Goodbye Old Friend

I have recently had to part with an old friend, his name is diet soda. I have had (let's face it) an addiction to diet soda since the 90s. It is easy to look at a can of diet soda and see that there are no calories and think that this is the best thing in the world. I sure did. It got to the point where diet coke became my main drink and I drank less and less water until I wasn't drinking any at all. I have tried to give up diet soda before numerous times with no success, but I am proud to say that it has been two weeks since I have had a diet coke and I don't even miss it. I can't say that I have a lot more energy now that I am not drinking diet soda and having water instead, but I can also not say that I have less energy now. This just goes to show you that I thought my body was relying on diet coke for energy when really it was doing nothing for it. The first day I did need Advil but by the second day I could get through the day without a headache. On day four I did have a momentary blow up of frustration which I blame on the lack of diet soda, but other than that it has been smooth sailing. Replacing the diet coke with water has really made me hungry a lot less often. I honestly never thought that I could give up diet sodas, but I am here to tell you that if you have a diet soda habit too, you can do it!

Planks, but no planks

Have I mentioned that I hate planks? I do. I would have never attempted planking if it wasn't for the mysterious power an older sister has over you your whole life. But like with my most things my sister has convinced me to try, in the end I have to say thank you! I have complained and whined through planks most workouts for only a few short months now. Every time I would attempt to hold a plank for a thirty seconds or a minute, and each time after a few seconds into it I would fall down and hear that familiar voice from the fitness guru next to me say "get back up!". Oh I hated it! But something amazing happened. Yesterday I started my plank and I was able to hold it! What?? I still have so much work to do towards my fitness goals, how am I already holding a plank for a good thirty seconds? It's for a couple reasons. First, I have a trainer (sister/fitness guru) who pushes me try things and keep going even when it's hard or I don't think I can do it. She has me try things that not only would I not try myself, but that many people would think I couldn't do at my fitness level and weight. When I try these things and can at least do them a little bit, it is a triumph for both of us. Secondly, my body wants to change and grow stronger. A lot of times I would almost blame my body for my weight struggles but I have come to realize that my body doesn't like it any more than I do. It's just been waiting for me to do the work. This new found ability to plank doesn't mean that I can stop planking though, if I don't use it I will loose it. Now I just have to go take the confidence this has built and conquer some other goals. 5k? Push ups? A pull up???? I guess the sky is the limit.

I have a Fergalicious tush and Michelle Obama arms

Okay, so the title of this blog is a complete lie. I do NOT really have a bottom like Fergie or arms like Michelle Obama. As much I would love to steal these particular body parts from these beautiful women I am not there yet. I have learned, though, that after a good work out I feel like I have a Fergie bottom and Michelle Obama arms. Today at the gym Loreli and I did a mostly lower body workout at the gym. I used a machine that I would have guessed is used as some kind of torture device but it really works the inner and outer thighs. Without someone there to tell me how to use this machine I probably would have never given it a try. We also walked backwards on the treadmill at a steep incline. Yes you read that correctly: BACKWARDS, STEEP INCLINE. This is the second time we have done this and the first time I have to admit I was a little petrified. Once I saw that the speed was slow and got up the nerve to turn around it was actually really fun. This time I had no reluctance to raise that incline and work on a Fergie booty. Because of the hard work I put in today I get to walk around feeling like I have a really nice tush and sometimes that is more important than actually having a nice tush. It is hard to keep up motivation when you have a long road to fitness. That is why for me working my muscles is really important. My body is probably not going to change in the mirror as fast as I would like it too, but I can feel like a goddess after an hour of work. And it is true, the journey is so much more important than the destination. It takes a lot of work to accomplish any goal but when the hard work you must put in begins to feel like it's own reward that's half the battle.

It Starts Today!

Today is the beginning of my journey to being fit by 30. With my 29th birthday fast approaching I realize just how much I wanted to accomplish by the time I am 30. Many of the things I have accomplished, some I am still working on, and some I have had to let go and realize that I will never be a cowgirl. One thing I will never give up on is my desire to have a fit and healthy body. In order to know why this is so important to me you have to understand the last 29 years of my life. There was never a time in my life where I felt thin. Aside from some athletic spurts here and there I have pretty much been afraid of exercise. To put it simply, fitness wise I am starting from scratch. I have experienced the sadness and periodic self loathing that comes from being truly unhappy with your body. Lacking self confidence, I shied away from going after things that I really wanted. I am committing the next year of my life to giving my self a fit body that I can not only be happy with but proud of. I cannot give myself back the years I held myself back from following my dreams, but I can give myself a long and healthy future to enjoy the many blessing I have in my life. The rolling stones put it best when they said "you can't always get want you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need." I have everything I need now. I have a supportive family that will be with me the entire way and most importantly I have the help of my sister, Loreli Deleon. Not only as a sister, but as a personal trainer she has committed herself to helping me reach my goal to be fit by 30. She will be working out side by side with me, sharing her wealth of knowledge in fitness and nutrition (certainly my biggest weak point), and providing emotional support. Having someone who won't give up on me even when I want to give up on myself makes me so excited to begin this journey. Over next year I will share the successes and failures of this journey. I will try new workouts, new foods, strive for daily, weekly and monthly goals and report back. I hope you will follow me on this journey, it's always better with a buddy!