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.