13.5 Inches Lost

Sorry for the mislead. I hate it when people add up the inches they lost everywhere on their body but I have to admit is sounds pretty cool. Yesterday was my monthly health assessment. Tim, surprisingly less timid about invading my personal space this time, did my measurements and body fat test. Here are the main three; Chest, I lost 3.25 inches and no I'm not sad about that. There's a lot of back fat that's got to go.  Waist, I lost 2.25 inches and hips, I lost 3 inches.  Something hilarious is apparently I lost .5 inches on my calf. I guess that means that I had thankles and now I'm well on my way to cankles. The really awesome thing is that I went down 2.5% in body fat. Yay!

Obesity Prevention Parenting Lessons



Graycie in her tree



My t-cup German Shepherd, Reggie



 So a picture of a 39 pound cat has gone viral lately and the whole topic really irritated me. They say a 39lb cat is the equivalent of a 600lb human health wise. The owner said basically that the cat just seemed to put on the weight overnight. Well that's just not true and it's just not right for anyone to let their beloved pet (or child) get so unhealthy. Reggie and I swim/and or walk together everyday weather permitting. Your pets need to stay healthy just as much as you do. You aren't showing them more love by letting them eat themselves to death. Obviously a cat owner won't be able to swim or walk with their pet, minus the exceptional few, so they have to find other ways to keep them purrrfect. Graycie put on some weight when we first moved here, she got up to 14lbs. In response, I stopped using the autofeeder and I started dishing out only the one cup a day but in small portions served throughout the day, kind of like my own six meals diet. I also make sure she has lots of fun toys that get her moving and lots of things to climb on for cardio. I keep her food up high (so Reggie doesn't get into it) and it makes her work for it. Graycie is now 11lbs and real purrty so I know these tips work.



Something Popped Up!

So I was standing in front of the mirror the other day and something really unusual just popped up....my bicep! I have a muscle! Wow it seemed like it happened overnight even though I know I've been working my butt off the past month and a half. On another note, since I've been struggling with the 6 meals a day thing, especially breakfast, I decided to try the Body by Vi 90 day challenge. I figure I can at least do 90 days of shakes for breakfast for the chance to win a much deserved vacation. So today was the first yummy shake and then I went off to Zumba class for my weekly Saturday morning "fun" exercise. BTW, if you're not familiar with the challenge you have to post your weight, measurements and a before picture in order to enter......I posted the worst possible picture I could take (in a bikini) so that I can hopefully have an even more drastic after picture. I guess we'll see how I do by July 20!

Fantasy Island

Today, Tim reminded me of a topic I've been meaning to broach. As I was gearing up for yet another set of 40 crunches, I saw fear flash across Tim's face as he was looking towards the door. For a moment he thought he saw his stalker. It has come to my attention that many of the trainers have had their share of stalker clients. Let me make something perfectly clear for you ladies. These good looking fit guys are not for you too keep. They are paid for the time spent with you. Now some may take liberties and flirt with anyone that walks through the door....*ahmmm* Ricky*....while others may simply be nice and politely laugh at your jokes like Tim. This does not mean that they like you or want you to call just to hear you breathing...true story. Enjoy their company while it lasts. Then leave them alone.

Retail Therapy

Pink leopard dress size 9

Me at size 9+/- around 2006

After plateauing for far too long so soon in my journey, I decided I need to up the ante for myself. I have been searching for the perfect incentive dress. Guys, you probably won't understand this post at all but ladies, lets see if you relate. So many of us have hangers full of beautiful clothes we can't throw out just because they don't fit anymore. We look at them every now and again and say "Those were some good times." or "What was I complaining about back then?" Seeing these old clothes make us wish we were the same size we use to be but it doesn't provide as much motivation as that perfect dress you have yet to wear. After searching for a few weeks I finally found a great incentive dress. It's a size 9 which I think is where I would be most comfortable and healthy. I think it may have been 2005 or 2006 since I was a size 9. I can say that right now, this dress can comfortably fit over one thigh......

Coordination Is Over Rated

If I had a nickel for every time Tim said "watch the head!" when I'm lifting some sort of weight in proximity of my face....well it would probably pay for my sessions. I don't know if my problem is lack of strength, depth perception, coordination or all of the above, but "skull crushers" are not limited to one exercise for me. The first exercise I really struggled with today was the plank circles on the stability ball. He had me hold myself in the plank position with my elbows on the stability ball. Now it gets interesting, I am then supposed to move my elbows clockwise 8 times and then counterclockwise 8 times. For some reason it was near impossible to go counterclockwise. Today's uncoordinated cherry was when Tim asked me to lift 10 or 15lb discs in each arm lifting one arm 90 degrees to the front and the other 90 degrees to the side at the same time. For those of you that think this is simple.....you suck. This particular exercise requires some degree of coordination which is why my response was a sarcastic, "Do you want me to rub my belly and pat my head too?" The little bugger said, "No, that's next." On a related note, Tim's repartee is improving.

Michelin Ma'am

  I apologize for being unusually silent the past few days. I just couldn't find anything funny or witty to say about how I have been feeling. I feel like Michelin Ma'am! Another reason for my irritation is, I haven't been able to shed the pounds like I use to. It was always so easy when I was younger to drop like crazy just with starvation and a side of diarrhetic. Now, even with exercise and a healthy meal plan it's still as slow as molasses.

Oh God! Make Him Stop!

So I may have accidentally thrown Tim under the bus. The wrong person happened to overhear me leaving a message for Tim on Wednesday because he forgot to write down my workout for me to follow on Friday. I just wanted him to call me back so I could transcribe it. After much refusal on my part I finally allowed Big Bad Bill to book me a free session with Tim for Friday.......I knew Friday morning I had made a huge mistake. I felt guilty and still sore from Wednesday's training. Tim showed up and I immediately apologized, he says that he is the one that should apologize.....that's the last time I felt like he was sorry. Due to this looming guilt, I gave him everything I had. Anything he threw at me I took like a champ no matter how much heavier he made the weights, how embarrassing it might have been, or how scared I was of whatever he assigned. I pushed through the pain in my wrist during the preachers curls, my fear of tipping over the structure I was hanging from during the TRX rows. It had been 32 minutes when I realized he wasn't doing our usual 30 minute session. I asked breathlessly looking at the clock, "How..... many...... more?" Tim's reply, "Oh I don't actually have anyone scheduled for a while so I can keep going." I gulped and said, "Oh okay" with a forced smile. All the while each muscle in my body is screaming, "Oh God! Make him stop!" After 45 minutes of pushing myself to my physical limits he finally let me go, workout write-up in hand. Monday is not nearly far enough away.

Paranoia

There is something I forgot to recount from yesterday's shenanigans at the gym. For most of us that aren't in tip top shape, we spend a lot of time self soothing by telling ourselves, "Just do it already. No one is watching. No one cares. You're just suffering from narcissistic paranoid delusions."  The reason I bring this up is because yesterday, all that work I put into my internal pep talk was quickly unraveled. Tim had me push that stanchion on wheels again. It's a similar workout to when football players push that thingy across the field. As you can see I've got a lot of sports knowledge. Anyway, I pushed it all the way across the gym, then he had me push it back. When I stopped, the line of people on the front row of treadmills started clapping and cheering, one even yelled, "Encore, Encore!"......When did I start becoming the daily entertainment at the gym? So much for, "No one is watching."

First Bribe

Michael Kors makeup bag,
perfume (home & travel size), and lotion

My bribe arrived from my sister today for losing that first 10lbs. It was in time to give me a little boost after a hard day with Tim. I told him I have a short term goal. I want to get as great of results as possible before my friends' wedding in June....Maybe I should have waited until after our workout to tell him that. Owww! He made me literally jump on the treadmill while it was going full run speed TWICE! That's just asking for an accident. He had me do pullups which I could barely do without extra help. Finally near the end, while I was already POOPED he had me do bicycle kicks on the stability bench. For the last 10 seconds, his counting seemed to get slower and slower and so did my kicks. Ricky one of the other trainers was with a client behind us says, "What was that?" teasing me about my ridiculously slow air bike. I'm going to feel it tomorrow. I still have to do the same routine two more times before I see him again. Yikes!

Reminder: Other endorsements welcome. :-)

Where's The Rest?

2 oz +/- Round Eye Steak
w/ Yellow pepper & onion

There are times when I am ravenous and I feel like I could eat the whole cow. No, I'm not pregnant, unless it's Jesus 2.0. Adding exercise to these occasional hunger rampages makes them all the more intense. It's at times like these that the fat girl in me gets real irritated when I dish out the "proper portions" prescribed by my trainer. Where's the rest of my steak?!?!

Zumba

Zumba has quickly become a popular class since the last time I've taken any dance aerobics. If you've never taken Zumba before, well let me tell you what to expect. Yesterday I decided it might be fun to get my groove back and take my first Zumba class. The room was packed with women of all shapes and sizes (and one man). The "instructor" was a very curvy (huge butt) 4'9" girl who just stood up on the stage in front of the mirrors as if that helped us see her. The music started, it was like going from 0 to 60 in 10 seconds. There were no breaks just a full hour of non-stop moving of your jiggly parts. I heard more than one language in there but the common phrase being repeated was, "Oh my god!" I kept up the best I could considering there was no instruction, she didn't break down any dance steps for us. I didn't want to be one of those fat girls that barely moved but no matter how close I felt I was to what the instructor was doing, my butt never seemed to shake like hers.....and its not like I'm lacking a caboose....maybe next time I'll shake it like a salt shaker.