License to Eat

Boy, the end of the competition was like a license to eat for me! I have eaten so much crap in the past week+ that it's hilarious (well, not really). Movie theatre popcorn, ice cream, candy, cookies, donuts, more ice cream, more candy, cake, chips and cheese, french fries, more cookies, etc. WOW! Thank goodness my weight hasn't budged yet. Better get back on track of snacking a bit less. :)

On a good note, I bought a bike trailer and my husband and I have been enjoying bike rides together every night while towing the kiddos. So that's some unexpected exercise, right?

Competition is O-V-E-R

Congratulations to everyone on a great 6 months! And congratulations especially to Karilynn for her victory of being THE BIGGEST LOSER!

As Allison Sweeney would say...."Kristi, I'm sorry to tell you, you are not the Biggest Loser". But I would have a similar reply as all the other contestants usually do, "Yes, but Allison, I feel like I am a Loser already". LOL. So, yeah, I'm very happy with my accomplishment during this contest. My goal was to lose 10-15 pounds. I always said that I HAD to lose 10 pounds and would be thrilled, and anything up to 15 would be an added bonus. Well, I lost exactly 10. So technically I hit my goal.

Also, I lost the 10 lbs as of two months ago and have maintained that weight for 2 months so that shows me I'll be able to maintain by keeping up some of the new habits I formed.

I know I "only" had 10 pounds to loose and it might not seem like a lot, but I was so frustrated with myself for the past 2.5 years (since I had my babies) that I couldn't ever get motivated to lose the 10 pounds. So that's part of why I joined this competition and am happy with my success, because I finally did it without failing.

Here's what I'm happy about:
1. I'm back into my pre-pregnancy size clothes.
2. I am wearing a bikini again.
3. I'm not snacking uncontrollably like I was before. So glad I got a handle on my excessive snacking.
4. I enjoy exercising again and will continue to do it a few times a week.

So, see Allison, I am a Biggest Loser. LOL

I need to do my after pictures! Will post those when I get them. Also, I plan to keep up this blog and keep up with anyone else in the competition that is continuing with the journey we started.

One Day Left

Oh man, I've been so busy that I haven't even checked blogs in a few days. Melissa, you totally bombed on the "post everyday", just like me. I can't believe we both bombed starting on the same day too. Too funny.

Well, yeah, I lost my motivation for the 10 day kick butt challenge. Want my excuses or should I spare you? Ok, here they are. First, I caught a cold so it hurts to breathe when I work out hard and I haven't felt great. Secondly, my photography business just exploded and I seriously can't find enough hours or minutes of the day to keep up with it. Therefore, exercise goes out the window. I don't feel too bad about that because I'm at a weight that I feel good about anyway. I just can't let it go all the time.

So, we have tomorrow left and then the competition is over at the next morning's weigh in. Do we just all stop posting on our blogs? That sounds sad. I'd like to keep up with everyone!

Good Day....I think

Great day because I ate healthy as can be, drank water and didn't snack. And, my hubby got home early so I was able to go to the gym for a killer workout. But, we took my boys to a movie tonight and they wanted popcorn. So, I had some. With butter. Lots of butter. But, the 4 of us shared a small popcorn! So that means I didn't pig out. So, sort of a splurge, but not totally overdone.

Good Day

Day 3 for me (I started one day before Melissa gave me the challenge). Well, I have sore muscles. Which tells me I've been doing good working out again. But, it also tells me that I didn't do so well working out for a while before that. I also did great eating today. Well, I did have a 100 calorie granola bar that I tried resisting, but ate anyway. But hey, that's not enough to worry about. The scale was a little nicer to me today, so that gave me motivation. Feeling good.

Post a Day Makes the Pounds Go Away

Well, I'm hoping that's true anyway.

So, Melissa & I vowed to kick butt for the last 10 days of the competition and as part of that we are going to post everyday on our blogs. I see that Karilynn is joining us. Anyone else? Vicki? Carrie? Rochelle? Katie? Whitney? Not sure how many others are hanging in as we see the end of the competition approaching.

As for my report for the day, I didn't do quite as well today as I did yesterday. But still better than recent weeks. Ready to take on tomorrow for another good day.

Sleep well tonight ladies and good luck tomorrow!

Checking In

Boy, I don't have much of anything to report! I haven't been doing very well on my exercise routine and I'm back to eating bad snacks too often. Blah! I miss my drive and motivation. I just wanted to lose 1 or 2 pounds, that's all I had left, instead I've gained 1 or 2. Pooey on that.

Let's see, I think we have something like 10 days left of this competition. That's not enough time for me to get to where I wanted, but it might be enough time to get rid of the 1-2 pounds I gained this past month or so. I will be bummed if my final weigh in of the competition is higher than one or two of my previous month weigh ins. Pooey on that too.

So, another recommitment coming at ya! LOL

Plugging Away

Well, I'm plugging away pretty good this week. Back on the wagon of doing better at maintaining. I exercised and stopped most of my impulsive snacking. My stomach is telling me I'm hungry right now at 11pm....ignore the growling...just go to bed...don't snack....LOL.

Anyway, this blog gets boring with no pictures. I'm used to posting zillions of pics on my other blogs, so I remember this pic of me from last week that my friend took at the park. I remember thinking when she sent it to me that I looked thin laying there flat in the grass. I guess we don't see pics of ourselves too often or realize the weight loss we've accomplished. Thought I'd post it just so that this blog has a little life in it.

Maintaining

Nothing much new to report. I don't think I'm going to weigh in today (or at least not record it) because I haven't been doing very good this past week. I've gotten busy with my photography work, which I work on while my boys nap. The problem with that is that's when I always exercise. So instead of exercise, I'm sitting on my butt doing my photography work, which then also leads me to snack. Double whammy.

I feel good about how far I've come. I'm in my pre-prego clothes. I bought another outfit yesterday and the pants were size 6 and the shirt a size small. So I feel good about that. But I sure need to find ways to make myself keep up my good habits that I started.

So, in summary, It seems to me like maintaining weight & decent habits is harder for me than a full on diet & exercise routine. Hmm. Interesting.

Weigh In Day

Well, I'm up 1/2 pound since last month's weigh in. I think I am ok with that. Emphasis on "think". I'm 1 pound away from my goal. I wish I would have completely gotten there. But I was literally gone more than 1/2 of the month. Maybe that is an excuse. But it really is hard to maintain a routine when I'm away so much.

I want to work hard this month, which is the last month of our contest, and get to my goal, which is to lose between 1-6 lbs more. Most importantly, I need to make sure I can maintain my healthy habits of eating well & getting regular exercise. And then of course maintain those habits after this contest!! (Yikes, the thought of that scares me!!!)

Remember Me?

Ok, I think it's a fact that if one of us isn't blogging very much then we probably aren't working too hard on our goal. Right? Someone else once said that too. I think I was deflated after coming back from the cruise where I exercised each day and did fairly well with my food intake, but yet had gained some weight. Then I was in Utah for 5 days. Then I was out of town visiting family for a few days. Not to mention my goal is 130-135 lbs so when I hit 135.5 and was back into my pre-prego size it made me lazy. All of that threw me off course.

So, as I'm sitting her eating a bag of colored marshmallows that my 2 yr olds decided to take off the shelf at the grocery store tonight, I figured I better catch up on everyone's blogs and decide if I'm going to recommit to finishing my journey in our last month.

The main thing that bothers me is that I feel like I'm back to my old snacking habits. The kind that seem uncontrolable, like the marshmallows right now, and candy and desserts, etc. I don't want my old habits back!

So, ok, starting tomorrow....wait, starting now (she says as she closes the marshmallow bag), I'm back on the wagon. I'm not traveling hardly at all in May so I can commit to good eating and regular exercise. I'm so close to my goal, I have to finish this contest!!

Vacation Fun

I'm back from vacation. The cruise was awesome. We spent a couple of days in Mexico also. And a day in New Orleans. My husband and I had a great time. Ok, I have to let you know that I exercised everyday, except one day! Let me say that again. Every day, except one!! Now that was dedication! The water was really rough and the cruise ship was constantly rocking so it made it quite a challenge to obey Bob & Jillian's rule of not holding on while walking or running on the treadmill...especially when the treadmill also was at the very front of the boat and all you could see was water while exercising.

Anyway, I thought I was semi-disciplined in my eating. Most breakfasts were small. Most lunches were soup & sandwich. Dinners were "fancy" so the amount of food is always small. But I probably overdid it on the drinks & desserts. So, can you believe I gained 3.5 pounds since my weigh in before the cruise. Dang! Ironically I've lost exactly 3.5 pounds each of the 3 months of our competition. I can't believe I gained a whole month's worth of loss in one week...especially when I worked out each day! DANG!!! Guess I'm not to my goal now and it's back to work to get back to it!

Ok, so, these pictures were taken for you guys, and you guys only!! These pictures did not, and will not make it on any of my other blogs or for any one else to see. But I told hubby that I had to get a couple of pics for you guys so you could see that I dared to wear a bikini. I was comfortable in it too! I have to catch up on all your blogs now!

Bon Voyage

Well, I'm off to my all you can eat food frenzy, aka, a cruise in the Caribbean. The funny thing is that the one thing I'm looking forward to is working out on the ship! I guess that means exercising has become a habit and part of my normal lifestyle. I intend to splurge here and there on food, but I'm getting used to making good food choices too.

Most of my pre-pregnancy clothes all fit me again, 1 to 2 sizes smaller. It's almost like I suddenly realized that I actually lost my weight and have almost hit my goal. I guess we see ourselves everyday in the mirror maybe we don't realize quite how much our bodies really have changed. So I'm excited about the bikinis, clothes & little dresses that I'm bringing on the trip.

It's such a good feeling to be in control of eating and taking care of my body by eating healthy and exercising. And to realize the results and achieve the goals you set out for....it's an amazing feeling.

I just feel good. Ok, so maybe anyone would feel good the day they are leaving for a cruise. LOL. But really, I feel good about myself for the first time in awhile...both inside and outside. My goal was to weigh between 130-135 and I've been down to 135.5 the past few days.

Monday, Monday

Not much to report, but I was checking in on your blogs and posting my Monday weight on my side bar, and I figured I might as well leave a quick post. Last week I saw 136.5 on the scale...I sure liked that number. For the past few days I've been 137.0, which still thrills me because I'm down 2 pounds from that nasty 3 week plateau.

I'm starting to feel more toned finally. My husband actually said yesterday that he sees some definition in my abs. So, that's my goal for the remaining two months of this competition. I want to lose just a couple of more pounds, but focus mainly on toning.

So, the 5K is this weekend in SLC, right? Good luck on that, ladies! It sounds like a lot of fun for all of you who are doing it together.

Happy Monday!

Finally Again!

Boy, I almost don't dare post about this in fear of jinxing myself or something. The scale keeps going down each day this week! Remember this happened to me last month too. A long plateau and then all of a sudden it drops like crazy one week.

139.0 three week plateau
138.5 on Monday & Tuesday
137.5 on Wednesday
136.5 Today

WOW! That makes me feel so much better after those 3 weeks. I'm so happy to finally see results.

We leave for our cruise in 8 days. I ended up buying two new bathing suits....a tankini and a bikini. Can't decide for sure if I dare wear the bikini yet or if I'm saving it for this summer after our competition. Even though my weight has gone I still feel like a have a lot of toning to do on my mid-section. I probably should start working harder on that instead of so much cardio. I think I need to buy some DVD's or something to help me know what exercises I should be doing.

Finally

So, after 3 weeks of a plateau, I finally lost a whopping 1/2 pound. But, hey, I'll take it. At least it's a new number on the scale and it's in the right direction. And I saw the number yesterday and again today, so it wasn't a one day fluke either.

Seems like everyone is posting less and commenting less this month! Hope you are all doing good and keeping it up!

Frustrated

Ok, frustrated for two reasons....

First, the scale still hasn't moved! I've been working out and eating good and yet in 3 weeks I haven't lost an ounce. Talk about a wicked plateau. I know, you told me that I'm building muscle, I shouldn't rely on the scale as much as taking measurements, etc. But come on, not even 1/2 a pound in 3 weeks?

Second, my twins turned 2.5 yrs old this coming week and suddenly it appears that they have outgrown their naps. My routine has been that I exercise everyday while they nap. So, now I'm fighting with them for the whole nap time (and they aren't sleeping) instead of exercising! Guess I have to get up super early in the morning to exercise now? This totally disturbs me. You have no idea.

On a related note, I also used nap time to do my photography business work. Now I can't do that either. Also, disturbing. And no, so far they aren't sleeping any longer at night since they are skipping their 2 hour nap either. ARGH!!!

Oh, and while we're talking about frustrations, let me continue to rant. Actually I won't rant. I'll just say this. I tried on bathing suits at the store the other day. I left empty handed. Enough said.

Zero

Zero is the amount of weight I've lost in the past week after kicking my butt for a week with work outs and eating properly. Darn! I worked out extra hard this past week. Even went to the club gym twice, on top of exercising at home. And did really good on my eating. And a big fat zero weight loss. Well, maybe my theory of the scale showing results the following week will prove true once again. We'll find out this week.

PS....I'm coming back to SLC next month again! April 22-26. My step-son is graduating from BYU so we're coming to attend the graduation. Maybe we can meet up for lunch again one day.

Motivation

Hmmm. Took my boys to McD's for lunch and I ordered a cheeseburger. Wonder why I did that? I did order the yogurt parfait instead of the fries. Although I don't think the yogurt thing is that great for you either. So I'm questioning where my motivation went. I'll find it again. Just lost it a little after traveling last week and not being in the groove and regular routine.

Actually, I do have one big motivator. We just booked a cruise and we leave in just under one month. Hubby and I are going to the Western Caribbean with stops in Mexico. Part of me wants to kick some serious butt, lose 5 pounds this month and then I think I'd be ready for a bikini on the cruise. The other part of me thinks I probably can't do all of that in one month so to keep my bikini goal for this summer as planned.

Find the motivation, Kristi!!!

On that note, I'm off to exercise.

Monthly Weigh In

Today was our monthly weigh in. It's the end of the second month. Ironically I lost the exact same amount in month 2 as I did in month 1. I'm thrilled to be in the 130's. I wasn't able to exercise during the past 5 days when we traveled to SLC. So I'm excited to get back at it and see what I can accomplish this month.

Also, it was fabulous hanging out with some of you at lunch on Monday. It was great meeting you in person after getting to know you online. I'm looking forward to seeing some of you again in the future too!

Congrats to Karilynn & Katie, our monthly losers.....I mean, winners! You guys did awesome again!