Fitness Progress - Week 6

Below is the updated table to reflect changes in my weight and measurements for week 6 of getting fit. It didn't go as well as I wanted, but with Thanksgiving during that time and a week of being sick and not working out it could be worse.

	October 16, 2011	November 6, 2011	November 27, 2011
Weight	195 lbs	188 lbs	186 lbs
Chest	42 ¾”	41 ¼”	41 ¼”
Waist	37”	36 ½”	36 ¼”
Abs	42”	40 ½”	40 ¾”
Hips	45”	45”	44 ⅞”
Right Thigh	28”	28”	27 ¼”
Left Thigh	27 ¾”	27 ½”	27”
Right Arm	12 ¼”	12 ¼”	12”
Left Arm	12 ¾”	12 ¾”	12 ⅜”
Right Calf	16 ¼”	16”	15 ⅞”
Left Calf	16 ¼”	16”	15 ⅝”

I have lost another 2 lbs. and 2 ½", so I'm super excited. As I mentioned before I forgot that my goal was to be 50% of the way toward my goal weight, instead of 25%. Over the next month I have between 8 lbs. and 13 lbs. to lose to be on track. I'm hoping to make it to 8, but if I don't I'm still very proud of myself.

Have you made any changes to your lifestyle to better your life? More exercise, eating right, playing Wii Fit? Try adding 1 new thing to your routine and track it for a month to see how it changes your life. Whether it's eating right, getting fit, building relationships, or working on your spiritual life, changing one thing at a time can make a big difference.

Goal #9 (Painting Dresser) Complete!

Yay! Another item checked! You remember how the dresser looked, right?

Not really my style, a little girly. Kai, a friend of mine, has brought different items back from China and I wanted to display them in this room. I wanted to paint the dresser to work with these items. I ended up buying jade spray paint for the dresser.After a few days I realized that I was, again, painting something green. Why can't I break myself of this pattern??? Everything's green or blue. I need to expand my horizons, so I ended up going with yellow (as mentioned in a previous post).

I decided to spray paint because I have seen or read about it many times before and thought it'd be pretty easy. First, I sanded the drawers and body of the dresser. Here it is after much scraping and sanding...and it makes me realize I need an electric sander.

Now let's see it after about 5 coats of primer.

The primer covered most of the problem areas, but didn't get everything. I was tired of priming, though, so I moved on to getting the yellow spray paint. I don't have pictures of that because, after about 5 coats of paint, it still look like this. I was very frustrated, so I bought normal paint and decided to go with it. This also meant that I could bring the dresser out of the basement and into my nice, warm house with good lighting. Here's how it looked after 2 coats of paint.

Much better! And the paint is so vibrant!


I thought I'd paint the handles the same color as the dresser, but wasn't pleased - just doing it so I didn't have to buy more paint. haha My parents gave me a file cabinet and I needed to paint it, too. I decided to paint it metallic black - it was sparkly! Side note - Ivan actually painted the file cabinet. He's awesome. I had extra spray paint and decided to paint the handles metallic black. Here is the final result!

I love it! What do you guys think? Have you tried painting furniture? Did you get frustrated with spray paint or trying to decide on colors? I'd love to see your projects! Until next time.

Goal #4

So I actually went back and read my goal for getting in shape. I thought it was to be 25% of the way to my ideal weight/size, but it's actually 50%. :-( That really bugs me since I thought I had met my goal, but it makes me glad that I actually wrote my goals down. So, I have 10-16 more pounds to lose by the end of the year. Wow! That's going to be hard, especially since it's the holiday season. Time to get disciplined. Here's to eating healthy and exercising!

Inspiration

I love quotes. I have a short book of quotes that I compiled over a few months in 2006 and may one day publish, though I hope to add to it considerably before that time. I was reading the other day and came across a very inspirational quote (a few paragraphs worth, actually) that I think could benefit us all. It's from a young girl who lived during World War II. Although it always saddens me I love reading her stuff. She always tried to see the best in the world and had a great perspective. I always try to think of people like this when I have a bad day and want to complain. I usually don't think of Anne Frank specifically, but I do think of my very best friend Jenny. She was always positive and tried to stay happy, no matter the circumstances. She was, and still is, a great inspiration to me. So here's your inspiration for the day.

I don't then think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains. This is one of the things that Mummy and I are so entirely different about. Her counsel when one feels melancholy is: "Think of all the misery in the world and be thankful that you are not sharing in it!" My advice is: "Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God. Think of all the beauty that's still left in and around you and be happy!"

I don't see how Mummy's idea can be right, because then how are you supposed to behave if you go through the misery yourself? Then you are lost. On the contrary, I've found that there is always some beauty left - in nature, sunshine, freedom in yourself; these can all help you. Look a these things, then you find yourself again, and God, and then you regain your balance.

And whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!

~Anne Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank

Fitness/Lifestyle Change Update

So here's a few notes and an update for my fitness plan. First, I am using the Jet Set Body program. The Jet Set Body program incorporates eating healthy with exercise. Kim even wrote a cookbook that has some fantastic recipes. I am honestly not following it exactly because of my own limitations, but think that if someone did follow it to the letter then they'd be fit in no time. For me, this program has staying potential. It isn't one of those things like diet pills or packaged meals that may cause people to get discouraged and fall off the wagon, regaining more weight than they may have lost in the first place. I've gone into crazy mode with counting calories, making sure my meal plans covered everything as it should in the food pyramid, and couldn't maintain it for too long. I think it's better to get the idea of what you should and shouldn't eat in your head than have a strict regimen that makes you feel like you don't have any freedom. Keep in mind that I am a pretty laid back person, so if your personality is different than that then you may love a strict plan.

With exercise I just never know what to do. What is best for a woman who is working out? What is best for someone who is severely out of shape? Should I do the same thing every workout or switch it up? Cardio everyday? These are just a few things that go through my head. I don't understand exercise at all and have never known anyone who did or who could explain what I should do. Jet Set Body answered most of the questions I had. I don't think their plan - even the beginner -  is for someone who is really out of shape, but it is a great guide and you can ask them questions on the forum anytime. You should also consider talking to your doctor if you're really out of shape so that you don't end up hurting yourself, which is true of any exercise plan. Having said that I would like to point out that I can do all but maybe 1 or 2 exercises in each of their days, so I'm not doing too bad. 

I really love that Kim and Rob, the people who created the program, stay involved with the participants through e-mails and forums. I think they really care about everyone being healthy and in shape. I haven't met them in person, but from videos and blog posts they seem to have great personalities and a good sense of humor. At the end of the update will be some links to Jet Set Body and to one of their success stories. 

On to the real update. As a warning, I'm going to be really transparent with weight and all that's related. I have never understand why it's so taboo to talk about weight or admit how much we weigh. People can see that I'm overweight, I see that I'm overweight, so who cares if others know my weight. In my mind it feeds the whole notion of women needing to be a certain way, to look a certain way. I hate the idea of thinking that someone is lesser than anyone else because of that. I did take a before picture, but will only post the before and after at the end of my journey. What's the end? I would like to get to about 140, which was my weight throughout high school and college. I'm am doing weights, though, so I'm trying to keep that in mind. I'll have more muscle mass so my altered goal is between 140-150. As soon as that hits I'll post my before and after pics with final results. I'll of course still continue to eat healthy and exercise so that I can maintain being fit. 

At the beginning of the year I was at 205 lbs. I don't think that I look like I weigh that much and have been told that by others, but maybe they were being nice. I decided that I needed to finally get in shape and be a good example to Alexander, so I set a goal - to be 25% of the way to my goal weight...to lose 14-16 lbs. In March I wrote this goal, with others, on my blog to have some semblance of accountability. In April I was offered a new job and decided to take it. Just knowing I was going somewhere else helped me to drop 5 lbs. Five pounds just from the relief of getting out of a job I didn't like...amazing! Between then and deciding to start the Jet Set Body program I dropped another 5 lbs. I think it was still due to finding a new job (that I LOVE) and being in a better mood. So before even starting the program I was down 10 lbs. Woohoo!

I officially started the Jet Set Body program on October 16th. I weighed, measured, and took pictures. Three weeks later, on November 6th, I weighed and measured and have those results here.

	October 16, 2011	November 6, 2011
Weight	195 lbs	188 lbs
Chest	42 ¾”	41 ¼”
Waist	37”	36 ½”
Abs	42”	40 ½”
Hips	45”	45”
Right Thigh	28”	28”
Left Thigh	27 ¾”	27 ½”
Right Arm	12 ¼”	12 ¼”
Left Arm	12 ¾”	12 ¾”
Right Calf	16 ¼”	16”
Left Calf	16 ¼”	16”

So that's the progress so far. I think that's great for 3 weeks!  Down 7 lbs and 4 1/2". That means I've actually surpassed my goal for the year by 1lb. Yay! My legs have always been muscular, so I only see them going down a couple of inches, but I'm fine with that. Again, if I followed the program exactly I'd have even better results, but I'm looking for long lasting results - not quick ones. Do you have any fitness goals? Have you achieved them or are you still working towards something? I'll have another update in 3 weeks. 

Looking forward.

 

Jet Set Body - http://jetsetlife.tv/JSB/

Success story - David Siteman Garland - http://www.therisetothetop.com/davids-blog/flab-fit-fitness-model-shape-90-days/

David Siteman Garland interviewing Kim and Rob on his show - http://www.therisetothetop.com/davids-blog/david-body-transformation/

Writer's Block

I feel compelled to write, but lately I haven't been able to actually get words out. It doesn't matter if it's for this blog, an e-mail, or one of my stories...nothing is making it's way to paper or screen. I thought trying to write about the block, if that's what it is, would help. I mean, it's taken me over 5 minutes just to write this much. Ridiculous!

The past few weeks my creativity has been leaning more toward working with my hands and making something not just typing or writing. Luckily, this has helped with some projects. The dresser will be primed tonight and painted tomorrow, if all goes according to plan.

I've also just wanted to hang out with Ivan and Alexander more. What better way to spend my time than with the guys I love?

Workouts have been going great. I need to post an update on my progress, I suppose. I need to measure everything first, though, so I have numbers for the post. I was working out in the evenings, but switched to mornings last week. I get up around 5:45 (I just can't get out of bed at 5:30...I need just a few more minutes of rest) and am out of the house at about 6:10. Working out has been tough, but I've noticed I have a little more energy. Well, energy isn't really the right word. I feel better and am just more positive. I guess the part in Legally Blond where she says endorphins make you happy is true. Who knew?

Ok, this has taken me way too long to write and I've strained to think of what to say. Soon I'll have the pictures of the dresser up and the workout update.

Looking forward.