Weeks #7 and #8

Preparing for yet another big move and uprooting our lives again has made me TERRIBLE at keeping up to date on here! But I am going to do my best to keep up even with the chaos of life swirling around me. :) These past two weeks have been full of looking back and seeing how far I have come and finally having it shock me! We are nearing the 60 day mark in our 90 day journey!! And since the weeks and days don't exactly match up, our weigh-in will be this coming Thursday, March 7th (the day before we move, AHHH!) So I will post my results that evening so I don't forget to do it later on!
Week #7: I was SLUGGISH. There was no other word for it. I was losing my 'UMPH' and my motivation even though I was completely aware of the progress I had been making. Sometimes you just LOSE IT, and you don't know exactly where you lost it or why you can't seem to find it again. But you DO have to find your motivation again! No excuse is good enough to cover your arse in giving up on your fitness goals and your overall health. You have to keep going. And that is exactly what I did. Every day I dragged myself out of bed, NOT looking forward to all the 'jumping around' I knew I was in for, slipped into my workout clothes and one way or another I pressed play on my video and did my workout.
For a fun experiment I took pictures of myself in the exact outfit I was wearing the day we arrived in Hawaii and compared the differences! With exactly three months between the pictures, even I was excited for how far I have come, and trust me I am my own worst critic.

So much can happen in 3 months (If you MAKE it happen!)

And to help myself see more of the difference, I also compared pictures of my face (about 6 months difference) from when my munchkin was born to week seven of this challenge.

As she has gotten bigger, I have made it my mission to get smaller!

During week seven and week eight I have been going out adventuring with my hubby to get in all of the fun we can before the move. I have kept to my eating and exercising and then our exploring has turned out to be keeping me active as well! As an at-home-mom I forget sometimes that getting out of the house can lead to different kinds of active/exercise type fun! Whenever you get the chance to be active, take that chance!! It is not every day (for most of us) that we get to hike/bike/swim/paddle/play sports anymore, so I recommend NEVER SAYING NO to a day outdoors. Getting your daily workout in IS important, but it can also be an additional "workout" to go play outside! Kayaking was a huge workout for my legs, and I hardly noticed that it was WORK when I was out there having fun on the water.

Do activities where you have to have as much energy as a child! It's a workout!

Week #8: I have been making it my mission to keep track of how much water I drink everyday! It's not easy to keep track of the ounces when you regularly drink out of paper cups. What I did was fill up my usual size cup until just under the "spilling point" (where I always fill it to) and then I poured it into a measuring cup! This way I will always know how many ounces I am taking in with each paper cup of water I drink! I also have the convenience of always taking Kirkland (Costco brand) water bottles with me when we are out of the house and since those have the ounces printed on the label, life is so much easier!

16.9 ounces of scrumptious water - Thank You Costco!

With the 60 day weigh-in and measuring day coming up I want to be getting all the fluids I need to not let my body retain any excess weight! It may sound silly, but I really want my results to WOW me! My only problem these past couple weeks has been that I have been eating my two snacks a couple hours apart and not having time (or hunger) for lunch! I stay full with my easy snacks and then it is usually already too close to our dinner by the time I am thinking "oh hey, I forgot about lunch!"and so I have my second snack and leave it at that. I WILL get back on track and eat my lunch everyday once the packing and cleaning and chaos finally wears down. :)
OOH! And for another progress photo, I compared myself from the morning of August 17th (hours before my scheduled c-section) to my work-in-progress swimsuit body at 7-8 weeks into my Beachbody challenge (approx. 6 months later). It is not something I ever figured on showing the world, but I have come too far to not be utterly PROUD of myself for my transformation. And I am no longer ashamed of how bloated and big I was that August morning, because it was one of the happiest days of my life and it didn't matter one bit how I looked that day. :)

6 month and 55 pound difference, and still a working progress!

I had gained DOUBLE my recommended pregnancy weight gain, and still, six months later I have come to being only ten pounds away from my goal weight! And THAT is something to be proud of. :)
I will have to build all my muscle back up after the baby weight has fully disappeared, but I am so close I can almost FEEL being back to the normal self I used to be!
If I can do it, I know ANY mom can. I had all the setbacks I could possibly think of, but with a nearly one-tracked mind determined to get my old body back, I have almost accomplished it in 6 months! Three of those months, I was not allowed to do more than walk due to setbacks in my healing process, and once I was given the OK by my doctor I eased into working out again and going on longer walks. At 3 and a half months I slowly eased out of my pregnancy eating habits and back into eating for the body I wanted to have. At four months post pregnancy I joined this wonderful Beachbody 90 day fitness and health challenge, and it has been one of THE BEST things I ever could have done for myself at this vulnerable point in my life.

You don't need all the machines at the gym to get into shape! You just need Beachbody fitness DVD's and some weights/bands/yoga mat and a little bit of MOTIVATION!

Having other people going through their own, and some similar, weight loss journeys at the same time and all of us joining together to lift each other up and motivate everyone in the group has been a life saver for me! It may be scary at first to share your story with strangers, but I would recommend joining an online Beachbody fitness challenge to ANYONE & EVERYONE who has fitness or weight loss goals that they want to reach. Being happy in your own skin is important, and being at the fitness level you desire is a good way to do just that!
Until next time!! :)

Weeks 5 & 6!

I cannot believe that this fitness journey is HALF WAY OVER already!

My new size 7 pants! I am SO sucking it in for this picture, but I always like having something to work toward!

I had no idea that it would go by so quickly. But I am so grateful to myself for starting when I did. Before this 90 day challenge I walked my butt off every day that I had the time to, and all of it is adding up! This kinda stuff takes time! I really started kicking my butt into gear back in December (not including the junky foods I ate during Christmas and New Years). And all of the SMALL changes I have made are what have gotten me to this point in my fitness journey! The small things really do matter! Cutting out little things that you know you shouldn't be eating and adding the extra mini fitness challenges to your daily regimen WILL HELP. Results take time, but if you're willing to out in that time and effort you will see them happen before your eyes!!

Week #5 was an intense one for me. My hubby was away in California on another business trip, so I was Super Mommy again for that week! It was much harder than the last time he was gone, and I'm not sure why. I had a hard time keeping up with my workouts (although I DID keep up with them) and I had somehow lost my motivation!! I was getting more and more worried about myself as the week went on. I struggled a lot! I kept missing my snacks or a lunch here and there, and that may not seem like much, but IT IS SO NOT LIKE ME to get off track. A couple days during that week I never found the time during the day when my daughter would let me have my workout. So I actually stayed up a few nights, way past my bed time, and FORCED myself to do the workouts I had scheduled for that day. NO matter how hard things get or how hectic my life becomes, I know that I want this THE MOST and it is not worth anything to give up on my health and fitness goals.

I never have time to make my workout schedule and meal plans pretty, but I do make it a point to write them down!

Week #6 REACHING THE HALF WAY MARK! Getting to the half-way mark actually scared me. It made my mind reel with thoughts of 'have I come far enough?' or 'will I reach the goals I set out for myself?'. I am so eager to reach my goals and I just want to be SURE that I am putting in all the effort that I possibly can. I have now a little less than 6 more weeks in this challenge, and I am needing to revisit my Original Goals to make sure that I am on the right track to reaching them!
This week, my hubby was back, and after a long talk with myself I had managed to regain my energy and motivation and I got right back on track with my workouts and my healthy eating habits! I do have to admit that I have become a little less strict on my eating 'schedule' because now, if I miss a snack when I really wasn't hungry for it, I am not so hard on myself. If I am not hungry, I don't see the point in stressing myself out and rushing around the house trying to keep the baby entertained while I munch down the designated calories. Stress is one thing I am still learning to let go of. I am just the worry-wart type of girl, always have been and probably always will be. But I have seen how stress kept me from losing some of the weight I had. So with baby steps and learning to just go with the flow sometimes, I am becoming less stressed and therefore able to shed the weight that I am working so hard to lose!
Now I never really need the "cheat" meals. When I am eating healthy, which is always, I no longer crave the sugars or carbs that so many other people seem to pine after. But in honor of Valentine's Day (which my hubby was away for) we made up for it this last weekend by going out to Macaroni Grill. :)
Since I never do cheat meals, I figured that I would go "all out" for this occasion!

My extravagant Cheat Meal for Valentine's Day!

Needless to say, it didn't take long after dinner for me to feel like I was in a sugar coma. I will stick to getting my sugar intake from apple slices thank you very much! The next day was my rest day for my workouts (thank goodness) and I took advantage of being able to relax (and clean house) and "detoxed" myself with a ridiculous amount of water and my wonderful Shakeology.

My "Reese's Peanut Butter Cup" Shakeology!

I always weigh myself on Sundays (unless an actual weigh-in day is coming up in my challenge group), but because I had indulged the night before, I felt it was reasonable to wait until I had flushed all the carbs and sugar out of my system. And it was worth the wait to see what the scale would show me!

Half way point in my fitness challenge journey!

This journey is changing my life completely. Fitness is now the one thing that I get o do for myself each day that is JUST FOR ME. The rest of my time may be dedicated to being a mommy, maid and chef, but THIS is for ME. I am so excited to see the results that I am seeing. It doesn't matter one bit that I haven't reached certain goals yet. I now KNOW that I can reach any goal I set for myself!

30 Day Update!!

Week 4 and a little bit of week 5 all led up to my 30 day mark in this 90 day challenge! I waited "patiently" to step on the scale until the BIG moment yesterday! I am very proud of myself for being able to glare at the scale all week, but NOT get on it. I just want to say how incredibly proud I am of my other challengers in my group! We have all been kicking BUTT on this challenge! I am so amazed at the results I am seeing from all the other ladies in my group. But what I get to share today is my progress and my results from my first 30 days!

Day #1 vs. Day #30: Progress is Progress!

My first week, the scale didn't seem to want to budge. I thought I was going to be stuck above 140 pounds FOREVER. I don't know why, but it hardly even occurred to me that this challenge really was going to get me back down to my pre-pregnancy weight! I was just going into this challenge to get anywhere closer to feeling like a REAL person again instead of the blubbery, baby-capsule that I had felt like for so long. And now I feel like I can SEE the pre-pregnancy me right around the corner! And it's only been a month! SO CRAZY.

My scale gave me incredible news yesterday morning! I have lost 7.2 pounds in the last 30 days!

I didn't really feel the need to "calculate" how many inches I lost because my first measurement was my right bicep...and it got BIGGER since my day #1 measurements! All thanks to my P90X. :) OH! After my second week of doing solely P90X I changed it up and did all Turbo Fire on week 3. AND THEN, when Turbo Fire gave me and my asthma a run for our money, I manipulated my schedule to an infusion of Turbo Fire 3 days a week, alternating with the muscle building videos of P90X the other 3 days of my workout week. Not every workout is for everyone! I have found my happy medium, and it is apparent from my results that it is working for me! Losing the baby weight AND building up the muscles I forgot I had!

This week I was so excited to see results at the 30 day mark, I skipped my cheat meal! I was STRONG and managed to make my family's favorite cookies for my in-laws to try and I didn't eat any of them! Although I will admit that I licked the spoon after mixing the batter. Lol!

Being STRONG in my mind is being able to choose to say NO even to my favorite recipes!

Random Thought! For the life of me, I could not figure out how the HECK all these girls in the Turbo Fire videos kept their hair up during all the action and jumping around! I have long hair, but not thick hair, and I was resorting to using a new hair tie each day so that it was still elastic enough to hold my hair up for the entire workout! That was just ridiculous! I knew there had to be a better way. When I was at the little grocery store the other day I found my solution! These things work SO WELL! So if anyone else has my same problem, go look for these nifty hair ties, they were my life savers!

Miracle Workers.

OK! Back to business! My 30 day photos are taken and I am so excited to see a change in myself compared to a month ago! It's hard to see the results when you are looking at yourself every day in the bathroom mirror. You could be making SO much progress and never notice until you compare pictures from then and now! I do apologize for looking like I just rolled out of bed...because that's exactly what I did. I was far too excited about my 30 day results to care about my hair or face being done. In the same outfit as my first day photos of course!

Yes, I'm short and these pictures make me look even shorter!

Right bicep is getting so much more muscle! Can you tell which arm I carry my daughter around with? Lol.

Not all mommy tummies flatten out after child birth. I am having to WORK at it.

 

 

 

Getting there! One day at a time. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Some random additions I made to my first 30 days were that I participated in a January Crunch-A-Thon on Facebook put together by my AMAZING Coach Marlena Hedine! The challenge was a fun little something that I could do to help myself make progress and really FEEL as though I was pushing just a little bit harder each day. I completed 6,000 crunches in the month of January! How crazy is THAT?! It's amazing how being part of groups, or challenges or just setting small goals in your mind can PUSH you farther than you thought you could go! I am currently participating in the February Challenge as well, and already having so much fun with it! Along with that I have also set my own goal for myself of doing a February Squat Challenge I found on Instagram. Set goals for yourself! Write them down! Look at them every day! Make smaller/short term goals! It is FUN when you reach little milestones in your journey to fitness!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then and Now - Week 3 Review

This week has been chaotic with the hubby coming home from being gone all last week, and now all of us are trying to get back to a different schedule. But I was so excited when we had the chance to go shopping and I tried on some clothes! No I have not stepped on the scale and magically lost more weight, but what I have done is much more exciting to me! Two months ago I went out shopping for new clothes, because I honestly had nothing that worked in this Hawaiian weather and I was still wearing a few of my pregnancy garments. (It was a hard habit to break!)

It was very hard for me to want to buy clothes after having my daughter, because once upon a time I had sworn to myself that I would never get above a size 7 in Juniors again. Obviously I told myself that YEARS ago and was being completely unrealistic. And in my mind, post-pregnancy size doesn't really count unless you do not make the effort to lose the baby weight. I had so many doubtful and depressing people tell me that being fat after having a baby was just how it was going to be and that just doesn't sit well with me. I was and still am determined to show everyone that you can gain WAY too much weight during pregnancy and then shed that weight back off! Yes it's going to take a ton more effort to do than if you had managed to only gain the 25-35 pounds the doctor recommended, but it IS POSSIBLE.

Anyway! I had noticed this week that my shorts were kind of loose and not staying where they should on my hips when I walked, so I figured 'what the heck, let's try something on while we're here'. I grabbed a few different brands of shorts (because we all know each brand fits differently) and all in the next size down, where I thought I was at. Lowe and behold the size 9's were to big!! I was beyond excited to run out of the fitting rooms and go searching for a size 7! My super duper ridiculously absolutely enthralling news! In the past two months, I have dropped 2 pant sizes!!!

From a size 11 in November to a size 7 in January!

And honestly, being able to buy a smaller size in clothing is WAY more exciting than seeing the number on the scale decline. So THIS is my huge accomplishment! It took two months of hard work and clean eating, but it is all worth it. I was walking and trying to eat well before I started this 90 day challenge I am on, and it is wonderful to know that my own version of hard work had been paying off too, I just hadn't noticed it! You can also see the difference in my pictures of how I look too.

Picture taken the middle of December.

Picture taken January 22nd.

So these pictures are closer to only a month apart, but if I can see the difference it MUST be there. We are all our own worst critics so I know I'm making progress when I can see it with my own eyes and be proud of myself!

This week I also did manage to lose 1 pound! Woohoo! I just reminded myself that one pound of fat is a HUGE slab off my body. I am PROUD for every pound I lose because I know that is one less pound to worry about, it is GONE and in the past and I am never looking back. :)

NOPE! I am super happy to have lost this much off my body!!

I have already packed all of my snacks and emergency healthy foods for on-the-go days next week. We are on the last stretch until our 30-day weigh-in and measurement time!! I am so ready for this next week to come because I am going to kick its butt each day at a time. My 30-day goal was a big one, and I am going to kick my own butt to strive to get there! But I will also be happy to get even close to that goal, and I know that I will be proud of myself and my measurements will help boost my confidence and I will be ready to tackle the next two sets of 30 days too! 90 days seems like a long time to kick your butt into overdrive, but it is going to be WORTH IT!

Week #2 = Accomplished...barely...

Week #2 is supposed to be the harder one to push through. Getting past week two separates the tough from the weak, or at least the weak from the weak-but-determined-to-get-stronger. A lot of people have setbacks and things that get in their way when it comes to their exercises and healthy eating, but for me and week two, all we had was setbacks. My hubby was gone to Cali and Mexico on a half business/half hunting trip the whole week, so I was left to be "Super Mom". Being a full-time single mom...I just can't imagine having to do that with no end in sight. I give PROPS to all the mommies out there who survive it.
At the end of the first week I was a wee bit discouraged that the scale didn't show me that I had made any improvements, but at the end of this week I FINALLY broke out of the 140's! I dropped 3-4 pounds to 138! I could've kissed the scale this morning when it told me the good news, except of course that would've been gross - People's bare feet have been on that thing!

Broke through my plateau weight!

Setback #1: I have been doing P90X, and the videos are an hour long on average - longer if it's an Ab Ripper X day. An hour to a baby is FOREVER and they get so bored! And when my girl gets bored, she lets me know, LOUD. I run back and forth, pressing the pause button, turning her over, giving her different toys, scooting her away from the foot of the table that she will most likely roll into and hurt herself...It's like double time mommy duty!
My Solution: I am seriously considering switching my exercise program from P90X to Turbo Fire. I read a bunch of reviews comparing the two Beachbody programs and from what I can tell, Turbo Fire workouts are short and are "high impact", so I'm hoping it will kick my butt in a much shorter amount of time. As much as I have loved P90X these past few years, it is more for "muscle-ing up" and my goal for the moment is to lose this baby weight! So I am opting for a new workout to get more cardio!

Not giving up on the challenge, just changing the game!

Setback #2: My normally sleeping-through-the-night baby decided to transform into a scoot-around-in-her-crib-and-wake-up-every-hour baby this week! SO NOT IDEAL. I felt groggy all week! Even though I always made time for my workouts, I just never felt like I was keeping up or doing my best. Sleep is so important for the body to work correctly!
My Solution: Tough it out until my hubby comes home! Because that was really my only option. I took naps when she would sleep during the day, but the chores piled up while I was sleeping and I gave up on napping so that I could have clean clothes and uncluttered floors to exercise on.

Setback #3: While the men are away, the women will...shop. My mother-in-law wanted us to be on the go all week while the boys were on the mainland, so I had a very hard time keeping up with my eating schedule. (It's not easy to pack for a trip with a baby AND pack snacks for yourself all on someone else's timeline.) Also when you are out shopping and trying to eat healthier, sometimes you have no options for lunch other than things that are miles away from your "approved foods"!
My Solution: I have got to learn to stand up for myself! As important as shopping is to my mother-in-law, I really should have handed her the baby and told her to wait while I made sure that I had my snacks and waters in the car. Too many times this week I ended up feeling the grumpiness creeping up inside my stomach when it was time to eat and wasn't able to do anything about it. This challenge is important to me and I need to make it (and myself) a higher priority!

Toting the baby around while out on the town!

This week I needed some pick-me-ups, so I browsed around and found motivating sayings, funny quotes and just plain random pictures to keep my spirits high while my poor body was lagging behind.

Yup. Motivational enough for me!

When I happened to be on schedule with my eating I was a very happy camper. I am a SALAD LOVER, so it is easy to eat my greens everyday and not feel like I have cut anything out of my diet. The trouble with people who don't love salad is that THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO! Salad does not have to be plain and boring! My momma taught me to liven up my salads. :) I add meat, other veggies, nuts or seeds (for crunch), dried cranberries (No Sugar Added!), and much more. I also only use homemade salad dressing so I am never in the dark about what is going into my body! If you are choosing to eat healthier, there are ways to spice it up! ;)

One of my less extravagant salads from this week.

A little off the regular health and exercise mumbo-jumbo for a minute here. In my research for ways to get a healthier, thinner, more fit, happier-in-my-own-skin version of me, I have discovered a new passion. If I remember to lather up everyday, I feel like I have accomplished so much by doing so little! I always do my exercises and I work hard at eating correctly and often, and now I am giving myself something else to make me feel like I am making progress in other departments. LOTION! I may still be young, but everyone's skin needs some help. My skin has been through the ringer this past year while I've gone from a size 2 to a 12 and now moving back down again. So I am going to be working on giving my poor skin some help on its way to healing and tightening back up. I am a mom, and lotion is my friend.

I am also using a c-section scar cream for obvious reasons, and at the end of this 12 weeks challenge I guess we'll see the results!

This week felt like it was never going to end, and I know that it probably felt that way for a few of the other ladies in my challenge group too. All week I had to keep reminding myself WHY I am doing this and how IT IS ALL GOING TO BE WORTH IT. When you find things you want to work toward, write them down or take a picture of it! Those reminders will help you to keep going when the days or weeks seem to get the better of you. I know it WILL all be worth it and I am going to keep finding new ways to motivate myself and push through this 12 week challenge to the end!

'Nuff said.

Week #1 Summary

On the first day of the challenge I woke up SO ENERGIZED and ready to take on the world! As the week went on I had to work hard to remind myself that this is NINETY DAYS, and then for the rest of my life. "It is a marathon, not a sprint," as they always say. I was to grateful that my Shakeology arrived in time; the SATURDAY before! Boy oh boy was I anxious waiting for it to come!

Me waiting "patiently" to try out my first shake. :)

 I am so lucky to have the wonderful man that I do, because he decided to do this challenge with me. Of course he's not drinking Shakeology, but he is drinking a protein shake that I make for him in the mornings!

My man's Muscle Milk Shake - So he can feel included. :)

 He is also doing the P90X workouts each day after I get done with mine! He is making this journey so much more bearable for me! I hope that everyone else in this challenge, and in their own fitness challenges, has someone to encourage them to keep moving forward! It is hard on you MENTALLY and everyone needs an extra voice in the background telling them NOT TO GIVE UP. :)
By day #2 I could barely move my arms (day one being shoulders and arms + ab ripper). That was an interesting day, hardly being able to lug around my nearly 16 pound bundle of joy. Next time, I will remember how IMPORTANT STRETCHING is.
Day #3 for some reason my lovely little darling baby decided to wake up two hours early, and same with day #4. Those days I was GROGGY. I of course did my workouts and drank my Shakeology, but I was NOT enthusiastic about it. AND THEN my order of PB2 came in the mail, and that was a good game changer for my amateur Shakeology mixing skills.

NOW WE'RE TALKIN'!

Day #4 was also the Yoga day, and that reminded me how much I HATE YOGA. It has never been a person preference of mine. I've always disliked it, but I wanted to keep to the workout schedule that P90X comes with, so I tried my best to get "into it". It didn't go very well. I tried and tried for a good half hour of the 1.5 hour video, and then I gave up. But I was not going to skip my exercise for the day, so I popped in the Cardio X dvd and did that instead. By the end of the day I was icing my back from all the yoga moves my body disagreed with. Those two days, because the baby was off schedule, my eating was off schedule too, so that added to my icky, tired feeling.

Baby girl enjoyed yoga though!

Day #5 proved my point that yoga and I DO NOT get along. I had severely strained my lower back and was hardly capable of walking. So no Friday workout for me. Which was very upsetting, but I had people to remind me that healing my back was more important than over-working my body just to say I hadn't missed a day of exercise. With day 4, 5 and 6 came lots of ice packs and resting and stretching when my back could tolerate it.
Later on in day #6 I was able to complete my Kenpo Karate workout. I KNOW I shouldn't have tried it, but I am not good with sitting around and healing. My back handled it well and I can't wait to be back at my workouts on Monday. That Saturday we also went into town for some "family fun", (which just meant getting out of the house to keep our sanity) and I kept to my healthy eating and packed some good-for-you snacks!

(Not the low-fat cheese sticks, but that's what happens when you send your man grocery shopping!)

 Day #7 is the REST/STRETCH day! My man is leaving for a 9 day business (and hunting) trip this afternoon! So this morning we strapped the baby in "the daddy carrier" and went for a family stroll. :)

A good finale to my first week!

 This next week is going to be a trying one because my incredible support system is going to be an ocean away! Without someone to watch my little munchkin while I get my daily workout (and shower) in, it's going to be a STRUGGLE. But I refuse to give up! I was excited for some of my challenge-mates who lost weight already this first week, but sadly my weight has remained the same. I will be going over this weeks' habits in my head and CORRECTING where I went wrong, so that I can DO BETTER! Week Two, Here I Come!

Push Through the Pain!

When I woke up this morning I could NOT move my arms! My brain told my arms to reach for the water on my nightstand and my arms said 'Ehh, I don't think so'. Day One was P90X's Chest & Back + Ab Ripper X, and the ab part I am used to, but I never use my arms for anything more than toting around my little bundle of joy. Right after my workout yesterday, I went straight to mommy duty to take care of a fussy fit, and I FORGOT TO STRETCH my arms out!! WORST thing I could have possibly done to myself and I did it! UGH!
I am spending today stretching at every chance I get. I want to fix my mistake and get my arms useable again as soon as possible. Gotta be ready for the next workout that uses my arm muscles!
I have learned my lesson and will ALWAYS make time for the "Cool Down" and stretching part that comes after my workouts. The makers of P90X must have planned for this to happen to many a person, because (THANKFULLY) today's workout hardly had anything to do with arms. The few moves that did require arm muscles, I PUSHED THROUGH them and feel so accomplished for doing so!
Today was Day Two of my 90 day challenge and I am still feeling so energized that I have finally begun to change myself and my life! Plyometrics is the name of the workout I completed, with great difficulty, today. Tony Horton (the MAN of P90X) states from the beginning of the workout that Plyometrics is the "X" of P90X, it is the hardest one out of the 12 dvds, and I DID IT!
I am so grateful that every video has at least one person showing how to perform the beginner version of nearly every move. This being my first time trying out the new workout, I used to beginner's pose/stance for quite a few moves. Make sure that you NEVER feel bad for having to take breaks from the workouts! DRINK your WATER! If you have to stop for a bathroom break, DO IT! If you have wimpy wrists (like me), go easy on them! If you need to wear a brace, don't hesitate to pause your workout and put it on! Because I'm an asthmatic, I pause my workout dvds often to use my inhaler. If you can only do half the reps that the workout instructs you to do, do not feel ashamed! You will get better as time goes on! Never try to do a move in your workout that feels like it could hurt you in any way. Always check to make sure that you have the correct posture and are using the right muscles for each move that you do!
I feel so amped up, but I know that this is JUST the beginning. The days will press on and the excitement may fade, but I know that I WILL PUSH THROUGH IT. I want to come out on top this time. I want to look back at my Before Photos in 88 days and be AMAZED by how far I will have come. :)

To all the haters and nay-sayers!

I just needed to share a few thoughts tonight.

It's Saturday night. My 90 day Beach Body challenge starts Monday. I have been absolutely ecstatic about starting, and completing this challenge and coming out a better me than ever before. I have a few pretty fantastic fellow-challengers in my group and one spectacular coach who is the epitome of "above and beyond the call of duty". My mom is so supportive, and my hubby is even going to do the exercise part with me! I am so grateful for the people that know how much this means to me, and in turn it means a lot to them to be supportive and be by my side while I reach my goals. But there are however a few people, that I look up to and respect, who have NOT been so supportive.

In the last week as I have been preparing for this upcoming challenge, I have had icky faces made at the healthy food I was making. I have heard "oh is THAT part of what you're supposed to be doing?" (referring to me being hungry) and "oh well you have fun with that" (about eating smaller portions) and my favorite " NINETY DAYS? That sounds more like a prison sentence!". Honestly, some people must not THINK before they speak.

I believe I'm correct in assuming that there will be many people along the way who are going to 'poo-poo' this change I am trying to make in my life, and even more people who will scoff and roll their eyes at the efforts I put in. But I also believe I will be correct in assuming that those negative people will only be sour toward me because they wish they had the strength to change their lives the way that I am going to change mine. The way that all of the ladies in my challenge group are going to.

To everyone who is trying to get fit, skinny, buff or healthy-DO NOT LET ANYONE PUT YOU DOWN. The smallest things can hurt, and the fewest words can sting, but you can wash away those feelings with some Pain and Sweat in your next workout routine. :) If someone in your life seems to have something to say about every healthy food choice you make, learn to tune them out. If there is someone who eats snacks in front of you everyday, chomp down on that celery stick like it was your (old) favorite candy bar. Don't let anyone get in the way of you reaching your goals. Don't let anyone get in your head. If someone asks how much weight you've lost so far, tell them that it's not "weigh-in" day and that you'll get back to them. You don't have to share your results with other people before you're ready, and you definitely don't have to prove anything to anyone but yourself.

This challenge is going to help CHANGE MY LIFE into something I actually WANT it to be. And nothing ANYONE says can change the fact that I am going to see this through, and then live a fit and healthy life even after I complete these next 90 days. Keep your head in the game! Keep telling yourself how PROUD you will be of yourself when all of this is over. Tell yourself that you won't even recognize yourself in three months. Tell yourself to put away some money for the new SMALLER clothes you will soon have to buy for yourself! Tell yourself YOU'RE DOING THIS FOR YOU. :) And no one can stop you.

In Preparation:
Up 'til now I have been busting my butt to make sure that I have everything ready for this coming Monday (the start date for my 90 day challenge). I have purchased a scale (BLAH!) so that I can be held accountable to weigh in every 30 days as I'm required to. I hate owning a scale, and even when I have owned one, I try to store it somewhere where it is VERY inconvenient to get to and that way I'm far less tempted to depress myself by stepping on it. Now my scale is probably as high tech as my cell phone; Rockin' the Bowflex.

I have chosen P90X to be my self-inflicted pain. I have only ever been interested in working on tightening up my big thighs and making my abs even better than they already were. Now I am faced with this challenge and I have to dedicate myself to doing THE ENTIRE PROGRAM, including the nutrition guide. Goodness me, this is going to be a wild and BUMPY ride. Beachbody is amazing though, and P90X is my favorite at-home workout ever. Believe you me, I have seen an unsettling amount of at home workout videos (my mom, LOVE HER, had an entire SHELF of workout VHS tapes when I was growing up) but nothing ever kept my attention the way the P90X videos do. Whatever you choose for your daily workout just be sure to LOVE IT or at least love the results it will produce!

One other thing that has always helped keep me interested in my workouts is THE CLOTHES. I'm a girl, I love clothes in general, but being able to wear NEON ORANGE shorts, a HOT PINK tank top, and RAINBOW colored athletic socks, AND have it be completely acceptable?! Now that's what I'm talking about! Admitting your actual size in clothing is worth it to go out and buy just a couple cute pieces of athletic wear! Do it! It will brighten your smile on the days when exercising is the LAST THING you feel like doing.

LAST but not least, I accomplished doing one of the "requirements" of preparing for the upcoming 90 day challenge; I put up a motivational picture where I will see it ALL THE TIME! Constantly being reminded of my goals and WHY I'm putting myself through all of this is definitely going to keep me on my toes. Our requirement was to put a picture up on our refrigerator of either a skinnier us or something/someone that motivates us to get FIT & HEALTHY, but since I currently live in the guest house and the fridge is in the main house, I decided that a half naked picture of me would not be appreciated by my in-laws. So it's up on my bathroom mirror! I chose a fairly "showy" (*cough* *slutty* *cough*) picture of myself that I took two months or so before I found out I was pregnant. Just because I'm ME and 'crafty', I also made a "thin-spiration" board to go along with my goal photo. :) I added pictures of my old skinny self to keep it realistic. :) If you need or want more inspiration to help you through each day, MAKE a collage from magazine clippings and whatnot for yourself!! Then place it where it will bug the crap out of you each day until you finally give in and go exercise!

The Starting Line

It is a NEW YEAR, and I intend to make the absolute best of it. For all the people who think that everyone always says that in the new year their lives will be different, well I'm SERIOUS. In a week I will be starting my new life along with my 90 day Beach Body fitness and health challenge, and I couldn't be more excited! I have chosen to dedicate myself to getting fit and healthy by following the exercise routine and meal plan of P90X accompanied by Shakeology, which will replace one of my meals each day. If you don't know what either of those are, LOOK THEM UP. They will change your life. With the help and support of my wonderful coach Marlena and the rest of my fitness challenge group, I know that I will reach my New Year's goals sooner and in a healthier way than I ever imagined I could!

Currently my Shakeology is being shipped from somewhere on the mainland of the USA. I've also ordered a new Magic Bullet with all its gadgets and gizmos. The extreme at home fitness program P90X has been one of my favorite Beach Body workouts for a few years now, although during the upcoming challenge I will be doing the entire program, which is something I haven't done yet. I've always just done the abs and legs, and never really cared to touch any of the other videos. But then again, back when I first started P90X, I never had a need to lose weight or change my eating habits. Now I need to 'shape up' and I know that's the truth.

These are my before pictures! I may not be so excited to show them off now, but in 30, 60, and 90 days from now I will be PROUD of how far I've come. When my challenge is over, I hope that these photos, along with my progress and after photos, will INSPIRE other mommies like me to change themselves into the person they want to be!

I may not have tons and tons of weight to lose compared to some, but for how small I have always been, I now have a LONG way to go. Follow me on my journey to thin and fit, healthy and happy, and I make the promise to MYSELF to show REAL RESULTS.