I'm buying I gym!

At least I'm hoping to buy a gym!  Hopefully I will be the proud owner of my own business in less than 24 hours!
So much has happened in such a short amount of time and can I say I am just SO EXCITED!
I have created a website if you want to help and please message me if you would like more information!
Here's my website!

http://www.gofundme.com/SaveCindysGym

I will post more tomorrow!
Please share this with your friends!

Exhaustion sets in!

Yesterday I ran my first 5K of the year and taught 1 hour of Zumba.  I had planned on doing night club Zumba last night, and I had a wave of exhaustion hit my body yesterday that made me almost weak in the knees.  I decided to stay home and rest.
Today I'm still really tired!
I guess I need to learn that even though I've lost all this weight, I am still 56 years old and my body has limitations.  I can only push it so far!  Between teaching and attending - last week I got in 4 runs, 9 Zumba classes, and 2 weights workouts at the gym.  And yesterday I was so tired I had trouble with controlling the wanting to eat factor.  I had more snacks and ate a sixth Medifast meal, trying to get rid of the exhaustion feeling.  Fortunately the scale stayed the same this morning.
Anyway, I'm grateful to have a day off.
I will probably take the dog for a walk this afternoon and work on some new choreo, other than that, laundry, cleaning, etc.  No exercise for me today!

No longer Obese!

Day 92 - I'm officially down 35 pounds and am now officially overweight!  I'm also half-way to my goal!  I made it through an extremely stressful and emotional week without emotional eating!  Getting ready to list a bunch of Zumba wear on Ebay that no longer fits me.  I'm excited to order my Take Shape For Life coaching kit when I get paid at the end of this month!

And I'm now teaching Zumba Fitness classes at Snap Fitness!  Working on building the class! Saturday mornings at 11:00.  Come and join me!

Lazy Saturday

This is the first Saturday I've had off in months, although I did take one off a few weeks ago when we went to the Alejandro Master Class up in Mukilteo, WA and spent the night.  I wasn't home.  Today I'm home.  My allergies got to me this week and I stayed home sick yesterday.  It's now 10:45, and I'm bored.  Well, sick and bored.  But bored.  I could clean.  I could practice for my next Saturday class.  I could go to the gym.  I could take the dog for a walk. I could re-arrange my closet.  I could list items on E-Bay that no longer fit me.  Instead I've taken a nap and sit in my recliner, working on my blog.
I was supposed to do a sleep study tonight, but rescheduled it for May because of my cold.  So, maybe it's hard to take a day off.
I'm down to 174, and lost 25 pounds now.
Even this post is boring!  LOL!

8 weeks, 24 pounds, 8 inches

Eight Weeks ago I started a new journey with Take Shape For Life and I am down 24 pounds!  Naysayers thought I was losing weight too quickly and that it was unsafe.  I lost a dramatic amount of weight (9 1/2 pounds) in the first week, but I have consistently dropped 1 - 3 pounds per week since then.

This week I battled with Social Security AND with getting my taxes done.  I also got bad news that my Saturday classes at the Senior Center are being dropped, and that my Gold-Toning classes are getting dropped as well.

The old me wanted to go find some chocolate because it's been a stressful week!

The new me made Chocolate-Peanut Butter Medifast Pie, Egg & Spinach Omelet cups, and Chai Latte Muffins.  The new me might have eaten an extra meal yesterday, even though I didn't work out, but I kept myself on plan.

And the new me started a Couch to 5K training program so that I will be ready to run the whole 5K at this year's Habitat for Humanity Run, Walk, Ride!

The new me still managed to lose 1 1/2 pounds this week, and met my first mini goal of what I weighed on 1/1/12.  My new target goal is 17 1/2 pounds away.   Pushing hard to make that goal by the 5K on June 29th!

And the new me just talked the owner of Snap Fitness into letting me try to teach there!  Come and join me April 27th for a free Zumba Class!

Made it to my first goal!!!

My first goal was my weight January 1, 2012 - 177.    I made the goal this morning!  Woo Hoo!

I have officially lost 21 1/2 pounds on Take Shape For Life, which is 12 % of my body weight.  And I've lost 7 1/4 inches! 

Got a call from the doctor this week with my test results, and it turns out my thyroid levels were TOO HIGH!  Here is a link to what kind of side effects you can have from too much thyroid medication
Checklist: Symptoms of Overmedication

So I skipped one day of thyroid medication and started the new lower dose on Wednesday or Thursday.  I don't remember.  I'm doing MUCH better, although I've only worked out 2 times since lowering my thyroid medication.  I will have it checked again in a couple of months!

Today I also officially started my Couch to 5K training.  My first 5K of this year will be the Run, Walk, Ride for Habitat for Humanity.  Last year I walked it and pulled my hamstring because I did not train for it.  I have 12 weeks to train.      It is June 29th, this year.  I started off with running 1/2 a mile on the treadmill.  Here is a link to it if you want more info:  Run, Walk, Ride - Habitat for Humanity.

So my next goal is the weight I got to when I lost the 75 pounds - 158.  I have 19 pounds to go to reach this weight!  Let's see if I can make my goal by the 5K!  That would be roughly 1 1/2 pounds per week! 

I will try and post some before and after pictures soon! 

~Spinach & Cheese Omelette Muffins~

• 1 Package Frozen Chopped Spinach - defrosted
• 1 container Original Egg Beaters
• 1/2 cup Reduced Fat Sargento Mexican Cheese
• 12 cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
• Mrs. Dash Southwestern Chipotle Seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 375F.  
2. Line muffin pan with paper cups.
3. Spray the muffin cups with Non-stick spray (I used Olive oil)
4. Arrange about 1 tbsp of Spinach on the bottom of the cups.
5. Chop 1 cherry tomato and place on top of the spinach.
6. Sprinkle about 1/2 - 1 tbsp of shredded cheese over the tomato.
7. Pour about 2 - 3 tablespoons over the cheese.
8. Top with a small pepper slice.
9. Sprinkle the top with the Seasoning.
10. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes (check after 15 - depending on your oven you may need less or more time).

After cooling for 5 minutes, remove to cooling rack.

How to get smart about TSFL

I admit, the first few days were rough!  I wasn't supposed to exercise for the first three weeks!  So the first day, I taught my Zumba® Gold & Gold Toning Class.  And then I went to do Night Club Zumba that night.  I felt like I was sweating so much at the Night Club Zumba, that I felt even my eye balls were sweating!

The next day, my husband and I picked up a very heavy dresser from a friend, and trying to get the dresser into my house made me feel like I was going to pass out several times.  That was my first bout of light-headedness.  The next Sunday I did a 3 hour Zumba training session, all high intensity.  But this time I figured I would eat my Lean and Green meal before going to the session.  But I got light-headed several times during it, and ate several meals to try and recover.

Next I went to physical therapy in the morning, and got light-headed.    Then I was installing a projector at work and had to climb up on a ladder and a table to do it, and if there hadn't been someone there working with me, I would've stopped, because I was light-headed again.  By this time, I was almost through my third week.  So I asked my coach, should I STILL be getting lightheaded?  No, I shouldn't.  

Well, right after that, I got hit in the face with a soccer ball at work and had a concussion, so my exercise was limited and I wasn't able to get on ladders or work out.

Now that I've met with my doctor about the light-headedness, she wants me to try eating breakfast.  Even if it's hard-boiling an egg.  So today I've spent the day searching for breakfast ideas that are quick and easy.  It's spring-break and no big deal to cook something for breakfast now.  But when I start back to work, it won't be so easy!    So I need something that can give me fuel and protein, non-soy, that I can warm quickly, eat quickly, and get out the door.

And then I need to re-figure what my eating times are, so that I still get my 5 medifast meals in a day.

So today is day one.  I just ate half of my lean & green, and I'm still hungry.  I suppose I need to just hang in there and see if I will get used to this, just like I did when I started the diet.  However, I still have one more medifast meal I can eat, in about half an hour.    

They fit again!

Hello Size Medium!  So happy to see you again!  

Take Shape For Life.....Progress!!!

I just completed Week 5 of Take Shape For Life.    Here is my progress report:
February 16, 2013 - I started the diet at 198.6
February 23, 2013 - Week one weigh in - 189.2  down 9 1/2 pounds!
March 2, 2013 - Week two weigh in - 187.6 down another 1 1/2 pounds!
March 9, 2013 - Week three weigh in - 185.2 down another 2 1/2 pounds!
March 16, 2013 - Week four weigh in - 181.8 down another 3 1/2 pounds!

In one month's time I lost 9% of my body weight and 4 1/2"!  That was with hardly any exercise - just teaching my Zumba Gold & Zumba Gold Toning class 3 times a week.

March 23, 2013 - Week five weigh in 180.8 - down another 1 pound.

Last week I put on my jeans that I couldn't wear for the last several months because they were too tight and created too much of a muffin top. The last time I tried putting them on I had to suck in my gut to zip them up. Yesterday I put them on, no problems zipping them up, and I wore a form fitting shirt and there wasn't much muffin top left!
So I may have only lost *1* pound last week, but I am happy to be wearing my jeans again! The stretch jeans that I bought earlier in the year, they are getting really loose and I'm ready to stop wearing them. They were a size 12-14.
Today when I go to the store I'm going to try the 8-10 and see how they fit. I might even buy them! It will be fun to have a smaller size on!

My first goal I am shooting for is my January 1, 2012 weight - 177.  
My second goal will be my 75 pound weight loss May 23, 2010 - 158.8.
Once I have achieved those two goals, I will shoot for my ultimate goal of 133.  Which is the 100 pounds that I tried to lose 2009-2010 when the doctor told me I had 10 years to live if I didn't change my ways!

2013 - what do I do?

January - I started out the year with my famous Soup Diet - hoping for the weight to start peeling off.  Got tired of soup after about 3 weeks?  Went back to Weight Watchers.

February - I decided to do Take Shape For Life - after seeing so many friends doing it and having results.  It's spendy, half of my monthly food money will be purchasing Medifast products.  And then I still need to purchase Lean and Green food - for 1 meal a day.

The first week of the month, I was "too busy" to meet with my coach and put in my order.  Then I wound up sick for the entire week.   So I put in my order on the 9th, and I have to wait about 1 week for my food. 

So now I'm waiting.  And eating whatever is left in the house - Weight Watchers and Soup Diet.  Whatever it will take to clear out the cabinets so there will be no attempts to cheat once I start. 

Whew - wish me luck!  My goal is 65 pounds.