Gym Rat

Yesterday I returned to the YMCA for my first workout after about 8 days of excuses and not making the time for exercise.  Lately I've been finding it very difficult to convince myself, or to actually be able to work out at home.  And honestly, I just prefer going to the gym.  I need a group class to really get me going.  If I could do one group class every day I'd be golden!  But that's not realistic either.

Yesterday I did an afternoon Step class and about 20 minutes of the Core class after.  This evening I did Muscle Definition and a 30 minute Quick Spin.  Tomorrow I'm planning on going to Cardio Blast in the morning - provided I'm able to move in the morning.  Muscle Def was a killer and I hadn't done much strength in a while so I'm dreading/looking forward to the impending soreness.

I'm ready to get the numbers on the scale moving again - and in the right direction.  My starting weight for this round of weight loss was 266.  I was able to consistently lose about 10 lbs per month for the first 6 months but several things have thrown me off in the past month and a half - my divorce and money stuff, a girls weekend trip to Chicago, a family reunion, etc. etc.  So I've only lost 2-3 lbs in the last few weeks.  I'm hovering around 204 and really itching to make it to ONE-derland!

So I've started tracking my food online again.   I've started focusing on eating real whole foods, local and organic when possible.  And I'm rededicating myself to exercise.  Even thinking about another attempt at a Couch to 5K.  I'm a wannabe runner.  The best I can do so far is a slow jog for one or two miles on a good day.  Maybe taking up running will add a new excitement and new goals to my weight loss efforts.

It keeps changin' fast.

He was born in the summer of his 27th year

Coming home to a place he's never been before

I thought about this John Denver lyric tonight (I'm admittedly a big JD fan) and how it relates to my life.  This is the summer of my 27th year and in some ways I do feel like I'm coming home to a place I've never been before.  Not in the physical sense, but in the sense that my life is changing in so many ways right now and I'm not quite sure where it will end up taking me.  Although I'm feeling optimistic that the "places" I am going in life are going to be great.  I am excited to uncover/create/find out more about this "new me" - hence the name of the blog: the new Michele.

Who am I? What are all these changes?

I am a newly-single mother of a nearly-2 year old boy, Vincent.  <Insert all the cliches that loving parents say about their children here because they all apply.>  He is absolutely my world.  And very very adorable.  Of course parenthood is a never-ending barrage of changes in itself, but the biggest change is my new single parent status.  I hope not to be a single parent for too many years, but I am relegated to that roll for the time being at least.  Fortunately I have a wonderful support network of family (I live with my incredibly supportive and wonderful parents) and friends (near and far) so I know I will never be lonely and hopefully I won't be too overwhelmed most of the time.

I am a student/teacher-in-training.  I'm currently halfway through a Master of Arts in Teaching program for Elementary Education.  In 10 months I should be graduating and hopefully getting my first teaching job.  The thought of this is both exhilarating and incredibly daunting.  

I am also in the midst of my 3rd (I think) serious weight-loss attempt.  I am planning on this being my last attempt at losing a very large amount of weight.  Like many people I have been overweight my entire life.  Shortly after high school graduation I lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 pounds and over the following years regained all of it and more.  On December 10, 2008 I began using Sparkpeople and successfully lost 120 lbs in 10 months - from about 304 lbs to 184 lbs.  In October of 2009 I became pregnant with Vincent and regained about 60 of those pounds back and then added a few more pounds post-partum as well.  On December 8, 2011 I joined the YMCA and their weight loss support group/class and since then I have lost about 62 lbs through exercise and healthy eating.  I hope to lose about 60 more.

So what is this blog about?

I'm not exactly sure.  Anything and everything, I suppose.  One of my main topics will of course be my weight loss and my journey to a healthier lifestyle, but I don't want to limit it to just a weight-loss blog.  So my plan for the time being is just to chronicle/share about my life and the journeys that I am on and let the blog go in whichever direction(s) it may.