week 28

am weight 135


All is well over here.... starting to get in the Christmas Spirit. Liv is really into her " elf on the shelf" this year and she still believes in Santa ( thank Goodness). I found this website where you can create a personalized video from Santa for Free and Liv was just tickled pink about that when she got her special message from Santa. I like How Santa reminded her to keep working hard to control her temper and knew she was full of energy. I have a link on my Facebook if anyone is interested in viewing her special video or making one. John has been a little blue, he is saying business is the worst it's ever been.I have put out a few feelers for full time employment. We will see what life brings. I really like my job. I think John has a tough logical choice to face whether or not to keep working at his business or find full time employment.


I have a Birthday coming up.. the Big "45"... feeling pretty good at 45. Physically I feel great, I don't like how the skin on my neck & hands is changing.. not much I can do about that. I am getting myself in great shape, eating well and taking care of this body of mine... Life is good. I am very proud to say that since I began this commitment to get fit back in May.. I have worked out five days a week without fail.... No excuses. Only missing 2 days when Ill.


My Birthday Gift/week 28 reward to myself is a Tassimo single brew coffee machine. I can't wait until it arrives. After much research between the tassimo or Keurig.. I went with my gut and the reviews that sold me on the Tassimo. I got mine on ebay of-course ( $20 plus shipping... woot!). While Keurig seems to have cornered the market for K cups and having a wide variety available at stores, from what i hear Tassimo brews a better cup. Also I could get a refurbished Tassimo at a much better price than a used Keurig. I enjoy Latte's & specialty drinks, so I am willing to purchase the T discs online. I have already found them on ebay at a great price.

Lunch

still trying to keep my main meals really clean- this is tuna salad with a little bit of Mayo and spinach salad

Mini me

week 27

weight 134

I survived the thanksgiving Holiday without overeating. My older sister actually choked on turkey and ran outside. That was a very scary few minutes as she had it caught in her throat and nothing was helping to dislodge it. Finally it did go down.  That event curbed my appetite. I was really worried about her. I worked out really hard thanksgiving morning, a workout that left me too sore to workout on Friday.I am going to hop on the elliptical today and Livi wants to walk on the treadmill. I have a good chunk of my Holiday Shopping done already. I shopped early and got amazing deals.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Week 26

am weight 135 ( shocking after yesterdays lunch)


all is well over here, we celebrated Liv's 8th birthday this Saturday, you can see pics on my other blog. Seven has been a great year but the last month was a doozy. I am still doing my thing. Working out five days a week, eating healthy ( mostly)... I had more fun size Halloween candy that I care to fess up to.. but I did fess up. I accounted for each & every calorie on my open  MFP food diary . I really indulged on Saturday. My first fast food meal other than a salad in six months. I had a medium fry and a little over 1/2 a big mac and of course a little cake & ice cream. I felt so icky all last night after eating that fast food... no more for me for another six months.


I still want to change up my routine somehow... getting a little bored...so I have been finding inspiration in Pinterest of all places. Going to try and ramp things up. I have noticed that I am not sweating like I used to. Workouts that once left me a sweaty mess with a high heart rate just aren't challenging me anymore. I can get through them with hardly a sweat. I take that as a good sign that I am in better shape and in better cardiovascular condition. I really want to be in amazing shape come May.. My one year fit-anniversary. I want to really focus on shaping up my abs & core. 

I have seemed to hit a plateau with my weight loss.. I vacillate between 135- 137, I just need to dial in my snacking and ramp up my workouts and I am sure I will see my goal of 133 with a little more effort.

week 25

weight today 136

I just realized that I did not do my weekly update. Fun sized Halloween candy has gotten the better of me this week.. I have had about 4 treats a day... when they are so little you don't realize that they add up. I took Liv to my dentist who not only paid her $5 for her candy, but he donates to the united way and sends the candy to the troops. Speaking of the Dentist yesterday I had my core buildup and permanent filling done. The only painful part was when they put this clamp around my tooth that pinched my gums. I also did not like all the stuff in my mouth...cotton, a suction, a wedge to keep my small mouth open wide enough and the clamp. I just closed my eyes and breathed through the panicky thoughts.

 I am happy that is over & done with. My root canal-ed tooth had been tender at the jaw bone. While it got better it never seemed to really go away. I went back to the specialist because I was reluctant to put any more $$$ in my mouth with lingering pain. The Hygienist took my x-ray and said I had an abscess and needed my root canal retreated. The specialist however thought I would be fine and thought the dark spot was bone loss that would heal itself and he urged me to continue with my appointment for the core buildup/permanent filling.

My dentist  chuckled and asked me why i was listening to a hygienist and not the guy with more education .. I said " I'm here aren't I? " but I just thought he should know those varying viewpoints. So.. finger crossed that I don't have to worry about anything and am on the road to healing. I am only expecting complete healing.


My highpoint non scale victory of shopping was a size 10 pair of  burgundy skinny jeans being to way to big and being able to squeeze into a size 6 in that same brand ( 7 for all mankind). I needed a size eight which they did not have. Also I broke out the leggings that I was to self conscious to wear last year and I rocked those things with my new riding boots.

Non scale victory

Feeling confident in leggings

Edible art

I eat salad all the time.. at least 4 days a week if not more... I crave spinach... I really do.I also crave not so healthy stuff, I have been hitting the fun size treats a little to hard. I really need to get better at just cleaning, peeling, cutting all my veggies and storing them in baggies to make throwing together a salad faster. It's my usual lunch and I try to eat a small salad with dinner as well. I eat out for lunch once or twice a week tops and only when I am on a time crunch and can't get home & back to court in time. Usually when I eat out I get a soup & salad as well. I shop weekly for fresh produce. My fav lettuce is the 50/50 mix, part spring mix and part spinach.

My fav fast food salad is Chik- Fil-A's char grilled chicken & fruit salad with their berry balasamic or Wendys half size Baja salad, the baja salad is a little higher in fat but it has guacamole.

Reward Shopping Spree

I went a little cray cray with this months reward- but like I said before my reward 4 weeks ago was returned... so I felt justified doubling up. I try to keep it at $50 or less every 4 weeks. I reward myself for working out 5 days a week  for a month without fail. So far in the past six months I have only missed 2 workouts.

 Here is what I purchased:

New Nine West burgundy tote that is a look alike for the Micheal kors tote I love- bigger than I am used to but I just love it so much.

Three new tops/ One pre-owned Top ( ebay)

1 new scarf

a pre-owned pair of brown riding boots  ( ebay)

grand total of $105 for everything- I really made my money stretch by shopping at Burlington & Gabriel Brothers and of course eBay. 

I really want some burgundy colored jeans.. as pictured with the top I already bought. Maybe for my birthday coming up.

Six month fit-anniversary

Week 24

am weight 136

All is well.. my knee is just about back to normal, it gets a little achy now & then as does my body in general when I push myself. I am feeling like I need a new challenge or a change up to my exercise routine. while I am still doing my thing consistently- working out five days a week alternating elliptical & treadmill and adding heavy weights 2x a week. I am feeling a bit blah/perhaps bored.. that could be because it has been raining for a week straight and I tend to feel better when the sun shines.

so I am just brain storming on how to change things up, some of the ideas I have are maybe take a zumba class or once I get a new dvd player, check out some beach-body turbo fire workout dvds items on ebay. There is a local boot camp that occasionally has groupon specials or perhaps getting an in home trainer just for a few weeks to learn some new exercises. I am leaning towards Zumba just to get out of the house and socialize. I still plan on training for a 5k outdoors come spring. I did not give up on that goal, I just postponed outdoor training and instead run on my treadmill.

week 24 is my reward week.. woot! I really want a new outfit & new boots. My week 20 reward, my clarks shooties did not fit, so I returned them. So I really never got my week 20 reward... so it is only fair that my week 24 reward be a bigger one :)


and to celebrate my achievements and to serve a reminder to myself that all the healthy choices I am making are working..a picture of me at 146 lbs and then at 135 lbs...8 inches leaner, more muscle.... done the all natural way... slow & steady, one healthy step at a time.

April 2012- 146 lbs and a big size 12

Oct 2012- 135 lbs and a small size 10