Last Chance Work Out!!

Who watches the Biggest Looser? You don't? Start watching it, it's great!

Anyway, on every episode they are working out and eating healthy. And they do a challenge and get a reward (just like on every other reality show) and then at the end they all get weighed and whoever lost the least gets the boot, there is a whole yellow line and a vote, blah blah blah, but that is basically how it works. So the point is, the day before the weigh in, they have their Last Chance Workout! Well, remember that I am getting weighed by my trainer for the first time tomorrow, so this morning I considered my last chance work out!

I usually do 30-35 minutes at a moderate pace, trying to keep my heart rate around 150. Well over the weekend one of the birthday presents I got myself was a new cell phone. (I have had a cell phone for about 13 years, and during that time I have only have a total of 3 phones. So needless to say I keep my phones until they are dinosaurs.) My new phone has a camera and can play music and all the fancy stuff. So I had my phone playing some music to 'pump me up!' And I did a total of 45 minutes and kept my heart rate at 170!! I was pretty proud of myself. And I wasn't huffing and crying, I was kinda singing along to the music. So I know that I am in better shape than when I started, even if it isn't showing outwardly too much yet.

(Even though Kendra said that I looked pretty good at Church yesterday. I thought you looked skinnier too, but I didn't say anything because I didn't want you to think I was saying it just because you said it to me first. Then afterward I thought that I should have mentioned it because it makes me feel good, so I'm sure it would make you feel good too. So, Kendra had been cutting back on sweets and it's showing!!)

So, lets all keep our fingers crossed and see what the scale says tomorrow! And no, I have not stepped on a scale since last Wednesday. So I'll be just as surprised as all of you. I don't want to think of what I want it to be, because if it's not, then I'll get discouraged. But secretly, I want it to be a 10-15 pound loss. But i will be happy with anything. Except a gain, oh wouldn't that be horrible! I've been busting my butt, and eating like a rabbit for almost a month,and I may have gained weight? Let's not even think that!!!

Busy Weekend ahead!

Well, I worked out this morning, 25 on the eliptical and 10 on the treadmill. I'm not too sore from those 'step ups' yesterday. And I ate pretty healthy since my last post. So....go me! I also have not gotten on the scale, just like I said that I wouldn't.

So now comes the weekend. Tomorrow I have to get my son's 1 year pictures taken, and then we have a 5 year old friend's birthday party to go to (which I still need to go buy a present for, I just got the invite in the mail yesterday, I knew it was coming up, but I didn't know the date). On Sunday morning I want to go to church, and Sunday evening I need to bake mini-muffins, (I'm not eating them all- they are to take to work next week). And then inbetween that stuff I need to grocery shop for the week. Clean-up the house since my hubby starts work on Monday and I need to have everything ready for the babysitter, which includes laying out my daughter's clothes for school in the morning and her leotard for gymnastics class in the afternoon. I should also make a little schedule for the babysitter so she knows what times my daughter needs to leave for her activities, and what the baby's eating and sleeping schedule is now, so much has changed in the last couple months since she last watched the kids. I should do the laundry. I need to take inventory of the cups/plates/decorations that I have for my son's birthday party next weekend, and then shop for the stuff that I still need. Which includes presents for him, and goody bag stuff for the other children. We also need to go out and get a whole new wardrobe for my hubby since he now has a desk job and needs 'business casual' clothes, of which he currently only has about 2 nice shirts and 1 pair of slacks. It was my sis's birthday yesterday, so I need to visit her this weekend and take her a card.

I'm so glad it's my birthday weekend, and I won't even have a minute for myself because it's everyone else's birthday weekend too. (Or the weekend before my sosn's birthday and my hubby starts a new job) But I guess if i don't take any time for me, then I don't have to worry about 'overdoing it'.

Two interesting things Happened Today

First off, remember the Chinese food lunch incident yesterday? Well I called my hubby after lunch and told him about going out to eat, and just like I knew he would be, he was a little disappointed. Not that I flew off the diet wagon again (i need to get seat belts for this thing) but because he LOVES Chinese food, and we haven't gotten takeout in a few weeks now. So I felt bad and I stopped and got him Chinese for dinner on my way home. But I only got some for him, and I had some leftover roast and veggies for my dinner.

So now back to today. Today I worked out all alone. With my trainer of course, but there was no one else in the fitness center. The guy that I usually work out with had his baby yesterday, I'm sure that his wife did all the work, but he was there, and thus not here today. So I had the place, and the trainer, to myself. At first I thought that this could be a bad thing, and that he would be 'on' me the whole time. But it was actually nice. My trainer still had me rest in between sets, and we talked about stuff. Usually he is running back and forth between me and the other guy, and all he says to me is stuff like "Did you get them all done? Good job, on to the next thing" But today we talked about "The Biggest Looser" Do you watch that show? My hubby and I love it. We've watched every season, and each time at the beginning we say that we are going to be on a diet with the people on the show, and it lasts a week or two, and then we are sitting there watching the show eating Chinese takeout! But he was saying that it is good for me to watch it, and that it is good inspiration, and they give good tips and he agrees with the way that they train. We talked a little about other things too, like there is a guy here at work that is having a BBQ the weekend after next, and the trainer is going too, and he said he is bringing a cheesecake and he will be eating ribs, and not giving any of us poo for anything we are eating there. That sometimes you can reward yourself alittle, just know that these occasions should be few and far between and not your daily life. So he seems more like a real person now. He's still pretty much a hard ass though. This morning I told him that my legs are really sore from the squats I did on Tuesday, and his reply was "Sucks to be you, because you are doing them again today!" And he made me do things that were even worse. I had to put one foot up on a bench and then step all the way up and back down; 5 times with one leg, then go around the bench, 5 times with the other leg, go around the bench, 5 times with the first leg again, go around the bench, 5 times with the other leg again, then rest! I was sore and out of breath. And I had to do 3 sets of that!

The other thing that happened is this; he is going to weigh me on Tuesday. He told me that it is just a number, and it probably hasn't moved much since right now i'm just working on my matabolism and my heartrate and the weight will be coming off later...blah blah blah. I basically know this stuff, but anyone who is on a diet or exercising to loose weight wants to see one thing, the numbers on the scale moving!! And last week he told me not to get on the scale, and I told my hubby that (i have been very honest with everyone thoughout this, I figure it will only help me in the long run) and then the couple time I got on the scale, hubby would say "I thought you wern't supposed to be doing that!" But i just need to know, it burns inside my head! So anyway, THE day is Tuesday, which just so happens to be my birthday! So as the best birthday present to myself ever, I am going to be super good on my diet the next 5 days! And I will work my butt off (literally I hope) in the gym on Friday and Monday. And then on Tuesday we'll see where I am. And I will stay off the scale at home in the meantime too. There I said it, so I have to do it. I'll just push it under the dresser so i'm not tempted. Let's Get'er Dun!!

Food is keeping me fat!

Well I thought I could be on a diet and loose weight. That's how it works, right? Well I've tried that a thousand times before, and this is how it always goes. First week, loose a few pounds. Be happy. Slack off a little on the diet. The next weight loose little or no weight. Get a little discouraged, slack off more. The next week gain a couple pounds, say forget about it and drown in pizza and ice cream. So this time is going to be different because I am exercising too! And I am exercising alot. And I have noticed that I have more energy too.
So this morning I am cranking away on the eliptical. And my trainer comes over and says something like "I just want to commend you on your dedication! You've been up here everyday and giving it alot of effort. Most people don't have so much dedication." So of coure I had to reply with the cheesiest, most typical answer. You can probably even guess what it was. "They don't want it as much as I do" I can't believe I said that, it's so...ridiculous. And he said "No, they do want it as much as you do. They just don't put in the effort. And if you just put in the same effort with your nutrition you'll do great." So i finished 25 minutes on the eliptical and then did 10 on the treadmill THen I had an apple and peanut butter for breakfast, and a low fat yogurt for a snack. And then one of the engineers asked if I wanted to go out to Chineese for lunch. And everything in my wanted to say NO, but YES came out of my mouth. Peer Pressure! Willpower where are you!! But I did eat healthy for dinner, and i'll try to eat well tomorrow. And I will be there bright and early to workout.

Bake Sales - Love 'em & Hate 'em

Last weekend my church had a big event called Alive in the Park. I took the kids and had a great time. We had a nice service and then there were bands playing music, and food, and tons of activities for the kids.....and a bake sale! Aww the bake sale! There have not really been sweets in my house lately. If they are there, I will eat them. And my hubby and kids dont NEED sweets, so I havn't been buying them. But ya see, at a bake sale they are trying to raise money to help someone. So by buying sweets you are helping a good cause, in this case it was for the family of a little girl who had brain cancer. So I had to buy stuff. And I had it all there next to me at the park for over 2 hours and didn't eat anything. Not the brownies, or cookies, or chocolate cupcakes or 3 differnt flavors of muffins! But then I went home, and the kids went to bed, and I sat down with my hubby and pulled out the stash. It was like we were junkies ready for a fix. And I had a cupcake, and a brownie, and a blueberry cheescake muffin. There I said it. I ate 3 desserts at one setting. I washed it down with skim milk, but at that point I don't think the milk matters. Then I felt like a pig and was totally mad at myself! So yesterday I did some time on the treadmill, and then the stationary bike, and then the eliptical too. And I had salmon with steamed broccli and baby carrots for dinner. I worked out with the trainer today. So i guess the lesson is, I still have no willpower. And this is bad because it is one week until my birthday. And then 2 days after that is my son's birthday. And I want to be at or below my pre-baby weight (243) by his birthday. So i need to work hard and stick with it all this week! I can not get down because of my bakesale set-back. I bought some 'healthy creation' ice cream bars. There are a couple flavors, and i will allow myself to have one, 1, one and only one, if i need a sweet treat. But otherwise no sweets. My hubby may or may not get me a cake on my b-day, i'll have to ask him not too. And my mom usually gets me a blueberry cheesecake (which i am the only one in my house that eats it) so i'll have to ask her not to. And then if I make my goal, or get close and know that I gave it my best efforts. Then at my son's party the following weekend I will eat cake, and pizza! And i will have deserved it. but until then....buck-up, be strong, and sweat it out!!
With God's help we can move mountains. I need to move the ones on my hips!!

"You may be the one to watch this year" "Who, Me?"

First off, yes I went to the pizza buffet last night. I had water to drink, and nice big salad, and then I preceeded to eat 3, or was it 4, medium size slices of pizza, and one of them was deep dish. It was delisious and wonderful. And today I'm back to diet food! so :P~
But something great happened this morning. In order for you to fully understand, I must first take you back to my paranoid thoughts of last week. After the first day I worked out, I hurt. I hurt bad, I hurt for 4 days. My trainer didn't have much sympathy, so I decided that he didn't really want to train me, that he didn't want to waste him time on a fat girl that he thought would quit anyway, so he would just push me very hard an make me quit sooner. These are all my thoughts, I have no proof to back them up, and when I told this to my husband he told me that I'm nuts! So for the last week I have been scrutinizing what my trainer does and say looking for my proof that he has no faith in me. Also, I work out with the trainer on Tues & Thurs, but I also do cardio on my own Mon, Wed, Fri. That days that I am not 'with' the trainer he is still there working out with 3 guys. These are 3 guys that I work with, they are nice enough. So right after I first started, one of the guys was talking to me about how hard it is, and that it's alot of work, etc. And I figured he is in on the conpspiricy to get me to quit. Now comes the something great.
So this morning I am on the eliptical, and the guys are doing weights with the trainer (it would probably be easier if I just used everyone's names, but I am protecting the innocent, or something like that, not that it matters since no one is reading this!) anyway, one of they guys goes "Wow, Niki's got really good attendance up here!" I havn't missed a day yet, I may fly off the diet, but i have been sticking to the exercise! And the other guy, the one that was telling me how tuff it will be, agree's with him. And the trainer says "She may be the one to watch this year. She might be my big sucess story" YES!! Maybe he does believe in me!
Also, I noticed when I got dressed this morning that my jeans are little loose!! Go me!!

What Do I Weigh!!??!!

Well today marks 2 weeks since I first started working out with my trainer. The first day I started he weighed me, 256. That's about where I expected it to be, seeing that I was totally clothed and with my shoes on. See, I don't know about you, but I weigh myself at home, stark naked, because I don't want the clothes to add those extra few pounds. Usually when I take my clothes off when I get home from work and I'm changing into my PJ's. And sometimes I shave in the shower and then weigh myself after I get out, once I'm totally dried off, because the hair on my legs and armpits may have been tipping the scale just that little bit that it bumped it up to the next pound. So I had weighed myself at home before the first workout, and was.....254 I think. So I expected to see a few extra 'clothing' pounds. And then I started weighing myself at home incessantly! At least a few times a day usually. I'm starting to think it's turning into OCD, so I'm trying to cut it back. But after the first 5 or so days of dieting and working out I had lost 9-10 pounds, I was thrilled!! I told anyone that would listen, "I got a personal trainer and I lost 10 pounds already!" And we had pizza to celebrate! And then the next day my husband got a phone call that he had gotten this new job that he really wanted, so we went out for Chinese to celebrate! And then on Saturday the kids stayed the night at my mom's and we went to the movies. I didn't eat any dinner before the movie, but I had a medium popcorn there (no butter) and a bottle of water, and then we went to the Holy Mecca on the way home!!!!Taco Bell!!!! And strangely enough, the numbers on the scale had stopped going down, and actually crept back up a few pounds. Go figure!! So yesterday I weighed 246 before I went to bed, that was with my PJ's on. And I totally expected that my trainer would weigh me today.....but he didn't! And I want to know what I weigh on his scale!!! I had all these plans hinging on being weighed today. Since my flying leap from the wagon last week I have been pretty strictly sticking to my diet, all day Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and today....through lunch. Then the plan was to have seen how much I lost, be happy, and so to dinner tonight. To the new all you can eat pizza buffet that just opened last week and that I have been dying to try! (Pizza is only second to Taco Bell for my taste buds!!) So should I still go? Should I jump on the scale when I get home and still be proud of myself? I did do 20 minutes on the Elliptical machine today, and then another 40 minutes with the trainer doing weight stuff and lunges! I think I'll go and just try not to be a pig, and then get on the treadmill with extra vigor first thing in the morning!

My Trainer is MEAN!!

I dont't know if you've ever had a personal trainer before, but they are mean. At least mine is. But mean in a good way. Mean as in, I walked on the treadmill at 3.0 mph for 25 minutes yesterday and felt very accomplished. He comes over there today after about 10 minutes and says "What's going on over here! Take your heart rate!" So i put my palms on the sensors and it flashes a few times and then reads 145. I think this is good since last week it was in the low 160's. But the trainer is not pleased, he says something like "145!! and you're just walking!! Walking you should be in the 100's, I'm going to save your life!!" Then he reaches across me and hikes the incline up to 15, the highest setting it goes to! I can walk on the incline for about a minute, then i'm huffing and puffing. He barks out some stuff like "Come on, 30 more seconds, just concentrate and push it out!" And then he reaches across and lowers the incline back to zero, and has me walk flat for a few minutes until my heart rate is back in the 140's, then we do it all again! I thought I was in decent shape (yes I'm fat, but i can shop for hours, or take the kids to the zoo all day and not get too tired out) but this just proves that I am horribly out of shape. I was working with free weights this morning, and I was doing some tricep extension things, and I did 2 sets with an 8 lb dumb-bell and then he had me switch to a 5 lb dumb-bell for the last set. He probably thought I was going to drop the 8 lb one on my head.
I'm eating alot better now too. Today I had a whole wheat english muffing with a tablespoon of light peanut butter for breakfast, and I am eating 2 whole wheat tortilla's with some turkey breast and a cup of manderian oranges for lunch, and for dinner tonight we are having grilled chicken with bell peppers, brocilli, and brown rice.
(And no, I did not eat any sherbert last night, I just had a glass of water and went to sleep!)

Why I started this Blog

I told you why i'm trying to loose weight, but not why I started the blog. My hubby said it's because I want to be .... I don't remember the word he used, cool, or something like that. The truth is that Two of my friends started blogs, one becuse her hubby was in a terrible accident and it was a good way to keep everyone abreast of his condition and progress. And I think the other was a spin-off from that one, and she talked about her kids and family. So I guess this is a spin-off from the spin-off. So if this was a TV show, I would be like Law & Order: pencile pusher unit; or CSI: Nebraska. Ya know, something that no one is watching. Which is pretty close because I have told no one about this blog. So if you are out there, good job finding me. I just though that maybe it would help keep me honest about my weight loss goals if I put them up in a blog. I can lie to my trainer (Yes, I did all 15 full reps!) and to myself (if I eat just two bites of the kids pudding it won't count againt my diet) but why lie to some pencile pusher in Nebraska! Talk to ya later!

Mommy, you have a big butt!

Yep, that's what my 4 year old daughter said to me. I can't blame her, it's totally true. I'm 5'9" and weigh in around 250. Actually a little over 250, maybe not anymore, but definetly last week. See, that little innocent sentence, spoken not as a put down, but just as a matter of fact, has spurred me to loose weight.
This is not the first time I have decided to loose weight, but i'm planning on it being the last. I was always a little heavy in high school, but I was active, I did Tae Kwan Do, I worked stock in a grocery store. Then I graduated college and got a desk job. And the weight piled on! Then I started dating my now husband, and more weight piled on, why not I didn't need to look good for guys, I had one that I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Then we started to plan our wedding and I tried to loose some weight, i lost a little, and then gained it all back on the honeymoon. Then as our 1st anneversary neared I realized I weighed more that I did at the wedding, so i tried to loose some, I lost a little and then got pregnant with our daughter. Free reighn to pack on the pounds, 30 in all, not really that bad. And after the baby was born I lost it all quickly since I was nursing. But once I went back to work and stopped nursing the weight came flying back on and I ended up about 23 pounds heavier than when I got pregnant. Then I got pregnant with our son. I wasn't going to do it this time! I ate healthy during the pregnancy and gained about 25 lbs total. And gave birth to a 9lb 1 oz chunky monkey. And the weight fell off while he chowed down. But once again, as soon as I stopped nursing the weight piled back on.
So the baby will be one in a few weeks, and my daughter said I'm fat. I'm going to loose this weight for good. I recently got a new job, (remind me to tell you about that on another day), and they have a nice fitness center on-site and offer free personal trainers to the employees. So I took them up on it! I started about 11 days ago. I work out with the trainer on Tuesday and Thursday, and I do cardio on my own on the other mornings during the work week. I'm also trying to be on a diet, but I love to eat. I did really good today.
So I better get to bed, I have to see my trainer in the morning. And there is a box of orange sherbert in the freezer calling my name. If I go to sleep now, I can avoid the urge to go have a bowl. I'll let ya know how the workout goes tomorrow.