Goal... not so much

A few days have passed and I think you safely assumed that me not boasting about meeting my goal only met one thing... I didn't.

The big day was supposed to have been Saturday.  This goal was set back in April so it had been a long time coming.  I have made great progress since April when I originally set my goal.  (If it sounds coached, its because it is.  I am forcing myself to believe this as I type it.)  I have lost a bit over 20lbs and probably have put on about 10-15lbs of muscle.  I went from a size 18 to as size 10.  I went from struggling to get into a routine to not knowing what to do myself when I couldn't get to the gym.  Since then, a lot has happened.  It's called life.  I guess that I had better get used to it.  I can't make too many excuses.

Since I can't make too many excuses, that implies that I can make a few.  Right?  Okay, here it goes.  Tuesday, I was on track at 162ish.  I risked going to the Melting Pot for dinner.  Best idea, not so much.  I had a fantastic time and I enjoyed every bit of it.  I didn't pull any punches at dinner.  I allowed myself to enjoy it without feeling guilty.  That long evening also meant that I skipped a workout at the gym.  Double whammy.  Wednesday, I was only up a pound so I think I got a little bit cocky thinking that I had this one in the bag.  Thursday, I weighed in at 162.  At night, before I went to bed I gave it another shot.  I weighed in at 163.  Considering that we usually gain a few during the course of the day, I thought that it was smooth sailing ahead.  I skipped weighing in on Friday morning because I was pretty confident that I was on track.  I had been eating well, (recently).  I had put in a few extra workouts and nearly killed myself doing the CrossFit W.O.D..  Friday night, just double checking... I weighed myself in at 166.  WHAT THE HELL!?!?!  Where did all of that come from?  I was not particularly feeling "skinny" but hey... who knows.  Most of all of that is mental anyway.  I was annoyed, I was upset and frustrated.  So what did I do? I went out drinking.  I met up with Brent and Chris to have a few drinks.  In an attempt to not fall too far off the wagon, I watched what I drank and justified eating WaWa meatballs in a cup at 2 a.m..  I was due for a meal, I wanted to go high protein and low-carb.  Good effort considering how impaired my judgment was at that point in the evening.  I stayed at a friends house, (judgement was not impaired enough to drink and drive.)  In the morning, before I headed back home, I had a huge cup of coffee.  I told myself that since I generally weigh in naked and empty, this was an excuse that I should skip weigh in.  Ha!  I thought that I was being rudly reminded of the activities of the night before when I felt my tummy grumble but it turns out it was not.  Another month,  my "cycle" decides to do what ever the hell it wants.  My doctor thinks it is due to the weight loss and my workout routine but either way, it still throws a wrench in my day.  I think that it makes a bit more sense why I was not feeling particularly skinny the day before, why I had the munchies all week and why I was so emotional about not coming close enough to this goal.  Damn you P.M.S.!  Had I knew all of that was ahead of me,  I am sure my choices all the way around would have been different.  Unfortunately, that damage was done.  I didn't officially weigh in at all.

My inner self and I sat down and had a heart to heart.  It was probably more of a lecture but either way, it resulted in a plan B.  A segway.  Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, I am starting to contemplate a plan C.  Yesterday, I didn't make the best food choices.  I guess it was a rationalization along the lines of, "I am already on a roll screwing up, I might as well get it out of my system.".  Today, stuck indoors, I have kind of pulled my inner goddess in by her hair and told her to get her shit together.  So far, I had an okay breakfast, a greek yogurt for meal 2 and a turkey sandwich for meal 3.  The one thing I can easily control is having my meals on time. That is a step in the right direction.  I suggested frozen Chinese food for dinner and Brent politely said, "Yea, that's fine for me.  I am sure we can find something healthier for you.".. Good job.  He is threatening me as we speak to cut me off.  Lock me in my condo and only see me in the gym to workout.  Punk.  But... it's is appreciated more then he can imagine.

My Money Maker

My traps after CrossFit.  Holy Hannah!

2.5lbs

This morning, I weighed in at 162.5lbs.  Saturday is my weigh-in for goal, and I think that I can pull it off.  After everything that has stood in my way, I am only 2.5lbs away.  Sitting at my desk, I realized that I had forgotten to acknowledge my current weight of 162.5lbs..  I had such tunnel vision on 160lbs. that I forgot to stop and acknowledge that each pound counts.  Why is it that I am so hard on myself? 

Crunch time!!!! 

Homework

Doing my homework for the week, I just ended a call with a medical weight loss center.  Per my therapist, I was to call and get more information and possibly set up a consultation to consider my options for the remaining skin.  I am not quite sold on the surgical options, but I was hoping that someone some where would have some tips.  A game plan.  I am not sure if she wants me to go in and hear someone say that I am not as bad as I think, or if she thinks that getting rid of the excess fat will help me emotionally.    Either way, I did it.  I made the call and I have learned a few things.

-My BMI is currently too low for them to safely "treat" me with their weight loss program.  (hmm, I am not sure what I think about that.)

-Speaking to the doctor, I could get some injections of sorts to aid and speed up my weight loss.  (I am not sure if the speed thing is what is bothering me.  The progress is slow but I have come to terms with that.)

-I could do a body composition scan to see how much weight and muscle I have.  Basically, how much junk I have left in my trunk.  (That just sounds depressing.)

-My last question was asking who they refered their clients too when they had signifigant success with their program.  The answer was both disturbing and enlightening.   Her answer was that she did not really know.  She could look into it for me but she has not had any clients with signifigant success or as much weight loss as mine.

Moral of the story, according to me....

Weight loss centers, pills, injections...  none of that is effective as good old fashion exercise and clean eating.  There is no magic solution after all.  Even the ones that I turned to for help didn't really have a foot to stand on selling their solution.  I guess that it is just a waiting game.  Keep doing what I am doing because this is what works.

Interesting.

The older the wiser.

Something really cool happened this weekend.  I was at a football party at Brent's house.  Between games, I was snacking in the kitchen with the women.  Having met Brent's great-grandmom a few times, I have learned that she says it like it is.  She doesn't seem to pull any punches.  Lucky for her she is so adorable, she can totally get away with it.  While I was snacking, his mom pulled an apple dessert out and offered it around.  Brent had some but I knew that I didn't have the self control to just have a tiny bit.  Brent and I joked about it as he piled a heaping spoon of it onto his plate.  His great-grandmom had overheard the conversation and overheard another being teased about eating the whole tray of celery.  She looked at me, looked up and down and asked why I was watching what I was eating.  She said that I didn't have a weight problem.  I looked just fine the way I was. 

Long story short, a compliment came from someone that was not going to sugar coat anything.  Not  having known my journey and meeting me at my current size, she didn't think I had a weight problem.  That's all the proof that I need that I have achieved a "normal" size.  Not only normal but acceptable.  For the first time in a crowd, I was able to relax in the company of strangers and know that I am not being looked at as "the fat girl" after all. Very cool feeling. 

Dude...

After all that I have learned and been exposed to in the gym, I've officially become a physique snob.  What have you all done to me?  At the Fight, some dude was walking past me with a huge chest.  An awkwardness about him caught my attention.  As he past me and I got a 360° view.  Without hesitation, it just came out of my mouth.... "Dude, you gotta work chest AND BACK.".  Lol.  Thank goodness it was loud in there.  I've gotta work on my filter.

USMC Challenge

So one of my goals were to do the U.S.M.C. Challenge at the Shogun fight.  Every year, I walk past the booth and oogle the guys banging out push-ups.This year, I wanted to do it.  Not try it, do it.  To my surprise, when I got there, they were doing pull-ups instead.  Crap!  My inner self was doing cartwheels since I had a bit too much to drink the night before.  Pushing up may not have been the only "...-ups" going on.  So, I stopped and watched.  Jen gave me this look like.... "Don't pretend you are not thinking of trying it any way.".  She was right.  I was assessing the situation.  "Improvise, adapt and overcome.", that's what my brother would have said to me.  Why the hell not?  A challenge is a challenge.  I came to make a goal, I was leaving having it under my belt. One of the Marines came over teasing us about doing it, no expecting us to be seriously considering it.  For women, they were doing Flexed Arm Hangs.  Chin above the bar, no joke!  5-seconds got you a prize.  I didn't want a damn sticker.  The challenge was 5 seconds to 60 seconds.  I hopped up on the rack and gave it my best.  At first, the same Marine held onto me, (I didn't mind), like he didn't expect me to do 3 seconds.  Well.... 10, 20, 30, 40.  Not bad at all for a first time out.  We had earned some respect and made some new friends.  Down the hall, other Marines had a punching bag. They they were flirting with Jen to get us to try.  My response was that I had just done the other challenge.  Brushing it off, but only asking for conversation sake, he asked how I did.  When I said 40 seconds, he did a double take and immediately looked at my shoulders and acknowledged them. 

Another goal met!  It feels fantastic.

Pimpin' aint easy...

My posts of me half-naked seem to be headed to Facebook a bit to freely.  For the protection of my mother... or the protection of me if my mother finds out.... 

Perhaps I should leave these photos on the blog!  I can't help it.  I found new muscles.

Flex Friday: October 19th

Thank you.

Mixed bag

Today has been a mixed bag to say the least. 

Starting my day in a therapy session seems to set the mood for the day.  For some reason, I leave her office with a chip on my shoulder and annoyed at everyone in my way.  My way or the highway.  Gee.. I am sure that is healthy.  I do however usually use that energy for good instead of evil.  Some days.   I make the confrontations that I have needed to, I close the doors that need closing, chip away at all of the incidentals that are involved closing deals of sorts.  Initiate stagnant projects and plans.  I suppose it is good but I wish I could buckle down every day and get that crap taken care of.  Well, that's neither here nor there.  It is what it is.

After yesterdays photo find, Brent's reprimanding and my quickly approaching goal... I am a beast back on plan.  Back with a vengeance!  This morning I weighed in at 166.  That's crappy seeing as I have been at 164 already once in the last few weeks. Hey, it's also not 171 which it has also been recently.  Jen and I had that conversation today.  It is so freaking hard to try and balance it all.  So guess what?  I am not going to balance it.  I am going to stay on track and suck it up for a bit.  Buffalo wings and pizza will be there when I hit goal. 

Another big "issue" of the day has been my muscle mass versus my skin and remaining fat.  This is an issue that I have to deal with both physically and emotionally before I drive myself nuts.   I am now floating between a size small and a size medium top and a size 10 pants.  I am too small to continue dropping insane amounts of weight.  I am too flabby to be "done" losing weight. I am too muscular to put on more muscle, I can't lose weight without the weight training and I can't keep the skin tone without the muscle.  Uhhh... what to do, what to do?  Unfortunately, I have outgrown Xavy's help.  That leaves me in uncharted territory.  I spent hours last night trying to help me come to a solution.  It seems like it is going to be a bit of trial and error for a while and I am coming to terms with that. Brent is working on a plan for me and I am even considering enlisting the help of some medical professionals to see what my options are.  I think that consulting a surgical weight loss center may be the best place to start. They deal with this issue every day.  Surly they have some sort of magic laser or something. 

This is it

A few days ago, I posted about the hard time that I was having not knowing what my body looked like.  This is it.  This is what I needed to see.  This photo is of my sister-in-law, Christy and I just one year ago.  Very close to a year exactly. 

This is what I know about this photo...

-This was my ass about 52 weeks ago.
-I was about 50lbs down at that point.  (I wouldn't want to see what this photo looked before this point.)
-Christy looks gorgeous, she is not a tiny girl but by no means a big girl.  I have always envied her size.
- From the looks of them, I think that they are my size 18 Lane Bryant pants.
-Christy said that her very lowest pants size was an 8.  Apparently it was only briefly, and she settled between at 10-12.  Chances are, she is about a size 10-12 in this photo.
-There is a significant difference in size between the two of us in this photo.


What my take-away is from this photo...

-Christy handed down her size 10 pants to me a few weeks ago.  I am currently wearing HER pants.  Putting two and two together, I am currently Christy's size. 

Ahhhhhh....  A sigh or relief.

Monday

It is Monday.  I get one of these every single week.  That means every week I get another chance to have a successful week. Over the weekend, I wouldn't say that I did terrible but I won't say that I was great.  I've justified it until this point as me giving myself a break and testing my ability to balance real life with my plan.  Test taken. Results... Needs improvement.

I think that I am on point with my training.  I enjoy it so much that it is no longer a burden.  I look forward to it.  My food selections have been fairly decent as well.  If have to say that I think my struggles are primarily with portion control and preparations. So, I have recognized it, I admitted it, narrowed down my weaknesses and still have my sites set on a quickly approaching goal. 

Monday: 3:00pm. From work I am going home to cook the next 3 meals.  Cook, portion and pack...GAME ON!

Baby got back!

Well said.

What does it mean?

I really don't expect anyone to understand this entry.  I don't really think that I do yet.  Infact, I know that I don't.  That is why I am going back to my roots here.  Going back to babbling on this blog until the thoughts sort themselves out and something of substance jumps off the screen.

In my previous blog, I talked about my self image.  That has come up quite a lot in the past few weeks and my honest answer is that I am not yet at peace with it.  I am not saying that I think that I am fat.  I am just saying that I am unaware of what I look like.  When I look down, I see the same thighs that I did a year ago, but a tad bit smaller.  I see the progress but I am pretty sure I am not giving myself the credit due.  I think that the cellulite and loose skin taints the image that I am looking down at.  I do not think that size 10 is the end of the road for me.  I have a bit of a ways to go so the thought of surgery or any "treatment" has not really been a thought.  I am hoping that by doing it right and doing it slowly, my junk will catch up with my trunk.

I need to stop and ask myself some important questions. The biggest one, what does it mean to be where I am currently.  What does it mean to be a size 10?

This is where the babbling is likely to start.  I am totally winging it.

I am sitting here trying to recall my earliest memories with my size.  I remember in camp when I was 16, I had a pair of jean shorts that were a size 14.  They were so tight when I had gotten them.  I could pull them up but barely zip them.  They were so uncomfortably tight that I know that I never once wore them out of the house. My prom dress was a size 16.  My mom ordered it from Catherine's, a mail order clothing store.  It was incredibly beautiful in the magazine but I remember at one point letting the fear of it not fitting overwhelm me to the the point that I didn't really care about how it looked any longer. I stopped looking at my dress as a gown and started looking at it as a burden.  The summer I graduated, I was 17, I drove my brother to Old Navy to go clothes shopping.  It was then that I realized that I was no longer fitting into normal store clothes.  I was so upset.  I bought a pair of board shorts that had a velcro closure.  I managed to convince myself that over a swimsuit, they did not have to close all the way.  It would look "cute".  On my 18th birthday, my brother bought me a Abrocrombie and Fitch Sweatshirt in a size medium.  I put it on a few times but never actually wore it for an afternoon.  It was too small.  It meant a lot that my brother spent that kind of money on me so I kept it all this time.  I wore it last weekend.  It was a tad bit big on me.

So what does it mean to be a size 10?  I have no idea.  I have no frame of reference.  I have no memory of grabbing a pair of size 10 pants and thinking I looked good.  The hardest part for me to understand is why I feel like a ghost in the mirror.  I see my face, I see my arms and my waist.  All of that I see and register.  I got it.  I've lost weight.  Wow!  Anywhere past that, my brain just does not translate what it sees.  I am pretty certain it is because I have only a handfull of photos that have ever been taken, kept of me in a full body shot next to something to compare myself against.  It is the oddest thing to feel like you are completely out of touch with your body part. I don't know what it looks like.  I don't know what it feels like.  I don't know what it should feel like. I am interested to see if I will know when I have reached my goal size.  That just the most unsettling feeling. 


A teaching point and learning experience is right in front of me.  I am confident that I will have that "ah ha" moment.  I have learned so much about myself and this is just a new something to unravel.

If you don't have anything nice to say...

And so it begins...

I have apparently gotten to a size where people do not understand why I am working on my weight.  I suppose if I stop and think about it, I remember where that place is.  I remember my friends complaining about their weight and thinking to myself that they were already small enough.  Possibly too small.  Having come this far in my journey, I can admit that it was just jealousy speaking.  Those people were much smaller then I was and at what I thought was at a size out of my reach.  I justified my own size that way.   Of course I did not know it back then.  How could I?  Denial! Denial! Denial!

This afternoon, a patient that I am very familiar with came into my office.  I had not seen her in a few months, but she had followed my progress this last year and was very encouraging.  At her last visit, we were approximately the same size.  Today when she came in, I got a glance up and down.  I knew the glance.  A comment about my progress was coming.  It seems to happen so frequently now and I still love it.  The difference with her comment was that it was not one of encouragement, it was one coming from a much uglier place.  She asked me if I was still dieting.  Taking cue from my long winded response, she continued.  That one sentence changed everything.  She said, "Don't you think that you should be done now?".  I was stunned.  I did not expect her to say anything of the sort.  Being someone that had obviously struggled with her weight, I would have thought she would have been more sensitive with voicing her opinions.  Besides, it is more then just about my size.  It is about health, fitness, my knees, my lifestyle. The list goes on and on. Those are not things that she could possibly gauge by looking across my desk.

I have not lost many pounds recently but my pants size is still slowly shrinking.  I am in a comfortable size 10 nearing an 8. God bless the polyblend clothing movement! Admittedly, I have not yet made peace with my current size.  I shied away from full length mirrors and photos for so very long.  I never voluntarily put my body out there for the world to see because I was ashamed.  The problem with hiding from the world is that you also hide from yourself too.  Sure, I have taken tons of progress photos but they are not next to anything for me to compare myself with. Without having that point of reference, I can not really see where I was and where I am currently.  I do know that I need to start doing that.  That is my homework for the next few weeks, taking more photos.  I am working with a therapist on my self image because I want to head off any further disordered eating or missteps in my journey.  Being honest with myself, I was able to see that there may be a curve in the road a head.  That patients question had me actually consider the possibility that I was going "too far" with my weight loss. I had told Brent about the situation and he immediately reminded me that this was her issue and not mine.   She is not qualified in any means to make judgement on me.  That is between me, my mirror and my trusty entourage of medical professionals.  (General, mental health & physical therapy)  Not one other person in the world.

This takes my journey down a whole new road.  I was just getting used to all of the positive comments on my physical changes, now I have to get used to this too?  Uhhhh!!!!

Out on the town.

I have really been slacking on my blogs.  I have had a whirl-wind week since I have gotten back from Pittsburgh.  In addition to the lack of free time on my hands, my computer at work had a virus. I might as well have been using an abacus all week. Not fun!

I suppose the blog should cover the weekend through Sunday.  If I had to describe it in one word, I would use ... Fantastic. The girls and I went out to celebrate Gina's birthday.  We were teased that we would end up at Applebee's at 10p.m. as our big night out.  It was not Applebees but it wasn't far from it.  I had not been "out" in years so I was a bit rusty.  Being the designated driver, I didn't exactly have what it took to get my "moves like Jagger" flowing.  At a respectable hour for us 30 somethings, we headed back to home.  A nice night out.  I love spending time with Jen and Gina.  We are all working in the same direction and it really makes it easier to enjoy myself knowing that everyone else is suffering along with me. As a responsible friend and driver, I  dropped off my crew.  I never planned on heading back out to the bar.  A friend of mine had strong armed me into going and lured me in with a promise of a safe ride home.  I am really glad too.  I met a lot of new friends and was reminded by the 20 somethings that life does not end at 11 p.m..  I really enjoyed my night out. I enjoyed it so much that at one part of the night I ended up playing double dutch.  In the bar. Without a rope. That's a damn good time. Not only was I feeling good, I could possibly have been looking good too.  Outside of the bar, in the least likely circumstance, I got a "wave over" from a police officer.  Contrary to my original thought, my butt might have looked good in those jeans after all.  Saturday... ahh, Saturday was fairly uneventful.  Thank goodness too.  I can double dutch but I can't function in the morning.  You get one or the other.  I was due for a workout but CrossFit ended up no more then a fleeting thought.  Sunday, I went on a wild goose chase for a winter jacket that fit.  All of my winter clothes are XXL's and XL's and thats not going to do very well unless I plan hosting a party under my jacket.  I looked for 2 hours.  After 4 stores, I ended up at my old standby, Target.  Still, I had no luck.  That is going to be the task for the week.   The rest of the day on Sunday, I spent with friends watching the game(s).  I indulged in some home cooked pasta from heaven, but headed home to end my weekend back on plan.  I knew that if I stayed a minute longer, I would have ended up with the chocolate chip cookie concoction that had been calling my name all day.

Another weekend trying to balance "the plan" and having an enjoyable life.  I must have done something right.  I am down another pound.  Not much but after a bit of a gain and a 4 week hold, every little bit counts.

Sweet 16

Go Jen!!!!  

After a weekend of teasing her and calling her "saggy ass", it was time to face the facts... she is AWESOME!  Shirt sizes are great but somehow it's as if only pants sizes make it official.  To me anyway.  This is honestly one of the best moments one of us girls could get in this journey.  A tangible reminder of every moment of your efforts.

Rock them girl!

As easy as that ...

This could not be more fitting!

Flex Friday

Is it a "cheat" if it's planned?

When Jen and I went to Pittsburgh, we had a plan.  We knew that we needed to be good and keep each other on track.  We also knew that spending time with her mom was culinary heaven and one should not deprive themselves of that.

We were right on track for the ride.  We both came prepared for the drive with greek yogurt, fruit, eggs and will power.  The planned cheat was as follows.

Thursday: Dinner
Friday:  Dessert
Saturday: Lunch
Sunday: Breakfast

That is a full days worth of cheats, conveniently spread out during the whole trip.  Aren't we smart cookies?

When I walked into the house, the first thing that I smelled was what I learned was Thai Basil and Beef.  Vacation had started.  Additionally, probably 6 other dishes were also prepared just for our arrival.  Nothing beats Mrs. Rena's home made thai food.  I didn't get fat not knowing what good food tasted like.  For breakfast, (which I did not count as a cheat), we had sticky rice with mango's.  A little dish that I had discovered at the Thai festival and simply fell in love with. Made fresh, just for me! I love Mrs. Rena.  At one point, Jen had made reference to the new Candy Corn Oreo cookies hitting the shelves.  Well, that was all I needed to hear.  Cheat dessert was planned.  It was only a matter of hunting them down.  After some google searching and scaling the isles at the grocery store, we decided to wing it.  Sticking with the same general idea, we bought frozen greek yogurt, a pack of Oreo cookies and a bag of candy corn.  Yummmmmmm!!!!  It was so ridiculously sweet that Jen could not finish it.  (I didn't have that problem.). Our Saturday lunch plans brought us to Jerome Bettis Grill.  Apparently he is some special football player.  All I know was that they had deep fried cheeseburgers on the menu. You have to know that this was not something I was going to pass on knowing that it was a cheat meal.  We did do "the right thing", we shared.  We had salad and water as our sides and drink.  Not too too terrible. For breakfast, we ended up making it more of a brunch.  We visited one of her hunky cousins at a new cafe where I not only had a sandwich, I ordered a chai and potato chips.  All in all, not bad.  I didn't expect to lose weight, but I was a bit shocked to see that I stayed the same.  Not bad at all!  I am sure it didn't hurt that we got a workout in.   Hold on... let me rephrase that... we attempted a few times to get a workout in.

So the workout story is not quite as much a tale of success.  It is more of a tale proving that sometimes, what can go wrong, will go wrong. Our gym locations were as to be expected, everywhere but wherever needed them. We were sort of bummed but excited to test out the local digs. In our search, we found a gym that popped up in the area but it didn't have a website. No website + 2012 = Sketchy.  My initial suspicions were correct.  It was the worst excuse for a gym that we have ever seen.  Terrible, just terrible. Needless to say, we were not up on our tetanus shots so we thought it was best to leave and never return.

With a bit more researching and a lot more driving we found another gym.  A wonderful little place that bought into our charm and hooked us up a bit on the guest fees.  Of course the second day, after a long day out and dragging our buts across the country to the gym.  We pulled up only to find that they closed early on Sundays.  We tried.  That's all I have to say.  The effort was there and we resolved to the fact that some things are just not meant to happen.

Without it, I'd be lost

In the beginning of this journey, I lost so many friends.  So much of my life was left behind.  I had to start over....completely.  As I was making my transition out, one thing that I had constantly heard was that I have to "get a life outside of the gym". 

The gym is what has given me a new life.  The gym is where I found my inner strength.  In those mirrors, I watched my muscles grow and my thighs shrink.  Behind those office doors I made sales that allowed me to continue this new lifestyle.  In the free weight area is where I earned my respect.  At the rack is where I met Xavy.  Sharing the bench is where I made new friends.  On the Elliptical is where I was inspired watching Alicia, transform from an average Jane to a first place physique competitor.   Finally running on the treadmills is where I inspired other people.  During bootcamp, I dripped sweat all over that parking lot.  On the board, I chalked up my goals for motivation.  On the walls, are scuff marks from my first crossfit.  In the gym I created my first callous. Which now protects my hands and reminds me of the hard work that I put in. Near the guest door is where I finished my 100 push-up challenge.  At the cubbies is where I met Brent and Donny, both of whom push the hell out of me when Xavy is not around to.  In the cardio area is where I train Jen and Gina so that they can successfully embark on this same journey.  At the door is where I wave to all of my friends.  The friends that expect me there the next day, because they understand.

"Get a life outside of the gym", they say.

What a week!

It is only Tuesday, so I am referring to the last 7 days.  I have had the best 7 consecutive days that I have had in a very long time.  I have been smiling for a week.  Some of the credit surely goes to the deep fried cheeseburger that I had on Saturday.  Yup, that happened.

Last week, I spent a few of my workout days training with Brent.  We are nearly finished a full weeks worth of training together.  Today should square the week up, and then the tables turn. He is going to be the man with the plan for the next cycle.  I wasn't too nervous until I saw him doing 400 sets of pushups on the bosu ball thingy.  I thing that I am going to have my work cut out for me.

I took a long weekend off from work, and Jen and I drove up to Pittsburgh to get away.  Kudos to Jen for always knowing exactly what I need.  It has been a busy few months on both sides of the family and it was great to not make any plans and just go with the flow. The only plans we did make were the ones that outlined our cheat meals and workouts.  Oh and what a plan it was.  That is going to need a whole separate blog entry in order to tell that story. haha. 

Now that I am back in town and back on track, I will be banging out the blogs!  Gosh, I really miss not being on here.