It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A... SING IT WITH ME!

My mojo has been returned- in better condition! Oh how I missed it! I joined the Y on Saturday, and have been every day since! I went both Sat & Sunday and have gone before work yesterday and today as well. I plan to continue for the rest of the week.

Waking up before the paper hits the door is a challenge, but I'm up for it. I haven't seen 5:00 a.m. since New Year's and that's only because I went to bed at that time! I've only been doing cardio so far as I haven't met with the trainer yet to set up a plan. Unfortunately joining the gym in January has me lumped in with all of the New Year resolutioners so getting an apt with someone was difficult. Luckily there was a cancellation for this Saturday or I would have had to wait until March!

What I love about the Y is that the trainers are included in the membership. I don't have to pay thousands of dollars extra to get assistance. I also love the "technogym". The machines operate by a smartkey system. Once you've met with a trainer, they input the plan on the smartkey. When you go to workout, you simply plug the key in and the machines adjust the speed/resistance for you as input by the trainer. Everything is mapped out. The machine will tell you when it's time to switch machines and all so it's a mindless routine. I love it. If I find that I'm not being challenged enough, I simply shoot the trainer an e-mail and that way it'll be adjusted for the next time I'm there. I'm very excited to meet with them and have a course of action.

So far I've been trying to get in as much gym time before work as possible. I start work at 8 and the gym opens at 6 so doesn't give me that much time but I'm able to get in a 45 min workout. I warm up on the treadmill for 10 mins, 15 minutes on the bike, and then 15 mins on the elliptical.

Feels great!

I think my mojo was brought back simply from the wonderful comments and support I've received from my bloggies!!

I lost my mojo!

My blogging has taken a back seat lately as everything has been so chaotic. Tax season has us working what seems like 24/7. I was down 1lb last Sat for my W.I, which means I'm 3 lbs away from being back at my pre-holiday weight. I can't believe it's already Thursday. This week has just gone by so quickly!

My one year WW membership anniversary is soon approaching. February 15 will mark one year of continuous attendance. I've had some major changes in my attitude, my lifestyle, my eating habits, and of course my appearance.

Although I am very happy with how far I've come, I can't help feeling like I didn't go as far as I could. Starting in early December, I began to lose my weight loss "mojo". My tracking started to dwindle, my exercise, and my eating habits began to change a bit too. I started allowing myself to make exceptions whereas when I first started the plan I wouldn't touch something if I didn't know how many points was in whatever was being offered. My gym membership recently expired and I decided that I would change gyms as I was fed up of the same scenery. Well, I've let my "searching" go on for a month and a half now. I'm joining the Y on Saturday so hopefully exercise will then trigger my eating habits to fall back in to place too.

I just wish I could have stayed as motivated as I was back in February. It'll be back, I know it. I just have to do it!

Can you see it in my face?

Here I am on the left holding a delicious tray of fruit at girls night last week end. On the right is me in NYC June 2007 post-Sbarro pizza!

On the left: size 12. On the right: size 20

On the left: healthy food and happy me. On the right: pizza-stuffed & angry for eating it.

I dread looking at old photos of myself. At the time I didn't realize just how unhappy I was. I see it now and it makes me all wishy washy. I'm glad I stopped when I did.

Food for Thought

I love food and I love thought. Combining the two-fantastic.

Mark Salinas of http://blog.marksalinas.com/ really hit the nail on the head for me this morning. I wish I was had seen this quote yesterday to use as a rebuttal when a colleague commented on my food journaling.

I'm all about self-improvement. Notice the word self. Tracking what I eat is a necessity for me. It keeps me accountable and aware of what I'm putting in my mouth. "Forgetting" what I ate is what led me to become 100 lbs overweight to begin with. If journaling helps me stay on track, who's business is it but my own? One of my colleagues (who knows everything about weight loss since she lost more weight than I have in a shorter time frame on the Smart for Life Diet), once again had her two cents to give on what I'm doing. She peers over my desk at lunch hour and says " Oh wow, you still write down everything you eat. Don't you get tired of it? See that's why I didn't do Weight Watchers. It's too much work all the counting and writing down everything. I prefer to just eat and not have to think about it". I retorted with a simple " It's part of the plan and I like to be accountable".

"Oh, that's just too much work for me. It's crazy to be obsessed like that with writing everything you eat". She replies. Well then.Normally I'd have something to reply to that, but this time I just turned around and said nothing. It's not worth it. One of the most evident changes I've noted in myself is my self-worth. I don't look at taking care of my health as "too much work for me". I need my body to be in tip top shape to do the things that my brain wants me to do. I don't want to be held hostage in a body that can't keep up with my mind.

Mark's quote said it perfectly: "Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe dedicated." Had I had this, I might have said something instead of replying with silence.

Next time I'll tell her to keep the change.

Welcome 2009

I don't typically set resolutions with a deadline of December 31st but they always have a start date of January 1st. The focus seems to taper off somewhere around the 7th of January.

What I am just thrilled with is that I had no clue I would be where I am this time this year. I said I would lose weight and be able to run for more than 5 mins. I said this, but as we all know actions speak louder than words. Call it procrastination, lack of determination, desire, and faith combined. I underestimated myself.

The difference in 2008 from previous years was that I acted. This alone surpassed any expectations that I had for myself. I didn’t actually believe that I would lose weight. I’ve always frustrated myself with my lack of consistency and drive to finish things through. 2008 was my year- I said I was going to do something and I did it. I did not say ‘this year I will lose x amount of lbs”. This could be interpreted as me not wanting to set myself up for disappointment but when I look at the big picture I was just working in baby steps. This could very well be the reason why I was successful. Celebrate each and every NSV and SV because they all add up.

This year I’d like to focus more on life goals. I don’t want to obsess over objectives/habits that I promised resolve to accomplish/nix.

My goal (not resolution) is to continue on my path and keep up the momentum. I’d like to reach my weigh loss goal this year, but just as anything else goals change along the way. I want to keep living a healthy lifestyle. I want 2009 to be the year of consistency.

Blogging has played a major role in my success as well. The initial intention was to journal my thoughts. I am continuously amazed with the tremendous amount of support and encouragement I’ve received. It’s truly refreshing to know that complete strangers can be genuinely kind and encouraging. I thank Blogland for connecting me with so many people that I can relate to. Thank you all so much for your unconditional support.

What have you set out for 2009?