Lessons learned and 5 lbs lost....

It’s been 3 months since I completed Megan’s 6 week boot camp class. I went 2 times a week lost 3 pounds and several inches and developed Achilles tendinitis- which set back a lot of the progress I was making. Then of course Christmas time hit and I got stressed out and thrown off track. I joined 24 hour fitness but went sporadically. Up until just recently I have pretty much just “dabbled” in exercise and haven’t fully committed myself to a “program”. Honestly, I still think that if I pray REALLY hard that I’ll wake up skinny one day….but I know that’s not how it works. So I have begun taking things one teeny tiny small step at a time.

I am very happy to report that I have gone to the gym everyday except for Sundays for the past 3 weeks! Yay me! AND I lost 5 pounds so far!!!!! Super YAY me!!!!I am trying to keep on track and it is almost a minute by minute struggle. For now I’m taking things one day at a time and make a conscious choice moment by moment to be healthy. This morning I woke up a little later than usual and my first thought was “I think I’m gonna have a rest day- after all I’ve been doing pretty good and I DESERVE it!” So I rolled over to get a little more sleep and had a tiny fleeting feeling that I should get up and get to the gym anyway. My second thought was that if I don’t work out today I won’t have my extra 500 calories to eat and that got me up and out the door! After 3 minutes at the gym I was so glad that I didn’t give in to my tempting warm and comfy bed.
So what have I been doing? Well it has been SUPER DUPER hard hard HARD! I finally figured that I need to just do it and do it NOW! I decided to take it one day, one moment, one trip to the gym and one snack or meal at a time.

1. I’ve been going to the gym every week day and hiking on every Saturday. I select “fat burner” on the elliptical and go at it as hard as I can for 40 minutes each day and our hikes have taken at least 2 hours to complete each time. The elliptical doesn’t aggravate my tendinitis but I get a good workout. I found this machine in the gym that combines the stair climber and elliptical machines and it REALLY gets me sweating- which I figure must be better. Today I did the REAL stair climber for 10 minutes and it’s REALLY hard. I hope I can work up to doing that one more.

2. Thanks to my sister Crystal I found this AWESOME app for my phone called My Fitness Pal. You input your height and weight and how much you want to loose and it calculates how many calories you should be eating a day. Then you input the foods you eat and it minuses out the calories so you can keep track of how much you eat. It adds extra calories based on how much you work out which is really great. What’s been the most effective for me is to realize how much calories things are and I substitute better options for things I like. But the main thing for me is that if I want to eat something I have to have it. Otherwise if I try and deprive myself of something I get all obsessive about it and over indulge. My personal trainer Megan reminded me that after about 3 mouthfuls you don’t even really taste the food anymore- so I’m trying to keep that in mind…..I have to exercise a lot of portion control.

3. I’m eating veggies, veggies and more veggies. I absolutely LOVE chips! They are salty and crunchy and fried! Nuff said. But I’ve figured out that I really like crunchy textures. So I’ve been substituting cut up cucumbers and carrot sticks for chips. I’ve been living on Turkey sandwiches and have been filling them up with lots of lettuce, green bell peppers and tomatoes. I usually have pretty plain sandwiches with just bread, meat, and cheese and I noticed that when I add extra veggie toppings it all of a sudden glamorizes my little sandwich. Lots of my co-workers comment on how yummy my lunches have been looking and I’ve got my cubicle buddies snacking on veggies too! I drink a can of V-8 daily- I actually really love it! Except the reduced sodium one….yuck….but maybe I can work up to drinking that one cuz it it probably much better for you.

4. I’m keeping Heavenly Father in my game plan by having daily prayer to ask for his help as I make better choices in what I’m trying to do be more healthy. He has given me such a wonderful gift of having this body that can do such extraordinary things and yet I haven’t treated it well enough to work at it’s optimal capacity. My daily chats with Him give me the strength to keep going and I can always share with Him my frustrations, challenges and successes. My daily prayer is helping me to keep things and perspective. I look forward to talking with my Father in Heaven. I noticed that when I set a goal for myself I usually get all off balanced because that becomes the focus of my life. With exercising and trying to eat right I have a lot less free time. My evenings are spent getting my lunch and snacks ready. So I’ve found that the best time for me to read my scriptures and have my little chat with Heavenly Father is actually while waiting and riding the bus to work and the gym (24 hour fitness is right across the street where I work downtown). I usually wait anywhere between 5 minutes to 20 minutes for the bus and ride another 15 to 20 minutes. So I can easily get in 2 or 3 chapters of reading and say a nice long prayer to Heavenly Father…..it’s been a nice ME time and I look forward to it.

5. I drink LOTS of water. I have this 52 oz double insulated cup from 711 that I fill up with ice and water in the morning. I’ve set a “task” on my outlook program at work for every hour and when it goes off I take 10-15 gulps of water. After coming to Hawaii I’ve had 2 kidney stones- so NOT fun. The doctor thinks its because I sweat so much more and loose lots of water. I’ve never been a water drinker –thus the timer to remind me, but I’ve actually worked up to drinking lots of water. I actually have to refill my big cup before the day’s over!

6. I read inspiring blogs. Before a few weeks ago I was walking on the treadmill in the gym for 30 minutes on my lunch break. I would return all sweaty and gross and decided to go before work and shower and get ready at the gym. So now I actually have a full lunch break to check out blogs, update the Relief Society blog and my blog and read lots of fun stuff on everyone else’s blog. Becca- you are so INSPIRING you’re blog is one my favorites. You are so real and so fun! My sister Crystal’s is one I check just about every chance I get- I can’t get enough of my niece Chenoa and nephew Tristan. Seeing what all my Internet pals are doing keeps me motivated.

I’m trying to stay positive. In reality 5 lbs is nothing, but it’s a lot better than gaining 5 lbs! I afraid of failing at the goals I’ve set for myself and just like this morning, I’m gonna be fighting the voices in my head every step of the way but I need to find a way to drown out the negative with the positive. I’ve made excuses for not loosing weight long enough. While I do have some real things working against me like my slow thyroid and my PCOS my 5 lb loss shows that weight loss IS possible.

What’s exciting about getting healthier so far:

1. I’m “trimmer” looking. While most can’t see any difference I’m seeing a little more shape happening right below my bust line and on my back. It’d be nice if I could select exactly where the weight comes off of but at this point I'll take anything!

2. I like that I can say “I’m on my way to the gym” or that “I work out”.

3. I’m more conscious of why I’m eating and what I’m eating. Lots of time I notice I eat just because it’s “time” to eat or I’m bored. I’m starting to figure out what I’m feeling at the time and am getting a better understanding of myself.

4. I like getting ready after working out at the gym cuz I get to steal other ladies’ secrets at how they style their hair and do their make-up. I’ve actually worn my hair DOWN for the past week and a half and have flat ironed it- mostly because others make it look fun.

5. I love that I’m taking time to do something for just me.

6. I’m catching up on movies and shows I’ve missed. My awesome hubby downloads movies to my phone that I watch 40 minutes at a time while exercising. It makes me look forward to seeing what happens in the movie the next day and helps to motivate me.

7. I am in control of myself, and am owning up to the fact that I can choose to be healthy instead of standing by while I allow my health to decline. It’s so much better to be working towards a something instead of making excuses that make me feel awful. Instead I’m at least working towards a goal instead of being stagnant and letting the possibilities of a better self pass me by.