30 Day Shred Complete! Before and After..

I did it folks!  I successfully completed the 30 Day Shred!  I did 6 days a week, and took Saturdays off, since that's the day I do the most activities with my little guy.  It definitely wasn't easy.  There were times when I had to work out at 11:00pm after a full day of work (plus all my mama duties), and I'm tellin you I wanted to quit.  But I didn't, and I'm so proud of myself.  I haven't worked out this much since I was in high school! 

The one thing I learned is that the most important thing is to have a good support system.  I had a workout buddy who always reminded me to workout - like an accountability partner of sorts.  If I said that I was too tired to work out, he'd give me the firm, yet encouraging push that I needed to keep going.  When I began moaning and groaning about how unfair it was that I wasn't seeing results quickly enough, or how much I wanted a burger and fries, he brought me back to reality and reminded me why I was doing all of this in the first place.  I was definitely stubborn at times and needed some tough love.  Thank God for special friends!

It was also very helpful that I took before pics and measurements, because I would often get discouraged from what I saw on the scale, but once I retook pics and took out the measuring tape, I felt so much better!  So now, without further ado - here are my results:

Measurements Before
Each Arm: 13.5 in
Bust: 44 in
Waist: 42 in
Hips: 46
Each Thigh: 25.5

Measurements After
Each Arm: 13
Bust: 41
Waist: 39
Hips: 45
Each Thigh: 25

Total inches lost: 9 inches
Total pounds lost: 4 lbs

BEFORE PIC ON THE LEFT, AFTER PIC ON THE RIGHT

Uh, did I just really post those pics??  Eeeee!!!  *cringe* That took a lot of guts, friends.  I know, I know, I still have a lot of work to do, but I do see a difference in my biggest problem area (the baby bump that my little one left behind as a parting gift O_o)  The hardest thing for me ended up being the healthy eating.  I would do well for 5 days, but then tank on the weekends, which would undo the work I did.  It's still a struggle for me, but I'm improving day by day. 

The amazing thing about this journey is that I have now developed a healthy habit of exercise.  I actually feel uncomfortable if If I don't work out now.  Have you heard that age old pop culture factoid that it takes 30 days to make or break a habit?  Well actually, research shows that it takes an average of 66 days to form a habit, so I'm halfway there.  In any event, I've decided to do another round of Jillian's 30 Days, then either do one of her other Biggest Loser workout dvds or the dreaded "Insanity" workout by Shaun T that people have been raving about.  (Although I hear that it's the toughest workout known to man at this time...eeek!)  Anyway, I'll keep you posted!  How have you all been doing with your fitness goals?

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: I'm a Walker!

I've found a new fitness regime. And though I'm excited about it, I find myself reluctant to tell people about it because it would be like the 12th exercise program that I've started since I had little M (2 years ago). I have the best intentions when I begin, honest, but somehow I get discouraged, distracted, disinterested... ugh. But ok, I'll share, yet again:

Today I started "Walk Away the Pounds". It's the in home walking program by Leslie Sansone, where you can walk 1-5 miles depending on which dvd you do. And it lets you know as you're side-stepping, kicking, and marching, how far you've been "walking". I've heard great things about it. Many women who have done this fitness program, along w/ a healthy diet, have lost upwards of 50 lbs! I did a mile this morning and it was really good. I felt great that I "walked" a mile, and I loved the simplicity. The steps are simple but you still feel like you're getting a workout.

I really hope that I stick with this. At the end of the day, I want to feel healthy, have energy, and feel good about myself. My goal is to do a mile 6 days a week for 2 weeks, then move up to the 2 mile walk after that. Wish me luck! And if you have any experience with the program, let me know!

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This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…
■Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
■Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
■Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
■Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
■Link up your post below.
■Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Fit Mama Club - The Resurrection

It's that time of year again. The time when you realize that winter is just about over (though it was a pretty mild winter in New York to begin with), and Spring is around the corner. Spring is a time of rebirth. There's the beautiful weather, the outdoor activities, the less clothing layered on ...oh ya, and more opportunities to come out of denial and realize you have a weight problem. Just sayin.

To be honest, I feel like I'm always on a diet, but never really successful (or as successful as I would like). And here I am, on the eve of my son's 2nd birthday and as overjoyed as I am to celebrate his birth, it also reminds me of the two years that I've kept all this weight on. At this time, I weigh about the same as I did when I was 7 months pregnant. I never thought it would be this hard to lose my pregnancy weight. So rather, than be discouraged about it, I want to begin (again) what I tried to start last year, which is the movement we like to call THE FIT MAMA CLUB.

So how does it work? Well If you'd like to join me, all you have to do is leave me a blog comment, or find me on twitter: joonluv630.

Each week we'll post our triumphs and challenges. We'll make changes together as a team. We'll finally reach our goals! WE SHALL WEAR THE TWO PIECE BATHING SUITS!! Uhh.. ok. I got carried away. But still. You get the point. ;)

I'll set up a way for you to link up back here on my blog so we can all read each others posts, and give each other support. We'll also tweet about it, and whenever we talk about our weight loss journey, we'll tweet with the hashtag #fitmamaclub. I'm thinking of starting on Monday (March 5th) so that gives us all time to prepare. This is what our posts will look like.

You can start your post any way you'd like, but just make sure to place the Fit Mama Club badge in the beginning, and add at the end:

Last Week's Weight Loss
Total Weight Loss
Last Week's High
Plan For This Week

I'll even come up with a few Fit Mama Club challenges to spice things up a bit! So whaddya say?