The first picture was after having Henry and I felt like the automatic weight loss had stopped.

I think these pictures are about 3 months apart.

Before/Current

Here is a current picture.

(and thats NOT sucking in. I hate not sucking in)

blah.

My goals are to slim my stomach, lift my butt and slim my little back rolls.

My current goal date is Christmas. Cross your fingers.

Cardio and strength training having been going great. I still haven't weighed myself, Maybe this weekend.

I am also training for a couple races. The first is just a 5K but eventually I wanna do a half marathon, probably next year.

there ya go. There is how it is goin.

progress

I've not tested the scale yet, and won't for like a month, but I am confident I am losing weight.

to me, my face seems like its losing some fat, and I know my stomach is getting flatter.

This is is how I have to take my progress pictures now...

lol cute little guy.

I only wanted to get my face cause right now thats where I am seeing the progress.

maybe in a month I will do a full body.

I know you are just super excited.

ugh

Typically I don't do this, cause its so embarrassing, but this time I think I need it.

We went camping this last week, and there were SO many GORGEOUS places I wanted to take family pictures at, they were just so pretty.

So we set off on a family walk, with my camera and tripod to get some family pics.

we only got like 6 before I got so depressed about what I was seeing that we just stopped. I was done with it.

for the rest of the day I was so upset that I had such a great chance to get great pictures of my family, and all I could see was fat.

So I am posting one of the pics, in hopes that it will motivate me, so next year on the camping trip we can go back to this spot, and take a beautiful family picture.

August 2011

eekers.

I know I said I wouldn't weigh myself for a month,

but.....

I am down 5 lbs from a week ago. :D

I forgot how much fun losing weight can be sometimes.

That was with only 1 gym visit, also. Most of it was just correcting my eating habits.

At it again!!

In two weeks the serious regular working out begins.

I haven't been to the gym regularly, hardly at all, cause its really hard to work things out with Henry. My mom will watch him, but I have to drive him out to layton, then drive to the gym in bountiful, then go back to layton and get him, drive home to woods cross, its like a 3 hour commitment to go to the gym that way.

so in two weeks Henry is old enough for the daycare at the gym. :)

my goal is to lose at least 3 lbs a week and no more than 5 lbs.

I am just gonna start with that goal so I don't set myself up for failure, but my end goal right now to is to be down to my old size by Christmas, so I can get a bunch of new clothes for Christmas.

thats 26 weeks away, which gives me a little cushion since thats an average of 2 lbs a week.

alright, enough talk, lets get to it.

Befores

Well, usually I don't like to post befores, until I have awesome Afters to post with them, but I am not ashamed of my befores this time. I had a baby, my body created life, its entitled to look a little imperfect.

Alrighty, from the side:

Because I am 5'10 my stomach is having a much easier time going back in than most women have, I am grateful for my height finally!

lol k, this is the best frontal picture Jason could get because I was in pain from standing even for 5 minutes and I had to hunch over, so bare with me on the front picture:

Things I want to work on here, my sides I would like to be tighter, and my thighs to be slimmer.

So there ya go!

Here we go again!

Here we go!!! this should be fun.

Well here are the details.

around Aprilish 2010 I weighed in around 155-160 lbs fluctuating, but during the "trying" process I had to stop exercising and got up to 170.

Got prego

Got up to, get ready, its disgusting, 240 lbs. uggggh.

Thats a 70 lbs disgusting weight

So Thursday April 7, I weighed 240 lbs and looked like this:

On April 14, I weighed in at 228 lbs and looked like this :

a lot of weight naturally comes off for a few weeks after pregnancy so this has nothing to do with anything I am doing.

Today I weighed in at 215 lbs so its going down lovely. I am hoping it will get under 200 lbs without me doing anything, because thats where I started my weight loss last time so I know its doable.

I still can't exercise yet, so I haven't really started anything, I just wanted to make sure I got the beginning stats and photos done.

Goals:

Work out 4-5 times a week

calorie intake of 1450

constant water intake

goal weight of 165 lbs, but really its about dress size, back to a size 10(hoping to get down to an 8 though) and shirt size Small and Medium.

Hoping to be 80% done with my goal by end of July, early August.

So if I do get under 200 lbs with natural pregnancy weight loss, it will be a weight loss goal of 45-50 lbs.

post pregnancy plan.

I, lately, have become really excited by how fat I am. lol. I am excited because the before and after pics are going to be fantastic. I weigh more than I have ever weighed before, my legs are bigger than they ever have been before, and I am excited to show people that IT IS possible to get back to your smaller self after kids.

So heres the details.

my goal is to be back to normal no later than 6 months after birth, but really within 4 months.

depending on how labor goes, the exercise will start very soon after birth. no 6 week waiting for me.

my eating will immediately go back to normal, and if the breastmilk goes away, oh well.

from day one being home, there will be SOME type of physical activity, going on a walk, bike ride, pilates, something light.

I will weigh myself on my first day home, to get my starting weight, and then I will not weigh myself for a month. Thats something I recommend for everyone starting to lose weight BTW, it takes a little bit of time to jump start weight loss, so constantly weighing yourself is setting yourself up for disappointment.

So there ya go. I have 2-4 more weeks left until baby comes, wish me luck!

Nutrtition

Lets talk nutrition, because that by far is the area most people fail.

Now, there are 2 different types of nutrition based on what your goal is.

First kind, if are you a semi healthy person, you dont need to lose weight you just wanna be healthier, that is a very in depth complex lesson in nutrtion, so that will come later.

the second kind, the kind most people want, is if you wanna lose 10, 20, 30+ lbs, nutrtion is VERY simple.

Its ALL about calories. Well almost all, its mostly about calories though.

Think of your body as a calorie bank account. A debit account.

You have 1500 calories(estimate) to spend.

So if you only have 1500, don't go "spending" 2500 by eating at mcdonalds.

The other part is there are technically good and bad calories, and as long as your deficit is there, it technically doesnt matter, but its better to be aware of bad calories.

Imagine bad calories as a canadian quarter. You've taken it cause you were desperate or didnt notice someone was giving it to you, and now your body has it, but feels silly throwing it away, cause maybe it can be used one day, so it STORES it. ya know, on a bowl on the dresser you will never look in.

These bad calories are:

White carbs- Don't get confused, we aren't talking about carbs all together and Atkins is an idiot, but WHITE carbs are mostly useless and bad. The biggest enemies is this area are white bread and white pasta. Its soooo easy to fix, just get wheat bread, and wheat pasta. bam. Now you aren't storing calories and your body can actually USE them.

Trans and Saturated Fats- There are some fats that are good for you, these are not. Food companies chemically engineer flavor, to make you WANT their food, and worse, crave it. Basically the trans and saturated fats are those flavors. They are fake, manufactured and not meant for your body, so you body has no idea what to do with it. So to the bowl on the dresser(your hips) it goes.

Hydrogenated oil- This is one you hear a lot about on Biggest Loser and other weight loss shows, and its kind of in the same category as above, but a little different. Its an oil that they use to preserve foods, so the shelf life is longer, and its the cheapest way to do it. But, your body doesn't recognize it. The best way to explain to you, Hydrogenated oils=poison. It destroys your liver, making it so your liver can't process the REAL stuff very well. It builds around it.

A good rule of thumb for what you should it is:

"If you can't pluck it, grow it, shoot it, feed it, pick it, don't eat it."

The key word you want is FRESH. Your body doesn't want things that are stored on shelves for years, it wants fresh fruit, fresh meat, fresh veggies, basically all things natural. You don't have to go organic, although its certainly beneficial, but just go fresh. Get away from CANNED foods, THEY ARE TERRIBLE, get away from boxed food, frozen foods etc. Yes, it means you need to go grocery shopping once a week, get over it.

The most common enemy is this nutrition world that people don't think, Peanut butter. People think its great for you, and yes it does have a lot of protein, but its very high in calorie, which is fine as long as you've budgeted for it, but its high in trans and sat fat, hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup. Basically everything horrible for you, is in that jar. So, for peanut butter, you NEED to buy organic. Sorry. its the only way around it. Try "white chocolate wonderful" its an organic peanut butter that is soooo delicious.

Anyway, I don't know where this post came from, but there it is. :)

Private

I am going private on this blog.

Just cause.

So send me your email, EVEN if your a blogstalker and you're embarrassed lol.

It will probably happen tomorrow.

sshhh...

Can I tell you a secret?

I have NO memory of losing weight. none. zero. zip. All I remember is nightly trips to the gym, and eggo waffles in the morning.

Seriously.

I don't know why, I have no idea why I would block that out, but people ask me what I did, how I did it, yada yada, and I know it was eating right and working out, but I don't remember that period in my life.

I think thats a huge reason why I am so scared to have to lose weight again, because although I know I did it, I don't remember exactly how.

So when I started to write on this blog again, I read all my previous entries and it helped, A LOT. Its starting to come back to me a little, so I am starting to be more confident that I will do it.

But let me give you this piece of advice. WRITE IT ALL DOWN. Maybe its just me, but maybe its not, weight loss is all a blur, and if you have to do it all again for whatever reason, it helps so much to have a journal of that time in your life.

so blog

journal

take notes

Do something so that when you need to do it again, and everyone has ups and downs, you will remember how you did it, literally and even mentally.

losing weight while pregnant

Yes, you read that right. I am going to lose weight while pregnant.

Before you judge me or give me all your "the internet says this" advice, I asked my Dr. if it was ok, and he said of course. The only reason they don't recommend women dont try to lose weight while pregnant is because most women don't know how to do it healthy. No crash diets, no pills, no injections, etc. Just lower calories and exercise. There is nothing wrong with it.

My Dr. isn't worried about my weight at all, he says I can still gain about 10 more lbs and he wouldn't care, but I do. I don't want the number on the scale to increase, at all. I think I have at least 20 lbs of fat I can lose to make that happen.

And before you say I shouldn't worry about it, enjoy being pregnant blah blah blah, I feel like thats exactly the mentality that gets women in trouble. Because then after the baby comes they say oh I just had a baby its ok, and before you know it 2 years later they are still saying they need to lose their "baby weight."

I don't think there is anything wrong with worrying about it now, as opposed to later when there is no excuse.

PLUS, eating healthy and working out, makes me FEEL better about the weight, I am happier on those days, more energized, and more accepting of my belly.

The other reason for this is I want to motivate women to not let pregnancy ruin their image, by it "ruining" their body. You don't have to settle for a post pregnancy body thats all rolly stretched out and plump. Your body has memory and with hard work and discipline it will want to go back to the way it was, with maybe a 10% difference.

I love health and fitness, and I know its hard, I know its tough, I know its a daily struggle, and I want to help people through it, but I also need to help myself, and there is NO REASON that the journey doesn't start with today, in a healthy way.

AND, don't think that I am this depressed person that sits around all day thinking how fat I am, I don't. PROMISE.

So, the goal.

30-45 mins of cardio 5x a week

no more than 1800 calories a day(when I was not pregnant I ate 1350 so I added 500 for the baby, and for the regularity fact)

only weigh myself once a week

not gain anymore weight, and maybe lose 10 lbs.

eat 5-6 times a day

SO HERE I GO!!!

*** I refuse to tell you my weight and how much I've gained until after the baby comes and its no longer embarrassing. :D***

***But I will be taking a before picture, the day I get home from the hospital., and I will show you and tell you the ugly truth. promise.***

so depressing.

My goals, dreams....

After I have Henry, within 3 months I want to have these things back....

This waist...

This stomach....

This face...

This bust...

and these arms...and butt...

Its true what they say, you never realize how good you look til you don't look like that anymore. I can remember what I thought when each of these pictures were taken, and although I felt good and loved the way I look, I still remember finding flaws. I can't see those in these pictures anymore, and all I want is to look like that again.

Sigh, one day.

While searching for pictures for this post I found this one...

See how that jacket fits me? Lose everywhere, arms, waist etc. I loved it. It now fits me like this....

Its not lose, anywhere. :(

getting fat again.

Wow it has been quite some time since I blogged here.

and a lot has happened.

First of as I am sure all 3 of you know, I am pregnant. :)

second, as I am also sure all 3 of you know, I dislike being pregnant. :(

With my weight struggle history, getting fat, even in the name of pregnancy, is depressing. I really don't know how to handle it. It is getting sooo frustrating. Even as I sit here and look at my belly, I am disgusted.

and believe me, I KNOW its because there is a baby in there blah blah blah, but it doesn't change the fact that I hate looking fat, it reminds me of how I felt in high school, and my young adult life.

I hate how my clothes fit, or rather don't fit.

Seriously, all I want, is for this baby to come out, so I can go to the gym.

I can't even really work out while I am pregnant, because I injured my hip in a car accident, and I have a herniated disc.

The only thing that is bringing me comfort, is that I do feel this way, because then I know that when Henry does come, I will go to the gym, and I will get the weight off, again.

*and of course, I love my baby and will willingly go through this for him, but that doesn't make it easy.

Shut up and do it.

I can tell you as a Personal Trainer the most annoying thing is for people to think they know more than you, or that what they are doing is better.

Let me give you 1, maybe 2 pieces of solid have-a-personal-trainer advice.

If you ask a personal trainer for advice, don't give them your advice.

2. If you ask for advice and they give you advice, either do it all or shut up.

I can't tell you how many times I have talked to people, given them exercise and nutrition advice, check back with them later or they come to me saying its not working, and I say,"Have you done what I told you?" and they say,"I work out all the time just like you said to." and the nutrition?," Oh well, its too hard to do that, I dont cook, etc take out is easier, can't I just work out more?"

No. Go away. Get out of my face. Go be fat.

Harsh? Maybe. But if there was another way you could do it, i.e. just working out more, dont you think I would have told you?

Idiots.

Before and After's, again.

I was looking for another picture, when I came across this old picture and was this close to barfing.

On the other hand I had to laugh and be depressed that my hair style hasn't changed! What is wrong with me?!

Soon...

A lot of you, and others I know, are considering fad diets.

fad diets have always been around, and they will always be around.

but they are quick short term fixes.

Sometime soon, I am going to do a post all about each popular fad diet, or work out fad, and explain to you how they work, and why they don't work.

So stay tuned!

Also let me know if you have any particular questions about any one diet or anything else and I will make sure and answer it.

:)

advice

It has been a while since I have written some good hearty advice here, so here it goes.

I have learned a lot in the last little while about fitness. Allow me to share. :)

After reaching my weight loss goal, I changed my lifestyle to a maintaining lifestyle i.e. eating more calories and less working out. Its funny how easy you can think certain things are ok, like eating too much and not working it off. Weight fluctuates constantly, normally between 2-4 lbs. My weight started fluctuating, which I knew was normal, but then it got above 5 lbs, then above 8 lbs and then I was like holy crap this is ridiculous. What I really found amazing though, that as soon as I realized I had gained 8 lbs, I knew exactly how to take it off, and I took it off. Once you know how to do it, you can do it. I don't want to say it was easy, but it was. Its like learning anything new, while you are learning it, its hard, tough, frustrating. But once you know how to do it, its like riding a bike. I instantly changed my eating, and worked out more. 3 weeks later, 8 lbs gone. You can do it too. Once you have the knowledge, you can do it.

next topic, excessive eating. We all know how hard it is to keep your calories under control when you go out to eat, its a holiday or a family party. Its almost impossible. and thats fine. But you need to know what to do to make sure that does mean gaining weight. First, know when you are going to eat more. If you have a family party that night, eat less calories during the day. Second, chances are if there is junk food, you are going to go over your calorie intake anyway, work it off. I recently over heard someone talking about how much they ate over memorial day weekend, but they were planning on working it off this weekend. I laughed hysterically in my head. YOU CAN'T DO THAT! When you eat over your calorie intake, you only have about 36 hours before those calories are converted into fat, which means, you need to burn those calories within 36 hours. NOT this weekend. It is MUCH MUCH hard to burn fat, then to burn excess calories from that day.

You can't cheat on weight loss. You can't figure out a way around hard work. You can't say you did 30 minutes of cardio, when you only did 28:42. Your body knows the truth, and you won't get results, so stop trying to cut corners.

I promise its worth it.

I forgot to update this blog with my recent news.

I am officially a certified Personal Trainer.

:)

more after.. :)

Before and After

Some people don't believe me when I tell them I used to weigh 208 pounds.

its somewhat shocking, I know.

So I scanned a picture from my high school graduation.

Bear with me, it is a scan after all.

See the fatness?

I am tellin ya, it was bad.

Chubby round face and all.

This is me now. :)

I think I did a pretty good job. :)

I really can't get any skinnier without looking unhealthy, which is not hot.

My collar bone already pokes out and so do my hips bones so really there isn't much left I can do.

and I am really am ok with that. Over time hopefully I will lose about 10 more lbs in my legs, but that will take a while to achieve since that is spot weight loss, its a lot harder.

But anyway, there is a true before picture. :)

brutal truth

Well I figure I should update this thing.

have lost 53 lbs.

Still.

Its been well over a year since I lost the first 30, and then dropped 23 more.

So, to all those people who say people lose weight and then gain it back, you are wrong.

Its true that if you do some fad diet, pill, shot etc, that you will gain it all back unless you intend to live your entire life like that.

Which you won't.

But if you lose weight the right way, the ONLY right way, it will stay off.

I pinky promise.

I love my new body, most days. lol.

I am still a girl, and we have those days where we think nothing looks good, you will always have those I learned. Its ok :)

There are many different variables to losing weight.

sooo many.

BUT the biggest and most import thing/concept is to burn more calories then you consume.

Period.

end of story.

I once read something when someone was talking about Nutrisystem and other diet programs where you buy their food. Someone asked what the key behind those programs were and they said," Nurtrisystem is a 1300 calorie diet. Nothing else to see there."

It is true. Those programs are just based on calories, there is no special drug in their food, no secret vitamin that you can only get from them.

They simply give you meals that will total 1300 calories.

You can freaking do that yourself for cheaper and yummier.

Their food is frozen, processed, not fresh and really fake tasting. I know you know that.

So its simple.

If you burn 1500 cals a day, but eat 2300 cals a day, you will gain weight. Get over it.

I am not going to sit here and pity you or say sorry to you, cause its your own fault. You made yourself fat, so make yourself unfat.

I did.

I made myself fat, years and years of making myself fat.

and I made myself unfat. With no pity, no sorrys from people. With hard work, education and motivation.

So what do you do?

You count your freaking calories.

You have a bank account right? You make withdraws, you add to it and you make purchases.

Do you keep track of it?

Well, if you are smart you do.

If you only have a 100$ to spend, are you going to go and spend 150$?

I hope not.

Calories are the same way while losing weight. You have a set amount each day you can eat based on your burn, and you keep track of it.

BE A FREAKING ADULT.

There is no easy way to lose weight.

There is no pill

no injection

no video game

no frozen food meal

no device

that will make you lose weight healthy, and for good.

For those of you who are worried about what your body will look like after losing weight, as in saggy skin etc, Do it the right way and it will look great.

If you lose weight too fast, like the people on Biggest Loser, you will get saggy skin and it will look gross.

sorry.

but if you lose it the right way, slowly, about 3 lbs a week, the elasticity in your skin has time to retract and make your skin tight.

I promise. :)

sigh.

Sorry if this post seems harsh, I am just so tired of hearing people trying and talking about things to lose way the "Easy way"

There is no such thing.

:)

update

Here are some update pictures.

They aren't my typical "after" pictures because I am too the the point that I like taking fun sassy pictures.

The legs.

front.

Back.

Alright these next photos are a first for my blog.

Swim suit photos.

Swim suit season is coming up and I needed a little motivation to tone up my stomach a little more.

This is my tummy. I have slacked off a little on the ab area so today I am going to the gym to correct my slacking.

I am a little nervous about losing more weight because my hip bones are starting to poke out really bad and I don't like it, thats too skinny.

So with that, I am officially no longer trying to lose weight.

I think I am as small as my body frame will allow without looking gross.

So from here on out its muscle toning and maintenance cardio.

for the record, again.

I would like to state for the record, again, that I have not gained any weight during my exercise absence OR and thats a big OR, during the Christmas season.

Did I shun myself from the delicious treats that encompass this season?

No.

I ate lots and lots of it.

but I did it smartly, and balanced.

So now here I am, weighing the exact same today, as I did on Halloween.

actually I lied, I lost 1 lbs.

:-)

157!

finally!

I have often tried to type my story out and do a play by play for all to see and read.

It usually does not work.

But I found this http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/category/my-weight-loss-story.

Oh my goodness.

This post says everything I have been trying to tell people and just can't really drive it home to them.

Any time someone asks how I lost weight, and I say eating healthy and exercise, they always look at me with disappointment. Like I was about to tell them some secret that no one else can know. Like eating healthy and exercising won't work.

Jerks.

It works.

and its the only thing that works.

Even people who have surgery, AFTER they have it, they have to eat healthy, and exercise.

There is no way around it.

I repeat, no way around it.

please read her blog, her story and learn.

:-)

finished reading.

:-)

I am on chapter 15...

3 more chapters....and they are WAY easy chapters.

so close.

so

so

so

so

close.

update.

I am on chapter 13, out of 18.

Almost there!

BTW I would just it to be put on the record that I have not gained a single pound during my exercise absence.

so for everyone out there that thinks when you lose a bunch of weight and then stop working out, you gain it all back, I laugh in your face!

hmmmm

My personal work out goals have been put on hold.

for good reason.

I am studying to become a certified Personal Trainer!

so with that said, I have absolutely zero time to work out.

I need to study.

I have read 4 out of 18 long chapters, and I have read them 3 times.

I seriously have already learned so much, and so much stuff I already knew, makes much more sense now.

like why you want your heart rate up.

and so much more.

I shall try and keep you updated.

update.

I noticed since losing almost 40 lbs that I am weaker than I used to be.

I feel like I am not getting enough nutrients to support my active lifestyle.

so after consulting my physician, I decided to start taking vitamins.

not a weight loss pill.

vitamins, to support weight loss, ie getting the nutrients I need to give me energy.

I decided on One a day weight smart vitamins.

I will let you know how it goes, so far so good.

lots more engergy!

On a side note, today I had a Wendy's chocolate frosty equipped with fries for dinner.

and I don't feel guilty.

It was so good.

help

HELP!!!

ugh.

I have been sick since saturday, and I have not had any sort of appetite.

its horrid.

really.

the other day I got a small arbys sandwich and could not finish it for the life of me, I felt so full.

I dont think I am too sick any more so why cant I eat?!

I need to eat!!!!

Wanna see?

People ask me what I am eating to help me lose weight.

Let me tell you the answer.

Healthy stuff, and unhealthy stuff in mode

ration.

:-)

Calories in a day no more then 1300. (its tricky, but not hard.)

Let me SHOW you what I eat in a day.

Yoplait yogurt is something I have for snacks, after work or when I am craving food.

This is something I might have for breakfast. 2 blueberry Eggo waffles, and a carnation instant breakfast pouch in a glass of soy milk.

Squash! I LOVE squash. But this is where unhealthy in moderation comes in, because I put butter and salt on my squash.

PIZZA!!! also unhealthy in moderation. Also a glass of Soy milk. only of a few portions of pizza are unhealthy, most cheeses and the pepperonis. the grease from pizza comes from the pepperoni and cheese. I make the crust with 2 Rhodes roll doughs(from sams club), pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni. this pizza that I make this way, is 465 calories. If I have been good all day long, this is my dinner as a treat. :-) to make it more healthy, substitute pepperonis for mushrooms, olives or other healthier things that go on pizza.

Apples and peanut butter. Its actually a high calorie snack, the apple is maybe 40 cals, but the peanut butter is 180 cals for 2 tbsp. I usually have this after my workout because of the protein in the peanut butter.

This is what is in my pantry!!! In the bottom left is a huge box of top ramen, which I eat for lunch some days- 190 cals.

Lunch is probably the meal I skip most often, or dont eat much for because I work from 10-1 so I am never home.

I make sure to have a yummy, biggish dinner because at night is when I get bored and start to munch on stuff.

Figure out what time of day you munch or binge the most, and then start to make sure the meal you eat right before that, is a good yummy full meal. it will help the munching. :-)

p.s. The soy milk is not necessarily more healthy then regular milk, I just like the fact that it has Soy Protein in it because it helps me so much in losing weight. Soy milk does have less calories, but obviously doesn't much like milk. You decide whats best for you!

new activity

Today my husband and I started playing Racquetball together.

:-)

Jason doesn't have any interest in going to the gym with me, so playing racquetball and tennis is good enough for now.

I have to say I never realized how active this two sports were. there is a ton of short burst running around, which sorta like circuit cardio.

Of course Jason, having been a tennis player in high school, beat me. But it was still lots of fun!

we bought the rackets off craigslist for 7$ each so its a rather cheap activity for us since our apartment supplies the court. :-)

I highly recommend this activity for couples who have it available to them, its a fun sport, with lots of laughs!

Here are some interesting fitness facts of racquetball.

The average number of calories burned during racquetball play ranges from moderate at 640/hour [Prevention, 1995] to 794/hour [Men's Health, 1995] -- to a high level at 13.7 per minute (or 822/hour) [Sports Training Institute].

An average game will take 20 minutes, during which a player will run a distance of approximately 3,650 feet -- or over two miles in one hour of play. [U.S. Olympic Training Center]

Racquetball players work at a constant rate of 75 to 85% of their maximum heart rate for the duration of a typical racquetball game.
[USRA Elite Training Camp, 1992]

Racquetball offers both aerobic and anaerobic benefits (I did not add that in, proof of aerobic and anaerobic!) , with both sustained high level heart rate activity and quick bursts of energy required during play.

Racquetball works nearly every muscle group, including sustained, repetitive use of large muscles that increase calorie burn and reduce fat percentage.

now go play!!

Give me a minute and let me talk to you about calorie counting.

as annoying as it is to count calories, it really is one of the best ways to monitor what you are eating, and burning.

I know its obnoxious, and sometimes I have no idea how many calories are in something, like Squash or other things without a label.

There is a great website to help you.

www.thedailyplate.com

Set up a FREE profile, your height age weight yada yada. It has a calorie tracker, you type in any food you want, and you can be specific, it finds it, has a little button that says" I ate this" you click that button, and it adds it to your tracker for the day, it adds the calories, fat, protein, everything! another cool thing, well here is an example. I had some of a coke today, but not the whole thing, I typed in coca cola, and you can put in how much of it you had, so I entered .25 of a serving size. I also had albertsons brand cookies, 4, so I put in 4.0 servings. it does the calories based on how many servings you had. its so awesome.

also, it has a calories burned tracker, type in what exercises you did that day, again you can be very specific, it finds it, according to your weight and height it knows how many calories you burned, it adds that to your tracker with how many calories you burned, and evens out your caloric intake for the day. (it even has sex as an activity lol. 79 calories burned in a hour!)

give it a try, its totally free and way easy. very user friendly!

why aren't you losing weight?

Let me try and explain something.

for you.

and your understanding.

I have always told my readers and everyone else that asks, that the key to weight loss is cardio, but slow cardio. keeping your heart rate no higher then 145 which usually means a really fast walk, or a very slow jog.

It has come to my attention that some may not believe me, or may think that running faster will burn the fat faster.

PLEASE believe me.

this is NOT true.

there are two types of cardio. Aerobic and Anaerobic. look it up if you want.

Aerobic is the lighter of the two, walking, jogging etc. Aerobic is " in the presence of oxygen." when you do Aerobics your body recognizes the activity and begins to burn fat because it CAN because it is getting enough oxygen.

Anaerobic is "in the absence of air." running fast, tennis, things that get your heart rate going really fast are considered anaerobic. When this happens, your body is working so hard, breathing becomes scarce, rapid and short. When that happens, your body CAN'T focus on burning fat because it is so focused on the physical activity and needs of what your body is currently doing.

some might ask why then are track stars and runners so thin and lean.

good question.

Anaerobic cardio is NOT pointless. Quite the opposite, its great. You just have to realize what the outcome of it will be. Aerobic cardio burns fat, Anaerobic cardio builds muscle. Muscle is needed to burn fat, the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. So they actually compliment each other.

To get a good balance of both, intervals are recommended. see HERE.

Your cardio needs to be balanced. You shouldn't do all of one type and none of the other. You won't see results and you will become discouraged.

Those who decide to run for 45 mins everyday, and who don't lose weight get frustrated and want to know why they aren't seeing results. The truth is that results are happening you just cant see them. Your muscles are being toned, leaned and worked on UNDERNEATH THE FAT. Realize that fat is always on top of muscle, and since fat is not being burned, you won't ever see them.

Those who decide to just do walking for 30 mins every day will burn fat, get smaller and lose weight. But sometimes they still aren't happy with how they look, because they want to be tone and lean. Since their cardio was just fat burning, they didn't work on their muscles and so yes, they did get smaller, but just a smaller version of their flabby self.

Make sense?

This is something I learned a long time ago, but while studying for my fitness trainer exam I learned how to explain it. :-)

recently

I have been doing well!

I am down to 161 lbs for a total weight loss of 36 lbs.

so far.

for biggest loser folks that is 19% weight loss.

Can't complain. :-)

I went camping for the last week with Jason's family so that made it a lot easier to lose more weight which was great cause I needed another jump start.

losing this much weight has been so great! my favorite store is now american eagle and I love the fact that I fit into all the stores at the mall. Its seriously been so great for my happiness and self esteem, but I am also terrified. I am so scared to gain it back, especially after I have kids. Its sad because there is a tiny part of me that cant enjoy the weight loss because it doesnt think it will last. oh well, I know how to lose it, and I know how to keep it off so I shouldn't worry so much about it.

now a question for you folks.

Silk SoyMilk.

opinions?

I have heard really good things about it, and it has 7 grams of soy protien which I know has worked really well for me in the past, so I am considering switching to this milk.

Its double the price of regular milk so I want to make sure its worth it.

What do you think?

Okay. It is time for some updated pictures.

This morning in my chunky self feeling I decided taking some updated pictures might be a good way to bring myself out of my funk.

It helped. a little lol.

Ignore the hair, I just woke up.
Also, the shirt is the tightest I have, and it still isnt as tight as after pictures need, so the picture of my bum, doesnt really show my figure that well.

Here is me in my ''before" pants. I feel like this picture always looks the same...

Here is my bum. lol actually I took this picture so I could get an idea of what the back of my legs look like. When I put my feet together, I have a space in between my legs!!! yay!!

Side view of course.

Let me explain this picture. It may not look like a ton of difference in how those pants fit, BUT those pants are pants I bought after losing 25 lbs, they are a size 12, and fit like that.

Well there ya have it, there is my update, with pictures for your viewing pleasure.

yep, tomorrow.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow, you're only a day away.

Tomorrow.

That is such a procrastinators word, but for tonight it will have to do. Tomorrow I will be more serious about my weight loss.

Tomorrow.

I promise. Cardio and pilates every day.

Starting tomorrow.

P.S. after writing tomorrow that many time it no longer looks like a normal word.

I must blog

K so I am working on a project for my bestest friend who is trying to lose pregnancy weight, and since I want that to be my main focus when I get certified, I am testing it now. I have done tons of research and I can tell you one thing for sure, the absolute best most effective and fastest way to lose weight, is cardio.

now, let me tell you you somethings I have learned about doing cardio and being most effective. I know it sounds dumb, and I know you may not believe me, but stop using machines!!! I understand in the winter obviously there almost isnt a choice unles you wanna go run around inside the church gym(which is totally an option) but when it is summer and nice outside, I promise you will see more results if you do the work on your own, as apposed to using a machine.

Let me tell you the history behind machines. they started with the strength training machines, and the reason why they made them in the first place, was to make sure people were doing the exercises correctly, in good form. Which is great, cardio machines however, are not. I don't care what machine you use, I promise it does half the work for you. Elipticals, you already know my feelings on those, treadmills, your foot hits the belt and the belt pulls you through — it’s mainly a quad exercise. the only way a treadmill will be as good as regular running, is if you turn it off and push the belt yourself. Basically with a treadmill you are lifting your legs up and down, but now pushing your body forward because the belt moves on its own. make sense? Now please don't get me wrong, I am not saying that using a cardio machine is totally useless, I am telling that its not the most EFFECTIVE way to use your time. let me put it this way, 45 mins on the treadmill can be done in 25 mins outside.

A variance I am having with doing this for my friend, is she hates running/walking. Which, a lot of people do, which is why they don't do it. That is fine, there are so many other forms of carido out there, swimming, kickboxing and others. My other thing with her is she has a baby, so yes, she could go somewhere and work out, either leaving her baby with a sitter or what else, but lets face it, when you are trying to motivate yourself to simply workout, thats hard enough, but when you have to make arrangements for a baby and then load her up, makes motivation that much harder. So I have found some cardio activities she can actually do right from her living room, or even in her back yard. I am not sure if she will like them, its an interval training regement, and its intense. The key is, the more intense your work out, the faster you lose weight. Intervals are hard, and sometimes painful, but so wonderful after. If you would like to do these, here is a short video to show you HOW to do all the exercises, not for how long but so you can get a visual.

Start with a three to five minute warm-up then go right into your first interval: 30 seconds of brisk walking (or jogging). At the end of 30 seconds, you should be winded and ready to slow down. This will be your active recovery period, slowing your walking down for the next 2 minutes. Then repeat by increasing the intensity of your speed for 30 seconds.

3-5 minute warm up
30-60 sec. “high”
30-90 sec “low”
Repeat this pattern for 4 to 8 complete Intervals (a total of 10 to 15 minutes) and finish with a cool down.

So I would suggest picking 3 or 4 different exercises in the video and switching off in your intervals which one you do. I would suggest doing jumping jacks or regular jump rope for your "low" intensity portion of your intervals. So remember, 30-60 sec. “high” and then 30-90 sec “low” is ONE INTERVAL, or a SET if you will. If you do 60 sec and 90, 8 times, you will have done cardio for 27 mins including 5 mins warm up and 2 min cool down.

today

back to it!

I admit, I have slacked off. To the point that I just haven't been doing anything at all.

I started drinking soda again :-(

Starting over. right now.

I didn't gain any weight, which is good. I can tell the difference in my body's health though when I eat well and exercise compared to when I don't.

Weight loss takes a long time if you are doing it the right, healthy way. Your bound to mess up, or give up a couple times. The good thing is, when you give up and go back to your old ways, its not too long before you realize why you wanted to lose weight and be healthy in the first place.

So today I have done well, had my Kashi cereal, lots of water, a nice banana. Doing well. Exercising seems to be the hard part. The weather is nice and there is no reason I shouldn't be doing my cardio. So my goal is to do cardio 4 times a week and strength training 3 times a week.

I am so close to my goal I can taste it!

weekly workout

Inner thighs ladies. Inner things are an area that in exercise that seems to get overlooked, the reason is that men do not have issues with their inner thighs so its not as common of an exercise. The fact is that almost every woman wants to work on her inner thighs.

There are tons of thigh workouts out there, but be careful to not be fooled on what it for your inner thighs and what is for your OUTER thighs. Here are two exercises you can do at home.

This picture I used for the bottom exercise. It is absolutely my favorite exercise for inner thighs. When I lift my bottom leg, I lift it 3 times, so I go up, then a little higher, then a little higher. I do it 20 times.

This one is great. With the ball it is recommened that you go up and down along with the wall, but if you don't have a ball at home, just do it against the wall and hold the position as long as you can.

I hope this helps ya'll. Good Luck with swimsuit season everyone!!!

IT happened.

:-(

IT happened.

I knew IT would come.

I don't like IT, not one little tiny bit.

I want IT to stop and just go away.

Ladies, I am talking about, my boobs. YES. my boobs.

When women lose weight, USUALLY the first place they lose it, is in their boobs. This can explain why at the beggining of weight loss, you may lose a little bit of weight, but your pants are still as tight as ever! Because it is most common for it to come from your boobs first.

For me however, I have been extremely fortunate. I am on Yasmin birth control, which for most women, takes them up a cup size. For me, since I was starting to lose weight, it kept my boobs right where they were, a full plump C. I lost 33 lbs and not a single one came from my beloved chest.

Until now.

I noticed last night, they just weren't the same. They have lost some of their plumpness. Also, my bra is a bit bigger on me than it used to be. Now, I am on my period also, so I don't know it that has anything to do with IT, but I don't like IT. luckily I only have 19 more lbs to go and I hope it comes from my legs, not my chest.

Cross your fingers, pretty please?

When this happens, there isn't really a whole lot you can do. Fat is fat, and your boobs are made of fat tissue. When you do cardio, which is the only way to burn fat, IT just starts burning fat, you can't control where the fat comes from. You can do chest strength training, which might help a smidge, but not a lot.

So for now, I am on to a smaller me, which includes a smaller rack. Oh well.

tip of the week

I know most of you have told me that your greatest downfall is the snacking. You know that time when you are home and slightly bored so you try to fil the void with a snack, or when you are so super busy that you don't have time to make a good snack so you grab a snickers or what have you. This is not just you, it is truly everyone. Maybe you are just craving sugar, something sweet. Want to know what is a GREAT cure for this?!
OTTERPOPS!!!

Seriously, I know what you are thinking, I am crazy to tell you that a Popsicle is good for you to snack on, let me tell you why. You know as well as I do that when you have that intense sugar craving, only sugar will satisfy it. Well guess what otterpops are made out of? SUGAR! The great thing is they only have 4 grams of sugar, and only 15 calories per otterpop. It is just frozen water and sugar, but its only an ounce, and since it takes longer to eat it, your body thinks your totally snacking on sugar but in reality, its just an ounce of frozen water with a little bit of sugar.

It is like you are tricking your body into thinking that your succumbing to the snack urge, its all about tricks lol. Kidding, sorta.

Go to your local sams club, buy a box of 300 for 5$, freeze em, and any time you feel the urge to snack, grab an otterpop! Sometimes I even have 2!!