oops

pounds that is! I wanted to post this before the excitement wears down. I weighed in this afternoon (even though I have a usually strict policy about weighing in after 11:00 a.m.). I didn't want to, but I also did not want to go three weeks without weighing in - I know how precious that accountability is for me. I will be spending two weeks with my family, and away from my gym and my comforts. I am making plans for sticking to my diet and fitness regime while there, but it is always harder once I get there. Just like always, my trainer says, "Michele it is only a number - it doesn't define you." And with that I jumped on. His amazing workouts have done it again! The scale went down again....and this time it hit a major milestone..... 80 pounds. Along with that 80 pounds, I lost a "ka-chunk" on that old fashioned scale! What a feeling! Even thought I know that I will have to workout pretty steadily for the rest of my life (like taking a medic

Helen Keller. That has been the difference for me this time around - I believe in myself enough to think that if I want to soar - I can! I spent enough years of my life creeping around....not feeling worthy to "soar" in life like I saw others doing. There have been several moments over the past 2 years that I have thought about quitting....or at least letting up a little bit. Right now I am in the middle of one of these phases. I don't ever remember being this fit and healthy in my life before - and I think the last time I was this size, I was like 12 or 14 years old. I don't have memories of what it felt like to be thin and healthy to go back to and hold on to to propel me forward. This is all new territory from here on out, but yet this feels quite comfortable. Over the last couple of weeks, some stress has pushed me to my limits, and I have thought about starting to "creep" around in my life again. Quiet and invisible. That state of mind has

Every once and a while I come across an old picture that stuns me. I realize that the girl I see is me, but she seems so much NOT like who I really am. I don't ever want to go back to her life, but at the same time I have to respect her for what she dealt with and be grateful for the blessing of people who saw more in her.....more in me than I saw in myself - giving me what I needed to feel worthy of a happy fulfilled life! December 2006 December 2009

This last week was a major milestone for me. Two years ago when I began training with Adam, I was unable to get on a treadmill. I had plantar fasciitis that affected both feet, and I could not even peddle a bike for more than 10 minutes without getting completely winded. I was at the worst point physically in my life. That seems like a lifetime away...and like I was a completely different person. This week, I ran a 12 minute mile as a warm up before my weight lifting workout. I am currently working out 1-1.5 hours 6 days a week. During my best weeks, I do three alternating days of full body weight routines, and on the off days I do a full hour of cardio with my heart rate up. Some days it seems like a lot to me, but working out has become such a major part of my life, that I can't imagine life without it. That is the one period of time during the day that I am just me....doing something for myself - and watching myself do things that I once thought were impossible. It is an

It has been a very long time since I have posted on this blog an a lot has changed. A lot... and most of it had a direct impact on this journey. I feel I need to blog about these changes - because they have been huge, and have shown me that I don't have to succumb to the things that life throws at me. I can live life through them without giving up on myself and my dreams. I might be down at some points, but I am not out.