I'm just suffering from writers block. I feel like I've already written about everything on my mind.
So until I find some inspiration...
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Refocusing
So… lots happening which equates to not a lot of time to write the ole blog, but I need to recommit to blogging. And losing weight.
Because I lost such a huge amount of weight in such a short period of time I decided to take a bit of time off from the extreme weight loss plan. Yes, I still dropped some pounds but I was definitely not losing weight at the rate I was losing it in previous months. I slacked on the diet. I allowed myself some cocktails. I didn’t work out as often as I should have worked out. And as a result, I didn’t really lose much poundage. But I did have fun and was able to relax a bit and give my body a break.
I knew I needed to get back on track, but sometimes I need a little push to make it happen. Like he was reading my mind, Rob said to me last week, “We need to talk. You need to start losing weight again.” It’s never a good feeling to get called out on your slacker ways so I was kind of embarrassed. But honestly? It was the push I needed to get my butt in gear and buckle down again. Of course Rob is right. He usually is.
So I’ve been buckling down. My diet has been on point. I’ve been back on the veggie soup for many of my meals which worked really well for me in the past. I’m not eating at restaurants. I’m hitting the gym. I’m laying off the booze. I’m refocused.
The truth is I really like myself when I’m hardcore on the diet. I’m really in the zone. Because I’m eating really healthy and working out a lot, I sleep much better at night. This means my work is better, I’m happier and I’m not tired during the day at all. I just have a lot of energy. It’s a great feeling.
So… here’s to kicking off Phase II of “Angie’s Weight Loss Journey.” You can expect more frequent blog entries and a soon to be slim Ang coming your way soon!
Because I lost such a huge amount of weight in such a short period of time I decided to take a bit of time off from the extreme weight loss plan. Yes, I still dropped some pounds but I was definitely not losing weight at the rate I was losing it in previous months. I slacked on the diet. I allowed myself some cocktails. I didn’t work out as often as I should have worked out. And as a result, I didn’t really lose much poundage. But I did have fun and was able to relax a bit and give my body a break.
I knew I needed to get back on track, but sometimes I need a little push to make it happen. Like he was reading my mind, Rob said to me last week, “We need to talk. You need to start losing weight again.” It’s never a good feeling to get called out on your slacker ways so I was kind of embarrassed. But honestly? It was the push I needed to get my butt in gear and buckle down again. Of course Rob is right. He usually is.
So I’ve been buckling down. My diet has been on point. I’ve been back on the veggie soup for many of my meals which worked really well for me in the past. I’m not eating at restaurants. I’m hitting the gym. I’m laying off the booze. I’m refocused.
The truth is I really like myself when I’m hardcore on the diet. I’m really in the zone. Because I’m eating really healthy and working out a lot, I sleep much better at night. This means my work is better, I’m happier and I’m not tired during the day at all. I just have a lot of energy. It’s a great feeling.
So… here’s to kicking off Phase II of “Angie’s Weight Loss Journey.” You can expect more frequent blog entries and a soon to be slim Ang coming your way soon!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Losing the Dead Weight in My Life
I'm a bit overdue for an update, eh? Forgive me, I was on vacation and fully enjoyed relaxing with some of my oldest and best friends in (partly) sunny Florida.
I was REALLY happy because I was able to sqeeeeeze into my friend Megan's bathing suit for the trip. Granted, it was a little snug, but honestly, not too bad. I was very proud to wear a suit that is just a bit big for a girl that I think looks great. Yay!
Spending quality time with friends made me realize how lucky I am to have friends in my life that love me and care about my best interests. You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned my weight loss buddy, M for awhile. Well, that's because our friendship ended. I thought I would be really upset, but honestly, I feel really good about the negative influence being out of my life. It's very difficult to say good-bye to a friend, especially one that was a part of a big life change, but I have to do what's best for me.
Rob is nothing but professional about the "friendship break-up." We've been training on our own, now, and he says my workouts have never been better. Looks like working out solo agrees with me!
I was REALLY happy because I was able to sqeeeeeze into my friend Megan's bathing suit for the trip. Granted, it was a little snug, but honestly, not too bad. I was very proud to wear a suit that is just a bit big for a girl that I think looks great. Yay!
Spending quality time with friends made me realize how lucky I am to have friends in my life that love me and care about my best interests. You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned my weight loss buddy, M for awhile. Well, that's because our friendship ended. I thought I would be really upset, but honestly, I feel really good about the negative influence being out of my life. It's very difficult to say good-bye to a friend, especially one that was a part of a big life change, but I have to do what's best for me.
Rob is nothing but professional about the "friendship break-up." We've been training on our own, now, and he says my workouts have never been better. Looks like working out solo agrees with me!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Street Cred at the Gym
I’ve been going to Chicago Fitness Center for awhile now. I’m actually there all the time since it’s where Rob trains me and I have my gym membership. Yet, oddly enough, I don’t have any gym friends. I mean, no one really talks to me. I’m not sure if that’s normal, but it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I go in. I work out. I go home. I’m either swinging kettlebells with Rob or hitting the treadmill or elliptical on my own and I always use my iPod so it’s not like I’m begging for people to come strike up conversation with me.
Basically, I like to think I remain pretty anonymous at the gym.
Think again.
I was in the locker room yesterday and this perky gal started chatting me up talking about how nice it is outside and how she’d rather be anywhere than at the gym. I laughed and told her that if I hadn’t already paid my trainer for the week I’d be doing something outside, too. Then she said, “You train with Rob, right?” I said, “Yep, I sure do!” She then told me that her friends in the yoga class at the gym were talking about me and how great I look, etc. She asked if I’d lost all the weight by working out with Rob and doing kettlebells. I told her indeed, I did, and that she should check it out.
It was cool to be recognized by people I don’t know and don’t talk to or for my weight loss achievements. And who knows? Maybe I met an actual gym friend!
Basically, I like to think I remain pretty anonymous at the gym.
Think again.
I was in the locker room yesterday and this perky gal started chatting me up talking about how nice it is outside and how she’d rather be anywhere than at the gym. I laughed and told her that if I hadn’t already paid my trainer for the week I’d be doing something outside, too. Then she said, “You train with Rob, right?” I said, “Yep, I sure do!” She then told me that her friends in the yoga class at the gym were talking about me and how great I look, etc. She asked if I’d lost all the weight by working out with Rob and doing kettlebells. I told her indeed, I did, and that she should check it out.
It was cool to be recognized by people I don’t know and don’t talk to or for my weight loss achievements. And who knows? Maybe I met an actual gym friend!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
A Pretty Big Deal
This blog post is going to be short and sweet.
On Wednesday I needed to pick up a new pair of jeans because the jeans my older sister gave me at Thanksgiving are way too big now. And all the ladies know that baggy jeans is just a sloppy look. Denim needs to fit your derriere. And my denim was doing my backside no favors, so I scooted over to the land of cheap clothing: Kohl's.
I don't understand the designer denim trend. Why pay $200 for jeans when Levis do something magical to pretty much every person's butt? I hit the Levis section at Kohl's and grabbed a few sizes to see where I'd land.
I landed a FULL five sizes smaller than I wore when I started my diet. And keep in mind this is the same brand of jeans!!!
I'm so happy. Big day, big moment!
On Wednesday I needed to pick up a new pair of jeans because the jeans my older sister gave me at Thanksgiving are way too big now. And all the ladies know that baggy jeans is just a sloppy look. Denim needs to fit your derriere. And my denim was doing my backside no favors, so I scooted over to the land of cheap clothing: Kohl's.
I don't understand the designer denim trend. Why pay $200 for jeans when Levis do something magical to pretty much every person's butt? I hit the Levis section at Kohl's and grabbed a few sizes to see where I'd land.
I landed a FULL five sizes smaller than I wore when I started my diet. And keep in mind this is the same brand of jeans!!!
I'm so happy. Big day, big moment!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
No Fun Furnace
I’ve gotten some flack from my parents about not updating this blog frequently enough, so I’m going to do my best to write more. But the truth of the matter is that there hasn’t been an overwhelmingly huge amount of blog-worthy stuff happening right now.
Other than the introduction of The Furnace, that is.
Lately at training, Rob has been KILLING me. Not actually killing me, of course, but he’s been making me do a lot of what I consider to be unsavory workouts. Unsavory because they’re really damn hard. And I sweat a lot while I’m doing them. Looking like Patrick Ewing in the 4th quarter is the sign of a killer workout.
I’ve talked about the 5 minute kettlebell drills in detail in previous blog entries. Yes, Rob still makes me do those, but he also makes me do what I call suicides, which are starting with one exercise, getting a short break and then starting that exercise again and adding another drill, then resting and then start from the beginning and adding yet another drill. Confused? Me too. Here’s an example:
Swings
Break
Swings, clean to press
Break
Swings, clean to press, clean to squat
Rinse and repeat three more times.
It sounds easy, but trust me, it is anything but.
To add insult to injury, Rob introduced the furnace to me on Monday. It’s basically a deconstructed get-up with all the elements done separately with a bunch of swings in between. The drills are 45 seconds ON EACH SIDE and the breaks are 15 seconds. Since there are 4 elements to the get-up and you have to do 45 seconds of each element on each side, we’re talking a solid minimum of 17 minutes of intense, calorie burning workout happening at the tail end of my training sessions. NOT EASY. And not fun. I was shooting Rob all of these “You crazy!” looks when he was explaining the drill to me, but you know what? I got through it. Granted, my shoulder started to give out towards the bitter end, so I dropped the kettlebell and finished up one part of the furnace without a bell, but I’m not going to feel guilty about it. I’m damn proud of myself for doing something I never thought I could do.
Other than the introduction of The Furnace, that is.
Lately at training, Rob has been KILLING me. Not actually killing me, of course, but he’s been making me do a lot of what I consider to be unsavory workouts. Unsavory because they’re really damn hard. And I sweat a lot while I’m doing them. Looking like Patrick Ewing in the 4th quarter is the sign of a killer workout.
I’ve talked about the 5 minute kettlebell drills in detail in previous blog entries. Yes, Rob still makes me do those, but he also makes me do what I call suicides, which are starting with one exercise, getting a short break and then starting that exercise again and adding another drill, then resting and then start from the beginning and adding yet another drill. Confused? Me too. Here’s an example:
Swings
Break
Swings, clean to press
Break
Swings, clean to press, clean to squat
Rinse and repeat three more times.
It sounds easy, but trust me, it is anything but.
To add insult to injury, Rob introduced the furnace to me on Monday. It’s basically a deconstructed get-up with all the elements done separately with a bunch of swings in between. The drills are 45 seconds ON EACH SIDE and the breaks are 15 seconds. Since there are 4 elements to the get-up and you have to do 45 seconds of each element on each side, we’re talking a solid minimum of 17 minutes of intense, calorie burning workout happening at the tail end of my training sessions. NOT EASY. And not fun. I was shooting Rob all of these “You crazy!” looks when he was explaining the drill to me, but you know what? I got through it. Granted, my shoulder started to give out towards the bitter end, so I dropped the kettlebell and finished up one part of the furnace without a bell, but I’m not going to feel guilty about it. I’m damn proud of myself for doing something I never thought I could do.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Strong.
This whole weight loss thing is hard. It’s not easy to constantly watch every single bite of food and drink that goes into your body. It’s not easy to work out all the time. Basically, it’s a complete life change and you have to have some mental toughness to get through it.
Which makes me think I’m a lot stronger than I ever thought I was before I started losing weight.
When I’m training there are times where I legitimately think there is no way I can a workout segment Rob tells me to do. Like get-ups with a 26 lb kettlebell. Or two five minute sets of uninterrupted kettlebell drills on my own with said 26 lb bell. Granted I have to mentally psych myself up for these types of things, but I do them. And I’m not dead when I’m through doing them either. In fact, if anything, I’m more pumped because I just completed something I never thought I could achieve.
I went to work out with my sister Molly at her gym a few weeks ago and we were working out on some kind of new elliptical machine. This thing is no joke… full strides and lots of resistance. It was hard, but I did my workout. Molly, who is not someone who says things she doesn’t mean, told me that she’s impressed that I don’t give up when working out gets hard. It’s a big change in me since I used to crumble whenever something got slightly challenging.
Not only am I mentally in the zone, but I’ve found my body can take a licking and keep on ticking. As a member of the I’m Uncoordinated club, I bang myself with kettlebells all the time causing huge bruises. I’ve got a weird shoulder thing that still bugs me a bit if I’m not focused on my form. And of course, I have my bad knee due to having ripped two ligaments and most of the cartilage removed back in college. But you know what? None of this stops me from getting to the gym and doing whatever Robs tells me to do.
At the end of the day I’m a much stronger person both physically and mentally. I dig it.
Which makes me think I’m a lot stronger than I ever thought I was before I started losing weight.
When I’m training there are times where I legitimately think there is no way I can a workout segment Rob tells me to do. Like get-ups with a 26 lb kettlebell. Or two five minute sets of uninterrupted kettlebell drills on my own with said 26 lb bell. Granted I have to mentally psych myself up for these types of things, but I do them. And I’m not dead when I’m through doing them either. In fact, if anything, I’m more pumped because I just completed something I never thought I could achieve.
I went to work out with my sister Molly at her gym a few weeks ago and we were working out on some kind of new elliptical machine. This thing is no joke… full strides and lots of resistance. It was hard, but I did my workout. Molly, who is not someone who says things she doesn’t mean, told me that she’s impressed that I don’t give up when working out gets hard. It’s a big change in me since I used to crumble whenever something got slightly challenging.
Not only am I mentally in the zone, but I’ve found my body can take a licking and keep on ticking. As a member of the I’m Uncoordinated club, I bang myself with kettlebells all the time causing huge bruises. I’ve got a weird shoulder thing that still bugs me a bit if I’m not focused on my form. And of course, I have my bad knee due to having ripped two ligaments and most of the cartilage removed back in college. But you know what? None of this stops me from getting to the gym and doing whatever Robs tells me to do.
At the end of the day I’m a much stronger person both physically and mentally. I dig it.
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