Thursday, October 22, 2009

End of week one

I have an injury. I hurt my shoulder and I am out of commission. So frustrating. They say things take three weeks or so before they become a habit. I DEFINITELY am not in the habit of a workout this painful yet. And now I'll probably have to start that three week process again.

I think the thing that I really need to get back into check is my sweet tooth. I get these cravings for anything sweet and I'll eat Coco Puffs dry if I have to. I really do enjoy fruit, but not as much as a bowl of ice cream or an oatmeal cream pie. I feel sorry for my boys, but I think we're going to have to get rid of everything sugar-sweet until I can trust myself with it in the house again.

I need to discipline myself. Good eating habits + hard work = results. I've seen it before. Time to believe that I will see it again.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Starting Again

So today is one of my best friend from high school's birthday. I found him on Facebook and proceeded to have about a two hour chat with him. He had updated his Facebook page and stated that his "bucket list" included dropping four pants sizes. After talking with him he revealed to me that his weight had doubled since I saw him last. He has two beautiful daughters and wants to be around for as long as he can. I immediately wanted to help.

Those of you who know me know that I struggle with my weight. Before my wedding I went carb-free for a couple of months in order to look good for our big day. It worked. I dropped about 20 pounds. But it is definitely not a lifestyle that I can or even want to maintain for an extended period of time. Four months after our wedding, I couldn't fasten the pants I wore to our rehearsal. I had ballooned up to about 240 pounds. I am 5'7". I was wearing 40" pants and XXL shirts. I was FAT!

I was able to drop about 20 pounds somehow over the next three years. But I was still 220 pounds. In March of 2006 I decided to turn on "The Biggest Loser". I was finally motivated. I joined a gym and started eating a whole lot better. I went to the gym twice a day. (It was right across the street from my house) By November of 2006 I was down to 185. I had wanted to get to 165, but I was extermely satisfied with my progress. I took the Holidays off from both working out and eating healthy. You can guess what happened next.

You've heard it time and time again. Once you stop it is even harder to start back than it was to begin. IT IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE! By the end of 2008 I was back up to 220. What had I done? I sat at the church one night after worship rehearsal with my very good friend, Adrian, and the two of us decided we'd take a vacation in July 2009 together. We also decided that we wanted to look good at the pool and on the beach. Then the wager happened. We decided to place a NICE dinner on the table. We'd weigh in and whoever lost the most weight (and his wife) would be treated by the loser to dinner while we were on vacation. That was exactly what I needed. I weighed in at 215, he at 216. In January I started going to the YMCA almost every day. (I no longer lived right across the street from that gym) I started dropping weight. It was fun. We started working out together. I was winning. Then I sprained my ankle. Not one of those minor twists of the ankle, this was a major sprain. I couldn't workout. I thought I was through.

Here's where it gets interesting. After three weeks of not working out, I decided to step on the scale again to see how much weight I had gained. To my shock and elation, I HAD LOST FIVE POUNDS! Evidently, my metabolism had gone up and I was still burning fat. I had continued eating well, but hadn't expected to lose weight. I was more motivated than ever! I started hitting the Y really hard. At our next weigh-in (we weighed in monthly) I was the same. I hadn't lost anything. I kept working. Next weigh-in, NOTHING! I was so frustrated. Something had to change.

I was flipping through the TV one day and stopped on an infomercial for P90X. It intrigued me. The creator was talking about the plateau you reach when your body gets used to the same old workout. He was talking about me! One of the guys on our worship team, Dustin, had been doing P90X so I started asking him about it. He told me all about the workouts and how the "muscle shock" method of weight loss really works. You do a certain workout regimen every week for the first 30 days. Then it completely changes for the next 30 days. And the last 30 days. I decided to go for it.

It really worked. By the time we went on vacation, I was 45 days in to P90X and was down to 185. Adrian treated me and Jenny to a FABULOUS dinner at The Schooner Wharf in Key West.

Here's where I am now. I haven't gotten back to the workout. I stopped for vacation and never started back. I am up to 190 pounds. Talking with my friend today really lit a fire. For his birthday, I am sending him P90X. We are going to do it together. So Friday will be day one. January 13th will be day 90. Here we go again.