biggest loser

When I was pregnant with Ava, I LOVED the Biggest Loser. The next few seasons were more drama than inspiring so I stopped tuning in. This season, however, is so amazing. Last week's episode, a 51 year old mom went home. Her 'reveal' of being home, she's down to 138 pounds. She started over 200 pounds. If she can do it...so can I. I've been so discouraged. I've spent a whole month at this stupid 145-147 mark, but I can't give up. I know that I haven't given myself the workout time that I needed, so really I should be proud that I've been able to maintain a weight all month with like 4 workouts for the whole month. Maintaining a weight is as much of the battle as losing it. I mean, what's the point of losing 50 pounds, if in 3 months, I'm packing it back on? I need to get my butt in gear over to the store and get myself some weights and roll out that rug in the garage and MAKE.IT.HAPPEN. Do I want to be successful? Do I want to love my body? When I love my body and I know that I'm making progress, I'm happier. I am more loving and affectionate with my family. Lately, I'm not feeling that proud of myself, and it's really showing in my relationship with Chris. I want to know that he's complimenting me, not because he's my husband and should love me no matter how heavy I am, but because I really am looking good. I want to be amazing for myself and for him. I want to be amazing for my kids. The better job I do at taking time to find quiet moments to check in with my Father in Heaven, and taking 30 minutes to an hour sweating out my frustrations, the happier and more functional a mother I will be. This is what it's all about. Not just some numbers on a scale, but a happier, saner me. The cuter reflection is a bonus, not the goal. It's good to take time to remember that.

log jam

I've hit another plateau it seems. I've been between 145-146.8 for like 3 weeks. I get to like 145.2 and then pop right back up to the 146.8. These things do happen. I take it as a comfort that Chris seems stuck at 232. So, we've created a way to explode this log jam of weight loss. On nice days, we pack Simon in the hiking carrier and Ava in the stroller and go for family walks. We usually go to the park and run around the soccer fields. Ava loves to be chased, and Simon gets a kick out of crawling, or being run in the carrier. Also, three times a week, we get the kids ready for bed-dinner, bath, jammies, and put them in the car. We drive out to Chris's office, they fall asleep on the way, and park them in the garage where the workout equipment is. Chris does 30 minutes on the recumbent bike, and I do 3 minutes cardio, and then 3 sets on the weight machine and back and forth. Then, Chris does 30 minutes on the weight machine. We stretch and head home. Last week was the first time Chris has worked out with me. We was sore to boot! He injured his right leg about 12 years ago in an accident. He's missing a good chunk of his leg muscle and skin, so we are limited in what he can do at the moment. No running, jumping, or heavy leg presses. Low weights, high sets. Same results just a little slower. His legs are already the sexiest muscles I've ever seen from walking all over on his mission, so I'm not too concerned. We're mainly working on his upper body strength with the machine. I'm hoping we're still on track to hit our goals.

bye bye fat face--hello single chin

Check out the blog title picture vs. my head shot. Kind of crazy. My chin and neck are no longer melting into each other. Single chin is BACK!

not the best week--but better days are ahead

So, my little man turned 1 this week~ very exciting!!! We had a fun party for him, and I fell off the healthy eating wagon --more like, bungee jumped off the wagon. I've been really good about not eating CRAP, because I simply don't buy it. If it's not here, then it's not available for me to misbehave. We got chips, cupcakes and sodas for Simon's party. Pam brought yummy sugar cookies. Chris and I made our own onion dip for the chips--which ROCKED--and the whole day was one massive caffine, sugar and carb fest for me. I have consumed so much Vanilla Coke zero it's a little redic. Sure, it has 0 calories and 0 carbs, but I know what caffine does to the whole digestive process, and it's no bueno. It may take a week for my body to balance out my sugar levels. I could not leave the Limon chips alone. OH MY HEAVENS THEY ARE AMAZING! I didn't have too many cupcakes, because, thankfully, I'm not a big cupcake fan. This is not failure, just a few scrapes and bruises in my new lifestyle. The only way I fail is if I choose to not get back on my feet and run like hell to get myself back on the healthy wagon. I have lost 40 pounds in the past 12 months. I have another 10 to go. My goal date is May 7--my 26th birthday. This will require my being more diligent and intentional about my workouts--they've gotten pretty sparse. This also means staying on top of my nutrition and choking down my protein shakes at least 3 times a week. I am down to 145.2 Chris is down to 232. May 7 we hope to be down to me at 135 and Chris at 215-and down again to 200 by his 29th birthday on May 30. Goal weights are our birthday gifts to ourselves. 30 pounds for Chris in 2 months may seem challenging, and indeed, it may become so, but I think he can do it! We're a great team, and we're going to be one HOT couple baby!

our update

Well, since I am no longer in this weight loss adventure alone, THANK GOODNESS, I figured it was time for an update. Nothing all too lengthy to say really. We went and bought Chris new jeans. Chris is a tall man, but not unusually tall. He's about 6'2, but what's rare about Chris is that he's got a super long torso, and very long legs. He's a 34" leg for jeans. This makes jean shopping a bit of a challenge. Chris has gone from needing a 40 waist to a 38! Can we get a WOOT! WOOT! Heaven knows Chris has no butt, so this means he's lost 2" from his belly. This is amazing progress. We THANKFULLY found 3 pair of new jeans for him after a week of hunting. Finding jeans in his size--that are under $40 a pair was indeed a challenge, but we did it. $20 a pair! I feel very proud of that number. His old jeans will be donated to the jean quilt collection, as they are all holey and gross anyway. He weighed in today at 234.2. As we were walking today, he had Simon in a hiking carrier. He mentioned that even wearing our almost 12 month old son, Simon, he was weighing less than he was in December. That's a little perspective for you.

I am excited to report that I'm approaching goal number 1, which is 145. I am currently at 146.8. I was stuck in the 150s for what seemed like forever, and the 140s is also slow and steady decreases. I've had to slow down the protein shakes, due to internal digestive troubles with it. I was recommended an herbal tea to help solve that problem. It worked GREAT for Chris, but sadly, not so well for me. So I expect the next 10 pounds to take a few months of hard old fashioned workouts, but that's ok by me. Being healthy is a lifestyle for us, not just about hitting a goal weight and then working my way back up to 180. NO WAY! Well, part of a successful weightloss program is sleep, and it's nearly 1am and I have church at 9, which means...