My progress...

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Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Back in the right direction...

Today, when I stepped on the scale, I weighed 233.5 pounds!  That is the lowest I have weighed on this new scale, and it's represents a total of 41 pounds lost!  Earlier in the week, I was weighing in at 237.5 pounds (Hello, water weight!), so this is represents movement in the desired direction!  Look out...I am BACK!

This was a very stressful weekend at work...perhaps the most difficult stretch of time I have had at work since I became a nurse.  I let that stress get to me in a way that manifested itself in fast food for dinner on Saturday and Monday nights on my way home from the hospital.  On Saturday, I stopped at Sonic for a cheeseburger and cheese tots, and on Sunday, I stopped at Sheetz and ate cheese fries and a Cuban flatbread.  On both days, I stayed within my calorie goals for the day (because I didn't really have time during the day to eat as much as I usually would have), but there is no way that I should have been eating that stuff at all, let alone at the time of day I was.  Grocery shopping is scheduled for Thursday (after I get paid), so it's time to fill the house back up with healthy, whole, clean foods so that there is something to eat at home on nights like that.

Last night, I started a new yoga class with a different instructor (due to the fact that my previous instructor didn't have a class at a location that worked for me).  I really like the new instructor, and once I get used to the difference in the class, I know I will really like it.  It's an integrated yoga and pilates class, and it was definitely a challenge!  However, I also found during it that I could do things that I didn't think I was able to!  For example, one things we did was start from downward dog, lift one leg as high as we could behind us, and then swing our knee through our arms to do directly into pigeon pose.  I didn't think there was any way I would have the upper arm strength to do this, but I was able to do it without a problem!  I also was able to go from pigeon pose back into down dog without a problem.  Both pose changes were challenging, but they were not impossible for me!  I also found that I was able to go directly from cobra into down dog by just lifting my hips back, without going through a hands-and-knees position first.  It was the first time I tried that, as I assumed I couldn't do it, so this was a great feeling!  When I started taking yoga a year ago, I could not even do downward dog for very long because my strength was so bad, and now it is one of my favorite poses!  Love it!

Today, I am heading back to the gym for the first of three cardio days I have planned this week.  I don't go back to work until Saturday, so I am planning to spend some time with my friends the elliptical and the arc trainer for these three days.  At my gym, we have two different ellipticals.  We have one type that has an adjustable crossramp, which also has fixed arms.  I have usually used this one because I was not a big fan of the arm motion on the elliptical, and there were some interval workouts that I liked that varied both the slant of the crossramp and the tension on the leg motion.  Well, a few weeks ago, because I was watching an episode of "Say Yes to the Dress" while on the arc trainer, I decided to use the elliptical directly behind the arc trainer I was on.  This elliptical had the moving arms, but it had a fixed crossramp.  I assumed the programs on it would be similar, but instead I found a sort of random program that involved some major changes in the resistance on leg motion.  It was SUCH a challenge, to the point that at some portions of it, I could not move my legs through the motion very quickly at all, and the next day, I had plenty of soreness in all my leg muscles.  I also felt soreness in my arms from keeping my arms moving on the handles for most of the workout.  This gives me some new plans for my elliptical workouts because I thought I was being challenged more by the other type of machine, but it really wasn't true!

I think I have officially become an enormous gym nerd after that paragraph.  Oh, well...make it a great day, everyone!

2 comments:

Gina said...

Congrats on a new low! "Gym Rat" is the proper term, not gym nerd, LOL:-)

Jen said...

Hey you!!! Loved reading your post! CONGRATULATIONS on the weight loss! So I imagined all the poses you were describing in that yoga/pilates class. I'm impressed! Going from cobra into down dog without hitting the ground takes a lot of upper body and core strength! I'm not sure I know what a pigeon pose is...but if it's anything like what we do in the P90X yoga...then that is hard and requires great flexibility. You are well on the way to your goals babe! You're right...you HAVE GOT to steer clear of that fast food. It's a killer...figuratively and literally! Going shopping (today is Thursday) will be great. I hope you've prepared a shopping list in advance for what you plan to buy/eat. You have to PURPOSEFULLY choose food have a "meal plan" to be succesful (or at least I do). I even try to prepare everything for the day first thing in the morning (if possible) because I know that come afternoon, I won't feel like taking the time and I'll impulsively grab a "quick snack" instead of my planned snack and then WOOP..there goes my calories for the day. BLAH!
I struggle much more with the food than I do with the workouts...so I've decided to start planning out my meals on Sundays for the whole week and posting on my blog. You might hop over and see if anything I'm eating might be good options for you. I know sometimes it helps to have some new ideas.
Holler at me if I can help you in anyway...to stay motivated or give you recipes or snack ideas or such. :o)
Keep up the great work! Focus on one day at a time and try not to get weighed-down with how far you have to go...just remember one day at a time/one pound at a time. Every day and pound is a VICTORY! (just don't celebrate with food like I tend to want to do! ha ha)