#jumpstartjune

[amrobertson-blog1]

It's Sunday and I'm happy to announce that I am building a NEW TEAM and helping a lot of people meet their personal goals along the way! I've done it a few times before and I'm doing it again. I only have 4 spots open, they come with a $100 shopping spree, and how much you want to work depends on which one you'll take. I'm 100% serious. Executive = $300/month plus bonuses Ruby = $500/month plus bonuses Emerald = $1,000/month plus bonuses Diamond = $2,000/month plus bonuses **Only consistent, positive people who are at least 18 and have $99 to start YOUR business can have these. If you don't have $99, that is reason alone to find it & get to work. 💌 Message me with your desired rank - #JumpstartJune enrollment is now open!

[fatgirlgetsfitatlast]

JumpStartJune16 Picture Challenge -- What Makes you Unique? 

So, I’ve been thinking about this question for a while, and I keep coming back to the same answer: Nothing and everything. 

There is no one thing about me that makes me unique -- I’m sure that my qualities and quirks are shared by many people the world over.  On the other hand, we are ALL unique in the way that our qualities and quirks are put together within us, how we use them, and how we present them to the world.

It’s really hard to take a picture of nothing and everything, tho. :/

So, to back away from the existential black-hole that this question began to create for me, I finally settled on something that is probably a little unusual, if not really unique:

I am both a beach bum and a country girl. I love them both. I am blessed to have the chance to spend time in both places every week.  I guess doing headstands in both adds to the uniqueness a bit. :)

Also, I still have a baby (primary) tooth. Every time I go to a new dentist or hygienist, they comment on it. 50+ years and still hanging in there!

[running-on-spoons]

Jumpstart June - June 9

Today I started my morning with a yoga practice. After having focused on night classes for a few evenings starting with a morning one was refreshing.

It’s nice that the day’s energy is set with a nice invigorating yet calming flow.

I’ve got lots of errands to run today (dropping off presents and forms) which could be annoying but I’m not letting that get to me. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to keep working on the article I’m writing when I’m done errands, which depending on how long it takes I should be able to get some stuff done.

Maybe I’ll even do some pre bed yoga as well since it seems to be helping me sleep better and not battle insomnia.

[brorilla]

(Photo: Hiking. Beautiful trail with some amazing Bristlecone pines. I ended the hike at Raintree which is thought to be the oldest and largest Britstlecone pine in the Spring Mountains, I think the estimates are that it is about 3000 years old!!!!!)

JUMPSTART JUNE INTRO

This shit got so unexpectedly long. Sorry about that haha.

Jumping in on week 2! 

Hey Fitblrs! JD here. I’m a former workout-o-holic that “let himself go” after moving from CA to NV. The change in weather, social network, work life, and routine did a number on me.

Over the last ten years I’ve gained and lost a lot of weight (I don’t have records of my weight so this is mostly from memory).  I was in the mid 170s when I first moved here. I was very confident when it came to my physique and appearance. I was very vain (obnoxiously cocky would be more accurate–half of my MySpace pictures were of my abs), but all that changed very quickly.

10 pounds gained by year’s end. Then 20. I went on a diet somewhere in there and was doing really well until I injured my knees on a drunken night out with friends. I didn’t have health insurance so I toughed it out. No more working out. That’s when things really quickened. I set 200 lbs as my “upper limit” (as if my body were listening in). When I went past it, I went on a diet, then gained it back. I adjusted my “upper limit” to 210. I went back on a diet and got down to 183 (felt “fat” still), then gained it all back and then some. I think my highest weight was a little over 230 (50 pounds gained in the span of 1 year) then lost 20-30, then gained most of it back. By December of last year I was back up to 226 lbs. In January I decided to start a Tumblr. I wanted to do a body transformation type blog initially where I lost like 10 pounds each month so that 6 months later I’d be tanned and ripped haha. 

A lot of my Google searches around the time were: “how long to get abs? ” “how long to lose 50 pounds? ” luckily I changed that mindset because that’s the cause, I think, of all my ups and downs. I’ve slowly started to focus on NSVs and athleticism. I’m very far from where I’d like to be, but am enjoying the process much more. I feel like as long as I keep going I’ll get there, but the 12 week transformation nonsense is not clouding my judgement anymore. 

I do want to lean-out much more, but I’m not going to attach a number to that at the moment. I may flip flop on this, but right now I want to shift the focus (this by the way, doesn’t mean that I don’t have body image issues that I need to work on--I’m never going to live in Los Angeles ever again man!!!)

OK that should suffice for “quick introduction,” if you want more you can check out my about me (which is mostly of the last year before I started my Fitblr)!

On to goals. I love swimming and my goal for the year was to swim an open water race (10K). I don’t think that’s practical for me this year, so I’m making that next year’s goal since it’ll involve an out of state trip and a can be quite expensive. I will however try to do a local triathlon in October! My stretch goal is to do the Olympic distance, but I will be very happy if I can complete a sprint. 

So my JumpStart June 2016 overall goal will be to do some bench marking to see where I’m at. I’m also going to do a lot of research on training programs, exercises, drills, etc. The “deliverable” for the month will be a training program for the months of July-October. The other goal for June is to get back on track with my sleep. Some weeks I’m in bed by 9, some by midnight, sometimes as late as 4AM. It’s no wonder I sometimes feel sluggish. So time to reset the clock. 

In terms of accountability people in my life, I think Fitblrs in general help keep me accountable. The simple fact that I’m sharing my progress on here helps me think about my goals and how I’m doing. It’s worked out really well for me. But of course I draw a lot of inspiration from people on here @theunstuffedpepper and I talked about being accountability buds, but I think we had some pretty nebulous goals at that time, at any rate she’s been a constant supporter of mine and that’s been soooo helpful, thanks Val. Also, one can’t speak of Val, without speaking of Val, @fatgirlgetsfitatlast is such an inspiration and has always been checking in on me and pushing me to get those workouts in. I’m very grateful to have you two ladies around. But the fitblr fam is getting larger by the second and inspiration abounds, this post is getting too long, and I’m feeling I’m about to get mushy on ya’ll so I’ll stop now since this isn’t an Oscar’s acceptance speech. But know that you guys all make this feel like a real community!

Thank you so much @mybigfatfitlife and @deartreadmill for hosting. I really needed this!

[fatgirlgetsfitatlast]

Jump Start June 16 Intro

Hi, I’m Valencia, (Val for short)! I’m a native Floridian, 53 years old, soon to be 54, and like most of you, have struggled with my weight my whole life. I have probably lost a literal TON (2,000 pounds) over my life, and gained it all back, also.  Being raised in a ‘fat is bad/carbs are good’ world, I resisted low-carb with all my might, but finally succumbed when I reached my highest weight of 352 (or so -- no scale went that high that i had access to). The ‘straw’ was seeing this picture of myself and was just floored by it. I couldn’t believe i was THAT OBESE.

I avoided cameras at all cost. This was probably the first picture I’d allowed to be taken of me in YEARS. 

Since then, I’ve gone on and off keto/lchf, losing weight, and then gaining it back when I started eating carbs again. Finally, three years ago, I realized that I was addicted to refined carbs (and maybe gluten?) and a switch turned in my brain.  Low Carb / Ketogenic is how I need to eat to be healthy, happy, and active. It is the only way I can keep from bingeing relentlessly. It removes the brain fog and lethargy from my body. It brings all my labs (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc) into the desired ranges or even better. 

It’s been a long road to get to this realization and acceptance of it, but I’m there now and I know I won’t go back. I finally get it.

That being said, I’ve been on a plateau for about a year or year and a half and have gained back some of the weight I had lost. I keep trying to change up different things to get the scale moving again. Most recently, it is letting go of artificial sweeteners, which I began around the first week of May 2016. 

I would REALLY like to get into one-derland one of these days. That would be my ultimate goal, somewhere under 200. (my starting weight this morning was 218.4)

With that said, I try to never make that a ‘goal’ because it seems out of my control, so I concentrate on things I can control that will make me stronger, fitter, and hopefully inch me down towards that scale victory.

So, with that said, here are my June goals:

I downloaded an app called HabitBull to track some of the stuff I’ve been working on (it’s very flexible as far as how often you can schedule the goal, unlike some which only allow DAILY goals):

Other stuff about me:

I’m learning how much gratitude can change your life, and I make sure to find something to be grateful for every day. I love the beach and sunsets, Jazzercise and hot yoga, swimming and walking and biking, and headstands are a thing. Combining the beach, sunset, and headstands is a total win!  :)

People who inspire me and keep me going include all my followers and friends here on tumblr, a few in particular are:

@mybigfatfitlife , @gainsofmythicality,  @fatmaninalittlesuit , @deartreadmill , @frontalbread , @fitnessgeekandcoffeefreak , @theunstuffedpepper , @losingmydemons