The Last Day of my Last Fat Year

It has probably become apparent with the frequency & the topic of my recent updates here that I am gearing up to return to physical fitness. This is possibly the most talked about, blogged about & google searched topic right now.
Tomorrow is a new year. I'm not pregnant, not getting pregnant and, while I will still be recovering from my most recent c-section; I am so close to being able to begin a fitness regimine that I will be slowly working up to it over the next few weeks. And my goal is to be more fit than I've ever been before when New Year's Ever 2012 rolls around.
So even though the timing would suggest this is my resolution for the New Year, the fact is that this is my resolution for my life. I resolve to be healthy & fit regardless of what life, the universe, my kids, whatever has in store for me. For the rest of my life.
Who's with me?

Presence the Positive

One of the most important aspects of getting fit is:

~PRESENCE THE POSITIVE~

What that means to me is that when I look at myself, when I weigh myself, when I talk about myself I will talk about the positive things I think, see & feel.
For example; instead of talking about my weight "loss" I will talk about the weight released. Instead of seeing the distance I still have to go when I look in the mirror I will rejoice in the distance I've already come. Instead of telling myself how terrible my food choices were at the end of a day I will think about the good, healthy food choices I will make the next.
This is one of the things I know I can do to assist myself in reaching the goals I have set for myself. When I presence the positive I KNOW I am a beautiful, fit, healthy woman!

Rewards for meeting goals

I think I've talked about this before but I want to revisit the topic of rewarding myself for meeting either fitness or weight release goals.
I was doing so good for such a long time that when I hit my plateau (before getting pregnant again) that it was difficult for me to hold myself to my resolution of only rewarding myself for meeting my goals. So now I'm looking for a new reward system that I will actually hold myself to.
Should I make it that each 20 pounds released will be a small shopping spree? Because 20 pounds is a clothing size or two and I know that baggy clothes do NOT camouflage the fat~they just make me look fatter! Or will I stick to it if I resolve to only get pedicures when I've released the 20 pounds? What about getting a message once I reach my pre AJ pregnancy weight? Maybe reward myself with FINALLY using that Dolce spa gift card and have a spa day once I'm back under 200 pounds?
I still have the goal of getting that Coach bag that I've talked about a few times. What goal will THAT be the reward for? Maybe when I'm out of double digit pants size? That is something I've never done before (I was getting close before I lost my will power or whatever it was last year) and I really want both~pants that have a single digit for the size AND that GORGEOUS Coach bag!
What kind of rewards are you planning for yourself? (in case I want to steal your ideas)

Starting over from scratch

Well, it's been some time since I've posted here. Not long after my last update I got pregnant with my newest little girl (and most likely last child). So she's here now, I'm 18 days postpartum and I gained a RIDICULOUS amount of weight. I'm pretty sure it was 85 lbs. I've lost 35 lbs already, having a nearly 10 lb baby and a TON (like 25 lbs) of water weight will do that though. Unfortunately I'm still over 250 lbs~SO not cool.
Anyway, because I had a c-section I get to wait until I'm 4 weeks postpartum to begin working out again. And when I do start working out again I get to start slow and build up. Otherwise I risk reopening my incision or something like that. Cool right? So for now my goal is to walk every day for the next couple weeks until I get to 4 weeks postpartum and to watch what I eat. I'm going for high protein and from getting my carbs from fruits, veggies and whole grains.
I haven't had the courage to take a picture of my train wreck body yet but when I do I will share it. This time around my goal for my blog is to update 3 times a week and full disclosure...and that includes the progress pictures, no matter how horrifying I find them to be.
So, follow along with me while I journey to find my perfect (read:healthiest) body. I know it's in here somewhere...

The end of a challenge

While it isn't official I believe that Mark has won our 10% in 10 weeks challenge (this time!). He never did get around to choosing his prize so maybe I'll pick something for him (banana cream pie maybe-just to get ready for our NEXT challenge ;-P). It is so nice to see him looking a bit more like the guy I married, add to that the fact that most nights his snoring is basically non-existent & I'm not too sad about "losing" this round. Besides, can it really be losing if I got back into my jeans (that I'd "grown out of" in the last few months) in just a few short weeks?
Now, after all that foreshadowing I think you know what I'm about to say.


Round 2 is ON!


I still have quite a bit of "extra me" to let go of before I'm ready for summer (and since I get to go have a weekend in SoCal in early June I even have a deadline!) and Mark is actually getting more interested in getting himself healthier & more fit so this round will be a bit more focused.
Now~if you want to get in on this just leave a comment, let me know what your 10% is and what your prize will be if you accomplish it. It could be as simple as getting a well-deserved pedicure or as extravagant as a new Coach bag. Whatever it is, be sure to keep the thought of that reward in mind while you workout, make food choices & choose your daily activities. I find that knowing I will get something (besides looking & feeling great) out of my efforts it motivates me, maybe it'll work for you!

Oh, how the mighty have fallen

I began going to my early morning boot camp class again last week. I started it the first time in September of '09 & it was a BIG part of the 60 pound weight loss that I had in about six months spanning from then until March-April-ish of last year. I think we all know that at that point I plateaued & I also began being less diligent with my eating & workouts. No big surprise that through living like that for the rest of 2010 left me with a loss of some of my strength & endurance & a gain of about 20 pounds by the end of this January. Needless to say, I am NOT where I used to be.
I had a pretty big eye-opener on day 1 last week. We were doing some tricep push-ups (you lay on your side with your top hand basically up in your armpit & your bottom arm holding your shoulder-and then you push up. can't picture it? that's okay, it's hard to imagine even when you see someone doing it).

the infamous tricep push up

This is an exercise that I used to feel SO STRONG when I was doing it because I knew it was a hard one & I COULD DO IT!!! So, imagine my disappointment last Monday when those were not only SUPER hard again but I could barely even get going!
Anyway, I am not complaining. I am merely stating my desire to not only return to where I was before (strength, endurance, weight, size) but I want to SURPASS that place. I know that boot camp is a GREAT workout & I know that my challenge is my eating (possibly my hormones but I'm working on what I can control, you know?) so if you see me with french fries or pizza (or anything nasty!) in my mouth, punch me in the gut. Chances are I won't feel like finishing whatever nasty thing I was eating!
In closing, remember THIS post from May of last year? Yeah, that's just the tip of the iceberg as far as how AWESOME I'm going to look & feel in the coming months!

10% in 10 weeks-week 8

I'm pretty sure this is week 8 winding down & after a STELLAR week last week I got sick, had a sick 21 month old & no motivation to eat right OR exercise until today. LAME!
I'm pleased to say that this week has been another one of those eye-opening times where I remember WHY I like to work out & eat well. I have felt so gross & fat all week. I can't WAIT to get into the gym on Monday & grocery shopping tomorrow for all the yummy, healthy food I love to eat is going to be SO FUN!
I'm not down any more pounds but I know that next week will change all that. I am changing up my workout (again!) and making a plan for getting my cardio in every day next week. Mark & I will be out of town the end of week 10 so I think I'm going to move out finish line to the following Saturday (the 19th of March). We'll see where I'm at leading up to that though. If I'm winning I'll just quit while I'm ahead (what can I say? I really want that Coach bag!)
Thanks to all who have given me an encouraging word either here or in person. Your support & encouragement (and knowing that people are actually watching me to see what I'm accomplishing!) give me the motivation to keep going when I feel like giving up.

UGH, I suck

This update is mostly just because I have guilt. I have guilt about not blogging. I have guilt about having nothing to blog about. I have guilt that I'm not doing anything to blog about...the title says it all.

I'm actually doing a bit better this week than in weeks past. I've already been to the gym twice this week & I even got a pretty good upper body workout in at home this morning. I have a game plan for tomorrow (with a backup plan even!) and I'm feeling pretty great!

Some random life stuff has come up & while I don't have high hopes that I will be the big winner of my wager with Mark (which I wanted to start over but he made some comments that showed me what a big, sore loser I was acting like) I am excited to see where I'm at on "the big day", March 12th. Not that far away!

This is officially week 7 and I'm only down 1 pound (gained a bit, then lost a bit) "officially". I'm not sure where Mark is at but I think he is still about 7 pounds down total. That leaves him 13 pounds to go & me with 19! YIKES! But he also still hasn't declared what he wants his prize to be so maybe I'll remind him of what MY prize will be when I win. Wanna see it?

Here it is! Isn't it GORGEOUS!!!

For those that don't know, this is the Coach "Maggie" Mia handbag. I didn't realize what it was called when I saw it in the Coach store a few months ago but it was LOVE at first sight. Of all the bags in the store it was by far my favorite. And then I look it up online only to discover that it was MY bag! I mean, why else would they name it after me?!?

So, look for me in a few months, at least 20 pounds slimmer & carrying this beautiful bag.

10% in 10 weeks-week 3

This week is going pretty good so far. No real weight loss to report for either Mark or myself but he says he's feeling pretty good and I'm proud that I've made it to the gym twice already this week. I intended to get a 20-25 minute walk in today by taking my girls to playgroup at a nearby park but J is home sick (stupid colds...) and K is also not 100% (and I REFUSE to be the mom that brings her sick kid to playgroup to get all the other kids sick!). So we get to spend today cooped up & going crazy...maybe I'll escape for a run after Mark gets home from work? Nope, we have cub scouts tonight...oh, well. Tomorrow is another day!
On a happier note, I have decided to give the famed hcg diet a go. I ordered some drops online & they should arrive on Friday. I'm kind of excited to use them, the concept SEEMS pretty straightforward & they are safe to use. I think I may be most excited about the 1st phase (there are 4 all together, one varies the length based on the number of pounds one wants to shed). For days 1 & 2 on the drops one eats...and eats...and eats as much high fat, high calorie food as one can. From what I gather it is a way to "shock" ones body into dumping its fat stores as soon as one begins phase 2 (the 500 calorie a day phase, strangely, I'm LESS excited about this part...) and that is how one achieves the estimated 1-2 pound a DAY weight loss (this part I'm actually SO STOKED about!). Since I've already been "practicing" phase 1 for the last few weeks (months? who can keep track) I'm feeling well prepared & ready to get started!

10% in 10 weeks-week 2

Soooo, here it is. Day one of week two. Mark has been doing pretty good. Down THREE pounds since last week! I'm really proud of him & I was really counting on his competitive nature to kick in & be a source of motivation for him. I was also counting on something similar with myself...
Alas, it hasn't happened...yet! Last week was NOT one to be especially proud about (worked out 2 times, went for 1 run & didn't even track a full days worth of food, BLAH!) and I am DETERMINED to make this week different. So far it is only better in that I ate a nice breakfast & I have plans to go workout in a couple hours...
I'm keeping my thoughts positive & I'm going to do everything I can to make this 10 weeks productive! Here's to a great week!

10% in 10 weeks

Okay, so its been awhile. And while I haven't gone completely off the deep end & gained all the weight back I've DEFINITELY had an interesting holiday season. Let's just say that it started with Halloween & is thankfully now coming to an end!
Due to various events & circumstances my wager with my sister has been put on hold (read: canceled because I suck). I'm still confident that one day I will be the same weight/size as her. I just know that now is NOT that time!
Which leads me to the 10% in 10 weeks thing. Over the course of our 6 year marriage Mark & I have both gotten a little far from who were were when we got married. I'd like to think that although I'm not quite to where I ultimately want to be I'm absolutely in the best shape of my life. I may have (and did) weigh less than when we got married but I know that right now I'm stronger & more fit so I FEEL better now. And Mark has gone from a 22/23 year old kid to a 28almost29 year old man. Where he used to be active in a few different ways now he has a job that has him basically chained to a desk for 40+ hours a week & the weekends are not the physical family adventures I hope they will some day be! And he snores WAY more than he ever did in the past, to the point that I am getting concerned.
A while ago I was doing some online research into natural ways to lessen or stop snoring altogether & I read a little article that said that losing just 10% of your body weight can reduce snoring. SOOOO I got the brilliant idea that I would have a little contest with Mark. Beginning today & ending on March 12th we will see which of us can lose 10% of our body weight (or more, that's allowed too!) first. We'll each come up with our own
"prize" and the winner will be rewarded in the manner they choose.
For me I have the lovely pleasure of getting to lose 19 pounds. I am so embarrassed that I am back up to 190 lbs after all the work I put into NOT being 190 lbs but this feels like a good chance to make some changes. Mark didn't weigh in (or at least didn't TELL me what the scale said) but I know that his 10% is somewhere around 20/21 pounds. Again, embarrassment abounds for me, I have TWICE that to lose to reach "normal" on the BMI scale & Mark is 6'2". I feel really cool right now.
Anyway, we're off & running (me literally! I already ran a mile this morning!) and I'll be checking in with updates as the weeks pass. My main goal in all of this is to create a healthier, more physical lifestyle for my entire family & I know that starts with Mark & me.

And just because it's fun, here's a picture of Mark & me on our wedding day!