What a Feeling!

WOW, what a day I had! I am so excited after my training session at the gym.

My day started out as any other normal day. I had my breakfast, did some cleaning, and headed to the gym. I did my normal warm-up to get ready for my training session with Todd. We did the whole weigh and measure thing and I was down 12 lbs from the last time I was weighed at the gym. I had some small decreases in my measurement but I didn't write them down and I can't remember them to be able to tell you. My lean body mass is still going down but I think that is due to the fact that I have not been tracking my food lately and I am likely not getting enough protein so it is time for me to get back to doing that. My body fat percentage is down and I am very close to being in the normal range.

Since we were looking at all my numbers, it was time to set my new goal. Like I said in a previous post, my original goal was to get to 200 lbs because I knew that it was a goal that I could reach knowing that I would be able to go lower. But I have been getting anxious to set my new goal so we did that today. Todd said that I should be somewhere between 180 and 190 lbs so I picked right in the middle. So my new goal is 185. I can't wait for the day when I reach that goal! I am still going to celebrate (a small celebration) when I hit the 200 mark and then I am going to focus and get to my final goal. So that means that I have 35.8 lbs to get to my goal and that will put me at 27 or 28 percent body fat. I know that I can do it!

You may be wondering what has got me so excited today...so Iwill tell you. After our weigh in today Todd basically told me that he was going to show me what I was capable of. He said that our bodies are capable of doing amazing things and that it is our minds that limit us and hold us back from doing things. So, when we went to the treadmill, I have to admit that I was a bit scared. I have, well now I can say that I had a fear of running on the treadmill. I don't know why. I guess I just pictured the really heavy me, running and pounding on the treadmill. I pictured my knees hurting and felt it was just something that I just couldn't do. But Todd showed me that it was all in my head and that I was holding myself back. He is so smart...and ALWAYS right!

I bet you can guess what he had me do. Yes, I did it! I ran on the treadmill!!!! We did some intervals so that means that I would run for 30 seconds and walk for 30 seconds. I started running at level 5 and did a few intervals there, then I went to 6, then 6.5, then 7, and 7.5, then 8, then 8.5, and then 9. Yes, I ran on the treadmill at level 9 for 30 seconds. It was hard and I really had to relax and remember to breathe, focus and take long strides...but I did it! Then we took a little breather and when I got my breath back, Todd said "I'd really like to see you run at 10". I said "I would like to see the same thing". So guess what I did next. I ran on the treadmill at level 10 for about 15 seconds. And that is what I am so excited about! I got over my mental block and ran on the treadmill. I have been secretly wanting to try it and actually thought about it last week, but I told myself that I would wait to try when I was the only one upstairs on the machines so that I didn't have to worry about making a fool of myself. I did it today and I did NOT make a fool of myself. Running on the treadmill was a really big step for me and I am really proud of myself. Thank you Todd, for showing me that I can do it!

We spent about 25 minutes on the treadmill and then we went to the stepper. The stepper is something that I tried a long time ago when I first started at the gym and I did not know how to work it properly and I really did not have the physical ability to do it at the time and I never went back to try it again. We were on the stepper for about 10 minutes and we did some intervals there and then we went to the elipitcal (EFX) for another 10 minutes. I have been using the elipical machine for a while but Todd showed me how to do intervals and really challenge myself on it. That was the end of our session and then I did my abs on my own and then I went back to the treadmill. I did intervals for 17 minutes and I tried different levels and different amounts of time.

After running on the treadmill today, I feel so empowered. I feel that I can do anything that I set my mind to and that there are no limits to what I am capable of. After I finished my work out at the gym I was in the shower thinking about what I accomplished today. I ran on the treadmill and jumped over the mental blocks that were holding me back from doing it all this time and I had tears in my eyes thinking about it. They were the good kind of tears. Tears of joy, pride and accomplishment. I feel so lucky to be able to challenge myself in this kind of way. I feel so happy that I am physically and mentally capable of running on the treadmill. I have come a long way since last year and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me.

A year ago today, I was wearing shirts that were size 3 or 4xl and pants that were size 26 or 28. I am proud to say that I am now wearing shirts that are large or xlarge and pants that are size 14 or 16. What a difference a year makes!