New Goal: 3 Miles in 30 Minutes.......

I need to get to 3 miles in 45 minutes by June 6 for my Weight Watchers goal. My trainer says I should be working toward 3 miles in 30 minutes. The funny part is these goals are not scaring me.....I truly believe they are achievable...eventually.

Saturday, I worked out in the pool. I know my trainer wants me to not go to the pool (known as my safety zone) too often but since this was my 4th day at the gym this week, I thought it would be OK to do. There was a water aerobics class going on so I mimicked what they were doing so it ended up being a good work out after all.

Sunday, got to the gym early. I decided if no one was on the elliptical I would see how fast I could do a mile. I was so lucky (ugh) the elliptical were empty!!! I ended up doing a mile in 14 minutes. 2 minutes faster than my previous time!!

I do much better when I have goals....so 3 miles in 45 minutes is next...then cutting down the time to get to the 30 minute goal....OK that is an ambitious undertaking...when should I shoot for to meet the goal...Labor Day 2020??? OK Donna, set a realistic goal.... Labor Day 2010....141 days....3,384 hours....203,040 minutes....12,182,400 seconds...

Get ready feet.....we are going to do a lot of traveling and journey to places I didn't think I could get to......and miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep....

Did I say I wanted to work on stairs?????

You know the phrase be careful what you ask for......I learned the meaning of it on Thursday. Last week, I told my trainer I wanted to work on stairs. Between my bad knee and my insistence that one of my legs is significantly shorter than the other, I have really taken to hating stairs. I have to do them slowly. One step at a time. I also find it embarrassing to have some one help me when climbing out of my friends pool. OK the excess weight I am trying to shed doesn't help the situation either. Oh and I do have that fear of falling that is always in the back of my mind.

Why the stairs you might ask?? I had seem a man on the Biggest Loser climb the stairs on his own after working on it and thought I would love to be able to do that too!!

Thursday I showed up at the gym and Carol, my trainer, was ready for me. First we started with the step used in step class....up and down....up and down...then backwards and forwards...backward and forwards...then she added a riser to make it higher...we did it over and over again....I was sweating bullets....it was falling off my head on to the stepper....

By the time I was done, Jenn said my hair was slicked back like a used car sales man in the movies....Carol said next week she will be adding another level....

I know this is good for me...I felt good when I was done....as I walked out of the locker room I saw one of the ladies that I chat with occasionally...she said "you just got out of the pool?" (due to my soaking wet hair)....I said "no I just finished with my trainer"....she said "that must have been a good work out"

It's funny....stairs....such a simple thing that people walk up and down everyday and never give it a thought....to me you might as well ask me to climb Mt Everest...well here I go...one step at a time....

2 Miles in 32 Minutes....

Yesterday was a huge day for me.....I finally broke the 30 minute goal I had set for myself. At 30 minutes I was at 1.85 miles so I went 32 minutes to get to 2 miles. OK I know it is not the world record 4 minute mile but for me it is such a big accomplishment !!! To go from 1 minute and ready to collapse to making it past the 30 minute mark....WOW. I am starting to feel good, not only physically but mentally. I have some great family and friends in my cheering section....there are also those who remind me of my past failures. As I pushed past my previous best time of 26 minutes, I started breaking down the minutes into 30 second blocks deciding I could quit any time I wanted to in 30 second increments... that made it easy. By the time I was done, my hair was flat from sweat and my make-up was running down my face (what was I thinking doing my hair and make-up before I went to the gym???). Saturday, I was also down at Weight Watchers another positive. They are having a 5K on June 6th. Seems like I have my next goal. I would love to be able to do it in less than 45 minutes. OK so now I have 2 goals...5K in less than 45 minutes...think I can do it? Two months ago I wouldn't have said yes....but now I think I can.

I SMILED AT THE GYM TODAY !!!!!!

Yes, I smiled while working out at the gym today. Why? I kept up with what Carol wanted me to do today. Sitting down and standing up may not sound like a big thing but when you are using your legs instead of pushing off whatever you are sitting on is very different. Doing wall push ups on your toes and pressing against the bottom of the palm of your hand is not easy but I did it. Bending down to the floor and stretching to the roof with weights or a ball in your hand over and over again felt great. Don't worry...Carol didn't make it easy for me. If I stood up too quickly she would say "that one doesn't count ...you are using momentum and I don't want you to use momentum." She said that several times until I got it right. I mentioned I would like to work on climbing stairs....I may regret that statement. Next week, Carol is going to have me start working on steps...a little scary for me but I am starting to believe I can do it. I left the gym covered in sweat but feeling great!!! Hard to believe much I love the gym.....

My Refrigerator

My refrigerator is not the refrigerator of my childhood. Mine has skim milk, fat free mayonnaise, egg beaters and brummel & brown yogurt spread. None of these existed when I was a child. I could not drink whole milk now if my life depended on it. We used Hellmann's Mayonnaise as salad dressing when I was young, now I used a flavored salad dressing spray. Turkey bacon is really good but would never have made the cut for my Dad. I use ground turkey for meatballs and bake my eggplant instead of frying it. Small changes that make for a healthier lifestyle. I am not perfect, yes I use light bread and wheat bagels but I still have not fully converted to the healthier choices. I am trying to experiment with different foods. If you look in my refrigerator now there is a package of Shiitake Tofu Noodles. The instructions say to wash them off to get rid of the natural smell (yuck) and if you want to use them with spaghetti sauce you have to rinse and drain them then dry them with paper towels. That's a lot of work. So I decided to try them kind of ramen style. I had chicken broth (the low sodium kind, you will see why in a sec) and added the rinsed noodles. To add a little flavor, just a touch of soy sauce (low sodium kind if there can be such a thing). Guess what....I loved them!!! Low in calories too!!! My next adventure is trying soy crumbles (??)...not sure what they are or how to use them...a new adventure. I now love going into Earth Fare to see what new healthier food I can try. Tofu Noodles would not have made it into my parents house but that's ok....in my dreams I can eat whatever I want but in reality if I want my life to change I will have to make other choices so tofu noodles it is.....

The TRAINER...part 3

Each sessions is now a new adventure....I have started sitting on the half Pilate's ball (I have no idea what it is called) and hold my legs off the floor and my arms out at my side. Shaking and sweating...I surprise even myself. I have tried working with Pilate's bands and even bought some to use at home.

The pool is my comfort zone, Carol encourages me to step out of my comfort zone. I hear her in my head saying "Cardio, cardio, cardio!!" Each time I reach a new time on the elliptical I can't wait to tell Carol. As I said in an earlier post, my first time on that dreaded machine I could only last one minute. Now 8 weeks later......drum roll please....I am up to 26 minutes and went 1.63 miles. Thus weekend I will reach my first big goal...30 minutes and 2 miles on the elliptical. I never imagined I could do it!!! Carol is there with words of encouragement and pushes me to try new things. She was actually the person who suggested I start a blog about my journey. It has been therapeutic and I am learning a lot about myself. Some of what I share is funny, some sad, some very honest and scary too. Sharing this blog is putting my most personal moments to be shared with others. I am hoping by sharing maybe others will start their own journey to reach goals they never thought they could reach. I have such a long way to go. I can only look at it as one day at a time or 5 pounds at a time. When I get frustrated that the numbers on the scale are not what I want...she says "Be patient. You didn't gain it over night, you are not going to lose it over night. It will happen." I believe her!!!! I am so lucky to have Carol there to push me, cheer me on and share my journey. This is my time, no giving up, no looking back.

The TRAINER....part 2

Everyone has seen the big ball used in Pilate's...During one of our sessions Carol says "Sit on the ball." I say "you want me to what?" She says, "Sit on the ball." I say "I can't (or won't)". Why??? I was afraid it would explode. It may sound funny but I was really worried. I have spent my life worrying about things like this...am I too big for this....am I too big for that.....if you have never had to lose weight there is no way you can understand. I should say if you have never had to lose a lot of weight. There are people who do not think about food all the time...I do. Not wanting to eat but trying not to....it can be all consuming. It is not like when I quit smoking...I could survive without smoking BUT YOU HAVE TO EAT.

Back to the Pilate's ball...I trusted Carol. So I SAT ON THE DAMN BALL !!! Guess what...it didn't explode. I sat on it and balanced back and forth with weights in each hand...kind of like I'm A Little Teapot. Just as I started to feel comfy, Carol had me stand up and sit down and stand up and sit down over and over again....I love that Pilate's ball!!!!