Over the past few months, I've been working really hard to get healthy and lose weight. If you asked me three months ago what I thought about the Holidays, I woudl have been nervous, and tried not to think about them too much. It was never activity that was my biggest problem, it was food. I've always enjoyed sports and working up a good sweat. No, my biggest problem was always food. I had a weakness for massive amount of junk food.
Thanksgiving is the start of the holidays when people usually let themselves go. Very little attention is paid to nutrition and moderation and it's easy to give into the temptation to indulge again and again and again. Three months ago, I would have been dreading the Holidays. Three weeks ago, I wasn't worried at all!
My family is notorious for bringing way too much food for the number of people attending an event. Good food! Massive amounts of amazing food!
This year was no different, however, it wasn't a problem!
This year, Thanksgiving was at night, instead of the lunch meal like it normally is with my family. That day, I didn't change my eating pattern. I ate breakfast, I ate lunch, and a small snack in the afternoon. That way, that evening, when the massive amounts of amazing food weren't such an issue anymore! Yeah, I ate a little more for dinner than I usually did, but I didn't over-indulge! The next day I weighed myself and I even still lost weight! (Official weight update to come!)
I think that's the trick. Between changing attitudes about food, and keeping my normal eating habits, the holidays won't be a disaster!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Let's Do This Together!
I know you have all heard me talk about this 24 Day Challenge a lot on here, and right now, I want to try something new. I started this blog for a couple of reasons, for encouragement and accountability for me, but also, so I could inspire and encourage other people trying to lose weight. The encouragement I've received because of this blog has been tremendous! I love reading the comments from people and talking to people who stumbled across it thanks to Twitter and Facebook, and now, I want to help others get the results I'm experiencing now!
I would LOVE it if some of you folks, who have been reading my blog, would also do the 24 Day Challenge! It would be fantastic if we could get a group to do it. Maybe we'll all be local, maybe we'll be all over the country, I have no idea where a lot of my reader base is, but what I do know, is the more people who participate in this, the merrier!
Leave a comment if you think you may or may not be interested in doing the 24 Day Challenge. Find a friend do to it with you if you'd like! If you have any questions, let me know and I can either answer them, myself, or point you to someone who knows even more than I do and we can have a great time and get amazing results!
Instead of waiting until the holidays are over, let's create some momentum towards a healthier lifestyle now! Come January, you won't be starting out, all by yourself, even heavier than you are now, and come February, you won't burn out and give up like so many people do! With this, you'll have a support system, help from the same great people helping me, and most importantly, RESULTS!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Momentum
I was on the treadmill yesterday during my lunch and came to the realization that idleness breeds more idleness, and activity breeds more activity.
It was really hard for me to get to the gym yesterday because I felt really tired. I realized that I've been tired for the past several days, and I also realized that my work-out regimen, of late, has been quite lax.
I've got some great momentum going, and I want to continue that momentum and see those numbers on the scale get smaller and smaller. There's a pretty big event going on in Ft. Worth, TX this January that I'm SUPER excited about, and I want to have to buy new clothes for that event because none of mine fit anymore! So far my clothes are fitting much looser than they have in the past, but I still have a ways to go before justifying a shopping spree!
I can't give up or just start to coast on the momentum already taking place. Weight loss is an intentional, group effort. (I say group effort because I've found that you can't lose significant weight on your own, you need a support system and I'm so glad for the one I have!) Lifestyle change is also an intentional effort and not something that will happen by coasting. It's an uphill battle that requires consistent effort.
Activity breeds more activity.
It was really hard for me to get to the gym yesterday because I felt really tired. I realized that I've been tired for the past several days, and I also realized that my work-out regimen, of late, has been quite lax.
I've got some great momentum going, and I want to continue that momentum and see those numbers on the scale get smaller and smaller. There's a pretty big event going on in Ft. Worth, TX this January that I'm SUPER excited about, and I want to have to buy new clothes for that event because none of mine fit anymore! So far my clothes are fitting much looser than they have in the past, but I still have a ways to go before justifying a shopping spree!
I can't give up or just start to coast on the momentum already taking place. Weight loss is an intentional, group effort. (I say group effort because I've found that you can't lose significant weight on your own, you need a support system and I'm so glad for the one I have!) Lifestyle change is also an intentional effort and not something that will happen by coasting. It's an uphill battle that requires consistent effort.
Activity breeds more activity.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Weight loss update, goals set, and goals achieved!
Wow, I didn't realize it had been almost a month since I updated this puppy! Unacceptable! A lot has happened this month, so I'll try to cover as much as I can without overwhelming or boring you!
I guess the first thing to cover is a weight update! Last time I informed you all I was at 346 pounds, down from my starting weight of 386 pounds. Total loss so far was 40 pounds. I weighed myself a few weeks ago at clocked in at 333 pounds, bumping that number of pounds lost to 53! I absolutely credit those 13 pounds to the 24 Day Challenge because I weighted myself about 2 days after my cycle was finished and was back to normal. I also lost a total of 5 inches! The number of inches lost is below average, but I'm okay with it. My clothes are fitting looser, I have more energy, and I still feel fantastic!
Another big thing that's happened, is a reduction in my mile-time! I'm trying to run at least a mile a few times a week, along with some resistance training and other cardio workouts. My typical routine for getting ready for a work out consists of having a Spark, and taking some ThermoPlus about 30 minutes before working out, and about 10 minutes before, I take some Catalyst. Those three supplements really give me an energy boost, and help with my endurance and mental stamina as well. The last three runs have really shown that! I'm not to the point that I can run a mile without stopping yet, but the last three times in a row that I've run, I've had a new personal best!
On Monday of this past week, I went to the fitness center at work before my shift and did my best time ever! I also hit a goal of running a full lap around the track (a quarter mile) without stopping! I beat my current PR by a few seconds with the time of 17:01. I was disappointed because I didn't get under 17 minutes which has been a goal for a while, but I was happy that I ran a full quarter mile! That same day, on my lunch break, I decided to go at it again. I went back and got on the treadmill, and while I didn't run a full lap again, I did beat my time from that morning SIGNIFICANTLY!!!!!!! I ran that mile in 16:32! I don't know if 30 seconds is so significant in the big picture, but considering it was my second time in the same day, I was pretty excited! Later that week, I went to my home gym and ran again, this time, I ran a full 1/4 mile, and beat that time again and ran the mile in 16:24. Not a huge improvement, but considering a ran the full lap, and was running more and longer distances between walking parts of it, I was still pretty psyched!
Every workout I do, I feel stronger, and it gets easier. I can go at it longer without needing breaks, and my recovery time is getting shorter every day!
I've still got a long way to go, but I've come pretty far! I love the encouragement I get from people who read this blog and see my posts on facebook and twitter, and from people who see me in person. I'm hoping that by the 12th of this month, I can run a full lap around the track consistently, and not just on my good days, and my next milestone goal, is to run a mile (without stopping) by January 20th. I think having solid goals with dates is helping a lot too in that they are helping me measure my accomplishments.
Last of all, I just want to say thanks to all of you who have been such an incredible encouragement to me so far! One thing I've found is that there's no way I could do this on my own, but thanks to you all, I don't have to! You guys are great and thank you!!!!!!!
I guess the first thing to cover is a weight update! Last time I informed you all I was at 346 pounds, down from my starting weight of 386 pounds. Total loss so far was 40 pounds. I weighed myself a few weeks ago at clocked in at 333 pounds, bumping that number of pounds lost to 53! I absolutely credit those 13 pounds to the 24 Day Challenge because I weighted myself about 2 days after my cycle was finished and was back to normal. I also lost a total of 5 inches! The number of inches lost is below average, but I'm okay with it. My clothes are fitting looser, I have more energy, and I still feel fantastic!
Another big thing that's happened, is a reduction in my mile-time! I'm trying to run at least a mile a few times a week, along with some resistance training and other cardio workouts. My typical routine for getting ready for a work out consists of having a Spark, and taking some ThermoPlus about 30 minutes before working out, and about 10 minutes before, I take some Catalyst. Those three supplements really give me an energy boost, and help with my endurance and mental stamina as well. The last three runs have really shown that! I'm not to the point that I can run a mile without stopping yet, but the last three times in a row that I've run, I've had a new personal best!
On Monday of this past week, I went to the fitness center at work before my shift and did my best time ever! I also hit a goal of running a full lap around the track (a quarter mile) without stopping! I beat my current PR by a few seconds with the time of 17:01. I was disappointed because I didn't get under 17 minutes which has been a goal for a while, but I was happy that I ran a full quarter mile! That same day, on my lunch break, I decided to go at it again. I went back and got on the treadmill, and while I didn't run a full lap again, I did beat my time from that morning SIGNIFICANTLY!!!!!!! I ran that mile in 16:32! I don't know if 30 seconds is so significant in the big picture, but considering it was my second time in the same day, I was pretty excited! Later that week, I went to my home gym and ran again, this time, I ran a full 1/4 mile, and beat that time again and ran the mile in 16:24. Not a huge improvement, but considering a ran the full lap, and was running more and longer distances between walking parts of it, I was still pretty psyched!
Every workout I do, I feel stronger, and it gets easier. I can go at it longer without needing breaks, and my recovery time is getting shorter every day!
I've still got a long way to go, but I've come pretty far! I love the encouragement I get from people who read this blog and see my posts on facebook and twitter, and from people who see me in person. I'm hoping that by the 12th of this month, I can run a full lap around the track consistently, and not just on my good days, and my next milestone goal, is to run a mile (without stopping) by January 20th. I think having solid goals with dates is helping a lot too in that they are helping me measure my accomplishments.
Last of all, I just want to say thanks to all of you who have been such an incredible encouragement to me so far! One thing I've found is that there's no way I could do this on my own, but thanks to you all, I don't have to! You guys are great and thank you!!!!!!!
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