If you’re new here, I’m on a journey to get in shape.
The first ten days of said journey consisted of a “cleanse.”
I lost nearly 13 pounds in those ten days.
I know, right? Totally sweet.
I want to give you an update and, for those of you who are curious, a (slightly) detailed account of what I’m actually doing.
First of all, let me tell you what I’m noticing so far. I’m fitting into shirts I didn’t fit into a couple weeks ago. My pants are falling down. I’m learning how to cook things like chicken, steak, fish and asparagus; it’s super fun! I also have way more energy.
The most obvious change, though, is that I’m not sweating like a hog all the time. That’s embarrassing, but it’s true. I’m a major sweat-er as is, so when I was eating crap all the time, it made it worse. In fact, when I went to the Story conference in Chicago in September, I had to carry around a towel to wipe off my forehead and face. The very first person I met there, this guy named Kerry, must have thought I was sick or something. We were having this great conversation, but I had to keep wiping the sweat off my face with my sleeves…ugh, I’m embarrassed just thinking about it. Glad that’s changing.
As I mentioned, I’m doing the AdvoCare 24 Day Weight Loss Challenge. I love it so far. A typical day of the cleanse looked like this: Wake-up and immediately drink the Fiber Drink. The first few days I just drank it in water and it was a little like drinking a glass of sawdust and orange rinds. But THEN…oh, then…I put it in 100% orange juice and it was AMAZING. Total game changer. Half hour later I’d eat breakfast (protein and veggie – omelet with peppers and mushrooms) and take two fish oil capsules. About 10am I’d eat some almonds and a banana or an orange. 1130am I’d drink a Spark energy drink (super tasty and no sugar) and then at noon eat lunch (usually chicken or steak and salad or other veggies). Then another healthy fat and fruit in the afternoon before a healthy dinner and two more fish oil capsules. Also, I basically drank water all day long.
Like I said, the cleanse was awesome. Really jump-started me and cleared out all the crap I’d accumulated in my body. It was great for my discipline, too.
I’ve also started working out at the gym three times a week.
“You can smile, dude,” my trainer told me. So, I did.
The workouts have been hard, but really good. Here’s a basic rundown of what I do each time: On Tuesdays and Thursdays I warm-up for 10 minutes on the treadmill, then do 4 sets of 15 (4 X 15) step-ups for each leg on a small box. Then squats (4 X 15). Then I focus on my right arm (Tuesdays) or my left arm (Thursdays). Then I do the ball slam where I pick an 8-pound ball off the floor, raise it over my head, and then slam it down. I do 5 sets of 15 of those. It makes me want to cry. Then I do 3 X 16 jack knifes. You lay down, with arms stretched-out over your head, then you bring your arms toward your left leg as you raise it, then the right, and you alternate. My abs hate me and are still getting familiar with being used for something other than rolling out of bed or getting in and out of my chair at work, so that’s cool. Then I walk on a slight incline for 15-20 minutes and then cool down with a 5 minute walk. On Saturdays I warm-up for 10 minutes, then do intervals for 20 (walk a minute, run a minute, 10 times each), then cool down with a 10 minute walk.
Egads. But, it’s so worth it.
And here’s the thing…I feel really good, but I have a long way to go. That’s hard for me. My trainer shot this video of me working my left arm at the gym the other day. That’s him encouraging me toward the end. I watched it when I got home and it made me feel embarrassed. “I can’t put that on my blog! I’ll wait until I’m in better shape,” I thought. But, that’s dumb. This is a process and I’m sharing it with you. I can’t wait to look back on this video and say, “Yep, that was me!” So, here’s the video of one of the exercises I do for my left arm. It’s literally the second time I’ve EVER worked-out my left arm on a machine in the gym.
Again, if you’ve read all this…thank you. It means a lot to me. Sharing this journey here helps keep me going. As does your support. And please, PLEASE, tell me your success stories and/or struggles! I’m excited to be in this together.
Stay strong!
Great job! Sounds like you are doing awesome–not an easy time of year to start a program. Keep up the awesome work!
Congrats! Sounds like you are doing fantastic! I’m just starting to work my left arm too and working hard to ignore the “everyone is looking at me and I suck” thoughts that go threw my head. I made a video a couple of years ago with my workout arm. I don’t know if there are many prosthetic users out there, but this may give you some ideas.