Diet Bet Champion

Oh yeah, baby! I reached my Diet Bet goal with one pound to spare. *relief* Speaking of Diet Bets, the names of them are cracking me up. The last one we did was the "Prior Fat Girl" Diet Bet. The one we've recently joined is called "Life as the Fat Friend." Very clever, people. 

Today I joined a new Diet Bet that Melissa sent me, and I need to weigh in at 149 lbs. in twenty-seven days. Not easy, but doable. I just have to remain focused, which is more difficult than I thought to do when I'm so close to my final goal. Especially since I can't seem to burn calories lately. I was looking into this, and apparently the better shape you are in, the less calories you burn. Basically, you have to either work much harder or longer to get the same calorie burn.

Wish me luck, and if you want to join the Diet Bet go here http://www.dietbet.com/games/10065 

Lifting Weights

Thank you Melissa and Ashley for introducing me to the world of weights!

Since I've enrolled at the gym in December, I've been afraid of the weight section. I mean, c'mon...all I ever see are these super ripped meat heads grunting and groaning as they lift twice their body weight and admire their guns in the mirrors. Unappealing.

Fortunately for me, I can avoid the aforementioned gentlemen by going early in the morning on my days off or late at night.

It's surprisingly exciting! Almost as fun as playing volleyball (don't judge me). I never thought I'd say this in my entire lifetime, but it's kind of euphoric in a way. It's a slightly addicting how your muscles shake until you literally cannot do another rep or lift yourself another time.

Wednesday night was my first time with Ashley and Melissa. Then I went by myself last night. I was seriously sitting on my couch watching TV with my husband, and I thought...hmmmm I really want to lift weights right now and got up to go to the gym. Then I went with my brother this morning, and it's always good to spend time with him. Hooray for weight lifting!

Speaking of weight lifting, no matter what I do lately, my body is not burning calories at the rate that it used to. I am lucky to burn 400 calories in an hour lately, and it's really pissing me off! I don't know why it's happening, but this crazyness has got to stop!!

In other news, I'm bringing all my workout videos to Melissa's house tonight. We are going to do home workout videos and munch on fruit! Then maybe watch a movie, although I really hate watching movies with people. I don't know if I can do it. I'm going to give it my best effort. Josh tells me I need to get over this, and I get it...it's kind of a weird thing I have goin' on in my brain.

Maybe I can explain without sounding like a total mental case: My sister Kelly and my husband Josh are the only two people in the world that I can watch movies with. They know just when to make comments so that you don't miss what the people are saying in the movie. If they have something to say that's a bit more lengthy, we pause the movie and get that conversation out of the way rather than talk over what's happening. Although, this is a rare occurrence because if it's done too much during the course of one movie, it is flat out annoying. They also laugh and get excited at the same parts and in the same ways I do, and they don't have any annoying movie habits (crunching on chips, smacking on gum, slurping their beverages, etc.). Basically, they are just awesome and that is all.

Enjoy the weekend, friends!

Banana Coconut Smoothie...Mmmm mmm!

Yesterday was complete crap. I'm serious. I was eating everything sweet in sight. I even ran two miles just so that I could have a hot fudge sundae. Now that yesterday's done and over with, we'll just move along and pretend it didn't happen :)

As for today, I made a delicious smoothie that I think you will like! I thought it could use some shredded coconut or frozen pineapples, but unfortunately I am out of both at the moment. This is a delicious smoothie nonetheless, and it has a very "islandy" feel to it. Enjoy!

Banana Coconut Smoothie

Directions: Mix the ingredients listed below, and blend. 

• 6 0z. Chobani Greek Yogurt, Honey Flavored
• 1/4 C vanilla almond milk
• 1/4 C coconut milk
• 1 medium banana
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• ice (add until you get your desired consistency - I used about 7 cubes)

Like I said, I think it would have been even better with shredded coconut or frozen pineapple, but it's still quite delicious! 

I'm off to shave my legs so I can head to Zumba, lift weights with Melissa and Ashley, and then play some volleyball! Here's to an active evening!

Sunday Weigh Day

155 lbs.

down 5 lbs. from last week

down 41 lbs. from start

15 lbs. to my goal

I can't even put into words how excited I am this morning!! Only 15 pounds...FIFTEEN POUNDS, until I reach my goal of 140. It just seems crazy to think about how far I've come in the past few months. And 15 pounds? That seems like nothin'. 

This week of being on Spring Break has been really awesome. I've worked out hard this week, and burned over 1,000 calories on a few of those days. It' just that whole pesky having a job and being a grown up thing that gets in the way of everything. Lucky for me, I love teaching kindergarten and it also gives me the chance to keep busy and moving during the day. 

Anyway...I gotta head to the grocery store before it gets too snowy! I can't believe we go back to school from Spring Break tomorrow, and the snow just started coming in. How crazy would it be to have a snow day tomorrow?! St. Louis weather is just so unpredictable! 

Our front yard as of 12:00

We are making Gina's Skinny Taste Turkey Chili Taco Soup tonight. Yum yum!! If you've never made any of her recipes, I would highly recommend checking out her blog. I've made a few things from her site, and I've loved them all. Enjoy the week!

Roll Under Your Boobs

I am having a serious issue here, people. I've googled it, asked people about it, and nobody seems to know what it is or how to get rid of it. Even though my tummy is getting flatter, I have this little roll right below my boobs, and it will not go away! I know they say that stomach fat is the last to go, but I've literally had this since I was in...ohhh, let's say 7th grade? 

After doing some research, most people have just recommended flat out cardio, but there were some other recommendations about exercises that might help. I'm going to list them here so I have them all in one place. Let's hope in a few weeks, I will have zero fat below my boobs and my tummy will look like my childhood idol --> Britney Spears!

There's no fat roll below her boobs!!

How to Get Rid of the Roll Under Your Boobs

1.) lots and lots of cardio

2.) the bridge

3.) plank

4.) swimming

5.) elliptical trainer

6.) Grab a pair of dumbbells to do a lying dumbbell pec fly exercise. Lie on your back and straighten your arms above your chest with palms facing one another. Bend your elbows, lower your arms until they are parallel to the floor, and then push the dumbbells up to starting position. Do four sets of 20 reps.

Got this exercise from http://www.livestrong.com/article/261604-how-to-get-rid-of-fat-under-breasts/#ixzz2O5d36Jlq

7.) Ab programs in general - The idea is that once your abs start to form, it will work up into that stubborn area below your boobs! 

8.) One of the most interesting recommendations stated that a roll of fat beneath your breasts is an indication of the health of your liver. (Come on people, I don't drink that often!) It was suggested that looking up liver cleansing diets may be helpful. The forum I read this on can be found at http://www.shapefit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545.

Alright, time to work out! Today I'm going to TRY to do the following:
1.) Jillian Michaels 6 Week 6 Pack
2.) P90X Ab Ripper
3.) Work out with Ashley and Melissa (various weight training)
4.) Zumba
5.) volleyball

Speaking of which, I need to find a way to wear my HRM while I'm playing volleyball!! I want to find out exactly how many calories I'm burning. In My Fitness Pal, there is a "competitive volleyball" or "recreational volleyball." It's definitely more competitive than recreational, but I don't think I burn as much as MFP says! I'll have to really think about this...

Have a beautiful Wednesday, ya'll!

Back on Track

One hour of Zumba, about twenty minutes on the hamster wheel treadmill, five minutes on the cross trainer, and 1,037 calories burned...all before 11:00! This is an accomplishment, especially when I can sleep well past 11:00 on a day off. 

Who loves running? Not me! I can Zumba for hours, but running is a whole different story. I've never been able to run. I was always with the group of girls who walked the last two laps in gym class to finish the timed mile. My P.E. teacher would give me the evil eye because he was always disappointed in my running abilities. 

So my friend Melissa has recently started timing her miles on the treadmill to see how fast she can do it. I have to just say that this is brilliant! For one thing, Melissa is just awesome because she always pushed me to do things that I hate or wouldn't do otherwise. I would never run voluntarily for enjoyment, but now that I know she is doing it, it makes me want to do it with her. So last night, I tried to set the pace for a nine minute mile. After 1/3 of the mile, I couldn't go on any longer. Not good!

So this morning, I was determined to give it another go. When I worked out last night, it was late, and it was also after dinner. Maybe on an empty tummy (besides coffee), I'd be able to do it. I set the pace a little slower at 9:30! And....I DID IT! I've never in my whole entire life ran a mile in under ten minutes!!!!! Super exciting! 

Something a little depressing happened last night, which is the reason I ended up at the gym at 10:30 at night. I went to Old Navy to try on some workout clothes (they have tons of great workout clothes by the way), and I decided to try on a swim suit! Du nu nu...even after losing almost 40 pounds, I am not happy with the way my tummy looks in a swimsuit. I'm going to have to hit the ab exercises hard these next few months. I tried on this one:

(picture from www.OldNavy.com)

I thought it was super cute, but not on me!! Also, I'm having a bit of an issue with the swimsuit tops! The large is too big around and the medium is too small in the cup size. Guess I won't be getting an Old Navy suit this year. 

So anyway, I burned over 1,000 calories today and ran a mile in record time for me. I'm going to go ahead and chalk up today as a win in my book!!

Things Don't Always Go As Planned/Monday Weigh In

Well this weekend was not a good one for me health wise. There were baby showers, Saint Pat's parties, and other things that stopped me from tracking or going to Zumba. Not a good weigh in either!

163 lbs.

Down 33 lbs. from the start

Up 5 lbs. from last week

23 lbs. until my goal

So in my last blog post, I laid out this really great plan for what I was going to do to work out all week. Then as I was doing the Butt Bible Lower Body workout, I pulled my right hamstring. :( I was doing this exercise with a chair where you put one foot up on the chair. Then you raise and lower your full body weight until you are standing with your other foot hanging by the chair. Well, I stopped, rubbed it, stretch it out a little, and it's still not back to normal.

It's okay with some workouts, but not others so it looks like my whole workout plan needs to be revised. Bum leg or not, I'm determined to work out this week and get the scale moving back in the other direction again.

My Upcoming Fitness Crazy Week

So as I was texting my friend Melissa the other day, the topic of swimsuits came up. We are leaving for the Dominican in a little less than 100 days, and I want to look good in my bikini! I've been wearing a tankini the past few years because I've been uncomfortable with my body, and I'm determined to look good this year. What sucks is I want to wait to go bikini shopping at least a little longer, but they are already in all the stores! Ughhh.

So I'm down almost 40 pounds, but the trouble is...my belly still doesn't look good. I ordered the Jillian Michaels 6 Week Six-Pack workout DVD, and I'm going to start it tomorrow (maybe tonight if I'm feelin' it). My husband loves nice tummies (not muscular ones though), so I really want to work hard on it. 

Is it too much to ask that I want my tummy to look like this?

This week has been busy, and I've missed some workouts. I had parent teacher conferences on Thursday night until 9:45, volleyball interfered with my Wednesday night Zumba, and I missed Zumba last weekend on Saturday AND Sunday because we had things going on.

Well this week there's no excuses. I am on Spring Break, and I am going to kick butt this week!! I have a very intense plan for working out this week, but I'm going to do it! Here's the plan:

FRIDAY

• Jillian Michaels Ab Workout
• Butt Bible Level 3 - Lower Body

SATURDAY

• Jillian Michaels Ab Workout
• Butt Bible Level 3 - Upper Body

SUNDAY

• 10:00 or 12:00 Zumba
• Jillian Michaels Ab Workout
• Butt Bible Level 3 - Lower Body

MONDAY

• 9:00 a.m. Drills to Make You Sweat
• Jillian Michaels Ab Workout 
• Butt Bible Level 3 - Upper Body

TUESDAY

• 9:30 a.m. Zumba
• Jillian Michaels Ab Workout
• Butt Bible Level 3 - Lower Body

WEDNESDAY

• Butt Bible Level 3 - Upper Body
• Jillian Michaels Ab Workout
• 9:00 a.m. Cardio Mix

THURSDAY

• 10:00 a.m. Zumba
• Jillian Michaels Ab Workout
• Butt Bible Level 3 - Lower Body

FRIDAY

• 10 a.m. Drills to Make You Swear
• Jillian Michaels Ab Workout
• Butt Bible Level 3 - Upper Body

Volleyball Shirt Motivation

I forgot on my last post:

Our volleyball shirts have been ordered. They are super cute, and these tank tops are going to keep me motivated with these upper body workouts.

Halfway There Butt Bible Pics & An Early Weigh Day

158.5 lbs.

down 3 lbs. from last week

down 37.5 lbs. from start

18.5 lbs. to my goal

Holy crap!!!! Only 18.5 more pounds until I hit my goal of 140! I can hardly believe it. It's so strange. Less than 20 lbs. seems like nothing to me. Of course it's still a long way to go, but I use to think "Oh, I need to lose 20 pounds," and I'd eat healthy and exercise for a few weeks and do it. I'm very excited today. 

I weighed in one day early because I want to keep myself in check tonight. We went to a company party last night with Josh's work, and it was a buffet style dinner with free drinks. It's hard to log that kind of food, but luckily it was pretty darn healthy. I had swordfish, salad, one mini potato cupcake type thing, mushroom/artichoke/tomato salad, and steamed carrots and asparagus. It was actually one of the healthiest buffets I've ever seen, and I absolutely loved it! 

But then there were the drinks...Stupid drinks! I had three glasses of white wine, one rum and Diet Coke, and a coffee. However, Josh and I hit up our local bar (The Dry Dock) afterwards, and had some drinks together. I'd guess I had about four rum and Diets there. 

Regardless, I weighed in at 158.5 today, and I'm determined to keep it there for my actual Sunday weigh in tomorrow. We're having a girl's night at the oh so wonderful Melissa's house tonight, and luckily a lot of us are on this weight loss journey together. We're putting on our comfy clothes and bringing healthy snacks, but alcohol always ruins everything! 

I am determined to be active today! We are heading to JB Park to walk Juno on the three mile track as soon as I finish up this blog here. Then I'll be doing the upper and lower Butt Bible once we get home. Speaking of Butt Bible, this program is absolutely awesome! I'm only three weeks in, and I've made enough progress to post my results so far:

You can really tell in the last picture that I'm starting to get a more round, defined butt! Hooray! I'm so excited. Level 2 definitely makes my butt muscles more sore than Level 1, so I think that's what really did the trick this week. 

Off to the park with my pup and my husband! Have a beautiful weekend, everyone :)

Weigh Day

161.5 lbs.

down 0 lbs. from last week

down 34.5 lbs. from start

21.5 lbs. to my goal

Well I didn't lose or gain this week. I had a really bad cheat day on Saturday, so that is kinda sucky. Usually on my cheat days I still eat good food, but I had Steak N Shake, mini candy bars, and a brownie all in one night! Yikes! Alcohol will do that to ya! It always makes me hungry for junk...

This week is going to have to be better because of my DietBet I am doing!! I don't want to lose my $20! 

I'm feeling icky and unmotivated today. Josh and I met with our real estate agent and long time friend today, so she is listing our house tomorrow. As we were working on the house this weekend, disaster struck in the bathroom. The wall in the bathtub got messed up. My dad fixed the part that we couldn't do, and now I am off to finish it. 

Have a great week!