Cheri Milam's invitation is awaiting your response

Cheri Milam would like to connect on LinkedIn. How would you like to respond? Cheri Milam School Bus Driver/Driver Trainer at USD 253 Confirm you know Cheri You received an invitation to connect. LinkedIn will use your email address to make suggestions to our members in features like People You May Know. Unsubscribe If you need assistance or have questions, please contact LinkedIn Customer Service. © 2014, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct. Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

Cheri Milam's invitation is awaiting your response

Cheri Milam would like to connect on LinkedIn. How would you like to respond? Cheri Milam School Bus Driver/Driver Trainer at USD 253 Confirm you know Cheri You received an invitation to connect. LinkedIn will use your email address to make suggestions to our members in features like People You May Know. Unsubscribe If you need assistance or have questions, please contact LinkedIn Customer Service. © 2014, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct. Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn

Cheri Milam would like to stay in touch on LinkedIn. I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. - Cheri Confirm that you know Cheri Cheri Milam School Bus Driver/Driver Trainer at USD 253 Topeka, Kansas Area You received an invitation to connect. LinkedIn will use your email address to make suggestions to our members in features like People You May Know. Unsubscribe Learn why we included this. If you need assistance or have questions, please contact LinkedIn Customer Service. © 2014, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct. Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

Cheri Milam sent you an invitation

Cheri Milam has invited you to join Twitter!     Accept invitation           You can stop getting these emails with people you may know (PYMK) suggestions at anytime. Learn more about PYMK suggestions or find other answers at Twitter's Help Center. Twitter, Inc. 1355 Market St., Suite 900 San Francisco, CA 94103

Rocking the Gym... I'm Back!!!

• 
  

  Good Evening My Friends!!!

  I have been working hard and hitting the gym.  The other day I told you about my Saturday workout and here are the stats from Saturday!!

   

  BodyMedia FIT data for April 2, 2011

  Calories Burned - 4190 | Calories Consumed - 2348 | Total Activity - 2:37 | Moderate Activity - 0:57 | Vigorous Activity - 1:40 | Steps Taken - 20884 | Sleep Duration - 8:21 | Lying Down - 9:26 | Sleep Efficiency - 89%

   

  I did take Sunday off to rest after my first two days at the gym.  I woke up Sunday with a migraine so I slept in and took it easy most of the day.  It turned out to be a nice relaxing day and time to prepare for the week.

   

  BodyMedia FIT data for April 3, 2011

  Calories Burned - 2511 | Calories Consumed - 2343 | Total Activity - 0:02 | Moderate Activity - 0:02 | Vigorous Activity - 0:00 | Steps Taken - 1738 | Sleep Duration - 8:16 | Lying Down - 9:18 | Sleep Efficiency - 89%

  
  

  Monday morning and I was stoked to hit the gym.  I went in there with one thing in mind and that was to ROCK the gym and I did just that.  I was at the gym by 8:30 AM and didn't leave until just before 11AM.  The rest of my exercise came from brisk walking throughout the day.

   

  My workout was:

  Treadmill: 30min @ 3.8

  Recumbent Cross-trainer: 1 hr @ 7

  UBE - arm bike: 15min 

  Elliptical: 30 @ 2 resistance and 2 incline

  Walking laps in gym

   

  Check out what I did on my third day working out at the gym...yes I did... I had a 5000 calorie burn day!! Holy Cow!!  It was getting late in the evening and I looked down at my display and Iwas about 200 calories from making 5000 so here I was just before midnight jogging in place in my room...lol.

  AWESOME!!!!

   

  BodyMedia FIT data for April 4, 2011

  Calories Burned - 5032 | Calories Consumed - 2590 | Total Activity - 3:33 | Moderate Activity - 1:47 | Vigorous Activity - 1:46 | Steps Taken - 24916 | Sleep Duration - 4:26 | Lying Down - 5:55 | Sleep Efficiency - 75%

   

  Tuesday I decided to take it a little easy after pushing so hard on Monday and burning over 5000 calories for the day.  Okay well I tried to take it easy...lol It was another very good day with yet again over 4000 calories burned!!

   

  My Workout:

  Treadmill :30 min @ 3.8

  Recumbent Cross-trainer- 45min @ 10

  Elliptical: 30 @ 2 In & 2 Res

   

  BodyMedia FIT data for April 5, 2011

  Calories Burned - 4264 | Calories Consumed - 2112 | Total Activity - 2:34 | Moderate Activity - 1:41 | Vigorous Activity - 0:53 | Steps Taken - 14618 | Sleep Duration - 5:08 | Lying Down - 5:29 | Sleep Efficiency - 94%

   

   

  So this morning I woke up and feeling rather tired.  I haven't been pushing my body this hard in a while.  I had every intention of going to the gym but wasn't sure how well I was going to do but I managed to pull off a pretty good workout.  I changed up my order a little and away I went.  I am just trying to get my stamina up before I start doing Zumba again.  I plan to start more of the weight machines in the next few days as well but this was how I started the first time around so I knew what I was comfy with.  What has amazed me is that even though I haven't done much the last 3 or 4 months I didn't lose nearly as much muscle as I thought I had.  I am still able to push myself at a decent pace.  Today was great my exercise buddy came in and I hadn't seen him since I started back.  He is an older man who does the cross-trainer with me and tells me he is going to bring me donuts to keep me coming to the gym.  lol.  When we saw each other I have to say our faces both lit up... he made my day by giving me a hug.  It was great seeing old faces this week.  I see all the Zumba girls heading to the back room and want to join but I really need a couple weeks or so under my belt again before hitting that class... Amy would tear me up...lol!!!  I put in a good hour and a half at the gym today and then have done extra walking.  Stay tuned for stats for today.  Over all I'm off to a great start with each day going to the gym has been over 4000 calories burned in a day.  My food choices are getting better and I am feeling great!!  I am happy and excited and ready to see some change in the scales soon.  After work today I got my hair cut and colored... a new woman is headed your way so watch out!!!

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Funny:

  GOOD NEWS: CHEESECAKE IS NOT FATTENING (provided you get sufficient physical exercise)....LIKE RUNNING A MARATHON!

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

First two days back at the gym...

Here are the numbers from day #1 back at the gym... and yes I was running on a little over 2 1/2 hours of sleep...lol

BodyMedia FIT data for April 1, 2011

Calories Burned - 3974 | Calories Consumed - 2318 | Total Activity - 1:50 | Moderate Activity - 1:06 | Vigorous Activity - 0:44 | Steps Taken - 17652 | Sleep Duration - 2:42 | Lying Down - 4:07 | Sleep Efficiency - 66%

 

 

Hello Everyone... as you can see I had a pretty good first day back at the gym.  I was running on very little sleep and managed to make it through the day.  Between all of the appointments, training at work and the one hour at the gym I managed to pull off an almost 4000 calorie burn day. That's a great start!

I promised to post an updated photo and my weight.  I will post a photo tomorrow as I would like to be presentable for the photo so its comparable to the previous photos.  I did weigh in yesterday and I am ashamed to admit it but from Thanksgiving to April 1st I gained 18lbs.  I am currently weighing 265lbs. when before I was at 247lbs.  This is exactly why I need to be at the gym and working hard on a regular basis... if not I get depressed and take on a "I don't care " attitude and just eat, sit and exist.  I have to regain control of my body instead of my body being in control of me.  This is going to be a life long battle for me and if I plan to win I need to stay in control and make better decisions.

Today was awesome for me.  Please keep in mind that I have trouble on the weekends making any goals because I don't have a specific schedule and there for before I didn't make it to the gym on the weekend as much as I should have.  I went to the gym this morning at 9am and put in 2 1/2 hrs of workout.  Yes I rocked the gym today and pushed myself hard.  I wanted to meet my targets and I wanted to take a stand and I did both.  Had I just done my hour and come home then I doubt I would have met very many of my targets.  

 

Here is what I did at the gym today:

Treadmill : 30 min @ speed 3.8

Recumbent Cross Trainer 1 hr @ resistance 7

Elliptical Cross trainer 30 min @ incline 2 and resistance 2

Walking laps in the gym in between and afterwords...

2.5 hrs at the gym = 46 min moderate and 1hr 39 min vigorous exercise 17857 steps and 1873 calories burned 

I look forward to sharing my complete numbers with you tomorrow.  My eating today started out good and then went downhill this evening but I did still manage to have at least a 1500 calorie deficit  so woohoo on that. Something I thought about today while I was at the gym was how even when I am there alone when I stand next to someone who is moving quickly I tend to push harder than if I am next to someone going at an average to slower pace.  So what I do is always make sure I am close to that skinny gal or buff guy who is running to soles off their shoes or pushing hard on the machines...keeps me motivated to move.  Another thing is if I am upset for some reason when I get to the gym or while there I take it out on the machines and push through the frustration and it makes me stronger because I don't let things get to me as much.  Another must for me is upbeat high energy music that helps keep my pace up as well.  Well over all a very very good first two days back at the gym and I am very proud of myself.  I hope you all have been having a great weekend so far and I look forward to hearing from you.  Feel free to add me as a friend or follow my blog.

Until next time..hugs to all of you!!

"Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip."
- Arnold H. Glasgow

 

 

Prep day #1

Good Evening!!  Well last night was my first night back on the blog wall.  I am in prep mode for Friday being my first day back at the gym.  When I decided this a couple of days ago I forgot that my son has a Dr appointment Friday morning so I will probably only get an hour in at the gym but all things considering that's probably a very good thing.  
So what did I do today to prepare... I logged my calories, tried to drink more water, and ate more fruits etc.  With exception to an upset tummy from the drastic food changes and headache from no caffeine I did pretty good.  I wasn't too worried on the exercise end because that is coming I wanted to start with the diet for a couple days before adding the exercise.  Today was a very good day...it was calm and smooth and all went well.  I'm actually getting excited about going back to the ...still scared at the same time but I know that once there I will feel at home again. 
Well I will keep this short and sweet until I have more to share, just know that I am heading back in the right direction slowly but surely... Love you All!!

Finding Myself and Climbing Mountains

Hello Again!!  I know it has been forever since I have blogged.  I have no excuse other than I haven't dealt well with the trails and challenges in my personal life.  I still have not learned to put "ME" first at times when I really should.  I tend to allow life and events to slow me down, frustrate me and discourage me.  When I find myself doing really good then speed bumps hit and turn into mountains at times.  Sometimes I do really good and they remain speed bumps and sometimes I allow them to build until they become mountains which are much harder to climb over.  When this happens I become depressed and discouraged and tend to want to give up rather than to put on the hiking boots and start climbing.
Since Thanksgiving I have set back and allowed several speed bumps to turn into mountains and gosh I must have packed away the hiking boots because the mountains got really big this time.  I have made excuse after excuse for failing and not doing well and for not going to the gym or stressing out etc.  None of these things are good or positive on my part.  Those of you who have been around to read my blogs over the last year know how rough and stressful life has been for me.  Well life isn't getting any easier any time soon and I haven't been using the proper coping skills to overcome these things.  Life is life and I have to find in me things that are positive even when everything seems to be so rough and negative.
A few weeks ago a very special friend (you know who you are and thanks for everything) got frustrated with me and quite bluntly told me I had some issues I needed to deal with.  Well it was an eye opener to say the least.  Was I really that bad?  Had I lost all that I had fought so hard for?  Was I failing me? What do I do to take care of me and help me get better for myself?  I was grasping with everything in me to save me to make me healthier and happier and so I looked into some self help books.  I ordered a book called "Learning to Love Yourself: Finding Your Self-Worth".  It's a great book and a book that I think anyone who struggles with self esteem should read.  I have done a lot of sole searching as well as praying and was in awe of where I was truly at.  I am now on a second self help book and feeling better about what I doing to heal me from the inside out.  I still have a ton of stress and craziness going on in my life however as I start taking care of Cheri again those things won't bother me nearly as much as they do now because I will be dealing with them different emotionally.
I had planned to write on this blog yesterday and got busy reading my book and doing other things.  Today my mind was spinning all day long with thoughts and questions and how I was going to deal with them.  I had several friends who made comments to me today some of which I really needed to hear... thank you!!  Then this evening while talking to a friend of mine about some of my feelings and thoughts of the day I mentioned about my blog.  I gave the link to my friend to read and learn a little about me over the last year... it was the easiest way for them to see me over the last year.  I decided to read my blog posts starting from my very first post.  I had a great time reading and remembering different things that happened and milestones and goals reached etc as well as seeing what things prevented me at the time from my daily goals etc.  I laughed and cried and just really needed to read it.  I'm glad it happened today like it did.
While reading all of my blog posts from the last year I realized that I did on my very own exactly what the self help books tell me to do...lol  How funny is that!!  I helped myself last year and I felt great while doing it, I didn't always have a positive attitude and I didn't always make my goals but I didn't give up either.  So here is where I am at...I gave up on myself for the last several months and have gone backwards.  I have not been to the gym, I have not been eating right, I have not been taking care of Cheri and I have gained weight!  I am not happy with me but I am ready to change that and to start working on ME again.  I know I have the strength in me because I have displayed it before and it's time for me to take the bull by the horns again and to start over fresh with a new beginning and overcome these things in my life which have tied me down.
I have a lot of good things in my life and I need to be thankful for what I do have instead of being frustrated by what I don't have or what I want.  I need to be happy with me.
So here is my goal for myself:  Find them hiking boots and start climbing the mountain. Start over April 1st 2011 by going back to the gym and facing my fears.  My fears of failing myself again and those who said I inspired them in the past.  I do realize that I haven't failed myself if I am at this point of fighting back.  On April 1st I will also post a new Blog photo and will weigh in.  I will start logging my foods again and be accountable for what I do and do not do.  Here is what I ask of you my friends.  Please read and follow up with me... help keep me accountable and remind me when I get discouraged where I have been and what I'm fighting for.  I know that with my depression etc at times I forget these things and although this is my battle to fight on my own I do need and require a support system.  I love you all and am grateful to all who have been here for me in the past and the present. Most of all I thank my Heavenly Father for watching over me and bringing people into my life who make a difference and giving me the strength to overcome my weaknesses.  I Love You!!