Weightloss is a NO-GO :(

Well, obviously my weightloss journey has failed. I haven't posted anything in quite some time. Man oh man, trying to get healthy and lose weight is such a hard thing to do. I am still struggling with it, but I do believe deep down that I will make it. All that I can say is that I am trying and it is definitely a day to day struggle. I understand that getting healthy and eating right is more than likely a mental thing. As I am typing this, I think that maybe I need to get myself together mentally before I can do anything else - healthwise and in other aspects of my life.

I cancelled my gym membership some months ago. I was completely wasting money because I was simply not going to the gym. I don't know yet if I will get a new membership. For now, I'm going to take things slow. First and foremost, I'm going to stop being lazy and walk more. I must admit, I have gotten REAL lazy over the last several months. And unfortunately as a result of that, I have gained weight. Even though I hate it and I shouldn't do it, I force myself to get on a scale every Monday morning. For right now, the numbers have remained steady. Hopefully, a decline will start soon and I will start to feel better about myself.

Until next time
~Traycee

This is HARD

I feel like I am losing my way. Developing a new eating lifestyle (NOT A DIET) is so frustrating and overwhelming…at least for me. I feel like every slip-up that I have is a huge failure. I feel as if I am losing momentum with my exercise regime. I’m trying! I am trying soooooooo hard!!! I really want this to work out. I am so sick and tired of being “the fat girl”. My little sister, she’s the greatest…no matter how many times I call myself “fat” or “huge” or whatever, she ALWAYS tells me I’m the opposite. I love her for that. But, when I see myself in the mirror, I don’t see what she sees and that is so extremely hard for me. I can’t even buy new clothes because NOTHING fits me properly. It’s either too big or too tight (notice I didn’t say “too small).

I don’t want to give up, nor do I plan on giving up…but this is SO HARD.

~Traycee~

I almost didn't make it

I tell ya, I am not a morning person. I almost didn't make it into the gym this morning. Now, I didn't go yesterday because I couldn't get any sleep on Sunday night…I didn't finally go to sleep until about 2AM. This morning, I kept hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock. But, I kept fighting myself to get up. Then, all of a sudden I heard D. yelling in my ear…"TRAYCEE, get up NOW!!! Get your butt out of that bed. You've come too far to start getting lazy on me." Then, I heard B…"Come on, Traycee! I know you can do it."

I finally got up about 20 minutes after my alarm clock initially went off. I got dressed and got moving. I made it to the gym around 5:45…just in time for our group training. B. wasn't there today. So, we worked out with another group. We were doing some type of step aerobics where we had to step up (each set were different heights) and as we stepped down, we had to squat and pick up either one of those heavy metal balls or dumbbells. The balls ranged in weight from, I believe, 5lbs. to 15 or 20lbs. The dumbbells ranged from 15lbs. to 45lbs. The steps that had the bigger weight for us to pick up was the highest for us to step up on…around 6 or 7 stacked together. It was quite the workout.

I got most of my cardio in this morning. I didn't get to warm up before the above exercises, but I think I was still ok. After the class, I went to the tread climber (TC) and did only one mile (I'm supposed to do at least two). Then, I went to the treadmill (T), and completed my full 1 ½ miles.

I've been up for about 6 hours now. I went to vote this morning and was starving by the time I left. I stopped at my local spot over by my hair dresser and got a bacon, egg, and cheese on wheat bread AND a BLT on wheat! I know it was all wrong…but I was HUNGRY!!! Don't worry, I'm going to do a salad or something like that for lunch and some chicken noodle soup for dinner…it's COLD here in Maryland.

I hope you all went out and made your voices heard (for all those in the DC area)……..VOTE!!!

Until next time,
~Traycee~

Am I Wrong?

Am I wrong for hating spin class? I took a nap earlier today and am up at 11:30 tonight and cannot sleep. I am supposed to get up no later than 4:45AM to make it to the gym in the mornings. Not only can I not sleep, I am not too upset with the possibility of missing the gym tomorrow because we now have spin on Mondays…and I absolutely hate it!!! I am still working on my breathing and trying to get my stamina (I guess) up, but that class is really hard. I think out of everything I do in the gym, spin class is the worse for me. To make matters worse, when I get tired and have to sit down, that seat hurts like hell. I wonder if they do that on purpose.

I’m sorry, but I tend to ramble when I’m tired. So, while I am tired, I know that I am not going to get up and go to the gym tomorrow. Let the guilt trip begin.

Have a good night.

~Traycee~

A Wake-Up Call

On Monday, the day after the Superbowl, I did not go to the gym. I ate way too much food and my stomach was not happy about. D. called me at about 6:40 that morning and left a beautiful message on my voicemail. In short, he told me that I have come too far to start skipping days and with the day before being Superbowl Sunday, I had no excuse for not making it into the gym.

While he was right on target, he was wrong on one thing. I had every intention of making it to the gym that morning. BUT, all of the crap that I ate over the weekend was not going to let me leave my house. There was no way I was making it to the gym. I called him later on that day and spoke with him. He made me promise to come in after work to at least get my cardio in; I told him that I would. Unfortunately, I broke my promise to him because I didn’t make it. BUT, I was right back in the swing of things on Tuesday morning. I’ll tell you this, missing the gym for five days did a doozy on me. I was out of breath on the TC and could barely complete one mile. Needless to say, I did not meet my cardio goal that day, but I did not let it discourage me. I came back on Wednesday with a vengeance…AND, I reached my goal. The first time I ever reached my cardio goal. Thursday, I had a repeat performance and reached my goal again. I was ecstatic!!! I had a plan to reach my 5-mile goal on Friday, but D. had another plan for me…yoga.

I didn’t want to do yoga. Heck, I hated Pilates and figured I would hate yoga just as much. Well, I was pleasantly surprised because I loved it. It was extremely easier than Pilates and much more relaxing. I cannot wait until next Friday so I can do yoga again.

~Traycee~

My Workout Routine

My personal training sessions are in group format. It’s not exactly one on one with a personal trainer like most gyms are. And, I have say, I think this is better. You have a team of people rooting you on. It’s a small group, maybe about seven people on a given day. To switch things up, each day we do something different. However, there is one thing that is a constant, we must do at least 3 ½ miles of cardio activity every day. The program itself runs from Monday-Thursday with Friday being an optional day. On Fridays, D. wants us to do at least 5-miles of cardio. I have to admit, when I first started, it was a challenge for me to complete the 3 ½ miles. Just this past week I was able to complete my 3 ½ miles on Wednesday and Thursday.

So, as I was saying, each day we do something different. One day we can have a spin cycle class for 15 minutes; another day we will box for 15 minutes; on another day we will do football drills (which I’ve grown to LOVE); we did Pilates a couple of times; we just did Yoga yesterday (Friday); some days we lift weights, do crunches, jump rope, and even do martial art kicks; and, we also do some form of step aerobics.

My goal is to workout 6-days per week, Monday-Saturday, with Sundays off to rest. I am typically at the gym from around 5:15AM until approx. 7:30AM Mon-Fri. Within that time period, I manage to get my cardio in and have my training session with the group for either 30 or 45 minutes. On Saturdays I try to go when the gym opens at 7:00AM and I take as long as I want. I don’t have to work on weekends, so I am in no rush to leave. Typically, I like to sit in the sauna after I workout, by my time during the week will not allow me to do it. So, I usually sit in the sauna on Saturdays.

In doing the cardio, I have to do 1 ½ miles on the tread climber (TC). For those who don’t know what a TC is, it’s a treadmill (T) that moves up and down as you walk on it. I have managed to work myself up to 3mph and the fastest that it can go is 4mph. I still walk on the minimum “incline” while almost everyone else in my group is on maximum. I think I’ll be there soon, both at 4mph and on the maximum incline. In addition to the TC, I have to do 2-miles on the T. I am still at a walking speed on the T, but each day I am increasing my speed. My goal is to be able to run/slow job on it shortly. So far, my best time to complete my 2-miles has been 27min and 30sec. This is done at about a 3.3 or 3.4 speed on a zero percent incline.

The one thing I love the most about my workout program is that I sweat. When I first mentioned my sweating, my friends and coworkers looked at me as if I were crazy. Then, I had to explain to them…I am not a person who sweats very easily. So, when I do sweat, I know that I am getting a great workout. A few times, I have literally had sweat dripping down both sides of my face and down my neck. I love it!!!

So, there you have a glimpse into my workout routine. Care to join in?

~Traycee~

The Beginning

I’ve been overweight for most of my adult life…I am now 28 years old. Over the past several years, I have been “dieting” off and on. Last year, I joined a gym with the hopes of finally getting into shape and shedding these unwanted pounds. What started off as a good idea with goals was derailed within about 2 months time. I saw myself going to the gym less and less and wasting more and more money. Then, there were times when I just didn’t feel like going to the gym at all. The next thing I knew, an entire year had gone by and I was right where I started at the beginning of 2007.

So, regrettably, on Sunday, January 6, 2008, I went into my gym to cancel my membership. The personal trainer manager happened to be there that day. He asked me to step into his office (I know, such a cliché) so that he could talk to me. After 15 minutes, he convinced me give his personal training program a try…a one week trial basis, for free. I couldn’t pass that up. I knew I needed help in getting on the right track, so I took the challenge. The only catch, I had to be at the gym the very next day at 5:45 AM. Much to my surprise, I made it. (I am not a morning person.)

On that first day, B. (whom I have grown to love dearly), took me into the spin cycle classroom and had a one-on-one boxing session with me. Even though it was tough, I loved every single minute of it. I was hooked from the first punch. I came back the next day. It was painful, my arms and thighs were on fire from the boxing session that Monday. Then, I went back the next day. At the end of our session, D. (the manager), called me into his office again. He asked me how I wanted to pay for his training program, in full or in installments. I was shocked! How did he know that I was going to sign up for his program? How did he know that through all of the pain and sweat, I loved it? How did he know that I was going to stick it out for six weeks? Let me remind you, we were only halfway through my free week. But, he knew. I couldn’t even deny it.

I must be honest; my weight has not gone down much at all…maybe about 8 pounds or so. BUT, I have noticed other changes. The first change came when I did laundry and dried my clothes. We all know that usually when you dry clothes, they tend to shrink a little bit. Well, I put on a pair of work pants and I did not have to suck my stomach in!!! I almost cried. Another change that I noticed, muscle in my arms. When I drive my car, I tend to hold the steering wheel with one hand and wrap my other hand around and just hold onto my forearm. I don’t know why I do it, it’s just a habit…and it makes me comfortable when I drive. So, as I’m driving, I felt something a little hard on my arm. As soon as I got home, I took off my shirt and flexed a muscle. I HAD A MUSCLE…SHOOT, I HAD TWO MUSCLES (one in each arm).

My coworkers began to notice some changes as well. They said after the first week, they immediately began to notice me toning up. I didn’t believe them until I bumped into a friend I hadn’t seen in about a month or so. The first thing out of her mouth was, “You look slimmer.” All I could muster out was, “I’m trying.” I was in so much pain from working out that morning, I could barely walk. It wasn’t until then that I began to believe that my body was actually changing due to my workout regime.

Now, here I am in the 2nd week of February, and I am still sticking it out.

~Traycee~