Fitness Epiphany

Veganism and Whole Foods

Angela — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:15:08 +0000

Today I’ve added another portion to my goal of losing weight, but more importantly, in becoming healthy. I have decided to make the biggest life style change I have ever made; I have decided to become vegan, and more specifically to only eat whole foods as often as possible.

We will see where this takes me, I’m hoping somewhere fabulous and healthy. I will try to document my experiences whenever possible.

~ Angela

Weight Watchers

Angela — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:04:54 +0000

So the last time I lost weight it was through Weight Watchers. I lost 20 pounds in fact. That is a lot for me!

Since that time I stopped using WW, essentially I stopped working the program. Guess what happened? I gained 10 pounds back.

What did I learn from this experience? I learned that I am a woman in need of accountability. I almost have to see those numbers to know if I have the room to eat one more thing. I’m sure one day I will move on from this dependence, but for now I am a food addict, so for now I need to follow those numbers.

I am now an active member of WW again and I am doing ok again. It is very hard though because I often get hungry (thank goodness fruit and veggies are 0 points!) And I also get crazy cravings that literally drive me nuts. These are the hard times and they will pass, I am sure of it!

Progress Photo:

My Week In Review

Angela — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:42:08 +0000

So I’m sure everyone is wondering whether I’ve continued to exercise given my burst of motivation or if it was just that, a burst, and nothing more.

Well I’m excited to report that I have consistently kicked my butt this week! I have alternated running and zumba daily and have had no break. I am so freaking proud of myself because I had truly fallen into a junk food hell in the months of October, November, and the beginning of December. Thank God I managed to climb out of that pit and realize what I was doing to myself!

I am also happy to report that between Christmas and now I have lost 10 pounds! Now to me this is bitter sweet because if I had continued to workout and eat right in the first place I would be even closer to my goal. But I have to take my accomplishments at face value and just be proud that I am on the right track again.

Today I really plan on using EA Sports Active 2 because I won’t be able to fit in zumba or running as I have a girl’s night tonight. So when Joshua goes down for a nap I’ll be trying that out.

I am also going to start the #2weekchallenge through Mamavation and I am loving how they have a nutrition aspect this time too because this is SO important!

Until next time!

“Your journey begins with you dare to believe in yourself.”

~ Angela

Zumba Run – Mamavation Monday Post

Angela — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:28:49 +0000

It has been getting easier to make the choice to exercise, which I am so excited about! I think I was hit with a bout of depression here recently. My grandmother passed away and my personal relationships were few and rocky at that.

I simply could not find the energy reserves to get my butt up off the couch and workout.

Until New Year’s day! I thought to myself, “I should go running” and my goodness, I just got up and did it!! It felt amazing (aside from the cough I got afterwards from 19 mph winds) and I felt pumped up and alive again! Exercise truly is a creator of joy and high spirits.

Last night I did the same thing. “I should go to zumba” and so I did. I shook my buns all over the place and felt so much better about myself! I am so sore today in the best way. And now I feel even more motivated to keep strengthening my body and getting it ready for a continued healthy life.

Tonight I really plan on using EA Sports Active 2 so look for a blog post about that!

~ Angela

Long Hiatus!

Angela — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:41:10 +0000

Okay, so by now everyone has realized that I’ve been on a super long hiatus. Life happened and I wasn’t ready for it and when it happened, I completely relapsed into a full-blown food addiction. It wasn’t pretty.

I won’t go into the details of just what threw me into my relapse, but I will say that I am finally out of it!!! Last night I worked out for the first time in two months. I went to Zumba at Gold’s Gym and it was amazing and fun and left me totally revitalized!!! I’ve also kicked the crap out of my eating habits as of yesterday. I had only one Christmas cookie the whole day and a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Tonight I’m going to body pump and I am also going to break in my Wii EA Active 2 that I received from the Mamavation Sistahood. It feels good to be back and to start again. Maybe this time it will stick, but like any addict, I may relapse again, but one of these days it will stick I just know it!!!

Love you all!!

Angela Speaker

Mamavation…Thursday?

Angela — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:21:32 +0000

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I’m super behind in posting. I have just not had time to sit and click the keys to write amazing stuff lately. Grad school will do that to you.

Here is the low down for you all: I have started the #2weekchallenge at Mamavation and it is kicking my butt and helping me feel great all at the same time!

As far as eating goes…I have been bad…very, very bad. My entire family (except my daughter) got sick and so I’ve been stress eating like a crazy person. It has not been a good situation.

Today, I am back on the ball and hoping to “be goo” with my eating and exercise. I’m just recovering from this nasty head cold, so I’m thinking I can make it through today without gorging myself.

I have to get back to work now, so I’ll write more tomorrow!

Angela

#Mamavation Monday Week 2

Angela — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:06:50 +0000

My life has changed so drastically in the last week. Between Mamavation Monday Week 1 and today’s Mamavation Monday, I have become a completely new person.

I run everyday. For a mile or more. No seriously!

I eat healthy. I literally just turned down the brownies we have in our office, and I love me some brownies!! But now all I see is the extra oz and lbs of fat that I would be adding onto my body; there is no nutrition in brownies, they are filler and that is all.

My journey has not been entirely easy up to this point, especially where my husband is concerned. He made brownies, bought ice cream, brought home a 12 pack of cokes, and offered to bring me sonic all in the last week. But I see these things as a test, if not directly from him (because he is not wanting to lose his eating buddy) then just happenstance encounters with the temptations of my past. I am happy to say I have resisted eating all of these things.

I cannot believe that I have been running everyday. As I mentioned in a previous post, I used to be very resistent to the idea of running but here I find myself poised to start training with Couch 2 5K and contemplating signing up for Beach to Bay here in my city of Corpus Christi; Beach to Bay is the longest relay marathon in the United States. And I want to run it. I never thought I would be saying that.

I really have the incredibly supportive community of Mamavation to thank for the amazing changes in my mind set towards a healthy lifestyle. There have been days where I haven’t felt my best (#2weekchallenge kicking my butt for one) but I always knew I had my Mamavation Sistas (and @mrbookieboo) to turn to.

Oh, and before I forget, I am now an official member of the Mamavation Sistahood and it is so exciting! I will be getting a copy of EA Sports Active 2 for my Wii and I can’t wait to try that out and report back here on how using that program goes in conributing to my overall fitness.

My journey from Fat to Fit is only just beginning, but I am having a great start!

Also, this week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Grunt Style. Two blogging carnival participants will receive a shirt from Grunt Style. Answer the following question in your blog post and link back to the Grunt Style website. Link up your post here.

Question: What parts of your body are you especially proud of right now? What makes you love them?

Answer: Right now I am most proud of my calves because all the running I’ve been doing the last week has made them look pretty dang hott!! I’m showing them off in some cute capri pants today

Starting Weight: 176
Current Weight: 175.8
Total Lost: .2 lbs
Goal Weight: 145
Feeling: Kind of stuffed from my bagel, I don’t think that was a very good breakfast

No progress photo today, check back tomorrow!!

“Your journey begins when you dare to believe in yourself” ~ Angela

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @aspeaker

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Grunt Style and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women

Change, Change, Change

Angela — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 23:10:06 +0000

There is something I used to say would always be my limitation in fitness; I would never be a runner. I always told everyone, and most importantly I told myself, that I just wasn’t cut out for running. My legs hurt too bad, I ran out of breath too quickly, and I just hated it.

In the last couple of days I have done a 180 on the running deal. Two days ago I went out for my daily walk and something happened. I felt like running. I picked up my pace to a jog and I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing! I didn’t feel worn out, I didn’t feel defeated…I felt amazing!!

The next day I jogged around 1.75 miles and the day after that 2 miles! Today, I bought a jogging stroller. Truly, there has been some drastic and amazing changes going on in my life!

I am now seeing that the trouble always was that I lacked belief in myself. I never gave myself credit for the things I was always capable of doing. Essentially I gave up before even starting.

I don’t ever plan on letting go of this new found love of running and staying in shape. Life is too much better now to ever let it go!

My progress photo for today is not of me, but of my new jogging stroller, The Mamavation 5000

“Your journey begins when you dare to believe in yourself” ~ Angela

Measurements, Baby!

Angela — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:06:52 +0000

Okay, so I’m going crazy. I think I’ve lost my logic and reason. I am joining the previous #2weekchallenge at #mamavation and I think I’ve lost my mind.

I thought, oh this will be a great way to kick start my exercising…yes…yes it will. It’s going to kick my butt, chew me up, and spit me out. I read through the exercises. I am scared.

But I am also determined. Determined to take my life, the one where I used to sit and eat entire bags of tortilla chips, and shake it up. I am going to kick my junk food habit, I am going to be a role model for my children, I am going to change my patterns of overeating.

The Gruntstyle workouts look super hard, to be sure, but I have to start my change somewhere and this seems like the best place to start.

Last night I took my measurements, and oh boy, I did not like them. Here they are:

Chest: 41 inches
Thighs: 20 inches
Butt: 41.5 inches
Waist: 43 inches

I forgot which others I’m supposed to measure, but I’ll add them as needed.

Wish me luck tonight; I’m going to need it!

“Your journey begins when you dare to believe in yourself” ~ Angela

Yesterday: Sans Exercise!! :(

Angela — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:20:08 +0000

Okay, so I have started pledging to be in the #mamavation sistahood, and while I’ve been very active on the twitter and blog commenting front, I’ve been slacking in another area; exercise!!!! I haven’t gone for a walk or done any form of exercise for two days and I’m getting down about that.

But today is a new day!! Today I WILL walk a mile and I WILL do a pilates DVD tonight. I have to! My journey cannot die when it has just begun and so I need to get back on the horse and kick my own butt.

Hubby almost brought a bunch of Sonic junk home last night but he couldn’t get ahold of me so he didn’t know if I’d want anything. Chances are, if he’d gotten ahold of me, I would have succum. So note to self *never answer hubby’s calls* haha!

I am trying and trying to encourage the hubs to get on this journey with me, but he is very resistant to this idea. He loves his junk food and it is his way of relieving stress. I am going to try to model healthy stress relief (i.e. exercise) to him, but it is ultimately his choice to do it or not. And it also ultimately my choice to fall back into my old patterns or keep forging ahead. So today, I’ll keep forging.

I’m also going to stop naming my posts by days because it is toally confusing me! :p I need to hold on to the brain cells I have left and not confuse them to death, so no more day # posts

Starting Weight: 176
Current Weight: 174.8
Total Lost: 1.2 lbs
Goal Weight: 145
Feeling: Really hungry, but I’m powering through and going to get some water in a minute

Progress Photo:

“Your journey begins when you dare to believe in yourself” ~ Angela