February Update

We are already a week into February… and for me, it goes by especially quick.  My birthday was last week (Groundhogs day), so the first week usually passes fast with the celebrations and normal day to day life.  While I may have used last week to splurge just a bit as far as food goes, I didn’t skimp on my workouts.  I didn’t indulge in a bunch of cake or ice cream – but I did have one slice of my favorite pineapple upside down cake.  I did indulge in pasta, and a few bites of not so healthy appetizers – and more than a few drinks.  I believe I budgeted my calories wisely though, because after the good stuff, I’m still maintaining where I was last week.  It’s not a loss – but I’ll take it. 

When it comes to working out – not only did I get my 3 days in at the gym, I also began two new challenges.  I decided on a different squat challenge to continue at work, and then an arm challenge for the house.  I really don’t like my arms, and need to work on upper body, so I thought that would be a good choice.  On top of all that – I got a pretty sweet birthday present – a new rowing machine!  I’m still new to it, and my body is still adjusting, but right now I am getting in between 400-600 strokes (which takes me about 20-30 minutes).  I do have to take breaks, but I’ll get there.  Right now, my top is 150 strokes before I need to rest.  Eventually, I’d like to get to the full 30 minutes without stopping.  It’s good cardio, and is a great total body workout.  I’m really looking forward to the February “After” pictures! 

I also did a Super Bowl Challenge…. 10 squats for this, tricep dips for that, burpees for a field goal, etc.  I was so active during the game, my husband joked I’d lose 50 pounds by the trophy presentation. 

Now that I’ve let go of the excuses, I’m figuring out that I can exercise anywhere at any time.  Since the parties have now passed, it’s time to tighten up on my food just a bit, and see where the month takes me.  I’m GOING to do this! 

30 Day Challenge Results!!!

Challenge… Completed. 

I know I haven’t posted much lately – but unlike all the other times I have fallen off posting all the time, I haven’t actually fallen off the wagon this time!  I’ve just been super busy.  Work is crazy busy, plus I have jury duty all day every Friday – so I’m trying to get 40 hours of work completed in a 32 hour work-week. 

Yesterday was January 30^th – which was the last day of the 30 Day Body Challenge.  I will be the first to admit – and have on Facebook – that I did miss a few days.  Not many, but a few.  When I looked at the challenge calendar when I first started – I thought, there is no way in the world I will be able to do all those things by the end of 30 days.  300 Jumping Jacks?  250 squats?!?  A 5 minute Plank?!?!  NO.  WAY.  IN.  HELL. 

But – I did it.  And I learned a few things along the way.  First – your fat jiggles just as much as your boobs do when you do jumping jacks.  Like – imagine running a 5K, or doing a 150 jumping jacks without a sports bra on.  THAT’s what it feels like.  Halfway through the month, I set a new goal – to be able to do jumping jacks without my belly hurting.  I’ll get there some day. 

Second – it’s okay to modify things to get through.  Did I literally plank for 5 ENTIRE minutes without stopping?  No – but I broke it down into 2 sets of 2.5 minutes, with a small rest in-between sets.  Same with squats – I didn’t do 250 at once, I did 2 sets of 125.  And that’s OKAY.  This time last year, or even 6 months ago, I would have just quit.  Not this time.  No excuses – just do it – however you have to – just to get it done.    

Third – I hate wall-sits just as much now as I did when I was in high school. 

The work has been paying off though.  I started back on this little journey on November 18^th.  Random date – I know.  But since that date, I have lost 21.2 pounds.  I have gone from 49.3% body fat, to 44.7%.  I have lost 20.5 inches.  I can feel a difference. 

I did take before and after pictures this time.  While taking the “after”… I thought this was stupid.  I just don’t see a difference.  And then I put them side by side, and I can see it.  I’m doing it.  And it feels great. 

 

 

Happy New Year!

Er….  Um…. 10 days late. 

My bad – I’ve been busy!  This is the busiest time of year for us at work – meaning OT almost every day, the kids are back to school, and just for fun – I was selected for Grand Jury duty!  Yay!!  (Insert eye-roll here).  Actually, the Jury Duty isn’t that bad… it’s just trying to make up the missed time at work that is the struggle. 

That being said – I haven’t quit.  I started a new monthly challenge (well, two, actually), and I’ve stuck to it – every day.  I’ve also kept up with going to the gym 3 times a week.  Plus, with this new challenge, well… it’s pretty intense.  And it gets worse (better?) every day.  What started as maybe 5 minutes on the 1^st will probably end up being closer to 30 minutes by the end of the month.  The second challenge is a photo challenge that helps document your weight loss journey.

I still haven’t seen major losses on the scale – but that’s okay.  I’m only off by about a pound from where I wanted to be by now, and I know that my body is still trying to figure out just what the hell is going on.  If I keep going, It’s gonna give.  It has to.  I AM still losing weight, and inches.  My percentage of body fat is moving in the right direction, my BMI is changing, and I am starting to SEE changes.  Little ones, but changes. 

And then there’s the workouts.  OH the workouts!!!  Today, I killed it.  And I was SO excited, I was posing for selfies on the Stair Master, and didn’t care who was looking or laughing at me.  So here’s what happened.  The last time I checked in, I was excited because I had surpassed the 4.5 minute mark without stopping.  TODAY – I went 6.5 minutes, and even then, I only stopped for about 45 seconds, then got back on, and didn’t stop until it was over. 

YOU.  GUYS. 

I walked the equivalent of 36 flights of stairs and took ONE break for less than a minute.  I feel like ROCKY at the top of the museum steps!  Every day, I push for just 30 seconds more.  Just 30 more seconds.  I can do ANYTHING for 30 seconds.  Except snakes.  I can’t handle snakes for any amount of time.  Ew.  One day – SOON – I will be posting that I went the whole 10.5 minutes without stopping.  Something that on the first day, I thought was absolutely impossible. 

I am doing impossible things.  And right now, DAY 30 of this new challenge looks impossible – but I thought that about the stair master too.  I CAN do this. 

Breaking Records!

Today was a big day for me – I finally surpassed my DAY 1 excursion on the stair master.  The very first day I got on it, I went for 4.5 minutes total, while taking lots of breaks.  Today, I went 4.5 minutes before I took my first break!  I also went for 10.5 minutes total – which is only 30 seconds more, but I’m doing it.  I’m pushing myself, and I’m making gains!

I also impressed myself on the treadmill today.  Not because I made any significant changes, but because I beat myself – mentally.  Today, I was tired.  It’s been days since I’ve been to the gym (since last Thursday – and today is Tuesday).  I took yesterday off for Christmas.  I wanted to quit.  I wanted to walk before I finished my run.  My legs hurt, and my lungs were burning, and I wanted to rest.  And I got mad.  And then I started to talk to myself. 

YOU.  CAN.  DO.  THIS. 

My body was built to do GREAT things. 

I can do ANYTHING for 30 seconds… 27 seconds… 22 seconds… etc.

And then it was over.  I had kept going, and I finished.  And I was smiling.  I can remember so many times when I gave up with 3 seconds left.  That I quit 30 seconds into it.  I have learned, and I am training myself to push through the pain, to tell the fat girl inside me to shut the fuck up, and to just keep moving.  And it IS paying off.  Not by crazy pounds, or tons of inches (which I am losing both), but in my body.  I can literally feel my lungs getting stronger.  I can keep my breathing and my heart rate under control.  My legs are stronger.  I AM healthier – and it’s getting better every day. 

I send my husband a selfie every day when I am done working out.  He is my support, and my biggest cheerleader.  And every day, he tells me I’m beautiful, and that he is proud of me.  There have been more days than not that he was proud of me when I wasn’t proud of myself.  He sees the changes that I don’t, and he reminds me of them when I am feeling down.  He got me pretty good last week. I was having a down day, and he asked to see my face, so I sent him yet another selfie.  A few minutes later, I got a return message – a progress picture, if you will.  And the only thing I could say in response was “Damn.”.  These pictures were taken about 4 months apart. 

 

I hadn’t noticed.  But I’m getting there.  Today was a good day. 

 

NSV – Non-Scale Victory!!

Well, I have scale victory too – but we will get to that in a minute.  Last week, I only got to the gym twice.  I did my squats and arms every day, but a dreaded migraine hit, and I was out for the count.  As you all know – when you miss days, it makes it SO much harder to go back, and get back into a routine. 

Yesterday, I had 10 different reasons NOT to go to the gym.  I was exhausted because I only got about 4 hours of sleep the night before.  My workout buddy cancelled on me (for a good reason).  I had enough work to skip lunch altogether.  I could have gone Christmas shopping, or gone to the grocery store.  I actually thought about intentionally leaving my gym bag at home – just so I could say “oops, I forgot”. 

BUT – and here’s the NSV – I DIDN’T! I didn’t give into any of the excuses.  I put the damn bag in the truck in the morning, and I committed to going.  I told myself that even if I only walked on the treadmill, that would be better than nothing at all.  Then on the drive there – which normally takes 5-6 minutes – traffic was SHIT.  It literally took me 24 minutes to get to the gym – so my already short workout time was now MUCH shorter.  So I decided to go as hard as I could.  I hit the stair master (better cardio, better sweat, more calories for the time).  And just like last week, I surprised myself. 

I’m almost embarrassed to admit this, but this is my blog and my journey – so why not be honest about it?  I am OUT OF SHAPE.  I am still retraining my lungs from when I was a smoker.  When I first started on the stair master 3 weeks ago – I was only able to go for 4.5 minutes.  TOTAL.  And I took lots of breaks.  Each day I have gone to the gym, I have tried to stay on the machine a little bit longer, and try to go a little bit longer before I took a break, and in-between breaks.  Yesterday, I was on the treadmill for 10 minutes.  I went 3 full minutes without having to take a break.  And then, I was able to rest for about 30 seconds before going another 2 minutes before the next break.  Eventually, I will go the full 10 minutes without taking a break – and then I’ll start adding time. 

As I said last week, it isn’t much.  It’s not epic, or amazing, or impressive to anyone but me.  But again – just like last week, they are my records, and I’m beating them every day.  My lungs and my body are getting stronger.  And it is paying off – both mentally and physically.  In 4 weeks, I have lost 10.4 pounds, and 10.75 inches off my body. 

I’m proud of myself – so make that TWO NSVs this week!  

I am headed to the gym here in a few to tackle another day.  Tomorrow is rest day from the Gym – but the squat challenge is out to kill me – 145 squats tomorrow!  Till next time… 

What a difference a day makes!!

It’s amazing what can happen in just one day.  I mean, literally – AMAZING.  At least that’s how I feel today. 

 Yesterday, I was in a bummy mood.  Take one look at my post, and it’s not hard to figure out.  But I refuse to fail this time; I refuse to quit.  So I went to the gym.  I did get my workout in, but it wasn’t my best.  I felt better after I was done, but then disappointed too.  I didn’t work as hard as I could  have.  I gave up just a little too soon.  The endorphins pulled me out of my mood, and I told myself “I’ll do better tomorrow”.  And THAT, I did. 

Today, I beat my own personal records.  It’s not much, it’s not epic, or amazing, or will impress anyone, but they are my records, and I beat them.    And I am walking on air!  I feel like a rock star!!  I literally felt invincible walking out of the gym to my car today.  I am all smiles, and I am actually proud of myself. 

Yesterday, I wanted to quit.  Not for long, but the thought was there.  Today, I totally smashed it.  I pushed for 30 more seconds; one more minute; telling myself “I can do ANYTHING for 45 seconds”.  And I did.  I believed in myself.

I would say that’s a pretty sweet NSV.    

Checking in, feeling down.

I am feeling a bit down today.  Not crying, not can’t get out of bed, just down. 

I did my weigh in this morning.  I lost 1.2 pounds, and a total of 4 inches.  Normally, I would be totally stoked about that – but I’m just not.  It was also time to update my spreadsheet where I track everything, weight, measurements, BF%, BMR, etc.  My “goal weight” column needed to be updated.  I have it set up that it will pre-fill that cell with losing 2 pounds per week.  I was dumb enough to look pretty far down that list. 

IF – and that’s a big IF – I consistently lose 2 pounds per week, I won’t get under 200 pounds until June of 2017.  It will quite literally take me 6 months get to ONEderland.  That seems forever away.  Like it will never happen.  It makes what I am trying to do seem impossible in my mind.  I KNOW that isn’t true.  I KNOW that time will pass much quicker, but good god.  I had that split second where I thought to myself, I oughta just quit now. 

I KNOW last year was rough for me medically, and a lot of that affected my weight.  I switched Migraine meds more times than I can count, I went on the Depo Shot, and I quit smoking – all in the same month.  And I watched as my weight ballooned to numbers I hadn’t seen in years.  I also know I didn’t gain all the weight overnight – it’s not going away overnight.  I am just struggling with being able to see a light at the end of the tunnel.  Right now, It just looks dark. 

 I told myself, and my sounding board (Mr. Wonderful) that I NEED to focus on the one day at a time mentality.  I can’t focus on 6 months from now (or even longer – ONEderland isn’t even the goal weight – it’s just a stepping stone).  I have to make a choice every day to do this.  I can’t commit to 6 months from now.  Only today. 

 One day at a time.  And today I’ve already done my squats, and I’m headed to the gym in about 30 minutes.  Today I am making a choice to continue this journey, even though it seems impossible.  It definitely won’t happen if I quit now.