As I mentioned in my previous post, I am slowly working on updating this site. My weight loss progress page is definitely one of the pages that I have to update. I was at my lowest weight in December of 2012. After the New Year, I gained a good amount of weight back and you can see the difference if you look at my pictures throughout last year. Poor meal planning, lack of workouts, and going through a difficult phase during the first half of the year contributed to my weight gain. Every week I would try to get back on track and I would end up failing towards the end of it. I tried and tried every week and managed to gain more weight. Even thought I would fail each week, I never gave up. I knew if I kept trying that it would eventually stick. I would find my way again. I have come too far and have lost so much weight to give up. My efforts finally stuck in September 2013. Since then, I have lost the weight I gained back throughout the year and a little bit more. I am currently at my lowest weight, I have lost a total of 69 pounds, I have lost 5 pants sizes, and I can wear smaller shirts. However with my Birthday and the Holidays, it was tough once again because I was extremely busy with work and everything else. I was lucky that I only gained a pound within that month and I was able to lose it.
It’s a new year and I should not be ashamed of sharing what my actual weight is. I am so proud of what I have accomplished so far and it does not matter how long it will take me to lose this weight. What matters is that I have not given up because I know I will get there. I was at my heaviest at 240 pounds at the end of 2010. I was in between a large to an extra large for shirts and I believe the biggest pants size I wore was a 16. Today, I am at 171 pounds and I can fit into a size 6:)
Happy New Year everyone! I hope all of you had a wonderful New Year with friends and family. With the new year, I have decided to bring back this website. I apologize for stopping my updates and thank you to anyone who was keeping up with my posts. A lot has happened in between the time I stopped updating this page until today. I have had many great and exciting moments and amazing accomplishments. I have also had my fair share of making mistakes and disappointments as well. However, I would not be the person I am today without making those mistakes and those disappointments. Like the year before, I set a goal to be done with my weight loss journey. I am not there yet. This journey has not been easy as it has been more of keeping a positive mentality. Weight loss is definitely a mental challenge. Things come up and you get sad, you get angry, depressed, etc. but it’s a part of life. We need to learn from our mistakes and keep trying. You cannot dwell on your mistakes or failures otherwise it will eat you up. You haven’t failed if you keep trying. Keep looking towards the future and always, ALWAYS, try your best to stay positive. You will get closer to your goals and you will eventually succeed. This is what I truly believe in and it is the reason I keep working towards my goals. No matter how many times I failed, I never gave up.
My theme this year is not to strive for a new me, only a better me. I want to be better than I was last year and make 2014 my best year yet. Whatever goals I did not accomplish last year, I will work towards accomplishing them this year. I have said it in the past that I would reach my weight loss goal, but I am different this time around. I have learned so much about myself to know how to overcome the bumps that life throws at me. This is the year I will finally do it.
Aside from improving the layout of my site, it will get a big face lift within the next week or so. I am currently brainstorming new and different content to include on top of blog posts about my journey. My daily posts about my journey might turn into a weekly summary to focus more on anything related to leading a healthier lifestyle and self-improvement. There will be at least one post each day. Keep checking back for more updates and thank you in advance!
Busy day! I did some homework and went on a couple store visits that I was assigned to for work. The first visit was harder than I had expected. It involved removing a couple cabinet doors and installing a new panel with a logo at a certain big box retailer. It was heavy and the installing the panel was the tough part because I had to pretty much force the screws with no holes into the current cabinet. It was like a workout and I was sweating like I just finished Insanity.
I went home and laid down to rest for a bit. I dozed off for an hour. I woke up and worked out to Hard Core Abs and Flow. It’s always a great recovery day with those two workouts. I then started getting my stuff ready to leave for Virginia tomorrow night. It will be a busier day tomorrow. I have to make sure I get my workout done first thing in the morning. I have a few more stores to visit later in the morning and a couple errands to run. I didn’t get enough sleep when I went to Virgina last June so I have to make sure I get enough this time. I’m most likely going to drive a part of the 12 hours it takes to get there. Hopefully it won’t rain this time!
Did I go to bed for a little bit last night? Nope! Well, almost. I was ready to go to bed and I had an idea to make one last gift for my best friend on her Birthday. As soon as I finished that, I left to run to a couple of stores before I went to her house. It ended up taking an hour and a half of running around but I made it to her house just in time before she went to work. I picked up a cup of Starbucks for her (and a Venti for myself because I needed it), bagels and donuts, and a piece of cake with pink candles. I lit the candles, rang the doorbell, and SURPRISE! I went straight home when she left for work. I’m glad the sun came out for my ride home. The coffee and the Speed Racer drivers kept me very alert. Why can’t people drive like that during rush hour traffic…don’t they want to get home fast too? I was afraid the coffee and sun would keep me up. I covered my eyes and fell asleep for a few hours. As soon as I woke up, I finally caught up with all of my posts. I’m sorry for the slow updates over the past few days. I haven’t been at my computer that much.
The weather was super nice today. It was the nicest day we’ve had since summer ended. I took advantage of this weather by going out for a run. Actually, I did 21 minutes of walking and running intervals. I had to cut it a few minutes short because I had to get ready for dinner. Running around the neighborhood is definitely tougher than a treadmill. I felt more out of breath. I need to keep running outside until my 5K in a week and a half; in nice weather or cold weather.
I went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants with a couple friends that I met in middle school. The restaurant we went to is where you can make your own stir fry. I love going to these type of places because you can choose your own ingredients. And I learned how to pack all of the ingredients well enough so I’m able to eat enough at the restaurant and take the rest home for lunch the next day. It was a good balance of protein, veggies, and carbs to get me through Pump Extreme tonight. After dinner, we walked around a bit to talk more and went to Starbucks again haha. This time I had an iced tea. It was a nice time catching up.
I worked out to Pump Extreme when I got home. I always push myself a little more in each workout. As I progressed through the workout, the tougher it got. A few times I had beads of sweat coming down my face and into my eyes. It was like I was crying. I had few wipes here and there but I didn’t stop. I’ll have to buy a headband since it’s harder to wipe your face with a barbell in your hands of course. The lunge track was killer as usual. The lunge track in Pump Extreme is the hardest track in the entire series in my opinion. The sweat in my eyes affected my contacts during the abs track. After the abs track, I had to take the left contact out. 482 calories were burned from Pump Extreme.
I love the track they chose for the cool down at the end of Pump Extreme. It’s a cover of “Let Me Be Myself” by 3 Doors Down in the workout. I always find myself listening to the song over and over again after I workout to it. Lead singer, Brad Arnold, stated that the song “is about just be yourself, without thinking in what the people say.” I totally agree. The song is a powerful reminder to not let anyone hold you back and make yourself happy first. And that’s what I am doing. It inspires me to keep going so I can be the best version of myself. This song is true “Kia Kaha song”…a be strong song.
I have decided that I am going to switch up my off day from Sunday to Saturday for this week only. I have to pack light and I will be leaving my laptop at home for once. I always bring it with me on trips. I am leaving Friday night for a 12 hour road trip to Virginia so I’ll be able to get my workout done that day. Sunday is a scheduled walk for 60 minutes. When I get home, I figure that I’ll either workout to Combat or head to the gym for more 5K training as soon as it opens up at midnight. I have lots to accomplish before I leave but I can’t wait for a mini-vacay!
Les Mills Workout: None
Other: 30 minutes Zumba Fitness (PS3) & 50 minutes Fit In Six (PS3)
Rainy weather just makes me want to lay around. And I did just that. I watched a movie at home and went to my friend’s house for a Singstar/Zumba night on PS3. I showed up in workout clothes too. We did a little Singstar when I arrived and switched to Zumba Fitness. I think I only tried it out once or twice. I am not a dancer in any way haha. We Zumba’d for 30 minutes and I was sweating at the end. I had my heart rate monitor on. I burned 180 calories. I was planning on working out to Combat when I got back home but she had another fitness game called Fit In Six. I thought, why not get my workout done now. In Fit In Six, I worked out to Kickboxing (Burning Fist), Boot Camp (Superset Workout Pro), and Pilates (Core Centering). It was about 50 minutes long for the three workouts combined. Including Zumba, I burned 471 calories working out at my friends. It’s equivalent to the calories I would have burned with Combat. It was a great impromptu workout session.
I sort of re-injured my foot again when I was doing Zumba. I was wearing my workout shoes. I took them off and they felt okay but I could still feel it in my foot. It was late by the time I left her house. I decided to go home instead of going to the gym to run especially since my foot was hurting again. I’ll run outside tomorrow because it’s supposed to be in the high 70’s and sunny. The decision to go home after was also so I can go to bed early. It’s my best friend’s Birthday tomorrow and I want to surprise her at her house with a few things before she leaves for work. I know she won’t see this until she wakes up, which is when I plan on being there, so it’s okay for me to say it now. : )
Hello Week 9 of Les Mills Pump! And my last week of Phase 2! Time to work harder! The only problem was that I woke up early and fell back asleep for a few hours. I woke up much later. My sleeping habit is my biggest problem right now. I went to a restaurant to meet up with a couple friends to watch the Chicago Bears game for Monday Night Football. Like I said yesterday, I was hoping for the Bears defense to do a miracle for me in order for me to win this week in Fantasy Football. I didn’t win but it’s okay because the Bears won. What was not okay was that I didn’t eat healthy during dinner. Lately, I have been craving bad foods. I have been getting those cravings out of my system instead of holding back. If I do, I’ll binge later on when the cravings get worse. I’ll have to teach myself to enjoy those cravings here and there and space it out.
I went straight to the gym after the game to train for my 5K. I did more running this time since I was following my 5K training app. Half-way through, I wanted to quit and I almost did. I was maybe feeling the effects from the foods that I ate at dinner. I kept telling myself, don’t quit and I didn’t. I kept up with the pace too. I went home to finish my workout with Pump Revolution. I thought I was supposed to do Pump Extreme but I was looking at the wrong week…Week 8. I can’t believe it’s already Week 9. It was a tough workout to get through and again, I didn’t give up. I only modified during the hover in the abs track. It was a small modification. Other than that, it was an awesome workout and I ended with a huge sweat. I burned 489 calories from it.
I’m going to drink Shakeology for as many meals as I can this week in order to cleanse my system of the bad foods that I ate. I would love to do the three-day cleanse but it would have to be when I am not working out as hard. I’m going out of town this weekend to Virginia. I’ll have to look at the Les Mills Pump schedule for the weekend. I might need to modify so I don’t have to bring any weights.
Off day from Les Mills Pump! It’s great to rest the body after six straight days of some form of exercise, whether it be walking, running, or cardio/weight training. I went to a friend’s house for an all day fest of football since we’re in the same Fantasy Football league. I still have a game left tomorrow but I’m most likely going to lose because most of my players didn’t perform well today. I need a miracle from the Bears defense to win haha. It was a perfect autumn day again with the sun shinning and warm weather. After watching most of the games, we went to a pumpkin patch nearby. We walked around for a bit and I bought a few mini pumpkins.
I went back to my friend’s house for more football and had dinner. I met up with another friend at the movies and watched Pitch Perfect. It was the best movie that I have seen since The Avengers…even though it came out earlier this year. I would say it in my top five. I was non-stop laughter and I’m sure I burned a lot of calories from laughing so much. I guess I did “workout” after all right? : )
I didn’t lose a pound at all this past week, which is disappointing considering that I have been losing at least two pounds a week. Maybe I have hit a plateau. Hopefully I will get back on track this week. Regardless, I am still feeling fitter and healthier. I feel great actually. I can’t forget that progress is progress. The scale may not move, but my clothes feel looser. I’ll work harder this week for sure. Tomorrow marks the beginning of Week 9 of Les Mills Pump and the final week of Phase 2. Also, the Hot Chocolate 5K race is exactly two weeks from today. Gotta turn up the training!
Once again, I woke up early after sleeping great. I got ready and met up with my best friend at the mall for some shopping. Well, it was more like walking for me instead of shopping. Walking for 60 minutes was on the schedule for today and I did at least the minimum of 60 minutes. We had a very satisfying and delicious lunch after the mall. I went home once we were done and I managed to fall asleep for a few hours. I think my body is in some sort of hibernation mode or something because I have been sleeping so much over the past few weeks. It all started when the seasons changed and my two jobs ended for the year. I ended up staying in and catching up on my shows and watching movies for the rest of the night.
I just had the best sleep in a long time! I slept for 8 hours and I felt so refreshed in the morning. I took melatonin last night and fell asleep earlier than I have during the past few weeks. I spent most of my morning and afternoon finishing up homework. I attended a work meeting tonight and stayed to watch the Chicago Bulls game. I had a blast! It was a nice way of taking a break from a busy day. I still had to finish up my homework so I went straight home to do it.
Once I was finally done, I worked out to Pump Extreme. I knew what to expect so I pushed harder. The workout was harder especially during the lunge track. It was hard to keep up because I was digging deeper but I didn’t give up. It was a good way to end a long, busy day. I am just about ready to pass out for the night.
Tomorrow is another shopping day with my best friend. I’m looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the day. Also, it’s not going to rain for once!
I swear my sleeping habits or should I say, insomnia, is getting worse. I kept going back and forth in my mind if I wanted to try staying up and going to bed tonight to “reset” my schedule. After reading up on a few articles on how to fix my sleep schedule, doing an all-nighter was not the best way to do it. I laid in bed trying to fall asleep and I saw an article on Twitter on doing some specific yoga moves to help go to sleep. I tried them out and what do you know…it worked. I woke up earlier than I expected. However, I did some homework in my bed and managed to doze off a few times. This change in weather has somehow affected my energy levels. Speaking of weather, the rain needs to stop because it’s not helping.
There was no Fit Club tonight so I checked out a local grocery store that I’ve been hearing a lot about. It’s the same store that is opening up in place of my old middle school. It was similar to Whole Foods. I also picked up some melatonin. I have never taken it before nor have I ever taken anything to help me fall asleep. I don’t like the idea of having to take something to help me fall asleep but at this point, I’ll try it. Hopefully I’ll only have to take it once or twice to get back to a normal schedule. I have to get up early tomorrow to finish the rest of my homework before a work meeting later on. I might have some time to finish it afterwards and I would rather get it all done before to enjoy a Friday night.
I worked out to Hard Core Abs and Flow when I got home. No running again today just because I was pushed for time. I’m looking to run first thing tomorrow. I modified only a little bit in Hard Core Abs when it came to the walking planks. The only way I can get stronger is if I push as much as I can. I went straight into Flow after that. I love doing Flow because it has helped with my flexibility over the past few weeks.
One Pound At A Time [XTINEC.COM] 