Hey guys, been so busy this week that I haven't had time to check in. Everything's going well though, weighed in at 182.8 this morning, the 170's are so close I can almost taste them! I bought myself some swimwear last week when I was all guns blazing like "Yeahhh I'm gonna go swimming, who CARES what I look like", but now I'm a bit apprehensive.. what if everybody stares?

Riestrella Congrats on the 2lbs lost!!

LovelyLeahYeah I hear you with the symptoms. I am deaf on my left side and I already have enough problems with my balance let alone with the B12 deficiency. The tingly palms have been getting more frequent recently than they have ever been so that's a bit concerning for me. With the exercise I'm not as fatigued as I normally feel so that's a plus.

Zucena I HATE it when it rains when I made walking plans! I had my vehicle being worked on 3 miles from my house and planned to walk to pick it up. I talked to my mom about it inquiring if she could pick me up if I hide somewhere after it starts to pour. Before I even got to leave my house it was dreadful. I was so sad :( Guess we can't always get what we want =P

Wundertales & Riestrella Thank you! I love the little NSVs!

fuct Don't focus on other people's opinions!... this is what I used to hear all the time! While I couldn't really drop that habit... I brought it down to only focusing on the opinions of those I care about and knowing that they have them (hopefully) because they care about me and want me to be my best. Be confident in your weight loss! Enjoy it and don't let strangers opinions get you down! My grandmother bought me a nice pair of workout capris... I've always loved those but was too scared to wear them because I feel they are much tighter looking than lounge pants. I went ahead and wore them anyway and told myself who cares if people stare at my big behind and chubby legs! I am working out to better myself and I get to have fun and feel good doing it! Keep it positive :)

Fun day today! I spent about 5 hours walking around the zoo with my friend for her birthday and it was great to see cute animals and talk. Plus along with a quick 15 minute strength training session (in the rain lol), I walked almost 20k steps today! :carrot: My food was pretty good, I had a philly cheese steak at the zoo and only ate half the bun so again, baby steps. But I kept within my calories and I'm planning to have some veggies for dinner so it should be fine. Also the scale showed 149 today so I was happy to see that :)

Tomorrow I'm going to Mexico and I'm so excited! It'll be my first time and I can't wait to finally say I've gone to all the countries in North America.

fuct Glad thing's are going well! You can make it to the 170s! As for swimming, remember that people's opinions don't matter and most people are only worrying about their own lives and aren't paying attention to you. Just be confident in yourself and think about the fun of going swimming while you walk over to it. Personally I usually keep my beach clothes on over my suit when I'm not swimming to keep from being self-conscious/sunburned but do whatever works for you.

MrsClayton Yeah, nature doesn't care about our plans. I just try to make the best of it and try to workout inside (indoor track or whatever) or go to a place like an indoor mall where I can still walk around and get exercise.

An Open Letter to Shaun T-

I've never loved and hated someone so much at one point. Thank you for your insane and brilliant creation of the Insanity program. You have made me a shaky, sopping mess of sweat.

Sincerely,

Charlotte

So a neighbor was like, "oh hey, you work out a lot, I got this fitness program and am trying it now, want to join me? I didn't bother to ask (my mistake) and I ended up doing Insanity Pure Cardio today for the first time in like four years. HA. HA. HA. You got the last laugh Shaun T. But wow, what a great work out. I can't wait to get my Insanity DVDs back. I feel like a glutton for punishment.

Zucena - World's Healthiest Foods...I'll have to check it out, thanks for the suggestion and your offering of congratulations! I'll try adding some more of those. :carrot:

Sadly, I seem to have somehow developed a hip injury. My left hip bugs me whenever I go into a hip flexor stretch, sumo squat or that type of position (which is all too common in plyometric-type workouts which is the majority of my regiment). I'm going to do ibuprofen and ice and try to hold off of plyo-type workouts for a few days.

How are you guys doing?

Originally Posted by fuct:
Hey guys, been so busy this week that I haven't had time to check in. Everything's going well though, weighed in at 182.8 this morning, the 170's are so close I can almost taste them! I bought myself some swimwear last week when I was all guns blazing like "Yeahhh I'm gonna go swimming, who CARES what I look like", but now I'm a bit apprehensive.. what if everybody stares?

Riestrella Congrats on the 2lbs lost!!

People are way too busy either focusing on thinking how hot they think they look, or worrying about how they look, or that their kids might drown. Trust me, no one will notice. Just go and have fun. Fake it until you Make it then report back!!

:)

This week I'm hoping to make it to spin, Pilates, and yoga. This probably means I won't have room for weight lifting, but it's good to mix it up!

charbreaker:
ugh I have a love/hate relationship with Shaunt T. Good on you for you for finishing the dvd...Insanity is so tough. I do his t25 and am beat.

Zucena:
I am sooooo jealous! I haven't been to the zoo in a few years, and I've been meaning to go to our LA zoo every weekend...and then I get too "busy". Same with mexico. what part are you going to and how long? I went to Rosarito last year, and to Tijuana recently and I already want to go back and chill on a beach...I'm suppose to be in San Diego next weekend so who knows, may be I'll visit again and relax.

HIheart:
good luck on your workout goals this week!
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I've been mia in the convo lately, but have been religiously updating my activity on the workout sheet. I've been super good about meeting my workout goals, but my weight has been stalled here. A little bit to many desserts, I think. Hopefully I see a bit of movement in the weight department this week.
plan to stay on point all week.
On Saturday, I'm going to San Diego so that's going to be my cheat day, and I am soooo excited for it. Also will be the first time I break out my bathing suit since last summer. I'm always a little bit uncomfortable on the beach (from years and years of covering up), but I'm determined to have some beachy fun :D:swim:

MrsClayton - I wouldn't recommend Insanity for someone who doesn't have a good level of fitness first. I started exercising with the 30 Day Shred at 200 lbs and that was a good starting point, then I started running at 180 lbs, then I did Insanity at 170 lbs and I could complete a video at that point. It is pretty epic when you finish though!
As long as you have good form and go at your own pace, you can do anything. Your body is more capable than you think! The treadmill and the elliptical are good cardio workouts, as long as you vary the speed/intensity you'll get a great workout in. Try pushing yourself to go FAST for 1 minute every 5-10 minutes. Swimming is an excellent workout for anyone who's worried about injury. I'd recommend buying some dumbbells and start doing some lifting exercises, get an upper body workout as well as a lower body workout.

wunder - Did you ever find out what was wrong? Hope you feel better! Even just going on a walk is better than nothing :)

char - That's awesome! I still struggle with overeating when I'm out. Thanks for the info! Let me know when you get those DVD's back so you can join me, we can be Insanity buddies ;). You got a taster of the madness, that's so funny! The worse for me is always Cardio Power and Resistance...hate those power jumps! Did a quick google image search and found this: https://thetruthaboutexercise.files....s-and-meat.png
Not sure what's happened with your hip...might be something to rest up and get checked if it persists.

Zucena - Congrats on the intense workout! I love pushing myself really hard, well done with the food choices too. I'm the same way, fitness tends to sort itself out but I can still be bad with food! Have fun in Mexico!!

fuct - Thanks! I think we all tend to think we're the only person in the world and everyone is looking at us, but it's just all in our heads. You should have fun in life, not spend it worrying if someone is looking or judging. You've lost almost 100 lbs...you DESERVE to feel good about it! You're amazing, keep going and enjoy your body!

HIHeart - Definitely a good thing to mix it up!!

kisskiss - Same goes to you as I said to fuct, you deserve to flaunt your body, you've earned it!! Just focus on having fun and not worrying about what you look like, it's really not as important as you think. Have fun in San Diego! Keep up the awesome work with your workouts.

Yesterday I went to Mexico which was pretty fun for the most part. I drove down to Rosarito beach and went for a 45 minute run and a quick swim (not much of one since the water was so cold). But it was cool to be in another country and see a (slightly) different culture from LA. I also went to Tijuana and walked along Revolution Avenue and a few other streets around it for an hour or two. I had 3 carne asada tacos, probably should have just had two but I only ate a couple chips they put down and ate the carrots instead. Plus that was dinner and lasted me until the end of the day. Unfortunately it took FOREVER to get back to LA because of the border inspection and two horrible road work delays :mad: But I got some reading done and called a friend which helped a lot with stress relief.

Today I was exhausted so I spent most of the morning/early afternoon catching up on my fave TV shows (including American Ninja Warrior), getting a couple of todo list stuff done and napping. But I ate pretty well and then went to my parkour gym for a great two hour workout where I was almost able to do a Double Kong vault which I've never done before. I need to work on getting in more veggies besides my morning 2 cups full but I always struggle with what to put on them since I hate cooking.

I have a big vacation coming in Chicago to visit some of my best friends in a little more than two weeks so I'm getting really excited about that. I'm trying to go really hard before then so I can lose ~5 pounds so I can better fit into my nicer clothes. So far, so good :carrot:

charbreaker Haha Insanity sounds intense which makes me want to try it! Glad you made it through :) And ughh about the injury, I haaaate them so much and it can be so hard to figure out what's serious or not. I usually just try to give myself a couple days rest (besides walking) and see how it feels.

Riestrella Oops forgot to add my 149 for the week, can you add it for me? Thanks for the congrats and good wishes :) Food is definitely the hardest part for me but I'm in the fun, "DIETING IS SO EASY:carrot:" phase of the weight loss process and I know how quickly that can disappear and I start missing all my favorite foods. I just try to make sure to give myself small pleasures within my calories as much as possible to not feel like I'm in total restriction.

HIheart Those exercise workouts sound good! If you want to do some strength training, I would just add on some 15 minute body weight workouts before you do your other workouts. So just add in pushups, lunges, squats, pullups, planks, etc and you can still work those muscles. But breaks are nice too :)

kisskiss Nice to see you around :) I would just find a friend to go to the zoo with you and schedule it so you don't have an excuse. It was really fun and we got to see the jaguar and tiger play in the water which was cool. I only went to Mexico for one day but it looks like we went to similar places. I want to go again someday with a friend and really explore the country but I want to make sure I enjoy my time in LA before I leave. I almost went to San Diego but I've been there before so I decided not to. Now the San Diego Zoo is REALLY awesome if you want to check that out but downtown and the beach there are nice too. I hope the scale moves down for you and you enjoy your cheat day and beach day! (Also if you leave after 10pm, beware of road work on the 5 freeway!)

I've been out too long to catch up to everyone personally, but well done all on food choices, fitness, and fun! Looks like there is a lot of beach activity, and my land-locked self is jealous. :) The best "beach" I know of around here is up around 10,000 ft. I guess I'll have to make the effort to hike up there soon!

I'm struggling with my food choices. I've been super tired the last couple days. I didn't dance yesterday, not sure if I can make myself lift weights today, but I will for sure show up to dance class Thursday. I'll just keep trying and hopefully things will click soon.

In exciting news...I ordered a solo dress and it arrives tomorrow! I can't wait to see if it fits and how it looks. Even if it doesn't fit, I have time for alterations so I can wear it at my next competition, which isn't until September. Very happy!

Zucena - Sounds like an awesome trip! With all the exercise and walking you did it probably doesn't matter that you over ate a little :). Sorry you had a mad experience getting back!! I've updated your info on the spreadsheet and you've been added to this weeks sheet. Be sure to update your weight before Monday :) I'm impressed that you have moments where you think dieting is easy!! I've always been someone who has to eat in moderation, but can never give up something unless I really want to. If someone comes along and says "right, you can't eat x,y,z" then I get all stubborn and only eat those things :p.

atmos - It happens, we all have bad moments. I know how you feel! Some days I just don't make the right decisions, it's a learning process. Do you have a picture of the dress?

Riestrella Well, apparently it was allergies. I've never had em so I figured it was something else, but you know allergies can be spontaneous. Everything is good now! Thanks for asking.

Thank you to everyone who wished me well!

I'm back on track with workouts. I sort of had a "cheat day" on Saturday. I ended up going to 2 parties and eating more than I was supposed to for the day. As a result, I went back up to 272 on Sunday lol. However, now I'm back down to 270 so that's pretty good. My arms are killing me from riding the bike so much and leaning down... I think I will join a gym to try out the treadmill, instead.

Managed a HIIT workout this morning. Despite the fact that I am hungover for the first time in my life. So definitely no loss this week, will need a while to work off the entire bottle of wine I consumed in one evening. My cousin and I get into way too much trouble when we're together.

I have a wedding next Saturday, so I want to try and stay on target as much as possible until then! Here comes even more hard work.

Zucena- If you're interested in sweating buckets and being in pain but burning tons of calories Insanity is for you! It's aptly named. :)

kisskiss- How do you like T25? I've heard a lot about it but I'm not sure I completely understand it. Have you found it to be effective?

Ries- I'm dreading Cardio Power and Resistance; I can't stand the jumps too (at least from what I remember). It's terrifying and exciting all at once: I feel like this will be the best way to move past the plateau but it's going to be painful getting there. ;)

atmos- Exciting about the dress! Hope it looks great! What does it look like?

Thanks so much for the advice and kind words guys, I'm gonna bite the bullet and go swimming maybe next week. Had a painful loss in the family on Monday but miraculously I've been able to keep under my calorie limit and I've met my exercise goals all week so far. But.. I went to the beach on Wednesday and had about 5 chips (fries), a couple of bites of a doughnut, a few tiny spoons of ice cream, and I had some potatoes with my tea later on, so not a great day food wise but I had a really good run later that night.

Saw 180.2 onnn... Tuesday, not sure I'll have maintained that after the naughty bits and pieces I've eaten this week though!

Hope everyone is doing well!

I won't be updating my workouts for awhile. I'm without my laptop for a couple weeks. I had to take it in to get fixed and they had to send it out for repairs. They said 2-4 weeks :(. But I will keep updating my weight, that's a bit easier to do on my phone than having to flip through apps and relying on my memory to actually remember the number of steps I took.