Wow what a week!

Wow what a week!! So we finished up our first week of two training sessions plus 3 days of cardio training on our own and with the official weigh in for the week I lost 3 lbs!!!  I cannot begin to tell you how good it feels to work and work hard and be able to see results in a week's time.  I will be honest with you though I was really hoping for 5 lbs, and this week is where having a professional to bounce my questions off of really came in handy.  I spoke with Nancy this past week (she was the professional on the first episode talking with Robin) about how I was glad to see 3 lbs but that I wanted so badly for my first weight in to be at least 5 lbs.  And through general conversation I found out that 5 lbs a week is not necessarily a safe practice.  Now don't get me wrong its ok to lose 5 lbs a week if that is how your body responds to the healthy diet and workouts that you do.  But to strive for that number every week is not always a safe practice.  Liz our Trainer at Pacer fitness spoke with us this week about the same question and some of her thoughts were that in order to reach that 5 lb goal every week you would have to work out hard and often more than what you really should be.  Especially when you are starting out your body is still adjusting to the whole fitness idea, and that much strain could cause injury, fatigue, and ultimately burnout to where you end up dropping your fitness and lifestyle change altogether.  I know that all of us who are concerned with our weight and want to lose a lot of it have all seen the TV show "Biggest Loser."  I love it, but lets talk reality, I want to lose all the weight like those contestants have and I want to see the physical transformation like those contestants see, but we are not on that show! Realistically speaking those of us trying to lose our weight will do it much slower and much more gradual (and there is nothing wrong with that).  This is because we don't get the time to work out 3 to 4 times a day and no chef is there to fix and teach us how to eat every time we go to the kitchen.  I'm not downing the show like I said I love it, but I want everyone to know with hard work and discipline the pounds will come off!!!!!  Slower than maybe the TV show portrays but in the long run with healthy eating and a steady fitness program the same results can and will be achieved.

Lastly for this week's blog I want to blog on the topic of goals. You have to have some LOL!  In order to make this fitness program and lifestyle change you really have to set some goals and importantly attainable short and long term goals.  You have to set the short ones to be your confidence boosters, something to give you that focus to keep working towards your long terms.  And then you need to have a very specific measurable long term goal, something that when you accomplish the goal after 6months to a year, you can look back and really build your since of accomplishment, which will help you identify how your life has changed and also will allow you to see where to go from that point in time.  Enough lecturing ha-ha, I want to tell you some of the goals that Christyn and I have set for this Metro Fitness Challenge.  Our short terms begin with a consistent weight loss each week, even if it's only half a pound a loss in the poundage category serves as reason to keep working.  Secondly, we are training to walk/run in two 5K events coming up: the first being the Redbud Classic in April, and the second being the March of Dimes walk for life in May(now we may walk 99.9% of the way, but the goal is to finish!!!)  My personal long term goal is before years end to lose 100+ lbs, and ultimately receive a special addition to my life which I will keep a secret for now.  Now I have told you my short and long term goals, let's get some responses on here, and the first step to being accountable is telling someone what your goals our.  So I challenge to post your goals on the website following this blog and let's get not only us four MFC participants behind you and supporting you but also all of Oklahoma!!!  Until next week.