The final 40 is now the final 30, the 15 min mile is now the 12 min mile...

Been a while since I have blogged on my journey towards a healthy weight and increased physical fitness. This past 2 weeks I have come to the realization that my favorite work out clothes are actually big and therefore must be replaced. Several weeks back I had great difficulty letting go of my clothes. I kept them, because they fit. I didn't realize how poorly they fit. I slowly sorted through clothing items holding on to most. Then the morning of my sons graduation I was unprepared-nothing fit me. Nothing nice that is, other than work out clothes!  I have a closet full of professional and business casual attire and it all needs to be replaced, well, at least removed anyway.  I have discarded about 1/2 now and I am finally ready to remove the remaining items.  Losing weight is great, losing clothes not so much. ---   I bought only a few new clothing items-- knowing that my loss is in progress and not yet completed, these items too will need to be removed sooner rather than later.

The last few weeks I have been saying different variations of: the final 40, I'm down to the final 40, its the final 40. Today I say,  the final 40 is now the final 30!  I haven't blogged much about my actual weight loss or goal instead I was focusing on the physical activity aspect and change in eating habits.  I am confident in saying that my  healthy eating habits have now become an eating style. I don't do cheat days, for every day is a day full of our own choices.  I am still chasing a 10 min mile but I have mastered a 12 min one! What fun would all this hard work be without a good challenge?

A recap of the past 10 months- began with a personal trainer for 6 months, Bo.  I know for me I would not have made it this far if it were not for him. Its much easier to work 1:1 when your doing things that you have never done before, many of which you have no idea how to even do-and for those same reasons it also makes it extremely hard to begin working with a personal trainer.  Bo also runs a bootcamp and I remember thinking there's no way I could do that - and now I know that I can do it!
Next came simple home fitness routines and lots of  treadmill and 5k running. Progress seemed to have hit a plateau, (yet again) so I then joined  Fitness and Motion for a 10 in 21 day program. I didn't lose 10 pounds in that 21 day program I lost 8 but I gained valuable nutrition knowledge. - I tried to adhere to the diet restrictions of the 10 in 21 days but I was not able to.  I am not 100% compliant when it comes to restrictions. After the 21 days I was back on my own with home fitness routines and  lots of running and hiking as I eagerly waited for Orange Theory Fitness to open.  Orange Theory Fitness is similar to the 10 in 21 days program only the class lasts 1 hour (not 30 mins at Fitness and Motion). I have been going for the past 2 weeks and I love it.  Its a HIIT class it combines cardio with strength training.   The point of Orange Theory Fitness is to work in your orange zone for 12 to 20 minutes (your max heart rate) to reach the after burn. The after burn is when your body continues to burn calories for 24 -36 hours after your workout. You wear a heart monitor so you can see where your at. I have only reached a max of 4 minutes in my orange zone, but I am pretty sure my max heart rate is irregular. I have dropped sweat everywhere and I feel great afterwards (despite the upper body strains).   I continue to hike and run and work out in my complex gym on my off OTF days.  I continue to use my fit bit for motivation and my spark people app for tracking my food. I replaced my juicer with a vitamix. I eat more protein and less carbs. I drink a lot of water the only thing I don't do still- is get enough sleep!