Exercise!

Did you sign up for Katie's February Challenge?

I did! Today's topic is "Exercise" so before stuffing my face at my parent's superbowl party, my mama and I went to the gym to hit the treadmill. The original plan was to go jogging or hike Badger again, but we scratched that with weather like this:

We decided to walk fast at a high incline today. I stayed at a 6% incline for 30 minutes. I was SO tired! I burned more calories walking at an incline than running, which I was pretty surprised about. Here were my ending "treadmill stats": 1.83 miles, 30 minutes, and 233 calories burned. Success!

Afterwards, I was STARVING and I was so ready to eat up all the yummy snacks my family made. Salt and vinegar wings, jalepeno poppers, feta dip, artichoke cheese dip, chips, french dips, dessert pizza, and KFC...YUM! My tummy kinda hurts though!

Now, let's see how my weekly weigh-in goes tomorrow....

Running Again. Again.

Guess what? I took a running break. A long one. After gaining a lot of weight back that I lost last year, and bathing suit weather annoyingly hovering behind me, I decided I need to start running again.



A couple weekends ago, we had some nice weather so I went running with my mom and sister. We ran for about 20 minutes, and it was super hard! Last night I decided to hit the treadmill after realizing exactly how many pounds I've actually put back on.



In September 2011, I hit my pre-baby weight goal. I stayed pretty committed to exercising and eating somewhat healthy throughout 2012, except for the end. Walked right off the plank. Jumped into the ocean of fast food and sitting on the couch. And promptly sank to the bottom. Mostly because of a fat ass. So now, I have a new goal weight and a new motivation to get back on the healthy ship.



So, back to the gym again I went tonight. It felt like starting over and it kinda bums me out. I'm sad to think about the long journey it took to get myself healthy last year and how quickly I let it go. I'm mad at myself for doing it. I never thought I would be a "yo-yo dieter", but here I am. After I beat myself up for awhile, I quit the boo-whoo'in and got motivated. Like me and Cory like to say, "Nothing worthwhile comes easy". So I'm ready to work hard again.



Here's how my numbers added up: 25 mins, 2 miles. Yahoo!

Hello Old Friends.....

My Fitness Pal

So have you heard of My Fitness Pal?

It's this awesome website where you can keep track of calories and exercise, with a social network vibe built in too. There are different groups and forums you can take part in, or not. You can update your status, weigh in, create goals...whatever you want to get out of it. There are AMAZING success stories with before and after pictures that will inspire you to work hard.


I highly recommend it. I've lost 3 pounds in 10 days just by keeping track of what I'm doing and being more aware of my choices. If you decide to join let me know!!

Weight Goal Met!!

Having Parker in 2007, then Callie 10 months later took a toll on my figure to say the least. With pregnancy #1, I gained about 40 pounds, lost 20, then got pregnant with Callie and gained 35 pounds. Getting down to my pre-baby weight has been my #1 goal through this whole fitness journey I started in January. I am so proud to say that last week I met my goal.

This whole experience has taught me to say SCREW THE SCALE! It is an awesome tool for helping me stay on track and obviously doesn't lie about my progress. However, there are so many other ways to tell if I'm healthier. For example: my endurance, how my clothes fit, my energy level, my skin is clearer, quality of sleep. The list goes on and on. That being said- I have met my goal of 154 pounds and I started out at 175 in January. I have lost 21 pounds...SO FAR! And I did it the healthy way!

I tried to find some before and after pictures, but truth is I don't have many pictures where I'm not holding a kid in front of me or kneeling down. I was hiding behind others because I was embarrassed. I do have 1 before picture I took at the beginning, but I am in my bra and underwear- no way those are getting out there!! Here's what I came up with.

BEFORE

AFTER: note: these were taken this morning at 7 am before work. No laughing!

I hate taking pictures of myself..I feel so awkward!!


Funny thing too about being pre-baby weight: My body is still very different. I guess I didn't realize after kids your hips get wider, your boobs get bigger, and your body just changes in general. 154 today is not the same as back in 2006. And that is fine with me. My kids are so worth every stretch mark and added inch around my hips!

So, where do I go from here? Do I try and just maintain my weight? Do I keep losing? Do I put back on a few pounds from slacking off? Answer: probably all 3 will happen! My next goal is to lose 10 more pounds. Why? Not for vanity, but because that is what is considered a "healthy or ideal weight" for someone my height (5'5"). I want to be the healthiest mom I can be and set an example to my kids to live a healthy lifestyle. Especially for Callie because girls have such a huge amount of pressure to be thin. And I want to make sure she sees it's not about being thin- it's about being healthy and loving yourself!! Both of which are an everyday struggle for me, but something I hope comes naturally to both my kids.

No Weigh May is Over!

June 1st has finally arrived and I was finally able to bust the scale back out. I was excited to find out the damage in a sick way. Becuase of my shin splints, I barely ran at all in May. I took just about 3 weeks off. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty.. And the results? I gained 4 pounds.

Am I bummed out? Yes and No. Yes because I have worked so hard for every ounce I've lost. Every step I ran, every brownie I passed on..down the pooper. Looking back on it, I realize the less I excerised, the worse I ate. My eating habits became horrible! I ate out A LOT and drank A LOT of pop. No I wasn't bummed out because I knew I put some poundage back on so I wasn't surprised. At least I saw it coming! Also, the month did remind me that me sticking with exercising is about a lifestyle makeover- not just something to do once a week and hope for a miracle.

No-Weigh May has come and gone. It was very hard for me, but it's over! Will I go back to weighing myself every day? Um, yes, I'm sure I will. It helps me keep myself in check and at this point in my weight loss journey, that's what I need. I hope I eventually get to that maintenance phase and can weigh myself once a week or whatever. But for now, I still have about 15 pounds I would like to get rid of, (Dang it- it was only 11!) and I need that number staring back at me every morning to keep me on the straight and narrow.

How did your No Weigh May go? If you blogged about it, let me know and I will link you up on my page!

HAPPY JUNE!!!

No Weigh May Update

I'm a week and a half into "No Weigh May" and so far, it sucks. I've cut myself off from the scale completely and have no clue what my weight is this month. Aaaahhh! It's killing me!!

I've had a lot of temptation so far and I've been a good girl. First off, I work at a Dr's office. That means there is a big fat scale sitting there winking at me all day. I get to weigh other people, but not myself. No fair. No one at work knows about my no weigh rule so it would be so easy. On day, I even emptied my scrub pockets and stood in front of the thing. But the guilt ate me alive. I went back to my desk like a sad lil pup.

Secondly, I found the scale people. That's right. This guy got busted.

It really was a good hiding spot but I came across it on lovely evening. I begged Cory to let me just jump on real quick. I told him no one would know and it would be our little secret. But no. He wouldn't go for it. Instead he's hidden it again. If only I had some Yankees tickets or some Jack Daniels to bribe him...

So my challenge continues..

I did get to toss out all my size 12's though, so I'm pretty happy about that! I even fit into a pair of size 9's!! Now I'm wishing I didn't get rid of all my pre-pregnancy clothes awhile back while in the midst of a tearful tantrum I was having about my weight. You know the kind, having that lump in your throat while looking at yourself in the mirror thinking, "REALLY?! This doesn't fit me anymore? These were my fat pants! I have nothing to wear!! I'm gross!!!" Then bagging up all your clothes in defeat and lighting them on fire in the middle of your front yard. Oh, just me?

If you joined No Weigh May, how is your challenge going?

NO WEIGH MAY!

I am skipping Weekend Wrap Up because well, my weekend was pretty boring. I did manage to have a PR run on Saturday..31:48 whoop whoop! Sunday I hiked my bones up Badger again with the sis. That was a nice walk. It was sooo beautiful outside.

So, Hubs cut me off from the scale.

I was getting slightly obsessed with it. When I first started exercising at the beginning of the year, it was all about getting healthy. I wasn't happy with my weight, but it wasn't just about that. I wanted to feel better about myself and set a good example for Parker and Callie. I want to be able to play tag with them without having to stop because I was too tired. I don't want to pass on my weight/food issues down to them. I want to babysit my great grandchildren. Losing weight was just going to be icing on the cake. Except that's not what's been happening.

What's been happening is I HAVE to weigh myself every morning. If I didn't lose weight, I would beat myself up so much. I would feel really down and like all the exercising I've been doing has been for nothing. It's really been effecting me because I'm platueing. I haven't lost a single pound in a month. I know it's my diet. I'm still obsessed with this

Liquid Devil. I'm also in love with the Liquid Devil's Aunt:

I wish I was one of those people who gets completely grossed out by fast food and pop. I hate those people.

So after a lot of whining and tinkering with the idea of having a "No-Weigh May", Cory reminded me that losing weight was not the reason I started this fitness journey. While I was out hiking Badger on Sunday, I came home to a bathroom with no scale. WTF?! I couldn't believe it, but Cory hid the scale from me. And trust me, I've searched and can't find it. He's good.

I guess I'm being forced into my no-weighing myself month. I'm not exactly stoked about it, but I think it's for my own good. If you're reading this and want to join me in "No-Weigh May" please do!!! I need all the support I can get. This is going to be hard!!