My One Year Report

Today marks one year since I started this blog. One year since I started working out at Curves again. Just now I decided I better look back at what my goals were in my first post. A word of advice - when you make goals and write them down, you should probably look at them every once in a while. Lets see how I did.

• Work out at Curves every day M-F

I did pretty darn good with this one. There have been very few days that I have missed. This consistency is sometimes the only thing that saves me.

• Lose 72 lbs by August 27, 2014 (that would take me down to 150, and I haven't been there since before high school)

Not quite. I started at 222, and yesterday I weighed in at 175. Which feels amazing! So I lost 47 lbs in one year. I know that I could have done better, but this has been a very financially and emotionally stressful summer for my family. My diet choices have been more limited than I would have liked. Not anywhere near my ideal. 

• Drink only water or skim milk for the entire year

I have done very well with this. At home I only drink water and very little milk. I have nothing against drinking milk really, except that it has calories and doesn't fill me up any more than a glass of water would. I usually ask for water when I go out as well. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've had soda in the last year. 

• Drink at least 64 oz of water every single day

For some reason this is harder to do on the weekends. But I have been pretty faithful drinking between 64 and 80 oz of water each day. This and the consistency in my workouts has been saving me from gaining weight again. 

• Follow the Curves "higher protein" diet

I did this really well during the first two months. Then I didn't. My biggest problem was that I stopped planning ahead. I do so well when I know exactly what I'm going to eat long before I'm hungry. I know that, but it's still a challenge to sit down and take the time to make the plan. Planning ahead is a new goal for this year. 

• Learn to cook 30+ healthy dinners that my family will love

Yeah, I can definitely say that I know at least 30 healthy recipes that my husband and I love. My two year old is a different story. To her credit, she does try new things before spitting it out and proclaiming, "Don't like it!" She loves broccoli though. And sweet potato. She can't get enough. I have lots of healthy recipes filed on Pinterest that I can reference, as well as the recipes in the Curves book. 

• Keep this blog faithfully - I would say daily but this mom of 2 girls under 18 months can't make that promise.

I haven't written as much as I would have liked to, but at least there is a post in every month. My discouragement this summer kept me from writing, and I'm sorry about that. There is lots I should have written about. More updates, more sharing yummy recipes, etc. 

• Don't feel guilty about the expense of new jeans when the time comes. It's a reward, not a punishment.

I did buy new jeans last week. My sweet mother in law sent money for a new pair, and that was what I used it for even though I was sorely tempted more than once to buy pizza instead. 

So there you have it! Looking back I feel really good about the progress I made with these goals. Working out is a habit that I couldn't live without. To have gone to the gym and be home and showered before 8 am makes me feel human. Yes, I'm a mother of two toddlers, but I can still take time to shower every day and feel human :) I didn't lose as much as I wanted to in the year, but I still feel better than ever. And I am not so discouraged by what I didn't accomplish that I can't keep moving forward. 

Here's a pic of me before I started this journey, and one of me today in my new jeans.

My new goal is to lose the remaining 25 lbs to reach 150 by Christmas. 25 lbs sounds almost easy after losing close to 50. 

A major milestone!

There's been something I have been meaning to do, but it's hard to build up my courage. See, I know that my one pair of size 12 jeans is a little big. But those jeans are also a couple years old and they are used to me, you know? But I felt like I needed to try on some size 10s. Just to see how far away they would be from fitting. So I went to Target because I figured their size 10s would be pretty average. I don't know where might have an honest pair of size 10s so I figured average would have to do. What do you think? 

Obviously it's not the best photo. They make that impossible in most fitting rooms. But seriously? Those jeans are not just on. They fit. They are not the perfect jean for me but even so they look dang good. I didn't want to take them off. It's a good day when you are giddy in the fitting room. Usually I suppose people buy the article of clothing if it makes them giddy but I am unfortunately in a bit of a tough spot right now. I need a new wardrobe and I can't even afford a single pair of jeans. But I'm hoping that will change in the coming weeks. 

Sorry it's been so long since I wrote an update. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. In about 2 1/2 weeks the year I intended for this blog will be over, but I plan to keep it up until I reach my goal. Stay tuned for the full one year report coming soon!

One year post baby

Last week my 2nd daughter turned one! I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by. I love having babies in the house because of how fast they learn and grow. My girls discover something new every day. I recently realized that I've gotten to the point where I wouldn't mind being pregnant again. But we're not there yet.

At my last appointment before my delivery, I weighed 236. That means I've lost almost 60 lbs since then! Baby was 8 lbs, so even if you say I lost 10 automatically when she came that's still 50 lbs I've lost this year, and I can be proud of that. I'll be the first to look back and tell you what I should have been doing better. That if I had I would have reached my goal by now. But I am proud of my progress and I am still moving forward. I am still changing my life one day at a time. And I have reached a major milestone this week.... I saw 177 on the scale. My last recorded pre-pregnancy weight before my first baby was 179. So I've passed it!

I feel like I'm in kind of a weird place where my mind is blocking my weight loss because this is uncharted territory for me. Like I'm almost afraid that part of "me" will be lost if I keep losing weight. But at the same time I am so excited to be here. To have made it to the place where I stopped losing before, but now I have a chance to dig deeper and find the strength to keep going. Another 20 lbs and I might not even recognize myself. And 20 lbs kind of sounds like a breeze after 50.

So here are a couple photos to show how far I've come. I can't find a good one from right after baby was born (probably because I was in hiding from the camera) so here's one of right before, and one from a couple weeks ago.

June - It hurts to miss a week

I started June a little late. We were visiting family the first two days of last week, then I wasn't feeling well, then my husband wasn't feeling well, and then it was just Friday. So Monday I was ready to start afresh. This keeping healthy sure does have a lot of beginnings. Every day brings more than one chance to start again. That's the key to success I suppose. You can't just wake up one day and decide to become a healthy person. You have to keep deciding. Over and over and over. It doesn't take a few months or a couple years. It takes a lifetime. That makes me a little tired, but it also gives me quite a lot of hope.

It hurts to miss a week. It's amazing how fast all my hard work and progress can start going the other way. Most of that was once again felt on day 2. I ached so badly. Especially my hamstrings and my lower back. I need those. All day long. This morning I decided I better skip Jillian and take a long walk instead so as to give my muscles a little rest. I can't quite walk normally. My knees kept locking up. I'm hoping and praying it won't hurt as much tomorrow. There's not much worse than Jillian with sore muscles.

Curves has a new summer challenge every month this summer. June's challenge is to work out 6 days a week. So 3 or 4 (or 5) days at Curves, and 30 minutes of something else on the other days. Since I pretty much do that already I was happy to join in. I would love to lose 10 lbs this month. This month being before July 9th. I know that's a lofty goal. Monday on the Curves scale I was 184.5 lbs. I've never been below 180 on a Curves scale, so I'm pretty excited to break that barrier. It's summer time. Lets do this!

May

I love May. It's this magical month when spring finally banishes the last of winter and you just can't help spending as much time as possible outside. Even through all my stress and certain circumstances that have delayed the extra motivation I usually have at this time of year to eat as healthy as I can, at least I have not stopped moving. If I did I expect I would be in big trouble.

There is a quote on the wall at Curves from the owner here in Provo. Something to the effect of, "I have never once worked out and then regretted it. Never. The hardest step in any workout is the first step in (or out) the door." I have found that to be true. There have been plenty of days that I did not want to leave my bed. Seriously? What mom of two babies wakes up before they do? Especially since it's still quite rare that I get to sleep through the night. I have been so stressed out lately that it would be so easy to just give myself those extra precious moments of sleep. Everyone would understand. I need that sleep. But what I really need is a couple more hours of sleep, and that's just not going to happen. Not for another decade or more probably. So in the mean time I know that working out at 7am is going to give me worlds more energy than sleeping until 7:30 if I'm lucky. But I still have to convince myself every single day.

The Jillian workout for May was harder at first than any other month. And March was hard. The first day I did my best, feeling silly as I usually do on the first day of a new workout. It didn't even take the entire day for my entire lower body to ache. Sitting on the floor, picking up babies, climbing over the baby gate were all extremely difficult. Naturally day two was worse, but that was what I expected. I faithfully went to Curves and did the routine again. I hoped I would feel less sore on day three, but I didn't. But still I went, and did my best again. After the weekend I went back, having recovered mostly. And you know what? I didn't get sore again. It was amazing how well my body adjusted to this new hard thing after just a few days. The exercises are still quite hard, but not unbearable. I actually kind of enjoy the challenge.

This week I am down to 180. That's pretty exciting! I've lost 42 lbs since September, and I have 30 more to go before I meet my goal. But I am only a few lbs off of my lowest pre-pregnancy weight. My goal for June is to lose those last few lbs and then some.

Zumba

Ever since I went back to Curves in August, I have been meaning to try Zumba again. I couldn't while my husband was taking classes, because Zumba starts at 8 and I have to be home so that he can be to class by 9. But now that class is out for the summer his schedule is not quite so firm. So this morning I woke up later than usual and decided to give it a try. It was definitely out of my comfort zone to join a class of ladies who have been doing these routines by heart for months. They don't even really need the instructor. I felt like an idiot, but I did not feel like anyone was watching me, so I guess it wasn't that bad. It was good, fun exercise for me. I did some Zumba in St. George, and LOVED it. But then I came to a Zumba class at the Curves in Provo 3 years ago and found out I had been doing Zumba for sissies. I thought I was going to die by the end of dancing without a break for a full half hour. And I weighed about 5 lbs less then. I was at my lowest weight ever (though not for long) but I am in even better shape now. The half hour of dancing this morning was really only uncomfortable because I had no idea what I was doing. I never felt left behind, I was never needing to catch my breath. It was literally no big deal for me to dance for a full half hour, and it passed in a flash. Kind of makes me wonder what else I might be able to do. "Run" a mile maybe?

My weight is holding steady at 183, which was a relief considering the amount of stress I've been holding onto lately. I have kept going to Curves, but my eating habits have been less than stellar. It's probably a good time for me to try that apple cinnamon water again, because I guarantee my body is holding onto more than just stress. Thank goodness summer is coming. My whole family is so much more in the mood for fresh veggies this time of year. Sadly we gave up hope of having a garden when we moved this month. I'll have to scout out the farmers markets when summer really hits.

Keep cheering me on! My goal is to lose another 30 lbs by the end of summer, and that's going to be a tall order unless I can get more excited about it really soon.

Real Push-ups. And Greek salad.

It seems like kids can do anything with their bodies. When do we lose that? I know not everyone does, but I think if you asked most people my age to do a handstand or a cartwheel they would just laugh. I could do those things when I was a kid and I liked it. I'm pretty sure I could also do real "man" push-ups too but I don't actually remember. For as long as I remember every time I tried I could not even do one full push up unless I was on my knees. The Jillian Michaels moves in January included push-ups and I modified them the whole month. I don't think I even tried. But you know what? That really started to hurt my knees because of how hard the floor is. So when it came time to do push-ups again after a couple of months I figured I better try it to see if I could give my knees a break. And I was surprised to find out that I am now strong enough to do push-ups. Not that my nose comes anywhere near to touching the ground. They are probably more like half push ups. But this is a huge breakthrough for me. The other day Robin asked me how many I could do. I just laughed and said "really? You think I can count while I am doing this?" I kind of look forward to it actually. It's proof that I have broken a very solid "I can't" barrier. I am stronger than I think I am. My lunges are improving too. My knees touch the ground most of the time when I do them. 

On a totally different topic, I made a sort of Greek salad for dinner tonight. I used beef tips this time but I usually get the really thin sirloin steaks and cut them into bite size pieces. I cook them in just a little olive oil and season them with Greek seasoning. Unfortunately I just found out my Greek seasoning has msg so I will be looking for a better one. I do this salad with a spinach base and add cucumber, thin slices of red onion, cherry tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese. Then I add Greek seasoning to some plain Greek yogurt and stir in a little milk until it's thin enough to be used as dressing. Or if I have been to costco lately I use tzatziki, also thinned with milk for the dressing. It's so light and yummy and my husband LOVES it. Perfect summer meal in our house. Except that toddlers don't really eat salad. Their loss. 

Apple Cinnamon detox water follow up

So I mentioned the other day that I had decided to try this flavored water as an experiment. The apples and cinnamon flavor the water without adding any calories (who knows how that works? Magic?) and give it a little extra something to boost metabolism. Some people go all out on this detox and only drink this for a week. As in, they don't eat anything. I couldn't even last through a whole day. But I have been drinking at least 84 oz a day this week. My personal opinion is that it tastes better when you are not starving yourself.

I can't say that I'm sure I feel more energized than usual since I have been drinking my water this way. I feel pretty energized after my workout every morning. But I have lost 3 lbs in the last four days, and I'm going to say this has helped with that. I may not have eaten more than I should have for the last 2 weeks, but a lot of what I did eat was loaded with sugar. My body needed to detox and I think the apple cinnamon detox water helped that process along a little better that plain water might have. I don't keep it on ice like the recipe says to (seriously? How did I make it here from our last apartment without my ice cube trays?) but I do keep it in the fridge so it's colder than what I normally drink from the faucet. Colder water also makes your metabolism work harder.

The apples and cinnamon keep for a week as long as you put new water in the pitcher every 24 hours, so I'm going to keep on drinking my water this way until the week is up. There are some who feel the need to flavor their water so that drinking enough isn't as much of a burden. I'm not one of those people. Not that I don't need help drinking enough water, but I actually prefer it plain. I could see myself doing this for a week out of every month though, because the idea that it's giving my body a little health kick makes me more motivated to do other healthy things.

Throw away the cake

I can't believe it's been a whole month since I blogged. Let's say this month has been... ok. As far as weight loss goes, it looks pretty normal. I started at 193, and ended at 186. 7 lbs is a pretty solid weight loss for a month. Why was it just ok then? Because looking back at what I ate does not make me proud. There were a lot of parties this month, and being with my friends and family has been a much needed boost for my spirit. But I didn't do what I should have to stop myself from eating SO. MUCH. SUGAR. Holy cow, how could I possibly have lost 7 lbs? But more importantly, how much better can I do next month?

Last week was my daughter's 2nd birthday. She LOVES butterflies. At least the idea of them, I don't think she's ever seen a real one. Anyway, I was feeling crafty, so I made her a little cake in the shape of a butterfly. It was seriously adorable. I used box cake and can icing (which I think it disgusting on its own) so it wasn't anything too fancy, but I was proud of my messy decorating job. And there were cupcakes too because I made one layer of chocolate and one layer of funfetti so there were extras of both cake mixes. Then I invited a few people over for pizza and cake on her birthday, and suddenly realized that "few" was actually more than 20. So I made mint sugar cookies in the shape of butterflies. No icing needed, these sugar cookies are that good. The party was a success. And there was so much cake left over. And unfortunately I discovered that the canned icing wasn't as gross when it was on the cake, and I really quite liked it. I should have done it as soon as everyone left, but I waited two days before I threw away the rest of the cake. When cake is always there, right in front of you whether you are hungry or not, way too easy to just grab a bite, you eat more than you should. Not as much as I would have a year ago, but more than I should. I did feel pretty proud of myself for throwing out almost a whole butterfly wing, even though it really made me sad to put my creation in the trash.

That's just the worst of it. There were also two baby showers, a Nauvoo party complete with a whole batch of rolo cookies, cousin's dinner with home made cinnamon rolls, General Conference donuts, and an extended family party at the Pizza Pie Cafe. I felt really awful Saturday night, and decided I better try to detox. I found a recipe for apple cinnamon detox water on this blog. I figured, I like apples and cinnamon, I'll try it out. Yesterday I mostly only drank this and didn't eat until dinner. I wasn't planning on eating dinner, but I was starving. And by the end of the day I was kind of sick of the taste. I think the idea of this 0 calorie drink is a good one, but I prefer normal water. The apples and cinnamon are supposed to last like a week in the fridge if you keep refilling the pitcher, so maybe I'll try it again today. But not on an empty stomach.

Pancakes

Pancakes are like the ultimate comfort food for me. Maybe because they were the first thing I ever learned to cook. We had pancakes for dinner many Sunday nights when I was growing up and I was often in charge. I could gobble up 5 or 6 of them in no time. Soaking in syrup with cheesy eggs and sausage on the side. Yum yum. But not healthy. Not even a little bit.

Lucky for me pancakes are not one of those foods that can't ever be made healthy. A Pinterest search for healthy pancakes turns up some very promising results. 

The one I tried tonight used oats for a base. I couldn't find the source but luckily the recipe was on the photo.

1/2 cup oats

2 eggs

1 banana

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Blend oats to powder in a blender then add other ingredients. Cook on heated griddle sprayed with cooking spray. 

I couldn't resist adding a few chocolate chips. And I did eat them with syrup this time but I think they would have been amazing with a little vanilla Greek yogurt. Also they are officially toddler approved so that's definitely a plus.

Sunday best

Here I am today after church! I just ate my last dessert until Easter. Though I might make a social exception here or there. I haven't lost a single pound this month which is extremely vexing but I can see that my body is still changing. I just need to kick up my resolve a little. Winter is hard but it's almost over.

Pre-pregnancy jeans!

Saturday it was a little warmer than most February days, and I decided to get out my more springy wardrobe. The one I haven't really worn since before baby #1. I mostly got them out for extra motivation, but I was surprised to find out how close I am to being able to wear most of them! And for an extra bonus, my favorite size 12 pair of jeans fit! I was so excited that I wore them all day. There were some other size 12 pants that don't quite fit yet, but these are the smallest jeans I have! That's definitely a big success step for me. To know that I get to buy a whole new pair of jeans when I go down another size is great motivation. My goal is to wear my favorite spring dress for Easter. That's another 8 weeks of hard work ahead!

I've mentioned before that one of my greatest weaknesses when it comes to healthy eating is my love for baking. I'll never be able to give it up, but I've been trying hard to find healthier baking recipes. I found a winner this morning on this blog. Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins. I had to do with plain greek yogurt since I didn't have vanilla. I did add a little vanilla extract but I don't know that it made much of a difference. These were so moist and delicious and my toddler loved them. My husband hasn't tried them yet but I'm pretty sure he will give his approval.

I really need to work on sharing pictures here. I'm sorry I've been a little MIA lately. My husband bought me an ipod touch so that I don't have to pull out my ancient laptop very often. I like most everything about it, but writing a blog post is not very convenient. But sharing pictures is super easy. Or it would be if my husband would set up the icloud so that I could get pictures off his phone.

Favorite Lunch: Creamy Chicken Salad Wrap

I just wanted to check in really quick and share one of my favorite healthy lunches.

Creamy Chicken Salad Wrap

4oz diced chicken breast (I cook a bunch in the crock pot and use it daily til it's gone)
1/4 c cottage cheese
diced cucumbers
1 tbsp ranch seasoning (so like 1/2 the packet)

Mix it all together and serve on a whole wheat tortilla with a slice of provolone if you want. I don't really like cottage cheese by itself (or with fruit... yuck) but with ranch it's great!

The recipe in the Curves book says I can eat it on two slices of wheat bread, but I like it way better as a wrap. Also, I think I'm going to throw in some chopped onion next time.

Jillian Michaels

As I mentioned in my last post, Curves has teamed up with Jillian Michaels starting this year. So as I'm going around the circuit, Jillian is up on the big screen and I follow her moves between machines. It's definitely a lot more intense than jogging in place on a recovery board, which is what I usually do. Suddenly the machines are my recovery from Jillian. My Curves coach said the idea is to work at about 50% of my normal pace on the machines on the days I'm doing the Jillian workout.

Over the last week I have completed 3 full Jillian workouts. My heart rate is definitely through the roof, just like she wants it to be. And I really feel like I've accomplished something when I'm done. I thought I felt like that at the end of all my workouts last year. This is a whole new level of accomplishment. My whole body feels it, but it's getting used to the workload already. I'm not nearly as sore as I was last week. We'll see if I can say that tomorrow though, as today is Monday and I had a whole weekend to recover.

Lots of the ladies I work out with were worried that they would hate this, because it's Jillian Michaels. Yes, she has a very strong, intense, in your face personality. But you know, I wonder if she's like that all the time. I've only ever seen her on the job. I'm a little afraid of her but she is exactly what I need. I have been impressed to see pretty much everyone at Curves at least giving her workout a try, even though the average age for the 7am group is probably 60. I would love to know when the "moms" work out. Maybe I'm more special than I think I am.

As far as the results go, I lost 3 lbs last week! I'm down to 196.5, and feel like I'm off to a great start for the new year.

Time to begin again... again.

Happy New Year!!!!!!

So it's been six or seven weeks since my last blog post. I'm happy to report that I maintained my weight over the holidays. Heck, I even lost a pound. But I have to confess that it was not because I tried. I did not even pretend to try. I was in fact completely surprised when I stepped on the Curves scale for the first time in over 6 weeks and saw that I had lost a pound. I wish I could look back and say, "Hmm, maybe I didn't eat so badly afterall", but that would be a lie. My little family and I spent the holidays at my parents house, and Santa went a little overboard with our Christmas stockings. Apparently he was challenging himself to literally fill the stockings my mom picked out for her fireplace, and they are really big.

So I have a few healthy goals for this year. I'm dead set on losing 50 lbs. We'll see what happens after that. It would be nice if I could lose most of it before summer starts, but I think that's probably pushing it. But my goal for summer is to fit into my summer clothes. They are size 12s. That's only one dress size away and a totally reasonable goal. Two healthy foods I want to try for the first time and use in all sorts of recipes are quinoa and spaghetti squash. Also, I would like to finish the new Curves workout without feeling like I'm going to DIE. They are doing this new thing where we do a Jillian Michaels workout on the recovery stations between machines. Suddenly I feel like the machines are my recovery from the recovery station. I did the whole thing this morning. My heart rate was through the roof. I'm telling myself that it will be better when I can breathe through my nose again, but I think I'll stick with my smart tag tomorrow.

That's all for now. Another goal I have is to keep my blog updated, so you'll hear from me soon!