love the lifestyle...

I know it's been awhile ..I had a week in there that I gained 3 pounds - which was a shock .. but otherwise been doing a bit here and there ... (last week was a 1.5 pound lost and this week was a 0.5 loss) ... so yes it's coming but damn it's coming slowly .. At least right now I'm at the lowest weight I've been in over 7 years ... I'm so proud of that.
Current weight: 204
LOSS this week: -0.5
Total loss since on this journey: 54 pounds
Total weight loss during 10 week goal timeline: 14 pounds - 6 pounds to go!!  (and only 2.5 weeks left .. eek!).

Today I want to talk about a few things:

1) a quote that I heard on the biggest loser that really stuck with it. The trainer said to one of the individuals "don't fall in love with the results ... fall in love with this (refering to exercise) .. fall in love with the new lifestyle" . It's true it's easy to get stuck on the rsults and how much weight we've lost but the trainer is right ... we should take the time to reflect and love the new life that we have created - a life full of healthy eating and clean foods ... loving the way it makes you feel and loving the healthy person you have become is the important part ..not just the numbers.
Love the change you have made to your life ... don't just love the results. Love the exercise and love the healthy foods. I'm going to try and focus on this idea this week to encourage me to stay focused and on track. I'm so happy and I feel great - THAT is the best part of this journey.

2) Second thing I wanted to share were two great moments for me
1- I fit into a size 12 dress pant. I had bought them from costco over 2 years ago in hopes of fitting in them one day (they never actually fit me properly) ... amazingly I put them on randomly one day and they were almost TOO big for me. This was a great moment for me.

2 - The other day Nick picked me up .. literally picked me up ... he used to do this all the time, however it's been awhile ... as soon as he picked me up he looked at me and said "wow .. you're light .. I guess I haven't picked you up in awhile" - this made me smile...he physically could feel the difference between my body weight ... that's pretty cool.

Just two moments I wanted to share that encouraged me and reminded me why I work so hard.

Thanks everybody for your continued support.

no excuses!

I have finally gotten an opportunity to catch up with this season's biggest loser (the focus is no excuses). I think over Easter the ongoing excuse of "well it's the holidays" creeped up on me more than once. I am however celebrating that despite the gym being closed/reduced hours and no classes I still worked out everyday of the weekend. There's always an excuse eg) I don't have time, I'm hurt, I'm sore etc. etc. I know I've used them all before.

But on the biggest loser the "I can't do it" excuse was sure put to the test. I was motivated by what I saw ...the episode had somebody by the name of Bethany Jackson - a woman who lost her whole arm when she was a teenager to a shark attack when surfing. In response to this despite her new fears of water, she returned to surfing and become a professional surfer winning medals galore. It was amazing to see her surfing with only one arm.

Watching this has motivated me to think anything is possible. The first time I participated in a spinning class over a year ago I barely made it through, stopping constantly for water breaks. In fact I was so discouraged, I never went back .I just  stated I wasn't "that person" the type of person that could do this crazy, intense exercise. I just thought it was "too much for me".... Today I can confidently and strongly make it through spinning classes and do so on a regular basis.  It is a fantastic exercise that I've started to thoroughly enjoy it.

My words of wisdom from my experience with spinning as well as Bethany Jackson ... never be afraid. Have the confidence in your own abilities and if you want something badly enough you CAN do it! You WILL be a success if you stop making excuses for yourself and get out there and do it. If Bethany Jackson can surf in championships with one arm anything  is possible with the right determination.

Take a chance!

I'm really trying to update more regularly and I get so busy. At least my Tuesday weigh-ins keep me on track! Another good week (well could have been better but I was happy with a loss). I thought with sushi dinner, dinner out last night, Katie's birthday and only 4 work-outs it would be destined for failure ... alas I did okay :)

Shows what hard work-outs can do for you.

Current weight: 206
LOSS this week: -1
Total loss since on this journey: 52 pounds
Total weight loss during 10 week goal timeline: 12 pounds - 8 pounds to go!!

My big post today is about taking a chance...  

Change is one of the hardest things the human body has to deal with. Change however can also open many new horizons. I reflect back when I decided to change .. I'm not sure what it was. I think I stepped on the scale-shocked and just in general felt very unhealthy. I was not happy and most importantly I was not happy with me. I took a chance by going into that gym. The biggest chance I took was paying money for a trainer. This was something I never wanted to do because well I thought why would I pay somebody for something I can do on my own. I'm already paying for a monthly membership. Then a few weeks with Shawna made me realize something ... I'm not paying somebody for something I can't do ... I'm paying somebody to help me with something I've never been able to do time after time.

I'm a firm believer that having a trainer has really helped shape my work-outs. I now know HOW to work out properly and have a motivator behind me all the way.

So I took the chance .. and now I've seen a change. My advice to everybody out there is to take a chance. Believe in yourself and you will see results and a change. You will never know what you can and can't do until you try.It's scary to first step into a gym after getting to a weight that you aren't comfortable with. It's scary to change your diet so much that you don't get the usual fast food. The reality is if you want to live a longer and healthy life, the chance is worth it. In fact the chance you take is pricless. Nobody can put a monetary amount on happiness and good health. Once you take this chance ... and stick with it ... you WILL see a change ....  But nobody can make that CHOICE to make a CHANGE but you ...