Friday, May 30, 2014

Meet a Member - Melissa T, Week 16

Week 16
May 27, 2014
Thoughts for the Week…
·        Down another 2.2 pounds for a grand total so far of 45 pounds.

·        The gym was closed over Memorial Day weekend so nothing new to share for Train Your Brain.

·        This last week was not a good week for workouts…between the gym being closed over the weekend and no workouts at school because it was the last week of school, I only managed to get in 2 workouts (Tuesday and Thursday). By Monday my back was so stiff and I think it’s because I hadn’t worked out. Of course I do have 15 weeks of workouts I could refer back to and could have done over the weekend, however it’s just not the same working out by myself. I’m not as motivated to “kick butt” and it’s definitely not as much fun!

·        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.

WOD (Workout of the Day)
·        No after school workouts this past week. Our workout leader has promised to email us a weekly workout, so stay tuned!


Ponder this…


·        Don’t studies show that losing weight is 80% eating right and 20% exercise? So if you exercise but don’t eat right you are just cancelling out calories. Eat clean…Train mean…Get lean!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Meet a Member - Arianna P, Week 15

Stalling...

Tick tock, tick tock. Time passes, and I feel like I'm going backwards. I've been told that the number on the scale isn;t as important as the little things that are changing. But when you start off as heavy as I was/am, the number become more important. Last week, I had a goal of three stars. I didn't make that goal, but I wasn't surprised about that. I had more sad faces than I ever has at the same time. I gained last week. This week, I was so much better. I WANTED to get those 3 stars. I wanted it this week. I was more active last week than I had been in a while. I worked out Monday and TuesdayWednesday was Field Day at my school. Get this... I... RAN! I was running a station based on "Dairy of a Wimpy Kid," where the kids were trying to spread the Cheese Touch. But the cheese was wet sponges. When it was 6th grade's turn, I played too. I ran around, avoiding the Cheese Touch and chasing after the kids to spread the infection when I got it. It was so much fun!

When it came time for accountability, I knew I had lost at least a pound. I ran for Pete's sake! Weigh in time. I gained another 1.8 pounds. What the heck is going on?!? After everyone weighed in, we were asked if we had any goals. I said, "I'm done with that. I tried making a goal and did it both ways as far as my eating. I have gained darn near the last 4 weeks. I'm done with trying to set a goal, because it doesn't work." Everyone asked me, "What did you do when you first started?" 

"I ate, not paying too much attention to what I ate. That sounds bad. I mean I payed attention and tried to watch sugar and fast food and stuff. But I wasn't solely focused on getting stars. I ate. I worked out. That's it."

"So go back to that. Eat and work out. Don't focus on getting the stars. So no goals this week."

Back to the basics. Without aiming for stars, I naturally ate under my calories two days so far this week. I'm trying not to get too hopeful, but maybe I will actually lose this upcoming week. I need to get measured again. It's been awhile. Maybe my measurements will be different.

Keep on keepin' on! =)

Friday, May 23, 2014

Meet a Member - Mel T, Week 15

Week 15
May 20, 2014
Thoughts for the Week…
·        Down 2.4 pounds for a grand total so far of 42.8 pounds.

·        It was a pretty uneventful week. On the up side, my emotions are back to normal and I feel like that happy-go-lucky person I usually am. Wasn’t there a full moon last weekend? I often think change in weather and/or a full moon makes the “crazies” come out. I definitely was one of them!

·         In Train Your Brain, Marty talked to us about impulsivity. Impulsivity is not giving any thought before making a decision. The nemesis of impulsivity? PLANNING! When we plan we eliminate the “thinking” associated with food and are less vulnerable to our impulses. One thing that has helped me take out all of the “thinking” associated with food is eating the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. By doing this, I always know how many calories I still have for dinner, which is always quite a few. If something does come up at night (an unplanned drink, or an unplanned restaurant dinner) I know that I can partake in it and still not be over my daily calories.

WOD (Workout of the Day)
·        No after school workouts this past week. Our workout leader must already think it is summer vacation!


Ponder this…


·        The main reason for my successful weight loss so far is my “laser-like focus”. There have been very few days where I have had sad faces for my calorie intake. I am a WARRIOR!

Friday, May 16, 2014

Meet a Member - Melissa T, Week 14

Week 14
May 13, 2014
Thoughts for the Week…
·        Another 5.2 pounds down for a grand total so far of 40.4 pounds. Unbelievable! Since I’d been having so many star minuses the past few weeks, my strategy for this last week was to up my caloric intake for breakfast. In doing this I’ve been able to consume the recommended number of calories for losing weight, instead of being under the recommended number of calories. Not eating enough can be just as bad on our bodies as eating too much.

·        My goal every day is to be positive and upbeat. Even if something has me down, I try not to let it show because someone somewhere is always fighting a bigger battle than I am. But the last few days, my emotions have beat out the positive. Saturday in Train Your Brain we discussed how having confidence gives us control. One girl shared how even though she is losing weight, feeling better and looking better, she is still afraid to share with her Facebook friends her successes. She doesn’t want anyone to know because if she does fail at this, she will be the only one to know. Me, on the other hand, have told the whole world! So if I fail at this, EVERYONE will know and I don’t want people to be disappointed in me. I have lost 40.4 pounds because I am afraid of disappointing my supporters. I have lost weight EVERY single week since February 8 because I am afraid of disappointing my supporters. I know there will be a time when I step on the scale and I won’t have lost anything, or I will have gained weight. Am I going to have the support then like I do now? I don’t know…I would like to think so, but that seed of doubt has me believing otherwise.

·        Before I joined Square One I hadn’t even heard of the “Seed of Doubt”. We all have a seed of doubt inside of us; it’s just that some of our seeds are bigger than others. Sometimes the seed of doubt says, “I’m just meant to be big”, “I’m weak”, “It’s hopeless”, or “I’m never going to be able to do this”. When we decide to do something about this negative feeling we have but it fails, our seed gets bigger. We try again…fail…and the seed gets bigger. Sometimes we look for the negatives, which makes us shape our negative view even more. The seed of doubt grows so big that we end up believing those thoughts of, “I’m weak”, “It’s hopeless”, etc as absolute truths. I’ve realized that not only is my seed of doubt in healthy eating, dieting or losing weight, my seed of doubt is also in being a “good wife”. What is a “good wife”? One that keeps the house clean, keeps the laundry washed (not to mention dried and put away), cooks wonderful meals, and on and on and on. I’ve had so many failures in not meeting the expectations of my husband that my seed of doubt has shaped my thoughts and beliefs into me believing that I am a terrible wife. Seed of Doubt...how I effing hate you!

WOD (Workout of the Day)
·        I work out with a group of teachers on Wednesdays and Fridays after school. Below is one of the workouts that we did:

o   2 rounds
§  Burpee broad jumps 25m out and back
§  20 windmills per side with kettle bell
§  Walking lunge 25m out and back
§  50 Box jumps
§  4x Sprint (25m out and back)
§  40 Double-unders (120 singles)
§  Bear crawl 25m out and back
§  20 Knees to elbows

·        This work out was one of the toughest ones so far!


Ponder this…


·        Wow! I wholeheartedly wish this quote were true for me; it’s not, however, I can truthfully say that resisting temptations is much easier than it was 4 months ago. As Marty says, “Don’t sacrifice the goal for the sake of the pleasure.”

Meet a Member - Arianna P, Week 14

Re-dedication

A few weeks back, I titled my blog "Call me Cecil," like the cartoon character Cecil Turtle because I was going to keep plodding away at my fitness goals. After some trying weeks, major hills, and disappointments, now I am thinking "Call me Flip Flop." That is what my weight has been doing the last 3-4 weeks. I had the week where I lost almost 4 pounds. The next week I gained 6. Last week, I gained another 1.8. This week, I lost 0.4 pounds. At least I didn't gain, so I am happy about that. Even a small loss is still a loss.

Last week's goal was to get three stars. And it was rough for me to do. That first day after accountability, I did it. I had one down, at least 2 more to go. the next 3 days, I ate almost 3000 calories each day. I don't know what happened. No planning? Being hungry? Not enough protein (which I think is one of my biggest issues)? Then I had one star day (yes!), followed by another 2800+ day. Monday I was doing so good, but I went 20 calories over because I had a quarter of an apple at lunch that I forgot to log. My calories were all off then. I didn't feel like it at the time, but I guess I said, "Screw it," and jumped off the cliff. Earlier in the week, my sister and I got some fast food for dinner and there was a free lemon cake with it. Every day, I'd open the fridge and see it sitting there, and resisted. Then yesterday, I thought to myself, "I'm sick of seeing this in here, but I don't want to waste it." So what did I do? I ate the rest of the cake. Four small slices = 840 calories. I went from being a practically star zone smiley face to a "what the hell happened?" sad face. I have a bad problem with food. I feel like I should have it under control by now, but it still controls me. That has to change.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Meet a Member: Melissa T., Week 13


Thoughts for the Week…

  • I didn’t weigh in last week because of my daughter’s music concert so it’s been 2 weeks since my last official weigh in. Even though within the past 14 days I had 6 star minuses, 5 stars, 1 smiley face, 1 sad face and 9 workouts, I just wasn’t “feeling it”. Two weeks between weighing in is just too long. However… I was down another 2.8 for a grand total of 35.2 pounds in just 3 months!
     
  • Our accountability leader asked why I have star minuses. A star minus is when I don’t get to my calorie range to lose weight. I typically am around a hundred calories (or less) short of meeting the bottom number of my star range. I tend to have many calories left at the end of the day when it’s dinnertime, but get filled up quickly. Then I forget to eat something before I go to bed, thus resulting in a star minus. My strategy to help this issue is to consume more calories at breakfast, so I don’t have quite so many to eat at the end of the day.

 

  • Train Your Brain is back to the beginning of its cycle. Today was an introduction of what is going to happen over the next several weeks. Marty has given each of us a little note card sized box. This is our “Toolbox”. We must fill our toolboxes with tools that help shape our thinking.

 

WOD (Workout of the Day)

  • I work out with a group of teachers on Wednesdays and Fridays after school. Below is one of the workouts that we did:
     
    • 50 Double Unders (or 150 single jumps)
    • 50 Burpees
    • 50 Wall Ball Shots
    • 50 Back Extensions
    • 50 Push Press
    • 50 Knees to Elbows
    • 50 Steps of Walking Lunge
    • 50 Kettlebell Swings
    • 50 Deadlifts
    • 50 Box Jumps

 

  • This work out was tough, however it didn’t take me nearly as long as I anticipated. And once it was over, boy I felt great!
     
     

Ponder this…



  • Marty starts every Train Your Brain session off with us sharing our positives. To be successful in weight loss (or anything for that matter) one thing we MUST keep in our toolbox and refer to often is positive thinking. When we are faced with temptations we forget the positives. Fight back with POSITIVE THINKING!