Why Did I Become a Beachbody Coach?

This weekend consisted of... not much. Tucker and I ran errands (which included a donut breakfast) and my family came over for dinner. We had Pizza King (if you're from Indiana, you know this is pizza at its finest) as part of a fundraiser for a local family who has a little girl around Tucker's age who is battling cancer for the 2nd time. We bought 2 pizzas, I paid $8 for 3 cookies and 3 brownies, and I hugged Tucker a little tighter when he got out of bed to snuggle a couple extra times last night.

This weekend also consisted of a lot of thinking on my part.  Thinking about my "why?" Over the last few weeks of getting acquainted with this Beachbody journey of mine, that's what I've been thinking about the most. Why am I doing this?

When I did T25 over the holidays in 2014, I fell in love with exercise and what it does for me. It was because of that program that I realized my body needs to move, not only for the physical benefits, but the mental benefits as well. The confidence, the endorphins, whatever. Exercise makes me a happier person. Beachbody helped me realize this.

Those 2 guys in that picture deserve the best version of me that I can give them.  Being healthy is about so much more than looking good at this point.
Its about... having enough energy to keep up with my 2 year old bouncing from one activity to the next.
Being able to crawl around on the floor building castles and playing trains because my back doesn't hurt.
Going on long walks around our neighborhood with my husband, our son and our dog.
Being focused on my date with my husband and not the fact that my outfit was picked because its the only one that fit right.
Setting a good example for Tucker.
Growing our family and being healthy in the process.
Being able to balance all of my roles.
Being HAPPY.

Those are some pretty big Why's.

Weigh-In Wednesday: 5/13/15

I would consider today the first real weigh-in after Whole30.  I've been "on my own" with eating for 2 weeks now and this week's weigh-in proves whether or not I learned anything from my experience and made changes that I can live with.

Last Week: 153.8 lbs

This Week: 153.4 lbs

Change: -.4 lbs

I think its freaking awesome. Considering the amount of alcohol that was consumed and how much "good food" wasn't consumed, its a win.

Like I said yesterday, I'm still using the Whole30 as a guide for planning and building my meals. For example, this was dinner last night.

Ground beef, with peppers, tomatoes (Rotel) and a compliant salsa, then I added black beans and corn and we had it over cauliflower rice. We were both full when it was said and done. While black beans and corn are against Whole30 rules, we don't eat enough of either to really cause any problems. At least we think so anyways.

Tucker loved dinner. He ate with us an hour after he had beef stew, cornbread and ice cream at my mother-in-law's.

As for exercising, I said before I started Whole30 that I wanted to do a love handles challenge. Yeah, that didn't happen. I should probably start that soon. I go back to the doctor next Thursday and I am hoping and praying that I get released to at least start walking. I need to move my bod more than I do on a daily basis. We are toying with the idea of taking our bikes camping next weekend so I could probably do that if I am unable to walk.

I really can't wait to see what happens to my body and weigh loss progress when I can start mixing these healthy eating habits with exercise. I think it will still be a slow process, but more rewarding.

Weigh-In Wednesday: 5/6/15

I have just enough spare time this morning before I get started on work to join in Weigh-In Wednesday and share the rest of Danny and I's meals with you. Since we ended early, I'm giving you the last 10 days all at once. I'm hoping tomorrow or Friday I can recap the Whole30(more like Whole25) experience for you all and give you my thoughts.

Let's start with the weigh-in though. I'm going with the number I saw on the scale Friday morning since that was the first day off of the Whole30. Plus, today's number would have been rough. We had friends over last night and I'm feeling the effects a 16" pizza(obviously I didn't eat this all by myself) and 2 bottles of wine (we each drank the equivalent of one). It was such a good Tuesday though. Anyways...
Last time: 158.8
Post Whole30 weigh in: 153.8

I lost 5 pounds. I am more than happy with these results. Now Danny? He lost 20 pounds. 20 freaking pounds. Men..

Onto the food.

Day 15:

Breakfast - 3 eggs with spinach and hot sauce, pork and cantaloupe
Lunch - salad with chicken, tomatoes, egg and salsa (I went out with friends)
Dinner - some extremely lemony chicken, cauli rice and broccoli
Snacks - larabar and watermelon

Day 16:

Breakfast - sausage and sweet potato casserole (hands down, the best thing I ate the entire time) with watermelon
Lunch - more non compliant honey Dijon pork, cauli rice, broccoli
Dinner - hamburger patty on salad with a potato
Snack - larabar over strawberries

Day 17:

Breakfast - 2 sausage links, 3 eggs with spinach, watermelon
Lunch - salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and pork with Southwest Ranch Tessamae's dressing, carrots and blackberries
Dinner - 2 chicken drumsticks, broccoli and butternut squash
Snack - strawberries with almond butter

Day 18:

Breakfast - sausage and sweet potato casserole with watermelon
Lunch - spaghetti squash with turkey meatballs and sauce, banana
Dinner - shrimp taco salad (another Mexican restaurant failed me again and didn't mention beans being in the salad on the menu). I ate 2 chicken drumsticks before we went since I knew I wouldn't get full
Snacks - I had 2 larabars this day. whoops.

Day 19:

Breakfast - 3 sausage links, 3/4 apple, strawberries and almond butter
Lunch - salad with chicken from 2 drumsticks, cucumbers, tomatoes and green peppers with SW Ranch Tessamae's, 3/4 sweet potato and a banana
Dinner - ribeye with brussel sprouts
Snack - Larabar

Day 20:

Breakfast - banana and bacon
Lunch - chicken sausage (wasn't compliant but didn't know until after I opened the package) with peppers over lettuce with maro
Dinner - chicken dinner fundraiser. I ate mashed potatoes. This was my first intentional cheat.
Snack - cashews, larabar for dessert after the dinner

Day 21:

Breakfast - eggs & larabar
Lunch - zucchini noodles, turkey, blackberries at home. then I went to a bridal shower where I had pulled beef (no bbq sauce), raw veggies and fruit. I also had champagne punch. The writing was on the wall at this point.
Dinner - lettuce wrapped burger with broccoli and cauliflower

Day 22:

Breakfast - bacon and apple with almond butter
Lunch - turkey lettuce boats with tomato and mustard, cucumbers and celery dipped with SW Ranch and a Larabar
Dinner - grilled chicken salad with tomatoes, peppers, and cucumber with Zesty Ranch Tessamae's I think.
Snacks - another larabar and bacon. the salad wasn't filling.

Day 23:

Breakfast - 3 eggs with mushrooms, spinach and ham, strawberries
Lunch - spaghetti squash with chicken sausage peppers and sauce, blackberries
Dinner - egg roll in a bowl with cauli rice and shrimp (another favorite that we will have frequently!)
Snack - larabar

Day 24:

Breakfast - same but kiwi instead of strawberries
Lunch - same but an apple with almond butter instead of blackberries
Dinner - subway salad with chicken, peppers, tomato, cucumber with SW Ranch
Snack - larabar

Day 25: The last day

Breakfast - 3 sausage links (the cut up sausage is Tucks) and apple with almond butter
Lunch - stew. People took me out and this was as compliant as I could get
Dinner - meatloaf muffins and mashed cauli
Snack - carrots and cucumbers. And then I had a cocktail after Tuck went to bed to celebrate the awesome day I had.

And that's a wrap on our Whole25. And that's it for today. I'll be back sometime with my thoughts on the whole thing.

Weigh-In Wednesday: 4/22/15

Another week of Whole30 is in the books. We are currently in the middle of our 3rd week with 16 whole days being completed. It's actually gone by pretty quickly. But, now that we are over halfway through, we have some challenges coming up: chicken dinner and a birthday party on Saturday, bridal shower and another birthday party on Sunday, a work lunch next week sometime, then more bridal showers next weekend. All difficult events foodwise with a plethora of non-compliant foods.

Again, I will be going over what we've been eating day by day. My foods are different than Danny's some days since he isn't afraid of eating the wrong thing anymore. He's kind of taken control of his lunches with some guidance. So, here we go.

Day 8:

Breakfast - 2 1/2 egg muffins that had pork, mushrooms and spinach (Tucker ate 1/2 of one), strawberries with almond butter.
Lunch - turkey and cucumber "sandwiches" with mayo, sweet potato chips and grapes. The chips were a rule breaker in terms of it being a "sex with pants on" food(visit the website for info on what sex with pants on foods are), but they were still compliant and I don't feel bad about them. If having a handful of compliant sweet potato chips will help me keep going, then I'm doin it! I also ate a Larabar
Dinner - beef and green bean stir fry over cauliflower rice. Danny cooked the stir fry and just started throwing coconut aminos and spices in the pan. It turned out SO delicious.... and I don't have a picture of the dinner.
Snacks - cashews

Day 9:

Breakfast - same as yesterday, except I took a picture this time.
Lunch - leftover stir fry on a salad with mayo for dressing
Dinner - green beans and potatoes, tilapia. The green beans sucked. No flavor.
Snacks - apple and Larabar

Day 10:

Breakfast - 2 sausage links, 3/4 banana and 3/4 apple with almond butter. Tucker ate the missing parts of the fruit and the 3rd sausage link I made for myself in addition to the sausage link and waffle I made for him.
Lunch - 4 lettuce turkey and tomato wraps/boats/I don't know what to call them, green beans and potatoes, grapes
Dinner - pulled pork sweet potato sliders, broccoli. Now this dinner was delicious and probably my fave.
Snacks - NONE!

Day 11:

Breakfast - 2 1/2 egg muffins, 3/4 banana and almond butter
Lunch - avocado chicken salad with red peppers on lettuce leaves, cucumbers, carrots, and cantaloupe
Dinner - grilled chicken, potato and carrots
Snacks - I don't have any written down

Day 12:

Breakfast - banana and apple with almond butter, 2 slices of turkey
Lunch - salad with turkey, cucumbers, tomatoes with Tessamae's southwest ranch dressing, broccoli, Larabar
Dinner - chicken sausages and potatoes, zucchini and peppers baked in foil
Snacks - NONE!

Day 13:

Breakfast - scrambled eggs with salsa, cantaloupe
Lunch - steak taco salad. I had a slip this meal. We took some family to lunch and I ordered a taco salad. I either missed where the menu said it had refried beans or it just didn't say it. I avoided them as much as possible.
Dinner - honey Dijon pork chops with potatoes
Snack - I had some potatoes from Friday
*This was a slippery day. A reader kindly pointed out that the honey mustard is not compliant. In my mind, Tessamae's automatically meant compliant, but that is not the case. I haven't had any of the honey mustard since. Apparently the mental clarity that people get from Whole30 is going to be a late benefit for me.

Day 14:

Breakfast - Larabar and cantaloupe. It had to be quick since we slept late and had to get ready for church quickly
Lunch - salsa chicken on lettuce, cucumbers
Dinner - leftover pork on a potato (okay so I had a little bit more honey mustard), cucumbers
Snacks - a couple pieces of fruit and a hard boiled egg to see if I actually boiled eggs successfully.

So, this week was a little loosey goosey in terms of rules. One I knew we were breaking/bending, a couple of others were unintentional. This Whole30 isn't perfect and I knew it wouldn't be, but I think we're doing alright with it!

Weigh-In Wednesday: 4/1/15

How in the heck is it April? I'm glad its here though. Danny and I start our Whole30 on Monday, the weather is finally getting its act together(with the exception of a lot of rain next week),  and maybe, just maybe, I'll be out of this dang boot at the end of the month.

Let's get to the real reason I'm here today. Weigh-In Wednesday!

Last Week: 159.0 lbs

This Week: 158.8 lbs

Change: -.2 lbs

For not being able to exercise, I'll take it. I mean, it's probably muscle loss, but whatever. My size 8 jeans still fit. That's about all I care about right now.

Next week starts the Whole30 for Danny and me.  This weeks weigh-in will be my starting weight. I'm going to have to have Danny hide the scale somewhere in the garage so I don't weigh myself. I just don't think I can go an entire 30 days without weighing myself.

I'm excited to get started. Nervous, but excited. Danny definitely isn't as excited as I am. Last week, I mentioned to Danny that he should keep a mental list of all of his complaints and ailments for the next week and a half. That way we can really monitor our progress as we do this. I'm not sure if he did or not, but I've kept a mental list.  Here is what has bothered me for the last week.

- I've been moody - I've had some mood swings the past couple of weeks. Now, this could easily be explained by my period finally returning. I'm sure the fried, cheesy, bad for me foods contribute to it as well. I remember being a bit calmer when I was eating better.
- I've been tired - Again, I think this could be explained by another factor, which would be not getting any exercise. No exercise could explain my mood too.
- A few headaches - I had a headache last night and I think I had one a few days ago too.
- Dry skin - I've got a couple patches of dry skin. Surprisingly, I beat my dry skin problem all winter, but there are a few patches that are developing. Like in my ear. How does that even happen?
- Cravings - Now that I've allowed dairy back in  my life, I've opened myself up to things that were just off limits before. And I give in. Which leads to eating 3 pieces of chocolates, when I was just going to have one.

I'm going to be honest. The main reason I am doing the Whole30 is to lose weight. The second reason is to recreate my relationship with food. I don't want to depend on it to make me feel better. I've recreated my relationship with exercise and I've found that it does help me feel better. Weight loss is built into the program and that new relationship I'm looking for should take care of itself.

Now, I need to spend the next few days preparing for it. I've got all but a few of our meals for the first week planned out. I just need to get to the store later this week and let the games begin!

Weigh-In Wednesday: 3/25/15

Weighing in on Wednesdays takes a bit more effort now than it did last week. I gotta  hobble or crutch to the bathroom, take my boot off, step on the scale, then put my boot back on. Despite all the extra work for a 20 second event, I did it anyways! And I'm glad I did because it gave me motivation to set some goals for the next couple of months while I recover.

Last Week: 157.8 lbs

This Week: 159.0 lbs

Change: +1.2 lbs

That's my first gain in a month, and I'm still in the 150s so I'll take it. I was a little lax with my eating this weekend. Mentally, I think I automatically go to "I'm doing a Whole30 in a couple weeks, so its okay to eat 6 Oreos right now" and I need to cut that out. I've worked hard to get back to the 150s and I don't want to see all of that go to waste because of my food choices. I can't control that I can't exercise right now. But I can control what food I put in my body. Oreos, French fries, breaded tenderloins (seriously, come to Indiana and get one), and Tucker's leftover French toast every morning isn't going to keep me where I'm at or help me get to where I want to be.

Let's talk about these goals. I'm trying to keep them realistic since the only form of exercise I get now is using crutches. Seriously though. My arms and shoulders have been on fire since Saturday.
1. Complete the Whole30 - This is going to be crucial. And I'm pretty pumped for it. Since I have more spare time now, I have been planning hardcore. I have a color-coded calendar made up for what days I have to have meals prepped in advance since Danny is doing this too and will need to take food to work. Plus he is taking a class on Monday and Wednesday nights during this, so that's another 2 days that food has to be prepped in advance. I've got a Word document with meals and links to the recipes started and its broken down by breakfast, lunch, dinner and sides. Plus, I ordered some Whole30 approved sauces from Tessemaes and of the 2 we tried last night, I enjoy them both. I might have to hide the Chesapeake Mayo from Danny until the Whole30 starts. I've also been prepping my taste buds. I can now tolerate coffee with a splash of coconut milk. That's it. I knew coffee would be the toughest change (peanut butter being a close second. Almond butter sucks so I'm just going to have to go the whole 30 days without) so I wanted to get a head start.
2. Stay in my 8s - Other than when I was pregnant and the months following Tucker's birth (so from August 2013-July 2014), I've worn a size 10 jeans since I was in like 7th grade. I briefly wore 12s in college, but that was for like a year then I got my shit together. I am now comfortably wearing 8's and it feels pretty damn good.
3. Love Handles Challenge - I was scrolling through my Motivation board on Pinterest the other day looking for SOMETHING I can do while I'm in this boot. Not exercising is getting to me I think. I'm kind of cranky and I'm tired. And having worked so hard the last 5 months, it's kind of terrifying to completely stop the physical part of it. So, I found this.

I believe I can safely do each move while recovering.  I'm going to wait until April to start, maybe a week or so into my Whole30. 

Those are my 3 goals for the duration of my boot time. I think they are doable.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday. Today SHOULD be our camper day. We shall see though!

Weigh-In Wednesday: 3/4/15... Except its Thursday 3/5/15

So, I started a Weigh-In Wednesday post yesterday afternoon when I felt like I finally had the energy to type. Half way into it I found out I was wrong. Tucker and I were up most of Tuesday night taking turns throwing up. Danny was up with us to help us cope and clean ourselves up. For a guy who "doesn't do puke" he handled the situation very well. I was impressed. 

Anyways.. onto my late weigh-in.


Last Week: 161 lbs
This Week: 159.2 lbs
Change: -1.8 lbs

I'm not going to get too excited about the  loss given the activities from last night. I think some of its very possible because my eating was pretty on point for most of the week, but that was just most of the week.

Here is where I'm at on a few things:
Last week I talked about how I was going to cut sugar out in April and follow the 21 day sugar detox. Then Erin @ She's A Big Star convinced me to read It Starts With Food. I am so glad I did! My plan now is to do the Whole30 after Easter instead of the 21 day sugar detox. Both have the same end goal: eat better and reset your body. Plus, Whole30 allows for more than lemons, limes, andone green apple or one banana per day. I don't love green apples and bananas make me feel hungry after I eat them.

Second thing. My damn leg. It still hurts. It hurts more than just after I work out. It hurts while I'm driving. It hurts while I'm walking. I'm starting to limp. The MRI bill hurts too, especially since it "didn't show anything." So, I'm taking this week, and possibly next week, off from exercise. If it still hurts at that point, then I'm getting a second opinion. We're getting to the point in the year where any boot and recovery time will have to be done when the weather is nice. I don't want to be in a boot or doing exercises when I could be walking or running at the park. And I certainly don't want to be in a boot on my Alaskan cruise. So, no working out for me. Which stinks because I feel like I've really made progress in my attitude towards it. Like I said, work ended real shitty on Friday, and I went home and put in a hard workout, which made me feel better.

That's all I've got for this week on the weigh-in. Hopefully I don't gain 8 pounds in my break from physical activity.

Weigh-In Wednesday: 2/25/15

Apparently 3 weeks is about all luck can handle. My bubble was burst this morning.

Last Week: 160.2 lbs

This Week: 161 lbs

Change: +.8 lbs

It's not a terrible gain, but I'll be honest, it was pretty disappointing. But I should have expected this.  Last night I stepped on the scale because I was feeling good. I normally don't weigh myself at night. I like to do it in the mornings. But last night I was feeling skinny and gave it a shot. I saw 161. I just had a feeling that this morning I would see 160, maybe even 159.something. Then BAM! 161 again this morning.

Why did I expect anything different though? After all I snacked pretty hard Saturday night and then had Taco Bell for lunch on Sunday, followed by a beer while walking around the Boat, Sport and Travel show, then some buttery popcorn. And lets not forget the mini Reese eggs that I grabbed when we dropped Tucker off and then picked him up. Those damn things practically unwrapped themselves and jumped in my mouth.

Then on the way home as I was feeling guilty about my eating, it clicked. I had my crap food moment.

 

I've known this and that's what really jump started my weight loss at the end of October. But I've been hovering around 160 and 161 for over a month. I would really love to be at 150 before we go on our cruise in June.

 

Treats every now and then aren't bad. I love having a cheat meal. I just need to be better about not having more than one a week or weekend. I do sooooo well during the week, but I'll be damned if Friday night and Saturday roll around and I was all the greasy things! One thing that has helped is the monthly challenge that I've been doing. February's food to eliminate was fried foods and I'll be honest... Fried foods were harder than sweets because I love French fries. Fries and chips are my weaknesses. But, the light bulb that came on Sunday evening during my self-loathing got me thinking about the next few months and what I can realistically do. Mainly because the cruise is coming up and we are in a wedding like 2 weeks after we get home. Here is the modified version of the monthly challenge and my plans for the next 4 months.



March - I've determined what I will do about dairy. I'm cutting all dairy out except for post workout snacks, which will be limited to Greek yogurt or chocolate milk.
April - I've made April my Sugar month since June is the month of the cruise and will start after Easter, which is April 5th. I don't want to set myself up for failure and start before. I will be following Level 1 of the 21 Day Sugar Detox. I'm pretty excited for this one and am actually looking forward to April. It's going to be tough because my beloved wine will be going bye-bye, but I can do it.  I may go ahead and do it April 6th through April 30th.
May - Gluten. I've had very little thoughts on this one actually. Maybe with all the energy I will supposedly have from ridding my body of sugar, I will have tons of time to research this one in April.
June - I made this the juice and soda month because it's more realistic. I don't really  have a problem with pop. I have maybe 3 a week. I very, very rarely drink juice. Like maybe once a month, if that. Challenge will be easier to keep up with on the cruise.

That's the plan for now. Who is interested in joining the Sugar Detox in April?

Weigh-In Wednesday: 2/18/15

This weeks weigh-in can be described in one word: Lucky

Last Week: 160.8 lbs
This Week: 160.2 lbs
Change: -.6 lbs

I seriously don't know how else to explain how a loss of a half of a pound other than by sheer luck. I ate like a king all weekend. I say king and not queen because if we're being honest, I ate nearly as much as Danny. I think we both ate at least 12 mini Reese eggs between 12:00pm on Saturday and 10:00 pm on Sunday. 

As usual, after a few days of eating very poorly, it felt good to clean things up a bit once Monday rolled around. I say a bit because we are almost completely out of food and we had chicken noodles and cake for dinner Monday night. I shared with Tucker though and for a 1 year old, he can put some food away. So that was helpful!

Something that has been on my mind lately has been the next step in my monthly challenge: dairy.

I'm having a hard time deciding how I want to go about this one. Do I cut everything out, even the hidden dairy, like I did when we were experimenting with Tucker's diet while I was breastfeeding? Do I just cut out the extra dairy like the cheese on my eggs, creamer in my coffee, and my beloved hot pepper cheese cubes? Do I allow myself the glass of chocolate milk or the greek yogurt as a post workout snack? There are options when it comes to this one and the only reason I'm giving myself the option is the current situation with my leg and the fact that its still hurting. I have a feeling that the pain is the result of poor-ish bone density. I'm taking a calcium supplement every night, but I still need all the help I can get. So, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm leaning towards cutting out the extras, with a list of said extras, and allowing a handful of snacks. So we'll see. I'll keep you all posted.

Workouts are going well. I got 4 out of 5 workouts in last week so that was good. I'm finding myself less motivated to do these Pinterest workouts compared to how I was with T25. Hopefully I can get that motivation back. Being sick didn't help so now that I'm not hacking up a lung hopefully that will help things.

My goal for the rest of the week and weekend is to keep my eating in check. Another free for all weekend with food probably won't turn out like the last couple have.

Weigh-In Wednesday: 2/11/15

The sickness is still going on in the Summers household. Tucker is in the clear for the most part. Still coughing a bit, but Danny and me? Well, we pretty much took turns coughing all night. I think his immune system has thrown in the towel and is just going to go ahead and let what I had come on in. I've just got an annoying cough. The kind that no matter what you do or take just won't go away and every time you take a deep breath you have to cough. I even took Nyquil last night and still couldn't get to sleep. It looks like I'll be off to CVS again for another solution!

I had another good weigh-in this morning. I wasn't too sure what I would see when I stepped on the scale this morning. I was certain my Oreo binge, along with the fact that I had 2 pieces of pie and chili on Saturday and pasta for dinner on Sunday would show up on the scale in at least a small gain. That was not the case!

Last Week: 160.8 lbs

This Week: 160.8 lbs

Change: 0.0 lbs

Seeing the same number on the scale this morning after being sick and unable to workout through a few cheats and treats is quite a relief! It really makes me feel like I've got it figured out this time.

I was just telling Danny that on Sunday after our walk at the park. When Pinterest first came out (bless that day!), my food and motivation boards were the ones with the most pins. I was pinning workout after workout. I would take a leisurely walk with Diesel, usually about a mile or mile and a half, then come home and do a workout. Just one. I'd barely break a sweat and my heart rate barely changed. Then I would eat a pizza for dinner. I seriously ate a lot of frozen pizza and pizza rolls the first couple of years Danny and I lived together. I was going through the motions. Now I have a much better understanding about how this losing weight and being healthy stuff works. You can't just go through the motions. You have to focus on it. And you have to open your mind up to learn what it takes and find what works for you.

This week marks the official start of my new workout routine that I showed you last week. I'm feeling really good about it. I've had to modify a couple parts. Like instead of doing one of the cardio workouts 5 times through, I just do it 3 and still get in 15 minutes of cardio. It's looking like each night is going to take roughly 45 minutes. That is a little longer than I'd like, but I'm making it work.

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Weigh-In Wednesday: 2/4/15

The sickness cycle has hit the Summers household, mainly Tucker and me. Danny's immune system is pretty solid since he comes in contact with only God knows what multiple times a week being a paramedic. Tuck had croup last week, then got a runny nose Saturday, then Monday night my throat felt like I was trying to swallow a steak knife, and now we are both full of snot. I got summoned for jury duty and my day was yesterday. Thankfully, my services were not needed and I was able to stay in bed/recliner all day. Well, more like un-thankfully since I ate a whole box of pasta salad over the course of the day and no less than 12 Birthday Cake Oreos. I'm not kidding. Every time I walked by the cabinet, I grabbed 1, sometimes 2. There are 2 left and the sooner those are out of my house the better!

Now that I've confessed my Oreo binge, let's move on to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Last Week: 161.0 lbs
This Week: 160.8 lbs
Change: -.2 lbs

I try to find the positive in most things. Like, yeah I lost practically no weight, but at least I'm maintaining. In the last 7 days, I worked out 2 of them. And Sunday was half-assed because it was supposed to be a total body day, and I had an arm workout wrote down. I didn't realize until halfway through. Then Monday I couldn't even muster up the energy to put my tennis shoes on. So, I've been maintaining. Which means my eating has been pretty great!

The beginning of a new month, brings the next step to my challenge that I started in January.

I didn't cheat once in January! I'm pretty proud of myself! I really think this method of healthier eating is the way to go for me. Only eliminating one thing at a time. Fried food might be difficult, but with some serious planning I can make it work. February brings lots of travel during the day for work, which means lunch on the road. Well, you can't eat a salad on the road. I can make this work though!

 

Last week I said I would share my Pinterest workout plans with you. Here is what I'm doing and what days I plan on doing them. So far, I haven't been very successful due to the sickness that's floating around my house.

 

 

On Tuesday and Thursday - I do a cardio workout and then a leg workout. I was able to do this last Tuesday and my legs were screaming for mercy.

 

On Wednesday and Saturday - I do a shorter cardio workout, abs and arms (arm workout is not pictured. It was too long for a notecard). I wasn't able to do this either day, but Thursday I did the short & sweet, sleek & slender abs, and the leg workout from above. I knew I needed to do legs because they were still really sore from Tuesday.

 

 

On Sunday - I do a cardio workout and a total body workout. There is a Sunday workout on the back of the Saturday card. I'm hoping when it warms up and I can get out and run for the 20 minutes of cardio. Right now, its not possible, but I'm counting this as a cardio workout. I did it without the actual cardio portion and it got my heart pumping.

 

 

That's the plan for the next month or so. I probably won't officially start the month until next week since last week and this week are messed up. They've been good test runs though. I've discovered how long each day should take (35-45 minutes), if the workouts are effective or not(sore muscles pretty much mean effective), and what the calorie burn looks like (leg day = 260ish calories).

 

If you want to see the workouts on Pinterest, visit my Motivation board HERE. The labels on the cards are what the pins are titled, or what is in the description.

Weigh-In Wednesday: 1/28/15

When I left off on Monday, I said I would be surprised if I wasn't in a boot by the end of the week. Well, I'm surprised.  The MRI did not show any stress fractures. While that's a huge relief, it's also frustrating. After 5 days of rest, my leg was feeling worse and hurting more often. I've been in this position before. From age 13 to about 18, I saw 6 doctors, 2 chiropractors, and one Amish doctor (clearly I was desperate for answers) to find an explanation about why I was having so much back pain. I eventually found the answer at the 6th doctor who discovered my tailbone didn't develop right and everything in my lower back is just kind of crowded. Hopefully this pain doesn't take 5 years and 6 doctors to figure out.

For right now, my plan is to start exercising again and get more calcium into my body. In my non-medical through Google only research opinion, I think my bone density has been compromised, leading me to this pain. A couple of things that lead to a loss of bone density (again, through my Internet research) are being on birth control and the absence of your period. That would be me. So, I went and bought some calcium + vitamin D supplements (calcium is fine and dandy, but needs vitamin D to absorb into the body) and will work on eating/drinking more calcium rich foods. And apparently drinking beer helps? Here's a shitty picture I sent to Danny yesterday from an article by Dr. Oz (so this is obviously true) about my discovery.

Okay, so onto Weigh-In Wednesday, where once again, I am surprised. I'm also going to reveal my Before & After pictures for T25!

Last Week: 160.2 lbs

This Week: 161.0 lbs

Change: +.8 lbs

I'm okay with this gain. It's understandable and expected. The last time I worked out was last Wednesday, I ate Buffalo Wild Wings and IHOP over the weekend, I devoured some movie theater popcorn, and I pretty much went over in calories every day. And I enjoyed every bite so I'm okay with the small gain.

Now, the pictures. I don't think there is a huge change between the before and after, but there is enough of one that I'm pleased. Also, please ignore my dirty bathroom mirror in the after pictures. Ain't nobody got time to clean with a teething, into-everything 13 month old. Before is on the left, after is on the right. My nice, labeled pictures won't upload.

 

My Starting Weight: 165.2 lbs

End Weight: 160.2 lbs

 

I didn't measure inches or anything like that. I'm happy with  my results. To be able to lose ANY weight through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years is an accomplishment.

That's all I have time for today. I was going to share what I'm doing now, but that will have to wait for next week. I started on my Pinterest workouts last night and I kicked my own ass. My legs are sore today!

Have a good Wednesday! :)

Weigh-In Wednesday: 1/21/15

Happy Wednesday, everyone! It is indeed a happy Wednesday over here. I was more than pleased with what I saw on the scale this morning after last week's let down. So, let's get to it!

Last Week: 162.4 lbs

This Week: 160.2 lbs

Change: -2.2 lbs

A 2 pound weight loss! I was so happy when I saw that! That is what happens when you keep going and trust what you're doing. I'm finally back to where I was before Christmas rolled around. It took me a month to gain 3 pounds and then lose them. I'll take it.

T25 is coming to an end for me tonight. I didn't finish last night as I had originally hoped. My leg was really bothering me yesterday so I decided to take the night off.  The last workout (Speed 2.0) will, without a doubt, hurt. So, I didn't want to go into it already hurting. Hopefully taking ibuprofen throughout the day will help. I just need to get the damn thing done.  Once I am done with it, I am taking Thursday through Saturday off. I may start my in on my Pinterest workouts on Sunday. We'll have to see how things feel. If I don't feel better by Monday, I'm going to go to the doctor to get checked out.

The food area has been pretty good, except for Sunday while we were out and about. We had Arby's for lunch (beef n cheddar with fries. Fries weren't worth it, but that beef n cheddar was delish) then Mexican that night with my mom (shrimp tacos with an excessive amount of chips and queso). Those days are going to happen every once in a while. If I don't let them happen, then this whole thing won't last. I don't do well depriving myself of everything that is bad for me. I think that is why my monthly challenge of no sweets is going well. While I'm cutting one "bad" thing out, I am still able to indulge in other areas.  So next month while I won't be able to eat French fries or my beloved cheese cubes, I'll be able to have a little something sweet. I just like to eat. It might be a problem, but there are worse things.

That's pretty much all I've got for today. Hopefully next week I'll have a good report again!

Weigh-In Wednesday: 1/14/15

Its time for Weigh-In Wednesday again. I'm kind of baffled at the fact that its already Wednesday again.

Here are the numbers:

Last Week: 162.6

This Week: 162.4

Change: -.2

This morning was one of those weigh ins where once your scale finally stops waffling back and forth you just look down and say "Are you shitting me?" I did so well last week, minus the Captains on Friday, which was pretty much my only cheat. I ate well all weekend and even told Danny it was the first Monday in a while that my jeans didn't feel tight. Today's weigh in was a womp womp moment.

I began Week 5 of T25 Beta last night. I am a couple of days behind due to some 13 month old shenanigans. I swear, that kids sleeping habits are mind boggling. Our lives don't really accommodate sleep training since we fly by the seat of our pants most days, so some tough bedtimes are to be expected. Anyways, I am down to my last week. I'm losing steam. I don't know if its because I'm bored, or if I don't feel like I'm seeing change anymore.  Right before Christmas I was feeling like I wasn't slimming down any. I did some comparison pictures and did in fact notice a difference. I did more last night (Day 1 vs first day of the very last week) and I can't really tell a difference. I don't want to post any before and after pictures yet though. I'll do that next week (provided that I'm able to get all my workouts in). I will finish the program though. Which will be a huge accomplishment alone.

I've got a game plan for life after T25. During my downtime at work, I've been mapping out my exercise plan.  If I don't go into next week with a plan, I will be screwed. I dug through my exercise board on Pinterest to find different workouts by category then wrote them down.

Then I've been writing them on notecards so I can have them handy during my workouts.  If I just hopped back on Pinterest to find them, I would get distracted, so this feels like the best way to prevent that and stay focused.

Hopefully this works and gets me in gym mode. I'm going to pick a couple of workouts from each category to make up each days work out. I've got a rough idea of what I want to do each day (bottom left corner of the page with the different categories). I'll do the same set of exercises for a couple of weeks to give them time to do their thing.

That's my plan for now. Basically this weigh-in sucked, but that happens. Now I just need to work through it and keep going! Especially since this kid is going to keep me on my toes.  I can feel my hair turning grey already.

 

 

Weigh In Wednesday: 1/7/15

The first official Weigh In Wednesday of the new year. And it's not a terrible one. I've honestly kind of been dreading this weigh in, but really who doesn't? We just got through 5-6 weeks of eating and having little control over what is provided for us to eat at holiday functions. Then for some people (read: me) a day or two of bad eating can lead to a few more slip ups. It happens. You just have to accept that you've goofed, then move on.

Let's get to the numbers.

Last weigh in(12/17/14):163.0 lbs
This Week: 162.6 lbs
Change: -.4 lbs

While its not a huge loss, its a freaking loss. I managed to lose almost a half of a pound during the holidays. Heck yeah! That's what sticking to your workouts while you marathon eat for days will do for ya!

T25 is... going. I just started the 4th week of the Beta round. I really like to start the weeks on Sunday so I can use Saturday as a make up day if necessary, which was the case for Week 3. But, with the whole Tucker falling off the counter incident and then his bedtime shenanigans on Sunday when I was going to make up for the last workout of that week, I fell behind. I finished Week 3 Monday morning and was able to start Week 4 last night. Shaun T is kicking my ass and I LOVE it. Rip't Circuit was last night and so far it is my favorite workout of both rounds. I think it might become my go-to back up plan when we join the gym and there are days I can't make it. Such a good workout.

Eating has gotten back to normal. I've been making much better choices. Though last night's dinner was a bit rough calories wise, but I had to throw something together that wasn't in the plan since Danny unexpectedly didn't need to go into work until 7p, meaning I had to provide dinner for him too. I made it work and still had 19 calories left for yesterday. My challenge of eliminating sweets has been going okay too. No slip ups so far!

Being that I am a planner, at least a flexible one, I like to have an idea of "what's next" so naturally I've been thinking about what I'm going to do once T25 is over for me. I know there is a Gamma round, but I just don't see me shelling out the money for that and I'm ready for something new. Like I've mentioned nearly every week, we are going to join the YMCA. But we are probably waiting until late February or early March to do so. That's at least a month and a half after T25. I've toyed with the idea of doing the 30 Day Shred. But I've also toyed with the idea of putting together an at home workout plan with Pinterest workouts with free weights/bodyweight to ease me into coming up with my own workouts to prepare me for going to the gym. (I like to prep myself for things almost as much as I like to plan things) So, I'm not really sure what's next this time. All I know is I need to have a plan because my body is now used to working out 5 or 6 days a week.

Hopefully the holidays weren't rough on you. And even if they were, that's certainly okay!

Weigh In Wednesday

Well. All good things must come to an end. The current good thing being the "balance" that I've had for the last month.

Last Week: 160.2 lbs

This Week: 163.0 lbs

Change: +2.8 lbs

I pretty much expected it. Saturday was a freaking free for all for my taste buds. Chili's chips and salsa with ranch, whoopie pies (I licked some spoons in the process of making them), LOTS of beer and some jello shots, probably another whoopie pie, some meatballs, and spinach dip. Plus, I had this for dinner on Friday. Not pictured: the other half of the Totino's pizza that I also ate.

I used to do that frequently. That was my go-to meal when Danny worked a Friday night. Except it was a Jack's pizza, which is decently bigger. So I've improved in that area. Afterwards I thought to myself: Was it good? Well yes, What's not good about a frozen pizza with some extra cheese thrown on. Was it worth it? Probably not. A bunless turkey burger or salad probably would have tasted just as good. It's nice to indulge every once in a while. I just need to plan it better and not do it before an already planned indulging. Plus, I felt puffy the next day. Not fun.

Aside from all of that, I finished the Alpha round of T25 last Thursday! Blogger fail: I don't have before and after pictures. But I will though. I have before pics, but am waiting to take after pictures until the Beta round is complete. Now that the Alpha round is complete, here are a few thoughts that I have regarding it and my progress.
- Weight loss was decent considering the amount of "cheats" I had. The weigh in the week I started was 165.2. I got down to 160.2 for majority of the 5 1/2 weeks it took me to finish. Although I'm back up to 163 right now, I am confident that it is water weight and if I keep my eating in check for the next few days I will be back down to at least 161. A guy that Danny works with did both rounds of the program and said he didn't notice much weight loss until the end of the 10 weeks. So, to lose 3-5 pounds is pretty good I think!
- I feel less flabby in a few areas. My legs and my arms. Danny pointed out my "buff" arms the other night and that's pretty much all I focus on when I get ready in the mornings. My legs have toned up a little bit too. There is still improvement to be made, but I feel better about them!
- My ass though? I'll go ahead and say it. It's looking good! Shaun T and his squats are good for the butt!
- I really like this program! I love a short workout that leaves you drenched in sweat. Other programs that require you to workout for an hour have never been something I would consider. What working mother has time to workout for an hour every single day?! I certainly don't! 25 minutes plus 3ish minute cool down is perfect!

I started the Beta round on Monday. Tucker has been fighting bedtime pretty hard lately, so instead of starting on my usual Sunday, I started Monday morning. He's turning me into a morning workout person. First it was 8:30 pm, now its 5am. Except for today. He fussed enough to wake me up at 4:45 and I didn't really want to start my day at 4:45 so I skipped this morning. I'm hoping tonight we'll be back to normal bedtime and I can get my workout in after that. This kid and his sleeping habits, along with teething, are killing me.

Even though I had a gain this week, I'm not really upset about it. A small gain after 2 weeks of nonstop craziness, plus being sick, plus the holidays is probably to be expected. All I can do now is get back to it and try to keep the balance through the rest of the Christmas season. Our first Christmas thing is on Saturday. Let the fun begin!

Tucker + Weigh In Wednesday

Before I get to the regular Wednesday post for Weigh In Wednesday, I wanted to show off my little local celebrity. I tried too yesterday but my work computer was being difficult and since I have a few minutes to spare at home since Tuck is still snoozin' I figured I could do it while at home.

The hospital where Tucker was born, and where Danny's sister is an OB nurse, hosts a Mommy Monday event every month. November's theme went with October's Fire Prevention week, and since Tucker had his 6 month pictures done at the fire station, who better to be the face of the event than our handsome little dude??

This poster was plastered all over the hospital and was shared on Facebook for the world (or at least the local world) to see. I took a couple hours off Monday morning for him to make his celebrity appearance.  He couldn't have cared less about dressing up as a firefighter, he just wanted the graham crackers that all the older kids were using to make fire trucks. It was still fun. Next month is story time with Santa. I just might have to take him again!



Now, onto Weigh In Wednesday!

 

Last Weigh-In: 159.6 lbs

Today's Weigh-In: 160.2 lbs

Change: +.6 lbs

 

After last weeks huge, unexpected and as equally unbelievable loss, I  had a small gain, but I'll take it. I ate a whole frozen pizza Saturday for dinner so this is good. I've logged my food into LoseIt every day except for yesterday. Danny's mom invited us over to dinner with her, her husband and her dad. A night of free dinner and no dishes? Sign. Me. Up! So, I don't know what she puts in her chili, what kind of hot dogs she used (that was the other part of dinner) and she shared some special ice cream with me that she hides in the back of the freezer. So, I declared that cheat meal #1 of the week and moved on.

 

When we got home from dinner, I filled Danny in on my stressful afternoon at work, which led me to tears and a headache. I was mentally and physically tired, so at 9:15, I called it a night. Didn't do dishes (Yes, I know we ate dinner somewhere else, but this house produces an impressive amount of dirty dishes for 2.5 eaters), didn't fold a single article of clothing from the 2 full baskets of clean clothes and I certainly didn't do my T25 work out. That meant not only would I have to get up at 5 on Thursday for "Double Day," but I would have to get up Wednesday (that's today) to make up for Tuesday's missed work out. When my alarm went off at 5, I immediately his snooze because Tucker was up from about 12:15-2ish and we had trouble getting him back to sleep. I tried the first round then pulled the "you don't have to work tomorrow" card on Danny and tossed and turned while he gave him a bottle and fought him back to sleep. I had trouble going back to sleep myself, so I was up for most of it. Perfect excuse to skip Tuesday's workout again. But that's all it was. An excuse. I was already awake and would spend the next 45 minutes getting comfy and drifting in and out of sleep only to get out of bed feeling exhausted. I figured I might as well make the most of it, so I got out of bed and got it done.

 

I've finally reached a point where I'm talking myself into working out rather than talking myself out of it. Hopefully I can continue that for the next few weeks, especially with holiday celebrations coming up. We literally have 3 parties between December 7th and December 13th. Two of which we are hosting. I am well aware that I am nuts.


That's it for this week's Weigh In Wednesday! 

 

 

Weigh-In Wednesday

It's been a while since I've participated in this link-up and there's no better time than a morning where your pants just piss you off. And it shouldn't come as such a shock, since I basically took all of October off of running and eating right. Now that November is here and the holidays are weeks away, it's time to get a handle on things before I really fall off the wagon!

Let's start with the numbers to see what damage October did.

Last Weigh-In (mid-September): 163.6

Today's Weigh-In: 165.2

Change: +1.6

Considering the fact that I ran 5 times in October and went on vacation, I'll call a 1.6 lb gain a win. Things could have been A LOT worse. Regardless of putting a positive spin on a gain, I had my "enough is enough" moment on Saturday.

After feeling icky from Friday night's Chinese dinner and just not feeling great about myself all weekend, I decided on Saturday that I would start T25 the very next day. Who starts a workout program on a Sunday? Well, apparently I do. Originally, I wasn't going to start until next Monday. I'm going on my annual shopping trip to Michigan with my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws this weekend, and after the trip felt like a good time in my head. But, my body was telling me something different. It needed to move and it needed change. So, I started Sunday night after Tucker went to bed. Working out at 8:30 or 9pm is not something I enjoy, but I also don't enjoy this muffin top I'm sporting either.

If I do both rounds of T25, which barring any broken bones, I should be able too, that'll put me finishing up just after the New Year. The timing couldn't be better.

Danny and I have done some talking over the last few weeks and we've both decided that its time.... to join a gym. You thought I was going to say have another baby didn't you?  He has been wanting to get back into lifting weights (he was a rock star lifter in high school) and he suggested to me in the most nicest way possible (because husbands suggesting anything weight loss related too their wives always goes over well. This actually did though) that I start lifting weights to get better results. I know I need too and I know I should. I've known it for a while. I'm still finding balance with this working mom crap, but the gym we want to join (the YMCA) has childcare in the evenings so I can go right after work and take Tucker with me. It'll be good for him to (hopefully) interact with other kids too since he's mostly just with Danny's mom every day.

That's the plan for now. To get a handle on things before the holidays hit by doing T25 and watching what I eat, then start going to the gym after the New Year.

How are you battling or preventing holiday weight gain this year?