This is how I feel..

Fashionably Late - Sarah's Weight Loss Blog: Back in the saddle again.: Doubt. Confusion. Chaos.   Defeat. Unbalance. These are a few of my (least) favorite things. As you know, they have been some of the most...

..and this is what I must do.

getting back on track..

I know you are all waiting on my new blog about how I've been running and all that jazz.. well.. I haven't...

BUT I am down to 231.2!!!!!

Failtober

Well at least in the weight loss/working out respect.

Thankfully I have not gained any weight. I am hovering right around 235 or a little below. Today I actually weighed in at 233.8.

However, I have not been working out.. like at all.. SHAME ON ME! Especially when ya'll were so psyched about the couch to 5k. I promised and failed. Sorry.

In the other aspects of my life, I have been doing well. I got a full time job (which is a factor in the not-working-out thing). I joined Gold's Gym (doesn't open until November 1, but still).

SO.. what does this mean? Well, it means I need to find a way to get in the running even though I'm working every weekday from 7:30am - 4:30pm. Any suggestions? Now, PLEASE take into consideration that I am NOT a morning person.. like at all.. These early mornings are killing me.

Starting on Monday. I. will. work. out. promise. Or as I make my kids do at preschool, pinky promise.

Counting Calories

Today is my resting day as far as working out goes, so I thought I'd talk to you about counting calories.

I am currently using the website my fitness pal. It's a great resource for providing a community of people and support as well as a calorie tracker, workout tracker, and calorie tracker. They even have a free app for your smartphone! (If you're smart enough to have one of those.. I'm not yet.. haha) I also used to use Spark people and still keep up with their blogs because they have some great tips as well. If you're just wanting to count calories and not have a tracker, I would suggest calorie king.

Today could have been better as far as calories went, BUT I did really really well. I just adjusted my calorie count down by about 200 calories, so I wasn't sure how well I would do with that. However, today I hit my new calorie goal EXACTLY. I was so proud. Especially since I ate Long John Silver's popcorn shrimp for lunch.. with fries.. and hushpuppies..

BUT I ate two big helpings of meatless taco salad for dinner. Lettuce, homemade guacomole, tomatoes, and black beans with a little green salsa on the top.. SCRUMPTIOUS! That kept me on track for my calorie goal today. I'm very proud of myself.

I promise it looked better in person.. dumb camera phone..

It's also a good thing knowing that my mom knows that I'm trying to eat healthier. When I shake my head at bacon-wrapped hot dogs (no lie, she suggested this.. she was on pinterest), she understands it's not that I'm saying no to her suggestion because I'm being picky. I'm just being healthy! Especially due to my slight lack of control at lunch today.

In other news, I have at least a couple people who are interested in doing the Couch to 5k with me starting in October. I would totally be up for having an accountability group either here or on facebook. It would be wonderful for me considering my sister the runner (mentioned previously) is not home to force encourage me to go on runs. So, what do you think? Who's up for it? Let  me know in the comments! Feel free to make suggestions about whether or not we should make a facebook page or whatnot. Love ya'll. It's bedtime. Stay healthy!

Healthy Choices Aren't Easy

Trust me. I know. That's why this weight has been on me for so long. When I was in high school.. and if I'm being honest probably most of my life.. I ate whatever tasted good: cheeseburgers, fries, pizza.. if it's unhealthy and tasted good, I probably ate it. Not to say I didn't eat good foods. I loved fruit and some vegetables growing up. I just didn't connect the fact that I was fat to what I was eating.

I probably weighed my most in high school. I never actually weighed myself, but I was pretty big. Tomorrow I will hunt down some old photos that I can share with you. My first semester of college I lost 15 lbs.. just because I walked to my classes and around campus. Pitiful, but it was weight loss. I returned home and everyone noticed. That's when I realized I needed to do something. My second semester I was required to go to the gym for one of my classes. I lost more weight. I don't know the exact amount, but I was probably somewhere around 240 or 245.. which is where I basically stayed [or varied up and down from] for a while.

Now.. This morning, I weighed in at 231.8. I call that a victory. I know I may have weighed less at some point during my journey in life, but as long as the number is going in the downward direction.. I'm happy.

Today, my healthy choice was not eating the fried cheese melt at Denny's. Instead, I ordered a veggie burger with lots of delicious veggie toppings and the only condiment I used on it was mustard. I'm proud of myself.

Also, as someone who was called fat a lot.. I'm going to put this on my scale when I buy my own. Love J.K. Rowling.

I know what you're thinking..

"She hasn't posted in a while. She must be completely off her goals. That's the only time she doesn't post."

Well, I'm proud to say that you.. would be wrong.

I have consistently [mostly] been working out every morning to my Bob Harper dvd. I actually quite enjoy it.. not the workout, but how it makes me feel afterwards.

I feel:

• accomplished
• energized
• alive
• powerful
• amazing

and many other words that you can come up with on your own.

This doesn't mean I am going to stop posting. I just hadn't had anything entertaining to post.. and sometimes it feels as if I have no readers..  it's just the way it feels when you blog and there's no comments.. no comments = no readers..

I am going to continue doing this for myself. To keep myself accountable.. plus I just like blogging. It's fun! 

This month's goal has been to make working out a consistent habit of mine. I am going to be starting a new job soon, so it will be interesting to see how I can continue to make exercise a priority when I actually have more of a schedule than what my parents have me do around the house.

Being about 11 days out from October, I think I can share my October goal with you. My goal for October [and November..and possibly December.. it's a 9 week (approximately) goal] is to complete the Couch to 5k program. I want to be able to run a 5k by Christmas.. without stopping. Preferably sooner. My sister is a big runner and I'd love to go running with her for real.. and keep up. Rather than her slowing to my pace. *fingers crossed*

I hope we can run and talk like this :)

Honesty time..

I did not want to get out of bed today. I did not want to work out today. I was (and still am) sore all over. I thought.. no one will know.. I can just sleep in until 10.. it'll all be good..

Well I can tell you the sleeping in did happen, however.. when I got out of bed (already in my work out clothes) and found that there was no one in the house.. I remembered my brother wasn't going to be home until noon.. MY EXCUSE HAD VANISHED!

It became my choice. Was I going to CHOOSE to sit on the couch and watch tv or lounge around on the computer? Or was I going to CHOOSE to put in that dvd and do the workout? Guess what?

I DID IT!!!

I conquered my own lazy self and worked out.. and I did the full hour!

I am so excited and proud of myself.. you have no idea! INSERTING HAPPY DANCE HERE>>>

I am writing this blog to keep me motivated, but man it is still hard to keep going. I'll see ya'll later.. If I can ever stop watching this happy dance!

Oh and p.s. going on a retreat this weekend. May not be updating for a couple days. Love ya'll!

I Hate Bob Harper

and I mean that in the nicest way possible. I just did the 1 hour strength workout from this dvd >>>>>

I had only done the 20 minute beginner session before today (actually I did it yesterday too) and thought that it was hard, but not hard enough. If I want to burn off all the extra fat that I have suffocating the best me inside, I needed to step it up. Bob was going to help me do that.

And boy did he  help. Only 15 minutes in, I was already in body-shaking pain. Now, this may be because I am an incredibly out of shape over 220 lb woman trying to keep up with the likes of Bob Harper and his helpful fitness gurus.. but I like to think that it burned just as much for them. (Actually at the end of the workout, Bob has to start yelling at them to keep going and they were yelling out in the extreme effort it took them to do it.. it made me feel a lot better about how hard I thought it was)

I was planning on rewarding myself with a really long hot shower.. however, my legs could only hold me up for so long.. so it was a short rewarding shower haha!

Yesterday, I talked to someone who reads my blog and she told me how well she thought I was doing and that was really encouraging to me (thanks Kelsey!) In return, I was able to encourage her to get started. She is going to start the 30-day shred with Jillian Michaels. Good luck, Kelsey!

I'd love to hear what some of the rest of you are planning on doing to reach your fitness goals. The end of 2012 is closer than we think. I do NOT want losing weight to be my number one New Year's Resolution AGAIN. I REFUSE. Talk to me.. I'd love to hear from you.

And to finish off, here's a funny gif to explain why I like to work out by myself at home sometimes..

What I think I look like while working out..

What I actually look like.

Vacation stinks..

..for my diet..blehh..

I had a very enjoyable 2 week vacation with my family to go to Illinois and drop off my sister at school. We then zig-zagged back home across Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. It was a great time, but...

I ate awfully. Not all the time, but most of the time. The problem with constantly being on the road is constantly eating junk. Whether it's pizza in the hotel room or stopping off at McDonald's or something similar and snarfing it down before jumping back in the car.

Also, it meant I didn't work out as often as I should have. One day at my grandparent's house, I went for a run with my sister, and that was great. Also, we walked at a couple zoos A LOT.. but it still wasn't enough.. I gained quite a bit of weight back..

This does NOT mean I will quit. This does NOT mean I'm giving up. This does NOT mean I won't reach my goals.

I have found a new motivation. I have mentioned the Shaytards and Shay Carl in previous posts, and he has a weight loss motivation month this month called Shaytember. Below is a video that inspired me at first. I hope it inspires you too.

Join me for Shaytember. Just do it.

Carry on..

..my wayward so-o-o-on. There'll be peace when you are do-one. Lay your weary head to re-e-e-est. Don't you cry no more!

Well here I am on the road quoting Kansas songs from Kansas. In some way I can relate the song to both my physical journey and my weight loss journey. The song encourages you to carry on, telling you that there will be peace when you have reached the end of what you are doing. So, keep working out! When you finally get to your end goal, you will be so happy! You just have to believe in yourself and keep working to get there. Then you will get to lay your weary head down for a rest.. at least for a while :) So, please don't cry. Don't know if that makes any sense at all to anyone else, but just thought I'd share.

So, I was planning on working out in the hotel gym today.. however, our hotel had a different idea.. The shower is broken.     Which means I am most definitely not making myself a sweaty gross mess before I have to be in a car with other people for hours. HOWEVER, that did not stop me from working out. So, my sister and I just did strength exercises.

p.s. I am still sore from the Bob Harper workout.. and sitting in a car doesn't help..

So today I did:

40 squats, 40 leg raises, 40 1-leg bridges, 56 sideways lunges (my sister does more and I lost count and followed her), 40 pendulum lunges, and 20 push-ups!

Getting back into the swing of things..

Well by 10am today, I worked out, showered, and am now watching the opening ceremonies of the London Olympics.. Now, some of you are saying "wait a minute..aren't the Olympics already over?" Those of you who have been following my blog know that I have been out of the country for the past month and a half. Thankfully, my parents got a nice, big dvr and recorded my most favorite events.

I had a wonderful time teaching overseas, but I did get out of the habit of working out and eating healthy. Yes, Asian food is more healthy in some aspects, but they also LOVE to feed you when you come to visit.. A LOT. So, coming back is interesting. I am also craving all the junk that I missed out on while being gone. Things such as pizza, pasta, and basically anything but rice.

Today, I am marking as my official starting day. I have been trying, but have failed, before now.

Anyways, I believe I told you about my Bob Harper dvd before.

Well, today I did it. The 20 minute version that is.. not the full hour yet. I'm easing myself back in. However, the 20 minutes were difficult enough to scare me about the hour. I had also done some arm exercises before. Led by my sister of course.. 

I am sore, but not incredibly.. I have a feeling that I will be feeling it later..I know my arms feel it now.

Team Bob

I don't know how many of you out there are Biggest Loser fans, but if you are you'll understand my title this week. I just bought this new dvd to work out to (if anyone can motivate me, Bob can) once I get back [i'll explain in a moment]

i'm scared/excited

also, when I return I am going to try running. I know, I know. I hate running too. But I really think it's only because of a bad experience with it in high school. P.E. finals anybody? So, I will be doing the Couch to 5k. I'm also going to try to get as many people in on it with me as I can. Motivation and teamwork.

Finally, to answer everyone's question. I am going to be gone for 6 weeks! I will be working with Footsteps Missions by serving in China and South Korea teaching English to elementary children in an English camp setting. It's going to be hard, but it's also going to be an amazing experience. Hopefully I won't gain too much weight eating delicious korean food, but if I do, Bob will be here to kick my butt!

Inspiration

Even if you don't need it, I sure do.

Whoops!

Sorry ya'll I promised you a blog post yesterday.. and ended up video chatting all night instead! However, do not be too disappointed in me because I didn't intentionally work out, but I did do the laundry. Now, don't judge me yet. I don't do laundry very often.. so there was A LOT of it. Also, my house is a split level. My bedroom is on the top floor. The laundry room is in the basement. Workout? I think so. Word.

Today, I will be traveling all day to a conference. So, I'm hoping that after the conference I'll get a dip in the pool as my workout today. Here's hoping. Don't know when I'll get a chance to post next.

Here's to health.

Reminder

I haven't worked out for 4 days.. This is what I saw on Pinterest today from my lovely friend Faith and then again in her blog.

I'm not a quitter. I will keep going.

I've hit a plateau as far as my weight goes. I'm fluctuating a little bit, but I'm sticking around the same number of poundage. I'm not working out and every once in a while my diet sucks. I need to get back on the wagon again. TOMORROW. If you don't see a blog from me tomorrow, feel free to be incredibly disappointed.

I'm trying

Today I did Bombshell Abs baby! I may work out more today if I feel like it.. I may not. I'll keep you posted. I'm feeling lazy today

Note: side crunches replaced with penguins

I did it.

The ninety-nine. By myself. Complete with the oh-so-wretched jumping jacks.. [minus the 11 minute run still, but hey it's the small triumphs that matter right?] Also, did I tell you it was at 8pm? That is usually the point in my night where I'm ready to be in my pj's and relaxing.. just sayin' BUT I overcame the urge to veg out and watch tv... any longer..

Also, today I ate fairly healthy! :)

This was my lunch today. Salad with a bit of chicken on the top and veggies and water! :) Dinner was chicken and rice and I didn't eat too much even though I was starving from eating just veggies for lunch. Then after dinner.. and some tv. I worked out.

I'm hoping with more days like this I can get over this plateau that I am at right now. Wish me luck!

Starting weight: 237 lbs

Current weight: 233 lbs

Goal weight: 165 lbs [by Christmas]

An Inspirational Moment

So today was a glorious day in my life..

my mom was planning on buying me a shirt and I wasn't with her to try it on. I told her that I was a large because that's what I've been for the past year or so.. she said it looked big so I had to try on one of my younger brother's shirts to see if a size medium was too small.. IT WASN'T!!!

[you can buy this shirt here]

I honestly can't remember the last time I wore a size medium shirt.. now given it was a men's/unisex size medium and not those dainty "women's cut" size medium.. [which who knows if I'll ever fit!].. but it's a BIG step in the right direction. 

Being completely honest with you, I have been really discouraged lately.. and wondering if it is all really going to happen.. Questions like "am i really going to be able to do this on my own?" "is Christmas realistic?" and doubts like "there's no way that i'll be one of those girls that inspires others" "I can't do this for this long" "it's all just gonna come back" 

BUT the size medium shirt felt SO GOOD.. that i was re-inspired by myself! Imagine that. I've inspired my first person.. myself. And if that's all I do, then that's okay with me. :)

Good Cop, Bad Cop

or should I say good day, bad day? Yesterday I had a decently good day. I went out and threw a baseball around with my younger brother. I also learned how hard my brother can throw! Yikes! However, he is also not very accurate which meant.. lots of running to get the ball.. good and bad. I also did better at eating healthier..

Today......well let's just say it was one of those days where I made excuses. I kept thinking "I should work out," but it never came to pass.. also didn't eat healthy AT ALL today. I feel awful. I was reading my friend Faith's blog today and what she said really explained how I feel.


"What I chose to eat, was not what I should have chosen. I know this because when I eat food that I shouldn't eat, I start feeling bad. When I eat good food, I feel good. Makes sense, right? So then why on earth would I choose to eat bad food? Well, because it's there."

Today, I chose to eat bad food because it tastes good, but later I felt almost physically ill from eating it. I will try and remember today when I am tempted in the future. More is not necessarily better. I can and will make healthy choices.

Also, I'm in charge of meals for this upcoming week that my mother is gone. Ready or not dad and younger brother. I'm coming with a barrage of healthy food.

[also.. they're kinda picky eaters.. so if anyone has any good recipe suggestions or websites.. I'd appreciate the help]

Starting weight: 237
Current weight: 233
Goal weight: 165

5... 4... 3.. 2.. 1... Blastoff!

Beware: this is harder than it looks.. I only did it through once and it kicked my butt! I'm gonna go collapse on my couch with some water now..
Starting weight: 237 lbs
Current weight: 233 lbs
Goal weight: 165 lbs
Weight lost: 4 lbs
Weight to lose: 68 lbs

Changes

Well, my sister is gone. This is mostly to blame for my lack of working out.. She's off to a great start at her new internship and has more motivation in her skinny little pinky finger than I have had in my entire body lately. I PROMISE tomorrow will have a posted workout for ya'll to see. My new motivational partner in crime, Faith, will make sure of it. [no pressure right Faith?] Do check out her blog as well. She and I have an almost identical amount of weight to lose. Not sure of her goal date, but i'm sure she'll tell me haha.

In other words, I am working on my struggle with the diet side of this journey as well. Today's meals may not sound amazing to you, but they are much better than they could have been. Lunch was 1 [only 1] piece of pizza and cottage cheese with pineapple. Dinner was rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed garlic asparagus, and this yummy cucumber tomato salad thing with beans and sunflower seeds in it. My late night snack was an apple and I even convinced my mom not to go to Dairy Queen for blizzards [so tough for me to deny that craving]. Overall, a good day.

Starting weight: 237
Current weight: 233.4
Goal weight: 165

Some days...

...this is what I feel like. This is a shirt design I found online and it got me to thinking. Am I being true to myself? I hope the answer is yes. Unlike this picture, I hope that I am not striving to be something I am not. Someday I want people to look at before and after pictures of me and be inspired. [Wouldn't that be cool?] I want to be an influence on others to get healthy like I am. I hope I'm that to you who read this blog. Confession: unlike this picture, I also did not work out today.. sorry.

Starting weight: 237 lbs

Current weight: 233.4 lbs

Goal weight: 165 lbs

[you do the math.. i'm done]

My Apologies

I am so sorry that I have not been on here the last couple days. Honestly, it's because there hasn't been much to report. I've been feeling awful and the only reason I've been wearing sweats the past couple days is because I don't feel like doing much of anything. However, I do have some good news to report today. I am still losing weight [not much, but it's SO much better than gaining]. I lost .6 more lbs! That's almost another full pound. I know when I get back on my workout plan that I'll be back on track for my goal!

Speaking of my goal: I am going to more specifically lay out the plan for ya'll. I plan on reaching my goal weight [165 lbs] by CHRISTMAS! That's right. The plan is December 25, 2012. Hopefully the world doesn't end before we get there haha!

Also, I have a couple rewards in place for certain weight loss goals. They are both cheesy workout shirts [because what's better than that for a reward eh?] My two goals are 25 lbs lost and 50 lbs lost. When I finally reach my goal weight.. well that's a big reward in itself :) [if i think of a good reward for that, then I'll definitely let you know. AND when I reach my goals [and get the shirts to prove it] I'll post some progress pictures.

sneak peek: one of my goal shirts

Starting weight: 237 lbs

Current weight: 233.4 lbs

Goal weight: 165 lbs

Weight to lose: 68.4 lbs

Weight lost: 3.6 lbs

Perserverance

Hey ya'll. Today I didn't feel very good.. so needless to say, I did NOT want to work out. However, my lovely sister and I figured out something that would be fun as well as a workout. We went down to the local tennis courts which were empty [Thank goodness] and played until I could not anymore.. [which was about 20 minutes, but hey better than nothing] It was very hot today and since neither of us is very good at tennis, we did a lot of running around gathering the tennis balls and running after balls which were hit into the other courts.. After I was spent, we walked to my old high school track [ohh the horrible and great memories made there] and my sister ran the bleachers while I timed her.. [maybe some day I'll join her]

Beast Mode. On.

Today was another 99 day, and man was it hard! I wasn't as sore after yesterday's workout as usual which means I AM getting stronger, but I was also getting really exhausted by the end of the 99 still.. I'm not sure why this is.. maybe it's because we are cycling the "easier" workouts with the "harder" ones (describing words in quotes because that's how my sister describes them - not me) I don't know, but whatever it is, I powered through it. Until next time: Keep it classy ;)

I Work[ed] Out

Today (Monday) we did a couple of our usual workouts. I hope not to be as sore tomorrow as the last times we did these.. We'll see... 

Note: We actually held the bridge until the end of a song (Somebody that I Used to Know by Gotye) not sure on the exact time we started it in the song, but just thought I'd clarify.

Note: instead of the side crunches, we did 100 penguins :)

Starting Weight: 237

Current Weight: 234

Goal Weight: 165

Weight to Lose: 69

3 down. 69 to go.

I'VE LOST 3 LBS! And for all ya'll who are like "she's excited about 3 lbs?" Look at this picture below. I've almost lost that left one! So for any of you feeling discouraged when you "only" lose 1 lb. or whatever. Just look at that nasty fat and say buh-bye!

p.s. there may be another post today so look out for it! :D

Starting weight: 237 lbs
Current weight: 234 lbs
Goal weight: 165 lbs
Weight to lose: 69 lbs.
Weight LOST: 3 lbs! SQUEEEEEEE! [sorry not sorry]

Late Night Inspiration

Hey guys. I have to admit that this being healthy stuff.. it's hard for me. I have spent almost my entire life just eating what I want and not really thinking about it. Most of my life I've struggled with self-image issues and self-confidence issues. I can not truly remember a day when I was "skinny." It's taken me a while to realize that I had to do something about it (I realized it when I lost close to 30 lbs in college just from walking to classes), but that is why I am starting this journey to become healthier than I have ever been.

I am up late watching my favorite youtube family: the shaytards. I love watching their videos because they are a great example of a loving, quirky, funny family and I hope to have that someday. Also, Shay has lost 100 lbs! His wife's channel is actually a great help too. She talks about real issues and addresses questions from her followers. I was watching her videos tonight when I stumbled across this video called HEAD, HEART, MIRROR! If you are struggling with your weight loss, please watch it. It has truly re-inspired me.

In other news, today my sister and I played catch in the yard for about a half an hour.. and since we aren't pro softball players, the ball kinda went all over the place which meant a little bit of running to catch it. It was a really fun way to be active. After that, we had to go to the library to return books. We realized that the library is only about a mile away. Thus, we decided to walk there and back. It was a good workout. Plus, it's always nice to walk and talk with my sister about life and random things. :)

What's Life Without a Few Dragons?

My sister and I completed.. A HARRY POTTER WORKOUT!

Now: we did it to the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which may not have been the best movie to do it to, but still it was a whole lot more fun to do this than the 99. I think this workout would work a lot better with the beginning movies: especially Sorcerer's Stone.

Here's the total numbers for this movie workout:

jumping jacks x 180 [i jogged in place while my sister did jumping jacks]

push ups x 55

crunches x 80

sit-ups x 30

lunges x 50

bicycles x 70

Keep On Keeping On

Ok guys. Sorry for not blogging lately. Here's a quick recap.

Thursday: just did the abs this day while watching wheel of fortune haha!

Friday & Saturday: I ran a BAJILLION errands these two days to get stuff set up for my graduation party!!! WOO I GRADUATED! ok enough of that back to business.. I heard from somewhere that shopping carts weigh about 50 lbs.. so pushing that around for a couple days.. sounds like at least somewhat of a workout to me :) On another note: I used to push carts at my old job.. without the help of the cart pusher sometimes.. Good workout ;)

Sunday: rest day. also went to see Hunger Games for the 2nd time with my mom, younger brother, and sister :D Maybe I should do a HG workout one of these days.. hmm? what do you think?

Monday: I did it. again. the 99 minus the run. only this time I did cardio.. I either jogged in place or did some other form of cardio rather than the jumping jacks, but boy was I a lot more winded and a lot more sweaty this time.. BEAST MODE BABY!

TODAY. TODAY. TODAY. My sister and I have decided to change up our methods. It's kinda boring/easy to give up if you keep everything hum drum the same all the time. Today we walked/power walked on our town's bike/walking path. We live in Colorado so it was a great way to enjoy the scenery of our lovely state and get some exercise in. The path is somewhere between 3 and 4 miles (the portion we walked) so I figure it was good for today.

Etc. My diet hasn't been the best lately.. and as some of you know, a good diet is key to weight loss and later on weight maintenance. However, overall today I think I did better. Even ordered a salad at Wendy's. Craziness. Anybody got some awesome healthy recipes they'd be willing to share that aren't filled with super expensive ingredients? Hit me up. I'd love some feedback from ya'll.

p.s. I've got a surprise for you tomorrow. What's life without a few dragons?

Starting weight: 237 lbs

Current weight: 235 lbs

Goal weight: 165 lbs

Weight to lose: 70 lbs

No Pain. No Gain.

..or so they tell me. Today was overall painful. Every time I got up out of a chair or walked up and down stairs (my house is a split level), there was pain in my legs. That leg/butt workout from yesterday is no joke.

Today I thought about not working out my legs at all, but then I thought why wimp out now? Yes I do understand the concept of resting muscles, but I knew I had to do something today to make those muscles stronger.

Today we did the same two workouts that I posted in yesterday's blog minus the lunges (see I went a little bit easier on my poor leg muscles).

There was also a portion of today's workout where my sister and I just goofed off and did whatever goofy exercise came to mind. Any way that working out can be made fun is a bonus for me. I am going to miss having an exercise partner when she leaves for her internship.

Lastly, I am working on building a great workout playlist. I need upbeat songs that encourage us to move and do work. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks to everyone who is reading this. I sincerely hope that it helps someone besides myself.

Beginning Weight: 237 lbs
Current Weight: 235 lbs
Goal Weight: 165 lbs
Weight to Lose: 70 lbs

Corrections and Continuations

Updates! Updates! Updates!

So I haven't blogged in a couple days. So here's an update:

Sunday:
My sister and I have decided that Sunday is our "rest day." Also, since Sunday was Mother's Day, I splurged a little on my eating. However, we did go for a 2 mile walk which was good. Also, this was the day I realized that I put the wrong weight on my first blog post. I actually weighed at the beginning of this 237 lbs and not 235. Don't worry I'll fix blog post #1 to reflect this.

Monday:
This was another day similar to Saturday where we did the "modified" 99.. although we were quite sore this time. My sister's a little unhappy that she's not as sore as I am, but then again she's smaller than me.

Tuesday (aka today):
Today we decided to do something new. Today we did a mixture of legs, abs, and butt exercises. The first was called Workout challenge which really worked my legs and butt:

 The second was called Bombshell Abs and BOY DID IT BURN! My abs were not used to the kind of workout that this entailed and let's hope it helps them to build up. If it does I will definitely do this again.

Then we decided our arms needed some work too. I did 10 push ups because my arms were so sore from the 99 the other day. Lastly, we did 100 penguins and no it does not mean we waddled for 100 seconds. 

Penguins are side ab workouts that kinda make you look like a penguin sliding down the ice on your back. They work out your abs and actually can be kinda fun if you imagine yourself as a penguin WHEE!!

So to finish off this blog post I'd also like to link you to my sister's tumblr for while we're working on getting healthy together. 

Starting weight: 237 lbs
Current weight: 235 lbs
Goal weight: 165 lbs
Weight to lose: 70 lbs

The Start of Something New

I have a confession to make. I have dieted off and on. I have lost weight and gained weight back. I have exercised some days and some days I have avoided anything remotely close to exercise.

BUT THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS.

Today is the official beginning of a lifetime of healthy choices. Today my sister and I did a modified version (for me at least) of the 99 workout (below)

Now to tell you how I modified it:

• Jumping jacks are my least favorite form of cardio. In fact, I did little cardio in this workout entirely. While my much fitter sister did jumping jacks, I either grooved to our workout music (using a few zumba moves that I remember) or did more crunches or more leg exercises.
• Where the 99 says leg lifts, my sister and I did different leg exercises each time we went down to another number.
• Lastly we did not run 11 minutes at the end, but we did make sure to stretch out after!

Today's dinner was another healthy choice. Tonight we had grilled chicken, garlic asparagus, salad, and chopped vegetables. Then for dessert (because I have quite the sweet tooth), I had a few small pieces of dark chocolate.

Now, I'm hoping this blog is going to keep me accountable and to hopefully help others who may be in my situation. Finally, I am going to leave you with the stats.

Height: 5' 10"

Starting Weight: 237 lbs

Current Weight: 237 lbs

Goal Weight: 165 lbs

Weight to Lose: 72 lbs