Why I've Become Obsessed

Zumba.  I love it.  I can't seem to stop talking about it.  There are so many reasons why I love it.  Zumba dance is a high calorie burn, and it helps sculpt and tone the body. Many of the dance moves involve twisting and crunching of the abs. The ab workout happens throughout the entire class.  I gotta tell you especially after today's workout my stomach is hurting!  I don't have abs yet but I can feel the muscles burning.  It's so awesome to be able to feel that you are doing the workout right!

The music is also amazing!  It's contagious.  It's almost all I listen to now.  When I hear good music, with a good beat, I just want to dance! In a Zumba class, you’ll hear all sorts of Latin music including Cumbia, Merengue, Salsa, and Cha Cha. Sometimes, hip-hop and R&B music is also included.  All the Zumba songs are upbeat and ‘happy’ sounding, so I always leave the workout room smiling, in pain from a great workout but smiling.  Whenever I do my DVD's or any of the live classes it puts me in such a good mood.  I woke up at 7:30am just so I could go to a class!  7:30am is unheard of for me, it's soooo early!

Zumba is fun, plain and simple. I've been making a lot of new friends, and I always know that people are always welcome. When I first started I didn't know anyone.  I just bit the bullet and went out of my comfort zone and gave it a try.  Now I am slowly starting to get to know people and every time I go to a live class I have so much fun!  There are never mistakes or ‘wrong moves’, as long as you're moving that's what counts! I absolutely love it.

The instructors play a very important part in my live Zumba classes.  They push me.  They are passionate about Zumba and passionate about their students.  In most Zumba classes, the instructor knows many of the members by name, and makes it a point to introduce herself to anyone who may be new. Instructors are passionate about Zumba and VERY energetic. I find yourself pushing just a little bit harder because of the encouragement I get as well as the desire to keep up with them.  I still can't because my stamina stinks but it's getting better!

I highly suggest doing Zumba.  The DVD's are a lot of fun but the classes are so much better!  Go to www.zumba.com to find a class!  Do it! Do it now!!!!!

What the wha????

Holy cow! I did my picture update and it's amazing what 3 months of being healthy can do for you!!!  I am amazed at that changes that have taken place!  I'm speechless.  I'm in no way where I want to be and I still have a long way to go.  However, this picture update once a month really helps.  I didn't really notice too much of a difference the second month but by the 3rd goodness it's obvious.  This is such a boost of confidence for me that I am doing something right!

I got to keep working out and eating right.  The weight will come off.  I will get healthy! I have proof that I am succeeding! This is so exciting!  Check out my progress by CLICKING HERE!!  So exciting!  You can also check out my actual weight loss progress by CLICKING HERE!  I'm amazed that I've stuck to it this long!  It's awesome!  I have no cravings, I don't feel deprived at all, and I'm being active! Did I mention that this is awesome? Awesome!

So Much to Write About!

First level of OWL is adding 5 more carbs of veggies!

So many things have happened in the last 24 hours.  I don't even know which thing to focus on...  Today was weigh day and I lost another 3 lbs.!  That totals 9 pounds in two weeks.  I want to lose 56 pounds total, so if my math is correct that means I've made 16% of that goal! Wow!  Can I just say W-O-W!  That's amazing.  This is the first time I've done Induction correctly and cleanly for the entire 2 weeks.  In the past I had tried to continue with Induction for a longer period of time but I always got bored and fell of the wagon.  This time around I'm going actually move to the next phase of Atkins: OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss).  I will start adding more options to my daily food intake slowly.  I will be doing this in order to figure out what foods cause me to gain, or have cravings, etc.  Because I am adding more variety this will slow the weight loss.  I'm ok with that.  Of course I would like my weight to come off really fast but that doesn't teach me good habits.  I need more time to aquire a taste for vegetables and to make better choices.  This is a lifestyle not a quick fix.  It takes time for it to stick.  It took time to gain the weight, it's going to take time (and determination) to lose it.  I'm excited for the next phase!  I can't wait until I can start eating pistachios and berries and all kinds of other stuff!



Yesterday the darling family had chinese for dinner while I was at work.  Thankfully I was at work because I LOVE LOVE LOVE chinese.  But it is oh so not legal for me right now.  My darling Husband wasn't sure what I was allowed to eat so he ordered me my usual order of fried dumplings.  Oh how I love those dumplings!  I found them in the fridge and all I could say was "uh oh".  It was so sweet of him to think of me but boy was that a big temptation for me.  I fought the temptation though.  I'm the only one in the house that likes the dumplings so I knew I had to get them out of my house.  I didn't want to throw them away, what a waste.  So I gave them to a buddy of mine who also loves chinese.  I call that a win!  I resisted one of my favorite foods.  I might add the resisting was actually pretty easy.  I just didn't want them.  This is a wonderful sign that I am really starting to kick my food addictions!

Yesterday I bought a pair of $50 Dr. Scholl's thingies.  After wearing them for a day and taking my walk my feet have felt about 98% better!  I was able to take my walk without a lot of pain.  I did slow my pace though so as not to stress my feet out too much.  When I woke up this morning my feet had very minimal pain.  I'm pretty excited about this.  To me, $50 dollar Dr. Scholl's is so much better then the amounts of money I would spend on a co-pay and any hospital and/or doctor's bills.  Hopefully this continues and I won't have to go to the doctor's.

Tomorrow is another picture update! Eeek!  I hate doing them but it must be done!  Maybe once I get to my goal weight I'll make a video of my progress and post it on YouTube.  Then it will go viral, then I will be rich! haha!  Probably not but how cool would that be??  Stay tuned for tomorrow!  I hope I notice some difference after a 9 lb. loss in two weeks!

Stupid Foot...

Yesterday I took a walk during my lunch break for the first time in like 3 weeks.  It was such a wonderful walk.  The weather was perfect with a nice breeze.  My left foot felt completely healed.  There was no more pain.  I could wake up in the morning and walk on my foot with no pain or stiffness.  I assumed this was because I hadn't been doing much exercising.  I thought it was safe to assume that I could start taking my walks again.  Mind you these are just walks.  I don't run, and I don't speed walk.  My walks are like one step up from a leisurely walk.  This morning when I got out of bed my left foot was so tense.  It hurt like heck.  After some walking around it felt a little bit better.

I'm so frustrated.  I want to really up my workouts and taking a walk everyday is one of those workouts I want to make sure I do.  Plus I really enjoy my walks.  It gives me a great boost of energy for the last half of my workday and it always puts me in a good mood.  I already use orthotics and they help.  I use the $10 orthotics, I wonder if I use the $50 it would be better.  I have started the stretching again.  It's just frustrating.  I don't want to give up on my walks, I really like them.  I've never had an issue like this before.  What to do, what to do.  If someone suggests going to the doctors, I think I might slap them... Obviously going to the Doctor's is an option to find a solution but I would rather save a little money and try some home remedies first.

Just An Update

Today I got back on track with my workouts.  I woke up at 8:30am (I did what?!?!) and actually did my workout (unheard of)!  I've been out of it for a lot longer than I should have allowed.  I was only able to do half an hour of an hour workout.  I lost some of the stamina I built up from last month, I need to regain it.  I am also back to taking my lovely walks during my lunch break.  It was so nice today and I am so glad I took my walk!

I am almost done with my two week Induction phase of Atkins.  I've lost 6 lbs. so far which is awesome!  Wednesday is my last day of Induction and also my weigh day.  I'll learn how much I've lost all together then.  I am going to amp up my workouts though.  I am losing weight by watching what I eat but I need to get my activity up even more.  My game plan is to do Zumba everyday (DVD's or live class) and to walk at least a mile everyday.  I really want to do Couch to 5k but at this point my schedule and my husband's schedule are making it very hard to figure out how to get that run in.  I don't have a jogger stroller so I can't take the kids.  Husband goes to work early so I would have to wake up very very early to get a run in.  This is an option but we'll see if it takes hold...

One of the problems I'm having with the workouts is what to eat pre-workout.  I used to drink an Atkins chocolate shake because it had fat, and protein in it so it would be a great thing to drink.  It gave me a lot of energy.  Being on Induction I'm not allowed to have those shakes.  I'm trying to figure out something else to give me that boost of energy that I need to complete my workout.  Today I had some cheese.  It was OK.  I felt kind of sick when I was done with the workout.  I don't think the cheese was enough.  Since I'm waking up earlier the last thing I want to do is cook.  I discovered that shake made with raw eggs and although it is good, I don't know if I want to drink that everyday...I make a lovely spinach quiche today so maybe I'll use that as my breakfast because it reheats easily and nicely.

I have to go to work everyday this week so it will definitely be a test to see if I can do everything that I plan on doing.  It's going to be rough but I think it'll be definitely doable.  I'm feeling great and energized.  I'm excited for the changes that are taking place in me and I'm excited to keep going and getting even better!

Healthy Habits Start Young

Looks like I'm not the only one who likes spinach in their breakfast!  I've mentioned this before but I think it's that important that I'm writing about it again.  I'm changing my life and what I eat and my activity level.  It's important for me.  It is even more important for my children.  They do what I do.  I'm their role model.  I need to teach them the importance of activity and making healthy food choices.  If I can teach them how important these choices are while they're young then that paves the way for good healthy choices their whole life.

If they understand how important it is to stay active then they will hopefully be active their whole life.  I'm excited to see what activities my kids will get into.  Sports, dance, band?  It's going to be awesome.  I was active in high school.  I played volleyball and I walked everywhere.  I had a couple of different jobs and they were both in walking distance.  I also have a bunch of siblings I would play with.  Since I was active I was able to eat whatever I wanted.  I loved being able to do this.  I never paid attention to what I weighed in high school, I didn't have to.  I was lucky.  As I got older the activity slowed down.  I wasn't playing sports anymore, and the walking was not as frequent as it used to be.  The eating didn't slow down though.  I kept eating whatever I wanted (my college had a 24/7 ice cream machine for crying out loud!).  This way of living resulted in complete lack of activity and horrible food choices, and voila that's how I got to where I am today.  

My parents did a great job at making sure I was eating right but once I was old enough to get food on my own I had a field day!  Some days if I got off of work early I would stop at the Burger King and eat a big old meal.  Other days if I was out running errands or something I would stop at Dairy Queen and eat a huge meal.  There was candy, chips, ice cream, everything.  My parents didn't know because whenever I came home I would still eat the nice big meals my mom served (minus the veggies) or sometimes I'd be really sneaky and buy my mom a blizzard to soften her up.  It was a terrible habit I got into.  Unlike me, my mother has gotten healthy and lost a lot of weight and looks amazing.  I should have followed her example long ago.

Well, I am learning from the past and my past mistakes.  I'm changing.  I'm taking control like my mother and father did.  I am getting healthier by the day.  I see the changes in myself and all the good choices I've been making these last 56 days (woah 56?!?! amazing).  I see the choices I'm making for my children.  I see my children embracing this new way of living.  That is what counts and it's awesome!

*Edited because I didn't know the full story, sorry mom.

Vegetables

I don't know what's more amazing...The fact that I gave up sugar or the fact that I am starting to enjoy my vegetables.  I have always disliked vegetables.  I didn't like the taste of the ones I actually tried.  I didn't like the texture of others.  For example,  I love the flavor of onions but I hated eating them because of the texture.  I've been such a big baby for so many years.  Half of the stuff I said I don't like I never even tried.

Giving up sugar was hard at first but once the cravings stopped it's no big deal.  I have no desire for anything that has sugar.  When I would eat something that has sugar in it, it was so overwhelmingly sweet I could never eat the whole thing.  The only thing I have to watch is the amount of gum I chew because that can cause a trigger for my sugar cravings.

I have always enjoyed raw spinach salads.  Normally I would load them with toppings.  I have limited those toppings and had the spinach the actual focus of my salad.  Yesterday I was making scrambled eggs and they looked boring.  So I decided to try something wild and crazy!  I added fresh spinach to my scrambled eggs.  Lo and behold it was delicious!!!  I've always said I didn't like cooked spinach. Maybe I should have tried it first... My eggs were so good with the spinach in there.  It's definitely a keeper recipe.  It makes me wonder after all these years of saying I don't like spinach cooked and in fact it's quite delicious, how many other vegetables have I missed out on because I'm a big baby?

Hell must have frozen over and there have to pigs flying somewhere.  I never thought this day would come that I would actually say I enjoyed choosing veggies over sugary stuff or other stuff that is bad for me.  Oh yeah cream cheese and green pepper is also quite amazingly delicious!  I'm going to broaden m y horizons and try more veggies!  I know this post is silly but it's a big deal for me the anti-veggie.  I've been anti-veggies all my life and to see my tastes changing is awesome.