Not defeated...

Well after my disaster weekend of eating last week for Easter I got back on track and feeling good. Weekends are still difficult for me but I am getting better with not getting too overboard and erasing all my hard work from the week. I have to keep telling myself that it is only sabotaging myself at the end. Is it even worth it? So now I'm focusing on not letting it defeat me and my goals of becoming a healthier and stronger person.

My body feels stronger and definitely sore. I'm not sure if either I am pushing harder in class or if the instructors are making it harder lol. All I know if my body is like WTF! But all in a good way. The foam roller is becoming my best friend. I also have been stretching a lot more which it is amazing how much of a difference it makes. I have noticed that my endurance is getting so much better now.  I was able to run without stopped last Friday and it felt so freaking good. I was just like, man never thought it would be me because it's something that I have always envied of others that run. I am so fascinated by it and find it amazing when I see people running. I'm a getting there slowly but surely. I guess that was an "oh yea" moment.

My other "oh yea" moment was looking at my pic from the very beginning of the Journey to now. It is amazing to actually see your results visually. Just proof that pics don't lie. I can say this makes me proud of my hard work that I have been putting in.

My goals this week are to continue to go to class, drink my water, stretch 15 mins a day even on my off days (it will be a challenge but I need to do it).

People who are inspiring me, I would have to say Danielle is showing up in a tremendous way. I see her putting in the work everytime I see her and from her post. She motivates me so much. She even suggested we take professional pics once we get to our goal and I think it is completely awesome! Also Nicole is a showing up and showing me that even through adversity and challenges she is pushing through. I was in a group with her last week and as much as I wanted to give up she helped me push through it. It was awesome. This Journey has taught me alot about myself and I love it.

Sometimes it gets tough, but gotta keep moving

So my body right now feels pretty good, however last week it was body was in shambles, from my hip, shoulder, and foot by the end of the week. I think I need to work on listening to my body and not over do it. I keep telling myself to slow down but then I feel like a failure if I do. I am working through it, this past week has shown me that it can break you down. Literally! However now I am feeling a lot better and trying to come back strong.

I am learning more about Paleo and that it is okay to have carbs so I am trying to figure out what is going to work for my body. I love the Paleo lifestyle but I am deciding on adding back some gluten free options for a couple weeks to see if I notice a difference. So it will be more of 80/20. I found that the nutritional seminar was very informative, even the 2nd time around. As they say the more you know the better off you can be. So I am taking everything in and seeing what works for "me".

My oh yea moment was fitting into a size 8 dress this weekend!! I was so happy and elated. It made me feel good that there is some progress. It is a slow process but I know that it is making me a better person inside and out. Also, today before the Worx I decided to run nonstop for 25 mins. I did it!! My co-worker inspired me by telling me that it's all in my head and that I can do anything. He made me realize that it doesn't matter the speed or who is watching. It's about improving. He was so right. I felt so good and proud of myself. Almost felt like the moment after my surgery in 2010 when I was able to breathe without coughing. It's small, but it made me feel so good inside.
Now I did have another "oh yea" moment that is going to motivate me to push even hard. A ex co-worker saw a pic of me on facebook yesterday and had her daughter ask me if I was pregnant. I was upset but then I laughed it off because I realize that I have been working hard and want to prove not only to those that doubt me but to myself that I can do this and going to use that as a way to push even harder this last 30 days of the Journey.

My goals this week are to go to bikram, do 2 morning workouts with Tamika, and attend Friday's Worx class.

I love seeing all the Journeymen and the coaches showing up and inspiring me everyday. It makes me feel so good and happy that a few friends have finally decided to come to the Worx to see what it is all about. I have a couple more that I hope to show up this week as well. It really does help when you have that support, that is definitely why the Worx is so different from any other program. I love it!

Round 2...Ready, Set, Go

Hi All!

I am so happy to be doing the Journey again. I need this accountability and support system. I am looking forward to losing more weight, inches and feel even healthier. I am truly happy about the changes in my life. I feel so good when I am eating healthy and working out. It's a natural high. 

This week I want to focus on my form during the Worx. The last 2 weeks of the Journey I believe I over hyperextended my shoulder and my hip. I was in a lot of pain but I didn't want to stop working out. I think it was definitely because of my form most likely. So I need to pay attention to what I am doing so I can get the full benefit of each move, even if I have to do level 1. I also decided that even though I love Paleo, I will be doing Primal for a little while to see how that goes. Primal is basically Paleo but adding dairy to my diet. 

This is going to be a challenging week as I will be in training for 2 weeks. So I want to focus and ensure that I plan ahead everyday. It's all about the planning!

Good Luck everyone to Week 1!!

Last week of the beginning of my life

Well it's the "final" week of my first journey experience. I must say that I feel amazing when it comes to my health. I feel like I have control over my body, mind, and spirit. It's hard to explain but I feel so good. I see the changes and can tell that my body is changing everyday. Rolls are becoming slimmer and tightening up lol.

I have learned so much about myself over these 60 days. I know that I can achieve anything that I set my mind to. I am finding it easier and easier to be consistent on my nutrition. Mainly because I think that when I eat something that is "non" Paleo (ie had popcorn over the weekend ughh), I don't feel good at all. Candy has kind of creeped back into my life and I am trying so hard to not go overboard. It is much better than it was before I started the Journey that is for sure. But I am just happy that when I go out somewhere I know what to order and I plan for my days ahead of time.

I need to stop critiquing myself so much. I am so hard on myself, it's really bad. I mean it's like I know I'm doing pretty well but then at the same time I feel like I could be doing so much better. It's like I get can't stop thinking about it. Even after a workout, I think to myself hmm did I really try hard enough, or maybe I could have burned another 100 calories. I am a work in progress and know that it will take time. It's just hard.

With that said I am happy to begin the Journey for round 2 and even happier to see others planning to do the same :)

 My oh yea moment...were some pictures that I took of myself Day 1 of the Journey and from last week and that was the first time I honestly believed that I look different. I mean it's one thing for clothes to feel loser but for me I had to see it in the pics. I was completely shocked. I think the Paleo lifestyle is really helping to shape my body and obviously going to the Worx routinely.

I find that the Worx is my release from my stressful job and so sometimes I am in a zone and I don't mean to be so I want to work on that going into the next one, being more friendlier. I want to get to know everyone and share our stories. Everyone pushing hard is so motivating to me. So many of you to name. And thanks to my coach who is continuing to inspire me and push me. I will get to 2 a days soon, coach Flo!  But I thank you!!!

Anyways, I am super excited to start the Journey for round 2 next week. I am super motivated to continue changing my life.

Overcoming is half the battle

Well I can definitely say that the 5th week was testing my patience and diligence that is for sure. Starting off that last Sat before weigh in my car broke down at the Bikram yoga studio. But I was determined to make it to weigh in and Kickboxing so I left my car there and was going to deal with it later. Well 6 hours later my car got towed. And to keep it short, later in the week I found out it was pointless in getting it fixed and had to get a new car. I was beyond pissed and I really loved my car but knew it was time. However, despite the challenges I push through, came to the Worx and gave it my all. Even with my nutrition, I didn't see a point nor did I even want eat bad stuff that I knew would just make me feel even worse. Before this Journey, I would have ate ice cream, cookies, chips, or something to relieve some stress but now that my life has changed I didn't even have the desire. It's amazing how changing your lifestyle you can overcoming those overarching battles that come your way.

As for the way that my body feels, I can say that I feel great and starting to feel like I'm getting in shape. I can feel a little less jiggle lol. My clothes are fitting a lot more comfortable and I already need to get a new belt because I'm at the last hole and it's still too big! OH YEA! I was so pressed when I noticed it. I can see my body changing and I'm taking it day by day. No matter what the numbers say, I'm doing this for me. And obviously it feels so good to see my hard work being noticed by several people noticing, especially at work since they see me everyday. Still nothing from my mom, but that is expected until it's a significant change for her to notice. Oh well.

I was able to make it to bikram yoga last week which I told myself I definitely wanted to make. I want to try to go on Friday this week to get a good stretch which I will need after the Worx workouts that I will be doing M-Thurs. I have been drinking a lot more water but I need to make sure I do better on the weekends. My goals are to continue what I've been doing, logging in myfitnesspal, follow Paleo nutrition, drinking more water, etc.

I am so thankful for the Worx team being beside me during this Journey. I am just loving the way I am changing as a person and accomplishing more than I would have ever thought. I am proud of myself and want to continue this lifestyle change forever.

Is it even worth it? Moving forward

Well this past week I feel that I am feeling stronger and my endurance is increasing. My body however does feel a bit tired and sore but in a good way. I feel the changes in my body and the tightness in my legs the most. Stomach is such a huge challenge for me but I feel a little improvement. I am still sticking to Paleo about 95% and I truly feel so much better. I mean no stomach issues and the 5% that I'm not, I feel it! Pretty crazy how the saying is so true that "you are what you eat". It is the truth! I had some M&Ms yesterday, the first candy I've had in over 3 1/2 weeks and I felt sick to my stomach. It was the worst feeling. Other than that, I am learning what is working for me. This lifestyle change has me always thinking, "is it even worth it?" No, it's not if it's going to hinder the way I feel.
I had some "oh yea" moment last week was going to my parents house and eating clean and sticking to a plan. There was so much "unhealthy" foods but I just avoided it and didn't even want it. So I am proud of myself for that. And another moment was when everybody in my office went to Five Guys and they brought it back, asked if I wanted fries and I said "nope" with no hesitation. It is getting easier that is for sure.
I am so glad to see everyone's posts on FB and the blogs because it continues to motivate me and push  me harder. The event last Thursday was great because everyone is on this journey to change our lives and it makes me feel so good and honored to be a part of this.
I didn't really fulfill all my goals as planned, I did alright with drinking more water but I could do better and I didn't make it to bikram yoga. However I am going tomorrow with my friend after work. So my goals this week will be the same.
I am so ready for this, as long as I keep my eye on the prize and know my "worth".

Pushing myself to the limit

Well I must say that week 2 was a bit tough when it came to working out. One of the days last week I thought I was going to throw up in class. As I love Paleo way of eating, I was having a hard time trying to figure out what to have before class. However, I think I may have tackled it with the help of talking to Nikki. I notice that I am definitely getting more hungry. Trying to add a couple hundred calories to help with that and I think that is helping me. I feel my body changing for sure. I was very surprised and shocked of my weight loss, it just reassured me that hard work definitely pays off. My size 10 are getting a little looser :)
I am learning that I am capable of doing this and really can see myself continuing this lifestyle change for the rest of my life. It's about feeling good, before it was more of just wanting to be small. I mean don't get me wrong, I still want to get down to a size 6 but it's more about being healthy. The past few years I've had major stomach issues and I could never figure out what the problem was. Since being on Paleo it truly has helped those issues I've had in the past. I absolutely love it.
My Oh Yea moments were turning down candy, donuts, bagels, cupcakes everyday in the class I was taking. Not once did I even have a bite. I just avoided it all together which has never happened before. But this time I just figured why do it when it's not going to help me get closer to my goal. And then my weigh-in was a awesome feeling. Although I know I won't have the same kind of results next week I am still motivated and as long as I feel good then it's all good to me.
My goals for the week are to drink more water because I think part of the issue last week was that I wasn't hydrated enough. And I also plan to go to bikram yoga at least once this week. I fulfilled my goals last week by trying new Paleo recipes and I got through the warm-up at least twice last week without stopping.
And Krissy is who has been very motivating and been pushing me in class. Everytime she sees me slipping she let's me know that I can do it. I think she is awesome! So thank you!

Week 1 Done. Now time to Worx out Week 2

So it's now the start of week 2 and I must say that I am excited and anxious because I'm on this journey but at the same time ready to get it over with as I have a extremely stressful and challenging week ahead of me. 

So how does my body feel? It feels sore and muscles are tight but in a very good way. I can already see and feel a change in the way my body is reacting to the clean eating and the intense workouts. So glad that I started back drinking the P90x recovery drink after the workouts because otherwise I don't think I would be walking right now. That stuff is the truth!

I am learning a lot about my tolerance and how planning ahead is so important and vital to living a healthy lifestyle. It's makes me feel so productive when I've made my breakfast and lunch ahead of time and just knowing that I have a plan for the next day. I've learned that I need to be more confident in my ability to do things. Sometimes I just feel like "umm there is no way I can do that", but even if I just try it's better than not doing it at all. 

I had a couple OH YEA moments, typically by Friday afternoon I would have gave in and had some ice cream, chips or something of that sort thinking that "well I did good all week" but this time I kept telling myself why undo all the hard work you did this week. It just wasn't worth it. And then my other moment was the fact that I only had 3 glasses of wine the entire weekend. I know it may sound crazy to some but for me drinking wine is a huge part of my life. And to only have 1 glass on Friday and 2 on Saturday is like a significant life change for me. I felt really good about it.

My goals for next week are to continue on the Paleo lifestyle change and learn more recipes. I want get through BTC's warm up at the Worx without stopping or at least really try. I want to continue to have the motivation that I had last week despite the challenges that are forthcoming. My goal last week was to just eat clean and stick with it and I did just that. So I think I did good, and I stuck to the plan. Even when my class had donuts, bagels, chocolate and chips all within my reach. I never once even wanted it. 

As for who is inspiring me are all the fellow journeymen that are continuing to post. It helps me out so much to see others post because that is my accountability that I need. I like having the support system. And it's been great having one of my best friend's right beside me on this journey. Tamika has been showing up and I am extremely proud of her. And my coach Flo is always there for me when I need that extra push. I am just overall really happy about being part of the Worx.

I can't wait for what is ahead for me because I know this change was much needed.

Productive Sunday

Well today is Sunday and typically right now I would be chilling on the couch with some wine or beer relaxing. However today I was very productive and woke up early to make some juicer with my juicer maker and then headed down to my parents to help with putting Christmas decorations up. While doing so Mom decided to cook breakfast for me and my fiance and at first she was going to make egg, cheese and turkey sandwiches but I told her I want to start eating clean and don't want any bread of cheese so she just made me 2 eggs and ground turkey sausage and I really appreciate her just doing that and being supportive of my change. Soon as I got back home, I popped in my Insanity dvd and did the Cardio Power and Resistance. I am feeing really good and so excited about this Journey. Normally I say I'm going to do this and that and I don't feel it in my heart. THIS time I really do. I am even happier that my girlfriends are doing this with me. It's nice to have the support and accountability. Anyways, excited for the week to come and really hoping to gain some friendship with all of the people in this journey. :)