*Oiy vay!*

Well, it has been a while....several months, actually! Good grief. And I am not feeling very good about myself right now. I haven't taken very good care of myself over the past months and it makes me a bit sad. I am ready to get back in the groove though. It was interesting to read my last post because I did actually get started on the Couch to 5k training and I am going to keep going with that. 

So much has changed in my life since that last post. I have a new job. I have been working for Samson Exploration and I LOVE it!! It is the best thing in the world. I work for an amazing company and I have awesome co-workers. Everyday is a lot of fun. 

Sunday is always the beginning of my week, so it is a fresh start. I have goals for the week. First being that I am going to weigh, measure, and count all my points this week. I have Sarah's bday dinner, so I do have to be wise and self-controlled. And I am getting back to working out and drinking my water. I have gotten so far away from the good place I was in before and I want to get back to that and surpass it.

Work out schedule:

Monday -- Last Chance WorkOut; Cto5k

Tuesday -- Shred L-2; Yoga L-1

Wednesday -- Last Chance WorkOut; Cto5k

Thursday -- Shred L-2; Yoga L-1

Friday -- Kettlebell L-1

Saturday -- Cto5k       

Here is to a very successful week.

*Lost My Mind*

I lost my mind the last five or six days of February. It was not pretty, either. I didn't want to exercise (but I did -- good thing) and I was an eating maniac. This is the year of "No Excuses" so I am not going to give one, I just did it. It was a vicious cycle after school...cheezits, chocolate, cheese, pringles, repeat...I am not proud to admit that, but I will and that's what I did.

Good news: I found my mind! Thank God! Good heavens this whole getting healthy can become such a mental battle, one that I want to get a better grip on. Especially, one certain week of the month when it can get really out of hand.

This morning I got up and worked out with my Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout DVD. That one always seems to really get me going. I spent the day/night before wondering, what is going on? Why did I let myself cave? What happened to my mental strength? What am I afraid of, all of a sudden, after the success? One thing I kept coming back to is I was letting satan have a handle and deceive me and he just is not allowed to do that, at all, EVER! So while I was working out, I was shouting him out of the room and out of the situation. Letting him (and anyone else who could hear me) know that this IS my year. I am going to get STRONG! I am going to get HEALTHY! I am going to be in the best shape of my life! I called upon the name of my Lord and Savior! This lead me to Philippians 4:13...I can do ALL things through CHRIST who strengthens me. And that is all the truth I needed. I had an amazing workout and was so happy with myself.

I have talked with myself over and over, I WANT TO RUN! How crazy is that, maybe I have lost my mind! Ha! Not really. That is the truth, I want to run. I am going to run. It is 27 days until my 20th anniversary and I want March to be an amazing month. I want to kick a lot of weight bye-bye. One sure way I know to do that is to really boost my cardio workouts. I am 20 pounds lighter than I was before and now is the time to start running. I am just going to do my own thing for right now. I am starting today and will run Tues/Thurs/Sat. Starting off, I am going to walk to the retention pond as my warm-up and then run the track over there. I don't know how long it is. It is just my starting point. I will see where this takes me.

Tomorrow is my weigh and measure day. I am not overly excited about it, but it is what it is. The truth is there. I have to visually see it, be proud of what I have done, know that everything I do adds up to what the final outcome is, and own it. I will. I am so looking forward to this afternoon to see what I can accomplish. Wish me luck!

*Picture*

My stomach has changed.

Blue -- April 2011

Pink -- January 2012

Yellow -- February 2012

*Another Milestone*

Today was weigh-in day and I reached a great milestone. I have lost 20.6 pounds now! I weigh 194.4. Ssendoogymho! I am now closer to 190 then I am 200. I am so excited, proud of myself, motivated! There are so many words to describe what I was feeling this morning.

A couple weeks ago, I went shopping at Macy's with some of my birthday money. I purchased two tops in a size medium (yeah, me!). I feel so cute in them. The cashier mentioned how she liked the tops but they wouldn't fit her. I told her they were two sizes smaller than what I used to buy and that I had lost some weight. She wanted to know what I was doing. I told her WW and exercising. She said, "Oh, that's hard work. I was hoping you were going to say it was something easy." Those words rolled around in my mind for a while and I thought, "she is right". It has been hard work and I have put in that hard work.

I have consistently been journaling my food since October. On Saturdays, I for sure count my breakfast points. The rest of the day on Saturday is quite a bit freer. First of all, because it is a "free day" for me I don't keep track of food as tightly. I also don't go crazy either. I really pay attention to what I am eating. I just don't journal every bite. I think that is helping me in a sense because I have that day free of the food journal. I have also been working out on Saturday mornings since the beginning of the year. That is such a great decision on my part. It makes it easier to have that extra treat on Saturday, too. This Saturday workout also keeps me motivated through the weekend.

This week I have had some interesting observations. Starting on about Wednesday, I was getting REALLY hungry during the day. I have a great breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and then dinner. I am eating everything I am supposed to be eating for the day. I am starting to think my metabolism is really kicking in. I have been working out so hard and mixing things up that I really believe I am burning a lot of calories even at rest. It's a good thing. I am trying to listen to my body though. I don't want to get too hungry because that could lead to unhealthy choices.

Right now, my next exciting milestone will be to get to 189 and that is only 5 pounds away! Here we go!! :)

*196.8 and Blue Jeans*

This week I had a laugh with God. Early in the week I "told" Him (ha!) I was tired of seeing 197 on the scale. The last few weeks I have rolled around 197 going up a few tenths, coming down a few tenths and I was tired of the 197s. Anyhow, like I said, I "told" God I was tired of that number. I weighed on Saturday morning and was 196.8! As close as I can be to 197 without seeing 197 on the scale. It made me chuckle.

Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday. We all went to church. I went out to lunch with my small group of girls (whom I love). Then we all went to mom and dad's to watch the game, eat and celebrate my birthday. I had worn jeans to church and wore them all day. I have to admit, in years past, I enjoyed wearing yoga pants or something comfy for the Super Bowl so it wouldn't be so uncomfortable while eating all that food. I certainly didn't eat a lot of food and was totally comfortable in jeans all day long. Those are words that don't normally come from me.

*Measurements*

Here are my latest stats:

Weight: 197.4

Chest: 39"

Arm: 13"

Stomach: 38.5"

Waist: 36"

Butt/Hips: 47"

Difference since April 2011:

Weight: -13.2

Chest: -1"

Arm: -1"

Stomach: -8"

Waist: -2"

Butt/Hips: -3"

That's a total of 15" lost! Yeah!! I will continue working hard. I also need to remember to trust the process. All the days and weeks continue to add up together and make good stuff!

*Portion Size & Veggies*

I am learning a lot about portion sizes. When I made dinners for the family, such as spaghetti or whatever. Once we were finished eating there was really only one leftover for lunch for one person to have. I have been weighing/measuring all of our portions for some time now. Steve has been wanting a measured portion for dinner and lunch, too. Leftovers for spaghetti end up being three usually! Three!! Tonight I made tuna hotdish and the serving size is one cup. Steve and I each had our serving and I have THREE left over! That is crazy. You know what's even crazier...when I wasn't measuring things that dish would again really only have one serving left over. That amounts to we were eating enough for two people any time we sat down to eat that. It's such a great thing to be learning and really understanding.

And don't even get me started on vegetables. I am not proud to admit that I didn't always serve a veggie with our meals, like, rarely! Ugh! So embarrassing. Now, I do with every meal. Going back to that tuna hotdish. In times past we would eat it with a slice of bread with butter. Lots of starch and no veggies. Tonight I made broccoli with it. Steve was not a fan but he ate it. He said some things you don't need a veggie with (I'm working on that man!). It was yummy together though. It also filled me up in a way I wouldn't have been with just bread and butter. So good, I have broccoli to take with my tuna for lunch tomorrow.

Three cheers for knowledge!

Work-out Clothes

What is is about workout clothes that can make you feel so good about yourself? I bought two new tops on clearance this week from WalMart. Working out int this yellow tank made me feel so awesome and strong. Everything about weight loss is such a mind game, too. And when you are feeling good about yourself and the way you look, it will make you feel even stronger and better.

I didn't have a stellar weight loss week (.2) this week which puts my weight at 197.2. The difference with this weigh in is that I know EXACTLY why I didn't lose weight this week, so to speak. It had everything to do with the chocolates I found myself snacking on and the extra cheese cravings here and there. So I fully embrace the reason why there wasn't a weight loss this week.

I am happy today is Sunday and it's the beginning of a new weeks. A fresh set of points to start with and a healthy eating plan. I am home alone this afternoon and have wanted chocolate since every one left but I am staying away. I am not hungry, just want it! Certainly don't need it!! Haha!

My goals this week:

1. I would really like to lose 2 pounds as that would put me at 20 pounds lost on my birthday (awesome!).

2. Continue to work out hard as I have been, getting stronger and healthier every moment.

3. I have some great new meals planned for this week and looking forward to the healthy choices we have.

This comparison collage is a little early. I wanted to take pics in my new tank top and decided to put this together.

**A Weight Loss**

I finally got rid of that stubborn pound that I found during the holidays! Ha! Counting points and journaling is going great. I have been keeping track of everything: food, water, exercise, it's all written down. My goals for the week:

1. Proper eating (all week -- stick with grow foods!)

2. Proper tracking (even if it's not that grow food!)

3. Push through the workouts, even when (or especially because) they are challenging.

Workout Schedule:

Mon -- Kettlebell (Jillian)

Tues -- cardio (Jillian)

Wed -- Totally Ripped Core (Bob)

Thur -- cardio (Jillian)

Fri -- Last Chance Workout

Sat -- Kettlebell (Jillian)

I lost 1.6 pounds this week. I weighed in at 198.8. This makes a total weight loss of 16.2 pounds gone...never to be found again! Ever!!

Turkish Get-Ups

Happy Saturday morning. Today was a rewarding day, but it is a non-scale rewarding day. My weight stayed the same this week. I am okay with that, which is a step in and of itself. I have started my period today, so I know all my working out and eating properly during this week will show up in a later weigh-in and that is just fine.

My body is getting so much stronger and I am enjoying watching and feeling these changes. Today I did my kettlebell workout with Jillian. I tried to do it right after I had my injection and it was just too hard and uncomfortable. Today it made it back into the workout rotation and I am so glad it did. It will be on the list of things to do a couple of times next week, that is guaranteed.

The biggest joy from it is that I was able to do the entire workout. Even better than that was doing her Turkish Get-Ups. I have to use a 5-pound handweight rather than the 10-pound kettlebell, but that is only temporary. I was able to do the complete movement fluidly and correctly which is MAJOR! I was so very excited to be able to get up out of that lunge position and off the floor using the strength and power of just one leg. Oh, man! It gives me chills just typing about it.

I am looking forward to another good workout/eating week. I am going to keep on working hard every single day. I am worthy of all of this and having a healthy body. I will stay focused and not let things set me back as I have in the past.

I posted pictures and numbers on Jan 2 and my goal is to do that on the second day of each month so I can watch my progress and have comparison pictures to look at. Happy Saturday and looking forward to an amazing week.

*The Numbers*

Today I measured my body to see where I am at with inches.

Prior Numbers: (4.20.11)

chest: 40"

arm: 14"

stomach: 46.5"

waist: 38"

butt/hips: 50

Today: (1.2.12)

chest: 39

arm: 14

stomach: 37

waist: 36.5

butt/hips: 47.5

Total inches lost is 14.5" since I measured last.