Hurts so good

Last night I had the best.workout.ever..my new love= ZUMBA!!
I started Monday night and it left me a little frazzled and feeling very uncoordinated. The instructor was awesome though, great routines and extremely upbeat, but I felt like I couldn't keep up! Yesterday, I went again despite my insecurities. It was a different instructor and she was just as great. I actually felt like it was a better workout yesterday because it felt more focused on muscles than a choreographed dance..for instance, she incorporated squats in with the music instead of just booty shakin. I loved it! It was nonstop for an hour and I was able to keep up more..I'm not sure how many calories I burned (Heart Rate Monitor..birthday?? Christmas??) but I know I was dripping sweat! Aftwards I continued to work out..ran a little on the treadmill and the arc glider. I was drenched!
In other news..I am planning my "Scentsy Launch Party" in full force! It is going to be at my house on October 9th (btw, where did September go??) I have a lot of great ideas! If you aren't sure what Scentsy is..check out My Scentsy Website.
Have a great day!!
Weigh in tomorrow..eek!

5K recap

I woke up Saturday morning to get ready for the 5k and ate a mini bagel with peanut butter and banana slices. I was watching Biggest Loser clips for motivation. I was so pumped!! Anyway, Jordan and I left to pick up my running partner and her hubby and off we went. The traffic on the highway was sooo packed because this is how many people were there:

 Marlene and I have been training for this moment for 8 weeks, people!!

Me and my #1 fan, Jordan <3

The race started on time and honestly I had so much adrenaline pumping through my body that I started off running waaay too fast. I felt like I was sprinting. So, halfway into the first mile I had to start walking. The good thing about training with Marlene all this time is that we are really good at keeping the same pace to eachother. It's like we knew when we both had to slow down. The second mile seemed harder to me..partly because I felt like I was using all my energy to run past the people who were walking. Next year I need to do the timed race, for sure.

The last leg of the race was fine for me. We were back to seeing all the people, the music, the booths and I saw Jordan when I crossed the finish line even though I wasn't trying to make eye contact. We ended up finishing at 48 minutes. I was perfectly fine with that, because I know I gave it my all and this was something I never would have even thought twice about a year ago! The first week of the Couch to 5K I could barely run one minute, let alone a mile. I would recommend the C25K program for anyone interested in distance running or just trying to build endurance or getting into shape.

Crossing the finish line!!

And yesterday..I did somethinhg I've never done either! Zumba!!..Oh my, but that is another post in itself :)

Byeeee



Weight Watcher weigh in 9/24/10

So, let's make this weigh in bit short and sweet..I gained one pound even at WW this week. What the heck. I didn't do anything differently..I was very focused on training for the 5K. Thursday night I had my best run ever because I was so pumped thinking about all the hard work I've put in the past eight weeks for this race. So, I don't really understand the gain. I'm hoping it's muscle or just water weight gain from the "time of the month" (is that TMI in blog world?!) I'm going to keep working just as hard this week!

Tomorrow I will do my 5K recap. I will say this..I survived, finished in under an hour without any injuries! And..I will leave you with a picture:

How I got to where I am now..

I've compiled a few photos to show how I've got to the weight I am now..

I can no longer be in denial..

2005- 150lbs

2007- 165lbs flight attendant interview

2007- 170ishlbs after flight school graduation

2007- 175ishlbs size 13 dress

2008- 180ish lbs size 15 jeans

2008- 195lbs

The day I met my future husband :) 195lbs

2008- 195lbs

2009- engagement pictures..215lbs pregnant and didn't know it yet.

2009- 220ish lbs.

Our wedding day 6-27-08 at least 225lbs

2009- 225ishlbs

The WORST before of me EVER 2009- 230lbs

I look at these photos, especially the last few, and I don't ever want to look like that again!!



My {probably unhealthy} relationship with the scale..

I do weigh myself everyday. Not Once..but three times a day. Is this a bad thing? Probably. I weigh in the morning, as soon as I get home from work and right before I fall asleep. I think, mentally, it helps me feel like I'm in control of my weight if I see the numbers throughout the day. I know this cannot be good.

Lindsay, prior fatgirl did her No Numbers Challenge that I was so motivated by! But yet, I couldn't do it! The thought of not stepping on the scale in the morning terrifies me. I wish I could get to the point where I'm wearing jeans that I haven't worn in two years and feel good about that, but I keep thinking about the number. It's hard, because I feel like I'm doing everything "right"..tracking my points, working out 4-5 times a week..eating less, moving more..and I am seeing results, nearly -40lbs this year so far, but I am still fixated on that scale!

A few months ago, I asked Jordan to hide the scale and cross his heart not to tell me where it was. Come Monday morning, I was begging and pleading with him to tell me where it was. It was like I was dying without it. He finally gave in, and sure enough, I had gained over the weekend. I had been overeating and not caring because I wasn't checking in with the scale. Pretty sad, huh?

Has anyone been affected by this and how did you make a break through??

This is not a Wordless Wednesday. I have a big jumbled mess going on in this head of mine so I'm just going to spill it.

• I feel like my job is an abusive relationship. I'm thankful that I have a job, but I feel so unappreciated. I feel like I am stuck in this job and that there is nothing else/better out there for me. What is it going to take for me to break free?
• I am so proud of my husband! He is getting straight A's this semester already..he has been working full time and going to school full time which makes our time together limited. I know he is sacrificing for us and I am so grateful for that. I really couldn't ask for a better hubby!
• I signed up to sell Scentsy and am waiting on my starter kit! I have a lot of great ideas to get this little business rolling. Scentsy is an awesome product! I will share my link when I get the website up and running :)
• My first 5k is on Saturday. I have a lot of fears going into it, but as long as I finish it without any injuries I will be happy. 
• I took this coming Monday off work to really just regroup with my life. I want to really deep clean my house..get my fall decor out..have lunch with my husband..and make a doctor's appointment. I like organization, but right now my life feels like a big mess.
• What should I wear to the Carrie Underwood concert?!?!
• Speaking of clothes..I want to go on a huge shopping spree after the 5k. There are so many cute fall clothes out there! With my weight loss, I am feeling better about how I look in clothes. I will have to do a post about what I have in mind as far as fall/winter clothes go.
• I miss going to Weight Watchers with my sister :( It was a lot more fun and motivating with her there. :(
• Life in the Dub Lane has the most amazzzzing diy tutorials for fall decor! Can't wait to try them out! Not all my diy projects turn out so well though haha.
• I am going to tour a cosmetology school on Friday..after 6 years of saying "I really want to go to cosmetology school.." it might just work out this time. We'll see.
• I don't think I'm going to lose any weight this week..my weight has been consistently the same every day..maybe the scale will lower when I least expect it the morning of weigh in :)

See? I told you it was a jumbled mess :)

WW weigh in 9-17-10

Hello!

I know I'm a day late with my weigh in post, but I am pleased to announce I am down -4.2 this week!!!

At first I thought it was a fluke. I've never lost more than 2 pounds in a week! I had to ask the receptionist the repeat! The only difference I made this week is that I'm OFF SmartOnes..I'm making meal plans and really watching the portions and of course a lot of this:

SWEAT!!!

The WW meeting topic was exactly what I needed. It was ".2, .4, .6, .8 why don't we appreciate?" 2 weeks ago I posted about how I only lost .2..well, I learned in my meeting that everything adds up. My leader gave a really good example of how if you lost .2 a week for X amount of weeks you would lose X amount of weight compared to a person who wasn't watching what they ate, etc over that amount of time they could have gained X amount. It was very interesting to put that into perspective!! I will never take my .2, .4, .6, .8's for granted again. Everything adds up in the grand scheme of things. Speaking of which, I'm ahead for the month in my goals..I made a goal of losing 4 pounds a month to get to my goal weight of 150 by June 2011. I have lost 5.6 in September so far! I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel...

In other news, I have had a very emotional week (not emotional eating by the way..what I long way I have come!) but I have become very unhappy in my career and basically feel STUCK. I think we've all been there. I hope I get UN-STUCK soon..it is not a fun feeling.

Have a great rest of the weekend!!

So, today I was emailing back and forth (something we do daily) with my friend Marlene..we usually talk about favorite blogs we read, what we're having for lunch, tv shows, who is annoying us..etc etc the list goes on. Today it went a little like this: (M= Marlene, A=Me)

M: What time tonight? 8:30 or earlier?

A: How about 8:00pm [to go workout]

M: Sounds good. What is Week 4? [Couch to 5K]

A: 5 min walk warmup, jog 3min, walk 90sec, jog 5min, walk 2 1/2min, jog 3min, walk 90sec, jog 5min.

M: Ok! So we just have to think it's only TWO more min (running) vs. 3min. We can do it!!!!! Insert Mental Cheesiness.

I know when I'm working out hard (specifically when I'm running) my mind is constantly flowing with things such as: "You got this! You can do this! You are the next Kim Kardashian!" psht yeah right. But seriously, it helps me. Last night I had a realization..I truly believe weight loss is 90% mental. So when you tell yourself over and over you can or want to do something, determination will set it and you.will.do.it!! Kind of like people who lie all the time..they lie so much that they start to believe their lies. Start believing you can lose weight! Seriously, once you change your attitude you can begin to change your whoooole life!

What are some of the sayings you use as your [insert mental cheesiness]??

KFC double down..

Makes me want to barf!!

Thintervention

I often find myself watching weight loss shows for motivation. Love love love The Biggest Loser..liked Celebrity Fit-Club..and any of those Bridal Bootcamp shows I like to watch too. Thintervention with Jackie Warner premied last Monday I believe and I finally got around to watching it yesterday. I actually enjoyed myself.

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At first I thought it was going to be drama, drama, drama and girls that needed to lose like 20 pounds, but I was quite surprised. The contestants are all overweight..one girl my age has 50% body fat, her mother is also a contestant who has battled cancer twice, one girl has PCOS (which I've been tested for), one contestant I'm almost sure is an alcoholic and then of course there's Jenea from Real Housewives. All the contestants, to me, are interesting and are there for the right reasons. Jackie had each contestant go through their pantry and clean out everything that had more than 5gr of sugar per serving. Jeanea even had to throw out some yogurt that had more than 5gr of sugar. I've never considered yogurt a "bad" food..in fact, I eat a FiberOne yogurt about everyday..I will have to check on the sugar. Then she had everyone run/walk 2miles. I know when I first started on my journey I couldn't walk/run 2 miles! They are doing this "thintervention" for 7 weeks. At their first weigh in everyone lost a good amount of weight..I think the lowest loss was -4lbs. So it will be interesting to see how the remaining weeks go and what other tips Jackie has to offer. I will continue watching :) Thintervention is on Bravo tv on Monday nights!  

WW weigh in 9-10-10

Okay, so I'm a little late with my weigh in post. I was stalling because I was waiting for someone to take a full body shot of me. I have been home alone 95% of the time (hubby working long, late hours) and honestly I haven't worn much makeup this weekend and my hair has been in a pony tail most of it! So, I will do a weigh in post minus a picture. No big deal.

This week at Weight Watchers I lost -1.4lbs. I'm fine with that. Obviously I want to lose more, but I am grateful for what I lose because I know I am doing the "right" thing by tracking and working out. I will continue on this journey even if it's one pound at a time.

This week my goal is to be on top of all my food (tracking everything, portioning all food out) and working out Monday-Thursday hard. And I need to keep running because that 5K is coming up quickly with every passing day. This past week I slacked on the running. This is a new week though!

Ohhh...and who's ready for season 10 of The Biggest Loser?!?!

Can't wait until September 21st!!

weigh in clothes

Raise your hand if you weigh yourself first thing in the morning naked?!

Me! Me! Me!

No shame in that; I feel like it's the most accurate number.

Now, I am a little scale obsessed. I weigh in the morning, when I get home from work, and before I go to bed. That can't be healthy, but that is not what this entry is about..

What do you wear to weigh in?

Obviously I can't go to WW naked. This summer I have alternated between a few different sun dresses and flip-flops (taken off, of course). I just about die when I see my sister step on the scale in tennis shoes and jeans. That's got to be an extra 4lbs at least {probably an exaggeration}! I must be crazy, but I want the number in my WW flip book to be as close to the number I see in the morning when I'm naked. Now that it's getting colder I'm not sure what I'll wear.

Please tell me I'm not crazy for stressing over what to wear to Weight Watchers?

Good grief!

I'm ready for fall..

I'm ready for this...

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Philadelphia Eagles Football

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Running with crisp air and getting ready for my 1st 5k -- September 25th!!

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Cardigans! My favorite piece of clothing.

and, last but not least...

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Carrie Underwood will be in concert in my city on October 19th and guess who has front row tickets??!! ME! Can't wait.

My favorite excuses..

So, I'm sitting at work with the last twenty minutes of the day to go. I have the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. The devil is saying "You don't need to work out, you have a headache and Teen Mom is on tonight! Go home and relax!" The angel is saying "Hey! You are fat! How are you going to meet your goals by sitting on the couch?! Plus, the workout may give you a burst of energy to fight that headache away."

Excuses.Excuses.Excuses

I know what I have to do to meet my goals. The past five years have been excuses. Here are some of my favorite:

It's too hot. (hmm the gym is air conditioned..)

It's too cold. (all the more reason to SWEAT)

I have a headache. (This is my #1. Sometimes I act like I'm paralyzed if I get a headache)

My TV shows are on tonight. (OK Allie, your fave shows are on MTV, E! and bravo..they replay a million times..you'll catch it eventually)

I don't want to go alone. (What the heck? Weight loss is the journey of YOURSELF, no one else!)

I'm sore. (That means you're working hard, don't give up!)

I'm tired. (Sleep after the workout)

What are some of your favorite excuses?

Sometimes I just need to whine a little then I'm back on track with what I need to do. Thanks for letting me vent here. I've been getting frustrated lately..even thoughts have been popping into my head such as: Is this even worth it? Why am I working so hard to lose one measly pound?  But I just have to push those thoughts out of my head and look at the long term goals and the acheivements I've made so far. So, my twenty minutes are up..off to the YMCA I go!

WW weigh in 9-3-10

I am back to "normal" on my weigh in schedule. It makes such a difference to me to be back to Friday weigh ins..with my regular WW leader and my Friday schedule. So, let's just get right to it..I stayed the same this week. Actually, I was down .2 but, to me, that is maintaining. I'm not exactly happy with this weight in, but..

• It's not a gain.
• I didn't gain over the weekend..I just didn't lose..
• I know this is a new week and I know I can lose more!

Jordan and I went to Chipotle for lunch yesterday and I had the salad with chicken. I didn't do the WW points on it, but it was the romaine lettuce, chicken, black beans, mild salsa and a little cheese. It was delish and I was full afterwards. Last night, we went to see the movie Eat Pray Love (thank you honey for suffering through it!) and it was awesome! The movie was a little long, but I don't know what could have been cut to still get the full effect. I got a lot out of the storyline..find balance, inner peace and happiness out of your life :) So, that being said: I went on a run this morning with a smile on my face :)

Health

In my first entry I mentioned I had some health problems in the year 2009. I feel I should elaborate, because it is a strong reason why I started my weight loss journey. To become healthy is my main concern..all the extra stuff like clearer skin, cute clothes, etc are bonuses :)

Let me start off by saying I've been pregnant twice. Unfortunately, both have resulted in miscarriage. I first found out I was pregnant on March 14, 2009 when I was engaged. Jordan and I were overwhelmed with happiness! Then came along all the morning sickness, bad smells, crankiness, but I was still overjoyed none the less. We saw our baby's heartbeat at 9 weeks and everything seemed to be progressing normally. When I was just a few days shy of 14 weeks, I woke up with terrible back pain and pressure. Jordan called my OB and she advised us to go to the hospital to be checked out. We did as instructed, but were treated very unkindly in the ER. I was asked what my pain level was from a 1-10. When I said TEN!! I got a lot of eye rolling. I had an ultrasound which I was able to see the baby's strong heartbeat. An hour later we were told I was fine, but that I had a UTI. I was given antibiotics and sent home. Thirty minutes after we got home is when I had the miscarriage. I will spare the gory details..let's just say I wouldn't wish it upon even my worst enemy. A few days later, I had my DCN procedure and were told we could try again in 6 weeks. We did just that! Six weeks after we were married, we were pregnant again on the first try! I had the names picked out, the nursery whether it be a boy or girl and was ready to start shopping at week 4. Sadly, at week 7 is when I had my second miscarriage..at work. Devastated, I wanted answers.

I switched to an OB specializing in high risk pregnancy and she is the one who noticed that I had Hypothyroidism through labwork. Basically, I wasn't producing enough horomones for my body/baby. That also might have explained my 40+ weight gain (all in one year), my lack of motivation..feeling tired all the time..my moodswings..and my miscarriages. My horomones were all over the place! I was put on Synthroid 50mg and after 6 weeks, they upped my dosage because my labwork was still not "normal." After quite a bit of experimentation with the medicine, my lab results finally came back "normal" and I was starting to feel a little better. Then I joined Weight Watchers and the rest is history.

I decided to get healthy because my future family depended on my healthiness. This journey has not been easy by any means, but it will be worth it in the end when my husband and I can start our own family. I've not given up hope in having a healthy pregnancy; I just know it isn't time yet. If you have any questions regarding miscarriages or hypothyroidism please feel free to contact me at amarshall627 (at) gmail (dot) com.