I'm Back!

I know it might be a little premature, baby is only 8 days old, but I'm ready to sweat! Since I haven't been given the green light to exercise yet I'm going to get a jump on nutrition & get back on my Shakeology.

Reality is starting to set in. I'm less than 2 years from 40. When this little girl becomes a teenager, I will be in my 50's! The clock is ticking and I want to be on the healthy side so i can keep up with her!

Being pregnant was a delay, but I didn't gain too much weight. It won't take me long to be back to where I was when I hit pause on the weight loss. In the meantime I have created a gym snob in Ryan. I signed him up for a 51 day challenge with a trainer in the spring. He went, kicking and screaming, but he did it. He has fallen in love with working out and lifting weights. He is seeing some real results now, including weening himself off insulin. Now he is counting the days to when he can start training me. I love it!

Nursing and weight loss will be a challenge for me, but I am equally committed to both and I'm not willing to sacrifice either one for the other. It is going to be tricky. In the past I've let myself eat whatever justifying it by telling myself I need the extra calories to nurse the baby. I know it's not true though.

So for now I'll do what I can. Baby steps back into my routine. I'm excited to continue on my journey to be Fit by 40 and to have my sweet husband working right by my side is an added bonus I Only could have dreamed!

I Hiked a Mountain Today

Today has been a huge milestone for me! I ran a mile. 4 laps on a track. No stopping. I tried to stop to pee but the gate was locked so I had to keep running!

My beachbody coach Emma challenged our team to run for 10 minutes. I walked the track twice to warm up, set my alarm and took off. I am not a runner. In jr high I was the goalie on my soccer team so I didn't have to run much!

At lap 3 1/2 I looked at my clock thinking there was No Way I could do a 10 minute mile. It never started. So I finished the lap and called it a success! I think it was 12 minutes or so. I've had a slight ache in my knee but that was actually good for it I think.

In the back of my mind I've wanted to be able to run. I hate it outwardly but secretly I want to be able to do it. I admire marathoners like crazy. The sheer will that takes is amazing!

Even though I may never get to that point I have reached a very big goal for me. I'm 200+ still. I'm 37 years old. I wear a 40D.  I have 4 kids and no bladder control. I NEVER thought I would be able to run a mile. EVER. I wanted to. I hoped for it. But now I'm working for it!

I'm on day 62 of Chalene Extreme and shakeology. I love it and the changes I've already seen in the way I feel and in what I can do. I've lost 6 lbs and 13.3 inches. I'm on track to hit my goal of Fit By 40! If I can do it, so can You! Trust me it's worth every ache and sore muscle!

All about me

I've been a little fixated on myself lately. I think it's because I have been pushing myself to do things I have never done before (exercise lots and eat good clean food) that I feel like I need a reward. Normally I would go buy myself a delicious cupcake or something but that doesn't really fit into my new lifestyle. So I've been going to the salon.

I colored my hair about a month ago. I got my legs and armpits waxed. I got contacts and have new glasses on the way. I had a facial and fell in love with my new esthetician. Since then I have gotten 2 chemical peels from her. I can see how the first one had potential to really help my skin but there was not many side effects. So the second one was stronger. It smelt like oranges and burned like crazy. This was Friday. We had family pics on Saturday and I think I was looking fine.

Today. Today I am a mess. I know it's temporary but I can't even bring myself to try and cover it with makeup. So I thought I'd take pictures. So I can remember what I went through just in case I decide I want to do this again.
I feel blotchy and dried out.

In other news I am loving shakeology and my new workouts. Chalene Johnson is my new best friend. :) I have lost 10 inches do far. Only about 3 lbs (I gained 4 at the start) but I look and feel so much better. I am super happy about the life changes I've made. I get really sick if I eat desserts and that is actually good for me. Candy especially the Easter basket kind from this weekend doesn't really even tempt me. That makes me feel like what I'm doing is working! Even more than the workouts do. The loose fitting clothes help though too. Gotta get ready for summer clothes!

Breakfast idea

I made a version of an omelet I found for breakfast. Tomato spinach cottage cheese. Half egg whites. Pretty tasty. More like a scramble but getting the omelet to fold perfectly has never been a skill I mastered.

Beachbody challenge

I joined a Beachbody Challenge coached by my cousin Emma. I am excited but nervous. I took my "before" photos today and it made me realize how far I have to go to reach my beachbody potential. It's actually scary.

As part of the challenge I have been drinking Shakeology for breakfast every morning. I really like it and I love the nutrients I am getting from it.

I'm tracking my progress on the myfitnesspal app on my phone. lishajeanne is my user name. Let's be buddies! Also feel free to comment with healthy recipes that work great for your family. That's my biggest challenge right now. Good food for the whole family.

Slump

I've hit a wall. The holidays were hard to exercise through. Then the gym was packed so I just did my own thing ie treadmill, bike, etc. rather than fight the "New Years Resolution" crowd for a spot in class. Now I am finding it hard to get back into my routine. I also gained a few pounds back over the holidays so I feel like I am starting over.

Can anyone tell me why it takes two weeks for me to get my endurance back to the point of going through an entire class without dying, but it only takes missing the gym twice to feel that way again? I know I'm old. I know I am out of shape and fat, but I thought I was making some progress. It's actually very frustrating. And obviously hard to handle or I wouldn't be asking for advice. Any encouragement or advice is always appreciated!

A New Year, New Challenges

I recently found a good friend to watch C during the day so I could open up my availability at work and be able to be home at night more often.  I don't work lots during the day and not even every week, but I have noticed it cutting into my work out time.  Normally I go to the gym after the kids go to school (and when the day care is open at the gym).  If I don't go in the morning, I rarely go once the kids get home from school.   I never can go on Monday morning because I work for the free membership from 8-12:30 that day.  I am NOT a morning person.  Getting up at 7 is hard for me, and that is necessary to get the kids to school on time.  In my perfect world I would be at the gym at 6 and home by 7, but that is so unrealistic I can't even begin to fathom it. 

Sunday I told Ryan I wanted to go to PowerCut at 5:30 the next day.  He all but laughed in my face.  Of course I was at work all day and by the time I got home I was exhausted and very much not wanting to leave the house.  Around 7 or 7:30 I made a comment about how I had missed PowerCut and Ry again laughed at me.  After we talked for a bit I found out that he thought I meant 5:30 am.   Not 5:30 pm.  Which is the actual time of the class.  Now the laughter made sense. 

So here is my predicament.  I need to work out more often, but I have these time issues that make it hard.  I don't want to call myself lazy because I can't wake up.  Maybe I am, but I work until late at night all weekend long and 2 week nights.  Sleep is hard to come by.  So I am hoping for some advice on how I can work more exercise into this schedule.  I am open to options at this point.  Honestly, the gym has been the best for me especially when I go to classes.  They are a lot more motivating and help my endurance increase which is my hardest thing right now.  I did 2 classes in a row last week, which I had never done and I thought I wuld die, but I made it.  But 2 hours one day an hour the next then 5 days off is not a great schedule.  Consistency is what  I am looking for here.  Any thoughts would be helpful and appreciated.