Monday, March 31, 2014

12 Weeks!!

Wow! 12 weeks have passed since I started my new life.  I have learned so much about myself and about the amazing people around me in the past 12 weeks.  I have had ups and downs and smiles and tears.  I have learned that life is amazing and that I can always go on, even when I feel like I can't.  I thought to celebrate my 12 weeks progress, I would tell you the things I have been able to accomplish and some things I have learned along the way.

I have lost 36.2 pounds in 12 weeks!  I am trying really hard to not place much focus on my actual number of weight loss, but I have to admit that number makes me pretty freaking happy.  My goal was 35 pounds in 12 weeks, so I am even happier that I beat that goal!

I can bench press 90 pounds!  I have a pretty big goal of being able to easily do 135, but 90 is a great start.  And for the record, that is 12 reps of 90 pounds AFTER I have already done 2 sets of 12 reps at a slightly smaller weight.

I can leg press 150 pounds.  I really have no idea if that is a good weight, but I am excited to see that number go up and up.

I can row over 10 miles at a time!  It may take me a while, but I can do it.  I did do it!

I have started spinning.  It hurts my butt and sometimes makes me feel like I am uncoordinated buffoon. But, I keep going.  I may not be able to go as fast as everyone else, but I keep going.  I feel good when I am done and it makes me happy to accomplish it!

I can use the elliptical machine for 15 minutes straight.  That may not seem like much to someone, but it took me a while to be able to do that and I am proud of it.

My singing has improved with being in better shape.  My lung capacity has gotten better which means I can hold notes for longer and it has increased my range.  Very cool stuff.

My confidence level has increased so much.  If you know me, you might think I have a pretty high self-esteem level.  If you know me well, you know that I fake that high level pretty much every day.  My self-esteem is horrible.  Years of thinking terrible things about myself and believing things I had no business believing have left my confidence battered.  After just 12 weeks of making myself think positive thoughts, working out for a little boy who can't, and sending prayers to HIM with every workout, I am starting to believe that I am a person worthy of what I am doing.  I am worthy of thinking good thoughts about myself and believing that I am beautiful.

My friends and family are AWESOME.  I mean, seriously awesome.  Any time I feel like I can't go on and that I want to give up, I am blessed by people telling me that absolutely can continue.  My husband continually tells me how proud he is of me and that I am doing awesome.  My mom was so great on our trip home and she kept me going.  My friends at the gym are always smiling and telling me how well I am doing.  My kids even keep me going by telling me they have so much more fun with me now.  All of your comments on FB keep me encouraged that I am so excited to keep going.  My support system blows my mind!

I haven't been this physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually strong all at the same time ever in my life.  I don't think I have ever been this physically strong as an adult, in high school maybe, but never as an adult.  Mentally and emotionally I am in such a great place right now.  I am HAPPY.  I am so much more calm than I have been in a long time (not completely calm, I mean come on, I have 3 kids!!).  I feel wonderful about life.  But, the most incredible change is my awesome relationship with God.  HE has helped me in every step of this journey, and I know that HE will be with me through every single step of the rest of my life.  And now with this new life, what an amazing journey it will be!

So, 12 weeks.  12 Amazing weeks.  I can't wait to see what the next 12 weeks bring!

Blessings!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Couple of Things Today!

As I type this, I have to admit.  I am TIRED!  It was a very busy weekend and after my workout this morning, I could use a nap.  :)  But, alas, I am probably not going to get one.  I have a lot of things I need to get done.  It was a great weekend though.  I was blessed to sing at 2 wonderful masses, had a little alone time, knocked out 20 miles on the bike, and we celebrated J's 6th birthday with our family.  Very busy, but the weekend was fantastic.

This morning was pretty nice.  The kids are on Spring Break and the oldest is at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  So, the little ones let me sleep in and it was WONDERFUL!  Then, I went to the gym.  I went to the gym with a goal.  If you remember, last week I did 20 Eli miles on the Indo-rowers.  Well, after that, 2 of the men at the gym matched that work.  Today, I decided that I was going to up the ante.  My goal was 30 miles.  That is 16,500 meters!  Whoo.  So, I went.  I went and I rowed.  Then I rowed some more.  I was doing pretty well.  I hit 10 miles, then 20.  I knew I had it and would finish.  But, honestly, I had no idea how difficult those last 10 miles would be.  I just kept rowing.  About 25 miles, I started to hit a wall.  But at that point, there was no way I was stopping.  One of the gentlemen I row with in class was stretching near me.  He encouraged me and cheered me on.  It got me through and I pushed and pushed (well, pulled and pulled!).  16,500 meters.  Yeah, I'm pretty happy about that.  Now, I just have to decide if I want to attempt spinning class tonight. :)

Saturday, my sweet J had a friend's birthday party to go to.  While she was there, I ran out to the mall and walked around.  I have been learning a song for church for this coming Sunday and I was listening to it on repeat as I walked.  Of course I did a little shopping while I was there as well.  I found a couple of shirts that I liked.  The cool thing? I purchased XLs, not XXLs (well, I purchased one XXL, but it was the ONLY one in that design and it was a T-shirt, so I can refashion it later).  My boobs aren't small to begin with, so that means that I AM getting smaller in the rest of my body.  That makes me feel pretty good.

Saturday night on Facebook, I posted that I had made a Skinny Chicken Fried Rice for dinner. I was asked for the recipe, so I wanted to share it with you here.  It is seriously SO good!  It has become one of E and I's favorite meals.  Sometimes I make it without the chicken for a meatless meal.  The only other change for us is that I do not use sesame oil.  I use Extra-Virgin Olive oil because that is what I have at home.  I also only use 1-2 T. of the oil.  I don't need 3T. of it!  You can find the recipe HERE. I hope you enjoy it too.  Please let me know if you tried it and what you thought!

The next couple of days will be a challenge for me.  I am heading down to my parents' house and I have a tendency to not eat very well or exercise very much when I am there.  My mom is wonderful and worked it out with the owner of her gym so I can come in and workout for free.  She also said that she will try and make healthy meals.  So, hopefully, I can do better.  I'm going to set a goal of working out every day that I am there in SOME way.  It may not be to the extent that I do here at home at my own gym, but I WILL keep moving.

I hope that all had a wonderful weekend and are looking at a good week.  It is supposed to be cold again this week which stinks.  I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to some REAL spring!
Blessings!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Welcome To The Jungle, Ladies

The gym I belong to is doing a pretty cool fund-raiser contest for a little boy named Eli who has a brain tumor.  From what I understand, his parents have little to no health insurance.  So, not only is it devastating to learn your child has a tumor (I literally tremble at the thought!), but his parents also have to be concerned with how they are going to pay for what I will assume will be insane medical bills.  Anyway, the gym put together a fund-raiser to help out this family.  For $5, you could buy a "car" (it is a paper car not a real one!) and you race around the track for 500 miles.  Mileage can be earned on the Spinning Bikes or on the IndoRow machines.  Since I now do both of these workouts, I figured this would be a great way to keep myself encouraged and help out a little boy.  They have been giving bonus miles for decorating your car, racking up 100 miles in the first 10 days, and even racking up 200 miles in the first 20 days!  I have decorated my car and have been working like crazy to hit the other milestones.  I am happy to report that as of this past Saturday, I finished up 101 miles (technically this was done in 6 days as I had to miss 2 days at the gym!), so I hit the first goal!  As of today I am at 123 miles!  I still have 9 days to get to 200!  Then it is an all out race to 500 miles!  There is a man that is INSANE and has over 350 miles in the first 10 days.  I'm guessing I won't be able to catch him, but this is one time where 2nd place will make me very happy!  I am going to put a thing over to the right to help keep track of my mileage so you can help cheer me on!

Since I have been working so hard on the bike and the rower, I decided to take this past week off from lifting weights.  My weight-loss had gotten a little stagnant over the past couple of weeks, so I thought this would be a good week to change things up, and shake my body into dropping some extra poundage.  It totally worked!  I dropped 4.8 pounds this week.  That is awesome and I'm very proud of the hard work I put in.  That said, I sure was happy to get back in the weight room this week!!  I'm serious when I say that NOTHING makes me feel stronger than lifting heavy weights and watching what my muscles can do.

I know there are a lot of women out there who are scared of the weight room and of lifting heavy weights.  I am here to tell you ladies...there is NOTHING to be scared of!!  The weight room can be a really fun place to work up a sweat.

Yes, there are usually lots of men down there.  Sometimes those men are lifting crazy huge amounts of weight.  Sometimes they are great to watch to learn more about correct form.  Sometimes some of those men just lift a silly amount of weight and are only going to hurt themselves in the long run, don't watch them.  If you aren't sure which is which, watch how slowly the weight is moving.  If they are swinging the weight, look elsewhere, they are just moving weight, not really "lifting" weight!  If the weight is moving slowly and in control, then they are probably a good person to watch for form.

OK, back from the tangent.  First thing I want you to realize is that no one's opinion of what you are doing (assuming you are using correct form!) matters.  If someone watches you while you lift, just imagine that they are enjoying the show.  If that isn't what they are doing, it is their own deal, not yours.  Yesterday, I had a man stare at me the entire time I was doing standing shoulder presses.  At first, I wanted to ask him what his problem was.  Then, I just decided that he was just being appreciative of what I was doing, so I kept quiet.  That may or may not have been his thought, but I don't care.  It helped me get through and helped me ignore him.  I continued my workout.  That said, if someone who works at the gym or is a trainer or someone that obviously knows what they are doing is watching you and gives you a piece of advice about your form, listen.  It will help you in the long run.  I even had a man today tell me that he loved seeing women down in the weight room and wished that more women would not be scared of it (I realize he may sound creepy, but that wasn't how he meant it!  He was a cool guy!).

Secondly, do not be a wuss!  Do NOT be scare of lifting heavy weights!  Assuming you are using correct form and are not lifting over your ability, you are not going to hurt yourself.  You are NOT going to "bulk up"!  You are not going to get big ladies.  Lifting heavy weights help those muscles get strong, strong muscles are more efficient at burning fat, burning fat means weight-loss!  Do you see what I'm getting at here?  Have you seen any women that do CROSSFIT? Seriously sexy women, not bulky, but HOT!  Strength training should not scare you.  Get yourself in front of a mirror, grab some weight and watch those muscles work!  

I found a great article here that talks about Strength Training Truths.  Check it out.  Let me know what you think!

Obviously, I am NOT knocking cardio workouts here or workouts like Pilates, Zumba, and all those types of activities.  I like them too!  I really think that mixing everything together works the best!  Just remember that every time you do one of these activities, no matter what it is, you are making yourself the best you possible.  Work is the key.  You have to put in the work.  Yes, people lose weight by just cutting their calories and sitting on the couch.  But do you know what often happens to those people?  They get flabby.  Ugh.  Flabby does not sound good.  Working out while eating healthy gets you toned and toned is SEXY! That is what I am working towards.  I don't want to just look in my clothes, but I want to look darn good NAKED.  That's right, I said it.

So, who is with me?  Who is going to venture into the weight room this week?  If you don't know what you are doing, ask someone who works at your gym.  If you are at home, check out proper form online.  I promise, your body can do it, just don't be scared!  Changes people!

Blessings!


Friday, March 14, 2014

You Have To Try This!!

Oh My Goodness!  So, I found this pin on Pinterest for a "healthy" Shamrock Shake.  Now, I don't know about you, but this time of year, I get SO excited for a Shamrock Shake from McDonalds.  Unfortunately, a Shamrock Shake from McDonalds is 530 calories for a 12 oz. shake!  Yeesh!  To make it worse, there is absolutely NOTHING healthy in it.  Well, maybe milk, but that is it.

Back to the link on Pinterest, the original blogger, Simply, Taralynn said she made a 77 calorie version of it. You can find her recipe here.  I was a little skeptical, but thought I would try it.  Unfortunately, I didn't have most of the ingredients in house.  So, I faked it.  This is what I did with my first try:

1 c. Vanilla Almond Milk, Reduced Sugar
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I use Body Fortress)
About 1/2 t. mint extract
About 1/2 t. Vanilla extract
Couple of drops of green food coloring
Ice

Throw all of that in your blender.  Mix until thick and smooth.  Enjoy!

That one was good.  It was.  But, after I kept looking at the other recipe, I thought I had to try it.  I went to the grocery store this morning and bought what I needed.  This was the result.

1 c. Vanilla Almond Milk, Reduced Sugar
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I use Body Fortress)
1 c. fresh kale leaves
2 branches of FRESH mint leaves (I just used the leaves, not the stems)
2 small packets of Stevia
Ice

Throw all of that in your blender.  Mix until thick and smooth and all of the kale leaves are completely chopped and blended.  Enjoy and be healthy!

Oh wow!  Seriously people, this was SO awesome!!  The healthier version had no fake coloring and will get it's green color from the mint and kale.  I only add the Stevia because kale can sometimes make smoothies a little bitter so the Stevia helps with that.  When I finished, I was mad at myself that I hadn't made more.

There are some differences between mine and Simply, Taralynn's.  First, I don't stress too much about Organic.  My kale leaves and mint are organic, but that is really just by chance.  Secondly, I used vanilla almond milk because I like it, she uses water which would totally work too.  She does adds the vanilla extract but I don't since I use the vanilla almond milk.  So, if you use water, you need to throw in the vanilla!  I use a different Protein Powder than she does as well.  Finally, I used fresh mint, she uses dried.  Honestly, I just couldn't find the dried, so I bought fresh.  It totally works. :)  Finally, mine comes out at about 250 calories.  Obviously, this is more than her 77 calorie version, but still WAY better than the 530 of McDonalds and my portion was HUGE, we are talking 2 glasses full.  So, if you don't want 250 calories, split in in half, give a glass to a friend, and down 125 calories instead!  Win, win!

Oh finally, you might be wondering why I eat kale instead of spinach (that is the other difference between mine and Simply, Taralynn's version).  I can not eat raw spinach.  It will give me a kidney stone within a matter of days.  So, I just avoid it and eat kale in my smoothies instead.  Same benefits, same taste, no agony!

I hope you have a wonderful day.  Let me know if you try a Healthy Shamrock Shake just in time for St. Patrick's Day!!
Blessings!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

The One In Which I Take A Good Hard Look In The Mirror

Yesterday I posted a picture on my Facebook wall that said,


"Fitness is not about being better than someone else...it's about being better than you used to be."

With it, I posted this:


"I have to remember this every single time a skinny little girl hops on the treadmill next to me and starts running like it is nothing. It is about being the better me!"

On the surface, this seems like a simple message of inspiration, something to keep me going when I find myself comparing my journey with someone else's.  Unfortunately, what I posted was WRONG! Do you see where the problem lies?

It was very politely and correctly brought to my attention by a friend that "skinny little girls" are fighting their own battles.  This friend, who shall remain anonymous sent me this,
"I saw your post...speaking from experience the skinny is not fun!!!!  The battle to stay healthy and try and gain weight is a constant battle.  I stopped going to the gym because the perception was I must have some eating disorder or I obsessively work out."  It was like a HUGE hit over the head.  Me calling a thin woman a "Skinny little girl" is no different than her calling me a "big fat girl".  Wow.  Really, just wow.  Talk about a rude awakening.

Every single day I have to remind myself that I am worth every single thing I am doing.  I am worthy of the changes I am making.  My journey is my journey and my journey alone.  But you know what?  EVERY ONE IS ON THEIR OWN JOURNEY!  Every single person on this planet has their own issues, their own things that they dislike about themselves.  Every single person has that little voice inside them telling them that they are not good enough, strong enough, skinny enough, too skinny, smart enough, too silly, pretty enough, and pretty much every single negative adjective you can come up with.  I apologize upfront for the word usage here, but you know what?  That little voice is a bitch.  That's right, I said it.  

That little voice tries to keep me from accomplishing the things that I know I was meant to accomplish.  That little voice tells that "skinny little girl" on the treadmill next to the "big fat girl" that neither one of them is good enough to be doing what she is doing.  That voice is straight up, completely, 100% WRONG!  We are all allowed to feel as if we are able to accomplish the things in life we want to accomplish.  Psalm 139:13-14 tell us, "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."  And then from Jeremiah 29:11, " For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."  I don't know how you feel about that, but it gives me hope.  I know that that little voice I hear in my head is NOT from the Lord.  God wants me to have hope.  He made me to have hope.  He made me with a future in mind and that little voice telling me I can't do something goes against that future.  That means that voice is NOT HIS!!

So, whether you are a "skinny little girl", a "big fat girl", a "wimpy dude", an "overweight man", or someone in unbelievably amazing shape that seems to have no worries in the world; we need to band together and STOP this crazy comparison game.  We all have our own battles, our own struggles, our own sorrows, and more importantly our own amazing joys.  Let's join together and celebrate those amazing joys.  Judging someone based on the size of his or her clothes, the poundage of the dumbbell he or she is lifting, or even the size of his or her brain or wallet is ridiculous.  It gets us NO WHERE!  It does NOT make you any better, it does NOT increase or decrease your struggle, it will NOT make you FEEL better about yourself in the long run.  What it will do is make that little voice even louder.  I don't know about you, but my little voice is loud enough.  I will do whatever I need to do to make it shut up.  That includes not judging my fellow man or woman in any way.

I know it isn't a perfect science and I'm sure that judgement will creep in when I least expect it.  But, I WILL be conscience of it and I will work very hard to keep it at bay.  My mind will work toward being a judgement free zone.  Feel free to join me.

Blessings.

PS...I have since removed the original picture, so you won't find it there.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Epiphany!

Today is 8 weeks into my new life.  I woke up and weighed in because that is what I do on Monday mornings.  I took a deep breath and stepped on the scale and waited for about 10 seconds while the scale made its decision.  My heart fell as I saw that I have gained a pound this week.  Just for a moment, I had the thought that what I was doing was pointless.  All of the hard work I have put in the past 8 weeks have been for naught.  I started to spiral.

Then I stepped off of the scale and came to my senses. I know that NOTHING I did last week would result in a 1 pound fat gain.  NOTHING.  That pound is from something else. Am I really going to let ONE FREAKING POUND derail everything I have worked for and will continue to work for?  HELL NO!  I got dressed and went and had a healthy breakfast.  I went about my morning singing a funeral and then went to the gym.  I got on the elliptical machine just like I usually do on Mondays.  Because I planned on running on the treadmill, I didn't plan on being on the elliptical machine for too long.  I set the machine for 15 minutes and kept going.  I have been working toward keeping going on the elliptical, but so far I have been stopping every 5 minutes and taking a breather.  Today, I went the whole 15 minutes!  I know that may not sound like a big deal to some, but it was not an easy 15 minutes and I didn't go slow the whole time.  I bumped it up, increased my resistance level, and even did about half of that 15 minutes with no hands.  I worked hard.  Then I jumped on the treadmill and added 5 minutes of running into my walk.  I do not enjoy running, but I am going to stick with it.  Why?  Because I can, that's why.

So, one pound.  I reminded myself that muscle weighs more than fat.  I have been lifting 4 days each week.  Muscles get bigger.  Bigger muscles weigh more.  Geesh.  Do the math Theresa.  Get over yourself and be proud of how hard you are working.  So that is what I did.  Today, I am proud.  Today, I am strong.  Today, I am a machine.  Today, I'm taking my third spinning class.  Lord help me!

Lastly today, I decided that I am no longer going to be posting my weight-loss.  At least not until I hit my goal.  I'm trying to focus less on the number on that scale and more on the changes in my body.  So, I will keep showing you pics and talking about my progress, but the number does not matter as much.


Blessings!