before and so far

i'm posting some progress pictures. the first fat one is me in november at my best friends celebrating his birthday. i don't really like this picture one because i look like a big fluffy marshmallow...just sayin - you can agree or disagree. i want to say i'm about 226lbs in that picture but not quite sure either way i'm pretty close to that number. one of my friends was being so nice that night he asked me if i was losing weight...ha! um no just packing some on to lose later. the second picture is me in mexico at the mayan ruins, not much to say about this one except for i had an amazing time. i think i weighed in at 224lbs in this picture i would guess because when i got back from my trip that is what i weighed so around there. so far this is what i have as my before pictures, if i can find more i will post those as well. when i get to my goal weight i would like to do something fun and make a video slide show...hehehe

...and this picture is me about 25lbs lighter. in my zumba class the instructor is having a biggest loser contest from now to june and i was the first week's winner! weigh ins are every saturday morning after class and then a winnder is announced every two weeks. next week's winner will be announced this monday coming up so we will see what happends. I had a big lose last week weighing in but because of easter not sure how well this week's weigh in will be but i'm not scared. i've been working my butt off this week so far to burn that easter food off. hopefully it will pay off in the end. the final winner receives a free month of zumba. i'm hoping to get that because i could really save the money and use it for something else like new shoes!! i'm really just happy to be losing weight and in the end of it all i will probably feel like a winner in my own right.

~ cheers and good health!
Catherine

i'm so excited

i'm getting closer and closer to my goal. i'm 20lbs down and have about 75lbs more to go. i'm doing so good right now and i feel better about myself emotionally and physically. i'm so motivated nothing can stop me now!!! holla! making exercising fun is a hard task but i'm doing it. i also noticed that the more i do it the more it gets easier to make it a part of my daily life's routine. hopefully if there are any roadblocks that stand in my way i can still stay motivated enough to keep going. i tend to lose interest if i have something standing in my way of my successes. more good news! my zumba fitness class is doing a biggest loser competition and i'm the first round winner! yay me! i received two zumba towels and a nice little certificate. i will post the picture shortly.

so this has been a really great week for me. people are starting to notice that i've been losing weight. i even had some stranger come up to me and said how great i was looking and to keep up the great work, which in turn just made me keep going. my co-worker and i thought it would be a good idea if gyms would hire people that work as undercover gym goers and walked around the gym telling people how good they look. i can't wait to see what next month brings and how much better i will be looking before summer starts. go health!

~here's to a healthy day and week!
catherine m

according to...

tv's toughest trainer i'm kicking ass! i've lost a total of 17 pounds so far since i've started on the jillian michaels program...woohoo! but i think i'm doing too much...ugh how does the saying go heavy lifting may result to injury. although not sure how it happened but i pulled a muscle on my right side in the lower back/hip region given me literally a pain in the butt. so i have been taking it easy for the pass couple of days. i'm also dealing with vertigo which isn't a fun feeling at all!! i start volleyball may 5th and i'm excited. i miss playing and can't wait to step on the court again. this is a summer league so only four people play on the court so my guess is the games are a little more competitive and fast pace. no worries i think i'll be ready. i haven't played in almost a year and a half. just trying to keep myself moving.

so i lost 17 pounds, that's 3 away from 20. i'm hoping to get under 200 lbs. by the time summer starts, maybe a little less so i can buy some new clothes. i noticed that my energy level has gone up and i'm able to do more. my foot still bothers me some and my leg can still get pretty swollen. that's why i'm hoping losing weight could possibly slow down the swelling or in a dream world make the swelling go away all together. but we will see what happens. so until then i'm going to continue to kick ass!

~ catherine

all things fitness

so i tried out a zumba class last week and i absolutely loved it. it was a lot fun and fast paced making it totally addicitive. so now i have joined the party of zumba and can add that to my list of excercises/activities or whatever you want to call it. so now i'm going to the gym fives times a week and doing zumba three times a week. in may i start volleyball. the summer 4s league which will be a little more intense since there's only 4 people on the court and not six which works for me just fine. my running game is improving too but still needs a lot of work. i do only about 25 minutes just so i can keep track of my progress. my distance is improving and so is my speed, eventaully i will get there and run that 5k...um but that will take a while. i even bought a new pair of running shoes but i use any excuse to buy new shoes. on the strength training side of things i feel like i'm getting stronger as i can push more weight now then what i was in the beginning. looking forward to starting volleyball in a month, haven't played in two years due to health reasons but enough already i'm taking my chances, blood thinners or not i'm going for it. so here's to fitness and hoping to add more activity to my list now that the weather is getting better like biking or something trying to move away from going to the gym all the time, no wait scratch that i think that damn groundhog lied its suppose to snow this weekend...um wth.

cheers!

cat

watch me go...doing good

so in the past three weeks i have lost 9 lbs. so i'm pretty happy about that. i know it's not going to be like that all the time but so far i'm proud of myself and still feel motivated to keep going. i've been going to the gym frequently and doing my exercises. still trying to not bored myself from the same old thing everytime i go. need a new playlist or something but i will keep at it no matter what even if the music is getting old. luckily i found out that netflix has an option for streaming video on phone devices so i may sign up for that so i can watch all 4 seasons of 30 rock or something while i'm doing my cardio at least and then switch to music for strength training. i'm excited and hoping so much that i continue this journey...um this time around and be successful of reaching my goals. looking forward to what i can achieve next month. as one of my favorite neighbors would say "watch me go...doing good."

one week down

and a bunch more to go. my first week on the jillian michaels program i lost 2lbs but then i found out i have till friday for my actual weigh in day so i may change it because fridays would work so much better for me anyway. i'm actually glad i lost 2lbs because it lets me know i'm doing things right it's just going to be a very, very long road ahead but i'm trying my hardest to be patient but like the title says one week down and here's to many more. hoping for another successful week two.

bummed out!

just a little anyway. found out by the doctor this week i have to stay on the warfarin for good now unless i have plans of getting pregnant but even then i'll have to talk with the doctor because there are still high risks with that. factor 5 leiden sucks! and so does anything pertaining to an abnormal venous system for that matter. so this means no sports, no piercings, and no tattoos and oh yeah no drinking...uh maybe. so i guess to be on the safe side this is good news but as a social downer it sucks bad. i joined the jillian michaels program this time and giving myself a break from ww plus its a little cheaper then ww. i've been going to the gym for a week now and i feel really really sore but its the good kind of sore. and i'm trying my hardest to only weigh myself once a week instead of every morning like i do, i think that's where i lose my motivation at time is when i see my weight fluctuate and i don't see any changes. so here goes another good week and hoping for many many more!

~cheers!
cwak