Making Memories

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I'm losing it!

OK so you all know I've lost my mind but now I'm losing my weight too! Thanks to working out 3-5 times a week, counting calories, and detoxing- I have lost 7 lbs in the last 4 weeks! I still have quite a few to go of course, but it's actually happening! I was not as diligent at exercising this last week but that's why we get another week, right? Thanks for the words of encouragement from a few of you and MANY thanks to those who have noticed the change in my appearance!

I hit a couple milestones the last couple weeks and one of which is finally getting back into my pre pregnancy jeans! On a healthier note, I am now in a Healthy weight range too!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Pretty as a Doll

We took Shae to have her 6 months portraits taken (3 days before she turned 7 months) and now that she's 8 months I have the prints! This is my favorite setting so far, I just love the tutu!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Birthday Blessings

Jeremy and I hosted a birthday dinner in honor of my dad last weekend. I made his favorite cake, Red Velvet, and we enjoyed a taco dinner and a visit from my dad's parents, Red and Liz!

Doggy Pile!

Jeremy brought home a stuffed pug for Shae and she absolutely loves it! I set her and the dog on the floor in her room so I could put laundry away and when I came back this is what I found- of course I had to get the camera!

The dog doesn't stay sitting up for very long before she dives for it!

Stumbling...

I had intended to update on Monday but it has been a crazy week so far! Speaking of crazy... I didn't get near the workouts in that I had hoped last week because we had a crazy week last week too! We were blessed to have a few evenings with my family last week and between that and eating out over the weekend I didn't workout or eat like I should have. I suffered for it by gaining a little back :( Although discouraging it has given me the drive and motivation to work that much harder this week and as of yesterday morning I had lost the extra weight and I am starting fresh! Monday night Jeremy did Yoga X with me and last night I worked my legs and back with chin ups, lunges, and squats! Talk about a workout! Most days I grab Subway for lunch because we all have to eat fresh, right? Haha! The hardest part is those cookies staring you down when you're waiting to pay for your veggie delight wrap ((or maybe it's a Turkey on Wheat))! Just don't fall for thinking that the apples look like a nice substitute for chips unless you like your apples rubbery and tart! The gist of my week is that we're going to forget last one and focus on making this one something to brag about!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Journey

Like most woman, after having a baby I had weight to lose, but for me it was over 75 lbs of “baby fat” (I'll spare you the exact numbers) to get rid of. I was miserable and for the first time I hated my body. I knew I couldn’t let this control my life and I decided to do something about it! I couldn’t wait until Shae was 6 weeks old so that I could begin working out, so the day she was I put in that Turbo Jam DVD- and sat on the couch and watched it. OK so I tried, right? I eventually got back into the swing of it and established a routine while watching what I ate. Fortunately, I was nursing at the time and the first 30 pounds fell of in a few short weeks. Then came the plateau, you know, where you stop losing and start to think that all that hard work was for nothing! Then, Jeremy and I discovered Tony Horton’s P90X program and bought the set. And of course with a new routine the pounds started falling off again, but wait, here comes the plateau again! At this point I’m no longer nursing so every calorie has to count! And boy they did! After the first 30 days I started to see a difference in the way my clothes fit, in my energy level, and in my self esteem. This has to be working! So, why not give it another 30 days? P90X is based on muscle confusion and it includes 3 days a week of weight training, a day of jump training, one horrific day of yoga, and another day of martial arts; all nearly 90 minutes long. Well, if you work this hard to get your body in shape you start to care more about what you are consuming! For me that’s the hard part. But I buckled down and I opened a free account at www.myfitnesspal.com to help me calculate and keep track of my calories. I created a profile with my goals and current stats and discovered just how much food you could eat for 1500 calories a day if you choose the right food. You don’t have to be hungry and you don’t have to suffer; great news because I hate suffering! My biggest challenge at this point was to drink water, sounds simple enough but if any of you know anything about me, it’s probably that I don’t drink. Anything. Even water. Jeremy and I have turned toward lean meats and away from a large quantity of red meat; you would be surprised at how much you can do with chicken! Shortly after starting the second phase of X I dropped another size, that’s 3 sizes since Shae’s birth. Not too shabby! (I’m half way there!) My next challenge is that my measurements aren’t changing, the weight is slowly and steadily coming off but the inches are hanging on. As I was finishing up the third phase Jeremy and I went on a Caribbean cruise. They have an entire city on those ships! And part of that city is a full gym and fitness trainers that provide free seminars for those interested in their health between bites of pizza and soaking in those cancer rays up on the deck. Well, we were part of that group. My mother in law and I went to a seminar on detox and learned just how bad Coffee, Refined sugars, Additives, and Preservatives (CRAP) are on your body. Jeremy and I followed it up by meeting with the personal trainer, ordering the detox vitamins, and setting new goals; well I set new goals. Jeremy, as most of you know, is far from needing weight loss but is more health conscience than you would expect. When you are exercising, eating right, and detoxing, it’s hard to know which on is responsible for your results but I’m assuming it’s the combination. I have been losing a steady 2 pounds a week for the last couple weeks and have set the new goal to lose 20 more pounds by the first of May. Most days I feel it is very attainable but of course there are those days that it seems just beyond my reach. It has been and I’m sure will continue to be a journey and I am grateful for the never ceasing support of my husband and for the knowledge and education that I have been fortunate enough to find. This post was much longer than I expected but keep up to date on our journey with short weekly updates on Mondays. Thank you and many blessing to each of you in your own journey of life.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Warmer Climate

Jeremy and I got to take Shae and go on a cruise with his parents and a group of friends. It was a complete blast and we're looking forward to more trips in the future! We got to see a different culture, swim in the ocean, zip line through the mountains, and soak up some sun!

You can't tell by this picture but Shae loved the water! Once she got over it being cold she splashed and kicked and was hard for Mommy to hold on to!