Me = Slacker

Already.  I just started this blog...and I have been slacking on posting.  I have several different subject ideas throughout the day...but ugh...so busy!  And a few nights last week that by the time I got little one to sleep, it was time to head to bed myself I was so exhausted!  So really, there is no point to this post other than to say that I am a slacker.  But hey...since I am here, how about some updates:

• Last week, I posted a product review on the jaybird blue tooth ear buds.  Well...I would still love them...if they worked.  I don't know what the deal is, but seems they are dead all the time.  Won't hold a charge apparently.  This morning, even, I charged them all night, unplugging just before going to the gym, get there...the damn things are dead.  Awesome.  I am planning to write the company but in the meantime, the hubster has given me his (because he has apparently found other earbuds he wants).  I will update once I have some sort of resolution (or even lack of) from the company.
• Yesterday, I bought (and wore) my first pair of skinny jeans that weren't maternity or made for fat chicks!  And...if I do say so myself, they looked awesome!  (Got them from the Gap, Always Skinny).  And because I bought new jeans, I went to therapy (DSW) for new shoes.
• I've tried a few different workouts now on Workout Trainer and, for the most part, I am still really liking this app and have poked around a bit on the website since my review last week. I did do one today, however, that I just don't think I was ready for.  It was the P90X Ab Ripper.  The workout was labeled as intense, which should have been my first clue...but it just proved I have absolutely no core strength.  I need to figure this out...how to strengthen my core.  
• I took the little Peanut to Sylvania Playland yesterday for a play date...not bad.  I mean, she couldn't fully enjoy the place as she is only 15 months...but plenty of activities there for the wee ones.  
• The rest of the weekend, however, she was in full on meltdown mode.  I am kinda feeling it is my fault since I have been so busy...today she was apparently really bad for the hubster...I had to work half a day, and she apparently had a meltdown wherever her daddy took her.  And she also had a huge one for her grandmother yesterday right before the hubster and I went out.  So heartbreaking, I nearly decided to scrap plans and stay home...but really, what good would that have done?

And that's it.  That is my Sunday night update.

App Review: Workout Trainer by skimble.com

Pretty sure I briefly mentioned this app in a post from the other day but wanted to mention it again now that I have had a chance to try it out.  I have the app downloaded to both my cell phone (a Samsung Galaxy that I am not a fan of...I really miss my EVO) and my Kindle Fire (LOVE)!  I found it while just doing a search on different fitness apps available, liked what I saw and downloaded it.

I finally tried a workout this past Sunday after my cardio.  This is the actual workout I did and I gotta say...for a 25 minute workout, it was pretty good!  Almost like a condensed version of the boot camp class I take at the Y a few nights a week.  Some of the features I like about the app are the workout preview so you can check out the entire workout before starting it...this also includes step by step instructions of each of the moves.  A 'trainer' will talk you through the entire workout (the voice is rather annoying, but it is what it is...you could upgrade to the 'pro' version for a few more trainer options).  Rest periods are built into each workout, and it gives you a calorie count (estimated) that accumulates as the workout progresses.  There are so many different workouts available on the free version, I am not sure an upgrade to the pro version will ever be necessary!  You can choose from three different intensity levels, search for workouts based on the area you wish to workout; search by cardio, weights, full body, running, yoga, etc.  I've even come across P90X workouts, CrossFit WODs, army-type workouts...even just a two-minute drill like wall sits or planks.

I think this app really takes away more excuses for people not to workout.  There are short workouts, long workouts, workouts that require no extra equipment...really...no excuses not to workout.

Outfit of the Day 9/25/2012

Once again...all NY & Co.  The pants a recent purchase, the top probably July.  The necklace just a few weeks ago.  And the shoes:  from DSW, of course.  Ralph Lauren.

product review - Jaybird Bluetooth Earbuds

Jaybird website

Love love LOVE these!  I have always had a problem with catching the wire for my earbuds on EVERYTHING!  Annoying as hell when you're trying to get a decent workout in!  And then, secondary to the catching on everything problem, I have always had a problem with the fit of earbuds.  Just didn't work well for me.  My husband bought a pair for himself a couple of months ago and I tried his on for size...from that moment on, I wanted them.  I went to Best Buy and bought a new nano in anticipation of eventually buying these for myself.  Instead of that happening, my husband surprised me with my own pair for our anniversary!  Only problem?  couldn't find a BT adaptor for my new nano.  Ended up returning the nano and getting an iPod Touch.

The earbuds have worked awesome.  No cord to catch on things, no problem with fit.  And actually, I do not need to have my iPod on my body...I have left it on a machine and walked away to get something to wipe it down and never lost the music.  The only downfall?  After about 4 days max, I need to charge.  I have forgotten a few times and have been left music-free for my workout.  Not good.

Outfit of the Day 9/24/2012

I have an addiction to NY & Company.  The clothes aren't pricey, quality isn't too bad, a lot of mix and match.  The best part?  The generous sizing.  The top is a recent purchase...the skirt back in July.

And the shoes I just got (from DSW...otherwise known as 'therapy):

Oufit of the day #2 - 9/23/2012

In addition to new gym clothes new play clothes would be nice, too! The jeans I had did not want to stay up (forgot a belt) and the shirt I believe the husband bought before we were married. However...perhaps I could attribute Da Bears win yesterday to that shirt!

Outfit of the Day #1 - 9/23/2012

Rocking the workout gear (once i am done spending money on work clothes it is time to move on to gym clothes - I haven't a clue when I bought these)!

Yay! Motivation! There you are!

That afternoon of trying on bathing suits was apparently the final kick in the pants I needed.  I mean, it wasn't gross, way out of control kinda thing...but I knew I could do better.  I quit making excuses...that was a huge problem of mine - I had an excuse for everything.

Exercise

I started back in the gym.  I started going on my lunch breaks...doing what I could do in the short time frame I had to work with.  I didn't work in my comfort zone, but pushed past it.  I didn't lift weights I was comfortable with, but pushed for more.  Sometimes a lot more.  We got a Y membership last winter (primarily to help Shawn with the swimming portion of his triathlon training) and I do spin classes there on a regular basis.  This fall session, I have added a 'boot camp' class to the spin class.  I may add something else or change it up next session.  I am wanting to give running one final shot.  I have downloaded an app onto my phone and my kindle (Workout Trainer by skimble.com).  I follow lots of people on Instagram that are primarily fitness-related.  I chase a 15 month old baby around on a regular basis.

Diet

Still trying to find my way with a diet.  I am not a fan of cooking, and when I do cook, it is not overly impressive.  I am really wanting to try this clean eating thing, but can't get the husband on board with it.  And with a toddler, I need to work with her diet as well...and her pickiness (which rivals mine).  Until I truly find the way with my eating habits, I am using My Fitness Pal to track everything I eat, set goals for myself, etc.  I have a few friends on there and we try to motivate each other.  I also use it frequently to track my exercise - cardio and strength training.  I have also taken a few pages from my gestational diabetes diet for my snacking.  Even though I use my lunch break to work out, I do not skip eating.  I will quite often grab a chicken breast and veggies, a salad loaded with veggies, a fruit cup, etc.  Sometimes I will just grab a protein shake after my workout.

The result?

This was from this past Tuesday:

As far as weight loss is concerned, when I weighed myself yesterday (I typically weigh myself after my Friday lunch time workout), I was at 145.8 lbs.  I have gone from a size 12 to a size 6 (almost always I buy my clothes at NY & Co...I am aware of their generous sizing, but hey...at least if I continue shopping at the same place, I get consistency with my sizing).  Extra large to a medium.  The bra size has definitely changed, too.  My strength has definitely improved, I feel better about myself overall.  My legs have slimmed, I am getting some definition in my biceps, the husband says the back fat is gone.

A lot of people have noticed and have commented.  Most of it has been nice and I hope that I have maybe motivated others.  Maybe these types of posts on my blog will motivate even more people.  On the flip side...I also get somewhat negative comments - people saying I am too skinny (um...145 lbs. - how is that too skinny?  methinks you are just jealous), asking if I have been sick, etc.  Even asking when I'm going to stop.  This is not something I hope to stop.  I haven't totally defined what my overall goal is.  I still have a long way to go as far as my fitness level is concerned (trust me, this boot camp class I am taking has definitely proved that).  I want to banish the fat altogether.  It is not healthy!

I only wish it was the easy with shoe size.

The history of my weight loss struggle...

This has been a struggle for me most of my adult life  - chalk it up to laziness, enjoying the brewskis too much, enjoying good food even more, lack of motivation, lack of time, money, etc.  I could probably publish a novel with all of the excuses I've used over time as to why I couldn't work out and the justification to eat/drink whatever I felt like.  I would never have been labeled obese...but most definitely overweight.

I first joined a gym back in 2000.  At the time, the company I was working for had moved into a new building and a new gym was put in there.  It took a while to find my groove...but midway through 2001 I lost weight...actually over a period of three months in the second half of that year, I lost about 50 lbs. as well as finally got smart and left my ex-boyfriend (so I guess all told, you could say I lost over 200 lbs. that year).

Since 2000, I have always had a gym membership somewhere (the majority of that time was Lifestyles for Ladies Only, but I eventually gave that up as many of you Toledo-area ladies know the drama with that place) and for the most part, I really didn't pile the pounds back on.  Nope.  It was more of a steady, very slow weight kind that kinda crept on me and then all of a sudden, it was like "what the hell happened to me????"  I have an excuse for that, I really do!  I blame some of that on my husband.    You all know how it is...that whole 'comfort' thing.  Where you meet someone (we met in 2006) and you're still looking pretty darn good, but over the course of that relationship, you grow comfortable with one another, and then gradually, the pounds start coming back.  Now mind you, I did still hit the gym on occasion...but often I chose to spend time with my new love and socializing (in our early days, we had quite the full social calendar).

We got married in August of 2008...you would have thought squeezing into a wedding dress would have been great motivation to hit the gym, right?  Um.  No.  Apparently wasn't enough for me.  I mean, I thought it was...and honestly I was in the gym religiously...almost daily.  But it didn't happen.  I have pictures of the back fat being proudly displayed in my halter-style wedding dress.

Over the next couple of years, my weight seemed to have gone down a little...actually, I think in 2010, I made some progress.  Then I started a new job (my current job) September of that year.  That hurt the waistline my weight crept up to around 178 lbs. (I think back in 2000, before joining a gym, I was actually close to 190)....despite the fact we had a nice new gym, free even, right there in the building.  I was slowly expanding again.  We started a Weight Watchers at Work program, and I joined.  And in the first couple of weeks following that diet, it seemed I was starving all the time, but darnit - I lost a few pounds!  And then...a month and a half, not even that much time actually, after starting that new job, I found out I was pregnant.  So much for weight loss!

I vowed with my pregnancy that I would continue working out!  And I tried!  But darnit...I got to a point where every time I tried the cardio machines, I had to jump off every five minutes to pee!  And then I just got so busy with work.  And a pregnant woman's gotta eat, right?  I have huge regret that I did not continue working out.  I developed gestational diabetes (I actually question that diagnosis, but whatev) and towards the end of my pregnancy, walking was a chore.  It was bad.  I topped out somewhere around 210 or above (I quit looking, didn't want to know).

Let me tell you - being a new mom gave me a whole new set of excuses as to why I couldn't work out, or not workout as frequently!  My diet got horrible (pretty much a grab what I could when I could kinda thing)!  It was just bad...but those maternity clothes kinda got comfy!  I returned to work two months after having Stella and was probably around 186 lbs.  Between August of last year and May of this year, I dropped another 10.  My husband decided early on in the year that he was going to start training for triathlons...and that was a little motivation for me (wouldn't look good for the wife of a triathlete to be a dumpy fatass, would it?).

And then...in May, I had an unexpected day off work - I had a regularly scheduled doctor appointment that morning and had planned to go into work after.  But daycare called, Stella wasn't feeling good, picked her up, got her to do the docs (double ear infection followed up later that day by the start of hand foot and mouth disease).  While she was napping that afternoon, I headed out to try on bathing suits since I had planned to start her in swim classes.  And for some reason, that was the final motivation I needed.

My latest...and final...attempt at blogging...

I think the title says it all.  I keep trying, I keep starting a blog, I start with every intention of maintaining it...and then it falls to the wayside.  I get bored with it.  Can't think of anything to talk about.  Don't want to overshare/undershare or just plain bore others with what I post.  I sometimes have mistaken a blog for a diary that one would write their innermost thoughts in.  Yes, for the most part, I really don't care what others thinks, if I offend and have a tendency to be brutally honest.  And sometimes that can directly or indirectly affect/hurt those that I actually do care about.  So I'm giving this one last try.

The blog name

I am definitely NOT the most creative person out there.  Coming up with cute/clever/funny/original names is not my forte.  This is why I missed out on joining a fantasy football league - because I could not come up with a team name worthy enough.  And yes, I being totally serious.  So as I thought about another attempt at a blog, I've struggling with a name.  I don't want to pigeonhole the blog itself into one particular category but leave it open to talk about whatever the hell I want to talk about.  Yep.  Couldn't come up with a damn name.  A few weeks ago, in a status post by my husband, he referred to me as the shrinking fat chick (now mind you, he does not nor has he ever thought I was fat - every time I described myself as fat I think he got a little mad at me - his actually post was in reference to both of us and the journeys we have been on this year in our attempts to become more fit).  I just came across this post again today...and, well, the blog now has a name.

And the blog topic?

Whatever I feel like talking about at that particular time - the whole weight loss/fitness thing, sports, dreaming of a new house, Stella, work (yeah...not likely to happen too often, I like having  a job, politics (um...actually, I would prefer not, but every now and then I come across a gem I have to share), family, etc.  I am actually going to kick off the blog with a few different topics currently occupying space in my brain.