Present Momentum

Well, I know it's been a few weeks since I've contributed to our blog, so I decided I need to put in my two cents!  Jen and I finally made time to get up early and work out in the morning before work on Wednesday.  Because of our schedules (we both work weird starting times at least a few days a week), it's hard for us to actually get up and work out together first thing in the morning.  But, we did it this week.  We worked out to the Cardio Max DVD, and let me tell you, that will kick your butt if you're as fat as we are!!  My legs were burning and sore for two days, and I even made sure to drink more water than usual...Bob is a maniac with those darn squats and lunges!!!  Is he crazy!?!?

 

Anyway, I felt really good about actually getting going with our workouts.  Now, if we could just make it a daily thing!  I really hope that everyone reading our blog each week doesn't think we're giving up; we're not.  We just need to re-capture that momentum we had early on.  It's been tough, but I guess that's what we're always going to have to deal with; life!!  Interruptions and weird schedules are just a part of our everyday lives, and if we can't figure them out now, we're not going to get any closer to our goals, and that's not acceptable.

 

Next week, we're going to try really hard to get up every morning and work out before work.  I'm hoping we'll have positive progress to report.  I haven't been updating my "ticker" because I haven't been losing.  It's depressing, but true.  So, I tend to run back to the avoidance that's been a hallmark of my weight problems all along.    If I ignore it, it isn't really true....ever been there??

 

I've been trying to get in enough calories without getting too many, but let me tell you, that's been a struggle, too.  Some days I just don't feel like eating, but I know I have to, so I eat yogurt and soup and salad or a quick dinner.  But I know something's not adding up.  I hate knowing what to do, but not how to do it!!  Jen's been doing okay with her diet, too.  She eats a lot more salads than I do, and she tries really hard to take the right kinds of foods to get in her calories during the day without going over.  I'm really proud of her.  One of these days, she's going to blow me out of the water, and I can't wait for her to succeed!

 

I'm still waiting to hear about the job.  I called the contact person back on Thursday and left her a follow-up message, so we'll see.  In the meantime, I'm just thankful to have my job when so many people are struggling to find or keep a job.  I'm just trying to stay positive.  There's just so much going on in my head right now.  Sometimes, I'm not sure if I'm mentally prepared to do this, but I need to keep reminding myself that there's no time like the present and that if I'm not ready now, I'm never going to be, because life doesn't stop going on just because I'm not prepared!  : )  Well, hopefully, I'll have positive things to report next week once Jen and I actually start working out each day to the DVDs!!  Keep us in your thoughts; we could use the encouragement this week!

Well, I am very excited right now!  Jess and I are going home to Nebraska.  That is where I am originally from.  My granny is turning 75 in just a few short weeks.  We are having a HUGE party for her.  I try to go home every year, but it doesn't always turn out that way.  We just bought our tickets today, so it is really starting to sink in that I am going to get to see my family and friends.  Jess and I have been trying really hard to make healthy choices as far as eating goes.  I am just afraid that when we are in Nebraska, we will forget about the eating healthy.  Hopefully my family and friends wil support our choices.  Anyhow, I think that I am off to bed right now.  Tomorrow, I definatly have some more things that I want to share though... 

Well were to start...  Well, I thnk the last time that Jess wrote in our blog she talked about how I hurt my back.  Well, I doesn't seem to be getting any better quite yet.  On an exciting note however, i can walk again.  I think Jess informed you all about how I hurt my legs at physical therapy.  Well my legs have healed.  Thank God!  About my back though, sometimes I think that I will never get better.  I am going to see my doctor again on Thursday, so I will see what she has to say.  Sometimes  think that if I can only lose some weight that maybe that may also help my back.  I am REALLY stuggling righ now with the weight lose.  Not to long ago, I found out that I have an underactive thyroid.  Sure I am being treated for it, but it is making it extreamly hard to lose weight.  So, tomorrow is the start of a new week.  For me that means that I can start new.  I am going to try so hard to just get back on track.  I think tomorrow morning I am going to work out to "Cardio Max", one of the dvd"s from the biggest loser.  I thnk working out with Bob will be a GREAT way to start out my day.  I will keep you all updated...  Right now, I am off to bed to get some rest...  Talk to you more tomorrow...

 

 

 

We're checking in to report a few developments in our life this week.  About a month ago, Jen was diagnosed with a rhomboid strain in her mid-back.  (For those of you who don't have a clue what I'm talking about, the rhomboids are a set of muscles that connect the inside edge of your shoulder blade to your spinal cord and help you pull things toward you when you stretch out your arms.)  So, since she's been injured, she can't lift the weights she wants so badly to get started on.  Also, she's been in physical therapy twice a week.  This Thursday, the therapists had her pushing and pulling a loaded sled-like cart, and instead of helping her back, she's hurt her legs.  Now, her thigh muscles are so sore, she can hardly stand and sit without pain.  They're stiff and tight, and it's painful to walk, go up and down stairs, and even stand up straight.  We're hoping that some light work on the elliptical machine will stretch out the muscles and get rid of the stiffness, so we're going to try that tomorrow.  In the meantime, I've been massaging her legs at night before we go to bed. 

 

In other news, I found out on Thursday that my sister is having a baby girl!  We knew she was due July 3rd, but we didn't know the gender until now!  So, this new baby will make the 5th grandchild, and the first girl!  This same sister has 2 older boys (8 & 6), and my other sister has 2 boys (2 1/2 & 2 months).  I can't wait to meet her!

 

Also this week, I interviewed for a new job.  It would be a regional HR position, and the salary would be significantly more than I'm currently making, so that would be a huge opportunity; not just for the better money, but for the job itself.  I've missed the "general" HR stuff; you can only learn so much about benefits!  : )

 

Another "Also this week", my best friend got engaged!  I'm very excited for her; he's a great guy and they're really good for each other.  So, now I have to start thinking about weddings!!  On one hand, I'm excited, and on the other, YIKES!! I have to fit into a dress?!  And look decent for her wedding pictures?!!  YIKES!!  Just three more reasons why I need to do this NOW, and make it stick!  I have big things coming down the road; new baby, new job, best friend's wedding....what next?!

 

I'm still trying to be very conscious of the food I'm eating and the choices I'm making.  I've gotten away from writing down everything I eat, and I can tell that keeping track is something that's really beneficial for me.  When I was writing things down, I was actually making progress, and I could gauge how many calories I had left in my "bank" for the day, so I was more honest.  Now, I don't know where I stand, so I just let things go.  That is proving to be my downfall these last 2 weeks.

 

Since we've started a new month, and Phil saw his shadow (yeah, I'm from PA) so we have 6 more weeks of winter, I'm ready to get moving for spring.  I love the warmer weather...I'll be watching for my tulips, daffodils, and crocuses to come up soon!  I wish I had more space to plant a big vegetable garden, but for now, my beatiful flowers will keep me smiling!  I can't wait! Once it warms up, I know Jen and I will start planning for our summer camping trips.  We try to go at least a few times every summer.  If you've never been camping, I encourage you to try it.  Just know that setting up a tent is hard work, and sharing a bathroom in the woods is not for the faint of heart!  We love it, though...it's so relaxing to sit by a fire and talk about your goals and dreams.  I'm looking forward to all of those things soon, and I'm hoping this year to get a bike to take with us.  I haven't been on a bike in years, and I'm hoping my butt will fit that bike seat this time around, too!! : ) 

 

So, we're still weighing in on Mondays; after this weekend's Super Bowl, I'm sure we'll have "interesting" numbers to post! 

Well...what can I say?  It's been a tough week to say the least.  We've been stressed at work, busy at home, and we're so tight on money this month that everything is a luxury (a.k.a. not possible right now).  We've been off track all week long, and we're seeing our weight go nowhere.  We NEED Bob & Jillian!  I know once we get started and the weight really does come down, it'll be so exciting to get on the scale each week, but right now, it feels like a huge disappointment, and I hate to write about it.  I knew going into this that there would be weeks like this, but I didn't think it would happen so soon!  We were supposed to start out strong, and keep that momentum going, (hello, PRESENT MOMENTUM is our name...) but we're being held back for some reason.  Mostly laziness, I've decided, but also stress and the fact that my mind races every night before I finally fall asleep.  It's rough.  So, with all that drama floating around in our world, we've decided that it's time to re-commit.  Jen actually came up with the title of today's blog, so I guess she's been thinking about it for a while! 

 

What does it mean to re-commit?  Well, if you take it literally, it means to commit for the second (or third, or fourth) time...to commit again.  So, seeing that this is about our 547th time of re-committment, I think we need to actually start acting like we're serious about this.  We know we want to lose the weight; we're just hesitating.  Jillian would be on me hard for this: I just don't know if I can do it.  I feel like I can't, so I struggle to get started.  I know there are things I CAN do, but for some reason, I'm still hesitating.  I hate that.  I think the only way I'm going to actualy overcome my hesitation is to just do it.  I think I'm going to do that today.

 

Jen has to work a few hours at her job today, so I'll work out for awhile while she's gone.  I know that sounds strange; after all, this is supposed to be a TEAM effort, right?  But sometimes, I think I can focus better when it's just me.  I'll aim for 20 minutes on the elliptical machine and a 30-minute (or so) yoga video.  I toyed around with yoga in high school, and I loved it.  I'm actually very flexible for a fat person.  When I was in high school, my cousin (5 years younger than me) and I found a basic yoga book with great photography of the poses and great written descriptions of the correct movements.  We created our own routine, and took a tape recorder and recorded ourselves reading the correct steps to do the poses.  We would play that tape every morning for about 6 or 8 weeks over summer vacation, and we really started to see a change.  Once we got back to school, we gave it up.  I wish I had found a class during college (or even now!) to continue, but as they say, Life got in the way!  I know the benefits are there; I just need to make it a habit, along with eating healthier, exercising regularly, and keeping track of our money!  It feels like I'm reinventing my whole life all at once, which is overwhelming.  I know the popular advice is to take one thing at a time, but I always feel like I'm running out of time - that my life is slipping away and I don't want to miss anything.

 

My goals for this week are to: Complete 4 workouts (at least 20 minutes on the elliptical machine), at least 4 yoga sessions (follow the video), blog on here at least 3 times, drink more WATER every day, and start my January money summary (we keep track with Microsoft Money - a great investment).  I think that's good.  I'm trying to get my entire life organized, so having concrete goals will definitely help.  I'm going to schedule these things into my planner for the week, and schedule time to write to keep you updated on our progress.

 

Thanks to everyone who leaves a little note of encouragement.  You don't know how much that means when we've struggled like we have this week.  It's great to know there's a community of people out there who "get" us.  Good luck to you also.  The hardest part is getting the momentum; once you've got it, everything should fall into place more easily.  At least, that's what I'm hoping!  We're still trying to catch it!!  We'll keep you posted!  Have a great week!!