I'm making myself an athlete

So last night I walked in to Willowbridge thinking I was going to Zumba and then go home right away because I'd promised the sitter I wouldn't be late tonight (more times than not, I'm about a half hour later than I expect to be).  Anyone who knows me won't be surprised at all lol.  AAAAANNNNNYYYYYYYWAY....so I met my good friend, Tiffany up at Zumba and we shook it.  There were a couple times Kelsie had to leave the room and left me and a couple other girls in charge to lead the group.  Once to a newer song, but we didn't do TOO shabby.  I was flattered that she thought we could handle it without her, but of course nervous considering there were a couple new ladies.  So we finish up Zumba and are sweating like CRAZY....OH!  I didn't mention the HEAT was on and I apparently was standing right under a vent.  WHEW it got toasty in there!  I normally lolly gag a little bit, but since I told the sitter I would be home on time and I still needed to stop at the grocery store for a couple things, so I grabbed my things and walked out the studio door.....right in to the middle of the bootcampers getting ready to run.  Tina asked me if I wanted to run with them and I told her I had to get home by 8 (it was 7:30), she says it's a mile and a half, it'll only take you 14 minutes....when I doubted her she said "ok 15 minutes", which in Tina speak means "Quit making excuses, suck it up and run".  So I said fine and ran to the bathroom to adjust my too big bra that had loosened itself further while at Zumba and I ran.  Inhaler in hand, but I ran and I ALMOST ran the whole way.  I only walked three times and maybe for a minute each (if that) and finished with a time of 14:55!!  For a mile and a half and Tina was pretty right on.  She couldn't have guessed better.

So did I get home on time?  Yes, I walked in the door RIGHT AT 8 and decided that I would pick the kids up and just take them with me to the grocery store.  Moral of the story - QUIT MAKING EXCUSES!

On my way home I kept thinking....MAN, I ALMOST ran the entire mile and a half.  One of my goals (and it has been since I started this journey of mine) is to run an entire mile.  I've never in my life been able to do that.  In high school I always tried to get a dr's note for my asthma to get out of running the mile (more excuses!) and when I didn't get a note and HAD to run I ran about 1/2 a lap of the track (1 mile = 4 laps) and walked the rest of the way finished with times around 45 minutes...yup, kids were heading back to their other classes while the fat girl was still puffing her way through a one mile walk.  That fat girl is gone and will be forever.  She sits in a closet in the back of my head and tries to poke her way out by making excuses for not pushing harder, running longer, but one day she WILL be gone for good!  Not in my head, not in a closet, not anywhere near me.  I am strong, I'm proud, I'm turning in to the person I've always wanted to be.  All of THAT from a 1 1/2 mile run....Thank you Tina :)

Wanted to send a quick thank you to Sara (my kickboxing instructor) too.  She shared a video (see the top of my blog) for a friend's birthday and it wasn't intended for me, but I saw it and love it, so I just had to share it. Right now, this moment in my life, I'm making myself an athlete :)

Zumboga!!

That's what I'm calling my evening.  Zumba was great!  Perfect size group!  Restorative Yoga followed and it felt really good to be back at it.  I rocked "pigtails" tonight aka two braids and I kinda liked it.  I've tried two ponytails before and they just got in the way at Zumba and pissed me off, but the braids worked and was something different than the plain 'ol single pony tails (wah wah). LOL, yes I'm a dork!  Anyway, this has been a fantastic Sunday and I'm very much looking forward to my week.  Counting down the days until bootcamp starts again too!  I miss Tina, Tiffany, Mindy, Chelly, and all of my fellow camo clad cuties!

Refocusing is what I needed!

Last Thursday you may have seen that I decided to refocus on my goals and eliminate the bread, rice, pasta, etc etc etc from my diet again.  Guess what?!?!  I'm down 5 lbs from last Thursday and at an all time low!  227 this morning AFTER breakfast!  This is exactly what I needed and this is what works for me, so I don't want to EVER hear anyone say it's not what I should be doing or that indulging once in a while or just having a taste isn't going to hurt me, because guess what....THAT is exactly what I've been doing and the scale yo yos out of control, because one bite or taste always leads to more.  The simple carbs are turning to sugar and in turn leaving me craving MORE sugar which as led to cookies, candy, pizza, and other CRAP food that I KNEW I shouldn't be eating and I can tell you that it was VERY challenging to re-eliminate all of that stuff from my diet the last couple days, but believe me it worked!  I am back on the straight and narrow and will continue to be.  I'm not going to let anything get in my way now!  I have my blinders on and WILL reach my goal of 199 lbs by July 23rd! (my 30th birthday)

GREAT tip from Jillian Michaels!

Smart Tip: Most people sabotage themselves because they aren't mindful in the moment. Let your daily actions be governed by your goals & dreams. Whenever you are making an important decision first ask if it gets you closer to your goals or farther away. If the answer is closer, pull the trigger. If it's farther away make a different choice. Conscious choice making is a critical step in making your dreams a reality

Quote of the Day

Bob Harper posted this quote on his facebook page today and said to take it with you to the gym.  I'm not going to the gym today and I'm not taking any classes, but I'm definitely taking this with me today whatever I end up doing.

"It's not about getting thru it. It's about getting something out of it" ~ Bob Harper

Refocusing

I've been struggling the last few weeks/months.  I have no problem getting sufficient workouts in, but the introduction of more carbs back in to my diet has led me to indulge more than I should, so I'm refocusing as of today.  I got on the scale this morning and I haven't moved much at all in the last month.  I haven't been logging my food and exercise, so I'm starting that up again today.  I have been cleaning up after my kids (like a human garbage disposal) and I'm STOPPING that today!  I've been indulging in foods that I KNOW are not going to benefit my health or body at all and I'm STOPPING that today too!  I'm going back to the elimination of all rice, pasta, bread, crackers, cookies, etc.  These type of foods and their glycemic indexes are not benefiting me at all.  If anything, they are destroying the results I've been working so hard to achieve.  I start bootcamp again the middle of April and can't wait to get going again.  I know I'm getting stronger, I know I'm burning calories, but I need to REALLY stay focused on my goals.  I sometimes think I get over confident here and there and slack on my healthy eating.  Today and going forward, WILL be different.  I WILL make my health a priority.  My next goal is to be under 200 lbs by my 30th birthday (July 23rd).  That doesn't leave me much time and if I'm going to achieve that goal, I NEED to be diligent about journaling, measuring, and being honest with myself.  Today is a new day.  It's the first day of the rest of a better life!

Oh my aching legs!!

Sara kicked my ass tonight!!  YOWZA!  I'm definitely going to feel THAT workout in the morning, but it hurts good :)  Thanks Sara!

Update

I'm so so so sorry.  I've had so much going on lately, I've been slacking on the blogging.  ANYWHO!  I'm definitely back in the swing of working out.  Last Thursday was Zumba (fantastic as always!), Saturday was kickboxing, Sunday was Zumba, last night I tried a new class....Core and Conditioning.  It was the first time I'd done the class so I asked what equipment I needed since I saw some of the other ladies with balance balls.  The instructor told me "a ball, elastic cord, light weights, and a mat."  I asked what we would be doing with the weights and she demonstrated a t shaped arm movement and suggested 2 lb weights.  I was pretty confident in my own ability and chose to grab 5 lb weights.  When the instructor saw what weights I grabbed she gave me a pretty crazy look.  I jokingly said to her "If Tina saw me using 2 lb weights for anything, I'd be dead meat" and laughed.  She proceeded to explain that the shoulder muscle is a small muscle group blah blah blah.....yes, yes I know, but I just wished she would please have faith that I knew what my body could handle.  I explained that I go to bootcamp and lift some VERY heavy weights there, in addition I work out VERY hard at other classes and I feel like I can handle 5 lbs weights for the movements she described.  She shrugged and said "oooooook" and I could FEEL that she was maybe thinking "Yeah right!"  I kind of felt like I was being judged because I'm a still a bigger girl.  She doesn't know me, she doesn't know my story, so I let it slide, but was still borderline annoyed.  Guess what....I'm pretty sure I blew her away.  I held perfect form and moved those 5 lb weights!  There were a couple times while I was doing the "challenging" version of a move that she asked me if anything was hurting and I told her "no" she literally opened her eyes wide and said "Wow".  I'm not sure exactly what that meant, but I'm guessing she was surprised at my abilities.  This Core and Conditioning class was not at ALL what I expected and I was VERY disappointed that I didn't even break a sweat, I think it will be a good class to mix things up when my muscles get fatigued from the more challenging classes that I do.

Don't think I've quit!

I understand I haven't updated my blog in quite a while, but don't think I've quit.  I have a TERRIBLE head cold and am trying to get recovered from it and back to working out.  The appetite was ridiculously none existent for quite a few days.  It's pretty much back to normal now, except that I still can't really taste much :(  I'm still eating healthy and still planning my activity.  I will for SURE be back to my workout regimen on Thursday with ZUMBA!

The results are in!

Well yesterday before kickboxing I was at the clinic to do a med check and get my thyroid levels checked.  Just got the results back.  I've been completely off of my thyroid meds for approx 5 weeks and my levels are smack dab in the middle of the normal range.  So thrilled and proud of my accomplishments!

Why don't I listen?

Monday night I was very sore from the 4 classes I did over the weekend and had a discussion with my trainer, Tina, and she told me I SHOULD be taking Monday off.  However, I told her I had promised Emily I would be at Spin so I was going and I did.  She then told me it sounds like I am overtraining and suggested I slow down and take Tuesday off, which I agreed to, and then realized that kickboxing was on my workout schedule and Wednesday (today) I had nothing scheduled.  I decided to go ahead and go to kickboxing, because I was feeling so much better yesterday and knew I would be taking today off anyway....BIG MISTAKE!  I should've listened!!  Why didn't I listen!?!?!  I felt great before kickboxing, I felt great DURING kickboxing, I felt great when I climbed in my truck....and then 10 minutes later I slid out of the truck in my garage and it hit me!!  I am in a crazy amount of pain.  The worst two parts are in my hip/butt cheek area and the outside of the shoulder/upper arm.  I feel like I've been punched over and over and over again.  My whole body feels almost bruised and I can barely function.  I think I only moved ONCE all night and groaned the whole way from my side to my back as I rolled.  In some strange way it kind of feels good to know I pushed my body to it's limit, but now it's time to back off for a bit.  Today I for SURE will be taking off of all exercise.  I'll be drinking LOTS of water and doing LOTS of stretching throughout the day.  Tomorrow, depending how I feel, Zumba.  This weekend....to be determined.  I have Kickboxing and Vinyasa Yoga on the schedule for Saturday and Sunday - Zumba followed by restorative yoga.  IF I do ANY classes this weekend, it will only be ONE each day.  Part of me feels like I should do yoga, because I think of yoga as relaxing and lots of stretching, but the truth is, it is also a lot of strength training, which I do NOT need right now, so we'll see how the next couple days play out.  Until then, I'm waiting for the "I told you so" from Tina :)

"I like to ride my bicycle, I like to ride my bike"

Well last night was interesting at spin.  It was not NEAR as challenging as I expected, which means one of two things....it just plain isn't as hard as it looks or I'm in much better shape than I give myself credit for.  Obviously it was different and the seats of the bikes SUCK!  Yes, folks, NO padding :(  I, however, made it through 30 minutes and it seemed to fly by, so it couldn't have been all bad right?  I think it's definitely something I will try again and it was nice to do something new, but I don't love it like I LOVE kickboxing and LOVE Zumba and LOVE bootcamp, but maybe that will come with time.  Either way I'm glad I did it!  It was a great workout.  I expected to be a lot more sore than what I am though.  I didn't even feel ANYTHING until I climbed my stairs when I got home, I could definitely feel it in the bottom portion of my quads, but that was about it.  I expected to be very sore this morning, but I'm not.  Maybe I was doing something wrong or, again, maybe I'm just in better shape than I thought I was.

Thanks Emily for talking me in to going, I'm so glad I did and thank you Sara for a great workout!  Tonight - kickboxing!! YAY!

Weekend Recap

Saturday I did kickboxing followed by vinyasa yoga and I felt great when I came home.  Last night I did Zumba followed by restorative yoga and barely slept because I'm so sore.  I'm thinking it's the morning vs evening workout.  Saturdays I workout and then am up and moving around the rest of the day.  Sundays I work out, come home, eat, shower, and go to bed.  There is much less movement between working out super hard and being completely still sleeping.  All I can say is this morning I am BEYOND tired and BEYOND sore.  It's the good sore and it was the good sore all night long, every single time it woke me up, but it's still sore and I was still waking up from it.  Unfortunately I have to suck it up, because I will have 5 kids here today, so no slacking or relaxing on my part.  Chances are it'll do me good to not sit and moan and groan about my aches.  I need to be up moving around.

Even without boot camp I am definitely feeling changes.  I know I need to get more strength training in, but I also can tell that I have really improved in my Yoga, especially the chataranga, which means that my arms and shoulders and back are stronger! YAY!  Tonight I get to try a whole new adventure....SPIN!  Yes, folks, I am going to try a spin class tonight!  I am terrified!  Especially after all the squats and kicks and lunges of the weekend, getting on a bike is probably going to be a little challenging, but I gotta do what I gotta do to reach my goal.

Speaking of.....I was informed last week that my dad plans on taking my whole family on a vacation this summer and I'm thrilled and terrified all at the same time.  Vacation = swim suit.....aaaaaggggghhhhhh!!!!  However, I think we are shooting for July and my goal is to be under 200 lbs by my birthday (also July), so hopefully the swim suit thing won't be so scary at that point......oh shit!  Who am I kidding....swim suits will forever be scary LOL.  However, I DID try one on this weekend that I absolutely LOVED!  It was a tankini and right up my alley as far as style.  It was a halter, which I was a little apprehensive about, but my boobs are definitely a HECK of a lot smaller now which means they aren't near as heavy.  Amazingly I can not find a picture of it online to share with ya'll, but it has helped my motivation tremendously!  Soooooo ONWARD!

It's going to be a great week :)

Realization

So I was just sitting here wondering what workout DVD I should do and then realized that I haven't taken a day off of working out yet this week.  I've worked out every single day since last Saturday!!  Guess tonight is my one night off.  Kickboxing and yoga in the morning!!  I saw this quote today and found it to be so so so incredibly true!  Absolutely love it, had to share!!

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." ~Henry Ford

Full House

Last night was PACKED for Zumba!!  We had a really great time though!  Lots of great songs, a few newish people that caught one relatively quick and one crazy older gal who drove me NUTS the whole entire hour.  I, of course, arrived late after chatting with my niece much too long at Walmart, so I took a spot near the door (in the back which I HATE).  And of course right in front of me was a gal that is at nearly every single class I go to and she's an older gal.  Kudos to her for really trying, but I asked her if I was too much in her space and asked if she'd rather I went up and to the left of her (the space looked bigger from where I was standing).  She said it doesn't matter, you won't bother me.  She proceeded to back me in to the wall, nearly step on me, nearly kick me (which is amazing since she shouldn't have even been kicking in my general direction) and when I smiled at her and said "good workout" she had the audacity to give me a dirty look and completely turn her back to me!  WTF did *I* do?!?!?  Whatever, I got a good workout and had a great time and I'm not going to let other people's negative attitudes ruin my time.  I just need to make sure I get there at a reasonable time to ensure a good spot. :)

I still gotta get me some Zumba pants though!  I just love them!

Bootcamp of another kind

Well last night on the way out of kickboxing, Emily and I stopped and chatted with Tina for a minute.  I so so sooooo badly wanted to stay for bootcamp.  Today as I checked facebook and my email for the millionth time while the kiddos were settling in for quiet time, I KNEW I should work out but I really really didn't have the ambition or motivation to do so.  However, I somehow mustered it.  I thought about how I had to get to my goals, bootcamp or not.  I've been doing great on the days I have classes to go to, etc, but these days when I know I won't make it to a class in the evening, I'm really struggling to get my workout in.  But I did it!  I put in the Biggest Loser Bootcamp DVD and worked it!  There, now it's done and out of the way and maybe tonight after dinner, the kids and I can have a dance party!!

**CAUTION** Biggest Loser Spoiler

I just have to vent about last night's episode of The Biggest Loser.  First of all, the contestants going home wasn't a big shock.  It happens every season around this time and of course it's hard to adjust, but what the HELL is wrong with Austin's friends?  The poor guy is on The Biggest Loser....go bowling, fine.  But you do not order pizza, cheese fries, and his favorite cheesecake and then try to convince him to take a bite.  However, I can relate to him and understand that really IS how life is.  There are people out there who are sabotagers.  They will, in fact, try to convince you that only one bite or one piece is not going to hurt you.  It might not be a deliberate act, but then again it might be.  There are a lot of these kind of people in my life that I've distanced myself from.  The kind who call me rude when I turn down something because I know it's not going to do me any good to eat it, the who roll their eyes at me when I say I won't eat something, etc.  The more you do these kind of things to me, the more I realize that I don't need people like you in my life.  I don't necessarily NEED the applause or the cheers for my choices, but I DO need your acceptance.  Don't make a sarcastic statement, don't tell me that I'm wasting money on classes, don't tell me what I need or what I should be doing.  Just be happy that I'm doing SOMETHING to better my life, which is more than I can say for you.  I was appalled and infuriated by Austin's friends.  Support the poor guy.  Especially on national television!!  Good grief!!

AND ANOTHER THING!!!  Arthur being moved to the red team wouldn't have been HALF as bad if they would have done the right thing and kept him at the ranch!!  It's one thing to have an alliance and it's one thing to love your team, but it's quite another to keep your team together at the expense of someone else's life.  Arthur needed to be on that ranch more than ANYONE in the history of biggest loser and 6 arrogant self centered people in red shirts threw him out with yesterday's garbage, when there were 7 black team members that would have gladly taken his place.  Even more interesting was a comment that Justin made that if Sara (formerly of the red team, now on team black) would've been last and ended up on the red team, she would be going home.  Was that because she didn't try her best or was it because she simply wasn't "part of the family" anymore.  This season's red team has angered me more than any other season ever has.  HOWEVER, I was so proud of Arthur for going home and taking his 5'8" frame carrying his 400+ lbs to the gym and kicking his own ass!  That's more than I can say for a lot of people.  He is stronger and has a bigger heart than ANYONE on the red team.  I used to have a couple contestants on the red team that I thought were better than that, but they are all on my shit list now.  Courtney, Marci, and Jen have always been some of my favs and to know that those women would've done anything they could to save Arthur makes me love them even more.  GO BLACK TEAM!

I also just want to add that I am TERRIFIED to watch next season without Jillian.  The show is not at all going to be the same without her and Heaven forbid Bob leave in the near future, I'm pretty sure I will be done with The Biggest Loser.  Brett and Kara don't have NEAR the heart and spirit that Bob and Jillian have!

We <3 you Arthur!!  Keep on keeping on!!

Butt Kicking Kickboxing

Last night at kickboxing was hard.  Well not HORRIBLY hard, but definitely a challenge and I'm feeling it in my legs and bum this morning!  That's a good thing though.  No late classes tonight, so I'll have to bust a move with the Biggest Loser Bootcamp DVD at quiet time or after all the daycare kiddos leave tonight.  My new goal is to be under 200 lbs by my 30th birthday (07/23/2011).  I gotta do it!