Day 7 - Week One - CHECK

I made it!!! 7 days down and I didn't cheat once. It's a miracle! :) Honestly, I'm excited. This weekend I was faced with a LOT of food temptations in my house and I stuck to the Fresh Diet ONLY. I'm so proud of myself. I can tell already that weekends are going to be challenging, more mentally than physically. I feel so strong though. I really try and cook daily for my kids, however this last week has been difficult for me to cook because of me trying to get used to eating my food. But I am way more confident in myself now. I find that drinking a LOT of water and chewing gum REALLY HELP ME get through my cravings. Also, on this diet you are eating every 2-3 hours and so that helps too. Today's meals seem to be bigger. I used to be able to eat a lot of food and now when I eat, I feel full SO FAST. It's such a weird and unusual feeling. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all, I'm just in awe of my body. I've only been eating the Fresh Diet for a week and already I get full fast. This is marvelous to me.

MENU PLANNING

I sat down with my kids and we had a LONG talk about food and portions and what it means to eat healthy. I want them to eat like I am. We got rid of all the junk food in our house and I am going to make sure we stay stocked up with fresh fruits and veggies at all time. So in our garage we have a sub zero, a stand up freezer and then a regular refrigerator/freezer in our kitchen. As you can see, lots of freezer space. And let me tell you, my freezers are full. I plan on taking a FULL inventory of what's in them this week and really organize my food and PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. The kids and I planned a menu for the next week. I've never done this before and I really think it's going to help with my time management. I LOVE to cook and I'm really going to have my kids try healthier alternatives. I'm a huge baker, but my kids and I agreed that there will be no baking except for bread in our house. I have such a sweet tooth and I just don't need baked goods in the house either. I really want my kids to try new foods, especially Gracie. She does not like veggies. The only way I get her to eat green veggies is when I put them in her fruit smoothies. We own a Vita Mix blender and I try and make the kids a fresh fruit drink smoothie for when they get home from school. I typically will put red grapes, kiwi, orange, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, apple and ice and blend it up smooth, however I can always sneak in frozen spinach leaves and carrots and they never know. It's my little secret. When you freeze fresh spinach leaves they turn into a paper consistency. It's great! I throw a handful into the blender and you don't even taste it. If anyone has any great ways they get their kids to eat veggies please share. :):)

TAXES

I spent most of today working on taxes. I have a LONG way to go and a very limited time to finish them. I haven't worked out yet. I'm actually about to go downstairs at 7:30 tonight with my kids and we are all going to do a workout together. It should be fun. They love exercising together, I do too.

FOOD TODAY

So on menu today I had the following: 7am - I had Honey Roasted Granola with Fresh diced pineapple and passion fruit yogurt. It was delicious, however it took me awhile to eat it all because there was so much of it. I had my snack at 10:30am and it was a Buffalo Style Chicken Strip with pearl onions. MMM, MMM good. Lunch was at 1:00 and it was spicy chicken enchilada soup. I will definitely be ordering this again. I LOVE spicy food. 3:00 I had Tropical dried fruit with pina colada yogurt. OMG - It was actually sinful to eat this. Seriously, it had dried cherries, bananas & pineapple. When you dry pineapple all the natural sugars come out and let me tell you, it was like eating candy. I LOVE tropical fruits and this snack was my favorite! I ate dinner at 6:00. It was stir fry chicken bamboo shoots, shredded carrots, chinese black rice and sauteed button mushrooms. NUMMY and very filling! I had trouble eating all of this too only because I was full fast. Weird!

I'm headed down to exercise. Have a great night! I just realized I weigh in tomorrow. JOY! I really don't like the scale. I have friends that are obsessed with the scale and I just am not. I hate seeing my weight. I know it's a reality check for most people, for me, it's just a negative depressing. I really want to be able to change my views on the scale. I hope I can soon since I have to step on it every week.

Day 6 - Recovery Day

Today was my recovery day. HOORAH!!! Let me tell you, I did my best to recover today. It's been a day of rest and family time. I have been so tired today. My feet are recovering from the blisters from yesterday. It's been a very relaxing day. I went to a craft show this morning with Grace and got her some clothes for this Spring. I had another great day with the food. I ate breakfast at 7am. It was some Apple Ricotta Crepes with Fresh Strawberries. I had my snack at 10:30 which was Mini Whole Wheat Sweet & Sour Sloppy Joes. Lunch at 1:00, OMG, the BEST Philly Cheese Steak Whole Wheat Wrap with Sauteed Bell Pepper & Mozzarella Cheese. My 2nd snack was at 3 and it was my favorite mushrooms filled with pesto chicken. Dinner at 6:30 was Grilled Chicken Breast with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce with Baby Carrots and Whole Wheat Linguine Pasta. I am grateful for my family and all their support in this journey. I love who I am becoming. I will write more tomorrow. It's been a great day to rest. I'm getting up early for my workout tomorrow. I pray my body is ready for the week ahead.

I DID IT

It's Friday night and I just got home from the movies. I DID IT!!! I went to the movies and didn't have ANY popcorn. I can't believe it! This is a miracle for me. Let me tell you, I walked into that theater, smelled the popcorn & just started salivating. I LOVE POPCORN!!! But my nice husband totally supported me and didn't buy any for himself. PHEW!!! What a relief. We saw Dear John. It was good. I am one tired woman. It's only 10:30pm, but I got up at 5am. Time for some hopefully good sleep. Tomorrow is my day off from training. I'm sure my body will be happy for a recovery day. My food already got delivered for the weekend. They delivered my food for Saturday and Sunday. Hoorah! It's looks amazing. It's been a great few days. I'm so happy right now. Thank you!

Day 5

Well let me tell you, I have learned my lesson! I ignored what my gut instinct was telling me to do and lo and behold, now I suffer. I woke up at 5am this morning to go to my new "team weightloss" class. So I left the house around 5:20 to get their on time. I ate my breakfast as I drove to class. BTW, for breakfast I had fresh strawberries and creamy banana oatmeal. There was 2 scoops of the oatmeal and I was only able to finish one of the scoop and all of the strawberries. So I ate the other scoop at 9am when I came out of the gym.

Team Weightloss

So the whole concept of team weightloss is to workout as a group for an hour 3 days a week. Every Friday you spend 30 minutes talking with a nutritionist and then have a 30 min workout. On Monday and Wednesday they typically spend the entire time doing the treadmill. I will put in our WO for the treadmill next week. But I guess on Fridays they like to change equipment. So Mark, the trainer, put us on the precor elliptical. Well earlier this week I wasn't able to do it. The motion just didn't feel right on my body. So here I am on this machine again, not feeling comfortable and after 5 minutes my knee locked up. Mark saw it happen and he told me to go get on the machine in front of us which was the Octane elliptical machine. I get started on that machine and within 20 seconds I had a sick feeling in my gut telling me to get off of this machine. It just didn't feel right. So I ignored that feeling and just pushed through since I just switched machines. So now I'm about 2 minutes into it, my body didn't feel right, and I really felt inclined to GET OFF. I ignored that feeling and just pushed through it. Well now I started feeling PAIN in both of my feet. It felt like I had sharp rocks in my shoes and I was trying to walk on them. But again, I worked through the pain. I wasn't going to stop. I finished 2 miles and the class ended and I went to go to the bathroom because I had about 20 minutes to wait until I trained with Joe. As I was walking the pain got worse and worse. I thought to myself, what the hell is in both of your shoes. I was really mad about it. I could hardly walk. Hello! I don't need an injury on both of my feet on day 5. So I go into the bathroom, take off my shoes and examined them. I didn't see anything wrong with them. So I take off my socks. There's the problem. I had 2 HUGE blisters on BOTH FEET. On the insides of my feet. SERIOUSLY!!! So I went out and got some bandaids to protect them and then just did some ab work until I met with Joe. Lesson to be learned here. ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR GUT. ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS. My gut told me to get off that machine. I listened the first time, but not the second. One thing that I have learned from the books that I have read is that your gut (instinct) NEVER LIES. It ONLY SPEAKS TRUTH. My gut told me twice to get off those machines. I only listened to it once and now I'm injured. I'm so mad at myself. Your head will lie to you every time, your gut never lies. That is truth. So I've learned my lesson the hard way. The only elliptical machine I can do right now at this weight is the Lifetime elliptical. I have to listen to what my body is saying.

Workout with Joe

Of course Joe saw me limping and I told him what happened. JOY! We still had a great workout though. Here's what we did.

He had me start off laying face down on the massage table with one arm dangling off. Then he gave me a 3 lb weight and had me do what he calls Y's and I's. So the Y is where you have the palm down, straight arm and raise the arm up and it looks like you're making a Y. Then the I's are where you turn your palm to the side and raise up. I did 2 sets of 15. They were hard and painful. It's great! I need desperately to strengthen my shoulders and Joe knows that. So he wants me to do the Y's & I's everyday. Here is the rest of our workout.

• 2.5 miles on the bike
• Freemotion Row - 3 sets of 30 at 30 lbs.
• Freemotion Press - 3 sets of 30 at 15 lbs.
• Abdominal Nautilus - 3 sets of 30 at 60 lbs. (I got a MAJOR cramp so while we waited for it to go away he put me on the arm bike and then I went back and was able to finish my sets)
• arm bike - .5 miles - level 12 - NOT FUN

791 calories burned throughout the workouts.

I had Jeremy drop off the kids at the gym since they don't have school today and we went to the doctor for Grace's physical. Then we came home and we have had a day of cleaning. What Fun! I had my 1st snack at 10:30 - it was a delicious Peanut Butter Chip Muffin. I ate lunch at 1:00 and it was a HUGE grilled turkey burger on a whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomato & Dijonaise, although I didn't eat the tomato or Dijonaise. I will eat my 2nd snack at 3:00 and it is going to be Sauteed Pineapple with Key Lime Yogurt Topped with Toasted Coconut Flakes. For dinner I am having Cajun rubbed grilled skirt steak with tri-color couscous and sweet baby peas. I plan on eating that around 5:30 and then I'm going to the movies with my husband. This will be the 1st time in a long time that I am going to the movies and NOT getting popcorn and a sprite. This will be my biggest challenge yet tonight. I am bringing my water bottle and gum with me. :) Happy Friday!

Day 4 part 2

It's 10:18 at night. I'm exhausted so I will save my findings from today for a later date.
WORKOUT w/Joe
Real simple today

• Elliptical for 1/2 mile 9.20
• deadlifts w/ 20 lb medicine ball - 40
• Elliptical for 1/2 mile 8.54
• deadlifts w/ 20 lb medicine ball - 30
• Elliptical for 1/2 mile 8.00
• deadlifts w/ 20 lb medicine ball - 20
• Elliptical for 1/2 mile 7.45
• deadlifts w/ 20 lb medicine ball - 10

Workout by myself

• 1.2 miles on the treadmill
• incline 2.0 speed 3.0 for 6 minutes then increased the incline by one every minutes until I reached 8 incline. Then back down to 2 incline for 2 minutes and up to 8-10 each minute, back down to 2 and then up to 10-12 and back down to cool off. It was a great burn!
• chest press 3sets of 12 - 25 lbs
• pec fly 3 sets of 12 - 30lbs
• incline press 3 sets of 12 - set 1 20 lbs, set 2-3 10 lbs
• shoulder press 3 sets of 12 - 10lbs
• 737 calories burned

I really want to get on a good strength training program that I can work on by myself. I need to build muscle. I'm falling asleep writing so I will say goodnight to you. See you tomorrow.

Day 4

I feel like I have accomplished SO MUCH today. I woke up at 6am and did my usual routine with the kids and laundry. I actually ate breakfast around 7am while driving to the club. For breakfast today I had a fresh fruit salad with cantaloupe, raspberries, papaya, banana, and the most delicious pineapple & banana ricotta cheese. I never would have thought to mix fruit in with ricotta cheese. I LOVE ricotta cheese when it's cooked in stuffed shells or lasagna. Who knew I would LOVE it raw mixed with fruit. This is my new favorite. I had a great workout today which I will post what I did later tonight. I ate my snack at 11am and it was a moist and good mango muffin. (I love that my sweet tooth is being satisfied) I ate lunch at 1pm and it was sliced peppercorn turkey breast with avocado, golden apples & baby lettuce with a raspberry vinaigrette. So with this diet I wanted to try to flavors and really try and expand my tastebuds. Well, I REALLY don't like avocado so I tried it, but I just couldn't do it, but the rest of lunch was superb. I need to go in and move that item over to my dislike column. I ate my afternoon snack at 3pm and it was DELICIOUS mushrooms crowns stuffed with creamy broccoli. Have I told you HOW MUCH I LOVE MUSHROOMS. Heavenly! You normally heat everything up in the microwave, but not my mushrooms, I put them under the broiler for a few minutes and all I can say is OH MY GOODNESS. I am currently eating my dinner while I am writing. I started eating it at 5:30. It is stuffed chicken breast with apples & almonds with roasted spaghetti squash and herbed zucchini puree. I have never had spaghetti squash before and it it GOOD. The whole meal is good. I have parent teacher conferences tonight and so that's why the rush with the blog. I have had a few breakthroughs today that I will share with you tonight. Enjoy the pics.

Day 3 part 2

So I received a lovely email from my friend Kelly and it definitely got me thinking that my goal of 3600 calories to burn a day is too high considering I'm eating between 1200-1400 calories a day. So I put an email in to the AREYOUX group and I will let you know what they say. I had the a VERY TASTY and a little bit spicy turkey quesadilla for my snack at 4:00. Then I took the kids to hip hop and I ate dinner at 6:30. For dinner tonight I had cider braise pork medallions with rosemary carrot mash and exotic mushroom ragout. Every bite was heavenly. This was my favorite dinner so far. Seriously, the food is beyond phenomenal. Here are pictures of my snack & dinner. I haven't had any cravings for anything yet, which actually kind of shocks me. I've been fully satisfied with all the portions and I really don't know how to describe how much I have enjoyed the food. I did however pass Starbucks today and at the time I was COLD and I thought to myself, Man, I would LOVE to stop and get a Chai Tea. But I didn't. I just kept driving. Yes, I will pat myself on the back for that one. So as soon as I know what my calorie burn should realistically be I will post it. Have a great night everyone!

Day 3

I woke up this morning at 5:45 thinking this is great, I woke up 15 minutes before the alarm, I'll be able to leave on time. WHATEVER!!! It SO DID NOT go that way. With 3 kids, there is always something that has to be done. Here's the kicker, I totally got everything organized last night so that I can get out of the door on time. On time for me was going to be 6:30. I didn't leave until 7am. I woke up this morning constipated (sorry to be graphic, but I want to be honest here). I felt crappy because of that. Now, I am RARELY constipated, so I don't like how it feels. I just think my body is going through some MAJOR DETOX right now and that's just how it's coping with everything. So I made myself some of my own special remedy tea. Which consists of a bag of dandelion tea and a bag of smooth move tea (Senna). I brew that for 15 minutes and then take the bags out and I let it cool. You don't have to let it cool, but the taste is so bad that I have to chug it to get it down.:):):) What does it taste like you ask? Well let me tell you, it taste like wood infused with licorice. Seriously, it's nasty, but it always works. Although it does take about 10 hours before it kicks in. So I'm hoping tonight I will be all cleaned out. :):):) While that is brewing, I unloaded the dishwasher, took out the garbage, put in a load of laundry and put away a load of laundry. Then I drank my tea, ate my breakfast at 6:15am which consisted of the MOST DELICIOUS cherry cheese crepes with 3 pieces of pineapple (NUMMY). Then I woke up Emily (11 yrs. old), made her breakfast, filled up my water bottles, put my heart rate monitor on, watch on & my BodyBugg on. Got dressed and was out the door. It doesn't seem like much, but it took me forever to get out the door this morning. Oh well, at least I still got to the gym early.

I am so grateful to my husband for supporting me in my journey. I was always the one getting the kids up, dressed, fed and out the door. Now that I work out in the morning Jeremy gets up and does everything for my kids to get them out the door. Thank you Jeremy! Although I have definitely become more organized with my kids. I make sure the night before that their backpacks are ready with their homework in them. They are all showered and their clothes are laid out before they go to bed. My two oldest ones pick out their own clothes for the most part, but my little Gracie is just lazy in the morning and she always wants me to pick out her clothes. Grace is our "princess". And if I left it up to Jeremy to get her dressed, OH MY, I've only made that mistake twice. Grace is a girly girl and Jeremy doesn't understand "fashion" for little girls. :):):) So I'm really trying to become more efficient and organized in my house.

WORKOUT

I arrived at the gym 20 mins. early just to get on the treadmill and get warmed up. So I did a mile on the treadmill and it took me 20.28 mins. to do that mile. I did it at an incline of 2 speed of 3. After 6 minutes I would increase the incline by 2 every 2 minutes. Then I worked out with Joe. He had me do the following:

• bike - 3 miles at level 12 and it took me 14.03 mins.
• Then he had me get on all fours and raise my leg to the side. Like a kickback, but out to the side. 3 sets of 10. These were hard for me to do. I'm SO out of shape.
• Lying Butt Bridge - 3 sets of 20 - these were easier than the side leg lifts.
• I'm not sure the name of the next exercise but I was on all fours again and he had me basically raise and lower my belly. I did 2 sets of 25
• Elliptical for 1/2 mile

My personal goal is to burn 3600 calories a day, which is a LOT of calories and in order to burn that many calories I need to exercise. So I got done with the elliptical and decided I still wanted to exercise. So then I did the following:

• a mile on the treadmill
• vertical traction machine - 3 sets of 12 - set 1&2 40 lbs. set 3 45 lbs.
• Low Row - 3 sets of 12 - 30 lbs.
• Bicep Curl - 3 sets of 12 - 15lbs.
• Flat tricep extension - 3 sets of 12 - set 1 25 lbs. - set 2&3 30 lbs.
• Ab Rotation - 2 sets of 20 each side - 50 lbs.
• bike 1 mile

My trainer thinks I did too much and I disagree. I want to meet my goal of 3600 calories burned a day. I felt great as I was doing it. I know my body, I know when I can't take it anymore. But I felt so strong today. So I went for it.

I ate me snack at 11:15 which was pecan pudding (DELICIOUS) then I ate my LUNCH at 1:00 which was chicken caesar salad. Again nummy. I'm so impressed with the food. After the gym I went to Sam's club for some essentials and then went to Chipotle to buy lunch for my husband and his friend. Let me tell you, it smelled delicious in there but still no temptation to cheat. I'm sticking to this. It just feels so right. I'm so proud of myself. It still hurts to sit down, but not as bad as yesterday. So far, so good. I'm off to take my kids to dance. I'm bringing my snack with me. I will post again tonight.

Day 2 - Part 2

Lunch - salad with oranges, strawberries, 3 slices of chicken and raspberry vinaigrette. DELICIOUS! I ate around 12:45pm. Snack - Cherry Vanilla Cheesecake - Scrumptious! I ate this around 3:15pm Dinner - I ate at 6:30pm grilled chicken, parsnip-pear puree & fresh green beans. So with dinner I decided to try new things. The chicken of course was superb. I've never had parsnip-pear puree before and I have to say it was OK. Green Bean, I typically don't like green beans, but again I want to try and change my palette and they were OK too. I would give the veggies an 8. Remember though, these are the foods I chose. That's what so great about the Fresh Diet, you can choose your likes and dislikes and I really want to try new things and expand my palette.

So all and all this has been a great second day. I did wake up with a huge headache this morning, but 10 minutes into my workout and it was gone. I'm sure my body is going through detox with not drinking caffeine or eating sugar anymore. I am so grateful to the Fresh Diet. Check them out at http://www.thefreshdiet.com/, you won't regret it. DELICIOUS food delivered to your door daily. How great is that! Also check out Glenn's progress at http://areyoux.com/workouts/achieve-your-goal/glenn-douglas-packard . I'm so grateful for all the support Glenn is giving me. Also PLEASE check out the AreYouX team at http://areyoux.com/ for some wonderful on diet, nutrition and working out. Also if your in Miami be sure and attend one of their boot camps, they sound amazing. All in all, Day 2 was great! I also drank 128 oz of water today so far. Come on Day 3.

Day 2

Day 2

I woke up beyond sore today in my legs. It's great! So I went to the lab and they took blood for my risk point to see where I am starting with my blood. I'm so excited to watch everything change from the inside out. I had to fast for this blood draw so I didn't eat breakfast until 8:45am. It was delicious! The picture is to the left. It was a piece of french toast stuffed with 3 slices of mango. About 6 red raspberries, and 1/4 cup of banana ricotta cheese. It was delicious. Although I had to eat in the car on the way to Lifetime (my gym). My appointment with Joe was at 9am.

WORKOUT

Before I forget, I was able to get my BodyBugg started and I'm wearing it for the 1st time today. I'm anxious to see how many calories I burn by the end of the day. I put into the bodybugg program that I'm eating 1200-1400 calories a day and that I would like to lose 5 lbs. a week. So the bodybugg program said I needed to burn 3600 calories a day in order to lose 5 lbs. a week. I am making that my goal each day, 3600 calories of burn. I will post my burn calories nightly. I got to the club and in our club the workout area is upstairs. Well let me tell you, I could hardly make it up the stairs. My legs were screaming at me from the workout I had yesterday. So I get up their and tell Joe I could hardly walk up the stairs and we both just laugh and he said "It feels good, doesn't it" I said "YEAH" although I was thinking NO!!! But really, I expect to be in muscular pain for the next few weeks until my muscles get used to exercise again. So he has me start off on the bike for 3 miles at level 11. Then we go to the Closed Lat Pulldown and I do 3 sets of 20 - 40 lbs 1st 2 sets and 30 lbs 3rd set. Then we go to the Hammer Seated Decline, 3 sets of 20. 1st set 20 lbs - I was BURNING by the time we got to 15. So then we lowered the weight to 10lbs and the last 2 sets were a struggle. So then Joe said lets work on cardio the rest of the time and I think great since my upper body is sore and my legs are sore, I think maybe the treadmill the rest of the time, but NOOOO! He said lets do the stepmill. SERIOUSLY JOE!!! I thought I was going to die!!! I couldn't walk up the stairs to get up to the gym and now you want me to do the stepmill. WHATEVER!!! So of course I complained, but Joe said it would make my legs feel better. At the time I thought he was crazy, but really, my legs didn't hurt any worse after I was done and it was good to stretch them out like that. So I did 10 floors and I thought I was going to die. But I didn't! We waited for my Heart Rate to drop down to the high 130's and then went for the 2nd set of 10 floors. Well, that wasn't happening. I got to floor 3 and my heart rate was already around 178 and climbing. I wanted to quit so bad, but I didn't, I just kept climbing. Joe noticed my HR and my breathing and he said we would do 4 sets of 5 floors and let me rest in between. So I thought that was doable. After my 2nd set of 5 floors, which I thought again I was going to die from, I got off the stepmill and of course was breathing deep to try and bring my HR down and out of nowhere this very sweaty lady comes up behind me, hugs me and says "I'm so proud of you, you can do it!" And then she ran off. Let me tell you, my emotions just poured out of me. For the 1st time, I felt accepted there. I felt that it was ok for my fat body to be in this club. For me, it has always been a struggle to go workout at clubs. 99% of the people in the clubs are in shape and for an overweight person, it's hard. I feel like everyone is looking at me, judging me, looking at me in disgust. It's really hard to be at a club and feel accepted. But today, I did. That stranger coming up and giving my that hug and words of encouragement made all the difference. I shed a few tears at that time and was more determined than ever to finish my last two sets. I DID IT!!! It was harder than hard, but I did it. I burned 440 calories during that workout and I felt great for accomplishing those 30 floors.

For my snack at 11:30am I had delicious cucumber sandwiches.

Dinner

Ok, so I just finished eating dinner and again it was delicious. I started eating at 5:30. I had grilled chicken, asparagus & butternut squash. Again, I would guess the measurements for the veggies to be 1/4 cup and probably 3 oz. of meat. So now I am off to spend time with my kids. I made pasta for my kids tonight and I had no desire to eat what they were eating, so that was a nice surprise to me. They are all so excited for me to do this. I really feel good about today. Tomorrow I go in for my bloodwork before my workout. I still need to exercise tonight before bed. I will post again tomorrow. Good Night one and all.

Body Assessments

I forgot to add my assessments to the blog. Here they are. Yes I am out of shape and Yes I have a lot of weight to lose. But I'm ready to do it. Finally ready to do it.

The Journey Begins NOW!!!

This is it! I started!!! It's been an amazing day already. So I plan on posting all my food that I am eating and exactly what I am doing for exercise. As you can see I ate a delicious breakfast of blueberries, oranges, pineapple, strawberries, watermelon and mango yogurt. I believe the serving size of each was 1/4 cup. I ate this at 7am and it was nummy!

Then I got up to the gym and started working out at 7:45. I met with my trainer Joe and we worked out until 8. Let me tell you, I am OUT OF SHAPE. I seriously could not even walk down the stairs when we were done. Oh my!!! Hello legs, nice to know you exist. I am having my trainer write down exactly what he does with me. For today I started off on my own on the treadmill for 15 mins to warm up and then we did the following.

seated row 3 sets of 20. 27.5lbs. 20 sec. rest in between sets

seated chest press 3 sets of 20. 25 lbs. 1st 2 sets, 20lbs. last set.

1/4 squats 3 sets of 20

treadmill 2.0 incline, 3.3 speed 1/2 mile in 10 mins. 12 secs. - adjusted speed as needed to keep HR below 170

OHP - PVC 3 sets of 20 (over the head lift)

RDL - PVC 3 set of 20 (bend over and lift)

Precor - 5 mins - my knees kept locking and my ankles hurt so we switched to a bike

Stationary Bike - 7 mins - level 11

15 mins - rolled out

456 calories burned

So this is the snack I ate at 10am. It was a piece of keylime cheesecake. Yes, I really did just say cheescake. I know, crazy, but delicious! I ate lunch around 12:30 and I had Asian Flank Steak on Whole Wheat Roll with Szechwan Style Slaw and Peanut Sauce. OMG, DELICIOUS!!! The slaw was Very SPICY, but good. Picture is Below!

This is the mushrooms I had for a snack at 2:30pm. Again, nummy! My kids are home so I need to get to work with making dinner for them. I will post again tonight. I'm loving it so far!

The Food Is Here!!!

I just looked outside before I went up to bed and low and behold, there was a blue bag cooler sitting on my front porch. The food is here!!! I cannot describe the joy I felt when I saw that bag. Who knew I could that excited by seeing a bag. Seriously, I can just burst right now. I opened it up and put the food in the fridge. It all looks amazing. I'm sure it's going to taste wonderful too.

On Saturday when I was working out A New Day from Celine Dion came on at the end of my workout and I totally can relate to that song. It is a new day, a new year, a new life for me. I can't wait to go to sleep so I can wake up and start my journey. What a great night!

I start tomorrow!!!

So this last week has been very emotional for me. My dear sweet Grandma Belle passed away at 6:00pm on Tuesday. I was blessed to be there for her passing. How I pray she is at peace now and with her family. Needless to say, it's been a rough week for me. We buried her on Friday, I am overwhelmed at my family and friends and their support.

TOMORROW I START!!! I am smiling from ear to ear. It's finally here. MY TURN! I just want to scream, I'm so happy. I plan on keeping a VERY detailed blog on my everyday adventures. I'm sure my life will change as I shed the person that I've been hiding behind all these years. I can honestly say, I love myself and I am worth it. This is my time to shine. I have been preparing myself all these years for this moment in my life. Finally, I can become the me I've always seen myself as. I'm so grateful to The Fresh Diet team, the Are You X team and of course Glenn Packard. With their help and support I will succeed. Also I am grateful for my trainer Joe. He's got his work cut out for him.

I went into the gym on Saturday and worked out. I did 20 minutes on the treadmill, 50 crunches on the total ab machine, 20 minutes on the elliptical, 50 crunches on the total ab machine and then 20 minutes on the bike and lastly 50 more crunches on the total ab machine. I am SO OUT OF SHAPE. But I made a goal of 60 mins of cardio and I did it!!! I didn't like it, but I did it. I get SO BORED. I asked my husband to put a good book on my ipod so I don't get bored. I hope it helps.

They say we are getting a lot of snow tonight so I plan on getting up early to make sure I leave EARLY to make it to the gym on time. Although I probably won't sleep much because I am so excited. I will post pictures tomorrow with my starting weight, and fitness evaluation, which is BAD. But hey, at least I'm starting and I'm being honest with myself. I am out of shape, but everyday, I am going to get better and better. When I was doing the 2nd set of 25 crunches I thought my abs were going to explode. They were cramping so bad, but I love that feeling. My belly was like, um hello, where have you been. The cramps only lasted that 2nd set. Then next 4 sets were fine. My body can handle it. I can handle it. I am strong and I am confident in myself.

So here I go, tomorrow is the start of my new life and for that I am eternally grateful!

Gym Bag & Grandma Belle

So I just packed my gym bag. OMG, I am SO EXCITED for tomorrow to get here. I can't believe I am being blessed like this. THANK YOU UNIVERSE!!! What's in my bag you ask, let me tell you. I have a towel, a change of clothes, my shower stuff, my workout binder, my ipod, a self help book, my gym card and my 32oz camelbak filled with H2O.

Right this moment I feel pure excitement & a little bit of fear. How am I going to sleep. I know I have to weigh in tomorrow. If I had to guess, I am now over 300 lbs. (GASP) - (I know you are saying that Sara. :):):)) But I promised myself that I will put all my cards on the table throughout this journey and maintain a blog that is completely honest. I have maintained a weight of 278 for a few years now, but ever since my grandma came to live with us in July, I have been eating because of stress. I am definitely a stress eater. My grandma Belle helped raise me. I moved into her home when I was 9 months old with my brother. My mom worked 3 jobs to raise my brother & I and my grandma really was the one who cared for us while my mom worked. She is definitely a second mom to me. If you could take joy and sunshine and bottle it, you would have my grandma Belle. She is now in Hospice in my home. She has stage 4 colon cancer. The nurse informed me today that she only has about a week left if she had to guess. Her doctor started Hospice on December 23. Ever since December 23rd I have been eating, and eating and eating. I am so sick of myself and my addiction. Because I do recognize it as such. I eat to numb myself. When I step on that scale tomorrow I will not be surprised if I am over 300 lbs. Why you say? Because I have NEVER in my life felt this fat. My size 3x clothes are just fitting. I am so sick and tired of me and my body. I can't sleep at night because I'm in so much pain. I started snoring a few weeks ago. Why? Because I have gained SO MUCH weight in such a short period of time. Am I ashamed of myself, of course. Do I want to ever get on a scale, NO! I don't ever want to face the reality of myself. When I get ready every morning I only glance in the mirror. Why you say? Because I can't stand the look of myself and this body that I created. I look at myself and am disgusted in every way possible. Why did I let it get this far? Because I never felt worthy of anything or anyone. But here is the amazing thing. Ever since I made the video for The Fresh Diet Contest, ever since I put a voice to all these feeling in my head, I feel worthy. I feel like I am worthy of every good thing that this earth has to offer. I feel like the mountain of bricks that I have been carrying on my back all these years has just exploded and that I only have a few stones left. I feel happy and joyful. I feel like I can and that I will succeed at anything I do. I am worthy. I am loved. I am beautiful.

My grandma is going to return home to her Heavenly Father very soon. I will forever miss her. I will mourn her, I will always love her. I know the days ahead are going to be hard on me and my family, but I also know that with death comes life and I choose to live my life to it's fullest. To live in the moment. To rejoice in my choices that I make for myself. My grandma is 89 years young. She has traveled the world and has lived through two wars and the great depression. I marvel at her stories and experiences. I dedicate all that I am doing with this Life Change to her. She will live in my heart forever. She will soon be my angel and I know that I will succeed. I love you Grandma Belle!

AREYOUX

So today I was privileged to talk with Danny & Keith from AreYouX. I'm very excited to start my my new life and break through all the barriers that I have had in my life. I expect this experience to not only change the way I look, but change the way I think.

I know I have to change from the inside out. I look forward to the challenge and the commitment that is ahead of me. I'm meeting with my trainer Joe tomorrow to start my new life. HOORAY!!! I know it's going to be hard work, but I look forward to the challenge.

I have so many emotions going through my head right now, joy, happiness, love, worthiness, anxiousness, fear. I am choosing to LIVE IN THE MOMENT. To truly enjoy every single day and thrive on this experience.

Thank you Keith & Danny for your support. I'm so excited to begin!!!

Glenn Packard

So today I was blessed to talk to Glenn. He called me this morning to congratulate me on winning The Fresh Diet contest. He went over what to expect and what he wanted me to do. I am so overwhelmed with the joy that I feel right now. I am so grateful for everyone at The Fresh Diet for bringing this into my life at this time.

I have spent my entire life taking care of everyone except one person, me. I finally am going to take care of myself for once and it feels great! As my friend said, "It's all about you now".

I am on an emotional high right now. I'm so anxious to start my journey of creating the best me I can create. I'm excited to see what I end up looking like. :)

Watch out world, a new Donna is about to emerge!

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!

To all those who voted for me, THANK YOU!!! I am overwhelmed at the love I have felt throughtout this process. For me, I have always gone through my life wondering if I matter to anyone. Wondering if anyone cares about me. Wondering if I'm loved. I can truly say, I feel loved. I was overwhelmed by the response to this contest. I have received so many lovely emails these last few weeks since I posted my video and entered this contest. This contest comes at a time when I am READY to change my life and become the best self I can become. I am grateful for all my friends and family that voted for me and for them reaching out to their friends to vote for me. Thank you!!!

I have so many emotions running through me this morning. When I looked on Wildfire this morning, like I have done every morning since I entered this contest, and saw I won, I just screamed and cried. I felt like this cloud has been lifted. That I am worthy to become my best self. I felt so much love and I credit that to each of you.

How I wish you could see inside my head and heart and feel the love and gratitude that I feel.

I hope to post to this blog everyday and let you share in my success and my journey of becoming my BEST me. I love you all! Thank you!

I WON!!!

I WON!!!