Here We Go Again

Well, a few months ago I posted that I was beginning the P90X challenge.  And boy was it ever!  I have never worked out so hard, even with personal trainers.  Unfortunately, after 4 months of hard work (including watching what I ate) not one single pound or inch came off my body.  Talk about discouraging.  I cannot blame the P90X DVDs.  Most of my problem comes from my thyroid/hormone issues.  Those issues are being resolved, but it still makes loosing 20 -30 pounds a big challenge.  Anyway, I have to admit that for the past month I have fallen off the wagon big time.  I was so discouraged by my nil results that I just gave up for a few weeks.  But I am revitalized and have a plan.  I will begin my working out again next week by using the P90X Lean Circuit.  And I am ordering Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism book.  I am such a type A melancholy and I crave details.  Well, I've heard that Jillian's book it full of them.  Wish me luck, again, as I continue this challenge. 

I have some great websites I'd like to share which contain a ton of great info about weight loss and healthy living:

1)  My friend Erin, the dietitian and certified trainer.  Erin has launched a series of services and informative posts on her blog.  When you get to her page, scroll down the right side and click on the button with the bird titled Nutrition and Fitness Series.  I am so excited that Erin is finally sharing all her incredible knowledge.  I am very tempted to hire her for the Grocery Store Tour.  Navigating the grocery store as someone trying to eat healthy is a huge challenge.  I highly recommend you visit this site.  Even if you never hire Erin, she gives some great tips on her posts.

2)  SimplyFitMama and VitaMama.  I love these two blogs!  They are just two mom's trying to feed their families healthy - eliminating preservatives and fat by buying and cooking smart.  They have awesome tips and info for anyone ready to make the change for a healthy life for yourself and your family.

3)  FitBottomedGirls and Sparkpeople.  These two sites have so much info and tools at your fingertips.  I especially like Fitbottomedgirls DVD reviews.  It can get pretty confusing choosing a DVD or two to develop your workout routing, especially considering that some programs can cost up to $120. 

4)  American Dietetic Association.  The public tab of this site has so much wonderful info on healthy living, lots of tools (like a BMI calculator), and expert reviews of diets (such as Dr. Oz, Jillian Micheals' Master Your Metabolism, and many others). 

I hope these sites encourage you, as they have me, to dust myself off and try again.  My true motivation is two-fold:  1)  Get myself healthy and take care of this body God has given me.  I never want to be unable to serve him because I did not take care of myself.  Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.  I Corinthians 3:16-17.  2)  I want to give my future children a good example of healthy living and eating.  I never want them to deal with being overweight because of my laziness as a parent (i.e. eating out all the time, serving frozen premade meals regularly, feeding them sugary snacks).  It is so easy in this busy culture of ours to fall back on fast food.  I want to give my children something better. 

So, I know this is not going to be easy and will take a lot of time.  But I'm ready.  I'm tired of not liking my body, of feeling like crap, and having no energy.  I do not want to tell God No simply because I am too lazy to get up off the couch and change my body.

Will you join me?  Even if you can't right now, would you pray for me?  This is totally a spiritual battle.  Satan would love for me to continue on my current path and destroy my body - making me unusable by God in so many ways.  I refuse to give him that power.  I AM READY!

Where My Ladies At?!

So, summer is here in the good ole South which means 100% humidity and 100 degree heat. Or in other words, Bath Suit Season. 

Oh, did you hear that blood curdling scream? No?  Sorry, must have just been my knee jerk reaction.

Up until this year, I was one of those annoying young ladies that just did not understand why other ladies dreaded shopping for a bathing suit.  Well ladies I have crossed over to the other side and I now understand.  I really, really understand.

One Sunday a few weeks ago our sweet friends invited us to swim at their pool.  So, of course, I panicked because a) my size 2 body had morphed into a curvy “real woman” body and b) I have not bought a swimsuit to fit said “real woman” body.  But we said “Sure.”  Poor D, he had no idea what was to come.

As soon as we left church I informed him that we were not going to eat lunch, but in fact, were on our way to Target.  I thought, “Surely, Target or Old Navy will have a suit and I won’t have to go to Dillard's and spend a fortune on a bathing suit.”  I know, those of you experienced “real women” are shaking your heads because you know the folly of my thoughts. 

I mean does Target or Old Navy not realize that anyone over a size 6 does not want to wear a string bikini.  I mean, all I wanted was a great tankini and swimming shorts for a cover up.  Is that really too much to ask?  Well, 2 hours later we ended up at Dillard's.

My poor man.  I grabbed about a million suits and headed to the dressing room.  2 seconds later I realized I needed him to be in the dressing room because there was no way I was going to parade my new body in front of everyone in Dillard's. 

He was awesome!  So after several very quick bathing suit changes, and an awesome sales lady who kept bringing me a bigger size.  I truly believe that the designers are dumb and put a size 10 on a bathing suit that is really a size 6.  That must be it.

Anyway, here is the total awesome, comfortable, sweet suit I bought (and yes, I spent way more just on the top than I have ever spent on an entire bathing suit).

It was impossible to find a one piece or tankini that was long enough for my super long torso, so I compromised.  I feel totally comfortable in this (the fabric is like a dream) and I don’t have to worry about my bikini line.  SWEET!

The annual 5 day family reunion is coming up the week of July 4th, so I need just one more suit.  Well, I could just rinse out my suit at the end of everyday, but come on, really?  So I am hoping that Dillard's will have a major sale soon.  Please?

Otherwise, I’ll be hitting Marshall’s as my good friend Erin says it has great deals.  I’ll be hitting it soon and I will let you all know the results of my search.

So for all you real women out there, let me hear ya!  Do you have any good bathing suit finds, any great stores the rest of us should check out?  Let us know.

Now I am going to go feel comfortable in my new body and enjoy eating my hubby’s awesome cooking for dinner. 

Weight Watchers on Hold

As you read in Thyroid and Antidepressants, I have a slight thyroid problem. It's being treated, but my doc told me I'd gain some weight until we got my levels correct. Great! I'd just lost two pounds on the Weight Watchers and she tells me I'm gonna gain it back, plus more. So I put Weight Watchers on hold. Oh and to top it off, she said I could not work out until she gave me the ok. Dang It! I mean talk about no control!

I'm not happy, I'm getting fat, and I can do absolutely nothing about it. I got a new haircut (which I will post as soon as I can get the pics from the husband's camera). Don took pics of before and after for me. I just about cried when he showed me those pics. I made a mistake because the new do emphasizes my roundness. Notably the double chin I'm developing.

Did I mention I am not happy? I'm not a vain person ya'll. But I'm just as concerned with my appearance as the next girl. It doesn't help that I used to be a size 1/2. I know, start groaning. That's usually what most people do. But I was. And when I was training for Miss LA, my trainers tried to make me gain weight. Unsuccessfully, I may add. I was the contestant who ate the Johnny's Pizza the night we had swimsuit competition. And all the girls hated me. But now, I look like a bloated pageant queen, instead of toned and beautiful swimsuit contestant. It's not fun. My arms swing in the wind now. OMG! And did I mention I have not had children yet?

The doc visit is on Sept 3rd, so hopefully I can resume the working out and the Weight Watchers. I will, of course, keep you posted and let you know my progress (and include some whining because I am Grumpy Pants after all).

Good day!

Adventures in Weight Loss

I just weighed myself and I have lost 2 lbs! Victory! I know it doesn't seem like a lot since I've been doing WeightWatchers Online for 2 weeks, but I didn't really start until last Monday (thanks Father's Day). And I even went to a 4 day family reunion this last week. Tons of BBQ, cherry pie, snacks, pasta, etc. I enjoyed myself, was sensible, and never once felt like I was on a diet. And I still lost 2 pounds. The Hubs on the other hand, gained 8. I may have to encourage him to check out WeightWatchers for men (Love ya Babe!).



I have to say my biggest challenges are finding time to workout and lunch. I have to get up at 5 AM to get the time in. And oh my goodness is it hard to find a decent lunch. Most of my fav lunch joints are ridiculously high on the points. Tonight I went out to eat with the Hubs and some friends at our neighborhood eatery. Many of the items are more points than I can eat in one day. AWWWWWW! One of them was a salad. Yikes. But I still found a great meal within my points. SCORE!



Overall, I have to say WeightWatchers is definitely doable. For one who has never dieted ever, I love it. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a diet because it's totally sustainable for a lifetime. I'm learning to eat healthy and that should be lifelong.



Wish me luck this week!

Oh the Humanity!!!!!!!

Ok, so I'm about to venture into the world of weightloss. Um, yeah......(crickets chirping).



(I need to insert this disclaimer: I am perfectly ok with my size 6 body - if I never lose weight again, I will happy. So I don't want anyone to read this post to think that body image should be based on your clothes size. It is all about you and what you want for your body and what is healthy. I want to be healthy and baby-ready, that's my purpose - not to make anyone think that their body is not good enough. Thank you, please continue)

Anyhoo. If you know me you'd be like, "What?" Because I am not overweight (really), but none of my clothes fit. NONE. They are either just a bit too small or too big. Their too big cause when my body exploded into the hypothyroidism body that it is today, I panicked and bought clothes that just were ridiculous.



I have to stop right here and give my little rant on hormones...I gained 15 pounds in 1 month because my thyroid decided to be a jerk and stop working. Those of you who feel my pain, give a little shout out. Yeah, it sucks. So I went from a size 4, swimsuit competition-ready body to Squishy (that's my lil nickname for myself now) in ONE MONTH! Did you hear me say ONE MONTH?! Quite a shocker. Oh, and this is the best part...4 months before my wedding!

Not cool, not cool at all. And I could not lose the weight because the doc couldn't get my dosage levels correct. Whatever. But the best part (really) is that I learned I have the best man in the whole wide world (if you are a regular reader you might already know this - I mention it just a bit). He never once made me feel like I wasn't pretty. He loved me for me. (Sigh, Tear).

So I made it through the wedding satisfied with my appearance and completely joyous over my marriage. I settled into newlyweddom and forgot (mostly) about my weight. Then summer came. Thank you swimsuits and 1000 degree weather. I think we should go back to Victorian times when realy women covered themselves from head to toe in the dead of summer. They never had to worry about a spare time. Despite that, I made it through last summer and promised myself that I would be back to my old self by next summer.

Well, here's next summer and guess what - no weightloss, none. This is way harder than I thought. I was under the impression that I could actually make myself work out on a regular basis (Oh how I kid). Um, didn't happen. I am spoiled, I admit it. I'm accostomed to haveing t0 7 years of training for swimsuit competition with an army drill sergeant as my trainer yelling at me for 6 hours a day. Because, I mean, once the cause of the Fear of God is gone - what's my motivation?

The motivation? Never, ever having to see my upper arms wave goodbye. Plus, the Hubs and I would like to become parents some time next year. And did you know you could gain like 50 pounds when you're pregnant? So I figure I need to get a head start because 50 pounds is enough without adding 15 more.

So I am starting WeightWatchers Online today. Mark your calendars. My goal is to be 15 lbs lighter by 01/01/10. Want to join me? Tell me your secrets? Got any good recipes or time saver tips? I am desperate people. You're looking at a diet (sorry, PI, weightloss) virgin. I have no idea what I am doing.

Well, here I go!