August Fitness Goals and July Fitness Recap with {LOTS OF} Progress Pics

You guys!  I am SO excited to be writing this month's fitness update!  Mitch and I made some major changes in July.  We changed our work out, we changed out diets, but most of all, we changed our mindsets.  I realized that, personally, I was putting too much on myself.  Maybe it was because I was just so hoping to find the "right thing" for me that I was trying it all in short bursts and giving up to quickly, or maybe it was because I was trying to find something more interesting for people to want to read here on the blog...hmmm....yeah that was not a good thing for me.

Before I start rambling about what we actually did last month, let's recap on my July goals.

• Keep up with the not drinking deal, except on weekends and only if we had put in a good workout
• Keep up with our Insanity: Asylum workout
• Run on days when Asylum isn't high intensity cardio
• Continue drinking at least one green smoothie a day
• Talk Mitch into ordering the Focus T25 workout for us 

 How did we do?  Well, looking back now, we didn't do too bad!

I started feeling overwhelmed and quit doing my Asylum workouts after probably the first week in July.  As a matter of fact, I {we} did no exercising for an entire week.  It was time to regroup.  As I mentioned above, I was overwhelming myself like crazy.  We needed a new plan.

We have kept up with the not drinking!  As a matter of fact, the only time we have had anything to drink was when we took our mini getaway to Orlando for a couple of days {we drank that Saturday}, and then last weekend we were hanging out with some friends and I had a couple of glasses of wine and Mitch had a few beers.  Not bad, huh? ;)

I still run every now and then, but we mostly just walk, if we're going out now.  We love to get a quick workout in, in the morning, and then take the whole family out for a walk.  I've actually realized that I burn close to the same amount of calories walking as I did jogging, so why kill myself??

We finished our 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge and I'm happy to say that we are still going strong! Green smoothies have become a love affair for us, and I can't imagine not having one every morning to charge me up for my day.  I don't think this is something we will ever stop doing.

Did I talk Mitch into buying me T25??  No.  I didn't.  He's a cheapass very frugal and didn't want to spend the money on it.  He did however burn a copy of the workouts from someone who DID want to spend the money on them!  So yeah, we got them.  And.....we're completely obsessed with this workout.  Completely.  I can't even begin to tell you how awesome Focus T25 is!!  Oh, and if you haven't already heard, it's only 25 Minutes!  Seriously....25 minutes and then you're done.  That means that when the cutest munchkin on the block wakes up at 6:30 in the morning, and you are just starting your workout, you can sit her on the couch with your ipad and she doesn't have time to get bored before you finish!  YES!

Yeah, she's the cutest, right?? Ugh...she's been cutting those two year molars...those things are monsters.

We also made the decision to change our diet.  We were going nowhere fast eating the way that we were.  Sure, we had a green smoothie a day, and we thought we were eating healthy {we usually ate our veggies}, but we were still eating a lot of processed foods and refined sugars.  I mentioned here that  I had been doing some researching on the paleo diet.  I was a little skeptical at first, but the more I read, the more it actually makes sense.

You essentially eat a whole foods diet, with the exclusion of a few things.  The Paleo Diet is gluten free, grain free, dairy free.  We have been eating this way for about two weeks now and I cannot express how awesome we feel!!  We have SO much energy and never get that super heavy, overstuffed feeling after we eat meals.  We are not 100% paleo, and I honestly don't think we ever will be.  There are some things I just can't give up completely {coffee creamer, fresh parmesan cheese}, but for the most part, we get protein, fruits, and veggies in every meal.  It's amazing and I'm totally obsessed.  I even started a Paleo board on Pinterest, if you're interested in checking out the recipes!  I'll keep updating on this as the months pass, too.

Anyway, here are my stats for this month, compared to last month:

My numbers changed big time this month!  As soon as we started doing the T25 workouts, the weight and inches started melting away.  In the last 2 1/2 weeks {since we started the workout AND the new diet}, I lost 6.7 inches and 4.8 pounds in July!  Awesome!! {Yeah, I'm a little excited, it's the first time I'm seeing those numbers, too!}

On to the progress pics, because that's what you all have been waiting for, right? Right.

First I'll compare the pics I took at the beginning of July, to the pics I took yesterday morning {August 1st}:

July:

August:

Aaaaand here is a comparison to where I was the after our first T25 workout, 2 1/2 weeks ago, compared to after yesterday morning's workout:

Pretty amazing, right? See why I'm so obsessed with this workout and the paleo diet??? It's like a dynamic duo!

Mitchy is looking super hot, too! He said I'm not allowed to post his progress pics until the very end {lol}, but I'll tell you that he has lost almost TEN POUNDS in less than 3 weeks! I'm so proud of US!

So, our goals going forward for August are simply to continue what we're doing. T25 in the early mornings, maybe a family walk after breakfast, keep eating clean and paleo! Also, just relax and enjoy our success and enjoy our family and just enjoy life in general. That's what it's all about, after all, right??

Are you doing any specific challenges for the month of August? Did you reach your goals for July? I'd love to hear what you've got going on in your fitness calendar for this coming month!

Weight Rant: It's a Personal Thing

I don't usually post about fitness stuff until the first of the month, but I feel like this one can't wait.

As you know, I have been on a journey over the last few months to get my weight back in control....again. I post updates about the things I do, the things I eat, and my struggles.

When Mitch was away on deployment last year, I worked hard and lost 20 pounds. It was no small deal. I was so proud of myself. I looked and felt amazing. Shortly after he came home, I started gaining again. I chalked it up to him being home and us being happy and comfortable.

Then, we started working out again in May. I'm finally starting to see some real results. Great, right? Well....

I've been thinking lately about how it seems like every time I get down to my "happy place" in weight loss, I end up sabotaging myself and putting the weight back on. Lately, I've been trying to pinpoint why I do that.

A couple of days ago, I had a girlfriend over and I was explaining to her about how excited I am about the new workout program that we have been doing, and I mentioned that I decided to take us to 100% whole foods and that I was sticking my toes into the paleo pool. I told her that, since deciding 4 days earlier to go grain, gluten, and dairy free, I had lost 3 pounds! This is exciting for me! Her response though, instead of being happy for me, was to say "Well jeez! Don't you think you're skinny enough already?? You don't need to lose anymore weight!"

This was the moment that I realized the trigger for my self sabotage. People. I'm a people pleaser. Whenever I get to a weight where other people start to tell me that "you're too thin" or "you don't need to lose anymore weight", I start to believe them. I start to think that maybe I am starting to look unhealthy or too thin. What happens next is sad. I stop working towards my goals, I start eating more, and before I know it, the weight is back and I am depressed about life.

So, to those of you out there who feel like you need to tell me your opinion on the way my body looks, please stop and think about these things first:

• I weigh 138 pounds.  This is a perfectly healthy weight for me!  I am nowhere near too thin and I never will be.  Why?  Because I love myself and I love FOOD!
• I get up every morning between 5:00 and 5:30 and I work out.  I don't just work out.  I work my ass off.  I put drive and effort into every drop of sweat, every calorie, and every ounce of fat that I shred off of these hips.  I'm not trying to be a skinny girl.  I'm trying to be a strong girl.  Weight loss is just a bonus.
• I eat.  I mean, I really love food.  I eat at least 1,400 calories a day.  When I work out, it's closer to 1,800 a day.  I track my calories.  I know what goes in my body and it's not garbage.  That's why I can eat so much and still manage to lose weight.
• It's not about losing weight.  It's about being a better version of me.

So please, I know that most of you say it either out of concern or it's some backwards way of complimenting my success, but it hurts me.  If you feel the need to say anything, just tell me that I'm looking great and that you're proud of my success.  Let me be the one who decides when I reach my goals.  This goes for anyone else in your life who might be going through the same battles as I am.  

This is as simple as the good ol' Golden Rule.  If you can't say anything nice,  please don't say anything at all!

Green Smoothies: A love affair

Mitch and I have known about green smoothies for a long time. Only, we had it all wrong. We would make one every once in a while, to feel like we were doing something good for ourselves, but we would dump a couple cups of milk, tons of berries and bananas, a handful of spinach, and usually a couple heavy swirls of honey, into the blender. Not that all of that stuff isn't good for you in one way or another, it's just that we were doing it all wrong.

For our 4 year wedding anniversary, on June 29th, my AWESOME husband surprised me with something I've been asking for for a looooooong time. A Blendtec super blender! To say that I was thrilled with this gift would be a total understatement. It's basically the only kitchen appliance I use now {other than the stove, oven, and coffee pot, of course}.  These guys are pricey....but seriously...SO WORTH IT!

Anyhoot, the blender could not have come at a better time, because I had signed us up for a green smoothie challenge that would start on July 1st!  I was just going to attempt making smoothies with our older blender and just tough my way through all of the kale bits that would get stuck in my teeth. Yuck.  I don't have to worry about that now!!

The new challenge from the girls over at Simple Green Smoothies started on the 1st, but I couldn't wait to use my new toy, so we started smoothie-ing it up a couple of days early with our own creations.  Once the challenge started, I began receiving a weekly email with a shopping list for ingredients and 5 new smoothie recipes to try out.

I got the first email....WOW!  Were we doing it all wrong!  The gals have kick started something amazing for us.  I now use NO peanut butter in our smoothies, I PACK 2-3 cups of spinach or kale into the blender, and use either water, coconut water, unsweetened almond milk, or coconut milk as my liquid base.  I also usually throw in a tablespoon of chia seeds and a tablespoon of bee pollen, instead of honey.

I love how each week, the smoothie girls challenge us to use a variety of fruits {week 1:tropical fruits, week 2:stone fruits, week 3:melons, week 4:berries}.  I have always typically been a strawberry, blueberry, banana, kind of girl.  I have discovered so many new things that I LOVE and even made a few that we didn't love so much, but that's ok.

Let me tell you about some things that have happened since we've been doing at least one smoothie a day for the last 25 days...

• We don't drink coffee in the mornings.  More importantly, we don't feel like we need coffee in the morning, anymore.  We wake up feeling as energized as a thirty something year old couple with a toddler could possibly feel, and we get a good workout in, then it's smoothie time!  Usually, I'll have a cup of coffee in the afternoon or when I'm sitting here writing.  Not because I need it, but because I want it.  
• My hair is growing like the Zed's in Dr. Suess' Red Fish Blue Fish {the ones who need a haircut every day because their one hair grows so fast}.  
  
  Okay, that was a total parent  reference, but basically, my hair has probably grown an inch {at least} in the last few weeks.  Downside to this is, the hair on my head isn't the only hair growing faster.  I'm having to shave every day now!  {Side note: when I met Mitch, I did actually shave every day....then I became a mother and that all went out the window!  lolz}
• My nails are growing super fast and they are strong!
• My skin has started to clear up.  I have never had a problem with bad skin.  Then, I turned 30 in May and it's like my body decided to hate me.  I started breaking out like crazy!  Adult acne?? Maybe.  I'm in full denial.  BUT! These smoothies have really helped to curb the teenage pizza face. Thank Goodness!
• I'm losing weight {and inches} and feeling great!  I mean, aside from the health perks, is there any better reason to LOVE green smoothies!  I have not only broken my plateau for weight loss, I have blasted that sucker!  It feels awesome.  And it's only been about three and a half weeks.
• The Sophster wakes up every morning and runs into the kitchen to tell me that she is hungry.  When I ask her if she'd like for me to make her breakfast, she always says "No, Mommy!  I want a SMOOVIE!"  The kid LOVES her green smoothies!  She is relentless in the mornings until she has one to slurp on.  I love that even if she refuses to eat anything other than pb&j for the rest of the day, I know that she has had her some green goodness for the day.  Mommy win!

So why not commit to drinking one green smoothie a day?  They are easy, delicious, fun, and all of that stuff I just wrote up there!  Plus, you can get fun accessories for them!  Like these Heritage mason jars from Ball:

Ball Jar Heritage Collection Pint Jars with Lids and Bands, Set of 6
Or these funky little stainless steel straws to drink from:

Epica Stainless Steel Drinking Straws, Set of 4

We're also shopping around for some "to go" lids for our green goodness. Something we can stick a straw in and slurp on when we are on the road. I really like these, from EcoJarz, but they are out of our price range.  I may end up just talking Mitchy into drilling some holes into some lids, popping some rubber grommets {grommets? gaskets? I'm so hardware savvy...}, in the holes and sticking straws in them.  Whatevs.  No need to be all fancy if it's going to cost us so much!

Anyway, what are you waiting for?!?  Grab yourself a smoothie slurping buddy and start your love affair with these awesome awesome things!!

Do you Green Smoothie?? I'd love to hear what the amazing green goodness has done in your life! Also, what are some of your favorite smoothie recipes? We're always down to try something new around here!

July Fitness Goals and June Fitness Recap with Progress Pics

It's that time again! Time for me to come clean about how I've done with my fitness and diet this month! I'm really happy to report that I've done pretty well this month! Yay me! Let's talk about what my goals were for June!

I talked {typed, whatever} some last month about how drinking had become a bit of a problem around here for us. We had both turned into an "at least one or two cocktails a night" couple, and while we weren't getting wasted every night after we put The Sophster to bed, it was enough to recognize that we were starting to form a really bad habit. So, we committed to not drinking on the weekdays and only on the weekend IF we worked out that day, and even then, we wouldn't overdo it. It was tough at first, but for the most part, we did it! We had a couple of slip ups around the beginning of the month, but on the 18th, we started a challenge to drink one fresh green juice a day for 30 days. This meant that alcohol and red meat were OUT of our diet! And we stuck to it! Well, the not drinking part anyway. We quit on the juice challenge two weeks in. It was very costly and very time consuming for me to juice and clean up every.single.night. So, on July 1st, we jumped in on a green smoothie challenge! More on that in a bit...

My actual work out goals for June were to keep running {yay! We got a treadmill and I don't have to run in 90* temps and 100% humidity anymore!}, redo the squat and plank challenges from May, add in an Ab challenge for June

How'd I do? Eh...not so great. I did them every single day for two weeks. TWO WEEKS I made it! And then my {self diagnosed} ADD kicked in and I got bored. It wasn't enough for me anymore. I needed more that a quick run, squats and ab work. So I decided to pick up and dust off a book that I ordered last summer and read all of about two pages of, The Body Sculpting Bible For Women. I started delving into the front part of the book, where the authors go into detail about connecting the mental to the physical, in order to get maximum results. They talk all about form, what time is best to work out, the science of the body and why it works the way it does for working out. Anyway, it's a great book. Don't know why I never read it before! One of the highlights for me one morning, as I was sitting and reading, and waiting for The Sophster to wake up, was a section about the best time to workout! It said first thing in the morning, because you will burn 300% MORE body fat that way!!! My first thought was "WHAT AM I STILL DOING SITTING IN BED?!?!"

The Body Sculpting Bible for Women, Third Edition: The Way to Physical Perfection


I decided at that moment, that I would not sit on my butt and wait for Sophi to wake up in the mornings anymore. The next morning, I turned on the Insanity Fast & Furious workout. It was quick, and since I hadn't done the Insanity dvds since last summer, I wanted to be able to get out of bed again the next morning. I got up, pressed play, and did my workout. I felt amazing! Getting my sweat on before 6am, and knowing just how much fat I was shredding through! Having an awesome heart rate monitor is a huge help, too. I love being able to see the actual calories that I am burning!

Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor (Purple/Pink)

The Fast and Furious dvd went really well. I mean, I was sore as crap for a couple of days, but I got through it without feeling like I would die. So, I decided to start a new {to me} Insanity workout: Asylum. I've been doing this {almost} every day for just over two weeks and I have to say, I really love it. I feel stronger {I totally have biceps now!}, and I am always excited to see between a 400-700 calorie burn in 35-60 minutes. Plus, it leaves me feeling awesome for the day!

Then, one day, something amazing happened! Mitch asked if he could join me for my morning workouts!! Duh!! I love getting sweaty with that stud! ;) So now, not only do I have the HOTTEST workout partner around, Sophi and I get to have that extra hour or so in the afternoons with Daddy, since he doesn't need to go to the gym on base before work every day! WIN/WIN! :)

I totally just realized that I have the same outfit on in both of those pictures. Somebody tell my husband I need more workout clothes! ;)

Anyway, here are my stats from last month compared to this month:

I didn't change much in the measurements department. Which in hindsight, makes sense because I lost so many inches last month. But, I do show an almost 4 pound loss, which is awesome!

Last Months Numbers {in inches}:
Shoulders: 41
Chest: 34
Bicep: 10 {x2}
Forearm: 9 {x2}
Waist: 28.7
Hips: 38
Thigh: 22 {x2}
Calf: 13 {x2}

July Measurments:

Shoulders: 40
Chest: 33.5
Bicep: 10 {x2}
Forearm: 9 left, 8.5 right
Waist: 28.5
Hips: 38
Thigh: 22 {x2}
Calf: 13.5 {x2}

So basically, my measurements this month are like my weight last month. A whopping 1.2 inches total. Can you see a difference?

Here is last month's progress pic and this month {be prepared for yet another outfit repeat}:

Bwahahaha how about that game face?!? I'm so hardcore...not really, though.

I can tell a difference in my waist and would you check out those biceps?! Ok, they aren't much, but I'm proud of them dang it!

Here is my goal line up for July....

-Keep up with the not drinking unless I've had a great workout in and it's the weekend {can I get a pass for some wine on the 4th, please?!} ;)
- Keep up with Asylum. I'm so glad that Mitchy is on board with me now and he will make sure that I stay committed for the full 30 days! We're half way there already!
- Run on days when Asylum isn't high intensity cardio. I've learned that I run better when I don't do it every day. Imagine that!
- Talk Mitch into ordering us the new Beachbody Shaun T workout, Focus T25. I am DYING to try this workout. The success stories are ridiculous. The best part, of course, is that it is only 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week! That's it! We won't have to worry about our sweet munchkin waking up and coming out into the living room when we are trying to wrap up our workouts. Seriously. Somebody tell my husband that WE NEED THIS WORKOUT! :)
- Continue to drink a green smoothie a day. It's a great habit, and with the cutest smoothie slurping partner in the known universe, why on Earth would I stop?!

-I also started the July Arm Challenge from the Fit-Tabulous Facebook Page. I was just talking to Mitch a few days ago about how I want to start putting more focus into my arms {specifically, my triceps} because I have a heck of a time trying to do a tricep pushup {OUCH!}. So, I'm giving this one a shot. We all know how well I do with challenges, though. So we shall see!

Are you following me on My Fitness Pal, yet?? I'm having my best run yet! I've logged in for 37 days straight so far! Please please please, if you are a member, follow me! Comment on my daily food logs. Help keep me accountable!

MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods

Are you doing any specific challenges for the month of July? Did you reach your goals for June? I'd love to hear what you've got going on in your fitness calendar for this coming month!

June Fitness Goals...with May Recap and Progress Pics

Dear May, you sure were one hell of a month!

At the beginning of the month, I wrote this post about specific fitness goals that I had for the month of May. I was determined to work hard all month and come out better and stronger and blah blah blah.

Well, I did great...for about the first 10 days. Then, we started celebrating my 30th Birthday. I turned 30 on Mother's Day this year {totally got cheated there! j/k}, so Mitch took leave from that Friday-Monday, so that we could have ample time to celebrate BOTH days. Have I mentioned that my husband is pretty fantastic?? He is. Anyway, we started the weekend off with running the Friends Never Forget 5k, which benefits the children of fallen heroes by raising money to send kids to fun summer camps and such. The run was a lot of fun. My little brother, Justin, and my nephew, Jaiden, came out to join in on the fun. Mitch, Justin, and myself all ended up taking 2nd place in our age groups! It was also the last race I would run in the 24-29 age bracket. :)


That night, we went out for my birthday and I drank a few...plenty...ok, a lot of dark German beer. Plus a shot at midnight. We had a lot of fun and stayed out until we shut the place down. I wish we had taken pics, but we were lame and didn't. Basically, we got pretty drunk, made lots of new friends, had a blast....and consumed a lot of calories!


The next day was Mother's Day. We had my mom, little brother, and nephew over for some brunch {lox, bagels, and lots of mimosas}. Then, over to my friend Kim's house for BIRTHDAY CAKE!! Since it was my actual birthday, and all. What? I turned 30! You're darn right I ate some cake! Either way, you see how this month was turning out?

In the weeks following, I had my three day women's conference at church, where I didn't work out or eat good. Plus some other stuff and plenty of excuses to NOT work out. None of them were good excuses.

Besides that, and let me get pretty deep for a minute, I don't know that working out was helping, even when I did. Mitch and I had started drinking. More than usual. What I mean by that is, we pretty much had to have a couple of drinks each at night. Enough to get a good buzz {lots of added calories}, eat a bunch of crap {even more calories}, pass out on the couch {bad}, and then not feel good enough to get up and work out the next day {real bad}. All of these things ended up in disaster. By the end of the 3rd week in May, I had hardly run and only participated in about a third of the squats and plank challenges that I had committed myself to at the beginning of the month.

So, I decided to change things. I started running every day, Mitch started going back to the gym, we went and bought more protein and supplements for ourselves, I jumped back into my squats and planks, and we decided to NOT DRINK during the week days AT ALL, and only on the weekends IF we had put in a good workout that day {and even then only have a couple of drinks max}. Those are the rules.

I ended up finishing my squats {250} and planks {3 min}, on the last day of the month. I was proud of myself, but SO FLIPPING SORE! Wow! My legs STILL hurt! I know that I slacked last month. I'm not perfect. But, I did make some progress! The scale only shows a 1.6 pound loss, but this is why I take measurements...

Screen shot of last months measurements {in inches}:


This Month -June- {in inches}:
Shoulders: 41
Chest: 34
Bicep: 10 {x2}
Forearm: 9 {x2}
Waist: 28.7
Hips: 38
Thigh: 22 {x2}
Calf: 13 {x2}

In case you didn't break out your calculator like I did, that is 6.7 inches in a month! A month that I really didn't push hard until the last week of the month! I'm totally pumped about that and can't wait to see what will happen in June!

So, here are my May 1st/June 2nd pics to compare:



It's not a huge improvement, but I can definitely tell a difference.

Anyway, here are my goals for June...

- Keep up the running. I'm throwing distance and time goals out the window. I got an awesome heart rate monitor a couple of weeks ago and I'm kind of obsessed with it. It has been a driving force for me lately. I'm in constant competition with myself over how far I can run and how many calories I've burned. I like to see what my calorie comparison is between running inside on the treadmill and outside on the street. It's always higher outside. Just in case you're thinking about getting a heart rate monitor for yourself, I highly recommend this one:

- I'm going to continue doing the plank and squat challenges from last month, since I didn't do so great on those

-I'm going to incorporate a new ab challenge from the Fit-Tabulous Facebook page, and keep working on getting my abs strong and tight! Here's what the new challenge looks like:



If you're still following me and my {slow} progress, I want to say that I appreciate you. Having people to hold me accountable really helps me.

Are you doing any specific challenges for the month of June? Did you reach your goals for May? I'd love to hear what you've got going on in your fitness calendar for this coming month!

Also, are you following me on My Fitness Pal yet??

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

May Fitness Goals

This May is a big month for me! My birthday is in less than two weeks and I'll be hitting the big 3-0! Yep, thirty has arrived. If you had asked me earlier this year about how I feel on turning thirty, I would have told you {as I told many} that I feel better than I ever have. That I am in the best shape of my life and nothing was going to stop me. I am beautiful, confident, and strong. But now....I don't feel those things so much.

See, I worked my tail off while Mitch was away on this last deployment. I lost 20 pounds and my body started to be toned and tan and I felt really pretty. Now, I have gained back 10 of those pounds, my new wardrobe hardly fits and my arms have turned back to flab. This is unacceptable. I have to change. I'm turning 30 this month and I WANT, I NEED to feel like that confident and strong woman again. And I will.

So, here's my plan for May. Many of you have probably seen the 30 day fit challenges that float around Facebook and Pinterest. This month I decided to do 2 of them. Also, I'm going to focus on my running and try a short workout video for my arms. Here's my lineup:

30 Day Squat Challenge:


Ok, let's be honest. This challenge looks like two things for me. {1}Terrifying and {2} Boring. Terrifying because I can't imagine doing 250 squats at one time, and boring because I can't imagine doing 250 squats at one time! No, that wasn't a typo. Seriously. Think about the amount of time that it will take to do 250 squats. Like...a long time. Up down up down up down...well, you get the point. BUT! I'm going to try to stick with it. Maybe do 75 squats every hour...or something. I'll figure it out.

Plank Challenge:


Maybe I'm crazy but I got a little giddy when I saw this challenge! I love me a good old fashion plank! I remember the first time I saw a plank. It was when Mitch and I got our Wii system back in 2007. We were looking at the fitness stuff and I was all, "that looks easy" and he was all, "not really". Then I tried it. He won. That crap is HARD! But it's oooooh so good! I am PUMPED for this challenge. Planks in between squats, anyone? Anyone? Bueller???

Getting rid of arm flab!


I saw this video on a friend's Facebook page and immediately thought, "yep. That's going to hurt like a dirty whore". And that's why I must do it! It's perfect for the mom in me. No weights and it is only 8 minutes long! Aside from the fact that my two year old won't understand why mommy can't pick her up for a month, we're good to go. LoL So, since this one didn't come with a fancy shmancy chart for which days to do it and which days to rest, I figure that I'll just follow along with the other two schedules, to make things easy to keep up with. I did NOT do this today. I have no excuse. But, I'll do it tomorrow. I pinky promise. :)

Running. I also don't have a fancy chart for this. Nor do I have a pretty picture. I'm just not talented enough to take a picture of myself while running, holding a leash, and pushing a stroller. How about this one from last summer, right after we arrived back home and I thought I would die?


Whew! It gets crazy hot here in the summer! What was I talking about again? Oh yes, running. Last summer, I ran every day. Every.Single.Day. Mitch was deployed and it was a great outlet for me. I stopped just before he came home. Then I didn't run for months. Then one day, I thought, "Hey! I think I'll go run a 5k today!" Nope. I realized that I had lost my running mojo and I needed to find a way to get it back. I started listening to the C25K podcast again, but it didn't help. I was starting to get really discouraged. Then one day, my little brother told me about this AMAZING running app called "Run Keeper". I'm not a huge fan of change, so I downloaded it to appease him and then didn't mess with it for a couple of weeks. The day that I decided to use it, was the day I stopped listening to that worn out podcast. I love the app. It has been wonderful for me. And while I'm not back up to running a 5k again in one shot, I am doing around 2.5 miles with a pace between 11.41-12.00 mile. I'm so happy. But, it's not good enough yet. This month, I want to be able to get back to my 11 minute mile and run 4 miles in one shot. I can do it. I know I'm capable. I want to be that strong, sexy, confident woman again and I want it to spill over onto everyone around me. Especially my daughter.

So here's my rundown:
Squat Challenge, Plank Challenge, Arms. All are work three days, rest one.
Run at least 5 days a week with a goal of 4 consecutive miles by the end of May.

Here is my before pic:


My Measurements today:
Shoulders: 39.5
Chest: 35.5
Bicep: 10.5
Forearm: 9
Waist: 30
Hips: 39
Thigh: 22.7
Calf: 14

Here's the chart I use for my measuring points:


Fitness Apps I love:
My Fitness Pal is my all time favorite app for tracking my progress. I love that I can so easily count my calories and add my workouts. Also, I love that I am held accountable by my friends, who can see my daily food diary. It's the app that I used last summer and I believe that it had a large part in helping me lose the weight. Want to follow my progress? Check me out, here:

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Run Keeper is my new favorite running app. You can sign up for different training programs within the app, or just do your own thing. It plays the music from your playlist, keeps track of how far you've gone, your average time, calories burned, and it updates you every 5 minutes. I love it. I don't know how I ever lived without it. You can love it, too. Friend me, if you're up for it. I love a good competition motivation. ;)

Body Tracker is a very simple app. It's the one pictures above with my measuring points. It's simply a way for me to keep track of my measurements on a month to month {or however often you choose} basis. I can't remember, but I think I might have paid $.99 for this one. It was worth it to not have to remember where I wrote down all of my measurements from last month.

So, that's it! I hope that you will follow me this month and see what comes of these goals. Do you have any fitness goals set for the month of May? I would love to hear them!

Doing This for ME

See that girl? That was me, May 25th 2010, the day I found out that I was pregnant with Sophi. I weighed 139 lbs and was in the best shape of my life. I was running 7-9 miles a week and doing the P90X program. I felt amazing. My goal was to get myself into shape before I got pregnant to try and prevent health issues during my pregnancy. I made that goal with no problem. My next goal was to continue my workouts throughout my pregnancy. This did not happen. As soon as we found out (just shy of 4 weeks along) my doctor had me stop my P90X. He said I could keep running, so I did but only for about 6 more weeks. The summer was getting so hot that even in the early mornings, I was overheating. I started having some cramping and spotting so I was advised to stop. I tried a couple of pregnancy workout dvd's. Boring. So I just quit.

I don't know how it happened but I only gained 24 lbs when I was pregnant. I weighed 163 lbs the night I gave birth. I just knew that the rest of the weight would come off quickly when I could start working out again in 6 weeks. Six weeks later, I was advised to not work out because I was struggling with keeping my milk supply up and I wanted to continue breast feeding more than I wanted to lose the weight so now my plans to get myself back on track would be on hold until Sophi turned one.

I don't know how I let it happen, but, I kind of just let myself go. I gained almost all of my pregnancy weight back. It sucks and if I wasn't on anti-depressants, I just may hate myself for it. Instead, I've made the decision that starting this week, it's my time. It's time for me to focus in and get back to being the healthy, fit, tight body that I was on May 25th, 2010. So I'm putting it all out on the line right here for the world to see. I'm terrified and ashamed but I know that holding myself accountable and Mitch holding me accountable might not be enough. So here goes...

This is me now. Not inside, just out, but here I am. These pictures were taken Monday night (March 19th, 2012). I currently weigh 155 lbs and am nowhere close to the best shape of my life but that's ok, because starting now it WILL get better.

Yesterday morning, Mitch and I made the commitment to start waking up at 5:00am 6 days a week and doing the BeachBody Insanity Workout . I won't lie, it's hard. Real hard. We did the Fit Test yesterday and this morning we did the Plyometric Cardio workout. I had to really dig deep and push my way through. I had to stop and rest for a few seconds here and there and I moaned and groaned my way through but I DID IT. For once in over a year, I did it for ME. Not for Sophi, not for Mitch or for our dogs or our friends or family, not (just) for bathing suit season. I pushed through and did it for Kammi.

I'm excited to be taking this journey again. I can't wait to see what the results will be. I'm not aiming for a certain weight or pants size. I just want to be fit and feel great in my skin. I know that I can. I know that I will. I hope that you will stick around and take this journey with me!