updated "success" story

I was told by a few individuals that I needed to update my success story at the gym.. so you get to see it too :)

July 2011 - 378

 Here I am, 10 months into the best decision I have ever made in my life. For me, my weight has been the biggest personal struggle with which I have had to deal. Realizing that I was just about to turn 30, and shortening my life every day with the extra weight and poor diet, something clicked. I had to make a change and I had to make it now. I've been that person who gets a gym membership, works out really hard for MAYBE 3 months and then calls it good. I couldn't do that this time. This was going to be a life change. I needed someone to help me get started (again), push me, and hold me accountable. 


On September 8, 2011, I went in to 24 Hour Fitness, signed up for a year membership and started working out with Matt that evening.

During this time I have seen my body do things I never thought would ever be possible again. Matt started me out doing basic exercises, to get an idea of where I am at, and to see how far he could push me. Each session has been different and challenging in their own way, but it's always rewarding to see how far I have come.

Along with improving my muscle strength, I have also been able to build up my cardio endurance. In May I was able to complete my first 5K. I feel like a broken record, but I never thought I would   

December 2011 - 318

able to do that. I love not feeling trapped in an inactive, unhealthy body.

Besides the physical changes that have occurred, I have also benefited from other changes in my life. I am no longer on anti-depressants, I have so much more energy, and I have been able to meet so many people here at 24 Hour Fitness. I sincerely appreciate all the support that I have received.

If you have ever contemplated doing personal training, do it! Do it for you and see where it can take you. There are amazing trainers here, each with their own specialties. They are here to push you, it definitely won't be easy, but it will for sure be worth it. Take a step and you will amaze yourself.

That's the end of that, but I wanted to thank all of you on my blog, for following, for commenting, and all of your support. It's been a big change and I really couldn't have done it without all of that support.

Some of you have asked me for suggestions, ideas and help. My first thing is just making sure you're doing it for you. You can't lose weight for the sole purpose of maybe this guy will notice you or you just really really want to fit into the newest trend and look good. I mean you can, but it's not going to last. At least that's my perspective on the matter. Do it for you. Do it to be healthy, happy, and able to move without the aches and pains

Also, even a bigger part than exercising is making sure you're eating correctly. I"m not going to preach on this because I definitely need to be better and don't want to be a bigger hypocrite than I already am. I'm on myfitnesspal.com. I'm not always tracking my food, but I notice that I make the best decisions food-wise when I am. I feel better when I'm not eating crap, and working out is a whole lot easier. To health! 

July 2012 - 258

abandonment issues anyone?

I'm sorry.. I tell you that I'm going to keep on writing, and then I post 5 or 6 posts, and then I'm gone for another 3, almost 4 weeks. I've wanted to write, really I have, but I thought you deserved better. I tried coming up with things that would inspire you, make you laugh, or maybe even both! I'm sorry for playing with your heart that way. I can't promise anything for the future, but I'm here now.

Let's see, where were we..

Things are slowly coming along. As mentioned earlier, according to my myfitnesspal.com profile, my caloric intake shifted from 1990 to 1530 overnight. This has been a little more difficult to handle than I thought it would. I usually hit closer to 1700. I'm going to try harder to get it to where it needs to be for the best weight loss scenario. We also changed my nutrient proportions (carbs 55%, protein 30%, fat 15%). Actually, I think it's supposed to be 50, 35, 15, but I'm slowly adjusting. I have realized that although it's a definite pain the butt, tracking my food intake is by far the best way to make sure I'm eating what I need to be eating.. and I see the best results. I'll go a week or so without tracking and then I wonder why the weight isn't coming off. Then I go back to tracking and realize how much more I'm eating. Silly food!

I've been having some pain issues with my hip after I run. I've been told to stop running for the next 4 weeks. I'm really sad about this. I didn't do any running this last week already and I miss it. Stupid hip. My friend said that now that I'm an athlete I need to pay closer attention to injuries so they don't get worse. I never considered myself an athlete.

I was at boot camp on Saturday and we were doing resistance band sprints, where you have a resistance band around your waist and a partner holding you back as you run across the field. I had partnered up with a random guy and afterwards we were walking to the next station and he was like, dude, you're hella strong. I laughed and said thank you. I'm getting better at taking compliments.

I get to go home to Maryland for a week in August. It will be fun to be with all my sisters again! It's so hard to get everyone together now that we're older and spread across the States (only 3 States, but they're pretty far apart).

I'll try to have pictures next time. Until then, here are some thoughts brought to you by pinterest. I know.. pinterest..

Progress

So the last couple of weeks have gone pretty well for me gym and dieting-wise. I've had the occaisional meltdown (one cupcake, 2 sugar cookies AND a slice of dark chocolate cake all within 5hours), but for the most part it's been pretty good. As mentioned earlier, when I updated my weight on myfitnesspal.com it took me from 1990 calories to 1570 per day. I actually haven't been able to stay below 1570 since it changed; I'm staying pretty close, but it's more like 1700. The scale is still moving down so I'm okay with that for now. I have a tendancy of NEEDING chocolate around 3pm so that usually doesn't help.

I've actually surprised myself with being able to stay focused and on track at the gym. I finished my personal training sessions a few weeks ago so I have to make up my own workouts. I did a leg workout on Monday and my hamstrings are killing me. It's fun to know that I can kick my own butt. I think I bruised my tailbone going to the spinning class last week. It hurts SO bad! We were doing core work last night in bootcamp and all the pressure just killed. I had to modify it so I wouldn't start crying.

Speaking of modifications.. I think that's my number one challenge right now. I've been going to bootcamp classes on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Sure I can do some of the exercises, but I also need to modify a lot of them. And then I feel like I should be able to do them so I feel bad when I can't. Sometimes when the trainer shows us the next exercise I automatically think "There's no way I can do that" so I just do something else instead. I need to get over that fear. I'm improving on a weekly basis. I need to at least try before giving up on myself. But then I feel badly when I can't complete the exercise, or if it takes me longer than everyone else, I feel like I'm holding them back. I know. That's just how I think/feel. Again, something that I need to work on.

Last night in bootcamp we were running around the room for a warm up. I usually don't have a hard time running and what not, but for some reason, last night was tough. It didn't help that my now lose stomach skin fat was jiggling everywhere. It actually almost hurt. I called my insurance the other day to get the whole skin removal surgery process underway (cause I'm definitely going to need it). They said it's not covered at all. I'll have to fill out an appeals form to get it approved and who knows how that will turn out. It's still going to be a while, but it'd be nice to know how much I'm going to have to fork over. Right now it will be my arms, stomach and inner thighs. The goal is to get to 200 and then have all that removed, which will probably take me to my goal weight (there's a lot of skin) I guess only time will tell.

Thank you all for your compliments, support, love and encouragement. I really, truely appreciate all of it! I'm so thankful that this mind/body change has happened and that I'm able to share this journey with you. I have fears that I'm annoying people with my facebook statuses, blogposts and daily conversation. In all honesty, this is everything that is consuming my life. So I'm sharing it, hoping that whatever took control of my life, might some how help others make the necessary changes in theirs so that they can be happy and healthy and start again to love life. It's still a work in progress, but I'm really liking the results.

Things that I like today

I like my high-waisted pencil skirt
More than that, I like that my aunt was kind enough to take it in for me so that I can continue to wear it.
I like moving my car - seat further up, which means I need less room to fit my body behind the steering wheel.
On a similar note, I like sliding my office chair under my desk and being cozy.
I like sitting on my bent right leg in my office chair. If I fit in my chair sitting cross legged I would.
I like the fact that my calves are starting to show
I like my new pointy toe heels. They're baby heels, but the fact that I can walk (strut) in them without dying provides pure bliss.
I like that I'm able to still walk after doing the 5K on Saturday, another 5K on the treadmill Monday, and bootcamp last night. Check back tomorrow after I do the spin class tonight. We might have a different story.
and..
I like you!

Emotional eating

Or just eating in general... Tends to be my biggest downfall. I love food. I was raised with food. Everything we did it seemed to be centered on food. We're getting together for (insert event), what should we make?

Food and I have been BFFs for a really long time. Actually, after thinking about that, I don't think we ever were BFFs. I abused our relationship. I wanted to blame it for not treating me the way friends treat each other, but I asked way too much from food. It was there to give me nourishment and strength. I wanted that nourishment, but I also wanted it to love me unconditionally, fill the gaping holes, be my friend when I didn't think I had any, spend time with me when I was alone, and everything else you shouldn't expect from inanimate objects.

Less than a year ago, some of my Friday nights consisted of a frozen pizza and a pint of B&Js. I would consider it a good night if there was a piece or two leftover. Extra ice cream? ha!
quick calculation
1 pint of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
1400 Calories
96 g fat 52 g saturated
240mg cholesterol
100 g sugar
24 g protein

1 DiGorno Cheese Stuffed Crust Pepperoni Pizza (in case I ate the whole thing)
1900 Calories
80 g fat 40 sat fat
200 mg cholesterol
5200 mg sodium (that's more than double your daily allotment)
200 g carbohydrate
95 g protein

Wow - I am officially sick to my stomach. I am in no way perfect with eating healthy. I make bad choices all the time. I snack here and there. I lose count of how many crackers I've eaten. I don't measure the exact amount of this and that. But every good change that I make brings me that much closer to having more control. Anyway. My point with this is that we need to take control of the relationship that we have with food. We need to use it for what it is intended. I'm making progress, but I still have a long way to go. I can't have treats in the house or else I'll eat them all in one sitting. We have candy jars all over the office and it's hard for me to pass them by every day. If I only make one trip instead of 4 I consider that a good day. Eventually I'm hoping to get to the point where they don't tempt me at all.

If I have a bad day now I take it out on the (insert machine at gym). If I'm still having a bad day, I make an amazing playlist on iTunes. If that doesn't work and I end up slipping, then I slip and I get back up the next day and work that much harder. At least I'm working on that part. I hope that helps. We can do it. We can change our eating habits. Our bodies will love us more. We can find new cravings with healthy foods. We can find new stress relievers. We can have a balanced, good for us, non-abusive relationship with food, the way that it was intended to be.

Inspirations

I've really just been using this blog to track what I'm doing.. for my sake.. purely selfish. So I wanted to get your opinion and maybe some suggestions. Do you want me to just continue what I'm doing, a little update here and there, or would you like me to add things. I was thinking like an exercise tracker or what I'm eating (we can also be friends on myfitnesspal.com) or measurements every now and then. I guess I could also take more pictures... I'm open to suggestions. I would love to do like a Q&A if you guys have any questions on what I'm doing, how I'm doing things, or stuff of that nature. I want to do as much as I can to help others because I know how great I'm feeling right now. I want to share that great feeling! The lines are now open.

How to survive running your first 5K

Because I'm an expert now, I thought I would pass on some valuable information. Please note that this post will most likely be filled with sarcasm. If you question whether or not it is sarcastic, it probably is. So here we go.

First things first. If you want to run a 5K and not have to plan it out, it might be best to register for one in the area. Chances are you'll have to fork over some money to do so, but you'll get an AWESOME T-Shirt!

It's really nice when you have some comfortable shoes with new inserts that make your feet feel like they're running on air (this is true, I really love my shoes).

After you register, they'll send you a fancy racing bib with a number. You'll think it's really cool that your running number is 2012, especially since the year you're running is 2012. And then it will all make sense when your friend tells you that their number is 2012 as well. Not as cool as you thought it was..

And then if you get separated from the crowd they provide you with a nice map of the run on the back of your racing number. It helps you keep track of where you're at and how much further you have to go.

Then you'll need a nifty armband for your ipod. Because carrying your ipod in your pocket, slid in your bra, or half-way zipped in a mini-pocket really doesn't work while you're running down the street.

And then in that armband is one of your most prized possession for the run. You need to have the proper running mix.

This running mix consisted of the following:
Raise your weapon - deadmau5
Machinehead - Bush
Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks
Call Me - Blondie
Hit me with your best shot - Pat Benatar
Crazy on you - Heart
coffee's for closers - Fall Out Boys
My First Kiss - 3OH!3
What doesn't kill you (stronger) - Kelly Clarkson
Turn me on (feat. Nicki Minaj) - David Guetta

I think that's as far as I got in my playlist. It really kept me going.

You definitely need to have the right attire, especially if everyone is participating. Because it was the Susan G Komen race, everyone was decked out in all shades of pink. We wanted to do TuTus, but it's really hard to find cheap, adult sized Tutus.. So we went with the next best thing. Because really, who doesn't want a tiara.

But the most important thing to have when you run is an awesome group of friends that will support and encourage you throughout the run. And it's even that much better when they're there at the finish line to root and cheer for you. Thanks lovely ladies!

The beginning of the race was a little chaotic. There were so many people to start off and we really didn't hear the "countdown". People just started running so we went with them. About 6 blocks in I needed to take off my jacket. I was good to go after that until we got about 1.5 miles in. I walked a block and then got going again. At the 2 mile mark Niki and I waited a bit for Jean-Ann and Emily. Emily caught up and then passed us. We started running again. I got 4 more blocks in me and then needed to catch my breath. I told myself that I would run the rest of the race without stopping. I could go to the next block and then the next block, I turned the corner and there was the finish line. I made it! I survived! They had cheerleaders lined up cheering us on. It felt so good. We grabbed some water and these amazing oranges and headed home. It was a great way to start the Saturday! I was going to do bootcamp later, but then my sister called and twisted my arm to go to lunch with them instead. I love running. It was a lot easier running outside than inside on the treadmill, but the fact that I can do either still astonishes me. Thanks everyone for your support and love. Who wants to run my next 5K with me?