2 Days away from the Gym...

So, I took 2 days off from the gym this week. :( Wednesday night was my allotted "rest" day, and I had all intentions of going last night, but between my kids NOT wanting to go to sleep last night, hubby passing out before either of them actually did go to sleep, and wicked painful cramps (Yay, for Mother Nature!! NOT!!) I just didn't have the energy to pull myself out of bed to get changed and go to the gym. Let me tell you, I am paying for it this morning!!! I didn't wake up (officially) until 9:30 this morning, and trust me - if my daughter wasn't "starving" I would have kept napping until both kids woke up...which is really weird for me, considering that I usually still wake up between 7:30-8:00 even after staying up until 1-2 in the morning. Yesterday, I felt a little gross from not working out - today I feel AWFUL (See Picture above...this is how I feel today!!)!! I'm exhausted, bloated (once again, thanks Mother Nature!!!), in one of the worst moods ever, and I have a big case of the done wanna's!
This leads me to the conclusion that, working out on a regular basis not only provides health benefits such as weight loss, lower blood pressure, etc., but it also helps you with energy, sleeping, mood, and an overall self worth - or it does for me anyway. So, MY lesson learned in all this, is that even if it's super duper late, and I really don't "feel" like going to the gym at that moment in time....my kids, hubby, cats, and MYSELF will thank me for going the next day!!!! LOL 

Today's schedule....do something fun with the kids (even though all I want to do is SLEEP), convince my Darling Daughter to do some Wii Zumba with me this afternoon, and then (after taking the kids to Nana's house for a kid free night - YAY!!!) head straight to the gym for some "me" time!  :))

This is Your life...Are you who you want to be??

Just thought I would share a little something that inspired me!! :) I was working out this evening, and this song came on Pandora. It's not really a good work out song, but it was a GREAT song for me at that moment. Isn't it funny how things seem to fall in your lap, right at the moment that it's needed?!

I tried pushing myself tonight on the treadmill. I did the "Hill" setting at a level 10, at 3.8 MPH (OUCH), for 30 minutes (plus 5 minutes for the cool down) - maybe a little too ambitious but Hey - I finished it!!! LOL I had hit maybe the 14 minute mark, and the incline went up to 7.8 and I thought my legs were going to fall off!!!! This song came on about that time, when I was thinking about just stopping there, and going back to the "Manual" setting and taking the easy way out. But I started to actually LISTEN to the words, and I realized that I wasn't going to be the person I wanted to be, by CHEATING!! Yes, folks, slacking on a workout, or giving up when it's getting a little tough is the same thing as cheating!! :) Sorry to burst bubbles here!!

I guess my point is, when things start getting tough, and you are thinking about quitting, or thinking about caving in on something that you really shouldn't do, ask yourself...

"This is your life...Are you who you wanna be? This is your life...Is it everything your dreaming it could be?" If you're answer is NO, then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!! For me, it's not giving up, not cheating, when my workouts get hard, or when I'm tired and don't feel like working out. If I want to change who I am, and become who I want to be I need to do what it takes to get there!! :)

Taking One Step at a Time!

It's one of those sayings that's "Easier said, than done" even more so for me. I'm the type of person that expects things to be instant. I mean, why  not. It's always been like that for me. I was either really good at something naturally - or I wasn't. If I was, I ran with it and continued to get better at it, if not I took that as "it's not for me" and moved on to the next thing. So, when it comes to weight loss, it's hard to just take it one step at a time for me. I want to see results NOW, I want to be thin again NOW, I want to feel confident NOW (you see the pattern, right?).

So, as I've gone to the gym night after night, I feel GREAT when I leave. Then, I look in the mirror, and I think - where's my progress? I should be dropping pounds left and right based on the amount of calories I am consuming on a daily basis, and the many many fitness minutes I am logging in each day - or that's what my "instant" brain is telling me. Even though the common sense side of me says, "this all takes TIME" I can't get the other half of my brain to believe it. I came across a quote the other day, and I keep having to go back to it, and PRAYING that I can make it that long..."It take 4 weeks for you to notice a change in your body, 8 weeks for those closest to you, and 12 weeks for the rest of the world to notice. Give it a full 12 weeks, and wait for the results!!" 12 weeks just seems like it's soooo far away, but in all reality it's about 3 months. But how much change is needed for people to start noticing? Is it, oh it looks like your losing weight, or Holy Cow! You've lost so much weight!? I just don't know, but obviously I want something in the middle. I don't want people to have a heart attack saying I've lost so much weight because then I'm going to feel like they lied to me when they told me I wasn't "fat" and I think that would hurt worse, but I don't want them to be like are you working out, or is it just the outfit you're wearing - when I've put in sooo much work to get fit again. Maybe I'm reading to much into this, instead of just doing it. (I think I also need to work on my stress level?!~ LOL)

But, as of today, I am TRYING to take this one step at a time. I'm trying to tell myself not to worry about the 12th week, and what people will say. That I can worry about that when I get there, and it helps....to an extent. I still have my moments when it slaps me in the face, and I start to doubt myself but I know that if I can just keep going that eventually I WILL see results, and they will be positive ones. Regardless of how long it might take!! :))

FINALLY - The Official Start

Okay, so I definitely put this off long enough...it's been a while (to put it lightly) since my last - and first - post. But I'm starting today - actually I've been officially started since early last week, but I put off my blogging for unknown reasons...I guess I just "forgot" about my commitment to blog my journey.

So, today, I will be putting up pictures of my body now....as a starting point so I (and anyone who reads this) can see just how far I've come when it's all said and done.

As of today, I am weighing in at 175 lbs. At 5'7", I am approximately 10-50 pound overweight!!! My "healthy" weight, according to various weigh loss trackers/bmi calculators, etc. My goal is to get down to at least 140, but I really want to hit 135. I know it's just 5 lbs, but 5 lbs can be a BIG difference at that point.

So, Here are my mini goals that I am working for:

1.) To Drink at LEAST 10 glasses of water (8oz. or more) per day.
2.) To Get at LEAST 30 min of Cardio in each day, and Strength Train at LEAST 30 min, 3 days a week.
3.)To stay within 1300-1650 Calories per day, and also keep my fat content down (under 60 grams)
4.) To Blog at least 3 days a week, and to keep tracking my progress through blogging
5.) Track my fitness, nutrition, and water goals DAILY on www.sparkpeople.com


Here are my Weight Goals, and "Rewards" for making it to that goal....Before getting my "reward" I MUST maintain that goal weight for 1 week before collecting, and continue to keep that weight off!! No binging afterwards!!!!

170lbs - Date Night with Hubby
165lbs - New Running Shoes (  :)  )
160lbs - New Hair Color
155lbs - Date Night with Hubby (Part 2) ;)
150lbs - Spa Day
145lbs - Weekend Getaway
140lbs - New Wardrobe!!! 


For those of you who are also looking for a way to jumpstart a healthier lifestyle, I HIGHLY recommend looking into Sparkpeople. Just click on link, and sign up...it's 100% FREE to join, and interact with others who share your goals, issues, lifestyles. :))   

http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/register.asp?from=friend&ReferredBy=3541071

Stay tuned for my BEFORE pictures...coming soon!!!!


Update: Here are my measurements as of TODAY::

Weight:       175 lbs
Neck:         14 inch
Chest:        38.5 inch
Waist:        35.5 inch (at belly button)
Waist:        40 inch (at largest point)
Hips:         43.25 inch
r. arm:       12.5 inch
l. arm:       13 inch
r thigh:       25 inch
l thigh:       24.5 inch
r calf:        15.25 inch
l calf:        14.75 inch

So, this is TOTALLY embarrassing, but HERE are my Before Pictures...pretty sad, I think. :(