Recently I have been under a lot of stress. Work stress, relationship stress, kids stress, and just your basic life stress in general! But in spite of all that I am doing amazingly well with my diet and exercise, and I'm so proud of myself. I've been working at Whole Foods and it's not stressful there at all it's just that the job has me so busy and I've gone from working only a couple days a week if I'm lucky to 3-4 days a week. It's awesome and I'm so happy for it but it's been difficult to get used to and add all the workout stuff into that schedule. Things are starting to get easier with that so I've been forcing myself to run one day a week, and go to the gym another day each week and it's working pretty well. Also I've been very strict with my gluten intake and it's really helping things with my weight loss right now. I don't look as bloated! It's amazing that with everything going on around me that I'm not pigging out to deal with the stress. Things at home are crazy too. Being a mom is hard! (hear the tiny violin in the background as I'm saying this) You give so much of yourself to everything and everyone and it's nice to have this as my "me" thing. I go on a run all by myself and talk myself through things, or I go to the gym and I feel so distracted, and so strong! I am staying focused on my goal right now of dropping another 20lbs. I'm almost out of the 160's and I plan on keeping it that way! Plus I have this beautiful comfy long cotton dress at Target that I want to be able to rock this summer but my hips and sides are keeping me from feeling confident enough to buy it. So my goal as of now is to slim down and tone up my hips and thighs. If the 20lbs comes with that then so be it. I am still trying to not look at things in a number way, but in a how I look and feel in clothes that I want to wear way! Also beach season is always in the back of my mind so the goal of being confident in a bathing suit around people is always a goal too. I feel confident that I can get there. No matter what comes my way I am so determined right now that I know I'll get there this time. Plus I have all the tools in front of me now for the first time in this journey so there is no excuses and I know it! Can't wait to see what my body looks like in a few months!! It's exciting! Stress be DAMNED! I'm pushing through and staying STRONG!
So I got this new gadget and I'm totally in love with it! It's a Polar FT4 and it's a heart rate monitor with a watch that displays the information. It's so great to be able to work out and track what is getting my heart rate into the right zone. It also then tells you how many calories you have burned during that time period. I love it! It's really easy to put the heart rate monitor on and you can't even tell your wearing it! The watch is great too. Not too bulky, and it's easy to see what really gets my heart pumping and what just keeps me in a good zone for working out! I only got to do about 1/2 of a normal workout ( about 1 hour ) and I burned almost 500 calories! I can't wait to see what a real 2 hour workout session does for me! I can't wait to see what a nice run out here in the country equals in calories burned, or even just the things I do at home. It fuels me to see those numbers! My mind knows that my calorie burned each day needs to be close to, if not more than, the calories I intake each day in order to really be loosing weight at a steady pace. It's allowing me to really see how much I need to push myself and how often. It's letting me know that all my hard work is really paying off even when it really may not have seemed that way! It's helping me stay in line with the food too cause I have that number in the back of my mind that was so great and I don't want to ruin it with junk and sweets!! It's GREAT! Can't wait to keep getting more use out of it and keeping scores for all the other physical things that I do to get in shape! I know with this little added advantage I have now there is no excuse to not be in the shape I want to be in by this summer! It's so exciting! Technology is amazing! lol
"The 25-10-15" is one of the workouts I do at home. It's 25 jumping jacks, 10 jumping squats, and 15 seconds of knee highs repeated 4x. It equals out to be 100 jumping jacks, 40 squats, and 60 seconds of knee highs. It's a warm up I try to do about 4-5 times a week on top of weights and other things. It's a great way to get my heart rate up and kick start my metabolism.
Today I'm being brave and sharing my progress picture that I've only shared two places. One being my Instagram account, and two being my private fitness group on Facebook full of nothing but really supportive women. I'm excited to share this here. My journey has been a long one and I can admit that I have fallen off a lot of times, and slacked quite a bit, and just been generally lazy about this at times. I think we learn more when we struggle. It can make the whole thing more worth it in the end. If it was easy I wouldn't have learned as much as I did my struggling! I wouldn't have learned how much I'm capable of, and learned about self control and determination! Anyways, this is my first picture I shared on here of me and is pretty close to showing me at my heaviest weight. Most likely close to 198lbs. Today I'm down to 155lbs which puts me at around 4olbs down. I can choose to dwell on the fact that it's taken me so long to get this small of a number gone in 2 years, or I can focus on that 40lbs and how amazing of a number it is! I still have a little ways to go still, but I've lost 5lbs in the past month of being so incredibly focused, and I know if I can just stay here that I can get to my goal in just a few months! I'm excited to see myself this summer, and to see where I can get my body! I get to go back to the gym soon, and it's going to be great to get back to a more strict workout routine. Spring and Summer are right around the corner and my goal was to loose 30 more pounds by June and I'm already 5lbs down and closer to my goal! YAY ME! I have seen so many great progress pictures with a woman with a stomach just like mine from before, and a super flat muscular tummy in her after shot. I can't wait for that to be me! I know I can get there. I'm so close now!
Today was arm day! My favorite day of the week! In all honesty every day is kind of arm day for me because I always do some sort of arm workouts with my weights. Some days I do a lot more than others though! My arms are gaining a lot of definition in them, and I really love seeing my hard work paying off so nicely. My arms are my new favorite part of my body I think. Anyways, here is a little bit of my arm day routine. It's not everything I do, but I couldn't find the names for some of the moves I do with my kettle bells.
It's all about the protein powder and protein shake these days for me and I'm loving it! I've started off with a simple GNC Whey protein powder in a rich chocolate flavor. I'm not against switching it up and trying different protein powders till I find one I love and am happy with the ingredients too. I know that different protein powders have different things in them, and I do want to steer clear of ones with unhealthy ingredients. I plan on using this stuff often so I don't want to be putting crap in my body because I like the job it does! I am really liking it, and I really do feel like it's helping my muscles. When I work out and then drink my shake I feel like I could do it all over again. My body recovers so fast! I've been adding a tiny scoop of peanut butter to them too. It tastes AMAZING, and I'm not even using a whole serving size of the peanut butter so I'm not adding a lot of fat too the shake that way. No matter how little you use the flavor still takes over and makes it taste great! I've even gone back to making my morning shakes and adding a half a scoop of protein powder to it to help hold my hunger back a little bit longer in the mornings. I'm getting a lot of use out of my Magic Bullet and may need to buy another one before I kill this one!
My motivation is through the roof these days and it feels great! I'm working out every single day and doing a ton of weights and interval training. I'm gaining so much definition in my arms, and my back too. I'm determined to drop another pants size and start getting my body beach ready! I really want to get my tummy and thigh area to a size where I feel confident enough to wear my bikini with no coverage! My husband is working out with me too these days and his goal right now is to be confident enough without a shirt on so he can go without one at the beach this summer too. He has an amazing dragon tattoo on his back that he's sat for about 14 hours for that no one really knows he has and he wants to be able to finally show it off! I really feel like we can do this and stick with it this time and get to that place we want to be at this year! I feel like this is my year to get the last of this weight off, and to get myself into amazing shape! I can't wait for Spring and Summer to get here so we can all get outside as a family and start doing the whole family fitness thing together! I can't wait to get outside and go for a hike, or go for a walk after dinner together, or to be able to get up each morning and go for a RUN!! I miss running so much it's not funny!! I can't breath out there in the frigid cold, and when I do push myself to do so I usually end up pretty sick with an upper respiratory infection so that's NOT happening! My husband and I are going to have the day off together and we are going to be able to get a nice workout in together here at home. I'm excited! Now to get myself to bed and rest my body! Today is the last day of 2013 and I'm so excited for the new year to be here! It's not been a bad year or anything. A little rough at times, but relatively uneventful. I've not kept up with my diet as well as I would have liked and I've had a hard time keeping my motivation going. I'm treating the end of the year differently and coming into the new year strong and beyond motivated! I have been tired and feeling a tiny bit under the weather since yesterday but I've still done two great workouts yesterday and today. I did my weights this morning and this afternoon I will do some cardio too. I ordered some new Nike shoes and they should be arriving today. I'm hoping they will in time to break them in with my afternoon workout. I also finally ordered some protein powder to add to my shakes for a little boost after my workouts. My arm muscles are really starting to build nicely and I'm able to see some real definition in my arms, shoulders, and back and it's so exciting! I'm hoping this protein powder will help that process along. I'm so excited for 2014 and all the possibilities is going to bring! I can't wait for Spring and warmer weather, and to be able to get outside again and get some real exercise. I feel like this is going to be my year! That may sound hokey, but it's true! I refuse to fall off again and hold myself back another year! 2014 HERE I COME!
Some people hate the term "New Year's Resolutions" and some people love to make new ones with each year that passes. A lot of people will tell you that you shouldn't rely on the new year coming to make a resolution to get fit and healthy. I think that any time you take a moment to look at your life and you decide to make better choices for you and your health is a good one and should be embraced. Each day is a new chance to wake up and want to make better choices. This year I am determined to stay focused and to keep moving forward in my journey to better health, but even I have days where the motivation is nowhere to be found. I really do love the feeling of a new year! It's full of new opportunities and new chances, and so many people feeling positive and optimistic about things. Many people get depressed and sad around the holidays, and the beginning of the year is that perfect time when all that holiday stress is behind us and people are looking forward to Spring and warmer weather. I created this fun numbered workout to help ring in the new year and I've been waking up and doing it first thing each day, and I'll keep doing it a few days into the new year as celebration! You repeat it 5X. It's an intense workout that will help you bring in the new year right! Enjoy!
This Christmas has been a total success for me and I'm very proud of myself. Not just a success because I managed to go the whole season without getting really stressed out with everything and without over indulging as well!
The kids got everything they wanted and we didn't go crazy and broke doing so. My husband got me some really wonderful and thoughtful gifts, and he really got a kick out of what I got for him. He hasn't been able to put the book I got him down since he opened it this morning. An autobiography of Mike Tyson.... go figure! He likes odd biographies of strange famous people so I thought I'd be perfect! The food was great too! I always make a nice big Christmas morning breakfast and it's one of the meals I typically overdue every time. This time I kept it nice and simple. Pancakes, eggs and some maple sausage links. I opted out of the pancakes and added a bowl of apple sauce to my breakfast. When it came to the main meal I focused on making the ham as delicious as possible and kept the side dishes simple. Mashed organic yukon gold potatoes, fresh green beans and asparagus sauteed in coconut oil with tons of garlic, and organic jellied cranberry sauce ( my favorite! ) Also our desert was a whipped sweet potato dish with some marshmallows on top instead of the pies I normally make. It's wonderful to have a great day with the ones you love and not have that overfull bloated food baby feeling that practically puts you in a coma! I even had a great workout afterwards! I did a bunch of weights like I've been doing each day this past week and added a bunch of cardio in too. If I can be this motivated and productive and in control of my eating on Christmas Day of all days of the year than I have this down pat!! I really feel like I'm finally getting my determination and motivation back like the old days. I still don't have a gym membership which I know would make a big difference, but there is nothing I can do about it quite yet so I have to get things moving without that to rely on. It was the whole point of getting rid of the gym membership in the first place. I have been doing some "networking" on Instagram and a bit more on Facebook these days and it's helping keep me accountable. Seeing all these other strong women doing what they do and making a decent life out of it give me hope for myself and my dreams! There is so much strength in so many of these women and it makes me want to see my body like that! I know it's possible if I just stay focused. Right now it's about nothing more than watching what I eat, burning calories, and lifting as much as possible!!! I love the weight lifting too. I really enjoy how it makes me feel and how confident it makes me, but I have to keep on top of the burning calories and working up a sweat. I still carry a lot of fat in many places and I need to remember to get that heart rate up in my workouts and sweat to burn off that fat! Watching what I eat will just keep me from piling on more fat too. I can't wait to be able to go back to the gym! I miss that treadmill :( I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Merry Christmas! This is just a little bit of my workout from this evening :) I have really been wanting to post something for the past 3 days or so, but just haven't been able to find the proper words. Things with me are really spinning out of control and I can't seem to get them back on track. I have been eating horribly! I mean it could be worse, but what it is... is not acceptable! I have been eating things with too much sugar and I've been eating too much pasta. I've been snacking and just feeling like I'm back to that out of control late night snacking too which always makes me feel miserable! The crazy thing I've realized though is that with this slacking in my diet a lot of my health issues have come back almost full force. My heartburn and indigestion is back, my asthma is even back! I don't think I ever realized how much my diet affects my asthma! I hate that feeling of being out of breath. Like you just can't get a clean breathe in no matter what! It scares me! I think it's related to the sugar too somehow. I don't even know if that's even possible, but it seems the more sweets I eat and the more sugar I put in my body the worse my breathing gets. Anyways, my motivation to workout has suffered too. I had a few days where my back was really hurting, and then my hip socket was giving me problems, and then it felt like I had pulled a shoulder muscle. I wasn't even doing anything crazy or anything to cause these pains either. It was just normal everyday life getting me down. I wonder if because of the unhealthy diet and lack of exercise if that is making my body more susceptible to injury. Or maybe I'm just lifting boxes at work wrong. Either way I feel terrible and I blame it all on how much I've been slacking! Besides the diet failing I'm not working out at all. It's freezing outside and I'm not sticking with my "at home" stuff either. It's sad cause I know better and I just can't seem to put words into action these days! It makes me feel even worse when my last post was all about "promises" and making them to myself, and knowing how important it was to start getting back on track then and I haven't. It's gotten worse. I have got to figure out what I can do to get that spark back! I have tried to order myself some fun new workout equipment, like a jump rope, to maybe get past this and start having fun at it again. I think another big part of it has been going without the gym membership. Maybe I need to rethink that and get back there. Or maybe find a new gym. I don't know, but I have to figure this out! I refuse to give up and start slipping further behind! I want this so bad still! I know I can do this I just have to find that spark again! It feels good to "blog it out" though. Tomorrow is a brand new day full of new chances. Hopefully I can suck it up and take that new day and run with it :)
|