Athlete in the making!!

Making major changes in my life toward better health.

My Profile

  • Name: MustangMonica
  • City: Long Beach
  • Region: California
  • Country: United States

My Weight Loss

Height: 157.5cm
Start weight: 226.60lb
Current weight: 181.50lb
Goal weight: 145.00lb
Lost to date: 45.10lb
Remaining: 36.50lb

My Calendar

9
February '12
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My Photos

Before After
Really Simple Syndication
05/24/2010 19:08

Monday Blues

I stepped on the scale this morning and was happy to see that I lost 3.4 lbs. I'm starting to slowly feel like I am back on track. On Saturday, I went to the AMGEN tour time trial in downtown los angeles. It was very exciting to see professional cyclists invade the streets of my city. Its always motivating to see such power, strength and athleticism. We walked much of the course and got a good walking workout despite having fun spectating. Didn't get to See Lance Armstrong though because he had crashed a couple days prior and was recuperating.
 
Enjoyed a lovely dinner on Saturday night at an Indian restaurant. Shared a meal of Thali which is several vegetarian dishes of curries and lentils.
 
Sunday was ideal for a long bike ride but I wasn't feeling well and got a stomach bug which kept me home the rest of the weekend. Hope it wasn't the Indian food. 
 
I feel drained of my normal energy but I hope once I can shake this bug I will be back to my normal self. It just makes it hard to want to workout feeling like this.
 
On Friday, I leave with my family to Denver. We are going on a baseball roadtrip to watch the Dodgers play the Rockies. Im really looking forward to this trip. I need to stick to eating well and exercising this whole week so that the vacation diet busters don't get me! 

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05/18/2010 19:51

One day at a time!

So much has happened since the last time I wrote in my online journal. I am currently going thru an amicable divorce; if such a thing exists. I've also have a new love interest in my life! Someone who makes me giggle and smile like a foolish schoolgirl. He met me after my initial weight loss of over 45 lbs. I had more energy and confidence than I've ever had.
 
Flash forward, 7 mths and my workouts have become inconsistent and bypassed by late night dates/meals. I'm not making excuses just taking ownership of my reality.
 
He's tall, handsome, fit and maintains a clean/healthy vegetarian lifestyle. I'm learning how to adapt to his ways of eating. We both have corporate jobs which demand long hours at times and dinner ends up taking place too often at 8pm .......ugh. That needs to stop.
 
I sometimes stop and wonder what he's doing with a short chubby girl like me.....but that's just my own silly insecurities. If anything, it's enough to get me up and moving again. I don't want to be the fat girlfriend. He loves and accepts me as I am; so I know it's just my own silly notions. I've got this far on my own and I need to finish the task I started over a year ago.
 
For those of you, who are just getting started. I wish you lots of luck. Be patient with your progress and good to yourselves. It took me about a year to lose 50 lbs and I know it will take me about that long to lose the next 50. It's a slow, gradual process; after all we didn't get fat overnight right? Own it, embrace it, and relish the journey.
 
PS/ Woke up early this morning to workout at the gym. One day at a time.......
 
 

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06/04/2009 00:02

Body Composition Analyzer Update

I went to the clinic yesterday for  my shot and meds. I also had a new body composition done since it's been 4 mths now since my last one.
 
I lost 5% of my body fat in 4 months. This makes me very happy. I know that I've lost weight but I want to make sure I am getting rid of the fat and not just water or muscle mass. I went from a body fat content of 45% to 40%...it's still ridiculously high but it shows that my efforts are paying off. Ideally I should be no highter than 30%
 
My BMI went from 40.1 to 36.3......again still unhealthy but a step in the right direction.
 
Ideally my target BMI is anywhere from 19 to 25. I know I can get there by the end of the year.
 
I plan on doing another body composition analysis in about 3 to 4 months.
 
I'm half way thru this year of transformation and I am still getting out there and hitting the gym. There is no better motivation than the empowerment that comes from being in control of your own health.
 
I'm in this for the longhaul!!

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03/16/2009 18:33

Celebration - 9th Week Update

Looking back I see that I haven't posted in a while. I need to make sure that I am blogging here to keep myself accountable for my actions and choices.
 
Today is a day of celebration. I weighed in this morning at 206.2 which is an official weight loss of 20 pounds since I started this journey. Yippee!! I'm so excited. I am finally starting to fit back into some of the clothes that have been hanging in my closet unworn. Speaking about clothes ladies........ a good friend of mine who owns her own fitness studio told me that as I lose weight I should donate my clothes and get them out of my closet asap and vow to never ever return to that size again. I was telling her my story about how I have clothes in size 12, 14 and 16. When my size 16 clothes started fitting snug I knew I was in a heaping pot of trouble. That's what prompted me into action. I really like her idea and will head that advice. Soon I will have a nice bundle of clothes to ship off that are too big for me. The best part of losing weight is fitting into nice new clothes!!

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02/27/2009 00:36

7th Week Update - Shock!!

I'm rounding off my 7th week on Phentermine and so far everything has been pretty good. I've made a sizable dent on my weight loss progress but for some reason this morning when I went to weigh myself I actually gained about 1/2 pound since my last weigh in. I couldn't believe it. I was in shock. I dont mind losing slowly but when I see the numbers go the other way its frustrating.
 
I also have been running for about two weeks now. I've had good meal plan days and bad ones but mostly good. And I am still working out almost 4 to 5 times a week. Must be all that new muscle mass.....ha ha.
 
 

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02/20/2009 21:06

Guilty

So yesterday I had every intention of going to the gym and working out.........but after my initial run on wednesday my whole body hurt, especially my hips and I didn't think I would be able to handle running two days back to back this soon in the game.
 
I gave myself the day off and decided to run friday after work. We'll see if that happens. What I did do was meet up with a couple of friends at a local brewery.
Little background on me, I belong to a social group that gets together every thursday night to share a few pints. It's basically a Thursday night rotating beer excursion. A bunch of beer snobs, to put it lightly lol. But they are good people, friendly and dedicated to respecting a well crafted beer. We go to many festivals together and plan several special outings throughout the year.
 
More background on me, my husband and I are both avid homebrewers. Yes, we make our own beer. We have two fridges in our backyard dedicated solely to beer and wine. How does this fit into my journey?
 
Well it's been tough. I've had two beers in the past six weeks since I started working out. One was last weekend after our bike ride in Palm Springs while we were out to dinner. I felt after a couple of hours on a bike, I was entitled to a treat.
 
Last night, "Thursday" the usual suspects were at Rock Bottom Brewery celebrating the release of their Fire Chief Ale, a nice hoppy amber beer with a clean citrus finish. I had just one pint! I knew that this was going to add about 200 calories to my daily total but I figured I could get away with just one.
A part of the proceeds from every pint sold benefits our local fire departments and related charities. Drinking for charity - doing good never tasted so good.
 
Even though I still feel a bit guilty, I know I'm not going to be a monk forever. Wait, monks make some of the best beer in the world. Maybe I can be a monk. I guess I'm just trying to be accountable for my choices. I'm gonna have to be especially good this weekend.
 

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02/19/2009 21:33

6th Week Update - Start training for 5K

I weighed in this morning at 210.6.  It's nice to see me creep closer and closer to onederland. Although I've lost 16lbs since I started my journey, I really dont feel that my body has changed too much. Perhaps its still too early or maybe it's just that I still have so much to lose.
 
I did some power grocery shopping the other day filling up on vegetables, fruit and lean meats. It's getting easier to make better choices and even more so when the house is full of yummy healthy snacks.
 
Last night at the gym, I ran for the first time in probably over a year. I tried to emulate some of the interval training in the couch to 5K program. Since I have been working out consistently for the past six weeks, I felt that my legs were strong enough to skip ahead a few steps. I have exactly four weeks to train for my first 5K instead of the normal 9 week schedule that the couch program is designed. I decided to run the 5K in the Pasadena Marthon next month. I hope I will be ready.  Wish me luck!

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02/17/2009 18:06

Tour de Palm Springs Recap

As we were driving out friday after work and the rain poured down on us, I was weary that it was going to be a soggy weekend. Thankfully saturday morning was just absolutely beautiful. There was a crisp chill in the air but the sun came out to play. We had a large group of friends who all came out for this ride, which always makes any event so much more fun. The course rides pretty fast as Palm Springs is mostly flat. There were a couple of hills which I attacked and did well on the climb. I can't wait until there is much less of me to pull up those hills. I'm very proud of my performance on this ride. My legs felt very strong for most of the ride. I guess all my cardio workouts are starting to pay off. Now I have to work on endurance as my husband won't let me get away with doing the shorter courses for much longer. He's got his eye on 50 mile and 100 mile rides in the near future.

Tour de Palm Springs - Cycling Stats

Calories Burned:  944

Distance 24.31 miles

Max Speed: 30.6 mph

Average Speed: 13.2 mph

Time:  1:50 min

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02/05/2009 19:06

Another week, another pound!

It's been about one month now that I've been on this crazy new journey. I weighed myself this morning and the scale showed 217.6. Another week, another pound. I guess I should be excited. But I must admit I still feel a little let down each time my loss is so small. It's hard not to focus on the numbers. I know that I am doing everything I'm supposed to. I'm also having some wicked PMS, so I know that is a huge factor. I took a water pill this morning and it's been making me go to the restroom all morning. I guess it's working. Good thing the restroom is so close to my office.

Rain is predicted for the next couple of days so I'm worried we wont get a chance to do much cycling. I was looking forward to going away to the Santa Ynez Valley (Santa Barbara Wine Country). It will be interesting to see what happens.

I'm about one pound away from my Valentine's challenge of 10 lbs so that is very exciting. I'm glad it's February and that I am still got the workout fever!! Things at the gym are starting to go back to normal which is great. The crowds have thinned somewhat.

Yesterday was kinda of a bad day. I got upset with my father because he said he was going to quit smoking but hasn't. In fact, I think he smokes more now than ever. As we all sat down to dinner, I couldn't help but smell the reak of cigarettes coming off him. Sometimes it makes me want to vomit. He saw my reaction and picked up his plate and went to eat in the den. No words were exchanged but he knew what was going on. I felt terrible but what can I do? I called my sister last night because I was so upset and needed to vent. My husband and I moved in with him after our mothers battle with cancer was lost. He knows how we all feel about smoking but yet can't seem to shake the habit. He's quit in the past and started smoking again after her death. I just wish there was a way for him to see the light!

 

 

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02/03/2009 21:13

Body Composition #1

Last time I was at the clinic I had them do a body composition analysis on me. I stood barefoot on a Tanita Body Composition Analyzer. It was only $5 to do so I thought it would be fun to perhaps monitor these stats once a month to see my progress.

Here are the results:

BMI 40.1

Fat % - 44.9% (woah almost have of me is FAT)

Desirable range is between 21-33% Fat so I've got some work to do.

Other stats:

Fat Mass 98.61lb

FFM 120.81lb

TBW 88.41lb

(I'm gonna have to find out what those last ones mean.) lol

 

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