Beating the 30 Day Slump

The Good: I made it through the first month of Turbo Fire! Well, technically I'm still in the middle of week 4, but I'm going off of dates here. I started July 2nd, and here we are at the end of the month already. I've lost 9 lbs and a total of 9 inches so far. I feel great. My clothes are loose, and I actually fit into some clothes that I haven't worn in years. I just kept them around in the hopes that someday I'd actually be able to wear them again, and now that day is here! It's fantastic.

The Bad: Why does there need to be a "Bad"? I wish everything could just be listed under "The Good". But here it is. Every time I start a workout program, I do an awesome job for the first 30 days. I stay on track with my eating, I work out the whole time, and I see great results. Then, just when I'm first tasting some success, I slack off. I stop being as careful with what I eat, I skip workouts here and there, and eventually I give up altogether. The longest I've made it into a program is about 45 days, and even that number is a little shaky since I was skipping workouts so often. I can't explain why I let this happen every time. Maybe it's because I just get tired of working so hard. Or maybe I'm scared of success. Whatever it is, it is NOT going to hold me back this time. For one thing, I joined a challenge group to help me get through the whole program. The difference it's making for me is already huge. Every time I think of skipping a workout, I think about how I'm going to have to tell the group. Plus everyone is so encouraging and supportive, I'd feel like I was letting them down. The other thing that's helping me is this blog. Every time I skip a workout or eat something crappy, I think about how I'm going to have to talk about it in my blog. It's good motivation to do the right thing.

This last weekend was tough because I could see myself hitting the "30 Day Slump". We were in Albuquerque for Jon's birthday, so it was the perfect excuse to skip two workouts and eat somewhat unhealthy. I didn't completely ruin my diet, but I did have a few bites of cake and a couple of buffalo wings. (Now that I'm writing it here, that food doesn't seem so bad. I guess that shows some improvement! Haha) Then when we got home, I was just not in workout mode. I was still making healthy food, but I was definitely not feeling the workouts. I skipped one more on Sunday night.

Yesterday, I woke up determined to get back on track. I'm not going to fall back into my old habits just because I've never made it farther than this before. It's time for me to finally succeed. I'm making up the workouts I skipped by doubling up a couple of the days this week, and I'm still eating healthy. I'm going to plow through the next 30 days!  I'm excited to see where I'll be a month from now!

 (The difference a month can make)

A Mild Rant

I had a major realization yesterday - not everyone cares about what I'm doing with my life. I know, I know, the world doesn't revolve around me. I've known that for a long time. But what I actually realized yesterday was that some people who are close to me just don't care. They have no interest in hearing about how excited I am to be losing weight, and they couldn't care less about me becoming a coach and starting my own fit club. My life is heading in an exciting direction, and that means it's also heading away from negativity and nay-sayers. Normally it would really bother me that people I care so deeply about would be so disinterested in what I'm doing. I would obsess about it until the point of misery. Yesterday, when I realized what was happening, I was briefly sad and then decided to move on. I can't let myself get bogged down by the negative attitudes around me. There is always going to be someone telling me I can't do this. Or, maybe even worse, there's always going to be someone who just blocks out whatever I'm saying because they think it's so unimportant and then interrupts to talk about themselves. That's fine. It's a bit rude, but whatever. I can accept that. I can also limit the contact I have with these people. Nothing is going to stop me from achieving my goals. If people are on board with me, that's great. I would love to have them join me in my quest for a healthy, happy life. If not, it's okay. But I'm not going to let them bring me down.

Birthday Weekend!

Yesterday was my birthday. I had an awesome day. Tori woke me up in the morning by jumping on the bed, yelling "Happy Birthday, Mommy!". Jon followed her in with a big box and a protein bar with number candles in it. I had a good laugh from that, because the numbers were a "2" and a "7" and I turned 29 yesterday. He's either senile already or just wants me to re-use the same candles for his birthday next Saturday. I did appreciate him getting me a protein bar instead of cake, though. That was really thoughtful, especially since I didn't want to see if I would have the self-control to not eat cake if it was sitting right in front of me.

I opened my card first, and it happened to be a Justin Bieber singing card. Tori got all excited and took it away from me, saying "The Bieber! It's the Bieber, Mommy!". The rest of the morning was filled with the sound of the Bieber's voice ringing through my house.

After having another good laugh about the card, I opened my present. It was a Genie bra. I complain about my bras a lot, and I mean a LOT, so it makes sense that he would get me a comfortable bra for my birthday. Still, it was totally not what I expected, and (surprise surprise) I started laughing again. Jon told me that the real birthday present was the thought of him going through a checkout line with a Genie bra and a Justin Bieber singing card. He told me that he had an awkward conversation with the Walmart lady about it. Anyone who knows Jon knows how painful that would be. Ahh it's still making me laugh! Haha.

He also ordered me a couple of shirts from the Team Beachbody website. I'll be rocking a Turbo Fire t-shirt in a week or two! Combine that with my new super-bra, and I'll be looking pretty darn good. Hehe.

The rest of the day was pretty normal. Jon had to work the night before, so he was sleeping most of the day, and I just hung out with the kids. Later in the afternoon, I went to the eye doctor to get some contacts. I know it sounds like a really lame thing to do on my birthday, but I was excited about it. I really want to take scuba diving lessons, and you can't wear glasses when you're diving because the mask won't fit. And with my terrible eyesight, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the underwater sights if I didn't get contacts. Now I'm one step closer to scuba diving! Actually, I'm two steps closer because a few people sent me birthday money for my scuba fund so I don't have to pay for it all myself. I think I'm going to sign up to start lessons in September, which means that my first official open water dive will be at Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM. Eeeee, I'm so excited about it!

Anyway, I had a great day yesterday. I made healthy choices for food (which included not having a birthday cake or ice cream), and I got a lot of love from my friends and family. The only downside to yesterday was that I was too exhausted to work out last night, and I ended up having to do a double workout today. That was rough, and I don't plan on doing it ever again. But, bright side, I did make up for the missed workout.

This was one of my best birthdays, I think. I feel really great about where my life is headed. I'm going to make this next year one to remember!

Small Victories

My late night workouts keep getting later and later. Last night I didn't get started til after midnight. That was insane. I should definitely not wait that long to work out because I had all kinds of energy after I was done. I was up until 2 am, and Calista woke up at 5:30 for her bottle. Anyone who knows me well knows that I really value my sleep, so I won't be doing that again. Although, if it comes down to choosing sleep or exercise, I'll choose exercise. (At least during this challenge! It's only 90 days, I can totally do that.)

Tonight's workout was a little earlier, but I just got done and it's 11:30 pm. Still later than I would like, but at least I finished it. I still have to shower and clean the living room, so I'm going to be up for a while. I'm okay with it, though, mostly because I destroyed my workout tonight. At about 10:30, I was sitting around yawning and thinking about how comfortable my bed is, which was not a good mindset to be in right before trying to deal with Turbo Fire for an hour. I needed to wake up, badly. I put my headphones on and blasted Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" three times in a row. She says "I'm wide awake" like 50 times in that song, and I figured if I just kept repeating it, maybe I would actually be wide awake. It sounds stupid, I know, but it totally worked. I got all pumped up, and I ended up bringing everything I had to my workout. I was pouring sweat and gasping for air by the time I was done, and my arms are actually still shaking. I love it!

Today was another Friday weigh-in, and I lost 2.6 lbs this week! I was ecstatic this morning when I jumped on the scale. That's the first time I've ever gone out of town for half a week and come back to any kind of weight loss. And more than 2 lbs? Unbelievable. I am so proud of myself. I think the more results I get, the harder I work, which leads to better results the following week. I just have to keep going, and I'll be able to hit every goal. It's awesome.

One more victory today...I got permission to start a fit club at my church! (For those of you who don't know, a fit club is free and is held once a week. We do different Beachbody workouts every week, so my fit club is going to get to experience Turbo Fire and Turbo Jam, P90X, Insanity, and 10 Minute Trainer. I'll add more programs later, but that's a good start.) Anyway, I was so excited when my pastor told me I could do it! I talked to him a couple weeks ago, and he turned me down right away. After talking it over with his wife, he changed his mind, and now I can start setting it up! I think I can help a lot of people with this, so it's really great that I can get started right away.

I should probably wrap this up, since it's coming up on midnight and I still haven't showered or cleaned the living room. I'm going to get all that done, and then I'm going to bed in a great mood, even if it is incredibly late.

Life's A Roller Coaster

Sometimes life just doesn't go as planned. I learned that the hard way this past week. (Not that I didn't know it before...so I guess technically I re-learned it.) Our plan was to go down to Albuquerque for a few days because Jon was scheduled for a vasectomy and I didn't want to make him go by himself. He was supposed to have surgery on Monday and then we'd drive back Wednesday so he could spend a little time recovering at his mom's house. The only reason I was reluctant to go was because I always get completely de-railed on my workouts and eating when I travel. I just stop working out and eat all kinds of crap because I'm thinking "hey, it's a vacation! I don't want to worry about this stuff!". This time I was worried because I'm still at the beginning of the challenge and I didn't want to lose all my motivation.

I was so determined to make this work that I packed the portable DVD player, all my workout gear, and a week's supply of Shakeology. I got my workout done on Sunday before we left, so that one was out of the way. Monday and Tuesday, I managed to get my workouts done before noon, which (you might have guessed by now) is pretty unusual for me. I was thinking it would be hard for me to get any work done with Jon somewhat out of commission for a couple of days, but as fate would have it, things went a little differently.

Monday morning, I was sitting at home feeding Calista and hanging out with Tori, and Jon was on his way to his appointment. There was not a care in the world (except maybe for Jon, who was about to be in a world of hurt). Then Jon called to tell me he had been in a car accident. No one was injured, but apparently some guy ran a red light and Jon hit him in the intersection. Our car was totaled. Jon was able to drive it home, but the bumper was in the back seat and the headlights were dangling from the front of the car. Neither one of us was totally upset about it. It was an old car that was having troubles and was going to have to be repaired soon anyway. I mean, it's never fun to have your car get in an accident and meet with total destruction, but since Jon wasn't hurt, I just couldn't bring myself to make a huge deal out of it.

(Thanks for the picture, Dave.)

I don't want to bore you with the details of all the stuff that happened with the guy's insurance company and our insurance company. This blog is about my healthy lifestyle, not my car insurance. But I will say that everything is being settled nicely, and we're actually coming out on top here. So that's good! Anyway, my workouts...

On Monday after Jon got home, he took over the kids and I got to get my workout done before lunchtime. Then we went out to lunch with a friend of mine for her birthday. I made the healthiest choice possible (a seafood soup) and then had the leftovers for dinner. Tuesday was pretty much the same - workout before lunch, then lunch with a friend. We went to lunch at Red Robin, which is an amazing, delicious burger place with bottomless fries. I had a salad. I thought they still had their salmon burger, which is really, really good, but I guess it's not on the menu anymore. I was so sad. But the salad I had was also good. Possibly not the healthiest, since it was coated in ranch dressing. I should've gotten the dressing on the side, but this is still a learning process, so now I know for next time.

Tuesday night was my niece's 6th birthday, and we all went out for ice cream. (If you're ever in Albuquerque, go to I Scream Ice Cream...seriously, that place is the coolest ice cream shop EVER. And the owner is super nice, as an ice cream shop owner should be.) I got a frozen banana. Yeah, it was covered in chocolate, but at least I didn't order a double scoop cone covered in sprinkles like I normally would have. And frozen bananas, by the way, are freaking amazing! They taste remarkably like real ice cream. (There's actually a recipe for frozen banana "ice cream". I'll share it here.) I feel like I made healthier choices than I ever have before when I have traveled, so I'm proud of myself for that. I know there's definitely a lot of room for improvement, but I'm still doing better than I've ever been.

It's good to know that I have the willpower to stick with my workouts and mostly clean eating while I'm away from home. I'm going to be traveling a lot in these next few months, and it's nice to have confidence in my healthy lifestyle. This isn't just an at-home thing! I have to do this all the time, or the work I do at home will go to waste. (Or go to waist...haha...)

Back in Action!

After a week of having my computer out of commission, I finally got it fixed! As it turns out, the hard drive was destroyed and had to be replaced. I lost all my files, but at least I didn't have to buy a whole new computer. Oh, and the important stuff was already saved on the internet. (In a cloud somewhere? Still not quite sure what that is, but I think it's where all my files are, so it's obviously useful.) Anyway, I'm happy to have my computer back!

This past week was definitely not a week off, as far as workouts and eating right were concerned. I created a weekly menu board to make things less complicated in the kitchen. Before I started this challenge, I would sit around the house wondering what I should make. More often than not, my sitting around would take a long time and we would end up getting fast food because it would be too late for me to go to the store and then cook something. ("Too late"...that's such a lame excuse...there's so much food out there that is faster and cheaper than fast food. No more excuses, that was an old Rose thing.) Now that I have my menu board, I plan out all my meals and snacks for the week and then do my grocery shopping on Sunday or Monday. We have tons of awesome healthy food, and I just have to look at my menu to see what I'm making next. It takes pretty much no thought on my part, except for the one time I have to fill out the menu.

(My menu board)

I stuck to the menu the whole week and really enjoyed trying all the new recipes. They were all really good, except for Tuesday's dinner of butternut squash & green apple soup. Butternut squash isn't in season (I think it's a fall thing) and I had to use canned yams instead. It wasn't exactly disgusting, but...yeah, okay, it was pretty gross. I don't think I'll be making that one again. The fish recipes are always my favorite. I LOVE seafood. I'm so happy it's good for me. Anyway, I think the menu board was a huge success, and I'll be using it from now on.



I don't know if you can read it very well, but the last line on the board is for my workouts. I'm following the regular Turbo Fire class schedule now that the inferno plan is over, so I just copy that schedule onto my board. If I have to stare at it all day, then I know I have a better chance of actually getting it done. I have "gym" on there three times a week, along with my regular workouts, but sadly I didn't make it to the gym at all this week. It was the only thing I skipped, but it was necessary. Jon worked a lot of overtime on his days off, so it just wasn't possible for me to go. When Calista is a little older, I can take both kids with me and won't have to worry about child care or Jon being home or whatever. But until she's 10 months old, there's not much I can do about it. The rest of my workouts went really well.

Yesterday was another Friday weigh-in, and it turns out I lost another pound this week. That puts me at 194.8 lbs, which was my weight before I got pregnant with Calista a year ago. I'm so happy!! My next goal is to get down to 170 lbs, which is my pre-Tori weight. That one is going to take longer, but I'm in this for life, so time isn't really a big deal.





Old Me vs. New Me

Today was not the best of days. The kids were crazy from the time they woke up to the time they went to bed, and then Jon got called into work early, so I didn't even get to spend any time with him. I had to eat dinner by myself, which I absolutely hate, but at least I still cooked dinner. Old me would have ordered a pizza or had a grilled cheese sandwich (which is what I made for Tori). Instead, new me made a pork chop with brown rice and peas. It was delicious. Lonely, but delicious.

And once again, I didn't have time to work out until after bedtime (this is becoming a regular thing apparently), but tonight it was even later than usual because Calista decided she needed a bottle instead of sleep. I ended up feeding her until 9:30pm. Old me would have said it was way too late to do an hour long workout at that time of night. New me was not happy about it but went ahead and popped the dvd in anyway.

Halfway through the workout, I was just not feeling it. I was still really grumpy from my crappy day, and Chalene's perky attitude was making me a little angry. (Yeah, that's how you can tell I've had a really bad day.) I was tired and sore and full of excuses for why I should quit. I actually stopped the dvd and turned it to the 10 minute stretch workout that's supposed to be at the end of class. But during the first minute of stretching, I got even more grumpy with myself for quitting. Old me would have just finished stretching and called it a night, but then I would have been seriously disappointed in myself later. Instead, new me shook off the tiredness and the grumpiness (and the weighted gloves) and started up the workout where I had left off. I finished strong, and I'm so happy I did.

Now I'm in a much better mood, and I'm proud of myself for finishing. This week has definitely been great for making changes in my lifestyle. My eating habits and exercise have changed, obviously, but a more subtle change is my attitude. There are just no excuses good enough to make me quit.

Oh yeah, one last thing. Today was Friday weigh-in! I'm -3.2 lbs, which puts me at 195.4 lbs. I'm only one pound away from pre-Calista weight!

Doubts & Determination

I'm almost done with the 5-day Inferno Plan! Today was day 4, and tomorrow will be my last crazy double workout before the weekend and a couple of much needed rest days. Tomorrow is also weigh-in day for my challenge group. I know I shouldn't be nervous, but I am. I followed the meal plan exactly as it was laid out for me, and I gave everything I had in my workouts, but I'm still wondering if there will be a change on the scale tomorrow. I'm trying to tell myself to forget about the stupid scale because I feel great. Still, I just know that part of me is going to be massively disappointed if I haven't lost any weight. Ugh. I need to remind myself that I'm doing my best and the numbers will fall into place over the long term. This is a life-long commitment! One week is just a drop in the bucket if you think about it that way. Ok, I feel a little bit better already. Time to head off to bed. (Yeah, another late night workout. They're kinda growing on me.)

Late Night

It's 10:45 pm. I just got done with my TurboFire workout for the day. I have to say, I really don't love working out at night. I'm always tired and try to find ways to convince myself that I would be better off just sitting around. The old me would have given up when dinner rolled around and no exercise had happened yet. The new me, though? Yeah, the new me shakes off the tired feeling and presses play.

Tonight's workout was rough, but I did it. I gave it everything I had, I think partly because I was trying to get my mind to stop telling me that it was too late for a workout and partly because I had just put Calista to bed and she was crying in her room. I figured I should probably throw myself into it with all the effort I could muster, just in case I had to stop halfway through and feed her some more. Half a workout with full energy is better than a full workout with no energy, right? Well, whatever, the math on that doesn't matter because she went to sleep after a few minutes, and I got to finish the whole thing. There were a couple of times that I had to take a break because I felt nauseous from working too hard, but after I caught my breath I jumped back in and finished it.

The lesson I learned here is that I should really try to get my workouts done during the day, if at all possible. Today I made the mistake of choosing a nap over exercise, and I almost psyched myself out of doing any working out at all. Good thing the new me has more self discipline!

Bring on the Pain!

Day 2 of TurboFire is done. The schedule for today's workout was insane! It was an hour and 15 minutes of getting a total beat down. I feel like someone punched me in the shoulder blades, and my legs are like jello. I somehow managed to get through it without throwing up or passing out, so I feel pretty good about that. I might not be able to walk tomorrow, but I'm going to have to suck it up and do another hour long workout. I'm exhausted but totally loving this. I think it's exactly what I need.

I realize this is a super short blog post, but I really should get some sleep. (Oh, good news there! Calista sleeps through the night now, so I'm finally going to get some quality rest!)

Before I go, let me share my inspiration for the day. 

I think I can! How about you?

Get Fired Up!

Today was the official start of my 90-day challenge with TurboFire and Shakeology. I actually started drinking my Shakeology a few days ago. I couldn't help myself - it looked too good to resist. Friends of mine who have been drinking it for a while have been posting awesome recipes, and I was dying to try some. I have the chocolate flavor, so I tried mixing it with water, ice, and a tablespoon of peanut butter and it's AWESOME! So freaking good! (For anyone who doesn't know what Shakeology is, you can check it out here.) Anyway, that part of the challenge - drink it daily - is going to be super easy for me because it tastes amazing.

The fitness part of the challenge is going to be a lot harder. TurboFire is craaaazy! Extreme cardio kickboxing set to fast-paced music? It's intense, but I made it through the whole workout without taking too many extra breaks, and I wore my weighted gloves the whole time. My shoulders and legs are really sore now, but it's the "yeah, I killed that workout" kind of sore. It's a good feeling.

I took my "before" pictures today right before my workout. That normally wouldn't have been a happy time since I hate having photographic proof of how overweight I am. The only thing that saved me from being totally ashamed is that I know I'm never going to look like this again. I'm actually excited to have these to compare to my 30-day pictures at the end of the month. I'll post the comparison pictures at the end of the month so everyone can see my progress. I'm hoping there will be a significant difference! But I don't think I need to worry, since TurboFire is going to be kicking my butt every day.

Oh, one other thing! Remember how I said I wanted to be under 200 lbs at the start of this challenge? I made it! I weighed in on Saturday at 198.4 lbs. Goal one: accomplished. On to goal two...get back down to pre-Calista weight (194 lbs) in the next two weeks. I think I can make that happen.