Werk it, Girl!

This is so fitting that I had decided to do a Workout blog this week. Even more so that I found the time to do it today.  
Today I had the most fantastic workout. It was amazing and after the shitty-ness of yesterday it was really needed. I can't wait to tell everyone about my workout but I think I should get to yesterday because it has a lot to do with why today was so awesome.
Yesterday started out bad. Even before I got out of bed it was bad. I woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat because the A/C was off and my fans were on low. I need to sleep in the cold, that one of the few things I like about winter is that my bedroom is always at a comfortable sleeping temperature. So anyways, I woke up and pulled my covers out so I could sleep on top of them. I got back to sleep fine but when my alarm went off at 7am to go to the gym my body was hurting all over. Now I have been pretty sore this week from a killer new workout program (which I'll be getting to) but the day before I also had started my period. Sorry to any guys reading this, but this is my blog, my life. As I hit snooze I contemplated getting and going to the gym even though I was in pain just lying there. Eventually, I decided to skip the gym that day and sleep in. This seemed like a good plan because I figured my body needed the rest and I had to work that evening until 11pm anyways. I was wrong.
When I finally did wake up again I still felt crappy but this time it was more of and drowsy, over-slept but still crampy-ness. I ate breakfast and then just sat around watching mindless television. This something that I would have normally done all summer in the past but now I just felt incredibly lazy. I felt useless. Usually, when I do go to the gym in the mornings I do watch TV/PVR after I've showered but then I've feel like I've earned it. Yesterday, I felt that I didn't deserve that level of relaxation and started to become very anxious and on edge. Also, I was very irritated with myself but took it out on other people, like my Dad. I was just a wreck. I took a shower to hopefully make me feel better but it didn't. It relaxed me but I just ended up getting very down about everything. I was quiet all through dinner and then it was finally time to leave for work. As I was getting my stuff together my mom asked me what was wrong, which then I just broke and started crying. 
I was crying because I was disappointed with myself that I couldn't push myself to get to the gym yesterday. I was crying because I didn't want to go to work and deal with my managers mood swings since I was already dealing with my own. It was just hormones and my mind playing games with me. In reality, missing one workout is not the end of the world, which my mom told me. My Sister hugged me and let me know what I already did know that I am bigger than them, then that store and their petty drama is just that; petty. I am doing bigger and better things and this job is merely transitional and not my lifetime career. So with that I went to work, talked to the people I like and ignored the rest and got my work done. When I got home I had some of the chocolate bites I made earlier this week and went to bed.

This morning was different. I woke up with my alarm at 7am but felt good. I got dressed for the gym and ate breakfast. Normal stuff. When I got to the gym and changed my shoes I decided to do something different. I decided to run first. 
My usual workout tends to go something like this;

Eliptical (Interval program, level 6): 30 minutes

Weights: 20-30 minutes (This includes mat work such as plank and crunches)

Treadmill/Bike: 30-35 minutes

This is almost the same thing I have been doing since I started going to the gym in January. I have up the intensity since then but it still has stayed relitivately the same. Today though for some reason I decided to run first. I walked for 5 minutes for a warm up and then started my run at a pace of 5mph. Lately, I've had to stop because of a pain in my leg/hip but today I didn't. I just kept running. I at one point did have to bring my speed down because my heart rate was to high but other than that I stayed on pace for the whole 3.25miles or 5.2km! That's right I ran over 5K this morning! After that I did my new crazy mat workout. It's from Women's Health magazine and is from their Look Better Naked program/book. This is the PDF for the workout program. It's frigging brutal! I sweat like a crazy person doing it but it feels so good (in a painful, I just killed myself way). After putting myself through that I rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes. I still kept my heart rate up and I was sweating pretty good. 
I was just filled with such good feelings after that. I'm still in a fantastic mood. Exercise really the cure for a bad mood. 
Well I got to head off. I'm meeting a good friend for Sushi downtown!

Finally!

Weigh-in was today, and I have good news! Finally, after 4 weeks of almost no weight loss, I weighed in this morning with a significant loss! I'm at 149, which means I'm not only down 2 pounds but it also means that I have lost 40 pounds since starting.
A little bit about how I approach weigh-ins. I always do it Tuesday mornings. I picked Tuesdays because the weekends are always so busy and sometimes this means I don't eat my best. This way I have Monday to get back on track, go to the Gym and hopefully undo some of the bad from the weekend. I always weigh in in the mornings because this is when you are your lightest. So when I wake up, I go to the bathroom, go pee (This counts!) and weigh myself. By the end of the day I could be 2 pounds heavier but I always consider this my "true" weight. 
Today, as promised I also did my Measurements. I again was pleasantly surprised. This is where I'm at:

Chest: 36"

Rib Cage (Under Boobs): 33"

Waist: 30.5"

Low Waist (Belly Button): 34"

Hips: 39.5"

Thigh: 21"

Bicep: 11"

Calf: 14.5"

I love these measurements! I actually had to redo the Bicep one because I thought that sounded way to small! Measuring lets me know that even if I'm not seeing results on the scale I'm still moving in the right direction. Muscle weighs more than fat!

Some pretty exciting things are coming up in the next little bit. One week from today I will be heading to Beautiful British Columbia to see my good friend Alli. I'm really excited about this trip. It's been almost 4 months since I've seen her so I may look a little different to her. She unfourtunately will be working while I'm there but this just means I'll be able to explore her town on my own. I'm bringing my running shoes and some shoes that are more suited to hiking. I want to stay active while I'm there. I'm hoping that I will be able to do a successful outdoor run while I'm there. So far I've only been able to run any distance on a treadmill but I want to do a 5K in the fall which means running outside so I need to get used to it.
Another big thing(s) that are coming up are 1) Going back to School and 2) My 25th Birthday! They both land on September 7th which is the day after I get back from BC. I don't know how I feel about school. I'm excited to go and be making steps forward in my life but I'm just not to sure how it will effect my life. I will need to stay more on top of my workouts as now I will have to schedule them around Work and School. I'm hoping that the Gym at my school will be decent so I will be able to fit them in after or before class.
Then there's my birthday. I don't know how I feel about that either. 25 is a big deal but I really don't want to treat it that way. I don't really care if I go out or anything. Last year, I was a disaster on my birthday. Drank way to much and made a fool of myself. This year I would really just like to do something low key with my friends. I don't want to destroy my calorie count by consuming tons of alcohol. I do want a really nice cake though. A small cake, because I really won't eat all of it but a really good one with sugary butter-cream icing.

I think that's it for now but I'll leave you with my goals for this week:

1. Run 3 more times at the gym for more than 2.5 miles. My hip has been bugging me lately but I have found if I run for long enough it becomes not as bad.
2. Eat more Veggies! I've noticed that while I almost always get my "5 a day" in they are mainly fruit. I need to fit in more veg to get their minerals and fiber.
3. Hopefully by doing this I will have another good weigh in. 

I'm going to try to two more blogs before I head out to BC. One will be a Workout blog and the other my weigh-in one before I go to BC. Oh! And look at this cute thing from myfitnesspal.com

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Isn't that cute! I'm going to have it at the end of all my blogs!!

New Blog, New Outlook

All blogs previous to this one are copied from my journal on Purerave.com. This blog is the beginning of me writing all my goals, thoughts and victories on my path to being a healthy weight and to total wellness. 

As of my last weigh-in on Tuesday I weigh 150.6lbs. This is down from my all time high of 189. That is what I weighed on January 12th 2010 and that is when I started my journey. 

Headshot of me May-ish 2009

 

 

This picture is of me is the Spring of 2009 and I think it shows me at my biggest. I have photos from New Years 2010 but they have all been retouched so I don't think they are an accurate representation of me at my biggest. I was uncomfortable and could barely find any clothing that fit me right. This was a photo that was supposed to "sell" me as an Journalist. As shallow as it sounds, I don't think many news directors would be willing to put a girl that large on Television. 
Part of the reason why I got so big was Boredom and Stress. I constantly was going between these two extremes at that point in my life and my reaction to both was to eat. If I was going to class I'd make sure I had a snack to keep me entertained. This was usually two over-sized chocolate chip cookies from the Cafeteria. If I was stressed or working really hard I'd get a Large Double-Double and/or a Donut as a reward for getting a certain task done. My relationship with food had become a toxic one. I was using it to fill a place or to fulfill a task other than fueling my body. Thankfully, now that I have realized that I have started to make changes.

Feb 2010- Changes are Starting

In January 2010 I started thinking about my life and where it was headed. I am turning 25 this September and I was tired of how things were going. I wanted to make changes. Call it my "Quarter-century Crisis" if you want, but I knew that I didn't want my next 25 years to feel like my last did. So on January 12th, my Sister's 23rd Birthday, I went to the Gym for the first time in over a year and worked out. I worked out hard and it felt good. I started using an app on my iPhone I had downloaded ages ago but never seriously used. The app is called Lose It! and it helped keep me on track. I started to go to the gym as often as I could. I made excuses to go; I would bring my workout clothes to Work with me so I could go after work. I started to see the pounds come off. My first two weeks I lost 4 pounds each week and I felt amazing. I because I felt good I kept going; I would try for at least 5 day a week. 

It's now almost 7 months later and I've lost nearly 38.5 lbs. I've had to buy all new clothes and I feel strong and fabulous. Random customers at work will come up to me and ask me if I've lost weight. I don't really like to talk to strangers about it but I'll say that I have. People will ask me what's my secret and this is where I get kinda defensive. I tell them hard work and keeping an eye on my calories always but I always feel like they are disappointed by my answer. They want to know my miracle answer to Weight Loss but unfortunately it's what they already know. 

Canada Day 2010 - Progress!

I'm now at a point that I consider the middle. For the last month my weight loss has kinda stagnated. I've gone back and forth each week between losing one pound, gaining 1.5, losing 2 and so forth. I need to step up my game. I have to make every work out count. I've decided that I'm going to run a 5k in the fall. I feel that having this training goal in front of me will make me train harder and hopefully give me stronger results. I also know that I need to be more diligent with my food journaling. I downloaded a new app to my phone called "My Fitness Pal" and I love it. I has a much more user friendly interface and it has a library of much more food including Canadian brands and restaurants. I'm hoping that these changes will push me past this plateau I'm in. Orignally, I wanted to be at my Goal Weight by my 25th Birthday, which is September 7th. I know that is not going to happen now but I'm not worried. I know this journey is now about life long health and there's no reason to rush that. I know I need time to learn how to live like this always. It takes time to make healthy living second nature and I'm okay with that. 

So here I am, 25 pounds until my ultimate Goal Weight of 125 pounds. I welcome all positive comments and suggestions and I thank you for reading! My next blog will hopefully be on Wednesday with an updated weigh-in and measurements!