Weekly Update- July 14, 2013

Every week I plan on posting an update about my progress towards better health. I will post goals I want to accomplish in the upcoming week, if I accomplished the goals I set the previous week, current weight, if I lose or gain weight (hopefully only lose weight), and a brief summary of my activities.

Goals from previous week

n/a

Goals for the upcoming week

Do the BeFit in 90 workout each day as instructed
Drink lots of water (even more since its hot)
Eat more healthy meals, especially at lunch time
Eat more soluble fiber and protein

Weigh-in Time

Start Weight: 270 pounds (122.47 kilograms)
Current Weight: 247.8 pounds (112.40 kilograms)
Lose/Gain: Lost 2 pounds (0.91 kilograms)
Total Weight Loss: 22.2 pounds (10.07 kilograms)

Weekly Summary

I am so happy I lost another 2 pounds. I didn’t think I would since this past week has been terrible for my workouts. As I said in my previous posts, I have been sick all week. I finally felt good enough yesterday to start doing it again. I missed working out so much during the week. I was happy to do it again. I look forward to continuing my BeFit in 90 this week.

I ate pretty well this week. I mainly ate oatmeal and homemade soup since I was sick. I did eat a few sugary snacks this week. More than I should have. I’ll try better this week to stay away from them.

I will be trying to use metric measurements as well as standard from now on. I might forget to do it sometimes but I’ll try 😀

20 pounds down!!!

I can’t believe it! I have made it to my first major goal! I lost 20 pounds in a little under 3 months! It has almost made me speechless. I spent most of yesterday just thinking about how I have lost 20 pounds in such a small amount of time. It feels surreal. I almost don’t believe it. I still feel like me. Yes, I’ve noticed numerous changes since I’ve started my healthy journey but have I really changed so much that I lost 20 pounds??? I don’t feel that much different.

I still sweat like crazy when I workout. I still get out of breath during my workouts and feel sore afterwards. I am still a far way off from running or even jogging. I still modify my workouts and feel clumsy at times. I still feel like me. While there have been physical changes, I don’t feel like I look that much different. I also still have a long way to go.

But there are also many differences from when I started as well. I’m not nearly as out of breath as I use to be. I feel more energized all of the time and I feel happier. The rush of a good workout lasts longer and I usually look forward to my workouts. I feel stronger and can do more than I use to. I last longer during my workouts with less water breaks. I have lost a pant size and see the weight loss in my hips and stomach. I have lost inches as well as weight. I’ve had quite a few people tell me my face looks thinner. I look for extra ways to fit in exercise. I am already looking ahead to what workout program I will do after BeFit in 90. Plus so many more!

The part that amazes me the most is how I have lost 20 pounds. No diets, no “magic” pills, no special drinks or shakes, no fasting or binging, no cheat days or meals. I just eat healthy and exercise. I find it so unbelievable because 90% of all topics relating to losing weight say it is suppose to be harder doing it the right way. They make eating healthy and exercising seem like the hardest thing in the world to do. As though you must find a short cut or quick fix to lose weight because the “hard” way is just too hard. I feel baffled that I could reach my first goal within 3 months. I expected it to take much longer to reach this point. Much much longer…

I’m not complaining though. I have tried my hardest every day taking one day at a time. I make weekly goals to keep me focused and try every week to complete them. Most of the time I do but sometimes I don’t. That’s okay. I’m human. I make mistakes. I don’t let failure derail me. I pick myself up and try harder. I workout according to my current fitness program. Sometimes I do more, sometimes I do what I should halfheartedly but I am still moving my body and trying. Fitness is much easier for me than eating healthy. Working out is a lot easier when you have a fitness program telling you what to do.

Eating health is much harder. I don’t count calories and I am terrible at keeping up with a food journal but I’ve been trying. I eat what I know is healthy for me and I allow myself small amounts of less healthy foods occasionally. Being unable to eat foods containing any traces of milk or peanuts due to my daughter’s allergies has really helped me eat healthy. I believe cutting milk from my diet had a large impact on the way I feel and the weight I have lost. I have been struggling with balancing eating healthy foods and eating foods that don’t upset my IBS but I feel as though I am finally finding that balance. This has been the hardest struggle for me. Healthy foods I want to eat cause me terrible pain and discomfort. I am learning what healthy foods I can eat without discomfort and how to eat the other healthy foods in smaller amounts. I will continue with this progress and continue learning how to eat better.

I am truly thrilled to have accomplished this goal the right way. Everyone is different and not everyone would have the same results as I have if they did the same thing. Some people could even have better results. I’m far from perfect. The best advice I could give anyone reading this is listen to your body! I don’t know how I could stress this enough. Ignore your brain and all its confusing messages. Look past your mental cravings and boredom induced hunger. Listen to what your body is telling you and what it needs. I will be the first to admit how hard this is. There are times when I don’t want to listen to my body. I fight it and pout. I mentally whine and groan. There are times when I have to workout and feel like stomping my feet and saying “I don’t wanna!”. But you just have to suck it up buttercup. Your health is more important than anything else.

Random Family Picture

Weekly Update- June 30, 2013

Every week I plan on posting an update about my progress towards better health. I will post goals I want to accomplish in the upcoming week, if I accomplished the goals I set the previous week, current weight, if I lose or gain weight (hopefully only lose weight), and a brief summary of my activities.

Goals from previous week

Do the BeFit in 90 workout each day as instructed yes!
Add more cardio throughout the week yes!
Drink lots of water (even more since its hot) yes!
Eat more healthy meals, especially at lunch time yes!
Try more ways to eat healthy that doesn’t irritate my stomach yes!
Eat more soluble fiber and protein yes!
Try food journaling- I didn’t do it today because I thought of it too late but I will start tomorrow. yes/no

Goals for the upcoming week

Do the BeFit in 90 workout each day as instructed
Add more cardio throughout the week
Drink lots of water (even more since its hot)
Eat more healthy meals, especially at lunch time
Try more ways to eat healthy that doesn’t irritate my stomach
Eat more soluble fiber and protein

Weigh-in Time

Start Weight: 270 pounds
Current Weight: 249.8 pounds
Lose/Gain: Lost 1.7 pounds
Total Weight Loss: 20.2 pounds

Weekly Summary

I had a pretty great week. I have been researching and implementing some of what I have learned. It has really been helping. I’ve been eating oatmeal for breakfast almost every morning and adding rice to most meals. I have felt so much better.

The BeFit in 90 has been great as well. I have been doing a Fat Blast workout instead of the Cardio Booster and it has really been kicking my butt. It’s awesome!

I am pretty terrible at food journaling. I try pretty hard but I always seem to forget a meal or something. I try but it just doesn’t seem to work.

What do you think of It works! Wraps?

Have you ever heard of It works! Wraps? I didn’t until yesterday. I read about it on a fellow blog and was curious. I read about it, figured its another one of those fad weight loss/diet/beauty-product schemes and didn’t think anything else about it. Then today I saw a friend on Facebook tried the wrap (showed her own before and after picture) and how it worked for her. She has even become a distributor and is having a debut party. I have looked into it a little more and it really seems to make sense. I am very tempted to try it and see what I think but money is tight and it costs $25 for one wrap. While that really isn’t that much, it is more than I would like to spend on something I am unsure of. I would also have to convince Hubby of why I’m spending $25 on one wrap (when he’d rather use the money for a video game). This is what my friend said about the wraps…

“its a wrap with botanically-based formula on it, that you wrap around your body, then wrap with cling wrap. It tightens, tones and firms the area wrapped.”

There are claims of the wrap tightening and toning the skin around the problem area as well as losing inches. It also claims to shrink fat cells by cleansing them with the botanical ingredients and flushing them by drinking at least half your body weight in ounces each day for 72 hours.

I will still be eating healthy and exercising. I don’t plan to use the wrap to replace my healthy lifestyle rather to complement it. Why not try the wrap and help me on my journey? Like I said, I’m torn about whether or not to try it. I’d love to hear your opinions of the It works! Wraps and any personal experiences/stories about it. Do you guys think I should try it?

Here are some related articles. Read them and tell me what you think 🙂

All About Those Crazy Wraps

ItWorks Body Wrap Scam

Weekly Update- June 9, 2013

Every week I plan on posting an update about my progress towards better health. I will post goals I want to accomplish in the upcoming week, if I accomplished the goals I set the previous week, current weight, if I lose or gain weight (hopefully only lose weight), and a brief summary of my activities.

Goals from previous week

Do the BeFit in 90 workout each day as instructed yes!
Do the 30 day Squat Challenge each day as instructed yes!
Drink lots of water (even more since its hot) yes!
Eat healthy meals/snacks every 2-3 hours yes!
Try to eat more veggies yes!

Goals for the upcoming week

Do the BeFit in 90 workout each day as instructed
Do the 30 day Squat Challenge each day as instructed
Drink lots of water (even more since its hot)

Weigh-in Time

Start Weight: 270 pounds
Current Weight: 251.8 pounds
Lose/Gain: Lost 1.5 pounds
Total Weight Loss: 18.2 pounds

Weekly Summary

I had a great week exercise-wise. I did all of my BeFit in 90 workouts and all the squats I needed to do for the Squat Challenge. I am happy to say my legs are finally getting use to the squats. So far I’ve done 490 squats in the last 9 days (including today)! Woot woot! Still going strong!

I ate veggies this week but every time I ate some it really upset my stomach. Mainly spinach was the culprit. I haven’t felt great all day. Otherwise everything else was fine. I have been making sure I drink plenty of water.

Hubby, Peanut, and I even went on a walk or two this week. I still love going on walks with my family. Hubby and I have plenty of time to talk when we go on walks together. Peanut loves being outside when we go on our walks.

Peanut and I at my brother’s surprise birthday party. She’s dressed to party! LOL

Body Fat Percentage- June 8, 2013

I had Lissa from If Not For the Skinny Jeans comment on this weekly update asking me if I had ever tried calculating my body fat percentage as a more accurate indicator than watching the scale. I finally got around to doing it! LOL I looked through a couple free online body fat calculators (I can’t afford anything fancier right now LOL) and I decided to go with this one called the US Navy Calculator- Body Fat Calculator. I really liked this one because I wanted one that calculated sex, height, weight and a few measurements. Most of the other ones I tried either only calculate measurements or weight and waist. So the first thing I did was put my beginning measurements and weight (well, the weight I was when I took the first measurements) and put them into the body fat calculator. I wanted to see where I was before so I have a starting point. This is what I got…

Beginning Stats

Body Fat: 53%
Fat Mass: 138lbs
Lean Mass: 122lbs
Body Fat Category: Obese

Ouch! That obese category really hits me where it hurts… but it’s not going to be there forever. I’m working on changing that. It just takes some time. Next, I put in my most current measurements and weight….

Current Stats

Body Fat: 52%
Fat Mass: 132lbs
Lean Mass: 121lbs
Body Fat Category: Obese

Woohoo! It’s roughly been a month between the first measurements (5/1/13) and the current measurements (6/2/13) and I have already lost 1% of body fat!!!! I don’t know what you think but I find that really impressive and it makes me really happy! I can’t believe how much can change in just a month with hard work and determination. I wasn’t kidding when I said I won’t be in the obese category forever 🙂

Well, that’s what my current body fat percentage is. I know it’s not too accurate but if I continue to use the same calculator each time, it will give me a general idea of where I am. That’s good enough for me!

Have you calculated your body fat percentage? What did you use to calculate it? What did you think?

Weekly Update- May 26, 2013

Every week I plan on posting an update about my progress towards better health. I will post goals I want to accomplish in the upcoming week, if I accomplished the goals I set the previous week, current weight, if I lose or gain weight (hopefully only lose weight), and a brief summary of my activities.

Goals from previous week

Walk at least 5 miles no 😦
Do the BeFit in 90 workout each day as instructed yes!
Drink lots of water yes!
Eat healthy meals/snacks every 2-3 hours yes!

Goals for the upcoming week

Walk at least 5 miles
Do the BeFit in 90 workout each day as instructed
Drink lots of water
Eat healthy meals/snacks every 2-3 hours

Weigh-in Time

Start Weight: 270 pounds
Current Weight: 253.3 pounds
Lose/Gain: Lost 2.9 pounds
Total Weight Loss: 16.7 pounds
Measurement: I didn’t do measurements today

Weekly Summary

Woohoo! I lost 3 pounds this week! I’m on fire! LOL

All enthusiasm aside, this week has been a hard one for me. I must admit I am both proud and disappointed in myself this past week. As you might know from my posts, I have been very stressed and anxious all week waiting for the lab results from my daughter’s blood work. I have tried hard to keep myself from falling into the usual stress habits I previously embraced, such as becoming lazy, sleeping a lot, eating A LOT (of bad foods), not exercising, and other unhealthy habits.

Overall, I believe I did pretty good. I continued to follow my fitness program. If I didn’t have an actual fitness program like BeFit in 90, I don’t know if I would have exercised as much as I did. Thankfully, it kept me on track with my workouts and I did every single one. 🙂 I didn’t take naps when Peanut did, although I wanted to. I also made sure to drink plenty of water and eat healthy snacks like grapefruit (almost ate one everyday), strawberries, broccoli, granola bars, and other delicious healthy goodies.

I am disappointed in some of the things I did (and didn’t) do. The weather this week has been crazy. Its either been storming, sweltering, or freezing. All in the same week to top it off. I didn’t go for a walk once this week and I am rather annoyed at myself for not going. There was a few possible windows of opportunity where I could have gone on at least a short walk but I didn’t. I made excuses when I should have just gone on a walk. I will try harder this week to go on the walks I enjoy. Hopefully, Peanut and the weather will be more accommodating this week.

I have also been eating some unhealthier foods as well. This week I’ve eaten some pizza (no dairy), chicken salad sub (delicious but too much mayo), and tofutti (dairy free ice cream). I am pretty disappointed in the food choices I’ve made. I will be more careful with what I eat this week coming up.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! 🙂

Measurements- 5/19/13

I decided it was time to take my measurements again. I have noticed some changes (like my face looks thinner to me) and I haven’t lost weight in the past two weeks. Weight loss hasn’t been as big of a concern for me right now as much as getting healthy and providing my daughter with the best breastmilk I can give her by eating healthy. In fact, I have been eating more (healthy food, of course) to make sure I get at least 2,000 calories for Peanut.
I am trying to take my measurement twice a month. I realized I only measured my right thigh, calf, upper arm, and forearm last time. I made sure to measure both sides this time and will continue to do so in the future. So here are my new measurements (in inches):

Bust- 47
Chest- 38.5
Waist- 42
Navel- 48.5
Hips- 50.5
R Thigh- 27.5
R Calf- 17.5
L Thigh- 28
L Calf- 18.5
R Upper Arm- 15.5
R Forearm- 12
L Upper Arm- 16.5
R Forearm- 12
Neck- 15.5
So here is what I lost/gained from my first measurements:

Bust -1/2
Chest 0
Waist 0
Navel -2
Hips -1/2
R Thigh 0
R Calf -1
L Thigh n/a
L Calf  n/a
R Up Arm -1 1/2
R Forearm 0
L Up Arm n/a
R Forearm n/a
Neck -1/2
Overall, I think I did really great for losing that amount of inches in a little over two weeks. I am really happy with the progress I’m making 🙂

Weekly Update- May, 12, 2013

Every week I plan on posting an update about my progress towards better health. I will post goals I want to accomplish in the upcoming week, if I accomplished the goals I set the previous week, current weight, if I lose or gain weight (hopefully only lose weight), and a brief summary of my activities.

Goals from previous week

Walk at least 10 miles yes!
Do at least one yoga workout yes!
Do at least one step aerobics workout yes!
Do at least one target area workout (like arms, abs, etc.) no 😦 I did more zumba instead
Practice zumba steps yes!
Try making tofu yes!
Drink at least one cup of mango green tea a day yes!

Goals for the upcoming week

Walk at least 5 miles
Do the BeFit in 90 workout each day as instructed
Drink lots of water
Eat healthy meals/snacks every 2-3 hours

Weigh-in Time

Start Weight: 270 pounds
Current Weight: 256.2 pounds
Lose/Gain: Lost 0 pounds
Total Weight Loss: 13.8
Navel Measurement: 48 inches (-2 inch)

Weekly Summary

The weather this week was really crappy. It rained most of the week so I couldn’t walk as much as I wanted to. I still managed to make it to my ten mile mark though! 🙂

• Sunday- 3.78
• Monday- 1.36
• Tuesday- Rest day
• Wednesday- 1.08
• Thursday- 2.10
• Friday- 1.51
• Saturday- 2.43
• Total miles= 12.26

I just LOVE doing Zumba! I will definitely be doing it more often. Unfortunately, I did another Zumba workout instead of the target area workout because I had so much fun doing it. Its no excuse though and I will try harder next week. Step aerobics is kicking my butt but I really enjoy doing it and it makes me sweat like nobody’s business! haha

I only measured my navel today and I lost TWO inches!!! Woohoo!!!!! This is great since I didn’t lose any weight this week (but at least I didn’t gain any). I believe I gained some muscle due to the added exercises I did this week. Seeing how many inches I lost at my navel makes me tempted to take all my measurements but I haven’t decided yet. I have even lost a pant size.

A friend told me she can tell my face has gotten thinner. The compliment really means a lot to me. It’s reassuring to have friends notice changes as well.

I’m doing it right

I went to the doctor’s yesterday for a follow up for my stomach problems. I went through the normal routine with the nurse. She checked my blood pressure, checked where my blood pressure was last appointment (one month ago) and did a double take. She said my blood pressure had gone down… a lot for one month. Last month, my blood pressure was on the higher side of normal at 136/90. This month my blood pressure had gone down to 126/70, in the normal range.

When the doctor came in, he looked at my chart, saw my blood pressure change, and took my blood pressure again. It came out the same (maybe off one or two, I didn’t see it). He was very impressed. He asked me what I have been up to with my diet. When I explained to him how I have changed my diet to more protein, fruits and veggies, taking walks everyday and working out, he told me to continue doing it. He noted I had lost weight as well as lower my blood pressure.

Plus, eating better has really helped me with my stomach issues. Unfortunately, it hasn’t made them disappear. I still get really bad stomach cramps when I eat certain foods (even healthy ones like salads) and there are times when I have to run in search of a bathroom. He told me the blood work came out really well so there’s no problems there. He believes I have IBS, which stinks but I’m not surprised. He wants to put me on medication for it to see if it helps but I can’t until I finish breastfeeding Peanut. He is sending me to a GI doctor to see what else we can do while we wait for me to try the medicine.

I will continue eating healthy, making healthy lifestyle choices and exercising. I am thrilled with the progress I have made so far and how the changes I’ve made are already improving my health.