After Christmas Update and New Goals.

Well the holiday season is slowly coming to a close. How have you all done during this season of sweets treats shared with company and traditional breakfasts and feasts? I managed to make it through without a gain! I actually had a .6lb loss Christmas morning and didn't lose anything the next day, but didn't gain either. Pretty sweet!

 

I have had a hard time since December 1st. I lost 18.9 lbs in the 10 weeks before during my biggest loser challenge and then not a dang ounce in 17 days! I finally lost another lb taking me down to 182 around the 18th. I guess 31 lbs was a plateau point for me? I have to admit though that if I had got my fat butt moving a little more I might not have been having issues. I have hardly gotten any cardio in the last few weeks. I need to quit making excuses...but it's hard! My husbands schedule SUCKS! Seriously. I feel like I never have a second to myself...and when I do it's because I lock myself in the bathroom to go pee in peace for a minute. Literally. Lol. I try to get up before my kids to hop on my elliptical...but inevitably they wake up within minutes of me getting on. Even at 5 am. The past few morning my son has woken up at 4:30. That makes for a really long day. To do anything later in the day I wait for naptime or I wait for hubby to be able to watch the kids. Ha. Then it is already dark out and I don't feel safe running outside in the dark. Plus it's rainy. Lol. EXCUSES need to stop. I need to just figure something out. My kids habits will always continually change and I need to be able to change my routine when they change theirs. I need to suck it up and workout even if it ends up being 10pm before I can. Flip on my DVR and push the elliptical in front of the TV and go at it. Biggst loser starts again Jan. 6th...this season I told myself I would workout while watching it! :) That is my goal. 

 

I have been getting some strength exercise in however. I have been doing the Pilate's workout I posted a few weeks ago and still working on my planks. There is a challenge on Instagram called #merryplanksmas and I am going to try and hit 4 minutes by the end of the month. I am finally getting close! I have a few more days to make it. It's going to be tough though!  I have also been using my Sworkit app for short circuit training/strength stuff. I love that app because you choose what body part you want to work and how long you have and it gives you a workout even if it's only 5 minutes. It's great. Check it out. It's free too!

 

I weighed myself this morning and I weigh 180! 34lbs down! I am so close to being in the 170's! YAY! I haven't been in the 170's in at least 7 years...maybe 8! Once I hit 179 I will be at my half way point for my goal weight. Awesome. I also have 3 lbs to go until my next mini goal of 177. Which I wanted to be at by my birthday because calculating 1.5 lb a week loss when I started put me close. If I lose 1.5 the next 2 weeks I can do it! 177 is what I weighed the day I deliver my oldest. 11 years ago. Crazy. It's kinda sad that I had to lose 37lbs to get to a weight I had to gain 35lbs to get to! Oh well. It's progress for me to get to that weight and I am excited to pass it by!

 

I have been trying to think of what my next mini goal should be. I think the lightest I have been in the past 11 years is 163....which was literally probably 11 years ago because I never got past that post partum after my first pregnancy and that was probably at about 6 weeks post partum. I am going to make 162 my next mini goal which will put me at my lightest since having my first baby 11 years ago! I am very excited to get to this mini goal. It will put me at 52lbs lost and will put me 18lbs from my goal weight of 144 which is what I weighed when I got pregnant with my oldest/married.

 

I have some pictures I am going to post of me at different weights and I will do that soon. Probably in the next few days. Stay tuned!

 This was my plank the other day! I am SO close to my 4 minutes!

 

 Another pants size down. These are Juniors 15's (and they aren't even stretchy ones!)

 

I was in 18's when I started...stretchy 18's at that...and they were super tight! Pretty soon I will have to do some pants shopping. Not my favorite activity...shopping for clothes in general I loathe. Can anyone else relate?

 

30 Pounds G.O.N.E!!!

I haven't updated for a bit. It's busy around my house this time of year! All 3 of my munchkins have birthday's between Thanksgiving and Christmas! Yep...not planned that way, just the way God blessed us :)

 

Despite not blogging I have still been "working on my fitness" Lol. That's a line in a song right? I have no clue. It reminds me of that song "Bringing sexy back" that my sister used to sing NON stop when my oldest was about 5, so then he sang it non stop. Lol. Well...I am determined to do just that :) I have been training for a 5k. My very first one! I have been using the C25k app (couch to 5k program) and so far I like it. I am about a week behind right now because I was really busy last week...but even if I don't finish the 8 weeks of the app I am still going to do the 5k and use it as training for the next one. I am planning on my 1st 5K on January 6th and another in March. I figure as long as I finish this one in January that will be a win for me!

 

I mentioned a while ago that I was doing a "Biggest Loser" challenge. We all paid $20 and whoever lost the highest percentage of weight in 10 weeks won. There were 12 of us participating and we decided on 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes. After 10 weeks, on December 1st, I finished in 2nd place with a total weight loss of 18.9lbs and a total percentage loss of 9.36%!!! It would have been awesome to have been in first...but hey...I was actually afraid I wouldn't do well since I was heavier starting out (so my percentage would have to be higher to win) and I lost almost 19lbs in 10 weeks!!! That is amazing! So not only did I win my money back...I made $50 and I lost weight, and I feel amazing, and I'm even more motivated to keep up my hard work and get to my goal! Basically even if I ended up in 4th place...I would still be happy since I really just wanted to use the challenge as motivation...so anything above and beyond losing the weight was a bonus :)

 

Ending the challenge brought me to my 30lb lost mark. 31 actually! I now weigh 183. 6lbs away from my next mini goal of 177, which I am still hoping to meet or pass by my birthday in a month. 39lbs from my total loss goal! Almost halfway there! Wow.

 

I took my measurements again and I have lost a surprising amount of inches! It's awesome and crazy and amazing to me how many inches I have lost! 50.5" down!!! You can really tell in this set of comparison pictures.

 

 

 

Last week as we were decorating our tree my hubby was taking pictures of the boys and I putting ornaments on the tree. After we were done he said "hey, you didn't know I took this one but look". I looked at the picture he took and said "Wow". He said "you didn't know how great you looked and how much a difference there really is huh". Well, no not really. I know I look different...and most importantly I FEEL different! It is great to look at pictures and see how much of a difference the work I am doing is making. It motivates me right along with how great I feel. I walk faster, I can run (well lets not get carried away...it's really a slow jog haha) but I can do so much more without getting winded and I love how energized I feel after a nice cardio burn or a short pilates workout.

 

I am so excited to see how much more I can change my body in the next few months. How much stronger will I get?! I love how things I was doing in the beginning of this journey that were a struggle are now easy...or getting easier. I love that I can hold an elbow plank for 03:18 now! My goal is 4 minutes by the end of December!  I will keep this updated on how that is going. If you don't plank...you should! It is such a great exercise. It works so many muscles and it is so versatile. You can change it up and work different parts of your body. Give it a try and let me know how you do!

 

Thank you SO MUCH for all the support and encouragement!!!!! It means a lot to me and I appreciate all the kind words. If you are just finding my blog, please read my first 2 entries for my background story and don't forget to add me on Myfitnesspal...user name is mommie_Tay!

 

Wordless Wednesday {Favorite ab workout besides planking}