IN A ZONE

Hi, I have not posted in a couple of days but I wanted to give you an update on what has been going on.
I finished my trial period of the kickboxing classes on Friday of last week. I decided I would attend the Saturday class and afterwards get the necessary information to sign up. I don’t know if classes on Saturdays are MEANT to be harder, but when it was over I found myself walking like a baby who needed his/her diaper changed HA. Maybe this was the “end of the week extra push” they do or something. With all that going on, surprisingly I love the class and signed up for 6 more months of brutal and antagonizing pain. The classes are not cheap so I figured in order for me to get my money’s worth, I should attend at least 3 times per week, if not more.

Saturday night I had an ice pack in one hand and my Grandmother’s old heating pad in the other.

So far everything has been going well. I have been eating 100% better, gagging...I mean drinking lots of water and exercising. I will continue to use my craigsliptical machine in the mornings and will incorporate something else on the evenings I don’t attend kickboxing. Although I am not comfortable enough YET to plaster before and after photos…I will have a weigh in on July 15th which makes a month since I started this blog. Don’t get excited because not only am I not comfortable with spandex before and after photos…you won’t get any “I weighed this and now I weigh that” amounts. I will simply inform you of how much weight I’ve lost the first month.

H2"NO"

I have a love/hate relationship with water. I love water because we need it to survive. Water is very good for the skin, it helps our body to function properly and it aids in weight loss (which is the only reason I am drinking it right now). I am sure there are thousands of other reasons, but those are just a few.

I hate water because it makes me feel like my head is growing when I swallow it. I don’t know what it is, but I feel as though my ears are stopped up and there is this pressure in my head waiting to explode. The after effects are even worse, I began to feel like my head is a fish bowl (remember it grew) and there are fish swimming all around in there…don’t forget the plugs in my ears to keep the water inside. My drinking water is rather eventful. I have to coach/fuss and encourage myself and usually there is a big UGH production when I am done. On the other hand, water gets the job done. When I make a habit of drinking it, I really don’t crave other things like juices and soda.

The Devil is a Lie!

I am happy to report that I attended my first kickboxing class on Friday evening. I want to shout out to Michele and Tammy for showing up as well; it made the experience less embarrassing.
Let me back up a bit. I woke up Friday morning with an awful crook in my neck (GREAT). I had a couple of venues to see (for my wedding) that day and once that was over I went home to doctor on my neck. I had my massager in one hand, and then decided to try my grandmother’s old heating pad. I took 1 and half muscle relaxers and propped my head on a pillow with the heating pad underneath. When I FINALLY woke up I felt a little better but was not totally sure I should attempt kickboxing with a partially functioning neck. I refused to be defeated again so I got dressed and was on my way.
There was a combination of floor exercises along with using a kickboxing bag. It was very fast paced, but doable. We were shocked we worked up such a sweat. I enjoyed the class and it was more entertaining than being on a treadmill peeping at how much longer I have to go. I was also surprised at how sore I was the next day and TODAY. I will gladly be attending kickboxing class tonight.

I Chickened Out!

Plans were made for me and my friend Tamms to start kickboxing classes today. Unfortunately Tamms was under the weather and decided to start later this week. I, attempting to be a go getter and have that "nothing can stop me now" attitude, decided to attend the class alone. I figured this is my battle and other people can't accomplish these goals I've set for myself BUT ME. I am really a shy person, which may be hard to believe since creating a blog may not be on the "to do list" of a shy person...but really I am. OK, I set out for my first class and KNEW I would sit in the parking lot for a minute to "people watch." As I expected, they were all skinny and APPEARED to have been doing this for a while. Well I really can't be sure they had been kickboxing for a while, but you know how your mind works when nervous. Finally, I forced myself out of the car. I've lived long enough to know that, more times than often, nothing is as bad as we think it will be. It was awkward from the moment I walked in the door. There were a couple of chairs in the lobby, all of which were taken, which left me the only person standing. Ok, that is fine, no big deal. I watched the kids finish up their martial arts class until finally an instructor asked if this was my first class. He proceeded to look for my name on a list and gave me a form to sign. During this time the kids finished and those individuals that were seated got up to move into the room. The instructor began telling me a little about the class as we followed behind the crowd. He was really a funny guy, which made me more comfortable. He mentioned the class was fast paced and may be confusing at first. I was thinking maybe I should just observe. At any rate most everyone was against the wall either stretching or putting on gloves. I tried to strike up a conversation with the first lady I came in contact with. I asked her how long she had been coming, not sure if she heard me, I had to ask again..UGH. I believe she said a month, but it was so low I assumed she was just not in the mood for small talk. By this time I'm thinking to myself "I wish Tamms was here" so this would not be so intimidating. My mind went blank for a minute and I found myself walking out PRAYING the instructor or anyone else would not ask me where I was going. I felt defeated. After speaking with a couple of friends they assured me that it would have been intimidating for anyone going alone. So yes, I chickened out but will be there Friday evening with my good friend Tamms. :-)

TODAY is the DAY

I had been thinking of how I could work out twice a day. It is very hard to work out at the gym or even go out to the park early in the mornings. I would have to rise at 3:00am, not happening. I was thinking about purchasing a recumbent bike. We all know why I would choose a “recumbent” over a stationary bike. If you don’t know, I will tell you, the seats are bigger and it seems to be less work. Anyway, I figured I could do this in the mornings and workout again in the evenings after work. I’ve read in many articles that if you do something early in the day it gives you more energy and you burn more calories throughout the day. I am all for that. My search started on Craigslist to find a bike within my budget. I found an ad for someone selling used equipment for very reasonable prices. I went over after work and to my surprise he had a nice selection, but I was ONLY interested in the $35 bikes he mentioned over the phone lol. Just to make conversation I asked about other equipment I saw. He was a trainer so I wanted to pick his brain and see what information I could get out of him for free. I asked if he’d recommend other equipment over bikes…and his response was “if you want to sit and pedal you can” BUT you’d burn more calories doing blah blah blah. The way he said “sit and pedal” made me feel lazy. That may have been a sales tactic, and if so, it worked. I ended up buying an older model elliptical machine for a bit more.

I woke up this morning PUMPED. I found Joyce Meyer on television and got on my elliptical machine. I was thinking to myself “why did I purchase this when I absolutely avoid these things at the gym?” At any rate, I did it. It squeaked a little, which was very amusing for my dog. I know he was waiting for me to leave the room so that he could “mark his territory.” I won’t go into how long I was on the machine, let’s just say it was longer than I expected to stay on.
Not sure what I will do after work. Maybe I will go to the park where I love to walk and think. Maybe I’ll take Bishop (my dog) for a walk around the neighborhood. He loves it but by the time we hit the corner to come back home his tongue is hanging from his mouth… so embarrassing. He’s definitely a house dog. They say a dog’s health is also a reflection of its owners.
I have signed up for kickboxing. I hear it really works for shedding the pounds, but that seems true for most cardio work-outs. I have many ideas and will definitely keep you posted on which ones I follow through on.

Today is the last day to say “Tomorrow”

I had an idea to create a blog to keep myself encouraged while going on this journey of losing weight before my upcoming wedding. This started as one of those great ideas I blurted out to a couple of friends, who also thought I should go for it. I am not sure if I struggle with some kind of attention span disorder or what have you, but if I don’t jump on things when I conjure them up in my mind, they fall by the wayside…just as this blog was about to. I guess you could consider this an effort to follow through. I figured a blog would allow me to vent and get passed certain obstacles along the way. The best part of this outlet would be to have positive feedback and encouragement from family, friends and even those I may not know.

Losing weight is not a new issue for me. I’ve lost and gained more weight than should even be allowed in any one person’s lifetime. Keeping me motivated and focused is where the problem lies. About two years ago I made my mind up that I would be healthy. I exercised, ate better and accomplished losing 60lbs over a 6 month period. I was very proud of myself, not only for the weight loss, but because of how I achieved it. I thought that because I finally did it the RIGHT way, the healthy way, that I would not gain it back…surprise, surprise. I find myself talking about the 60lbs in 6 months often. I think I harp on it so much because I still can’t get over the fact that it was for nothing, however, I know that is not the case. At least now I know what lies ahead and this time I will surpass what I have accomplished in the past. OK I will move on, that was beginning to sound like one of those “Before Blastofat my children couldn’t get their arms all the way around me until now” infomercials. That is definitely not what this is about.

For the past year or so I have been saying "I will start tomorrow" and tomorrow has turned into months and months later. Tomorrow, June 15, 2010 is when I start my transformation.

Today is the last opportunity I will have to say “I will start Tomorrow.”