Sooooooooooo. Ashlee put me through a great workout this morning!! At 7:30am I might add! There is NO way I would have got up that early to workout a month ago!!!! Even though I hate (HATE) waking up early, I do have to say that starting my day off with a workout has some great repercussions. I have more energy throughout the day, I feel like I concentrate in class more, and i'm just generally in a better mood.

I met my dietitian for the first time this evening!! I learned so much from her. I walked away with a whole new perspective on dieting and I guess eating in general... I now feel as if a course in dietetics should be required for all high school / college kids from now on. I need a minute to gather my thoughts but hopefully tomorrow ill have a blog up about everything she had to tell me!

173 LBS!! <--- Thats what I used to weigh

I did some research today in an attempt to find out exactly how much I weighed at the heaviest point in my life... I called my doctors office and gave them the task of looking through my files to answer this for me. A few minutes ago one of the nurses called me back with a list of numbers. The earliest the nurse could look back to was May of 2009 at which point I weighed 173 lbs. I'm a bit disappointed that they did not have anything from before May of '09 as I am pretty confident that I weighed a little more than this at some point. October of 2009 I was at 160 lbs and then April of 2010 I was at 145. From April 2010 until I started this journey (over a period of 8 months), no matter how hard I tried, no matter what diet I went on or what pill I shoved down my throat, I was unsuccessful at breaking the 145 lb marker. At my very first weigh in with Ashlee the scale read 145 lbs... This morning, it read 137 lbs. I cannot tell you how awesome the feeling is to see those numbers flash up on the little screen. I can't even remember the last time I saw that. I hopped off and back onto the scale about ten times this morning just to make sure it was telling me the truth. I am absolutely amazed that I have accomplished in 3 weeks what I struggled and failed to do in 8 months. My motivation is coming back. At least for the time being...

I love having a personal trainer. Love it.

I don’t think I will ever go back (to not having a trainer). I want Ashlee to train me for the rest of my life. I’m serious. On several occasions in the past I had contemplated getting a trainer but always ended up making excuses and never going through with it. One of my excuses was that I couldn’t afford it… What I have come to find over the past couple of weeks is that all of the money I am saving from eating healthier is adding up very quickly. It’s great! All of this money that I would be wasting on junk food could EASILY get me 2-3 personal training sessions a month. 

Some quick math …

• Starbucks 3-5 times a week @ $4 a trip = $48 - $80 a month (scary but I have the bank statements to prove this)
• Chipotle at the VERY VERY LEAST twice per month. I will admit that in one week not all that long ago I had three chicken burritos (IN ONE WEEK!! Terrible).  So . Very modest estimate of 2 burritos per month = $11.90 
• Chinese – At the very least three times per month - $25
• Miscellaneous (campus vending machines / chips & candy bars at work / sodas from gas stations / popcorn @ movies / alcoholic beverages / meal out at nice restaurant with friends / ice cream cone / other fast food) – Another modest estimate of $40/month.

This brings me to a grand total of about $130 per month just on junk food. Although I will say that my Starbucks addiction was a little out of control and that the average person probably doesn’t drink as much Starbucks as I did before… I think a lot of people would be shocked at how much money they spend on junk food if they actually kept track of it for a month.

Okay so back to my point (got a little bit off topic there) having a personal trainer is awesome and is totally worth every penny and I will tell you why.

First of all, when you find a trainer whose company you enjoy (in my case with Ashlee she is really cool and super hilarious) working out doesn’t seem like such a chore. Although I highly encourage working out with friends for the same reason, let’s face it, friends can be flaky when it comes to working out (especially with inexperienced “worker outers” who like you really don’t want to be there either). With a trainer, they will always be at the gym waiting for you; they force you to be there (force in a good way though).

  

Having a trainer is great because they push you to do that extra crunch – lunge – push up – lifting of heavy object – which on your own you would never do. At least I would never do. It’s the “extra” in your workout that’s going to get you results. Ashlee isn’t like a boot camp instructor – she doesn’t stand there and yell at me telling me I’m pathetic and not working hard enough – what she does have though is this sneaky ability to know exactly what my limit is. She knows when I can do an extra few pushups and when I’m just slacking because I don’t want to do them. She also knows exactly the point at which I really feel like my muscles can’t do anymore - when my “muscles are fatigued” as Ashlee says.  

Having a personal trainer is great because they are like this great big book of workout knowledge. Not only do they know like every single work out for every single muscle in the body but unlike magazines and articles online, they are there right next to you showing you EXACTLY how to do the workout. One of the most important things I have learned from Ashlee so far is that form is just about everything. If you aren’t doing a workout properly, not only are you increasing the chance of hurting yourself, but you are NOT going to get the results you are looking for. I’ve noticed that exercises feel totally different when I am doing them the “right way” versus the “wrong way”. Ashlee is constantly telling me to flex my toes or that I’m bending my wrists too much or not leaning forward enough etc. etc. I am the type of person that has to see something several times before I can remember it / get it right; this is a huge reason why having Ashlee next to me during my work outs is so great.   

Yes, I still have more reasons… So I think as we have established, I care too much about what people think about me. In the past, one of the reasons why I wouldn’t use the weight machines at the gym is because I thought people would look at me and think I was dumb for not knowing how to use a machine properly. (Now that I am typing this I think it’s dumb I even thought that in the first place… I really would come up with any excuse not to work out though). Nevertheless I would be the girl trying to figure out for a good five minutes how to move the seat. Having a personal trainer is great because they move the seat for you / show you exactly where it should be for your height, they pick out the perfect amount of weight for you and as I said above, they make sure that you are using the machine properly. Ashlee picks out my free weights and then even puts them back for me, she puts the weights on the bars with the clip things, and she even carries my water for me sometimes. Okay now Ashlee is starting to sound like my slave so I am going to stop haha.

Anyway, so I think you get the point. I am having a really great experience with my personal trainer and I think that for those people struggling with weight loss / getting the results that they want, personal training is one of the best investments you could ever make.   

Oh and one more thing. Personal trainers are GREAT motivation too… This leads me to what some of my future blog posts are going to be about… Ashlee and I had a discussion during my workout yesterday (at least I tried to have a discussion with her, I was doing cardio and had to spit out a few words between gasps of air) about where my motivation went last week and what we could do to get it back - she suggested we start doing weekly weigh-ins / taking measurements for me to post to my blog, she also suggested that I start to blog more about what I am eating and the workouts I am doing each day… all of which I/we are going to start to do…  

My little sister came into my room this morning and started watching MTV's I Used To Be Fat with me... I was surprised that she was actually interested as typically iCarly on Nickelodeon is her show of choice. After we watched it for a few minutes I asked her if she knew I was doing something similar; which she didn’t. I decided for a couple of reasons to show her my "not so bikini ready" video... First of all, I obviously wanted my little sister to understand what I was doing but second of all I have had next to no motivation to work out over the past week (and I ate bad – I went to Cheesecake Factory and killed a big bowl of pasta)… I hadn’t watched the video since it was put online and I decided that it would do me some good to revisit the reason why I decided to do this. I haven’t watched the video because I'm embarrassed and grossed out to even see myself looking the way I do in it. We only made it 30 seconds into the video and I had to stop it but it did me a lot of good. I got my butt up and went and worked out. I also texted my trainer Ashlee and told her how bad I had done this week. Although my next session with her wasn’t supposed to be until Tuesday we are going to meet up tomorrow for an extra workout. I asked her to kick my butt tomorrow too, which I know I am going to regret haha.   

need. to. work. out. but i don't wannnaaaaaa

Boobs, please come back.

SO. Not only is my pant size going down but my bra size is too :( haha

I cant fall asleep . I'm just laying here in bed feeling super guilty for not working out today..................... blaah

omggggggggggggg yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. a pair of my work pants that I could never even get done up before fit me this morning!!!!!!!!!! Im going to be late for work so this is not going to be a long post . I just had to share this with everyone haha :) 

Puke Break

Okay, so not the most appropriately labeled title but it got your attention didn’t it. I had to take one halfway through my training session with Ashlee on Thursday. I had just finished, I think Ashlee called it a Pilates move, when it hit me, this horrible urge to vomit. So there I was speed walking through the Rec, not as an exercise but in an effort to get my head into a toilet ASAP. I think Ashlee may have been a little annoyed but I really could not help it. I’ve heard in the past of athletes throwing up after intense workouts and although I’ve been having some pretty intense workouts they haven’t been thattttt intense, nothing that I couldn’t handle. Today while working out with my friend Megan it happened again… The wave of nausea mid workout… I am not going to be a happy camper if this continues... Any ideas?  

On another note, I did set a new personal record on Thursday. Unfortunately no it wasn’t the type of record you are thinking. I managed to unlock my twisty lock on my locker the very first try. My very first attempt at getting into my locker (about two weeks ago) actually turned into about 35 attempts that took AT LEAST ten minutes. Not exaggerating. Yes I felt like an idiot. There are no directions on the back of those things. That goes to show you how many times I’ve opened a gym locker in the past…

How & Why to Keep a Food Diary.

Although I have not yet met with my dietitian (hopefully next week!), I have had to complete some things as a pre assessment.  As I talked about in my first video blog, I had to keep a food diary; I had to record (in lots of detail) everything I ate and drank over a period of three days. Although I was only required to do it for a few days I am still keeping track of everything I consume. I never really thought of myself as a bad eater…until I started to keep track of what I was really eating every day. In order to keep a proper food diary it is important to write down / record EVERYTHING that you eat, drink, chew etc. Not only do you need to keep track of what you eat but you need to keep track of serving sizes. I suggest using measuring cups / spoons. You want to be as accurate as possible. I was surprised (kind of) that what I call 1 serving of food, is really 2 servings on the nutrition label. An example of this would be cereal. Most nutrition labels on cereal boxes are for serving sizes of ¾ - 1 cup of cereal. Most people (at least most people I know) are pouring a lot more than that in their bowl each morning. Let me say this again, you need to keep track of everything. This includes measuring the amount of milk you pour into your bowl too. Measure the amount of creamer and sugar that you add to your coffee. Don’t just write down burger; write 1 tablespoon of ketchup, 1 slice of cheese, lettuce, onions, and the corresponding calorie content of each… Get the point? It is scary to see how fast the calories add up. Note: it is important to write your food down as you consume it, do not wait until the end of the day as there is no way you will remember everything you ate. There are a number of reasons why I am stressing the importance of a food diary and why I think that you should keep one too (at least do it for a few days).The reason that keeping a food record has been so helpful for me is that it has forced me to see how healthy and unhealthy different types of food really are. I know you’ve heard the importance of eating your fruits and veggies each day, not only are they full of lots of nutrients but as I’ve come to find out, they are also really low in calories in comparison to processed, or what I refer to as “man made” foods. Also, by sticking to a calorie budget (which number I will not release until the nutritionist tells me that it’s an appropriate one) I am forced to make my food selections wisely. The reason why keeping track of calories has been working so well for me over the past couple of weeks is due to the fact that I am not being forced to totally cut certain foods out. I have tried just about every fad diet there is out there… A lot of them, for example the Atkins diet, encourage you to cut out certain types of food (carbs) and consume lots of another (protein). I ate so much egg & bacon (protein) over a period of a few months once that the smell and sometimes even just the look of them make me nauseous now. As I said above I have been sticking to a calorie budget which I set for myself. As soon as I meet with my dietitian I will let you know how to calculate an appropriate budget for yourself.

There are lots of free food diary templates on Google, as well as some awesome phone apps that I use and highly recommend. If you have an iPhone or iPad (not sure if other AT&T phones can access the same apps or not, hopefully they can) the iTunes app store has a free application called “Lose It”. Verizon has an app called “My Fitness Pal” (also available on iPhone) which I have not personally used but it looks pretty similar to Lose It and is also free of charge. These applications are great because they allow you to keep track of your calorie intake and calories burned from working out. They both have huge food nutritional content databases so no matter where you are, eating at home or at a restaurant, you can quickly look up how many calories is in something. I’m not sure whether you can do this with My Fitness Pal but Lose It has another cool feature; you can connect with your friends and other users of the app and share progress with each other. I have not tried it yet but if anybody is interested in “connecting” with my Lose It account let me know and we can try to figure out how to do it!    

Heading to the Rec Center with my girl Megannn.

Goals and Motivation – take 4.6 minutes and just do this.

A topic of discussion that came up in one of my psychology courses was goal setting. I can’t recall specifics however the conclusion reached was the following: writing down goals increases your chances of reaching them by A LOT. Apparently studies have shown that when you write down your goals, your brain sees them as being more important, makes them more of a priority which in turn, increases your commitment to them. Everybody has a goal but the truth is only a small fraction of people will ever actually attain them. This is because most people do not create specific goals nor do they come up with a game plan of how they are going to get what they want.

One of the first things that my personal trainer Ashlee had me do was fill out “my personal action plan”. Here it is… (I suggest you copy and paste the following and replace my answers with your own) 

My top 3 goals are: 

1. I am going to reduce my body fat enough so that my cellulite is less noticeable, my tummy is flat, tight & sexy,  I am going to gain strength (so I can actually live up to my last name) and be a healthier individual. My starting weight on January 4^th was 145 lbs. My goal by the end of this journey is to be around 120 lbs. Starting % body fat = 32, I am going to be around 20-24%. Current BMI = 25.7, I am going to be somewhere around 21.  

Achievement date: June 3^rd. I am going to get rid of approximately 1.5 lbs per week (specific). Approx 12-15 lbs by March 3^rd.  Lose an additional 13-15 lbs by June 3^rd.   

I’m going to reach the goal by taking the following steps: Do everything my personal trainer Ashlee and my dietitian tell me. I am going to do some type of cardio workout every day (Ashlee said I can take Sundays off if I would like). I am going to do tri-weekly full body workouts (weights). I am NOT going to be lazy, make exceptions or quit. Quitters don’t win. We (you and I) are winners.      

2. I am going to positively influence those around me to follow my footsteps and encourage others to make healthier lifestyle changes. Specifically I am going to help my younger sister to start exercising and to modify her diet.   

Achievement date: Every day. 

I’m going to reach the goal by taking the following steps:  I am going to blog my little heart out in hopes that people will be encouraged to do what I am doing. I am going to share tips / tricks / & ideas to help you attain your fitness goals. I am going to work out with other people and teach them everything I know / am learning.

3. Be more confident, comfortable and less self conscious about the way I look. Over the past few weeks I have come to realize that I care and worry incredibly too much about what people think about me.  

Achievement date: June 3^rd. 

I’m going to reach the goal by taking the following steps: Discussing this openly with people. Determine why I have this problem. Determine what I can do to improve / stop this. Become more accepting and less judgmental of myself. 

I am making the following commitment to myself… (I promise myself that I will…)

Dedicate myself to this journey, do my very best, and work as hard as I can. 

These are some small steps that I’ve already taken towards my goal:

I wrote down my goal and developed an action plan. I have started working out; I have detailed workout plans and a workout schedule. I have started to make small changes in my daily routines such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Although I have not yet met with my dietitian, I have started to watch more closely what I eat and am trying to cut out a lot of processed foods. I have switched from white chocolate mochas to passion fruit tea at Starbucks and am opting for no cheese and light mayo / dressings on my food.     

(You could write: I am following Kirsty’s blog very closely and doing everything that she tells me to do)

I want to reach these goals because…

Okay this last question on my personal action plan I am answering a little differently. The answers to this question are my motivators. Reminding myself on a regular basis of why I want to reach my above goals will be key to me working my hardest over the next 6 months.   

I am finding it extremely beneficial during the last few reps of an exercise (when I am truly feeling as if my muscles are going to stop working all together) to start envisioning my motivators. My go to motivator that I focus on when I am in the danger zone of quitting is #6 (see below).  

I highly encourage you (that means do it) to make your own list of all the reasons you want to lose weight and be healthier… I suggest keeping it in a place that you will see it often. I think I am going to make a poster and stick it on my ceiling above my bed so I will see it every morning when I wake up.   

Here is a sample of mine in no particular order:

1. I want to look good great naked.

2. I want to look in the mirror and be like “heck yeah that is your body and you look gooood.”

3. I want to like and feel comfortable with the way I look.

4. I want to make my ex boyfriend jealous.

5. I want to feel comfortable wearing a bikini in front of people.  

6. That boy in my classes I am crushing big time on………

7. I want other people to reach their fitness goals, especially my sister.

8. I want to go to a water park. (No I have never been to one before, see number 5)

9. Want to one day (maybe) have healthy children and be an active healthy role model for them.

10. I want to have friends over during the summer for pool parties & grilling out (don’t do this because of number 5)  

11. Ill be able to justify buying a new closet full of clothes

12. Ill be able to fit into all the clothes I’ve bought in the past that didn’t fit but I liked and told myself I would lose weight to fit into.

13. I want to have great bow chicka wow wow. You know what I’m talking about.

14. I want to post a hot bikini body video to my blog   

15. Ill be able to wear my best friends clothes

16. I want to feel comfortable wearing shorts!! and skirts!! And cute summer dresses!!

17. A boy (hopefully boy in #6) will be able to sweep me off my feet without breaking his back

18. I want to be healthier, live a long life, and not have to take 20 different medications each day when I’m older like some of the people that come to my pharmacy. (im not exaggerating when I say 20)

Note: yes okay, I realize that not all of the following motivators are necessarily…..what’s the word I’m looking for? …. hmm… some are slightly materialistic (#11)... some are to impress others (I guess people would argue that I should JUST be doing this for myself -not #4-) but at the end of the day they motivate me and get the job done. The way I see it, if they can help you go the extra mile: one extra lunge, one extra push up, one less soda, then add them to your list. 

Check back later tonight to learn how and why to keep a food diary and to read my blog about Thursday’s crazy workout with Ashlee (I was pretty much reciting the above list over and over in my head the whole time).  

 Okay soooo finallly, 50 technical difficulties later, I have uploaded my first video blog. Yes, my video blogs (like my bod) are going to need some work... Ill step it up for video update #2!! Its been a crazy week and I've got tons of stuff to talk about - tomorrow morning (after my workout) I am going to get it all organized and up here asap ! 

My best friend just asked me if I wanted to bake brownies tonight.... uhh hellllooooooo??!!?!

Food for THOUGHT

As I briefly discussed before, a big motivator for me losing weight is that I want people to follow in my footsteps; I want to set a good example for the people around me. From working in a pharmacy my eyes have really been opened to the dangers of being overweight. I dispense so much medication for the treatment of obesity-related health problems, it’s alarming.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), in 2009, Ohio was only 2 spots away from making the top ten list of states with the highest percentage rates of obesity. 28.8% of Ohio’s residents are considered obese.  Mississippi holds the number one spot with an obesity rate of 34.4%. As the CDC notes, “obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated from a person's weight and height and provides a reasonable indicator of body fatness and weight categories that may lead to health problems” (CDC, 2010). The above statistics mean that about 1 in 4 people here in Ohio have a “major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes…high blood pressure, stroke, liver and gallbladder disease, infertility… ” (CDC, 2010). Unfortunately the list goes on and on. 

(If you’re interested in figuring out what your BMI is, stop by UC’s Rec Center and they will be able to help you out.)

Here is an interesting excerpt from Down to Earth (n.d.),

In the Webster's dictionary food is any nourishing substance eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc. In American society food is that which is fatty, tasty, processed, refined and contains no nutrients; a substance detrimental to the body's functions, creating disease, and resulting in death.

I think that it is time that we call on the food industry to step up their game for the good of the public. I mean Philip Morris writes on their boxes that their products will kill you, but Kellogg’s doesn't write that on their rice crispy treats.

Just about everyone knows that being overweight is bad, but I really don’t think that people truly understand the magnitude of the problem at hand. From time to time you will hear comments that obesity is a problem in America but let’s be honest here, how often do you see anti-drug commercials on TV? All the time, that’s right. How many times have you seen a commercial saying, “stop eating so much food”? Zero times, right again! 

One website that I stumbled across makes a very good point, “Obesity in America is similar to the 800 pound Gorilla in the room. We all see it. We all know it’s a problem. But we are all too scared or too lazy to create or execute a solution that will get rid of it” (Doctor Kal, n.d.).

 I think we have established here one of the major problems associated with obesity that needs to be addressed. There is not enough public awareness concerning the actual consequences of being overweight and obese. Something needs to be done about this TODAY; especially because we are raising a new generation of children that are going to be even worse off in the health department than we are now. The steps that have been taken so far and the programs created to increase awareness are not widespread enough; they are not reaching enough of the population. It is extremely important that everyone stops brushing this serious epidemic off and becomes more dedicated to weight loss and leading a healthier lifestyle. People, it's really time that we lose some weight; make it a priority. We do not want to be remembered as the generation that ate their way to death.

Share this with your friends, the key here is to start spreading the word that it’s time to get healthy. 

Check back soon for my first "real" video blog. Ill tell you what my personal trainer and nutritionist said during our first meeting and also how i'm feeling about all the text messages that are pouring into my phone saying things such as, "uh. kirsty. you are allllllllll over campus".

 

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010, September 1). U.S. obesity trends. Retrieved January 5, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

Down to Earth. (n.d.) Obesity in America. Retrieved January 5, 2011, from downtoearth.org: http://www.downtoearth.org/health/nutrition/obesity-america

Doctor Kal. (n.d.) Obesity in America. Retrieved January 5, 2011, from  http://www.drkalsweightlosstips.com/obesity-in-america.html

Note: I did my very, very best to follow the APA rules for my citations in this blog post; if anybody sees a mistake please let me know!!! There are lots of people reading this and I don't want to get sued for plagiarism!!! Thank you :)

Check Out Kirsty's Not-So-Bikini-Ready Body! This was part of her interview for the contest! Go Kirsty!!

SPANX

Good evening!! (Actually I suppose it’s good morning)

First of all, I hope everyone had a great holiday and New Years. Although I get very excited for this time of year there is one thing that always rains on my parade. You see, with each holiday comes not just presents but the reminder of my fatness. What do I mean? Well, for New Years Eve this year my friends and I decided that we would go downtown to celebrate. I was really excited for our fancy evening out, until it came down to what I was going to wear. My best friend (the one that has the hot, OMG body to die for) and I went to the mall in search of the perfect outfit. Let me tell you how much it sucks when of the ten+ dresses we both tried on, allll of them looked super fabulous on her and only one KIND OF looked okay on me. To make it even worse, the one dress that I fell in love with and realllly wanted wouldn’t fit no matter how much I sucked in, and she ended up buying it. Fast forward a couple of days; it is now New Years Eve. The next reminder of how big my butt is came during the getting ready part of the night. The dress and shoes were laid out on my bed ready to go, the plan for the night was finally written in stone, but one very important question remained unanswered. To wear spanx or not to wear spanx? Do I want to be incredibly uncomfortable and not really be able to breathe the entire night? What if I meet the man of my dreams tonight..........? (By the way boys, I'm single now). Well anyway, I opted not to wear the spanx and instead I threw them in my trash can; I am not going to need those anymore…! I’m going to have trouble again picking a dress out for next New Years Eve, but it’s going to be because I have so many different options not because I can’t fit into any of them!

A few people have made comments over the past two weeks saying they'd be way too embarrassed to broadcast their body online for the world to see as I am about to do. These little comments got me thinking... Should I be nervous and embarrassed? I really started to dwell upon this; I started thinking about how a certain boy from some of my classes (who I have a major crush on) might see me with next to no clothes on, fat 100% out there... You see, since the age of like nine, I have been extremely self conscious of the way I look and have done my very best to hide my body. Now though, I am about to post online pictures of myself in a bikini for all to see. My nerves kicked in and I started to wonder what the heck I had got myself into.   

Thankfully though, a few nights ago I watched an episode of MTV’s new show, I Used To Be Fat, the girl Gabriella, made one comment that really stood out in my mind, she said something along the lines of, “I gave up one summer of my whole life to be happier and healthier for the rest of it and to me that is a pretty good trade”. Listening to everything Gabriella had to say really inspired me and totally changed my thought process. All I’ve been able to think about since is how much my life is going to change for the better over the next six months. I decided that I really don't give an ish (can I say that) if anybody has anything bad to say about me doing this whole thing, and if that one particular boy happens to see my fat pictures and thinks less of me then whatever. There's plenty of other fish in the sea. At the end of the day I am doing this for me. I don't want to be fat anymore; I want to be healthy and proud of my body and I don’t want to wear spanx EVER again. I also, like Gabriella, want to encourage others to do this with me. I know all too well how difficult it is to lose weight on your own. UC’s trainers are going to help me and I am going to help you!

Tomorrow morning, well actually about 6 hours from now, I am meeting with my personal trainer Ashlee for the first time. Tomorrow is my initial “assessment,” basically we are going to find out how un-fit I am. Later on during the day I will also be meeting with my nutritionist Alisa, which I am really excited for. She seems really nice and I’m looking forward to learning everything she has to teach me.

Although over the past couple of weeks I have had a mixture of feelings about what the next few months hold in store for me, the most prevalent of all the feelings is excitement. I have never been so enthusiastic to workout in my whole life. I just hope that this feeling continues!! Check back later this week to find out what my personal trainer and nutritionist have to say to me tomorrow!