I have great news: I FINALLY UPLOADED A VIDEO THAT'S GOING ON THREE YEARS OLD!! Actually, I attempted to upload it, and it only did the first ten minutes...I'm not really sure where to go from here. Let me start from the beginning...
Once upon a time, I taught Zumba at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Little did I know that not only discovering Zumba there, but teaching it there would impact me greatly. My life has literally never been the same. I think I've shared before that 2008 was my first big year of weight loss. I've lost weight so many different times since then and I'd love nothing more than to finally sustain a weight loss, but it was 2008 that created my addiction to working out. It was the year that I learned to run, that I understood the importance of lifting weights, that I started taking numerous classes from numerous facilities, and when I first heard of Zumba.
Now, I'm not making this post about Zumba, and as I'm sitting here throwing these words down as randomly and as quickly as I can, I'm realizing that I haven't created a Zumba post yet...odd. I'll add it to my forever long To-Do List of Blog Post Topics...I'll pencil it in right between Why Pinterest Makes Me Hate Myself and I've Accepted the Laws of Gravity. Back on topic, Abigail: Upon meeting the man of my dreams, my time in Haywood County was coming to an end. I needed to be with Reuben, Reuben was not in Haywood, hence, Abigail leaves Haywood. The week I left, I taught one last Zumba class. It was three hours long of Abigail originals. You wanna talk about tough? In fact, the entire three hours didn't even get taped. I'm so tech challenged that I caught the middle of the madness. But where the video does pick up shows that I'm sweating like crazy and my energy had already diminished. I'm not usually so cranky faced.
Well, I've been sitting on this video for years because I couldn't get it to upload. My Waynesville members begged for me to post videos so they could continue moving and grooving; my lovely Zumba participants in South Korea continue to ask for videos, my husband bought me a Go Pro for crying out loud, and I'm just now getting ten minutes of an old video online. I said that was my 2013 goal...this goal is a work in progress. So, let me present to you, ten minutes of awesomeness!!
Zumba Video #1
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
Welcome to the Gun Show
Ya know what, y'all? Sometimes I don't wanna workout!! I mean seriously. I would rather drag my knees across cheese graters covered in salt than to better my health. Uhhhh....it even has the word WORK in the title. I don't wanna have to work for it! You got that Britney! And, girl, you better watch your mouth. (Sarah Shaver...check your girl.) Anyway, I want it handed to me...on a silver platter...alongside a Kit-Kat and gift certificate for a pedicure...and a nap. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. We're all guilty of it. When I get this way, I do one of two things: Eat a Kit-Kat while getting a pedicure before taking a nap, or I look for motivation. Well, let me introduce to you my newfound motivation: Mrs. April "Flex Those Guns" Sirit.
First off, this girl needs a better introduction than I can provide. Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we. Once upon a time, my beautiful friend, Shannon Wardwell, got even more beautiful with a photo shoot she did with the very talented April Sirit. I wanted in! I instantly contacted April and set up an appointment. This girl works magic. Just look at the proof:
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Fast forward a few years to needing bridals done--hence the above photo--and bam, I could only have April. However, when I met April in Raleigh for the bridals the first thing I said is, "You've lost so much weight!!" She was never big, and I didn't think she needed to lose weight, but when she lost weight, I was like, "Daaannnnggggg!" With that being said, April's pictures of herself really don't do her entire journey justice. But the pictures do prove that a lady turns into a hot momma with muscle. And now, I shall let her tell her story...
This is me: April Sirit. I'm a wife and mother of two boys. I love photographing people when I can. Although I hate waking up super early, I love my bowl of coffee. I'm very selfish with my time--I love being home with my family. However, I'm an extrovert, and I do all I can to be around others. I'm in between careers which is weird, but I do love this season in my life where I can savor time with the people that mean most to me.
My breaking point: I've heard over and over that food is medicine. I get that. But what didn't sink in is that it can also be a poison. I was an all-or-nothing person, so when I did nothing, I seriously revolted against doing anything. For over a year, I ate everything I wanted (with loads of excuses). I have a history with melanoma, so when I found out I was having another large patch of skin being cut out back in April, it terrified me. I knew I was poisoning myself with a horrible diet and a non-existent exercise routine. The day after my surgery was scheduled, I joined a gym.
Solution: I found a gym that does stuff I LOVE. But the only classes I could go to were the EARLY morning classes...I'd rather workout at 1:00 a.m. than 5:30 a.m...but when you make a change, you change. I push tires, box, kettlebells, slam huge ropes, box jumps, etc...it's a lot of fun stuff that I enjoy. I'm challenged everyday. I started off doing Zumba on Sundays and going to the gym twice a week. A month later, I did more, and now I make sure to go to the gym at least five times a week. Little by little I add and adjust my workouts. Little by little I tweak my diet. I've had to learn all or nothing does NOT work, not perfection.
Maintaining: I would love to lose five more pounds, but I do realize that this health journey is FOR LIFE. It's not that I want to lose five pounds by Christmas, it's that I want to live to see 80. I want to get stronger and leaner, but my goal is good health, hopefully melanoma free from now on. I will head to the gym every morning, and I will monitor what and how much I eat--it's a life plan, not really a "goal."
The new me: I AM in control! It's NOT all or nothing--it's a little all along. I'm more positive/awesome in general because I just feel better!!
Words of wisdom: What you eat and what you do for exercise must go hand in hand--one isn't very effective without the other. Both can be fun and adventurous--there's a lot of really cool food out there that's not in the grocery stores! And mix up your exercises--there are SOOO many things to do, even twerking classes. I'll stick to flipping tires, but I'm sure someone would love to twerk off a few pounds.
Here's a link to my wonderful gym http://www.sweatwakeforest.com/
First off, this girl needs a better introduction than I can provide. Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we. Once upon a time, my beautiful friend, Shannon Wardwell, got even more beautiful with a photo shoot she did with the very talented April Sirit. I wanted in! I instantly contacted April and set up an appointment. This girl works magic. Just look at the proof:
.jpg)
Fast forward a few years to needing bridals done--hence the above photo--and bam, I could only have April. However, when I met April in Raleigh for the bridals the first thing I said is, "You've lost so much weight!!" She was never big, and I didn't think she needed to lose weight, but when she lost weight, I was like, "Daaannnnggggg!" With that being said, April's pictures of herself really don't do her entire journey justice. But the pictures do prove that a lady turns into a hot momma with muscle. And now, I shall let her tell her story...
This is me: April Sirit. I'm a wife and mother of two boys. I love photographing people when I can. Although I hate waking up super early, I love my bowl of coffee. I'm very selfish with my time--I love being home with my family. However, I'm an extrovert, and I do all I can to be around others. I'm in between careers which is weird, but I do love this season in my life where I can savor time with the people that mean most to me.
My breaking point: I've heard over and over that food is medicine. I get that. But what didn't sink in is that it can also be a poison. I was an all-or-nothing person, so when I did nothing, I seriously revolted against doing anything. For over a year, I ate everything I wanted (with loads of excuses). I have a history with melanoma, so when I found out I was having another large patch of skin being cut out back in April, it terrified me. I knew I was poisoning myself with a horrible diet and a non-existent exercise routine. The day after my surgery was scheduled, I joined a gym.
Solution: I found a gym that does stuff I LOVE. But the only classes I could go to were the EARLY morning classes...I'd rather workout at 1:00 a.m. than 5:30 a.m...but when you make a change, you change. I push tires, box, kettlebells, slam huge ropes, box jumps, etc...it's a lot of fun stuff that I enjoy. I'm challenged everyday. I started off doing Zumba on Sundays and going to the gym twice a week. A month later, I did more, and now I make sure to go to the gym at least five times a week. Little by little I add and adjust my workouts. Little by little I tweak my diet. I've had to learn all or nothing does NOT work, not perfection.
Maintaining: I would love to lose five more pounds, but I do realize that this health journey is FOR LIFE. It's not that I want to lose five pounds by Christmas, it's that I want to live to see 80. I want to get stronger and leaner, but my goal is good health, hopefully melanoma free from now on. I will head to the gym every morning, and I will monitor what and how much I eat--it's a life plan, not really a "goal."
The new me: I AM in control! It's NOT all or nothing--it's a little all along. I'm more positive/awesome in general because I just feel better!!
Words of wisdom: What you eat and what you do for exercise must go hand in hand--one isn't very effective without the other. Both can be fun and adventurous--there's a lot of really cool food out there that's not in the grocery stores! And mix up your exercises--there are SOOO many things to do, even twerking classes. I'll stick to flipping tires, but I'm sure someone would love to twerk off a few pounds.
Here's a link to my wonderful gym http://www.sweatwakeforest.com/
ABIGAIL SAYS, "LOOK AT HER BUTT!! I WANT THAT BUTT!!"
ABIGAIL SAYS, "GORGEOUS STOMACH...AND NOW I HAVE TO HATE YOU."
Thank you, April, for sharing your story and being so bloody talented. I continue to support your healthy lifestyle journey and look forward to updates which, of course, will be posted on here to keep everyone in the know.
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