Aprilia's journey to the me I want to be

[Aprilia]

It's time to do this, and to do it right. I was talking with my mom on the phone this morning. I knew she had been exercising regularly since around the first of the year. She told me today she's down 55lbs and from a size 18 to 6/8. My jaw dropped. She's been heavy for most of my life. I'm so happy for her.

I need this... I want this liberation from fat for myself. As soon as we got off the phone, I hauled my butt to the gym and did 30 minutes on the ellipitcal machine. It felt great.

I've been floundering for too long. It's time to do this, and do it right.

I'm going to weigh in tomorrow.

[sillykimmie]

back April!!! Haven't seen you post in awhile...
I'm kinda in the same position, in my case, I have run out of excuses..
Time to get serious! I bought some shoes and I'm walking.
Next I need to get the food thing together.
Be strong, I'm right there with you!
Kim

[Aprilia]

Thanks for the encouragement Kim. We can do this!!

I weighed in at 216 today. It was a little shocking, but I am looking at this as a starting point and nothing more.

I'm going to be doing Atkins '72 for now. I am going to avoid anything even remotely sweet during this first two weeks. Sweets are my downfall, and I know even when I was eating "clean" I would still binge on LC sweet treats.

My post work exercise plan includes 60 minutes of walking if the weather is nice or a FIRM video if the weather doesn't cooperate. Boredom eating is a real problem for me in the evening, so I may also do a yoga video or some callanetics. I don't want to OD on the exercise, but I also don't want to give myself the opportunity to get bored and start grazing in the evening.

During the summer, I do travel a lot for work. I'll be on a ferry for a good portion of the last half of the month. Food choices are limited, but they do always have salads. There is typically fish on the menu for dinner, but something it is breaded. Not really any made to order selections. I have very limited space, so bringing food with me isn't much of an option... not anything that would need to be kept cold. I will also be confined to a boat, so the exercising options will be limited. Most ships have a full outside deck to walk around and in some ports I will have enough time to get off the ship and walk around town. I'm going to plan as much as I can, but also be prepared for the unexpected.

Here's to the last week of my life at 216.

[Aprilia]

Just got back from a 50 minute walk. The last part always kills me as I live up a steep hill. So far I have consumed nearly 96oz of water and am getting ready for some tilapia for dinner.

Haven't yet decided if I will be doing yoga tonight. I am considering doing some pushups and crunches. I seem to remember reading somewhere that a 30 year old woman should be able to do 45 "girlie" push ups. I'll be turning 30 nine months from today, so it seems like a good goal to work towards.

[Aprilia]

Day 2 and going strong. I'm going to swing by Costco tonight to pick up some things. I was cleaning out the freezer last night and realized I have some restocking to do. My mom was telling me costco has great turkey burgers. I'll have to see if I can find them at our store.

I'm feeling just mildly sore today, which is good. I know I walked hard. I actually love a little post workout ache.

I'm getting my water in and feeling good. Nothing is going to stop me now.

[kmf1028]

Welcome back!!!! Sounds like you are in the right groove!!!!!! Good luck and you will get there....

[Aprilia]

Thank you Kathy. Congrats on your recent 10lb milestone.

I just finished a 50 minute FIRM workout. I was sweating buckets, but man oh man it feels good.

I did make it to Costco after work and picked up the turkey burgers along with some chicken breasts, mahi mahi, sausage, and eggs. I'm going to hardboil a bunch of eggs tonight to have on hand for emergencies.

I'll be taking some before pics and taking measurements sometime this week. TOM will be starting any moment now, and I know I'm bloated. If nothing else, that should mean a good drop in pounds for my weigh in. I'm heading out on the ferry early Sunday morning and won't be back 'til Tuesday, so I'll probably weigh in on Sunday before I take off.

I'm feeling good. Gotta keep the momentum.

[Aprilia]

My butt is a bit sore this morning from the FIRM workout. Love the ache... love it. The weather has been a bit of a tease lately... can't decide if it is going to rain or not. If it isn't raining when I get home, I'm heading out for a walk again. I've gotta be outside when I can. If it's yucky out, I'll probably do callanetics. I think variety is going to be the key for me to keep exercising. I can go to the gym, go for a walk, use videos, kayaking, hiking... there really are no excuses for not doing it. I'm a single, child-free woman so my non-work time is my own.

TOM started this morning. Usually I have pretty bad cramping, but I don't seem to be. I wonder if it has anything to do with drinking water. I used to be pretty bad about drinking water, but I've been drinking 96oz per day for going on three days now. I wouldn't expect it to make such a dramatic difference so soon, but who knows.

I haven't had any induction flu yet, which is a bit suprising. I had really been ODing on sugar the last few weeks. I was expecting these first few days to be much more painful than they have been. So far it has been pretty smooth sailing.

[Brook]

Hey April! I'm glad you are back. I've really been getting into the working out lately too. I don't know if you like her but I like variety in my workouts so I Tivo Denise Austin's Fit & Lite and Daily Workout on Lifetime everyday. It's on at 7am Eastern so I have no idea when it's on at your place.

You can do it!

[Aprilia]

Me=stuck in the dark ages of TV with only a pair of rabbit ears retrieved from the trash. Luckily I do have a nice stock of workouts on dvd.
Isn't it amazing how good exercise makes you feel? I don't know why I was in denial about it for so long.

[Aprilia]

Something tells me I am not going to be a rag doll tomorrow... I'm going to be stiff as a board. I did the first hour of Callanetics and boy oh boy. My legs are already feeling it. I definitely think a hot bath is going to be in order tonight. Might even add some bubbles.

I'm definitely in the groove and going to keep on keeping on.

[Aprilia]

I snuck a peak at the scale today. I'm down 4 lbs to 212. I definitely still have the TOM bloat going on too, so this should be a good week.

I'm not stiff today, which was a pleasant surprise. I was kind of dreading those first movements of the day. I do think the bubble bath helped, and I listen to relaxing CDs before bed that always seem to "massage" away the tension of the day. The rain has come, so it will likely be a FIRM video tonight. I'll have to look at their suggested rotation again and see what they suggest.

I have developed a totally new relationship with water. I'm actually craving it now. Who would have guessed? I seem to have my water consumption timed just right since I don't have to get up in the middle of the night. I've been finishing my 96 oz around 8pm, then have a cup of chocolate hazelnut tea and hit the hay between 10 and 11.

I'm really looking forward to Sunday morning's weigh in.

[Aprilia]

I started doing one of my FIRM videos tonight, but couldn't make it through. Cramps are here big time. I did 30 minutes and was sweating buckets, so it is not a total loss, but I am a bit disappointed.

I was thinking about mini goals today, and I have a strange one. I live in a rainforest, so it is often wet and muddy. Everyone here has XtraTuff rubber boots, but I can't wear them because they don't fit over my calves. By the fall, I'd love to be able to get into some XtraTuffs. In the meantime, I have plenty of too tight pants I'd like to work my way into.

I do believe another bath is in order tonight. And a heavy dose of advil. Damn these cramps...

[Aprilia]

I was 210 this morning... that's 6lbs down. I'm not sure if it is going to stick though. I was having some serious bathroom issues last night, so I know I am a bit dehydrated today, so I'm going to try to get in a little extra water.

I really am not feeling like I'm going to want to do a video workout tonight. It's sort of a drizzly day, but I still think I'd rather go for a walk or maybe do a later session at the gym. I don't like going there right after work when it is busy. I will do something, but probably not a video.

[Aprilia]

It looks like the 210 stuck. I was craving chocolate like crazy yesterday. I made some 5-min chocolate cake with flax meal instead of almond meal. I had hoped to stay away from sweet-ish things for the first two weeks, but I felt like it was a good compromise. Deal with the craving in a legal way.

Yesterday ended up being my off day for exercise. Today I am planning on going to the gym this afternoon and doing callanetics this evening. I'll be on the boat Sunday-early Tuesday morning, and it is going to be difficult if not impossible for me to get in a workout. I may be able to sneak in a walk depending how long our port calls are.

I did take my before pics last night. It was a little shocking, but I have to remember this is only where I am now and another tool to measure my progress.

I'll try to report in one more time before I leave.

[Aprilia]

Just finished a 50 minute FIRM video. Man oh man, talk about sweating bullets. I've already had 96oz of water today, and it is only 3:30 here. I thought it would be a challenge for me to get water in on the weekends.

I've been a bit surprised and how easy this week has been. Things just seem to be falling into place and clicking.

I'm going to see "Prairie Home Companion" tonight. I might pick up something to sneak in with me, but since I'll be heading to bed early tonight, I'll probably be done with food for the day by the time we head out.

I pulled out a pair of size 16 pants last night. I can't get them up over my upper thighs/hips. I am hoping that I can be into them by Aug. 5 when I have a friend coming to visit.

This will be my last post 'til sometime Tuesday. Wish me luck on the boat.

[sillykimmie]

April,

You are rockin'!!!! WTG.... Hope things go great for you on the boat! Are you going to deck laps?
You are inspiring me. I will keep checking in....
back out to the garden now...
take care, kim

[Aprilia]

Sadly, I'm on the Columbia which doesn't have a deck all the way around the perimeter. I'm hoping to get off in Wrangell or Petersburg and get a quick walk in there. I should have a nice long layover in Skagway too. As long as there aren't a bunch of cruise ship passengers bombarding that tiny little town, I'll head out for a walk.

[Aprilia]

The trip was rough, but I feel good about the choices I made. There were no eggs and such available for lunch, so I opted for fruit and yogurt. I realize it is not ok for Atkins '72, but I felt like it was the best choice I could make given my other options (cereal, muffins, etc). The other ships have more selection, so I will know to be better prepared next time I go on this ship.

I did get a bit of exercise in too. On Sunday, I walked from my office to the airport, then from another airport to the ferry terminal. Yesterday I got off during one of our longer port calls and walked a few miles.

I got home about 2:00am and feel exhausted today. Tomorrow I'm back to the walking/FIRM/gym/callanetics rotation. I'm trying to get some extra water in so I can flush out the ferry food.

[indogia]

you are an inspiration,you are doing great!!

hugs and smiles

Indy
xxxxxxxxx

[Aprilia]

Thank you so much Indy.

I've been so freaking tired the last few days that posting was the last thing on my mind. I will finally have a day off tomorrow before going back out on the ship late Friday night.

I did not exercise yesterday, and I am feeling very guilty about that. I'm going to do FIRM tonight when I get home and tomorrow I will do some cardio and callanectics.

I'm going to a chocolate sampling/ladies gathering at a friend's house tonight. It will be raw chocolate (cacao beans primarily) which I am not a huge fan of at all. I don't think I will be the least bit tempted. Especially after the FIRM kicks my butt

[Aprilia]

Just finished a FIRM workout. I had to force myself a bit, but once I got going, I wasn't going to stop. I can't believe I have almost 400 hours of exercise in less than 2 weeks. I think I'm going to make a turkey burger for dinner before heading out to the chocolate (or for me... water) tasting party. I've already consumed almost 96oz of water, so I'm sure I'll be well over 100oz by the time the day is done.

[Aprilia]

I am finally feeling well rested. I've had such a weird schedule lately for work that my sleep has been erratic at best.

I did end up trying a very small piece of chocolate last night. It was 75% pure chocolate and very little sugar. The piece was more like a big crumb. It was amazing. The hostess is going to bring me some pure chocolate, and I figure if I want it sweeter, I can melt it and add splenda.

It's raining like mad today. I have no desire to leave the house. In a bit I'm going to do another FIRM video then work on getting my bags packed for the next round of trips, which begins late tonight. I will be on a ferry that I know I can get eggs for breakfast and a salad for lunch. I'll be back in time for dinner tomorrow night and should be able to get off the ferry for a walk tomorrow morning, barring the rain.

My weight is holding between 209-210. I have a friend coming in two and a half weeks and had hoped to be down to onederland by then, but I am not going to fret if I'm not. I'm moving in the right direction and taking steps to a lifetime of better health and a better body.

[Aprilia]

I'm exhausted. Working these strange hours and being away from home so much is taking it's toll. This week will be the worst. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, getting back late Wednesday afternoon, then leaving again on Friday and getting back Saturday morning. I've got my raingear packed so if we have a long port call I can get out for a walk. I haven't had a good workout since Friday and I'm feeling it.

[Aprilia]

I have not forgotten about my journal. I got back into town on Wednesday afternoon, and by Thursday morning, I was getting sick. I went to the store to get some soup, meds, and things of that nature and thought I was going to pass out while I was there. Aside from just the normal crankiness that comes with being sick, I am especially peeved because the weather is absolutely perfect. We've had such a rainy summer and yesterday and today are sunny and gorgeous. I'm going to go crawl back under the covers.

[Aprilia]

I'm finally recovering from this nasty cold. I should have been more diligent about my food, but I just didn't have the energy. I had regular chicken noodle soup, juice, and other "typical" foods eaten when you have a cold. I'm feeling some sugar cravings, but I'm getting over it and will eat clean.

Just yesterday I was getting back into exercising a bit. I'm still coughing pretty bad, and didn't feel up for serious cardio, so I did a few mini workouts and did some push-ups and sit-ups last night. Tonight I'm doing some "mall walking" and some cleaning when I get home. Tomorrow I will be ready for some full on cardio.

[sheryl0423]

Hope you're feeling back to normal soon.....

[Aprilia]

I completely forgot about my journal. I was having a tough time getting back into the exercise routine after being sick. I'm actually still coughing from this. I'm getting back into the groove now. I have even more motivation now as I recently entered into a long distance relationship with someone and will be seeing him in two months. I want to WOW him and feel even hotter than I do now