Week 8

They say week 4 I will start to see changes.  They say week 8, my close friends and family will start to see changes, and they have!  My measurements are changing, my clothes are fitting better, and my weight is dropping too!  I have to say though my biggest accomplishment this week has been physically feeling the difference in my strength during my workouts.  Last night, I even got down on the floor and showed off my new push ups to my husband.  I feel so strong, and I love it!  But of course, I want even more :)  Right now, I'm still behind in the Insanity workouts.  I am dripping in sweat by the end of the video, and my muscles are exerted, but I'm still just not as strong as they are yet.  I'm going to keep at it everyday though.  Each day I tell myself to do just one more of everything!  Eventually I will get there!!!  Just keep on pushing!!!!

Week 7

AWWWW!  Somehow I missed my post this past week :(  and I was doing so well.  I think it was one of those weeks, where I didn't remember if I brushed my teeth, unplugged the straightener, paid the electric, or locked the front door, kind of weeks!  So backing it up.  Week 7 came pretty fast.  I was hoping to hit that weight marker, but I didn't, but I was not discouraged because I was getting closer.  I really do think it's going to be this week!  This week I have started to notice a change in my clothes, and I went on my first run in two months, and I cannot believe how strong my legs felt, which made the run a lot easier on my knees!  One of our challenges this week was to take a picture of our OLD clothes.  Well of course, the goal is to show off how baggy they have gotten.  Blonde moment here...I just started drying all my clothes to shrink them a little so they weren't so baggy, but I still managed to find this comparison photo:

The first picture was taking at the zoo after my first week of clean eating.  My family was still in town visiting so my workouts weren't really happening, but I had been working on my diet.  Just looking at Week 1 pic, I notice how much happier I am.  I am enjoying myself with my daughter, and not completely freaking about the camera getting my "skinny" angle.  Now look at week 7!  Look at the confidence I have gained!!! I am no where near my goal weight or dream body yet, but being able to see the difference makes all this worth it!  One more week, and then I'm going to be ready to start spreading the word.  Just waiting on people to start saying "you look great", and asking "how did you do it", so I can start saying "well let me tell you how"!  This is what keeps me going is knowing that my lifestyle change just might impact the ones I love too!  

Week 6

This week is a VERY important week to me.  I've started mastering my workout videos, I am eating better than I ever have, I have given up soda completely!!!, and so now I'm at that plateau.  So this week my big goal is to GO HARD!  I'm going to eat even BETTER, workout even HARDER, and give it everything I got!  Another big task I am going to work on this week is getting my butt to bed, and getting my well-rested butt out of bed before lunch time!  Ok, so it's not really lunch time, but I kid you not...sometimes I don't get out of my pj's til Haylie goes down for her nap at noon and I throw on my workout clothes!  EEEK!!!!  that's got "turning into a lazy bum" written all over it!  Plus, next year when we move, I want to go back to teaching, and I'm pretty sure they require you to show up to work before noon and not in your pajamas!   So to sum it all up, this is my 110% week.  I want to combine everything I have accomplished so far plus a few new challenges and I want to knock this week out of the ballpark!  My motivation for this week is the scale is so close to breaking that WEIGHT WALL that I have not been below since I was pregnant with my daughter (almost two years ago!).  It also Valentine's day this week, so I know there are going to be a few extra temptations this week, but guess what..I'm going to have my dessert as my cheat and just work extra hard in the gym (aka...my family room with Insanity in the DVD player!)  If I stick to this meal plan and do another straight week of cardio I KNOW I CAN make this the best week yet!  

30 days in...60 more to go!

I of course have been very anxious leading up to our 30 day photos and measurements.  I've been doing the ultimate fitness sin of measuring myself every day and getting on that scale!  NO NO NO!  I know better than that, but I just couldn't be patient.  I have to say, I'm one of those girls that will probably never be completely satisfied with her body.  Stupid world that has created this image that unrealistic body types is what we want.  But then again, that's why this challenge has been more than just about weight loss. It's about a lifestyle change.  It's about learning to love your body because you take care of it.  I will stand by this comment so far...if I never lost another pound I would still be a happier, healthier person thanks to this lifestyle.  However, I am HUMAN...so YES!!!! I want to lose weight too :)  I am happy with my 30 day photos (minus the need for a tan...yes... I do live in Hawaii, so not quite sure what my excuse is!).   I am excited for the next 30 days.  I feel like I needed to visually see the changes before I could push forward anymore.  I was starting to feel like I wasn't getting anywhere and all my hard work was for nothing, but check out my 30 day transformation in my scrapbook...and see for yourself!  

So if you feel exhausted, and think I don't have the time or the energy for working out...guess what?!?!?!  When you eat "CLEAN" you have so much more energy, and you miraculously find extra time in your day to do things that you would have put off before because you were too tired.  I do more loads of laundry, I watch less t.v., I play more with my kid, and overall I'm just being more active.  I think there is a definite correlation between be active and feeling good.  I wonder if that is where the saying, "Life is like a fresh breath of air," comes from. 

If you are unsure if this lifestyle is for you, just remember everyone can do it at their own pace.  Some of the girls in the group are much more hardcore than me, but this is such a change for me that I'm taking it in strides.  Strive for PROGRESS...not PERFECTION.  Even if you eat a little bit better every day, or work out a couple times a week, it's better than doing nothing at all.  And who knows...maybe you'll get addicted like me and want to do more good things for your body!  

Week 5

30 day pics are this week!  I cannot believe we are already at this point.  I have to say I have been kind of bummed this weekend as it approaches.  I feel like I should be seeing more results by now.  This is usually the time I give up because it doesn't happen over night.  So I am trying to reach within and find that extra push that keeps me going even if I don't see results yet.

So in an effort to catch a second wind and keep on trucking, I've decided to hit it hard this week!  I want to throw my body back into a drastic change so that it has no choice but to make me feel like I'm getting some where!

With that being said...this week is a pure cardio workout week!  I'm going to do INSANITY all week long, and tie in my Yoga Booty Ballet and Core workout on Saturday.  I'm also going to really focus on cutting out carbs this week.  I think I got very comfortable with allowing whole grain carbs and got a little carried away this week!  As always.....I'm going to up my water intake more and more!