I can't believe I've been at this for 4 full months now! SUPER LIKE! However, not all fun and games. Month four I almost quit. Here's the tale.
I have a very hard time committing to things in general. My typical pattern is to get totally stoked about something, do it great for 3 months, then give up because I tell myself I'm not capable and the depression creeps in which makes things extra challenging.
It was not shocking that the day after I posted my update pictures, which showed amazing progress, my depression decided to visit me with a vengeance.
It was very hard to stay focused on my progress, because all those awesome feel great feelings I had been experiencing disappeared. The month also proved to be a challenge health wise. Overall, I felt physically yucky. This did not help me wanting to continue.
During this past month I stopped running. There was a point when I realized that showing up, mostly on time, to my training sessions was the best I was capable of. I did not judge myself for working out 'less'. Instead, I kept telling myself that it (the depression) would pass. That I just needed to keep showing up.
Eating? Holy moly! This was where the feelings of ick set in. I ended up stopping my protein powder intake temporarily as I found it wasn't helping my mental hunger. I pretty much ate the equivalent of one candy bar a day. Throw in a few pints of Ben&Jerrys here and there, and I had a nice mixture of uncomfortable feelings of shame.
HOWEVER!!! I did not let the shame bring me down. I did not give up, in fact, I told myself often, 'that pint of ice cream probably wasn't the best choice tonight, but it is okay. Eating it doesn't make me a failure. Right now, my best is eating ice cream, and that's AWESOME!' These words helped me get thru the hardest times this month.
My darkest moment hit me the last Thursday in October. I had rescheduled my normal Wednesday workout to thurs for that week. I opened my eyes thurs morning around 830am, and proceeded to have a mini break down. My session was at 10am. I laid in my bed very upset. About 35 mins before ten I messaged my trainer, I wasn't coming. I was surprised at her response, which was not shaming or angry at all. This was the first time I missed a session due to depression.
My 'day off' was intense. I was SO CLOSE to sending a break up txt to my trainer. Thankfully, I've taught myself not to make major decisions in the middle of an intense emotional reaction. The cool thing that happened was I came out of the day not wanting to feel that way again. Taking that day was THE BEST thing I could have done. I came out of it re- energized and ready to step back on my new path! Grateful.
Although my eating was off, and I stopped my runs, I kept moving. I often found myself walking, and one day I took myself and mr mutt on an epic 6 hour walk. That was awesome! I went on a ton of 1-3 hour walks, which was also very good.
I noticed that my clothes were still fitting loose. Although I was terrified and convinced I had gained all my weight back, I kept telling myself my pants were still loose. This helped.
At any rate, I was FORCED on the scale earlier then I expected. I was very surprised to find out that my weight was 1 pound different from last months number! Shock! Happiness! Relief!
I am SO proud that I was able to get thru the depression and take the next step on my journey.
I'm looking forward to month 5!!! ROCK ON!!!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Month 3 Progress- Oct. 2012
Greeting fellow inspirers! Yesterday I hit day 1 of month 4!!! This signifies a great feat for me, as I generally feel very unmotivated when I hit month 4, and give up. Today, this is not the case! If fact, I'm looking forward to my run later today!
I've been feeling many huge improvements in regards to how my body is moving. I can do a full squat. I can train harder and go longer. I'm running at a great pace for someone my size. When I stretch my hamstrings my heel can touch my butt! Ha! I'm working on engaging my body in great form throughout the motions of the exercise I am doing at any given moment.
Outside of the gym I've noticed that I have much more stamina to get thru my days. At the end of the day, when I've laid down, there's a very obvious feeling of 'time to sleep NOW!' It actually hurts to keep my eyes open. I've noticed a huge change in how I feel when I wake in the morning. There's much more awareness around whether or not I need more sleep, or if I'm ready to rise. When I do get up I'm rested and ready to attack my day. The morning fog only lasts 15-30mins vs. 1-2hours.
Clothing. I've noticed small things. Making another belt notch, noticing my sweatshirt hanging lower then it has in the past, but the most interesting thing is how my underpants are fitting me. Yesterday I put on a pair, and they literally hung off me. They are freaking baggy! Baggy underpants? Really? Whoa!
I had some blood work done this past month. All my numbers are great! Cholesterol is awesome! Which I'm glad to hear. My blood sugar level is still higher then what I'd like to see. But I'm not diabetic yet, and the numbers have dropped from my last round of blood work. I feel very good about this!
Another thing that I've come to realize over these past few months is, how I frame my training in my mind makes all the difference. The term 'exercise' holds a lot of negative association for me. I think of exercise as laborious and a very difficult task to accomplish. I've decided to deem the term 'training' in place of exercise. For me, training offers more options. I'm training my body, which is much more inline with how I'm working toward something, a goal, that inspires me. I'm training myself to change my old habits and create awesome new ones. I'm working toward something... This feels so much better then 'I'm exercising today' that's boring. 'Im training my body hard today!' That's exciting!- At least to me. I suggest working at changing your mind frame around fitness if you're having struggles.
I'm going to leave it at that for this month. I'll be posting three month comparison pictures at some point this month.
Stay Tuned! And thanks for reading my blog!
(The photo pictured it a movement I was unable to do 3 months ago)
I've been feeling many huge improvements in regards to how my body is moving. I can do a full squat. I can train harder and go longer. I'm running at a great pace for someone my size. When I stretch my hamstrings my heel can touch my butt! Ha! I'm working on engaging my body in great form throughout the motions of the exercise I am doing at any given moment.
Outside of the gym I've noticed that I have much more stamina to get thru my days. At the end of the day, when I've laid down, there's a very obvious feeling of 'time to sleep NOW!' It actually hurts to keep my eyes open. I've noticed a huge change in how I feel when I wake in the morning. There's much more awareness around whether or not I need more sleep, or if I'm ready to rise. When I do get up I'm rested and ready to attack my day. The morning fog only lasts 15-30mins vs. 1-2hours.
Clothing. I've noticed small things. Making another belt notch, noticing my sweatshirt hanging lower then it has in the past, but the most interesting thing is how my underpants are fitting me. Yesterday I put on a pair, and they literally hung off me. They are freaking baggy! Baggy underpants? Really? Whoa!
I had some blood work done this past month. All my numbers are great! Cholesterol is awesome! Which I'm glad to hear. My blood sugar level is still higher then what I'd like to see. But I'm not diabetic yet, and the numbers have dropped from my last round of blood work. I feel very good about this!
Another thing that I've come to realize over these past few months is, how I frame my training in my mind makes all the difference. The term 'exercise' holds a lot of negative association for me. I think of exercise as laborious and a very difficult task to accomplish. I've decided to deem the term 'training' in place of exercise. For me, training offers more options. I'm training my body, which is much more inline with how I'm working toward something, a goal, that inspires me. I'm training myself to change my old habits and create awesome new ones. I'm working toward something... This feels so much better then 'I'm exercising today' that's boring. 'Im training my body hard today!' That's exciting!- At least to me. I suggest working at changing your mind frame around fitness if you're having struggles.
I'm going to leave it at that for this month. I'll be posting three month comparison pictures at some point this month.
Stay Tuned! And thanks for reading my blog!
(The photo pictured it a movement I was unable to do 3 months ago)
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Isagenix Review
In my search to incorporate optimal nutrition while building muscle and losing weight, I was introduced to a company called Isagenix.
I decided to do some research on Isagenix, and quickly found that there are very few, hard to find, negative reviews of their products. I felt suspicious of this, but decided to give it a try regardless. And, according to all the positive reviews, I was curious.
Isagenix's main products are the cleanse and shakes/meal replacements. The idea is that you start off with either the 9 day or 30 day cleanse, see amazing results, and feel so great that you want more.
Seemed okay to me. I ordered the 30 day system.
The first product I tried were the IsaLean Shakes. The flavors are chocolate and vanilla. I admit, they arn't bad, but I had to play around with how much water to add to make the texture right for me. I found a bit more watery was good for me. Personally, I preferred the vanilla flavor.
The second product to try was the Ionic Supreme. This stuff is pretty gross. However, I do not react well to the taste of higher amounts of ginger, and this stuff has enough ginger to make me gag. I found watering it WAY down helped this issue.
Next, the Cleanse For Life. This liquid was much more tolerable, and with a little added water, tasted reasonably pleasant to me.
Snacks come with your order. These are small, cocoa powdery wafers. They are odd when chewing, but not bad, and the taste was fine.
Lastly, they included Accelerator and IsaFlush! capsules which are to be taken daily as directed.
To start, for me, the shakes resulted in feelings of slight ick. In the, 'what am I putting into my body?' type of way. The ingredient list of the shakes is HUGE, and filled with words that are not easy to know their meanings without consulting a dictionary or Google. My mother always taught me, when buying a product, read the ingredients. If you can't pronounce it, or don't know what it is, it's probably smart to avoid. Sound advice. Although I've not always stuck to my mothers advice, as I start to focus on my health, I'm starting too take her words seriously. Unfortunately, when reading the IsaLean shake ingredient list, I did not feel empowered, I felt confused. I feel this is not a good thing for me. When choosing supplements or meal replacements, I do not prefer complexity, I prefer simplicity.
Some Isagenix advocates could potentially say that I'm simply not knowledgable of what these named ingredients are. Or that I'm not educated enough to understand the 'big' words listed. I consider myself of slightly above average intelligence and overall life knowledge/experience. If I'm having trouble figuring out the ingredients, I know I am not alone. Simplicity is not an unreasonable feature, if you, like I, desire it.
On to the Cleanse For Life product. In all honesty, I felt nothing happening. I guess when I picture a cleanse, I picture things, like toxins, being flushed out of my system. Nothing that I would have considered a flushing experience happened. In fact, quite the opposite. Yep, constipation and irregular bowel movements that were painful was my experience.
Next up is the Ionic Supreme. I've read that this stuff causes amazing energy. To be honest, I cannot say one way or the other if this is true. Here are the factors based on my experience. I've been working with a trainer for about two months, which consists of regular exercise. I currently have amazing energy and my mood is super positive awesome! However I've found that whenever I workout regularly, I experience the same type of energy and enhanced mood. Therefore, I do not feel able to say if the Ionic Supreme really helped in that department.
Let me reflect on the Accelerator and IsaFlush! capsules. In all honesty, I was not clear on what the Accelerator capsules were supposed to do. I can, however, attest that the IsaFlush! capsules didn't seem to work for me. I wasn't clear if the IsaFlush! capsules were simply Isagenix's version of a laxative. At any rate, it wasn't flushing shit. (pun intended)
The only product I really liked of the lot were the cocoa powdery wafers or Snacks. The directions state to take two as a snack during the day, when needed, to curb hunger. These worked well for me. I felt full for a good 2 hours after consumption.
My overall assessment of Isagenix is that it wasn't for me. Particularly on any sort of long, ongoing, sustainable basis. It seems no different to me then a specialty product that, although prides itself on amazing nutritional benefit, you'd have to rely on for the rest of your life in order to be effective as an amazing weight loss product. Meaning, I'm not convinced that once one stops taking this product, one would actually keep the weight loss achieved from Isagenix.
If continued meal replacement is what you want, and can deal with that on a long term basis, this product might work well for you.
Isagenix may also be a product to consider when focusing on major lifestyle changes around food is too challenging for you currently. After all, it is pretty simple. Two shakes, one meal of 600-800 calories a day, and snacks in between. If you follow this plan, you will lose weight, and have more healthy nutrients in your system.
Isagenix does advocate toward healthy, organic eating.
It is of my personal opinion that learning to eat a consistent, healthy diet, and obtaining nutrients from that diet, is ultimately going to be a more effective, long term, weight loss plan.
I advocate for supplements to support weight loss and muscle growth. At this time, I would not encourage meal replacement products on a long term basis. I once did, but as one learns, beliefs and ideas can change.
Eat fruits and vegetables. It's the only diet proven to be 100% safe, and if consistent, effective.
As this Isagenix review doesn't cast an 'amazingly positive super great products' point of view, I expect more then a few people will try to convince readers, through comments, that I'm full of nonsense and I don't truly understand how the product works or what makes it so amazing. Be aware, they will be convincing.
I would like to emphasize, this is MY EXPERIENCE of the listed products. If you're at all curious about these products, by all means, create your own experience! Make your own, well informed, decisions.
I decided to do some research on Isagenix, and quickly found that there are very few, hard to find, negative reviews of their products. I felt suspicious of this, but decided to give it a try regardless. And, according to all the positive reviews, I was curious.
Isagenix's main products are the cleanse and shakes/meal replacements. The idea is that you start off with either the 9 day or 30 day cleanse, see amazing results, and feel so great that you want more.
Seemed okay to me. I ordered the 30 day system.
The first product I tried were the IsaLean Shakes. The flavors are chocolate and vanilla. I admit, they arn't bad, but I had to play around with how much water to add to make the texture right for me. I found a bit more watery was good for me. Personally, I preferred the vanilla flavor.
The second product to try was the Ionic Supreme. This stuff is pretty gross. However, I do not react well to the taste of higher amounts of ginger, and this stuff has enough ginger to make me gag. I found watering it WAY down helped this issue.
Next, the Cleanse For Life. This liquid was much more tolerable, and with a little added water, tasted reasonably pleasant to me.
Snacks come with your order. These are small, cocoa powdery wafers. They are odd when chewing, but not bad, and the taste was fine.
Lastly, they included Accelerator and IsaFlush! capsules which are to be taken daily as directed.
To start, for me, the shakes resulted in feelings of slight ick. In the, 'what am I putting into my body?' type of way. The ingredient list of the shakes is HUGE, and filled with words that are not easy to know their meanings without consulting a dictionary or Google. My mother always taught me, when buying a product, read the ingredients. If you can't pronounce it, or don't know what it is, it's probably smart to avoid. Sound advice. Although I've not always stuck to my mothers advice, as I start to focus on my health, I'm starting too take her words seriously. Unfortunately, when reading the IsaLean shake ingredient list, I did not feel empowered, I felt confused. I feel this is not a good thing for me. When choosing supplements or meal replacements, I do not prefer complexity, I prefer simplicity.
Some Isagenix advocates could potentially say that I'm simply not knowledgable of what these named ingredients are. Or that I'm not educated enough to understand the 'big' words listed. I consider myself of slightly above average intelligence and overall life knowledge/experience. If I'm having trouble figuring out the ingredients, I know I am not alone. Simplicity is not an unreasonable feature, if you, like I, desire it.
On to the Cleanse For Life product. In all honesty, I felt nothing happening. I guess when I picture a cleanse, I picture things, like toxins, being flushed out of my system. Nothing that I would have considered a flushing experience happened. In fact, quite the opposite. Yep, constipation and irregular bowel movements that were painful was my experience.
Next up is the Ionic Supreme. I've read that this stuff causes amazing energy. To be honest, I cannot say one way or the other if this is true. Here are the factors based on my experience. I've been working with a trainer for about two months, which consists of regular exercise. I currently have amazing energy and my mood is super positive awesome! However I've found that whenever I workout regularly, I experience the same type of energy and enhanced mood. Therefore, I do not feel able to say if the Ionic Supreme really helped in that department.
Let me reflect on the Accelerator and IsaFlush! capsules. In all honesty, I was not clear on what the Accelerator capsules were supposed to do. I can, however, attest that the IsaFlush! capsules didn't seem to work for me. I wasn't clear if the IsaFlush! capsules were simply Isagenix's version of a laxative. At any rate, it wasn't flushing shit. (pun intended)
The only product I really liked of the lot were the cocoa powdery wafers or Snacks. The directions state to take two as a snack during the day, when needed, to curb hunger. These worked well for me. I felt full for a good 2 hours after consumption.
My overall assessment of Isagenix is that it wasn't for me. Particularly on any sort of long, ongoing, sustainable basis. It seems no different to me then a specialty product that, although prides itself on amazing nutritional benefit, you'd have to rely on for the rest of your life in order to be effective as an amazing weight loss product. Meaning, I'm not convinced that once one stops taking this product, one would actually keep the weight loss achieved from Isagenix.
If continued meal replacement is what you want, and can deal with that on a long term basis, this product might work well for you.
Isagenix may also be a product to consider when focusing on major lifestyle changes around food is too challenging for you currently. After all, it is pretty simple. Two shakes, one meal of 600-800 calories a day, and snacks in between. If you follow this plan, you will lose weight, and have more healthy nutrients in your system.
Isagenix does advocate toward healthy, organic eating.
It is of my personal opinion that learning to eat a consistent, healthy diet, and obtaining nutrients from that diet, is ultimately going to be a more effective, long term, weight loss plan.
I advocate for supplements to support weight loss and muscle growth. At this time, I would not encourage meal replacement products on a long term basis. I once did, but as one learns, beliefs and ideas can change.
Eat fruits and vegetables. It's the only diet proven to be 100% safe, and if consistent, effective.
As this Isagenix review doesn't cast an 'amazingly positive super great products' point of view, I expect more then a few people will try to convince readers, through comments, that I'm full of nonsense and I don't truly understand how the product works or what makes it so amazing. Be aware, they will be convincing.
I would like to emphasize, this is MY EXPERIENCE of the listed products. If you're at all curious about these products, by all means, create your own experience! Make your own, well informed, decisions.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Month 2 Progress- Sept. 2012
Why hello readers!!!
Today marks two months of working out with my trainer, Jeri. Check out her web page at EverchangeFitness.com.
I am feeling great! Some of the results I have noticed are apparent in how my clothing fits. My pants are being held up by a belt on its last hole, that I had to make! As for my shirts, I notice that they are falling a bit better. I've also noticed that I have a more streamline line on my sides. Meaning, my tummy is not sticking out to the sides as much.
As for my energy, it's sky rocketed! I'm doing more in my days and having the energy to last the whole day. It's a great feeling to not be quite so tired all the time.
I'm sleeping much better now that I have a bed that is not falling apart! This has greatly improved my quality of sleep hygiene.
My emotional health is fabulous. I've warded off depression for two months now! Which is a great feat for me. I am very proud of myself. On that front, I've stopped taking Abilify altogether. Therefore, I have less toxicity in my system. Also Abilfy is a major factor in all of my weight gain over the last few years. So stopping that medication has helped me not only feel a cleaner energy overall, but now I'm no longer fighting against the pill from hell with weight loss.
So that's it folks! Next update will be in a month and will include 3 month progress pictures.
Adios!
Today marks two months of working out with my trainer, Jeri. Check out her web page at EverchangeFitness.com.
I am feeling great! Some of the results I have noticed are apparent in how my clothing fits. My pants are being held up by a belt on its last hole, that I had to make! As for my shirts, I notice that they are falling a bit better. I've also noticed that I have a more streamline line on my sides. Meaning, my tummy is not sticking out to the sides as much.
As for my energy, it's sky rocketed! I'm doing more in my days and having the energy to last the whole day. It's a great feeling to not be quite so tired all the time.
I'm sleeping much better now that I have a bed that is not falling apart! This has greatly improved my quality of sleep hygiene.
My emotional health is fabulous. I've warded off depression for two months now! Which is a great feat for me. I am very proud of myself. On that front, I've stopped taking Abilify altogether. Therefore, I have less toxicity in my system. Also Abilfy is a major factor in all of my weight gain over the last few years. So stopping that medication has helped me not only feel a cleaner energy overall, but now I'm no longer fighting against the pill from hell with weight loss.
So that's it folks! Next update will be in a month and will include 3 month progress pictures.
Adios!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Month 1 Progress- Aug. 2012
Well Hi'low my faithful followers and those who may have stumbled onto my blog. I'm glad you came!
I am proud to say that today is officially one month of personal training for me! I decided I needed extra help, a push, so to say, in the right direction.
Here are my findings so far:
First thing I really noticed was my walking pace. I observed that when I am walking at a pace that does not include peeing on every tree, I just zoom along! This feels good to me! It feels like my body is slowly adapting to it's new regimen.
The next thing I noticed was my sleeping patterns are getting more consistent. When I put my head down I fall asleep sooner then later. I am grateful for these nights of sleep.
The last thing I have noticed is my arms/biceps feeling very firm. (mm sexy).
My trainer, pointed out that she noticed I'm not getting as flush as I was when we first started! She's really working with my bodies strengths and weakness's to build a stronger and balanced core! The exercises we do feel just right for my current level of fitness. A challenge but nothing that is too difficult or dangerous on my body.
As for the numbers/my weight I'm not overly concerned with them. I am weighing myself once a month with my trainer there for support. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I gave my home scale away. Which I highly recommend FOR YOUR SANITY. I've decided to not post my weight loss numbers publicly in order to promote against societies view that it's a numbers game. ie; 'I lost 10lbs, I feel great!!!' and 'I gained a pound, I am a bad person.' uh huh- I know you know what I'm talking about.
All in all im doing GREAT!! Motivated and willing to keep going!
I'd like all my readers to check out my trainers website. Her name is Jeri Jirsa, and she's helping me change my life!
EverchangeFitness.com
I am proud to say that today is officially one month of personal training for me! I decided I needed extra help, a push, so to say, in the right direction.
Here are my findings so far:
First thing I really noticed was my walking pace. I observed that when I am walking at a pace that does not include peeing on every tree, I just zoom along! This feels good to me! It feels like my body is slowly adapting to it's new regimen.
The next thing I noticed was my sleeping patterns are getting more consistent. When I put my head down I fall asleep sooner then later. I am grateful for these nights of sleep.
The last thing I have noticed is my arms/biceps feeling very firm. (mm sexy).
My trainer, pointed out that she noticed I'm not getting as flush as I was when we first started! She's really working with my bodies strengths and weakness's to build a stronger and balanced core! The exercises we do feel just right for my current level of fitness. A challenge but nothing that is too difficult or dangerous on my body.
As for the numbers/my weight I'm not overly concerned with them. I am weighing myself once a month with my trainer there for support. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I gave my home scale away. Which I highly recommend FOR YOUR SANITY. I've decided to not post my weight loss numbers publicly in order to promote against societies view that it's a numbers game. ie; 'I lost 10lbs, I feel great!!!' and 'I gained a pound, I am a bad person.' uh huh- I know you know what I'm talking about.
All in all im doing GREAT!! Motivated and willing to keep going!
I'd like all my readers to check out my trainers website. Her name is Jeri Jirsa, and she's helping me change my life!
EverchangeFitness.com
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Back at It
Well folks, it's been 4 months since my last blog post. I promised that I was going to be honest because that is the nature of this blog- real life shit as it relates to fitness...
I adopted a dog shortly after my last post. One would this that would help not hinder my workouts, but let me tell you, it was super stressful at first. I stopped most of my extra curricular activities in leu of getting used to taking care of the new being in my life.
In addition too the pup, I entered a fairly severe depression. We were talking life and death here- uncool. So my desire to put fitness first, took the back seat.
What's happening today? Well I have a friend who is a certified personal trainer... Plug the awesomeness of Jeri Jirsa now!!! I inquired within. She's gonna work with me to get my health and fitness back in order!
That's where I'm headed as I write this, to my first session. We are gonna go over my goals and come up with a plan. This session should not be too crazy. However, it's a step in the right direction, which I am STOKED about!
When I finish todays session I will finish this post with how it went...
-
Alright!!! Session had and compleat! We went over my health issues and goals. I want to focus on leg strength and core strength. Along with overall body fat reduction.
We did some work with the rolly foam thing... Oh My Gosh that hurt! But it's a great way of breaking up muscle fiber and working out knots. I felt looser after the bit that we did! Yay!
Overall I'm super excited about this next step in my fitness goals. I'm going to see Jeri 2x per week, sat&wed, and work out independently on probably Mondays- but at least one other day a week.
The dreaded numbers (dot dot dot)
305lbs. I was expecting this, so as suck as it is, I'm not super surprised. We agreed too only weight myself once a month. I'm going to take my scale at home and smash- no gift it to a friend. Ha! I do not need to obsess over numbers.
Here I go... Embarking on a new journey in my life. I'm ready and I'm willing.
Stay tuned for future updates!!!
I adopted a dog shortly after my last post. One would this that would help not hinder my workouts, but let me tell you, it was super stressful at first. I stopped most of my extra curricular activities in leu of getting used to taking care of the new being in my life.
In addition too the pup, I entered a fairly severe depression. We were talking life and death here- uncool. So my desire to put fitness first, took the back seat.
What's happening today? Well I have a friend who is a certified personal trainer... Plug the awesomeness of Jeri Jirsa now!!! I inquired within. She's gonna work with me to get my health and fitness back in order!
That's where I'm headed as I write this, to my first session. We are gonna go over my goals and come up with a plan. This session should not be too crazy. However, it's a step in the right direction, which I am STOKED about!
When I finish todays session I will finish this post with how it went...
-
Alright!!! Session had and compleat! We went over my health issues and goals. I want to focus on leg strength and core strength. Along with overall body fat reduction.
We did some work with the rolly foam thing... Oh My Gosh that hurt! But it's a great way of breaking up muscle fiber and working out knots. I felt looser after the bit that we did! Yay!
Overall I'm super excited about this next step in my fitness goals. I'm going to see Jeri 2x per week, sat&wed, and work out independently on probably Mondays- but at least one other day a week.
The dreaded numbers (dot dot dot)
305lbs. I was expecting this, so as suck as it is, I'm not super surprised. We agreed too only weight myself once a month. I'm going to take my scale at home and smash- no gift it to a friend. Ha! I do not need to obsess over numbers.
Here I go... Embarking on a new journey in my life. I'm ready and I'm willing.
Stay tuned for future updates!!!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Week 10 Update
Welcome to the challenging times. I have hit my ut-oh zone. It's that time where I have gotten to a weight that is stable and hard to breech past.
I have done well however, despite my lack of weight loss these last two weeks. I've kept up with the food and I have been walking like MAD!!!
I have also started a low dose of Testosterone again. Which in the long run will help me lose weight but could make it challenging at first.
All and all I feel fairly good about where I am at in my progress. I know where I need too improve and I know where I'm doing great!
The numbers... Today I weighed in at 287.5lbs, which has been fairly consistent over the last week or so.
Another thing I am taking into account is that my clothes are fitting me way better and loser then before. I even had to put a hole in my belt a few days ago! So I see this as progress and not failure.
I am doing great!
I have done well however, despite my lack of weight loss these last two weeks. I've kept up with the food and I have been walking like MAD!!!
I have also started a low dose of Testosterone again. Which in the long run will help me lose weight but could make it challenging at first.
All and all I feel fairly good about where I am at in my progress. I know where I need too improve and I know where I'm doing great!
The numbers... Today I weighed in at 287.5lbs, which has been fairly consistent over the last week or so.
Another thing I am taking into account is that my clothes are fitting me way better and loser then before. I even had to put a hole in my belt a few days ago! So I see this as progress and not failure.
I am doing great!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Week 8 Update
Two months! Things are going great! I'm am so excited with my progress.
Foods going fine. But it is hard when I find myself not hungry at all and I know I haven't eaten all day. I believe this to be a side effect of the Topamax.
The exercise is fabulous!!! I'm starting to challenge myself with more hills and longer walks. Still plugging away at my 5k program also.
Here are the numbers. I'm super happy with these results. I feel I am right on track. I weighed in today at 287lbs! Which puts me at a total loss of 32.4lbs!!!!! Yay!!! That's a HUGE number for two months of hard work!
Happy dance! See ya in two weeks!
Foods going fine. But it is hard when I find myself not hungry at all and I know I haven't eaten all day. I believe this to be a side effect of the Topamax.
The exercise is fabulous!!! I'm starting to challenge myself with more hills and longer walks. Still plugging away at my 5k program also.
Here are the numbers. I'm super happy with these results. I feel I am right on track. I weighed in today at 287lbs! Which puts me at a total loss of 32.4lbs!!!!! Yay!!! That's a HUGE number for two months of hard work!
Happy dance! See ya in two weeks!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Week 6 Update
Hi all! Tis that time again! I can't believe it's been two weeks already.
I have to admit, these two weeks were a huge struggle for me. Here are the key points.
The pill I'm taking is going well. I saw my psychiatrist during these two weeks and she is pleased with my health improvements. For now nothing is going to change on that front.
Food. I stayed on track with a few off track spins. Nothing major. This is where my food addiction comes in. When I get really depressed I get the urge to eat chocolate. But for the most part I only ate small amounts of chocolate vs. my usual full box of cookies or during this time of year life sized chocolate bunbun. Which in itself is a huge improvement! I continued to juice and made a really yummy soup out of veggies! Mmmm!!!!
My mood. I've been going through it these past few weeks. I haven't seen huge numbers drop on the scale and that didn't help. Keep in mind there are a lot of other things contributing to my poop mood but since this blog is weight loss based I'll keep it related.
Now the numbers I weighted in today at 295.2lbs!!! Which means I have lost a total of 24.2lbs! I am so proud of myself for this achievement! I am excited to keep going and keep working hard at my goals!
Thanks for reading and I'll see you all in two weeks!
I have to admit, these two weeks were a huge struggle for me. Here are the key points.
The pill I'm taking is going well. I saw my psychiatrist during these two weeks and she is pleased with my health improvements. For now nothing is going to change on that front.
Food. I stayed on track with a few off track spins. Nothing major. This is where my food addiction comes in. When I get really depressed I get the urge to eat chocolate. But for the most part I only ate small amounts of chocolate vs. my usual full box of cookies or during this time of year life sized chocolate bunbun. Which in itself is a huge improvement! I continued to juice and made a really yummy soup out of veggies! Mmmm!!!!
My mood. I've been going through it these past few weeks. I haven't seen huge numbers drop on the scale and that didn't help. Keep in mind there are a lot of other things contributing to my poop mood but since this blog is weight loss based I'll keep it related.
Now the numbers I weighted in today at 295.2lbs!!! Which means I have lost a total of 24.2lbs! I am so proud of myself for this achievement! I am excited to keep going and keep working hard at my goals!
Thanks for reading and I'll see you all in two weeks!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Photo Update (Febuary)
Here are my monthly photos. I can't really see much of a difference but I feel a difference so that's what matters.
At any rate here they are as promised.
Enjoy!
At any rate here they are as promised.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Week 4 Update
I've decided to update my health blog every two weeks with weight loss numbers and info around how I'm doing in general.
First I'll chat about the pill I'm on, Topamax. (as I mentioned before do your own research) Anyway, because of the loss of carbonation taste I have not had any sort of soda in three weeks! I have noticed that my short term memory is slightly blank, but nothing more then what I'm naturally prone too. I am going to talk to my psychiatrist about upping this drug a bit or lowering one of my others and see how that goes for a month. Overall it's tough to tell what's pill vs diet vs exercise but I am very happy with this medicinal approach so far.
Food health. I've pretty much been juicing in the am then eating a small but filling meal for lunch and soup for dinner. However I have been juicing throughout the day and snacking on a low to no fat snack when hungry.
The more broke I become the more juicing I do. I'm not at the stage of getting primarily organic veggies so produce is cheap. Juicing is great, I get what I need when I need it and it sustains me. I've noticed the juice keeps me well hydrated too. Note I am drinking super green juices. Example: base cucumbers/celery head and then whatever I want, spinach, carrot(few because of the high sugar content) pepper(red/green/yellow/), cilantro, parsley, the list could go on. For more info on juicing check out my friend on YouTube veganreikiangel where he talks about his 100 day juicing feast!
Exercise. I've been yoga'ing! Doing my couch to 5k training and walking the shit outta my feet! I've been walking to work for example which is about 12 blocks total (ish). I'm even considering selling my motorcycle towards the effort, but I'm just not sure yet. I haven't ridden her in over three weeks and I realize I don't need too... as much as I don't want to admit that. More on this later.
Now what you've all been waiting for the numbers! This morning I weighed in at a beautiful 299.8lbs!!! Which means I have lost a total of 19.6lbs. To break it down even more I've lost 8.8lbs since we last chatted (two weeks ago). I've averaged 5.1lbs per week. I agree that's a little high, but I also think because I'm bigger it'll fall off quicker at the beginning and even out as I go along. I do not anticipate keeping up this pace.
Well that's it! Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for my monthly photos to be posted within a week or so.
Adios!!!
First I'll chat about the pill I'm on, Topamax. (as I mentioned before do your own research) Anyway, because of the loss of carbonation taste I have not had any sort of soda in three weeks! I have noticed that my short term memory is slightly blank, but nothing more then what I'm naturally prone too. I am going to talk to my psychiatrist about upping this drug a bit or lowering one of my others and see how that goes for a month. Overall it's tough to tell what's pill vs diet vs exercise but I am very happy with this medicinal approach so far.
Food health. I've pretty much been juicing in the am then eating a small but filling meal for lunch and soup for dinner. However I have been juicing throughout the day and snacking on a low to no fat snack when hungry.
The more broke I become the more juicing I do. I'm not at the stage of getting primarily organic veggies so produce is cheap. Juicing is great, I get what I need when I need it and it sustains me. I've noticed the juice keeps me well hydrated too. Note I am drinking super green juices. Example: base cucumbers/celery head and then whatever I want, spinach, carrot(few because of the high sugar content) pepper(red/green/yellow/), cilantro, parsley, the list could go on. For more info on juicing check out my friend on YouTube veganreikiangel where he talks about his 100 day juicing feast!
Exercise. I've been yoga'ing! Doing my couch to 5k training and walking the shit outta my feet! I've been walking to work for example which is about 12 blocks total (ish). I'm even considering selling my motorcycle towards the effort, but I'm just not sure yet. I haven't ridden her in over three weeks and I realize I don't need too... as much as I don't want to admit that. More on this later.
Now what you've all been waiting for the numbers! This morning I weighed in at a beautiful 299.8lbs!!! Which means I have lost a total of 19.6lbs. To break it down even more I've lost 8.8lbs since we last chatted (two weeks ago). I've averaged 5.1lbs per week. I agree that's a little high, but I also think because I'm bigger it'll fall off quicker at the beginning and even out as I go along. I do not anticipate keeping up this pace.
Well that's it! Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for my monthly photos to be posted within a week or so.
Adios!!!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Week 2 Update
Well folks it's been two weeks since I started my weight loss efforts. Here are some things I've noticed.
I've lost a grand total of 10.8lbs!!! So proud of myself! This puts me on the scale at 308.6lbs! Woot!
I've noticed with the consistent exercise I have been feeling way more motivated around other areas in my life and in general I feel a lot better about my body... Yep, I'm drop dead sexy dammit!!!
Regarding the pill I've started. I've noticed that I've lost the ability to taste carbonation. It tastes sour and like metal almost. I'm not complaining, soda, even diet, ain't great for me.
Another diet related thing I've noticed is this pill has given me the ability to eat appropriately regarding portions and cravings. I've noticed I'm eating smaller meals/snacks throughout the day vs one or two larger meals. I've also noticed this saves money cus I'm not spending as much on food! Go figure! HA!
I have been walking a lot more, mostly because I'm trying to save on bus fare, but you know exercise too! I've noticed a boost in energy from this and feeling great overall.
The juicing has been going great and I'm learning what I like and dislike.
Hmm I think that's all I've noticed so far. I'll be posting monthly comparison pictures at the end of each month. However check back here and there for in-between progress reports! Much love! <3 teagan
I've lost a grand total of 10.8lbs!!! So proud of myself! This puts me on the scale at 308.6lbs! Woot!
I've noticed with the consistent exercise I have been feeling way more motivated around other areas in my life and in general I feel a lot better about my body... Yep, I'm drop dead sexy dammit!!!
Regarding the pill I've started. I've noticed that I've lost the ability to taste carbonation. It tastes sour and like metal almost. I'm not complaining, soda, even diet, ain't great for me.
Another diet related thing I've noticed is this pill has given me the ability to eat appropriately regarding portions and cravings. I've noticed I'm eating smaller meals/snacks throughout the day vs one or two larger meals. I've also noticed this saves money cus I'm not spending as much on food! Go figure! HA!
I have been walking a lot more, mostly because I'm trying to save on bus fare, but you know exercise too! I've noticed a boost in energy from this and feeling great overall.
The juicing has been going great and I'm learning what I like and dislike.
Hmm I think that's all I've noticed so far. I'll be posting monthly comparison pictures at the end of each month. However check back here and there for in-between progress reports! Much love! <3 teagan
Monday, January 30, 2012
Weight Loss Aid: Part 2
To be clear, I decided that gastric bypass is not the option for me at this time in my life.
How did I inspire myself to do what I'm doing? Depression and results. Let me explain.
A friend of mine is doing a 100 day juice feast (yes feast). He's half way thru his 100 days and he's lost 40lbs already. It's inspiring to me, however I am not ready at this point to do such a feast. I need to start small, work up to bigger.
He inspired me so much I bought a 100 dollar juicer. OMGosh!! It's awesome!!! It's fun and rewarding. I wasn't expecting to drink the juice and feel full, but I do!
My readers may not agree with this next bit... I HATE eating vegetables but drinking them, this I can do. So I've decided not to stress out about the veggies I eat and be happy with myself for drinking them. For now anyway, the majority of greens I'll intake will be from juicing. This is a huge improvement since I'm coming from zero vegetable intake to like, a shit tone!
Now there's the amount of food or portions I'm intaking for the rest of my food. This is were the depression comes in.
I had an appointment with my psychiatrist a week ago. I was totally depressed. I broke down, mostly unrelated to weight. However, as I have previously stated, my weight is impacting my quality of life.
I looked at her, knowing the answer to the question I was about to ask, but asked anyway, "is there anything that can help my weight?"
"Yes."
....
Yes? Yes? Wait... YES??? This was not the answer I was expecting or accustomed to when asking health care professionals about weight loss aids.
We've discussed before how the dose of Abilify I'm on (20mg) is like fighting an impossible uphill battle with weight. We've tried lowering that dose and I don't bode well. So she said we could try a drug called Topamax.
We discussed, and I agreed to give it a try as a weight loss aid.
Slight disclaimer, Topamax is not a weight loss drug, and has some serious side effects. I've thought about going into detail, but I'll leave my readers too their own research. I've done mine.
With this drug aid, the juicing, and exercise, I'm hoping to see change. I will set a blog aside to discuss my 'Couch to 5k' exercise program, and I will also continue to discuss how the new drug regime goes.
So that's it readers, my weight loss aid story. Comments are always welcome and stay tuned for the ongoing saga!
How did I inspire myself to do what I'm doing? Depression and results. Let me explain.
A friend of mine is doing a 100 day juice feast (yes feast). He's half way thru his 100 days and he's lost 40lbs already. It's inspiring to me, however I am not ready at this point to do such a feast. I need to start small, work up to bigger.
He inspired me so much I bought a 100 dollar juicer. OMGosh!! It's awesome!!! It's fun and rewarding. I wasn't expecting to drink the juice and feel full, but I do!
My readers may not agree with this next bit... I HATE eating vegetables but drinking them, this I can do. So I've decided not to stress out about the veggies I eat and be happy with myself for drinking them. For now anyway, the majority of greens I'll intake will be from juicing. This is a huge improvement since I'm coming from zero vegetable intake to like, a shit tone!
Now there's the amount of food or portions I'm intaking for the rest of my food. This is were the depression comes in.
I had an appointment with my psychiatrist a week ago. I was totally depressed. I broke down, mostly unrelated to weight. However, as I have previously stated, my weight is impacting my quality of life.
I looked at her, knowing the answer to the question I was about to ask, but asked anyway, "is there anything that can help my weight?"
"Yes."
....
Yes? Yes? Wait... YES??? This was not the answer I was expecting or accustomed to when asking health care professionals about weight loss aids.
We've discussed before how the dose of Abilify I'm on (20mg) is like fighting an impossible uphill battle with weight. We've tried lowering that dose and I don't bode well. So she said we could try a drug called Topamax.
We discussed, and I agreed to give it a try as a weight loss aid.
Slight disclaimer, Topamax is not a weight loss drug, and has some serious side effects. I've thought about going into detail, but I'll leave my readers too their own research. I've done mine.
With this drug aid, the juicing, and exercise, I'm hoping to see change. I will set a blog aside to discuss my 'Couch to 5k' exercise program, and I will also continue to discuss how the new drug regime goes.
So that's it readers, my weight loss aid story. Comments are always welcome and stay tuned for the ongoing saga!
Weight Loss Aid: Part 1
I've been debating actually writing about this because I know its got the potential to be controversial. So before I jump in I'll give my readers some background.
About two years ago I was visiting my doctor for something important to my health at the time. He just sort if mentioned in passing that my insurance would cover gastric bypass... wait, WHAT?
I was in shock and upset that he even mentioned it. Was I THAT big? Did I really qualify for THAT option? At any rate, it freaked me out enough too not ask any more questions and try and lose weight on my own.
About a year ago I visited the doctor and experienced a very similar scenario. This time I was more mentally prepared. Still totally against the idea but this time aware that he was going to want to discuss the whole pre- diabetic thing at the very least. Which is what originally prompted him to mention gastric bypass to begin with.
I had a plan which consisted of not eating sugar, that didn't work. I had another plan of eating more veggies, nope. My point being, the 'diet' plans didn't work for me.
About four months ago I started to consider the possibility that maybe I am a candidate for gastric bypass. I did what any good patient does and asked my doctor about it.
He gave me the information to look up and advised me to think about it.
It looked good, no, it looked great! It looked like a light at the end of my tunnel.
But then, other life circumstances arrived, and all of this hope was put on hold.
In fact, I've realized that gastric bypass is not for me right now, who knows what my future will hold, but for now I'm looking toward alternatives in my weight loss journey.
Stay tuned for these alternatives in part 2!
About two years ago I was visiting my doctor for something important to my health at the time. He just sort if mentioned in passing that my insurance would cover gastric bypass... wait, WHAT?
I was in shock and upset that he even mentioned it. Was I THAT big? Did I really qualify for THAT option? At any rate, it freaked me out enough too not ask any more questions and try and lose weight on my own.
About a year ago I visited the doctor and experienced a very similar scenario. This time I was more mentally prepared. Still totally against the idea but this time aware that he was going to want to discuss the whole pre- diabetic thing at the very least. Which is what originally prompted him to mention gastric bypass to begin with.
I had a plan which consisted of not eating sugar, that didn't work. I had another plan of eating more veggies, nope. My point being, the 'diet' plans didn't work for me.
About four months ago I started to consider the possibility that maybe I am a candidate for gastric bypass. I did what any good patient does and asked my doctor about it.
He gave me the information to look up and advised me to think about it.
It looked good, no, it looked great! It looked like a light at the end of my tunnel.
But then, other life circumstances arrived, and all of this hope was put on hold.
In fact, I've realized that gastric bypass is not for me right now, who knows what my future will hold, but for now I'm looking toward alternatives in my weight loss journey.
Stay tuned for these alternatives in part 2!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Before Pictures and Non- Failures
Today was the first day I didn't do anything productive toward my weight health plan. However now that I write that I realized maybe I am judging myself too harshly.
I had tentative plans to run today before a Saturday morning commitment I have. This did not happen. And I didn't beat myself up! Progress!
What I did do; called the pharmacy to see if my pills were ready yet, (yes pills that will aid in weight loss- stay tuned) and I ended up buying a pair of running shoes. Which I desperately needed.
I also went to a friends house and had her take some 'before' pics. Which excite me.
Lastly, apart from the cookie, my food intake wasn't all that bad... Again not beating myself up for cookie!
So I guess, although I didn't get the physical goal done, I did a lot of things that'll help me on my way toward my physical goal. This feels good!
I am finding that if I break down my days, I do tend to do something that is helpful toward my goal ( whatever the goal may be ) even if it's not obviously apparent. I love this, because it helps me realize that I am motivated and I can do this!
Here are some pics, my tentative plan is to post monthly with a comparison pic, but we shale see what unfolds! Enjoy!
I had tentative plans to run today before a Saturday morning commitment I have. This did not happen. And I didn't beat myself up! Progress!
What I did do; called the pharmacy to see if my pills were ready yet, (yes pills that will aid in weight loss- stay tuned) and I ended up buying a pair of running shoes. Which I desperately needed.
I also went to a friends house and had her take some 'before' pics. Which excite me.
Lastly, apart from the cookie, my food intake wasn't all that bad... Again not beating myself up for cookie!
So I guess, although I didn't get the physical goal done, I did a lot of things that'll help me on my way toward my physical goal. This feels good!
I am finding that if I break down my days, I do tend to do something that is helpful toward my goal ( whatever the goal may be ) even if it's not obviously apparent. I love this, because it helps me realize that I am motivated and I can do this!
Here are some pics, my tentative plan is to post monthly with a comparison pic, but we shale see what unfolds! Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Weight vs Health
I know right? I personally believe that a healthy weight is so important to a healthy lifestyle. Yet here I am thinking to myself, if I loose a bunch of weight boys will want me more. Which is sadly, probably true.
But for me it's not about boys/girls/etc... It's about being able to tie my shoes without it causing pain and shorten of breath. There are other ways weight has effected me, walking, using the bathroom, sweating, amongst a few...
It's time for change. I need change.
I don't publish my weight often or even like to mention it in passing... But I feel like part of the process is getting honest.
Yesterday I weighted in at 319.4lbs. I'm not proud of this nor do I want to beat myself up for it either. It's a stage in my journey... It's a step in the direction I want to take. It's time!
Health is more important to me then looks... If I keep this up I will die. That's not really okay with me. I am beautiful but I am not healthy.
I crave life.
But for me it's not about boys/girls/etc... It's about being able to tie my shoes without it causing pain and shorten of breath. There are other ways weight has effected me, walking, using the bathroom, sweating, amongst a few...
It's time for change. I need change.
I don't publish my weight often or even like to mention it in passing... But I feel like part of the process is getting honest.
Yesterday I weighted in at 319.4lbs. I'm not proud of this nor do I want to beat myself up for it either. It's a stage in my journey... It's a step in the direction I want to take. It's time!
Health is more important to me then looks... If I keep this up I will die. That's not really okay with me. I am beautiful but I am not healthy.
I crave life.
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