Day 21

Today was a LONG day. It was non stop almost from the moment I woke up, until now. I am glad I exercised first thing this morning, or I would be stuck doing it now, when I am very grateful to have my bed waiting for me.

I had a doctors appointment this morning and got some news that I didn't expect, at all. Some good stuff, some not so good, but either way I have a new reason for losing weight. I'll talk more about that later. It's a bit embarrassing because I feel like I have been naive to a certain part of my life. *shrugs*

Anyway today I did the EA Sports Active (1st one) for 19 minutes and burned 125 calories. I weighed in today at 184.8 and lost some inches.

It's late so I'm gonna hit the sack. Have a good weekend!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 20... Man, I love me some pink + sparkly!

It was a long day at work and I just finished exercising (it's always a long day at work having to be there for over 12 hours). Today was my last day until Tuesday. Yaay! My birthday is this weekend and so I'm happy to have it off although I don't have any special plans. Hubby already spoiled me this year with my pink bling bling swarovski license plate frame, pink sub woofer and amp (accent colors on my silver '08 Scion XB are black and pink+sparkly ;)--did ya'll know I was into cars?) and by letting me buy EA Sports Active 2. What a generous hubby I have!

Today for exercise I did EA Sports Active (the first one) for 19 minutes and burned 125 calories. I am more than 1/2 way completed with my 30 day challenge and can see a change in my strength and endurance. I can totally do things this time around than I could previously. It's amazing how much more easily you can move when you have less junk hanging on you (aka fat). It was a good day for exercise.

I weighed in this morning at 185.2 (yaay). That's all I'm gonna say about that. I currently cant take HCG due to a protocol restriction at the moment and I am bumming on that (there are surprisingly a few reasons why Dr. Simeons says you should take HCG). Oh well. A few more days and I can start again.

On another note, I realized what my problem is, and I just need to meditate and pray on it. Prayer helps find all answers. I need to take this to heart and just do it. Tomorrow I have a doctors appointment with my awesome doctor to get the results of my (pre HCG--round 3) blood work, and get my ultrasound results. Then I have a nail appointment (time for some different pink and sparklies!). Then I'm going to Costco to stock up on asparagus and all that good stuff I can eat. Joy.

Plan to exercise in the morning, but we'll see about the actual blog post.

Take care!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

day 167 (day 6 / week 24)

Last night was a difficult one. The Monkey Boy never went down for a nap yesterday, so he decided he wanted to go to sleep at 7:30pm. There was no waking him, to keep him up a bit longer. We tried tickling him and playing with his feet, even moving him, and he just stayed asleep.

He woke up 4 times throughout the night. The first time, as we were heading to the sack, and he went back down. Then an hour later he fell out of the bed (it's only a foot off the ground, if that), then at 2:30 and again at 4:30. Then my hubby decided that today (of all days) he would actually wake me up early, like I usually want lol. I don't think I actually budged until 6:30 and I feel pretty crappy right now. I can't wait until our son does better with his bed. He did great the night before!

I have a busy morning ahead of me. I wanted to do the 30 Day Shred, but by the time I got into my exercise room, it was pretty late. I did Turbo Jam's 20 minute workout instead, with my sculpting gloves. I said to myself as I was starting the DVD that I would come back this afternoon when we get home and do The Shred, and that I would update my labels when I do it. I know darn well that if I wait to do that, it will never get done! I am the queen of procrastination! On top of that, I will justify it by saying "I did my exercise for the day so it's all good."

I am going to enter that label now, so I feel obligated to do it. If I don't do it, it will be cheating to me, in a strange sort of way. It's funny how a simple little thing like that can get my butt moving lol. God blessed me with that insight about myself, to make changes where I need to. So please notice, at the bottom, I scheduled myself to do the 30 Day shred, level 3, as well, making that a "twice a day" thing, as well. Knowing that you guys know I am going to come back and do it, will force me to do it. lol.

Do what you gotta do to make today count! This is your only shot!

I can do this. I am a star.

day 142 (day 2 / week 21)

Today is my strength training day (from sparkpeople) so I decided to exercise at home instead of walking with Logan (which I might do later anyway) or jog/walking by myself.

I did Turbo Jam's 20 Minute Workout and Ab Jam for my cardio, and this for my strength training (using a 5# hand weight):

Crunches with a twist -- 2 sets / 15 reps
Back extension -- 2 sets / 15 reps
One-arm dumbbell rows -- 2 sets / 15 reps
seated dumbbell concentration curls -- 2 sets / 15 reps
lying adduction -- 2 sets / 15 reps
standing adduction -- 2 sets / 15 reps

I did a little math yesterday and am excited! I am losing on average about 1 lb a week, so by the time Jan 1, 2010 rolls around, I should be around the 160's! That is amazing to me because it will be a total of 80 lbs that I have lost total. When I reach 190 lbs (I'm 5 lbs away!!), I will have lost a total of 50 lbs since Jan 2007 but 25 lbs of it will be lost from Jan 1, 2009--the start of this blog. Hope that's not confusing! I don't really count my weight loss before this blog, because that was in the past, and I am trying to move forward. Besides, it doesn't seem fair to my blog to count that lol (cause I didn't lose it in 2009). :)

Hope everyone has an awesome 3 day weekend! My MIL signed us up to do some artsy stuff at church tonight, so I'm excited! I think I will be painting a bowl so my mind is busy thinking of all the stuff I can do with it (I'm an abstract kinda gal :)). Spending time with my MIL, using God given talents, with other like minded people, in His presence, is such a blessing! I can't believe He chose me to be the artsy-fartsy type! He has blessed me with so many talents, it's just amazing to me :). I wish I could find a job doing something artistic...a gal can dream! I'll post a picture of it tomorrow, when it's done! Should be lots of fun! :) :)

Make today count!

I can do this. I am a star.

day 129 (day 3 / week 19)

Well I just finished my workout and I feel great! I wish this feeling would last throughout the entire day.

Today I did Turbo Jam's 20 minute workout and Ab Jam. It's really neat to see how much stronger I am getting, and such a blessing that people that I haven't seen since Christmas are blown away by, "how much weight I have lost." Yaay *claps*!!! Their reactions have made every second of exercise, that I didn't want to do, so worth it!

Today I am going to wear my FAVORITE pair of "semi-fat" jeans (they are a size XL so I guess a that would make them a size 14-16 (?) yaay!) I used to wear these jeans all the time 3+ years ago and haven't worn them probably since I got married (3/06) mostly because I worked a lot and had to wear scrub. I have a fairly large muffin-top in these pants now, but my shirt covers it, so I don't care! I just can't believe that I can wear them, and walk comfortably--they don't hurt at all or make me feel like I can't breathe lol!

I'll try to get my hubby to take a picture so you guys can see how happy I am in my favorite jeans :D.

Have a good weekend everyone! Make today count! Every second that you do, is so worth it! Have a great workout :)

I can do this. I am a star.

day 118 (day 6 / week 17)

Today I feel much better. Got enough sleep, I ate and I'm not cranky and/or whining :).

I just finished Turbo Jam's Turbo Sculpt (39 minutes) and I'm glad I did. I was a bit hesitant at the beginning, but once I started to get into it, I found myself in the right state of mind :). Later this afternoon when I put the Monkey Boy down for his nap, I will do the 2nd part of what the workout schedule told me to do today--Ab Jam (19 minutes).

I can't believe that I am going into 5 months already (on Friday will start the 5th month). This year is going by too fast for me, and I am still a little sad that I haven't lost many pounds, but I really do need to get over it. I'm wearing clothes now that I haven't worn in 3 years (that's enough to turn my frown upside down). Anyway, if you are sitting on the fence or putting off until tomorrow what you can do today, just do it! Tomorrow will be here and gone before you know it! You'll feel much better if you just do it today. Now. Once you get it over with, it's done! Then you just start over again tomorrow :). You can do it! You are my stars that shine bright when I am in the darkness!

See you tomorrow and I hope you all feel as blessed as I do!

I can do this. I am a star too!

day 112 (day 7 / week 16)

I have to say that I am extremely pumped right now. I didn't start off this way. In fact, I had a mini tantrum before I exercised, because I REALLY didn't want to.

I had a lot on my plate, as far as exercise. Yesterday I did 43 minutes. Today I was scheduled to do practically an hour--58 minutes to be exact! In exercise years, that's a big difference! (lol I'm such a douche).

This is how you are supposed to feel after you exercise. For the last--I don't know--really ever since I started doing my own thing with Turbo Jam, I have been tired. Last week or the week before I started doing what it told me to do, and I feel great. Have you ever had that moment where you just kicked yourself and said "Why didn't I just do that to begin with?" (that's my life in a nutshell--I always have to learn the hard way).

Anyway, today I did Turbo Sculpt (39 minutes) and Ab Jam (19 minutes). On top of this huge accomplishment (yes, it is, because I REALLY didn't want to exercise today) I got in my 8 glasses of water!

I have to tell you guys about this stuff that makes me suck down my water like I should have been, the entire time. It started because our "bottled water" is tap water. Well, it's tap water in a 5 gallon jug and my mom's hubby refuses to believe he's being ripped off lol. It's free for us so I'm not complaining (really, I'm not. kekeke). Anyway, I have been drinking my 8 8-oz glasses of water a day for over a month now, but I struggle with it. Now with this new and improved tap water, I have been drinking literally twice as much (is it healthy to get in OVER 12-8 oz glasses of water a day??). We buy it at the dollar store (the 99 cent only store--blue and pink). It's called South Beach, Living on the go, Tide Me Over (strawberry banana) by Kraft. It's AWESOME because:

#1 it's sugar free. There is aspartame--as long as I don't grow a tail I'm ok with it lol.
#2 it has a whopping 5 grams of fiber... and
#3 there are 3 grams of protein in it!!!
It's 30 calories per packet, and there is 10 packets in the box (I know this pic says 7 packets but mine says 10 :)).

My reusable water bottle is 32 oz big, so I dump in 1/2 of the packet, and it's perfect. No minerally/stale taste, that the nasty vegas tap water tastes like. I was using orange slices, and strawberry slices, but it just doesn't help me suck it down like this stuff.

Anyway that's it. Sorry for the long post, but I have a ton of energy (I told you!)

Hope you guys have an awesome day and workout! If you struggle with your water intake, try those packets. They do wonders for me, although I'm in the bathroom all day because of it lol.

I can do this. I am a star.

day 110 (day 5 / week 16)

Today I feel better than yesterday. Boy, this sure is a whimpy cold. I can feel that I have a cold, but it's not kicking my butt. At all. (which is a good thing!). Very easy to ignore :). I'm just gonna do like Ellie said, and just sweat it out :) (it's hot enough outside where it can easily be done!).

Today I did the 20 Minute workout and Ab Jam, because my workout schedule thing told me to. This is what my week will look like:

Mon: 20 minute workout + Ab Jam (done)
Tue: Cardio Party
Wed: Turbo Sculpt + Ab Jam
Thu: Cardio Party
Fri: 20 minute workout + Ab Jam
Sat: (rest day) Cardio Party
Sun: Punch, Kick & Jam

They gave me Saturday as a rest day but I will do Cardio Party if I am not out with the family somewhere. Usually when we go out we do A LOT of walking. I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but I am a speed walker by nature (I am always having to remind myself to slow down when I am with other people). I think it's because of college--having to trek across campus to make my next class. Anyway I mention that, because with my speed walking, I always know that I get exercise when I walk (whether I consider it exercise or not).

My mid-section is really sore today (good sore), and I'm assuming it's because of the raking I did yesterday. Great workout! It's always a treat to feel sore muscles (for me) because I know that I worked them to fatigue :).

My blisters hurt still. I should take a picture of them to show, but that's just gross. and mean. lol. I can't keep bandaids on them (awkward place), but I will get over it. I just hope they go away sooner than later :). Picking up Logan, and his stupid juice cups make them hurt even more. Stupid blisters. Stupid rake.

I planted some flowers this morning too (seeds from the 99 cent store lol), so if they come up, I will take a picture and share :).

Hope you all have a great day and a great workout! Happy Monday! (How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory and Heroes are on tonight! I love those shows!)

I can do this. I am a star!
stupid blisters.

day 106 (day 1 / week 16)

Thank you for all of your comments on yesterday's post. Inspiration, motivation and support really is a full circle thing. You guys help me and I help you (it's such a blessing to know this)! I am just so grateful and blessed--you guys really don't know!

Today I did the 20 minute workout and Ab Jam (because my workout schedule thingy told me to), but not in that order. Five minutes to the end of the 20 minute workout (I did this one last), I started to feel really icky again, almost nauseous, and I thought, "this feels like the other day when I didn't eat before I exercised, but today I.....oh. I guess I didn't eat this morning, did I?" I was thinking of yesterday morning, when I ate. Such a douche. So I did 15 minutes of the 20 minute workout (that bugs me that I forget).

I stopped using my sculpting gloves, and will bring them back into my workout next week. I think I might have been over training with them because every time I try to use them, I get extremely tired (that's not supposed to happen--exercise should give you energy!).

Today is going to be a super busy day (it's Lyric's 6th birthday), so off to start it! Hope you guys have a wonderful day and a great workout!

We can do this. We are stars!

day 104 (day 6 / week 15)

I don't think I mentioned this, but I started over my Turbo Jam program. For the past few weeks, I have just been doing whatever Turbo Jam workout out of the Maximum Results program, that my little heart desired. I decided last week (I know I did mention this) that I wanted to start doing what it told me to. Well it's been over a month since I started, so I was at the end of the workout schedule provided, so I decided to just start over (in week 2 so that I can skip all of the "learn and burn" stuff, since I have already learned all of the moves).

Today I did the 20 minute workout and ab jam. This is what my current week will look like according to the workout schedule provided:

Mon: 20 minute workout (done)
Tue: 20 minute workout + Ab Jam (done)
Wed: Cardio Party
Thu: 20 minute workout + Ab Jam
Fri: 20 minute workout
Sat: (rest day) Cardio Party
Sun: (rest day) Cardio Party

You all know I don't have rest days so on Saturday and Sunday I will do "cardio party."

I am waiting for my mom's hubby to stop by (if he remembers) to bring me a rake. The one that belongs here was taken by the previous tenants lol. Yesterday we fixed and adjusted the sprinklers in the front yard, so that the grass will grow properly. Since my hubby is allergic to grass, I get to take care of it. I am totally happy about this because "raking" and "mowing the lawn" with both a gas powered mower or a push mower, are considered exercise in sparkpeople.com, that I can actually enter. Yaay! More (non)exercise! That's exercise that doesn't feel like exercise to me--kind of like walking lol.

Anyway if Dave brings me the rake so I can get the pine needles and pine cones out of the yard today (w/out breaking my back), then I will do more (non)exercise today (despite how windy it is)!

Maybe I should save it for a day when I don't want to exercise, but have no choice...hmmm...

Hope everyone is well and feeling great! Exercise'll do that to ya :). I forgot to mention that I didn't do anything more after Lyric left and I put Logan down for a nap. I did my exercise for the day and wanted to rest :).

I can do this. I am a star.

day 100 (day 2 / week 15)

Today's post is brought to you by the word "procrastination" and the number 100.

Today is the 100th day of my New Years Resolution. Yaay!

Today, because the Turbo Jam journal told me to, I did The 20 Minute Workout and Ab Jam. I am sore. Not from today. Maybe a little from yesterday (although I totally futzed around), but still from Turbo Sculpt (I think 3 days ago?). My bottom is still sore (good sore not bad). I am just totally aware of my butt 24/7.

lol.

Also today, God has also been talking to me--in the way that He does. I am a procrastination monger. I do it all the time--especially if my hubby is around (I really don't know why he provokes it). Anyway, I put Logan down, and knew "it's exercise time" but just procrastinated. I went online, and read a sparkspeople article about procrastination and close to the end it said:

Right now – before you read the next paragraph – go do something you put off earlier today…There, doesn’t that feel better? Remember and cherish that feeling.

lol. I was like "awe man!" so I got up, before reading the next paragraph (I still haven't read it) and went and did Ab Jam. After Ab Jam was over, I was switching out my DVD (I hate that ab jam and cardio party are on a separate disk from the rest of the turbo jam workouts) and I just procrastinated... a little. Instead of pushing the disk into the player, so that it automatically starts, I left it there and watched a little bit of, "The Doctors" (a TV show). Like 2 minutes into my watching it, one of the doctors said something about procrastinating and I just gave up and pushed in the DVD. I think God is trying to tell me something, but He isn't saying it loud enough...lol (j/k).

I should go take a shower now. I'm sure I'll use that article to procrastinate a little more, or find something else. No. No I wont.

I can do this! I am a star!

day 98 (day 7 / week 14)

It feels really good to be back. I included a recipe today at the end of my post! So yummy!

Today I followed the manual thingy that Turbo Jam provided to me. Yesterday I did Cardio Party, so today it told me to do Turbo Sculpt (39 mins) and Ab Jam (19 mins). I really didn't want to do Ab Jam, but because I had already programed it into my WOWY, I did it anyway--talk about oxymoronic laziness (I just made that up lol). I was too lazy to just walk into the other room to cancel my WOWY session for Ab Jam, that I just did it anyways lol (too lazy to be lazy lol).

Tonight I am making Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Stew, a recipe that I found on Sparkpeople.com, and I wanted to share the recipe with you guys. It's low in calories, and I have all the nutritional info to go with it--cause I'm anal like that!

a serving is 3/4 cup.

This is a copy/paste from the site:

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped 1 16-oz can black beans 1 16-oz can kidney beans 1 16-oz can corn (drained) 1 8-oz can tomato sauce 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies 1 1.25-oz packet taco seasoning 1-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions

Mix everything together in a slow cooker except chicken. Lay chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. 30 minutes before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. This is good eaten with cheese, sour cream, or tortilla chips.

Number of Servings: 14

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user GINGERFISH.
Number of Servings: 14

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 14
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 115.8

• Total Fat: 0.8 g
• Cholesterol: 7.9 mg
• Sodium: 782.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 17.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5.4 g
• Protein: 7.8 g
  
  
  Ingredients Used For Nutrition Calculations:
  Here are the foods from our food nutrition database that were used for the nutrition calculations of this recipe.
  
  Number of Servings: 14
  • Onions, raw, 1.00 medium (2-1/2" dia)
  • Del Monte Whole Kernel Corn, 1.75 cup
  • Great Value Light Red Kidney Beans, 1.75 cup
  • Great Value Black Beans, 1.75 cup
  • Great Value Taco Seasoning, 12.00 tsp
  • Great Value Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, 2.50 cup
  • Great Value Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets (Frozen), 8.00 oz
  • Great Value Tomato Sauce, no salt added, 0.88 cup

This is Melissa talking now--I rinse and drain everything--corn, tomatoes (I use just plain diced tomatoes btw), beans--everything but the chicken, taco seasoning and tomato sauce (which would just be dumping that down the sink lol). It's better the 2nd day when the flavors have been able to meddle! I never challenged the nutritional info, because everything going in is healthy, so I don't care. Can't be much more than what it says it is :). For me, it varies with the chicken--how heavy my breasts are (LMAO!!!) or if I use chicken tenders instead.

I eat it with a salad (no dressing--still not a fan of it lol) and my multi-grain LIGHT Thomas english muffins that are 100 calories per muffin. So delish!! So yummy! So yummy! There's a party in my tummy! So yummy! so yummy!

Off to take a shower. Hope you guys enjoy the recipe :).

I can do this. I am a star.