Vacation from diet…Back home now

Ok maybe not so much a vacation…more like not doing what I needed to do over the holidays. The one thing I did do was exercise. I’m so glad I did. Because even though I did over eat and I did eat a lot of stuff that I really should not have…I did not gain as much as I thought I would. Yes I did gain some back…2.5 pounds…but I am not going to beat myself up. I am going to pick up where I left off and continue with what I am doing. I will lose the weight.

I am going start my weigh-ins starting next week on Tuesdays. I will continue to put all the info that I have previously provided in my blog. I will continue with all the measurements I have been providing. I will get it done 🙂

Along with this I am going to do a weekly post for the various yoga positions. I’m going to be brave and post pics of me doing the poses as well as some info for each pose. So more than likely until I can get some of the harder ones under control, I’ll be showing some of the easier ones. I know there are a lot out there that do yoga and probably are in a lot better shape then I am. I am open to new ways to do yoga. Let me know…I would love to try it!! Hopefully, I can pass some great info onto all of you out there.

I will see you all later for my fitness revelations!! Take care!!

 

My history with Yoga – part 4

By this point in my life, I think I gave up. I think I did not want to try to be better. It felt like this is what happens to everyone after they have kids and get old. You gain weight, you get lazy, and life happens. You try to make excuses, you try to say you don’t have time…but in the end you have to make time. If you don’t you end up sick, injured, or worse…die. I know this sounds morbid but in actuality it’s true. If you don’t make time for yourself, to keep yourself healthy, you will end up in the same place that I am if not worse. I think what really gave me the kick in the a** was when my doctor told me she was going to put me both on blood pressure and cholesterol meds. Even then, it took me a couple of years before I did anything worthwhile to help myself. It was a few years ago, I had some pictures taken and my son told me “you look like mimi (my mom)”. I didn’t pay any attention and just kept doing my thing. Then a couple months after that I saw myself in the mirror…I was like “oh my goodness, I am turning into my mom”. Now before anyone jumps on me and tells me how bad I am being talking about my mom, I am not. My mom even made fun of me and told me herself that I had better do something or I am going to end up like her. Her exact words were: ” I have always been fat. I have never been a small person, but you have. If you keep going the way you are you will have more health issues and physical pain. You need to do something.”  I love her more than anything in this world. She is definitely one of a kind!! 🙂

With all this happening I was still in denial. It’s sort of like being an addict I guess. You keep telling yourself I can change at anytime, I can stop at anytime, I’m not _______(fill in the blank). But reality is you can’t unless you make up your mind to do it. So there I was, the heaviest I had ever been in my life, my doctor telling me I have to take meds to save myself (was a shock and turning point in itself), my mom telling me I’m going to be her…but none of it mattered. That is until my son went to the doctor and his doctor told me he has high cholesterol. When his doctor told me that, I knew I had to change. All of the bad habits I developed were being passed on to him. I could not doom my son to bad health the rest of his life. I went back to my basics. As anyone on here that has been reading my posts knows, I started eating better and exercising. I made my son get up and exercise. It made him better. It dropped his cholesterol down (it’s still elevated but it’s a work in progress) and I lost a little weight. But even then I was not complete. I still could not regain that balance. I did start slacking off…as you can go back and look at all my posts. I had to find that balance and I did. I went back to my old friend. She will always be there even when I am not as good a friend. She brings me back my center, control and balance. She never says I can’t do it…she always knows I can.

Which brings me to today. I am at peace, I have balance, and I am in control. I have started doing my yoga on a regular basis again. I have incorporated it into my regular exercise routines that I made for myself. I have learned that if I don’t make time for myself I can’t provide what my family needs as well as what I need. I know a lot of you say, yoga is just exercise. It’s just a means to an end. For me it has been a life saver both mentally and physically. It has given me my strength.

 

My history with Yoga – part 3

At this point, like most moms and dads, my life was all about my kids and my spouse. Just keeping it all together was an exercise in and of itself. I’m not complaining about my past. I am just reflecting. I look back and I see how much pain and stress I put myself through when not only could I have made things easier on myself but also on my husband. But hey past is past and that is not what this post is about 🙂

I knew I had to get back to exercising but I’ll be honest it was so hard because I always found an excuse. I did exercise but as many times before it was not complete. I did start a strict regiment of exercise and at that point, I weighed 172 pounds, I lost 15 pounds. I was so happy but felt I was leaving something out. I was happy to have lost that weight but it wasn’t until I started looking for info regarding my health that I stumbled upon another yoga book (noticing a theme here…I love books). This book has so much info in it. and to be honest I learned a lot both about my health and physical being in it. It’s called: The Woman’s Book of Yoga & Health. I’m not trying to promote anything here just giving info if anyone wants to look at anything I have done. I started doing the exercises in it but could not continue. I always seemed to find a reason not to get up and do it. By this point I was 30 or 31 and I just completely stopped. I didn’t exercise or if I did it was half hearted. It did not benefit me because my heart and mind was not in it. I paid the price. For the next 7 years I gained weight and was just so busy (or so I thought) that I didn’t have the time.

 

My history with Yoga – part 2

As I was saying in my previous post, has always been part of my life. At the point I stopped doing yoga again, my priorities were skewed. I had been married almost 3 years at that point, I was about to go back to college after dropping out, I was trying to get pregnant, I discovered I had a thyroid issue (which I still take medicine for today), and as much as I love my husband…our relationship was not that great at that point. I was so out of balance with everything and it made my life a lot harder. I did try to go back to yoga during this time but it was fruitless. I could not get my mind in the place I needed to be. I could not focus on what I needed. I didn’t really know at that point in my life what I needed. It was not until after my son was born that I attempted yoga again, but I could not stay focused on it until about 3 years and my daughter’s birth was able to do it again.

At that point I was 27 and was feeling older than I was. It felt like my joints were rusted hinges. I was still somewhat flexible but I soon found out how much flexibility I had lost. I could not find any good books on yoga and I had given my book to my niece because she wanted to try it. So here I am, at home with 2 little ones (almost 2 yrs apart) and I start flipping through the channels. I never go to PBS but for some reason I did. I found a show on PBS that was yoga. I was like yes!! I found something I could start again. Well as happy as I was it didn’t last long. I did not stick with it. Not because I couldn’t (actually I think in some areas it still airs) but because again I could not focus to do anything for myself.

My history with Yoga – part 1

Of every exercise I have done in my life, I always come back to yoga. If I injure myself, I need to center myself, I need to de-stress…whatever it is I always come back to yoga. I am not a professional. I have never taken a class of yoga. And I most certainly have not followed the trends of yoga. I started out doing yoga from a book that my mom literally bought to keep me out of her hair…lol!! I was around 8 years old. It was a book of yoga for kids that was “animal yoga”. It made it fun and appealing. It made it something as a kid I could enjoy. I did that yoga for probably 4 0r 5 years, then I just stopped. I lost interest and being a teenager did not care about it.

I did not do yoga again until after I graduated high school. When I graduated high school, I dealt with a lot of issues all at once. Graduating early, starting college, family issues, and teenage hormones…among other things. I lost my balance…my center. I lost a lot of weight. I was not physically healthy. I was 16, 5’7 and 115 pounds. I was not starving myself. I did not have an eating disorder. I found out I had a vitamin deficiency that pretty much prevented me from gaining weight properly. My mom took me to our family doctor and they helped me regain what I should have had. I started taking a regiment of vitamins and within 3 months I went from 115 pounds to 135. I was a lot healthier but still did not have that mental balance…a center if you would. This went on a few more months. I still exercised but it was not the same. It was like something was missing…until I rediscovered yoga. I was at a library book sale and I found an old yoga book by Raquel Welch –  Raquel: The Raquel Welch Total Beauty and Fitness Program. I was like ok we’ll give a try again. It felt amazing  to be able to do it again. As corny as it sounds, it was like yeah this is what I should be doing….lol. So I used that book until I after I was married…probably around 22 or 23.

Fit Challenge Week 21…things that make you go hmmm…

Well with a busy week that I have been having, I slipped up. I went back to my old staple bread not because I didn’t have anything but just because it was easier. I have to break this habit. If I can break this habit I will be in a better place. I know what I have to do but I just have to remind myself everyday what I have to do. I also did eat more than I should as well. It is so easy to fall back into old ways.  I did gain  a couple of pounds back but to be honest I really do not know if it is that or due to swelling. I have been drinking plenty of water(96 ounces a day)and I have been exercising (between my Gazelle and Yoga)The weight gain could be due to that but I am not going to hold my breath. I am not going to beat myself up about it but I am going to really concentrate on the bread eating and portioning my food out each meal. If I can get that under control I will be able to get it all there.

On the flip side, I went out to buy some new exercise clothes because the ones I had have started to wear out. So I went to our favorite store in the world (sarcasm) and they had some Danskin tops on sale (always love a great sale). I bought me two tanks and one t-shirt…all under $10!! The thing that is better than that…I was able to get them in a MEDIUM!!!! 😀  It looks like I am doing something right despite of my slips this week. I’ll post pics next week once I start wearing them.

 

Height: 5′ 7″

Weight: 175.3

Bust: 38 in

Waist: 32 in

Hips: 38 in

Week 5 Fit Challenge

So I am in week five and I am feeling amazing. I guess the vacation did more for me then just getting away from everything. I have increased my gazelle time as I said last week to 30 mins and I have felt it in a good way. My legs are looking a lot more toned…but I think that is for all of the time I have spent. That did not come in just one week of doing 10 extra minutes a day…but wouldn’t it be nice if it did…lol!!  My yoga is becoming easier every time I do it. I’d say I’m almost where I was 15 yrs ago when I all but stopped doing it but I still got a bit to go on that. I believe age does have something to do with it but I only think it is a small amount. I believe if you have been doing it, you will be able to continue with it regardless of your age. That is what I am aiming for. I want my abilities back and I am going to fight for them!!

I am continuing on my diet as well as all of the exercise. I don’t get hungry like I used to. Meaning , I don’t snack on useless junk. Yes I do have ice cream, candy and all that other stuff. I just don’t crave them so I am eating less and less of them. I eat more fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Right now peaches and watermelons are in season and they are better then any piece of candy you can imagine 🙂  I guess like the old saying is “out of sight, out of mind” is true. When you don’t see them any more, you really don’t want them anymore. I have had bread once this week and that was on a sub sandwich that I had at my parents house over the weekend. Other then that, there is no bread in my diet. I am trying to drink more water but I tell you even in the heat down here, it is hard to drink 6-16 oz glasses of water. Some days are easier then others and I will continue to work on that.

 

Now for the results:  I dropped a pound!!

Fit Challenge week 5:

Height: 5′ 7″

Age: 38

Weight : 178.6

My bust: 38 in

My waist: 32 in

My Hips: 38 in

 

Fit Challenge Week 4

So here I sit, Still thinking about my vacation and am so glad to be home again 🙂  Sometimes it’s really hard to get back on the horse after you’ve been on vacay but surprisingly it was not too hard this time. I think I actually have surprised myself to be honest. My body was more than ready to get back into the swing of things. I slid back into my routines with minor bumps, which says a lot about how far I have come on this journey. A year ago I could not have said this…actually to be honest, a year ago I probably would have found an excuse not to go back to my routines. But this time, it was so much easier. It was like my body was expecting me to go back. So go back I did…and am so glad I am!!

My eating habits have changed too. I have noticed in the last couple of months my body has started talking again (yes I know that sounds silly). If I reach a point where I have had enough, my body pushes back and says STOP!! If I don’t listen then I pay for it rest of the day with either severe indigestion or I get so sluggish I cannot move. I hate both feelings…UGH!!! Yes there was a time I did hear that, but over the years I forgot about it. I didn’t listen. Now I can hear it again and boy am I listening now…lol!!

My exercising has become easier. I no longer have issues breathing when doing my exercises. That’s not to say I am not challenging myself. It means that my body is adjusting itself (like the eating) and letting me know I can do more. I am going to push more starting this week. I am going to increase my gazelle time by 10 mins from 20 up to 30 mins so I can get that extra burn. I will continue my yoga twice a week to make sure my body gets it’s flexibility back as well.

 

Fit Challenge week 4:

Height: 5′ 7″

Age: 38

Weight : 179.8

My bust: 38 in

My waist: 32 in

My Hips: 38 in

 

 

A little brag….

Yes I know I should not brag and I have already posted an update about my progress but you know what I don’t care…lol!! I feel good today!! I accomplished two things today, so far….I had a breakthrough on my gazelle!! Before my trip I had been doing 20:00 mins and averaging 1.2 – 1.3 miles. Today going for 20 mins I hit 1.65 miles!! I was so happy!! I know it does not seem like a huge amount, but when you go from a point when you can hardly breathe at just a little over a mile and you are so close to 2 miles in the same length of time it feels like you just conquered the world. Ok that might be exaggerating but it is an amazing feeling!! The second thing I accomplished was the Camel Pose or the Ustrasana * in yoga. For those that do not do yoga this might not seem like too much considering awhile back I also was able to get into the Wheel pose or the Urdhva Dhanurasana .* The Camel pose was always harder for me because I have had issues with my shoulders. But this morning when I did my yoga I made the attempt and my back and shoulders released and I was able to go into it so easily. I was so happy!!! So I’m done with my brag today 😀

 

 

*The pictures came from http://www.Yogajournal.com.

New Start…Have to do this!!!

As I have said in may posts in the last year, I am trying to get down to my ideal weight. Reality says my ideal weight is like 140 pounds. Where that is a possibility for me to do, it’s not exactly where I would feel comfortable…at least at this moment. That’s why I have set my goal at 150. That being said I have not reached the goal I wanted to. I could make every excuse in the book and I could say it’s because it’s genetic…etc. But I don’t believe that…not really. I know it was me being lazy and eating things I should not. I know it’s because I did not do the exercising I should have done. I know if I just keep my head straight I can do it. So starting today, I am resetting my goal timeframe. I am going to start again with a new year and possibilities. I realize this sounds like I am quitting but I am not. Let me say that again…I AM NOT QUITTING.

SO with everything I have just said I am posting my goals once again that I am setting for myself here:

1. get weight down from 180 pounds to 150 pounds by June 16, 2017
2. will make a full progress post every 4 months
3. set monthly attainable goals
4. post weekly to keep track
5. eat better (limit junk food, no bread)
6. drink more water
7. exercise once every day (yoga, walking, strength exercises)

I know everyone here says well you are already, so you say, doing this. I know and I know that I have not been on track like I should. That is me and I will make this happen. I have to…that’s all I can say. Now I just have to keep reminding myself.