Making it happen

I know it's been awhile.  I've turned to Instagram a bit to make things more simple since I can't update my blog from my phone.  2 weeks ago I finally joined Weight Watchers.  We get a HUGE discount through David's work, and I love the idea of the point system vs. counting straight up calories or figuring up complicated meal combinations.  So far, I haven't had a single "screw it" day.  I've tracked every bite of food, figuring up food values, and logging faithfully into my app.  So far, nothing earth shattering ... 7 pounds.  But hey, it's a start!  And I have not exercised at ALL.  The weather went from cold and snowy to cold and flooding.  There have been VERY few nice days, so after getting through a whole SIX DAYS of couch to 5K, I stopped.  Again.  Then I got sick.  I'm finally well, finally feeling better, and ready to get to it.

This morning after Wednesday Weigh in!  7 lbs down

Today I sweated to T-25 ... it's 4 days to my 40th birthday.  I WILL be "blowing it" a bit that day.  We're going to a car show, then eating at Paula Deen's restaurant.  I WILL eat all the foods, but I will be strict with my portions.

Looking forward to MAYBE wearing a pair of actual shorts this summer?  Maybe?  I haven't bought myself clothes since I had to finally break down and buy some "fat jeans".  Other than that, I've bought motorcycle riding clothes, but I would buy those big anyway.  My "girls" are out of control, I'm ready to have the chest shrink a bit lol!  I love the T-25 Speed 1.0 because it works both arms, cardio, and stretch.  I'm going to do that workout tomorrow and Friday, trying to not modify much by Friday.  I'm still too fat to jump around much ... my target "jumping" weight is 180.  So that's basically 25 pounds.  DANG.  I can't believe I've gained so much, it's disheartening.  My dream weight is back down around 148.  That's a comfortable size 10/ some clothes in an 8.

The best thing WW is doing for me is training me to look for more healthy options.  Today I went to Aldi's to buy our take and bake pizza.  1/8 of the pizza is a serving size.  1/8.  That's barely any food.  It's worth a whopping 10 points.  I get 23 the entire DAY.  But a full cup of 3 cheese tortellini w/ a 1/4 cup of marinara is only 9 points ... and it's more filling.  So I still get my yummy, italian food, just in a different form.  I had a chicken hot dog cut up in a spoon full of chili with a sliced dill pickle and a smidge of mustard and ketchup.  Soooooo good.  No bun.  No chips.  I'm missing dessert every night, but I'm hoping that once I transition over to "maintain" vs. "lose" I get more points lol. 

I finally bought batteries for my food scale.  And I bought a scale.  For the first time in 39 years.  It's sickening to step on it, but I'm tired of burying my head in the sand.  I'm ready to lose again.  I'm ready to be me again.  And I'm bound and determined to do it without trendy packaged foods and mail order products.  I can't TELL you how many of my facebook friends sell IT works, or Shakeology, or 310 shakes, or X ... it's all silly.  Sure, it may work in the short term.  But I can DO this with grocery store food and a little number guidance. 

Thanks for reading. Thanks for supporting me.  I'm excited to reach 10 lbs down, then 20, then 30 ... it's just progress.  It won't be fast, but as long as it's steady, I'm good with it.

Sweaty Selfie for accountability

Hump Day Progress ... Week 3

Amazing Monday sunset

Half way through week 3 ... so far, so good!  I've had one day of "cheat" food, really, and 1 out of 13 days so far I've NOT done my exercise.  This past Friday when my alarm went off, I did NOT feel good.  I've been fighting a cold now for about a month, and I just wanted to stay in bed for an extra hour, so I did.  I ate well that day, just didn't push play :(  But hey, Exercise 12 out of 13 days is pretty damn good!!

Crazy light late at night!  And NO, we don't have street lights in our neighborhood.

The progress pics are not discouraging really, as they're more just not ENcouraging.  But I am posting WEEKLY pics, where as last time I posted MONTHLY pics, so of course the progress is going to appear more slowly.  It's just weird; the people I've known with 50+ lbs to lose seem to lose a LOT quickly.  It's like 5 months, BOOM!  60 lbs gone.  I only want to lose around 40, and it just hangs on SO tight and does NOT want to come off.  Of course, how to judge since I don't own a scale?  I was sooooo tempted at Target to buy one b/c they're only $10, but I resisted.  Fit of my clothes, that's my scale.

Monday's sweaty selfie

Planning to run on Saturday.  The snow came in heavy yesterday, and actually caused my work day to be canceled today.  Planning to go in like normal tomorrow.  By Saturday, highs are supposed to be around 50, and on Sunday, highs of 60 ... y'all know what that means!!!  Mufasa and Khaleesi will be on the prowl, lol <3 I have to decide if I'm going to run the Hot Chocolate 5K in Nashville next month; it's the weekend before my birthday.  I WANT to, just not sure I want to go all the way out to Nash.  We'll see.

Tuesday; pulse was UP as I did CARDIO

So, my progress pics show pretty much exactly as expected.  I lose weight FIRST from the LAST place I put it on, which is up around my neck.  My butt and thighs are the last places to finally give it up and shrink.  I wear scrubs every day, and the ones I wear the most are a size too big anyway, so I'm not going to notice any shrinkage there.  I have a few pairs that are the right size, and so far they're not feeling any looser.  Oh well, just got to keep trying and working.  I DID manage real burpees today.  For 2 1/2 weeks, I've been modifying them, and today I felt fit enough to really do them, so that's a for sure win!

Meh.  Still fat.

I'll just keep on keeping on.  Tonight's dinner was healthy, but a little on the starchy side.  I realized I have NO veggies in the house, so we had a baked potato and basmati rice alongside broiled Tilapia tonight.  Tomorrow is ground turkey stroganoff, so nothing with that, just the entree.

Was hoping the fat rolls would be less visible, but nah.

Can't wait to ride this weekend!  Read my horse blog to hear all about it!

TEENY bit less fat in the chin/collar bone area

Hump Day progress ... Week 2

Lunch today

I probably shouldn't keep up with everything like this as far as counting the weeks ... b/c ideally, "this" will continue for eternity.  I HAVE to make a habit and stay with that habit, and if I'm constantly counting, who knows?

Starting the week off right!  Monday sweaty selfie

Anyway, I didn't want to get up this week at ALL. But I did, every day so far.  Now I'm MORE than half way, 3 days down only 2 to go!  I have no idea if there's any "progress" so far.  For me, nothing happens in the first 3 or so weeks it feels like, which is why I quit all the time.  2 HUGE wins for me this week; on Monday, I fixed the baby some Fruit Loops.  I wanted to eat what was left once he was done.  I mean, so badly that my mouth watered.  I didn't touch it, poured it down the disposal.  The 2nd was yesterday and today.  My co worker got a birthday cake; a yummy, chocolate monstrosity from the bakery.  I haven't touched it, not even a lick of icing.  It's just getting through a series of moments until you've gotten through the day, and then you've gotten through the week.  I'm proud.  I'm not calorie restricting like I was 4 years ago, but I'm eating better than I have in 2 years.

Is it Friday yet??

I'm strategically modifying some of T25 this time so I don't hurt myself.  So far, so good.  It felt good Monday to begin NOT so freaking sore.  I will probably be sore tomorrow, but it shouldn't be so bad.  Trying to work as hard as I can so I'm doing myself the most good.  Here's to making it through 2 more days!

Meh.  Don't see much change yet.

HATE fat arms, hope they shrink soon.

Week 1 ... DONE

So blessed to see the spectacular Smoky Mountain sunrises every day

Wow.  5 days down, only 360 more to go!  It's almost disheartening to think of how truly difficult this week has been, but as most of us knows, it takes a minimum of 30 days to build a habit.  So if I can just get through 25 more days, I should be golden, right??

5 days, 5 different Insanity workouts.  I have worked every single muscle in my body.  Wednesday was the WORST, yesterday I was less sore, but my body felt like an unyielding block of wood, and today was hard b/c I NEED a nice, cushiony mat for my knees.  Regardless, I did do my best!

Went out to eat tonight.  Had mashed sweet potatoes and salad with NO dressing on it, just on the fork.  One roll.  Before I touched one single bite, I cut my chicken in half, and scraped half my sweet potatoes into a takeout box.  I'm currently about 30 minutes post meal, and I don't feel full at ALL.

Thursday's "Lower Body Focus" just about killed me!

I don't feel even the SLIGHTEST bit "smaller", but I do feel like I'm trying.  Guess we'll see what Wednesday's pics look like!  I'll combine yesterday and today's sweaty selfies into one post.  They're not the most flattering pics, but I think they capture the essence I'm looking for :)  Weekly meal plan and grocery shopping tomorrow!

REALLY need a nice thick yoga mat!

Hump Day Progress

Adventure is on the horizon ...

Wednesdays have always been my favorite.  It's half way through the work week, and it's a short day.  My routine worked out ok today; I do need to get mine and Colton's stuff ready to go the night before so all I have to do is grab and go.

Can't wait for these love handles to go bye bye!

Day 3 is probably the hardest for me; I am VERY sore by then, and pushing 'play' is the 2nd hardest thing; actually sitting up and putting my feet on the floor instead of pushing 'snooze' is the 1st hardest thing.  Shaun T did a very effective job of kicking my butt today; only 2 days left!  It hurts so good right now, great to feel the burn of work again!  I'm going to post a few pics every Wed of my progress.  Today I'm considering Ground Zero. 

Fat arms and fat belly ...

Happy Hump Day!

WHY do I still have back fat??

Be still, my heart!

Hello?  Bueller?  I mean, can anyone relate here??  Lol.  I don't know about y'all, but I fall into the trap of, "I've eaten well for the past 24 hours, I've worked out for TWO DAYS in a ROW here, and I still have fat rolls.  WTH?"

Don't think you can see that bead of sweat rolling down my neck

I'm in AMAZING shape for a morning routine here; Tuesdays are going to become my get stuff DONE days :)  I don't have to be at work until 9:30; it takes me half an hour to get to work.  My normal Tuesday routine is hit 'snooze' 4 dozen times until I roll out of bed around 8:15, then by the time I get all my stuff packed and ready to go, it's 9:00 and I've barely gotten it all together.  This morning?  It's currently 6:12 in the morning, workout DONE, showered, made up, dressed, hair coiffed, and my first cup of coffee by my side.  WHAT?!  Lol.

The normal Tuesday is David's day off, so I usually don't have to take Little Man to the babysitter, but with the holidays, he's working the rest of the week.  We're down to 1 vehicle this week, b/c David dug into the car to replace the busted heater core (which entered literal meltdown stage last week, after being on the edge of broken for a year now) and realized he needs a mechanic to help him out.  So we're going to figure it out and hopefully come next Monday, I have a car with a nice, warm heater!

I'm going to make wise use of my extra time; finish up this post, read my bible, then get dinner in the crock pot.  I was already planning where to stop and pick up dinner on the way home, and I said NOT!  I have my handy dandy list on the fridge; it has 6 meals on it.  That means ONE DAY of eating out, not multiple days.  If we eat out tonight, that means nothing over the weekend, and David really likes to have a meal out either Friday or Saturday evening.  I have one meal planned that can go in the crock pot, and Kody's home to get it started, so I will chop up the beef, mix up the soy sauce and garlic, and get that broccoli beef simmering.  It's healthy, and it's DELICIOUS.

Amazing Broccoli Beef recipe

I guess not having a scale causes me a tiny bit of discouragement.  At least with a scale, you have a tangible THING that says you're on the right track.  Lately, I haven't stuck with any exercise/healthy eating LONG enough to feel my clothes loosen up, so I get discouraged.  I feel like yesterday's 24 hours of eating well was an eternity.  Today, I need to figure out lunch, dinner will be ready when I get off, and I'll have my usual Cheerios.  I HAVE discovered Kroger's Carb Master milk.  I've tried the low cal eater's favorite milk substitute Almond Milk, and I Just.Don't.Like.It.  I've tried different brands, different flavors, and it's just yuck.  I've thought about delving into Keto, but the guidelines are to stay UNDER 20 grams of Carbs a day, and my Cheerios are more than half that.  I tried eating eggs for breakfast, and #1 they don't stay with me, and #2 I'm about to eat the entire loaf of bread by dinner (hence the day I ate well ALL DAY and then gorged on 5 sliders and a bowl of Doritos).

Compare the labels.  Carb Master is AWESOME!

Last night I fixed the aforementioned sliders.  Used the same sweet buns I did last time.  Made it solely with Turkey Sausage.  I had TWO, only 1 bun (and just the bun bottoms, at that) and a bowl of my Boom Chicka Pop popcorn (my fave low cal option; 45 calories for a cup, and my bowl was about a cup and 3/4).  Dessert was a serving size of Turtle Chex Mix.  I have icecream, brownies, hot fudge, cookies, etc in the house.  I managed to walk by ALL of them, go me.  How long can I do it?  Hopefully 364 more days!

Couldn't resist this cuteness!

Here's to 2018!  I've got that "hurts so good" day 2 soreness going on.  I am dying to do the Hot Chocolate 5K; it's in Nashville (3 1/2 hours west) and it's the weekend before my birthday.  I have 4 weeks to decide for certain if I'm going to do it.  They have a 15K that would be AWESOME to shoot for next year.  Hopefully the weather moves about the 30's so I can not only get out and do Cto5K, but also so Khaleesi can get out and stretch her legs!!

One of our MANY trips down the Dragon's Tail this year

Under Control

When you literally can't stand to look at yourself in the mirror FULLY CLOTHED, you know it's time to take control.  It was 5 years ago today almost to the day that I began this blog, chronicling my journey to lose nearly 50 lbs.  I've put every lb and probably then some back on.  This whole having a baby after 35 thing has kicked my a$$.  When I have a free second, literally ALL I want to do is sleep.  Sunday, I took a 3 hour nap.  Makes it EXTREMELY hard to get up and work out.  And working out for me is key.  No, I'm not going to try and out-exercise a bad diet, but I can NOT rely solely on eating alone to lose weight.  I LIKE to eat.  I will NOT low carb/no sugar myself into losing that 50 lbs again.  I didn't do that 5 years ago, and I won't do it this time.  But here's the thing; I HAVE to do something.  I make myself sick to my stomach to look at me.  So TODAY, I started what I did 5 years ago.

I logged all my food into myfitnesspal.com.  Very enlightening!  What I ate yesterday, it theorized I'd gain 5 lbs in 5 weeks.  Wow.  I was almost 1100 calories over my "goal".  What I ate TODAY it said I'd lose 12 lbs in 5 weeks.  Hey, I'll take that!  I also "doubled up" a bit.  I did T-25 this morning; about 1/2 modified and 1/2 not.  When I put the baby to bed, I did Couch to 5k, week one ... again.  My legs felt like lead, but it was a nice, sweaty workout.  My neighborhood is exactly 2 1/4 miles around, so that works out to have a little bit left over to walk once the workout is over.  I can't bring myself to take pics again of the whole sports bra/shorts getup again.  Maybe 6 months in.  For now, I have a cute nightie that I'd like to wear with confidence that looks HORRIBLE on me right now that I'll take the monthly pics with.

I have to quantify my earlier statement about what I won't do with what I WILL do.  I WILL get back to calorie counting and being conscious of portion size.  I've become desensitized to the correct serving size, and have been eating WAY too big of a serving.  Basically, when I go to bed, I feel full.  Today, I've felt somewhat empty all day, which isn't necessarily good for me.  If I'm hungry, that's when I'm more likely to make bad choices and snack on something junky.  I did well and drank my 48 oz bottle of water, and I have 16 more to go before bed; if and when I feel hungry, I will grab the bottle and drink away.  I will do as before, and make lower calorie substitutions, or remove a piece of bread, or do SOMETHING to cut the calorie content of what I'm eating.  But I hate to have a "list" of foods I can or can't eat, and right now my finances won't allow expensive foods low in carbs/sugars, so I have to make do with the 'normal' stuff.  I don't want to take a pill, or wrap up in a majikal wrap that will melt all the fat away.  I don't want to drink a secret shake that will slim me up in no time flat.  I just have to get back to making good, sensible choices that are the proper serving sizes, and STOP eating "dessert" after every meal.  I also have to decide to GET UP and exercise.  Stop hitting the snooze button 6 times, and drag my lazy rumpus out of bed!  Without further ado, here's the yucky pics :(

Of Pregnancy and staying active

SWEAT!

Well.  I must start by saying I feel really good!  Ever since my 1st adjustment at my new chiro 2 weeks ago, I have been headache free for the most part!  (barring waking up with one 2 days b/c I slept too hard)  I don't go again until after my next OB appt (which is when we find out the gender!!), so hopefully everything "holds".

I've been fighting the lazy pregnancy bug.  I KNOW my body is sucking up excess energy making a baby, but I'm feeling so FAT.  Not pregnant, FAT.  It's actually yanking me down in the dumps, so I finally decided to do something about it.

First off, let me say THANK YOU to the amazing Shaun T for developing an exercise routine a preggo woman can do and not feel like she's overdoing it.  I attempted T25 before and actually hurt myself enough that I never did it again.  This time, I'm following the amazing Tania "The Machine" as she is doing 'modifier' exercises since she's recovering from having a baby.  Trust me, those are killer enough for someone that's been lazy for about 2 months!  And as the baby grows, I'll only get more tired, so the T25 modifier will be PLENTY for the next who know how long.  I've tried walking my usual 3 mile track a few times, and I actually have been experiencing a fair amount of hip/back pain afterwards.  I don't have access to a nice gravel track anywhere, and I think the concrete is just hard on my body even though I'm not running.  I cut it down to 2 miles on Monday, and I still felt it!  Worked out with Shaun T yesterday and today and experienced something cool; I woke up with a headache this morning b/c I slept too hard.  Drank a little water, put my workout clothes on, and hit the living room floor.  Now?  Headache gone and I've just got that nice small "burn" in my muscles that tell me I worked them nicely.

I'm listening to my body (and baby!), and definitely not overdoing anything.  No jumping whatsoever.  I'm going to WORK to stay on track and keep getting up and "pushing play" every morning.  I feel better when I do it, NO excuses!

In other news, my new menu thing is awesome!  I just came up w/ my one for this week, and it's been a fun challenge to find recipes that use something OTHER than chicken.  It's amazing how virtually all the "Fall" recipes are chicken this and chicken that.  I'm branching out and trying a few new recipes this week, so hopefully all goes well!  Not much happening this week, just working (Saturday too, boo!).  No church for us because the one we found this past week is actually shut down this weekend for a whole weekend of "community service".  We'll go back next week and see how it goes!

Later, y'all.  Hope the rest of your week is great!  Love and kisses :D

Just plugging along

I have no intention of joining a gym.  The money I'm spending doesn't motivate me to show up.  I paid for a gym for 3 years ... for the first 6 months, I went about twice a week.  The 2nd 6 months, about once a week.  The next year, about once a month.  The final year ... maybe 6 times total.  It's just a matter of DOING it.  I have workouts ... Piyo, Insanity, T25, and good 'ol jogging right outside my apartment; all I have to do is get UP and WORK.  Today, I did it.  Sweated my butt off, ate a yummy lunch pretty much identical to the one pictured in the last blog post, and came home and had some AMAZING home made broccoli beef and orange chicken.  On Saturday, not only were there GIANT donuts from one of our hygienists, one of the DA's went to McD's and bought everyone a chicken sandwich.  I said thanks but no thanks and enjoyed my same lunch I had today :D
Yesterday was a bit of a "cheat" day.  Had some amazing home made ice cream (only 1 scoop) in a waffle cone.  I enjoy food.  I enjoy trying out new places for treats.  It's all about the portion control, and the NOT eating it every DAY that's important.  Tomorrow, I will get up and sweat again.  I will watch what I eat and pray that those tight pants loosen up a little, and my over-inflated "girls" shrink back down to a manageable size.  I will scour Pinterest for healthy, clean eating recipes, and I will try to cram more veggies into my diet.  I will continue to tell sugar to "bite me", and I WILL prevail once again ... this time for good.  MAKE IT HAPPEN!

A season of firsts

Home made carrot cake!  Icing and all :)

Well, my family and I were out of town for Thanksgiving this year ... WAY out of town!  We called everybody and talked to them, but I'm sure they'll tell you it's not the same.  It was weird with it just being the 3 of us, but it was nice too.  We stayed in our pj's all day :)  I had cooked some stuff yesterday, but still spent plenty of time in the kitchen today as well.

Our menu this year included a Honeybaked Ham, potato salad, sweet potato casserole (with brown sugar and pecans), stuffing, gravy, and homemade mac and cheese.  My husband likes these meatballs my mom makes, with grape jelly and BBQ sauce, so I made those as an appetizer.  I was determined that just because we were "alone", that didn't mean we weren't going to eat well :)  I made the peanut butter cookies with a hershey's kiss in the center, chocolate chip cookies, a pecan pie and my first attempt at a homemade carrot cake.  So LOTS of yummy sweets!  Haha, time to get back on the diet bandwagon again first thing in the morning!  No, seriously ... not even gonna post a pic because I can PROMISE you I have not lost one single pound in the last 25 days.  I was on the Insanity bandwagon GREAT last week, and then I got the Black Plague of Death and TRIED to keep working out.  I did the T25 stretch which is AMAZING, then the Insanity Recovery workout, then the stretch again and then just decided to take the week off.  I am STILL not well, it's been about 10 days and I'm still coughing crap up. :(  My throat is sore, my nose is sore from blowing it so much and I have that constant annoying drainage that JUST won't quit.  Not going to worry about working out until Monday since Insanity is a 6 day program and I like having Sundays off, but I am going cold turkey on the food thing.  I ate EXACTLY what I wanted to today; didn't stuff myself silly, but didn't deny either.

No matter, I feel just fine about myself.  I know I was strong enough to lose 45 lbs, I'm strong enough to knock the 15 or so lbs I've gained back off again.  I have worked out a deal to take some riding lessons from a local trainer, AND I'm doing a "test ride" on Saturday to see about me riding a person's horse once or twice a week because she just doesn't have the time to ride a whole bunch.  I'm SO happy about that, because even though riding isn't enough by itself, it's definitely a step in the right direction OUT of the whole sedentary thing.  I'm thankful to have been presented these opportunities and I intend to make the most of them!

I hope all y'all had a great Thanksgiving, and remember to be thankful EVERY day.  Remember, the key to happiness is contentment, and in order to be content you have to WORK at it.  The holiday season tends to bring out both the best and worst in people; always strive to be at your best and keep a positive attitude.

Loving it

Want to go back here!  Sutro Baths, just outside San Fran

Just a few random thoughts for ye old blog before bed tonight.  Firstly, I am SO grateful and happy to be here.  I am enjoying this place, spending time with my boys, and focusing on "real" life SO much.  Not gonna lie; it has been HARD.  It took us so long to find jobs that we're still fighting money issues right now, but we're s   l   o   w   l   y   getting on track.  I'm trying to reach out and make some friends.  I almost made it to the ladies night church activity, but I allowed the long work day to be my excuse not to go.  I'm thinking about making the effort to get out and be social, hard as that is for me.

It's actually been a welcome break and a nice relief to step away from the horse world for a few months.  I honestly haven't thought much about them in the time we've been here.  I definitely don't miss the hustle and bustle of the WORK part of it, but I am starting to miss just the simplicity of BEING with horses and smelling/touching them.  I reached out to a local big name event trainer tonight to see if she minded if I stopped in to watch a lesson or 2.  I would like to slowly ease my way back into it, just watch some lessons, maybe find an event to volunteer at.  Then, maybe find a ride.  I'm not pushing anything, like I said, the break has been good for me.  When you own a horse, ALL your thoughts are obsessed on shows, money for lessons and clinics, new tack, shoes, vet bills, etc.  It's nice to not have to worry about that farrier bill or vet bill ... it's stressful!  And plus, I worked SO hard just to be able to (barely) afford my horse, it's so weird to work a 4 day week behind a desk; I feel like a slacker!

Great message on disciplining your kids at church today.  Makes me realize I can indeed take SOME credit for how awesome my child is, because even though his personality is amazing, my husband and I have NEVER allowed him to get away with anything.  From a young age, we had expectations of our son.  He has to clean his room, be respectful, sit still, and generally not be a heathen.  He is currently one of the most amazing, respectful, kind hearted, and awesome 11 year olds I know.  I'm glad we had the sense to set boundaries and have expectations back when he was 2, so now as he begins to transition to teenager, I'm confident he will not resort to sullen teenage boy antics.

Once again, I am having issues with a REALLY (bad) sore ab muscle.  I felt it in my obliques about a month ago; my side hurt so bad I literally would have gone to the emergency room if we'd had the money.  After about 3 days of pretty bad pain, I came to the conclusion that it was muscle strain, and I just took things REALLY easy.  This time, it's front and center, the top abs.  They HURT, and not in a good way.  DANG!  That's definitely the biggest disadvantage to moving from a very physical job to a desk job, and exercising every day.  I need to be more careful and do a longer warmup than I have been.  Strained muscles hurt! And they're counter productive; I don't feel like I can do my T-25 at all this week; I need to take the week off so I don't REALLY hurt myself :(  I'm actually thinking about breaking out the Insanity workout of "core cardio and balance", which is a normal length 43 minute Insanity workout, but one that's lower impact than even the typical T25 workout.  I think I will just do the T25 "stretch" video tomorrow, then try CC and B on Tuesday and see how I feel.  I've got skinny jeans to fit into!:)

Coming out

Ran through the park today; beautiful!

Well, plenty to talk about!  First of all, I'm going to come out and say it ... I've definitely gained back some weight :(  Not a LOT, but definitely at least 10 lbs.  My most favorite of the jeans I bought on my slim down aren't really fitting right now.  I mean ... I squeezed myself into them.  And then I took them off for fear of busting a seam.  So ... I've made a deal with myself.  If I can wear them again by Nov 1, good for me!  If I can't, it's picture posting time here on the blog again!

Today I ran 6 miles.  Super sore in my hips right now, but feet feel good woo hoo!  Oh!  And I got baptized today :)  That is something I have had a desire to do for about a year now, but it just never seemed to work out.  Obviously, God had other plans for me and TODAY was the right day for it!  It actually is a hard thing to do when your desire to step away from the limelight is strong.  As a kid/teen I wanted to be the center of attention ALL the time.  Now, I'm perfectly content to step back and allow the kiddo to fill that roll.  So, I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to be washed away of my sins, and now I'm looking for the opportunity to get in some volunteer work, hopefully with the church.  I'm serious about changing my life.

I've had my first official full week of work, and fortunately I feel like I'm swimming.  Not just treading water, or even worse, drowning.  It's actually quite difficult.  VERY detail oriented, and foreign to my eyes, but I think I'm doing ok.  The girls are so nice to me and tell me I'm doing so awesome, especially for it only being my first week, but the last thing I want to do is be cocky about it.  I'm glad they think I'm doing well, it just motivates me to do even better and carry my own weight.  David also has had HIS first week, and he is kicking butt and taking names!  He's adapted quickly to the job and is competent enough to work on his own.  My husband is such a smart cookie, he could do anything he wants; it's just so difficult here in CA to find jobs.  There's so many people searching that every single little puny little job requires a license, or a certification of some sort, it's ridiculous!  Hopefully we don't have to worry about that any more, I have no plans to leave my job any time soon, and I don't think David is planning to change either:)

My sister in law is coming up next week and I'm SO excited!  I'm so blessed and fortunate that I get along with my in-laws every bit as great as I do my immediate family.  I look forward to spending time with my SIL just like I would my actual sister.  She will be here for almost a week, and it works out that we will get to spend plenty of time together:)  She's flying into the Sac airport which is not far at all.  It's a great airport.  David and I both job hunted there, but couldn't find anything.

I got up super early all last week to do T25 before work, and I will do so again this week.  I'm getting in the exercise, I just have to get my eating back under control.  I've fallen into the "sweet cereal" trap for dessert, and I'm eating way too late at night.  We do dinner around 7ish usually, but I'm then eating a bowl of cereal around 10 and that's what's causing my weight gain.  That and the 20 Ritz crackers I sneak in during the day.  I just have to slap myself mentally upside the head and not sabotage all the hard work I did last year.  Accountability!  Like I said, giving myself 3 weeks to get it together before I go back to posting "fat" pictures on the blog, so hopefully y'all won't be subjected to that again!  Hope everyone has a good week, I'm planning to :)

Oh, my aching ... chin?

For those of you that never really exercise, you should search around for Insanity/crossfit/T25/P90X/etc.  And just try ONE workout.  Oh.  Emm.  Gee.  I've committed to getting back on the T25 bandwagon after making sure my side is 100%, this time wearing shoes AND taking the modifier option every now and then, as I would certainly consider myself to be "out of shape" at the moment.  This is day 3, hump day, and I started on Monday.  Every muscle in my body hurts, including places where I didn't think you HAVE muscles, eg. under my chin.  Talk about PAIN!  But it's that GOOD pain, that pain that says I'm kicking butt and working out.

I can't remember if I've really talked about the T25 program; it's developed by the originator of Insanity, Shaun T, and it's basically a 25 minute version of an Insanity workout.  Now, if you're new to my blog, you may be wondering what Insanity is.  The Insanity program is what helped me shed 45 lbs last year.  Changing up my eating habits helped to kick start my weight loss, but Insanity shaped and sculpted my body until my size 14 clothes quite literally fell down to my ankles.  A cute dress I had that had always fit pretty well hung so comically on my freshly toned arms, it looked ridiculous, so I chunked all of those clothes into a bag and took them to the donation bin.

The problem with Insanity?  Well, for someone with a pretty strong lazy streak, it is near impossible to keep up forever.  It's a 60 day program, 6 days a week for 40-50 minutes the first month, then 6 days a week for 50-60 minutes a day the 2nd month.  It has you sprinting, doing moving pushups, walking planks, "V" push ups, burpees, suicide climbers, jumping jacks, jump rope with an imaginary rope, "power jumps" where you leap as high in the air as you can and slap your thighs, lunges, "shoulder burners", basketball jumps ... any sort of torturous gym exercise you can remember, that's what Shaun T has you doing.  It's a GREAT program ... and I found myself spending more time dreading what was coming then actually dreading the workout once I was in it ... but it was HARD to make myself push play on the computer.

T25 is modified Insanity exercises, 5 days a week, only 25 minutes.  Unfortunately, the time sacrifice is in the warm up and the stretch and the cool down, arguably the most important parts of a workout routine ... hence me straining an oblique muscle after doing only 2 days.  So today will be day 3, which I have not yet done, and I will get back to whipping my body back into shape.  Running is great exercise, but your body gets used to it ... at least mine does.  I think for ME T25 is a more sustainable workout because it's ONLY 25 minutes, and it's 5 days a week; something I can commit to by getting up half an hour earlier each morning and knocking it out.  There is a 25 minute stretch workout in there that I will fit in when I feel as though I need it (like right now!).

I LOVED my toned up body.  Problem is, it requires WORK to keep it that way.  I relaxed and let that slide; I am going to WORK to get it back again, and then I will WORK to keep it forever.  It's SO easy to allow yourself to get bitten by the lazy bug and start to slide back into old habits of making excuses like, "I've been married 14 years; why should I kill myself to look good?"  or "I'm married with a kid, who am I trying to impress anyway?"  You know what?  I'm not trying to impress anyone, I'm trying to be the BEST me I can be, and the BEST me is not fat and flabby.  The BEST me doesn't snack on m&m's all day and stuff my face with Ritz crackers at every opportunity.  The BEST me doesn't drink regular soda, or even diet soda.  The BEST me loves myself and tries to take care of ME by eating well and taxing every muscle I can to firm it back into submission.  Don't wait until Monday to change your habits.  START TODAY!  Drink water, chill on the refined sugar, and move your body!  It's simple.  I'm following my own advice!  Hope the rest of your week is great:)  OH!  And ps, David and I have found a new church to attend, I'm very excited.  Pastor Jimenez is the pastor, and he LOOKS about 25, but I think he's actually around my ageish.  Very passionate, great sermon, great Bible study.  Excited about what Sunday brings!