Spring In 2 Action Challenge Update

This whole getting healthy, losing weight and getting fit journey has certainly been eye opening!  I've discovered that I'm my own worst enemy.  No matter how many excuses I come up with, it all comes down to my lack of will.  I know all the right things to do, but I don't always go through with them. 

I have been exercising at least 3 times a week.  I've changed up my cardio routine to the following: 10 minutes on the Stairmaster, stretch exercises, 25 minutes on the bike and then aprox 40-60 minutes on the eliptical.  From now on I wil alternate 1 day complete cardio and the next day 20 minutes cardio with a total body weight work out to help rev up my metabolism.
My weight has been up and down; I started at 209.8 and I weighed in last evening and was at 207.4 but the week before I was between 209-210 so I'm on a better track.  Thank goodness for my challenge partner Karen because if not I'd totally give up.

Plus Size Blogger: March Contest Final Measurements

Today marks the end of the month, so I have to post my overall measurements again.  To be honest I've  tried to exercise as much as I can, but there have been lots of things that haven't allowed it.  Trips, visits & excuses.  Despite it all I have tried to control my food portions, although I have to admit it has been extremely difficult because I love to eat.  This problem I think will be better because I'm aware of where my problem lies.

Here it goes:
Neck==>   14.5
Upper Arm Left==>    13
Upper Arm Right==> 13
Chest==>  36.5
Waist==> 37
Abdomen==> 43
Buttocks (6″below waist)==>  48
Upper Thigh left==>    27.5
Upper Thigh right==>  28
Calf left==>   16
Calf right==> 16
Upper Knee left==>  17
Upper Knee right==>  17.25
Total Inches==> 326.75

Previous Total Inches==> 337.8

Total Inches Lost==> 11.5

Hope I calculated this right!

Spring In 2 Action Challenge: Week 2

It's that time of the week where I come and share my week as a part of the Spring In 2 Action Challenge from Sisterhood of the Shrinking Pants.

Last week I officially started a vegetarian style diet.  I've cut out red meat, chicken, fish, eggs and I've kept milk and cheese to a minimum.  I thought it was going to be difficult, but I've found a new love in veggies, tofu, whole wheat pastas, fruit and textured protein.  Now I just need to work on portion control although I'm doing better than I normally do.  I have to give myself a high five for this!

On the other hand, I have sinned by eating like more than half a bag of mini Reese's pieces cups.  I am so weak, but then I got my period yesterday and already I feel like the cravings are gone.  By no means do I plan on falling victim to those treats again.  I have also noticed that I haven't been drinking as much water as I should so i definitely need to kick that up a notch.

Despite my up's and downs I did lose a total of 2 lbs.  For some it might not seem like a whole lot, but I feel ecstatic over the moon.  Now that I think of it, of I hadn't given into the bag of Reeses this last week I might could've lost some more weight.  I'm definitely staying away from sweets and keeping up with my cardio at the gym as much as possible.  For next week's weigh in I'm totally gunning for at least another 2 lbs.  I leave for Europe in May so my goal from here to then is to lose at least a minimum of 16 lbs {including the 2 I've already lost} I just need to stay motivated, but I'm sure with the help of my buddy Karen and everyone participating in the challenge it'll happen.

Initial weight {Wednesday March 2} 209.8
2nd weigh in {Tuesday March 8}     207.8

Spring In 2 Action Challenge: Week 1

The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans is holding a new weightloss/fitnnes challenge beginning Wednesday, March 2nd {Yes I'm a day late} and ending Wednesday, April 13th.  That's a total of 6 weeks!

This month everyone should have a  friend.  I've teamed up with Karen from Turn My Life Around.  We know each other from the blogging and it turns out that we both want to get back in shape, so I'm happy to be teaming up with her.

For my part I've been dealing with the ups and downs of my weight for years.  When I started college back in 1998 I weighed 123 lbs and today I weigh 209.8 lbs.  I blame it on my unstable relationship with the gym, random bad eating choices and never addressing the issue of having gained a little weight.  It all started with: "Darn it, I gained 5 pounds during Christmas break....ahhhh it's just 5 pounds, what harm can that do.  Fast forward almost 13 years  and I wish I had dealt with the issue at the moment.  Add to that a 50 lb pregnancy weight gain and a car accident that left me immobile for quite some time and there you have my 209.8 lbs.

 I'm 5'6" tall and have a more or less a medium build so I know I'll never be stick thin nor would I want to be that way.  I just want to be able to run after my son without losing my breath, I want strengthen my lower body so I can walk like I used to before my car accident in 2009 and be able to wear high heels, look good in my skinny jeans again, and just be overall healthy so I can be with my family for as long as GOD will allow me.

To make all this happen I'm aiming to hit the gym at least 5 times a week and do a minimum 1 hour of cardio.  I'm also adopting a vegan style diet, where I am eliminating red meats, chicken, fish, eggs, milk and I'm limiting yogurt, cheeses and vegetable oils to an extreme minimum.  This all came due to a book I'm reviewing called 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, which promotes a healthier lifestyle through a plant based diet. 

I'll also be doing the 100 Push-Up Challenge.  For my initial fit test I did 10 push-ups, which I guess isn't bad, but I am so aiming to be able to do the 100 b the end of the 6 weeks.




Good luck to all of those you out there also looking to get back in shape and be overall healthy!

Are You In Need of Energy! Make Sure You Read This!

Seeing that this is my sort of' get fit blog, I thought it would be a good idea to share this book review that I did on my other blog Always Around Boys {review/giveaway blog} 


I really dislike starting the day feeling all tired and sluggish.  Sometimes, even after getting a full night's rest I feel as though I'm not ready to start off the day.

{source}

Luckily, I was able to review the book Get Energy: Empower Your Body, Love Your Life by Denise Austin.  This book focuses on what you can do to bring and improve your energy levels, regardless of your age.  The good thing is that this book focuses on making lifestyle changes as opposed to doing temporary changes.

What You'll Find in the Book: {source}

• An in-depth quiz and a “Personal Energy Plan Worksheet” to determine your energy-zappers
• A guide on what foods to eat — and at what time of day to eat them to maximize energy
• Five-minute stretching and breathing routines for a quick energy-boost
• Mini-workouts you can squeeze in on your busiest days
• Easy lifestyle changes for more radiant skin, restful sleep and a sharper mind
• Energy makeovers of busy women just like you

By far, my favorite part of the book is the five-minute stretching and breathing routines for a quick energy-boost section.  It's incredible how much better and energized you can feel by just performing a set of specific stretches during the day.  After having tried the stretches, I can say that they have definitely changed my overall mood.  The morning stretches help me start off the day better... happy mommy equals happy baby!  The night-time stretches help me get a better sleep because I get to unwind and relax before officially shutting my eyes.

The book is a very simple read; I was able to finish it in a couple of days by reading at bedtime.  The other good thing about it is that you can just keep going back to reference it because everything is so well organized.   This book doesn't present any gimmicks or fads;  all it does is give reasonable sound advice.  The truth is that with today's hectic lifestyles we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves and then wonder why are we so tired and worn out. This book reminds us that it's ok to take a couple of minutes for ourselves each day because these little changes can make for great, big, positive changes in our lives.

http://www.deniseaustin.com/

http://www.facebook.com/DeniseAustinOnline

http://twitter.com/#!/deniseaustin_

Have you read this book?

Disclosure: I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. I received the featured book, free of charge, for review purposes only.  This is an honest review and the opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way.  Your experiences might differ.

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Plus Size Bloggers: March Contest Initial Measurements

I'm starting a challenge over at Plus Size Bloggers.  This month the focus is going to be on how much you can lose on your overall body measurements.  Many times, when people are on the path to losing weight and getting healthy they only focus on the numbers on the scale and not how they feel in their clothes.  Once the numbers on the scale stop going down, people lose motivation and go back to their old, unhealthy ways. 

As part of the initial post {the post was supposed to have gone up yesterday...hope I can still participate and if not I'll still keep on with it}I have to share my measurements with the world {or at least with whomever is willing to read this...yikes!} Needless to say, this is extremely embarrassing for me because I know the numbers are high.  I want to start doing things, so I can improve on my overall health and go back to having the body from when I started my husband { which was in November 2007}

Here it goes:

• Neck==> 14.5
• Upper Arm Left==> 13
• Upper Arm Right==> 13
• Chest==> 37
• Waist==> 40.5
• Abdomen==> 45
• Buttocks (6″below waist)==> 49
• Upper Thigh left==> 28
• Upper Thigh right==. 29
• Calf left==> 15.8
• Calf right==>16.2
• Upper Knee left==>18
• Upper Knee right==>18.8
• Total Inches==> 337.8

It wasn't as bad as I thought.  Taking the measurements I mean because the numbers are scary big!  I'm motivated into getting back to shape, so let's see how much those numbers can go down!