It's a NEW year, NEW goals, NEW opportunities

2011 was NOT my year, with so many health problems, my weight loss goals came to a screaching halt in mid  July, when i was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and broke my foot in 3 places and had surgery to fix some Hernias. This all was devastating, and heartbreaking to me. I had worked so hard to lose 80 lbs and the thought of not being able to keep up my routine of hiking, swimming , and walking sent me into a deep depression, I turned to food, my bed and just plain old laziness. What I have since learned is, I didn't need to stop what I was doing, I just needed to CHANGE how I was working out! I look back at those 5 Months and I wish I could change EVERYTHING about it, but.... I can't so I must move forward!

   I started January 1st going to the gym with my sister at 5:30 in the morning 5 day's a week, at first i thought i was going to die, me not being a morning person i found myself struggling to get out of bed. I soon realized that if i went to bed early, it was so much easier to get up. Sure, the initial shock of the alarm still freaks me out, but once i'm up i'm fine! Karen and I have been going strong for 3 weeks now, and loving every minute of it!

I  decided to start doing something I have never done before, SPINNING! Oh how I love this new form of sweating, LOL, best thing I have ever done that is out of my comfort zone. I LOVE IT!!

I Love this bike and I love my Spin classes!

Fear is what stops you... courages is what keeps you going. I love this quote for the reason that I was scared to try something new, I was afraid I couldn't to it, but guess what, i made the plunge and I COULD do it.  Never be afraid to try new things, there is no limitations on what you can do! 

I'm Back!

It has been just a few months since I've posted, OK like 5 months!! Life has been crazy but, I'm back in the game:)
I will be the first to admit i did not reach my goal to have 30 more pounds off by Feb 5Th! I did, however go on my cruise and had the time of my life! I ate whatever i wanted, and yes it bugged me a little that i was probably going to gain 10 lbs but, i deserved everything I ate! And yes, I gained 10 lbs!
So, Monday morning i will hit the gym and start with my 2 hour or 3 hour workouts and get back on track! I am looking forward to spring and my hiking! Oh how I have missed Hiking!! I have a lot to do to get ready but, I AM BACK!!
I may need a little extra support the next few weeks, sometimes it's hard to do it alone!!
Thank you everyone for the examples you are to me!

Up's and Downs

I am here to tell you that not every day of a weight loss program is easy! Since I hiked Timp a few weeks ago I have struggled to fit my workouts in and to take the time to eat healthy, at times i even stuffed my face with brownies(From BYU) yum!! They did eventually make me sick because my body is not used to that much sugar.. These few weeks of weakness turned out to be a good thing, loosing 4 more pounds! Who would have thought? So for those of you out there that are trying to go weeks and months without treats, i say indulge once every couple of weeks, it tricks your body and not only does it taste good you loose weight! Now, don't go crazy and eat a whole pan of something:)

As most of you know I finished my Goal of hiking Timp on Sept 11Th and as i stood on top of the summit i cried, not only because it scared me, and i was tired, cold and scared to death to climb down that mountain, i cried because I made it! I MADE IT!! I could not have done that with 85 more pounds on me, there is no way i would have had the strength to carry my body up and down that 12 hour hike. I am happy with my accomplishment, it took everything that I had to make that hike, and now I must move forward to a new goal.

I have 30 more pounds I would like to loose before Feb 5Th, when I will be going on a cruise with 4 other women:) The last weight to come off is the hardest so I'm going to have to work extra hard! You may see me jogging down your streets, swimming at the local pool, living on the Elliptical at Golds gym, Working out with my wonderful amazing Trainer Emily, I WILL REACH MY GOAL!!! Please join in with me on this major transformation i am making and do it for yourself, for your health and happiness!

Thank you all for the support you have given me, the compliments are what keeps me going daily, your friendship means the world to me and your love holds me up!

Conquering your Goals!

On Memorial day I set out on a mission and Hiked the "Y", and as my sister Karen and I were hiking we decided we wanted to hike it 10 times before school started. Today we met that goal, it was so AWESOME! This has not been easy for me, it has taken a toll on my knees and i have struggled with my asthma but, I was determined to meet my goal. Now, that was one of my long term goals,but I also made a short term goal that when I finished my 10Th hike I would continue up and over the mountain. We did it! Beautiful Hike, it was difficult, I had to push my body to it's limit, at one point I wanted to just sit and cry but I pushed with all my might. So, today I completed two goals and I can't explain the feeling of accomplishment i feel! It really helps to make a goals that you can accomplish in 1 or 2 months, it makes it easier to meet them. So make a few small goals, maybe it could be drinking more water, counting your calories, walking everyday or hiking once a week. SO make some goals this week and write them down, and if you want to share please do!!

You bite it, you write it!

When I started working out 3 months ago with Emily, the first thing she had me do was write down EVERYTHING I ate,time I ate and how much water I was drinking. This was a big eye opener! When I took her my notepad to my training session the next week we were able to sit and figure out what items I was eating that were not good for me even though I thought they were, and at what time of the day I grazed. For me, this was a big help, as I could actually see what was going in my body and how much more or less I needed. I now, am a firm believer in tracking EVERYTHING I bite, and drink.. So, for all who are on this journey with me, If you take a bite you write it down. After you do it for awhile you don't want a candy bar on that paper so you just don't eat it!! If I can do it, So can YOU!!!!

Here is a sample of what my daily log looks like: Water: 6- 24 oz bottles

B- Oatmeal with blueberries 8 AM
S- 10 Almonds 10:30
L- Flat out Bread with turkey, lettuce, tomato and honey mustard
Yogurt
String Cheese 1:00
S- fruit. 3:30
D- Grilled Chicken Breast, Green Beans, Green salad
Cardio workout 1 hour


I found that i needed more for lunch in order to help curve my appetite in the later afternoon, which was my grazing time. I am a very picky eater, so I pretty much eat the same thing everyday, mixing up my fruit and vegetables a bit. What works for me might not work for you, but at least give it a try!

This is me almost one year ago! It's been kind of heart breaking to look at pictures of myself and how much I let myself go! The smile on my face is fake and I know this look all to well! I'm saying in my head "Hurry and take the dang picture" Who is happy looking like this? Not many people. So, with this I pass on my first piece of advice: Take pictures of yourself and put them all over your house, in the bathroom, refrigerator, by all the clocks, your nightstand, where ever you know you will see them. You cant really help yourself if you don't see yourself! Doing this will give you the determination to change, to become healthy, tone up and lose the weight you want to lose. It's not easy, it's the hardest thing I've had to do but in the end it will be worth it! You have to start somewhere, so you might as well take a good look at yourself!

6 months ago....

6 months ago I started on a weight loss journey, and it has been an incredible ride! I was inspired by The Biggest Loser show, and the amazing trainers and contestants. I'm not sure why this last season was so different for me, maybe it was because there were contestants on there who weighed less then me. I started this journey weighing in at 268 lbs. I am ashamed at how far I had let my weight get out of control and i am so nervous that i just told everyone who reads this how much I weighed! I'm sure I thought I was hiding it well, but the fact is, 268 lbs is a lot and no matter how much you want to hide it, no matter how big you buy your clothes, it's still there and when you look at yourself in the mirror you are disgusted by what you see. I wish I had started this blog at the beginning of my Journey but with 4 kids, a husband, sports, and work my life is so very busy.

What I want to do with this blog is to inspire others to take the path I have taken, to share with you hope, faith, patience, endurance, love, understanding and the knowledge that this can really happen if you put your whole heart, mind and body into becoming a new you!! This is a real life struggle for me, I have many medical issues that i have and as i continue on this journey, I hope that some of these issues will resolve and I can live a happy life.

As of today i am 207 and have about 40-50 left on this journey! I could not do this without the support of my family and good friends! You are what gets me up in the morning, you all inspire me in many different ways! I love you all!!

For the next few post i will be going back in time with pictures and feelings I had in the beginning, so bare with me as I document the last 6 months!