Loves it-- Golds Gym Upper and Lower Body Cycle

So I have been using my fantastic little peddler for about a month now in addition to my gym work and I LOVE IT!! I catch up on a lot of tv shows online bc I dont have DVR or TIVO or whatever, so I end up spending a lot of time at the computer instead of on the couch. This got me thinking, I have seen these under the desk bikes and I wondered if I would like it. Well I found this at walmart for $24 and I am SO glad I gave it a try!

I watch Biggest Loser or The Deep End or Greys Anatomy or Celebrity Fit Club or Ruby and I just Peddle Peddle Peddle. It has helped a lot with strengthening my legs. I have seen a big improvement in my squats and lunges. When I really want to multitask I also grab my 8 pound medicine ball and work my upper body! I'm sure I look like a dork doing it, but it is a nice way to get in a light workout while I catch up on some tv!! I want to try bringing this to work with me and using it under my desk...but I feel like that would be a bit odd... I dunno. I dont really have a close the door/hide away kind of work environment.

Loves it-- Smartfood!

110 Calories, 1 gram of fat and FIVE grams of fiber to keep me feeling full! AND its delicious!?!? Heck yes!!! This is my new favorite snack. SO delightful!

I'm also a big fan of jello sugar free pudding in Boston Creme Pie. That is pretty yummo. Guilt free treats make it worthwhile. Especially when you just need to shut up your taste buds! Everytime I watch the biggest loser and they recommend to the contestents to chew a stick of gum to get rid of sugar cravings I just wanna smack them in the face!!! Chewing a stick of gum isn't going to do anything when I am craving a big bowl of ice cream or a bag of caramel corn or chocolate. I just need to find healthy ways to satisfy those cravings. If I work with them I dont slip up as often... It's when I deny them for too long that I just have a day when I fall off the wagon completely!

A picture is worth a thousand lunges!

So while my mom was here she took a picture of me while I wasn't paying attention and when I was uploading them today I was a bit shocked... 

I can REALLY see a difference now! Sometimes a picture shows you what you just can't grasp in a mirror... 

 

This was 102 pounds and four months ago.... wow....

All I can say is AWESOME! All those squats and lunges in bootcamp class are SOOO worth it. Fantastic.

One goal acheived... Moving on to the next one!!!

I have not seen my mother in 14 months. Being an only child and coming from a single parent household, my mom has always been both mom dad and best friend. My goal for the last few months has been to have lost 100 pounds by the time she got here to visit me Feb. 10-14. After being sick and out of the gym I just didn't think it was going to happen. I had just accepted that I would have to be satisfied with coming close but not quite there... Well, I weighed in on Thursday and I DIT IT. I weighed in at 324 which means I lost 102 pounds!!!!! Oh man did that feel good. I seriously wanted to cry. I did it. Even when I made that goal, I didn't really think it was possible. It gave me something to push towards even if I knew it was out of reach. But I did it. I still can't really wrap my head around it, but I am SO excited to be setting a new goal. The new goal is weighing in at 250/176 pounds lost. I think 250 will be a big hurdle for me. Just being in the 200's is going to be a big deal, truth be told.
The other great thing is that in bootcamp class I am making strides. I am improving in so many little ways. I am starting to get to the point when I can feel in my body when an exercise is being done correctly. I can feel when my form is right. I know that sounds like a silly thing to be excited about but when you have never played sports or been active let alone physically fit, you dont listen to your body. You dont know how things should feel.
On another note I have something that I am VERY excited about! The Walk n Tone by L.A. Gear!

I was very interested in trying out some of these new shoes on the market. Either the Reebok easytone or the Sketchers Shape Ups. I did quite a bit of research online and then tried on both and was really not sure of how I felt... While my mom was here we went by kohls and found these little gems. First off- they are cheaper(Hooray!!) Then I tried them on and LOVED them! The thing I liked about the reeboks is that they made me light on my feet. They have two balls that force you to balance which is that works your muscles and tones you up.

But the LA Gear Walk n fit has three balls that do throw you off balance but they distribute the weight more evenly and they dont allow you to put your weight on the outside edge of your shoe/foot.

I have always walked with my weight on the outside edges. Always. So my hips are never square and I have problems with both my feet and my lower back. Less now that I am 100 pounds lighter, but still uncomfortable. Well, I walked two miles total on Sunday in my new shoes and my stride was VASTLY improved! My hips were squared, I carried myself on the balls and heels of my feet. I cannot really attest to the toning aspect but for the simple fact that my walk is improved I am VERY excited about my new shoes!

Astonished...

Bootcamp last night was brutal as expected. In the middle of it I got really light headed felt a bit like I was going to either pass out or vomit everywhere, thankfully after I took a breather and blew my nose  I did neither of those things! ... when you can only breathe through 25% of your nose it is more difficult. But the work that I have been doing to improve my squats and lunges is showing! Kevin was impressed. That felt good.
Now for the even better news....

I hit 95 pounds lost when I weighed in last night!!!!!

I almost cried I was so happy.  Then, I don't know what possessed me, but I agreed to come in for an extra class at 7am this morning....
I woke up at 5 am and was in the gym by 6:00am. ugh. I drudged through my cardio and by the time I got started with my leg work, I was actually feeling good! Class got started at 7 and I ROCKED it. I felt really really good about the work that I did. I felt strong. Man, that is a good feeling.

So this is me... 95 pounds lighter... wow. 

Seriously, wow. 

I really did not think I was capable of this when I started. But now I know it. I feel it in my bones. I am going to do this. I am going to follow this through. I have changed for good. I am capable of reaching the goals that I set for myself. I can do this. For the first time in a VERY long time I am really proud of myself.

Now if I can just get my subconscious to hold on to this feeling and play this tape over and over instead of the self-doubting tape...

formspring.me

If you could go only to one restaurant for the next five years, which would it be?

I think would have to say subway... Lately Subway has been a Godsend. I know its safe. I can get something that I know hasn't been doused in oil, that I know is fresh and its easy to make the right choice. Its easy to just say no thanks to the cheese and mayo.
But I also really love this mexican restaurant by my house. They have a chicken soup that is fantastic! Its broth and chicken and black beans and avocado. Very yummy.. Very fresh. Very low fat.

Ask me anything

Pushing through...

Well I met my first big road block and frankly, I let it knock me down.
I was sick. Legitimately sick. So I took a few days off work and what did I do? I stayed out of the gym completely for a whole week and I layed on the couch feeling sorry for myself and I ate. I ate whatever I wanted. I slipped up. a lot. I knew I was off plan. I knew I was not doing what I needed to do, but I let myself use being sick as an excuse.
sigh
I went back to the gym Friday night and it was a tough one. I missed bootcamp class all week and all I had been doing was sleeping. I weighed myself.... I gained weight. *damnit* Three pounds. I DRAGGED myself through my workout. it was really hard. I left the gym, drenched in sweat feeling both accomplished that I went back but also really dissapointed that I let myself down. While I was working out I gave myself an extra ten minutes of cardio and an extra 15 reps of the lunges I hate and in my head, without even realizing it, I was telling myself that it was to punish me for my bad behavior. How odd. Its like there is this voice in the back of my head that is so hurtful...so mean! That voice never praises, never celebrates victory. It only tallies the failures and the disappointments so that they can be repeated back over and over again to remind myself of my shortcomings. Why is it that it is so important to me to be kind and thoughtful to other people, but never to myself? This is something I am going to focus on this month. I putting a hit out on the Negative Nancy in the back of my head. I think I have heard just about enough from her.
So now it is back to Livestrong.com for food and excersize journaling. Back to the gym tonight for bootcamp with Kevin... I am sure I will be wanting to cry by the end of it tonight!! Back to my whey protein/flaxseed/frozen strawberries/light soymilk smoothie for breakfast and kashi black beans, rice and chicken for lunch. I am excited though... I know I feel so much better when I do the right thing. I felt like crap last week. Eating crappy food and being sick and everything else. I think that is the best lesson I have learned so far is that I feel so much better when I make the right choices and when I do what is right for me.