Chapter 1: Page 30

After the workout I did last night, I ended up over sleeping this morning! I didn't get out of bed until 7:11 am!! I went to work and I was NOT tired on my drive again!  But my whole body is SORE today! My butt, my legs, behind my knees, my arms, my calves... it all aches! I've been trying to stretch it all out as much as I can.

After work I had to go grocery shopping. I went home put them away made sandwiches for dinner. As I was eating, I got this from my son:

So yeah even though I am so very sore, I still went to the gym and did my 20 minutes of cardio.  I was sure that because of how my body feels, that I would not be able to do the full 20 minutes on the elliptical.

Guess what I did the full 20 minutes on the elliptical! I pushed myself and done it!! 

                  

Can you see the sweat?! I was out of breath and sweating! But I got it done! I'm so proud of myself! Then again if it weren't for my son, I would have stayed home tonight because of how sore I am. So I'm so very thankful for my son and his motivation and this "monster" or "gym rat" that I created when I gave him his membership to the gym!

Day #2 of 84 done! I got this!  I WILL be ready for Jamaica!!! 

Chapter 1: Page 29

Today was the official start to the first Body for Life Challenge of 2018. I got up and went to the gym this morning. I was in the gym at 5:38 a.m.! I got my upper body workout done. I've made notes on what I need to increase the weight on because some of it was too easy for me! So that means I need to increase my weight.  After my workout I came home, got my shower and headed to work. I noticed this morning that I was not drowsy like I normally am when I drive to work.  That was surprising to me, yet good news to me!

On my ride home after work, I was debating whether or not to go to the Core Impact class at the gym. When I got home, I had my mind made up not to go. But, my son was ready to go and asked if I was going. When I started to say no he gave me this sad kind of look so, I went and changed my clothes and we went to the gym.

Walking into the room, watching the guys get it set up, my anxiety started kicking in and my heart rate shot up!! I looked at my son and was like "ughh" . He was like "its all on you!" 

The instructor said he would go over the way it works and then if I needed anything modified he could do it.  It was a 30 minute circuit HIIT  class. Let me tell you what!!! That class had me sweating, not quite the "ugly sweat" but it had me sweating from head to toe! Legs wobbly, arms wobbly and abs still crunched up!!  The next class is on Wednesday but I have my class at Strayer. So for now I will only be attending one Core Impact class.

So a YAY and a win for me! Stepping out of my comfort zone again (with the help of my son).
Another yay for today: I refused three different kinds of pies at work, I refused pizza when I had to go pick up my husband and take him home. Instead I went back to work and made my lunch that I had taken with me to work.  Salmon, broccoli, spinach with tomatoes cheese and dressing. I stuck to my meal plan today! I did not cheat myself! Day one is a success!!! Only 284 days til Jamaica! 284 days to drop this weight! 284 days to get strong ,healthier and happier and smaller me!!!

Chapter 1: Page 28

While today was a rest day on my workouts, it was not a rest day in the house! Cooking, cleaning and laundry had to get done! Since tomorrow is the official start to the Body For Life challenge, I wrote down my measurements and took beginning photos. I even meal prepped!  I have my breakfast for the week, my lunch and snacks are ready for tomorrow.

I am not comfortable with my pictures that were taken tonight. But isn’t that when things start to change, when you get uncomfortable? When you step out of your comfort zone?

This is my sports bra and bikini swim bottoms. Well at least now I know what I would look like in a bikini. I’ve never worn one by the way! 

Here are my measurements for the start:

Neck: 15 inches     Forearm: 13 inches.              Left calf:  20 inches

Chest: 41 inches     Upper Arm: 18 inches 

Bust: 46 inches       Right Thigh: 31.5 inches

Waist: 44 inches      Left Thigh: 31.5 inches

Hips: 61 inches.     Right calf: 19 inches

Those are some big numbers! However, at the end of this 12 week challenge these numbers will be smaller!!

I’m out of my comfort zone and pushing myself to work harder, stay focused and finish thi journey, regardless of where it leads me!

So here we go, first challenge of 2018– I GOT THIS!!!!!!

Chapter 1: Page 17

Sometimes, things just do not go as you plan!! I live in NC, where we rarely get snow but get ice on occasion, but on either even, the towns SHUT DOWN!!!   We are not equipped to handle snow/ice. I do NOT drive in snow/icy conditions after I slid off the road a year or two ago in icy road conditions. So guess what happened today?! I did NOT go work out. We got 6-8 inches of snow!!! And they were only calling for a "light dusting of snow" in our area! HA meteorologist! What do they know?! LOL

I feel kinda bad that I didn't get to go workout. But again I don't drive in this mess!  This picture was the snow at work at 8:30 in the morning!

This one is our driveway this morning before we left.

This is the amount of snow we got at work when I left at 2 p.m.!! My husband drove me to work and hung out with me until I was able to go home because again I REFUSE to drive in the snow/ice!

I'm not even sure if I'll get to the gym tomorrow to do my cardio or not but at least I can do cardio at home!  I'm supposed to go to work at some point tomorrow too! Ugh, the next few days are going to be interesting with the melting of all this snow!

Well, this isn't going to totally de-rail my plans! It's only a day or two break and then I'm back at it as if there was no break!

Chapter 1: Page 16

As usual, I did not get up early. Just got up at my normal time to get ready for work. I had my spinach, bacon egg frittata for breakfast and coffee with MCT oil.  Then for lunch, I had some cucumber and tomatoes, salmon and 2 cups of broccoli. So even though it wasn't leftovers, I still managed to have a decent lunch. 

Yesterday and today I got 9 of 9 hours for 250 plus steps each hour. That has taken some work!! I have set my Fitbit to have an alarm every hour so I can make sure I have gotten my steps! Tomorrow might be a little more challenging!  Tomorrow my husband has a doctor's appointment in the morning with a spine surgeon.  So I may not get all of my steps for every hour if I have to sit in a doctor's office. Anyway, I've managed to get my steps, my water, and make all my little widgets on my Fitbit light up green!

It's been a very concentrated effort to make all these little goals! But I've done it!!

Since today was the day for cardio, I went to the gym after work. I did 25 minutes on the treadmill!

I was sweating but did not get to the ugly sweat tonight! I was close but didn't get there completely!

Never the less, I got my workout done! I am sticking to it!!

After my workout, I came home and made dinner. Tonight was "Taco Tuesday" and since I don't have tortillas or taco shells and we're doing this healthy way of eating, dinner was taco salad.

So another day has been written in my book!! One day closer to my vacation and one day closer to my goal!

2018!
#igotthis #goalwithadeadline #2018vacationin297days

Chapter 1: Page 15

Up at 5:20 and out the door at 5:30 a.m. again! Mark and I were in the gym beginning our lower body workout at 5:38 in the morning! When I prepared my plan for my workout, I increased my weight on everything. When I was doing each set, on some I realized that I wasn't using enough weight. So I will be increasing the weight again! I guess my legs and abs are a LOT stronger than my arms! I think my arms are the weakest part I have!

Lunch at work was salmon baked in the toaster oven with butter and garlic/herb seasoning, left over broccoli and left tomato cucumber goat cheese salad. I hadn't had salmon in so long that it was so good!!! I don't know if it was because I hadn't had it in so long or if it really was THAT good!

Dinner was flank steak and oven roasted vegetables. Brad (my husband) was ok with it but not his favorite! He doesn't like the veggies soft. He wants them still crunchy! Mark seemed to like it because he had two helpings and wanted a third! I told him if he ate it now he wouldn't have it for lunch tomorrow!

I got on the scale at the gym since my scale at home is so inconsistent now! I think I need completely new batteries! I believe our rechargeables are not recharging any more! Anyway, the one at the gym is that old sliding scale weight thing, according to that one, I am a little over 315.5 but not close enough to 316. If that is correct I've lost about 10 pounds so far!

Its still progress, so I'm pleased with myself! I've got 298 days til Jamaica and til I need to be about 250 lbs. (Is that a reasonable goal? 65 lbs in 10 months?) Either way that's what I'm shooting for!

Page 16 is next!

Chapter 1: Page 13

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Six days this week! Yes SIX days !! I made it to the gym and got a workout in six days this week! 

Today was cardio again. So I started out on the elliptical and did about 15 minutes on it. My legs were bothering me so much and I couldn't keep going! So I moved over to the stationary bike. I did that for 22 minutes. I broke a sweat just not the ugly sweat! I'm quite proud of myself! I stuck to my plan for the week!!


Page 14 is going to be blank! The only plan I have for that is to meal prep for the week. I need to get my lunches planned out as well as my snacks. Oh and Wednesday night's dinner too since I have class. 2018 is going to be the year I stick to my plan. That might mean changing my plan as it goes along or as needed. What ever it takes this year for me accomplish my goals I'll figure out a way!

I've got 300 days til I arrive in Jamaica! So I've got 300 days to drop weight and gain energy and muscles! I've got 300 days til goal!! 300 days til I am sitting in one of these chairs again!!!

 

Chapter 1: Page 12

Friday, January 12, 2018

Page 12, up at 5:20 am and out the door at 5:35 am to go workout. Today was upper body workout. I learned that some of the weight was easy. So I will be increasing that weight next week. Mark and I got it all completed this morning! He said I was taking the fun out of the gym now by going so early in the morning because he likes his sleep. Well, when you work a full time job, you have to make changes to your life to accomplish your goals! I've been giving in to sleep for far too long now. Time for sleep to give up a little bit of time so I can get my body in shape. Well in better shape because it is in shape, a big fat round shape! Not the shape I want but I'm getting there! One day at a time! One workout and one bite of food at a time! 

 My son caught my saying something. Not sure what though! I told him I wanted pictures so I can watch my progress over time! 

 I'm my own worst critic! I can see everything in these pictures that needs to change! Needless to say I don't like what I see but that's the point of the pictures right? So I do something to change it and that I do not stay the same! 

Today was not a struggle to get my water in!   Which was a good thing! My steps, well I got my 5000 plus steps for the day however, I did not get my 9 of 9 on my hourly step goal. I missed it again today by one! My co-workers might be getting annoyed with me talking about getting my "red dot". That's okay though, because when the weight starts dropping visibly, I'll be the happy one! 

So I've got little goals set up that will turn to habit and then routine. That's the plan for:

1. My steps (5000-- gradually increase up to 10,000 steps a day)
2. My water intake (64 oz is the goal)
3. 9 hours of movement during the work day (meeting the 9 of 9 step goal consistently)

Once those have become routine, where I don't have to work so hard to do or concentrate that hard on, I will choose three more "goals" to turn into habit then routine.

I do not want to over load myself with goals and such. I don't want to get burnt out. I want this to be my life. I want to have my energy back. I want to have optimal brain function. I want to get better in various areas of my life. And that all starts with me getting consistent in my weight loss goals. This is my journey, my story and how it ends, no one knows! Maybe my journey will never end. I honestly think its going to be a lifetime journey, never ending as long as I'm alive!

Oh so I bought some sugar free Werther's candy for my desk at work. And well, usually no one wants the sugar free stuff. But guess what happened today?! One co-worker came to my desk to get something notarized and noticed the candy. Apparently she went back and said something because eventually the other two co-workers in her area came over because they "heard" that I had the candy stash! I'm not sure if they realized it was sugar free or not! Oh well! At least I'm keeping it sugar free on my desk!

Lunch was on plan, left over keto hamburger patties and cabbage with creamy tomato sauce. 


Not sure if I said this or not, but for now the workout routine I'm following is Body For Life. They have a challenge that is going to start on January 29th and its for 84 days/ 12 weeks total for prize of $5,000. I'm trying to decide if I want to participate in that one or the one at my local gym. My gym is having a Transformation contest where someone is going to win $25,000. I'm not sure which one I want to join. Maybe I will do both?! I'll have to look into this a little more regarding requirements etc. and decide which to do! Or maybe do both!

2018: I've got this! Day 12 Done and in the book! 

Chapter 1: Page 11

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Welcome to Page 11! Yep 11 days still going strong! Yeah some say you aren't supposed to pat yourself on the back but I think I'm doing awesome right now!

Since I got up early yesterday, I slept in this morning and went to work at my usual time. I didn't have any left over dinner from last night because I didn't cook last night. I had my class. So today for lunch was not one plan (which by the way is left over dinners). I went out to run an errand and picked up some Greek chicken salad. No bread, not pita, no crackers. Just the chicken salad. I got a pound but only ate about 1/4 of it.

Today was a struggle to get all of my water in. But, guess what! I did it! My goal is 64 oz a day. I've been consistently getting over 70 oz a day this week. Any way, yeah today was a big struggle! I might get 70 oz done by bedtime!

My steps for the 9 hours at work today, well I missed it by ONE hour!!! I got 250 plus steps for 8 hours today out of 9. Its progress!! You never really think about how fast the work day goes by until you are trying to reach goals that require you to pay attention to the work hours!

Since I didn't get up at 5 am this morning the plan was to work out after work today. Because of a traffic accident I got home later than usual. That didn't stop me! I changed into my workout clothes and headed out to the gym. Mark went with me too! We did our cardio workouts.

When we got to the gym, all the Elliptical machines were being used, so we got on the treadmills. Let me tell you, I wasn't playing around tonight! I had it set on random and popped my ear buds in and let Rock My Run play. Before too long I was working up a sweat! I mean I had the nasty sweat going! Ya know the one, running down your nose and your lip and making your head itch because of the sweat that's pouring off you!! Yeah that nasty sweat was going on! I read a meme once time that said, "Sweat is just your body crying!" Maybe that was the case tonight because I was sure working it! 

I just look at it this way, as long as I'm sweating I'm working and forcing the fat to go away! 

I did 25 minutes of intense walking tonight! Better than sitting and doing nothing!! 

Then I came home and sat for a couple of minutes before I began dinner. MMM Yummy dinner with this being lunch for tomorrow! Keto hamburger patties with creamy tomato sauce and fried cabbage from DietDoctor.com site. My husband will not eat cabbage so he doesn't get any of that. However, Mark and I get the cabbage! Oh my goodness I'm so glad someone else will eat it with me. 

So Day 11 is done! 354 more days to go! Its 2018! 

Chapter 1: Page 10

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Page 10: Up at 5:10 a.m. and in the gym at 5:30 a.m. for lower body workout. This time my son, Mark, went with me! He did the same workout that I did only with more weights! He frowned at the lower weights that I used. But I will build up to what he can do! It's just going to take me time!

So far every day this week I have managed to get 5000 steps. Well actually I've gone over that goal every day this week so far! I've managed to drink over 70 oz of water (that's plain water) every day too!

My goal is to move every hour that I'm at work. I try to get 250 plus steps in every hour since I sit at a desk. But that's been a little difficult! I average about 5 or 6 hours move movement for the work day. I missed the "9 out of 9" hour goal by TWO hours today! I was close! But its a concentrated effort! But I'm determined to get it! Since I sit at a desk all day long I've got to make myself get up and move. I have about 6 alarms set on my fit bit to remind me to get up and move!

Any way, I had lunch which was left over Keto Cheeseteak casserole. Which by the way was fabulous! Then again my son cooked it and I didn't have to! So that made it even better!!! I went off plan for dinner. Actually dinner was just snacking on what ever I had at work that I could carry with me since Wednesday nights I have class. I'm finally on my last class for my Bachelor's Degree! I've got to plan better for Wednesdays so I don't stray off my plan! But overall I think I did pretty good!

Weigh in on Sunday will determine how good I've done! Or even better when I check my measurements again next month, that will really tell how well I've done! 

Chapter 1: Page 9

Tuesday, January 09, 2018

Today was cardio day. Like I said yesterday, I was going to attempt the elliptical for 20 minutes. If you have ever attempted the elliptical you know how hard it is! Instead of getting up at 5:15 am to get to the gym by 5:30 a.m. I decided to sleep in and go to the gym after work.

Breakfast was the Bacon Spinach Frittata that I had made on Sunday. This is breakfast for the whole week! I had left over dinner for lunch, which was Low Carb Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole. And my snacks were a red grapefruit, spicy pork rinds, pepperoni and string cheese. So another day being prepared and sticking to my plan.

After work, I stuck to my plan! I went home, changed into my gym clothes then my son and I went to the gym. My plan going in was to attempt the elliptical for the full 20 minutes. So guess what ???!!!!!

Not only did I do the FULL 20 minutes on the elliptical, I went over by 2 minutes, so 22 minutes on the Elliptical!!!!!

I don't know if you can see it or not but I was sweating and hot!!!

But ya'll I did it!!!! 

I'm proud of myself. That was tough for me! I had to take several mini breaks but I did it and I didn't quit!

Tonight my son is cooking dinner since I'm too wiped to cook right now. My arms are barely functioning which is odd because I really didn't use them, well then again yeah I did. Guess that was a full body workout!! But again woohoo! I did it!

Dinner is a new keto/low carb recipe. Philly Cheese steak casserole! Hopefully there will be enough for lunch tomorrow too! I'm thankful that he's willing to cook!

Keep trucking along Sparkers! We got this! 2018 is the year!!! 

Tuesday, January 09, 2018

Chapter 1: Page 8

Monday, January 08, 2018

Some suggest that since I am doing this similar to a book that I should add a picture every day. I'm not so sure I like that idea but then again, over time I can add them all together and flip through like a book and watch the face get slimmer! Who knows maybe one day I'll get it published!

So any way, I got up at 5:15 this morning and got myself ready to go! Went to check on my son to see if he was going and he was still sleeping! So I went down stairs and waited until 5:30 a.m. to see if he would get up. He didn't so I went to the gym without him. I did my first day of Body for Life Workout. An hour later I was back home getting showered, out the door and on to work on time. I had my breakfast, lunch and snacks ready to go!

It wasn't a bad day but good gravy I'm TIRED!!! Tomorrow will be a 20 minute Aerobic Solutions days. Which means, walking, bike or elliptical. I wonder if I could survive 20 minutes on the elliptical. I barely make it 16 minutes!! But I might give that a go tomorrow instead the trusty treadmill!

I've got goals! I can't be lazy about them any more. I'm so tired of being tired. I'm sick of being MORBIDLY OBESE! I'm tired of not having the energy to keep up with my 19 year old son! I'm tired of wasting my life away. I want to see me, to do more, to visit interesting places that you have to walk to see. I want to go ziplining for once just to see if I like it! I can't zip line because I'm way over the weight limit on everyone I've looked into So until the weight comes off I can't do it.

This is why I am on this journey. I'm trying to find me. A smaller, healthier me. I'm trying to live my life without the added problems of my weight. I'm trying to enjoy my life and experience all that I can. I do not want to live in a little bubble of my current surroundings. I want to continue to see the world. I want to go places I've never been and places my weight stops me from going.Its amazing to learn how much your weight hinders your ability to live life. When you REALLY stop to think about it, it really does stop you from trying new things. I don't want to wait until I've lost the weight to live life. I want to live life while losing the weight. I want to live my life and let the weight loss be secondary to everything else. I want to have fun without worrying about my weight. I don't want to worry about if I can do something or not because of the weight. So you know what, I will turn this into a book. A book about my journey, my experiences, good and bad!

Now if I can only remember to write! 

Chapter 1: Page 7

Sunday, January 07, 2018

Ok so the last two pages have been blank! Life on the weekends gets a little more tough to stick to my plan! BUT.... I'm not quitting. Tomorrow I will start Body For Life workout plan. This allows me to work out 6 days a week and rest on the 7th. The 7th day is also a free day, which means I can eat what I want. So basically I allow myself a cheat day. If I can stick to my plan 6 days straight, then day 7 is my cheat day. This way I'm not sabotaging or depriving myself. 

I've got my workout planned for the next three days, so I'm getting fully prepared. I'm meal prepped for most of the week. I've got breakfast done for the week. I've got leftover dinner ready for lunch tomorrow. All I have left is to pack up my snacks for tomorrow. I've got to remained prepped and focused for the next 12 weeks! From now until April 1, 2018! I can do this and my son is going to do it with me! 

Even my husband is starting to think about working out again. He wants to get his back and shoulder fixed so he can lift weights again! I hope that he really gets serious about his health and starts to workout with us! Hopefully it will be a family affair! Family fitness!!! 

Welcome to 2018! Week 1 Down! 51 more weeks to go! 

Chapter 1: Page 5

Friday, January 05, 2018 

Please note that this blog is cross posted from my blog on SparkPeople:

Page 4 was left blank intentionally! Rest day! But page 5 has now been written! 

Tonight after dinner, my son and I went to the gym and got a work out in. This was his 4th trip to the gym today?! He's not working and he walks to the gym! He keeps telling me that I've created a monster and a gym rat! Ya know, I'm ok with that! 

Any way.... I got my work out done And tonight instead of 13 minutes on the elliptical machine, I manage 16 minutes and got my heart rate up to 140 for the the whole time! I was out a breath and sweating!!! After the elliptical I went on and did my weight circuit that was set up for me. Right now my arms are so shaky that its like I can't lift them for anything! Gravity is pulling them DOWN big time! LOL 

I'll check in about a month about changing my routine up to something different. I think next week I might just increase the weight by 5 pounds and see what that does. But I know right now I'm feeling it! 

Page 7 will be my next blank page, I'm going to need the rest day! 

Tomorrow since I have no plans, my plan is to meal prep for the week next week. I need to make sure that I have my lunches and breakfasts ready. I can't afford to keep eating out either monetarily or physically! 

I have to say I'm so thankful and happy to have my "baby" boy at home. He's fallen in love with the gym and he goes with me! He keeps me on track! When I ask if he wants to join me on a walk, a bike ride or going to the gym, he's ALWAYS up for it! He's ready to go anytime I am! That makes me happy and gives me a partner to work with. 

2018 is off to a great start! 

Chapter 1: Page 3

Wednesday, January 03, 2018 

Please note that my blogs are cross posted from my blog on SparkPeople:

Chapter 1: Page 3:

So this year I'm looking at my year a little differently. This year has 12 Chapters with 365 pages which were blank on January 1, 2018. In Chapter one I've written two pages so far! 

Page 1: On New Year's Day I didn't make it to the gym but I did get a workout in! I told my husband that at 8:30p.m. I needed to get my workout in. I guess he thought I was joking. Because at 8:35 I still did not have control of the living room. But I got it and turned on Youtube on the TV and did a 2 mile walk with Leslie Sansone! So I started off the new year correctly in my book! "Page 2:" Then yesterday, at 9 p.m. last night my 19 year old son and I went to the gym. (This was his 2nd time at the gym today but my one visit for the day). I got my workout done! I'm proud of myself so far! No excuses and no buts this year! 

My husband and I are going to Jamaica for the 3rd time in November, so there's another reason to get this weight off this year! I want to get under 250 pounds so I can finally go Ziplining! I've wanted to do that for a while but can't because of my weight! 

Well time for me to get to work! 

Happy New Year to all you Sparks! 

**Edit** 

Page 3: So after working all day, I had the first night of my final class at Strayer.... I’m finally finishing so I can get my Bachelors Degree!! Anyway, after I got home at like 9 pm, I wasn’t initially going to go workout because I was already wore out. But the longer I sat and thought about it, the more I decided to get off my butt and go workout. So st 10 pm, my son and I were at the gym working out! So happy I did it!! 36 minutes in the bike was better than nothing at all!