::Gasp:: I actually enjoy the gym now.

It is a miraculous moment in time. I actually enjoy going to the gym! I never thought I would say that, but I do. I enjoy going to a place where I didn't think I would ever enjoy going too. I have always read and heard people say that they love it and when they don't go they feel like they have gain 20 pounds, and I just always thought they were crazy but I understand them now. I understand what it feels like to miss a few days and feel like your ass has grown two-fold since then. How is this possible that I can miss the gym when I dreaded it so much before? To be honest I don't know at the moment, but maybe while I tell you about my routine we can figure it out together.

First of all, I try to get to the gym as much as possible throughout the week. Some weeks are less than others because of my schedule, but typically I make it there 3 to 5 times a week. I had started out with a simple routine of I would do 30 minutes of Cardio on a machine, most of the time the elliptical, and then I would go and work all of the machines. These work various muscle groups and I always made sure I would work the opposite muscle group as well. This is because when you do certain activities you are working both sets of muscles and you have to make sure they are equally strong. Then I would always do my stretching before I left. This all usually takes and hour and a half to do. This was a good plan, and I could see the results starting in my waistline, and even in my thighs. When you have excess fat certain places it is very noticeable when some of it starts to shrink. So I did this routine for a good 4 weeks, and even got my cousin to join the gym with me. Then we decided to try something different.

It was time to try a class. Where I go to the gym they have several classes that you can take, but we thought we would try the "Middle Eastern Dance" class. AKA Belly-dancing. Maybe one day I will be this good. We were both kind of nervous when we got in there and the class started out painfully enough, with shoulder exercises and thigh exercises. We were even taught how to shimmy. With out hips, not with our chest. We did a belly-dancing version of the "Cupid Shuffle", and by the end of the class I was sweating, and some of my muscles hurt but the most important thing was I had fun. I really enjoyed the class. If you would have saw me the next two days after, you wouldn't believe that I enjoyed that class because I couldn't move an inch without something hurting or being in some kind of pain. I am pretty sure that day two after the gym I rolled out of bed, literally. But I still try to go every Tuesday and Thursday evening if my schedule will allow it, because it is a fun class that is a workout but I get to try and not so much succeed and looking graceful and sexy while shaking my hips. A couple of weeks ago, the instructor of the class was kind enough to give me a cd with all the songs on it that we dance to in class, so I can practice at home, so on the days I can't go I try my best to remember the the dances we learned to the songs and do them in my living room. I remember the warm-ups just fine, its just a couple of the dances I forget the moves. I even got a hip scarf to make it sound authentic.
Maybe I will get brave enough to post a video of my dancing when I learn a little bit more.

If you have ever wanted to try belly-dancing, you should. It is really fun and it doesn't feel like a work out at all, and I have noticed my waistline shrinking and all I have been doing is dancing. Okay that's not true, I still do my regular routine on the days that there isn't a belly-dancing class, but it is still fun. I am coming up with a plan starting new years, so once I get it into place I will post it on here.

Really? I mean really?

I can't believe I have been such a slacker on this thing. Has it really been since the end of July since I last wrote? Its not like I wasn't aware that I wasn't writing, Mr. Greg has been reminding me. Thanks Mr. Greg! I just can't believe it has actually been that long! For those of you wondering, I did not give up on my task. I just grew slightly lazy in my exercising efforts to become fit and fresh. I have steadied out at 250lbs which is not good at all but better than my 274 was it? The good news is that I will be starting back school in two weeks and possibly Curves next week. I do believe that Curves will be my best choice at the moment, because it seems to be a place a overweight woman like myself can go and work out with other overweight women and not feel self conscience about it. I mean if you think about it most of the men and women at a gym such as our local YMCA are already pretty much in shape or are in the I have almost reached my goal area. I figure this is because the other overweight people are having the same issues that I have when they see all this skinny people; a giant blow to the self esteem. It can mess with a person's head and even make us a little depressed. If you have ever been depressed or suffer from depression then you know how it is. Pardon my French but you just don't feel like doing shit.

On another note I have been working a lot lately since I haven't been in school this quarter and I think that is why I am angrier these days. I have been being quite the smart ass to my managers and fellow employees of late and I think maybe the whole retail thing has sailed its course. I mean sometimes you just get those customers that make you say, "Really? Did you really just ask me that? I mean really?" I am pretty sure me, Seth Meyers, and Amy Poehler  could do a pretty mean skit together. Watch This by the way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PltaOs_ImVQ . I have decided that my place of work should have the colored lines like inside of a hospital so you can just tell people which color line to follow when they ask you stupid questions. Questions such as, "Excuse me, where are your socks?", "Excuse me, where is your fitting room?", and my favorite, "Excuse me, where is your bathroom?". I mean really? Do you not know that you wear socks with your shoes. If you have already checked the clothing section and you do not see them, chances are they are in footwear. Can you really not see that giant footwear sign hanging from the ceiling? And speaking of giant sign hanging from the ceiling, do you really not see the large 10 feet in diameter sign that says "fitting room" in the center of the store. The entrance is somewhere around that sign, do you think that you have to get beamed up there be a fellow apparel associate to get in? "Beam me up Scottie!" I mean really? I don't ask stupid questions when I go into stores. That is why companies spend billions of dollars on signage, to make your life easier, unless you want to be the idiot who doesn't even attempt to look at the signs.

I have to deal with that crap all day. Also we have t-shirt boxes at work and I have decided that they are pointless because even though it clearly displays the graphic of the shirt on the outside so you don't have to open the shirt up and make us refold them you are going to do so anyway, and not only that you are going to unfold five of the same shirt just to see how much bigger one is than the other. Which brings me to the next thing, you are going to come in shopping for clothes for someone else and not bring them with you, but you don't know what size they where? Really? "Yes I am shopping for my niece and she is about 5' 5" and 140 lbs, what size do I need for her?" I mean really? Does she have big boobs? A big butt? Is more of her 140lbs on her waist or in her thighs and hips? What is her freaking body shape?  I can just blurt out the first size that comes to me people, but I am not 5' 5" and I don't weigh 140lbs so I don't even know what I would wear let alone what a complete stranger would wear.

Also now I have this gentleman that calls me at least once a week. He always seems to call when I have the phone. I am thinking that he is a little mentally challenged and I have nothing against that it is just he calls once a week and asks me the same questions over and over again. He is polite and everything I  am just getting tired of talking on the phone with him for 30 minutes about what we do and do not have at our store. Is his calls not being monitored? Really?

This is all I really have to rant about this week. I have come to another conclusion but that will have to wait until next time. Once I join curves I will start back with my stats, I don't want to bore you with pointlessness until then.

K8ers

A little vacation = a lot of eating.

Have you ever been on vacation, like to the beach or lake especially, and realize how much you are eating while you are there?  I went to the beach a couple of weeks ago for a friend's 21st birthday and it was ridiculous how much I ate and didn't even realize it. Plus it was his 21st birthday so of course we have to celebrate properly; you would be amazed at the calories in alcohol. Lets go through the standard trip to the beach, at least for most people I know.

On the drive down to the beach if you do not live near one, in this case Daytona Beach, Fl is 5 hours away from my town, you are more than likely going to have to stop for gas, am I correct? Well what do you do while you are at the gas station? More than likely you are going to get hungry and nothing healthy comes from a gas station. Not to mention the cooler of goodies we had in the back of the SUV conveniently placed so the person in the back seat could reach back and grab a soda or snack for you. When you go on a trip with skinny people, they tend to bring sugary fattening beverages and snacks so you aren't going to let your stomach growl the whole way. Plus, you weren't smart enough to bring anything healthy with you, so you eat the Turtle Chex Mix, but you were smart enough to bring a water bottle. Sugar and Calories? Check.

You arrive at your hotel and you notice it has a kitchenette in it, which is nice, because this means you can buy groceries, healthy groceries. Wrong... you can't just buy stuff nobody is going to eat. Sure you can buy you something good for breakfast, and make a semi-healthy turkey sandwhich for lunch, but who is going to drink a case of diet soda or water in 5 days? Good thing you still have that water bottle. Have you noticed this is your only ally on this trip? Turns out you get hamburgers and hotdogs for lunches and dinners for a couple of the days because they are pretty cheap. You have potato chips to go with them. Calorie? Check.

Lets not forget about the eating out. What is one of the major things you should eat when you go to the beach? Seafood! Duh! It's fresh from the ocean, unless you are in the Gulf of Mexico right now, in which case, not so fresh. Well you have to go to the best seafood restaurant in town to get the ultimate seafood experience. In my case it was Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I have to say I did good in selecting the meal without fried shrimp and french fries... I had blackened shrimp and andouille sausage with a brandy sauce over mashed potatoes, delicious by the way, but not that great in low calorie or fat content. Not to mention I just HAD to have an alcoholic beverage because I wanted the souvenir glass that comes with it!  This was just one restaurant, I had Italian one night, Silders another. Also had Banana Pancakes for breakfast one morning, but I did use Sugar Free Syrup. Not that it really matters at this point. Calories? Fat? Sugar? Check. Check. And Check.

Being at the beach and having a swimming pool, I did work up an appetite. I know because I am working a lot of the food I eat off, but I hate how after swimming for 30 minutes you feel like you could eat a whale if you really tried. I did get to swim a good bit and because I remembered to bring a beach umbrella this time, I got to enjoy the actual beach and not have to hideout in the hotel room.

And on the way home you can replay the trip there in reverse but include all the important parts. Like the food.

Also my car has been in the shop for a week now and I have had the joy of bumming rides from people, which I hate doing but work is just to far to walk in this Georgia heat. I will say that I have walked home from school a few days. Not that its very far. A little over a mile, but a mile in the heat is not very much fun. You add the luxury of a 7 pound book-bag, a purse, and a laptop bag.... really not fun. Its funny because I joined the gym right before we left for the beach, and I still have yet to go. I have either been at school or work, and the gyms hours aren't very flexible with my schedule currently.


Also this past Sunday a bunch of people from work and friends played softball. We got there about 8:30 and Alex and I left at 11 because we had to get up so early in the morning. Softball doesn't hurt while you are playing it because your adrenaline is going but I tell you that the next couple days after, if you haven't worked out in a while, you hurt. I didn't even want to get out of the bed, but at the same time its a good kind of hurt that makes you want to go back for more. That is why I would rather play a sport than work out in a gym because you don't think about the workout while you are doing it.


So that has been the past couple of weeks. I am going to post my stats from last Friday, 7/16/10, and then I will hopefully have this weeks stats posted Friday or Saturday.


Weight: 249.8lbs
Fat: 45.1%
Water: 35.5%
Muscle: 22.3%
Cals: 1814


The Friday before that 7/9/10:

Weight: 252.0 lbs
Fat: 45.4%
Water: 35.1%
Muscle: 22.1%
Cals: 1804

Totals so far:
Weight: -25.6 lbs
Fat: -4.6%
Water: +3.9%
Muscle: +3.6%

Whoo! Finally crossed that 25lbs mark!

Katelyn

A few rules to live by. (week 18)

So I missed another week of blogging, because I tell you, Anatomy and Physiology stresses me out and has been keeping me very very busy. Still no excuse I know, but I try to not write just any old thing just to write something, you know? So here is what I am learning about a "life-style change".

1. Watch out for refined food. Period. Refined grains have had all the essential nutrients. Here is some of the things taken from this cookbook this kid from The Youth Summit sold to me called: Seven Secrets Cookbook: Healthy Cuisine Your Family Will Love    And basically talks about unrefined foods are better for you. For instance, unrefined plant foods (i.e. fruits and veggies) are naturally low in fat. This helps you lose weight because low-fat foods have fewer calories but you are still filled up. And if you really want to make this a great food for you make sure it has dietary fiber in it. See: According to GF's Blog about the fiber. Because lets face it, the more dietary fiber you eat, the more you poop, and what is poop (non-scientific term of course), it is the left overs of everything you consume along with some waste your body produces. If it is left over this means that your body didn't need it to begin with, so guess what! You need to get rid of it. And if you eat enough insoluble fiber.... yes there are more than one type, then you don't break it down and you carry it with you throughout your digestive tract... and it catches all the stuff you don't want in there, such as fat! And you poop that out too! The Mayo Clinic has a great article on Dietary Fiber. I know I am throwing a lot of resources at you but it would just be too much to put in one blog post. maybe I will break each one down for you.   So Back to the unrefined food is good for you. The term refined goods refers to the process of removing fiber, and nutrients from plants foods, and usually increasing the amount of fat. Now, I don't know about you but that doesn't sound good. Oil, butter, and the high percentage in fat found in meat can be to blamed and are considered refined foods. Try eating nuts, olives, and coconut oil if you must. Think about it, that 200 calorie potato that is delicious baked, becomes a 1000 calories bag of potato chips after it is cooked and fried, and preserved...aka refined people! White bread, pasta, and rice are not as fattening but should be replaced with their whole-grain counter parts. I don't know about you but whole grain bread just tastes so much better than white bread.  Just make sure you pay attention to the label. IT IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO READ THE FOOD LABEL! I can't stress that enough! If it says "Wheat flour" its refined. If it is unrefined it will say 100% whole wheat, or some other grain. If you see both kinds of flour listed, don't buy it. Also look for added fat in various forms like: lard, butter, margarine (poison), vegetable oil, or partially hydrogenated oil. This gets rid of almost 97% of the loaves of bread out there on your store shelf. You can control you weight just be simply cutting back refined foods!
2. Cut back on your sugar intake. Sugar isn't completely bad for you, because your body needs glucose to perform cellular respiration which produces ATP which is your body's engery source. See my previous article: Maybe I Wasn't in A Slump about the sugar thing. I have been trying not to eat anything with more than 5g of sugar per serving. I find that now when I do eat something more than that I get a sugar high and a nice headache to go along with it, your body's way of saying, "Hey! I don't like that! It's too much for me to process!" This means that it will get turned into fat because when your body doesn't use all of the sugar you put into it, whether it be in the form of carbs (yes this is a sugar) or sugar in sweets it stores it into your body's cells in the form of glycogen, mainly in the muscles and your live, and  if you have too much in the fat tissue as, you guessed it, fat! Crazy what you learn when you pay attention in Biology and Anatomy Class. How do we get rid of it? By cutting back on these things and exercising.
3. Exercising is the key to losing weight! When you exercise your body is using the ATP that your cells produced and this requires glucose and oxygen. When you use all the glycogen in your muscles and in the liver your body will start to break down the glycogen stored in your fat cells and begin burning that for fuel! So Exercise! 

I will leave it with these three points for now and just watch what you are eating! I have been watching what I have been eating and I changed little things in my activity. I park in the back of the parking lot at school so I have to walk further, I try not to eat as much, I take the stairs instead of the elevator and I have been snacking more than consuming large meals.

Yesterday I went to David's Bridal to try on my bridesmaid dress for one of my best friends wedding that will be in August of next year. Most of the other girls are smaller than me and I tried on an 18 which fit me rather well, except for that I don't want it to fit me well. I want it to be way to big next year. So here is my goal for Katy's Wedding. I plan on going from a size 18 dress, to at least a size 12 by next August of 2011 .You know what this means right? I gotta get to work on losing them inches. I know school is kinda tough right now, and I feel like I never have anytime between school and work, but I am going to have to make time. Plus I think that exercising will help me with the stress of school, because its a great stress reliever! So I am not sure what my weight will be by the time I reach my goal but I know I will be a size 12. That's still a Large but you know what, a Large is way better than an XXL.

Here are this weeks measurements and next week I will post my measurements for my waist, arms, legs, hips and such so we can keep track of that as well.

This week:
Weight: 251.4lbs
Fat: 45.2%
Water: 35.3%
Muscle: 22.2%
Cals: 1817

Last Week:
Weight: 255.2 lbs
Fat: 45.8%
Water: 34.7%
Muscle: 21.8%
Cals: 1870

Total Lost since week 1:

Weight: -24lbs
Fat:  -4.5%
Water: +3.7%
Muscle: +3.5%

24 pounds... in 18 weeks..... a little over a pound a week.... but still not what I could be losing. But don't get me wrong I am thrilled I am still losing weight! Slowly is the way to do it because you are less likely to gain it back faster, and you are reassuring yourself that you are losing fat and not water and muscle weight. Which you can see I am not, they are increasing which is how it is supposed to be!

Sooo here we go! Week 18 is at a close.

Katelyn

Feeling Flabby and Frumpy

Apologies for not writing in quite some time. I promise I didn't give up on you are anything. I just have been really busy. School and Work...and School and Work some more. I actually will probably have even less time in the next 6 weeks. So as far as the weight loss goes, everything is going good. I have only lost 4 pounds since the last post. But 4 pounds is better than nothing. I am also in between sizes right now. I can fit into some 18s but not all of them but the 20 fits me in the legs but is loose around the waist area.

Generally I lose weight in my face first and then chest but this time I am losing it on my true waist first.. you know between you chest and hips. The smallest portion of you abdomen if you will. I am not complaining at all, but I hate when my face looks fat. I know I probably shouldn't be doing this but I have been standing in my undergarments in front of the mirror telling myself how fat I am... not good for the self-esteem. Sometimes I just wish I could take a scalpel and just cut it all off. If only it were that easy.

I was looking at the picture to my right a few minutes ago and if you have never met my family before.. these lovely ladies are as follows: left to right: Brandi (my sister), Rain (Cousin), Amanda (Cousin), and Kristin (Cousin). As you can see that we aren't an bad looking family. I think my father is very handsome as well as my brother. But I just don't fit in with them right now. They are skinny and beautiful, and well I'm sure I would be if I were skinnier. You may think that I am just feeling sorry for myself, but this is how I constantly feel when I am around them. I just feel like I don't fit in. I love them to death, they are my best friends, but my self-confidence really lacks at family get-togethers.

I just wish I could get down to the weight I was before I went to Paris I was almost to the 180s then. That would be nice. I need to just get outside and sweat everything out. I just hate sweating. I know that doesn't help. I just do. This blog is starting this get really random. Gah. I will post my stats for this week below.

Thanks for sticking with me by the way. It is most appreciated.

Weight: 253.2 lbs.
Fat: 45.5%
Water: 35.2%
Muscle: 22.1%
Calories Suggested: 1801

Katelyn

Don't Count Me Out Just Yet

I know its been 3 weeks! Please don't hurt me! Things have been pretty crazy, but I promise I have been still weighing myself. 

Moving is not the most fun thing to do, and for at least 2 of those weeks that is what I was doing. Moving things from the house to the apartment, which I am still excited about, but I hope I don't have to do any more moving anytime soon.  And then this past week on Sunday I had a candle party so I had to get ready for that. We had to get a washer and dryer moved in and that was my Saturday. But I am here now! 

How are things going? Well I have found that when you are trying to save money, eating out is not the best thing for it, so now that we have groceries in the house maybe that will occur a little less. I have been watching what I eat as far as the sugar thing goes, and trying not to eat to much fat or calories. I think for about a week I had my old appetite back, and I blame that on all the diet sodas. Water is your friend. Remember that. We finally made a visit to our fitness center this week where we discovered that 2 of the 4 pieces of equipment has parts broken on them. Isn't that lovely? But I discovered how out of shape I really am when I could only go 20 minutes on the elliptical. I was pouring sweat grant you and my heart rate was way about where it should be, but I used to be able to go for an hour at a time on that thing. I will just have to work my way up to it.

If anyone is wondering how school is going, I am happy to report that I have all A's so far and only 2 more weeks left! I am learning in my wellness class about nutrition and of course weight loss. I am hear to tell you that mypyramid.gov is an excellent place to track all your food intake with their food diary. It gives you a daily breakdown of what types of nutrients you are eating and you can personalize it so you can lose weight. It will tell you if you are eating too many carbohydrates or fats as well as proteins.  So check it out, it has every food in it! That is the best way to watch what you eat because you can actually see how much you consume in front of you, and you don't really realize how much you are eating and how bad you are eating until you see it in front of you. 

This entry is going to be short and sweet and I am going to put the past 3 weeks stats on here as well. The last one will be for this Friday.

 4/16/10

Weight: 259.2lbs

Fat: 46.7%

Water: 34.0%

Muscle: 21.4%

Suggested Calories: 1871

4/23/10

Weight: 259.2

Fat: 46.1%

Water: 34.5%

Muscle: 21.7%

Suggested Calories: 1871

4/30/10

Weight: 257.4

Fat: 46.3%

Water: 34.5%

Muscle: 21.7%

Suggested Calories: 1880

Starting Weight 10 weeks ago on 2/19/10:

Weight:275.4lbs
Fat %:49.7
Water %:31.6
Muscle%:18.7
Suggested Calorie Consumption:1726

Totals Lost so far:

Weight: -18 lbs

Fat: -3.4%

Water: +2.9%

Muscle: +3%

Whoop whoop! 18 lbs in 10 weeks is not too bad!

Katelyn

A little Stressed this week. (Week 7)

Here we are at the end of week 7, and I have to say that I have been a little stressed out. Why? Well it has nothing to do with losing weight I can assure you that. It was because Alex and I just signed a lease on our very first apartment! And as wonderful as it is, it is still very stressful! I hundred things are going through my head a minute. What happens if one of us doesn't get the hours we need? What happens if something unexpected comes up? Things like that keep me stressed. Right now we are painting before we begin to move in and its a job on its own! The stress of all this and keeping busy at the apartment with no food hasn't given me much of an appetite this week. And even before we even thought we were getting an apartment this week I haven't eaten much. I don't know if my stomach has just shrunk or what. A half of a sandwich fills me up now, and that is pretty crazy.

Did I ever start my exercise program? No. I'm a slacker. I have just had so much stuff going on. Not a very good excuse I know, but it will have to suffice. We do have a fitness center in our complex now that I can go too, and its just a walk away. We also have a pool, tennis court, volleyball court, and a pond for fishing. So I have all these activities outside available to me just a walk away! I have no excuse not to use them after all. Hopefully it will save me a gym membership! So don't give up on my yet about the no exercise thing.

I just wanted to note for a second that last night at work I had a lady call me and was explaining to me that she had diabetes and that she really needed to lose weight, but the exercise apparel that she owns made her really self conscious at the gym. So I told the lady to come up to the store and we would find something suitable for her to wear. When I finally met the lady, who was really nice, we were struggling to find her some clothes. She weighed less than me yet she was bigger than me. I'm not really sure how that works but I will trust the lady's honesty. Unfortunately, we only have one 4-way of plus size athletic wear, which really makes me angry because most people who need to lose weight are larger than an XL. Then again most people who don't need to lose weight are the ones who buy the athletic clothing, hence that is why they are skinny and healthy. So I had to well this woman a $60 pair of Nike pants and a $40 Nike shirt that would make her more confident when she was at the gym. I really hopes she succeeds at what she is trying to achieve because she was a pleasant woman, and I can relate to what she is going through.

No sugar this week, okay well I had 2 Starburst because they were in the apartment goody bag we received.
I think that has helped me cut back on the food intake as well. From what I have heard and read that sugar intake makes you hungrier in general because you burn off that sugar rather quickly instead of something like carbohydrates which your body has to break down into the sugars it needs. So try and stay away from the sugar people! And drink lots of water!

I am cutting this one short today, I have to go an paint some more! So below will be my stats for this week!

This week:

Weight: 258.2lbs
Fat %: 46.6
Water %: 34.2
Muscle %: 21.5
Suggested Calories: 1886

Last Week:

Weight: 261.4lbs
Fat: 47.0%
Water: 33.8%
Muscle: 21.3%
Calories Suggested: 1861

Difference:

Weight: -3.2lbs
Fat: -.4%
Water: +.4%
Muscle: +.2%

Woo! Almost too my first 20lbs! Hopefully next week I will hit that mark!
Is anybody out there with me? Need to ask me some questions? Feel free! I promise I don't bite!

Katelyn