the copec

My hubby. I love him. Dearly. And this post is about his fighting of the girth. Chris was extremely supportive when I began this journey. He helped me find the money in the budget to do the boot camp, and was always 100% ready to take the kids when it was time for me to be at a workout, even when that meant Saturday mornings were all on him. I never imagined the ripple effect we'd now be seeing. Chris is 6'2 and very well built. He has a long torso and long legs, a figure that many people would dream of. Even though I've never seen him do any sort of serious workout he has the SEXIEST calf muscles I've never seen--and thanks to his leg injury, you can see his right calf muscle up close and in action. Seriously, his legs, wow. Before his injury, he was on the swim team at Freemont High. He was long and lanky. Then, his junior year, he lost part of his right leg, and spent a year recovering. He put on some weight in his early 20s and then went on his mission to my lovely home state. Walking the never ending rolling hill streets of PA helped him to strengthen his injured leg, and get back to a healthy weight. His MTC pictures vs. mission pictures are so vastly different. Anyway, when we got married, he was about 250 pounds and has always been about there. He was about 260 in December, when our eating out budget became my boot camp money and the fast food industry was sabotaging my hard work. I've been cooking dinners at home, and he's been very good about only eating lunch out when he can't get away from his desk. Now and then, I even take him lunch. Chris is now down to 235 pounds. It's been not even 3 months and he's dropped 25 pounds without even trying. He's lost 5 in the past week just by having a protein shake at breakfast everyday-instead of skipping that meal all together-and one with either lunch or dinner. Due to school and work schedules being so insanely demanding. He comes home and spends a good 40 minutes throwing the kids around and chasing them everywhere, which I have decided is his workout. And that's only if I have dinner done on time. Sometimes they get a good hour or so to beat on daddy. I'm so proud of Chris. He loves to have the freedom to eat out, and grab his whatever at the corner store, but he's turned a corner lately and decided to be healthier. He's setting such a great example for me and our kids. I am excited for this summer; he'll have a break from school, and we'll both have the energy to be able to take the kids hiking and swimming.

sweaty smelly chica

Ok, so due to life...I never really finished out my 2nd round of bootcamp--technically. Time ran out and I probably forfeited 4 sessions...let's not talk about that stupid tax. Anyway, it's been probably a month since I've had an all out-sweat dripping, muscle burning workout. I've kept up on my nutrition, cooking at home and all that jazz. I'm down to nursing just once or twice a day, so while I was at costco last week I picked up some protein shake powder. I am not a big meat eater---not that I'm a vegitarian, I enjoy a bloody stake now and then, but I'd rather have a good hearty plate of pasta and half a loaf of fresh bread any day. While I was nursing full time, I had a great excuse to ignore the whole protein powder alternative. I have to say, that this brand is EXTREMELY good. (as far as protein powders are concerned.) Anyone looking for a great alternative to eating meat and a dozen eggs every day, this is worth your time. Chris has started using it with me. We got it last Friday--and the guy has already lost 5 lbs...but this isn't about his crazy success....that is a post all of its own. I use it in the morning, for lunch and if I work out I usually take a dose after. I mix it with yogurt now and then to add variety. I got it at Costco--and their website has a coupon. I think it was like $20. Chris also uses it as a breakfast and it has saved us at least that much--since he no longer frequents the local rancheritas for breakfast burritos or corner store for ....whatever craptastic food he was buying there. I have lost 4 pounds since using it. More than that, my constant craving to eat anything and everything is gone. It really does fill me up. It gives me energy. I am hypoglycemic, which means I need to eat often, but since this is such high protein, it has does wonders for leveling out my blood sugar. Anway, enough about that. Wow, they should pay me for that kind of publicity..since all of ....1 person reads this. yeah. anyway.

This week, I started working out again. Monday, I worked out at Chris's office. I started on the treadmill and got bored. Turned on the CD player, and realized...it doesn't work if the treadmill is running. It took me .06 seconds to decide I'd rather run laps around the 45 cars parked in the office garage than go without music for an hour. I alternated between the weight machine, using the stationary bike--with no batteries ugh riding without resistance is boring--and weight machine, along with some floor exercises and lunges. I learned a few things that night.
1. I still LOVE Seussical the musical and desperately want to be GERTRUDE in a production of it.
2. It is possible to work out all by myself for a full hour
3. I miss working out. It made me sleep better, and helped me elevate my mood quite a bit

So, tonight, I put on my Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. Bec and Nat have been using this from what I hear. It has three 20 minute workouts. You start on 1 and in 10 days go to 2. etc. All I can say is... step 1 is a cake walk. IF you want to see a difficult workout, meet Hardbody Fitness. Annette Taylor will kick your butt so hard, you'll get the butt of a 17 year old Latina. Step 1 ended and I literally though, really? that's it? All these reviews whined about how hard this initial workout is and on and on. I barely started to burn. I did get a good cardio, but never got out of breath. WEAK SAUCE!!! Tomorrow I progress to step 2.

Weight stats-148.6 I have no idea my measurement loss, because I have no tape measure, and measuring myself wouldn't be accurate. Total weight lost since Nov-20 pounds.

I started this whole thing in November at almost 170 pounds. I haven't been hard core, and yet I've seen massive changes in my body, my emotions, my confidence. I seriously believe that little changes matter. I wanted something I can live with, not just dive into for a couple of months and then abandon. It's been a great 4 months. My goal weight is 135. I'm not sure if I will get that tiny--it's not something I can really see. Mostly, my goal is to be healthy and feel comfortable in my skin. To not be double checking my reflection before a picture, in case my fat roll is sticking out--I'm a serious victim of this tragedy. My attitudes about having a personal trainer have been completely changed. I think it's crucial to have someone who knows what they are doing by you, training you, teaching you...so that you can work out correctly and effectively. It makes a huge difference. If you need a referral, I' know a great one. She kicked my butt from a 14 to a 6 in about 8 weeks. Now it's time for a shower...post workout body smell is not hot.

Shopping HELL!

So here I sit. Size 6. 150 lbs. I am raging with anxiety. So I've done it. I've lost 30 pounds since Simon was born, and have gone from a 14 to a 6. Tomorrow I have to attend an open house for our Salt Lake office, and have nothing to wear. Shopping after shedding 30 pounds should be fun. It's not. It's horrible. Especially, when you're alone. I've realized, that fat or thin, the store never has what you want in your size. It used to be that I'd find what I wanted and it was TINY. now, I find what I want and it's only available in 14-18. And what's with the fashion? It was 2004 the last time I was this small, and let me tell you something...the style is WAY different. There's layering, and frilly all over the chest and puffy sleeves. I don't understand any of it. I've spent years watching WHAT NOT TO WEAR, and wondering why people are always having mental breakdowns after shopping-well, I now understand. It's frustrating! I have no IDEA what I'm doing out there. I look in the mirror and see the same me I see in the pictures from last year when I was pushin 180. I haven't mentally or emotionally lost weight.
I'm terrified of being at that function tomorrow. I've worked from home for 3 years. I've spent the majority of that time having very limited contact with adults. I'm a total social NIGHTMARE! I can't sleep. It's 1am. I know Ava will be up at 7, because I put her to bed at 7pm. Chris is snoring. My heart is racing just thinking about tomorrow and I can't help but want to run away. WHO THE HECK is this person I've become?!!? I thought when I lost that weight, and found my old body, that I'd find my old self, but really...I'm just as crazy as ever...with less padding.

this is a joke....right? Uh I guess not.

I'm nearing the end of BOOTY BOOT CAMP ROUND 2. Yesterday, as my alarm went off at 5:25am I quickly (as quick as one can be at that horrid hour) found the off switch and continued to lay there debating in my mind if I was really going to go. Melissa had told me she would not be there. It's difficult for me to go when I know she won't be there, because she motivates me. I feed off of her energy and her strength and focus. I knew it would be rude to Annette to just not show up, so I slumped out of bed in persuit of my work out gear. Even as I was pulling out of my driveway I was tempted to pull back into the house and crawl back under the covers until my children demanded my attention. Annette was unlocking the gate when I pulled up. I got out of my car, and walked toward her and heard an awful ringing noise. The building's alarm was sounding, and she was frantically sorting through business cards in her car to find the alarm code. We went back in and she frantically began putting in the code over and over, with no luck. Jewel arrived and Annette assured us everything would be fine, and to start warming up. The annoying alarm had ended, and a softer one continued to sound. We figured that a cop would arrive, we'd show him our key, he'd turn off the alarm and all would be well. Jewel and I were doing agility runs...from cone to wall...to 2nd cone to wall...to anyway. I heard Annette say that a cop was pulling up while I was on round 2 of this...i was concentrating on not passing out--as running and I don't really mix. I got to cone 2, turned and began springing back to the wall. I looked up and the cop was yelling at Annette. I must have slowed to a walk, when I saw him pull his gun, and point it screaming 'ON YOUR KNEES NOW! GET YOUR HANDS UP INTO THE AIR' She was arguing with the cop as she slowly got down to the floor. She kept telling him, ' I HAVE A KEY! Someone changed the alarm code and didn't let me know!" I thought, surely this was a joke. No way is a cop pointing his gun at my trainer. He ignored her and pointed the gun at me next, instructing me to get down on my knees. I did so, trying my hardest not to have a Diane Keaton emotional freakout. Then he turned to Jewel, and she got down as well. He went off on us asking what we were doing in a warehouse at 6am (and I'm going dude, tell me about it! 6am workouts are insane) All the while Annette is trying to explain that we have access to the building and this is all a mistake. Within 10 minutes he finally calmed down, put his gun away and started listening to her. Annette told me and Jewel to continue with our workout, which we did. I honestly don't remember much of what we did. I was just going through the motions, trying to keep myself calm. I couldn't belive what had happened. It's like I went from 'The Biggest Loser' to a bad episode of 'Cops.' It turns out that the previous tenant was pretty pissed off about having to move out. Tuesday, he had come to get the last of his things, and reset the alarm code on the building as a 'SCREW YOU!' to the owner. Nice eh? By 7am, the cops had reached the owner and verified that we weren't 6am vacant warehouse dwelling drug smugglers in sports bras, but a valid workout group. Go figure. I must look more bada$$ than I thought these days.

HELLO PRE-PREGNANCY WEIGHT--IT'S BEEN A WHILE

Not sure what my last post said, or when it was. However, something amazing occurred today that MUST be blogged about. I stepped on the scale today and read the numbers...153. It has been....almost 4 years since I was below 155. I was 155, the day that I found out that I was pregnant with Ava. She will be 3 next week. After she was born I went between 165-158...but could never find that pre-pregnancy weight again. well folks, I DID IT!!! Not only that, but 2 weeks ago, Annette--my trainer, redid my measurements. We measured like 10 points on my body when I started bootcamp. She ususally waits until the end of teh 6 weeks to remeasure, but I was stuck at 157, and discouraged, so she did my measurements so I could see what kind of progress I was making. I was FOURTEEN inches smaller. 1-4. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! I don't know size wise what I am, because I'm not really mentally ready to go shopping yet, but my sisters size 10 pants are lose on me. I was a 14 when I started. progress is HAPPENING!!! Hardbody fitness bootcamp was my Christmas present from Chris...and Christmas is in 3 days. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME...I HAVE ACTUALLY SURPASSED MY GOAL. i was to continue into another 6 week round, but it's $300. Not sure if I have those funds, but we'll see in a week or so if we can swing it.

victory!

So, I fit into Pamilove's size SIX pants. HOLLA!

hard body fitness

So last night was my 2nd night at Hard Body Fitness. It was so much fun. I did my evaluation with my trainer-Annette-about 4pm. She took all my measurements, calculated body fat %, broke down my protein and carb allowances for dietary consumption and then timed me running a mile. I wasn't so great on the first 1/2 of the mile...and probably walked 1/4 of it. The way back however I was able to run almost the whole thing. I would let myself walk out from one telephone pole to the other and then run 3 of them. It was nice to have something like that to help me set and acheive little goals. My time was 12 minutes. Not bad considering I was 19 the last time I ran for any real period of time. My goal is to shave off 4 minutes--or to be able to run the entire mile without needing to walk any of it.
Last night was not nearly as painful as saturday. I was able to do 98% of what she was having us do. The buddy sit ups were entirely rediculous, but we're confident that I'll be able to knock those out by then end of the boot camp. gotta run. more later