I Can Do This On My Own

I think this will be my first blog without a picture. I just can't think of anything good. And I don't have much motivation to look for one, sorry.

Ok, so let's recap on what's been happening. It's been a pretty eventful past week! Thursday was Fat Daddy's with Sam, Friday was McVey's farewell party, Saturday was the CPAT, Sunday morning I did Kickboxing and the elliptical with Caitlin, then worked that night. At work, my right shoulder was really sore, and I was kinda confused why. I really didn't feel like I strained it during kickboxing. The class was mostly light punching and light weights. I thought it could've been from the CPAT too. That vest will seriously make you sore!

Monday morning I got home from work and was feeling ok, went to sleep cuz I had to work that night, and then woke up at 3:00pm to workout. When I got up, I did not feel good. My whole body was sore, my throat was sore, and I just felt weird. I decided I was not going to workout and went back to sleep till 4:45pm. When I woke up again, I still felt the same. I ate, took a shower and got ready for work. I really didn't even think I was getting sick. Just thought I was super sore.

On my way in to work, I gradually just felt worse and worse. I was hot, tired, light headed, just miserable!!! I knew I wouldn't last long at work! I got there and immediately sat down. I sat there just thinking how long I could tough it out. Not long! I went to talk to Allison and she made me take my temperature lol. It was 100.8! Ughhh. I showed the Charge Nurse and she said "Go home." lol. So I left work... at 8:15pm.

Fast forward to today, and I'm still sick!! My temp has been between 99.5 and 101.1. I've been waking up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, but then I get too cold when I take the covers off. It sucks!! I thought I was starting to feel a little better today, but when I went to heat up my soup, I almost threw up. I felt so nauseous! I dunno what happened, but my face turned completely pale and I just felt so sick. It sucked.

Anyways, enough about me being sick! In other news, I've decided on a new challenge. Since I'm not doing the biggest loser again, I decided to not weigh myself for a month. Yes, a whole month! It's gonna be really tough, but I think it will be good for me! That way I'm not constantly worrying about what I weigh. It's good for me to have that there, to keep me disciplined, but I need to learn how to live this lifestyle on my own, without certain things keeping me in check. Plus, it'll be exciting if I see a really big loss!

Ugh... I'm having a hot flash as we speak. This sucks:( I don't wanna go through menopause if this is what it feels like!

So the next weigh in you'll get from me will be on 11/5/11! That doesn't mean I won't update in between now and then, in case you were wondering:) Unless I'm really busy or something. Which could be true actually, I have a lot of stuff to do this month! Fun things though!!:)

I know everyone says you can't get the flu from the flu shot, but I'm still skeptical. What do you all think? I got it one week, then got sick the next week. Could it really just be a coincidence? Hmmm...

Alrighty... time to lay on the couch and sulk the rest of the day. I really hope I feel better soon! It's so hard not being able to work out!! I feel so guilty when I don't exercise:( *cries*

Thanks for reading:)

Anna

Moving On

"Everyone can think of the one thing that would make life better for them. But people are not so quick to answer the second question: 'What are you doing to make that change come true?'."



10.6.11

With the biggest loser ending last week, I was faced with the decision to participate in the next round or not. At first I definitely knew I wanted to do it. I like the fact that it keeps me motivated and held accountable for my weigh ins and what not. But then I started to think about it more.



I'm really close to my goal and I pretty much lose 1 - 1.8 pounds a week. In the beginning I was losing 4, 5 or 6 pounds a week! It was easy for me to win and I loved that. Now that I barely lose anything a week, there's really no chance of me winning anymore. Not that that's the only thing that matters to me! That's not it all all. I just honestly don't want to spend $50 knowing that I definitely won't win again.



I also need to see how well I can do on my own, without the Biggest Loser holding me accountable. I will probably still weigh in at work, just because I've been going off of that scale this whole time, but my weigh ins won't be for some competition anymore.



I can't be thankful enough for the people at my work who decided to start up the Biggest Loser. It was honestly a life changing experience for me. I don't really know where I'd be if they had never done it!



It really wasn't just losing weight. I've fallen in love with fitness, I choose to eat healthier things (most of the time) now, I am doing things that I used to tell myself "I'll never be able to do that" and I'm loving every minute of it. I can't imagine ever going back to my old self, and I don't ever plan on doing so.



So, here's my first "Weigh In" after the Biggest Loser was over. I went in there, by myself, and weighed in. Obviously I'm not going to lie about my weight, because that would just be lying to myself. Here's what I got!



Previous Weight - 163



Current Weight - 161.6



Weight Lost - 1.4 Pounds



Total Weight Lost - 69.8 Pounds



Wow... so close to 70! I can taste it!!:) I shouldn't say that, considering I ate horribly this past weekend, I'll probably gain next time I weigh in! lol... I hope not! But we'll see!



My ultimate goal is 150. I can't believe I'm almost there. I used to dream of going to sleep and waking up skinny, and to be honest, that's kinda how this whole journey has felt! It's gone by way faster than I thought it would have, and sometimes I wonder if it is a dream! When I walk by a mirror and see myself, sometimes I have to do a double take. It's truly a great feeling. I just can't wait to get to 150!! I hope to be there by the end of the year!



Lately I've been kind of annoyed with people's attitudes towards my weight loss. The majority of people are super happy for me and they say I look great. But, there are a few people who seem to think I'm "anorexic." Really?? I'm sorry, but I don't believe 161 pounds at 5'5 is anorexic. And by the way, I do eat! Quite a bit actually. I wear medium shirts and size 11/13 jeans. I would not consider that anorexic.



I'm just in shock when some people have the nerve to say things like "Don't get too skinny!" "You're gonna look like a bobble head!" "You're wasting away" etc. etc. No, sorry... I actually busted my ass to get where I am. I'm not wasting away, I'm eating right and working out every day. Sorry that I want to be in the "healthy" BMI range! And it's also funny when people say "Oh my God, you're so skinny! Not that you were fat before, but wow! You look great" Ok, seriously, don't lie. I'm not stupid. Obviously if I'm skinny now, I was fat before! 231.4 pounds is FAT. And I'm not ashamed to say that. I called myself fat all the time. I know I was! So don't try to lie. Just say it!



Most of those comments I attribute to jealousy. Not to be cocky, but it's kind of obvious when you see the people making those kind of comments. But it doesn't bother me much. I know what I'm doing and I know that I'm not too skinny! So thanks haters:-)



Well, besides that, not much going on. Oh, yes, wait! I passed the CPAT! Woo hoo!! So happy I was able to accomplish that. It makes me feel like I can do anything now! Definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done!! I'm so glad it's over with! lol.



OMG... so I've gone to Lifetime Fitness with Sam and Caitlin two times now. We did Strictly Strength, Spinning and Kickboxing Interval. Such fun classes. I'm totally hooked and need to join ASAP. It's seriously the nicest gym ever and I HAVE to go there more!! I love it!:)



Ok, I'm done ranting. I'll try to update after I weigh myself on Thursday. Thanks to anyone who still reads this:) Love you guys!



<333



Anna

Warrior Dash 10.1.11

OMG! So... Warrior Dash was probably THE funnest thing I have ever done!! What a great time!!

We left Friday around 5:30pm. Traffic was okay in the beginning. Once we got to Virginia, it started to suck... terribly! We were barely moving at all. Eventually it turned out there was a big RV broken down in the middle of the highway!! That slowed traffic down so much, but even after we passed it, traffic still kinda sucked.

We ended up getting there at about 9ish. Can't quite remember. But it was way later than the GPS said we would!!

The first thing we did was go to WAWA, which conveniently happened to be in the same parking lot as the hotel! Woo hoo! The hotel was very nice!! It had a bar and all types of food. Kind of like how Starbucks has pastries, salads, sandwiches, etc. It was cool!

We ate in the room and then watched some TV. We all tried to go to sleep around 11:00pm. We all pretty much fell asleep right away, but then me, my sister and Amy all woke up around 2:00am and couldn't get back to sleep! It was awful. Lucky Sam slept the whole night! lol:)

We woke up at 6:30am, got dressed and went downstairs for the continental breakfast! Mmm! It was REALLY good! Especially for being a hotel breakfast. They had mixed fruit, grapefruit, yogurt, cereals, milk, orange juice, bagels, English muffins, toast, banana nut muffins, etc. So delicious. I definitely ate more than I should have, but I couldn't pass up free breakfast!! lol:)

We all walked outside and were shocked by how cold it was!! And it was sprinkling too! It sucked because we didn't have jackets to wear. We weren't expecting the weather to be like this, I guess! Oops:)

Warrior Dash was about 20 minutes away at this big farm plantation place. It was a long dirt road to get there, and we parked in a corn field! lol.

We made our way down to the packet pick up. Got our bibs, shirts and warrior helmets! Then we checked our bags in and got prepared!!

We had to stand around for a little while, waiting for our wave to start at 9:00am. It was freezing cold!! And it started to rain a little harder. The only thing that helped was moving all around!! Jumping jacks, butt kicks, etc.

There were lots of interesting costumes there! We saw zombies, Mario, pigs, Darth Vader, and guys in full on suits! lol! It was hilarious the stuff that people ran in! I dunno how they did it!

Finally the race started and we were off!! The path was a mix of gravel, dirt, big rocks, and mud!! At first it was pretty dry. Then we started to come up on big puddles and thick mud. We tried to avoid it when we could, but there were certain times you just had to run through it!

The beginning was just a long run, I'd say about 1 mile. We were running through the woods... uphill, downhill, through a field, then we came up on our first obstacle, Barricade Breakdown. Walls and barbed wire. You had to crawl under the wall of barbed wire, then jump over the (I'd say) 4 foot walls. Of course Sam got stuck on the first set of barbed wire! lol. That was rescue Sam number 1!

While we were running to our next obstacle, Sam twisted her ankle!:( It actually hurt her pretty bad, so we started walking for a little bit. My sister also needed a little break. She doesn't run like the rest of us do, so it was definitely a challenge for her! It also hurts her hip when she runs, but she really toughed it out! I was so proud!:)

The next obstacle was the Rubber Ricochet. It was just a bunch of big tires, tied to ropes, swinging all around. It wasn't too bad, as long as the person in front of you didn't push the tires too hard and make them fall back on you!

Next was Road Rage. First you had to step through a bunch of tires that were lying flat on the ground. Then there was about 6 cars all next to each other. They were cut up, smashed, and mangled. You had to crawl over top of them to get to the next set of tires on the ground. It was pretty difficult!! Especially because they had muddy water on top of them, which made it really slippery. Some even had sun roofs that were open, and one car had a trunk that wouldn't stay closed! Apparently Sam belly flopped onto one of the cars! LOL! Oh Sam...

After that was Chaotic Crossover. A flat cargo net that you had to crawl across. It really wasn't too bad,  if you used the right strategy! Me and Roch got across really fast! You basically had to stand on the ropes and lean to one side, instead of crawling like a spider.

Next was my favorite one and our real first taste of the mud! Dead weight Drifter! It was this gross little pond, stream thing, with floating logs in it! You had to go into the water, which you couldn't even touch the bottom of at one point, and climb over the logs. Of course right as we stepped into the muddy water, Sam's shoe gets stuck! (Sam Rescue number 2!) She also pulled down Amy in the process lol! Once we finally got up, we see Amy's feet up in the air, falling back into the water lol. She was on top of the log, then some girl rolled it towards her, causing Amy to fall off.

The best strategy was to superman dive right over the logs! Your face would end up in the gross water, but oh well! My bib also got torn off, luckily one pin held it on! That was definitely a fun one!

Teetering Traverse was the next one. Easy! All you had to do was go up, across, and down these skinny planks of wood with notches in them. It wasn't bad at all. I felt like I flew across that one!

Deadman's Drop. This one sucked! It was like a big ladder you had to climb, with a big hurdle to get over at the top. The wall was kind of slanted too, which made getting over it really hard. Once you did get over the top, there was one more step, then a straight drop down! Really scary!! I don't like heights that much, so it was pretty tough to slide down!

The Great Warrior Wall was the one we were most worried about. It was a tall wall. Straight up and down. With tiny little ledges to put your feet on, and a rope to pull yourself up! I was surprised I could do it! It wasn't too bad, except for the rope really hurt your hands. It was so rough!

Once you climbed down from that, you had to wade through water. I just googled it, and it was called the "Tar Bay" which runs off of the Chesapeake Bay. The water was about thigh deep, and surprisingly warm! That part was easy:)

We were nearing the end! I knew because we could hear the music coming from the main stage. The next thing was Cargo Climb. A bigggg cargo net that you just had to climb over and down. Not really hard at all! Just tall!

Once we all grouped up at the bottom of that, we decided to all hold hands and jump over the two fire pits at the same time! lol! It was so fun. Not difficult at all! The fire felt pretty good, actually!:)

The final obstacle! Muddy Mayhem!! The dirtiest of them all. You step into a shallow pit of mud, and crawl/float under barbed wire. Sam stepped into it and right away her foot got stuck in the mud! lol. I sat there trying to pull her out, while people yelled "Pull!!" "No man left behind" lol!! Eventually we freed Sam, and continued on. All finally crossing the finish line! Yay:)

It was such an amazing, fun time!! I cannot wait to do it again!! And, lucky us, we get free registration for the next race!! Last minute they informed us they couldn't serve alcohol at the race, so they waived the parking free and gave us all a free race:) Sweet! We're definitely going to the one in Maryland, in May 2012!

Well, that's my long blog for the night!! I'm not sure if we're doing a Biggest Loser again or not! But I suppose I'll just weigh in this week at work, anyways:)

Thanks for reading!!!

Anna

Week 12 Weigh In

Can you believe it? I don't have any good pictures to post in my blog this time! I usually have something to use, even if it's stupid. But nope, nothing! Guess it's back to the old days of using images that I googled:) Deal with it.

Anyways, I've been looking up pictures from Warrior Dash tonight and it's making me so excited!
I'm nervous for a few of the obstacles, like things that involve ropes and walls, but everything looks fun!

I will definitely have to do a blog about how the race went! I hope we can get some good pictures of us. Apparently they have an event photographer that takes pictures and then posts them onto a website for everyone to view after the race.

Tonight is my last of 3 in a row, yes! I'm so tired! Working night shift has definitely effected my sleeping habits. I used to be able to sleep at night all the way until the next day. Now, I fall asleep at 11pm and wake up around 3am, unable to sleep! It sucks... but I still wouldn't ever do day shift! No thanks:)

I don't really have anything good to talk about tonight. Same old, same old. Especially since I worked the past 3 days, I haven't done anything fun! But October is going to be a GOOD MONTH! I can't wait for all the fun stuff:)

Here's the good stuff you came for;-)

Previous Weight - 165.2

Current Weight - 163.0

Weight Lost - 2.2 Pounds

Total Weight Lost - 68.4 Pounds

Ahhhhh... finally! A good loss! Not that my 1 pound losses are bad, I'll take them any day over a gain. But I missed my nice, solid losses that I always had in the beginning! It felt great! I'm not quite sure what I did this week that made me have a good loss, but I need to do it again! If I can at least get 1.6, that would be awesomeeeee!:-)

Ok, that's all I got for ya! I'm happy with that! I will update sometime after Warrior Dash!! Wish us luck!!:)

Anna

Week 11 Weigh In

Late again as always! I actually started this blog on Saturday, but never got around to finishing it! Oops! Sorry. I just get busy with work and exercise. Never really have too much down time.

This picture was from Friday. Me and my sister Roch went to Target JUST to get Bridesmaids, but ended up trying on boots! I was so happy because last year I looked EVERYWHERE for boots that would fit, but I could never zip them all the way up. I picked out this pair and they slipped right on! Such an amazing feeling! Now I'm excited to go boot shopping!!^_^
Last week was rough. I worked out so hard everyday, burning over 800 calories each day. I ate pretty decent and always reached 1,200 calories, and sometimes over that. I'm still not convinced that eating back my exercise calories is the right thing to do, so I've been aiming for eating at least half of them back.

Sunday was "Susie's Cause 5k" that I ran with Caitlin. It was fun! The only things that sucked... it was cold! And lots of big, steep hills!! Ouch! It was really tough. I hate running up hills! Luckily, I never gave up!

Here's our times...

Caitlin - 55th place out of 424. Time - 30:28 Pace - 9:49

Anna - 56th place out of 424. Time - 30:32 Pace - 9:50
(We crossed the finish line together! Awww)

I think we did really great!!:) The best part of the race? The Panera apples they gave out afterwards. OMG.

Later that day, I also did Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 - Week 1. Charlie had just bought it for me, so I wanted to try it out. I loved it!! Really good DVD. It's got a nice variety of stuff. It was good to have a change from the Shred.

Monday I did the video again. Charlie did it with me, too! He's doing pretty good with trying to work out. Proud of him:) I also decided to try and do a 5k in 27 minutes! That was my goal. Since we got a new treadmill from Charlie's friend, I did it on that. It's sooo nice! Huge, smooth, with a fan!! Love it! I was able to do the 5k in 27:48!! Woo! New record!

Tuesday I went to the firehouse and did the ellipital and some weights! Burned over 1,000 calories. I love the elliptical!! It gives you the most bang for your buck:)

Wednesday I did Ripped in 30 again! I worked that night, so I don't usually do too much in between shifts, I'm too tired!

Thursday... weigh in day! As usual, I don't eat anything till I weigh in at work, so I also don't exercise! My only rest day:)

Here's how my weigh in went...

Previous Weight - 166.4

Current Weight - 165.2

Weight Lost - 1.2 Pounds

Total Weight Lost - 66.2 Pounds

So I almost lost my whole gain from last weeks weigh in! Pretty good. Was hoping for more, since I seriously burned so many calories last week!

I work tonight, Wednesday night, and Thursday night. I'm weighing in on Thursday. Hope it's a good one! Then! Saturday is Warrior Dash!!! Omg... I'm so excited and nervous!!! It's gonna be a blast either way!

We're leaving Friday night and staying in a hotel. Our wave time is at 9:00am. Can't wait to see how it goes!:)

I will definitely, definitely try to update ON THURSDAY with my weigh in!! I need to stop slacking lol.

I will leave you with this before and after of my wedding rings!! Can't believe the difference!!:)



Size 7 1/2



Size 5 1/2

 Goodnight!!!:)

Anna

Week 10 Weigh In



March 2011



September 2011

(You can obviously tell what shrunk the most! Boobies!!!)



When I worked out the other day, I decided to wear this green top that I got from my sisters for my birthday. I remember when they gave it to me, I was kind of worried because it was a Large and I didn't think it would fit. It did, just kind of snug! But I wore it a lot. Now when I wear it, it's baggy and goes down to my thighs! lol it almost looks like a dress! That makes me happy:)

I'm not too happy tonight though. My weigh in sucked, so I'm kind of bummed. I really try not to let bad weigh ins get me down, because I know how far I've come, but it still sucks! That's why I like to look back at pictures and compare. It helps me feel a little better about myself.

After my weigh in, I sort of got a little scared. I thought to myself... "What if I lose all motivation when the Biggest Loser is finally over? What if I reach my goal weight and then stop caring?" I don't know why I thought that, because I definitely don't WANT to lose my motivation or stop caring. I just thought about it, and it made me really worried. But I love my lifestyle now, so I don't think I'll ever want to stop doing what I'm doing!

What motivates me anyways? In the beginning, I think it was mostly the competition. I'm very competitive. I love winning. When there's "1st place" or a prize at stake, I try way harder. I was really happy after winning the biggest loser. But I got a lot more from winning than just the money. I gained confidence, became more motivated, started enjoying different things, and just had a different outlook on life.

Now my motivation is just being healthy, losing more weight, gaining more muscle, running longer distances and faster paces. I truly enjoy exercising. I love running and I consider myself a runner now! Never would have pictured that! My motivation is really just ME. I want to keep improving myself to be the best I can be:)

The old Anna loved...
Sleeping
Going out to eat
Getting junk food from drives-thrus and watching movies at home
Going out to eat
Watching tv
Playing on the computer
Going out to eat
Shopping at Torrid

Yeah, I think you get it. Now that I look back, what WAS I doing??? What did I fill my time with? Must have been eating...

The new Anna loves...
Sleeping
Going out to eat for SPECIAL occasions
Running
Making healthy dinners with my husband
Shopping at Trader Joe's
Doing work out videos
Running long distances
Shopping at ANY store I want
Logging food on MFP
Running 5k races
Talking constantly about what I'm going to eat, how many calories I have left/have burned, what exercise I'm going to do
Shopping at Dick's Sporting Goods
Encouraging, motivating and inspiring others to change their lives!

I LOVE the new me! My life is so much more fulfilling now. It has a meaning! I'm making the best of myself while I'm here on this earth. I'd like to live a LONG, HEALTHY life with my husband, and I'm making that more possible each day.

I can't describe how good it feels to turn your whole life around. To be someone you never thought you could be. To do things you never imagined doing. To accomplish goals that you never even dreamed of before. It's seriously amazing. Sometimes I just sit there and wonder "is this a dream?" because I NEVER thought I'd be where I am now, 9 months ago.

If anyone is reading this... just know that you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to. I'm living proof of that. I hate sounding like some kind of motivational speaker, or an infomerical, but it's true. You can do anything. Never tell yourself you can't, because then you won't!

Well, on that note, time to let you down with my lame weigh in!

Previous Weight - 165

Current Weight - 166.4

Weight Gained - 1.4 Pounds

Total Weight Lost - 65 Pounds

I hope this isn't a pattern... because 3 weeks ago I had a gain, then I had a really good loss, then a decent loss, now another gain. I mean obviously it's from my bad eating during vacation, but it's still disappointing! Hopefully next week will be better.

I'm going to work extra hard this week, work permitting. Charlie just got me Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 DVD, so I'm excited to try that! My idea, for now, is to do the DVD earlier in the day, then run during the night... at least on the days I'm off.

There's only 2 more weeks left of the Biggest Loser 3! That went by super fast!! I don't think I'll win again, but that's ok. I've come to accept that I probably won't win anymore. I'll take that as a good sign, because it means I don't have as much to lose anymore!!

Well, I hope to have better results next week to share!! I'll be weighing in on Thursday night.

Getting close to 3,000 views! Wow!:) Thanks people<333

Anna

Week 8 Weigh In

Back to reality. After 12 wonderful days off from work, I'm finally back tonight. *sigh* It's always the worst feeling! Luckily, there are lots of people I like working tonight, so that makes it more bearable.

We went to Nags Head, North Carolina on Sunday, September 4th and came back Sunday, September 11th. It was a great week! Some highlights...

Walking out the door and being at the beach in a few steps. Coming in from the beach and walking to the pool. Owen's, Sonic, Blue Moon Grill. Relaxing with my husband, spending time with my in-laws, running along beach road.

We had an awesome time!:) I don't think my eating was TERRIBLE and luckily I ran 3 times while I was there! Really surprised I was able to exercise while on vacation, but I'm glad I did! So hopefully I haven't gained 10 pounds!

Obviously since I was gone, I couldn't weigh in, so I skipped week 9. I'm going to weigh in on Friday for Week 10.

Maddie has to be the cutest baby.... EVER. And I'm not just saying that because she's my niece. Seriously! She's adorable. She's so lucky to be blessed with a natural tan! I'm jeal...

She really loved the beach! You could tell, she was just so squirmy and giggly:) What a cutie! I <3 her!

Ok, so I totally never did my weigh in from the week before I left, so let me do that now!

Previous Weight - 166.6

Current Weight - 165

Weight Lost - 1.6 Pounds

Total Weight Lost - 66.4 Pounds

Woo! Pretty good loss. I like it when my losses are consistent:) So I'm hoping this one on Friday is decent! I've been working my butt off since I've been back, so I hope it's not a gain!!

The whole week at the beach I wore my bikini:) So proud of myself. I'm still a little self conscious, but not much!:)

I'm getting SO close to my goal! I'm so excited. I decided that in January I'm going to get a tattoo. Hopefully I will have reached my goal by then, but either way, it will have been a year since I started losing weight, so I think that's a good excuse for a tattoo:)

I don't have much to write about in this blog... just not feeling it!! I'll try to update Friday night after my weigh in. It will be my 3rd night, so I'll need something to keep me awake!:)

Thanks for being so patient with my laziness:)

<333

Anna