Day 226 (day 2 / week 33)

I have to make this quick because I'm running late.

Today I only did the 20 minute workout (Turbo Jam). I wore my sculpting gloves and burned only 194 calories. I adjusted my calorie burn on SP from 900 a day to 400 a day, so that it adjusted the amount of food that I am eating. I will leave it this way until I figure out a better system of exercising on the days that I have to work.

Make today count! It's Friday! Do a Friday dance and burn some calories!

See you tomorrow :).

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 225 (day 1 / week 33)

I can't believe I almost forgot to post for today. I was about to hop in bed and I remembered.

I had today off, but I do have to work in the morning. My first 12 hour shift at this hospital. I pray the time goes by quickly and that my feet don't hurt too much by the end. I'm not sure if I have to work this weekend, but I will find out tomorrow.

This morning I slept in a little and did my 2 mile walk with 5lb hand weights AND my sculpting gloves from Turbo Jam. I won't be bringing 5 lb hands weighs again. I had to carry them the whole time! I did 100 bicep curls, shoulder shrugs, triceps extensions and little alternating jabs while walking (all of them about 100 each, in groups of 25). I don't remember how long it took me to do it, but my HRM is stopped 56:47 and I burned 506 calories. I'll call it 45 minutes, just because I don't think it took me 56 minutes to do 2 miles (lol).

Off to bed!

See you in the morning, before the sun rises (at least on the west coast).

Make it count!~

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 224 (day 7 / week 32)

Gotta make today a quickie because I have to go get ready for work now.

I just got back from doing my 2 mile route that I do often. This time I wore my sculpting gloves and took my little hand weights with me and got a pretty good workout. It took me a little longer to finish today because of the awkward added weight (just have to get used to it), so it took me about 40 minutes, including the cool down and I burned 514 calories. Sweet!

Ok gotta go get ready for work.

Have a good day everyone! Make it count, even if it's by parking as far away as possible to your destination and walking the extra distance.

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 223 (day 6 / week 32)

I am so proud of myself today! I got up uber early to exercise and did it! I was out of the house around 4:45am and I walked up and down my street shadow boxing with my sculpting gloves on and with 2 lb weights (I think for a total of 3-4 lbs or so). I really liked walking up and down the street. I have no idea how far it was, but I will map it later tonight to find out (I'm pretty curious although it probably isn't very far).

I started out doing alternate overhead shoulder presses, then that turned into alternate bicep curls, and then I did the cross, hook, undercut variation from Turbo Jam that Chalene loves for us to do so much (I love them too).

It feels so great. I feel awake, I have energy and I am happy because I got in 25 minutes of exercise, burning 338 calories, before 5:15 am. Sweet! God blessed me with a good night sleep (thank you Lord!) and with the motivation to do it.

What better than to start your day off with a blessing :). I should bless you guys with my walk and take a picture of the view I have of some of the casinos from our street...really beautiful!

Have a good day everyone! If I do more when I get home (which I plan to) I will post it here! Off to get ready for work!

UPDATE: Not sure what it's worth, but I parked in the farthest place I could find today and walked about a 1/2 mile just to and from my car today (over 1000 steps and yes, I actually counted them! lol). Not much, but it's something and the best way I could find to incorporate exercise into my day. It took me about 15 minutes total (in a dress and heels). It's 8:30 pm and I am bushed, so I am calling it a night so I can get up early again to exercise. I don't have to be in as early (1/2 hr later than today), but I am going to wake up at 4:30am again, just so that I can exercise longer. I still don't know how far I walked this morning. Maybe I will figure it out tomorrow.

I can do this. I am a star.

day 125 (day 6 / week 18)

Today I did Turbo Jam's Turbo Sculpt and it felt great (I sweated a lot). I know it's gross, but I love when I sweat when I exercise--itt reminds me of the old days.

Today my hubby's grandparents, Gram and Papa, arrive from Texas for my sister-in-law's graduation ceremony from UNLV this weekend. I am so excited to see them! They are so much fun and there is always at least one smile in the room (Gram is really funny).

Even though there are times that we hate being here in Vegas for whatever reason, it makes it all worth it to be able to see our family like this. If we lived in Reno or Washington, it would have been a lot harder and probably more stressful. We don't have to worry now, and that is such a HUGE blessing!

This will be a busy week for me so I am going to make an effort to wake up even earlier to exercise (6am instead of 6:30-7).

I hope you all have a great Tuesday! Make it count! You can do it! You are a star!

I can do this. I am a star too :).

day 121 (day 2 / week 18)

Today is bittersweet for me. I am happy because I get to see how far along I am coming, but I am upset because my camera is on it's last lick. I have a digital camera (Sony, Cyber-shot) that my hubby bought, long before we ever started dating (so it's old), and it's what we have been using for all of our family pictures and outings, including my monthly photos. I also used it as our video camera. Today my hubby took my May 2009 picture. The camera works fine--takes great pictures. When I got it over to the computer to transfer the picture over from the memory card, the folder was empty. I put it back in the camera...the folder was empty. I think we took 3 pictures before we could actually get one onto the computer without the camera erasing it. I also had pictures in there from the last month, of my family, and another family (with their new-born). They had relied on us for the pictures, because they accidentally forgot their camera. I also captured some cute videos on it of my son and my hubby making each other laugh (it was hysterical). I feel horrible that I don't have these pictures for them! I usually take all of my pics (at most 15-20) off of the memory card, when I am doing my monthly picture.

They are all gone :(. I'm sad about that, but I guess there are worse things to be upset over, so I'll get over it. I just hope I get a job soon, so that we can replace the camera, so that I can take my picture a month from now. There is still a lot of time, so that is good :).

Onto the good news.

My measurements:

Measurements: (day 121 / 90 / day 10) (- "/# lost in current month)

Wt: 200.0 / 203.6 / 215 (-3.6#) (total lost 15#)
Chest: 39.5" / 41" / 43.75"(-1.50") (total lost -4.25")
Waist: 35" / 36" / 41.5" (-1.0") (total lost -6.5")
Hips: 44" / 45.5" / 47.75" (-1.50") (total lost -3.75")
Neck: 13.25" / 13.75" / 14.25" (-0.50") (total lost -1")
Under bust: 33" / 34.25 / 36.75" (-1.25") (total lost -3.75")
1" below belly button: 41.25" / 43.25" / 47.5" (-2.0") (total lost -6.25")
below my bottom (above my thigh): 40.25" / 42" / 44" (-1.75") (total lost -3.75")
R Thigh: 19.75" / 20.5" / 27" (-0.75") (total lost -7.25")
L Thigh: 19.75" / 20.5" / 27.5" (-0.75") (total lost -7.75")
R Calf: 13.75" / 14" / 14.5" (-0.25") (total lost -0.75")
L Calf: 14" / 14.5" / 15.5" (-0.50") (total lost -1.5")
R upper Arm: 10.75" / 11.25" / 14" (-0.50") (total lost -3.25")
L upper Arm: 11" / 11.5" / 13.5" (-0.50") (total lost -2.5")
R wrist: 5.75" / 6" / 6.25" (-0.25") (total lost -0.5")
L wrist: 5.75" / 6" / 6.25" (-0.25") (total lost -0.5")

Jan 2009

Feb 2009

March 2009

April 1, 2009
May 2009

I lost 10.25" overall and 3.6 lbs in April 2009. Yaay!

Onto the mentionables. I mentioned the first one yesterday. I cheated and got on the scale the day before yesterday, and to my surprise it said 200.4! I got on it again today (hoping it wasn't a fluke lol) and it said 200.0 on the dot. Twice! (I only stood on it twice lol). I havent seen that number in a LONG time. I'm so excited!

Onto the second (not as exciting as the first).

Did you notice that I am wearing a different shirt this month? My previous shirt is now too big for me to wear (it was a size XL). I miss my shirt--it was my favorite to wear, but I have to pull it in the back for it to give me any shape or it just looks like I'm wearing a tent (ok, over exaggeration) but then I have all this fabric in the back, and it just looks silly. The arms are also way too big. I swim in it. Yaay!

I am also wearing most of my pre-pregnancy clothing, which I haven't done for almost 3 years. The shirt in this picture I haven't been able to wear since before I got married 3 years ago--it's a size L--not a large from a plus size clothing store or anything just a plain 'ol regular LARGE. I am also wearing my old pants, and all (but 1 or 2) of my old shirts (14 or 15 shirts?). yaay!

Onto the boring stuff I have to mention...(lol)...Today I did Turbo Sculpt and used my sculpting gloves along with my hand weights. They just aren't heavy enough anymore. I also did Ab Jam except for the last 2 minutes because Logan turned it off lol. He was tired of Mama exercising and wanted his snuggle time.

I guess that's it! I still hate that I am not dropping pounds like everyone else I read about, but we are all different, and at least I am not at a stand still. It is also noticible that I am losing inches/weight, so that's all that really matters. I am not as disappointed as I have been in the last few months, because I can see it. Under my clothes, I look WAY different :).

I hope you all have a great weekend! Make it count! It's worth it--I'm proof! You are stars!

I can do this. I am a star.

day 102 (day 4 / week 15)

Happy Easter! I am so excited for when my son gets old enough to tell him the story behind today. It has amazed me since I was a small child and still does as an adult!

Today I got up "early" (not as early as I was getting up in Reno, but not as late as I have been getting up lately lol) to exercise, so that we make our schedule for today.

I put in Punch, Kick and Jam and about 20 minutes into it, I started to feel icky. I pushed through it and even got a boost of energy, but the feeling stayed. About 10 minutes later I started feeling pretty nauseous so I stopped for a few and tried to start up again, but I stopped because my body was obviously trying to tell me something (duh). I didn't eat anything before I exercised so I'm sure that was the problem. It has been such a long time since I exercised early that I forgot my routine (I usually have some yogurt beforehand), and eating just slipped my mind (I know, kind of stupid). Anyway 30 minutes is fine with me. It's better than nothing, and I will get plenty of exercise throughout the day.

Hope you all have a blessed Easter! Stay active :).

I can do this. I am a star.

day 82 (day 5 / week 12)

My hubby doesn't get off of work until after 4pm, so I wasn't able to post this earlier. I wasn't able to get online to post it either (the connection seems to only like my hubby lol).

Today (around 1:30pm) I did Punch, Kick & Jam (with the sculpting gloves). I'm definitely not as sore as I was yesterday, or even the day before.

95% of the apartment is packed. Yaay!

Hope you guys have a good day and a great workout! Make today count! You'll be happy you did :).

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 79 (day 2 / week 12)

O.M.G. that was hard (Turbo Jam's Punch, Kick & Jam)! I was able to keep up better today without the distraction (God bless his little heart). I am extremely sweaty and so happy to do that workout! I know that I am going to have great results with it, and I love how energetic it is and Chalene is. She totally helps you through it (mentally).

Punch, Kick & Jam is a lot more challenging than the other Turbo Jam workouts I have done so far, and I'm glad. I'm not saying the other ones are easy-peasy, but I don't sweat like this with them.

Anyway, a few days ago I mentioned something that I discussed with my MIL, that I wasn't ready to mention here. Well I guess there isn't going to be a better time, and maybe a lot of you can relate. Maybe coming out will encourage some and make you feel like you aren't alone in this battle.

Hi. My name is Melissa Henning and I am addicted to refined sugar (I said yes to most of these things).

This isn't to say that I eat brownies all day. Or candy. Or ice cream (it's not allowed in the house or I would! lol). Or even table spoons of sugar lol. It's not to say that I will eat an entire box or batch of cookies. I just always have it in my life. Always.

I know it's not a big deal, but I never realized how much I really enjoy my sweets, and baking a lot. I realized this looking at my diet as a whole and trying to cut it out of my diet. Looking for nutrient dense foods, and foods that are lower in calories or low in fat and higher in protein (just depends). Sugar really packs in a lot of unnecessary calories in my diet, and since I cut it out of my diet (it's only been a few days) I have lost 3 lbs. It could be water weight (probably), but I haven't seen a jump like that, on my scale (my current scale) ever! (I need to throw that thing away btw).

For the past few months, since it was mentioned to me in a comment, I have been using sparkpeople.com, but not obsessively inputting my food (just my exercise), until lately. I was packing in almost 600-800 calories--sugar calories here and there and not even realizing it, or I would put aside healthier foods because I knew I wanted to have a brownie or something later! I NEVER enter it into sparkpeople, and when I look back on my days, the days I have only eaten 330 or 500 calories, it's because the rest was something I was ashamed to admit, unconsciously (lol). I feel like I am lying now that I am aware of it, and not inputting it. Now when I want something sweet, I take a tsp of honey. It's sweet enough to knock out my sweet tooth, and leaves me satisfied. If I'm not, then I take 2. A serving size of honey is 1 TBS and is 60 calories. There are 3 tsp in 1 TB. My MIL went through this years ago when she was on the .brain.fart. Prism Diet, and honey helped her. She was a lot worse when it comes to sweets though, she was a hardcore addict, so much so that she still can't touch sweets, because she says she cant just eat a bite, but will eat it all.

I'm not saying that the reason why I'm not losing weight, is because I eat sugar, but maybe part of it is. I know that muscle is heavier than fat and that I am using weights daily (my sculpting gloves) and doing squats and lunges, so I am getting slimmer, but staying the same weight. I know that is fine, but it really bothers me that I am *so close* to 200 lbs, and I can't quite get there. Now that exercise has become apart of who I am, on a daily basis, I need to start thinking about what I put into my body more. I need to appreciate the body that God gave me more, and feed it correctly (again, not that I eat junk all day--I don't). I know some of you will be concerned, some of you wont care either way, and some of you may be right there with me. This isn't to say that I am going to go wacko about it and not eat foods with it in there--I am just not going to cook/bake with it anymore, or at least for a while, until I know I don't need it (I have never wanted to need anything) and I am not going to buy things to specifically satisfy my sweet tooth (even if they are those 100kcal packs).

Sugar isn't the only thing I have changed either. I am forcing myself to drink no less than 8 glasses of water a day (no more soda--but I have been doing that for almost a month now) and I eat 2 cups of salad (no dressing--my preference because I'm not a big fan) with every meal. Yes, even including breakfast.

I feel much better making these changes, just in the last few days...even being sick (my cold is almost gone btw...). I am proud that I am finally jumping on this bandwagon, and now that I have honey, I don't feel like I am depriving myself (when i tried to cut it out cold turkey, w/out honey, I honestly couldn't and didn't want to do it).

Sorry for the long blog entry! I hope you all have a great Friday. This weekend I am going to experiment with my hubby's phone (since his web access isn't limited), and post a blog entry that way, because I will be without the internet for, quite possibly, a while (until we have jobs which we still don't have!).

Make today count! It feels great, I promise!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 78 (day 1 / week 12)

I feel much better today. I still have a cold but the symptoms are easy to ignore now. My energy is back so I was excited to do a longer Turbo Jam video today.

I totally forgot that my Turbo Jam videos came with another DVD that I never opened, so I decided to do that one today. It's called Punch, Kick & Jam. Man, it's really steppy and it was pretty hard for me to follow. Logan woke up like 15 minutes into it (he slept for less than an hour!) and he wouldn't leave me alone. He accidentally (on purpose) bumped into my bottom and then it became a fun game lol. He kept running into my butt and falling (silly kid--he was laughing really, really hard lol). Then he decided to lean against me, and I just gave up. It will be a lot of fun once I can keep up and understand what she's doing. It's like 47 or 48 minutes long, but I was only able to do 24 minutes. I hope I can do it tomorrow with no interruptions.

I think I will go take him for a walk. It's nice outside :).

Hope you all have a great day and an awesome workout!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 70 (day 7 / week 10)

Today I did Turbo Jam's Cardio Party Mix 1 again (no surprises there, right? lol). The sculpting gloves feel totally normal to me now and aren't awkward anymore :). Yaay :).

Yesterday I was looking around to see if I could see any sample videos of the other Turbo Jam videos out there (there's other cardio parties, and fat burner videos) and I found one that I was able to download and view on my computer! This is going to be a life saver for when we are moving.

Friday and Sat (26th & 27th) we will load the truck, and will hopefully be on our way Sat afternoon. We are going to stop in a little town called Tonopah, NV and stay there for the night. Sunday morning after breakfast sometime, we will finish the trip to Vegas. We don't need to stop in Tonopah (the trip can easily be made in 1 day) but we are going to anyway, just to make the move easier on us, Logan and the in-laws, since they are graciously flying to Reno to help us with this move.

Since we set the dates on moving and made things concrete, I have been trying to figure out how I am going to exercise on that Saturday and Sunday, as we wont have our TV/DVD hooked up. I know moving boxes and all that is like exercise and all, but that just feels like cheating (too easy!). So finding this video online put my mind at rest. My hubby also reminded me that I could probably just play the DVD I have, on the computer (pssht, way to make it easy bub!) which I might actually do (lol).

Anyway if you want to see this video, here is the link. I found it on youtube, and going there now, to get the link for you guys, it looks like you can download ANY of the Turbo Jam videos they have up to view (in the description--it says "Full video in HQ download form:" and gives a megaupload.com link)--they are actually all of the TJ videos I bought and have been doing for $60 in the TJ Maximum Results except for the last one, which didn't come with Maximum Results (Learn & Burn, Cardio Party Mix 1, 20 Minute Workout, AB Jam and Fat Blaster--the one I downloaded) (this is all probably totally illegal which is why i see they aren't available anymore) lol. I will probably end up buying the entire series set anyway, since I <3 all things Turbo Jam (have I mentioned that yet??) and working out to the computer isn't my forte. It is just for the move. You can see everything I have been talking about for the last week or so there though, so you know what I have been talking about :). I think with that megaupload link, you can view the video on that website w/out having to download it.

Jason has a really great job lead, which is a HUGE blessing! It came out of no where, which to me is a total God thing. When it rains, it pours, and if this job is meant for Jason, it means that I will be able to go back to school right away (and I can buy everything else that is all things Turbo Jam lol). We can really use any and all prayers in this department. It's still kind of scary that we don't have any source of income yet, and 2 (yes 2) car payments to make with a fast dwindeling savings account (it'll be gone by the end of April).

Thank you for your prayers in advance. I hope you enjoy viewing TJ on youtube. I <3 Turbo Jam!

Have a great workout! Try Turbo Jam! It's SO much FUN! Do the 20 minute one, it's only 20 minutes! or the Ab Jam--also 20 minutes, but split into 2 10 minute segments, if you don't want to do both.

(sorry for the super long post today!)

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 68 (day 5 / week 10)

I am having problems counting lol. I went from day 3/week 10 to day 2/week 10 and today is day 5 lol (make sense? lol).

Today I did Turbo Jam's Cardio Party for the first time. Holy snapoli, that was so much fun! It's 43 minutes long (and some odd seconds) and it's just loaded with energy and fun! I thought the previous 2 that I had done (learn & burn and the 20 minute workout) were fun, but this was F-U-N!

*sings*
F is for friends who do stuff together,
U is for you and me
N is for anywhere and anytime at all, down here in the deep blue sea!


now that that's out of my system... lol

I thought that when I started Turbo Jam that I was going to get lost with the moves and might not be able to be able to keep up, because she is ALWAYS moving. But I didn't. I am so proud of myself that I can keep up! I wore my sculpting gloves, and when there was 12 minutes left, I took them off. I noticed a pretty big drop in my heart rate, so I put them back on, so that I can get the full cardiovascular benefit (it went from like 165 to 130 doing the same moves!). We'll see how I feel tomorrow. I am thinking about making my (non)rest days, days that I don't wear the gloves, since it seems to be a lot easier, and since Turbo Jam is so much fun anyway (and she has short 20 minute workouts).

Hope everyone has a great workout/day! Turbo Jam rocks!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 65 (day 2 / week 10)

I exercised early this morning because my blog wasn't working for me and I wanted to post something, to see if that fixed it lol. I did Turbo Jam's 20 minute workout again, and will probably do that again during Logan's nap, or something else. I'll update it.

I did feel my arms, shoulders and back when I woke up this morning (my proof that the sculpting gloves work) but mostly I feel it in my chest. When I flex my pecs, I have muscles! Pretty sweet. A lot of people thing that's manly, but I think it looks great in tank tops and gives the illusion of higher cleavage. It will look great in a bathing suite once I shed all this fat.

Turbo Jam is SO MUCH FUN! I love jumping around and dancing and doing all of this kickboxing stuff. It's so much fun! I also like that sparkpeople has an option for Turbo Jam in the cardio section, included in kickboxing :).

Anyway, hope everyone has a great morning. Don't forget about working out on WOWY on TOMORROW Saturday March 7th at 11AM ET/8AM PT! Tomorrow! We are trying to break a WOWY record! It's free, you just need to create an account so you can participate. If you have questions, PLEASE, please, please let me know! :) We want to get more than 550 people working at the same time in WOWY :).

Have a great workout and a great Friday! (woo hoo! It's Friday!) My hubby and I might go rent a movie or go out to eat or something, since it was our 3rd anniversary on Tuesday (03+03=06 lol).

I can do this. I am a star!

UPDATE:

6:30pm: Turbo Jam 20 minute workout (2nd time today!). Great way to burn off that second wind!

Day 62 (day 6 / week 9)

First thing I did this morning was sit down and open up Turbo Jam Maximum Results. In the package came the little weight gloves (awkward at first, but I will get used to them), 2 DVD cases, a guidebook and some other literature (all of this for $60+$5 for shipping).

I tore into one of the DVDs that has the first 4 workouts on it: Learn & Burn (29 minutes), 20 minute workout, turbo sculpt and cardio party. I moved the furniture, put the sculpting gloves on, popped the DVD in, put the "Learn & Burn" workout on. Already I was liking this video, because there weren't any advertisments beforhand that I had to sit through (or fastforward through) or a really long menu intro, like on 30 Day Shred (I have to walk away while it's playing, because I get impatient waiting for it to start lol).

Learn & Burn is a quick introduction and workout featuring Carlene's "Elite 11" moves used throughout the program. Practice first to get familiar with the form and technique of these moves. (from the Turbo Results Guidebook).

It was fun, and even just learning the Elite 11 moves, I felt like I was warming up (literally--I started to feel warmer, I started out an ice cube!). I think it's beause I was wearing the sculpting gloves (they are just gloves with weights on them--not very heavy). The Burn part was fun, and I was moving around an awful lot. The footing part can be tricky, but it really helped paying attention to the intro to the Elite 11. My bottom is a little sore (good sore--unlike my left quad, which still hurts), and I was happy that there weren't any traditional lunges and squats, so that I can give my leg a rest and time to heal. Total from start to finish it was 29 minutes long. There is a lot of jabs, and leg lifts, and plie-like positioning.

I know I'm going back on what I said the other day (lol), but I am going to stop 30 Day Shred for now, and do Turbo Jam. I really like 30 Day Shred, and I will definitely go back to it, but I think I like it too much, and puts me in an aggressive mentality, like when I used to be really fit--I am forgetting that I am still pretty large, and my body isn't used to pushing as hard as I have been pushing it. Basically I think I'm pushing myself too hard, and I will do it after Turbo Jam, when I am in better shape, and won't be as prone to hurting myself (between the reoccuring bad soreness in my back/chest and now my left quad I think my body is trying to tell me something lol). I may even just continue to do Level 1, and do that on the days when I want to exercise twice. I don't know, we'll see :).

I am almost finished packing up our bedroom, and I started on the kitchen today. At the rate that I am packing things up, everything will be in boxes by the end of next week lol. I am so afraid that time is going to fly by and we will be moving before we know it. I don't want to have a lot of packing left to do on moving day (like I did when we moved here from WA). I am also still looking for a job--I applied at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center and will apply for 2 positions at Sunrise Hospital today, if my computer will let me (it wouldn't load yesterday). It's nerve racking that we don't have jobs yet, but I have faith that God has something in the works for us. Why would He give us such a great opportunity to move to be closer to our parents, if we aren't meant to work and fund our lives there?

Hope everyone has a great workout! You only get one chance to make today count!

I can do this. I am a star.