January and my 2012 goals

Can you believe that we are already closing one month of 2012? I feel old when I say this but I cannot believe how fast time flies! Seeing that January is almost at an end I wanted to reflect on how my goals are shaping up and what January meant to me.

I have several goals to meet this 2012. I know we are only one month into it but I am meeting these goals already. I know that some of them will continue on month to month but I am so very proud that I completed them this month! I hope that you guys will review your goals too and make any necessary arrangements so that you can meet them or continue meeting them as well!

One goal I had is to try something new every single month. I am working on trying to figure out what i'm passionate about. What moves me. What gets me out of bed and excited for the day. (Besides my sweet family of course) This month I was determined to try a Yoga class. I have been DYING to take a yoga class for years and either was too scared, didn't have the funds, or got too lazy before the year was up. So I set out, for my very first goal, to take a Yoga class. I asked Nicole if she wanted to join me and then made it happen. We took our class, warming up to hot vinyasa, this morning at Flourish Yoga Studio. It was every bit as amazing as I thought it would be. The instructor was sweet, knowledgeable, and helpful. I had no trouble keeping up with the moves and it calmed me like nothing else has. I am so pumped to take another class! Yoga is definitely all it's been touted to be.

Since I was feeling so great this week I decided to do TWO new classes. I'm jumping, leaping, and soaring out of my comfort zones and it feels great! I went to a Zumba class on Friday night at Fitness in Motion Studio. Holy. Cow. It was crazy fun and an amazing workout. I was sweaty and sore which are my two favorite "good workout" indicators. I asked Nicole to accompany me since a dear friend of mine couldn't make it to that class. She was such a sport and came with me at the last minute. What would I do without her? :) We both agreed that the price point is right, the workout was fun, and we burned a lot of calories. We will definitely do that once a week!

My weigh in day is January 31st. One full month since Nicole and I started our journeys. At this point I have lost 10lbs. I can't tell you how awesome that feels. I just want to keep going and pushing myself because I know I can be more than I have ever dreamed. At the same time it's a bit scary. I can't remember myself thinner than 185lbs. I don't know who I am as a thin and healthy person. While that thought is a bit scary it's way more exhilarating! I get to mold a whole new Becky! I get to decide the kind of person I want to be. What I want from life. How I want to raise Lilly. How I get to spend my time and energy. That is way more powerful than being scared of the unknown. If you are like me and can't remember being thin don't worry! You get to experience that journey and experience a new you that you create from scratch. You get to call the shots! Isn't that exciting?!?!?

I am so excited for February. I know it will be just as amazing as January. I'm not sure what class I want to take this February but I will be sure to let you know. Please don't hesitate to comment on here about  your journey. I love hearing about people's triumphs. If you are having a hard time share that too. We can work on it together.

Namaste!

You like me. You really like me!

I now have 104 "likes" on my facebook page.

WOW!

I am so blown away that over a hundred people want to hear about my journey. Want to support me. Want to be invested in my future. That is so humbling! I can't express just how much support is essential to keeping on track with weight loss. You have people surrounding you with love, tips, and accountability. I also love the fact that I can help people too. I am able to share the things that are working for me. Recipes, exercise, motivation, food products, etc. Plus I get to do fun things like giveaways, challenges, support groups, and more!

I know this isn't the easiest journey in the world but it definitely isn't the hardest. When you find your why you'll understand what I mean. I hope that I am an inspiration to you to jump out of your comfort zone and try something new. I did aerial yoga and a Warrior Dash with my friend Nicole at 190ish pounds. You do NOT have to be thin and athletic to try new things. You have to have a desire to get out there and do! The aerial yoga instructor made me laugh when I told her I was nervous that the silk wouldn't hold me. She said "Do you weigh 500lbs"? If not you can do it and I will make sure of it. Talk about giving me some confidence! These people WANT you to succeed! They want to help you reach your potential. You have to start somewhere but the point is that you started!

Thank you again to you wonderful 100+ people who are showing me love and support. You mean the world to me. Lets make 2012 the best year of our lives!

Why this time?

What is so different about this journey compared to the others I've taken?

So much and yet so little.

Just like all my other weight loss efforts I started off strong. I was going to lose weight, feel great, and look great. I did well for a month or so, lost a few pounds, got some new clothes, but then BAM! Something derailed me and I quit. Does this sound all too familiar to you?

So what is different this time? My reasons for losing the weight and getting healthy are different. It's a no-brainer that you and I want to lose weight to be thin and look great. But just as a no-brainer lacks substance so does that reason for your motivation. It's plain and simply not enough to get you through the ups and downs of weight loss. PERIOD.

As I was showering tonight (yes this is another shower musing) I started thinking about all MY whys' for this journey. Why did I feel different. Why was I so confident that I shared my journey with the world? I needed to know for myself why this became so important to me. So here we go.

I want to feel good. I have had several scares in the past few months that have made me realize that i'm not invincible. Disease doesn't care how old you are, how many children you have, or whether you are a good person. It only cares about what you put in your body. I have been feeding these diseases with sugar, fat, processed food, basically crap. All the things it loves and needs to develop. I recently watched a few documentaries that scared the crap out of me. Do I really want heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, inflammatory diseases, etc? Is that doughnut (or 6) really worth that? NO! I have all these diseases in my immediate family and here I was destroying my body knowing full well that I already had one strike against me.

I want to be a good example for Lilly. I want to show her how to live not just tell her. I have been feeding her very nutritiously for her entire life. It wasn't that I didn't know how to do it. As she has gotten older though she looks at her food and looks at my french fries and tells me she wants what i'm having. She wants to be just like mommy. Right now, that is a scary thought. I don't want her to be like me. I want her to be like the woman that I want to and will become. I want to play with her, explore with her, teach her, love her, and be there for her. I can't do that sitting on the sidelines. I don't want to be the mom that you see in the corner. Hiding from people because she's fat. Wishing that she could join her family and friends in the fun. I don't want Lilly to ever be held back because of me. I want to be out there with her cheering her on, participating, and making her proud.

I want to be a fun, attractive, energetic wife to Steve. I want to care for him and be the wife he deserves and needs. I want to explore the world with him. I want to see a sunrise and sunset from the middle of nowhere with him. I want to hike, swim, bike, run, and just be with him. I want him to be proud of me. Proud to come home to a wife who is invested in their future together. Being unhealthy is like telling him I don't care to grow old with you. I care more about feeding my selfishness than celebrating our golden anniversary. I want to be an old couple that travels together, plays with their grandchildren, is living life to the fullest until our last breath or our Lord calls us home.

I want to help people. I can't go build a house in Haiti, dig a well in Africa, feed the orphans in Mexico if i'm 200+lbs. I want to give to those what God has so richly blessed me with. How can I expect to give when I am taking? I have the desire and am feeling a calling to help others and I will NOT let obesity stand in the way.

I want to inspire others. I want to show them that they can enjoy life while losing and maintaining weight. I want to show them that those few bad days is NOTHING compared to a life filled with pain, shame, regret, depression, selfishness, and fear. There is nothing to fear. If you eat well and exercise you will lose weight. You will feel better. You will be able to attain your goals. I can't wait to show people that they can do the very same thing i'm doing. You can still eat some of your favorite foods. Healthify them! Yes, there will be things you won't be able to have ever again. Are those things worth the beautiful life you will be missing out on? Heck no!

You can do this. I know you can. You just have to figure out why it's important to you. When  you do, you will be unstoppable. That scale will not define you, those negative people will not affect you, those fattening foods will not tempt you, those exercises will not scare you, and your weight will not hold you back. You ARE strong and capable. I believe in you and I believe in me. If you need support i'm right here to walk beside you. So, one question?

Are you ready?

Fluctuation Station

My journey train is currently stopped at fluctuation station. One day i'm cruising along and the next I have made an unscheduled stop.

 Not cool. Not cool at all.

 So, what's a girl to do? Well today I kind of raged against the machine. (machine=scale) However! I did not throw in the towel, binge like a crazy woman, and skip my workout. That would have been the easy route. The route I have taken so many times. But you know what? That route is what got me to my highest weight of 219lbs. That is ultimately the harder route because now look at the mountain you are facing.  Instead of binging show that stupid scale who's boss. Show that scale, no YOURSELF, that you will NOT be defined by that number.

 I ate well today and did a killer workout with my journey buddy Nicole. I ended up burning 600 calories and feel amazing. If I had binged I would be feeling horrible. It all goes back to choice. I chose a good path. A path that will lead to success. It wasn't easy. I had to make a bunch of good choices today and overcome the bad choices. Even though it was a struggle I came out on top. SO. CAN. YOU.

 What do you want in life? Are you willing to endure these difficult days to get it? If you aren't then life will NEVER change. But if you put on your big girl panties life will be so amazing. You will discover a you that you never knew existed. And THAT my friends is worth more than any binge will ever be.

Choices

I had an epiphany in the shower.

What? I do my best thinking, planning, and dreaming whilst in the shower.

Anyway, back to my epiphany. Life is made up of billions of choices. Good or bad. Every day we make choices that will affect us in many ways. What we eat, what we wear, how we treat people, what we spend our money on, how we spend our time, etc. It's the greater percentage of good or bad choices that determine who we are. If you put in good food you weigh less, you spend less money you are wealthier, you play with your kids you are more fulfilled, etc. My epiphany was that I am in charge of my choices, my time management, my wealth, etc. (lots of etc's in this post!) Whatever I put in, I will get out. Some of you reading this will be like "Uh, duh Becky." I get that. But have you ever thought to yourself "I wish..."? I realized that I don't have or need to wish. I need to DO. If I want to be thin and healthy I need to make the choice to eat well and exercise. If I want to be financially secure I need to make the choice to budget and save. It's my choice given to me by a loving God who created me with free will.

So, what choices are you going to make? Good or bad? I am making the choice today to take every day one choice at a time and let that lead me to a better, healthier, happier me. It's in your hands! You get to be the genie you keep wishing for! Take it a day at a time, an hour at a time, a choice at a time. However you do it just know that you CAN do it!

Ok, I'm stepping off my soap box now. :)

Week two can put a sock in it!

Stupid week two.....

Stupid scale......

Stupid muscles......

Stupid water weight....

Ok, if this were Lilly speaking she would be in timeout for 10 minutes. I know I shouldn't be frustrated. It's a loss. A 1.6lb loss to be exact but I put in the effort to lose 2.5lbs so that is what I wanted. Big baby much? Now don't go thinking I'm giving up and pigging out on some Oreos. That is wack! I will take my loss and work even harder this week thank you very much. One thing i've learned is that you don't anger the scale. If you are nice to it, it will make it up to you eventually. So I bought it flowers, ate well today, and did 84 minutes of Zumba.

Zumba. How fun is Zumba? I was shaking my booty all over the place (probably looking a bit mental but in my mind I looked like Shakira) working up a great sweat. If you haven't tried alternative forms of exercise do it! It takes the boredom and "I can't believe I have to exercise to be thin" aspect out of working out. Super fun!

I hope that you guys are still going strong. Don't show that scale any weakness! You are strong and if you keep going you will be rewarded! Have a wonderful Wednesday! xo!

Shamrock Run!

Steve and I are going to do the Shamrock Run on St. Patrick's Day. It's a four mile race that you can either run or walk. We are going to dress up and have a ton of fun. I hope that you guys will join us. St. Patrick's Day is on Saturday this year so hopefully more of you will be able to come. I think it will be super fun!

Tonight Steve and I went to the gym and worked out together. I can't tell you  how much I LOVE working out with him. He gives me so much encouragement and a bit of competition. We ended up going 4 miles and now we both feel really confident about the race. We should totally rock it by the time it gets here!

I have now done 4 days of the Body Rock TV challenge. Hooooooo buddy that stuff is serious! I am super weak in my arms and we are doing quite a bit of arm work. I am hoping that I will finally have strong arms! I hope you guys try this challenge. The lady is super sweet and modifies all the moves for those of us who don't yet have body rock bodies. :)

We are almost at 2 weeks of our journey. It's going by so fast! It has been very easy to implement and Steve is on board. I love to cook so I have been having a lot of fun healthifying our meals. I hope you guys try some of the recipes I have posted. Super yummy! I really hope to write a cookbook one day. That would be amazing!

Please, let me know how you guys are doing. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE hearing from you! Have a healthy, fit, happy week!

Pardon my mess.....i'm a work in progress

Have you ever looked at those before and after photos and thought "I wonder if those are real?" No, not the boobies the fat before pictures that are right next to the svelte after pictures. In my skepticism I have always wondered if they were photoshoped. Well folks here is my very much un-photoshoped before picture. I want to prove to you, like I have always wanted proof of, that these transformations are real. People CAN look totally different and it not be fake. So, while this picture may not be pretty i'm pretty darn proud of it. Why? Because I know that this is only the beginning. Because I took that step and now it's just a matter of time before I can see the finish line. Because I KNOW I can do it and I will show others they can too. I hope that these pictures bring a realism to this blog and facebook page. That you see the person behind the scenes. That you see a SMILING person. (BTW, why are they ALWAYS so glum in the before pictures) I'm happy. I have so much to live for, to change for, to work for. I hope that if you take before pictures of yourself that you smile too because you did it. You took that first step and I am SO proud of you!

Two challenges

I decided to do two challenges. One I think will be easy on me (maybe not my arms) but the second one will kick my booty. I'm just sure of that.

The first one is a plank challenge by Ben from Ben Does Life and it is a 30 day challenge. You hold yourself in plank position and time yourself. The goal is to get better and better each day and by the end of 30 days have more ripped arms than when you started. Nice huh? I'm only at 1 minute 16 seconds right now but i'm hoping to be around 3 and a half minutes by the end of the 30 days. Super fun and easy challenge so do it! :)

Second challenge is from Body Rock TV and it is a 30 day challenge as well. Now this one I think will be pretty hard so it will most likely be my only workout for the day. Day one is a fitness test and it about killed me. Ok, well I didn't do THAT bad but holy mamma that was difficult. You do each exercise for 50 seconds and write down how many you did. You keep track of that number and i'm sure at the end of the 30 days you will come back and do them and see how you improved. Tomorrow is Day 2 which will be my first workout. I haven't even previewed it because just looking at the picture on the video is scary. However! I want a rockin body, I want to step out of my comfort zone, and I want to become fit so i'm gong to do my absolute best!

I still have yet to take measurements. I keep putting it off so that I can have Steve measure me and then I forget to when he is home with me in the morning. I'm going to either have to get up with him tomorrow morning (yuck) or just measure myself and hope that I did it right. I also need before pictures. I think i'll do some in my sports bra and shorts and some in my goal shirt and post them. I'm sure the poor little owls on my goal shirt are going to be stretched to their limit. :)

As always I hope you guys are all doing great. Check out my facebook page  and make some of the recipes, put up your stats for the challenges, or just say hi. I would love to hear from you!

I got HIIT!

Calm down! I didn't get hit I got HIIT! High intensity interval training!

Ha...ha...ha?

Ok, hilarity aside it was a super fun workout. I didn't follow a video or plan which I prefer actually. Sometimes I miss out on the hard work and sweating just trying to follow along! So, basically you work out like a crazy person for a minute and then rest for a minute. Now when I say rest I don't mean stand there looking goofy! I mean stepping in place, walking around your living room, doing some stretches....you get the picture. My other advice is to go on Pandora.com and listen to some hoppin club music. That just makes you want to move your feet. (and/or booty) I did a lot of boxing, jumping jacks, jumping, skaters, jump rope, and that flash dance running in place thing cause it's so fun. :)

So, I now have 45 people following my journey. 45!!!!!! I am so blown away by the support and kindness I am receiving. I believe in 100% honesty so that is what you will get on Facebook and this blog. I will never lie about my weight, exercise, or food. My deepest desire is to be able to inspire at least one person from the blog and Facebook. That would be so fufilling!

Things are going great in the food department. I have cooked for 8 days straight. It has been a lot of fun. I'm sharing the recipes that I like and as I tweak more I will post them too. That is another goal of mine. I want to write a cookbook someday. I want it to be filled with all sorts of healthy deliciousness to really show people that it's worth eating well and caring for your body.

I hope by now you have found a buddy to do life with. This has really helped me. I am here for you always! XO!

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!

I don't know about you but I am ALWAYS late. Whether it is by a smidgen or a bunch i'm late. I keep telling people to tell me to be there 15-30 minutes before you actually want me there so that I end up on time. I blame God really. I was born on September 3rd which was a full two weeks after my due date. So see? Baby, I was born this way.

Ok, enough play on words. I am a grown up (technically) and I understand how rude and selfish this is. I swear I don't mean it that way and that even with my best intentions I still am late. Those tend to be the smidgens. This year I really mean to change my life and that is not JUST about health and fitness. I want to work on things that I feel are a hindrance and my time issue is definitely a hindrance.

My goal is to give myself a time frame in which to get ready and then tack on an extra 30-60 minutes on top of that. If I end up with extra time before I need to leave I want to use that time to relax and just thank God for the day, talk to my family, or think about what I need to do for that day or week. I set my alarm today so that I had plenty of time to do all my stuff like eat, blog, workout, and get ready before I needed to head out the door. I wasn't too thrilled when the alarm went off but now that i'm up and productive I feel so much better.

I am a fly by the seat of your pants kind of girl but I know that in order to succeed in certain areas of my life I need to plan. What other goals are you implementing in your lives this year? Let's make 2012 our best years yet!

Jumped out of my comfort zone

I saw a post on Julie Voris's Facebook page about a free workout that she was leading. I have always wanted to try TurboJam and P90X and she was doing a hybrid workout including those two programs. I immediately asked Nicole to go so that I would have a safety net. She said she couldn't and I immediately thought oh, well I guess I won't go. Then I thought about my vision board. So many things that I want from life starts with me stepping out of my comfort zone and just TRYING. It doesn't matter if I can't complete it or do it as well as the others. What matters is I tried. I put myself out there. I did something new and exciting.

Today was the big day. I was BIG time nervous but I set my alarm the night before and I was determined to go. My alarm clock never. went. off. WHAT? Thank the good Lord (I mean that wholeheartedly) I woke up at 8:15. I had 30 minutes to get dressed, gulp down breakfast, grab some water, and haul my tukus over to the church. I was praying like a crazy woman and possibly driving like one too. God help me I made it with 5 minutes to spare!

I met a wonderful Beachbody coach (Beachbody sponsored this event) and she took pity on me and helped me sign in and find my way to the room. By then I was getting the nervous poos. LOL. I took a few deep breaths, took my place at the front, and waited for Julie to start us off. Let me just say, if you haven't taken a Turbofit class DO IT! I had so much fun literally from the moment the music started. Julie had some great music and some mad crazy energy. She instantly made me relax and have fun. I smiled the whole time even though I was boxing, jumping, and kicking like a crazy person. I am so proud to say that I did everything and I didn't stop or modify it. That my friends is an amazing feeling at 199lbs.

Moral of the story? YOU CAN DO IT! If there is something you want to do, overcome you fear and get out there. Who cares if you can't do it perfectly the first time? That is why it's a class you are taking NOT leading. You are there to learn, have fun, and meet new people. This will not be my last group fitness class and I hope you guys are inspired to try one too. Love you all!

I'm right behind Julie in the blue shirt. I know you can't see much of me and it's blurry but this is the only picture I can find so far. AWESOME!

Vision Board

Here is my completed vision board. As I learn more about myself, complete goals, and find cool new pictures/sayings I will update it. The back of it is nice and blank and ready for more goodies! Make one of these for yourself. It is so fun!

Sayonara 200's!

Today's weight was199.6lbs. I am beyond thrilled to see a one instead of a two no matter how short lived the two was. It is NEVER a good feeling to be a 5'3" female and see a 200 number. My reward for this? Attending an insane workout that is a hybrid of turbo fire/Rev Abs/P90X2/Yoga. I am just going to hang in there and finish it and be happy with what I accomplished!

My next mini goal, in my world mini goals are super important because they help you to NOT focus on a huge daunting weight loss number, is to get out of the 190s. I think my reward for that will be to get a new bike. My friend Nicole, who I am partnering in this journey, received a bike trainer for Christmas and I thought that was such a good idea! Steve and I went bike riding a lot this summer and I completely feel in love with biking. I have an old fashioned Schwinn right now that is NOT good for long bike rides. It is big and heavy. So, i'm going to search for a new road bike and the bike trainer. I'm pretty excited for this goal prize. I reeeeaaaaallllyyy want a new bike!

Yesterday Nicole and I started making vision boards. For those of you who don't know what a vision board is, like me, let me explain it to you. You take a piece of cardboard, cover it, and then cut out things to inspire you. They can be sayings, pictures, things you want to do, how you want to look, travel, finances, etc. Just get it on there and out into the universe. You get to keep that board somewhere to inspire you and I know that when I complete a vision/goal i'm going to put a big check mark on it. It is super fun putting things on the board. It really helps you to envision the kind of person you want to be. When I complete mine I will put it on the blog and my facebook page. 

I hope you guys have a wonderful and healthy day. Don't forget to ask for help from someone. It is so great to have a health buddy!

That five letter word.....

SUGAR....

Why does my body crave you so much? I think I could live off of dessert. Man cannot live on bread alone but Becky can live on chocolate alone. I'm only two days in to my diet change and I am already craving sugar. I know that my body doesn't know what I am up to but I wish it would read the memo already. These cravings are further proof to me that my poor body is in baaaaaad shape. It has lost the ability to crave foods that it needs to fuel itself. Quite sad really.

In less depressing news today was another great day. I ate really well, I got in another yummy apple/carrot juice, and I got in 30 minutes of spinning. I'm very proud of how I am doing and my mental attitude. (Don't mind my sugar rant)

I'm so excited about this journey. I am taking it, for the first time ever, with someone else. I can't even begin to describe how great that is. I never want someone to be in a bad place but at the same time I am incredibly grateful for someone that gets what I am going through. That support and understanding is priceless. I can't wait for the celebrations, the new classes and foods to try, and the shopping! I mean I am a girl after all. Find yourself a buddy and get going!

Sigh

Ok the weigh-in was tough. I used my scale's weight but if I used the gym's weight it woud be 200.0lbs. Either way it sucks. Majorly. Why do I do this to myself? It's so destructive and tiresome. Sigh.....

Anyhoo, it's a new start and another opportunity to learn from my mistakes. I'm doing a lot of research. It's leading me to a plant-based/raw foods diet. Our bodies need nutrients for fuel and we can't get it any other way. Our meat supply is pretty tainted and I really don't want to keep eating it. That is something else I will be researching. Maybe I will find something 100% natural that I can use in the future. I'm going to phase a lot of this in. I need to find recipies and I need to get Steve and Lilly on board.

There is a lot to come and much to look forward to. I'm ready for my life to truly start and be free of these chains.