June Tune Up - Week 4

Well this week definitely wasn't my most stellar week. I lacked on most of my goals and it showed on the scale. I was also not on my thyroid medicine the entire week because he went out of town so I had to wait till Monday to get into see him. Now I'm waiting for the dr to get the test results back to let me know what the dosage needs to be. He did say that he saw an improvement in my health and according to his scale I had lost 6 pounds in 2 months that I was on the medicine. Not great but better than gaining 6 pounds in 2 months!

I stayed the same weight this week as I was last week, which in the grand scheme of things is ok, and so did Jen, my partner in the June Tune Up challenge at the Sisterhood
.

I'm hoping that I have at least a little loss over the next few days so that I can say I had a good month of losing weight in these 30 days!

For the next few days I need to lay off the chocolate, eat more salads (only had 2 salads this week!), and finish up the month strong with exercising. I took a couple of days off this week and that always ends up costing me. I have been doing the #JuneToneUp and I really do enjoy doing these little workouts. I added in some 3# handweights the past few times I did them just to change it up a little! That made it MUCH HARDER! and I actually liked it better...go figure!!

Hopefully y'all are finding ways to stay cool. I'm spending a lot of time inside the apartment and tomorrow we are going to a water park all day! Here's hoping I don't come back looking like a lobster!

June Tune Up Week 1

It's Wednesday so that means it is time to check in with the Sisterhood for the newest challenge!

It's been a crazy busy week but I have stayed on target, completing my goals and sticking to a good plan.

I have done some kind of exercise every day of the month so far. I even joined an inexpensive gym so I can workout with real weights and machines. I love it!!

I have tracked my food every day since the first. Even on Sunday when I consumed 5 donuts! Yep you read that right!! It wasn't my best day for sure!!

I have eaten a salad 5 of the 6 days of the month. Yesterday was the day I didn't have one but I did have lettuce on my tacos so that kind of counts, right?!! ;)

I have not had a soda all month even Sunday when we went out to eat and my hubby and That Other Kid had one! I drank lemonade instead! Best part of this is I'm not really missing it! As long as I can have something besides water to drink I'm good!

It's been a good week and I lost 1.8 pounds since Friday!!

Yes!!!

Challenge start weight: 207
Today's weight: 205.2



I'm happy with that loss especially considering Sunday I ate enough calories for almost 3 days!

But as our name points out I am a W(ork) I(n) P(rogress)!! There will be days when things don't go according to schedule but as long as they are the exception not the rule I will meet my goals- to be healthy, fit and strong!

Jen and I are doing great and we are Kick A$$ Wip's! Together we lost over 6 1/2 pounds in just 5 days!! We are kicking it!!

Tuning Up in June

I've been floundering all year. Looking for ways to lose weight, exercise consistently, eat right, etc. It just hasn't been happening...all I know is I truly want to do right but "something" hasn't clicked for me and I haven't done it.

I am determined that June is gonna be my month. I am on medication to help my thyroid levels. I am taking a vitamin D supplement to help my levels on that too. Medically speaking there is no reason I can't get my act together so now it's time to get busy with the weight loss. The year is half over and I don't want to waste the whole year, continuing to gain weight.

Cue, The Shrinking Jeans ladies!! They always know when to start a new challenge and get my booty moving again! So I'm participating in the June Tune Up with the Sisterhood and I'm gonna give this body a tune up! And with all good challenges they are even offering ways to get my exercise in with 3 exercises to do most every day of the month!

This particular challenge is a partners challenge...meaning we team up with someone and we tackle this booger together! My partner is Jen and I'm so excited to be doing this with her! We have been chatting a lot and are becoming great friends but we both need to lose some weight and stop making excuses! Together we are gonna tackle this challenge with all the gusto we can muster...

Our team name is the Kick A$$ WIPs (cuz we are both a Work in Progress). I even have goals for this challenge....GO ME!!

1) EXERCISE EVERY DAY!! Between the June Tone Up, and the beginning of the Komen 3 Day training

and using the Wii and XBox I think I have this one under control.

2) NO SODAS!! 'nuff said...

3) TRACK MY FOOD EVERY DAY, EVERY BITE!! I've been pretty hit and miss with this and I'm sure it has hurt me. I'm on MyFitnessPal with an app on my phone so really I should not have any excuses!

4) EAT A SALAD EVERY DAY!! I'm not a big veggie eater so salads are about the only veggies I normally eat but they have been sporatic. This must change....(I had a salad for dinner!! And WATER!)

That takes care of my goals for the month...as Jen said it's only 30 days! I can do it!! I can't wait to see the changes that happen in these 30 days!

btw, my starting weight for this challenge: 207
Not something I'm proud of but honestly I'm not shocked. More like pissed!!

Motivation Board - SpringN2Action

I realize its been a while since I have posted but I've been busy and haven't had much to say! I'm making up for it tonight with this great motivation board idea from The Sisterhood of Shrinking Jeans

At the beginning of February Bari started doing pushups, situps, and planks for the February FabAb workout. The workout gradually increased up to 100 situps, 35 pushups and a plank for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. I started out doing it and felt good but then I got a sinus infection with a double ear infection and gave up on myself. I quit...I was mad at myself. I was frustrated with my body and plan ol' aggravated.


This was me at the end of February...so I wanted to change that!!


February 27th, I started lifting weights following this plan. I am doing it with a wonderful group of women and it has done more for me than build my muscles. It has built my confidence!


Then March approached and Lissa put together the #6PackMarch workout. It was the same workout only a couple of days longer! Even though I was committed to doing a weights workout with some of the other wonderful ladies from the Sisterhood I decided I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this! So I signed up and started doing it. Some of my #Ironsisters told me to use caution. Don't do too much, I was out to prove to myself that I could follow through and do this.


Tonight I FINISHED IT!! AND just for the heck of it and so I could have visual proof that I am stronger than I think I am I took video of it!

Tonight I did 100 SITUPS!! 35 modified PUSHUPS!!! and a 2 minute 30 second PLANK!!! I FREAKIN' DID IT!!!









Some of you may be asking what does this have to do with the motivation board but let me tell you it has ALOT to do with it. See I usually give up on myself when things get hard. I usually think since I'm not in my 20's or 30's or even early 40's that I can't do "it"!! Whatever the heck "it" is! It really doesn't matter what that "it" is. I usually talk myself out of it but what this did was prove to myself that just because I'm not in my 20's or 30's I can still do something that is HARD for everyone!!

After watching the videos I realized that my butt was too far up in the air for the plank and that I need to work on the pushups a bit more so I don't fade out toward the end but hey, I did them! I completed the month long challenge and I'm proud of myself!

I'm busting my tail so that That Other Kid will always think it is a good thing to try new things, work hard to accomplish his goals, and want to be active! I want to be a good example to him!! This afternoon he got the skateboard that he has been asking for since he was 3 and he wasn't afraid to try something hard! He looks pretty happy and I want to look that happy when I try something hard and new!!




I want to always remember this day. I want to always remember how good I felt after doing this month long challenge! I want to remember that if I decide to do it I CAN DO IT!!

Tooting My Horn Post

Instead of our usual "confessions" post on Tuesday's the Sisterhood has changed things up and now we are "tootin' our horn". I actually have a couple of things to "toot my horn" about this week so here I am!

Bullets are fast and easy, right?

* I have been participating in the #6PackMarch challenge with a few lovely ladies looking to tone up the arms and core before summer. I have done all 13 days of this during March and today I did a plank for 1 minute and 10 seconds! I also did 17 pushups and 45 SITUPS! These were straight out sit ups. Not crunches, Not knees bent sit ups. I could hardly believe I did them all!

* I have been doing a weight lifting program with a bunch of ladies (we are calling ourselves the #IronSisters) and I have surprised myself with how well I am sticking with it. I realized tonight that next time I workout with this program I will be half way done with Stage 1. I'm actually sticking with something that has to do with weight lifting!! Whooohoo!

* I have notoriously been a terrible lesson planner when it comes to planning lessons for our homeschool, but over the past couple of months I have come to the conclusion that we both NEED me to plan lessons. This weekend I moved into the library and completed lessons thru the month of MAY! That's 12 weeks of lessons COMPLETE! And we have done school according to the lesson plans both Monday and Tuesday!

* Menu planning, UGH! I always thought it was a waste of time, but decided since I was on a roll this weekend I would make a menu for this week. I did it and it's gone pretty well this week. EXCEPT tonight my alfredo noodles tasted YUCKY and I didn't feel like eating a salad....so here it is 10p.m. and I'm STARVING! Goes to show how I need to follow the menu.

That's enough tooting my horn for tonight. How has your week been?

It's Been Awhile....

Here I am again with a few minutes to spend on the computer. I just finished working out with the New Rules of Lifting for Women and I'm finding it a nice change. I have always hated working out with weights and I've always avoided it like the plague!

But...I'm finding that sometimes I need to push myself out of my comfort zone and this is one of them. I am lifting weights at home 3 times a week following the plan set forth in the book. It's challenging and I'm having to improvise some since I don't have weight machines but I am getting a good challenging workout every time.

I'm also doing the #6Pack March workout that is going on over at the Sisterhood. It's like the #FabAb February workout I was doing in February till I got sick and gave up on it. I finished day 9 today and I'm not gonna lie, it was hard to do it all but that's ok to push myself, right?

I've also decided that it is time to make some drastic changes in my diet so this coming week I am going to make a MENU Plan and FOLLOW IT! That's right....I'm going to write out a menu and I'm going to follow it. On my menu? Lots of fruits and veggies and lean meats and a few whole grains and not much else. I need to break through this plateau I have been on far too long.

I'm also going to add in some cardio which I haven't been doing in some time. That should help me too.

On a totally different note, I'm gonna brag a little on My Marine! He has been at his Military Operations School (meaning he is learning his job for the Marines) since the 28th of February and today he sent me a text saying he is number 1 in his "detachment" with a score of 98.45%!! He is training for Combat Photography which according to what I understand is a very cool job in the military. He also received a promotion last Thursday. He is now a Private First Class and if he graduates at the top of his class he will receive another promotion in June. I'm so proud of him! He has finally found something he loves and is excelling at it!

Ok...it's late and I have a full day of lesson plans to tackle tomorrow so I need to get to bed. Just wanted to spend a few minutes chatting with anyone listening. Btw, thanks for all the nice comments a couple of weeks ago when I was so down about my blog. It really is nice to know someone is out there reading! Thanks y'all!

Have a great weekend....

After The SuperBowl Confessions

It's Tuesday and over at the Sisterhood we do True Confessions to cleanse our souls of all the crappy stuff from the past week.

Wow do I have a list for you! Here goes....

I started a "no coke" challenge with one of my 3 Day walker friends. She drank Dr. Pepper and I drank coke. We both want to stop...I did great until last Friday, since then I have been TERRIBLE having a coke every day! Until today when I realized how stupid I have been! If I want to stop doing something I just need to STOP!! It really should be that simple...It's called WILLPOWER!! So once again no cokes for me - let's hope I can get it to stick this time!

I went to the grocery store on Sunday (I know, stupid!) when I was hungry! (double stupid!) I bought a bunch of "snacky" things and a bunch of good foods. I bought the ingredients to make the zucchini chocolate muffins and haven't made them yet. I also bought the ingredients (and made) Lisa's salsa! It was a hit in our household! In order to eat salsa you have to eat chips, right?! I ate chips with rotel and salsa during the superbowl....and drank a coke! I also bought and made (and ate) little smokies but I bought the beef ones and only ate 4 with crescent rolls! Yummy!

I started doing the #FabAb workout with Nancy and Bari! It's nice to have accountability with others to do this workout! It's HARD but I need to work my abs big time and this is definitely doing that!



You can join us if you want....I guarantee you won't be sorry! We are all gonna have great looking abs at the end of February!

I have gone over my calorie count on My Fitness Pal for the past few days. It's frustrating but I know I need to work through it and get it figured out. I need to start working harder at keeping my food under control! It will help a lot to stay away from the cokes! Here's to a new start!

Did you read my post Saturday? If not, you really need to. I need to report back that since Saturday I have started focusing more on the exercise and less on the "diet". Today at lunch I decided I wanted a salad! That Other Kid saw me fixing a salad and said, "why are you eating a salad? You said you weren't on a diet anymore!" I told him, "I just want a salad...it's a good choice for lunch!" He seemed to like that idea. I thought it was a great way to change the focus from diet to healthy living/eating. Yay!

ShrinkYoSelf 2012 - Week 5

Wow! February already? I know most everyone is having the same reaction...this year is moving right along and we've already finished 1/12th of the year! Anywho, it's Wednesday and that means it is time for weigh in with the Sisterhood. It is also the beginning of February and I had decided I would do my measurements at the beginning of every month this year to "watch" the progress I am making. Keeps me looking at the big picture...how is my body changing?

During the month of January I lost 8 1/4" around various part of my body! I'm happy with that! 2 of those inches were around my waist, 3 of those inches were around my hips!

I started this challenge on January 1st weighing in at 205.0.

Today I weighed 200.0.

That means I have lost 5 pounds in 1 month...not what I wanted but hey it is a loss and a pretty decent one so I'm ok with it.

My goal for this challenge was to exercise EVERY DAY in the month of January using the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred Dvd and an additional ab workout! I am thrilled to report that I accomplished that goal! Not only that but yesterday I did ALL 3 LEVELS of the 30 Day Shred at once! Back to back levels! It was HARD! I was a hot, sweaty mess BUT oh what a fantastic feeling!

For February I have decided to use the Biggest Loser XBox Kinect game that My Marine bought me for Christmas. Honestly I had only played with it for about 10 minutes before this morning so I spent some time setting it up and figuring out what I wanted to do. I am going to workout with this game 4 days a week and do something else on the other days that I'm going to exercise. My goal for February is to exercise a minimum of 6 days a week. I feel like I might want to take an occasional morning off so I'm allowing that "day off" once a week. Have any of you used the Biggest Loser game? I'm not sure how I like it...I don't like having my "body" show up on the screen the whole time. I don't like how if I'm not in the "exact" right location it doesn't register my exercise. I know it's new to me and there is a learning curve and everything so I'm not quitting! Besides maybe if I see myself on the tv 4 times a week I will be more attentive to what I'm putting into my mouth!!

Ok..so in short: I lost 5 pounds in the month of January instead of 10 like I wanted.

I haven't followed the low glycemic index plan very well and that explains the reason behind the smaller loss.

I have stopped drinking cokes again and I'm staying accountable with a local friend so that helps me stay on track with that.

So onto February goals:

Workout a minimum of 6 days a week for at least 30 minutes a session.
Work harder at staying on the low glycemic index plan.
Stay away from drinking cokes.
Continue losing weight and inches.
Start doing some sort of "workout" with That Other Kid.

ShrinYoSelf - Week 3

Here we are in week 3 of 2012 and it's Wednesday so that means it's time to weigh in with the ladies at ShrinkingJeans. So I'm just gonna go ahead and get right to it.

Starting weight for this challenge: 205.0

Last week's weight: 200.0

This morning's weight: 199.6

Ok...so it definitely wasn't what I had hoped for this week in the weight loss department but it is what it is! I'm UNDER 200 pounds and that made me happy! Honestly when I first got on the scale this morning it said 200 and I just couldn't accept that I hadn't lost ANY weight this week. I did have a couple of "off" meals but to go through the whole week exercising and eating less than my "alloted" calories and NO weight loss, I couldn't accept. So, I got on the scales again and it went down to 199.6! That is a number I could accept. Minimal loss but a loss regardless.

I have been doing pretty well on the 52 Small Changes challenges going on over at the 'hood. This week's challenge is to find little things to keep our body moving. I parked further at Target, used a different parking area for my car Monday night, helped carry My Marine's heavy sea-bags to the car and then into the airport Tuesday morning when he left. I have also been drinking my 100 oz+ of water so I go to the bathroom alot! All of these little things add up to extra movement, and extra calorie burn!

Ok..so yesterday I didn't get my Confessions posted, so you get to hear my excuses confessions for this week in this post, too! I know you are excited...so here they are in bullet points, since that's easy!

*I went to Schlotzsky's Friday night and ate a 880 calories cinnamon roll! Not exactly on my Low Glycemic Index diet plan!

*Sunday went out for a final "family meal" before My Marine left to go back to California for his next phase of the Marines. We went to the Texas Roadhouse because he loves their bread! I do too BUT I only ate 1 roll! It was a wonderful roll BUT it wasn't on the plan! But, I ate a SALAD AND GREEN BEANS instead of my usual salad and baked potato! Those were ON my plan! Yay me!

*Oh and I DID NOT drink a coke with my meal, like I usually do!

*I didn't go to sleep Monday night because I needed to take My Marine to the airport at 4:00 am. I decided it would be better to stay up and then go to sleep AFTER getting home from the airport. I DID NOT drink soda on the way home from the airport! Nor did I stop at the NUMEROUS DONUT shops that were on the way home from the airport like I normally would! Score for me!

*I came home from the airport and got in bed at 6:30 am and got up at 11:00 am. If I would have been able to sleep all the way through that time I would have been ok for the day, BUT I got interrupted by the hubs, That Other Kid and the cats numerous times! I figure I got 3 or maybe 4 hours of sleep!

*I was tired all day but DID my Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred dvd and my 10 minute ab work shortly after getting out of bed!

*I went to sleep shortly after 10 p.m. last night and slept till 9:30 this morning! I felt a bit sluggish from getting that much sleep!

*I skipped lunch today and was sooooo hungry this afternoon. I bought mozzarella cheese sticks from Sonic. Then for dinner I ate a huge cheeseburger, french fries and a COKE! I knew when I ordered all of this food I was making a huge error in judgement! I knew I should have gotten something MUCH better for my body but I didn't feel like going to another food place and I really didn't care at that point that it was not on the Low Glycemic Index plan!

*Honestly the food didn't taste good and the coke just left me MORE thirsty! It didn't really satisfy my desire for salty food either!

***Yes, eating the right foods for me makes me feel better and I know that although eating "crap" food occasionally will happen I feel a lot better mentally and physically when I eat what my body NEEDS!

***Eating right and exercising at least 30 minutes a day helps me mentally and physically feel so much better! I'm glad I have finally figured that out!

***I completed Day 18 of the 30 Day Shred with additional ab work this morning and I'm beginning to be able to tell a difference in my body shape. My stomach does seem to be shrinking, although I haven't taken measurements. I'm going to wait till the end of the month to measure but it is noticable enough that my hubs can tell!

***I sent My Marine off to Camp Pendleton, CA yesterday morning and only shed a few tears. I probably won't hear from him till he is done with this phase of training in 3 weeks. Then he will head off to Ft. Mead, Maryland for his final phase of schooling for nearly 3 months. During his final phase he will have more freedom and I'm praying that I will have more contact with him. I don't know when he will get to come home again....and that makes this difficult BUT I am pretending to be strong! I have to be, I raised a Marine!!

I absolutely LOVE this quote! I got this card today from 'Lissa and it really hit home with me!

Ok..so there you have it. My confessions for the week as well as my weigh in post! Nothing like killing 2 birds with 1 stone, huh?!

ShrinkYoSelf2012 - Week 1

Well here we are at Wednesday! Over at the Sisterhood that is the day we weigh in and tell the world (or at least our hookersisters) how we are doing and get cheers or a kick in the booty if we need it! I was actually looking forward to hopping on the scale this morning BUT almost forgot! I have been exercising every MORNING (yes, ME EXERCISE IN THE MORNING and if you know me well you know it's hard for me to do anything in the morning!) So this morning I got up did my usual stuff, got dressed, etc and then right before I left the room to exercise I remembered "it's Wednesday! Time to weigh in!" so I went back into the bathroom, undressed and got on the scale! See how dedicated I am?

I was thrilled to see that since Sunday I lost 3.2 pounds! After doing a little happy dance right there in my undies I got dressed and went out and let Jillian Shred my butt some more! It made it a little easier to workout this morning knowing that I lost 3.2 pounds in 3 days! Yes, I realize that most of that weight is probably detoxing the crap out of my system and water loss BUT STILL it looked mighty nice to see a nice loss on the scale! Especially since I baked chocolate chip cookies for my Marine last night (and didn't even want any for myself!) and there are still 3 left and I haven't eaten them! No cookies or crap for me! YAY!!!

I'm participating in the 52 Weeks for Healthy Living Challenge over at the 'hood! This week is easy...WATER! Drink 1/2 your weight in water, nice clear yummy water! Not a problem for me since I got into the habit of drinking water some time ago, I am accustomed to drinking somewhere in the range of 100 oz of water but NOW I am making a concerted effort at drinking that much and even more! I spend a lot of time in the bathroom, but I know I am getting enough water!

We are also supposed to get in 30 minutes of "moderate" exercise 5 days a week or 30 minutes of "vigorous" exercise 3 times a week. This fits in with my own personal goal for the month of at least 30 minutes of exercise every day! I am happy to say that I have been working out with Jillian's 30 Day Shred this week (planning to do it the whole month - every day!) and also adding some ab work to round out my 30 minutes. It feels great to get up in the morning and get it out of the way! This way in the evening if people want to watch tv or play video games I don't have an excuse!
I "think" it's getting easier although my knees were pretty sore this morning so my lunges certainly weren't deep enough, but I kept moving and that is the point!

Ok..so here are my goals for this challenge (and at this pace I should make them, PLEASE??):
Starting weight for challenge: 205.0
Today's weight: 201.8

My goal weight for this challenge: 185.0

Yes, that's a loss of 20 pounds in 8 weeks/2 months! I know that if I stick with the Low Glycemic Index Diet Plan I can do this! It's that big IF that always gets in the way!
How am I planning to reach this goal? I'm going to follow the plan exclusively for the month of January....that means 31 days of nothing but the foods on the plan. That means no soda. That means nothing fried. That means my choices for eating out will be limited but certainly not non-existent. That means I have to prepare healthy foods for myself and keep myself busy when I "think" I want something that doesn't follow the plan. That means I can't stress out when My Marine goes back to San Diego for his next stage of training, in less than 2 weeks. That means I have to focus on MY goals!

The next thing I will need to do is continue exercising. I actually like exercising and I love the way it makes me feel so the biggest problem I have is not making the excuses of why I don't have time! I really do have time! I'm a SAHM who homeschools! What the heck am I so busy doing that I don't have 30 minutes to workout? goofing off on my phone, playing #WordsWithFriends, checking emails 30 million times a day, checking facebook 1 million times a day Yeah, lots of really important stuff there! Yes, I do homeschool That Other Kid. Yes, I am responsible for a household. Yes, I constantly prepare meals, do laundry, run errands and everything else a mom does, but really can't a mom spare 30 minutes to take care of herself?! I think we all know the answer is YES! We just need to make that decision to do it!

Exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes EVERY day for the month of January, and then at least 5 days a week for the month of February. I would like to set the goal at every day for both January and February but I want to allow myself some leeway! For the month of January there is NO leeway! I gave myself a whole year of leeway! There is none left!

My next goal for this challenge is to follow along with the 52 Weeks of Healthy Living. I have the book coming and we have the group set up on the 'hood, so there is not a reason why I can't follow along with these.

I think that's all for this challenge. I want to change my life so much this year and this is the beginning of it! I can't wait to see the difference 2 months can make!

First Confession for 2012

Today is Tuesday and over at the Sisterhood that is when we confess the good, the bad and the ugly! Sooooooo here are my confessions for the first Tuesday of 2012.

Late last week I decided I was going to make 2012 my year of finally meeting my weight loss goals and not just talking about meeting my weight loss goals! I looked at what I would need to do to meet my goals and started formulating a plan. Almost 3 years ago when I started my journey of losing weight I weighed 226.8 pounds and the doctor told me some key things to do to lose weight and get my health under control.
Sunday morning I weighed 205.0 pounds....so I guess I can say I have lost and maintained 21 pounds but that's not the 75 pounds I should have lost and maintained by now!

The first thing he told me to do was EXERCISE! Simple enough - exercise at least 30 minutes a day to get a decent sweat and the heart rate up! (If I would have consistently done this 3 years ago I wouldn't be sitting here telling you how I need to lose weight still!) I started with Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred then and I didn't die 3 years ago, so I knew it would be a good place to start 2012 with!

I have been so inactive the past couple of months that I knew I would be basically starting over and let me tell you, Jillian is kicking my butt! In a good way of course! My muscles hurt and are screaming but I know it will work.
I also wanted to add in some additional abdominal work, so I found a nice short ab workout on Netflix Instant. It is off the 10 minute Toning for Beginners and I'm just doing the ab portion. That gives me a little more than 30 minutes with the warmup/cool down from the Shred and the 10 minutes of ab work!

The second thing he told me to do was to STOP DRINKING SODA! Another no brainer! Soda has no redeeming qualities (except it tastes good!) Again I managed to go 6 weeks without one soda 3 years ago...I can do it again!

So...Saturday evening I drank my last soda of 2011 and my last one for some time. Now in all honesty I know I will drink soda again. BUT....I can't make it my preferred drink. I need to make it a "special treat"! Not something I get when I'm thirsty or because it's "happy hour" at Sonic or because my hubby wants one.
My plan is go the entire month of January and February without soda. I'm determined to not drink ANY for the month of January. We'll see how things are going then! For these first 3 days of January I am having some pretty intense cravings for coke which means I was drinking WAY too much! Having it in the house isn't helping either but my will power is stronger! Right?? I'm doing great on the water challenge that is going on over at the 'hood! I'm supposed to drink 102 ounces a day and I have nailed it on both days so far. I am already at about 45 ounces today so I'm certainly on track for today, but I am spending a lot of time in the bathroom! lol


The third thing the doctor told me to do was to follow a low glycemic index diet plan. He gave me some guidelines and told me to look it up for more specifics so I went home and looked it up BUT I didn't really follow it! It looked too hard, but in reality I was just being stubborn! I didn't want to change my life completely. I still wanted to eat crap food. I still wanted to eat fried foods. I still wanted to eat sugar loaded desserts! So, although I did lose weight (quickly and a significant amount) I wasn't completely committed.

BUT....now that I've decided to really make this change and lose the weight for real I've started following the plan strictly. For the month of January, I have committed to ONLY eat what is on the low glycemic index diet plan. Really it's not that hard...and it's what I already know I need to properly fuel my body. Whole wheat grains, lean meats, moderate amounts of fruit, and lots of veggies. If you are interested in it feel free to use google to find out more about it. I'm a pretty picky eater so I just found the foods that were approved on it and wrote them down on a piece of paper and I'm only fixing foods that are on that list. 'Lissa told me last night it sounded a lot like South Beach Phase 2. I've followed the plan before and had great results...I just didn't stick with it long enough.

Ok...so now that y'all know what I'm doing I will tell you I am really struggling with getting myself together. I have been exercising shortly after I get up (which is hard enough for me!). Then I have been sitting down to record everything and eat some breakfast, and I have ended up sitting at the computer for at least an hour! That's gotta end. I can't be hitting the shower at noon! I need to be able to start school no later than 10:30. Today we are taking another day off since the kiddo is sick but he won't be sick for the whole year, ya know?! So time management is an area I need to work on!

I'm also having some serious junk food cravings. I know its normal to go through these withdrawals but still! Makes it harder for me that the hubs and kiddo are sick too! But, I know I can do it...it just takes will power and the determination to want it bad enough and I DO!!

I heard this quote about 6 weeks ago on the Biggest Loser and it really spoke to me! I think it's gonna be my mantra for this time in my journey.....

"If you believe you can achieve!"

It's A New Year - 2012

It's a new year and I'm ready to make the most of it! The Sisterhood wants us to start it off right so they are offering a great new challenge to start 2012 off with a bang!



I'm excited and ready to see what I can do when I pour myself into it 100% and that's exactly what I'm planning to do! In fact I already started, by getting up this morning and changing clothes, putting my contacts in and EXERCISING! Yes, that's right I've decided that I need to exercise first thing in the morning so I have no excuses to NOT do it!

For the month of January I have decided to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred! Yes, I know January has 31 days but I figure I can start February a day early since it only has 29 days in it! Since Jillian's workout is only about 20 minutes (plus about 4 minutes of warmup and cool down I decided to some sort of ab workout to bring my minumum total of workout to 30 minutes. Today I pulled up Netflix's Target Toning and I did the 10 minute Ab workout. Normally I would say that this workout would not be a good enough workout for me but after Jillian it was enough! I feel like I'm starting over with my fitness and this was a great start!

As for my starting weight for this challenge: Sadly it was 205.0 and honestly I was surprised it wasn't more. Over the past couple of months I have basically not had any exercise and I have been eating and drinking way more than I know I should! This challenge lasts 8 weeks and goes till the end of February. That gives us plenty of time to make some good changes and a great start to meeting our goals for 2012!

At the end March of 2009 I started my journey of weight loss and I weighed in at 226.8, so over the course of 2 years and 9 months I have lost and maintained a loss of 21 pounds. For that I am happy. For that I am grateful. BUT I really want and NEED to get the rest of this weight off. It's for my health! It's for my sons! It's something I need to do for ME! So here I am again at the beginning of a new year saying one of my goals for the year is to lose weight. I really believe that if I follow the Low Glycemic Index Diet Plan (that the doctor told me to follow nearly 3 years ago) I will meet my goal of 150 - 155 pounds by the time my birthday shows up on the calendar in late July.

So...how will I ensure that I follow the diet and exercise plan I KNOW will work for me? I will hold myself accountable. I will beg my friends to help me! I will make sure that I don't buy junk that I will be tempted to eat! I will focus on the things that help me do what I know I need to do. I will also make sure I exercise EARLY in the day so that I'm not "too tired" to exercise! Just an excuse really since I don't EVER go to bed early but it was an excuse I used for the past couple of months!

So...my goals for the month of January?

** Workout with Jillian every morning as well as an additional 10 minutes of ab work! (My abs will thank me!) for a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise a day.
** Follow along with the challenges that the Sisterhood throws out there!
** Follow along with the "small changes" that Christy will share with us on the 'hood!
** Follow the Low Glycemic Index Diet Plan! If it's not on the plan it's not going into my mouth this month! (I'm not planning to be this strict the whole year but I really think my body needs some "detoxing" and this is a great way to do it!)
** Weigh in at the end of January at 195!

If I do everything I have set out to do I know I can meet this goal! Yes, it will be challenging. Yes, it will be hard. Yes, I'm gonna need my friends to help me out sometimes. BUT....I know in my head and heart that I am worth the effort!

So are you participating in the new challenge? It's gonna rock!! Let me know what your hopes and dreams are for the new year so I can encourage and help you meet them!

Happy New Year friends!

Weigh in Wednesday with Thankfulness Wrapped In

Ok...so it's Wednesday and that means it's time to weigh in for the Sisterhood's Shrinkvivor challenge. I have to admit that I wasn't too shocked by the number on the scale although I'm not happy about it. I knew there would be a significant gain this week with the Komen 3 Day and all the carbs and junk I ate this weekend. I haven't really stopped with the food yet, either. I guess I'm still recovering.

So...today I am thankful that I am already in exile island! I did log in a whopping number of exercise minutes - 1560! All of this was during the time of Friday, Saturday and Sunday! I don't recommend trying to cram 26 hours of exercise into 3 days! It kind of hurts! lol But, I am ready to sign up to do it again next year! The experiences I encountered this weekend are difficult to express but I'm planning to give it my best shot! Hopefully I will have it written out in the next day or so...

I'm looking forward to seeing who gets to be in the Top 7 for Shrinkvivor! I was in the top 7 last year and it was so much fun creating a video and trying to win the Ultimate Shrinkvivor challenge! Hopefully next year I will have what it takes to get me to the place where I can train and walk the Komen 3 Day and still lose weight!

Shrinkvivor - Going From Pink to Exile

It's Wednesday and that means it's time to weigh in with the Sisterhood. I got sent to Exile Island last week which didn't surprise me terribly since I had a gain again.

Now that I'm on Exile Island I lost a bit more than a pound...go figure, right?

I did well on the exercise minutes this week with 657, most of which was over the weekend with the Komen 3 Day training. This past weekend we had our last long training weekend walking 19.5 miles on Sunday and almost 11.5 on Saturday. I also did the Run the 'Hood 5K with That Other Kid on Saturday so it was a busy weekend. Saturday afternoon our team also got to go around and mark some of the route we will be walking during the 3 Day, but it would have been difficult to quanitify the time for that so I didn't count it as "exercise" minutes although we were walking A LOT! We are just 9 days out from the 3 Day Walk!! Wow! I can hardly believe it is almost here! I'm starting to get really excited and a bit nervous, as well, about what happens after the 3 Day. How will I handle going from walking miles and miles on the weekends to all of a sudden NOT walking alot on the weekends?? Suggestions are appreciated...

Our mini-challenge for the week was to drink at least 64 ounces of water a day. NO PROBLEM! I usually drink a minimum of 100 ounces a day and on the weekends I usually get around 130 ounces!

This week we are sticking with exercise minutes so I will have to push myself to get some extra workouts in since this is our taper weekend before the walk and we are only going 10 and 8 miles this weekend - only about 2.5 to 3 hours a piece!

We are also supposed to stay away from the halloween candy! Wow! That is kind of mean, right? But, it shouldn't be too hard for me since That Other Kid is allergic to most of the candy I don't buy it for him and what he gets from the Fall Festivals we usually give to friends....as long as I just do that right away I should be good.

Hope you guys are having good success with your goals and are getting healthier, cuz that is the ultimate goal, right?

Beginning Shrinkvivor 2011

This is the number I saw on the scale this morning! I'm disappointed and not happy about this number. I'm posting it boldly so that I can remember where I'm starting this challenge! I'm hoping that I will NEVER see this number again on a scale that I am on!! I've been here far too often over the past few months!

This is the beginning of Shrinkvivor 2011 at the Sisterhood of Shrinking Jeans. This was one of my favorite challenges last year and I was fortunate enough to be on the Green Tribe last year. We were very successful and won several weeks of the challenges!

This year I am on the PINK TRIBE - The PINKberry Dough Girls!

PERFECT for the month of October (being Breast Cancer Awareness Month and all!) I'm on a tribe with Roo, Heather, Virginia, Tiffany, Audrey and Shera! I know Roo pretty well and I have chatted with Heather a little on Twitter but the rest of these women I don't really know YET! But we are definitely changing that now!! I'm excited to start this new challenge...I've been struggling since My Marine left for bootcamp. I've been doing ok during the day because I have been staying busy. BUT....once night falls and That Other Kid is in bed, well let's just say things have been UGLY! So ugly in fact I probably consumed more calories after 9p.m. yesterday than I did throughout the rest of the day! NOT GOOD!

I am changing that starting today. Roo and I talked this morning and every time I want to go eat something, mindlessly I'm going to text, call or chat with her! OR...I'm going to do some sort of exercise! I can't eat if I'm talking or exercising, right???!!

The fitness challenge for the week is to log minutes of exercise...This is going to a great one for me! I've already got a good start for the week!

Hope y'all have a great week! Remember....take your photo of the scale every week so you will be eligible to win some great prizes!

I took my picture so I could see how much I can change in just 7 weeks when I apply myself! I'm hoping it will motivate me to keep going once the challenge is over!

Confession of a Walker

I'm a bad girl --- Over at the 'hood they are doing a weekly meal plan and encouraging us to do the same and post it. I have FOREVER been meaning to do this BUT....when it comes to actually doing it, it never gets done! They asked if I would do it if there was peer pressure. I said I could be coerced to do it with enough peer pressure, but STILL I haven't done it! I am a slacker when it comes to meal planning but I have been preparing healthy meals with salads this week for dinner....that's good, right? As most of you know (if you've been reading my post lately) I am participating in the Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure in November. This will be the first year for me to participate in the walk and I'm not planning on it being my last either! As I've been training for the walk we have been sweating it out in the hot Texas summer and walking early in the morning to avoid heat stroke! This weekend was actually a bit chilly and when we first started walking I wished I would have thought to bring a long sleeve shirt or a jacket but by the time we were done walking it was quiet comfortable! This week we are back in the heat of summer breaking our hottest summer on record record with 70 days of 100 degree or more! Yes, welcome to fall summer! While most of the country is already breaking out the sweat pants we are still wearing shorts and running our air conditioners 24 hrs a day! So, you might ask what does this have to do with my confession? Well it has to do with I'm tired of this freaking heat!! I thought it was going to be cooler so I could start enjoying my training walks but instead it was so stinking hot this morning at 9:45 when I walked that we had to walk in a shady area of town just so we wouldn't melt in the heat! So if you are already enjoying those nice cool fall temperatures PLEASE send me some cooler weather, k? I finally fixed my blister problems! YAY!! There is a podiatrist that offers his services to the Komen 3 Day walkers free of charge every other weekend at one of the local running stores. Every time he has been there I have been busy but this week I decided I would go no matter what was going on. I am soooooo glad I did! I have an incredibly high arch in both my feet and because of this I put a lot of pressure on the balls of my feet (like 100 pounds each foot!) . and when I walk more than an average days worth of walking I am putting too much pressure on the balls my feet, and end up getting blisters. He cut a hole in my insole of both of my new shoes and "just like magic" NO PAIN! I walked 11.25 miles on Sunday WITHOUT BLISTERS!! It was heavenly!! I'm so glad I took the time to go down and talk to him! Moral to this story....take advantage of the professionals!! Yesterday I started a 24 Day Challenge with the product Advocare. I'm also participating in a fitness class kind of like a bootcamp that meets Monday, Wednesday, Friday for 4 weeks. Yesterday was our first class and ohmygoodness my back and arms HURT! I can only imagine what the other women who have NOT been working out at all are feeling today! I'm hoping that this will boost my metabolism and I will be able to break through my plateau again! I've been working on losing the same 5 pounds all year and it has gotten very frustrating. One of the first things they told me to cut out was SODA! Duh, that one is pretty much a no-brainer but what have I been craving ever since I was told NOT to have it? You guessed it, SODA! When I first started losing weight back in March of 2009 that was the first thing I cut out and I was able to lose 5 pounds in one week. I'm not counting on losing that much this time since soda is not an every day occurance in my life any more (more like a 2 or 3 time a week occurance) but I am counting on it adding up in my weekly weight loss. I'm kind of looking forward to getting on the scale tomorrow morning...I want to see what I have lost this week, if anything! I have been VERY alert and attentive to what I have been eating yesterday and today so I'm sure that will help greatly. My Marine leaves for bootcamp on Monday morning. We will take him to the recruiters office Sunday afternoon and then I won't see my baby for 13 LONG weeks! That Other Kid and I have done school for 2 days in a row! and they have been productive days! Whooohooo! It's been challenging since My Marine has been home and a constant distraction but it has happened! That Other Kid told me he loves math, spelling and history today! I must be doing something right, huh?!! Well that's enough confession for today.... Please help me in raising money for the Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure!! It's easy and TAX DEDUCTIBLE!! Donate here and I will love you FOREVER!!

Burst Into Summer

It's weigh in time for the Sisterhood. I'm starting to sound like a broken record!What can I say that I haven't been saying all summer long? Not much! Here we are in the beginning of August and I still haven't lost any weight. I just haven't done what it is gonna take to lose the weight. I have eaten too much junk, too much ice cream, too much sugar and too many high glycemic index foods. The month of May I lost over 8 pounds because I was sticking with the low glycemic index foods. Since then, not so much! Thus, no weight loss!

Starting weight for this challenge: 194.6

Last week: 196.0
This week: 196.0

Last week we were challenged to eat/drink 3 servings of dairy a day. I did good until Tuesday and then I guess I forgot what dairy was! NONE! My bad!

For this week we are being challenged to give up the ICE CREAM!! Seems A LOT of us are having ice cream cravings and we are eating more than our fair share! Since it has been sooooooo hot throughout most of the USA I can totally understand how ice cream has been such a issue for so many of us. I know it has been for me, too! So I'm going to give it a try! Surely I can live 1 week without ice cream, right?!

Exercise has been ok...not what I would like but here again it is so hot outside and I've been wanting to do boot camp but can't really go out and sprint when it is 100* at 10 p.m.! I have been doing my training walks for the Komen 3 Day so I am getting some good exercise on the weekends, but we have been walking starting at 5 a.m.!! I can do that 2 mornings a week since I can come home and sleep but NOT GONNA HAPPEN DURING THE WEEK! I'm trying to figure out how to do training walks during the week, so any suggestions would be welcome.

"My Marine" still isn't sure when he leaves for boot camp, but it could still be as soon as Monday, the 8th!! In one regard I hope it happens then, but on the other end of the spectrum I hope he stays as long as he can! I will let ya'll know as soon as possible so you can send therapy!

I guess that's it for the week. Hope ya'll had a good week!

Burst Into Summer - Week 5

Wow!! I can't believe its been a whole week since I sat down here at the computer to type a blog post! The week has been crazy with lots of "stuff" and there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day! Can I get an AMEN to that? I don't know what it is about this summer but it seems like I am on the go ALL.THE.TIME! I was thinking tonight that as a "stay at home mom" I had visions of being home most of the time with little ventures out and about to keep me sane. BUT...it seems over the past 3 weeks being at home has been a rarity! Even when I am at home I am "on the go". My hubby called me into his office tonight because one of the kittens was on his chest getting snuggles. He asked me if the kitten ever did that with me? I said "yes, when I SIT, but I don't seem to sit much these days!" I haven't even taken the time to read and comment on blogs! AND I love to do that!! So...sorry if you haven't seen me around your blog lately! Don't feel bad. It has nothing to do with YOU and everything to do with my limited time!!

Anywho....on with the reason you came over to check out my blog this evening. Today is Wednesday and it's Weigh-in day at the Sisterhood. There wasn't much change this week but at least the change with DOWN!

Starting challenge: 194.6

Last week's weight: 196.0
This week's weight: 195.6

So I am still UP but I did come down this week. I think the thing that disappoints me the most is that I really wanted to lose ALOT of weight during this summer challenge and it just isn't happening. I'm not being as dedicated as I know I need to be and I'm frustrated with myself. I know what I need to do, it's just applying it and doing it. But...this is a new week and I'm starting fresh. Working harder at eating according to the Low Glycemic Index Plan and increasing the fruits and veggies again will help greatly with the weight loss. It's just a matter of DOING IT!!

This past week we were challenged to SLEEP 7+ hours a night! I have gotten pretty good at this one over the past 6 months but this week it all fell to PIECES! I THINK I got more than 7 hours of sleep 1 night out of the 7!! BAD...BAD...BAD! and can I just say I feel like I am sleep deprived too! My body feels sore and achey and I feel tired ALL.THE.TIME!

I have been working out hard doing the Shrinking Jeans Bootcamp (I'm only on week 3, but I am doing it) and doing a lot of walking to prepare for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure that I am participating in this fall, so I have to make sure I treat my body good! I also bought a foam roller to help with the sore muscles that I'm experiencing, and it's helping alot!! I just need to make sure I start getting more sleep!! The weekends are gonna be tough for me, cuz we are doing training walks at 5a.m. and I am NOT a morning person but it is for a great cause so I am going to suck it up and get up early 2 mornings and walk then come home and SLEEP!!

This week's challenge is to NOT drink SODA! I've really been struggling with this one lately and I really need to stay away from it. I haven't been drinking alot of soda but definitely more than I should be, so this will be a good challenge for me!
I had one tonight with dinner but I'm really gonna try not to have any more this week! Wish me luck, k?

Ok...I'm off to try to read a few blogs and try to get to bed before it becomes a new day!

Confessing It All

Today is Tuesday over at the Sisterhood and in honor of April and her wonderful poem and a GIVEAWAY for POPCHIPS (the most wonderful chips I have tasted to date) I am going to attempt some of my confessions in a rhyming fashion.

Allergies suck and I let them lead me down a slippery slope of eating crap food this weekend. How crap you might ask? To the tune of 4 ice cream bars, 3 Heath candy bars, 2 huge scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough (yes, raw), and just to round this out nice and neat, 1 row of brownies that were supposed to be for hubby for fathers day!

During the weekend of crap food I did little more than lie around on the couch and sit at the computer complaining to myself and others who would listen (which really was no one) about how badly allergies suck. Meaning no exercise really got accomplished although there was plenty of time to do so. I would have felt better too! I did manage to drink plenty of water during the weekend because I was so thirsty so I guess it wasn't all lost, huh?

Monday morning I woke up and decided enough was enough, allergies will be what they will be but I don't have to let them define me! (See I rhymed that line!)
I ate a good breakfast, and decided that no matter what the Shrinking Jeans bootcamp workout was I was gonna do it to the best of my ability. Then I saw that the first part of the workout was SPRINTS!

Come on now....I don't run fast! I barely run at all! I sucked it up and decided YES, you can do this! Your sprints may not be fast compared to others but for you they are fast...JUST DO IT!! So I laid out my game plan. Got dressed in workout clothes, decided where and when I would workout and didn't let anything change my mind! Once I dropped That Other Kid off for karate class (for 3 hours of me time!!) I went to the local high school track and found a bunch of high school kids having a meeting of sorts on the track! Oh no, what now? I decided to go over to a local park that has lots of different areas and I found a great place to workout! So I did!!

Yes, the sprints sucked, but I did them! Yes, it was hot (95ish) but I found trees and shade to do the workout in, so I did the workout there! Here's another confession at the time, I didn't really think the workout was all that tough. Yes, it was challenging but it all seemed doable to me. BUT... by the time I was done and started walking back to my car I was already feeling the effects of that workout! My legs were sore (and I did do my stretches at the end) and I was having a hard time walking back to the car! By the time 8 o'clock hit last night I was so sore I could hardly get up and down out of the chair.

I asked That Kid to go over to the track with me so I could walk around to stretch my legs but he was engrossed in a game with friends so he said he wasn't going to go, so I decided the best thing for me to do would be to sit on the floor and stretch! I ended up stretching for 30 minutes...I'm glad I did too, cuz I can't imagine how sore I would be today if I wouldn't have! I'm gonna have to invest in something like a foam roller or Artic-ease I think!

Food yesterday was very good....I didn't want to blow that great workout by eating crap food! Today is shaping up to be a good food day! I don't know what I will do workout wise but I know it will involve a lot of stretching. I'm hoping to do the #tworkout tonight too!

I'm hoping that my indiscretions of the weekend don't hurt me too much on the scale tomorrow. I have a great team of ladies counting on me!!

An Amusing Little Story

For the past several weeks during the Tuesday night #tworkout with the Sisters That Other Kid has been wanting to workout with me and watch The Biggest Loser. It has been very exciting to have my 7 year old son want to watch such a inspirational show and tell me how "these people are soooooo fat. You are SKINNY compared to them!" Little does he know that at this point most of these women weigh LESS than I do right now, but it's all in the perception, right?!!

Anywhoooo, back to my story. Last night some friends and I decided we needed a night out so I went out with them and recorded the show to watch later. Tonight I sat down after dinner and started watching the show. He was in his room watching tv and building legos. When it was time for his shower I paused the show and told him to get moving for his shower. He noticed I was watching the show and said "hey I want to watch, too!" That warmed my heart, I can tell you! So after his shower he got dressed in his jammies and sat on my lap to watch the show. At the first commercial break he turned to me and said, "hey aren't we gonna TWEETOUT?" Cracked me up!! I told him, no it was last night and I was gonna workout after he went to bed. He was disappointed that he didn't get to bust a move with mom (or compete against me)!!

So...there ya go!! I'm instilling in him that commercials are for working out...not EATING!! Thanks to all the ladies over at ShrinkingJeans for helping to instill good habits in my kiddo!! Every little bit helps in this journey of raising a healthy, fit kid!!

On a side note, since it is Wednesday and even though I'm not participating in the challenge over at the Sisterhood I did weigh in and was up to 198 this week. I guess all the junk (excessive chocolate) this weekend really messed me up!! I'm back to the "no junk" eating so I should be able to get those pounds off. I have a goal in mind for this week and I'm gonna do what I can to meet it.

Next Friday, March 25th is my 2 year anniversary for my weight loss journey and I want to be able to have good things to say to myself that day!!

Have a good night ya'll!