Reality Check

Hey everyone!

I've been working (somewhat) hard.  I got into a little slump of not tracking my foods or keeping track of points.  I did manage to get down to 319 lbs, which I was pretty excited about!  Then the two weeks following I gained back 3 lbs!  I was so disappointed but it was a good thing because it zapped me back into reality.  I DO have to keep track of what I eat and I DO have to start exercising more.  So, this week, my friend, Kylee, and I have gotten together a few days and worked out.  I feel so good about this week!  I have been keeping track of what I eat and tracking my points.  I did go over my points last night when I made a stop thru the Taco Bell drive-thru.  I realized that I hadn't eaten much that would stick with me and I hadn't used my points.  I think that the deprivation lead to my intense craving.  So, I'm going to make sure I get in satisfying foods during the day to make sure I don't cave later. 

I did jump on the scale here at work in MRI.  I know that scale weights about 4 lbs lighter than the WW scale so I try to take that into consideration but I'm really excited about what my efforts have done in just a few days.  I'm not telling the results until Monday.  I want to make sure it's real! haha

Yesterday, Kylee and I tried some yoga poses.  It was pretty hysterical!  We were falling and looking at the magazine page like it was impossible the pose it was trying to instruct us to do.  We did do (kinda) it though and decided we should start doing Yoga more often.

I have been tossing around the idea of joining the Y.  I think that I could benefit from the gym.  I am going to do a month to month pay so if after awhile it doesn't work for me I don't get stuck paying/wasting the whole year.  I went on a tour and I'm excited about the equipment that have TV's!  That is new to me and I'm pretty pumped!  I'm also excited for the variety of classes and the swimming! 

One thing pushing me (still) is the upcoming wedding I'm in!  I went and tried on my dress and I'm actually excited about how it looks on me!  I was a little worried but I think it's pretty flattering.  I have 6 weeks until the wedding and I'd still like to loose about 20 lbs.  I know that is a pretty big goal but I think if I stay on track and start working out it is achievable.  The next goal is VEGAS!!!  We are going to Las Vegas in November and I'd like to loose about 35 lbs or so before then.  These are pretty big goals but I know if I work hard I can do it! 

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! :)