wednesday weigh-in: week 5

I did it! I actually exercised this week. It may only have been once, but you know what? You gotta start somewhere. Remember the elliptical I got last year? Well it had found a new home in Matthews closet. You know, so it would be easier to bring out and use, opposed to siting in the laundry room. Well yeah I dusted it off and brought it out to help me with last weeks goal of moving more. I was only on it for 18mins while I caught up on one of my shows. Lets just say 18mins was hard enough for me. Thank god my machine has a bike seat because I dont know how I would have been able to do even those 18mins standing the entire time. Can you say out of shape? yeah......

i think the 5.04 means miles, but i feel like thats way to high of a number for being done in 18.25mins

Unfortunately, I honestly didnt have any other time this past week to blog clean sleep exercise with how busy work is. I know its not an excuse. And I need to make sure I "make an appointment" to exercise. I think if I write it down or put it in my work calendar then it will feel more like a necessity than if I just say Im going to do it. And it seems like my only "free time" to do it, is going to be during my lunch hour. Which is completely ok with me, i just need to make sure I stick to it.

At tonights meeting my leader made it a point to remind us that making something a routine helps it become easier, almost automatic. She said that technically speaking we should each be aiming for at least 14 activity points a week. I was flabbergasted. 14? I would be happy to get 1! And then she explained that if you are normally sedentary (thats me lol) then you should try just exercising once a week for 30 days. And after 30 days it will become a routine. Then you can add more days as you go. This way you wont feel overwhelmed and if you are able to do it more than the once a week during those first 30 days then great! So Im going to commit to that and hope for the best!

Oh and I forgot to mention one lil thing about this week.... I got to my first goal!!! Im not going to say its from the exercise, because honestly I doubt it is. But I am going to say its from my hard work. My self discipline. And my recent obsession in finding new easy low point value recipes. Ive been having so much fun making meals lately. We even had my mom and day over for dinner for the first time at our house on sunday and I made the entire meal myself. Baked Chicken, fresh roasted veggies, and sweet potatoes! It was absolutely delicious! (Oh and if you caught the whole first time eating dinner at our house thats a long story, lets just say their house is just so much easier, and bigger, and heck normally the food is already made, but after 2.5 years living in our house, i figured it was about time)

lbs shed this week: -2.4

lbs shed in total: -10.8

lbs still need to shed: 39.2

first goal: 10lbs - YAY!!! go me!!

•     reward: changed my mind, the hair salon is going to be kinda expensive, so Im thinking a mani/pedi this weekend and possibly using my massage certificate from my baby shower (before it expires lol)

second goal: 25lbs

•     reward: new outfit? hair salon?

final goal:  50lbs

•     reward: epiphanie camera bag

success: meeting my first goal of shedding 10lbs!

set-backs: i think I can say there were no setbacks this week :)

exercise: brought out the elliptical and plan on doing it again this week, wish me luck!

wednesday weigh-in: week 4

This week Ive come to realize that even if I do get rid of the amount of pounds I want to, my body itself is not going to go back to the way it was before I was pregnant. Not that I had a great body before, but its just different now. I had stretch marks before, but not in the places I have them now, particularly my stomach. And even with dropping close to 35lbs off the bat thanks to breastfeeding, I now have extra skin in areas I dont want either.

I really dont mean to start this post off in a negative manner. Because honestly thats not what Im trying to do. Im proud of my body and what it endured in order to old a precious life for 9-10 months. I wouldnt take that back for the world. But with this realization, that Ive changed, in more ways than one, Ive also realized that Im going to have to work even harder to get back in shape.

Which means, I hate to say it, because I honestly dont want to, but I need to start exercising. The eating healthy part has always come relatively easy for me with diets. Its the working out part that I tend to slack on. And being a mom (i know thats not an excuse but bare with me) i feel like i never have time to do it. Again i know thats not an excuse, but when i have extra time i like to relax. I feel like im always tired. Ironic i know because its know that exercise actually helps increase your energy levels.

So basically Ive come to the conclusion i NEED to MOVE! Funny how tonights meeting was all about creating our own moving plan. I was so glad I stayed for the meeting even though my sis and bro-in-law werent able to. Besides talking about getting started moving, i got to listen to alot of the lifetime members talk about what has and hasnt worked for them. I needed to hear this because although i didnt gain this week I also didnt get rid of a significant amount either.

My mini goal for this coming week is to exercise at least once. I know that may not sound like at lot to some of you but for me it at least gives me a starting point.

Any advice from those who lack the motivation to exercise but have found something that works for them, PLEASE share!

lbs shed this week: -.4

lbs shed in total: -8.4

lbs still need to shed: 41.6

first goal: 10lbs

•     reward: maybe a trip to the hair salon?

second goal: 25lbs

•     reward: new outfit?

final goal:  50lbs

•     reward: epiphanie camera bag

success: exploring different healthier recipes

set-backs: ate way to many frozen meals this week. Wish I wouldve cooked more, but i just felt like i didnt have the time this week. And not exercising. :(

exercise: none, but i am going to this week, so you better hold me accountable

fridays letters

dear hubby, valentines day is coming up and Im trying to come up with something creative for you as your gift. I know were trying to save some money where we can, so Im thinking of maybe arranging a date night for us to go out to dinner and see a movie (lucky I already have a groupon for the movies)

dear matthew, you are so close to crawling these days. You litterally rock on all fours, and then even sometimes on your tiptoes. Im excited for when you finally do, but i know once you start youre going to be all over the place. You daddy thinks youre going to walk first, but I just know you will start crawling any day now.

dear south florida, oh how I love you so! my lil trip to NYC last week really made me appreciate the nice weather we have year round. i dont know how those northern folk deal with freezing cold weather ;)

dear self, youve got alot of goals on your mind lately, and i do want you to achieve every single one of them, but try to focus on the small ones first. they are more achievable and will help motivate you to complete the larger ones. lets start with your 10lb goal (you only have 2.4lbs to go!) and spending less money (eventually we will pay those credit cards off, i promise!)

dear work, how am I ever going to get longevity with a company if you keep getting bought out?!?! the company I first started with out of college got bought by a larger corp within 1 year of me starting, luckily I was able to continue working from home for the other company, I moved within departments and was able to get 3 years with this company, and then my department got bought out last week by another company. Again Im lucky to be able to continue working from home, but Im not going to lie, the benefits are quite different. not necessarily bad, just different. Im excited for the new change, but sad that I technically start over as a new employee again :(

dear credit cards, i will NOT use you, i will NOT use you, i will NOT use you........unless its a  good deal or an emergency ;)

dear house, please clean yourself today, my mother-in-law moved back to florida last night and were hosting dinner here tonight, unfortunately I just dont have the motivation to clean

dear hubby, we really need to sit down and figure out how to divide and conquer when it comes to household chores, as previously mentioned, the house is an absolute mess! I know neither of us enjoy doing housework (come on who does?) but it still has to get done. i volunteer for laundry, dishes, and vacuuming. If you could just take trash, litter box, washing the dogs, and mowing the lawn that would be perfect! lol

dear matthew, i dressed you in the most adorable overalls today that your Aunt DeAnna got you. I couldnt believe just how big you look in them! Your Aunt Denise even said you "no longer look like a baby," when I dropped you off this morning. Please can you stay my baby just a lil bit longer?
and speaking of baby.....we got some wonderful news this week, youre going to have a baby cousin this october! Aunt DeAnna and Uncle Eric are expecting! We are so happy for them, its been a long time waiting. Shes only 5 weeks, but we couldnt be more excited!!

And i would never leave you without a cute photo. Sorry for those of you who already follow me on instagram, as youve already seen one of these..

p.s. i just noticed I am only 2 followers away from reading 100! maybe Ill have to do something special when I hit the big number!

p.s.s. go check out this awesome Jo Totes giveaway!