Week 8 - THE END

So I just finished week 8 and I am down 31 pounds!  I would give you all my final stats, but I've had some difficulty with obtaining those numbers when someone tells me that "Oh, I don't have time to take your body fat today" or when the person just doesn't show up for our appointment. 

Anyway, I want to thank KFRX for giving me the opportunity to get started on my journey.  I also want to thank Anytime Fitness and Max Muscle for giving me a chance to use their facility and supplements.  I have lost a total of 40 pounds since Christmas and am shooting to lose another 70 pounds, at least, before the end of the year.  I also can complete 60 minutes on the elliptical machine, although I can't feel my toes for the last 20 minutes of my workout.  I also noticed that when I take a two mile walk around my neighborhood, I am no longer completely fatigued after my walk.  I feel great and I can tell I have much more energy.  I still struggle from day to day with what I think is a food addiction, but I have tried to allow myself smaller portions of items that I "shouldn't have" here and there.  I plan on continuing my meal plans and keeping my protein-based snacks.  I do feel that protein is important and keeps me feeling full longer.  Once again, I thank everyone so much for their support and opportunity.  I'm going to keep on keeping on and plan on keeping this weight off for good.  I have lost this weight before six years ago, but another 15 pounds, I will be back into new territory.  Since January, I've also lowered my blood pressure, although it was never "high", and have increased my good cholesterol.  Overall, health-wise, I am healthy except for being "extremely obese", but I'm working on that.  Signing off for now....happy living!!

Tired of being tired!

I've had some cravings lately, but the worst part of it is that I am tired.....ALL the time.  I have dieted and exercised before but have felt energized in the past.  This time I am tired.  I also feel hungry all the time.  Usually an hour or so before lunch I feel like I'm starving.  I am taking it easy today and will get to bed early.  Tomorrow is a new day.

End of Week 5

So this week I maintained my weight...nothing gained....nothing lost.  I stuck within my diet, but I was worn out and only completed three cardio workouts.  Two on the elliptical, one walking outside.  I came down with a cold last week and last weekend I slept a lot and rested.  I was better in about four days, but missed out on my double/triple workouts that I've been completing on the weekend.  I have three weeks left and I will be back at work.  I weighed in at Max Muscle Friday after work and afterwords I caved in and ordered a pizza.  I ate too much and later regretted it.  I felt horrible and woke up in the middle of the night with heartburn. Not very smart.  Anyway, it's been a long time since I had pizza and I could've stopped with one or two pieces, but I let food control me that night.  I did work out enough to counter-act the extra calories I ate, but I felt like crap.  Today, I was back on it.  I worked out this morning at Anytime Fitness and later I worked out on the elliptical.  I also did some landscaping work in the front yard, so I am back on track.  Also....life happens, but the important key is to get back to it when things are taken care of.

Week 4 Results

This past week started off a little rough.  Outside of having an allergic reaction to a new laundry detergent I used, allergies becoming full blown and catching a cold, I had a weigh in today at Max Muscle.  I actually added more workouts this past week mainly on the weekend.  Some of the days after lifting weights I added in a shorter cardio routine on the elliptical machine (around 30 minutes).  On the weekend, if I lifted in the morning, I added two cardio routines later on that day to add to the calorie burn.  On my regular cardio weekend day, I completed three separate workouts on the elliptical machine which totaled around 1.5 to 2 hours.  I took Thursday off because of allergies/cold symptoms.  Anyway....after weighing in, I lost another 8 pounds totaling 20 pounds in four weeks. 

Tired and Exhausted

I have been working out so hard and am starting to feel it.  I am tired and have no energy at all.  Well, I do have enough energy to do my workouts after work, but after working out I veg out on the couch and catch up on my shows.  I have been a lot closer to my caloric intake this week and I have my Week 3 weigh in tomorrow after work so I will keep you posted on how well I do.  Until next time....happy sleeping!

Week 2 Results!

I weighed in with Steve at Max Muscle this morning and I have lost 8 pounds of body fat and gained three pounds of muscle since my last weigh-in for a net 5 pound loss.  That brings my total weight loss to 9 pounds in the last two weeks.  In total, I have lost 14 pounds of body fat and gained 5 pounds of muscle.  The weight lifting seems to really be helping and this is the one thing that I haven't incorporated into my weight loss journeys in the past.  I have been doing double work outs on the weekends and it looks like it is paying off.  I did notice that I had 3 days last week that I went over on calories so this next coming week I am going to work harder on staying within my caloric limits.
Summary:  Week 2 Loss = 5 Pounds
Total Loss so Far = 9 Pounds
Until next time....happy sweating!

Official Week 1 Results

I had my weigh in with Steve at Max Muscle yesterday.  I am down 4 pounds and 2% body fat.  So I lost about 6 pounds of body fat and gained 2 pounds of muscle.  I'm excited!  I'm going to push harder this next week and try to stay on my meal plan better.  I've been doing fairly well, except for sneaking a little candy here and there.  I LOVE CANDY!  But I'm going to have to kick it. 

I was somewhat dissapointed with a 4 pound weight loss and Steve talked me back into my senses.  I am and have been a committed Biggest Loser fanatic.  The people on the Biggest Loser lose lots of weight because all they do is work out and eat, and it isn't reality.  As long as I can get my 45 minute work outs 6 days a week and stick to the meal plan, I will be great.  And four pounds is nothing to be dissapointed about.  I didn't put this fat on in a week and it's not going to come off in a week.  But every day that I push myself is another successful day of weight loss.  Until next time.....happy eating!

Distractions

This week is a week of distractions.  Tuesday was Valentine's Day, but for the most part I did well.  I went out to eat at The Venue and had a delicious meal consisting of scallops, shrimp, salmon, and asparagus.  Things went somewhat downhill when my husband insisted on looking at the dessert tray!  I really wanted the piece of chocolate walnut brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.....but I ordered a piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  I know this is not healthy, but it was better than the brownie and after I had entered everything into myfitnesspal.com, I realized that I did not do too bad considering that I had a piece of dessert. 

Today is another setback because I had a molar pulled by the dentist.  Of course, I wasn't feeling the best and no strenuous excercise is allowed after something like that.  But none the less, I am on board with my caloric limits.  I will just have to make up the excercise this weekend.  By the way, my first weigh in will be on Saturday morning and I will keep you posted.  Until then....happy eating!

Weight Training

Today I met Cindy, a personal trainer affiliated with Anytime Fitness, at the gym.  She showed me all the weight lifting equipment and set me up with a routine of 2 reps of 16 each on 14 different stations.  My first run through took about 45 minutes, and I have a feeling I will be sore tomorrow.  I was intimidated with working out in front of people in the gym, but I got over it quick.  I just focused on what I was doing and zoned out.  My first weigh in with Max Muscle will be Monday, so I will keep you posted on my progress. 

First Week!

So this is the first week....technically, but last week I tried my hardest to eat right and work out.  I did great until Friday evening and last weekend.  I was so hungry (or I thought I was hungry) and ate everything! And for some reason I associate football with unhealthy foods.  But I am back on track this week!  I received my meal plan last night and did fairly well with sticking to it today.  I am on a 1600 calorie diet which is based on three meals and three snacks.  I have been taking my supplements which include a multivitamin, protein shakes, an energy drink and a cleansing product.  On top of those I still am taking my b-complex vitamin, cinnamon supplement, and cayenne pepper supplement.  I started taking those a while ago because Dr. Oz said they help with your metabolism.  I was tracking my caloric intake in my food journal, but was told about myfitnesspal.com and now have converted to using that.  It is a very easy to use internet site (and app for a smartphone if you have one) that tracks your caloric intake and your excercise.  The best part of it is that you can set up your goals and customize your caloric intake, and fat, carb, and protein intake.  I set this all up based on the meal plan received from Max Muscle.  The best part of using myfitnesspal.com is that at the end of the day when you submit your information, it says "If every day were like today, you would weigh ### in 5 weeks."  It feels good to see a number closer to where you want to be and gives extra motivation to keep chugging along.  Tomorrow will be my first day at the gym to use their weight lifting equipment.  I am meeting a trainer to show me how to "properly" use the equipment.  I will let you know how it's going later this week.  Until then....healthy eating!

Anxious to Start!

I met Matt and Lindsey at KFRX this morning and told my story on air!  I have my pass to Anytime Fitness already, but need to schedule a time with a trainer to show me how to use the equipment properly.  I met Steve from Max Muscle yesterday to go over the plan.  Steve is awesome, but I have a feeling we will have a love/hate relationship for the next 8 weeks.  I am good to go on a multi-vitamin, cleanser, energy drink, and protein shakes.  I will receive my meal plans shortly!!  I will be (or attempting) to do 45 minutes of cardio for three days a week and 45 minutes of weight training for another three days alternating days.  My goals for these eight weeks is to increase my cardio workouts on the elliptical trainer to 60 minutes and to be able to complete my Jillian Michaels' DVDs without getting my butt kicked!!  I am terrible at doing burpees!! Who invented them anyway?!?  Finally, my biggest goal for these eight weeks is to drop 30 pounds.  This will get me on my way to the total 100 I want to lose by the end of the year.  Since the holidays I have kicked the holiday weight, but that doesn't count!! Anyway, until next time.......no carbs after 3 PM!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!!