Our First 90

Confession: I'm extremely embarrassed to post this because I am mortified by my before pictures.  However, I keep reminding myself, that's the old me.  I will never be her again, because I am sick of starting over. I will only keep going. 

This....is why I go to the gym 5-days a week.  

This....is why I Mad Dance every week. 

I can do things now that I have never been able to do my entire life, even including two years ago when I lost so much weight - I lacked lean muscle.  I can do an entire workout based around push-ups, side kicks through an entire dance song, planks, 130 squats and still going...I will finish the squat challenge and complete 250 squats......push-ups, push-ups, push-ups!  As my husband says, "Doing things you have never done before, in your entire life, is AMAZING."

I ViSalus not because it's a magic shake that will make me lose weight.  but I ViSalus because I know I have issues with food and ViSalus takes the worry out if eating.  It is convenient, healthy, easy to make and cheaper than eating out for lunch.  I never, not one time, have felt guilty for drinking a shake.  I know my body is getting fueled properly.  I know that by eating within my calorie allotment, I will be where I want to be.  

I will reach my goals because I believe in myself so I know I will see the results!

Our first 90-Day Challenge is complete. I have lost 13 inches and 18 pounds.  Patrick has lost 12.5 inches, 15 pounds and he's gained a lot of defined muscle...I assure you ;)

Let's see where 90 more takes us. 

Anora:   anora.myvi.net

Patrick:   pmo.myvi.net

Dear Dean...

As I write the last blog of my first 90-day challenge, I realize I have so many people who have supported me through this process.  For example, my brother, David, and sister-in-law, Christina, have been awesome team mates!! I seriously look forward to seeing their continued changes.  We have come so far over the course of three months - Christina can certainly do some killer butt lifts.

Then there's my amazing sister-in-law, Kelly, who has taken Seamus (and sometimes the big kids too) every single day, five days per week for an hour, over the last two months, so Patrick and I could workout.  Plus she has joined me at Mad Dance which has been such a fun experience to share with her (especially with our gangsta headbands).  

My husband is right by my side telling me on a near daily basis, things like, "babe, you need to give yourself more credit, you are doing great."  He pushes me to do my best and lifts my spirit when I'm down.  The checking me out and compliments certainly boost my ego!  

My kids love seeing my new muscles (...not that I'm showing off or anything) and they always ask if we have been to the gym yet; I love that they expect us to go every day.  If I even considered skipping a day, I'd feel like I was letting them down. 

Then, there's this guy named Dean.  He's a fitness coach, motivator, friend, mentor and counselor all rolled into one cool person.  Dean has shared some of his big picture ideas for Challenge Fitness, and although I'm not sure how much I can share, I know I can say he is going to change a lot of lives!  

One of the most impactful things for me to see in order to believe in myself, are before/after (or for me, current progress) photos. So as a photographer on the side, I have offered to do before and after photos (including an "after" mini-session) for his 90-day Challenge participants completely free.  I am just so excited to be a part of changing people's lives by genuinely and lovingly supporting people the best way I can. 

I cannot do as great of a job without the support of these really incredible people, so a huge a thank you to each of you.  I will reach my goals - as Dean says Believe to See.   I believe I will see results....I already do....

Progress!

Well, I started June 24th in a size 18 and now, 74 days into the challenge and I'm down to a 14.  So far I have lost 10 1/2 inches and 15 pounds.  Feels great to be getting back on track.  

Sitting in my closet is a box full of size 10s and 12s...I am itching for them to fit.  It is driving me crazy to wear the same outfits each week, but I don't want to go shopping because I won't be here long.  My goal is to be back into my clothes that are stashed away.....and no stopping there.  

So in 16 days, we are doing the 90-day challenge again.  I want to do it until the 90-day challenge transforms my body and becomes my new habit and lifestyle.  

I'm almost to my first goal (lose 20 pounds) and my second (wearing my closet stash of clothes) isn't far behind.  From there I'm excited to see how my new lifestyle will transform my body even more. It feels really good to actually be on track to meet my goals.  

Excuse the fierce "workout complete" expression in my 'current progress' pic.  Haha.  The before face on the left was the first part of July (two weeks into the challenge). 

Check out My amazing, supportive, loving, awesome husband!!

No Rest for the Committed

I've been fighting a cough for over a week.  I've had the chills for about half of that time and I had a fever over the weekend.  I feel tired and ready for sleep.  I don't want to sound like a martyr and I'm simply not a warrior.  That is not what this blog is about today.  I just don't want to have any excuses...even being sick.  That's where excuses start - come up with one and suddenly all the excuses start to "make sense."

Maybe it seems strange that I left work early to get some extra rest (I slept for 3.5 hrs straight) but I still went to the gym.  Perhaps if I explain it differently, it'll make more sense.  

As a full time employee at the same company for over 10 years, I have built up a stock of vacation days (which can also be used as sick days). I have earned that time over the course of the 10 years.  However, I have only been going to the gym 2 months.  I have not been there long enough to build up vacation (or sick) days.  

So even though I used lighter weights today, at least I was still there.  I gave no excuses and I went.  Illness, children, busy schedule, sore muscles are no longer excuses!!  My sister-in-law Kelly posted on her wall yesterday that she wet running late at night because "doing it tomorrow" is a thing of the past.  My brother, David, mentioned yesterday that we have been gyming Mon-Friday for 2 months (5 days a week).  There's no reason to make any excuses to skip a day.  It'll take doctors orders to keep me out of the gym!  Even my weird c-section incision issue hasn't kept me out of the gym.  

We are coming up on day 60 (Thursday). I'll be posting some progress pics very soon!   For now, here's a cute baby :)

My Why

Our shirts for the Challenge came in today.  So now I'm sorting through all the thoughts in my head to determine My Why.  My first reason why is that I am sick of being fat.  Basically my entire adult life I have been varied from overweight to obese. I am tired of feeling shitty about how I look.  I want to be a size 10!  the year before I got pregnant with Shay, Patrick and I both worked really hard to lose 50 pounds each.  I got down to my smallest size ever (size 10), I want to be there again!  Another reason why is because I want to look smoking hot for my husband.  No elaboration necessary, however somehow he overlooks my rolls...I just don't want him to have to "see through it" anymore.  My final and most important reason is to be an example of healthy living for my children. We did 3 minutes of planks together tonight.  I know my kids are watching everything I do...I want them to see how important my health is to me - actions speak louder than words!  

Who hates push ups anyway?

"I HATE.....no despise....push ups!"  Words that echoed from my lips even just last week.  Well, I take it back.  Not that I love them by any means, because I certainly do not, however they are far more tolerable now since I can actually do them.  That's right, I can do push-ups.  Not just a modified 'on my knees' push-ups either.  I can do both regular and modified decline push-ups, normal push-ups, incline push-ups, wide arm push-ups and as of last week, decline close-grabbing push-ups.  So I eat my words, they're not so bad now.  

Push-ups, of course, are not the only exercise I have seen super awesome improvements.  I've been upping my weights, I can do 20 leg lifts, sit ups and I can do planks on each side and front for 30 seconds, then modified for the other 30 seconds.  

Yes.  I am proud.  

So a couple blogs ago I was commenting on how I was having trouble seeing results.  Well, I need to just shut my mouth and continue to trust the process. Since June 24 and starting the challenge, I have lost 10 pounds and 7.5 inches.  53 days of 5-day a week gym, 3 weeks of mad-dance and 3 weeks of running, starting to really pay off.  Patrick and I have decided we are in for a second round of the challenge.  With school starting soon, fitting in gym time will become more taxing, but we WILL meet our goals.  

I was looking back at my measurements from our big lose in 2011 (before my 3rd pregnancy in 2012), and I have come to the conclusion that I am being too hard on myself.  It took us both approximately 6 months to get to the 50 pound loss that year, I'm just now Closing in on completing the 2nd month - plus last time all I did was run, I wasn't at the gym building lean muscle and toning.  

37 days left of this challenge. I'm excited to see the results continue....

Speaking of results, have you seen my husband!  Hot.  

 

So why Vi?

ViSalus is that meal replacement drink that everyone has been talking about.  Yes, I've tried many different diets in my lifetime and the only thing that really works is eating right and exercising.  Just like everyone who's healthy says - so why Vi?  Well, it's my easy way out to eating healthier....

After getting pregnant, I got lazy. I started back into some bad eating habits.  Eating out, fast food, unhealthy snacks...all things that seem easy to change.  But toss in our crazy busy summer schedule (we're lucky to find time for showers, let alone portioning foods for the week).  So we Vi.  For us, it is the easy option.  Using the shakes gives me the ease of not having to make a decision on what to eat (which is a whole other dilemma for me).  Breakfasts are no longer skipped because I'm rushing out the door, lunches are no longer $10-15 meals, and dinner - well, my husband plans.  

I do think viSalus could be life changing for someone who has had a lifelong issue with over eating, eating unhealthy, or the inability or dedication to count calories.  It has not necessarily been life altering for me, but it has been a time saver and a huge stress relief.  I don't have to calculate what I'm able to eat that day due to calorie allotments, I never skip meals anymore and I don't feel guilty when I do eat.

Do you find yourself eating out a lot? Skipping meals?  Eating too much?  Never able to keep with the calorie counting?  I suggest giving ViSalus a try.

As a side note: I loathe Thursday workouts. 

*Seamus is not actually drinking my shake, however he wishes he could.