Taking The Next Step

I am always asking myself; what's next? Where do I go from here? How can I help others get what I have? Lately the answer has been loud and clear! Become a personal trainer!! What?!? You heard right! I have studied the human body and the effects of diet and exercise since 2003. Does that mean that I have always put what I have learned into practice?? That would be a resounding NO, but this time is very different from the rest!

Always before, I was in it for me and only me. Granted, it started out that way this time too but then something changed as others began to inquire about my 50 pound weight loss, eating and working out. I began to see that I could help others be their best inside and out so I am taking the next step.

What is the next step? I am so glad you asked! I have decided to become a personal trainer but the only thing standing between me and that goal is the $600 tuition for the on-line training course and certification test. At this point I am just praying that we find a way to make it work but until then I will continue to work on myself each and every day that I am alive!

I Am Melting!

Maybe I am not melting but I am still losing weight! At today's weigh in, I was down another 4 pounds so I am 2 pounds away from another mini goal and 14 away from my final goal! I am excited by the thought that I could be at goal by my birthday, at the end of May, which is also my one year mark for my weight loss journey!

I am not resting on my laurels! I am constantly tweaking my eating and my workout routines. Last week, I adding an early morning spin class to my schedule 3 mornings a week. Getting up at 5 AM is hard enough but stick me on a bike and make me sweat, well, that's a lot! Ha! I am a glutton for punishment but that punishment is paying off!

I have to admit that I am thinking about ways to help others lose weight! I enjoy watching others achieve their health and fitness goals and I am thinking about taking it to the next level! We shall see what the future holds! All I know is that I am getting closer to my goal every day and I will push forward!

Secrets of Success

I watch Dr. Oz occasionally and today it was all about herbal diet supplements that promise quick weight loss for anyone willing to shell out the money! It makes me laugh when they claim that you need not change anything about the way you eat or workout! I also watched an infomercial for Sensa, you sprinkle it in your pizza, burger or fries and you lose weight!

Please!!!!! I get so aggravated at these claims so I am going to tell you the secrets of my success! I am even going to divulge my starting and current weight!

First, I am 43 years old (44 in May) so don't let people tell you that women over 40 cannot lose weight because it simply is not true! At my November 2010 annual physical, I weighed in at 217 pounds! Hello, I was over weight! On June 5, 2011 I made a choice to get healthy and be a good example for my 4 year old Diva and I took the first of many baby steps. I say baby steps because if you try to change everything all at once you will, most likely, fail.

Step one was to change my diet. I opted for a plan that I call the 90/10 plan. Be good 90% of the time and eat what I want the other 10%. For me this translates to eating good during the week and allowing myself to eat my favorite pizza on Friday night! No deprivation going on here!

Step 2 was to start tracking everything that I put in my mouth! I have an app on my iPhone called My Fitness Pal that I love! It is always with me and has a scan feature that allows me to scan barcodes from my favorite products.

So for the first month it was all about what I ate and keeping track of it. Doing this I lost about 10 pounds! Then on July 5, 2011 I took another baby step and began running! I ran for less than 10 days before a torn ACL took me out of commission! During my forced break, I continued to eat right and lost another 10 pounds (20 total). Then came physical therapy and finally on November 10, 2011 I was released to run again and I was off! I have not stopped since!

Now, I don't have scales at home because the Diva broke them so I go to a local car dealership, who held a weight loss challenge that I participated in! I go in every couple of weeks just to make sure I am still on track to meet my goal by June 2012. I am currently 175 pounds!! This makes a total of 42 pounds gone! Only 20 pounds more and I will hit my goal!!

I continue to eat well and run but have recently joined our local YMCA and started taking some classes. I take a class called 30-30-30 which is 30 minutes each if step aerobics, strength training and Yoga. It challenges me twice a week. In February I will add a second class, most likely a spinning class. I have signed up for another challenge to keep me pushing myself forward in this process. I love a good challenge! Prizes help the motivation too!

So, as you can see, no gimmicks here! Just plenty of healthy food and lots of hard, sweat inducing work! New year, new me! This is a lifestyle change for the better. What are you doing for yourself in 2012?