Bootcamp ...why did it have to end?!

Every night this week, I have had the feeling that something is missing.  Ever have that?  There is some void and you can't quite put your finger on it?

Is it my keys? 
My purse? 
Did I forget to pay a bill?
My kids???!!

Thankfully, none of the above.

 

It's been a week since the completion of the 12 week Fitmixer Bootcamp. And I still can't believe it's over.

No daily workouts in my inbox each day?
No weekly video's?
No homework?!

It seemed so wrong, not to be doing 100 burpees while I watched the Olympics.  Shouldn't I be doing a Tabata routine about now?  What about those mountain climbers? I should just drop and do a few while I wait for the water to boil for this pasta... And I DID, every time, because it just seemed wrong not to.

What the../?!!!!

I guess if it takes 21 days to form a habit, then 12 weeks will change your lifestyle!

When I started this journey, I didn't really know what to expect.  There are "other" bootcamps out there that quite frankly scare the crap out of me.  This one was no exception. 

I worked harder than I have ever worked in my whole life.
I was SO sore, EVERY DAY!
I can't count the number of times that I felt pain in a spot and said, "oh, there's a MUSCLE, there?"
I often couldn't even breath. 
I often couldn't finish a set through, especially in the beginning, it must have taken me 3x's the estimated time to do them!

The results?

• By the end of it I doubled the number of plyometric lunges and push ups that I could do in a minute.  I was able to hold a wall sit for 2.5 minutes! When I started I was at 42 seconds (and that took herculean, not pretty at all, effort!).
• I lost 2 inches across the chest, and 3 inches in both my waist and hips!  And although I didn't take measurements of my legs or thighs, I think that was where I saw the most slimming and toning (thanks squat jumps!)  Sorry, not brave enough to post photos yet, but the differences are obvious! (you'll just have to take it from me :)
• I lost 10 lbs.
• But best of all?  YES, I was able to kick my OBESE BMI!

I feel so much stronger today than 12 weeks ago - not only physically, but mentally and emotionally too.  On this long road of mine, it was the perfect midway point boost that I needed to continue my journey.  I learned so many much needed lessons on fitness and diet, and received immeasurable emotional and mental support, and was able to deal with things that I didn't realize where hindering my progress!

In a nutshell, those fitmixer ladies are AMAZING.

So there it is, the end.  So awesome! Why did it have to end?!!!

But it can begin for you!

If you are interested in trying the bootcamp, the information is below.  And if you decide to sign up, tell them I sent you!

The next Boot Camp starts September 10, 2012! Here's what's included in your registration:

• $154.45 worth of fitmixer® product (at retail value):

• One (1) six-pound bag of chocolate or vanilla fitmixer® slim®
• One (1) six-pound bag of chocolate or vanilla fitmixer® protein®
• One (1) one-pound bottle of fruit punch fitmixer® amino®
• One (1) one-pound bottle of grape fitmixer® amino®
• One (1) fitmixer® Boot Camp shaker bottle
• A personalized nutrition plan created by our Registered Dietitian
• 40 daily workouts created by a certified group fitness trainer
• Eight (8) weekly webcasts lead by our Registered Dietitian and Fitness Expert
• Lessons on healthy eating, healthy living, physical fitness, and mental fitness that will last you a lifetime
• Support from fellow Boot Camp participants through fitmixer.com and the private fitmixer® Boot Camp Facebook Group
• Direct contact with our Registered Dietician, Fitness Expert, and fitmixer® staff
• Access to write blogs and leave comments on the fitmixer® website

50 little things

CONGRADULATIONS TO ME!

 

It's been a busy week, but I couldn't let it pass without a shout out to....ME! On Monday the scale was kind and told me that I had finally achieved a 50 LB weight loss!!!



My weight loss hasn't come easy. It has come by addressing the things that caused the weight loss - physical, mental, emotional and practical issues that have taken trial and error, learning and focusing and re-focusing.



As the old hymn says, I wouldn't give 'nothing for my journey. It has made my transformation thus far one that is permanent. It's definitely the lifestyle change versus diet that you hear and read so much about now.



I'll reflect on all of those areas in the days to come. My hope is that it helps that person who is contemplating their own journey and wondering if they can.

To you I say: YOU can.

But today, 50 little things that have changed since I first started my weight loss journey that aren't so much about the pounds, and give me plenty to celebrate this week.



1. My shadow! My silhouette has changed. I have a WAIST again! It's a whole new me. And I'm loving it.



2. I look in mirrors now! Which means I have been able to address other neglected things. Like, when did I get grey hair?? :) I had a talent. I could look at my face in a full length mirror and not see the rest of me, and I could also glance at a mirror without letting my brain see that I was seriously overweight.



3. I can cross my legs! At both the ankle and the knee!



4. I use to have insulin resistance marks on the sides of my neck (dark stains in the skin) GONE!



5. I can wrap a towel around me without the annoying/embarrassing gap I use to have when I tried.



6. Better? Hubby can wrap his arms around me and touch his elbows! He hasn't been able to do that since, oh ....maybe our honeymoon?



7. I don't feel embarrassed or guilty eating in public.



8. I take pictures again! There are whole years where you canNOT find a single picture of me in our family albums. So sad!



9. I use to be HOT all the time, even in a Wisconsin winter I could head out with flip flops and a sweater. A layer of insulation does that for you. Now? Not so much. For the first time I get cold in an air conditioned room in the summer! Wha?!



10. I go outside as much as possible. I use to spend WAY to much time indoors!



11. I'm more social. When I gained weight I avoided old friends out of embarrassment, and I wouldn't go to my hubby's work or kids school field trips. I felt like I would embarrass them. NOT any more!



12. Free hugs! I enjoy hugging people again. I use to avoid it because I didn't want any one to feel my fat rolls. Even from hubby!



13. I enjoy shopping again! I don't have to shop based on what will fit. Instead I get to pick clothes based on what I think is cute!



14. I can wear shoes with heels again! My feet actually shrunk too! Add 50 pounds to this 5'3" frame and my only choice was flats with good support. Yes, think orthopedic wear. No longer necessary!



15. My sciatica pain is gone! Too much weight on my short frame meant I blew out two discs, lost feeling in my right leg and foot, and was basically in constant pain. Not anymore! Its amazing how GREAT living pain free can be.



16. I eat breakfast. EVERY day. And enjoy it! AND feel good! Before losing weight. I skipped it. EVERY day. And every day I paid for it by getting over hungry and eating things that I just felt bad about afterward. Done!



17. I also eat YUMMY VEGGIES. EVERY day!! And I like them. 50 lbs ago - nope, no way, never. Only veggie I ever ate was corn - and it was loaded with butter and sometimes mayo - yes, mayo.



18. I can borrow friends clothes? There were times we would have an impromptu stay over with friends, and I always had to run out to buy clothes. I knew I didn't fit into anything they offered to lend to me. Even getting chilly at a bonfire meant I just stayed cold, I couldn't even borrow a sweater without stretching it out!



19. My frequent chest pain and indigestion is gone.



20. I weigh LESS than my hubby! That happened a while ago, but it just gets better and better now :0))



21. I drink water. I'm still not great at it. But it's pretty awful that I went weeks and weeks without consuming a single glass of water in the past. Talk about damages!



22. My hair and skin is in its best condition since high school.

23. I am setting new goals every day. Things I never would have contemplating carrying 50 extra pounds.



24. I wake up happy and excited about my days, instead of tired and dreading them.



25. I can feel a 2-3 lb change in my weight! Amazingly I would lose/gain 10 lbs and not even know it. I was SO out of touch with my own body!



26. I can buy cute workout clothes versus big baggy sweats!



27. I have developed food morals and a cleaner palate.



28. I inspire people! That is SO awesome!



29. Co-workers, friends and family ask my advice on food and fitness. Who AM I now? :)



30. I save SO much money eating at home, and enjoy it!



31. I use to be the family baker. Any potluck and I was known for some ooey gooey, SUPER SWEET, awesome dessert. I would get requests. Now? I am known for my awesome SALADS!



32. I can see the start of ab muscles! (thanks bootcamp!)



33. My legs have MUSCLES again!



34. I buy cute pajamas now! (bye bye gigantic flannel pj's - sniff sniff - this by the way has made hubby VERY happy)



35. My AIC is perfect (and am working to get OFF my meds!)



36. My cholesterol is down!



37. My hand and feet use to go numb randomly. Don't know why. Slimmer arms and legs seems to be the answer. No longer have numbness!



38. I CRAVE greens! Like I HAVE to have it EVERY day or I get crazy anxious. I will run out for a salad now like I use to run out for fast food 50 lbs ago.



39. My BMI is on a serious decline.



40. Chaffing. Done - that is all.



41. Internal plumbing - A-OK! That is all.



42. I use to wear frumpy skirts all the time. In my mind it hid a multitude of evils. Mainly my belly and thighs. Now I have some stylish shorts and capris in my closet. Jeans have yet to make it.



43. My treadmill is no longer a clothes hanger!



44. I am much more adventurous. We plan road trips around physical activities and not eating destinations.



45. I can carry my 4 year old son! Hubby always had to carry the kids once they were close to 1 year. I couldn't do it! Last week we went hiking and I carried my little guy on my back for the last half of our hike when he got tired!



46. I was always tired! I never ran around with my kids, played with them outside or did ANYTHING active with them. We are now on the GO all the time. I actually have to slow down for THEM now! My daughter actually asked me why we don't do crafts and baking at the table like we use to do ALL the time. Cause we are active now! We do family zumba, biking, hiking, swimming. LOVE being active with my kids.



47. There is a lot more room between me and the steering wheel of the car. I was always afraid of what would happen if my air bag ever went off because the steering wheel at one point was maybe an inch from my belly.



48. Chairs are no longer a source of anxiety, especially airline seats! I was sure I would break a chair or outgrow an airline seat one day and I hated it! NOT a problem anymore.



49. I don't need the BIG gown at the doctors office anymore!



50. I don't WALK THAT WAY anymore. You know it, the waddle, with the arms at an awkward unnatural dangle at the sides. I not only walk 'normal' again, I can RUN. Woot!!





Have you lost a lot of weight recently? What was your favorite milestone?

Traveling Fit

We have some catching up to do!

I have been UBER busy with the kids, and their summer activities. We have the girlies set up for a summer day camp which they are already loving. But that meant a change to ALL of our schedules, as well as a start up of their summer sports and activities. 

My kiddies are active ones! It's something I really purpose for them. I pretty much grew up in a closed up house (city kid), watched too many movies and played video games. I am probably the first of that generation of kids. Don't get me wrong, I definitely was somewhat active back then - tennis, bike-riding, walks by the lake - were all favorites but not truly an integral part of my lifestyle.  About the time I went to college, somewhere, SOMEthing went wrong for me to have gained SOOO much weight, right?

Fitmixer bootcamp - going strong.  I have to stay I am LOVING the workouts.  Okay, not so much when I am actually doing them - like the 3rd rep I am in despise mode - but afterwards - woohoo!  Feels so awesome.  Body has been continuously sore for the past 5 weeks.  LOVE that hurt! To date the LBS are down 6.8!  Its great, but honestly I was hoping for a full 10 at this point and I only have myself to blame.

cauliflower crust pizza. a not so guilty pleasure a la janetha

I am having food issues.  I always do. Period.  But especially when working out consistently.  I just get HUNGRY, or too busy (i.e. lazy?) to keep up with my food planning and logging.  And summer has always been a KILLER for my weight loss.  On the go, lots of cook outs and get togethers, and inconsistent eating schedules are all obstacles for this girl.

On the upside?  Sooo many people commenting about how good I look, so I know that even if the poundage isn't moving, my body IS CHANGING!  Working out the other day I noticed that my legs are looking slimmer, just in time for shorts and skirts season!  Best compliment? My chiropractor mentioned it at my last visit! I see him about once a month and his words when he walked in the room were:  "Now YOU have lost weight! What are you doing?" 

Winning!

Big on my list this week?  Florida Vacation!

I've been excited and nervous about this since starting the bootcamp.  It was on my list of reasons why I shouldn't try to do the bootcamp this summer.  Vacations are hard, but when you have family at the destination that likes to show their love by feeding you and cook EXTREMELY awesome, puerto rican, WILL make you chubby food that you just CAN'T pass up, AND you will be going to theme parks with crazy awful, yummy, so tempting JUNK food.  Ugh- it's a land mine.

And how do we start this trip?  On the ROAD of course!  Looong Wisconsin to Florida drive.  Gas stations, fast food - and you know all about fatigue eating!  

BUT. HOWEVER. NEVERTHELESS. AT ANY RATE.  IN SPITE OF ALL THAT.

Here is what I plan to do to stay on track:

1.  Pack a cooler.My plan is to have healthy fruits, veggies, yogurts, granola on hand for some healthy snacking.
2.  Pack workout clothes!  This is a first for me! I have NEVER planned to workout on a trip. I have never WANTED to!  On days we are not walking endlessly at amusement parks I plan to do my bootcamp workouts. I am so glad that I don't need any equipment to keep up with this one.  I will have my kindle fire along to quickly log in for the daily workouts, and will take along some of the note cards where I would sum up past workouts - just in case. Prepared!
3.  Plan for indulgences.  I know the day we see my family I WILL eat some not so great, but oh so yummy things.  I plan on eating ONE meal of such items, making the best choices I can and eating that one or two things that I can't resist as my treats.  At the parks, I plan on having one treat per park, and sticking to my food plan the rest of the day which would mean that I COULD stay in my calorie range. ( i think I can, I think I can...)
4.  Drink lots of water!  If I can stay hydrated I will avoid food temptations and help my body clear out any of those indulgences.
5.  Rest!  I will strive to get a good night's sleep every night, and take time to actually RELAX by the pool!
6.  Be kind to myself!  I will not compare myself to bikini clad women.  I will not focus on the weight I need to lose, but what I have lost.  I will forgive myself if I do not adhere to any of the above, and just try to be better the next meal and the next day.
7.  Focus on doing stuff!  Sometimes vacations can just be an excuse to overindulge.  My life has changed! I am a different person, and this vacation is going to be a reflection of the active and healthy person I have become.  I am looking forward to being on the move with my active family!

So what do you all do to stay fit and healthy on your vacations?

Transparency Tuesday: Frustrations!

Weight loss journeys are littered with frustrations.  As I challenge myself, and raise expectations, it gets even more difficult, especially when old habits die hard.

What are my recent frustrations?

1.  Doesn't this look delish?  

It SO was.  I'm also positive it blew my calories for the day out of the water.  But at that point I was too afraid to look. 

It's what happens when we try a new restaurant and I "think" I'm making better choices.  It's a portabello mushroom sandwich with hummus, according to the menu.  Unfortunately I either missed, or they didn't specify that the mushrooms would be breaded and fried.

Did I mention it was REALLY good?

2.  That leads me to my second frustration.

Oh it's a lovely score from my first whole foods trip.  It's not terrible by itself, although I bit high in calories.  Unfortunately, it is not the best choice for me as it has also been accompanied by some hearty bread.  Calories are not created equal, especially when you're insulin resistant.  (Reminder to self: Stop it, you are working too hard in this boot camp to sabotage yourself)

3.  High carbs mean I am not getting in my bootcamp ratio of 50% carbs/30%protein/20%fat.  Which means virtually no movement on the scale in week 2.  Bummer.

4.  I have to admit, I get frustrated at least once in each days set of exercises.  There are some things I cannot do, especially where upper body strength is required.  I've always known I am weak in that area.  But these workouts are making me face that weakness and it can be FRUSTRATING.  Case in point? Friday's Bootcamp army crawls   WARNING: Word to the naive: Don't do this on carpet.  OUCH! That is all.

5.  Over sized workout gear.  Have you ever tried to do Burpees in capris that now fit more like high water pants in a waist size two notches too big?   I wouldn't wish it on anyone.  But if it happens to you, this song might start playing in your head as you add the "pull your pants up" and "adjust your giant shirt that is wrapping around your body" moves to the repertoire.



Well, it will now ;)

#5 has been a long time coming.  It is a welcome reward of losing weight.  I really put it off because I know I have a way to go, and don't want to invest in clothes that I'm going to shrink out of.

This weekend I headed out to the outlet stores to try on (gasp!) some new work out gear.  The gasp is because I usually just grabbed whatever item was the largest and cheapest on the clearance rack.  You know, the stuff you think is covering your lady, and not so lady like, lumps and bumps?Whatever.  It wasn't going to look good, and I knew it wouldn't fall off. 

But do you know they make workout wear for each specific type of movement you could do?  Wow! Plethora of options.  It was actually fun - and very educational.

I found a motivational shirt and some shorts, and am going to cross my fingers for the rest, because both Running with Sass and Runs for Cookies have entered the Under Armour What's Beautiful Challenge to win $500 in new gear and I get a sweepstakes entry in exchange for telling you about it in this blog post!  You can check out the Under Armour What’s Beautiful site, and even sign up yourself.

Meanwhile, I'll just wear this shirt I picked up this weekend to remind myself that I can overcome these frustrations if I tell myself to:

Monday Weigh in: Results

I want to live a healthier and happier life.  That's why I eat the way I do.  That is why I am now physically active.  That is something that can't be measured.

But I'll admit it, a lot of the time,  I do what I do for results.  For me, on my list of whys, right after happy and healthy, is RESULTS!  I need to lose weight.  And that is completely measurable.  So when I step on that scale, I want to see it rolling back.

Today we sent in our first week weigh-ins for the Fitmixer Bootcamp. 
RESULT? -4.8 LBS  Yes!!! 
Again, following an eating plan and working out consistently WORKS. 
Shocking, I know.

I'm not the only one who does what I do for results.  Exhibit 2 is the Cellcom Marathon that went on in Green Bay.  Did you hear about it?  It got canceled about 2.5 hours into the event due to high heat and humidity.  The worse part was when they started barricading the finish line with runners coming up to it!!

Knowing how much dedication, training, sweat, blood, tears and time that goes into training for a Marathon - not personally of course, but from all of you! - I was devastated for them!

Confusion as they block the finish line. Source GB Press Gazette

The event planners decided to remove the barricades, and put up orange cones indicating the course was closed and let the MANY runners who decided to continue and finish the marathon use the course at their own discretion.

Those that finished before the event was called off, received their chip times and placement.  For those that continued after the course closed, they did not, the timers had been turned off.  Watching the news last night, the first place finisher of the woman's marathon came up to the finish line shortly after they had closed the course.  Crushing.

When interviewing participants it was the same response: 

I don't know if my RESULTS are going to even count. 
I wonder if I will get my RESULTS. 

And once they realized they couldn't control the situation.  The would concede - its all about finishing anyway.  I wasn't going to stop.  I did it, no matter what ends up happening.

So yes.  It's about the RESULTS.  But whether we finally get our hoped for RESULTS, or chase them for years, eventually we realize that it was really about the JOURNEY.  It's doing something you never thought you would or could. 

And it's just as satisfying.

So, did you hear about the Cellcom Marathon?
What do you think about planners calling the race due to heat/humidity?