Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Yesterday I went to the gym and trained my legs and shoulders. Then I did about 30 mins of cardio. My glutes and hamstrings are REALLY sore today which tells me that I worked really hard yesterday and that is a good thing.
Today I trained my back, triceps and then my abs. I really worked hard and I think I will be sore tomorrow too. I also did 40 minutes of cardio.
On the agenda for tomorrow is a personal training session with Todd and then cardio. I wonder waht he has planned for me. Hopefully it will be a really hard workout!
Today I trained my back, triceps and then my abs. I really worked hard and I think I will be sore tomorrow too. I also did 40 minutes of cardio.
On the agenda for tomorrow is a personal training session with Todd and then cardio. I wonder waht he has planned for me. Hopefully it will be a really hard workout!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Today is my first of 5 days off. My aunt came over to take some photos of me for the upcoming stories that will be in The Casket. If you want to see them make sure to buy The Casket for the next 3 weeks.
After the photos, I had a workout at the gym. I worked my abs today and did about 30 mins on the spin bike. Then Joey and I went to the OC to get some swimming in. It was a bit easier than it was last time. I really have to get in the pool lots so I can get faster and I want to be able to swim the whole distance without stopping (750 meters). It is going to be really hard to do the front crawl the whole way but with enough practice I think I can do it. No, wait, I know I can do it if I put my mind to it!
After the photos, I had a workout at the gym. I worked my abs today and did about 30 mins on the spin bike. Then Joey and I went to the OC to get some swimming in. It was a bit easier than it was last time. I really have to get in the pool lots so I can get faster and I want to be able to swim the whole distance without stopping (750 meters). It is going to be really hard to do the front crawl the whole way but with enough practice I think I can do it. No, wait, I know I can do it if I put my mind to it!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
At the Gym
I went to the gym this evening after work. Usually, I will just do cardio when I go to the gym after work but tonight I decided to do some weights also.
I trained my back and triceps tonight. After that I was so tired that I only did 20 mins of cardio. I know, I know, I should have done more. I will make up for it tomorrow, I promise!
Have a restful night!
I trained my back and triceps tonight. After that I was so tired that I only did 20 mins of cardio. I know, I know, I should have done more. I will make up for it tomorrow, I promise!
Have a restful night!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Getting Started
Getting started and making a commitment to lead a healthier lifestyle was the hardest part for me. I had tried many times before and obviously did not succeed. There were many reasons why I had not succeeded before. One reason was that I was not ready. I was not ready mentally to make the commitment to lead a healthier lifestyle. I had a lot of thoughts about myself that were very negative. I had to learn to let those negative thoughts go and focus on the positive thing sin my life. There were many positive things in my life to focus on but I really did not see them. I let the negative "get in the way".
It is important to remember that there is something positive in every situation. We may not see it right away but it is there so remember to look for it. Learning from our mistakes is a positive thing and overcoming adversity is a positive thing. Hard times lead us to learn more about ourselves and grow as a person. I must say that that is one thing that I have REALLY changed about myself. I try to focus on the positive and see my glass as half full.
One reason that I did not succeed before is because I was not going into it with the right intentions. I was not doing it for me. I was doing it for some other reason. I let go of 25 lbs for my wedding and then I put it right back on plus more after the wedding. I would walk and eat better because my family wanted me to, not because I wanted to and of course I did not stick to it. If you can't do it for yourself, who can you do it for? You are the most important person in your life. If you don't take care of yourself, there will come a time when you can't take care of those that mean the world to you.
If you are wanting to make the changes in your life to let go of weight or lead a healthier lifestyle but have not started, ask yourself who you are doing this for? Hopefully, the answer is yourself...but it truly has to be for you. You need to believe that you are doing it for you. You are capable of doing it and you are worth it! Think of all the benefits that you will gain from being healthier. You will have more energy to do the things you love to do.
Make sure to let go of the things that are holding you back. Let go of the fear of failure. If you are afraid that you may not succeed, so you don't try...you have failed before you even started. Tell yourself that you are going to succeed. That is what I did. I told everyone else too. Two months into my journey, I told my mother that Goodlife Fitness should use me in a commercial because I was going to do it! She believed me because I believed in myself.
Make sure you have a support system for those days that you are struggling. Support systems are very important when you are struggling and to help you celebrate your triumphs. My support system is huge. My support system consists of my husband, son, parents, sister, nephews, grandparents, aunts & uncles, friends, co-workers and everyone that reads my blog. When I am tempted to eat something like carrot cake, I think about you reading myblog and how you would feel if I ate it. I don't want to let any of you down and that helps me make the right decision. So you reading my blog is helping me in a huge way. So let me know that you are reading and what you like/dislike about what I am writing about. If I can help you in anyway, please let me know what I can do.
I stared really slowly. I changed my diet first and then added exercise. I will tell you more about how I changed my diet and activity level in the next few weeks. I will coordinate my blog posts with my stories in The Casket. I have so much more to say...so stay tuned!
So start letting go of everything that is holding you back and get on the road to leading a healthy and happy life!
It is important to remember that there is something positive in every situation. We may not see it right away but it is there so remember to look for it. Learning from our mistakes is a positive thing and overcoming adversity is a positive thing. Hard times lead us to learn more about ourselves and grow as a person. I must say that that is one thing that I have REALLY changed about myself. I try to focus on the positive and see my glass as half full.
One reason that I did not succeed before is because I was not going into it with the right intentions. I was not doing it for me. I was doing it for some other reason. I let go of 25 lbs for my wedding and then I put it right back on plus more after the wedding. I would walk and eat better because my family wanted me to, not because I wanted to and of course I did not stick to it. If you can't do it for yourself, who can you do it for? You are the most important person in your life. If you don't take care of yourself, there will come a time when you can't take care of those that mean the world to you.
If you are wanting to make the changes in your life to let go of weight or lead a healthier lifestyle but have not started, ask yourself who you are doing this for? Hopefully, the answer is yourself...but it truly has to be for you. You need to believe that you are doing it for you. You are capable of doing it and you are worth it! Think of all the benefits that you will gain from being healthier. You will have more energy to do the things you love to do.
Make sure to let go of the things that are holding you back. Let go of the fear of failure. If you are afraid that you may not succeed, so you don't try...you have failed before you even started. Tell yourself that you are going to succeed. That is what I did. I told everyone else too. Two months into my journey, I told my mother that Goodlife Fitness should use me in a commercial because I was going to do it! She believed me because I believed in myself.
Make sure you have a support system for those days that you are struggling. Support systems are very important when you are struggling and to help you celebrate your triumphs. My support system is huge. My support system consists of my husband, son, parents, sister, nephews, grandparents, aunts & uncles, friends, co-workers and everyone that reads my blog. When I am tempted to eat something like carrot cake, I think about you reading myblog and how you would feel if I ate it. I don't want to let any of you down and that helps me make the right decision. So you reading my blog is helping me in a huge way. So let me know that you are reading and what you like/dislike about what I am writing about. If I can help you in anyway, please let me know what I can do.
I stared really slowly. I changed my diet first and then added exercise. I will tell you more about how I changed my diet and activity level in the next few weeks. I will coordinate my blog posts with my stories in The Casket. I have so much more to say...so stay tuned!
So start letting go of everything that is holding you back and get on the road to leading a healthy and happy life!
Every goal that has ever been reached began with just one step and the belief that it could be attained. Dreams really can come true, but they are most often the result of hard work, determination, and persistence.
When the journey seems impossible to reach, remember that all you need to do is take one more step. Stay focused on your goal and remember...each small step will bring you a little closer.
When the road becomes hard to travel and it feels as if you'll never reach the end, look deep inside your heart and you will find strength you never knew you had.
Jason Blume
Letting Go
I realize that there may be some new readers of my blog with the exposure of my story in The Casket newspaper and I would like to explain where the term "Letting Go" comes from.
Many years ago, when I worked at Mother Webb's, I went to a fortune teller. It was my first time going to a fortune teller and going into it I was not really sure what to think. She had many things to say to me, of which many have come true. One thing that she said was that at some point in my life I was going to lose a lot of weight. I thought she was nuts because at the time I did not have a lot of weight that I needed to lose. She told me that the way that I was going to do it was when people tell me that I have lost some weight will say "Thank you, but I am letting it go".
She explained further by saying that when someone tells you that you lost something, you automatically start to look for the lost item because you want it back. She is right about that. If someone told me that I lost my cell phone I would immediately begin looking for it. Typically, lost is a negative word and is typically not something that we choose to do. We don't choose to loose items that we have worked hard for. Letting it go is a more positive word and is something that we choose to do.
So that is what I have been doing. I am letting go of everything that has been holding me back all these years. I am letting go of my fears of failure. I am letting go of hurtful things that have been said to me over the years. I am letting go of the negative thoughts and feelings that I have had about myself and my life. I am letting go of the weight that has been holding me back all these years.
Now, I am embracing life and I strive to be happy everyday. I am finally in control of my life.
Many years ago, when I worked at Mother Webb's, I went to a fortune teller. It was my first time going to a fortune teller and going into it I was not really sure what to think. She had many things to say to me, of which many have come true. One thing that she said was that at some point in my life I was going to lose a lot of weight. I thought she was nuts because at the time I did not have a lot of weight that I needed to lose. She told me that the way that I was going to do it was when people tell me that I have lost some weight will say "Thank you, but I am letting it go".
She explained further by saying that when someone tells you that you lost something, you automatically start to look for the lost item because you want it back. She is right about that. If someone told me that I lost my cell phone I would immediately begin looking for it. Typically, lost is a negative word and is typically not something that we choose to do. We don't choose to loose items that we have worked hard for. Letting it go is a more positive word and is something that we choose to do.
So that is what I have been doing. I am letting go of everything that has been holding me back all these years. I am letting go of my fears of failure. I am letting go of hurtful things that have been said to me over the years. I am letting go of the negative thoughts and feelings that I have had about myself and my life. I am letting go of the weight that has been holding me back all these years.
Now, I am embracing life and I strive to be happy everyday. I am finally in control of my life.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Taking Control
My first article is in The Casket today. Click on the title of this post "Taking Control" and it will take you to my article on the The Casket website. I hope you enjoy reading it.
I hope you will let me know what you think of it. Feel free to comment here on my blog. I love it when I log in and see that there are comments. Hint, Hint!
I hope you will let me know what you think of it. Feel free to comment here on my blog. I love it when I log in and see that there are comments. Hint, Hint!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Another awesome day! The weather is mild and I am actually happy to see the potholes on my road because it means that the snow and ice are melting.
I had another great day at the gym. It was leg day today. My knee was actually feeling great today during the workout, so great that I was able to increase my weights on the leg extension machine to where it was before my knee was sore. The only thing that I notice though, is that my right quad is doing most of the work. The knee that hurts while doing the leg extension is the left one and it is not as strong as the right one. I will have to pay some extra attention to my left quad for the next while making sure not to overdo it and hurt it again.
This is what I did for my leg workout today:
Leg Extension - 60 lbs x 15 reps x 3 sets
Leg Curl - 100 lbs x 15 reps, 110 lbs x 15 reps x 2 sets
Thigh abduction - 220 x 15, 225 x 15, 230 x 15
Thigh adduction - 205 x 15, 210 x 15, 220 x 15
Calf press - 4 plates x 15, 6 plates x 15, 8 plates x 15
Plie sumo squat, 75 lbs x 15 reps x 3 sets
I just realized that I did not even try the lunges. I am sure that I could have done them. I will have to do extra next time to make up for it!
After legs, it was ab time and then cardio time. I did 20 minutes on the Precor Elliptical and 25 hard minutes on the spin bike.
I hope you had a great day and got a chance to enjoy the fresh air outside.
I had another great day at the gym. It was leg day today. My knee was actually feeling great today during the workout, so great that I was able to increase my weights on the leg extension machine to where it was before my knee was sore. The only thing that I notice though, is that my right quad is doing most of the work. The knee that hurts while doing the leg extension is the left one and it is not as strong as the right one. I will have to pay some extra attention to my left quad for the next while making sure not to overdo it and hurt it again.
This is what I did for my leg workout today:
Leg Extension - 60 lbs x 15 reps x 3 sets
Leg Curl - 100 lbs x 15 reps, 110 lbs x 15 reps x 2 sets
Thigh abduction - 220 x 15, 225 x 15, 230 x 15
Thigh adduction - 205 x 15, 210 x 15, 220 x 15
Calf press - 4 plates x 15, 6 plates x 15, 8 plates x 15
Plie sumo squat, 75 lbs x 15 reps x 3 sets
I just realized that I did not even try the lunges. I am sure that I could have done them. I will have to do extra next time to make up for it!
After legs, it was ab time and then cardio time. I did 20 minutes on the Precor Elliptical and 25 hard minutes on the spin bike.
I hope you had a great day and got a chance to enjoy the fresh air outside.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Exciting News
The Casket has contacted me and asked if I would write some articles. They are doing a 4 week series on health related issues. The topics in order are: obesity, nutrition, physical exercise, and mental health. Of course I said "yes". I would do anything to get my story out there in the hopes that it can reach the people who are in the same position that I was in a year ago. The people who need to know that if I can do it, than they can too. That is one of the main reasons that I am blogging. If I can help just one person make the decision to live a healthier life, than as far as I am concerned, I have reached my goal.
The first article is going to be published in Wednesday's paper. I am really excited about participating in this. I have never thought of myself as much of a writer. I never did very well in English class, math and the sciences came easy to me and I had to work hard in english to get a passing mark. I am sure that The Casket did not ask me to take part in this because of my writing skills but more so because of my story.
So, I just wanted to let you know about this so that you can be sure to buy a copy, or two, of The Casket this week.
I was given a work limit that was really hard to stick to for my first article. I was not able to say all that I wanted to say to I am going to elaborate here in my blog. I am hoping that there will be some new readers to my blog so I will start by explaining where the term "Letting Go" has come from and then I will probably have a few posts on the different issues I faced when I was obese.
I hope you enjoy reading the article,
Dawn
The first article is going to be published in Wednesday's paper. I am really excited about participating in this. I have never thought of myself as much of a writer. I never did very well in English class, math and the sciences came easy to me and I had to work hard in english to get a passing mark. I am sure that The Casket did not ask me to take part in this because of my writing skills but more so because of my story.
So, I just wanted to let you know about this so that you can be sure to buy a copy, or two, of The Casket this week.
I was given a work limit that was really hard to stick to for my first article. I was not able to say all that I wanted to say to I am going to elaborate here in my blog. I am hoping that there will be some new readers to my blog so I will start by explaining where the term "Letting Go" has come from and then I will probably have a few posts on the different issues I faced when I was obese.
I hope you enjoy reading the article,
Dawn
Today's Workout
Today was a great day at the gym. I started out at the Oland Centre pool. As you may know, I am going to participate in a Triathlon this summer. In order for me to participate, I need to get in the pool and do some swimming. Today was the beginning of my training in the pool. Well, I am not sure you can really call what I did today training. I was really just trying to get reaquainted with the water. It has been awhile since I have done any type of swimming except for relaxing in the water at the beach.
I used to be a pretty good swimmer. I used to teach swimming lessons and I had my Life Saving I so I was used to swimming laps. But that was many years ago and I have only gotten older. It was quite an eye opener. I thought I would be able to do quite a few laps of the front crawl. Boy was I wrong! I was able to do one full length of the front crawl...ONLY ONE! Then I had to take a break and do the breast stroke. I ended up doing most of the laps in the breast stroke. I have a long way to go to get to where I need to be.
The swim portion of the triathlon is 750 meters. That is 30 lengths of the pool or 15 laps. That is a long distance. Then add in the fact that it is going to be in the ocean, with waves, and who knows what the weather will be like! Let's just say that I have more training to do in the pool than I thought I was going to have to do.
After my eye opening swim, I went to Goodlife Fitness for my workout. I worked my chest, biceps and abs. I was quite suprised at how tired my chest and biceps were after swimming. I didn't think that I worked that hard at the swimming, but when I got into my workout I realized that I was quite tired. I will definately have to make sure I plan my workouts so that I am not working my chest on a day that I am swimming.
I hope you had a great weekend,
Dawn
I used to be a pretty good swimmer. I used to teach swimming lessons and I had my Life Saving I so I was used to swimming laps. But that was many years ago and I have only gotten older. It was quite an eye opener. I thought I would be able to do quite a few laps of the front crawl. Boy was I wrong! I was able to do one full length of the front crawl...ONLY ONE! Then I had to take a break and do the breast stroke. I ended up doing most of the laps in the breast stroke. I have a long way to go to get to where I need to be.
The swim portion of the triathlon is 750 meters. That is 30 lengths of the pool or 15 laps. That is a long distance. Then add in the fact that it is going to be in the ocean, with waves, and who knows what the weather will be like! Let's just say that I have more training to do in the pool than I thought I was going to have to do.
After my eye opening swim, I went to Goodlife Fitness for my workout. I worked my chest, biceps and abs. I was quite suprised at how tired my chest and biceps were after swimming. I didn't think that I worked that hard at the swimming, but when I got into my workout I realized that I was quite tired. I will definately have to make sure I plan my workouts so that I am not working my chest on a day that I am swimming.
I hope you had a great weekend,
Dawn
Saturday, March 5, 2011
I have had 2 really awesome days at the gym. Yesterday (Friday), I worked my abs and then had my hour session with my trainer where I did a whole body workout. Some of the things that I did are; chest press, v-ups, tricep kickbacks, bicep curl, scorpions, bulgarian split squat, burpees, farmers walk (with 130 lbs), dumbell single-leg deadlift, plie/sumo squats, step-ups, bent-over row, and one arm row. That's all I can remember.
After that I did my cardio. I did 20 mins of intervals on the EFX Eliptical. I did 1 min at 10 for the incline and 6 for the resistance, then I bumped it up to 20 for the resistance for 2 mins and then back down to 6 for my rest. I worked really hard and was sweating alot by the end of it. It felt really good. Then I decided to hop on the spin bike. I did 30 minutes on the bike. I worked really hard. I pretended that I was in a class with an instructor. I think I work harder when there is a full class with an instructor than I do on my own. I really wanted to get the most out of the 30 minutes so that is why I pretended there was an instructor with me.
I got up early this morning so I could make it to Suzanne's spin class. My how I love her spin class. She knows just how hard to push and I always get a really good workout in her class. I am never disappointed with it. But, I maxed myself out a little too early in the class. She played the song Sandstorm and I always push myself during that song. It is a 7 minute song with 2 breaks. The music is really motivating and it is usually the last song in the class before the cool down song. But she suprised us with another song after Sandstorm. The last song was really brutal for me, but I hung in there.
I feel really good after the last few days at the gym and I can't wait to go tomorrow. I am hoping to get to the Oland Centre for a swim. I have to start training for the Triathlon this summer because it will be here before I know it.
Oh, I'd like to say, enough of the cold weather. Winter, you can go away now!
After that I did my cardio. I did 20 mins of intervals on the EFX Eliptical. I did 1 min at 10 for the incline and 6 for the resistance, then I bumped it up to 20 for the resistance for 2 mins and then back down to 6 for my rest. I worked really hard and was sweating alot by the end of it. It felt really good. Then I decided to hop on the spin bike. I did 30 minutes on the bike. I worked really hard. I pretended that I was in a class with an instructor. I think I work harder when there is a full class with an instructor than I do on my own. I really wanted to get the most out of the 30 minutes so that is why I pretended there was an instructor with me.
I got up early this morning so I could make it to Suzanne's spin class. My how I love her spin class. She knows just how hard to push and I always get a really good workout in her class. I am never disappointed with it. But, I maxed myself out a little too early in the class. She played the song Sandstorm and I always push myself during that song. It is a 7 minute song with 2 breaks. The music is really motivating and it is usually the last song in the class before the cool down song. But she suprised us with another song after Sandstorm. The last song was really brutal for me, but I hung in there.
I feel really good after the last few days at the gym and I can't wait to go tomorrow. I am hoping to get to the Oland Centre for a swim. I have to start training for the Triathlon this summer because it will be here before I know it.
Oh, I'd like to say, enough of the cold weather. Winter, you can go away now!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Today's Workout
I had an awesome workout today. I worked my abs, cardio, and did lots of stretching. Then I had a great 1 hour total body workout with my trainer.
What did you do today?
What did you do today?
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