Decent Week

This past week overall was pretty good. I went out to dinner and a movie with my husband on Tues. night, and as much as I wanted to try Five Guys burgers I had to decline and ask AJ to take me somewhere else, (We had made reservations for the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park for Sat, so I knew that I would not be eating healthy there!) so I had a grilled chicken salad with blue cheese dressing on the side that I used very little of. While at the movies AJ was craving ice cream, and I resisted as he sat next to me eating it while my stomach started growling during the 3 hour show.

Speaking of my stomach growling....ugh....I've been doing a great job of not eating anything after dinner, but my stomach is killing me. I think after 30+years of giving myself a snack at night is going to be one of the hardest things that my body is going to have to grow accustom to. When it's really bad I've been drinking one cup of hot green tea with one packet of truvia, and I'm trying to convince myself that I'm fine afterwards!

I got in all of my workouts, including weights, and 15 minutes of abs with Edward (teaches a 30 minute ab class at the Summit) on Sat. I'm still sore from abs, and a little in my rear, but overall I feel physically better. I have lost somewhere between 6-7lbs depending on what my scale says in the morning. I'm happy with it, but I want it to continue, to often I just plateau out after the first 2-3 weeks of losing weight.

My weekend out of town was both good and bad.
The good:
great family time, moving around in the water, going up and down a million stairs both in the park and hotel
The bad:
Eating fast food with my family that wasn't that good....I wish it would have been worth the "cheat"

Under the Transformation I'm supposed to pick a room in my house each week and go through it and de-clutter with the goal making my home a HEALTHY SPACE. I think this a wonderful idea as I often think about things that I want to go through (i.e. bedside drawers, sock drawer, etc) and just keep putting it off, now I have a plan for the next 8 weeks!

This week I plan to do 30-60 minutes extra in cardio and have only one "cheat" meal, I felt so yucky after this past Saturday.

Can I Transform?

I did it...finally. I finished my first week of my 18 week transformation, and found it to be difficult, disappointing, frustrating, enlightening, and hopeful. I know that they may not sound like a good start, but there were was an assignment where I had to answer questions about where I am now in all aspects in my life, what my goals are, and what I feel may prevent me from reaching all my goals. I also had to take a before picture. The picture is what wrecked me. My mental image was better than the actual photo and that was really upsetting. It sounds crazy, but it almost made me want to just give up...I feel like I've come so far since last year physically, and to still not look the way I want to is frustrating. I don't know if watching the Biggest Loser is a good or bad thing. I see contestants go from way bigger than I am to smaller than me in a matter of months. What's wrong with me, why can't I do it in a year? Is it because I have two small girls, a husband (who loves ice cream), a part time job, instructing at the Summit, and volunteering when I can, friends, and family to keep up with? No, I don't think so...I did the Body for Life Challenge, but I got burned out...I'm hoping that this Transformation will be just that I want to transform not only my body, but my mindset. It's the only way that I will change for good. I did have a good week of working out. I did spinning 3x, and did 1/2 of an upper body weight routine, and most of my lower body routine. The lower body killed me as I did more weight than I should have on my quads, and now I'm unable to move. How I'm going to spin tomorrow I have no idea. I've been tracking my calories on Livestrong, and I've been doing well. I am allowed a "cheat day" with the transformation and instead of "cheating" all day I had 2 meals that I "cheated" on. Being able to have food that is not part of my diet, and to eat it in moderation and stay in control is key I believe. Wish me luck for next week, as I try to manage my growling stomach and sore body:)

Let's Begin

I'm prepping for my next challenge. I'm following the TRANSFORMATION website (the author of body for life) by Bill Phillips and I signed myself up for a 18 week challenge with my girlfriend Tammy. I don't care what it takes I'm going to lift 2x a week, and do my cardio 3-4x, and of course follow a healthy eating plan. As I was about to sit down and write down goals for next year I decided to review my goals for last year and I was pleased to see that I had reached 10 out of my 17 goals. I see it as a positive step in the right direction and I did dream big when I made my dream list last year. Now I'm going to finish those last 7 goals and add a couple more to boot. On Monday I'll be starting the beginning of my 18 weeks and blogging about the pain of the first 2 weeks, but as for tomorrow I'll be on my way to see the Cowboys play:)

No Change

I can't believe that it's happened again...I've said that I'm going to blog every week and then I forget all about it in the mix of everything. I'm embarrassed to say that everything is pretty much the same. I have NOT started my weight lifting on a regular basis, I'm still snacking at night, and I have NOT been logging all I eat into the Livestrong website. Why? Well, like everyone else I have a million excuses and have been busy. If anything I'm truly thankful that I'm teaching spinning at the Summit. I know that if I was not teaching than I would be skipping workouts, and then I know I would be gaining. My class has really been fluctuating it's either feast of famine and I've found out that a lot of Summit members don't like to come in to workout when it's cold out:) (I can't blame them, if I was curled up on the couch nice and cozy I don't know if I would make it in to class either) Overall, I'm staying at the same weight and doing the same thing (spin 3x a week). I know I need to kick it in, and I HATE to do it on the 1st of the year with everyone else in the country...the positive thing is when the gym is packed at the beginning of January I will definitely have a bike during the spin class:) If you're looking to burn some calories during this holiday season come try a class...(you'll burn an average of 600cals in about 45mins, it doesn't get much better than that)...I'll be there, and I will be posting as I get my act together for my NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS!!!

The Sumo Wrestler Diet

I just want to start by saying sorry, I didn't think it would be this long between posts...I often sit down to write, but then I feel like I have nothing new to say...(meaning=no change). I'm still teaching spin and enjoying it, but that's where it pretty much ends. I've gotten my weights out of the attic to workout by myself at home, but it hasn't happened yet. Last year I began the Body for Life Challenge on Nov 1st, and I LOVED lifting weights (it's very empowering). Unfortunately, along with all the changes in my personal life my schedule no longer matches up with my workout partner's, and that stinks because now I don't have anyone expecting me to show up, or to push me. In my spin class I try to push myself, but it's my job to be the motivator, and sometimes I really miss being motivated by someone else.

I was watching the Biggest Loser a couple of weeks ago and it got me thinking about what am I doing to stop myself from losing weight? I figured it out, and it makes me sad because it's something I'm very comfortable with: I eat at night after I put my kids down to bed and I do it while I'm vegging out in front of the TV...it's just so relaxing, I don't have to think about anything, I'm entertained, and the food tastes good. It's really hard to make yourself reflect and pinpoint what you're doing wrong, but I know that this is my demon that I need to take care of to get to where I want to be. I decided to just eat Jello, but my girlfriend/registered dietitian told me "NO" that I needed to get out of the habit of eating at all after dinner, or I would eventually go back to eating crap again...I hate it when she's right. I don't want her to be right, I'm in a nice comfortable routine...ugh. I HAVE TO CHANGE THIS, and soon:(
After talking with another friend about this I found out that I'm on the Sumo Wrestler Diet and never knew it...it's one diet that I have unfortunately adhered to. I copied the following from some diet Internet site and forgot to site it (it's not my writing, and someone deserves the credit, but not sure who...sorry).


Sumo Wrestlers: This is How You Get Fat
1. Skip breakfast. By depriving their bodies of food after eight hours of sleep, their metabolic rates stay low.
2. Exercise on an empty stomach. If their bodies have no food, their metabolic thermostats are turned down even lower to conserve fuel.
3. Take a nap after eating. The Sumo secret for gaining weight is that, after eating, they sleep for at least four hours.
4. Eat late in the day. Going to bed with full stomachs means that their bodies must respond to the huge flood of nutrients with a rush of insulin, forcing their bodies to store some of it in the cells as fat instead of in the muscles and organs as nutrients.
5. Always eat with others in a social atmosphere. According to leading researchers, a meal eaten with others can be at least 44 percent larger and with 30 percent more calories and fat.

I have know idea if the above is true, but if it is I'm following some of the rules that's for sure. Last week I did plan my menu for the week, went grocery shopping only for the things on the list, and have followed it for the most part (mornings are hard). I plan to work out the wrinkles next week, and I'm challenging myself & anyone else to get on board and eat healthy, exercise 5x a week over this holiday season....I'm looking at NOV 1st to begin my challenge. I will post my weekly intake vs. calories burned (even if I don't have time to post much else).

It's Been Awhile

It's been awhile since I've blogged, and of course I have a million excuses (new job, new schools, sickness), but I think everything is starting to level out now....so I'm back. I've been teaching my indoor cycling class MWF at 5pm and I feel that it's going good. I had a full class this past Monday and it's so much more exciting when the room is full. My mom actually takes my class and told me that she "hated" me half way thru the workout, I was so pleased...yes, it's a compliment! This past week and a half has been a real struggle teaching as I've been sick and have not been able to completely shake it. Although, I did learn that I can teach off the bike if needed and it actually allows me to check people's form and make corrections discretely, which is nice. When I think about it I can't believe that I'm instructing because it's not something that I ever thought I would do, but I really enjoy it! I think I get a better workout because I'm pushing myself to push the people taking the class...it's really cool.



Okay, my weights training has taken a backseat again....along with my eating. One would think that when you get a nasty cold that you would stop eating, but no not me...ugh. I got on the scale this morning and I've only lost 1lb since my last post, and I know it's because I've been eating fast food for the past week. I was watching the Biggest Loser last night (thank God it's back on... so motivating) and they were showing how to make several snacks/meals at one time and then package it into separate baggies and put it in the fridge....this is what I need to do. For my job I'm driving from house to house, so what's in between? yes, you guessed it....FAST FOOD. I need to carry a cooler with things that I enjoy eating and that are healthy.



Enough said....I know what it is that I should be doing, but now it's time to make the commitment to do it. I'm going to hold off until next week to get back to lifting weights (still not feeling 100%), and after eating dinner tonight at my mother in law's house (chicken spaghetti and my favorite refrigerator cake) I will be back on track with my eating TOMORROW.

Fit to Tell?

This last week was somewhat successful, I finally have lost 2 more pounds which puts me at my lowest weight since having my last baby (who by the way just turned 3!). I've been burning a ton of calories in spin (averaging 550-670 for 55 min workout), but I need to get my schedule down for getting my weight training in. This week my oldest will begin kindergarten and then next week my youngest goes 2 days a week to mother's day out, and I go back to work part time while they are in school, plus teaching spin 3x a week at 5pm...I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and at this point I'm not sure how I'm going to make it work, so I'm a little frustrated and anxious. By the way school begins way to EARLY for kindergarten (7:45am...really, I don't think my kids have ever gotten up before 8am!). This week I have found my food choices a little easier and I have this blog to thank for it. I was thinking about what I was going to write and it hit me "FIT TO TELL" and I realized I am NOT "fit to tell", at least not yet. I know that this is a way to blog about my journey to get fit, but I feel that I've been failing, at least with the eating (they say it's what 85% what you eat). In the end I want to look back and say, "wow, I did it", not "there goes another year"...