The Struggle

If you haven’t noticed, I’m having a difficult time keeping up with this blog. However, my diet and workouts are getting better and better.

Four weeks ago I started using protein powder and eating five meals a day. Each meal consists of 40g of protein, luckily its made me eat better so that I’m not eating more than 2100 calories. I usually make bacon and eggs in the morning, protein shake, cottage cheese and greek yogurt for lunch, protein shake and Tilapia or some type of meat with veggies for dinner. Every now and then, I switch things up and I try to make it as easy as possible.

V-Core Vantage Protein Powder

Although progress is slow, I feel much better now than I did last month. Before when I would lift, I did the minimum reps and sets, and would feel extremely tired. Now, I lift and lift and lift. By the end of my workout my muscles can barely move the weights, that’s when I know I’ve had a good workout. I have also started concentrating on abs and lower back during days off from weights.

The next few weeks are going to be crazy. We leave for the beach in three weeks so I am trying to workout hard before I take a week off. I’m looking forward to continually changing my routine and seeing more results.

 

 

Feeling Strong, Getting Stronger

There is a lot of information out there about weight training, losing weight and gaining muscle. You can’t always trust what you hear, so it is better to do your own research. I have read a lot about this information and recently went up to Complete Nutrition with my mom to get the scoop on it all.

Out of everything we talked about, the experts told us that we should be eating a high protein diet and taking the right supplements. I was told that to really get the most out of my weights and slowly losing the belly fat, I need to be eating 200 grams(g) of protein a day. This definitely seems like a lot, but when I start I will be eating five meals a day and each meal will consist of 40g of protein. We have also decided to take two of those meals and use protein powder. This is will help me cut back on snacking and eating the wrong foods.

Muscle Milk Protein

This plan has our family very excited and we will continue our journey to a healthy lifestyle. And we can’t forget about the progress in the gym. This week is my tenth week doing strength training. Slowly but surely, I have noticed that I really have gained muscle. I feel strong and once we start our new diet I will probably become stronger.

I want this to become a complete transformation. The first time I lost a large amount of weight, I was not doing any weight lifting. I ate salads and did cardio for an hour everyday. I had no muscle tone, which made it easier for me to gain back all the weight I had lost.

Weight loss can be extremely hard, but we have to remember that no one wants you to fail. You have to be persistent, determined and passionate about where you want to be.

Have You Missed Me?

After a month long break, I’M BACK!! I decided to give myself some time off from blogging during my move back to Rogers. Since then, I have been getting used to living with my parents again and getting acclimated with how the machines at Planet Fitness work. Don’t worry, I have still been working out everyday, except for Sundays.

You may be thinking, why do you have to get acclimated to the workout equipment? Well, the way the machines are made and move are different from the last gym I worked out at. They have a different flow, if that makes sense. Because of that, I have sort of restarted my workout routine. I have really noticed how much stronger I have become.

I still get very discouraged at times. I don’t step on the scale, since I am gaining muscle it hasn’t made a difference in my weight. Sometimes, you just have to step back and remind yourself of the bigger picture. Losing weight the healthy way takes longer, but buying a new pair of running shoes gives you the motivation to keep pushing forward.

My New Nike Running Shoes.

As my journey takes a new turn, I look forward to see what happens next. Keep me in your prayers and again, I appreciated all the support you all have been sending me! Thanks!!

Falling Off the Wagon

My diet has severely suffered and I fear that I may be falling off the wagon! It was very easy during week five to eat bad, partly because of the weather and not being able to go to the gym everyday. Luckily, I haven’t gained any extra weight. Week 6 has already started off great since I was able to run long distance today, which I haven’t been able to do for two years.

In a week and a half I will be moving back to Rogers. I’m beyond excited to be back in my hometown and with my family. However, I’m going to need all the support I can get to stay on track with my routine. It shouldn’t be that much of a problem, but I may not be able to get a new gym membership right away.

Sometimes I wish that I would lose weight as quickly as I did the last time I tried. It can be discouraging, but I know that in order to look better than I did that last time I need to take it slow and do it right. Weight lifting has already worked its magic, and within three short weeks I was able to tell and feel a difference.

Well, back to today’s workout… It felt great to be able to run longer than five minutes today! I can tell that doing Cardio intervals has helped me immensely. Hogeye 5k, watch out!! I can’t wait to get back into competing, the feeling you get when running with hundreds of people is exhilarating.

Again, I appreciate all of the support and keep following for more about my journey to a better me! Thanks!

A Few Bumps in the Road

I knew that eventually I would reach the point where I would struggle with my workout. It can be very discouraging when one day you’ve lost 15-20 lbs. and your workouts are a breeze, and then the next day you can barely lift weights and the scale shows that you are still fat. WHERE CAN I FIND A SCALE THAT WORKS!!! Don’t get me wrong, I still feel great and can notice a difference, but it sucks to have some setbacks.

While doing a little research, I found that if you aren’t giving your body enough nutrition it will go into starvation mode and store what you are taking in. This causes you to not lose weight and for your metabolism to slow down. I am almost afraid that this is happening to me, but wouldn’t it use my fat for energy instead? Does anyone know anything about this??

Since it’s been harder lifting after moving up a weight level, I decided to pull in some reinforcements. I bought Muscle Milk to add more protein to my diet. Hopefully, this will help me keep my strength up. We’ll see how this goes for now. 

Who’s ready for warmer weather? I sure as heck am!! I’m in desperate need of a gorgeous, warm, sunny day. I want to get out on the River Trail and ride my bike for miles! Darn you Punxsutawney Phil!!

And again, I greatly appreciate everyone’s support! Much love!

Three Weeks Down, Millions to Go

Random photo of my awesome new socks! AMERICA!

Three weeks have passed since I started this blog and a lot has happened. Emotions have gotten the best of me, I’ve overcome laziness, and I’ve felt the high of living life. Sometimes, being stressed from work or not seeing results you want to see can mess with the way you think. All I wanted to do was give up, forget about everything and be lazy. I just cannot be that person who throws in the towel so easily. I am beyond determined to make this happen. I’m too blessed not to.

So far, I have lost 15 pounds and maybe more than that, but since I am gaining muscle it is harder to tell. I feel fantastic thought! I can already tell I am slimming down and toning up. My clothes fit better and I am looking forward to being able to fit in my old clothes from my glory days, ha-ha! On Thursday, I had my cheat meal at Buffalo Wild Wings; 60 cent wing night, ya know what I’m sayin’! I felt miserable afterwards and had no desire to eat that much or that bad again, which is a great sign that my diet is really becoming a habit.

Now that week three is over, I am excited to add more weights starting Monday. Here is how it will go for the next three weeks:

Monday

• Push – 80 lbs. for 4 sets of 10 reps
• Cardio – 15 mins. cardio intervals on the elliptical, 20 mins. of running and walking on the treadmill

Tuesday

• Cardio – 10 mins. cardio intervals on the elliptical, 25 mins. of running and walking on the treadmill
• Back & Abs

Wednesday

• Legs – 80 lbs. on most leg machines, squats and lunges
• Cardio – 15 mins. cardio intervals on the elliptical, 20 mins. of running and walking on the treadmill

Thursday 

• Cardio – 10 mins. cardio intervals on the elliptical, 25 mins. of running and walking on the treadmill
• Back & Abs

Friday 

• Pull – 80 lbs. for 4 sets of 10 reps
• Cardio – 15 mins. cardio intervals on the elliptical, 20 mins. of running and walking on the treadmill

I tend to switch things up a little throughout each week, as to not keep things constant. This helps me build muscle instead of having my muscle-building plateau.

Alright y’all, time to step up my game! Keep on the lookout for more of my awesomeness…

 

Making Progress

I meant to write my next blog post over the weekend, but our family welcomed a new little miracle!

My cousin Jacob and his amazing wife, Annie, had their first baby, Ethan James Walker. Congratulations, he’s perfect!

Now on to how my journey is going… I have already noticed a difference in my appearance and I feel fantastic, except for the fact that I keep getting sick. Although, I’ve been staying on track with my diet it is still extremely difficult. I get cravings every so often and I just want to eat everything I’m the fridge. I stop myself though and have an apple or yogurt. My diet usually consists of a meal replacement shake in the morning, salad with protein for lunch and a shake for dinner. Sometimes I will make my dinner and I have become a master of Blackened Tilapia!

I am definitely looking forward to May and seeing how much I have progressed. If I already feel this great two weeks in, I can’t imagine how great it’ll be four months from now.

Thanks again to everyone for your continued support and hopefully I’ll have more exciting news about my progress!

Week 1

The first week of my journey is complete and I already feel better. I got on the scale last Sunday and weighed at 285, when I weighed myself this morning (1/12/14) I was at 276 lbs. I’m sure part of it is water and just the normal fluctuation, but I’ll take it as a motivator. In the past when I lost a ton of weight I was only doing cardio and not toning with weights, this time I have been doing strength training and minimal cardio intervals. Strength training helps you build muscle that burns fat and helps you keep off the pounds. You start low for the first three weeks and then add weight to confuse your muscles so they continue to get stronger. Before the holidays I had started lifting weights, so I have already noticed a difference in my biceps and triceps. Here is the run down of my schedule:

Week 1

Monday – Push (any weight machines that work with a push motion)

• 65 lbs
• 15 mins. of cardio intervals

Tuesday

• 30 mins. of cardio intervals

Wednesday – Legs

• 70 lbs on  leg curls
• 135 lbs for leg press

Thursday

• 15 mins. of cardio intervals
• abs

Friday – Pull (any machines that work with a pull motion)

• 65 lbs
• 10 mins of cardio intervals

Doing the push, leg, pull routine allows your muscles to recuperate so that you are building muscle efficiently.

This has been a great week for me, but it hasn’t been with out its trials. I had a weak moment Thursday evening. I was craving chili-cheese something fierce. I learned, however, that it is okay to have one cheat meal to confuse your metabolism so that it continues to work hard.

Looks good right?!?

I am beyond ready for warmer weather and pool days. This uncontrollable urge to be outside during beautiful weather led me to take my road bike out on Saturday. I had a great ride but the wind was fighting me so it took me longer than usual to complete ten miles. I love cycling and since it is something that is easy for me, I can easily ride for long periods of time and it doesn’t feel like a workout.

View of Pinnacle Mountain on Two Rivers Trail.

I look forward to many more days like this. Thanks again to everyone for your continued support, it means the world to me and keeps me going.

My Best Friend’s Wedding (Not the Movie)

I have officially started my weight loss plan! So far so good. Monday was my first day back in the gym since before the holidays. It felt great to be back and I am feeling better already.

Now, let’s get to the real focus of this plan… The hardest part about losing weight is the diet. DIETS SUCK!!!! I am determined to stick to eating right though. I have mostly had salads with Salmon or some type of protein with vegetables. What I will mist most about being unhealthy is the soda’s and beer. We have a soda machine in the kitchen where I work, every time I walk in I feel like it is taunting me. Don’t worry, I don’t look at it; I walk right past it and turn to the water cooler.

It is always good to have a goal to keep you on the right track. My big focus is to compete in triathlons again, but there are a couple of events in 2014 that I have to be ready for!

In almost five months my parents and I will be heading to the beach. It has been eight years since I have stuck my toes in the beautiful sands of Florida. Mind you, my parents have been going to Pensacola, FL. since I was a freshman in college; I never got to go since I was always taking finals when they went. Yes, you can throw me a pity party. I know this sounds lame (I am also going to be as honest and “real” in my blog posts as I can), but I want to be able to take my shirt off and not feel ashamed that I don’t look as good as other people there.

The second event that I want to look spectacular at is one of my best friend’s weddings. I will be a part of this wedding and want to feel good about standing in front of a few hundred people in a three-piece tux that doesn’t fit right. I have until September to make a drastic change in my appearance, as for now though I will keep pushing forward.

I am excited to continue this progress and look forward to this new beginning. Thank you all for the support, it is what will keep me going!

Where to Begin…

I have been struggling for some time whether or not I should start a blog. Well, I have decided to start one, but this blog is more of a motivator to help me stay consistent with losing weight and becoming the person I want to be. This isn’t really a place where I give tips to help others; this blog is to help me keep up with my journey.

Growing up on the heavy side has always been difficult. I had tried many times to lose weight by going on stupid diets that left me starving. There was a moment my junior year of high school that really made me want to try harder. I decided to join my high school Cross Country team and worked on running all summer. I never changed my eating habits, so I only lost inches instead of drastically losing weight. It wasn’t until I started waiting tables in college, that I noticed I was losing weight. Since I was only eating one meal a day I had lost 25 lbs. in just a few weeks. Once I could see the changes, I knew I had to keep going.

In less than two months I had lost 75 lbs. I set a goal to run 5k’s and compete in triathlons. Working extremely hard helped me complete The Ozark Valley Triathlon in three hours flat and The Shark Sprint Triathlon in two hours and ten minutes.

Running through the finish at the Ozark Valley Triathlon

I kept the weight off for about two years. My next goal was to run a half marathon. I would run 11 miles every other day until one day, I found it difficult to run more than three miles. This was very frustrating to me, and thats when things starting going downhill.

Trying to finish my bachelors degree proved to be very stressful. I struggled with keeping up with school and my workouts. Then I had a  horrible roommate situation which forced me to move to a hotel for the last month of my college career. Not being able to cook or keep food in my room, made it hard for me to eat healthy. I quickly gained weight and now I weigh more than I did in high school.

I am almost 26 yrs. old and do not want to live the rest of my life as an overweight person. Lets get real here… I am the only person to blame for my weight and now it is time to lose it for good.