Weigh-in Wednesday and total randomness

Starting weight:  176.4

Last week month weight:  133.0

Current weight:  129.6

Current loss:  -3.4

TOTAL LOSS:  -46.8 lbs.

LowestWeightSinceHighSchool!!!!!  LowestWeightOnThisJourney!!!!

Between my trip earlier this month, Valentine's Day, the GAR, and not seeing my trainer for over three weeks, I'm super happy with that!  

I've stayed away from the scale at home as much as possible because I knew I was eating all kinds of crazy over the last several weeks, but had to face it today… just out of curiosity.  My mindset has been "eye on the prize" since last week so I knew the scale wouldn't dictate my emotions no matter what it said.

After fighting pretty damn hard - intense trainings, HIIT, started powerlifting, race trainings, and dieting - for the last several months, I was tired.  Physically.  Mentally.  And emotionally.  I needed a break and my body knew it, so over the last three weeks, I did just that.  

I had a chance to reevaluate why I'm on this journey and where I want it to go.  

So last week, after the GAR race (and after my legs healed from being sore), I got right back into the swing of things.

I started a new 12 week weight-lifting program courtesy of my girl-crush Jamie Eason.

I found a virtual workout and accountability buddy in Tiff, from Miles in Murray.

I took two hours out of Sunday to prep all my meals for this week.

And my March goals are being finalized as you read this.

Woot woot!! 
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Total randomness.  Check out this little, totally legit, car.  Yup, car... not ATV or Power Wheels... actual car.  Well actually it's a type of electric car but still super cute.  It's modified to look like a Cadillac Escalade... PIMP!

Slipped my mind

Remember the other week I went to Maui?

Remember I posted all these highlights from the trip?

Remember I talked about the spin class I went to?  NO?!  Yeah, that's because I didn't mention it!!

I can't believe I forget to talk about it sooner but on my last day in Maui…

... I attended my first spin class (actually, this is my first group fitness class E.V.E.R.)!!

(source)

Let me take you back a month when I freaked out was totally okay with turning 29.  To make myself feel better about almost being 30 (336 days left, but who's counting?), I made a list of 29 accomplishments I never thought I'd do.  My original idea was to do a "30x30" list.  30 things I want to do/achieve by 30 years old.  I decided against it because I knew I'd feel terrible if I didn't make it and being a glass-empty kinda person… I was leaning more towards the "not going to make it" side.

Getting back to my 30x30 list, "go to a spinning class" would have most definitely been on there.  And if I had a 30x30 list, I could cross this one off!

So why'd I wait this long to attend a spin class if I've always wanted to do one?  Simple: I was afraid/shame to.

I still have body issues that prevent me from doing things I want to and attending group fitness classes, like spinning, is one of them.  On Maui, my cousin teaches at the gym - as a spin instructor, none the less - so I HAD to do it.  Plus, it wasn't my normal gym and I'm on a different island… no one here will see me again in case I make a fool of myself.

My cousin wasn't teaching that day so she attended the class with me.  I got to the gym about an hour early to reserve a bike but got wait-listed.  No big deal since I was getting nervous and secretly hoped I wouldn't get a bike.  Fortunately/unfortunately I got one.  My cousin helped me adjust the bike and before I knew it, the instructor turned the lights off and we got started. 

Initial Thoughts

Holy hell, this is hard!  My heavy-lifting, squat-loving legs were not built for endurance.

Final Thoughts

After the initial burn in my quads, I really got a feel for spinning… the sprints, the hill climbs, the torturous "give me two full resistance turns"!

L.O.V.E.D. it!! Where do I sign up to reserve my bike by the month?

My 11

I'm a little late on posting this but better late then never, right?  Beth from The Kitchen Minions (only go to her blog when you're not hungry... her recipes and food photography skills are MAD crazy!!) has tagged me to answer some questions and share a little bit more about myself.

These types of "tagging" posts are going around like wild fire in the blog-o-sphere but I like to do them 'cause I get to share some not-weight-loss-related facts about me.  =)

The rules:

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you are reading this". You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

So here we go ….

11 Random Things About Me

1. I have two dogs - Poki and Beans

2. I have six tattoos… and counting!

3. I love to bake.  Not so good for weight-loss.

4. Eggs!! I cannot get enough of them.

5. My great-uncle helped design the original Strawberry Shortcake.

6. I was born and raised in Hawaii... and I've never been on a surf board.

7. In high school, I ran my own eBay business.  It made me more money than my current job!

8. I used to make and sell custom miniature guinea pig figures.

9. I don't have (or haven't yet discovered) a legitimate fear of anything.

10. I've ran and completed a total of 2 races in my life.

11. I don't like running.

11 Questions For me to Answer from Beth

1. What do you drink in the morning? Coffee? Tea? Smoothie? Something else?

 All of the above!  Coffee normally gets thrown into my morning protein smoothie and I'll almost always drink green tea on the side.  Protein smooth = whey protein, casein protein, frozen fruit, Shakeology, almond milk, nut butter, spirulina powder, 100% cacao powder and handful of baby spinach.

2. What do you listen to in the car?

Only my radio since my cd/mp3 player is broken.

3. Beach or Mountains?

Is it cheating to say both?  Come on, I live in Hawaii and we only have beaches and mountains.  If I HAVE to pick one, then beaches.

4. What is your funniest high school/college memory?

I used to play volleyball in high school and for one of our drill, our coach would serve a ball to us from across the court and we had to run up and make the ball bounce off the gym floor and between our legs.  If the ball got between your legs, you would be in the perfect position to return that serve. 

So it was my friend's turn.  The coach served the ball, my friend ran up to it, it bounced between her legs... and disappeared!  From our view on the side of the court, we could clearly see the ball got stuck in her shirt (bounced off the gym floor, caught her shirt on the bounce up and stayed there) but my friend had no idea.  She turned around looking to see where the ball went but couldn't find it.  It must have been at least a minute until she realized it was in the back of her shirt.  SO FUNNY!!!

5. What was the last book that you read?

Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson

6. What's your favorite comfort food?

Grilled cheese... all buttery and gooey!  Nom nom nom!

7. Why did you start your blog?

I was pretty active in the forums of My Food Diary - which got me started on my weight-loss journey - for a little over half a year before I started my blog.  I decided to start a blog to keep my thoughts/failures/achievements organized and to hopefully be an inspiration to other people.

8. What magazines do you read regularly?

Oxygen Magazine (the best!), Real Simple, and Fitness RX

9. What is your favorite type of wall decoration? (paintings, B and W photos, Vacation shots…etc.)

Abstract paintings and B&W photos.

10. What's your favorite color?

Blue in any shade... it's definitely not pink.

11.What do you like most about where you live?

The all-day-everyday-can't-be-used-as-an-excuse-to-miss-exercise good weather.

11 Questions for the tagees:

1. What made you want to get healthy?

2. Cardio or weight-training

3. What has been your biggest NSV (non-scale victory) to date?

4. What do you love most about your body?

5. Why (to question #4)?

6. Who has been your biggest supporter through this journey?

7. In the next 6 months, what is the biggest goal you're working towards?

8. What is the one thing you won't give up as you lost weight?

9. Most motivational quote or person?

10. What is your favorite non-healthy food?

11. What is you favorite healthy food?

11 Bloggers I Tagged (in no particular order)

1. Sable - Squat Like a Lady

2. Sarah - On My Weigh To Happiness

3. Deanna - Me and You (Getting Fit at Home)

4. Dina - From Waddle to Run

5. Kyle - Getting Better and Better

6. Cori - Mac Bicep

7. Tiff - Miles in Murray

8. Annalisa - Diary of Yo-yo Dieter

9. Mary - Designer of Me

10. Tenecia - Boobs, Barbells and Broccoli

11. BubbleTeaResa - BubbleTeaResa

F.A.I.L.

The end of February is less than a week away and by looking at my goal calendar, I think it's safe to say this month won't be one of the stronger ones.

I had a lot going on - from trips to Maui to running an 8-mile race - and exercise and nutrition just weren't on track… but there's six more days left in the month and hell if I don't try to end STRONG!

February = F.A.I.L.

F - Forget about what you coulda/woulda/shoulda done.  Nothing you do now will change the past.

A - Accountability.  Make yourself accountable… to yourself… more than you normally would.  Next month, blog, Facebook, Tweet, text, etc. your goals to everyone.  You will be more likely to stick to them if you have to prove to others you can do it.

I - Ignore those feelings of guilt.  I know, easier said than done, but for real, don't beat yourself up about the mistakes you made.  Learn from them (see letter "L").  To take a quote from one of my favorite t.v. shows, "Struggle is nature's way of strengthening it you."  Bonus points if you know where that quote came from (without Googling it).

L - Learn from your mistakes.  Ate too much take-out this month (umm, yes!)?  Then eat less take-out next month.  Didn't make it to gym as often as you wanted to (umm, yes!)?  Then schedule gym time on your calendar NOW and stick to it.  Ask yourself, what can you do next month to make it more successful than this month.

What are you going to do to end February strong?

Great Aloha Run Recap

Before I recap, remember I bought new running shoes for the GAR, hated the pink color, but decided to R.O.C.K. pink if I had to wear it?  Well, mission accomplished!  Check it out... 

I HATE pink!!!!!

On to the recap...

43,032 feet.  8.15 miles.  13K.  That's all it was but it felt like WAY more... but not as much as the first time I did it!

Anthony and I got up at 3:45, walked the dogs, then headed out to find parking at the finish line.  We shuttled down to the start line, met up with my friend, and we were off by 7:00!  The three of us have very different paces so we didn't stick together during the race.

For me and my tweaky knee, it was a love-hate relationship.

The first 4 miles were no problem and I was able to run/jog the entire thing but once mile 4.5 hit, I started to take walking breaks and THAT'S when my knee started to hurt.  During the walks... WTH?  I loved it because my sore-knees-only-when-walking kept me at a jogging pace for most of the race but hated it because at the times I really wanted to walk, it was painful!

So how'd I do?  Did I hit my goal of under 1:30:00?  Did I hit my ultimate goal of beating my last time?

1:36:03

Nope, didn't get under 1:30, but I'm hella proud of beating my last time of 1:45.  That's an entire minute shaved off each mile... happy with that!

After we got home, I did something even more painful than walking with my busted knee...

20 lbs. of ice + 15 minutes = sad Annie

... I took an ice bath.  I believe they work - even if you take them two hours after the race! - because I always feel better after the bath than before.

And last but not least, what's the best thing about doing races?  The post-race, congratulations-for-finishing-but-not-good-for-weight-loss meal.

 Nom nom nom!

Count down to the GAR!

In about 12 hours, I'll be at the start line for the Great Aloha Run.  I'm finally getting the nervous/happy/excited butterflies in my stomach so that's a good sign, considered I wasn't really feeling the race this Friday.

I just hope the weather holds out because it's been raining off and on for the last several days.

Yesterday was the GAR health and fitness expo and I can't remember if it's always been this big or if I just didn't pay attention the last time I was there but I really liked it!

I got my blood pressure tested - score of "normal".  I got my reaction time tested - score of excellent!

I got my body fat analyzed and according to this booth, I'm at 27%... not  31% like my trainer has been telling me.  However, the test at the GAR expo was different than the one my trainer uses.

And the most exciting part was waiting in line...

... to meet Chad Owens!  Might not be a familiar name to most of my blog readers but he was an awesome UH football player and one of the few players I followed.  He is a professional American, Canadian, and Arena football player and was drafted into the NFL back in '05.  And he's dreamy!!

Total randomness at the expo... baby goats and llamas.  They were so cute!

And cupcakes... why is this at a health and fitness expo?!

All the free loot Anthony and I brought home: packs of beef jerky, energy drinks, energy and protein bars, massage lotion, post cards, pill cases, measuring spoons, and Nerds.  

I didn't even know Nerds were still made.

Wish me luck and cross your fingers for me... I need it!

Flashback Fridays: I'm no beginner anymore

Flashback Fridays are a re-posting of my previous blog entries.  Sometimes I need a good kick in the butt and these old posts remind me of how to get it done.

Why I flash-backed to this post:  With the Great Aloha Run coming up in less than 72 hours, I'm still lacking the motivation and excitement about the race.  I remember the last time I did it - three years ago! - I couldn't wait for race day! 

I trained a lot more this time.
I weigh about 15 lbs. less this time.
I'm in much better shape this time.

So why the anxiety about the race?  I think it has to do with the fact that because of the things I just listed, I should easily beat my time from 2009, which was a pace of 13 minute/miles.  And if I don't, I have no excuse for it.

This weekend is the Great Aloha Run Health Expo so hopefully that'll inspire me to get hyped up!

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Original post date: 10/6/09
Original post found here.

Over the weekend I went back in time... sorta.

I spent my Sunday morning rereading my blog from start to finish. What an exhausting journey! The one thing I found constant throughout my posts was the fact that when I talk about fitness, I talk about myself as a beginner - someone just starting to workout. Even though the intensity, amount, length and type of workouts have increased with my posts, my reaction to my progress is still the same. I make it sound like I've accomplished so much by doing so little! Like my celebration about running up a one-mile hill.

"Hello! You've run a 13K almost a year ago, you should be
celebrating much harder fetes than a one-mile hill!!"

Well I'm no beginner but I'm no athlete yet either... or am I? I still see myself as the "fat girl" who could only walk for exercise...

Not someone who can hike non-stop-in-less-than-30-minutes up a mountain made of stairs!
Not someone who can do plyometric workouts with the best of them!
Not someone who does a boot-camp at the gym and remains the last one standing in my group!
Not even someone who looks forward to working out everyday!

But I need to keep telling myself that I am that someone!! I actually do look forward to my daily workouts!

I am no longer a beginner at this stuff called fitness and I need to stop acting like I am. Don't get me wrong, I know I'm not anywhere near elite athlete status or anything, but I can't be celebrating the small stuff anymore.

• 50 minutes on the stepmill? That's not something to celebrate for me! I should be celebrating two hours!
• Running seven miles? Nothing! I did eight miles almost a year ago! Where's the celebration in doing less miles than what I did several months ago?
• Hiking up a really tough mountain? Doesn't really count because I've done it over 6x already!

 

 

I always hear talk about how people who lose weight still think of themselves as fat and this is exactly what I'm going through except on the fitness side. During my personal trainer sessions, whenever my PT tells me to move faster or longer on an agility/cardio exercise, I always doubt myself because I have the mindset of a beginner. This is holding me back!!! Again my mindset is holding me back!

So for the next several workouts I do, I'm gonna think differently, reminding myself that I am not a beginner - in fact, far from it! Hopefully this will allow me to push myself

H.A.R.D.E.R.FA.S.T.E.R.S.T.R.O.N.G.E.R.F.A.R.T.H.E.R.