30 Day Shred (Week 3)

So, this week of the 30DS challenge has been... I don't want to say completely failed but ... I think I only did it 3 days.  BUT!  I did do some sort of workout everyday.  I am proud of the fact that this challenge has pushed me in the right direction of working out daily.  For Pete's sake, I got up at 5:30am 3 days in a row!  That is one thing that I've never been able to do... get up early in the morning to workout.  I always hit the snooze.  I felt energized at work after an early morning workout, too!  I also don't feel so pressured in the evening after the kids have gone to bed to have to get in a workout.  Usually, by that time I am exhausted and ready for bed.

After my workout in the gym, yesterday. (sweaty!)

Last week, the other girls doing the shred decided that this week we'd post a picture of what we'd like to fit into.  I don't know why, but my goal clothes are usually a pair of jeans.  Someday, I'm sure it will be a cute dress...I guess if you count the dress for the wedding that I am working to fit into, I am now!  Anyways, I immediately thought of an old pair of jeans in my closet.  I have a pair of jeans in the next 3 sizes down in my closet... excited to fit into, soon! -At least one of those still has the tags on them.  So, last week I dug into my closet and put on a pair of jeans... a pair that is actually two sizes down from what I'm currently wearing.  They zipped a little and didn't button shut.  I got them back out to try on again so I could take a picture wearing them.  I pulled them on, and with a little work -lol- got them buttoned and zipped.  The don't (obviously) fit well, but I can't believe that I was a size 28 not that long ago and those jeans are a size 22.  I think I'm going to keep up with posting my goal clothes... it's kinda fun!  I wore my swimsuit under so I'd be sure everything was covered while showing off the jeans.  Also, I didn't have anyone to take the picture (except Brayden and I tried it and it didn't work- haha)  so, I had to set the timer on my camera and set the camera on the counter, that's why it looks a little funny.  I have a ways to go before I'd wear them in public but... it's not jeans weather anyways!  Maybe by the time it is they won't fit! ...as in too big! :)

Size 22 jeans that *almost* fit! 

Yoga

I just put in my yoga meltdown with jillian michaels dvd and ... I think it's a little advanced for me.  I attempted it though and made it through the first 9 minutes.  A few of the things I could do... kinda.  The majority of it though was basically impossible.  I will try it again another time... maybe after I've lost some more weight.  I will continue to do the 30DS as much as possible.  Tonight, I'm going to go to bed... I'm getting up early again to go to the gym.  I think one good thing about this challenge is that it gets me thinking about exercise.  A month ago I wasn't doing anything.  Now I do some sort of workout everyday!  Even if I don't do the 30DS everyday, I feel good because I've done something.  I decided to start tracking activity points with W.W.  I am going to make it a goal to earn 100 activity points.  They are based on your weight and right now the 30DS DVD gets me 10 points.  I hope with all of the extra activity this week I can reach 319 lbs at my next weigh-in. 

This morning I got up at 5:30 and went to the gym.  All of the High School football players were in there lifting weights.... I guess they could have been baseball players... idk.  Anyhow, I was going to go with a friend but she slept in.  I stayed and jumped on the elliptical for 25 minutes.  I was a sweaty mess when I was done but felt good!  I also felt like I was in a good mood all day long... added bonus! :) 
 

Water

The majority of girls also doing the 30DS challenge have a goal of drinking more water.  I have to say that I am a great water drinker!  ...as long as I'm at work!  I have a mug that I believe is 32 oz.  I drank 3 of them today!  ...and I was in the bathroom about 100 times! lol  A good thing about water is that it is good to drink when I otherwise might have the munchies.  I get flavored drink powder to mix in with it.  I could drink water plain just fine but the flavor is good.  One thing that happened that I didn't even really realize (which is odd) is that I am drinking a lot less pop!  I was getting really addicted to it, too.  And I was drinking the full flavor stuff!  I would fill my mug from work with fountain pop from the cafeteria a few times a day!  I got the mug for giving a donation through work and as a "reward" was able to get 25cent refills.  I still can but I choose to drink the water instead- YAY ME!  I do have to say though, that I drink a lot less water at home.  Lately, I've been drinking more because I usually drink a big glass after I workout and Jeremy put a water pitcher in the fridge so we have cold water... which helps us all to drink more water!  I am also proud that my kids are great water drinkers!  They will drink water over other things often... although, they do love their Juicy Juice once in awhile. :) ...and of course milk, too.

I can't wait until the banana bars are gone!  I had another 2 today!!  There are 3 left and I am done with them.  I really like them and they are really hard to resist!  At least I know that and will not make them to be able to sit around my house for at least the next 3 1/2 months! haha

Tomorrow, Kylee and I have planned to go to the gym to workout before work.  I'm not sure where I will shower afterward... so, I have to figure that one out.  Since it's already after 10pm I should give her a call and get it figured out!  It's so hard to wake up in the morning... but if I know she is depending on me to be there, I will do it.

Bad Mood

I just got done doing the 30DS.  I feel like I'm in such a bad mood.  I just did the whole workout and I just felt like I was going through the motions but not really into it.  Everything was driving me crazy.  The front door was open so I kept thinking that my neighbors were probably on their front porch watching me jump around my living room.  Brayden was crawling around, kept trying to talk to me (which for some reason drives me crazy...bad mom, I guess) and would run by me or crawl around me the whole time.  Zoey, our dog, wouldn't leave me alone when I was on the ground doing those things... I think she was trying to lick the sweat off of my face or something... ew.  I think the real reason is, is that I'm kinda beating myself up for not doing the 30DS on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.  I realize that all of those days I was far from sedentary, but I really wanted to do something that felt like a workout.  Other things that are making me cranky are: I am tired (got to bed late last night, after a busy day and got up early this morning), my house is a wreck and I don't feel like I have the time or energy to get it all cleaned up... actually, I feel like every time I do one thing to try and get it cleaned, ten more things happen to destroy it.  Also, I went to my Weight Watchers meeting today expecting a high number and I lost 3 lbs.  It's really hard for me to be disappointed about 3 lbs, especially since that is my weekly goal, but I feel like I worked pretty hard this week and I know that the closer to my goal date the harder it will be to lose 3 lbs per week, so I know I need to lose larger amounts early in the game.  Actually, I was pretty excited this morning because I got to work and went back to MRI to do a pre-weigh.  That scale showed I lost 7 lbs so I was really excited!  That is exactly what I was hoping for!  That would put me past my 5% goal and lower than what I've been in a long time.  So, I was pretty bummed when I went to my meeting and it was only a 3 lb loss.  That's a 4 lb difference.  I CAN NOT be stuck on the number though.  I have to think positive.  I have been working hard.  I went to a family reunion yesterday and did pretty freaking awesome!  I didn't over eat and didn't feel sick after we ate.  I did feel satisfied and had so much fun!  Bad thing though... I made banana bars (at the request of my dad) and had practically the entire pan leftover.  I ate like 5 of them today.  Why did I do that?

Back to my workout I just did.  I was thinking during it that jumping jacks are a lot easier for me - YAY!  The butt kicks hurt my right ankle and knee, so I more or less just jog in place.  The push-ups are...difficult and I do them the "girlie" way!  The bicycle crunches are H.A.R.D., I look like a turtle trying to get off of its back, rolling side to side.

Goals for this week.
-Do the 30DS everyday
-Try one of my new workout DVD's
-Keep track of points, everyday

Zoo Day

Today was Brayden's birthday and we celebrated by going to the zoo.  We spent all afternoon there.  If any of you know the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, then you know that it's pretty big and has quite a few steep hills.  We had the girls in the stroller and Jeremy and I took turns pushing it.  The last hill we went up I pushed the stroller and I was pretty much out of breath by the time we got to the top!  It was so fun to spend the day with the family.  Before we reached Omaha, we stopped at a rest stop and had a lunch that we packed.  It was a simple lunch, but we figured it was better than getting food in the zoo.  Also, it was really nice out so it was nice sitting at the rest stop at a picnic table.  We didn't have to worry about people or anything really.  There was a nervous sparrow flying around and about half way through our lunch we realized there was a nest in the roof above our picnic table.

Brayden is playing a game and since it's his birthday, I figured I'd let him play.  I could kick him off and send him to bed so I can do my 30DS but... to be honest... I kinda don't feel like it.  I am going to use the pathetic excuse that I walked a lot today and it was a pretty good workout pushing the stroller up a few hills.  Right now, I'm having fun watching him play the Wii.

I was looking at some pictures I have and found one that I feel represents me.  I think I may have posted this before but I like it.  I do feel like a skinny, athletic girl, stuck in a big girl body.  I do feel like I could just unzip and walk right out.

 Jeremy and I were looking through an old photo album of mine and I envied the girl in the photos.  If I could only go back and tell that girl that she wasn't as disgustingly fat and ugly as she thought she was.  I didn't let it hold me back as much as I feel I do now.  I will scan some of those pictures and show you all.  I was quite the catch in High School! haha :) My skinniest is still 7th grade though.  I came to 7th grade after jumping on our trampoline every single day all summer.  I didn't even realize it then but I slimmed down quite a bit from 6th to 7th grade.

I scanned a couple of the pictures... they are both from prom, I believe, so we are all dressed up with our hair and everything nice.  I like these pictures and am excited to feel pretty like this again... to feel good when I see a picture of myself.  It does kinda seem like I'm down on myself or that I'm having a pity party but I guess that's how I feel.

This one is with my best friend, Linda.

This one is with a girl I went to H.S. with, Amy.

Measurements and Pictures

I finally got a chance to get pictures taken and take my measurements.  Pretty scary but there they are.  At least I know that #1 I have been larger and #2 The measurements won't this be this way for long.  I added a few measurements to what the other girls are doing because there are other areas I'd like to watch change.  

Right Arm: 19 1/2"
Left Arm:18 1/2"
Right Thigh: 31"
Left Thigh: 31"
Right Calf: 20 1/4"
Left Calf: 20"
Chest: 58 1/4"
Upper Waist (smallest): 54"
Lower Waist (at belly button): 59 1/4"
Hips (biggest part): 50 3/4"

Here are my pictures.  I was on uneven ground so that's why it looks like I'm standing a little funny.  And the grass is bad there because we just cleared out some pine trees to put in that fence a few weeks ago.  I hate looking at pictures of myself because I don't really think about what I look like until I see a picture.

I went to Target yesterday and bought the Zumba Wii, a Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown video, and a Bob Harper Ultimate Cardio Body workout video.  They were having a sale on all of them.  I decided I wanted to try the Bob Harper one since one of my friends has been talking about it and how she likes it, I wanted to get a Yoga one to try, because I know yoga is great for you and I want to also work on my balance...I'm sure this will help.  I've been really wanting to get the Zumba one for a long time and since it was on sale I decided it was time.  I did one of the things on it today (still haven't completely figured it out) and it was a lot of fun!  ...and hard!  I'm sure I will catch on to the moves quickly.  From what I did today I was already catching on pretty well.  I was a sweaty mess when I was done... and I took a little break to help Jeremy with something... and was still sweating!  I took a picture when I was done with it.  I wanted to do a face picture, because I saw another girl with a before and after, after a month of doing the 30DS.  The picture was of her face and it was a very inspiring before and after!  I can hardly believe they were taken only 30 days apart!  I am going to try to do pictures every week and I still haven't decided how often I will measure... I'm thinking every month.  The reason I think I will try to do pictures every week is because I read somewhere a girl did that and she was so happy she did.  She could see the progress she was making and it helped her to keep going!  

This morning my friend Kylee called and we went to workout together.  The last time her and I worked out together I got down to about 290-295 lbs.  I'm happy she is wanting to workout because it means a workout buddy for me.  She is getting married in October... which is her big pusher, I'm sure.  I am in her wedding...which is my big pusher.  Right now that is my goal date.  I'd like to be down to 270-275 lbs by then.  I figure if I lose 3 lbs. per week, I should be able to get there by then.  Since the gym was locked for some reason this morning, we went to the track and walked around it ... I jogged a little... a very little.  We also stopped and did ab work and push ups a couple times.

I did the 30DS 3 days in a row!  Then last night, for some reason, I was so tired and pretty much fell asleep around 8pm.  I didn't get it done last night but I thought I'd work extra hard today to make up for it.  I also plan on doing it tonight.  That's 3 workouts in one day... impressive! :)

Weigh Day Monday!

Weight Watchers meet on Monday's at noon.  I like having them on Monday's (for now) because it helps me to stay honest on weekends.  Sunday night at work someone wanted to order out... I thought right away about the scale and declined.  I was anxious all day about what it would show.  I had weighed in MRI first thing this morning to get an idea but the scales are usually about 5 lbs off so it's hard to say what it will be for sure.  I got in line, stepped on, and I lost again!  I'm currently at 327.2 lbs.  Which is 5.6 lbs less than two Monday's ago (no meeting last week because of the holiday.)  To be honest, I was hoping for a little bit more but I'm pretty excited.  I'm also excited to see how next week will be, now that I'm doing the 30DS.

Speaking of... I've done it two days in a row!!  haha!  I know that's not that big of a deal but I am pretty proud of myself. :)  I did it yesterday before work.  It definitely was hard but I got through it.  I struggled through some of the jumping jacks and the jump-roping.  Also, the reverse crunches were pretty difficult for me to do.  I ended up doing the jump-roping for all but the last set one leg at a time like jogging-jump-roping.  I did the last set the correct way... I was determined!  The bicycle crunches are very hard for me, too!  I hope, someday, to read this back and see how far I've come.  Tonight was pretty neat.  Brayden did it with me the whole time ... the best he could, anyway.  I was so proud to be such a good example for him... that was worth it alone!  He did it with me a little bit yesterday in the end but tonight he did the whole thing with me... and he was breathing hard, said he was tired, said his legs were tired, and was sweating in the end!  I wasn't alone! lol :)  We both got a glass of cold water and are going to chill for a little bit before bed.

I NEED to get my measurements done and pictures taken!  I read somewhere to take pictures every week so you can go back and see how you've changed.  If I get organized, I'm going to do that!  I thought about doing that picture a day thing, so at the end of the year I could have that fast slide show thing like you see online for different things.  I could probably handle doing that for my face... that's something I can manage alone!

Jeremy gave me a compliment yesterday... actually a couple.  I decided to lie out in the baby pool with the kids while they played, so I could catch some sun and watch them at the same time.  Well, I dug out my swimming suit and he said he could tell I've lost weight since the last time I wore it... last time it didn't fit well in the bottom half area at all.  I guess the last time I wore it, I was probably about 25 lbs heavier.  Then, when I got done with my workout he told me I did a good job. :)

Well, I'm going to watch Makeover.  It's a show where they take a person over the course of a year and help them to lose weight and show their weight loss journey.  I watched last weeks show and it's really neat.  She went bungee jumping!  That is on my bucket list!!  That and skydiving!  Both I am super scared of but I think it would be the thrill of a lifetime.  Both also have a weight limit.  I will, someday, do at least one of those things.

Last quick thing... I tried a new little recipe tonight.  Mix box angel food cake, a can of crushed pineapple, and a tsp. of vanilla.  Bake 350* for 35 min.  I have some strawberries and cool whip to put with it!  Haven't completely figured out the points but I think it will be pretty good! :)

Measurements

Well, I'm going to have to do the 30DS when I get home from work tonight because this morning I didn't get a chance. Saturday mornings we have to flee the house so Jeremy can get some sleep from working the night shift. So, we went over to a friends house to hang out for the morning. By the time we got back from there, I only had enough time to take a quick shower and leave for work. This stinks because it's already the 4th and I have yet to do a single session of 30DS! --I know I only found out about all the wonderful girls doing it 2 days ago but still...

Right Arm:
Left Arm:
Right Thigh:
Left Thigh:
Chest:
Upper Waist (smallest):
Lower Waist (at belly button):
Hips (biggest part):

Anyone can join us and I hope you will. If you do you will love the end results. I am so excited to see the results. They say you can lose around 10lbs and a dress size. Want to know what to do?

We are all doing before pictures and measurements. For your measurements take a soft measuring tape or some yarn and cut to the sizes then you can use a flat ruler to measure the yarn.

Where to measure?

•Each arm (thickest part)
•Each thigh (thickest part)
•Upper waist (smallest)
•Lower waist (at your belly button)
•Your hips (biggest part)
Write this info down, or put it in Excel so you can come back to it after 30 days. After we complete the whole 30 days we are going to remeasure and take after photos.

Day 1 of 30 Day Shred....

I set my alarm to get up earlier... something I've done many times! but!... this time I actually got up when it went off! haha I got up and zombie-like walked around aimlessly, trying to wake up. I decided to open the drawer that held the DVD of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I pulled it out and walked over to the recliner and sat down. I sat there holding it with my eyes closed hoping just holding it would give me some momentum to actually get up and do it. Finally, I opened my eyes and started looking at it, reading everything on it. Then, I opened it....to find no disc! What the heck?! I knew it had to be in one of the 100 other DVD cases and I def. wasn't going to go searching thru all them cause who knows if it's even there! I did search around a little tho... that stinks! So, instead of doing something else productive, I checked out Facebook for a little bit...made B some breakfast and started getting ready for work/clinicals. On my way to work I decided that I should just get another DVD, if it's cheap enough. I could spend the next 30 days looking for the one I already have somewhere or get another one. I figured when I find the other one, I will give it to my sister. So, I pulled into Target, ran in and found where they were and it was only $9.00! -So I got it! I know I could have gotten it cheaper on Amazon but I didn't want to put off starting any longer. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better "Day 1"! haha

In food world, I went over my daily points by a bit. I know I have the weekly extra points to fall back on, but I am going to try to work towards not using them.

This weekend I work, but I still want to make sure to get some working out in my day! Beyond the 30DS I want to do my other 2 days of walking I promised myself I would do this week. I told myself I would do 3 days of walking this week.

So, my friend, Kylee, is getting married this coming October. I am using her wedding as my goal date. I would LOVE to be the weight I was at when I got pregnant with Brayden....274 lbs. That would mean I would have to average 3.5 lbs per week until her wedding. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! I'm not sure if this is a goal I want to set for myself or not. I think a secondary goal (haha) should be 289, which would be lower than I have been since I had Brayden. A couple years ago, a couple friends and I (Kylee, actually) worked out quite a bit and I ended up losing a good amount of weight...but it was so hard to keep up that workout schedule and still have time to be with my family, so, it kept slowing down until it finally just stopped. Anyways, the DVD of 30DS says you can lose up to 20 lbs in 30 days... that would pretty much be 5 lbs per week. So, I figure, if I can do that, that would take down the average per week to almost 3 lbs per week. ....I think too much about all this. I should just get to work and see what comes of it! lol Another note about the wedding is the dress I ordered. I took my measurements and called them in. I said I wanted to order a size smaller than what the measurements suggested but she didn't think that was a very good idea because "it's a lot easier to bring in than let out". I figure they have a lot of girls that say they will lose weight before a wedding and end up having problems with the alteration. As long as it all works out...I don't care!

Weekend Goals
-track all points
-do not go over daily points
-walk 3 miles Saturday and Sunday
-do 30DS both days
-get measurements and "before" pictures taken and posted
-burn some calories doing some housework!

30 Day Shred Challenge

My friend Mandey and a bunch of other girls in the blogging world are starting a challenge... Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I am going start along with them! I will post my pictures and measurements as soon as I can.

I will take a minute to catch up... I spent the last 4 months or so not moving outside of work and eating whatever, whenever. I gained back quite a bit... (insert extremely sad face.) My only excuse is the toll of being so busy with work, family and school x2... I guess that's a decent excuse...I will tell myself that anyway.

The WW location that I was attending closed down and started back up in a church, with meetings only a few times a week. The times they had meetings I could not attend because of work and school conflicts, so I basically just paid for my membership and ...that's about it. Where I work has an at work program. They were starting up a new session and I decided to join it! It started three Monday's ago. The first weigh-in I was at 337.8 lbs. -ugh. My first week I stayed dedicated to my points. At the second meeting I weighed in at 332.8... 5 lbs in the first week and can you believe I ate pizza a couple times, McDonalds once, and had some Oreo's.. ok several Oreo's... but I just tracked the points and look where it got me! :) This last Monday was Memorial Day so there wasn't a meeting. I'm excited for next Monday to see how I've done. I do have to say I believe I feel better already and definately, without a doubt am not as hungry all the time! That obviously has a lot to do with my food choices... I'm eating a lot more protein and a lot less carbs.

In the last couple years, during the times I have been working on being good to myself and trying to lose weight, I always go back to wanting to start running. I will do this! I am going to start small... that's the only way! I guess I should start with walking. haha

Goals:
-get out and walk at least 3 times this week
-track points all week (including weekends)
-start the 30 Day Shred

I almost forgot! I have an added pusher... I have to not only fit into but look good in a bridesmaid dress this fall! I still cringe when I see photos from the last wedding I was in.