Back on the Horse

Well, here it is, the inevitable.....I fell off the wagon...or horse...or whatever. It's been a while since I've actually worked out, and to say I've been watching what I eat simply means I've seen everything I shove down my throat and most of it isn't that great. Not that I've been super bad, I still don't drink soda and I can count on one hand the fast food burgers I've had since January. But nonetheless, I still haven't lost any weight since about April and I just fee fat. I've maintained, which is good, but this morning while my little guy was laying in bed next to me at six a.m. I decided that I need to get back on the horse. So here I am, back on the horse :)

When I got up this morning I went into the living room and did a little cardio circuit. Nothing big since it's been so long, but something fast and (not so) easy.

50 jumping jacks
7 push ups
20 crunches
30 second plank
20 mountain climbers
7 burpees
repeat 3 times

This morning I only did it twice but I know the longer I do it the more I can repeat...

I also decided to stop eating like I'm a malnourished African child that was just introduced to the All You Can Eat Buffet.

So for breakfast I'm having half of a grapefruit with one splenda package, mint hot tea (since my coffee maker is being cleaned) with about a teaspoon of honey, and a piece of Sarah lee delight bread with a smidgen of butter.

Now for staying on the horse!

Realization

Well the realization that I haven't been working out and have been slipping back into my old eating habits hit me today when I steppe on the scale. I've gained 4 lbs over the last few days. I know some o it can be attributed to my sisters bachelorette party where I ate and drank in excess, but really?! I'm a little discouraged and frustrated! Tim has been working the fire station a lot and we're a little strapped for cash. I would love to go for evening jogs bit it's hit and miss when he will be home to watch Elliot. I have a stroller but he's really at the age where he refuses to stay in it for long. I just wish T were a little more reliable at night. And I have to mention my weakness: ice cream I'm the summer....

So anyway, today I started tracking my calories again and will hopefully be back on the wagon that I seamed to have fallen off! I'm going to make a chart to put in the kitchen that has 8 glasses on it so that every time I drink a glass I can mark it off. Hooray for easy ways to boost my metabolism!!

For breakfast I'm having oatmeal and coffee with fat free creamer.

Happy fat burning!

Almost three months down!

It's been almost three months since I started this blog and quest for smokin hotness! It's official, I'm 20 lbs down!!! I started at 183.2 and now I'm at 163 :)
I'll keep this short an sweet; I still have a ways to go, but I'm getting there! here are the recent pics:

Workin' it!

I know it's been a while since I've written but I have news!

I'm down a total of 14 lbs so far! I think that's pretty good! I haven't even been working out as much as I should be, I've just been super careful about what I eat!

I went to Las Vegas for 4 days for a photo convention and it's a little tough to not go over board when you don't have the option of cooking your meals. But I got home and weighed my self only to discover that I didn't gain back anything on my trip (even with eating ice cream for lunch one day haha). I guess all of the walking from my room to the convention and up and down the strip for a day kept me in check :)

It's been a full week since I got home and I'm down another 3 lbs since then.

I need to get back to working out, like Zumba or hittin the rec. I really wish the weather was better out so that I could start going for runs at night. I can't wait for summer so Elliot and I can go on jogs in the morning!!

So, in case you were wondering my current weight is 169. I'm hoping to be down another 5 lbs by the time I go to Missouri in April. I think with a lot of dedication and work I can make it happen!!! Keeping my fingers crossed and my fork in check lol.

Oh and I've logged my eating for 40 days straight!!

So that's the end of this blog. Keep checking back for updates :) Maybe tomorrow if I get time I'll put some recipes in here.

Much love from the determined!

Success!

So I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but there is a lot to share!!!

I'M DOWN 10 LBS!!!!!

I've also been tracking my calories on my iPad for 20 consecutive days. That in it self is an accomplishment for me since I'm awful about keeping up with things!

I haven't done zumba in a while....that sucks. I think I kinda burnt my self out on it after doing it for 6 days straight. One day I decided to do Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii instead. That was quite the work out haha. I'm sure that my neighbours enjoyed the show as I repeatedly danced to Thriller and Billie Jean while trying to beat my own record high score.

Sadly a friend of ours passed away the Wednesday before last and we went to the funeral in South Dakota last Monday. That was a tough day for the diet, not only because of stress; but also because after the funeral everyone decided to go to the local bar for drinks. I had successfully not had soda in over two weeks but I had a killer head ache and knew I needed some caffeine. I painstakingly ordered a Dr. Pepper, but enjoyed every drop of it. I also was starving and the only thing the bar served was fried food....I felt so guilty eating that half grilled cheese and fries! Tim also wanted the appetizer basket that had hot wings, mozzarella sticks, and jalapeno poppers. I only had one cheese stick, one popper, and two of the hot wings. The hot wings weren't breaded so that made me feel a little less guilty, but not much.

The next morning I was expecting to get on the scale and see that I had gained a little weight back, but instead I maintained! That just goes to show that splurging once in two weeks isn't going to kill my mission!!! I did really well for the next week, but then this Saturday we had the award ceremony for the fire department. For once they actually held it at a place that there was a bar! I don't have a whole lot of friends when we go to things for the fire department, but I do have one good friend. So being a little up tight made me really want a drink haha. So Saturday night I had 3 Malibu and Pineapples along with some delicious food and a small slice of cake. Sunday morning I glared at the scale while deciding if I really wanted to get on it or not. I did. And I maintained!

So today, Monday, is the 4th day at the same weight: 173.2 but I'm ok with it because I know I haven't been working out like I should and I also have not had the best diet for the last few days.

I'm hoping that my mom and I will start going to the Rec to go walking when she gets off work. And I know that my cousin Samantha will help me! She is always a great motivator and she's been working with a trainer so she knows some exercises to help :)

Well that's all for today! Have a great one, and a giant high five for a step in the right direction!!

Success!!!!

Ouchie!

So overall the new routine is going well. I've been doing zumba every day except Saturday and Sunday and I've been logging my eating on my iPad every day! Most days I'm under my calorie goal of 1200 calories. Only Friday did I go over and it's because we ordered Papa Murphy's Pizza for dinner and then Tim and I went to a movie and we got popcorn, Reece's pieces, and a raspberry tea. I felt sooo guilty about splurging but I know that if you don't do it once in a while it's easier to fail. A little chocolate never hurt anyone lol.

Anyway, I'm down 5 lbs since my first weigh in last Monday. Zumba is getting easier and eating healthier is not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

I guess the next step would be to really get serious about a work out. Zumba is great and everything, but I feel like it's not going to the only thing I can do to reach my goals. I can already tell a difference in my sides and thighs in how tight they are; that can be attributed to the repeated hula hoop movement you do in Zumba haha.  I did one of the dvds called "Ripped" and let me just say, OUCHIE! My butt still kinda hurts from it!

So that's about it, my update for the week.

Zumba day numero uno

Yesterday I started taking my baby steps. I woke up early (6 AM) and did some Zumba (half ass) for half an hour. Then I made a healthy breakfast and waited for Elliot to wake up. I journaled everything I ate and was pleased that by the end of the night I had only used less than 1000 calories of my 1200 calorie limit. So after dinner I had a cup of hot tea...and a skinny cow ice cream bar lol.

I started a calorie counter on my iPad and when I finished my entry for the day it said that if every day was like yesterday I could lose 12 lbs in 5 weeks. When I woke up this morning I'm down to 179.6 from 183.whatever on Monday. I dont' know if it was just difference in times when I weighed myself or if I really lost that much already. But whatever the case, I'm happy!

Here are the few things I thought while doing half an hour of half ass Zumba at 6 in the morning:

• It's a lot easier to Zumba at the rec center
• I have a lot of squeaky spots in my floor in the living room
• It's hard to focus when the volume is only on 6 for fear of waking up my tiny human
• The lady on my Zumba DVD looks a lot like Amelia from Private Practice (which makes it hard to take her seriously lol)
• I put in more effort at the rec where there is the potential that other people are watching me
• I figure even if I'm not doing it exactly like on the dvd, it's better than laying in bed!
• I hope that just jiggling my flab around burns some calories cause that's what I was doing half the time....
• Watching me do Zumba in my living room would probably give Tim enough laughter to last all year
• Holy cow these lunges really burn!
• Even though I'm "half assing" this I'm going to feel it tomorrow!
• I really want scrambled eggs for breakfast
• I hope Elliot doesn't wake up!

I know, I'm a bit of a scatter brain...maybe if I was concentrating on Zumba 100% I would have done better. Well that's what I know, which isn't much!

Here's the list of what I ate yesterday, I'm not going to include calories unless someone wants to know how much is in what.

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled with 1/2 c skim milk, 1/3 c shredded cheese, 1 Roma tomato, 1 slice of bacon, and 1 tsp grated Parmesan.

Lunch: 1 cutie orange, 1 string cheese, big glass of water.

Dinner: Home made Parmesan crusted Tilapia (about 4 oz),  1 cup steamed broccoli and cauliflower

Snack: Skinny Cow strawberry shortcake ice cream sandwich, one swallow of Tim's ice tea.

Total Calories used for the day: 1058

Total burned calories: 181 (roughly)

I'm hoping to do some zumba today durring Elliot's nap time since he's used to the tv being on while he naps I can have the volume up a little bit. He's a really good naper so I'm hoping to get in an hour today or at least 45 minutes. Wish me luck!

Baby Steps

I've noticed that every time I try and get skinny I just jump into it, and it never works. So after thinking about it a bit I've decided that I need to start with baby steps.

Step One: Start waking up earlier and going to bed earlier but still getting my 6-8 hours of sleep.
Step Two: Do 30 minutes to an hour of Zumba in the morning (without waking up Elliot)
Step Three:Eat healthy breakfast every morning and limit coffee intake to ONE cup a day withOUT creamer
Step Four: Portion control
Step Five: NO MORE SODA AND BACONATORS!!!
Step Six: 30 minutes of Pilate's and or other toning exercises during Elliot's nap time

I'm really hoping that by taking baby steps I'll be able to achieve my goals. I understand this is going to take time and devotion but I'm going to do it!

Cheers to a happier and healthier me!

And now for some THINsperation!

Here is the link to my pinterest pin board about getting skinny: http://pinterest.com/kaitnhardy/get-skinny-now/

And here are a few of my favorite people that are sexy:

Nicki Minaj: Curvy but in shape

Lady Gaga: Short, skinny, with curves...oh and Awesome!

Jennifer Hudson before and after...it CAN be done!!!

In the Beginning...

 There was size XL.
I stepped on the scale for the first time in a looooong time to see what I figured. I've gained 5 lbs since August. I recently saw a blog about a girl who is about the same height as me, close to the same weight and in one year she lost 50 lbs! Find her blog here -> imgonnamakeachange.tumblr.com. She has a great out look and looks amazing! After reading some of her blog I have finally understood that if you want it, you can do it. And I want it...I want it BAD! She has a great play list for her work outs and even has some examples of what she ate. I'm hoping to do the same. This blog is totally devoted to my quest to get healthy!

So in the beginning there was flab, and an unhealthy weight....and self consciousness, and unhappiness, and so so many other things. But one thing there was not: defeat on the mind.

So here are the first half nakey photos for the new year, and a photo of me on the scale so there is no lying:

boo :(

Front 1/21/12

side 1/21/12