I DID IT!

A tear came to my eye today when I got on the scale and saw 179. I don't think I have weighed that much since 1999. I spent the entire new millennium over 200; except for a short time 6 years ago. I'll post a new scale pic on Saturday. Today is a day to celebrate! I will be celebrating my getting my hair trimmed and just having a nice day. The weather is supposed to be above 65 or the next three days. Maybe another trip to the park is in store for us. This weekend we are going to Nashville and that will be a fun little reward trip. Tonight I am going to do my 20 minute cardio interval workout. Maybe I can convince someone to do it with me. Any takers??

Yippee! Guess I need to write 175 on my arm!

Interval Workout

Do you not have a gym membership? no treadmill? no workout video? and still want to lose weight and burn calories quickly? Here is a little plan for you. It is called interval cardio training. I am going to start doing it a few times a week. Join me. Here is how it works:

Pick 2-4 of the exercises below to make a circuit.

Do 30 (beginner) – 45 (intermediate)- or 60 (advanced) seconds of each

Rest 30 seconds between each of the exercises

Rest a full minute after you finish the 1^st complete circuit

Then Repeat the same circuit 2-3 times.

Next pick 2-4 more exercises to make a 2nd circuit and follow same rules!

Aim for 15-25 minutes total.

Warmup stretches are a must!

Here is the list of exercises:

• Hopscotch – stay in squat and jump forward and back, make an X
• Jumping Jacks
• Speed skater – side to side jump, touch ground
• Suicide runs
• Butt kicks- run in place, kicking rear with heels
• Squat thrust or Burpee – squat, touch ground, jump feet to plank and jump back up
• Plyometric/Jumping lunges
• High Knees-run in place bringing knees up
• Squat Jumps
• Football Run
• Star Jumps
• Mountain Climber
• Jump Rope-you do not need a jump rope to do this
• Plank Jacks
• Fast Walking Lunges
• Prone Cross Toe Touch – hands and feet, kick leg under and through and touch toe
• Kettle Bell swing (can be done with dumbbell)
• Fast Pushups
• Scissor runs
• Shadow boxing (squat while doing punches)
• Med Ball Slams – squat and straight arm slam ball down
• Med Ball Jump Throws – squat and jump up at same time throw ball in air
• Alternating Step ups fast
• Oblique/Torso twist jumps
• Shuffle Run sideways

Not quite...but will not quit

Darn it! I still have not made it to 179. I swear I have a mental barrier keeping me from getting there. I know I can do this! Last week was a really good week. I ate the right stuff, I exercised a lot and drank my water. I know it is going to pay off. We are headed to Nashville Saturday and I am making a promise to my friend Jordan that I am going to post that 179 on Saturday morning before we leave to go see her.

While I love the shred and I know it is transforming my body, this week I am back to the tried and true treadmill! I've got to burn these calories and even better maybe I should be doing both. I am also going to food journal every single bite! I have a bad habit of keeping track of my points in my head and calculating. I know that writing it down is such a big deal. I really need to do it. I am definitely going to go workout with Tammye tonight and maybe again on Wednesday. I can't Thursday (my regular day) because I have a CPR class.

I am not going to let this get me down. We are supposed to have a beautiful week with weather in the high 50s to 60s. I am going to be active, eat healthy and I am looking forward to a fun filled weekend (weighing 179). If the weather stays great, I have promised to take Hudson to the zoo on Friday. The weekend should be lots of fun. We are getting to see several friends and we are staying in a hotel with an indoor pool. Have I mentioned that my kids love to swim? So do I. If we had a pool I would be in it every day. I can't wait for all this warm weather so we can start spending some days at the lake.

Blog Award

Ok, so this picture is really old but it has a lot of significance. It was the last time that I weighed 185 about six years ago; so I still had to post it. This month's blog award is a dual award. It goes to my two nieces Shae and Ashley. I love these girls so much and have had so much fun watching them grow up. It is hard to believe that Shae will be having a baby soon and that little Ashley will be getting married next month. Seriously unbelievable to me. Here are some more recent pictures of them. I don't want Ashley to give me hell so I thought I better do an update. :) Aren't they beautiful?

Shae

Ashley

They both have been great followers of my blog and send lots of encouraging words. Ashley makes sure to chat with me on facebook and send me texts while Shae gives me a phone call fairly often or texts too. I know that they both want me to succeed. When I met them they were both so young. Ashley was only about 4 and Shae was around 7 I think. I too was different. About 117 pounds and in great shape. As I had said in previous posts I had done cheerleading and dance in my past and the two girls thought this was incredibly cool. We instantly bonded, they were both flower girls in my wedding and they have been my little leaches ever since. Shae turned into a very successful cheerleader herself and Ashley an amazing dancer. Now I look at them and it reminds me of what I once was and how badly I want it back. They both are beautiful and in great shape.

I've done a lot with these two and have lots and lots of great memories. And I've had even more laughs and lots of secrets. When ever I used to come to town poor Travis always got booted from bed because me and the girls would have slumber parties. Now when I come to town it isn't quite the same since they are all grown up but they still always make it a priority for us to all spend some time together.

I love you guys! Good luck with all your exciting things that are soon to be happening in your future. Ashley, I know you will make the most beautiful bride & Shae I know you will be an amazing mom. Thanks for all the love and acceptance you both have given me. I appreciate all of your support! Love you more than you know and am so proud of you both. XOXO.

Fajitas

I love Mexican food but most of it is high in calories. Fajitas is usually your best option and it is best if you can fill up on veggies. I made some tonight and thought I'd share the recipe. I thought that they might be too spicy but they weren't at all. If you do like them really spicy you could add more cayenne pepper.

Fajita Recipe
2 Chicken breasts (cut into small strips), I let the chicken marinade for several hours in a large ziploc baggie.
Marinade:

• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• cilantro (optional)

Vegetables:

• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1-2 cups sliced mushroom
• 1 onion sliced thin

Put chicken with about half the marinade in a skillet and cook until chicken is tender and no pink (remove chicken)
Add vegetables and put lid on skillet for 1-2 minutes
Add chicken back to skillet and cook until all liquid is evaporated and chicken and veggies begin to brown.

Serve with fajita size tortillas, avocado slices, tomatoes, salsa and low fat sour cream
For perfect tortillas put them in a pie plate with a damp paper towel or tea towel and cover with foil and put in oven for 20 minutes. I also made some instant spanish rice to serve with these but you could also do a side of fat free refried beans or black beans.

Points Planning

My friend Rachel, the October recipient of the blog award has recently lost over 50 pounds with Weight Watchers. She looks amazing and has been such an inspiration to me. Here are her before and after pictures.

This post is first to congratulate her but secondly it is to share with you a new awesome resource! She has recently started a new blog that can be so helpful. http://pointsplusplanning.blogspot.com/

The basic concept of her blog is to show how much good, REAL food you can eat while following the points plus plan. They are all things her family eats together. She started the project doing 29 points in 29 days--the base number for most people doing weight watchers ends up being 29. She tracked points for each item, and has included pictures and recipes. You could potentially add or remove certain things if you wanted to substitute for other things in your day--or pull from your weekly points (since they are okay to use!!!) and she has also figured in a dessert on several days.

It is a really great resource. Check it out!! I mean look at her results. The picture below has her and her husband in that same skirt she was wearing in her before pics. I am even contemplating doing her exact 29 day diet.

Valentine's Day

This week is Valentines Day. Many people are probably going to celebrate this weekend since it falls on a Monday this year. Tonight we were fortunate enough to have a babysitter so we treated ourselves to sushi & some japanese cuisine. I knew we were going; so through out the day I was really careful about what I ate, saving my calories for dinner. I also drank 72 oz of water and committed to doing the Shred video twice. I started with level 2 at around noon and then did level 1 as soon as we got home from our date.

It is fun to celebrate holidays and it is our culture to celebrate with food. Enjoy something yummy but try to make good choices and do a little extra exercise to help. Here is a picture of us from tonight. By the way, I posted my pic from my new jeans on Facebook and got 52 likes/comments. I think that is a record! I didn't get that many comments on my birthday. It felt good to get support from all those people. Several of them are still not aware of my blog :)

When Travis came home from work, he surprised me with a big bouquet of flowers. He is a good man. He has been very supportive through my journey. I even convince him to workout with me or do the shred every now and then. He is always willing to watch the kids when I go to my training sessions, etc but most of all he has always loved me unconditionally. No matter how I looked he always told me that I was beautiful every day. I feel so lucky to have him. I think his love language is "words of affirmation". Not a day goes by that he doesn't tell me some compliment.

I once read that "love is knowing all about someone and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk in the room and smile at you." Happy Valentine's Day Travis. I love you more than anything.