How Much Have I Lost?

I hopped on the scale today at Kody's Gym and it said I'd lost 18 lbs. WOHOO! Yay me!

I can't really tell yet. Well, scratch that. My jeans aren't tight anymore and my boobs are shrinking. Yeah...not what I want to shrink. Why can't it be my butt? Or my gut? Nope...the DDD's are now DD's and my bras don't fit right at all. I'd even like it if the side fat were gone, under my pits, but NOOOOO...gotta be right from the fleshy part that makes cleavage.

Oh well! I'll live. It's 18 lbs down! WOHOO!!!

It's Contagious!

Working out is contagious.

It IS!

Seriously.

You start up a workout regimen and the next thing you know your husband and kids have the bug too and everyone wants to go to the gym. We got my husband a membership and he's working out now and I've gotta say I love it. I really like working out with him. We end up doing different cardio workouts, but I like to lift with him. And the boy could stand to lose a few pounds too so this is good for him. He says he wants to get back down to his college weight, but I think if he drops 50 lbs he'll be happy and feel so much better. I kinda like him no matter what weight he is, so that's not a factor at all, I just want us to be healthy and be able to keep up with our kids and keep them healthy.

I have a 10 year old son who also likes to workout alongside me as well. He doesn't come with me to the gym often, but when he does I let him do some cardio and then push-ups and pull ups. No lifting for his growing body just yet.

My daughter is nearly 8 and she would love to come to the gym and workout, but that's a no. My little boys just want to come and play in the playroom and watch people play raquetball but I leave them home or with my mother. I love em', but I don't love dealing with them when I'm trying to workout.

Anyway, this is one bug I don't mind spreading through the entire family. It's a GOOD kind of bug!

Famous

Well, I guess we're famous. Ok, so maybe not famous, but we're definitely becoming more well known for doing this contest. The Edge Magazine had a booth in the Women's Day Out Expo in Vernal today and we talked to alot of people. Many of them recognized us from our pictures and others had heard about our competition. And the feedback was positive.

Alot of people are inspired by what we're doing. Others are shocked to see our fat pictures in the magazine and on our blogs. Some people can't believe we're doing it and others are amazed that we're so brave and are proud of us for putting it all out there. We get alot of "I admire you girls for what you're doing" comments. People can't believe we've told our actual weight either (my weight is over 300 lbs...that's GOT to be someone's best kept secret, right?).

But, I'm ok with it all. I'm OK with putting it all out there. If anything it's a great motivator. I can't back out, see? Plus, I'm not going to look like this in a year so I don't mind. And, if I can inspire others and help anyone else out, it's all worth it. Not alot of people want to join us in our quest to lose the weight because they're afraid they'll have to put their pictures up and list their weight for all to see. Not true though. Michelle, Christine and I will take the heat there, but we would love for others to blog, jog, and slog through this with. We'll set you up with a blog if you want or you can just use it as a support group (PUT THE CANDY BAR DOWN NOW!) for tips, tricks and advice.

More than anything we want to build a community support group to help maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle. We want to get people moving and help with nutrition and proper eating habits.

So join in the fun. Stay tuned to the blogs and the magazine for tips, tricks, and guides on losing the weight and staying fit.

I'm comfy, ok??!

You know what my favorite part of working out is? The clothes. I love workout clothes. And I don't even have any fancy or really cute ones, but I love to wear my comfy workout gear. Everywhere.

I don't wear sweats and I won't wear sweats out of the house, because that is worse than wearing pajamas out of the house, but I do have some yoga pants and capris that I always wear to workout in and I love wearing them everyday all the time (even when it's 10 degrees out!), with a sweatshirt. I love sweatshirt weather! They're comfy and cozy clothes
! The first thing I do when I get home (besides kick off my shoes) is put on my comfy yoga or athletic pants or capris and an old, baggy t-shirt and warm socks (usually only in winter). Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...

Now, normally I wouldn't leave the house in such clothing, but if I'm going to workout it's acceptable (in my mind, ok?). If I can say to someone, "Oh, I'm going to workout." then it excuses the shabby attire. Nevermind that I may not be going to workout for hours, but "I'm going to the gym." so it's ok. People give an understand nod or agreeing headshake and usually say, "Oh really? Well good for you!".

That's right, good for me. Yay workout clothes!

Hello Diet Coke!

So, I talked with the dietitian over at Ashley Valley Regional the other day. I think she's my new best friend. Her name is Joyce Buhler and I've known her forever. She's a great lady. But I think she's even GREATER now.

She said diet sodas are no big deal in regards to weight gain/loss. Yay! I knew it! She said if you're not getting results, maybe you should cut diet soda out and see if it makes a difference. But if you're seeing results and still drinking it, don't sweat it so much.

So, if I want one, I'll have one. BUT...I am cutting it out. For other reasons, but I want to see if it makes a difference in my loss factor.

BTW....I suck. I haven't lost much in the past month. I really need to eat better. I'm not eating horribly, but the cheating here and there is definitely getting out of hand. I have GOT to get back to the discipline I had when we first started. I will. I vow to do so. From here on out, I'm not cheating. (as much) ;-) Just kidding!

Fa lala lalala ....close to you.....

There isn't a much sweeter sound, besides 3 year old giggles, than a 3 year old singing away while he plays.

We got the new Open Season 2 DVD last week and my two youngest boys have watched it about 12 times since. It's a cute movie and has a little cartoon sing-along at the end to The Carpenter's song "Close to You". That's what my 3 year old is singing.

"Fa la la lalalaaaaaahhhhh....close to you....."

And, boy, is it CUTE. I love being a Stay At Home Mom. I love being here to hear that kind of stuff all day as my 3 year old amuses himself while his 3 siblings are at school. I like hanging out with my kids when they get home and I'm happy to volunteer in their classrooms as well.

I do work during the day on the computer while I'm at home, but I keep myself busy doing 10,000 other things. I still find some down time, but sometimes I'd rather stop, look around and listen to that sweet, little 3 year old sing. And so I do. And I don't feel guilty about it. Not one bit.

What I'm saying is: family time is family time. Sure I can find time in my busy schedule to get in a workout, but it doesn't happen every single day. And that's ok. Will I still lose weight? I'm sure I will. Is it going to come off as fast as it would if I kicked butt on my cardio every day? No, it's not. But, that's the way it has to be. I have to find the balance between my needs and everybody else's needs.

And this is my last 3 year old ever. I'm going to play farm and Gator Golf and tractors and listen to him sing as much as I can. So there.

Knocking out my cardio!

Yay! The February issue has been sent off to the printer and we can relax for a day or two. Ahhhhhhhh! It's always hectic around deadline time and things pop up that Christine, Michelle and I all three need to take care of, not to mention taking care of and chasing 10 kids between the three of us, so Carl was put on the back burner a few times in the past two weeks.

Carl does not like this.

Ditching out on him makes Carl an unhappy camper.

So, he's glad we're back at it. Well, at least *I* was today anyway. I did nothing all day at home and I hadn't slept well last night either so I was dragging. I was worried that I'd drag all through my workout and I really, honestly was dreading the thought of going to the gym and walking on the stupid treadmill. I was looking for excuses and I almost even let Kai, my 4 year old, stay home from tumbling so I could take a nap instead of working out. But, I'd never let my kid skip a practice or activity so I could indulge myself, so I took him to tumbling and off to the gym I went.

I don't have a whole lot of time on Wednesdays since he's only in tumbling for an hour, so I hustled in and got busy. I couldn't see Carl anywhere (he was working with another client at the time...he was there though) and there were four men on the treadmills and nobody on the bike so I hopped on a bike and went for it.

I rode hard for 30 minutes. I kept my heart rate up above 120 (which is where I need to be to burn calories) and my rpm's above 95 (which is how to keep my heart rate above 120) and I tried to maintain my 95 rpm's even when I was on hills (electronic resistance, but you can "see" the hill you're on on the display panel). It was a good push a time or two, but I just counted out my cadence, kept pedaling and got through it. I really like working out on the bike. I like the bike's workout program with the hills. It's a challenge, throws my heart rate up a bit more and also makes the riding go by faster when I can "see" what is coming up, what the next challenge is, and how the program lays out.

I had about 10 minutes left in my bike ride when two young girls got on bikes on either side of me. I helped the one girl get started, told her to keep her rpm's up in the 90's (or just go home...LOL) and kept pushing. I wanted to ride really hard for my last 10 minutes and I did. One of the girls beside me looked at me when I had about 3 minutes left and said, "Wow. You're doing alot better than I ever could!" lol My rpms were up around 120 at this point.

Carl checked back in when I had about 30 seconds left in my ride and told me he wanted me to do at least 5 minutes on the elliptical. I was feeling pretty good, actually, so I told him I'd go for it. I caught my breath, got a drink and climbed on the elliptical. I put it on 21 level resistance, 5 incline and went for it. I went HARD for that whole 5 minutes. I even impressed Carl. He knew I had it in me and was in much better shape though. So, of course he took credit...thought he was quite a superstar personal trainer.

Hey man! I did all the work here! LOL

And, the best part is, I honestly felt GOOD after that workout. I guess there is such a thing as workout endorphins. I didn't think it existed, but I really felt something today. And, I didn't come home and die on the couch afterwards. I didn't almost collapse at the gym as I climbed off the elliptical, and I really didn't take 30 minutes to catch my breath. I'm in SO MUCH BETTER SHAPE than I was a month and a half ago. It's such a good feeling too. I even noticed it when I played basketball last week. Normally I'm DEAD and can't go on after 2 minutes running up and down the court, but last week I was not. I could've played alot longer than I did. Now THAT is a great feeling as well.

Yay me and *cough* *cough* thanks carl *cough