What Doesn't Kill You...

Plyometric Cardio Circuit...it could kill you. Feels like your heart could just burst in your chest while you simultaneously throw up all of your internal organs. Then you slip and fall in a puddle of your own sweat and hit your head on the coffee table. Dead. Dead as a doornail.

But my heart did not rupture. I did not vomit. I did not slip and crack my head open. Instead I made it through the entire warm-up without stopping to take a sip of water or mop up my perspiration. Mind you, "warm-up" is 10.5 minutes long. Three circuits of 3.5 minutes made up of 7 exercises. I used to stop a lot. Then I just stopped after each circuit. Today I did not stop AT ALL! The fact that it was a little less hot and A LOT less humid helped tremendously. Granted, I did not make it through the entire workout without a moment here and there to catch my breath, rehydrate and push my heart back in place. But this is still major progress and I will basque in the glory of it, for now, until next month's workouts have me falling to my knees and actually PRAYING for death to come (just kidding!).

(Oh, and this is after going for a 3 mile run this morning!)

Can't Complain

One week (minus last night- UGH!) of not eating after dinner and the results are in... (drum roll please, like the kids from WOTN- The ReThinkers)...

3 pounds down. Gotta keep up the momentum. Insanity is getting tough with this heat and humidity. I might have to move my workouts to the morning instead of the point in the day when it's the hottest! DUH! I'm really looking forward to next week- RECOVERY! The good news is I won't be jumping around like a nit wit in this heat. The bad news? The week after starts MONTH 2!!! I can't imagine the workouts being any harder, but I am NOT going to kid myself into thinking I'm in any shape for them! It'll be like I'm right back at Square One. 

Going Strong

It's been a few days and I haven't eaten anything 2-3 hours before bedtime and I haven't grabbed any food in the middle of the night. It hasn't been VERY hard. It doesn't hurt that I'm either falling asleep early or watching 'Weight of the Nation' or reading 'Make the Connection.' That's pretty much what I did when I started losing weight. I immersed myself in all things related to weight loss. I got my hands on anything I could read about weight loss. I watched whatever I could find on the subject. Watching the Ranger (hockey) game last night was a wee bit stressful and I could see WANTING to eat something then, but I didn't. TV is the root of many evils!

Speaking of tv and evil, the 'WOTN' episode on childhood obesity in America is extremely eye-opening. One of the factors linked to childhood obesity is having a television in the bedroom. (Ironic since I was watching this on my son's bedroom tv!) Having a tv in the bedroom not only deters physical activity, but it bombards kids with advertisements for food, constantly. AND the doc goes on to say that a big contributing factor to MANY people's weight problem is what we're DRINKING!!! If parents just gave their kids water to drink they'd be cutting back on hundreds of calories each day. It's an easy solution, but something many kids will fight. I'm thinking I might try putting a pitcher of lemon water in the fridge for my daughter. My son will drink water all day INSTEAD of preparing more iced tea because he's lazy (I know powdered iced tea mix is crap), but my daughter will make more. Replacing 1 or 2 glasses a day will be a good thing, not that she has a weight problem. It will just be a healthier choice, and a better habit to form!

I have to say, the format of the documentary is a bit dry, but full of information. It does plot out the course of action you should take in order to lose weight, supporting the fact that there is NO MAGIC BULLET! It also reinforces the fact that maintenance is much harder than the weight loss phase and that diligence is the key to keeping the weight off. That is why it is so important to make changes in your life you can live with, forever. Again, I highly recommend the documentary if you have access to HBO.

Not much else to report. Still doing Insanity. I should've taken a picture after yesterday's workout, 'Cardio Power and Resistance.' It was rough. One more week and then a week of 'Core Cardio and Balance.' Can't wait to see the fun Shaun T. has in store for me! ugh.

Day One

CHECK! Managed to not eat after dinner last night! I did my Insanity workout at 4:45pm, which took until about 5:30pm to complete. They still give me agita, but I haven't puked yet! Probably can look forward to it happening in Month Two during MAX Interval Plyo or Cardio Conditioning. Anyway, after my daily dose of Shaun T., I made dinner, which was Pampered Chef's Grilled Chicken Penne Al Fresco in the Deep Covered baker, popped into the microwave. (Just some grape tomatoes, garlic, chicken broth and pasta cooked in the baker, add the cooked chicken when it's done, toss with some parmesan cheese... delicious and easy!)

We ate dinner at about 6:30pm, I cleaned up the kitchen and went into my son's room to watch some tv (since my husband was watching baseball AND hockey in the living room). I got to watch the 3rd installment of the documentary 'Weight of the Nation' on HBO. I think this was a must see episode, since it was about the childhood obesity epidemic. There was A LOT of good information and staggering statistics to learn. I HIGHLY recommend you watch it if you have the opportunity. And then the next episode came on and I fell asleep! It must have been 8:30pm! So, when I woke up from my little nap, I let the dog out, then fed her, said my goodnights and went to sleep! NO detours in the kitchen!

What also helped me yesterday was finding Bob Greene's 'Make The Connection' in a box of yardsale books from my sister. I read that book years ago and one of his 10 steps to weight loss is NOT eating 2-3 hours before bedtime. I followed that step in the beginning of my weight loss journey, but, as you know, have not adhered to it lately. I've been re-reading it and seeing what I can do to tweak my program. I can honestly say I have mastered several of the steps, like working out 5-7 days/week, in the ZONE, drinking my water, but my biggest problem is forcing getting my fruits/vegetable serving in my diet. Thankfully it's almost summer time, so that might make that task a bit easier.

Four-day weekend coming up! Happy Memorial Day everyone! I'm planning on having my Relay For Life Yard Sale on Saturday and possibly Monday, with my nephew's birthday party in between on Sunday. What are your plans for this weekend?

The Road To Hell...

I start every day with good intentions. I eat a protein bar with my morning cup of coffee to get the day started. I workout in the morning, either after my daughter goes on the bus or after the little one I babysit does. I get in an hour or more of cardio. I'll then come home and have a huge cup of tea with some toast and peanut butter, or, if it's later, I'll have lunch. That can be anything from a sandwich on my whole wheat bread or leftovers. I'll eat a Greek yogurt or some pretzels for snack. I'll then do whatever Insanity workout is on the calendar. Dinner is usually a good meal, protein, vegetables, a starch. Then something goes awry...

Dinner is usually by 6pm. When I started my weight-loss program, I didn't eat 3 hours before bedtime (thanks to Bob Greene's suggestion), so I usually didn't eat after dinner at all. But, things have been different now. I'm a little hungry, watching my favorite trash tv show on Bravo, so I'll have a snack. And then the floodgates have opened and all hell breaks loose. I'll have a few jellybeans, maybe a Pop Tart, a couple of cookies, and then I've blown it. All the work and effort I put into having a great day has been undone. What the hell is wrong with me?

The scale read 160.6 this morning. I need to get control of my eating. You can not undo a terrible diet with an hour or two of cardio. Whether someone sees me eating it or not, the damage is done.

Just For Posterity

I know y'all will be sick and tired about me belly-aching about Insanity, but I found the results of my first Fit Test and I have to say, I am AMAZED with my progress. This is coming from a lady that could only do "girlie" push-ups, and pretty pathetically, at that. I always thought I was strong, but this is more about using speed and strength to create power. I may not see a physical difference, but when I'm doing the workout, I'm getting more done and my endurance level is much higher.

So, the first fit test I ever took was on 3/26. The most recent one was done on 5/21, almost two months later (with a bit of a break between bringing the borrowed set back to the library and getting my own set).

                                                                                                                                         

(The first number represents the results from the 3/26 test, and the second number from yesterday's.)

 

SWITCH KICKS: Now I didn't know how to count these the first time, so I have no idea how many I did, but it wasn't pretty, so I only have the results from the 5/1 test to compare- 45/55

 

POWER JACKS: 40/60

 

POWER KNEES: 88/103

 

POWER JUMPS: 20/25

 

GLOBE JUMPS: 5/11

 

SUICIDE JUMPS: 11/19

 

PUSH-UP JACKS: 9/26

 

PLANK OBLIQUES: 20/46

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Not bad for two months work. Where I'm REALLY seeing the results? In my runs! I'm getting faster! LOVE IT!

                                                                                                  

Signs Of Improvement

Just did my second Fit Test since starting Insanity with my own set. The test is 8 exercises done for a minute each. You do as many reps as you can in that minute, with a minute or two of rest in between each exercise. Can I just tell you how much I DESPISE power jumps?!? You start out in a squat position, then jump up, slap your knees mid-air and then land "softly and gently" to do it all over again. They "suck a bag of d*cks" (to quote Louis CK)!!

I don't look ANYTHING like that when I do them. And I got all of 25 done in one minute. That's 2 more than last time! On my first Fit Test this round I did 20 push-up jacks and this time I did 26. That's another fun one. You go down like a regular push-up, but then jump out with your feet like a jumping jack.

You all want to go grab the phone right now and order your own program, too, right?!? Just so you know, the woman that is filming the fit test, Tonya or "The Machine," as Shaun T. refers to her, CAN NOT COUNT! I am convinced of that.

Numbers Don't Lie

Are you ever as surprised as I was when you take your measurements? I mean, I fit into my husband's size 30W jeans, so who would have guessed that my waist was indeed NOT 30"??? Doesn't make sense and is pretty disappointing, but here it goes anyway...

Weight: 159.6 (when I started Insanity)
Chest: 40"
Waist: 38 5/8
Hips: 40 5/8
Right Arm: 12
Left Arm: 12
Right Thigh: 23 3/8
Left Thigh: 23 1/2

Don't know what I would like to see change here, other than the measurements to be SMALLER. DEFINITELY want to see my weight at 139 eventually. I wish to be there by my niece's wedding which is on 8/31. That's a little less than 15 weeks away. For me, that is not a realistic goal. More than a pound a week, at my weight and activity level would mean the type of dedication along the lines of the Biggest Loser! So, 149 seems MUCH more realistic and feasible. You heard it here folks...

Accountability

It's often been said that when on your weight loss journey, you need to let SOMEONE know of your intentions. I distinctly remember Dr. Phil saying this when he had "The Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge" and plugged his book. (Can you believe that was way back in 2004?) He said you need to tell people what you're planning to do and have someone witness your weigh-ins, either your spouse or a friend, someone that can see your progress or your slip-ups. This could very well be why Weight Watchers are more successful losing weight? Hmmm...

Not a lot of people do this. I know when I started this particular journey, I didn't stand up and let my family know I was now exercising every day and eating better. I was afraid to hear them say "Again?" Like, in my mind, they would be thinking, "What makes this time so different?" Just another attempt that will probably fail. Key word: ATTEMPT. Saying that, it's as if there's a possibility for failure. Maybe that's where we go wrong- our wording. "I'm TRYING to lose weight." Again, not entirely positive. Change it to "I WILL lose weight by taking these actions: I AM eating right, (less, better)...I AM exercising four, (five, six) days a week..." Crowd out the negative talk with positive, encouraging words.

I can't tell you why this time was so different. I didn't have my husband at the scale watching me weigh-in, but I did write it on the school calendar, (the hub of every home with school-aged children), good, bad or ugly. It was there, in pen, for him to see. Now that I'm doing Insanity, I realized the changes in my body may not be as noticeable on the scale but as in overall inches lost. So I had to go out and buy a tape measure. I can't tell you what happened to the other ones I used to own. Must've tossed them when I was in a "I don't give a fuck" phase. Isn't this one cute?

I'm going to need help with measuring, but when I get it done, I'll post my numbers. I WISH I had my measurements from when I began this trek. That's another thing I recommend now! TAKE YOUR MEASUREMENTS and TAKE LOTS OF PROGRESS PICTURES!!! You may not see the changes when YOU look in the mirror, but the camera won't lie, and neither will the tape measure. The scale, on the other hand, LOVES to play games with our minds with all this talk about water weight and cycles and muscle weighing more than fat... For the record- we all know that's not true, right? A pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same- A POUND!! The muscle is just nice and tight and compact, and not jiggly and lumpy, just like we want our ASSES to be!!

Didn't Want To Do It

This is how my morning usually goes: Wake up at 5:30am, visit the bathroom, let the dog out, feed the dog, put away clean dishes, wash whatever's in the sink, start the girl's lunch, put out the boy's allergy pill and lunch money, wake up the boy at 5:50am with breakfast in hand, get my coffee ready and some kind of breakfast/protein bar and head back upstairs to my bedroom to the computer to log my breakfast on MFP and catch up on Facebook and the blogs I follow. Then at 6:30am, I wake up the girl, see the boy out the door and finish the girl's lunch. Then I get dressed and the girl and I head out the door at 7:15am. When I get back, I try to clean and be ready if the little one I babysit comes before I have to bring him to the bus.

This morning I didn't have to bring the little one to the bus. So that means my morning is free until I have to pick up his sister at pre-k at 11am. That meant I had plenty of time to run. I was not feeling a run in me today. But the sun is shining. There's a nice breeze. It's 58*. Perfect conditions for a run, right? Aww, hell. I'll go. I'll go. I'll go. (Anybody? Anybody?)

So glad I went!

I believe I have to thank Insanity for my PR. I'm really strengthening my legs with all of those power jacks and basketball drills and suicides and ski downs and butt-kicks. All of that is really helping with my speed. So, even if I don't drop a pound or lose an inch, (Oh, yeah, I picked up a tape measure today to finally get my measurements!), Insanity is doing something GREAT for me!

"Before"

So I finally took the before shots I needed to upload to Team Beachbody in order to eventually get my free Insanity t-shirt at the end of the program. Then I'll have to take some after shots, as well. I need a dang tape measure, too! I haven't measured myself in years and I have no record of the measurements anywhere to compare to my new numbers! If there's one thing I can suggest to anyone who is starting their weight-loss journey- TAKE LOTS OF PROGRESS PICTURES AND MEASURE YOURSELF! I wish I had done that. There's nothing I can do about it now!

Team Beachbody actually suggests the poses you should use to take your before pictures. They also recommended showing a lot of skin, but I just wasn't willing to go there!

5/13/12

Strange glare, oh well.

Don't ask. I just did what they told me to do!

Blah! Bra bulge!

Ah, yes, the "plug!"

Trudging along with my Insanity workouts and running. When you buy any Beachbody product, you can sign up on their website for some great features. I like the SuperGym feature that will keep track of my workouts and let me know what's next, without having to hang up the calendar that came with the set. Just more time for me to waste sitting on my ass in front of the computer!

There's some great news to share regarding our relay team and the documentary, From Fat To finish Line! There was an article just published today on www.relayguide.com covering our story! How exciting! Go on over there and read it. And if you haven't liked our Facebook page yet, what are you waiting for??? Everyone's doing it...

Monday, Monday

I just read a pretty funny (and accurate) quote about Mondays. "I hate how Monday is so far away from Friday and Friday is so damn close to Monday." Still, you just have to make the best of it. Clean slate. Endless possibilities. So, this morning I grabbed the bull by the horns and my husband and I ran 2 miles. Last week I got him to run 1 mile, once. This week he doubled it. Hopefully he'll be ready for 3.1 miles on June 2nd! I said we should go slow, make sure we get 2 miles done. He paces us and we finish in 18:45. That's a 9:22 mile! That's not slow and steady AT ALL! We also ran without gum or music! That gave us the chance to talk about our goals for the 5k. I definitely want to finish under 30:00, but I REALLY want to cross that finish line under 29:00. I would be a very happy camper if I accomplish that!

Me and my mom- Mother's Day 2012

Since yesterday was Mother's Day, my husband made me breakfast and I got great cards from him and both of my kids. I always look forward to his cards because he writes something so sweet and thoughtful every time. Yesterday was no different. To quote him: "You impress me with your energy and drive and unfortunately I don't think I can keep up anymore." My kids followed their dad's lead and wrote something thoughtful as well. From Charlie: "Mom, you motivate me to do everything that I do. Thank you Mom. Keep doing what you're doing." And Chelsea wrote: "Thank you Mom for everything you say and do. I hope that one day, I'll end up just as you are." That reassurance will keep me going strong for at least the next year! I love my family. I am blessed. Blessed to have my husband, my kids and all of my family, and I'm especially fortunate to be able to share another Mother's Day with my mom (and dad). Could you ever tell by looking at her that she was at death's door not once, but twice just one year ago! To quote my mom- "God bless her!" It was a great day.

Happy Mother's Day!

I know I haven't been around much. Nothing very new or exciting to report. Just more of the same, running and Insanity. Gotta take my before shots before I change too drastically (HA!)! I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone out there a very happy Mother's Day! That goes for every mom, grandma, step-mom, aunt, godmother, babysitter, caretaker and dad acting as mom out there. It's a grueling job at times, 24/7 for those with little ones, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Besides having a happy marriage and losing 75 pounds my son and daughter are BY FAR my greatest achievement. I may not express it every day, but I love them and would do anything for them. I am truly blessed to have them in my life and EXTREMELY fortunate to still have my mom to share this gloriously beautiful day with.

My Charlie and Chelsea

Mommy to John, Rosemarie, Laura Ann, Karen, Dorothy, Linda and Ralph- Grandma to Joanna, Lauren, Henry, Gia, Kerianne, Michael, Andrew, Matthew, Katelynn, Steven, Christopher, Charlie, Chelsea, Leah and one on the way!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

The Dirty Dozen

So that's the team! WEAPONS OF MASS REDUCTION! Now that each runner has been introduced, there will be some interesting topics we cover in regards to our weight-loss successes and struggles and why we even began this journey in the first place. Go to www.fromfattofinish.com. That will link you right to the documentary's Facebook page. 'Like' it so you can constantly get updates on your news feed. There will be contests and giveaways!

I've been up to a whole lot of nothin'. Just hitting the gym and running outside. Yesterday I got my husband out for the first time since our last 5k in September. Since he had to leave for work at 10:30am, I told him we'd do just an easy mile to get him back in the swing of things. He asked me "You will do JUST a mile?" I thought I'd have to keep the pace nice and slow, but since he's a full foot taller than me, he's just naturally faster, even without training. We finished that mile in 9:09! Faster than I USUALLY push myself! Now I just have to manage to get him to run another 2.1, at that pace, by June 2nd! Could happen!

Oh, and this morning's weigh-in was 156.8, again. I need to be a little more diligent with my food if I'm going to be ready for my close-up!



A Picture Is Worth 1200+ Words

Actually, that should be "A Picture is Worth 1200+ Pounds." Here's all 12 runners on Weapons of Mass Reduction, our Ragnar Relay Key West team! What an amazing transformation each and every one of us has gone through! The idea that I've come to this moment in my life just by reaching out to someone on their blog, letting Katie know how much her candor in her daily story-telling means to me, is surreal. I am SO blessed!

In other news, I ran like the wind today! Ok, not quite. It is another crappy day here on Long Island, and I thought my intentions to run outside would be derailed, yet again. But my team helped convince me that days like today are the BEST for running. There's no sun in your eyes, cooler temps and as Rik said, "Once you are wet, you don't get wetter." So, I "braved" the elements and headed out. It was merely misting out. Just had to avoid the puddles. Thankfully there were only a few cars out so I didn't have to worry about getting splashed.

That's 3 miles in 27:39:76. Pretty sure that IS a PR Jen! Thanks for the encouragement from my teammates! I really do need a kick in the pants every now and then!


Remember to stop by on Facebook, and "like" our team documentary's page! Let us know what you think of everything when you visit!

What A Week I'm Having!

Things are heating up on the From Fat To Finish Line-The Documentary Facebook page. 580 "likes" since Friday, I believe. If you haven't checked it out, please do. You'll read about each runner's success story and follow us on our journey to the Ragnar Relay and through the race until we say our woeful goodbyes in Key West. You can also follow on Twitter- @FatToFinishFilm (I'm really having a hard time figuring that site out!). Facebook has definitely been an amazing tool for us to get to know each other. You can imagine some of the crazy threads we have going with all of the people involved in this project. I never knew when I sat down in a movie theater the amount of work that's involved just to get a pitch accepted! I'm really enjoying the process! The best part is becoming a part of these incredible people's lives!

Well, it's Wednesday, and you know what that means...

Movement in the RIGHT direction! (and I've since worked on the toes!)

Being filmed is definitely great incentive to stay focused on eating right and continuing to exercise hard. I started Insanity again yesterday, with my own set. I did the Fit Test. My third time around with it (you do it every two weeks) and I'm definitely seeing progress! I didn't think I was in imminent danger AT ALL during the workout! AND the number of reps I could complete in the 1 minute allotted for each of the 8 exercises increased! It might have been by only a couple of reps, but it was improvement, none the less!

I didn't get to run outside yesterday since it was a torrential downpour, so I ran on the treadmill. 4.7 miles in 45 minutes and my hip isn't killing me! My first 5k of the year is one month from today!!!