Push Yourself Beyond Your Limits!

I am truly inspired by other bloggers and people I encounter who are also trying to lose weight. Last night after making my post on avoiding weight loss surgery, I did a quick browse around on other weight loss blogs. Well, these people are VERY SERIOUS about losing their weight. They put my blogging to shame. It's cool, though, because I was started this blog solely to inspire other people - especially others like myself. I'm from the coach potato bunch, but I want to let you know that anything you are thinking about as far as losing weight is concerned - you can do it.

Today, I got back to my 5K grind. I did a 5K walk/run on the treadmill. It took me around 45 minutes. In the middle of exercising, I got an amazing pain on my side, but I kept thinking about those other bloggers, and how I much I would love to share an amazing story to motivate my audience (and gain myself some bragging rights LOL). The last 15-20 minutes of my workout was very painful to say the least, but I maintained, and pushed through. It's truly amazing how good you feel after you have pushed yourself to the brink during a workout.

Here's the pics to prove it (in true Big Girl E fashion):

So here's what I challenge you to do: push yourself beyond what you think are your limits (you don't know your true limits). If you never exercise, join a gym (many have free trial memberships available) and start today. If you usually workout for 15 minutes, try 25 minutes next time. If you can walk one mile on the treadmill, try 1.5.

For anyone who lives in the Metro East STL area, here are some ideas:

*** If you don't belong to a gym, Club Fitness in O'Fallon, IL (as well as other local Club Fitness locations) offers a free 14 day trial (click the link above to sign up). This is where I workout. After the trial period, their rates are the most reasonable in the area. Let them know Elise Connors sent you.
*** If you prefer outdoor activities, try Fairview Heights' Longacre Park's walking trail (approximately 1.5 miles) or if you want to REALLY challenge yourself, try O'Fallon Family Sports Park in O'Fallon, IL (trail is approx. 2.2 miles).
*** If you enjoy the support of a group, you may try a Weight Watchers meeting. Your first meeting is free and there is no obligation to join.

If you have any ideas or triumphs to share, please comment below...

She's Baaaaccckkkk!

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. Here's a video to hold you over. I will be putting up more very soon (see video to learn more).



Highlights from video:

- New 5K time accomplishment (44 mins)
- Will be trying 5K challenge again in a few weeks
- My current workout
- Walking in the park
- Job hunting
- Tips coming down to help you lose weight
- Look for another blog post by Monday at the latest

Beat My Time on the 5K

I'll keep this post short and sweet for the sake of both of our time...

Today I completed the 5K in 45 mins - which about halfway to my goal of shaving about 10 mins off the original time of 50 mins. I burned just over 500 calories, but I didn't get a picture because I accidentally pressed reset 2x on the machine. Needless to say, I was pretty frustrated about that.

I did feel good today, though, for the first time I actually broke a small sweat while working out, and I pushed myself. Tomorrow will be even better. My goal is 43 minutes or less. Granted, that's only 2 minutes off the time, but it's major progress for me, and is only a little way away from the 40 minute or less goal I have set for myself by the end of the week.

I will keep you posted. Keep reading, and tell all your friends. LOL

5K + New Calorie Burn Record!

Today, I did two things I had never done before.

(1) I completed a 5K (equal to 3.2 miles) in my workout on the treadclimber. Here's the proof:

     (A) Part I (2.36 miles, 388 calories):

     (B) Part II (0.93 miles, 148 calories):

(2) I burned 536 calories (see proof above)



This is probably one of the biggest milestones I've reached because it was me beating two records at once, and it has fueled me for my workouts for the rest of the week. So, all week the plan is to do the treadclimber and work out a 5K or better each time. Today it took me 50 minutes to do it (keep in mind this is the treadclimber - not the treadmill). I plan to do better on this time by the end of the week. My goal is to be able to do it in 40 minutes. I will keep you all posted on my progress toward that goal as each day goes on.

In other news, this was the holiday weekend - a scary time for any food addict. And in case you're wondering, yes I succumbed to the pressure to overeat. The food was too good to simply pass up. One day (not sure when) in the future, I plan to be strong enough to be able to fight those temptations, but for now, I can only take my food issues day by day. I refuse to let myself fail again by going cold turkey and cutting out all of the yummy foods I love so much. Hey -- I'm a work in progress here...