04/30/2013 @ 01:34pm (PDT)

Well…I did it. I started Power 90 yesterday.

 

Much as I expected, I did NOT do well.

 

I started with Sweat 1-2 (mainly because I plan on only doing it five days a week and prefer three of cardio and only two of lifting) and it was ROUGH.

 

I had a hard time keeping up, I had a hard time keeping my breathing under control, and just struggled through it.

 

I’ll admit it – I kind of half assed it during the kicks and punches (and probably half of the cardio).

 

I’m really glad I started it back up again and everything and glad I did it yesterday but the side is hard: I remember when I could do the entire program. It just goes to show how far I have fallen and how much more I have to make up.

 

Today will be rough too – I used to be able to do all the lifts with 5-lb weights. Today I imagine I will struggle to do them all.

 

It’s okay – I’m not letting it get me down. Honest. I just have to work at that and work at keeping motivated: I’m not making excuses for last night, but I got home late, had a rough day at work, and was just tired. On top of it all, I REALLY hate exercising. :)

 

I’m not sure if I ever posted it or not, but Jeff and I have switched our bedtimes: We now go to bed about 8pm. Now, we do watch TV on the iPad for about an hour or so, but we are typically in bed by 8pm and sleeping by 9pm.

 

With his work schedule and my job being a bit overwhelming at times, it helps to just have that extra hour of sleep/rest.

 

As for the diet and exercise, I changed a couple of things around about that too:

 

--One cheat MEAL or TWO (not three) on ONE day every two weeks but ONLY if I keep with the diet AND exercise. No more going nuts on the weekends.

--No more trying to do Power Yoga until the next round of Power 90.

--Working out five days per week instead of six (three days of cardio, two days of lifting). I tend to injure myself more with cardio but I want to lose weight and feel this is the best way to do it.

--No more trying to do Ab Ripper until the next round of Power 90 – I was going to try to do this yesterday but the workout kicked my butt. I MAY change this later and try a month from now, but no promises. I think I have enough to handle with the Power 90 program.
--Skipping lunges in Sculpt because they are too hard on my knees.
--Skipping the dips in Sculpt because they are an accident waiting to happen.
--Skipping the lawnmower in Sculpt because that's how I hurt my hips the last time.
--No more trying to do Sculpt 3-4 and Sweat 3-4 until the next round of Power 90. I figure the next time around I’ll follow the ACTUAL schedule and do six days a week, do the ab ripper, Power Yoga, and move up to 3-4 level after a while. Not this round. :)

 

I think that’s about it for me for now!

04/26/2013 @ 9:09am (PDT)

In an effort to continue LONG TERM with this lifestyle change, I am going to be trying some different kinds of things that I might not try otherwise.

 

More than losing weight, I want to be HEALTHY.  So I’m going to try some more veggies and other things that I’ve been afraid to try in the past.

 

Now, that said, one of the things I will NOT be trying is beans – Kidney beans, baked beans, lima beans, even chickpeas.  I want NO part of them.  I don’t care if I’ve never had it the way your grandma makes it or that I don’t like them because I’ve never had them done properly – I’ve heard it all and I dislike them.

 

Regardless of my dislike for them, I DID try edamame this past week.  Jeff made some up with some broccoli for me and made kind of a stir-fry for me.  They weren’t HORRIBLE, but they probably aren’t something that we’ll be eating a ton of.

 

In addition to this, I also hope to try lentils.  I KNOW that I probably won’t like them, but I’m going to give it a shot because I’ve never tried it.

 

Here are some of the other things I hope to try soon:

 

Sweet potatoes

Kale

Squash

Avocado

Lentils

Buckwheat pasta

Quinoa

 

Alright, alright, so we’ve had quinoa before and weren’t big fans of it.

 

The main reason I want to give quinoa another shot is because we eat rice at least three to four times a week with our chicken and veggies.  I realize that white rice is not the healthiest but I also don’t care for brown rice.  I’d like to get down to eating white rice only one day a week (if at all).  So we’re currently looking for more quinoa recipes that we’ll like.  I’ll make sure to let you all know how that goes.  :)

 

Other than that, I’ve decided to give up fast food completely again. 

 

I will be going to McDonalds for my iced coffee but only because Starbucks is MUCH too expensive and McDonalds McCafe’s are pretty comparable in quality.

 

Other than that, Subway is going to the only “fast food” we’re going to eat. 

 

We’re going to try to stick to this even on cheat days. (Don’t tell Jeff, I haven’t told him our plan yet).  :)

 

We will probably still be going out to eat on cheat days but if we do go out, we’re going to go out to a sit down restaurant – There’s still a burger joint north of us that we want to try and I HAVE to have my piroshky eventually from Piroshky Piroshky near Pike Place Market.

 

I think as long as I stick with this, don’t let a bad “day” turn into a bad “week”, and start exercising next week, I think I can do it!

04/25/2013 @ 9:54am (PDT)

Alright…Still no exercise.

 

I have put off going to the doctor (much to the dismay of one of my coworkers), but the cough is getting better. If it wasn't, I’d be more worried and would go to the doctor, but it's improving.

 

Jeff and I ran to the grocery store yesterday to pick up our fishing licenses - We're going shell fishing this weekend with a group from meetup.com. It's a website I've used in the past (when I moved to Grand Rapids) to meet new people. Being that Jeff and I don't know ANYONE here, I figured it was time to use it again.

 

So yeah…We get to go look for crab, clam, and oysters! Afterwards, we all get together and one of the organizers makes a big dinner with all of our findings. It won't be healthy BUT it'll be healthier than fast food or some other things I've eaten so I MAY indulge a little. Not having a cheat "day" but maybe a cheat "meal" if I'm good the rest of the week. (That is, of course, what Weight Watchers bonus points are for). :)

 

The diet is going really well. After I got out of work, we grabbed fishing licenses and Jeff also wanted to take a look at some grills. We have a gas grill currently but we both really like charcoal and he recently attended a grilling and smoking class and wanted to pick up a grill. We found one that's pretty basic but will allow him to do grilling and smoking so we spent about $75 (after the grill, lighters, and an injector) but I told him to consider it an anniversary present.

 

I figure I get to eat the food he makes on it so really it is a present to both of us. Because it will also last a few years until we can afford a gas/charcoal (fancy) combination grill, we won't have to spend a ton of money that will go towards our goal of being debt free in two years. (Or…You know…It would allow me to spend that extra money saved on the juicer that I really want…That happens to be $300). :)

 

After that, we got Subway.

 

Now…Subway is pretty healthy if you just eat a six-inch sub. I don't know about you, but that just doesn't fill me up. So we got our usual - Foot long Sweet onion chicken teriyaki on wheat. We decided to splurge and got a meal with chips and unsweetened ice teas.

 

I DID go over my points for the day by ONE point because I ate the whole thing AND had a cup of Greek Yogurt for a "before bed" snack. I know it's not great to eat right before bed and I'm trying to break that, but better yogurt than something else I suppose.

 

Other than that, there's not a WHOLE lot to report here. The original reason I started this post today is because I got TWO new inspirations for my weight loss journey today:

 

INSPIRATION #1

My very dear friend, Amber, sent me an email and let me know that she and her family (husband and two kids) were thinking about making a trip out here in late June/early July.

 

Amber and I have been friends since 7th grade and she's one of three people I've known that long but definitely the one that I've hung out with the most.

 

I've gone on vacation with their family, spent a TON of time with their family, and consider them MY family.

 

So…The idea of them coming out to visit makes me EXTREMELY happy.

That said, I want to be able to show them the sites - Show them Pike Place Market, take them around the city, show them a REALLY good time.

 

Sadly, in Seattle (like most major cities), that means a LOT of walking. Right now, I couldn't do it…Not as much as I'd like anyway.

 

So that gives me TWO MONTHS to stick with the program, lose some weight, and get active so I can thoroughly enjoy the time that they are here.

 

Besides, they saw me right before I left for Washington - I'd LOVE them to get here and congratulate me on how much weight I've lost. Yep…I'm vain. I'm good with it. :)

 

INSPIRATION #2

Loreena McKennitt…My most FAVORITE Celtic singer.

 

So…She doesn’t tour often. The only time I’ve seen her in concert was 04/30/2007 when she announced her first touch since I had been introduced to her music back in high school. I surprised my dad with tickets – He had introduced me to her music.

 

Anyway…So she doesn’t tour often, especially in America.

 

About a month ago, she announced another world tour. I got excited hoping that she’d be close to here – If she was playing around here on a weekend, I’d be willing to drive more than a couple of hours to go see her.

 

So, I get her tour schedule, and it’s ALL in Canada and Europe. I’m devastated of course.

 

Then she starts adding a couple of locations. I’m STILL devastated because the closest one to me is about three hours north in Vancouver Canada. This wouldn’t be a problem IF the concert wasn’t during the week (having me miss two days of work) and if I had a passport that wasn’t expired.

 

So…Again…Devastated. (Hate to admit it, but it was to the point where I cried a little bit).

 

So then, she adds TWO more cities to her tour and says that this is it. She’s not adding anything else.

 

I don’t get too excited because of all the cities in the world, I doubt it’ll be in the US, much less close to me.

 

Then it gets announced that it’s in the US – Again, I’m not REALLY excited because I figure Chicago and NY are the top places.

 

THE FIRST US CITY THAT SHE’S VISITING IS FREAKING SEATTLE WA!!!!!

 

Now, I don’t live in the city of Seattle, but it’s less than 30 minutes north of me.  So now I’m waiting to find out ticket prices everything before I get TOO excited because I figure that it’ll be much too expensive to get good seats.

 

TUNS OUT – She’s doing a promotion at the Seattle Zoo for their concert series and all the proceeds are going to animals and such like that. I got the ticket prices today: $32.50 for an outdoor concert!!

 

I was so freaking giddy!!!

 

Of course, the downside is that outside concerts can be horrible in way of distance from the stage and everything.  I figure even if I’m far away, it’s better than not seeing her at all. It’s on a Thursday, which sucks, but the doors don’t open until 5pm. I plan on leaving work about 1pm, going home, getting changed, and then heading out. There WILL be a line but that’s okay. I imagine some of the hardcore fans will get there at 8am so they can run right to the front of the stage. Unfortunately, I don’t have time.

 

So I bought tickets today.  Again, SUPER excited, but realizing that it will be a FULL DAY…Outside…Rain or shine.  Not only that, but I imagine it’ll be a bit of a hike from the parking lot to the area she’s playing in.

 

So needless to say, time to get healthy and active so I can ENJOY the day outside and not be dying of asthma (which gets worse with allergies when I’m outside).

 

So this is now the end of what was supposed to be a short update.  :)

04/23/2013 @ 12:11pm (PDT)

So NO Power90 with Tony Horton for me JUST yet today.

I REALLY had planned on starting yesterday but by the time I got home, the cold hadn't gotten any better, it still felt like someone was sitting on my chest, and I am just EXHAUSTED.  It's to the point where if it isn't gone by tomorrow, Jeff and I are going to run to a Medi-Center type of place and make sure I don't have pneumonia.

We figured until it's COMPLETELY gone, it's probably not worth the risk.  I ended up in the hospital for four days, with a severe asthma onset, and steroids for six months the last time I had a cold I couldn't shake.  I definitely don't want to go through that again.

That said, I woke up a little better today - My voice is coming back nicely (though I'm not quite ready for karaoke) and the person sitting on my chest has gotten a little lighter.  Once the cold is gone for good (probably Thursday), I hope to start Power90...Or at least walk on the treadmill for a couple of days and maybe start Power90 next Monday.

So even though there's no Power90 today or tomorrow, I AM sticking with the diet.  I am very committed to NOT cheating unless I've been good for two weeks.  Once I get with the program, I'll only be allowed a cheat day every two weeks if I've exercised AND maintained my diet, but since my lack of exercise was out of my control, I'll allow myself a cheat day in two weeks as long as I stick with my diet and don't go overboard - No chinese buffets or eating out for every meal.

I also started back on my multivitamin and wheat grass supplement today - I am horrible about taking pills but I definitely feel the difference when I take thse so I want to make sure I do that.  Because I'm sick, I also doubled up on my Vitamin C to help kick this cold.  I don't know how much it will help but it definitely couldn't hurt.

Jeff is going to do my weight and measurements for me tonight so I can update everything.  I'm nervous but I know about what to expect so it'll be okay.

That's about it for me for now.  I'm going to start blogging more often to talk about what's going well, and what isn't going well. 

Once I am sure I'm TRULY back with this, and once I get down below 300, I MIGHT actually start giving out this blog address so friends and family can keep me honest.  For now, I don't want to.  Not only because I want to make sure I'm sticking with it before I do but because I'm embarassed.  I'm embarassed by how much I started out weighing and I'm embarassed by how much I gained back.  I know that they are friends and family and that they will support me, but I'm not QUITE ready yet.

I'll get there...I'll get there.

04/22/2013 @ 12:43pm (PDT)

So someone had suggested I write down my motivation.  Something happened yesterday that made me think of this and so I wanted to write it down.

I was having a conversation with a friend over twitter – She recently started her own weight loss journey and was doing Insanity.  I gave her MAJOR props because I can barely do Power90 let alone P90X or Insantity.

My general tweets were as follows:

“Time to get back with the life change. :) 35-40 pounds to go to first major goal #1.”

Followed by:

“Not as good as the 20 pounds to go a few months back, but it beats the 75 pounds I had when I VERY first started. :)”

Her tweet back to me?

“I am using you as inspiration for my own weight loss journey. #exercise is easy, its the #diet that I fail on.”

Do you KNOW how much of a motivation that is????

Even though I have not been on the right track since Christmas (five months ago), someone is using my weight loss as their inspiration to get moving.

HOLY CRAP is all I have to say.

I love her to death, but at this moment I also very much hate her: Because she’s using me as inspiration, I don’t want to let her down.  I want to show her that it is hard but we can do it. 
Damn her.  :)

So other than that, here are some of my other inspirations/motivations:

Jeff
The man is awesome I tell you.  He has lost over 175 pounds doing P90X and diet and exercise.  His motivation?  Me.  He has finally found someone he loves and wants to be with and he wants to make sure that he’s around long enough to enjoy it.

Yes…Really.  :)

My life, our lives, are finally going in a good direction and I want to be able to enjoy it.  I won’t be able to do that for long at my current weight/fitness level.

Turning 30
Turning 30 was not NEARLY as difficult as I perceived it to be.  The big part of this is because everything I wanted to do is done (or being done) and I met my 10 year plan from when I was 20.
Yes, for those of you who don’t me, my 10 year plan did not include marriage or kids.  :)

I got my Bachelor’s degree from GVSU in August 2011, I’ve started and made it to the middle of my career, I’ve moved across the country for a job I love, and although he wasn’t a part of the plan, I met an awesome guy that I’m going to spend a lifetime with.  :)

Our debt is finally getting paid off and we hope to be debt free within three years.  Then we will be able to send Jeff to school, which he’ll be in for a couple of years.  (Once he’s done with that, THEN we might start planning a wedding).

Life is going in a GREAT direction and I have set myself up to do some amazing things…If I stay healthy and stick around.

Other:
I have really gotten into Pintrest – Both the good things and the bad things. My “Unhealthy Recipes” is FAR more populated than my “Healthy Recipes”.  :)

That said, I have a board called “Fitness Goals” and it’s basically my motivations for losing weight.
These are some of the highlights on this list:

To have the lung capacity to be able to play the bagpipes...
To be able to go horseback riding without feeling bad for the horse...
To be able to sit comfortably in a booth (though I really prefer a table anyway). :)
To be able to walk into most stores and find something that fits, for a decent price...
To be able to compete in my first 5k, no matter what variety...
To go to Cedar Point and fit on EVERYTHING.,..
To be able to do a rope climb...
To be able to go skydiving…
To go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and fit on EVERYTHING...

A couple have already been accomplished, such as these two:

To be off of all my asthma medications
To be able to wear a seatbelt comfortably.

They won’t be “accomplished” for long though if I keep up the way I’m going.  I probably should be back on my asthma medication but I’m stubborn and fear the “S” word (for steroids).  That is probably one of my biggest fears right now – I’ll talk about that in another “motivation”.

Medication
I was taken off all of my asthma medication because I was doing well, my breathing was not QUITE great, but it was a lot better than it was, and my doctor agreed to let me try to be off the medication. 
I’ve been off it now for a while but my biggest fear is that I will have to go back to the doctor because my asthma will be out of control and they’ll have to put me on steroids.

Steroids probably contributed to about 50 pounds of weight gain.  I’d always been fat, but with the steroids, I BLEW up.  This is one of my main motivators to get healthy – To NOT have to be on medication.

I think these are the big ones for now.  I may add to this list on the blog but chances are I’ll just add a “pin” to my Pintrest page.  Feel free to check it out and follow me.

http://pinterest.com/saratague/things-i-want-to-do-fitness-goals/

04/22/2013 @ 12:27pm (PDT)

Welllllllllll…We meet again.  :)

I haven’t even looked at my blog recently so I have NO idea how long it’s been since my last update.
As per usual, things have not gone well here.

I keep this blog up because I have high hopes and expectations of myself and I keep it up because one day, when I meet my weight loss goals, I want people to see that it wasn’t just an overnight transformation.

I didn’t go from being unhealthy to working out every day overnight.  I have been SERIOUSLY trying to get with the program now for almost a year (give or take a couple of months).

Last week, I was ALL set and ready to go.  I had a meal plan, I had my exercise DVD’s, I was GOING TO DO IT! 

Well…I did it…Kind of.

On Monday of last week, I went to put in my Power90 DVD and it’s not working in the Blue Ray Player anymore because it’s too badly damaged.  (THANKFULLY, I have another copy of it somewhere, I just have to ask Jeff to find it).

Because I wasn’t going to be able to do it that day, I decided to hop on the treadmill.

Now, I’m a very slow walker – It would probably take me an hour to walk a mile – That’s how out of shape I am.

I decided to push myself and I ended up doing a half a mile in 15 minutes.  That’s REALLY pushing it for me and I was sweaty and got a good workout.  I should have done more, but it was all my lungs could take at the moment.

Next day I wake up, and like every single other time I get back with exercising, I wake up with a cold. 

Over the next week, I lose my voice and go to bed EVERY night at 7pm in hopes of kicking the cold.

Today – One week after I started the workout – I still have a little bit of the cold but I’m going to restart Power90 today and just take it slow.

So here’s to another round!!!