My Journey to a Healthier Me: 2012

The 2nd Half.

I am at my half way mark now. I have lost 40 pounds and have 40 more to go. Ideally, I would love to loose this 40 before June. That is plenty of time. If I get back to eating right, I should not have any problems getting there. As of right now, I'm at a stand still at 204.

Going to the gym is the easy part, it's changing my relationship with food that is hard. Have you ever noticed that food is like a best friend. It is there in times of sorrow and happiness. When there is a funeral, there is always food afterwards. When there is a celebration, there is always food. This is because food makes us feel good (even if it is temporary). I have to learn how to limit my friendship with food. Funny that I say that I have to "learn" to limit". I already know HOW to limit my food intake; eat less. I really just need to woman up and do it. Take a smaller slice of pie this holiday, and only 1 slice of pie. One serving (a real serving, not my idea of one) of dinner, lunch or breakfast. If I don't buckle down and change my eating habits, I might as well quit. That is NOT something I want to do. I am 6 months in, and let me tell you, I have never in my life worked this long and hard at my weight. My usual diet would last a week, if that. I am going to suck it up and do this!

I have mentioned before that I do interval cardio now. I alternate between walking 3 minutes and jogging 3 minutes. I do this for the entire 60 minutes. I tested myself once, towards the end of my cardio. I had 8 minutes left and it was at a jogging mark. I began jogging and I thought, "I wonder if I can jog for 5 minutes". Then I thought, "Hm, I wonder how long I can jog until I have to stop". I ended up jogging that last 8 minutes of my workout and I could have gone longer. My confidence went through the roof. It felt amazing to know that I could jog for that long. Gone are the days of running out of breath trying to keep up with my kids. Now are the days of running with them.

My trainer recently got a new client. My husband. His sessions are every Monday. Right now, he is in the stages of dreading it. I'm sure that will change with time (hopefully).
Speaking of my trainer, Diablo...
I had a training session last Tuesday. Usually we do chest workouts because that is what I work on every Tuesday. Really, it's because I hate the lunges and squats and all of the other crazy things Diablo makes me do when we do a leg workout. My plan was working great. Until Tuesday. He caught on to my scheme and decided we would do a leg workout that day (DAGNABBIT!!) We began with 3 sets of 15 at 195 lbs on the leg press. At first, I chuckled to myself, because I usually do 4 sets of 20 at 210 lbs. "This is going to be easy peasy", I thought. I THOUGHT wrong! After those 3 sets he changes the weight to 210 lbs and says, "Ok, you have 4 minutes to do 80 reps." Um.....WHAT? It was insane, but I did all 80 reps in 2.5 minutes. Sure it sounds great that I did them in almost half the time. But it didn't feel great at all! My legs were wobbly and I knew I was going to curse his name for the rest of the week. After the leg press he had me do 40 stationary lunges per leg. At that point I threatened to fire him (hehe). After the lunges he decided that he tortured me enough and we moved on to abs. At least the abs were bearable. Thanks to my wonderful leg workout, I could barely walk for the rest of the week. The pain was pretty intense. It didn't help that we went to Wisconsin to visit my sister for Thanksgiving and she lives up 2 flights of stairs.

Luckily, I am pain free today and ready to go back to the gym for some cardio. As for my trainer, he and I will talk about his actions at a later date (don't I wish it was that easy). :)

*FYI: I do not hate my trainer by any means. When I refer to him as Diablo, it is purely a joke. I am extremely grateful for all the help he has given me. I am very sore after our workouts, some more than others, I do know that it is a "good" hurt. It ~~will all be~~ is all worth it!

Image Update.

Well, I guess it is about time that I put up an updated picture.

BEFORE: 242 LBS AFTER: 204 LBS

So Close!

It certainly has been a while. I suppose an update is in order. Here goes...

When does 2 minutes feel like 2 hours? When you are jogging. I started jogging during my cardio. I began with alternating 5 minutes of walking and 2 minutes of jogging. It was definitely a challenge. It still is a bit difficult but I actually like it. Last week I decided to change it a little and lowered my walking to 3 minutes at a time. Once I began the jogging, the weight just starting falling off.
I am still working with my personal trainer and luckily the sessions have not been as painful as they used to be. I'm not sure if it's because my body is getting used to it and I'm getting stronger, or because he is slacking (I doubt he is slacking). I had a training session on my sons birthday. My trainer was such a nice guy and drove Mike around in his "race car". My son LOVES cars. He saw my trainers car one day (Camaro) and said, "Oo I wanna ride in that!" He loved every minute of that ride too! After my training session that day, my trainer set me a mini goal. My goal is to get to 199lbs. I am really working hard to reach that point. It has been at least 5 years since I have been under 200 lbs and I am ready to get back under it. I am very happy to say that as of today, I am at 204 lbs. I cannot believe how fast this is actually going. At the beginning I would always think, I don't want to wait 6 months or a year to be that weight. But now, 5 months in, it feels like the time is going by so quickly. If I keep it up, I might actually be able to stop wearing a shirt at the beach this summer. Even better, I might be able to wear shorts!
I have another training session this week since last weeks session was free. I actually look forward to going to the gym during the week. It relieves stress when I'm stressed out and allows me to think really clearly while I am walking and jogging. I love the way I feel and the way I am starting to look. My clothes are getting bigger and that is a very, very great feeling. I do not have a single pair of pants that fit me. This time it is because they are all to big.
Our oldest son is turning 16 on November 3rd. We are having a huge party for him. We are inviting all of our family from out of town. While I know that the party is for him, it will feel really good to see their reactions when they see my change. I have not seen most of them since I dropped all the weight.

Run Forest, Run!

I cannot believe that it has been 18 days since my last update. I assure you, it is not because I quit. I am still working hard to become healthy. I have not spent much time at my computer at all lately.

It has been pretty uneventful at the gym the last couple of weeks. This week was really the only one worth writing about.

Last Friday (the 24th) A friend of mine decided that she would come work out with me since she was off from work. We went in and began with 10 minutes on the stair master. We followed that with 50 minutes on the treadmill. I did my usual walk on the treadmill, 3.2 mph and a 7.0 incline, however, I decided to add something. I decided that I would jog the last 3 minutes of my cardio. When the time came, I decreased my incline to 0.0 and increased my speed to 4.5 mph. I jogged my little heart out. I made it the full 3 minutes and felt pretty darn good about it. 3 minutes may not sound like much to some people, but it was a great accomplishment for me. After that day, I decided that it was time for me to begin jogging. We finished up with a great leg workout and headed home.

On Monday, my friend 'M' decided that she would join me at the gym. We began with 10 minutes on the stair master and followed it up with 30 minutes on the treadmill. I started with my usual walk. After 5 minutes and changed the speed and incline and jogged for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, I changed the settings back and did my usual walk to cool down (7.0 incline and 3.2 mph). I alternated the walking and jogging for the entire 30 minutes. It was a lot harder than I anticipated, but I pushed on and made it through.

After the cardio, we headed downstairs to do a chest workout. We finished up and headed home.

Tuesday, 'M' was really feeling it. She was extremely sore, but she did not let it stop her. We skipped the stair master but made up for it with an extra 10 minutes on the treadmill. Again, I alternated jogging and walking every 2 and 5 minutes. Again, I completed the entire 40 minutes that way. After cardio we did a back workout.

Wednesday, 'M' was back for more! We headed up stairs and began our cardio. I jogged and walked the same as I had the rest of the week. It was tough but I had no plans to quit. When we hit the 40 minute mark 'M' looked at me with a smile and said, "50". Heck yea! So, we went for 10 more minutes and then headed down the stairs to do our last day of strength training. We worked on legs.

Today, I overslept and began rushing around to get ready. I have to be at the gym by a certain time so that I can get a complete workout in and have time to take my son home to get him ready for school. I sent M a text letting her know that I was running late. She replied letting me know that something had come up that morning. I asked her if she wanted to skip gym, she said she didn't plan on skipping. So, I had breakfast, picked her up, and we headed back to the gym.

It was just cardio today. We walked on the treadmills and then headed down to talk to the manager about possible membership options for 'M'. He was a nice guy, but we are probably just going to get a quest pass added to my membership (hehe).

It was really nice having someone with me while I worked out. Even though I had over come my fears of going alone and do not mind going alone, it was really nice having someone to talk to during my time at the gym.

'M' did great! I cannot praise her enough. The first couple of weeks at the gym are always the hardest and she is half way through it. It really does take a lot of strength to keep going back, and she kept coming back! I really hope that we can work something out so that she can continue to come with me.

Feeling Fantastic!

Another week has past and again, I forgot to update my blog. I'm getting really good at forgetting about it. Rest assured, I have not been forgetting about the gym and my goal. Since I hit my 20 pound mark, I have lost 4 more pounds I am really excited about that. The closer I get to my goal, the happier I get. Last weekend, I was able to fit into a smaller pant size. I was also able to wear some of my cotton shirts that shrunk in the dryer (the same week that I bought them).

I went back to the gym on Monday, after a week off. I tell you what, I felt it! I'll be damned if I'm going to miss a week of gym time again. I felt like I had never been to the gym a day in my life. I started with my cardio workout. I started with 10 minutes on the Stair Master. I'm not going to sugar coat it; I wanted to die! I finished my cardio with 50 minutes on the treadmill.

On Wednesday, I had a training session. I got to the gym later than I planned so I started with 40 minutes on the treadmill. I figured that I could do my 10 minutes on the Stair Master after my training session. We did a leg workout. While I was on the leg press, he got curious and wanted to see how much I could actually lift with my legs. We got to 345 lbs before we had to move on (we only have 30 minutes per session), but he is convinced that I could do more. Hopefully, he won't want to find out how much more. After my session, I headed to the dreaded Stair Master. About 3 minutes into it, I felt extremely nauseous. I got down and sat on the stairs for a couple of minutes to see if the feeling would pass. I wasn't feeling any better after 5 minutes, so I headed home. If I was going to get sick, I didn't want to do it at the gym.

I went back again on Thursday. The entire way to the gym, I was talking myself out of doing the Stair Master. I was attempting to convince myself that I just wasn't ready to add it to my workout. I had also decided that I wouldn't mention it to my trainer. He didn't need to know. Besides, I didn't want him to tell me to do it anyway. That was the plan anyway. I saw my trainer as soon as I walked into the gym. What was the first thing I did? I told him about the damn Stair Master. What did he say? "Do it before your workout". I have no idea why I opened my big mouth! Why couldn't I just say hi and keep on walking? Honestly, I think I did it because part of me knew that I needed to get back on that Stair Master. It was my way of making sure that I did it anyway. So, after I put my stuff in my locker, I climbed on the Stair Master and did my 10 minutes. Then, I did 50 minutes on the treadmill and my chest workout. When I finished my entire workout, I looked like someone had dumped a bucket of water over my head. I was sweating so hard that my pony tail was soaked. Despite the sweat, I realized. What I did at the gym that day (including the Stair Master) wasn't all that bad.

Friday I went back again to complete my back workout. I got on the Stair Master with no problems and then followed it with the treadmill.

I don't hate the Stair Master as much as I did when my trainer first mentioned it. Don't get me wrong, it is tough. 10 minutes may not sound like much but it sure does feel like an eternity. The time did seem to go by quicker each day. I'm actually looking forward to going back tomorrow.

For You

Today I was talking to an old hometown friend about her recent gym membership. I am very proud of her for beginning her journey. I have a lot of faith in her and I hope she achieves great success!

I for one know how expensive gym memberships and personal trainers can be. I just happen to have gotten lucky by finding a gym that was willing to wave enrollment fees to allow us to join. When I first signed up, I thought that Personal Trainers were a waist of money. Of course, I had nothing to base this off of. After a free training assessment, I was in love with Personal Training. I wanted one! I just didn't want to pay an arm and a leg. I tried going back to the gym on my own but failed. I didn't know what I was doing and it discouraged me. Some people just need someone to push them and help them with working out. My husband managed to talk the manager into waving the trainer fee and lower the monthly cost. I only see my trainer twice a month but he made very sure that I had a complete workout plan. I remember what it was like walking into the gym that first day. I was terrified, nervous, self conscious and paranoid. Once I got my trainer and my workout plan, I returned with much more confidence.

Now, I am not saying that a trainer is the key to success. I just wanted to give credit to my trainer. Without his help, I would be 20 pounds heavier and probably still gaining. I do think that if you have a plan to follow, you are more likely to succeed. You don't waste time guessing what machines to use and what workouts to do.

In this post I am going to post my entire workout routine. It is 5 days worth. I will also be including little tips and additional info that my trainer has told me. Think of it as using my trainer for free!

"I will not say I can't do it. I will always try it."

Let's start with cardio. When I first began, I was told that I needed to do at least 3 hours of cardio (that increases your heart rate) a week. I could spread it out however I wanted to as long as I completed at least 3 hours of cardio within 7 days. There is no specific speed or incline that you need to use, duration is greater than speed. You can do any type of cardio that you choose. running, swimming, jumping jacks, bike riding, or even take an aerobics class. I had made up my mind that I would complete 5 hours of cardio a week. I began by doing 30 minutes of walking in the morning and 30 in the evening. After just a couple of weeks, I was walking for a full 60 minutes every morning. Once you feel that your body is getting used to the pace that you are walking (probably about 2-3 weeks in) try increasing your speed or your incline of your cardio. This does not need to be a huge change. For example. I walked at a 3.0 pace for several weeks. Once my body began to get used to it, I bumped the speed up to 3.2 mph. It does not sound like much, but you will feel it. You will know that it is time for an increase when it becomes easy.

My cardio: 60 minutes on Treadmill at 3.2 mph and 7.0 incline (I have built this up over 3 months @ 5 days a week)

On to Strength. Including strength workouts into your routine will help tone your body while you lose weight. It helps in the prevention of sagging skin that may result from weight loss. Strength training builds muscle and muscle burns more calories than fat does. This workout will not bulk you up. You will not end up looking like Rocky. It will help you build a small amount of muscle and to tone your body while you slim it. Ideally, you want to gain around 10 pounds of muscle. Do not let the word 'gain' throw you off. This is not 10 pounds that you will be unhappy with. This is 10 pounds that will show by the definition in your arms or in your legs. It will be what makes you look nice and tone. By building this muscle, you will increase the amount of calories that you burn, not only while working out, but throughout the course of the day.

When you do these workouts, don't get afraid that you will bulk up and get beefy. If your goal is to bulk up, you focus on high weight, low rep sets. To tone, you do lower weight, higher rep sets.

Each muscle group is broken up into different days. With this workout each muscle group will have a full 7 days to rest before working that group again.

Reps: The number of times you complete the movement of the exercise. You want to keep this number between 12-15

Sets: The number of times you complete your reps. You want to keep this around 3-4

For example: 15 push ups, rest 30 seconds, 15 push ups, rest 30 seconds, 15 push ups. This would be 3 sets of 15.

Example1 Bulking: Bench Press 300 lbs x 6-8 x 3

Example2 Toning: Bench Press 60 lbs x 12-15 x3

The workout below is the workout that that I have been doing for the last 3 months. Each workout has a link that will show you a picture of a machine goes with the workout. Every gym is different and your gym's equipment may not look exactly as the image. If you cannot locate a machine that looks like the images, try matching up the names.

Monday: 60 minutes of cardio

Tuesday: 60 minutes of cardio & Chest/Shoulder

Chest Press: 3 x 15

Pectoral Fly: 3 x 15

Shoulder Press: 3 x 15

Lateral Raise: 3 x 15

Abdominal Crunches: 3 x 15

Wednesday: 60 minutes of cardio & Back

Seated Row: 3 x 15

Pull Down: 3 x 15

Rear (deltoid) Fly: 3 x 15

(Low) Row: 3 x 15

Preacher Curl: 3 x 15

Thursday: 60 Minutes of cardio & Legs

Hip Abduction: 4 x 15

Hip Adduction: 4 x 15

Leg Curl: 3 x 15

Leg Extention: 3 x 15

Leg Press: 4 x 15

Friday: 60 minutes of cardio

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Rest

* The Pectoral Fly and the Rear Fly Machines look very similar, some machines allow you to use the same machine for both workouts. Be sure to rest for 30 seconds in between each set.*

To figure out which weight is best for you test different amounts. You don't want it to be easy, but you don't want to hurt yourself either. Ideally, you should be able to complete a full set, but not easily. Once you get to your last 4-5 reps, they should require a little bit of a struggle to finish. If you can easily complete a set, increase the weight one block at time (the machines weights differ from 5-15 pound increments). If you are struggling to complete 8-10 reps, decrease the weight one block at a time.

Be sure to read the instructions on the machine carefully and ask a staff member for help if needed. Some machines may require you to adjust the seats or grips. Adjust them accordingly.

Also, remember that you can break up your cardio however you choose.

Celebrating 20 Pounds

I have reached my first milestone. As of yesterday, I have lost 20 pounds total since my journey began. I have been sleeping better, feeling better, eating better, and napping less. Some of my clothes are fitting a little better now and I am very excited about that. I have about 65 pounds left to go and I will be victorious! I CAN DO THIS...one pound at a time!

Update

Again, I'm sorry I haven't updated in over a week. Last week was a crazy week.

Monday: July 23 The Norm.
I went to the gym and completed my hour of cardio. The same as always (since my last change) 3.2 mph and 7.0 incline.

Tuesday: July 24 1....2...Freddy's Coming for You
I did my 60 minutes of cardio and then hit the machines to begin my chest workout. My first machine was the Pec Fly. I sat down, set my weight and began. The pain was terrible. My chest felt like Freddy Kruger was ripping his claw through it. I only felt the pain when I was doing the exercise. When I stopped, there was no pain. I sent a text to my trainer to see if it was normal. Unfortunately, I didn't get the immediate response that I had hopped for. I thought for a minute and decided to continue with my workout. Since the pain was not constant and it felt more like a 'sore' pain, I kept going. After the Pec Flys I did not have anymore pain. Turns out, I was still sore from last weeks chest workout. Last week, I did my chest workout on Friday. My body didn't have enough time to rest before this weeks workout. I finished my workout with Ab Crunches (20@75 lbs x4)

Wednesday: July 25 The Ball!

I tried to get to the gym an hour before my training session so that I could get my cardio done before hand. I was 15 minutes late so I only did 45 minutes of cardio before my session. My trainer must have known this because he had me so more side step running.

We started in one of the racquetball rooms. I did side step running (that is what I'm calling it) while throwing a 10 pound weight ball back and forth. I was sweating so hard, I looked like someone dumped a bucket of water over my head. A 10 pound ball doesn't 'sound' heavy, but man, it was tough. Catching the ball wasn't a piece of cake either. It got heavier and heavier the longer we did it. Not to mention almost catching it with my face several times, thanks to my lack of coordination. Next, I had to take the ball and do squats with it. While coming up from the squat, I had to throw the ball as high as I could (which wasn't very high). We then began to do the squats while tossing the ball back and forth between my trainer and I. I now have nightmares about the racquetball room (haha). After that, we did a few machines. We started with the rear fly machine. My trainer decided that it would be fun to do power sets. Oh yay! After doing a set (15) of rear fly's I had to immediately go to the pull down machine and do a set of those. The only rest I got in between the two machines was the short walk to and from the machines. They were right behind one another. After we finished the workout, we went to the desk to schedule my next appointment. During my workout, (begin sarcastic tone) my trainer gave me some fantastic news; I get to use the stair master for 10 minutes a day. This time, I couldn't talk my way out of it. I guess 10 minutes won't be that bad; Will it?

Thursday & Friday: July 26-27 OMG My Face!
I will start by letting you know that all week I was fighting a bad case of "chapped face". The creases of my nose and the areas around my laugh lines were chapped and it bothered the crap out of me. While at home, I would keep globs and globs of lotions and chapstick on my face. The lotions did not give me relief for very long so I would wipe my face off and place a cold wet rag, or ice on my face. That gave me incredible relief. Until I took the rag off. All it ended up doing was making my chapped face even worse.

I was miserable all week at the gym because I couldn't keep anything on my face without looking like an idiot. I put a small amount of lotion on before my workout but I sweated and wiped that away after my first 5 minutes of cardio. I ended up wetting the end of my hand towel so that I could use it for my face every few minutes. To everyone else, it just looked like I was wiping the sweat off my face. To me, I was getting a tiny bit of temporary relief.

Thanks to the gobs of Blistex Med that I put on my face, I woke up Thursday morning with a giant cold sore above my lip. I have been battling those crappy cold sores all my life. I get them a couple times a year. When the weather changes drastically or if I get extremely stressed out. This time it was caused by a chapstick over dose. After looking in the mirror again I noticed that the cold sore wasn't my only problem. My face had completely broken out. I have never in all of my 28 years had a problem with acne. I would get the occasional pimple on my face but never more than 1 at a time. That morning, I had 12. Needless to say, I did not go to the gym. I spent a majority of the day in tears and afraid to go anywhere. The bumps stung and itched and my entire face felt tight. I spent a lot of Thursday in front of a mirror looking at the bumps. I convinced myself that they weren't pimples. They were something worse. I was convinced that they were tiny little cold sores all over my face. I decided that if my face wasn't any better the next morning that I would call my doctor. Thursday night, rather than smothering my face in lotion, I washed it and went to bed fighting the urge to put anything on it.

Friday came and my face was the same, except that a few more bumps had appeared. Again, I didn't go to the gym. I called my doctors office and they were able to squeeze me in later that afternoon. I show up for my appointment and finally see the doctor an hour later. The wonderful doctor (not my regular doctor, but one I like much more) gave me prescription for some oral medication for my cold sore. He included refills so that the next time I felt a cold sore coming on, I could start taking them and it would begin treating it before it even appeared. THANKS DOC! Then he looked at my face and told me that they were not cold sores. Thank god! He informed me that more than likely, they were a bacterial infection from all of the stuff I was putting on my face (I was using about 5 different products for my chapped face). He gave me a steroid cream for it. I left the office and headed to pick up my prescriptions. The Medicines worked GREAT. By the end of the weekend, my face had cleared up and my cold sore shrunk to half it's size.

I haven't been to the gym this week but I have been going for walks with my son around the neighborhood. I am very self conscious about my cold sore and I'm waiting for it to get a little smaller.

Ouch!

Yesterday I did my chest workout after my hour of cardio. I am feeling it today. I can definitely tell that I had slacked off the last two weeks. It brought me to the conclusion that starting from the beginning and starting over after two weeks, are equally as hard. That is a good thing to keep in mind when you start a workout routine. Why would you want to make it even harder for yourself? From now on I will think twice before skipping my workouts.

My legs are still sore from my training session and now my shoulders and chest are sore as well. Keep in mind, sore is good. My body is still getting used to getting fit. It is a good hurt that I am feeling.

I am still toying with the idea of getting a heart monitor watch. I know that I don't get an accurate number of calories burned from the treadmill that I use. At least I found the equation that is used to figure out how many calories I burned during my cardio.

Compute the calories burned if you're male. You can accomplish this with the following equation: calories burned = (0.2017 x age in years + 0.09036 x weight in pounds + 0.6309 x average heart rate - 55.0969) x elapsed time / 4.184.

Calculate the calories burned if you're female. This is given by the equation calories burned = (0.074 x age in years - 0.05741 x weight in pounds + 0.4472 x average heart rate - 20.4022) x time elapsed / 4.184.

For an example calculation, I am a 28-year-old female weighing 226 pounds exercised for 60 minutes with an average heart rate during the session of 150 bpm: (0.074 x 43 - 0.05741 x 143 + 0.4472 x 141 - 20.4022) x 45 / 4.184 = 513 calories during your exercise session.

Make sure you use Order of Operations when doing this equation. If you try to go from left to right, you won't get the correct number.

I am going to start including my workouts in these posts. If anyone would like to use them, you are more than welcome to. Just remember, you may need to adjust the weight amount. Ideally, you want the weight to be light enough that you can complete a full set of 15 reps, but heavy enough that you should be really pushing to finish the last 3-4 of your set.

7/21/12 Workout

Cardio: 60 minute walk.

3.2 Pace

7.0 Incline

Strength: Chest

Machine Weight Reps Sets

Incline Chest Press 60 15 4

Freemotion Pec Fly 25 15 4

Freemotion Shoulder 10 15 4

Overhead Triceps 30 15 4

Lateral Raise 35 15 4

Ab Crunch 75 20 4

Is My Scale Right?

I weighed myself this morning and apparently, I lost 8 pounds. I really, really, really, hope my scale is right!

On the days that I have a training session I try to get to the gym an hour before my session so that I can do my cardio first. That was the plan yesterday, but it didn't quite work out that way. I was running so behind all morning. First, I couldn't find my headphones. I hate doing cardio without my music. I realized that I left them in the other car so I started looking for a pair of my husbands; No luck. I sent my husband a text message to ask him if we had any spares. He recommended that I check our daughter's bag. Thank god, she had some. I grabbed them and headed to the gym. I pulled into the parking lot and realized that I had not had breakfast. Briana highly recommended that I go somewhere and grab a quick bite so I wouldn't get sick. I went to Burger King and ordered a fruit and maple oatmeal. There was only 1 person in front of me at the drive through, but it still took FOREVER. Of course there were issues with his order. I finally pull up to the window and I am told that they are out of the oatmeal that I had ordered. Are you freaking kidding me?! So, I got a plain oatmeal and a couple packets of Splenda. They threw in some complimentary hashbrowns because of the long wait. I offered the hashbrowns to Mike, he didn't want them so I left them in the bag (and later threw them away). Normally, I LOVE hashbrowns, but I know they aren't good for my diet. I ate my oatmeal and finally made it to the gym.

By the time I arrived to the gym, I only had 20 minutes to walk before my training session. I jumped on a treadmill and at 11 I headed to meet my trainer. Turns out, my session was scheduled for Thursday. Oye! Luckily, his 11 o'clock did not show up. We went ahead and did my session. He decided that we would do legs. We did a lot of high rep leg workouts along with some squats. By the end of the session, my legs felt like jello. I could barely walk, but I knew that I needed to get some more cardio in. I pulled myself up the stairs and manged to walk another 20 minutes. I would have completed the full 40 minutes that I had left but the kids klub was getting ready to close. I ended up going for a walk with my husband and my son later in the evening. I only ended up missing about 8-10 minutes of cardio.

Today I went back to the gym. I had planned on doing my chest workout today but was short on time again. I had to take my dog to the vet to get her shots updated. I was only able to do my cardio today, which is still okay. I can make up my chest workout on Friday.

I am going to check my weight again tomorrow to see the numbers are the same. I would love it if my scale is right! 8 pounds in a week, I'm very happy with that!

I'm Back, Full Throttle!

I am disappointed in myself. Two weeks ago, when I got back from vacation, I made any excuse to not go to the gym, or to leave the gym early. Last Monday, I went back to the gym, hoping to redeem myself. I was not going to make any excuse that week. The next day, my tire was flat. What has 2 thumbs and did not have a spare tire? THIS GIRL RIGHT HERE! *sigh* Our appointment to take the truck in, was not until Saturday. I wasn't able to go to the gym anymore that week. That is not true. I could have went in the evening, when Matt got home. I just didn't. I hate that I let myself get to that point. That is 2 weeks of weight-loss that I lost out on! The truck is fixed now and I am not going to let anything this stupid stop me or slow me down again. I am pretty upset with myself. I will have to work my butt off for the next two weeks to make it up.

I was back at the gym this morning for cardio. It wasn't even an option for me this morning. I went as if it was second nature for me to go. I did my hour of cardio with my new numbers. My usual 7.0 incline, but my new 3.2 pace. I am hoping that in a couple of weeks, I can bump it up to 3.4 or maybe even 3.5. I was sweating like crazy during my walk. I'm glad I brought my towel.

Tomorrow, my friend is joining me for my workout and my training session. She swears that I am out to kill her with my hour of cardio, but I have faith that she can do it. I am hoping that she will like it and decide to work out with me regularly.

My gym has a new manager, he is a lot less intimidating than the old one. I talked to him today about adding guests to my membership. As Briana said, for $20 a month, I can bring 2 guests whenever I want. The other manager told me that that sort of membership did not exist. This new manager was a lot nicer and knew exactly what I was talking about when I asked about it. I'm thinking about adding it to my membership.

Back At It!

I'm back from vacation. Actually I have been back for a week. I have a lot to catch this blog up on.

First off, we had a great time on our vacation. We spent a couple days in a cabin on the lake, went to Fort Sumter, and then to Holiday World.

Secondly, I did not work out. I know, I know! I had planned on working out and had the things I needed at my disposal, but I didn't. I have several reasons (excuses) for not working out while I was on vacation.
1. I wanted to sleep in. It is vacation after all.
2. I was way to exhausted at the end of the day.
3. Certain times, I didn't have any equipment available.
4. We were just to busy.
I know, just as well as everyone else, that these were just my excuses. Point is, I did not work out and I paid the consequences for it. I gained 2 lbs. Everyone keeps telling me, "Oh, that's not bad". At first, I thought they were right. After thinking about it, I realized, yeah, it is kind of bad. I have been busting my butt 5 days a week to loose weight and it is going rather slowly (slower that I like). I had only lost 12 pounds before I went on vacation. That is 6 pounds a month. So when I think about it. The 2 pounds that I gained so easily is a week and a half of hard work. If I hadn't gained the 2 pounds, I could be working on loosing additional weight rather than going back and loosing MORE. I am not being hard on myself about it, although it kind of sounds that way (I am just disappointed). It was my own fault, I could have at least watched my eating better.

I went to the gym on Monday for my hour of cardio, surprisingly, it wasn't hard to pick back up. I thought that the incline and speed would be harder and I would feel like I was just starting; It wasn't.

On Tuesday, I had a training session. A "back from vacation session" is what my trainer called it. He started me off with quick side-steps followed by lunges and running. I HATE lunges (more than squats). We followed with some chest workouts (machines) and ended with stairs and bicep curls. At least he didn't make me climb the stairs with the barbell.

I did not go to the gym on Wednesday. We had early afternoon plans and I would not have made it back in time to shower and arrive at our destination on time. There was no reason that I could not go in the evening but I didn't.

Thursday (yesterday), I went back to the gym and began my usual cardio. I was about 15-18 minutes into my walk when I decided that I needed to start increasing my speed. I know that 3.5 is a tad bit to fast, so I needed to start a little slower. I put the speed up to 3.2 and finished my walk (incline still at 7.0). After my cardio, I went to the locker room to get my workout journal so I could hit the machines. I did not have a pen, great! How was I going to log my workout? I convinced myself that without a pen, it would be pointless (stupid conclusion, I know). So, I headed home.

I am starting a very bad habit. This is something that I am stopping, TODAY! No more stupid excuses!

I have a follow up doctors appointment on the 10th. The appointment has nothing to do with my weight. It is mainly to follow up on the migraine medication that I started taking. I do plan on talking to my doctor about my weight at this appointment. I am hoping that there might be something that can help me with my eating.

Now, it's time to get ready for the gym. Today, I complete my whole workout. AND, I am bringing a pen! No excuses!

Nervous About Vacation?!

I had a good workout today. I did my usual cardio, 60 minutes on the treadmill at a 3.0 pace and a 7.0 incline. It's good for me right now. I work up a good sweat without over doing it. From the treadmills you can see almost the entire gym. It's a great time to people watch. Until you see something that makes you wish you were reading or watching your feet move. I noticed an older guy who was constantly "adjusting himself". If that wasn't bad enough, he decided to stick his hand down his pants to do it. I almost got sick. Some people are TO comfortable at the gym.

I did my leg workout today. It is no longer my favorite! I use the same machines but I have to do 2 sets explosive and 2 sets with holds. The explosives aren't bad, its the holds that make my muscles burn. I'm not so crazy about the 5 sets of 20 leg presses either. But you know what, I lost another pound, so you better believe that I am going to keep it up.

This is my last (routine) workout before we go on vacation. I have a plan to keep up with working out and not eating like crazy. I have resistance bands that I am taking with me, and a workout from my trainer that I will use. I will have access to a fitness center via our Hotel, on some days. On the days that I won't have access, I have my workout written out already. My problem will be the food. It will be hard but I hope to make it through the vacation without gaining any weight.

I will try to update my blog throughout my vacation, but no promises. I will be extremely busy.

Chatter Box 2

Monday's are always the hardest. It's not that I don't want to go, I just don't like getting out of my bed. My warm, comfy, big, bed. Rest assured, I still went. Monday is just a cardio day and nothing worth writing about happened. Tuesday, is a different story.

I go to the gym at my usual time, dropped Mike off at the Kids Klub and headed upstairs for my cardio. While I was on the treadmill, little Ms. Chatter Box passed me and was on her way to the machines. Yep, you guessed it, she was on her phone the whole time. I watched her get on her first machine and sit there for a couple minutes before beginning. Then I had a great idea. I would time her! I set my timer and kept watching while I walked. Since I didn't set my timer right when she got on her 1st machine, I'm not 100% sure how long she was on it. I do know, that she was on it for 7.18 minutes from the time I started my timer. I assume it was almost 10 minutes total. Her next machine was the leg curl. I set my timer as soon as she got it on it this time. Three minutes passed before she did a single curl. She then did 3 curls and stopped. My timer was at the 5 minute mark before she did anything else. So she occupied a machine for 5 minutes to do 3 reps. After the 5 minute mark, she did 2 sets of 7 reps. She was on the machine for about 7-8 minutes. I didn't time anymore, I had what I needed. Not that I plan to do anything with the information I had gathered. I just wanted to know how long she keeping the machines from other people who would actually use them.

After my cardio I went downstairs to do my new chest workout. I mentioned before that Ben has me using more Freemotion machines now. I haven't mentioned how much I hate them. Like everything else, I'll get used to it. While I was doing my lateral raises there was this sudden stench of cheeseburgers. I think some guy had eaten a cheeseburger before working out and then burped right by me. It smelled so bad! Maybe it was a good thing though, I was completely turned off to fast food for the rest of the day (not that I get fast food often).

I had another training session today. We didn't do an intense workout today. We just worked on resistance band workouts that I could use while I am on vacation next week. I did 3 sets of each workout. Hopefully I can remember them. At the very least, I would like to try to walk each day. I think that as long as I keep up with my cardio, I'll be okay.

Two little side notes:

1. I've been thinking about those heart monitory watches again. I think that at some point, I would really like to get one.

2. I've lost 2 more pounds since my last weigh in.

Chatter Box

It's Friday! That means it's my last workout for the week. I went to the gym and did my cardio, as usual. Nothing to really talk about there.

Usually, Friday is a cardio only day. However, I had to make up for missing my "back" day on Wednesday. After my cardio, I went downstairs to do my back workout. I did my usual machines, sets and reps. While I was doing my Rear Fly workout, I noticed Ms. Chatter Box. I have mentioned this woman in a previous entry. She spends her entire time, on the phone. I wrote previously about how she will spent a lot of additional time on a machine because she is busy talking away on her phone. In the past, this was only a small annoyance because it had not directly affected me. Until today! I finished my sets at the same time that she finished her. We both got up and headed in the same direction. In my head I was begging and pleading that she not go to the Seated Row ; She did. She got there first and was still on the phone. OK, I thought, I'll go do my Preacher Curls and come back to this one. When I finished those, I headed back to see if the lady was done. She wasn't. I didn't really have time to wait, so I headed to the locker room to gather my stuff.

I picked up Mike and headed home. I may not have been able to do each one of my exercises today, but I bet I made up for it at the pool later.

New Work Out

Today, I got to the gym earlier than I usually do. I dropped Mike off at the Kids Klub and headed to the locker room.

I hopped on the first available treadmill (not that there aren't a ton available). I set my incline to 7.0 and my speed to 3.0 and began my walk. It still amazes me how much easier this has all gotten for me. I don't need a book to cover the speed anymore. Once I finished my cardio, I headed downstairs to the machines.

I started my new leg workout today. I use the same machines but I do my sets differently. I do 4 sets on each machine. The first 2 sets are explosive (I do them as fast as possible) with a heavier weight and the last 2 sets are slow and hold. Man, did the last 2 set's burn. It was the good burn though. While I was working out there was another girl getting a training session. She sure was complaining a lot. I wonder what these trainers think when they get clients who do nothing but complain. I get that it hurts, it's suppose to. If it was easy, everyone would be healthy and at healthy weights. Her trainer put her on one of the hip/thigh machines and began another session of moaning and groaning. I chuckled and told her that that particular machine was not all that bad (I had just finished using it). She just complained more. Personally, I think she has the wrong attitude. When I first started my training sessions and going to the gym, I had the mentality that I would not tell my trainer that I could not do it. I would always try it to see if my body was able to handle it. To this day, I have yet to tell him that I can't do a specific workout and now, my body is getting used to it.

Since I am a day behind because of yesterday, I am going to do my back workout tomorrow. Thankfully, Ben has not changed that workout (yet). He is changing my workouts to get me using the freemotion machines. This will help me when we transition into free weights. The last thing on my list for my new leg workout was 3 sets of 20 squats. Oh, how I love squats. That was sarcasm, if anyone missed it. I finished my squats and went to pick up Mike.

While I was waiting for Mike to put his shoes on, the lady behind the counter approached me. She informed me that Mike had let her know about the bird poop on our truck. I couldn't help but laugh. Mike and I washed the truck yesterday. This morning, as I was about to open the driver side door, I noticed that a bird had pooped on the window. I said out loud, "It figures that a bird would poop on the car right after I washed it." So of course, Mike shares it with his "teachers" (that's what he calls the ladies that work at the Kids Klub). How do birds poop sideways anyway?

Today's Fitness Evaluation

Today was, well, FAN-FRIKKIN-TASTIC!

Matt's alarm woke me up this morning at 6:30am, Blah! I had mine set for 8:00am but I was out of bed before then. I had to time my gym arrival so that I could do an hour of cardio before my training session.

I got to the gym just in time to drop Mike off at the Kids Klub and start my cardio at exactly 9:30am. I did my walk at a 3.0 pace and my new 7.0 incline. I can definitely feel the difference. I'll give it about 2 weeks and then bump the inline up some more. I have really started to like walking. If I have something on my mind that is bothering me, walking helps me think it through. Sometimes, it just helps me clear my mind and relax. That sounds funny, "I feel relaxed when I am walking uphill and sweating."

I finished my walk right on time (10:30am). I went to the locker room and put my phone and earbuds away. Then I headed to meet up with Ben at the training desk. We began with checking my body fat *GULP*. He mentioned that he wanted to try something different when checking it this time. Apparently there are two different options to choose from on the machine, normal and athletic. He said that based on how much I am working out, we should check that option when checking my body fat. So, he put all the information into the hand held body fat checker and handed it to me. I almost cried when I saw the number. My body fat went down by 6% (in 3 weeks). I could not believe it. It was the best news I have heard since I started working out. After Ben checked my body fat, he took my measurements. Almost all of my measurements have gone down by an inch. I can't even describe how excited I am with these results. Anything I try to say to describe it would only be an understatement.

I may need to invest in some of those gloves that people use when working out. I am starting to form callouses on my hands.

I have another training session scheduled for next week since I will be out of town the week after. I forgot to mention that Ben changed my work outs today. I have a whole new chest workout and leg workout. Next week he will give me a new back workout. He is also going to give me a workout that I can do with resistance bands for the week that I will be gone.

I can't believe that our vacation is coming up so fast; Next weekend. How great would it be if I would end up losing weight while I am on vacation?!

My Journey to a Healthier Me

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