Weigh in Wednesday

So I haven’t posted in a couple weeks. Mostly because I haven’t been able to get my stuff together and post by Wednesday morning because I have been so busy packing for our move. And I have a confession to make…I haven’t been working out as much as I should have been. I know “too busy” isn’t a good excuse, but it’s the only one I have right now.
So here it is…

Last week This week
Starting Weight : 155.6 lbs. 156.6 lbs
Measurements
Arms (upper): 12.5″ 12.5″
Waist : 38″ (at belly button) 38″
Thigh : 23″ 23″
Calf : 15.5″ 15.5″

 

Weigh in Wednesday and Link Up

Last week I took the plunge and showed you what I weigh. I’ll do it again this week too.
I have a confession to make though…it’s not about numbers for me. It really isn’t. I’m not sure I even have a “goal weight” in mind here. I have a goal feeling. I want to feel fit, I want to feel healthy, I want to feel good. Sure I know what I weighed when I got married or before I had my first son, but for me it’s really not about reaching either of those numbers. It is more important that I am healthy and fit for my children and my family. I don’t want to huff and puff when I run with my kids. The numbers are there just to help me track my progress.
I do have some definite goals in mind though. I encourage you if you’re going on this journey with me that you set some goals for yourself, both short term and long term. Here are a couple of mine to get you started and then we’ll talk “numbers”.
1. Run a 5K without stopping and in less than 45 minutes. (Remember how last week I said I don’t really like to run? I still don’t, so hitting this one will be a biggie for me).
2. Do 40 burpees at the end of each workout. If you don’t know what these are they’re intense, kind of miserable, but a great all over body workout.
3. Kick my sugar addiction. Seriously. It’s an addiction. I’m still in the detox mode and have had to get it all out of my house otherwise I’ll eat it. The first 3 days were the worst, but I still have a craving every afternoon, so none in the house (believe it or not this also meant getting rid of chocolate chips…they were my “if I need a really bad fix” food).
4. Do 10 pull ups. This might be a longer term goal for me considering I can’t do one without my feet being on a chair, but I’m working on it.
5. I want to be comfortable enough with how I look that I can sit without folding my arms to hide my belly. I have be subconsciously doing this for months, every time I sit and even when I’m standing my arms are crossed over my stomach. I don’t want to do that. It makes me look unfriendly first of all and secondly it’s not very flattering. I want to stop it and not feel like everyone is looking at my muffin top.
So those are my “big” goals for this who deal. I have smaller ones each day, like I’m going to eat more protein, I’m going to cut out unnecessary carbs at supper, I’m going to workout for an hour tonight.

So here we go, my numbers for this week (with last week for comparison)

Last week This week
Starting Weight : 157.6 lbs. 155.6 lbs (2 pounds! woot woot!)
Measurements
Arms (upper): 13″ 12.5″
Waist : 38.5″ (at belly button) 38″
Thigh : 23.5″ 23″
Calf : 15.5″ 15.5″

Wednesday Link Up

I’ve decided after reviewing Fit moms for Life to do something that we women are never supposed to do. I’m going to tell you what I weigh. Every Wednesday.
It’s probably the scariest and most daring thing I’ve ever done. But I’m doing it to keep myself accountable, to give you encouragement and to show that it can be done. After Knox died I dove into exercise to help me deal with my grief. I didn’t want to take antidepressants and so I started running. I lost about 15 pounds and felt great. When I got pregnant with Lily, I kind of slacked off on my running, but still watched what I ate and tried to keep kind of fit. But when she died too…I just couldn’t make myself start running again. It felt better to wallow a bit with food than it did to exercise. I stepped on the scale the other day and about fell over. I gained back all of the weight I’d lost and then some.
I had the opportunity then to review the book Fit moms for Life and decided to do something about it. After the testing we’ve had done after Lily’s birth I’m at higher risk for blood clots and other issues with the cardiovascular system, so I’d better do something about it now. That’s where you come in.
Every Wednesday I’m going to weigh in and post my starting weight, previous week’s weight and current weight. I’ll also be including body measurements and probably something about my diet or workout from the week. You’re here to keep me accountable. And humble.
I invite you to come on this journey with me. I’ll be hosting a link up so if you have a blog and have a healthy tip, recipe to share or want to join me for Wednesday weigh in you can add your link. We are here to encourage each other and cheer each other on, so only positive comments will be approved. Be nice, we’re all starting at different places, different paces and are taking different steps. So here we go!




Week 1 (7/18/12)


 


Starting Weight : 157.6 lbs.
Measurements

Arms (upper): 13″
Waist : 38.5″ (at belly button)
Thigh : 23.5″
Calf : 15.5″
Let’s do this!!

Fit Moms For Life Review

So here’s the honest truth, I am over-weight and have used grief, pregnancy, breast feeding, stress, “too busy” and everything else under the sun to excuse my way out of needing to be fit and healthy. Not only for me but for my children. Fit Moms for Life puts a new spin on things for me.

To be totally honest I had my doubts about what a young guy (with no children) could say to moms, but Dustin Maher, who specializes in training mothers, clearly knows his audience. He provides useful, actionable information in this book. This is not just a rah rah motivational book, although there’s plenty of that in the more than 30 showcase moms that have dropped hundreds of pounds between them. And this isn’t a trendy crash diet book, or a painful regime that suggests you can drop 20lbs in a week by knocking yourself out. This is a lifestyle change book, that covers everything from nutrition to exercise and even budget considerations for fitness equipment. In other words, it’s *realistic* and practical. And because of that, it’s much easier to get into and stick to.
Before he ever jumps into the “workout” part of the book, Dustin spends some time talking about the 5 pillars of health in his program. Those include mindset, nutrition, strength training, burst training and environment. He goes through how each of those pillars can make or break you when it comes to being fit and around for your kids. The mindset piece was really telling for me. It’s what provided the motivation and inspiration for my daring post tomorrow. As mom’s we have to believe we are worth it and our families deserve us to be healthy before we can make the lifestyle changes necessary to get in shape and keep in shape.
One of the things I really liked about Dustin’s approach to fitness is that it doesn’t involve running miles and miles on the treadmill. I’ve always thought that to be in really great shape you had to run mile after mile. So when he said “running marathons or doing long distance cardio doesn’t help you burn fat and keep it off” I almost yelled out loud! Yes! Instead he focuses on strength training (no it doesn’t mean you’ll bulk up like the Hulk) and burst training (similar to interval training but more intense).
I actually enjoyed reading the book itself too. It’s easy enough to pick up and put back down when it’s time to make dinner. I did find myself skipping ahead to read the Fit Moms for Life transformations he features in the book. I like to see moms who have done it and succeeded. It makes it seem more realistic to see moms who weren’t “fit” to begin with get that way using these concepts.
I spent some time on his blog at http://dustinmaherfitness.com/ to learn more about this whole concept. He’s got some great articles and videos to help you stay on track as well as some testimonials. Overall after I finished reading the book and taking a peek at his websites, I felt very inspired, like I could do this. I didn’t feel like this was going to be one of those “purchase and set on the shelf” kinds of things. I’ve just finished the book and have started the workout plan. So far I’m liking it (remember…no running lots of miles). It seems to offer so much more than the usual workout programs advertised on TV. It’s not just about losing weight, it’s about making lifestyle changes.
PS. As a sneak peek to my bold post tomorrow, I can tell you that this book has inspired me to do something I would have never done and I will be sharing my story with you.
I received the above products through Sublime Media Connection in exchange for an honest review. In no way was I asked to give a positive review.