Coming Up For Air

Wow, I am finally caught up with all of my transcripts!!!!!  Ever since mid-July, I have been pleasantly swamped with transcripts.  The money has been fantastic, I can't complain.  I'm definitely looking forward to a relaxing weekend coming up.

Other than work, what have I been doing?  Well, I'm still training with Sarah twice a week.  We've been taking it easy the last two weeks because my back has been hurting.  Turns out, my pirifomis were mega tight.  Thankfully, Drea loosened them up and I am feel back to my good ole 100%.  Starting this Sunday, Sarah and I are returned to our usual heavy lifting.

I'm still doing Pilates twice a week with Cassie.  There has been some upheaval in the Pilates department, but things are falling into place with the hiring of Lindsay Hill.  I haven't officially been introduced, but I'm sure she'll become my favorite Hill at LTF Novi.

Speaking of LTF Novi management, I am currently beefing with Sean Dick over what I like to call The Great Hot Chocolate War of 2014.  Long story short, Sean  promised Linda and I free hot chocolate because of the extremely cold temperature in the Pilate studio and he FAILED to deliver.  He has promised to go to Starbucks and get us hot chocolate (hold the whipped cream, of course) next Tuesday and he better follow through or else all Hell is going to break loose....and that's just what Linda is going to do him!!!!!

I have Friday off from work and I plan on making my grand return  to Spinning.  I have also signed up for the Kettlebell Workshop on Saturday morning.  I like to think I am pretty astute with the kettlebells, but it'll just be a nice free workout.

I am still doing Nutrition Coaching with Jillian.  I lost 6 pounds in two weeks.  While the scale is going down, my body is adjusting as well.  My current workout shirts are extremely loose in the waist and hip area.  Time to bust out the smaller size I brought earlier in the year!!!!

I'm watching and enjoying the latest season of the Biggest Loser.  I really like the new trainers, Jessie and Jen.    Of course, Dolvett is my favorite.

And that's pretty much what's going on with me.  I have been quiet on the blog, but I'm still plugging away.  I'm closing in on 18 months on this journey and I'm still happy with how things are going.  I'm always learning and improving, and getting stronger.

One Year Anniversary

                                                     May 23, 2013                                    May 15, 2014

Today marks the one year anniversary since my first workout with Sarah.  Wow, an entire year.  We sure have been through a lot.  We started as trainer-client and I would definitely say that we are friends, too.  I have to text Sarah every day for something even just to check in.  

I remember that first workout and how I was unable to finish it because my blood sugar was going wonky.  I felt like such an asshole.  Sarah must have thought I was a mess.

But I've kept plugging away and made some huge strides.  I lost 50 pounds and then gained a little back and settled into a plateau, but maintaining my general body fat percentage more or less.   I am currently doing D.tox in an effort to get more control of my diet, press the restart button, and move forward with progress.  All the while maintaining a positive outlook about 90 percent of that time.

One year ago today, my knees ached, my blood pressure and blood glucose were under control.  Now, my knee pain is maintained, my blood pressure and blood glucose are lower and within normal levels.  My doctor is thrilled with my progress and hopes to get me off my meds soon.

I've tried my hands at Pilates, yoga, spinning, and running.  I love Pilates and have now increased to two classes a week.  I try to do yoga at least once a week.  I've taken a break from spinning because of an adrenal fatigue issue I had.  I don't run because I just don't like it.  I prefer to just do the first week of Couch to 5k over and over than distance training.  I prefer sprints.  

The weight is coming off slow and that's cool.  I'm learning how to take the every day challenges that come with working hard to achieve what you want.  I can splurge and that's fine.  I can plateau and not let it get the best of me.  I can learn what my body likes and dislikes.  My body hates carbs big time.

I've been off pop and fast food since early June 2013!  I've never been off pop this long ever!!  I've even stopped biting my fingernails.

I've even gotten comfortable showing my pictures.  That is huge for me because I haven't had Sarah show me any of the progress pictures we've taken throughout the year.  I think I'm really turning a corner.

I'm really excited to see where I'll be a year from now.  I'm reflecting on the last year today, but tomorrow starts the work on Year 2.

Pilates/Pie and Lattes

It's Tuesday and for me that's Pilates day for me at Lifetime.  I first started taking Pilates classes about 12 years ago when I lived Downriver.  At that time, I was sporadically using my Bally's membership that I got in 1996 when I lived in Chicago.  Follow me?  Okay.

So, during my meeting in May with Greg, I mentioned that I liked Pilates.  Well, I love Pilates actually but it seems like it's hard to find.  I was much bigger in May than 12 years ago and Pilates isn't for wimps.  All I had ever done was mat classes, never ever had I been on a Reformer, but I REALLY wanted to try one.  Greg told me to come to the Saturday class at noon and Cassie would help me out.  Okay.

I was so excited!  I hadn't done Pilates in years.  I couldn't wait for Saturday!!!

Finally Saturday arrived and I went to the  Pilates studio.  Unfortunately there were too many of us to do a Reformer class because Greg kinda forgot to tell Cassie I was coming to check it out.  Oops.  But it was a nice sunny Spring Saturday in Michigan, so we went outside and did a mat class, which is what I was used to anyway.

I loved it!  I didn't realize how much I missed doing Pilates.  I was so happy to be doing it again.  And I think I did pretty good, all things considered.

After class, I spoke with Cassie to talk about what I should do.  I really wanted to take Pilates again and thankfully I was able to do it. I signed up for two private sessions to get acclimated to the Reformer and then I would start attending the Tuesday 7 pm class that started in early June.  

Since June, I have been faithfully attending that class.  I just adore Cassie.  She is an awesome instructor.  And I love the ladies in my class, Linda and Maureen.  We have about as much fun as you can have in Pilates and still work your butt off.  I LOVE waking up on Wednesday mornings and feeling my core aching from class the night before.

Also, I feel like I've come a long way since that first class.  My range of motion on some of the exercises we do has vastly improved.   My abs look pretty decent so far.  I think Pilates has helped me stay firm and avoid the dreaded flab that sometimes accompanies weight loss.  

So, my Pilates goal for 2014 is to continue with my class and possibly add on a second day a week.  

I'm really thankful that I can do this and that I got back into it.

An Introduction

I'm writing this partially because my trainer, Sarah Depa, thought it would be a good idea.  I have written blogs before and I think I'm pretty good at expressing myself in words.

As of this date, I have lost approximately 45 pounds.  I say "approximately" because I weigh myself at home, in the morning, and I use my bathroom scale as my official weigh-in scale.  Sarah weighs me in every Monday before our workout, but that's not an empty stomach weight.  I like weighing myself on an empty stomach (and colon).

I started this journey on May 15, 2013.  I already belonged to my gym (Lifetime Fitness Novi), but I hadn't gone there for eight months.  I joined Lifetime in March of 2012 and I joined the TEAM Weight Loss class and attended for two 12 week sessions.  I didn't  change my diet, I wasn't as motivated, it just wasn't "my time".

I had been thinking about coming back to the gym for a while.  I wasn't happy with my appearance.  In November 2012, my doctor suggested I have weight loss surgery.  I was just getting too large and becoming too much of a health risk.  Maybe if I had health insurance at that time, I would have seriously taken my doctor up on her recommendation.  But I knew how to lose weight the "old-fashioned way."  In 2010, I lost 30 pounds while working with a personal trainer for 30 minutes twice a week and eating clean.  I just had to find the motivation to get started.

In April of 2013, Greg Hill from Lifetime started bugging me via email about coming back in since I still had some unused TEAM sessions.  Ugh, okay.  I was nervous.  Lifetime is HUGE and a bit intimidating.  But I was paying for a gym membership month after month and not using it.

I met with Greg and told him what exercises I liked.  I also told him to NEVER EVER high-five me.  I hate that shit.  I could tell he was a high-fiver and I had to put him in his place immediately or else I was walking out the door.

We decided that doing personal training was the way for me to go.  I agreed to 2 - 1 hour sessions a week for the time being.  I mean I was doing great in my business and making a ton of money.  Now, some people will think I pay too much, but in the long run imagine how much I would save in medicine and God forbid out-of-pocket doctor/hospital expenses.

My first training session with Sarah was on May 15, 2013.  It was a disaster.  I only made it halfway through.  My sugar was crashing.  I didn't prepare my body for training.  I was so embarassed, but also doubtful of whether this was such a good idea.  But then again, I don't quit things very easy, so I decided to stick it out.

The next morning, I was freakishly sore.  I mean CRAZY SORE.  We're talking "Brittany almost had to help me off the toilet at work" sore.  I was sore for about four days!  It got to the point that I hated going to the bathroom because getting on the toilet and up from the toilet was so painful.

Sarah was very nice and would text me and check up on me.  I mean, it was the least she could do, she tried to kill me.

So, that's how this all started.  I hope you liked reading this.  I'm going to try to play catch up with my first few posts and get everyone (if anyone actually reads this) caught up to where I am and you can read along with my progress,