whoa!!!!!! Maybe I spoke too soon!!!

Stepped on the scale this morning and what shined up at me?!?! 175.8

I DID LOSE WEIGHT ;-)

ahhhhhhhh, sooooooo wonderful. Just that much closer to the goal.

(I didnt weigh on Monday because I weighed on sunday and it made me sad)

By the way I enjoyed an hour at the gym today :-)

ANDDDDDDDDDD i'm a bit sore in the behind area from brazil BL, so I know its targeting the right spots

Lastly I just want to make you jealous with tonights supper--- bbq ribs, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy and garden salad....mmmmmmmm YUMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a wonder "Hump" day tomorrow ;-)

LOVE ~Casey

PS: THanks everyone for your encouragement. Lately my entire family talks each night because we are doing this together. It's so encouraging to do it with people you care about. We all want to be healthy ;-)

No weight loss this week

well i didn't lose any pounds this last week. i thought I had gained but I stepped on the scale and I'm still 177. Maybe I put on some muscle? Who knows but I'm not going to let it get me down. I've got my family doing this with me so we will all stick together. During the good weeks and the bad. I'm going to keep going ;-). At least I have lost 6lbs! I can't wait for the milestone where I see 169 flashing up at me and I can say goodbye to the 70s. Than I will really feel like I'm accomplishing something! Today I worked on lifting my butt. I will probably do that the next two days. Than I'll hit the gym the 3 days following. Maybe next week I'll do some Insanity, or if I get a wild hair I'll do it this week. It's a little hard on the knee's and BBL really targets my booty ;-)

I have a pile of homework to do and that is getting me down :( I can't wait til the day when I don't have homework. I miss just being able to come home and hang out with my family. But just like all the hard work I'm putting into losing weight this too will pay off. All the things I am doing will be worth it in the end. I just have to keep telling myself... I CAN DO THIS ;-)

myfitnesspal.com

today I found another tool to help me reach my goals. The website myfitnesspal.com helps you track your calories and your exercise. I've been keep tracking on paper but now I just punch it in the computer. All the guess work is taken out of trying to figure out how much I am eating and it also tells you how many calories you have burned working out if the machine doesn't tell you. I LOVE IT ;-)

A few of my friends are on there and my sister and mom joined. When you have friends on there it updates you on there progress as well. Therefore it keeps us all accountable and make it encouraging for everyone. Today marked the third week I have worked out 5 days in a row. I'm feeling really good about my progress and how things are going. I'm excited to keep going and to continue to see my results. I really feel like I can do this and I know I get annoying but I really think my friends can do it too. Therefore I bug them A LOT about working out ;-)

ANyway, hope you all are enjoying my journey! Until next time! Casey

CELLULITE

I have cellulite and I hate it. So I decided to do some research on it and here are some interesting facts I found and thought I should share!

Cellulite is created when fat manages to push its way through tiny holes in your connective tissue, the thick web of interwoven fibers just underneath your skin. Strong and healthy connective tissue forms a tighter web of interwoven fibers, preventing fat from pressing its way through. Weak, unhealthy connective tissue, on the other hand, more easily stretches apart, allowing tiny fat pockets to poke through.


WHAT SHAPE ARE YOU?
Genetically speaking, there are two predominant body types. Some people gain fat in their lower bodies, creating the pear shape mentioned earlier. Others tend to gain fat in their abdomens, creating what's known as an apple shape. (My body shape is PEAR)

GOOD NEWS FOR ME
Though you may have come to despise the fat on your hips and thighs, you should know that you have a major advantage over people who tend to gain it elsewhere. Research has shown over and over again that abdominal fat--and not hip and thigh fat--is particularly dangerous to your health. Abdominal fat more easily makes its way into your bloodstream, clogging your arteries. Thigh fat is much less likely to do so.

BAD NEWS FOR ME
Thigh fat is a little harder to burn off than belly fat. Abdominal fat is easy to hide with a big sweater. Thigh fat, on the other hand, is almost impossible to hide. And summer can be a very difficult time for women. Womean with fat thighs don't like wearing shorts and swimsuits because they hate revealing their legs. And your pants tend to hug too tightly in the thighs. (I've noticed that my belly is getting firmer---I have a pudge there too, but it seems to lose faster than the thighs, DAMN those thighs!)

At least I lost like 3 inches out of my thighs. I must be doing something right. ANyway, this week I did BBL to work my legs, hips and butt and today its back to the gym. I miss the gym on my days off from there. I think its good to switch my workouts up but it always feels good to get back to the gym.

However, I havent been to bed yet. I am up working and than I have school tomorrow.I am going to be one tired lady. Cus I am tired now! yikes! may have to buy something caffienated (not POP, tho)
Anyway, til next time! CJN

oh here's a picture from Septemeber of my nasty legs that need work!

PROOF I'VE LET MYSELF GO :(

ABOVE PICTURES ARE BEFORE I GAINED WEIGHT!

LOOK AT ME NOW.
.
.
.
.
I've gained even more weight since this picture!


look at those legs, ugh


Trying to suck the belly in here! bahhhhhhhh


There are worse pictures than these because I've put on 20lbs since these pictures were taken. But Im in not mood to put a real FAT ASS picture up. Anyway, I wonder if I can ever get close to what I was before. Kinda depressing when I look at those pictures cus I really let myself go. I wish I'd have done something BEFORE now. I don't know that I can ever look like that again. But I'm going to try to get close and at least be healthier than I am now.

Measurements are in!

Well today we measured and I've lost inches! However, we did make a mistake on my chest last time. So I don't have an accurate measurement for it.

R Arm - 11 (no loss)
L Arm - 11 1/2 (gain?)
Waist - 31 (2 inches lost!)
Chest - 37 (last time I had written down 25 1/2, so that cannot be correct)
Hips - 41 (3 inches lost!)
R Calf - 17 (no change)
L Calf - 17 (no change)
R thigh - 22 1/2 (3 inches lost!)
L thigh - 22 (3 1/2 inches lost!)

Weight: 177lbs

Our next time to measure in is Feb 6th! I feel good with the result thus far. I've lost 6 pounds and a combined total of 11 1/2 inches in two weeks. This makes me excited for the next two weeks to see what progress I make in a month.

Today's workout consisted of 20 minutes on the elliptical for 2 miles and 207 cals burned. 20 minutes on the bike rower for 4.9 miles and 349 calories. 130 crunches, 20 leg pull ups, 20 bicep curls, 10 arms out, 20 arms up, and 20 behind the head with 10lb dumbbells. We worked out for an hour. It felt good to be back at the gym after not working out during the weekend. I think my body is starting to crave it and with results like this I can't let myself or my body down! We are gaining on the loosing! haha!

Until Later! Casey

The gym OWNS me tomorrow

Well, this weekend was a blast but not a diet success! I consumed many calories last night at outlaws so tomorrow I will be paying for it at the gym. My friend said that we don't diet on the weekends and to be honest thats pretty much how its going. Maybe I should change weigh in day to fridays because after a weekend of not working out and Im sure tomorrow wont be too exciting! haha.

Anyway, until tomorrow! Casey

New MP3 Player

Today I bought an MP3 player to music on so that I can listen to music and workout at the same time. I worked out at the gym today. Was going to do a video at home but Ive been busy downloading cds on the computer to put on the MP3 player. I think I will just do a workout tomorrow ;-) I want to do one that focuses on my butt.

Great news! One of my friends that has been working out with me lost 2.5lbs 5 days! I'm excited because it encourages us both to keep going. Another friend reported a 4-5lbs weight loss and we all think we are losing some inches. Monday is our first measure in! I measured my thigh and I know I have all ready lost 1 1/2 inches. But I didn't do the rest of my measurements.  ;-)

Anyway, have a great weekend. Casey

Support is WONDERFUL :-)

Yesterday, I didn't want to do my workout. I had been up since 4 something in the morning due to clinicals and I had at least 3 hours of homework. I just wanted to go home and take a nap. But instead I spent some time wrestling with kohl and watching a movie with Dustin. Than I sat down and did my 3 hours of homework and decided it was time to workout. I think what helped me workout yesterday was that I read my mom's comment on my previous blog and I didn't want to disappoint her. Plus I didn't want to disappoint myself. I knew that if I didn't workout I'd be mad at myself later. I made a commitment and I am going to stick with it.

Everyday I count calories. I think calories should be a curse word. I HATE CALORIES. I hate counting them. I miss just being able to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and stay thin. Now I have to look at everything before I eat it. I question whether I should eat it. BAH! Calorie counting sucks! But it is effective. I find that it tells me a story and writing down what I am eating holds me accountable. I put it in black and white and reality stares me in the face. I feel good when I see all the healthy things I am eating.

However, the temptations are everywhere. Right now there is a Pepsi in my fridge. It has been there since day one and everyday I look at it and I want it. But I close the door and walk away. I tried to get my husband to drink it. I even gave it to him but than when I did, I kept looking at it wishing it was back in the fridge. Because everyday I walk away from it I feel like I am beating the challenge. I am resisting the craving and temptation. Needless to say, for some reason, Dustin didn't drink it. He put it back in the fridge. Maybe to taunt me, but I'm glad it's back in there.

This diet thing is hard. But I keep reminding myself of the reasons I am doing it. My main ones keep coming back to me. I want to be healthy for me, for kohl, for my family. I want to feel good about myself and I want to prove to myself that I can do it. Writing this blog is helping me remember that. I'm glad I have this blog and I know several of my family members are reading it. It's a challenge to me knowing others are checking in to see how I am doing. I don't want to let you down either!

I got my exercise in today, 4 days in a row and I am going to the gym tomorrow as well. Week 2 is almost gone and I am still going strong! I can't wait to see what the scale says on Monday! Til next time! Casey

Mom, my LEGS hurt!

Today I did an Insanity workout. I wasn't really excited about doing it because those things are HARD. Plus it has been a long time since I have done one. But it was a blast because Kohl wanted to exercise with me. I'd be huffing and puffing and grunting and Kohl would ask me what was wrong. I'd say, oh my legs hurt, this is hard. So he starts doing it and yells out "mom my legs hurt too!"

I wish I had a camera to record him trying to do some of the moves. He really got into some of them. The video was 41 mintues long and he tried to do most of it. He had to take several water breaks but for a 3 year old I was impressed!

Anyway, tomorrow Kohl and I can work out together again. Than back to the gym on Thursday and Friday. I may have to do a short workout video at home just for the fun of working out with kohl. My son was my biggest encouragement today. He likes to exercise and I want to encourage that. If I can teach him healthy habits then kohl will be that much further ahead in life. Too many adults and kids these days are struggling with weight problems. I am there now but I am choosing to make a change before I'm apply for  "Biggest Loser" anywho, It's been a long day. So I'm signing off for now. Til next time! ~Casey

Drum Roll PLEASE..............

I weighed in today. I've lost four pounds! GO ME :-) It felt great to see my scale light up green for "losing weight" haha ;-)

I am happy with my progress. Today I worked out at the gym again. Ellipitical 20 minutes, 1.60 miles and 207 calories, bike rower 20 minutes, 4.6 miles and 300 calories burned! I also did 100 crunches and I messed around on a few other things but that didn't amount to much. I also got back to the regular breakfast/lunch routine.

Tomorrow, I will do my insanity workout. One of the downfalls to carpooling is not everyone wants or desires to go the gym therefore I have backup plans. The next two days I will kill myself at home with workout dvds! It's probably a good thing to switch it up because that way your body doesn't get used to doing the same thing over and over. I will miss the gym because I love working out with my friends but as long as I still workout everything will be just fine.

Anyway, here is to two days of INSANITY! Til tomorrow ~Casey

Weekend Failure or was it?!

Well, my great intentions of working out at least once this weekend never happened! Good thing my plan only calls to for me to work out 5x a week but still I wanted to do something this weekend. My excuses include being tired, having a head cold, finding other things to do such as going hunting with the husband or going to a baby shower and lastly I chose to pick up my house tonight rather than workout. I enjoy a clean home and sometimes it becomes a disaster zone that I cannot stand. I'm not a neat freak by any means, sometimes I wish I was. But I'm trying to do an hour worth of house work a night to keep away messy disasters!

Anyhow, I'm pretty sure I went over my calorie intakes as well. But not too horribly. I probably hit the 2000 mark instead of the 1200-1500 mark. Like this morning I made Chocolate chip pancakes! mmmm! I didn't have lunch but than I ate out with my inlaws at western sizzle. Can we say Buffets are BAD!!! Way too many tempting foods! I guess today was my FREE day as far as food was concerned. Yesterday I did okay. I had pancakes for lunch! (it was a pancake weekend I guess) And I had a casserole for supper. It had frozen veggies, meat and was topped with tater tots (tots not so healthy! lol) and of course cheese...lol

Anywho, tomorrow I get back on track! If I can eat right and exercise 5 days a week I'd say that's pretty successful. ANd I didn't get too carried away. My mom pointed out to me that the calories I now try to consume for the entire day are the same amount of calories I was consuming in pop alone just one week ago. So when you think of it like that, I am doing darn good! ;-) Anyway, Here's to a successful week! ~Casey

5 days in a ROW

Updating early because tonight I will be busy. Kohl is having a friend stay the night! It should be a good time. I think I will rent a movie for them to watch before bed. Going to town in a little while to get supplies for a fun night ;-)

I do have a slight head cold which is more annoying than anything. I went and go my 30 minutes in at the gym. 10 minutes on the elipitical for 114 calories in 1.14miles and the bike rower thing for 20 minutes burning 246 calories and going 4.4miles.

I plan to work out tomorrow. I think I'll do an insanity workout or a Brazil BL workout. Either way it will be a good workout and than Sunday I am giving my body a rest. My body is going to need a break to do it all again next week. Sunday is my free day so if I choose I can eat something junky! haha. But right now I don't even have a desire to do that.

It is said if you do something for three weeks it will become a habit. In two more weeks my body should be craving working out and healthy food ;-) Anyway, thats it for today. Have a great weekend everyone! ~Casey

Cake taste like a rainbow!

The other day on the way home Kohl told me that his daycare provider had birthday cake and that it tasted like a rainbow. Than I asked him that if he tasted like a rainbow what did it smell like and he said, it smelled like chocolate.  Sometimes he comes up with the cutest things to say!

Anyway, today was another successful day. I worked out at the gym for 40 minutes. I spent 20 minutes on the elipitcal and ran 2 miles burning of 220 calories. Than I went to the bike and spent about 5 minutes on there for .80 of a mile and only burned 30 calories. I didnt stay on it long because it seemed like a lot of work for only a few calories. So I did this other machine thats suppose to represent rowing a boat. I went 1km on there and burned 54 calories in 5 minutes. Finally the machine I wanted to use opened up. It's kinda like a bicycle but you use your arms as well. I spent ten minutes on there, rode 2.2miles and burned 136 calories. Therefore I had a successful work out.

I have been keeping track of the calories I am burning as well as the calories I am eating. It makes me feel good to look down and see how I am staying within the 1200-1500 calories. I don't know if I mentioned it but I don't count fruits or veggies towards my total calories consumed.

Tonight I did have a beer and it wasnt even a light beer. I drank a budweiser with my husband and his uncle. It's 145 calories that I didn't need but I wasn't anywhere near being over my calorie limit and I only drank one. However, next time I want a beer I should drink a light beer.

I did feel some withdraws from pepsi today or at least I think I did. I had a headache this morning and this afternoon. But now my nose is trying to plug up and I feel like a cold is trying to reach out and get me. If it does I will continue with my plan. I am not going to let another illness derail me from goals like I have in the past. In the past I have used it as an excuse to not exercise and than I stop and never get back to doing it again.

I am glad to have some friends working out with me and trying to eat healthy. We all measured the other day and it was very encouraging to know I am not alone on my quest to get healthier. I know that it takes time but I can't wait to see physical results. I look back at pictures of me and think wow, in a milluon years i never thought I'd have weight problems. It's mostly me my own fault. My lack of control when it comes to junk food as well as my lack of exercise. I can't blame my weight on anyone but myself. I let myself go and it is now time to find myself again.

Anyway, thats all for today. Until next time! ~Casey

Saying good night to DAY 3

I had a wonderful post all nicely written and as I was typing my last sentence I lost the whole thing. Which is very very very frustrating. So now instead of trying to type it as it was I'm going to shorten it.

This morning I woke up and felt lighter. It's a great feeling, it encourages you to keep going! I think it's partly because I have cut out pop. I was drinking upwards of 1150 to 1300 calories in pop while working the night shift. It's not a wonder I was gaining weight! I also don't feel bloated since I quit drinking it.

Today we did our measurements. I am going to share them even though I find them embarrassing. But they way I look at is if you know than it makes me want to change them even more. So to start with in Jan 2008 I weighed 135lbs and on Jan 9, 2012 i weighed in at 183 pounds. That is a 47 pound difference!

My Measurements today 1/11/12

*Chest: 25 1/2
*R. Arm: 11
*L. Arm: 11
*Waist: 33
*Hips: 44
*R. thigh: 25 1/2
*L. thigh: 25 1/2
*R. calf: 17
*L. calf: 17
*Around the butt: 45 1/2

As I was typing these I noticed my chest and thighs are the same size. Which is sad because I look at my legs and think they are huge and I look at my chest and think they are SMALL, haha!

Anyway, I am looking forward to tomorrow! Each day is a new victory. My next weigh in is on Monday morning but I wont be doing my measurement til Monday, jan 23. The plan is to do those biweekly on Mondays. Anyway, I'm going to post this now before I make a silly mistake and lose it. Until tomorrow! ~Casey

The Plan

Eat 1200 - 1500 calories a day
30 min or more of exercise 5x a week
NO POP
Drink the reccommend amount of water -- 64oz
Limit Sugars
Watch sodium -- decrease it
Eliminate Junk food
Eat healthy snacks such as fruit, veggies, nuts and yogurt
Portion control
Eliminate one meal with a shake
Reward self with a free day

MORNING: Replacement meal with equate shake, eat a healthy snack and drink a green tea and water

LUNCH: Low calorie lunch: Brown Rice & Beans
                                           Frozen low Calorie dinners
                                           Steamed Veggies
                                           Salads
**Drink lots of water
**After noon snack ~ fruits, veggies, rice, cakes, 100 calorie snacks, etc

SUPPER: Regular supper, just decrease my portion size. If I am in evening clinicals I will pack leftovers from the night before for supper and stick with my regular schedule.

WORKOUTS: When at school spend 30min at the gym ~ running, walking, elipitcal, biking, or lifting weights. Also can do Insanity workouts and Brazil BL. After workout I can use the Jillian Micheals shake to help muscle restore. It can be mixed with soy milk, water, regular milk or even low fat frozen yogurt.

I will keep a food and exercise Diary
I will weigh in weekly on Mondays
I will keep a measurement of my body to determine loss of inches

GOALS:

longterm--- Lose 30lbs by May 11th
Shorterm-- Lose 2lbs per week, 8lbs per month

If goals are met sooner, re-evaluate and make new goals. Post goals where you can read them daily. It may help to take a before picture of yourself so you can document changes.

REASONS I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT:

*Wear my Skinny jeans again
*Feel better about myself
*To be healthy
*To feel sexy again
*Lose weight before I have another child (which isn't anytime soon, lol)
*To prove to myself I can do it
*To wear a two piece swimsuit this summer when I take kohl to the pool
*To be more flexible
*To teach Kohl healthy habbits

ACCOUNTABILITY:
Have someone to encourage you, check in on how you are doing & even to workout with you ;)

*Buy a calendar to mark days I exercise, keep track of wt loss & inches to make sure goals are being met.

REWARD!!!!
For accomplishing my goals I will get my hair highlighted and buy a new outfit. I haven't had my hair done in ages!!

Day 1

Today I laid out my plan. I wrote out exactly how I want to lose my weight and I set goals for myself. I have a long term goal and a short term goal. I have accountability partners. I am limiting my calories and I am making my progress public. As it is 10:12pm and I am very tired, this entry is going to be short. But tomorrow I will post my entire plan so you can see what I am doing. Until tomorrow! ~Casey