Vacation..

Well, I am so close to being down 30 pounds and am so excited.  However, we are going on vacation starting tomorrow and I am nervous about keeping it off.  My goal is to drink my water, walk and at least try not to gain any weight.  I do have a new bathing suit that I think I just may be comfortable enough to wear without a shirt over it..lol  Also, there is a new ride at the park we are going to and I am well below the weight limit.  Wow, that is a little embarrassing to be excited about, but I am.  I am hoping my trainer will be able to give me a workout schedule tonight as we are leaving a day earlier than planned.  Sadly, I am suppose to start anytime now.. YIKES!!  I hope it waits a week and a half.

On a side note, I did not work out Sat, Sun or Mon this week.. bad Crystal, but we were getting ready for our vacation.  I was running around like a wild woman, it just was not in the aerobic sense.  However, I got up bright and early on Tues and worked out.  I am meeting my trainer this afternoon to workout and do cardio so I am back on track.  Also, my ipod broke.  Well, it was five years old and I guess I at least got my monies worth out of it.  I bought a new one at Wal-Mart (I need my music) but it messed up as well, stupid electronics.  So, I decided to buy a used one that way, if it goes bad in a short amount of time at least I am not out that much money.  I got lucky and found someone selling a brand new one and she included the ipod docking alarm clock.  The ipods run 150 (with tax) and the clock runs around 90 (with tax) so that is a total of 240 dollars.  I got them both for 115.  She stated that she received it for her birthday and the store would not take them back and she just wanted some money.  My husband hopes they are not stolen and I highly doubt they are. 

Totally not weight related, my children are getting so big.  I just want to cry.  I look at them and just think how lucky I am.  My youngest daughter graduated Pre-K and my oldest is at the age she wants to do more things for herself.  I hope someday they realize just how proud and happy I am to be their mother.  Ok, enough of the PMSing...  I need to get busy at work and get things done.  Take care all!!

Feeling good!!

I have lost another pound so that makes my total weight loss to be 27 pounds and I feel really good about it.  I am going to have to buy more pants  because they are falling off me.  I am still seeing my trainer, of course, and she is really good.  I only see her twice a week while the rest of the group comes three times a week.  So, in order for me to keep up with the group, she made me a list of exercises to do.  Today it was arms, next week it will be legs.  What happens is that on Monday we work either arms or legs, the other group members do the same thing on Wednesday, then on Friday we do total body.  Since I am losing a day with her, she gave me something to do.  :)  I did them today and I think I push myself a little harder than she does (as far as the weight I use).  I also incorporated some other things that she does usually into my own routine.

What I mean by that is this, she has us go through a circuit of three exercises with one of them usually being abs.  So, for instance, on Monday, we did leg presses, then I did reverse lunges, then did crunches all for one set.  Then she has us do something cardio and on Monday it was running around the track one time.  Then we do the circuit again.  We do this for three sets.  So today, I did my two arm exercises, then abs, then ran.  I was so proud of myself.  She did not tell me to do the extra stuffThis is the main reason I have started interval training with running.  I do hate running but I also do not want to be left behind with the other ladies.  I already feel myself getting stronger as I use to not be able to run one lap and now I can at least do that one lap w/o feeling like I am dying.  Also, the running is breaking up my cardio routine because I was already getting bored with the Ellipitcal.  I still will not use the treadmill as I find that unsafe, at least for me.  I prefer to run the track. 

We are going on vacation next Friday and I am a little nervous about that.  Can you say eating badly?  I plan on taking my slim fast so at least my breakfast and lunch will be decent and I am taking my FiberOne snacks and Activia yogurt.  I am not guaranteeing dinner as we are camping out and I love to eat food off the fire as well as marshmellows.  I will limit myself, however, as I don't want to gain weight.  Good notes are that we are spending most of our days in the parks including the water park.  I am hoping this movement keeps me from gaining.  I also plan on doing the walking trails and with my trainers routine, I should be ok splurging a little.  I will still keep up with my food journal as this will keep me very much in check.  I am so looking forward to next week.

:-)

Changes..

Ok, I finally dropped a pound and am happy about that.  I think I am losing inches as I can now fit into my size 16 pants again.  However, I do wish it was coming off faster.  I know, impatient.  I tell my children to be patient all the time, so I guess it is my turn to take the advice.  On good notes, I do feel better about myself because I am exercising and eating  better.  That alone should be enough to sustain me until the weight follows suit. 

Now for the changes I mentioned.  I told my trainer last week that I could not continue with sessions because of finances and going on vacation.  The sessions cost 399 for 10 and I had been making payments.  She mentioned joining a group of women that she has.  The group sessions are only 199 for 10 visits and I can make two payments for them.  This will work out so much better for me.  So, I called the gym and spoke to the director.  Since I had only paid for half of the original sessions and I have only used half of them, then he will allow me to switch. I will pay the 199 and have 10 group sessions.  I went to my first one today and it was great, hard, but great.  I learned that I am stronger than most women when it comes to weight lifting but I am terrible when it comes to cardio or doing things that use your own weight.  I was huffing and puffing but I stuck it out.  I wish I could do better.  I am, however, doing better with abs so that is a big plus.  I do cardio everyday but I think I am going to change what machines I use everyday.  I get so bored that I only use the Ellipitical because it at least keeps me entertained more..lol  However, I plan on using the bikes one day and the ellipitical the next.  I don't like the treadmill and besides I walk about a mile to my office everyday so I think I am covered there.  I also plan on adding abs everyday to my workout.  I think it will help me greatly.  Lastly, I purchased a pedometer and plan on using it to increase my steps to well over 10,000 a day.  So far I have at least 10,000 but hope to increase it to 12,000.  It is summer time and the university is slow, at least for me, and I am going to try to go for walks during lunch.  This will help.

I guess for now this is all.  I am sure other things will come up that I wish I had wrote and I may add more later. Take care all!!

I have to admit..

I am getting really frustrated.  I am eating healthy.  Only consuming roughly 1200 calories a day, not eating after 6:00 pm, having small snacks between meals, working out daily, doing full body training two days a week, taking walks, drinking loads of water but alas no weight loss this past week.  The week before I lost weight and I know that I have lost about 23 pounds so far, however, I expect more.  I guess I should not and just suck it up but man it is depressing.  My husband can eat what he wants and as long as he walks, he loses weight.  I have been so careful and I write down everything I eat and I mean everything.  I am hoping that my body is just being stubborn and next week I will have a huge weight loss.  Oh well.. I am not giving up.  I know that my clothes are fitting better I just wish my metabolism would pick up.

On to some good notes, my trainer saw my journal and was happy.  I just have to work on keeping my sodium intake down.  It is usually under 2000mg a day but one day it was not ((blush)).  I am keeping up with calories, fat, fiber and sodium on everything I eat and will not eat something unless I know the nutritional value in advance.  Also, my water intake is going up slowly but it is getting there.  Finally, we are going on vacation.  We will be camping out in Pigeon Forge (cannot afford much else at the moment) and there are walking trails.  I plan on walking most of the time I am there or at least I hope to.   I hope everyone is doing well.  I will try to write more later I just wanted to get a small update written. :)

Today...

Well, I have been sitting here at work today taking stock of how things are going so far with my lifestyle change and I am fairly pleased with it.  I feel better about myself because I am working out and eating better but am also anxious.  Like everyone here and around the world, I come face to face with temptations everyday with some days being harder than others.  Yesterday, I went to see my friend in another department on campus and was bombarded with not only her asking if I wanted some chips and spinach dip but also her student workers trying to get me to eat some  birthday cake.  While I know this was not done with malice but rather them trying to be polite, it does bother me a little that I work so hard only to have little to no support.  Another instance yesterday, my family ordered KFC and I asked to be brought back one piece of the Grilled Chicken breast.  I ate this along with some veggies I had at the house.  Then I was offered biscuits and macaroni and cheese. I mean, come on, I am trying very hard here to be good and this does not help.  Anyway, enough whining because I made it through it ok and am better off for it.  I just wish I had more support sometimes.  Ok, one more whine, my Ipod broke last night.  I was only a 1 gb but I loved it and it was enough for me.  However, it was 5 years old and I guess it is time to replace it but I am sad :(.  Two years ago I won a brand new 2gb Ipod off the radio but sold it so my kids could have a better Christmas.  I don't regret selling it for my children but I sure do wish I had it now.

Good notes, and why I could resist the temptations..lol  I saw my trainer on Tuesday and Thursday of this week and it was wonderful.  She really is pushing me but the workouts are good and I am learning a lot.  She keeps the routine changing and so I am never sure as to what we are going to do.  Also, I have to show her my food journal this coming Tuesday and don't want to be embarassed..lol.  I already had pizza last weekend (my brother was leaving for a year and it was a going away party) which would not be so bad but I love pizza and had 3 slices... ouch my journal took a hit that day.  I am hoping, however, that I can find a way to continue with her for at least another 10 visits then maybe do it on my own.  She keeps me on the straight and narrow plus I like the workouts.   On another note,  I thought I had gained weight (bad) about 3 pounds actually but come to find out it was just water weight and I had actually lost 2 pounds ((BIG SMILE)).  It just goes to show that it does matter how much water you drink.  I had not drunk enough water for two days and that is what happened.  Plus, I have incorporated how much sodium I am eating into my journal and I think that is helping.

Finally,  I went looking for some quotes that could help keep me motivated and I found a few.  I will list them below and maybe one could motivate someone else.  I have also found a few suggestions for lifestyle changes that I may put into another post.  Take care all and good luck!!

My world is expanding as my butt is shrinking!

"Never trade what you want the most for what you want at the moment"

What are stumbling blocks and defeat before you, can be stepping stones to victory if you remain determined.

Rather than aiming for being perfect, just aim to be little bit better today than you were yesterday.

If you want what you do not have, you must do what you have not done.

Personal Training day 2

I saw my personal trainer yesterday for the first "real" workout and boy am I sore today.  For one, I went in 30 min early to do my cardio before I saw her.  I did this so I do not have to waste time warming up with her.  However, instead of doing just straight cardio, I did 20 mins of intensity training which is one min high level, one min low level and so on.  Well, that made my workout with her extremely hard.  She had me doing circuit training yesterday so I was doing different sets one right after the other.  She had a total of 5 circuits that she wanted me to do.  I did lunges, jumping jacks, ab exercises, push-ups, weights, etc.  The problem was that with the third set, we did moutain climbers and my body turned against me.  I think it is because I had pushed myself so hard before seeing her and then doing the cardio with her was too much.  I started feeling sick to my stomach and light headed.  I tried to finish the fourth set and got through one round but I just could not finish.  I started feeling light headed and thought I was going to pass out.  She also said I was pale and decided to quit. On a good note, she told me I did wonderful because she was just trying to get a baseline for me and I gave her that.  She said I did better than most of her clients who have been with her awhile.  Also we almost completed the entire circuit in under one hour as we only had one more circuit and 20 min still left. 

After the workout, we finished our goals session that basically was the same stuff we discussed the other day.  I did ask her to keep her original "test" sheet that she used today because I would finish it totally before I am done..lol.  She did tell me not to do any weights or abs between sessions as she is going to work me hard on the days she sees me also not to do intensity training on those days either, no worries about that.  After we finished and I rested some, my dh and I took our kids to the park and we walked around so I got even more excercise :-)  I am planning on walking some today but I am unsure as to where that will be at. My kids are with their grandparents today and my dh is sick  so it will be just me.  I guess that is all for now.  Take care all!!

Excited..

Well, my dh and I found a way that I can have a personal trainer at the gym (making payments) and I am so very excited.  I started this morning, however, it was just the evaluation.  I will see her for my first "real" visit this Saturday but she did give me some of the goals (we did not have a chance to finish the paperwork).  She did explain that on the workout scales, 1 is sitting and 10 is a very hard workout.  Below are my goals:

1.  To work out no less than 5 days a week
2.  To lose 12 pounds in 10 weeks
3.  To work on my cardio every time I work out with the following schedule:
     a.  1 day of cardio at a level of 5-6 for 60 mins.
     b.  1 day of cardio at the interval level (1 min at 5-6 and 1 min at 6-7, repeat
           for 20 mins.)
     c.  3 days of 45 min workouts that incorporate 5-6 and 6-7 for the entire
          workout.
4.  Finally, to keep a food journal.  I am horrible at this but will try to at least
     until I see her again.

After setting this up and our next meeting, I went out to work on the elliptical.  I did my 45 mins on the machine and tried the interval.  I only did 10 mins but will try again tomorrow to do more.  She stated that the best way to lose weight is with interval, so here I go..lol  After finishing my workout, a woman was on the machine next to me.  She stopped me and told me that she was impressed that I had stayed on the machine so long. She also stated that she knows I will reach my goals. I do not know her but it made me feel really good.

So today, I sit here with a renewed sense of hope and encouragment.  I am so looking forward to Saturday and can tell things are going to be different.  I can not wait to start the free weight training again..lol  Also, I am drinking my water.  I drink approx. 96 oz of water a day and sometimes more.  I am not sure if this is enough but I have gone to 0 water to 96 oz and for that I am proud.  Woot!!

Is This Really it?!

I am so sick and tired of my yo-yoing on this losing weight issue.  I write and say, "Ok, now I am ready to change!" and then boom, something happens and I am right back to where I was before.  I am so sick and tired of this and myself that I could puke.  So, before I wrote in this blog about my "revelation," I decided to see if I could lose weight and get on track.  Who knows if this will last but I am sure hoping it does.  I feel more motivated this time and encouraged.  I have been exercising for a couple of weeks now and have been eating better for about a month.  I have totally gone off caffeine except for the few special occasions.  I drink about 96 oz of water a day; however, they are combined with Crystal Lite.  I know this stuff is not the best for me but it is better than soda. 

Also, I am splurging for a personal trainer.  I am going to make payments and get eleven 1 hour visits.  I cannot wait.  Oh, I am also parking about a mile away from my building on campus and walking into the office.  This helps out a lot and gives me even more exercise.  My diet is mainly to limit how much I eat not just what I eat.  I have to feed a lot of people, most of the time 12, so eating healthy is not always an option.  So, I substitute healthy where I can and eat smaller portions.  For instance, I use low fat ingredients and whole wheat pasta for lasagna.  While it is not the best for me, I don't eat a lot and I don't eat after 6:00pm so it seems to be working.  I also am looking closely at my sodium intake.  If I eat a lot of sodium, boom.. I gain 10 pounds in water weight.  So Nooo Thank You... only low sodium for me.   This basically cuts out all the microwaveable meals.  They are horrible on sodium.

On another note, this weekend we took our daughters to the park and stayed there for quite a few hours.  It was so much fun and I ran around with them.  I am hoping we continue this every weekend.  We were gone all day and it was nice to spend the time with them without everyone else butting in.

I guess that is all for now.  I am starting to visualize myself as a smaller person in my head and hope that by Christmas, I will be able to see her in the mirror as well.