Joanne's Journey to a better Jo

Jo110465 · 07-24-2007, 08:01 PM

My friend said that I should start a journal, that it may help me, and I believe him. For those of you that wanna know me...My name is Joanne. My friends call me Jo. You can call me Jo. I am 41 yrs old. Married for the third time...took me a while to get it right. No kids from the first, 2 from the second, and 1 from my everlasting husband Brendan. He's very supportive and so are my kids. I have been overweight since I can remember. First or second grade. I was 130 by the 6th grade and 180 by the time I graduated high school. I was 200 by the time I hit 20 and spent most of my adult life at 280. Lots of ups and downs in between. When I was pregnant with my third child I weighed in at 300 1/2 the day before they induced me to deliver her. That was the first and only time I hit 300 and it scared me. After she was born I got down to 260 and kept that for a year until last year after my 11-4 birthday when the weight started creeping back up. I was at 268 when I joined bb.com but hit 270 before I started serious workouts. I lost 5 lbs my first week but then last week, my 2nd week, I put three of them back on. Well, that brings us to now...this is the begining of the rest of my life. I need to get healthy and on my journey to getting there I plan to learn enough and pick up enough good habits to keep me there. You're welcome to come along for the ride.

Jo110465 · 07-25-2007, 04:37 AM

I liked it better when I could workout in the morning. I have the most energy then. My husband got a new job and he's been working early in the morning so it's been hard for me to workout in the morning because of the baby. Well she's almost 2 yrs old but she still needs a lot of attention especially when she first wakes up. I went down to do my cardio last night but only did half the time I really wanted to because it was late and I was tired. I'm going down now to see if I can sneak some in before she wakes up. Tonight I will have no problem doing it because I like at least 30 min before I work with the weights which I do faithfully on M, W, F. I look forward to how I feel after working out with weights. Way cool.

Freddie Beef · 07-25-2007, 07:50 AM

It is hard to get some morning cardio done with a 2 year old, people that dont have kids cannot fathom the attention and work that comes with kids. I am still adjusting and getting better. My wife starts her clinicals in aug and will be gone from 6am till about 2 pm, It also took some time for my son to know that when daddy does weights, he can either play in his room or watch, he had finally learned to stay back, even though he wants to lift. It is a lifestyle change that I have finally found that small changes every 2 weeks, is easier to deal with then a WHOLE lifestyle change at once. Make babysteps, it will be profoundly easier!!

Jo110465 · 07-25-2007, 10:40 AM

Thanks Fred. Yeah, I'm still trying to tweak my week so it works for me. I'm usually hungry when I get home from work and also have to get dinner for my family but another problem comes when it starts getting late. I get home from work between 6-7pm. My husband has been going to bed around 8:30 pm because he gets up at 3:30am. I think what I'm gonna try is getting dinner ready in the morning and having my mom, who watches the kids when we work, put it in the oven for me about an hour before we get home. Then I will have time to workout before Brendan goes to bed. Because after he goes to bed I have to be with the baby again so I have to wait until she falls asleep before I can go to the basement and workout. We'll see.

Hotmoltenlava · 07-25-2007, 11:57 AM

Welcome and good luck, Jo!

Jo110465 · 07-25-2007, 08:37 PM

So after a bit of cardio tonight, I started my workout with barbell squats. So geek that I am I go to put on 20 lbs and I put 20 lbs on each side. When I was done and I go to change the wieght to 40 for my bench press I looked and laughed, wow, that was 40, I didn't know I had it in me. I've never been very strong and I've never really pushed myself before so in some ways I underestimate myself just not really knowing what I can do. Felt good though having done it. Still having trouble with my knees though. As long as I remember my braces I'm good.

Jo110465 · 07-26-2007, 04:57 AM

Today is just a cardio day. Kinda boring for me. I always feel like I'm missing something or forgetting something. Anyway, gonna go downstairs and get at it.

cawiau · 07-26-2007, 05:34 AM

hey Joanee..just find your thread.
Going to read up on it and comment later
Take care!

Jo110465 · 07-26-2007, 06:43 AM

Hey, thanks for stopping in. I'm going to take a crack at writing down what I eat. Trying to prepare myself for planning it out before I eat but, one step at a time, lol. I have never been really good at planning because I'm lazy and don't like to take the time to do it. I need to plan though because then I can see the pitfalls before they happen. If it's not on my list that day I can't eat it. Or if there is a party or outing, I can be prepared for it and not ruin all my hard work. I am a work in progress tweaking a little here and there everyday. Eventually I will find a schedule that works for me and when I do, I'll let you know.

Hardy1111 · 07-26-2007, 07:48 AM

Good to see another journal, good luck with your goals, I'll be watching for updates

Jo110465 · 07-27-2007, 05:55 AM

Thank you Hardy. Yesterday was just a cardio day for me. Today cardio and weights. Gotta go to work now but I tell you tonight how it went. Have a great day guys! Later Gator

Jo110465 · 07-27-2007, 08:59 PM

I started out with cardio as usual. Normally I do 30 min on the bike but I mixed it up a little tonight and added just a few minutes more. I did 5 min on the stepper (not great knees or lower back here) then did 10 min on the tread mill, and finished up with 22 minutes on the bike between 10 -13 mph. I start the weights wtih squats. I do 15 reps of each exercise. When I can do 15 comfortably then I add 5 more lbs. I will do this for another week or two then do two sets of 15. It's a start. Well I had been doing 20 lbs on the squats for a few days but on Wed I wasn't really paying attention because I was working out with a friend and we were talking, anyway, I put 20 lbs on each side. I did 10 squats ok but the last 5 were too hard. I wasn't able to do them properly so tonight I did 30 lbs and did all 15 properly. Then I bench press 40 lbs x15. I pull down 70 lbs x 15. The overhead press I was doing 20 lbs but my husband explained the proper way I should do those and as it turns out, I can only do 15 lbs x 15. Barbell curls I do 20 lbs x 15. The dumbbell extensions I can do 10 lbs x 15 per arm. The standing calf raises 50 lbs x 15. The lunges I do with a 10 lb weight in each hand x 15 and I do 15 crunches holding on to 30 lbs in plates. I think I will up that one to 35 the next time. I am really very tired now as it is getting late. I hope I didn't misspell anything, LOL. Good night.

Hotmoltenlava · 07-27-2007, 09:01 PM

Nice job, Jo. Keep it up.

Have a good one.

Freddie Beef · 07-27-2007, 09:53 PM

Great job. Sounds like things are going really good. Keep it up. LEt me know if ya need any advice. Good Night!!!

Jo110465 · 07-29-2007, 09:02 PM

I know that 2lbs is a healthy loss for one week, I'm just impatient. Workouts have been good, though I didn't do one thing physical today. I did go to church though, and I did some shopping and played cards with my folks just nothing that would pass as excerise. Felt wierd to have a day of rest. Like I was forgetting something or missing something. I'll be right back at it tomorrow though. Have a good night.

Freddie Beef · 07-29-2007, 09:13 PM

Way to go.....

jhf · 07-29-2007, 09:43 PM

A day of rest goes a long way. Good job with the progress so far... 2 pounds might not seem like a lot but it adds up quickly and the time flies. Keep it up

Jo110465 · 07-30-2007, 05:02 AM

Thank you. Today I start writing down what I eat. My first step to PLANNING what I will eat. I hate writing stuff down and planning but I know it will help me with my nutritional problems. Wish me luck.

Jo110465 · 07-31-2007, 05:20 AM

Well I wrote down everything I ate yesterday and I am pleased. Pleased that I did it and that I ate pretty clean. I say pretty clean because there were two things on the list that shouldn't have been. My kids and my husband had dino nuggets for dinner (chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs) and I scammed one. I also had one cookie. But thats really good for me. Everything else was good and in proper portion. I actually like when it's time to eat again and my stomach is growling. I feel like I'm doing something right. I'm striving for another good day today. Today is my sons birthday but since we already had the party I should be ok. Have a great day.

Freddie Beef · 07-31-2007, 06:15 AM

Sounds like you are headed in the right direction

Hotmoltenlava · 07-31-2007, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jo110465

I know that 2lbs is a healthy loss for one week, I'm just impatient.

2lbs a week is great! I know you want more, but this way you won't have lose skin and you won't lose too much muscle. You'll be glad you did it this way. I have seen too many posts on here of people that lost really fast, only to find out that they have lose skin or no muscle left. Think of it as 8lbs a month or 48lbs in 6 months. Whatever your goal is, think of it in terms of how many months or weeks you have left. Always look long term. Keep it up!

Have a good one.

Jo110465 · 08-01-2007, 05:02 AM

Thanks guys. I survived my sons birthday yesterday. I work near my folks house and my mom who watches our kids when we work took the kids to her house to make a lunch for Phillips birthday so that I could join them. I did really well I think. She did make this really good lemon desert though but the piece I had was really small. Took two little bites to finish it and I was really happy with myself that I could stop there because it was still warm and gooey and really good, lol. Then I told my husband, since he got out last night before me, to stop on his way home and pick up pizza for them for dinner because it's my sons favorite. I called him on my way home and asked him to please put it all away before I get home because I had fish and brown rice that I was planning on having. I SURVIVED PIZZA AT MY HOUSE!!!! YEAH!!! I did not have even one piece of pizza or one piece of bread. That is a very big positive step for me. Yay me. LOL.

cawiau · 08-01-2007, 06:12 AM

Good Job on surviving so far.
Remember...portion control is really important. As long as you can manage that than you are good to go.
Also, good job on keeping a log of all your foods, really going to help tremendously!

Freddie Beef · 08-01-2007, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jo110465

That is a very big positive step for me. Yay me. LOL.

Great job!! Keep it going and you will be at your goal before you know it!!

Jo110465 · 08-01-2007, 11:09 AM

Thank you, thank you. This is quite fun for me. Doing well that is. Kind of a high all it's own, lol.

Hotmoltenlava · 08-01-2007, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jo110465

I SURVIVED PIZZA AT MY HOUSE!!!! YEAH!!!

Well done. Keep it up!

cawiau · 08-01-2007, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jo110465

Kind of a high all it's own, lol.

Tell me about it

Now...let's try keeping you high all the time

We can do this

Jo110465 · 08-02-2007, 05:52 AM

I was trying not to look at the scale until Sunday but I cheated and looked this morning. I liked what I saw so if I don't screw up between now and then, I'll have a good week. That feeling makes me want to do better. I don't want to let myself down again. We'll see.

Freddie Beef · 08-02-2007, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jo110465

II liked what I saw so if I don't screw up between now and then, I'll have a good week.

remember, it is up to YOU!! Keep it up!

Jo110465 · 08-04-2007, 05:26 AM

Well I said that I wanted to keep track of my measurements once a month. Today would be one month from when I took them last but tmr is my weigh in day so I think I will wait until tmr and take the measurements then. I'm down one hole on my belt but I don't think much else has changed. Well see.