Rest Days

I always thought a rest day was just that . . . a day of rest . . . well i've just learned that a rest day is not a day of rest . . . it is a day designed to give your body a rest by not going as hard . . . for example if you're a runner and you train by running 4 miles a day . . . on your rest day you should walk a mile . . . . and here i've been all these years just sitting on my rump on my so-called rest days . . . . what an eye opener . . . i guess being sedentary has no advantages . . . how many of you knew what a rest day actually was?? i couldn't be the onliest (yes i said onliest) person on this earth who didn't know what a rest day was . . . geez . . i wonder how much is there that i don't know.

Old-Fashioned Kinda Girl

isn't it funny when you tell someone how they should've done something but then you turn around and do the same thing that they shouldn't have done. for example, on my way home yesterday i called relly like i always do and asked what he was doing. he was out grabbing something to eat for lunch. i went on and on about how he should've just made lunch instead of wasting money on things that we have at home: bread, lunch meat and a bag of chips. i concluded by saying how proud i was of me for not wasting my hard earned money on such foolish things.

fast forward to this morning. got home from the gym about 5:04 am. fooled around for a while, took a shower, got dressed, got my son up, got him dressed, packed my son's lunch looked at the clock and it was 5:52 a.m. two minutes after i should have left the house. so i left, without even as much as an apple for myself. the only thing in my lunch bag was my shoes. i fretted the entire drive to work because i know how expensive and unhealthy it is to eat out. but i had no choice. i pulled my car into subway and purchased a six inch and a yogurt parfait. for a total of $5.80. and i'm getting ready to order my breakfast, scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and wheat toast. another $5.40. bringing my total to $11.20. i guess i owe relly an apology. i want to justify it by saying i eat out tops 1-2 time a month and he's more like 8-15 so my little $20 doesn't hurt us much. but when you're tyring to buy a house and lose weight every little bit counts. lead by example, right?

at least i didn't cave and have a donut this morning. my co-worker brings in a dozen donuts every friday and i've often turned him down. but this morning since i've had no breakfast i was eager to get my hands on one. got over to the box and there was nothing but chocolate covered this and jelly filled that. not my cup of tea. THANK GOD!! i love an old fashioned glaze donut and there wasn't one in the box. saved me about 700 calories. but a little birdie told him what my favorite donut was and he said he's gonna bring me a dozen next week. i think i might be sick friday **cough, cough**

something's missing

woke up this morning. got dressed. ate a turkey muffin. went to the gym. put on my heart rate monitor. grabbed my headphones and then suddenly i realized i left my iPhone at home.

at this point i had a choice to make. complete my workout and listen to the gym music or go home, get my headphones and risk losing time. well, i high tailed it back home and went and got my iPhone cause i be damned if i sit in the gym and listen to their music. luckily i made it back in time to complete my entire workout, without rushing and made it home by my 5:00 deadline.

this was the first time i have ever left my music at home and i really didn't realize how important to me it really was until i didn't have it. my music puts me in a zone. it removes the other people from the room and provides a space where i can focus on me. when the workouts get tough "survivor" or "the climb" always seem to come on and provide me inspiration. when i'm enjoying my workouts every song that comes on seems to be just the song that i want to hear and when it's time to go wale winds me down and prepares me for the day ahead. i can't get that from the 80's blend that plays at my local gym. i mean they are some good songs but just not what i need to hear during my workout.

if you looked at my playlist you wouldn't think it's one for a power charged workout. i have slow music, fast music, sad, happy and everything in between but somehow it works for me. i can't listen to eye of the tiger and feel like rocky. i need to here "f me pumps", "i wanna rock" and "not gon' cry" to get me through my workouts. for me it's about what i like not what's fast paced. i run just as fast and just as hard to amerie's "one thing" as i do to rick ross's "aston martin music".

i bet you one thing, i will never leave my house without my iPhone again. i can leave my heart rate monitor, my notebook, even my gym shoes but i guarantee you nothing will be done if i don't have my music.

what can't you go to the gym without??

Tools of the Trade

Although this is a blog about my weight loss journey i find it necessary to share with you all some things that nobody told me and that i just had to find out for myself.

• Getting a gym membership is not enough, it's simply a first step. Going to the gym without having a plan or not knowing how to use the equipment has the potential to be just as useless as sitting on the couch. Before you set foot in a gym and spend 90 minutes on a treadmill take the time to do some research. I know i've mentioned bodybuilding.com before but believe me it is a great tool.  They have workout regimens for both men and women with tutorials and video links attached to all exercises so that you will know proper form when it comes time to execute those exercises. And best of all it's FREE!! I also suggest lolofit . It is an app available through iTunes for both the elliptical and the treadmill. all you have to do is download it, add your music to the app and get going. It will customize a treadmill/elliptical workout for you that will be set to your music. There is a virtual trainer that encourages you throughout and provides helpful tips to improve your health. The apps are 4.99 each but well worth their weight in gold.

                              

• Invest in a heart rate monitor. There are several on the market but any of them will do. I have the bowflex heart rate monitor that i purchased at big 5 for a whopping 29 bucks and it works just as well and has just as many features as it's more expensive counterparts from makers such as Polar. Having a heart rate monitor is important because it will provide you with your heart rate as well as how many calories you burned during your workout session. It is true that the heart rate monitors on any given machine at the gym works but the calories burned feature aren't set to match your height, weight or body fat percentage. Those machines overestimate by as much as 15%. With your own heart rate monitor you will get a more accurate reading.

• Measure, Measure, Measure!! Both your food and your body. It is soooo easy to think we are eating less than we actually are. I can pretty much guarantee that the bowl of cereal you ate this morning was at least three times the normal serving size yet you counted it as one. You can avoid this common pitfall by beginning to measure your portions.  Purchase both the Cup and tsp/tbsp measuring sets so that you are always sure of what you are eating. You can get them from the 99 cents store for all of 2 dollars. and while you're there pick up a measuring tape. The scale is not your friend. (mine either) but the measuring tape will be your best ally. As your body changes the measuring tape will capture differences way before and more continuously than the scale will. You may not think you're losing any weight or making any progress if you only focus on the number on the scale. It's all about the small victories and the measuring tape will provide that for you.

• Last but not least journal, in some shape or form. Keep a diary, a blog, a spreadsheet, make tick marks on a calendar but do something so you can see your progress in black and white. As you continue on your journey, you will be inspired when you look back and see just how far you've come.

Now that i have provided you with what i feel are the most important tools of the trade i can go on with my journey. i hope in some way you find this useful. until next time  . . . . . peace and love

It's Go Time!!!!!

well i did it . . . i got up this morning and went to the gym . . . day one of exercise is in the books . . . now comes the hard part . . getting through the entire day and sticking to my meal plan . . . . i must say i started off this morning well . . . i had/have a HUGE problem with eating before and after i workout . . . before is a problem because i go to the gym at 3 in the morning and immediately after is hard because when i get home it's time to shower and get myself ready for work . . . well i think i solved that problem . . . i made some of Jamie Eason's turkey muffins for snacks this week and before i went to the gym this morning i had one . . and when i got home i made a protein shake which i drank in the car on my way to work . . . if i can continue to do this then i think i will be ok . . .i made my lunch and snacks last night for work . . .

i don't think i'm going to eat it all but i brought it all just in case i go into shock and want/need something more. the only thing i didn't do was measure so i need to make sure i do that for tomorrows lunch . . . if i don't check back in this evening then i will definitely update tomorrow with how i did with my nutrition today. also if you hit the link below it will take you to the recipe for jamie's delicious turkey muffins . . . until next time . . . stay focused!!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/video-jamie-eason-turkey-meatloaf-muffins.htm

Ready! Set! . . . . .

i can't quite say go yet because go time is not until tomorrow. but it's time once again for me to start my weight loss journey and hopefully this time it will be my last. i've been cleared by the doctor to workout on the elliptical trainer, i have printed out 12 weeks of workout routines and i've researched proper nutrition for weight loss. so i have no excuse but to get started. day one will be tomorrow January 24th. can't say i'm looking forward to it but i will say i'm ready for the challenge. if you're interested to know the tools i'll be using i'll be happy to share by posting what my routine was/is for the day and what i plan on eating and what i actually ate.

i really hope someone out there is paying attention. although i have a slew of family and friends who support me, for some reason i find comfort and hold myself more accountable when i'm in the company of strangers. i know not all feedback will be positive but i do hope that you will all be respectful of me and of any others who should happen to visit or post on this blog.

if any of you are on the same journey and you have a blog post it and i will follow you. you never know we might be able to help each other along the way.

here's to all of our success. i'm claiming it now because this time i'm not going allow me to sabotage myself!