Working hard

Hi everyone, I have to tell you how HARD I'm exercising. It's painful and exhausting and I really love it. :) (well, not at the time I guess). Sham is pushing me 3x a week now, I asked for it though- I really want to kick up my metabolism and get rid of this weight!

We spent a great time outdoors last week and that was so nice to get all that fresh air on a sunny day. I've attached a photo of our workout. It looks like I'm punching Sham, but of course I'm not even if I may have felt like it once or twice... JK!

Sham, your awesome

Thanks for the challenge and encouragement today!

I was listening to Air1 today and was reminded that a healthy "ME" is the goal for several reasons: my kids, my kids, my kids and, because it's just fun to be thin, me. I'm finding I need to remind myself why I'm doing what I'm doing because if I just focus on the hard work of it, I can get unmotivated and lazy. Quick fixes start teasing my mind and I want an easy out. At those moments it's nice to have a calm reassuring voice to set me back on my path.

We are kicking it up to 3x per week starting this week and I will begin rigorously watching my eating so we can fast track my results. My favorite saying is "Don't waste a good suffering". Meaning, you are working so hard, don't blow it with stupid eating!

If the weather is good, we may have some more photos to post on Friday...

I've missed you but I have news!

I know it's been a while since Iposted. I finished my 7 day cleanse last Friday and I feel great. The products were very easy to use, but once a year will be good for me :)

I've been meeting Sham 2x per week for intense training sessions. The level of effort he gets out of me is amazing and I am sure I wouldn't push myself this hard on my own. I'm working through various levels of soreness and as we speak my triceps are yelling at me! I really appreciate having someone there to watch my form, correct me, and encourage me. He challenges me to sweat like I've never sweated before!

So here's the GREAT NEWS! in the 2 1/2 weeks we've been meeting for these workouts (5 total sessions), I've lost 3.5 lbs, 1% body fat, 1.8 points lower BMI, and several inches lost! Yay! Sham was pleased with my progress and assured me that these are pounds that will never come back. He assures me that slow, measured weight loss is our goal and to be very encouraged by these results. I'm reminded that to get permanent weight loss I can be patient and disciplined, with his help, and retrain myself for this lifelong commitment. "New Shelly" is on her way!

Still Cleansing...

Hmmm.... I learned something today about my 7 day cleanse. My two rough days of cleansing might have been brought on by my food choices those days. I didn't exactly eat the best on the first day (chevy's chicken salad and quesadilla) oops- and then teriyaki chicken rice bowl on Saturday. Not so good I guess! Today was definitely better, I guess I'm getting the toxins out of my system. I'll be done on Thursday.

Had a great workout tonight. I was pouring sweat and definitely weak from my cleansing and lack of exercise this weekend. It feels good to be pushed and have accomplished that today though. Had Subway for dinner (pre-screened and approved by Sham, thank you). Sham is going to hook me up with menu planning and his online meal and workout planning. That should help me put lunches together for work.

Oh! and we took action photos today. I'll share them with you when Sham emails them to me.

Cleansing Now

I've started the cleansing routine now. The products Sham recommended are very effective and actually taste good. The daily vitamin is a powder you stir into water and it's very easy to take. I'm told the childrens version are very tasty too, I'll have to try them out on my kids. The colon cleanse also uses a powder but it is berry flavored and really quite good-so weird that I can say that! I'm on day two so I'll let you know what I think about the routine in 5 more days :)

20 minutes!

20 minutes is all it took for Sham to kick my butt today, I am quite sure I would've given up much sooner than that on my own! He created an intense circuit routine of pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups and squats. I hate it and I love it at the same time. When we measure and weigh in a few weeks I'll know a lot more about how I feel!

The one thing I'm learning is that the prior sessions I had with Sham when we concentrated on diet, core, posture, stability- it was all preparing me for the more intense workouts I'm doing now. Sham is giving me all the tools I need to be successful for my lifetime.

I'm not a perfect student, but the education, accountability and encouragement from Sham is going to make all the difference in this journey. Want to join me?

Zzzzz.....

Ugh, I am tired!

So I was kind of able to do my whole routine at the gym- my 10 year old son was a nuissance and I had to run him home. Note to self! But, I did everything but 2 of my 3 miles in 1 hr 15 minutes, then came home and walked 1.6 miles in 25 minutes with my mom (with a lot of steep hills!)

I was sweating up a storm at the gym while completing my core work so it must be working right? :) Looking forward to another butt-kicking from Sham tomorrow! I'll try to post an action photo too (pretty!).

The fun starts!

Ok, so I was bad. I haven't posted for a few days, but I had a very relaxing 3 day weekend! Go Steelers by the way...

So today was my first full workout with Sham. I'm fried. My chest hurts from push-ups. I'm supposed to go through this routine daily on my own, I hope I can! I'm going to try the whole thing tomorrow and time it so Sham can adjust it in case I end up at the gym for 2 hours trying to get it done. Who has time for that? I was definitely challenged today but isn't that why I'm doing this? My way was giving me the same non-results as always, so why would I expect to continue to do the same thing and get anything else- isn't that the definition of insanity?

Focusing on my goals, my health-the "New Shelly"- is where my mind needs to be. Have fun, do it Sham's way and see what happens, right? Oh, this has always been one of my favorite perspectives: "Don't waste a good suffering" we gain a lot by learning a lot!

"Sham Wow" I thought that was funny :)

I'm sure learning a lot about my body and how it works, how it moves, how it acts/reacts to activity and food. Sham has really impressed me with his knowlege and ability to educate and motivate me to be healthy.

Tonight we set up some core exercises that I can do on my own and he showed me how to use the foam roller to loosen up my muscles before I work out. That hurt, but in a good way! He gave me some exercises to correct some posture issues and we focused on strengthening some weak areas. I have been practicing all night and it feels so weird to hold my body correctly- I wonder how long before it feels normal? Oops! I just caught myself slouching again!

Sham is showing me how everything I'm learning correlates to everything I do outside of the gym like work, posture, standing, sitting. Basically I'm learning how to live an overall healthier life not just things to do in the gym but all facets. I'm excited at the prospect of enjoying a long healthy life!

I've also ordered a seven day cleanse and mulitvitamin product that he recommended (which I haven't been taking). Can't wait to receive them!

Baseline testing

I had my baseline fitness tests yesterday with Sham. We did a variety of tests to be able to measure my progress against later. I rated ok on the tests, but my quads are sore today and my achilles/lower calf too.

I just got back from the gym- only jogged a mile though. It's late and I had a busy day... Looking forward to working out with Sham tomorrow.

"Before" Inspired Wellness Stepped in

Yep, this is me, this is how bad it's gotten. I'm really embarrassed about it too, and this is humiliating to post. Shhh, don't laugh. I hope one day soon I will proud of how far I've come. Right Sham?

Get Real

I got real tonight. Really real. Scary real!

I took my "before" photos in 1. a workout outfit and 2. an old swimsuit I saved that I hope to one day fit into again. Whoa, that was depressing. I'm amazed at how 'off' my body image has gotten and to make it worse I remember being shy about how that old swimsuit fit me 10 years ago when I wore it last. What an idiot I was! I have so far to go that it's depressing.

HOWEVER, I have come up with some mantras that seem to help: I ask myself what New Shelly would do in a particular situation- I'm fond of New Shelly, she's just a better version of the old, not a replacement. I also remind myself that God is Bigger. He is bigger than my frustration, or my situation, or my hurts, or anything I find myself up against. HE is BIGGER.

Oh, and when I get to my goal, I might feel proud of these hideous photos and share them with you. But not til then!

Ugh. Food.

Had a nice little 30 min. walk on the treadmill tonight after my consult with Sham. We talked about food and nutrition. Sham is a very scientific guy and gave me some great info about what certain foods do to our bodies physiologically. Very interesting! Not my background and even though I knew the no-no's I didn't necessarily know the "why" behind them. I think it will be very helpful in moving forward and re-training myself. I appreciate his education and his ability to sort through the false or trendy information to get down to some solid science with proven results. I'm really looking forward to more of his coaching. I think Monday we begin training though! I have to take some before photos tonight before I forget- thanks Sham for the reminder and for keeping me accountable with your emails and texts.

Reality Check!

Man, I had a great meeting with Sham today to get prepped for my new changes. But, ouch! He took measurements, weighed me and tested my body fat and BMI. Not good. It appears that if I continue on this path I will have health problems for sure. I haven't had a realistic body image for myself and I know that. So now I have to reconcile the way I feel on the inside with what others see on the outside.

Sham asked me to journal and take "before" photos so when I reach my goal I can be proud of where I came from. Sounds horrible because I'm still in the "before" stage! Sham is very sure of the results we can achieve and asked me to write my goals. So here goes...

My Goal: My ultimate goal for myself is to understand what got me to this place and let God heal those areas that make me self-destruct. I want to be completely whole inside (confident, content, happy, etc.) and physically strong, healthy and beautiful on the outside- a testimony to God's grace and love for me and anyone else looking for wholeness and healing. We are who we choose to be. I will meet my goal when the inside of me matches the outside and I am content in that place. I don't exactly know what that size is, but I have set a goal with Sham so he knows where I think I'm headed. Later, I may share those numbers with you but right now, that makes me feel a little vulnerable!

My 'goal' and what I feel are realistic expectations are two different things- but he sees my goal as realistic so I am encouraged.

I just got back from exercising for 45 minutes on my own- watching the Steeler game while on the bike then some lower body exercises on the machines. I sure can't wait to have some purpose for my time at the gym and actually see results! I think that is the most frustrating part of exercising on my own...lack of progress. It must be the food but who really knows. Sham and I are sitting down tomorrow to make a game plan for this journey- I can't wait!

My trainer's info: He has a blog going at http://inspiredwellness-net.blogspot.com/

The Beginning of Something New

Wow, my first blog. Not the only beginning for me...but the record of the beginning of a new lifestyle. Starting Monday, Jan. 19, under the direction of my fitness coach Sham of Inspired Wellness, I am going to begin a journey to finding health again. The crazy years of raising children, owning businesses, and putting my family first have taken their toll on me emotionally and physically and it's time to take charge! I intend to track my progress- my ups and downs- here in full view and with full accountability from everyone... embarrassing no doubt!

Well, I am like clay in the potter's hands, Sham, let's do it!