5/6/13 (Monday morning) was a killer workout! But I had so much fun! I burned 575 calories in the 1.5 hours I was at the gym working out. I started out with 15 minutes on the Total Body Elliptical Trainer. I went on to stretch and do some basic core workouts. Then I met up with Jessica (my AWESOME personal trainer) and got my butt kicked! We did free-weight routine today which was a mix of upper & lower body exercises. A variety of squats & lunges with curls & extensions at the same time! Talking about boosting my heart rate! And I looked like a doofus and was laughing the entire time to keep for saying other choice words. lol. It was strenuous to say the least. Then my semi-sadistic personal trainer (not really - inside joke) decided to introduce me to the StairMaster (more like reintroduce - It's been almost 2 years since I've seen one). I had a 15 minute workout set on random (crazy of me to agree with Jessica). But, I really enjoyed it. Plus, I had all of these little old men come up to me and congratulate me for working hard. Kind of annoying because I'm one who keeps to myself during cardio but it was nice.

Later that night, I was dancing around the house to my Fast & Furious Pandora station (mix of latin artists, hip-hop & dubstep). I wish I had my HRM for that one. ;) Acting a fool and having a blast. Haven't felt that energetic in a long time. But a few hours later (after I settled down), I literally crawled into bed. I was so sore & stiff. I knew without a doubt it was going to take a long time to wake up the next morning (it did... all 15 minutes of slowly moving toward the edge of the bed. LOL). But, again, I enjoyed it. I'm alive and I can endure it. I'm pushing my body to it's limits at the gym and feeling the rewards when I get home. I feel better, more energetic & less depressed. I can focus (even though I still have headaches) and get work done. I just wish I could wake up early. That's still my biggest problem. The fatigue is still there in the mornings. I can get up to meet my personal trainer but no other time. I've got to figure that one out.

So, I received my "Be Fit" box from Vitacost.com yesterday. I opened it and Oh MY! It was amazing as to what all was in there. This is one of the products that I tried out yesterday before my workout. GU Chomps (Strawberry). The package contained 4 little gummies (1 serving size). They tasted interesting to say the least. They were good but had a bit of a bite to them. By the fourth one, I wish I had more! I got a little energy from them. The feel good glow energy, not the jittery, "I want to crush something" energy. lol. I felt GOOD. I did my entire upper body workout. I don't think this is a "pre-workout", just an energy boost. I did feel a bit stronger in two ways: 1) more sets & 2) I didn't give up when it got tough. It was exhilarating. It didn't make me hungry (just a bit thirsty) and I didn't crash later. And it did not keep me up all night. Just the little boost I needed for my workout. ;)

I checked out the website and there are more flavors to choose from too! If you're interested in saving $10 off a $30 purchase, go to this website: https://www.vitacostrewards.com/SNoNAl.

I have decided to start training for my first 5K!!! I haven't ran in years but I am determined to start back. I found out my church is hosting a 5K in July for their youth group mission trip to Nicaragua. I thought it would be interesting to see how this goes since I've never participated in a 5K before. I'm not in it to place or anything... I just want to accomplish something great that I've never tried before. I just bought new running shoes since my old Under Armor ones are killing me and downloaded the Nike+ & C25K apps for my iPhone. I think it will be interesting to see how this goes. My first run will be this evening... 30 minutes! I'm nervous!

On to a different subject... I've held steady at 225 for almost 2 weeks now. :/ I'm not too happy but at least I'm not gaining it all back. I'm back on my eating schedule and working out again. I've got my Iodine lined out too. I need to find different ways to boost my weight loss so I can keep losing. I think training for the 5K will help boost it again. My biggest fear about this is hurting myself. I have a healed knee injury from high school that always seems to flair up at the most inopportune time.

Anyways... I just wanted to share my little bit of excitement. Happy Monday to all!

A bit of motivation:

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! :/

This was my mantra this morning. It took 10 minutes to go half a mile! I remember how I could easily run a 10 minute mile. And that was me being lazy! So, that being my motivation, I did the half mile. Slowly working my way back to a mile. I hurt my knee when I was in high school so I'm taking it slow. I don't want to hurt myself more. It's already bad enough I gained the weight. That puts a lot of strain on knees anyway. Plus, not keeping the muscles strong and the cold weather makes it harder to keep knees healthy and strong. But, I made it through this morning with a quick workout. I'll get back on it again tonight when I get home from work. I can't wait for the day when I can run 3 or 4 miles in 30 minutes! Maybe, one day, I'll run a 5k! My coworkers do and they say the training they go through is rough. So, until I get back in shape, I'm avoiding that bullet!

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.