Day #72: My friend Ellie.

Happy Saturday everyone!
I've fallen in love recently. We haven't known each other for very long, but I really see this relationship taking me places that are nothing but positive. I feel great when I'm with them and we seem to be spending more and more time together... wanna meet them? Allow me to introduce you: Ellie (or Elliot!)BAHAHAHA- sorry, I couldn't resist! :)

But for real, I love me some Elliptical! This was always one of those machines that I never thought were "for me" at the gym. Most of the time the people that had used them at other gyms I have gone to in the past were the skinny minnies and I didn't even want to know what it would look like with my bum up there. However, since my gym is amazing and has a WIDE variety of people working out there, at any given time I'll see a really fit chick and a grandma getting their ellipitical on side by side! So because of this I had the courage to try it fairly early on when I started going to the gym and like I've shared before, I remember the first time I hopped on I could only do 5 minutes before I felt like my face was going to explode! But I've slowly gained more and more endurance till I was able to hit my last month's goal of doing 15 minutes which was a great feeling!

Well this morning I was feeling super energized so I broke my longest time elliptical record and did it for 22 minutes- woot woot! That really is a huge change for me and the best part is, I really enjoy being on the elliptical- I've been frequenting the treadmill and upright (or hybrid) bikes so much that my workouts have begun feeling a bit teadious lately so this is a nice change of pace.

And while I'm really enjoying this machine more and more, I realized that I still had a lot of questions about it- so I've done some research and I thought we'de to a little Ellitical 101 and answer some of the questions that I (and most likely some of you) have about this rockin new friend of mine!

Question #1) What are the benefits of working out on an elliptical compared to a treadmill? Let's just preface this response with "any movement is better than no movement at all"- Mr. T has been a good friend to me, but there's no point in ignoring some obvious differences.
-Because your feet never actually hit the ground when doing the elliptical, your body absorbs literally no shock, as when you run or walk on a treadmill or the pavement, your joints and bones have to absorb the shock of hitting the ground. Hence, this being an ideal exercise for someone who is recovering from a joint injury, an older person, or someone who carries an abundance of excess weight (*hand raised!*).
- Using the elliptical gives you a total body workout becausae it not only involves utilizing your legs, but your arms and core as well. Studies show that using your arms while on the elliptical can help you lose 30% more calories in the same amount of time than just walking alone.
- Because we use our arms, core, and legs when doing the elliptical, which is more difficult, our heart rate rises much quicker than when we just walk so we end up burning more calories in a shorter amount of time. Um hello- who doesn't like that deal!??

Question #2: How long should you stay on the elliptical to get a good workout?
- Like any other piece of gym equipment, you get in what you put out- there are no miracle machines, but the elliptical comes pretty close!
- Because our heart rate rises quick when using an elliptical, we dont' have to stay on more than 20-30 minutes to get an optimum, full body workout.
- Trainers suggest that people start out doing 20-30 minutes two times a week and slowly increase it to 5 times a week. Resistance may also be added (via levels) in order to increase difficulty.

Question #3: How does running on an elliptical compare to regular running?
- The answers that I found to this were pretty inconclusive but I did peruse some forums just to get some real life feedback from runners and most of them said that it differs in the following ways:
- When transferring from elliptical to pavement running it takes a while for your body to get used to absorbing the shock of your feet hitting the ground.
- Using an elliptical does help to build your endurance and create the mindset that it takes to run long distances.

So there you have it folks! I'm excited that as my time and stamina increases on the elliptical and I begin my C25K training very soon (eeeek!) to compare the two- I'll be sure to share!

Finally, I wanted to leave you all with a few tips that I've come up with to help me out when I'm on the elliptical:
1- If I don't keep my mind occupied while I'm on any cardio machine, I find myself looking at the time and wanting to get off; so on the ellipical I always make sure that I have a magazine to read or that I'm near a tv- this seriously works like a charm!
2- I will break the time up into segments; for example, today I broke the time up into 4, 5 minute segments so that I can just keep asking myself, "Can you do 5 more minutes?" instead of saying "can you do 15 more minutes?"
3- I also will do something at the end of every 5 minutes like take a drink of water or stretch my arms or neck- this just helps me feel like time is going by I guess! lol
4- I cover up the time with my magazine usually and will only periodically look when I feel like a 5 minute mark is coming up!
5- I picture a goal that I have and rememeber how being on the elliptical is helping me reach that goal (*cough*my 5k*cough).

And here is picture proof that Ellie and I have been getting along just fine :)You may not be able to tell but I was *covered* in sweat- isn't that a fabulous feeling?

Alright, time for me to get going on some errands- tomorrow is weigh in day and I'm hoping for a certain # but I'm not sure I'll be seeing it due to the fact that my monthly visitor has arrived...ah oh well!

Have a great day! :)

Day #71: Words= Power.

Morning loves!

Thanks for the great discussion on yesterdays post "My Beef w/ Beck;" it's always good to hear a variety of opinions from such wise people :)

I just need to be honest right now... I'm feeling hurt, angry, and misunderstood.

Yesterday I was called out by another blogger who wrote an entire post about me in which I was accused of being: "condescending," told that I act "acting like my poop doesn't stink," and that I "don't have my sh*t together," and was basically referred to as being ignorant and rude.

It's not important who the person is or even the specific details of the event, but I will say that when I read the post it completely shook me. I blog and comment on blogs for no other reason than to support others, get support myself, and learn- not be to put down or bullied which is exactly what their post accomplished.

Can I just throw something out there? This is a rule that I think is good for all of us to follow- if someone writes a comment or a post about something that you find personally offensive, talk to them about it (through a private email) first to make sure that you are truly understanding what they were saying and that there isn't a misunderstanding taking place before devoting an entire public post for all to read dedicated to what you perceive their flaws to be- it's called respect.

Sorry- I just felt like I needed to share that because it really did make me sad to hear that there would be ANY sort of drama in a community that needs to be all about support. I will not be mentioning this again and I'm not going to give this situation another moment of my time.

It is actually quite funny (in an ironic sort of way) that this happened because I was planning on writing about the power of our words today! This blogging community is made up of some truly amazing, inspiring, compassionate people who faithfully support the efforts of others through leaving comments on posts- how many times have you felt like you could literally feel a hug that someone sent you in a comment!? I know I've felt a few- doesn't this picture portray it perfectly?I can think back to at least 3 different specific comments that were left on my blog that I still remember and help to keep me moving forward:

1) Kyle left me a comment a ways back that was probably the most meaningful one I've ever received- and the funny thing is that it was only 2 words! hahaha After I wrote a post about how I had messed up in regards to my eating but I had gone to the gym later and kicked butt he simply wrote: "Your unstoppable!" Don't ask me why but that seriously meant the world to me- it was a moment where I wasn't the only one trying to convince myself that it was true- but that someone else had enough faith in me and saw enough potential that they really did believe it! Thanks Kyle- those 2 little words have kept me working hard ever since I read them!

2) Melissa left a comment just last week that truly helped me put things in perspective- she wrote: "As I've said many times before, the fact that you recognize the road block and deal with it mentally is yet another step on this journey. Some steps are in the form of exercise, some are food choices, some are scale numbers. But others, and honestly the ones that make all the difference are in self evaluation and changing your thinking and self image. This is another step and it gets you down the road in the direction you want to go. " Thanks, Melissa- you've got some wisdom lady! :)

3) Syl was one of the first bloggers that I began to read before I even started my blog- she is one intense chick and she was also the 1st person to comment on my blog saying that she KNEW I could attain my goal of losing 100lbs in a year. I have had other people (with nothing but GREAT intentions) say that they didn't know if I would lose 100lbs this year but that I would still do well, and it killed me to read that- but I have always known that Syl has had faith that I can and will do it! Thanks lady!

I'm sure you all could think of other bloggers that have helped keep you going on this difficult journey and have made it feel a little less lonely- and I seriously could have easily added 20 more people to that list of faithful and supportive commenters that have been walking with me, holding my hand, on this journey.

I am taking these lessons away from today (and I hope you do too!):
- Our words have power. Let us use them for good and not evil.
- People are going to think what they want to think- as long as you know your heart and motives there is not much more you can do.
- Be grateful for the gift that this blogging community is b/c it is priceless one!
- Don't allow the one negative voice that is squaking out to overshadow the hundreds of truthful ones!

Something I was told a while back that has always stuck with me is that we only have a certain amount of energy every day to spend and to not waste it on things/people that you can't change and that don't care about you. Today, chose to use your energy, time, and resources on people and things that really matter, like your health, family, and friends.

Love you bloggies- SO grateful for you! :) :) :)

Day #70: My Beef w/ Beck!

Alright, so onto that controversial post I promised you all yesterday- here it is :)

*Disclaimer: These are just my opinions. I'm not posting this as a way to try and defer anyone from utilizing this resource; I'm simply sharing what my thoughts and opinions are on the subject.*
If you've been reading weight loss blogs for a while or have perused the health and wellness section of any bookstore you have undoubtedly heard about or seen Dr. Judith Beck and her book "The Beck Diet for Life;" (first of all, doesn't that title just depress you? The word diet is like a 4 letter word in my book- but I get it, I'm being facetious).

After reading about it on a few of my favorite blogs I decided that I should head over to the community library and check it out- and while there are a lot of really great, true, and helpful things that Dr. Beck discusses in her book, I have to say that I don't believe that this is a book "for life" at all.

Let me explain by sharing 2 examples of Dr. Beck's key principals:

1) The Beck diet for Life program hinges on the idea that you absolutely must plan in advance everything you eat and that you must not eat anything that you haven't planned to eat beforehand. I understand this principle, and I couldn't agree more that eating healthily does require preparation and planning, but while I think it's a nice idea to be able to never eat anything unplanned, I know that it is not a realistic one. Who's day goes completely according to plan all of the time? Who wants to live a life where you can never enjoy a bite of a co-workers birthday cake? If this is supposed to be a diet that is "for life" than I think people are really being set up for failure because life doesn't always happened "as planned" and I know that flexibility (within reason) has been a huge key to my success in weight loss thus far. I find it far more valuable to focus on teaching people how to handle the crazy, unpredictable situations of life while maintaining their weight loss goals instead of trying to add even more difficulty and opportunity for failure to an already challenging journey.

2) The Beck Diet for Life program has many principles that are used for weight loss and one of them that Dr. Beck insists must be followed is that you must always sit down while eating and enjoy every bite. I get the reason why this is important: when we eat mindlessly (which can happen when we are on the go) then we don't realize how much we are eating and can more easily ignore our "full signal," we should learn to really taste our food and enjoy it, when we sit down to eat we will eat slower which allows more time to feel full, etc. But again, I just don't find this realistic for real life whether it be long or short term. There are days when you wake up late or things are crazy and your just on the go- if I had to eat every meal sitting down and savoring each bite of food, I would probably only eat one meal a day- if that!

I understand what Dr. Beck is trying to do- teach new ways of living, eating, and thinking, but in my opinion these standards don't seem attainable for the long-haul; and isn't that what this is all about? When reading this book I kept feeling like it was making weight loss a zillion times harder than it has to be- it's already tough- why add all of the unnecessary rules to provide even more opportunities for failure?

While I don't agree that The Beck Diet for Life is practical (or for REAL life at all) I will say that she is SPOT ON about the importance of cognitive therapy in regards to weight loss. Dr. Beck takes an approach to weight loss that not many others do- she focuses on what is going on in our minds and changing our thinking in order to change our habits- thus changing our lives. Personally, I have come to realize that 95% of this battle takes place in our minds so if you can win there you are gold. This book does a fantastic job at showing the reader how to replace negative, self-sabotaging thoughts with positive and empowering ones. I also really like the idea of the "response cards" and think exercises like that are key to maintaining motivation and losing weight.

Hey- if the Beck Diet has worked for you then I'll be the first one to be excited for ya- it just isn't practical for me and it never will be. My life is crazy (and I'm guessing yours is to) and unless I want to set myself up for failure I've got to stick w/ my plan which allows me to have some flexibility when needed, otherwise I won't last a week, let alone a lifetime!

Have you read this book? What were your thoughts?

Finally, I leave you all with a pic of my sweaty mug from last night- I was seriously dripping- gotta love that feeling! :)
Alright love ya bloggies (even you hardcore Beck lovers! :)

Day #69: Food Fun!

Hi friends!

Thought I'd keep it light-hearted today and do a fun little activity that has been going 'round the blogs about FOOD! Here we go...

5 Foods I Used to Love:

1) Starbucks Caramel Frapps! If you've been reading my blog for an extended amount of time you know how deep my Starbucks addiction ran, and with these babies being about 500 cals a pop, it's no wonder I weighed as much as I did! Wanna hear something cool? While I used to frequent Starbizzle at least 3-4 times a week, I've only been 1 time in the last MONTH! The funny thing is, this wasn't even on purpose- I guess once you've limited yourself to drinks that are really only mediocre, you don't want them as often. Whatever works!

2) Potato Chips w/ French Onion Dip! This was pretty much my snack of choice and I can't lie it still sounds good but chips are just one of those items (along with french fries) that I just can't keep laying around the house. It's not like I'll never have them again, but if I do it won't be because I have a bag at home!

3) Buffalo Chicken Pizza w/ ranch dressing! Oh man, the # of personal size buffalo chicken pizzas that I ate last summer... but this meal pretty much combines all of my favorite foods- chicken, cheese, bread, buffalo sauce, and ranch!

4) Taco Bell Chalupas! Man, I used to hit up T.B. and get 2 Chalupa Supremes, a crunchy taco, and a large Pepsi...ay dios mio! If you can't tell, I'm all about the carbs and salt!

5) Fettuccini Alfredo w/ Garlic Bread! Who doesn't love pasta, cheesy sauce, and buttery bread? Um... def not me!

5 Foods I LOVE Now:

1) Oatmeal! I have never been an oatmeal eater and some of you will remember that I even struggled to eat it at the beginning, but now that I've learned how to "doctor it up" as my grandma would say, it's one mighty tastey breakfast meal! I eat the Quaker Oats High Fiber Brown Sugar and Maple Syrup (don't hate, it's low in sugar!) w/ 1 tbsp of natural, reduced fat peanut butter, and a packet of Splenda.

2) Spinach! I had never really given Spinach much of a chance of getting into my diet before becoming healthy- now it makes a regular appearance in my daily food choices.

3) Whole Wheat things! Basically any bread that I eat now is whole wheat (eng muffins, naan, subway bread, etc.)- I was always convinced that it wouldn't taste good and that I would be able to tell a huge difference but honestly I really can't and I really...dare I say, like it!

4) Hummus! This is another thing that I had never tried before but I love love love love it! I get the garlic kind from Trader Joe's and dip pretzel thins in it as well as spread it on pita bread.

5) Luna Bars! I decided to try Luna bars after feeling famished during a workout and boy am I glad I did because they are YUMMMMMY! My favorite kind is the peanut butter cookie!

5 Foods I Still Can't Stand:

1) Cabbage, Sour Kraut, and Brussel Sprouts! I know these aren't all the same foods but they all taste similar to me so they get grouped together. Bleck!

2) Green Beans! This is quite possibly the one food in the world that I literally gag at the smell of.

3) Chocolate Cake! I know, I know, stone me now but I'm just not a huge chocolate fan. I really enjoy a hot cup of coacoa every now and then but something as rich as chocolate cake would cause me to have to drink a gallon of milk!

4) Peppers! Although I love spicy food I just can't get into peppers- I don't like the taste of them at all.

5) Ding-Dongs, Twinkies, etc. ! Those suggary little debbie cake type things have just always grossed me out- I feel like I would be eating aerosol or something! lol

A few misc updates:
- I should be finding out by the end of this week if I got the job that I am really wanting!
- I walked at a 1.5% incline tonight on Mr. T- I usually don't use any incline!
- I'll be writing what I'm sure is going to be a rather controversial post later this week... gotta love stirring the blog controversy pot! :)

Day #68: Chili, Pimples, and Sun :)

Howdy!

Today I've got a big bunch of randomness for you all- excited? Thought so :)

1st bit of randomness:
Guess what I made last night???? CHILI!!!! Yea, I know- my food pics aren't glamorous but I promise you this chili is AMAZING. Truthfully, I've been wanting to cook some chili for a while now but was a bit intimidated- but after having done it I have no idea why- is there an easier meal to cook in this world? The answer is no.

I wish I had a calorie count for you all but I just started throwing stuff in a pot so I really couldn't even give you a good guestimation- but I know that it is a protein powerhouse! This melting pot included: 2 cans of crushed tomatoes, a package of extra lean ground beef, a can of black beans, red light kidney beans, tons of garlic, 1 tspn of cumin, 1 tblspoon of chili powder and a pinch of salt. I let it cook for about 15 minutes, and viola, I now have lunch for the rest of the week- I can pretty much guarantee that this will become a major staple in my diet from now on :)

2nd bit of randomness:The gym is making me ugly!!!
Hahahah juuuuusut kidding, but I'm convinced that working out is the culprit behind my ever breaking out skin! Seriously, not to sound rude but I have had perfect skin my entire life; sure, I've had a pimple before but never anything that was a big deal. Lately, I've been breaking out wayyy more than I ever have. Don't believe me?Check out that monster on my chin! I've been looking online for any advice I could find about whether working out really causes pimples and if so what to do about it but it's rather inconclusive. Has anyone else noticed that the more you work out the worse your skin gets? I've decided that I'm going to start taking off all of my face makeup before I go to the gym now to see if that makes any difference. Lame!

Final bit of randomness: IT'S SUNNNYYYYYYY!
I am SOOoOoOooOoOOOOoOoOOoo excited that it looks like the snow is LOOONNNG GONE! Man, having spent my life living in AZ and FL, I have definitely underappreciated the sun- you should have seen me this weekend when it was nothing but blue skies- I was almost skipping down the street! I'm excited to spend lots of time outside this summer running, swimming, and playing volleyball- how can you not want to be outside being active when it's bright and sunny out?

Alright friends, I'm out! Hoping that you all are having a happy and healthy day! :)

Day #67: Mrs. Gold Medalist :)

Morning loves!

Being that it is Monday, and that I've been talking lots about motivation lately, I figured why not do another installment of "Motivation Monday!" I did one of these wayyyyy back in the day and will do them periodically now and again.

So for today's Motivation Monday, I thought I'd share one of the reasons that I want to lose weight and that keeps me motivated.

Can't lie- I feel probably more embarrassed about sharing this one reason than I do any other but either way, it' the truth so it can only be beneficial for me to share...

Imagine this...you walk into your doctors office and you see that it is full house in the waiting room and of course everyone has stared at you as you walked in as they have nothing better to do than to just sit their and wait to be seen by the Dr. When you look around the room and survey any open seats you find only one, and people are sitting on both sides of the chair; and it just so happens that one of them happens to be a majorly gorgeous Evan Lysacek look a like. (haha- you can insert whoever you find absolutely delicious :) And you decide, because it would look awkward now that everyone has seen you eyeing the open chair to just keep standing, that you will pop a squat over there by Mr. Greek god. (In case you need a reminder of just how hott he is....
:)

Now herein lies my problem- had I taken a seat next to Mr. Hottness, the entire time I would be thinking about how unhappy he probably was to be having to sit by me and I would almost feel SORRY that he would have to.

I've experienced this multiple times where I would get put right next to the typical "hottie" and I would literally feel apologetic for them having to be seen with me or put with me. Is this okay? UM NO!!!

This one thing is a rather stranger phenomenon to me because as I've shared before I really do have a high level of self-confidence and all, but this has been the one thing that always made me feel so...inferior.

Now PLEASE understand that this is in NO WAY ANY PART of my true motivation for losing weight- I've already shared most of those reasons with you all- but it is going to be a nice perk when I can be put into any situation and just feel normal.

And dare I be so bold to say, I would like to get to the point where my weight is absolutely 100% removed from the reasons why a guy couldn't like me. If he is not attracted or interested that's fine, I just want it to be for another reason, even if it's another physical reason.

So there you have it- my motivation for this Monday :) Kind of a depressing thing to share, but one that will surely turn into something empowering!

Anyone ever felt something similar?

Love ya bloggies!

Day #65 & #66: Drama Free Zone

I lived in denial for a long time prior to this journey.

I would periodically step on the scale when I could muster up enough courage and find that I had gained 15-20lbs but would assure myself that sooner or later I would lose all of the weight.

I would shop at Lane Bryant (the only store who's pants I could actually where), discover that I had to go up another size but still tell myself that it wasn't a big deal and all a part of "growing up."

I allowed myself to get bigger and bigger and bigger and by some miracle was able to convince myself that it wouldn't have an effect on the rest of my life- whether I got married, had children, or how well I would be able to do my job.

I was in denial for years. And over the past 3-4 months I've began to awaken from this fat coma and realize that I do have the power to change my life, that my life is being effected by my weight, and that if I don't do something I will only get bigger.

It appears to me that whether we like it or not this journey carries with it some drama. When we first begin everything is different and we are faced with the unhappy state that we find ourselves in that cause us to want to change- it's quite dramatic. All of this is soon to be followed by all of the drastic changes we realize we must make and everyday we are learning something new about health, fitness, ourselves and how we got this way.

And while the last few weeks have certainly had no shortage of drama in my personal life, the drama of this journey has drastically decreased and is basically non-existent; and for some reason- unbeknownst to me- this lack of drama and change has caused me to become lax.
I began this blog for 2 reasons: 1- As a way of chronicling my journey- I knew this is something that I would want to look back on and that someone else might be interested/helped by my daily ramblings. 2- Accountability: B/C of the way my life is set up, I don't have a lot of people that feel comfortable holding me accountable in the area of health/weight loss; I knew this was something that would be too easy for me to put on the back burner and just forget about it altogether. Thus far, this blog has fulfilled both of these purposes- plus connected me w/some pretty rockin' people :)

But this week I found myself making choices that I am not happy with; if I were to list them all out I would undoubtedly receive comments saying that I am being too hard on myself and that those things aren't really that bad- but here's the catch- I know how great my best is, and I have not been giving my best during this past week. Last night I found myself at Eat N' Park (basically Denny's) at 11pm w/ a friend eating fried zucchini and cheesy spinach and artichoke dip w/ reckless abandon. Why? Because I wanted it.

I have so many plans set in place to keep last night from happening (ask myself if it's really worth it, remember one of the many reasons I want to lose, look at an unflattering pic, etc.) and they all work- IF you do them. Last night I didn't even give it a thought- I just did what I wanted, not out of rebellion, but just out of a lack of concern.

What the heck is wrong with me? I weigh 315lbs- is that not reason for concern? Maybe it's just that the amount of success I've had thus far lead me to believe that I don't really have to try that hard and that I can eat carelessly and that it won't matter. Wrong. The scale made sure I understood that today when it read 317- that's a 2lb gain from last week. Truthfully, I'm glad that I gained, I needed a wake up call.

I know what my best is and I'm giving it all I've got- not just this week but for the rest of this year. I by no means "fell of the wagon"- I don't believe in those, remember? But I did make some unhealthy choices that I've learned from and am moving forward w/ the knowledge of how to not repeat them in the future. Yes, these past few weeks have been crazy and that's completely out of my control, but now I know how to handle these things better. But I do have to say I'm proud for the way I handled them this time too- just could have done BETTER. I have come to the realization that I don't need the effect of drama to keep me moving forward on this journey- just self discipline and hard work, both of which I have plenty of. It's ok that this is feeling more natural, I know that's a sign that this will be easier to maintain long-term.

As I have, I ask you to answer this questions honestly: Are you giving this your very best?

If not, you'd better figure out why b/c I've figured out that this journey will accept nothing less than your absolute best.

I leave you all with a beautiful, beautiful, sight for my sore eyes that I encountered yesterday...
Until I moved to PA a few months ago, I didn't even own a single pair of "regular" shoes- all I owned was flip flops- needless to say I am MORE than ready to be sportin' them again VERY soon! Today I bought 2 pairs at Old Navy as my way of declaring that Spring is on its way :)