It's Baaaack! Fitness Friday

So, it's the end of summer vacation. Time to leave the days of lazin around behind and get back to work.


Um, right. Like I had those kind of days. I worked this summer and I worked hard.

Which is why I'm so excited about next summer. God willing, I'll be a travelista next summer, traveling both in the US and out. I plan to work my @$$ off this school year so I can afford to chill next summer instead of work...so I can, you know, actually vacation during my summer vacation.

This brings me to my plan I'd like to call my 50/50 challenge. What is the 50/50 challenge? I'm so glad you asked! :) Starting Sunday, I'm gonna attempt to lose 50lbs in 50 weeks (hence 50/50). This means, I'm trying to lose one pound per week. Can this be done? Sure it can! This is actually the safer way to lose weight - 1 to 2 lbs/week as opposed to say, like 20 lbs/month. Besides, earlier this year, for a blissful month and a half, I was successful at losing a pound a week. Then I hit a wall. I've been this weight for the last 4 months. I guess it's good cos I haven't gained any weight. *shrugs*

So, how will 50/50 work?

Of course there's making healthier eating choices. For me, this means eating more than once a day. The surprising thing is, it's easier for me to exercise than it is for me to eat 3 meals a day. Weird, right? I don't plan on totally eliminating certain things (junk food, pop, chips). Eliminating them never works for me...I only end up eating more after a while. So, instead of getting rid of my weaknesses, I plan on eating less, maybe even using them as rewards when I've had a good week. I'm all for rewards, you know.

Exercising isn't really a problem for me...unless it's on a day where I'm just too tired to do anything. Even then, I have a plethora of exercise DVDs or I'd just do DDR, which is a fun way of working out. My top choices of workouts: walking, Tae Bo, DDR, volleyball, and dancing. 5 days/week - 6 if I'm feeling ambitious - of cardio/strength training.

The last, and most important, component to the 50/50 challenge is God. Earlier this year, I'd asked God to take control of my weight-loss journey...and He did. He talked me out of many unhealthy decisions, especially when it came to Pepsi, which is my number one weakness. Seriously, I can do some damage with Pepsi - like at least a bottle/day. My mouth is watering now to feel the burn... Anyway, whenever I feel like piggin out on junk food, guzzling down an extra bottle of Pepsi, or skipping a workout, I'll have to remember to ask God for help. And you know what the cool thing is? HE'LL ACTUALLY HELP! I honestly don't know why I hadn't thought of asking God to take control of my weight-loss/get-in-shape journey in the first place. It's like, duh! I ask Him to help me in everything else, why not this, right?

I'm SO ready for this challenge! I even have a special journal, complete with a special pen (did I mention I'm obsessed with stationary stuff) to track my progress. I have my inspiration board up on my bedroom wall with pics of beaches, swimsuits I'd like to wear, words, etc. My main reason for this is NOT looks. Of course, I always like to look good, but I'm more concerned with my health. I'm not trying to have high blood pressure and have to take pills for the rest of my life. No thank you! And, not only do I work with kids, but I also have 2 VERY ACTIVE nephews that I'd like to run around and play with without, you know, feeling like I'm gonna die from extreme exertion. Also, I believe God is about to take me places and I need to be physically, as well as spiritually and mentally prepared.

Fitness Friday blog posts will be dedicated to keeping up with my progress. I figure, the more people know about this, the more accountable I'll be held. And you can join me, too, whether you want to lose more than, less than, or exactly 50 lbs. I'd love the company.

So, Rae's 50/50 challenge: from Sunday, August 30, 2009 - Saturday, August 14, 2010. Ready. Set. GO!

Fitness Friday

Last week, I said I was changing my focus with my weight loss journey - moving my focus from the weight to God. I started this approach last Thursday, where I have a daily scripture and affirmation to meditate on. I've changed my way of thinking (all positive; no negative). Apparently it's working because I've lost 2 lbs in one week, which isn't bad for that amount of time. I'm still watching what I eat and working out.

Speaking of workouts, my new neighborhood has a sand volleyball court. I'm soooooo happy about that, since I LOVE playing volleyball. When we lived with our parents, my sister and I would just volley the ball back and forth as a workout since they didn't have a court/net. But now...oh yeah, we're about to get our workout on! And playing volleyball in the sand is an even better workout than regular v-ball. Yeah, baby!

I finally did the Laila Ali/Sugar Ray Leonard boxing workout. It's not on the same level of, say the TaeBo vids as far as production is concerned (not bad, though), but, to me, it's still a good workout. I haven't done the advanced dvd yet. Sugar Ray motivates throughout, but Laila does most of the talking (maybe her name should go first...but then, Sugar Ray is a bigger name). I'm working my way up to the heavyweight dvd (gotta get through the lightweight dvd first).

Fitness Friday

I've decided to stop taking the Alli. Not because it doesn't work, but because I'm terrible with taking any kinds of medicine. There have been several times when I'd forgotten to take it when I was supposed to. So, needless to say, it's a hassle that I don't need right now. As far as pills are concerned, I think I'm just going to stick with trying to take my blood pressure pills faithfully like I should. Unlike Alli, or any weight loss pill for that matter, the blood pressure pills are for my health...kind of like a matter of life and death, so, I'm thinking these are more important. I do need to find out about vitamins to take, though. I've been so tired lately (but I think I may be coming down with something). Gotta get vitamins.

I'm starting to train for half marathon (little steps first...26 miles is out of the question) next week. I'm going by Prevention's walking calendar, which I did at the beginning of last year (and loved it...actually lost 11 lbs in 2 months because of it). The key for me is sticking to it. Like I said, I've been so tired, so I'm praying that I can rev up some energy to actually follow the calendar like I should.

I'm still eating better. I've been eating breakfast (yay me), which is usually hard for me. I'm not a breakfast eater, but, every morning for the past 2 weeks, I've been faithfully taking the time to eat breakfast. I've also been eating a small snack (like yogurt) between meals so I won't get the munchies. I haven't been snacking on junk either. In my parents' house, there are 9 of us (3 children, 2 teens, and 4 adults), which makes it hard to buy ingredients for the healthy recipes. Starting next week, it'll only be my sister and I (we're moving into our new house), so it'll be much easier. That's one thing I'm looking forward to.

Can I see the fruits of my labor in pound loss? Not much. I only see a 5 lb weight loss. My clothes are fitting a little looser, which means inches are coming off, if not lbs. I'm still happy, though. I mean, it could be worse, right? I could've gained everything back and then some.

Fitness Friday

2.4 pounds...that's how much I've lost since January 1st! 2.4 pounds! Yay me!

My sister and I did a pretty good job this week with keeping up with our workouts. We've played volleyball (with no net, but still got a workout), walked 2 miles, and strength trained. *sigh* I felt so good, which is weird cause, it's...you know...exercise. Next week, we're going to try out Sugar Ray Leonard & Laila Ali's Knockout workout. Clearly, we'll be doing the lightweight first. Will it be worth the dinero I spent? Only time will tell...

Another good workout? Dance Dance Revolution. I am NOT playing when I say it's a good cardio workout as well as good for your legs & butt. That's if you do the songs that are like 130 & above (the higher the number, the faster the song is) and you do it on the basic, challenge, and expert levels, as oppose to the beginner level. My sis and I are still on basic, which is like level 2. I hurt just looking at the challenge and expert level, so it'll be a minute before I get there. I'm thinking of buying the most recent DDR game (the one we have is about 3 years old). It's a workout and it's fun. What more can you ask for?

Goal: Lose 65 pounds; 2.4 pounds down...62.6 pounds to go.

My Health

Last week, I went to the doctor for my physical and well-woman exam (VERY uncomfortable, btw). I'd scheduled the appointment because both sides of my family have a history of cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes. I wanted to make sure that all was right in my health world. The last time I went to the doctor, I was told that I had borderline high blood pressure. This summer, I came to the conclusion that I might've gone from borderline to actual high blood pressure. I'd been experiencing some of the same problems that my parents (who both have HPB) have: constant headaches (I don't just get headaches...I get migraines), swollen feet, etc.

It turns out that, unfortunately, I was right. I have HPB now. ARGH! So, now, I have medicine, thankfully just one, that I have to take everyday, which sucks 'cause I'm horrible at taking medicine. I had to write a note to myself on my dry erase board (yeah, I'm a nerd...I have a "to do" board in my room) to remind me to take the medicine. I've never liked taking medicine.

The good thing is, with exercise and good eating habits, I can lower my blood pressure. I've been exercising pretty faithfully since June. I've been watching what I eat since August. I have fallen off the wagon, so to speak, every once in a while, but I've gotten back on. Overall, I've lost 11 pounds. Yay me! My sister and I have really buckled down this month and have been doing well. We've either walked 2+ miles, played volleyball in front of the house, or had 45 minutes to an hour of Dance Dance Revolution, which, btw, is an awesome form of cardio. We've added strength training in between our workout days. My original goal was to lose a few pounds for our Puerto Rico trip, but, now I've added lower my blood pressure. As far as eating in concerned, the problem isn't that I eat too much, it's that I don't eat enough. I usually only eat dinner because I don't make the time to eat breakfast or lunch. This is bad because I usually get cravings and end up eating junk food. So, now, I'm working on eating 5 times a day - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 2 snack times in between.

I guess if I blog about my journey, it'll hold me accountable. I'm supposed to have a checkup in November to see if my blood pressure has gone down. So, my BP was 155 over 113 (I know...horribly high). My prayer is that I can lower it some by my next appointment. Also, my goal in June was to lose at least 30 pounds by the end of this year (I'm not even going to say how much I weigh). I'm now at 11 pounds down and 19 to go. Can I do it? Will keep you updated!