Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I am attending two Thanksgiving feasts...one today and one tomorrow.

My game plan for today is turkey, salad, one starch. My game plan for tomorrow is turkey, salad, 2 starches (hehe, can't resist some of my mom's dishes)! Tomorrow I am doing upper body at the gym in the morning and a HIIT cardio session.

Right now I am doing laundry, folding it, cleaning the kitchen, vaccuming, making a fresh, healthy cole slaw salad (no mayo!), and getting ready to go to my sister-in-law's.

I wish everyone a wonderful day full of love from family and friends!

Thanks!

Thanks for all of you votes and your responses! I promise I will answer all of your questions in the next day or so and show you the winning picture!

Three 12 hour days in a row for me this week and I have been getting up each day to hit the gym before work. I am exhausted!

Help Me Decide!!!!!!!!!

Ok, I am 99% sure I found my final "back" and "side view shots but I need your help for the "front" shot. Please help me choose one. If you vote, please let me know which one you like best and why. I want to look most muscular and transformed overall. Keep the chest, arms, abs and legs overall in mind.

Here is my back "before" (I hope I didn't ruin any dinners, haha):

Here is my back "after" (this is my fav shot but the bathing suit not being tied correctly kills me):

Here is my side "before":

And "after":

Ok, now the hard part, front "before":

Choice #1 (I think this is a decent overall pic. It is one of my favorites because of the chest and arm tone):Choice #2 (Decent overall as well. Legs look a little more tone and arms still look muscular): Choice #3 (I think my arms look the biggest (in a good way)in this pic):

Choice #4 (This is my husbands favorite. He likes that hair is not covering my face and he think my posture looks most feminine. He also thinks my legs look slimmest here. I like it but I think I look the least muscular in it):

Choice #5 (I think this is the best face/hair shot and body looks decent overall. Some muscle tone but definatley not the most arm/chest muscle):

Ok blog friends, I could really use some major votes. I know they all look pretty similar.

Thanks ahead of time!!!!

AHHHH

Quick post, since it is almost 2am (I am nuts).

Well, as of Sunday I finished BFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOHOOO! It feels amazing! Anyway, now I can't decide on an "after" pic. And it is not like I am between 2 or 3...I am between 8!!!!! I work all day tomorrow so I think I am going to develop all of them on Thursday and see what they look like in person (not on computer). Ahhh!!! What a dilema.

If I posted them on here would you guys vote?

Night night!

OH YEAH! Also, I bought 2 awesome pieces of driftwood for the home...I know what you are thinking...bought? Well, I have been searching for "free" driftwood for months (ever since I was inspired by the beautiful Holly at Life in the Fun Lane), and no luck. So I bought 2 pieces. I can't wait to find a lovely spot for them...I have a few in mind.

Here's Holly's driftwood art:
Cute, huh? I'll post pics of mine as soon as I get it up!

Ok, now...goodnight!

Being Super-Wife Today

This morning I have already:

Done laundry
Cleaned the kitchen
Cleaned the guest bedroom

I am about to:

Go to the gym
Tan
Look for shoes for my final pic

Later I plan on:

Grocery shopping
Cooking dinner
Doing my nails

Baby News!

My cousin had her baby boy this past weekend and Frankie and I went to visit on Monday! He is SO adorable! Here we are (please excuse the shiny face, haha):

10 Down, 2 to Go

Today marks the end of week 10! I feel a little bloated at the moment due to some high sodium intake over the weekend, but I feel awesome in general.

Here are a few pics of some of my typical meals:

1 slice of whole wheat double protein bread, toasted and topped with 1/4 avocado, 2 slices of tomato and balsamic vinegar + 1% no salt cottage cheese:
1 slice of the same toast as above with a tiny tiny tiny amount of Simply Fruit jam and sliced strawberries (same thing with almond butter instead of the jam is to die for) + scrambled eggs (1 whole and 3 whites):
Grilled chicken breast + grapes + steamed green beans:

The hubby wasn't around this morning so I didn't take my week 10 pic (but I will tomorrow morning)!

PS: Thanks so much for ALL of the support even though I have been MIA with the posts! All of your comments are really encouraging and definatley keep me motivated! =)

A Sneak Peak

Ok, due to popular demand, I am going to show you a sneak peak of my transformation. The following pics are week 0 versus week 6. I just finished week 8 and I didn't take an official week 8 pic....so I'll have to wait till week 10 for the next progress pic...but here goes...

PLEASE do not the judge the yuckiness!

Week 0 (the dreaded back view):Week 6 (a little less dreaded):

Out on a boat with the hubby during week 8: I am really hoping to see something great at weeks 10 and 12! I'll keep you updated. =)

Still Going Strong!

This coming Sunday will mark the end of week 8 of BFL! This means I have 4 1/2 more to go!!! I have noticed some big changes in my upper body but these legs really need to shed some fat pronto!

So, I have been getting some questions about Body for Life and I am sorry I haven't been answering them. I have been really busy...this whole thing is like a second job. Plus we are trying to work on the house...third job.

Well, Body for Life is a book by Bill Phillips. you can check out the BFL website as well.

BFL is both a diet and exercise program. For the diet, you are given a list of authorized foods (you can find this list on the website). You eat 5-6 times per day. Each meal should include a protein the size of the palm of your hand and a carb the size of your fist. You can also add veggies and should include healthy fats in your diet. For the workouts, you lift weights on Mon, Wed and Fri and do 20 minutes of HIIT on Tues, Thurs, and Sat. Sunday is a free day, on which you do not workout and you can eat whatever you want.

What I have been doing:


I mostly follow the list of authorized food. Probably 85-90% of what I eat is on that list. Extras include mainly unsalted nuts, almond butter and certain fruits that are not on that list. For my carbs I eat oatmeal, whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortillas, fruit and occasionally rice. I stay away from pasta and potatoes. My list of common protein sources includes 1% no-salt cottage cheese, plain 0% Greek yogurt, chicken, fish, egg whites and EAS 100% whey protein. My cheat days have been more like cheat meals. I allow myself 1-2 cheat meals a week, depending on the cheat. For example, one week I had a small bowl of wonton soup and a medium serving of soft serve ice cream (and sprinkles of course). I counted that as 2 cheat meals for the week. On a different week, I had 1 cheat meal, a birthday dinner with my hubby and his family (filet mignon, mushrooms, grilled zucchini and squash, salad and dessert). I haven't had any alcohol and I drink TONS of water.

For my HIIT sessions I have been doing the stairmaster a lot due to my neck injury. It doesn't put a lot of bouncing pressure on the neck. I have also used running as my HIIT, both indoors on the treadmill and outside.

I feel like a new person already! My hubby has noticed a huge change in me in the last 7-8 weeks, both physically and emotionally.

I think it is an awesome program and I would definately recommend it to anyone. It is nutritionally sound, doesn't make you feel deprived and the workouts are designed perfectly.

Please feel free to ask me any questions about the program and I promise I will do my best to answer them in a timely fashion. =)

Guest Bedroom

Well, the hubby and I just finished painting the guest bedroom! We are so excited to see how it turns out. It is the first room we are renovating. We are going for a beachy-cottage but semi-sophisticated look. As I mentioned in a previous post, I bought some used furniture from a co-worker. My intensions were to paint it white, distress it and add new knobs...maybe somehting like this: But my hubby thinks the furniture already looks really beachy and that we should keep it the way it is.

The hardware looks a little too medieval to me. If we keep it this color I think I will want to change the backplates and knobs. I'll see how it fits in the room and go from there.

We want to take the two posts off of each side of the headboard, which will turn the queen into a full. I figured if there were nail holes on the sides I would use wood filler, sand it and then paint it white. This might pose a problem if we keep them natural.

Here's the new color of the guest bedroom. The picture didn't turn out too well. The color is Woodlawn Blue by Benjamin Moore. Honestly, it looks more green in person and we love it! It is crazy how it looks so different depending on the lighting.

We are going to put molding around the windows and on the ceiling. I'm excited to make some changes!

Here are some pictures of the same paint color in different lighting and better quality:

By the way, BFL is going really well! I just finished week 6 so I am half-way there. I promise I will post more about the diet and workouts soon. I have been a bad blogger lately. =(

We Bought It!

Yay, we bought the furniture from my co-worker. (I will post pics later today). I want to paint it white. Well, I originally wanted to. Now I can't decide. Ahhhhh.

So I feel like a completely different person since starting this thing (BFL)! I woke up this morning (I think a little dehydrated even though I drink a gallon a day pretty much) and my abs were showing really nicely. It is 6am and I am about to hit the gym for a lower body workout. Then I am off to work for a few hours and I have a doctor's appointment to find out my MRI results.

I think the hubby and I are going to go to either Lowe's or Home Depot and look at paint colors for the guest bedroom today. We are thinking about a VERY light blueish grey. We'll see. =)

Anyone use a paint brand they are REALLY happy with???

First Renovation???

I think that I am going to buy a dresser, 2 nightstands and a headboard from a coworker today! They need some work. If I do, I will post pictures tonight and we will start renovating out guest bedroom! Fun fun. =)

PS-Sorry so MIA. BFL is going strong and awesome! I went down 4.6% body fat in 5 weeks!

Week 5!

Well, tomorrow is the first day of week 5! I can't believe I have successfully finished 4 full weeks of BFL! I took progress pics today and I can see a slight change from Week 2. I got a little bummed this morning that the changes weren't more noticable. My hubby encouraged me to keep going. He said he notices a slight change but that transforming a body doesn't happen over night. We are both excited to see what Week 6 and Week 8 pictures will bring.

Its tough to be very motivated when you expect to see more than you do. This is usually the time I start slacking off and gaining again. But not this time...I HAVE TO KEEP GOING!!!! I've worked too hard for 4 weeks not to see this thing through.

I have lost 10 pounds! I feel better. I look better in my clothes. What else can I ask for?

Last Day

Well it is the last day of my mini-vacation. The truth is it was relaxing but not exciting at all. We planned on possibly going out of town for a night or two. Then we decided we had too much to do around the house and we would take a day trip instead. We wanted to spend the day at Busch Gardens in Tampa, but my neck was acting up and the last thing I needed was to damage it even further on a rollercoaster. So we didn't do much of anything.

I have an appointment with a neurologist today. Hopefully he will order a MRI so we get to the root of this problem.

As far as BFL goes...I am still on track!!! I had to skip my Saturday HIIT session due to the neck pain. Neck pain is weird because it is scary. Sharp nerve jolts make me so nervous so I don't want to push it. Instead of the HIIT, I walked about 2 miles. I figured something was better than nothing. My diet has been clean for the most part. I really want to start taking pics of my meals. I decided I would start last night and forgot to at breakfast. Figures.

This was my 3rd meal (my favorite): 1 greek yogurt, 1/2 banana and 2 teaspoonfuls of raw oats sprinkled on top:
This was my 4th meal (and I don't mean Taco Bell). Whole wheat tortilla, topped with lettuce, spinach, grilled chicken and 1/4 of an avocado:I haven't weighed myself for about a week or so. I am trying not to. Week 3 is kinda tough. I don't think many people on BFL see extreme results between weeks 2 and 4. So week 3 can be a little unmotivating. I am sticking with it though.

Mini-Vacation!

Today marks the first day of my mini-vacation from work. The hubby and I were supposed to go to New York this weekend...remember? Well, we got the time off but nowhere to go. We don't have to return to work till Wednesday! Yay!

We are thinking about making a day trip somewhere but we're not sure whether we want to or not and nothing great is poping up in our minds. We might take a day to look for some furniture for our guest bedroom. There are so many things we need to work on around the house. We'll see how productive these next few days are.

I saw a chiropractor today. It looks as though my 7th cervical vertebrae is out of its natural position. This is probably what is causing the numbness in my arm. He adjusted my neck and back and it felt great to hear those pops! I am icing my neck as I type. Hopefully I will feel better soon.

Picture

I am still on track with BFL! I am pissed that my legs are not very sore today from yesterday's workout. I did my cardio HIIT session outdoors today. As far as raising your heart rate, nothing beats running outside in my opinion.

Well, I am off to watch a little TV! What an exciting life I lead. Haha.

Tuesday, August 11th

Well, the weekend went EXACTLY according to plan. I ate the pasta for my dad's birthday on Friday and avoided so many goodies...fresh breads, cheeses, salami, etc. I did have a small piece of birthday cake right after. Therefore, my Sunday "cheat" meal was hardly a cheat. I ordered grilled shrimp scewer salad with balsamic vinagarette dressing on the side. I also asked for plain vinegar. The salad was made up of lettuce, a few tomatoes, some shredded carrots, onion and 5 grilled shrimp. I barely touched the fatty dressing and mainly used the plain vinegar. I resisted the hot steamy rolls and butter that were served before dinner and I didn't drink any alcohol, only water. I did my HIIT on the treadmill on Saturday as planned.

Yesterday was upper body at the gym. I am really feeling it in my triceps this morning. I wish I was feeling it more in my back and shoulders (2 areas I REALLY need to work on). My diet was on point all day.

I am about to go to the gym and do today's HIIT. I like to do it on an empty stomach whenever possible. I am thinking about making protein pancakes when I get back. I've never tried them and hopefully they turn out ok with chocolate protein powder. I have a ton of cleaning to do today and I also want to find a health food store in this town.

If you have never seen pictures of fitness model Jamie Eason, do yourself a favor and google her for some motivation. What I would do to have those legs!

Pain in the Neck

I am still on track! I had a crazy last few days. I barely avoided a neck injury. My neck tends to lock up here and there (severe muscle spasms, etc) to the point where I can't move it. When an episode of this occurs, I am usually out of commision for a few weeks. I started to feel the pain coming on after my crack-of-dawn workout Wednesday morning. BUT I kept icing it and taking anti-inflammatories all day and I think that saved me! It is still slightly sore but getting better. I am keeping my fingers crossed. My knees are sore as well. My cardio workout this morning was nothing to brag about. I completed the 20 minutes of cardio but I didn't do it HIIT style. UGH. AND tomorrow is leg day. Double UGH. My knees need a chance to recover. Hopefully they will feel better by the morning.

I have been following my diet really well. Today was the first day I was really tempted to cheat. I was starving because I didn't have a carb for my second-to-last meal and there was a really long lapse between that meal and the next. I was grocery shopping and I was famished. It took all my power not to stuff 5 Rice Krispy Treats and a gallon of ice cream in my mouth all at once. So what did I do? I bought a container of fresh blackberries and ate the whole thing once I got in the car in about 30 seconds flat.

As I write this I am waiting for my mini cheescakes to finish baking in the oven. Tomorrow is my dad's birthday and I decided to make these. They are small like cupcakes and I plan on topping them with a homemade mixed berry sauce. I didn't lick a finger once while making them! And I don't plan on eating one either. Hopefully they turn out ok. I'm sure my hubby will tell me if they are horrible.

So, I will be out of town all weekend. Here's the plan:

Friday: Lower-body before we leave, eat small meals all day according to plan, have cheat meal #1 for dinner (mom is making pasta for dad's birthday, I will have a tiny portion).
Saturday: 20 minute HIIT (probably on my parents' treadmill), no cheating on diet all day.
Sunday: Day off or short walk on the beach, take Week 2 progress pics, follow diet all day until dinner with friends (cheat meal #2 for the week).

I love the fact that I decided to do 2 cheat meals instead of a whole cheat day. It will be much more doable that way.

Have a GREAT weekend!!!

This Week Is Looking Good

Thanks ladies for all of your comments on my last post! You guys are the best. I know that I have been eating right and working out and in the end it is my health that I am focusing on. But, I did enter a 12 week competition. I want to see how drastic of a change I can actually make. So I want to master this program (in a healthy way of course). If it wasn't a timed thing, I wouldn't be analyzing what I am doing so much. Your support is so awesome!

Well, this week has started out pretty well! I feel and look better already. Yesterday was a lower-body workout and let me tell you, I squated, deadlifted, pressed and crunched my little heart out. It felt SO good!

Today I did HIIT on the treadmill. I LOVE doing it on the treadmill because you have the timer and controls right in front of you and it really controls your intensity level the best. I will continue to mix up my HIIT workouts though...stairmaster, elliptical, bike, running outside, etc.

Today was a historic day as well! I mowed my first lawn! The hubby and I bought a lawn mower and I volunteered for the job. I felt a little manly, lol, but also strong and empowered. Maybe one day I'll have the courage to wear a bikini top while doing it and get a tan!

Picture

End of Week 1

Well, I have successfully finished one week of BFL. I feel ok. I don't know if I am doing enough. I am following the plan by the book but I keep thinking that maybe I should be doing more. Am I working out hard enough? Am I eating right? Am I eating enough to gain muscle? Should I start taking supplements?

Today was a "free" day. I took a break from working out. I am doing legs tomorrow and I have some knee pain so I needed the break. As far as eating is concerned, I didn't go overboard on the "freedom". I still ate my small meals throughout the day. At one meal I ate a whole banana instead of half. And for my last meal I had frozen yogurt (a pretty big serving) and a tablespoon of almond butter. I definatley didn't have enough protein today. Ugh.

I am going to try to make this second week better than the first. I plan on taking some progress pics next Sunday. Hopefully I will notice a difference.

Yum!

Today went really well. I found myself lacking an appetite all day. In fact, I had to force myself to eat one of my meals. Pigs must be flying.

Well, my last meal of the day was quite a treat. In fact, it felt like a cheat meal. I guess the protein content in it isn't very high (probably about 15 grams total) so I feel a little guilty about it. I wish I had taken a picture before I gobbled it up. With this diet, I haven't had too many carbs besides fruits and veggies...some, but not too many. I'm refering to carbs such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. Anyway, my hubby bought Arnold's Grains & More Double Protein Multi-Grain Bread (what a mouthful). It has 7 grams of protein per slice. I toasted it and topped it with almond butter and slices of fresh strawberries. I even had a little milk. It was very yummy.

Work

Well, I woke up at 5:30am and went to the gym to do upper body. It was a great workout. Instant pain. I could barely wash myself in the shower. While I was working out a guy saw that I had the Upper Body BFL Workout Sheet printed out. He asked if I was doing BFL. I said yes. He asked how far along I was. I said Day 5. He wished me luck. I hope I keep seeing him, maybe he will notice some changes. Once I got to work, I was scared that I strained my neck (recurring injury). I took some ibuprofen and iced it. The last time my neck stiffened up on me, I was out for weeks. Hopefully I took action on time. I ate very clean all day as well.

12 hour shift was extra long today. My pharmacy provides a service by giving certain antibiotics away for free (with a prescription of course). So, this is what I get, more often than you would think:

"My doctor told me I can get this for free"
"Yes, it is one of our free antibiotics"
"Are all your drugs free?"
(Wants to say: Are you freaking insane you moron?)
"No, just this list of antibiotics"
"How long?"
"Well, have you ever filled here before?"
"No"
"Ok, please fill out this patient information form and we'll get you all set in about 15 minutes"
"15 minutes!!???!!!!????"
"Thats about as fast as I can get it done. I see you have another prescription that is not on our free list. Do you have any insurance"
"Yes. (LONGEST PAUSE HUMANLY POSSIBLE) Oh, do you need to see my card or something?"
(Wants to say: No, I work for the psychic network)
"Yes please"
"Fine. (grumpy look, gives card...2 seconds later...) Ummmmm, can I have that back?"
"Well, I have to actually enter these numbers into the computer, so if it is ok, I'll give you your card back with the prescriptions"
"You aren't going to lose it are you?"
(Wants to say: Yes, I plan on losing it or shredding it, that is my agenda)
"No sir"
"I'll be back" (Walks over to pick-up window, stares at me for about 5 minutes and then signals to my tech). Picking up for So-N-So."

This is only the beginning of the stuff I hear.

Thursday, July 30th

I woke up and wanted to do my cardio on an empty stomach. BUT life got in the way (phone calls, errands, etc) so I ended up eating breakfast. I started the day off with a plain Greek yogurt, some oats sprinkled on it and 1/2 banana. I REALLY missed my drizzle of honey but hey, gotta do what you gotta do.

I am off to the gym for my cardio session! I think it will be the stair master this time. Then, errands, errands, errands.

Here's a "Before and After" to be proud of. This girl, Jennifer Nicole Lee, is a weight-loss-success-story fitness model.

Sleepy

Well, another wonderful day of BFL. I did lower body before my 12 hour shift. I ate every 2-3 hours and got lots of protein in. When I got home, the hubby and I took a dip in the pool. Then we went for a walk on the beach, hoping to see some sea turtles. No luck there. It is almost 1am...my legs are sore already and I am kinda nauseas. Time for bed. Hopefully my posts will be a little more exciting in the near future!

Oh, I almost forgot, I got my body fat tested today. So hopefully I can knock that down a few percentage points in the next 12 weeks.

Feeling Great

Week 1, Day 2 was wonderful. I woke up early and did today's cardio workout. Um, I am SO out of shape. I chose running as my workout today. My legs are so sore right now...how am I supposed to do lower body tomorrow??? I will manage!

I drove to see my parents and got a haircut! Nothing too dramatic, about 4 inches off but still below the shoulders. I am headed for bed....early day tomorrow and a 12 hour shift.

The Big News

Ok, my big news starts with a confession...

I have not been "fit" nor "sexy" lately. Maybe a little "super" due to my wonderful housekeeping lately but thats besides the point. What an a-hole I've been. I haven't been taking care of myself what-so-ever. I feel like I have been letting myself down, my husband down (although he would never admit it) and our marriage down. I keep starting these "diets" for a few days and just giving up on them. I haven't been caring. Our New York trip got cancelled and once again I lost motivation. Why do I have to have a big event to look forward to in order to have motivation? Isn't being healty, fit, active, and confident motivation enough???

I look like crap. I don't even recognize myself in the mirror. I feel lazy, tired, out of shape and gross. I don't want to go out because none of my going-out clothes are looking good on me these days. I have been avoiding intitmacy because I am grossed out with my body and I am scared my husband will be as well. How sad is that? We are newlyweds! It is AMAZING how someone's body and health can change in a matter of months.

I'm starting to get health issues! My hormones are out of whack, my knees are killing me, my posture is getting worse by the minute, my bowels are on strike, my hair is horrible, and I have acne. I am seriously scared to death of staying this way. How horrible to get out of bed each morning feeling more tired than the night before? To choose to be lazy and not live life to the fullest??? To be miserable. What kind of pregnancy will I have if I continue on like this? Will I get colon cancer? Will I miss out on the best years of my life?

Anyway...

I don't want a quick fix. I want a lifestyle change. Today marks Day 1 of the Body for Life Challenge. I have been preaching the BFL program for YEARS! I tried BFL about 6 years ago and found it to be an amazing program. I stuck with it for about 6 weeks and lost a bunch of weight. I got a little lazy and stopped doing it. But the principles I learned from that program have always stayed with me. Whenever someone asks me for fitness advice, I suggest this program. So why haven't I completed it??? ALL 12 WEEKS OF IT??? Speaking from a nutrition standpoint (since I do have a degree in it and all), I think it is a PERFECT program. Also, the workouts have done wonders for me. The program's concepts of exercise (lifting heavy when weight training and HIIT for cardio) have ALWAYS given me results in the past. I think it is time that I "thank" BFL for teaching me how to do these things the right way by showing others that this program really works!

Last night my husband took my "before" photos. I put on my bikini and started to cry. Yes, pathetic. I didn't want to walk out in the BRIGHT light and let him see me like that. I was so mortified. I let him take the dreaded snapshots. I am too embarrassed to post those right now...but as I progress with the program, I will. I definatley looked worse than last year's winner in her "before" pics. By the way, this girl is INCREDIBLE and a wonderful inspiration and role model. Here are some pics:

Check out the BFL website!

Well, today was AWESOME! I woke up at 5:30am and went to the gym to do my upper body workout. I am sore already! I worked a 12 hour shift. My eating was perfect today! I got lots of protein in and lots of veggies. One down, 83 days to go!

Something in the Works

I have a life-changing plan in the works! It starts on Monday!!!! I'll share it with you in a day or two. I am super-excited about it but before the reveal I have to write a long post explaining it so no time at the moment!

Today's goals:

* Workout
* Clean, Clean, Clean: organize some books and papers and such (4 big bags full), 2 loads of laundry, dust/windex
* We might have guests tomorrow. If so, more cleaning, grocery shopping and baking something.
* Run a bank errand
* Prepare some stuff for my new life-changing plan

Wanting to Renovate

Someone please hand me $100, 000 dollar to start renovating this home...hmmm...new windows, new floors, furniture...hmmm...new driveway, pool deck, appliances...Ok, the scary part is we would need more than $100,000 to make this place close to what I am envisioning, ugh.

I still love it. I LOVE our home...because it is ours, and we made sacrifices for it and the neighborhood is perfect! Well, maybe I don't love every 80s square inch of it, like the gold faucets, etc.

This is a pic of our living room...it looks A LOT bigger in the pic than it really is...here you can see the front door and a part of the dining room to the left. The fireplace is made of coral...we want to replace the glass shelves with rustic wooden ones. The right side of the living room (which you can't see), is made up of 3 french doors that lead to the pool (you can kinda see how the sun shines in and is reflecting on the floor).
Here are some pics I found on Decor Pad tonight that I absolutely LOVE:

A girl can dream.

Thursday, July 16th

Yesterday I worked a 12 hour shift and I was perfect with the eating all day! 1300 calories!

This morning I ran some errands with the hubby. We added my name to his bank account, I got my new driver's liscence with my new name and new address, and we went to lunch. I came home, did a little yard work and 2 loads of laundry. I am waiting another hour or so to go outside and workout...it is BEYOND hot today. I am going to take a long walk (and hopefully jog) either at the park or the beach, we'll see.

We got great news today! I don't know if have mentioned it, but the community we live in is full of old people. We found out today that a "really young" couple is moving in a few houses down from us! I am pretty excited about this. Hopefully we will hit it off with them. We plan on stopping by in a few days to introduce ourselves and welcome them to the neighborhood.

Super-Wife Day

Ok, between moving into this house and working I have barely been able to get on the computer!!! Well, we are finally fully in! How exciting! I am sitting in my living room getting ready for a SUPER-WIFE day!

Here's the plan:

*Clean 2 bathrooms (UGH, most dreadful thing on this list, we'll see how far I get)
*Vacuum entire house
*Windex glass doors (4 sets of french doors inside and out) and table tops
*2 loads of laundry...wash and fold
*Put all clothes and bathroom things away from move (this will be a job!)

*WORKOUT! (swim, run and pilates?)

*Eat right all day

*Cook chicken chilli from scratch for dinner for me and the hubby

Hope everyone has a wonderful and productive day!

Day 5

Let me tell you, moving sucks. I can't wait until we are moved in and I get get my life back to normal! There is no time for the gym, going out, etc. Ugh, I feel overworked.

Day 4 went well. I weighed in at 141.3, same as Day 3. I went to work for a few hours and then made 2 trips moving things back and forth. I organized things as I went...our kitchen is almost done and so is our closet. We have a walk-in!!! I am super-excited about that. I ate about 1300 calories.

Day 5 is so far so good. I weighed in at 140.7! Yay, I can't wait to get back into the 130s. We got a brand new washer and dryer today! The Whirlpool Duet! It looks something like this:
We didn't get the pedestals though. My laundry room is a nice size but not too big. I wanted them low so that I can fold clothes on top of them. I plan on getting a white board to put on top. The washer and dryer sit below some upper cabinets, if we would have gotten the pedestals, there wouldn't be any room to fold.

We are trying to figure out what color to paint the laundry room. Hubby wants a light gray. I am still thinking about it. I was thinking either cream or light green. I tend to like white but it is white right now and doesn't look too nice. I would like a different color and then put in crown molding in white to make it pop. We'll see. I know it is just a laundry room but it leads to the garage so it is the entrance Frankie and I will be using. (Plus it is the only room I can afford to renovate at the moment!).

BF: Zone bar (190), Snack: grapes (100), Lunch: bean salad (150), grapes (100), artichoke salad (70), Snack: very small bowl of cereal (110)...more to come...

Day 3

I have been embarrassed to post my weight lately. But here goes...morning of Day 1: 142.9, Day 2: 141.6, Day 3: 141.3. I am glad the 4th didn't do any damage.

I went for a quick 1.4 mile walk/run this morning. I have to get to work early because we were closed yesterday, meaning we will be really busy today.

Well, it was really busy, crazy actually...from 10am-6:30 all I was able to eat was two Zone bars.

BF: Kashi cereal (155) and fresh blueberries (30), Snack: Zone bar (190), Lunch: Zone bar (190), Dinner: slice of rye bread (120), with butter spread (50), big bowl of homemade chicken and veggie soup (350?), Snack: lots of strawberries and blueberries (150), Snack 2: unsalted peanuts (250), some dry Kashi cereal (100)...Total: 1585...higher than I hoped and too close to bedtime. We'll see what the scales says in the mornng.

Happy Forth of July!

I hope everyone had a wonderful day!

Today was Day 2 of my new 40 Day goal. I must say, I think this was the healthiest 4th of July I ever had!

BF: Kashi cereal (155), few strawberries (20), Snack: Chex Mix (not the best and FULL of sodium but it was the healthiest choice around and I didn't wanna wait too long before eating again) (150), Lunch: nibbled on a bunch of things as I was preparing them for dinner, mainly fruit and veggies but also a little bit of fresh mozzarella (350?), Dinner: some grapes (50), tomato and fresh mozzarella (75), slice of bread (100), piece of tuna (150??), corn on the cobb, no butter (100??), grilled veggies on a skewer (75), pound cake (100), fresh berries (50), whipped cream (200?)...Total: 1575. Not too bad.

As far as exercise...only if cleaning the new house and moving clothes, dishes, etc counts. Ugh, I can't wait to be moved in and get my life back to normal. I really wanna hit the gym hard ASAP. It is closed tomorrow. Maybe I can get some cardio in either before or after work.

Is it Possible?

Can you significantly change your body in 40 days?

I think so.

We have a possible trip to New York in the works and I wanna rock it. I have been fluctuating between 140 and 143 in the last few weeks and I am sick of it. I felt so heavy and self conscious last night that I didn't wanna have sex with my husband. If that is not a wake up call, I don't know what is.

BF: Kashi Cereal (155), 3 strawberries (20), Snack: Zone Bar (190), Snack 2: fat free mocha (130), Lunch: sandwich: 2 slices wheat bread and 4 oz chicken: 230, Snack: watermelon (75), Dinner: homemade chicken and veggie soup (300?), Snack: few strawberries (40)...Total: 1140. I resisted frozen yougurt. Thank goodness because I would have felt like a loser. I need to increase the lean protein and veggies. I'll work on it.

So, due to my 12 hour shift I did not workout today. I know this is not an excuse because I have been known to hit the gym at 6am or go for a run before work. I can't wait to hit the weights again. It felt so awesome to crank out 30 "real" pushups without a problem. I'll be there again soon enough.

Exhausted!

This morning I repeated Friday's workout...same timing, same distance. I worked a 13 plus hour shift. I am pooped. Time for bed.

Half Day

Morning weigh-in: 141.0

I had the first part of the day off. My husband and I went to Lowes and Home Depot to look at outdoor fans for our porch. We didn't have any luck finding one we liked. Tomorrow morning we will look at a few other stores in town. Its difficult deciding on one when you don't have any furniture yet.

I just did a 33 minute workout in 97 degree humid weather. It is a miracle I am alive. Today I covered 2.8 miles. Here's the breakdown:
5 min brisk walk warmup
1 min walk, 3 min run for 5 cycles
8 min cool-down walk (would have been 5 min but I had to get back to the apartment)

I'm off to shower and get ready for work. 2-9 shift will be a pleasant change.

So far today I ate a bowl of Fiber One cereal, the original one...not the new fancy flavors. My hubby calls it "goat pellets" and sometimes "rabbit food"...it really looks like something you find at a petting zoo.

Starting to Run

Ugh, I've had a bad few days. Bloating, working and not having time to make small meals. I weighed in at 142.1 this morning. I decided last night that I would start a running program. I was inspired my my wedding-weekend twin, Devon, from All Things King and my co-worker, who runs 5Ks regularly with his wife.

I am not quite ready for the Running for Weight Loss program that Devon is doing but I think I will be there in a few weeks.

This morning I spend 30 minutes outdoors doing fasting cardio and covered 2.4 miles. Warning: This was my first semi-real workout in a while. I am out of shape. Here's the breakup:
5 min brisk walk warmup
2 min run, 1 min walk for 6 cycles
4 min walk cooldown

I feel like I got a pretty good workout (pathetic huh?). Now off to a 12 hour shift. I will eat well ALL day! I will be 139 by July 4th!

Amber Elizabeth

I was just looking at Oxygen Magazine's website and I saw what I consider to be the perfect body. Fit, lean, muscular but still feminine. This girl has it all. If I looked like this, I think I would walk around wearing this on a daily basis (well, at least around the house). Check out the hamstring-butt definition:

Source

Tuesday, June 16th

Morning weigh-in: 141.4. Probably normal fluctuation. I was pretty good yesterday. I probably shouldn't have had the 6 bites of chocolate late last night but otherwise I was good. I stayed up so late last night working on Thank You cards again. The good news is I think I only have about 18 more to write! Here is a pic of our card (I weighed between 132 and 135 that day. I was fluctuating all week and didn't weigh myself the day of so I am not sure): I really need to start exercising! I know that if I worked out for a week I would drop two pounds in a snap. I guess I will get a good workout cleaning the house all day again. This is what I am up against. Only it doesn't look like this. There is so much dirt and mildew around the pool that I swept and scrubbed it for hours the other day without too much improvement. Its gonna need at least 10 more hours of work and a miracle before it looks like this again:

Monday, June 15th

Morning weigh-in: 141.3.

Yesterday was definaley a repeat of Saturday. I pretty much ate the same thing all day because I spent the day cleaning the house again. My dad and I changed all the locks and handles that lead outdoors. I can't wait to save up some money in order to change all the indoor handles. I can't believe how expensive those things are.

Today my newlywed friend Nicole is coming back from her honeymoon. I can't wait to hear about Hawaii!

Off to 12 hour shift . =(

Feeling Good

Morning weigh-in: 141.7. Good, I knew I was holding on to some binge weight. To me, when I am eating crappy for a week or two in a row I get bloated and heavy...when I return to normal eating, I always lose a pound or two or three the first week.

Yesterday I ate ok. Not the healthiest stuff in the world but normal portions. I had a huge bowl of Kashi cereal in the morning. Lunch: slice of white bread, 5 pieces of cheese (some mozzerella and some cheddar), 2 slices of purchutto, 2 slices of tomato, a hardboiled egg, and grapes, Snack: 2 amazing cookies, OJ, Dinner: large bowl of Kashi cereal, few peanuts, some M&Ms.

I am spending the day cleaning the new house once again. My dad is coming back up and we are changing all of locks. Hopefully some serious cleaning will get done.

Day After Closing

Morning weigh-in: 142.8. This would have been lower if I didn't insist on eating at 2am. I stayed up really late to clean and write some wedding thank you cards. I got pretty hungry and ate a small bowl of cereal, a few nuts and 2 slices of bread with a veggie spread. What a moron. At least I was good all day up until then.

We closed yesterday and it went smoothly! Frankie carried my over the threshold and we went to Home Depot only to spend over $800 on a garbage disposal, new locks and new door knobs. The sad part is that we only bought 6 locks and 6 door knobs. We don't need any more locks but if we want to match the knobs on the entire house, including closets, we will need 14 more.

Today my parents and Frankie's mom are coming to help us clean. The house is a mess and we are lucky they are coming.

I got a little more motivation from looking through some old pics. I saw one of me and Frankie from college. The pic was taken on the night of our first kiss. It made me think back on those butterfly emotions and just how much I wanted to look for him back then. Makes you realize how your efforts can diminish through the years if you aren't careful.

Closing Day!

Morning weigh-in: 143.5. Double ugh.

Last night I had a horrible nightmare. Frankie and I were at an amazing resort with pretty much everyone we knew. Everyone was laying out at the pool, playing in the water and having the best time. All of his friends brought hot girls that looked amazing in their bikinis. I, on the other hand, was watching from a window. I was wearing men's gym shorts, a huge baggy t-shirt, had greasy hair and was about 10 pounds heavier. I had this horrific acne on my forehead. I was just there watching, wishing I had prepared, wishing I had worked hard on my body and wishing I was having a good time with all of them. I was embarrassed for even my husband to see me, jealous that he was wishing I looked like the other girls and extremely depressed. It felt so real.

I woke up and did 4 laps around my complex=2.8 miles. Mostly walking. I felt like I weighed 2 tons. My thighs felt swollen and huge. I was tired, I didn't have any energy. The only thing I had was motivation.

We are scheduled to close at 2pm today. We'll see if it happens. Closing already got pushed back from 10:30am to 2. I guess the bank didn't turn some documents in on time. We are waiting for a phone call to get the final closing amount so that we can go to the bank and get a check. Crazy. We don't even know how much this will cost. I'll let you know how it goes.

Confession

I feel like I have let myself down. I haven't been focused. It is so easy to forget your goals when you have so much going on around you. I have been eating without reservation lately. My workouts haven't been hard enough, long enough or consistent. I have gained a significant about of weight in the last 2 1/2 months and I feel like I am not myself anymore. I let all my hard work go down the drain. I am no longer excited to get dressed up, go out or even think about sporting a bikini.

I am admitting to this only because I am ready to make a change again. I wanna see the fat shed off of my body. I wanna flex my muscles again. I wanna feel like running 2 miles is easy.

This battle is 70% mental and 30% physical. I am gonna get out of it. I had a binge yesterday so I know I will weight a pound or more less tomorrow but my morning weigh-in was 143.8. Ugh, that was so hard to type.

Slacking

Wow, I haven't blogged in a while! Well, Since my last blog I have worked every single day. Wed (12hrs), Thurs (10hrs), Fri (14 hrs), Sat (10 hrs), Sun (7 hrs), Mon (12 hrs)...so thats my excuse!

Well, I am proud to say that I ran before work all but 2 days. I just wish I had more time to workout. I've also been good about eating healthy. My diet right now is about a 7 out of 10.

Everything is on track with the house so far. We are still scheduled to close on June 12th! We had some drama with our morgage broker last week. He never locked us in when the rates were low and tried to bring our interest rate up a whole percentage point. Luckily my REA is a tough cookie. He locked us in at our original rate today!

Nicole's wedding is right around the corner! I'll post pics as soon as I get some!

The Mission Continues

So today is Day 3 of this quick beauty mission. Yesterday went really well. I did the 1.4 miles walk/run but I was so extremely sore from the Shred. Its pretty unbelievable. The first time I did the Shred, I thought it was too easy and I didn't feel sore at all the next day. What a reality check. I need my muscles back!!!

This morning I woke up really late (11am) and did some fasting cardio (1.4 miles again). I just ate my new favorite clean treat...the yogurt meal I described in my "I just had an O" post. It is so wonderful. I am about to go tan outside for a little bit. I am not too excited about putting on my bikini but hopefully not too many people will be at the pool, lol. (Ugh, I hope I don't have to think this way in a few months).

I'll probably come back and do some push ups, leg lifts and abs before I shower.

12 Days of Beauty

Well, since I didn't keep up my wedding body as I should have, I have 12 days to trick onlookers into believing that I did. Nicole's wedding is right around the corner and I have to look great for the bridal party pics.

My plan is the type you find in a summer issue of Shape magazine. All the springtime magazines give you 6 or 8 or 12 week plans to shape up for summer and get your "best body ever". Once summer hits, the articles change to something along the lines of...ok lazy ass, you didn't follow our 8 week plan and you now you expect to look good...heh...ok, in one week you can pretend you were good for 3 by tanning, dehydrating yourself, washing your face for a change and staying away from everything you love.

So today was Day 1. I woke up and did level 1 of the Shred. Um, it used to be so easy a few months ago. This morning was torture. I worked 7 hours and ate really well all day. I ate small meals every 2-3 hours and had my last meal before 8pm. After dinner I walked/jogged 1.4 miles. I drank lots of water. Now I am about to go wash my face, pluck my eyebrows and put on some face cream before I head to bed.

Tomorrow I am finally off for a change. I need to get some color, whether real or fake and workout like a mad woman.

I Love Petra Nemcova

If you don't know who she is, you might remember hearing about her after she survived the 2005 tsumani and unfortunately lost her fiance.

Not only is she one of the most gorgeous models out there, but everyone raves about her sweet personality and participation in charity events. She always looks SO put together. She has a unique European style and looks fabulous in anything she puts on.