A GOOD YEAR: Hello baby guess who back!

Yesterday, Cathy wrapped up her 8th month of workouts!  Way to go, Cathy!

Behold Month Eight! Read on and hear about Cathy's recap of her eighth month and in her next post Cathy will show off month 9.  Cathy has opened up her weight loss journey on this guest blog called The Good Year.  All her previous posts have "The Good Year" in the title if you want to check out archives! Starting July of 2013 Cathy began an exercise program to get healthy versus a mad dash to be thin.  She has navigated divorce, and finding herself these last few months. 

In the last 2 months, we increased the amount of weight lifting Cathy does to four days a week, essentially shifting the focus to building muscle and keeping up our cardio focus on intervals.

As always, Cathy does the occasional recovery cardio where there are no intervals, but most of her cardiovascular workouts include a period where she kicks it into a higher gear followed by a recovery. 

Also every fourth week, we take it down a notch, and really focus on flexibility.

Here are her updates below!

From Cathy:

Hello world, know it's been a minute

Hello world, made it out the city

Hello world, been all around the map saying "Hello baby, guess who back? I know you missed me. 

- Kid Ink (Hello World)

So yeah, Kid Ink is kind of my theme song at the moment. 

Sorry I fell off the face of the earth briefly. I think I needed a moment. But, while I was on hiatus I finalized the divorce, survived a major system migration at work, and paid down a big chunk of debt. On top of that, I've been at 100% participation with my workouts! 

It would be untrue to say the last few months have been smooth sailing. I'm still haunted by anxiety-inducing memories and I'm trying to come to terms with some not so awesome choices I've made in my life and frankly, I can be pretty mean to myself about it all. I'm focused on working through that and am so grateful to have such a great support system around me.

The thing that has amazed me though, is what a huge component exercise has become in keeping me in a good place mentally. During some craziness at work I missed a couple of workouts and noticed such a difference in my perspective. I was negative, cynical, judgey of other people, and just super sad in general.

Needless to say, joining a gym has been such a boost for me. Looking back, I got bored with my walking routine at the end of the year and really needed to change things up. Beth came through with a plan that challenges me using the cardio equipment, free weights, and my body weight/balance so I don't burn out. 

Having said that, I think that this time around, my quest for health (mental and physical) has really kicked in and I don't force myself to go to the gym so I can be thin. My motivation is that I know I will feel so good by the end. On the weekends I work out with a friend and we have both commented on how great it is to just have time to listen to music and be in your own head for a while. The endorphins make that one of the happiest parts of my day. 

So what about weight-wise, has it been effective? Um, yes. I've lost 16 pounds since I last weighed in on this blog. That puts my total weight loss at 27 pounds since July 2013! 27 pounds lost without forced marches to the gym, without starving myself, and all while really enjoying it! Madness, I tell you.

For years I have read that strength training is the key to losing weight but didn't know where to start. Fortunately, Beth was visiting in early January and we got to go to the gym together so she could work with me through the routine she designed. That was really helpful because the weights area is usually pretty crowded and everyone seems to know what they are doing so I can end up feeling intimidated. At least for me, it has helped a lot to start my new routine with some confidence having already worked through it with a pro. 

Anyhow, if you're not lifting, start. If you don't know where to start, schedule time with a trainer to set you up with a basic routine and help you use the proper form. Without much improvement in my eating I have managed to lose more weight in the last two months than in the six months prior, combined. 

I've had some food ups and downs in that period as well but I can share those in my next post. 

Okay back to Kid Ink:

Trying to bring the trophy back, to the city

Whole team going "rah rah rah", representing

We on, everything is a go, never take a T.O. 

I know you missed me...

Hello baby guess who back? 

Yeah I know you missed me

Made it out the city and the rest is all history