Plan of Action: Tuesday

I must admit I am feeling good this morning.  Positive.  Yesterday’s plan of action went well.  I ate great food and I worked out hard.  The scale complied with my wishes and showed a loss, too.  I am still not back to 199.2, but I am ever so close.

This morning I ate a small banana and had oatmeal with cinnamon and cloves.  I harvested a bell pepper from my garden this morning, so I am looking forward to snack time.

As for my scheduled workout:

-stretch
-sprints
-grand plie squats with rotation
-curtsy squat with leg lifts
-deadlifts with barbell
-front lunge with push off
-alternate deadlifts with kettlebell
-glute bridge march
-hydrant extensions
-calf raises on step
-bent leg pumps
-REPEAT
-star crunches
-weighted russian twists
-weighted raised-legs crunches
-REPEAT
-stretch

That will be another hour or so in the gym for me this evening.  I am seriously looking forward to it.

In other news, Maggie (my cousin) finally got a job last night…working at my gym!  She is so super excited (this is her first job…ever), and I am thoroughly excited for her!  She will only be working part-time for now (M-F 5 to 8 PM).  That will; however, give me an excuse to be at the gym Monday through Friday from 5 to 8 PM, though, right?!

How is your day shaping up?

-Erica

Plan of Action: Monday

I was up again this morning.  That is going to get frustrating *really* fast.  Again, though, I know I have not consumed enough “extra” calories to truly justify these pounds.  I still find it completely irritating, though.

So, here is today’s plan of action workout:

-stretch
-sprints
-lunge with shoulder cross
-lateral raises
-bicep curls
-sprint
-plank walk overs with platform
-lat pull down
-cobra pushups
-sprint
-tricep pushdowns (over-hand and under-hand grip)
-REPEAT
-leg circles
-side planks with rotation
-oblique v-crunches
-Pfeiffer scissors
-sprints
-REPEAT
-stretch

That should give me about an hour or so worth of gym time this evening.  I am looking forward to it…all except that Mondays are always packed.  I suppose it is because people eat garbage over the weekend and rush to the gym Monday to try and control the damage.  Maybe.

For breakfast today I had a small banana and vanilla yogurt with almonds and cinnamon.  A snack is in order here in a few…and lunch later.  I bought fresh kale yesterday and some colorful peppers, so I am excited for lunch.  Very excited!

What is your day going to look like today?

-Erica

Weigh Day (week fifty-three)

“There’s a first time for everything.”

That is a saying that comes to mind today.  Today is a first for me (as far as I can remember, anyway).  When I weighed in today, I was UP from last week.  I do believe that in 53 weeks this is the first time that has happened.

200.2

I would be totally hysterical right now, but I have a funny feeling I know exactly why I am up.  Let me count the ways:

1. I lifted heavy weights this week with very little (to no) cardio.

2. I stopped logging my food in my journal (big no-no!).

3. I was in the gym only twice this week (Monday and Wednesday).

4. I ate a very good dessert yesterday at a family reunion…and I do not feel bad about it, nor do I regret it.

I am coming to understand that my body is *extremely* sensitive to lifting weights.  Monday I lifted on my own (focusing solely on my arms and shoulders), and I ate well.  Tuesday morning’s weigh in had me up several pounds.  I knew I had not eaten an excess of 14,000 calories to truly pack on those pounds, though.  So, I was not worried.  Wednesday morning’s weigh in had me down a couple of those pounds from Tuesday.  That night I focused on strength training with Denise.  Thursday I was back up a little over a pound from Wednesday.  I was also *extremely* sore Thursday and Friday…and Saturday.  My legs took a beating with Denise.  Yesterday had me back down a couple pounds (hovering right around 199.6 to 200.6).  After yesterday’s sedentary nature (sitting around with family…and tables full of food), I knew I was not going to drop under that 199.2 from last week.

In one way, I do find it frustrating that I am not down for the week.  However, in another way, I find it almost absurd to beat myself up over this.  First of all, I am up only a bit.  Second of all, I know that at least part of that is muscle…has to be.  So, for this week I am going to cut myself some slack (very little, mind you) and we will see what next week shows (which better be a loss).

My plan of action:

1. I will be in the gym every day this week.
2. I will be careful not to let cardio go unnoticed again.
3. I will start logging food again (seriously cannot believe I stopped doing this).

With those three things in place, I should be back on the road down by the end of the week, and I will be able to take this hiccup in stride.

How do you handle hiccups in your path?

-Erica

Happy Healthy-versary!

Today officially marks one whole year I have been striving/working toward a healthier lifestyle.  What a crazy year this has been!  Excitement, disappointment, anger, joy, desperation, and every other emotion in between has been experienced this year!  I would like to think the happy/joyful moments have outweighed the frustration and anger, though.  I certainly have a lot to be happy about, seriously.

I have gone from 315 pounds to 199.2 in one year (115.8 pounds lost).
I have gone from a size 28W to a 14/16 in one year.
I have gone from being in pain 24/7 to moving freely and comfortable in one year.
I have gone from miserable to pretty dang happy in one year.

This time last year I had a brace on my ankle.  I absolutely *could not* walk without that brace.  My back was *always* killing me.  I was constantly having headaches.  I was depressed and miserable.  My heart condition was running my life.  I wore only 3X T-shirts and stretchy pants.  I thought I would be fat forever.

Today I could not even tell you where that brace is because I have not needed it in such a long time (nor will I ever again).  My back *never* hurts.  I cannot recall the last time I had a headache.  I think it is safe to say I am no longer depressed, and I am certainly not miserable.  My heart condition has improved *dramatically* to the point where I can actually *live* my life without worrying so much about it.  I can wear most large T-shirts (not even XL) and I am actually wearing real jeans right now.  I know I will never be fat again.

I cried today.  In public.  I was out with my cousin, Maggie, and we were browsing through Rookwood Commons.  She was on the hunt for a job, and I was just along for the window shopping.  We stopped into Eddie Bauer, and I looked around while she filled out the application.  As I rummaged through their clearance racks I had a fleeting thought… “This time last year they would have shooed me out of here immediately because there would be absolutely *nothing* in this store that would fit me.”  I found a pair of size 16 jeans.  They were marked all the way down to $8.00 (can you believe that?!), so I just had to try them on.  They fit, folks.  They fit.  Eddie Bauer jeans fit my booty.  It was such an exhilarating feeling to be able to walk into a store like that and actually find clothes that fit. Me.

As I walked to the counter I began to tear up.  I could not help myself.  I turned to Maggie and said, “This is the first time in my entire adult life I have *ever* been able to walk into a store (other than Wal-Mart), pick something off the rack (that is not stretchy), and have it actually fit me.”  The lady behind the counter actually came out and around to hug me.  She said she was proud of me (never met her before, by the way) and she even got a little teary-eyed.  What an incredible moment that was.

The people I have met over the last year have made all the difference.  There is a saying out there somewhere about positive things happening in one’s life if one surrounds him/herself with positive people/things.  That is certainly true.  I have never had more positive people in my life, and I have never had so many positive things going on.  Denise, of course, is a huge driving force in my life.  She has changed my everyday life in such profound ways.  All the other trainers at the gym (Dorsey, Aaron, Ketrell, etc.) have contributed too.  Without them I would not have come *nearly* this far in one year.  I love them, and I am looking forward to another year with them.

I know I still have quite a bit of road left to travel, but I have come *so* far.  I also now know I can do it.  Whatever *it* may be, I have this.  I will get to where I want to be…regardless of what it takes, or how long.

I have only one regret.  I wish to hell and back I would have taken a picture (full body) of myself on this day last year.  I would absolutely give anything to be able to really *see* what kind of changes my body has undergone in a year.  Too late for that now, though, I will just have to take everyone else’s word for it.

Looking back over the last year…how has your life changed?  Are you happy with the kind of changes that have occurred in your life over the last year?  If not, what steps can/will you take to improve your life in the coming year?

-Erica

Weigh Day (week fifty-two)

This is my 52nd week weighing in.  It is absolutely insane to think how much things have changed since my first weigh in.  Of course, today does not mark (officially) one year since I began this journey.  That will happen on Tuesday (July 10th).

This week has been fairly boring.  I went to the gym a few days for cardio, but since Wednesday was a holiday my weekly training appointment was missing.  I lifted a *tiny* bit of weight this week, but nothing that even made me remotely sore the next day.  Bummer.

As for my weigh in…are you ready for this?

199.2

A 2.2-pound loss from last week.  Can you dig that?!  I am *finally* under 200 pounds!  This is the first time I have been under 200 pounds since I was a teenager!  Seriously.  To say I am excited would be the understatement of the year.  Elated.  Speechless.  Excited.  And so much more.

Going forward things are going to change a bit, I think.  I still have weight to lose, of course.  My initial goal weight is 185 pounds, so I still need to lose 14.2 to get there.  However, instead of focusing solely on the weight loss, I may start getting more into lifting weights…building the lean mass.  I know this will (in a sense) stall, or significantly hinder, the numbers dropping on the scale.  However, I want to make sure when the weight comes off, my body looks good…and toned (and strong) muscles is what I need for that.

Over the last couple months I have been lifting less and less…and doing more cardio and endurance exercises.  And I have been fine with that, of course.  I want to lose the weight, and I want my endurance to be high.  Now, though, that I have relatively little weight to lose (compared to what I had to lose before), it makes sense to really kick it up on the weight-lifting front again.

This will also give me an opportunity to put some things I am learning into practice.  In order to build a lean, toned muscle structure, you need to work toward myofibril failure.  That means lifting 80-85% of your 1RM (the absolute most amount of weight you can successfully lift only once).  With such a heavy, intense weight I will be limiting to only 4 to 6 repetitions.  This will do a couple things: build muscle (of course), and strengthen/increase my fast twitch fibers.  That is something I really want also.  As of right now, I am mostly slow twitch (endurance).  I want that explosive, raw strength…and that comes from fast twitch muscle fibers.

Please do not be mistaken…I am not looking to be a body builder.  I am not looking to bench press 150+ pounds.  I just want to be lean, toned, and strong…for a girl.

So, this week I will be determining what my 1RM is for various exercises and developing a plan to maximize my weight lifting.  That is my short-term goal for the week.  Of course, my longer-term goal is still to get these last 14.2 pounds off this body.  My goal is to accomplish that within the next two months (by September 1st).  The other longer-term goal I am working toward is, of course, to get my personal training certification.  That should be right around September 1st as well.

What short- and long-term goals are you working toward right now?

-Erica

Let The Learning Begin

A while back I mentioned getting my certification to become a personal trainer.  Well, that is now official – I am working toward my certification.  My books arrived Monday and I have been buried in them ever since.

I have to be honest, though, this material is even more in-depth than I anticipated.  Looking through the book, I feel slightly overwhelmed…but excited.  The first part of my study manual covers the human anatomy, terms, and biomechanics.  Thank goodness I do not have to identify all 656 muscles in the body, but I do have to know around 40 of them (the major ones, of course).  I also need to be able to label the human skeleton (again, just major bones…not all 206 of them).  That part comes easily to me since I actually have training in medical transcription.  I will admit, though, that I have already learned a great deal!

The company I chose to earn my certification through is National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT).  They are accredited, and their exam process is quite intense…which means their certification is highly regarded.  On their website they state most people can earn their certification in about 90 days (although some do it faster, and you have up to one year).  I am a bit of a perfectionist at times (and school-related adventures elicit super-perfectionistic behaviors), so I will likely take my time and really get to know this material.  A grade anything other than an A on my exam would just eat at me forever.  Crazy, I know.

So, if I slide in a random anatomical term here and there, you will now know why…such as:  Denise worked my deltoids (anterior, medial/lateral, and posterior) to death last night.  My biceps and brachioradialis were even a little sore.  (That would equal shoulders and arms.)

What a difference a year can make, right?  This time last year I was sitting on my couch complaining about being fat…*wishing* it would all go away.  Funny, huh?

-Erica

Weigh Day (week forty-seven)

Alright folks…I am back from vacation (if we can even call it that) and I weighed in for the first time this morning…

That is right – I did not take my scale after all!  After much deliberation, I decided I needed to give myself an opportunity to see what “real life” would be like for me.  I say “real life” because I mean a life in which I am not constantly considering what every little bite of food will mean for the scale (or my waist line).  Now, not that I mean I went hog-wild and ate everything.  I did not.  I still ate sensibly, but certainly “off menu” compared to what I have been eating for the last 47 weeks.

Friday night I ate Moroccan (extremely delicious) – fresh, homemade from this tiny joint called Poccadio in Indy.  Saturday night I ate (what might be *the* best) Mexican food – again, fresh, homemade, mouth-watering Mexican food.  I had this stuffed pablano pepper with chicken and cheese – OH MY!  Sunday the girlies and I ate at a place called Chef Mike’s Charcoal Grill.  Nearly everything on the menu is cooked on a charcoal grill – even the pizza!  We had a pizza for an appetizer, and then I had the most delicious salad I have ever consumed! It was their grilled chicken strawberry salad.  The salad had fresh strawberries and mandarin orange segments paired with charcoal-grilled chicken.  The dressing was a homemade poppy seed vinaigrette…and I fell in love.  Seriously.

Okay, so enough reliving my food frenzy…which, I should note, I only ate out once each day (dinner).  For the other two meals (and snacks) I packed food and prepared in our hotel room.

As for weigh in…

206.4

That is 1.6 pounds down from week 46’s weigh in!  Not too shabby for “off menu vacation eating”!!!  I should also mention I have not worked out since last Wednesday night!  That is a full SIX days of no hard work and sweating…and my body and mind are ready for it!  I am getting right back in to the groove of things starting tomorrow with Denise.  I am *seriously* looking forward to it!

How was your week?

-Erica

Ten Reasons To Keep The Fat Away

A fellow blogger friend of mine, Andie, posted her top 10 reasons to stay on track.  Ten Reasons To Not Go Back.

I only read the beginning part of her post (so far).  I stopped right as I was creeping up on her ten reasons because I thought to myself, “I should do that.  I should write a list of reasons why I will *never* let myself go back to my previous lifestyle.”  So, after I compile my list, I will go back and read hers.  I just did not want her reasons to leak into mine (if that makes any sense what-so-ever).

So, here are my top 10 reasons to keep the fat away:

1. I physically feel better and have far more energy.  This leaks into all aspects of my life…even my garden is doing better this year than ever before!  I have more energy to weed and water more often, which will save me money in the long run when I am able to harvest all those yummy veggies.

2. My chicklets are so proud of me (especially my older daughter) and it feels good to know that.  My older daughter tells me all the time how great I look and how happy she is now.

3. I am setting myself up for a longer, healthier, more enjoyable life with my chicklets (and eventually grandchildren).  I never want to become a burden to my children because I am so unhealthy that I cannot possibly take care of myself.

4. My lower back *never* hurts anymore.  When I was over 300 pounds, my back constantly hurt…even when laying down.  Comfort and sleep were nearly impossible.

5. I like the idea of being able to shop for clothes just about anywhere.  Although, the clothing sizes frustrate the begeebies out of me, I can wear *lots* more things than I was able to before.  For the most part, I actually fit into just regular large T-shirts.

6. I enjoy being physically fit.  I like the idea of being able to do physical activity…and sometimes being able to do more than someone else.  That might make me sound shallow or possibly conceited, but I really do not intend it to sound that way.  It does make me feel good when I can last longer than someone else, or lift more weight, or do more reps, etc.  Gives a little boost to my confidence.

7. I love all the new people in my life.  People that I now have something in common with: a love of and appreciation for fitness.  If I decided (for some strange reason) to stop working out, I would miss out on time with Denise, Aaron, Dorsey, Crystal, Mike, Ciara, Ketrell, and lots more people.  Not to mention that the thought of an angry mob coming after me does not sound appealing.  They would not allow me to just “give up” after the progress I have made (and that makes me happy).

8. I am a better role model for my chicklets.  I strive in all areas of life to be the very best mother I can be…to provide my daughters with a well-rounded foundation.  Health and fitness was one area I was failing miserably in before.  Since I have improved *my* health, our life together has changed.  My seven-year-old now knows how to read nutrition labels and search for ingredients on products.  She knows more about the proper composition of a healthy meal (and serving sizes).  My younger daughter will certainly pick these things up as she gets older, too.  I am working to prevent my chicklets from ever struggling with their weight.  I am breaking the cycle.  They will pass these important things on to their children, who will then not have to struggle with their weight.  This is a very good thing!

9. I still have goals to meet.  I have come far from my beginning, but I still have goals…and lots of them.  I still want to *run* a 5K.  I still want to lose more weight.  I still want to complete a specialty race (such as Tough Mudder or Mud Ninja).  I want to prove to myself that I *can* do these things.

10. Embarrassment sucks.  How embarrassing would it be to lose over 100 pounds and then gain it back?!  Terribly embarrassing.  That is something that would be totally unacceptable.

There are plenty more reasons why I would never let myself revert back to my previous life.  The benefits of good health are endless.

What are *your* reasons for changing your life?  What are *your* reasons to never let yourself “go back?”

-Erica

Weigh Day (week forty-six)

Sheesh – weigh day again.  Already.  I seriously meant to post other things this week and time just kept on flying by.  Next week is vacation (and I am truly excited about that), so I know my weigh day post will be late.  My chicklets and I will be back in town Monday evening (the 4th), so look for weigh day post probably Tuesday morning.

Here is something interesting (to me and maybe to a handful of you)…I have actually contemplated bringing my scale with me on vacation.  Honestly, the idea of not weighing for several days in a row makes me feel anxious.  Also, I am not sure I could be as understanding with myself as Shonnie was with herself after her hiatus in Alaska.  I admire her strength and her trust in herself.  Those are things I still struggle with…on a regular basis.  So, it is very likely I will be packing up the scale.  When you go on vacation, does the scale travel with you?

Here is another something interesting:

Denise’s Survivor Bootcamp (Saturday, May 26th)

 This picture.  I have stared at this picture lots since Denise posted it on Facebook.  Why?  Well, because I find it interesting.  Interesting to see myself (my body) in comparison with others.  Typically I am the one *giant* person standing out in any photo.  When looking at pictures I usually think, “Thin, thin, thin, GIANT!  God, I look like I ate an extra person before they took my picture!”  Here I am, though, in this picture with all these normal people, and I do not look like I am *that* much bigger than any one of them.  I look pretty normal here.  So, why can I not *feel* normal?!  Sigh.

I bought clothes this week.  That was more than a little frustrating.  When I tried on jeans just a couple weeks back at Wal-Mart I fit into a regular size 14.  However, when I switched brands at a different store, guess what?  Size 14, size 15, and size 16 were all tight.  Some of them I could not even get up over my thighs and booty.  The jeans I ended up buying were a size 18, and they were still a little more snug than I would prefer.  Oh well, right?  I tried on some 18s from Old Navy and they were huge on me…so huge that a belt would not have even helped that situation.  Why do clothing manufacturers have to make this so difficult?!

Anyway, I had a fairly busy week.  I did some strength training with Denise on Wednesday, which was fun.  I have not been lifting as much recently (probably over the last two months, really) as I once was.  I definitely need to add more strength training back into my routines.  I spent majority of yesterday at Coney Island (pool…swimming…ick) after an excellent bootcamp in the morning.  This week will hopefully bring some power yoga my way…something I wish I had *lots* more of on a regular basis.

So, as for my weigh in…

208.0

Yup, down exactly one pound this week.  I expected as much after last week’s unexpectedly huge loss.  That is quite alright, though, another pound is another pound gone, right?  I will get there…slow and steady wins the race (my seven-year-old tells me that all the time…especially in weeks where the numbers are crawling).

As I promised last week, I do have other posts in the works.  I *will* get to them this week.  I *will* make them a priority.

-Erica

Weigh Day (week forty-five)

What an unexpected kind of week…in the best possible way, no less!  My week has been fairly busy, but not too busy.  I ended up taking Tuesday off of the gym because of a later appointment with my therapist.  I felt bad about it at first, but decided my muscles could probably use the unscheduled break anyway.

As for the rest of my week:

Sunday – lazy day

Monday – 30 mins w/ Neil (13,203)

Tuesday – lazy day (10,121)

Wednesday – 35 mins w/ Denise (10,683)

Thursday – bootcamp w/ Denise (20,358)

Friday – Relay for Life (16,928)

Saturday – bootcamp w/ Denise (16,480)

I forgot to tell you all about this fitness/endurance test Denise had me complete last week.  It consists of 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats, and 100 kettlebell swings.  You do continuous work until you complete all four exercises.  Your “score” is just your time.  I completed all 400 reps in 12 minutes 58 seconds.  It felt a *lot* longer than that to me when I was actually doing the work, though.  Of course, looking back, I wish I would not have stopped in between all them for water.  My time would have easily been 10 to 20 seconds faster without those breaks.  Oh well.

Friday night my chicklets and I walked in the Relay for Life.  My father died of lung cancer on May 16, 2010.  My older daughter, who is seven, spoke to other adults as if she were already grown and advocating this cause.  That little girl is going to be someone very special when she is grown.

Alright, onto weigh in, right?

Do you remember last week when I said I hoped to weigh in at 210.6 or less this week?  Well,  I was in for a serious surprise because here is what the scale beamed back at me today:

209.0

That is 3.2 pounds down – in one week (and 106 total)!!!  I cannot believe that!  I have not lost that much in a week in a *very long* time!  Apparently I need to be setting weekly weigh in goals so that I can surpass them!

I am inching ever so close to being under 200 pounds, and I can feel the excitement building!  This is going to be monumental – seriously.  With just under two weeks until June 1st, I know I will not quite make it before then.  However, I think I will be quite close…and I am certain I will be under 200 sometime in June!  Excellent!

GOAL TRACKER
1 week; 5 days
9.2 pounds

I have some other posts coming up hopefully later today or tomorrow…

How was your week?  How can you improve this upcoming week?

-Erica