Weight-loss, spiders and diapers

Well, I am so happy to report that I am down two more pounds. It seems that I lose weight in twos. Like the animals in Noah's Ark, my weight goes marching off two by two by two!! I am bumping up my cardio and tightening up the diet a bit so that I might get some better results. Doing cardio 4 days a week has reminded me of something, I am not and never will be a runner. It is not for lack of desire. I would love to know what it feels like after a long run through a beautiful park, or down the beach but alas, I will never experience that. My body is incapable of running. I mean I played soccer forever and that is a lot of running. I think my problem is that when I run, my brain is not stimulated and so I run slow. Let me give you a better idea of what I mean by slow. If you took a turtle and put it in a puddle of peanut butter and then poured molasses on it and watched it try and walk out...Well, that is the speed I'm talking about when I say "I run slow". This accurately describes my attempt at going for a run...

Now on to the spider situation. When I work out I sweat. I mean buckets of sweat. Like I have to carry a towel around with me I sweat that much. So the other day I'm on the stationary bike just killing it!! I was sweating buckets and I was watching a racquetball game in front of me and I was really in the groove of working out UNTIL.... I felt a spider crawling down my arm. Now if you know me and spiders then you know my reaction was not a bit reserved!! I freaked out, almost flipped the bike trying to get off while smacking the mess out of my arm. Once I settled down and came back to my senses, I realized that the "spider" was my own sweat running down my arm. I felt like the biggest goober ever!! So NOW I not only wipe my face off as I work out but I also wipe my arms off!! 

Now on to the important stuff of diapers. So I have a sweet little 15mo old boy we affectionally call Small Fry. I take Small Fry with me to the gym everyday and he absolutely loves it!! There is this super soft and squishy lady that works in the daycare that SF loves to love on. She loves SF loving on her too. So my workout takes about an hour or so and it never fails that right smack in the middle of my workout that I get a paige over the intercom "Mrs. Reynolds, you are needed in childcare". Everyday that kid takes a poopie and they page me to come and change it!! Err day y'all! 

All of this to say that my progress is still slow, my workouts don't fit into the typical girl workout things to do and sometimes I make an absolute fool out of myself. That is ok because I am not there for anyone else but me. I am doing what MY body needs to lose weight and if I can't be an awesome runner then I am going to be an awesome stationary bike rider, spin class member and elliptical rocker!! Well, maybe not elliptical rocker. I'm not a big fan of the elliptical.

Till next time... Be Strong and Live Better

What's up with the working out and weight loss?? The Good, Bad and Ugly!!

So, I had a wonderful reminder from a friend that I don't see often enough (thanks Elaine) that it had been awhile since my last post. So this will be a two part post.

Part I
Since I last posted I have lost two pounds. Yep, just two little pounds. It is so hard to weigh yourself after eating well and kicking your tail in the gym and only see a two-pound change. I am SO tired of hearing people tell me that I am "turning my fat into muscle" and that is why I am not seeing a change on the scale. People, it is scientifically impossible to TURN fat INTO muscle. You burn fat and build muscle. What has been encouraging is that two people noticed enough of a change to comment on it this weekend. It feels wonderful to hear people say "you looked thinner today, are you still working out" (LJ you lit my fire today).... Hallelujah!! All of this frustration with my weight loss is inner frustration. My husband just sees me plugging away at my diet and workout and he has been SO encouraging and supportive. My family has also encouraged me and stepped in to watch my boys so I could go workout. My trainer said some words that I have never had a trainer say to me (and I have had several trainers in my time). He said "I believe in you, I know you can do it". Those words may have been said flippantly but they resonated deeply in me. He could easily just collect a check each month and give some workout that a grandma could do but he doesn't. He pushes me each and every time we meet, answers my 911 txt about eating out or what I should substitute a certain food for. That is rare to find in a trainer. How great is it to have someone that is responsible for pushing you physically each week say that!! It makes you believe in yourself when you are surrounded by such an awesome support system!!

  I also found out this week from my Dr that I have a medical condition that could be playing a part in all of this. Unfortunately, nothing can be done for it until it hits rock bottom and then we will start a treatment of some sort. I don't mean to be vague about it but I also don't want to just throw my medical business on the internet. If you want to know all about it then txt or message me. As for my health today.... I have too much health/life in me to live today that I can't worry about what might be in my tomorrow. I have two wonderful boys to raise and chase along with a husband to keep up with.

Part II
Working out is not for the clean and cute. Working out is for the girls that can get dirty and sweaty and deal with it. I broke a nail on a dumbbell, my hair is in a ponytail all the time, my gym clothes are not cute tops and shorty shorts... who could do squats in shorty shorts?? My skin, ugh my skin has been thrown for a loop. I have never had my face break out like it has since I have started working out. I look like a hot mess when I am done working out!! I have learned a few things since doing this "hardcore" for 3 months.
1) dry shampoo is a MUST
I could be totally wrong but you shouldn't wash your hair everyday much less twice a day!! My hair was fuzzing up like crazy until I was introduced to Suave Dry Shampoo... AMAZING!!
2) Your hair will tell the world if you wear it in a pony tail everyday.
I have worn my hair in a ponytail so much that even when I straighten it there is a crease where my ponytail would have been held by the rubber band. I have started to swap it up some. I will wear it in a cap without a ponytail holder and I have also started french braiding it.
3) Bolderbands are legit!!
I cannot stand it when my hair sticks to my face or when sweat runs in my eyes during the middle of my reps!! It ruins my concentration. Bolder bands hold the hair and sweat off of my face and doesn't put a crease in the front of my hair.
4) Sweat can make you break out!!
My trainer, bless his heart, answered this for me. So last week I was in the middle of doing some awesome oblique exercises and between my huffs and puffs I said, "So I have a kinda girly question for ya" ha ha he didn't even pause, he just said "what's up?". I'm guessing that since he knew I have two kids that I wasn't about to ask him about the "Birds and the Bees" so he figured everything else was safe lol!! I asked him about my face and told him about how it has started breaking out since I have been working out. He said before you leave go wash it off in the bathroom with some water. That way it doesn't dry in your pores on the way home. My brain went "duh, why didn't I think of that"!!
5) When you eat right your body won't like it when you "cheat".
I used to look forward to a cheat meal and i would dream about what I would eat! After indulging in my dream cheat food my body would remind me why I was eating healthier. It does not like cheat meals and it tells me about it shortly after I eat and on to the next morning.
6) If you look cute when you leave the gym... you didn't workout hard enough
If you run into me after my work out please know that I don't always look a hot sweaty mess ha ha! I am the type of person that if I am playing a sport or spending time away from my family to workout then I am going to give it my all and put everything I have into doing it the best I can. When I work out I don't want to glisten. I want to sweat through my clothes!! I want to know that I pushed my body to its physical limits and that I am expanding those limits on a daily basis!!

ALL of that has been what's up with me the last few weeks. I am keeping on with my reaching for my goals, eating right and living life!

Weight loss: week 4,5 and 6

Well, Let's see. Week 4 Christian had swimmers ear and that was HORRIBLE!! Week 5 Liam had double ear infections overlapping with Christian's swimmers ear blah!! So if that wasn't awesome enough I had only lost 3 lbs. Talk about some serious discouragement!! It wasn't the program or the diet because several other people were having awesome results. It was just my body. After having Liam what worked in the past for my diet and exercise hasn't given me weight loss results. So to say that I was bummed was an understatement!

Let this be an encouragement to those who are struggling to lose weight. What works for everyone else may not work for you. Our bodies change and we have to just keep changing and trying new things. So for me.... Im keeping at it!! I have tried some new things and have lost an additional 1-2lbs. That excites me. My journey may be slow but Im ok with that.

Week 3: Still losing

Well, This past week has been a bit slower. Not sure why my numbers aren't dropping fast like before but thats ok. I am thankful it is still coming off. One of the perks of this past week was this!!

I have now lost enough to get BOTH of my wedding rings on my hand!! YEAH! This is a short post but one of my happiest! My clothes are fitting differently, my tummy no longer hits and opens the washer door when I reach over it to get the detergent. Lots of little things that are adding up to be huge motivation for me. Till next week!!

Week 2: It's a comin' off!

Well, my week one weigh in was less than impressive. According to my scale I had lost a little over a pound in my first week. At my weigh in it showed I had only lost .04lbs. so that is what got recorded. Bummer. I was kinda bummed I hadn't lost 4 or 5 lbs like some of the other girls but after talking it through with a few people I realized I wasn't eating enough protein and fats. Once I got my diet sorted out man oh man has the weight started to come off! I am losing an average of .5lbs a day!! I am almost out of my XL shorts and into my LG shorts!! I like that I am not hungry all the time and that I can eat frequently! Oh and the recipes are still great!! I actually ate Cottage Cheese (mixed with protein) and it wasn't too bad. The workouts are great! They are tough but not the bouncing and running around kind of tough. My body is sore afterwards but its not joint pain kind of sore. It is actually my muscles waking up!! All in all this Weight loss Challenge has been pretty easy to do. Eat right, show up and work out and.... Whala!! I can't wait to post next week!!

Getting Started

Well, Im not one that can come up with cute little names for my blog post so this one is about me literally getting started. I am getting started on weight loss and I am doing a 20lbs in 6 weeks challenge at Fitness Revolution.

 Last night I did my first workout there and honestly it was great. I thought I was going to be the only lady or the only chubby one there but I wasn't!! There were a bunch of us chubby gals around my age. I guess we all have babies we can thank for our extra weight :) Like I said, last night was fun. I built my confidence in my movements again and when I left I felt strong. I like that feeling. The one you get when you arrive at the end of a workout and you say, "yeah, I did that". I am one of those people that think weight loss and working out is mental, spiritual and then physical. Think you can do it, feel in your deepest of soul that you can ROCK IT, OWN IT or whatever it is that gets you going, and then your body follows through and proves the first two right!! I have done work outs where my mind and soul have been elsewhere and I have simply gone through the motions and honestly, the workout ended up being mediocre bc I wasn't ALL there. So moving on, I was ALL there last night and WOW!! The soreness! Ha ha it is awesome. I love it and hate it. I really do. I like to feel my efforts after a workout and it has been too long since I was last sore. I didn't do any crazy exercises. I just did them right and with effort and attention. Loved it!

Now for the hard part for me :( The diet part. I don't mind eating clean, really, I don't. It is the prep that I am finding hard for me right now. I think I will have it down in a week or so. I forget to have my snacks while chasing two little guys around and meeting all their needs during the day and that leaves me with a MAJOR hunger headache come lunchtime. The upside to the diet though is that I got a big ole list of yummy recipes!! They have a wide variety of stuff to eat so I'm not just eating chicken for 6 weeks. All in All I am excited about both the working out and the diet. Now I can just relax and watch the weight fall off :) Oh and stretch.... Lots and lots of stretching!! Stay tune for my weigh in next week!!

Our Much Needed Vacation!!

Last week Tater, Tot and I went on a family vacation with my side of the family. It rained the first few days but we made the best out of it. The last three days we hit the beach hard and got every minutes worth of fun available!! Below are some things I learned from our vacation. Enjoy!! 

1) Family should be the most important people in your life. If you cant be honest, open and SILLY with them, who can you be honest, open and silly with?!?!

2) Marriage is one man and one woman (leaving and cleaving) with God. Working to create a wonderful thing that is to be taken seriously and treated with the utmost caution and care. Engagements on the other hand should be stressful, elaborate and the plan executed by family with Navy SEAL like timing and precision!! 

Oh, AND

3) Sisters are an absolute blessing. No one will understand your more, know how to make you laugh in any situation (or cry. Sorry Ash) or love you unconditionally like a sister. I would not trade mine for anything in the world!! I love being the "cream in our Oreo" :) 

4) Boys never grow up. They just get bigger and get jobs. The Boy is still in there and sometimes he comes out when around "certain" company. 

5) Love is an emotion and it can fade. Marriage is a choice that requires one to refresh and renew your love for your spouse on a daily basis. Even when on vacation lol!! Isn't he sexy? He is my hero!!

6) Last but definitely NOT least. These two goof balls have my heart and are the most important thing the Lord has given me to serve, love and draw closer to Him in any way He sees fit. Without them my "family" would not be complete.