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Tricia’s Journal – 2012

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2012

2012aWeek 1:
I just finished my first full week of workouts with Christina and Tom at His & Her Fitness. I have to say, getting up early with Christina isn’t the easiest thing I have ever done, but I think it’s working for me. I have dropped 15 total lbs and lost 10% body fat since starting 4 weeks ago. I have more energy and am not out of breath after climbing the stairs in my home. (That was one sign that told me, “you have got to get serious, or else.”)

I always tell the patients I work with to listen to their bodies. (Granted they are usually 80+ in age…) But I believe in this. Our bodies talk to us — we just have to pay attention. That’s another thing I learned this week. I was a big diet coke drinker, and I know it’s bad for me, but I would always use the excuse “it’s my only vice.” Not anymore. I totally stopped all caffeine, and as hard as that first week was, I feel so much better. I am sleeping better at night and feel more rested in the morning. I learned from Christina that Diet Coke makes you less focused, and honestly I didn’t think about it before she said that this morning. But if I think about it, I am more clear headed now. I always thought my being scatter-brained was just “getting older.” NOPE!!!

I have always been the person that tries to learn from those more knowledgeable than I am or from those who have lived to tell what they have learned throughout their lives. This is one of the reasons I love working with elderly people. They have so much knowledge about life. I soak up their advice and use it to my benefit if I can.

Christina’s knowledge about fitness is a godsend to me and I am working very hard to learn from her and her staff to create in myself what I know is in there. Positivity is powerful. It’s not always easy to be positive in a journey to health and fitness, but it is soooo much easier when you surround yourself with people on the same mission. I am learning, am being inspired and am still excited to have been given this opportunity. Take every opportunity to be the best you can be. I am.

Thanks, H&H!

Tricia (8 Weeks to Greatness)

Week 2:
Just finished week 2 of this wonderful challenge, and I do mean challenge. Every day we are met with challenges and have to make choices. Since being involved in “8 Weeks to Greatness” and working with Christina and her staff at His & Her Fitness, I have been met with many challenges and have had to make hard choices and changes in my life. I went to work out with Christina on “weigh-in Wednesday” and was excited to see my results as so far I have had great success with losing weight and inches. The reality that morning was that I had lost inches but only one pound. I was very disappointed as I felt that I had done everything by the book (meaning Christina), but the scale doesn’t lie. I hadn’t done as well as I thought I had… but that’s okay. I have to look at this process positively — realizing that I didn’t gain anything and that’s a good thing. Even though I didn’t lose what I wanted to last week, we always need to see the positive and keep working to reach those goals. Last year at this time if I lost a pound I would be so happy that I would eat something and gain it right back. Now I have the drive, encouragement and all the tools I need to keep me on the positive side so I continue to work toward this new, healthier lifestyle — and I have His & Her Fitness to thank for keeping me on the right track. I know I will have a better result next week. I’m positive.

Week 3:
Once again I am so thrilled to have been chosen as one of the “8 Weeks to Greatness” participants. I am losing and gaining at the same time! It has been several years since I have weighed what I am weighing right now. I am so glad to be done with the dieting roller coaster. It made me dizzy. I was so frustrated with all the media we see and hear telling us what we should do to lose weight. I was so overwhelmed with “EAT THIS,” “EAT THAT,” “NOW DON”T EAT THAT, EAT THIS,” “take this pill,” “lose 20 pounds in a week by doing this,” and so on. YIKES!!! What to do, what to do. You name it and I tried it. Then I had my husband telling me to “eat less, exercise more, it’s easy.” Well it isn’t that easy, and I am now losing weight and learning what exactly I have to do in order to be successful. All I needed was some guidance and self discipline. They always say getting fit is easy, staying fit is harder. This hasn’t been an easy task so far, but it is so motivating to have success with what I have been told to do. It really does work and I feel so much better. I guess you really do need to eat less and exercise more — BUT, you have to eat the right kind of food and exercise the right way. I really believe that working hard and being diligent will get me the results that I want. I am soaking up what Christina and her staff are teaching me and am looking forward to each week of working out with them. Ahhhhhhh, success, finally! A thinner me.

Week 4:
I’m already ending Week 4 and starting Week 5. My, how time flies when you’re having fun and getting healthy! And I do feel a lot better. Every week I learn more about fitness. I thought I had a pretty good handle on the whole “healthy thing,” but obviously I didn’t. It feels so good to have hard work pay off. When I was getting ready for church today I thought I’d try on some dress pants that haven’t fit for a couple of years. YEA!!! They didn’t just fit — they were loose. Gotta love that! It just goes to show what eating right and exercising right can do. I think that soon I will have a new wardrobe that I won’t have to shop for — because the clothes are in my closet! (They just haven’t been worn for awhile… ) I’m looking forward to another successful week of working out with Christina and learning more about health and fitness. I’ve got my sights set on my goals and I’m getting closer by the week. Thanks again to H&H for this awesome opportunity.

Week 5:
I’ve passed the half-way mark, and Week #5 brought with it some mixed feelings. I, too, am a numbers person — but only when it comes to the scale. I felt pretty good with my results for Week #5 until I got measured. Numbers really do come into play when trying to get healthy and fit, but not just on the scale. You can look good on the scale, but gain in other ways — like inches. Boy, did that burst my bubble! Even though I had Christina to help me figure out what I need to do this next week in order to be successful with both the scale and the measurements, for some reason I am really nervous coming into Week #6 of my workouts. Although my clothes are fitting so much better (and getting loose actually), I want to see the scale decrease more than what it has been. It’s all psychological, but it can really be powerful.

I have been telling people that I have given up caffeine. But also this week, while talking with my workout peeps, I found I really haven’t given it up because I have been having at least one glass of Amino Energy a day — and that has a lot of caffeine. Ok, ok, ok. So I haven’t given up caffeine, but I have given up Diet Coke (which was very hard!) and the yummy coffee I was having in the morning, every morning. So in my mind I have given up caffeine because I don’t get my treats anymore. Once again, a psychological thing.

My body is adjusting to my new way of eating and exercising. I just have to be patient with the results and realize that I am not alone in this journey. And once again realize that every week I am learning something new about fitness and about me.

Week 6:
Week #6 is fading, and I am looking ahead to Week #7 with a little anxiety due to the Thanksgiving holiday. So far I have been able to resist the temptations of sweets and good-looking food without too much trouble, but a family gathering with people who don’t understand eating clean and its benefits, plus the upcoming traditional food temptations, may be a really good test of my character. I really don’t want to give in to those temptations and relapse on the eating.

I will keep in mind the great success that I have had so far in getting healthy and fit, and hopefully those thoughts will sustain my willpower to continue with another week of success. I had a great week this week — in addition to losing inches, body fat and three pounds, I have inspired friends. When I started this journey, I had friends who told me they were inspired by my courage to participate in this endeavor. Now with the results I have seen so far, others have noticed and I actually have inspired some to act on getting healthy. Now I can really say that I know how Christina feels when she says she truly loves what she does — helping people get healthy and fit. It must give her such satisfaction and gratification to be able to be a part of other people’s journeys to health and fitness. I makes me feel so good to have inspired others by getting healthy myself. But there is also a lot of responsibility and accountability that comes with being an inspiration. I embrace the challenge to continue on this journey of health, and to be an inspiration to those who wouldn’t normally recognize that fitness is so important or realize that they are worth the effort.

I have set a goal and I know that with continued support and encouragement from my friends and family, (including my new friends at H&H), plus the fact that my wardrobe is growing (yea!!!), I will continue to have success and be able to keep inspiring people along the way.

I am so blessed. Tricia

Week 7:
WHEW… I made it through the Thanksgiving holiday and all the awesome-looking food that everyone was eating. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be, but I won’t say it was easy either. It’s one thing to have Halloween candy sitting out in a bowl and passing it by, but when you get together with family and everyone is eating and engaging in conversation, that’s another story. It puts you in a situation where you might not pay attention to what you’re putting into your body. I dodged temptation pretty well (I think), but it wasn’t easy. When I am home, I have full control over my actions — but things change a little when you around those that are not thinking “health and fitness” and expect you to do things the way you always have. I tell people this is not “a diet,” it’s a new way of eating and thinking about food. And I truly believe it. My thoughts on food have changed. My husband has always said “food is fuel for the body” and as much as I hate to say he’s right, he really is and now that’s how I look at food. Christina has said from the beginning that “food is our friend” and it really is. Starving yourself or depriving yourself is not the way to be successful in maintaining a healthy and fit lifestyle. “Everything in moderation” is a better way to go.

As is always our tradition, my sister and I shopped on Back Friday. I had just as much fun this year as I always have — still eating at the food court, but being a little more mindful of my options on what to eat for lunch. You can find healthy food in a food court — you just have to know what to look for and be a little more particular. It can be done and I feel pretty good about the food choices I made on our day full of shopping this year.

Everyday we are put in situations that force us to make decisions about how we eat. Think about it — in most social events we are surrounded by lots of food and drink. We have to be in control and have self control. Since I started “eating clean,” I find it is easier to stay on track. Apparently our palates really do change, and so it becomes easier to resist to the food temptations we face.

It was nice to hear all the compliments from my family this weekend as they haven’t seen me since I started this journey. Their kind words give me the emotional fuel I need to continue this life of health and fitness and to reach my goals.

As always, I am so THANKFUL to H&H and Christina for this gift.

Tricia

Week 8:
I have just finished my 8th week of the “8 Weeks to Greatness” challenge and I have lost 33 lbs. If you had asked me 12 weeks ago “Do you think you can lose 33 lbs in 3 months,” I would have answered a definite “NO”. I have heard people say “the weight just snuck up on me,” and I can say that too. Somewhere along the way my body changed, but the eating stayed the same or got worse and I didn’t notice that I was getting bigger and bigger. I really thought that there had to be something physically wrong with me to explain why I couldn’t lose the weight, but all the tests came back normal. I had to come to the realization that it was just me. I had exercised all my life, but it wasn’t the lack of exercise — it was more the lack of will power over food. That caused a decrease in my energy level and that caused me to get overweight. It turned into a vicious cycle. Over the last few years I have tried so many things to lose weight on my own — including exercise and eating what I thought was “good” food — with no success at all. I will be honest. It pains me a little to have gotten to the point where I had to ask for help, but I am so glad that I swallowed my pride and got the guidance I needed. I needed someone to tell me what to eat and how much — I was so overwhelmed with all the information available that I couldn’t sort through it all. I also needed guidance with my exercise plan because it really does make a difference what kinds of exercises you are doing. (I would guess that that is the case with a lot of people in this country.)

I preach to the patients I work with daily and tell them to let go of the pride and the guilt and ask for help. Apparently I needed to take a little of my own advice. I am so much better off with the help I have received from Christina and Tom at His & Her Fitness. I definitely could NOT have done it without them. I feel so much better physically and emotionally and I just know I am going to continue with the new habits I have learned in the last three months. Someone is looking out for me.

I am blessed.

Week 9:
This is it. It’s coming down to the wire now. And it’s a little scary for me. Although I have proven to myself that I can get fit and healthy, can I keep it going after this experience ends? I think I can. I never want to go to that place on the scales again! This journey has not been easy for me, but I can definitely tell people that hard work and diligence pays off in the end. I am not the most organized person in the world, but I have learned that with a little planning and extra effort, it can be done. I can prepare my food, pack my lunch to make sure that I am eating 5 times a day, get my workouts in and still be a Mom and wife with a job. The sacrifices that I have made along the way are starting to pay off. The energy I have gained is amazing, the kudos I have gotten from all my friends has kept me pumped, and the smile on my son’s face when I tell him how many pounds I have lost is priceless. Although I still have some work to do, I wouldn’t be where I am now without Christina and His & Her Fitness. Now I’m looking forward to a great week of workouts with the Tom and Christina, whoop whoop!!!

Week 10:
Yesterday was the photo shoot that marks the end of the awesome ride that I have been on for the last few months. It was a terrific week and yesterday was the cherry on top. What fun it was! I still feel like I am dreaming. As I have said before in my previous posts, I was so frustrated with my previous lack of success in losing weight on my own — and now I have lost 42 lbs! It’s so surreal. I am ecstatic to have lost this much weight in such a short amount of time and I do not want to go back to that place on the scales again.

I could view the photo shoot as the end of my journey, because the “8 Weeks to Greatness” program is over. And I could be satisfied with where I am… or I could view this experience as the middle of my journey, because although I have lost a lot of weight, I still want to lose more. I have more work to do and have high hopes of being able to continue on my own. But like everything in life, we have a choice and I choose to view this as the beginning of my weight loss, getting back to health, and a new way of looking at food and exercise — all with a healthy perspective. Years ago a friend once said to me that she was just going to accept the fact that she was always going to be a little chubby and live with it. That comment stuck in my head and I have often asked myself why she would accept this perspective. I am so glad that I chose to not accept the fact that I was always going to be a “little chubby” because chubby does not equal happy for me.

I have learned a lot about fitness, exercise and myself during the last few months and I am very thankful to His & Her Fitness for giving me this opportunity. I plan to continue with my journey as stated earlier. I have not yet reached exactly where I want to be on the fitness scale, but with continued work and the help of H&H, I will reach all my goals and look awesome for my 30-year class reunion next summer.

Thank you all for the great support and encouragement along the way. I hope I have inspired many. I am truly blessed.

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