Challenge #2 Complete!

Last week was the end of the "Burn the Fat" Challenge.  It was a 98 day challenge that Tom Venuto   www.burnthefat.com was putting on.  He does it every year and the Grand Prize is a trip to Hawaii.  I chose to do this challenge because I needed something to keep me on track after the Golds Gym Body Challenge was over.  So, how did I do?  Well, after gaining 5 pounds between contests, I lost 20 pounds and 4% body fat.  So, total since January, I have lost 37 pounds and 10% body fat.  I was a little bummed looking at the numbers, but as my trainer pointed out, I am no longer considered "obese" and I am now in the athletic category.  And only loosing 4%?  Well, there is less of me now, so 4% is a greater accomplishment than when I started this journey.  My measurements are way down also.  I lost 5 inches around my middle in this challenge and I am down 2 sizes (and sometimes 3) in clothes!  If this wasn't a great enough accomplishment, I am much healthier also.  Like I said before,  I am no longer Obese and with that comes good (or better) health.  No more pre-diabetes, GI problems, bad skin, plantar Faccitis, joint issues, less mood swings (lets face it, they don't go away),  and a lower risk of cardio-vascular disease or heart attack!  In short, I have become healthier so I can be around longer for my kids (and husband).  I can run and play because I have more energy and I'm happier!
This challenge is over and I will find out next week if I won (there are about 300 people entered), but until then, I will continue my journey because....................I am in the middle of another Challenge (Good Health is Good Business - Ultimate Challenge)!  That is right!  I am a Challenge junkie!  This challenge is thru the Chamber of Commerce and is a 100-day Challenge that will end November 16.  My goal is to lose 5% body fat and 15 pounds (from today).  After I took my final measurements and pictures last week, I took a couple days off, but I am back on the plan today.  My scale was mad at me this morning, and I think my trainer wasn't too happy either because she about killed me today.  I will try to post more often and I'll include some of the workouts I do too.  My goal this week is to get back and stay on the plan and be strong!  I have had alot of great progress, but I have not reached my overall goal yet.
As part of the Challenge I just finished, I had to write an essay, so I have pasted it below.

When I began the Burn the Fat Challenge, I had recently finished a body transformation with the local gym and I was beginning to go back to “old habits”.  My commitment to getting healthier started in January and I had not yet gotten to where I wanted to be so this was perfect to get me back on track and to continue on my journey.  I reminded myself of “why” I wanted to make a change in the first place.  It wasn’t just to lose weight, but it was to get healthy so that I am around for my kids and husband.  I know what it’s like to lose your mom and I don’t want that for my kids.  I want to be around for all their milestones, graduating from high school, going to college, getting married, and having kids of their own.  I want to be around for all of it!  I had been diagnosed with heart disease, pre-diabetes, having G.I problems, shortness of breath, and I couldn’t play with the kids like I should’ve been able to.  My health was going downhill!  This challenge kept me going and focused and it helped me to practice the good, healthy habits that I learned in the previous challenge.  In this challenge these new habits of eating healthy, exercising regularly, and taking my vitamins became second nature to me.  I don’t think about where I’m going to stop for dinner or what dessert I’m going to have, I think about going home to be with my kids or what we can do this weekend for fun! 

My attitude and mood is a lot better now too, just ask my family.  I am not short tempered anymore and I don’t have the mood swings that I used to.  I am more positive and I now have proven to myself that I am strong enough to make these changes.    I am a busy person; I’m a mom of two boys (ages 3 and 5) and all the activities that they do, I head up a PTA at my sons school, I volunteer in the classroom for my son, and I’m an office manager of a Chiropractic Office that my husband  and I own.  I have learned to make time for myself without taking time from the other aspects.  I now incorporate my healthy lifestyle into the other areas.  My kids go to the gym with me and help me shop for and cook healthy foods.  We play (exercise) at the park and at home.  I share my experience with others in hope that I can help them become healthier too. 

During this challenge I made great changes mentally and physically.  I lost 19.5 pounds and 5 inches around my middle.  My bodyfat doesn’t show as much of a loss as I would like, but I am smaller everywhere, my clothes are loose on me and I have had to go shopping for smaller clothes (woo-hoo)!  Although my main goal wasn’t to lose weight just to look better, it sure doesn’t hurt to know that I look better than I did a few months ago.  It also doesn’t hurt when people whom I don’t know come up to me and tell me that I look good and they can really see the difference I’ve made.  They also tell me they notice how hard I work out.  My workouts are much harder than they were before beginning the challenge.  I have “boot-camp” style workouts now at least 3 times a week and when I don’t do high-intensity workouts, I feel as though I haven’t gotten a good enough workout.  When I lift weight, I still lift heavy, but I move to the next exercise without much break.  I am also stronger in all lifts that I do! 

My transformation is huge! I eat healthier, I work out (intense) regularly, I’m more active with my kids, I’m  no longer pre-diabetic, I don’t have any other health issues, I am happier, I’m more productive at work, and I don’t fantasize about food!  I couldn’t have done this challenge without the support of my family!  My husband and kids are my greatest inspiration and support!  It feels great to have made the changes I have and to know that I can influence and encourage others.  I am a winner regardless of who is “named” winner from this challenge.  I had a reason for wanting to change and I took that reason, made a plan, persevered, and reached my goal.  Now I continue with making a new plan keeping in mind the reason I started with, persevering thru obstacles and temptations.  There is always room for improvement and a greater potential!  My journey continues!

REVELATION!!

Over the last few weeks, I have come to realize many things.  First, I  realize that I am not on a DIET, I have made a change in my lifestyle.  I am coming to the end of this Body Transformation Contest, but my transformation is continuing.  My body has changed, but I am still working on my mind and how I think about food.  I don't have the cravings like I used to with sugar and with fast food, but I still associate certain events with food.  I have just began a new challenge thru the Chamber of Commerce.  There are two parts to it, a Lifestyle Challenge in which I do certain things that are on the score card to accumulate points and the other is an Ultimate Challenge, which is similar to the Body Challenges that I have doing.  (I know, how many can I do in a year?).  It just started 3 days ago and it will end right before Thanksgiving.  My first thought when I was considering these challenges was "I can't do it because my birthday is right in the middle of it".  Then is was "at least it's over right before Thanksgiving".  These are some mindsets that I need to work on.  My birthday can still be celebrated without pigging out and I can have a birthday meal and it won't mess me up.  You can indulge, as long as it isn't all the time.

My 2nd revelation is in regards to my strength.  I am a strong person to have changed my lifestyle for over 8 months.  I eat better, I workout harder, I play longer with my kids, I have more energy, I am more motivated, and I am happier.  It is not easy to not give in to temptation.  It is not easy to get up in the morning to go to the gym when I am tired.  It is not easy to do alot of things, but I know that I am a better person for staying strong.  Yes, I do slip, but I refocus and keep going.  I don't quit!

My 3rd revelation is "God does not give you more than you can handle"!  I have been given the opportunity to change.  He gave me three challenges in the same year!  I didn't want to do all three, but I need three to get me to my goal and to keep me focused, and to help me come these realizations.  I am a busy person, but I know I am strong enough to do everything and to have time for my family.  I had gotten to a bad place before I started my first challenge.  I was fat, unhealthy (GI problems and pre-diabetic), moody (hormonal problems), and a little lazy.  I didn't want to do some things with the kids because I got tired easily.

Another revelation?  Yes, I realize that without a reason, then I wouldn't have come to the other realizations.  My reason, I always come back to, is my family.  I want to be here for my family.  I want to meet (and play with) my grand kids.  I want to have a 50th wedding anniversary!

Although I have made great progress, I still have more to go.  I want to lose about 7% more of fat and probably about 10 lbs.  I have lost 30 pounds so far and it has all been fat,  I have kept all the muscle.  I look better, feel better, and I am better!

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming....

This has been a challenging week.  I didn't make much progress in losing weight, bodyfat, or inches and I saw a picture of myself taken 2 days ago that really discouraged me.  I know I am hard on myself, but c'mon...I looked like I did before I started losing weight 6 months and 30 lbs ago.  Ben keeps telling me that it's just the picture and that I look much thinner in person.  Pictures don't lie!  Granted, clothes make a difference in how they fit on me so the color (white) and fit (not fitting) probably made it look worse, but it put me in a depressed mood.
That was Yesterday....Today I feel better.  Ben reminded me of the positives that I have been overlooking.  Some of the positives:  Two separate people in the last week have told me that in the short time that they have been coming into the clinic have noticed that I have lost alot of weight;  my clothes are looser and I have gone down one full size and almost two sizes; I feel much healthier; my skin looks healthier;  I have more energy;  I can run a mile non-stop in under 12 minutes; my moods are more even (most of the time); my workouts are more intense; and my diet is more healthy.  That's not too bad!
So, what comes to mind is the saying from Dori on Finding Nemo (my son watches this almost daily) "Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming".  If I keep going, I will burst through and eventually get to where I am want to be.
This past week has been intense even though it doesn't show on paper.  I have my boot camp class on Mondays and I have been training with my trainer once a week.  My workouts on my own have been awesome too.  Last Friday I did a heavy leg workout and I felt it for 5 days.  The 2nd day was awful, I could barely get out of bed, which wasn't a good sign, then through-out the day if I stopped moving my legs would tighten up and it was like trying to get out of bed all over again.  I did yard work and cleaned the house so I didn't stop moving much that day.  I still did my workouts at the gym, but on Mondays boot camp I had to take some ibuprofen.  I am not recommending this for anyone else.  You should take some time off, stretch, and let your body rest.
Today's workout was a boot camp style workout, which I have copied so y'all could see what I do.  I feel good.  Tired....but good!

Warm up

Treadmill 5 min @ 5 incline fast pace

Circuit X 2 -

Box jumps X 20

Bosu ball push-ups X 15

Kettlebell 9lb touch to floor to overhead press. X 12 Barbell lunges #30 across floor and back Bosu 1-leg knee ups X 20 each leg Box jump toe taps X 25 Bosu squats w/ 15 lb kettlebell X 20 Bosu burpees w/squat X 12 Bosu mtn climbers X 40

55 min

Circuit X 2

Ball crunches X 30

Ab roller X 15

Med ball sitting side to side X 15

Med ball lying v-ups X 15

15 min

Cardio

Rower- 2000m @ 11:07

Recumbent bike 22 min- 4 miles

My goal this next week is to eat more protein and drink more water!  

Another Milestone!

My milestone this week was a big one!  Instead of fantasizing what I'm going to eat at the end of this, I found myself fantasizing what I'm going to look like!  That is big for me!

The weight is slowly coming off, but more importantly the bodyfat is going down.  This past week I have kept my intensity up and I think it's breaking me through.  I have managed to lose bodyfat while gaining muscle.  Woo-hoo!  My inches are about the same, but I feel like my clothes are fitting better and most are loose on me!  

My cardio last week was alot of treadmill, running a mile and walking fast on an incline.  Monday was bootcamp, Tuesday was a personal training session which we did stability exercises, Wednesday was a lot of cardio and a back workout, thursday I took the day off, then I did a heavy arm workout on Friday and then on Saturday I did a bootcamp style workout.  That was one of my best workouts, it began with a mile run (nonstop), then an hour of high intensity plyometric exercises, stability exercises, kettlebells, and floor exercises.  I ended the workout with 45 min more cardio ( 12 min row machine for 2000 meters and 30 minutes on the recumbent bike).  2 hours of awesomeness!  Monday was another bootcamp, Tuesday I did a shoulder workout and today I worked out with the trainer and did a thigh, glute workout then did 45 min cardio (mile run then rec bike for 20 min).

As far as my diet, I could be better and I am trying to think of food I like and want to make, but I am too picky of an eater.  The thought of eating chicken makes me want to gag, i don't like fish or vegetables, and beef bloats me.  Hmmm! That leaves protein shakes, but only strawberry flavor.

My goal for this week is to find some real food (I have been eating alot of pre-packaged foods) that I like and are easy to fix. Another goal is to not be so cranky!!

Back in the Saddle!

Back in the Saddle!  What does that even mean?  Well, if it means "Back on Track" then thats me!  I took last week easy from working out because I kept getting hurt.  First I hurt my back, then I rolled my ankle, then I hurt my hip.  So, my trainer took the week off and I took advantage of the time and I went easy on my workouts.  I'm happy I did so too because I was able to start strong yesterday (Monday) which motivated me all day yesterday and it kept me focused on my goal.  I did boot camp yesterday and I LOVE Boot camp!!  It is the best workout!  We do alot of body weight exercises and those are the Worst/Best.  When I lose weight, it will be easier, right?  I'm going with that.

Today I had a personal training session, but it was more like a boot camp.  Awesome!  I then did 45 minutes more of cardio afterwards.  Tomorrow I will be on my own and Thursday I have another personal training session.  I'm looking forward to my workouts.  I will be taking the weekend off because we will be going out of town, but I will be swimming with the kids, so that counts, right?

My diet is going well also.  Considering that I am a Food Addict (Hello, my name is Ginger and I am a foodaholic) and I ate out at just about every meal and I had to have a x-large Pepsi and some kind of dessert, I am doing awesome!  I am sticking to a clean diet, with moderate carbs, low fat, and moderate protein.  My calories are around 1300 calories.  Occasionally, I will nibble on my kids food, but I don't do it very often.

Today is the beginning of Week 5 and Day 28.  I took my measurements, and body fat today and since starting this contest I have lost 7 lbs, 2 % body fat (all fat, while keeping the muscle), and all my measurements have gone down.

So, my goal this week is to up my intensity with my workouts and to stay strong on my diet when I go out of town.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

Today is week 3 in this new Transformation Contest and I am about where I was at the end of the last contest.  So, the "Good" is that I haven't quit and I have lost inches everywhere.  The "bad" is that my diet hasn't been as clean as it should be.  I also haven't been felling that great the last couple days.  The "Ugly"....well, its how I think look, but I also hurt my hip rotator in my workout last week so it's affecting my workouts this week. GRRRR!!!

Last week I ate a few things not on my diet, but I didn't let it stop me.  I kept going.  I didn't say, well I'll start over tomorrow morning, I started over right then.  You can do alot of damage to your state of mind as well as your body by "starting tomorrow".  What did I do?  I got mad at myself for  cheating on my diet, then I regained my focus, made a plan for the next day, then I prepared my food and supplements.

Last week I did one Boot camp class on Monday, a Personal Training session on Tuesday, and another PT session on Friday.  Friday, we worked on body weight exercises for lower body and thats what overworked my hip rotator.  I didn't do boot camp yesterday since I wasn't feeling well, but today I went in  for PT session and I did 2 (yes, only 2) lunges and I almost fell to the floor because my hip hurt.  We then moved to core and stability (crossfit) exercises.  Afterwards, I walked on the treadmill for 40 min and tried to do eliptical but it was too much.  Again, GRRRRR!!!  I hate not being able to workout to my full potential.

So, my goals for this week are to heal my hip, and to CLEAN UP MY DIET!!  Losing body fat would be nice too!

No Pain, No Gain!

If were easy, then everyone would be skinny, right?  This is definitely not easy!  This is the 7th day back on the diet and I have lost 3.5 lbs and lost inches everywhere, but I don't count it since I gained some since ending the last contest in April.  Tomorrow I will take my body fat.
I did boot camp this morning and it was a great workout, but I rolled my ankle.  It didn't hurt too much while I was there, but after getting to work, as soon as I was cooling down, it tightened up and now I really feel it.  I also need to work on my upper body strength.  It is sad that I have so much trouble doing push-ups and pull-ups.  So, I am going to the push up challenge - 100 push ups a day!  That's only 10sets of 10!
I am off to a good start with this Transformation contest, I need to stay strong!!