I miss you guys!!!
I can't believe it's been over a year since I posted. One crazy, drama-filled year, that I can't possibly even attempt to recap in one blog post. Just like I let the blog fall by the wayside, I did the same with my workouts. Don't get me wrong, I got a few in here and there, maybe 50 over the course of 2011...but it was NOTHING like the progress I had in 2010. I figured, if I want to get my body back and then some, the first step (er...third step), is picking the blog back up.
In February 2011, I was hovering right around the 190 mark, which is pretty much where I was in December of 2010. Yes, it sounds like a lot. But I looked great. Didn't know it at the time, because like Joni Mitchell said, "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." While I was whining and complaining about being so heavy, I didn't notice the positives...how good I looked in dresses, how healthy I had become, etc. This time around, I will look for the positives.
That being said, let's start with the good news. I am on a new system, whereby I randomize my dieting and workouts daily, through a website called classtools.net. The tool is called "Fruit Picker," and you can put a list of different things on a virtual slot machine that it spins for you. My attention span is not the best, and I get bored with workouts if results aren't coming fast enough, so this helps me out. It's exciting, shiny, and new!
So far, my diet options are Slim Fast, Weight Watchers (both self-explanatory), LoseIt (I think I mentioned in a previous blog), and BodyBugg (this tool they use on Biggest Loser to count how many calories your body burns...they also have a diet app online). My workout options are more lengthy, and include Dance Central, elliptical, Zumba, bike, etc. In February, I'll give myself the option to add an off day, and probably in March or April, I'll add kettlebells. I heard those were great. I lost four pounds this week from the randomizing thing.
Time for the bad news. I am currently at 209 (down from 213 on Monday, heaviest I've been since 2009). But it's coming off, slowly but surely. I know the weight is gonna start flying off in March, when my stress starts easing up, but until then, baby steps :)
I'll post again when I can. You know how I am lol. Much love!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Monday, December 20, 2010
Tip 3
Ok you guys know me by now. If I say I'll post later in the day, that probably means that I'll post tomorrow (or next month) lol. Yesterday, I went to Zumba at the gym, and also got in 45 minutes of shooting hoops beforehand. While shooting around, I was challenged to a game of one-on-one by an older gentleman who was also waiting for Zumba. He was pretty fierce competition, I have to admit. I won, but he gave me a run for my money.
Anyway, after that, I went to Zumba, taught by one of Facebook friends. I have to say, her class was intense. By the time it was over, I was wiped. Afterwards, I went home, ate lunch (spaghetti and tofu), and one of my girls hit me up to go watch some football and play pool at a local restaurant. Since I already had lunch, I just had a couple of r&ds (100 calories each), then went to a cookie party, where I had to judge. Dun dun dun!!!
But actually, it was all good, because I had planned ahead. Plus, the hostess was so kind as to give us knives to cut off only a portion to sample each cookie. Since I'm allergic to nuts, my selection was cut in half anyway, so I had the teeniest bit of about 6 cookies. When I was done, I went back and got two of my favorite cookies. It was practically impossible to keep track of these calories, but I must have done a good job, because I woke up this morning 1.5 pounds lighter.
So anyway, back to my tips. Here's a new one for you. I'll write more later.
Tip 3. Beware of the false bottoms.
Back when I started my weight loss journey, a little over a year ago, I weighed 224 pounds. Every time I tried to lose weight, I'd reach 214, and that's as far as I'd go. We filmed a movie back in 2007 and I was about 206 or 207 pounds. I'd dream for the day that I could be back there again. I thought I'd never in life be under 200 again, unless I was "lucky" enough to catch the flu. Once I hit 199, I thought I'd made it. But 190 feels much better than 199, and I'm sure 139 will feel even better.
Today, my size 12 jeans are starting to get that familiar baggy feeling. Hopefully I'll be in a size 10 soon. I'll be back later with another tip.
Anyway, after that, I went to Zumba, taught by one of Facebook friends. I have to say, her class was intense. By the time it was over, I was wiped. Afterwards, I went home, ate lunch (spaghetti and tofu), and one of my girls hit me up to go watch some football and play pool at a local restaurant. Since I already had lunch, I just had a couple of r&ds (100 calories each), then went to a cookie party, where I had to judge. Dun dun dun!!!
But actually, it was all good, because I had planned ahead. Plus, the hostess was so kind as to give us knives to cut off only a portion to sample each cookie. Since I'm allergic to nuts, my selection was cut in half anyway, so I had the teeniest bit of about 6 cookies. When I was done, I went back and got two of my favorite cookies. It was practically impossible to keep track of these calories, but I must have done a good job, because I woke up this morning 1.5 pounds lighter.
So anyway, back to my tips. Here's a new one for you. I'll write more later.
Tip 3. Beware of the false bottoms.
Back when I started my weight loss journey, a little over a year ago, I weighed 224 pounds. Every time I tried to lose weight, I'd reach 214, and that's as far as I'd go. We filmed a movie back in 2007 and I was about 206 or 207 pounds. I'd dream for the day that I could be back there again. I thought I'd never in life be under 200 again, unless I was "lucky" enough to catch the flu. Once I hit 199, I thought I'd made it. But 190 feels much better than 199, and I'm sure 139 will feel even better.
Today, my size 12 jeans are starting to get that familiar baggy feeling. Hopefully I'll be in a size 10 soon. I'll be back later with another tip.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
My Top 10 Tips for Weight Loss (Part 1)
Amidst many false starts, I'm finally beginning to get it together slowly but surely. But let's look at the positives. For the first time in my life, I've kept 30 pounds off for nearly a year. I can hardly believe that I've gone from a size 18 to a 12 and stayed there. Prior to this point, the lowest I've ever been was a size 14, the summer between freshman and sophomore year of college (10 years ago). But now I'm comfortably in a size 12. Crazy.
I'll tell you how I've bounced back in a while, but first, let me lay out my top 10 tips for natural weight loss (no fads included). As many of you know, I'm the fad queen. I've tried almost everything short of plastic surgery to shed the pounds, but nothing has worked besides good old fashioned hard work (I wish I could get those several thousands of dollars back, that I've spent over the past 20 years...sigh). When somebody told me this on FB (in not quite so many words), I got really angry, but she hit the nail on the head. So, here's a list of ways that I've successfully lost weight, with no gimmicks. Here we go.
Tip 1. Celebrate your successes...
There was a time in the very recent past that I'm sure many of the readers could remember, where weight was all I saw. I'd work out and work out and work out two, three, or four hours every day. If I lost two pounds in one day, I'd be somewhat satisfied. Anything less was a failure. This type of behavior is not healthy, and can eventually take you down a very dangerous path. My loooooooong break from dieting and working out was a blessing in disguise, because it allowed me to refocus and see that life was not all about the scale.
Now that I'm back, I realize that not working out didn't kill me. I'm in a much better position than I was at this time last year. If I lose a pound, that's great. If I don't, big deal...I'll lose it tomorrow. I'm just happy when I do.
Tip 2. ...but not too much.
In the past, I used to tell myself, "Ok self, you've been working hard. Once you get under X pounds, we will have Y to celebrate." There's nothing wrong with giving yourself incentives like this, but you have to be very clear and honest with yourself, that you will ONLY have that incentive. For example, if you tell yourself, "when I get to X pounds, I get pizza," it's very important to only get the pizza. There's no need for ice cream, mozzarella sticks, cheese cake, etc. Those can be incentives for other times. Or maybe you can give yourself a day to splurge and get it all out of your system, but the next day, back to work! Otherwise, as I have found, you may a) fall into the habit of eating crap, which is very difficult to break; and/or b) gain more weight than you anticipated, which will be hard to take off, and will probably discourage you, causing you to fall off the wagon.
Another disadvantage I've found about the incentive program is that I always end up getting impatient. For example, if I really wanted to have pizza, but kept putting it off every day because I didn't hit my target, eventually, I'd crack under the pressure and go crazy on some Papa Johns. The pizza became very important to me, more so than it was when I originally set the incentive. Quick fix? Go to the grocery store and get some diet pizza in the meantime. It will keep you from going crazy. (I really like the Weight Watchers pizza minis.) The bottom line is, don't deprive yourself, but don't go crazy with rewards either.
Today, I got up and got on the scale, like I do most other mornings. I weighed 191.5 pounds. While that is heavy to many people, to me it was a small victory because I haven't seen that number since probably May or June. I feel really good...this feels perfect for me, BUT IT'S NOT!!!! Hence:
Tip 3. Beware of false bottoms.
More to come on this, as well as the last seven tips. I've been at this for about 45 minutes, and I'm a bit tired of writing after this last week of finals. I'll be back later, likely after the gym where I'm going to Zumba and shooting hoops.
I'll tell you how I've bounced back in a while, but first, let me lay out my top 10 tips for natural weight loss (no fads included). As many of you know, I'm the fad queen. I've tried almost everything short of plastic surgery to shed the pounds, but nothing has worked besides good old fashioned hard work (I wish I could get those several thousands of dollars back, that I've spent over the past 20 years...sigh). When somebody told me this on FB (in not quite so many words), I got really angry, but she hit the nail on the head. So, here's a list of ways that I've successfully lost weight, with no gimmicks. Here we go.
Tip 1. Celebrate your successes...
There was a time in the very recent past that I'm sure many of the readers could remember, where weight was all I saw. I'd work out and work out and work out two, three, or four hours every day. If I lost two pounds in one day, I'd be somewhat satisfied. Anything less was a failure. This type of behavior is not healthy, and can eventually take you down a very dangerous path. My loooooooong break from dieting and working out was a blessing in disguise, because it allowed me to refocus and see that life was not all about the scale.
Now that I'm back, I realize that not working out didn't kill me. I'm in a much better position than I was at this time last year. If I lose a pound, that's great. If I don't, big deal...I'll lose it tomorrow. I'm just happy when I do.
Tip 2. ...but not too much.
In the past, I used to tell myself, "Ok self, you've been working hard. Once you get under X pounds, we will have Y to celebrate." There's nothing wrong with giving yourself incentives like this, but you have to be very clear and honest with yourself, that you will ONLY have that incentive. For example, if you tell yourself, "when I get to X pounds, I get pizza," it's very important to only get the pizza. There's no need for ice cream, mozzarella sticks, cheese cake, etc. Those can be incentives for other times. Or maybe you can give yourself a day to splurge and get it all out of your system, but the next day, back to work! Otherwise, as I have found, you may a) fall into the habit of eating crap, which is very difficult to break; and/or b) gain more weight than you anticipated, which will be hard to take off, and will probably discourage you, causing you to fall off the wagon.
Another disadvantage I've found about the incentive program is that I always end up getting impatient. For example, if I really wanted to have pizza, but kept putting it off every day because I didn't hit my target, eventually, I'd crack under the pressure and go crazy on some Papa Johns. The pizza became very important to me, more so than it was when I originally set the incentive. Quick fix? Go to the grocery store and get some diet pizza in the meantime. It will keep you from going crazy. (I really like the Weight Watchers pizza minis.) The bottom line is, don't deprive yourself, but don't go crazy with rewards either.
Today, I got up and got on the scale, like I do most other mornings. I weighed 191.5 pounds. While that is heavy to many people, to me it was a small victory because I haven't seen that number since probably May or June. I feel really good...this feels perfect for me, BUT IT'S NOT!!!! Hence:
Tip 3. Beware of false bottoms.
More to come on this, as well as the last seven tips. I've been at this for about 45 minutes, and I'm a bit tired of writing after this last week of finals. I'll be back later, likely after the gym where I'm going to Zumba and shooting hoops.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Beauty
You are beautiful, just the way you are. So am I. We all have unique things about us that make us beautiful. I just wanted to be perfectly clear. I've been on this journey for my entire life. It's kinda sad that it's taken me almost 30 years to come to this conclusion.
People may hate. People will always find something about you not to like. But instead of getting upset, look at the underlying reason for their hatred. There's something that you're obviously doing right, that they may not be.
Just let it go.
People may hate. People will always find something about you not to like. But instead of getting upset, look at the underlying reason for their hatred. There's something that you're obviously doing right, that they may not be.
Just let it go.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Booo on me
I'm not getting on the scale til November 10. I've gained weight. I can feel it. Last night I tried to go to the gym, but I got a flat tire, and the ensuing drama consumed the rest of the evening. Today will be different. Zumba after work with co-workers. Zumba after that with Carol. I don't have class this evening, so after Carol, going to the gym for arms and running. After that, kazaxe. I'll get back on track. Yaaaaaaay.
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Friendly Fever
Hey guys...I've been pretty silent lately because I've been knocked out of commission by a little bug. Thursday night, after Zumba, I knew I was coming down with something. By Friday morning, I had a fever and couldn't go to work. Couldn't work out either, much to my dismay; however, I ended up losing crazy weight, no matter how much I decided to pig out. For a split second, I got a taste of how it felt to be one of those people with high metabolisms that I envy so much lol.
Anyway, today I'm back at work, and feeling like I should have taken one more sick day. Yesterday, I was pretty much feeling like a million bucks, but today not so much. I had even packed a workout bag, thinking that I would hit up Zumba after class tonight. But now I'm thinking that's not such a good idea. I'll take one more day and get myself together. Tomorrow, I'll go all out as I intended, if I'm feeling alright. Plan for tomorrow: 5 pm Zumba, 6 pm workout, 8 pm Zumba...yeaaaaahhhhhhh booyyyyyyyy!!!
Today is October 25, and that means that it's check-in/cheat day. I use my fancy schmancy scale to measure my progress on the 10th and 25th of each month. This day is also my cheat day, where I don't count calories, and basically pig out hehe. Today, when I got on the scale, I wasn't happy with what I saw. Yeah, I lost like 4 pounds in two weeks, but my body fat percentage went up, meaning that basically all the weight I lost while I was sick was muscle mass. Boo on that. So, hopefully tomorrow, I will be good enough to go back to the gym, and start building back that muscle that I lost.
The Results
Weight: 193.6 (Down from 197.6)
Body Fat Percentage: 40.8% (Up from 39.9)
Total Body Water Percentage: 42.7% (Down from 43.4)
Muscle Mass: 109 (Down from 112.8)
Physique Rating (1-9): 3 (Stayed the same)
BMR (aka calories body burns at rest): 1622 (Down from 1672)
Metabolic age: 50 (Stayed the same)
Bone Mass: 5.8 (Down from 6.0)
Visceral Fat: 7 (Stayed the same)
By November 10 (next full weigh-in), I want to be at 189.9 or lower, with a body fat percentage in the low 39s. Fingers crossed :) TTFN.
Anyway, today I'm back at work, and feeling like I should have taken one more sick day. Yesterday, I was pretty much feeling like a million bucks, but today not so much. I had even packed a workout bag, thinking that I would hit up Zumba after class tonight. But now I'm thinking that's not such a good idea. I'll take one more day and get myself together. Tomorrow, I'll go all out as I intended, if I'm feeling alright. Plan for tomorrow: 5 pm Zumba, 6 pm workout, 8 pm Zumba...yeaaaaahhhhhhh booyyyyyyyy!!!
Today is October 25, and that means that it's check-in/cheat day. I use my fancy schmancy scale to measure my progress on the 10th and 25th of each month. This day is also my cheat day, where I don't count calories, and basically pig out hehe. Today, when I got on the scale, I wasn't happy with what I saw. Yeah, I lost like 4 pounds in two weeks, but my body fat percentage went up, meaning that basically all the weight I lost while I was sick was muscle mass. Boo on that. So, hopefully tomorrow, I will be good enough to go back to the gym, and start building back that muscle that I lost.
The Results
Weight: 193.6 (Down from 197.6)
Body Fat Percentage: 40.8% (Up from 39.9)
Total Body Water Percentage: 42.7% (Down from 43.4)
Muscle Mass: 109 (Down from 112.8)
Physique Rating (1-9): 3 (Stayed the same)
BMR (aka calories body burns at rest): 1622 (Down from 1672)
Metabolic age: 50 (Stayed the same)
Bone Mass: 5.8 (Down from 6.0)
Visceral Fat: 7 (Stayed the same)
By November 10 (next full weigh-in), I want to be at 189.9 or lower, with a body fat percentage in the low 39s. Fingers crossed :) TTFN.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Update: Bikini Challenge
This is me about a month into the bikini challenge. Picture taken last night.
Sorry I missed yesterday. This week has been crazy busy. Between standardized testing at work, class, meetings, teaching classes after school, trainings, etc, there hasn't been much time to write. I've been doing pretty well working out though.
Monday night I went to the gym, did 10 min on the elliptical, upper body pump, and 30 minutes on the treadmill. It was awesome because I worked out with one of my friends who I used to go to to the gym with, until she hurt herself. She needs a nickname too...how about O.G. (not original gangsta, lol...original gym buddy)?
Anyway, now she's feeling waaaaayyyy better. We did her routine on the treadmill, which was honestly a lot harder than I imagined. I realized that jogging is soooooo much easier than speedwalking, which was the foundation of her routine. My calves were burning by the time I got off that thing. She tried to show me the benefits of stretching (which I rarely do, because when I bend my head, I get dizzy), but I had to run out because my parking was about to expire.
Yesterday was my one free afternoon, so I used that to my advantage. I hit the gym for an early Zumba class, and was planning on doing the "Six Pack Attack" class immediately afterwards, but decided against it. I'm still somewhat self-conscious when it comes to group exercise. I really HATE being singled out, which instructors seem to love to do. It could be all in my head, but I hate feeling incompetent and in need of individualized attention. When instructors do turn their attention on me, I get embarrassed, and at that point, I usually walk out.
That's why I loved kazaxe, and stuck to it. In kaza, you have like 200+ people all dancing at once, so you get kinda lost in the crowd. Nobody makes you feel like an idiot. Plus the instructor wouldn't do that, even in a smaller class size. She's very supportive of people of all skill levels, and even teaches a basic steps workshop from time to time. Then when you start getting good, she might pull you up on stage from time to time to be one of the background dancers. That kind of attention I don't mind :)
Anyway, back to Six Pack Attack. I tend to shy away from the unknown, because I hate to fail. If I know I'm going to fail, I feel more at ease when there are other people at or near my level. But these folks looked RIPPED, so I decided to work out on my own instead. I did about 135 crunches on this strange machine at the gym (45 straight up and 45 on each side), and worked my legs.
By the time I got to Carol's Zumba class, I was exhausted. I did alright at the beginning, but by the end, I was dancing horribly. This is what happens when I get tired. Even Red Bull didn't help at this point. When I got home, I was very sleepy and sore. But this morning, I lost yet another pound. So it's working!
I have never been a big fan of working out alone. At least when my friends are with me, it feels more like fun. So these are the days that are the hardest, but I can't stop. Tonight OG has class, GB is going on vacay, and ZB, ZB2, and RB are not members of my gym, so it will be me, myself, and I. I can't wait til Friday when OG and I will hit the gym again. But other than that, I'll be on my own until Monday or Tuesday, when GB comes back. But I love seeing the numbers fall off the scale, so I'll keep doing my thing. TTFN :)
Let the gun show begin! Lolol just kidding)
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