Slow & Steady

I've met my friend that's helping me with this huge endeavor both Monday & Tuesday nights to work out. Both days we've done a walk/jog session for about 20 minutes with a 5 minute warm-up and another 5 minute cool down. We've also spend 30 minutes each night doing weight training. Monday was arms & chest and WOW! I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to turn the steering wheel when I left the rec center. LOL. I actually came home & told my hubby that he would need to put the chicken I had marinated in the fridge in the oven for me because I didn't think I could raise my arms that far. After a hot shower the soreness was more tolerable, but definitely still there. On Tuesday we worked legs, which made me sore, but I don't have nearly as much trouble with legs. On Wednesday, I was supposed to meet her for a 5:30 am class, but I was still trying to get my lesson plans done for school and was afraid I'd be late for my morning supervision, so I bailed on that one. Anyway, it's still early, but I'm already feeling a little better. I haven't had a diet soda since Sunday & the headaches have almost gone away totally. Well, time for me to go, gotta enjoy the snow day I got from school!

Getting Started - FINALLY!

It took me some time to get things lined up with my friend who is going to be training me and with all the holiday things going on, I'm really just getting started today. I began today only drinking water and if you know me, this is a BIG one. I rarely drink anything other than Diet Pepsi or Diet Sundrop. Although I'm not pulling in a lot of calories with these, I know I'm not getting enough (ready any here) water. Also, my friend reminded me that the aspartmine in diet sodas do make you crave more sweets & I definitely agree. Besides, all those chemicals can't be good for me and that doesn't even take into consideration the bloated feeling from drinking all that stuff. Of course, my 3-day headache has begun as I knew it would, but at least in a few days the headache will go away & I will be on my way to a healthier me. I've been pretty careful about what I'm eating & I'm logging everything. We had inservice today, which gives us a rare opportunity to go out for lunch, but I resisted the urge to go eat Chinese with my coworkers and came home for veggie soup and a salad with some lean protein. I start my workouts tonight, so I'll keep you guys posted. Hope you are all having a great start to the year!

Back to the Drawing Board.

Ok, I realize that my last post was in June & since it's been so long, no one other than me is probably going to be reading this blog, but I'm going to use it anyway. If nothing else, it will serve as an online journal for me. It's back to the drawing board for me. I've let life get in the way of me trying to healthy & have done what I've always done & gained back the losses that I had made & am once again in the position that I need to start over.

After much thought, I've realized that I've tried nearly everything. I've done the low carb, no carb, grapefruit, Nutrisystem, LA Weight Loss, & Weight Watchers diets (just to name a few). I've purchased oodles of workout videos & equipment that promised amazing results in no time. I've even tried to just eat healthy on my own & get some regular workouts in. It's not that none of these things work, it's that I haven't made them work for me. The common factor is that I don't stick to anything on my own. I make some good losses - 20lbs or so, then I gradually, for no good reason, quit & go right back to where I was (or worse).

So, as I sat here thinking about the fact that I can't go on certain rides at an amusement park with my kids because I know I won't fit, or that the seatbelt in my friends' cars are a tight fit & worry about how much longer it's going to be before I can't get them around me anymore. I thought about the fact that I have to think about what direction I'm going to walk around my classroom to check my students' progress because I can't fit between some of the computer stations and how I'm constantly waiting on one of them to get mad at me and drop the F bomb in the middle of class (and I mean calling me fat). Although my husband has never been anything but supportive, I worry that he's going to get sick of being married to someone who is so different looking than the girl he first fell in love with.

Then it hit me. The one thing that I've never tried is a personal trainer. In the past, I couldn't have afforded it, but since I've gone back to work, I think I will be able to swing it now. I've contacted a girl who is amazing. She has set and exceeded so many goals for herself & I just know that she can help me now. If you are a Biggest Loser fan, I would describe her as a mixture between Bob & Jillian and exactly what I need. She's agreed to train me & now I'm just waiting on her to get herself organized & tell me when we are starting. I'm so excited that I just don't know what to do with myself. Once we get started I'll be posting my progress, until then I hope you all get another chance to do whatever it is that you didn't accomplish the first time (or 2nd or 3rd, etc if you're like me). Have a great evening!

Finding My Way.

Well, I haven't progressed as quickly as I had hoped at diving back into the exercise, but some progress has been made. I did go to Zumba last week, but was too sore to go on Thursday. On Monday morning, I had my interview with Coffee County & then we went out on the boat for the rest of the day. I'm not sure why I didn't think to put on sunscreen, but I didn't & I got absolutely blistered. Today is the first day that I can actually move my arms a little without being in a lot of pain. Needless to say, I haven't made Zumba this week either. Anyway, I have started a lower carb diet, this usually serves as a decent kick off for me & I am down a couple of pounds. I'm not going to get too excited until I have my weekly weigh in because we all know that I fluctuate a lot when it comes to the scale. I also ordered an Ipod Shuffle. The el cheapo MP3 I had was kinda difficult to carry around & I wanted something that I could just clip on & go. My brother-in-law has recently started running & has built up to running a little over 3 miles regularly & has lost a lot of weight. I really want to be runner - I'm not sure I'm made to be a runner, but I want to be one. I thought that if maybe I could get lost in some good music, I could teach myself to love running. At this point, I don't even walk that fast. Anyway, I found a different starter training program that looks like it could be a little more up my ally. Walking 5 minutes & jogging 30 seconds during the first week. When I've tried the 1 minute to 30 seconds intervals, I just about give out because just as I'm catching my breath, I have to jog again. Maybe I'm just lazy. Oh well, I'm going to give it a try. Well I'm off - the Bonnaroonies that are continually walking down my street have managed to break my mailbox & we're trying to fix it. Hope you all have a great weekend!

One More Week.

I am so counting down this last week of school (& next Monday). I am so looking forward to returning to Zumba classes again next week. My eating was all over the place last week. I just find it so much easier to make good choices when I'm getting some exercise in - which I did not. I guess trying to improve my diet wasn't that easy during Alyssa's recital week. LOL. Oh well, it was worth all the hussle & bussle, she did great & looked absolutely adorable on stage. I had so many people come up & tell me that she was the star of the show. I guess that's because she is the baby of the dance company & you can't help but notice the little ones.

On tap for this week, trying to get that nasty water in. Trying to locate some great, healthy recipes for my family (anyone who has some suggestions, please chime in here) & still trying to find some extra time to hit the road a few times this week. Hope each of you have a wonderful week!!

Failure? Don't Count Me Out Yet!

I've been out of sight basically since I took the interim teaching position. I've also been out of the gym & off the charts with consumption of junk. So, have I failed? After thinking about it, I'm going to say NO! I can only fail if I give up & quit trying. So here I am once again, starting over. I've gained back most of what I had lost - like so many of us do. I've also re-evaluated where I really want to be ultimately & have done a new weight loss ticker. My new goal consists of me dropping 80.5 lbs. I realize that this is no small task, but it is doable. I will admit, I even thought about trying to get in on a casting call for Biggest Loser (one of my favorite shows), but they are looking for family member each needing to lose 100lbs or more. Two problems with this request, 1) I don't think that any doctor would say that I needed to lose 100lbs - they would actually get me back to a weight that I haven't been since I was beginning my sophomore year in high school & as I recall, I didn't look that healthy then; 2) I don't have any family members that need to lose 100lbs either. So, looking at things from my glass 1/2 full perspective - that's an upside, I'm not big enough to qualify for the Biggest Loser. LOL.

I also want to apologize to you wonderful people who have been so willing to give me support in the past. I know I've let you down. Not only have I not been successfully trying to make the gym or watch my diet, but I haven't even included you on what's going on with me and for that I'm sorry! You all probably have no idea how much your support has helped & I hope you will all forgive me for the hiatus & lend me that support again - as I NEED it, DESPERATELY!!!

I have two more weeks & 1 day left of school. Start over plan is as follows. For the next two weeks, control my diet as much as possible. Try to wean myself off of the diet soda (I know the calories aren't bad, but I've been reading that these really aren't a healthy option either), try to consume the recommended 8 glasses of water daily (this one is tough for me - I hate the stuff), try not to eat foods that have no nutritional value, and try to at least get outside & get in a brisk walk a few times a week until I can get back to my morning Zumba classes. Once I'm out of school, I'm planning to rejoin my wonderful friends at Zumba on Tues/Thurs & seek out some other classes that get me out of my comfort zone - I find that I work harder in a class environment where I feel like others will notice if I don't. So, here I am again, putting myself out there for all the world to see. Admitting that I've screwed up (AGAIN) & trying to right my wrongs - so don't count me out yet.

Hello Again!

Ok, so I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but I have totally fallen off the bandwagon & been run over SEVERAL times. I knew going back to work would serve as a real challenge for me and it has. I have slowly but surely, gotten out of the habit of going to the rec center regularly and have begun eating crap constantly. I haven't weighed myself in a week or two, but the last time I weighed, I hadn't gained more than a pound of so, but like I said, that's been a week or two & I'm sure it is up now. I've let life get in the way of my goals. It started with a little stomach bug, then came my sprained ankle, then the girls got strep & the conclusion to my chaos came with Alyssa falling off a swingset & breaking her arm.

The good news is that I'm on Spring Break for this week & next. I had hoped to attend my normal morning Zumba classes during the break, but this week is a no go because of the arm. She broke it high enough that they can't cast & and she is in a sling. The doctor recommended that we not have her in preschool or other places around lots of kids for at least another week, since they tend to run around & act crazy and the chance of her causing re-injury is pretty high. Hopefully, we will get the A-OK next week & all will not be lost. In the mean time, I am going to try to buckle down and get to class tonight & find some time to do something at home if I have to. I have 9 weeks left of the position when we return from break and I'm counting down every day. Besides leaving my children, falling into this habit of all work and no time for myself (and exercise) was one of the things that I was most fearful of when I took the position. Oh well, lesson learned - and as they say, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again! Hope you all have a great March!