Day 12

I didn't get a work-out in yesterday. Things have been a bit crazy since Saturday. Yesterday I was dealing with 3 sick kids, getting Halloween costumes sewn before Friday, since I'm leaving for 4 days to fly home for my Grandma's funeral. Add that trip to my mental craziness and yesterday was pure chaos. Not really, but it was so busy. We didn't slow down til well after 9, which is too late for my work-outs since we try to be in bed by 10.

I'm still going kinda crazy sewing Halloween costumes, but the day wasn't as bad today so I got my work-out in tonight. It felt really good. I think the extra day off was almost a good thing. There are only 2 exercises which are still hard for me. Okay, maybe 3. Push-ups are just hard. But I'm feeling better all around. I think a few more weeks and I'm going to try level 2 for kicks. I'd say at the end of next week, but I'm going to be gone all weekend and so I don't know what that will do. And no, I'm not taking Jillian with me. She'll have to wait til I get home.

Day 11 and Weigh In

Let me begin by saying my husband is awesome. Here goes my day:

I weighed in this morning. Exact same as last week. I'm okay with that. Despite my exercising, my nutrition this week hasn't been admirable. But I'm ready to improve.

I spent the morning and early afternoon crafting at a Super Saturday event. So much fun. After getting home I left right away to take Moose to a birthday party at the Fun Zone. (Chuck E. Cheese equivalent) Upon coming home this evening, I was greeted by my hubs with the sad news that my Grandma passed this afternoon. The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur as I talked with family (who live like 3000 miles away) while my hubs delivered 3 cheesecakes and a chocolate lasagna he made for his bro-in-law's fundraiser/concert tonight.

By the time we got the kids to bed at 8:30 I really wasn't thinking about working out. As I was sitting at the computer, beginning a post about how I didn't work out tonight but had good reasons not to, the hubs asked me if I was going to work out. I said no. He asked what he could do to encourage me. I said he could do it with me. He said okay. So me and the hubs did 30 day shred together this evening. :)

Watching a man who's forgotten how to do jumping jacks is hilarious.

So thanks to the hubs, who is my greatest motivator, supporter and my #1 fan. And love and prayers for my Grandma, the namesake of my sweet Munchkin. Love you Grandma.

Day 10

Got my work-out in tonight. I was sewing Halloween costumes through nap-time, so I missed my normal window. But with it still being a vacation weekend, things aren't the normal routine. But I'm glad I made it a priority. I kept in mind from the beginning to do the exercises at my own pace and it made the entire thing a bit easier. I'm not sore, but I'm definitely tight. After yesterday's work-out and a night of volleyball I was pretty wiped out. It still gets me sweating like crazy, which not everything can do, and definitely not as fast as Jillian does.

So sometimes at volleyball we'll do a few push-ups for missing a serve. So I thought I would. I was feeling ambitious and thought I'd try doing a push-up without being on my knees. I always do them on my knees here at home. But I thought maybe I could do it. I got ready, started going down and fell flat on my face. :) Apparently I was not as ready as I thought. I did 5 push-ups on my knees without a problem after that.

Day 9

Today was a little bit harder to get on the ball and do my work-out. Moose doesn't have school, and the hub's doesn't have work. So it's a family day at home.  But I did get it done. Yay! It was still a little bit hard at times. But sometimes I just have to remind myself the things I've learned that help me get through it better. Like using my own pace and not trying to do the exercises as quickly as they do. Or the benefits of a 3 second break. (She recommends not stopping for longer than 5 seconds to keep your heart rate up. Of course I don't include potty breaks there, though.) I still ended up sweating a ton, so I suppose that I'm still getting some good working done.

I learned it's hard to push-ups when you're laughing at your kids. :)

Day 8

I can't believe it's been 8 already. For some reason I thought it was less. Today's work-out was alright. I've been feeling a bit lethargic. But I geared up for it and it was going. I seriously wanted to turn it off today though. First time I really wanted to. I didn't. I did end up taking a small break when my kiddo needed help on the computer. So I finished with a bit of a fizzle. But I still finished. Perhaps I'll get over my hump and kick it back up again. I did better at my push-ups. :) It's the little things, right?

Day 7

Got my work-out in today. Despite still dealing with some wacky cold symptoms. Seriously. Go away. I can't decide whether it's the same thing haunting me or multiple bugs getting me at the same time. Either way. Ugh. But I worked out and did pretty well. I got through the whole thing without pausing (not counting potty breaks) and it felt pretty good. I've bumped up to full range of motion on a few exercises and although it was hard, I made it. I hope I can continue to improve.

I still ate through some emotions today. The hubs pointed out that I'm entering the PMS zone now that I'm not breastfeeding. Oh joy. It's due to start in a few days, so that might explain my moodiness. It might also mess with my weight a bit, as it does. Great. Either way, I will plow through and continue to encourage good daily habits of exercise and nutrition. (Do I sound like a commercial yet?) :)

Day 6

I got back in the saddle today and got my work-out in during naptime. It went pretty well. The cardio was a tiny bit harder than before thanks to the 2 days off. But I was also able to do a few of the exercises to the max range of motion, so it was still a very successful work-out. Got me sweating!

So I'm back at it. Still getting my diet back where it ought to be. But I'm drinking more water again. That feels better, I have to admit. Tomorrow I'll be more conscious of my fruits and veggies, and limit my sweet snacking. (It's my vice!) No pain, no gain, right? Or should it be, no pain, no loss. I'm certainly not in this to gain weight. ;)

Mental Health Day(s)

I was fully planning on doing my work-out yesterday. But with my not so great weigh in and some frustrating events throughout the day I just really wasn't feeling it. I spent a lot of time out of the house doing errands. The hubs was Mr.Mom and did a ton at the house. At the end of the day I was feeling better and a bit more motivated generally.

Today was a planned day off. I think overall the two days off have been helpful for recharge days. Tomorrow is our No-Tech Monday so I won't be on the computer. I will be working out as usual during naptime. I might blog about it after the kids go to bed. But if not, I'll do it early Tuesday.

Overall I'm feeling better. It's good to take time to gain perspective and to release stress. I'm not taking things too hard. My transformation is not about numbers but about health, energy and well-being. I've had no stress over eating an oreo or yummy mint-chocolate brownie. Although I want to be healthy and fit, I'm not Jillian Michaels, or Denise Austin. I'm a mom who has cupboards full of cookies and fruit snacks and I will eat them on occasion. But I am slowly changing habits. Like drinking more water, having a more regular diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, and getting my body some regular exercise. It will take time to make these habits a more cemented part of my life, but I can already see the change. Slowly these things are becoming my norm, and that's what I want. And I want my changes to become the norm for my kids so they'll have great, healthy habits growing up. And a great role model in their Mama.

So here's to a new day and a new week.

Weigh In

I stood on the scale this morning. I have to say I'm losing some faith in the scale. It changed numbers the first few times I stood on it. I usually don't do it more than once because I'm generally happy with the number that comes up. But since I wasn't particularly happy with my number, I got off and got back on. Unfortunately, by the time it settled on one number, it was the highest number it had shown me. I'm not super happy with it. But I did start working out this week, which kinda puts me at a new starting point. Food-wise I did alright. Not great, like last week, but okay. I definitely didn't snack so much as to warrant the gain, I don't think. So I'm going to mentally chalk it up to muscle building and hope that from here on out the numbers will still continue to go down. Feeling slightly bummed. Not entirely since I didn't go up a pant size or anything. But still. I'll just have to take this and turn it into a motivator, not a downer. I've come too far to give up now. :)

Day 5

Got my work-out in this afternoon. I have to say it was a little hard to do it today because I have a lot of other things I want to do. But I made it a priority and am glad I did it. I can tell I'm doing better at level 1 and even did a few of the moves in the advanced form today. Felt good.

So I have to tell you all, especially if you've had kids, that I've paused Jillian multiple times because jumping jacks and jump rope are not kind to the bladder. It's convenient that I can pause her to go to the bathroom. I'm sure she wouldn't take too kindly to that in person. :)

I'm eager about my weigh in tomorrow. I'm hoping I've continued to make progress. I'm almost down a number that I haven't been at in over 15 years. :) (granted, the weight is all in different places now than it was then, but still.)

Day 4

I'm happy to say that my cold is a tiny bit better than yesterday. I'm also less sore, which made my work-out feel better. It still kicked my butt, but I felt like I endured it a bit better. Perhaps after a few more days I'll be able to complete all the beginner exercises without taking a break. Then I can move on to the full-range of motion for each exercise in level 1. That will take a while, I imagine. But it feels good to have made progress. Especially since today's nap routine was completely out of whack. The munchkin (6 months) slept in til 7:45 after a 5 am bottle. Monkey (2 1/2) slept in til I woke her up before 8:30 since Moose (5) had to get to kindergarten. So afternoon naps were not at the same time, needless to say. But I persevered and got them both down. Although I have to pick up Moose in 30 minutes and they're both still sleeping. Guess I'll have to wake them up again. *shrug* But at least I got my work-out in! Ooh, and I'm playing volleyball tonight. :)

Day 3

I really didn't want to work out today. My cold suddenly came back with vengeance and I'm still quite sore. But I did it anyway. The hardest part for me is the first few exercises. Push-ups (hate) and squats with an arm raise (wimpy arms). But I got through it. I can't wait until my body gets through this first period of soreness. It'll feel SO good. I have no idea how long it will last. Wouldn't hurt if my cold went away too. But I did it. Yay me. (Can I please take a nap now?)

Day 2

I wasn't sure if I was going to go every day (minus Sunday, of course) but I think I will. I was feeling pretty sore this morning, but it wasn't unbearable. So I just finished day 2. It wasn't too bad. I think I sweat more. I still feel like my arms are limp noodles too. But I'm hoping they'll get stronger as the days go on. I was just telling the hubs how I think toned arms on women are really attractive, so I want to get those arms too!

The way her program is set up, you don't move on to the next level until you feel ready. So I can't say I'll finish the whole program in 30 days. But we'll see how far I can get in 30 days. I want to be able to finish each level doing the most advanced form of the movements before I move on.

If nothing else, I have to be burning tons of calories, because I'm sweating tons. I know that this type of work-out might mess with the scale a touch, since I'm building muscle as well as burning fat. But I don't expect it will slow my progress too much. I have tons of fat to burn. :)

Day 1

Today was my first day of the 30 day shred. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Although the wimpiness of my arms was absolutely confirmed to me. And the fact that jumping jacks are not for wusses.

Let's see how many days I can do!

30 Day Shred

I officially have, in my possession, Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I have no idea what it's like. So I don't know what pace I will take. I don't know if I'm in shape enough to do it once a day, or every other day. I don't know. But I'm totally going to start with it tomorrow. My new naptime entertainment. :) I will update whenever I get with it, and hopefully I'll be able to judge my fitness level and make a plan to get through the whole thing. I know she's super tough, so it should be interesting. But I'm not ready to let my weight plateau just yet. I'm around my danger zone, so I've got to press on and keep up with my new, good habits.

Bring it, Jillian!

Weigh In

Today was a weigh-in day. I am officially 7.4 lbs. away from my big goal, passing up my pre-baby weight. :) I realized today that I don't really know what I weighed before I got pregnant, but that's okay. I passed up my usual plateau, so that's awesome! I did have a cold this week, but I don't think it affected my appetite a ton. Although I did drink a lot more water than usual. I was wanting to do that anyhow. The cold just motivated me better.

I'm going to borrow 30-day Shred from my sister-in-law. So hopefully I'll be able to keep my weight-loss momentum and get myself a bit more toned. I'm excited to get over my cold and see if I'm feeling better overall. This is ultimately about feeling healthy. Mentally I know I'm doing better by my body, but I'm excited to feel it. Have more energy. Now that winter's coming on (I know, it's barely October, but it's COLD outside!) running might be on hold for me. Or I'll have to invest in some warm running gear so I can run until the snow starts coming down. Perhaps I'll have to do that. I have been wanting to go running the last few days. But it's been running, and I've been sick.

Anyhow, yay for progress!

Nutrition and Documentaries

So my mind has been on nutrition lately and I watched 2 documentaries that I highly recommend. The first is Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. A story about transformation, taking the lead in your health and nutrition. Really cool and inspiring. Kinda makes you want to buy a juicer. The second is Food Matters. So cool. It's really got me thinking and questioning all of the things I've assumed about health and nutrition. Since I've watched that one I've been more proactive in drinking water and I'm taking vitamins. I woke up feeling like I was getting a cold, so I'm going to be pumping up on vitamin C. It's also got me really interested in the idea of detoxing. Usually a 7 day ordeal that removes all of the toxins from your body. You can do it through juicing your meals (only fruits and veggies) and drinking lots of water. That sort of thing. I haven't decided to do it (I want to have a good source telling me what to do before I choose to do something like that), but I've chosen to really kick up the amount of water I'm drinking since that's a natural way to remove toxins from your body. I have quite a few more documentaries about health and nutrition that I want to see. If I come across anything good, I'll be sure to share.

My 2nd 5K

So it was 4 weeks since my first 5K and I hadn't run even once. But me and the hubs went and did a 5K together. It was pretty easy for him, since he had to be slow for me. I wasn't pushing myself since I hadn't been running at all. Our time was 46 minutes. But I had a blast doing it with him. I'm planning on doing another one this Saturday. I'm going to try and do some small runs this week, maybe only 10 or 15 minute runs so they don't cut into our already jam-packed nights. Perhaps this way my body will be feeling more up to the task. I'm hoping to do it with some friends, so it should be another fun run. :)

Oh, after the runs are done, I'm going to borrow 30 day shred. I'm in for some serious trouble. (and sore muscles!)

Weigh In

I finally weighed in again and I'm doing alright. I'm only 3.4 lbs shy of my mini-goal to get back to my pre-baby weight. Which puts me at 13.4 lbs from my bigger goal. And I just stopped breastfeeding. I remember last time I quit breastfeeding I gained weight. So hopefully this time I can avoid that and just keep working on lowering my numbers and getting in shape. I'm pretty sure I officially went down one pant size, but I don't have any pants in that size, so I'm stuck until I get some more. But it still feels nice.

I'm running a 5K with my hubs in an hour. Woohoo!