Happy New Year!

I'm embarrassed to admit, I did succumb to the holiday eating and gained a couple pounds. I won't BS you all.
That being said. I've restarted on Power 90 today, and downloaded a ton of apps for iPhone to help me get this stuff under control. I hope everyone's doing well and getting close to goal weights and ship dates, sorry I haven't been around, I'm an awful blogger apparently. Keep motivated, I'm still here if anyone needs anything.

By the way, if you haven't been to www.futurejarheads.org yet, hop to it.

Stay moto, God bless.
-Jarrah

Veganism?

Alright so, I think I'm going to try this Veganism stuff. I want to try it. Not only for the weight loss benefit, but I've heard it just makes you all around feel better. More energy and whatnot, supposing you do still get the nutrients you need. SO, wish me luck with that. Other than that, I've lost a little more weight, which is always good. I got my driver's license finally, that's exciting for me since that means I can go to the gym whenever I want. I don't say that as in I couldn't walk there before, but because I have somewhat strict rules around the house about not leaving after dark, and that's when I'd be the most comfortable going is in the evenings. Anyways, I just figured I'd mention the veganism so maybe I'd have something in writing to hold me to it. Hope you're all staying motivated, if not, let me know and I'll give you some kind of motivational story or video or whatever.

If anyone's got any questions or anything too, ask it! I'm here to answer questions and help people, don't be shy. Stay motivated, God bless.

-Jarrah

Facebook question

Yesterday on FutureJarheads' Facebook fan page, I received this comment:
I can't lose weight for the life of me!! I run all of the time and I eat fairly healthy. I could do more PT but When I was doing it 4-5 times a week I STILL didn't lose weight. =/


Well Tina, a few things could cause that. 
1. Are you legitimately overweight? If your body has reached its ideal body fat percentage, it'll become incredibly hard to lose weight. You can always try a body fat percentage test to find out.
2. Assuming you are overweight, are you eating fairly healthy, but too much? The rule of thumb is about 10 calories per pound of body weight.
3. Is there sugar in your diet? Sugar is horrid for those in need of losing weight, and some foods are loaded with sugar without even seeming sweet. Be sure to be reading the labels.
4. Do you hydrate well enough? If you're drinking less than at least 64oz a day, it can hinder your weight loss. The rule of thumb for water is take half your body weight and put that in ounces, that'll be your daily intake.
5. Is your PT regimen repetitive, or too much of one thing? If you're doing constant cardio without weightlifting, or vice versa, you're going to have trouble. You need a good balance of cardio, strength training and a good diet to properly lose weight.
6. Have you already been losing weight? If so, you may have plateaued. If that's the case, change up your PT routine a bit and eat a little differently. The best thing for those wanting to lose weight is going by the lowest GI or Glycemic Index rating.
7. Carbs. Carbs pack on heavy weight. Breads, pastas, tortillas, anything starchy is carb loaded. That caused me to plateau around the 50 lbs lost mark, because I'm big on sandwiches. 


Stay moto-vated, if you have any other questions, comment anywhere on here. They're automatically sent to my phone, so you won't get ignored.


-Jarrah
  

Grossss.

I just found these on my old phone's SD card. I was suuuuch a gross fatbody. I'm still overweight, but in comparison? I'm not complaining.
Stay moto.

-Jarrah

Hellooooo Poolees, Future Marines, Fatbodies and Marines.

Been a couple weeks, I'm still here! Just had a lot of stuff going on lately with my fiancee having just moved in. No worries, we're not getting married during my career. I've already been warned by Marines to not cross my career with my relationships. He's moved in to the house though, which is nice. Anyway, this isn't about my love life. I did a TON of PT-ing and other physical stuff today, so I'm pretty exhausted. I just wanted to let everyone know I'm still around, didn't forget about you. I've been doing P90x again, and I love it. It feels so good. If you don't do it, you should. I hope everyone's staying moto-vated and feeling good, and if anyone has any lack in moto-vation, give me a holler! I'm always close by. A friend of mine starts the Crucible either today or tomorrow, I'm really excited for him. This is a really scatterbrained post because I'm doing a bunch of things at once, so I'm sorry if I sound totally random and this is poorly written. I promise I'm usually pretty dang good with my grammar and sentence structure! Haha. See you all later.

Stay motovated, God bless!
-Jarrah

Birthday resolutions.

I'll start by saying, happy birthday to me! :D I'm 19 years old today.

Now, normally people make those "New Years Resolutions". Well I decided today, it's a new year for me, so why not make a resolution? I've decided on making a lot of changes. I have a serious issue with anxiety, it drives me insane day in and day out, and I've gotten pretty good at pretending it isn't there to the outside world. Can't be a Marine if you're going to go crying about everything. That being said, anxiety's started hindering my Marine Corps goals, and that's just unacceptable. I'm not having that. So, how am I going to change it? Number one, I spend way too much time in the house, on this Godforsaken computer. So I'm changing that. Not by locking it up, or having it taken away, or something stupid. But I'm going to exercise my discipline and self control. This sounds lame, and really pathetic, believe me I do know that. Thus making me want even more to change myself. I really don't want to be that kid that people look at and go "wow, I got 10 bucks that says she plays Dungeons and Dragons.", not that I've ever played that in my life, but you know what I'm getting at. When more of your contacts in your phone are friends you met online than in person, you know you've got a problem. I plan to start dedicating my time to PTing and working on getting in Marine Corps shape. I really need out of the trapped life I'm living, and I'm going to get out of it. This is just ridiculous. I've started becoming an incredibly bitter person over the past two years or so, maybe longer. I have a lot of resentment and I know if I change the way I'm living, I'm going to feel some of that weight being released. Anyway, I'm getting tired now. Still anxious, so I guess I'm going to see about distracting myself. Goodnight to all, stay motivated, wish me luck, and happy birthday to me :P God bless.

I thought this was interesting.

In a couple of my posts and even in a v-log I mentioned that hydration is really important. Now I am horrible at hydrating, it's not even funny how horrible. So tonight I decided to Google the benefits of hydrating, and they're pretty important.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Benefits-Of-Adequate-Hydration-Are-Mind-Boggling&id=899372
Have a look at that

Doctor's appointment today

Saw my orthopedist today for the plate and screws in my ankle. All is perfect, everything's completely and perfectly in place. My screws and plate won't be moving around or anything, ever, and they'll never have to come out. Such good news. There was a little bit of grinding in my bones but he said he doesn't see it ever giving me a problem. Marine Corps, you better love that. I sure do. :D

Stay motivated, I'll write more tomorrow.
-Jarrah

Not completely about the Marine Corps.

It's dawning on me more and more with the day that people have no values anymore. Among the people I know who are Marines and future Marines, there's a lot more respect from them for people that don't even deserve it. Then again, I'm not one to decide what someone deserves. Either way, the way people are nowadays drives me crazy. Lying, cheating, stealing. It's everywhere, among nearly everyone. If you've seen Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click. Chapter One: Receiving, you probably remember SDI SSgt Nichols mentioning that a Marine never lies, cheats, or steals. Marines also uphold honor, courage and commitment. Now why in the world is that generally restricted to people who save lives? Why can't everyone have some sense of right and wrong that's remotely accurate. It's terrible. I have very little faith in humanity anymore. It's a wonder I want to defend the freedoms of these people. I'll end my rant here, I just needed to get that out. Thanks guys.
Stay motivated!

-Jarrah

Why the Marine Corps, and some moto for fatbodies.

I started seriously considering and thinking about the Marine Corps when I was about 12-13. I was in middle school, and there was a girl who's brother was in Marine Corps bootcamp. As soon as she told me about him, I started eating, sleeping and breathing "Marine Corps". Come to think of it, maybe I was just sleeping and breathing it, because I've been overweight since I was a baby. Anyway, I started researching. I saw just how much pride Marines have in themselves. I've never been the most confident person, and that probably roots from the fact that I was always overweight. So when I saw how much respect Marines had for themselves, I really wanted to be able to say I had that too. It wasn't about the uniforms, or the benefits, or the pay. Funniest thing, I was in the car with my Recruiter the other day and we mentioned pay. I had completely and utterly forgotten that you get paid in the Marine Corps. I never once thought about that, because it didn't matter to me. (Now of course I'm completely excited to get paid for it.) But I digress..

When I hear my Recruiter say he's mentioned me to his boss, I get really excited. I always tell him "tell them I'll ship tomorrow if they'll let me. I'll take any job, Reserve or Active, just let me go." It's no secret how bad I want this. On top of the pride of the title, I'm going to have even more when I get to show every single person I know that I did it. I've been told countless times that I was too much of a fatass to ever get into the Marine Corps, or even the ARMY. Yeah, that's a stab in the gut, right?

The things that come with being a Marine are just added perks to me, just making it and earning the title alone is my life goal. So, the moral of this long and drawn out story is: don't give up on anything. There's nothing worse than giving up on yourself when you don't have to. You live for yourself and you can be whatever you desire to be as long as you desire to work for it. And to those who are struggling and desperately trying their hearts out to lose weight, enjoy the work you're doing. Don't ever get fed up or frustrated, love every second of it. Because every second you're trying your hardest, you're that much closer to proving to yourself you can do anything. We all have people we want to prove wrong, but you need to strive to prove yourself wrong above all. I'm telling you, you can do it. Stay freaking motivated. 

-Jarrah

Live webcam chat on Stickam

I'm on www.stickam.com/minajarrah right now, come in here and talk to me. It's noon and I have no plans, Recruiter's at the St. Paul Rodeo today.

Hop to.
-A.Jarrah

Before and After pics

Before:
...That poor bench. Hahaha.

After:

Still got some work to do.

Dieting tips?

There are plenty of people out there wanting and needing to lose weight, regardless of what they do for their career. Here's a few of my biggest tips.

- Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Flush out all the nasty stuff in your body and keep yourself functioning.

- In the words of SSgt Nichols, be committed, not inspired. That's why most diet and exercise plans fail. You look at these people that lose weight, get motivated for a week, and give up. Weight loss takes time. I'm the most impatient person on Earth, it's a struggle.

- Don't eat sugar. You don't need soda, candy, chocolate, smoothies, your morning coffee. You just don't.

- Carbs will not be a good friend of yours when you're eating sandwiches and rice and pizzas. All that starchy stuff is going to pack right on.

- I drink Emergen-C. Those fizzy vitamin packets that you see in the commercials? Yeah they taste like ass but it gets the job done. My main reason for taking them was so I'd get the energy and B vitamins to feel good, so I'd want to PT.

- Sleep like a normal person. Don't go to bed at 0400 and wake up in the afternoon. Not only is that a ridiculous waste of a day, but your body wasn't meant to be up all hours of the night. That's why we're not nocturnal. (I say this as I'm up WAY past my reasonable bedtime.)

- My biggest mistake: eating out of boredom. You eat to live, not live to eat.

I'll post before and after pictures for you. Let me warn you, I'm probably one of the biggest tomboys you'll ever see. I am indeed female. Baha.

-A.Jarrah

FutureJarheads.org

Got a bunch of badass Sgt Grit stuff from FJ yesterday, needless to say I'm all excited and motivated. Just thought I'd share that.

If you're a Poolee or future Marine and haven't checked out Futurejarheads.org yet, hop to it.

-A.Jarrah

143 Days.

Its been 143 days since my first meeting with Staff Sergeant Spaulding. In those 143 days I've lost about 20 more lbs, gained 5 seconds on my flexed arm hang, become able to do push-ups off of my knees, and become able to run a full lap without stopping on the track. It may not be much to some, but it's a huge deal for me. I ran tonight, and it felt really good. Not necessarily because it was exercise, but because I was proud of myself for doing well at it. Hell, even going at all is a huge thing in comparison to how I used to be. Let me tell you about what my life was 143 days ago.

I spent every night awake, until about 0430 on average, some nights not until 0700 when my mother left for work. I had panic attacks all night long. Nobody understood why, and I was convinced they didn't care, because they had no idea what it was like. I couldn't eat or sleep until it was a matter of starving and dehydration, and passing out. I had a lot going on, I'm a teenager. To us I suppose everything is the end of the world, right? Relationships and losing friendships, it's just Hell on Earth when we teens deal with that. I always like to assume I act above my age, but I most likely don't. But I'll save my confusion on whether or not each age actually has a standard in maturity for another night. Anyway, back in those days I kid you not, I did not leave my home ONE single time for at least four months. It was a miserable existence. I spent most nights wondering what in the world I was doing wrong, or what it was I did wrong for any God out there to put me in this situation. Shortly after, I realized my anxieties and stresses came from the time I gave up on my enlistment. I was in a point where I didn't believe in myself one bit. Then came the weight loss. I like to believe God gave me an incredible gift in the weight that I lost, because I'd be nowhere near this point without it. Once I started seeing the changes, I finally returned one of Staff Sergeant Spaulding's many voicemails. I came into the Recruiting Station on January 31st, and from that point forward my motivation rose with the day. Things like being able to run, do a flexed arm hang, even wear a size medium shirt for the first time in 7 years. It's incredible.

If you think you can't, you're wrong. I started writing these blogs to motivate other people who mainly needed to lose weight in general, let alone wanted to enlist in the military. If you're a person that's ever thought you just can not do something, you're simply wrong. When people tell you "I've been there, you can do it!" and you don't believe it, they aren't lying. I never thought a day would come when I would weigh under 220 lbs. Ever. Now I'm on my way to becoming a United States Marine. It's an amazing point in life. I've got problems too, ones that have me in a relentless chokehold right now, but I guess becoming a Marine is just a tad more important. Find what's more important. You've got something, somewhere. Guarantee it.

-The highly motivated, A.Jarrah.

Videosvideosvideos

I've taken a ton of video in the past week, I'll upload tonight. Not all of it is Marine related, but it's fun to watch.

-Jarrah

What up moto-vators.

I got my webcam. New videos will happen. In fact, one will tonight. Promise. Just jogged, feeling good.
Know what I found out I LOVE? Step aerobics. Doing it every day. I keep hitting these plateaus, it's frustrating. I know the whole "change your workout and change your diet" deal, but my self control and discipline aren't that great. Guess that's the new lesson to be learned.
This wasn't much of an exciting post, but I didn't want you guys to think I forgot ya.

Have questions, comments, concerns, or need motivation,
hit me up.
aminehjarrah@gmail.com.

You shall be hearing from me tonight.
-A. Jarrah

More V-logs?!

Got a new webcam with a built in mic, that'll actually fit on my laptop like it should.
What does that mean?!
New videos. Lots of new videos.

Long time no talk

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a long while. I know I'm getting more followers now that I've posted my link on Leatherneck.com. I'm back though, I didn't forget. I spend almost every day at the Recruiting Station now, so I'm usually not here to write.

I currently have 30 lbs to lose by 11 Jul 2011. SSgt doesn't want to go by body fat percentage now, he wants to go by actual weight. So right now I'm on Slimfast and lean meats for 2 1/2 months. Now if only Oregon didn't have rain all the time so I could be more comfortable with running.
This weight loss thing is really stressing me out now, it's crunch time and I'm not sure if it'll happen. I went running a few days ago with a friend, did not do well. My endurance is starting to suffer and my leg strength is lower, I can tell. I plan to PT more often, for sure. Only problem is, I keep having headaches today and yesterday. Not sure why, and hopefully they cease. I'm assuming it's because of my glasses being very outdated though. Friday's the eye appointment though, hopefully that gets figured out and fixed.

What else am I doing....
Oh, I found another female that might enlist with me. She's still on the fence about it, but at least she's down to PT with me sometimes. We're supposed to be going running or something today, so I'm hoping that goes well. Right now is kind of a "moment of truth" since I have very little time to get this weight off. We'll see though. I need to get moto and stay that way or being a Marine is going to be a further stretch for me. I've lost a ton of weight as is, so hopefully this stupid plateau I'm on (AGAIN!) will disappear.

Anyway I started writing this over an hour ago and I'm already really distracted, so I'll leave it at this. I'll do a video sometime soon, I've been slacking.

-A Jarrah

I just noticed something funny.
My last name is Jarrah. Jar-head, oo-rah. Jarrah. Bahahaha.

Broke out of the plateau?

I was stuck bouncing between 182 and 185 for a while, probably about a month. Today I'm 180 lbs. I assume within the next week or so I'll be able to break out of the 80's and into the 70's. Let me add, I haven't weighed under 200 since...probably middle school. Just got done working out, so I'm tired as all get out. I'll probably write again tomorrow, for now I'm gonna hit the rack. Night.

-Jarrah