Strength Training

So I am working with a Personal Trainer. His name is Chris and he rocks. We went to high school together, which has really helped because we were friends before. So our relationship was already there! He is a huge believer in strength training, which fits with my plans perfectly. It is vital to strength train, especially since I plan on running!

Benefits of Strength Training
• Helps reduce the risk of injury.
• Prepares your muscles for faster running.
• Makes you stronger on hills.
• Enhances the rehabilitation of skeletal and muscular injuries.

Since injury is my #1 worry, I am hoping working with Chris helps! We meet twice a week at six in the morning for an hour! So far I am really enjoying myself! He is so supportive AND he doesn't let me quit. Bottom line, it works for me. I have always needed to be accountable to someone besides me. It keeps me in line.

Here I Go Again Again

Hello Everyone!

So Sydney is here and it's time to get my butt back into gear.

I am taking a cue from my BFF Marlene and starting WW again as of last Monday. And let me tell you, I have VERY BIG PLANS this time around. The points system is different from the last time I did Weight Watchers. Currently I am doing the online program, but I want to start going back to my Monday night meetings. It keeps me accountable. Hopefully in the new year. But right now I am tracking online and I am down 7.2 pounds. So YAY for me!

My first and foremost important goal is to get back where I started from before I got pregnant with Connor. And that isn't going to be easy. But I think I can do it!

Exercise is also playing a huge part in my new and improved lifestyle! I am beginning a "Learn to Run" clinic at the Running Room and I have about five races lined up for next year. I know it's ambitous of me, but I want to do it and I can do it! Combined with the strength training I am doing at the gym with my a$$ kicking trainer Chris, things should start to get good fast!

This is so exciting. It's great to be back!

Holy Cow Three Whole Months

Hey guys!

If anyone is still out there reading this I am very sorry for no update. But since I am no longer POST pregnant and I actually am pregnant, it seemed silly to go on about weight gain and loss anymore.

Since being pregnant requires weight gain, I won't be updating again until baby number two comes in October. But that's ok.

Connor is very well and we are all in for a very busy summer. Weddings, parties, birthdays, graduations and Connor Baptism have us all on our toes as well as Softball! We are very busy!

Take care and I hope you all join me on my weight loss journey beginning in October! Love you all!

Sarah xo

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all have a fantastic Valentine's Day!

Remember, nothing has calories today, especially CHOCOLATE LOL!

Friday I'm In Love

Hello Everyone!

Well the weekend is upon us again. We will be going to Sharbot Lake for three days and we can't wait. There is so much to do there, so I should get tons of exercise.

Took a break from the gym on Wednesday and I am not so sure it was a very good idea. Bottom line is that I managed to do thirty minutes and I had to stop. I wasn't out of breath, but my body felt like it was trying to work through tar. It was brutal. Colin says that I need to take a day off, but I hated the way i felt after. Doesn't bode well for when I get back to personal training on Monday!

So back to the gym tonight. I plan on trying to do my sixty minutes, plus some weights. But we have a lot to do before we leave tomorrow, so I have to be sure I don't hang out there all night chatting with Marlene! She is such a great distraction. I like knowing someone and having a "workout" buddy....well sort of. She runs and I do elliptical training.

Gotta go and try to eat lunch while the little buddy is playing. He is so CUTE!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Weigh In Week Five

Holy Cow! Exercise makes the difference.

Down 3.1 Pounds this week. Fabulous. And how I managed that with the Superbowl party, I will never know lol!

I have gone to the gym everyday this week and worked with Emma, my personal trainer every second day. I am currently doing 15 sets 2 reps of crunches x3 and working on the universal weight machines. And sixty minutes of cardio on the elliptical.

But today is a rest day. Connor is getting his needles today, so I am not going to get a chance to go. But that's ok, everyone needs to rest.

It is so cold. I am whipping up something healthy but suitable for today's weather for dinner. But shhhhh, it's a surprise!

Biggest Loser Day One

Hello! I hope that everyone is feeling as great as I am this morning!

I have been to the gym everyday since I joined and it feels fabulous. I can't begin to tell you how great it feels to be exercising again. I didn't realize just how much I missed it. I also began my personal training sessions. My trainers name is Emma and she says that I am a very good student. So I am hoping that my next class on Saturday is good.

Last night I got a body composite done. Basically it sends a shock wave through your body and comes back with a whole bunch of information for you. So this is the verdict:

Weight-240.1 pounds (keep in mind, I had just worked out, was fully clothed with shoes and it was six at night! Normally I weigh myself naked, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach.)
Fat - 101.1 Pounds
Lean Muscle Mass - 54%
Water - 43.3%
BMI - 39

My water was lower than it should have been. It needed to be above 50%. So I have to drink more water! Like that is going to be possible......

The Biggest Loser Competition starts at the gym today. Tomorrow I go in to have my measurements taken. The person that has lost the most at the beginning of April WINS! So I am more than determined to do it.

Weigh In Week Four

Well, the good news is that I haven't gained any weight this week! YAY!

The not so good news is that I didn't lose any weight either. Bummer.

So I started feeling a bit under the weather last night. Low and behold I woke up this morning with a wicked head cold! I somehow manage to always get one this time of the year, whether or not I am looking after myself. But I did manage to get to the gym and burn off six hundred calories on the elliptical trainer.

I love the elliptical. It gives me an all over work out, as I use the personal trainer feature on the machine. You go backwards, do sprints and I can go up to six miles an hour for ten minutes! I know I couldn't run that fast LOL! Someday maybe.

I have my personal training tomorrow. Like I said in earlier posts, I think that it is pretty basic, in that I won't be doing much exercising. I am also taking part in the biggest loser club. For ten bucks you get before and after measurements and photo, tracking and a whole bunch of other cool things. If you are the biggest loser, you get the proceeds from the entire thing! WTF?!? Why not right? I have nothing to lose and anyone that knows me well knows that I am really motivated when it comes to winning money. Casino anyone lol?

Weigh in Tomorrow

Wow, I cannot believe that we are already another week down. Insane!

So I have gone to the gym and worked out for the last four days! I have just been doing the elliptical training for now. I am going to have my first session with the personal trainer on Tuesday night. It is really just an introductory meeting, so I am probably going to work out on my own before or after.

So I don't have much else. Keep your fingers crossed that tomorrows weigh in is a good one!

Mission: Get Fit

Something came over me last night. Once dinner was over I decided I needed to go on a mission. A mission to find a gym!

I went to FIVE different gyms. Five. In fact, I am pretty sure I went to every gym in the area!

The first gym isn't even open yet. It is called Ocean Breezes Fitness Centre. It's is Newmarket. It was WAY to expensive monthly. They wanted over 100 dollars. Damn. For that I might as well join Glenway! So that was out.

Then I went to Curves. I spent about ten minutes standing at the reception desk until someone finally came up to me to let me know that I needed to make an appointment. When I asked when someone would be available she said "you need to call"! So needless to say, Curves lost a customer.

Next was Fit City for Women. It's in the Weston Plaza at Yonge and Mulock. Now because it is an all women's gym I was pretty confident. Till I walked in.....holy cow there was way too many skinny in shape women in there. Like a third of the size of me lol! But I did talk to someone about a membership. It was also a bit expensive. Especially to initially join. So that was also out.

The second last stop was Forever Fitness. Now keep in mind, I am travelling around looking at these places around the time I will be going to the gym. There was NOWHERE to park at Forever Fitness. It is VERY popular. So that was out lol!

Finally, I decided to try Goodlife for Women in the Superstore Plaza. So I went in and immediately recognized Marlene's brother's girlfriend Lindsey. She had me look around to see if I liked the place. It was nice. Small, but not to busy for seven in the evening. Plus, they also have childcare for kids as young as six weeks! That was also a bonus. We sat down and she told me what the promotion for this month is. You don't pay the Administration fee (59.00), the membership or card fee (49.00 and 39.00) and your first and last month are free (59.00 each) So instead of paying 206.00 dollars, you pay nothing to join. Well actually I needed to pay 1.06 with tax! So I decided to go for it. Close to home, and you have the option of going to ANY Goodlife in the country. So maybe if someone I know joins one, we can go to that one too!

So now I once again belong to a gym. I am also going to be working with a personal trainer, which is so helpful to me. I love the motivation that it gives me! Tonight after dinner is my first go! So yay! Wish me luck everyone!

What's going on here?

Ok, I am new to this whole post pregnancy thing obviously. But I am really starting to become a little mad at my midsection this week.

Some books say to only weight yourself once a week. That way, you will apparently stay on track. Others say weigh yourself everyday. Then you will stay on track.

Well I have been weighing myself daily and I am NOT pleased. So that is going to stop. I am driving myself MAD!

On a lighter note, I walked up and down the stairs today. That was harder than I thought it would be. Going down, no problem. Going up.......LOL! Connor liked it so much, he fell asleep!

Maintained

Well, I maintained my weight this week. No up or down. Just the same.

It's the exercise I am NOT getting that I think is hindering me. I MISS IT SO MUCH. I was running before I got pregnant and now I am lucky if I make it up and down the stairs more than three times a day.

I have to figure out something.

Saturday!

Wow it is COLD out there today! -14 here in Aurora. Winter has finally arrived.

Today is Mike's 40th birthday so that means a party tonight! I got my hair done for the occasion and everything. Looks pretty good I say!

There is a new Gym opening up here in Newmarket called Fitness One. It is an all women's gym and I think I am going to look into joining today. It isn't opening for awhile, but I am going to go and see what the cost is. Now if I can only convince some of my friends to join with me.......

Other than that there isn't really anything new to report. It's cold and all I want to seem to do is eat! But I am feeling good today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!

Emotional Eater

I have come to the conclusion that I might be an emotional eater.

A lot of stuff has happened in the last few days that has pretty much worn me down. All I want to do is crawl into bed, eat chips and play with Connor. I don't want to exercise, and I certainly don't feel like eating another salad! So, like I said, emotional eater here! I have so many people around me that say "oh when I am upset I can't eat a thing!" I wish. I can eat my weight in food twice and I can't say I would stop after that.

I have to do this for the right reasons. Right now that reason is for my son. As he gets older, I want to be able to play with him and run with him. And I want to be a role model for good health. I am not talking about making him think being overweight is the worst thing in the world. There is not ONE PERSON on either side of my family that hasn't or isn't struggling with their weight. So he already has that strike against him. So if Colin and I can teach him good health habits early, without seeming like food Nazis, that would be a good thing.

I am a worrier. This is what I do. I worry about money, about Connor and Colin, about my family, about my job. If I am not worrying about something, I worry that there is something I am forgetting to worry about! I am Nutty Cuckoo!

Now where did I put those Pringles..............

Week Two Weigh In

Good Monday Morning All!

If you are in the Toronto Area this morning, then you all know Old Man Winter came a knocking today. Yuck!

So this morning I weighed 235.1! Yay. I am now down 4.9 pounds after two weeks. I happen to think that is pretty good progress. So on to week three I go.

Right now I am try to come up with some sort of "Cold Weather & Baby" exercise routine! Not so easy. I am doing Yoga three times a week with a DVD "Yoga for Weight Loss" but I need to get some cardio in, since walking isn't that easy right now. Especially with Connor. It is just too cold to walk outside. And getting our butts in gear to even take him to the mall to walk is a chore at night. Ah well.

Colin also started Weight Watchers again last week! He is down too! He is a lifetime member, but he isn't going to the meetings. Too expensive. SO I created a spreadsheet he can follow! I think he likes it........

Here I Go Again

First things first: a little about me and my weight loss journey until now..........

Basically I have been struggling with my weight since my early teens. I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycycstic Ovarian Syndrome) when I was fifteen years old. One of the major side effects of this disease is heavy weight gain. It can be controlled with exercise and diet, but I was fifteen and had NO MOTIVATION for that kind of thing. So the pounds came on. By the time I was seventeen I weighed over 200 pounds.

The first diet I tried was The Zone Diet. I lasted about a week on that one. Not only where the goals for eating completely unrealistic, but it was EXPENSIVE. Plus I was still living at home, so it was hard to separate my eating habits from the rest of the families. Especially since I wasn't contributing to the household income lol!

Next was The South Beach Diet. This diet would have actually worked for me. But unfortunately it restricts certain foods for a two week period at the beginning. And anyone that knows me knows that I HATE being told what to do lol! So that lasted about a month. I lost almost twenty pounds.

But by a month later, I had gained forty back! So I actually ended up right where I began and more.

In the fall of 2004 my father-in-law joined Weight Watchers. My mom had done WW years ago, but all I remembered was that she lived on Fat Free Hot Dogs and Cottage Cheese with Pineapple Chunks! She seemed hungry all the time. But it worked for her. The plan had changed a lot since then and by March of 2005, I couldn't deny that it was working for my father-in-law too! So, I decided I would give it a shot. My first weigh in I was HORRIFIED. I weighed........293 pounds. I was shocked. I had no idea that I weighed that much. And on that day I promised myself I would lose the weight for good.

By March of 2006 I weighed 217 pounds! I was so proud of myself. And then Colin and I got pregnant lol! That was a great surprise. I didn't diet one day during my pregnancy and I managed to only gain just under forty pounds.

So now I am starting again. My first goal is to lose ten percent, which will get me to 216 Pounds. So here I go again.

P.S. Thanks to Marlene for showing me her blog first! I am so happy to be doing this too!