Here we go again!

So now that it's the end of July, I've gained weight (not lost) and summer is about over, I am FINALLY getting back into the weight loss thing and I am SO excited! I know I know you've heard it before but just listen! I weighed myself to see how much I've gained only to be saddened by the number. I knew I gained weight, I could feel it, so I wasn't too shocked by what I saw but I was really annoyed with myself. I haven't been that heavy since my early college years. Now, mind you, when I started this whole want to lose weight thing I was weighing in at 128-132lbs, not that bad! NOW? ha ha I weighed 137lbs. :'( Not only did I gain weight I gained 5-9lbs UGH!!! ANYWAY, here's the turning point and the best part of the story! I picked myself up an AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME trainer! No, she doesn't work at a gym! She actually has a real education! I sat down with her on Saturday morning and we talked about me and weight loss... I asked her question and then we got started working out. A quick background...in the past I'd work out at the gym for 2-3 hours a day with absolutely NO results! Yes, I lost weight but I want to look more fit and that never happened! I left feeling tired but never feeling like I just got a really good workout, I was never EVER sore! I just thought my body was used to working out and that's why I wasn't ever sore and I tried really hard! OK back to working out with the trainer. She started me on some basic lunges, squats, and arm exercises. Sadly I got nauseous (I don't understand that, I've NEVER felt like I was going to throw up while working out, NEVER) so we quit a little early but I have to tell you that in the 20-25 minute work out I felt like I worked out more than I ever felt in the 2-3 hours I worked out before. And I've been sore ever since! I LOVE IT!!!!!!! Here is the other part. I have a Weight Watchers scale that I just purchased a little while ago. I hid it because I was becoming obsessed with weighing myself. After 2 days of diet and exercise I decided to weigh myself. SILLY ME!!! I wanted to see how off our scales were... (I should have done that when I got home from working out with her) anyway, I was excited to see that the scale dropped from 137 to 134. Now I KNOW that could just be the scale and nothing else but I will TAKE IT! It motivated me to keep going because, let's be honest, diet is NOT easy!!! I haven't been perfect but I've been trying! THEN today I wanted to see if it was just a fluke that I weighed 3 lbs less and was expecting to step on the scale and it say 134- 137 again BUT drum roll please!!! When I stepped on that lovely scale of mine I weighed even less!! It sang to me when it said 132lbs. NOW AGAIN!! I know it could just be the scale BUT I weighed myself at the same time the last two weigh ins and in exactly the same attire as the very last one so I KNOW that I've lost at least 2 lbs!! I'm excited to see what my trainer's scale says! I LOVE this feeling! I'm losing weight cause I'm eating healthier and that's been my goal... so so long isagenix, thanks for helping me lose weight last summer and HELLO to healthy eating, it will help me stay skinny forever!!!! It's harder than you can believe but it will get easier and I LOVE seeing the drop in weight, even if it is only 2 lbs! I LOVE my trainer, the help she gave me with my diet was simple. I thought it was going to be so hard to eat right... and I might not be eating very healthy YET but slowly I'll work my way up to a really stricked diet and then it won't feel so much like a real diet. I feel so excited. I go to see my trainer again tomorrow! I'm REALLY EXCITED! So stay tuned, this is the real thing!! (oh and I took before pictures the other day- and I'm going to take more before pictures so that I can post them, but they won't be posted until I have some after pictures to show you... after meaning I look a little better!!)

I was serious...

Then I got sick... then I stopped trying... now we're trying again...
Chad and I have set our goals, we will start updating this blog from now on as we have made a goal to workout 80 days in a row no matter what. I've learned to start slow and build up for ANYTHING I do to work. SO the last couple days have been a 30-40 minute faster walk... and then we are going to do this 10 minute trainer after... we will see how it works and see how by small and simple things will great things brought to pass...YAY!! PLUS it's a great way to spend time with the hubby and to have a goal, like this, together isn't so bad either!

My Personal Trainer!! Oh how lucky I am!!

Ever since I have started posting about losing weight I have wanted everything to come off quick and easy. HA I've always wanted that... I've read about a million people's blogs about weight loss and have, through each story, found new motivation and ideas on what I can do. It seems, lately however, that I've heard of "easy" ways to take care of weight loss! Tempting as it was to take part in these "cures", as they called it, I researched the easy fixes. I'm not sure what conclusions I came up with exactly, there are many pros and cons to everything. I guess I have to give a little background. My whole life I have been insecure about my personal appearance. Looking back at pictures of me I'm not sure why I was so worried all the time however, I was and sadly still am...but because of this personal struggle I have always been willing to do anything, extreme or not, to lose weight. Why this time is different I'm not sure exactly but I have been so determined to research the best way for me to lose weight AND finally I found my answer!! (This is the story of how I got my answer) I learned about a shot called HCG... a miracle shot as it is called... you give yourself everyday for a period of 40-45 days. You eat only 500 calories a day and the weight just melts off. The pros to this little miracle is that it feeds off your hard stored fats so you are able to lose about 1-2 lbs a day. I was told that you are literally burning about 2,000 a day without working out at all. It is suggested, actually, that you walk each day but that you don't do any strenuous exercise while on the diet. You are tricking your body into thinking it is starving so that your stored fats gets burned and you lose weight where it is hardest to get ride of. You restart your system so you are basically wiping your health slate clean and starting over. Doctors put you on an extreme diet after and are taught how to eat health. You go in for regular check ups and are coached so that weight gain afterwards is minimal. Sounds good right? It did to me!! Desperate to FINALLY have the body I wanted I had all the information I needed to convince my husband that I needed this diet. However, before I did this I prayed for help that I might be able to find peace within myself to have the strength and knowledge I needed to do what was right and healthy for my body and mind. What an easy solution! Without realizing, my prayers were answered. Here is what I came up with. There are brilliant people in the world who, if can come up with a way to open up a person's scull, take out what's causing problems and close it back up without harsh evidence of a major surgery, can without a doubt find a "cure" for losing weight! The consequences might be minimal if there are any to unhealthy fat being burned off. However, one of the cons IS huge!! It's cost is so expensive and most likely you will gain weight back. I've heard of people who have taken the shots and have gained weight back so quick. Is this because they truly haven't learned how to eat healthy? Is it because even after the diet is over and you've reached your weight loss goals you can't afford the organic expensive foods to maintain this new look? Or is it just because it's become so hard to continue such a hard diet?? i don't know the answer to that but I do know that we were created by God and in His image. Knowing that... Who knows exactly how to help us lose weight or gain the much needed self confidence and strength to overcome our personal weakness, to feel better about who we are and what we look like?? If you will allow me to explain my opinion... Here is the difference between going to a man made solution and to our Heavenly Father! I was taught that faith without works is dead. If I can apply that to working out... weight loss without working for it won't work. I can take a shot and yes my fat might melt away but if through my own hard work and determination I can't lose weight how will I ever learn to appreciate when I do? Maybe my thinking would be oh well if I gain weight I will just get the shot again, never really making changes to my life so I can be healthy all time and not just when I realize I've eaten poor enough to gain weight. What would I be, in the long run, telling my mind and body? It's OK, just eat that.... you can get a shot that will melt the fat way... maybe not really even giving myself a real chance to learn about my personal body and what works for it! So, as I knelt in prayer and asked for guidance in how to lose weight and if this shot was right for me I learned an unforgettable lesson. I was created in God's image. Through faith and hard work alone is the only true way, not only to lose weight, but to find peace and love for myself so that I can look in the mirror and be proud of my reflection! Here is what I felt. I need to learn to eat healthy and not just eat what I think is healthy but learn about healthy living!! I need to exercise. I don't need to spend a million dollars on gym memberships (although I do plan on getting a membership so I can workout with my husband) I can use my legs and start simple . Go for a walk. Do jumping jacks. Run stairs for 15 minutes. Use cans of food as weights. Do leg lifts. As I get stronger, I'll go for longer walks, do more jumping jacks, run more stairs, use heavier cans of food, do more leg lifts... AND as I use my hands to pick up that yummy brownie that I LOVE to eat I can remember "Moderation in all things." If I go on a diet I will fail, if I make small changes at a time I will succeed!! I can eat that brownie, I WILL eat that brownie.. but instead of eating 10 of them, I will eat one and slowly so that it feels like I am eating 10! and I will learn to be healthy not because I want to be model skinny but because i want to feel good inside and out and I want to learn through my own success that I can do it! And NOTHING can stop me! So here starts a new journey to weight loss... As I start my day with a prayer I will remember to ask for help from my "Personal trainer" to become healthy and have the strength to make small changed on my road to a healthier me!! By small and simple things are great things brought to pass! so i'll start simple and see great rewards!

It starts...

So yesterday was our first weight in... well, second. Yes, I lost four lbs since my last weigh in BUT not really because the very first time I "weighed in" I was 129 then I gained 3 lbs and lost it again so now I'm 128! OIG!! Chad is going to do this with me and I'm really excited about that. This will help me a lot because now we can go workout together!! YAY!! He doesn't know the extent of his commitment yet though BUT he will find out today when I measure him tonight :). I'm going to post before and after pictures soon! I'm sure NO ONE is seeing this anyway so I won't have to feel so embarrassed about what I look like. HOWEVER, no worries my friends, NONE of the really reveling befores will be showed until AFTER!!! WHEN I'm BETTER LOOKING... I don't have the guts to do that yet! BUT I will post some before... and then some after! For both Chad and I! I'm excited!

My Story!

So I wrote this whole big story about myself and my weight loss and then decided I didn't want to write a whole huge story. Sometimes you just want to lose weight and feel great just because you do... and although my weight has ALWAYS been a big concern for me (justified or not) I've never been heavier than 145 (and that was only one time. Oh the freshman 15!!) so I don't have much to complain about. BUT I will say this: I've ALWAYS been self conscious of my body! I've never worn a bathing suit without a shirt or shorts to go over it. NEVER!!! Whether I loss weight or not it is time to stop being so self conscious and love the skin I'm in!! So this is what this whole thing is, an attempt to love me for me and feel good doing it!!!

Long term GOALS:
I want to weight 108 lbs. BUT more so I want to fit into 4 to 6 size pants AND I want to feel good wearing a bathing suit without shorts or a shirt! If I can do that, I don't care if I'm 8,000 lbs, I will feel FREE!!! Learn what "healthy eating" really is. What is good and not so good for my body!

Monthly goals:
Don't get discouraged about how fast or SLOW my results are... work out and eat healthy everyday! Even if all I do to work out is go on a walk I just want to do something! By small and simple things are great things brought to pass! Learn how to a life time change. Just a 5lb weight loss a month would be ideal!

Weekly goals:
Exercise even when I don't want to. Keep motivating myself. If that means putting on my pants that don't fit so I keep motivated that is what i will do! Try something new! New food, new exercise, new... something!

Daily Goals:
Exercise. Eat Breakfast, snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner, Snack... HEALTHY snacks. Don't eat pass 8:30. Drink 66 oz of water a day!

These are my goals!
Good Luck to me!

Told you I was Serious!!

So my sister in law told me about one of her friends who was losing weight and told me to look at her blog. I did... and it was really awesome! SO here I am, I'm going to follow in her footsteps and show my results on my blog! I feel good about this, I think it will work! SO if you want to join in my weight loss adventure... LET'S DO THIS!!!