At First You Won’t Succeed

There is an age old saying that reads, “If at first you don’t succeed… sky diving is not for you”. I always thought that was hilarious because most of the time things take me a few tries before I get it. I have been dreading this blog post for a few weeks because at first, I didn’t succeed. Adding a different fitness or food related challenge ever day became very difficult about 20 days in. I eventually gave up on myself, and didn’t succeed. It was embarrassing because I was so confident that I could do it. Here I am feeling like I let most people down. But some days I have to look back and see how far I have come.

 

In less than 24 hours I will have completed my first ever road bike race. In January I put a team together that will race tomorrow in the Grizzly Triathlon. I am excited and proud even if at first I didn’t succeed. It is a constant reminder that on April 30, 2011 I weighed over 300 pounds and had trouble walking in the Ridge. I was in the mindset that this was going to be easy and require very little work. I was so wrong and tomorrow I will be reminded of all the hard work this journey has taken.

Team “Cat Woman” races tomorrow at 9:30 am MST. What a scary/fun/rewarding race it will be. Not every day will be a success, but it is how I handle that success that matters. “At first you won’t succeed… but get up and try again.”

If You’re Not First, You’re Last! :) 

One Less Day 

You have not been forgotten!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

This is Serene’s big sister blogging today. There’s been a small bump in the road for Serene, she has only has one more month until she graduates from college (WOOHOO!) and that has taken a toll on her blogging. Understandably so, I remember how stressful the last month of school was. It’s like you finish with one paper and start another while trying to ride a wild horse backwards and sing “Baby got back!”  So as the older, not quite sure if I’m wiser sister I decided to whip out my blogging skills and help her out by updating the 50-day melt off!

So how is everyone doing? Have you cried yet? I know I have! Not really but it’s been quite a challenge. Serene’s last post talked about eliminating sugar from your diet. It’s Girl Scout cookie time; the weather is getting nicer so the urge to eat ice cream is creeping up and who doesn’t want an iced coffee to sip on a lazy Saturday afternoon? Personally, this has been the hardest challenge yet. However, I’m pleased to announce that I’m prepared to reveal some great tasks we have ahead! YAY! I just heard you all let out a heavy sigh…don’t fret, this is good for our souls.Should we reflect back to what challenges we’ve been given thus far? Okay!

Day 50: Write down everything you eat
Day 49: Stop eating after 7pm
Day 48: Run/Walk 25 extra miles a week. This is aside from your everyday workouts
Day 47: Drink a VAST amount of water…we’re talking about 100+ ounces a day
Day 46: Eat 5 servings of veggies a day. Four of those servings need to be green and one can be any other color you want (pink if you find it.) Also, you may only have carrots ever 3 days…they have lots of sugar in them
Day 45: Give up one bad food habit. Serene gave up eating out. I personally gave up alcohol. No I’m not an alcoholic but it does have a lot of calories and those can add up quickly on a Saturday night
Day 44: Get to know healthy food habits aka balancing out what you are eating
Day 43: Calories in vs. calories out. It’s just that simple
Day 42: Attend yoga once a week. Let’s get flexible people!
Day 41: Cut out that sugar folks…that means anything that has sugar within the first 5 ingredients of the product. (High fructose corn syrup is SUGAR…don’t be fooled by the TV commercials)

So we’re caught up to where Serene left off. I bet you were all thinking, okay this isn’t bad now that I’ve basically had a week off without a new challenge. Prepare yourselves because I’m about to throw out enough challenges to make you feel woozy. That could also be a side effect if you haven’t drank enough water. Are you ready? Are you sitting down? Do you have a pen and paper? Okay, let’s get to this:

Day 40: No weighing in until this challenge is over…yep that’s 40 days of just hoping those pants are loose for a reason.
Day 39: No food containing highly-enriched flour. That stuff may taste yummy but get it out of your system! Pack in the whole grains.
Day 38: No meal replacement bars. Put down that protein bar and eat an apple instead.
Day 37: Write encouraging notes around the house about exercise! For example: “Sweat is your fat crying!” or “Yesterday you said tomorrow!”
Day 36: No processed food. Say adios to those ever-so-yummy chips
Day 35: Get 7 or more hours of sleep a night. (Sounds good to me!)
Day 34: Try a new exercise every week. Have you ever tried Zumba? These hips don’t lie.
Day 33: Don’t mix any other activity with eating. When watching Real Housewives of Orange County, don’t eat caviar or even almonds.
Day 32: WHAT…YOU GET TO CATCH UP TODAY! Re-evaluate how far you’ve come…be proud of yourself. You’ve been rocking this!! Keep up the great work.

So what do you think? Breathe it’s going to be okay. This is a difficult challenge but think about how good you’ll feel. I’m sure most of you are feeling better already. Personally, I know I am. I have a lot more energy. 

Thanks everyone for having patients for this post. Serene appreciates it as well. I might be back soon to keep everyone going. Until then, keep your chin up and keep trucking along. Be proud of yourself.

In the words of the corporation of Nike “Just do it!”

Adios and have a great day!