New Year, New Things

Happy New Year!!

I'm proud to say that I ended 2012 on a good note, down more pounds than I started the year at and overall in a good place.  I’ve still been going to my trainer. I’ve lost 15 pounds and lost 20+ inches since starting with her in October; go me! My eating over the holidays wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. I gained 4 pounds while I was out. In the last week, I’ve caught some type of nasty virus, so I don’t eat as much as I should. That being the case, I haven’t been able to exercise, so hopefully I will be able to do something from home tonight.


For 2013, I’ve set some goals to give me some type of accountability on this journey.

Feb 14 - 13lbs by Vday (random short term goal)
April 2 - 20 more lbs by my birthday
June 2 - 15 lbs Family vacay with mom, sis husbands and kiddies.
Sept 1 - 21 lbs Dh's birthday

At any given time I will be, counting calories, low carbing, working out with a trainer 3 days a week and doing my own exercise in my free time. I hope that I will reach my goal sooner, but these dates are realistic for me. 

I'm so excited about what's in store for 2013!

Finally....

I have a personal trainer. Yay! Wendy is a 52 year old lady (that looks 30 something), who’s very passionate about her job. I was referred to her by a co-worker who has lost weight and looks amazing after training with her. Her 3 principles for successful weight loss are determination, discipline and consistency. She believes that eating right and exercising go hand in hand, neither is more important than the other.  There is a 7 day detox period where no meats or sugar is allowed. I know that I can overcome this sugar addiction, because I did it with Atkins earlier this year.

She totally won me over after she told me that she could help me get rid of my mommy tummy (post c-section belly). She said that I have the right frame; I just need to bring it in. I am too stoked! As for my schedule, I will be working out with her on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. I am going to work out at least once a week from home. Ideally, I would like to do 2 workouts on this day since it's the only day I will work out at home.

My short-term goal is to lose 20 pounds before the year is out and my long-term goal is to have all of this excess weight off by summer 2013. I think I'm finally on the right track. :)

Smoothies....My New Love

I love smoothies! I never thought I’d be able to say that. Now, I dislike the smoothies with the milkshake texture, but I love the ones with the slushy texture. The key to getting the slushy texture is to use more ice.

I have wanted to try the at-home smoothies for quite some time. So on Monday I decided to give them try. I've had some frozen canned Chiquita smoothies in my freezer for the longest time, so that's what I used. These things have been in the freezer so long that I hope they're not discontinued. Anywho, I tried Peach Mango and added some kale and unsweetened pineapple juice. They were so delish! I was able to get 3 servings from the one can. I have one can remaining and it's the Berry Blend flavor. When I blend my last can, I think I will add spinach to the mix as well.

I have emailed the company asking if it's discontinued or not. I'm still waiting on a response. I have the Jamba Juice smoothie packs in the freezer that I am going to try as well.

Just Going with the Flow

It's been a looong time since I've blogged, so here's an update...

I went on a family vacay last month with my mom, stepdad, 2 sisters, brother-in-law, nieces and nephew, my husband and our kids. We had a great time. When my sis (the one with the kids) and I were growing up, my mom made it a MUST that she take us somewhere during our summer vacation. I plan to start this tradition with my family as well. Pics coming....

I'm back to working out on a regular basis. I even plan on trying a session with a personal trainer. If all goes well, I will purchase more sessions.

My knee has been giving me some slight pain since vacay. I tried the 20 min Turbo Jam and it put too much pressure on my knee, so I've been doing low-impact exercises via the YMCA, dvds and my treadmill so that I won't put too much stress on it. Last time my knee was inflamed, my PCP prescribed Naproxen. I hate taking the Naproxen regularly, so I am hoping that I can discuss this with the trainer next week to see how/if I can rehab it.

I had my annual "Well Woman's Checkup" last month and to my surprise, I haven't gained any pounds. Although, I've maintained, that's not good when you have a lot to lose. I am aiming to lose 30-50 pounds before the NEW YEAR.

I've been kinda, sorta low-carbing it, but not really. My primary focus is to get at least 3-5 servings of fruit and veggies in daily. I have found that I can knock out a couple of those servings with smoothies. More on those smoothies later...

My baby boy is 16 months old, busy and into everydamnthing within reach. He's gonna whip me into shape if the trainer doesn't, for sure!

Today, my sis (my workout buddy) and I will be taking our "BEFORE" pictures and measurements to share once we reach goal. She started the Turbo Fire Hybrid this week. Go Britt!

In a nutshell, that is what's up with me!

No Scales Allowed

Scales are no longer welcome in my home!  I am so OVER it.  After I started over in Induction, I was 100% committed to Atkins. When I didn’t see any pounds come off, I was discouraged.  I was so discouraged that I let a few bad habits creep back into my life.  Up until yesterday, I hadn’t exercised in a minute (was having knee issues). 

I went to the doctor last week to check up on my knee and come to find out, I had inflammation surrounding it.  Years ago I had a similar issue…..She reminded me of her findings from that time; the cartilage around my knee was thinning.  She told me that I shouldn’t ever do squats.  Disappointing because I want/need to do some sort of exercises for my bootay.  Anywho, I was happy it wasn’t arthritis.  I will just have to find other exercises to work that area.  For now, she prescribed 550MG of Naproxen and I can only use the recumbent bike when I go to the gym for the next 30 days.  BooORrrrING…But I’m willing to do what I MUST to lose this weight because that is a contributing factor.  

Yesterday was my first day back at the gym and it wasn’t SO BAD, just a little boring.  I think I will use this time to start focusing on my upper body and weight lifting so I can make good use of my time and membership. 

All About Bryson

Cool shopping day with mommy

1st Birthday

He'd go shoeless if I let him

Sleeping peacefully

My sweetie on Easter

Helping me with my pedi

I'm eating, get that camera outta here!

Starting Over w/Atkins - Induction Day 3

I HAD to start over. As far as eating goes, March was a horrible month for me. My son's 1st birthday was March 24th and my birthday was April 2nd. Not to mention, Easter....So you can imagine the amount of sweets that were floating through my home. Surprisingly enough, I'm only up 2 pounds for the month of March; thank goodness!

I'm trying new recipes because I find that eating the same things over and over again the same way, gets boring. For example, last night I made a single-serve pizza with sausage in place of the dough. It was really good, next time I want to use more veggies. I'd also like to try the low-carb version of chicken parmesan and fried chicken tenders with egg batter.

Anywho, I'm on day 3 and still haven't cheated. Go me for being 100% dedicated!