulletproof - La Roux
Fly Like A G6 - Far East Movement
Fancy - Drake
Carry Out - Timbaland Ft. Justin Timberlake
Turn My Swag On - Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
All I Do Is Win - DJ Khaled
Yeah yeah... so Michael Buble snuck in there! It's a little bit upbeat, and it makes me happy! So I can run to it! But I'm the kind of girl that can listen to slow stuff and still be ok! (But not while running!)
If you find the right stuff to listen to, it will be able to lift your mood and energy!
And of course, my favorite thing to do at the gym, TURBO KICK, is all about the music! I can hear a song on the radio and instantly my arms and legs start to punch and kick and go thru the Turbo routine that matches that song!
I don't think I could get thru running in general without my song playlist!
Here's my list of songs that gets me thru running and other random workouts:
Blah Blah Blah - Ke$ha
Bottoms Up - Trey Songz
F**k You! - Cee Lo Green (Not for my younger followers)
Shots - LMFAO and Lil Jon
Haven't Met You Yet - Michael Buble
Shut It Down - Pitbull
Drop It Low - Ester Dean and Chris Brown
Please Don't Stop the Music - DJ Dizzy
Whip My Hair - Willow Smith
Bulletproof - La Roux
Fly Like A G6 - Far East Movement
Fancy - Drake
Carry Out - Timbaland Ft. Justin Timberlake
Turn My Swag On - Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
All I Do Is Win - DJ Khaled
Yeah yeah... so Michael Buble snuck in there! It's a little bit upbeat, and it makes me happy! So I can run to it! But I'm the kind of girl that can listen to slow stuff and still be ok! (But not while running!)
If you find the right stuff to listen to, it will be able to lift your mood and energy!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Its a new week!!
I've got a super busy week coming up!! Well, I guess not that much busier than most weeks, but a couple extra things make it crazy!
So I've gotta have PLANS to not get off track!! Food plans (Every meal, every drink, every calorie!!) Workout plans (Hitting it hard in the mornings, Trainings, Power Hours, and of course, TURBO KICK!)
No cheat meals this week! I basically had 2 this weekend!
Tomorrow is another mandated rest day! I'm going a little stir crazy waiting for some gym time! But I know my body will love me for taking one more day!! BUT WATCH OUT TUESDAY... It's gonna be a sweaty mess!!!
So I've gotta have PLANS to not get off track!! Food plans (Every meal, every drink, every calorie!!) Workout plans (Hitting it hard in the mornings, Trainings, Power Hours, and of course, TURBO KICK!)
No cheat meals this week! I basically had 2 this weekend!
Tomorrow is another mandated rest day! I'm going a little stir crazy waiting for some gym time! But I know my body will love me for taking one more day!! BUT WATCH OUT TUESDAY... It's gonna be a sweaty mess!!!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Will run for Chocolate!!
I ran my first race today at the Hot Chocolate 5K in Chicago, IL! It was a LOT of fun! It was actually my first time running outside... I'm very much an in the gym, on the treadmill kind of girl! So, I was shooting for 17 minute mile pace, thinking that was a safe bet!
The race started out COLD!!! Temps were in the low 30s pretty much the whole race with the sun just showing up over the buildings by the 7:40 start! Luckily there wasn't much in the wind category (THANK GOD!)!!
We started pretty far back since it was broken up into pace per mile (Although, we just stopped walking thru the crowd around 13 min miles!) I think the most frustrating part of the whole race happened before we even started! The first people to finish the 5K were coming into the finish line before we were even close to the start line... Awesome! Made me feel GREAT! But I know I wasn't really racing anyone, just pushing myself as fast as I could go!
So when I finally reached the start line, we started running for a little bit... My muscles seemed to be FROZEN! They just did NOT want to move very fast! Whenever the road was at any decline, we made sure to run... or I'd just pick a start and stop point and run as fast as I could between the two points!
The race course was BEAUTIFUL!! We walked right around Soldier field, around the back side of Shedd Aquarium and up the shore of Lake Michigan and back into Grant Park for the finish line! I really could have slowed down and enjoyed the scenery, but I was on a mission.
I don't think I realized how fast I went until a little after I finished! I forgot to look at what time I crossed the start line, so I wasn't 100% sure what my pace was, except I knew I did about 17 minutes between miles 1-2 and 2-3! But when I got past the finish line, I remembered that my "finish" song had yet to start playing on my iPod! "All I do is Win" - DJ Khaled is possibly the best finishing song ever!! This just meant that I ran faster than the 55min long play list that I made!! YAY!
Official race results have me as the 11,837th person, 8,829th female, and 2,105th female ages 25-29 to cross the finish line!! But more importantly to me, I finished in 51:36 for a 16:37 minute/mile pace!
Gotta keep working to bring down my pace, but I think that was an OK start to what I can only hope is a good racing career! Thanks to everyone who was supporting me via texts and Facebook! It means a lot to know there are so many people out there wanting the best for me!
Friday, November 5, 2010
The day has come!!!
Well.. It's really tomorrow! But today, I leave for Chicago to run in the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K! 3.1 miles!! I'm hoping to be at 17 min miles or less! But we'll see how my body reacts to the conditions! Its supposed to be a crisp 30 degrees at race time!
WISH ME LUCK!! My next post will be after the race!!
WISH ME LUCK!! My next post will be after the race!!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Rest?!? What's that?
I know they say you should take at least 1 day of rest per week.... But I used to find that very hard! When I had Turbo Kick 5 days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday) and Power Hour or training Monday-Saturday... I very rarely took a day off! Sure my body didn't love me all the time, but I got thru it!
Now with Turbo Kick down to 4 days, no more Sunday classes :-( , I have begun to take Sundays off... but even now, my body seems to need more!
SO, with my first EVER race this Saturday (The Hot Chocolate 5K in Chicago), I decided to take Thursday afternoon-Monday off! The only exercise I will be doing is my 5K!
It's weird to think about NOT going into the gym at all! Its almost like I need it to feel normal! (Ok.. this is sounding more and more like the gym is a drug.. hahaha)
But for tomorrow, I'll focus on rest and preparing mentally for my 5K... and then its all about relaxing on Sunday and Monday! Yeah, I'll miss the gym and all my favorite gymmies, but they'll be there when I get back! This is SUSIE TIME!!
Now with Turbo Kick down to 4 days, no more Sunday classes :-( , I have begun to take Sundays off... but even now, my body seems to need more!
SO, with my first EVER race this Saturday (The Hot Chocolate 5K in Chicago), I decided to take Thursday afternoon-Monday off! The only exercise I will be doing is my 5K!
It's weird to think about NOT going into the gym at all! Its almost like I need it to feel normal! (Ok.. this is sounding more and more like the gym is a drug.. hahaha)
But for tomorrow, I'll focus on rest and preparing mentally for my 5K... and then its all about relaxing on Sunday and Monday! Yeah, I'll miss the gym and all my favorite gymmies, but they'll be there when I get back! This is SUSIE TIME!!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Its just one of those days!!
Yeah.. Today was just one of those days!! One of those days where I don't feel like doing anything, tho I know I need to!
A very sleepy morning turned into a great workout then a very sleepy afternoon and then SOMEHOW, another great workout!
Got in my 5K this morning (plus an extra 1/4 mile)! I'm still not sure where my motivation came from, cause all I could think about while warming up on the bike, was that I did NOT want to be there! BUT.. I got on the treadmill.. Ran a bunch.. and got my mile down to 15:48! WOOP WOOP! Finished the rest and had a 1/4 mile cool down!
Then the night time workout started with a great training session with Travis followed by a KILLER Turbo Kick (Round #42) with Amanda!! LOVE IT!
All said and done, I'll have burned over 5800 calories for today! And I feel every last one of them! I love how no matter what you mood going into a workout, you ALWAYS come out feeling soo much better.. and for today, so much more awake!
A very sleepy morning turned into a great workout then a very sleepy afternoon and then SOMEHOW, another great workout!
Got in my 5K this morning (plus an extra 1/4 mile)! I'm still not sure where my motivation came from, cause all I could think about while warming up on the bike, was that I did NOT want to be there! BUT.. I got on the treadmill.. Ran a bunch.. and got my mile down to 15:48! WOOP WOOP! Finished the rest and had a 1/4 mile cool down!
Then the night time workout started with a great training session with Travis followed by a KILLER Turbo Kick (Round #42) with Amanda!! LOVE IT!
All said and done, I'll have burned over 5800 calories for today! And I feel every last one of them! I love how no matter what you mood going into a workout, you ALWAYS come out feeling soo much better.. and for today, so much more awake!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Push It Good!
It's amazing to me how much I DON'T push myself! I am usually on my own in the mornings (Unless I go to AM Power Hour or have a training session) and most of the time I just don't feel like being there. But I know I need to burn calories early on to set the tone for the day!
Being totally truthful tho, the only time I really get pushed is with my trainers! I've come to so many milestones with them!!
James + Ryan (My BL trainers) - My first trainers.. started jogging!
Kendel - My first personal trainer!! Lost a TON of inches while training with her!
Amanda - 1,200 then 1,300 calorie Turbo Kicks!!!
Travis - Pushed me further and further on the treadmill! Ran @ 5.5 MPH!
Dorian - Jogged all the way around the track for the first time!!
Those aren't my only milestones, nor are those the only trainers I've worked with (Amber and Maggie are two other major ones!).. But those are the milestones that I'm certainly proud of, and am fairly certain I wouldn't have reached without the extra push and motivation from my AWESOME trainers!! Love them all!
And because of their pushing, I have started to do the same thing for myself! I've got off my bike (Which I do still love) and got on to the treadmill and ran! I like to do 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking! I used to brag about being able to do a mile in 26 minutes when I first started at the gym! Today I got it done in 16:30!! I was so happy! I pushed myself to run at 5.0 for a while (Since Travis pushed me to do it before)! I'm really loving shaving time off my mile!
Saturday is my first race EVER! The Hot Chocolate 5K in Chicago, IL! I will try my best to push myself just like my trainers push me!!
Being totally truthful tho, the only time I really get pushed is with my trainers! I've come to so many milestones with them!!
James + Ryan (My BL trainers) - My first trainers.. started jogging!
Kendel - My first personal trainer!! Lost a TON of inches while training with her!
Amanda - 1,200 then 1,300 calorie Turbo Kicks!!!
Travis - Pushed me further and further on the treadmill! Ran @ 5.5 MPH!
Dorian - Jogged all the way around the track for the first time!!
Those aren't my only milestones, nor are those the only trainers I've worked with (Amber and Maggie are two other major ones!).. But those are the milestones that I'm certainly proud of, and am fairly certain I wouldn't have reached without the extra push and motivation from my AWESOME trainers!! Love them all!
And because of their pushing, I have started to do the same thing for myself! I've got off my bike (Which I do still love) and got on to the treadmill and ran! I like to do 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking! I used to brag about being able to do a mile in 26 minutes when I first started at the gym! Today I got it done in 16:30!! I was so happy! I pushed myself to run at 5.0 for a while (Since Travis pushed me to do it before)! I'm really loving shaving time off my mile!
Saturday is my first race EVER! The Hot Chocolate 5K in Chicago, IL! I will try my best to push myself just like my trainers push me!!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Recommitted!!
To my friends and followers..
I'm sorry for not keeping you guys up to date! October was a crazy month. As hectic was my life already was, hockey started and my life got busier! I kept eating crappy and making excuses to myself why I wasn't seeing smaller numbers when I would step on the scale!
So on October 13th, I weighed in (@ 331) and decided to NOT step on the scale again til Nov. 1st! I changed my eating habits (well... like 90%) and kept up my exercising! Because of lots of stuff going on this weekend, I ended up weighing myself this Saturday and I was amazed when I saw 320!!! 11 lbs in 2 1/2 weeks! I'm very happy about that!
So now I'm down 130lbs! But its still just the start! That's not even 1/2 of my weight that I want to lose! But I'm recommitting myself to several things in order to get there!
#1: I'm recommitting myself to this blog. I let it just sit here while I was having troubles, which is when I should have been using it more! Your comments always bring me lots of motivation and pride in what I'm doing and I appreciate it more than you guys know! You'll have a new blog EVERY DAY in November, even if its just to tell you how my food intake was that day!
#2: Pre-New Years Resolutions.... Amanda and I were chatting tonight and decided that we need to get hard core again! And that means making a pre-new years resolution! I WILL be under 290 by 2011! That's 2 months to lose at least 30 lbs! And that will INCLUDE the following:
A: NO SODA (Not even diet)
B: NO FAST FOOD (Except for occasionally Subway)
C: Eating out will be FEW and FAR between
D: Any Cheat meals MUST fit into my calorie consumption for that day.
E: Push myself in all my exercising (Especially in the mornings when I do my own thing)
And that my friends, is how I'm going to get it done! LOTS AND LOTS of hard work and commitment to a healthy life style!
HERE WE GO AGAIN!!
I'm sorry for not keeping you guys up to date! October was a crazy month. As hectic was my life already was, hockey started and my life got busier! I kept eating crappy and making excuses to myself why I wasn't seeing smaller numbers when I would step on the scale!
So on October 13th, I weighed in (@ 331) and decided to NOT step on the scale again til Nov. 1st! I changed my eating habits (well... like 90%) and kept up my exercising! Because of lots of stuff going on this weekend, I ended up weighing myself this Saturday and I was amazed when I saw 320!!! 11 lbs in 2 1/2 weeks! I'm very happy about that!
So now I'm down 130lbs! But its still just the start! That's not even 1/2 of my weight that I want to lose! But I'm recommitting myself to several things in order to get there!
#1: I'm recommitting myself to this blog. I let it just sit here while I was having troubles, which is when I should have been using it more! Your comments always bring me lots of motivation and pride in what I'm doing and I appreciate it more than you guys know! You'll have a new blog EVERY DAY in November, even if its just to tell you how my food intake was that day!
#2: Pre-New Years Resolutions.... Amanda and I were chatting tonight and decided that we need to get hard core again! And that means making a pre-new years resolution! I WILL be under 290 by 2011! That's 2 months to lose at least 30 lbs! And that will INCLUDE the following:
A: NO SODA (Not even diet)
B: NO FAST FOOD (Except for occasionally Subway)
C: Eating out will be FEW and FAR between
D: Any Cheat meals MUST fit into my calorie consumption for that day.
E: Push myself in all my exercising (Especially in the mornings when I do my own thing)
And that my friends, is how I'm going to get it done! LOTS AND LOTS of hard work and commitment to a healthy life style!
HERE WE GO AGAIN!!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
HOW FAR?!?
After my last blog... I knew I needed to just suck it up and either fake some motivation, and find some new motivation!
And truthfully.. I'm not 100% positive where my motivation came from.. But IT'S BACK!!!
I took Monday off of EVERYTHING!! I've been meaning to do some organize around my house, and when I left in till almost 11, the only motivation I had was to clean and organize! So I stayed home.. ALL DAY.. didn't even make it out of my pajamas!! I think that might have been the best thing I've done for myself in a while! I woke up Tuesday rested ready to get to the gym and work! I stayed for the full two hours (The child care will only take the kid for two hours at a time) and worked really hard! I did some running on the treadmill, really trying to push myself! Got my mile (Which I used to brag about getting under 24) down to 17:56! I was beyond happy! Not to mention I did another mile on the track, 4 miles on the bike, 2 miles on the elliptical and a mile on the row machine!! I felt like I could go a lot further.. but I ran out of time!!
I also have a NEW GOAL... it almost seems unrealistic to me... But I know its not! My friend Lauren posted about it on Facebook.. and I can't seem to get it off my mind!! Next year, Fall of 2011, St. Louis is having a Rock 'N Roll Marathon! I WANT TO DO IT!! I have a full year, or close to it (There is not a specific date set yet) to train! I know I could walk it now. It would take all I've got, but I could get it done eventually! But I don't want to walk it! I want to run it! I want to finish strong!! So I'm going to train... I have yet to figure out how I'm going to train, but it is going to get done! And by then, I hope to be at, or VERY NEAR, my goal weight!
13.1
It seems like such a far distance... Yet so achievable! And I know this is one goal that I will achieve!!
And truthfully.. I'm not 100% positive where my motivation came from.. But IT'S BACK!!!
I took Monday off of EVERYTHING!! I've been meaning to do some organize around my house, and when I left in till almost 11, the only motivation I had was to clean and organize! So I stayed home.. ALL DAY.. didn't even make it out of my pajamas!! I think that might have been the best thing I've done for myself in a while! I woke up Tuesday rested ready to get to the gym and work! I stayed for the full two hours (The child care will only take the kid for two hours at a time) and worked really hard! I did some running on the treadmill, really trying to push myself! Got my mile (Which I used to brag about getting under 24) down to 17:56! I was beyond happy! Not to mention I did another mile on the track, 4 miles on the bike, 2 miles on the elliptical and a mile on the row machine!! I felt like I could go a lot further.. but I ran out of time!!
I also have a NEW GOAL... it almost seems unrealistic to me... But I know its not! My friend Lauren posted about it on Facebook.. and I can't seem to get it off my mind!! Next year, Fall of 2011, St. Louis is having a Rock 'N Roll Marathon! I WANT TO DO IT!! I have a full year, or close to it (There is not a specific date set yet) to train! I know I could walk it now. It would take all I've got, but I could get it done eventually! But I don't want to walk it! I want to run it! I want to finish strong!! So I'm going to train... I have yet to figure out how I'm going to train, but it is going to get done! And by then, I hope to be at, or VERY NEAR, my goal weight!
It seems like such a far distance... Yet so achievable! And I know this is one goal that I will achieve!!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Watch this!!
Wow.. What an inspiration! I can only hope to have such a great story!! And its so true! If you really want it, do it!!!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Where did the Mo Go?!?
Anyone see my motivation?!? It seems to have disappeared... I've looked high, I've looked low... I've looked left and right, but still it's nowhere to be found. Stuff I was used to denying ( like soda, fast food, high fat and high sodium foods) are becoming all to easy to say yes to. And the worst part is, I don't feel bad after I eat them.
The only thing I've got going for me are my workouts. I'm still at the gym at least 6 days a week (Sometimes I skip my off day). But it will never be enough if I don't stop eating the crap that I've allowed myself to get away with recently.
I can't call it a "plateau"... cause it's not really my body taking a break, its my mind. The worst part is I know it's wrong. I know I should stop eating, but somehow I talk myself into one more snack, or I say its OK to have McDonald's for lunch because I'll have a small dinner to make up the calories... but when the dinner comes, I eat a normal meal. What happened to the Susie that couldn't talk herself into a cheat meal?!? It's so frustrating to know something you shouldn't do, yet not have enough will power to stop myself.
IT HAS TO CHANGE!!
My goal I set with some friends at the end of July was to be under 300 by October 8Th... That goal is going to go unaccomplished. :-/ I hate feeling like I've failed. It took me from the end of July until now to lose only 17lbs. And truthfully, I haven't lost any weight since the beginning of Sept. I've been between 323 and 327 the whole time. It's beyond frustrating to know that I am the only reason that I haven't lost more!
I've gotta get this boat sailing back in the opposite direction before I start gaining weight!
The only thing I've got going for me are my workouts. I'm still at the gym at least 6 days a week (Sometimes I skip my off day). But it will never be enough if I don't stop eating the crap that I've allowed myself to get away with recently.
I can't call it a "plateau"... cause it's not really my body taking a break, its my mind. The worst part is I know it's wrong. I know I should stop eating, but somehow I talk myself into one more snack, or I say its OK to have McDonald's for lunch because I'll have a small dinner to make up the calories... but when the dinner comes, I eat a normal meal. What happened to the Susie that couldn't talk herself into a cheat meal?!? It's so frustrating to know something you shouldn't do, yet not have enough will power to stop myself.
My goal I set with some friends at the end of July was to be under 300 by October 8Th... That goal is going to go unaccomplished. :-/ I hate feeling like I've failed. It took me from the end of July until now to lose only 17lbs. And truthfully, I haven't lost any weight since the beginning of Sept. I've been between 323 and 327 the whole time. It's beyond frustrating to know that I am the only reason that I haven't lost more!
I've gotta get this boat sailing back in the opposite direction before I start gaining weight!
Monday, September 6, 2010
26 years down...
26 years down... MANY more to come!
I've met soo many amazing people this past year and became closer to some old friends! I've changed a lot... in apperance, attitude, thinking and much more! I almost feel like a brand new person.
This birthday weekend was KILLER for my diet... Calories, Fat, Sodium, Alcohol... Oh man, I just feel BLAH! I can't wait to start it all over tomorrow!
This coming week, I'm back to two-a-days Tuesday-Friday. Saturday I am unfortunately missing my regular workout and Turbo Kick, but I'll hopefully get to the gym in the afternoon! And Sunday I'll get in a short workout before Turbo Kick!
Time to start my 27th year off right. With hockey season just around the corner (Officially 32 days), that means my goal deadline is only 32 days away too... YIKES!! This is going to be a push to the finish!! But I know I can get it done!
I've met soo many amazing people this past year and became closer to some old friends! I've changed a lot... in apperance, attitude, thinking and much more! I almost feel like a brand new person.
This birthday weekend was KILLER for my diet... Calories, Fat, Sodium, Alcohol... Oh man, I just feel BLAH! I can't wait to start it all over tomorrow!
This coming week, I'm back to two-a-days Tuesday-Friday. Saturday I am unfortunately missing my regular workout and Turbo Kick, but I'll hopefully get to the gym in the afternoon! And Sunday I'll get in a short workout before Turbo Kick!
Time to start my 27th year off right. With hockey season just around the corner (Officially 32 days), that means my goal deadline is only 32 days away too... YIKES!! This is going to be a push to the finish!! But I know I can get it done!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
1300 Challenge!
As most of you know.. I'm kind of a Turbo Kick FREAK!!! I look forward to going to the gym everyday when I know it's because of Turbo Kick! And we even have a Turbo Family (LOVE YOU ALL)!
In May, I got a BodyBugg to help me continue in my weigh loss efforts! Its been a lovely tool! I LOVE knowing how many calories I can burn doing certain activities! When I hit 1000 calories and then 1100 calories during Turbo Kick, I was elated!!
But Miss Amanda Meyers knew I could do more!! That's how the 1200 calorie challenge was born!! 1200 calories in 1 hour of Turbo Kick?!? I wasn't sure about that one! But I'm not one to shy away from a challenge!
1200 Challenge took a few weeks, but it happened.. WOO HOO!!! And Amanda didn't stop there... If I could do 1200.... why couldn't I do 1300?!? Ahh.. And that's where the 1300 Challenge began!
1300 Challenge was TOUGH!! I went thru a couple weeks where I couldn't even get it over 1200 again! But then came TURBO EXTREME!! A crazy mix Amanda and Nikki (Another one of my amazing Turbo instructors) put together!
A regular Turbo Kick includes Sections A, B, C, 2 Turbos, Recovery, and Finale!... Turbo Extreme consists of Section A, 2 Turbos, Section B, 2 Turbos, Section C, 2 Turbos, short Recovery, then 2 Finales!!! IT'S CRAZY!!! But it got me going again! I started dropping the 1200s again, and came soo close with a 1286 last week!
Tonight was intense to say the least! We went all out! Do or die (Although I was afraid a couple of us might pass out and die) We yelled and screamed... Everyone was really into it!!
AND IT HAPPENED!!! I got it up to 1316 calories... IN ONE HOUR of TURBO KICK!!! OH MY GOSH! Its crazy how such an extreme workout can make your feel soo AMAZING!!
So I'm on a Turbo Kick high... or as some people like to call it.. Turbo Crack! hahaha!!!
(And just a little Commercial for Turbo Kick)
COME TO RIVERPLEX and do TURBO KICK with me!!!
Tuesday - 6:45pm
Wednesday - 6:00pm
Thursday - 4:00pm
Saturday - 10:30am
Sunday - 1:30pm
In May, I got a BodyBugg to help me continue in my weigh loss efforts! Its been a lovely tool! I LOVE knowing how many calories I can burn doing certain activities! When I hit 1000 calories and then 1100 calories during Turbo Kick, I was elated!!
But Miss Amanda Meyers knew I could do more!! That's how the 1200 calorie challenge was born!! 1200 calories in 1 hour of Turbo Kick?!? I wasn't sure about that one! But I'm not one to shy away from a challenge!
1200 Challenge took a few weeks, but it happened.. WOO HOO!!! And Amanda didn't stop there... If I could do 1200.... why couldn't I do 1300?!? Ahh.. And that's where the 1300 Challenge began!
1300 Challenge was TOUGH!! I went thru a couple weeks where I couldn't even get it over 1200 again! But then came TURBO EXTREME!! A crazy mix Amanda and Nikki (Another one of my amazing Turbo instructors) put together!
A regular Turbo Kick includes Sections A, B, C, 2 Turbos, Recovery, and Finale!... Turbo Extreme consists of Section A, 2 Turbos, Section B, 2 Turbos, Section C, 2 Turbos, short Recovery, then 2 Finales!!! IT'S CRAZY!!! But it got me going again! I started dropping the 1200s again, and came soo close with a 1286 last week!
Tonight was intense to say the least! We went all out! Do or die (Although I was afraid a couple of us might pass out and die) We yelled and screamed... Everyone was really into it!!
AND IT HAPPENED!!! I got it up to 1316 calories... IN ONE HOUR of TURBO KICK!!! OH MY GOSH! Its crazy how such an extreme workout can make your feel soo AMAZING!!
So I'm on a Turbo Kick high... or as some people like to call it.. Turbo Crack! hahaha!!!
(And just a little Commercial for Turbo Kick)
Wednesday - 6:00pm
Thursday - 4:00pm
Saturday - 10:30am
Sunday - 1:30pm
Monday, August 30, 2010
So Long, Farewell!!
I'm not the kind of girl that enjoys change, which is odd to say, considering this whole journey is about that! But one incredibly welcome change is my clothing!
At some point years ago, I became too fat for "the fat store"... Yeah, sorry, I call Lane Bryant "THE FAT STORE". I mean, come on, you don't see skinny girls shopping in there, their smallest size is a 12! So unfortunately, I gave up any "fashion" that I ever had, and moved onto sweat pants, and yoga pants. Really, just anything that didn't have a zipper, button, or any sort of non-stretchy fabric!
Before this weekend, I had somewhat of an excuse for that! I mean, I do spend crazy amounts of time at the gym every week! And when I'm not at the gym, I was working, resting, and just hanging out at my house. But now, that's all done. I went out with Amanda on Saturday night, and I wasn't about to wear a t-shirt and some yoga pants to the bar!! So, it was off to Lane Bryant to see what I could find!
While I was shopping, I didn't want to put myself in a position to fail... Before I started working out, I was into a size 30-32.. (LB only goes up to 26-28.. OUCH)... So I started out trying on all 26-28s.. And to my surprise... Everything fit... BUT, IT WAS TOO BIG!! WHAT?!?!?!?
It took me a LOT longer to put together an outfit now... I used to just grab and go! Now I actually have to try stuff on.. and this time, try on a smaller size!!! I ended up actually buying 2 outfits!! Like... pants and shirts!! That NEVER happens to me! So I started with 26-28... I got down to size 22 pants, and get this, my shirt size, was 18-20... AMAZING! (Wow, I would have NEVER shared my size in a public place like this before)
Sorry.. I'm kinda rambling on! But this definitely makes me happy! I knew it would happen eventually, but I swear my size barely changed for a whole year, and it's only been in the last few months that its finally changing quite a bit!!
I'm not saying I'm throwing away my yoga pants and sweat pants... Cause please, those are just super comfortable! But now I have some options for going out (Even tho that rarely happens now)
SO LONG and FAREWELL to those feelings that I have to get all stretchy items and not have any fashion!! HELLO sparkly, flowery, fitted, fun, cute, (Possibly sexy), fashionable.... WHATEVER I want to wear!! YAY ME!
At some point years ago, I became too fat for "the fat store"... Yeah, sorry, I call Lane Bryant "THE FAT STORE". I mean, come on, you don't see skinny girls shopping in there, their smallest size is a 12! So unfortunately, I gave up any "fashion" that I ever had, and moved onto sweat pants, and yoga pants. Really, just anything that didn't have a zipper, button, or any sort of non-stretchy fabric!
Before this weekend, I had somewhat of an excuse for that! I mean, I do spend crazy amounts of time at the gym every week! And when I'm not at the gym, I was working, resting, and just hanging out at my house. But now, that's all done. I went out with Amanda on Saturday night, and I wasn't about to wear a t-shirt and some yoga pants to the bar!! So, it was off to Lane Bryant to see what I could find!
While I was shopping, I didn't want to put myself in a position to fail... Before I started working out, I was into a size 30-32.. (LB only goes up to 26-28.. OUCH)... So I started out trying on all 26-28s.. And to my surprise... Everything fit... BUT, IT WAS TOO BIG!! WHAT?!?!?!?
It took me a LOT longer to put together an outfit now... I used to just grab and go! Now I actually have to try stuff on.. and this time, try on a smaller size!!! I ended up actually buying 2 outfits!! Like... pants and shirts!! That NEVER happens to me! So I started with 26-28... I got down to size 22 pants, and get this, my shirt size, was 18-20... AMAZING! (Wow, I would have NEVER shared my size in a public place like this before)
Sorry.. I'm kinda rambling on! But this definitely makes me happy! I knew it would happen eventually, but I swear my size barely changed for a whole year, and it's only been in the last few months that its finally changing quite a bit!!
I'm not saying I'm throwing away my yoga pants and sweat pants... Cause please, those are just super comfortable! But now I have some options for going out (Even tho that rarely happens now)
SO LONG and FAREWELL to those feelings that I have to get all stretchy items and not have any fashion!! HELLO sparkly, flowery, fitted, fun, cute, (Possibly sexy), fashionable.... WHATEVER I want to wear!! YAY ME!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Waiting....
Sometimes I look at old pictures and cringe! Pictures that I thought used to look really good, I now look at and wonder how I could have ever thought that I looked ok!
Point in case... THIS PHOTO
Disgusting!!
Anyways... I can't wait to get to that point... where I'm done losing weight.. Where I'm in maintain mode! When I can't date a picture by how fat my face/body looks. Although I kinda wonder what I'll look like.. I've never been skinny (outside of being a toddler)... so I haven't a clue!! I feel like my face has changed a lot... and I'm not even 1/2 way done! I guess only time will tell!
ON ANOTHER QUICK NOTE:
Wishing my little lady a speedy recovery from pneumonia!
Love you Addi Grace!
Point in case... THIS PHOTO
Anyways... I can't wait to get to that point... where I'm done losing weight.. Where I'm in maintain mode! When I can't date a picture by how fat my face/body looks. Although I kinda wonder what I'll look like.. I've never been skinny (outside of being a toddler)... so I haven't a clue!! I feel like my face has changed a lot... and I'm not even 1/2 way done! I guess only time will tell!
Wishing my little lady a speedy recovery from pneumonia!
Love you Addi Grace!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Stone by Stone
I feel like I've broken thru so many walls in this journey... but I still have so many to break down!
I strive to be a superb friend, a likeable person, and an all around great human being! I love all my true friends and would do anything to make them happy!!
But I find it hard to love myself. Only I know all of my faults and imperfections, all my lies and failures. Maybe that's why it's so difficult to feel the same about myself as I do towards my friends! I've learned to accept and love imperfections in others, but I have yet to apply that to myself!
I have a lot of friends that love me.. so I must be a somewhat loveable person... But when will I love me?? When will I accept myself for who I am?
But I think it's becoming easier... like every pound down is a stone down... revealing the Susie I know I am... the Susie I want to be... A Susie I think I can finally learn to love!
I strive to be a superb friend, a likeable person, and an all around great human being! I love all my true friends and would do anything to make them happy!!
But I find it hard to love myself. Only I know all of my faults and imperfections, all my lies and failures. Maybe that's why it's so difficult to feel the same about myself as I do towards my friends! I've learned to accept and love imperfections in others, but I have yet to apply that to myself!
I have a lot of friends that love me.. so I must be a somewhat loveable person... But when will I love me?? When will I accept myself for who I am?
But I think it's becoming easier... like every pound down is a stone down... revealing the Susie I know I am... the Susie I want to be... A Susie I think I can finally learn to love!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Week of Workouts!
OK... Here's the plan.. I'm focusing on cardio and stretching this week with a little extra time off to hopefully help my back/leg heal a bit! (I seem to have impinged nerve somewhere)
Mon - Dog walk, AM Cardio, PM off
Tues- Dog walk, AM Cardio, TK
Wed - Dog walk, AM Cardio, TK, Training
Thur- Dog walk, AM Cardio, possibly training?!?
Fri- Dog Walk, AM Cardio, PM off
Sat- Training, Abs, TK
Sun- Dog Walk, TK
Not as intense... but still lots of gym time for me!!
Mon - Dog walk, AM Cardio, PM off
Tues- Dog walk, AM Cardio, TK
Wed - Dog walk, AM Cardio, TK, Training
Thur- Dog walk, AM Cardio, possibly training?!?
Fri- Dog Walk, AM Cardio, PM off
Sat- Training, Abs, TK
Sun- Dog Walk, TK
Not as intense... but still lots of gym time for me!!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Balancing the Old and New!
I have run into some problems with all these changes in my life. One is that there seems to be a solid line between my old life and my new one. I have my old friends, I have my new friends. I have my my old food habits, I have my new food habits. I have my old schedule (Or lack there of), I have my new schedule! There really is no blur in that line.
I guess where I'm having the most trouble is balancing the old and new. I would hang out with my new friends all the time, but I don't want to ignore my old friends.
My new friends, they understand me! They are the ones working out next to me day in and day out. They are the ones that help me push further and further! They understand the ups and the downs!
My old friends have been there for me a long time! But I seem to be the only one in my group that is going thru the want/need to become healthy! I'm not giving up on my old friends, but it seems as tho I have to limit my time with them because of what I'm trying to accomplish! A lot of my old friendships were centered around food... When we hung out, it was almost always going out to eat or throwing a party with lots of food (None of which would be on my new food plan).
But now I've got to look out for me and my goals, while still trying to balance out the new and old. I'm really not worried about the new! They are here for me and support me and they'll be around for a long time! I know I'll see them during my 20+ hours at the gym weekly!
It is fitting in time for the old that I need to work on! And that's where I need help from my old friends! If you want to hang out, let's go on a hike or walk! Let's go for a swim, or go ice skating!! Let's not just go to dinner!!
BALANCE BALANCE BALANCE!! That's the name of the game!! I love my old friends.. I love my new friends!!! I'm hoping I can learn to blur the line some!
I guess where I'm having the most trouble is balancing the old and new. I would hang out with my new friends all the time, but I don't want to ignore my old friends.
My new friends, they understand me! They are the ones working out next to me day in and day out. They are the ones that help me push further and further! They understand the ups and the downs!
My old friends have been there for me a long time! But I seem to be the only one in my group that is going thru the want/need to become healthy! I'm not giving up on my old friends, but it seems as tho I have to limit my time with them because of what I'm trying to accomplish! A lot of my old friendships were centered around food... When we hung out, it was almost always going out to eat or throwing a party with lots of food (None of which would be on my new food plan).
But now I've got to look out for me and my goals, while still trying to balance out the new and old. I'm really not worried about the new! They are here for me and support me and they'll be around for a long time! I know I'll see them during my 20+ hours at the gym weekly!
It is fitting in time for the old that I need to work on! And that's where I need help from my old friends! If you want to hang out, let's go on a hike or walk! Let's go for a swim, or go ice skating!! Let's not just go to dinner!!
BALANCE BALANCE BALANCE!! That's the name of the game!! I love my old friends.. I love my new friends!!! I'm hoping I can learn to blur the line some!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Balancing Your Life!
Losing weight isn't magical... In fact, its cold hard facts "Calories in VS Calories out"! You HAVE to make exercise a serious priority in your life if you want to get serious about losing weight.
I know how great it is to sit in front of the TV or computer after a stressful day and call it your "relaxing time"... but what about the stuff that still needs to be done? The laundry isn't going to put itself in the washer and dryer, dinner isn't going to cook itself and no one besides yourself is going to burn off those calories!
What to do... What to do?!?
How about a to-do list?
Monthly, Weekly, Daily?!?
Be truthful to yourself and your priorities and write down everything that needs to get done. Make it a priority to check everything off your to do list!
Get your life in balance and you'll find you will have plenty of time to work in some exercise!
Go for a walk, hit up the gym, take a Turbo Kick class (If I only had one hour, that's what I'd do!), find a workout video to pop into your DVD player while the baby naps!
Set aside time for you to get fit, don't just squeeze it in here and there! Sometimes that means getting up a little bit early and going for a morning walk/run!
BALANCE BALANCE BALANCE!! That's the name of the game!! If you don't have balance in your life, how are you ever going to be dedicated to losing weight and becoming a healthier you?
I know how great it is to sit in front of the TV or computer after a stressful day and call it your "relaxing time"... but what about the stuff that still needs to be done? The laundry isn't going to put itself in the washer and dryer, dinner isn't going to cook itself and no one besides yourself is going to burn off those calories!
What to do... What to do?!?
How about a to-do list?
Monthly, Weekly, Daily?!?
Be truthful to yourself and your priorities and write down everything that needs to get done. Make it a priority to check everything off your to do list!
Get your life in balance and you'll find you will have plenty of time to work in some exercise!
Go for a walk, hit up the gym, take a Turbo Kick class (If I only had one hour, that's what I'd do!), find a workout video to pop into your DVD player while the baby naps!
Set aside time for you to get fit, don't just squeeze it in here and there! Sometimes that means getting up a little bit early and going for a morning walk/run!
BALANCE BALANCE BALANCE!! That's the name of the game!! If you don't have balance in your life, how are you ever going to be dedicated to losing weight and becoming a healthier you?
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Balancing Your Workouts!
When I started "working out", I walked... And by walk, I mean SLOW walking! I was out of breath while trying to walk at a 2.5 miles per hour pace. I usually found myself hanging out at a 2.0 MPH!
Now, if I kept that up, I wouldn't be nearly as far as I am now! No, I've moved up from my 2 mile pace and have exceeded a lot of what I thought was impossible!
Just a quick side note: I was running on the treadmill today (I know, running.. who would have thought?!?)... and I got my mile down to 18:48!!! I've NEVER been under 19 minutes!!! YAY for me! I can't wait for the day that I can say "I got my mile under 10 minutes!"
OK.. Back to Balancing your work outs...
Balancing your workouts is ESSENTIAL!!! If all you do is walk... Your body will get used to it and eventually stop losing the weight! If all you do is ride the bike, the same thing will happen! You NEED to diversify you work out!
When I do 2-a-days, I like to do loads of cardio in the morning!! That includes bike, elliptical, cross trainer, track, treadmill, rowing machine, stairs! My PM workouts very quite a bit!! I do lots of training with the trainers at night, and that is never the same! A one hour training session can include all weights, all cardio, a mix of the two, even a whole work out using NOTHING except your own body weight to build muscles! I also do Turbo Kick 5 times a week! (I do LOVE Turbo Kick!)
So throw some weights in the mix... try running and walking then running again!! Get your heart rate up... then lower it... then raise it again!!! Keep your body guessing as to what is coming up next! If you are truly serious about it, Get a trainer!! I don't know where I'd be without my trainers switching up my workouts for me!! Probably still on my favorite bike!!
BALANCE BALANCE BALANCE!! That's the name of the game!! Your body gets just as bored as your mind does if you are doing the same work out all the time! SO SWITCH IT UP!
Now, if I kept that up, I wouldn't be nearly as far as I am now! No, I've moved up from my 2 mile pace and have exceeded a lot of what I thought was impossible!
Just a quick side note: I was running on the treadmill today (I know, running.. who would have thought?!?)... and I got my mile down to 18:48!!! I've NEVER been under 19 minutes!!! YAY for me! I can't wait for the day that I can say "I got my mile under 10 minutes!"
OK.. Back to Balancing your work outs...
Balancing your workouts is ESSENTIAL!!! If all you do is walk... Your body will get used to it and eventually stop losing the weight! If all you do is ride the bike, the same thing will happen! You NEED to diversify you work out!
When I do 2-a-days, I like to do loads of cardio in the morning!! That includes bike, elliptical, cross trainer, track, treadmill, rowing machine, stairs! My PM workouts very quite a bit!! I do lots of training with the trainers at night, and that is never the same! A one hour training session can include all weights, all cardio, a mix of the two, even a whole work out using NOTHING except your own body weight to build muscles! I also do Turbo Kick 5 times a week! (I do LOVE Turbo Kick!)
So throw some weights in the mix... try running and walking then running again!! Get your heart rate up... then lower it... then raise it again!!! Keep your body guessing as to what is coming up next! If you are truly serious about it, Get a trainer!! I don't know where I'd be without my trainers switching up my workouts for me!! Probably still on my favorite bike!!
BALANCE BALANCE BALANCE!! That's the name of the game!! Your body gets just as bored as your mind does if you are doing the same work out all the time! SO SWITCH IT UP!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Balancing Your Food!
A huge key to weigh loss success is nutrition!! I don't care how much you work out, you'll never lose an pound if you don't have your nutrition in check!
I use my Body Bugg "BB" program to keep track of all my nutritional items. It counts Calories/Fat/Sodium and more.. Everything you need to keep on track nutritionally!
Part of keeping on track is having a balanced diet! According to my BB, it wants me to have 65% Carbs, 20% Protein, and 15% Fat! Keeping this exact balance can be very tricky, but with a little practice, it can be fairly easy to stay close to the balance!
To Boost your Protein:
4oz Turkey Breast (roasted, no skin)- 153 cal, .8g Fat, 34g protein
-- Low in fat and calories!!
To Boost your Carbs:
2/3 cooked brown rice (Minute rice)- 150 calories, 1.5g Fat, 34g Carbs
-- Great whole grain!!
And for all your "Low Carb" diet lovers... It makes NO sense! Carbs are essential for energy! A big steak isn't going to do anything for your workout... You need fruits, veggies, whole grains! I'm not saying that steak can't be part of your diet, cause you need protein to build/repair muscles after your workouts... but YOU NEED CARBS!!!
Just be sure to get lots of Vegetables, Fruits, Whole Grains, lower fat meats (Such as turkey and chicken)!!
AND YES... There is still room in your diet to cheat. A cheat meal is acceptable... but keeping it to ONCE a WEEK is highly recommended. Food is an addiction, so if you "quit cold turkey", You are going to CRAVE all the bad food. And what happens with a lot of addicts, they do well for so long, until they get a small taste of their addiction, and it totally blows all the hard work that was put into avoiding it. So you have treat yourself. Don't go out and get your normal meal, but go out and get a cheeseburger and fries... and tell yourself that you don't have to eat your whole plate! If it's anything like me, my cheat meals just don't taste as good anymore, and I know how gross I'll feel after eating it too.
BALANCE BALANCE BALANCE!! That's the name of the game!! Nobody lost weight and kept it off by eating only one kind of food!
I use my Body Bugg "BB" program to keep track of all my nutritional items. It counts Calories/Fat/Sodium and more.. Everything you need to keep on track nutritionally!
Part of keeping on track is having a balanced diet! According to my BB, it wants me to have 65% Carbs, 20% Protein, and 15% Fat! Keeping this exact balance can be very tricky, but with a little practice, it can be fairly easy to stay close to the balance!
To Boost your Protein:
4oz Turkey Breast (roasted, no skin)- 153 cal, .8g Fat, 34g protein
-- Low in fat and calories!!
To Boost your Carbs:
2/3 cooked brown rice (Minute rice)- 150 calories, 1.5g Fat, 34g Carbs
-- Great whole grain!!
And for all your "Low Carb" diet lovers... It makes NO sense! Carbs are essential for energy! A big steak isn't going to do anything for your workout... You need fruits, veggies, whole grains! I'm not saying that steak can't be part of your diet, cause you need protein to build/repair muscles after your workouts... but YOU NEED CARBS!!!
Just be sure to get lots of Vegetables, Fruits, Whole Grains, lower fat meats (Such as turkey and chicken)!!
AND YES... There is still room in your diet to cheat. A cheat meal is acceptable... but keeping it to ONCE a WEEK is highly recommended. Food is an addiction, so if you "quit cold turkey", You are going to CRAVE all the bad food. And what happens with a lot of addicts, they do well for so long, until they get a small taste of their addiction, and it totally blows all the hard work that was put into avoiding it. So you have treat yourself. Don't go out and get your normal meal, but go out and get a cheeseburger and fries... and tell yourself that you don't have to eat your whole plate! If it's anything like me, my cheat meals just don't taste as good anymore, and I know how gross I'll feel after eating it too.
BALANCE BALANCE BALANCE!! That's the name of the game!! Nobody lost weight and kept it off by eating only one kind of food!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Week of Workouts!
Here it is... My Weekly workout plan!!
Mon-Walk the dog, Various Cardio, Training
Tues-Walk the dog, Various Cardio, Power Hour, Turbo Kick
Wed-Various Cardio, Swimming, Turbo Kick, Training
Thurs-Walk the dog, Various Cardio, Turbo Kick, Power Hour
Fri-Walk the dog, OFF!!
Sat-Power Hour, Turbo Kick
Sun-Turbo Kick
More can be added.. BUT NOTHING can be taken away!!!
And this week is going to have posts that center around the theme of BALANCE!! Hope you enjoy them!!
Mon-Walk the dog, Various Cardio, Training
Tues-Walk the dog, Various Cardio, Power Hour, Turbo Kick
Wed-Various Cardio, Swimming, Turbo Kick, Training
Thurs-Walk the dog, Various Cardio, Turbo Kick, Power Hour
Fri-Walk the dog, OFF!!
Sat-Power Hour, Turbo Kick
Sun-Turbo Kick
More can be added.. BUT NOTHING can be taken away!!!
And this week is going to have posts that center around the theme of BALANCE!! Hope you enjoy them!!
Friday, August 13, 2010
The "Journey"
I'm more dedicated to seeing this journey thru to the end than I have ever been to anything before. But recently, I realized that there will NEVER be an end. Yes, at some point, I will reach my goal weight.. But that's not the end at all... And in some ways, its only the beginning!
Ya see, my weight loss journey is not JUST a journey! I'm not going to get to my destination and come back with pictures and stories of a great time... No, this is a LIFE CHANGE and I will NEVER be the same!
I'll never be the girl that can go out to eat with friends whenever I want to.. cause now I have to plan out my "cheat" meals and work out my calories around even the smallest "splurges".
I won't be the girl who settles for something when I know it's not right for me!
And I refuse to sit back and watch life pass me by anymore!!
Sometimes it's hard to be patient on this journey! I'd love to be at my goal weight tomorrow and start living the way I want to live.. But I know that I have to live thru the journey to appreciate how I got there!
So maybe it is a "journey"... A never ending journey!! Cause when I get to where I'm going, I won't be turning back... EVER!!
Ya see, my weight loss journey is not JUST a journey! I'm not going to get to my destination and come back with pictures and stories of a great time... No, this is a LIFE CHANGE and I will NEVER be the same!
I'll never be the girl that can go out to eat with friends whenever I want to.. cause now I have to plan out my "cheat" meals and work out my calories around even the smallest "splurges".
I won't be the girl who settles for something when I know it's not right for me!
And I refuse to sit back and watch life pass me by anymore!!
Sometimes it's hard to be patient on this journey! I'd love to be at my goal weight tomorrow and start living the way I want to live.. But I know that I have to live thru the journey to appreciate how I got there!
So maybe it is a "journey"... A never ending journey!! Cause when I get to where I'm going, I won't be turning back... EVER!!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
One of THOSE days...
It's been one of THOSE days...
You know what kind of day I'm talking about!! Today was my day off, and I literally felt like doing NOTHING! I would have been plenty content sitting around on the couch all day catching up on One Life to Live.... But no.. I couldn't disappoint myself and my support crew!
I rallied myself this morning with some pumped up music just to get in the shower and get to the gym! 5 mile bike ride, 2 miles on the elliptical and I was feeling great! After running some errands, it was back to my house for some chill time!
The problem is.. the longer I sat, the more I wanted to just veg out for the whole night! Skip Power Hour... Skip Turbo Kick... Just sit around doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that is worthless!!
But no... I got off my butt and got down to Riverplex and got my workout on! I struggled thru both Power Hour and Turbo Kick.. but I got thru them!! And I feel SOO much better for doing it!
It's weird to me that a good workout can turn your "ONE OF THOSE DAYS" into a WOOOOP WOOOOP Day! I'm just sayin! So don't try to talk yourself out of your workout! Just get it DONE!
You know what kind of day I'm talking about!! Today was my day off, and I literally felt like doing NOTHING! I would have been plenty content sitting around on the couch all day catching up on One Life to Live.... But no.. I couldn't disappoint myself and my support crew!
I rallied myself this morning with some pumped up music just to get in the shower and get to the gym! 5 mile bike ride, 2 miles on the elliptical and I was feeling great! After running some errands, it was back to my house for some chill time!
The problem is.. the longer I sat, the more I wanted to just veg out for the whole night! Skip Power Hour... Skip Turbo Kick... Just sit around doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that is worthless!!
But no... I got off my butt and got down to Riverplex and got my workout on! I struggled thru both Power Hour and Turbo Kick.. but I got thru them!! And I feel SOO much better for doing it!
It's weird to me that a good workout can turn your "ONE OF THOSE DAYS" into a WOOOOP WOOOOP Day! I'm just sayin! So don't try to talk yourself out of your workout! Just get it DONE!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Plan it out!
Temptations are galore... Just when you think you are free from them, another one will come up! Temptations can be small or HUGE! Being tempted to half ass your workout, Being tempted to totally skip a workout, being tempted to splurg..
IT'S EVERYWHERE!!!
The only sure fire way I've found to combat these temptations is by having a plan and letting them be known!!
Amanda and I have planning sessions on Sunday nights. We both lay out our work out plans for the week. We then post them on one of our facebook walls so that our friends can see it! (Mine is posted in the last entry on here) We also talk about goals for the week. They have ranged from drinking more water to giving more during our workouts!
And we talk every night to make sure these plans were completed! It really does help to know that there is someone that is going to get on you about doing what you have planned to do!
Another HUGE part of planning is the nutirtional part! Its great to go to the grocery store and get a whole bunch of healthy food.... but if you don't have a plan on what you are going to do with that food, then what's the point? I plan out everything from breakfast-dinner with all snacks planned out too! Then I know exactly what I need to buy from the store, and I don't end up over buying. I also don't end up going to a fast food joint on the way home, cause I know I've already got stuff waiting for me when I get there!!
Now I'm not saying that that it is the way to fully get past temptations.. You need some self control... but that one takes practice!! Try to plan out your week tho, I find it works wonders!
The only sure fire way I've found to combat these temptations is by having a plan and letting them be known!!
PLAN OUT YOUR WEEK!
Amanda and I have planning sessions on Sunday nights. We both lay out our work out plans for the week. We then post them on one of our facebook walls so that our friends can see it! (Mine is posted in the last entry on here) We also talk about goals for the week. They have ranged from drinking more water to giving more during our workouts!
And we talk every night to make sure these plans were completed! It really does help to know that there is someone that is going to get on you about doing what you have planned to do!
Another HUGE part of planning is the nutirtional part! Its great to go to the grocery store and get a whole bunch of healthy food.... but if you don't have a plan on what you are going to do with that food, then what's the point? I plan out everything from breakfast-dinner with all snacks planned out too! Then I know exactly what I need to buy from the store, and I don't end up over buying. I also don't end up going to a fast food joint on the way home, cause I know I've already got stuff waiting for me when I get there!!
Now I'm not saying that that it is the way to fully get past temptations.. You need some self control... but that one takes practice!! Try to plan out your week tho, I find it works wonders!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Week of workouts!
Just wanted to post this here to keep me accountable!
This is my workout plan for the week!!!
Walk the dog before work Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri (No work on Tues, so maybe a short walk before AM workout)
Mon-Thursday AM: Various Cardio
Fri AM - Training
Tuesday - Power Hour and Turbo Kick
Wednesday- Turbo Kick and Training
Thursday- Turbo Kick and Power Hour
Friday- Off
Saturday- Power Hour and Turbo Kick
Sunday- Turbo Kick
WOOP!
This is my workout plan for the week!!!
Walk the dog before work Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri (No work on Tues, so maybe a short walk before AM workout)
Mon-Thursday AM: Various Cardio
Fri AM - Training
Tuesday - Power Hour and Turbo Kick
Wednesday- Turbo Kick and Training
Thursday- Turbo Kick and Power Hour
Friday- Off
Saturday- Power Hour and Turbo Kick
Sunday- Turbo Kick
WOOP!
Friday, August 6, 2010
How you made me feel...
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel."
-Maya Angelou
For me, this quote couldn't be more true! Growing up, I was always a large kid. I was never a popular kid, but because of my personality, I was never really an outcast.. I was more of a floater.. I was "friends" with everybody, yet I still felt like I was on the outside looking in.
Kids weren't always nice... Of course, there were the usual bullies that always thought that my weight was a great way to make me cry, but even people I considered friends would make a joke every once in a while. Kids could be so cruel! I can't tell you now what they said, or what they did, but I can still remember the pain they caused me.
One that I'll never forget was a hockey player. A "grown" man that should have respect for a fan, atleast to their faces, especially a child (I was only 13). But he, for some reason, felt the need to make fun of me while I was looking at him. I never liked him from that day on.. No one ever knew why (I doubt he even knew why), because I was too ashamed to tell them that he made fun of my weight. I have never been able to forget that.
Even as adults, people still think its OK to make fun of over weight people. If I make fun of someone that isn't my race, I'm racist.. If I make fun of men, I'm sexist.. if I make fun of an overweight person... uhh.. Oh right, I guess that's just normal... There is no word to describe that! I don' t understand what gives people the right to just sit back and make fun of over weight people.
I strive to be friends with people that are the exact opposite of that... the people that embrace others because of their personalities, not what they look like... people that are there to support me and what I am doing with this journey.
The other day, a GREAT friend told me this and it just made my heart smile..
"You are one of the most genuine people I know. You are the type that would do anything to make sure the people you care about are happy. I adore you for that. And look up to you for that!! My goal in life is to surround myself with a big group of Susie's!"
THAT is the kind of person I want to be around... A friend that will be there to cheer me up when I need it the most! and I can't be more thankful for that friend!!!! (You know who you are!)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Truthfully?!?... NO!
Someone asked me tonight if I liked working out now that I had been doing it for a while... I had to think about it for a second... but my 100% truthful answer is.. HELL NO!!! I mean, who in their right mind loves to get tortured?!? Who wants to go run up and down the stairs until your lungs hurt and you want to collapse?!?
NOT THIS GIRL!!!
But I am in love with the idea of bettering myself.. the idea of overcoming obstacles that I once thought were impossible... and the idea that only by the actions I take, I can transform myself from something I once despised into something that I love.
I also love all my gym people.. from my AMAZING trainers, to my Turbo Kick family, all my Biggest Loser friends, and even some of the crazy old people who are there in the morning. Without some of my closest gym people, I might have given up by now! But they are there for me, they are the ones working out with me, they are the ones forcing me to run up and down the stairs until my lungs hurt and I want to collapse!!
And I'm not going to lie, some days I just don't feel like being at the gym! The work outs keep getting tougher and tougher, and my body likes to rebel sometimes by being ridiculously sore and tired (STUPID PIRIFORMIS MUSCLE)... But when the going gets tough... the tough get going....
NO, No... When the going gets tough... PUNCH IT IN THE FACE!!
Wait... ONE more try
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH
JAB, CROSS, HOOK + UPPER CUT IT IN THE FACE!!!
(HAHAHAHA, Gotta get a little Turbo Kick action in there)
But seriously... After 14 months of working out, I still find it hard to say I absolutely LOVE it, but I do love all my gym friends and I can appreciate a great workout (At least when it's finished)!! Since I know that that workouts are what I need to continue my life in the direction that I want it to go, I'll be working out for a LONG LONG time to come... And maybe someday I'll be 100% positive that I love working out!!!
But I am in love with the idea of bettering myself.. the idea of overcoming obstacles that I once thought were impossible... and the idea that only by the actions I take, I can transform myself from something I once despised into something that I love.
I also love all my gym people.. from my AMAZING trainers, to my Turbo Kick family, all my Biggest Loser friends, and even some of the crazy old people who are there in the morning. Without some of my closest gym people, I might have given up by now! But they are there for me, they are the ones working out with me, they are the ones forcing me to run up and down the stairs until my lungs hurt and I want to collapse!!
And I'm not going to lie, some days I just don't feel like being at the gym! The work outs keep getting tougher and tougher, and my body likes to rebel sometimes by being ridiculously sore and tired (STUPID PIRIFORMIS MUSCLE)... But when the going gets tough... the tough get going....
NO, No... When the going gets tough... PUNCH IT IN THE FACE!!
Wait... ONE more try
JAB, CROSS, HOOK + UPPER CUT IT IN THE FACE!!!
But seriously... After 14 months of working out, I still find it hard to say I absolutely LOVE it, but I do love all my gym friends and I can appreciate a great workout (At least when it's finished)!! Since I know that that workouts are what I need to continue my life in the direction that I want it to go, I'll be working out for a LONG LONG time to come... And maybe someday I'll be 100% positive that I love working out!!!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Maybe Tomorrow...
I'm tired of excuses.. I'm tired of making excuses! I tell my self all the too often "I can splurge some today... cause tomorrow I'm getting SERIOUSLY strict on my diet" .... Then tomorrow becomes yesterday, yet I'm still splurging!
And I try to justify it by thinking its OK cause I'm not gaining any weight... BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT! I am not at my goal weight... I shouldn't be in maintain mode!
So NO MORE EXCUSES... Start TODAY... Stay on target TODAY!
Friday, July 30, 2010
So many reasons...
I follow a guy named Ralph Marston on Twitter (@Ralphmarston). He calls himself "The Daily Motivator". I checked my Twitter yesterday and found a quote by him that said:
"To win the race, know why you're racing."
So it got me thinking about why I'm on this journey! I guess there are many reasons.. some more important than others.. some are just little things that make me feel better! I know there are more and I will continue to add to this list, but for now, here ya go.
1. To love who/what I see when I look in the mirror.
2. To not constantly worry if my size will affect what I'm able to do.
3. To be comfortable with my body.
4. To not be forced to buy an extra plane ticket.
5. To not have to request a seat belt extension on a plane.
6. To fall in love (I don't think any guy should have to love a 450lb woman)
7. To be able to wrap a normal size towel all the way around my body.
8. To just be healthy.
9. To not think about the possibilities of heart attack, stroke or diabetes.
10. To not have random strangers feel the need to ridicule me.
11. To live the life I want to.
12. To shop in any clothing store that I want to.
So it got me thinking about why I'm on this journey! I guess there are many reasons.. some more important than others.. some are just little things that make me feel better! I know there are more and I will continue to add to this list, but for now, here ya go.
1. To love who/what I see when I look in the mirror.
2. To not constantly worry if my size will affect what I'm able to do.
3. To be comfortable with my body.
4. To not be forced to buy an extra plane ticket.
5. To not have to request a seat belt extension on a plane.
6. To fall in love (I don't think any guy should have to love a 450lb woman)
7. To be able to wrap a normal size towel all the way around my body.
8. To just be healthy.
9. To not think about the possibilities of heart attack, stroke or diabetes.
10. To not have random strangers feel the need to ridicule me.
11. To live the life I want to.
12. To shop in any clothing store that I want to.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Plateau
In May of this year, one of my trainers, Amanda talked me into going to her Turbo Kick class! I had been in a month long plateau of losing NO weight! So I figured, "Why not??! I'll at least give it a try!!" It was possibly the best fitness decision I've made so far! Turbo took a lot out of me in the beginning, but now my stamina is beyond what I ever thought it could be! I can rock out to a whole hour and have burned as many as 1200 calories in that short hour! (And not to mention my AMAZING Turbo Kick family!!! Love them)
For the month of May, I lost 20 pounds! FINALLY out of my plateau, I thought it would be smooth sailing for a while! And that didn't happen! I'm still losing, but have only lost another 15 pounds in the past 2 months. Of course, in that time, I was away from the gym for 10 days of vacation and wasn't necessarily sticking to my strict diet because of random summer get togethers with friends!
Now, please don't think I'm trying to make excuses, cause my lack of weight loss is all on me... but I realized something yesterday that I never really thought was true!
You always hear that muscle weighs more than fat.. or what I've always thought was a super lame excuse for gaining weight or staying the same: "I must be gaining more muscle than losing fat"!! That always got on my nerves! I had just assumed that because I wasn't eating the BEST... that I wasn't losing as quickly as I want to!
That is until yesterday!! Last night was my last training session with my trainer Kendel (She's leaving for grad school.. I'm gonna miss my Kendel)! So we needed to take our measurements just to see how we did! It had only been a month since our previous measurements, but we knew there should have been a little change! Truthfully, I was just hoping I didn't gain! Yes, I had lost about 8 pounds since the last measurements, but I was SCARED! But it was time to face off with the measuring tape.....
The first numbers are from June 28th, second set from July 28th!!!
WHAT?!? Are you kidding me?!? I couldn't believe how many inches that I had lost! 17.5 inches total in just one month!!
So I guess I can't be too down on myself... I am still losing!! Now to just get the pounds rolling back down again!!
For the month of May, I lost 20 pounds! FINALLY out of my plateau, I thought it would be smooth sailing for a while! And that didn't happen! I'm still losing, but have only lost another 15 pounds in the past 2 months. Of course, in that time, I was away from the gym for 10 days of vacation and wasn't necessarily sticking to my strict diet because of random summer get togethers with friends!
Now, please don't think I'm trying to make excuses, cause my lack of weight loss is all on me... but I realized something yesterday that I never really thought was true!
You always hear that muscle weighs more than fat.. or what I've always thought was a super lame excuse for gaining weight or staying the same: "I must be gaining more muscle than losing fat"!! That always got on my nerves! I had just assumed that because I wasn't eating the BEST... that I wasn't losing as quickly as I want to!
That is until yesterday!! Last night was my last training session with my trainer Kendel (She's leaving for grad school.. I'm gonna miss my Kendel)! So we needed to take our measurements just to see how we did! It had only been a month since our previous measurements, but we knew there should have been a little change! Truthfully, I was just hoping I didn't gain! Yes, I had lost about 8 pounds since the last measurements, but I was SCARED! But it was time to face off with the measuring tape.....
The first numbers are from June 28th, second set from July 28th!!!
WHAT?!? Are you kidding me?!? I couldn't believe how many inches that I had lost! 17.5 inches total in just one month!!
So I guess I can't be too down on myself... I am still losing!! Now to just get the pounds rolling back down again!!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Will it ever get easier?!?
The answer: NO
Well.. technically, Yes!
I tend to ask myself a lot if exercising will ever be any easier! And I always tell myself NO! And not because I won't be getting stronger or used to the exercise I am doing, but because when it gets easier, then I know I'll have to step it up to the next level!
When I started out at 450 pounds, I really couldn't do much! I walked on the treadmill and usually around 2 miles an hour. Anything else seemed WAY too fast for me! Slowly but surely, I made it around to the bike and elliptical but still really didn't do much more than that! A friend and I took a weight training orientation and added on some weights.. yet I knew that still wasn't enough!
That's when I signed up for the Biggest Loser contest through Riverplex (my gym)! I knew it would break me out of my comfort zone of pretty much all cardio! Twice a week for ten weeks, I worked out with two trainers and my group of wonderful women! I was pushed further and further in what I could do! Push ups, sit ups, crunches, planks, lunges, squats, weights.. You name it, we did it.
At some point during this 10 weeks, one of my trainers, James, told me I was going to run the track. Wait.. WHAT?!? Me? Running?!? But with him by my side, I ran (Well, closer to a jog) as far as I could! I couldn't believe it! It was beyond what I thought I could do!
Back then, I could get to about 5 push ups and need a break... Now I can rip out 20 push ups and be ready to go! But they only expected 15 total push ups at a time. Now we do 25 or more, as many as 50! (Depending on how my trainer wants to kill me that day)
So yeah, it does get easier.. But just when you think the work out gets too easy, the intensity shoots up!!
Don't get comfortable with your work outs!!
Well.. technically, Yes!
I tend to ask myself a lot if exercising will ever be any easier! And I always tell myself NO! And not because I won't be getting stronger or used to the exercise I am doing, but because when it gets easier, then I know I'll have to step it up to the next level!
When I started out at 450 pounds, I really couldn't do much! I walked on the treadmill and usually around 2 miles an hour. Anything else seemed WAY too fast for me! Slowly but surely, I made it around to the bike and elliptical but still really didn't do much more than that! A friend and I took a weight training orientation and added on some weights.. yet I knew that still wasn't enough!
That's when I signed up for the Biggest Loser contest through Riverplex (my gym)! I knew it would break me out of my comfort zone of pretty much all cardio! Twice a week for ten weeks, I worked out with two trainers and my group of wonderful women! I was pushed further and further in what I could do! Push ups, sit ups, crunches, planks, lunges, squats, weights.. You name it, we did it.
At some point during this 10 weeks, one of my trainers, James, told me I was going to run the track. Wait.. WHAT?!? Me? Running?!? But with him by my side, I ran (Well, closer to a jog) as far as I could! I couldn't believe it! It was beyond what I thought I could do!
Back then, I could get to about 5 push ups and need a break... Now I can rip out 20 push ups and be ready to go! But they only expected 15 total push ups at a time. Now we do 25 or more, as many as 50! (Depending on how my trainer wants to kill me that day)
So yeah, it does get easier.. But just when you think the work out gets too easy, the intensity shoots up!!
Don't get comfortable with your work outs!!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
What would you choose?!?
Its true what they say... The key to weight loss is "Calories in VS Calories out"
But that's really not ALL there is to it! 100 calories of carrots is VERY different from calories of french fries! Check out these stats.. For approx 100 calories, You could have 31g of french fries... OR ... You could have 285g of carrots! I'm not sure about you, but 31g of french fries doesn't sound all that satisfying. Of course, it might be a bit much to eat all 285g of carrots (That's over a 1/2 pound)
Let's put this into a dinner situation..
Here's what I had for dinner:
Marinated Turkey Breast
Brown Rice
Peas
Now for this RIDICULOUSLY large meal, it cost me 678 calories, 8.5g of fat, and 104mg of sodium!!!
This is the part that makes you go HMMMM?!?... I could have easily decided that I was tired from working out tonight and stopped at, let's say, Burger King. I'd probably grab a Whopper with Cheese, Large Fry, and Large Soda... But for this comparison, we can only use the Whopper with Cheese.
And here's the SCARY part... For JUST the whopper with cheese: 720 calories, 44g of fat and 1240mg of sodium. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?
Now if that doesn't help you make the decision, I'm not sure what would! Maybe the heart attack you'll have after eating a few too many of those Whoppers!!!
What would you choose?!?
But that's really not ALL there is to it! 100 calories of carrots is VERY different from calories of french fries! Check out these stats.. For approx 100 calories, You could have 31g of french fries... OR ... You could have 285g of carrots! I'm not sure about you, but 31g of french fries doesn't sound all that satisfying. Of course, it might be a bit much to eat all 285g of carrots (That's over a 1/2 pound)
Let's put this into a dinner situation..
Here's what I had for dinner:
Marinated Turkey Breast
Brown Rice
Peas
Now for this RIDICULOUSLY large meal, it cost me 678 calories, 8.5g of fat, and 104mg of sodium!!!
This is the part that makes you go HMMMM?!?... I could have easily decided that I was tired from working out tonight and stopped at, let's say, Burger King. I'd probably grab a Whopper with Cheese, Large Fry, and Large Soda... But for this comparison, we can only use the Whopper with Cheese.
And here's the SCARY part... For JUST the whopper with cheese: 720 calories, 44g of fat and 1240mg of sodium. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?
Now if that doesn't help you make the decision, I'm not sure what would! Maybe the heart attack you'll have after eating a few too many of those Whoppers!!!
What would you choose?!?
Monday, July 26, 2010
I'm not in this alone!
If I had to pinpoint the one thing that has kept me going, it would definitely be all the amazing support that I have recieved.
I'm used to disappointing myself. I would always make plans to lose weight, eat healthier or even just get my life organized.. By not doing it, I was only letting myself down.
But now, I have a support system. I have people from the east coast to the west coast, Alaska down to Texas, and even people over in Europe that are looking forward to me seeing this journey thru to the end. Its all too easy to give up on myself, yet there is NO way I could let down 100s of people that have done nothing but support and encourage me.
And its spread like a wild fire. I recently ran into an old friend of mine who tld me how awesome I am looking. They were so genuinly happy and proud of me. Just him saying that made me want to go lose more weight so the next time I see him, I can impress him even more.
I truly get my drive from all the support I recieve! Thank you all SOOO MUCH!!
I'm used to disappointing myself. I would always make plans to lose weight, eat healthier or even just get my life organized.. By not doing it, I was only letting myself down.
But now, I have a support system. I have people from the east coast to the west coast, Alaska down to Texas, and even people over in Europe that are looking forward to me seeing this journey thru to the end. Its all too easy to give up on myself, yet there is NO way I could let down 100s of people that have done nothing but support and encourage me.
And its spread like a wild fire. I recently ran into an old friend of mine who tld me how awesome I am looking. They were so genuinly happy and proud of me. Just him saying that made me want to go lose more weight so the next time I see him, I can impress him even more.
I truly get my drive from all the support I recieve! Thank you all SOOO MUCH!!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
And so it begins!!!
Hey there!
I started this blog for many reasons... Mostly to put my thoughts somewhere other than my head! Also, I wanted my people to know whats going on and how my progress is coming along!
I started this journey to a healthier me in May of 2009! I started it cause I didn't want to be a fat maid of honor at my friend's wedding. The wedding has come and gone, but I'm still going strong cause it's all about ME now! I've lost a total of 115lbs so far! I started out at 450lbs (It still hurts to say that number) and am now down to 335! I have come far, but have a LONG way to go still!
I started this blog for many reasons... Mostly to put my thoughts somewhere other than my head! Also, I wanted my people to know whats going on and how my progress is coming along!
I started this journey to a healthier me in May of 2009! I started it cause I didn't want to be a fat maid of honor at my friend's wedding. The wedding has come and gone, but I'm still going strong cause it's all about ME now! I've lost a total of 115lbs so far! I started out at 450lbs (It still hurts to say that number) and am now down to 335! I have come far, but have a LONG way to go still!
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