Manic Mondays and Turbulant Tuesdays

Monday has the potential to be renamed "Motivating Monday", because that's essentially what all my Mondays are.  This past Monday, I met with Chris O'Hearn to talk about my goals, and how to accomplish them.  I've discovered that seeing a life coach is way more emotional than I expected it to be, and a lot of tears are usually shed.  But that is a great thing because mental/emotional health is important in the weight loss journey too.  I'm slowly but surely starting to realize that I am fearfully and wonderfully made and that I am beautiful.  Yes, I have to tell myself that multiple times on a daily basis, but I'm starting to believe it and am starting to feel much better about myself. 

Chris O'Hearn, my super fab life coach.  Visit his website http://www.strongwithin.com/

Manic/Motivating Mondays also consist of Chip Gibson training sessions.  Every week, we try new things, and the more we do, the more I love it.  He had me do box jumps, which is basically just jumping vertically onto a square platform.  So much harder than it looks!  I did it though, and could not have felt more proud.  If you are bored with your work out, or just not motivated, I would highly recommend hiring a trainer.  It makes a huge difference and results are almost guarenteed to show.  Plus, it helps to have someone motivating you and there for you when you are going through such a rigorous process.

Speaking of results, yesterday was Turbulent Tuesday.  After a long day at school, I headed to the gym to play some basketball, but decided that I wanted to be measured instead.  So one of the trainers took my measurements and then compared them to the measurements I had the day I began this whole thing.  I've lost more than 17 inches on my arms, waist, hips, thighs, and calves.  Such progress!   Tuesday was also weigh in day at the Weight Managament Center.  I was a little shocked when I saw that I had gained 2.5 pounds, but I looked at my reciept and since last week's weigh in, I had lost 8 pounds of body fat and gained 10.5 pounds of fat free mass.  Let me repeat: 8 pounds of body fat!  In a week!  That in itself was so incredibly motivating and I wasn't so horrified about gaining a little weight.  My muscle mass has to come from somewhere. 

This week, I have vowed to try a new vegetable: asparagus.  Commentary coming soon.

Wake me up before you go-go!

Each year around Valentine's day, my church hosts a talent show starring the children of the church.  My outgoing self always gets picked to be the MC of the night.  However this year, I will be taking on a new role.  Ashley and I have decided to perform a dance to entertain the kids so we spent Sunday searching the internet for dance moves, and countless hours rehearsing to the old song "Wake Me Up Before You Go-go".  I am probably the worst example of graceful, but hopefully our mad dance skills will impress the youngins. It has yet to be polished, but it was a good cardio session. 

Think we can pull off those outfits?

Getcha some!

Could this day be any better?  Hope that you are loving this 65 degree, blue sky weather as much as I am.  The marathon team and other fellow runners met bright and early at New Balance of Knoxville this morning for our weekly training run.  I decided to do 8 miles and they all felt great.  I had a good interval pace going on and the weather  complimented it perfectly.  After my run, I headed to the gym to go to my biweekly kickboxing class so that I could get an upper body work out.  Much to my surprise, we did way more cardio and kicks than we usually do and my pitiful legs were screaming for mercy. 

To make it a completely non-sedentary Saturday, my friend Laura called me after the gym to invite me to go walking on the Townsend bike trail with her and her 2 year old.  We did a little over 4 miles and since we pushed a stroller, we got an even better workout.   The best part?  I do not even feel tired or sore and I virtually almost did a half marathon today. I'm improving! And, the weather could not have been more perfect and this day has just been great.   So, getcha some!   See below for a few pictures from the run this morning.

Knoxville Track Club at NB of Knox

The team and myself.  Representing the Big Orange.

The elite front of the pack passing me and their second loop.  One of those runners is a two time CHKM winner.

Dreams with a Deadline

Goals. We all have them, or at least know people who have them.  Today, Chris O'Hearn put it in a new perspective and said that goals are simply dreams with deadlines.  Such a gem of a quote.  After meeting with him on Monday, I realized that a lot of the goals I have set for myself are mostly set for the approval or acceptance of other people.  So I've spent the last couple of days revising my goals and thinking of goals that are for myself without worrying what anyone else says or thinks.  So the next time you set a goal, just consider it a dream with a deadline. 

Today, I met with Chip for our weekly training session and boy, am I feeling it!  We did a lot of strength work and even brought out the TRX suspension system.  My poor arms are so sore it even hurts to drive, but can't wait for my arms to start looking cut!  They are getting there.  After my workout, I went on a nippy 3 mile walk with my momma on Townsend's bike trail.  It was super cold at first, but warmed right up once we started moving.  Tomorrow I am loading up my boxing gloves (pink ones of course) for my weekly kickboxing class, and will also train with Phil Bevins at Parkwest Therapy Center.  I'm so excited and as of right now, I weigh less than I did when I started high school.  Woohoo!

Kids Run

If today was any colder, I may have gotten frostbite, but it was a blessed day indeed.  The Covenant Health Kids Run was held this morning at the Knoxville Zoo, so Ashley and myself bundled up to go volunteer.  Upon arriving, we saw a "field mouse" scurry across the road while parking, so that sort of kicked off the entire day.  We got to meet and greet hundreds of kids who were all in their biggest coats and ready to race for one mile.  Ashley and I found a niche by the photo op section where families took photos with the mascots.  The team and I even joined in on the action.  Before the start of the race, Missy introduced us all and led all the kids and their parentals in a warm up dance:

The Biggest Winner Team

Flexing my muscles with Eddie Rabbitt.

Knees, toes, knees, hips, move a little, have some fun.  Warming up!

After such a fun morning, I headed home to Townsend and went on a 3 mile walk with my mother.  My lovely mother also went grocery shopping for me today so I have my meals for about the next 2 weeks.  Thank you Momma!  If you have not already done so, go register for the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon.  And don't forget that the day before the marathon, the kids will have another run where they too will finish on the fifty yard line at Neyland Stadium and get medals.  Get the whole family involved.

"You look like a Christmas cookie"

Eating out was a success.  We ended up venturing to Texas Roadhouse and I ordered a nice 6 ounce filet but requested that it not be seasoned or marinated.  My side items were a plain baked potato with baked beans.  My levels of self control were definitely tested, but I was so proud of my own willpower.  Thank the good Lord that I have a strong support system like my best friend Ashley because she wouldn't even let us bring the bread to the table.  And since she is a vegetarian, she also had to be picky when ordering her food, hence her order of a sirloin kabob minus the sirloin.  She also took the adventure to Townsend with me to go "hiking", but the road was closed, so we ended up doing a brisk walk on the bike trail.  Based upon her red leggings and green socks, I informed her that she looked like a Christmas cookie.  The photo below is Ashley with her precious outfit.

 She was definitely styling.  Today was also a super exciting day.  I woke up early to get to the gym to kickbox, only to find out that I had mixed my days up and there was no class.  Sad day.  I ended up going to the dietician's office to weigh myself and as of today I have lost a grand total of 25 pounds.  Yay me!  After that, I drove over to Runner's Market to see what sales were going on and to buy some Clif bars.  At 11, I had another training session with Chip.  We hit the ground rolling and it was a great workout!  I even met a famous person today; Anthony Toribio, who is a defensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs was working out today and spoke to Chip during our session.  Too cool!  It was also discovered today that I am gaining some nice muscle in my arms and legs.

 I was reading Julie Morris' blog today about how great it is to find a support system who will be a constant motivation and backbone in your life and I am so blessed to have Ashley to support me emotionally and Chip to push me physically.  Definitely would be 25 pounds heavier without them in my life.  So find someone who will take your fitness goals seriously and someone who will encourage you to give your best even when you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It is totally worth it, because YOU are totally worth it.

Don't Kill Yourself

It is always inspiring when your marathon coach emails you to tell you good luck on your 5k today, and then ends the email with "don't kill yourself".  Thank you, Missy Kane.  Yes, I managed to do a 5k this afternoon.  My time was not up to my standards, which only means I'll have to work twice as hard next time.  Thankfully, a girl from Townsend was there to meet up with me and I ran with her for a while until she just took off.  She was nice enough to come back and run with me to the finish which was so incredibly kind.  After the race, the sweetest man came up to me to ask me about my time and offer some words of encouragement.  He mentioned how he used to be approximately 150 pounds heavier and that he has used running to get back in good shape.  Such an inspiring and motivating story.  Loved him!   Even if it wasnt my best race today, at least I exercised....without killing myself.

Now, I'm off on another "adventure".  My very best friend and myself are going out to eat.  At a restaurant. Ever since starting this program, I have had no desire to eat restaurant food so this is going to be a challenge.  Luckily, another dear friend who has lost around 60 pounds works at the place we are going to, so I am counting on his expertise to guide me in making a good food choice.  This trip will be a good test of self discipline and self control, so it is kind of a big deal for me.  No worries, because I'm hardcore, and no, I won't kill myself.