Success

Anytime you are working on losing weight and setting goals you think about things that you hope change when you lose weight. I refer to them at the mile stone successes. We all have them. "I want to walk without my legs rubbing together." I want to wear "normal" size clothing." "I want to run down the stairs to answer the phone and not be out of breath." Things like this. I have a long list of these things. On this list I have clothing sizes I hope to see again. I have things like single digit jeans. Knee high boots. Fit into my wedding dress. Etc. This past weekend I was able to see something I haven't seen in a long time and boy did it feel good.

Drum roll............................

That's right it's a med. top. Something I have not seen in at least 8 years. I can't wear all med. tops but I will get there. 

What are some of your mile stone successes?

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Diaper Dash 5K

Finally the weather is starting to warm up here in Michigan. This past weekend we had fairly decent weather and was able to do a ton of things with the girls. Our goal was to keep family fun time expenses down under $50.

I started off the weekend by completely a 5K. I set out to complete a 5K a month all summer long. I completed my my first one in May on Memorial Day. This was my June race. We have a local group that holds an annual race called the Diaper Dash. This race helps raise funds to help local mothers by purchasing items like diapers.. I completed the 5K in 38.31. Not my best time this year but not a bad time either. I am feeling pretty good. I am sure I could have pushed myself harder, but no second guessing what didn't happen. Only goal setting for next year.

? What does one do with all their race shirts and numbers ?

My legs were so sore after the race that I could barely walk. I am sure I over did it with my personal trainer on Friday. 

Last summer my family was introduced to Geocaching. Ever since we have been dying to go again. Since the weather was nice we decided to head out Saturday and see how many we could find within a 3 mile radius of the house. We found 4. Here is a picture of my two oldest daughter checking out one of them. 

We finished up Saturday night with a fire. Perfect way to end a perfect day. Sunday morning after a big breakfast we headed to complete our fun cheap family weekend. We started out by shooting 9 holes of disc golf. Than we finished it up by spending a couple hours fishing. We didn't catch anything but for our first time out this year we had a great time. 

Life gets so busy sometimes that we forget to just sit back and enjoy the time we get together. This weekend we proved that you could do just that for little to no money.

Memorial Day 5K

The big day came and went and I survived.. I more then survived; I rocked the Memorial Day 5K. I set a goal to beat my personal best time and I did that plus... My best time previously was 44.41 this time it was calculated at 35.55. That is over 8 mins faster then my best time. There was a little bit of confusion on the track layout and after we all finished it was announced that the actual race was a 3.6 mile rather then the 3.1 so I had to calculate my 5K time from my finishing time of 41.28. I wonder how well I would have done if I would of finished stronger a 1/2 mile back? Guess we will find out next year. Now to start preparing for the Diaper Dash in 2 weeks. The Diaper Dash is a typical 5K but all the proceeds go to helping low income families buy diapers.

Oldest daughter MiKayla (11), Middle daughter Nicole (8) and myself. 

My oldest daughter MiKayla

This is me; okay hard to see but I am the one with the pink line across my butt. 

Mexican Meatloaf Muffins

Mexican Meatloaf Muffins

Ingredients

	cooking spray
	1/2 pound uncooked lean ground beef
	1/2 pound uncooked ground chicken
	2 large egg white(s)   ( 1/4 cup liquid egg whites )
	1 cup cornbread stuffing dry mix
	1 medium uncooked onion, chopped
	8 oz canned enchilada sauce
	4 oz canned green chili peppers, diced

•         Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a muffin pan with cooking spray.
•         In a large bowl, mix beef, chicken, egg whites, stuffing mix, onion, chilies and half of enchilada sauce together. Shape into balls with your hands and place into muffin pan.
•        Cook for 1 hour, top with remaining enchilada sauce and bake for 5 minutes more. 

  

Estimated Nutritional Facts: 1 muffin -- Calories 181.3 * Total Fat 5.3 g * Sodium 520.3 mg * Total Carbohydrate 14.1 g * Protein 18.9 g

Motivation Monday

Okay so it's not Monday but it will be soon enough.. I am currently working on a DVD slideshow for my cousin who is graduation from high school. While going through some old pictures I found a couple from 2 years ago. This was; as some of you might remember when I was at my heaviest 212 pounds. Check out the double chin!

The Simple Things

Have you ever heard the song "Simple Things" by Kenny Chesney? It's a song about drinking addictions but rings true for any situation where you feel lost or helpless. When you struggle and feel like you've lost the battle.  I was sitting here and something sparked my mind. Everyone has their own reasons for losing weight. It ranges from happiness/self-confidence to wanting to be able to wear a size 2 or a bikini with pride. However, everyone has random and uncommon reasons they want to lose to. Maybe they are not part of common knowledge people people are too embarrassed/shy to discuss them openly. What are you uncommon simple things you miss or reasons you want to lose weight? 

My Simple Things are:

1. I want to go to the store and not feel embarrassed when buying a chocolate bar. At the moment, I don't buy them because I feel like people are staring at the "fat girl buying the candy".

2. I don't want to be that girl who walks up three flights of stares and is completely out of breath and having a heart attack.

3. I think it would be funny to see my clothes that I wear now be baggy and barely fit me. I would still wear them sometimes to, as weird as it sounds!

4. I don't want to have back boobs anymore!

5. I would like to have my thighs NOT invade each others space!!!

Maybe these are really uncommon reasons, but they are different than the whole common "I want to be pretty" or "I want to be healthy" reasons!

Wha Who!!!

Okay, Okay you're asking 1st off "where have you been?" and 2nd "why the Wha Who?" Let's talk about the 1st question. I am a mental roller coaster. I can't ever seem to be happy with my success and beat myself up over the smallest of bumps. Friday started off as a great day which leads me to the 2nd question. During the spring and summer hours I work 4 days a week; which means I get Friday's off. I have partnered up with 2 wonderful ladies who agreed to split personal training time with me. This is huge because I went from spending $70 a month for 2 hrs to only spending $47 a month for 4 hours. Okay so back to the Wha Who. Friday morning I weighed in and guess what? The scale read 162.2! That's right for those of you who have been following my blog that meant that I reached 50 pounds gone for good.. I have always been on this weight loss journey. Some days I am moving forward and some backwards. I started to get really serious about in Nov. 2011 after looking at picture of myself with my beautiful daughter. I decided right then that I needed to lose weight not only for myself but to set an example for my daughters.

November 2011 - My oldest daughter MiKayla

30th Birthday Sept. 2011

30th Birthday Sept. 2011

Any normal person would be over the moon with excitement. No; not this girl. I set up the camera to take an after shot to compare to "fat" me and I don't see a huge difference. I see small ones but I don't see this wow image. I look at other people's photos and see this amazing before and after but when I look at mine I see a little smaller tummy but that is it. I have only gone down 3 pant sizes and 1 top size. 

After my Friday morning personal training session I decide to take the gals advice and go shopping for a new top and maybe try on some old 'fat' me size clothing. I never made it the 'fat' me section because I got lost in the 'new' me stuff. I found this great new top. I am very excited about it. Not only is a beautiful top, but I love the way I look and feel in it. 

Apparently I don't know how to take dressing room photos.

Check it out - Size 'L'

This was just the pick me up that I needed. I decided to celebrate by going out to lunch with my husband and then to the movies with my kids. The bad news is that 'fat' me made an appearance and pigged out. As of this morning I am still battling 2 weekend pounds I need to drop off so that I can get back to my 50 gone Wha Who...

I set a goal for myself at the beginning of the year to drop down to 155 by my mid-July vacation. I have 10 to drop in 10 weeks. Very doable if I bury 'fat' me and focus. Here's to the next 10... stay tuned...

Really I need to do what if I eat that?

During my morning web surfing I came across an interesting article. http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/burger-worth-7-500-sit-slideshow/burger-king-whopper-photo-2616418-182800940.html

This article compares fast food items to fitness and puts it all into prospective. There are 11 items listed. The one that really shocked me was that a six-cookie snack pack or Oreos is 270 calories, or about 3 1/2 miles of walking. I feed these things to my kids and don't think twice. Heck I sneak them when I am looking for a sweet tooth fix.

Article is worth checking out.

Circuits

I have recently been asked what type of Circuits I do. Here are a couple of the ones I do and love. There are days that I switch out Elliptical for Treadmill. You could easily run in place or do anything cardio in it's place. The goal is to get your heart rate up. You could also modify the workout to do at home w/o gym equipment. 

#1 Circuit est. 35-40 minutes total time.

Total Body

Crunches on stability ball

Step up's with weights

push-ups on stability ball

10 mins Elliptical warm up

15 step up's with weights
1 min crunches on yoga stability ball
15 push-ups on yoga stability ball
3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

15 step up's with weights
1 min crunches on yoga stability ball
15 push-ups on yoga stability ball
3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

15 step up's with weights
1 min crunches on yoga stability ball
15 push-ups on yoga stability ball

10 mins Elliptical cool down

#2 Circuit est 40-45 minutes total time. 

Lower Body Focus

10 mins Elliptical warm up

30 lungs with 8 lb medicine ball twist

2 mins step up's w/o weights

15 reps leg press

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

30 lungs with 8 lb medicine ball twist

2 mins step up's w/o weights

15 reps leg press

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

30 lungs with 8 lb medicine ball twist

2 mins step up's w/o weights

15 reps leg press

10 mins Elliptical cool down

#3 Circuit est 35-40 minutes total time

Upper Body Focus

10 mins Elliptical warm up

1 min crunches on yoga stability ball

15 reps lat pulldown machine

15 reps dumbbell bicep curls

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

1 min crunches on yoga stability ball

15 reps lat pulldown machine

15 reps dumbbell bicep curls

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

1 min crunches on yoga stability ball

15 reps lat pulldown machine

15 reps dumbbell bicep curls

10 mins Elliptical cool down

**Most days I add a little extra floor stuff before my cool down. I do leg lifts with a 15 lb weighted bar on my leg. I do bicycle crunches. I do planks. I do about 15 minutes worth. I have shin splints now so I add stretching at the end now with a foam roller.

New Mini Van

I finally bought my new mini van.... 2010 Chrysler Town and Country

VEHICLE OPTIONS

• "Power Door Locks
• Power Drivers Seat
• Power Sliding Door(s)
• CD Player
• Anti-Lock Braking System
• Dual-Zone Temp. Controls
• Privacy Glass
• Side Impact Air Bag(s)
• Traction Control
• Fog Lights
• Leather Upholstery
• DVD Player
• Luggage Rack
• Interval Wipers
• Auto Headlight Delay
• Remote Power Mirrors
• Center Arm Rest

• Power Windows
• Power Passenger Seat
• Remote Keyless Entry
• 12V Power Outlet
• Security System
• Tilt Steering Wheel
• Remote Hatch Release
• Electronic Compass w/Temp
• Power Rear Side Vents
• Front Bucket Seats
• 7/8 Passenger Seating
• DVD Monitor(s)
• Heated Seat(s)
• Rear Defroster
• Carpeting
• Overhead Console
• Body Side Moldings

• Auto Express Down Window
• Power Adjustable Pedals
• AM/FM Stereo Radio
• Gauge Cluster
• Air Conditioning
• Cruise Control
• Dual Air Bags
• Trip Computer
• Rear Heat/AC
• Reclining Seats
• Child Proof Locks
• Alum/Alloy Wheels
• Cargo Light
• Rear Window Wiper
• Day/Night Lever
• Fold Down Rear Seat
• Rocker Panel Moldings"

Fruit Infused Water

Fruit Infused Water

Let me first start off by saying that I have not been paid by anyone to promote any products - but I would gladly become a spokes person for the Infuse Water Bottle. I attended a finances round table for work and received this cool water bottle. 

So far I have only tried adding strawberries to it. I am dying to try some of the recipes found on this site. This one in particular. 

Cherry Limeade

What you will need:



• 1 Key Lime sliced thinly
• 6 pitted cherries cut in half
• 1 sprig of mint
• ice and water 

Let steep 30 minutes.