A personal training & food journal. Read about our weight loss progress at Train With Ron in Chicago, our nutritional habits and the life changes we're making to get in shape and stay healthy!
May 20thFebruary 16th was our last update and I feel I’ve let too much time go by. I’ve been busy, sure, but more than anything I’ve felt my progress slipping and my motivation draining. We’ve been going at this since November of ’09 and I have yet to reach my ultimate goal. My thoughts were that the last thing I want this blog to become is a place where I whine and moan. I want to inspire and motivate. So I didn’t write my feelings down thinking it won’t help anyone if I spread the negativity I felt. Truth is, that those types of struggles are the reality of so many people that maybe I was wrong not write during that time.
I wasn’t being vocal about my struggles with anyone and let it fester. I allowed myself to be convinced by my negative thoughts. I guess it was falling back on old habits. Bottom line, I’ve created the situation I am in and so I have complete control to get myself out of it. There is nothing wrong with getting stuck and asking for help. I shouldn’t take that as a sign of being incapable or inadequate. I realize how difficult it is to accept that as fact when you’re frustrated, depressed or just plain angry about a situation but I think you have to actually say the words to yourself over and over again so that you can accept it. You have to return to thinking positively. That’s easy to do when you’re feeling good and everything’s going well, but positivity is most effective when you are feeling down. I hope I can get back to being a little bit of that for you. (more…)
March 21stOK, I’ll come right out with it, I weighed in earlier today but got unchanged numbers from earlier this week. I rubbed my eyes, turned up the light dimmer, leaned over and took a second look and yes, the numbers were the same. Which if I considered my official weigh in would be 1 pound lost this week. Does this make me a little bummed out? Yeah, it does, but I know that during this part of the month (oh that joyful time for women) I experience some weight increase so I’ll wait a couple of days to do another weigh in. I cannot let it get me down because I know my body weight can fluctuate, especially when it comes to measuring just a couple of pounds of difference. I’ll do an official weigh in in a couple of days instead and that should yield a far more fair number.
All in all though, it was a pretty good week. The weather here in Chicago was beautiful during the whole week, in the 60s, so I (and Brady) got more outside time and sun. Oh sun, how we’ve missed you! Saturday, not so great, we got a snow storm so it was a nice day to stay indoors and relax the muscles. Which I needed. My legs felt really heavy during yesterday’s workout. Not sore really, just heavy. Worked hard through it and got it done. I worked out side by side with a friend from TWR and we pushed each other continually. Our Personal Trainer was Matt Saturday and he made the workout really fun. What great motivation! I love it!
I also got in some snowboarding on the Wii this week. I’m kind of hooked actually 
. My convincing reasoning is that it helps with my balance, which it does, and that it also help the soreness in my legs when I have some. And yes, it is the most fun! So there… Add a few hours of that, yes a few hours, I told you I was hooked. Plus the extra 10-12 miles of walking/running, both back and from the gym and walking Brady everyday. I am fighting for every ounce lost! Hey, I didn’t put all of this weight on in just a couple of months and I won’t take it all off that fast either. I understand that, I’m just anxious.
As a woman, this time during the month is the toughest during this whole process. Not only the water weight and bloating I feel but a lot of emotional stuff comes up too. I start to feel a little down about my progress if it’s not where I imagine it to be. I have to work a little extra to get back the positive. Some old demons are still lurking in the background waiting to pounce on my weakness. It drains my energy and offers a plethora of sorenesses.
I look very much forward to getting a nice day of rest today and getting back into the gym tomorrow morning to get a good workout.
More updates coming in a couple of days.
March 6thAbout a week ago I saw an article about interval training and wanted to share it with you. It describes a lot of what we do at Train with Ron here in Chicago. Give it a read.
Article:
Interval Training Can Cut Exercise Hours Sharply
“People who complain they have no time to exercise may soon need another excuse. Some experts say intense exercise sessions could help people squeeze an entire week’s workout into less than an hour. Those regimens — also called interval training — were originally developed for Olympic athletes and thought to be too strenuous for normal people.
But in recent years, studies in older people and those with health problems suggest many more people might be able to handle it. If true, that could revolutionize how officials advise people to exercise — and save millions of people hours in the gym every week. It is also a smarter way to exercise, experts say.”
Keep reading
January 28th
Oh Mother Nature, why do you torture me so? For me, the most difficult time to get to the gym is during that special time of the month. I stand firm against the pills that offer to stop your cycle for months at a time and let nature control my body’s cycles. Because of this, I get to enjoy each and every little nuance it offers; the cramps, the back pain, the headaches and oh yes sometimes I get a little moody. (Just a little, right?) I have to say that the moodiness and the pains last a lot fewer days since the consistent workouts but when they hit, they hit hard.
I muster up the strength and go and push through it. I really cannot even take any pain medicine because I wouldn’t have the energy for the workout. It’s just how I react to some of the pain medications out there since I try not to take them, ever. So I go and I do the workout and pray that we focus on areas of my body that still feel human and strong enough to perform. Well, my last workout with DB started with focusing pretty much all on my lower back…. Help!! I did the best I could and think I did OK despite how I was feeling. I try not to whine and complain because that is never beneficial mentally and working out has a lot to do with positive thinking and pushing through obstacles. So I pushed through and today i actually have no cramps or back pain. It’s a miracle! It’s like all of the stars aligned and Mother Nature said “ok, rather than spreading out your pain, I will have you bare it all on one day and I’m done with you” well, thank you. I hope next month you are just as kind. Maybe she was at the gym last night and heard my thoughts, who knows … all I know is I feel human and not in pain. Now if someone could just figure out a cure to this moodiness my husband would sponsor the research.
As a final thought I would just say that exercise and eating right alwasy makes this time a much more pleasant experience and I think it’s just another way your body is telling you that you’re doing the right things with it.
