A Little of Everything!

 This weekend marked 12 weeks, exactly 3 months since I decided to change my life! I'm officially 34 lbs down! :) I never thought I could do this, but I'm surprising myself! Starting today, I will not look at the scale for an entire month! I plan on focusing on my core, abs, legs, arms and really trying to jump start the toning up process and in the meantime, hopefully losing a few pounds this month! I really need to focus on my tummy region this month.

Food prepping for a couple of days. Chicken breasts lightly coated with extra virgin olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice (half) with 2 small red potatoes, fresh garden onions, fresh basel, fresh parsley.

A circuit! :)

Biggest Loser Workout kicked by butt! Such a great workout! :) Worked new muscles and literally had to take a day off after!

Breakfast for dinner! 3 eggs scrambled, 2 morning star veggie patties cut up, spinach, one roma tomato.

7 week difference! I hated showing my arms, but I'm proud at how far they are coming along! :D

Felt good enough to lay out in a bikini to get some sun. Of course no one was around, but still! The point is, I sat outside in a bikini!

My weight!!! I reach 208, exactly 34 lbs down in 3 months! I was so happy!! :) I spent a majority of last week freaking out about not losing weight. Obviously, my three periods made me hold on to some water weight but by weigh in day, it was gone!

I was told that when family follow your lead it's the most rewarding thing on the planet. Well, having my mom brag about almost being out of the 200s made my day! She is planning on rewarding herself with a new outfit when she hits 175. I'm so lucky that she sees how important it is to get healthy!

It's a new month! Here are July's goal! Yes, you saw that, NO SCALE JULY!

Here's a challenge I'm doing this month. I haven't ever participated in one before, but I thought this looked doable!

Wore a shirt I haven't been able to fit comfortably in a couple of summers! Feels great!

Today's workout. I took 3 days off from working out. Why? Because I was sore and a bit lazy, but I hit it hard tonight and this week will be a great week!

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Great workout tonight! :) Missed the feeling! :D

Helpful information!

PROUD

After my fiasco with the three cookies today at work; I was feeling really defeated. I decided to throw on my nikes and hike. I told myself to just give it my all. I found myself talking outloud to motivate me. 

"You want results? This is how!"
"You can do this, you've done it before"

When I reached the first switch back, I decided to do 30 squats and stretch (the second stretch of the hill is always the worst). 

I RAN the second switch back! It felt amazing! I knew that the only way to feel "okay" about the whole cookie issue is if I made up for it in my workout...and I did. Two weeks ago, I would have never been able to run up the second switch back. 

WHOO HOO! Check out the pictures! :)  

At the bottom.

Half way up the second stretch. Ran up, took a break, snapped the picture, & then hit the trail again!

EEEKKK!

So proud of myself

This marks the top!!! :) Took it to send to Laura!

  

You're Feeling those Soup Cans Now, Aren't Ya?

I want to start off this blog post saying how extremely proud of our nation I am. My heart has been breaking all week due to the Boston Marathon Bombing and to watch live on television the perpetrator be caught made my evening.

So after work (I got off at 2:30...YAY!) the weather was a bit icky raining off and on with lots of wind. I decided to hang out and relax (while watching the live news coverage in Boston) until about 5:30. Laura and I had planned to get together and workout, but around 5, we both weren't feeling it. I chose the excuse of the weather, and she was just ready to say "the heck with it" just cause. I told her to not worry about coming over and that I would do some things on my own. (Ten minutes later, I still was on my couch). I haven't taken more than one day off at a time since I started so I was a bit scared. Then around 6:30 Laura message me on Facebook asking  if I was sure. She kept me accountable on the one day in the past 13 days that I've felt like I could just put it off. 

15 minutes later she was at my house, showing me how to do pushups on my counter tops, we went outside in a light sprinkle of rain (surprisingly it made it a perfect workout) we did squats, MULTIPLE sets of lunges across my lawn, and different kettle bell routines. 

Because I only have a 20 lbs kettle bell, doing curls was a bit of a challenge. Then Laura asked if I had any canned soup or vegetables. After questioning her sanity and grabbing them, my arms were on FIRE! Today I learned that it doesn't matter how heavy your weights are, it's the method, clarity of the movements, constant reps, and perfect form that builds and works those muscles! 

I know Laura saw the pain in my face because as you can tell by my unique title of the blog, the words "you're feeling those soup cans now, aren't ya?" came out of her mouth and I honestly can say I haven't laughed that hard in a really long time. 

The best part about our workouts is we laugh. She makes sure I have proper form and do ALL of my reps, but we also have fun with it. After a good 30-45 minutes in the yard doing targeted workouts, we went for cool down walk by the golf course down the road from my house! We walked and walked and walked and walked and talked. 

Having someone with the same goals makes it so much easier. Yes, I'm putting in the work, but knowing I have someone allows me to lean if I need. Tonight, I needed that lift and reminder to not give up, even when I've had a rough week. So, Laura, you ROCK! 

I finished my turkey burger with lettuce and tomato (NO BUN)  and now I'm working on my protein powder shake so my muscles won't be SUPER SORE tomorrow. :)

Tomorrow, I will be posting my numbers...yes....my weight...where I started 2 weeks ago and where I'm at currently. I'm preparing myself mentally...but I know this is part of the process.