I'm sure you've probably noticed by now that I am an awkward person. It's the way I've been my whole life, just bouncing from one embarrassing moment to the next. I don't know why it surprises me so much, then, when something happens and I find myself doing something ridiculous. You'd think I would be used to it, but yesterday was the day I finally decided to just expect awkwardness and embrace it when it comes.
My day started off with a sign. It was actually a blatantly obvious sign in the form of a Facebook ad. You know how Facebook tailors your ads to fit your personal needs? Mine are usually really accurate - there are a lot of scuba diving ads and some kids' stuff in there. Yesterday, the first ad I saw said "It's ok to be awkward." Yeah, told you it was obvious! I laughed and then promptly forgot about it.
Yesterday afternoon, I went up to the community college to drop off some flyers to advertise my fit club. Apparently you have to get everything approved and stamped by the Student Activities office before you can hang it on a bulletin board, so I wandered around for a while looking for the office. I finally found it and went in, only to find that it was the tiniest office ever and packed full of a bunch of people doing random projects.
There were a couple of people working on enormous papier-mache globes, and there was someone else elbowing his way through the crowd with a bunch of boards under his arm. Three or four people were standing in front of the desk, talking to the guy who needed to approve my flyers. Everyone paused for a second when I walked in, and then carried on with their business. The general chaos filling the tiny space was making my head feel a little fuzzy. I don't know what it is about crowds, but they make me lose my mind. I can't concentrate on what I'm doing, and I lose the ability to communicate like a sane human being. I stumble over my words and kind of mumble, so I have to repeat myself a lot. I usually can't hear what anyone else is saying, so I ask "What? Sorry, what was that?" a few times. That's bad enough on its own.
I did all of the above yesterday, but I didn't stop there. Nope, I'm an over-achiever, so I went ahead and topped the charts for awkward moments. After finally getting my flyers handed over and put in the pile for approval, I turned around to leave, but I turned around too quickly because I was in a hurry to get out of there. I tripped the guy behind me, and he went flying into the counter. I started apologizing and went to help him up, but when I straightened up, I somehow managed to crash into the guy carrying the boards under his arm, and he swung around to avoid me, hitting the girl on the other side of him. It was like a cartoon. I leveled half the office in about three seconds. What do you even say when something like that happens? I made a lame joke along the lines of, "Oops, guess I need to watch where I'm going!" and everyone stared at me like I was an idiot for stating the obvious.
But, really, was I the idiot? Or was the guy behind me standing way too close? And why was someone carrying boards around the room for so long? Put them down somewhere! I don't know, I'm sure that it was pretty much entirely my fault, but I feel like maybe my social awkwardness sometimes has to do with the rest of society being awkward.
Whatever the case may be, I'm going to embrace stuff like this. Like Facebook told me, "It's ok to be awkward." And whatever Facebook says must be true, right?
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
TurboFire Challenge: Success!
I made it! As of today, my 90 day challenge is over. I am still kind of in shock that I made it through the whole three months. I know I couldn't have done it on my own! I'm more grateful than I can say for my coaches, Amber and Leti, and for my accountability partners, Emily and Lisa. They helped me reach my goals, but more importantly, they helped me become a stronger, better person.
My journey with TurboFire is over for now, but my fitness journey is FAR from done. I'm jumping right into Insanity on Monday. Honestly, I'm pretty intimidated. Insanity is hard-core, intense cardio that looks like it could make me collapse on the floor in about ten minutes. Good thing I spent the last few months getting ready! As nervous as I am about starting a harder program, I'm also excited to see what results I'm going to get from it!
And speaking of results...here are my final before/after pictures and measurements! I'm so excited to share them with everyone!
Starting weight: 198.4 lbs
Ending weight: 176.6 lbs
Total lost: 21.8 lbs!!!
My journey with TurboFire is over for now, but my fitness journey is FAR from done. I'm jumping right into Insanity on Monday. Honestly, I'm pretty intimidated. Insanity is hard-core, intense cardio that looks like it could make me collapse on the floor in about ten minutes. Good thing I spent the last few months getting ready! As nervous as I am about starting a harder program, I'm also excited to see what results I'm going to get from it!
And speaking of results...here are my final before/after pictures and measurements! I'm so excited to share them with everyone!
Starting weight: 198.4 lbs
Ending weight: 176.6 lbs
Total lost: 21.8 lbs!!!
Starting waist: 46 in.
Ending waist: 38 in.
Starting Hips: 43 in.
Ending Hips: 40 in.
Starting Chest: 41 in.
Ending Chest: 37 in.
Ending Chest: 37 in.
So there it is! My TurboFire/Shakeology transformation! I lost 21.8 lbs and 18.5 inches total. I have a long way to go before I hit my final goals, but I'm so proud of my progress so far! And, in case anyone is wondering, I HIGHLY recommend TurboFire as a workout program! It changed my life.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
No One Looks Good in a Wetsuit
I've been in such a funk lately! I've totally neglected my blog, as I'm sure some of you have noticed, and I've been skipping more workouts than I care to admit. And while I haven't totally stopped eating healthy, I really haven't been counting my calories the way I should. It's not like my "cheat" days are like they used to be - I still eat way healthier than I ever did when I was overweight, but I can tell a difference in how sluggish I feel lately. The worse I've been feeling, the more inclined I've been to keep doing the wrong things. Why is that? I think part of it has something to do with how close I am to finishing a program for the very first time. It's like I'm afraid to taste success. I know I already talked about this in my post about the 30 day slump; I got past that obstacle, and now I'm in the homestretch and finding myself up against another wall. Well, I'm not having it! I was so close to giving up a week ago, but yesterday I realized a few things.
First, this is a lifestyle. Just because I have a bad week or two doesn't mean I should just pack it in. Yeah, I fell off the wagon a little bit. But guess what? I'm getting right back on and picking up where I left off. My workouts are back on track, and so is my eating. When I step on the scale at the end of this week, I'm going to accept whatever number is there and move on without giving it a second thought.
Secondly, I don't have to do everything exactly as it's laid out on paper. I've had a mental block the last couple of weeks. Just looking at the TurboFire schedule had me shaking me head and saying, "No. I don't want to do an hour long workout." And then I would sit around and not do it. My challengers were going through the same thing last week, and I was giving them advice about how they should just pop in the shortest workout DVD and get it done because it was better than not doing anything at all. Was I following that advice myself? No! All of a sudden I realized that I was being a total hypocrite and decided I'd better knock it off or no one would ever take me seriously. Now I have a plan to just take it day by day and decide which workout I'll do depending on how I feel. I still plan on challenging myself, but at least now I don't have to feel forced into a certain workout just because that's what the calendar says. The important thing is just doing anything!
And last of all (and maybe this is the biggest one), I realized that part of my problem came from spending last Saturday at the pool. I started scuba diving lessons last weekend, which has been a HUGE dream of mine that is finally coming true. I was so excited to start! Then I got to the pool and had to stand around for an hour in my swimsuit. That was super awkward because I've never been comfortable in a swimsuit, even when I was in really great shape and looking my best. I feel so naked, even though it's basically just a tank top and shorts. I kept thinking, "When can I put on my wetsuit?!" because obviously that would cover up everything.
Well, the time finally came to put the wetsuit on, and unfortunately I happened to pass a mirror on the way back out to the pool. What a disaster. I could see every bulge of fat that I'd been trying so very hard to hide. At that moment, it didn't matter that I've lost nearly 30 lbs over the summer. All I could see was an overweight girl who looked uncomfortable and disgusting. It was really hard for me to walk out there and stand around with everyone when I really just felt like going back into the locker room and crying. But I wasn't there to look like a supermodel, I was there to dive, so I sucked it up and went out there with my head held high. Good thing I did, too! Scuba diving is a BLAST! I loved it. Once I was in the pool, what I looked like didn't matter and I was able to have a ton of fun. I can't wait to go back next week.
The point of this story is to tell you that I came home feeling great about scuba diving but terrible about my body. I kept wondering, "What's the point? I look like crap, and I've been working my ass off. I guess it doesn't make a difference what I do." Lame, right? I really don't like the little negative voice in my head. I'm such a positive person now that it's really weird to have Negative Nelly in there, talking me down into misery. But there you have it. I was talking myself into giving up. Luckily, it only lasted over the weekend, and then I came to my big realization. In addition to the other stuff I just said, I realized that NO ONE LOOKS GOOD IN A WETSUIT. NO. ONE. (Maybe with the exception of wetsuit models, but they're not the average person, so they don't count.) I can't go moping around because I don't look totally awesome in a wetsuit! And if I totally give up on my healthy lifestyle, there's never going to be even a slight chance that I'll pull off that sexy neoprene look.
So, with all that being said, I'm jumping right back into it. I'm back to working my hardest and giving my best effort to everything I do. I'm going to walk my talk (or however the saying goes) and set a great example for all the people I'm coaching. I'm not going to worry about how I look, but I AM going to worry about how I feel. When I hear that little negative voice trying to make me feel bad, I'm going to reinforce all the positives in my life so that I feel confident and strong again.
First, this is a lifestyle. Just because I have a bad week or two doesn't mean I should just pack it in. Yeah, I fell off the wagon a little bit. But guess what? I'm getting right back on and picking up where I left off. My workouts are back on track, and so is my eating. When I step on the scale at the end of this week, I'm going to accept whatever number is there and move on without giving it a second thought.
Secondly, I don't have to do everything exactly as it's laid out on paper. I've had a mental block the last couple of weeks. Just looking at the TurboFire schedule had me shaking me head and saying, "No. I don't want to do an hour long workout." And then I would sit around and not do it. My challengers were going through the same thing last week, and I was giving them advice about how they should just pop in the shortest workout DVD and get it done because it was better than not doing anything at all. Was I following that advice myself? No! All of a sudden I realized that I was being a total hypocrite and decided I'd better knock it off or no one would ever take me seriously. Now I have a plan to just take it day by day and decide which workout I'll do depending on how I feel. I still plan on challenging myself, but at least now I don't have to feel forced into a certain workout just because that's what the calendar says. The important thing is just doing anything!
And last of all (and maybe this is the biggest one), I realized that part of my problem came from spending last Saturday at the pool. I started scuba diving lessons last weekend, which has been a HUGE dream of mine that is finally coming true. I was so excited to start! Then I got to the pool and had to stand around for an hour in my swimsuit. That was super awkward because I've never been comfortable in a swimsuit, even when I was in really great shape and looking my best. I feel so naked, even though it's basically just a tank top and shorts. I kept thinking, "When can I put on my wetsuit?!" because obviously that would cover up everything.
Well, the time finally came to put the wetsuit on, and unfortunately I happened to pass a mirror on the way back out to the pool. What a disaster. I could see every bulge of fat that I'd been trying so very hard to hide. At that moment, it didn't matter that I've lost nearly 30 lbs over the summer. All I could see was an overweight girl who looked uncomfortable and disgusting. It was really hard for me to walk out there and stand around with everyone when I really just felt like going back into the locker room and crying. But I wasn't there to look like a supermodel, I was there to dive, so I sucked it up and went out there with my head held high. Good thing I did, too! Scuba diving is a BLAST! I loved it. Once I was in the pool, what I looked like didn't matter and I was able to have a ton of fun. I can't wait to go back next week.
The point of this story is to tell you that I came home feeling great about scuba diving but terrible about my body. I kept wondering, "What's the point? I look like crap, and I've been working my ass off. I guess it doesn't make a difference what I do." Lame, right? I really don't like the little negative voice in my head. I'm such a positive person now that it's really weird to have Negative Nelly in there, talking me down into misery. But there you have it. I was talking myself into giving up. Luckily, it only lasted over the weekend, and then I came to my big realization. In addition to the other stuff I just said, I realized that NO ONE LOOKS GOOD IN A WETSUIT. NO. ONE. (Maybe with the exception of wetsuit models, but they're not the average person, so they don't count.) I can't go moping around because I don't look totally awesome in a wetsuit! And if I totally give up on my healthy lifestyle, there's never going to be even a slight chance that I'll pull off that sexy neoprene look.
So, with all that being said, I'm jumping right back into it. I'm back to working my hardest and giving my best effort to everything I do. I'm going to walk my talk (or however the saying goes) and set a great example for all the people I'm coaching. I'm not going to worry about how I look, but I AM going to worry about how I feel. When I hear that little negative voice trying to make me feel bad, I'm going to reinforce all the positives in my life so that I feel confident and strong again.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
60 Day Results
I'm coming up on 60 days in this challenge, and I thought I'd share my results with everyone before I left for vacation this week. I don't have a lot of time to write this post, so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
Starting weight: 198.4 lbs
Current weight: 178.8 lbs (Yeah, I'm 20 lbs. down!!!)
Starting waist: 46 in.
Current waist: 39 in.
Starting weight: 198.4 lbs
Current weight: 178.8 lbs (Yeah, I'm 20 lbs. down!!!)
Starting waist: 46 in.
Current waist: 39 in.
And for some reason, it won't let me resize this last picture, but I really don't have time to mess with it, so here it is in tiny form:
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Breaking Barriers & An Awkward Moment
In less than two weeks, I'll be hitting my 60 day mark with Turbo Fire. This is officially the longest I've ever made it with a workout program, Beachbody or not. The 30-45 day slump was hard to get through, but I pushed on with the help of my coach, the encouragement of my friends, and the accountability of my challenge group. Also, my steely determination to finish something didn't hurt. I've got my second wind now. I can feel a difference in all of my workouts - I'm just so much stronger than I was when I started! I remember that first month I had to keep pausing the DVD to catch my breath, and I don't need to do that anymore. I can finish every workout without taking extra breaks. Not that it's easy, by any means. I still feel like I've been hit by a train. Overall, though, I enjoy the pain. I feel like every aching muscle is a reward because it's taking me closer to my goals. I'm so ready to get through this next month! And I'm totally excited to post my 60 day comparison pictures. It's not going to be as painful to show them this time because I know there's such a huge improvement. No shame here! Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad I stuck around this long because it's going to be completely worth the struggle in the end.
Oh, and speaking of struggling...
Has anyone else had a totally awkward moment during a group workout? Like, so bad that you kinda wish that everyone else was struck with temporary blindness so they wouldn't notice what was happening? That happened to me tonight.
I'm cringing a little bit as I share this story, mostly because I'm pretty sure some of the other coaches who went to fit club tonight actually read my blog. But whatever. I promised to share my journey, and I will - every little detail, no matter how utterly embarrassing. As my coach Leti pointed out, I wrote about nearly crapping my pants in my last blog, so comparatively, I guess this isn't too bad.
So...here's my awkward moment.
We did Insanity's Plyometrics Cardio Circuit at fit club today. Insanity is no joke! I'm in decent shape nowadays, but I was having some problems keeping up. Part of the reason was that I was still recovering from last night's sculpt workout, but the main reason was that Insanity is INSANE! (Fitting name, right?) The other, smaller, very small reason, was that my underwear fell off. Yeah. That happened. We were doing jump squats, and SCHOOMP! There went the undies, down to my thighs.
I wasn't sure what to do at that point. I mean, I guess I could have run to the bathroom and fixed it. Now that I think about it, that would have been the smart thing to do. But my brain wasn't functioning at the time - maybe something to do with the lack of oxygen - and I figured I probably shouldn't even bother fixing 'em because they'd just come down again. So, there I was, doing jump squats and in 'n out abs and all the other crazy stuff that Shaun T demands, praying desperately that my pants would not come down too. Because THAT would be a complete disaster.
I'm sure you may have already guessed this, but it's hard to do squats and jumping jacks with confidence when your underwear is down around your thighs. That being said, my word of advice for the evening is this: If you're losing a lot of weight and have to participate in group activities, invest in some new undies. You never know when they're gonna fly off.
Oh, and speaking of struggling...
Has anyone else had a totally awkward moment during a group workout? Like, so bad that you kinda wish that everyone else was struck with temporary blindness so they wouldn't notice what was happening? That happened to me tonight.
I'm cringing a little bit as I share this story, mostly because I'm pretty sure some of the other coaches who went to fit club tonight actually read my blog. But whatever. I promised to share my journey, and I will - every little detail, no matter how utterly embarrassing. As my coach Leti pointed out, I wrote about nearly crapping my pants in my last blog, so comparatively, I guess this isn't too bad.
So...here's my awkward moment.
We did Insanity's Plyometrics Cardio Circuit at fit club today. Insanity is no joke! I'm in decent shape nowadays, but I was having some problems keeping up. Part of the reason was that I was still recovering from last night's sculpt workout, but the main reason was that Insanity is INSANE! (Fitting name, right?) The other, smaller, very small reason, was that my underwear fell off. Yeah. That happened. We were doing jump squats, and SCHOOMP! There went the undies, down to my thighs.
I wasn't sure what to do at that point. I mean, I guess I could have run to the bathroom and fixed it. Now that I think about it, that would have been the smart thing to do. But my brain wasn't functioning at the time - maybe something to do with the lack of oxygen - and I figured I probably shouldn't even bother fixing 'em because they'd just come down again. So, there I was, doing jump squats and in 'n out abs and all the other crazy stuff that Shaun T demands, praying desperately that my pants would not come down too. Because THAT would be a complete disaster.
I'm sure you may have already guessed this, but it's hard to do squats and jumping jacks with confidence when your underwear is down around your thighs. That being said, my word of advice for the evening is this: If you're losing a lot of weight and have to participate in group activities, invest in some new undies. You never know when they're gonna fly off.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Another Life Lesson & More Oversharing
I just typed the title to this blog post and then let out a heavy sigh. I like to share positive experiences with you. This is not a positive experience. I guess there's a bright side to it - I finally learned my lesson. Yeah, okay, that's definitely a bright side. The lesson I learned here is one I've been struggling with for a long time, so I'm glad I finally got smacked upside the head with a little bit of sense. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you what this week's life lesson was.
Jon and I took the kids to Denver this past weekend to go car shopping. We had just gotten back from an unsuccessful car hunt in Phoenix the weekend before, so I wasn't thrilled about being away from home again so soon. Home is my comfort zone. I know I'll get my workouts done, and I have complete control over everything that goes into my food. I love home. But we needed a car, and Denver had a lot more options than anywhere in New Mexico, so off we went. (For those of you who don't already know this, we get free flights with Great Lakes Airlines because Jon works for them. We're not just throwing money around right and left on plane tickets.) We ended up buying our car there, so it was great that we went. I absolutely love our car!
Anyway, this shameful story is not about our car or even really about the time we spent in Denver. It's about my eating habits while we're away from home. I generally do all right with food while we're away, but the temptation to eat crap sometimes gets the better of me. I know I've talked about this before. I do my workouts in the hotel room, I eat healthy for the first day or two, and then I blow it on a piece of cake or some buffalo wings or something. Well, this time my downfall was Chipotle. Ok, that's not really a huge downfall if you're just looking at the calories. Chipotle is a burrito place, and they have an option to make the burrito in a bowl, without the tortilla. I figured, what the heck, I'll go with that. There's not a Chipotle where we live, and I used to love eating there before I was living my healthy lifestyle. Burrito bowl, that's gotta be healthy, right? I ordered it with black beans and rice, pork (could've had chicken, but I hate chicken), extra hot salsa, guacamole, and lettuce. No cheese, no sour cream. Not too terrible. It tasted pretty good, but it wasn't as amazing as I remembered it. It was definitely not worth the trouble it caused me later.
The morning after we had eaten Chipotle for dinner, we got up at 5:30 am to head to the airport. I was going to fly home with Calista, and Jon and Tori were going to road trip home in our new car. It was a great plan because Calista still needs to eat every few hours, and a drive with her would take a lot longer. We had to get up that early because Jon had to get home in time for work, and it's a good 7 hour drive home from Denver. I wish we could have taken a little more time to get ready, but we were in a rush to get to the airport in time for my flight. I felt my stomach rumbling from the previous night's dinner, but there wasn't much I could do about it. I got to spend a little time in the bathroom before we left the hotel, but apparently it wasn't enough.
When Calista and I got to the airport, we checked in at the ticket counter and then had to hurry through security. I was carrying her in the baby backpack on my front, and I had my backpack with her diapers and formula on my back. Security isn't too hard to get through that way because they let me wear Calista through the metal detector. Still, I had to take off my shoes and belt and do all the other stuff that they make you do to get to the other side. By the time I had my clothes back together, I was in a pretty big hurry to get to my gate. Great Lakes, being the tiny little airline that it is, is in the basement of the Denver International Airport. To get to the gate, I had to speed walk all the way to the end of the A concourse, take the escalator downstairs, and speed walk all the way to the end of the basement concourse. What I'm trying to say is that it's a long freaking walk, and I was doing it as fast as I could with about 30 lbs of baby/luggage strapped to me.
I'm in pretty good shape by now, but I was sweating and huffing and puffing by the time I got to my gate. I checked in and had time to make Calista a bottle for the plane ride before they started boarding us. I did not have time to use the bathroom. I didn't even really think about it because I was so busy getting to the gate and making Calista's food and everything. When we boarded and were sitting on the plane waiting to take off, though, I noticed my stomach rumbling again. It was an angry rumble. It was saying, "Hey. Hey there. What the hell did you do to me last night? I'm gonna get you for this. Yeah, be scared." And I was. I was very scared. Because guess what? Great Lakes planes don't have bathrooms.
That's right. No bathrooms. Not even the tiny little closet bathroom that you normally find on a plane. Great Lakes has only enough room for passengers and luggage. The plane I was on that day only had nineteen seats. None of them had a toilet hidden under them. So there I was, crammed into my seat with Calista on my lap, waiting for takeoff and thinking, "Oh my God, I'm gonna shit my pants."
The second thought that crossed my mind was "We haven't even taken off yet. This is bad. This is really, really bad." Then I decided I should try to stop thinking about it. Mind over matter and all that. I thought maybe if I could be distracted, I would find a way to tell my body to quit the drama and just hang in there for the hour and a half flight. Unfortunately, there's not much distraction available on a nineteen-seater plane with no music allowed and no scenery going by. We were just rolling slowly down the runway. I could have walked faster than the plane at that point.
I broke out in a hot sweat. My stomach was boiling. Calista was merrily eating her bottle, and I was trying to concentrate on that instead of the discomfort I was feeling. It wasn't distracting me at all. All of a sudden, I felt a terrifying pressure and I thought "Oh no you don't!". I gritted my teeth and slammed my butt closed. The pressure dissipated inside of me instead of exploding into my pants, but it was so forceful that I could feel the bubbles coming back up my intestines. I doubled over in pain, and slowly the feeling went away. "Ahhh," I thought, "that's better." It didn't stay away for long. We were finally in the air, but it hadn't even been ten minutes into the flight before I had another battle with my bowels. I won again, but it was a close call. This happened more times throughout the flight than I can even count. Each time, I was close to my breaking point. The fear that I would have to explain my soggy, smelly, saggy pants to someone as I was getting off the plane was the only thing that kept me hanging on for dear life. I don't think I even need to tell you how incredibly humiliating that would be.
At one point, Calista woke up from a nap and started grunting. I watched with growing jealousy as she took a huge dump into her diaper. Am I proud that I wished I had a diaper too? No, no I am not. I think at one point I had a passing thought that had something to do with me stuffing one of Calista's diapers into my pants. That's truly desperate and really pathetic, but there it is. I was in the midst of a battle that I was determined not to lose.
When they finally announced the descent into Farmington, I was so relieved I almost cried. I had to tell myself to stay vigilant because if I relaxed for even a second, all my hard work would be for nothing. The plane landed and I waited impatiently for the door to open. I tried not to run or shove people, but I'm pretty sure I did both on my way to the bathroom. I was in there for a long time, and when I came out again, I was triumphant. Mark this on your calendars: Wednesday, August 15th - the day I did not shit my pants. (Fine, you don't have to mark it. But if you want to, do it in red. And throw in a few exclamation points.)
Moral of the story: don't ever stop eating healthy, wonderful foods, even when you're away from home. Eating junk that you're not used to will really throw your body off, and you might end up fighting a war with your furious stomach like I did. I won this one, but I might not win next time, so I have to make sure there's not a next time. I've been telling myself this for a long time, but I'm finally worn down to the point that I can actually follow my own advice. That was way too close for comfort.
Jon and I took the kids to Denver this past weekend to go car shopping. We had just gotten back from an unsuccessful car hunt in Phoenix the weekend before, so I wasn't thrilled about being away from home again so soon. Home is my comfort zone. I know I'll get my workouts done, and I have complete control over everything that goes into my food. I love home. But we needed a car, and Denver had a lot more options than anywhere in New Mexico, so off we went. (For those of you who don't already know this, we get free flights with Great Lakes Airlines because Jon works for them. We're not just throwing money around right and left on plane tickets.) We ended up buying our car there, so it was great that we went. I absolutely love our car!
Anyway, this shameful story is not about our car or even really about the time we spent in Denver. It's about my eating habits while we're away from home. I generally do all right with food while we're away, but the temptation to eat crap sometimes gets the better of me. I know I've talked about this before. I do my workouts in the hotel room, I eat healthy for the first day or two, and then I blow it on a piece of cake or some buffalo wings or something. Well, this time my downfall was Chipotle. Ok, that's not really a huge downfall if you're just looking at the calories. Chipotle is a burrito place, and they have an option to make the burrito in a bowl, without the tortilla. I figured, what the heck, I'll go with that. There's not a Chipotle where we live, and I used to love eating there before I was living my healthy lifestyle. Burrito bowl, that's gotta be healthy, right? I ordered it with black beans and rice, pork (could've had chicken, but I hate chicken), extra hot salsa, guacamole, and lettuce. No cheese, no sour cream. Not too terrible. It tasted pretty good, but it wasn't as amazing as I remembered it. It was definitely not worth the trouble it caused me later.
(It was kinda like this. Oh man, I can't even look at it right now.)
The morning after we had eaten Chipotle for dinner, we got up at 5:30 am to head to the airport. I was going to fly home with Calista, and Jon and Tori were going to road trip home in our new car. It was a great plan because Calista still needs to eat every few hours, and a drive with her would take a lot longer. We had to get up that early because Jon had to get home in time for work, and it's a good 7 hour drive home from Denver. I wish we could have taken a little more time to get ready, but we were in a rush to get to the airport in time for my flight. I felt my stomach rumbling from the previous night's dinner, but there wasn't much I could do about it. I got to spend a little time in the bathroom before we left the hotel, but apparently it wasn't enough.
When Calista and I got to the airport, we checked in at the ticket counter and then had to hurry through security. I was carrying her in the baby backpack on my front, and I had my backpack with her diapers and formula on my back. Security isn't too hard to get through that way because they let me wear Calista through the metal detector. Still, I had to take off my shoes and belt and do all the other stuff that they make you do to get to the other side. By the time I had my clothes back together, I was in a pretty big hurry to get to my gate. Great Lakes, being the tiny little airline that it is, is in the basement of the Denver International Airport. To get to the gate, I had to speed walk all the way to the end of the A concourse, take the escalator downstairs, and speed walk all the way to the end of the basement concourse. What I'm trying to say is that it's a long freaking walk, and I was doing it as fast as I could with about 30 lbs of baby/luggage strapped to me.
I'm in pretty good shape by now, but I was sweating and huffing and puffing by the time I got to my gate. I checked in and had time to make Calista a bottle for the plane ride before they started boarding us. I did not have time to use the bathroom. I didn't even really think about it because I was so busy getting to the gate and making Calista's food and everything. When we boarded and were sitting on the plane waiting to take off, though, I noticed my stomach rumbling again. It was an angry rumble. It was saying, "Hey. Hey there. What the hell did you do to me last night? I'm gonna get you for this. Yeah, be scared." And I was. I was very scared. Because guess what? Great Lakes planes don't have bathrooms.
That's right. No bathrooms. Not even the tiny little closet bathroom that you normally find on a plane. Great Lakes has only enough room for passengers and luggage. The plane I was on that day only had nineteen seats. None of them had a toilet hidden under them. So there I was, crammed into my seat with Calista on my lap, waiting for takeoff and thinking, "Oh my God, I'm gonna shit my pants."
The second thought that crossed my mind was "We haven't even taken off yet. This is bad. This is really, really bad." Then I decided I should try to stop thinking about it. Mind over matter and all that. I thought maybe if I could be distracted, I would find a way to tell my body to quit the drama and just hang in there for the hour and a half flight. Unfortunately, there's not much distraction available on a nineteen-seater plane with no music allowed and no scenery going by. We were just rolling slowly down the runway. I could have walked faster than the plane at that point.
I broke out in a hot sweat. My stomach was boiling. Calista was merrily eating her bottle, and I was trying to concentrate on that instead of the discomfort I was feeling. It wasn't distracting me at all. All of a sudden, I felt a terrifying pressure and I thought "Oh no you don't!". I gritted my teeth and slammed my butt closed. The pressure dissipated inside of me instead of exploding into my pants, but it was so forceful that I could feel the bubbles coming back up my intestines. I doubled over in pain, and slowly the feeling went away. "Ahhh," I thought, "that's better." It didn't stay away for long. We were finally in the air, but it hadn't even been ten minutes into the flight before I had another battle with my bowels. I won again, but it was a close call. This happened more times throughout the flight than I can even count. Each time, I was close to my breaking point. The fear that I would have to explain my soggy, smelly, saggy pants to someone as I was getting off the plane was the only thing that kept me hanging on for dear life. I don't think I even need to tell you how incredibly humiliating that would be.
At one point, Calista woke up from a nap and started grunting. I watched with growing jealousy as she took a huge dump into her diaper. Am I proud that I wished I had a diaper too? No, no I am not. I think at one point I had a passing thought that had something to do with me stuffing one of Calista's diapers into my pants. That's truly desperate and really pathetic, but there it is. I was in the midst of a battle that I was determined not to lose.
When they finally announced the descent into Farmington, I was so relieved I almost cried. I had to tell myself to stay vigilant because if I relaxed for even a second, all my hard work would be for nothing. The plane landed and I waited impatiently for the door to open. I tried not to run or shove people, but I'm pretty sure I did both on my way to the bathroom. I was in there for a long time, and when I came out again, I was triumphant. Mark this on your calendars: Wednesday, August 15th - the day I did not shit my pants. (Fine, you don't have to mark it. But if you want to, do it in red. And throw in a few exclamation points.)
Moral of the story: don't ever stop eating healthy, wonderful foods, even when you're away from home. Eating junk that you're not used to will really throw your body off, and you might end up fighting a war with your furious stomach like I did. I won this one, but I might not win next time, so I have to make sure there's not a next time. I've been telling myself this for a long time, but I'm finally worn down to the point that I can actually follow my own advice. That was way too close for comfort.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
3 Day Shakeology Cleanse - the Good, the Bad & the Really, Really Ugly
I just finished the 3 Day Shakeology Cleanse! It was the first time I've ever done something like this, and it was quite the experience. I have very mixed feelings about it. This blog post is going to be a very thorough review of the cleanse, and hopefully it will provide some insight for those of you who are thinking about trying it. *ahem* Emily *ahem* ...sorry, had to clear my throat...Ok, here's my review:
The Cleanse:
Basically, you're supposed to drink three Shakeology shakes per day for three days, with green tea and fruit as a snack twice a day. End your day with a salad/veggies and about 4 oz. of lean white protein. Your shakes are supposed to be plain - one scoop of whatever flavor Shakeology (I used chocolate) and ice/water. Your daily schedule for three days would look like this:
Breakfast - Shakeology
Snack 1 - green tea/fruit (I had bananas for my fruit, but you can use whatever)
Lunch - Shakeology
Snack 2 - green tea/fruit OR your 3rd shake
Dinner - Veggies & protein (I had grilled tilapia every night)
Snack 3 - If you didn't drink your 3rd shake for Snack 2, you'd have it after dinner sometime.
Also, you're supposed to be drinking a LOT of water, at least 64 oz. I had close to 90 oz the first two days, and only about 75-80 oz on the last day.
This is supposed to help you lose weight, detox your body, regulate digestion, and re-energize you. It can also help break a plateau and kickstart your metabolism. It did all of the above for me, except for re-energize and break a plateau. (I will explain about the energy in my "Bad" list. The plateau didn't apply to me because I wasn't on one. I've been losing weight steadily.)
The Good:
- The cleanse was really short, and it was also really easy to follow. I've never done any juicing or cleanses before, but I always assumed they're be more complicated.
- I lost 5.6 lbs in 3 days! That's the most weight I've lost at one time since I started my weight loss journey.
- In addition to the weight loss, I lost a full inch off my waist, a half inch off my hips, and an inch off my chest. (Goodbye, boobs!) For it being just 3 days, those are HUGE numbers. It usually takes me about 2 weeks to lose inches.
- Meal preparation was incredibly easy because all I had to do for most of the day was mix my shakes. For dinner each night, I had grilled tilapia and veggies, which is also quick to make. (Can you tell I like things to be quick and easy?)
The Bad:
- This cleanse is supposed to re-energize you. I was dead tired the entire time. Now, I've heard that the first day is kind of hard because your body is adjusting to the change in diet, but I got more tired as the days went on. I'd say part of that was my fault. I bought the wrong kind of green tea when I went to the store before the cleanse started. It was the Crystal Light powder green tea, and it had aspartame in it. I didn't notice til I got home, and by then I didn't want to have to walk all the way back to the store just for green tea. And since I had just bought my groceries for the week, I didn't go to the store the entire three days I was on the cleanse. No green tea for me! I guess I could have had the Crystal Light stuff, but it kind of goes against the whole point of a cleanse if I'm drinking man-made sweeteners that are totally not good for my body. I also blame the lack of energy partly on my kids. For some reason, neither one of them decided to sleep at all the last two nights. They're both usually really good about sleeping through the night, so I don't know what happened there. Maybe it was a full moon or something. Whatever it was, it didn't allow me to sleep either. So, no sleep and no green tea for energy...yep, I was pretty exhausted. I have no idea if the cleanse had anything to do with it or not, so this one might be on my bad list and no one else's.
- You have to drink the Shakeology plain. I like to put fruit or peanut butter in my shakes, and drinking it plain was just not fun. Beachbody recently changed the chocolate shakeology formula to make it more nutritious; now it has less sugar per serving and has more superfoods than it did before. It's WAY healthier than it was, which is crazy because it was already really healthy. The only bad thing is that there is now a strong stevia aftertaste when you mix it with just water and ice. I had just gotten my bag of the new formula, so starting out the cleanse by discovering the harsh aftertaste was not fun. By Day 2, I was mixing it with a tiny bit of honey just to try to tone it down a little. (That helped, by the way. So did adding half a banana instead of the honey.) Even if the shakes didn't have an aftertaste, I still like to have different recipes every day, so it wasn't my favorite thing to have to drink 'em plain.
- I got bored eating tilapia for dinner every night. That one was my fault, too. You can choose chicken or fish, and you can cook them however you want as long as there's not really any kind of sauce or butter on them. (Shouldn't be eating them with butter anyway...but that's a different topic.) You can also make a salad instead of veggies, if that's what your heart desires. My heart, at the time of grocery shopping, happened to desire an easy shopping trip, so all I bothered to buy was tilapia. My advice is that you switch things up! It's the only food besides fruit that you get to eat all day, so please don't make the same mistake I did and eat the same thing three days in a row. (Unless you absolutely LIVE for tilapia or chicken. Then you can do whatever you want.)
- I didn't buy enough fruit because I didn't add Jon and Tori into the equation. Not that I blame them, but they ate most of my fruit supply. Again, my fault. I didn't buy enough, and I didn't tell Jon not to eat it. So yeah, make sure you get enough fruit to last the full three days, and if you have a significant other/family/roommate, tell them to step off. My lack of fruit probably also contributed to the lack of energy.
- I wasn't able to work out on the cleanse. I did my workout on Day 1, but the other two days, I just didn't have enough energy. It's fine because I still lost a lot of weight. However, I hate losing my routine, even for a couple of days. I'm always scared I might not be motivated to get back into it, and then my workouts will just stop altogether. (Which, thankfully, is NOT the case this time. I'm about to go do my workout after this. The worry is always there, though.)
The Really, Really Ugly: (I'm not proud of any of this, but I'm determined to give you an honest review, so here it is...the UGLY.)
- I was on my period for the entire cleanse. I wasn't expecting it. It came early, two weeks early as a matter of fact, and it really pissed me off. There's nothing like not being able to eat food when you're PMS-ing. Combine that with the lack of sleep/energy, and my family had a raging bitch on their hands. I felt so angry by the end of the three days, I'm surprised I didn't punch a hole in the wall or flip the kitchen table over while everyone was eating dinner. I DO NOT recommend doing this cleanse when you're on your period. Don't do it. Seriously. Don't.
- One of Shakeology's many benefits is that it curbs cravings. I'm not just saying this - it actually does really help with cravings. I don't even really think twice about junk food or chips anymore. But...trying to do this cleanse while PMS-ing...let's just say that all the Shakeology in the world can't curb those kinds of cravings. I think all you ladies know what I mean. On Day 2, Jon was eating chips and salsa, and it was all I could do to not lunge across the room and shovel chips into my mouth, Cookie Monster-style. Normally I wouldn't even be tempted. (I gave in on Day 3 and had two small chips. I consider that a win.)
- And while we're on the subject of food temptations, I am never, ever tempted to take Tori's food before she even gets a chance to eat it. But Days 2 & 3, I was making her lunch and battling with myself to not house the whole thing before it even got to the table. That's horrible. I hate feeling like I have to fight with myself just to avoid eating my daughter's food. I made her a grilled cheese sandwich, which I don't eat anymore and don't even miss, so having cravings like that is ridiculous to me. When she didn't eat her whole lunch, I immediately threw it in the trash, but I had to cover it with a dirty diaper because part of me was ready to dive in there and retrieve it. I feel dirty and disgusted with myself just talking about it, but it's the truth. (I didn't eat any of Tori's food on any of the days. That's a win, too.)
The Recommendation:
I doubt I will ever do a cleanse again. This was not a fun experience for me, and even though I lost weight, I don't think it was worth it to go through the emotional turmoil. I believe that clean eating combined with exercise is more than enough for me to lose weight and be healthy. Cleansing, to me, has too many negatives to make it worth my while. That's not to say it won't be worth it to anyone. I DO feel pretty good today. I have energy even though I still didn't get enough sleep last night, my digestion is working nicely, and of course I'm almost 6 lbs lighter than I was a few days ago. So my recommendation is this:
- Do the cleanse if you don't have to deal much with anyone on a 24 hr. basis. I had two kids who wouldn't sleep at all, and things got crazy. If you live by yourself or with supportive adults, then go for it.
- Do the cleanse if you want to lose weight really quickly, like for a wedding or a hot date. If you do it right, you can lose quite a bit.
- Do the cleanse if you've hit a plateau and you're just not losing weight anymore. I have a feeling this would really get things going again.
- Do the cleanse if you don't have a problem drinking Shakeology plain. This was hard for me, and I think it would be a lot easier for someone who was actually enjoying what they had to drink three times a day.
- Do NOT do the cleanse if you are on your period. I can't stress this enough!!!
- Do NOT do the cleanse if you have to deal with people constantly. My kids drove me to the brink of insanity because I wasn't able to get a break. As my energy decreased, so did my patience, and I ended up being one angry mommy. Not fun for anyone. My customer service friends, if you're planning to do the cleanse, I recommend trying it on your days off. That way you'll still have a job when you're done. (I could be exaggerating...I still don't know if my bad attitude was more PMS or cleanse-related.)
...and that's it, I guess. I thought I had more "do NOT" reasons, but that's all I can remember. So, in conclusion, I think cleansing is not the best thing for me personally, but it might be right for someone else.
The Cleanse:
Basically, you're supposed to drink three Shakeology shakes per day for three days, with green tea and fruit as a snack twice a day. End your day with a salad/veggies and about 4 oz. of lean white protein. Your shakes are supposed to be plain - one scoop of whatever flavor Shakeology (I used chocolate) and ice/water. Your daily schedule for three days would look like this:
Breakfast - Shakeology
Snack 1 - green tea/fruit (I had bananas for my fruit, but you can use whatever)
Lunch - Shakeology
Snack 2 - green tea/fruit OR your 3rd shake
Dinner - Veggies & protein (I had grilled tilapia every night)
Snack 3 - If you didn't drink your 3rd shake for Snack 2, you'd have it after dinner sometime.
Also, you're supposed to be drinking a LOT of water, at least 64 oz. I had close to 90 oz the first two days, and only about 75-80 oz on the last day.
This is supposed to help you lose weight, detox your body, regulate digestion, and re-energize you. It can also help break a plateau and kickstart your metabolism. It did all of the above for me, except for re-energize and break a plateau. (I will explain about the energy in my "Bad" list. The plateau didn't apply to me because I wasn't on one. I've been losing weight steadily.)
The Good:
- The cleanse was really short, and it was also really easy to follow. I've never done any juicing or cleanses before, but I always assumed they're be more complicated.
- I lost 5.6 lbs in 3 days! That's the most weight I've lost at one time since I started my weight loss journey.
- In addition to the weight loss, I lost a full inch off my waist, a half inch off my hips, and an inch off my chest. (Goodbye, boobs!) For it being just 3 days, those are HUGE numbers. It usually takes me about 2 weeks to lose inches.
- Meal preparation was incredibly easy because all I had to do for most of the day was mix my shakes. For dinner each night, I had grilled tilapia and veggies, which is also quick to make. (Can you tell I like things to be quick and easy?)
The Bad:
- This cleanse is supposed to re-energize you. I was dead tired the entire time. Now, I've heard that the first day is kind of hard because your body is adjusting to the change in diet, but I got more tired as the days went on. I'd say part of that was my fault. I bought the wrong kind of green tea when I went to the store before the cleanse started. It was the Crystal Light powder green tea, and it had aspartame in it. I didn't notice til I got home, and by then I didn't want to have to walk all the way back to the store just for green tea. And since I had just bought my groceries for the week, I didn't go to the store the entire three days I was on the cleanse. No green tea for me! I guess I could have had the Crystal Light stuff, but it kind of goes against the whole point of a cleanse if I'm drinking man-made sweeteners that are totally not good for my body. I also blame the lack of energy partly on my kids. For some reason, neither one of them decided to sleep at all the last two nights. They're both usually really good about sleeping through the night, so I don't know what happened there. Maybe it was a full moon or something. Whatever it was, it didn't allow me to sleep either. So, no sleep and no green tea for energy...yep, I was pretty exhausted. I have no idea if the cleanse had anything to do with it or not, so this one might be on my bad list and no one else's.
- You have to drink the Shakeology plain. I like to put fruit or peanut butter in my shakes, and drinking it plain was just not fun. Beachbody recently changed the chocolate shakeology formula to make it more nutritious; now it has less sugar per serving and has more superfoods than it did before. It's WAY healthier than it was, which is crazy because it was already really healthy. The only bad thing is that there is now a strong stevia aftertaste when you mix it with just water and ice. I had just gotten my bag of the new formula, so starting out the cleanse by discovering the harsh aftertaste was not fun. By Day 2, I was mixing it with a tiny bit of honey just to try to tone it down a little. (That helped, by the way. So did adding half a banana instead of the honey.) Even if the shakes didn't have an aftertaste, I still like to have different recipes every day, so it wasn't my favorite thing to have to drink 'em plain.
- I got bored eating tilapia for dinner every night. That one was my fault, too. You can choose chicken or fish, and you can cook them however you want as long as there's not really any kind of sauce or butter on them. (Shouldn't be eating them with butter anyway...but that's a different topic.) You can also make a salad instead of veggies, if that's what your heart desires. My heart, at the time of grocery shopping, happened to desire an easy shopping trip, so all I bothered to buy was tilapia. My advice is that you switch things up! It's the only food besides fruit that you get to eat all day, so please don't make the same mistake I did and eat the same thing three days in a row. (Unless you absolutely LIVE for tilapia or chicken. Then you can do whatever you want.)
- I didn't buy enough fruit because I didn't add Jon and Tori into the equation. Not that I blame them, but they ate most of my fruit supply. Again, my fault. I didn't buy enough, and I didn't tell Jon not to eat it. So yeah, make sure you get enough fruit to last the full three days, and if you have a significant other/family/roommate, tell them to step off. My lack of fruit probably also contributed to the lack of energy.
- I wasn't able to work out on the cleanse. I did my workout on Day 1, but the other two days, I just didn't have enough energy. It's fine because I still lost a lot of weight. However, I hate losing my routine, even for a couple of days. I'm always scared I might not be motivated to get back into it, and then my workouts will just stop altogether. (Which, thankfully, is NOT the case this time. I'm about to go do my workout after this. The worry is always there, though.)
The Really, Really Ugly: (I'm not proud of any of this, but I'm determined to give you an honest review, so here it is...the UGLY.)
- I was on my period for the entire cleanse. I wasn't expecting it. It came early, two weeks early as a matter of fact, and it really pissed me off. There's nothing like not being able to eat food when you're PMS-ing. Combine that with the lack of sleep/energy, and my family had a raging bitch on their hands. I felt so angry by the end of the three days, I'm surprised I didn't punch a hole in the wall or flip the kitchen table over while everyone was eating dinner. I DO NOT recommend doing this cleanse when you're on your period. Don't do it. Seriously. Don't.
- One of Shakeology's many benefits is that it curbs cravings. I'm not just saying this - it actually does really help with cravings. I don't even really think twice about junk food or chips anymore. But...trying to do this cleanse while PMS-ing...let's just say that all the Shakeology in the world can't curb those kinds of cravings. I think all you ladies know what I mean. On Day 2, Jon was eating chips and salsa, and it was all I could do to not lunge across the room and shovel chips into my mouth, Cookie Monster-style. Normally I wouldn't even be tempted. (I gave in on Day 3 and had two small chips. I consider that a win.)
- And while we're on the subject of food temptations, I am never, ever tempted to take Tori's food before she even gets a chance to eat it. But Days 2 & 3, I was making her lunch and battling with myself to not house the whole thing before it even got to the table. That's horrible. I hate feeling like I have to fight with myself just to avoid eating my daughter's food. I made her a grilled cheese sandwich, which I don't eat anymore and don't even miss, so having cravings like that is ridiculous to me. When she didn't eat her whole lunch, I immediately threw it in the trash, but I had to cover it with a dirty diaper because part of me was ready to dive in there and retrieve it. I feel dirty and disgusted with myself just talking about it, but it's the truth. (I didn't eat any of Tori's food on any of the days. That's a win, too.)
The Recommendation:
I doubt I will ever do a cleanse again. This was not a fun experience for me, and even though I lost weight, I don't think it was worth it to go through the emotional turmoil. I believe that clean eating combined with exercise is more than enough for me to lose weight and be healthy. Cleansing, to me, has too many negatives to make it worth my while. That's not to say it won't be worth it to anyone. I DO feel pretty good today. I have energy even though I still didn't get enough sleep last night, my digestion is working nicely, and of course I'm almost 6 lbs lighter than I was a few days ago. So my recommendation is this:
- Do the cleanse if you don't have to deal much with anyone on a 24 hr. basis. I had two kids who wouldn't sleep at all, and things got crazy. If you live by yourself or with supportive adults, then go for it.
- Do the cleanse if you want to lose weight really quickly, like for a wedding or a hot date. If you do it right, you can lose quite a bit.
- Do the cleanse if you've hit a plateau and you're just not losing weight anymore. I have a feeling this would really get things going again.
- Do the cleanse if you don't have a problem drinking Shakeology plain. This was hard for me, and I think it would be a lot easier for someone who was actually enjoying what they had to drink three times a day.
- Do NOT do the cleanse if you are on your period. I can't stress this enough!!!
- Do NOT do the cleanse if you have to deal with people constantly. My kids drove me to the brink of insanity because I wasn't able to get a break. As my energy decreased, so did my patience, and I ended up being one angry mommy. Not fun for anyone. My customer service friends, if you're planning to do the cleanse, I recommend trying it on your days off. That way you'll still have a job when you're done. (I could be exaggerating...I still don't know if my bad attitude was more PMS or cleanse-related.)
...and that's it, I guess. I thought I had more "do NOT" reasons, but that's all I can remember. So, in conclusion, I think cleansing is not the best thing for me personally, but it might be right for someone else.
Friday, August 10, 2012
My "Why"
Ok, I know I told people in my Fit 'n Happy group that I would be writing about the Shakeology cleanse that I'm currently doing. (I'm on Day 2 out of 3 now! Halfway done!) That was my intention, but then I had a phone call last night that I just knew I had to write about because it was life changing. This is not an exaggeration. My life just hit a turning point, and suddenly I know what I'm supposed to be doing. So today I'm going to be writing about that phone call instead of the cleanse.
Before I can tell you about last night, I have to back it up a little bit and explain what I've been doing lately. At the beginning of July, I became a Team Beachbody coach, pretty much at the same time I signed up to be in the 90 day fitness challenge. At first, I told myself I was just in it for the discount on Beachbody products, I'm not coach material, I don't want to try to sell people things, I don't want to be pushy, blah blah blah. Basically, I was pretty negative about it. (Although, the coach discount is a pretty great benefit, so that part wasn't negative. But that's the only part that I was excited about.) I guess I saw myself standing outside of a grocery store, harassing people until they either ran away from me or begrudgingly listened to what I had to say and then walked away shaking their heads and muttering under their breaths. The picture I had painted in my mind of me as a coach was bleak, to put it mildly.
Luckily, I changed my mind and decided to give it a try. I thought to myself, "This is MY business. I don't have to be pushy if I don't want to. I'm going to do things my way, and if it doesn't work, at least I'll know I tried. And I won't become someone I'm not just to try to make money." The more I thought about it, the more I realized that being a coach is actually perfect for me. It's not about selling things. It's about helping other people change their lives and get healthy, all while changing my own life for the better. Everything I do as a coach to help others is holding me accountable. Every time I write this blog, I want to have something positive to write about, not something negative like skipping a workout or eating crappy food. Every time I post something in my Fit 'n Happy group and people respond, I know they're all paying attention to what I'm doing, and I know I need to stay on track to continue to motivate them. And next month, when my fit club and my challenge group both start, I know for sure that I'm going to have to be the best example possible because I've made promises to everyone involved that I WILL help them change their lives, and I can't do that if I'm slacking off. People are looking up to me, and it's a huge responsibility. The thing is, I know I can handle it. The more improvement I make in my own life, the more I'm going to be able to help everyone else, just through experience alone.
When I finally realized all of this, I felt great about being a coach. The bleak picture I had painted was replaced by one that was much more warm and fuzzy and full of hope. But I was still really overwhelmed. There's a lot to learn about being a Beachbody coach, and I was lost. Thankfully I have an amazing team of people above me who were willing to show me what to do. My coach's coach, Amber, started a group for those of us on the team who were brand new to the business. We were given assignments to complete each week to give us insight on how to be better at coaching without giving up who we are. I loved it. I learned so much about the business, and, unexpectedly, I learned even more about myself.
...which brings me to last night. It was our final group phone call. The thirty days of learning were done, and we were all "graduated", so to speak. Our last homework assignment was to find our "why"- the reason why we're all coaches, why we're putting ourselves out there and getting rejected time and again, why we're willing to work our butts off for, often times, very little money or gratitude. As Amber put it, "You could go get a regular job. Why are you choosing to do this one?" Our assigment was to find our "why" and then share it on the phone with everyone else in the group.
It was an emotional call, to say the least. People poured out their hearts to the rest of us. I won't share here in my blog what everyone said because it's very personal, but just know that the coaches I work with are incredible people with incredible dreams. I will, however, share what I said, mostly because I have promised to share every part of my journey with you, and this part is HUGE. Also, I need to get used to telling people my "why" because I'm sure I'll be asked at some point why I'm a coach. And I need to get through it without sobbing, so I guess writing it down is a good start. (As my eyes start to well up with tears...again...geez, I need more practice.)
I was the fourth person to share my "why" with the group, so by the time it was my turn to talk, I was already crying. It wasn't the best way to start out something that was already going to be hard to say, but I forged ahead anyway. Here is my "why":
I am a Beachbody coach because I want to help other people lose weight the healthy way and feel as happy about life as I do. But, even more than that, I am a coach because I need to succeed in something that I start, which includes my fitness program, my weight loss, and my business. I need to succeed at this business and not give up just because the going is difficult sometimes. I have rarely seen something through to the point of being successful, and I need this business to work not only because I can help a lot of people but also because I can help my own self esteem. I WILL NOT BE A FAILURE ANYMORE.
That's the written version. I don't know if you can get the full effect of what I was trying to say when you just read it. But, you see, the part about not giving up was when I had a complete breakdown. I've started so many things and then quit, time and again. College, for example. (That one happened three times, actually.) Joining the Army...and then the Navy...(complete disaster there). And of course, trying multiple times - too many to count - to lose weight and get in shape, and stopping every time before I even come close to hitting my goals. Every time I start something and then stop, my heart breaks. I feel more like a failure every time it happens. The only thing that's made me completely happy and successful is my family. I couldn't be more proud of my husband and kids, and I'm proud of myself as a wife and mom. That's no small thing, and I'm not trying to belittle that at all. But it's also a team effort, and as far as individual success, achieving something all by myself, I've felt like a complete failure for years.
At the beginning of this blog post, I said that last night's phone call was life changing, and that's completely, 100% true. I refuse to feel like a failure for things in my past, and I refuse to let past mistakes keep bringing me down. My "why" is going to keep pushing me forward. Even if no one buys Beachbody products through me, even if no one joins my challenge groups or shows up to fit club, even if no one joins my team as a coach under me, I will still be a success. That might sound crazy, but every step I take as a coach is a step towards a healthier life for myself. So even if my coaching business fails miserably, and I make no money and have nothing material to show for it, I'll have this new body and new outlook on life. And THAT is something to be proud of.
Before I can tell you about last night, I have to back it up a little bit and explain what I've been doing lately. At the beginning of July, I became a Team Beachbody coach, pretty much at the same time I signed up to be in the 90 day fitness challenge. At first, I told myself I was just in it for the discount on Beachbody products, I'm not coach material, I don't want to try to sell people things, I don't want to be pushy, blah blah blah. Basically, I was pretty negative about it. (Although, the coach discount is a pretty great benefit, so that part wasn't negative. But that's the only part that I was excited about.) I guess I saw myself standing outside of a grocery store, harassing people until they either ran away from me or begrudgingly listened to what I had to say and then walked away shaking their heads and muttering under their breaths. The picture I had painted in my mind of me as a coach was bleak, to put it mildly.
Luckily, I changed my mind and decided to give it a try. I thought to myself, "This is MY business. I don't have to be pushy if I don't want to. I'm going to do things my way, and if it doesn't work, at least I'll know I tried. And I won't become someone I'm not just to try to make money." The more I thought about it, the more I realized that being a coach is actually perfect for me. It's not about selling things. It's about helping other people change their lives and get healthy, all while changing my own life for the better. Everything I do as a coach to help others is holding me accountable. Every time I write this blog, I want to have something positive to write about, not something negative like skipping a workout or eating crappy food. Every time I post something in my Fit 'n Happy group and people respond, I know they're all paying attention to what I'm doing, and I know I need to stay on track to continue to motivate them. And next month, when my fit club and my challenge group both start, I know for sure that I'm going to have to be the best example possible because I've made promises to everyone involved that I WILL help them change their lives, and I can't do that if I'm slacking off. People are looking up to me, and it's a huge responsibility. The thing is, I know I can handle it. The more improvement I make in my own life, the more I'm going to be able to help everyone else, just through experience alone.
When I finally realized all of this, I felt great about being a coach. The bleak picture I had painted was replaced by one that was much more warm and fuzzy and full of hope. But I was still really overwhelmed. There's a lot to learn about being a Beachbody coach, and I was lost. Thankfully I have an amazing team of people above me who were willing to show me what to do. My coach's coach, Amber, started a group for those of us on the team who were brand new to the business. We were given assignments to complete each week to give us insight on how to be better at coaching without giving up who we are. I loved it. I learned so much about the business, and, unexpectedly, I learned even more about myself.
...which brings me to last night. It was our final group phone call. The thirty days of learning were done, and we were all "graduated", so to speak. Our last homework assignment was to find our "why"- the reason why we're all coaches, why we're putting ourselves out there and getting rejected time and again, why we're willing to work our butts off for, often times, very little money or gratitude. As Amber put it, "You could go get a regular job. Why are you choosing to do this one?" Our assigment was to find our "why" and then share it on the phone with everyone else in the group.
It was an emotional call, to say the least. People poured out their hearts to the rest of us. I won't share here in my blog what everyone said because it's very personal, but just know that the coaches I work with are incredible people with incredible dreams. I will, however, share what I said, mostly because I have promised to share every part of my journey with you, and this part is HUGE. Also, I need to get used to telling people my "why" because I'm sure I'll be asked at some point why I'm a coach. And I need to get through it without sobbing, so I guess writing it down is a good start. (As my eyes start to well up with tears...again...geez, I need more practice.)
I was the fourth person to share my "why" with the group, so by the time it was my turn to talk, I was already crying. It wasn't the best way to start out something that was already going to be hard to say, but I forged ahead anyway. Here is my "why":
I am a Beachbody coach because I want to help other people lose weight the healthy way and feel as happy about life as I do. But, even more than that, I am a coach because I need to succeed in something that I start, which includes my fitness program, my weight loss, and my business. I need to succeed at this business and not give up just because the going is difficult sometimes. I have rarely seen something through to the point of being successful, and I need this business to work not only because I can help a lot of people but also because I can help my own self esteem. I WILL NOT BE A FAILURE ANYMORE.
That's the written version. I don't know if you can get the full effect of what I was trying to say when you just read it. But, you see, the part about not giving up was when I had a complete breakdown. I've started so many things and then quit, time and again. College, for example. (That one happened three times, actually.) Joining the Army...and then the Navy...(complete disaster there). And of course, trying multiple times - too many to count - to lose weight and get in shape, and stopping every time before I even come close to hitting my goals. Every time I start something and then stop, my heart breaks. I feel more like a failure every time it happens. The only thing that's made me completely happy and successful is my family. I couldn't be more proud of my husband and kids, and I'm proud of myself as a wife and mom. That's no small thing, and I'm not trying to belittle that at all. But it's also a team effort, and as far as individual success, achieving something all by myself, I've felt like a complete failure for years.
At the beginning of this blog post, I said that last night's phone call was life changing, and that's completely, 100% true. I refuse to feel like a failure for things in my past, and I refuse to let past mistakes keep bringing me down. My "why" is going to keep pushing me forward. Even if no one buys Beachbody products through me, even if no one joins my challenge groups or shows up to fit club, even if no one joins my team as a coach under me, I will still be a success. That might sound crazy, but every step I take as a coach is a step towards a healthier life for myself. So even if my coaching business fails miserably, and I make no money and have nothing material to show for it, I'll have this new body and new outlook on life. And THAT is something to be proud of.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Someday I'll Look Sexy Shirtless
That day is not today. But it'll happen! I can already see improvement, and I'm only 30 days into my challenge. I doubt I'll be strutting around in a bikini after the full 90 days. Ok, let's be real, I'll probably never strut around in a bikini. I didn't do that when I was at my goal weight and in the best shape of my life, and my personality hasn't changed that much since then. It's probably never going to happen. But my goal is to have the option to wear a bikini without being embarrassed a year from now. Just because I'll probably opt out doesn't mean I don't want the choice!
Here comes the really embarrassing "I'm-cringing-just-thinking-about-doing-this" part. I'm going to post my 30 day comparison pictures for all to see. Shirtless. *gag* *cringe* I have NEVER done something like this. It's so far out of my comfort zone, it's ridiculous. But I'm doing it for the accountability. I really want to keep showing improvement to anyone who reads my blog so that maybe one of these days I won't be blushing so hard from showing my bare stomach to the world. For today, though? Today is rough. Ugh. Ok, here goes. Be gentle.
...that's all I can do today. I need to post this before I delete it. Ahhhh!!!! Ok, here I go.
Here comes the really embarrassing "I'm-cringing-just-thinking-about-doing-this" part. I'm going to post my 30 day comparison pictures for all to see. Shirtless. *gag* *cringe* I have NEVER done something like this. It's so far out of my comfort zone, it's ridiculous. But I'm doing it for the accountability. I really want to keep showing improvement to anyone who reads my blog so that maybe one of these days I won't be blushing so hard from showing my bare stomach to the world. For today, though? Today is rough. Ugh. Ok, here goes. Be gentle.
...that's all I can do today. I need to post this before I delete it. Ahhhh!!!! Ok, here I go.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Beating the 30 Day Slump
The Good: I made it through the first month of Turbo Fire! Well, technically I'm still in the middle of week 4, but I'm going off of dates here. I started July 2nd, and here we are at the end of the month already. I've lost 9 lbs and a total of 9 inches so far. I feel great. My clothes are loose, and I actually fit into some clothes that I haven't worn in years. I just kept them around in the hopes that someday I'd actually be able to wear them again, and now that day is here! It's fantastic.
The Bad: Why does there need to be a "Bad"? I wish everything could just be listed under "The Good". But here it is. Every time I start a workout program, I do an awesome job for the first 30 days. I stay on track with my eating, I work out the whole time, and I see great results. Then, just when I'm first tasting some success, I slack off. I stop being as careful with what I eat, I skip workouts here and there, and eventually I give up altogether. The longest I've made it into a program is about 45 days, and even that number is a little shaky since I was skipping workouts so often. I can't explain why I let this happen every time. Maybe it's because I just get tired of working so hard. Or maybe I'm scared of success. Whatever it is, it is NOT going to hold me back this time. For one thing, I joined a challenge group to help me get through the whole program. The difference it's making for me is already huge. Every time I think of skipping a workout, I think about how I'm going to have to tell the group. Plus everyone is so encouraging and supportive, I'd feel like I was letting them down. The other thing that's helping me is this blog. Every time I skip a workout or eat something crappy, I think about how I'm going to have to talk about it in my blog. It's good motivation to do the right thing.
This last weekend was tough because I could see myself hitting the "30 Day Slump". We were in Albuquerque for Jon's birthday, so it was the perfect excuse to skip two workouts and eat somewhat unhealthy. I didn't completely ruin my diet, but I did have a few bites of cake and a couple of buffalo wings. (Now that I'm writing it here, that food doesn't seem so bad. I guess that shows some improvement! Haha) Then when we got home, I was just not in workout mode. I was still making healthy food, but I was definitely not feeling the workouts. I skipped one more on Sunday night.
Yesterday, I woke up determined to get back on track. I'm not going to fall back into my old habits just because I've never made it farther than this before. It's time for me to finally succeed. I'm making up the workouts I skipped by doubling up a couple of the days this week, and I'm still eating healthy. I'm going to plow through the next 30 days! I'm excited to see where I'll be a month from now!
The Bad: Why does there need to be a "Bad"? I wish everything could just be listed under "The Good". But here it is. Every time I start a workout program, I do an awesome job for the first 30 days. I stay on track with my eating, I work out the whole time, and I see great results. Then, just when I'm first tasting some success, I slack off. I stop being as careful with what I eat, I skip workouts here and there, and eventually I give up altogether. The longest I've made it into a program is about 45 days, and even that number is a little shaky since I was skipping workouts so often. I can't explain why I let this happen every time. Maybe it's because I just get tired of working so hard. Or maybe I'm scared of success. Whatever it is, it is NOT going to hold me back this time. For one thing, I joined a challenge group to help me get through the whole program. The difference it's making for me is already huge. Every time I think of skipping a workout, I think about how I'm going to have to tell the group. Plus everyone is so encouraging and supportive, I'd feel like I was letting them down. The other thing that's helping me is this blog. Every time I skip a workout or eat something crappy, I think about how I'm going to have to talk about it in my blog. It's good motivation to do the right thing.
This last weekend was tough because I could see myself hitting the "30 Day Slump". We were in Albuquerque for Jon's birthday, so it was the perfect excuse to skip two workouts and eat somewhat unhealthy. I didn't completely ruin my diet, but I did have a few bites of cake and a couple of buffalo wings. (Now that I'm writing it here, that food doesn't seem so bad. I guess that shows some improvement! Haha) Then when we got home, I was just not in workout mode. I was still making healthy food, but I was definitely not feeling the workouts. I skipped one more on Sunday night.
Yesterday, I woke up determined to get back on track. I'm not going to fall back into my old habits just because I've never made it farther than this before. It's time for me to finally succeed. I'm making up the workouts I skipped by doubling up a couple of the days this week, and I'm still eating healthy. I'm going to plow through the next 30 days! I'm excited to see where I'll be a month from now!
(The difference a month can make)
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
A Mild Rant
I had a major realization yesterday - not everyone cares about what I'm doing with my life. I know, I know, the world doesn't revolve around me. I've known that for a long time. But what I actually realized yesterday was that some people who are close to me just don't care. They have no interest in hearing about how excited I am to be losing weight, and they couldn't care less about me becoming a coach and starting my own fit club. My life is heading in an exciting direction, and that means it's also heading away from negativity and nay-sayers. Normally it would really bother me that people I care so deeply about would be so disinterested in what I'm doing. I would obsess about it until the point of misery. Yesterday, when I realized what was happening, I was briefly sad and then decided to move on. I can't let myself get bogged down by the negative attitudes around me. There is always going to be someone telling me I can't do this. Or, maybe even worse, there's always going to be someone who just blocks out whatever I'm saying because they think it's so unimportant and then interrupts to talk about themselves. That's fine. It's a bit rude, but whatever. I can accept that. I can also limit the contact I have with these people. Nothing is going to stop me from achieving my goals. If people are on board with me, that's great. I would love to have them join me in my quest for a healthy, happy life. If not, it's okay. But I'm not going to let them bring me down.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Birthday Weekend!
Yesterday was my birthday. I had an awesome day. Tori woke me up in the morning by jumping on the bed, yelling "Happy Birthday, Mommy!". Jon followed her in with a big box and a protein bar with number candles in it. I had a good laugh from that, because the numbers were a "2" and a "7" and I turned 29 yesterday. He's either senile already or just wants me to re-use the same candles for his birthday next Saturday. I did appreciate him getting me a protein bar instead of cake, though. That was really thoughtful, especially since I didn't want to see if I would have the self-control to not eat cake if it was sitting right in front of me.
I opened my card first, and it happened to be a Justin Bieber singing card. Tori got all excited and took it away from me, saying "The Bieber! It's the Bieber, Mommy!". The rest of the morning was filled with the sound of the Bieber's voice ringing through my house.
After having another good laugh about the card, I opened my present. It was a Genie bra. I complain about my bras a lot, and I mean a LOT, so it makes sense that he would get me a comfortable bra for my birthday. Still, it was totally not what I expected, and (surprise surprise) I started laughing again. Jon told me that the real birthday present was the thought of him going through a checkout line with a Genie bra and a Justin Bieber singing card. He told me that he had an awkward conversation with the Walmart lady about it. Anyone who knows Jon knows how painful that would be. Ahh it's still making me laugh! Haha.
He also ordered me a couple of shirts from the Team Beachbody website. I'll be rocking a Turbo Fire t-shirt in a week or two! Combine that with my new super-bra, and I'll be looking pretty darn good. Hehe.
The rest of the day was pretty normal. Jon had to work the night before, so he was sleeping most of the day, and I just hung out with the kids. Later in the afternoon, I went to the eye doctor to get some contacts. I know it sounds like a really lame thing to do on my birthday, but I was excited about it. I really want to take scuba diving lessons, and you can't wear glasses when you're diving because the mask won't fit. And with my terrible eyesight, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the underwater sights if I didn't get contacts. Now I'm one step closer to scuba diving! Actually, I'm two steps closer because a few people sent me birthday money for my scuba fund so I don't have to pay for it all myself. I think I'm going to sign up to start lessons in September, which means that my first official open water dive will be at Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM. Eeeee, I'm so excited about it!
Anyway, I had a great day yesterday. I made healthy choices for food (which included not having a birthday cake or ice cream), and I got a lot of love from my friends and family. The only downside to yesterday was that I was too exhausted to work out last night, and I ended up having to do a double workout today. That was rough, and I don't plan on doing it ever again. But, bright side, I did make up for the missed workout.
This was one of my best birthdays, I think. I feel really great about where my life is headed. I'm going to make this next year one to remember!
I opened my card first, and it happened to be a Justin Bieber singing card. Tori got all excited and took it away from me, saying "The Bieber! It's the Bieber, Mommy!". The rest of the morning was filled with the sound of the Bieber's voice ringing through my house.
After having another good laugh about the card, I opened my present. It was a Genie bra. I complain about my bras a lot, and I mean a LOT, so it makes sense that he would get me a comfortable bra for my birthday. Still, it was totally not what I expected, and (surprise surprise) I started laughing again. Jon told me that the real birthday present was the thought of him going through a checkout line with a Genie bra and a Justin Bieber singing card. He told me that he had an awkward conversation with the Walmart lady about it. Anyone who knows Jon knows how painful that would be. Ahh it's still making me laugh! Haha.
He also ordered me a couple of shirts from the Team Beachbody website. I'll be rocking a Turbo Fire t-shirt in a week or two! Combine that with my new super-bra, and I'll be looking pretty darn good. Hehe.
The rest of the day was pretty normal. Jon had to work the night before, so he was sleeping most of the day, and I just hung out with the kids. Later in the afternoon, I went to the eye doctor to get some contacts. I know it sounds like a really lame thing to do on my birthday, but I was excited about it. I really want to take scuba diving lessons, and you can't wear glasses when you're diving because the mask won't fit. And with my terrible eyesight, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the underwater sights if I didn't get contacts. Now I'm one step closer to scuba diving! Actually, I'm two steps closer because a few people sent me birthday money for my scuba fund so I don't have to pay for it all myself. I think I'm going to sign up to start lessons in September, which means that my first official open water dive will be at Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM. Eeeee, I'm so excited about it!
Anyway, I had a great day yesterday. I made healthy choices for food (which included not having a birthday cake or ice cream), and I got a lot of love from my friends and family. The only downside to yesterday was that I was too exhausted to work out last night, and I ended up having to do a double workout today. That was rough, and I don't plan on doing it ever again. But, bright side, I did make up for the missed workout.
This was one of my best birthdays, I think. I feel really great about where my life is headed. I'm going to make this next year one to remember!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Small Victories
My late night workouts keep getting later and later. Last night I didn't get started til after midnight. That was insane. I should definitely not wait that long to work out because I had all kinds of energy after I was done. I was up until 2 am, and Calista woke up at 5:30 for her bottle. Anyone who knows me well knows that I really value my sleep, so I won't be doing that again. Although, if it comes down to choosing sleep or exercise, I'll choose exercise. (At least during this challenge! It's only 90 days, I can totally do that.)
Tonight's workout was a little earlier, but I just got done and it's 11:30 pm. Still later than I would like, but at least I finished it. I still have to shower and clean the living room, so I'm going to be up for a while. I'm okay with it, though, mostly because I destroyed my workout tonight. At about 10:30, I was sitting around yawning and thinking about how comfortable my bed is, which was not a good mindset to be in right before trying to deal with Turbo Fire for an hour. I needed to wake up, badly. I put my headphones on and blasted Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" three times in a row. She says "I'm wide awake" like 50 times in that song, and I figured if I just kept repeating it, maybe I would actually be wide awake. It sounds stupid, I know, but it totally worked. I got all pumped up, and I ended up bringing everything I had to my workout. I was pouring sweat and gasping for air by the time I was done, and my arms are actually still shaking. I love it!
Today was another Friday weigh-in, and I lost 2.6 lbs this week! I was ecstatic this morning when I jumped on the scale. That's the first time I've ever gone out of town for half a week and come back to any kind of weight loss. And more than 2 lbs? Unbelievable. I am so proud of myself. I think the more results I get, the harder I work, which leads to better results the following week. I just have to keep going, and I'll be able to hit every goal. It's awesome.
One more victory today...I got permission to start a fit club at my church! (For those of you who don't know, a fit club is free and is held once a week. We do different Beachbody workouts every week, so my fit club is going to get to experience Turbo Fire and Turbo Jam, P90X, Insanity, and 10 Minute Trainer. I'll add more programs later, but that's a good start.) Anyway, I was so excited when my pastor told me I could do it! I talked to him a couple weeks ago, and he turned me down right away. After talking it over with his wife, he changed his mind, and now I can start setting it up! I think I can help a lot of people with this, so it's really great that I can get started right away.
I should probably wrap this up, since it's coming up on midnight and I still haven't showered or cleaned the living room. I'm going to get all that done, and then I'm going to bed in a great mood, even if it is incredibly late.
Tonight's workout was a little earlier, but I just got done and it's 11:30 pm. Still later than I would like, but at least I finished it. I still have to shower and clean the living room, so I'm going to be up for a while. I'm okay with it, though, mostly because I destroyed my workout tonight. At about 10:30, I was sitting around yawning and thinking about how comfortable my bed is, which was not a good mindset to be in right before trying to deal with Turbo Fire for an hour. I needed to wake up, badly. I put my headphones on and blasted Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" three times in a row. She says "I'm wide awake" like 50 times in that song, and I figured if I just kept repeating it, maybe I would actually be wide awake. It sounds stupid, I know, but it totally worked. I got all pumped up, and I ended up bringing everything I had to my workout. I was pouring sweat and gasping for air by the time I was done, and my arms are actually still shaking. I love it!
Today was another Friday weigh-in, and I lost 2.6 lbs this week! I was ecstatic this morning when I jumped on the scale. That's the first time I've ever gone out of town for half a week and come back to any kind of weight loss. And more than 2 lbs? Unbelievable. I am so proud of myself. I think the more results I get, the harder I work, which leads to better results the following week. I just have to keep going, and I'll be able to hit every goal. It's awesome.
One more victory today...I got permission to start a fit club at my church! (For those of you who don't know, a fit club is free and is held once a week. We do different Beachbody workouts every week, so my fit club is going to get to experience Turbo Fire and Turbo Jam, P90X, Insanity, and 10 Minute Trainer. I'll add more programs later, but that's a good start.) Anyway, I was so excited when my pastor told me I could do it! I talked to him a couple weeks ago, and he turned me down right away. After talking it over with his wife, he changed his mind, and now I can start setting it up! I think I can help a lot of people with this, so it's really great that I can get started right away.
I should probably wrap this up, since it's coming up on midnight and I still haven't showered or cleaned the living room. I'm going to get all that done, and then I'm going to bed in a great mood, even if it is incredibly late.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Life's A Roller Coaster
Sometimes life just doesn't go as planned. I learned that the hard way this past week. (Not that I didn't know it before...so I guess technically I re-learned it.) Our plan was to go down to Albuquerque for a few days because Jon was scheduled for a vasectomy and I didn't want to make him go by himself. He was supposed to have surgery on Monday and then we'd drive back Wednesday so he could spend a little time recovering at his mom's house. The only reason I was reluctant to go was because I always get completely de-railed on my workouts and eating when I travel. I just stop working out and eat all kinds of crap because I'm thinking "hey, it's a vacation! I don't want to worry about this stuff!". This time I was worried because I'm still at the beginning of the challenge and I didn't want to lose all my motivation.
I was so determined to make this work that I packed the portable DVD player, all my workout gear, and a week's supply of Shakeology. I got my workout done on Sunday before we left, so that one was out of the way. Monday and Tuesday, I managed to get my workouts done before noon, which (you might have guessed by now) is pretty unusual for me. I was thinking it would be hard for me to get any work done with Jon somewhat out of commission for a couple of days, but as fate would have it, things went a little differently.
Monday morning, I was sitting at home feeding Calista and hanging out with Tori, and Jon was on his way to his appointment. There was not a care in the world (except maybe for Jon, who was about to be in a world of hurt). Then Jon called to tell me he had been in a car accident. No one was injured, but apparently some guy ran a red light and Jon hit him in the intersection. Our car was totaled. Jon was able to drive it home, but the bumper was in the back seat and the headlights were dangling from the front of the car. Neither one of us was totally upset about it. It was an old car that was having troubles and was going to have to be repaired soon anyway. I mean, it's never fun to have your car get in an accident and meet with total destruction, but since Jon wasn't hurt, I just couldn't bring myself to make a huge deal out of it.
I don't want to bore you with the details of all the stuff that happened with the guy's insurance company and our insurance company. This blog is about my healthy lifestyle, not my car insurance. But I will say that everything is being settled nicely, and we're actually coming out on top here. So that's good! Anyway, my workouts...
On Monday after Jon got home, he took over the kids and I got to get my workout done before lunchtime. Then we went out to lunch with a friend of mine for her birthday. I made the healthiest choice possible (a seafood soup) and then had the leftovers for dinner. Tuesday was pretty much the same - workout before lunch, then lunch with a friend. We went to lunch at Red Robin, which is an amazing, delicious burger place with bottomless fries. I had a salad. I thought they still had their salmon burger, which is really, really good, but I guess it's not on the menu anymore. I was so sad. But the salad I had was also good. Possibly not the healthiest, since it was coated in ranch dressing. I should've gotten the dressing on the side, but this is still a learning process, so now I know for next time.
Tuesday night was my niece's 6th birthday, and we all went out for ice cream. (If you're ever in Albuquerque, go to I Scream Ice Cream...seriously, that place is the coolest ice cream shop EVER. And the owner is super nice, as an ice cream shop owner should be.) I got a frozen banana. Yeah, it was covered in chocolate, but at least I didn't order a double scoop cone covered in sprinkles like I normally would have. And frozen bananas, by the way, are freaking amazing! They taste remarkably like real ice cream. (There's actually a recipe for frozen banana "ice cream". I'll share it here.) I feel like I made healthier choices than I ever have before when I have traveled, so I'm proud of myself for that. I know there's definitely a lot of room for improvement, but I'm still doing better than I've ever been.
It's good to know that I have the willpower to stick with my workouts and mostly clean eating while I'm away from home. I'm going to be traveling a lot in these next few months, and it's nice to have confidence in my healthy lifestyle. This isn't just an at-home thing! I have to do this all the time, or the work I do at home will go to waste. (Or go to waist...haha...)
I was so determined to make this work that I packed the portable DVD player, all my workout gear, and a week's supply of Shakeology. I got my workout done on Sunday before we left, so that one was out of the way. Monday and Tuesday, I managed to get my workouts done before noon, which (you might have guessed by now) is pretty unusual for me. I was thinking it would be hard for me to get any work done with Jon somewhat out of commission for a couple of days, but as fate would have it, things went a little differently.
Monday morning, I was sitting at home feeding Calista and hanging out with Tori, and Jon was on his way to his appointment. There was not a care in the world (except maybe for Jon, who was about to be in a world of hurt). Then Jon called to tell me he had been in a car accident. No one was injured, but apparently some guy ran a red light and Jon hit him in the intersection. Our car was totaled. Jon was able to drive it home, but the bumper was in the back seat and the headlights were dangling from the front of the car. Neither one of us was totally upset about it. It was an old car that was having troubles and was going to have to be repaired soon anyway. I mean, it's never fun to have your car get in an accident and meet with total destruction, but since Jon wasn't hurt, I just couldn't bring myself to make a huge deal out of it.
(Thanks for the picture, Dave.)
I don't want to bore you with the details of all the stuff that happened with the guy's insurance company and our insurance company. This blog is about my healthy lifestyle, not my car insurance. But I will say that everything is being settled nicely, and we're actually coming out on top here. So that's good! Anyway, my workouts...
On Monday after Jon got home, he took over the kids and I got to get my workout done before lunchtime. Then we went out to lunch with a friend of mine for her birthday. I made the healthiest choice possible (a seafood soup) and then had the leftovers for dinner. Tuesday was pretty much the same - workout before lunch, then lunch with a friend. We went to lunch at Red Robin, which is an amazing, delicious burger place with bottomless fries. I had a salad. I thought they still had their salmon burger, which is really, really good, but I guess it's not on the menu anymore. I was so sad. But the salad I had was also good. Possibly not the healthiest, since it was coated in ranch dressing. I should've gotten the dressing on the side, but this is still a learning process, so now I know for next time.
Tuesday night was my niece's 6th birthday, and we all went out for ice cream. (If you're ever in Albuquerque, go to I Scream Ice Cream...seriously, that place is the coolest ice cream shop EVER. And the owner is super nice, as an ice cream shop owner should be.) I got a frozen banana. Yeah, it was covered in chocolate, but at least I didn't order a double scoop cone covered in sprinkles like I normally would have. And frozen bananas, by the way, are freaking amazing! They taste remarkably like real ice cream. (There's actually a recipe for frozen banana "ice cream". I'll share it here.) I feel like I made healthier choices than I ever have before when I have traveled, so I'm proud of myself for that. I know there's definitely a lot of room for improvement, but I'm still doing better than I've ever been.
It's good to know that I have the willpower to stick with my workouts and mostly clean eating while I'm away from home. I'm going to be traveling a lot in these next few months, and it's nice to have confidence in my healthy lifestyle. This isn't just an at-home thing! I have to do this all the time, or the work I do at home will go to waste. (Or go to waist...haha...)
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Back in Action!
After a week of having my computer out of commission, I finally got it fixed! As it turns out, the hard drive was destroyed and had to be replaced. I lost all my files, but at least I didn't have to buy a whole new computer. Oh, and the important stuff was already saved on the internet. (In a cloud somewhere? Still not quite sure what that is, but I think it's where all my files are, so it's obviously useful.) Anyway, I'm happy to have my computer back!
This past week was definitely not a week off, as far as workouts and eating right were concerned. I created a weekly menu board to make things less complicated in the kitchen. Before I started this challenge, I would sit around the house wondering what I should make. More often than not, my sitting around would take a long time and we would end up getting fast food because it would be too late for me to go to the store and then cook something. ("Too late"...that's such a lame excuse...there's so much food out there that is faster and cheaper than fast food. No more excuses, that was an old Rose thing.) Now that I have my menu board, I plan out all my meals and snacks for the week and then do my grocery shopping on Sunday or Monday. We have tons of awesome healthy food, and I just have to look at my menu to see what I'm making next. It takes pretty much no thought on my part, except for the one time I have to fill out the menu.
This past week was definitely not a week off, as far as workouts and eating right were concerned. I created a weekly menu board to make things less complicated in the kitchen. Before I started this challenge, I would sit around the house wondering what I should make. More often than not, my sitting around would take a long time and we would end up getting fast food because it would be too late for me to go to the store and then cook something. ("Too late"...that's such a lame excuse...there's so much food out there that is faster and cheaper than fast food. No more excuses, that was an old Rose thing.) Now that I have my menu board, I plan out all my meals and snacks for the week and then do my grocery shopping on Sunday or Monday. We have tons of awesome healthy food, and I just have to look at my menu to see what I'm making next. It takes pretty much no thought on my part, except for the one time I have to fill out the menu.
(My menu board)
I stuck to the menu the whole week and really enjoyed trying all the new recipes. They were all really good, except for Tuesday's dinner of butternut squash & green apple soup. Butternut squash isn't in season (I think it's a fall thing) and I had to use canned yams instead. It wasn't exactly disgusting, but...yeah, okay, it was pretty gross. I don't think I'll be making that one again. The fish recipes are always my favorite. I LOVE seafood. I'm so happy it's good for me. Anyway, I think the menu board was a huge success, and I'll be using it from now on.
I don't know if you can read it very well, but the last line on the board is for my workouts. I'm following the regular Turbo Fire class schedule now that the inferno plan is over, so I just copy that schedule onto my board. If I have to stare at it all day, then I know I have a better chance of actually getting it done. I have "gym" on there three times a week, along with my regular workouts, but sadly I didn't make it to the gym at all this week. It was the only thing I skipped, but it was necessary. Jon worked a lot of overtime on his days off, so it just wasn't possible for me to go. When Calista is a little older, I can take both kids with me and won't have to worry about child care or Jon being home or whatever. But until she's 10 months old, there's not much I can do about it. The rest of my workouts went really well.
Yesterday was another Friday weigh-in, and it turns out I lost another pound this week. That puts me at 194.8 lbs, which was my weight before I got pregnant with Calista a year ago. I'm so happy!! My next goal is to get down to 170 lbs, which is my pre-Tori weight. That one is going to take longer, but I'm in this for life, so time isn't really a big deal.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Old Me vs. New Me
Today was not the best of days. The kids were crazy from the time they woke up to the time they went to bed, and then Jon got called into work early, so I didn't even get to spend any time with him. I had to eat dinner by myself, which I absolutely hate, but at least I still cooked dinner. Old me would have ordered a pizza or had a grilled cheese sandwich (which is what I made for Tori). Instead, new me made a pork chop with brown rice and peas. It was delicious. Lonely, but delicious.
And once again, I didn't have time to work out until after bedtime (this is becoming a regular thing apparently), but tonight it was even later than usual because Calista decided she needed a bottle instead of sleep. I ended up feeding her until 9:30pm. Old me would have said it was way too late to do an hour long workout at that time of night. New me was not happy about it but went ahead and popped the dvd in anyway.
Halfway through the workout, I was just not feeling it. I was still really grumpy from my crappy day, and Chalene's perky attitude was making me a little angry. (Yeah, that's how you can tell I've had a really bad day.) I was tired and sore and full of excuses for why I should quit. I actually stopped the dvd and turned it to the 10 minute stretch workout that's supposed to be at the end of class. But during the first minute of stretching, I got even more grumpy with myself for quitting. Old me would have just finished stretching and called it a night, but then I would have been seriously disappointed in myself later. Instead, new me shook off the tiredness and the grumpiness (and the weighted gloves) and started up the workout where I had left off. I finished strong, and I'm so happy I did.
Now I'm in a much better mood, and I'm proud of myself for finishing. This week has definitely been great for making changes in my lifestyle. My eating habits and exercise have changed, obviously, but a more subtle change is my attitude. There are just no excuses good enough to make me quit.
Oh yeah, one last thing. Today was Friday weigh-in! I'm -3.2 lbs, which puts me at 195.4 lbs. I'm only one pound away from pre-Calista weight!
And once again, I didn't have time to work out until after bedtime (this is becoming a regular thing apparently), but tonight it was even later than usual because Calista decided she needed a bottle instead of sleep. I ended up feeding her until 9:30pm. Old me would have said it was way too late to do an hour long workout at that time of night. New me was not happy about it but went ahead and popped the dvd in anyway.
Halfway through the workout, I was just not feeling it. I was still really grumpy from my crappy day, and Chalene's perky attitude was making me a little angry. (Yeah, that's how you can tell I've had a really bad day.) I was tired and sore and full of excuses for why I should quit. I actually stopped the dvd and turned it to the 10 minute stretch workout that's supposed to be at the end of class. But during the first minute of stretching, I got even more grumpy with myself for quitting. Old me would have just finished stretching and called it a night, but then I would have been seriously disappointed in myself later. Instead, new me shook off the tiredness and the grumpiness (and the weighted gloves) and started up the workout where I had left off. I finished strong, and I'm so happy I did.
Now I'm in a much better mood, and I'm proud of myself for finishing. This week has definitely been great for making changes in my lifestyle. My eating habits and exercise have changed, obviously, but a more subtle change is my attitude. There are just no excuses good enough to make me quit.
Oh yeah, one last thing. Today was Friday weigh-in! I'm -3.2 lbs, which puts me at 195.4 lbs. I'm only one pound away from pre-Calista weight!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Doubts & Determination
I'm almost done with the 5-day Inferno Plan! Today was day 4, and tomorrow will be my last crazy double workout before the weekend and a couple of much needed rest days. Tomorrow is also weigh-in day for my challenge group. I know I shouldn't be nervous, but I am. I followed the meal plan exactly as it was laid out for me, and I gave everything I had in my workouts, but I'm still wondering if there will be a change on the scale tomorrow. I'm trying to tell myself to forget about the stupid scale because I feel great. Still, I just know that part of me is going to be massively disappointed if I haven't lost any weight. Ugh. I need to remind myself that I'm doing my best and the numbers will fall into place over the long term. This is a life-long commitment! One week is just a drop in the bucket if you think about it that way. Ok, I feel a little bit better already. Time to head off to bed. (Yeah, another late night workout. They're kinda growing on me.)
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Late Night
It's 10:45 pm. I just got done with my TurboFire workout for the day. I have to say, I really don't love working out at night. I'm always tired and try to find ways to convince myself that I would be better off just sitting around. The old me would have given up when dinner rolled around and no exercise had happened yet. The new me, though? Yeah, the new me shakes off the tired feeling and presses play.
Tonight's workout was rough, but I did it. I gave it everything I had, I think partly because I was trying to get my mind to stop telling me that it was too late for a workout and partly because I had just put Calista to bed and she was crying in her room. I figured I should probably throw myself into it with all the effort I could muster, just in case I had to stop halfway through and feed her some more. Half a workout with full energy is better than a full workout with no energy, right? Well, whatever, the math on that doesn't matter because she went to sleep after a few minutes, and I got to finish the whole thing. There were a couple of times that I had to take a break because I felt nauseous from working too hard, but after I caught my breath I jumped back in and finished it.
The lesson I learned here is that I should really try to get my workouts done during the day, if at all possible. Today I made the mistake of choosing a nap over exercise, and I almost psyched myself out of doing any working out at all. Good thing the new me has more self discipline!
Tonight's workout was rough, but I did it. I gave it everything I had, I think partly because I was trying to get my mind to stop telling me that it was too late for a workout and partly because I had just put Calista to bed and she was crying in her room. I figured I should probably throw myself into it with all the effort I could muster, just in case I had to stop halfway through and feed her some more. Half a workout with full energy is better than a full workout with no energy, right? Well, whatever, the math on that doesn't matter because she went to sleep after a few minutes, and I got to finish the whole thing. There were a couple of times that I had to take a break because I felt nauseous from working too hard, but after I caught my breath I jumped back in and finished it.
The lesson I learned here is that I should really try to get my workouts done during the day, if at all possible. Today I made the mistake of choosing a nap over exercise, and I almost psyched myself out of doing any working out at all. Good thing the new me has more self discipline!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Bring on the Pain!
Day 2 of TurboFire is done. The schedule for today's workout was insane! It was an hour and 15 minutes of getting a total beat down. I feel like someone punched me in the shoulder blades, and my legs are like jello. I somehow managed to get through it without throwing up or passing out, so I feel pretty good about that. I might not be able to walk tomorrow, but I'm going to have to suck it up and do another hour long workout. I'm exhausted but totally loving this. I think it's exactly what I need.
I realize this is a super short blog post, but I really should get some sleep. (Oh, good news there! Calista sleeps through the night now, so I'm finally going to get some quality rest!)
Before I go, let me share my inspiration for the day.
I realize this is a super short blog post, but I really should get some sleep. (Oh, good news there! Calista sleeps through the night now, so I'm finally going to get some quality rest!)
Before I go, let me share my inspiration for the day.
I think I can! How about you?
Monday, July 2, 2012
Get Fired Up!
Today was the official start of my 90-day challenge with TurboFire and Shakeology. I actually started drinking my Shakeology a few days ago. I couldn't help myself - it looked too good to resist. Friends of mine who have been drinking it for a while have been posting awesome recipes, and I was dying to try some. I have the chocolate flavor, so I tried mixing it with water, ice, and a tablespoon of peanut butter and it's AWESOME! So freaking good! (For anyone who doesn't know what Shakeology is, you can check it out here.) Anyway, that part of the challenge - drink it daily - is going to be super easy for me because it tastes amazing.
The fitness part of the challenge is going to be a lot harder. TurboFire is craaaazy! Extreme cardio kickboxing set to fast-paced music? It's intense, but I made it through the whole workout without taking too many extra breaks, and I wore my weighted gloves the whole time. My shoulders and legs are really sore now, but it's the "yeah, I killed that workout" kind of sore. It's a good feeling.
I took my "before" pictures today right before my workout. That normally wouldn't have been a happy time since I hate having photographic proof of how overweight I am. The only thing that saved me from being totally ashamed is that I know I'm never going to look like this again. I'm actually excited to have these to compare to my 30-day pictures at the end of the month. I'll post the comparison pictures at the end of the month so everyone can see my progress. I'm hoping there will be a significant difference! But I don't think I need to worry, since TurboFire is going to be kicking my butt every day.
Oh, one other thing! Remember how I said I wanted to be under 200 lbs at the start of this challenge? I made it! I weighed in on Saturday at 198.4 lbs. Goal one: accomplished. On to goal two...get back down to pre-Calista weight (194 lbs) in the next two weeks. I think I can make that happen.
The fitness part of the challenge is going to be a lot harder. TurboFire is craaaazy! Extreme cardio kickboxing set to fast-paced music? It's intense, but I made it through the whole workout without taking too many extra breaks, and I wore my weighted gloves the whole time. My shoulders and legs are really sore now, but it's the "yeah, I killed that workout" kind of sore. It's a good feeling.
I took my "before" pictures today right before my workout. That normally wouldn't have been a happy time since I hate having photographic proof of how overweight I am. The only thing that saved me from being totally ashamed is that I know I'm never going to look like this again. I'm actually excited to have these to compare to my 30-day pictures at the end of the month. I'll post the comparison pictures at the end of the month so everyone can see my progress. I'm hoping there will be a significant difference! But I don't think I need to worry, since TurboFire is going to be kicking my butt every day.
Oh, one other thing! Remember how I said I wanted to be under 200 lbs at the start of this challenge? I made it! I weighed in on Saturday at 198.4 lbs. Goal one: accomplished. On to goal two...get back down to pre-Calista weight (194 lbs) in the next two weeks. I think I can make that happen.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
My Breakthrough Moment
I woke up this morning feeling really sore from the past couple of workouts. Using the weighted gloves for Turbo Jam is absolutely killer on my arms, and after doing it two days in a row, I was feeling kinda destroyed. At least my arms are gonna look great! Anyway, I decided to skip the cardio party and go to the gym instead to give running another try.
I wasn't feeling terribly enthusiastic about it, considering the fact that my last run was horrible and I almost threw up everywhere. I wasn't ready to give up altogether, but I went into today's workout without high expectations. I figured as long as I could see improvement, even just a little, I'd be happy.
The last time I posted about running, my sister Hannah and my friend Liz offered a couple of tips that could possibly help me not feel so miserable, and I wanted to try them out today. First tip: set a slower pace. Hannah said to try setting the treadmill to the point just after I'm forced into a run. That point happened to be a lot slower than where I had tried to set it last time, and to my surprise (and extreme pleasure) it helped. A lot. I could actually breathe and keep up my running for a good amount of time. I wasn't wheezing or gasping for breath, which was a pleasant change. Second tip: do a manageable amount. Liz told me that people who are just starting out running sometimes try to do too much and end up dreading it the next day. For me, I think I was trying to go way too fast and too far on that first run. I dialed it back a bit today and saw major improvement. (Thanks, guys! You have no idea how much I appreciate your advice and support!)
And the final thing that helped me on my run today? I stopped watching the time and instead started watching the distance. I was still alternating running and walking, but this time I was switching after every 1/4 mile. Not watching the seconds count down really helped me mentally because I knew I'd be in it for a few minutes, so I might as well just relax and breathe.
I ran/walked 2.25 miles today. It took me half an hour. By the time I was finishing my cool-down walk, I was grinning from ear to ear. I had actually enjoyed my run, and with that thought came my breakthrough moment. Today, I realized I can do anything.
I wasn't feeling terribly enthusiastic about it, considering the fact that my last run was horrible and I almost threw up everywhere. I wasn't ready to give up altogether, but I went into today's workout without high expectations. I figured as long as I could see improvement, even just a little, I'd be happy.
The last time I posted about running, my sister Hannah and my friend Liz offered a couple of tips that could possibly help me not feel so miserable, and I wanted to try them out today. First tip: set a slower pace. Hannah said to try setting the treadmill to the point just after I'm forced into a run. That point happened to be a lot slower than where I had tried to set it last time, and to my surprise (and extreme pleasure) it helped. A lot. I could actually breathe and keep up my running for a good amount of time. I wasn't wheezing or gasping for breath, which was a pleasant change. Second tip: do a manageable amount. Liz told me that people who are just starting out running sometimes try to do too much and end up dreading it the next day. For me, I think I was trying to go way too fast and too far on that first run. I dialed it back a bit today and saw major improvement. (Thanks, guys! You have no idea how much I appreciate your advice and support!)
And the final thing that helped me on my run today? I stopped watching the time and instead started watching the distance. I was still alternating running and walking, but this time I was switching after every 1/4 mile. Not watching the seconds count down really helped me mentally because I knew I'd be in it for a few minutes, so I might as well just relax and breathe.
I ran/walked 2.25 miles today. It took me half an hour. By the time I was finishing my cool-down walk, I was grinning from ear to ear. I had actually enjoyed my run, and with that thought came my breakthrough moment. Today, I realized I can do anything.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
TMI...? I'll Share Anyway!
Since yesterday's workout during nap time went so well, I was hoping to do the same thing this afternoon. I was so excited because everything was falling into place. Tori had eaten lunch and was hanging out while I finished feeding Calista her bottle, and the timing was going to be perfect for both kids to go to bed at the same time. Then a thunderstorm rolled through and knocked out the power. Luckily, neither one of my kids started freaking out about it. Tori thought the thunder was exciting ("it's 'citing, Mama!"), and we opened up the front door so we could watch the downpour. It rarely rains here, and I actually can't remember the last time Tori saw rain. She was thrilled. I was happy about it too because New Mexico is in a really terrible drought, and half the state is on fire right now. We need the rain! But even while I was celebrating the weather, I was also wondering when the power was coming back. It didn't turn back on until much later in the afternoon, and by then my window of opportunity had closed. I had to wait until after dinner to work out. No big loss, though. I got to spend some quality quiet time with the kids...no TV, no computer, no distractions. It was pretty nice.
(Me and Calista hanging out during the thunderstorm)
(Tori's look for the day)
Anyway...on to the part about my workout. (Disclaimer: this may be an overshare. Ok, it's definitely an overshare. Gonna do it anyway.)
I did Turbo Jam's cardio party again today. I love this workout! It's so much fun! I have it pretty much memorized, so I can turn Chalene (the trainer) down and turn the music up. Then I just rock out for an hour. I can't tell you how excited I am to start Turbo Fire next week. I've heard it's just like Turbo Jam, but more intense and with better music. Sounds like my soulmate workout to me!
So there I was, jamming to cardio party, when all of a sudden I got hit with a gas attack. I don't know what it is about squats and kicking combined with dancing, but it really brings out the worst in me. These weren't just delicate lady-like toots. They were a full-on symphony, and I couldn't stop. The farts kept on a-comin'. Finally I was laughing too hard to keep working out. I paused the DVD and collapsed next to Jon, who was staring at me like I had gone insane.
Between gasps of laughter, I tried to explain what I thought was so funny. Obviously non-stop farting was the main part, but that's not all. See, when I'm on the treadmill at the gym, I have my headphones in and my music turned way up. And there have been several times (maybe slightly more than several) that I've just let some farts fly, thinking that they were silent. After tonight, I'm not so sure that my gym farts were silent. I'm afraid they might have been as loud - or louder - than what was happening at home. So the thought of me busting ass right next to someone and carrying on like nothing had happened was too much for me to handle...I almost passed out from laughing too hard. It IS a lesson, though. I should probably hold 'em in at the gym from now on.
And now that everyone is probably either laughing or totally disgusted with me (or both), I should wrap up this post and go take a shower. Before I go, I'll share my inspiration for the day.
If you're going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now. - Marie Osmond
Ain't that the truth! Oh, and in case you're wondering, I was able to finish my workout tonight.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
A Life Lesson Learned
So...today I had big plans for my workout. I was going to do some Turbo Jam (the cardio party workout, for anyone who's familiar with the program), and then I was going to run at the gym. My thinking was that I would do a lot better at the gym if I knew my whole cardio workout for the day didn't depend solely on whether I ran enough or not. I could slow down and walk if I needed to, and I was hoping that would help me not feel so sick and wheezy.
But, as often happens, my schedule changed. Jon got called into work for a road trip to fix a plane in Arizona, and I had to rush through my to-do list as quickly as possible so he could take the car. He said I could've had the car at home, but it didn't matter because going to the gym was still out of the question. Tori can go to the child care center, but Calista is still too young. (She has to be at least 10 months to be able to go.) So I was going to have to stay home with the kids anyway.
As much as I appreciate how hard Jon works to support us (really, really appreciate it), and he always gives me the option to say no to a road trip (so it was my choice that he went to work), I was still a little grumpy because gym time is pretty much the only time I have to myself. Even though Tori comes with me, it's not like I have to watch her for the hour that I'm there. I get to focus just on myself, and it's fantastic, even when I'm working hard and sweating everywhere. (Or maybe it's fantastic because I'm working hard and sweating everywhere. Either way.) I feel like I haven't had much time to myself in weeks. We've been traveling a lot, and last week when I took the kids down to my parents' house, I didn't get a break at all. I kind of felt like screaming and tearing my hair out by the time we got back home. I had been planning a trip to Minnesota next week to visit some of my friends, and I was really looking forward to the time away. But the challenge group opportunity presented itself to me, and I couldn't afford to do that and the vacation, so I chose the challenge group.
I know it's the right decision because I'm going to be SO happy when I see how far I've come over the next 90 days. In the short term, though...it's sometimes hard to be stuck at home with two crazy kids (whom I love to death) without any kind of away time. That's why going to the gym for an hour every day (or even every other day) is great. Today I was moping around thinking to myself, "Great. Now what am I going to do? Work out during nap time? Yeah right." The thing about nap time is that the kids usually don't sleep at the same time. I put Calista down for a nap, and Tori's awake. I get Tori to sleep, and Calista wakes up. Every. Single. Day. I think sometimes they're conspiring against me. Anyway, if I don't get to work out during nap time, I have to do it after bed time. And once again, if Tori's in bed, Calista is awake and needs a bottle. So we're talking 9-10pm or later for working out, by which time I'm exhausted and have very little motivation to get it done.
I was grumping around the house during lunchtime, just thinking about how difficult it was going to be to find time to do Turbo Jam without being interrupted. I shouldn't have been so pessimistic. Both my kids went to sleep around the same time, which is so rare I almost keeled over in shock when it happened. But instead of collapsing in a dead faint, I threw in the Turbo Jam dvd, put on my weighted gloves, and totally kicked some cardio party ass. It was extreme. I don't know if I've ever thrown myself into that workout so much. I felt great when it was done. My bad mood was gone, and I was walking around the house all pumped up and enthusiastic (and soaked in sweat). I learned a valuable lesson: DON'T ASSUME BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN. I'm not a psychic, so I shouldn't make assumptions about the future. I'm going to try to focus on having a positive attitude, even when things don't go as planned.
(I know these pictures are a little blurry, but my arms were shaking everywhere from the workout. It's proof that today was kick-ass.)
Inspiration for today: "Doing anything is better than doing nothing." - me (and probably a bunch of other people...it seems like common sense)
But, as often happens, my schedule changed. Jon got called into work for a road trip to fix a plane in Arizona, and I had to rush through my to-do list as quickly as possible so he could take the car. He said I could've had the car at home, but it didn't matter because going to the gym was still out of the question. Tori can go to the child care center, but Calista is still too young. (She has to be at least 10 months to be able to go.) So I was going to have to stay home with the kids anyway.
As much as I appreciate how hard Jon works to support us (really, really appreciate it), and he always gives me the option to say no to a road trip (so it was my choice that he went to work), I was still a little grumpy because gym time is pretty much the only time I have to myself. Even though Tori comes with me, it's not like I have to watch her for the hour that I'm there. I get to focus just on myself, and it's fantastic, even when I'm working hard and sweating everywhere. (Or maybe it's fantastic because I'm working hard and sweating everywhere. Either way.) I feel like I haven't had much time to myself in weeks. We've been traveling a lot, and last week when I took the kids down to my parents' house, I didn't get a break at all. I kind of felt like screaming and tearing my hair out by the time we got back home. I had been planning a trip to Minnesota next week to visit some of my friends, and I was really looking forward to the time away. But the challenge group opportunity presented itself to me, and I couldn't afford to do that and the vacation, so I chose the challenge group.
I know it's the right decision because I'm going to be SO happy when I see how far I've come over the next 90 days. In the short term, though...it's sometimes hard to be stuck at home with two crazy kids (whom I love to death) without any kind of away time. That's why going to the gym for an hour every day (or even every other day) is great. Today I was moping around thinking to myself, "Great. Now what am I going to do? Work out during nap time? Yeah right." The thing about nap time is that the kids usually don't sleep at the same time. I put Calista down for a nap, and Tori's awake. I get Tori to sleep, and Calista wakes up. Every. Single. Day. I think sometimes they're conspiring against me. Anyway, if I don't get to work out during nap time, I have to do it after bed time. And once again, if Tori's in bed, Calista is awake and needs a bottle. So we're talking 9-10pm or later for working out, by which time I'm exhausted and have very little motivation to get it done.
I was grumping around the house during lunchtime, just thinking about how difficult it was going to be to find time to do Turbo Jam without being interrupted. I shouldn't have been so pessimistic. Both my kids went to sleep around the same time, which is so rare I almost keeled over in shock when it happened. But instead of collapsing in a dead faint, I threw in the Turbo Jam dvd, put on my weighted gloves, and totally kicked some cardio party ass. It was extreme. I don't know if I've ever thrown myself into that workout so much. I felt great when it was done. My bad mood was gone, and I was walking around the house all pumped up and enthusiastic (and soaked in sweat). I learned a valuable lesson: DON'T ASSUME BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN. I'm not a psychic, so I shouldn't make assumptions about the future. I'm going to try to focus on having a positive attitude, even when things don't go as planned.
(I know these pictures are a little blurry, but my arms were shaking everywhere from the workout. It's proof that today was kick-ass.)
Inspiration for today: "Doing anything is better than doing nothing." - me (and probably a bunch of other people...it seems like common sense)
Monday, June 25, 2012
Running: My Love/Hate Relationship
Today is Monday, which means that my challenge starts a week from now. I decided to weigh myself and take my measurements to see what I'll be starting with next week. It was pretty rough. In the last two weeks of sitting around and not watching what I eat, I regained 3 lbs and about an inch everywhere. I had worked so hard for a month and a half to lose those pounds and inches, and here they are again. But instead of getting discouraged, I let it motivate me. I ended up going to the gym to work out for the first time in two weeks.
Before today, my workouts at the gym were basically just walking on the treadmill at a super slow pace. I was still recovering from my c-section and wasn't really allowed to do much more than that or I'd risk hurting myself. Since I've been cleared by my doctor, I figured I should probably stop holding back and decided to go for a run. Well, I haven't been running in over three years, and I've always sucked at it. Like, really badly sucked at it. And since I'm such a terrible runner, I've never really enjoyed it. One of my long-term goals is to change all that. I want to enjoy running - or at least not totally hate it - and I want to be able to maintain a decent pace without gasping for air.
So, keeping all that in mind, I started my run today with a positive attitude. I was doing intervals of 90 seconds running/90 seconds walking, and it was going fine for a little bit. Then came the huffing and puffing that I know and love. (Well, the "know" part anyway.) Sweat was pouring into my eyes and my glasses were barely hanging onto the edge of my nose. I kept pushing them up, but what's the point of that when they just slide down again? I need to get contacts. Anyway, I was breathing hard and sweating everywhere, but I wanted to keep pushing myself because my new mindset is to not give up when things get hard.
The real problem came about 15 minutes into my workout. I was trying to do the run/walk for at least 25 minutes, but I had to stop because I started to feel like I was going to throw up. I know on the Biggest Loser they're all about just puking and continuing on, but I'm pretty sure that's not socially acceptable in a normal gym. No one wants to see my oatmeal and bananas cycling through the treadmill belt. I slowed way down, put the treadmill at an incline to try to save some of my workout, and focused on controlling my breathing, but my body was already pissed at me. I made it to the 25 minute mark, but by then I was at a slow walk and no more incline. I did manage to do 1.6 miles total, which is somewhat respectable considering how I felt.
I came home with mixed emotions. I know I did the best I could, so I'm proud of myself for that. But I know I need a lot of improvement (and I mean a lot) to reach my goal of being a decent runner, so in that aspect I felt a little bummed. I know this stuff doesn't happen overnight, so I'm going to keep at it and see what happens. I'm going to try to run at least 3 times a week, in addition to my other workouts. I'm hoping to see some improvement each time.
One more thing before I wrap up this post for the day. I think I'm going to go ahead and post my weekly measurements here for everyone to read. These first weeks are going to be embarrassing (believe me, it was a hard decision to put it all out here) but I know that I'll feel more accountable if everyone else knows whether I'm losing weight/inches or not. So here goes. *deep breath*
Weight: 201 lbs. (I would love to start my challenge next week with my weight being under 200 lbs. I'm making that my goal for this week.)
Waist: 39 in.
(I'm taking measurements of my chest, hips, arms, and thighs as well but I don't think they're as exciting to share.)
Ok, now it's officially out there. I'm blushing pretty hard just thinking about people knowing this stuff, but you what? One of my major goals is to not be ashamed of my weight anymore. So it's going to be awesome in the future when I can proudly post my achievements here for everyone to read, instead of worrying about whether people are going to judge me for how much I weigh now.
(Me after my run)
Oh! One more thing and then I'll end this for real. I'm going to post stuff that inspires me on each blog entry in the hopes that maybe it will inspire someone else, too. So here's my inspiration for today:
"Man in the Mirror", from the movie Joyful Noise
I love love love this! Enjoy! (And now I really am done.)
Before today, my workouts at the gym were basically just walking on the treadmill at a super slow pace. I was still recovering from my c-section and wasn't really allowed to do much more than that or I'd risk hurting myself. Since I've been cleared by my doctor, I figured I should probably stop holding back and decided to go for a run. Well, I haven't been running in over three years, and I've always sucked at it. Like, really badly sucked at it. And since I'm such a terrible runner, I've never really enjoyed it. One of my long-term goals is to change all that. I want to enjoy running - or at least not totally hate it - and I want to be able to maintain a decent pace without gasping for air.
So, keeping all that in mind, I started my run today with a positive attitude. I was doing intervals of 90 seconds running/90 seconds walking, and it was going fine for a little bit. Then came the huffing and puffing that I know and love. (Well, the "know" part anyway.) Sweat was pouring into my eyes and my glasses were barely hanging onto the edge of my nose. I kept pushing them up, but what's the point of that when they just slide down again? I need to get contacts. Anyway, I was breathing hard and sweating everywhere, but I wanted to keep pushing myself because my new mindset is to not give up when things get hard.
The real problem came about 15 minutes into my workout. I was trying to do the run/walk for at least 25 minutes, but I had to stop because I started to feel like I was going to throw up. I know on the Biggest Loser they're all about just puking and continuing on, but I'm pretty sure that's not socially acceptable in a normal gym. No one wants to see my oatmeal and bananas cycling through the treadmill belt. I slowed way down, put the treadmill at an incline to try to save some of my workout, and focused on controlling my breathing, but my body was already pissed at me. I made it to the 25 minute mark, but by then I was at a slow walk and no more incline. I did manage to do 1.6 miles total, which is somewhat respectable considering how I felt.
I came home with mixed emotions. I know I did the best I could, so I'm proud of myself for that. But I know I need a lot of improvement (and I mean a lot) to reach my goal of being a decent runner, so in that aspect I felt a little bummed. I know this stuff doesn't happen overnight, so I'm going to keep at it and see what happens. I'm going to try to run at least 3 times a week, in addition to my other workouts. I'm hoping to see some improvement each time.
One more thing before I wrap up this post for the day. I think I'm going to go ahead and post my weekly measurements here for everyone to read. These first weeks are going to be embarrassing (believe me, it was a hard decision to put it all out here) but I know that I'll feel more accountable if everyone else knows whether I'm losing weight/inches or not. So here goes. *deep breath*
Weight: 201 lbs. (I would love to start my challenge next week with my weight being under 200 lbs. I'm making that my goal for this week.)
Waist: 39 in.
(I'm taking measurements of my chest, hips, arms, and thighs as well but I don't think they're as exciting to share.)
Ok, now it's officially out there. I'm blushing pretty hard just thinking about people knowing this stuff, but you what? One of my major goals is to not be ashamed of my weight anymore. So it's going to be awesome in the future when I can proudly post my achievements here for everyone to read, instead of worrying about whether people are going to judge me for how much I weigh now.
Oh! One more thing and then I'll end this for real. I'm going to post stuff that inspires me on each blog entry in the hopes that maybe it will inspire someone else, too. So here's my inspiration for today:
"Man in the Mirror", from the movie Joyful Noise
I love love love this! Enjoy! (And now I really am done.)
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