Week Nine - Nothin'

Ah, dang. Stayed the same.

I just can't help but think of my looooong hard workouts EVERY day though and be bummed. I JUST WANT TO GET RID OF THIS JUNK IN MY TRUNK!!!!!!!!!!

There's just no way that my pasta dish at Carino's and TCBY frozen yogurt with Resees (yum!) I had with friends last night sabotaged all my efforts. Yesterday, I knew that I would be going out to dinner and then to ice cream that evening, so I was very strict with what I ate all day. Oatmeal and toast in the morning - an apple at Jack's t-ball game - cottage cheese with yogurt when I got home, and that's IT! So, I felt like I deserved some delicious food and a yummy dessert afterward. I did plan on eating only half, and bringing the rest home to the kids, but that didn't happen.

Regardless, I really thought I had an awesome week.

All the scientific CRAP of why my weight may not be coming off practically goes in one ear and out the other. I can't help it. To me, pardon me, but my butt should be smaller by now!!! I do appreciate ALL of your encouragement and advice - more than I can say. But I just can't help but be bummed anyway.

Beth is trying to convince me that it's just muscle that I am gaining.

So, Chip talked me into flexing for the camera, and then convinced me to post it.

So here it is...

Measure THIS!!

You guys were right. I needed to measure myself to see real results! My friend Lisa Banks, who owns the Curves on Broadway in Boise, is so great. Yesterday, she looked up my measurements from two years ago (when I weighed about the same as when I started this blog). Then, she measured me and printed out the results. For the most part, I was pleased. It was good for me to see.

Look at the numbers on the right in red - that is what I have lost! The four inches lost in my waist was my biggest surprise! I can't remember the last time my waist measured in the 20's! I just barely made that one. Of course Chip's first comment was that he hopes the bust numbers stop going down... ha ha! - 2.75 inches - yikes! But he was very proud of me. :)

So, the pounds may be coming off slowly, but that's okay when I see these numbers on the measuring tape! And Lisa said I can come in every month - she's so great!

So far, it's been a great week! I did push it a little too hard yesterday and hurt my shoulder, but it is much better today. Also, something is going on with my right foot. On that "pad" on the bottom of my foot under my toes, there is a lump, and it is swollen. I can't walk on it barefoot. I don't remember doing anything specific, and hope so much it is just irritated for some weird reason and will go away. Right now, I burn about 550 calories every day just on the elliptical and I would be pretty bummed if I had to stop that! So, even though my body is taking a little beating here and there, I'm still doing great! I have a lot of support and feel very blessed.

Week Eight - Down 1.5 (6.5 total)

Wha-hoo! I'll take it!

After another week of incredible workouts like I have never had before, I think I would have just died if I didn't lose this week!

I promised myself I will be happy with any loss now, instead of being upset over only one pound, or whatever. I guess as long as those numbers are going down, no complaining out of this mouth anymore! However, my friend who works at Weight Watchers and sees SO many weight loss journeys told me that it truly is full of ups and downs. She said that everyone expects their numbers to go straight down, but so many things can alter the number on the scale, so sometimes the numbers will go up. Ugh! Well, thank goodness that didn't happen two weeks in a row for me!

Everybody's comments and advice and encouragement have really kept me going strong and helped keep me motivated this week. I know without a doubt that had it not been for this blog (thanks Chip!) and all of the support and encouragement that I am getting from all of you, and a wonderful husband and sister who I live with, that I would have been very tempted to quit yet another try at losing weight. It's hard to be patient when you are working SO hard.

My pants aren't really fitting any differently yet. Maybe a little. But if, I mean, when I fit into a size 10 jeans, I think I will completely flip out and celebrate. When I was at 150 before I moved to Idaho, I was in a 12 too, so it will be a huge deal for me. My friend Karen bought me a pair of super cute jeans or "hot" jeans as she calls them, when I got down to 150. She is certain they were size 10, but I am even more certain that they were 12's. I would have known if I wore a size 10 jeans!

I wish I had taken my measurements when I started this blog. But I'm excited because my friend, Lisa, owns the local Curves here, and about two-ish years ago, I joined. (Another one of my many attempts to get this weight off). But I had to get rid of all "extra" expenses when we moved into this house and our rent went way up, so there went my membership to Curves. Anyway, I know from a journal I have that I weighed 164 when I started there. That's my exact weight when I started this blog. Lisa thinks she still has my measurements from when I first started there, so I am really anxious to measure me now and see if there is a difference. That will help me feel better too, when the numbers on the scale seem to be stuck.

I am motivated to have another great week. Chip knows I need his challenges, so on Thursday, he challenged me to stay on the elliptical for ten more minutes to make it a complete hour. Ten more minutes when my thighs are on fire seems like an hour in itself! But I did it and it felt great. My endurance is really building. I used to have to stop for about 5-10 seconds at least 10 times on the elliptical. Now, I only stop twice (another Chip challenge)! AND - I actually sweat! I never sweat! It makes it feel like my workout is more real - It feels so great!

Thanks everyone, I just couldn't do it without you!

Week Seven - Up 1

What's going on? I'm frustrated.

Let me tell you about my week, then you can give me all the feedback and advice you can. I need it - big time.

This week, I have just about doubled the time and effort of my workouts. I refuse to get off the elliptical before 45 minutes is completed (most of the time doing about 50). For the first time, I am actually sweating while working out. I never sweat! It feels SO good. I burn from 520-570 calories on that elliptical every day!! I also do strenuous workouts with weights afterward - the kind that make that funny straining face that I thought I'd never do during those last few reps! When I leave the gym, I feel that awesome feeling of accomplishment - I love it.

Then, when I get home, I am still looking for opportunities to burn as many calories as possible - walking to school to pick up the kids instead of drive, doing extra crunches and push-ups here and there, etc.

However, ever since I have been pushing myself this hard, I have felt EXTRA hungry. I can not get over how hungry I have been this week!! It's almost like I feel like I have to be constantly eating in order to feel like I'm not uncomfortably hungry. A meal that would have normally satisfied me, doesn't anymore. I know that I am burning tons more calories, but it is terribly frustrating feeling like my work in the gym is not paying off right now.

This is the week before my "time of the month" - that could have something to do with it. Sing with me ladies - "I enjoy being a girl!" I always gain 2-3 pounds around this time. I will never forget what happened the day of Junior Prom. I was pms-ing big time. Chip was going to pick me up in about an hour. I put on my dress that was a perfect fit a couple of days before, and it was way too tight! My mom had to actually take an inch or two out of it so I could enjoy Prom! Then of course, it was a little too big a few days later.

So, I really hope that's what is going on, although I'm not feeling that bloated feeling I usually do. Perhaps my previous week is now showing. I really just don't know. Beth is reminding me that I can be building muscle too, and not to get discouraged. It's tough though. It is discouraging.

All feedback is welcomed - thank you all for taking the time to be a part of this journey with me.

This week I will commit again to work just as hard and hope that it will all catch up to me.

Shorts season is coming, and for once, I want to be wearing them!!

Week Six - Down 1 (6 lbs total)

One pound.

But you can tell by the smile that I am happy. Considering this past week we have had at home, it's actually a miracle.

For those of you who don't know yet, Chip lost his job last Monday. It was as if a rug had been pulled right out from under us.

I was so motivated to have an awesome week. When this happened, lots of that motivation went right out the window. The thought of quitting entered my mind often. Although I had a great work out out every day (thanks for the push out the door a few of those days Chip) - there was some emotional eating going on that I had a very difficult time controlling. Fortunately, when it seems like it's all too much, Chip and Beth are right here all the time to knock some sense into me. I don't know what I would do without them. Lots of encouraging words have come from people I love. I am so blessed.

So, after a couple of days, I was back at it mentally. I just have to believe that everything will be okay, because it always is.

I am happy with my results this week - very happy.

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Work Out Songs

Hey everybody, what are some songs that really get you "pumped"? The end of that elliptical session can be brutal, but when a good song comes on the ipod - it totally gets me through! (By the way, I'm up to 45 minutes now - wha-hoo!) So, I know there are thousands of great workout songs - do you have any good suggestions?