Week 18 and 19

Hi,

I have a two for one this week.
J

Week 17

Week 16

Week 15

Week 14

Week 13

Week 12 Jana Schmeling

Jana Blog Entry

And I ran, I ran so far away……..

Just like that Flock of Seagulls I have been running. I have successfully run 1 mile, in a row, in 13.5 minutes at speed 4.5. For all the runners out there who can do this while in a coma, don't laugh I am really psyched! Don't get me wrong I hate every minute of it but am doing it anyway. I have two goals this summer, one is to Storm the Bastille and the other is to finish the half triathlon at Bradford Beach in August. The bad part is both of those things require running. I am determined to get up to 3 miles before the summer is over.

So if you want to join me on July 9^th at 9:00 pm and Storm the Bastille, I just registered today at:

http://www.easttown.com/categories/4-bastilledays/documents/29-online-run-registration

Fell free to sign up and meet me down there, I can use all the help I can get to across the finish line!

Jana Video Blog: Week 11

Week 10 Update

Halle-Frickn'-lujah

I did not have a great last week. I ended up gaining a pound and was pretty mad. I thought I was doing a great job with my intake, but clearly was taking liberties with food. I am not eating anything bad, I have not seen a cookie in 10 weeks, but have been eating too much of the good stuff. I made a commitment to myself to start tracking again which I did stop doing. Again, those trainers were right, tracking is the key! I need to remember that I have to think before I eat and know where I am calorie wise daily.

I found this pretty cool application for my iphone that allows you to track everything including fast food. I have spent a few hours putting in all the food I eat as calories, fat, protein and so on. It was a really good exercise to see what is in everything I cook. I am glad to announce that I dropped 4.5 pounds this week and could not be happier. I have finally broken that 20-pound mark and feel awesome!

Jana Video: Week 10

Jana Video Blog:Week 9

Jana Video Blog: Week 8

Holy Depression Batman

Ok SO here comes bad attitude Jana. She does not show up often, but I am at the end of my rope today. I had my first weigh in where I did not lose any weight and in fact gained about a pound and ½.

WTF!!!!!

I have been so good not to over eat, not to eat anything terrible for me and to work out consistently and try really, really hard! I know my measurements have changed and I am more fit, but that scale looms in the corner like a viper ready to strike and when that scale bites, it hurts.

Julie and Brent from The Third Ward Fitness together are telling me I need to eat more. I now am supposed to consume 2000 calories a day. I am SOOOOO sick of being hungry and SOOOOO sick of eating! I am so mad right now. So my plan is to go home right now and cry for about 20 minutes and then come up with a new plan. (The crying will the most integral part of this.) Pass the tissues, please.

Jana out.

It's Working!!!!

FT's Brent and I did my 6 week fitness assessment on Friday and things are shaking out! My measurements have changed by 3 inches on my arms and waist and my legs have totally shrunk! I do no spend much time looking in the mirror (that is why may hair is always so messy) so I have not really seen a change in myself. But my friends and trainers are starting to tell me they see a difference. I am glad that they are are seeing it, even if I do not! I also finished my mile walk one minute faster than 6 weeks ago and my heart rate went down 8 beats per minute, so that means my heart is working more efficiently, that's pretty cool!
The thing I am most curious about are my medical stats. I am dying to know if my blood work has started to change. I have always been a very "inside" person and never really cared about the "outside", so the most important transformation I can make is to be healthy. I want to be around in 70 years to see if they actually do build a hover car.

Jana Video:Week 7

Jana Video Blog: Week 6

Hungry, Hungry Hippo

(I am not saying I am a hippo, I just love that game and got 3 for Christmas one year.)

Ok, so my metabolism has apparently kicked into high gear over the last week and it is making me so hungry. I cannot believe how every 2 hours I am starving! I also cannot believe that I get to eat every 2 hours. I never thought I would say this but I am actually tried of eating. If I could magically get all my calories from a pill at this point, I would. It sounds like a dream come true to eat so often during the day, but it is really hard. I always have food with me and randomly pull it out while in meetings or driving or even while taking a bath. (PS no likes soggy granola bars, be carful while eating in the bath.)

Julie form FT Third Ward has been monitoring my hunger and feels that I will need to up my calories at some point to help me loose more! What? Is this bizzaro world? Eat more to weigh less, holy cow! I trust her completely, so I am going to have laminate my food and eat in the shower!

Week 5 Jana Schmeling

Trainer Notes: Week 5

This week of training was once again a success for Jana. As her trainers we are continuing to see progress in her form, functionality, overall health. When we started working with Jana we talked about some goals that she would like to achieve, other than winning the contest. We also asked what she likes to do for physical hobbies or what she would like to start doing. Well this week it finally all culminated into a big purchase of a mountain bike!!! With Stefanie leading the charge in Jana’s cardio progress, and her love for mountain biking, it was an instant match. Not only does it give us as trainers another way to keep Jana active during her cardio sessions, but it also allows her to get exercise in with her free time. As many people know there are those days that exercise just doesn’t feel like it should fit into the routine. By combining exercise and something that you really like to do, you are instantly making it more enjoyable. With being more enjoyable you are more likely to exercise, thus making yourself a healthier individual. We are proud that Jana knows and understands this, and has been willing to make the sacrifices to maintain working towards her goals. Next step Tour de France!!! Lance has nothing on you Jana!!

Jana Update: Week Four

Happy Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs……uh I mean Easter!

So my plan to avoid over-eating at Easter was avoiding Easter all together, not a great plan but it worked. I know I will have to face that dammed rabbit at some point, but this year I thought it would be better hide, insert Easter egg joke here. I spent the day cooking my meals for the week and NOT eating the ears off of every chocolate rabbit in sight…..mmmmmmm ears.

I did accomplish my goal of having ZERO Easter candy this year and I pretty proud! This was especially hard because of the dreaded PMS, which I am experiencing at this time. I was speaking to Julie from FT Third Ward, and she told me it was common for women to fluctuate3 to 5 pounds during thier period. I hope the men in this contest feel good about lacking ovaries! I know that the weight will drop off after the PMS is gone, but I am still crabby and bloated and want to rip off my husbands arms and beat him with them, see, see how horrible this is, sorry Matt.

Trainer Notes: Week Four

With week four under Jana’s belt, we as her trainers are still impressed with the amount of progress she is continuing to make!!! With each passing day that we spend with Jana we continue to see her transformation, not only in weight loss but also in her training routines and form. One of the toughest things for many clients to overcome when thrown into a process like this competition is remembering all of the information that is being tossed at them. By becoming more comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings it makes processing all the information easier. This week was one that we could really see how much more comfortable Jana has become working in the studio. Her sessions are becoming much more efficient and faster paced. It was a week in which small things from balance and coordination improved but also technique form and the understanding of what areas we are targeting. As Jana’s comfort level continues to grow and expand, the gap to her goal will shrink!!!

Jana Video Blog: Week 4

Meal Plan: Week 3

Well Jana’s cooking is coming along which means she is well on her way to last week’s nutrition lesson. The next step in the nutrition world for Jana is making sure she is consuming enough liquids. Obviously with water making up roughly 70% of the human body we addressed the amount of water she will be consuming. One the water will help with muscle soreness and fatigue, but it also will help her body with the breakdown of the new diet she is consuming. It will aid in getting the most nutrients out of the reduced amount of calories that she is now consuming thus making her less hungry as her body adjusts. Weight loss is just not exercising and eating what you want, or eating less and not exercising. It is a fine balance between the two to get the best results we can. Jana understands this and that is why as her trainers we can see the progress she has already made and will continue to make!!!

Trainer Notes: Week 3

Week three… check!!! Jana still going strong as ever…check!!! This week Jana has come back with the week two fatigue gone and in the past. She has been up beat and even pushing out extra reps in her weight training sessions. One of the main focuses this week was Jana’s training session with Stefanie. Stefanie is training with Jana specifically in the cardio aspect of her program. Due to the fact that there are so many different types of cardio equipment and programs out there for people to exercise on, we have somewhat narrowed the list to pieces that are similar to what we have in our studio. Such pieces include treadmills, stationary bikes, and elliptical. We have also asked Jana to think about other non-studio pieces that she may like to use outside of the studio. With her improved knowledge of how to use and program these cardio pieces Jana will be able to work more efficiently while on them. By working more efficiently she will be able to climb to her ultimate goal!!!

Jana Video Blog: Week 3

Week 3 Update

I feel human again!

At this point in the game I am feeling pretty good. My muscles are getting used to the 5 days in a row of abs, squats, shuffles, cardio, and the various other forms of bosu torture that is being inflicted on my by my trainers. (When I say torture I mean the really fun, wonderful, wonderful bosu type exercises.)

I am finding myself overly emotional though this process. I am NOT a crier and this week when Julie told me I was down 8 pounds I started o cry a little. I think the fact that I was still feeling a little tired and that I am shocked that I have not been starving the last 2 weeks made me tear up. I feel like I have a real chance to get healthy, and that is sorta overwhelming to me since I never thought I could loose weight with out starving to death. It is a really strange feeling to be in control of what I am eating for once. Ok enough hokey, sad, emotional stuff.

As for the exercise stuff, I did these crazy football type drills where I pushed a boxing bag across the floor 6 times. I think it weighs like 100 pounds and it kind of awkward to push. Even pushing really slowly gets your heart rate jacked up and it is super hard! I also had to push a 45-pound plate across the floor. You bend down put your hands on the plate and push with yours legs. How they came up with this one I'll never know.

I can only imagine the day when this will not be the hardest and most horrible thing that happens to me in a week. I am assured that this gets easier, and I will crave exercise like chocolate, seems unlikely but the trainers can't all be lying to me right?

Meal Plan: Week 2

Week two has ended and Julie has really taken over this aspect of Jana’s training. One of the struggles Jana has come to us with, has to deal with her ability to cook. When it comes to nutrition this could be a problem. Lucky for Jana she is employed by a great restaurant, and knows some great people who are starting to help her on her cooking attributes. This week Julie talked with Jana about preparing her meals earlier in the week to help with the convenience factor that hinders most of us in our meal choices. With meals made ahead of time it is easier to choose an option that is healthy rather than the opposing alternative. With this advice and her training regimen Jana is already making leaps in bounds in her weight loss.

Trainer Notes: Week 2

With week two down and out our girl Jana is still left working harder than ever!!! She is starting to get over that muscle soreness; however general fatigue has been the biggest obstacle. When training five days a week along with doing some extra cardio on the side it is only normal for the body to feel worn down. The good news is that Jana understands this and is working hard to fight thru it, which we have no doubt in or minds that she will.

Jana Week Two

All right, so one week down and I have not run away from the gym screaming yet! (This is because my legs are so tired I could not run, even if I was being chased.)

Although I feel sore, I do feel really good. I am doing all these cool crazy things at the gym that I did not think I could do. Boxing, jump rope, and dead jumps to a platform are all the things I have been doing so far this week. I do not know why jumping onto a 1 ft platform from the ground should have been so terrifying, but it was. I did do 20 though!

I am pleasantly surprised at how well my diet has been going. I was worried that I was going to have a hard time making the changes and sticking to them in social situations. I did go out for dinner on Friday with my BFF to Trocadero on Milwaukee's lovely East-Side. We drank some red wine, ate sensibly and had a great time. I had the St. Germaine Salad with grilled chicken and the dressing on the side. It was like something I would have had a home. I even had some fruit for dessert.

I also went to lunch on Sunday for the Tourney and ordered a chicken curry wrap off the regular menu, just no fries and no mayo and it was not bad. I also had a Guinness and a piece of cake for my friend's birthday. I am not freaking out about it because I need to live my life and my life includes beer and cake! This is going to be my biggest accomplishment, knowing life happens and having a beer does not have undone everything I have done.

Here to another week of working hard and eating right!

Jana

Meal Plan: Week 1

With nutrition being one of the most important aspect of weight loss, and so many different routes to take with it, we decided to start basic. This week we discussed typical meals and meal times with Jana. By figuring out what she is normally eating and what time she is eating we were able to adjust her intake levels and eating times. We gathered that Jana typically eats on the healthier side of the food spectrum which was a great first step towards her nutrition goal.

Jana Week One

This is the first week of the fitness challenge. 155 days or so of intense workouts, food dairies and a major change in eating habits. I could have sworn dip is one of the food groups; apparently this is not the case.

Right now I am felling pretty good over all. I cooked for about 4 hours yesterday with the help of Jennifer Bartolotta. We made 3 meals and 2 snacks for each day of the week. Each meal and snack is already packaged up in 1 cup and 1 and half-cup containers. They are ready to grab out the fridge and already portion controlled. Jennifer is a great cook and has super ideas on how to make a food and life go hand in hand. I thank her again!

The things I am terrified about at this point:
1. I am a fat lady in a fat ladies body, which means I am not a skinny girl in a fat ladies body and will not lose any weight.
2. I will not be able to stick to 1600 calories a day. Damn you brownies!
3. I will get so obsessed with this that you find me writing “All workout and no play makes Jana a dull girl” over and over on this page.
4. That I will be sitting alone in the dark eating my oatmeal while everyone parties and eats cake.


So I am about to eat my first meal of the day, 1 cup of oatmeal, 1 cup of blueberries, and vitamin water. I will not give up the vitamin water at this point. It is like a blanket.

So here we go, wish me luck!
Jana

Meet Jana Schmeling

Congratulations! Jana Schmeling
Fitness Together Third Ward Contestant

Current Weight: 250 pounds

Goal Weight: 150-175 pounds

Jana Schmeling is the Art Director/Graphic Designer for Bartolotta Restaurants, and has been there for 10 years. This was her first job out of college and she have never left. Jana is ready to change the outlook for her like by taking steps to get fit and healthy. Continue to follow Jana by checking in on this blog for updates and videos on her transformation.

Trainer Notes: Week 1

Week one has come and gone without a hitch, other than the typical muscle soreness and fatigue. It is the least Jana can expect when she has been working as hard as she has. We started the week with a fitness assessment to get a solid baseline for Jana so we can record and compare her progress. The great news with Jana is she has no physical limitations so we were able to jump right in and get after her training.