What a Difference a Year Makes

My hubby took a picture of me this weekend while on our hike. It's not a good picture because I'm all sweaty and no make up lol. However, when he showed it to me, one thing stuck out at me. I didn't look like me. Seriously. I knew it was me, but I feel like it didn't look like me. At least not the me I remember. It's funny how although I lost a lot of weight I didn't see it. In my head I was still very round and plump. Now, let's get things clear.... I'm still round and plump... just a smaller version. LOL. So when we got home I played with the pic and compared it to one from less than a year ago. I'm wearing similar clothes just different colors, but yeah, the difference is obvious...

Needless to say, seeing this made me very proud of myself. I've come such a long way.

Weekly Weigh-In

As I said earlier, it was a busy week. Not only did I have work, but I also had my own schooling. As I suspected, I didn't make it into the ASL Class, but that's okay... I'll practice at home via YouTube. I didn't really get a chance to work-out, but I did force myself to park as far as possible. Every step counts. Hehehe. Any who, after a long and grueling week the results are in:

Starting Weight: 176.8 Current Weight: 174.6 Loss/Gain: -2.2 Honestly, I have no idea how I was able to pull it off... I really thought that for sure I'd gained... I guess eating better totally makes a difference. =) BTW, today ended up being a pretty cool day so the sis and I took the niece on a nice hike up to Griffith Park. While on the hike, I realized I totally missed hiking.... I'm glad it's finally cooling down a bit.... I missed fall :) Goal for next week: 172.6

Zumba!

I love dancing. When I hear a good beat it's hard for me not to move. So of course when I saw about 2 months ago that West LA College was offering Zumba I jumped on it! It was a five week course that I attended Thursday evenings for an hour. The instructor, Karma Raines is a trained dancer and it shows. She really made the class fun and got us moving. I didn't see any extreme weightloss perse, BUT I did notice my arms and booty toned up a bit. My arms are very hard to work because if I do weights I usually create muscle and bulk up, but Zumba seemed to slim 'em down. That was something I wasn't expecting, so overall, I am very happy with the results. So much so, that I signed up for another 5 weeks, but they don't start until the 17th of September. I also signed up for yoga because I've always wanted to try it as well as work on my flexibility. So in the meantime, I'm youtube'ing Zumba routines and got a playlist going.

Weekly Weigh-In

Busy week at work again. So busy, that I knew I'd end up staying late prepping, so I took my car. I really wasn't expecting to lose weight, but I did which is a shocker. I guess my body really wants to get rid of the excess :)

Starting Weight: 181
Ending Weight: 179.2
Loss/Gain: -1.8

I didn't meet my weekly 2lb goal by 2 oz!!!!, but I did make it to the 170's which is a record! I'm loving it! I also reached the 50lb loss which that in itself is an accomplishment. PLUS, according to my BMI tracker I am no longer "SEVERLY OBESE." Ughh... those words were just so harsh...lol, I'm now just "obese." Boo! But, that just motivates me to keep going and pushing hard. I CAN DO THIS!

By the way, I'm not preggo. Bummer... but I will get to see my doc on Thursday where I hope she can give me some hope... it's been a while since I've been to the dr... so I'm nervous as to what she'll say to me....

Any who, my goal for the coming week will be 177.2lbs. Should be easy since it's a short work week and I'll get to do a lot of walking in Disneyland next Friday :) Should be fun!

50 POUNDS GONE!!!!!

I am so happy. I knew I could do it, but I never thought I'd make it here so quickly. In 8 months I've lost over 50lbs! It's so surreal to me. However, I am very, very, very happy. I love knowing that I'm doing this on my own...the old school way...healthier choices, exercise, and family/friends support. I can already see myself at 130, which is smaller than I've EVER been since Jr. High. Eeeeeeeek!

BTW, I'm thinking of ordering me one of these LoseIt! Shirts to commemorate my 50lb loss.... whatcha'll think?

Weekly Weigh-In

I was so proud of myself when I realized I hit 100 miles on my Nike+GPS app on Tuesday.... I felt so accomplished :) It was a great week. A busy but great week.

Previous Weight: 184 lbs.
Current Weight: 181lbs.
Loss/Gain: -3 lbs.


I started walking during my lunch break (after I ate of course).  I think it totally kick starts my metabolism. and it feels great....


Goal for next week: 179!!!! I can't wait to be in the 170's!!!!!! YAY!!!! I tell you one thing, the only way I'm gaining weight is if there were a bun in the oven! hahahah.... which reminds me, I gotta take pregnancy test this week :/ 

Weekly Weigh-In

Having to do so much paperwork at work is not fun at all. Not only is it not fun, but it also hinders my weight loss because it keeps me sedentary. So this week I am not at all surprised that I didn't reach my weekly goal.

Previous Weight: 184.8
Current Weight: 184
Loss/Gain: -.8 oz

It's cool though. A loss is a loss. Now I just have to figure out a way to get my calorie burn throughout my week while at work.

New goal for the week: 182

Weekly Weigh-In

This week I was pretty busy at work. I ran between 14 classrooms delivering books and supplies... Manual labor I swear! Hahaha... I even got to the point in which I burnt out. I was doing way too much. I also walked to and from work daily. It was a good week with the exception of the big headache I got on Tuesday. But I'm feeling much better and full of energy once more :). All in all it was a very active week (including my zumba class)... and the results surely show it:

Previous Weight: 189.4
Current Weight: 184.8
Loss/Gain: -4.6lbs

As you can see I lost double of what I expected to lose and then some. It's so crazy to see results like these because honestly, a year ago no matter what I did not an ounce would budge. I am at a loss for words as to what my body is able to accomplish now. My friend Emyly was even shocked when she saw me for the second Zumba class... she said she could tell from one week to the other that I had lost more weight. I think it also had a lot to do with my period though. I hadn't had it in months and although it came in pretty strong last week it got rid of a lot of excess junk that was stuck in there... ewwwww. LOL. And also the fish oil and multi vitamin supplements.... they've certainly helped get my hormones in balance this last week :)

My new goal for the week is: 182.8

Good luck to meeeee!

Taking Care of My PCOS the Natural Way

I've mentioned before that I was diagnosed with PCOS a few years ago. It was a horrible experience because of all the side effects, but it also helped me see that I wasn't alone. However, my doctors were not that knowledgeable in the subject and the first thing they did was prescribe Metformin and Provera. I hated taking meds. I mean they helped bring back my period and luckily I didn't get a lot of the side effects other women have, but I never really felt that my periods were natural. Forgive me, but I felt like I was putting more chemicals inside my body than were necessary. After a few months I stopped. Sadly, I didn't really do anything else.

That was until this year when I completely changed my ways. I began exercising and promised myself that I wouldn't stop. I've been doing great. I've actually spent a lot of time researching PCOS and really getting to know my body. I can now tell when something is going to throw my system off and when I'm all good. You see, with PCOS you really have to pay attention to every little detail. Your body tells you what works and what doesn't. You have to learn to listen to it. Any who, I know that I need a multi-vitamin, so I researched a good natural whole food one. I came up with Rainbow Light Prenatal Petite. I chose that one because the pills are quite small and leave no after-taste. I picked the prenatal over the regular one because it's always been recommended to me by my doctors to take prenatals if trying to get pregnant. And since I am, it was the perfect choice. I got mine from Whole Foods.

While I was at Whole Foods I also got a bottle of Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega Fish Oil. I've been meaning to get it for a while. They say that fish oil is really good for women who suffer from PCOS as it helps improve fertility.

I'm going to begin taking them tomorrow 8/1 to see if I notice any changes. Hopefully it'll be all good :). I'll post an update later on. 

Weekly Weigh-In

This week was definitely a good one. For one, aunt flo came! Secondly, I started my Zumba class.... which I absolutely LOVE, and thirdly, I went back to work. No gym time, but a lot of walking. I'm still doing the 2-3 miles a day, but this time I am increasing my pace.... the faster I move the more calories are burnt AND that usually revs up my metabolism. :) Any who, the results are in:

Previous Weight: 192 lbs
Current Weight: 189.4 lbs
Loss/Gain: -2.6 lbs

I am very happy. My hard work and healthier food choices have certainly benefited me. I can't wait for fall so I can get my heart pumping even more by doing more hikes. Yeah Boy!!! Hahaha. . . I can be such a dork sometimes :)

My new goal for the week: 187.4 lbs.

I am so excited and proud of myself. I love seeing the scale go down. I know at some point I'll plateu again, but that's cool. It happens. I'm just happy to see improvements in the meantime. Oh, I'll probably update this post later with my new measurements... it's that time again :).

So here are the results:

                                

I began taking my measurements about two weeks ago to see how my body was changing. In just two weeks It appears that I lost 1.5" from my arms, my boobs got 1" bigger (Thank you Aunt Flo), I also lost .5" from my thighs, .75" from my calfs, and 1.25" from my abdomen. For a little less than two weeks that's pretty good :). I'll be measuring myself once a month from now on. By the way, the app I used for the measurements is BodyShot.

Weekly Weigh In

This week I didn't get to put in any gym time as we were out at the Disneyland Resort. However, I did a whole lot of walking.... I also was very careful as to the food choices I made while still dining out.

Previous Weight: 194.2
Current Weight: 192
Loss/Gain: -2.2lbs

I am very happy with the results. I knew last week was something out of the ordinary and I had to keep my mind focused on a healthy weight loss. I'm glad to know I met my goal and a couple of oz extra :) Yay Me!

My goal for next week: 190

By the way, I'll be using this app for screen shots of my weight management. I like it better since it is much cleaner and easy to understand.  It's called "TargetWeight."

Working Out

I'm sooooo sore y'all! It's like a bus hit me. I can't believe how I'm feeling! Seriously, I'm tripping! Any who, this would be day three of getting back on track. I've already lost 2.4 lbs! How exciting! And that's not starving or anything like that. In fact, I feel like I'm eating way too much! Ha! I started doing this DVD called Tank Top Arms, Bikini Belly, Boy Shorts Bottom. I think it belongs to my sis because I don't remember buying it. It's pretty good. You see one of my problem areas is my arms... they are huge! I'm not kidding. See back in HS I was a cheerleader and we used to do a lot of stunts... by stunts I mean pick each other up etc. My arms got pretty strong, but as soon as I graduated I never did any exercise to keep my arms toned so now the muscle just flops there. LOL So I'm hopeful that this DVD will show me some techniques on how to tone up my biceps. Confession: I'd love to wear tank tops and sleeveless tops without a cardigan covering my arms. If you knew me you'd know I own a gazillion cardigans! LOL. Any who, I've also gone out running. I did the gym the first day, but honestly I'm not the gym type. I lose focus way too easily. But I do love the feeling of fresh air in my face... luckily around my block there's this pretty large street where people run and jog... so that's where I'm at. Oh, and before I forget, I started using this cute app on the iPhone called "TargetWeight". All it does is keep track of your weight.... I kinda like it :)

Any who, it's time for that run.... yay!!!
Love,
Sandrah

New Year... New Bod!

Let me begin by stating how I've never put myself on a diet. Never. Never Ever. That my dears might be the reason why I ended up weighing 230 at 30 years old. :(

Now don't be fooled, I hate diets! I don't want a diet. I want to get healthy and be toned. I want the body of my 15 year old self back! No, no, no I wasn't some 120 lb girl. The last I remembered, I weighed somewhere around 150'ish. But I was happy for the most part with my appearance. I say for the most part because there's always something we want different.

Any who, I'm not gonna make excuses. PCOS is not gonna continue to hold me hostage. I am gonna get my act together. :)

I started around November and have slowly progressed to where I am at. I haven't completely dropped everything because hello!, one must enjoy life's deliciousness! And like I said before, I don't want a diet!

Some of the things that I've been doing are:

• Started the gym again-I was so nervous because I hadn't set foot inside in years! But now I'm in and out a couple times a month.
• Started Nike+- I love this program so much. It has really gotten me out the door and on the track. Well not an actual track, but you get what I'm saying... it's gotten me moving. I really like all the challenges and goals that can be set on the site. I use both Nike+ iPod and Nike + GPS.... they're both pretty good apps on my iphone. Here's my summary from Nov-December:

• I joined LoseIt-It was introduced to me by a Twitter friend. I looked the app up and downloaded it. It's not perfect, but I really enjoy it's ease of use and its community. I've been tracking my food intake and calories lost. It also has a spot to put my daily weight. It's pretty cool. I'm so excited because since starting on lose it I've lost 7.2lbs! Who'd a thunk?!?By the way, I decided to weigh myself everyday. It seems to be working because I can quickly tell when my body holds on to certain foods. Seeing this also helps me want to work out more... you know challenge myself.
  

• And yesterday I went out and bought me this gorgeous baby. Everybody knows I'm a tech kinda girl and this watch hasn't disappointed me yet. It's not that user friendly, but I hear that heart monitors really aren't anyways. But it does everything I want it to, so it's just right :)

So there you have it.... my work in progress.

By the way, my starting weight in November was 230. I am now 219. That's 11 lbs gone. if I go by what a female of my height has to weigh, I need to lose 99 more lbs. That's a whole lot of me :/.... and I don't expect to do that in a long time, but I'll get there by setting smaller weight loss goals throughout my journey. My first is to get under 200, which is 199. According to loseit.com, I'll get there ending March of this year.... you have no idea how excited I am! NO IDEA!!!