It's Different This Time (in a good way)

So it has been a while since my last blog and I figured it was time for an update! This blog marks the beginning of a new journey. This time around I am a part of the Journey at the Worx, not as a member but as a COACH. I am so excited that Maia has given me this opportunity to coach, and hopefully inspire other people to progress in their journey the way that I have. 

Since my last blog, I feel like my body has gotten a lot stronger. Classes like Strength and TRX are really making a difference for me! If you haven't tried TRX, you really should. It is a total body workout in a totally different way. I am also proud to say that since my last blog, I have had the opportunity to get certified to teach TRX and I am hoping to be able to teach it soon! It is a great class! It's funny how much you can do with your body weight. While I am only down 10 lbs from my last blog (90 total), I feel like more people think I am still losing a lot because my body shape is changing from the strength training workouts! 

It is great that my body is changing, but I really still want to lose some more weight (about 35 lbs to get back to where I was the first time I lost it all!). My new goal is to lose 22 lbs before my next doctor's appointment (April 10th). My plan is to start Whole 30 on the 2nd. My sister and a few other people will be joining me in this. If you want to join, comment on this post! I would love to have a Whole 30 POWER group. Since that is a few weeks away, I will be following a mostly Paleo/ healthy diet until then. I will be at the Worx Tuesday, Wednesday and either Thursday or Friday every week. Saturdays if I am around but if not I will workout wherever I go and post a picture! I am so excited for the number on the scale to keep dropping. 

I am also proud to say that since I got diagnosed with MS, a year ago, my symptoms have not progressed at all. I truly believe that diet and exercise is everything. If you aren't eating right, it will eventually hurt you in one way or another. It is better to prevent now than to have to fight later on!

While coaching the Journey is different from being a part of the Journey group, I feel like this group is very motivational. I love that I am coaching along side of a bunch of people that were in my first Journey at the Worx. All of the posts on our Journey page are inspirational. I even thought about eating bad at one point and then looked at all of your posts and changed my mind! It is crazy how much a group can keep each other motivated!

I am so excited to see everyone's results at the end of this Journey. I hope that, if it hasn't already, The Worx becomes like a second home for everyone like it has for me. It is always nice to know you have support behind you through your Journey (and beyond that). You just have to keep going and remember why you started!! If I can do it, you can do it!! 

You can do anything for 30 days!

I decided to write this post to document how I am doing so far following the Whole 30 program. If you haven't heard of Whole 30, you should check it out! (whole30.com) On Whole 30, the focus is cutting out processed foods, grains, dairy and any added sugar (including alcohol). It is similar to Paleo but a little more strict. I have been following the autoimmune version of it for about 14 days now.

The reason I started on Whole 30 was because I felt like carbs were becoming too much of a focus in my diet and I really just needed to refocus on the good stuff. The one thing I really like about Whole 30 is that there is one rule. NO CHEATING! For 30 days, you have to be PERFECT. I thought this was going to be really tough, but to be honest with you, I feel a million times better than I did 14 days ago. I have had a few cravings here and there, but so far I haven't cheated even a little bit...like not even a bite of something! I am pretty proud that I have stuck it out this far. The way I look at it, you can do ANYTHING for 30 days! In the first 2 weeks of this, I am down 5.6 lbs. I think that alone is enough to stop me from cheating! 

Have you thought about refocusing? Summer is right around the corner, but more importantly, why not use NOW as your time to get healthy? Health is everything! Without it we have nothing. What are you waiting for? Eating healthy gives me the confidence and happiness I need, and I know that I am fueling my body with all the right things. If you are lacking energy, having skin issues, health issues...you really need to look at what you are putting into your body. It makes a huge difference!

I heard someone say today "Well I just figure if I am going to eat something I want to enjoy it". We all want to enjoy food, but wouldn't you enjoy living a longer life more then that bite of cake?

If I can make it for 30 days, I know you can, too. I already have a few people joining me in this! Who else wants to refocus and start fresh? Let's do it together :)

Looking at the bigger picture

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote my blog. As most of you know, about a month ago I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body. 

Around Christmas time, I had been having a lot of "pins and needles"-like sensations and numbness in my feet. In January the tingling and numbness moved up my right leg and into my left, and into my stomach and hands. My left eye became blurry (which at the time I did not know was a symptom of MS). My right leg was so numb that i literally thought I was going to be paralyzed forever. This was the symptom that made me go to the doctor. 

After doing my research about MS, I have come to realize that food really is fuel for your body. Every day, we put in so much crap. Since I found out I have MS, I have been doing a Paleo-like diet, with the addition of only brown rice and quinoa as my grains. I have gone to dairy free and gluten free foods, too, and ingredient labels have become my best friends. How many of you reading this check ingredients before you buy your food? You have no idea how many chemicals you are putting into your body until you start really reading.

Before I was diagnosed, I always thought "I don't believe in cutting out foods, everything kills you some day, I want to enjoy what I eat". Honestly, I was so stupid. What you put into your body WILL change you. It can fuel you or poison you...but over time you will definitely see a difference if you change how you eat. 

Since my last blog, as of today my body feels 100 times better than it has in a long time. I have started doing skyrobics classes. This is an aerobics class on a trampoline that burns about 1000 calories in a class. If you are ever in a bad mood, you should do this class. I leave every time feeling so good and happy! I have also been doing an MS workout that a friend gave me and working with an awesome trainer. 

Exercise is such a great thing for your body. The quote in the picture at the beginning of this blog is there because I just want everyone to think for a minute. What would you do if all of a sudden you couldn't feel your leg? If you couldn't put any pressure on it or balance on it? This happened to me. You never realize how much you take your body for granted until you can't use part of it. Exercise is a gift. Be proud that you can walk and run and use every part of your body. There are a lot of people out there who can't and you never know when something will get taken away from you. 

As of this point in my journey, I am down a total of 79 lbs and really working hard for that 80! I know I will get there! My goal until my next blog is to keep consistently exercising and planning ahead with my meals. I don't think I will have a hard time with this because now, my quality of life depends on it. I am so happy with how far I have come since I started this journey. Please let me know if you want a workout buddy or just need some accountability! I will be here for you. Even if I don't know you that well, please reach out if you need help! 

If I can do it, I know you can too! <3 

Motivation for your snow day.

         Since today is a snow day, I figured it was a good time to update my blog! The other day I met up with two of my friends. They asked me to meet with them because they wanted to talk about what has worked for me and they wanted to get motivated. My first thought was "aww that is so AWESOME that I can motivate other people by my hard work". My second thought was that I needed to work with them on 2 things: goal setting and changing their mindset about weight loss. 

         Goal setting is one of the most important things you need to do to get the results you are looking for. Having a goal in mind will help keep you motivated and also remind you of what you are working for along the way. Do you have a goal for yourself right now? If you do and you are still having a hard time...you need to think about how you are wording the goals you are setting. Any goal you set should have 3 characteristics. 

It should be:

• Within your control- your goal should not rely on something someone else needs to do so that you can get there. 
• Specific- For example: If I say to myself "I will wake up at 5 AM and workout"...chances are (for me) this is not specific enough. What do I plan to do at 5 AM? Well I don't really have a plan except "to workout". My goals that ensure I will get up at 5 AM for my workout are usually worded as "I will wake up at 5 AM and do my 45 minute body pump DVD". Without the specifics, it is easier to change your goal, or just forget about it all together.
• A good fit with your life-Goals such as "I will cut all carbs out of my diet" are not going to work for you if you love carbs. You have to do whatever is going to make this a lifestyle change for you, not just a short term thing.

          One of the other things that I have found to be important along my journey to getting healthy is my mindset. It is ALL about what you put in your head. Yes, weight loss or just being healthy in general is 99% diet and exercise...but a HUGE 1% of it is what you think about to keep you going. If you let one bad meal throw you off because you have the mindset of "oh well I already ruined all my hard work so forget it for the rest of the day", you are a lot less likely to keep going for the long term. 

        When I was talking to my friends last night, I told them about one time over the holidays when I had one of those moments, that I am sure everyone has at one point, where I thought to myself "Every time I take a step forward, I take 3 steps back the next day". Thoughts like this can completely derail your progress. The good thing is that even though I still have thoughts like this, I have learned how to manage them. As soon as I thought about taking my 3 steps back, I looked in the mirror and said to myself "Really? You are going to let 1 bad day ruin all of your progress? You have come a lot further forward then you have gone back!" It is all about perspective. Every day is a new day...every meal is a new meal. How bad do you want it? Excuses and negative thoughts will just keep you where you are right now. Change your thoughts and you will change your life...I promise. 

I felt like I needed to write this blog because I know a lot of people who need help getting motivated right now, so why not share some of my motivation. If you need help getting started, or keeping going, I am here to help! Message me on here or Facebook and let's get you where you want to be! I need more friends on the path to getting healthy! Let's do this!

I CAN DO IT.

It has been a while since my last blog, so I finally decided it was time to write another one! The holidays are a tough time to stay on track, so I figured that there is no better time then now to write down my thoughts and stay focused. 

Through the holidays, I have not been perfect....at all..but I do have to say that I DID NOT gain weight through the holidays. This is a huge deal for me. I feel like I am more focused now than I have ever been. I have had a lot going on this month that I thought would throw me off (my divorce, my sister being in town, Christmas lunches at work) but I have not let it totally derail my weight loss. We all have our moments. For me, I had one moment during the holidays where I thought "I feel like I just keep back tracking, and at this rate I will never get there." I have thought this a lot throughout my weight loss journey, but this time it was different. I was able to change my thoughts. I quickly thought to myself "You did it before and there is no point in letting one bad day ruin all of your progress." I have learned that weight loss and being healthy is all about the thoughts in your head. If you manage to turn them around, you can do ANYTHING.

This week, my body feels really strong. I went to bootcamp at the Worx for the first time in probably 6 months this past week. Going in, I was scared that it was going to be super hard and that I would be dying the whole time. Guess what?! I did better during bootcamp then I have ever done! My jumps were higher, I wasn't nearly as out of breath as I thought I would be, and I went two days in a row and didn't die!  I am so proud of how far I have come since I started last January.

Over the last few months I have learned a lot about myself. I have learned that I am stronger then I thought I was. I have also learned that I have grown a lot emotionally over the past 6 months. I am more independent and more happy with myself now then I have ever been. That means a lot!


The thing I want to celebrate the most this week is that I didn't skip my workouts even though I was on vacation. I didn't eat perfectly, but I worked as hard as I could to make up for it. Working out really makes a difference in my mood and in how I feel, so keeping going when I could have been lazy really helps!

Going in to the next week, I have a few new goals. First, I want to make sure I drink plenty of water this week. I also plan to workout 5 out of the next 7 days, and I already have a plan to make sure I follow through. My last goal this week is to focus more on protein and veggies and less on foods that are high in carbs and sugar. What are your goals this week? I always feel like there is never a better time to start then now...Why wait for January 1st? 

With losing 65 lbs this year, I also need to thank all of my friends, family, coaches, my Weight Watchers leader and my personal trainer. You have all helped me so much this year to keep my mind in the right place through all of the craziness. I wouldn't be as strong, and as happy as I am today without all of your help!

With that being said...who is ready to get started today? I would love to have some buddies to workout with! Let's do this! (No excuses...if I can do it..you can do it!) 

16 weeks to AWESOME.

The holiday season, mostly November - December, has always been a rough time for me. After talking to my friend Laura, we decided to come up with a way to hold ourselves accountable through the most difficult time of the year to lose weight. What better way is there to lose weight than having a little competition! 

SO HERE IT IS: 

Starting Thursday night, Laura and I will go to our weekly Weight Watcher's meeting and get our weekly weigh in. This will be our start weight for the challenge. 

The challenge will last for 16 weeks, because about 80% of people that stick with WW for 16 weeks actually make it to their goal.

We have both made plans for eating right and working out (5-6 times a week). 

Every week at our weigh in, whoever loses the least for the week will owe $5 to the challenge jar. At the end of the 16 weeks, whoever loses the highest percentage of body weight gets to keep the money that is in the jar. 

THE CATCH:

We have to reach at least a 10% body weight loss by the end of 16 weeks to be able to keep the money in the jar. If neither of us reaches 10%, we are donating the money in the jar to a local animal shelter. 

We decided on this catch so that if I lose 2 lbs and she loses 3 lbs, we won't be able to get the money because we were slacking! We both have to give it all we got through the holidays if we want to keep our money. 

ADDITIONALLY:

I have found that the hardest thing for my weight loss this time of the year is not making excuses when it comes to my workouts. I often think "Oh it's too cold out, I will go later" or "Today is my rest day, I will go tomorrow"...

So I made a no excuse jar. I will put $1 a day for every day I make an excuse to skip my planned workout for that day. At the end of the 16 weeks, Laura will get all of my money that I put in that jar.

I think it is a fair competition, and I am ready to win. :) 

Get ready Laura! 2 days till the competition is on! 

New Beginnings!

So I felt like it was time for me to blog again. It has been a while! Today I am working on finishing packing up the apartment that I have lived in for the last 2 years. Packing and moving out of this apartment marks a new chapter in my life. It might not seem like much to most people, but to me...it marks my freedom. Currently, I am in the middle of my divorce, and leaving this apartment gives me freedom from the place "we" lived. I am looking at it as a fresh start, a new beginning.

Moving has been rough and has made eating healthy pretty rough. Along with not having much in the house in an effort to minimize how much I have to either throw away or take with me, I also have had a lot of the emotional eating aspect lately. The reason I decided to write this blog is because I feel like blogging is a way for me to refocus myself. I feel like it is a way to "tell on myself" and start fresh...so in the mindset of new beginnings, I thought I would write a blog to start fresh with my weight loss.

October 1st will be the first day in my new house. I have come up with a plan to keep me focused and refresh my weight loss. 

• I plan to go grocery shopping once a week (on Sunday night).
• I will make all of my meals for the week when I get home on Sunday.
• I will wake up at 5 AM on Monday - Friday and go to the gym for the 6 AM class before work.
• I will do tap on Tuesdays, ballet on Wednesdays, and Weight Watchers on Thursdays.

This is my plan. Who is ready for a fresh start with me? I am hoping that you will hold me accountable, and if you tell me you want to join me on this journey, I will hold you accountable, too. Are you ready? I know I am! Let's do this!