CRASH AND BURN

So, I haven't blogged in awhile, and while I haven't been blogging I have slipped, MAJORLY.  This isn't like an "Oh, I just had a bad day, or week" sort of slip, this is an "Ah, $*i%! I had a HORRIBLE couple of months" sort of slip.  I realized this when I went to the doctor's last week and they weighed me - the scale said 232.2 lbs.  *insert heart shattering here*  And then on Sunday I weighed myself on a home scale and it read 234 lbs.  At this point, I was too bummed out to care, if that makes any sense.

I'm really starting to think that I sabotage myself on purpose and need to do a bit of soul searching, so to speak, to figure out why I keep doing this to myself.  I really hate the starting over and the disappointments of failing....yet again.  I know that there can be some psychological things that keep people from losing weight like they want, and keep them gaining it.  Maybe I have some deep seeded issues that need to be talked out?  Or maybe I just love food and am lazy?  Either way, something's gotta give! 

And so I start.....again.  This time around I'm doing Weight Watchers.  I've done it before and it worked well for me.  To me, it's easier than counting calories.  My friend was also nice enough to get me a gym membership, an add on, to his.  It's to Gold's Gym, which is a LOT closer than my old gym was.  I also want to still do some at home things in addition to the stuff that I do at the gym.  Also, I want to start jazzing it up a bit and go out to do things that I like to do like kayaking and such.

Here are my new goals:

1) Drink nothing but water - i.e. no more sodas, coffee, tea etc.
2) Workout 3-4 times a week for the first 4-6 weeks - anymore and I might get tired of going
3) NO MORE FAST FOOD! - this one is a HUGE crutch for me
4) Weigh/measure myself once a week - keeping track of progress helps
5) Don't get down on myself when I have a bad day - it'll only make things worse
6) Discover the root of my weight issue - hidden issues? Just lazy and like junk food?
7) Just have small goals - an overall, large goal is too overwhelming and can easily discourage
8) Have fun! - Find things that are active that I enjoy doing!


And that's it for now.  I'll try to keep y'all updated...again. lol!

Later,

Sarah

End of Phase 1 is Close at Hand!

Good afternoon!  I am almost finished with Phase 1 of P90X!  3 weeks, whoa!  I honestly think this might be the longest I've stuck to an exercise regimen.  Although, truthfully, I had a rough week 3 due to the cramps and bloating I endured, (see previous post), and the past few days haven't been that great either.  However, I can't let some not so great days get me discouraged, though it's easy to do.  I just have to find my motivation again!

Yesterday I went out and bought a heart rate/calories burned/watch for myself and some yoga blocks.  To be honest, I really am excited to try out the new items!  I think my yoga will be a bit easier with the blocks, as I'm not all that flexible yet.

I'm also excited to start Phase 2 of P90X.  I'm going to be attempting to do the doubles program.  It may be a bit ambitious for my first go round, but I figure I should just go ahead and try it!  If you're unfamiliar with the programs, there's basically 3 subsets of P90X programs; Classic, Doubles and Lean.  The Classic is the basic program with 3 days of resistance and 3 days of cardio/yoga.  Double is the Classic with more cardio thrown in, with both AM & PM workouts.  Lean is gain based off of the the Classic as well but with 4 days of cardio and 2 of resistance.  If you'd like to read the official explanation of the 3 different types of programs, you can read them here, and even see the workout schedule.   

And that, ladies and gents, is about all that I have to say for the moment.  Short, I know, but what more is there to be said?  I'll be posting pics next week, as it will be the end of Phase 1 and start of Phase 2.  Yay!  I can't wait!!!  Now, I just gotta get over this little slump I've been in.  I can do it though, I know I can!  Just gotta remember why I started in the first place!  Hope y'all have a great day!

Later,

Sarah   

Progress, Laziness, and Sweets

And the journey continues!  So far so go in my re-re-renewed motivation to get fit and healthy.  This week I managed to lose 2.4 pounds!  Here are my current stats and the differences from last week:

Weight: 221.8 (-2.4)
Bust : 40" (same)
Chest: 35 5/8 (-3/8)
Bicep: 13 5/8 (-3/8)
Forearm: 10.5 (-.12)
Waist: 34.5 (+1/2)
Midway: 37 (+1/2)
Hips: 47.75 (+1/4)
Thighs: 27 (-1/4)
Knee: 18 (-1/8)

So, how is it that I can lose a couple of pounds, lose in some places, but GAIN an entire 1.25 inches in other areas?  Well, it is one of the joys of being a woman, and eating certain foods at the wrong time, one simple word: BLOAT!  Yes, that rather lovely word that can be attributed to other fun symptoms that a woman of child bearing age must endure once a month.  Yay for water retention!  I guess this week's measurements were pretty much a mixed bag, although, I think that they would've been a lot better had I not had that little issue.  But, to be honest, bloat was just one of the things I've had to battle this week.

Laziness; I've fought it fiercely all week!  Some days it has gotten the best of me, and others I have prevailed in triumph!  Sunday I didn't do my work out, (Kempo X), neither did I do a workout on Monday.  However, in my defense, Mondays are my rest days.  Today, I did manage to drag myself out of my bedroom and do today's workout, Plyo X, which happens to be my LEAST favorite so far. I didn't do as well as usual, but I did my best through the yawns & considering the cramps & bloating I was feeling, I'd like to think I earned a couple of brownie points for doing it. I was going to do my Kempo X Monday or yesterday, but yeah, that didn't happen.  I mean, c'mon!  Who wants to workout when they're feeling bloated and having some cramps?  Especially when it involves lots of kicks.  Ladies, am I right or wrong on this?  Am I the only one that might take an extra day of rest when the joys of womanhood creep up on you?

Which brings me to another one, craving sweets.  Sunday I wanted something sweet after dinner, so I made something that I've been meaning to try, a mug cake!  Here's how it turned out:

Here's the recipe that I used:

3/4 scoop chocolate Shakeology or chocolate protein powder
3 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp flax meal soaked in 4 tbsp water
1 egg
1 tbsp honey (or Stevia)
1 tbsp Nutella
3 strawberries
banana
1 dark chocolate covered almond


-Mix all dry ingredients in mug, add wet ingredients, and bake in microwave for 2-3 mins.
-Slice strawberries & banana.
-Take mug cake out, flip over, let cool slightly. (You may have to use a knife to get the edges of the cake away from the mug).
-Cut cake in half, put half of the Nutella on the bottom half of the cake, put in banana and strawberries.  Put top half of cake on top and put rest of Nutella on top of cake, place strawberries, banana and chocolate almond on top.  Enjoy!

NOTE: The cake will expand while cooking.  You can also add some unsweetened coco powder to make it more chocolaty!

Calories: 377 per serving (1serving = 1 cake).

That, my friends, is how I took care of my sweet craving!  I hope you enjoy this treat as much as I did!  Feel free to make whatever modifications you'd like!  I made my own modifications, (the honey), from the original recipe which I got from my friend at church who is a BeachBody coach.  I think I'm going to try it with vanilla protein powder instead of chocolate next time, or maybe strawberry!!!  I'll post that one too. :)


Anyway, overall it's been a tough week so far, but as Tony Horton says in the Plyo X video, "No one said it was going to be easy!" Indeed Mr. Horton, indeed.

Until next time my friends!

Sarah

Once More Unto the Breach, Dear Friends, Once More

So, surely I can't be the only person who has tried to start losing weight, gotten side tracked, and had to start all over again.  In fact, I know I'm not alone in this.  I found re-re-renewed motivation to continue with this battle of the bulge that has plagued me for years.  I don't know exactly where it came from, maybe tit was the fact that I didn't like the way I was looking in my clothes, or feeling uncomfortable in my own body, or maybe it was the gut that was staring at me everytime I looked in the mirror, or my mother who kept telling me that the older I got the harder is would be to lose the weight?  All I know is that I had an itch to get started again and a determination to STICK WITH IT!!! 

So, one night I sent a text to one of the ladies at my church, who just so happens to be a Beachbody coach, and asked her if she had a copy of P90X I could use.  She did, and so last Tuesday, on February 18th, I started P90X.  Granted, I had meant to ask for Insanity, (not sure where my mind was), but I figured I'd give P90X a shot since it's what I had asked for and received, and maybe just do insanity afterwards.

In addition to the P90X, I've been logging my calories with my MyFitnessPal app.  I've limited myself to no more than 1,522 calories a day, granted, that's without any exercise.  I've also cut out fried foods and sodas.  I'm letting myself have sweets every now and then, because if I don't I'll binge, and no one wants that!  I'm also still drinking my morning coffee, just a whole lot less of it.  I've also started drinking more tea, sweetened with honey if and when needed.  

I'm a week into it and sore, oh, so, so sore.  I ache, but it's a satisfying feeling!  Besides the satisfying feeling, I'm seeing results already!  In the past week, since starting, I lost an inch and a half off of my waist, an inch off my hips, and an inch and a quarter off of one, (yes, just one -_-), of my thighs!  Now, I went up .2 pounds from where I started, but that doesn't phase me.  Something that people need to understand, especially women, is that the number on the scale shouldn't be the ONLY measurement that you take!  You can be losing fat but gaining muscle while working out and thus stay the same weight, but be losing inches.  You know that saying, "Fat weighs more than muscle"?  IT'S A LIE!!!  A pound is a pound is a pound, whether it's a pound of fat, a pound of muscle, a pound of feathers or a pound of steel.  It's still all just a pound!  Fat just takes up more space than muscle, that's all.  I'm gonna get off my little soapbox now.

Once again, I'm going to try my best to keep up with this blog.  I hope that maybe my journey will help others.  I'm not an athlete, or a personal trainer, or some fitness guru, I'm just a 27-year-old woman that's tired of being obese and is trying to fix that based on the knowledge I have!  If it's helpful to some, fantastic!  If not, sorry, maybe you can just laugh with/at me instead. ;-)

The last thing for this new post; my last ever "Before" photos, taken last week when starting my new P90X workouts and eating right:

Day 1 - Front View

Day 1 - Side View

Granted, these aren't flattering photos, but they're not really suppose to be, are they?  Here are my stats on Day 1 of P90X:

Weight: 224
Fat%: 42.85
BMI: 34
Neck: 14.87
Bust: 40
Chest: 35.75
Waist: 35.5
Midway (around bellybutton): 38
Hips: 48.5
Right Bicep: 14
Left Bicep: 14
Right Forearm: 10.62
Left Forearm: 10.75
Right Thigh: 28.5
Left Thigh: 27.62
Right Calf: 15.87
Left Calf: 15.75

As of this week, after just 1 week of eating right, drinking lots of water, and P90X, here are my stats:

Weight: 224.2
Fat%: 40.63
BMI: 34
Neck: 14.5
Bust: 40
Chest: 36
Waist: 34
Midway (around bellybutton): 36.5
Hips: 47.5
Right Bicep: 14
Left Bicep: 13.62
Right Forearm: 10.62
Left Forearm: 10.5
Right Thigh: 27.25
Left Thigh: 27.62
Right Calf: 15.75
Left Calf: 15.62

How can one not be encouraged to keep going when seeing these sorts of results?  And may I just add, YAY for not losing any in my bust! :-D Also, see what I mean about not relying solely on the scale?  If that's the ONLY thing I went by, I could have been very easily discouraged thinking that I didn't make any progress when really I did! 

That's it for now.  I'll be taking some more pics and posting them to show progress, and my stats as I record them. 

So, as I start my P90X and calorie counting journey, I say to you, "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!"

Sarah

Better Than Nothing!

Good Morning!
So I did my weekly measurements, and good news, I lost this week!!  I lost 3 pounds and 1.75" overall.  It makes me a happy, happy camper!  So, what have I been doing different the past week?  Just little things! I started using the MyFitnessPal app again, which is a calorie counter and an online support community.  I also found this cool calorie calculator that helped me to figure out how many calories per day I should be eating for my goal.  And of course, I've been working out!  I've been keeping up with the Insanity as I can, and when I can't then I try to do something on my own.  I'm also trying to get up early so that I can workout in case I can't do it in the evening, (whether it's Insanity or my own workout).

So, that's where I'm at now.  I still haven't added anything new to my motivation wall, but when I do I'll post an updated picture.  I read a quote the other day that was something along the lines of, "People say that motivation doesn't last.  Neither do showers, that's why we have to take one every day."  It makes sense!  We need to renew our motivation everyday, in whatever way we can, and that's what I've been trying to do.

I suppose that's all for the moment.  I hope you have a great day!

Sarah

Ups and Downs

Good morning!

I feel like I'm yo-yoing again.  It's so frustarating!  I have no one to blame but myself.  When I get stressed or upset, I start craving things or start eating comfort food.  The past 2 weeks, I've gained, not a whole lot, but it's still going in the wrong direction of where I want it to go.  I guess I started to lose my motivation.  I haven't been getting up and going to the gym like I use to and my energy level is down.

With all that said, it's time for some new and improved motivation!  First, I started an "Inspiration Wall" in my room: 

There's still more that I want to add to my wall.  I want to add more pictures, (all of which are from Pinterest), but I also want to add some of me with before pics and in progress pics.

I also started Insanity with some ladies at my church.  It's nice in that it holds us accountable.  They started last week, but I didn't join them until yesterday and oh how I'm sore! lol!

So, that's where I stand at the moment.  I'm trying to get myself back on track.  I think I may do the Advocare stuff again, or at least a cleanse.  I also need to start drinking my water again!  I've been slacking on that too.  Time to get things back on track!  

Hope you have a great day!

Sarah

Bad Week

Hello there!

So, this past week was a bit off.  I had training out of town, stayed at a hotel for 2 nights, hung out with friends that live in the area, and it was fun, but I dread seeing my meassurments on Monday!  I don't think that I did too bad... but maybe I'm just trying to convince myself of that so I don't feel so bad.  :-/  I didn't exercise on Wednesday or Thursday, though I did manage to get some in yesterday, and I will again later today. 

The only thing that really kinda sucks is that because of this past week my routine has been thrown off.  I didn't get up yesterday or today to go to the gym.  I really don't want to fall into old, bad habits.  I guess we all have off days, or even an off week, and this past one was mine.  I'm just going to have to get back on it next week.

Hope all is well with you!

Sarah