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!
March 28thHere we go, one week, only 4 days actually, and we’re off to Hawaii. My workouts this week will be on consecutive days. I had previously only set up 3 days but after talking to a friend at the gym Saturday, I changed it to 4. She’s been going 5 consecutive days so I figured I can handle 4. And hey, I’ll get plenty of rest in Hawaii. Am I right? 
Last week I had a pretty awesome workout week. I got a chance to workout with DB, Ron and Matt and got four fantastic morning sessions. My personal trainers are really in tune with where I’m at and how much I can handle. The levels of difficulty increase nicely over time and the next thing I know I look down and I’m knocking out 50 sit ups in a row. I’m taking one break in between 25 reps instead of 3. I’m running up 4 flights of stairs 3 times in a row and I’m running all the way through. Do I pant like a puppy on a hot day? Yes, but still … amazing leaps and bounds. Just this week I was doing some squats and realized Hey, my knees don’t hurt! It’s been something that I’ve just learned to workout through hoping my knees would get stronger and the pain would go away. And, now it’s gone. That’s going to open me up to be able to push a little harder now. I always let my trainers know how I’m feeling, if I have some aches and pains, they adjust my workout as necessary. It’s important to take care of aches and pains.
There is a new picture of me from last week rotating in the My March Madness banner on the right I’ll take one more next week before we leave for our trip. Also, as Dan mentioned, we’ll post an entry from Hawaii to share how we’re working in some activities and keeping up with the nutrition. He’s got 3 days of golf booked and I plan to play some tennis and do some swimming. I love swimming! I think this will be a great test to see how we handle ourselves away from the conveniences of home, trapped by succulent surroundings.
My weight loss this week was again minimal at just a little bit over a pound but I have lost size around my hips and waist. I went clothes shopping today and noticed that I dropped another dress size. Such a great feeling!
There is such a supportive group of people at the gym. It’s great to be able to motivate others around me and then get that same level of enthusiasm and positivity returned. I don’t see how anyone would not be able to reach their fitness goals working out with these personal trainers and this group of members. I am so happy and thankful for my progress so far and am already anxious to get started on part two once I return. Not sure if I will continue with the mornings or switch back to afternoons but either way, we’re kickin’ some butt!
March 14thI learned a few things this week and one of those is that I am sorely in need of some new workout shoes. But, we’ll come back to that later. I want to update you on my progress this week.
My last entry was on Wednesday and I’ve had 2 workouts since then. Thursday was rockin’, I was feeling good and able to push myself. Saturday my calves were really sore. They tightened up Friday afternoon and I spent most of Friday afternoon massaging them and stretching them. They were a little better by Saturday’s workout but still sore. My personal trainer Saturday was DB and he showed me a few ways to ease the pain and he also adjusted my workout so that it would help loosen my calves up. The rest of my body was in good shape, I felt. Upper body went well and in general I felt good throughout the entire workout and felt that I had good energy the whole time.
Again I have to emphasize that going into each workout, as well as this whole process, with a positive attitude makes the night and day difference that lets me push myself to my max. I could spin this into a whole other topic but having all of this extra weight on me for the past few years has really put a toll on my emotional self. I don’t even think I noticed how bad it was until I began to change it. As of late I’ve been feeling like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly who’s just cracked its shell. I know I have such a ways to go in this process but I am certainly very happy that my emotional self has caught up with me and will now help me take it to the finish with a great attitude. If your brain works similar to how mine did, and you are constantly being negative to yourself about yourself, you can turn it around. You have the power to say anything you want to yourself. Choose to be positive and encouraging rather than self deprecating. It’s really as simple as that to start and by overcoming the hurdle of discouraging yourself, you will begin to do great things because you KNOW you deserve it!
After my workout Saturday I was feeling good, happy that I made it through my 4th workout of the week and accomplished that part of my goal. I still had enough energy in me to play a little Shaun White Snowboarding followed by a little Wii Fit Yoga. Both of those help me with my balance which I struggled with a little bit yesterday. I think that it was because of not enough sleep though because usually, I’m not that bad. I was leaning all over the place.
Now the nutrition: My diet this week consisted of a small portion of oatmeal, fruits or egg whites with tea for breakfast, for lunch I had either a salad or some plain chicken broth. Fruit and nuts sprinkled throughout the day for snacks, plenty of water and then steamed veggies and chicken, a salad or light whole wheat pasta for dinner. I only had a couple of cravings and I thought about what I would stand to lose if I indulged it and it quickly went away. If only everything were this easy. I also got busy with something else to take my mind off of it.
I lost 2.5lbs this week which is 1 lb more than my average weekly weight loss for the past 5 months. I’ll take that! I would like it to have been a little more but I’m happy about it and I do not want it to be out of control. (I think we have a long way to go before it gets ‘out of control’ ) I will just have to see how I can push myself harder next week.
I have today off and it feels so good to relax the muscles!
Going back to the state of my sad little workout shoes, I have to just go out and get another pair. Now, I will say something pretty shocking here and that is…. I do not like to shop for shoes…. I know!!! What kind of woman am I? Well, the type that doesn’t like to buy a shoe to match each and every one of her emotions. (If you sense a little aggravation there then you are very perceptive.) Regardless, I have to go and buy some new ones and I think the sooner the better. The ones I’ve been wearing now are more for running only. I don’t know how they decide that but that’s what it says on the shoe and I need some more cushioning, support and balance. And I want them to be cute. Hey, I’m still a girl! So I’ll walk in, take a look around the ‘wall o’ shoes’ and let the battle of sensible vs. cute and supportive vs. sexy begin.
I think we all know who wins this game, right? Look for pictures this week to find out how I did with the shoes and my March Madness!!
March 11thWell, it’s been a while since I made an entry – I’m long overdue… life has been busy and I’ve been doing a little hiding out too. Anyhow, The Biggest Loser contest at TrainWithRon ended on March 5th and of all the participants, I came in 8th – having lost 14.5 pounds, which is 5.78% of my body weight when we started. It was quite an accomplishment for me, although I would have liked to have done better, I did pretty well and any progress is good progress! I worked hard on it, I ate very well for most of the time (the main exception being my birthday weekend – I kind of pigged out that weekend).
Since the contest ended, I’ve stepped up my efforts while working out. I realized sometime after my birthday that I put a lot of effort into things that I’m really not as invested in as I am in my own well-being – the truth that every moment I spend trying to keep or get things which cannot inherently belong to anyone – youth, possessions, children, favor with others… is a moment wasted. When I am discontent, the source is usually the fact that I am chasing or clinging to things that aren’t ‘ownable’. I appreciate the people and things around me, but when I wake up to the illusion of owning anything other than my own dignity, it makes me feel a bit empty. When I feel empty inside, one of the ways I used to deal with it was to eat a lot. So, I made a point of working harder at TWR and focusing on the idea that the only thing standing between me and feeling good about myself is my own brain telling me I don’t deserve to.
In a couple of weeks, Monika and I are going to Hawaii and I really need the break from life. I will still work out and eat right while on the trip, but I will relish not being at work, not being beholden to answer the phone or check emails, and just enjoy life for a week. I will recharge my batteries on the beach and the golf course, and I will spend some real unadulterated time with my wife, whom I’ve grown so much closer to during this change in our lives. I will also be able to take my shirt off on the beach! The trip is a reward for all the hard work we’ve done, but I’ve so much further to go… I’ve lost about half the weight I want to lose.
That’s all for now… more soon! I promise not to take such long breaks from writing from now on.
March 9thSo, tomorrow morning at 7am I report to the gym for my first extra day. I’m excited, feeling good and strong. I have been doing a lot of stairs lately so my back side is a bit more sore than usual but that’s just a sign that it’s working, right? I’ll let you know how it goes. I usually don’t get up too early in the morning so the 6:30am wakeup call will be a task by itself.
Second thing I had today was a new quick lunch idea. I love to get creative with food and maybe one day I’ll list some of my silly concoctions. For now, you’ll have to be satisfied by the following.
I call it Romaine Chicken & Tomato Taco. It’s a romaine leaf of lettuce with a little bit of chicken (substitute turkey or salmon) plenty of tomatoes. I love tomatoes! Add other veggies like cucumbers and mushrooms if you wish and top it off with either a little lemon or a good dressing. Lately I’ve been trying a lot of Annie’s Naturals and Goddness one is my favorite right now.
I realize people have been putting things into lettuce leaves for a while now but I though this taco shape was a little different. Boston lettuce is great for more ground meats and smaller ingredients. That allows you to cup it in your hand where as the taco is more sturdy for holding in one hand. Try either, or both. Just try to put good stuff in ‘em.
Stay tuned …
March 2ndI’ll start by saying that the last few times we’ve gone to workout in the evenings, I’ve taken a short cat nap just prior to leaving for the gym. About 20 or 30 minutes. I’ve found that it helps me a great deal. I stare at a computer screen for most of the day and even though I may not be exerted physically, mentally, I am. Some days more than others …
Our workouts during the week are in the evenings at 7pm and when we go Saturday mornings I’ve found that I have more energy. Of course, nothing ground breaking there, a person is much more refreshed after a full night’s sleep. Anyhow, since my cat naps, I’ve had a lot more energy during the workouts. If you workout in the evenings and time permits it, I suggest giving it a shot, especially if you’ve stopped drinking coffee or other caffeinated drinks as I have tried to. Dan and I talk about the foods we eat on here a lot and that certainly does make a huge impact too.
All of this is to be able to work out as hard as I can when I’m at the gym for the hour or so. It has been paying off a great deal. I’ve felt being able to push myself harder and longer, taking less time to recover, less breaks and definitely a lot less than just a couple of months ago.
Each workout is unique and challenging. I think everyone has certain moves that make them cringe just a little bit. Well, for me they are running up and down stairs and ‘push up walks’.
For those not familiar, ‘Push up walks’ consist of doing a regular push up and then walking one step left or right without getting up. You’re just walking side to side with your arms and legs while keeping the pushup position, then doing another push up and so on. Either you count how many you do or by distance.
Now, back in October, when we started, I could barely do a regular push up so I did knee pushups everytime we had to do pushups instead. Back then I was barely able to step over 2 times before falling to the ground. Those things are tough! You try it! That was October 2009. Yesterday, one of my exercises was to do push up walks for about 30 yards, and each time that I had to stop because I could not continue I had to run up and down 4 flights of stairs. Of course when my trainer DB described this task to me I immediately made a joke because that is what I do. (If not always out loud, at least in my head.) Then I started to mentally prepare myself for the task. I knew it was going to be tough but I also knew that I wanted to get through it and not let it beat me. I started out by telling myself that “I can do this“. “My goal is to do as many push up walks as I can so that I’ll have to do less stairs. And I am going to do ALL full pushups and no knee pushups.” I started out strong and continued to talk positively to myself in my head. If I had the thought of quitting I immediately started thinking about pushing through it and motivating myself. I had to stop a few time in between and run the stairs but I never quit thinking that I could and will do it. On top of that, DB was encouraging and pushing me. When I finished I felt like the toughest workout to date that I’ve gotten through.
On top of that and a few other exercises I was also proud of myself for cranking out 50 sit ups while holding a 15lbs medicine ball without stopping. Man, it felt so great! Especially because I didn’t really feel that I was struggling with it. I was done and thrilled to have accomplished it. On to the next one!
Our trainers offer so much vital information, support, motivation and experience that it is invaluable. Our personal trainers at TWR don’t just go through the motions; they bring a new level to working out that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
You have to work hard, sure, but hey, that’s what you go for. I’ve so far lost 25lbs and March is going to be a strong month for me. I can feel it.
Till next time … Monika
Older Entries
Newer Entries
