Motivation Monday

Wowsers. My kids are on an Inspector Gadget kick. I totally blame that for my wowsers habit.

Let me just be real - last week suuuuuucked.

Sara got sick early Thursday morning with the dreaded stomach flu. All of my laundering and Clorox wiping and Lysol using was all for naught and I ended up getting sick in the middle of a fund raising event for the Y on Friday night. I'm a fun girl that way.

But even before that, I was struggling. I think my iron is low again because my energy level is in the crapper. This week in P90X-land, it was rest and recovery week.

HA! Don't let the phrase fool you.

It was neither restful or recovery oriented.

And, for the first time since Christmas, I missed my Thursday through Saturday workouts. It was awful. I do not even want to try to explain how much missing those workouts tortured me.

Time to take a deep breath and attempt to be rational. I tried to stick to the schedule, but it just didn't work out  and I did manage to drag myself to Zumba on Sunday. It was really, really hard but I gave it my all.

I'm not sure what the heck has happened but ever since Robert left, I'm all schedule oriented which has never been my thing. It's spooky.

Of course, now it's Monday but tomorrow is also end of the month. I weighed and took measurements today and my four week total is......15 pounds and 15.5 inches.  I was hoping for more since there was very minimal food intake Thursday through Sunday, but it is what it is. And 15 pounds in a month is nothing to sneeze at. For real.

I'm looking forward to the new week and starting the new phase of P90X. Unfortunately, that still includes YogaX. And Plyo. That's in addition to a bunch more different types of push ups and pull ups and all sorts of fun new stuff.

On the brighter side, I bit the bullet and registered for Zumba instructor training this week.

Because of that I actually watched myself in the mirror at Zumba this afternoon. I figure if I'm going to expect  others to watch me Zumba then I need to know what they'll see.

Have I mentioned that I prefer not to look at myself in the mirror as a whole - especially when rapidly moving so that the jiggly parts jiggle. But it wasn't as bad as I feared. My feet do this really weird floppy thing, though, which would have made me giggle had I not still been gasping for air. Also? My collarbones are HUGE. (And, um, YAY that they show up these days, right?!!?!)

See you next week if I'm still alive. HA!

Motivation Monday

You know what? There's an athlete inside me somewhere.

When I'm panting for air and my muscles are trembling with strain and exhaustion, I can feel her, deep down inside me telling me I can DO this. One more rep, 30 more seconds, I have it in me.

And, in those moments I feel like I can conquer the world.

She's the reason I push forward on the days when working out seems like the worst idea in the world.

I can see glimpses of her now, through this stubborn layer of fat that has trapped her and tried to smother her one piece of cheesecake at a time. She's starting to break through after three years of effort. You'd think she'd be too tired by now, but nope. Not this girl.

I like this girl. She's strong and smart and confident. Her body responds when she wants it to do something - like jog up the stairs on the way to Zumba or finish that last vinyasa in Yoga X. Sore muscles? No problem. She'll just work through them.

And now that she's peeking through and speaking up more often, I'm all the more eager to meet her. How I wish I could just unzip the fat suit over her so she could step out right now. But then, that would be taking the easy way out and this girl? She doesn't take shortcuts or cheat.

So I'll keep doing what I'm doing and she'll keep on doing what she's doing and before we both know it, the time will be right.

I'm so looking forward to that day.

Oh, and I'm down two more pounds for a total of 12 lbs in three weeks.

Motivation Monday - BOOYA Plateau!

How's THIS for motivation?

On January 2, I started a fitness challenge. I'm doing P90X, following a basic TeamBeachBody nutrition guideline, using Shakeology and going to Zumba three times a week.

Week one: way sore, only lost two pounds. This brought me to the weight number I have been battling against for the last year and a half.  Maybe I've lost inches. ::crosses fingers:: Nope.

So I have a choice - leap of faith, trust the plan, stay on my current path or give up and be at this same weight this time next year (or heaven forbid even heavier). Yeah. that made it easier.

Week two. Last Thursday, I had a doctor's appointment. One where I knew I'd have to be weighed. Five weeks prior was my last appointment and the doctor mentioned that I'd gained a few pounds. And um, yeah, it was before the holidays so I can't blame Christmas or New Year's.

I hadn't weighed since that Monday so I really had no idea what my number would be and I was determined not to be stressed about it. It is what it is, and even if I haven't lost any more than the two pounds from Monday, at least it was two pounds down.

So I hop on the scale and move the weight to where I thought it should be. Too heavy? Sa-weet! Slide it down, slide it down, slide it down. Five pounds down.  By the doctor's record, I've lost 13 pounds in five weeks. And today when I weighed in, I was hoping that my scale  - which tends to weigh me a couple pounds heavier than the doctor's scale - reflected that same number.

Well, it didn't.

It was two pounds LESS.

::sprinkler:: ::running man:: ::MC Hammer U Can't Touch This::

Should I dare take measurements? Romi used to weigh and measure me every two weeks when I was working with her. I had a general idea of what my measurements were (mostly my waist measurement), so imagine my surprise when I had lost inches in my chest, waist, hips, thighs (TWO inches in EACH thigh, thankyouverymuch), biceps and calves. 9 inches in total. Ten pounds in total. In two weeks.

Yeah, I'll take that. I'll take that all day long. Good bye plateau. I will not miss you. Buh bye!

All pumped up that I now weigh right around what I did on my wedding day - ten years ago - I headed to the gym to do the chest and back workout.

Woooooooooweeeeee! What a struggle I had today.  Everything felt so hard, but I looked back at my records and I'm steadily improving. And the sweat was actually rolling off me. Attractive.

I went to Zumba this afternoon and was drenched in sweat after that class too. But I loved it. Tomorrow is freakin' Plyo. I do not love plyo, but I'm determined to master it.

Can't wait to see what next Monday brings.

Motivation Monday

As part of my January fitness challenge, I weighed in this morning.

Down two pounds. I'll take it! It's not a Biggest Loser kind of number, but hey - two pounds is nothing to sneeze at. I'm trying really hard not to focus on the numbers because that ALWAYS derails me. I could write posts after post about it. Sigh. Actually, I think I have already. A-hem.

Anyway! Moving on. Where was I? Two pounds, yay me.

P90X. Let's do some talking about P90X, shall we? I've dabbled in P90X off and on for over a year. I've done all the weight routines many, many times, but I've had very limited experience with the dedicated cardio. I call it dedicated cardio because in all honesty, if you are doing P90X correctly it's all pretty intense cardio - even the Yoga....err...excuse me..Yoga X. Or as Tony would say, Yoga X, brother.

Tony and I are having a bit of a love hate relationship these days. I love him, my muscles pretty much hate him.

Why is that, you may be wondering?

I'd be delighted to tell you. Push ups. Pull ups. Squats. Lunges. Jumping. Oh how I hate, hate, hate the jumping. Especially when squats and lunges are combined with jumping. Plyo is the devil. The devil that's an hour long. Jumping jacks. Whom ever thought up jumping jacks should have been shot. In the foot.

Seriously though, it's been a week. I lived past the first full week. WOOT! On Thursday, I was so sore I wanted to cry when ever I tried to stand or sit or breathe.

BUT! Today? I was looking forward to the workout. Have I improved in a week? I certainly feel stronger. And six or seven people have told me I looked thinner or smaller in the last week. God Bless all of you, by the way. You made my middle aged self so happy!

Oh - and here's my official "before" picture. We took it New Year's Eve. When I saw it, I wanted to cry. I thought I was further along than this. I guess that just means there's more room for progress, right?

Motivation Monday - the P90X edition

I missed last Monday because we were traveling and I hadn't worked out, like, at all. But I knew it was coming so I tried really hard not to be cranky about it. I think I did okay, but only Robert and the kids know for sure and they're all asleep right now.

So today I'm happy to report that I got my slacker butt back into the Y. I've started a fitness challenge with one of my former managers, and my program of choice is P90X.

Yesterday I finally got around to doing the fit test which consisted of push ups, bicep curls, vertical jump, pull ups, in and out sit ups, and two agonizing minutes of jumping jacks. Oh, and wall squats. You are supposed to be able to pass this test before starting P90X. I surpassed the minimum requirements in everything but the jumping jacks and pull ups. I switched to running in place about 45 seconds in, but switched back for the last 30 second jumping jack sprint. I had no way to do pull ups here, but I know I can't do one without out a little help. So there's tons of opportunity for improvement. I hadn't done push ups or pull ups in months. Can't really say that I missed them.

Which leads me into my workout for today. Chest, back, and abs. Guess what that consisted of? Push ups and pull ups, mostly. Tony Horton is the devil. The devil I tell you.

I had planned to go to Zumba this afternoon, but I didn't make it. I need to be able to walk around tomorrow since Robert's going back to work and I've got to do plyo.

But I've gotta say - it felt GOOD to be back in the gym. Crap. I've turned into one of those people that likes to work out.

Motivation Monday - Free* - Week Four, Day 1

I had another doctor's appointment today and was pleased that my weight over Thanksgiving stayed pretty much the same. I was up less than a pound, and I am absolutely okay with that!

Last week I kicked butt with workouts. My 10K bike time is just under 30 minutes, my 8 lap swim so far is just around 20 minutes. If I were able to use the elliptical instead of the treadmill, I could ring in a 2.5 mile time at around 23:20. On the treadmill, my best 2.5 mile time has been about 43 minutes, but I have until almost the end of February to improve that - and all my times. I can work with that. I'm doing back to back workouts - swim and bike, swim and treadmill, or bike and treadmill. I want to get used to the distances and having to switch between the pool, the bike, and the treadmill.

I'm also diving back into P90X weight lifting. I only have one word for that - ouch! But in a good way.

On top of all that training, I'm doing Zumba as many times a week as I can - averaging about four. I'm not sure I'll be able to continue 7:30 Zumba once Robert deploys, so I want to get in as much of it as possible right now.

I was stressed last week about not getting in enough workout time, but I managed to work out Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Not bad for a holiday week and a trip out of town over the weekend. I was actually even grumpy on Wednesday thinking I might not get a chance to workout Friday through Sunday, but we made it work.

Which, really, is what you do when something is important enough to you. You make it work.

Motivation Monday - Free*

On the workout front, I kicked booty last week, working out five of seven days. 

However, on the weight loss front, I did not kick booty. I was up three pounds from last week. Then again, I was eating everything in sight and then some. So it kind of figures. 

The YMCA's in this area just rolled out a new program called Free*. You earn points for working out, volunteering, etc. One of the ways to earn points is to journal about your journey. I'll be blogging about it for the next six weeks. I mean, hey, it's worth 30 points a day if I read the point grid correctly. I hope that by doing this, I can head back down the path I'm supposed to be traveling and getting myself back on track.  

For today, I've done a really good job. I'm doing a modified version of the Fat Smash Detox, allowing myself some protein every day and only following it for a week versus 10 days. After that, I switch back to the eating plan that always works for me (when I follow it) and I should have no trouble meeting my 20 pound weight loss goal by the end of the year. Well, 23 now. 

I also did an intense interval workout with Robert this morning (jogging and mountain climbers included, yo) and then I went to Zumba this afternoon. The indoor triathalon is in Feburary and I really want to be in good enough shape to finish it and post decent times. I was planning on going to a Zumba certification class in December, but when I went to register today, it was sold out. Bummer! So, I'll just have to catch the next one. 

Motivation Monday

No movement on the scale this week. I'm okay with that. Tomorrow I go back to putting great effort into better eating a la portion control and non processed foods. Mostly portion control, since portion control and frequent exercise seem to be the keys for weight loss for me. My goal is to lose at least 20 pounds by the end of the year. I have felt so much better lately that I can't wait to see what hopping back on the smarter eating habits bandwagon will do. 

This afternoon I headed to Zumba for the second Monday in a row. Last week I pushed myself pretty hard on the cardio machines and today in Zumba I could tell a difference just from last week. I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am about that. I got some excellent weight training sessions in as well, and I had the sore muscles to prove it. It felt awesome, as odd as that sounds. 

I took the kids trick or treating tonight on base. Robert stayed home to hand out candy. It was a great night for trick or treating, not too cold or windy. We didn't walk terribly far, the kids were happy with making one big loop around our friends' neighborhood on base. The kids aren't that crazy about candy anyway, so they are in it more for the experience and hanging out with their friends than anything else. But any movement is good movement, especially with the smell of Kit Kats in the air. 

Motivation Monday

Guess what? Today I felt actual motivation for the first time in....well, a while. ::happy dance!::

My workout yesterday went really well and today I made it to Zumba. Even better than that, I made it through Zumba with ease. Much better than the last time I went.

I credit remembering to take my iron pills. I've had trouble with my iron levels for years, but low iron hasn't ever affected my health (other than making me tired) before this go round.

Last week I did manage to work out five times (yay I met my goal) and lost a pound to boot. Not too bad, really considering all that was going on.

Tomorrow I circuit train which I'm excited about because I have really, really missed doing serious weights.

A friend of mine invited me to go with her to a Zumba certification class in early December. If I really hit the cardio hard between now and then (and get clearance from my doctor), I'm going to give it a try. How cool would it be to be Zumba certified?!!?!? Pretty darn cool, I think!

Motivation Monday

Yeah, well.....

Today's post should be titled non motivated Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday....

You get the idea, right?

I volunteered at the Y all last week, but I didn't do nearly as well with workouts. We had something going on every night last week, so I didn't work out then either.

Seriously - all this free time I'm supposed to be having certainly has made me busy.

And as a result, I'm up another pound.

Crap.

So this week, I am going to concentrate on balance. Balance as in finding a way to work exercise into my schedule at least five times a week.

Even as I say that, I'm not sure how that will work this week...I'm working two nights this week at the Y, volunteering on Friday at Sara's school, MOPS on Wednesday, Tucker's birthday party on Saturday, and Mom and her husband are coming to visit this week.

The kids are so tired from last week and weekend that they voluntarily went to bed early tonight. They were dissolving into tears over every little thing after school today, so I didn't feel up for the fight to get them the gym so I could go to Zumba today.

But a friend of mine told me about a Zumba certification class in early December, so now I have a goal to work towards.

Maybe I should park my car and ride my bike everywhere....

Motivation Monday/Tuesday/When I remember to post it

***It was a pretty busy holiday weekend, which led to Saturday feeling like Sunday, Sunday feeling like Saturday, and Monday just feeling plain odd. I had the Monday post mostly written, but I was engrossed in a book and forgot to post my Monday post on Monday. Lucky for me, my posting/not posting has no real effect on how the world turns. But I do sincerely apologize.***

No change on the scale.  But I only got a workout in on Monday and Friday. I did active things off and on through the week and I was so busy that I kept moving all week and weekend long, but dedicated workouts? Not so much.

However, with my iron level on the rise, at least I don't feel like walking to the mail box requires a similar effort to, say, climbing Mount Everest. Yes, it was that low. Yes, I know that's really dangerous. I'm doing everything possible to fix this...even if it means having to dive into a delicious, thick, juicy yet lean steak once a week or so. It's a hard life at times.

Friday I thought it would be a GREAT idea do do some serious weight lifting. After I got my cardio in, I did three sets of chest presses with 20 lb dumbbells, three sets of chest flys with 15 lb dumbbells, three sets of skull crushers with 15 lb dumbbells, three sets of military presses with 15's, three sets of shoulder raises with 15's, and three sets of tricep extensions with 15's. Oh, and three sets of bicep curls with 20's.

And then I couldn't move without pain until today.

I talked to Dad on Sunday and we had a chat about frustration and 'healthy living' changes. I wonder if results will ever happen fast enough for me. Probably not. But I have to keep trying. I thought eating healthy and working out would get easier over time. In one way that's true (it's usually a part of my every day routine) and in one way that's not true (because it's still difficult and sometimes a real struggle). But all I can do is keep on keeping on. Eventually, something is going to click that has not clicked yet. And when that happens, you'll hear my whoops of joy across the land.

Motivation Monday

I'm actually posting this on a Monday!

Progress.

First the bad news. All that frat boy eating I did last weekend and the weekend before? Yeah, well, it showed up as a three pound weight gain this morning. Well, that and the complete lack of daily workouts. (Only two days last week - shame on me! Shame!)

Bummer.

I even peed, showered, and weighed again to make sure. Yep, three pounds up. But - I've got no one to blame but myself.

Yesterday involved a trip to Sam's Club. I sent the rest of the family across the street for frozen yogurt while I wholesale shopped. And I resisted the HUGE bag of peanut butter M&M's which, in my humble opinion, is the best thing ever invented...even with their artificial colors, flavors and high fructose corn syrup. That right there? Should have been worth at least a pound on the scale. (oh wait...what if it was?!?! Yikes!) Moving on...

Interestingly enough? Our Sam's Club carries Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Coke, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero, but no Pepsi Max, which is Robert's favorite thing to drink.

I'm feeling a little sore today from our workout yesterday. My biceps are slightly achy and my butt is reminding me at every given opportunity of my 10 mile bike ride. Serves me right!

I did make it to the 4:30 Zumba class today. I even participated. At the end of the class someone asked me if I come to Zumba often. I said I used to, but I'm determined to get back in the habit. She said the same and mentioned she looked at the clock 30 minutes in and thought about leaving.

ME TOO!

But neither of us did. So that should count for something, right?

My weight loss goal for next week is to lose the three pounds I've gained back.

See you next week!