Week 6 - I know, I know

I know I've been bad this week about posting anything. So sorry! I've been a bit busy with work and home. Please forgive me!

According to my scale at home, I've now lost 15 lbs! That is cool! I don't know about inches, but I did go and purchase a big box of safety pins to hold my pants up. This I know is a good problem to have, but I feel really funny in my clothes now. Most are too big and a few of my old ones are tight, but I can now wear them! That is pretty cool. Please don't hold it against me if you see me wearing the same things over and over again. I don't want to spend money until I have to on clothes, especially since I don't plan on wearing those long either!!!!!!!

I am still working out and have been able to get all of my workouts in during the week. Barry has been incredibly awesome and I could not make those afternoon workouts without him! He is having to take on more to help me and I know that can be stressful, but I really appreciate him for doing it! Thanks honey!!!!!

We are leaving for vacation this Friday so I'm a bit nervous about eating all my meals away and at an amusement park. We are going to Orlando and staying at the Portofino Bay Resort at Universal Studios. We plan on doing the parks, spending time at the pool and going to SeaWorld. One thing is for sure, I'll be doing tremendous walking so I hope that counts as workouts!!

I'm up for any suggestions anyone may have to help me while we are gone!!!!!

Day 30 - Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all those mom's out there. I've had a great day. Emily spent the night at Payton's last night so presents had to wait till after church. Barry left out very early so he could prepare for his drama performance at church. Devin and I got up and got ready, fed the ladies (dogs) and headed for church. Emily insisted on giving me my presents in the parking lot at church! They gave me beautiful watch, a USBdatastick for my laptop and Emily made a picture of a flower and a little note in a frame for me. I loved them all. We had lunch at Smoky Bones and then have had a quiet afternoon. It has really turned out to be VERY quiet. Emily and Devin are both playing with friends and Barry is buying groceries for us and he took my car so he could replace the headlight for me. THANKS HONEY! So I've been hanging out, washing clothes and playing with the dogs.

Barry is going to grill steaks and zucchini for dinner and I'm sure we will watch America's Funnies Videos and my favorite crying show - Extreme Home Makeover. What more can a mom ask for!

Day 27 - Weigh-in #1

We had our first weigh-in tonight at 6:30. All 12 of us were there as well as others from the Community Challenge. I weighed in and have officially lost 11 lbs and 3 inches. Unfortunately, half of the inches came from the top. My percentage weight lost is 4.31% and my percentage inches lost is 1.53% and the average lost is 2.92%. Not great overall, but gives me something to strive for!




I was also really proud of the other contestants. Everyone has been working hard and showed progress! The GREEN TEAM (my team) has lost a total of 37lbs and the orange team has lost 32lbs. KEEP UP THE HARD WORK GREEN TEAM! Kelly and Vickie together lost 15 inches! VERY IMPRESSIVE



Melissa (cannot remember her last name - Sorry) a Dietician for Tanner Health System came and did a cooking demonstration for us. She did a great job and really seemed to be enjoying her self. She also shared with us her own personal story of weight loss. We all think we are in this alone and we truly are not!




All Pictures were taken by my new photographer Emily. See her self portrait below.

Day 26 - Very Bad Day

Yesterday was a very BAD DAY. I can say that it was one of the worst days I've had in years. I had an issue at work that was very unpleasant and then to top it off I went to go home and someone had hit my car and it was raining. This was the icing on the cake! The person did not even bother to leave a note. HOW RUDE!

I will say that my workout went smashingly well. I increased weights on everything and successfully did 5 pull-ups! Yeah Me! My muscles were spent by the time I left the gym and I think I needed it. I also have to say that my normal reaction to a day like this would be to eat everything in site and then find more. I did not! I even sat at our reception desk for a little while with a bowl of candy and considered having a peppermint, but nothing more. I was pretty proud of this.

When I finally got home I was calm again and enjoyed an evening with my family. We watched Idol and Lost at the same time and before that I spotted Emily while she did handstands and watched Devin play with Raven.

Day 25 - Parking Garage

I just got back from walking our parking garage at work (10 floors). I was actually nodding at my desk. No, if you are wondering if I got lots of sleep last night. I had to get up and potty and then Emily had a leg cramp from cheerleading practice. However, Raven actually did much better!

I walked all the way up and then down and up for about 30 minutes and it was a little over 3,400 steps. I even used my handy dandy pedometer and made sure I had my heart rate up. Hopefully this has woken me up enough to make it through the rest of the day.

Now I'm having lunch. I'm eating a sirloin burger (no bun) Barry grilled for me last night and carrots. Yum Yum. I was okay with this until I walked by and saw someone with McDonalds and mine no longer looked good. Yes, I was bitter, but I can only blame myself! Carrots vs French Fries - hmmmm which would you choose? I closed my door so I could not smell them and chose the carrots. I've worked to hard to cheat!

Day 21 - My Weight Routine

I started my morning off with being asked to go get the donuts for work. Now if that is not rude nothing is. Of course the person had no idea what I'm working towards so I cannot blame him to much. I took Tammy with me so I would not be tempted to cheat. I was safer in numbers! We both overcame the temptation and all the donuts made it back to the office.

I met with Dave tonight and he presented me with a 3 part routine for weights. The first part consisted of machine support, the second with less machine and the 3rd with more free weights. We went through the first part and I was able to do 1 whole pull up (of course he had a 160lb counter weight on the machine). This was a bit discouraging, but Dave showed me another exercise on the pulley to improve my strength. I figure I'll shoot for 2 next time.

I was really surprised that I was not too sore when we were done. I went back and did another set of each before showering and heading to the Ladies Event at Crossroads. On the way I had a protein shake and got a chargrilled Chick-fil-a sandwich so I would not be tempted with all the yummy food and desserts they had. Man, 2 temptations in one day. How much can a girl take? Actually, I had several ladies indulge for me with instructions to eat very slowly, savor every bite and think of me while they ate it. The speaker was fabulous, the music was incredible and we had an outstanding time! We looked down and it was 11:15pm.

I got home around 11:45 and then Barry and stayed up till 1:30 watching Dog Whisperer. Pretty cool show. Raven got me up at 5:30 again and I got up at 6. She and I took a 30 minute walk and then pulled weeds in our flower bed for another 45 minutes while the rest of the house slept on. No nape was in store.

Sunday I surely was going to get a nap, but oh no. I went to Laverne Burts Jewelry party and stayed for a LONNNNNNNNG time. Laverne was probably ready to kick me out. I was really enjoying myself though. By the time I got home it was 5:00 and I'd not started any laundry and I still had tons of housework. I suppose one day at a time. Maybe I'll get some sleep this week.

Day 24 - Sleep Please!

My day started off with Raven waking up at 5:30 and wanting to go out. I was able to stall till 5:45. She is so full of life. She is funny and yet exasperating at the same time.

I had my second session with Dave this evening and it went great. I learned the 2nd part of the plan he has set up for me. I can now say that I've leaned against a wall with a large ball between me and the wall and my feet at shoulder width and at a 45 degree angle and then sank down into a sitting position. Man that hurt! I did all twelve and felt the burn with each. I also did some additional things with the pulleys and some really strange body crunches that made you hurt everywhere. I also used dumbbells today. I'm the woman! We started out with 5lbs for each hand. I hate to admit that I was dying by the time I was at 12. Once we were done with the new stuff we did the stuff from Friday again too, but added more weight this time. Once I was done I did the leg and back stretching machine and that hurt and felt good at the same time. Maybe I will be able to do half a split by 6 months? Oh yes, I did 2 pull ups today. Progress is being made!

When I got home, Barry was cooking fresh shrimp on the grill and it was so terrific! Yummy! Then we did a bit of homework with the kids and then Emily told me all about cheerleading practice and I spotted her doing handstand backbends and then I sent them off to bed. It is now10:05pm and I'm getting my first moments of quiet all day. I'm tired and ready for bed. It is a ton of work trying to balance everything. Barry has been awesome about making it possible for me to have time to workout, but I do feel a bit guilty because he is taking on most stuff at home. They keep telling me my energy level is going to rise ~ BUT WHEN??? I'm poooooooped.

I may be tired, but I'm not giving up! Weigh-in is Thursday. I'm nervous and hope I do myself and everyone proud.

Day 18 - 2 Mile Walk with a Friend

Barry is out of town this week, so it has been a bit more difficult for me to go to the gym. However, my friend Laverne picked up Emily for me on Monday night so I could meet with Dave - THANKS LAVERNE! and last night my friend and neighbor Janine went walking with me. It was a beautiful evening for walking! We walked 2 miles in about 45 minutes and when we were almost home we realized how quickly the time had past and we had such a good time catching up with each other! I wore my pedometer and we walked over 5,000 steps! Yeah us! We also checked our heart rate and I had my heart rate up to 142. I think that is good, but not sure. I've got to e-mail Kelly and ask. Thanks Janine for joining me! I really enjoyed the walk!

I have to say this week has been much tougher with Barry not being in town. He is a huge balance and support for me and not to mention an EXCELLENT cook! We've had some really good meals since I've started this. We had talapia, salmon, shrimp, steak, zuchinni and most of it grilled. Yummmmy! I suppose I should not write this blog when I'm hungry! :-)

We also got a puppy this weekend for my son Devin. Ravin is a black lab and she is beautiful. Not sure how old she is, but our guess is 3-4 months. With her around, there is no sitting and vegging on the couch. I think she goes potty every 15 minutes and both dogs have to go. Sadie just for moral support I think. Isn't she sweet?

Day 17 - Working Out at Gold's

I met with Dave Hansey last night and it was good. We discussed my medical history, what I want to accomplish and he also evaluated flexibility, muscle, etc... Dave recommends that I do the weight circuit in the gym until we met again as well as cardio at least 30-45 minutes 5 days a week and then he will have a specific training plan designed especially for me. I think it is really cool that he is not using a cookie cutter method and really designing something specific for me. Thanks Dave!!!!!

So after we met, I got on the treadmill for about 15 minutes and went up and started the weights. Dave told me if I did not know how much weight to use to do 1 rep and if I could barely lift then to take 70% of that for my weight amount. Very helpful!!! Before I was finished, Dave was finished with a training session with someone else and he came over and showed me how to do a 20 minute weight work out on a few machines if I was short on time. I really appreciated his time. Dave is genuine and really seems to want to help out. I'm looking forward to meeting with him on Friday.

Day 13 - Weekly Meeting 2 - Working in a Workout

Last Thursday we met and Kellie Grubbs presented "Working In a Workout: Tracking your daily steps. Kelly is the Exercise Specialist with Tanner Health Source. She has her Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) Primary Group Exercise Certification, American Council on Exxercise (ACE) personal Trainer Certification and a Bachelor of Sciene in Physical Education specializing in Health Promotion & Fitness from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In other words, she is a smart cookie when it comes to fitness.

Kelly taked about starting an exercise program, endurance exercises, exercise intensity, how to improve endurance and then they gave each of us a pedometer. Kelly explained the importance of walking 30 minutes a day and showed us how to use our new toy. We were all very excited. Our goal is to have 10,000 steps a day. Thank you Kelly!