My ass......I can see my ass!!!

Today seemed like a breeze. Food didn't dance around my head taunting me. I even went grocery shopping and the produce looked a ton more appealing than the crap I was so used to buying. I'm walking down the aisle with my little buggy and see my reflection, which I tend to shy away from, and noticed a little tiny lump. I mean, we have been photo documenting our progress so I had already been aware of the "abnormal growth" beneath my back. Well, I was in public and I could actually see a view of my derrière as if a tiny invisible midget was back there holding it up for me....but just a smidge. Give me something to celebrate! Everyone knows I do not have any cushion back there at all so seeing the reflection of my toosh being a little lifted made me smile a toothy grin and chant, "You go girl with your bad self." So, make sure you notice those changes happening. They could even be the tiniest of changes. You arm out roll could be tucked away more discreetly, a random elbow fold could be rescending, or your chin could look like it stands in it's own world. Whatever they may be, celebrate them and give yourself a pat on the back. Don't look at your flaws and stray from those negative thoughts about what you think still needs fixing. Focus on your results. Not only will they seem to come quicker, but this journey to health will be way more rewarding as long as you aren't hard on yourself and feed your body not just what's good for you, but also healthy and happy thoughts!

Still on the wagon.

For the last 5 years, trying to get myself back into a happy medium with my body and inner being has been such a challenge. I am happy to report, since February 17th, I've still been kicking through! 32 pounds gone and still counting. The hardest part in all of this has been telling myself slow and steady wins the race. I'm more of the type who wants everything to happen in an instant. Unfortunately, I'd have to starve myself and take up one of those eating disorders for it to come that quickly. The moral support I've had with my wife, my sister in law and my mother in law has been one of the biggest motivations for me. We are running this race together and none of us have plans to give up. I want to use this blog as a momento of what has passed and what's to come. As you can see, I got on a short lived health kick a few years ago and gave up. I noticed I really never took the classes and exercise seriously because I was way too absorbed with making a joke out of everything I had to do because of my insecurities with myself. Hopefully, I can set a more positive tone, while giving you a giggle here and there. This time I am serious of the outcome, so the jokes that are to come will be genuine and not a "cover up" for what I feel are my failings. Just remember to move at the pace most comfortable to you. Some days will be harder, but keep that end goal in mind and turn to friends and family for support. Happy Health Hunting!

Here we go again...

I am horrible at trying to get into shape. I've managed to give myself every excuse to not push myself into the direction of complete happiness with myself. We have finally decided to get fit as a family and started February 17th. Our first weigh-in brought tremendous results! So, I'm back and have made it through a little over two weeks with the support of my wife, mother-in-law and sis-in-law. I started weekly emails and can hopefully motivate everyone to stay on track!

"Don't forget we have weigh-ins and pictures tomorrow. We also have a make-up walk day this Friday. I know you hate to do anything on Fridays after work, but let's get caught up. Friday's WOD (workout of the day) is the longest and hardest. We can just do the walk together and do the WOD on our own, or we can get it done together. It's not impossible for any of us to do, but it will leave you feeling sore in muscles you probably don't know exist. Don't you worry, this is a REST for you....okay, minus the Sit-up, Crunch and Squat Challenge. However, the quantities on those is pretty low for the weekend. Whatever you do, DO NOT do anything strenuous this weekend. You have to let your body and muscles fully recover to get ready for next week's workouts.

We should start seeing major changes after this week since we will be incorporating some weight training and body weight exercises. Our weight loss may slow down a little while gaining muscle but this is when the inch loss should be significant and we will keep track of it. I want all of us to do well and be happy with the new bodies we are trying to unveil.

Remember, there is absolutely no reason to be afraid to do strength training, as we don't have the hormone levels to "bulk up". Lifting will help us get lean and will create an attractive/favorable physique. That's what we all want, right? We will burn more calories while lifting. More calories=more fats leaving our bodies=quick visible results. "

Building muscle is one of the most helpful things we could do in order to speed up our bodies' ability to burn off fat, so don't second guess the benefit of strength training. A leaner body has less fluffy fluffs and we will tone up immediately instead of having all the loose extra stuff we don't want. I know you might be a little concerned about the strength training part of it, but it will stay in a challenging beginner level for all of us. Just remember, I've done this before and I'm trying to incorporate the best ways to see results fast in our workouts.