Day 2 - ABS Club LA

I am so excited to tell you about my first session at ABS Club LA.  I met with the trainers and received my body composition analysis in which we discussed my weight loss goals and the things I need to do to reach them.  

Meal Planning:

I discovered that I can eat 1682 calories a day in order to lose 100 pounds in 1 year. Woo hoo! None of this 1000 calorie a day diet stuff - I don't think I could do that!  This has been broken down for me into percentages of protein, carbohydrates and fat.  They also have created specific menus for me and if there is something I don’t like, they have left it up to me to switch things out for what I do like.  Because I have not yet gone grocery shopping, I have been making sure I stick to clean eating and eating the proper amount of calories in the proper percentages.  Along with the proper eating, I also HAVE to drink more water.  A .5 (1/2) ounce of water for every pound I weight and I’m not allowed to count the water I drink during my workouts since that is replacing the water I am sweating out.  

Exercise:

I also committed to rigorous strength training once a week for the year.  This first month I am doing the training 3 times a week to learn all the proper exercises and techniques. And finally, I am committed to do 30 minutes of cardio 3 additional days a week. This cardio can be a walk, a swim, treadmill, elliptical, whatever I choose.

After the ‘logistics’ of the consultation, I was taken through a rigorous 30-minute strength training session.  The trainer worked my whole upper body: arms, back, chest, shoulders. The trainers and I were surprised at how strong some my muscles are.  After the rigorous strength training, I was very tired and could barely lift my arms.  Today I am feeling good with just a little soreness in the arm pit area.

I feel great so far and am very blessed to have you all supporting me.  Putting myself out there in such a public way yesterday really scared me to death but there have been so many comments from people that I don't even know encouraging me to succeed.  That kind of support will make all the difference as I embark on this journey.

Thank you!!!!

Day One - The Valecia Project

Yesterday I embarked on what will probably be the most difficult journey of my life so far.  My name is Valecia, I’m a 38-year old Mormon woman, and I am overweight.  I have always been happy with the person I am but my weight has always been something holding me back from the most important goals in my life – meeting the man of my dreams and starting a family together.  Instead of making excuses and living the way I have I recently decided to do something to change my life and achieve my goals.  Starting now I have dedicated a year of my life to losing 100 pounds of fat, rediscovering my curvaceous body and getting my sexy back. 

Over the next year I will be video recording and blogging about my journey and calling it The Valecia Project. 

About The Valecia Project 

In prayerfully considering what I should do, I happened upon a deal that some friends and I made to do body composition testing at a weight loss clinic in Los Angeles, the ABS Club LA. The particular place we chose to do this is just a couple of blocks from my house and is a private gym that offers complete body shaping. After getting my initial test results, I saw on a pie chart that 52% of me is fat and WOW I have a LOT of muscle. My trainer and I discussed my lifestyle and eating habits and he assured me that losing 100 pounds fat in 1 year is not easy but possible!

I have teamed up with the beautiful and talented Erin Elton Schurtz, producer of Mormon Bachelor, and we are making my journey accessible to everyone. We hope to help strengthen my support network, increase my self-honesty (after all, it's hard to make excuses and give up if I have all my friends and family watching), track my physical/emotional/spiritual progress (oh crapola it's going to be hard to be this vulnerable), and possibly inspire other people, like me, who seek to change their lives.

Through The Valecia Project I hope to find a new me and in turn a wonderful man to join my new life’s journey. My pursuit of personal excellence will be a lifelong one but this particular journey will take one year.  I will be blogging and posting videos every day in an effort to keep myself on track, and encourage others to change for the better along with me.  Thank you for your support and advice as I become a better, healthier, sexier me!