Only four weeks left of my Transformation Challenge at the gym and I am a bit sad. I don't want it to end. First, and most importantly, because it has been an amazing and seriously life-changing experience. Second, I'm not ready. I'm not ready for it to be over...I'm not where I wanted to be, I feel like I have so much further to go. I feel like one of those contestants on the Biggest Loser who say they're not ready to go home yet. I'm not ready to leave the comfort of the "nest," to leave the Transformation Challenge.
But....
I also know that it will never be over for me. My Transformation Challenge might have started 8 weeks ago, but my transformation will continue for the rest of my life. Each day, I will be striving to be better than I was the day before. One day at a time. Just one day better at a time. That's all we can ever ask of ourselves. It will probably take me over a year to get to my goal. It's not a short-term commitment and not for the faint of heart. But you can bet that I will keep the faith. I have made huge changes to my eating habits, my workout habits, my LIFE and I will never go back to those old ways again. I have made friends in my teammates, friends in the other women on the other teams, friends in my trainers. And those relationships and those friendships will keep me going long after the challenge is officially over. I will see them at the gym, I will train with them still, we will email and call and facebook and still connect. And still support and encourage each other and cheer each other on. I will see the trainers and take their classes and maybe even schedule some training sessions with them as well. And I know that they will be watching me, encouraging me, happy to see my face around the gym, happy to watch me succeed, happy to help me succeed.
I've learned a lot about myself as well. I've learned that I can do new things, try new things on my own or with friends and no one is going to laugh at me.
I've learned that even though my life has a lot of challenges right now with work, the kids, going to school, etc, so does everyone else's. We all struggle in different ways. It's about making tough choices and prioritizing. Making the priorities in your head match the priorities in your life. If you say your health is important to you, then don't go home and eat ice cream on the couch every night after dinner. Don't say that family is important to you if you aren't taking care of yourself enough to be there for them in 10 years.
I've learned that I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was. I had an enlightening moment during a Step class a few weeks back. It was filled with a bunch of Poly Dollies and a handful of my teammates (all thinner than me). When it came time to do tricep dips, I was kicking the Poly Dollies' hinies! And again, when it was time to do pushups, I was on my toes for all 15 of them and not one of those college girls were doing that. Shoot, some of them couldn't even manage to keep their form while doing the "girly" push ups. I might still be heavier than all of them, but I am a heck of a lot stronger.
And not just physically stronger either. I'm stronger emotionally than I ever thought I was. It has been hard. It has been a struggle. I haven't been around as much for my k ids, which is a very difficult thing for me and for them (not to mention my poor husband!). And the stress of work, homelife, school, the challenge has made me break down and cry more than once in the past 8 weeks. Just last week I had one of those days and I remember thinking, "I can't do this. I can't keep trying to be all things to all people AND take care of myself!"
But I can do this. It goes back to setting priorities as I mentioned before and putting myself and my family's needs before everyone else for a change. PTO brownies and Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day will have to wait. Not forever, just for now. And I can do anything I set my mind to. I may have doubted that a lot in the past, and probably will still occasionally in the future. But it's the truth. In my heart, I know that. And when I doubt myself in the future, I will think back to these 12 weeks of my life and realize that I can really do anything I set my mind to.
So here's to my last four weeks of this challenge! My teammates and I have all vowed to step it up big time and kick this challenge's butt. We may not be the team with the most points, but we are by far, in my opinion, the team with the most heart.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Breaking through!
Warning: Scale numbers have been omitted to protect the innocent -- ME! Okay, maybe I'm not that innocent...hold up, did I just channel Brittney? Egad!
Today I finally broke through a barrier on the scale that I haven't been under since just after Daniel was born. I'm not listing actual numbers on here just on the off chance an old boyfriend or someone stumbles upon this post. Yes, I'm that proud.
Anyway, it's one of those 10-pound markers that I've been pushing to be under for a while. For example, 120 or 130. Hey, I said FOR EXAMPLE, didn't I?!?!
Did I get under it before yesterday's official weigh-in day? Of course not. But that's okay, I'm under it now and I will never see that other number on the scale ever again. EVER! Onward and upward folks! But that's negative logic since I want the numbers on the scale to go down. So I guess that would be "Onward and NOT upward." I know, I'm an engineering geek and proud of it.
Today I finally broke through a barrier on the scale that I haven't been under since just after Daniel was born. I'm not listing actual numbers on here just on the off chance an old boyfriend or someone stumbles upon this post. Yes, I'm that proud.
Anyway, it's one of those 10-pound markers that I've been pushing to be under for a while. For example, 120 or 130. Hey, I said FOR EXAMPLE, didn't I?!?!
Did I get under it before yesterday's official weigh-in day? Of course not. But that's okay, I'm under it now and I will never see that other number on the scale ever again. EVER! Onward and upward folks! But that's negative logic since I want the numbers on the scale to go down. So I guess that would be "Onward and NOT upward." I know, I'm an engineering geek and proud of it.
Transformation Challenge Update - Week 7
Yes. I've been MIA for a bit. Not that I think many folks would notice as I don't have a ton of followers. As I've said before, this is really just a place for me to think out loud and save on my therapist's bill. If anyone sees it, reads it, enjoys it, great. But if not, oh well.
So we are into week 7. I am now down 16 pounds from my starting weight and I haven't had my measurements taken in some time, but I would assume I'm down a bit further in that area as well. My clothes don't really feel like they are fitting much more loosely which is a bit disappointing, especially in the waist. I'll have to ask my trainer to see if there are any exercises I can be doing or food I can be eating, other than what I'm doing already, to target my stomach flab. I'm already doing an abs class once a week, lots of abs in boot camp and in my other classes. We'll see...
So since I posted last, I have tried out a few new classes. One of them was last night and it was Body Attack. Ok, somebody really should have warned me that they should just call that class, "Run Your Ass Off." It was so fast-paced and so crazy. Run here, run there, run back, run forward, run, kick, run, kick, run, jump, run, jump, run, run, run, then run some more. And oh yeah...run!
But in a sick, kind of twisted way, I think I liked it. I think it will be easier on my knees than Step, and makes me sweat and work as much, if not more than Step. I was soaking wet from head to toe last night. I know, probably TMI, but seriously. I don't think there was one dry inch of clothing or skin or hair when we were done. Could I keep up with all of it? Hell no! But I just kept moving.
I think body attack's one of those classes I will strive to keep up with. I'll know I've come a long way when I can keep up with the choreography. Sadly, the choreography wasn't that tough, but this former cheer and songleader still got lost occasionally. I'm just not that quick on my feet anymore. I'm sure that has to do with this excess weight I'm hauling around so I can only hope that will improve over time.
I also signed up for the 10K training program at EQ. I am going to walk, maybe run, a 10K the end of May - the Miracle Miles for Kids from Morro Rock to the Cayucos Pier. I'll have to start walking/running on sand every once in a while to get used to it. The training program at the gym gives us a set of individually created workouts for you to do during the week and then we get together every Saturday at 8:30 to train together. My first group session will be this Saturday as I was out of town last Saturday. I'm looking forward to it.
I am also seriously contemplating doing a half-marathon (Team in Training) in October of this year. I feel like I need something to work toward after the Transformation Challenge. My friend Melissa is probably going to do it with me. As a matter of fact, I think I'll sign up on the web site today!
Just to be accountable if only to myself, my workout plans for the week are:
Monday - boot camp, treadmill (10K training), body attack - done.
Tuesday - rock bottom class, treadmill (10K training)
Wednesday - boot camp, treadmill (10K training)
Thursday - body flow, treadmill (10K training)
Friday - boot camp, treadmill (10K training), rock bottom, body jam
Saturday - group 10K session
Ok, back to work!
So we are into week 7. I am now down 16 pounds from my starting weight and I haven't had my measurements taken in some time, but I would assume I'm down a bit further in that area as well. My clothes don't really feel like they are fitting much more loosely which is a bit disappointing, especially in the waist. I'll have to ask my trainer to see if there are any exercises I can be doing or food I can be eating, other than what I'm doing already, to target my stomach flab. I'm already doing an abs class once a week, lots of abs in boot camp and in my other classes. We'll see...
So since I posted last, I have tried out a few new classes. One of them was last night and it was Body Attack. Ok, somebody really should have warned me that they should just call that class, "Run Your Ass Off." It was so fast-paced and so crazy. Run here, run there, run back, run forward, run, kick, run, kick, run, jump, run, jump, run, run, run, then run some more. And oh yeah...run!
But in a sick, kind of twisted way, I think I liked it. I think it will be easier on my knees than Step, and makes me sweat and work as much, if not more than Step. I was soaking wet from head to toe last night. I know, probably TMI, but seriously. I don't think there was one dry inch of clothing or skin or hair when we were done. Could I keep up with all of it? Hell no! But I just kept moving.
I think body attack's one of those classes I will strive to keep up with. I'll know I've come a long way when I can keep up with the choreography. Sadly, the choreography wasn't that tough, but this former cheer and songleader still got lost occasionally. I'm just not that quick on my feet anymore. I'm sure that has to do with this excess weight I'm hauling around so I can only hope that will improve over time.
I also signed up for the 10K training program at EQ. I am going to walk, maybe run, a 10K the end of May - the Miracle Miles for Kids from Morro Rock to the Cayucos Pier. I'll have to start walking/running on sand every once in a while to get used to it. The training program at the gym gives us a set of individually created workouts for you to do during the week and then we get together every Saturday at 8:30 to train together. My first group session will be this Saturday as I was out of town last Saturday. I'm looking forward to it.
I am also seriously contemplating doing a half-marathon (Team in Training) in October of this year. I feel like I need something to work toward after the Transformation Challenge. My friend Melissa is probably going to do it with me. As a matter of fact, I think I'll sign up on the web site today!
Just to be accountable if only to myself, my workout plans for the week are:
Monday - boot camp, treadmill (10K training), body attack - done.
Tuesday - rock bottom class, treadmill (10K training)
Wednesday - boot camp, treadmill (10K training)
Thursday - body flow, treadmill (10K training)
Friday - boot camp, treadmill (10K training), rock bottom, body jam
Saturday - group 10K session
Ok, back to work!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Results so far...
I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with my week 4 stats. They are as follows:
Weight: down 9 lbs
Waist: down 0.5"
Hips: down 1.5"
Thighs: down 1.5"
I thought my thighs looked a little thinner. I wasn't too bummed about the 9 lbs, although I thought I could have done better. Wasn't perfect on food, but I'm getting there. I was really frustrated by the 0.5" on my waist. My waist is usually the first place I lose it. But I guess having three kids changed all that, eh? My clothes don't seem to fit any different which is the big frustration. Usually you hear people say, "I haven't lost any weight, but my clothes are fitting better, so I know it's working." Well, I can honestly say that even though I've lost 9 lbs, my clothes were feeling just as tight at week 4. Sigh.
But what's funny (and kind of goes right along with my luck these days) is that the day after my official weigh in for week 4 where I was only down a pound from week 3, I was down another 3. So if we had weighed in one day later, I would have lost 4 pounds in week 4. Grrrrrr! But hey, at least I have a jumpstart on this week. Here's hoping my four pounds stay gone and invite some of their friends to join them!
Weight: down 9 lbs
Waist: down 0.5"
Hips: down 1.5"
Thighs: down 1.5"
I thought my thighs looked a little thinner. I wasn't too bummed about the 9 lbs, although I thought I could have done better. Wasn't perfect on food, but I'm getting there. I was really frustrated by the 0.5" on my waist. My waist is usually the first place I lose it. But I guess having three kids changed all that, eh? My clothes don't seem to fit any different which is the big frustration. Usually you hear people say, "I haven't lost any weight, but my clothes are fitting better, so I know it's working." Well, I can honestly say that even though I've lost 9 lbs, my clothes were feeling just as tight at week 4. Sigh.
But what's funny (and kind of goes right along with my luck these days) is that the day after my official weigh in for week 4 where I was only down a pound from week 3, I was down another 3. So if we had weighed in one day later, I would have lost 4 pounds in week 4. Grrrrrr! But hey, at least I have a jumpstart on this week. Here's hoping my four pounds stay gone and invite some of their friends to join them!
Transformation Challenge - Week 4 Wrapup and on to Week 5
I rocked Week 4. Rocked it. I mean, seriously rocked it. I put in 16 hours working out last week. That is a frickin' part-time job for frick's sake! But I felt amazing. By Friday night I was so damn exhausted though, all I could think about was getting in a tub and soaking my poor sore muscles, stiff joints and aching bones. It's hell getting old, yes? But of course, with three little ones, you can't ever go home and just get in the tub for a soak, right? I think I finally made it into the tub sometime on Sunday, but I can't quite remember.
I have a few friends across the country who I email quite frequently and we started a workout challenge this last week. 2 points for every half hour of cardio, 1 point for every half hour of resistance training, at the end of the week, you lose half your points if you gain any weight. Well, guess who won the challenge last week? Me! With 49 points!! And that's really saying something because my one friend works out like a fiend and I even beat her by 3 points. My prize was to pick their facebook status for the week. I chose, " wishes she could be like Heather because Heather is cool." Lame, I know, but I'm not very creative on those sorts of things. They all have to send me a scratcher or quick pick from their respective state too. We have three more weeks of the challenge so wish me continued success.
We are midway through week 5 and I am having a tough time again. My legs just feel like lead, I'm so frickin' exhausted and having a hard time pushing myself. Thank god for my team who does not let me slack off. So far this week my workouts have been:
Monday - Boot Camp (60 min), Stationary Bike (30 min)
Tuesday - Stationary Bike (30 min), Body Step (60 min)
Wednesday - Boot Camp (60 min), Stationary Bike (30 min)
I'm going back this afternoon to do another hour of cardio. I know the resistance training is crucial to losing weight (and I want to have a rock hard bod a year from now!) but I'm definitely getting that in during Boot Camp and some of the other classes, but I think the cardio is key for my weight loss right now so I'm really trying hard to get 30-90 min of cardio in a day.
The plan for the rest of the week:
Thursday - Body Flow (60 min), Body Step (60 min), I might try to squeeze in some time on the elliptical sometime during the day
Friday - Boot Camp (60 min), Rock Bottom (60 min) and Body Jam (60 min)
Saturday and Sunday will be mostly rest, but I'm going to try to get out and do something active with the family even if it is a more leisurely stroll and wouldn't count for cardio. At least I'm moving my body and burning some calories, right?
Monday morning Boot Camp, Nat and Kate were killers. At the start of class, they say something like, "we are so tired of hearing how hard Lauren's Wednesday Boot Camp is!" I just groaned to myself and thought, "here we go." And did we go. And go. And go. The resistance was still there but they way stepped up the cardio. We're talkin' way. Thought I was gonna die. But I didn't. I pushed through and at the end, I felt great! I don't know that I'm losing as much as some of the other girls or whether anyone else can see a difference, but I can feel a difference and that's what matters. I am moving better and easier (when I'm not falling down sore, that is) and I am so happy about the changes I'm making in my life. Now, if I could only win the lottery, quit my job and stay home with the kids, things would be perfect. Maybe one of those out-of-state tickets my friends are sending will be just the ticket, pun intended.
I have a few friends across the country who I email quite frequently and we started a workout challenge this last week. 2 points for every half hour of cardio, 1 point for every half hour of resistance training, at the end of the week, you lose half your points if you gain any weight. Well, guess who won the challenge last week? Me! With 49 points!! And that's really saying something because my one friend works out like a fiend and I even beat her by 3 points. My prize was to pick their facebook status for the week. I chose, "
We are midway through week 5 and I am having a tough time again. My legs just feel like lead, I'm so frickin' exhausted and having a hard time pushing myself. Thank god for my team who does not let me slack off. So far this week my workouts have been:
Monday - Boot Camp (60 min), Stationary Bike (30 min)
Tuesday - Stationary Bike (30 min), Body Step (60 min)
Wednesday - Boot Camp (60 min), Stationary Bike (30 min)
I'm going back this afternoon to do another hour of cardio. I know the resistance training is crucial to losing weight (and I want to have a rock hard bod a year from now!) but I'm definitely getting that in during Boot Camp and some of the other classes, but I think the cardio is key for my weight loss right now so I'm really trying hard to get 30-90 min of cardio in a day.
The plan for the rest of the week:
Thursday - Body Flow (60 min), Body Step (60 min), I might try to squeeze in some time on the elliptical sometime during the day
Friday - Boot Camp (60 min), Rock Bottom (60 min) and Body Jam (60 min)
Saturday and Sunday will be mostly rest, but I'm going to try to get out and do something active with the family even if it is a more leisurely stroll and wouldn't count for cardio. At least I'm moving my body and burning some calories, right?
Monday morning Boot Camp, Nat and Kate were killers. At the start of class, they say something like, "we are so tired of hearing how hard Lauren's Wednesday Boot Camp is!" I just groaned to myself and thought, "here we go." And did we go. And go. And go. The resistance was still there but they way stepped up the cardio. We're talkin' way. Thought I was gonna die. But I didn't. I pushed through and at the end, I felt great! I don't know that I'm losing as much as some of the other girls or whether anyone else can see a difference, but I can feel a difference and that's what matters. I am moving better and easier (when I'm not falling down sore, that is) and I am so happy about the changes I'm making in my life. Now, if I could only win the lottery, quit my job and stay home with the kids, things would be perfect. Maybe one of those out-of-state tickets my friends are sending will be just the ticket, pun intended.
Transformation Challenge - weeks 3 and 4
I typed this up last week and never got a chance to post it. So here's to a major catchup day on the blog.
Week 3 was a killer week physically. The first two weeks they were holding back just a tad so that they could make sure no one was going to injure themselves and allowed us a little time to ramp up. Week 3 they brought it. And some of its friends. It was intense. The workouts were amazing. I have honestly never sweat so much in my entire life. But it felt good. I thought I was going to die at times…but I didn’t. And it felt good. I felt stronger.
There was a little bit of the “the-rest-of-my-life-is-falling-to-shambles-what-made-me-think-I-could-commit-this-much-time-and-energy-to-this” going on, but I pushed through it.
I did get a shin splint in week 3, but the staff was so amazing. Advice on stretches, strengthening exercises, proper shoes, icing and other treatments was passed out by at least half the staff and they all would stop and ask how my shin was whenever they saw me. Truly amazing people at this gym. If you are a woman in the SLO area, I strongly encourage you to check it out. www.eqclubs.com. They are a smaller gym. They don’t have an indoor and outdoor pool or racquetball courts. But they have the most amazing team, lots of great classes and I love the smaller feel, the one-on-one attention. Everyone knows me there now and I know them and I fully believe they are there to support me and want to see me succeed.
Week 4 has been tougher than I thought it would be. This week has been good physically – I’ve been stepping it up and getting lots of cardio in, being adventurous and taking a few classes. I love Body Flow and Body Step and I tried Body Jam for the first time on Friday and loved it, loved it, loved it. Those of you who know me know I love to dance and this class is all about that. You don't even realize you are working your ass off and sweating a bucket because you're having so much fun!
Emotionally, mentally, logistically, this week kicked my butt.
Thursday night we had our meeting with our trainer. She is a great gal and an inspirational trainer. She is this skinny little thing that eats 4000 calories a day (no joke, she told us that) because she's a competitive cyclist and trains 5-6 hours a day. Anyway, she's super supportive, super knowledgeable; it was just a great meeting. A few of the girls that were struggling psychologically got pumped up by us all and I walked out of there feeling so good about things.
And then I went home.
The house is a frickin disaster, dishes overflowing the sink, toys and clothes everywhere. The kids are cranky and still need to brush teeth and do stories, so we hustle them on up to bed and get Gracie settled (my good sleeper, bless her). Ian comes back downstairs like 5 times and every time, he wakes Daniel up, who I'm nursing on the couch. UGH! So all the kids are finally asleep -- at 9:30. I'm so frickin' exhausted by this point, haven't showered from my three hour marathon workout yet, haven't gotten to eat . I sat on the couch and seriously contemplated quitting. What made me think I could make this kind of commitment. Seriously. What. Was. I. Thinking? I pretty much make my mind up that this is the last week. I’ll tell my team on Saturday at our workshop that I’m bowing out. They are all more of a woman than I am.
So then we're sitting there watching "Biggest Loser" and I start to cry because one of the guys talks about how getting the phone call from the Biggest Loser changed his life. And I realized that this is my chance to change my life FOREVER. PERMANENTLY! For the good. With an amazing group of women and awesome trainers and just more resources at my disposal than I would have ever had on my own and I don't want to quit. But I feel like I’m letting my family down. Scott and I talked about it and we're both going to try harder to do more things to make things easier on everyone (even more night before prep, lunches, clothes, etc) and trying to come up with a set schedule so he knows I'll be home for dinner x number of nights a week. Wish us luck, we are going to need it. 8 more weeks...8 more weeks... just let me make it through 8 more weeks!
I am blessed to have an amazing support system in my family, my friends and my team. They have pumped me up a bit this week and I’ll stick it out another week. I’ll post my measurements for the first month soon.
Week 3 was a killer week physically. The first two weeks they were holding back just a tad so that they could make sure no one was going to injure themselves and allowed us a little time to ramp up. Week 3 they brought it. And some of its friends. It was intense. The workouts were amazing. I have honestly never sweat so much in my entire life. But it felt good. I thought I was going to die at times…but I didn’t. And it felt good. I felt stronger.
There was a little bit of the “the-rest-of-my-life-is-falling-to-shambles-what-made-me-think-I-could-commit-this-much-time-and-energy-to-this” going on, but I pushed through it.
I did get a shin splint in week 3, but the staff was so amazing. Advice on stretches, strengthening exercises, proper shoes, icing and other treatments was passed out by at least half the staff and they all would stop and ask how my shin was whenever they saw me. Truly amazing people at this gym. If you are a woman in the SLO area, I strongly encourage you to check it out. www.eqclubs.com. They are a smaller gym. They don’t have an indoor and outdoor pool or racquetball courts. But they have the most amazing team, lots of great classes and I love the smaller feel, the one-on-one attention. Everyone knows me there now and I know them and I fully believe they are there to support me and want to see me succeed.
Week 4 has been tougher than I thought it would be. This week has been good physically – I’ve been stepping it up and getting lots of cardio in, being adventurous and taking a few classes. I love Body Flow and Body Step and I tried Body Jam for the first time on Friday and loved it, loved it, loved it. Those of you who know me know I love to dance and this class is all about that. You don't even realize you are working your ass off and sweating a bucket because you're having so much fun!
Emotionally, mentally, logistically, this week kicked my butt.
Thursday night we had our meeting with our trainer. She is a great gal and an inspirational trainer. She is this skinny little thing that eats 4000 calories a day (no joke, she told us that) because she's a competitive cyclist and trains 5-6 hours a day. Anyway, she's super supportive, super knowledgeable; it was just a great meeting. A few of the girls that were struggling psychologically got pumped up by us all and I walked out of there feeling so good about things.
And then I went home.
The house is a frickin disaster, dishes overflowing the sink, toys and clothes everywhere. The kids are cranky and still need to brush teeth and do stories, so we hustle them on up to bed and get Gracie settled (my good sleeper, bless her). Ian comes back downstairs like 5 times and every time, he wakes Daniel up, who I'm nursing on the couch. UGH! So all the kids are finally asleep -- at 9:30. I'm so frickin' exhausted by this point, haven't showered from my three hour marathon workout yet, haven't gotten to eat . I sat on the couch and seriously contemplated quitting. What made me think I could make this kind of commitment. Seriously. What. Was. I. Thinking? I pretty much make my mind up that this is the last week. I’ll tell my team on Saturday at our workshop that I’m bowing out. They are all more of a woman than I am.
So then we're sitting there watching "Biggest Loser" and I start to cry because one of the guys talks about how getting the phone call from the Biggest Loser changed his life. And I realized that this is my chance to change my life FOREVER. PERMANENTLY! For the good. With an amazing group of women and awesome trainers and just more resources at my disposal than I would have ever had on my own and I don't want to quit. But I feel like I’m letting my family down. Scott and I talked about it and we're both going to try harder to do more things to make things easier on everyone (even more night before prep, lunches, clothes, etc) and trying to come up with a set schedule so he knows I'll be home for dinner x number of nights a week. Wish us luck, we are going to need it. 8 more weeks...8 more weeks... just let me make it through 8 more weeks!
I am blessed to have an amazing support system in my family, my friends and my team. They have pumped me up a bit this week and I’ll stick it out another week. I’ll post my measurements for the first month soon.
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