August 2, 2014- 74 days until the wedding!

     Alarm goes off and I roll over to turn it off. Suddenly I clutch my abdomen because both sides of my torso are so SORE!! I sit up and delicately touch my sides and wince! I was expecting a bit of soreness though. I would have been upset if I woke up and I WASN'T sore!
    I have another 3pm clock in time for work, so my options for classes would be limited again- or so I thought!!! Apparently Vixen Fitness has an abundance of classes, AM and PM, on Saturdays! So I had some choices on classes. Sunrise Yoga looked appealing to me, but it was at 10am, so just too early for the day. I decided on TWO classes- surprise surprise!! 
     First class was Rockin' Hard Beach Bodies with Marissa! Obviously I wanted a rockin' hard body, and the wedding is going to be on a beach, AND the instructor shares my name, so this class seemed to be a no-brainer!! I was one of three girls in the class and it was chalk-full of cardio!! Forgetting a towel, I had to use my shirt to mop the sweat from my forehead! Luckily I have a large storage of energy, endurance and stamina, but by the end of the hour class, I was running on fumes. Training my body, which is sore and tense from the Power Yoga yesterday, to get used to all this increased physical activity is hard!! I really regretted having signed up for 2 classes. I didn't know if I would be able to get through it!! But I was already at the studio, I had already committed and signed-up, so I needed to follow through. As extra motivation, I pulled up a picture of me in my wedding dress that I had taken at the fitting. I reminded myself why I was doing all this and what I hoped to accomplish.
    Second class was Stretch and Flexibility with Heather. I have always wanted to increase my flexibility and be able to do a full split. If I thought this was going to be an easy class- I was dead wrong! Yes I did not sweat because it was not high energy, but the amount of strain on my muscles was through the roof. I was already exhausted from the Beach Bodies class, and all the various positions that Heather had us stretching in was so strenuous that I actually thought about quitting the class halfway though! But I've quit every other workout thing I've tried so I HAD to see this through for my own sanity. Heather had us work on splits on both legs and a middle split. I cannot do a split, so she had myself (and another less flexible girl) go down as far as we could, and use a big foam roller to hold ourselves up so we can deepen the split to get our muscles used to it. The one position that stood out the most to me was the backbend (aka "wheel" in yoga terms.) Now, I can do a decent "bridge" position:

 But Heather didn't want "bridge," she wanted "wheel":

     My body doesn't do wheel!! I tried to put my hands down and straighten them and lift my body- but I collapsed. I tried again and I collapsed. Finally Heather came over. She wrapped her arms around my waist and lifted my torso up so I was forced to straighten my arms. I felt like my spine was going to snap!!! I was gasping for air. My back has never experienced being bent that direction and at that angle! Heather kept telling me to breathe and just as the pain was becoming unbearable, she let me go. We did the exercise one more time and it was not any easier!

      When the class was finally over I was so grateful! As I stood up to put my mat away, I almost fell over! My left foot erupted in pain. I had an incident about 5 weeks ago in which I was walking my 140lb dog Nimbus. I was looking to the right and he was sniffing a tree on the left. Suddenly he pulled with all his might! He had seen a wild rabbit and was ready for the chase! Well he jerked my foot so badly that I bruised the muscle or tendon in my foot that sits just above the heel. I ended up having to walk with a small limp for about 2.5 weeks but then it had lessened to a dull pain. The doctor had said that I simply needed to ice it and stretch. I did both, but the dull pain remained. I guess the intense stretching from the class reminded my body that something was wrong in my foot! I had to perform in 6 shows that evening and while I tried to hide my intense limp, one of my co-workers said I looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame! I immediately became worried that I was going to have to quit going to Vixen until after my foot had healed. It hurt to put any amount of pressure on my foot, so just walking was torture! How could I do anything like spin class or dance class or ANYTHING?! I came home and cried a little. Day 2 of my new Movement, and I might already have to quit!

As a sidenote: At my job they started a 30 day weight loss challenge! We get weighed by a manager and 30 days after we get weighed we'll get reweighed. The goal is to lose at least 100lbs within the entire department, and the "biggest loser" (based on body percentage lost) will win a prize!! Because I've already started this Movement, I thought, "This weight loss challenge has come at the most perfect time!!"

Food Journal:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with a small handful of ham chunks cooked in.

Lunch/dinner: I had a repeat of yesterday. I purchased another large shrimp fried rice and had half for lunch around 3:30p and the rest for dinner around 7:30p.

Cheat: those damn cookies! They tempted me again! But I only had 3 this time!

August 1, 2014- 75 Days Until the Wedding

 

    It's a beautiful Friday morning, and I've woken up with a new outlook and a plan of attack! I know that I needed to do something bigger than what I've done in the past. Something that will push me, challenge me, but be able to keep my interest. 
      A co-worker takes fitness classes at a studio called Vixen Fitness and she's shared her experiences there on a few occasions. I've always been intrigued by the studio, mostly because it's a stones throw from my job-literally! I can park, take a class, and then walk into work if I wanted! Not to mention that they offer pole class, silk class, and lyra (hoop) classes (all of which I've always wanted to try) along with fun classes like: Booty Bouncin', SEXY Chair dance, and Belly Dancing! When I did some research on their website, I saw that they had a running special of $30 for 2 weeks of unlimited classes. The fitness classes can be bought individually for $10 a class, and the pole, silk and lyra classes are $20 a class normally. They also offer monthly unlimited classes, class packages, and a slew of other plans to fit any person! But I wanted to take advantage of the special so I could try the studio and all of the different classes before I did an actual membership. I had to be sure that this was the right fit for me.
     I had to be at work at 3pm, so the only class I could take was Co-ed Power Yoga at 12:15p. Most of the classes are females only, with a few exceptions like this class. I was a mixture of excited, apprehensive, and extremely nervous. I was worried that everyone was going to be in bras and short shorts, and be yoga pros, whilst I would be in my sweats, falling out of every pose. But I thought- "You paid for 2 weeks. Just give it 2 weeks."
     Vixen Fitness is a place that will make any girl smile. It's all pink and black, leopard print cushioned chairs, huge glittery mirrors in the pole area, and even a bar & lounge area (the studio is sometimes bought out for parties). I walked into the room where our class was to be held and it was very similar to a dance studio room- floor to ceiling mirrors on 2 of the 4 walls.
     The instructor, whose named was Jesus, according to the class schedule online, is a very in-shape spanish man. There were about 6 other girls in the class and Jesus turned off the main lights and left on these pulsing pink lights-  ambiance I can only assume. Yoga mats are provided for us to use, stapled with the studio logo in the center with words of encouragement at each end "I AM STRONG." 
     The class was extremely hard for me! I kept waiting for the meditation portion of Yoga, or the "sleeping" pose, or anything that didn't make my muscles quiver and shake!! I found myself constantly checking the clock to see how much time was left! But anytime I would half-ass a position or pose, or do an exercise slower or lower because I was tired, Jesus would come by and lift my leg higher, or instruct me to try and push myself. I definitely was pushed to my maximum capacity! Once class was over, and my body was soaked with sweat, I stood up to put my yoga mat away and almost fell over!! My muscles felt like JELLO!! My arms and legs felt so heavy! But  I noticed that I felt wide awake and even energetic! Although it was difficult, I really enjoyed the class and the instructor! I left Vixen feeling joyful that I completed my first official workout on this journey!!

Food journal:
    Breakfast: I cooked 2 scrambled eggs for myself and also had 5 pieces of bacon. (I can normally eat an entire ration of bacon in one sitting, so limiting myself to only 5 pieces was a big deal!!)
    Lunch/dinner: after my one hour Yoga class, I stopped by Pei Wei and bought a large shrimp fried rice. I ate half of it around 2:30p for lunch, aand I polished it off for dinner at about 7p.
    Bad: of course my roommate baked chocolate chip cookies from scratch today!! And he left them in a beautiful tupperware on the kitchen island. I passed by them multiple times when I got home from work (which was about 11:15p.) My willpower finally broke an hour later and I had 5 cookies. 5!! Why?! That's probably all the calories that I burned in my yoga class! All that pain for 3 minutes of cookie enjoyment! I felt so guilty and it definitely was no worth it! Note to self: try harder to resist temptation!!

July 31, 2014- the beginning

     Let me start by sharing a bit about myself. I am a spry 29 year old who lives in Florida. I am an actor and a performer and my job hinges on my "look" and maintaining a "healthy" body weight is par for the course. If you were to see me in person, you wouldn't say that I'm fit by any means, and you also wouldn't say that I'm overweight. But at 5'1, and 127lbs, I AM considered overweight. For those of us more 'vertically challenged' individuals, even 5 measly little pounds can make a HUGE difference. We show any weight gain instantly and it's a very difficult thing to manage.

     This is the largest I've ever been in my life. The more I age, and with each passing day, weight becomes harder and harder to lose. In my early 20's, I could maintain my weight simply by working (dancing 6 shows under the scorching Florida sun.) I didn't do any additional working out or any type of dieting. I was never toned or tight, but  my number on the scale was low and unchanging.

     Now, less than a decade later, my body is a shell that I want to shed like a snake. I look at myself when I get dressed in the morning and I am disgusted with what I have let occur. MY choices made me like this- so I can't blame anyone else but yours truly. I made a decision to get myself to get into amazing shape. To actually apply myself. I had attempted P90X and T25 in the past, but I would always flake on workouts, skip days when I was feeling lazy, half-ass exercises, take more "breaks" then the programs' allowed, and usually quit after 2-3 weeks. I made a promise to commit this time. And with a wedding looming in 2.5 months, it was perfect motivation. Every Bride wants to look fantastic on their wedding day, and this lady is no exception! So, for motivation, I also decided to start a blog to document my journey. Here are my obligatory "before" pics- complete with no-make up, black and white filter, and scraggly hair!