Week One Update

Week One Update

Today I celebrate and embrace the loss of 8 pounds.

On my frame, with the amount of weight I have to lose (over 150 pounds), 8 pounds doesn’t seem like a lot and you can’t see it when you look at me. But that’s ok, because this weight loss journey is about me and my body. Do you know what kind of impact just 8 pounds can have? For every pound over weight we are, that’s 4 pounds of pressure on our joints. I just eliminated 32 added pounds of pressure on my joints! That’s fabulous!

I also made progress on my goals. Progress is part of what fuels our passion to keep going. When I can look back and see how far I’ve gone, that’s what’s going to help me get through those tough times when I feel like nothing is happening and I’ll NEVER meet my goal weight.

So how did I kick those pounds to the curb? I joined a challenge group hosted by my awesome BeachBody coach. It started last Monday and every day I earn points by being accountable and supporting the other people in the group. The group doesn’t teach extreme weight loss or how to starve myself to get fast results that will come back later (and bring friends). No the group teaches me small healthy daily habits to work on and supports me through the fitness program that meets me at my level and provides a little challenge.

What are those small changes? Things like drinking my water each day. Checking in for my daily work out, even on rest days (and actually taking my rest days). They help me in making healthier food choices and getting in my recommended amount of protein and vegetables. When I have a rough day, that group has my back. They’re the ones reminding me that I can do this and that it takes one small step at a time. They lift and encourage me and when I need to, they give me that quick kick in the rear to get moving.

Challenge groups have done wonders for my personal life as well. I started posting ‘sweaty mug photos’ that’s the selfie you take after you’ve worked out when your hair is a mess and there’s sweat dripping down your face, you’re breathing hard and your face is red. Who celebrates photos like that?!? My awesome group of fellow challengers do! We all take those photos. There’s no priming or adding make up or trying to look “sexy”. This is the real thing. I swear it’s almost more of a “who can look worse after working out” competition and its awesome! No one judges me for how I look. They congratulate me for looking happy or exhausted or like a royal mess. They congratulate me for taking another step along my journey to a healthier, happier me. How amazing is that!?! Talk about a confidence booster. I even find myself feeling more confident about taking and posting photos of myself. Something I’ve never been able to do. I look in the mirror now and find good things to say instead of degrading self-talk.

I still have a long way to go. With my weight loss and my health. I struggle with getting the right portion sizes and eating enough of the right things. I struggle with emotional eating and binge eating. I struggle with getting that daily exercise in and feeling like I matter. But every day I get one step closer to being able to do the things I dream of. And this January Challenge group is really helping me take the steps I need.

The Year of the Core

I was just reading an interesting email through About.com on Yoga. I subscribe to some of their email newsletters. The one on Yoga is written by Ann Pizer (http://yoga.about.com/bio/Ann-Pizer-12794.htm?nl=1) and it always has good information. For those of you who don't know. About.com has a number of free newsletters and e-courses that you can have delivered directly to your inbox and you can always opt out of them at any time. I get a number of them including trying to learn French in preparation for talking French once I head back to college.

So in this article she talked about all this negative stuff that happened concerning Yoga in the last year and how she chooses not to think about that but to think about the positive aspects. Which, honestly, is something I've struggled with in the last couple years. Its something a lot of people struggle with but is much needed for all of us.  The need to focus on more positive then negative. Which is not the point of this but really people. We have so much negativity in our lives. We really should try to focus more on the positive. You can see the negative, you can acknowledge it, but we shouldn't dwell in it. We just bring our own lives down. So Ann is looking back on the last year and calling it the year of the core. If you read the information she provides you can see how its true. However if you're anything like me you probably haven't been focusing on your core muscles this last year. And lets face it people.

Core is where it's all at. Balance, life, it all revolves around your core. Your core muscles (the abs and lower back) are the foundation for everything we do. Every day we use our core muscles continuously. I'm learning more and more about how they play a major part in every single thing we do. Everything. I'm serious. Stop looking at me like that :) no really, look it up. Your core muscles connect to everything. They're responcible for everything. And when they're weak, we suffer. We have problems. So while everything is connected I was thinking about what she was saying about last year being the year of the core. But I was thinking I will make this next year the year of the core for me.

Let me explain. While I'm starting to do Yoga again and practicing bellydancing. While I'm sitting at my desk or walking my dogs. Every thing I do brings those core muscles into use. I don't know about you but let me tell you something. My core muscles are WEAK. This year I will once again try to focus more on myself. And I will do better then I did last year. While working through my health and fitness I'm going to do some major focusing on my core muscles. With everything connected through them, I think this is a very important thing to focus on. Core is everything. So lets make this next year the year of the core. Utilize the resources that were created last year to make a better, stronger next year.