AHH!!! I'm back!!! I went on vacation and it was awesome! Not as awesome as it could have been but pretty epic. I went snorkeling!!! And got toasted! (Not intentionally, unfortunately). I wasn't as excited as I had hoped because I wasn't where I wanted to be physically but... I didn't get stared at and scoffed at like a beached whale! Honestly, I felt pretty good once I got out there. But it's the best motivation because I felt disgusted at myself. Like, "You are decent to not scare the little children... But you are not in a good place right now. Go workout." and then, I check out the gym... It's $15 a day! Sorry, I didn't plan on paying for a gym membership on vacation. I was expecting it to be FREE (Since the condo stated it had access to the gym!). smh. So, I resorted to stumbling across the sandy beach, walking up and down the boardwalk/pier, and swimming. And I probably gained some weight (too scared to check) due to all of the good food. Mostly fish and veggies and fruit but there were a lot of yummy sweet fruity drinks, snacks and unhealthy food like burgers and ribs and fries! Not the best idea to say you're going to stick to working out and clean eating on the first real vacation you've had in years. lol
Joking aside, I got back in the gym today. Busted my butt on the elliptical and stairmaster (not literally) and had a killer ab & arm workout. Apple & yogurt for breakfast. Leftover Olive Garden for lunch. Hopefully, a yummy salad from Newk's for dinner. We usually do our meal prep on Monday's but since we haven't been grocery shopping yet, it will have to wait until tomorrow.
Tomorrow's workout... dundunDUNNNN... LEG DAY!! Whoohooo! I'm excited! Really. I am.
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.
Wow... It's really hard! I understand that I shouldn't get down about it because its better than it was 3 weeks ago. But still!!! It's hard to deal when you used to easily run a 10 minute mile! But at least I'm trying again. Here's a cool story (see pics)... I finished running and crashed in the living room. Zoey Jane then jumps onto my recliner and starts growling at me. I won't let her come with me when I run. She then jumps on my stomach and puts her paw on my arm and stares intently at me while huffing. I'm assuming she was telling me that everything will be okay and I will reach my goals if I keep working hard. Or she just wanted some attention and wanted to play. Haha! So... Here's my stats from today's run and my baby girl being all huffy and junk. ;)
This time change is bring me down! I can't wake up on time and I can't go to sleep on time either! It's making me hungry too! I have some major cravings for unhealthy food. Luckily, it hasn't been too hard to keep up the healthy eating. The hard part is eating the correct portions! It's been like the for about 3 days and I've gained 3 lbs in the last week! It's very frustrating! I started my training for the 5K in July and that's been going pretty well... Like a fish on dry land more like! ;) I'm trying to get back into my rhythm, if you know what I mean. The pace, the breathing... At least I have more daylight when I get home from work now. I can go to the park and run and not feel like I'm being stalked. haha.
Grant & I are looking into finding a new local gym. The one I went to was great in terms of equipment & staff but the people and hours weren't so great. I'd have to work out by myself because Grant can't get home in time to work out... and he's not really supportive unless he has a similar goal. He helps a lot in the kitchen with the food prep and portions when we go out to eat. But in regards to exercise... not so much help there. But I can't force him to workout or eat healthy. I've tried and it just brings me down more.
The Iodine Protocol is going pretty well. I did gain 3 lbs in the past week but I'm not sure if that's due to the hunger/bad sleeping habits or if it's due to the iodine therapy. No telling right now. I do have a bit more energy and I can tell I still have detox symptoms (minor headaches, itchy skin, bad acne, mild nausea in the morning/night, etc) but I'm not as cold as I used to be, my skin is not blue white... more like a off white now (color returning - not flush or tan). Overall, I feel happier and less depressed than I used to. I feel like I can do a million things... I'm just still too tired right now. I feel more alert to what's going on but I still wear down fast.
My hair is really thick now and shinier than it used to be. I also switched some of my hair products to more natural ingredients. I use Ulta Sulfate free shampoo/conditioner (big difference there even though not organic or anything), 2chic leave in conditioner/split end remedy + 1/2 pump of treseme split end remedy. The combination stinks but once your hair is dry, you can't smell it. I've switched my deodorant from clinical strength to Crystal (all natural). Since I'm adopted, I don't know if I have a history of breast cancer or not but I decided to switch regardless. Just one less product made with harsh chemicals going into my body. Now if I can only find something to help clear up my skin!!!
I haven't posted near enough in the past week. I'm going to start taking screenshots of my 5K training stuff and posting them after my workouts. I recently bought an iPhone so I can do that now!!! I also have a pushup trainer app (created by the C25K guys) that I'm going to be using for upperbody workouts until I can get in a gym (along with kettlebells).
Goal for this week: GET BACK TO 225!!!
Motivation: 5K & PC Beach!
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!!!
Week 3 on Iodine... Still at 2 drops a day. I found out the hard way that if I do not eat a good breakfast, I will get sick. I'm talking headaches, stomach aches, body aches, flu-like symptoms, dizziness, faint, etc. I was volunteering at the Special Olympics today and almost passed out of the field because I didn't eat enough food for breakfast with my Iodine. I was also severely dehydrated.
That being said... I ate some food and drank a LOT of water. I also drank a celtic sea salt solution (1/2 tsp + 8oz water) called Salt Loading to help reduce detox side effects (mentioned above).
I haven't shown detox symptoms except one the two days that I didn't eat a good breakfast. Since I am cutting out wheat, artificial & processed foods, refined sugars, etc... that means I have very few options for a good and fast breakfast. My breakfast used to consist of greek yogurt but I cannot eat anything with calcium in it with the iodine (which is taken in the morning) so there goes the other half of all breakfast foods. I still eat the yogurt for an afternoon snack along with berries and nuts.
The one thing I need to focus on my eating habits again... I've been travelling a lot the past 3 weeks so I'm out of my eating schedule. (3 small meals, 2 snacks) That has helped so much in the past and I can tell the weight loss has slowed down too. I'm picking it back up this week along with my workouts. Now that I'm home, I can actually use my elliptical again as well as continue my body weight exercises. I'm thinking about adding Bowling and Wii games to the mix... If I can get some friends to go bowling with me. lol
It feels great to be back home and in a controlled environment... I hope it's a long time before I have to leave again! Now, my goal for this week is to get to 220. My weight has been up and down this past week (probably due to travel) so I want to get it back to where it should be.. On track!!! My motivation for this week: This top and those bottoms for my beach trip... I bought them in my correct size which is a little snug so my motivation is to fit better in 3 months.
Weighed in today... 225!!! It feels great to get out of that rut! I'm home safe and sound and focusing on my food intake and workouts. I splurged on food this week (bad MaddyGrace) but I'm losing and back on track.
I increased my Iodine to two drops. No noticeable side effects but I did wake up with a killer headache this morning. Could be dehydration or sinuses though. I feel great and happy.
I did a quick workout this morning... 15 mins on the elliptical and 50 sit-ups. I'm dying to get back into a gym to do some real squats and assisted pull-ups. I know I won't be able to squat 200 for a while but I think I can squat around 100 pretty easily. Cardio and body weight exercises are great right now. I just miss feeling the strength at the end of my session. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there with that feeling.
I got some new clothes last night at Dicks Sporting Goods and Victorias Secret Pink. I can fit back into a large at VS! That made my night. Grant asked me to try on an old swimsuit to see how it fit and I had to loosen it but it wasn't as bad as I expected. It's definitely motivation for my trip because I don't want to buy a new one for a one time wear. I would post a pic but I'm really embarrassed right now. I'm holding it for transformation pics though. ;)
Something new I'm adding to my routine.... Walking. At work, we have a walking program to help employees monitor their weight and get them moving more instead of sitting all day, every day. I joined the program. My first check in is March 23? With 54 miles. So, on top of workouts and my healthy lifestyle, I will be counting my daily steps. Work itself is becoming stressful as I work my way up the knowledge chain, so I am also focusing on staying as stress free as possible. Going to Lafayette this week so prayers and encouragement are welcomed.
Goal for the next week... 223!!! A little laugh today for my motivation:
