Graduation Day!

 

 

My second kiddo graduated from high school today…with high honors I might add!  Brandon received $3500 in scholarships which will make it so much easier to handle having two in college.  I am very proud of him And his girlfriend of two years also graduated with high honors and has a presidential scholarship to Texas Tech! She is amazing too!!

It will feel strange not having a child in high school.  And, not having more than one kid in public school! It’s been a long time since that was the case.  Rachel is now an 8th grader so we’ve got a few years to go on her.  But experience tells me it will pass in a blink of an eye. 

I am proud of all three of my kids.  Kyle is working and going to school and handling his own responsibilities so very well.  All three so smart…and so responsible….and so much fun! Thank you God for my children.  They are a gift straight from you!

I made it!! 100 pounds gone!

Well folks, I did it! I lost 100 pounds! It took me thirteen months and one day but I got it done.  It’s been the most challenging thing I’ve ever done.  I had to change everything I thought about food, about exercise and especially about myself.  I didn’t think I could do any of this, especially lose 100 pounds.  But my trainer pushed me through the times where I thought I was done….he showed me that I can do things I never imagined myself doing.  Running, doing karate, kicking higher and harder, leg-pressing 425 pounds…

Last time I wrote, we were trying to run 50 miles during Spring Break.  I got 27 miles which was more than twice as much as I usually get in a week.  My trainer didn’t get a whole lot more than that, (his week didn’t quite go as he planned) so I didn’t feel too bad. 

I have at least gotten to the point where I can run 2 miles without stopping to walk.  I usually try to run for an hour and I have been getting about 5.5 miles during that time.  I run a mile, walk a little, run 10 minutes with more incline, then run two minute sprints as fast as I can for a while.  Then run another mile somewhat slower.  Sometimes that last mile has to be run in a few chunks instead of all at once.

This whole experience has been another step in my healing.  God helped me get free from an abusive marriage.  Now He has helped me get free from the fat in which I trapped myself.  This is a new life for me.  Again.  God is so good to me….so much better than I deserve.  He gives me “2nd chances” at life over and over and over. 

                             

    

Spring Break Quest

This week is Spring Break for me and my kiddos.  Oldest son is actively seeking a job in his particular field and has made great progress on that this week.  I think he is actually at the point where they are just waiting on his drug test results…which will not be a problem.  Younger son is in Hawaii with the band.  He is having a fantastic time and staying very busy in that most beautiful of places.  And my daughter is playing on his XBox while he is gone! heheh  She misses him very much and is pretty bored without him here…I miss him too  

It’s also Spring Break for my trainer.  And he stated at the beginning of the week that he wanted to try to run 50 miles this week.  YIKES!  8-|  Almost every Sunday morning he runs 10 miles.  My church starts earlier than his, so darn shucks, I don’t get to run with him on those days. hehehe  I don’t think I am going to make 50 miles this week, but I am going to run as much as I can.  So far I have 20 miles. Maybe I’ll get 30 which wouldn’t be bad at all for me. 

I have worked super hard this week.  Monday I did kickboxing and ran. Tuesday I ran.  Wednesday I did kickboxing, 3o minutes of lunges, ran and did another kickboxing class. Today I lifted weights for about two hours then ran.  The frustrating part of it all? I’ve only lost half a pound! UGH! I want to get 3.5 more off.  *SIGH*  But sometimes when I’m working really hard like this it is on a time delay and a couple of days later I will drop a pound or two unexpectedly.  I will never understand how my body works! 

Another frustrating part? My trainer had wanted to lose 10 pounds this week.  And he has dropped 7.    ARGH! His metabolism runs about 100 miles an hour all the time anyway, so when he does anything extra he can drop weight fast.  Plus he’s a man…enough said. 

I will let you know how the “quest” ends.  The weight quest….and the 50 mile quest!

Told you it was brutal

Lost another pound yesterday! Four to go!!  I knew that workout was a killer~~

My trainer said “we’ll get the other four off this week”.  EEEEKKK!!! What does he have in mind for me?? More death apparently! BRING IT ON!

Faster and farther

Well ok…just a couple of days after I wrote that last post, I dropped two more pounds! So I am at 95 gone now.  And I may have killed off another one or two today.  BRUTAL would describe my workout again today! He made me run 3 miles first and then head to the dojo for an hour of kickboxing, lunges, pushups, bounce drill, situps etc etc.   During the three mile run, I got two 30 second breaks, but then he would make me speed up to compensate for that rest~~whew!

But…ya know what? I ran three miles.  Very little break.  Pushes right past that mental block of only being able to run a mile without stopping.  AND I ran the last bit at 8.0! That is fast for my short little legs!    He is pushing me past all the barriers and limitations that I have set up in my mind.  I am so grateful to have him!! Today when he was pushing me so hard right up to the very end of our hour, making me do all of the things I hate the most, I said “we are still friends right?” And he said “Oh yeah”.  I said “Good.  I thought maybe you were mad at me or something!!” =^D  

Five more pounds to go.  I can do this!

At a Standstill

Well I am at 93 pounds gone now. I have 7 more I want to lose and it is getting so very hard to get them to go away!! I feel myself getting stronger and gaining endurance so that is a great thing. But I just want these last few pounds to drop off. I know…it’s just a number…but I really want to reach it. I really had wanted to get there by my “one year since I started working out” date of March 7th, but at this point I will be happy to get there whenever I can!!

My trainer put me through an incredibly tough workout today. I hadn’t been that tired after a workout in quite awhile. It was a solid hour of non-stop motion. Bounce drill, lunges, dips, boxing, kickboxing, situps, sumo jump switches, ab wheel, roundhouse kicks…I was SO DONE when the hour was up!! When I told my trainer how tired I was, he said that I was getting in such good shape that we were focusing mostly on toning now. I sure don’t feel like I am in shape when he does that kind of routine with me!!! LOL

He had me take a day off this week. Just stay home and relax. It was comical how much I pouted about that!! I had to laugh at myself. A year ago I would have been mad that I had to get off the couch to do something and now I’m mad because I am not going to the gym??? Crazy stuff there! (On a side note, my day off was Tuesday. Monday AND Wednesday both, I went to kickboxing twice!! I know. I’m crazy!)

Well…gotta go. Got kickboxing at 5:15 in the morning!

Progress

Just a quick update to celebrate the fact that I finally ran one mile without stopping!! YAY! I knew it was a mental thing. Now to beat the delusion that I can’t run further than that! I ran almost 7 miles the other day with several walking spurts…but still proud that I got that distance. I ran 5.25 miles today in my hour on the treadmill so that wasn’t bad either.

I have lost 85 pounds now. I was at 87, but Christmas happened and my mom is a really good cook So I am working hard this week to try to get back on top of that.

I have to say again…I am blessed to have the trainer that I have. He is amazing. He has made this an incredible experience and I look forward to the next year of working out!

The turkey day challenge

You know that Thanksgiving means…FOOD FOOD and then some more FOOD! That was a little bit scary for me considering that I have worked so hard to lose this weight. So I told my trainer that I was going to try to behave and he said “NO. Eat whatever you want. We will train hard before and after.” So I said that I would eat but just not go completely “stupid”. His reply was “Well, I am going to…so you be ready on Friday” So I just ate what I wanted without freaking out about it. I ended up doing pretty good. I didn’t eat too much, but it was just such different food…so much richer that what I have been eating. I was in physical pain!! But I went and walked about a mile down the road and back and felt much better then! LOL Since my parents live out in the country, it really was a nice walk. It was cold but sunny. It felt wonderful.

I worked out twice on Wednesday with my trainer. (Couple of hours on weights and running on the treadmill before church and then an hour of kickboxing after church) And then for a couple of hours on Friday.(again weights and running) Then twice again on Saturday. (advanced kickboxing class in the morning and then weights and running after lunch) I need my head examined!! But it worked. I not only didn’t gain any weight… I lost some for the week! So I am at 80 pounds gone now. YAY!! Twenty more to go. Now if I can just get thru Christmas. I think with my trainer’s help, I can survive the “goody” season.

Getting tougher

Another quick update…I have lost 73 lbs now.  My goal is to get 27 more pounds off.  We are trying to do it by my birthday in December.  The pounds are getting harder and harder to shed however…so we’ll do our best and just keep going regardless of when it actually occurs! I WILL reach that goal!!!

My trainer is definitely stepping things up to do his part of this deal! Wow…every workout with him lately has just been a killer.  But I love it.  He is teaching me some self-defense along the way as well and that is pretty cool. He has me do this “2 and 2 routine” when he isn’t with me and it is ABSOLUTE DEATH! I walk steep (6.0) and fast (4.0) on the treadmill for 2 minutes, then take the incline down (1.0) and run pretty fast (6.0~that is fast for me) for 2 minutes.  And I do that for an hour!! That sends my metabolism into hyperdrive! I almost always end up nauseated.  I am getting much better at it though.  And, by the way, I can run 1/2 mile without stopping now   I think that is more of a mental block than anything.  I need to push myself further and …just DO IT!

My doctor’s appointment went really well.  He walked in and said “WOW! You have lost an incredible amount of weight!”  My cholesterol was down (from 149 last year to 141 now) and my triglycerides were WAAAAY down (from 148 last year to 66 now) So that all went well.

It’s funny…the reactions that I get from people about my weight loss.  I’ve had some people tell me that I am too skinny (I’m not believe me). I’ve had people try to sabotage my efforts (I just didn’t eat when every thing they served was greasy and fried). But for the most part, people have said very encouraging and kind things.  And honestly it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or says or does…I am doing this for me.  And when I am happy with my weight, I will change my focus.  I want to keep the weight off of course, and I want to get stronger and more toned.  I want to be able to throw a roundhouse kick so hard it echoes thru the gym! I will get there.

Quick update

I just have a second…but I wanted to update my progress.  I am now running 4 miles at a time (still with some breathing breaks!) Some day I’ll be able to run some distance without stopping …surely!

Also, I have lost 65 pounds.  It has been just a few days over 6 months.  That boggles my mind! WOW! I feel so much better…it is amazing.  I go in for my annual checkup in a couple of weeks.  I am anxious to see how all of that has improved as well. 

Everytime I feel a new muscle developing somewhere, I just get so amazed! I’ve never been in shape before so this is all new.  Better late than never I suppose.