STRENGTH TRAINING, HERE I COME
I haven’t found any running shoes yet but I did buy 5 lb weights so I can do my entire upper body strength training routine! Woohoo! I had the other weights, but didn’t have a good lower weight to do shoulder exercises. So now I can do it all! Hopefully this will actually make me more apt to do it, considering I’ve only done an upper body workout once in the last two weeks. Already I’ve let my strength training fall away! But really I throw in pushups and tricep dips and squats and other body weight exercises into my day all the time, I just don’t count them as formal exercise or list them in my workouts. I’m good about making sure my muscles get used, even if it’s just a few exercises here and there. I’m kind of excited to get back into a real workout with weights so I can make sure I get all the muscles into the action!
Today is the first day of my week, so I plan on knocking out both upper and lower body strength. An hour at most for a full body workout sounds pretty exciting to me. I can’t wait to go get it done!
30 POUNDS GONE
With yesterday’s weigh in I hit, well actually I flew past the 30 pounds lost mark. And today I’m trying to think about what this actually means so that I can more fully appreciate what I’ve done for myself.
30 pounds gone means I’ve completely erased the damage I did to myself last year. It means I’ve eliminated a bunch of health risks. It means I’ve pushed myself closer to my end goals. It means I’m healthier now. It means I’m fitter. It means I’m able to do more than I was when I was carrying around 30 extra pounds. It means a lot of things.
It means I’ve lost 10 Crisco cans.
Um, what?
According to Barb, who responded to my “Hey I’ve lost 30 pounds” tweet, I’ve lost the equivalent of over 10 cans of Crisco, since big canisters weigh 3 pounds. I found this reply hilariously entertaining.
But then I started thinking about how much 30 pounds really is. I remember the last time I did chest press exercises with 15 pound weights in each hand. Before I started I let both weights rest on my chest because they were to heavy to hold up in the air waiting to start. I remember the pressure of those weights and how it felt like my body was weighed down and trapped. Now I think about that feeling and realize it was on my body. I was carrying around that burden every day, all day. Though I was managing it well enough, I was never free from the extra pressure and pain that weight caused my body.
I tried to imagine carrying those 15 lb weights around with me everywhere I went. I know I would quickly grow tired, have pain when I shouldn’t, and have a harder time doing things than I would if I didn’t have to carry them around. So I am not picking those weights up again. I’m not regaining what I’ve lost. My body doesn’t want it and I don’t want it either.
I’m 30 pounds down, for good.
Lara (Thinspired) says
Congrats! 10 CRISCO CANS?! That is insane!
Looking forward to reading about your journey in weight maintenance :)
.-= Lara (Thinspired)´s last blog ..Semi-Productive =-.
Mary says
Well I’ve got AT LEAST another 30 to go before maintenance. But I will definitely get to that journey in time.
Shannon Fab Fattie says
Good for you! It is crazy when we really think about how much the weight is. 30 pounds…that is a young child!!
You are awesome and you inspire me so keep it up Miss Mary!
XO
Mallory says
Wow, 30lbs is great!
10 cans of crisco or 120 sticks of butter or …my dog.
Keep up the good work!
caitlin says
congrats on your healthy weight loss! i commend you :)
Nicci@NiftyEats says
Congrats on all the weightloss
.-= Nicci@NiftyEats´s last blog ..Not Feeling This Cold Weather =-.
Bella says
10 cans of Crisco really puts the 30-lb loss into perspective! Congratulations. I love what you said about undoing the damage of last year. I cannot wait to get to that point myself.
I love your blog and really appreciate your candid, encouraging posts!
.-= Bella´s last blog ..WL Quote of the Day – Potential =-.
DadShrinks says
30 lbs? Great job. And I love the Crisco analogy. I had once thought about piling up cans of tuna weighing what I’d lose – adding to the pile each weigh-in. And then donate the food to a foodbank at the end of my journey…
.-= DadShrinks´s last blog ..Day 21 – Clean Eats! =-.
Steve says
Losing 30 pounds is FRICKIN’ INCREDIBLE and worthy of 10 million WooT’s in of itself…but when you put it in the perspective of cans of Crisco? DDDDDDAAAAAAMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNN
WooT ^ a billion.
.-= Steve´s last blog ..Five little bits of random… =-.
Jody - Fit at 52 says
Well, Mary, you know how I feel about the weights so I say WAHOO for that!
Big congrats on those 10 Crisco cans!!! 30 pounds!!! AWESOME and yes, keeping how that felt in mind will keep you focused on moving forward! We are all so proud of all you have accomplished!
.-= Jody – Fit at 52´s last blog ..Boxing Update – Uncomfortable Is Good! =-.
Michelle@Eatingjourney says
That is awesome. Sometimes it’s hard to actually conceptualise the weight that you’ve lost. Congrats on doing that. :) Keep up the amazing work. Here comes 40 :)
mackattack says
Woohoo! Great job!
.-= mackattack´s last blog ..Holiday Cheer =-.
Becky says
I hope you don’t mind me stopping by to comment. I am just starting a weight loss journey myself and have been blog hopping around trying to find sites to motivate me- which I have to say your story really does motivate me. I can’t wait to lose 30 pounds! I have started a great new science-based diet plan explained in Janice Stanger’s latest book titled, “The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now with Six Kinds of Whole Foods,” and so far I have lost 9 pounds. Thanks for sharing your story so that people like me can have something to keep us motivated.
.-= Becky´s last blog ..beckybooks: Currently reading a fascinating book on bipolar disorder- bipolar bare- a memoir, by Carlton Davis. =-.
Susan says
I remember those days, getting rid of the first 30 pounds! Well getting rid of the next 10 took the longest for me. Congrats!
Susan
Hanlie says
Good job, Mary! I am so proud of you!
.-= Hanlie´s last blog ..Coconut Oil: Good for You! =-.
Sweety On A Diet says
Excellent results!
Trish @IamSucceeding says
You are doing so awesome!!!
.-= Trish @IamSucceeding´s last blog ..Lentil & Barley Soup =-.
Sagan says
That’s such an interesting way of looking at it… and a motivating way, too! I mean, if we step on the scale once a week and see it going up or down by a couple pounds, just thinking about something tangible- such as a Crisco can- is motivating enough to keep ourselves on track. I like that.
.-= Sagan´s last blog ..Day 15 of the 200 Reps Challenge =-.
Cynthia (It All Changes) says
Isn’t that amazing when you think about the fact that you used to carry around that weight and now you couldn’t imagine lifting that much every day. Congrats!
Keith @ My Body Fat says
Congratulations on the 30 pound weight loss. Glad to hear that you are throwing strength training into your program.
I’ve managed to lose over 40 pounds myself so far and I put this all down to my intense strength training program. Strength training is going to speed up your metabolism, which will help you to lose weight even faster. The only downside I’ve found to it, is you are always hungry.
Good luck on losing the next 30 pounds!
.-= Keith @ My Body Fat ´s last blog ..Why Am I Writing Off 2009 Already =-.
Kat says
Yay! 30 pounds is awesome! You are consistently doing great. Congratulations!
.-= Kat´s last blog ..Day 29 of The 30 Day Shred =-.
Daniel Munday says
Wow Mary! 30 pounds is awesome. Well done and it is great to see someone work hard and get what they want. Keep it up
.-= Daniel Munday´s last blog ..12 Days Of Fitness Mind Motivator MP3 FREE Gift =-.
Fattie Fatterton says
Congratulations Miss Mary!! I am so happy for you!
.-= Fattie Fatterton´s last blog ..Chinese Food =-.