weigh in day...

so i just had a nice workout to get me goin...
gotta start somewhere without over doin it so i took a brisk 1.5 mile walk, did a dvd which was 20 minutes of cardio & 30 minutes of pilates. i LOVED the pilates ;)

also got myself set up on myfitnesspal.com which tracks everything food, excercise, calculates ALL necessary numbers u need to know in order to reach your goals... & shows your progress along the way! how awesome right!?! (thats where the progress ticker in the upper left came from)

anyhoo really i just wanted to say that my weigh in days are gonna be fridays and that i'll be posting progress reports  starting next friday!

woohoo!!!

workin on my plan...

im pretty sure im running on information overload & trying to keep it all organized and making sense is a wee bit overwhelming at times.

heres what im thinking so far...

workouts:

walking - 2.5 miles roundtrip which just happens to be the distance along a nice oceanfront boardwalk right outside my front door (added incentive)

im planning on doing this 3-5 times a week depending on if i add a badass track workout to my schedule which i am seriously considering

videos - think what you like but these work wonders for me. so even on the days thats its hard to leave the house i still have somekind of fitness coach guiding me!

the choices in considering are the core fusion dvd for toning & some kind of pilates dvd since i have really enjoyed them & got great results from them in the past.

maybe start my day with toning & end it with pilates...

monthly fitness meetups - soo excited about these! my new fitness buddy, that i've met thru the wonder of social networking, & i are planning monthly fitness day meetups.  gives us something exciting to look forward to & motivation to keep up our workouts so we dont look like a fool when we're kickin each others butts! lol 

our first one is set for june 5th and we're gonna be doing the bassass track workout i mentioned!

wildcard goodness - for the sake of keeping things interesting i gonna try & mix things up a bit every now and again.  i get bored easily so i think this will be key to keeping me going.

food plan: 

this is where i get a bit overwhelmed trying to decipher everything i should be paying attn to!

anybody else feeling the same???

im gonna try to keep it simple for now & go from there...

raw fruits & veggies - like i mentioned in an earlier post im making a concerted effort to add these to my daily intake.  

im finding it easiest to incorporate them as my snacks thru-out the day.

whole grains - switching our pasta, tortillas & bread over to whole grain.

so far i seem to be successfully accomplishing this for both me & the girls... (no small feat) also, im loving a new organic granola i picked up at trader joes that im adding to my yogurt & eating as a snack.

sodium - this is a biggie for me. im a salt junkie (lol)

as per AHA guidelines i am working on limiting my daily sodium intake to 1500mg/day.

i am shocked at how much salt is in everything! 

calories - counting calories babyyy!!!

my recommended daily caloric intake to maintain current weight is:

1786 calories

my RMR is:

1328 calories

i am aiming to create a recommended 500 calorie deficit per day between workout & food.

knowing myself this will fluctuate from day to day but

assuming i am a good girl & keep up with my workouts... i am aiming to stay 

around 1400-1500 calories per day.

this is the site i used to figure all this out just in case you're lookin for the same info.

(*** if anybody reads this and it doesnt seem right, please let me know so i can adjust properly)

the other bit of goodness ive added to my daily routine is green tea!

3 cups a day 

check out all the info online about what amazing benefits this tea has...

how can we afford NOT to drink it!?!

so theres where im at so far...

now im gonna pop back into mom-mode & go pick my girlies up from school!

ps... healthy success of the day with my girls:  they loved the multi grain waffle/pb/banana breakfast i made for them this am! SCORE!!!

drumroll please...

so for the sake of not turning this into a body bashing post of myself...

im just going to post these pics with very little commentary...

weigh in:

136lbs

now bare in mind that over the past month or so i have already been making an effort to eliminate soda & alcohol in addition to eating some kind of fresh fruit each day.

before that, i was at 147

amazing what that crap adds to our bodies!

the photographic proof:

measurements:

this is where im hoping to see the most change.

arms, gut & thighs baby!!!

(i just realized that i forgot to take my measurements so i will do those tonite then update them tomorrow)

so... there it is.

now to work on making the next pics healthier lookin & HOT!

tomorrow is d-day...

before pictures will be taken & posted...

theres the official weigh-in...

& measurements to be recorded...

its an exciting & scary time 

but its all worth it :)

on a positive starting note:

i have already lost 6.5 lbs over the last couple of weeks 

i think that will make the official weigh in a bit less scary

how many calories does that burn???

i just came across this really cool link that i want to share

activity calorie counter 

all you do is enter your weight & how many minutes you want to workout

then it instantly gives you a ginormous list of every kind of activity & the amount of calories it burns for the alloted amount of time!

geeenius!!!

getting a plan together...

so now that ive "said" that im commited to getting my ass in gear...

i need to have some kind of plan of action

and get moving!

first up...

upon the recommendation of this girl

i put a request in at my library for this book

library = free  

so i cant use that as an excuse ;)

next...

Dr Oz has quickly become a favorite of mine (& the girls)

and he is always saying that we need to take 

10,000 steps a day

i really had NO idea what this meant until a couple weeks ago when i started looking into it

(1 mile = about 2000 steps)

without making a concerted effort to get out & go for a walk we only get half of that at best

 seriously, if Dr Oz says i should then i guess i should!

pedometer here i come!

(feel free to giggle)

i vow to walk at least 10000 steps a day

liquids...

i didnt realize how much this particular category plays a roll in my life

1. soda - for the past month (plus) i have already been making a real effort to cut back on soda because i have seen in the past what a difference the amounts of sugar make on my body.

extra pounds, sugar highs & lows, inability to go to sleep at nite

all not good & i have already noticed a difference 

not to mention that my tummy isnt as sensitive 

2. h2o - i used to love this stuff! like seriously i couldnt get enough but these days i am finding it a struggle to drink even one glass.  without a doubt i prefer something with at least a wee bit of flavor these days. 

i vow to start my day with a glass of water every morning

thats a start right?

plus i just discovered perrier!

my favorite is the pink grapefruit 

although its not pure water its water!... right???

3. alcohol - yes, i admit it... i have been consuming more than my share of this in the past handful of years. we wont get into the reasons for now, lets just take it as fact.

 like soda, i see an instant affect for positive when i dont consume it vs a negative one when i do. and just like soda i have been making a conscientious effort to cut it out of my daily habits. yes, i said daily, scary i know but im trying to be truthful here :)

i vow to only drink at appropriate times & in appropriate volumes 

food 

ok, so im not quite sure yet what exactly my whole food program is going to be but i am setting a goal for myself to get a realistic plan in place within 7 days.

in the meantime, i am going to start replacing sugary snacks with healthy ones

ie... adding fresh fruits & veggies to my daily intake

im a smart girl & i am going to start making smarter choices

i remember seeing a demonstration that Dr Oz (yes i said Dr Oz again) did on one of his shows showing how much more statisfying good foods are to our bodys than processed crappy foods.  

(im trying to locate a video of this to share)

this visually had a huge impact on me 

it made sense 

(& it dawned on me that this could solve the problem of my daughter saying "im hungry" every 5 minutes! she isnt the healthiest eater)

i vow to eat more colorful fresh foods

on my way
these are just the beginning steps to what changes i choose to make in my life.
along with my food plan, i am going to set up a realistic workout schedule.
one that is doable regardless of if the girls are with me or not.

this train is pulling out of the station & will be full steam ahead in 7 days
with a full workout & food schedule!

i will be posting it on here
along with a daily report

... a truthful account of what my day looked like
remember i said the good the bad and the ugly!

confessional...

ok so heres the scoop...

i have an ongoing battle with depression 

or a love affair between my ass & the couch

depending on whether we're going for glass half full or half empty ;)

anyway... as a lovely result of said battle/love affair (again half full/empty)

i have had the pleasure of providing shelter 

for an extra 20(ish) pounds over the last year and a half

i know... im such a generous person right!?!

well, as we all realize at some point or another in our lives, there comes a time when we have to start putting ourselves first

this time is NOW for me!

i need to do it:

to be happy

to feel healthy

to be more productive

to be a good example

to be a person person

& to be a better mama!

not only do i need to be healthy & happy 

i want my girls to grow up healthy & happy 

im realizing that these two things go hand in hand

i really believe that if we make healthy choices physically & mentally 

that we will in turn be happy!

so this blog is going to be my own personal journal

the good 

the bad 

& the ugly

of my daily experiences while trying to 

say goodbye to these extra pounds

& find a natural healthy/happy place inside of me!

*** peanut gallery comments are always welcome 

but please remember that this is a very personal & scary challenge to me  

i look forward to sharing my experiences, as well as, any input or suggestions you may like to share!