Isn't it funny how things change?

A little over 3 months ago, I decided that I needed to lose weight. Obviously I had thought about it long before then, but 3 months ago I got up off my big butt and decided to actually DO something about it. For some reason this morning, I was thinking about all of the things that had changed for me since then.

I've lost over 20 pounds. That is more than 10% of what my weight was when I started. I've lost lots of inches and 2 pants sizes too. The changes in my body are starting to be noticeable (I think) and to be honest, the main reason I decided to lose weight was because I wasn't happy with how I looked. Of course, weight loss comes with "extra benefits". Those extras were what I was thinking about today.

When I am hungry between meals, the first thing I reach for is an apple. 3 months ago, the first thing I would have reached for was whatever was closest - cookies, chips, anything that was fast and easy. Well guess what? An apple is fast and easy too, so as long as I keep them around, I'm not nearly as tempted to grab something that isn't healthy.

What has changed the most in the past 3 months is my exercising. When I started, I wanted to walk 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. For the past couple of weeks, I've been using my 30 minute morning walk as a "warm up". I love to take that walk in the morning (even when it's freezing cold). It wakes me up and gets me moving and let's me think about what I want or need to do that day, but I do it in addition to something else (go to the Y, a longer walk, 30-45 min on the elliptical. etc.). It's like that isn't even exercise for me any longer. It's just something my body needs to really get going in the morning. My walking buddy (neighbor) used to tell me that she took a quick walk in the morning to get going and then she would "exercise" when she got home. I used to think "Is she crazy? The walk WAS exercise! Why would she go home and do MORE???" Now I know what she was talking about.

I did my weight training yesterday. I woke up today feeling tight. Not sore, just tight in my upper body. That was a good feeling. I am actually looking forward to meeting with my trainer tomorrow to get more exercises added on to my workout plan. That is definitely not something I thought I would ever say 3 months ago. I'm glad I'm making these changes. I can't wait to see where I am three months from now!

Motivational music

I love to exercise with my ipod. Whether I'm walking or at the Y, listening to music makes the time go so much faster and as long as the songs are fairly fast, it helps me keep the pace faster too. When my son is working out, he likes loud music - heavy metal, hard rock that kind of thing. I am a child of the 80s, so my favorite workout tunes tend to be from that era. However, when I'm getting towards the end of my workout or it's getting hard, there is one song that seems to motivate me to push through it. Brick House. :) Even though I will never be "36-24-36" (well not without surgical enhancements-LOL), that song just puts me in the mindset to want to look and feel my absolute best.

Of course, I am always looking for new songs to add to my workout play list, so I'd love to hear from you guys. What songs really make you want to crank up the workout and burn some serious calories?

Down 1, up 1

So today was my weigh in day and I lost 1 pound. Considering how bad my diet was last week, I'm pretty happy with that (thank goodness for all of the exercising I did). That means I have 12 pounds to go in order to reach my goal. I posted last week about getting into a rut and losing motivation. Well, I am going to really try to have a great week this week and see if I can push myself to lose that 12 pounds in the next 6 weeks. For me, that means cranking up the exercise and adding some extra "active" things like more walking the dog, etc. It also means watching what I eat. I'm still bad about tracking calories because most of what I eat I make and I don't feel like taking the time to go figure out how many calories are in each serving. It also means drinking more water. I am really awful at that. I don't drink pop or anything like that, but I drink coffee all day long.

Losing a pound is the "down 1" from the title. The "up 1" is the run I did this morning. I had already taken my normal 30-35 minute walk this morning, had gotten the kids off to school and done a little cleaning and I was ready to shower and get to work when I noticed my new running shoes. I decided to try them out and see if they helped with the shin splints. I didn't run a whole mile, but I made it farther than I did last time and the shin splints were better. I think that is just one of those things that I am going to have to keep working at and hope that it gets better.

I hope everyone else has a great week too! I'm ready to kick some serious booty this week. :)

Finish strong

I have had a weird week. I've been really good with the exercise - Monday - 50 minute walk, Tuesday - 30 minute walk plus 60 minute workout at the Y, Wednesday - 30 minute walk, Thursday - 30 minute walk plus 60 minute workout at the Y, Today - 45 minutes on the elliptical. But my eating has been bad. I ate out Tuesday for my son's 16th birthday and of course I made cake & had a piece (I haven't had a piece since then though) and I've been hungry all the time this week so I've been snacking which is something I usually don't do.

Monday is weigh in day and since I have a new target date (hit my goal weight by my birthday which is 6 weeks from today), I really want to be down a couple of pounds. I really need to finish the week strong with 2 good workouts and better eating than I have been doing. I feel like I've gotten into a little bit of a rut this week. I thought that as I got closer to my goal, I would get more motivated, but the opposite seems to be happening. It's like I'm feeling pretty good about the 20+ pounds I've lost and part of me is getting content where I am. That's not what I want. I do want to feel good about what I've done, but I want to keep whatever it was inside me that one day said "enough is enough" and decided to start this journey.

I've decided to buy some real running shoes and to give running another try (thanks to everyone that told me not to give up after my earlier post this week), so maybe adding that and setting a goal (like running a 5k this spring) will help get some focus back. Any advice from those of you that have hit your goal or are very close? Do you ever feel like you lose some motivation? How do you get it back? I'd love to hear from you!

Uh oh, more collateral damage

So the first collateral damage from my weight loss was my boobs. I've written a couple of posts about this because seriously, they are just gone. If I lose any more weight in my chest, I will have to start shopping for bras in the pre-teen department. Oh who am I kidding? If I lose any more weight in my chest, I won't need a bra at all. :) Now I've discovered more collateral damage, but first a little background story.

Have I mentioned on here that I have a wonderful husband? We've been together for over 19 years, married for almost 17 years and I'm still just crazy about him. He makes me laugh, he's a good friend and a great father. He is very thoughtful and I am thankful for him every day. Anyway, a few years ago, I wanted a pair of knee high boots. I have always had big (muscular, curvy, whatever you want to call them) legs and I could not find a pair that I liked that would zip up over my calves. I spent hours going from store to store and had no luck. He even went to a few places that I wouldn't have gone (I am cheap and he isn't-LOL) to look. He brought home a pair that the salesperson assured him would fit a big calf. Guess what? It didn't fit. One day I was watching Oprah and she was wearing exactly what I was looking for. I turned to him and said "Seriously, I know I'm overweight, but Oprah can find boots to fit her legs and I can't? There is something wrong here." He just looked at me and said "Honey, I'm pretty sure Oprah can have boots custom made to fit whatever she wants."

Fast forward a couple of months to Christmas and guess what he gave me? Custom made boots! He went online and found someone in France that makes them and he measured me (he measured everything so I had no idea what he was up to) and had them made for me. Is that the sweetest thing you ever heard??? Obviously, they fit perfectly and I absolutely love them! I put them on the other day and they are a little loose around the calf now. Uh oh! I was pretty happy about needing to get some of my clothes taken in (The last time I needed to have something taken in was my wedding dress!), but I hadn't even thought about my boots being loose. Oh well, I don't care. I am going to wear them anyway.

Here is a picture of my favorite boots ever. :)

I do have muscles...

...and they are sore!

I posted a couple weeks ago about getting a personalized workout plan from one of the trainers at the Y. Well, the day after he gave it to me, I slipped on the ice and hurt my ankle and then I was out of town for several days, so even though it's been 2 weeks since I got "The Plan", yesterday was my first official "Plan Workout". It's supposed to take 45-60 minutes and the first part is 25-30 minutes of cardio. I have a goal for how many calories I am supposed to burn during the cardio portion. Yesterday's goal was 220 calories. I decided to do the elliptical for 30 minutes and since I wasn't 100% sure how many calories it would burn, I cranked the resistance up a bit. Then I started reading my magazine and when I was finished reading, I had done 31 minutes and burned 300 calories. Yeah! Next is the strength training. I only have 4 exercises that I am supposed to do right now - chest press, lat (pull down), lunges and crunches. I did 3 sets of 15 for each one and I was feeling pretty good. I felt like that is definitely a workout I can do 3-4 days a week. Until this morning. :)

My quads are so sore. My upper body is a little sore too, but nothing like what's going on in my legs. Don't get me wrong, I know this is the way it's supposed to be. I'm not in pain, just feeling the soreness that comes from using muscles that haven't been used for quite some time. It's a good kind of soreness. The kind that makes me realize that my body will eventually respond to what I'm doing and tighten up so I don't look and feel so squishy (is that a word?). LOL! This mornings workout was a 30 minute walk and I think I'm going to leave it at that. Most days, I try to do more than just the 30 minutes, but I think today will be a "light" day while I recover and prepare for Day 2 of "The Plan". The scary part is that after 5 of these workouts, I'm supposed to call him so he can add additional exercises and increase the intensity-YIKES!

Hope everyone has a great day. :)

I am so NOT a runner

I secretly want to be a runner. I've never wanted to be a runner before now. I had times when I ran for exercise, but it was when I was like 19 and I was just trying to stay in shape, so I'd get up a few days a week and run a mile or two and that was it and it didn't last very long. Other than that short time, I've always done something else for exercise. I've taken step classes, I've used cardio machines and when I started this journey a few months ago, I just walked. Running never interested me. Until now.

Now I notice the people running when I'm driving, I notice the runners when I'm walking in the park and I notice them in the gym. I think it would be cool to say "I'm going for a run" instead of "I'm going for a walk". Yesterday my son was home from school and since there was no weight lifting and no hockey practice, he decided to go run a mile. I wondered if I could do that. I walk at least 30 minutes a day and most days I try to either walk longer or do an additional workout later in the day. When he got back, I decided to give it a shot.

I made it about half or two-thirds of the way. My thighs could have gone farther, my lungs were OK, but the shin splints-OMG! Now I remember why I quit running when I was 19. LOL! For now, I guess I will stick with other forms of exercise.

Have a great evening everyone! I'm going for a walk. :)