Another late post. I got into work late and had a ton of stuff to work on. :/ Anywho... Wednesday was a blast! I started out on the Total Body Trainer Elliptical for 15 minutes. The usual. Then I did abs & upper body. Abs: toning exercises, crunches, bicycles, side-to-sides w/ 8lb ball, modified crunches w/8lb ball, "knee-tucks", 3 machines etc. Upper body: lateral pulldowns, extensions, curls, row, etc. Abs wore me out but upper body was rough. However, when I got home, I could only feel soreness in one arm (more like one muscles). Definitely going to have to look into that. I can do legs and be so sore the same day but not arms? Idk. I want to see if we can get in some pushups/pullups. Once I finished the strength training, I hopped on the StairMaster. YES! I stayed on the StairMaster for 15 minutes and finished up my workout for the day. Total time: 1.5 hours. Calories: 562! So happy and I was actually sweaty! Woohoo!

Oh...my...word... That was a killer workout and it was only week 1 day 1!!!! But, then again I did workout longer than I was supposed to because I was trying to calibrate my new Nike+ shoes and tracker thingy. My time was horrible but at least I didn't quit. I'm already a winner because all I wanted to do after a long, stressful day at work was go eat and sleep! But I ate a small snack and got to working on my goals.

My endurance was ok, but the day 1 looked pretty easy since it was rotating between walking and jogging. My biggest struggle was pushing through when I got tired. It would have been nice to give up when I reached 15 mins and was exhausted. I felt the burn around 20 minutes. And I kept telling myself that I will never accomplish anything noteworthy if I quit. How amazing will it feel to complete a 5K after once weighing 240lbs! All in the same year!!! I get chills just thinking about it. I don't care about winning or placing in the race. I just want to be able to run in it... To be able to say, "I ran a 5K!"

All of that being said... Here's a pic of my results from my first 5K training day which is also my goal for the rest of the week... Beat my time!!!

To date... I have lost 11 pounds. That doesn't sound like much, but it's awesome to me! I have been struggling with weight for over a year now. I've struggled all of my life but I was able to keep it down until about 2 years ago. It quickly increased (in a matter of months) and the symptoms got worse. But I'm determined to get fit again. Since I made that decision in December and started to act on it in January, I have lost 11lbs. And working on more! ;) I started at 240, out of shape, miserable, depressed, and unhealthy. I reached my 10lb goal on Sunday. My goal for this week was to get below 230lbs. I checked my weight, just checking, and I was 229! It takes time and considering that I haven't fit in a workout this week, I consider that to be a great accomplishment. I was able to lose without a workout! Now just imagine how much more I can lose if I actually do my planned workouts!?!?! My husband is on board with me and he has lost approximately 9lbs in the past 1.5 weeks. (Just from cutting out sweet tea!) If he worked out, he probably could have lost 15lbs!

Now a little motivational picture to get through the rest of the week: I chose this picture because I have a lot of supporters who are pushing for me to succeed. My mom (the "pusher") said she was proud when I told her I lost 10lbs. And she didn't kill the buzz with: "Let's see how much more you can lose" or "Oh wow, 10lbs. I'm waiting for 50lbs before I'm impressed". That makes things a lot easier when the support is positive motivation and not negative interactions that make you feel like your worthless. Good things in, good things out!

This image is my motivation for the moment. Once I get into something and make a good habit, I'm pretty good at keeping it going without any major problems. My biggest struggle is the beginning. It takes me a long time to find what works... a routine, a plan, a lifestyle. I have to feel comfortable with it and not stressed by it. Start slow... build up strength and speed and endurance. If I start off to fast or heavy, I will hurt myself again. I have a history of knee pain since I was about 13 years old. I hurt my knee during a softball game and it hasn't been the same since. It really inhibits my activity sometimes. For instance, I cannot play racquetball or basketball with my husband or my dad. It hurts me to do lunges (but not squats??? Weird). I have good form when I work out but do to injuries and increased strain due to weight, it makes it hard to keep going on a good path. My husband bought me an elliptical trainer for this reason. It hurts to run on a standard treadmill or pavement and I love to run. I used to just run a mile whenever I pleased during high school and a portion of college. Now, I can barely make a half mile jog! But that's ok... I knew it would take a while to build my body back up to the level I was a year ago. I just have to try... and keep trying... until I get to where I need to be. As for my knee, I'll just have to keep going and focus on my diet to lose the weight until I can push harder.

This is SO true. There will be a challenge in everything you do. I believe that if you work for it, you deserve it and respect it. It goes for everything in life. But for a woman to fight for her body, it shows she cares and will not take a load of crap. You can put her down but she's just going to fight harder. I feel the same. I have to fight for my body. I gave up for a short amount of time and lost it all. Now, I have to fight harder for what I want. And believe me, it is a lot harder than before. It's depressing when you can't do the things that used to be so simple last year. Yes, I have a medical reason as to why I gained so much weight in such a short time... but that will not be my excuse any longer. That will be my motivation. I will beat this problem and heal myself. I just have to keep my head up and focus on the goal. I just have to make it through the holidays first! :/

I found this pic today and it made me start thinking... Do we really know the difference between cheating and accidents when it comes to a diet. I would like to say yes but some people are in denial about it. Cheating is a deliberate act of eating trash foods and slacking on workouts. It is an accident when you eat something you shouldn't have when you were really hungry and there were no healthy foods around. You don't starve yourself. When you hungry and you know you're not going to be home for another 2 hours... go drink some water and eat the healthiest food you can find. Go take a picture of a vending machine and go look up nutritional values to find what's healthiest. It's a completely different story to tell yourself that eating an entire slice of cake for dessert at a office party is ok when there's a fruit and veggie tray right next to it. It's not horrible that you get a cookie and take a few bites or eat the chocolate chips out of it. It's actually healthier to do that. It shows you that it's ok to indulge as long as you don't overdo it. You don't want to deprive yourself of treats you gave yourself all the time. That will make it easier for your new lifestyle to backfire in your face! Talk about losing 30lbs and gaining back 50lbs all because you didn't give yourself a little something. Find a healthy alternative to snacking. For instance, instead of eating cheese dip and chips, try homemade salsa. Or, switch out chocolate for carob! They're remarkably the same yet carob is a healthier alternative (better for diabetics too!) Keep yourself away from temptation but restrain yourself to the point you binge. If you have a craving, only get enough to satisfy that craving. Need something crunchy? Put away the chips and get carrots or celery. You can spice them up with some seasonings instead of fat dressings! My biggest craving is chocolate. So, sometimes (when I decide to have chocolate in the house) I get a bar of DARK chocolate. Break it into little chunks, and freeze it! That way, when I have a craving, I just open the freezer and pop one of those chunks in my mouth and let it melt. It last longer and you think your eating more!

Some people have no clue how true this is. There are so many gorgeous women out there who worry about their non-budging weight. They are naturally skinny. There are so many MORE absolutely beautiful women out there who struggle with their weight. They know restraint and strength. They know pain and determination. They know cruelty and hurt from others as well as themselves. And yet, they go places and succeed. They are strong enough to get through the rough times and smile. They don't look back with regret but with a warm heart knowing that they did have a rough time but they pushed through it and can push harder next time. It's a fight. If it knocks you down, you are strong enough to get back up. You just have to believe it.