Four Buttersticks

Hip Hop Abs

2011-10-10T20:52:00.000-05:00

This post is WAY past due! I apologize for that - I've been in a rut for quite a while now, but I'm hoping that I'm back. I completed the entire first 2 weeks of Hip Hop Abs, then the 3rd week I missed 2 days, and the 4th week I missed 2 days. So, 4 days shy of completing the program fully, but I didn't want to start it over. Honestly, I think it was too easy for me at that point (granted, I've had a month of pretty much no working out since then, so it would probably not be too easy for me right now....). I didn't gain any "weight", but I gained in my measurements. :( You win some, you lose some. :)

On to the review!!

Pros:

I absolutely love Shaun T! He's pretty cool, definitely not boring, fairly entertaining, and a very good teacher. I think the biggest part of workout dvd's is having a good teacher. If you can't learn the moves, then you can't get a full workout and you'll probably get frustrated along the way.
The moves are fun. Very upbeat and not too hard, in my opinion - but take this as you may. I was in drill team in high school. :)
Gets you sweating! Even though the moves aren't too hard, you still have to keep up and your body is going and going until the end.
Helpful in learning to use your abs. Of course, if this wasn't the case, then it wouldn't be a very good ab workout. What I mean is, Shaun reminds you throughout the workout to keep proper form with your abs. During, and after I finished the program, I would catch myself holding in my abs throughout the day. I would have probably kept that habit had I not stopped working out....Oh, sorry, squirrel moment. :)
A bit educational. I did learn a little about my abs. For instance, I never knew there were actually 6 muscle parts to your abs. Interesting
The music is good and very upbeat. As with any set of workout videos, it can start to get old, but I still liked it.
If you have kids, you and your kids would probably have A LOT of fun with this workout!

Cons:

If you're like me and you use your exercise time to think, forget it. In order to workout properly to Hip Hop Abs, the only thing you are able to think about is what is happening on the screen. After a few weeks it gets a little easier, but this is definitely not your mindless workout - you have to FOCUS!
As I said earlier, I think it was too easy for me. So I would honestly rate this as a beginner workout. Wow...did I just tell the blogging world that I don't think I'm a beginner anymore?? Here's my levels for your reference: Just starting, Getting the hang of it, Beginner, Not quite Intermediate, Intermediate, Advanced, P90X2? I think I'm at "Not quite Intermediate". I think. Yeah - I just made those up. Just now. I might keep them. :)
I don't believe I have any more cons to add to this list. Therefore, the Pros outweigh the Cons. Yay for Hip Hop Abs!

Ok, so seriously. It was a good program. I just wish I'd thought to buy the Deluxe Package because then I would have had more advanced workouts for later. I do have a few extras that came with the regular option.

So there you have it. My thoughts on Hip Hop Abs. :)

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions....

2011-07-15T16:19:00.001-05:00

~~I am the BEST decision maker in the world!!!!!~~

*ahem* Let's try that again. I am NOT the best decision maker in the world (ask my hubby, he'll attest to this). I am usually really good (too good) at going with the flow of things, but I know that I need to learn to be a better decision maker. I'm not talking about the big and serious stuff - I can usually make up my mind when it comes to things like that. I'm talking about the little things, such as what to wear, what to eat, what to watch, what to do, etc. While I can make those decisions when I'm on my own *most* of the time (usually I just do whatever pops in my mind first....that's not really making a decision, is it??), it's when I'm with someone else that I get hung up. So my answer to any of these questions, and others, is usually "I don't care". Nope, I truly don't. And I don't want to make the decision because I'm going to be just find with whatever YOU want. :) Yep - real mature, I know. ;)

So if you haven't guessed it already....I need help with a decision! :) My original plan was to order P90 (NOT P90X yet, just P90), but after looking at a few other Beachbody products, now I'm not so sure. There are so many I want to try, and I know I have plenty of time to get to all of them, but I have to be certain of what I do next because then it will be another program I will have to commit to - and I will commit to it, that's not a problem. But which one is best?? I already have Slim in 6 and am on my second round.

Take a look at the links below, then please fill out the form with your choice. Which one would you pick as the next program? Note: The links below are directly linked to my coach Hugo Sanchez's Beachbody shop - if any of you are interested in any of these products, or any others, please, buy them through him. I'd love to be a coach one day myself, possibly, but for now, I'd like to promote the products through his shop.

10-minute Trainer:

http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/MrFitn3ss?bctid=25219892001

Brazil Butt Lift:
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/MrFitn3ss?bctid=59417476001

Hip Hop Abs:
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/MrFitn3ss?bctid=10103956001

Power 90:
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/MrFitn3ss?bctid=1774353142

RevAbs:
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/MrFitn3ss?bctid=29316254001

TurboFire:
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/MrFitn3ss?bctid=75304674001

Turbo Jam:
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/MrFitn3ss?bctid=1803292125

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7.1875

2011-06-04T23:17:00.003-05:00

I went through a range of emotions Thursday as I weighed myself for the first time in 6 weeks (well, officially 2nd time - I weighed at the beginning of Slim in 6 and saw I'd lost 2 lbs then made sure not to weigh again until I was done). I also took my new measurements on Thursday.

Backing up a bit. The last day of my Slim in 6 workout program was Wednesday, 6/1. I was anxious to complete it because I knew that would be a victory. I was also anxious to weigh myself, measure, and take new pictures. Wake up Thursday morning. Not so anxious anymore. In fact, I was rather nervous about weighing myself. You see, in the past, I've worked hard and didn't really see much on the scale for all my efforts. However, I finally learned that the scale doesn't matter. And in the end, it won't really matter, either. I'm not quite sure, yet, how I'm going to figure out my ideal weight - but I really don't think the scale is going to determine that for me. But that's for another day, and many more pounds lost. So, Thursday morning I get up, and make my way to my scale. My initial weigh-in was 230 when I started Slim in 6. My scale, on Thursday morning, showed 222. Honestly, my heart fell. I was hoping for at least 10 pounds. I thought I'd prepared myself for 5. Apparently not, because when I saw that it was only 8, I said to myself, "Wow, only 8 pounds?????". I was VERY disappointed. But then, I talked with my hubby, my mom, and some close friends at work. They all helped me to realize several things: This is the first of many "stretches" in my journey that will last the rest of my life. 8 pounds really is a good number. I should be proud of my accomplishment and keep going (I definitely plan to keep going). Then later on, my coach pointed out that 8 pounds is more than 1 pound a week. Then - as I was logging my new weight - I remembered where I started. Yeah, I was at 230 when I started Slim in 6. But I was at 233 at my highest and could never breach that 10 pound mark. Well, as of Thursday, July 1, 2011, I finally breached the 10 pound mark. I've lost 11 lbs from when I was at my highest. Somehow, that really picked up my spirit. :)

Then, another range of emotions hit me that night when I took new pictures and measurements. I wasn't even focusing on my measurements. I focused more on my pictures, and I was very disappointed in what my pictures showed me. Granted, my workout shirt isn't the one I've been working out in - it's a brand new one that I plan on keeping brand new in order to take new pictures in. It will only be worn for pictures. So, I've gone ahead and put my pictures below. Looking again, I do see some small differences.

And now, to my favorite part of all, my new measurements - THIS is what I'm now excited about more than anything!

Neck: -0.25 in

Chest: -1.5 in

Left Arm: -1.6875 in

Right Arm: -0.25 in

Waist: -1.875 in

Hips: -0.625 in

Left Upper Thigh: -0.5 in

Right Upper Thigh: -0.5 in

TOTAL -7.1875 Inches lost in 6 weeks!

As for my calorie counting, I'm doing pretty good with that and have made a good habit of checking the calories for the things I'm eating. I'm now working on avoiding aspartame. I'm still getting at least 34 ounces of water in a day (mostly - a few slip-ups the last 6 weeks), and I'm eating veggies when I can. Small things to work on at a time so that I don't get overwhelmed - so that they become a habit.

So, here I am. And now, I have a desire to exercise. I'm reminding myself every day why I want and need to do this. I want to be healthy. It's the right thing to do. God cares about my health and my weight. If Chris and I have kids one day, my future baby deserves a healthy mamma. Chris deserves a healthy wife.

I deserve a healthy me.

Next up (that I started yesterday - Friday): 30 Day Shred for at least a month while I save up to get P90 from Beachbody (NOT P90X....just P90 first....I'm taking things slow, remember?) :)

Please, God....Help get me through this!

2011-05-13T20:29:00.000-05:00

To be honest with you, this is what I've been saying the past 3 weeks. Today I start day 1 of week 4, yet after 4 days of reading Faithfully Fit, I stopped... Thankfully, I continued to exercise, but I have not had the chance to grow in my faith due to my continued lack of commitment to my promise to God. So, every day that I've exercised, all I've been able to do is call out to God to help me complete the hour. And though this is entirely enough - remembering to just call to Him and continuing to surrender to Him....I know that I've been depriving myself of what HE wants to teach me through this journey. I believe I will have this journey for the rest of my life, but I have wasted 17 days of getting stronger in my faith - 17 days of gaining more understanding and more tools to help me fight my own humanity. So now - time to get back up and keep on going.

I want to be able to think about more than "God, help me get through this". This plea has definitely been my backbone the last 3 weeks. There have been days, 15 minutes into working out, that I just flat wanted to quit. I've kept my promise that I will continue the Slim in 6 program (freaked out last Saturday because life struck and I missed, but made that up on my rest day Wed, then changed my rest day to Thurs and now back on track - I'll now finish 1 day later, which I think is pretty good when considering that sometimes life does get in the way of things.) I've counted my calories - have had pretty good success with that, except weekends are definitely harder. It's time to bring that up a notch as well - I need to figure out the best thing for me to start on next: adding more veggies? counting another nutritional factor? upping my water and keeping it up? Something else I haven't thought of yet?

The activity today in Faithfully Fit was to read one of the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection. I read Luke 24:1-8 " ¹ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸ Then they remembered his words."

Two things I noticed:

Jesus told them that He would be crucified but would then rise on the third day - they had forgotten that He told them this;
The same God with the power to raise Jesus is the same God with the power to empower me to be successful in overcoming my gluttony and unhealthy lifestyle. I just have to remember this.

Definition:
gluttony (ˈɡlʌtənɪ)
-n
the act or practice of eating to excess

It's so easy to get caught up in every day life, even when you're trying to do the right things. I just have to remember that my God is big enough to handle the stresses; He's big enough to handle the temptations; and He wants me to rely on His power with my struggles. Time to move on from "Please, God, Help me get through this!" to understanding more of why and how He will.

I Surrender

2011-04-21T20:40:00.001-05:00

I surrender. And I believe this is a good thing.

Let's back up a bit. A lot has happened over the last few months or so, and today I start a new journey. Some of the same, and some definitely different. As a disclaimer, I have NO EXPECTATIONS. I don't feel like I have a bad attitude - I just feel like I've burned myself so often over the course of the last year that I'm wondering if I'm destined to be this size. But I believe God has bigger plans for me, and one of His plans is for me to be healthy. So I begin this new journey with the expectation that I will keep my promises, and we will see what happens.

So, speaking of promises... An old friend from high school got in touch with me a little while back and the neatest thing is that he is a coach for Beachbody. I am signed up for the free account on Beachbody.com, so I figured hey, I'll switch to him as my coach! Kinda cool, right? Well, then I went right back to not using the website and honestly, I kinda forgot about him. :) But, I truly believe he is a great coach and he wants the best for people and their health - he's told me how his wife had struggled but they finally found the right tools to help her succeed. So, he checked up on me, and that led to several emails chatting about health and options and thanks to him, I'm beginning a Slim in 6 journey tonight. On a very honest side-note, if you are interested in being coached by someone who is definitely genuine in their attempt to encourage and motivate you to succeed, visit Hugo's Beachbody site. I believe it will be worth your time.

So back to today. In just a little while, I will begin my first workout for Slim in 6. I'm definitely excited about it and I feel like it will be something that I can keep up with. Insanity was great, but I do admit that I think I pushed myself too hard. I couldn't keep up, and even though I modified the moves, I think that hindered my progress because it wasn't just one or two exercises....it was almost the whole dang thing! :)

Then something else hit me this past weekend, which is the subject of my blog tonight. I surrender. I'm done trying to do this my way, which ends up being all sorts of ways that don't get me anywhere. A book was recommended to me and, although it is probably a really great book, I realized that it is probably a book about what "I" can do on "MY" own. Granted, this is just an assumption - but these are the thoughts that led me to the second part of my new journey, that I am also starting today. I'm beginning a book titled Faithfully Fit: A 40-Day Devotional Plan to End the Yo-Yo Lifestyle of Chronic Dieting. I'm not perfect, but I do try to give God control of my life. I know there are parts of my life that I need to give Him over and over again. There are parts that are easy to just let Him handle. Then there are parts that I've never thought to give Him....ever. Like my health. Sure, it's probably crossed my mind a few times through the years, but up until this past weekend, it didn't really occur to me to give Him my health, too. But this past weekend, something just CLICKED! I know God loves me and cares about me. He's shown me time and time again, no matter what I've gone through. He's carried me through seasons where I couldn't walk on my own. So why shouldn't I surrender my health to Him?

There's no reason why I shouldn't. So I am. Beginning now. And again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. This will always be a struggle for me. I choose food as my comfort, and I really believe that I will probably be tempted with this for the rest of my life. Laziness plays into this as well. When I turn to food for comfort, there is no joy - there is no encouragement. There is only a momentary pleasure of "good taste"....and sometimes not even that! Then, there is no reason to exercise. "I'm stuffed, so I can't." "I just ate that, so then what's the point?" "Oh, I'm tired, so maybe tomorrow." "I just finished my water, and now I'm bloated, but I did good by drinking my water, right??"

I surrender. This is a good thing.

"Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:30

(On this journey, my blog entries will hold my main thoughts regarding what I read each day because I will use them for my journaling. But, feel free to look around on some of the tabs listed at the top - I will update those occasionally, as well.)

Weight Tracking

2011-03-14T21:03:00.000-05:00

When I originally started this blog, I had it in my mind that I would track my exercise and water intake daily, and my weight weekly. I thought that by doing this, month after month I would lose this weight that I'm so desperately trying to lose. My thoughts didn't pan out how I expected. And, I haven't been doing any tracking at all for a while now. I was thinking about this lately, and I think tracking my weight weekly has possibly been a disadvantage for me.

I know you're not supposed to base anything on the scale - muscle can skew what's really going on with your body. For a while, I could tell that I was indeed gaining muscle, and my clothes were getting a little smaller. Then, I think I let the scale guide me on how I thought my progress was going. I would go up and down and up and down, even though I felt smaller and my clothes fit a little better. Then I finally gave up. I've been trying to get back on track for a few months now, with no success. I haven't even been weighing myself for weightwatchers lately. I think I need to change how I track things.

I either need to track my weight monthly or every 2 months. Or, I just need to not worry about it at all, and only track it when I think of it - rather than have a scheduled tracking day. I do think that I need to track my water intake and my exercise so that I can make sure that I am getting in what I need.

So, tonight I will exercise (with weights I bought about 2 months ago and a DVD I bought at the same time that I haven't touched yet) - and I will not worry about the scale.

Let's see what happens. Honestly, though, my hopes aren't high. But, I did promise my doctor that I would at least get back to exercising because I know that even if I don't lose any or much weight, it is still healthier to be active in some way. Unfortuantly, my doctor didn't have any advice for me.

Here I go...

A Year Gone By...

2011-02-15T07:37:00.005-06:00

Honestly, I really hate to write this post, but I feel like I need to write about this. A year ago today I started this weight-loss blog. My journey to a healthier Kristin. The name has changed, but the intent has remained the same. In my first post I was excited and ready to really focus on my journey. I was at my highest weight ever of 233 pounds. Here's the proof that I really tried hard to do the things I needed to do for most of last year.

After a year, I only have 6.8 pounds gone to show for my efforts. In a year! This really does make me sad, to be honest with you. Of course I had my days, even weeks, where I didn't try very hard. But I had many months where I did, and all my body decided to do was to fluctuate between the pounds. I did get down to 10 pounds lost, but since then I've been between 223 and 228 - during the time that I really tried so hard, and during the time that I didn't put in much effort at all, I still fluctuated. I did gain a little muscle (which I now have to get back) and I did drop a size....but that's the extent of my efforts.

I really don't know what to think, but I am back on track again after several months off - still with the back and forth weight, too, during that time! I'm still weighing every week and have been most of this year. I haven't been documenting it on my blog anymore, though. This time I'm doing Weight Watchers, so hopefully I'll have some success. I go to the doctor soon for my yearly checkup, so I'm going to ask her if she has any suggestions - other than pills. First off, they're way too expensive and we just can't afford the extra expense right now; and secondly, if my body isn't losing even when I try my hardest, there has to be a good reason, right? I know the first thought is my thyroid - well, year after year, nothing has come up to signify anything is wrong. Other than that, I have no clue. I just know I'm so tired of this, but I know that I need to at least attempt to be healthy, even if my body doesn't cooperate.

So with all of that said, I covet your prayers. Prayers that despite my ups and downs, that I still will choose to exercise and eat right. Prayers that this doesn't keep me discouraged. Prayers that maybe my doctor will have some insight. My biggest thought is, at the rate I'm going, I won't be able to get the weight off before Chris and I can finally try to have kids - not to say that's any time soon because I have no idea - but I just want to be healthy when the time comes, and I'm going nowhere fast.

I'm back

2010-11-30T21:26:00.004-06:00

Well, I didn't really go anywhere - I just got tired of "one step forward, two steps back" with my weight. So, I've decided to not log every week with a blog. I do log it on the "My Progress" tab above, though.

I can't believe that since starting this on February 15th, I haven't even made it past my first 10 pounds. The last few months, I have noticed some change in my body where inches are concerned, so I know the scale isn't a tell-all. But still - I really expected to have lost a decent amount by now.

My roller coaster ride has consisted of EA Sports Active, then EA Sports Active-More Workouts. Then off and on for a few months. Then Insanity. Had to put Insanity on hold because it went from 40ish minutes to about an hour every day - 6 days a week. 40 minutes was difficult enough to keep up with. That hour was almost impossible for me right now. So now I am doing 3 different Jillian Michael's workouts: 30 Day Shred/Banish Fat Boost Metabolism/No More Trouble Zones. I'm averaging about 3 days a week with these - on the days that I can do an hour, I pick the Metabolism or Trouble Zones. The other days where I just need to squeeze in a workout, I pick the 26 minute 30-day Shred. I know I need to up it to more than 3 times a week, though.

And the next new addition to my lifestyle is Weight Watchers! I signed up for 3 months this past Monday - if we can't continue it past the 3 months, I feel confident that I will have learned enough to keep at it on my own (I'm only doing it online, anyway). The program is way different, so I have two learning curves. 1-to learn the new program and 2-to revamp what kinds of foods I buy and eat. I am excited to finally be able to add this back to my routine and hope to see some progress in the next few months.

The last thing that has changed since February 15th: My attitude. On February 15th, my attitude had changed for the good - that I need to exercise and I need to lose weight. Just a few weeks ago, my attitude changed again. Yes, I need to exercise and I need to lose weight.....but it truly clicked that this is not a "temporary" situation. It is my life-long situation. I think I've always known that - but maybe I just didn't want to admit that to myself. I've never been a skinny person. I don't remember being 130 pounds (my goal). Yeah, sure, I passed 130 pounds at some point - but when, I have no clue. I just can't remember - at least not any time in my life that I've ever weighed myself or weighed at the doctor's. Being at a healthy weight is hard for me - I had a big advantage in Nacogdoches when I walked everywhere. Since 2002 I've had a full time job where, most of the time, I just haven't "felt" like doing anything else after work. But now is different. It is a good different - even though I still feel a twinge of "dang, why didn't I get the skinny gene?" :)

~~This is temporary.~~ ~~This is seasonal.~~

This is me and this is how I will always have to live my life. And I'm finally, truly, ok with that. :)

-Kristin

Edited: I just realized I need a new siggy. :( *cries*

10/11/10 - 227.7 lbs (0.2 gain: -5.3 total)

2010-10-11T11:57:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I've been doing the Insanity workout for 2 weeks now. I've only missed 1 day from not feeling good, so I think I've been doing pretty good. My endurance and strength has noticeably increased and I am seeing small changes with my body. Not enough to affect the scale, apparently, and not enough to really affect my clothes much - so, I am anxious for this week to be able to see if there are any changes next week. I did read a little on the Insanity forums that a lot of people don't really see much of a difference until the second month.

I am not discouraged. :)

10/04/10 - 227.5 lbs (1.7 gain: -5.5 total)

2010-10-04T11:45:00.005-05:00

I forgot to blog - last week was a 1.7 gain.

09/27/10 - INSANE!!!

2010-09-29T21:55:00.002-05:00

So this week's weigh-in for 09/27/10 was +- 0 pounds at the same 225.8 lbs. So, still down only -7.2 total since February.

It's time for a change. I haven't been able to buy the Insanity workout until now, and only because my cousin switched up her routine and decided to sell it to me - and she was so sweet to let me use it now knowing that I won't be able to pay her for it just yet. Thank you, Sasha!!!!!! :)

So I'm on my 2nd day of Insanity. Yesterday was the Intro and Fit Test. Today was the Plyometric Cardio Circuit - basically, high intensity cardio. I honestly can't believe that I didn't melt into a puddle on the floor! :) I was able to get through most of it, except for one of the circuits - for that one, I was only able to do one of the exercises (out of 4 I think) because the others were floor exercises and well, I still need to flatten my tummy a little. It was unfortuantly in the way. :( But, that didn't stop me. I did other things (including crunches) for that part of the circuit. Maybe by the next time I hit this circuit I'll be able to do one or two more of the exercises.

So, all in all, it was a great workout. Not perfect, but I didn't expect it to be perfect and I know that there's only one way to go from here - and that's losing weight and getting better and better, enduring more and more, no matter how long it takes. I feel great! And even after that difficult workout, I intend to keep on with Insanity until I finish it. Only 58 more days to go! Maybe I can lose at least 15 pounds in those 58 days. We shall see.

Now it's time for a hot bath and some relaxing for my muscles!

09/20/10 - 225.8 lbs (-7.2 total)

2010-09-22T09:37:00.001-05:00

Today's check-in from this past Monday's weigh-in: 0.2 lb loss. I'm going the right way again.

Until I get past my first 10 lbs again, I don't know that I'll really have anything else to say - unless something spectacular happens between now and then.

09/13/10 - 226 lbs (-7 total)

2010-09-19T12:33:00.000-05:00

I've been so busy that I forgot to check in last Monday - 1.3 pound loss, so back to 226. Weigh-in again tomorrow morning. Back to exercising a little more.

09/06/10 - 227.3 lbs (-5.7 total)

2010-09-06T17:36:00.000-05:00

Just checking in. 4 lb gain this week.

08/30/10 - 223.3 lbs (-9.7 total)

2010-08-30T09:43:00.000-05:00

I swear, this is why I'm getting so discouraged. I have no idea what my body is doing. I apparently lost 2.9 pounds this past week....but how or why is a mystery. I've been frustrated with my whole weight-loss journey for a while now, and thus I'm really just stuck right now. No motivation to exercise and hardly any motivation to drink all of my water because what I've noticed is that my body seems to just want to do what it wants to do, no matter what effort I put into it - so I've just stopped right now.

I don't plan on this being forever - but this is where I am right now.

08/23/10 - 226.2 lbs (-6.8 total)

2010-08-23T19:09:00.000-05:00

So I did have a 1.4 gain this past week. It's not surprising and I wasn't expecting a loss since I knew I wasn't doing everything I should have been doing. I didn't really have an excuse, though getting my water in was definitely hard because I was working in Duncanville all last week, as well as today, and I didn't have my second jug of clean water in a fridge like I do when I'm working at Region 10. Although, that doesn't give a reason for why I did not drink ANY water the last two weekends (though I did get 34 ounces in yesterday) - there's definitely no excuse for that one and my body has really been "puffy" due to the lack of water - which is always ironic to me. I've noticed it most in my fingers, my feet, and my stomach. Boy, it stinks to look pregnant laying down when you're not! I probably do standing up as well, though... :) The exercising, however, should have been a no-brainer. I let myself "be tired" or "too busy" since I did get home much later than usual most days last week (due to long drive plus errands after work).

Sucking it up and moving on...again....I feel like that's all I do lately because it seems that whether or not I'm actually trying, I just keep going back and forth and back and forth....

08/16/10 - 224.8 lbs (-8.2 total)

2010-08-16T10:28:00.004-05:00

This is a back-dated post - I will post again for tomorrow's weigh-in.

Last Monday was a 0.7 lb gain. Tomorrow I suspect to see a gain as well. I have not had all my water this week, nor have I exercised. We shall see.

08/09/10 - 224.1 lbs (-8.9 total)

2010-08-09T13:28:00.002-05:00

Well, it looks like I'm getting closer to hitting my first 10 pound mark a second time - just 1.1 pounds to go. I've still been slacking. I exercised on 7/20, then again a week ago (8/2), and then yesterday - so only 3 times total in the last 3 weeks. Last night I did TaeBo - I'm so out of shape again exercise-wise that I could only handle 10 mins of it. So, my plan is to do another 10 mins of it again today, and maybe again tomorrow, then up it to 15 for a few days, then up it again, etc, until I can go all the way through it. I may not be able to do it perfectly, but at least I know I can get to a point of going through it and then I can work on more details. And, my neck is still hurting just a bit - but it's better enough to where I can do TaeBo without worrying about hurting it more. This is the longest neck pain I've ever had in my life!!

I still want the Insanity workout, but for now, TaeBo will have to do. I'm starting to wish that I'd been doing TaeBo this whole time - maybe I'd have lost more than I have actually lost by now. It's been almost half a year since I started this journey, and I'm still trying to get BACK to that first 10 pounds that I initially lost by the end of April. So, again, hoping with upping the intensity that I will have more success in the months to come.

I greatly appreciate everyone's encouragement as I've gone through this journey. I have such a long way to go if the past 6 months is any indication of how the rest of my life will be (as far as getting the weight off and then maintaining), but I plan to keep at it and your encouragement has really helped me stay on track. I may have given up by now - it's just such a difficult thing to do. But because of everyone who cares about me, I've received encouragement every single time I've needed to have my mind re-focused. So with all that said, THANK YOU!

08/02/10 - 224.6 lbs (-8.4 total)

2010-08-03T09:48:00.004-05:00

I really have no idea what my body is doing. Last week was a 0.2 gain. This week is a 0.7 loss. For almost 2 weeks I have not exercised. I totally expected about a 5 pound gain for this weigh-in. My body is driving me batty! My neck is still giving me problems, and I guess I am the "all or nothing" girl....because it did not occur to me that I could have done my Wii Fit - I could have just walked - I could have probably even done crunches. Instead, I was stuck with wanting to do my TaeBo...I want the intensity. I truly am longing for the intensity. But yet, for almost 2 weeks now, I have done nothing...because my neck hurt and it didn't occur to me that I could have done SOMETHING, no matter how small.

So, I was going to start back Saturday - then Sunday - then Monday. Shows you how hard it is to get back into something when you've been out of it for a while. 2 weeks really isn't that long, but I suppose as far as habits go, it's long enough. So, today I plan to do my Wii Fit. I will definitely get to it today. There is no room for slacking.

07/26/10 - 225.3 lbs (-7.7 total)

2010-07-26T10:35:00.000-05:00

Last week I had a 1.3 lb gain and today I had a 0.2 lb gain. Not surprising, so I'm not going to complain nor will I get frustrated today. I hurt my neck, so I did not exercise except for one day last week. I'm thankful for just the 0.2 lb gain - it could have been a lot worse.

Hoping to be able to exercise again soon - my neck still hurts, but not as bad as it had been. Last week when I thought it was ok enough to exercise, I did TaeBo and I think I made it worse. So, this time around, I will be waiting for it to completely go away.

That's all. Oh well.

07/19/10 - 225.1 lbs (-7.9 total)

2010-07-19T14:54:00.002-05:00

I'll write again tomorrow when I weigh-in again. I never did create this post for last Monday, so I'm creating it now and back-dating it for record-keeping purposes.

07/12/10 - 223.8 lbs (-9.2 total)

2010-07-12T20:34:00.001-05:00

Today's weigh-in was a good one. However, I find myself doing the motions and not having much faith in what I'm doing. The past several weeks I did the same thing I did last week, and last week I even splurged a little because I had an "I don't care" attitude for one or two meals. So I guess that means that I should see little to no weight loss next week.

I'm truly not giving up, but I'm just very tired and so discouraged. It has been almost 5 months to the day that I started trying to do better by eating better, drinking my water, taking my vitamins, and exercising. In that time, it took me a little over 2 months to lose 10 pounds. Since April 26, so for almost 3 months, I have been struggling with getting back to those first 10 pounds. I feel like I have nothing worth saying when I blog about my weight. I feel like I just want to say forget it all and wait until our finances change to try to watch things. But I know that is a bad attitude, and I do not want to have a bad attitude with this. I'm going to face a lot of things in my life that are challenging, and I have already faced challenging situations, so I need to keep my head up and my focus strong.

You know, though - although I occasionally ask God to help me with this struggle, I haven't really given this struggle to Him. I guess I'm thinking I can just keep on keeping on with my own strength, and as time is showing, my strength just is not enough.

So now I know the next thing I need to do to add to my healthier way of life. I need to give this up and ask God to be the leader in my journey, instead of me just asking Him for advice very now and then. Any ideas on how to do that would be greatly appreciated. :) I know that there are Bible studies focused on health, but I do not think that would be the best option for me right now as I already have a book study I'm going through, and then after that I hope to see if hubby would be interested in doing a study with me.

Please let me know if you have any other ideas. :) I guess I feel just a little more encouraged now. :)

07/05/10 - 225.3 lbs (-7.7 total)

2010-07-06T15:27:00.001-05:00

Well, I'm a day late in posting this. Partly because I didn't want to. Partly because yesterday was a lazy day. I got up, weighed myself, and became frustrated. A 0.4 lb gain. I truly don't get it - I'm out of my funk, I'm exercising, I'm adding veggies to my meals, and I'm drinking my water (weekends are still hard, though). I did miss one day of exercise last week that I could have made up on Saturday, but I chose not to. And, I ate late Sunday night, so I'm thinking that was part of my problem. But still, I don't get it. Maybe my loss would have been so small that Sunday just flubbed it up. I'm not giving up, but come on - what is my body doing???

I had planned on changing my weigh-in day to Friday or Saturday mornings, thinking maybe I just can't get the weekends right. But, on second thought of that, I realized that I would be giving myself an excuse to not be careful. So, I just need to be more careful I guess.

And, I've realized something. I don't "feel good" after exercising, like I had been feeling in the past. I get and stay achy - and it gets better over the weekend but then it starts again when I exercise again on Monday. So that doesn't make sense, and is very discouraging when I go to exercise because I don't want to feel achy and icky. :( No idea what could be causing that.

Onward we go...

06/28/10 - 224.9 lbs (-8.1 total)

2010-06-28T11:17:00.001-05:00

Ok, so still headed in the right direction - just so much slower losing these first 10 lbs than I did the first time around. Maybe in the next month or two I'll be able to get past this plateau, I suppose. I didn't think plateau's came this early! However, I did complete my first week (first 4 days) of EA Sports Active More Workouts. It's a little bit of a different set up than the first game, and I think I actually like it. I have to schedule 4 days to workout, with 3 days off per week. Of course, I can always work out on my days off, but right now I have my schedule set up for Mon/Tue and Thur/Fri. This gives me a good break in the middle of the week, as well as weekends off in case stuff is going on. So, I think it's very doable and last week proved to go nicely. I'm enjoying the exercises, so that always helps. I'm still anxious for the next one to come out, but I have a problem. For the next one, they are going to open it to other consoles like the PS3 and the Xbox. I think for both of these consoles, it will be completely hands free. With the Wii, it will still require the use of one remote. So, my problem is.....I need a PS3 or Xbox in the living room because I want to be hands free! How awesome would that be??? :) We shall see what happens as that is still several months away (I think November, but I'm not certain).

As for the feedback I received, I will be keeping the new layout as well as the new title "Four ButterSticks", but I will keep my blog address the same (kristinhope79.blogspot.com). I want to give a BIG THANK YOU to Melissa Frazier for creating my blog logo - she is awesome!! :)

My goal for this week is to come up with a weekly meal plan. I have to have one situated by Wednesday because that is when I will need to go shopping (so this week will only be Wed through Sun), and then I plan on going shopping once a week, I suppose - I guess on Sundays or Mondays. Hopefully we can manage our groceries and our eating a little better this month. If you are interested, here is the Google Doc template for our Meal Plan/Grocery List.

06/21/10 - 225.3 lbs (-7.7 total) - Maintaining

2010-06-21T12:24:00.001-05:00

So today's weigh-in was my first maintenance weigh-in. I stayed at 225.3 lbs. I am completely fine with this and I have plans for this week to be GREAT!

In honor of my letting off the brakes, I have given my blog a makeover, complete with a new name: Four Buttersticks. :) This may change again in the future, but my idea is from comparison that 1 lb loss is equal to 4 sticks of butter. The makeover is not complete yet (takes far too much time than I have right now), but I ask that you please take a look and let me know what you think. As you can see, I have 3 polls on the top of my page that I would really love for you to answer. :) My future plans include a nice picture at the top and a new section to list what I am eating because I am going to try to get back on Weight Watchers based on what I remember from the program. It won't be perfect, and I know the program has changed, but at least it will be a start for tracking my food in the best way possible for me.

Time to Let Off the Brakes....

2010-06-18T14:04:00.002-05:00

So, if I haven't mentioned before, a lot of my motivation comes from my friend Keelie. Her blog posts are very motivating to me and she's made such great progress in getting healthier. She is definitely a role model, and I think what helps is that we started at around the same weight when we began both of our journeys. So to me, if she can do it, then I can, too! :)

Her recent post New Car Smell of course got me thinking. It made me really see that, as usual, the "newness" of being excited about being healthy had worn off. I hadn't quit trying, but I had quit trying as hard as I had when I started. I've been feeling defeated and deflated because I just haven't been able to get past my first 10 lb loss. If I'm being honest with myself, I've really been thinking "poor me" because I can't afford to get the healthy food that I'd like to eat or to get back on Weight Watchers online. I can't even get my ticker at the top of my page to not overlap with the numbers!!!!

What I CAN do right now is exercise and watch my portions, even if I can't eat like I'd like to. I've been slacking and it was time to stop feeling sorry for myself........again.

So, this is what I did. On Wednesday I had made up my mind to restart the 30 day challenge for my EA Sports Active, on Medium intensity. I did it, I loved it, and I finally felt good again about exercising - my body felt good and I slept really well that night. But I still didn't want to be bored. So, I chose to use the rest of my spending money this month (and I borrowed a few from Chris for now - he's good at saving his, me....not so good at saving mine!), and I got the EA Sports Active More Workouts (it's on sale at Walmart for about $20ish!!! If you have the first one, this would be a great time to get this one!!) I did that one last night and I loved that one as well, and now I have different exercises to do!!! This one has you do stretches at the beginning and end of your workout, and also has a few new workouts for your abs. I still think I will have to occasionally do some extra ab work on the side, but my schedule for now is Mon/Tue and Thur/Fri - so I could choose any other day to do a short 10 min ab workout. In the fall, I hope to be able to get the new version that's coming out: EA Sports Active 2 - you can see a trailer of it here.

I've decided that my body reacts best to the kind of workout that EA Sports Active gives, rather than just straight cardio. I have been encouraged and I have a new found desire to get past these 10 lbs that have kept me in a rut the past several months. I definitely appreciate everyone who has encouraged me thus far. This will, I know, be a never-ending battle for me - but I know with God as my focus and friends as my accountability partners, this battle will be won. Maybe not as soon as I'd like - but I know I will get there. :)

06/14/10 - 225.3 lbs (-7.7 total)

2010-06-14T14:36:00.001-05:00

Ok, I'm going the right way again. -0.7 loss for this week, and I can't tell if I really feel like I did good this week or not.

I feel good about my exercising. I only got 3 days in, but on Friday I helped my mom get situated with a family reunion get-together at her house for that night. The day before, I had exercised muscles that I hadn't been focusing on, so Friday I became very sore and feel like I got an all-day workout doing things around the house. :) I did get my water in, but I did not eat very well that night.

Yesterday, I did not do very well, either. :) So I honestly think my weigh-in this morning would have been better had I actually stayed on track yesterday. Mostly, I did not drink any water at all - I just plain forgot. And, we had a get together with our growth group last night - had a very nice time, and ate way too much. And I had chips. And, not drinking water, well, salt of course is not your friend.

I am not upset about it. I made my choices. I just need to make better choices.

I told my hubby yesterday that I think I will need to figure out a way to get back on Weight Watchers. That is really the best tracking system for me - and until then, I think I am going to have problems watching what I eat.

This is Why...

2010-06-07T21:28:00.001-05:00

So, my friend Keelie had this posted on her blog entry Why Am I Doing This? and she referenced someone else who she got the idea from. I decided to participate and send in a picture for possibly being included in one of his posts regarding Why I Do This Here, so I sent him the picture below.


This is Why...

This got me to thinking. There are so many reasons why I am doing this.

To be healthy.
To feel better.
To fit in cute clothes that I can afford (cute clothes for overweight people cost an arm and a leg, but I can truly find cute clothes at Walmart or Kohls for a reasonable price...if only I were smaller).
To be able to visit my best friend in Colorado and not be so out of breath because of the altitude.
For ME.
For my FAMILY.
To be able to shave my legs IN THE TUB...not while taking a shower.
To fit into my bathing suit again (yeah, I hope to swim somewhere this summer - not sure if that will happen or not because I am just enough overweight that I cannot fit in my bathing suit right now).
To feel sexy for my husband. I know he loves me just how I am, and I've honestly accepted how I am right now, but I've been overweight the whole time we've been married and I truly don't know how to feel sexy.

But I think one of the biggest reasons right now is for the child I hope to have one day. I hope that day to be within a year or two, but whenever that day is, I know that if I am not healthy that it will put both me and my child at risk. I may not lose all the pounds I want to lose - but my daily lifestyle needs to be good for my body. When/If God blesses Chris and me with a baby - I want to be as best of an incubator as I can so that the baby has the best chance possible to be as healthy as possible. I'm not saying that I'll do everything right all of the time. But I need to be aware of the choices I make so that I can do my best to choose the right choices, especially when I SHOULD choose the right choice.

So this is why.....Because (among many things), I want to be healthy when I get pregnant with our first child - For both me AND the baby.

06/07/10 - 226 lbs (-7 total)

2010-06-07T17:31:00.000-05:00

So instead of losing 1.6, I gained 1.4. But, I actually am not terribly upset about this. I did pretty good last week and exercised 4 days. So, I'm thinking either I gained muscle, or my muscles are retaining water. :) There are parts of my body that tell me I still lost inches (well not actual inches, but things are smaller by just a bit, enough for me to notice) even though I didn't lose pounds, so I will just see how this week goes and try to at least get in 4 days of exercising, but hopefully 5.

I have started being accountable with my exercising through my progress link above. So now, when you click there, you will see a new tab called Exercise. I'm just logging it in minutes per day - no details right now. I think that's what helped motivate me last week - I didn't want to log too many 0's. :)

05/31/10 - 224.6 lbs (-8.4 total)

2010-05-31T19:33:00.000-05:00

I'm trucking along. :) Not much else to say - still in a funk but getting more motivated again by small things here and there. I need to start remembering that I still need to take it a day at a time.

Maybe it's possible that I can get back down to my -10 lbs by next Monday? I'm sure going to try - I just need to get rid of 1.6 lbs to make that happen. :)

05/24/10 - 225.5 lbs (-7.5 total)

2010-05-24T08:46:00.000-05:00

I'm going backwards, people!!! :( This is getting even harder as the scale is increasing. This last week was totally and completely on me - and maybe as of this weekend, a little bit of TOM's fault - but 99% my fault. I cannot seem to get myself back to where I need to be. I'm still determined, but something just is not going the right way. It's been over 3 months - I should be down at least 20 pounds by now!!!! :(

05/17/10 - 224.7 lbs (-8.3 total)

2010-05-17T12:49:00.003-05:00

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr :(

I know it's my fault. Need to eat better. Hard to eat very healthy on a limited budget, though. Have not done as well with my water the last few days. Exercised last week 3 times, I think. Well, 4 if you count last night. So, today being the start of the new week, I think I need to up my exercising from 10 mins to 20 mins and do 2 body areas in one workout session.

Moving on. But not moving on very happily...

05/10/10 - 222.7 lbs (-10.3 total)

2010-05-10T10:14:00.003-05:00

So I managed to lose almost all 2 lbs that I gained last week - yay!

Nothing really to say about this past week. But, I did start logging my food (except I didn't for the weekend) - it's a habit that will definitely change some of my current habits for the better. So, if you look right above this post, the very last "page" link is called Fit Day Journals. Right now, the website is embedded, and it's only on part of the screen - so you have to scroll. Eventually I am going to figure out how to make it go across the whole page so that it's easier to view.

Other than that, I've realized that I can do workouts from Netflix - I'm going to alternate between several 10 minute workouts that I found. They alternate between body parts, so last night I did abs. Today I will do legs, maybe, and then tomorrow maybe arms, etc. If I have time, I will do more than one session - 20 mins should not be hard to do. Then I can tackle these focused workouts more often.

So - Onward We Go! Won't it be nice when I can finally get down to 15 lbs lost? Only 4.6 lbs to go! :)

05/03/10 - 224.4 lbs (-8.6 total)

2010-05-03T09:58:00.000-05:00

2 lb gain. Good grief I'm frustrated. Doesn't surprise me - I was sick most of last week, starting on Wednesday. What do you do? I exercised last Tuesday night. That's it. Exercise is definitely the kicker for me - that's how I will lose this weight. But what do you do when you can't? Just gain and then start all over to lose what you had previously lost?

Today I'm motivated. Just a tad bit upset.

Anyone know where I can get Tae Bo Power Rounds 3-Pack for less than $30? I'm going to check Half Price Books. But, everywhere else I look, it seems that the only way to get the 3-pack is to buy it from Billy Blanks' website.

04/26/10 - 222.4 lbs (-10.6 total)

2010-04-26T08:52:00.001-05:00

Woohoo, I'm finally down my first 10 lbs at a total of -10.6 lbs since Feb 15, 2010!! :) One bad week out of the mix isn't bad, either. Last week I changed up my exercising by doing Tae-Bo - I really am starting to get a little tired of EA Sports Active - the intermediate is the same as the beginner, for the most part, except you do the exercises just a little longer. So, I did the 8 minute workout for the Tae-Bo dvd that I have. I had forgotten how much I really do like Tae-Bo. I figure I will exercise every other day using that - for now. I only got 3 times in last week, 1 was Wii Fit Plus and the other 2 were Tae-Bo. So, this week shooting for every other day.

As for water, I kind of slacked with that last week. But, I went ahead and got that Bubba Keg mug and am using it this morning - I filled up before I left for work, so now I'm almost done with my first 34 ounces, and the day hasn't even really started yet. So, I should have no problems getting in around 100 ounces a day, give or take.

As for food, nothing's really changed too much with that. I haven't really been getting in my veggies and fruit like I wanted, but I am still watching my portions and just trying to eat less overall.

On to this week!

04/19/10 - 225.1 lbs (-7.9 total)

2010-04-19T08:34:00.002-05:00

Yep - I gain 2 lbs one week, and it will definitely take me more than one week to get rid of that extra 2 lbs. :) This week, only a 0.9 lb loss, but at least it's a loss.

I'm trying to mix up my exercise some. I'm honestly getting tired of EA Sports Active. I still like it, but the medium intensity setting is really the same old stuff, but just a little longer. So....it's starting to get boring. I can't really get the next step up - EA Sports Active More Workouts - So, I might go back to some of my old Tae Bo tapes - I think I've gotten in better shape exercise-wise to be able to keep up now. Last night, I actually did the Wii Fit Plus. That was a nice change, and it helped to work on my balance, too. If you look closely in some of my pictures that I'm taking once a month, you can see that when I try to stand straight, I'm actually favoring my left leg. :) So, maybe the Wii Fit Plus will help a little with that.

The other thing I want to do is get our old Total Gym 1000 out and ready to use again. I understand a little more about body toning, and I really want to start focusing on some of my muscles to actually tone them. We will have to do a little re-arranging, but it is doable.

That's about it for today. We'll see how this week goes!! :)

04/12/10 - 226 lbs (-7 total)

2010-04-12T17:54:00.001-05:00

Darn! I gained 2 lbs this week. I was pretty much expecting as much - last week did not go well for me at all. Besides not exercising because I didn't feel good with my tooth hurting, I really couldn't watch what I ate very well because I needed to focus on eating soft things and my brain isn't that creative. So, today starts another week. I will be measuring myself and taking a picture this week (the 15th), but tonight I will get back on track and exercise again.

Nothing much else to say other than I did consistently drink my 62 ounces of water last week. I really need to figure out how I can get one more 32 oz jug in - seems I just don't have enough time in the day (or, I have to drink it so late that I'm up all night visiting the bathroom)... My plan, I think, is to get this nifty container that would fit in my car - Bubba Keg 34 Oz Travel Mug - so that I can start way early (when I leave for work) and maybe I can fit 2 jug fulls in during my workday. And, it would add 2 extra ounces each time I filled up the jug. As it is now, I get to work and get going with things, so sometimes I don't start drinking my water until noon.

04/05/10 - 224 lbs (-9 total)

2010-04-05T10:19:00.000-05:00

Woohoo, a -2.2 loss this week for a total of -9 lbs overall since 02/15/10! :) I got in 3 days of exercising last week - had a root canal done on Friday and well, didn't realize I'd probably feel bad afterward. Then Saturday was my day off. Yesterday was another workout day, but I felt a little bad again because my temporary cap fell off. So, hope to get back to exercising my 2 days on 1 day off again today. I'm not going to start the 30 day challenge again - I'm just going to push forward, realizing that sometimes life happens and I don't have to have my 30 day challenge perfect. I did that once already and felt very happy about my goal of doing every workout. This time around, I just need to continue to stay motivated and plan on working out - but if life happens, then, it happens and I just need to move forward.

Oh, and for the record, a root canal is a GREAT way to watch what you eat....I have to eat soft stuff and it takes me FOREVER to finish my meal - though, I don't suggest it on a regular basis. ;)

03/29/10 - 226.2 lbs (-6.8 total)

2010-03-29T08:59:00.000-05:00

Well, kind of a surprise here. Last week I didn't focus on much of anything. I only exercised a few days, and didn't get in a minimum of 64 ounces of water like I should have. So, a small 0.9 lb loss is nice - but this week I definitely will need to pick up the pace again.

I wasn't very impressed with the features of the Wii balance board with EA Sports Active - only a few exercises were changed and it doesn't apply every day. So, I think I will go ahead and push myself a little harder. Tonight, I'm going to start a new 30 day challenge on the next level of medium, without the balance board.

03/22/10 - 227.1 lbs (-5.9 total)

2010-03-22T21:46:00.001-05:00

So, I weighed today and was happily surprised that I lost 1.3 lbs for a running total of -5.9 lbs. That's over 1 lb per week and, though I wish it were a little more, I will choose to be satisfied. A slow loss is better than no loss at all, and I'm definitely feeling it in my clothes. My NSV's still include my random clothes finds from my own closet where the clothes fit better. For instance, today, since it was chilly, I tried on a sweater that I knew had been icky feeling on me because it was just tight enough to make me uncomfortable. Now it's just loose enough for me to be comfortable in it all day, and that's what I chose to wear to work today.

I will say that I'm surprised that I lost a little because last week did not go very well. I finished my first 30 day challenge last Monday. Then, I rested on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday. I was going to start my new challenge on Thursday. However, I found out that one of my sisters had gotten into a very bad car accident...so, I didn't really focus on any kind of exercise or even eating properly from Thursday until now. Please keep my sister in your prayers - her name is Erika. She is at JPS Hospital in Fort Worth in critical condition. Right now it's just wait and see - she's made it through some of the initial worries - so now we just pray she really starts getting better.

And today - I sucked it up and started my next 30 day challenge, on low, with the Wii Balance Board. I am happy with how the first session went. I looked online, and the balance board doesn't enhance too many of the exercises. However, it seems that the program remembers what "level" I was on with the first 30 day challenge. For example, my bicep curls today were for a total of 16 reps (8 each arm) instead of the initial 6 reps when you start for the very first time (for 3 each arm). So, I will press on and focus on really holding my muscles as best I can during each workout so that I get the best results.

That's it for now...

03/15/10 - 228.4 lbs (-4.6 total)

2010-03-16T01:02:00.001-05:00

A 1.5 lb loss from last week - total of 4.6 pounds lost since I started last month, 02/15/10. At least it averages a little over 1 lb per week, but I do wish it were a little more per week. But, I'm satisfied because most of the weight coming off is weight that I'm noticing is not filling in my clothes as much. It's not big progress, but this weekend I was able to button up a shirt that I couldn't quite button before, and several of my other shirts are now fitting in my arms. Granted, I can't wear them yet because I need more gone from other areas, but it's nice to know that at least the fat is coming off in noticeable areas.

Today I reached a goal - I finished my first 30 day challenge! :) I am, yet again, undecided how I will proceed - I'm not sure if I'll start on low again so that I can use the Wii board - or, if I want to go ahead and push myself harder and just start on the medium level. I'm now leaning toward the medium level because I really don't want to waste time doing things that I'm already past doing. I felt pretty confident today when I did all of the exercises I've learned and I was able to keep up.

Lastly, I updated my measurements and pictures today. Some measurements went up, some went down. I really don't know if I'm doing it all right - so I guess I just hope that several months down the road, I'll see some results. And, my pictures don't really show much of a change, either. I'm a little disappointed with both of these results today - but, again, I am still encouraged because of what I'm noticing physically.

I just have to remind myself - I didn't put all the weight on overnight - so it's not going to come off overnight, either. :)

Oh and yeah, I updated my Progress tab. If you look at that tab, look at the bottom of the information and there are 3 more tabs. I used Google Docs to put together 3 spreadsheets to keep up with my water, weigh-ins, and measurements. I was pretty proud of myself with all the formatting and colors. :) So, take a look and let me know what you think. I got tired of using the charts from medhelp.org - it's a nice website, but it has much more information than I need. All I do now is log on to my gmail account, go to my google docs, and update my spreadsheets.

WooHoo I'm Excited!

2010-03-10T14:12:00.000-06:00

Take a look at this link: EA Expands Interactive Fitness Product Line with New EA SPORTS Active

"The new EA SPORTS Active 2.0* fitness program will deliver true fitness results by featuring an innovative wireless control system, powered by new leg and arm straps with motion sensors, a heart rate monitor to capture intensity, and a new online hub to track and share workout data."

I think the heart rate monitor is going to be the best addition to the game, and I love everything else that they are including as well. Although, it is a little disappointing that it seems for now, the PS3 is the only system that can download new exercises. I have this for the Wii and I don't plan on getting the new version for the PS3. The PS3 we have is in our bedroom and well, I can't workout in there because a bed is in the way. So, I do hope they reconsider this and allow Wii users to download content as well.

As for my current setup - I have 4 more exercise days for my first 30 day challenge - this coming Monday, 03/15, will be my final day. I'm so excited to finally be completing this kind of goal!!! I think my final plan will be to start the next 30 day challenge next Wednesday, 03/17, on low using the Wii balance board. Then, after that one, I'll do the 30 day on medium intensity without the board. Then medium with the board, then high without the board, and finally high with the board. That will give me a total of 180 for a structured workout routine. Then I will buy the EA Sports Active More Workouts and do the 6 week challenge. I assume that one has low, medium, and high intensities as well. I will have to see where I am at when that time comes to determine how I will structure it, but it will give me at least another 6 weeks.

After that - I figure it will be getting close for the new game to come out - then I'll have a 9 week challenge to work through. Yay and Yippie! :)

Now to stay motivated.... :)

03/08/10 - 229.9 lbs (-3.1 total)

2010-03-08T19:17:00.003-06:00

2 pound loss from last week!!! I'm a happy camper. :) Well, kinda sorta. I'm still being too hard on myself. I don't feel like I really did much last week to try to eat better, but I do know that I'm accomplishing small goals. My water intake is now up to about 64 ounces per day - I only missed 1 day in the last week (got 32 ounces in that day), so I feel like that's an accomplishment. I can tell that my body really starts craving the water when I'm thirsty instead of other drinks. So, that's an accomplishment.

Another is that I've stuck with the 30 day challenge. I have a week to go. Next Monday, 03/15, is my last day for the 30 day challenge on low intensity. I'm not sure what my plans are after that. I do what to do the medium and high intensities - but I also want to try them with the Wii Balance board as well, to see what the differences are in the workouts. Then, of course, once I'm done with all that, I want to buy the new EA Sport Active More Workouts. So, I have quite a few things planned for myself - not sure what I'll do when I finally get through with all that - but that's for another day. My victory is that I've actually been staying with my exercise plan and I've never done that with such determination before. Never.

So, now I need to figure out how to stop being so hard on myself. I'm making progress - and at a good pace. Maybe I'm just so used to not trying like I've been doing for what seems like forever. I know that I AM trying now - So maybe I just need to have more faith in myself that I'm going the right direction. :) ...being a perfectionist stinks sometimes! :)

Yay for Small Victories

2010-03-04T10:08:00.000-06:00

Just thought I'd share a small victory. I decided to try on a shirt this morning that I hadn't worn in a while, and the last time I wore it, the arms were tight. Well....the arms are not tight at all now! Not even snug! :) Yay - this makes me happy!!! The tummy still needs work, but the shirt is definitely comfortably wearable now!

Yippie!

03/01/10 - 231.9 lbs (-1.1 total)

2010-03-01T18:13:00.002-06:00

No loss today, but I'm not complaining. I'm feeling better, I'm still on track with my exercising, and I'm getting in my water. Small steps at a time.

Yesterday marked my halfway point through the EA Sport Active 30 day challenge. There was a video shown after my workout yesterday, and tomorrow when I workout, the intensity will be increased a little and new exercises will be introduced. I'm excited about that - spice it up a bit more, you know? I did figure something out, though. I think the reason that I have not stuck with an exercise plan in the past is possibly because I would push myself too hard. I keep going away from this 30 day challenge feeling like I should have "worked harder" - yet, my heart is pumping and sweat is rolling down my body. So I think in the past, I've pushed myself and it was too much too soon. With the 30 day challenge, I've actually stuck to the plan. Well - and having this blog and knowing others are watching me has helped as well. :)

Lastly, my hubby found this interesting site on water. I've been drinking my water, for the most part. The bathroom has become my new best friend. It's quite irritating, actually. I'm doing good and yet I feel like I'm being punished - right? :) Well, this site explains that at first, your body is getting rid of stored water and eventually, your body won't get rid of the water so quickly because it will rely on you giving it the water you need. Pretty encouraging - I'm so ready to tell the bathroom that our steady relationship is over and I'll only be visiting on occasion. :)

Here's the site if you're interested: Drinking Water and Weight Loss

Question about Measuring

2010-02-27T21:46:00.001-06:00

Hopefully some of you can help give me advice on this. I decided to peek a little today, even though it's not time for me to update my measurements. Some of my measurements seem to have gone down, others seem to have gone up. Although, I didn't really take too much time - it was just a real-quick "I wonder where I am" measurement session.

Here's my question, though. What do you do, if you measure yourself, to make sure you measure in the exact same spot every time? Seems impossible if you ask me, so that means there's no guarantee that your measurements are correct each time. However, if you can see a definite decrease month after month, then maybe it doesn't matter so much.

I think I know where my waist is. And my calf, and of course my neck. My hips, well, there's a tummy to deal with so that's difficult. My thighs, I can't see very well, but I do use a mirror. My upper arms, sure, I think I can find the middle. And my chest - that's not terribly difficult for me to measure. But the same spot every time? I'm not so sure about that.

Any thoughts?

Oh, and I measure myself with this (pretty nifty, I think): Myo Tape

Kashi: Heart To Heart Cereal Warm Cinnamon Oat

2010-02-26T16:51:00.001-06:00

So yeah, these things are pretty good. I ate a trial size without milk - so I have a feeling it will taste much, much better with milk. I have a nifty coupon for a free regular sized box! :) The last Kashi cereal I tried wasn't so good and I can't even remember what it was - so I'm glad this one is better.

.....however.....does it sort of resemble cat/dog food to you?? :)

Here's the nutritional info from the website

02/22/10 - 230.4 lbs (-2.6 total)

2010-02-22T23:41:00.003-06:00

Well, don't cheer me on just yet for what seems like a good amount of weight off from this past week. Actually, I'm not even going to tally the loss.

To explain: This morning I weighed before I got dressed for work. Then I realized that my initial weigh-in was after I got home from work....about 30-45 minutes after I ate. Soooo......Now I just need to keep my weigh-ins consistent. It's only the second week, after all, so this slip up shouldn't hurt too much. Now, I did weigh myself tonight with about the same conditions, just to find out if there really was a difference, and so it seems that I have possibly lost about a pound or so. But, the other thing making me iffy on saying that is, well, apparently our scale was finally (after almost 6 years) on its last huff to hold me (and my husband - he's the one who found out that the poor thing had died). So sad. But, it doesn't get a funeral. We just need to get a new battery for the scale. However, I think I will keep my weigh-ins to my Wii Fit Plus board. It records how my balance is, too, and I like that feature. I'm getting closer and closer to having a much better balance to my stride than I have had in the past!

Oh - and I didn't get my picture re-taken tonight. Ran out of time between homework, exercise, and shower - and now it's WAY past my bed time. I'm headed to visit my dreams for the night - but I'll probably update this post tomorrow if I'm able to get my new starting picture.

I tried to be creative with my post....but I don't feel very colorful tonight! :)

And here are my new pictures - I will have them taken this way from now on to help with consistency:

My Trainer Irritates Me Sometimes!

2010-02-18T22:26:00.018-06:00

So, now I've had a little time to organize this exercise blog a little. It's still in the works, but getting closer to something I actually like

I had decided that I would post weekly updates so that my blog titles show my weigh-in and date, but I realized that Blogger now has these nifty "pages" I can use instead. If you look above this post, you should see a few tabs (as of now): Home, Weigh Ins, My Progress, and Pictures. I will work on making those tabs a little easier to see. In the meantime, each week I will update my weight on the Weigh In tab. On the My Progress tab, I plan on updating a chart from a site that I found (www.medhelp.org) - that site seems to be a very good place where I can update everything in one place, and it will create reports for me. Then, for the Pictures tab, I will take an update picture of myself each month - I figure that's a good amount of time between pictures. I plan to wear the same thing each time to help determine if visual changes are happening. Although, I may change the color of my pants - I wore black for my first picture and it blended in with the couch (the little bit of it that could be seen, that is). And, since I'm going to get hubby to take my pictures....I think I need to stand on something so that he can get my full body. He's 5'11"ish. :) I'm only 5'0"....Actually, I think I know of a better place to take my picture, so I may update my "first" picture this coming Monday when I weigh in.

Onto the blog for today...

Today I had plans to come home, do a little homework, exercise, take a shower, and use my InStyler. I only accomplished taking a nap (which was not in my plans, but I was extremely tired for some reason), exercising, and taking a shower before it was time to go to bed. And, my personal trainer for EA Sport Active really irritated me tonight! He kept telling me I wasn't giving as much as I could give, even though the screen said I was doing everything the way I should have been doing them! Then, the controller kept getting stuck and wouldn't keep up with what I was doing. I guess that's what happens when you decide to use a "game" as your workout regime - but I definitely like the "game" better than the same old few dvd's with the same pattern day by day. But, it ended up making me feel like, at the end, that I didn't really push myself hard enough - even though I did work up a sweat and got my heart going pretty good. EA Sport Active definitely mixes it up, though, and I can tell that even though I started at low intensity, it's going towards a "higher" low intensity every day. So far my favorite is the tennis! I'm so not good at tennis in real life, but when exercising I at least hit the ball half the time towards the target! :) Practice makes perfect! Oh, and I talked to hubby and we are going to invest in a wireless nunchuk...mostly for the fact that when I'm exercising, the cord between the Wii remote and nunchuk gets stuck under my tummy. I'm not so proud of that fact, but it is what it is.

02/15/10 - 233 lbs

2010-02-16T11:03:00.010-06:00

And so it starts...

I have been trying to get things moving for the past month (well, longer than that, actually), and it just hasn't happened. So, yesterday, for the third time, I restarted my EA Sport Active 30 Day Challenge. Tonight I WILL get to the second workout. I have the first workout practically memorized!

As of 02/15/2010 I weighed 233 lbs. That's been my highest ever for probably about 6 months or so, maybe a little less. I'm happy that I haven't gained more, but sad that I've gotten to this weight. So now I'm doing something about it. I have a doctor's appointment this summer to get blood work done and re-evaluate some things that came back high or not-so-good with my last blood work. I promised my doctor that I was going to workout and eat better. So, this week my two goals are working out consistently as well as drinking at least 32 ounces of water, if not a little more after my workout.

One thing that set me back regarding blogging about my journey is the fact that I asked the person who created this template if I could change the pictures at the top. No response - but not a good excuse, either. So, I'm taking it upon myself to go ahead and get those pictures changed to what I want them to be (before pictures and, at some point, after pictures - with other pictures along the way in my blog). So, that will be changed soon, and my blog will be good to go!

So... Hello and Welcome! For whoever joins me in my journey, I hope we are both encouraged along the way!

(And of course, please be patient - it's going to take me a little time to get this blog looking exactly how I want it to!) :)