Well, it's been awhile!

I haven't posted in a very, very long time. I thought maybe if I get back to it I'll be more inspired to work out on a regular basis. Oh, I haven't fallen off the wagon, don't worry!

So many things have happened in my life in the
last few years! I called off my wedding, got a new job and moved into a place of my own. I met someone new, fell madly in love and I'm getting married next June! This has both its ups and downs. At first it was great, my new job basically has me walking 6 miles a day on average but the hours are weird and I'm yoo tired to go to the gym as often because of it. The new guy and I were both pretty athletic when we met but it slowly tapered off into eating pizza and watching Netflix with beer every night. This caused me to gain almost 20 pounds in the first year of our relationship! I've recently gotten back on track and have been dieting and have dropped down to..get this...150! That means I've lost a total of 100 pounds since I moved to Texas in 2009. I wasn't keeping track of it at the time but the scale omce actually said 250. I managed to get back down to 220ish when I started this whole thing.

Now, my issue is that okay, I'm 100 pounds down but since this was from diet (and walking) I've lost much of my muscle tone. I need that back! Perhaps this will help motivate me to suck it up after a day at work and hit the gym! And stop drinking so much damn beer. But mostly the gym!

Okay, okay I suck at updating.

I bought a nice, fancy new scale! I was very excited about it. It tells my body fat %, BMI, water % and weight. Once I stepped on it I was no longer excited. Then I was sad. The weight was lower than I expected but the fat % was HIGH. This made me a sad, sad panda.

So, naturally the only solution was to fall off the wagon and eat myself crazy for a week, right? No? Damn, that's what I did. I supposed in comparison to a "normal" person what I ate wasn't so bad. It involved a lot of beer, frozen yogurt and fajitas (not a lot of those, just once). I still felt guilty as hell and kicked it up a notch at the gym. I guess it worked because this week I'm down .5% fat.

I also discovered an interesting show on Netflix called Heavy. I watched one episode right before I went to the gym and just kept thinking about how I not only never want to be that big but also about how I want to help people in that situation. One of the ladies on the show said something interesting. "No one wants a personal trainer who hasn't been fat." It's really true. No one can understand the pain and the actual feeling of being trapped in that body better than someone who has lived it. I hope when I'm done with this journey I can start a new one. One of inspiring people and using my success to show people that it IS possible and it CAN be done with a bit of hard work and dedication. I'm still in that phase now where people look at me skeptically when I say I can train. I'm only about 10 pounds overweight now but it's just enough to make people think twice when I tell them about my weight loss. I feel like if I just man up for a couple of week and eat right 100% of the time and do high intensity workouts I can get there! I can't wait to squeeze my booty into a size 6! :)

Mood: excited
Weight: 155

Weight Watchers and Milestones!

I've started Weight Watchers this week and I've already seen results! I've been having a terrible time counting calories, trying different diets and I finally got sick of it and decided to take a friend's advice and give WW a shot. I know several people who have had huge success on it and it seems far more realistic than anything else. I tried it once before (when I was stick thin) and it was too hard to calculate the calories and points. That was probably 8 years ago and smart phones are awesome. I simply downloaded an app for mine, figured out my daily points (29, adding in 6 for the days I work out and 49 weekly cheat points) and I enter the fat, carbs, fiber and protein from everything I eat and it does it for me! So far, I have had all of my points each day and been full, satisfied and still had tons of energy for my workout (Jillian Michaels is still kicking my ass). I'm saving my 49 points for beer and pizza tomorrow. :)

The best part...I've lost 2 lbs this week!! That puts me at 155, which was my original "healthy" goal. Of course I still would like to get to about 145 but I'm really happy that I finally got to this point. Even when I was thin, I can honestly say this is the healthiest I have ever felt in my life.


I also found that I had progress pictures exactly one year apart! Check it out:

Over the Plateau!

Finally! After being stuck at roughly the same weight and size for several months, I'm over it! The Jillian Michaels workout is awesome, but the diet was really hard to stick to. I'm still following the basic guidelines but I've modified it to suit my schedule and tastes a bit more. I cut out alcohol for the past two weeks and have been watching EVERYTHING that I eat. I guess going this hardcore was what my body needed because it's working!

I am having an issue with exhaustion, however. I don't believe it's the fault of the diet or the workout. Both are incredibly healthy and I was doing fine up until the last few days. It's over 100 degrees here in Dallas constantly and the water starts to taste like dirt when it's so hot. Which sucks because all I drink is water. I've been using a lot of Crystal Light to mask the taste (and bottled water is just wasteful in my opinion). At home it's fine because I have a Brita filter. My problem comes in at work, where I have to pay for bottles of water and tap water is free. I generally drink 10+ glasses of water a day but now it's probably more like 5 (with some Crystal Light). Crystal Light uses aspartame, which is a known diuretic. I think my problems are mainly due to that and the fact that it's 100 FREAKING DEGREES OUTSIDE ALL THE TIME. I'm going to try powering through the taste of worms and dirt to fix this so I can get back to giving my workouts my all!

I also went shopping for some new pants the other day and fit into a size 9 in juniors! I was shocked! That means I'm officially smaller than I was in high school (but not as small as I was in college).

30 Days!

Well, I just got back from vacation in Chicago for two weeks and I feel like an addict that relapsed. There's so much good food up there! I had Portillo's hot dogs, Algonquin Sub Shop subs (the best in the world), Lou Malnati's. Ugh it was all so good! I feel like I've gained 60 lbs. back. In reality, it was maybe half a pound. I managed to exercise a few days while I was there but it rained too much for me to really get a lot in. I walked 9 miles on two different days. It was pretty relaxing, I put on my audio book and took a 9 mile stroll through the woods on a nature trail.

I tried on my wedding dress while I was up there and it fit better than last time I wore it. However, it's not good enough! I want it to be a size smaller so I can feel good and do a size exchange. Sooo the only thing to do is to lose more weight!

I'm going to start the Jillian Michaels "Making the Cut" diet and exercise plan for 30 days. It's designed to help lose the last 10-20 lbs, which is about all I have left. I hope. Of course, I'll reevaluate once I get to my goal (145lbs.) and see how I feel. I'm excited but I think it's really going to suck. No alcohol and no sugar for 30 days. I like alcohol. And sugar. I'll post updates as I go through it and see if I recommend it once I'm done. For now...wish me luck!

Goals, goals, goals!

So many important goals were hit this week! First off, I decided to go shopping for shorts. This in itself is a milestone in my life since I generally refuse to wear them. Not only do I think they are uncomfortable, but they show off my cottage cheese hamhocks a bit too much. Unfortunately, I live in Dallas and it's 120 degrees outside in summer (or feels like it anyway) and I can't get away with jeans much longer. I went to Old Navy and tried on several pairs of shorts (size 10 like my jeans have been) and they fit pretty well. On a whim, I decided to pick up a pair of 8 jeans to see if they fit. When I first started losing weight, my goal was an 8. Lo and behold...they fit. Perfectly. You can imagine that my first instinct was to take a picture.

In addition to that, my trainer and I have decided to start our own independent training business. She has been training me from the time we started working together to be a trainer and now I actually have BUSINESS CARDS. Yeah, it's official. I know what I'm doing and I'm going to get other people in shape. I'll be getting certified in August when the next community college session starts. So, if you live in the Dallas area and would like a personal trainer...here I am! I'm taking clients right away. :D

I'd still like to continue losing weight and size since my weight is still high. It's mostly muscle mass now but I have a bit of fat left that needs to shrink. My NEW goal is a size 6 and around 17% body fat. I know I can do it!

More Advanced Fat Burning Cardio!

Here is what I have been doing the last week, with awesome results!

First, I set the incline to 1% on the treadmill to simulate outdoor difficulty.
5 minute warmup walk
90 seconds of running (moderate pace)
30 seconds of sprinting (as fast as I can maintain)
repeat 10x for a total of 20 minutes
Then, I set the speed to 3.5mph and incline 5%.
Walk 5 minutes 
For the next 25 minutes, I drop the speed by .1 and raise the incline by 1% every 5 minutes

I've been doing this 3x a week, with the stairclimber and elliptical on the fat burner setting the other 2 days.

You Don't Win Friends with Salad

I had a friend ask me today what I normally eat. She said she hates salad and it's so easy to get around that! I hardly ever feel like eating salad (I force myself at work sometimes) so I made a list of good stuff! Some of this came from my wonderful trainer, Amy. The rest is stuff that I found on my own that works for me and have been doing since the beginning. The main thing to keep in mind is portion control. I'm horrible at keeping my portions small, but the best thing to do is a handfull of food every two hours or so. I'm realistic, so I try to eat 3 small meals and 3 snacks a day. It's not easy but if I really try I can stick to it.

Awesome foods:
avocado (in moderation)
unsalted almonds
Smuckers All Natural Peanut Butter
Smuckers sugar free jelly
Carb control whole wheat tortillas (instead of bread)
whole grain bread (low sugar, in moderation. The bigger the chunks of grains, the better it is)
turkey
grilled chicken
Ken's Lite Honey Mustard dressing
blueberries
strawberries
Jello sugar free, fat free pudding (made with skim milk)
sugar free Jello
Muscle Milk Light (I mix it with flaxseed, berries, banana and almond milk)
Almond Milk (unsweetened)
Special K (one handful with skim milk)
Goldfish crackers
bananas
low fat cottage cheese
low fat, low sugar yogurt
pretty much any vegetables (potatoes in moderation)
whole grain pasta (one handful a few times a week max)
olive oil and garlic (instead of pasta sauce)
pizza sauce (lower sugar than marinara)
veggie dogs
veggie burgers (Boca are fine)
low fat cheese
Miracle Whip Light
Cool Whip Light (with strawberries or pudding)
watermelon (in moderation)
Propel Zero (if you don't like water by itself)


That's not a complete list, but you get the idea. If I can't fit in a meal I try to have a protein shake. The goal is to keep yourself full, but not stuff yourself. Keep snacking and try not to let yourself get hungry. My problem is that this makes me ravenous and I tend to eat everything in sight the first few days of a hardcore cycle. I let myself cheat once a week and I find that I use that day as my carrot on a stick. The whole week is spent looking forward to it and I really enjoy that meal more than I would without the diet. I also find myself eating less of the bad food on that day and craving good stuff. The key thing to remember is that even if you mess up, you can ALWAYS get back on track with your next meal!

Ab Workouts

A few people have asked me what I do for abs, so I'll post some good links here! There are so many things you can do without workout equipment to strengthen the core! I like to do abs about 3x a week. Normally my trainer has me doing them on my cardio only days.

My personal favorite are hanging leg raises. There are two ways to do them. I don't have the arm strength yet to do them completely hanging, so I do them on a parallel bar. Most gyms have this equipment available.I do 3 sets of 12 with my legs going straight out and 3 sets of 12 lifting my knees.

If you have access to an exercise ball, pull ins are freaking awesome. I do 3 sets of 20, but if you're just starting out you may not be able to do many. I suggest doing what you are comfortable with and working your way up to doing more.

Decline crunches are nice, but if you have back issues like me, you may not be able to do as many as you would like. I only go about halfway down due to my back cracking, but I set it on the highest incline and can still feel my abs working. If you ever feel pain like that, it's best not to continue that particular exercise. I can normally manage to do three sets of 15 without too many problems.

If you don't have any gym equipment, planks are an awesome way to strengthen your entire core. My trainer started me slow with doing them for 30 seconds, progressing up to a minute and beyond. The most important thing is to make sure your back and butt are completely straight. If you are having issues holding yourself up, put more weight on your elbows and rock back and forth slightly on your toes. This reduces the strain on your back slightly.

There are several varieties of crunches to do if you don't have gym equipment. Don't just do straight crunches 500 times a day. Make sure you have enough variety that you are working your muscles in different ways. Just doing crunches will never give you a flat stomach or a six pack. This article has a lot of good exercises. I highly suggest switching up your routine frequently to make sure you are getting the most out of it and working yourself in different ways. Whether it's adding weight, adding time or reps or simply adding a few more challenging exercises, you can't go wrong with mixing things up occasionally!

Excellent fat burning workout!

I thought I would post this here since I have a few followers that are trying to lose weight. This is an excellent cardio workout, courtesy of my wonderful personal trainer, Amy. It's best done on a treadmill at a 1% incline, but can be done outside as well.


Minutes 1 and 2- walk
3- jog
4- jog faster
5- run
6- sprint

repeat 4x for a total of 20 minutes (walk the last two).

The goal is to eventually jog the walking minutes and just run faster for the rest. Combine this with some ab exercises and you have an awesome total body cardio day! I do this twice a week (and use the stair climber or elliptical on the other days).

Um..this is new.

Someone used the word "athletic" to describe me today. That has to be a first. Even when I was wrestling, I wasn't athletic, per se.

I started working out with a new trainer today. She's really cool, I had a good time! She actually said she wants me to be her workout buddy outside of our sessions since I can keep up with her and push myself as hard as I can. She took me through an awesome leg workout today and focused on using each muscle group in a workout, which I loved. She says I can look like a trainer very soon and very easily if I keep it up and eat right. Given my current weight, she says I should only go down to about 150 if I want to be toned. That means losing about 10 lbs, which puts me right where I want to be.

I've decided I am going to take a class for my personal training certification once I hit my target. This whole experience has been amazing and I still can't believe how far I have come! My heart absolutely goes out to people struggling with their weight and I want more than anything to help them. If I can do it, I strongly believe EVERYONE can. I've gone from a size 16 to a comfortable 10 (very uncomfortable 8). I can keep up with personal trainers in their own workout routine (and out jump rope them!). I have participated in 2 5Ks. I never thought those things were possible once I gained weight. I want to help people do the same!

Before and Halfway There!

Shield your eyes for the before picture. It's truly horrifying.

So close, no cigars please

I just squeezed my ass into a pair of 8s. It wasn't pretty, but they zipped. Epic muffin top ensued.

Weight: 158
Mood: excited to get back to the gym after being sick for a month.

Everything's Comin' Up Millhouse

I'm so proud of myself. I tried to go running tonight at my apartment gym, but apparently when they switched management they deactivated all the old keycards. I have to go get it fixed tomorrow, so no run tonight. :( I do have a session with my personal trainer in 12 hours, so I guess that's something.

So, instead of running I held a fashion show in my bathroom. I put on all my "thin" clothes I had saved up from when I was smaller and OMFGTHEYFIT. I about cried. My size 10 pants fit me perfectly right now and my medium/small shirts not only fit over my shoulders, but my gut isn't hanging out anymore. Of course, I celebrated with a happy dance and I'm pretty sure I pulled a hamstring. Dammit.

Here are some pictures that make me very happy. Don't mind my messy hair, I had just tried on a few turtlenecks. These are the size 16s I started in.

Weight: 160
Mood: OMFGHAPPY

I Don't Think I'm Fat Anymore

I don't think I qualify as fat anymore. That makes me happy. I can easily squeeze my ass into a size 10 (my goal is an 8) and none of my clothes fit anymore. I'm putting them all in boxes and giving them to friends or GoodWill this weekend. My favorite tank top might as well be a dress now!

I started a new diet today. It was strongly recommended by my personal trainer and is basically a series of supplements a day and healthy meals and snacks. I think this works with my lifestyle better, since I will be taking two shakes a day, small snacks and one major meal. I normally just starve, eat all of my calories in one meal and starve some more since I took on this new job. It will be much easier for me to be healthy and get the nutrients I need in a shake form. I'm hoping to hit my goal weight fast on it.

I also got a metabolism test done today and I STILL have 32% body fat, which leaves me with 17lbs of fat to lose. My goal should be somewhere between 137-145. 17 pounds seems VERY easy compared to the 52lbs. I've lost so far. I'm going for another test after a week on the supplements to see if I've made any changes. In the meantime, I'm going to work my ass off! I'd hate to see what my percentage was before I started this!

Mood: hopeful
Weight: 163

Ahhhhh!

Well, it's official. I'm engaged! We're setting the date for summer/fall of 2012, which gives me tons of time to plan (and freak out). This totally gives me a goal to work towards in terms of weight loss! Since we're having the wedding in Chicago and live in Dallas, it's going to be quite a bit of work getting everything done during trips up there. My new goal is to have my 20lbs. long gone by July so I can go dress shopping with my friends and my mom. I'd rather not deal with a nightmare of an alteration closer to the date, so this weight needs to be gone now! I'm kicking it into high gear for the next few months. I totally failed the second day when I overslept for the gym, but I can get back on track tomorrow!

2010 in Review

It's almost the new year! I can't believe how many changes this year has brought! I started out with the simple goal of losing weight. Yeah, yeah. I've been saying that for the last 4 years. Something was different this time though. Something made me stick to it. I'm not quite sure what that was. Was it the fact that I cried when I saw photos of myself? Or the time I broke down when my boyfriend made fun of my stretch marks (he didn't think it would upset me...stupid boy!)? Or was it the time I got winded walking up the stairs to the apartment gym? Regardless of what finally motivated me, it probably saved me. Last year I was 215 lbs. around this time. I lost about 13 before I started this blog simply from riding a bike 3 times a week. Today, I weighed in at 165. I ran two and a half miles without stopping and have never felt better. I almost burst into tears when I saw the scale. I've been stuck at 168 for so long due to poor eating choices and exhaustion from working double shifts and drinking too much beer. Last week, I decided to cut it out and get back on track. I'm in the best shape of my life and I'm still chubby. I can EASILY lose the next 20 pounds if I put my mind to it!

So here are my goals for next year:

• Run an entire 5k without walking at all (I walked for 4 minutes in the one I did)
• Complete the 5k to 10k training program
• Run a half marathon
• Lose my last 20 pounds
• Fit into a size 8
• Develop some sort of self esteem (when it comes to looks...I'm totally awesome otherwise)
  
• Wear a bikini (without causing people to run screaming)
• Have something resembling abs

Mood: proud
Weight: 165

I did it!!!!

So, my friend Diana has been working on losing weight and getting fit since about the same time I started and she is SO much more awesome than I. She didn't really need to lose any weight in the first place, but she has gotten in great shape! She started the Couch to 5K program much earlier in the year and has been encouraging me since I started.

I casually mentioned that we should run a 5k sometime...meaning like, next year. I certainly can't run 3 miles unless a hungry pitbull is chasing me with raw meat strapped to my ass. She, on the other hand, wanted to run a race that Saturday. She promised me she would stay with me and walk however much of it I needed to.

We got there around 7am to register and hung out for a bit. A lot of the runners were pretty competitive looking and I was slightly terrified. There were a lot of walkers though, so I felt good about at least attempting to run some of it.

We started running at 9. Diana's boyfriend took off ahead of us and ran the whole thing like a pro. I started running around people and moving my way to the middle of the crowd. I passed the first mile marker at 12 minutes. Then I did a double take and had to make sure I just ran a whole mile without stopping. I have NEVER done that in my life. I was disqualified with an F in gym class in high school by walking the mile and refusing to push myself to run. After that, I felt content to walk for a few minutes since my shoulder was starting to ache a little. We walked at a fast pace until I decided I had enough and wanted to run again! We ran the next half mile, stopped for 30 seconds or so to walk and took off again, stopping only when I ran through a puddle and my shoes got slippery and I had to stop so I didn't fall and for about 15 seconds to walk to the final corner before sprinting to the finish line. Altogether, I ran about 2 and 3/4 miles out of 3.1. I am SO PROUD of myself. I finished at 38 minutes and 45 seconds with Diana right behind me (she didn't sprint to the finish) at 39 minutes. I'm so proud of us!

We left before the medals (which is a good thing, saving me unnecessary embarrassment) since we knew none of us placed. She sent me a text yesterday saying that "Jerry" with my last name won the female 20-29 age group. I thought she was joking. I checked tonight and in fact, my name is now Jerry and I supposedly ran a 24 minute 5k. In my dreams. I feel awful that something got messed up and I took a medal from someone (even though I wasn't there to take it). I've already e-mailed them to let them know it's wrong, but part of me wishes it was true!

However, I've already set my goal to become a runner. Diana and her boyfriend and I are going to run more 5ks (about one a month) and work at running a half marathon next year! I'm hooked on something I NEVER thought would have any appeal to me. Maybe next year I actually WILL come in first in my age group!

Mood: so excited
Weight: actually...I don't know. Weigh in tomorrow.

Life Changes

It's been about a year since I first started working out (I didn't go hardcore until January, but I started walking and biking at my apartment gym last November). I can't believe how much better I look and feel! I almost have something resembling confidence (let's not get carried away here) and I can walk up stairs without getting winded.

Today I finished Week 3 Day 1 of the Couch to 5K Running Program. I had tried several times to get past week 2 and was never able to! I can't believe how easy today seemed in comparison to my previous running attempts. I had this vision of myself crossing the finish line of a marathon and it just inspired me to keep going! It's totally cheesy but it worked. I can't wait to be able to call myself a runner (Who the hell is typing this? Certainly not me).

I also got two new apps for my phone. One is ExerTime, which times cardio and has a loadable C25K timer which yells at me when it's time to run or walk. It's awesome. The other is MyFitnessPal, which is a calorie counter. It's helped me get past my two month plateau and lose another pound. I also can see how bad my weekend drinking is impacting my weight loss. No wonder it's going so slow when I down beer on the weekend!

Mood: excited
Weight: 168

Comparisons!

Here's a shot from me in August of 2009 compared with me two weeks ago in September of 2010. I imagine the net weight loss is about 40-50lbs. since I first set foot on a scale after 3 months of working out. I was squeezed into my size 16s in the first pic, the second is my too big pair of 11/12s. :) It kind of puts things in perspective! I still have a lot of work to do, but I love seeing how far I've come!