Healthy Foods, Chocolate and Changes

First off-I got a little raise today! Weee!

Secondly, as of Monday evening, I, Jennifer Nall, will have FULL INTERNET ACCESS after an entire year! I signed up for the T-Mobile Hot Spot. I can take it with me wherever I go to have access on my SkyPad, phone (if I need it), laptop and Wii! I really hope it's everything I want it to be! I went with the 5GB plan, estimating my usage. I thought about other brands, especially Clear, but I think this was the right decision. We shall see!

I've been eating very healthy lately and it shows-I THINK! But I'm craving chocolate. Maybe I'll get a baggy of Dove Dark Chocolate and have 1 per day.

Stevia powder is GREAT! I bought it from the "scoop your own bulk selection" section at HEB. It's the Wholesome brand and it's great! I've been looking at safetly records and medical reports saying it may not be safe, but the most reliable ones say that Stevia is actually a GOOD thing! More on that as I research.

Now onto a relaxing evening at home. Shrimp orzo? Salad? and movies/cleaning/decorating. The pest control people are coming Tuesday and I've gotta figure out what to do with the furbabies!

Speak soon!

Slacker? Who? ME?!

Okay. I admit it. I've been slacking. It doesn't FEEL like I've slacked only because I feel like I've been Googling "Good Carbs" and "In-home Workouts" for hours each day.

Today is a terrible no good very bad day. I'm just feeling burnt out, frustrated, confused and terribly alone in this whole journey. A lot of my "friends" have tried to give me their advice and fill me with a bunch of diet bullpoopy. It's really annoying. Some people are just so...hmm...what's the word...ANNOYING! If I write you a text telling you about a new healhy recipe or my progress so far, the WORST-I repeat, THE WORST-thing you can do is reply "lol cool." LOL? Why are you laughing? And if you really think it's "cool," wouldn't you show more interest? I know, I know. I'm probably reading too far into it, but goodness sakes!

And don't you DARE tell me that weightloss is 80% diet when I happen to know that most statistics are made up! True, diet has a lot to do with it, but excercise is going to strengthen your heart, tone up the areas where you're losing weight and make you feel more energized. SO SHUT IT!

By now, I'm sure you can sense my utter frustration.

So what do I do? Honestly, all I wanna do is take a nap right now.

Oh my calves!

Monday started my 2nd week of training. Here's what we did:

9 minute eliptical warmup
3 flights of stairs 6-8 times. (I try to forget!)
pull down rope-thing (so technical, i know!)
push up bar
push ups
tension band pulls

I really expected my arms to be uncomfortable, but it's all in my calves. I think that's because I rest my arms at work all day. My legs, however, are in constant use standing, walking and then hauling my butt up and down stairs when I get home.

I'm not seeing a lot of weightloss yet, unless the scale at work is broken. I think I've done a pretty good job of eating clean, though I'm still learning so much every day.

Jay has been SUPER encouraging. It's awesome! It's nice to have someone to support you on your lifestyle change instead of judge you or try to fill your mind with all these "lose weight quick" schemes. Dude knows his stuff. And it's just nice to have someone to talk to after work. I can't tell you when the last time someone asked me how my day was before I started training.

I want to keep improving. I'm so serious about eating healthy and excercising regularly. It's not easy, but I think it will get easier in time.

In life, you have to fight for what you want, be it freedom, love or wealth. All of that means nothing if you're not healthy.

Mid-Week Crisis. Kinda.

Monday was my first day of training. I was sore Tuesday but even more so Wednesday.

I'm still feeling a little burn today, but it's subsiding little by little. Looking forward to trainging tonight!

I'm really excited to see progress. I'm not expecting a significant difference in...well...anything for a couple of weeks. It's a little discouraging but nothing good comes without a little effort, right?

This whole "eat every 3 hours thing" is tough. I'm not always hungry. But I think that as I start burning more calories and sticking to the same routine, by body will eventually get used to it.

Other Hilights:
I'm getting a KILLER pair of heels from ShoeDazzle.com!!! The "Ezra!"
I'm also getting a 7" tablet from Groupon!
I've been to 3 CastleLights shows within 2 weeks-and I love it! Great guys!
Ryan Cabrera was not as friendly as I had hoped. :-/
I got a HUGE lead on a NYE party at the Hyatt! PARTY!

First Session Recap/Diet Goodies

I SURVIVED! Actually, I'd like to say I thrived!

I had my first training session last night with Jay and boy, did he kick my butt! I actually enjoyed it because he kept me laughing the whole time-I didn't look at the clock-not even once!

WARMUP
Treadmill 5 minutes 3MPH
Treadmill 3 minutes 3.5MPH

This was a sinch for me! Mostly just getting my heart rate up and chatting about goals and nutrition and crazy old ladies! He tried to give me an incline, but it didn't work for some reason.


GROUP 1
Lunges Across the gym and back X2
Leg Curls 20 at 40lbs
(X3)

This was murder. I handled the leg curls pretty well but lunges will be the death of me! I have "dancer's knee" (where you hyperextend your legs-I even do this while walking or standing) so lunges were really difficult. I made myself do them, though. I know it's going to build my endurance and strengthen my knees, which I've had issues with since I was 4 (injury to the growth bone in 3 places).




Group 2
Lat Pull Down Bar 20 at 40lbs/upped to 15 at 60lbs
Leg Press 15 at 70lbs (I think)

These were alright. I started to feel the burn, but my legs are pretty strong. I have practically no upper body strength, but the pull downs weren't bad.



Group 3
15 Pushups
15 Side Step-Ups (MURDER!)
(X3)

I DID PUSHUPS! Well, simplified pushups, but still! Jay taught me where to place my hands and that changed everything. I'm going to try to keep building up my arms so I can get on my toes! The side steps were difficult mainly because we didn't have a step-we used the side of the treadmill, which may have been a bit high for me. Once again, I had trouble with hyperextending my knees.


All in all, I was very proud of myself! Jay said I was the first person who hasn't passed out or thrown up during or after their first session! I felt not-so-good a few times, but I pushed through and kept going! I even went grocery shopping last night. :)



I picked up EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control protein shakes in French Vanilla. A little wattery, but not bad if you pretend that it's coffee! I also got some Kashi cereal, yogurt, turkey, pom rice cakes (YUM!) and a few other things. I've eaten well so far. Jay wants me to eat 4-5 meals per day, every 3 hours. I'm staying full today, but I think once my body gets used to it, I'll adjust to my new routine.

To help with my frequent eating, I got these AWESOME round screw-top containers for snacks, lunch, etc. I think each is about 2cups-perfect for anything!

Starting A New Chapter

Cliche, right? Deal.

I've taken the biggest step ever in getting healthy-I am hiring a trainer. Not just any trainer-my buddy, Jay. I plan on starting with him next week and I'm pretty nervous about it. I know having someone like Jay to push and encourage me is going to help-I'm just ashamed of how out of shape I probably am.

I know I have pretty decent endurance. I've done dance-heavy musicals and never gotten sore. I can dance for hours without even thinking about it. I think that's why I don't do so well in the gym. My mind gets distracted, I get tired of staring at my nasty sweaty self in the mirror and I just want to go soak in a bath. I also get frustrated when I don't get the results I want. I can say that I have no idea what to do in a gym. I don't know how to target certain areas. I don't know how many reps to do of anything. Jay definitely has his work cut out for him, but since we are friends and I totally trust him, I have confidence that, with his help, I can get moving in the right direction.

There's some major things I have to keep in mind. I've GOT to start buying groceries-and not just the quick stuff. I need to eat more fruits and veggies. I need to buy granola and yogurt to make parfaits. I CAN and WILL do this! Plus, it sucks to throw down $100 all at once, but it sure as heck beats paying $6 a pop for fast food!

I have to remember that I'm only going to be training with Jay twice a week. That leaves 5 other days where I'm on my own. I have to keep up the will-power to get my butt to the gym and practice the things he's teaching me.

And, most of all, I WILL NOT LET OTHER PEOPLE BRING ME DOWN! Some of my best friends are showing signs of disapproval (jealousy? laziness? who knows.) and it's so frustrating. I'm doing this so that, one day, I can play hide and go seek with my kids in the yard-not so I can win a Miss Hawaiian Tropics bikini contest! I'm doing this so I can (prayerfully) ward of cancer-unlike both of my parents, grandparents, etc. Sure, there are physical attributes that I'm not happy with. I'd love to wear designer sample pieces. But honestly, that's not what this is about.

I'll be blogging as much as I can about my journey. I'm not brave enough to put my weight and measurements online, but I'll post my progress as I lose pounds and inches. Maybe in the end, when I feel like I've reached my goal, I'll be so bold as to post it all. We'll see.

And finally, a little rant: Why is it that men are "allowed" to be a little bigger but women are seen as "fat" as soon as they get one too many curve? I get it. Sex sells. Always has, always will. But enough is enough! Some of the most beautiful people are not models-Adele, Melissa McCarthy, post-diet Jennifer Hudson. Sure, being unhealthy is not something to be proud of, but I think any journey starts with loving yourself.

Do I love myself? Honestly? No. I'm really hard on myself. I think that's why I'm so scared. I'm afraid of failure.

So here it goes. My journey starts now. I'm going to give it my all.