Workout Confidence... Complete!

So this morning I woke up and told myself my objective of the day: to go in the gym and give it all I've got. I did that today. I actually think I found some confidence in the gym, as well! First thing I did was jump on the treadmill (well not literally "jump", but I was pretty stoked to start my workout!). I started off light for my warm up. I was only intending to do a 5 minute warm up then lift weights. 20 minutes later, I had done 4 one-minute-and-a-half jogging/running intervals. It was great! What I do is this: I started off just at 2.5, then worked my way up to 3.5 by 10 minutes. Then at 10 minutes I turned it up to 5.0, 5.5 at 10:30, and 6.0 at 11:00. Then I backed down to 3.0 for a couple of minutes. I kindof staggered the cycles based on how I was feeling, but I completed 4 cycles of that. It was great! At 25:00 I started a cool-down. Then I went and lifted weights. I'm telling you what, I have NEVER been so confident working out by myself. I did a few of the weight lifting techniques I've done with Brenda, not all of them. I wanted the weight lifting to be a little bit light. So that's what I did. But I did focus more on my abs. I love to do crunches! Then when I was done with weights I decided I still had some workout energy left, so I got on a bike (not "jump", because I don't really like the bike that much, but I know it's good for me to do every once in a while) for 25 minutes. I didn't realize how intense it was until I got off the bike. Yikes! Talk about leg spasms. So I stretched out a little bit before I left, which I know should totally be routine at this point, but I always forget! I get into such a high of working out that I don't take the time to relax at the end and stretch. I'm thinking I need to make a good mix of workout songs. I had to keep skipping random songs like the Up soundtrack and Dane Cook... perhaps that should be a project in the next couple of days before I work out on my own again! :)

My Fitness Pal

On Thursday when I was working out with Brenda (again, she is AMAZING!) she mentioned to me a website to track calories and calories burned through exercise. I love it! I was previously using the "LoseIt" application on my iTouch, but I found it to be hard to actually sit down, search everything, yada yada yada... this website is so easy to use! Anyways, for those wondering, the webiste is http://www.myfitnesspal.com

I am still working super hard... not getting in a lot of extra working out, but I'm working towards it this week. Going in to work out tomorrow morning. Maybe get in some jogging? We shall see! Or maybe I'll just go to a spinning class! Only time and energy will tell! :)

A quick congratulations to Brenda, she got married on Friday!

That's all for today, have a great Monday! (I sure hope no one gets a case of the Mondays! LOL)

Why is it different this time?

Here are 5 reasons of why my weight loss is different this time:

5. I officially made up my mind that not only do I WANT to be healthy, but I NEED to be healthy!

4. I'm not sick of working out.

3. I'm not obsessive about the weight loss this time, I am being very laid back and not thinking about it every minute of every day.

2. I have the support system I need to have around me.

and finally..... *drum roll*

1. I have changed my lifestyle completely!

Still going strong, but a lot is going on with finding a job... pretty soon here I should be getting calls for interviews, so things are heating up and I'm calling principals and using my networks that I have established.

Did more martial arts today with Brenda - it's feeling GREAT! And I'm building up my stamina, which is awesome as well (even though she says I have great stamina.. pshaw!).

Have a great day - I know I will... it's a DCI kind of day! WAHOO! :)

Officially official!

I started REALLY counting calories today. Now that the birthday/graduation/holiday excitement is over, I am now taking the time to count out my calories. The weight loss is very slow lately, so we need to kick it in to gear. At least it's a loss, though! Right?

I worked out with Brenda again today. More martial arts, and I'm LOVING it! I had a lot of extra energy today, and she definitely kicked it out of me! We warmed up with kicks, lifted weights, did more kicks, lifted more weights, did punches, lifted more weights... it was AWESOME! I'm telling you, I think I found what will help me lose weight without even thinking about it! I'm considering a tag line for the martial arts... ;-)

Short and sweet! Have a great day!

Happy Birthday to ME! :)

Yep, it's official, I'm 23 as of like 6:45 this morning! Crazy Crazy! I have given myself the day off of counting calories because I know it's gonna be crazy anyways with going out to dinner, and I don't want to have to worry about it.

I promised an update, and here it is! I have lost another 2 pounds so far, which is AWESOME! :) I am experimenting with foods to find what is good and what is not good calorie-wise and how filling it is. I have been working out with Brenda twice a week lately... it's awesome! I just recover and I'm back at it! For my birthday workout yesterday, we did some martial arts! AWESOME! I got to let out some of my aggression from the past few months, punching and kicking things. It was great! And an amazing workout, might I add! I loved it, and I hope we do that more often now that she knows I love it so much!

I'm still pluggin.... just stick with me! Just because I'm not blogging doesn't mean I'm not still watching, because I am! I'm kicking it into serious full gear next week... I've been a little lazy with calories this week :(

Have a wonderful weekend!

Still going!

Sorry, I know it's been a while since I've written... I promise I will update soon. Things are going well, just trying to get through the job search and such...

I will leave you with a quote: "Self determination is what life is all about. Without it, you might be alive, but you wouldn't be living - you would just be existing."

How do I breathe?

So today (yesterday) was a fun one. I went and worked out with Brenda again! It was great... she had me jogging in intervals on the treadmill since I told her that I like to jog and my ultimate goal is to be able to run a 5k. That's all I needed to say! I was already sore from Tuesday, so she told me anytime my legs tie up just to stop. But I wound up jogging 4 out of 10 minutes. Not bad! My first interval was 2 minutes, then I did two 1 minute intervals. My main question for her was "How do I breathe? I don't understand breathing when jogging.." so she taught me some breathing techniques for running, then afterwards she showed me how to stretch out my legs.

Diet wasn't so good today, but I kind of layed off for a day. The weight isn't coming off like it should be, so I think it's time that I seriously keep a journal of what I eat and my calorie intake. So here's to the new beginning of my food journal! LOL

Well, I have a lot going on today, so I need to stop writing and eat breakfast! Have a great day!

Summertime!

So, this is my week off, and I have spent it thinking about the coming school year. I'm officially a teacher, huh? LOL! The good news is, with all the craziness going on around me, I have not only found time to relax, but I have also stayed on track! :) Good stuff!

With diet, I have done amazingly well! I have been home, which has helped the process quite a bit, but also I find myself more hungry when I'm at home. I have way too much time to think about eating. But, what I do is I find a healthy snack to tide me over. For example, this afternoon I got hungry and it was like 3:00, so I got out some pineapple that was already sliced, and I had a bowl of pineapple. Water has also been tiding me over quite a bit. I try to drink more water to not allow myself to get hungry. But then I'm going to the bathroom 12 thousand times an hour!

I worked out with Brenda again yesterday. She is so great! She has a very relaxed approach which seems to be working for me. I don't feel as though I'm going over my head with the workout, but I am sweating more than I ever have before! And I know I'm working harder than I ever have. I don't find myself complaining anymore. I just do it. And my determination really does take over. While lifting weights, I find myself saying (out loud, might I add) "Ok, Erin, you can do this. Work through it!" I can't wait to weigh in on Friday and see where I am! :)

Since I am off of work this week, Brenda and I talked about me working out twice this week with her. So I go to see her again tomorrow! :) I'm still sore from yesterday! But it's good... I'll work it out! I always do!

Have a great day, and keep your fingers crossed for me for a job! :) We're getting there I think!

Crazy Crazy Crazy!

This weekend was absolutely INSANE! I worked Saturday all day (literally), then came home, went upstairs to go to bed, and on the TV was a tornado warning. I alerted my parents, we watched the news downstairs and what do you know? There were like 3 touchdowns in NW Ohio between 2 storm systems. Absolutely crazy. Then I worked again on Sunday until 3, then I finally got to come home, but then we had the Moloney birthday/graduation/baptism party. I finally got to pause today and relax a bit! Thank goodness!

The good news is I did stay on program this weekend! I won't go in to detail, because that would be ridiculous. I don't know that I can even remember what I ate yesterday, worse yet Saturday! But I did stay on program, and I feel amazing. It doesn't even feel like I'm dieting... it just feels like I have made the necessary changes! :)

Obviously working out didn't happen this weekend, but I can say that I do still feel as if I worked out this weekend! I was being shadowed at work, and with lifting and bathing and all that at the home, I worked up a sweat and definitely was raising and lowering my heart rate!

This week is more relaxed since orientation is over. I am working on jobs for teaching, though, and that will definitely keep me plenty busy. Not to mention I could get called in to work. I work out again with Brenda tomorrow. I'm sure it will be as crazy as it was last week! :) Or at least I hope it will be! :)

Please keep the families whose homes and families were destroyed this weekend in the round of tornados in your prayers. It has been a rough weekend on the NW Ohio and SE Michigan area.

Have a great day!

24 Hours of Fun!

Well, I had an amazing day overall today! Lots of exciting things happening for me lately! :) I am officially a licensed teacher - I got my license in the mail today. It feels AMAZING to know that I have accomplished a major goal of mine. And another goal has been accomplished... I lost 6 (yes, that's right, SIX) pounds in the past 2 weeks! So exciting! :) I feel so good to have that much weight off already!

Today was kindof a mish-moshed day with diet. It was our last day of orientation at work today, so we had a celebration at the end of class. I started off my day with my organic cereal. Then at our party I had a couple small meatballs (homemade and apparently healthy, but I still only ate a couple) and a cupcake. I had a late lunch after that party, and I had tuna fish (made with light mayonnaise) sandwich and on some crackers. Then for dinner I had sister bonding with Amy, and that was my meal off for the week. I didn't really go all out, but I can tell you right now, I'm not feeling so hot from the chicken chunks. Greasy... blech! It tasted good, but it's so not worth it anymore.

My workout today was just yoga on Wii Fit. It helped stretch out my muscles from the workout with Brenda yesterday! It was great. And I broke a sweat! :)

This weekend is going to be rough. I picked up 12 hour shifts for both Saturday and Sunday. So take it easy on me! I'm going to try to update, but if not, you know why! :) Have a great weekend!

My determination can get the best of me sometimes...

That's a direct quote from my workout today. When I was working out, Brenda said to me at one point "Man, you're really doing well! Most people would have given up 2 reps ago!" and I looked at her and said "My determination can get the best of me sometimes, which can be both good and bad. In this situation, it's working out for me." Needless to say, it was a good day!

As far as diet, I did amazingly well! I started off with my Bob Evans Burritos (ultra YUM!). When I got home from working out I had lunch, and my mom made me 2 eggs over-easy with toast (I don't usually like breakfast food when it's not morning, but for some reason that's all I wanted after working out... weird!), to which I again say YUM! For dinner I took a Kashi frozen lunch, and I had the sweet and sour chicken. Organic! Wahoo! Then when I got home from work I had chips and salsa, then some chocolate frozen yogurt to finish off my day and my chocolate craving! Super delicious!

My workout was great, and Brenda really taught me a lot! We talked about eating organic, we talked about strength training vs. cardio.... It was great! I can't wait to keep this going. Brenda is very laid back, but ass-kicking! I feel my workout already... my arms feel dead right now!

Well that's all for today... I hope you all had a wonderful day! Have a great one tomorrow!

Busy Busy Bee!!

Ohmygoodness! I didn't even realize that I didn't write a blog last night! I am so sorry! LOL! I worked both jobs yesterday, and I think I got caught up in trying to keep on track that I forgot to update you all! But the good news is, the past 2 days have been AWESOME! I started packing good lunches at work, so I haven't been hungry at all! I started this whole taking a frozen meal, because I am so sick of sandwiches and chips for lunch... yuck.

Since mom and I went grocery shopping, I have noticed my eating habits changing. Not only with lunch, but with everything else. My breakfasts are no longer just toast or oatmeal. I got some healthy breakfast burritos, organic cereal, smoothies... YUM! It's been awesome. The family has been so super supportive, it's amazing!

My workouts were limited the past 2 days. My workout yesterday was guard. We have a HUGE guard this year, so I'm running all over the place trying to make sure that the girls are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Today I woke up not feeling so well, so I took an afternoon off. I've been so GO GO GO GO! and I think waking up not feeling well was a wake-up call to me. However, tomorrow I start personal training again! :) I can't wait!

Tomorrow will be a long day, but I promise I will update! :) Have a great day!