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January 31 Hitting the energy wallOK people, Mike & I have been working our tails off but this week, we have hit the energy wall. We literally had to force ourselves to go to the gym last night to work out. This is when I wish we had that GO TO person to go to online where I can ask the question of "Is this normal and how can we overcome it?" Looks like I'll be doing some research on the internet for this. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!!  January 27 My confession - I cheatedYesterday, Mike & I hit the gym after he got out of work. I was very upset that I didn't lose more than 1/2 lb this week so I pushed myself HARD!! Did the bike and chased dragons with this really cool program they have for it, then did machines, lunges and free weights then hit the eliptical THEN hit the pool and did laps. Well, I swore to myself that I was going to give myself Sunday off and just bowl and do laundry.....here is where I cheated. As I was getting dressed I spotted my weights on the floor, next thing I knew, I was doing squatts, lunges, side bends and curls. Went down stairs to do laundry and sitting next to the dryer was my eliptical. You can guess what happened next. Exactly. I cheated. I got on it, so much for taking a day off. Do I have the fitness bug or what???
When Mike got down to the pool Saturday from working out, once again he was all smiles. He's lost more weight and now is up to 18lb lost since 1/2/08! He is sooooo pumped, I've never seen him like this. His goal was 260 before the cruise but he'll be that by the end of next week so now he's hoping for 255 I think. Mike also took his sugar yesterday after the gym and it's down to 95!!!! We are hoping that with exercise and diet, he'll be able to get off of his diabetic meds. I can't say it enough. We feel so great since this. THANK YOU BIGGEST LOSER SHOW FOR GETTING MIKE & I FEELING SO GREAT AND HEALTHY!!!  January 24 Gym update & stuff - WEEK 4Mike shocked the heck out of me Monday. Usually he just brings Angela to me so I can take my Power Groove class as the gym and he goes off to cards....Well.....He decided to bring Angela to the gym at 5pm (early), do a cardio workout and THEN head to cards!!!!! First time he put the gym first!!!! He still made it to cards without being late but usually he would stop and grab a bite to eat. Not this Monday, he ended up eating after cards when he got home. I wanted to go back to the gym on Tuesday and do cardio before Biggest Loser but Mike thought that we've been working very hard and said we should take a night off and give our bodies a rest. I knew in my head it was the SMART thing to do because my left leg has been acting up but my heart really missed working out and I felt so blah not going. So what did I do? I went down stairs, got my giant exercise ball out, got my 5lb weights out of the closet and did crunches on the ball (easy on my back though) and some weight exercises my trainer Todd has me do at the gym to strengthen my back while I was watching Biggest Loser. It wasn't the best workout but it was something. I think it was more mental than anything.
Tuesday night Mike & I were talking while I was being subjected to his "superiour card play" again before the show. He told me that he's at a point now where he doesn't want to turn back. He was telling me that he's been wanting to stop at McDonald's but he feels that he's come this far, feels this great that he doesn't want to do anything to ruin what he's accomplished so far. He was saying that he doesn't think he'll ever be able to do fast food again because he is experiencing something now that is incredible. He has such a renewed sense of energy and vitality that he never wants to feel sluggish or blah ever again. I swear, he calls me every morning when I'm on my way to work to say how incredible he feels. He's getting so much work done and people where he work have really noticed a change in him, both mentally and physically. I am sooooooo proud of that man!!!! Now if I can get him to stop working 7 days a week again.......cruise can't come soon enough!!!
I've been sneaking on the scale at home everyday and looks like I'm hitting my wall this week. I haven't lost even 1 pound yet this week....GRRRRRRRR January 23 Last night's showWhat a bunch of cheaters!!!! Drinking water so that Kelly & Paul could win. I think that was so unfair for the rest of them that busted their butts to lose weight. I'm also disappointed that they are going to send 1/2 a team home next week too. You come in this as a team, you should finish as a team.
I would like to see one season where it's all women too!!! I think because it's been proven that men lose more than women, they should do one with all women and then one with all men. What do you think????  January 20 Mike's weigh in January 19thMike met Angela & I at the gym after he got out of work. I had already done my workout and hit the pool when I peeked in on him working hard on the eliptical. After the pool and showers, I met him in the lobby and just had to take 1 look at him. He was glowing!!!
After him teasing me for 5 minutes, I finally got his weight out of him. Mike had hit a break through and weighed in at 269 lbs!!! He has now lost 13 lbs since Jan 2nd. Mike's goal is to be 260 by the time we go on our cruise in 29 days. I know he can do it.After the gym, we hit his parents for dinner. Mike's mom is known for her desserts but as we are sitting at the table, Mike mentioned that Bob said we could have 1 dessert a week. Well, as I was eating a small piece of her totally homemade carrot cake, Mike was eating fresh fruit that his mom & dad had just cut up, fresh pineapple and cantalope. He was strong because she had made this layered pudding & graham cracker dessert that Mike's grandmother kept pushing and pushing on him. It was funny because finally Mike's mom had to almost yell at her to stop it. What do you expect, this woman is 83!!
 She just couldn't grasp the concept that Mike & I are getting healthy. I also want to commend Mike too. His mom had just made a huge batch of homemade chex mix just for Mike (his favorite) and he didn't have any of it. You see, Mike's mom didn't realize how serious Mike is being about this I guess. She was actually telling him how proud she was of him too for doing this.GOAL FOR NEXT WEEK
Tina's goal is to be between 155-160 lbs
Mike's goal is to be down to 265 lbs.
January 18 Mike is turning into Jillian!!!!! January 18th & my weigh inJillian would be so proud of Mike last night. I just finished running on the tredmill for 1/2 mile (goal is to run a full mile in 1 clip) and I was trying to catch my breath while continuing on at 3.6 mph and Mike was behind me on an eliptical yelling at me to stop holding on and calling me Neill!!!! Of course not too many people heard him because they all had their earphones in but I just thought it was the funniest thing EVER!!! Keep on me Mike!!! I am so proud of you!!!
 Sorry, Mike, couldn't wait until Sunday to weigh in. I hit 160 lbs!!!! this morning! I am so pumped and I actually have a pair of pants on that I haven't worn in a very long time today without the waist killing me. THANK YOU MIKE FOR PUSHING ME AND SUPPORTING ME THROUGH OUR JOURNEY TO A HEALTHY LIFE. I COULDN'T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!!!   I know you're going to be down too, I can see it!!Our eating habits have really improved through all of this!! Last night we came home from the gym to sugar free jello in those ramekin cups. They are a perfect size to make 4 of them on 1 pack of jello. This way, we each have one in the house and no one is left out and they taste great!! That's our little treat after dinner or the gym and I can make them in the morning while getting the gremlin (Angela) ready for school and their ready at night! God, I love feeling this energized and healthy!!!  January 14 Life if fragile, don't take it for grantedAs the title of this blog says, life if fragile, don't take it for granted. Mike called me at 6am this morning from work to give me some bad news. A man that he and his father worked with died Saturday from a heart attack on his way home. Mike walked out with Danny Saturday after their shift talking. Guys said they saw him pulled over down the road from work, and apparently had a heart attack and died. Danny was 58, appox. 360 lbs and worked 12 hours shifts 6 or 7 days a week. As Mike & I talked later in the morning, I reminded him why I'm on his ass all the time to take care of himself and to stop working so much. I want this man around a long time and to grow old with me.
This blog goes out to all of you out there getting healthy and fit. You just might be adding years onto your lives with every pound you lose and every rep you do. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ALL OF YOU AND MAY GOD BE WITH ALL OF YOU IN YOUR JOURNEY!  Now back to the gym!!January 12 January 12 UpdateMike and I are so excited, we weighed in yesterday and have lost weight!!! Mike is down 9 lbs & I'm down 6!!! We want to hit that next level by next Friday and I think we should do it with no problem. We were supposed to go to the gym last night however my 9 yr old is sick so we stayed home and did some serious talking. I went to the gym Thursday night and got re-evaluated with Todd and he suggested couples training. We're going to switch gym nights from Wednesday to Thursday to work out with Todd. Todd gave me new exercises and changed my weights so lets see how that goes. Stress has become a factor in my weight loss goal. My job has become a nightmare & I'm looking into switching. I would normally run to McDonald's for a Big Mac (my comfort food) but have been very good not to. Instead I opted for 3 skewers of beef teriaki from the chinese place. I really wanted a cocktail too last night but just had about 1/2 a glass of diet soda. I haven't had any soda since I started this and ended up talking to my husband and getting my butt kicked in setback from his "superior card play". We did a lot of talking last night which I feel did us both some good. We hashed out a lot of our goals, dreams, started planning his father's retirement party, started our packing list for the cruise, talked about money and of course really discussed in detail my job and why I want to leave with the changes that would take place if I did. Unfortunately, there were too many reason why NOT to leave my current job & only 1 reason (the chick I want to take a baseball bat to her head) why to leave. Leaving would disrupt my daughter, the gym and have to drive into Hartford everyday.....yuck. So I'm cancelling my interview in Hartford for Tuesday and just trying to let Kim's crap roll off my shoulders. So now it's Saturday, going to clean & do laundry and when Mike gets home today from work, we'll be hitting the gym and hopefully Angela will be up to it.
Oh, one other little tid bit as I was making a cup of tea last night, Mike commented that he could see a change in my butt and that it's gotten much tighter and higher....he he he. That made me feel so good that he is finally noticing a change!!January 09 January 9 - MotivationI have to commend my husband on being a great motivation for me. I thought at first I was going to have to push him when actually, he's been the one pushing me. This past Sunday, I actually had a good's night sleep and slept until 9am. Our plans were to be at the gym for 10 and I was laying in bed thinking of all sorts of excuses why we shouldn't go because we had to start bowling at 3pm. So when I asked Mike what his plans were for the day, he responded with "Gym Baby, we're hitting the gym!" to my surprise and amazement. Well we didn't make it for 10, but hit it at 11am and never worked on cleaning the cellar that day. As we were driving out, I touched his hand and thanked him. I really needed that kick in the butt to get me going and explained everything to him. Now last night???? I'm sitting in my glider working on this website during The Biggest Loser and what is Mike doing? Crunches, leg lifts and push up in between commercials. So when I finally got to a point where I could join him, here the two of us are on the floor laughing, joking about when they are going to the next commercial and doing push ups. We sat there facing each other stretching when I told him that he's been totally awesome though all of this and I'm so proud of him. Tonight is Wednesday and of course there is girl scouts so hopefully we'll be able to drop Angela off, fly to the gym, work out without the hot tub tonight pick her up and be home by 8:15 to send her off to bed.....hmmmmm wonder where dinner is going to fit in all that and Angela's homework? January 08 Week 1 - off to a good startWell we've started. I've hit the gym 4 times in 6 days & Mike 3 times. On Monday nights, my gym has a Power Groove class that I just love to take to hip hop and rumba my way to fitness. I have also set up an appointment with Todd, one of the trainers at the gym for a fitness evaluation for Thursday to see where I can be tweaked to lose 10 pounds in less than 6 weeks (that's another blog to come) and then keep going to my fitness goal of getting back down to 145lb where I was when the 2007 pictures were taken in Punta Cana on our honeymoon. Mike did something that he has never done before at the gym on Sunday and that was to hit the tredmill. Mike is usually an eliptical guy because of a bad knee but Sunday, he thought he would change it up. I was so proud of him. He walked at 3.4 mph for 30 minutes and was a giant sweatball by the time he was done. I've been hitting the tredmill and my personal goal on there is to run 1 mile. Right now, I run about 2-3 minutes at a clip then lower the speed back down to a walk to catch my breath and then do it all over again. I have to be careful though because I have a small heart condition along with high blood and have almost passed out in the gym. We've also started eating healthier too. During the week is so hard with my youngest in tow but we've found a great italian resturaunt on the way home from the gym that has a great chicken ceasar salad for us. Mike feeds Angela before I get home and then we're off to the gym and then salads for dinner. I've also started eating Quaker Weight Control oatmeal. Everyone in my office can tell when I'm eating my breakfast because the aroma of maple syrup is all through the front office. So between the oatmeal for breakfast, a yogurt for break, a healthy lunch of soup or Chicken BLT Salad with low fat honey mustard dressing from Wendy's, fruit for the afternoon and salad during workout days for dinner, I feel that I am really eating healthier than before when those Whoppers were calling me from BK at lunch. Mike has changed his diet as well. He has cut all carbs out of his diet and is doing a modified Atkins approach at losing weight. He has 2 eggs and 2 slices of bacon for breakfast at home, stops at Dunkin Donuts and gets black coffee on his way to work, fruit on his break and orders a sensible lunch at work with no carbs and then our salads for dinner.
For more fitness, Mike and I are also on a bowling league and Sunday we HAD to bowl a make up set so we ended up bowling 6 games Sunday afternoon to evening in addition to our morning workout. Needless to say, Mike's knee was barking Monday morning and by Tuesday (today) my legs are a bit more stiff than normal. It's only been a week but I can feel a little difference in feeling tighter. Can't wait to see if the scale thinks so by Friday. January 07 The beginning of our weight loss challengeMike and I were married 1 year ago and spent part of our New Year's Day watching the Biggest Loser and then the season opener on NBC in the evening. As we sat there watching it, we realized that we could do this too. Mike and I both put on some serious weight after our honeymoon, developed a few medical issues and realized that we were just plain LAZY! We both realize that this is not going to be easy but it is going to be worth every ounce of sweat and sore muscle.
In the blogs to come, you will see why we should win this contest. Our determination, our pitfalls and how we bring each other back on track will hopefully be motivation to others who lead extremely busy lives with children. Try 8 children in all and one beautiful granddaughter but the obstacles that we face just to start this are emormous.
Obstable #1 TIME
 Work & children take up most of our time. Mike & I work 6 days a week, and the kids are involved in so many activities from Girl Scouts to Basketball to Indoor Soccer, so finding time to hit the gym is difficult.
Obstacle #2 FOOD
 With such a hectic schedule, Monday-Friday is tough on dinner. Unfortunately, chineese take out and pizza gets substituted more than I would like.
Obstacle #3 MOTIVATION
 We've just realized that we are just plain lazy and need a good shot to get us going. Hopefully this challenge will be what we need!!
So there is our beginning. Hope you follow us through to the end. |
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