Still Grounded, Burning Fat

Injuries suck!  Not knowing exactly why you are injured and how to heal sucks even more.  All, I know is one day I woke up and my leg hurt.  Shooting pain from my knee, up my thigh and down my shin.  Uuuuggghh!  And let me say for the record, when this pain occurs it stops you in your tracks.  It only lasts for about 10-20 seconds but every 30 minutes and I'm done!

If I refrain from using the stairs and doing my "oh so wonderful," yes I truly enjoy my hardcore classes, it feels much better.  However, just a little too much use and/or stretching and that lovely pain returns.  I've been to the doctor, nothing showed on the xray.  However, here I am still in pain.  Next, perhaps an ultrasound to look at the muscles and ligaments.

In the meantime, I have been simply grabbing my iTouch, putting on some happy tunes and heading for  the treadmill, where I enjoy a simple walk.  Yay!  Good thing is, a simple walk burns fat!  Did you know that?   It is actually better for you to not get your heart rate up too high if your goal is to burn fat.  So walking at a steady, decent pace of about 15-17 minutes per mile (for me), for about 40 minutes is a great fat burning exercise.  Not too strenuous but good for your body and soul. I make sure to do this several times a week, while I try to allow my leg to heal.

So next time you are making excuses to not exercise cause it's "too hard."  Get a hold of yourself.  Get honest and go for a walk and burn some FAT!

Be Flexible!

Things change.  We get set in our ways and our routines and sometimes things change.  Your favorite class gets cancelled...you move further away from your favorite gym....your workout partner cuts out on you...you get injured or sick.  Things change....and so can you!  You still have goals.  You've got to make them happen.  Where there is a will, there is a way. Just be flexible and come up with alternatives and push forward!

My favorite class on Tuesdays was changed to 7:15pm.  Hated it. Getting home after 8:15 and still needing to eat, shower and wind down before bed just doesn't work for me.  I'm wound up after that work out!  For just a moment, I felt like, "OMG!  What am I going to do on Tuesdays?  No workout."  Well, I tried the class at that time.  I hated needing to wait until 7:15...already starting to wind down from my day. Considered the treadmill and elliptical but inside machine workouts, just won't do.  Finally, I decided on walking on Tuesday and Friday each.  I LOVE walking and don't do it enough.  It's the natural way our body moves and provides a whole body workout.  I get to be out in nature and enjoy my neighborhood.  It works for me...until they move my class back to 6pm!

When Plan A is no longer working, you've got to have a Plan B!  Keep it moving!

I LOVE to Exercise!

..is no longer a question!

Just to think that back in January 2007, weighing 285 pounds, exercise was the LAST thing on my mind.  I didn't mind walking a little but exercise as in push ups, weight lifting, kickboxing etc......NO WAY!  I could barely stand for long periods, let alone lift my leg or extra weight other than my own body...which was tough enough.

Today, I am a totally different person.  Having kept off over 100 pounds for almost 3 years now, exercising 4-5 days per week and enjoying it.  I just have to write about it.

Sunday, I had the pleasure...yes pleasure of attending Cardio Resistance Training...as we do every Sunday.  However, this Sunday our regular instructor was not there.  Therefore, we had a sub and got to try something new.  Of course, you first feel a bit apprehensive but you get over that quickly cause you are there to exercise.  So let's do this.  Well, she kicked it off with a bang...less than 10 minutes in and we all knew we were in for a serious ass kicking!  She stated it at the beginning...that she believed in hard work, why would you come here if you don't want a good work hard...and she never stopped.  She shouted PUSH, you are AWESOME often.  She cranked up the music on her favorite songs while Robert clapped, yelled and looked sweaty and sexy as he worked hard the entire time and there I was sweaty and sexy right next to him...enjoying every minute...motivated the entire time to PUSH!  Yes...I said it...enjoying every minute of it!  She pushed us harder and further than our norm and I LOVED it!  Now, I look forward to our instructor coming back but I will be delighted to see her face in the place again as a sub...anytime.  Perhaps, I'll even look for a few of her classes and switch it up sometime.

I share this not only to share my experience but to say, I didn't like exercise in the beginning of this journey but I remember saying to myself every day, "I LOVE to exercise.  I feel good. I feel happy. This is fun!"  Some people say, fake it until you make it.  I faked it and I MADE it!!!! You can too!

Happy Wednesday People!  Let's GO!

I'm on FIRE!!!

Last night I had an AMAZING Total Conditioning workout (the hardest class at the club)!  I am convinced that I will enJOY this journey, push harder, stronger, faster.  I will get lean, build muscle, be energized and be healthier than ever before!  I am JAZZED!


Last night, I pushed myself to do more and test my strength and endurance and I AM STRONG!  I sweat like a pig and felt like a queen!  Dh turned to me at the end of the class and said, "Wow.  15lbs.  You are serious!" Hell yeh, I am!!!!  What you thought???  LOL!


Seriously, it made me feel good to hear him say that because it meant I really did push and he noticed!


Now, I'm ready for another day.  Feeling energized and ready for my next challenge.


Here is a quick peek at what my current weekly workout plan is:


Monday: 40 minute walk/jog
Tuesday: 1 hr Cardio Kickboxing
Wednesday: 1 hr Total Conditioning
Thursday: 1 hr Ashtanga Yoga
Friday: 40 minute walk/jog
Saturday: 1 hr Yin Yoga
Sunday: 1 hr Cardio Resistance Training


It's day 4 and I'm feeling it!


What's on my menu:
Breakfast: Homemade Chicken Veggie Soup
Lunch: Mixed greens, grilled chicken, cranberries, feta, tomatoes
Dinner: Chicken and veggies
Snacks: fruit, dark chocolate and raisins


You may notice parts of my menu are a bit repetitive...that's because I like to automate my eating!


..in happiness and health,

I ❤ it when you leave comments!

I got my ass kicked!

Yes, I did. Last night in Total Conditioning with Wendy Street Lindy at Life Time Fitness, Mountain Brook!


What is Total Conditioning you ask:


Combine full-body resistance training with continuous cardio training and you get Total Conditioning. This intense athletic workout uses a variety of equipment and cycle activity with built-in recovery for an efficient, easy-to-follow workout. Note: You'll want to master "Strictly Strength" before moving on to Total Conditioning. 

We did 6 sets of push-ups, triceps, biceps, lunges, squats, core work!  Total body workout!  This class is NO joke and one of my absolute favorites.  Although, I am super sweaty, breathing heavy and ready to just go somewhere and spread out on the floor afterwards and I am often looking at the teacher like...what the _____?  At the same time, I also feel energized, healthy and oh so happy that I can actually get through this class and keep up with the best of them.  To come this far in 2 years is still amazing to me.  I have such a big, new found respect and love for exercise and a body in motion.  This is AWESOME!  And I am proof that it can be done!


I started my journey simply walking 30 minutes a day.  Start small and make your way slowly but surely to bigger goals.  If I can...you can too!


Do you exercise?  What do you do to keep your body in motion?

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I hate yoga!

There I said it!  I meant it!  Well, maybe...perhaps...hmmm... hate is a strong word but I surely DON'T like yoga!  Ewwww!  Warrior 2, downward dog, tree pose....yada, yada, yada!  Whatevah!

I just find myself feeling mad every time I take a yoga class, literally.  The poses are hard, sometimes they hold them for too long and go back to them too often.  What the...?  I enjoy loud music and jumping around!  Cardio, strength, interval training.  Walk, jog, run, jump, play...dance!  But then...owww...my muscles sure are tight.  Uuuugggghhh...what's up with my hamstrings?  Could it be that I am so NOT flexible that it's annoying?

I must admit that lately I have found myself in yoga a bit more often or shall I say, I've traded in one of my "jump around" days for a not so relaxing day of yoga!  I'm still not there yet.  However, I realize it's good for me and I'm a fighter...at least I am when it comes to things that are important to me and what could be more important than YOUR OWN HEALTH???

I'm no glutton for punishment, so I have tried a variety of yoga classes in an attempt to find what is "right" for me.  Hatha yoga...my first yoga class.  Hated it!  Left mad and frustrated!  However, I tried it 3 times before declaring it off the list.  Yin Yoga...4 minute poses.  I must've been out of my mind!  What was I thinking?  Hot Yoga..YIKES...over 100 degrees in there.  However, suprisingly, I like this one better than the others...perhaps because they don't hold the poses long and my muscles were so much warmer and a bit more flexible than in the other classes.  But I'm still not in love.

Back to Hatha Yoga with a different instructor.  I found myself getting mad, as soon as we began.  Uuuuggggh.  Now, I've got an attitude.  Then the teacher has us do a swan dive and she says, "Now remember how flexible you are at this moment.  We will return to this pose several times throughout the class.  Try to go a bit further each time and notice if your flexibility increases."  I hold on to this statement, as I go through more difficult poses.  You see I need something to hold onto, to make me feel a bit better about this torture I am going through.  Trying my best to pay attention to my breathing, trying to be focused, all while my mind wants to think of everything I have to do later on during the day.  I keep a bit more focused than on prior "yoga" days and I hold on to the "swan dive."  55 minutes later and we are doing the swan dive for the 4th or 5th time and I feel calm, a bit more flexible and my muscles feel AWESOME!  (Now don't ask, how I felt the next day!)  Success! Still a little mad at the end of the class but feeling good that I progressed.  Hmmmm...I liked this instructor...I think I'll go again!

Yoga has so many wonderful health benefits... builds strength,  promotes flexibility and balance, encourages relaxation, promotes mental well-being etc.  I realize that I truly NEED the flexibility work and as for being mad, several yoga instructors think that's good because yoga is as much about the body as it is about the mind and emotions.  We'll see and perhaps I'm on my way from yoga hate to yoga LIKE!  Love?  Not quite yet.

Strength, Endurance, or Weight Loss

At the beginning of this year, I learned that in order to continue to lose weight I had to give up bread.  It just seems to stick to me.  It doesn't matter that I'm working out 5 days a week, 1 hr per day.  If I eat bread, the weight remains and often I gain.   Now, that I'm at goal, this still holds true.  I can indeed eat bread and I do but one too many pieces for the week and up goes the scale.  You've got to know your body and know what your goals are.  I recently came across a wonderful article on the Life Time Fitness web site that discusses this and explains it beautifully.  Below is an excerpt from the article. Well worth the read.   Know your goals: endurance, weight loss, strength...you decide. 

Now that the weather’s been warm for the past couple of months in most of the U.S., running season is in full-swing. The appeal of being active outdoors is almost instinctual after being indoors for much of the winter months. For many people, the enthusiasm for being outdoors, plus the desire to lose weight makes running a common choice of exercise. For those trying to lose significant amounts of weight – 30, 50, or more pounds – is picking up a new pair of shoes and hitting the pavement the best choice of exercise for weight loss? Is it possible to train for an endurance event like a marathon, and lose significant amounts of weight at the same time? Is running the best choice for those who are just starting an exercise program?

It is all too common, people bound and determined to lose significant weight, start a running program (or another intense exercise program) thinking they’ll burn the weight off. Initially, they lose a small initial amount and then the weight loss plateaus. The running gets easier, but that wasn’t really the goal. The goal was to get the weight off. In the end, they assume they just can’t lose weight. After all, they’re doing plenty of exercise and can’t lose weight. “They must just be destined to keep the weight on.” In reality, excessive amounts of exercise can keep individuals from losing the weight they so desperately want to lose. Before you take up a marathon training program, or any exercise program, you must make the decision about what is the greater priority: performance, or weight loss. In trying to do both, it’s possible you won’t succeed at either.  Continue to complete article here...

Exercise makes you stronger

I remember thinking, "Oh my, I am so weak," the first time I stepped into a Barbell Strength Class.  Afterall, I had never lifted weights in my life.  I had been reading about the importance of strengthening your muscles and bones, which is essential to graceful aging.   You see I was turning 40 and I thought it was time to get myself together.

To tell you the truth, I was terrified.  I could not do one push up or even 1 tricep dip and for much of the class I simply did what I could which wasn't much and I felt a bit odd.  I recall turning to Robert and saying, "I have no muscles."  I felt very sad at the moment.  I thought, how could you let this happen to your body.  It was a rude awakening.  

That was almost 2 years ago.  I have watched many women come and go from each of my classes.  Some have even mentioned the class was too hard.   I decided at the beginning of this journey, I had to have a positive attitude no matter what.  It made no sense to lament what I didn't have and instead I focused on all the good each effort I made would do for me.  I focused on how exercise was going to make me stronger, leaner, more fit. How I would lessen the loose skin that surely will be left behind after losing 120lbs. I focused on the good that was sure to come.

Now, here I am, sharing this with you just after taking my barbell strength class, where I can do every push up and ever tricep dip.  And I am simply elated.

Yes, it does take time but it is worth the time and effort.  Today, I am stronger, leaner and happier!

Classygirl