Twenty pounds! Twenty pounds! That is all I have left to lose to reach my goal weight of 120lbs. So close yet so far. Or is it? My normal cardio routine consists of either fast-paced walking on the tread mill, rowing for 2000 meters on the rowing machine, or an 8 mile ride on the stationary bike. My trainer really wants me to reach my weight loss goal before my photo shoot in December (so do I) so she suggested I start running…like running…on the tread mill.

Now, this may not sound like a big deal to those of you that run on a regular basis. But for me, it’s a really big deal. I’m the gal that was always chosen last due to my lack of athletic ability, I’m the gal that has been a DD bra size since the 8th grade, I’m the gal that trips over her own feet, and I’m the gal that go winded watching Chariots of Fire. So, to put it plainly, I’m nothing close to being a runner. But there’s always a first time!

Lauren told me that running is really the best cardio workout and I can incorporate it into my cardio routine. She’s going to start me on Monday and I’m looking forward to it…I think. No, seriously, I’m always looking forward to the challenges she puts in front of me. It’s a great feeling when I master a move or surprise myself by seeing how far I can actually push myself. I have never been this strong. Even when I was in my teens and twenties I never had this level of strength and stamina. It’s awesome!

Liz

Well, it’s getting down to the wire for me. My photo shoot is in exactly 3mo and I have 20lbs to go to reach my weight loss goal of 120lbs. Realizing my shoot is getting closer and feeling somewhat frustrated with my weight loss stall, I decided to reflect on my journey thus far. And you know what I have discovered? I’m actually not doing half bad. The heaviest I got was 162lbs. I was just about to have my hysterectomy and would like to thinks that 40lbs of that weight was the grapefruit-sized tumor I was carrying around. Yeah, nice try.  When I started my serious journey back in January of this year I was at 146.2lbs.  Currently I’m at 140lbs. Now six pounds in 9 months does not seem like very much weight loss, and it’s not. But what I need to focus on is the other 22lbs I forgot I have lost!!!

I was being what I thought was realistic in my goals by buckling down for the next three months and lose another 10lbs before my shoot. After all, I’m pushing 46yrs old and need to be honest with myself, and  it took 9mo to lose 6lbs. Due to my work schedule I have not been able to make it to the gym as much (about 3 days a week) so my workouts are suffering a bit. I discussed my intentions with my trainer and she said something that surprised me…she thinks losing the last 20lbs in three months is totally achievable! I really need to up my cardio back to 5 days a week, no excuses! I need to strength train at least 3 days a week. Done! I REALLY need to up my water intake. That one is going to be hard for me because how my company and set up, we are monitored and timed on phones, breaks, time away from desks, etc. But you know what? My health needs to be made a priority. I will no longer worry about who’s watching me go where and for how long. It is what it is.

Food wise, I need to snack on more fruits & veggies. I do that now, but not nearly as much as I should. I need to eat fresher foods instead of processed (even though it is much easier) and I needs to watch the beer. Another hard one for me since I also write a beer blog. But I think my beer readers will understand if my articles are a bit more sparse (I hope).

Coming to the realization that my journey has been a lot longer and more successful that I thought really jump started my motivation! I’m rearing to go and looking forward to this challenge. And TRUST ME! IT WILL BE A CHALLENGE! But I’m up for it! Always look forward!

Liz

Very busy gal! I have lost another 4lbs or so (yay me!) and have done some shopping. I found some adorable vintage dresses from the 1950’s and they fit like a glove. 🙂 Great inspiration to keep going on my journey. I needed that boost of confidence. I haven’t liked what I have seen in the mirror for quite some time, years in fact. So to stand in a full length mirror wearing a form fitting black number that looks like it was tailor made for me, and to actually like what I saw, sent my confidence through the roof! I have been on this journey for 8 months now and it has been quite a ride. But I still have a ways to go. You can see the photos on my Facebook page.

My workouts have become easier and I have pushed myself physically and mentally farther than I ever thought I could go. I thank my trainer, Lauren, for that. She pushes and encourages me to keep going just when I think I can go any longer. She’s truly awesome!

My eating habits are still a bit of a struggle, but I know and accept that it will be a struggle for the rest of my life. I have an addiction to food. I own that. But I won’t let IT own me! My food choices are, for the most part, healthy, but I still slip every now and then. I own that too! But I refuse to let those little slips sabotage my journey. I refuse to give up. I refuse to let my addiction to food get the best of me. Life is good!

Liz

So, a couple of weeks ago my awesome trainer, Lauren, decided to show me how to do a modified form of the  “burpee.” She had me squat, jump onto a low-sitting platform as lightly as I could, jump off, then fall to my hand and jump my legs back into a “plank” position before jumping back up into a squat. As I slowly squatted, did I softly float on and off the platform like Caine leaving no trace of footprints on the rice paper? NO!! I was more like Godzilla stomping my way through Tokyo! “Graceful” has never been associated with my name. Hence the reason my ballet career never took off. Well, that and the fact that my huge boobs made me too top heavy.  My legs were so shaky that I look like Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz when I walk. BUT, I WILL master this hellish burpee!!!!!!!

She also had me try backwards lunges using the same platform. Now, again, I’m not the most graceful or coordinated person in the world. What is SUPPOSED to happen is I stand in front of the platform, feet shoulder width apart, and, without looking, gracefully step one foot backwards onto the platform and lower myself into the lunge. Did this happen? Well, not exactly. I found that having no real core strength was an actual hinderance to my being able to complete this exercise the way it was intended. I wabbled like a newborn deer trying to stand for the first time. My arms flailing around as though I’m walking on a tightrope. Since this exercise was performed AFTER the burpee incident, my legs were all but flipping me the bird!

I have since been practicing both of these moves. For the burpee, I have been working on my jumps. Just practicing the placement of my feet and how to land softly. I have also used more muscle groups remembering it’s not just leg strength for this exercise. Engaging my abs, butt, thighs and calves, has made a big difference in learning to do this exercise properly. I think my problem with the lunges is my focus. When I think too much about where I’m going to step when stepping backwards, I tend to fall off-balance. Lauren instructed me to look forward and focus on something when stepping back. This advise has helped. I just need to trust myself a bit more and stop worrying about my clumsiness.

Liz

It’s been too long between entries. Don’t worry, I haven’t “fallen off the wagon.” Just hung a leg or two off is all. After my leg injury and I noticed I slowed down my workout regimine a bit and started snacking more. I didn’t track my food intake and started snacking more. I gained a couple of pounds back that I tried so very hard to lose. Hubby and I also went on a lovely week-long road trip. My eating during our trip wasn’t too bad. I just decided to partake in some french fry consumption with almost every meal. It must have been odd for the cook to make a veggie burger with a side of greasy fries, but hey, that’s what I wanted. Now, I don’t normally eat fried foods. So the consuming of french fries during a week-long road trip did come back to haunt me in more ways than one (many of you know what I’m talking about.). My bad. My beer intake increased as well as we hit numerous craft breweries along the way. Remember, I also write a beer blog and need to keep my readers posted. BUT, it didn’t do my waistline any good. I also didn’t excercise once during my trip. Another mistake. Yes, I made numerous boo boos on this trip, but I refuse to beat myself up about them. Instead, I’m pulling my feet back into the wagon and will drive on!

So the first thing I did when I got home was made sure I jumped my butt back in the gym! It’s amazing that after only a week of being away how that can affect your strength and indurance. Luckily, Lauren (my trainer), took a small amount of pity on me and didn’t kill me during my workout. But it WAS tough.

The second thing I did was made the conscious decision to start tracking my meals again. I’m on day three of my tacking and so far so good. A bit of an eye opener! Just when I thought I had a handle on my calorie intake, my tracker showed me different. Eeeeesh!! I keep my electronic tracker up to date so Lauren can also monitor my nutrition. I log every workout on my anytimefitness.com account along with my runkeeper.com account. Lauren monitors my anytimehealth tracker and my Facebook friends see my workouts via runkeeper postings. I LOVE that! My Facebook freinds add their comments and encouragements which really helps in the motivation department.

Back on track I am!

Liz

Last night was my first time back in the gym since my bit of silly business last week. The calf is still not 100% but it feels much better. My trainer basically focussed on upper body strength last night by way of arm  and core excersices. I really wanted to do some cardio but the treadmill was not an option for me. I could walk, but not fast enough to get the heart rate up so I opted for the stationary bike instead. I really liked this machine. My heart rate got up rather quickly and it didn’t irritate my calf. 🙂 Back in the saddle!! 

This morning I woke up and was able to walk a lot easier, almost normally. Yay!! I have my acting class tonight so no gym. But I think my tomorrow I will be able to resume most of my normal work out regimine. Thank goodness! I’ve been getting a bit restless since taking time away from working out and want to get right back in it as quickly as possible. I don’t want to loose my momentum or what strength I’ve worked hard to build up. Some of the excersices I did last night were a bit of a struggle because I haven’t done them for a week. So, back into my routine I go.

Liz

Slight bump in the road last night. While at my Theater Improv class, I injured my leg and spent 8 hours in the ER. Luckily it turned out to be a strained calf but the doctors are checking the MRI films for any tears. While I’m glad it’s nothing serious, this injury does put a little bit of a wrench in my workout regimen. I can’t put any weight on my leg and straightening out my foot is extremely painful. Oh, and I’m on crutches for a few days. Hooray. But am I going to let this stop me from working out? HECK NO!

I discussed my injury with my trainer, Lauren, and she will be working with me to heal properly. So it looks like abs, arms and back will be my major focus for a week or so. Cardio, though, is going to be a bit more difficult. Not sure what I will do about that yet, but I will figure something out. 🙂 My inner pin-up  is not discouraged and will press on!

Liz

Last week was a pretty awesome week. I lost another 2lbs (yay!) and gained a bit of strength: physically and mentally! The most exciting thing about last week was how I surprised myself. I work on the third floor on my building. The stairs are the kind that have two sets in between each floor. Well, I ran down to my car one day but forgot to take my security badge with me to get back into the building. So I had to walk all the was around the building to security and ask to be let in. The security guard requested I run up to my desk and grab my badge to bring back down to him or he would have to deactivate it. I agreed and took the quickest way up to my desk: the stairs. I ran up all 6 flights of stairs to the third floor and didn’t realize until I got to my desk that “I just RAN up those stairs! And I’m barely winded!” Now this may not sound like a very big event, but to me it was the confirmation I needed that my workouts are benefitting me! Before going to the gym I would be huffing and puffing before getting to the 2nd floor. But I just RAN up the stairs without giving it a thought! Did I mention I RAN up the stairs?

Saturday is my weigh-in day with my hubby. Another awesome moment when I stepped on the scale and saw that another 2lbs are gone! My wieght loss has been stalled for about a month or so. Even though I’m losing inches, it’s still a bit frustrating to not see the scale move. But Saturday’s weigh-in made me grin from ear to ear. High fives all around at my house. I also picked up some workout equipment to have at home for the days I can’t make it to the gym. Nothing fancy. Just some hand wieghts, pilates balls, yoga mat, and a few other pieces. Now there is not excuses. I have no where to hide!

Liz

Oooohhhhh, my aching body! This week has been a rough one for me. Not in a bad way. Last week I took a few days off of work which led to me taking a few days off from working out. Four days to be exact. I didn’t think much of it until I hit the gym on Monday. Wow, was I surprised! I was exhausted and not as strong as I was the week before. I had no idea skipping a week of excercise could have such an extreme consequence. Tuesday was much worse. Lauren (my trainer) not only worked me hard, but gave me some new excersises on top of my regular workout. Core and arm excersises. I thought I was going to drop dead right there in the gym. Can’t say I didn’t deserve it. She also explained to me that it only takes the body four days to lose muscle mass! I DIDN’T KNOW THAT!!!! No wonder I woke up feeling like I was hit by a truck. But, again, it’s all good! It’s ALL sore, but it’s all good!

Since starting with a trainer I’ve learned many new excerises. Almost to the point that I forget about some and don’t do them. So I think what I have in mind is to bring a gym journal with me. I will list all of my excersises, reps, and the days I’ve done them and keep track of my progress. Lauren has a journal on me that she keeps to monitor my progress. But I think having one for myself to take on the the days I don’t train with her will keep me motivated and also help me remember which ones I haven’t done in a while. I think I will get on that project this weekend!

As for my nutrition, well, that’s still a bit of a challenge. You see, during my week off I partook in a bit of alcoholic debauchery. Being a beer blogger as well as writing this blog, there are many new beers out now that I have wanted to try. Living in the PNW (Pacific North West) it’s also very easy to obtain. So I consumed far too much beer, and far too many calories. Not a good plan. So back to basics. I have not logged food as much as I would have liked this week but this is a learning process. I would like to think everything will go swimmingly on my journey. But I’m realistic enough to know that it won’t. I will suffer through some bumps on the road but how I react to those bumps is what will dictate my success. I can either 1) beat myself up, or 2) dust myself off, learn from it, and move on. I choose the latter.

Liz

You never realize how weak you are until you try your first proper push-up. That reality has hit me big time since going to the gym. I love my trainer, Lauren, but she is kicking my ass! Thank God because apparently I’m as weak as a kitten. I have to laugh during my workouts with her because she makes everything look easy. When I step up to try the new excercise, I suddenly have the strength, coordination, and stamina of a newborn colt. When I go home, I’m sweatty, sore, and reeaaallllyyy tired. But, I wouldn’t trade those feelings for the world right now! It’s true! Everyday I feel myself getting stronger and leaner. My clothes are a bit loose and I’m liking what I see in the mirror. I just have one hangup right now. The scale hasn’t budged in a while.

It’s kind of frustrating to workout at the gym 5 days a week and not lose any wieght. While I know I’m gainging muscle mass, it would be nice to shed some of the fat. I talked with my trainer last night and we are linked up to the gym’s website: www.anytimehealth.com. I can log my meals and workouts and chat with other Antytime Fitness memebers or trainers. Lauren will be checking my page to see what I’m eating during the day and determine if something needs to be tweeked. First thing she DID mention was that I need more fruit and veggie in my diet. She is also concerned that I’m becoming afraid of food again. What do I mean by “afraid of food?” Lately I have noticed myself questioning everything I eat. Now, that may not sound like a bad thing, in my case it’s a bit extreme. While I’m somewhat of a healthy eater, I’m afraid to eat ANYTHING for fear of gaining what weight I have worked so hard to lose. I feel guilty when I eat a handful of crackers for dinner (and nothing else). I will purposely not eat on certain days because I feel like I ate too much the day before. Unhealthy habit to get myself into. I had the same issue when I was in Weight Watchers, but I’m working to not be so psychotic when it comes to eating habits. And it really helps having a trainer walk with be step by step.

I tell you, having a personal trainer has made all of the difference in the world to me. I finally have someone next to me showing me how to excercise properly and genuinly concerned with my health and well being. I knew my journey back to health was not going to be an easy one. But it sure is a bit better having someone in your corner!

Liz