Summer Sizzle Slim Down stuff and a story about a nipple

Finally! A sunny day! It's amazing what sunshine does for the human spirit! I feel really alive today and more motivated and dedicated to my weight loss than I have in a while. So as I sit here chomping on an apple and sucking down my strawberry Crystal Light (post-workout), I thought I'd share with you what's been going on with me the last week or so.

First off, I graduated on Saturday!!!! I am now the proud owner of a Masters of Education degree. It took three long years to get there but I did it and now I can begin the grueling task of hunting for a teaching position. I know that I will need to put my time in subbing but I've already had an interview - and if nothing else comes of it, it was at the very least good practice because it has been a looooong time since I have interviewed.

Second, I have been working on the Summer Sizzle Slim Down Challenge and have come up with some goals/strategies for each week. The challenge will begin May 25 and the ending date will be Sept 2 - it's a 14 week challenge which is long, but I will try to make it interesting.  I'm thinking about making some "incentive packages" for along the way, and offer some monthly challenges as well as each weekly challenge or goal to try to meet. Some ideas I have so far are to do a vegetarian week and also a week where you have to embrace a fitness fear - meaning either do an activity you have never tried before (but maybe secretly always wanted to) or try a new piece of equipment at the gym. I have a few other ideas up my sleeve, too. Right now I'm trying to get a feel for who might join me in this challenge???? I will post all of the nitty gritty details for the challenge this weekend. But tell me, if you were interested in doing the challenge, would you be willing to post weekly and/or monthly pics to show progress??? It might prove to be a great motivator...

In other news, I had my third training session at the gym today. I am finally getting over my embarrassment at being a lard-ass in front of the trainer. I figure I'm not the worst he's seen and so far, with the exception of the sit up test, I have been able to do everything he has asked of me, including planks with my feet up on a rolling bolster! I try not to focus too much on the image staring back at me in the mirror and try to think more about what that woman might look like if she keeps sticking to the program and working out. It's hard because I REALLY am very unhappy with the reflection I see right now, but I am working on trying to have a positive self-image while I continue to work on changing myself (both inside and out). It doesn't help that when I was staring in the mirror doing my arm curls, I realized I had one hard nipple! LOL - I practically busted out laughing because it looked so stupid, but then thought better of it because I'd have a hard time explaining my immaturity to the trainer who has probably had hundreds of hard nipple sightings during training. I don't know why on Earth that happens - or frankly, why only ONE popped out on me today and not the other. All I have to say is, I need a frigging sports bra! (Please tell me I am not the only one who has ever experienced this or am I a total freak of nature???).

Despite Nipplepocalyspe, I have to say that the training sessions are a huge motivator. I have always wanted to work with a personal trainer but was always too broke or too self-conscious to do it. I am happy the gym membership came with the 4 free sessions because it has allowed me to try things at the gym that I would have never done on my own because of my own chicken-shitness.  Today, for example, I was doing these pull ups from these strappy type things hanging from the ceiling. My body was leaning way back and I held onto the handles and had to pull my body up (kind of in a rowing motion). It was hard but I did it.

After my training session I did 20 mins on the elliptical and 25 mins on the treadmill. I left that gym looking like a sweaty pig, but I was a happy sweaty pig nonetheless!

Of course, life isn't all rainbows and butterflies. I will say that I need to still get a handle on the eating. It's the same old, same old there. I know I can't be working out just so I can have ice cream. It's so counter productive! I need to completely eliminate the bad stuff and cut those damn calories. It does me no good to burn 300 - 500 calories exercising so just to stuff my face with dessert. Hello? Self-sabotager in the house!!!!

So, yes, I have some work to do. I know this....but I'm feeling better than I have in a while and  of course I always have the words of Michelle egging me in in my brain: If not now, when?

Anyway - I have to start getting veggies prepped for dinner. Tonight I'm making grilled salmon and roasted veggies with broccoli, tomatoes, onions, cauliflower and asparagus. Should be good - and most importantly, healthy.

Until next time....sweat on, my friends!

Time on my hands...

It figures that now that I am out of school and student teaching is over, the weather has turned to complete crap. I have been longing for a day when I can park my derriere outside on a lounge chair and actually read FOR PLEASURE but apparently Mother Nature has other plans for me.
With all of this lousy weather, in theory, I should be getting lots done around the house - but even that isn't going as quickly as it should be. I've just been feeling kind of "blah" the past few days. It's sort of like now that my structured life has once again come to a halt, I'm left standing around saying, "Hmmmm....Now what?"

Before you knock me upside my head, please know that I'm not complaining about the free time - I am smart enough to realize there are many people out there that would give their eye teeth to have this kind of time to do whatever they wanted. I'm just much better with structure. I have a hard time making the most of my day when it is wide open like this (seriously - it's a curse). While there are a million and one things I could/should be doing (and blogging probably isn't one of them), I tend to put them off. Not the best practice, I know - it's something I really need to work on.

I started a to-do list today, however, thinking it might motivate me to bust a move around here. I know there are people that love making these lists because when they cross stuff off,  they feel like they are getting things accomplished (rocket science, it is not). For me, I look at those lists as long and daunting and often difficult, or at the very least, unpleasant to complete - but I also realize that by NOT writing down all the things I need to do, it's nothing short of AVOIDANCE and that often leads to trouble. When I get right down to it, it's pretty much what I have done with my weight loss efforts too - put them off each day and then panic like a spaz when I look in the mirror. There is no lack of understanding what I NEED and SHOULD be doing - it's just the actual "doing" part that seems to never get, well, done.

BUT I am trying not to let this happen this time around - at least where my weight loss efforts are concerned. I do think the gym is helping me find my groove in that respect. My second session with the trainer on Monday was better than the first. Although not really less humiliating (because don't you just love when you are doing arm presses with hand weights and your shirt gets all bunched and stuck under your boobs when you bring your hands down??), it did give me insight as to what my body is able to do and what things I really need to work on (which is a-friggin-lot). I surprised myself by being able to do a normal plank (they are hard!) and one of these side plank things:

 

I never dreamed in a million years I might actually be able to achieve this position. I envisioned myself just collapsing onto (and perhaps breaking) my arm - but I didn't! Granted, I didn't hold this position for 10 mins or anything remotely close to that time, but the point is, I was able to do it. I think the best part about this training thing is that I am learning what good form is (ie: don't squeeze your neck muscles as you lift arm weights - Genius!) and some valuable exercises that will help me strengthen my core - which, let's face it, is about as strong as a marshmallow right now.

My next session is Monday, so I will be curious to see what he has me doing then. My obliques are still sore from Monday - another indicator that I have MUCH work to do in the months ahead. I know many of you are doing the Ready for Summer Challenge but since I was eyeball deep in student teaching, I wasn't able to hop on that challenge and now it's 6 weeks in - so forget that one. But I do think I may start a Challenge that begins Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day. How does the Summer Sizzle Slim Down grab you?

Stay tuned for details!!!!

Reset, Ready, Go!

I'm siting here with a steaming cup of coffee, contemplating all of the work I have to get done at home today. I have my second appointment with the trainer at the gym at 12:00 this afternoon, and I STILL have yet to go to the grocery store which is absolutely, positively, 100% imperative to get done today considering the food choices in this house for the past 5 months have been less than stellar. Give me something green! Give me something leafy! Kiss those crunchy, chippy, snacky, Stacey's Naked Pita chips goodbye! They really are the devil.

While I'm still working on getting back into making those automatic, healthy food choices, I have had consistent exercise since last Wed. I've walked every morning, except today, because I need to make sure my knees are in fighting shape for my training session today. I have found that I am still getting sore/stiff in my joints when I walk and I am not sure if it's because I am doing 2.5 - 3.1 miles out of the gate or what? My husband is a firm believer in the "jump right back into it -  hard core," while I feel I should ease back in - I don't want to overdo it and then feel lousy like my knees did yesterday after our 3.2 miles. He walks at least a 5K a day and thinks I should be able to do the same, even though I am just getting back into a walking routine. I'm Ok while I'm doing it, but that long of a walk pretty much wipes out any other cardio gym activities I'd be doing later. I can't seem to "elliptical it up" after walking a 5K in the morning. I just get so tight in the joints - it's uncomfortable. Not painful - just uncomfortable. And frankly, I'd rather do the elliptical because I know it's a better calorie burn, but I hate telling my husband I can't walk with him - it's a nice morning thing we can do together. Maybe I just need to divide up my week - some days walk, others get my cardio in at the gym. Ah, compromise.

They do offer Zumba at the gym but I feel VERY nervous about joining that right away. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't last 10 mins. Same goes for spinning. I feel like I have to build up some major stamina first. I will say that the fitness test I had on Friday was a real eye opener as far as my "lack of fitness level" was concerned. Not that I really expected otherwise, but the news that the trainer gave me was depressing to say the least -  and, as if staring the need to lose 100 pounds in the face isn't daunting enough, knowing JUST how out of shape you are and how MUCH is wrong with you is like throwing another pie in the face. My road seems SO long and SO challenging, I often wonder when I will ever get to the place I need to be. This fitness test really threw me for a loop, if I am being perfectly honest. I had never had my body fat percentage or endurance or balance tested before. While the process itself is rather humiliating, it does inspire me to change those initial readings/results. It gives me a "restarting" point, so to speak. I just wish I could get results quickly, which I know isn't realistic. The challenges I face are not things that can be resolved overnight. They can't even be resolved in a month...or two. Sure, I can increase my endurance in that time and lose weight - but the overall me won't be radically changed in that time. This all takes time and patience - I need to keep reminding myself of that. Rome wasn't built in a day and changes to my body and fitness levels won't happen in that time frame either. I guess what I am trying to say in a very whiny and annoying way is that it just sucks starting over, that's all.

Ok, I'll stop bitching about it now.

I continue to be inspired by those that ARE making the changes I need and want to make.  Your words keep me going in the right direction and make me realize that everyone starts (or restarts) somewhere - everyone has their beginning point. Technically this is mine (again). I do feel like I am starting this process anew, even though I have been through it what seems like a million times already.

Here's to a million and one.

A New Beginning

Hello?
I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!
True to my word, here I am (even if it is a day late). It's May 4th and I am finally coming up for air after a very intense, all-consuming, ass-busting 5 months of student teaching. I survived (big exhale)....I feel like I should make a t-shirt that says something to that effect. Kind of like the shirts from the 70's from Hershey Park that used to read: "I survived the Sooper Dooper Looper". After all, this entire experience was a bit of a roller coaster ride at times.

I have to say that despite the endless amount of work and late nights and frazzled nerves, I did enjoy my experience tremendously and I do feel that I have absolutely, with a doubt, made the right second career choice for me. I just need to pray that the job market turns around and they start HIRING teachers again, versus canning them by the boatloads - which seems to be the unfortunate trend these days.

Anyway - it's good to be back in the blogosphere. I have missed catching up with everyone's progress and I feel like I am so far behind the eight ball in my weight loss efforts. While I THOUGHT maybe the stress of students teaching would launch me into weight loss heaven, I found out just what a stress eater I really am. Compile that with the lack of time to cook healthy meals, and you might guess that the weight loss really didn't take off quite the way I had hoped. Overall, I think I lost close to 4 pounds or so. Nothing Earth-shattering - but hey, it's a loss. On another positive note however, I didn't GAIN a boatload which could have easily happened, too - so, bully for me. As of this morning, I'm holding at 229.75. The past 5 months have neither promoted or sabotaged my weight loss - I'm just a little stagnant if anything. The good thing that came out of all of this is my increased stamina. I was on my feet constantly, walking all over the classroom and school so just that alone has made my knees and feet feel a million times better! I thought it would have the adverse affect but apparently, the more you "use it" the better you feel. Duh!

After some coaxing to get out of bed, I completed a 3.1 mile walk with my husband and the dogs this morning and feel great! I do need to be careful of my back though - I was lugging around two gigantic bags everyday and pulled my back out of whack the last week of school. It's on the mend but I still feel stress in my lower back (where I herniated my disc in college) so I know I need to watch it.

It does feel good to be recommitted, though. I think I mentioned in my last post that I was giving myself a gym membership for a graduation present, didn't I? Well, I have decided to stop talking to talk and start doing the walk - I went there yesterday and signed up and I have my first meeting with a trainer today at 1:00. I get 4 free personal training sessions and some nutritional counseling, too.  I'm kind of nervous, yet excited!!!! I'll let you know how it goes.

Anyway - I have to get my house cleaned (5 months of inattentiveness does not a pretty house make) but I just wanted to say hello and let you know I am back on the radar! I will be popping by your blogs to say hello very soon!

She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes!

Hello Dear Friends!!!!

I am just checking in with a very quick hello to let you know that I will be back in full blogging swing on May 3! Whoo hoooo - I am so stinking close I can taste it (and it sort of tastes like chocolate - yeah, the feeling of almost being finished with grad school is THAT good!)

Thank you to Shala @ Follow Me Down and Michele @ Ruminations and Uncovering: Toward a New ME! for leaving me a message this week - it truly warmed the cockles of my heart to know that I have not been forgotten during my semester of student teaching. I'm all the more motivated to get back into blogging and conversing with you all - not to mention how excited I am to get back on the fitness and weight loss bandwagon. I have decided to give myself a gym membership as a graduation present!!!

I can't wait to share with you all what has been been going on with me since January! I feel like I have been gone forever! I hope that all of you have been kicking your fat cells to the curb and doing awesome! I look forward to catching up with you all and hearing some good news!!!!

I'll be looking for some weight-loss challenges when I get back to blogging - so keep me in mind! I know I bombed the Christmas Dress Challenge - but hey - that's in my rearview mirror now (no matter how large my REAR VIEW is)....I'm trying to look forward these days - not behind (no pun intended)!

Ok - gotta get back to the grind (I have about 31 lesson plans that aren't going to write themselves (oh how I wish they would!). I also have to work on a bulletin board project from hell.

Can I just say that first grade is kicking my ass sideways?

Ok - stay well, my friends - see you May 3!!!

All my best,

Rochelle

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder - and Hopefully the Ass Grow Smaller.

Hello friends!
Just checking in to let you know I have not been institutionalized, nor have I fallen face first and got stuck in a jumbo bag of Oreos.

It's not the food and shame that's got me staying away from the blog this time.
Truth be told, I have begin student teaching and well... it's pretty much all consuming. (I even feel guilty taking the time to write this little update).

Anyway - I will be checking in when I can - but it may be rather infrequent until May. Then I promise I will be back in full swing - but I didn't want anyone thinking I had fallen into a food coma or anything drastic like that.
I'm here, technically.....but just not "present."

Hope all is well with the rest of my WL Bloggers.  Keep marching on....I'll catch up with you in May!

I've Been Tagged

Gah!!! It appears I've been tagged!!!
Miss April over at 30 before 30 was sweet enough to include me in her list so here is my follow up. I'm always surprised by these "gotcha" blog thingys since I still consider myself a novice when it comes to blogging.
HOWEVER - I think this type of thing is fun in lieu of dong a regular post about my fatty woes (I have plenty of time to write about THAT), so I am going to answer the questions posed to me and then hit up a few other ladies 'round the blogging circuit too....
Here are the rules:
1. post these rules.
2. you must post 11 random things yourself.
3. answer the ques­tions the tag­ger set for you in their post.
4. cre­ate 11 new ques­tions for the peo­ple you tag to answer.
5. go to their blog and tell them that you've tagged them.
6. no stuff in the tag­ging sec­tion about ‘you are tagged if you are read­ing this.’ blah blah blah, you legit­i­mately have to tag 11 peeps!

11 Random Things About Me:
1.  I met my husband on Match.com
2. Despite my weight, my blood pressure is damn near perfect!
3. Both my big toes are double jointed.
4. I'm deathly afraid of heights and even watching someone on TV rock climbing or doing something remotely dangerous makes me sick to my stomach (and yet I love rollercoasters)....
5. I still have my wisdom teeth and have never had braces (and my teeth are straight).
6. I have an inexplicable bizarre secret old man crush on the following old timers: Gene Hackman, Al Pacino and Jimmy Johnson (ex-coach of Dallas Cowboys). (And no, I do not have Daddy issues - LOL)
7. My hair has been about every color under the sun at one time or another.
8. I love speaking with a fake accent - any Halloween costume that causes me to speak differently than in my own voice is the goal each year.
9. I always thought my biological clock was broken or non-existent....until this year.
10. I wish I had the ability to throw things out without analyzing everything about it and placing sentimental value to it first. I don't mean regular garbage - but stuff that I no longer use or need that just causes clutter. It makes getting organized that much harder.
11. I have the ability to tune the world out when I am reading a good book for pleasure, but I need absolute silence when doing school work.

11 Random Questions:
1. What are your all time favorite songs? 1-3 choices and why?
This is a hard one! I have so many favorites.
I would have to say these are the top 3:
Girls on Film by Duran Duran because it takes me back to my youth and makes me happy when I hear it.
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Jeffrey Gaines version (my wedding song)
Tie between Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses and The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) by Nat King Cole - when I hear these songs, my holiday spirit soars! I absolutely love Christmas time!

2. Who is your favorite author and/or book?
I love a good chick lit book when I get the rare chance to read for pleasure - such as Bitter is the New Black written by Jennifer Lancaster or Stupid and Contagious written by Caprice Crane.

3. What is a word that you dislike and wish would be abolished from the human language?

I hate the words "bowel movement" and "menstruation".....they just sound so clinical to me.

4. What is your dream job/career/profession?
I DIY'd most of my wedding and became addicted to party planning! Give me someone else's money to spend and I would LOVE to plan special events like weddings, showers, birthdays, you name it.

5. Do you have a particular tradition on your birthday
Not really - but I kind of wish I did. I used to treat myself to either a massage, or mani/pedi but haven't for the past couple of years. Usually it's just a dinner out and a day to do whatever I want without guilt.
6. What is your dream vacation spot?
Give me a beach with soft sand and decent surf or turquoise waters and I am one happy chick. But maybe if money were no limit - I'd go to Bora Bora - because let's face it - it just sounds cool.

7. What is your biggest nerd trait or habit, if any?
Hmmm...I don't know - maybe it's that I read my e-mails from most boring to most exciting - not that my e-mails are all that exciting - but I like the anticipation of opening an e-mail from a friend AFTER I've opened the e-mail about Williams Sonomas latest sale...

8. Do you believe in ghosts and/or spirits?  Any encounters/hauntings?
Yes  - growing up in a house that was well over 100 years old, some strange happenings would occur from time to time. Things moved, noises were heard, strange smells (like cigars) filled the air from time to time (no one smokes in my parents house), and doors closed inexplicably.....but I always felt the spirits were friendly so I never was very afraid. My gram swears she saw a little girl in a white nightgown enter our bathroom once during the night, and my brother in law took a photo that shows a weird reflection that could be a girl in a mirror.....I guess you could say I am a believer.

9. From the time you get out of bed until you get out the door for the day to work or wherever... how long does it take you?  Shower, dress, make-up, coffee, etc..?
It depends - I used to have a routine when I was working (and will soon resume that routine when I begin student teaching) but all told - no less than an hour and a half to be fully ready and out the door. I am very forgetful so I often have to leave and then come back in the house for something I missed. I REALLY need to work on my organizational skills.

10. Did you have a childhood toy, teddy bear, etc. that was your fave and what was its name?
I had a stuffed giraffe I absolutely loved, named Cuddles.

11. Did you make 2012 Resolutions and what are the top two?
I'm not calling them resolutions this year - I'm referring to them as solutions! I need to get better organized (see #9) and also to finally get my health and weight under control - but most importantly to maintain my sanity and stress levels while completing school by focusing on the truly IMPORTANT tasks and trying to let go of my perfectionist attitude about my work.


Ok -here are my questions for those people I am tagging:
1. What would the opening line of your autobiography say?
2. What is your favorite alcoholic beverage - or non-alcoholic if you don't imbibe?
3. What is one thing that you would never want to change about yourself?
4. What is the one characteristic about other people that you simply cannot tolerate?
5. Name a time when you felt extremely proud of yourself.
6. If you could relive (and make -over) a year of your life,  what year would that be and why?
7. Is there a particular unusual ritual or routine you do in the exact same way absolutely everyday (something other than brushing your teeth, for example)? If so, what is it?
8. What is a talent you do not have but wish you did?
9. Build your ideal person. Fill in the blanks: I'd want the hair of ________________, the face of ___________________, the body of _____________________,  the brains of ____________________, the talents of ___________________, the sense of humor of _______________________, and the bank account of ____________________________.
10. What do you feel the the worst thing is about trying to lose weight?
11. What song best defines where you are in life right now?

I am tagging the following people ( I don't have 11 because so many people have already been tagged):
No pressure to answer! This is a time consuming post - but it is fun!

Rachelle@ My Hips Don't Lie
Taryn @ Fat Girl in a Skinny World
Karen @ Wasting Time
Becca @ Size 24 No More
Sarah @ Watch Sarah Shrink
Shannon @ 365 Days of Weight Loss
Shayla @ Follow Me Down
Michelle @ Ruminations and Uncovering
Pockets @ Pockets New Image
Thursday's Child