Man, I feel good!

So, I got back on track today. I did my workout. I was feeling soo much better because I actually got sleep last night- 11 hours to be exact. About damn time. I can breathe out of my nose and taste food again, hallelujah! My workout lasted 2.5 hours. At times I wanted to quit but new it was for the best. Here are some pics

My shirt is full of sweat, btw.

I burned a shit ton of calories...anyone wanna take a guess at how many I burned?



Got your guess...

Here it is..

I'd say this was a perfect start to my week and getting back on track. What did you guys do today for a workout?

Get back on track.

So as you all know, or atleast if you read my last blog- I was sick all week and still am. I still have a nasty cough that sounds like I am dieing and my nose is still full of wonderful multi-colored mucus. I haven't gotten a good nights sleep in a week, so I am grumpy and during the day I have no energy. Yeah, I know I bet you all are pulling our the worlds smallest violin and playing me a song. I'm sorry for bitching and moaning but man I just want to be able to breathe out of my nose and taste the food I eat.

So my weekend was not all that bad. On Friday after work, I went to play Bingo at Potawatomi in Milwaukee with Heebs and my friend Adam. Adam is in the Air Force and is stationed out in Wyoming. He only has a certain amount of time home until he has to head back. It was fun to just talk with each other because we all grew close in high school. Bingo did not go our way, none of us won but three people at the other side of our table did. It would have been nice to win a couple hundred bucks but there is always next time.

On saturday morning, my friend Heebs and I went to give blood. I used to give platelets regualarly but now with working 40 hours a week and trying to workout after, donating is not the top priority unfortunately.It was not my idea to go give blood, but as I was in the interview cubical an older women was talking to me. She asked me the same questions as usual like..

"Can you spell your last name for me?"
"What's your D.O.B?"
"How tall are you?"
She then asked me...
"How much do you weigh?"
I replied proudly, "196 pounds"
The woman looked at me and said "You do NOT weigh that"
Me- " Yes, I do"
The women looked shocked and said " really? You do NOT look like you weigh 196 pounds"
Me- "Thank you, you do not know how good that makes me feel"
The women then says, " You must have a lot of muscle"

That conversation is something that will always stick with me. After that awesome comment the lady made she did my mini physical. She had to prick my finger to see what my iron level was. It was high enough to donate. She noticed that I was blood type A-. She looked at me and said, "Your blood that you donate today, its going to be going to a baby." I was shocked, I know going and giving blood is a gift that most people don't even know-it saves lives. Knowing that my blood was going to help a baby survive was one of the greatest feelings I have ever had, besides being under 200 pounds. I literally and I kid you not, I got goosebumps.

So, she took me out to my chair where I donated. I was done within ten minutes. My friend Heebs couldn't donate because her iron was too low. As we left the Blood Center, I realized I came in not caring about giving blood and I left knowing that I helped a baby survive. GO GIVE BLOOD!

That night I went up to Sun Prairie, WI with my friend Abbey and we puppy sat my brother and his fiance's dog, Lucy. It was fun, because it was the first time I got to see my brother's apartment. We ended up just hanging out watching Super Bad and having a couple beers. I played catch with Lucy until I got tired of throwing the damn ball. They have a balcony, so Abbey and I sat on the balcony and just talked while we watched the storm roll in. We went to bed and then ended up having to get up at 6 am, ugh, because Abbey had to work at 8am. It's only about an hr drive but when its 615am no one is on the highway so I was cruisin at 80 mph. Thank Jesus no Po-Po were out to pull me over.

This was taken at Easter of this year. Me and Lucy, she's much bigger now.

Today, I got to go to a Brewers Game with my girls, Becca and Heebs. It was a one o'clock game so we went out to breakfast before the game. I had one beer before we went into Miller Park. It started out cloudy and muggy and then it turned into sunny and humid. We had great seats and the game was fun. The Brewers were hitting very well and we ended up beating the Seattle Mariners. After I got dropped off at my house, around 345 I came into my room and passed out until 630.

Me, Becca and Heebs at the Brewers game

The view from our Loge Seats. Thank God we were in the shade otherwise I would have been sweating my ass off!

The thing about this weekend was that I didn't workout friday, saturday or today (sunday). That is the first time in 4 months where I didn't work out all weekend. I feel "dirty" in a way. I mean, after a while its ingrained in your brain to workout. I also, didn't eat as well as I wanted to this weekend. I was on the run a lot and just didn't prepare anything. Yeah, I know it's my fault and I learned the hard way for sure. I just feel out of my routine. I need to get back on track. Tomorrow is the start of a new week, a better week.

who gets sick in the summer...this girl

Stepped on the scale this morning and was really nervous- I got sick this week starting on tuesday. It started as a sore throat. It wasn't bad but it didn't feel good at all. That night I got no sleep and it didnt help having to wake up at 6am. As the week progressed I started getting a stuffy nose which turned into me not being able to breathe at all. On top of that, I work with kids for 10 hours a day. I yell...alot at them and by thursday I was losing my voice. The voice that I did have left sounded like a man. awesome. Honestly, who gets sick in the summer? I do.

Back to the scale. I was very nervous because this week just felt off for me. I worked out and I ate pretty well but when your sick you lose motivation. I know I could have done more but man, I was dog tired. All I wanted to do was sleep and sleep and sleep. I literally FORCED myself this week to workout. I can't complain though because this is what the scale showed me...

I gained .2 pounds. It sucks to gain weight but I know I can lose that easily. I can tell you that my cold/flu is going away. I still have a nasty cough and I don't sounds like a man anymore. Yay! Well, I hope your week went better than mine. This weekend I am going up to Madison to puppy sit with a friend for my brother and his fiance. Then on Sunday I get to go to a Brewers game with a couple of people. Hopefully this weekend is better and I hope you all have a happy and healthy weekend. Btw, take vitamin C so you don't get sick and sound like a man ;)

I won an Award- Woot Woot!

So, today I was doing my usual monday workout routine. I added a couple things onto, it was nice outside-a little humid but not too bad. I ended up working out for 2 hours later and 1800 calories later I came back inside dripping sweat and smelling like roses. I logged onto my computer and checked my blog. I saw that I got another comment on my blog from last saturday. So- I click on it to see who it is and it's my good friend Vinny. In his comment he says that he gave me an award. An award? Like a trophy or a certificate...MVP!? No, not that kind of award, a blogger award.

This is my first blogger award! I am very excited to be given this- It makes me feel that all my blogging is actaully worth something to someone. Plus, it was a great way to start the week off :D

Along with the award you have to give 7 others the award as well
Tricia at Fight Fat Phobia
Kristen at Eat, Shrink and Smile
Tyler at 344 Pounds
Tara at 263 and counting
http://theantijared.blogspot.com/
Kaia

Also, I have to tell you fellow bloggers 7 things about myself that you don't know...are you ready?

1. I live in the same house my ma grew up in
2. I have 3 cats- Ninja, goofy and ginga cat
3. I am a Libra
4. I was a State Hoop Shoot Free-Throw Champion in 5th grade...that's wassup
5. I was named Most Valuable Senior Athlete Senior year in high school
6. I have 4 other siblings- One sister and 3 brothers
7. My favorite actor since 6th grade is Vin Diesel <3


Congrats to all the Winners! Have a great week :)

Saturday Morning Weigh-In

This morning I stepped on the scale and read 196.2, I cannot be more happy with how the past month has gone. My total loss of weight has been 34 pounds. I cannot tell you how awesome I feel physically,mentally and emotionally. I knew losing weight is good but I didn't think it would have such a huge impact on me. I am excited to hit the 40 pound barrier in a couple of weeks. I have notice my body has changed all over- in my face, legs, stomache plus I have noticed that my biceps, triceps and calves are more defined.

My new swim suit :)

Today we opened our pool. Finally. It's been pretty good weather here in WI- Next week its supposed to be in the 90's. Guess who's going to be tanning in that bad boy all week-Me.

So this was my first week of work, as I said before I was quite nervous about it because for the past two years work has been a place where I would just eat horribly food then come home and just lay in front of the tv. Well, this first week of work went absolutely fantastic. I learned that I can eat right at work and then go home and have energy to work out. It's a great feeling to know that I can do it and so can you guys and gals!

So much more energy.

So today I started my first day of work. I am a couselor at our local YMCA for Summer Rec. Basically I get paid to play games with kids...not to bad of a job I must say. I've worked there for three summers now. Today, I noticed some things that surprised me. For the past two years, I've gone into the pool with the kids maybe once or twice because I obviously looked horrible in a swim suit and didn't want to be judge by anyone in the pool area. Today, I gladly got into my swim suit and swam with the kids. I didn't feel embarrassed- I felt confident.

For the past two years, I was lazy. I didn't want to play games with the kids, I wanted to just sit and watch. If I did play I could only play for 10 minutes before I would be to tired and go sit down. What kind of example was I setting for the kids? Not a good one that's for sure. Today, I played capture the flag for a good 45 minutes with a group of kids. I was running around like I was a kid again- I was having a blast and the kids were loving that I was running around with them. Let me tell you, I was full of sweat but it was a good feeling. I was ready to keep on playing for another hour.

One of the biggest concerns I had was eating during the day at work. A lot of the snacks we give the kids are somewhat "healthy". The get candy on certain days if their good which is in the cabinets, there are vending machines full of crappy food, the juice we give the kids is full of sugar. I ate horribly at work. I would pack a lunch full of food that I totally didn't need to eat. Then I would go find some candy and shove that in my mouth. Empty calories. I knew I was full too but my hand just kept shoving food in my mouth. Today, after months of re-teaching myself how to eat food and STOP eating when I'm full- I packed a good lunch. I ate it and I was satisfied. I brought an apple for snack time. I brought a liter of water and drank that throughout the day. I was successful. I didn't eat crap- I ate food that had nutritional value.

The past two years, I would work 10 hour days. I would come home and feel beat- find something in the house to eat and just lay on the couch and watch TV. Or if I had a really hard day at work, I would come home and eat and then go to bed. No exercise. Today, I came home- ate my oatmeal ( I <3 oatmeal ) drank my 24oz of water and then worked out for an hour. I wasn't tired, I felt good-energized. After I got done working out, I felt even better. Never would I have thought that losing 30+ pounds would have changed me physically so much. I love how I feel and I will keep on being active.

Motivation.

Sorry I haven't posted anything lately. I started training for my job at the YMCA. I am a summer rec counselor and training is done every year- we get paid to do it so I can't complain. I've been having to get up earlier then usual this week and I hate waking up early..I am not a morning person. I hate when I have to talk to people right when I wake up. I seriously need an hour before I can talk to someone without sounding like a bitch-to put it bluntly. Training goes from 8:30 to 3:00, kind of like a school day. Eight hours sitting in a chair-Not fun. I've been really pleased with myself, they brought food like donuts, pastries and other junk food and I have not ate any of it. Although I did have 2 pieces of pizza on the first day but I made damn sure that I worked those babies off when I got home.

It's been hard getting home at 3:30 and then forcing myself to workout. I usually try to let myself relax for a bit and then go workout but yesterday all I wanted to do was sleep. I then remembered that picture of myself at 231 pounds and got my ass up and hit the elliptical hard. A lot of time the reason why people don't work out or stop working out is lack of motivation. I'll admit, I have those days too where all I wanna do is come home and sit in front of the tv. But then I realize that is what got me to being fat in the first place. Honestly, how long can you use that excuse before you weigh 300, 400, 500 pounds. Motivation is something that you have to find in yourself. If I wasn't motivated to lose weight, I wouldn't be 199 pounds today, I would be 250 pounds or heavier.

So, for all you people out there that read blogs or are looking for a way to lose weight, there is no secret, there is no magic potion. You have to WANT to lose weight. You have to MOTIVATE yourself, no one else can do it. Sure they can give you words of encouragement, but their not the ones in your body. Motivation is key, if you don't have it- you won't lose weight. Get Some.

Welcome, to Onederland

I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. Stepping on a scale and finally seeing a 1 in front instead of a 2 is such an amazing feeling. Starting out at 231 pounds, I thought to myself, it will take me forever to finally weigh 199 pounds. Well, it doesnt happen over night that's for sure. But it took about 4 months...which actually went by rather fast. I have learned and noticed a lot over the past 4 months of my weight loss journey..

• Exercise is KEY ( cardio to be exact )
• Eating right and in good portions
• Eat when I'm hungry, stop when I feel full
• Just because your fat, doesn't mean you can't get healthy
• My back problem that I had is now gone
• Pictures are really worth a 1000 words- good and bad, Shows progress
• I finally enjoy going shopping
• I need to find clothes in smaller sizes *cough* MEDIUM
• I know what it's like to push yourself even when you don't want to workout
• Listen to your body and love your body
• I've learned that hard work and dedication really do get you somewhere
• Letting people know your trying to lose weight helped keep me accountable
• I have awesome blood pressure
• H20 is my best friend
• Blogging has helped me get through this journey and I have met some great people
• I have lost weight in all areas of my body
• It's ok to splurge 
• Compliments are wonderful
• You will have successes and failures along the way, don't let the failures keep you down
• I have a lot more energy and I feel great
• I enjoy cooking my own meal using fresh produce
• I will NEVER go back to being 231 pounds. NEVER.

I know this sounds cliche but I never thought I was going to weigh under 200 pounds again. But when you stay motivated and dedicated to getting to a certain goal, it can happen. You have to make working out a priority in your life or you wont see the results that you want. The ride to getting to Onederland has been bumpy. There have been times when I jump up and down, scream, smile, laugh and cry. I've wanted to quit a lot but stayed with it. Losing weight is a mind game- you can't let one bad weigh-in stop you. Just keep on going, you'll get there eventually and it's so worth it.

Welcome to Onederland...Hope you enjoy your stay.

WWC-weekend warrior challeng #1

I've read numerous blogs over the past couple of months and I've seen the WWC. This weeks WWC is hosted by jeremy. The object is to pick 2-3 goals that you want to accomplish over the weekend and then you write about the successes and failures of them. I work out about 6 times a week and I give myself usually a day to rest- but I do workout on the weekends. So, here are my three things I am going to accomplish.

1. Drink a gallon of water each day
2. Burn 1400 calories on the ellipitical
3. SPLURGE- 1 scoop of any flavored ice cream

#3 may be the hardest one- don't know if I'll be able to do it ;)

I encourage everyone to take part in this- the weather is getting better outside and this would be a perfect way to take advantage of it and work out.

rain can't stop me.

For the champion of the universe challenge this is what I did my circuit workout plus some elliptical. I also ran up and down my street for NRD- It was raining so I didn't really run as much as I wanted. Here are some pics

Calories burned for Champion of the Universe...not too shabby

Boo it's raining...that's not going to stop me from running though.

Look at the lovely, sweaty person after working out ;)

Faint rainbow makes it all better.

Champion of the Universe & NRD

Bloggers- Will you be competing in the Champion of the Universe Challenge and or National Running Day? For the challenge you can do any workout you want, after you are done working out post a picture of your sweaty self to your blog or the 344 forum. Post how many calories you burned, the winner is the person who burned the most calories. They will also get to use this as their avatar until the next challenge....

You may be wondering about the NRD-National Running Day. Get out and go run. Check out Tara's blog and or http://seattlerunnergirl.wordpress.com/ To win some pretty sweet prizes! Good Luck to all.

Change- For the better.

So as I was reading Tara's blog http://263andcounting.com/ I saw that she was going down in sizes in both pants and shirts. I know how she feels about going shopping and literally crying because of how much progress is going on with your body. I went to Old Navy and I usually got shirts in an XL and pants in an 18 or 20. A month or so ago I went shopping with my friend, Heebs and we went to Old Navy. They started putting out summer clothing and there were tons of V-neck shirts that were sooo cute. (I LOVE V-necks) I grabbed 5 shirts in XL and a pair of Bermuda shorts in a size 20. I got into the the dressing room and put on a t shirt- WHAT?! It's too BIG? I checked the size to see if I had accidentally grabbed a XXL. Nope it was an XL- I couldn't believe it. I thought maybe someone had tried it on and stretched it out so I tried another shirt. STILL TOO BIG! I then tried the pair of shorts on and they didn't even stay up when I put them on my waist. I couldn't believe it. I went back and picked out a shirt in a Large and a size 16 in the shorts. I went back to try both on. The shirt fit perfectly. I stared in the mirror and just smiled- I really just wanted to scream with joy but everyone would probably think I was crazy. I tried the shorts and and they also fit good-actually they were a little lose but I knew another size down would be too tight. It was the best shopping experience I have ever gone through.

This is the outfit I bought- It's when I new all my hard work was paying off, and shit I think I look pretty damn good.

I recently went through my closet and tried on some of my clothes... remember this pic

I tried that shirt on and this is what it looked like..

Here's another one...

This shirt is huge on me now. I just laughed when I put it on- still in shock that I wore a XL and it fit me pretty good.
I then went through more shirts and I gave 6 away to Good Will and I'm hoping my mom can shrink a sweater.After that therapy session on how hard work pays off I went to do my elliptical workout with some ladder drills, take a guess at how many cals I burned-ok did you guess a number...here it is

Ok- for all of you who don't know, we are doing a Champion of the Universe challenge tomorrow. You can do any work out you want. After your done working out take a picture of your sweaty self and post it on your blog or the 344 Forum-under Champion of the universe. The person who burns the most cals will be the Champion and will get to use this as their avatar until the next challenge.

Will it be you?