Giving it my all..... like Jamie asked! haha!

Most of those around me know that my weight is a constant thing I'm worried about. I got up to 235lbs when I was pregnant with my little girl. After that I had a friend tell me that I needed to get it off before I was older and it became a harder thing to do. Putting it off wasn't something that was an option for me. I can't remember a time in my life that I felt like I was at a healthy weight and was in shape. So as soon as my feet hit the floor to go home from having my baby I started my journey.

Through hormone issues and such, dieting after I got home was not a problem. However, once I got to work it all changed. I started back at 210, I hated working and not being home with my daughter and the added stress drove me to realize my weight wasn't going anywhere. So my friend and I teamed up and encouraged each other all day! It worked until my hair started falling out, my skin was troubled, and I felt horrible. Isn't the gift of weight loss to feel good? Well after talking to a dietitian I found that I wasn't getting everything I needed to stay healthy even though the numbers were falling at a great pace. So at the weight of 175 I began to really focus on the exercise and trying to incorporate healthy eating to my daily life. The numbers slowly went down to 165. I became a stay at home mom and thought things would change. Well, after not losing weight and being tired mentally of been doing this for almost 2 years at that point I started living off 500-600 calories a day and ran until I couldn't take it anymore. There was no passion about feeling healthy and turning my life around. It turned into what cute clothes could I wear and how many pounds I could lose in a day. I hit a wall at 160. I did everything to get my body to break through it and couldn't so I got aggravated and stayed between 160 and 165. I wasn't happy there and than the ugly part comes in. I wanted to go just a little further and I started starving myself and doing crazy fad diets and even made myself sick on purpose a few times. I was getting results and that was all that mattered until one night my daughter cried in her sleep and I went to check on her and she was fine, I know it was God's way of waking me up because it was weird for her to not need me and cry like that. Standing outside her room everything faded away. I'd passed out. I tried making it to the kitchen for a drink of water but kept passing out. I made it to the kitchen and realized I had to eat, but what did I feel like I had to do before eating? Look on the scale and see where I was at. Laying on the floor I realized I was going about it all wrong.

So between that time and where I am now, Ive gained about 25lbs back and got a few things straight. I was searching all the wrong places for happiness and realized that I needed God to heal inside my heart then WE could work on the outside. When your heart is in the right place the mind can be at peace as well when it comes to goals and success. None of it is possible without him. HE created us for goodness sake! Now its 2011 and I'm ready! This is not a New Years resolution, this is a new life ready to begin and become a light to others. I have big plans for myself and my friends and family around me. Stay tuned and I will post them as they get closer. Root yourself in around those who can help you so you in turn can be that person for someone else. Well, God driven life full of happy and healthy friends here I come!

Stay positive!

Made it to the gym!

Well, I made it.

But, I'm reminding myself that it was so easy to do because I'm kid-free. One was at my sister's while the other was at my mom's all last night, today, tonight, and tomorrow morning.

Things just seem to be easier when you feel you have a lighter load to get out the door. I need to remember how good it feels when I'm done so I'll make the effort to go even when my load doesn't seem light.

Either way, I went and took my first TRX class and, oh yeah, I'm feeling it.

My buddy April taught the class, and 10 minutes into it, my gimpy leg was screaming. I feel it all over already. I ate a light dinner and I'm going to take some ibuprofen to hopefully help with the amount of soreness I'm positive I'll have tomorrow!

My thought throughout the class though? If I do this 3 times a week, how amazing will I feel come the end of March?

So, there's the goal people. I want to make it to the gym a minimum of 3 times a week. Greg said he'll go with me in the morning, so hopefully I'll at least get in 2 this week.

Hope you're feeling good about where you're at today, but if not, let this encourage you to do something worth feeling good about tomorrow.

I want to shrink...

That is what I told a Dr. a few years ago when I stepped on the scale weighing in at 213. I couldn't believe I had gained that much weight. I envisioned a snow(woman) outside, the sun hitting her rounded hips, melting away her mass...she went from needing an 18, to the 16s feeling baggy, excited about buying 14s, to the 12s looking frumpy, and hanging the 10s to dry so they wouldn't shrink in the dryer....That describes my shrinking journey. Only, it seems that there has been some extra packing on of the snow here lately.


So, after that 213 awakening, I worked at it, and I shrank. I got down to 190.

I blew my knee out. I blew back up to 213.

I worked on my nutrition, went back down to 200, and did what I swore I would never do...went to the fat Dr.



I went back 3 or 4 times all together. I lost 18 lbs with the help of the pill and vitamin B shot, but felt like I was cheating and worried it would come back on. I quit taking the pill and shot, and kept losing. I stayed disciplined, cut out processed foods, cut out pop on a regular basis, and continued to lose. I got down to 167.

I came back from vacation in April at 174...I started to panic, went to the gym a bit and thought summer would keep me busy and help me keep it off.



In November I was back up to 182. I got all pumped after the tri and the 5 mile walk and thought I would get back in the game.



But then with the holidays, schooling, sewing, singing, and just general lack of planning and preparation, I didn't stay on it.

I've now put on 18 lbs of the 46 I had lost. I'm not a very happy camper people.

I'm going to the gym this evening. We are going on vacation at the end of March. I do not want to go feeling sluggish and frustrated about my clothes size. It really is a daily mindset for me. When I lost that weight, I told myself every day that I had to work towards my goal, and I couldn't ignore the fact that this is a struggle that I have and I must face it.

In the spring, I guess I felt like I had faced it and I was good. I got lax about it.

I was wrong.

So, for those who are reading this. Know that we all have our struggles, no one is perfect, and this isn't just a New Year's resolution for some people...for some of us, the resolution comes every day. We need encouragement, not a, "Oh yeah right, what's different about this year? Are you really gonna do it?"

So, if someone tells you their New Year's resolution is to lose weight, support them! Encourage them! Don't make them feel like more of a failure for not having conquered it already!

We need to uplift each other girls!

I hope you're feeling healthy where you are, but if not, join me? Won't you? Become an author on here to blog about what you're doing to stay on track with your fitness/nutrition goals.

And may we grow our health while we shrink our mass! ha

Excuses

I don't like excuses. But I do like reasons. I don't like guilt. So, I am pretty sure I do my best to figure out if I'm making excuses, which will make me struggle with guilt, or if I have reasons, which typically let me off the guilt hook.

As far as the whole workout thing this Advent season, I'm stuck trying to decipher between my reasons and my excuses. I honestly don't feel all that guilty because my days have been pretty productive, enjoyable, meaningful, and fun. I have been sticking to my one pop, and even some days, no pop, plan. But, I have not made it to the gym near enough as I had hoped. And in conversation with my hubby last night, I was reminded that my workouts, or lack thereof, really have an effect on me.

I am getting ready to get my crew out the door today to run some errands before coming home for a day of sewing, school, and cleaning. I am getting to go sing tonight for a Recovery group uptown, which I'm pretty excited about. So, anyway, I think I'm going to attempt to stop in the Y for just a quick job, spin, or something. Attempt. That is my goal.

7 weeks to go

And I finally get in the gym and run a mile.

Felt pretty good about it. I didn't time myself, but I still felt it wasn't horrible.

I'm hoping to swim one day this week, spin one day, and run one day. Those are my expectations. Still working at just one pop a day, and not saying yes to ice cream every night.

Hope anyone reading this is feeling good about their decisions!

Join me in sharing! I want your inspiration!

8 weeks and 4 days to go

That's how long until the next triathlon.

So, in preparation, I did a whopping 25 minutes in spin today!

I had a headache, an incredibly stiff neck, and was just too weak from hunger to go any longer. I'm lucky I went passed 8 minutes, cause I really wanted to quit then.

I did run Saturday morning. I'd say it was probably right at a mile. Up and down my street twice...yeah, that should be right at a mile.

I have still been doing just one pop a day, and have been paying attention to the size of my portions much better.

My plan for this week is to do a light jog outside every morning. That way if things do get crazy by the afternoon, I won't feel too bad if I can't make it into the gym. Hopefully, I'll still make it to the gym and get in some toning and abs, too.

I'll be in the water for a bit tomorrow thanks to Gym n Swim with the homeschoolers, so I'll probably try to get a few laps in.

I am not sure of the distances for the spin at the tri, but I think I just have to do 6 laps in the water and 3.5 miles on the treadmill. My goal is to just not take myself too seriously and to be feelin' pretty good in my Speedo the next time Greg has to see me in it.

Hope those who are actually following this are feeling better about the goals they have set for themselves, too.

Feel free to share! That is exactly what this is for!

Did it! And now I hurt :(

Beverly & Sheila ran 5 miles, they did great, and I'm super lucky to have such fun girls to encourage my goal of fitness!

Angela and I walked it. Angela beat me by 13 minutes, but I do have to admit, I got really laid back, startin' singing along with the new music on the Mp3 player, and pretty much just figured I'd finish whenever after I realized there was no way to legally catch up to her!

So, that's great for the exercise, but what about my nutrition today?

Well...I did do 2 pops. A cup of Pepsi with lunch, and half of a bottle of Dr Pepper with dinner...could have been much worse!

I really didn't eat all that much, though. Not that I didn't try. I wanted to eat more at my mom's at dinner, but I just couldn't. I was stuffed.

So, I'm heading to bed feeling really good about today.

I'm not discouraged by coming in barely before an over 60 year old woman. I'm encouraged that 2 years ago I had a blown ACL, and one month ago, I had no game plan at all.

Tomorrow I'm just hoping to get a good walk in first thing in the morning to get this soreness out...right now, I'm in for real pain!

Night all.