Monday, August 30, 2010

Looming Deadlines

Today was a rest day for me. To be honest i hate rest days, they make me feel lazy and useless but i also understand that they are extremely important for my body to repair itself and get me ready for harder workouts. I especially hate them when i am less than two weeks away from a beach vacation...

Even though today was a rest day, i still managed a 30 minute walk and restarted my 100 pushups/200 squats challenges. I completed both challenges a while back but have restarted them because i loved the results i got, especially in my arms. I did my exhaustion tests today, Day 1 will be tomorrow, Day 2 Wednesday, and Day 3 Friday. Then i will resume a normal Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule with it. I have lost a bit of strength in my arms since stopping it, but i'm hoping to gain that back pretty quick.

Tomorrow is going to be a whole day of fitness, i'm probably going to drop into bed at the end of the day and not move. Here is my list...

Walk in the AM with Lori (2 miles planned).
Gym at 3, biking 7 miles, strength work, and couch to 5k on the treadmill (approx 2 hours).
Walk with Megan and Roman at 630 (additional 2-3 miles).
Finish the night with some wii and yoga (approx 60-90 minutes).

Looking at that list makes me want to go to bed right now so i will have plenty of energy! I really want to hit through to over 100lbs lost this week so i'm trying to push hard. The next 4-5 days are going to be exhausting, but hopefully very fulfilling.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Weigh-in 8/28/10

Another week, another weigh in. Being a stay-at-home mom (and one that doesn't drive) i don't really get to get out that often so it's nice to have something to look forward to every week. For me, that thing is my weigh in!

I do a lot of "Shape-up" Challenges on the "What to Expect" message boards. These challenges are 10 weeks long and i've been doing them since the beginning of the year with great success. Well this was the end of week one of a brand new challenge so i worked extra hard to get some fantastic results. I feel like i really slacked over the summer, still losing but not losing nearly as much as i would have hoped. The new challenge gave me the motivation to get off my butt and kick it into high gear again, and this weeks results PROVE it!

I started the challenge at 186.7 and weighed in today at 181.0. That's a 5.7lb loss since the middle of last week! Keep in mind this was not just one weeks work though, probably around 10 days but still a great loss for that amount of time!

Which brings me to my current goal. I have a beach vacation in 13 days, YIKES! Swimsuits...ugh... I set myself a pretty hefty goal a few weeks back to be 175lbs by then. At the time that was a solid 2lbs a week, which has proven to be pretty difficult because i'm at a point where i don't always lose every single week. Thankfully the loss this week boosted me right back where i need to be and i MIGHT just reach that goal. I'm going to get pretty close at least and that's pretty exciting!

My goals for the next week...

Lose 2lbs
Gym 3 days
Walk at least 15 miles
Bike 20 miles
Continue controlling my bread and potato intake (this is SOOOO hard for me!)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Journey to a new me

I had my first baby last year. May 2009 to be exact. Before getting pregnant i had always been a bigger girl, always the "fat friend", the "well at least you have a cute face" girl. When i left the hospital from having my daughter, my weight topped out at it's highest point ever, 280lbs. I had just had a baby, so being fat was expected right? It was ok, i could use her as an excuse. I mean OBVIOUSLY it's ok that i'm fat now because i have a kid. Or so everyone kept telling me...

I was getting SICK of that excuse, it was NOT ok to use my daughter as an excuse to be obese. Sure i gained weight when i was pregnant but that doesn't change the fact that i was already 240lbs before i got pregnant. 240lbs on my 5 foot 7 frame was just not cutting it.

I guess i thought that the weight would just magically disappear. I was already back in my pre-pregnancy clothes, 6 weeks after giving birth. I was using "girdles" to "trick" people into thinking that i already had my normal shape back. My normal ROUND shape...

One night in October 2009, i was getting ready for bed and looked in my mirror. I did NOT even recognize the girl i saw and i broke down. I was still weighing in over 260lbs, and i was devastated that i had let it get so out of hand. So right then and there i decided that i was done. I logged in to some message boards i am a member of and put out a plea for help, asking anyone for advice and support. I got several responses and i started thinking that maybe, with some help, i could do this.

One fellow mommy stepped up and agreed to help keep me in check every single day. She offered advice, workouts, and a little tough love when i needed it. Slowly, with a lot of hard work and healthier eating, the pounds started melting away. I lost over 7lbs my first week, and that gave me the motivation to keep going.

The months followed and i surprised myself by keeping up with things. I was working out regularly, eating more healthy than i ever had, and losing more weight than ever before. I was telling everyone i knew about what i was doing so they would help keep me accountable and i soon had a whole group of supporters that refused to let me fail.

It has been almost one year since that night in October that i decided on a change and 15 months since my daughter was born, and i have shed almost 100lbs. I still have ups and downs, but every day is a new beginning and i am determined to see this journey through to the end.