Thursday, March 28, 2013

So What Weds...err... Thursday?!

Okay, so I had a blog post of my own to add today, in addition to the vlog linkup.  I know, two in one day?!  Get outta town!  But that didn't happen (you'll see why), so I decided to do Shannon's So What! Wednesday linkup.  So what!?


So What Wednesday  
 
So WHAT if...
  • I had a blog post about my Crossfire recap typed up on my work computer in a word document and forgot to save it to my drafts to post tonight once I got home
  • Today is Thursday and I'm doing So What Wednesday... see above
  • I got $41.08 in gas today?!  The pump wouldn't stop on an even number after several attemps, and... Ain't nobody got time fo dat!
  •  My muscles are sore... that's a good thing, right?  Bring on the workouts
  • Today is Thursday, because I'm OFF tomorrow!!!
  • Hubby is working nights this week and next... Next week is his LAST WEEK on second shift!  Yay for him and his new job!!!
  • If my washing machine is loud enough to wake the dead?!  At least the clothes are getting washed!
  • My scale isn't moving- my clothes are fitting better and I got a ton of compliments tonight
  • My face was shiny and oily today- I'm getting new makeup tomorrow!!!  Holla!
  • We're running the Color Me Rad 5k on Saturday... wait!  That's a pretty big deal!

She's a Little Bit Country

Well here ya go!  You get to hear my southern drawl in all of it's glory!  Check out Trista's Accent Vlog Linkup to join in on the fun!
 
 
 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Linkup, Linkup, Everybody Linkup

Well boys and girls... Here's my very first linkup!  Brought to you from the wonderful Holly and Jake




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1. If calories didn't count, I would eat... something sweet and chocolaty every day.  I’m a sucker for sweets.  Then I’d probably finish it off with something salty.  Do you see a pattern here?

2. On my Prom night.... I was crowned prom queen!  Best night ever!  Totally didn’t expect that.  And it was nice to see the looks on the preppy girls’ faces when I got it!

3. When I go to the store, I always buy... salad.  We go through that stuff fast!

4. Family functions typically... remind me that I’m not as crazy as I sometimes think I am. 

5. I think my blog readers... are freaking awesome for reading my ramblings. 

6. I'd much rather be..... a stay-at-home mommy.  But if I had to pick something to make money, I’d rather be in the health and fitness industry.

7. I have an obsession with.... being in comfy clothes.  Now, I’m all about getting dressed up and looking nice… but I’d still much rather be in my bummy, comfortable clothes.  With no flip flops, or no shoes at all!

8. My work friends.... are pretty cool.  I’ve only been here 8 months, so the jury is still out on a few!  Haha!

9. When I created my Facebook account.... I was anti-facebook and pro-myspace.  A friend convinced me that I just had to have facebook. 

10. My least favorite word is... Oh gosh... do I have to?!  I can’t believe I’m even going to write it here…. C……u….. n…..t.  Yuck!!! Just yuck.

11. I really don't remember.... Who am I kidding?!  I remember everything.  I’m like a freaking elephant!  Except for when it comes to trying to remember what I did yesterday, or what I came into a room for.

12. Justin Bieber.... has one song that I like (Boyfriend) and I could really do without the rest.

 
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Monday, March 25, 2013

I will do anything for weight loss... But I. WON'T. do. THAT!!!


Yep, as bad as I want to lose weight, there are a few things that I just won’t do.  Not everyone will agree with me.  And that’s fine.  These are my own opinions and this is just how I do it.  Throughout my weight loss journey, I’ve learned a lot of things, and most of this comes from that. 

1.       I will NOT cut out any food group from my diet.  I believe that you need some of everything- yes everything- fats, carbs, all of it, for your body.  Now that being said, I have reduced carbs in the past, I try to only have healthier fats, and I’ve severely cut the junk foods down.  I do not believe in diets that claim you don’t need certain things (ie.  Atkins, South Beach, etc.)

2.       I will NOT starve myself.  You need to eat in order to lose weight.  Sounds like an oxymoron (who you callin moron?!) doesn’t it?  Well, I believe that depriving your body of food is kind of moronic!  Your body needs food to turn it into fuel to work and do what it is supposed to do.  Along with this, I will not use shake “supplements” or bar “supplements” or anything of the sort to replace meals.  I take my vitamins and supplements, and I drink protein shakes and eat protein bars, but these do not take place of my meals.  Gotta get enough calories in.

3.       I will NOT eat food that I don’t like.  I was sitting in the break room at work the other day, eating my lunch when another person came in and started eating.  She said, “Ugh, this food is gross!  But it’s okay, because I need to lose about 20 pounds.”  It doesn’t have to be like that.  Sure, I’ve bought frozen meals (that I stay away from now) that were nasty, and I didn’t have anything else to eat that day, so I ate it anyway.  But I don’t bring food that I know I don’t like just to lose weight.  You can eat healthy and yummy at the same time.  Shocker, I know!  Find healthy ways to prepare your favorite foods.  If you don’t like the foods, you’re not going to stick with it.

4.       I will NOT diet.  This goes along with what I just said.  If you don’t like it or are depriving yourself, you won’t stick with it.  The changes I’m making need to stick around, so I’m not going on a diet that I will quit once I reach a goal.  That only means that the weight comes back.  Rocky and I made lifestyle changes years ago and we eat according to that. 

5.       I will NOT have an expiration date.  I had dinner with my dad the other day and he said, “So what have you been up to?”  I told him, “Working and working out… that’s all I have time for.”  To which, he replied, “Oh, getting ready for summer, huh?”  I told him, “Nope.  Getting ready for life.”  Now, it’s great to set goals and deadlines for yourself to keep yourself accountable.  But don’t stop after that.  If you stop, you go right back to where you were and have to start all over again when your next event, or next spring, or next whatever comes up.  I want to look good on a random Wednesday in February, not just for a certain time period or season. 

6.       I will NOT reward/sabotage myself with food.  I lost a lot of weight.  Then gained most of it back.  And now I’m losing it again.  When I gained it back, I had just taken a new job.  Everyone went out to eat for lunch ALL the time.  I had worked for over a year to get where I was.  I had worked hard.  I deserved a cheat meal.  I deserved to be able to have some of the foods I had gone without.  Yeah, and because I deserved so many cheat meals, I deserved to gain the weight back.  And that’s what happened.  Now, I work those meals into my plan.  I know if I’m going to have a cheat meal, I need to prepare for it before, and work for it after.  That may mean eating a lower calorie lunch, and getting an extra workout in.  But I’m not giving up all of my hard work this time. 

7.       I will NOT take a “magic” pill to lose weight.  Been there, tried that.  Didn’t work.  There are so many out there in the market.  You know why?  Because none of them work!  If they worked, people would catch on to it, and the one that worked would put the rest out of business.  It’s all marketing.  Quit putting crap in your body.  There’s no telling what long term side effects those things are going to cause.  Here’s what works:  A healthy diet and exercising regularly.  That’s it.  Those two things.  Period.

8.       I will NOT let anything stop me.  Working out is hard.  If it were easy, it wouldn’t be called work.  Pretty clever, huh?  Yeah, I read that somewhere.  But it’s true.  I have to sweat.  I have to make sacrifices.  I have to give up other things.  I have to rearrange my schedule.  I have to put some things on the back burner.  But it is worth it.  And it’s a mind game.  Get determined.  Don’t let anyone or anything stop you.  Make up your mind, and don’t accept anything less than your goal. 

And in honor of weight loss, here’s a little something something that I took this morning:

 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

The Girl Behind the Blog

Here's a few things you may or may not have known about me:


1.       I hate mustard.  And pickles.  And sneezing.  And all or nothing people when it comes to heat and air in the car- you have controls and options for a reason!

2.       I wish I could sing.  I seriously suck at it.  But hey, you can’t be good at everything. 

3.       I’m easily persuaded.  And I don’t like the fact, but it’s the truth.

4.       I am a picture whore.  Of myself and everyone and everything else!

 

 
5.       I’m allergic to cats.  But we have 2 labs and I love them!

 
6.       I have been with my husband since 2000 and we have been married since 2008.  I couldn’t imagine loving someone else more than I love him, even though he knows all my buttons to push and can send me over the edge in about .2 seconds. 

 
 

7.       I have a degree in Communication Studies, which is in no way related to or needed for my current job.  If I had it to do all over, I would do something health and fitness related.  Probably be some type of physical therapist.

8.       I’m a sucker for reality television.  Not that crappy Real Housewives stuff, but the stuff that comes on local channels.  Biggest Loser and Big Brother are among my favorites. 

9.       One of my pet peeves is when a big person tries to tell me how to lose weight.  Don’t get it twisted, if they are big and have lost weight, or are in the process of doing it, I’m all ears.  But for someone that is not currently where they need to be, or in the process of getting there, you’re wasting your breath.  I feel like that’s a hypocrite.  And by the way, I’ve done it before, I’m doing it again, and I appreciate your concern, but you are not doing it, so I’ll stick to my tried and true methods.  Thanks!

10.   Along with pet peeves, the toilet paper roll goes OVER!  End of story.

11.   My bestie and I have coined 2013 the “Year of the Badass!”  We’re doing a half marathon in April, the Warrior Dash in June, and who knows what else the year holds for us.  We’re pretty awesome!  ;)
 

12.   I spend way too much of my life playing online games.  Seriously.  Someone should probably have an intervention.  But wait, don’t!  I like them!

13.   I call my husband Rox.  His name is Rocky.  Yes, his real name is Rocky Dix.  Hey, don’t look at me!  I didn’t name him… his mother did!  We have vowed to be a little more careful with our future children’s names.  Ex. As much as I love the name Chase, I will not name my son Chase Dix.
 

14.   I don’t like to think that I am predictable.  I may be.  I understand that.  Most people are.  But I hate for someone to say, “I knew you were going to do that!”  I got my tongue pierced in 10th grade (took it out a long time ago) just for that reason- because it wasn’t something people expected me to do.

15.   I trust and love too easily, and I’m sensitive.  Which means I usually end up getting hurt very easily.  But I think it’s worth it.  I have deeper and more meaningful relationships by not keeping myself guarded or blocked off.

16.   I teach Zumba and I absolutely LOVE it!!!  I love to dance and I love music.  I really feel like I’m in my element when I’m teaching and I know it helps others.   
17.   I honor and admire my little brother so incredibly much.  He has proven himself over and over and I know he is destined for greatness.  I love him to pieces!

 

 

18.   I am NOT a morning person.  I swear I was born to live in Spain, where I sleep late, get a nap during the day and stay up until the wee hours of the morning.  Yeah, that would work so much better for me.

19.   I’m a horrible estimator at how long things will take- which usually makes me late.  I used to be early or at least on time for everything.  I’m not sure when this change happened.  It stresses me out, but I just can’t seem to figure it out.

20.   I desperately want to be a mother.  I feel that some people were just born for it.  I think I’m one of those people.  There is so much more that I want to do in life, but I feel like I will be satisfied and feel accomplished once I have children.  It’s the one thing that I would regret if I never did. (This is my niece and she is one of the most precious things in this world!)

 

Monday, March 11, 2013

What's New

A few things, I guess.  I’ve been busy lately, which obviously, means I don’t blog much.  I’ve found that I have the most blogging time on the weekends, but my past few weekends have been full too. 

Here’s a picture from my girl Beth’s (who has lost 30 POUNDS!!!!) birthday party last weekend! 

So I guess I’ll start with what’s new in my fitness world.  Last week, the hubby and I started Crossfire at the local YMCA.  Think Crossfit, except not in a Crossfit gym, without trx bands, pullup stations, that kind of thing.  We have a workout of the day, and it is very similar to Crossfit.  I’ve been DYING to try Crossfit, but haven’t been able to come up with the money to do more than just a sample class, and I didn’t want to get hooked on something and not be able to go.  This class is only on Mondays, for the month of March.  But I’m hoping it’s what I need to boost be past this plateau I’ve been stuck on. 

So, we went last week, and…. I LOVED IT!!!  We got such a great workout!!!! I can’t wait to go back tonight!  Last week, we did a fit test, to see where we start and have something to measure against by the end.  Then, we had 20 minutes to do 20 front squats, 20 pushups, 20 wall shots and 20 box jumps.  We had to do as many rounds as possible.  By round 3, I just knew I could only get one more round in before time was called.  Then, I finished round 4 and still had about 5-6 minutes left.  I started with the pushups, because I didn’t mind them that much.  Then I did my box jumps, because they were my favorite.  Then I did the wall shots, because they weren’t too bad.  I kept putting off the front squats because they made my wrists hurt, with the way we had to hold the bar.  I still had time left, so I started on those too!  I got about half way and they called out 1 minute left, and I busted those squats out!!!  I couldn’t believe I finished 5 sets!  I was sweating, and panting, and gargling my heart in my throat (any Jillian Michaels fans out there?)! 

Since we only meet once a week, they email a second workout for the week, so we get at least 2 workouts in.  The second one was 3 rounds of 20 weighted situps, 7 pullups, 30 one legged squats and .25 mi run, for time.  So, you have to do 3 rounds as quick as possible.  I dug deep (any Insanity fans out there?!) and busted that shiz out in 19 minutes and 51 seconds!!!  My goal was to get it done in less than 20 minutes!  Heck yes!!!  My friend Shannon came over and did it with me.  Then she puked when she left!  It’s intense, y’all!  But I need intense!  Got a plateau to bust through!

If nothing else, the workouts are toning my muscles!  I was soooo excited to see this badass arm pic I took this past week:

And here’s my favorite thing that is new.  I have been in the 160s for FOUR CONSECUTIVE days!!!  That has yet to happen this go round!!! So, maybe, just maybe, I’m making head way with that damn plateau!  Here’s my weight since January, just so you can see what I’ve been struggling with:

 So what am I doing differently?  Well, I was supposed to be tracking my calories with My Fitness Pal.  Yeah, that lasted about 4 days or so.  Then I ate out, I didn’t know how to track my meal, and it ended.  But, I already had a good idea of what and how much I was eating.  Well, by the end of last week, I decided to change it up just a little.  Rox (what I call the hubby) has been saying I’ve been eating too much.  I think I haven’t been eating enough.  He said, “Well you eat all the time, all day long, you don’t need that much food.  You don’t need to eat 6 times a day!”  I told him he was wrong.  Imagine that!  I will say that he has lost and kept of at least 55 pounds, so naturally he thinks he knows what to do.  Well, in the beginning, he didn’t do it so healthy.  He ran with trash bags on, he ate little to nothing.  Even now, it’s a struggle to keep him eating enough throughout the day to keep his metabolism up so that he doesn’t get so tired.  But through all that, he still thinks he’s right (MEN!).   So I think he believes he’s right in what he’s telling me.  And after 3 months of weighing between the same 4 pounds, back and forth, I almost thought so too (that stays between us though, never repeat it to him!).  So, at the end of last week, one day I was hungrier than normal, so I ate an additional snack.  And the next day, my weight was down.  I thought I may be on to something!  So, I did the same thing the next day.  And the next morning, my weight was down again!  Since that day, I’ve eaten a little more than I had normally been eating, and my weight has continued to go down, or at least be below 170!  Saturday night we went out for a birthday party, and I had a regular hamburger, fries and some beers.  My weight was still down on Sunday and this morning.  I really think I need to up my calories, and so far, it seems to be working.  I do some pretty intense workouts, and I think I need more fuel for my body.  Why in the world did I almost let the hubby convince me he was right?!  I knew better and I think I’m proving it!  I’ve been super stoked about my weight these past few days, and I’ve gotten a TON of compliments and people asking what I’m doing to lose the weight, how to start running, etc.  It means so much to me when I see that I am inspiring and encouraging other people.  That is one thing that I strive to do.  I like to know that I’m making a difference, not only for myself, but for others too.

Here’s Rox and me this weekend:

 And here’s a comparison from June 2012 and this past weekend:


Here’s our group celebrating:

 
And this is one of just me Saturday.  Rox got me this super cute Pink Rack Project shirt that he bought from Sassy Does when he was out of town last weekend.  This is a XL fitted tee (need the room for the “rack”) and it fits perfectly.  A portion of the proceeds support breast cancer research, and I’m a huge advocate!