Well, we are now officially at the one week mark for Biggest Loser Ottawa 3! I have now suffered through 4 workouts and I am still alive. It has been a difficult week but I have to admit it hasn't been nearly as bad as the first week of the last Biggest Loser.
This past Saturday I had my dance class and I was a little afraid seeing as I had so much trouble during the first class. I have a lot of work to do in order to get to the level that the other women are at, but I am just so excited that I at least made it through the WHOLE class this time! We get a great workout but I was able to keep up with the choreography and cannot wait to learn more. It feels amazing to be doing something I love again. I finally feel like I'm starting to really live my life again which gives me such inner peace.
Don't worry, that inner peace is disturbed again every Tuesday,Thusday and Sunday when I have Biggest Loser bootcamp!
We are doing a two-week liver detox so our diet is a little more restrictive than usual. So far I am enjoying it! The only thing I did not enjoy was choking back 2 cups of steamed broccoli on my first night of the plan. I have never in my life managed to eat that much of any cooked vegetable. Just to clarify, I hate cooked vegetables! This weekend I went over to my parents place where I was able to cook up the recipes for one of the other meal options. No more broccoli for me now, just yummy soup and squash.
This weekend I also went out shopping. I had to get a new outfit for my nephew's Christening which was on Sunday (my husband and I are his proud Godparents)! I was so excited to buy 1X for my top and to wear a pair of size 20 pants! So yes, this means I have gone down another pant size. While I was at my parents' place I also went shopping...through my old clothes! It was like winning the jackpot because I came home with about a dozen "new" old tops that I used to wear. I even found some old pants that have hardly been worn. Sure beats spending money to buy stuff that won't fit me in another 3 months!
Tonight was our first weigh-in after one week on our new meal plan. I was really hoping for massive numbers like my first week during the last Biggest Loser. Unfortunately that was a little bit unfair to myself to expect that. I've already been doing this for months which is the opposite of the last time where I had been doing nothing for years. I'm very plased wih my results because I lost 5.4 lbs in one week! That is a whole 2% of my starting weight from this new session. I am still waitng for the results to be posted so that I can see where I stand next to the others. Adrian has decided that he will only be posting the top 10 out of the 20 of us so I just pray that I've lost enough to be near the top. I have no idea how the others have done but as of right nowI am proud of my results.
So far this journey is turning out to be as awesome as the first and I cannot wait for it to get even better. I can feel that my medication is already beginning to work together with the exercise to reduce my swelling and pain. Because of tha I a leap years ahead of what I was during the last session. My goal was to lose 40lbs this time around (I only managed 38.2 during the last one). I've decided that my goal is now 45lbs, so let's see if I can either hit or surpass my goal,why don't we?!
Goodnight, sweet dreams and God bless!
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
It's a New Day
Three and a half months ago I started this blog talking about the fact that I had tried to win my spot into Biggest Loser Ottawa 2. I had over 400 votes that time but the winner had over 600 votes. I could not afford the program but miraculously I had an anonymous donor pay for my program. I really hope I made them proud but the most important thing is that I made MYSELF proud!
Today I am writing because it is the beginning of a new leg of my journey. Again, as many of you know, I was looking for votes. I cannot afford the program but medically speaking I couldn't afford NOT to do it so I HAD to win my spot into the program. I used every possible outlet I could imagine, contacted every single person I have ever met, all of my networks and support groups I use and encouraged everyone to contact everyone that they knew. I was trailing behind in votes a couple of days ago so I hardly slept over the past few nights. Last night the voting closed and I was informed that I had won with an astounding 1883 votes! The amount of support that everyone has shown me has been humbling, overwhelming and exhilerating. I can finally sleep knowing that my life is about to change in a much bigger way than it already has.
I never imagined that my life would be interesting enough or inspiring enough for peope to want to hear about it. This journey has been an amazing way to express myself and inspire others in ways I never thought I could. I now feel like the struggles I have been facing with my rheumatoid arthritis has all been worth it. If I can inspire others to take control and make a difference, as well as bring awareness to a disease that few know anything about, then my suffering has been worth it.
Tonight was the first day of Biggest Loser Ottawa 3!!! We had a shorter than usual workout but it was amazing. It felt so good to get back into the gym even though I felt like it was going to kill me! At one point I was sure I was going to be sick but it felt so good to know that I am already so much further ahead than I was when I started three months ago. I actually managed to do a few (as in 3 or 4) regular jumping jacks tonight for the very first time since starting this journey. We had to do 3 laps of the building and I managed to jog about half way around each lap for the very first time too. We did an extremely intense ab wokout that made my body burn, sweat and cramp but I can't wait to do it again to get rid of the stomach that has been in my way for all too long. I cannot wait to see how I will look in 3 months. I lost 38.2 lbs the last time so I am determined to hit my goal and lose at least 40 more pounds this time!
Tonight we had a lot of discussion, received information and got to know each other. We had a group before photo taken (see below) and it turned out great. We had to do our starting measurements, individual before photos and initial weigh-ins. I don't remember what my inches were at my final weigh-in, but I can tell you that my weigh-in tonight made me very pleased. My starting weight tonight is only 1.4 lbs heavier than my final weigh-in three weeks ago. I currently weigh 269.8 lbs, three and a half months ago I weighed 306.6 lbs. I have been half on my meal plan for three weeks and due to my infusions and pain, I haven't been working out (except for one workout on Saturday that I will explain in a minute). Not only did my weight almost stay the same, but my final weigh-in was a 8:00am and tonight my wigh-in was 8:00pm. There is a very big difference between what you weigh in the morning and at night!
I can tell that we have an amazing group again this time. There are 20 all together and about half of us are from Biggest Loser Ottawa 2. The newbies got a very loud welcome today when they discovered how crazy and goofy we can be! I look forward to making so many new friends and spending more time with the ones I made 3 months ago. The bond we create in this group is the kind that lasts. This group feels more like a family than strangers and friends.
In other related news, I will explain my workout from this past Saturday. I decided to try an Afro-Caribbean dance class because I've been wanting to dance again and have been wanting to try a class like hat for years. The instructor started the class by explainig my journey with Biggest Loser, my weight loss and letting everyone know that she would be emailing them with a link to vote for me. It was such a nice welcome!
I really wasn't sure if my body was ready to cooperate or if I would be in too much pain. Within minutes into the class I was feeling overwhelmed. The feelings and thoughts running through my head as I struggled to catch my breath were identical to my very first day of training during Biggest Loser Ottawa 2. I had trouble keeping up and felt like I was letting myself and everyone else down. To top it off I was having some very serious dizzy spells that I did not anticipate and I forgot my inhaler. It was not going very well and I was embrassed.
I kept taking breaks to settle my desire to pass out and to breathe calmly. I tried to do it discretely as not to disrupt the class and to avoid drawing more attention to my inadequate performance. Once I felt like I was settled enough, I would go back in and pick up from where I left off. Everyone was very supportive, much like my Biggest Loser goup (one woman at the end told me she could tell I used to dance and encouraged me to continue coming to the class), but I thought I was going to collapse from exhaustion and the desire to disappear!
It has been many years since I have done a dance class (about 9) and by the time we were half way through the class I was dying for it to end so I could quit without drawing attention to myself. I would simply walk away and not come back. I had it all planned. When the end of the class came, I made a very solid decision that would be another major change in my life. Because I wanted to quit so badly, I decided that was the exact reason as to why I couldn't. I could NOT let my RA, weight or health issues control this part of my life. Dancing makes me happy and I will not give my happiness away anymore! I walked right out of that class into the hallway where I immediately signed myself up to take the class for the next three and a half months.
Today is a new day and this is my new life. I cannot wait to see where it leads me! I already know that I will have a few bumps in the road ahead but I will take them one day at a time until I can conquer them all. The first bump will be tackling the dizziness with an MRI in a couple of weeks. Once I get through that I can begin to find answers to remedy the situation and hopefully bring fabulous results.
Goodnight and God bless!
Today I am writing because it is the beginning of a new leg of my journey. Again, as many of you know, I was looking for votes. I cannot afford the program but medically speaking I couldn't afford NOT to do it so I HAD to win my spot into the program. I used every possible outlet I could imagine, contacted every single person I have ever met, all of my networks and support groups I use and encouraged everyone to contact everyone that they knew. I was trailing behind in votes a couple of days ago so I hardly slept over the past few nights. Last night the voting closed and I was informed that I had won with an astounding 1883 votes! The amount of support that everyone has shown me has been humbling, overwhelming and exhilerating. I can finally sleep knowing that my life is about to change in a much bigger way than it already has.
I never imagined that my life would be interesting enough or inspiring enough for peope to want to hear about it. This journey has been an amazing way to express myself and inspire others in ways I never thought I could. I now feel like the struggles I have been facing with my rheumatoid arthritis has all been worth it. If I can inspire others to take control and make a difference, as well as bring awareness to a disease that few know anything about, then my suffering has been worth it.
Tonight was the first day of Biggest Loser Ottawa 3!!! We had a shorter than usual workout but it was amazing. It felt so good to get back into the gym even though I felt like it was going to kill me! At one point I was sure I was going to be sick but it felt so good to know that I am already so much further ahead than I was when I started three months ago. I actually managed to do a few (as in 3 or 4) regular jumping jacks tonight for the very first time since starting this journey. We had to do 3 laps of the building and I managed to jog about half way around each lap for the very first time too. We did an extremely intense ab wokout that made my body burn, sweat and cramp but I can't wait to do it again to get rid of the stomach that has been in my way for all too long. I cannot wait to see how I will look in 3 months. I lost 38.2 lbs the last time so I am determined to hit my goal and lose at least 40 more pounds this time!
Tonight we had a lot of discussion, received information and got to know each other. We had a group before photo taken (see below) and it turned out great. We had to do our starting measurements, individual before photos and initial weigh-ins. I don't remember what my inches were at my final weigh-in, but I can tell you that my weigh-in tonight made me very pleased. My starting weight tonight is only 1.4 lbs heavier than my final weigh-in three weeks ago. I currently weigh 269.8 lbs, three and a half months ago I weighed 306.6 lbs. I have been half on my meal plan for three weeks and due to my infusions and pain, I haven't been working out (except for one workout on Saturday that I will explain in a minute). Not only did my weight almost stay the same, but my final weigh-in was a 8:00am and tonight my wigh-in was 8:00pm. There is a very big difference between what you weigh in the morning and at night!
I can tell that we have an amazing group again this time. There are 20 all together and about half of us are from Biggest Loser Ottawa 2. The newbies got a very loud welcome today when they discovered how crazy and goofy we can be! I look forward to making so many new friends and spending more time with the ones I made 3 months ago. The bond we create in this group is the kind that lasts. This group feels more like a family than strangers and friends.
In other related news, I will explain my workout from this past Saturday. I decided to try an Afro-Caribbean dance class because I've been wanting to dance again and have been wanting to try a class like hat for years. The instructor started the class by explainig my journey with Biggest Loser, my weight loss and letting everyone know that she would be emailing them with a link to vote for me. It was such a nice welcome!
I really wasn't sure if my body was ready to cooperate or if I would be in too much pain. Within minutes into the class I was feeling overwhelmed. The feelings and thoughts running through my head as I struggled to catch my breath were identical to my very first day of training during Biggest Loser Ottawa 2. I had trouble keeping up and felt like I was letting myself and everyone else down. To top it off I was having some very serious dizzy spells that I did not anticipate and I forgot my inhaler. It was not going very well and I was embrassed.
I kept taking breaks to settle my desire to pass out and to breathe calmly. I tried to do it discretely as not to disrupt the class and to avoid drawing more attention to my inadequate performance. Once I felt like I was settled enough, I would go back in and pick up from where I left off. Everyone was very supportive, much like my Biggest Loser goup (one woman at the end told me she could tell I used to dance and encouraged me to continue coming to the class), but I thought I was going to collapse from exhaustion and the desire to disappear!
It has been many years since I have done a dance class (about 9) and by the time we were half way through the class I was dying for it to end so I could quit without drawing attention to myself. I would simply walk away and not come back. I had it all planned. When the end of the class came, I made a very solid decision that would be another major change in my life. Because I wanted to quit so badly, I decided that was the exact reason as to why I couldn't. I could NOT let my RA, weight or health issues control this part of my life. Dancing makes me happy and I will not give my happiness away anymore! I walked right out of that class into the hallway where I immediately signed myself up to take the class for the next three and a half months.
Today is a new day and this is my new life. I cannot wait to see where it leads me! I already know that I will have a few bumps in the road ahead but I will take them one day at a time until I can conquer them all. The first bump will be tackling the dizziness with an MRI in a couple of weeks. Once I get through that I can begin to find answers to remedy the situation and hopefully bring fabulous results.
Goodnight and God bless!
Biggest Loser Ottawa 3 - Day 1!
Thursday, 20 September 2012
The Time Has Come
The past two weeks since completing Biggest Loser Ottawa 2 have been very difficult for me. I have had two infusions and have been battling a big flare with my rheumatoid arthritis. Last week I had difficulty walking, had a day where I couldn't brush my hair and could hardly get out of bed. Because of this, I am more determined than ever to continue on my journey and keep this disease under control.
Voting has begun for Biggest Loser Ottawa 3. If I receive the most votes, I can get into the program for free and continue in the program. You can vote one time per email address so please vote with every email address you own. Please also ask everyone you know to vote for me too! It only takes a minute and it would make such a huge difference in my life. You can find the link to the voting site at the bottom of this blog entry. You do not need to live here or even in this country to be able to vote so please do pass it along!
In other news, one of the biggest things the RA has taken away from me is my ability to dance. I used to dance up to 15 hours per week and it made me so happy. Two years ago I attempted to join a dance class but the pain was unbearable and I had to drop out after the first class. I am excited to announce that on Saturday I will be attempting to join another dance class. I will be joining an Afro-Caribbean dance class which is something that I have been wanting to try for years. My daughter has just joined their youngest class so I decided that it was time to try dancing again. I am praying that my body will cooperate since I have made so much progress with Biggest Loser. This would give me a chance to do something that I love. This would truly be taking back my life, the old life I thought was lost forever. I'm so excited about this adventure that I have butterflies in my stomach and it's still days away!
Another exciting thing is that I went out last night to purchase a new black workout shirt and sports bra to conquer the dance class. That may be more info than you care to know, but all women know how important good exercise gear and support is! I am more excited than one should be over such a small purchase but that is because I purchased both items in a size XL! That is regular sizing, not plus sized!!! That was something I was not expecting at all. I tried on the 2XL first but found that it didn't fit quite right. I decided to give the XL a try and I expected that it would be way too small. I was blown away when it fit. This is just another milestone I have hit and it feels so good. Not too long ago I was wearing 2XL and 3XL. By the time I complete Biggest Loser Ottawa 3, I will no longer be shopping in the plus sized stores for anything. Once that happens, I will never step back into one ever again. This change is here to stay!!!
Please take a moment to vote, it would mean the world to me. Just choose "Laura" from the list of names, enter your name and email address, then submit. It's as simple as that!
www.amdbootcamp.com/biggestloservoting
You have all been so kind, supportive and inspiring. I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done for me!
Voting has begun for Biggest Loser Ottawa 3. If I receive the most votes, I can get into the program for free and continue in the program. You can vote one time per email address so please vote with every email address you own. Please also ask everyone you know to vote for me too! It only takes a minute and it would make such a huge difference in my life. You can find the link to the voting site at the bottom of this blog entry. You do not need to live here or even in this country to be able to vote so please do pass it along!
In other news, one of the biggest things the RA has taken away from me is my ability to dance. I used to dance up to 15 hours per week and it made me so happy. Two years ago I attempted to join a dance class but the pain was unbearable and I had to drop out after the first class. I am excited to announce that on Saturday I will be attempting to join another dance class. I will be joining an Afro-Caribbean dance class which is something that I have been wanting to try for years. My daughter has just joined their youngest class so I decided that it was time to try dancing again. I am praying that my body will cooperate since I have made so much progress with Biggest Loser. This would give me a chance to do something that I love. This would truly be taking back my life, the old life I thought was lost forever. I'm so excited about this adventure that I have butterflies in my stomach and it's still days away!
Another exciting thing is that I went out last night to purchase a new black workout shirt and sports bra to conquer the dance class. That may be more info than you care to know, but all women know how important good exercise gear and support is! I am more excited than one should be over such a small purchase but that is because I purchased both items in a size XL! That is regular sizing, not plus sized!!! That was something I was not expecting at all. I tried on the 2XL first but found that it didn't fit quite right. I decided to give the XL a try and I expected that it would be way too small. I was blown away when it fit. This is just another milestone I have hit and it feels so good. Not too long ago I was wearing 2XL and 3XL. By the time I complete Biggest Loser Ottawa 3, I will no longer be shopping in the plus sized stores for anything. Once that happens, I will never step back into one ever again. This change is here to stay!!!
Please take a moment to vote, it would mean the world to me. Just choose "Laura" from the list of names, enter your name and email address, then submit. It's as simple as that!
www.amdbootcamp.com/biggestloservoting
You have all been so kind, supportive and inspiring. I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done for me!
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
The Big Day
Well, today is the day that I have been waiting for. It's been months in the making but today was the final weigh-in, first day of school and my infusion. I started my day by getting my daughter off to school and then cried the whole way to the gym! My baby started kindergarten and no matter how prepared I thought I was, nothing prepared me for the emtional avalanch of her rushing to the bus and forgetting to kiss her goodbye. I was such a mess! Please be patient with me a moment because this proud mama has to share a couple of photos with you! Keilana looks so grown up (she's only 5 and a half) until you see how tiny she is next to a bus!
After my weigh-in I went directly to my infusion. I was there for 5 hours having more drugs pumped into me than the average person has in a lifetime. I had two extra-strength Tylenol, one extra strength Gravol tablet (which didn't curb the nausea for the first hour so I needed a cold cloth to help), 100 mg Prednisone via IV (a steroid that causes my heart to race in the evening and headaches for a few days afterwards...the maximum I have in one day for the pain during a bad flare is 20mg), 50 mg Benedryl via IV (to fend off potential reactions like when my throat sarted to close during my first infusion), and 1000 mg Rituxan (a high dose of chemo).
I am pleased to announce that other than some nausea we had no problems this time. They even got the IV in on the first try (there's first time for everything)! I will be back at work tomorrow and will only need Advil to fend off the headaches as much as possible. In two weeks I have to repeat this whole proces but since it went so smotthly this time, I am less anxious about it. Here are a couple photos of the side of arthritis that most people never see (a big reason why advocacy and awareness are such a big focus for those of us with autoimmune arthritis). This is how I spent most of my day:
When I got to the gym this morning I was prepared, complete with wardrobe changes. I'm such a dork! They likely didn't have much effect on my results, but it's a mental thing. I wore a dress for the weigh-in because it was light-weight. I wore my exercise gear for the measurements because it was more fitted and no fabric would get in the way (plus it's the same clothes I've used for all of my measurements). Then for my "after" photo I wore something more flattering because there is no way I'm letting them use a photo of me in my flaw-hugging workout clothes! Yes, I have been open and have posted some of the most unflattering photos of myself in this blog, but that is because I was showing the hard work, not trying to look cute. If I'm going to show how much better I look now, it only makes sense to wear something that looks good, right?!
My results from Biggest Loser Ottawa 2 are as follows: 5th Place (was in 4th but they made a mistake with one of the other women's numbers so I got bumped a notch)!!!
-38.2 lbs
-46.5inches
-12.46% body weight
Fitness Evaluation –19mins 50sec droped to 13mins flat
My goal was to lose at least 40 pounds and I was SO close! Even though I am slightly disappointed, I am more proud of myself than anything. I accomplised so much. I started the pogram a week late and fought a battle with rheumatoid arthritis throughout the program. I walked with a cane just one week before starting the program and now I can jog. There are no words to explain how great this feels! Biggest Loser Ottawa 3 is now set to begin on September 18th, the same day as my next infusion. I believe the videos for voting will be posted next week (everything has been delayed a week). Assuming all goes well with my infusion, I will be going to that first workout at least to watch even if I cannot do anything. I may look a little grey, but I figure that will make for an awesome before photo, right?!
So here we have it, before and after photos showing my fabulous results. Once the official before and after photos from Biggest Loser Ottawa 2 are available, I will post those for you too. For now I have photos of me wearing the same shirt, same size, in two different colours. You can clearly see how differently it fits now. The pants in the after photo are also two sizes smaller!
1 year ago - approx. 306.6 lbs Week 10 - 274.4 lbs
August 2011 August 2012 (now 268.4 lbs!!!)
Nothing is impossible. Live your life to the fullest and make your dreams come true!
Goodnight and GOD BLESS!!!
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Making It Count
Where do I even begin?! Tonight was our final regular group workout. It was the most intense workout yet and it was worth every second. We were all asked to bring a backpack and towels, then meet Adrian at the bottom of a hill. We were all worried that Adrian would make us carry the weight that we had lost. We've been told that it's supposed to feel empowering but we didn't think so! We were just guessing at what was to come and I was feeling really intimiated.
The hill we were meeting at is where Adrian and Kathy took us on our night out in the limos. That night we stopped half way up the hill and all got out to look at the horizon and reflect on how far we had come. Tonight we met at the bottom and had to face our past. Our backpacks were loaded up with weights amounting to how much we have lost over the course of Biggest Loser Ottawa #2. I had a 16 kg kettle bell in the bottom of my bag. We then had a long hike ahead of us up the entire hill. People driving by were amazing and either honked or shouted out the window (or from their motorcycle) to show support! The weight was very hard on the back because it was so heavy and would push into my back. I had towels to pad it but they don't really stand up very well against that much weight. A mattress on the other hand could have done a much better job!
I was the last person to make it to the top of the hill. Normally I would have felt discouraged and disappointed but I didn't feel that at all. I MADE IT! That was all that mattered. Many of my teammates came down the hill to meet up with me and offered motivational support. I only stopped a couple of times for a few seconds to catch my breath. Not only did I hardly stop, but I also didn't take my inhaler at all tonight. I can't believe I did it on my own! As I reached a couple of meters from the top, one of the women put her hand under my backpack to take some of the pressure off of my lower back and then helped me remove the backpack at the very top when I felt like I could barely move. I cannot express how much everyone means to me.
After we got to the top of the hill, Adrian had us all remove our backpacks and walk futher across a flatter stretch of road. What an amazing feeling. He wanted to show us how that weight weighed us down before and how much easier it is now without the weight. I felt like jelly but walking without that weight sure gave me a bounce in my step! All of my thoughts about it not being a good idea were tossed out the window. I feel so empowered now. I am so glad that weight is gone and never coming back. Tonight I said goodbye to that weight for good and then burried 6 feet under!
Our workout did not stop there. We had to do kettlebell swings, push ups and plenty of additional walking. Now that we were at the top of the hill we had to walk back down but this time without the backpacks. A lighter back was good but the problem was that this time getting to the bottom only meant going back up again...pushing Adrian's TRUCK! Yes, as a team we had to PUSH a pick-up truck UP a hill while it had all of our backpacks in it (which added another 400 + pounds to the weight of the truck)!!!
Adrian was careful and drove up the steapest incline so that we wouldn't get hurt. It was hard but we make a great team. My parents were there so that my mom could take some photos for me and without knowing, they became our target! We had to push the truck up to where my father was parked on the side of the road. Unfortunately my father didn't know that so as we got closer, he would inch forward a little bit. Luckily, I convinced my mom to run and tell my dad to stop moving! They did get some amazing photos though.
After having carried our weight, moving a truck, and walking a couple of kilometers uphill, of course we couldn't possibly be done yet. We walked back down the hill and then we were loaded back up with the weights again. To finish off our night we had to carry those backpacks down the road to where all of the cars were parked. It was flatter but a bit of a distance. It was such a great workout and I am absolutely exhausted now! I feel like I could sleep for a week. I wish I could convince the new Principal to implement nap time at the high school where I work! I just have to get through one more crazy day at work. Luckily we have a long weekend this weekend and then I have my infusion to look forward to.
Tuesday morning, right before my infusion, will be my final weigh-in. I am hoping to make it into the top 3 but having gained some weight two weeks ago I got bumped into 5th place. We won't know until Tuesday whether I manage to squeeze back up there. Luckily, because it is a long weekend I am secretly hoping some of the others ahead of me cheat a bit! I have no plans to go anywhere or do anything that could blow me off-track so I'm glad. We have also been given the opportunity to participate in a Last Chance Workout on Monday night at Green's Creek (the dreaded tobogan hill from earlier in the program). There is no way that I am missing out on that! Not everyone can make it out that night so those of us who do definitely have a bit of an advantage.
On Tuesday we had our fitness test to compare where we started to where we are now. Tonight we had to face that ugly past by carrying all of that weight all over again. On Monday we will face our fears and take on Green's Creek one last time during this program. I really hate that hill but I'm anxious to see what I can do now!
I still have a long way to go but I am very proud of how far I have come. Take a look at some of my workout photos below to see what losing 35 lbs looks like:
The hill we were meeting at is where Adrian and Kathy took us on our night out in the limos. That night we stopped half way up the hill and all got out to look at the horizon and reflect on how far we had come. Tonight we met at the bottom and had to face our past. Our backpacks were loaded up with weights amounting to how much we have lost over the course of Biggest Loser Ottawa #2. I had a 16 kg kettle bell in the bottom of my bag. We then had a long hike ahead of us up the entire hill. People driving by were amazing and either honked or shouted out the window (or from their motorcycle) to show support! The weight was very hard on the back because it was so heavy and would push into my back. I had towels to pad it but they don't really stand up very well against that much weight. A mattress on the other hand could have done a much better job!
I was the last person to make it to the top of the hill. Normally I would have felt discouraged and disappointed but I didn't feel that at all. I MADE IT! That was all that mattered. Many of my teammates came down the hill to meet up with me and offered motivational support. I only stopped a couple of times for a few seconds to catch my breath. Not only did I hardly stop, but I also didn't take my inhaler at all tonight. I can't believe I did it on my own! As I reached a couple of meters from the top, one of the women put her hand under my backpack to take some of the pressure off of my lower back and then helped me remove the backpack at the very top when I felt like I could barely move. I cannot express how much everyone means to me.
After we got to the top of the hill, Adrian had us all remove our backpacks and walk futher across a flatter stretch of road. What an amazing feeling. He wanted to show us how that weight weighed us down before and how much easier it is now without the weight. I felt like jelly but walking without that weight sure gave me a bounce in my step! All of my thoughts about it not being a good idea were tossed out the window. I feel so empowered now. I am so glad that weight is gone and never coming back. Tonight I said goodbye to that weight for good and then burried 6 feet under!
Our workout did not stop there. We had to do kettlebell swings, push ups and plenty of additional walking. Now that we were at the top of the hill we had to walk back down but this time without the backpacks. A lighter back was good but the problem was that this time getting to the bottom only meant going back up again...pushing Adrian's TRUCK! Yes, as a team we had to PUSH a pick-up truck UP a hill while it had all of our backpacks in it (which added another 400 + pounds to the weight of the truck)!!!
Adrian was careful and drove up the steapest incline so that we wouldn't get hurt. It was hard but we make a great team. My parents were there so that my mom could take some photos for me and without knowing, they became our target! We had to push the truck up to where my father was parked on the side of the road. Unfortunately my father didn't know that so as we got closer, he would inch forward a little bit. Luckily, I convinced my mom to run and tell my dad to stop moving! They did get some amazing photos though.
After having carried our weight, moving a truck, and walking a couple of kilometers uphill, of course we couldn't possibly be done yet. We walked back down the hill and then we were loaded back up with the weights again. To finish off our night we had to carry those backpacks down the road to where all of the cars were parked. It was flatter but a bit of a distance. It was such a great workout and I am absolutely exhausted now! I feel like I could sleep for a week. I wish I could convince the new Principal to implement nap time at the high school where I work! I just have to get through one more crazy day at work. Luckily we have a long weekend this weekend and then I have my infusion to look forward to.
Tuesday morning, right before my infusion, will be my final weigh-in. I am hoping to make it into the top 3 but having gained some weight two weeks ago I got bumped into 5th place. We won't know until Tuesday whether I manage to squeeze back up there. Luckily, because it is a long weekend I am secretly hoping some of the others ahead of me cheat a bit! I have no plans to go anywhere or do anything that could blow me off-track so I'm glad. We have also been given the opportunity to participate in a Last Chance Workout on Monday night at Green's Creek (the dreaded tobogan hill from earlier in the program). There is no way that I am missing out on that! Not everyone can make it out that night so those of us who do definitely have a bit of an advantage.
On Tuesday we had our fitness test to compare where we started to where we are now. Tonight we had to face that ugly past by carrying all of that weight all over again. On Monday we will face our fears and take on Green's Creek one last time during this program. I really hate that hill but I'm anxious to see what I can do now!
I still have a long way to go but I am very proud of how far I have come. Take a look at some of my workout photos below to see what losing 35 lbs looks like:
Week 1 Today
Week 2 Today
I will be sure to post good "Before" and "After"photos next week after the final weigh in. That way you can get the full effect!
Goodnight and God bless!!!
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
The Final Push
We are now only one week away from the final weigh-in. There was no weigh-in tonight so we are essentially doing it blind for the last week. I snuck in a weigh-in tonight at home on my Wii beause I've been worried. I was not pleased with the number but my scale is off from the one at the gym. I'm trying not to let it bother me and I won't step on it again. I have got to push so hard right to the end. My meals will be crutial this week because we only have one more workout left and a long holiday weekend this coming weekend. Luckily I don't have any major plans for the wekend so it should be easy to stay on target.
Tonight we were a much smaller group at our workout. There were quite a few people missing so I hope I get to see them one last time on Thursday at our final workout. Having a smaller group made us easier targets for the trainer to push us extra hard. Pedro is a very focused trainer and I always find his workouts to be intense, but tonight was absolutely brutal! I was sure I was going to be sick to my stomch tonight, that's how hard we worked.
We did about 4 different workout routines all back-to-back! We started out with a nasty cardio "warm-up". Then we went inside for a fitness test (more on that in a bit). That was followed by being divided into pairs and groups where we did a circuit of medicine ball slams, weighted balls against a wall and pushing the "sleigh" (a steel frame with two 45kg weights on it). We had to push the sleigh 100 meters (50 x2) across the parking lot in pairs. Luckily one of the awesome friends I've made in the program has been my saviour. She paired with me even knowing I'm, what I call, the weak link. I pushed so hard and as fast as I could! When we'd hit some rocks and get stuck a moment she would push even harder and even push my side as well as hers to get us going again, without getting upset with me. She is such a great friend and teammate! After that circuit we went inside to "play a game". Let me just say, it wasn't a fun game. It's was alot like hot potato but sitting in a "v" for an ab workout and the "potato" weighed about 15-20 lbs!
Now to explain the fitness test...
Around our second week of Biggest Loser Ottawa we did a fitness test. We had to do 100 each of sit-ups, squats, inverted rows and push-ups. I do a slightly modified version of the inverted rows, crunches rather than full sit-ups and my push-ups are still on the wall rather than the floor. These modifications are done because of my joints (except for the crunches which are just because full sit-ups are too difficult with a belly in the way)! We can do the exercises in any order and as many reps as we choose. We simply have to complete 100 of each by the end. This is all done while we are timed. My initial time was 19 minutes and 50 seconds a couple of months ago and at that point I was one of the first to finish. Tonight we did it as a comparison to see how far we have come from where we were. My time tonight was exactly 13 minutes! I shaved almost 8 minutes off of my time. Amazing!
I feel amazing because we had such an intense workout. It makes me feel better about my final weigh-in coming up. However, for the first time since starting the program, I feel like I overdid it tonight. My joints were very sore and flaring before walking into the gym. I often feel stiff and worse on Monday nights or Tuesday mornings because that is the longest time I go without a workout. Tonight though, I feel worse now than when I walked into the gym. There is a difference between good sore and bad sore. Yes, I have some "good sore" but I also have the "bad sore". I am having trouble lifting my arms because of my shoulders. I am having trouble straightening my right arm because of my elbow. My fingers are stiff and swollen. My feet and knees are hot and painful. To explain it better, if things don't improve tonight I may not be able to brush my own hair in the morning or I may have trouble dressing myself. Hopefully things will improve after I get some rest.
I also did one other thing tonight...I recorded my video for the voting to get into Biggest Loser Ottawa #3. The voting will begin next week! I've been told that voting may begin on Monday so keep your eyes and ears open. Without winning this time, I would be lost! I have so far to go mentally and physically. I will need your help to get literally hundreds of votes. You have all been so amazing. The feedback I have received about my journey has been so overwhelming. I will post the link as soon as it is available online...
Goodnight and God bless!
Tonight we were a much smaller group at our workout. There were quite a few people missing so I hope I get to see them one last time on Thursday at our final workout. Having a smaller group made us easier targets for the trainer to push us extra hard. Pedro is a very focused trainer and I always find his workouts to be intense, but tonight was absolutely brutal! I was sure I was going to be sick to my stomch tonight, that's how hard we worked.
We did about 4 different workout routines all back-to-back! We started out with a nasty cardio "warm-up". Then we went inside for a fitness test (more on that in a bit). That was followed by being divided into pairs and groups where we did a circuit of medicine ball slams, weighted balls against a wall and pushing the "sleigh" (a steel frame with two 45kg weights on it). We had to push the sleigh 100 meters (50 x2) across the parking lot in pairs. Luckily one of the awesome friends I've made in the program has been my saviour. She paired with me even knowing I'm, what I call, the weak link. I pushed so hard and as fast as I could! When we'd hit some rocks and get stuck a moment she would push even harder and even push my side as well as hers to get us going again, without getting upset with me. She is such a great friend and teammate! After that circuit we went inside to "play a game". Let me just say, it wasn't a fun game. It's was alot like hot potato but sitting in a "v" for an ab workout and the "potato" weighed about 15-20 lbs!
Now to explain the fitness test...
Around our second week of Biggest Loser Ottawa we did a fitness test. We had to do 100 each of sit-ups, squats, inverted rows and push-ups. I do a slightly modified version of the inverted rows, crunches rather than full sit-ups and my push-ups are still on the wall rather than the floor. These modifications are done because of my joints (except for the crunches which are just because full sit-ups are too difficult with a belly in the way)! We can do the exercises in any order and as many reps as we choose. We simply have to complete 100 of each by the end. This is all done while we are timed. My initial time was 19 minutes and 50 seconds a couple of months ago and at that point I was one of the first to finish. Tonight we did it as a comparison to see how far we have come from where we were. My time tonight was exactly 13 minutes! I shaved almost 8 minutes off of my time. Amazing!
I feel amazing because we had such an intense workout. It makes me feel better about my final weigh-in coming up. However, for the first time since starting the program, I feel like I overdid it tonight. My joints were very sore and flaring before walking into the gym. I often feel stiff and worse on Monday nights or Tuesday mornings because that is the longest time I go without a workout. Tonight though, I feel worse now than when I walked into the gym. There is a difference between good sore and bad sore. Yes, I have some "good sore" but I also have the "bad sore". I am having trouble lifting my arms because of my shoulders. I am having trouble straightening my right arm because of my elbow. My fingers are stiff and swollen. My feet and knees are hot and painful. To explain it better, if things don't improve tonight I may not be able to brush my own hair in the morning or I may have trouble dressing myself. Hopefully things will improve after I get some rest.
I also did one other thing tonight...I recorded my video for the voting to get into Biggest Loser Ottawa #3. The voting will begin next week! I've been told that voting may begin on Monday so keep your eyes and ears open. Without winning this time, I would be lost! I have so far to go mentally and physically. I will need your help to get literally hundreds of votes. You have all been so amazing. The feedback I have received about my journey has been so overwhelming. I will post the link as soon as it is available online...
Goodnight and God bless!
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
A Step in the Wrong Direction But...
Welcome to another Tuesday! Only two weeks left of Biggest Loser Ottawa #2 and tonight, for the first time since the beginning, I took a step in the wrong direction. When I stepped on the scale tonight, it told me that I had gained over 2 lbs. Gained?? Gained!
I am very disapointed and frustrated because I was doing SO well. I had little things here and there this week that I shouldn't have had and I haven't been cooking up my dinners for the week in advance. Clearly this has had a major effect on my outcome this week so it's time to regroup.
While I am very down about my current results, I have decided not to stay down. I have decided that this has only made me MORE determined to be as strict on my meal plan for the remainder of the program as I was during the first week. I need to find the time over the next couple of days to look back over my meal plan. I need to pre-plan and make my meal decisions in advance even if I'm not able to make every meal in advance. I need to go back to measuring everything out and I need to focus more on my water intake because that has been lacking lately (even though I absolutely LOVE water).
I also need to go back to my Sunday cooking dates wth my mom. That was such a great time to bond with one of my two best friends (the other is my sister), who also happens to be my number one fan! My mom is so supportve and cooking my dinners for the week with her was something that we could do together. After hours of cooking I would sit down and enjoy one of the healthy meals with my parents, daughter and husband. Real, old fashioned family time. Sundays are definitely my favorite day of the week when we have time to enjoy each other's company like that!
Having gone back to work this week after being off for a month, I know that I will have less temptation to cheat. I eat both breakfast and lunch at work so if I don't bring anything I shouldn't eat, I won't eat anything I shouldn't eat. That's pretty simple math if you ask me (0+0=0)!!! It helps that my colleagues are extremely supportive and trying to eat well as well. We simply tell others not to leave treats in the office (or we give it to someone else) so it is out of our sight and we can't be tempted. We really do make a great team and support system for each other.
Now a bit about our workouts. I enjoyed our workout tonight because I like when we do the exercises as a group, all at the same time, even if they are different intensities. It just feels more supprtive for some reason. It was a difficult workout with Justin today and I'm still on the fence about whether I enjoy him as a trainer. Don't get me wrong, he is VERY good but I'm really discovering how every trainer is different in their own way and some are just a better fit for different people. For example my husband finds Justin's workouts to be his favorite and he uses all of the same trainers I do, but I find that I get my best workouts with Adrian. I like the fact that Justin's workouts are difficult and push us, but I find them much harder on my joints because they use a lot of weights (which my husband loves). I have to make a lot more modifications during Justin's sessions.
I walked into the session tonight wih a rheumatoid nodule on my thumb and sore fingers, only to discover that we were again using hand-held weights for the full hour. By the end of our session I was having trouble walking because I could feel the joitns in my toes flaring and nodules beginning in them. The best way I can describe that feeling is that it feels like walking with marbles glued to the balls of your feet. I really didn't want to show it though or to say anything because I didn't want to have to stop my workout. Now that I am home my finger joints are stiff, sore, swollen and forming more nodules. When the nodules are visible they look and feel like little grains of hard white rice under the skin, most commonly near the joints or in the pads of my fingertips and toes.
Even with the weight gain this week and my RA flaring a bit more each day, I am more determined than ever to bring in big numbers over the next two weeks and hit my current goal by our final weigh-in. I am determined to be really focused and to shock everyone with the final number on September 4th! IF I can manage, no wait...I WILL manage...to even pass my goal, just watch me!
I am very disapointed and frustrated because I was doing SO well. I had little things here and there this week that I shouldn't have had and I haven't been cooking up my dinners for the week in advance. Clearly this has had a major effect on my outcome this week so it's time to regroup.
While I am very down about my current results, I have decided not to stay down. I have decided that this has only made me MORE determined to be as strict on my meal plan for the remainder of the program as I was during the first week. I need to find the time over the next couple of days to look back over my meal plan. I need to pre-plan and make my meal decisions in advance even if I'm not able to make every meal in advance. I need to go back to measuring everything out and I need to focus more on my water intake because that has been lacking lately (even though I absolutely LOVE water).
I also need to go back to my Sunday cooking dates wth my mom. That was such a great time to bond with one of my two best friends (the other is my sister), who also happens to be my number one fan! My mom is so supportve and cooking my dinners for the week with her was something that we could do together. After hours of cooking I would sit down and enjoy one of the healthy meals with my parents, daughter and husband. Real, old fashioned family time. Sundays are definitely my favorite day of the week when we have time to enjoy each other's company like that!
Having gone back to work this week after being off for a month, I know that I will have less temptation to cheat. I eat both breakfast and lunch at work so if I don't bring anything I shouldn't eat, I won't eat anything I shouldn't eat. That's pretty simple math if you ask me (0+0=0)!!! It helps that my colleagues are extremely supportive and trying to eat well as well. We simply tell others not to leave treats in the office (or we give it to someone else) so it is out of our sight and we can't be tempted. We really do make a great team and support system for each other.
Now a bit about our workouts. I enjoyed our workout tonight because I like when we do the exercises as a group, all at the same time, even if they are different intensities. It just feels more supprtive for some reason. It was a difficult workout with Justin today and I'm still on the fence about whether I enjoy him as a trainer. Don't get me wrong, he is VERY good but I'm really discovering how every trainer is different in their own way and some are just a better fit for different people. For example my husband finds Justin's workouts to be his favorite and he uses all of the same trainers I do, but I find that I get my best workouts with Adrian. I like the fact that Justin's workouts are difficult and push us, but I find them much harder on my joints because they use a lot of weights (which my husband loves). I have to make a lot more modifications during Justin's sessions.
I walked into the session tonight wih a rheumatoid nodule on my thumb and sore fingers, only to discover that we were again using hand-held weights for the full hour. By the end of our session I was having trouble walking because I could feel the joitns in my toes flaring and nodules beginning in them. The best way I can describe that feeling is that it feels like walking with marbles glued to the balls of your feet. I really didn't want to show it though or to say anything because I didn't want to have to stop my workout. Now that I am home my finger joints are stiff, sore, swollen and forming more nodules. When the nodules are visible they look and feel like little grains of hard white rice under the skin, most commonly near the joints or in the pads of my fingertips and toes.
Even with the weight gain this week and my RA flaring a bit more each day, I am more determined than ever to bring in big numbers over the next two weeks and hit my current goal by our final weigh-in. I am determined to be really focused and to shock everyone with the final number on September 4th! IF I can manage, no wait...I WILL manage...to even pass my goal, just watch me!
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