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!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
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!
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!
Friday, April 3, 2009
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.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Slow Down
No, the title of my blog is not indicative of what I've been doing. It is, however, indicative of what my weight loss has been doing. In the past two weeks, I've only lost 1 lb. I know any weight loss is good weight loss for me, but I have been working REALLY hard! So seeing those number creep down can lead to disappointment when you step on the scales. I've done a couple of things to help this.
One: My first instinct is to yet again cut how many calories I am taking in...but we all know of my obsession with calorie counting and as I am already trying to keep it at 1200-1250 right now, I don't think I could safely take it down much. My next thought was to increase the number of calories I am burning each day. This works to a certain extent, but I was already putting in a lot of time doing cardio in the gym and didn't feel I could add much more time to that. So I have changed up my routine a little in an effort to keep my body guessing. I realized I had fallen in to a bit of a rut workout-wise and needed something wake my body up. I got a jump rope to use at home (thanks for the suggestion Emily!) got a great work out video to up my strength training and have been changing it up on the machines in the gym. The last week or so I have been doing some crosstraining on the elliptical machine. This gives you a variety of inclines, resistances and even varies between pedaling forward and backward. I even started doing parts of it on my toes to work my calves and thigh muscles even more.
I do have to say that I may not be losing weight, but my clothes are fitting much, much looser. I finally broke down and got a couple more pairs of pants as now some of my pants (especially anything lower rise) are falling down...literally. It got embarrasing to have to continually pull my pants up over my bum, so those pants were officially retired. I also got some new tops. I CANNOT wear a large anymore...they swallow me up. Mediums are perfect. This is particularly exciting because I HAD to wear larges after G was born to be long enough to cover my belly. Mediums cut me wrong across the pooch. So being able to wear a medium and wear it well indicates to me that my pooch is deflating :)
I also found my dress. I will get a picture up soon. I went to several stores but everything was either super casual or super dressy (think pool-side dress vs. prom dress). I finally made a stop at Kohl's and grabbed a few dresses to try on. One in particular I liked on the hanger but once I got it on it just looked all wrong. I couldn't pin my finger on what it was, but it just didn't look good on my body. As I was walking out with my head hung, I thought "You know...that was a large...I wonder..." I grabbed a medium (which as an aside...who in the WORLD makes dresses in small, medium and large? Like there aren't in between sizes???) and headed back to the dressing room, fully expecting the results to be worse than before. What do you know....they weren't. Actually, I LIKED what I saw!!! I left the dressing room and immediately bought the dress!
Two (back to my weight loss plan): I am changing up what kinds of foods I eat. I am taking in more protein and cutting back on starches and carbs. I found a program that encourages you to do this for a week or two to wake your body up. I am still keeping my calories down, just distributing them differently. I can still have my fruit, veggies and even dairy. And of course the occasional carb/starch, but for the most part I am trying to take in more protein. Awesome breakfast idea: 2 tbs of peanut butter spread across apple slices. About 250 calories and super yummy. I wasn't hungry until lunch time! This gives you your protein, fiber and fat to help you feel full and have energy to burn!
So we'll see if any of these things help kick my weight loss back into gear. I cannot wait for it to get a smidge warmer (no more snow storms please!) so I can be outside more. G is anxious to get out and so am I. I am much more active in the spring/summer.
Stay tuned...soon I'll be swimming suit shopping. THAT will be a HILARIOUS post you won't want to miss!
Later, gators!
One: My first instinct is to yet again cut how many calories I am taking in...but we all know of my obsession with calorie counting and as I am already trying to keep it at 1200-1250 right now, I don't think I could safely take it down much. My next thought was to increase the number of calories I am burning each day. This works to a certain extent, but I was already putting in a lot of time doing cardio in the gym and didn't feel I could add much more time to that. So I have changed up my routine a little in an effort to keep my body guessing. I realized I had fallen in to a bit of a rut workout-wise and needed something wake my body up. I got a jump rope to use at home (thanks for the suggestion Emily!) got a great work out video to up my strength training and have been changing it up on the machines in the gym. The last week or so I have been doing some crosstraining on the elliptical machine. This gives you a variety of inclines, resistances and even varies between pedaling forward and backward. I even started doing parts of it on my toes to work my calves and thigh muscles even more.
I do have to say that I may not be losing weight, but my clothes are fitting much, much looser. I finally broke down and got a couple more pairs of pants as now some of my pants (especially anything lower rise) are falling down...literally. It got embarrasing to have to continually pull my pants up over my bum, so those pants were officially retired. I also got some new tops. I CANNOT wear a large anymore...they swallow me up. Mediums are perfect. This is particularly exciting because I HAD to wear larges after G was born to be long enough to cover my belly. Mediums cut me wrong across the pooch. So being able to wear a medium and wear it well indicates to me that my pooch is deflating :)
I also found my dress. I will get a picture up soon. I went to several stores but everything was either super casual or super dressy (think pool-side dress vs. prom dress). I finally made a stop at Kohl's and grabbed a few dresses to try on. One in particular I liked on the hanger but once I got it on it just looked all wrong. I couldn't pin my finger on what it was, but it just didn't look good on my body. As I was walking out with my head hung, I thought "You know...that was a large...I wonder..." I grabbed a medium (which as an aside...who in the WORLD makes dresses in small, medium and large? Like there aren't in between sizes???) and headed back to the dressing room, fully expecting the results to be worse than before. What do you know....they weren't. Actually, I LIKED what I saw!!! I left the dressing room and immediately bought the dress!
Two (back to my weight loss plan): I am changing up what kinds of foods I eat. I am taking in more protein and cutting back on starches and carbs. I found a program that encourages you to do this for a week or two to wake your body up. I am still keeping my calories down, just distributing them differently. I can still have my fruit, veggies and even dairy. And of course the occasional carb/starch, but for the most part I am trying to take in more protein. Awesome breakfast idea: 2 tbs of peanut butter spread across apple slices. About 250 calories and super yummy. I wasn't hungry until lunch time! This gives you your protein, fiber and fat to help you feel full and have energy to burn!
So we'll see if any of these things help kick my weight loss back into gear. I cannot wait for it to get a smidge warmer (no more snow storms please!) so I can be outside more. G is anxious to get out and so am I. I am much more active in the spring/summer.
Stay tuned...soon I'll be swimming suit shopping. THAT will be a HILARIOUS post you won't want to miss!
Later, gators!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Mother's Day 5K
So due to the inspiration of my friend Emily (smallermeemily.blogspot.com) I am going to run my first 5K on Mother's Day this year. I am both excited and nervous. It is for runners/walkers of all ages, the only stipulation is that you must be female. There will also obviously be many different ability levels from walkers w/ strollers to experienced runners. Despite that I still have some anxiety about running in front of other people (other than those I run next to in the gym).
For the last week I have been "training". Essentially this consists of working up to running the three miles with minimal resting/walking. At this point in time I can run nearly a mile without stopping and my mile is between 13 and 14 minutes. I know that may not sound like much to a runner, but for me this is a big deal! I can speed walk with the best of them, but your body is so much more engaged when you are running. I can REALLY feel it when I get home from the gym.
So, we'll see how it goes. More than anything, I want to be able to say I did it. At that point I'll have been on this diet/exercise routine for 4 months, and I think that running a 5K will be a big milestone to hit.
I have begun to experience aches and pains in places I hadn't before. I have always struggled with a bum knee and my hips have been hurting. I know some of it is just my body getting used to the impact of running vs. speed walking. I did get new shoes. I was due and needed something that would provide more support. If necessary, I'll get a brace for my knee as well.
So there you have it, my NEW goal! It's kind of exciting to have a personal goal that doesn't involved a scale and numbers!
Speaking of numbers...
Weigh in 3/14/2009: 160.5
Total weight loss: 16.5
I am about 1 pound from losing 10% of my body weight! I have started trying on dresses for our date to see Phantom. I am typically a "pants and skirts" type of girl, but I am really liking what I see in the mirror so far. And guess what....the dress size I've been trying on and FITTING in to is.....drum roll please....
AN EIGHT!!!
I was in an 8 before getting pregnant with G...and a 6 about 3 months before that. I feel like I am slowly getting pieces of me back, a little at a time.
Ok, ladies. I'll keep you posted. I am still hoping to hit 158 before April 2nd when we go to Phantom. Love, love, love!
For the last week I have been "training". Essentially this consists of working up to running the three miles with minimal resting/walking. At this point in time I can run nearly a mile without stopping and my mile is between 13 and 14 minutes. I know that may not sound like much to a runner, but for me this is a big deal! I can speed walk with the best of them, but your body is so much more engaged when you are running. I can REALLY feel it when I get home from the gym.
So, we'll see how it goes. More than anything, I want to be able to say I did it. At that point I'll have been on this diet/exercise routine for 4 months, and I think that running a 5K will be a big milestone to hit.
I have begun to experience aches and pains in places I hadn't before. I have always struggled with a bum knee and my hips have been hurting. I know some of it is just my body getting used to the impact of running vs. speed walking. I did get new shoes. I was due and needed something that would provide more support. If necessary, I'll get a brace for my knee as well.
So there you have it, my NEW goal! It's kind of exciting to have a personal goal that doesn't involved a scale and numbers!
Speaking of numbers...
Weigh in 3/14/2009: 160.5
Total weight loss: 16.5
I am about 1 pound from losing 10% of my body weight! I have started trying on dresses for our date to see Phantom. I am typically a "pants and skirts" type of girl, but I am really liking what I see in the mirror so far. And guess what....the dress size I've been trying on and FITTING in to is.....drum roll please....
AN EIGHT!!!
I was in an 8 before getting pregnant with G...and a 6 about 3 months before that. I feel like I am slowly getting pieces of me back, a little at a time.
Ok, ladies. I'll keep you posted. I am still hoping to hit 158 before April 2nd when we go to Phantom. Love, love, love!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Approaching Thirty
I had a conversation this weekend with a good friend who turned 30 today. This friend approached today with a little anxiety. I am a couple years away from hitting the big 3-0, but it got me to thinking. What's so scary about a number? What changes from the 365th day of your 29th year and the first day of your 30th year?
The more I thought about it, I realized I am actually the opposite. Getting older doesn't scare me. Yes, I know this means changes in my body, changes in my hair color, changes in my abilities. Despite all of these things, I approach my future with excitement and anticipation. Our 30's do not mean the same things they once did. Women in their 30's are having children, starting and thriving in their careers, and doing more than they ever have before. I have to be honest and say that I like myself more and more the older I get. I feel more comfortable in my own skin, more confident about where I am going in life and more prepared for trying new things.
I hope every woman out there can look to their future, not looking back and wishing for earlier years, but looking forward with great excitement to what their future may hold. With that said, happy birthday, Christie...who doesn't look a day over 24 :) I know the next 10 years will be awesome for you!
Ok, here are this week's stats:
Weigh in 3/7/2009: 162
Total weight loss: 15 lbs
I can't believe how excited I am to almost be back in the 150's! I haven't seen the 150's since about the summer of 2006. When I hit 154, I will officially be back into a health Body Mass Index as well. Another 15 lbs and I will have reached my goal weight! Here is to HALF WAY THERE!
I am hoping to be at 158 before our April 2nd date to see Phantom. I know that is 4 more pounds in 24 days and that may be pretty difficult, but I'm up for the challenge.
Later, ladies!
The more I thought about it, I realized I am actually the opposite. Getting older doesn't scare me. Yes, I know this means changes in my body, changes in my hair color, changes in my abilities. Despite all of these things, I approach my future with excitement and anticipation. Our 30's do not mean the same things they once did. Women in their 30's are having children, starting and thriving in their careers, and doing more than they ever have before. I have to be honest and say that I like myself more and more the older I get. I feel more comfortable in my own skin, more confident about where I am going in life and more prepared for trying new things.
I hope every woman out there can look to their future, not looking back and wishing for earlier years, but looking forward with great excitement to what their future may hold. With that said, happy birthday, Christie...who doesn't look a day over 24 :) I know the next 10 years will be awesome for you!
Ok, here are this week's stats:
Weigh in 3/7/2009: 162
Total weight loss: 15 lbs
I can't believe how excited I am to almost be back in the 150's! I haven't seen the 150's since about the summer of 2006. When I hit 154, I will officially be back into a health Body Mass Index as well. Another 15 lbs and I will have reached my goal weight! Here is to HALF WAY THERE!
I am hoping to be at 158 before our April 2nd date to see Phantom. I know that is 4 more pounds in 24 days and that may be pretty difficult, but I'm up for the challenge.
Later, ladies!
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