Meet a Member - Melissa T. , Week #59

Mental Strength

June 28, 2015

 

Thoughts for the Week…

Oftentimes during what seems like the hardest workout ever our trainer will say, “You’ve got this…your mind will give up before your body, so KEEP GOING!” So we keep going and low and behold those thoughts of “I’m literally going to die” are not valid because all of us are still alive. Having that encouragement during a workout reminding us that we CAN do this is awesome. Many of us would never make it through a workout if we didn’t have that. That’s on the gym floor, but what about while you’re in the kitchen? Your trainer isn’t in the kitchen with you reminding you to have that mental strength to resist those foods you know you shouldn’t eat because it will not help you move towards your goal. It’s here…in the kitchen, at the gas station by yourself, all of those places where you’re by yourself and nobody’s watching, that we MUST have that mental strength to push passed those thoughts of eating something that is not part of our plan. This mental strength is as important, if not more important, than the mental strength we need on the gym floor. We can exercise everyday for an hour, but if we are going over our calorie budget, we are NOT going to see the weight loss results we want. Our habit of just mindless eating that we’ve perfected has to cease. Is it going to be difficult? Is it going to suck? Absolutely! But the feeling we get from having that mental strength and not succumbing to our “old self” behaviors is empowering. And the more we practice resisting, the closer we get to our goal.

 

Get Moving!

I’m teaching summer school and am the “fearless fitness leader” for Tuesday/Thursday workouts during the month of June for summer school teachers. We did a TABATA workout last week. TABATA is where you work really, really hard for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds and complete 8 rounds. Here’s the TABATA workout we did last week:

• Plank
• Bicep Curls
• Touch-n-Go/Squats
• Crunches
• Push-up or Chest Press
• Hip Bridge Hold

Meet a Member - Melissa T - week #58

All Well and Good!

May 19 & 26, 2015

 

Thoughts for the Week…

The month of May is typically filled with all sorts of celebrations…multiple parties to celebrate the end of another school year, graduations, retirement parties, birthdays, Memorial Day gatherings, etc. The one common item at almost all of these gatherings is not just food, but CAKE! The scale made it apparent that I’d eaten too much cake. I gained 3.2 pounds over the course of 2 weeks…that’s atrocious! It amazes me just how quickly a person can gain weight, and how much darn work it takes to get it back off.

 

As I look back at my Blog from a year ago, here is what was going on:

 

At Accountability last night I decided I needed a long-term goal. During this next week my job is to think about where my ultimate destination will be. I know I want the fat around my lower gut to be gone, my calves to be smaller, my arms to be less flappy, and my thighs to be less “thunderous”. Does that mean a specific number on the scale? Or do I just want my body to “feel” right? I don’t know yet.

 

Well, the fat around my lower gut is still there. Or maybe it’s just extra flabby skin that will never go away. My calves are smaller, but I still don’t like them. Sometimes I feel like my arms are more flappy because of the loose skin. And my thighs are still thunderous. So…Have I met those goals? Not exactly those goals in particular, but I can say I’ve met the more measurable goal of a specific number on the scale. And just because I’ve gained a couple of pounds and am above my goal weight, that doesn’t take away the fact that I’m well and good with how my body feels right now. So according to those terms, I’d say, YES! I’ve met my goal! Now to set a new one!

 

         

Get Moving!

School’s out for summer!! Workouts will return in August!

Meet a member - Melissa T. - Week #57

22 to 8

May 12, 2015

 

Thoughts for the Week…

Since I’ve met my weight goal, I’ve been maintaining quite well. I go up a little then down a little, but I’m consistently staying within 2 pounds of my goal weight. Two weeks ago I had 4 stars, 2 smileys, 1 frowny face and 6 workouts and gained 1.2 pounds. I ended this week with 4 stars, 1 smiley, 2 frowny faces and only 4 workouts and lost 0.4 pounds. There are so many other factors that go into losing weight besides eating and exercising that many of us forget about…sleep, stress, and drinking enough water are just a few. My accountability coach has referred to our bodies as one big science experiment. You just never know what really is happening in there!

 

When I first started at Square One I was wearing a size 22 in pants. The smallest I can ever remember being growing up was a 14. Because I’ve lost so much weight I now have a completely new wardrobe. I buy all of my work dress pants at Good Will. Shirts are more difficult to find at Good Will, so those I have to purchase elsewhere. My latest purchase of pants at Good Will consisted of 2 pair of Ann Taylor dress pants, each for $3.59, in a size 8! I’ve never, ever, ever, EVER been in single digit sizes before. It almost feels too good to be true!

 

         

Get Moving!

• 20 minute AMRAP
  • 30 squat jumps
  • 20 tricep dips
  • 30 lunges (each leg counts as 1)
  • 20 hands free push ups
  • 30 bag kicks (15 each side)
  • 20 burpees
  • 30 sit ups

Meet a member - Melissa T. - Week #56

Happy Cinco de no Drinko

May 5, 2015

 

Thoughts for the Week…

On any other May 5, you probably could have found me with some sort of drink in my hand celebrating Cinco de Mayo. On this year’s May 5, that didn’t happen. I’ve been alcohol free since August 15, 2014 (with the exception of 2 occasions). When I go out with friends and decline getting drinks, it’s almost as if they are more uncomfortable about me not drinking than I am. The first 6-8 weeks was pretty difficult, especially during football season. I didn’t go to any football parties for the first several games just knowing that it would be a trigger for me. I finally realized that if I really want to lose this weight then I have to give up alcohol. Not only was I adding the extra calories of many beers on the weekends, I was also adding the extra calories of all the junk I ate once I was intoxicated. And having 2 really high sad face calorie days in a row is pretty hard to bounce back from. I ended my Cinco de no Drinko having a star calorie day!

         

Get Moving!

• Two Rounds
  • 300 single jumps with jump rope
  • 90 squats
  • 80 sit ups
  • 70 push ups
  • 60 push press
  • 50 dips
  • 40 spider lunges
  • 30 burpees
  • 20 knees to elbows (laying on floor with hands behind your head, crunch and pull knees back towards elbows)
  • 1 minute wall Sit
• Repeat the exercises starting at the bottom of the list and then go back up the ladder.

Meet a Member - Melissa T. Week #55

That Thing Called “Life”

April 2015

 

Thoughts for the Week…

I knew I was behind a blog, maybe two, but when I went back and actually looked, I haven’t blogged since the end of March. WOW…time flies! Easter happened, state testing at school happened and life happened. Have you ever said, “Life just got in the way,” when talking about healthy eating or exercising? What does that mean? We are all very busy with this thing called “life”, but if we allow it “to get in the way” of a goal we’re trying to attain, we will never reach that goal. We will always have “life” to deal with. If we don’t have “life” to deal with, that means we’ve either just given up or have died! Neither of which we want! Here’s how I handle that thing called “life”:

 

1. PLAN! Planning takes time…lots of time! I try to have a weekly idea of what I will make for dinner each evening. If I’m able to cook 3 times during the workweek, hopefully that means the other 2 nights can be leftovers. I find that if I don’t plan for dinner meals, my children will just grab anything and everything they can and not really have eaten anything of substance. (Not a good habit to start and definitely not an easy one to stop.)
    
2. Keep committed to workouts! Since I started at Square One, I set aside certain days of the week that I planned to go to the gym. (There’s that word “plan” again.) Have there been days that I haven’t wanted to go? Have there been days I should’ve continued with the giant pile of laundry that’s been sitting there for a week? Have there been days that I was behind on lesson planning or grading and should do that instead? Yes…Yes…and YES! The will ALWAYS be things that you should do, but you need to a) remind yourself why you began this journey, b) remind yourself that you must take time for yourself, and c) remember the negative after thoughts you will have if you break that promise to yourself. Bottom line…just keep committed to workouts!

 

1. Stay Positive! We are the type of people who start and quit, start and quit, start and quit. We need to be surrounded by POSITIVES to help us remember that we are worth fighting this struggle! When we are faced with temptations, we forget the positives. We must fight back any temptations with POSITIVE thinking! We can never, ever, ever have too much positive!

         

Get Moving!

• 10 rounds of:
  • 10 burpees
  • 25 squats
  • 25 push ups
  • 10 box jumps
  • 25 sit ups
  • 10 tricep dips

Meet a Member - Melissa T. - Week #54

Stranger Danger Protection

March 31, 2015

Thoughts for the Week…
 In addition to my regularly scheduled workouts, I take my dog for a wog (combination of a walk and a jog) as often as I can when it’s nice outside. My dog is a Great Dane. Her name is Roo and she loves, loves, loves to go for a walk. She starts to howl when she sees me put my tennis shoes on and get my I-pod out. I take the same route through the neighborhood park every time we go. The park is one big circle with the entrance and the exit being at the same spot at the south end of the park. I enter the park on the north end and go around the circle. Last week when I took Roo it was pretty chilly so there wasn’t hardly any other people in the park. As I was nearing the south end, a white pickup truck caught my eye. As I looked at the truck it was obvious that the guy driving was watching me. He drove towards the exit and I thought I was in the clear, until he made a dog-leg turn and came back towards me, drove past me and even as he passed me was turning back around staring. At this point I was freaking out! I didn’t have my phone with me. I tend to not take it with me because I don’t have anywhere to put it. Luckily there was a jogger coming towards me. I thought to myself, “I have to say something to him. I have to pretend I know him.” As the jogger got close to me I put my arms out and said, “Oh my gosh, how are you?” I turned around and started jogging him. Roo was hesitant, but I dragged her along. As we jogged I told him that guy in the truck was really freaking me out. He said he noticed him staring at me, almost as if he knew me. I told him he doesn’t know me. By that time, the guy in the truck had turned back around, went passed us and then drove out onto Q street. Until then, I’d never felt like I’ve ever needed to carry any sort of stranger danger protection. I have since bought a little running belt; it’s just like a fanny pack only the pack part of it is mesh. Mine is a little cooler than a regular fanny pack too because it’s bright pink! My phone fits just fine in there too. My mom also bought me a little stun gun. There’s a little hole that my middle finger goes through and it fits right in my hand. I turn it on when I leave my house and have it in my hand ready to go at all times on my wog. I hope I never have to use it!

     Because of my weight, I’ve never wanted to do things that would in any way bring attention to myself. Since I’ve lost 83 pounds (yeah!) I’m finding myself wanting to do things I’ve NEVER wanted to before. We have a friend who’s a hot air balloon pilot and has been trying to get me up in the hot air balloon for years. My answer has always been no. Just a few months ago he asked and I immediately said, “Yes!” I told my husband the other day that I want to learn how to shoot a pistol and get my concealed carry permit. He said, “You’ve never wanted to even touch a gun before, why now?” I didn’t have an answer for him, but as I think about it, I think it’s because for once in my life, I don’t have to worry about my weight getting in the way of me doing things. I feel like I’m becoming a whole new person and it’s pretty neat to think about all of the possibilities that are ahead of me to accomplish! I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without Square One. The place, the trainers and the others members saved me!

Get Moving!

·      For time:

o   50 burpees

o   25 pushups

o   50 box jumps

o   25 push ups

o   50 walking lunges (each leg = 1)

o   25 push ups

o   50 thrusters (squat with overhead press)

o   25 pushups