I Could Bear-ly Do It...

How do you make a grown woman cry?

Make her do bear crawls...

all the way across the gym floor...

twice...

in front of a 22 year old...male trainer!!!

Oh yeah baby...

that'll make her cry!!!

And don't be fooled by sweet pictures like this...

There's nothing easy, or cute, or even funny about

bear crawls!!!

They're serious business.

And if like me...

you might believe you're in fairly decent shape...

you might want to double check...

and do yourself some bear crawls!

After which...

You might think again!!!

Not only that...

They'll help you get in touch with your inner-animal...

which I found out today...

when I heard myself begin to growl!!!

And finally...

the most important reason to do bear crawls...

they'll make you find Jesus quick!!!

Weekly Review & Weigh In (5-05-12)

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare,

it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.

~Seneca~

Starting Weight: 259.5

Last Week's Weight: 228.5

Current Weight: 227

Pounds Lost This Week: -1.5

Total Weight Loss to Date: -32.5

This has been a week of facing fears as I've dared to push beyond what I thought was possible.  I've been doing a lot of thinking about all this and look forward to writing more on the subject at a later time, but for now I'll say this...I'm capable of far more than I ever knew or believed. 

My workouts for the week...

click on image to enlarge

 

One of the things that helped convince me to hire a personal trainer was the fact that my workouts would be planned for me.  Not just the one's he's present for, but all of them.  Being a creature of comfort, I need that!  If it were up to me, I would be perfectly content to walk or hike for my exercise.  It's what I love!  And up until recently it's what I've always done.  But for reasons that I haven't yet shared (I will soon), I also know that it's going to take more than that to lose the rest of this weight...72 more pounds to be precise. 

I've spent the first few weeks with my trainer being evaluated.  He was looking for my strengths and my weaknesses.  When I asked him if I even had any strengths, he said..."Your form is good".  Well thank goodness for that.  But when I read his notes later, he wrote that my stamina was low.  Ouch!  There's a lot of room for growth, this I know. 

So this week was the first week that my workouts were planned and ready for me to do on my own.  To say that I was a little scared and a bit overwhelmed would be an understatement.  As I walked onto the gym floor looking at all the different machines, I was lost!  Thanks to some very nice people who were kind enough to offer help, and my trainer who walked by and saw me sitting on a machine backwards, I was able to muddle my way through my first solo strength training workout. 

I was feeling kinda down about my lack of knowledge...

my lack of strength...

and by how far I still have to go

 when something wonderful happened...

I worked out with this guy yesterday...my hubby!

One thing you have to know about him is that he's STRONG!  He can do the most perfect push-ups I've ever seen.  He grew up working on the farm, in hay fields, and as an adult working very physical jobs!  He's never had to diet a day in his life.  And at 43 he looks goooood!  So yesterday, we headed to the gym after my Weight Watchers meeting.  I asked him if he wanted to work out on his own, or join me in the workout my trainer had planned.  He chose to join me (a decision he would later regret). 

I have to say that I loved this workout more than any other I've ever done.  Why?  Because it just about killed him!  My strong, tough, power house of a husband was begging for mercy!  It couldn't have come at a better time either.  I had been thinking earlier in the week that I was in terrible shape.   And truthfully...I'm not nearly as fit as I thought I was.  But, after working out with him I realized I'm also not as bad off as I was thinking either.  If he was struggling his way through than it couldn't have been easy!  Here's what we did...

4 sets of lunges across a 30 foot room...both ways

V-squats - 3 sets of 30

Leg curls - 3 sets of 30

Leg extensions - 3 sets of 30

Leg presses - 3 sets of 30

and...

3 sets of 30 step-ups...each leg!

and if this weren't enough...

10 miles on the bike!!!

I finished my 10 miles in 49 minutes 32 seconds.  My husband almost made it, but had to stop after mile 8.  He's such a good sport and I'm so glad he was was there to suffer through it with me.  It was a killer workout that I didn't think I could do...but did! 

Before I go, I want to share a comment left for me earlier this week by AJ...

I love receiving comments because they never fail to bless me.  As I've continued this week to push through the pain and discomfort of change, I have remembered this scripture and I've remembered these words.  Thanks AJ!!!

My final thoughts...

There is pain in growth

There is pain in change

But through it all

God is with us!

Be blessed!!!

You Might Need a Personal Trainer If...

You've been working on a personal goal to do a plank for

a minute, and a year later you're still only able to hold

the position for 30 seconds...at best!

or

More than one person in the gym

walks up to you and says..."um...you look like you need help."

or

A trainer walks by and tells you that the weight

machine you're sitting on is more effective if you turn around because...well, you're sitting on it backwards.

or

Your idea of working out

is to stop and rest at the first sign of pain.

or

You think you're looking pretty darned good until

you see yourself working out next to someone who really does!

I've experienced every single one of these scenarios this week!  It's been a very humbling time for me.  Any doubts I've had about hiring a personal trainer are gone!  It's hard to admit this, but I'm not nearly as fit as I thought I was.  Crap...all the hard work I've done these past two years, and I'm still so far away from where I want to be!

Anyone else feel this way?

Excuses, Excuses

I walked into the gym locker room this morning and found myself in the middle of two very inspiring women. One was the mother of five children who had a wash board stomach I could only dream of.  The other was the mother of three who had finally learned how to take care of herself and had reached her goal weight.  Both were beautiful and so full of life.  As they stood there talking about the challenges they've faced in finding balance, I couldn't help but notice that there was something missing from their conversation. 

Excuses!

So many times when women talk about weight and fitness and health, they talk about all the reasons why they can't achieve all  they want or hope for.  But not these two women.  They were talking about how they did it!  I stood there very much overweight and thinking back to all the excuses I've made over the years to justify my fatness.  Excuses like...

I have a family to take care of.

I don't like my Weight Watchers leader...

she's not very inspiring.

I'm a homeschool mom...that's my priority.

I'm too tired.

I don't have childcare.

I don't have the money to eat healthy.

I don't live close to the gym.

I'll start next week.

I just have a bad metabolism.

I'm genetically predisposed to be overweight...

afterall, just look at the rest of my family.

My husband loves me just the way I am.

God loves me for me...besides, he made me this way.

Who has the time for all that exercise...I sure don't.

There are more important things in life than what I look like.

I just need to accept myself as I am.

I eat healthy...that's all that matters.

Life is too short to be consumed by vanity.

I have good blood pressure so that must mean I'm fine.

...and so on and so on the list could go!

Sadly, all of these excuses seemed legitimate at the time.  But the truth is that I was in denial.  I didn't want to face the truth about myself or how I had become a lesser version of my best self.  Think about it...if we're anything less than who we should be, who we hope to be, or who we were meant to be...well then, we're just settling.  I had settled into mediocrity, obesity, and excuses.  And why?  Because it was easier to make excuses than to make change!

I don't know about you, but I grew tired of all that.  I grew tired of myself and my sad life.  I wanted more for myself, my family and my future.  I decided to take responsibility for my choices.  When I think about where I am now and how hard I've fought my way through this journey...stumbling so many times along the way and  knowing I still have so far yet to go...I'm okay with that.  Change isn't easy and it doesn't happen overnight.  And besides...the most important change has already happened! 

I changed my mind!!!

I decided to stop making excuses...

and got busy making change!

How about you?

Are you still making excuses or are you busy making change?

Weekly Review & Weigh In (4-28-12)

Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt.

Jose Ortega Y Gasset

Starting Weight: 259.5

Last Week's Weight: 229.5

Current Weight: 228.5

Pounds Lost this week: -1

Total Weight Loss To Date: -31

If I could use only one word to sum up this week, it would be "pain".  On Tuesday morning I worked out with my trainer, left the gym feeling like maybe he didn't work me out hard enough, and by 7:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, I was awaken by the sound of moaning...my moaning.  My arms, and more specifically, the tendons in my arms were so tight from the workout I couldn't straighten them out.  The thing I'm learning about strength training is that if you think day one (post workout) is bad, it's nothing compared to day two.  Suffice it to say, I lived out the week on Advil and Bio Freeze...oh, and a whole lot more moaning! 

My workouts for the week...click on image to enlarge

I was pretty ambitious this week with the workouts...I just love it when that happens.  The scale however has not been so kind these past two weeks, and has definitely not reflected my effort.  My trainer assures me this is normal and to be expected when you start strength training.  My Weight Watchers leader confirmed it in yesterday's meeting by saying it can take up to six weeks for your body to adjust...let's hope she's wrong about that! 

Adrienne...from Chronicles of a Curvy Housewife

One of the reasons I've done so well this week with my workouts and eating is because I was accountable to Adrienne.  We decided that a little accountability might be a help to us since we were both struggling with similar issues.  She's also a fellow Weight Watcher.  We committed our weekly goals to one another at the beginning of the week, and every couple of days thereafter, emailed one another our progress.  It was a huge help.  Every time I even considered not working out, or putting something in my mouth that I shouldn't...I thought about Adrienne.  Having to tell her I didn't do what I said I would helped keep me on track.  Accountability is a good thing!

You may be wondering what ended up happening with our truck purchase fiasco...well, this too would be another very important lesson learned in my life. My husband's new schedule has been more than a little challenging. On the day that we bought the truck, we were in a such rush as he only has one day off each week. We never stopped to pray about it and ended up in a big fat mess.  We prayed and repented and the Lord faithfully worked it all out!  It was a miracle that the dealership and the oh so rude sales manager allowed us to return the lemon (did I say that?) and purchase something we were pleased with.  And here it is...

Our new truck...

a 2003 Ford Ranger with only 47,000 miles on it!

The Lord is Good!

The lesson learned...slow down and pray!

Another challenge I faced this week was my baby girl's birthday!  She turned 11 on Thursday...oh how time flies!  Birthday's are never easy as they can quickly turn into a food fest.  But I kept my focus, kept working out, and...

I followed the three bite rule

when it came to the birthday cake! 

I made my daughter's favorite meal...Zuppa Toscana, a big salad, and healthy dinner rolls.  She was happy, and so was I as I stayed in my points for the day.  Another thing that helped was to remember that her birthday wasn't about the food! 

It was about her, and celebrating with our best friends...Aunt Kim and Uncle John (bottom two pics).  We're a bunch of goofballs when we get together...but I guess you've probably already figured that out by now!  From top to bottom is Olivia (the birthday girl), my wonderful hubby, me, my hysterical daughter Chloe (it took several tries to get this picture of her as we were all laughing so hard), and of course, Aunt Kim and Uncle John who are the best! The goggles were one of Livy's birthday gifts which came in handy when I took her swimming the next day!  She was a happy girl indeed. 

Overall, it was a great week.  I am abundantly blessed and my cup is filled to overflowing!  I hope you all are having as much fun in your journey as I am in mine! 

Be blessed!