I thought I posted earlier but don't see my post. I congratulated you too on the challenge. I could not believe the difference you showed and also how causual you were about those differences when you posted the pics. It is always so funny to me that we cannot see our own changes.
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Thanks! I'm proud of myself. I'm just lucky Pam (Justine) disappeared or she would have nailed it.
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Originally Posted by kfisherx
I thought I posted earlier but don't see my post. I congratulated you too on the challenge. I could not believe the difference you showed and also how causual you were about those differences when you posted the pics. It is always so funny to me that we cannot see our own changes.
That's weird, I saw a different post from you the other day....(twilight zone music)
Thanks. I am not really casual about it in person, but honestly I don't want to sound like an asshole. I'm deliriously happy about the changes in my body, I have never in my life had a body like this. There's only so much you can say without sounding like a jerk or making other people feel bad! But thanks very much Karla. You know personally how hard it is to make those kinds of profound changes so it means a lot!
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Originally Posted by Espi
Congrats on winning the challenge.. a job very well done!
Thanks Espi.
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Originally Posted by kfisherx
Where in the heck did ya go girl? Are you taking the trophy now and running?
Trophy? Where's the trophy? Should I IM JP?
I've had a crazy couple of weeks. My last single BIL got married (see facebook pics if interested) and I have family swarming all over the place. Went to Hurricane Harbor yesterday and tried to study while the entire family played. Got about an hour in, ha ha. I"m really nervous about the ACE test and cramming for it, so I have limited computer time.
Then, there is the computer question. Still fighting over tiny laptop with all three digital-age kids plus whatever relatives are lurking around. My main PC is infected and its corpse is still rotting over there in the hutch. My DH claims he is taking it into a shop after failing at trying to revive it (over TWO WEEKS) himself.
I'm working on cooking classes with my mom right now, for kids to start. A little later I am going to come up with a series on healthy cooking for dieters, and I have a local personal trainer who has said he will give the info to his 200+ mailing list. Lots of ideas for a new business, and for the first time it's a business based on MY interests, instead of a business partner's interests. It's exciting, but at the same time, it's hard and weird to promote myself--it's easier to promote someone else for sure. Once I have my cert I have to make some decisions about who to work for. I am going to put in my resume in local places as well as get back to Results--I drove to Santa Clarita yesterday and it wasn't that bad. It would be worth it, but there are also several local gyms other than 24 that I can try. And the manager at one of the 24's said already that he would hire me as soon as I"m certified.
Kathy came out on Monday and I have decided to go on maintenance for a while, probably until the end of summer. Talking to her helped me decide it. I am just sick of fat loss and I've been struggling with the same 5 pounds for 2 months, so I think a break is in order. I have done great things with my posture rehab, and now I need to figure out some sort of program that excites me right now. I'm not happy with how my body looks with just yoga and spinning, so I think my next frontier will be leg development--my arms look great, but my legs are undeveloped relatively. Now that I've got my squat form better and have fixed some postural issues, I'm excited about getting them developed. I just need to devise some sort of plan that my body can tolerate and not get all wacky with extra spinning and stuff. I'm wondering if a lower-volume approach is best, but I'll be thinking about it the rest of the week and making some decisions.
Anyway, thanks to everyone for the support. I have come so far since I have been on these boards, and it would not have happened without the resources here--including all of my dear friends. I feel as if I"m going into a new phase, and now the question isn't fat loss or even health anymore--it's fine tuning. I feel as if I am finally in control of my body for the first time in my life, and I feel very, very fortunate.
Geesh, I thought for sure I had been in there and congratulated you on your progress and for winning the challenge. Nicely done and diet breaks are good. I am enjoying one, myself.
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Ginger
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." ~ John Bingham
Thanks! I'm proud of myself. I'm just lucky Pam (Justine) disappeared or she would have nailed it.
Anyway, thanks to everyone for the support. I have come so far since I have been on these boards, and it would not have happened without the resources here--including all of my dear friends. I feel as if I"m going into a new phase, and now the question isn't fat loss or even health anymore--it's fine tuning. I feel as if I am finally in control of my body for the first time in my life, and I feel very, very fortunate.
Great words - I am thankful to have found this place, too. Its so liberating to finally feel in control! Good for you.
I also could have sworn I came to congratulate you on winning the challenge, but it must have been the day I was having posting troubles - so Congrats!
Congrats on the win but especially congrats on being in such a healthy place. I am also so grateful to the people on this board. I know I wouldn't be where I am without all of my fellow challengers and forumites. Well done!
Geesh, I thought for sure I had been in there and congratulated you on your progress and for winning the challenge. Nicely done and diet breaks are good. I am enjoying one, myself.
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Originally Posted by beesknees
Great words - I am thankful to have found this place, too. Its so liberating to finally feel in control! Good for you.
I also could have sworn I came to congratulate you on winning the challenge, but it must have been the day I was having posting troubles - so Congrats!
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Originally Posted by Lost Dog
great job on the win!
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Originally Posted by fengshway
Congrats on the win but especially congrats on being in such a healthy place. I am also so grateful to the people on this board. I know I wouldn't be where I am without all of my fellow challengers and forumites. Well done!
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Originally Posted by Bytsi
Congrats! (thought I said it before, but... I'm saying it now)
THANKS EVERYONE! I'm trying to get used to where I am now. I've been in a perpetual weight loss mode for 3 years now and it is a total change of mindset to have different goals. I'm off to the gym in a minute--I decided to re-do the break in for NROL since I've been working on form so much. I'm in a vicious mood, so I figure I need to sling some iron so I don't sling some kids over the back fence.
OH, and I figured it out--youse guys all congratulated me over at the challenge thread. That explains it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kfisherx
Girl! you are gonna rock the test just like you are rock'n the body. And YEAH for leg development goals. can't wait to watch this one!
THANKS Karla. You have been such a wonderful support and I can't thank you enough for your love and optimism. You are such an asset to the boards.
Well, I'm getting out of here. Perhaps we will actually have a workout to log later.
See you in 10 days! I can't wait to get down there and see everyone and spend time in Sunny LA again!
Hey girlie! I am REALLY looking forward to seeing you. I have been moping around and I NEED to see my peeps!
I went out to Santa Monica today to watch the Couple's Competition and to cheer on Roland.
I had an awful time with my kids today and ended up so late that I missed the whole thing! Roland said that it ran short--it went until 1 last time, it was only 10:30 when I showed up--the schedule was from 9 to 12 so I figured I would see some action at least. Came just after the wrapup,so I was disappointed to miss the actual competition, but I did get there in time to fool around with some of the equipment and chat with people.
I feel MUCH better. I was really demoralized after taking the ACE exam. I did NOT get the same version that Karla did--this one was heavy on anatomy and touchy-feely stuff and light on the stuff I'm good at. Chris (Kuri) let me know that I was not alone in my sentiments about their material, so I don't feel so bad about that either. He stressed that I just have to pass the dang thing so I can get on with the job of actually learning to be a trainer. And he gave me leads to follow on getting a job sooner rather than later. Whew.
It was also just great to be around fitness people. I got really isolated since the summit, so I can see that it will be great for me to be working at a decent gym. I am really excited again, whew. That exam just knocked me for a loop.
I have been doing yoga and rowing, along with my rehab work. My posture and thoracic spine flexibility is really coming along and I'm feeling that I can go back to doing squats without hurting myself. Over the next few days I will come up with my new regimen; I've decided to lose about 10 more pounds since I feel a little fluffy still.
Just wanted to check in--I may move the log over to the regular section, maybe not....but I'm still alive over here, just trying to get my bearings.
A setback to be sure - but not a permanent one. Like you just wrote in my blog, don't let a single setback deter you from your goal. Just keep your eyes on the prize.
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Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
Once you start working as a trainer at a gym, you might find a local group of trainers to train with. Almost all of the people at the comp today were either a trainer or the boyfriend/girlfriend of a trainer working with Chris and Luke.
We'll have to plan some training meetup somewhere every once in a while.
oh nos.... sorry to hear RE the ACE being so different. I actually like the anatomy stuff and had it pretty well understood at the time too so it pissed me off. Do you know how far you were off? I studied using a bunch of practice examines and when I was scoring 80% on them I knew I was ready.
Let's do something like workng out when I get there. That will be some fun. I did squats today (first time since my accident) btw.
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Just wanted to check in--I may move the log over to the regular section, maybe not....but I'm still alive over here, just trying to get my bearings.
Sorry about the exam. Do you know how you fared, or are you just assuming that you didn't do well? I'm only asking because every now and then you don't think you've done well and it turns out that you have. If you're still waiting for results, we'll cross our fingers for you.
Thanks for stopping by Tom. I was touched to read that you thought of me while watching a Guiness pour. I have to figure out how to get you a bottle of our home-brewed beer--my husband does it every few months. The most recent one was a Pale Ale.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lost Dog
It was great to see you.
Once you start working as a trainer at a gym, you might find a local group of trainers to train with. Almost all of the people at the comp today were either a trainer or the boyfriend/girlfriend of a trainer working with Chris and Luke.
We'll have to plan some training meetup somewhere every once in a while.
Thanks, Roland. It was great to see you too. Helena just loves you, you've got a way with the ladies.
Yes, I hope to have some local fitness friends soon. I haven't made any at the 24 Hour I go to. And yes! I'd love to meet up to work out--Peter is interested in training for the next Couples Competition, so maybe we can do something around that, too.
We should have a JP S. California meetup! There are a lot of us down here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kfisherx
oh nos.... sorry to hear RE the ACE being so different. I actually like the anatomy stuff and had it pretty well understood at the time too so it pissed me off. Do you know how far you were off? I studied using a bunch of practice examines and when I was scoring 80% on them I knew I was ready.
Let's do something like workng out when I get there. That will be some fun. I did squats today (first time since my accident) btw.
Eh, it wasn't straightforward anatomy. I'm good at that, and I enjoy it. It was bench press form, which wasn't in the book, and I don't do so I don't know proper form, a strangely worded question about what exercise to give a client who complained that her feet made loud slapping noises on the treadmill--weird stuff.
I'm not bad at regular anatomy, I enjoy it--but I am annoyed at the "teaching empathy" touchy-feely crap. I felt like it was a guidebook for aliens to try to act like humans. Don't get me wrong--I did learn some from the material, I enjoyed much of it, but a lot of the exam questions seemed subjective, oddly phrased, and kind of obscure. I got 80% on the practice exams too, so I thought I would be ok.
Quote:
Originally Posted by realcdn
Sorry about the exam. Do you know how you fared, or are you just assuming that you didn't do well? I'm only asking because every now and then you don't think you've done well and it turns out that you have. If you're still waiting for results, we'll cross our fingers for you.
I'm still waiting. It's one of the issues. 5-7 more weeks. I don't know whether I passed or not--I'm just disappointed in the quality of the material and I just want to get on with learning to train. I appreciate your finger-crossing! It was just a very odd test. Normally I test extremely well, but the questions were very different than either them or the workbook. I feel kind of resentful and as if it was impossible to prepare. I don' t like doing badly. I was completely freaked out if I got less than straight a's in college--kind of obsessive, but I like to get as much as possible out of classes if I am going to take the time. I couldn't get the hang of it because they didn't present what was on the test in any of the material I saw. Anyway, thanks for your kind thoughts.
I did spinning this morning to get my blood moving; I'm putting together a resume and a cover letter for gyms. I'm excited and trying to come up with the best way to approach the gyms--as a career changer. Thanks everyone for the support--my kids are going away with my parents on a car trip to Seattle on Thursday, so I will have more time to be on the computer and it will be a huge relief to not have transportation and picking-up-after-kids duties. Summer is lots of fun, but a lot of work for me.
I have been doing yoga and rowing, along with my rehab work. My posture and thoracic spine flexibility is really coming along and I'm feeling that I can go back to doing squats without hurting myself. Over the next few days I will come up with my new regimen; I've decided to lose about 10 more pounds since I feel a little fluffy still.
Rowing? Like a rowing machine or what? Really interested to hear this as I am still working on posture, too.
Sorry the exam was not as expected. Hopefully you did well despite the parts you felt you didn't know.
Rowing? Like a rowing machine or what? Really interested to hear this as I am still working on posture, too.
Sorry the exam was not as expected. Hopefully you did well despite the parts you felt you didn't know.
Hey Karen, thanks for stopping by. Yep, I've been doing cardio on the rowing machine when a spinning class isn't handy. It was suggested that running was hurting my hips, and sure enough, now that I"ve stopped I feel better.
I've been using the rowing to remind myself to use my lower traps and lats. The machine used to give me a terrible backache, but I must have made progress 'cause it doesn't hurt a bit now. I've been avoiding heavy lifting 'til I fix my issues, so I figure it helps me keep my muscle mass somewhat--I turn it up to the highest resistance and do intervals.
I still have work to do on posture, but it has really improved. Most often when I think of it I am holding myself decently now--in the past I would slump everytime I wasn't thinking about it. Progress, progress, never perfection.
I'm off to my favorite yoga class and then a JOB INTERVIEW at noon. EEEEEEEKKKKKK!!!!!!!! Wish me luck......
I know running hurts my hips. It doesn't bother my knees at all, but it really hurts my hips/hip flexors/back.
Like Bytsi said, good luck in the interview! Even though it has already passed by now.
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Originally Posted by Gen
Good luck!
Aw, thanks ladies. As I suspected, I need to wait to see if my cert comes through, and I'll get a follow up interview then.
It was weird--I have never been so nervous at an interview. My hands were actually shaking. That has never happened to me before--I even had trouble writing. This career change has me reeling--this is not the first time I've changed professions--but I guess it's so very different than my other careers I feel like a fish out of water.
Even though I have started businesses and always have to put myself out there,it is never natural to me. In this case, I interviewed at one of the best gyms in my area. Probably people who know me think it's easy to do all of the public speaking, shmoozing, etc., but I have always had to convince myself and force myself to do it.
And in this case I feel like I have a whole new identity. It's the weirdest thing. I've been a kind of frumpy looking mommy for um....16 years now, and losing all this weight and having this body has totally changed how I'm being treated. I am still trying to adjust to it. I don't know how long it will take--I just have to make sure I don't freak out and gain weight because I can't take the change. To be honest, I KNOW that one of the reasons I gained weight in my 20's is because I was in a serious, intellectually challenging field and it bothered the shit out of me to be followed around my men all of the time. I've always hated to be judged by my looks alone or to get a lot of attention because of it. Now that I"m older, I hope I can handle it. After I interviewed I walked around the local mall and the salesmen in the stores I went to were hitting on me. Guys in their 20's. I stifled the urge to tell them that I am old enough to be their mother.
I'm not writing this because I expect any sympathy, but just because I don't know how else to work it through. At nearly 47, maybe I am finally inhabiting this physical self of mine, after years of warring with it.
Well, anyway, my kids just went on a trip with my parents for a week. The house is soooo quiet.....and lonely. I love my kids and I miss them already, and they only left last night.
So, I"m going to use this time waiting for the cert to just tie up lots of loose ends. I still am cleaning up the remnants of my last two businesses--and there is no shortage of projects that I can get done while I have free time. I also have a buttload of stuff I want to put on ebay, so now I have the computer time to do it. I hope I am done with beating myself up for not taking the computer test. I feel like a STOOPID idiot for not reading the fine print--so unlike me fergawdsakes I am a proofreader/ editor and I usually am ALL OVER any details. My only consolation is that all of the other people at the test were surprised as well so I know it wasn't just me missing it--it was buried in the fine print on the website. ACE still hasn't bothered to get back to me on my plea for them to stress it more in their material. I think if they did people would NEVER choose the live option at all.
The other thing I'm going to do is to apply all of the stuff I've learned over the last few months. I may have to take the ACE test again, so I've decided that the way to approach it is to study the stuff that is actually important and have it down cold so that if I get the pop psychology crap on the next test, I can get it wrong and it won't make any difference. I was trying to memorize all of that stuff and it just irritated me so much that I couldn't concentrate the way I should have on the parts that really matter. Today I'm pulling out all of the research articles I have archived and going over all of the things that got me interested in this field to begin with. That way, once I begin training, I will have more confidence--and the language will be more fluent for me. One of the things I have noticed with all of my careers is that all of the fields have their own language. And I need to become fluent in fitness language; I'm just a first year student right now.
Well, that's the report. I did yoga yesterday and then lifted a bit to plump up my muscles before the interview. Since I haven't been lifting heavily, my delts are smaller and I have less definition in my arms--they're starting to look more like hollywood arms. Not sure if I like it or not; at this point it is really interesting to manipulate my workouts and to see what my body looks like. I do feel very empowered to be able to do this and to have control over it in a way I never have before. As I mentioned, I've decided that I will lose probably 10 more pounds or so to feel really credible as a trainer. I look fine in clothes, but I really would like to get this little roll around my waist out of here. I don't know how easy it's going to be since I'm so much smaller, but I'm not feeling anxious about it, I feel as though I have the control to do it for the first time in my life.
That's the ramble for today. I'm off to knock around my empty house and clean up the rubble the kids left. I have great hopes that my house will be clean for a whole week before they come back to trash it.
Okay... So I am like reading about this exam experience and I am thinking about how it was so straight forward for me. I plugged answers into the computer and got results in a LONG 30 seconds or so... LOL! And YES, the test is written with lots of "trick" kinds of questions. I think that is the new paradigm in certs to write in psychometric design. You have to really have your head wrapped around that in order to go in level headed to the test.
Heck girl. If you were scoring 80% outside of the test, you certainly passed. Just chillax a bit. It's looking like Friday night is free for me (next weekend - one week from today) You up for a meet up of some sort?
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
And yes! I'd love to meet up to work out--Peter is interested in training for the next Couples Competition, so maybe we can do something around that, too.
My only consolation is that all of the other people at the test were surprised as well so I know it wasn't just me missing it--it was buried in the fine print on the website. ACE still hasn't bothered to get back to me on my plea for them to stress it more in their material. I think if they did people would NEVER choose the live option at all. 
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