Tonight's weigh-in results....

If you'll remember, over the last 3 weigh-ins I lost 1/2, gained 1/2,
then lost 1/2 again. I was really frustrated. I had no idea what
tonight's weigh-in would bring.
I lost 4.5 pounds! YES! I'm down to 205! I have 5 to go now to get
to my goal!!! I don't even know the last week I lost more than 4
pounds! Wow!
The only real change I made this week was I didn't work out Monday
since I took the day off from work due to the 48 Hr Film Project and
had to meet with my lawyer. I have to meet with my lawyer next
Wednesday, so we'll see what that does.
I'm really excited.
With 11 weeks or so until my birthday and my speech at Take Control Of
Your Diabetes, I could conceivably get to my next goal of 180!
Man. I am proud!

Sent from my iPhone

Comments that frustrate you....

So I weigh-in at Mercy Center for Weight Reduction on Thursday nights right after work.
The manager of the clinic says some things that frustrate me at times. I'm sure she means well, but words can be misinterpreted...

I hate it when she says: "Do you really think you're going to be able to keep the weight off?"
My answer: "Well, I've only gained a little bit just a few times. I've been losing steadily for the most part for some 10 months or so."

She also says: "Do you really think you're going to keep working out 5 days a week? Is this something that you can keep doing?"
My answer: "I love working out. I love going to the gym 5 days a week. I started out at 3 days a week and loved it so much that I decided to go 5 days a week."

I'm sure she's not trying to second-guess me and that maybe she's just trying to get me to think, but I don't like questions like that which have an underlying negative slant.

I AM going to keep the weight off. I AM going to keep working out. I've found what works for me and what I enjoy. If I need to make adjustments later, I will. Whatever I can do to keep healthy and keep on the right track I'm going to do!

I don't hear any of that stuff from anybody else. I think everyone sees my pride and sees my drive and devotion and motivation and understands that this is for real. This is for life.

Look at my melon now next to my melon before....

Before (316lbs)




Now (209 1/2 or so)




Of course it was sunny and I was squinting while looking into the sun....

Today's workout....

So today I jogged for 7 minutes then walked 1 then jogged for 7 again then walked 1. I then jogged 6 then walked 1 and jogged 6 then walked 1. Then jogged 5 then walked 1 then jogged 5 then walked 1. Then I jogged 3 then walked for a few minutes for a cool-down. Oh yeah, did like a 1 or 2 minute warm-up walk.
After that I did the weights. We upped most of the machines today or will Friday. After the weights, we did the abs.

Friday we're going to do measurements....

Thoughts before bed....

As I lay here in bed having just watched the ABC special about Randy
Pausch (sp?) and his 'The Last Lecture', I'm thinking a bit. The more
time I spend alone (and it's a lot anymore) the more I wonder why I'm
alone.
I'm selfish. I put myself before others a lot of the time. Am I a nice
guy? I think so. Usually. I try to be. Does being selfish make me a
bad person? Sometimes I wonder. I've done some bad things - very bad
things - due to selfishness.
I'm egotistical. I love the attention that I get from people talking
about my weight loss. I crave that attention. I crave attention in
general. My ego has been a big part of my losing weight, though.
I believe in karma. I put myself first so much that it's no wonder
that I'm single. It's no wonder that I have just a few friends. I'm
not even sure how those friends can stand to be around me sometimes. I
spend so much time alone, I think, because people don't find me fun to
be around a lot of times. Karma has me by the cohones these days.
I used to say all the time how I'd never get married because my
parents' marriage was so bad. The older I get, the more I'm kind of
second-guessing that. Did they have a bad marriage? Ooh yeah.
Sometimes I feel my biological clock is ticking. Most days I wish I
had someone close to me to share my recent successes with and to talk
about my other recent frustrations with. Sometimes I don't want to be
selfish. Sometimes I want to put others first and not myself.
It's funny that as much weight as I've lost, this is the longest I've
been single in quite some time. As good as I feel about myself
physically some days, I must be putting out a negative vibe.
Back to karma: You get back what you put out. I've put out a lot of
bad, though I really am well-intentioned and don't mean to hurt
people. Sometimes I don't know how to get past myself and my feelings
for the good of others.

Sorry.

In the past, this would probably be a burger and fries and huge pop
and then ice cream later. Today it's words and thoughts and feelings.
And ego. And selfishness. And loneliness. And karma.
Until I change my output, I'll keep getting the same input.
Here's to trying to make a change.

Goodnight.

Sent from my iPhone

Today's workout....

I hit the treadmill before class today. I did a 1 minute warmup walk
then jogged for 10 then 1 minute cool-down.
In class we did step aerobics. We did a bunch of combinations and
drills. We also did abs. For some reason I was light-headed and dizzy
during class.
After class I jogged another 5 minutes and did another 2 or so minute
cool-down.
Good workout.

I'm trying to post this via email from my iPhone, so we'll see if it
works....

Sent from my iPhone

Lunch for lunch and learn tomorrow....

So I don't have the food or money to bring my own lunch to the lunch and learn tomorrow. They're getting Jimmy Johns. I had signed up for no food during the last one because I intended to bring my own. Since I'm broke and foodless until tomorrow, I went online and looked at Jimmy Johns menu. I decided to get a Turkey Tom sub minus the bread (lettuce wrap) and substituted the may w/ avocado spread (probably not much better, but oh well). I also ordered it w/ all veggies. I'm going to bring some edamame to eat with it.

Another upcoming speaking engagement....

So one of the organizers of the 'Take Control of Your Diabetes' event that I'm speaking at in October emailed me today to ask permission to put my name on the pamphlet for the event.
After letting her know that was fine, I let her know that any time they'd like me to speak, I'm open to do so.
She emailed me later and told me that she's the wellness coordinator for her church and said that once a month or once every other month they'd like to have someone come speak about wellness. She asked me to come speak in the fall about motivation! Of course I agreed!

I really enjoy sharing my story and paying Mercy back for all that they've done for me and to pay it forward to others by sharing my story and helping people to achieve what I've achieved in whatever small way I can.
Hopefully these engagements will lead to other engagements! :)

Shoulder problems....

So lately my right shoulder has been giving me some minor problems. Three weeks ago or so we were playing Walleyball in the racquet ball court and I did something to hurt my shoulder. It was a bit sore for a couple of days then seemed fine. Then when doing the chest press and shoulder press, the outside of the shoulder hurt. It was fine doing the lat pull down, tricep press, rowing, etc. The past few nights when sleeping I'd wake up in the middle of the night with a sore shoulder. If I slept with my right arm up above my head, it would tend to hurt. It doesn't hurt during the day at all except for when doing the shoulder or chest presses at the gym. I mean it's not that bad when lifting. We're talking on a scale of 1-10 w/ 10 being the worst, it's only at a 3 or so. But it's enough to make me notice. I'm only going to lessen the weight if it gets noticeably worse.

Last night's weigh-in....

I am soooo frustrated. So like 2 weeks ago I lost 1/2 pound. Last week I gained a 1/2 pound. This week I lost 1/2 pound. Earlier in the week I had been doing well. I had lost a few pounds and as the week went on, the weight came back up.
I've been eating the same foods as always. This last week I switched breakfast and supper around since I work out in the morning and my supper is a bigger meal. I needed the more calories in the morning before working out.
I just can't figure out why every weekend when I don't work out, I lose weight then as the week goes on, I gain it back while working out every day. WHY??

209.5.

This weekend will be super-busy....

So this weekend is the 48 Hour Film Project. That equals busy.

What that exactly means is the following:
Friday night I'll leave work and head to the Art Center where my team and I will draw a film genre. We'll also be given a character, prop, and line of dialogue.
We'll then have 48 hours to write, film, edit, and submit a 7-10 minute film.

It's busy, but it's a blast. This is my 3rd or 4th year doing this...I forget. It gets hectic and sometimes stressful, but a blast nonetheless.
Check out our previous films from the 48 and others at www.arizonainkstudios.com.

Hopefully I'll continue to eat right over the weekend!

Weigh-in tonight....

I'll be weighing-in right after work tonight.
I checked the scale today after working out at the gym and it seems like I was up a bit from yesterday. Oh well. That's why I need to quit looking at the scale on days other than Thursday night!
Stay tuned for results tomorrow....

Today's workout....

Today I did about 10 minutes on the cross-trainer before class.

In class we used the body bars and resistance bands. Body bars are big weighted bars. The ones we have go up to 18 pounds. I used the 18 pounder. The resistance bands are color-coded. I decided to push it hard today, so found out the blue bands are toughest so I used it. But not for long. WOW. Very tough. I used it for one or two things then swithced up to the red band which is one down from the blue, I guess. Much better. Still plenty of resistance, but doable.

We then did some ab exercises.

After that, I switched up to the treadmill for a 5 minute or so cool-down walk.

Great workout, Abby! You jerk! (I'm storming off...) Inside joke....

Am I really going to run a 5K in August???....

So I was working out w/ my trainer this morning and someone who works at the hospital brought in some pamphlets for my trainer to put out. I asked her what they were and she said that they were pamphlets for Iowa Heart Foundation's 'Run For Your Life'. It turns out it's for a 3K run, 5K run, or a walk. I had been thinking about doing a 5K for a little while now since I've been jogging. I think it'd be a great idea.
A 5K = about 3.1 miles. I ran 3.4 miles today at the gym in 30 minutes. Granted I haven't run outdoors yet. Even though it's August 16th (humid, hot time in Iowa) it starts at 8am, so I think it's doable! It'd be nice and early before it gets hot.
I was telling a co-worker about it. She's really fit and runs a lot. She wants to run it with me! I think it'd be cool to have someone to run with for my first run.
It costs $25 (donation), but you get a t-shirt and a gift bag. You can do it for free, but don't get a gift bag or t-shirt.
It'll be at Water Works park, August 16th at 8am if anybody wants to join!

www.iowaheartfoundation.org or www.aedaccessforall.org/runforyourlife

God. Who knew a year ago that I'd be running without someone chasing me?!
I think I'm gonna do it!

Eating supper for breakfast seems to be paying off already!....

So I've been eating my supper for breakfast and breakfast for supper since last Friday. My weight loss had slowed a bit over the last couple of weeks and I figured I needed to eat more early in the day and less later in the day since I was much more active in the early part of the day.
Last Thursday I weighed 210. My trainer weighed me Monday as part of my fitness profile and I weighed 206.8. I weighed myself this morning after working out, and I was at 204.8 or so. I hope that tomorrow shows the same positive (actually negative since it's a loss!) results. I really think that eating the larger meal early is what's making the difference for me.
We'll see....!

Today's workout....

I got to the gym this morning, but the two good treadmills (the newer ones w/ cup holders and fans) were being used. My trainer had me just do the cross-trainer. I knew the people would be done soon as they're normally done by 7am or before. I got there around 6:45. Sure enough, after I did 2 minutes on the cross trainer they were done.
I moved to the treadmill and did a 2 minute warm-up walk. I then proceeded to jog 30 minutes. I wanted to do 35, but 30 was enough today! Man.
I did about a 5 minute cool-down on the treadmill then went to the weights. Even with upping the weights by a level on many of the machines lately, I'm doing more reps than before and in a few cases as many as when I did less weight. I'm really impressing myself with the weights lately. I can really see the difference. My muscles are becoming really defined. My arms, especially, are really showing the results big time. It's nice to see everything coming together!

Today's workout....

So before class today I did a 2 minute warm-up walk then jogged for 10 minutes then cooled down with a 2 minute walk.
Normally in Tuesday's class, we just do step (I don't mean 'JUST' as in it's not a good workout, because it's a great workout). Today we did a bit of step to warm up. We then did like 1 minute drills w/ our steps going as fast as we could. For instance, we would jog up then down up then down up then down onto our steps for a minute then pick up our dumbbells and do some weight training stuff. We'd then switch to another drill going as fast as we could then another weight thing. Man. Kicked my ass. I love Tuesday/Thursday classes with Abby, because I know they're going to be great workouts!
After class I did about a 4 minute cool-down walk.

This one lady in our class says to me today, "Trying a new hairstyle today?" I looked at her and said, "Huh??" and she repeated herself. I said, "Um, no. My hair has been like this for years now." Anybody who knows me knows my hair is pretty much always like this.
Who knows. Heh.

Bought a new evening snack....

So I've been eating 18 almonds for an evening snack for a while now. I like them, but they just don't quite seem to be enough.
I went to Dahl's in Johnston on Sunday because I needed to buy some protein bars for my morning snack anyway. I looked at the protein shakes as an option for an evening snack. One of the shakes was like $15 for a 4 pack. They were 300 calories and like 23 grams of protein. Those would be more of a meal replacement than a snack. I found another kind that were maybe $5-$8 for 4 of them (I forget just how much). They were only like 110 calories, but still high in protein (I think in the low 20's). I bout them to try them out. They came in aluminum cans just like pop cans. I bought Belgian Chocolate flavor. I had one last night, and it was bad. I choked it down. I'll finish the other 3, but think I'll look at other snack options.
I do like the idea of a protein shake as a snack because you can't sneak an extra drink the way you can sneak an extra few almonds. We'll see....

Today's workout....

After my fitness profile, I hit the cross-trainer for 34 minutes. I was at around 7 1/2 mph the whole time (give or take) on a resistance level of 10. My heart rate stayed really low the whole time.
From there I hit the weights. I'd increased the levels on many machines within the last couple of times I did the weights. Despite having increased the weight on the machines, I really excelled today. I hit my best number of reps on a lot of the machines today. The rowing machine I petered-out after 10 reps as we had just done another upper-body right before it (lat, I think). Normally we alternate between upper and lower, but some older guy was sitting on the leg curl machine for a long time (just sitting) and we couldn't do it.

It's crazy, no matter how hard I work out, I'm never really sore. The only exception is when we do yoga, and I'm still not THAT sore after.

Fitness test today....

So as part of Mercy Wellness Center's initiative or program or whatever, they did fitness profiles on participants in May (8 weeks ago). Today, my trainer did another fitness profile to see how I'd progressed:

On May 7:
Body Fat: 18.3% That was at the top of the 'Fair' level.
Bicep Strength: 103lbs Middle of the 'Fit' level.
Back Flexibility: 36cm Top of the 'Unfit' level.
Systolic Blood Pressure: 122 Top of the 'Fit' level.
Diastolic Blood Pressure: 63 Top of the 'Excellent' level.
Resting Heart Rate: 64bpm Middle of the 'Excellent' level.
Aerobic Fitness: The bike wasn't working (and still isn't working) so it brings the Total Fitness Score down as it still figures it in.
Total Fitness Score: 57 Top of the 'Fair' level.


Today 7/21/2008:
Body fat: 16.1% Middle of the 'Fit' level!
Bicep Strength: 101lbs Though down 2 pounds, one of the times we did it was 103 today.
Back Flexibility: 40cm Increased 4cm and went from 'Unfit' to the middle of the 'Fair' level.
Systolic Blood Pressure: 142 For some reason, this went up 20 points. We're going to check it again on Wednesday, because it doesn't seem right at all. Dropped me to the top of the 'Unfit' level from the top of the 'Fit' level.
Diastolic Blood Pressure: 67 Still at the top of the 'Excellent' level.
Resting Heart Rate: 54bpm Top of the 'Excellent' category. My trainer says it can't get much better than that. She said that anything below 70 is really good. She said 54 is like a really fit athlete.
Aerobic Fitness: Still not working
Total Fitness Score: 64 Since the bike still isn't working for the 'Aerobic Fitness', I'm sure that my score would be higher overall because that will take it way down. But, it puts me in the low-middle range of the 'Fit' level. I can't help but think I'in the upper-fit or possibly low-excellent level.


I'm ecstatic at the results. It really couldn't have gone much better in 8 weeks. There's still room for improvement, and with jogging now, I'm sure we'll see improvement the next time we do one (assuming they'll do one when I become a member).

Last night's weigh-in....

I weighed-in last night. :(
I gained 1/2 pound.
I lost 1/2 last week, so that evened out to zip.
I've been working out hard and even upped my calories a bit because everyone thought I needed more calories, and I probably did.
This week I'm going to try to eat supper for breakfast, lunch for lunch, and breakfast for supper. My logic is that I'm much more active in the early part of the day and more sedentary at night. I think this will help. I started it this morning. It was a bit tough to eat broccoli, cauliflower and lentils for breakfast! LOL. I might try to find a breakfast food that's around the same calories and nutritional levels as that meal.

I was a bit disappointed with the results of the weigh-in, but I can't get too down due to the results I've had over the last several months.

Lunch and Learn meeting at work on Wednesday....

So Wednesday we had a 'Lunch & Learn' at work. It was a meeting, basically, and work provided lunch. I figured they'd have pizza or something, so I brought my lunch with me to work. Glad I did, because sure enough, they had pizza. I ended up bringing my lunch into the training and eating it.
While I was on my in there, another co-worker who had just finished the session before mine, was giving me a hard time about bringing my lunch. He was saying, "They have vegeterian pizza in there. That's healthy. You can eat that." I told him that it's not just the meat that makes it not a great choice, it's everything on it. And I preferred to just eat my lunch since I brought it.

Anyway, glad I made a good choice.

Why my trainer was gone Wednesday....

I heard today why my trainer was gone Wednesday. Apparently she has knee problems and got a shot in it and she couldn't walk. That sucks. Hopefully she'll be back tomorrow! **Sending good vibes**

Weighing-in tonight....

I hope that I've lost more this last week than I did the previous week when I lost 1/2 pound. We'll see. I've been working out just as hard as ever, if not harder. We'll see....

New protein bars....

So the HyVee that I go to by my house at 86th & Douglas doesn't have protein bars in their healthfood aisles. I had recently been getting Odwalla Super Protein bars from the HyVee by where I work, but the other day they didn't have any of the Super Protein ones, just the regular ones with a little protein.
I ended up buying some of the South Beach Living bars. Wow. 15 grams of protein! That's a lot! 21 carbs, I think, and like 180 calories. It's a bit less calories than the Odwalla bars and I don't like the taste as much, but they do the trick. Great for after a workout. I got the peanut butter and chocolate flavor.

Today's workout....

Today was body sculpting day in class. We do cardio with dumbbells.
The biggest rubber-coated dumbbells we have are 10lbs. We have bigger regular dumbbells wuth the weights, but they're not rubber-coated and shouldn't be used in the gym on the wood floor.
Anyway, I lately I've been working up to the 10's from the 8lb weights. I always grab a set of both for when the 10's get to be a bit much. Today I didn't end up needing my 8's at all! It got close, but I made it. I pushed myself thru it.
At the end of class, we did some lower-body work and some ab work.

Before class, I hit the cross-trainer for 12 minutes. I upped the resistance to level 10. Normally I do level 4 or 5. Recently I upped it to level 8. Today I figured why not push it more?
After class I hit the treadmill for 5 minutes or so.

I won something at the gym today....

So there's been this fitness thing going on at the gym (duh, imagine that. shutup, smarta$$).

But really, there's been an initiative to get people at the gym more active in coming to the gym and working out more. Basically they do a fitness profile at the beginning of the thing and at the end. With that being said, part of it is that there's a weekly drawing. You have to come to the gym at least 3 days a week to be eligible.
Today a couple of people came up to me and told me they saw that I won this week (week 8, the final week). I was excited. I looked at the board and see I won a $25 gift certificate to HyVee! Heck yeah! And I think that puts me in the running for a grand prize (not sure what that is).

TMI = Too Much Information....

So here's a little entry I'd like to call "TMI".

So apparently it's not a good idea to wear cotton fabrics when working out. I had started jogging fairly recently, as you'll remember. Some days my trainer would want me to do the cross trainer then jog but I couldn't due to chafing from my shirt. OUCH. Rubbed my chest raw. It'd be fine until I'd start sweating and the shirt would stick.
Anyway, I finally bought a polyester workout shirt yesterday that's made to wick away moisture. Apparently it's a common problem. So common, in fact, that a shirt needed to be invented to rectify the problem. And did it ever!
I did the cross trainer this morning for 23 minutes going between 8 and 9 mph the whole time. Then I switched up and jogged for 7 minutes at 6.5 mph then walked for another 7 or so at a very steep incline. And no chafing! Normally I'm SOAKED when I'm done working out because I work out HARD. I push myself pretty hard. I was pretty dry. The shirt did great.
Sports Authority and Scheel's sell Under Armour brand and other nice brands of this style of shirt for $20-$35. I bought a Champion from Target for like $12. Very comfortable. I bought an XL cuz I like things loose when I workout, but a L would've fit fine.

Today's workout....

So today I hit the treadmill.
I warmed up with a 2 minute walk. I ran 7 minutes then walked 1 then ran 7 more then walked 1 or 2. I then ran for 5 minutes then walked 1 or 2 then ran 5 more then walked 1 or 2 then ran 3 and walked 1 or 2 then another 3 followed by a few minute cool-down walk. I ended up at 4 miles in around 40 minutes or so.
After that I hit the weights and the abs.

Last night's weigh-in....

So I weighed-in last night.
Lost 1/2 pound. A bit disappointing, but not the end of the world.

I didn't work out today. I was hoping the funds from selling my iPhone on eBay would be in my bank account this morning and I was planning on buying the new iPhone today, but no such luck. I missed out on the workout for nothing. Oh well....

Employee commentary when buying turkey at the grocery store....

So fairly recently I was at the grocery store buying deli turkey from the deli meat counter. Actually, a couple of different stories here....
It seems like 1/2 the time I buy deli turkey at the store, somebody has to comment, "Gee. You just bought turkey the other day." I'll reply with something to the effect of, "Yep, I sure did. Now I need some more, please." They'll either reply with, "Is that all you eat?" or "Don't you get sick of that?" Keep in mind that most of the clerks know about the weightloss thing on Channel 13. And it's not like I'm buying a pound of it every day; I might go thru a pound a week or so, depending how thin or thick it's sliced.

So recently I was there and another similar incident happened. This time, though, it was some clerk I'd never seen before. I pointed to the cheapest turkey and asked for a pound of it. She says, "I don't know how you can eat that. That stuff is just like water." I said, "Well, it's helped me lose about 100 pounds since the end of September, so it's not too bad." She replies with, "Well, I don't need to lose weight. I have a good personality." I just wanted to say, "I'm glad you're comfortable with being overweight. I wasn't and decided to do something about it. I also have a good personality. But my other personality wants some f$#(&!@^ turkey!!!"

Seriously. I'm very friendly. I talk to the clerks and always treat them with respect. I don't mind the first ones I mentioned. They're just noticing me and that's fine. But that one girl irritated me.
Did she think I was saying she needs to lose weight? Anybody have any thoughts?

Bought a new pair of shorts to work out in....

So I just finished a DVD project on the side and had a few extra dollars. I finally bought a pair of shorts to work out in that fit me. Size LARGE! Wow. I haven't worn a large since probably junior high! Crazy.
My view of my body is still off. I still see myself as bigger than I am.

Today's workout....

My trainer was off today because her husband had a doctor appt in Iowa City.
I jogged today. I did a 2 minute warm-up walk then jogged for 2 mins then walked for a min then jogged for 3 and walked 1 then jogged for and walked 1, so on until I jogged for 7 minutes then walked a 5 minute cool-down. I went a total of 39 minutes, I think, between walking and jogging. Almost 3.75 miles. Over 400 calories.
After jogging, I did the usual weights. I raised a couple of them by a level.

An article about some guy who lost like 100-some pounds....

So my friend Mary sent me the link to this article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/30/weightloss.muata.kamdibe/index.html#cnnSTCText?iref
It's about a college professor who lost 100-some pounds in like 5 years. Reading that makes me realize that makes me realize that I've accomplished a lot. It took that guy 5 years to do it and it's taken me less than a year! We both weighed about the same when we started. One whole year he only lost 5 pounds. He did Atkins a lot, though. I'm a HUGE believer in NO FAD DIETS. Any 'diet' where you leave out an entire food group is not only unsustainable, but also unhealthy. You need to eat a well-balanced nutritious diet.
Anyway, read that for some inspiration!

Looking for ways to motivate others and pay back....

So I've been given a LOT by Mercy and Channel 13. From the membership, to the trainer, to the doctors and nutritionist and whatnot. I'm looking for a way to payback or even pay it forward.
I try to help people that want to be helped. If somebody expresses interest in my weightloss, I'll tell them about it. If someone asks how they can do it, I try to help them with that. I want to do more. I want to find a way that I can really help people out with their journeys. I feel I have a lot to offer thru my experiences. I know what it takes to lose weight and become fit and I can help others realize that as well.
I sort of think that speaking at the speaking engagements for Mercy is paying back some even if it's just a small thing. And frankly, I'm getting a lot out of it. I'd love to speak to groups as much as I can.

Thoughts?

Today's workout....

So I was running a bit late this morning. I had to take photos of my iPhone so I could put it up on eBay today. I got to the gym just in time for class.
Today we had aerobics class followed by some abs. We had no aerobics class last week because they were fixing the gym floor, so it seems like ages since I had it! It was great to get back into the swing of things.

Abby, the girl that does our Tuesday/Thursday classes asked me this morning if I had some before pics. I showed her the shirtless pic Channel 13 showed on the news as well as the pics from my blog a few pages back. She was wowed at how far I've come.

My trainer is off tomorrow, so I'm back at it alone tomorrow. I have a plan. She wants me to run in intervals like I did Monday, only this time reversed. Meaning she wants me to run the small amounts first and build up this time whereas Monday we started high and went low.

Today's workout....

Back at it today since the gym was closed Friday for the holiday. My trainer was back from vacation and was very pleased to learn of my 3 pound weightloss last week.

I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night due to my roommate accidentally ringing the doorbell on his way into the house at 2am. He then talked on his cell phone for a while in his room (we share a wall and I could hear every word). I tossed and turned for another 3 hours or so, but never fell asleep. But to my credit, I went to the gym anyway. It totally is a lifestyle change for me. Even from when I started working out a few months ago, I'd have used it as an excuse to not work out. I NEED the workouts now.

I warmed up w/ a 2 minute walk. Then I jogged 7 minutes then walked 1 then jogged 6 and walked 1, then jogged 5 and walked 1, then jogged 4 and walked 1, then jogged 3 and walked 1, then 2 and walked 1. After that, I think I walked another 5 or so minutes to cool down. All said and done, I jogged about 27 minutes and walked about 11 or so. Good workout.
From there, I hit the weights and abs as usual.

My trainer will be gone on Wednesday and I may not be there Friday when she gets back as I might spend the morning in line buying the new iPhone if I sell mine on eBay first. :)

4th of July weekend....

So I went to the Hampton/Sheffield/Clear Lake area for the holiday weekend. I was there Friday night into Saturday afternoon.

I ate a Power Bar for a morning snack before leaving (woke up a bit too late for breakfast). We stopped at the gas station when we first left; I got bottled water and pistachios for a snack -- good choices. We had burgers, chips, potato salad and the like for lunch Friday. We went to a carnival in Clear Lake. They had the usual carnival/fair foods, which I'm VERY proud to say I had NONE of! Go me! For dinner, we ended up eating at an Italian place. We all ended up splitting a couple of pizzas. I had 3 pieces and a beer. I probably should've just had 2, but oh well.
Saturday we woke up pretty late and didn't have breakfast. We stopped at a greasy spoon in Sheffield. It was one of those small town restaurants where everyone knows everyone. I got pork ribs, green beans, a roll, baked potato, and a salad bar. Of course they had no vinaigrette or light dressing -- oh well, gotta live once in a while. I had water to drink. Not super unhealthy, but there wasn't too much healthy stuff to pick from.
On the way home, I grabbed a Power Bar for my afternoon snack.

I got back to my normal meal plan when I got home.
I went to a movie Saturday night with a friend. She had a pop. I was good and had nothing (the ticket was like $9! ouch!). By the way, Hancock is a pretty good flick. Not your average superhero movie, that's for sure. Wasn't my favorite movie, but entertaining. It had something for the guys and something for the ladies.

I checked the scale when I got to the gym today, and it seems I stayed where I left off. I was pleased as I had made some choices that weren't the best food-wise.

Last night's weigh-in....

So due to the holiday, weigh-in was move to last night.
As you remember from my last blog entry, I made some changes this week to see if there'd be a difference. I was pretty confident there would be, but it was still a bit up in the air.
I lost 3 pounds! I'm down to 210! I haven't weighed this little since probably my 7th or 8th grade years of school.
I can't tell you how proud I am of all the hard work I've put in. It just goes to show that all you need to do is work hard and eat well and it will pay off.
The lady that weighed me in last night is different from the one who normally does. She saw the 3 pounds and was happy for me then she started flipping thru my chart and said, "Wait. It's not even been a year yet? You've lost 106 pounds in 9 months?! Then the gal that works at the counter in the waiting area told her that I did it all without doing Optifast and that I did it just by eating right and exercising. She was flabbergasted. :)
10 pounds left to go to get to my goal weight!

Switching up my snacks and meals a bit this week....

Since I gained a pound last week, I'm trying some new stuff to try to get back on the losing end of things. Everyone thinks that I may not be eating enough for the amount of working out I'm doing. I tend to agree since when I get to the gym on Mondays after taking the weekend off from working out, I seem to have lost a few pounds but as the week goes on, I gain it back.

So I decided to eat a bit more this week and to change one of my snacks and swap two of my meals.

Instead of my Fiber One bar that I was eating in the afternoon, I eat either a Zone Bar or a Power Bar at the time I would normally have my V8 and string cheese. I now eat my V8 and string cheese in the afternoon. The bars give me the carbs and protein that I need after working out. They have more protein and carbs as well as calories than my Fiber One bars had. The Fiber One bars have more fiber, but I'm getting enough fiber in my diet already.

Since I tend to be more active early in the day (work out in the morning) and more sedentary at night, I decided to switch my lunch and my supper around. I've wanted to do this for some time and finally decided this was the right time to try it. My supper is bigger than my lunch and I could use those calories earlier in the day than later in the day when I generally am not doing much. With my supper, I eat the same thing that I used to eat for lunch, however now I also eat an apple with it.

I think that we'll probably see some better results now. I certainly hope we will (what song is 'certainly hope we will' from? heh)

New jogging record today....

I'm really proud of myself. With my trainer being gone, I jogged alone today. I wanted to jog for 30 minutes straight but was a bit discouraged early on. I got to the gym and got dressed, but the manager was on the good treadmill (the one with the fans built-in and the cup holders/mp3 player holders). Someone else was on the other good treadmill. The other treadmills have no cup holders, so if you have to get a drink of water, you have to hop off and grab your bottle off the floor.
Anyway, I started jogging for two minutes on a regular one until I saw the manager get off the treadmill, so I hopped off and did another 28 minutes straight on it. I consider that 30 minutes straight. I left the towel over the display the whole time so I wouldn't get psyched-out. I listened to headphones on my iPhone the whole time. Gotta love Modest Mouse: 'Good News for People Who Love Bad News'. Awesome album.
I'm pumped! I'm really proud that I did it and did so on my own without my trainer there as a crutch to push me. I now know that I can do it 100% on my own.
With those 30 minutes, I went over 3 miles and burned over 400 calories.
After jogging for 30 minutes and doing a 4 minute cool-down walk, I went and knocked out the weights as per usual.

New speaking engagement!....

I got an email this morning from Mercy's PR dept (hi Kate!) asking if I would speak at a diabetes conference in October. I, of course, said I would. :)

This time the conference is in front of people with diabetes. It's called 'Take Control of Your Diabetes' and is at the Convention Center downtown. The last time they had it, there were more than 1,000 attendees. That's awesome! I wish I had kept my speech from before! Oh well, the story is mine and it's in my head! I'll be speaking on my weightloss again. There will also be one other person that lost weight speaking as well as a doctor and dietician. We'll speak for 10 minutes followed by a 15 minute panel where the folks can ask us questions. I DO like to talk about myself and I do like attention. :)
It's 3 days after my 31st birthday and about 13 months after I started this journey. It'll be a cool way to start off my birthday! By then, I hope to be at my goal and on my way to my next goal. :)

Weighing-in this week will be Wednesday....

Due to the holiday, I'll be weighing-in Wednesday night instead of Thursday.
Stay tuned for results....

Yesterday's and today's workouts....

Since my trainer is on vacation, I'm working out alone this week. Also, due to the gym (where we have classes) floor being repaired we have no classes.

Yesterday I did 45 minutes on the cross-trainer at around 7+mph on level 8. I normally do level 6. Yesterday was the first time I'd tried level 8. After that, I hit the weights as I always do on M,W,F.

Last night I only got 4 hours sleep. I almost decided to sleep in and get an additional 3 or so, but I decided I'd better work out. I was groggy to say the least. Some of our usual class members played some Wally Ball since there's no class. We did that for 30 minutes then I did 7 on the cross-trainer.