Archives for category: health

I woke up this morning grinning from a dream I had. I’ll preface this with hearing other people’s dreams is annoying and I don’t expect anyone to care. Also, my dreams are generally pretty much always the same- me late for something, me missing some major event, cruise ship dreams, and airplane dreams. That’s pretty much it, so the fact that had a randomly different one was kind of nice. Anyway, in this one my favorite pair of jeans- a $180 pair of Citizens that have been with me about five years now, was so baggy I could barely keep them up. I remember trying to snap a picture of my stomach and me pulling the jeans out away from me showing how much I had lost. I had some abs! Every time I snapped the picture and looked closely my stomach was horrific- covered in stretch marks, scars and veins. After that I remember running some kind of race, like a 5k or a mud run or something.

I could get all super analytic about it, but I’ll just take a little lesson away. That moment when I pulled those jeans like five inches from my waist, it felt good. Like, real good. When I looked down with my eyes, I liked what I saw. It wasn’t until I looked too closely did I feel bad and embarrassed.

I hope as I progress in this journey I’ll remember to be pleased with my accomplishments and not over scrutinize myself. I’ll never be perfect, so I can’t put that expectation on myself. If you look hard enough there will always be flaws to see and that’s okay :)

This week was a bit challenging, I’ll guess from pushing myself so hard the week before. I made it to the gym 5 days this week, which is not as good as last week but still WAY better than I had been doing previously. If an “off week” is only going 5 days, I’ll take it! I have just learned to listen to my body and rest when I need rest. I’m too old to push it like a crazy person- that is when shit starts to hurt and that puts me out of commission for even longer.

Funny thing is, even with taking things lighter I’ve had great losses this week. I’ve kept my diet pretty on point and I am down 3 pounds below my plateau weight!

Lessons learned this week:

1. I have to keep my calories up. If I get busy, I tend to skip a meal. When your coach has you on 1200 calories, you can’t afford to miss any food. This happened badly yesterday and I ended up light headed and almost having a mental breakdown in Sprouts. A Xanax and a protein shake later, I was good to go. It was still a pretty bad scene that I’d like to avoid in the future.

2. Water, water, water, water, water and water. Oh, and some more water. Fuck me, drinking a gallon water a day is like a second job. I feel like if I’m holding still, I should be drinking water. Good thing being in outside sales has given me an intimate knowledge of all the well kept public bathrooms in the East Valley.

3. Time management is still an issue. Haven’t quite gotten a handle on it. But I will.

4. If you want to get up at 5AM, you better be ready to go to bed no later than 10PM. Or you’ll feel like puking all day, or need a nap. Thems the breaks.

5. I feel like I live in workout clothes. Because of this, I shall reward myself a shopping trip to lululemon when I reach my next weight goal.

6. Cardio on machines is fucking boring. Unfortunately it’s one of my only options when it’s 100 degrees outside, there’s no fun class to take and there’s no Crossfit classes until Monday. Documentaries and shows on my fancy Kindle Fire HD have made this bearable. Thanks mom (awesome Christmas prezzy).

molly working out

Slowly but surely! I finally made a *teensy* bit of progress below my dreaded plateau weight, so hopefully I can keep with this trend. I had a little bit of backtracking to do- even though I ate really well on vacation I gained two pounds. Probably water weight from traveling. Those extra pounds plus almost one more is gone since last week, so I’ll take it!

I made it to the gym every day this week. I’m resting today (Saturday) and then back to the grind on Sunday. So far my schedule is as follows:

Monday: AM Crossfit
Tuesday: AM Personal Trainer + Cardio
Wednesday: AM Crossfit
Thursday: AM Personal Trainer + Cardio
Friday: AM Crossfit /PM Hot Yoga
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Long and low cardio

It really wasn’t too hard, and the diversity keeps it interesting. The balance between work/housework/gym is tricky- I find I can handle two okay, but one tends to slip. I’m going to be more cognizant of managing my time this week and see how I do. I think I do best with a schedule.

Coach Crystal has me on a routine of supplements and drinking a GALLON of water a day. Sounded easy enough… but it’s tough! I feel like I’m in a constant state of chugging and peeing. Oh well. I had already been thinking my water consumption was too low- Tim Ferris suggested in 4HB this as a reason weight loss can stall, so I’m thinking it might be part of what is helping me budge off that plateau. Speaking of 4HB, I might start some of his weird body hacks just for fun to see if I notice any results. Ice baths. Yikes.

 

 

 

Ok this is definitely one of the hardest and most terrifying thing I've ever posted. I know some people will likely use this as ammunition or laugh and make hurtful remarks, but I don't really care anymore. I am sharing this to be proud, to be cathartic and to celebrate the next phase of my physical improvement journey. Plus if I can be #inspiration for anyone else, the anxiety is 100% worthwhile. The picture on the left is me at my parent's wedding in 2002. I weighed 200 pounds. I was in a terrible place mentally and physically. On the left was about 4 weeks ago at approx 150 pounds- much happier and healthier. I've got more work ahead but I just wanted to stop and be proud of myself for a moment. #transformationtuesday

Ok this is definitely one of the hardest and most terrifying thing I’ve ever posted. I know some people will likely use this as ammunition or laugh and make hurtful remarks, but I don’t really care anymore. I am sharing this to be proud, to be cathartic and to celebrate the next phase of my physical improvement journey. Plus if I can be #inspiration for anyone else, the anxiety is 100% worthwhile. The picture on the left is me at my parent’s wedding in 2002. I weighed 200 pounds. I was in a terrible place mentally and physically. On the left was about 4 weeks ago at approx 150 pounds- much happier and healthier. I’ve got more work ahead but I just wanted to stop and be proud of myself for a moment. #transformationtuesday

The braces are on my face. After making the decision this summer, it’s been a long road of saving money and dental visits to get like seven fillings to prepare. But they’re finally here. The excitement has tapered precipitously, and it’s been an annoying 24 hours of yogurt, soup and protein shakes. So far they’re uncomfortable but not unbearable. It’s a dull ache that is increased when I bite down. The bottom row isn’t on yet, and that comes in about five weeks. I’d almost rather have them all on at once and get over it, but I took their suggestion and am waiting it out, as apparently the bottom row is a bit more uncomfortable. Yay.

Wax has been a saving grace, and oatmeal is less braces-friendly than you’d imagine.

I’ve brushed my teeth no less than 14,762 times since yesterday.

I’ve been taking advil like a crazy person, which I’m sure my gastrointernologist would be super annoyed about, and I’ll likely pay for in awful heartburn later.

More updates as this gets more interesting.