Let's Be Honest: Week One (5/9-5/14)

I'm dreading this post as much as I dreaded the first one. Why? I have some "before" photos to post. Of all the things I've been through in my life, so far, this is probably one of the most humbling experiences. Why is it so hard? Showing all of my flaws to the world? Pride. Life, stress, being mother and father to 2 precious little ones, working a full-time job, not enough time for me, and on and on.... I let myself go.

Time to just rip the band-aid off and stop hiding:

This was a photo I took right after my workout on Saturday (5/14) afternoon.

I couldn't get a full-length photo of myself, so I got Bugaboo to take them.




This reminds me of the movie, "The Ugly Truth". I resisted the urge to suck it in and hide ANYTHING.



Side-view. Ugh. This is my wake-up call. I need to get healthy, not only for me, but for the 2 kiddos that rely on me for EVERYTHING.

Overall, I had a great first week. I started the Insanity workout program on Monday morning (5/9/11). I set my alarm for 5am, an hour earlier than when I would normally get up. The first day was just a Fit Test. I didn't do so well. You do 8 different moves, 1 minute each, and do as many as you can in that time. Here are my Day 1 results:

Switch Kicks: 34
Power Jacks: 30
Power Knees: 56
Power Jumps: 15
Globe Jumps: 3 (in my defense, each one consists of 4 separate jumps)
Suicide Jumps: 7 (yes, they're as fun as they sound)
Push-Up Jacks: 6 (am I the only one that can't do more than a few "real" push-ups??)
Low Plank Oblique: 13

I kept it up every morning this past week (5/9-5/14). Sunday is a day of rest on this program, as it should be. :-) I could hardly walk on Tuesday. By Thursday, the soreness was mostly gone. I discovered that getting up at 4:50 instead of 5:00 worked better for me. That way, I was dressed and ready to start at 5.

I told myself that I would keep track of what I ate EVERY DAY. That was a flop. :-)    I'm realizing that I need to make a few changes at a time, and then make a few more. I concentrated on working out every day, drinking more water (I drank a minimum of 80 oz. a day), and cutting back on portion size.

By the second day, I felt so much better. I was a little shocked at how GREAT I felt. I guess after feeling so run-down, tired, etc, for so long, doing this gave my body a jolt back to reality. I've been sleeping better this past week, and I'm more energetic during the day. Wow. Who knew? :-)

I don't have a set of scales at home, so I used the ones at work on Friday. I lost 2 pounds. At first I was disappointed. Only 2 pounds?? Then I changed my train of thought (and thought of the contestants on the Biggest Loser). At least it was a loss. I got rid of 2 pounds I've been carrying around. I'm that much closer to my goal.

I didn't think to take measurements at the beginning of the week, so I'm not sure if I lost any inches to go with my 2 pounds. I measured myself last night, and while I'm at it, I'm going to humble myself some more and post them, so I can keep track of my progress, and for anyone that wants to follow along. :-)

Natural Waist: 35 1/2"
Lower waist: 41"
Hips: 43"
Right Upper Thigh: 27 1/2"
Left Upper Thigh: 27 1/2"
Chest: 39"
Upper Right Arm: 13"
Upper Left Arm: 13"

There. I have no pride left whatsoever.

 My motivations to keep this up are; feeling so great after getting back into working out, seeing those photos at the top of this post and never wanting to be there again, my kids and wanting to be around to take care of them, the desire to feel comfortable in my own skin, and for vanity's sake, to be able to wear the clothes hanging in my closet. :-)

What are your motivators to keep you going? What holds you back? I've come to the realization, that regardless of the outside shell, I'm still ME. My friends and family aren't going to walk away because I've gained weight. I just want to be a "happy in my own skin" me. Thanks for joining me on my journey to get there. :-)

~ Thanks for stopping by! ~

Jaime