DCC - 2013?!

Okay, so I am going to put this out there, and risk people bringing me down...but I really don't care. I'm making myself accountable, to reach my goals, and what better way to do that, then to let everyone know?! As SOME of you may know - I have always had this DREAM about becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. I mean, what girl in Texas never thought about it?! If you didn't - you're crazy, or secretly a man. ;) Anyway, I have been watching the DCC tryouts on CMT lately, and I am soooo ready to get into the shape I need to be in to try out. I am not 100% sure that I can get where I need to be physically, or fluidly (I'm not THAT kind of dancer)....but, it's worth a shot. I want to at least make it to the auditions. Just so I can say that - Hey, I tried out to be a part of DCC. Maybe one day I will be able to say that I AM a part of DCC. I know I am running out of time - because there aren't too many that can say that they were a cheerleader for Dallas Cowboys after the age of 30... :)

I am going to be doing research, and trying to get some choreography down and start dancing again. Definitely, I need to get to where I can run - because lets face it...they have a LOT of energy, and they dance A LOT!!

So, that's out in the open, I hope that everyone will be just as supportive with this goal, and they are with my weightloss - especially since now they are going hand in hand...

Anyway, on a side note, I weighed again, and I am now down 8 pounds from my original starting weight, and 13 pounds from my "heaviest" weight, since starting my journey! I'm pretty proud of myself, but I am not "seeing" the results outside of the scale. I still feel like you can't tell that I have lost weight. I recently had my Aunt and Mom (who are AMAZING photographers, By the Way) take pictures of me and my kiddos. I was really confident going into it, but now that I have the actual pictures to look at, I realize that I haven't come as far as I thought I had. :(

I will try to add my newest pictures (no "body" shots just yet...) soon, so you can see what I mean, but for now, just know that I am really struggling with body image right now, and really hope that this passes - soon.

Re-Set, Re-Start, Re-gin!

Well, I have taken a looong break from the gym. I have still been really good about NOT eating so much, but I'm still struggling with eating out all the time.

With that being said....here is where I am vs. where I was at my last weigh in vs. overall loss...

Now:                                     Loss since Last Weigh In:                     Loss Overall:
166.0 LBS                            4 LBS Loss                                          9 LBS loss
Neck: 13.5 inch                     .25 inch loss                                        .50 inch loss
Chest: 37.5 inch                    .50 inch loss                                         1 inch loss
Waist: 34 inch                        1.5 inch Loss                                       1.5 inch loss
Love Handles: 39 inch            0 inch loss :(                                        1 inch loss
Hips: 42 inch                          1 inch loss                                           1.25 inch loss
Right Arm: 12.5                      0 inch loss                                          0 inch loss
Left Arm: 12.5                        .50 inch loss                                      .50 inch loss
Right Thigh: 24.25                  0 inch loss                                          .25 inch loss
Left Thigh: 23.75                    .50 inch loss                                       .75 inch loss
Right Calf: 14.75                    0 inch loss                                          .50 inch loss
Left Calf: 14.5                        .50 inch loss                                       .50 inch loss

So, if you look at the numbers, I've done pretty good. I've not had a gain at all - even with the slacking at the gym. I will be starting that back up tonight after my kids go to sleep. I am going to get back into my cardio, and my jogging program. I think with how long it's been, I will be starting that over. So, for those of you thinking I was doing soooo good. Now you know - I really haven't been! :( BUT that's all changing right now!! You're going to see that same dedicated girl that was so gung-ho about working out...and she's not leaving!! I am so done with feeling exhausted all day. I am a firm believer that the fact that I am back to my lazy ways that this is why!! I have a set schedule starting tomorrow on how my day will go!! Wish me luck everyone!! I'm going to need it!!!! :)

Mudslinger Fun Run!! 9/8/2012

Well, it's official!! I completed my first 5K!!! I did NOT run the entire thing, but I think I did pretty well, and over all I think I ran about half of it!! I might have ran more, but when you are running with others, you tend to pace yourself with them....Anyway. I didn't take my camera with me to the actual run, but it made it to the parking area so I could take before and after pictures. I will be stalking the Mudslingers FB page though to see if I made it on the sites pictures and will definitely be saving them for myself!! So, I got up early, since we were in the first group to run - at 8:30 am. It wouldn't have been bad if we would have still been in our un-Godly heat wave, but a cold front decided to blow through the night before, and so it was in the upper 60's when we arrived, and being the first ones to run through the course - the water was FREEZING!!!

Here is my "on the way to the run" picture:

 

And here is the "I'm here, and ready to go" picture:

BTW - my shirt was a SMALL!!!! You have no idea how excited I was that I could FIT into a SMALL! :)

Anyway, so when we ran, it started off pretty easy - until we got to the first mud pit and decided that we were going to run AROUND it instead of through it. Apparently they had someone there to watch and if anyone did that - they would be sprayed by a fire hose. Needless to say...it was very cold, and wet!

Next we came to a series of 3 "walls" that we had to climb over. I made it over all 3, and only had a brief moment of fear on the last wall that was about a foot and a half taller than the other walls...I'm a little scared of heights, especially when the wall I am scaling resembles an over-sized pallet! Next we came to "Balance or Bust" where we had to balance on (an already muddy and slippery) log that stretched across a muddy water pit. I ALMOST made it across without falling. Almost.

One of my favorite parts of the run, was the water slide. It was like a giant slip 'n slide going down a hill, ending in a big mud pit! This was followed by non-muddy obstables, and then one last VERY muddy obstacle before the finish. How muddy was the last obstacle?! See below:

I honestly think my cousin, and running partner, Jamie, CHEATED, and went through that last obstacle in my wake...she obviously was NOT as muddy as I was!! :)

All in all I had a blast, and can't wait to find more 5K's and fun runs to do in the future!! Next time, I am going to try to finish a little fast, and way dirtier...Aside from the grossness of feeling mud in places that it shouldn't be. I felt like the muddier I was at the end, the more fun I had!! :) Here's one more for the road::

 

Do YOU have someone that inspires you?!

We all know that inspiration is a BIG part of why we all do things. Sometimes you see something that someone has made and think, "Hey, I could so totally do that for waaaay cheaper than they are selling it for." Then you do what it takes to figure out how to do it!! I do that all the time, but it usually ends up costing me MORE because I like to experiment and then I can't decide, and I just keep buying stuff, and before you know it - I could have gotten it cheaper if I just bought it!!

Anyway, my point is, we all start every walk in our life with inspiration. I've told you my WHY'S on why I started my journey, but I've never shared my real inspiration! I am today, and I hope she inspires you guys as much as she's inspired me!! Her name is Megan, and I met her while both our spouses were stationed on the USS Iwo Jima. We were both from Texas, and close to the same age. We hung out a few times, and have kept in touch off and on since I left VA/the Navy Wife Life. About a year and a half ago, I started seeing her posting "Headed to the gym today" or "Man, that was a GREAT workout!" Now I see her post things like this: "Just finished my workout, now to take the girls (her beautiful Husky's) for their 2 mile walk!" I'm like WOW, that's dedication right there! A few months ago, Megan posted some pictures. She hadn't really posted many in the past few years, but the ones she did, you could see a difference - and tell that the workouts were paying off. But, until she posted before and afters I never realized HOW awesome she's done!! THAT was when I decided, If she can do it - so can I!!!! That was when I started thinking about the "Why's". Why should I loose the weight, Why do I want to loose the weight. She has definitely inspired me to do something that I never WANTED to do. Sure, I talked about needing to loose weight, but I never had that spark, or that "Ah-HAH" moment when I realized I WANTED to do it!! :) So, after talking with  Megan, and getting her permission, I would love to show you just how far she has come!!!!

Okay, Can you say WOW!!!!! She looks GREAT, right?! I also know that it took her a long time to get to where she is now, and she put in a LOT of hard work! But, I want to do this! I want to be able to put pictures up against each other and people just was WHOA, you look AMAZING!!!

I really hope that if you can't take inspiration from ME, and my journey, please take it from Megan (who will also be blogging very soon)! :)


As I bring this entry to a close, please know YOU can do ANYTHING you set your mind to...as long as you:
1.) set a REASONABLE goal
2.) make a PLAN, and stick to it
3.) Have SUPPORT from family, friends, or others going through the same thing.
4.) DON'T give up
5.) JUST KEEP GOING!!! :)

Trying to find a Balance - again!

Today I am reflecting on the past month, and trying to find out what went wrong. What changed in my life that made it so difficult to get up off my butt and make it to the gym at nights, or actually do my workouts once I get there??? I'm at a loss. Nothing has really changed - with the exception of money getting tighter (still trying to figure out WHY), and starting up my Scentsy business again. Nothing is taking up more time in my day, I still do what I normally did during the day - just instead of FB'ing, and being on my SP webpage all day, I am promoting Scentsy. So, why all of a sudden do I have NO energy, no drive to go to the gym, and NO drive to do what I am supposed to when I do finally get there?! I don't understand. I have gone back through WHY I started this journey, and it usually gives me that much needed boost to go to the gym, but I loose something on the way.

I'm still seeing a loss, which is GREAT - I'm now down to 167.2**** CORRECTION - 166.4 (I just went to weigh again - since I hadn't done it in 4 days), so I am down a total of 4 pounds from my "starting" weight, and 9 pounds from my "after starting weight gain", which is still pretty awesome for a little less than 2 months.

You would think that seeing a loss on the scale would be motivation to KEEP going to the gym, right?! WRONG!! I'm going to go on a psycho-analysis talk now, so please bear with me....this is how I figure out things in my life (I'm that crazy lady that could have an entire conversation with herself)!! HAHA!

I think subconsciously I'm seeing that loss, and thinking that I can slack off. Now that I am seeing a loss without as much work as I was doing before, kind of solidifies that fact. I KNOW that I shouldn't slack off, and that if I do that now, that eventually I am going to stop workout out and eating healthier, and end up right back where I started or worse! So WHY am I doing what I KNOW I shouldn't do?! I think that is what's so frustrating!! I have the knowledge, and to a certain extent I still have the motivation - so what's going on!?

I have my 5K fun run this weekend, and maybe this will help me get back on the wagon. It's not a "real" 5K as my hubby likes to point out, but it's still a 5K, and I'm going to do my best, regardless of the obstacles!

So far this week, I went to the gym on Tuesday, skipped yesterday since I was exhausted from being on the road all day (I made a day trip to Andrews, so I was in the car most of the day). I PLAN on going this evening after dinner and my cousin picks up her kiddos that I am baby sitting today. I'm hoping the kids don't wear me out today, and that I have the energy to do what I say I am going to do. I definitely feel like right now, I am all talk and no action - and I HATE THAT!!! So, I am going to try to find that balance. I feel like I did my best when I blogged consistently, and talked with others on my weight loss page. I have stopped doing that about the time I started slacking from the gym. I am going to try to set myself a schedule that says...XX amount of time for Scentsy, XX amount of time for blogging, XX amount of time for SP, and XXXXXX amount of time for kids and house work. Maybe if I set limits for myself, and keep them, I will then get balance back, and be more consistent in my workouts....it's worth a shot, right?! :)