My last post was two weeks ago today and I am happy to report I am doing much better! I have exercised a total of 11 of the last 14 days and exercised a total of 6 hours and 45 mins! Sadly I am not loosing the lbs yet but I know with the last time I lost a lot of weight it took time...a lot of time...but eventually they started falling off. I AM however noticing that my clothes seem to fit better and I am able to wear some of my pre-pregnancy clothes which is a HUGE deal. And though honestly it would be nice to step on the scale and see what I have deemed as an ideal weight for me, what makes ME feel good about myself is how I feel in my own skin. If I can throw on a cute shirt, some comfy jeans and feel like I look cute then its all good! I don't know that I am at that point yet but I am getting closer, a LOT closer then I was two months ago.

It's been over a month since my last post...I've been the biggest slacker!

Things are going about the same as usual. Last week though I did pretty horrible. I worked 4 12-hour shifts in a row from 1pm-1am and I felt like when I wasn't working I was sleeping and when I wasn't sleeping I was working. It was really hard to get a workout in and on top of that my "gym" aka my cousins house was out of commission since my cousin was on vacation. I feel like these are all excuses though cause I could have always found ways around them to exercise but I didn't.

Anywho...I am not gonna get stuck in that mind-set. It's a new week and I am off to a good start. I worked out for over an hour yesterday which felt really good. I decided that I am going to go on a walk for at least one of my breaks each day. I have two so I figure if I spend at least one of them (15 mins) doing cardio that will help me get in the right state of mind. I am also going to be more committed to working-out after work at my cousin DeAnn's house everyday. 30 minutes of cardio on a bike X 5 days = 2.5 hours, not too shabby! Matt and I are also going to try to go on a 20 minute walk every evening now that its warm enough to do so.

As for eating my biggest weakness is the weekends. I do great all week but then here comes Saturday and Sunday and I am ready to pig out. I need to find more healthy snacks for those days so I can eat better. It's a life-long journey and I just have to take it a day at a time.

Had a really good week last week. In all I exercised 5 days out of the week for a total of 5 hours and 37 minutes. Bring on the new week!

Week 4

April 29th - May 5th

Monday: 60 minutes
Tuesday: 1 hour & 56 minutes
Wednesday: 30 minutes
Thursday: no exercise
Friday: 1 hour
Saturday: 1 hour & 11 minutes
Sunday: no exercise

Total: 5 days / 5 hours & 37 minutes

Reached 'Total Time' goal and reached 'Days Per Week' goal!

I feel like I did really well this week! I exercised more then I have in a long time. Most of my exercise was outside too which was great. On Monday Ryan and I went on a bike ride. Matt bought me a bike trailer a couple of years ago so I attached that to my bike so Abby could come along. It felt great being a bike again and getting some exercise in the process. On Tuesday Chelsie came over and we went on a walk with Ryan around the neighborhood. We tried to jog a little but walked most of the way. On Wednesday I did 30 minutes at DeAnn's house on her bike. On Thursday I was super sick so didn't do any exercise. On Friday I went on a walk with Abby in her stroller. I wasn't intending on walking for a full hour but by the time we got home I realized an hour just flew by. Chelsie came over again on Saturday and we did another walk around the neighborhood. I also went on a bike ride on Saturday by myself which was a lot of fun. Overall I had a lot of fun this week exercising. As far as eating goes I did really well! I stayed below my calories most days and allowed myself to indulge on Sunday as my reward!

So last night Chelsie, Ryan, and myself went for a walk/run (we walked most of the way since we are not at all runners but then towards the end we tried alternating between walking and running). We went 4 miles in an hour which I know is pretty slow but at least for me and how out of shape I am it felt really good. The only thing is today my back is killing me! Not sure if it's just cause I am not a runner or maybe my shoes? Hope some ibuprofen helps!

Feeling really good today! Yesterday I stayed under my calories and kicked up the exercise! Rode on a stationary bike at DeAnn's house for a good 30 minutes (I was sweating by the end, it felt so good!) and then later I went on a bike ride with my brother while pulling my daughter in our bike trailer for another good 30 minutes. I love summer and am going to try to either go walking or go on a bike ride outside as much as possible!

Occasionally I will post some of my facebook "posts" about my exercise. Here is one...

I am back! Last week I took a little "break" with the in-laws in town. I knew we'd be eating out a lot so I tried to eat healthy but let's be honest I didn't keep track of my food and there is a reason for that, lol. I did however do pretty good with exercising, we went to Thanksgiving Point Gardens on Saturday and walked around for hours and then yesterday Chelsie and I went to Salem Pond and walked around the little park for 40 minutes with a pretty good pace. But now I am back to my routine and will start keeping track of my food and STOP eating so much junk! Feels good to be back :)

Week 3

April 22nd-28th

Monday: no exercise
Tuesday: no exercise
Wednesday: no exercise
Thursday: no exercise
Friday: no exercise
Saturday: 90 minutes
Sunday: 40 minutes

Total: 2 days / 2 hours & 10 minutes

Reached total time (minutes) goal, did not reach days per week goal.

Last week was not the best week. Though I did reach my weekly total goal for minutes I only exercised twice the only week. Matt's parents drove out from California so Wednesday - Sunday were spent with them catching up, eating (way too much might I add), and just having fun. I did go swimming with Abby on Thursday which was a little exercise but mostly just playing so I didn't count it. I allowed myself to eat what I wanted but did try to stay within good portion control. It was a good chance for me to realize how much better I feel when I am eating healthy every day and exercising as often as I can. On Sunday Chelsie and I went for a good 40 minute walk around Salem Pond that felt great! She walks a lot faster then me so it was good for me to push myself. Chelsie and I are going to start trying to work out together more often.

Week 2

April 15th-21st

Monday: 40 minutes
Tuesday: 50 minutes
Wednesday: 50 minutes
Thursday: 30 minutes
Friday: no exercise
Saturday: no exercise
Sunday: no exercise

Total: 4 days / 2 hours & 50 minutes

GOAL REACHED!

As for eating I did pretty good this week. During the weekdays I had a protein shake everyday (except Friday) and didn't eat any sugar except on Sweet Sunday (and maybe one sweet on Saturday...I was baking a cake so I had to make sure it tasted good, lol). I kept my goal of not eating after 8pm and drank lots of water through-out the day.

Week 1

Last week was my first official week of eating healthier (or better yet...less) and exercising consistently. I have been keeping track of both on myfitnesspal.com (which I love!) and I did pretty good! Here is my weekly exercise breakdown...

April 8th-14th

Monday: 30 mins (cardio - bicycle)
Tuesday: 10 mins (cardio - stairs & weight-lifting - dumbbells) 
Wednesday: 50 mins (cardio - bicycle / stairs & weight-lifting - dumbbells) 
Thursday: 40 mins (cardio - bicycle / stairs & weight-lifting - dumbbells) 
Friday: 20 mins (cardio - stairs & weight-lifting - dumbbells) 

As for eating I didn't eat after 8pm all week, I drank between 6-8 cups of water everyday, and I only ate sugar on Sunday. Not easy (espeically when they had birthday cake at work) but I honestly haven't felt this good in a long time! Now on to Week 2...

Here we go...

About three years after Matt and I got married I had lost about 20 lbs and reached my all-time lowest weight since probably middle school, lol. Like most newly-weds I had gained a few extra lbs and was determined to lose the weight. I started eating better and less but mostly just exercising like crazy. I worked my butt off and it showed. I felt awesome, clothes fit better then ever before, and I was proud of myself...

May 2009 - My all-time lowest 

About a year and a half later that all changed. I found out I was pregnant with my first child in the summer of 2010 and with any pregnancy I gained weight...a lot of weight. Gaining weight while pregnant is not a bad thing, in fact it's healthy. What's not healthy is eating whatever you want...but hey if you aren't worried about weight why not right? After I had Abby I had every intention on losing all the pregnancy weight and getting back in shape...well let's just say it didn't happen. I tried but to be honest not very hard. I got use to being lazy and though I did loose a little of my pregnancy weight I was still easily 20 lbs heavier then my all-time lowest by the time I got pregnant with Liam in the summer of 2012. I tried to be healthier this time around and exercise more often but that silly little lazy-bug got me again and now that I have had Liam I am more then 30 lbs heavier then my all-time lowest in 2009. 

March 2013 - My all-time heaviest

That's all gonna change! I am determined to get back in shape and feel better abut myself. With help from my cousin DeAnn who is a personal trainer I know I can do it! I know it wont be easy, it will probably be the hardest thing I do, but I know I am capable of extraordinary things. No more sweets every night after dinner, no more eating whatever I want without consequence, no more sitting on my butt when I could be exercising. I have decided to make these healthy choice rules:

1. No more sweets except on 'Sweet Sunday'. Sweets really are my ultimate weakness. I can't stop at one and I give in so easily. When I was at my lowest I made this same rule and stuck by it. I know I can do it again!
2. No eating after 8pm. I do this one for two reasons. The first is that I have always heard that it's really hard for your body to metabolize food late at night and it just sits in your stomach. The second reason is because I am kind of a munch-gut at night. If I make a strict rule to not eat after 8pm then I think I will eat less overall.
3. At least 8 cups of water every day. Drinking water flushes out toxins in your body and you can actually lose more weight. Plus water is 0 calories!
4. Exercise at the minimum of 30 mins, 5 times a week. It's actually been really nice because my cousin DeAnn watches Abby and Liam while I work so when I go to pick them up I exercise for 30 minutes while I wait for Matt. I also try to go for a walk or walk the stairs at my work during my break for extra cardio.
5. Track food on myfitnesspal.com. My cousin referred me to this really cool website where you enter your weight-loss goal and it will tell you how many calories you should be eating every day to reach it. You then enter the food you eat and it will keep track of the calories so you can make sure you don't over or under eat to reach your weight loss goal. You can also enter your exercise which will give you more calories for the day. It's super easy and convenient because I have the app on my phone so wherever I am I can enter my food and exercise and make sure I am staying on target.

Like I said I know it wont be easy but it will be worth it! I will keep this blog updated on how I am doing and hopefully in a few months I will be able to post a new photo of a much healthier and lighter me. :)