Week Ten – Passion Of The Chris

I lost a little more weight this week, which is good cause I am worried about this upcoming Labor Day weekend. I will be away at a Family Reunion and not able to do my normal exercising for five days.

I am excited about this getaway cause this past week has been one of those weeks where there are just not enough hours in the day. I wish I had time to do everything but unfortunately you just get to the point that you have to start making compromises and concessions. Well I am happy to report that I did not compromise working out once. Sure at the time I was upset that I didn’t get to meet up with some friends like I had hoped and frustrated that all my errands didn’t get completed, but as I write this I am very happy I didn’t compromise my workouts.

I was talking to my sister the other day on the phone and was telling her about my morning Boot Camp and she said she thought I was addicted to working out. I laughed but she was serious. I explained to her that I am not addicted; I am just really focused on achieving this goal. After I got off the phone I kept thinking about what she said. Honestly I don’t think I am addicted to working out. I mean yes it makes me feel good and when I don’t do it I feel bad – wait, that sounds bad! Actually it does sound like something someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol would say! Oh my god, am I addicted? hehe

I guess it is kind of easy to compare working out to drinking. I mean if you think about it working out is like taking a shot. At the beginning you are hesitant and worried it will burn but you do it anyways and before you know it you’re done and realize it wasn’t so bad after all. So maybe I’m just a social exerciser! I think my main hang-up is just the word addicted. If she had said focused or driven or even passionate I would have had no problem to owning up to the statement. I think it’s good to have passions; whether it’s for fashion or cars (yeah I’m talking about you Robert!) there is nothing wrong about being committed about an interest. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t tell my sister that I am thinking about joining a Commit to Fit challenge at my gym or she might have tried to have me committed!

The challenge reminds me of the biggest loser in the fact that we are competing against other teams to see who loses the most. Part of the program is you have to keep food logs and not only work out with your trainer but also do extra workouts on your own that they create. I guess I’ll talk about it more once I complete my first training session next Saturday. Okay, enough about future workouts, here’s how I did this week:

08/21 Boot Camp for an hour and twenty minutes; 1479 calories burned
08/22 3 mile walk at Memorial Park; 488 calories burned
08/23 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/25 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/25 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned
08/26 Boot Camp for an hour and twenty minutes; 1479 calories burned
08/27 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/27 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned

As of now, I am focused, determine and very optimistic I will reach my goal. Whether that makes me addicted or insane or passionate I’m going to keep doing what I am doing because like Barack Obama says, nothing great in this world has ever been accomplished without passion.

I say find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it and let it become you. I think you’ll find great things will happen for you, to you and because of you!

Week Nine – I’m a Sore Loser

I lost another 3 pounds this week. And apparently I found new muscles to make sore. I’m very happy that the scale continues to decline, I just wish I were stricter with my diet cause I know the pounds would really come off…

Speaking of coming off, while out to lunch with some friends this week I was taking off some extra cheese and ingredients from my salad and I had a moment of clarity, the more I take off – the less I have to take off. Meaning, the more food I can take off my plate, the less I have to burn off at the gym later. Now I know you’re probably thinking, well yeah, that’s pretty obvious but for me, seeing a side plate filled with “extras” just really put it into perspective for me.

I’m also changing the way I order things now too. For instance, my Subway sandwich is definitely a lot thinner but honestly it still tastes the same without the cheese, oil, vinegar and copious amounts of vegetables.

I believe this past week is the most I have worked out since I started nine weeks ago, actually this could be the most I’ve worked out in one week ever! I managed to burn almost 7,000 calories working out everyday except Sunday. Here’s how my week went:

08/14 Boot Camp for an hour and twenty minutes; 1479 calories burned
08/15 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/16 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/18 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/18 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned
08/19 Boot Camp for an hour and twenty minutes; 1479 calories burned
08/20 Elliptical Machine for 20 minutes; 210 calories burned
08/20 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/20 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned

You’re probably wonder why I am sore even though I have been doing similar workouts for over two months, the only explanation I have to that is I guess it has to do with the intensity level in which I am trying to work out now. Or it could be because I am not giving my muscles enough rest in-between workouts. Justin at the gym said it could be because I am not stretching enough before workouts, hence the twenty-minute elliptical workout I did yesterday before Zumba.

I hope it doesn’t come off that I am complaining about being sore because I'd hate to be a sore loser. However if I were this sore and gaining weight - now then I’d really be sore!

Week Seven & Eight – Back On Track

After falling off the wagon I am now back on track. I am happy to report that I lost the weight I gained a couple weeks ago and a couple additional pounds as well. So for those of you keeping score, I’ve lost almost 30 pounds in two months. Its funny how two months can feel like an eternity and also like the time has just flown by.

Well obviously a lot has happened in these past two weeks so I suppose I should take a minute to back track a little… week seven started off great, I took my first Friday night Zumba class at Jerry’s new location and did my normal Saturday morning Zumba class. However with an approaching Tropical Storm early in the week and the death of my dog, my exercise regimen quickly fell apart. I was pretty confident that I didn’t lose last week so I decided I would give myself a week off from weighing in (literally and figuratively).

Instead of grieving about my loss or lack thereof, I decided the best thing to do is to really kick butt this past week and that’s just what I did. I ran into my Boot Camp instructor, Melissa one day before Zumba. I kind of felt like I was running into a girl I dated and never called back but instead of giving me a hard time she just encouraged me to get back on track. I took her class this morning and although I am already really sore, I am glad I followed through. I’m also thinking maybe its not too late to return some of those calls… ok, I’m getting off track!

Although I didn’t go into great detail, I did mention my mission to Melissa and she said if I really want to see fast results, I should be keeping track of my food intake with a food log. Sometimes I feel keeping track of my weekly exercise is problematic enough, let alone keeping track of ever meal but I guess she knows what she is talking about…

Before I lose track of time, here is a rundown of the exercise I completed these past two weeks:

08/01 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/02 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/09 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/11 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/11 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned
08/13 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/14 Boot Camp for an hour and twenty minutes; 1479 calories burned

I think it's safe to say these past two weeks (actually more like these past two months) have been really difficult for me but I refuse to view my brief relapse as a failure cause I didn’t give up. Not only did I not give up but I approached it as a challenge and got myself back on track. I am really focused right now and I pray I can maintain this concentration in the coming months. But not to worry, if I get off the beaten track again I know what I have to do; and more importantly I know that a one-track mind sometimes have their train of thought derailed!