gradtchr's back on track (comments welcome)

[toystoryduo]

You are doing a great job! I hope that you heel is feeling much better.

 

[eeyore25]

Hi!

Congrats on making your exercise goal. That is awesome.

Glad to hear that your foot is better. Keep up the good work, you are doing awesome!

 

[gradtchr]

Today was a day.
30 min WATP
b-turkey bacon melt
s-brownie
l-oriental steak salad
1 hour walk
s-roast beef salad
went home instead of the gym. Sore throat, taking nyquil tonight I can't get sick right now!
d-sloppy joe
s-very berry parfait

 

[lovinaz]

You are an exercising machine! I wish I had your motivation. Have you considered adding a weights routine to your workout? It tones your body and builds muscle which burns more fat. I was stuck at the same weight forever and once I added weights, it finally started coming off.

Your meals look great, do you make your own chocolate mousse? I love that stuff!

Thanks for stopping by my journal, I really need all the support I can get!

 

[gradtchr]

He he he he-not really a machine what's so funny is in September I was going to the gym maybe once every other week. I so wasn't into it but that danged reunion made me realize I needed to get in gear.

Weights wise I'm actually supposed to be doing weights every other day but have been bad about it lately as in the past month, as in really bad and not doing it. I notice a huge improvement with it too and need to get back on it. I have been holding weights during the WATP but I need to follow the body for life regimen on weights.

We do make our own mousse, but got the recipe online
1/2 cup low fat or nonfat milk
1/2 scoop chocolate (unsweetened) protein powder
1 tbsp. vanilla fat free and sugar-free pudding instant packet
1/3 cup light or fat free whipped topping

Directions:
Pour milk in blender. Add protein powder and blend in medium speed for 15 seconds. Add pudding to the mixture and blend on high speed until smooth for about 45 seconds, stopping blender to scrape sides as needed. Pour mixture into a mixing bowl and gently fold in the whipped topping. Spoon into dessert bowl and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!

 

[eeyore25]

Hi there.

Hope you are feeling better. Hope you have a good Thursday!

Keep up the good work

 

[gradtchr]

I am feeling better for the most part. The throat is still a little bit sore but I'll survive!

I got 90 minutes of excercise in today. 30 this morning and 60 tonight at the gym. I wanted to run tonight but didn't work oh well there's another day for that.

b-apple smoothie
s-cottage cheese w/ fruit cocktail
l-oriental steak salad
s-roast beef and mandarin oranges
d-chili w/ cheese and 1 serving of fritos (only one serving YEAH!!!!!)
s-I ate at 8:30 so no snack

 

[lovinaz]

Thanks for the mousse recipe! I'll have to make some one of these days.

Congrats on working out with a sore throat! Mine was sore yesterday (and still today) but I wimped out and did nothing... Today I'll make it to the gym though!

You're doing great, keep it up!

 

[frogmommy]

Hi!

You are the workout queen!

I really like the BFL weight regimen. I feel like I can effectivly work out eat muscle grouping without having to spend a lot of time on it. It's so managable. I think carrying the weights during your WATPs is a good idea too, though.

 

[gradtchr]

I don't really want to remember this day ever but here I am writing it down for posterity.

Last night I was having allergy issues and I could not sleep. I tried all night and finally dozed off at 4:30 until 6:40 (I reset the alarm at 3) and got hubby up. I had already e-mailed in sick knowing I wouldn't be able to function. So I stayed home to sleep and did I sleep any? Ummm maybe 45 minutes total. Everything I ate today I was forcing myself to eat. I'm never hungry when I'm exhausted.

So here it goes:
b-nothing
s-pbj
l-very small bowl of chili w/ cheese and 1 serving fritos
s-nothing
d-sloppy joe
s-no idea nyquil sounds really good.

The good part of the day is I got one of my new excercise videos and tried it out. Wowzers!! It's definitely an 80's video but I feel the stretch in the muscles which is nice. I can't wait to do it more and see if I can get my flexiblity increased some. Video is called Callanetics. So all in all the eating wasn't bad but this blah sleepy feeling isn't fun.

 

[Cruise04]

WOW - you are really doing great. Sorry about the gain that you had but I think you were right, it was probably muscle. Keep up the good work. That mousse sounds great!!!!!

Keep on
Chris

 

[lovinaz]

Sorry to hear you are sick! Get well soon!

 

[gradtchr]

Great excellent wonderful news!! I got sleep last night!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!! Sleep does amazing things to our bodies. I need more!

woke up and did 30 min WATP
b-mexican omelette
s-apple w/ low fat caramel (I was dying what can I say I miss my candy apples this time of year)
l-tuna apple salad (hmmm apple theme today )
one hour brisk walk with hubby
s-ff/sf chocolate pudding w/ 100's pack chips ahoy
30 min walk to/from gym
35 min intense on the bike (I burned 250 calories that's a 40 calorie increase from two weeks ago, and it was up a level from last week)
We then jogged 1/8 of a mile and walked 3/8ths. My calves were numb after the bike so after the cool down we walked back to the car.
d-chili and one serving fritos
s-single serving bag of cracker jacks
I got my second new video today and popped it in to try it but stretching excercises are not good after drinking 32 oz of water right before so I did two warm up stretches and had enough.

This is my weekend plans. I want to do the callanetics 60 minute video in the morning. We take Pooh and Simba our cats to the vet tomorrow morning. We are then going to load up the bikes and go ride on a trail for several hours. We will grab a sandwich to eat before we begin our ride and then we will enjoy the fall weather. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday will involve gym time for sure, weights are a necessity for the upper body especially.

Major non scale victory today. I had purchased a pair of size 10 calvin klein jeans two to three years ago when it felt like not even one leg fit in them, ok I could get them to my knees and the trouble started. I am thrilled ecstatic and happy to say that today I wore those jeans all day with absolutely no problems. In three years I have lost quite a bit, I am thrilled with my progress thus far and my progress that is yet to come.

 

[gradtchr]

Hmmmmmm I just posted and now I am posting again I must be in a super reflective mode. Dangerous! I was just thinking about how I looked and felt three years ago. I am amazed because it was not that much before that I was the smallest size I had ever been. In 1997 I think it was my sister in law asked me to be in their wedding. I decided right then I wanted to be as healthy as I could be since I knew i had problems with asthma, and was having serious knee issues at the time. I was still in college and had some P.E. Credits that really needed to be conquered and knocked out of my schedule so I signed up for two dance aerobics courses. How can you have two dance aerobics courses count? Easy take one from the dance department, and one from the kines department and you get two classes. The first few weeks were brutal and I literally cried when the weekend arrived because I wouldn't have to kill myself for two days. So what did I do those two days I found something active to do and I loved every minute of it. Whether it was walking in the park with friends or running the stairs in the dorm. I was determined to get fit. I am determined that I will fit into that dress once again because I love the style and the color and there have been a couple of occassions when it would have been great to wear recently but no such luck .
In 1999 I met a jerk to say the least who I thought I loved. Turns out he was very emotionally abusive and a real loser (I can see that now, but of course coudlnt then). I was a size 8 and he constantly berated me for being to large so I became a size 6 and still I heard almost daily that I was to fat. He proposed and then all of a sudden one day he decided it was over that I was never going to be skinny enough for him so as far as he was concerned I could be a fat blob on my own. Great self-esteem builder let me tell ya! Well I turned to food and ate and ate and ate. I gained the weight slowly and never really realized what was happening.
I graduated from college and started teaching in a very stressful school where I won't even begin to describe the emotional toll that took out of me and the weight went up and up and up and up.
I quit teaching after that first year and with my parents emotional support went back to school to start on my Masters Degree. I was offered a part time position that became full time and I moved into my own place where guess what I did. Yup you guessed it I ate the quick meals that I could grab on the way home. Then in January 2002 the most wonderful person in the world asked me out. By March 2002 I knew that I wanted to start losing the weight I had gained and that I wanted to live a more healthy lifestyle and the journey began. I really need to ask my doctor what my weight was at that time but I know it was very close to 200. Oh the lectures he gave but anyway this is the point I started with on the first page.
For my hubby he had undergone his own weightloss journey and literally became half of the person he was before. He is not sure exactly how much weight he lost prior to asking me out but you can barely recognize him from pictures from the past. He has supported me through everything and has cheered me on, never pushing, never trying to make me into a person I am not but one who is encouraging me every step of the way. So much so that he has offered to do my callanetics tape with me, and who will do a WATP with me if I ask. One who goes to the gym and pedals to his own goals and one who spends three hours three times a week playing intense games of raquetball. He was a true inspiration to me and he was not the only one. They all have their own stories and their own ways of inspiring me but there are family members who to do this day serve as an inspiration and if you ever read this know that you are. in case you didn't know it before. The goals you have set for yourselves and reached has encouraged me on and helped me in this battle.
Through this month of October God truly put a challenge in my face that he knew I was ready for and that was the activity challenge. I know my potential and am constantly amazed at how much farther I have come from where I was in September. It was truly an answered prayer. I had shyed away from this board for my own personal reasons but I am so glad I finally jumped in. The support and encouragement that one can find here truly helps. By this time next year I want to be in even better shape than I am now and I hope that even if my time goals do not change that my workout levels have increased. I now know and believe I can do this. Workouts rule!!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

you are doing such an amazing job..i love coming to read your journal because you definitely motivate me!
Congrats on the size 10!! that happened to me a few weeks ago and i was so excited that i was comfortable!!
its great that your hubby is doing all of this with you too, im sure that is helpful..
keep on going, you are doing so great!! have a great weekend

 

[gradtchr]

I am about to scream with joy and ummmmmm PAIN!!!! I just got back from a 24 mile bike ride. My first ever and I'm happy to say we accomplished it in slightly under 3.5 hours. It was a mountain bike trail so lots of rough terrain and I did it!!! This is actually my first mountain bike trail ride ever (even though I've had the bike for a couple of years. Now if only I could get to where I could run that I would be thrilled!

We're about to go about for a nice sized meall since I feel that we have defniitely earned it.

jen-I hope you are having an awesome weekend to and that you feel better. Being sick is the worst!!

 

[gradtchr]

To repeat this day in the future or not is yet to be determined.

I slept in late and when I got up I pulled DH up to do a callanetics am tape (20 minutes plus 10 min walking in place to get rid of the cramps from the video)
Took the cats to the vet for their immunizations (poor kitties don't feel good now)
Grabbed a sandwich and a small bag of chips (DH and I each had 6 inches of a meatball sub w/ cheese YUM)
Threw the bikes in the truck and took off for the trail where we biked 23-24 miles in 3.5 hours. I loved it!! It was no problem at the start and I was like come on let's go further but we hit a portion where there was nowhere else to go so we turned back (THANK GOODNESS) Coming back into the wind was a tough ride and it was clearly more uphilll than the first way (not really but it felt it) We walked the bikes a few times and drank plenty of water but I am so beyond thrilled that I was able to do it. Something like that last year would have been a disaster. Yet something else I have proved to myself I can do. Now we need to start working on our time to get that down. I picked the slow constant pace and at some point will see that increase. Because of today we're thinking of tossing our bikes in the car over the holidays so we can try out some of the different state parks in the areas where we will be. We shall see how the weather holds out in this great state. At the trucke we had a 100's pack of chips ahoy. We will take a snack with us next time we go but never thinking I would make it as far as I actually did we overlooked that. Never overlook calorie boost again!!!
Came home and crashed was so tired that sitting in a restaurant to eat was not sounding good so we did the next best thing. Called in an order to go and DH went out to get it while I collapsed in the lazyboy to recover. Got the food home and for the first time in a long time I ate everything. We split a guacamole order and I had two cheese/onion enchiladas w/ queso and one pork tamale rice and beans and chips. Not to many chips though but they were On the Border chips so large let that sit awhile and then did the evening version of callanetics and cooled our muscles all the way down. I now feel extremely relaxed and will soon hit the hay. I'm so excited 270 minutes of workout today (probably more but counting it as 270) YEAH!!!!!!!

I accomplished my first weekend goal, now to do upper body tomorrow and let my poor legs rest!

 

[tink2020]

hello there! I stumbled across your journal looking for someone else who had heard of Callanetics, and I'm so impressed! Congratulations on meeting so many of your intermediate goals, and getting closer to your GOAL! I admire your dedication!

 

[gradtchr]

Thanks for stopping by. I first heard of callanetics a couple of weeks ago and had to try it out. So far so good with it. Do you do it? If so do you find it easy or hard? I'm struggling right now but I can definitely feel the good that it's doing.

 

[tink2020]

Thanks for stopping by. I first heard of callanetics a couple of weeks ago and had to try it out. So far so good with it. Do you do it? If so do you find it easy or hard? I'm struggling right now but I can definitely feel the good that it's doing.

It's very difficult at first, but it will get easier! You have the AM/PM Callanetics I think? That's a good one to start with!