Throwback Thursday!

I have had a lot going on and forcing myself to sit down and blog here and on my family blog just hasn't hit the top of my priority list. I need to get better about keeping up both, for myself.

 

I thought I'd jump back in here with a fun post.

 

Without Further Ado...
a few Throwback pictures.

 

This was from our vacation last June. Um...Who was I kidding trying to hide and just get my face in the picture. There was no hiding that gut....and those capris? Maternity capris! Yep. 8 months post partum. Who am I kidding though...I wore them the summer before I got pregnant with Baby Little too...and I wasn't pregnant...in fact I was about the same amount post partum that summer from Middle Little.. The problem is I only gained 6lbs pregnant with baby little. I was really sick the ENTIRE pregnancy...and 2 weeks post partum I was down 20lbs! Awesome. Too bad I gained about 10 back. Blah. Oh well...here's to not wearing maternity anything when I'm not pregnant this summer! Here's to fitting into at least 4 jeans sizes smaller this summer(that's what I'm down now) but maybe even 5! :)

This one is from July of last year. My sweet bald baby sure has grown since then! Whoa.....and my face was SO round...and all my chins were super noticeable. I look so tired here...and not only because I was because Baby Little didn't (and still doesn't) like to sleep. I was so heavy and slow it was hard for me to follow the kids around and play at the park. I am so glad that I decided to make a change and that is no longer the case. It's 8 months later and I can now run pushing both kids in the stroller and not get so winded and my lungs burn so bad I feel like I'm going to die. In fact as soon as I get them both strapped in Middle Little likes to ask if I'm going to run to the school to get his brother...and I often do now...but the other day made me feel so good he said "Run like the wind mommy, I like it when you go fast". Now I know I'm not fast, especially pushing that stroller...but It's WAY faster than I used to be!!! When I started it took me 15 minutes to walk to the school...now? I can run it in 4 pushing the stroller. How awesome is that for judging how much better I'm feeling. I can only imagine how much better it will feel as I continue to get stronger and more fit.

 

Enough for this Thursday....I have another post to get caught up on here since I was tagged with an award. Post on that coming soon.

 

Stay tuned!

 

Weight Loss Challenge!!!

            Okay. I have been in a rut. A huge plateau. Lack of sleep, and a lull in motivation. I was talking to a good friend and she mentioned she wished there was a "Biggest Loser" weight loss challenge we could join and then she said we should start one. Well, I took the initiative and asked around on my personal facebook and my Mommy's Losing Rolls Facebook page gaging interest and there seemed to be a ton. Sooo...here it is!

The details of the challenge!

There are a few questions I need you all to answer.

           

-We need to decide on buy in amount...I was thinking $20???

-Decide on length of challenge...10-12weeks? I was planning on starting on Monday Feb. 4th and ending either April 15th(10 weeks) or April 29th(12 weeks).

-Money to me no later than the end of the first week! (Paypal transfers would be easiest for those I don't know personally) No money by end of first week...you are out of the challenge.

-No weight loss supplements or weight loss pills of any kind allowed !!!!

-Vitamins (multi, magnesium, Calcium, etc.) protein, etc. Okay... but this challenge is for those interested in a LIFESTYLE change. Healthy eating and exercise is all that is needed for all of us to be competitive and get healthy and fit together in the process!!!

-Winner will be based on percentage of weight lost so everyone has the same chance of winning.

-Weigh In's are mandatory once a week and there will be a deadline to get that to me.  If you miss that deadline 2 times you forfeit your money and are no longer in the running to win no matter what place you were in. 

-We will be posting weight and percentages just like in the real biggest loser. There's no shame in whatever your number is because we are all doing this for a reason and that is to get healthy and although this is a competition we are still here to support each other in that goal.  If everyone prefers I can make a private group that is just for the weight loss challenge members so it is a little more private since my page is public. 

-Once we are sure who is in fully, we will decide if we want to do a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize or just one big prize. 

-It is not part of the challenge but I encourage you all to take all your measurements before we start. Over 10-12 weeks you will be surprised by the changes you can make...I guarantee it. It will be a good bonus to look back and see how many inches you lost as well as the weight. (Before pictures are a great idea too!)

 Most of all, I would like you all to keep in mind that like I said before yes, this is a competition...but we are all participating for the same or similar reasons. Motivation and encouragement from others in the same boat can take you a long way in your journey to get healthy. I have benefited tremendously from the support I have received up to this point and I hope that we can all keep each other motivated and encouraged along the way during the competition.

Let's Do This!

Happy New Year!

 

I hope you all had a great new year's eve. I partied it up hard core with my youngest kiddos in bed and my hubby not home. My 11 year old and I watched the pretty boring New Years Rockin Eve, and then toasted with some sparkling cider at midnight. I think this means I'm boring...or I'm old...or both. Either way, New years eve has never been a big night for me other than ringing in the new year with my family at home. If that makes me boring and old...I'm fine with that. Then immediately following midnight both my little ones woke up screaming because they got woken up by the barrage of really loud big fireworks pretty much right outside our windows. My poor sweet 12 month old was screaming and shaking she was so scared. Poor thing was hyperventilating. Luckily my 3 year old went right back to sleep after I shushed and covered him back up. The dang fireworks continued until about 12:45. UGH! I love fireworks, don't get me wrong. I love that the big ones are all legal here. I love them on 4th of July....NOT at midnight on new years. At least not while I have little babies that wake up when it sounds like our house is being bombed. Ha!

 

 

Well, as you know I was doing the plank challenge from FatChick2FitChick on Instagram. The #merryplanksmas challenge was a good motivator for me. I couldn't seem to push past that 03:17 mark with my plank and frankly hadn't been doing them much. This challenge was just what I needed to challenge myself! I made my goal to be able to do 04:00 by the end of December. Guess what??! I totally did it!!! Barely...but I did! I am going to keep on planking for January and try to hit 5 minutes. I really don't know if it's possible...because 4 minutes was extremely hard. We'll see! FatChick2FitChick posted another challenge for the month of January and it's a great one. Check out the details on her blog (linked above). It's Wall Sits!!! Check it out on Instagram, #HappyGluteYear and join in on the fun! I did my first one today...and I don't know what my goal will be time wise yet. I did a minute today...I think I will just try to improve my time every day and go as long as I can stand (Or sit, I guess...haha)!

 

 

How are you all doing today? Are you starting anything new in this new year?

 

My goal is to continue this journey to health.

There are a few specific things I need to refocus on though, and I guess I can consider those my "resolutions".

 

Here's to a happier and HEALTHIER New Year!

Welcome 2013!

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}

12 Weeks + 20 LBS!!!

It's been 12 weeks since I started this journey of losing these rolls!!!

 

I have been doing pretty well. I have been feeling good about my food choices for the most part. I haven't been feeling deprived. I haven't been feeling super hungry. I have logged on Myfitnesspal everything I'm eating...even when I have slipped and eaten a few mallow creme pumpkins (Darn Fall candy!). The key is making sure I still log it so I know how many calories I ate...and trying to make better choices the rest of the day. I haven't slipped up much and eaten a lot of sweets and felt guilty later though...and for me that's progress! I have a hard time after kids go to bed! I have started grabbing a big glass of water to sit and watch whatever show I'm trying to catch up on before bed. It has helped me feel full and not need to munch. Such a bad habit to snack and watch TV! Why do I even have that habit?! Here's to breaking that habit once and for all! Also I have been going to bed earlier...which also curbs the late night snacking. It's hard though...I'm a night owl.

 

Working out has been going well. I have still been hopping on the elliptical for 30-40 minutes a day. Although when I had out of town guests for a week I didn't get on it once! Yikes. I felt a little winded when I started back up. Not really winded, but I was tired by 30 minutes and I hadn't been feeling like that. My exercise goal for the next month is to do 30+ minutes a day on the elliptical and at least 10 minutes of pilates 4 times a week. I found a great workout series called on YouTube called PopPilates. On top of that continuing my strength work out including my planking, push ups, squats and weights.

 

I took all my measurements again the other day when I hit my 20LB loss.

20.4 loss! :)

 

 

I have lost 32 inches overall in 12 weeks! Totally Amazing to me! First off that I had that many inches ready to come off that fast. Second off...I wonder how many inches it will be overall when I reach my big goal!

 

Here are my comparison pictures!

 

It's crazy motivating the huge difference in just 20lbs and 32 inches! I am so excited to see what the difference will be with the next 20lbs!!!

 

 

 I was telling my hubby this morning when I made the collages that I don't feel like I notice that much of a difference. I know I've lost the weight and inches but I don't feel like it looks as dramatic as it does in the pictures. I guess that is just one more reason I didn't really get off my lazy butt and do something about it before I saw pictures of us on vacation and how awful I felt I looked. I have so much more energy. I walk faster. I jog to the school with the stroller because I can without feeling like I'm gonna die! Lol. I feel healthier...but I don't necessarily feel smaller.

 

A few days ago my mother in law told me I needed smaller jeans when we were at my eldest basketball game. They are definitely too big and looked pretty silly. Normally I wear my jeans twice before I wash them. Well I had only had them on for a couple hours and they were falling off as I walked. Lol. I tried on a bunch of jeans 3 weeks ago and my size smaller than when I started were too small. They gave me crazy muffin top. Well I didn't think they would fit yet..but I tried them on again and they fit perfectly! One size smaller than that I couldn't even close to zip up three weeks ago...but I could zip and button them. I had wicked muffin top but in a couple more weeks I will be able to wear them! YAY! I went from wearing maternity jeans still when I started this journey (YA 8 months post partum I was still wearing them!What?!) and 18's were too tight. Now 16's (and junior 17's) fit nicely. They are a little loose in the thigh even...but my big belly gets in the way of going smaller. Awesome c section/fat momma belly hangover. Boo. Hopefully keeping up my weight loss and strength will pull it up more and more. That is my biggest fear is the flap not disappearing. Can any of you other mommas relate? Experience? Did it go away as you lost weight?!!!

 

I am now 193...21lbs down!!! I am almost out of the 190's. Crazy awesome! I can't tell you how excited that makes me. My next short term loss goal is 177. If I continue to lose 1.5 a week like I have been I can be .5lbs past that by my birthday in 11 weeks! I haven't been that weight since 2005/2006!!! Also if I keep up the 1.5lbs a week I could be at or very close to my goal by mid June! Woohoo!

 

Thank you everyone for following my journey and supporting and encouraging me. It means a lot!

 

If you are new to my blog please check out my first two posts here and here and please subscribe and leave me a comment :)

 

Add me on Myfitnesspal...mommie_Tay