And then we were halfway.

Yay! I can't believe I am posting so soon since my last. I am.....awesome.
This post will be about several things I have realized about myself since getting as far as I have. It may be fickle. It may be trivial. But, heck, it's real.
(1)  I MADE IT HALFWAY! Yeah, I already know I said that, but it was worth repeating. I work inside and outside the home, have a family, and try to keep vermin from inhabiting my house by doing sufficient amounts of housework. I have serious issues keeping workout commitments. WEEK 1 saw five workouts, WEEK 2, four. This week, it appears I'll get five in. There is no good reason for me to miss. I can carve  20 min out of my day, right? Simple as that.
(2) I HAD AN "AHA" MOMENT! You know that moment when you're in a fitting room and a tremor rocks through you when you either recognize a physical flaw or fear the clothing will be too small? Guess who that didn't happen to today? THIS GIRL! It's mainly because my core is tighter and my booty liftier (wait, huh?). I realized immediately that it didn't happen. I didn't like the piece of clothes, but I didn't fear it either. Sweet.
(3) I NEED TO WEAR CUTE CLOTHES TO WORK OUT. Yep. Jillian can look like a minx, along with her minions. Why can't I? It makes me hold my core tighter, posture straighter, dig deeper, and work harder. Plus plus, the adult population of my household also likes it. I am in the comfort of my own home and am not pretending I'm perfect-bodied or haven't carried children. But wearing cuter clothes makes me pay attention to the parts of my body I'm trying to improve, so why NOT rock it out?
(4) I HAVE TO DO WHAT WORKS FOR ME. Simply put, 20 minute, well- planned Jillian workouts do. I love them. I hate them. They motivate me. They kick my butt. They make me proud of  myself. I really enjoyed running January through May, but that doesn't work for me now. Do what you love, right? Who doesn't love finding their niche and beating the hound out of it?
(5) I'M NOT GOING TO LOOK LIKE THE PEOPLE ON THE VIDEO OVERNIGHT: Yes, it's called "Ripped in 30" But guess what? I AM changing, slowly but surely. Weight is a tiny bit lower, booty is way lifted, core much tighter, posture better, and I feel tough. I love getting into the second or third workout of the new week and feeling a tiny bit invincible. I can feel the heat moving through my arms with the crazy planks and push-ups she does. I can feel my obliques cramp, my glutes lock up. Hurts SO good.

I will post my pics. You may see no difference, and the pics are taken in workout clothes, so, if this offends, please refrain from looking. Cool.

So, I hope you laughed a bit and maybe got encouraged. Until next time,
S

And then there was one...

Well, here we are...again.
It has been about two months since my first/last post. Since then, our family has been to the beach, experienced shift changes for Matt, seen Owen start his first day of kindergarten, and had 3,258 colds. Just kidding about the colds. It's only been 3,257.
As I was pretty blunt about before, it is kind of hard to motivate the hubs to stay on a workout plan. I have always had an adult life motto that "the only person one can be accountable for is oneself". I am trying to stay true to my workout plan as proof of my ability to follow my own mottos.
So here's the progress:
(1) Insanity workouts kick booty. They are definitely attainable in the success factor, and they motivate. They leave you feeling life the toughest limp noodle ever!
(2) I found myself come back around to Jillian Michaels videos. Her 3-2-1 system (3 min of strength, 2 of cardio, 1 of abs, with a total of three circuits) has been my success in the video realm in terms of commitment. I can definitely do a 25 min. video 5 times a week before I can do a 45-55 min video 3-4 times a week. Call me crazy, but we all have our quirks.
(3) I must be at my set weight. I know people say that, but I maintain good portion control, watch my refined sugar and simple carb intake, love lean meats, veggies, and fiber, and I am active. I also drink a LOT of water (LOVE Sassy water - google it!), and literally lose no weight. I weigh the same thing I did in high school. I might also add that, in general, I have a happy life. The only times in my life I have lost weigh substantially have been when I was stressed to a breaking point. Otherwise, my body likes to stay put, and I am satisfied with that. I currently am hovering right at 130 lbs, give or take water retention.
(4) I am proud of myself. Yes, I am. It's the simple things, right? I don't go to the gym, but, dang it, I am popping in that video almost daily. I have started week 2 of my 4 week goal. I am here for the total haul. I'm not quitting. And if you're wondering, yes, I am doing crunches with my 18 mo. old crawling UNDER me. As Jillian would say, "GET SOME!" :)

I am not sure where the next few months will take me. I really want to stablize at working out at least 3 times per week, ideally 4. It stablizes my mood and makes my heart rate incredible. I feel GOOD. I sleep well.  Heres the update pic of me. A bit silly, but I need to stop being so hard on myself and be THANKFUL! Thanks for reading, peeps. Until next time..

In "sickness" and in health:

So, here is my very first ever blog. I'm not usually into publishing, ranting about, or analyzing many of my life journeys as I fear not too many people might love reading the nitty gritty details of my not-so-rivetting life.
But, recently, I got motivated (like, the REAL kind, where you fear catastrophic results if the motivating fear is not met head-on) to get my husband and I healthy. Physically, yes, and mentally, financially, spiritually, etc. The physical is the main goal, of course. Neither of us are morbidly obese, we eat pretty healthfully in general, and I don't have too much of a "weight" issue. Now, please understand, I am stating my blatant, unfiltered view of myself (and my hubs) on his blog. I have no interest, time, or motivation to compare myself to anyone at all. I am me. I have my own struggles, issues, goals, and vices. Please do not read something I write about myself and apply it to you or your relationship, as those aren't my intentions. My intentions are, however, to share a tiny journey we are on and maybe, just maybe, hit a nerve with you, an issue you *might* be dealing with, and let you know that you are not alone.
On that note, here are the stats. They will be the physical stats. I am 5'4" and 128lbs. I LOVE sports in all forms, especially organized. I really enjoy physical activity and always have. However, most of you know I have two little boys, the younger of which I chase incessantly most days that I am home. My family health history includes a predominance of heart disease, diabetes, both type 1 and 2, and cancer, namely colon. In terms of food, I love fruits and veggies. I love carbs more, and have a moderate sweet tooth. I love variety, including trying new cultural foods, and I really do love fresh herbs. But herein lies the main issue: time. I would 2 days as a dental hygienist every week, and my hubby works as a police officer on 2/3 day schedule. I have ALWAYS struggled with prep. Choosing my foods, washing, cutting, stroring, planning, and organizing. I strive to be organized, but my life catches up with me and I am dang tired at the end of the day. You know? I sure none of you have ever felt that way.....:)
Enter: eMeals. My dream come true. If you aren't familiar with eMeals, it is a planning website that offers dinners/suppers (7/week) that comes with a full menu, the prep/recipe, and the shopping list to coordinate. You can choose the specific plan that caters to your life. IE. we have the Walmart low-carb plan for 2 (they suggest choosing the lower amount of people plan if you have younguns the age that I do). Its goal is to cut down on time and guide you through easy-to-understand plans to cook quicker and on a budget. They really want you to cut down on unnecessary trip to the store, which is ONE of my vices. You know, go for milk and bread and spend $95.87. Wait....huh? Yeah. I had subscribed to the service for three months and fell off the wagon the last month. A Groupon then popped up for half price eMeals $30/52 plans that are savable files on the computer) .I snagged it in a hot minute. For $6 more, I added the lunch menu for packed lunches as my 5-year old starts kindergarten in two weeks (SHUT UP!!!:(  ) We  have successfully made it through the first full week of low-carb (ie lean meats and tons of veggies  - YUM!) eMeals dinners. We seriously love eating this way. The difference in how we feel always stuns us. Full, but not bloated, and definitely satisfied.
Besides that, I didn't want to radically change our life as decisions like that rarely last. The other changes are that we eat a lot of eggs at breakfast, I've been making more homemade protein bars and the like, and we try not to eat after dinner is over. Pretty simple.
Here is the link for the eMeals website. LOVE!: www.emeals.com
Now for the physical. We will call it "Wifey Boot Camp". This sounds ultra controlling, but if you have met my husband, our personalities compliment each other and I have not one time successfully attempted to "control" him. He the bomb. Seriously. In January, I started training myself to run. I couldn't believe for the first time that I disciplined myself to stick with something. I stayed with it until May when it got crazy hot, running 3-4 times a week, and worked up to 4 mile runs. I loved the time alone and the mental clarity it provided, but something crazy happened that I have come to find is pretty normal, but I did NOT like: I GAINED weight. Yep. I had just finished breastfeeding Lincoln for 9-10 months (future mommies: amazing weigh loser!) and was very untoned muscularly. I gained about 7lbs and my thighs got huge (in a good way) with muscle. Still, who loves to gain weight? It's psychologically confusing and made me lose motivation to keep running. I also found I had crazy endurance now, but not so much muscular definition. Yeah, I wanted some abs and a crazy lifted booty - who doesn't after all that work? I took a break until last week with the working out and didn't gain or lose any weight. Clothes still fit exact same, etc. That was good to know. After one of my gorgeous and FIT friends kept talking about Insanity (yeah, I said it), I decided it was time to start said boot camp. In contrast, my husband does NOT like working out. We have joined the YMCA so many times to cancel months later because he didn't go. Im NOT trying to put him down. I love him from the bottom of my heart. Just speaking some facts so you will see the nature of our jouney and rejoice in our relationship health successes!
Insanity, a workout series with videos that deal with intense cardio moves that focus on "Plyometrics" ie. the things that hurt, was ordered off Ebay two weeks ago. I didn't tell Matt what I was doing, but just got him to verbally commit to letting me tell him what to do in relation to eating and fitness. Please note, I am doing ALL this with him every step of the way. The first night, the Insanity instructor, Shaun T (LOVE him!) suggests doing a simple fitness test with some basic, easy to copy moves, to see where you stand. You are then supposed to take it every two weeks to motivate you when you see your improvements. Me likey. We did this test. I wanted to throw up. Matt did. Cool. Our schdule is to do these workouts 4 times per week together, and they require absolutely not equipment, so it's pretty easy to accomplish. At home, no equipement, hardcore, sweat flying everywhere, people puking. The Insanity series suggests 6 times per week, but I know from experience that to see results and success, you have to be realistic, and 6 times per week is not realistic for us. 4 is. Here is the website for Insanity: http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/best_sellers/insanity.do
Folks, I am happy to say we have completed WEEK 1 of Boot Camp. I have already seen changes in myself, but the one that is blowing my mind is Matt! He went from complaining the first night to inner focus and motivation on the moves and reps. Plus, he and I both notice a good change in our relationship after getting fit together. We love working out together for two main reasons: (1) We know one is not judging the other based on how our body is jiggling while we are giving it our all and (2) it is amazing to watch your partner grow stronger in ANY way.
Now here's the scary part. I am going to post our before and after pics at the two week test. I am also going to post inches and weight change. He has his own personal goals, as do I. Please do not judge these pics too harshly. We are both very real people living in a culture of overindulgence an laziness. It is what it is, but improvement is improvement! So, cheer us on and pray for us. We are super excited and are praying and hoping that this is a permanant change for our family. We have got some pretty amazing boys looking to us for how to live their adult lives someday. Hopefully we can give them a few extra standards to live by. But we have to start somewhere. Until the next post...xox!