My Trainer

Can I tell you how much I appreciate my trainer. She is the BEST! She works me hard and keeps me focused. She worries about my form the entire hour and doesn't let me slip. At first I believed that this was a real splurge spending money on a trainer. This is so out of character for me, but you know it has helped keep me motivated and going to the gym. I have gotten lots of new exercises that I can do at home or at the gym. She never makes me feel like I can't do anything. She is always surprised by my upper body strength no matter how many times she asks is that hard.... and I say "Nope not really" I always get the response "Then we will do more reps!" She is funny and makes the time fly by, as much as an hour of sweat and torture can fly by. I just want to say that I am really glad that I spent the extra dough and kept going to see her at the gym.
Today we did an hour of squats, lunges, crunches, rows, raises, pull downs, and obliques. You name it I worked tonight. I did 15 min on the bike before I met with her and then did a 15 min mile after my workout.

Moving on

I was supposed to meet with my trainer today, but she called me and said she would like it if we could skip today since we are doing Monday and Wednesday this week. She didn't want to over train me. I don't know if that is possible. I need all the help I can get, but since our company was still in town, we rescheduled. Bet you are thinking that I didn't go to the gym since I wasn't meeting with the trainer. You would be wrong. I went and put in 2 miles jog/walking on the treadmill and put in 5 miles on the stationary bike. I was very proud of myself that I got some time in at the gym.

While jog/walking on the treadmill I thought long and hard about my current state and where I need to be. I need to get healthy. I need to get in better shape. I was thinking to myself... "I used to be an athlete! If you were to look at me now you would never know that!" So I decided that I need to somehow get back to being more athletic. I am not sure if that means signing up for more events or finding a sport or what but I am going to try to find my groove. I don't want to be portly, pudgy or stout. I want to be lean, athletic and strong. I have decided that I am moving on. I am sure there will be times when I slip and times when I fall along the way but I just have to pick myself up and move on.

Rest of the Week Update

Thursday was my rest day. I planned it that way since I knew we had an event to attend that night and time would be tight. Evening went well my husband received an award. YEAH! The only downer part of the evening was sitting next to a super skinny blonde who refused dessert all together. I did pretty well even though I wanted to lick the plate clean of the dessert. It was super dewishus, but I only had 3 bites. Although even with just eating three bites sitting next to blondie made me feel guilty.... oh well.
Friday I had exercise planned. The gym closed their daycare for some reason for the weekend. Starting Thursday night and wont reopen till Monday. We also had company come in too. So no workout on friday.
Saturday I went to the gym. Nothing special. I did 30 min on the treadmill. Normally I would have run but I was getting some major pulling in my left ankle so I decided to walk @ 3.2-3.5 mph. So I got in 1.55 miles in 30 min. It was a quick workout cause I had to hurry home with groceries bought after workout to feed company.
Sunday I have a session with my trainer so I know I will get a good workout tomorrow. I am also signed up to see her on Monday and Wednesday too. All I can say is after my session on Wednesday my abs have been showing me how they really feel about 200+ crunches.
Now I am going to take this part of my blog to confess to anyone who reads this. My diet has been really bad the last couple of days. I just haven't been making the right choices. You would think with the last week of the challenge that I would be trying extra hard but I am actually doing the opposite. I am big with self sabotage. Not sure why I just give in to temptation. If anyone has any suggestions as to why I can do well for a couple of weeks and then I get in this mode of it doesn't matter and I let my effort slip, please tell me. It is not an issue of me not knowing everything I should do it is an issue of doing it. Got any ideas please share.

What a Wednesday

Woke up this morning with a throbbing, painful knee. Not sure if I did something to it carrying my little guy at the ball game or if running on Sunday and Monday. Whatever I did it hurt. I was bummed cause I had such a big day planned for Wednesday. An hour bike/jog and an hour with the trainer. I talked to my friendly neighborhood chiropractor who said he would work on my knee before I went to the gym. I got to the office at 7pm an hour before my 8pm appoinment with the trainer. I first iced it down. The lovely, handsome doctor came in a put some e-stem and acupuncture needles in all around the knee. Left that in for about 20 min. After that he worked it out by pressing every tender spot on my leg. Ouch! Then I worked it out some more on the foam roll. I stretched it and then he gave me a lovely neon pink taped knee. I can say that all of this really did help. The pain didn't totally go away but I wasn't limping when I left the office.
Met the trainer who noticed the ever so slight limp in my walk. She thought my toe was bothering me again. I had to tell her doctor's orders. No squats, no lunges and no plyometrics. So I ended up doing lots of core work. She had me do well over 250 crunches by the time the hour was up. I also did lots of upper body work. Between what I did at the gym for upper body and carrying around my 44lb son at the ball game, my arms are screaming at me. I can say I got a great workout with the trainer. She worked me hard and I was sweating at the end. We also talked about training programs. Come to find out she is planning on doing the San Antonio 1/2 marathon too. She shared with me her training plan. She is also doing the Nike+ event at the end of August. I got an email on it just the day before. I am thinking about doing it. I am going to ask the ladies in my group if they are interested. Back to the good stuff... After my workout with Nina I was supposed to do 45 min on the Bike and a 15 min Run/Walk. Because of the knee I opted to skip the Bike (which sometimes agravates my knee) and go for a moderate mile walk. I did a mile walk in 20 minutes. Nothing to write home over but my knee felt pretty good while doing the walk.

Note: Woke up Thursday morning and knee is so much better!!! Not all pain is gone but it has really calmed down.

Rest Day- Baseball Game

Today was my rest day. Boy I needed it after the running I have done the two previous days. It has been awhile since I have been able to full on workout (cardio). I was really looking forward to resting today.
Tonight we went to an Astros baseball game. We had a great time. I split french fries and chicken tenders w/my son and then had a couple of my husbands nachos which is what I really wanted. Overall I didn't do too bad. I could have eaten more but didn't. Usually I would have eaten a whole bowl of supreme nachos w/chili, cheese, sour cream and jalepenos by myself. So only having a couple wasn't bad.
Moving in the right direction.
Today the latest Challenge results came out for this past week. I am still hanging in there at #5. I did some math though and to have a real shot at winning or even moving up I would have to drop about 5 lbs this week. I will give it my best shot.

Monday

The start of a brand new week. This morning I weighed-in for the challenge since I was away yesterday. I was down 1 lb. I was just glad I was not up a whole bunch from last week when I was sick and from being on vacation. Total for the Challenge so far I am down 10lbs. That was my goal for the whole 4 weeks. I have now reached it in 3. Pretty unbelievable.

This is my Triathlon Plan for the week mixed with my 1/2 Marathon plan
Monday—2 miles RUN, 20 min BIKE
Tuesday—REST
Wednesday—45 min BIKE followed by 15 min jog/walk (1 hour total) - TRAINER DAY
Thursday—REST
Friday—40 min jog straight
Saturday—70 min bike straight, 20 laps of swimming optional
Sunday—15 min jog (middle 5 minutes faster), 5 minute walk x 3 (45 min total of jogging)

So far I am doing well. Tonight I did 1 mile in 15min. That is mostly jogging at 4mph with 3 one min walks at 3mph and a little 4.5mph in the last minute. Then I walked between 3-3.5mph for another half mile. Didn't finish two but I needed to get home. Before the run I did 20 minutes on the stationary bike at level 7-10 which gave me a total of 7 miles.

Vacation

This past Thursday through Sunday we had a mini family vacation. It was a great time. We went to San Antonio where my hubby was having a work convention. We got in at @ 3:30am on Thursday. Got moving that morning for our trip to Sea World. I have never been and it was wonderful. Got lots of cardio in walking in the 100° weather. Later we walked around the Riverwalk. I believe I walked over 6.5 miles on Thursday. The diet went pretty well. I ate much better than I normally would have. Friday was more walking. We took my son to the Children's Museum.... can you say death by stairs....up and down... and up and down again. wow. I think I got in about 5 miles and then later that night I went to the hotel exercise room for a little cardio. I did a mile on the treadmill and 5 miles on the bike. Saturday was pretty much a wash as far as exercise and cardio. Too much going on topped off by a formal affair that evening. Sunday was a great day for my diet. My crowning achievement was salads all day. I know you are saying no big deal but the second salad was while the rest of my family was eating Double Dave's pizza buffet. I was so proud of myself. Tonight I went to the gym and did 5 minutes on the rowing machine as a warm-up. Then I did 3 miles on the treadmill and finished in @ 40 min. Not sure of the exact timing but I was proud of myself for this as well since I ran most of the 3 miles. That is a big improvement. I am worried about my weigh-in tomorrow morning. Not sure if I kept off all of the weight I dropped last week while sick. I haven't been anywhere near a scale in 4 days so I have no way of knowing what my weight will be. Did I gain back all of the 6lbs I lost last week. Did I keep those off? or Did I keep those off and lose some more? I guess we will find out tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Wednesday.... Please be over soon....

Can I just tell you I woke up with the worst migraine this morning. It is better but still killing me. Let's just say I have had a rough morning. Everything took longer than it should. I just want to crawl back in bed with the covers over my head. I still haven't packed for our trip. We leave tonight and I am so not ready.
Ok back to things you want to read about. On the working out front I met with my trainer last night and did an abs and butt workout. So today I wont be able to sit or stand without discomfort. I also did two slow miles yesterday. I need to get my training back on track so I started last night. Now that my toe is almost healed I believe I can get back to working out more often. Who would have thought a little toe could cause so much trouble.
On the scale this morning still down. I am still down 8 lbs from last presickness weight. I am so curious to see what the scale will tell me next Monday when I get back from my trip. Hopefully it will be good news. Oh before I forget... Congrats to Jodie #1 (4.7%)on the weight loss challenge overall for week #2!!!! I didn't do too shabby myself. I came in at a respectable #5 (3.96%)overall out of 59 people. Now the challenge will be can we stay near the top.

Snoozing Pays Off!

Come to find out if you snooze sometimes you lose. Last night after we got home I passed out from exhaustion. I just couldn't hold my eyes open. I slept hard. I can't remember when I have slept more soundly. I hadn't slept the night before. I believe it was the antihistamines that I have been taking to get rid of this gnasty croup I have. I must have taken it too close to bed time cause I tossed and turned and didn't sleep the night before. This morning I woke up feeling so much better than the previous 3 days. My throat feels so much better. My lymph nodes are now the size of large marbles instead of golf balls. I am on the mend.

Missed my workout last night but I am going to make up for it today.

Alright now to the lose part. I got curious to see how much of the 6 lb loss from me being sick had I put back on. I stepped on the scale and to my utter surprise, amazement and astonishment I was down another 3 lbs. So with this illness I have lost 9 lbs in 4 days. I am sure that some of it will come back but boy it is so nice to see those beautiful smaller numbers on that scale.

Wow- What a loss

Let's just say I was expecting a loss but not such a big one. Of course I spent the whole day prior hugging the porcelain god and couldn't even keep down any water. So I guess I should have been surprised when I saw the 6 lb weight loss this morning. I contemplated whether or not turn in that loss for the challenge since next week I am sure that I will be up, but alas I wanted to see my name up near the top of the list. Even if it is only for a time. Let me just tell you how beautiful that number on the scale was this morning. I haven't seen that number in quite awhile, atleast 8-9 months. Since I was home alone today I took some time to take my body measurements and look at my past measurements. I was struck by how long I have been overweight. I have been 30-60 lbs over my ideal weight for the last 9 years. I didn't realize it had been that long since I had been at my ideal weight. It was a real eye opener. I always say I want to lose weight. The scale will go down a few pounds....I will get comfortable... the scale will go up a few more... and so my weight has been climbing for the last 10 years. I have had a few spots of weight loss but nothing major. I want things to be different this time. I have been so inspired by so many people this year. I am hoping that their accomplishments will motivate me to make a difference. I believe that this month long weight loss challenge is helping me start to reach my goal of being a thinner, healthier me!

Change in plans

Can you say "Sick as a dog!" I have spent all day with the worst pain, fever, upset stomach, sinus drainage. I have not been able to eat anything all day and when I try lets just say it comes back to visit. So I was not able to go back to LA for the weekend. I was worried about eating too much LOL who would have thought I would be eating nothing at all. Oh well the scale/weigh in for the challenge should be really good this week. Being sick for that to happen really bites though.

Back to LA

This weekend we are going to Louisiana for some family functions. Tomorrow we will be attending my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party. On Sunday we will be having a Father's Day BBQ at my brother-in-law's house. So all weekend will be temptation in the food department and not much opportunity to workout. I will bring my running shoes and try to get some movement in. I am very worried about the weigh-in on Monday. Maybe that will keep me in check over the weekend. Boy I hope so!

I am really looking forward to losing 20 lbs now. The other day I told Jodie that when I lost 20 lbs she could come shopping with me for new outfits. Note to Jodie: I need cute clothes in my closet and you need to shop so....... help me take off that 20 real fast!

Depending on how Maddox's day went I might try taking him to the gym tonight so that I can get some cardio done before we leave in the morning. One of my goals this weekend is to take some time and really plan out my diet and excercise for the upcoming week. Since we will be headed out of town next Wednesday night for several days in San Antonio. Another reason I have to be good this weekend.... I have a formal to attend next Saturday night. Need to be able to fit in my dress. Note to self: Go home and try on dress.. you may not be able to eat again until after next Saturday night.

Have a great weekend!

Getting Back in the Groove

I need to get back in the groove of working out. I always feel better after I work out. You know that feeling of soreness and accomplishment. Then there is the feeling of pride when you can tell people. "I workout." I like it when I tell people that I do triathlon's and they are usually are like "Wow" but maybe it is because they look at me and think "Really your big ol' butt can do that!" which I guess is kind of a complement in itself. I miss my regular training and trips to the gym that pretty much were the norm in the months of March and April. May was really a dud month for me. I am trying to get refocused in June but the toe injury has really thrown my plan a curve ball. It is sooo much better, but still gives me a little trouble when I try to run. This week however my problem has not been my toe it has been finding the time to go to the gym. I can't wait until my son's swimming lessons are finished which will be at the end of the month. Then I can swim with him when we go to our pool and mommy can get some time in the pool too. I haven't been swimming in soooo long. I mean lap swimming.
I think it is time for me to come up with some sort of schedule for my training. Not what to do but when I am going to do what I have planned. Then maybe me and the hubby can plan around it and make it more part of the day.
Last night I did 10 min on the rowing machine and then 10 min on the arm cardio machine. I did 50 crunches and about 25 bridges. Wall squats, cable squats, leg extensions, sitting squats on machine. Some upper body cable and dumbell work. I am a little sore today but not too bad.
For the first week of the challenge I posted in at 11th place with 1.32%. Jodie posted in at 10 with 1.36%. Nicole kicked our butts with her 5(7)lb loss for the week. So between the 3 of us I am in last place, but I am still very excited about my 3lb loss for last week. Being so close to the top of the list for the official challenge was very exciting. Made one think there might be a chance to win or atleast come close. This challenge has been very motivating.

Can't Wait

Waiting to see what Viv posts for the first weigh-in for the Weight Loss Challenge. Waiting on my husband to be home long enough for me to workout. Waiting....Waiting....
........
I know I am not supposed to do this but this morning I jumped on the scale(even though it was not a weigh-in day). It showed a couple pounds lighter than Sunday's weigh-in. I went to the bathroom a zillion times it seemed like yesterday. So I am sure the loss is all water weight. Now if I could just make it to the gym.
Last night I planned to go but my son had a major meltdown and there was no way I was taking him anywhere especially to the gym. Then by the time we got back from dropping off the car and then putting Maddox to bed it was after 9pm and I didn't want to be getting back from the gym around 11pm. I have done it before but last night was just not one of those nights. So you are asking why don't you work out in the morning like all of your good gym going buddies. Well the last two mornings my hubby told me the night before that he was getting up in the morning Monday to help out with a Fitness Boot Camp Class that his buddy is teaching and Tuesday to get some paperwork done at the office. He slept through both of them. I hadn't set my alarm to get up early cause he had it planned already. When I woke up and saw him still sleeping I was disappointed in missing that prime workout time. Tonight Maddox has swimming lessons so hopefully I can get in a late workout.

Sunday Weigh Day

So this morning I weighed in....down 3lbs. I was very surprised as I was not expecting any loss what so ever. I feel like I am retaining a ton of fluid and I have not been able to do much working out this week with the toe.

Went to the gym this morning started on the treadmill and realized my toe is not quite ready for what I wanted to do. So I did 10min for a little over a half mile. Then I got on the bike and did 15 min and completed 3 miles. I am glad that I have made it to the gym. I have so been lacking in that area this past week.

My steps for the week:
Saturday-6016
Friday-8081
Thursday-7490
Wednesday-13334
Tuesday-6100
Monday-6081
Sunday-3258

I am very proud of my numbers cause it hurt a lot to get there.

Healthy Reflections from Spark People

A man who wants something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse. - Stephen Dolley Jr.

Do you see possibilities or problems?

It's been said that some of the smartest people around would make lousy entrepreneurs. How can that be? The fact is, some people are so smart they can easily see all of the problems, roadblocks, and snafus that they'll need to overcome to succeed. They can think of all kinds of reasons why their idea won't work. This knowledge can overwhelm any thoughts of possibilities or dreams. When you think of your goals, do you focus on the positives of making it happen, or the negatives of potential barriers? To reach your goals, you gotta really want them. More importantly, you gotta really believe that you can do it. Think more about why you CAN make it happen instead of why you can't. No more excuses.

Whoa Wednesday

My big news of the day... I put a shoe on my foot. Not a flip flop but a real shoe and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There were moments of pain but nothing I couldn't grit my teeth through. So you know me I have to push my limits on things. When Nicole and Jodie wanted to walk after work I said "Sure if I can put a tennis shoe on I am there!" Well I got that shoe on and proceeded to limp around the track with them for 2 miles. I am very proud of myself. We did it in 38:38. Nothing to write home about but they were walking with me. It started hurting a little afterwards but nothing terrible. I am waiting till the morning to see if I irritated it too bad or if I can keep doing more things.
Tonight I went to my trainer, Nina at the gym. I did a 5 minute rowing workout before she got to me. Then I gave her the bad news about my toe. So she had me do 10 minutes throughout the hour workout of this upper body cardio machine. It is like doing cycling with your arms. I did lots of upper body circuits and probably will be feeling it tomorrow since when we were done my muscles were jumping all over the place. I have an appointment to see Nina on Monday and Wednesday next week so we will see how that goes.
On another note I ate really well today.
Breakfast - Breakfast Bar w/ diet coke
Snack - Protein shake
Lunch - Weight Watches frozen meal
Dinner - Salad and a piece of turkey jerky
Snack - Protein water and another piece of turkey jerky
Also I must note my steps for the week so far.
Monday - 6081
Tuesday -6100
Wednesday- 13329
Not too bad for a gimp with a broken toe...

401h

Nope I didn't type that wrong. I read the best little article in one of my fitness mags. It was about retirement. How people take the time to sock away money in the 401k for retirement but don't take the time to take care of themselves. It made a good point about how even if you save up a ton of money on retirement if you have health problems from not taking care of yourself and investing in yourself and your health for the future the money wont matter. You wont be able to properly enjoy all of your hard work. So after reading that I am going to do my best to invest in my own 401h (my 401 health plan) to make sure I am able to enjoy my life in the years to come. To be part of it and not just spectator on the sidelines. Just thought I would take a minute to share that on my blog incase anyone else gets as much out of it as I did.

Tuesday Update

The toe is healing. I can put some weight on it and it isn't excrusiatingly painful anymore. I am hoping to be able to stop walking dragging my feet and be able to put on some real shoes soon. I am going to try to get my feet in some sneakers for tomorrow so that I can get to my workout with my trainer.
Last night I did get my 50+ situps done and even with the toe issue I still got 6081steps for the day. So not too bad for a gimp. I have also been eating well. I have had a salad for lunch both Monday and Tuesday. I had a protein bar for breakfast yesterday and a small kolache this morning. Last night for dinner I had a roast beef sandwich and ice tea.
I am looking forward to starting my Half Marathon workout plan along with getting my triathlon plans back up to speed. I am bummed though. There are two really great triathlons in the next couple of weeks that I will not be able to make. The first one is in Clearlake on the 14th but my aunt and uncle are having their 50th wedding anniversary and it is Father's Day weekend. So we will be in LA. Then the next weekend there are is another triathlon and a 5k that I would love to do but we will be in San Antonio for a convention that weekend. At this point I am not sure when my next triathlon will be. I am trying to decide whether to just focus on the two main ones I want to do in October or try to do some other ones before then. I still need to get a new bike and I haven't even had the time to start looking yet. I need to do that soon.

Goals for the Week

My goals for the week are to do whatever it takes to get my toe in running/walking shape again. Do 50 crunches per day. Walk as much as I can. I originally wanted to make sure I did 10000 steps per day but I don't know if I will be able to do that this week. I will give it my best shot though. I will post my food consumption on Spark all week.

Ohhhh My Aching Toe!

Had a few friends over to the house last night to celebrate the new job I start tomorrow. Before the gathering really got under way I was looking for straws in the pantry when a bottle of apple cider vinegar fell from the top shelf and landed on my second toe. All I can say is "Wow the pain" It hurts to put pressure on my foot. I get a shooting pain up the leg when anything touches that toe. So I limped around for the rest of the evening.
I had such grand plans for this week. I just started a weight loss challenge with some friends for 30 days and they will have about a week up on me. My doctor took some x-rays. Beautiful portraits of my foot. I wanted to frame them they came out so well. The damage was at the tip of the toe near the nail. Nothing that will hinder a complete recovery or warrants surgery but I will have a rough week of recovery. It was suggested that I immerse my foot in ice water.....oooch. So tonight I am going to take one of the ice chests from last night and put my foot in the leftover ice. I hate soaking anything in ice.
So here is to a week of not too much cardio going on here.