Workouts & Goals

Well, it's 8:45am and today's workout is already done. Actually, it was done about an hour and a half ago....that's right...I woke up this morning and worked out super-early!!! 6 AM! And just so you know, I am NOT a morning person....at all...not even a little bit. Haley and I are going to try this morning thing once or twice a week. It is really nice to have it done and I may even go for a walk/jog this afternoon!

Okay, speaking of jogging, for the longest time...like years...there has been one thing that I have wished I could do...RUN. I've had actual dreams about it....seriously...but, because I was being a big fatty, running or jogging was really painful. I've always had issues with my shins, but being super-fat and pounding my legs into the ground, made my shins feel like they were splintering into toothpicks with every step whether I was walking or running, not to mention that my knees also felt like they may just snap in two at any moment. Anyway, I have this goal to be able to run...I don't care if I run fast or slow and I'm not trying to run marathons, I just want to be able to put on my shoes and jog for a few miles; soooo I 've been doing some work to achieve my goal and I am happy to say that it's starting to pay off! Usually, for our warm-up, Haley and I do "burst-training" on the treadmill. "Burst-training" is short sprints, usually lasting about 30 seconds to a minute, followed by a 1-2 minute rest...we do this for around 15-20 mins. Since we've been doing this, I've noticed that I no longer get shin splints when I walk and I get them less frequently when I am running or jogging. I still can't run for very long without pain, but it's getting better. Today, instead of sprinting, I tried jogging. I jogged for about a minute then walked, and then jogged for two minutes and walked for one...I repeated this a few times. I still had some pain in my shins but it went away as soon as I stopped jogging...usually my shins would throb for awhile after I stopped running or walking so I'm making progress (I'm sure the -40 pounds has A LOT to do with my progress, as well!) To challenge myself, I've decided to sign up for the Crescent City Fall Classic (5K) in New Orleans this November and my goal is to be able to run at least half of it. I figure if I stick to my training plan and keep losing weight, it is definitely do-able! Also, my sister and I want to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February and I would like to be able to run at least 1/2 of that too! So there, additional goal to losing weight: BECOME A RUNNER (or at least a slow jogger...).

OoooooooMmmmmmmGgggggggg!

I have lost

40 POUNDS!!!!!!!

I am so excited! 40 pounds!!!! What does 40 pounds look like??? Like this:

This guy caught a 40 lb Mahi Mahi (yummy)

...that's heavy

apparently, I used to carry this boat around with me all day...

WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!

Now, on to the next 10!

:)

As promised....

another progress picture!

It's not as drastic as I had hoped, but that's what I get for taking the first 2 pics in "slimming black..."

Trust me...these jeans would have not made it past my thighs in the last progress picture I took...

A little comparison...

Still Moving Along...

So, as of last Wednesday, I'm down 36 lbs...and as of this morning, I'm still down 36 lbs. Now, don't get me wrong, I am super excited about my weight loss but I am still a little disappointed that the scale hasn't moved since last week. I'm hoping that after Haley kills me in spin today, maybe a pound or two will come off by tomorrow. I didn't expect to have a big loss this week, because of the way my weekend went. I didn't do terrible, but I cheated a little and didn't stick to my Medifast. I ate a few things that I would not normally eat. I tried to keep all my meals low-carb, but I slipped up a few times...once at lunch - Mazzio's salad bar and a slice of pizza...it was a small slice at least. Saturday evening I went to the beach with my parents and we went out for dinner. I ordered grilled fish but it came with a baked potato. I split the potato with my mom and went a little lite with the toppings. Although my eating was a little off this weekend, I still got up on Sunday morning a went for an extremely hot 5.5 mile walk on the beach so, my exercise probably took care of any damage that I did with my eating. Lately, I've noticed that I may have been veering off my Medifast diet a little too often, and as a result, my weight loss has slowed down. This week, I am commited to my plan  - no veering allowed.

I've decided to set some mini-goals for myself each week so that I my overall goal doesn't seem sooooo far away. My TSFL weigh-in day is every Wednesday, so tomorrow will be the start of my first mini-goal:

Lose 3 pounds by my next weigh-in.

Easy enough, right? I also think it will be helpful to list some things that I will do to make sure I reach my goal:

1) Stick to the Medifast Plan.

2) Drink 100 oz. of water a day.

3) Exercise at least 5-6 days this week.

4) Let Haley toture me at least 4 out of those 5-6 days.

5) Stay OFF of the scale until next Wednesday.

(this one is such a struggle for me)

As of tomorrow, I will have been on Medifast for 8 weeks! I'm going to post another progress picture tomorrow and I will also post my inches lost. I took my measurements after four weeks on Medifast and I had lost a total of 9.5 inches from my waist, thighs, arm, hips and chest! Can't wait to see my progress tomorrow! :)

 

Shopping in my closet...

As you may have read in my last post, I did a big-time closet clean-out over the weekend. Since it's all cleaned out, there is actually some extra room so I can see what is in there (my closet was jammed packed before...). So, I found these navy blue pants...just some casual slacks that a friend of mine gave me a few years ago. I have NEVER been able to wear them. In the past, I was able to get them on, but they were skin-tight in the legs and too tight in the waist...not wearable for me at all. During my morning ritual of "what the heck am I going to wear today," I invisioned a kind of nautical-ish outfit...cute navy and off-white striped top, yellow flats and those navy pants...if they fit......andddddddddd....

THEY DID!!!!

Not only do they fit, but they fit perfectly...they are even loose in the legs! As much as I love see the numbers on the scale go down, I love even more so, seeing changes in the way that my clothes fit! :)

Project: Fat Clothes Cleanout

Ok, as of this morning, I have lost 36 lbs!!!!! I am beyond excited about this. I still have quite a ways to go to reach my goal but I know I am going to get there! I have so many positive people in my life that offer me so much encouragement and support...I am so thankful for all of you!

So, my closet has been overflowing and I as I lose weight I keep buying more clothes, which has been worsening the problem, sooooooo I decided to get rid of all of my clothes that don't fit anymore! I'm never going back to where I was so there is no need to hang on to them.

Can't say that I'm sad to see you go...

Plenty of room for some smaller, cuter stuff!

I am hanging on to one pair of "fat jeans," but only so I can try them on when I reach my goal and see how far I've come....after that, I may have a "fat jeans" bonfire... 

Lots to catch up on!

Ok, I've been slacking on blogging, BUT I haven't been slacking on anything else. As of yesterday, I have lost a grand total of......drumrollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.....

35 POUNDS!!!!!

So, since my last post I've lost 4 more pounds...and I managed to do it even with a trip to New Orleans and a long weekend in Key West! I think that consistency is what is making me successful in my journey. I have learned to incorporate exercise into my daily routine and to always make healthy choices. I am still on the Medifast program but took a break from it while I was in Key West. Now, the old me would have lost my healthy mind and tried to eat every greasy, fried, delicious thing on the island, BUT the new me made smart choices for my meals and tried to get some form of physical activity while I was there (ok, one day my "physical activity" was shopping...it still counts...it was hot - I broke a sweat, and I walked fast from store to store...).

Ok, so my last post was about my "not-so-fat-jeans" and how excited I was to get back into them. Well, since then I've had more clothing victories!!!! Yay! Today, I am wearing some even smaller jeans than my "not-so-fat-jeans"...I guess I will call them my "less-than-not-so-fat-jeans." I haven't worn these in almost 6 years!!!! Also, I've had these two pairs of Nike running shorts that I've never really been able to wear. They were too tight, too short and my thighs wanted to have them for lunch every time I took a step....not a pretty picture at all. Well, both pairs fit now...and they fit loose!!! This weekend, I'm going through my closet and getting rid of everything that is too big...I don't want to hang on to any of those clothes because I NEVER want to get back in them....EVER!! Also, getting rid of old stuff gives me a good excuse to replace it with new, cuter, smaller stuff, right? ;)

Here's a recent picture....and an old one below it. I can see a difference! :)