Just Dance!

So I am so excited! With my job, I have not been able to work out very much. Since I am currently enjoying winter break, I rented "Just Dance! 3" and I could not put it down.

I did because, well... I had things I needed to do.

I bought "Just Dance! 3" and I am thoroughly excited! The moves and music variety remind me very much of Zumba. It inspires me to move my body in different ways. I grew up dancing ballet and jazz which required a certain about of control (which I would like to call stiffness). Some of the moves in "Just Dance! 3" require "jello movement" which gets me to relax and loosen up. I was sore for 3 days after playing for 1 hour. My soreness has never lasted that long except when I was playing volleyball and training for 8 hours per day.

Find something that motivates and inspires you! The great thing about video games is you can rent them before you buy them. Most libraries have workout videos, borrow them before you purchase! You can really determine if you are going to you it and if it will be worth every cent.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and/or splendid holiday.

Caffeine -- NO MORE!

I do have to write about one amazing thing that happened this year.

I do not know what brought on the new symptoms suddenly, but it got me to stop drinking caffeine. Sometime during the summer, I think June or July, I was getting light-headed at work. My job wasn't physical, I just sat all day. I didn't understand. Without knowing anything, I just went about my day and prayed that I would be okay. I didn't work for the next few days (I was just working part-time) and had no reason to drink soda. I did not think anything about it!

Thursday comes and I had to work on a children's program so I had some soda. I went to Zumba after work and I remember bending over to tie my shoes... as I got up, my vision went black for about 20 seconds. Talk about scary! As I was doing Zumba, I realized today was the first day in 3 days that I had soda.

As much as I hated it, I cut soda from my diet. I had to. I was tired of getting dizzy, light-headed, and when I moved too quickly, blacking out.

A few weeks later, I got sick and I wanted Sprite. I love Sprite. Sprite helps settle my stomach when upset. I didn't get light-headed, dizzy, or experience a black out.

I decided to try soda again. Diet Pepsi is one of my favorites. Low and behold, I felt light-headed and dizzy. I then wondered if it was just soda that contained caffeine. I continued my experiment, but this time with decaffeinated soda. I was OKAY! I could have soda, just not any caffeine.

I now stay away from anything caffeinated: soda, coffee, tea, ect.

Word of advice: I had no health insurance which it why I did the experiment on my own. You should always consult a health care professional when you know something is not right. I took a risk not seeing a physician.

My Weight Loss Journey

Here is just a few of the pictures from my journey so far!

I know it is hard to tell, but if you look at the hand placement and how more of my hand can fit around my waist in each picture, it is pretty amazing to see.

I still would like to lose 34 more pounds!

I'm Back!

I can not believe it has been nearly a year since I have kept anyone up to date. Let me update you!

I graduated with my Bachelor's degree last December. With all the emotional stress in my life, I catapulted into depression. This was the first time in my life I felt like I could do whatever I wanted because I was no longer needed. I know that sounds horrible, but it wasn't. My whole life I was held to high expectations or I was always helping others. After 23 years, I needed a break. I broke down and did exactly what I needed to do to barely get by. Thinking back on this, I am surprised I did not gain any of the weight back or at least a lot of it. A lot of that was attributed to the fact that I did sub several days a week (a job where you are on your feet all day) and I did Zumba 1-2 days a week.

When school ended in June (substitute), I dedicated my free time to getting healthier. I was slowly coming out of my depression and I was taking a look at my life and knew I needed to continue losing weight. After I was done student teaching in December, I really did not lose any weight. I decided since I did not lose any weight that I was going to begin running. :) It was amazing, running for about 45 minutes a day. I think I weighed around 190 when I started. I did not really keep track of my weight, what I ate, or how much I exercised. So I have no details to give. At the end of summer, when I started teaching, I was at about 175.

I worked retail for about 6 weeks, which helped me lose weight. I only quit that job because I got a teaching job. Can I just say, what a blessing it was to get that job?!? There was a lot of personal growth between April and July. Then to be blessed with the final piece to bring my life back in August was a miracle. I was lost and depressed and it was not pretty, at all! Since I have been teaching, I am on my feet about 6 hours a day, but sitting the rest of the time to plan things. I eat a lot less because there is not a lot of time during the day because there is just so much to do. I still eat, just less.

I am now on winter break and decided it was time to work out and keep track of my food once again. I am at 174 lbs. I have be fluctuating between 170 and 175 since August. Since Friday (the start of winter break), I have been keeping track every day. I also have worked out every day. I am sore head to toe because I have not worked out since September. I am feeling sore muscles in every major muscle group. It makes moving somewhat difficult! I like that feeling because it means I am doing something good for my body.

Anyway, I am back and I hope that this blog does help someone!