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[exerciseyourright2befit]

Day 93 - Medical Roadblock - Journey Checkpoint

So I am now at day 93- day 90 was this past Saturday.  Over the past 90 days, I have made positive behavioral changes in my life. 

1.)    I made it to the gym 4 days per week

2.)    I incorporated strength training at least 3 or more days/week (Zumba is on Thursdays)

3.)    I (for the most part) stuck to a healthy diet ranging between (15-1700 calories-depending on if I “ate” my calories)

4.)    I started drinking protein nutri-blast shakes

As you can see, I did make some pretty positive changes that I am happy with.  I however, didn’t see the numbers on the scale change….I’m still around 142.  I dipped as low as 139 for one week but quickly gained it back.  My body fat percentage/measurements have changed very little but on the plus side, I do see a little more definition in my abs/back than before so something must be happening. 

At first I have honestly felt frustrated that the numbers haven’t budged.  You see people all the time that do these challenges and lose 10-30 pounds so I did feel a sense of defeat about it.  I decided a few weeks back to visit a doctor so that I could figure out if something was causing me to plateau medically.  My doctor ran some tests and found that I tested positive for Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (my body is producing antibodies that are attacking my thyroid gland) and I have also been diagnosed with a goiter.  I know that Thyroid issues run pretty strongly in my family so I wasn’t completely surprised by the diagnosis but I was surprised about the goiter/lab test result.  What is confusing for me is I am having all the symptoms of having hypothyroidism (weight issues, feeling cold, etc.) but I have a goiter (which I’ve always associated with hyperthyroidism---but according to the mayo clinic, it can also be related to HYPOthyroidism).  After looking into it a bit more myself, I found that there are many causes of developing a goiter. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/goiter/basics/causes/con-20021266

I have had an ultrasound to rule out cancer and nodules, but I wasn’t given a definitive answer of why I developed it in the first place which is puzzling to me.  I have started adding more iodized salt to my diet in the rare case that I had some type of iodine deficiency (I love dousing my baked potatoes with sea salt).  This seemed unlikely though because I live in America, home of the big mac and the salt-everything-under-the-sun food industry.  Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis could definitely be the cause but I don’t know for sure because I’m not a doctor.  From what I understand though, the presence of thyroid peroxidase antibodies by itself is a predictor of Hashimoto’s…..this coupled with a goiter could point to that diagnosis.  My regular doc did prescribe a very low dose of levothyroxine to treat to goiter in the meantime.  I have been on the medication for over a month now but I am still dealing with the same symptoms (cold intolerance, weight issues, fatigue, etc.) I have an upcoming appointment with an endocrinologist so I will hopefully have a more detailed answer/diagnosis.  In the meantime, at least I know that my difficulty with losing weight might have a medical reason so it makes me feel better with knowing that there could be an underlying cause for my inability to lose weight/gain weight so easily even with diet/exercise changes.  In the meantime, I am starting a new 90 day challenge and I am focusing on reducing stress (which hopefully should lessen with lack of college classes for now.  I am also going to incorporate yoga into my strategy and try to get those cortisol levels down (because they are probably elevated I would imagine).  Anyways, I will post the most up to date photo of me on Saturday and feel free to join me if you want.  Contact me by Facebook message and we can be each other’s cheerleaders for the goals that we have set. 

[exerciseyourright2befit]

Day 42 – Slight Frustration

I made changes to my sleeping pattern and got 7-8 hours of sleep this week.  I am happy with that accomplishment since I normally get 6 or fewer hours.  Unfortunately, I feel frustrated because I weighed in today at 141.8.  I have gained a pound since last week.  This is with sticking to my 1600 calories (sometimes even going slightly under).   It’s disheartening to say the least, especially when I consider that I only lost a pound my first month of doing this transformation.  It’s like I am going backwards.  I am trying to stay focused on the positive changes that I have made but when you’re working so hard going towards your goal, seeing a gain is like a big slap in the face.  I would like to believe it’s a pound of muscle but in reality, it is more likely due to what I ate this week.  I made corned beef and cabbage on Monday for St. Patrick’s Day.  I portion controlled the amount that I ate based on calories but I also ate the leftovers again for Wednesday night’s dinner.  Thursday I had Noodles and Company.  I usually make this a high calorie day because I do Zumba but maybe I went a little overboard considering my choices earlier in the week.  I had the Alfredo Montemore.  It was definitely right around my calorie budget with the exercise included.  This week may have simply been an instance of too much rich food.    

Next week’s change is going to be adding more exercise because maybe I’m not getting enough cardio?  I feel that I am but I am going to try to start taking Kickboxing class on Tuesday and see if that makes a difference.   I have also considered doing 45 minutes of cardio before lifting weights on the days that I am not doing a cardio-based class.  I am also going to try to eat cleaner (more veggies, less junk). I am definitely not giving up, just got to re-strategize.  

[exerciseyourright2befit]

5 posts!

[exerciseyourright2befit]

Day 35 – “Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes- Turn and Face the Strange”

I have spent the last week following my 1600 base calorie lifestyle (eating all extra exercise calories), using my fitness pal to track it, and have lost a whole .2 pounds since last week.  It’s definitely not a huge change but at least it’s in the right direction. 

Oh a more powerful note, I decided to do a side x side comparison of where I’m at now and where I began.  I am in a state of happy shock.  I pasted them side by side using paint shrinking them proportionally to 50% to fit half of the screen.   They are located down below.

Front- I notice the change more in where my waist is.  It’s really shaping up and getting more defined.

Side- My belly seems to be starting to recede.  In the very first pic I tried not to slouch or suck it in and same with the most recent.  I definitely feel that those pants are getting looser.

Back- I’m starting to see my spine a lot more.  I definitely see the sides starting to nip in. 

I want to note to all my friend and family that are following my transformation.  This is only at 30 days.  I am not following a specialized diet (just eating healthy), “weight loss shake”, or any other crazy TV fitness program.  I’ve even calorie budgeted for the occasional treat (such as a donut).   ;-)  

This is just me going to the gym 4 days per week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday).  This is all while working dang near full time, going to college (including night classes), and trying to have a life outside of that on the weekends.  I just have started to prioritize my body and what I put into it nutritionally more.  I mean, it IS the only one that we get.  We might as well take care of it.

Here is an example of my schedule if you want to try it out for yourself. J

Monday – 30 minutes elliptical followed by strength training (machine weights).  I usually work my upper half plus abs.  I try to do 3 sets of 13 reps-each machine.

Tuesday – 30 minutes elliptical followed by strength training my lower half plus abs.

Wed- Rest day

Thursday- Zumba!  This burns approximately 500-900 calories per hour.  I usually input 563 into my fitness pal to be conservative.  If I get to the gym early, I’ll sometimes do arms.

Friday – 30 minutes elliptical followed by strength training my lower half plus abs. 

The weight machines that I use for abs are called the “Torso Rotation”- you kneel on it and twist for each side.   This works the obliques (side muscles).   I do 50 reps per side using 35 pounds of resistance.  For the front abdominal muscles, I use the total abdominal machine.  It’s a chair that you sit in and it isolates the abdominals.  The elbows rest on arm rests and you grab the handles from above and slowly squeeze down.  I do 34 reps, rest for 30 secs,  33 reps, rest for 30 secs, then 33 more reps for a total of 100 crunches.  Sometimes I have to do less because my muscles are tired.  The main thing is you have to really listen to your body.  Push yourself to complete your sets, but if you start to feel like your body/abs are screaming at you to stop, give them a well-deserved rest.  My muscles vary from day to day and I’ve learned to go with the flow of what my body’s limits are.  The weights that I use on each muscle group vary due to what they can do.  For instance, I’m up to 35 pounds when doing a shoulder press, but 50 pounds when doing a row machine.  By the end of the 3rd rep, my muscles feel as if they literally couldn’t do another one.  To wrap it up, your muscles should be a LITTLE sore the next day, but they shouldn’t feel like you pulled something.  I’ll repeat because it’s important: LISTEN to your body.  I usually wrap up my work out by having that Nutri Blast made with kale, spinach, berries, banana, with protein powder that I discussed a week ago.  By feeding your muscles protein/nutrients within 45 minutes of your strength training, it gives them the fuel they need to recover.  Also, bananas are great on leg days (lower half).  If they are not in your shake, eat them.  Potassium helps me with leg soreness.  It’s also important to stretch after your workouts.  I will sometimes need to stretch in between ab reps.

  If you have any specific questions of what I use machine wise for the rest of my body, let me know. 

***NOTE: I am not a fitness expert, dietician, or any other type of professional.

 I’m just a woman with a fitness goal.  Proceed with my advice in my blog at your OWN risk

[exerciseyourright2befit]

Day 28 – I discovered my spine…

This week has been a bit of an experiment to me.   Monday and Tuesday I began replacing my lunches with a Nutri Blast Protein shake.  It consisted of kale, spinach, carrots, half of a banana, berries, a scoop of the “super food” additive that came with the machine, and a scoop of GNC lean 25 protein powder/meal replacement powder.  The first day of doing this little healthy concoction was okay.  The second day however I felt just plain crappy.  I couldn’t do another day of replacing a meal with a shake, however nutritious it may be.  I decided that part of my issue might be not getting enough calories after  talking with a friend, and reading about it as a  common issue on the my fitness pal boards.  If you are too close to your basal metabolic rate, your body simply won’t lose.  It needs those calories just to do basic processes.   So I decided to up my calories to 1600 as a little experiment.  Today I weighed myself and I am down to 141.0.  It’s not a huge loss from day 1 but it is something.  All total since December (when I did my last measurements), I have lost 2”.  This includes all over my body.  Specifically, I have lost about a half inch-inch in my abdominal area which makes me happy.    

I meant to post this last week but time got away from me….sorry to disappoint my 3 followers….. :-P

Below are some pics of what my body looked like last Saturday (day 28)-around the 30 day mark.

[exerciseyourright2befit]

Day 21 – Slight Discouragement but New Hope

Today, I weighed myself as I do every Saturday.  I do this first thing in the morning before I’ve ate anything so I have the most consistent result.  I gained a little (like .4 Lbs) from last week.  Admittedly, I felt a little discouraged.  My weight just doesn’t seem to want to budge!  I knew that it would be difficult considering that I’m trying to bust through my body’s set point but I don’t think I ever internalized the thought.   Monday was the only day that I really fell off track.  I decided to go to Taco Bell because I wanted a snack before a night class.  I had seen the nacho wrap that Taco Bell advertised on TV and to be honest, I wanted to try it.  I should note that it’s been months since I last went to Taco Bell.  After getting my wrap and biting into it, I quickly realized that I hated the way it tasted.  The nacho cheese filling had a very strong fake, cheap-cheese aftertaste.  It made me feel a little queasy but has definitely broke my cravings for any Taco Bell in the future!  Especially when places like Chipotle exists; why settle for TB?  It’s cheap, disgusting, and my body rejects it now.  End of story.  

On a more positive note, Shawn and I bought a Nutri Bullet.  A co-worker was given one as a gift and said that they really enjoyed having one.  So we decided to invest in one.  I have an acquaintance at the gym that enjoys “juicing” and has managed to lose weight.  I decided that I am going to try having a “Nutri Blast” as a meal replacement for my lunch starting today.   If I add in a little protein of some sort (maybe protein powder), it will be a superior version of Slim Fast and I’ll know EXACTLY what’s going in it.  J  I just want my 30 day picture to show some sort of result for all of the hard work that I’ve put into this little transformation journey. 

I WILL wear an itsy-bitsy teeny weenie bikini this year and feel body confident in it!  

[exerciseyourright2befit]

Day 14 - Snowboarding and Roller Skating \m/

Tonight’s entry is going to be short and sweet.  This week went pretty well.  My husband and I went snowboarding on Sunday with a couple of free passes that we hadn’t used.   On Monday, we went roller skating with a friend that we hadn’t seen for a while.  Tuesday was a cardio and upper body day.  I was surprised how hard switching ab machines was.  I was completing 2 sets of 50 crunches (w/35lb weights) on the “total ab” machine but Shawn mentioned that I should try the ab machine that he usually uses, because it looked like I was struggling with the fact that it worked the quads as well.   So I decided to try the other ab machine.  It was definitely a lot more focused on just the abs, so by the time I got to 75 crunches, I was pretty sore.  I think it’s going to give better results though because I already felt like my abs got a more through workout.  Finally, Thursday was cardio/lower body.  I always split my body in half when doing weights because I feel that it gives each half of muscle groups time to recover between workouts.  Abs needs a recovery day too but as long as they feel pretty good, it’s alright to work them.  The main thing to remember is to listen to your body.  Once I got to 75 crunches I stopped because my form was starting to suffer and I didn’t want to push myself beyond what my body could handle.  I still felt like my abs were sore the next day but it wasn’t to the point of complete “oh my gosh, I can’t move”.  Since I am shooting for the goal of working out at least 4 days/week, I decided to use Friday as a rest day.  If anyone is curious, I was at 142.2 as of this morning.  I gained last week due to relaxing a little too much for V-day.   It brought me up to 143.2 (from my starting weight of 141.4).   I am setting a goal for next Saturday morning of being ≤ 141.4.  My 28/30 day picture won’t be dramatic, but it will be a start.

 Until next Saturday.  :-)  

[exerciseyourright2befit]

Day 7 - A Work In Progress

So I saw the dietitian on Thursday.  She said that my diet is, in her words "pretty good".  She said to eat a minimum of 50% carbs, 20-25% protein and 25-30% fat.  I eat normally around that so she gave me suggestions of adding veggies to my pasta water (about 3-5 minutes before the pasta is ready to be drained).  She also emphasized adding veggies to my sandwiches to make them more complete.  I thought that they were good suggestions.  

One of the issues I've had is not being totally honest with myself about everything that has been going into my mouth.  It's easy to say "no big deal, I'll have just one" or "it's only X amount of calories" (even though it's pretty much a sugar cube of nutrition).  Treats in moderation are okay (according to the dietitian-you can even have a little dessert every night if you choose).

So I'm going to try to be completely honest about my derailments to my goal.  On Thursday we had Noodles and Company because we had a BOGO coupon.  I decided to get a large and then split it so I would have some for Friday's lunch.  What actually happened is I had half before I went to the "Insanity" class at the gym and then when I got home, I thought about how great it tasted and had the other half.  I did this without being particularly hungry, just thought about how great it tasted and figured "what difference in eating it now going to make?"  It's easy to justify eating a certain food at the time, but not so easy to identify why you did it.  I think I did it because I was tempted by how good it tasted.  Friday was Valentine’s Day and we decided to go to Café Latte with a couple of our good friends.  If you've never been there by the way, try their famous Turtle Cake: it's delicious!  Since my husband and I split our little pizza, we decided to get our own desserts.  I had the most amazing German Chocolate Cake and he had their famous “Chocolate Chocolate” cake.  It was honestly worth every calorie.  In addition, we spent time with friends that we hadn’t seen in a while and it was a wonderful evening.  Looking back on it, we should have just eaten out Friday and skipped our Thursday meal at Noodles and Co. 

Another lesson I learned this week: check the fat when you check out the calories of the meals that you eat.  The “Alfredo MontAmore” was listed at 1270 calories for a large and 77 grams of fat!  I knew it wasn’t the healthiest choice, but I was shocked to learn it had that much fat. 

On a much more positive note, it’s awesome how motivating having a blog out there is.  The workouts on Monday and Tuesday were much more focused.  I even had a guy at the gym (while patiently waiting for the ab machine that I was on) tell me that I was “killin’ it” on the machine.  I walked away after I proclaimed to him “yeah, I’m definitely going to have a beach body this year!” 

So this week, I’m not posting pictures because I don’t look any different.  I might wait until the end of the 4th week (Day 28) to post the pics (as per usual 90 day transformation standards).

 I’m still going to update every week on my progress though because I think it’s important to show that weight loss or reaching any goal has its setbacks, even for someone that you may view as having the body that you would like.  I know I personally talked to the insanity instructor and she described the roller coaster ride of her weight loss.  She even broke her back and sprung back from it to achieve the body that she wanted.

It’s how you respond to setbacks that shows your true determination and strength.

            A good body is something that you have to work hard to achieve; money can’t buy it.  You have to first be honest with yourself about what you might be doing wrong because everyone is human.  Then, set smalls goals until you reach (or exceed) where you want to be. 

You can do it.

[exerciseyourright2befit]

Day 1 - Exercise Your Right 2 be Fit!

Greetings and welcome to my 90 day personal journey.  I am embarking on what I hope will be my first day towards my goal of busting through my plateau and finally reaching my fitness goal.  I decided to try a blog as it will add to my accountability and push me harder.  I will update this blog weekly with pictures of my progress.  I want to serve as an inspiration to anyone that has struggled to reach their goal due to a plateau.  

To give you a little background into my journey, I reached an all-time low of 115 pounds when I de-tasseled corn at 16 years old.  I felt the best I have ever felt.  After finding the love of my life and working at the local McDonalds, the pounds started creeping on.  I blame the employee discount, lol.   By my early 20's, I reached 160.  When my husband and I got married in 2004, I lost ten pounds (150).  After marriage, the weight started creeping on due to eating too much fast food and within a period of 3 years, I reached 163.  From there, we moved back to our hometown in 2007 and got into a horrible habit of eating out with family every week at the local buffet and fast food.  Within two months of moving back, I gained 20 pounds and reached an all-time high of 183 pounds.  I felt disgusting.  I had very low energy and I couldn't believe that I let myself go.  The worst feeling in the world is my body didn't like the adjustment either.  I developed stretch marks vertically across my stomach and hip area that will be there for the rest of my life.  At that point, I just sort of gave up on working towards my goal.  I gave up on myself and became apathetic to doing anything to change it.  Although I've learned to live with my stretch marks and ultimately see it as part of my journey, it's still hard because they weren't due to kids (just bad nutritional choices).  

My breaking point was looking at a picture of me holding my newborn niece.  I was so happy to finally be an aunt but so miserable with the way I looked. I didn't even recognize myself anymore.  In January of 2009, I decided I had enough and joined the YMCA with my husband.  We started working out 5 days a week for 45 minutes on the elliptical. In a 5 month period, Shawn went from 235 pounds to around 190.  I shrank from 183 to 163.  At this point, we started to get more serious about eating healthy and started cutting down on the amount of fast food that we were consuming.  In June of 2009, we moved back to Minnesota.  We joined Snap fitness and by working out there, I slowly started to change.  We started incorporating more vegetables into our diet and if we went to McDonalds, we chose the side salad and the grilled snack wrap.  By January of 2012, I reached 150.8.  In August of 2012, we joined Lifetime Fitness and I started doing Zumba LTF classes.   At this point, I was focused on just losing weight and doing cardio.  I was like a gerbil on a treadmill (in my case elliptical, ha).  I was pretty much keeping at a steady 148, doing the same thing week after week, and not seeing results.  In August of 2013, I decided that I needed to start adding strength training/weights if I really wanted to change because hey, why not?  I wasn’t getting anywhere by doing just cardio.  My body needed more.  I was at 147.8 and the weight was not budging. 

I am currently at 141.4 pounds sans clothes and 143.8,  24.8% bodyfat (according to the schmancy stand-up body fat analyzer at the gym).  I am starting my own 90 day journey to bust through this stubborn plateau and reach my goal weight of 115-125.  The number doesn’t matter as much to me as the body fat percentage and the health benefits of feeling more energized, and finally feeling great in a two piece!  I would also like to get rid of my stomach bulge and have a healthier looking waistline.

 I am planning on seeing a dietician on Thursday so I can see where the nutritional holes in my diet are.  I hope you’ll join me on my journey.  It’s going to be an interesting one to say the least. 

My pictures sans makeup and holey sock (don’t judge me lol) are attached. I even included my lovely pale legs #proudtobepale 

This is where I’m starting out.  The first pic (with less lighting) shows off the definition that I have worked hard for over the past 6 months doing strength training.  The rest are with brighter lighting.  I am going to update this every single week to show you a real person with changes in progress.

 I hope you’ll join me in my journey.  Commit to yourself and your health for 90 days. 

We are worth the effort.  Let's do this!

 front without extra lighting (to show the definition)