I Have an Athletic Supporter

hehehehehehehehehe

I couldn't resist.

Seriously, though, I do! Ben is the absolute, most amazing motivator on the face of the planet. I just have to say thank you to him. He encourages me when I am working out at home, he tells me how great I look, he PUSHES me to go buy clothes that will make me feel good and for the first time the other day he said I looked HOT. I have gotten beautiful, pretty, gorgeous, wonderful, etc...but there is something about your hubby telling you that you are HOT.

Then the other day, he took his athletic support (tee hee) to another level. Friday night we were going out for dinner and a movie and we had some time between the two events. He suggested we go kill some time at...drum roll please...Best Buy. *sigh* Every girls dream, right? But we start walking through and I realize he is walking with purpose, not just meandering through the televisions and video games like he typically does. We finally end in the MP3/IPod section. He takes me directly to the IPod Nano and tells me that he is so proud of what I have accomplished so far and that he wants me to have an IPod to listen to while I am working out...both to remind me of what I have already done and to encourage me to keep going. He also said that he knew I had wanted one for a long time, but because of the cost knew it was never something I would just get for myself. So, I got to pick out my favorite color (green) and that night when we got home he put the songs already on my computer onto the IPod. I have already used it a ton and LOVE it! Next I need to get an IPod arm thingy so I can hang with the cool kids at the gym. :)

On to weight loss for the week. After Easter weekend I actually wasn't as far off as I thought I would be. I hadn't gained...so YAY! for maintaining!

Weight 4/18/2009: 155.5
Total weight loss: 21.5 lbs!!!

I did go shopping this weekend too. I absolutely had to get new pants more than anything. Sunday morning I got up for church and couldn't find pants that didn't look like they were about to fall off my bum...or worse DID fall off my bum. To make matters worse I was singing at our new church for the first time EVER, and didn't want to look like a complete slob. So Sunday afternoon I went to the mall and got two new pairs of dress pants, a pair of capris, and pair of jeans...and a new top (in a Small!). When I returned home I cleaned out my closet and donated my clothing...no going back now! Some of the pants were 10's and a couple were 8's. I would say I am somewhere in between those two sizes right now, but honestly I don't care about the number right now. It is exciting to be able to drop a size, but those sizes can be so subjective (like I said, same shopping trip, three stores, two different sizes) that I am more concerned about how I feel and how I look than with the number.

Ah, I almost forgot. Teniah asked about training for the 5K. It is going well. Just tonight I did 3.25 miles in about 33 minutes! And now that it is nice consistently I am running some outside. My knees are a little cranky with me, so when I hit the asphalt I have to take it a little easier than on the treadmill or elliptical, but either way it just feels good to be able to go 3 miles at all...without dying that is :)

Ok, ladies, I still have my crunches, push ups and a little television before I can call it a night. Adios!

Thank You

It is an epidemic. Without fail we (and I am speaking generally) are never satisfied. We may always want that bigger house, that faster car or that higher paying job. Or as with me, always wanting to change something about their body. I will be the first to say that I often don't take time to celebrate the small milestones and even when I meet a goal, I just set another goal for myself. At times this is what keeps me driven, and then at other times it is so discouraging. I stopped myself the other day as I was looking in the mirror wishing my stomach was flatter, my arms were leaner and my thighs were...well just smaller :) I thought to myself 'I have lost 20 lbs, and all of these body parts are small - as evidenced by my clothes.' And yet, I find no satisfaction in that. Why? When will I be satisfied? How much do I need to lose? What size do I have to be in? And then this came to me:

Thank You

Thank you Lord for my arms
Not for the way they look in a sleeveless shirt or the weight of the dumbbell they can lift
But rather for the ability to wrap my arms around those that I love the most

Thank you Lord for my breast
Not for the way they fill out a shirt or how they have changed with age
But rather for the amazing purpose you gave me to provide nutrients to my newborn baby

Thank you Lord for my stomach
Not for the ripple of my abdominals or for the number of crunches I can complete
But rather for the ordinary miracle you allowed me to be a part of in the birth of my daughter

Thank you Lord for my hips
Not for the curve that gives me a womanly shape or for the number of inches I can lose
But rather for the perfect place to prop my baby while completing a dozen other tasks

Thank you Lord for my thighs
Not for the circumference around each or the number of miles I can run
But rather for the strength to get up every morning and do Your work


Bottom line - being healthy and in shape is important and I believe it is a personal goal that God is helping me reach. However, He is helping me reach this goal not for the number on the scale or for the size of jeans I can squeeze in to, but rather to provide a wonderful home to my family and to do the work He has called me to do.

This week has been a weird week weightloss-wise. I got in a total of 7 workouts this week (4 days with the video and 3 days at the gym), but then being out of town for Easter weekend I ate foods I would normally not eat...and a lot more of it than I would normally eat. To say the least, I feel as if any progress I would have made was wasted on the fabulous gourmet potatoes, ham, green bean casserole, pancakes, hamburgers, muffins, and apple pie I had while at my in-laws this weekend. It was great...but I am a little afraid of the scale right now. Since we were out of town, I didn't get to do my normal weigh in on Saturday. We'll see what happens this week.

Later ladies!

Reference

Man..I am on a blogging roll. I just had this picture sent to me through our office email. This is a picture of our team taken on 1/9/2009. I started my diet/workouts on 1/5/2009, so this was shortly after that. This is the closest to a "before" picture that I'll get. So what do you think? Can you tell?

Results

Ok, so I have to say I've already seen some results from the slight changes I've made to my diet and workout routine! I went this afternoon to the gym and weighed in and have dropped almost 2 lbs this week! SOOOO that means I have hit the 20 lb mark of my weight loss journey.

Weigh in 4/3/2009: 157

Total weight loss: 20 lbs!

Anyone looking for an insane, intense workout???

Check out Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. WOW! That is an insane workout. Jillian is from The Biggest Loser and she works you in the video like you are on the show. The video consists of three levels, of which I have only even attempted the first level AND doing the modifications on a lot of the exercises! I was sore for days after I did it the first time. It consists of 3 circuits. Within the circuit it is broken down like this:

3 minutes of strength training

2 minutes of cardio

1 minute of abs

But it doesn't stop there! The strength training couples large muscles groups with small muscle groups. SOOO while you do shoulder presses you are also doing squats. While your doing bicep curls you are also doing side lunges...and so on and so forth. I have NO DOUBT that this is going to make a difference in my body.

So I am back to doing a workout routine 6 days a week. 4 days in the gym, 3 days with the video (one of these days overlaps) and I take Friday's off. Whew, I am excited again!

Diet is going well. I've cut back on carbs. I just can't let them go completely, but they have been greatly reduced. I have also picked up the protien level as well. This is hard because a lot of meats are higher in fat and calories. I am just trying to pick lean meats and remember that those calories will carry me farther than empty calories I might consume during the day.

So, I know you all wanted to see the dress from our Phantom date. The date was awesome and we had such a great time. Seeing this picture also helps me see how far I've come...but at the same time how far I still want to go.

Look at that...I almost have a waist!!! It was hard to get a good picture of it, especially when my husband is the photographer. He kept wanting to get down and take a picture with an UPWARD angle! I don't need any help with making double chins, thank you!


Close up...waiting on BEN to get done getting ready.

Ok...more later, ladies.