E. Tinawi and the Weight Losing Giant: There Is No Finish Line (Part II of my Amazing Saturday) and Other Things

Sorry that it has been a couple of days. I have been trying to get ready for school (the kiddos descend upon my classroom in less than a month!), help out with Teach For America events, workout, clean the house, and be at several family events. I have been much busier than I would like. And therefore I have not been blogging as much as I would prefer.

Since I have not gotten to write as much as I would like, this post is going to be pretty long. It is divided into sections though so it's easier to understand. And also, if there are things you don't want to read you can just skip them. I am also going to include pictures at the end of food choices that I have been making! :-) Yay! So with out any more delay, Emily's thoughts from the past couple days...

From Saturday
In the last post, I wrote about Mary from Fit This, Girl! She wasn't the only person doing the inspiring. Jen, the blogger I talk about a lot who writes Prior Fat Girl spoke next. She talked a lot about relationships and how this journey can really ruin relationships. And not just significant others. This was something that I had never thought about. She said,

"To change you is to change your the relationship."

And she is right. By making this change, I have changed who I am and what I do. I have changed my priorities and how I live my life. And what I realized is that I am lucky to have just made this realization. I have AMAZING people in my life who support and accommodate and cheer me along. I never knew that relationships could go wrong because the people in my life are so incredible. They change restaurants for me without asking, they bring different snacks to team meetings (YAY Team 3/4!!), they buy different things at the grocery story, and give me high fives when I go running. I didn't realize that not everyone has that in their life. I feel very fortunate. Jen talked about not making people accommodate for you because it is YOUR life that you are changing and not theirs. Again, for the most part (I am sure there are times that I have been a pain), the people in my life have done this without me asking.

I listened to Jen speak and the longer she talked, the luckier I felt. I need to stop whining and feeling blue because I have people in my life that will run this never-ending race with me and be on the sidelines as long as it takes.

So, if this is YOU, someone who has been there next to me, THANK YOU! :-)

Ok... so enough with the sappy. Kris also has a great entry about the day. It has more takeaways embedded in it. Click to read it: http://krisgetshealthy.com/2011/08/09/my-saturday-one-step-one-breath-summer-part-3/

Jen's talk was very inspiring. There was something she said that I don't think she even meant as something inspiring, and yet, I wrote it down in big letters and have thought about it a lot.

"I used to be a yes girl."

THAT'S ME!!! I AM a yes girl!! I say yes to food and over commit myself because I have a hard time saying no. I say yes sometimes when I should say no. "Do I need that piece of pizza?" ~~Yes~~... Wrong! No! I don't! I don't think she even said the sentence in the context of food, but it really resonated with me. She said, "I USED to be a yes girl." USED to! Not anymore, which means that I can get there too! I can get to the point where I can say, "I USED to be a yes girl!"

Meeting Jen in person was really an amazing thing for me. I was meeting one of the biggest inspirations that has kept me going throughout this journey. And she really is the nicest person. I like her blog because it is real. Everyday isn't sunshine for her. This is a journey and I like that when I read her blog, I get ideas but also understand that this is challenging for everyone. I am looking forward to getting to work with her and going to future events.

So, that was the Saturday. Not as short-winded as I had intended. But the day had a huge impact on me and helped me make HEALTHY decisions when I went out to eat with the family that night. And when we had our huge BBQ on Saturday. Seeing all the women in the room and hearing the speakers was inspiring for me in a way that I can't describe in the blog. It showed me that I am not alone and I should never feel that I am!

Personal Training
There was an hour on Monday that I thought I was going to die. As anyone who knows me know, I have a flair for the dramatic, but seriously, personal training might kill me. "That's what she is supposed to do," has been EVERYONE'S response when I whine about how much my body hurts and that Monday I almost died.

Perhaps I should back up a bit. At the end of last year, I made a commitment to myself that when this semester started I would get a personal trainer. This thought was fueled by the idea that I am not getting to where I want fast enough. I am not challenging and pushing myself. And as soon as the 5K was over, I stopped running...!! WHAT?! Seriously! "There is no finish line!" I can't just stop working out because I am done with a race. This is a life journey, Emily! Hello! So, yes! I got a personal trainer as soon as I got back from Chicago.

Ok. So, I am pumped and all, really I am. But, in my head, when I planned to get a personal trainer, all I thought of was how AWESOME I would look after it was all done. I dunno what my brain was thinking! That the trainer would tap me with some wand and I would look like Jessica Alba (yes, that's for you JD). HOLY BUCKETS. I actually thought I might die on the floor of the Maplewood Community Center.

We started with the row machine and then some crazy machine called the Krank. I felt oober cliche because after we finished with those 2 she said, "Alright, great warm up!" and I said, "WHAT?! That was the warm up?" But really? That was the warm up?!?!? You don't need to know all the rest of the details. I will just tell you that at one point my feet were in stirrups (TRX, if you know it) and my hands were on the floor and I was doing planks. My mother, who was at the gym with me on this day, said it was one of the funniest things she has ever seen. And I am sure she is correct. I was telling Lori, my personal trainer, that a) I hated her and b) it was her fault if I died. Again, I know... flair for the dramatic. But, I know she is for me because we joked about it together and she said she knew I would hate her eventually.

Do I actually hate her? Obviously not. Do I hate her exercise plan? Absolutely yes. I am trying to get to the point that I love exercise, but at the moment I am just not there. Every time I work out I want to punch the person next to me and say, "TAKE THAT IF YOU LIKE PAIN SO MUCH!" (the pain I am referring to is the pain from sore muscles... in case you didn't get that).

Again, flair for the dramatic, but hopefully a smile came across your face at one point during this super long rant.

I had intended to write more in this entry, but it's getting late and I need sleep... so be excited that you have the following topics to look forward to reading tomorrow: