In the moment...

I am so loving THIS moment right now! Biggest Loser is on and they're doing their last chance workout in the gym and guess what? I can identify. The gift of being a BetterU challenger is my last chance workout and after yesterday's personal training session with Kara, I am convinced more now than ever before that my body was meant to M*O*V*E! There were times during the session when I thought, "Aw c'mon...this is a piece 'o cake!" Kara saw the expressions on my face - ha - but she knew I had no idea what kind of burn lay ahead for me. And when I say burn, I mean the only thing hotter than my muscles as I type is the temperature that rises up out of my shirt collar as I go into my personal summer - again - know what I'm talking about? I'm talkin' burn baby, burn - YIKES!

After my strength training session, I saw Dee moving very quickly on the treadmill and I accused her of "showing off"...I was teasing because deep down inside I was thinking that I should get myself on the treadmill as well. So, I did and thank you Dee for inspiring me (smiles). I wasn't on the treadmill very long but I did work hard enough to get my heart rate to the 85% zone if I understand correctly and you know what? I'm happy with that because I was M*O*V*I*N*G - what a concept, eh?

On my way out of the gym I decided to stop by the Life Cafe and treat myself to a Raspberry Peach smoothie...with whey protein...I sound like I know what I'm talking about, don't I? Along with that, I bought a cup of the Asian tuna salad which was spicy and yummy and very filling. As I wrapped up I noticed the Life Salon and decided I'm going to leverage the amenities and reward myself on this journey with manicures, pedicures, and massages. Oh yeah, and shoes - LOOK at this pair - I've GOT to have 'em! YOU should reward yourself for good behavior too! And while I'm at it...you should NOT beat yourself up when, not if, but when, you have the occasional mishap...life happens and we're making some pretty intense lifestyle changes. Yay, us and yay you!

I could go on and on but I've got homework to get too and crunches and leg lifts before beddy-bye.

Here's to your heart...

Sleep well~

Jessica
p.s. So much fun to have Ruthie come greet me with that great big beautiful smile she has and a hug...I love being in the gym with my co-hearts - maybe you'll come join us sometime?

Always stick with your buddy!

One of my kids' favorite books when they were little was Officer Buckle and Gloria. Officer Buckle goes to schools to deliver safety tips with his canine partner, Gloria. At the end of the book, Officer Buckle's best safety tip yet is "Always stick with your buddy!"

It was good advice for me yesterday as I met up with Kimila to do a little cardio at Life Time Fitness. I enjoyed having a chance to get to know Kimila better (did you know she has a master's and a doctorate in special education!), enjoyed the distraction from watching the clock, and actually enjoyed the exercise.

I went to LifeTime on Saturday, too, remembering (Fr.) Kyle's instructions -- 30 minutes on the treadmill in five minute intervals of 3.0mph and 3.8mph. About 2 minutes into my second 3.8mph set, Kyle showed up at my treadmill asking how I was doing.

I told him that the 3.0mph seemed a little too slow, but no way could I go the whole time at 3.8mph.

"When was the last time you jogged?," he asked me.

"Hmmm...how about high school gym class?"

He responded by reaching over and increasing the speed of my treadmill to 4.2mph -- a speed which required my short legs to break into a jog. I think it was payback for the priest comment. He said to jog for as long as I could. I made it two minutes -- seriously, that's an accomplishment.

"You know what this means," Kyle said. It means I was afraid of what he was going to say next.

"You can do more than you think you can," he continued. "So now I want you to do 4 minutes at 3.2mph, 4minutes at 3.8mph, and 2 minutes at 4.2mph for at least 30 minutes."

And you know what? I did! By the time I finished on Saturday, I'd logged 2 miles on the treadmill and nearly 200 calories burned. On Sunday, I did the same. Now I don't want to be all triumphant and victorious over a total of 10 minutes at a jog, but for someone who was a self-confessed couch potato only a month ago, this is a big step.

Oh, and I promised Kyle that I would make it clear that he is not REALLY a priest (and he is, in fact, available), just that he plays one inside my head. So I tried to take a picture of him so you could see for yourself. This is what I got:

Is it just me or does he appear to be giving me a blessing?!

Does anxiety burn calories?

Ever since I found out that I'd been selected as one of the Go Red Better U challengers, I've been most excited about the opportunity to work with a personal trainer. So when we received the news that we'd be working with trainers from Life Time Fitness in Castleton, I was pumped.

That is until Friday morning as I was driving to Life Time to meet with the trainer Kara. I could feel my heart beating a little faster at the thought of stepping onto the workout floor with a multitude of treadmills, elliptical machines, and stairclimbers and people who actually know how to use them. As I pulled into the parking lot, my palms got sweaty anticipating hard bodies in perfectly coordinated workout wear. When I walked into the building, I worried that my Vera Bradley bag would give me away as an exercise newbie or if that message wouldn't be clear until I actually asked my body to perform.

First, let me say that Life Time is a gorgeous facility -- spa/salon, restaurant, lap pool, traditional pool, hot tubs, gymnasium, cardio floor, massage rooms. If I ever had to choose to be snowed in somewhere, this place would not be a bad choice.

Second, despite the fact that she is fit and blonde and upbeat -- all things that can easily make me dislike a person -- Kara was terrific. She gave me a tour of the building, asked me to complete a profile of my current health and my goals and then discussed my answers with me. She talked about goal setting, nutrition, and body composition (how much of the body is made up of muscle vs. fat) Did you know that just sitting around, one pound of lean muscle burns 40-50 calories/day while one pound of fat only burns 3-5 calories a day?!

Soon enough though, the time for talk was over and Kara led me to a treadmill for the first part of my fitness assessment. I panicked a little when she set the machine for 3.4 miles per hour with a 5% incline, but I figured if I could do 15+ minutes on the elliptical, I could manage 5 minutes on the treadmill. I wanted to impress Kara with how fit I am despite appearances (delusion is hard to shake), so I struck up a conversation with her as the belt on the machine began to roll. That lasted about 3 minutes. By the end of 5 minutes, I wasn't talking to anyone except the voice in my head that was asking when it would be over.

I made it, with a heart rate about 15-20 points higher than optimal and a VO max (see Kimila's post "Paradigm Shift" below) that registered "extremely low." However, neither of those things led Kara to show me the door. Instead she was encouraging and assured me both of those things can change with some hard work.

The weight lifting test wasn't too bad, the flexibility measurement OK and the part where they pinch your body fat was as emotionally uncomfortable as always. The one bright spot in my fitness assessment was the fact that I did 23 push-ups (yes, the girl kind) in 60 seconds. My arms are still angry with me about that.

When the assessment was over, Kara gave me a printout of all my scores -- my 39-year-old body is actually behaving as though it's 55! She explained how working with the Life Time trainers over the next three months will help me improve my body composition, cardiovascular health, flexibility and strength. (We get a membership until the end of the challenge! Woohoo! Thank you Life Time!)

After I changed back into my street clothes and headed to my car, it struck me that I didn't recall what anyone was wearing or whether or not the person on the treadmill next to me was a hard body. What I did recall was that I watched a bit of an aquafit class I'd like to try, that the group aerobics class looked like fun and that no one seemed one bit concerned that I was wearing an old t-shirt.

I guess all that anxiety was for naught, except for maybe, hopefully, burning a few calories!