The Challenge is Over

First off I am the winner!!  OK, Maybe not of the overall challenge but of what I wanted to accomplish in the last 14 weeks I am.  The BWLC is over and now the hard part begins. No more work outs with Dan 3 times a week. No Dan pushing me to my limit. No one to hold me accountable except for myself and we see where that has gotten me over the years.

Dan has taught me many things over the last 14 weeks. One is that exercise can be fun and to shake things up so my routine does not get old. I did recently join Gainesville Health and Fitness and this is one way I hope to keep my exercise going along with Saturday morning boot camp classes at Sweat Life Fitness. Another thing Dan has taught me is how to feed my body. Clean eating really does work people. what you feed into it is what you will get out. As far has holding myself accountable, well I think its about time I start doing that. I am 38 years old and  if I dont take care of me who else will? Maybe a nurse in a nursing home when I am older and and cant walk because I did not take care of me. No no NO! The time is now. The last 14 weeks I have learned to embrace me for the weakness and  my strengths. A total of 34 pounds have been shed and I would like another 50 to be gone as well. For now my goal is to be under 200 pound, Thats only another 9 more to go. The next weight loss goal will be 179 (20 pound increments) and so forth.  This will be forever my life long journey.

1 Week left

So its Saturday morning April 7 at 1 o'clock in the morning. I cant sleep. I have got so many things racing around in my mind. Really starting to freak out that we only have 1 week left of the BWLC, 3 more workouts with Dan and we our on our own. Last Friday I did join the gym (GHFC) how many times have I gone ZERO. I am so afraid that when we are done I am going to get back into my lazy couch potato habits. Really that is not an option. I know exercise will keep me on the path to better health.

Another thing I have realized is that I am not a Blogger. Of all the things Dan has wanted us to do this I think has been the hardest. We started the blogg so we can be held accountable during our journey. I feel I have failed in this since I only have few post. Oh well I will get over it.

On that note I guess another reason I cant sleep is knowing that I am pretty sure I did not win this BWLC. Ya ya ya I know what your saying "just from being chosen and loosing 30 pounds your a winner" Right now I am not seeing it that way. I feel like many people were counting on me to win this one. From family, co-workers, clients etc and I feel like I have let them down. I feel like I have done the best that I could with out sacrificing myself and my family. Could I have exercised more? Probably.. Could I have followed the diet plan better? I am sure I could have but overall been extremely good. Over all I am happy with my progress. I did the best I could. So win or "lose" I really do know deep down inside I am a winner. I just hope others see it this way also. And by the way this is not me throwing in the towel. I am still in it to win it.  Its not over until the skinniest lady sings.

First 5k

Part of being in the Giggle Magazine , Sweatlife BWLC II all of us galls needed to sign up and partake in a 5K run. Most of us decided to do the Town of Tioga run for Haven Hospice. I personally wanted to do this event cause it would take place on St Patties day and also the funds went to what I think was a good cause.

Not being a runner I was really nervous to take part in this event. Hung up on my on issues I thought I would be laughed at or looked down on cause I am not a runner. Hell I am not even in the best of shape. But I am getting there. I felt like I could not do this on my own so I asked my mom to run with me. I knew she would be good support for me and keep me on track with the my running goals. Mom and me had a plan to run 2 mins and walk 1. She had even bought a lil beeper thing to tell us when to run/walk.

The day of the race had come and to much of my surprise. Anybody and everybody, meaning old/young.. skinny/heavy...whatever other adjectives you can think of were at this race. I really was hung up on my own issues of being the "fat girl". Silly me, I fit in just fine. Now the only thing I was nervous about is will I be able to finish and will I slow my mom down. Mom was not worried about the time again she was there to keep me going.

The sound of the start gun goes off and we start by walking until the crowd dies down. We are doing well with our run/ walk plan but my pour mother is having a hard time keeping up with my pace. Here I was so worried that I could not keep up with my healthy, active mother and  she was not able to keep up with me. Mom tells me to go ahead and I do.

I am happy to report I finished strong 339 place out of 422  and my total time was 41:37.. Mom was not to far behind me with 351 place and finish time of 43:23. We are already looking for our next race.

Pitty Party in my Head

SO I am having a bit of a pitty party going on in my head. We got some of our new weight loss number today and I am not quite so happy were I stand. Even though I am down 19 pounds in actual fat lost. The scale did not move as much as what I had anticipated. The scale last week was at 22 pounds lost and this week it was the same. I feel like I am doing everything right. I am eating well and clean. I exercise six days a week. I dont wanta here the bull-crap of, building muscle, water weight etc. This is not about excuses.
I NEED TO DO MORE. DO I exercise longer and harder? Twice a day?  Do I take Dan's advise and do this SPARK challenge? YES!!  Which is eating only lean proteins and veggies for two weeks. To me that is extreme. But I am extreme time right now. I gotta win the BLWC. I have too many people following and supporting me to let them down and myself.

SO here I go. MY pitty party is over (check)....
I got my A game on (check).....
Big girl panties on (check).....
Bring it girls cause Steph is in it to win it.

www.gigglemag.com
www.sweatlifefitness.com

Numbers to be proud of!!

So yes its been a little while since I last blogged. To be honest with you not to much exciting has been going on until today. I got some numbers that I am really excited to share with all of you.

First is my weight started at 242 pounds on January 3,2012 and today nine weeks later I am at 220.
That is a total of 22 pounds , that is no longer on me.. Hehee!!

Second we had measurements retaken today My Belly was at 48inches and to day at 47inches. My arms were at 15inches and today 14inches. My highs were at 26inches and today 25inches. I lost an entire inch all around my body.

Third, and this is the number I am MOST proud of. My blood pressure. At one point my B.P. was at 138/101 and that was on 100mg of Metoprolol. Today my number are reading 118/70 and I have cut my medication is half. I contribute it to the diet and exercise.

Thank you all for your continued support I honestly could not do this without all your kind words of engorgement.

A day in the life with the Jarnol"s

First let me start by saying I have a wonderful husband. He has been very supportive in my weight loss journey. He is proud of me from were I have been to were I am going. Tonight he surprised me with my favorite flowers (Tulips) in my favorite color (purple). Thank you honey I love you. With that being said let me clue the world in on one day in the life at the Jarnol house hold.
Today Publix has deli made tea on sale. BOGO. I decide I am going to get one sweet for the girls and one unsweetened for me. Me no longer drinking anything with artificial sugar, I needed to take the bitterness out of the unsweetened tea. I pour 2 cups out and add some of the sweet to the unsweetened. EVERYBODY following? My diabetic husband says he cant have tea sweetened with sugar, so I make it a point to tell him what I did so he will not accidentally drink the tea with sugar. We wouldn't want to kill him with the sugar... He seemed to freak on on me cause I sweetened my tea with real sugar that he cant have. We actually had a 5 min conversation on why I had to sweeten the whole gallon vers adding sugar when I poured myself a glass. BECAUSE its my tea dammit and I can do what I want. I was just giving him the heads up about the sugar he says he cant have. EVERYBODY still following me? So tonight after I had my healthy shrimp and broccoli diner, sitting on the couch watching tv with my wonderful husband who just got me flowers, I hear this quiet opening of a wrapper. Husband what you got??? Nothing.. What you have over there you are eating??? Guess what that man had.. Just guess. That same man that was giving me a hard time about lil sugar in tea what eating a FREAKIN Milky-Way. WTF ..
God I love that man

Physiograph Results

Today we had our Physiographs done. For though's who don't know what a physiograph is its system that tells Dan at Sweat Life Fitness how much Body Fat, Muscle , Fluid  and a few other things I am really not to sure of. I am very excited no proud .. NO I'am  STOKED  and PUMPED UP at my numbers I got back today. Besides the scale being down 12 pounds I have also lost 14 pounds of body fat. I am well on my way be a healthier me.

 

 Mouse Over Chart DOTS to View Exact Values 

	Body Weight	Fat	Muscle	Fluid
Start:	242	130.1	53.4	43.3
Last Measure:	242	130.1	53.4	43.3
This Measure:	230	116.1	53.6	43.9
Overall Change:	-12	-14.	0.14	0.61
Current Change:	-12	-14.	0.14	0.61

3 Surprising Reasons to Give Up Soda | Yahoo! Health

3 Surprising Reasons to Give Up Soda | Yahoo! Health

I just signed up to run my first 5k ...Run for Haven

The first time I ever ran I did a 15 minute mile. That was on January 8, 2012. Since I have been trying to improve my time but have only been able to complete in 16-20minutes. Mainly because of the pain in my knee. Today I am so stoked. I ran my mile in 14:05 minutes and there was a brief moment were I had to stop and tie my shoe. I feel so accomplished. I was being to feel I would never get back to the 15 minute mark. I need to keep moving froward cause I just signed up to run my first 5k. March 17 Tioga Town Center - Run for Haven - 5K. I need to Start planning now for you St. Patty's Day costume - the best costume at Run for Haven will win a prize! Any ideas please post.

Scarlet Letter "D" for Disappointment

So its the end of week 4 and have been cruising along working hard being extremely compliant to my diet and exercise plan.. I feel like it is starting to pay off. The scale is 11 pounds down and clothes are being to be loose on me.  Many tuff obstacles have been in my way and I have made good, smart choices. Until yesterday I made the conscious decision to have a cheese burger from "Five Guys" one of my favorites. I tried to justify to myself I could make it "healthier" by not adding the mayo and ketchup to the burger and having extra veggies on it. Who was I kidding?  (see below) I never took note that more than half of my daily calories could really be ingested in one meal.

Burgers	Serving Size (g)	Calories	Calories from Fat	Total Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)	Trans Fat (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
Hamburger	265	700	400	43	19.5	0	125	430	39	2	8	39
Cheeseburger	303	840	500	55	26.5	0	165	1050	40	2	9	47

Fries	Serving Size (g)	Calories	Calories from Fat	Total Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)	Trans Fat (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
One Serving of Fries (approx. half of regular order)	122	310	130	15	3	0	n/a	45	39	3	1	5

I knew I was being bad and I felt I needed to come clean and tell the world on Facebook what I had done. To come clean and be honest to myself, supporters, my teammates and my trainer. I could have very easily not said a word on my major set back but felt I would only be lying and deceiving  myself. That is not who Iam and for that I am not sorry for sharing my set backs. BUT I feel like I have been marked with the Scarlet Letter "D" for disappointment  for letting my trainer down. That is one of that last things I would want to do. He has volunteered his time to get me back in shape and sure reading my burger feast was a slap in the face to him and for that I am sorry. Very very sorry. The last thing I want him to think is I am wasting his time. I am beyond grateful for the 3 hours a week I get to workout with him.  But again I felt I needed to be honest with my set back so I could move forward. And move forward I did. Today while my teammates were training I had to run two long laps around the field. Just when I thought I would be done Dan threw another lap at me.I knew I needed to take anything he threw at me today. Tired and just about worn out I had  to catch up with the other girls on the workout they had already started.  Definitely a tuff workout day.

So you maybe asking was eating the wrong thing worth it? Well I am not going to answer that question. 

Being honest to myself and taking my punishment like the tuff woman that I am? Yes. 

To I plan to go off program again? Hell NO! But If I do I will  post so I can be held accountable for my actions.

Am I great-full to Dan and Sweatlife Fitness for this amazing opportunity?  Hell Yes!!

Am I going to be the BWLC winner? I am not going down without a fight.

http://sweatlifefitness.com/ 

http://www.gigglemag.com/

4 Week Weigh In

Four weeks ago today we (BLWC gals) had our first weigh in. I was at 242 pounds and 54.1% body fat. Every four weeks or so Dan is going to re-evaluate us and see were we are at. Today is that day. I am so nervous, why you ask? Dan from Sweetlife Fitness set a goal for me to lose atleast 10 pounds. I know I have lossed 8, but nervous I have not losed that extra two. There is really no reason that I shouldn't have loosed the weight. I have been eating well and exercising. The kicker is my doctor as me on a hormone medicine for that last week and just guess what the main side effect is? WEIGHT GAIN!!! I am NOT trying to make excesses it is what is. Lucky for I only have to take for one more week and I am done.

Well I am off to work out and I will check in later to let everyone know how I did. Wish me LUCK.

Well here is my update. As of today I have lost 11 pounds. Yeah go ME!! Dans fat machine was broken so we were unable to see how much fat we have lost. So next week once it is fixed will post.

Thanks for all your support.
Steph

End of week 3 (day 16)

So I have not blogged in a while to be honest it not my favorite thing to do but here we go.

Its day 16 on the BWLC  and we are almost to the end of the third week. Had many food challenges this passed week, actually they were all in one day. It was Jennifer's baby shower and Kevin's holiday party. I needed to make the decision to go off program for the day or just make good choices.  I am happy to report that I did stay on program (for the most part) I only escaped with a few B.L.T's (bites, licks, taste) of cake at Kevin's party. What calories I did ingest I think I may have burned off dancing in my 3"sexy heals.

Over all the actual diet part of the plan is going well. I try to eat as natural as possible. Meaning no white stuff and little to no processed foods.I drink a cup of coffee in the morning, a tea in the afternoon and as much water I can stand throughout the day. I am happy to report its been 13 days without a diet coke. Its the longest I have ever gone with out drinking a diet coke and really I don't miss it. Ok that's a lie, I do miss the sound the can makes when you open and the bubbles tingling down my throat. What I don't miss is the bloated feeling I always had. Another positive attribute is I am not hungry and contently thinking about food. Sugar craving have subsided. Skin looks great. I have a bit more energy, looking to have even more.

Challenges for the up coming week. Thursday we have our official weigh in and body fat composition. Dan and me set my goal to have lost 10 pounds by this time. I have already loss 8 I am just afraid I won't lose the extra 2 in a week. Another challenge is pushing myself hard enough with our exercise. I know I can be doing more but recent knee pain is holding me back. Not sure if the pain is muscles and ligaments getting stronger or if I am causing actual damage to my knee. If not better soon I will get checked out by the doctor.

My own words

So anyone who really knows me well, knows I am not a reader or a writer. So with that being said, I was talking with my mother and she thought I was being prompted on what to blog. I told her I wasn't then she thought someone was writing for me. Nope its all me. With that being said. My blog is all me, no one is telling me what to say or writing it for me. ITS ALL ME.. I am not good at spelling, complete sentences, punctuation  and organizations.. in fact I just had Amanda my 14 year old help we with what people look for when reading. I dont care, never have about any of that. I am just writing (blogging) what I feel. Enjoy

One mile test

SO today we had our one mile test to see how fast we could run. For a girl whom has never ran a day in her life, unless she was chancing down the ice-cream truck,  I did not do to bad. My first lap was completed in 3 minutes and Dan told me if I kept up that pace I would finish in 15 minutes so that was the goal. I am happy to report I did finish 4th and walked one extra lap to cool down, to show support for my fellow teammates. Oh I also finished in 15minutes so I hit my goal. Yeah!!!

That run did kick my ASS.. When I was finished it felt like my lungs were on fire and I swear I had the taste of blood in my mouth. I have been informed it will get better, we shall see. I do have a new respect for runners. I dont understand yet why you run vers doing something else. But I will keep doing for the next 14 weeks and see if it becomes something I can enjoy doing.