Update and New Beachbody Workouts!

Wow....what a month it's been so far! I actually started this post a week ago, when I was in Pittsburgh. After a BUSY weekend that took us from Dover, DE to NYC, I had a quick (aka 3 days) work trip to Pittsburgh to teach a workshop. Then on Friday we bought a house!! More on that later....

The session went really well after some heavy duty preparation that had me up late studying to ensure I totally killed it- which I totally did!! While I was in Pittsburgh, it was way too cold to run outside (it snowed each day I was there) and the hotel "gym" only had a treadmill, elliptical, and recumbent bike. So that brought me to the treadmill for one of my workouts and I remembered how relaxing it can be some time to just zone out on the treadmill, with my kindle fired up on an easy to read book. I've been doing that this past week because I'm trying to get back into a running grove before the Ovarian Cancer Federation 5k in May. This will hopefully be first of many races this season. Having said that, I am trying to take the pressure off myself because I don't want to deal with more injuries while I'm still recovering from the ones I still have. I still have a half-marathon in my goal set, then a marathon, but I have to take care of the cards I've been dealt first.

Case in point....my tennis elbow surgery

Ding loves watching over me

I'm happy to report that my right arm is healing well and I have almost full range of motion back, which is very encouraging! What sucks....my left arm is progressively getting worse still. It has it's good moments but they seem to be coming around less and less. According to my surgeon on Tuesday....I can go forward with my left arm whenever I feel ready- after April 20th! Wow...a lot sooner than I was expecting him to say! So now it's a matter of working with my boss to ensure I can get off another month straight with no traveling and not screw up a bunch of my coworkers along the way. Wish me good luck ;)


So, I want to shift my entry today into something new.....Some New Beachbody workouts!

There are two programs you guys have heard me talk about before- Insanity and P90X- that I've been really missing lately. The thing that I miss most as a result of this ongoing tennis elbow injury has been my inability to just press play and get a good arm strength training workout in with my favorite lifting buddy, Tony Horton. I've been able to still do a couple workouts, like P90X Plyo and a few of the Insanity Cardio workouts- I just have to take out any push-up moves and do something else because I still can't use any weight with my arms, which obviously would include push-ups. I never thought I would miss doing push-ups and planks- bizarre, huh?


Well, a few weeks ago I was contacted by a Beachbody team member to review three of their new programs on my blog! Of course, I said yes- Beachbody is such an awesome company with lots of great programs- P90X and Insanity included.

Speaking of Insanity, I am most excited to talk the newest and greatest from Shaun T (trainer for Insanity): Asylum Volume 2! You can probably guess, that there was first: Insanity: The Asylum. Now that just sounds retarded hard! Shaun T, who used to be a track star, takes you through the Asylum's "Athletic Matrix." It is "a program of dynamic multidirectional exercises, based on the actual movement patterns of pro athletes, that takes your body from average to elite in just 30 days—right in your own home!" That quote was taken from the Asylum website that you can check out above. In a nut shell, this video ties it all together, and includes a bunch of athletes who have done it:

Just like you guessed, Asylum Volume 2 takes you past the first Asylum to another level of athletic performance, utilizing what you've learned in Volume 2 and taking it up a notch to make you even faster and stronger! You are going to use the same, fun equipment with the agility ladder and speed rope in Volume 2, and Shaun also helps you with Nutrition (duhh we know how important this is!) and how to integrate the two volumes together.

The only caveat that I see of this program is that it does seem like you need to master Volume 1 to get truly move on to Volume 2. Aka this program is really meant for those die hard Shaun T fans who just can't get enough of Insanity and Asylum. It also is NOT created for a casual exerciser, so just like Insanity you have to be prepared to give your best and leave it all on the floor- which will involve sweat and maybe some tears. If that sounds as good to you as it does me- go check out the site and learn more at BeachBody: Asylum Volume 2


The next workout I want to talk to you guys about is Les Mills Combat. When this was one of the workouts they asked me to review, I was surprised because I didn't even know they had created videos of this! Many of you are probably familiar with Les Mills classes, perhaps you've taken Body Pump or Body Step. I actually have taken Body Combat before in a class setting, and it is a blast!! It's probably my favorite kickboxing type class workout, so it's cool that they have these on video to do at home now.

What I see here, is an even more intense class then I experienced in a class setting (maybe it's all the hot, muscly people), so it definitely seems worthy of checking out further, if you like this type of workout. I've done Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire (both workouts with Chalene Johnson with beachbody) in the past before and really enjoyed it, but I love the edginess that seems to be inherent in this program. Edgy is good, and I can definitely see myself getting really pumped up working out with these guys, and learning some different styles of martial arts. It also appears to be a very adaptable workout- you can bring down the intensity and impact or you can ramp it up and get a killer workout both ways to suit your needs. I love that! So, go check it out at Beachbody: Les Mills Combat


The last workout I wanted to talk about is perfect as we move from winter into spring and are all trying to look super hot in bikinis (or in my case, shorts because Colleen won't be caught dead in a bikini, lol). What I am referring to is the all important butt! Who doesn't want a hot butt? Brazil Butt Lift Master Series is Beachbody's newest workout with the butt master himself, Leandro Carvalho. As I looked through some of these movements, I fell in love! They are solid exercises that I have done several different variations of during my physical therapy for my strained hamstring, and you better believe I am still doing them! Did you know there are three major muscles in your butt: gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus! You better believe you will get all three worked in ways you never knew existed and your butt will be sore like you have never felt before!! So, go check it out at BeachBody: Brazil Butt Lift Master Series

As a general note for all of these programs- no matter which program fits you, and trust me Beachbody has a TON of programs out there if these don't speak to you specifically, they all come with a big support network complete with message boards and coaches on Beachbody.com.


So, any other Beachbody users out there? What program do you use?


Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this review, nor asked to give any specific ratings, all that is written is my opinion only.

LIFETIME!!!

That's right, it's been six weeks since GOAL! and I have maintained my weight within 2 lbs (up or down) of my goal set with Weight Watchers.

My WW bling

The picture above is all of my Weight Watcher "bling" per say.  One of the things I LOVE about WW is all the focus on success and celebrations.  Each of those little discs represents 25 lbs of weight lost (different colors for each 25lb accomplishment up to 100lbs then you start over).  The key chain itself represents 10% lost.  The clapping hands with 16 inscribed is for hitting 16 weeks on program- stay and succeed reward!  It's been shown that those that stay at least 16 weeks are much more likely to reach their goal, so it's a big milestone.  Then I have three 5k charms for completing a 5k for each of the years they have been promoting completely a 5k as a goal.  Y'all know I love my fitness goals!  Next is the star you have recently seen which means goal!  And last but certainly not least.....THE key!!!

At this point, I have lost.... 221.6 lbs with Weight Watchers and 257.6 lbs total!  The two numbers are because I lost 36 lbs before joining WW- and that 36lbs took me at least 6 months of yo-yoing all over the place until I made the GREAT decision to join WW and jump start my life on October 21, 2009.



The interesting thing about this milestone is that when you look at my past trackers, I have actually been at this weight for 5 months!  Why did I wait to set my goal until January 23rd?  Well....a lot of reasons that I had to work through mentally.  My doctor set my healthy weight goal at 180lbs, his reasoning because I have roughly 20lbs of extra skin that needs to be removed.  Unfortunatley, by BMI standards that is still considered overweight by about 20 lbs.  For those 5 or so months, I really thought I could get to that healthy BMI goal and that ultimately I knew better than my doctor.  I was determined to hit that specific healthy BMI number of 160lbs, and I was starting to get frustrated and angry at myself.

After having a few heart to heart conversations with my old leader, Joni and new leader, Kelly I realized I needed to figure out what was good for my body- not my ego.  I was so fixated on that 160lb goal that life was starting to pass me by while I restricted what I ate and worked out as much as possible, with no results and lots of frustrations.  I wasn't restricting to excess, but I wasn't allowing myself to have a drink here or there or indulge in a great dessert sometimes.  All the while, my body was staying pretty consistently between 175-180 and I was getting progressively frustrated.  Then, my sister's wedding happened and I saw this exact picture of myself, on my cousin's phone, at the reception:

Bridesmaids

I looked at that picture, and I couldn't find myself, I was so confused.  I was thinking to myself- why is my sister in a red dress?  And then.....

I started crying.  That beautiful girl on the right, that I was convinced was my sister, was ME!  My cousin had to say it out loud for me to believe it, I was in such shock.  I had been happy with my progress up to that point and so excited to be fitting into awesome clothes, and receiving so many nice compliments.  When I saw that picture..... for the first time in my life, I felt truly beautiful on the inside and out.  It may sound crazy, but I felt a monumental shift from within.  It's like something literally clicked in my heart and I forgave myself.  I forgave myself for getting to 435 lbs.  I forgave myself for almost killing myself with my food addiction.

At that moment- I was at goal, finally.  After that, it was just a matter of technicalities and talking to my support system at Weight Watchers to make that happen.  Now I'm at lifetime, and I was so glad to celebrate it with my new WW family last night.  In two weeks, I will be celebrating again with my Gettysburg family when we will actually process my official Lifetime Membership paperwork.  Last night was supposed to be that night, but the snowstorm kept that from happening when the meeting was canceled.  Luckily I was able to celebrate close to home with my new leader, who made a sweet card that a bunch of members signed! :)  I brought some before and after pictures and shared my story, answered questions, and even caused some tears.  It was great and very affirming that the hard work was worth it!

I will leave you tonight with one my favorite quotes of all time, and one I try to live my life by....

Busy month!

Wow, looking at my blog post list tonight is making me feel guilty....this will be my first post in the month of February- and probably my only one!  I'm so sorry that I've fallen off the face of the blog world this month- I wasn't home for 2 weeks and had very limited access to a computer.  Then I came home and was swamped with work...I know excuses, I'm

And the reason being was because, I was in....

Magic Kingdom with Adrian!

If it looks like we were cold, it's because we were.  Apparently February in Florida can actually be cold at times.  Yeargh.  The day that picture was taken it was around 40 deg F with winds blowing all day.  I was wearing a winter hat and gloves all day, and was still cold.

I was actually mostly in Disney for work.  I know, such a hardship...

My view from my balcony at the Dolphin Hotel

Coronado Springs Resort

The second picture is the main resort I stayed in- Coronado Springs Resort.  I also stayed 3 nights in the Dolphin Hotel for another work conference.- which had a MUCH better gym since it is owned by Westin, not Disney.  Although Westin chain hotels are typically out of my traveling budge for work, I stay there when I can because I LOVE their gyms.  They all are really great and have updated equipment like foam rollers and massage sticks at every location.  It figures, that the only disappointing thing about Coronado Springs was the TINY and poorly equipped gym- and I was there for 8 days!  It did give me more incentive to run outside, and around the beautiful lake you see above- obviously a hardship. ;)  In all reality, though it does get rather cold in February in Orlando.  We were lucky during the conference to have higher than average temperatures, but then we were inside all day, unable to enjoy it....

Animal Kingdom with Heather

Except, they gave us some time to play- we had a night in Animal Kingdom that we had the park to ourselves!!! It was so cool, we were set up in Africa and there was live African musicians, dancers, flame eaters and throwers, stilt walkers, and of course- Mikey and Minney!!  Then...the icing on the cake....they opened up this roller coaster just for us for an hour!!!!!

Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom

If it seems totally incredible and you are insanely jealous....it was and you should be! :D

We also had an afternoon in Epcot and then had front row, saved seats for the Epcot Illuminations light show.  Unfortunately it rained most of the afternoon, but my friends and I enjoyed some delicious food in Mexico before walking around in the rain, jumping in puddles, and having a grand old time getting wet before having another big group dessert and cocktail reception while we waited for Illuminations to start.  I love my job! :D

After the end of the conference, Adrian joined for 4 days, which was AWESOME!  We had a great time going to a fancy dinner at a South African restaurant, enjoyed the wonders of Epcot and had great Moroccan food and entertainment, felt like kids again in Magic Kingdom, and discovered the wonderful world of MagicQuest!  Downtown Disney has so much to offer, we were shocked- we even saw some live Irish dancing, had fresh made sushi at a luxury bowling alley, and listened to live Australian music on the street!

Disney does Morocco!

All in all, it was an amazing time, but we were also very happy to come home to this little bundle of joy:

Ding! <3

So, tell me- where have you been lately?  Ever go somewhere really cool for work?

Quick Update

Hello there!  My heartfelt apologizes for letting this blog go since my surgery....my doctor wants me to limit computer use (as in typing) to only 2 hours a day- and it needs to be used for work.  Work is important, people!

I've been struggling with unexplained vertigo for the past week and a half....yeah you read that correctly.  I think it is finally getting better, I've had very little dizziness today and drove quite a bit around town and even to Towson and felt fine.  It's been a more traditional case of vertigo than my last case (when I was in the hospital for 3 days in June), which is good in a way- but it feels like it's lasted forever.  After finally seeing a doctor about it on Friday and receiving some meds it's been slowly dissipating, but still comes back at times so I am making sure to do a few things to help my body along:

1.  Lots of water- gotta stay hydrated

1. 

   Water!

2. Many small, healthy snacks throughout the day to ensure I don't feel lightheaded and that my body is getting all the nutrition it needs throughout healing my elbow from surgery
3. Taking it easy

For real!

Number 3 has been tough, especially mentally.  I need my activity to feel not just normal physically but mentally as well.  So, for that reason I was THRILLED that on Wednesday I was feeling well enough to join Adrian at the gym after my weight watchers meeting.  My whole body must have really needed a serious rest because the pain in my elbow has gone WAY down, even when I tried a few jogging steps.  Up until yesterday, even a single high impact step was like a knife to my incision area.   My first Occupational Therapy (OT) appointment was on Tuesday, and Linda had mentioned that before I try running again, I should ensure that first the elliptical was pain free because it has been as well.  So, with that in my head, I hopped on the combo elliptical and ended up working up my usual sweat and heart rate for 20 minutes until I started having some pain.  When the pain started, I stopped and moved onto to a lower body strength training circuit (mainly machines this time) to finish out my first good workout in a week. Since I got my cast off on the 18th, until Friday, I have been spending as much time as I can walking and on the recumbent bike.  It's been a good alternative and I've been able to get my heart rate in my zone, but I just don't enjoy it the way I do even using a stationary bike.

And to top it all off- I have been OFF pain meds (not even Tylenol!) for 3 days!  I'm so thrilled with my pain management and glad to be off those possibly addicting meds.

So with that, I would like to throw out a question for my lovely readers, all 3 of you:   
How do you deal with having to take a prolonged break from your workout routine?

GOAL!!!

Wahoooo I am officially at goal!! I've actually been hovering around this weight for the past 5 months, which is what made me finally realize that it was where my body wanted to be. My doctor set my goal as 180 lbs 2 years ago, but I really wanted to hit that 160lbs that would mean I was a healthy BMI. I have finally come to terms with 180 lbs being healthy for me, and most importantly, I feel GREAT! Although I've technically been at this goal weight (179 lbs was what I officially set) for about 5 months, reaching goal feels no less awesome!

WW GOAL AWARD!

FINALLY, after over 3 years and 257 lbs- I AM AT GOAL!! 


In other news, I'm sorry I've been away so long- with the elbow surgery, computer work has been challenging and exhausting, so I've been limiting my time.  I will try to update again soon!

Surgery!

Tuesday was my tennis elbow surgery... therefore I am writing this entry with only my left hand- talk about dedication. Or perhaps boredom, lol.

First off, I am forever grateful to my mom who was there with me every step of the way.  She came Monday night for dinner and stayed over night to take me to the hospital in the morning.  She was wonderful throughout all the waiting...which was substantial.  When I scheduled the surgery- they said it was an 11:00am surgery and to be there at 9:00am.   We got there and checked in right at 9....and I didn't even start getting prepped for surgery until 11:15.  Then more waiting...

But in the end of course it all worked out!  I remember all the joking around in the surgery suite and all the prep, then I was waking up and they were asking me questions.  The pain was the sharpest right after waking up and they kept pumping me up with meds until my pain was a 5 (0-10 scale).  The entire staff was funny and kind, and I felt like they all cared for me as a person.  I was at Union Memorial Hospital, which is the same place that I go for my sports med doctor and of course the Curtis National Hand Center where I see Dr. Segalman, the surgeon who worked on my elbow. 

Before the surgery, Dr. Segalman came in to cover what he was doing- which was de-breeing the area and shaving down the bone (sounds scary!!) so the tendon could reconnect.  We also talked about my left elbow pain and he suggested having marcaine (think novacain) mixed with my own blood injected into my elbow.  We went for it- and holy cow is there a MEGA bruise there- hence the reason why I've been icing both arms.

I wrote most of this entry in many small stints yesterday and then some more today and am having a hard time finishing being so painful and drowsy..... so enjoy a visual of this huge soft cast and icing my other arm while I get some more meds...

Ding watching over me!

So much to celebrate, part 2!

As I said on my last post, the end of this year has been chock full of lots of celebration!  In continuation...

December 24th:   Had a lovely brunch with Jen H.  We've been friends since Mrs. Carlin's 4th grade class and whether it's been a day or a year in between seeing each other, it always feels like just yesterday. 

Adrian and I ran a couple errands afterwards and got some last minute Christmas gifts.  I didn't do a dedicated workout because I felt like I really just needed to recover from the wedding, I was so exhausted.  We met up with Evan, Jen, and Alex for a little Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchange at Olive Garden in Newark.  It was great despite the fact that the service was atrocious.   Like...some of the worst service I've ever experienced.  The waitress messed up several different orders, kept blaming the kitchen for everything (I HATE it when servers do this, huge client experience pet peeve), and worst of all encouraged us to tip her well despite all the mistakes.  No bueno....  After dinner, we headed back to Jen and Evan's place for marshmallows by the fireplace and games- more good times! We stayed until I was literally almost falling asleep.  Good times!

Christmas:  Another BUSY day!  I started off the morning with Insanity Pure Cardio because I knew there was going to be some MAJOR food being eaten.  And there was for sure.... We started with some time at Adrian's parent's place and watched most of "A Christmas Story."  It just wouldn't be Christmas without seeing at least some of that hilarious movie!  We then headed over to the Hughes' place for lunch and a pink elephant style secret Santa gift exchange.  It was such a blast!  This was when Adrian wanted to exchange gifts- he likes an audience in his own words.  And frankly, he deserves one- he is awesome at making Christmas and my birthday special each year.  Somehow he truly makes each day it's own event, which is tough to do with them being only 4 days apart.

For Christmas this year- we are going to see Tom Hanks' (one of my favorite actors) Broadway debut in "Lucky Guy" in March!! I can't wait! And he also gave me one of the most beautiful rings I've ever seen....

Pretty butterflies!

I've been on the hunt for a beautiful, feminine, understated elegant butterfly ring to use as an anchor.  I've been struggling to find one that fit into all those categories and be wearable everyday and with any outfit.  Somehow he found a beautiful and perfect ring!  The butterfly is symbolic to me in many ways but primarily it symbolizes transformation.  Over the past 3 years or so I have transformed my body by losing over 255 lbs, but more than that, I have transformed the way I see myself from the inside out and that's even more important and critical to my health and happiness.

I gave Adrian an autographed Cal Ripken Jr. baseball from the 1983 World Series and some baseball cards to go along with it.  He loved it! :) We finished up the day with a nice turkey dinner at the farm and more desserts.  Lots of good family time all the way around and one of the most relaxed, happiest Christmas' I can remember in a long time. films.

Dec 26-28:  These days kinda blended together with lots of workouts, some errands and chores around the house, and 2 trips to the movies.   We saw Les Miserables in Newark with Jen C on Thursday.  It was an incredible movie and well worth seeing in the theaters!  Then in true vacation fashion, we saw Django: Unchained on Friday in White Marsh with Evan and Jen.  It was totally awesome in a different way.  I think I enjoyed it more because I'm not a big musical fan but they were both great.

December 29th- BIRTHDAY!  Totally awesome day of course!  Started off the day with Shaun T with Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs.  Over an hour of sweaty, hard fun with mr. hotness himself.   After cleaning up and brunch time- Adrian wanted to shower me with gifts, which I was all too happy to oblige him! ;)  Adrian went WAY above and beyond the normal call of duty this year! He started off with this awesome container symbolizing my weight loss journey- with one paper clip in it for every pound I've lost on my journey! So it was filled with 260 paperclips!! And he decorated the jar with puppy stickers and colorful markers. Rad!

"Triumphant Colleen"

"Weight Loss"

Then the big tamale of all gifts... An incredible day at the spa together!!  This actually took place the next day, on the 30th and was the most romantic and relaxing experience of my life.  We had a private suite with a big soaking Jacuzzi tub complete with serene music, candles, and rose pedals everywhere.  After the tub, we then had an hour long couples massage followed by a delicious light lunch and more soaking in the tub.  I finished the experience out with a lounge in their relaxation lounge, nice and comfy by the fire.  Then I sat in the steam room for a bit and sweated any remaining toxins from my body.  It was a life altering experience and we were very impressed by the beauty, luxury, and professionalism of the spa.  I highly recommend Robert Andrew Spa!

Saturday night we had a blast out at La Tolteca with friends to celebrate my birthday, and then headed to Roonies in Wilmington to chill for a bit and then some DANCING!   No birthday is complete without some dancing, in my humble opinion.  We got home pretty late, so it was good that the main thing on the list for the next day was the spa.  Mmmm spa....

December 30th-  The spa was the main focus.  Afterwards we were so beat that we ran some errands to keep awake because if we had headed home it would have been straight to bed for a nap.  Which was good that we didn't because that night the family got together with Kate and Imad at the farm to celebrate their anniversary (Dec 30th), my parents anniversary (Dec 28th), and my birthday.  I told you there is too many things to celebrate in my family at the end of the year! We had a nice dinner and played a fun game of "Apples to Apples" after cutting into this incredible cake that Kate and Imad created, it was train, complete with railroad tracks and little rocks! So creative, and very tasty!

It's a train cake made of fondant!

December 31st:  New Years Eve!  Party time! We had a good time at Thea and Nigel's party, played some games, and ate too much food.  Somebody had made muddy buddy... If you have never had this, I caution you from it because it is like CRACK.  It is probably one of my favorite foods on the planet and it's addicting and hard to just eat a small amount.  For that reason I haven't eaten it for years.  I hope I keep away from it for another couple years because I think I ate enough last night to tide me over that long.....so delicious and addicting and it makes me lose all senses completely except the desire to eat lots of it!

 Muddy Buddy

What an amazing 2 weeks of celebrating to end a great 2012!! Happy New Year and I hope you were able to thoroughly enjoy the holiday season!