And Done

So, yesterday I had my last weigh in for the 60 days. I lost 4lbs and that put me at a total weight loss of 22lbs for the challenge. For me, this is excellent bc i had not lost any weight for the last few months. My trainer told me the challenge may be a good way to break through my plateau or as I like to call it my mental block. I am not sure if I won for my group but I can say I won for myself!!!
I will post later this week the total results of the challenge.

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. Do something different today!!!

I joined a garden

Ok. So, I have to admit that I am the second worst blogger ever. I wanted to update anyone who may be reading this on my progress in the challenge. I have made it to the last week. One more weigh in and I am done. I think I am just happy to be this close to completing the challenge. For me that is a big deal. That means eight weeks and no weight gain. I have been very successful on the challenge. So far 18lbs. I was hoping for twenty this week but I stayed the same. I lost four last week and that is huge for me so my body may have been recovering. Also, I was very sick this past week. I have the worst hay fever in town, it is debilitating. Plus, I recently moved into an apartment that I would swear still has cats in it and Fall allergy season has started. I was happy to have made it to my seven work outs this week. I felt bad though because for the first three i was just a body on the floor I could not breath so I could not move. Every time I tried to push myself I got a huge sinus headache and very dizzy. I was so bad the trainer came over to me and asked me if I was ok. It has been my goal to never look like I will be a medical emergency for the trainers. Or better yet, not to be one. So I took it easy but I didn't get any medicine until Wednesday and I didn't really feel better until Friday. I knew I would not gain bc I ate salads all week. So I would like to share a list of things that I did well this week:

1) Joined a garden-I get fresh picked veggies once a week. This week I got eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, herbs, potatoes and peaches.
2) Missed a workout due to my perpetual tardiness so I went home and jogged on my treadmill
3) Pushed through my allergies from hell and worked out 7 times
4) Cooked all but one of my meals at home!!!! (that's huge for me)

I will definitely write next week after my weigh in. I just have to get through next week without gaining a pound. I am 2.2 lbs behind the leader and probably more this week seeing as though I did not lose any weight. We will see.

So MJ and I have been super busy over the last few weeks and haven't written much. I know for me my practicum is about to start and work is...work. I have been trying to keep up with my eating and workouts and it has been tough to say the least I have been able to stay in the challenge and I am doing really well. I have lost over 12lbs and honestly I think its closer to 14!!!! I am trying not to focus on the number but increase my effort. I have been doing low intensity but I think i will go for medium this week. I don't want to hurt myself but I do want to try to see how far I can push it. I can do thirty seconds of jumping jacks and that is really cool but can i do them for half of a class??? we will see. Anyway getting the seven workouts in each week has been the biggest challenge and I really struggled last week but I figured it out. I have only a few more weeks to go so I will try to get organized and keep it going. I wonder if I could lose 20+ pounds during the challenge. Just some thoughts....

For the Love

My sweaty back after a boot camp class.
This takes the meaning of "love" to a whole new level!

This picture was after Workout #35 on Sunday.  I sweated out two perfect hearts on my back. I think it's hilarious! The trainer, Jody, worked the "LOVE" outta me! Lol. As a matter of fact, all of the NuLife trainers, Miesha, Dee, Jody, Nik, Jamila & Kanela, do the same thing. Each of them have their own unique way of training that I enjoy. Jody is high-spirited & does muscle confusion, which is very confusing lol. Dee forgets that his class is mostly women & does boxing-type workout like we're men! Jamila is the energizer bunny that goes so fast that you don't have time to think about how hard she's working you until it's over. Nik trains us like we're all planning to be superheroes one day. Kanela is like a sweet little drill sargeant that smiles while she's killing you! And Miesha? Well, she just goes HARD all.the.time. And she expects us to do the same. One would think that she'd fall back a little bit now that she's pregnant ... but no, not so much! Lol.

They all try to sweat the "love" out because I think they truly love what they do. It shows in how they run their classes and the support and concern they give to all the members at NuLife. And for that I thank them! It's needed during this challenge.

What else do I need right now during this challenge? Focus!! Now that I've finished summer school, I wanna to act a complete & utter fool! I haven't had much of a summer so I want to make up for lost time. I "love" to drink copious amounts of beverages derived from grapes (aka: wine) and I've been known to indulge in a little bit of a fine Mexican libation (aka Tequila or as Miesha calls it "Te-Kill-Ya"). This doesn't necessarily bode well because of the extra calories. Sooooo ... I'm gonna try to be mindful of that because right now I feel like a kid who just got off of punishment. And what's the first thing that kid wants to do? Go outside and play until the street lights come on ... or in my case until "last call"!

P.S. Even though my weight stayed the same this week, I lost 4% body fat! Can you say awesome? Serena Williams better watch her back!

Support and Success

So, today I had resigned myself to losing in the challenge due to weight gain. I had a tough week and ate a lot of bread. I fell down the slippery slope of temptation. I had been doing so well with a 9.6 weight loss after just 2 weeks-- I felt like I was invincible! It really doesn't take much for me to feel like I am a superstar in what ever it is I am doing and you would think I created the rules even when I am just learning them. This time it bit me in the butt and I gained 5lbs!!!!! I lost 3 easily but I ran out of time to lose the other 2 before my weigh in Saturday. I tried like hell though. I actually drank half my body weight in water for two days and I worked out hard in class doing as many jumping jacks and scissors as my body would tolerate.

Unfortunately, I was still over the maximum 1lb you can gain before you are disqualified from the challenge. I had the same silly 2lbs on Saturday and decided to weigh in on Sunday instead. So today is Sunday and the best day of the week for me and I will tell you why:

This morning I woke up with intentions on weighing in after the 8am class....didn't make it. I was still over and felt like giving up. I felt like if I miss the weigh in I will be disqualified, but they wouldn't have to put up on the wall that I was d/q due to weight gain and lack of discipline-- but rather, I simply missed a required weigh in. OK, so that is the sucka way out and I know I have been working really hard, but I also know that weight gain is a natural consequence to decisions I made through the week. I sucked it up and went to the 2pm class and weighed in....and I was over. Not surprised, I hung my head and gave the trainer a lame excuse as to why it was better this way. So she looked at me and asked "You're just gonna give up"? She caught me off guard and knew it so she repeated "I was wondering if you are quitting"? Now, I cannot think of any reason she would work so hard to keep me motivated. It was the last class of the day and she could have said "Sorry kid, better luck next time" but she helped me find a way to shed some extra weight. I am not one to take clothes off in the gym to weigh. Now, I have seen people do it and I am sure it helps, clothes off for me is something very personal and highly embarrassing. I don't even wear tank tops in the summer. But I did it and I met the requirements to stay in the game.

One of the things that I love about my gym is the support that I get. Support comes from so many places like other members, trainers, staff. Even the owners they seem to know everyone and that is no small feat! Hahaha.

I am truly grateful to my trainer who today did not let me fail!

Getting Back on Track

Last weigh in I lost 3lbs. It didn't hit me until Sunday, but in all I have lost 9.6lbs. Two weeks and almost 10lbs!!! I was sitting at the same weight for about 2 months and my trainer said that the challenge may help me break through my plateau. Plateau may have been a bit generous on her part...b/c truly my motivation was waning and was not watching my diet closely.

Flash Back to 2008: I started the program and lost 50lbs quickly but then I started taking birth control and it all went down hill from there. It was like constant PMS I held on to water and I was hungry all the time. I gained 8lbs my first weigh on birth control. I quit the program due to stress at home and work and gained 20lbs. Left to my own devices I am a mess! haha. But now I am in it to win it and what I want from the challenge is to get back to the weight I was before I got off track.

I just found out that my aunt who died last year died from untreated diabetes. She didn't even know she had diabetes. I read MJ's post and she is absolutely right. We have to take better care of oursevels and be mindful that being at a healthy boday weight and being active is not just to look good but to keep our bodies healthy and so that we can stay around for a long time (or as long as we are supposed to) with the people we love.