Day 2...

Day 1 went well. I could have lightened up on the guacamole but overall, I did very well. I am still feeling sick so no running but I am going to be doing my PT work today and will strive to keep pretty strict on my foods.

Todays goal - LOTS of greens and making time for my PT work.

23 days before we leave for Paris...GOTTA STAY STRONG!!!

Ready. Set. Go!!

It is time to hit the reset button once again. Forget the mistakes of the past. Eyes forward. No looking back. It is going to be hard, and there is no doubt in my mind that I will have challenges before me which will test my commitment, but I know in my heart, I will NOT let anything stop me from reaching my ultimate goal.

Today I press on with a new sense of purpose and a strength in my heart knowing with God, ALL things are possible!!

Rejoice with me in the fact that we are blessed with another day to hit Reset and make the most of this life that God has given us!

Ready. Set. Go!!!!

35 days to go...

As of this morning I have 6.2 lbs left to go in order to meet my goal for our Paris trip in May. I have 35 days until we leave and I must do all I can to stay on track. This trip is so very important to me for so many reasons. Paris, like London is a special place for me as it was there where I had my big "before" photos and seeing these helped me make the change I needed in order to lose my weight. It will be my 5th vacation to Paris and really want to take some more before and after photos in some special places as it will also be my 36th birthday!!

That is all for now. A short, very short blog today as there is much to do around the house. It is a cold and rainy day....perfect for organizing :) I am also going to get in some good yoga and my PT work later when Kayla takes a nap. 

Starting off this morning strong with my VM green and then some greek yogurt with stewed prunes...which has become my favorite thing to eat...SO good!!  I also made some eggs with spinach to have later with some turkey breast and avocado. 

6.2 to go......I CAN DO THIS!!!! 

The weigh in...

It is right around the corner. My weigh in I have been dreading! I am giving myself until Monday then it is back to weighing in every morning and working as hard as I can for my trip coming up in May. I have from now until May 23rd to DO THIS THING!!! I need to get back. While I am ok with the fact I am heavier now than last year, I want so much to lean out again......but sitting here wishing will not make it happen. So, I am back to square one....once again.

This has been such a rough start to 2013 for me and my weight. Maybe when a year starts off hard it just means God has great things right around the corner!! I just need to keep holding on, keep smiling and doing all that I can....

Will report back on Monday....gulp!!!

March totals so far...

They are not the totals I was hoping to post but all I can do is keep reaching...

Weight loss - not even going to talk about this one. The scale is going in the WRONG direction.
Miles - 8.42/50
Pull ups - 9/50...unassisted but embarrassing totals
Push ups - 270/1,000
Burpees - 85/500...a new goal added as they are so very effective

Lessons learned so far this challenge -

1. Take things one day at a time
2. The scale is evil and can change SO much daily based on water, salt etc.....
3. Watch the nuts. Too many calories if you do not watch your portion size
4. Do not allow yourself to get hungry, then you break and crave BAD carbs
5. Relax, it is just weight. It is just a number. Focus daily on the positives in your life
6. Stretch.
7. Think before you eat. Are you hungry or thirsty....
8. Stop trying to make it happen overnight. You let yourself go over the past several months, it will not come back instantly.
9. Watch the salt.
10. It is going to be hard getting back, but worth all effort. Stay focused.

Next weeks schedule -

Sunday - Run/walk easy with family, pull ups and push ups
Monday - Run/Walk 4 miles and KB's at the gym
Tuesday - ST circuit at home
Wednesday - Run/Walk 4 miles and KB's at the gym
Thursday - Walk - 6 miles
Friday - Walk/Run 4 miles and KB's at the gym
Saturday - Long walk with family
Sunday - Rest or long walk with family

Nutrition goals - Greens, greens and more greens.

And so it begins.

Day one of my new challenge. I cannot tell you how many  times I have sat down at the computer, motivated and ready to make the most out of a new month only to fail because I did not remain consistent with my goals. I think part of success is recognizing where you have failed in the past, facing it head on and then moving forward knowing where you can improve.

I need to set aside time each day to log my foods and record my daily results. For me it is key. It may be different for others but for me, logging my daily intake and fitness is what helped me get to where I am today. Speaking of where I am today, I had a hard dose of reality this morning when I stepped on the scale and took my measurements.  I am about 4 inches up over all and my weight, well it has increased so much I feel almost embarrassed to say, but I need to in order to move on. I have gained 14.8 lbs since my all time low in 2011 and I have gained 8.6 lbs since July when I was at my leanest. I was heavier at this time but I was strength training and leaner than before, it is my goal to get back to where I was in July by my 36th birthday in May.

I am hoping to lose 8 lbs this month and try as hard as I can to lose another 2 or 3 lbs the month of April....but let's get through March first. 8 lbs in a month is huge for me so this will be an enormous challenge...but not impossible!

As I said yesterday, there is no need to sit and feel sorry for myself. I just need to work hard to do something about it. If April 1st arrives and I have not given my 100%, then I have no one to blame but myself. If April 1st comes and I did my best, I worked hard and left nothing back but I did not reach my weight loss goals, then I can rest in knowing I did all that I could and I will be proud.

Now, blogging does not make the weight come off, it takes ACTION so here is my plan for this next week, then I will leave you, get off of the computer, and head out to enjoy this glorious day with my baby girl and savor this precious time!

I am just now getting well after being sick for a week so if my workouts look short this next week, it is because I am recovering.....

Schedule for 3/1 - 3/8....

Friday 3/1 -
Goal....just MOVE! Head out to walk the trails with my girl.  For my ST, my goal is to finish a simple, fast circuit workout just to get my body back to working out....still a bit sick so it will be so very light.

ST for today -
Push ups - 50 military reps
Pull ups - 10 reps unassisted in sets of as many as I can
KB  two arm swings - 100 reps
Chops with sumo squat - 100 reps with MB

Nutrition for today -
Clean! Clean! Clean! Stay away from the bread, it does me NO good. Focus on lean proteins, greens and super good fats....avocado, coconut oil etc...

Saturday 3/2 -
Walk/Run 3 miles
Push ups - 50 reps
Pull ups - 10 reps

Sunday 3/3 -
Same as Saturday

Monday 3/4 -
ST workout at gym
Run intervals on tread as part of ST circuit
Rowing

Tuesday 3/5 -
Rest, stretch and PT

Wednesday 3/6 -
Same as Monday

Thursday 3/7 -
Walk/Run 5 miles

Friday 3/8 -
Rest

March Goals. Time to get serious.

I have big goals for this month. Let's just say it is my attempt to get back to where I was last year. I am going to keep this blog short and to the point. I measured this morning and not only have I gained weight this past year but several inches as well. No use complaining about it. I just need to do something about it and move on.

Goals to reach in order to get back on track....

1. 50 miles - run, walk and cycle
2. Lose 8 lbs this month. This would be huge for me. I have not had a loss this big in a LONG time!
3. Push ups - 1,000 military reps
4. Pull ups - 100 reps....can be assisted
5. Log foods on Spark

I need to change. I must change. I must get back to where I was. I am not happy with my size and where I am in terms of my fitness journey. I took the lazy way out the past few months and now I am paying for it. Enough is enough...

Back to Blogging?

It has been far too long since I have blogged. So many has been going on, I do not know where to start. I am using my FB page far more these days and so I am debating on whether or not to keep this blog going. Apart of me does not want to stop as this is the blog I started in Russia when I lost all my weight. For now, I will continue posting my workouts via Daily Mile and FB until March 1st. Then I will try to start back with daily results etc....as I used to.

Excited about new workouts and new goals for this next month. I NEED to get back....

Blessings to all. See you on FB....

Results - 1/9

Love this photo!

It was a good day despite the fact that we cannot seem to off the flu bug or whatever has hit our home. My baby girl is better which is the best news but as for my husband and I, we are trying like crazy to return to normal.

My fitness was nonexistent today. I did 2 pull ups. I was trying to just do something but after the two,  I was dead tired and done for the day.

Here are my results from today -

M1 - Eggs, ground chicken and avocado
M2 - Red bell pepper and cashews with cheese along with Kefir mixed with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, brazil nuts, almonds, peanuts, cashews, flaxseeds and chia seeds
M3 - Whey Protein shake made with water with flax and chia seeds
M4 - Chicken over mixed greens
M5 - Body by Vi shake with VM Green and Healthforce Earth with milk and raspberries

Monthly totals -
Weight loss - 0/5 lbs
Pull ups - 6/100
Push ups - 20/1,000

Results - 1/8

I will be an overcomer this month. This month may be a difficult one but, I WILL press on.....

I have to say that I am proud I at least tried to do something today, even though it was not much of a workout, I did something while sick and with my hurt knee. My appointment went well today. The news was not what I was wanting to hear but there is nothing I can do about it. He said that it seems as if the back of my knee and the top part of my calf is in some kind of a spasm. He thinks it was caused by the long flight from the US and my knee getting stiff and inflamed. He said I have so many things going on with my knee that there is just too much inflammation and pressure inside that it has caused the back to spasm thus producing the pain and immobility that I am experiencing. Fun times....

Anyways,  I have to give it another 4 - 6 days and if there is no improvement, he is sending me to a specialist.  Every time I wish my knee trouble would just go away, I am reminded I need to be thankful I even have a knee and the ability to walk. It changes how I view the struggle. You become grateful, very grateful for what you do have.

Today was good. I met my goals and even though it is only day 2, I am proud I am sticking with my current plan.  Not much to report as my workouts are non-exsistent right now until my knee is better but to stay accountable, here are my daily results.

My weigh in is tomorrow and I will be honest, I am NOT looking forward to it. Maybe if the scale is up it will all be from the inflammation of my knee....just kidding. The truth is it will be up because of the many lattes, breads and Indian food I ate while on vacation. Plain and simple. What you eat, leads to results either good or bad and there is a time you have to face the facts and deal with it. Tomorrow morning we will see just how much I will have to deal with.

Results - 1/8

M1 - Ground beef and tomato mixture from yesterday with Romaine lettuce
M2 - Chicken with eggs and Avocado
M3 - Bell pepper and peanut butter
M4 - Chicken, avocado, fresh spinach, red onion mixed with salsa and greek yogurt
M5 - ON Whey shake with milk, fresh spinach, strawberries and a mix of ground flaxseeds, almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts and Co Q10.

In between I drank lots of water with ACV, coffee, a few cashews and I ate a small amount of dark chocolate. For my greens mix I drank Pukka Clean Greens.

Fitness results - hardly anything but at least with all that is going on I made an effort.

Pull ups - 4 reps, unassisted and I did not make it all the way to the bar but I tried my best. It felt as if I was holding steady at some points but I was trying and that is what counts.

Push ups - 20 military reps. Like I said, hardly anything but proud I just did it.

My monthly goals seem a million miles away, but I am just going to keep pressing on and looking ahead. Do what I can each day and then at the end of the day, I can rest knowing I gave this my all. It is hard reading this blog and seeing how far I have let myself go but it is reality and I have to take full responsibility and change course. Day by day....

Monthly totals -
Weight loss - 0/5 lbs
Push ups - 20/1,000
Pull ups - 4/100