Week 9: and 3 more to go...

Wow, I cannot believe I have 3 more weeks left!
I've already lost 16lb and have 5 more to go!
I have gotten used to Open Sky Fitness behind me the entire way and soon I will have to fend for myself!
I have to start learning how to take advantage of the gym on my own. Picking up on the exercises that I do with my trainer will be very important for these last weeks that I have with him.
Its also going to be very important for me to continue to practice the healthy habits that I have engrained into myself.
At this point of the Sky Fit Challenge, it has gotten easier for me to choose a healthy meal over something that is heavier, and doesn't really provide me with much nutrition. When you think about it, its pretty much a straight forward decision that I make without much thought anymore.
For example, I went to go visit a friend in San Diego this past weekend and we ate out twice. Both times, I could have chosen something straight from the menu that wasn't very beneficial. The first meal, I requested a simple side of veggies with a piece of salmon. It turned out to be a wonderful choice because it was very delicious, simple, and filling.
The second time, we all went out to a breakfast restaurant. I love breakfast food and everything about it.   At the same time, I have been craaaaaving pancakes for the past 2 months! I wanted pancakes with chocolate chips, butter, and maple sirup so badly. If this had happened 3 months ago, I would have probably chosen the pancakes. But instead, since I have rewired my body and brain, it was much easier  to order a healthy omelet with tons of different kinds a veggies. I still wanted those pancakes, but didn't NEED them to satisfy my hunger. Especially after eating such a hardy breakfast.

Future plans:
One of the goals that I set for myself is to run a race at the end of this all. One is coming up on October 14th, which can be a perfect end to all this.
Its an 11k (which comes out to 6.8 miles). This makes me nervous, because the farthest I've run was 3.5 miles, and that was on the treadmill. This is probably going to be way more challenging, especially since its going to be outside with real terrain.

Also, I am considering signing up to do Open Sky Fitness Boot Camp twice a week. This will help me stay on top of my game, maintain my results, stay in shape, and maybe even get more toned.
I've attended a boot camp of Rob's in the past. I enjoyed it, it challenged me, and the time flew by so quickly.

Making these two things happen will keep pushing me to the limit. Unfortunately, I'm hesitant to do both. I am scared of the race because I've never been a runner, especially outside, and I am afraid to fail.
I'm hesitant to do the boot camp because I want to somehow continue to do this on my own. I have to pay for it and I am running tight with my budget.

So right now, I have to continue concentrating on what I have in front of me and also making sure I understand what I can and cannot afford to do, and the consequences of the decisions that I make for myself.

Week 8: Lead us not into temptation

This week has had its bumps in the road.
My nutrition has been a little off for the past few days.
Looking back at my food journal, I see that I am lacking in greens and veggies.
This is probably because I need to start studying and practicing on the different ways I can use veggies in my everyday cooking. Learning different techniques and recipes will save me as I climb over this bump in the road.
I have been trying to incorporate veggies into soups, which has been working very well!
But I still need to be getting confortable with sweet potatoes/yams/parsnips (which intimidate me a little).
Getting bored with cooking will definitely throw me off and will literally sabotage all that I have worked for. So making sure that I open myself up to experimenting with different foods, will continue to solidify the creation of healthy habits and choices.

Going to work is a different story. I work at a drug and alcohol treatment facility and there is a chef that prepares all meals. The staff is required to eat with all the clients. This is were I face my greatest challenge. Even though the food at the facility concentrates on a low glycemic diet (no sugar, flour, or coffee of any kind), I seem to face a dilema. The food is still cooked in butter... cream is still added to the soup of the day... the chicken is still breaded... and the veggies are still covered in cheese.
The worst part of it all is the pressure that I get if I avoid certain dishes, not just from the clients, but also from one of the chefs themselves! He seriously reacts like its a blow to his ego. Its not like I DON'T want to eat it, because trust me, I eye that "healthy low glycemic" buttery parmesan crusted pasta every time I see it. Even though I have numerously expressed the importance of how important it is for me to eat well, I keep hearing him insistently convince me that its not bad for me and then continues to offer me desert! I think they are trying to fatten me up!!!
Honestly though, if you get in the field to make food, you cannot make heavy (but delicious) food and expect everyone to fly out of their chair for a helping.

This doesn't always happen though. A lot of the time, there are healthy options. But when these situations surface (about twice a week), its hard to not get frustrated, let alone give into temptation!

So I have to find ways around it. Bringing veggies or salad of my own into work can solve the problem. But I just don't want to be that arrogant asshole who is too good for the chef's cooking. There is blurry line between being rude and staying disciplined.... and I am treading it carefully. Especially since its a fairly new job and I don't want to stir up any negative reactions.

Wish me luck!

Week 7: A pain in my iliacus

Whats up everyone!

My 7th week has already come and gone and I'm super excited about how my body is adapting to the changes I've made. Through time I've gotten used to my workouts and am less sore after being beat up by Rob. Not to say that I don't go home without my muscles aching every time, but when I do, I'm kind of proud because I know I did some good work  :]

I was also able to run 3.5 miles yesterday WITHOUT STOPPING! Holy crap, I cannot say how exciting that is. I have never been able to do that, even if someone lit a fire up under my ass.

I remember when I was in the 6th grade, we had to run a mile every Monday for P.E. and we were required to run it in under 12 minutes (for a good grade). To make sure that we were allocating our time wisely, our P.E. teacher perched up a 2 foot long clock that counted up the minutes...so that you and eeeeveryone else knew how long its been.

Well that damn clock didn't help very much, but more taunted at me while I struggled with not only running the mile, but also with my weight, nutrition, and self esteem.

I seem to remember running it within a pitiful 20 minutes. I cringe at that number now because I know it could of somehow been prevented. Thank god I have been able to turn it around with the help of Open Sky Fitness! 

Seriously, because I would still be that sad little 6th grader in a 23 year old chubby body!

Anywho.. with all the exercise and strain I have been putting on my body, I have been dealing with a lot of tightness and soreness all over. But there has been one persistant pain that is yet to go away.

My iliacus muscle has been a pain I have had to deal with since probably week 3 or so.

"What the hell is an iliacus??" you say

Its the muscle that is located on the outside of the hip and is responsible for rotating the leg forward, hip rotation and flexing the torso.

So I have had to alter some exercises so that I don't put too much strain on it. It has also been starting to bother me while I run,  which is really frustrating!!! I know I can keep going but I may need to change to an exercise that has a lower impact.

I successfully ran my 3.5 mile run yesterday, but I'm definitely feeling the repercussions now.

Stupid iliacus....

On a better note: Here's a before and after photo of me!

In week 1, I simply look uncomfortable in my own skin,

But in week 7, I've lost 12lbs, toned up and I'm even standing up taller!

Week 6: A series of unfortunate events

This week has been more than I think I was able handle. My god, I am emotionally and physically drained

At the beginning of the week I got some horrible news about a coworker, who got in a very very bad motorcycle accident. He was hit by a car that was going 65 to 70mph. They ran a red light and slammed right into him, shooting him across the street into bolders. The SOB got out of his car to check his precious bumper and promptly drove off without a care in the world that he hit another human being.
That night my coworker was left completely broken. He lost his left leg from the knee down on impact and broke his other three limbs as well....
This poor man has a beautiful life that he has worked extremely hard to have. Has a beautiful family, girlfriend, and friends. Has a wonderful job. Goes to USC. And runs 11 miles just because he can. And it didn't come easy.
Thankfully, he is alive but now lays in a hospital bed because of a, most likely, intoxicated and careless individual who should have never gotten behind the wheel that night.

I went to go see him in the hospital the other day,  which probably made everything worse. It was something I couldn't believe or understand until I saw for myself. Then it was real. Someone that I cared about is seriously hurt and I cannot do anything about it. I cannot control your, mine, or his fate and it can all happen as quick as being momentarily in the wrong place at the wrong time.

For the first couple of days, I turned my brain off. I couldn't process much, or for that matter, didn't really want to. I had the worst time focusing on my personal goals with the Sky Fitness Challenge. I wasn't really eating well, and my desire to push hard through my workouts pretty much diminished, and understandably so. I pretty much stopped eating, unless my roommate made me. Then when I got into the gym (if I even went) I didn't have energy to run the simple 30 minutes that was required of me.
I missed a day at the gym and I am kicking myself for it. It was just one of those days that as much self talk and convincing I used on myself, another part of me fought tooth and nail. The pain and unwillingness won.

I have been feeling frustrated that I can't eat what I want, even though I don't really want to eat at all. But when I do, I'm pissed and annoyed that I have to eat vegetables! Can you believe it? I'm angry at a plant.
I don't want anymore broccoli, I'm so effin sick of it. I don't want anymore freaking bok choy, and god forbid you put some kale on my plate.
All I want is to comfort myself with a huge bowl of pasta covered in marinara and cheese.
Just give me some enchiladas and call it a day.
Or a drink! Give me a god forsaken drink of wine to calm my nerves...


Well I know I can't, because I have a goal and I have 6 more weeks to meet it. But hell...what a week...