I've been a little busy....working out! I have spent the last 4 days in a row working out every night and I feel great. I feel healthy, slimmer, energetic and I really am starting to feel like I'm in a routine and that I can do this for the long haul.

BUT, tonight after a ridiculously long hour of sweat and jello-legs at my Drills and Skills class, my right shin felt like it was ripping off my leg. Yesterday my back felt a little pinchy on the right side and tonight my shin hurt, and so when I asked the instructor/trainer about this she concluded that I have a shin-splint. Boooo

Basically it's a tear in the muscle that comes from running improperly and from not stretching or strengthening it too. She told me that so many people decide to start running and run into this problem because they are just unaware that the shin muscle is one of the weakest leg muscles and if you run poorly it will easily be injured. So bad news= I'm supposed to let it rest and heal for 2 weeks. Good news = it's getting colder and darker out so my days of running outside were numbered anyhow.

I plan on still doing the elliptical and my weight training, and am also thinking now about more yoga and possibly swimming (even though public pools gross me out big time). I guess I should switch it up and discover more variety in exercises but it still saddens me that I can't be outside running with my ipod and feeling that fresh air.

So here's to trying new exercises and to proper stretching and strengthening.

Weight Today: 170.01 (170 is the a clingy devil)
Work out: 70 minutes of intense cardio and weights in the Drills and Skills (of the devil) class.
Calories: still suck at counting but I did eat an Arbys roast beef sandwich for lunch....dang
Feeling: blah

Okay, I've been slightly off the wagon over the weekend but that was really to be expected. I enjoyed a mini pizza and a fast food burger but tonight I jumped right back on the wagon and pushed myself harder than ever.

I did my 20 minute run outside, came inside to do my lunges, weights, sit-ups and push-ups, and then hopped on the elliptical for the last 10 minutes and I FEEL GREAT! Finally I'm getting into a bit of a routine where my body is actually starting to crave workouts and want to go running. I feel sluggish and lazy when I don't and the post-workout feeling of adrenalin and alertness are so awesome.

I know I've been giving Greg a hard time telling him not to coach me or tell me to do more, but tonight I felt like I wanted him to tell me to push myself harder. I think I'm gaining confidence from exercising and caring about my body and so I'm now looking for him to not only drill me a bit but also to encourage me (which he is great at). He noticed today that my innertube belly was looking slightly smaller and guess what...

it is 2 inches smaller!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it when we measured me again today. I guess it's not all about the weight, it's also about the results of your body.

New Measurements: 40-34-40 (yay for tummy not sticking out farther than boobies)
Weight Today: 171
Calories: lost track...need to work harder on this one
Feeling: encouraged and ready to tackle this next week

I'm also beginning to see more changes than just the physical ones. Greg and I were talking about the difference exercise makes in a person's life. Not just the stress relief, the health benefits and the body toning, but the emotional and inner changes are big as well. I have been feeling more attractive despite few results, and just the fact that I'm trying to be healthier tells Greg that I care about how I look and I care about our relationship. He told me he feels that I must still want to be beautiful and attractive to him, and that also tells him that I must find him attractive because I want to look good to "impress" him. I had no idea about some of these messages I was sending to Greg unintentionally but I'm really noticing how it can strengthen a marriage as well as restore inner confidence.

40-34-42

No, that is not my locker combination....it's my big 'ol measurements as of yesterday. I decided to track my inches as well as my weight to see the big picture of what's really going on. I noticed that my face and neck were slimming out a bit and my body seemed to be looking a little different despite not losing much weight so Greg suggested I track inches too. This idea was both good and bad. Good in that I can tell when I'm slimming out but bad because I had no idea that the inner-tube surrounding my belly is 2 inches bigger than my bowling-ball boobs. Yikes.

New goal: make inner-tube smaller than boobs.

On a brighter note did workout yesterday and will be back at it again tonight. I've done 30 minutes of cardio again but threw in some sit-ups and weights yesterday. Greg (my wanna-be personal trainer) told me to do 30 sit ups (not crunches) and I made it to 27. Tonight it's 30. The Biggest Loser motivated me as usual but this time gave me another idea. Jillian suggests you pre-package your own lunches/snacks in zip-lock bags in the fridge so that you can easily eat the right portion size and calories. I might try doing that for work-days to avoid the impulse fast food.

Weight today: 171
Workout: will probably do 30 - 45 minutes
Calorie intake: hmmm...venti caramel machiatto? Oopsie. Muffin? Oopsie.
Feeling: generally still inspired.

The only good thing about my monthly visitor is that I don't get very hungry. Other than that it just makes me want to sit on the couch with a heating pad and watch movies...(done and done). So needless to say I haven't done much by the way of working out the since Saturday and tonight is Biggest Loser on t.v. so I'm bound to feel guilty and want to get my butt in motion.

However the veggie platter stocked in the fridge has been a success. Greg and I have munched on that the last couple nights while watching t.v. and it's kept my hands busy and my body healthy. Speaking of keeping my hands busy, I think I've discovered another piece of the puzzle. A friend of mine has a dad who is very sick with cancer all through his body and is probably going to die in the next few weeks. The man has smoked 70 cigarettes a day for the last 50 years!!!! Can you believe it? So even though the doctors have told this man that it is too late to make healthy lifestyle changes he has decided to try to quit smoking. They are going through a book written by an ex-smoker that debunks myths about cigarettes. One myth being that smoking is a habit because the nicotine addiction. This book claims that even for the heaviest of smokers, the nicotine only stays in the body for 4 days after a person quits. The rest of the habit is simply, well, habit. It's that smokers don't know what to do with their hands or their time so they take up smoking again.

I argue that the same could be true for over eaters. Sitting down to watch t.v. is often done with munchies or stress is handled with eating, or even boredome. All the same reasons a smoker would need a cigarette could be true for over eaters. So could debunking the myths of eating to yourself help you overcome eating habits?

I may have to take up cross-stitch to keep my hands busy while I sit around.

Weight Today: 171 (decent)
Workout: nada so far
Calorie intake: 100 so far (banana)
Feeling: bloated, cramped, but sill overall motivation.

So I have done two days in a row of no breakfast, glass of water and a workout. Then followed by intense sweating and a shower. I actually feel surprisingly good and waiting to eat that first bite works for me since I'm not really into early morning breakfast anyways. It seems the working out and the mornings are not my weak point. It's the late night movie time or monopoly games that make me a munchaholic. So today I went and bought a ton of veggies and some dip (25 calories in a serving and no fat) and I plan to keep it fresh and stocked in the fridge for the evening munchies. I hope this will help me avoid spreading whipping cream on a cookie and scarfing it down like it was my last treat ever (did that yesterday...shame).

One other thing I think I might try is planning out what I'm going to eat for the day the night before or in the morning. I think if I have a plan then I might stick to it. The impulsive grab-a-cookie might be swayed if my schedule says I'm to eat an apple at 3pm with some nuts. We'll see how that works out. So far today I'm right on schedule.

Weight today: 172.1 (almost)
Workout: 30 minutes cardio in my fat-burning zone (70% of 220-your age)
Caloric intake: it's only 2:30 but 500
Feeling: better than yesterday!

This is all I've had to eat so far today and according to this source, I have consumed about 68% of my daily caloric intake. WHAT?! I'M HUNGRY. This is going to be a lot harder than I originally thought. Losing weight is a science, you need to constantly be calculating and estimating and measuring. My kitchen has turned into a science lab and I'm the mad, hungry scientist. Today a friend called me up to see if I wanted to go running twice a week in the morning with her. I said sure, but the evening actually works better for me. But she insists on mornings because according to the book "Fit for Life" the best way to lose weight is to wake up, drink water and go work out. That way your body is burning from your fat reserves and not from your breakfast. That makes some sense, but I also know you need to eat in the morning to get your body working. ARGG.... so many conflicting opinions.

Food Item	Servings	Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
Banana	1.00	121	0g	0mg	1mg	31g	17g	4g	1g
yogurt	1.00	180	0g	0mg	110mg	37g	35g	2g	7g
All-Bran Bran Flakes	1.00	170	1g	0mg	290mg	27g	4g	5g	4g
Latte - Homemade	1.00	115	4g	0mg	0mg	7g	4g	3g	6g
Milk-1%	1.00	60	1g	7mg	80mg	7g	7g	0g	5g
Totals:		646	6g	7mg	481mg	109g	67g	14g	23g

Weight today: 172
Workout: nada
Calories consumed by end of day: 1600 (waffles for dinner)
Feeling: uh-oh

the beginning

I really can't say when the journey first began. I remember I weighed a hefty 166 in January of 2007, but by March I was pregnant and there was no time to get that perfect pre-pregnancy body that would be easy to bounce back to. I saw pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted and in no time I was ready to POP at about 205 pounds.

I dropped about 20 pounds in the hospital and felt much lighter when I came home. But it didn't take long before my 186 pounds of blubber was slopping over my jeans, and the old "I just had a baby" excuse was about the only thing wearing thing.

Picture below: January 5 2008, 186 lbs.And by October 2008 I still had not lost a pound of my baby fat. I was beginning to feel sad and discouraged that even breastfeeding hadn't done a thing for me. I realized it was time to get serious and try to at least get back to my 166 pre-pregnancy weight.

Picture below: October 2008 at the beginning of my official "journey", 186 lbs.

By Christmas I had already dropped about 10 pounds and was really beginning to feel better about myself. My clothes were fitting better and people were noticing that I was thinner. But about the only thing I had changed was my caloric intake. I still had not made a habit of working out (which I would later find to be a crucial part of the equation). Still, those 10 pounds came off fast and I was okay with eating an orange for date night while Greg had a bag of chips.

Picture below: Christmas 2008, 177 pounds
Then school and life hit again and I only managed to lost another 5 pounds between January and August of 2009. These last 8 months of stagnant weight loss have gotten me itching for some serious changes.

Picture below: Last day of school, August 2009, 172 pounds



So Today I begin this blog. I hope to inspire others, record my ups and downs, and give myself a place to journal in order to hopefully have some accountability. I'm searching for any way to stir the pot and keep myself motivated enough to get out of this slump and back on track. I'm not looking to be super Audrey, weighing 122 with abs of steal. I'm just looking to feel good about myself again, and to achieve something that I really want to achieve. I want my family to be healthy and I want to look good in a bathing suit because dang it, I deserve it.


Pictures below: September 16, 2009, 172 pounds.