Another Small Step

So I have to post this! I WAS SO STOKED LAST THURSDAY! Shilo and I do my measurements every 4th workout. Normally this means once a week. I try to get down to Kody's and workout with her 4 times every week.

I know this isn't for everyone but it is for me. The reason why, is because then I do it! I have such a busy life and lead such a hectic lifestyle that I simply can not trust myself to workout as hard as I should being at home alone! I do get my cardio in, but even that I don't work as hard as I know I should! It is just really easy to say "15 minutes running on the treadmill is better than nothing, right? Even though I know I should be 20 or actually 30 minutes of straight running!"

Yes, I am a slacker...well not really, but in that aspect of my life, I am! I am a very type A personality and I have decided that I am going to clean the floors with my two companions. Which means I am going to take full advantage of Shilo being mean to me and forcing me to do the one more set of calf raises at 210 lbs, even though I truly thought at the time my calves were going to rip my achilles tendon right off of my calcanus bone! (YES, I HAVE DONE IT. 4 sets of 25 to be exact! Go try it, it is not easy!) I want Shilo to tell me to watch my salt! I get pissed, sure, but I also know that she is right and I am wrong, because guess who is fat and who is not! (if you haven't seen our cutie Shilo, then log onto The Edge Magazine website and look on the Healthy Edge Link or check out the March Issue ot the magazine)

I want this because I want to win! Not just so I can rub it in Christine and Jenn's face, but because I am really starting to feel the difference in my life! I can get up easier in the morning! I am sleeping better at night. I can go through the day without thinking I need a caffiene IV at 3 pm or a nap just in order to get up the enegery to make a not so healthy dinner for kids. I want to help inspire others to do this.

So, with that being said. I have been truly working out faithfully with Shilo for the last 5 weeks. Every week we can did my measurements, and every week, I saw hardly anything happening to the scale. I was losing inches though. Actually I lost nearly 6 inches in two weeks on my thighs alone. (I gaineds 2 lbs that week FYI!) So last Thurday, which was my birthday, We did measurements again. AND GUESS WHAT, I was done 5 lbs! Probably more because we weighed at 3 pm which is actually one of the worst times of the day to weigh yourself!

AND EVEN BETTER, I HAD LOST OVER 1% OF BODY FAT! I was down to 223 from 246! WHICH MEANS I HAVE LOST A TOTAL OF 23 LBS SO FAR!

I am not going to lie, it was hard and I even had a couple of times where I broke down with Shilo and told her I was really scared it wasn't going to happen and so why should I even bother trying. Well she gave me my moment to feel bad and then she told me pity time was over and that we needed to get back to work.

I did! I got back to work and it seems like every sinlge time I go in and work out, I am beating a personal best. I still have a long ways to go, but I have nearly reached my first goal which was to be to 220 by the end of the first quarter.

Well, I have 1 and 1/2 weeks left in this quarter and I am going to make it happen. Because this would just be another small step in reaching my really big goal!

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! I love hearing from you guys.

Talk to you soon

Michelle 03-19-2009

March Madness

I love those words..."MARCH MADNESS". Not because I follow College basketball or anything but because March seems to be a month that is just filled with the madness that is our lives!

So it has been a little while since I blogged and I apologize for that. I have discovered that blogging is like all other "good" habits a person might have...YOU HAVE TO WORK AT IT! LOL!

Well I am REALLY excited to announce that I have nearly completed my first full session with Shilo. I don't think session is the right word but it basically means that I will have completed 16 full work outs with her. Thursday was supposed to be the day (tomorrow) but I had a little bit of an unexpected distraction today and so I didn't get to go and work out and I wont lie, it mad me REALLY CRANKY!

My workouts with Shilo are beginning to become a fix for me. If I have an appt and I have to miss or reschedule, it really pisses me off. I am sure that sounds funny to you! It sounded to funny to myself when I first thought it, but it is so true.

So I will go and see her tomorrow and then again on Fri AND THEN....(drumroll please)....Shilo will give me full stats as to what I have lost pound, inch, and body fat percentage wise! I know I have not lost a ton of weight (YET!) but I do know that in this last month I have lost a lot of inches overall so I am excited to see the results. I will post them as soon as I get them from her!

So for now, I will sign off and say good night! I have to go and help my son set-up for district history fair in the morning. He took first place here in Neola! AND THEN...I am going to work out with SHILO!!! My torturer as I fondly call her! :)

Talk to you soon!
Michelle 3-11-2009

I'M DONE!

AAAHHH, It is the end of layout and I am DONE! :)

Ok, so just done with getting the March issue put to bed. THANK GOODNESS! It is is funny because people really have no idea how complicated is can be to put this magazine together each month. Pleas do not mistake, I am NOT complaining, it can just get really intense!

SO, Shilo makes me HURT!!! I am STILL SORE from my Tuesday work out with her. OK, before I get in too much trouble with those guys down at Kody's I did work out 4 days already this week and I am planning on working out tomorrow as well! SO, that would give me 5 workouts this week even if only 2 of them have been down at Kody's thus far.

Layout is really stressful. It is not for the reason people think however! Ya, it is hard getting everything put together and designed and etc. The hard part is the fact that you must be willing to fore go EVERYTHING in order to be near your computer. And it doesn't end until we get the full thumbs up from the printer that their printer is satisfied with the files that we sent to them.

So for instance today I was totally planning on going down to see Shilo today at the gym at 1 PM and then I get a call at about 12 PM from sweet little Denise (WE STILL LOVE YA THOUGH!) saying there was a glitch in one of the files we burnt on the CD and that we needed to get them another copy. Well, that means I drop EVERYTHING and get another file exported and saved in the proper format and then burnt onto a disk and whisked over to Vernal ASAP. the longer we take, then the longer it could be before the magazine is delivered to us and ultimately to you.

See my dilemma? The wonderful thing is that it only happens once a month and now next week, I can start over in my routine again and that means my 1 PM appt with Shilo daily! YEAH! Oh wait, UGH! Like I said, I am still sore in my calf muscles! :( But at least I can finally run without hobbling! LOL!!! For that I am happy.

Well off to another task, oh, I guess I should mention though that I lost another inch in my waistline last week! And that is considering I was suffering from womanly ailments if you get me drift! THAT IS AWESOME!! Well, Talk to you later!!!

Michelle 2-20-2009

Bitter Days and Better Days

Ok, so I guess one REALLY important factor that I should share with everyone is that I suffer from I guess what they would call clinical depression. Not very proud to say it. Not very excited to have the world know all of my little secrets and quirks, BUT i guess if we are going to lay it all out there then it is important for people to understand EXACTLY where I am coming from.

So I am not sharing this to get anyone's empathy or sympathy or even to give people ammunition against me (of course that part is inevitable) but I share it because a person's mood is a REALLY big part of why they eat and why they do (or do not) exercise.

I have stated before that I am an emotional eater and I have found that the more depressed I become (thus my current funk) the more I eat and the more I self loath. The more I eat and the more I self loath, ultimately the less I go to the gym and do not exercise.

Now it has been awhile since I had a really bad bout with depression (no, I am not medicated) and I had it hit me REALLY bad about 3 weeks ago. Well I was finding ways of coping with it because I have spent MANY hours with a therapist who has helped me to learn the causes of my depression and how to avoid the pitfalls, when I had a VERY hectic week last week and I did not get into Kody's to work out. When I began to miss my workouts, this is when I found myself spiraling into the nastiness of my depression. It is a pretty crappy place. It involves A LOT of crying, a lot of anger, a lot of food, well you get the picture.

Yesterday I had Jenn send me a text saying basically "Get your A@@ back in there and see Cliff and Kitty!" So I did. The funny thing was as I was walking in the door I began to cry even then because my emotions were just bubbling over and not in a good way. I got myself under control (my biggest fear is looking out of control! HA!) and I walked in and Shilo waved at me. Shilo has taken over training for us because Carl got called back to Provo on a family emergency. I hesitantly waved and smiled back and went and got changed. I had been working that morning which is REALLY hard to do when you feel terrible emotionally and I needed to put my workout clothes on.

After I changed, I went over to Shilo, who was helping another gentleman, and she asks me "you ready for me to kick your butt today?" Shilo is awesome! I smiled and replied "yes" and so she told me to go warm up on the treadmill because she was going to be about 15 minutes with gentleman she was already working with.

I jumped on the treadmill and started running and the more I ran, the better I felt. It was different though because I had been running at home the week before but this just felt different in my mind. Don't ask me why. I can not explain the reasoning behind it, all I know is that FOR ME, I needed to know that someone, besides me, cared!

So the whole reason for this story is let people know that the reason we have started this Healthy Edge is not just for the competition side of things, BUT FOR THE COMPANIONSHIP! We truly are trying to create a community for those who are wanting make a POSITIVE change in their lives. IT WILL NOT BE EASY!!! If I had not had Jenn tell me people missed me, if I had not had Shilo care enough to "kick my butt" :) then I would have more than likely surrendered myself to my depression. It truly takes support to do this. A lifestyle change IS NOT EASY! It takes LOTS of work and you will see success and you WILL SEE FAILURE! I do not say this to be mean but to let people know the reality of the situation. Anyone can do anything for a short period of time, BUT only those who a good support team can make a change on a permanent level. It is those who have had the chance to taste failure that will truly know what it is like to succeed and make a true change in their lives.

I hope this helps you! AND I AM GOING TO WORKOUT AGAIN TODAY! Man, I am so sore from yesterday, GOOD JOB SHILO!

Michelle 2-12-2009