57 Shades of Workouts-until Hawaii

So do you like the title? lol! hehe. Just thought I would be a bit funny. And no, I am still not reading that book.
Anyway, I have 57 days until Hawaii! I would love to lose another 45 pounds by then and feel even better about myself. That will be a total of 90 miserable pounds gone but still leaves me with some more weight to lose! Ugh! Sometimes it feels like I will never reach my final goal because I have so much weight to lose. But I know I can do this! I am trying to lose all the weight I need to by my 30th birthday, which after the Hawaii goal, I will have another 101 days to finish it all off! Considering I have 157 days to lose and tone, I am pretty confident that I can do this. If I could shed it before, I can shed it now and keep it off for good, (minus the 25 pounds I will probably gain when we have a baby.)

I think my post today has inspired me to get a personal trainer again. I have a fight to win and if I can lose that 1lb a day by doing things right, I will be way ahead of schedule for the trip and my 30th! I am thinking I should look pretty awesome by the 2 year anniversary of our marriage which is November 7th! I am pretty excited to see what I can accomplish by then. I have committed myself to this schedule every week:

Mondays 730pm Zumba @ Murray-Scholls 24 Hour Fitness

Tuesdays 730pm Yoga @ Tanasbourne 24 Hour Fitness

Thursdays 730pm Zumba @ Beaverton 24 Hour Fitness

Saturdays 830am Bodypump @ Beaverton 24 Hour Fitness

                930am Yoga @ Beaverton 24 Hour Fitness

Sundays   900am Bodypump @ Tanasbourne 24 Hour Fitness

                10:30am Amp'd abs @ Beaverton 24 Hour Fitness

                 11am Turbokick  @ Beaverton 24 Hour Fitness

That is a total of 7.5 hours a week scheduled classes. After my night classes I will either be doing cardio and weights or hopefully personal training and then heading home for my Jillian Michaels dvd. I have to get in at least 2 hours a day of exercise. I will start this Thursday of course-today. I am hoping Saturday and Sundays classes do some metobolic miracle. Lol.

So thats the workout plan. Now onto the meal plan.

Well, I know I have to get my protein shakes back in the plan and I have a huge container of some that I will mix with water. I am mostly going to try to eat fish/some chicken, veggies and fruit and for some other carbs-greek yogurt and some nut-thins. I will probably have 1 day a week (possibly Saturdays mostly b/c the weekends are when my hubby and I try to catch a movie or eat some pizza) where I can eat not so healthy carbs and what not, but still stay in my low calorie range(so 1 piece of a medium pizza and some salad basically) However, on my "cheat" day it wont be filled with junk. Why? Mostly because my body at this point doesn't even like chocolate bars that I used to. My wonderful hubby and I were up in Washington this past weekend and bought lunch at Dick's drive-in before we left and my taste buds and tummy did not agree with this once deliciously greasy fast food treat. Which I definitely know is a very good thing. My body is used to home cooked meals as well, or salads, so it really throws me out of whack if i have something that doesn't have some nutritional value to it.

I am also getting back into juicing. I really missed my snacks of frozen fruit with fresh veggie juice. I will try to post some juice recipes that are pleasing to the eye and stomach. I know spinach is probably going to be in almost every juice along with kale. It's going to be great!

Well, this is my second blog of the day-can you tell I am excited?! I will try to keep you updated as much as I can with recipes and possibly some monthly updated pictures. I gotta get started on writing a recipe for the Chili cookoff I entered into at work. I am not telling anyone, but it is going to be the healthiest chili they have ever had. hehe. Here's to winning!
♥ The Elleness.

The Competition is Over-But The Goal is Not.

Today marked the 14 weeks of The Biggest Loser competition at work. I lost a total of 16lbs during those weeks. I already know I did not win and am expecting to be in the top 20 (out of 62) after the results are given. To be honest, I am glad this competition is over and I do wish I could have won and worked out even harder and a lot more. I try not to make excuses and I try to just go with things but I did have to face a lot of struggles with starting medications that made me feel horrible. Also, I am just proud of my accomplishments. I have lost a total of 45lbs and it doesnt stop there. I am going to continue and because I am adapting better to the medication and I feel like I do have some more energy. Like I mentioned earlier, I am kinda glad the competition is over. Why, you ask? Well, I feel like weighing myself weekly was a downfall for me mentally. I was so concerned with the number that I limited my routines-I did less strength training especially when it came to lower body training. So I am happy to get back to no weigh-ins. I feel this will be less stressful. I am kicking off my own competition for myself by going to Zumba tonight @ the Beaverton 24 Hour Fitness w/Leina after work @ 7:30pm. I feel like I can get back into a really great routine that will show even more results. I have a lot of work to get done before Hawaii in September. So, here's to getting stronger and doing it my way! 45 Down-More to go!

28 days 20 pounds

Good Afternoon!

There is approx. 28 days left in the Biggest Loser competition at work. What does this mean? Well, it means I have at least 20 pounds to lose in those last 28 days I had a goal to lose 40 more by July 19th I am not so sure that will happen! More like a possible 30. I am trying to be realistic. I thought I had more time. But nope. So, I already have a plan and am so excited to execute it. It starts next week. Of course I am still working out and taking care of my body with nutrious food, but I am stepping it into higher gear! I can't believe the competition is almost over!

Transformation Hyperdrive

I have the most amazing news.

My husband has a new schedule! Not that I am too thrilled about it, but he will be M-F which is such a blessing. However he will be working later than I would like, but...that means I will get a lot more time at the gym, and when I mean a lot, I mean everyday! Right now I usually take Thursday and Friday off to go home and spend time with him, basically I just like being home with him. lol. So his new schedule will give me the opportunity to truly live up to my gymrat potential. I typically workout anywhere between 7:15pm to 7:30pm depending on the time I leave work, and then I am out of the gym at 8:45pm or 8:50pm. This is Monday thru Wednesday. Thursdays I try to go to our gym at the apartments just so I can be home and Fridays I usually rest. Saturdays I'm at bodypump and then do cardio in the mornings. Sundays I usually go right after I take my hubby to work for a couple of hours.

Starting June 18th I will be able to work out from 730-at the very least 930! My hubby wont be off work until 1am! So I have a lot of free time to basically live at the gym. I am thinking the sauna will be seeing more of me as well.

Here's my plan, I want to do at least 90minutes of cardio and 30minutes of weights/core work. I have to finish this Biggest Loser competition at the top. The current leader will not know what hit him! lol. I also have Hawaii coming up in September and I gotta lose some more weight before my husbands family sees me! His grandparents/aunts and uncles have not seen me since I weighed 42lbs heavier! I am very excited to hit some major goals again! I want to lose another 40lbs by July 19th-I am not sure if that will allow me to win the competition but I am banking on it. And I want to lose another 40lbs by September 12th. I know this can be done and I am going to be pushing myself everyday to accomplish this.

I was really inspired by the first episode of Extreme Weight Loss Makeover this past Sunday, I watched it Monday. The adversity that the gentlemen had to deal with was disheartening, but against all odds he lost 200lbs! The next episode is a record breaking makeover and I am so down for that.

I know it may seem like I am going crazy with these workout sessions and what not, but I want a future and most importantly, my hubby and I really want a baby! So, I need to be super healthy so I can have an as easy as possible pregnancy. I don't want to wait any longer for the things I have stopped myself from having. Especially that little black dress! (Conservative little black dress that is)

So I have a challenge! 80lbs in 4 months! If ppl on the tv show can lose 100 in 3 months, I am sure I can accomplish this! Watch out 24 hour fitness, I will see you everyday...ya ready?

Believe & You Can Acheive!
♥Elle

My Body is Sick.

I thought I would take a moment and address some of the concerns my dear friends have had.

I know you all love me and are only looking out for my best interest. But please realize I know my limitations and I only push myself as far as my body allows me to. I want to reiterate this to you in my blog and tell you more specifically what has been going on since I have been on this new medication-metformin.

1. I want to reassure everyone that I do not, nor is it a concern that I have diabetes. I have Polycystic Ovaries and took medicine back when I lived in Wyoming for it, but due to how it made me feel stopped. Now that I am married and we would like to extend our family in the near future so I have decided to go back on the medicine which does make me feel crappy most of the time, but I am still able to eat :) And trust me I have. This past week from Thursday's weigh in to today I have lost 9lbs. But I do have to admit I ate some junk food over the weekend. However, two weeks prior and just starting out with the medication I was working out for about an hour in a half to two hours in the morning  and then in the evenings 1 hour and I lost only 1lb. Plus, I didn't even touch anything bad for me. So, I was at a loss for words and pretty discouraged. The doctor has up'd my dose from 1 tablet to 2. And I believe this is helping me with my progress.

2. Working out- I love it! I love to sweat! Even if I was not overweight, I would still be in the gym most likely everyday sweating. Why? Because I want to get healthy and when I am at a good weight, I want to maintain being healthy. I will even workout when I am pregnant. I want to have a healthy body in general. Also, EVERYBODY should be working out EVERYDAY for a minimum of 30 minutes a day to make sure your body is healthy and functions properly-It could even be walking briskly for a half hour. Even my grandmother did this her whole life for more than a half hour sometimes and she lived with cancer for 7 years! No radiation, just iron infusions and she was still able to get excerise in. Right now, my body is screaming out for attention, it wants to get better. My body is sick and I need to do all that I can to make sure it gets better. As much as I hate admitting that my body is not functioning correctly, it is something I have come to terms with. Especially when I had lost almost all of my weight that I needed to lose and packed it all on rather quickly with many personal circumstances back in 2008 some due to the PCOS-which I was denying I still had. Go me.

3. Everybodys body is different. If you see a lot of posts of me working out, or bragging about how awesome I feel it is only to really motivate myself to continue the lifestyle I want. I know not to push myself into injury and I mostly do cardio and weight lifting workouts. I am working my tail off, and my body is okay with it. The last 4 days, I have not worked out and I can feel it, although regarding the weight loss- I have had a magnificent weight loss miracle. Mostly because my body is different and the hard work I had done prior needed a boost.(thank you metformin)

 I always thought with just hard work and no medications I could overcome the weight, but because of my health issues, this time around, I needed help. Some of my friends have opted for surgery which scares me so I personally would not do it, especially since I know the reasons of why I have issues losing weight and what can fix it. No knives for me! :) Like I said everybody has a different body and requires other options to fix things for them, for me it wasn't surgery, just a magic pill lol.

I know I complain about the pills making my tummy feel upset, but,  I just want to assure you that I have just started taking them and i've had the dosage up'd as well per dr. orders within the 2 weeks that I started taking them in the first place and I think my body is just trying to get used to it. So I will be fine. They are aiding in something that has to be done and at this time, I have no alternatives. Trust me, I have tried everything since I was first diagnosed to get it under control.

In closing, I really do appreciate your concerns and I love you all, but I am not a fanatic, I am just choosing to get my body on the right track so I can have a long healthy fun filled future. When you are too heavy to play your Wii Fit at some point then you will know the pain I have had to go through. It's not fun. Now I can play it. Yay me! But there was a time when I couldn't. There was a time where I couldn't even buckle the seat belt on a plane and that is serious my friends! I never want to be there again. I want to have children, I want to be active with my children and make sure they never have to go thru what I went thru. I don't want them looking in the mirror and seeing a monster like I have before and causing self esteem issues in the future like I had. I used to think I was so ugly that I couldnt pursue my music career no matter how good my voice was naturally, I was even too afraid to take voice lessons-one day in the near future I will. ♫♪♫♪

I believe I can accomplish all my goals and so far I am on the right path to achieving those goals. It is no longer a dream, it is a reality and I am proud that I have taken the right steps to fix my body and I am proud of all my friends and family members who have done the same regardless of having to have surgery, take medicine or just getting to the gym more. I love you all!

♥ Elle

The Pants Fit!

I don't know if many of you, or the few of you who read my blogs have problems shopping for the perfect pair of pants, but I do!

Here's the thing, my pants are either too snug in the middle and too big in the legs, or too big in the middle and too small in the legs. I know, it's ridiculous. Well, this issue has made me resent clothes shopping. Even when I weighed 96lbs less, I still had issues finding a great pair of pants.

Well, a long time ago, I bought some dress trousers. Usually they fit me pretty well. I bought 3 different colors, 2 different sizes (all online). I bought the black and grey pant in a size bigger than I wore and then a brown pant in my correct size at the time. I only bought the black and grey in a larger size due to how my body fits trousers. The brown pant I was able to wear a few times until I gained more weight. I then wore the black pant which was a bit snug at the time, but the grey pant did not fit me at all. I personally believe the grey pant was mislabled and I am going to size them up next to the brown pant this evening because, I am now able to wear the grey pant! I know right! Amazing!

 My black pant which I wear practically everyday-minus jeans day-were looking rather shabby and not in a good way. First of all, the pant design I bought is made in tall, I am 5'8 and 3/4 so I figured tall would be good, althought the brown pant I ordered as average. The tall pant is too long in the legs-go figure, so the black pant would get caught on my heels and so the bottoms are tattered, which are easily hidden due to the length. However, last night I found a hole in the bottom and have realized I need them hemed, but I was too exhausted to do so at 9pm. This is what made me try on the grey pants, which 34lbs ago did not fit-which brings me to the hope of the brown pant fitting as well. Let's hope they do! Well the only issue with the grey pant is that they are a little long, so to avoid the shabby look on these bad boys, I will most likely take them in to get hemmed this weekend. That way, I will be able to also get them altered until I can't alter them anymore, because I love the fit and the professional feeling I get when I wear them. But not to worry, I am wearing chunky heels today so there will be no holes. :) The black pant-although they are rather large on me, still can be worn, as long as I get them hemmed and purchase a belt.

So, to say the least, I am very pleased at my bodys transformation and I have tons of cute clothes that I am looking forward to fitting again. This also makes me want to work harder and smarter to shed this weight. I have to admit I haven't really worked out for a week. I did some ab work on Sunday, but due to a monthly visitor that arrived on Thursday, I just felt drained. When the visitor returns though, I will just have to suck it up and just go to the gym. I am way too excited now. You have no idea! I have never been able to wear these pants since I purchased them-after gaining my weight back. So I am pretty pumped up at the moment. Nothing is going to stop me!

Previously to the visitors arrival, I was working out twice a day. I did my normal Saturday workout, then Sunday I skipped like usual. I was off Monday thru thursday and my mother in law was visiting, so I would go to the gym after I took my husband to work and then later on before we picked my husband up from work we went to the gym. I did get a lot of activity in on my week off, so I am pretty proud of that. Now I am ready to get even more done!

Again, thanks for reading my blog! I hope it inspires you!
Put your dreams into action!
Dream♥Believe♥Achieve

The Elleness♥

Is It Really Wednesday? Cuz it Feels Like Monday

Hey everyone!
I wanted to share a bit of news with you on my Yoga ventures lately. I love Yoga! Getting my body to stretch in ways I haven't in awhile is amazing!

I used to do Yoga when I was a smaller size and I was hesitant to try it out again. I am very happy I did.

I have a problem with my left foot (mostly on top) and ankle swelling. It looks very odd and icky most of the time if I am not active or lying down. I also have minor swelling in my right ankle-this I am sure is due to water weight. However, the last two Tuesdays I have taken Yoga, my right ankle's swelling disappears and my left foot shrinks significantly and the ankle swelling is hard to to locate.

I really think that Yoga has been the answer to some issues I have been having with my body.
Not only do I feel refreshed after a session, but I also feel really good about myself. I feel elongated, limber, relaxed and very calm.

I know a lot of people-especially my friends who may think I am joining a religion may dissapprove of Yoga due to many misconceptions. I would like to point out that 24-hour fitness's Yoga classes are not in anyway promotional for the study, honestly its about the body and reconnecting with it and getting flexible. I looked up Yoga on wikipedia and it's practices and base is very different than how I use Yoga. However, I am usuing Yoga to connect better with my body and to assist in weight loss. Here are some benefits that have been recorded per Wikipedia.org.:

Long-term yoga practitioners in the United States have reported musculoskeletal and mental health improvements, as well reduced symptoms of asthma in asthmatics.^[78] Regular yoga practice increases brain GABA levels and has been shown to improve mood and anxiety more than some other metabolically matched exercises, such as walking

In my opinion, I do not see any negative effects of doing Yoga. All I see are benefits. And when you are as heavy as I am, being told by your instructor that you have to do more complex moves because of your flexibility range, and you haven't attended in years, then I feel it isn't wrong.

Besides hasn't the christian religion turned a pagen holiday into a worship day for Jesus? How is practicing Yoga to assist in changing your body any different.
I may be way off with that example, but it is something to ponder.

I'm out for today! This was a long one! P.S. Check this guy out-His name is Arthur and his transformation due to Yoga is phenominal!

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=arthur+yoga&oq=arthur+yoga&aq=0&aqi=g1&aql=&gs_l=youtube-psuggest.1.0.0.140.2028.0.4992.8.6.0.1.1.0.265.935.1j3j2.6.0...0.0.ICBrJZe85LQ