Update - it's about time!

I've been really lame with blogging lately. I just hate it. I really really hate blogging. But then again, I have so many friends and family that I don't get to see very often that all ask the same questions and I know it's very convenient to update everyone in this manner. So I love blogging for that reason. But I have a hard time being motivated. Anyway, this is going to be a super boring post, but I just wanted to update my progress so I could I could look back at it later and see how far I've come.

I've been running.

A lot.

To be honest it's been hard on me. Emotionally and mentally more than physically. The smallest things make me doubt myself. And I get discouraged easily. But I'm not quitter. So I power through.

The past 3 weeks have been really difficult. I have a half marathon coming up in 2 weeks, and I haven't felt ready. I run on my own every day. It gets boring and lonely and it's hard to go it alone sometimes. But my new shoes rock and the weather's nice, so that's always good.

2 weeks ago I hit a wall. I had an 11 mile run. My in laws were all visiting so we were going to run together! We got about 6 miles in and I had a horrible allergic reaction to something we had passed. At about mile 7 my allergies triggered a horrible asthma attack. I ran one more mile and knew instantly I was spent. I went home discouraged after cutting our run short by 3 miles. After that every short training run I went on I would have an asthma attack. I finally went to my doctor and he gave me some really great prescriptions, and I am pleased to say they are working very well!

This weekend we came down to St. George to have a birthday party for my Trevor baby, and we all woke up at 4:30 to run 12 miles (my first long run since the bad run). It was AWESOME!!!! The combination of being at a lower elevation, having an inhaler, and running with a group of people did wonders for me, and I broke my 10 minute mile record - I ran at a 9.5 minute mile pace!!! Woooooooooo hooooooooooo! We finished the 12 miles in about 2 hours. It felt amazing and I now feel ready for the Bryce Canyon half.

I ran four miles today - a lot of hills. It was harder than the 12 but I know it was good for training. In summation: 12 miles = good. Nimbus gels = awesome. Running with family and friends = rockin. Me = kick butt.

Thanks for listening!

Hey Harry Potter Fans!

Alright y'all, I don't want to make anyone jealous, but I just got my own Nimbus. For real. No, not a Nimbus 2000. A Nimbus 12. Gel.





Okay okay, it's not a flying broomstick, but you better believe I'll be flying when I'm wearing these babies!!!! What? Too nerdy? Should I dial it down a notch? Fine. But I'd like YOU to find a better cure for jellylegs (okay, that was the last one).



Back to the shoes. I love them already. I've been having some pain a particular bone in both my feet lately, and then started getting some pain in my knees. I decided to take it easy for a couple of days, which helped. But I didn't want to start running again until I had new shoes because I figured that was a main contributing factor to my pain. I went in and did the gait test to see how I ran and what shoe I needed, and apparently I need a neutral shoe because I run with my foot exactly perpendicular to the ground, and the shoes I had were not neutral. I thought I was over-pronating when I ran because of where my pain was, but apparently it was the shoe!



So hopefully these babies will correct the problem and I will love them! They're super comfortable and actually have 600 miles of life in them as opposed to the normal 400 of most running shoes. So I should only have to buy one other pair before the marathon. Awesome.


Running's going good. Had my 9 mile on Saturday and apart from a killer sunburn, I returned in one piece. Can't wait to try out my Nimbus, Nimbuses, Nimbusi, whatever the plural is, tomorrow. I have my first hill run tomorrow - wish me luck!

Some bad news (that's kind of good news), and the GREAT news that (hopefully) counteracts the bad

Are you curious? I know, that title is the best blog post title in the history of all blog post titles. And it really got you thinking. I know. I'm amazing.

Anyway, bad titles aside, I first wanted to say thank you to my readers who left comments and emails about my breathing. You were right. That's TOTALLY what was giving me side cramps. When I run, I usually go in the wee hours of the morning, so it's either snowing, or I'm running next to puddles that are frozen solid. I guess I have a hard time breathing properly in the cold. But I focused more on my breathing today and didn't get one side cramp. So yay!!!!

Okay, so the bad news (that's actually good news) is that Trevor is done nursing. He was just done. He was actually done 2 months ago but I really wanted to make it to a year (mostly because formula's so dang expensive)so I forced him to nurse. In a battle of the wills. But he just wouldn't allow it, and he ended up winning. Betrayed by my own body, I stopped making milk.

In all honesty, I love the freedom. I haven't had my body all to myself for THREE YEARS! For the last three years I've either had someone living inside me or eating from me. It's nice for my body to be just mine. Very liberating. I love being pregnant, but having 2 babies back to back was a little much for me. The bad thing? Nursing burns SO MANY calories!!!! I haven't had to work out or watch what I eat in forever because of it. I'm really terrified that not nursing is going to make me pack on the pounds.

But, there is some great news that will (hopefully) counteract the bad........

drumroll........................

I am officially running the St. George Marathon in October. That's right, I paid my 80 bucks, got my name on a roster, and am running 26.2 miles on October 2nd. Yeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaawwwww! So hopefully the training will burn the calories that nursing would have been burning.

That being said, today my long run was 8 miles. I ran it without stopping once! It's been fun to watch how my body has adapted to all this running and how much progress I'm making. Just one month ago I couldn't even run a mile. Anyway, I digress. Back to the 8 mile run today. That's about a third of the race right there, so I think my training is on track and I will be ready when the big day comes.

Advice would be appreciated!

I went on my 3 mile run again this morning. I got about a mile and a half into it and got the worst side cramp ever! I'm used to getting them. I actually get them all the time on my right side under my rib. I don't know what causes them (do you? Please share!) but I get them every time I run. I usually run through it and it goes away. If it doesn't go away I just slow down a bit and hold my side until it subsides. It always does. No matter how bad it is, I can always run it off.

Today was different.

I honestly could not shake the thing! It was so sharp, too. I'd never felt anything like it. It literally had me doubled over. You runners out there, what is this?!? I'm sure it happens to everyone who runs, but seeing as I've never run before it caught me by surprise and I didn't know what to do about it. It really ruined my whole run for me. I was bummed. I ended up doing the whole run and adding a half mile on, but it was not an enjoyable run for me.

Those of you out there who know what you're doing when it comes to this whole exercise thing, please impart your knowledge.
What causes this?
How do I prevent it?
How do I stop it once it has happened?

Any answers you have would be appreciated.

pictures and stats week 4...plus my favorite things!

I haven't fallen off the wagon, I promise. I've been exercising but haven't really felt like blogging. In a nutshell, I've been running 3 miles consistently (with rest days on Monday and Friday) and Saturdays are scheduled for a long run. This past Saturday I decided I was going to finally run outside rather than on a treadmill (I've been getting so sick of it). I've never run outside before so I didn't know what to expect. Here's my take on it - running outside is a lot harder physically, but infinitely easier mentally. Turns out that the whole mental thing is a big deal for me. I had a 6 mile run scheduled - I was going to run from my house, around the northern border of Heber, to our local produce co-op where Sam would come to pick me and our food up and we'd drive home. I got ready and went outside only to realize - it was snowing! I didn't want to run in the snow, but I REALLY didn't want to run on the treadmill, so I decided to stay outdoors.

The first mile was rough. I had gotten up to a decent speed on the treadmill, and was trying to keep that pace outside. I would get about a quarter of a mile and then I'd have to walk. It was pretty depressing, and I almost turned around to go back home and do it on the treadmill, but then I decided instead of running I would just jog for a little bit just to warm up. I ended up jogging the whole thing. After that first mile I never walked again, I ran a full 5 miles without stopping - a first for me! It was amazing. And so beautiful. My run took me around the east border of Heber, to the north border, and back around through to the Heber Creeper train station (my favorite part of the run). It was so fun.

I got to the co-op station at 10:20, and the co-op didn't open until 11. I thought I'd be cutting it close, figuring it would take me at least an hour and a half to run 6 miles. Nope. It took me a little less than an hour, which means I ran a consistent 10 minute mile! Woot woo! Anyway, I didn't want to hang out for 40 minutes, so I just figured I'd complete the run and head home. It added on another mile.


Workout summary: I traveled 7 miles - the first mile I walked / ran, and then ran the last 6 WITHOUT STOPPING! That is double the length of my last longest run. I was so excited. The whole thing took me about an hour and 15 minutes.



Stats for week 4:

This is me after my 7 miler, so I look gross. Sorry.

bust: 35 1/2

stomach: 27 1/2

hips: 37"

thighs: 21"

weight: 129

So I'm slowly losing everywhere, I guess. But gaining in the hips. Which has always been my problem area. So that's kind of depressing. Oh well.

My Favorite Things round 2:

Sobe lifewater. How do I love thee. I also like vitamin water, but to me Sobe is way better. I live off these things. Favorite flavors? Mango Melon, Fuji Apple Pear, Yumberry Pomegranite, and Cherimoya Punch. So good, and good for you. They're packed with vitamins and electrolytes, no calories, and naturally sweetened with PureVia, a sweetener from the stevia plant. Pretty much the same thing as Stevia or Truvia. Yum.

Tiger's Milk power bars. I can't really run after I've eaten breakfast, but I also can't run on an empty stomach. Enter Tiger's Milk power bars. They're full of protein and taste like a candy bar. What more could you ask for. My favorite flavor? Peanut butter and honey.

Jergens Healthy Glow Daily moisturizer. No, it's not getting me any healthier, but I feel better when I look better. And I look better when I'm tan. Skin cancer runs in my family (pretty badly, too) so I don't really want to lay out to get my color, but I'm also sick of being so pasty white. This stuff is awesome. It doesn't turn you orange, which is nice. It's a gradual daily lotion so you don't get all streaky like when you use a true self tanner. It just gives you a nice healthy looking tan in a week's time. Although I was visibly tanner after just 2 days. But at about 5 days I looked like I'd been on a cruise or something (for me). They also have a face moisturizer to the same effect, but it includes spf 20, which I love. I use them both and love them.

What do you usually eat before you work out? Or drink during your workout? Or listen to while you run? I'm always on the lookout for new things to be my "favorite".

Another First

I ran faster AGAIN today, which has me tickled pink. I'm really happy that I've been getting faster and been able to go longer every day. I guess that's the point, but still. Anyway, I ran three miles again today, and my time was 32.49 minutes. Which puts me at a 10.83 minute mile. Yipee!

Also, I hit another first today. I actually ran 2 miles today without stopping. Again, I know that's probably not a big deal, but to me it's a HUGE deal. I was so happy. That's really all for today. Nothing super exciting. I just thought I'd get on here to document so that I can come back here in a month or two from now and (hopefully) see how far I've come.

Has this ever happened to you?

I woke up refreshed this morning at SEVEN THIRTY! I'm supposed to wake up at 5:50 to go work out. My alarm never went off. I set it on my phone and I forgot to charge it so it went dead. Boo! I woke up and was so disappointed. Sam was going in to work so I didn't have time to work out anymore. I do have two rest days on my workout schedule, so I'm still debating whether I should switch out my rest day for today and do today's workout on Friday, or if I should just go to the gym when Sam gets home tonight. Neither sound appealing to me. Dang.

On the plus side: I got to sleep in!!!! Yay! I forgot how lovely 7:30 am feels. :)

These are a few of my favorite things

First things first. I ran another 3 miles today. It was good and bad. I'll start with the bad so we can end on a high note. :) The bad thing is the asthma's getting worse. I know I've had some inflammation and I think trying to run through it without my inhaler has just made it worse. It is now really painful to run and I can't run for as long as I would like without stopping. It's unfortunate, but I'm making an appointment to get an inhaler so it's fixable. Definitely not the end of the world. But the good news: even with the asthma attacks and having to speed walk twice during my run today, my time is STILL getting better! Today I did my 3 miles in 34.4 minutes. Which puts me at about 11.46 minutes per mile. Still not great, but I need to stop comparing myself to other people. I know that most people run a lot faster than that. But I don't. And I'm becoming okay with that. I'm not a runner. Nor am I athletic my any means. So just doing makes me feel pleased with myself. Even if 11 minutes is the fastest I ever run a mile, I will be fine with that. Just knowing that I've run it makes me smile.


Now on to the exciting things that really make me smile! These are my new finds that I absolutely love and make all the working out and getting into shape a little more exciting.



Thing number one:




This is my new favorite salad dressing. I find I have a hard time with vinaigrettes. They never taste the way I think they should - slightly sweet, slightly bitter. They usually lean too far in one direction or the other, and I want a balance. This one gives me just that. It is awesome! No fat, no hydrogenated oils (they will seriously kill you by the way) and no high fructose corn syrup. In fact, no preservatives at all. And the antioxidants from the blueberries and pomegranates are an added bonus. I like it best over spinach with toasted walnuts. Amazing.



Thing number two:
I just got this in the mail yesterday so today was the first day I used it. Fantastic. I have to have something to listen to when I run. Especially on a treadmill. It's just really boring. And this keeps it right there with me so I don't have to try to keep it in the waistband of my pants. I savor the small things.

Thing number three:

This is the greatest shaving cream ever. I've never used anything like it. It's like a spa in your shower. It doesn't foam or lather, it just goes on as a light film, but it has exfoliating beads that massage your tired legs as you apply it. It feels so good after a long run. It contains verbena, olive oil, and white tea to moisturize your legs. And the white tea adds anitoxidants. Again, added bonus. And the scent is heavenly. I now look forward to shaving my legs (quite a feat, if you know me at all).

What are your favorite things?

Measurements, week 2

It's been a week that I've actually been working out. I didn't expect to have lost any weight yet, or to have gotten any smaller, but I definitely didn't expect the stats for today.

As of today, I weigh 132 pounds, and my measurements are:
36"
28"
37"
21 1/2" thighs

That's right. I gained two pounds and added a half an inch onto my butt. That's not discouraging at all, right?

I'm just going to pretend that the wieght and size gain is because I'm gaining so much muscle, and that it has nothing to do with the six carne asada and fish tacos I had for dinner last night, and the 2 huevos rancheros I had for breakfast.

Long Run

Today was my first long run. I ran 6 miles - whew! I had some anxiety going into it but told myself even if I couldn't fully run the whole thing I would at least GO the full 6 miles. I finished it, and only had to walk 3 times for about 3 minutes each. All the rest I alternated running and slow jogging. My time wasn't great, 75.41 minutes, which averages about 12.57 (or 13 minutes) a mile. Like I said, not great, but not bad either. All in all I was very pleased. It was fun to watch people come in and run next to me and then tire out and leave while I was still going. It let me see how far I've come because just a week ago, I would've been leaving right along with them.

Well, I'm off to stretch. I'm a little sore! :)

Fartlek

Today I ran my first (unfortunately named) fartlek - an exercise combining sprinting and jogging, and in my case, some amount of walking as well.

It. kicked. my. trash. Seriously, it was so much harder than I thought it would be. I am not a sprinter. I had a really hard time with it. And my oh so lovely asthma made and appearance, so looks like if I'm going to continue sprinting I'm going to need my inhaler.

Still, I did it. I only did a 20 minute fartlek today. I got 2.48 miles (that includes my 5 minute warm up and cool down walk). Not great. I was pretty disappointed.

Also I wanted to note that even though I've only been doing this for 4 days, I have noticed a change in the circumference of my legs. Not my thighs, but my calfs. And they're not getting smaller, they're getting bigger. I hate this part of my body. My legs really are my problem area. And they bulk up so easily and quickly. I hate it. I looked down at my calves today and they looked like upside down bowling pins. Yuck. Oh well, if it means I'm healthy I'll take it! I am just excited to be getting into shape and getting healthy.

Who has two thumbs, no common sense, and really wants to work out?......This gal!

Why do I keep doing it? I know I have to be up early to work out. So why do I keep staying up late? We went down to Provo last night to watch the Jazz game with our fav. hang out buddies Heather and Allen. Good news? We got to hang out with the coolest pipe - smoking, smokers jacket wearing, uber feminist couple there ever was!, got to watch the Jazz, got to eat some Cafe Rio, and got to watch David go crazy over creamies. The bad news? The Jazz lost. To the Lakers. The game didn't start till 8:30 so it wasn't over till 11 ish. And I was really feeling the Rio this morning.

It wouldn't have actually been bad at all if we'd just come home after the game and gone to bed. But no. I found my ipod, and knowing I was going to be running again in the morning, I wanted to charge it. Simple right? Except now I couldn't find my charger. We ended up staying up until past midnight trying to find everything, and then getting it all set up once it was found. Stupid. However, I still got up at 6 (well, 6:10. I hit the snooze a couple times) and hit the gym. The Rio was sitting pretty heavy in my stomach, but I powered through. I ran another 3 miles again today. And I cut 2 whole minutes off my time from Monday! I know it's not much, but yipee! I ran a mile, walked for one minute, ran another mile, walked for 5 minutes, ran the last mile. It felt really good. I'd like to be able to do the whole thing without stopping to walk, but I'll take what I can get, especially after 3 years of doing nothing.

My first day it took me 39.47 minutes to run the 3 miles. Today it took me 37.38. Not great, but actually considerably better than I thought I'd be doing at this stage. That's a 12 minute mile, which I think people walk a mile in 10, so I run slower than most people walk. But hey, I'm out there and I'm doing it. That's gotta count for something, right?

Well, that's all for today. I'm a lot less sore today than I have been the last couple days after running, so I guess my body's slowing being conditioned. Things are good, and as slow and beginner as all this may seem, I'm very pleased.

Oh, I want to add one more measurement to the mix, because this is the one I really care about. I'm actually thrilled with all the rest, but what really needs work are the THIGHS! So here it is: at the biggest part of my thigh I am 21 1/2". That seems really big to me, especially if my stomach is 28. But whatever. Let's see if running brings that number down any. Wish me luck!

sleepy....sleepy....slee.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I have been trying to figure out a workout schedule that works for me. I know I can't do it during the day - tried that. Not happening. I thought I could do it during the boys' naptime but that doesn't exist anymore (boo). I am don't really like exercising at night because my endorphins get all amped up and then I can't fall asleep. So the solution I came to was early morning.

I am not a morning person. I also hate going to bed early. But I really want to start getting healthy (honestly people. I'm really do fear that I'm killing myself slowly with my eating habits. But I'm not ready to change them yet. So maybe working out will counteract the amount of food I consume. Right? RIGHT?!?!?!) so I decided the early night / early morning route would be worth it. I decided I'll start waking up at 5:50 and go to the gym before Sam went off to work.

Morning 1, yesterday, was awesome. We went to bed at 10:30 (later than I wanted but still earlier than usual), and when my alarm went off I was so excited I just shot right up, got dressed and left. Worked out for about an hour (more on that momentarily, it's SUPER exciting. for me at least) and then came home and stretched. I had so much energy all day. I was REALLY SORE, but I had so much energy. It was such a good day, I knew I'd made the right decision and was full of a new sense of accomplishment.

But you know how when you're supposed to be doing something, the adversary steps in and just makes everything a pain in the butt until you just don't think it's worth it anymore? Yeah. Well, day 2, enter my adversary - sleep deprivation.

I wanted to go to bed early again, but I also wanted to find my ipod to take to the gym with me. I stayed up until almost 11 looking for the stupid thing, and then went to bed pretty miffed that I couldn't find it. But I did finally go to bed. Fast forward to 4 in the morning. Trevor woke up screaming. I laid there for about 5 or 6 minutes hoping he'd just go back to sleep but it just escalated. So I went in, put his binky back in his mouth, covered him up with his blanket and left. Still screaming. Repeat. 3 - 5 times. By about 4:45, after a diaper change, blanket change, etc. I decided he might just be hungry (he has NEVER in his whole life had a middle of the night feeding with the exception of 2 or three nights. It's very very rare) so I made him a bottle. He was starving (poor thing) and just gulped it down. I had him back in bed just before 5. But all the fuss had woken David up so when I went to put Trevor back down David started crying because he wanted his toys and I told him it wasn't morning yet so he had to go back to sleep. So David and Trevor just laid in their beds crying until they finally fell asleep. It was actually pretty funny, but I knew I was going to be tired. Anyway, at this point I knew I was going to be waking up in under an hour and started getting a slight bit of anxiety (stupid, I know) and couldn't fall asleep. I didn't fall asleep until about 5:30. My alarm went off 20 minutes later and I just decided to skip today. Then I realized that it's only day two and if I throw in the towel today, I'll never do this. So I made myself get out of bed and go to the gym. It was a slow work out, I was really dragging. But I think even just going through the motions is going to teach me an invaluable lesson in self sacrifice, and hopefully instill a habit. I still got 45 minutes of cycling in, so it was worth it.

But now I can't keep my eyes open. I guess I'll have to get to bed by 9 tonight to make up for it. Oh well, onward. I'm sure none of this was interesting, but I just thought I'd throw it on out there to the universe to have some responsibility. Maybe if I feel like I have to "check in" every day with my workout, I'll be less likely to skip out. 2 days down, many many more to go!

*As far as the super exciting story of my first workout, it is as follows (you probably won't find it exciting, it just made me so happy I want to record it):

I actually enjoy exercise when it's aerobic or artistic. I like pilates and yoga and dance. Very very much. I don't like weight lifting or anything of the sort. But my most dreaded exercise is running. I hate it. I've never been able to do it. I have sport induced asthma and every time I try to run it kicks in and can be pretty painful. So I just don't do it. But I've always had amazing respect for people who do. The amount of time, dedication, discipline and sacrifice it takes to master it just astounds me. Lately I have been very envious of this, so I decided I want to start running. I really enjoy doing things I don't want to do because I think it makes us better people to sacrifice what we want for something that's good for us. So running it is.

Now I am a beginner runner. And when I say beginner I mean it. I've never so much as run a mile. Now I've gone further than a mile, obviously, like walking and stuff. But I've never in my life run a straight mile. Not even in highschool. I've always walked in there somewhere. So my goal for the week was to run a mile. Without stopping. I ran my first morning and could tell that my body had been craving the exercise. It felt so good. So good in fact, that the running was relatively easy. I mean it burned. Bad. But no asthma! It was so exciting. So I am now proud to say that I have officially RUN A MILE!! Yay! I know that's kind of pathetic and may not seem like much, but it has been a really big deal to me and I was so so jubilant! I was actually so excited when I hit the mile mark that I started laughing and kind of celebrating and then I was embarrassed. Luckily I was alone. Ha ha ha ha! Anyway, I ended up running 3 miles that day (well, 1.5, walk for 3 minutes, run to 2.25, walk 2 minutes, run to 2.85, walk the rest to 3 as a cool down). That's the most I've ever run, ever, in my entire life. It was like a hurdle overcome for me and I was walking on air all day. Sorry, like I said, it's probably not that exciting, but I wanted to document it. I was elated.

So there you have it, 3 miles yesterday, 45 min of cycling today. I'll check back tomorrow to document what I've done.

I really like this blog because even if no one else reads it, I can get on here and track what I've been doing and how far I've come. I was surprised to find yesterday that I'd lost 15 pounds, 3 1/2 inches in my bust, 4 inches in my waist, and 4 1/2 inches in my hips over the last 8 months! I didn't even realize it! So this will be a fun way to track how in shape I'm getting too.

I'm baaaaack!

So, here's the sitch: I don't eat right. I don't exercise. I want to lose weight. Hmmmm... I guess something's gotta change. For a while there, the thing I changed was the desire to lose weight. I didn't want to eat right, or exercise for that matter, so I made myself okay to the weight gain and softness that became my body. Well, I'm getting kind of tired of it. It's getting to be swim suit season (gasp) and this is the first summer that I am honestly dreading, DREADING, getting into a bathing suit. It gives me anxiety to think about it. I'm able to hide the majority of my bulk in clothing. But my naked thighs are not ready to see the light of day. nugh ugh. So something has to change. I can tell you right now that it will take an act of God to change my eating habits (I just love it too much. Don't take that away from me, please?), so I guess I'm actually going to have to start exercising.



Here's a short trip into my exercising past. Age 3 started dance. Age 12 started cheerleading. Cheered through high school but stopped after that. Danced through college as a major (that I never completed) and continued through after I got married. Even threw in a little Krav Maga after marriage just to even things out. So yes, I was pretty active. Fast forward 3 years in, to when I got pregnant. Sedentary, sedentary, sedentary. Then because I was so sick during the pregnancy, I ended up weighing about 15 pounds LESS and was 2 sizes SMALLER, after I had David. Stopped exercising all together. There was a brief stint for about a month after we moved to St. George that I would go "running" (i.e. walking) with my sister and mother in law. Then it got cold. So we stopped. Then I had Trevor. At about 6 weeks post partum, I was still feeling kinda fat. So for 2 weeks I did pilates. Lost about 8 pounds, was satisfied, and stopped. So there you have it. For the last three years, I have walked for a month, and done 2 weeks of pilates. That's it. So I'm officially the most sedentary person on this planet.



Here's my new goal: actually work out. I don't even care if I lose weight, get smaller, tone up, etc. I mean, I do. But what I really want is to just be in shape. Not necessarily visibly. But internally. And if I lose weight while I'm at it, then that's an added bonus!



And since we all love the wonderful art of shadenfreude, I'll be posting pictures of myself as well for your viewing / mocking / adoring / critiquing / please be nice pleasure. Here's me currently:

Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to get a good angle. I'll keep working on it for next week's round.

My stats? This morning I weighed exactly 130 pounds.

My measurements are: 36", 28", 36 1/2"

Let's see what the future holds.

*post edit* okay, I don't want to seem like I'm complaining about my appearance so here's my disclaimer. I don't necessarily want to lose size, I more want to tone. Like I said, I can cover most things up with clothes, it's the loose skin, rolls, and cellulite that are bugging me. You can't really see them with clothes on, but once I put on a bathing suit, it'll be out there for the world to see. Ack!! Also, I should say, I have met my goal as far as weight and measurements. When I started this blog I was at about 145 I think (I don't remember, it's in the first post). So, I'm happy with my weight. I just want to tone and get in shape. That being said, thank you so much Shannon and Ashley for your kind comments. You both made my day. Ashley, you look amazing! And your blog is what inspired me. And Shannon you had a baby after me and look so great!