GOOOOOAAAAAL!!

Today I had my 5 week weigh in and I lost 7 lbs which brings me to 33 lbs in 5 weeks!! My original goal was to lose 30 lbs in 6 weeks but I sure did pass that. I'm so happy and proud of myself. Any weight I lose this coming week will just be a bonus =) I can't believe that I have only a week left! This has been my life for the last month and a half and I'm kind of nervous to get back to "real life" but at the same time excited to be able to put into practice everything that I have learned here. Just wanted to give a quick update. It is close to my bedtime so I have to male it short. Hope everyone is doing well! Love you!

UPDATE

It's about time right? =) I had my 4th weigh in today and lost 4 lbs which brings my total weight loss to 26 lbs. Pretty proud of myself! Each day I have to get up and work as hard as I can and I'm definatly seeing the results. I have noticed that every part of my body is getting smaller and that I'm able to do a lot more than when I first got here. Every couple of days I'm able to increase my running speed on the treadmill, I am able to do more push ups, I used to have to do a plank on my hands and knees but now I can do it on my hands and toes, my flexibility is improving and I  was able to do 8 full sit ups in a row! I did have a 105 lb. trainer standing on my toes but I did it! Yesterday I ran at 4.5 mph for 5 min at incline 1 which I have never done before. It was super hard and I wanted to slam the emergency stop button but I'm so glad that I didn't. I keep learning more about myself and how capable and amazing I really am. I have said before that it is exhausting in all aspects and the other day it was especially hard. It was in the morning just after breakfast and a bit before the first class started. I was feeling down and not knowing what to do with myself I jumped on the treadmill and started walking. The second song that came on my ipod was Finish Line by Train and that got me crying. One of the trainers, Marco, saw me and came over. I told him that I was giving my all in all of my classes but it sometimes it just doesn't feel like enough. He then told me that he and all of the other trainers have noticed that I work my really hard and don't take short cuts. He also said that if he could pick the top 5 hardest workers at the place that I would definitely be in the top 5 but then he only named 2 other people. He is the boxing trainer and loves it when I'm in his class because I bring a certain energy to the class that makes people want to work. It is good to hear those words of encouragement and I really needed them that morning. Everyone has a coach who is also a trainer that checks in with you each day to make sure everything is going well and if you need anything. Schuyler is my coach and is considered one of the more "though" trainers here. When ever I think that I'm not doing very well I talk to him and tells me that I'm always "killing it" and that I'm one person that he never has to worry about not working hard because I always am. So again it is always good to get that feedback.

Today it rained here all day and finished at about 5 pm. I enjoyed it but there were a bunch of people that didn't. Some were putting on sweatshirts and raincoats to go to another door that was 100 yards away. I'm thinking, your already wet from all of that sweat and your worried about a little rain? Strange people.

I am enjoying my time here and learning a lot. I love to be out in the sun in between classes and I'm making lots of new friends. I have only two weeks left! At times it seems so short but other times it seems like it will never come. But I know that it will be bittersweet when I leave. I will be posting some new pictures then because I'm lookin good! =)

The Last Few Days...

Before I go into everything I have been doing I have to thank my Heavenly Father for all of the support and strength He has given me throughout this adventure. I know the power of prayer is so real. There have been days when I would have such high anxiety about a class or even the whole day and He has calmed my soul and helped me get through each day. Sometimes I have only been able to get through one class at a time and He has been there for me, strengthening me and helping me to do my best. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and I know they are mindful of me each day and in everything that I do. I know that they always have been and always will be there for me throughout my life.

So I think that I will start back on Friday. Friday afternoon I got to go to the Santa Monica stairs. Duhn duhn duhn. It is 170 steps that we went up and down for just over an hour. All of the stairs are wooden, there is a railing on either side and only about 3 people can fit across it at one time. On both sides there are some dense trees and at one point a few houses with gates. It takes you from one street at the top of the hill to another one down below. These little stairs are very popular! Because they are pretty steep and I have a fear of heights and tumbling down the staircase I took it pretty slow going down each time. But there were people running down and up the stairs. Other people were taking two stairs at a time with weights in each hand. I could go about 25 steps and then have to take a little rest but my heart rate was 150 most of the time. It was good to get out of the classrooms and do something else. Going down and back up the stairs is counted as one and I did it 4 times with a 1 mile walk to go to the bathroom. I was pretty proud of myself for being able to do that much.

On Saturday my friend Susan and I did the 5K walk and then we headed off to beach boot camp! We started by running/walking to a life guard station about 1/4 mile away and back, then doing some warm up exercises. The "boot camp" part after that was going down the beach and stopping at each life guard station and doing 20 squats and 20 push ups. And each station was 1/4 mile apart. Now if the sand was flat like it is in Oregon that would have been no problem but here to be able to walk on the more compact wet sand it was at more of an angle. Probably 30 - 40 degree angle. So it really worked on leg on the way out and the other on the way in. It was an overcast day and we got some misting but no rain. I enjoyed it and was glad that it wasn't blazing hot. Once I got back and cleaned up my roommate, Carolina and I went out for some fun! We went to The Grove in LA. It is a big outdoor shopping center with a grass area in the middle where live music was playing and you can walk in the middle of the street (because no cars are allowed). It is just what I imagined LA shopping to be and it was nice. There was Nordstrom, Barnes and Noble, Coach, Gap and a few high end stores I didn't go into. Again it was just nice to be out and enjoy the evening. We went and saw Moneyball which was pretty good. I really didn't like how Brad Pitt was constantly chewing tobacco and spitting into a cup but I guess that is what baseball players do.

On Sunday I surprised my friend, Nicole, who is serving in the area and showed up to her ward. She was super surprised and it was great so see the look on her face. She is doing awesome in the mission and I can tell that the ward is lucky to have her and her companion. That ward was so nice! I wish I could have had that wonderful of a ward in my mission. I must have talked to 20 different people and they were all interested in what I was doing and where I'm from. I will definatly go back to that ward after General Confernece.

After 1 1/2 days of fun and rest it was back to the grind today.

Successes for today:

1. I ran for 13 min at 4 mph. I have never done that before =)
2. I ran for 15 min at 3.6 mph at incline 1.5. I have nevr done that before =)
3. I made it through the day and hit my calorie mark =)

I started off the day with Austin for personal training and we did a lot of weight lifting and using the resistance bands. Next was boxing which is always fun. I was able to get out a lot of aggression by hitting the punching bag and it felt so good! I had TRX and core and then O.C.F. Outdoor Cardio Fitness. In this class you are at a station for 2 min and they are jump rope, slamming down and catching a medicine ball, consistantly picking up one end of a punching bag that was on the ground and slamming it down, and there was another punching bag that had a rope attached to it and we had to pull it towards us and then run away from it until the rope was tight and then put it towards us again. Those bags are heavy! I had an hour to do my own cardio work out and then a stretching class. I love stretching. It feels so good at the end of the day. Tomorrow I get to go swim laps and have personal training with Omari. Pretty sure that he is going to kick my butt but I say, bring it on.

Two Weeks Done!

I had my second weigh-in today and I lost 8 lbs.!! I was shocked! I was prepared for only two for my second week but I'm so happy. Total weight loss is 19 lbs. in 2 weeks =) My original goal was to lose 30 lbs. but that  goal is going to have to go a bit higher.

Successes for yesterday:

1. I went to all of my classes that I was signed up for. It is so easy to skip and go do something on your own but I'm glad that I stuck to my schedule. 
2. I survived a personal training session with Omari. I did 2 min on the stair stepper and then an exercise with weights and then back on the stair stepper. One exercise I had a 10 lb. weight in each hand and I sat down on the edge of a bench and then sat up and lifted the weights over my head. I did everything 29 times because that is how old I am. I should have told Omari that I was 22 and he would have totally believed me =) 
3. And I reached over 4000 calories.

 Successes for today

1. Losing 8 lbs. my second week
2. I survived another personal training session with Omari. This time we did some drills that I could do in 30 min that are pretty intense if I don't have the time to have a good cardio work out. I don't know if I can even describe what I had to do but for the weights they look like round balls with a U shaped metal handle at the top. And I had to lift them over my head, do lunges, do squats, jump up in the air and all sorts of crazy stuff.

Today was a pretty hard day even though I kept reminding myself of my weight loss. It is now getting a lot harder to burn the calories I need each day. Because my cardio fitness has improved I have to work harder to get my heart rate up and burn calories. Before I go back to the apartment each day I try to get at least 3700 calories burned so that I can hit 4000 for the day. Most of the time it happens but sometimes it doesn't, like today =) I just have to keep working hard and then I know that I will be able to reach my goals.

P.S.

I can't wait to get out of here and have real food! Not like a burger or pizza but here they cook the meat the exact same way every time and it gets hard to eat it every single meal. When I first got here I wasn't hungry at all and had to try really hard to get a couple of bites each meal. The nutritionist said that it was pretty normal and give it a week. Well I do a have more of an appetite but I don't know how much more my tummy can take of the same food! Just sayin =)

Thanks!

I have the best family and friends ever!! Thank you so much to everyone who has given me word of encouragement and support. I do work really hard everyday and do my best in each class that I'm in. Sometimes it is really hard to be positive and keep the affirmations going in my head but coming back and reading all of the positive comments helps out so much!

Believe it or not but I haven't always been the "glass is half full" type of person so this positive thinking every minute of the day is something that I'm working on. I have decided to write down all of my successes for the day so I can build upon them and see how far I have come. So todays successes are:

1. In my boxing class this morning I kept good form for the entire class and I kept practicing the drills even though a lot of people get tired and stop.
2. I made it through a pyramid class! This is the class where you raise the incline on the treadmill by at least 2 every three minutes and you try to keep your speed or go faster. I usually have to take my speed down a bit when the incline goes up but I did get through the whole class.
3. I had a new class today that I haven't had before called  outdoor carido fitness. There were 9 different stations all designed to keep your heart rate up. We were outside and some of the stations were jump rope, bringing a medicine ball over your head and then slamming it down and catching it, mountain climbers - your are on the ground in push up position and then one leg comes up at a time and you alternate at a fast pace and of course there is a really long heavy rope that you have to move up and down. Each of these stations lasts for 2 min and for some of them that is a super long time. But I did all of them even though it was really hard and my heart rate had to be above 170. Thats pretty high =)
4. I ran for 20 min at speed 3.7 on the treadmill in the morning and in the afternoon I walked for 40 min at speed 3.4 on the treadmill. And I didn't have to be told to do it, I just did it.

I was scheduled to stay for the crossfit challenge today but my feet were killing me, especially with all of the blisters and my Dad was coming to visit me. Has anyone gotten blisters in between their toes? I have them now and each toe is individually wrapped with a band aide. I think that I keep the local store in business with all of the band aids and powerade I buy. I found out that on the TV show Biggest Loser they give each person HCG shots and the trainers that you see on TV are really only there 2 or 3 times a week. I was surprised but actually not really. It is reality TV so you can't expect to much. It was super cold here today and that says a lot because I never get cold. During a class you get so hot and just want to go outside and cool off but today it felt good for like a minute and then I started shivering. It is kind of a nice break from the heat and I don't mind overcast skies.

I hope that my little feet can get enough rest tonight to be able to pound it out tomorrow. I will let you know what successes I have tomorrow!

One Week Down

One week of working my buns off, literally, and I have lost 11 lbs! I didn't think that I would pull this big of a number on my first week but I'll take it. I did work really hard and I am pretty proud of myself. =)

After a good weekend it was back to work on Monday. I really wasn't to excited to back but it is my "job" =) So the day started out with intervals. You go up and down on incline and speed for an hour. I had no idea that a treadmill could go up to an incline 15! But I found out quickly. We started out at incline 5 and then went up to 8, 12 and then 15. Each interval lasted for 3 min and I had to adjust my speed each time the incline changed. There was no way I could go 3.5 at an incline 15. I would fall off and injure myself. I'm not sure how many calories I burned but it was a lot and I was super sweaty after. While I was going through it I wanted to cry because it was so hard but after the class I was so glad that I did the whole thing and I felt great. My next class was boxing and I do like it but my arms get so tired from punching. The trainer for the class is Marco and he fought professionally in Mexico when he was younger. He is a great trainer and really nice. I had been pretty emotional all day because you are dealing with so much and your body is kind of "in shock." After my butts & guts class I talked to my trainer, Schyler, and he gave me a pep talk. He assured me that I'm doing great and to forget about everyone else and what they are doing, because it is pretty easy to get competitive here, and focus on myself and remember why I'm here. Of course the trainers push you to go a bit longer/farther/more weight but if I'm doing the best I can then that is all I can to. Sometimes it is hard to remember that when you are in an abs class and are supposed to be doing an exercise for a min and I can only do 30 seconds. That talk really helped and I could finish the rest of the day. Good thing I stayed because I burned 4962 that day and I was super tired when I went to bed that night. One of the funnest classes is dance cardio. My first class was with Amber and she is a super small super spunky girl that bounces off the walls. In her classes she has a routine that we follow but there is another instructor, Omar y, who is Jamaican so he has that natural rhythm. His class is much more free style and it is fun watching him dance because it is awesome. He got some bad news that his grandma passed away suddenly back in Jamaica. So he took off and I hope that he comes back before I leave. He always was so positive and had a smile on his face.

I'm just writing down what I do daily and not sure what else to write. If anyone has any questions or wants to know more about what I do here just let me know and I will answer. I am going to try to update more often but by the time I'm done with my classes I have to eat, take a shower, have some down time and do a few other things it is time to go to bed. But I will do my best. Thanks so much for all of the support!! It seriously helps and I read them often. Goodnight!