Vitamins!

Have you taken your vitamins today?

Do you take vitamins?  Other supplements?

I take about 20 pills a day! I hate swallowing pills, especially huge ones.  But I do what I have to do in order to keep my body functioning properly.  Is it doing any good?  I don't know.  In 2010 right after I had my last child, I went to the doctor because I felt like garbage.  I wasn't producing testosterone or progesterone, my thyroid was low, and tada--my body wasn't storing any vitamins.  My doctor told me it was pointless to breastfeed because I wasn't storing anything and therefore wasn't passing anything along to my child.  Its not like she was stealing it from me, I just had nothing to give her.  My doctor suggested I take liquid vitamins because "they" don't know where the pills break down in your body, so maybe if the vitamins hit my system sooner I would benefit from it. I guess this would occur with liquid vitamins. I tried that for a while but with all the different vitamins I am currently taking, I cant find all of them in liquid form.  So I am back to swallowing 20 pills a day!

What supplements do you take?  Do you notice a difference from when you were and weren't taking them?

Recap from last week:  I only worked out twice.  I am aiming for 5 days next week!  I have been out of the gym for so long, I feel like an old lady after a workout.  Once you get out of the routine its so hard to get back in it.  I got in a great arm and even better leg workout.  That's 2 days closer to my goal than if I had skipped the gym.  My legs are still a little sore from earlier this week. My arms aren't nearly as sore as I anticipated. 

What did YOU do this week? Did you rock it?

Have a great weekend everyone.  Its cold here in Texas so I plan on staying in all weekend.  I rented 7 movies and I am on #3. Yep, its a lazy weekend. Hope yours is fantastic too!

Thoughts for Thursday

I feel like an old lady. Wow it is hard to walk. My boss watches me get out of a chair in his office and asks whats wrong with me. Clearly theres a look of horror on my face or something because he can’t help but to notice that something is a little off with me. Yeah Bob, something IS wrong, my legs feel like the muscle is ripping of the bone, thanks for checking on meJ  But did I mention I love the feeling?

I am still feeling really blah today, but I am thankful I have a workout partner.  If you don’t have one, you must get one.  This person will help keep you motivated and accountable.  W texted me asking if we were working out and I replied with yes.   I immediately sent a second text stating “You’re going to have to make me go.”  W said “Ok, I will pick you up.”  Its kind of hard to blow someone off when they’re outside waiting on you.  Once at the gym, I had a great time.  I had a great workout, I even died laughing while working out. You know its good when your side starts to hurt.  (W was taking a drink of water and I moved my hand like I was going to slap his/her tummy, W flinched and ended up jerking the water bottle out of his/her mouth and got water everywhere. It was funny, you had to be there).  I am thankful I have someone there to push me to my limits.

I don’t know if I ever shared the story of how I ended up with Tem Bombshell.  I had used another trainer before because I saw what great results a few bloggers had with him.  Well one person I followed was part of Team Bombshell and WOW, she had great results.  She always inspired me so I wanted to do what she did.  But there’s more to it than just following someone.  I was going through a lot in my life and I needed something to focus on to get me through it.  I figured if I poured myself into working out/prepping meals, I would forget everything else around me (and I would have a nice body).  Well that was a nice thought but life got in the way—I was sick for like 2 months, then I injured my hand.  I am going through a lot again and I should probably remember why I started on this journey:  something to focus on while improving myself. I spent so much time sitting here neglecting myself, neglecting my workouts because I was in a funky mental state.  I need to dig down deep inside and focus again so I am not focusing on the negative around me.  If I put as much effort into working out as I did with moping around, wow I would have a smoking hot body!

Anyway, many many thanks to my friend W. I appreciate you making me work out more than you will ever know.   And I appreciate you spitting water all over yourself just as muchJ

Is it Wednesday already?

I had a post yesterday that I typed on a word document and failed to paste it here. Today, as I was getting ready to paste, I got a call that my daughter was sick and needed to be picked up from daycare.  So much for that.  I guess I will start from scratch.

I worked legs yesterday.  Wow, that was rough.  Previously I hated working legs because it hurt so much.  Once I figured out how much I could lift, I loved it.  Then I got out of working out (think I had a baby).  Now, I have to admit, I hate it again.  I was using the leg extension machine and only had 10 lbs on it and wanted to cry.  My quads were burning.  It wasn't pain, just an uncomfortable feeling.  I hate it!  Stay tuned and in a few months I will love legs again.  I have nice legs anyway, so I should enjoy improving them.  My hamstrings are tight. Always have been. I am not sure why it kills me to work the quads. Of course they're sore today, as are the hams.  I LOVE DOMS. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  The second day is always the best! 

I didn't workout today.  I walked to my car, was headed to the gym, then life happened.  I wont go into the details here, but I had a melt down and I couldn't go into the gym like that.  I needed to get it out of my system. I needed to just sit there, paralyzed, as life happened.  The thing is, this has been my case far too often for the past few months.  I get ready to go to the gym, then I fall apart--I am just too upset to move.  Today I had a nice little cry session whereas the other days my mood is just so terrible that I can't function.  I know I need to push myself, make myself get out of my office chair, and go to the gym.  Today I needed to just put my car in reverse and drive to the gym.  Surely I would've felt better right?  Are you able to workout if you're mad/sad/etc?  If so, does it make you feel better?  I know the whole working out releases endorphins. I get that.  But I want to hear from you--are you able to do it?

Here's to hoping I make it to the gym tomorrow.  I have every intention of going.  Wish me luck:) 

Sing for your supper!

Okay, I promise you there will be no singing. If I did that, all of you would run in a heart beat.

Today is my day where I do my housework and cook my meals for the week.  This month's plan has me eating seven, count them, SEVEN meals a day. Uggg...I have such a hard time eating four in the beginning. However, once I am on the plan, I end up starving, waiting for my next meal.  Shannon said something on facebook about this. She said if you were about to eat your stomach from the inside out, hardly able to wait until your next meal, this was GOOD, it meant your metabolism was on fire!  So in a week or so I should be complaining about dying of starvation.  I'm not giving away my meal plan but there is LOTS of fish on it this time. Three meals to be exact. I guess I better learn to love it!

I am off to cook.  In addition to my meals, I am making meals for my family.  Ratatouille is in progress, followed by some chili.  Its hard for me to NOT taste things as I am cooking.  I dont eat it because I want some, I eat it to see how seasoned it is.  I guess I can put it in my mouth then spit it out???

Have a great day everyone!

The question is: What?

What motivates you? What gets you up in the morning? What gets you to the gym? Do you look at your former self and long for those days? Do you stare at your coworkers in envy? Do you hit the gym so you will live a long healthy life? Do you hit the gym because its just your way of life?

I was having a conversation with my hair stylist regarding waiting to diet until Monday or starting today. She couldn’t even answer the question because eating healthy is her normal way of life. She couldn’t imagine herself in a situation where she needed to diet, because she’s always on a diet. Now I don’t mean diet like “oh, I’m counting calories again” but diet as in, what she eats. She said if anything, she would work out harder at the gym, but wouldn’t change the way she eats.

So what motivates me? My former self does. I had kids, gained weight. End of story. I am about 10 pounds heavier than where I want to be, where I know I can be. One day, about 4 years ago, I was eating a Lean Cuisine. Someone asked my whey I was eating that. I told her it was because I was trying to lose a few pounds.  She told me I needed to get over that, my high school days were over, I was a mom now. WOW. So we should all let ourselves go because SHE did? Um, I don't think so.

Alright, I must go. I would love to hear YOUR thoughts on the matter.  What makes you do what you do?

Food for Thought

What a day! What a day! 

I have been super busy but wanted to take a minute to ask a question that has been plaguing me all weekend:  Is it better to start a diet immediately, or wait until the beginning of the week?

I know there are so many schools of thought on this. Some “studies” say that you have greater success if you wait until Monday. Some say you will have greater success if you start immediately, because if you fall off the wagon one day, you will get right back on, instead of waiting for that next Monday.  Some people think you should start at the beginning of the week for a fresh start. Some think you should start immediately so you don’t spend the days between now and Monday pigging out, putting you further from your goal.

What is your personal opinion?

My thoughts are start as soon as you can.  I have watched people just gorge themselves on their “last meal” “last day” before dieting.  I have watched people eat badly mid-week, then just go ahead and eat badly the rest of the week waiting for Monday to roll around.  My personal opinion is that if you give yourself. I personally, do not see the point in waiting.  Okay, there may be reasons to wait, like you don’t have any proper food and for some reason you cant get to the grocery store until the weekend. That’s okay. But giving yourself time so you can eat badly for a few more days isn’t the right way to go. You don’t have to be putting it off specifically so you can eat poorly for a few days, but we have all been there and done that “Well I am going to diet tomorrow so I will eat this cheeseburger today” “I was so bad at lunch, I guess I will eat bad for the rest of the day.” 

That’s all I have. I would love to hear what you think!

Yum Yum Yum

Lets talk about food today.  As mentioned in my last post, I said it was hard to get some of my meals down.  At least I think I said it. Well yes friends, sometimes I skip meals.  I just don’t have an appetite. Like right now, my throat is a little sore, and I don’t want to swallow anything.  I know that choking down dry chicken will make things worse. But I also know that I have to eat. This post is dedicated to eating the foods we don’t always want to eat.

Is there a certain food you absolutely REFUSE to eat?  I know I mentioned before that some people are such picky eaters and claim they won’t eat this or that. I am NOT a picky eater; I eat almost out there.  One food I prefer not to eat is shrimp.  Ok, I will be honest.  When it’s on my meal plan, I WILL NOT eat it.  But let me tell you why.  I grew up in Louisiana with plenty of fresh seafood. At 18, I joined the Air Force and moved to West Texas.  Yeah, the seafood SUCKS.  We aren’t close enough to the gulf to get fresh seafood. I would only eat seafood when I returned home, which wasn’t very often.  In 2009, I was home visiting my family. I was also pregnant. I took a bite of shrimp and proclaimed “I don’t like shrimp.”  This was fresh shrimp but I couldn’t stomach it.  To this day, I don’t like shrimp.  I will order a shrimp dish at a restaurant every now and again. Nine times out of ten, I cant eat it.  I think I have ordered shrimp three times in the last 2 years and have enjoyed it.  Actually, that’s an inaccurate statement.  I tolerated it because it didn’t have a seafood taste.  The sauce on it masked the seafood flavor.  Of course, the shrimp weren’t very strong to begin with.  For some reason, shrimp has a chlorine taste to it. That’s the only thing I can describe.  I was buying shrimp around Christmas to put in gumbo and the salesman told me that the brown gulf shrimp were “stronger” than the white.  Stronger=chlorineJ  Getting back to my original point:  I don’t care for shrimp.

There sure things I don’t care to eat, but will eat.  Mussels are a great example.  I don’t really like them, but I will eat them.  I don’t care for peanut butter, but I can eat it if needed.  Last night I had my 2 year old eating sauerkraut.  I told you, we aren’t picky eaters!!!  I am not knocking picky eaters, so don’t think that.  I cannot grasp how some people are so picky.  Is it the texture they hate?  The taste? Is it because they didn’t grow up eating it so its foreign to them?  One of my daughters is somewhat picky.  I guess I will never understand!

Okay everyone, you have a fantastic weekend.  Hopefully I will give yall something good to read this weekend!  I don’t have any plans yet.  Who knows what I will get into!

What have YOU been up to?

I haven’t blogged since June of last year. Wow, time flies.  I started off my first post of the year with some thoughts that run through my head when people want to lose weight but do nothing.  I suppose I should’ve started off with telling you all what I have been up to lately.

Lets see, I had my youngest daughter in November of 2009.  I think I started this blog to track the weight loss from my daughter born in 2006.  Anyway, I have spent 2 years trying to get the last 20-30 lbs off.  The weight stuck to me for many reasons:  A—I had NO progesterone and NO testosterone. Apparantly those things help with weight loss. I also had thyroid issues. Well the thyroid cleared up but the hormones didn’t.  I have finally begun to lose weight so I am assuimg my hormones are okay for now.  I should have it retested but I hate my doctor and don’t want to go see her.  I should get a new one but that takes an act of God here. I am in San Angelo, Texas, not a third world country. Doctors have to approve you in order to take you on as a patient and it takes weeks to get in. Where do the really sick patients go?? I digress. B--I didn’t work out and eat like I should. Duh, if I am doing nothing, I am going to gain weight or maintain weight. C—I have been sick. I think I was sick for a good two months in October/November with a crazy upper respiratory infection. My lungs were congested but nothing would come up.  2 doctor visits, 2 steroid shots and antibiotics and $320 later, it cleared up.  But I am feeling sick again and my kids are coughing. Great.  A few weeks ago I heated coffee in the microwave for 30 seconds and it boiled onto my hand resulting in 2nd degree burns. Its almost healed now. Its kind of hard to life a weigh when the skin is coming off of your hand.  D—I have been MEGA stressed. I got a divorce in September.  I didn’t necessarily want it at the time. I don’t necessarily want it now. I am still stressed from it.

So, when you couple all of those things together, its no wonder I didn’t lose weight. In October I signed on with Team Bombshell. I am happy to say I have shed some pounds. Honestly, I haven’t been following the plan. Not making excuses but I was REALLY sick, I couldn’t breath, its tough trying to work out when you cant breathe.  I am still using an inhaler multiple times a day, whereas pre-illness, I rarely used one. Then just as I got back to the gym, I injured my hand. I didn’t completely give up, I tried to use some cardio equipment or work out muscle groups that didn’t require the use of my hand but I found myself hitting the hand on things.  The skin finally came off and I have new growth but it is still tender to touch because the skin is so thin there.  I was still following my meal plans, on days I am not too bummed to eat.  I am not an emotional eater…I am an emotional non-eater.   That’s really no excuse either, I can force myself to eat. And I should. Skipping meals is unhealthy.  My confession here kind of counters my last post when I was complaining about people that cry about losing weight but do nothing.  In my defense, I physically couldn’t workout.  I guess I could’ve taken those 30 min walks…while puffing on an inhaler every 5 steps and praying I didn’t brush my hand against my leg as I walkedJ 

I see some changes in my body.  I am only 10 lbs away from my goal weight. If I would’ve followed the plan, where would I be today?  Wow, to imagine where I COULD be is breathtaking.  I love fitness. I have the muscle structure to look how I want.  I have the time to do it. I AM going to get there. No excuses!  I will be blogging more updating you with my progress.  If I am not accountable to someone, then I can do whatever I want right? WRONG.  We all need to be accountable!