Weight Watchers Weekly Weigh-In No. 12

Because our church had VBS this past week, I had to miss my regular meeting. This morning I got a chance to attend a meeting. The scale showed a loss of . . .




seven pounds and six tenths!  

Shut up! I know! When I heard all of the dings from the bell and the clapping from the members, I felt like I was on Biggest Loser! The leader was like "You must have worked really hard this week." Um. . . Not really, but it's 'bout time! I've weighed every morning this week since I missed my meeting so I knew the number, I just hadn't done the MATH.

My weight loss has been a bit slow, but I know it's because of the steady increases in exercise. We've been running and doing Chalean. But this past week I didn't slack in exercise - I didn't complete one single exercise. I really am a believer in rest weeks (though this one wasn't planned), and no, it's not the laziness in me. Oh, I did run two miles this morning! (Early to bed, early to rise - makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

This week we will move on to a new phase of Chalean; therefore our bodies will have to make adjustments that might negatively impact the scale. However, this journey is not all about a scale.

I don't know what the future holds, but today I will bask in this scale victory!

Chalean Extreme Burn Circuit 2 in Pictures

 

 

 

 

Looking at over 100 pictures of us exercising was quite eye opening. We got to see when our form was good and when it was poor. Do cameras really add ten pounds? If they do, I feel much better about what I've seen!

 

I really enjoy doing Chalean Extreme. Each time I find I am able to increase my weights on almost every exercise, which is why we invested in SelectTechs in the first place. I purposely started off light because I hate that sore, gotta roll out of the bed, hurts to sit on the toilet feeling. I also like that I can actually see several people performing the exercise so I know how the exercise should be done. (I wish I had a mirror at times though.) We have a weight lifting book of workouts that's kind of awkward for beginners who have no idea of correct form. I like that someone modifies the exercises to make them slightly easier. Chalean tells you what weight she's using and sometimes what the others use. (She and another person use SelectTechs. Two people use three sets of free weights, and one person uses resistance bands.)

 

In case you are wondering, Fred and I work out at the same time. One of our kids took the pictures above. They may not be the best shots, but we have good ones to judge our form and we have good body shots that we can compare to later ones down the rode and say, "I can't believe I used to have all that stomach!"

And we're off!

This post will be quick since we're about to head out to weigh-in.

Last week was a fairly relaxed week as it relates to exercise. Believe it or not, one of us overdid it with some late night Wii Sports! Not Chalean Extreme or running, but boxing. This coupled with late nights and an out-of-town baby shower left us with little energy for anything. But today we accomplished great things (at least for beginners anyway). We ran for 2.38 miles without any walking (then walked a bit). This is our longest distance to date. At times I slowed way down, but I didn't stop. YAY!! 

This week will be business as usual since we've set our eyes on being able to do 3.1 miles without stopping.We are getting there one day at a time. I can finally see the finish line!

Victory over Defeat

After enduring an extended holiday weekend that was overshadowed by an overwhelming number of tasty treats, I am completely satisfied with the remarkable restraint I showed by not overdoing it. I did not indulge myself by over-eating as I have always done in the past. Although I did not lose any weight this week I am proud to say I only gained about 0.4 lbs. I would have been happy to have only gained 2 to 3 lbs if it were the case, because I usually pig out. "From the kitchen to the cooler" -  that would have been my mantra in the past; however,  my health was my number one priority this time around.
    
I am also proud that I only had ONE alcoholic beverage, one cup of Kool-aid, and two cups of sweet tea over the past weekend,  which is another big feat for me. I would usually turn up a cup without regard to how many calories or points it might contain. It was not as hard as I thought it would be though, and I know that the reason it wasn't  hard is because I had my mind made up already. This was never the case before because instead of a plan, I had good intentions. Of course I would usually forget about my good intentions whenever I got in the presence of my adversary - tantalizing foods and drinks. This is definitely a non-scale victory for me.

Yesterday we fell slightly off schedule by not doing Chalean at our regular time, but we did find the time to get it done later in the evening. I admit that I had some concerns about doing it so late because usually I wake up sore and stiff after an evening workout with weights. Surprisingly I felt great this morning and did not have any new soreness other than that in my foot (plantar fasciitis).
    
I can smell the sweet aroma of VICTORY in our future!

Hard Work + Dedication = Great Results

     Today was another successful day of Chalean Extreme. Its only our 2nd official day and I know that we will continue with our success because we are totally committed to this new way of life. I know I won't see any changes in our bodies for a while as it relates to seeing some muscle definition, but the dedicaiton will definitely pay off big time.



Chalean Extreme Burn Circuit 2 - Deadlift with Double Row

     I know how it feels now to hear the stories of people saying that it took a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve their goals. The one example I remember most vividly is the time when LL Cool J stated that people criticized him by saying that he was on steroids. He stated that he had not used steroids, but he had worked extremely hard to get the body he has acquired. LL also stated that he stayed away from sweets and other foods that he knew were unhealthy and would be a detriment to his progress and would undo all the sacrifices that he had made. That has always been one big motivational story for me although it was years and years ago. I now understand that it takes hard work for sure. Hard work AND dedication.
    
    One day I hope to share a similar testimony with others and use this blog as the proof to show how far we have come and that our lifestyle (of healthy habits) has truly changed for the better. Hopefully we will inspire others to change their lifestyles for the better also.


Chalean Extreme Burn Circuit 2 - Triple-Threat Push-ups

     Oh, I almost forgot about our run yesterday. We worked on our speed again, which turned out to be successful as we both improved our average time and pace. Although we have improved some we agreed to run longer times even after the app is done because we still have lots of energy once we get finished.

Finishing with a definite non-scale victory -  I did some swimming at our annual family reunion and did not have one alcoholic beverage. And while I may have eaten more than I planned, I ate nowhere near what I would have eaten in the past.

July Goals!

We probably should have posted our goals for the month on the first; nevertheless, they have were established prior to the start of the month, and here they are for all the world to see:

Bridgette's Goals

1. Drink two cups of water with each meal and snack
2. Increase push ups from two to ten at a time (Up until about two weeks ago, I couldn't do a single one!)
3. Read the Bible daily (as part of my 90 day plan)

Fred's Goals

 

1. Refrain from drinking pops/sodas at work (We don't even buy them for the house!)
2. Track food intake daily (on paper, not in head)

 

Shared Goals

 

1. Do 3 training runs a week AND 3 Chalean workouts a week
2. Continue to be active with our kids

 

Strong

Strong. That's exactly how I feel today. Today was our first official day of Chalean Extreme Round 1. This is not my first time doing the program; I have completed all three phases one other time about a year and a half ago. My goal is to push myself to lift heavier without overdoing it - getting out my comfort zone, but without injuring myself.  I LOVE strength training. My only problem is consistency. You know - working out for two or three weeks then not working out for two or three months. I have been consistent with something I don't exactly love (running) for over three months, so this should be a piece of cake. I will admit that I do hope to love running. In fact, I've always wanted to be a runner. (Yesterday we are able to do some speed work as part of our first 5K training!)

In the past I've tried to start everything at one time: eating right, cardio, strength. This has always lead to me going too fast, getting burnt out, sore, or injured, and finally, quitting. This time around we started with C25K and fought off the urge to jump into doing strength exercises. Our second step was tackling portion control with Weight Watchers. We already eat healthy stuff and have been for years. (You can ask our family members who  consider us child abusers for fixing vegetables, brown rice and such for our children, or ordering veggie pizzas instead of Meat Lovers and limiting their sweet treats like Kool-Aid, cakes, and cookies.)

Now after all this time we are adding in strength training with Chalean Extreme. I love it. You lift heavy slowly. Heavy doesn't necessarily mean 50 lbs either; it could be 15 lbs for you or as low as 5 lbs. At times in the past I've simply used my body weight and no additional weights.  (Today I used between 5 and 15 pounds for the various exercises and will have to increase most weights next time.)

This is me doing the Bench Press and Leg Lower of Burn Circuit 1. Of course, I'm not doing the Leg Lower - I'll add that in next week. I really love those Bowflex SelectTechs.

I love that we are making exercise a part of our daily lives. We have always known to eat and drink to live. Now we know to exercise to live. Of course, it's not enough to know that something is right, the right thing must be done.

This is Fred doing the Lunge with Core Rotation of Burn Circuit 1. He sweats so much! See Chalean on the TV?

Happy Independence Day!