Michelle and Sandra's Biggest Loser Match-Up Team

So this has been so very hectic. Our company is part of Corporate Challenge this year and Sandra and I have really thrown ourselves into it. We signed up for Flag Football, the Walk Race, we might walk the 5K, and a couple of others. For the first time, Corporate Challenge is having a Biggest Winner competition. Sandra and I were asked to be Co-Captain's of our team. So we have the 5 members of the "official" team and 5 member of the "motivational" team looking to us to help them win this. We started off creating a binder for everyone. It has articles that we've found usefull from various websites, a place for them to keep a food journal, and another for them to track their progress. We really want to help other and it's a good motivational tool for us. So we're in training. We have almost two months until the Walk Race and a month until Flag Football. Our Captain for football has seven practices scheduled. And we found out that the 24 Hour Fitness that is closest to our work let's us work out without a membership. I have one, but Sandra doesn't. So we can actually go to the gym! Yeah! There's also a 1 mile Fun Walk sponsered by a City Councilmen that let's you bring your dogs. I think I'm going to put my Vader in training for that. He's a big Rottweiler and he's starting to gain weight where before he gained muscle. That's pretty much what's been happening with us!

Ok, I can say that I'm not really sure what week it is, but we are now in the 3rd month!  So last week I lost 1.5 lbs which was more than what I was expecting so I was happy.  Then there was this past week.  Not so great.  I guess I have to toss it out the window because I wasn't focused and I knew it.  I only worked out about 3 times and my food intake - Bob and Gillian would have been pissed! LOL  I guess it was my little hiatus.  I gained half a pound, again I was happy because I really did expect far worse.  I have to get on the ball this week.  It's time to get under the 200 mark.  I need to lose 4 lbs to attain that goal.  I know I can do it and you know what? I will do it! LOL I'll keep that frame of mind to get me through. 

I still enjoy doing the Turbo Jam Sculpt workout, definitely my fave.  I just got the Biggest Loser cardio max and sculpt workout.  I did the 2nd and 3rd level of cardio - oh man that was intense, really got the heart rate up! After that I did the level 2 sculpt workout.   I feel great after doing those workouts. 

Michelle and I are still working out at work and yea we're feeling those workouts too! We have come so far in 3 months, I'm really proud of the work we have put into this and the results are just amazing. 

I'm getting back into the groove of things this week.  Time to kick it up a notch! Have to get those workouts in at the very least.  I even had a bit of time to get some bellydancing in after my biggest loser workouts.  Love shaking the hips! It's all about burning calories, feeling great and having fun doing it!  So not the best weigh-in this week but I saw it coming.  This week will have more determination.  It's time to crack the 200 mark.

Another week gone by and I can say that I have dropped another 3 lbs.  It's crazy to think that in 2 months I've lost almost 30 lbs and each day I get closer to that goal I have.  If I lose another 5lbs I'll be under the 200 mark which will be a huge accomplishment.  Somehow I think my body isn't ready for that big number due to some "reason" this month.  I was afraid last week that I would retain water but I'm pretty sure this week I will. 

I've been keeping up with my exercise.  I started doing the turbo jam sculpt video and I can say that that is currently my fave workout.  It works all the muscles and I use my 5 lb weights - my arms are starting to take shape and get more defined.  I can fit into a size 16 (2 pant sizes down!) and I can't really tell that I've shrunk there but hey I'll take it!  So doing the sculpt video is what I have been doing the past week along with the turbo jam cardio party and hip hop abs.  The first time I did hip hop abs I didn't feel too much while doing the workout, but now that I know the moves... those abs definitely felt it the 2nd time I did that workout!

You never really know how much your body can take until you're pushed to the limit... that's the best way to sum up last weekend's hiking adventure.   We started out on one trail that was nothing but uphill the beginning.  Then since it didn't go around, we had to go back the way we came.  The downhill part wasn't too bad, in fact, that was the best part all day.  We had some extra time and decided to try another trail... big mistake.  What we wanted to be a 2 hour hiking trip doubled into a 5 hour trip.  Did I mention that it RAINED the day before???? and you know ... it got a little MUDDY and ICEY on the mountain.  There were several parts where the mud was so bad that you would sink into it and it was slippery.  I thought I might have fallen into it a few times.  So not only did we go through that, but we ended up in a different parking lot in the mountains... 3 miles away from where Michelle's car was.  So not only had we just hiked 2 trails (one around a HUGE mountain) but now we were going to have to hike another 3 miles just to get back to the car.  Might have been 5 with those 2 extra miles inbetween the parking lots.  Oh yea and it was UPHILL again.  I knew that the 3 miles was going to take a while, by that time it was noonish and all I could think about was getting the hell out of there.   Thank God I had that motivation otherwise I would not have gotten home until 4 pm.  I had to come home in time to watch my daughter before my bf went to work.  I had to get home in time.  So I pushed myself and kept going and going and going.  I know if Bob or Jillian were there they would have been there pushing us.  Try not to get hit by oncoming cars and get home on time were the only things on my mind.   Michelle might not have been happy that I kept a distance ahead of her but I knew we needed to be pushed.   I know she would have loved to have called her mom during the walk to the car, but I just couldn't do that.  There were a few times where all I could think about was I can not believe this is happening, this is not real.  Towards the end I wanted to just sit down and give up/break down because of the frustration of the situation, but that was not the mentality that was going to get me any closer to the car.  I felt lightheaded towards the end but I just couldn't focus on it.  I had my daughter to get home to and that was the main thing on my mind.   Getting to the car was a miracle and even though all my energy had just been drained out and my shoes were covered with mud, I was glad that it was over.  So let's just say that will never happen again - one trail at a time, no hiking after it rains and finding out where we will end up in the end will have to be done before we even hit the mountain.  Will not be going through that again.  15 miles.  15 MILES.  The next 2 days I was the most sore I have been in a while.  Given it was a good sore, I didn't want to be reminded about the unhappy last 2 hours of that trip. 

So other than that, working out has not been bad at all.  I'm keeping my calories balanced out.   I'm not one to brag, but man 26 lbs is a huge number to have lost.  I can't wait for that number to keep growing and growing. 

I love watching other people's success stories (no matter how they lose weight) because not only am I happy that those people get to enjoy life to the fullest again, but it keeps me motivated to know it is possible.

Yesterday I had a moment where I realized that I am getting smaller.  It was a scary moment.  I guess that since the layers of protection are going to be gone, I'm almost afraid.  I beat that thought though and told myself no more, enough is enough.  It's been a while since I've been this proud of myself and although there are always people around me who have to ruin it or get me down about something, I go back to the thought of I'm down 26 lbs, I'm down from a 20 to a 16.  I only see that getting better and better.  Just give me some more time and they'll all see what I'm capable of.

So this past week I was really good, maybe too good. This was the first week where I wrote down everything I ate and was able to see what my average daily calorie intake is. I was a little shocked to find out it wasn't even 1100. I eat. Like 5 or 6 times a day. I think I just need to eat more on the weekends. This weekend is not a good judge of what I normally eat. I woke up late on Saturday and had to rush around. Sandra and I had hiking plans. So I didn't eat breakfast, but I took some snacks. We got a little ahead of ourselves and ended up hiking over 15 miles in 5 hours. That was way longer than we had planned. And how bout two not so in shape girls hiking in the desert from 9 am to 2pm? Not fun. I can laugh about it now, but it was serious pain, frustration, sweat. I proud of the fact that we did it, but I know I would have given up if it hadn't been for Sandra. So I didn't really feel like eating or doing anything the rest of the weekend. Which was frustrating. If the "official" weigh-in had been after that hike I would have lost 5 pounds! My water was were it should be, my BMI was down. But the reduced activity on Sunday and my water going back up shrank it a little bit. Still, I haven't been this weight in a while. I can't wait until I get under 220. Next week, here I come. Going a little further back, we actually had some people at work join us for our lunch exercises. Two friends joined our Thursday kickboxing an Abs workout and walked with us off and on. They also joined us on Monday. Sandra wasn't a work today, but I still walked. I'm really proud of the fact that I don't need Sandra there to make me walk. Granted it's more fun with her and we push each other to pick up the pace a little, to jog the flat section. Well, that's all for me. Hopefully Sandra will be feeling better soon and blog about her week. I can't wait to hear how she did on the weigh in.

So let's start with the weigh-in. I did gain a pound. But I'm retaining water (and the girls of the world will know what I mean). My scale doesn't just measure your weight. It also calculates your BMI and percentage of water. The book that comes with the scale recommended that women weigh every day for the first week to determine the baseline. Mine is 39. This morning it was 43. So I had 4% more water in me than normal. And my BMI went down half a point. I feel really good. I'm hoping for a bigger number next week. I'm working my butt off and Sandra and I plan to go hiking again on Saturday. Well Biggest Loser comes on in 5 minutes so I better get off this laptop. Hope everyone has had as great a week as I did/