it was bound to happen ...

Well unfortunately for the first time in my journey I gained weight. I ended up going up a pound this week. Crazy how easy that is to do .. you just have a  few days of not staying on track in the eating department and you're in trouble. Although if I've learned anything from my past the worst thing any of us can do is get bogged down in these little hiccups along the road. BIG picture shows if you're leading a healthy life and FEELING better then that's the most important .. SMALL picture is that this week you had a gain. Same thing is applicable in the exercise department. I can sit and wallow and feel guilty about the fact I didn't get my butt moving for weekend classes this weekend or I can say ... I'll just work that much harder this week.

My advice to anybody out there .. is if you want to led a healthy life you can do it. Don't let anybody stop you ...whether it be people who want you to secretly fail and try and pressure you to "finish off the last bit of food" or "please try this cake, I made it especially for you". You should never feel pressured to eat or do something you know is not right for your body. Instead it should be a decision you make!

I'm reminded of a great clip that I hope can be inspiring to all of you. Please click on the picture below and watch it. If you want something bad enough, you can do it .. that's exactly how I feel about weight loss and changing to a healthy lifestyle. You just have to be determined to do it and don't let anybody or anything discourage you! Thanks for that piece of advice Will Smith ;)

craziness....

okay .. celebrating because we did it! We finished the 5km race. I was happy because I think I beat my time from last year's Rankin Run..finishing in 38 mins and 58 seconds. I think I'm the happiest because I managed to run the whole time. I can definitely beat this time and this speed and it would be great to try sometime too!

In other news I got my ass kicked by my personal trainer this evening. When I arrived she announced we were doing "something fun". She had a deck of cards. Each card suite had an exercise attached to it. I had to hop on one foot for about 2 meters, pick up a card (without my other foot touching the ground) and do the exercise associated with the card suite and repeat it the number of times on the card.
For example
hearts -- full squat
diamonds -- push ups
spades -- squat jump .. literally doing a squat, jumping up and going right back into another squat
clubs -- burpees (KILLER)

So ... this was all fine and dandy at the beginning and I thought hey this isn't so bad. BUT OMG after 10 minutes I was ready to die. I think the real killer was when I got the KING of CLUBS .. that meant 13 burpees ... now that may seem easy to you people but omg I can not a burpee kinda girl especially after all the other craziness the cards were dealing me.

Did I mention that jokers were worth 50 bicycle thingys (don't even know the proper term) it consists of being in the push up position and moving your legs up as far as you can to your chest ... kill me now deadly.

So after doing this for an HOUR I did the math and figured out
I had done 91 full squats, 91 push-ups, 91burpees and 91 squat jumps ...
don't fofrget the 100 bicycle thingys (2 jokers).

Alas .. I'm dead .. dying and continue to wonder why I pay for this torture. That being said I typically try and go to my perosnal trainer once a week but on the weeks I am not able to see her I still go to the gym but don't see the same results on the same. It is crazy what a one hour training session can do. I'm also finding she helps my form a lot too.

All in all I think I've noticed your body and your body weight is your own personal gym .. it's incredible what you can do with it!

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

In any journey .. weight loss and exercise wise .. we have to stop and think "what have I done today to make me feel proud?" ... You should be proud of your efforts and take the time to celebrate. I find even celebrating the little accomplishments like choosing to take half a cookie instead of eating 3 are important to keep yourself motivated. I encourage every one to reflect on their week and celebrate even the smallest changes you've made to better your healthy lifestyle.

Today I feel proud because it's my weigh in day and I'm 0.4 pounds away from the 25 pound loss mark. . Mostly I want to be proud because I participated in a gruelling dragon boat race with my MSB team last weekend .. I included a picture of me IN the boat for proof.  I made it through a hellish personal training session (gave it my all) on Tuesday night and I'm even more proud because along with some of my closest friends I'm taking on a 5k run tonight! Living an active lifestyle is the best feeling and being proud of it is even better!

What are you proud of today? Comment on this post and share below, I'd love to hear it!

And while you're at it .. take the time to listen to this song (biggest loser theme song) which is what inspired this post. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taCMAhv2wkw