I like Numbers

I like numbers. Numbers can tell a story. Hopefully the numbers will tell the story of my fitness progress. Hopefully, that story will be a good one.

I met for the last time with my personal trainer at 24 hour fitness. My mom bought me a couple of sessions. We did a weigh in and measurements a month ago. I have been anticipating this day for weeks. I would prove to my overly cynical and disbelieving trainer that I was working the program and busting in to get in shape. So, no drum roll needed....I lost 5 pounds and 2.5 inches total in one month. I had to hold back tears as she wrote down each of the measurements.

 I was devastated for about an hour and bravely held back a few tears while I finished my workout. I had to have a good long chat with myself. You know one of those internal pep talks! I had to tell myself that progress was progress and that inches and pounds are disappearing. But at what cost? I have been pushing myself harder than I ever have in my life, hoping to have miraculous results at the weigh. Well, no music and no lights from the heavens at my weigh in.

After my workout and after standing in front of my bathroom mirror in serious contemplation, I came to a conclusion. The numbers can lie. I am in pants and shirts that I haven't worn in a long time. I am on the last hole in my belt. I have energy every day. My boobs stick out farther than my belly. I am getting stronger and have no problem making it through group workout classes. I can do 100 knees to elbows in 38 minutes!  I AM MAKING PROGRESS!

So, tonight I did a pilates/yoga class and enjoyed doing the downward facing dog stronger than I was last week. I even looked in the mirror and noticed visible changes (positive ones) to my figure.
The moral of the story is: Numbers are cool- I can keep track of my eating with numbers and I can manage my workouts with numbers and I can eventually see weight and inches disappear with numbers. But the numbers aren't everything. Who cares what I weigh? It's not a number that is tatooed on my forehead. So if I look good and feel good, the numbers really don't matter.
Don't get discouraged.  Keep up the good fight. Forget the numbers. Focus on the feeling.

Local (Ft. Worth) Adventure Races

So, now that I am working out like a fiend, I am going to have to start setting my sights on some goals and stuff. 'Cause that's just how I am. I am not talking about weight loss goals. Those have been set already. I am talking about what I am going to do with my super fine fit self in six months. My first love is martial arts. So, Goal Number 1) Get back into comepetive martial arts and earn my black belt. I have an orange belt in American Karate, but I am actually thinking of checking out Crav Maga. I am not going to return until I am super fit and tough though. I did karate fat and I didn't like being fat and doing martial arts. This is why I am doing crossfit- to get tough.

Meanwhile, my brother (AKA Coach) is into all of this wicked crazy adventure race stuff. So, I am checking it out.

Adventure racing takes usually takes place on rugged terrain. No paved roads here, if you please. So for those of us who hate running aimlessly on paved roads that were meant for cars and bikes and not human knees, adventure racing might be just the thing! There is a track over the hills and through the woods with obstacles and rivers and often times lots of mud. At the end of the race, it seems that the runners usually get free beer!

I am going to try one this fall and will let you know how it goes. Here are the local ones that I have come across so far. As I hear of more I will post to my site. Check it out and come join us in the fun!

http://www.runthejailbreak.com/
http://www.cavemancrawl.com/Home.html
http://www.mudrundfw.com/ms/

Swim, swim, swim...

I swam 40 laps in the pool tonight. I love the outdoor pool at 24 hour fitness. In the evening, the pool is in the shade and when they kick the kids out, it is very peaceful. I swam with the kids tonight. April joined me for laps. She swam 30 laps with me! At about 20 laps, I asked her if she needed a break and she said, "No, the pool is about to close and I might not finish." So we pushed through and finished just in the nick of time. She is eight and officially learned to swim last week. Watch out Michael Phelps!
I can feel it in my core and my butt tonight. I did a boxing class last night with lots of lunges! Must be working…

16 pounds down....about 55 more to go!

Well, I am 22% of the way there! 55 more pounds to go! Good grief.
I also learned that you have to burn an extra 3500 calories to lose one pound of fat! Grrrrr...I am suddenly not so hungry anymore. Every time I think about eating, I think about having to burn 3500 calories. I suddenly found that little bit of motivation that put me over the edge. I have been terrible about cheating a little here and there, thinking it wouldn't matter, but when I started tracking my calories honestly, I was horrified at how quickly they add up! And guess what, down 2 more pounds.

Did a boxing class tonight at the gym. It started out painful and awful. My knees were stiff and hurting and I was pooped, but then suddenly about half way through, I go this kick of energy. The knees loosened up and I felt great. Still riding that high.

After the workout, I took my daughter to see The Karate Kid 2010! Have to say that I love watching Jackie Chan. He is an amazing athlete. Made me want to get back into martial arts badly. I miss it so much. My goal is to lose the weight by Spring of 2011 and then take up Karate or Krav Maga for maintenance.

Also learned that sleep deprivation is a huge hindrance to weight loss and here I am up at past midnight. Off to bed now.

I can't dance...

I decided to take a Zumba class tonight. Ahhhh....I can't dance. I felt like a big goober. Our instructor is from Argentina and is beautiful and flexible and full of fire. I got lost in the moves so many time, however, I was sweating a lot. I talked to some of my classmates and they said that it took them about a month to get the moves down. So, I will think about sticking with it. I missed my crossfit workout today and was thinking fondly of it while I was spinning around in circles and trying to get my hips to shake and move.

My knees are really hurting tonight so I am sitting with some icepacks on each one as I write this. I have a history of knee problems, so I am going to keep an eye on it.
Good night...sweet dreams.

Crossfit Workout of the Day!

Dear hubby and I are working on losing the weight and getting into great shape. So we decided to workout using the crossfit program. Crossfit is like a workout on steroids. Lots of military special forces and law enforcement agencies use it. So what the heck, right? We enlisted the help of my brother a crossfit trainer to get us started and on the right track.

He is teaching us form and technique every Sunday morning in the park. Yesterday, we did an exercise called "Deck of Cards." My brother assigned each suit in the deck an exercise like diamonds were knees to elbows from a dangling position on the monkey bars, hearts were push-ups, clubs were dip and press, and spades were squats, jokers were 10 burpees and aces made us run a very long way. So we picked a card and whatever suit we picked, determined the activity and the number on the card determined the number of exercises. While, fun that torture lasted for about 20 minutes or so.

In our post work out stupor, we all decided to run the White Rock Marathon as a relay team in December and my 12 year old daughter who loves running decided to train for the full marathon! I am not all that excited about running, but running in a full marathon would be so cool. One of my bigest fitness goals is to return to martial arts again and get my black belt. I started in karate because of my kids and I fell in love with it. I miss doing it so much, but right now I need to get back in shape so when I return to the sport, I will be able to focus on technique, and not wheeze around the ring like an old fat geiser!

Today, dear hubby and I did our first Work out of the day without our coach! We rowed 3500 meters and did 50 bench presses at 100 pounds each. We are so excited about it. Each night they post the next day's workout and tomorrow looks like more rowing! I really enjoyed the rowing machine today.

I never used to be able to imagine myself as an athlete, but now I am starting to get that dream in the back of my mind. I am totally motivated to make it happen.

Health Kick

I have been on this health kick and embarked on this weight loss and conditioning thing for about 6 weeks now. This is not the first time I have started this. I was actually in pretty good shape at a time or two in my life. I worked out everyday and passed a really hard firefighter physical agility test which I was told most chicks fail.

So what happened? Well, after about 6 years of failed attempts to get pregnant, we adopted a sibling group of 5 from Texas CPS. And I fell off the wagon. We had been off sugar and doing a very healthy lifestyle for several years. The first weekend we met our kids, our caseworker told us to bring snacks to win our way into the hearts of our new children. I had a weak moment and had a handful of M&Ms. And that was it. I didn’t even like them anymore, but I was off the wagon so to speak. And 6 years later I had gained 50 pounds! I attribute it to the stress of instant family and the financial issues that come with being a stay at home mom making ends meet for a family of 7 on a cop’s salary.

Now, that kids are all in school and doing really well and I am back to work, I am ready to take on the challenge of losing that weight and getting my butt back in shape. It has not been an easy thing this time around. BK (Before Kids) I had a stubborn resolve and didn’t eat one tiny ounce of sugar for almost 2 years. Now, I am working on saying "No" to myself.

Well, update? Six weeks into it and I am down 14 pounds. Yeah! It seems to be coming off ever so SLOWLY. My family has started our own version of Biggest Loser and we have joined 24 hour fitness and enlisted the help of my brother for weekly Crossfit workouts on Sunday mornings. He is a crossfit trainer and SWAT member and a tough drill seargent.

I love the Crossfit workouts, especially when they are over! I am really enjoying working out during the week and am really making this a lifestyle change.
Good luck to all of you who are out there trying to get in shape and getting your life under control.
Talk to you soon…