First Derby Bout around the Corner and time to shape up!

Coming out of Bronchitis and still having issues with Coughing up my lungs and trying to breath and have energy was a hard thing to deal with last night during practice. The hardest thing for me is knowing when to stop and when to keep pushing. I know a good part of my problem is I have been off skates for over two and a half weeks which can really kill you on top of the coughing! I remember asking a coach/derby girl who is freaking amazing and a true athlete how to constantly improve your stamina and your ability in exercises and she said " when you get to the point where you feel you cant go any further you push yourself for 10 more or you push for 10 more seconds." So I have this ingrained in the back of my head as I head forward starting with my cross training that I am now deciding to begin and conquer to help me become stronger for the upcoming roller derby season. So I have set up a schedule and talked it through with various athletes and this is what I am going to try to start with. Schedule: monday: core in the AM, derby practice in the PM tuesday: light cardio wednesday: Cardio thursday: upper body and core in the AM, derby practice in the PM friday: day off saturday: practice skate for fun, core/upper body sunday: cardio Some links I have started using for exercises: http://www.prevention.com/print/26102 http://theberry.com/2012/04/03/need-some-motivation-29-photos/motivate-yourself-22-3/ http://www.wholeliving.com/147374/six-core-abdominal-moves/@center/136759/your-best-body-summer" I started searching for things on Pinterest and have a cross-training board. This helps to motivate me! My first Bout that I may be playing in is September 1st. So keep your fingers and quads crossed that I can at least get a little stronger and definitely have more Stamina by then!

Oh and the pic is of me and Covalent Bondage. She is absolutely an inspiration to me in her workouts and work ethics!

Athlete?

a discussion lit a fire in me today about what a "True Athlete" is and thinking back on the discussion I wondered if this person thought because of where I allowed myself to get in my life... Out of shape, not doing anything athletic for the last 15 years of my life if secretly they thought I had never done anything athletic or even had a clue as to what an athlete was. I secretly wondered myself...had I ever been an athlete? Could I become an athlete at this age? What is even the true definition of an athlete or for that matter a "True Athlete"? So I decided to first look for definitions Athlete:1 A person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise. 2. A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts. The majority of things I see listed do not take into account dancers. So here has been what has been rattling around in my brain... What is a True Athlete and what makes them a true athlete? I am not going to answer this question but ask you to answer it! I have read many articles this morning and many blogs wondering just what the definition might be. I was livid when I thought that someone assumed that I had never been or never could be a true athlete. Notice I said assumed they thought. They never stated it and so I realized that I was livid at myself because I must NOT be showing qualities of an athlete and maybe they are right. So here is my journey. Is it athletic? I am still not sure! My life at 4 years old began with Ballet. I took Ballet for 8 years. During the last 4-5 years of Ballet I was dancing almost every day taking back to back classes of bar work, floor work, across the floors, Pointe classes, Modern. Outside of Ballet I would use the back of a dining room chair as a bar to work on my foot work and I would relax at night by stretching after a hot bath in front of the T.V. I lived Ballet for years. I drove hours to rehearsals for the Delta Ballet Nutcracker rehearsals. I had no life outside of ballet. Were there trophies? No, but I did receive a recognition by the times picayune. The Times had come out to Slidell to do a piece on the Delta Ballet's school they had opened on the north shore. They took pictures of all the girls as we practiced. Secretly I thought it would be one of the three tiniest girls in the class I had most envied for their structure of their bodies. I was constantly on a diet for my art. When I flipped through the Times Picayune one morning I saw my picture as I was being instructed on bar work and I gaped. I looked at myself for the first time and saw I was beautiful. the teacher's hands were lightly framing my face tilting it to the side as my whole body was elongated through a Grande Plie. Under the picture was the caption. "Ballerina to be Lorraine Slaughter receives instruction from Delta Ballet's Joseph Jacobi" This was my trophy. I did not do Ballet for a trophy... does anyone do their sport for a prize. I did Ballet because I felt I could not breath apart from it. It was apart of me and in every pore of my body. Ballet did take it's tole and my parents made me quit due to their concern that I had no life outside of Ballet and it had become at times more tears than smiles. They did not want their 13 year old daughter thinking this was all of life. I tried filling in the hole Ballet left. I tried Gymnastics for several years but it was not the same for me. I tried Soccer and was rather late starting it compared to the other girls that had already been playing. Once again with Soccer I put in everything I had. I practiced hard even though I was out of breath and always behind on running drills I never stopped. I warmed the bench most of the time but I was always yelling and pulling for my team. I would go over to other girls houses and practice drills with them as they would try to help me catch up on my game. I loved it but I knew I would never be scholarship material or a true competitor in the world of soccer. While doing Soccer in high school I was able to also do marching band. I know... not athletic right. High school marching band and most marching bands are not. I was a flag girl for 3 years in high school. I attended camp after camp after camp all on my own. I choreographed all of the flag work my senior year and our winter guard show. I spent hours working on Jazz runs and underbody dance work and countless hours spinning and practicing flag moves that believe me would kill most peoples arms. In college I was able to take this to the next level with getting to march in a competitive Drum and Bugle corp all summer long. We ate, drank and slept Drum corp. We started every day with stretches and running and then ate a prescribed meal then went out to run drills over and over again for hours, then pieced together our show running it over and over until it was time to eat lunch. Then we would run the show again and again. Each mistake you made you dropped and did pushups and then did that section over and over again as to not make the mistake again. One might think I was insane for loving it but it was the closest I had gotten to my days in ballet. I was able to dive into it and lose myself. I pushed through pain and fatigue that summer in a way that only a true athlete could. I came back from that summer in the best shape of my life. My quads were ripped and my arms were killer and my abs were cut. I was the happiest I had been in so long. I tried to keep it up after coming home from Drum Corp with running and working out. I did not feel any passion for just working out alone. Not enough fire to make me want to keep going running or even cycling. I got married, started teaching, had two kids, still nothing. Nothing athletic to fill the void. Then I found Roller derby. If my coach said you need to work on wall squats outside of practice I did it and am still doing it. I am still not where I should be. If my coach said I needed to go to as many practices as I could I did. I worried about being gone so long from my coach this summer when I was on the road. I promised myself and to my team mates I would come back stronger and would find a way to work on my roller derby while I was gone for a month. I found teams to skate with as I traveled, I found the gym, I found the hotel room floor for core work and I came back leaner and stronger. I admit I lost a lot of my endurance while I was gone because most of the groups I worked with did not work on endurance. Now that I am home and my practices have dwindled down to two possible practices a week my heart has sunk a little. I lived for 3 a week and even then I wanted more. So it is time to go it on my own for myself and my team. So when I think about what people see of me and what they may think because of my size and not knowing my background I am sure they think I have never been an athlete and maybe I haven't been according to their definition but as one of my favorite quotes from one of my all time favorite movies the Cutting Edge..."No one tells me what I can and can not do!" I may not be an athlete yet and I may never have been an athlete according to some peoples definition but I sure as heck am going to give it all I have. So what is your definition of an "True Athlete" What are you willing to sacrifice for the love of the game? No matter what anyone else thinks... Derby is my passion now and I am glad to have found it! I may end up a bench warmer since I am coming into it at 36 years old but you will not catch me wasting anyones time by not trying my damnedest!

Finally Back to working out after Bronchitis

Rolled out of bed this morning at 5:30am. I hit the alarm clock with dismay and then stumbled to fridge to get a thing of pudding and a banana. I know... Not Healthy. I had to grab something to get my head going and to make myself not want to crawl back in bed and want to pull the covers back over my head. Mind you I have a very comfortable Raulph Lauren Comforter that is just dreamy! I slowly get up and slide on a pair of tights a workout skirt and a roller derby shirt I acquired at a double header derby bout. My hair is already in braids so I just put a bandana on and socks and shoes and grab my keys and water bottle before heading out. First I hit the treadmill. Did the fat burning setting where it does some interval climbs and stay between 3.5 and 4.5 for 25 minutes and then hit the elliptical for another 20 minutes adjusting the resistance to 6 and then cooling down with stretches. Make it home to do 20 leg lifts out thigh on both sides. 20 leg lifts inner thigh both sides. 20 bridges, 25 old fashion sit ups, 20 cross to the other side opposite leg up crunches on both sides and 20 superman and then more stretches. So I did get back to something today but I can tell I am not where I should be. While there I asked if ten fitness had a punching bag and they said no and wanted to know if I was into boxing... I said no but was wondering. They looked at me as If I was crazy and then said why do you want a punching bag? I was just curious about doing some body blocking drills since I do roller derby so I thought I would ask. They looked at me as If I was insane and then said they had thought about it at one time but did not have one. Bummer I thought! well off to take the kiddos to registration. In my thoughts... if you can endure registration and deal with that mess and come out on top roller derby really should not be so bad!!!

Central Arkansas Roller Derby and Fueling Up!

In my endeavors to become a strong Roller Derby Girl that is in shape there have been many things that I have had to take into account! First hurdle for me was Fueling your body, Second had to be how do I train outside of practice, Third hurdle has been the right type of equipment. So let's start with why I chose roller derby then I will hit on the first topic of diet and food. It was Spring Break and I am an Algebra 1 teacher at the historical Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas. My husband and 2 kids had left for the week for vacation but due to numerous doctor appointments and dental appointments that could not be done during work I chose to stay at home by myself to fill the appointments on my list. I had found out at an early dental appointment that most of my teeth needed crown work due to all the throwing up I did while pregnant and acid reflux. I was depressed and had not been working out since the summer before. I had done nothing once the stressful school year had started. The only thing I had carried over from the summer was eating right by avoiding fast food and alcohol and cooking ahead of time and taking my lunch to work and drinking all water. So I was at home... alone.... and depressed. I decided to text a rather new friend I had made through my husbands work to find out if I could hang out with her. She texted me back and said she was busy that night with Roller Derby but I was welcome to come watch a practice. ROLLER DERBY... I thought. I used to love skating! I quickly asked if I could skate and she replied back with a "sure but it will not be just a skate around the track and be silly type of skating." I immediately thought I don't care as long as I get to put on skates. So I headed to practice that night and met the coaches and filled out paper work. I literally could not get off the carpet that night because I had not skated in 15 years. I was so embarrassed by my lack of ability to skate that it triggered a challenge in my brain. "No body tells me what I can and can not do" Plus on the bright side dues were free for the first month and then the second month only 20 dollars and I could practice with a coach training me for 2 hours 3 times a week! There isn't a personal trainer that costs that little and I loved skating as a kid... This can't get any better! So I kept going and doing additional practices on off nights to get some skate time in and get my legs back under me! So the food issue started arising as I got into the swing of practice. My doctor had me eating only 800 calories a day to 1000 and he also had me on a prescription weight loss drug. Practice had me so Hyped up that I had kind of put the weight loss drug aside and had not used it since. I had started Roller Derby and the 800-1000 calorie thing I knew was not going to work. I kept taking my lunch and though I knew I was suppose to be snaking prior to starting Roller Derby I was not. I was only eating about 3 meals a day. Once I started Roller Derby practice I was hungry all the time but at the same time I was getting full quicker. I snacked and snacked between classes, after school and after practice. I made sure the day before practice and the day of... to have a large breakfast that were healthy. I love organic vanilla yogurt and cereal, crustless quiches that were made of egg whites, tomatoes, feta and other ingredients. I made sure to eat plenty for breakfast. Lunch was rather big too! I remember taking my lunch one day and having a fellow coworker just stare at me until she said, "Are you really going to eat all of that?" I looked at her and smiled and said yes. I had a left over Steak we had grilled during the weekend, a whole wheat flat round and some mustard, a cup of fruit and a huge baked sweet potato. I was so hungry that I ended up not making the sandwich and eating the steak like I was an animal just biting straight into it! Then I ate the wheat round and half of my sweet potato. She looked at me so shocked and said that it could not be helping my diet to eat like that. I just laughed and drank my water. During my Prep period I ate a handful of Coco dusted almonds and the rest of my sweet potato. That afternoon before practice I ate a peanut butter sandwich on a wheat round... no jelly and a banana. I started eating 3 to 2 hours before practice because my nerves would get to me plus you don't want to skate on a heavy stomach I have learned. My other favorites were taking Grilled Chicken and tearing it up over a salad with all types of wonderful ingredients in it and a light dressing, dried fruit and so many other things. I learned that the less processed it is the better I felt for practice! One afternoon before practice I had made the mistake of not taking a nap and instead studying for the written test and since I was so tired I thought I would take one of my weight loss pills because it hypes me up and helps me focus. Well I did and I was wide awake and felt ok until I finished the warm ups at practice. We do 100 laps for a warm up at practice and 50 of those laps go clockwise and 50 counter clockwise then we pack up and do pack drills. We take a water break and then we usually break off into "Tot" practice and team practice. (Tot in our league is a new skater who is learning skills that need to be learned in order to pass the minimal skills test in order to play roller derby) So I had gotten my water and skated over to the Tot practice and I felt my body shaking. A fellow Tot was looking at me like I was an alien. She asked if I was ok and needed to sit down. I said I am just shaky and felt weird. I stood there for a moment and regained some control. I couldn't push myself that night and I sat with Slambert my coach and we discussed what had been different about the day and I told her about the pill. She looked at me and said not to ever take that pill again. I haven't and I have learned that I was putting my heart under a lot of stress by doing such high endurance work while on an amphetamine. I have learned I have better practices when I fuel properly and I can't afford to be harming my body with unneeded chemicals. There have been days where I have had a practice and I can tell I have not fueled properly and I get mad at myself. My thinking now on eating is not a matter of will it cause me to gain weight, but a matter of how will this fuel me for practice and how will it sit during a practice. Food is Fuel and yes it can be great tasting but what it boils down to is not the desire to eat for the taste but for what it does for my Body! Don't get me wrong... I still eat for taste especially in Louisiana but now I have a better balance on things.

Me and My Roller Derby Girls

Me and My Roller Derby Girls! These are of course only a few of them and I love them dearly! Fun times and a great way to get in shape mentally and physically!

Roller Derby and Trips

This past Summer I was on the Road a lot and with the need to keep my legs in shape and prepare myself for the Roller Derby Minimal Skills Test I asked Roller Derby Teams from the areas I was staying in If I could practice with them. In the pictures I have posted are two beautiful ladies from The Louisiana Swamp Dolls who I was able to practice with. The Swamp Dolls are out of the Pearl River area. They split their practices between Slidell Louisiana and Picayune Mississippi. While I was with them we practiced at my old skating home, Skater's Paradise. The Rink had changed drastically due to Hurricane Katrina but it felt like coming home. The pictures were taken at a double header bout in New Orleans where the Swamp Dolls took on the Crescent Wenches. It was so much fun to watch and learn from! If you are interested in Roller Derby simply google roller derby for your area. You might be surprised to find you have one near by. You don't have to be able to skate already or have skated in a long time. I had not skated in over 15 years and was on the carpet my first night! I am now apart of team and can do so many wonderful things on my skates now! Look into it! It is awesome and you will always have a group to skate with no matter where you go.

Changes from Roller Derby

The picture of me all dressed up is from around January before I started skating. I was probably about 230 pounds. The picture of me in Roller Derby Clothes was taken this summer while I was on the road and skating with the TEXAS ROLLER GIRLS. I was 225 pounds but my waist and other parts of my body had toned up!

I am Back!

It has been forever since I posted and there are so many new things in my life! My fitness goals and weight loss goals are still there and I am slowly reaching them all! I have lost weight since I have last posted! I am currently a strong 222 pound woman and though I have not really lost a lot of weight I have lost a lot of inches! I am currently playing Roller Derby for the Central Arkansas Roller Derby League and I have just been drafted to the Big Dam Rollers which is names for Little Rock's Big Dam Bridge. I have never been so happy in my life as I am now. I have gained family in Roller Derby and Strength not only in body but in Spirit.

I have been skating for about 5 months now and loving every minute! I think the key to any healthy weight loss program as well as lifestyle change is finding something you love that makes exercise seem fun! For those of you that have just started following you will see a lot of Roller Derby on here as well as cross training ideas and my changes as they occur. For those of you that were following before you will see a huge change from the starting of this blog to where I am now! Remember to live the life you love and love the life you live!

Falling off the face of the Earth!

Ok so it has been forever since I blogged and it has been even longer since things were normal in my life. That is what life is about right... Curve balls! I got sick and was under the weather for it seemed a week. Got a steroid shot, got a z-pack, got some Tylenol 3 and then it took the full 5 days to feel human. Next my daughter gets sick and we take her to the doctor and she has strep but this strep is not like normal strep but more like the flu with high fever and body aches and throwing up! My Daughter got sick the Sunday before last Monday. And of course then came my wonderful son to join in the crowd of sick children. He gets sick on Tuesday and we are called to pick him up over a sore throat but no fever. We take him in to get it checked and what do you know....Strep! So the kids were out all last week and I and my husband have hardly slept trying to get meds in during the wee hours of the morning and trying to help clean up throw up in the middle of the night and so on. So honestly two weeks down and here it is a Monday and my son is still sick and running fever. Last night another long night. The only thing I have been doing right is moving as much as I can at home and eating right. Yesterday morning I checked my weight and I had last week also (last Sunday I was back up to 240) and yesterday was still at 240 and then my stomach pulled a crazy on me again and right now I am down to 230. Who knows for how long. The actual weight has not been a concern though for me. Right now it is how I feel and fit in clothes. The clothes have gotten a little big recently and size 24 is getting loose and size 22's are a tiny bit snug in the waist but are fitting well. So I am excited about the feel of what I am wearing.
I have also had back issues which I can not go into how I strained my back but I did about 3 weeks ago which was on the route to healing because I was doing my back exercises and I was walking which was great for it. I almost have it better and thats when I get sick and that is when I can no longer get out and walk or exercise because it feels like I have the flu! So last week during the kids being sick my back feels like it is going to die and it feels like a pinched nerve and my back exercises are doing nothing so I call the doc. and he calls me in some medicine for my back. My back is not feeling much better. Now if I can just get my man healthy and some sleep It think the morning workouts will start back and it will rock! Until then many prayers needed and appreciated! Love you guys and wishing you all well!

The Hunt

When you begin working out during the month of February at 7pm good luck getting a spot!!! I love working out at Ten Fitness but man does it get crouded around 7 in the evening. I feel like I am hunting out the right spot. I have found some spots have too many distractions and actually cut into my good mood while working out and other spots are perfect. I like to zone out while working out and I really like to just get inside my head and knock out the world. I was on the Tred Mill when I saw one of my favorite spots and 1 of 3 elipticals without the arm things come open. I had 8 minutes left on the Tred mill and kept praying please stay open. Please stay open. I felt like I would attack anyone who got on that Eliptical. I wanted it but I wanted to finish my 8 minutes of tred mill. When I had 10 seconds left I stopped the Tred mill, Ran to get the spray and paper towel, Ran back to clean my machine and ran as quickly as I could to the Eliptical. I made it!I was too excited about getting up on the top of the bleacher section of machines. You basicly look out on the building and there are less distractions up there. I finished the workout very happy!!!! Got my 60 of Cardio and some wonderful stretches. I can touch my toes and it felt great!!!!
happy Hunting to all of you and a great workout!!!

Old and New

Week 1-23 1-30 In review

Had a bad week in so many ways! I felt like I had Mono for a whole week. Went to Doctors and had blood work done but nothing came up. About 4 years ago I was told I had a vitamin b deficiency...I quit taking my vitamin b when I ran out because I thought hey that was then but this is now. The Doctor did not test this so I thought maybe that will fix my problem and started taking vitamin b again. Still struggled to do much as far as how I felt all I wanted to do was sleep. I went to bed about 8 every night and slept until 7 every night. I was so tired.
Last week I spoke with my coach and we thought I was definitely taking in to little calories. I was working very hard and only taking in about 1,200 on days when I was working out and 900 on days I was not working out. We recalculated and I started taking in 1,200 on days I was not working out this week and a few days this week I think I took in more. I literally took a week off.
I suffer from IBS and yesterday my stomach went crazy!!!! I thought I was going to die. I weighed myself yesterday before all the crazy stomach trouble and was still at 251 pounds. This morning I weighed myself and thought my scale was broke. I weighed... 237 pounds. That would be a 14 pounds loss from last week. This is crazy I thought. I went through my closet today and weeded out all the to big pants and tried on clothes that I wore at my heaviest point! Here is a pic of my pants from last Easter at one of my heaviest points!

Bad Week?

I haven't had the best of weeks this week. I did not reach all of my goals when I came down with some sort of bug that left me absolutely tired and worn out and running a fever in the evenings. I had a great start to the week and my food intake goals and workout goals at the beginning of the week were met. The end of the week when I started feeling sick not so much. I did lose a pound which compared to last week seems so small but I guess that is better than gaining. I have had some wonderful friends motivating me at school and at work. Myfitnesspal has also been very helpful. I hoping that I will feel great tomorrow and back to my old energized self. It is so weird to think that the only time I really do not want to stick to my good eating habits is when I am worn out and tired. Tired and food are not my friends. I will have to figure out how to fix that. I am keeping the same goals as last week and hopefully this time I will meet my goals.I do love that I have been able to go shopping in my old clothes for stuff to fit. So much fun getting into old clothes I used to love! Thanks to everyone for your support and hope everyone has a great week! Will try and post soon!
C-ya!!!

Week in Review

The week was a good one. I went ahead and weighed in on my old weigh in day and lost 3 pounds but I went ahead and weighed in today since this will be my new weigh in day and I still am down 3 pounds. I am currently at 252. I ended up changing the days I worked out due to changes in my schedule. I had to take Friday night off which in a 4 day workout schedule back to back was rather nice to have a break in the middle. I think that that my body needs 2 days on, one off, and 2 days on. I am thinking my one off will become the day I do some weight training.
Last night's workout I started with the elliptical trainer for 35 minutes then moved to the treadmill where I was able to work harder than in times past. I did 30 minutes at 3.0 to 3.4 and averaged 3.2. My legs when I first started felt like 3.0 was almost running. Now I can walk nicely at 3.0 which is nice. I am looking forward to being able to add incline and running soon to my workouts.
The Second day is always much harder than the first day for me. I hope this changes soon. The first day is always such a rush! The workouts are going nicely and the food choices are seem to be coming pretty easy. The morning breakfast thing not so easy. I have been eating breakfast but it still makes me queasy. I hope this changes soon too!
Is it normal for your body to need more rest when working out like this? I can not function on as little sleep as I was before I started working out but the alertness I feel from the workouts is great! Will let you know my new goals for this week later! I have a meeting with my coach this afternoon! Off to get ready for my 4th workout of the week! Thanks for your support guys! Oh and feel free to post! I love hearing from anyone!

Weigh in for 1-13-11

So excited as I saw the scale had gone down 3 pounds. My next weigh in is Scheduled for Sunday. My coach and I are going to make this a Sunday to Sunday thing with our Coaching so it was nice to know I was on the right track. I weighed 252 this morning and that means 97 more pounds to lose! Woooo HOOOO! Back to the gym tonight and looking forward to the workout! Have a great day Y'all!

New Work Out and Weigh in Tomorrow

Ok...So I tried a new workout tonight because I was getting board and I loved it! I did 30 minutes on the tread mill starting 2.7 for about 5 minutes and then 2.8 for a few minutes then 3 for about 15 minutes and 3.2 for the rest. Then I quickly wiped down the machine and ran up to the elliptical trainers and did that for 30 minutes. I am starting to notice that my legs are starting to move faster and feel better now at higher speeds. I hope to soon be able to also adjust my incline for the tread mill. I played with the incline on the elliptical staring out at 10 then going down slowly towards 1. I will get there some day! It was a wonderful change of pace and I loved it!
Tomorrow is the big weigh in and then I change my weigh in to Sundays. Hope this goes well! Night yall!

GYM TONIGHT!

OK did the Zumba video I posted and was going to try to do 3 times. Did once and several times had to take it down to marching in place. That was one tough routine. But I got most of the Choreography, just had trouble with the jumping up and down and girls definitely need a better sports bra for that workout! Definitely sweating but soooooo much fun! Love it!

What I am following and Like

This is my coach's blog and she has awesome recipes and great ideas to help keep you motivated:
http://diaryofareluctantathlete.blogspot.com
My Friend and College Buddy has an Inspirational Blog where he posts his goals and is now 4 pounds away from reaching his 100 pound weight loss goal.
http://eruminations.blogspot.com
Here is the Zumba I am going to tryout today that looks like so much fun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf0q6qtThF4
I also use myfitnesspal to track calories on my iphone as well as log my workouts and calories burned and my weight loss!
Myfitnesspal.com
When working out at the gym I love using Pandora Radio to have music I like constantly playing!
Hope this helps someone!

Baby Got Back

I was working on cleaning and had the t.v. on and baby got back came on the show and I think I gave Cameron Diaz a run for her money. I have always loved the scene in Charlie's Angels where she is Dancing around the house.
Doing a little cleaning while stuck at home during snow and doing some research on Zumba and how I can take classes. Going to try a Youtube video that is 10minutes long this afternoon while kids are napping upstairs. I plan on playing it 3 times! I have a way to hook my ipad to the TV and play youtube! So excited! Looks like so much fun. Going to look into local classes. T
Trying to get myself going on eating more in the morning and less at night. I had a bowl of Oatmeal cooked for Breakfast with a packet of Splenda and 5 dried Cherries. I feel great but am worried that I might not make my goal weight loss for this week. I am discouraged about the weight but so encouraged that I can feel my legs becoming more cut and my energy levels increasing. I have cut out all regular types of cokes and am only on Diet drinks right now but thinking about cutting them out all together because I do feel like I am retaining water.
I am very excited about this weeks goals! Here they are!
Sunday 1-9-11-Sunday 1-15-11
-Move my supplements to be next to sink in Kitchen to better remember to take them as well as set an update on my iphone to take them as reminder
-Look up zumba and yoga stretches and try some this week
-drink 3 bottles of water a day
-log all calories and workout on Myfitnesspal.com and be under 1,300 calories each day
-work out four times this week for 60 minutes (cardio)
-Try new Stretches this week and do at least 3 days of stretching
-Look up breakfast recipes and try eating more in morning and less at night
-Plan breakfast ahead of time and eat daily
-lose at least 1 pound by Sunday and be at 254
So excited! Keep on Trucking you guys!

To Stamp or Not to Stamp???

Was getting to have one of my great workouts but decided to fill up my awesome camel back water bottle first when I saw the funniest thing ever. I was waiting for my turn to get water when the girl in front bent over and on the back of her work out pants was a tramp stamp. The tramp stamp was not on her back which I might have thought was cute but the tramp stamp was on her pants. Yes folks...her pants. It was not a word like you see on most pants like juicy or pink it was a graphic tramp stamp. I must say...really? I think I have seen everything now!
Workout was killer and my usual 1 hour of cardio. Had a great time listening to my Pandora on my iphone. The greatest thing is my iphone arm holder! There are just so many cool things out there now for working out. Totally makes the workout more of a funout! Can I say that... Funout?! The best part is the high after the workout! Totally love the after math! Keep it rocking yall!

Weigh in and Week 2

Ok...weighed in and am happy to say that even with all my being bad last week (and my myfitnesspal app on my cell phone said I was bad,)I was able to maintain my weight. The working out definitely paid off during the crazy holidays. So I am still at 255.
Weight 255
Goals: work out Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday for an hour of cardio
Stretch out more
drink 3 bottles of water every day
eat less than 1,300 calories and log everything down, including cardio, in my myfitnesspal app on my iphone
Take supplements (D, Centrum, B)
and loose at least 1 pound by next Thursdays weigh in.
Ok guys! Here we go!
Now that we are past the holidays.... GAME ON!!!!!

New Years Party Lasted Too Long!

Being on the road for New Years this past year and having a Sugar Bowl party right afterwards left me wanting to do nothing but sleep which made me want to do nothing but eat. Funny how sleep deprivation seems to think it can be cured by eating.
I enjoyed my first night back at the gym. My new Merrells were awesome tonight and my hour of cardio was just what I needed after a long day of teaching. It made me feel great. I just wish I would have gotten to the gym sooner. Well as the saying goes.... better later than never! Hope Everyone had a great New Year Party and hope you were better behaved than I was! Weigh in tomorrow. I am dreading it but at least it will let me know where I need to start. I just hope I did not gain to much during the party season. Night Yall!

Desperately Susan?

Well if you are wondering why the Desperately Susan web address...I was being silly and thinking of the lead Character in Desperately Seeking Susan. I was thinking it's about time that I start seeking out my dreams. Don't get me wrong I have so many of my dreams right now, an awesome husband, two beautiful children, a great job and wonderful friends but I miss so many things in life. I miss my creative side and have been to shy since the weight gain. I miss my old crazy girl self who did not think about weight and food all the time and thought about singing and dancing and choreographing flags. I have been missing that so much! So there you go...Desperately Susan? maybe not but definitely Seeking Lorraine!!!

Sound Track Makes The Difference

This morning was rather hard after working out last night! I had too many endorphins pumping last night to get to sleep at a good time and then wake up early in the morning and try to work out like I would like. I did note that the sound track of my workout is extremely important. I started working out to fast paced dance music which I normally love to dance to and workout to. The workout became to much "work" and I tried changing my music to the Tron Legacy sound track which surprisingly changed my work out to a creative time instead of just a workout. I ended up using my time to try shutting out all the distractions and concentrate on the feeling of the workout as well as the feelings racing through my body. I started dreaming of choreography for winter guard and creating other things such as paintings in my mind. Several times I found myself closing my eyes and just concentrating on the music and it's beauty. I guess if your sound track is wrong then the workout can truly be work! Glad I got my workout in before hitting the road today! Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!

Never Ever....

Had a great workout tonight! Did an hour of cardio with 40 minutes on the tread mill and 20 on the bike and some wonderful stretching. I spoke with a guy who wanted to coach me on my new workout plan. 30 dollars a session. I know that is reasonable but I just can't afford that right now. I suppose it might be alright to have my husband coach me since he is a certified coach. I told him I just want you to tell me what to do and how to do it and let me keep myself accountable with my other Coach Heather Fuselier. Things with her have been great so far and we are setting goals which I love! So we will see how that goes! As far as what not to do... Never weigh yourself at the end of the day if you weighed yourself at the beginning of the day because it could make you want to cry even if you have been great all day long and did a great workout! Oh well. You learn the hard way...right?! I hope I can get up in the morning for my next workout!

Starting Picture from Christmas Party

I absolutely hate pictures taken of me right now but hopefully that will change! Here is a picture from this Christmas's Orbea party! It was so much fun!

Back to working out!

What a funny night was last night as I headed back to the gym after a few days of trying to fight eating food that could only make me fatter at the in-laws. What a hard time deciding when to say no and when to give in a little. Last night at the gym I felt so silly having my I-phone strapped to my arm with short sleeves on. I could see the my chunky arm with the big elastic band attached. I kept telling myself... "no one will be worried about it but you and soon that arm will not be so big". My goal was to make it on the tread mill for an hour without any complications. I began walking at a pace of 2.5 miles per hour and every ten minutes upped the speed .2 miles per hour until I got to 3.2 miles per hour. I think at some point I jumped past the .2 miles every ten minutes. I jogged a little but was not sure if I was jogging or mainly bouncing a little more with my fast walk. My shortened legs from weight gain seemed to move much slower than they used to but I was happy they were moving at all.
As I was working out I could not help but look around and look at others working out. I tried to imagine what it felt like being in their bodies. I felt like I was window shopping for a new me but laughed as I saw a pair of young women working out that had come in and had matching pink on. One girl had her pink pants on and as she weight lifted popped big pink bubble gum bubbles while the other had on her matching pink shirt and took to the tread mill. It was rather cute. I felt like I was missing out on the fun. I still do not have anyone to work out with but I thought of going to the gym as going to the spa. My alone time! My quiet retreat away from everything in my life. It was absolutely wonderful! The only weird thing was as I stepped off the tread mill about 50 steps later the balls of my feet began to hurt. They felt like blisters forming on my feet! aghhhhh! Today however they feel much better but a little tender. I think maybe I will work out tonight on the bike... we will see! Off to grab my water and start looking for my workout clothes that will not chafe!
Starting weight as of this morning: 255
GOAL: Head to gym for an hour of Cardio Tuesday, Wednesday, THursday, Saturday
Drink 3 bottles of water a day
Take supplements
Begin working on stretches
log all food intake on myfitnessplan.com
weigh in on Wednesdays!
Take Measurements on Next Wednesday