then and now

As I look in the mirror, there is no denying how far I've come. I started this life changing journey at 234 lbs. That was after the birth of my 2nd child.

I now weigh-in at 169 lbs as of this morning. I'm going to make Friday a weigh-in day and share on here how I've done for the week. Last week I was in the 170s, which has taken me at least 6 months to break that plateau. This week I have focused on food as fuel theory and I've poured my heart into my workouts. It seems to be paying off! I still have a ways to go, my goal is to be between 135-140, but more than that to be happy with my body.

One set back that I have encountered this week is weak knees. I wanted to run my first 5K on July 3rd, and I'm not so sure that will be able to happen now. Last week I went for a run, I set out to do 20 mins. The first 20 were a breeze, so I decided that I'd shoot for 25mins. I looked down to realize that the time said 25:30, so I make the choice to go for 30. Now my longest run before this was 20mins and I thought I would die afterward. I felt great this time.....until about 3am. Then the pains started. They are still there now, over a week later. I've continued to spin, do pilates and kettlebell cardio because none of those cause me pain. I'm afraid to run again. Today the knees feel a ton better, so I may venture to the treadmill, but we'll see how I feel after spinning this am.

All about control..

I think that I am now understanding that it's all a control thing. You just have to decide who to let control you. Do you control yourself, and be conscious of your decisions. Do you let those around you influence your choices about your health. Do you give in to that inner fat girl who tells you it's ok to sit down with a pint of ice cream and a spoon?

I've made my decison, I'm in charge around here! I think this change of having a blog and writing down my goals is really helping. I got a late start this week with the exercise, but I'm making up for it by working harder, instead of giving up on my goal.

I ran again yesterday. I want to be a runner, but I'm just not in love. I keep telling myself that there are no fat runners, so it's in my best interest to learn to love it. It's a work in progress for sure. I'm close to completing the C25K program, it has only taken me twice as long as it's supposed to! My schedule has kept me from a few of my favorite classes, but that's changing today. I'm making it a point to get back to what I enjoy, I need it for my sanity. Today will be my first day at bootcamp in about a month, wish me luck!

Business is picking up a bit too, so I've been spending more time at my sewing machine, which isn't great for the activity level, but at least the hands are busy and can't snack. So, who's in control of you today?

and so we begin...

I'm going to work on some before/current pics to share today...

So my 2 small goals for this week are:
*No take-out for 2 weeks
*To burn 4,000 calories this week through exercise

The take-out is a hard one for me. Even though I'm a SAHM, I'm often so tired by dinner time that I lose all will-power. I've talked to the hubster about this and he's going to support me by helping cook the days I don't feel like it, or encouraging me. We went away for the day yesterday to visit family. It amazes me what people serve, and that we are all ok with that. I think almost every "salad" on the table started with a gallon of mayo, seriously! I ate mostly celery and drank water. I did eat a hot dog though, or 2, haha. I did stick with my no soda rule, as it's now been 9 weeks since I quit.


I wrote out a "tentative" meal plan for the week:
Monday- steak, grilled zucchini and corn
Tuesday- tacos (I'll have some taco meat on my salad)
Wednesday- grilled chicken salad
Thursday- turkey burgers (bunless for me)
Friday- pancakes and sausage (I'll skip the sausage)
Saturday- grilled chicken and veggies

Does anyone have any good ideas for healthy meals that I can make and freeze for days I don't want to cook?

I think I'm going to go for a "wog" when my husband wakes up since the Y is closed today. I'm also going to mow the grass for some extra calories burned today too!
Hope everyone is having a safe and fun memorial day weekend while remembering and honoring our service men and women.

Getting Started...

with a blog that is. I've been working on this losing weight thing for, well pretty much forever. I've had some successes and some that I wouldn't call that, but it's all a learning process. My reason for starting this blog is accountability. I'm hoping that by typing things out I can be honest to both myself, and readers of the blog, should I eventually get some.
I'm starting this out on a not so positive note of having a stomach bug, so my eating is a bit irregular at the moment, but I'm hoping to get back to "normal" tomorrow.
I'll be posting my workout schedule, a starting point with a menu, along with a weekly small goal. I believe the way to achieve my ultimate goal (which is a multi-step one) begins with one small goal at a time. Achievable goals at that.
Look for more short posts to come in the future until I get used to this whole blogging thing. My goal for this week (since it's already Thursday) is to have a feasible menu planned out for next week, and to work on getting this blog set up and easy to navigate!