The Benefits

I did it! I got in my car after work yesterday, workout bag already in the car, and I just drove to Lifetime Fitness without thinking about it. Don't get me wrong, my brain wanted to think about what I was doing but I just couldn't let that happen. Self-talk all the way baby and when I got there I happily parked a little further away than I usually do and I practically skipped to the front door. I felt like I had a delicious little secret and it felt good to follow through!

Kara was surprised to see me - that was fun. I took to the treadmill just a wee bit easier today - that was fun. I remembered some of the routines I've learned and did as much as I could to work up to pain and sweat - that was fun too!

But the biggest fun and a BENEFIT of working out that will keep me going back - ahhh, he was cute, like a teddy bear, with the deepest dimples, the sweetest smile and a flirty little wink to boot! Now ladies...I did not pretend to get stuck in the leg press machine. I really could not remember how to get in and out. Imagine my delight when this smooth fellow walked over to show me how to properly use the machine. And he doesn't work there so he was not duty bound - I think he thought I was cute - that's my story, my fantasy and I'm going with it! That's all I needed today to walk around my office doing lunges and squats. Seriously! That's all I need tomorrow to hit the treadmill at work and that's just about all I need to keep my training appointment!

Hope he's there! Leg press, here I come! I found a new motivator and it's workin' for me! Find your motivator and meet me at the gym~

That's all for now~

Sweet dreams!!

Never too late to begin again...

Hello!!

Well friends and family...here I am again. Not sure if you're still following but I'm still trying to make this change stick!

One thing I can say that I am forever grateful for is God's unending grace and mercy. I appreciate His kindness when He says there is no failure. Because ladies and gentlemen, can I just tell you that the struggle continues, especially since I'm not working towards the fashion show runway. Now I'm working towards the rest of my life and though some of my changes have stuck...some of them have run out of glue.

Kara sent an email recently that says we still have until April 15 to workout at Lifetime Fitness. Melissa sent an email that says we can be in touch for nutrition help until infinity. I'm seeing Dr. Vohra, sleep doctor, tomorrow and soon I will have one more visit with Dr. Nancy Branyas, cardiologist.

These are all great things for me to look forward to and so I am looking forward and upward. The stuff I ate before this last 2 minutes of blogging is now gone and I can't do anything about my past bad choices. I hope I'm not bumming anybody out...I just want to encourage some lady who is just like me...I am determined to see a brand new and better me, no matter what. I can do that and so can you! Will you write back and let me know how you're doing? In the meantime, you can still get fit with me by going to: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3063592

Also, stop by and visit http://www.goredforwomen.org/betteru/index.aspx

And, I just found out last week that the 5 of us Indy Challengers have been invited to ride on St. Vincent Hospital's parade float on July 5th! Another goal, Thank you Lord!

Here's an old pic I found of me recently...I like it so I thought I'd share!

Cheers~

Today I made a plan...

and executed on the plan! That's right...after getting through the past few days without the limo, the paparrazi, the fashion, the firemen - whewww - it's been tough getting back to normal but now my work really begins. No longer working towards the fashion show which by the way, hope you've seen the pictures, but now working towards LIFE and the new me! These next 2 weeks are important but I'm really excited about the next 2 months, the next 2 years. My body loves exercise, whether it knows it or not (LOL) and I love what changes are happening inside and outside of my body. I hope you're all still working hard and encouraging yourselves. That's the key...encourage yourself...motivate yourself and as Kara, my personal trainer said to me last week..."make yourself a priority!" Every day since the fashion show has not been perfect but everyday has been a brand new start full of brand new opportunities to make the RIGHT choices on my own. I'll let you in on a little secret. I have not been writing down what I eat but I started recording today...very enlightening and an extremely disciplined approach to controlled eating. I love it!

Well, I'll sign off for now - keep on keeping on and don't lose sight of the new and improved you that is a major art in progress...yes, I meant art...you and I are both works in progress but the outcome is pure art, pure beauty. Go for it...we deserve it!

Cheers,
Jessica

To my trainer, Kyle,

Thanks for the crack-of-dawn workout today. I'm sorry you had a cold. Maybe all the congestion in your head kept you from being able to hear my moaning as I attempted 24 ab crunches with my feet up in the air. I am typing this with a pencil held in my teeth because my arms are aching from the 60 push ups -- or was it the 72 dead lifts?

I am so sorry that I was MIA from the gym last week. I think the snow made me get in touch with my inner bear and go into hibernation mode. But thanks to your encouragement (read: guilt trip) and my desire to be smokin' hot (ok, I'll settle for mildly warm) at the Go Red for Women luncheon on February 26, I left Lifetime Fitness this morning re-dedicated to the cause of my own physical fitness.

And it was all going well until the doorbell rang tonight. The neighbor girl -- the cute, sweet little girl with curly brown hair and glasses -- was there to deliver my Girl Scout cookies. Girl Scout cookies?! Acccckkk! (Which reminds me that I ordered from two other Girl Scouts as well).

I admit to caving, just a little (to the tune of 3 Thin Mints and 2 Lemon Chalet Cremes). But it got me thinking. Could you come up with a conversion table of Girl Scout cookies to workout reps? You know, something like 2 Thin Mints = 6 walking lunges? Maybe that would be enough to scare me onto the straight and narrow.

Sincerely,



Amy Magan

PS -- I'll bring you a box of Girl Scout cookies at the gym tomorrow. That would be one calorie-free way to get rid of them!

Climbing Mt. Treadmill...

I climbed a mountain last night. Yeah, I really did. Well, at least that's what Kara - God love her - used to urge me into riding a 15% incline on the treadmill last night. Specifically she said, "if the biggest losers can climb a mountain, surely you can handle this incline, right?" Ok, so what's a girl to say? No? I don't think so. Now the good news is that this delightful surprise happened at the end of the most intense 35 minutes I have ever - ever - spent on a treadmill. I missed the group workout with my girls last Saturday and I didn't really hear any details of the workout, partly because I was jealous that I missed out.

Circuit treadmill training...that's what it's called. I picked a speed I thought I could maintain for a 30 minute workout and that's where the challenge began. Mind you, my head wanted to pick 2.2 to begin with but my PRIDE would not hear of it! "You will NOT wimp out", pride said to me and so I picked a speed of 3.0 to begin with. Well, as we all know, circuit means onward and upward and all over again, right? So that means I spent so many minutes at 3.0, then graduated (whether I wanted to or not) to 3.3 and then on up to 3.6 and begin again. Oh, and we're going to do all of this at a little slight incline of 2 which I shall never complain about again.

Kara brought me some dumbbells and stretchy bands (professional term) and I thought "great, fabulous...I've done that before!" Hmmmf, er, em, nope, hadn't done any of that before. You probably won't be surprised to know that I was a little irritated with the whole process. I even asked if we could just pause and to my utter surprise [Not] my very dedicated trainer said NO.

I won't bore you with all the thoughts that went through my head but I will say this...I am so proud of myself for completing the circuit treadmill training. It really is true that our bodies are made to go much further than we think. I am hurting and the pain is increasing but I will take this pain any day over the consequences if I don't get this weight and physical inactivity under control.

No pain, no gain. Doing the same thing everyday and expecting different results = insanity. I am so in this to win this I can literally taste the victory and it does not taste like chocolate anymore! Woo hoo, victory tastes like fresh fruit as I sit on the sidewalk of a French cafe when I take that long awaited trip to Paris. Victory tastes like my 3 and 4 inch heels. Victory also tastes like me running 3 miles everyday like it's nothin'! So I will be back in the gym tomorrow, kicking my own butt in gear. I hope I'll see you there!

Oh, and 1 more thing. Do the words "plank hold" many anything to you? More about that later.

Night night sweet peas...

Dreamy dreams~

Jessica

Oh, what a beautiful morning...oh, what a beautiful day ~

I've got a wonderful feeling, everything's going my way!

Well, there I am, right in the aisle between cosmetic counters in a very public Macy's department store smiling at the camera! Notice anything different? My neck is skinnier...this lifestyle change is beginning to pay off and I have to be my Biggest Cheerleader to keep on going so forgive me if I seem stuck on me...'cause I sort of am...for now. LOL

It's critical and essential that we each be all about ourselves, getting healthy right now is going to give us all more time with our families and friends, right?

Anyway, had the most fabulous time this morning with my new girlfriends and fellow challengers! We tried on clothes, modeled our fashions, had makeovers and a photo shoot! When I say my inner Diva surfaced - I exaggerate not. I mean, lights, camera, action...I think - no scratch that - I know that I am meant for the stage! WOW - who knew that getting your act together would lead to fame and fortune? Ok, well, no fortune yet but it's coming!

Seriously, we have been so supported and encouraged by Allison, Michelle & Wendy, how can we not continue to be focused on getting heart healthy! And education? Even though we have been blessed to have extras - yay - everyone on the team has shared knowledge with us & there are tools available to you that won't cost a dime...everything you need can be found by following the 5 of us and checking out the online tools.

One of the biggest things I've learned over the past week is that if I don't carve out the time, if I don't plan and create a more balanced life, I have no one to blame but myself. My game plan was to be involved in so many different projects and activities that my need to eat constantly would be brought under control. And for the most part, it has. But can I tell you, listen up sweet peas, changing the food without adding activity adds up to a big ZERO. I know you knew that...I just had to remind myself (smiles).

So, no beating up on myself - you shouldn't beat up on yourself either - any error we made in the past is just that - it's in the past - behind us (uh, oh...that could be literally or figuratively - ha) but you get my point. Let's promise ourselves to live in the moment, moment by moment, making correct choices and yielding to the heart healthy habits our bodies naturally crave.

Will you join me? Over the next 3 days let's have more fruit, more veggies, more water, more exercise and less STRESS! I mean it gals and guys, dudes and dudettes, let's keep the main thing the main thing. If *it* is not adding to my success on this journey to new life, then it really is not important and does not deserve any of my energy.

I heard Jillian say last night on Biggest Loser that when you are stressed, your body retains water. I just read (for the 1000th time at least) that the bigger your waist, the harder your heart has to work. My trainer, Kara (love her!) accepts NO excuses. And God, in His Word says that our bodies are temples and should be treated as such. (1 Corinthians 6:19). Pick one and stick with me over these next 3 days. I need your support - you need my support!

To your hearts,

Sweet Dreams~

Jessica

Is "group workout" a dirty word?

The e-mail last Monday from Kara, one of the trainers at Life Time Fitness, was cheery:

Hello Ladies!!

I hope all is going well so far in your challenge! I wanted to offer you an additional session this Saturday. I am going to be in the gym between 8am-2pm Saturday and I would like to put together a 1-hour workout for the five of you (group training).

My first thought was how fun it was going to be that the five us would have a chance to work out together. As the week went on, my enthusiasm waned a little. I don't enjoy aerobics/jazzercise classes. I have no sense of rhythm and I get mixed up looking at the instructor, trying to sort out my right and left from her right and left. But it was so cool of Kara to offer, I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.

When I got upstairs at Life Time, I looked into the glass-walled room, expecting to see our small band of challengers gearing up for the workout. But it was full of other women, sweating in unison. At almost the same time, I heard Kara call my name. I looked and there she was with Dee and Ruth at the treadmills.

Relief! A treadmill workout, not an aerobics class. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. (I shouldn't be so naive...)

I hopped up on the treadmill and Kara told me to choose 3 speeds -- Ruth explained them here, so I'll just call them "reasonable," "tough" and "rough." Kara said that we'd be doing them in intervals of 3 minutes, 2 minutes and 1 minute. "Puh-leaze," I thought to myself. "I've been doing intervals like that of 4 minutes, 4 minutes and 2 minutes all week."

Did I mention that I was a little naive?

• Bicep curls while walking at the "reasonable" speed. Not too bad.
• Stretching with the resistance bands while clipping along at the "tough" speed. Challenging.
• Running at a 5% incline at the speed formerly known as "rough." Yeah, let's just call that "you've got to be kidding me!"

It did occur to me that if my trainer Kyle is priest-like, then in contrast Kara might have been channeling Lucifer.

I'm ashamed to admit that I considered cheating, stopping the incline at 3 or 4%. But I could hear Kara in my head saying "you only get out of it what you put into it." So I jacked the incline to 5% and hoped that Kara's CPR certification was current.

By the end of the 45-minute workout, I was sweaty, out of breath and insanely considering taking Kara's Team Weight Loss class that offers a similar workout 3 times a week. Hmm...have I just sold my soul to the devil?

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?!

Still standing

Today was my first workout with my LifeTime Fitness trainer Kyle -- and I'm happy to report that I am still standing!

Kyle is about 11 years younger than I am and grew up in my husband's hometown. He looked a little to me like a priest -- close cropped hair, full dark beard -- which helped me not think mean thoughts about him as my muscles were literally shaking from the paces he was putting me through. I'll try to snap a picture of him next week.

We started with a five-minute warm up on the treadmill. Then we went through a series of resistance exercises -- reverse lunges, bicep curls, and a bunch of other exercises that I can't remember what they're called. Kyle explained what each exercise was meant to do, carefully naming each muscle group that was being worked on. I nodded and pretended to have a clue what he was talking about. Note to self: get a human anatomy book and learn the muscle groups.

I did learn that while Kyle said one set of reps is not enough, it is thatfirst set that doesn't feel so bad. We'd take a 90 second break or so between the sets (to allow the lactic acid building up in my muscles to have a chance to dissipate -- see I am learning!) and then go again. It's the go again part that was giving me grief. I tried to get Kyle chatting about himself or me or anything to distract him from remembering I was supposed to curling, lifting or crunching again. Turns out he has a good memory and I was out of luck.

My best performance was the plank - think pushup stance, only your forearms are on the ground in front of you and you just hold the position as far as you can. I made it 53 seconds the first time, then a full 60 seconds the second time. My most dismal was the shoulder raises (or whatever they're called). Yikes, did those hurt!

One thing I was surprised about what how much of a mental workout I got. I really had to concentrate to count reps, exhale on the exertion, think about the correct form for each exercise. Kyle said that the first few weeks of training is a lot of neurological work as your brain gets used to telling which muscles to fire when. Makes sense to me.

I can't believe I'm saying this about exercise, but, honestly, I had fun. At the beginning of the workout, I asked Kyle if he was more like Bob or Jillian. He answered "both." If I had a vote, I'd say he was more like Bob. He was encouraging, often pushing for "just two more" and responding with a high five when I achieved it.

I'm scheduled to work with Kyle again next Wednesday. Until then he's given me a reprieve on resistance training (but not on cardio!), which is good because even though I'm still standing, I am definitely feeling the workout.

Does this count?

So, I met Kara on Monday. She admires Jillian. 'Nuff said? See where I'm going with this? But I like her, trust her, and going to obey her so that she does not yell at me. LOL.

Imagine me stepping up to the treadmill thinking, "Oh yeah, piece of cake. I know how to handle this piece of equipment." I remember hearing Kara tell me to let her know if the speed was a little fast for me...so I did and guess what? That's right...she told me to just keep going and that I was doing a great job. And you know what? She pushed me beyond my place of comfort and I survived. Yay.

Then we moved over to push-ups. My nephew asked me if they were the 'girl push-ups' and I responded they were the 'modified push-ups'. I was a little touchy about this, you know? Any push-up other than the kind you buy from the ice cream man is effort multiplied. These kids...what'ya gonna do? Anyway, the idea was to see how many I could do in 1 minute. When I got to 10, Kara told me I was doing great so I stopped and guess what? Right again...she told me to keep going - oh my word and can I tell you? Much more of this and I'm going to end up with toned arms! Aw yes, that is the goal though, isn't it?

Hard as it is, I am determined to not let myself down! I feel pretty good about the pain and I'm really looking forward to my workout session on Monday. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime I've promised to walk for at least 30 minutes every day and NO, this walking DVD sitting on top of my step bench does not actually count towards my walk unless I actually put the DVD in and begin moving - yikes.

Thought you'd enjoy the visual...so here we go again..

Sweet dreams~

Jessica

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!