Determined to Turn this Week Around!

So...Yesterday I felt like death warmed over a couple of times all day at work and then when I got home I could tell my body was fighting something. I was feverish, had a sore throat, pounding headache, sniffles, light cough, and nasal congestion. So, I took the day off from working out. I knew when I woke up that if I could start feeling a tad better by 3 p.m. I would workout. I woke up and felt like death warmed over yet again. I stayed home from work and took the day drinking tons of water, some tea, and breaking a fever. I slept most of the morning and into the afternoon and thankfully around 2, I was feeling much better after a broken fever (and one sweaty t-shirt). 

Because I felt a little better I decided to workout at Laura's. It was a nice burn. I feel stronger every single day. Even during the workouts I'll feel sore, but I'm surprised at how much I can do and I'm excited for the days when Laura pushes me little by little. It was nice because Jason, Laura's husband joined our workout (besides the Zumba dance). Haha! It was nice to have a circuit with three people! :) 

After our workout! Can't wait to push it further tomorrow!

 

Tonight's dinner: Chicken stirfry with broccoli, cucumbers, carrots, and 3/4 cup of rice at the bottom.

Tan, Confident, Proud, Strong, Vulnerable, Motivated, and Courageous

I woke up this morning tan. No, not just a little color, I am SUPER TAN! I like it. I enjoyed the spray tan experience, but I definitely think I'll try the beds out and see how I like that. :) I learned that all those girls that I've known that tell me "a tan will make you feel like a million bucks" were RIGHT! It just makes you feel like a new and improved woman.

Tan Chelsea! :) Haha.

 

 

Today's workout was a good circuit. :) Laura and I always have a great time working out. It's fun to hang out with your friend and be able to do something together that improves and enhances each of ya. :) 

I did sweat a lot and loved the cardio. I feel that the workouts are getting to the point where I'm not as confused and questioning myself. Laura pointed out that my rows have much better form so that was nice, because I have been practicing at home :) 

Laura introduced me to a Kelly Clarkson song, which I couldn't believe I hadn't heard yet, because Kelly is my favorite!!! 
It's called "People Like Us". She had me listen to the lyrics quit a few times haha. She wasn't allowing me to workout without listening to the words. I understand why she wanted me to pay attention....

Please listen to it! :) 
 
It did hit a home run with me. I was holding back tears while we were doing squats. It doesn't just talk about people who fight from nothing and who work to be better and more, but it also talks about a unity...a friendship. 
This song will be my anthem and it will be the anthem of my friendship with Laura and any other people on this planet who are fighting, struggling, working their asses off, and overcoming obstacles! All of you know that you aren't alone! You have me! 

People like us need to stick together! :)     

After workout. :) We always do a cool down walk after our circuits.

 On our walk, Laura and I were talking and I really appreciate when she tells me the changes she has noticed and how proud of me she is. :) I know I'm doing this for me and only me, but I definately know that having a friend to keep accountable with is also a reason to keep pushing. :)

So, Laura offered to do my nails, and I of course took her up on that offer! She does some great gel nails! 

I guess I "wiggle" worse than a child and can't sit still. LOL. 

 

 

 After she did my nails, she took progress pictures (I was in shorts and a sports bra) Not only was that a big step for me, but like I joked with Laura "our friendship reached a new level" haha. Trusting your fitness buddy is a huge deal! :) LOVE YA LAURA!

Because I've lost 15 pounds, I have technically lost 1.5 inches on my body. Yay! 

Laura also took my measurements. Every month, on the 9th we will be taking pictures and taking measurements. I'm so excited to see some of the results.

Laura told me I am "blooming" and I would have to agree. I encourage anyone who is just starting their journey to try with all of their might day after day because eventually, it will all come together and you'll be so proud of yourself! 

I'm off to bed! :) It's almost 1 am and I have work tomorrow. 
XOXO.    
  
 

-15, First Mini Goal COMPLETE!

I'm officially 227.2; meaning I've lost 15 lbs since April 6 and 23 lbs since October. :) I couldn't be happier! I feel that having small goals makes for some GREAT WINS! :D 

My next goal is to reach 212. Another 15 lbs. I know I can do it. 

Body shot with what I wore to work :)

Today I didn't workout...I know, I know..usually my rest days are on Saturdays, but I took it today to celebrate my accomplishment and spend time with my sister. :) 

Saturday I will workout!

Today, my sister, Aislinn and I went to Applebees for dinner. It was my first time ordering and eating out since April 6, and I think I definitely took the easy way out by ordering a salad but it was yummy so I can't complain! :) I drank two glasses of water before eating so I was feeling extremely full.

After we ate, we went to the mall to look at interview outfits (I have an interview next Tuesday). Before we could try anything on we went and got SPRAY TANS! 
Here's my white pasty self before the tan! 

 

I've never had a spray tan, so it was a nice treat and I defiantely liked it. I can tell I am getting some color already, but I know by tomorrow morning I will be able to tell more :) 
I think it's something I'll keep doing for a little treat to myself. 

Today I decided to do something besides focusing on the scale to make myself feel great. I tried on a pair of pants I bought last weekend at a yard sale. These athletic pants are a size LARGE. Pants like that I typically would wear a EXTRA LARGE and even then they would start to look transparent because of house much they stretched (So embarrassing).  They fit and they weren't see thru either! I was thrilled. I love these pants and they are so cute. I also noticed a little butt in them! :) I don't have a butt (FLAT NATIVE BUTT PROBLEM) so to see that all the squats I'm doing is paying off is so exciting. 

Anyway, until tomorrow! Goodnight all!

Day of Reflection

Today was any other Monday; busy, long, and drawn out. 

Today's hike was higher and longer than usual! YAY!

Props to Laura, who wasn't feeling good at all but still pushed!! She ran, packed kids, and killed it.

At the top!!!

WHOOO HOOO! Good hour and a half hike up and half hour hike down!

Left: October. Right: This past weekend. 

 It's so hard to post this but this is my motivation...

I'm so tired, I'm off to bed. 

xoxo

Solid Sunday

This morning, the scale went down one more pound! So, I definitely think that my body is leveling out from my period. Total is -11.2 lbs I made a pretty good breakfast of egg whites (with a little bit of cheese on top) two veggie patties, and strawberries. Yummy :)

 

  

 I spent the afternoon cleaning house and just relaxing. I have pretty packed work weeks, so the weekend is where I can just be lazy! During the week, I barely watch t.v because I get up around 7, have breakfast and get ready to be at work by 9 and then work til 5:30. Then from 6-8 is usually workout time. I come home and make dinner and then relax until bedtime around 11.

Here is a pic of lunch! :) I had tilapia, a salad, and mandarin oranges. 

Here is my pre workout snack! I usually stay away from fruits after lunch, but it was so HOT out today that fresh fruit just sounded soooo refreshing! 

For my workout I did the following:
3x 10 arm rows with my 20 lb kettle bell
3x 10 elevated push ups
3x 10 squats with 20 lb kettle bell (lifted above head on upward motion)
3x 10 squats without weight
3x 60 second donky kicks (each leg)
3x lunges up and down the yard to make 1    
3x running in place for 60 seconds
3x jumping jacks for 60 seconds

Then I did a cool down walk around the neighborhood. 

This was today's gym!!! :D

 

For dinner I had chicken tacos in lettuce wraps and roasted red potatoes. I went up for seconds...haven't done that in a while. I'm going to make sure I really watch my portions this week. Today I felt like it got a little out of hand, so tomorrow I plan on drinking more water and really killing my workout. 

Here is my dinner:

  

While I started writing this, I went and got a new blender off of craigslist, because mine broke a couple of weeks ago! YAY for being able to make protein shakes again!!! haha. Easiest breakfast sometimes! 

Well I'm off to shower, make tomorrow's lunch and snacks and crawl into bed. Tomorrow is another day and I will succeed at eating clean and working out! 

  

Ending the day on a VERY good note! Put on some shorts that I couldn't fit into a couple of weeks ago :) Plus my legs are looking great, if I do say so myself! So happy!

Last Chance Workout!

Tomorrow, I weigh in. 
I'm scared about what number will show up because I've been on my period all week and so much happens with your body during that week. Either way, I'm going to keep track of the progress. As you can tell by my blog entries, I've been KILLING IT all week in my workouts and my meals, so whatever happens, I'm going to be PROUD! 

Today, Laura, myself and Babbett worked out together! So much fun!! When you can laugh with friends while getting healthy, it's a great day! :D 

Laura stepped up our workout. My legs were EXTREMELY sore and it was more frustrating than painful. Yesterday's inclined hike definitely worked them! This upcoming week, I wanna drive and hike the "L" again, I always get good numbers on that hike :) 

I'm definately seeing changes (sorry to my Instagram friends..I post pics ALL THE TIME!). My Instagram has turned into a fitness blog/journal and it keeps me accountable. 

I'm so excited about continuing on this journey and seeing changes and feeling great! Tomorrow marks 4 weeks :) YAY!!! I made that 21 day rule. It takes 21 days to get in shape...for me it's more like "21 days to starting to get in shape". YAY! 

I'm soooo tired. I am getting up early and have a full day. I'm off to bed. Check out some of today's pictures! 

Right after our circuit workout! whoo hoo ladies!

So much sweat...

I like working out now...I always feel so much better after :)

Such a good workout!

Crazy Laura. She put on two different kinds of Mary Kay mascara to see if they would last thru the workout...and they DID! BOOM!

A rainbow on our cool down walk :)

I love this so much!! :D

Tough Days

This is hard. 
It's the hardest thing I have ever had to do. 
It's harder than moving away from home, two states away. 
It's harder than leaving my best friend, my mom to take care of my two sisters while I was selfish and pursued my goals.  
It's harder than a break up, a recent break up. 

It hurts more than the monthly cysts I use to get from my PCOS.

I knew it wouldn't be easy, I knew it would take a lot of hard work, but I never thought it would be this big of a challenge. 

I know I'm doing great and I'm making progress, so I don't focus on the negatives, but there are some days where I CANNOT believe how bad I let this get! I get so mad at myself for allowing my depression, PCOS, and just blindness to take over. 

Today was tough. It was probably the one day in almost 4 weeks where I just didn't want to do anything! I didn't want to take the effort to eat clean or go hike. I didn't want to drink all my water. I wanted to just stay in bed. I know this is probably coming from my depression that I fight WITHOUT anti-depressants, but it's still a weird feeling. 

I want to and WILL make my -15 goal I have, and the drive in me is so deep and strong that my feelings of today really threw me off. 

So what I'm focusing on is: I DID EVERYTHING...even when I didn't want to. I ate great (had pasta for the first time in almost 4 weeks), went for a hike, did squats, and drank LOTS of water. I did it all...even when my mind was saying "Fuck it". 

Tomorrow is my last day to workout before I hit the scale on Saturday. I'm slightly worried about what it will say, but either way, this week I've accomplished a lot mentally and physically. I have done back to back circuits. Yeah, I felt like I was dying in the ccircuits, but I still finished them. Whatever happens Saturday morning, I will feel great :) 

Here are some pictures of today. 

Dinner: Whole wheat, thin pasta with chicken and red sauce, a salad, and corn from the can (I know, I know...but I'm running out of groceries!)

Coming down from the hike. I took a small water break at the switch back and then did 40 squats.

At work. Hair is growing!! :)

Lunch! Turkey burger, a salad with lean turkey on it and good ol water! :D

This is it. This is what I've been thinking about all week. Almost there! :D

  
       

Recap!

So, I didn't work out for 3 days. Wasn't too proud of that. I had some emotional/dramatic events take place at the end of the week and I really just got lost in my own head and emotions. I definately felt overwhelmed. 

One of the days I also didn't eat like I should have. I did more snacking. Given, all the food in my house is healthy, I should have stuck to a set schedule like I usually do. 

I was supposed to post my weight yesterday, but I think the picture got deleted, so I'm going to weigh in tomorrow morning and post the numbers then. :) Then I'll continue to weigh in on Saturdays. 

Saturday, I went on a hike with Laura and her family near Bonner. The view was amazing and we even saw some big horn sheep. 

4-27-2013

   
Isn't that a great picture? Click HERE for Laura's photography FB page. Click HERE for her professional website. Go Colyer Photography!

Here are some more pictures of the hike on Saturday. 

Overlooking the mill.

Laura with Lilly & Brayden

Lilly & I. Excuse our crazy hair, it was a bit windy!

Before my workout, my sister Aislinn and I went to a bunch of yard sales! I found a NICE juicer for $8.00 YAY! Then a TON of workout clothes and clothes smaller so I don't have to go out and buy brand new clothes during this process. 

Then last night I went out with my friend, Jordan. Here is a pic of when I got ready to go downtown. Also, another picture of some changes in my face since my weight loss journey began. 

Pretty happy. Seeing changes in my face. :)

Left side: New Years Eve. Right side: 2 weeks ago. 

 Here are some pictures of today's hike. After our hike Laura had me do some squats  (30, I think) 6 sets of lungs (round trip) and she and I worked my arms with weights and my resistance band! It was my first time using my resistance band and boy does it give you a good burn! I'm excited to use it more! :) 

Before workout :)

Lilly & Sophia checking out the scenary.

Content.

Making our way back down the mountain.

After Laura got done kicking my rear today! :)

 After my workout I came home and made dinner! I only ate half of one pita pizza, the other half is for lunch tomorrow :) 

Preping! :) Chicken cooked with garlic, parsley, crushed black pepper and lemon juice. 2 Tablespoons of ragu sauce (I need to find a healthier substitution), diced tomato, cut lean turkey slices, cheese, and fresh cilantro.

Baking!! :)

Top: Preping food :) Bottom row: before baking, baked, final product.

Final Product :)

 I think this sums up the last four days! Check in tomorrow for my weigh in! :) Crossing my fingers I am on track :)