Funny

A friend shared this cartoon with me. This is the way I feel like weighing myself everyday! hahaha.



"HOW TO WEIGH YOURSELF". And to think we've been doing it wrong all these years!!

Leg Workout ... w/cardio

Today was leg workout. What a day to have my toughest workout when I"m feeling fat, bloated, no energy, and just basically depressed about how I feel and look. Elizabeth showed no mercy!! No, I can't have a bad day. I still have to work out. haha.

Before work out, i did about 8 or 9 mins on the recumbent bike to warm up (level 10). I didn't pedal hard as I knew I had to reserve the little energy I had for legs. haha.

We headed to the basketball court and I knew I was doomed. I hate the thought of leg workout, but then i love it afterward when I'm tired and I can say "I did it". My butt really has gone from the size of Jupiter a couple years ago to the size of a small asteroid (ASS-teroid? No pun intended).

Walking Lunges w/10lb. in DB - 2 BB court lengths
Side Lunges w/10lb in DB - 2 lengths
Step ups on bench w/10lb in DB - 1 minute x 3 sets
Squats w/10lb in DB - feet together - 1 minute x 3 sets
Jump squats - 1 minute x 2 sets
1-2-3 jump turn squats - 1 minute x 1 set

The Steps ups, Squats and Jump Squats were done as one set, then repeated 3 times. After the 2nd set, I was so tired I thought I was going to throw up. Elizabeth said no I wasn't, my heart rate is just up more than it's been. She'll learn someday when I hurl all over the floor. I did ask if anyone ever had thrown up at the gym from being so tired, and she said no, I'd be the first. haha. Wouldn't that be a fun claim to fame?

Then it was time for abs. Yuck. I hate abs, but I was just grateful for the chance to lie down on the mat!! hahaha. Elizabeth had other ideas. No rest for the weary. This is my fault that I feel so energy-less. I think I need a Red Bull ! haha.

Abs:
------
Crunches -- up, half way down, then flat - 15
Side Crunches -- 15 x 3 sets - both sides
Not sure what these are called, but hands together crunch to the middle, then to the left, to the right, then to the center again. 20 x 2 sets.

Did a little stretching out (for me it was more like passed out on the floor), then I did my cardio.

Precor Elliptical, 31 minutes, 330 calories burned.

Will try to be diligent with food today and tomorrow and see how much more energetic I am on Friday. It really couldn't be worse !!!

Oh, and on MOnday I am having measurements taken again. I am truly afraid!!! I know I haven't lost anything in the past month, but Elizabeth wants to do them monthly. Wouldn't it be exciting if I was smaller in some areas? I have been working much harder than I ever had, but the food has been my saboteur. So we'll see. Even if I don't officially decrease in size, I can still fit in my size 10s so I'm not going to stress it. Plus I'm old now ... 43 ... and I know I am in better shape than most of my longtime friends. If only high school could see me now !!!!!!!!!! Wouldn't they be surprised !!!!

Sugar is the root of all evil

I know I don't do well when I eat sugar, yet I continue to eat it. Why do I torture myself??? The past few weeks I've been horrible with food. But this past weekend I was REALLY bad. With Halloween last Wednesday, I did fairly good by only giving in to 2 Reeses peanut butter cups. That in itself is a major victory for me. Normally on Halloween, I"d eat about 10 in one day !!! When I weighed myself on Friday, I had lost almost 6 pounds from the prior week (when I had a large gain from basically just being a pig!).

Then came Friday, my birthday. I was good all day and through dinner, but THEN, we went to Baskin Robbins. My daughter was not home Friday night so we decided to wait until Saturday to celebrate and since I didn't want a cake (leftovers would have been calling to me) i said ok i'll have ice cream and this will be my birthday dessert.

Saturday started out bad. Ate breakfast, then had chocolate, then picked at junk all through the day, then more chocolate, then went to birthday dinner at Johnny Carinos italian restaurant, where I had bread w/olive oil and garlic, shared in some Italian Nachos, had salad with creamy gorgonzola dressing, and THEN, my favorite Penne Gorgonzola. That's basically fettucini alfredo and chicken ... but with Gorgonzola in the sauce ... and of course penne instead of fettucini. I estimate dinner was about an entire day's allowance (if not more!). Seriously. I did only eat half of my dinner because it arrived lukewarm, so I had the other half on Sunday for lunch ... followed by more candy and more crap. By Monday, I was back up to where I was the week before on the scale. I think I ate about 20 snack size candy bars over the course of the weekend.

I tried to be good yesterday and MOnday, but I get to the evening, and the candy starts calling my name. I just can't have this stuff in the house. Once I eat the candy, I get the munchies and I start digging into leftovers from dinner, chips, anything I can get my hands on.

This morning I am only down 1/2 pound since MOnday.

So .... sugar is my enemy and I'm going to do my best to keep it out of my system. I also need to drink more water. I will drink a 16 oz. bottle in the morning and then not have any more water until the evening. I know part of my weight gain is water retention and if I'd just drink my water and lay off the candy I could drop 6 pounds easy in a week. I am not giving my body any water, so it's holding on to whatever it can get. I'm working on my 2nd 16 oz. right now and am close to finishing so that's 32 oz. before 12:30. Pretty good (for me!!).

Today was leg workout. That will be the next post .....

You are what you eat

You know the saying "You are what you eat"? Well, i was a sloth in the energy department today, so does that mean I ate sloth? LOL Really, I ate a bunch of junk over the weekend. I just couldn't stop. Today, my energy level was soooo low at the gym and I felt like crud.

Today was shoulder day. I am still having pain in my deltoid muscle. Last week we avoided lateral raises to test if that was the cause of the pain. But, I ended up taking a step class and did them in class, so I messed up our experiement. Today we avoided front raises, but my arm is still hurting. In fact, it's hurting more tonight than it has in the past week. I think it's ALL shoulder exercises. I had to do overhead shoulder press, and used a heavier weight than normal and now I am feelign the pain! Not pain like soreness ... but pain like something's wrong.

Here is what we did:

* Cybex shoulder press: 30#/15 x 3 sets

* Dumbbell lateral raise: 5#/15 x 3 sets (stuck with light weight just in case)

* Dumbbell overhead raise: 15#/10 x 3 sets

* ISO incline: 10#/15 x 3 sets

* ISO Bench: 20#/15 x 3 sets

* Iso Decline: 25#/15 x 3 sets

* Iso Tricep Dips: 55#/15 x 1 set; 65#/15 x 2 sets

Abs:
-----
* Crunches 3 sets of 20

* Reverse Crunch/Lift Up: 3 sets of 15

* Elbow to knee side crunch: 3 sets of 15 on each side

* Ball to Toe crunch: 3 sets of 20 w/7# ball


Cardio:
---------
* Step & Pump class - 60 mins.

oct 19 - legs & abs

Leg day ... oh joy.... NOT! Leg day is a love/hate relationship. I hate legs because it's hard, but I love doing them because it makes me feel good afterward.

Here's what we did:

skipping stairs - 7 flights up/down - 10# dumbbell

Kneeling leg curl - 20#/10 x 3 sets (on each side)

Leg Press - 110#/10; 130#/10; 150#/10

Seated calf raise - 45#/15 x 3 sets

Easy bar dead lift - 40#/15 x 3 sets

Glute press - R/L sides separately: 75#/15 x 1 set; 87.5#/15 x 2 sets


Abs:
-----
Crunches on ball 20 x 2 sets

High crunches holding med. ball 7#/20

Twists on stability ball 7# med ball/20

Knee Ups on ball 20 times each side

Squats, feet together: 20

Squats, feet apart: 20


Cardio:
-------
Stairmaster: 20 mins, level 5-6
Recumbent Bike: 10 mins, level 10
Treadmill: 1.5 miles walk/run 15 mins

10/17 Back and Abs

This morning I woke up and felt really tired, plus grumpy, and emotional. If I didn't know, I would have said I was pregnant LOL. Considering there is no chance at that LOL, I chalked it up to PMS. haha. I was on the verge of cancelling my training for the morning but went anyway. I'm so dedicated ROFL. I knew I had a dental appt. afterward to have a suture removed from my crown lengthening procedure on Monday, so I wanted to get out some of the anxiety over that.

Today was back and abs day. When Carlos was here we'd always do biceps with back, but no biceps were on the agenda today.

Warmup: bike 12 minutes, level 10

Cybex lateral pull : 85# x 1 set of 15; 90# x 2 sets of 15

Cybex pull down: 85# x 3 sets of 15

Cybex low (seated) row: 40# x 2 sets of 15; 30# x 1 set of 15

Iso High Row (slow): 35# x 1 set of 15; 30# x 2 sets of 15

Bench dumbbell row: 15# x 3 sets of 15 on each side

Leg flys (dolphin) on ball : 3 sets of 20

Stability Ball between feet / balance twist: 2 sets of 15

Crunches on ball: 20

Bicycles: 30

Reverse crunch 20

V-Ups (Butt Pikes) on stability ball: 1 set of 15; 2 sets of 10


Cardio:
--------
Treadmill 2 miles, run/walk, 29 minutes. walking speed 3.8; run speed 5.5-6.2

10/16 Chest, Shoulders, Abs

Today should have been mostly shoulders, but considering I've been having some pain in my right arm from what my trainer believes could be from the bottom of my deltoid muscle, we did just a little shoulders, and added in some chest and tricep (oh, and of course abs ... we do abs every time, ugh). Shoulders are kept at a light weight until we figure out what's causing my pain.


Assisted Pullups 3 sets of 10 ... pin #15 (pin #20 is the most assistance)

Assisted Dips 3 sets of 10 ... pin #15 and #14

Chest Press 15# x 3 sets of 15

Cable rear delt 5# x 3 sets of 15

Dumbbell front raise 5# x 3 sets of 15

Dumbbell overhead 5#x 3 sets of 15

ISO tricep dips 45# x 1 set of 15 .... then 65# x 2 sets of 15

Crunches on stability ball 20

Medicine ball 7# at shoulder, twist diagonally down - each side x 2 sets of 15

Reach up crunches w/medicine ball sitting on stability ball 7# x 15

Reverse Crunch on bench 2 sets of 15


Cardio: kickboxing class

No loss is good loss

Well, I weighed in today at the SAME WEIGHT as last week, but that's better than gaining, right? I'm not too upset. Next week I WILL have a loss. I can guarantee it. Right now isn't exactly the perfect time to be stepping on the scale, if ya know what I mean LOL.

Today was leg workout. We did a lot of work on the basketball court, lunging down and back on the floor in various ways. In addition to getting weighed, I also had new measurements taken to give me a new baseline to go off of.


Workout:
-----------
Butt Blaster 50#/15 x 3 sets (on each leg)

Prone leg curl 30#/15 x 3 sets (this was way too easy -- do I dare tell my trainer?? lol)

Walking Lunges w/med. ball (rotating left, then right) 7lb/2 lengths of BB court

Walking side lunges 2 lengths of bb court

123 turn (squat down 3 times, then hop up and turn around to face other side) 10 times

Diagonal jumps (jump diagonally up left, then right, diagonally back left, then right, making an X-pattern) 1 minute

Wall Sits 20 seconds; 26 seconds

Bench crunches 15 x 3 sets

Crunches on ball w/medicine ball twist 3 sets of 15 on each side

Reverse crunches on matt 20

Planks 25 seconds

Side Plank (L) 20 seconds
(R) 20 seconds


Cardio: Recumbent bike, level 10, 32 minutes
Treadmill - run/walk 1 mile 12:20 min. My legs were tired !!

Chest/Tricep Day

Nothing out of the ordinary today, just regular chest/tricep workout.

ISO Incline 5#/15 x 3 sets
ISO Bench Press 10#/15 x 3 sets
Cybex Adv. 15#/15 x 2 sets
Assisted Pullups pin settings 19, 18, 18
Assisted Dips pin settings 18, 17, 17
Seated Chest Press 25#/15 x 3 sets
Seated fly 15#/15 x 3 sets

Butt Pikes 3 sets of 15
Bicycles 2 sets of 40, 1 set of 25

Cardio: Step Class - 45 minutes.

My upper arm has been hurting me since Saturday night. In talking with my trainer she suspects it might be the bottom of my deltoid muscle. When I do shoulders again on Monday, she will see which exercises might have aggravated it since I just did shoulders on Friday, and I've had this problem before earlier in the year. It could have been overlifting since I have been increasing my weights. It's feeling better today, but Saturday night it was hurting quite a bit wheneverI'd try to rotate my arm inward (like rolling over in bed and pulling the covers over me).

I've been proud of my food intake. I did great over the weekend and the "worst" thing I cheated on, which really wasn't cheating, was 1/2 c. of Dreyers Grand Light ice cream w/fat free Reddi Whip whipped cream. YUMMMMM. I am expecting a nice weight loss on Friday. If I don't, I'm gonna scream !!!

Good workout ... and a loss for the week !!

Yaaaayyyy, I weighed in today and am actually down a couple pounds (2.8 to be exact) since I posted the weight loss ticker at the top of my blog. 11.2 more to go to get to my Christmas goal. I should mention that I really lost closer to 5 pounds this week, having gained SINCE I posted that ticker, but didn't want to add to it so I kept my mouth zipped closed LOL and pretended I was still at my starting weight. hahaha. Thank God that when weight is gained fast like that, it usually comes off fairly fast. It's getting PAST that which makes me very frustrated.

Today was shoulder/ab day at the gym. I've now done a complete rotation with Elizabeth (my trainer). Here is what I did.

Shoulders:
------------
Cable rear delt 10#/15 x 3 sets
Dumbell lateral raise 5#/15 x 3 sets
Dumbell front raise 5#/15 x 3 sets
Dumbell overhead raise 7.5#/15 x 3 sets

Abs:
------
Bench crunches 3 sets of 15
Crunches on ball 15, then 2 sets of 20
Bicycles on matt 3 sets of 40 (or 20 if you count L/R together)
Medicine ball twist 7#/20 x 3 sets
Lean back holds 15 (each one, count for 10)
Supermans 3 (hold for 30-60 seconds)
Reverse Crunches 2 sets of 15

Cardio
--------
Stairclimber 20 minutes, level 6
Treadmill walk 1.0 mile

Elizabeth is so encouraging and even though she isn't the one that trained with me for the past 2 years, she seems genuinely proud of my accomplishments. I have my progress pictures posted in my workout log book, and she was looking at them, then someone saw and asked if they could see, and before I knew it I had 3 people looking atmy pics. One man said "no way, that was not you before". haha. It makes me feel good and renews some motivation to work harder to finally reach my goals. I do still see myself as fat, though. I don'tlike to look in the mirror at my whole body very often because I still see the fat girl in the reflection, and all the imperfections that I have. I guess that comes from being overweight for so many years and that feeling of insecurity that comes with it. Even when I lost weight on diets before, I was never in good shape (NEVER exercised). Now, I can honestly say I am in great physical shape for a 42-year old (43 in 3 more weeks, ugh!).

Monday brings Chest/Bicep/Tricep/Abs. I think tomorrow (Saturday) I'll try to go to Advanced Step. I haven't been in a LONG time. The teacher is my favorite step instructor. Her step moves are very dancy, and hard choreography which I love.

Legs, legs, and more legs !!

Today was my first leg day with Elizabeth (my new trainer). I was a little nervous. Actually, nervous isn't really the word I am looking for. Maybe petrified is more like it! LOL. No, really, I was a bit anxious because leg day in the past was always the day that I felt the pain afterward and Elizabeth has proven that she is one heck of a good trainer and she encourages (forces?!?) me to do more than I have in the past. I want this, though, beause I told her I want to step it up and FINALLY lose the last of my weight. I can do it. I am woman, hear me roar !!

So .... after a quick warmup on the bike we head over to start. We walked over to a bench and i'm thinking hmmmm, i've never done any leg workout on the bench. I quickly learned what she had up her sleeve.

* Step-ups: "Oh it's easy, simply step up and down on the bench". hahaah. Yeah, maybe if I added a few inches to my legs. As a shortie at 5'2" (actually 5'1-1/2", but by saying 5'2" I can weigh a little bit more according to the charts!) I had to really step up to get on that bench. It was hard but I liked it. I got to squeeze in a little cardio while I was at it, too. I need the cardio to slim down these thighs of mine. Anyhow, I did them for 1 minute (no weights in hands for this set)

Next I did:

* Plie (wide) squats 20#/15 reps.

* Bosu Squat, holding a 7.5# dumbell out in front of me for balance.

* Drop Lunges. I've always done walking lunges (except when I first started, when I did them holding on to the wall and 5-10 of them just about killed me haha ... wow, I've come a long way. Anyhow, I did 20 on each side, holding 15 lbs.

After those 4 things, I repeated each one again. The only difference was in the step-ups, I held on to 15 lbs (2 x 7.5lb DB).

* Next came Butt Blaster. I did 3 sets of 10 on each leg. It was on pin #4, assuming that's 40#.

* Cybex Leg Press: First did 140#/15 reps. Then we added 20 more pounds since I am woman (hear me roar) and I did 2 sets of 15 at 160#.

* Standing Calf Raises. 3 sets of 15, 30#.

Next came abs ............

* Bicycles on floor: 25
* Elbow to knee (right and left sides each): 15
* Glutes on ball: 15 on each side (variation from the video clip, my stationary foot was on the stability ball)
* Bridge Roll Outs: 15
* Stability Ball Pass 1/2: 15 (only did the legs; did not pass to the hands as the clip shows)
* Medicine Ball reach up to toe: 15 on each side
* Crunches reaching up: 15
* Supermans: 2 times. Held each side 30 seconds. Did not alternate as clip shows.


Cardio:
----------
Elliptical (Precor): 15 minutes, level 12
Treadmill: run/walk 1.5 miles

My next workout is Friday and it's shoulders/ab day ... that is ... if I can move after today! hahaha.

Back Workout

Today was my 2nd workout with my new trainer. We did back and a some abs at the end.

Dual Axis pull down 80#/15 x 3 sets
Bench DB Pullovers 15#/15 - 20#/15 - 15#/15
Bench DB Row 15#/15 x 3 (on both sides)
Cable Rope high row 70#/15 x 3
Cable Rope low row 60#/15 x 3
Cable pull down to collarbone 50#/10 - 40#/15 - 40#/15

Bench crunches 3 sets of 15
Gravity ball twist (on each side) 4#/15 x 3
Med. ball twist with feet up 7#/20 x 3 sets

Pike Ups 10
Crunches on ball 35

Cardio: Step class 60min.

Wednesday is leg day. Yikes. I'm almost scared! hahaha. This will be first leg workout with my new trainer.

Face Changes

OMG, while looking back at some old pics, I came across this one taken just 2 years ago. OMG, my face was so fat my eyes were almost closed (i guess having the sun shining in them didn't help either!).

Anyhow ... here is a pic of me in August 2005 and then a picture of me taken last week .... almost 50 pounds lighter.

August 2005 (below) :

September 2007 (below ... almost 50 pounds lighter):

Thank you, Carlos

This is me with my trainer Carlos on his last day this week and our last session. It was a sad day for me. I want to thank him for everything he did for me in the past 2+ years. Without him, i never would have made the progress that I have. He was my first trainer and the one that got me hooked after I saw results.

A funny story back from 2005 ....

After I had my 2 free introductory training sessions at the gym, i decided to sign up. They asked me if I had any particular trainer in mind. I didn't know any of them so I said "Just don't put me with someone who's going to yell at me and make me cry". LOL. So they said o.k., we'll put you with Carlos. Well, it's true that Carlos never yelled at me, but I have to admit I did cry when he told me he was leaving.

Good luck in your new job, Carlos. Come back to the gym and visit sometime !!

New Trainer

OMG, my new trainer Elizabeth is going to kill me!! haha. Today was my first workout with her and it was tough (but good). We did chest/tricep/bicep and some abs. The abs were hard because my muscles are still sore from Wednesday when I did some sit ups on the decline bench.

This is what I did today:

Bench crunches 3 sets of 15
Cybex chest press 20# - 3 sets of 15
Cable chest press 20# - 3 sets of 15
Cable curls/bicep 15# - 3 sets of 15
Pushups (boy style) - 3 sets of 10
Cable Flys 20# - 3 sets of 15
Tricep Dips 60#/15 --- 75#/12 --- 75#/15
Crunches on ball 2 sets of 15
Dumbell twist on ball 8#/20
*Butt Pikes on ball 15 + 3 (had lower back pain)
*Lower body lifts on ball 2 sets of 15

* These were 2 new things I had never tried before (or seen). One of them that I am calling "Butt Pikes" (only because I think it's easier to remember than "Pike Ups on the Stability Ball". Here is a video clip I found online that shows it. I don't think I looked quite as graceful as this guy did LOL, but I did my best. And hey, I did it !!!!! They hurt like a mo-fo, too. hahaha. It kind of hurt my lower back so my 2nd set I only got 3 in before I rolled myself off the ball and stopped. I will work slowly so I don't injure myself.

The Lower Body Lifts were similar in the starting position, only instead of pulling the ball towards you as you pike up, you just lift your legs up in the air, keeping your body on the ball and your hands on the floor in front of you. It reminded me of doing crunches for my back. These were a lot easier than the Butt Pikes!

I am hoping a change in routine will be what I need to jump start my weight loss again. I have been stuck in the same 8 pound range for what seems like forever (can you say almost a year??), losing and gaining those same 8 pounds over and over and over. At least when I completely mess up and gain, i don't go past a certain point. but, when I do good, and I get down to my low range, i can't get past it. I need to do something.

Now my neck hurts LOL. I think I need a Motrin.

Abs, Shoulders, (knees & toes, knees & toes?)

Today was my last day to workout with my trainer, Carlos. It was his last day. How sad. I felt the tears welling up, but I didn't burst into full blown crying and embarass myself.

It was shoulder day and we always do abs with shoulders (yuck). Short posting today, but this is what I did:

Shoulder Press: 20#/20 30#/20 30#/20
Upright Row: 20#/20 x 3
D.B. Lateral Raise: 5#/15 x 3 sets
Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 15
D.B. Front Raise: 5#/15 x 3 sets
Decline Sit-up: 10 12 10 (these were hard today!)
Bent over lateral raise: 5#/15 x 3 sets
Reverse Crunch: 20 18 20

Cardio: Recumbent Bike: 40 mins, level 10
Elliptical (Precor): 15 mins, level 10

I start with my new trainer on Friday.

Sadness and legs

I am so incredibly sad. My trainer, Carlos, that I've been with for 2-1/2 years is leaving. How can he do this? LOL. I wish him the best, but I will miss him. I am scheduled to switch over to a new trainer starting on Friday. It's hard to start over with someone new.

Anyhow, yesterday was leg day... and sadly, my last leg day with Carlos. Why does it always seem that I post on leg day. haha. I had a good workout. This is what I did:

Ball Squats w/dumbell 10lbs - 3 sets of 20
Dead Lifts 50 lbs - 3 sets of 15
Leg Press 90lbs - 15 reps; 140 lbs - 15 reps; 140 lbs - 20 reps
Prone Leg Curl 30 lbs - 2 sets of 15; 1 set of 20
Leg Extension 45 lbs - 3 sets of 15
Standing Calf Raise 20 lbs - 3 sets of 20

For cardio, I was feeling bummed and lazy, so just did 1/2 hour on the bike.

I was the victim of a root canal on Friday of last week, so ate a lot of soft comfort foods over the weekend. I have also been doing some emotional eating, and after my weigh-in on Friday I had managed to lose 4 pounds (vacation weight) but as of today I am back up again with those same 4. Argggghhh.

Long time no post

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted. Everything is pretty much the same. The excitement around here is that we went to Hawaii last week on a cruise and had a fabulous time visiting Hilo and Kona on the big island, Maui, Kauai, and Honolulu. I ate like a pig, but only gained 5 pounds. I was certainly expecting about a 10 pound gain. I worked out twice in the ship's gym, plus we walked around on tours, took the stairs a lot on the ship, and drank a lot of liquids. So that all helped. Here's a pic of me with the family in Maui.

In spite of the weight gain, everything still fits so I am not stressing. Yesterday while I was trying to kill time before picking up my son at his guitar lesson, I went to Kohls to do one of my favorite activities.... trying on clothes !!! Now never in a million years would I ever think I'd actually enjoy shopping for clothes (i used to DREAD it) ... but I really love it now that I've lost weight.

So, I grabbed a few items and head for the fitting room. Everything fit in my normal size 10. The last thing to try on was a pair of black bermuda shorts. Here in California it's summer practically year round, so a pair black bermudas are a necessity. anyhow, they were a little snug but I thought hmmm, maybe if I just squat down in them a few times they will stretch out a bit. I happened to glance over at the hanger and noticed it said size 8. Hmmmm. So I took the shorts off, looked at the tag inside, and yep, they were an 8. AN EIGHT !!!!!!!!!! Oh wow, I haven't fit into a size 8 since probably 11th grade. Now, I have to admit that this brand probably runs a little large (cuz no other 8's fit), but I don't care. The tag said 8 ... so I'll take it!! hahaha. And you can bet your butt that I bought those shorts!! hahaha.

Besides the cruise, I haven't been very diligent with my eating. If I could just stop being so darn hungry I could lose 20 more pounds and be a very happy person. At least I am practicing maintaining. I usually fluctuate in a 5-6 pound range. Maybe my upcoming root canal on the 17th will keep me from eating so much! LOL. As it is, I'm having pain in that tooth, plus a tooth that I *JUST* had a crown put on. Aah, the joys of dental health.

Workouts this week have consisted of: Legs & Shoulders on Tuesday plus cardio, Chest/Tricep on Wednesday plus an hour of cardio (elliptical and treadmill), lap swim today, and Back/Bicep on the agenda for tomorrow. The kids go back to school next week, so I plan to spend a lot more time at the gym during the day.

Legs & Abs

Today I had an hour workout with my trainer. It was my regular session (30 mins) plus a make-up session from last week. It was scheduled leg day, so we did Legs & Abs.

Here is what I did:

Legs:
Hack Squat 50#/20 x 3 sets
Dead Lifts 50#/15 x 3 sets
Wide Squat 30#/15, 30#/15, 30#/15
Walking Lunges 12#/18 x 6 lengths
Prone Leg Curl 35#/20 x 3 sets
Leg Extension 45#/15 x 3 sets
Standing Calf Raise 30#/15 x 3 sets

Abs:
Ball crunch w/dumbell 15#/20 x 3 sets
Ball Planks 13 seconds, 23 seconds, 21 seconds
Toe Touch crunches w/dumbbell 15#/20 x 3 sets
Scissors/Hold 15 scissors, 15 sec. hold x 3 sets
Leg Lifts/Incline Bench 3 sets of 10

For cardio, I did some lap swim, but was really tired so only did 24 lengths.

OMG, my aching legs!!

Today was leg day at the gym. By this evening, my legs are killing me. Tomorrow I will be in much more pain, but like they say, "no pain, no gain" !!

My workout consisted of:

Walking Lunges - 3 sets of 36 with 20 pounds of dumbell weight
Dead Lifts - 3 sets of 15 with 40 pound barbell
Leg Press/Incline up - 20 reps @ 110 lbs; 20 reps @ 130 lbs.; 20 reps @ 140 lbs.
Prone Leg Curl - 3 sets of 20 @ 50 pounds
wide leg squat - 3 sets of 20 w/30 lb. weight
Glute press - 3 sets of 15 on each leg - 50 pounds (need to verify - can't remember)

Friday will be shoulders & abs. At least it's not legs! hahaha.

A new low

I am a couple weeks late in posting, but a week and a half ago I reached my new low weight. I was now down 48.75 pounds. Only 1.25 to go to 50 pounds. Whoo hoo !!!!!!!!!

Since then, I had some family in unexpectedly and some of my workouts were cancelled so I could be with them, and my eating was out of control. I've had a little set-back and back up a few pounds, but I will be able to get the weight off quickly. When I gain weight fast from eating too much, I am able to drop the pounds fast. I guess it's because in the short time it took, my new fat didn't have time to make friends with the old fat and decide to stick around LOL.

Summer has finally arrived and you know what that means .... FROZEN YOGURT !!! Yummmmy, Golden Spoon is my all-time favorite. You can get a 4oz. mini-cup for only 68 calories. Wow. And fat-free. Click here to check out the Golden Spoon website. My favorite flavor combination is Peanut Butter with Just Chocolate. Theyalso have Peanut Butter Cup flavor, but I don't think the flavor is as intense as getting the 2 flavors side by side. If you've never tried Golden Spoon and are lucky enough to have one in your area, by all means GO !!!! You won't be sorry. It makes a light lunch meal when it's scorching hot outside... and you'll never know it's fat-free !!

Well, on Friday I weighed in and had a 1.5lb gain. It was no wonder after going out to Chilis on Tuesday night and eating 1/3 of an Awesome Blossom by myself (1/3 might not seem like much, but check out the nutritional stats here, do the math and divide by 3, and see why I nearly had a heart attack when I realized that what I ate in greasy, fried onion was almost 2/3 of my daily caloric allowance!!), then eating my meal, AND all my fries, which I generally try to avoid if at all possible. Of course some/most of my gain might have been water retention because not only did I eat like a cow, but Aunt Flo decided to visit and you know how that can be. Over the weekend I was pretty good with my food intake which made me happy and feel in control again. Usually once I blow it and eat like I did on Tuesday night, it usually avalanches into days and days of bad food choices. Saturday night we went to On The Border mexican restaurant. I only had maybe 6 chips w/salsa while we were waiting ... and I ordered the Fajita Salad as my dinner. The salad was simple, but YUMMY. It had romaine lettuce and sizzling steak & onions on top. Guac and sour cream were on the side and I didn't touch them (I'm such an angel LOL). I had a side of honey-mustard dressing, but barely ate any (couldn't even tell any was gone from the cup) by doing the dip fork method. I asked for no cheese, but they put it on anyway so i just took it off and all was good :-).

This morning I had chest/tricep workout with my trainer, then did lap swim for my cardio. Chest workout consisted of:

D.A. Chest Press 15#/15; 15#/20; 15#/20
D.A. Incline Press 10#/15 x 3 sets
Cable Fly 15#/15 x 3 sets
Seated Dip 50#/20; 55#/20; 55#/20
Hammer Strength Decline Press 10#/20 x 3 sets
Rope Pushdown 20#/20; 20#/15; 20#/15
Overhead Tricep Extension 12#/15 x 3 sets

My cardio was lap swim. I swam 42 lengths in about 25 minutes. The lap pool at the gym is 25 yards long, so 42 lengths made it 1050 yards .... or 960.12 meters ... or .596 miles. I am really loving my swim days (2-3 x a week) except that it's killing my hair. I had to get some weird chelating shampoo (rids hair of mineral deposits like chlorine) but I can only use it once a week or it will strip my hair (what happens when your hair gets stripped anyway???). Before I started swimming, my weight was going nowhere (for MONTHS!!), basically yoyo'ing up and down through the same 5 pounds or so. After starting up with lap swim again my weight finally started to move and dipped below it's previous low point. Whoo hoo !!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow I will do cardio in the evening while Katyis at karate ... and I'll probably do elliptical or maybe stairmaster. Both of those yield high sweat output LOL, which I love. Next training workout is Wednesday and we will do Back/Bicep. Friday is leg day (ugh) and weigh in day. I am hopeful to be rid of the 1.5 gain from last week ... PLUS at least 1 more pound. I'm downing extra water this week and being really careful with food. Yesterday I was way under my calories with 1,258. I aim for 1,500 daily.

In January 2003 my Mom passed away and I gained a lot of weight right afterward. It was the middle of that year that I reached my all-time high (non-pregnant) weight. I was miserable and I was huge (extra weight on a short 5'2" body really shows, too!). I joined Weight Watchers and did a little swiming at the local YMCA and managed to lose a little weight (20 pounds, but not many inches) but it all came back.

In 2004 I joined Curves and while it was good in the beginning, it quickly became a boring workout and was doing nothing for me. When my 1-year membership expired in April 2005, I joined L.A. Fitness gym and hired a personal trainer. I remember the day I signed up for my trainer. I was scared ... what the heck was I getting myself into?? I had never been a lover of exercise. In fact, I had never even LIKED it! haha. In fact, I would do pretty much anything to avoid it. I told the person that was signing me up that I didn't want a trainer that was going to yell at me or make me cry ROFL so she put me with Carlos. Carlos has been so great from Day 1. Even when he makes me to do crunches on the incline bench (my least favorite!) , or running lines on the basketball court, I appreciate everything he does for me.

For that first year I was working out 5-6x a week (3x a week with my trainer), yet my weight was not going down. My food was out of control. In March of 2006 I started calorie counting, eating low-fat and high (lean) protein, and watching carbohyrate intake. I didn't take it to the point of doing Atkins, which I am FIRMLY against, but I did limit my intake of sugar, potatoes, pasta, and bread. I still ate plenty of carbs, but they were the healthy ones ... fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains. What a difference when you combine healthy eating with exercise (who would have thought! hahaha).

I am now 29 pounds less than last year, but 48 pounds lighter than my all-time high weight the year my mom died. I've gone from a size 16/18 to a size 10. I have gained a lot of lean muscle, which has resulted in a lot of inches lost. I am learning not to gauge my success just by what the scale shows. Inches are so much more important. At one point last summer, a 4-pound weight loss yielded a full size down in clothing. I love what strength training does for a body. For the first time in my life, I actually weigh less than what it says on my driver's license!!!!

I would like to lose 17 more pounds to reach my goal, or be a size 6 ... whichever comes first. I feel great and I am so happy. I am in the best shape of my life and I will not go back to the way I was. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't do this years ago. But, it's never too late to take control.

You can view my progress pictures up until this point by clicking here.