a year later….

Well it has officially been one year since I began this journey.  As of late more and more people have commented on the work I have put in and the results that work has yielded.  Many people have told me I inspire them.  That is a great feeling.  Truthfully all of you inspire me, with your words of encouragement and the accountability I have from sharing my experience during this journey.

I am continuing my journey and finally feel comfortable in my own skin.  Working out and eating right (for the most part, this I still struggle with) has become a part of my everyday life.  Moderation is key, we all have to have some ice cream or a cheeseburger sometimes, right?  We just have to remember if we chose those items everyday it will catch up with us.  The future is more promising with my new healthy outlook and I can honestly say every part of my life has been affected positively!!  My stress level is better, my energy level too.  I don’t have back aches anymore and I just plain old feel better!  Anyone can do this, you just have to do what you can in the beginning and build from there.  I never imagined being able to do some of the things I am capable of doing now, you are your own road block, you can do it, I promise!!!

21 Days…..

OK so I pretty much feel like I have started my last 4 posts with sorry I haven’t blogged in so long, so I won’t start this post off that way but I think you can read between the lines;)

Running update-well I did it.  I ran Race Against Racism 5k and then I completed the Girls on the Run 5K about a week later and even improved my time.  Girls on the Run is a great organization that I highly suggest you checking out if you have the time or desire, excuse the obvious plug.  Back to running, my last goal I set for myself was the Red Rose 5 mile run that was held a few Saturdays ago.  I had a training schedule that I followed for the most part and when I ran the 5 miles on my own in my training it took me an hour.  I am a slow steady runner, my husband refers to me as an old diesel engine, slow and steady. Some find this to be a dig but he did not mean it that way, he has run with me in training and while I may fall behind when he looks back on me I am still running.  Hahahaha I am channeling Forest Gump here.  So needless to say I somehow shaved about 5 minutes off my 5 mile time on race day.  Red Rose Run was HARD!  I did walk some, I was mad at myself for that but holy cow it was hard and it was SO hot and humid that day.  Regardless of my walking I improved my time and I completed the race which was my goal.  Of course all the runners in my life are like what race are you running next?  Are you going to do a 10K or a 1/2 marathon?  At this point I am content with what I have done so far, if I change my mind you will be the first to know.

So in 21 days I will be documenting my progress since I began this journey last July 3rd.  I am nervous even though I know I have made progress.  My mind tells me to workout 2x a day up until that dreadful deadline!!!  Another part of me says give yourself some credit and embrace the progress you have made.  Why are we our own worst enemy at times?

I have lost a few more pounds but nothing too extreme since my previous posts.  I feel like  my body is still transforming even if the scale is not dipping at the rapid speed for which I would like it too!!  People keep asking me what my goal is and I know it seems weird since I am blogging about this and all but I don’t have a magic number in mind.  I have some areas I would like to see toned up and I have a size in mind I would like to be but for me it is not about the number on the scale.  I do know that I want to continue my journey in the fitness department.  I have learned MORE this last year that I have my entire life where fitness and nutrition are concerned.  Universal has been an excellent source of guidance, assistance, encouragement and drive.  I have seen MANY familiar Universal members at the races I have participated in.  I continue to see members experience the same progress as I have over my year with Universal.  I personally get bored quick and Universal truly offers SO MUCH, I have yet to get bored and have yet to try everything!!  I tried the group conditioning class last night at the Parisi studio for the first time.  It was very cool!!  It was the perfect mix of people so that you felt challenged but not cramped for space, the instructor kept you going the entire time so you didn’t even have to think when is this over, plus the hour flew by.  The other class members that had taken the class before had some friendly banter going back and forth with Troy which was just plain funny and entertaining!  As I continue to incorporate healthy living into my life I find I like to try new things and mix it up.  Luckily for me Universal provides tons of options.

To date I am back to group exercise along with some personal and group training with the wonderful Sharon Hurst!!  I just do not push myself on my own when doing a weight workout like I do when Sharon is by my side.  Maybe one day that will change, for now personal/group training works!  My diet continues to be the hardest thing for me to be consistent with, I know what I need to do I just slip from time to time.  I have learned portion control and do not eat as much as I used to, but I still am haunted by sweets!!

Thank you to everyone who has read my blog and commented and supported me along the way!  It means tons and I liked being held accountable.  Keep thinking of me over the next 21 days and be sure to check out the August issue of Fine Living Lancaster for a complete reveal of my progress over the last year and my story written by a professional..lol.  Make it a great one!!!!

I’m back….

Well, I do apologize for my complete neglect of my blog. I have no excuses at all just plain fear. Let me explain.

God, the universe, karma what ever it is you believe in has been leaning on me a bit to step outside of my comfort zone. This all began with a gentle nudge I would call it, just a few people here and there from time to time would ask me do you run. To which I would reply yes if my life is in danger and I am being chased down, then I will run.

Do you like running? To me this 2nd question from people seemed obvious to me but hey I entertained them and told them a little less subtly that NO I DO NOT LIKE TO RUN! End of story right? Well God, universe, karma all do not give up that easy. Life has a funny way of making us step outside of our comfort zones from time to time and this I could see was turning out to be one of those times. Over the next several weeks I began to recall that up to 6 months ago some of my “runner” friends had tried to bring this up to me before. I could not escape it. I have clients that asked if I run, people I met at networking events that would inevitably ask do you run, friends that began taking up running as dare I say a HOBBY?!?!?! Everywhere I turned people kept inquiring if I had given running a try. NO NO NO NO NO I kept replying!! I have not interest I do not enjoy running are you crazy? This conversation repeated itself frequently until I had an AHA moment.

You see I have come this far right? I am considered a FIT category via a test I took at Universal. I have improved my fitness, my resting heart rate, my muscle tone. I have decreased my body fat, my weight and inches and my overall couch potato mentality. I have come so far and have done things I would have told you 9 months ago were impossible. So why can’t I run??? Since I am in the final stages of my weight loss I am finding it harder and harder to shed the final pounds. Running always seems to end with dropped weight for all those crazy people that have been harassing me to run in the first place. SO I have given in….

My first run will be this Saturday in downtown Lancaster. I am running a 5k for Race Against Racism. While I am just totally going outside of my comfort zone I have decided to run The Red Rose Run on 6/5. The Red Rose Run in 5 miles. I would welcome anyone that would like to join me in this journey of running to run with me in June. I would love to get some type of team together maybe get T-shirts. You do not have to run you can run/walk or just walk it is totally up to you and what you are comfortable with. I am not here to pressure anyone as I know how all you non runners feel;)

Feel free to contact me if you have an interest via this blog or directly at erica@finelivinglancaster.com

I started out very very slow!! The first day I only made it 1.2 miles and felt like I may die. Currently my furthest distance is 3.9 miles. I have a training schedule I would be happy to share with anyone interested I would just need your email. You can also google training schedules online and there are tons of running apps for iPhones too.

So, you may have deducted that by me blogging about this running thing would make it very real and would require me to completely commit to the runs I have set out to do. That was my fear, once I blog about it I HAVE TO DO IT!!!! So I have mustered up the courage to make my goals public and of course there is no turning back now!!

My weight continues to go down very slowly. I am currently down 25 pounds total. My schedule of workouts has changed by incorporating running and that has been challenging to adapt too, but I am getting there. Thanks again for reading along. Your support and interest is greatly appreciated!!

Plateau has been conquered!!

So finally after too many weeks to mention my plateau is broken! Wow I would be lying if I told you that it wasn’t one of the hardest and frustrating moments in this entire process. I kept exercising during my plateau but it became easier and easier for me to not make the right food choices and make excuses to boot. I would tell myself that I wasn’t losing anyway so why not eat this or that. I also stopped eating snacks and found myself allowing myself to get the point where I was starving more and more often. All of these bad choices do not help keep the body fueled nor did it help my metabolism!! After continued weeks of a scale that did not move I decided I better buckle down and stop making excuses.
I mixed up my workouts as I said in the my last post and I was consistent in my food. I stuck to my eating plan and ate less food more often. I kept my body fueled and it paid off. Not only did I break my plateau but I lost an additional 3 pounds. To date I have lost 23 pounds and I couldn’t be happier!! Seeing results by buckling down on my diet reinforced how important it is to eat correctly. I have learned that there are days when I don’t eat enough for the amount of working out I do. Food is as important as working out and they go hand in hand. By no means am I saying do not splurge or have a treat from time to time, I would go insane if I could not do so myself!! I just keep it all in balance and moderation is key.
Jen the nutritionist at Universal prepared me that over the next few months I will lose at a slower rate that I have to date. Not the best news I have ever received but it is what it is. Everyone loses slower the closer they get to their goal. So I am looking at it like getting closer to the finish line, and instead of dreading the time it will take to lose the remaining pounds I am going to enjoy it and embrace these last few months. Once I hit my goal it becomes a focus on maintaining my weight:)
Thanks for reading as always and again feel free to send me a note!

2/8 the results are in

Plateau’s plateau’s plateau’s. For those of you that have been on a mission to lose weight at some point you hit a plateau, it just is what it is. You see your body gets used to your routine and it begins to work against you so to speak. So the things that have worked for you up to the infamous plateau no longer yield the same results. Jen, Universals nutritionalist, predicted my plateau would last for at least 3 more weeks maybe longer. WHAT?!?!?!?!? I responded, seriously? She assured me I was on the path, just as my trainer Sharon says and that this is just a bump in the road. BUMP?!…um I apologize for being dramatic but I saw this as more of a large baracade…lol. None the less going out and ordering a Big Mac meal supersized was not the answer, or was it?
No seriously I did not go out and get a McDonald’s meal but I did cheat big time for about 2 days. I paid dearly however, let’s just say my body wasn’t used to my old diet
So how did the nutrionalist know about my plateau and the amount of time it was planning on being a royal pain in my butt? I will tell you!! I had the GEM test administered at Universal. What is a GEM test you ask? Well it basically is a device you breath into and the computer monitors your breathing, heart, etc. You may have heard about this on the tv show Biggest Loser. This handy dandy little test aloud me to find out what my body burns in calories on it’s own. This is a very useful bit of information to have. Now that I know what my body does naturally and with my newest toy, my heart rate monitor I truly can calculate calories in verses calories burned. Ideally you want to burn about 500 or more calories than you consume a day. WOW knowledge is power, I almost forgot about my plataeu, well no not really!!
So now what? Well I have incorporated some additional interval training, this is said to be a very effective method in losing weight. I have also learned that I need more lean muscle mass (between you and me I knew this…lol). Muscle burns calories, so the more muscle you have the more calories you burn. Most people are between 1200-1500 when taking the GEM test, lucky for me I was a 1250 on the lower side, sensing the sarcasm???? Of course I am on the low side, like I didn’t see this one coming, that would be my luck generally speaking. Knowledge is power, knowledge is power I just kept convincing myself that I just need to keep moving forward with my plan. I have no excuses, it is what it is. Sure my metabolism is on the slower side but I can change that by building more muscle. Sure I hit a plataeu but everyone does. My new plan, mix up the routine change it up a bit try some new things and really pay attention to my diet. Diet is very important if you are trying to calculate calories in vs. out.
So, all my friends out there keep on doing what your doing and when you don’t see the scale dropping or when you get in a rut don’t give up. If your lucky enough to belong to Universal you have options and support all around you. Thanks again for checking in and for all your encouraging words. I love it when you send me a message, it can be lonely out here in BLOG world!!