Before Photos

By the talented Nathan Morrissey, please check his website out.

Rough Day

Ok, first off, I know I need to post more, even if just for my own benefit. But not having steady internet access makes this a challenge.

Second of all, I'm backsliding a lot lately which makes me really sad. I know I can keep this up, but I'm having a hard time maintaining motivation without work out buddies and someone to check in with. Moving to Chandler should be different, I'm hoping, because I'll be out of work at 3:30pm every day, and should be able to spend a good amount of time at the gym daily.

And with my new job coming up (and only a half hour lunch), I think I'll have better opportunities to buy, make, and take healthy meals for at home and on the go.

The rough day has come from some depressing thoughts, but most especially the first spinning class I took. Literally made me sick. I had to leave. I hate that it happened, and I don't know if I'll be back, because I wasn't enjoying myself at all, but I am looking forward to my two training sessions this week. :)

Measurements Revisited

About two weeks ago I did my second set of measurements at the gym.

And can I just say thank God for results.

3" lost off my waist. A couple inches overall elsewhere.

5 pounds total since I started, which also means 5 pounds since I was last measured, as there were only very small changes last month.

AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaand!

An almost 5% reduction in body fat. This is the most exciting and fulfilling result of all of them - it's the one that matters the most for overall health and the one that seems to be the most difficult to see drastic results in.

The ladders, the foot cramps, the sweat, the stress, the embarrassment, the hard work, the smiles, and the tears are paying off.

I wish I had had the chance to post when this first came up, but as I am without internet, it has been no easy feat to get to my blog.

Heartfelt thanks to all of you who have been supporting me through this. Also a big thank you to my trainers! The look on Joe's face when I told him about the body fat and weight loss was so gratifying, because not only did he know that my hard work was paying off, but so was his. I think it takes a bit of a village to do this and I'm so lucky to have so many wonderful people who are working on this with me in some way or another.

Ladders

So my lovely (and somewhat douche-y, but I say that in the best way possible) trainer, Joe, has a penchant for forcing me to do "ladder" cardio exercises. What this means is you start out on either Level 0 or Level 1 on a machine, and after five or ten minutes (depending on the machine), you increase the level of resistance one increment every minute until the machine maxes out, and then you go back down.

What this means is A TON of calories are burned, and usually your thighs, calves, knees, arms, and, OH YEAH YOUR WHOLE BODY, are also on fire. It also equates to what feels like a very quick work out because it's changing the whole time and a very satisfied feeling when you see how many calories you burned, how many miles your workout equals, and knowing you actually kept the stupid elliptical going on LEVEL 24- the elliptical's max resistance level.

So despite the fact that whenever Joe tells me to do a ladder, I bitch and moan about it, I relish them. They make me feel so good - which means I'm making my self feel so good. And I really do feel great post-gym. I'm enjoying the soreness and the increased flexibility and lung capacity. It seems it all goes hand in hand.

Sometimes I even do ladders when Joe's not on my ass to do them - and I recommend them to anyone who wants to get their ass kicked cardio-wise.

It's been a few weeks...

And I'm feeling pretty weak to be honest. I was at the gym tonight, but not for as long as the standards I want to hold myself to, and also for the first time since LAST Thursday. I've eaten a lot of junk this week, which is not the worst thing in the world, and I do enjoy indulging but I need to limit the junk. Especially if I want the next measurements to show success and not a lack thereof. I typed "failure" at first, but I don't think getting into that mindset is good either.

What I need right now is a good, healthy kick in the ass. I need a better coping mechanism than eating and wanting attention from someone in particular. Or someone in general. I hate it when I get this way, but I just realized that I normally don't identify this as outside of the norm, so the fact that I haven't been like this all the time lately is a damn good sign.

Some encouragement and positive reinforcement would be greatly appreciated. And I need to do those things for myself too, along with being a little harder on myself and learning some discipline. I feel better, a little, after writing this, and after having gone to the gym tonight.

Goal for the week: To take it day by day and get back on track.

Measurements

I had my first set of measurements since I started on Tuesday. This was not all I had hoped for. I've gotta watch the nutrition better, and commit to more time at the gym. I'm really in need of some encouragement right now, so thanks in advance for that. :)

Feels like Summer

June is starting off to be a beautiful month. I hadn't been to the gym since Wednesday or Thursday of last week but we've been moving the whole time so I feel like I still got some exercise. I went last night and it felt so good to be back. I got to touch my toes doing that sitting stretchy thing and that was pretty exciting, because quality toe touches are one of my goals. Now I just gotta do the good ones (standing) and I'll be pretty excited.

Measurements next Tuesday at 6pm...