Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015

I weighed in last night down 2 lbs, just .4 lbs away from goal! Here's to ringing in the first weigh in for 2015 at goal.

Week of Workouts

 

I didn't actually get to working my arms Christmas Eve.  I was too busy with wrapping and packing. I guess you can say I got an abs workout instead LOL

Christmas morning I got in the arms workout before Austin opened presents. 

Friday was cardio and abs in the morning. We took a little bit of a stroll through German Village in the afternoon.

Saturday I worked my back.

Week 6 wrapped up Sunday working my shoulders.

 

Everything was back on schedule Monday working my chest.

Yesterday was leg day.

This morning I worked my arms.

Physical Therapy

 

My doctor and I believe my headaches stem from the neck and shoulders area so he referred me to physical therapy. I met with a PT Tuesday morning. She found many tight and tender spots in the whole region. I was sent home with six exercises to do every day.

 

At some point I brought up vertigo.  The PT said it could also have something to do with everything going on in my neck and shoulder region. I'd said that very thing to the doctor back in January with my last episode!  The PT ended up transferring me to another who happens to specialize in treating vertigo. So I'm hoping that this physical therapy takes care of both problems!

2015 Goals

Well, I didn't meet many of my 2014 Goals but I'd like to keep some of them for next year.  The first few listed below are the carry-overs. I'll continue to add/update my goals throughout the year.

1. Sell or donate the clothes that are too big for me now.  (I gave my mom the 1X/16s but the rest need to go somewhere.)
2. Meet new people (in person not just online).
3. Partner with some places to host fit clubs.
4. Make a social media schedule and stick to it so I'm not always on.
5. Start making money with the Beachbody business to cover my expenses.  (I made a little bit this year but that didn't cover anything.)
6. Have $100 per week additional spending money.
7. Have at least 2 blog posts every week.  (Need more guest posters!)
8. Increase monthly page views.
9. Continue working on improving my overall health.
10. Find personal development programs that pique my interest (and keep it!).
11. Successfully maintain my goal weight.
12. Take a vacation somewhere warm.
13. Visit the eye doctor and get new glasses.
14. Obtain group fitness and wellness coaching certification from NETA.

What is one thing you know you want to accomplish in the new year?

Linking up with

Nicole Liloia's The #InstahappyProject

I've signed up for Nicole Liloia's #InstahappyProject where, over 21 days, I'll be sharing a picture of something that makes me happy on Instagram.  Yesterday was Day 1 so I wanted to share last night's weigh in for my picture.  I'm down another .8 lbs!

 

Today's happy moment was on my walk during lunch.  I wanted to capture fall along with it to go along with The STIS Girls' writing prompt for the Back to Blogging Challenge.  A nice day with the sun shining.  Not too hot.  Not too cold (although I wore my jacket/coat for the first half of the walk).  I got in 2.6 miles today.  What has made you happy today?

 



 

I'm kind of nervous about Sunday.  I'm attending a local Super Sunday Beachbody event hosted by another coach.  This will be my first time working out in a group since gym class.  My shorts aren't really decent for the general public so I plan to wear the Kockout by Victoria's Secret Tight that was in my Influenster Voxbox.  Since I am in the public I'm actually going to wear a shirt not just my Incredible by Victoria's Secret Sports Bra (will remove the shirt if others have done so and I'm comfortable).  I don't know if I'm wearing my bright green shirt I would wear on my walks or my Les Mills Combat shirt that arrived yesterday.  Is there anyone in the area that would like to come with me (so at least I'll "know" someone there)?

Linking up with

I Can See 90 lbs

Image Courtesy of Idea go | Freedigitalphotos.net

Weighed in last night down another .8 lbs....puts a 90 lb total loss just over the horizon!

I've still been sticking to Jillian Michaels workouts.  This morning I did the 30 Day Shred Level 1 workout.  I could still feel it in my shoulders when I left for my walk!  I've tried others at the library but just can't get into them like I can with Jillian.  Have you tried any new workouts?

You've probably heard that Beachbody released a new program last week from Chalene Johnson - PiYo.  I wanted to get it right away but with our medical expenses up in the air Benny said it wasn't a good time.  Maybe with my birthday money or Christmas at the latest I'll be able to pick up one for myself.  In the mean time I'm running a challenge group starting next month...on Facebook or G+ depending on participants' preferences.  Here's the link for the event page on G+ https://plus.google.com/events/c4iel1889j03r2h8c26685lrmg4.  If you're on Facebook look for the event "PiYo Challenge" with this cover image

It's been too crazy at work so I haven't had a chance to schedule an appointment to see the doctor about the exercise induced neurocardiogenic syncope.  Kind of want Benny to come with me in case there are warning signs to look out for (and I might not necessarily notice) so he can hear it straight from the doctor.

We received the EOB from Benny's salivary endoscopy already....well at least some of them.  Our responsibility of the doctor's portion is $928, the surgery center's portion is $1182, and the pathology lab's portion is $23.  Not sure if we'll have a separate bill from the anesthesiologist or if that was included in the surgery center's costs.  Either way it didn't cost us nearly as much as we thought; we didn't max out his deductible.  The next challenge will be figuring out how we'll pay for it all.

As of Saturday my garden still looks critter free.  With this changing weather I haven't had to water much.  Looking out the window every day it appears the tomatoes are growing more but I can't tell much else from that distance.  How is your garden doing?

Last week I only walked to the farmer's market.  I picked up more broccoli and some Kickapoo cheese (inspired by the German Butterkäse Benny likes) from the Ludwig Farmstead Creamery.  Benny hasn't tried it though so I'm unsure if he likes this one.  On the way back I stopped at the tea shop that's closing and picked up a strainer to go with the loose leaf teas I purchased last time.  This afternoon I picked up some bell peppers and two different varieties of lettuce.

Linking up with

Journey Year One - Nearly 75 lbs Lost

I weighed in last night down 3.4 lbs...that's just .2 lbs shy of having lost 75 lbs since starting my journey a year ago today!  I would've liked to have the full 75 lbs directly coinciding with the anniversary but I'll take it anyway.  Might as well go ahead and call it the unofficial 30% loss.

Weight Watchers Journey

This is where I started one year ago.

 

This is where I started the second 16 weeks.

 

This is where I started the third 16 weeks.

 

This is where I started the fourth 16 weeks.

 

 

Beachbody Journey

 

It all began with Tai Cheng in May.

 

I enjoyed the whole experience so much that I came to the realization that the thing I'd been hiding from essentially my whole life was my passion, my purpose for life.  I'm supposed to be helping others on their journey to improve their overall health and wellness.  So I signed up to be an Independent Team Beachbody Coach.  I'm exploring the variety of certification programs so I can expand beyond Beachbody and Weight Watchers to be a true Health & Wellness Coach.

 

Slim in 6 round 1 was next.

 

Then came Body Gospel.  Too bad Beachbody discontinued the program last month.

 

 



Slim in 6 round 2 led me into the holidays.

 

I was sidelined a while dealing with the vertigo.  Never did I dream that I'd miss working out!  It's pretty much gone now but I do have the occasional spin when I'm laying down for the night.

 



Rockin' Body was my way to start working out again.

 

I'm anxiously awaiting the ship notice for the 21 Day Fix.

 

 

To celebrate my first year on this journey I am happy to announce that I'm getting a massage!  Now Benny said that he wants to come with me so he needs something to do while I'm relaxing.  Afterwards we'll go out to eat or something.  He said yesterday that he'll hang out at the Heidelberg Haus so I need to find a place near there.  Benny's having surgery next Friday to remove a stone in his salivary gland/duct so I need to schedule and go before then.  Such a lot to cram in a week!



 



Linking up with

Clothed or Naked

Well, I was up 1.2 lbs again this week because of TOM.  Oh well...I'll be back to losing next week.  It's supposed to be in the 40s next week, even near 50, so I might be able to add some kind of activity outside.  I'm so tired of being cooped up indoors!

I've always been curious what the true weight difference is when you weigh yourself with and without clothes.  Yesterday I received an Ozeri scale that I'll be reviewing after playing with it a while.  So before I went to bed I had to try it out.

I was wearing a turtle neck, jeans, leggings, bra, panties, and socks.  I removed everything but my glasses (and the phone) to take the picture.  So what I wore yesterday weighed about 3.8 lbs.  At Weight Watchers I normally don't remove my shoes (but did so at last night's weigh in) so there's probably another pound or so on my official weigh ins.  Would you like me to share the clothed or naked weight each week?

While writing this post my phone started acting weird, asking for my Google password, and not letting me do anything else.  I tried pushing the power button for a restart but that didn't work.  So I did the old force shutdown by removing the battery.  Now it's stuck on the Samsung startup screen. Guess they'll be sending me another phone....

 

Best Burn of the Week

 

Linking Up with



When You Think about it #LoveThighself

This month I'm participating in the Love Thighself challenge from Run DMT and the Mom Buzz.  Every day try to share something POSITIVE about yourself. Try to come up with something different every day – 28 compliments! Amazing, right? Share these positive thoughts however you are comfortable with the #LoveThighself hashtag.  Most of my positive things are posted on the event page on Facebook but there are a few tweets I've done.

Saturday I went to Goodwill's 50% off sale and saved over $40!  I picked up several size 12 pants, jeans, and skirts, as well as a cute Medium skirt.  Yes, I realize it's tight but it's more for spring anyway!

Since December 18th I've lost:

1.5 inches off my thighs

1.25 inches off my arms

.5 inches off my hips

No change in my bust or waist
And I weighed in last night down another 1.4 lbs!  Feeling awesome! 

There was a huge overwhelming response to the release of the 21 Day Fix. The base kit is already on backorder for late March shipment! Now I have no clue what workout I'm doing in March.

I'd like to feature stories of anyone who's doing Weight Watchers and the 21 Day Fix.  I'd need their story, before & after Fix photos, how they incorporated the Eating Plan with the Points Plus or Simply Filling program, and their results.  If you or anyone you know is interested please send them my way! 

Linking up with

Almost Back to Where I Was

I was sooo close!  The past two weeks I'd gained 3.4 lbs.  This week I lost 3.2 lbs!  I'd still like to consider it a wash.  What do you think?

Disco Groove is still my favorite Rockin' Body workout so far.  My calorie burn dropped below 300 on my HRM so I need to mix it up with another workout.  Because I'm not following the recommended schedule I'm probably going to go ahead and do Rockin' Body through the end of February.  Today I had heartburn and didn't want to do too much.  Somehow the Hard Core Abs made that all go away!  I heated up right away and wanted to do more but there wasn't any time.

I'm exited about the new program coming out next month - 21 Day Fix.  From what I've seen it's kind of a mix between Weight Watchers' portion control and a 30-minute Beachbody workout.  You can lose 10-15 lbs in just 21 days with daily workouts and food portioned out in the containers that come with the kit.  Our team has a webinar tonight with one of the coaches that went through the program during the testing phase.  Register here if you're interested in attending the webinar.  I'm considering the 21 Day Fix for my March program.  Anyone want to join me?

I relaxed too much this weekend and stayed off the computer so I didn't get those recipes typed up.  One night I heated up the little bit of leftover clementine salsa with my dinner.  It was totally gross!  That's a leftover I don't want to have again.  BLEH!

This afternoon's the next round of fillings at the dentist.  When this all started I could've sworn they only said 2 appointments for fillings.  Last week he said there'd be two more appointments - tonight and whenever we schedule the next one!  I'm so confused now about what the dentist is doing.  Part of tonight he's supposed to sand down (I think) the bone spur that's formed out the side of my gum where the one tooth was pulled.

Something I've noticed since last week is that my teeth on my left side (both upper and lower) have become sensitive to both heat and cold.  I drink warm tea or ice water on that side of my mouth and it hurts.  Something to ask the dentist tonight I guess....

Another Gain but Back to Working Out

I've started working out again but the scale isn't ready to believe it yet.  I was up another 1.2 lbs last night.  Gotta get this body back to losing again!

Exercise
My workouts started last Wednesday with Rockin' Body.  I feel so uncoordinated trying to do these dance moves.  My body just doesn't shake/twist/move/etc the same way theirs do!  Best burn so far was when I made a combo day.

Even though it was before my time (wink wink) I felt better coordinated with the disco days.  This is also the workout that so far produces the highest burn alone.  You can see with how high my heart rate averages (nearly at the max) and maxed out 10 above my max setting.  The average was a little lower the second time I did it.

Rockin' Body has to go back to the library this weekend but I've gone ahead and purchased it so I can continue.  (Shh Benny doesn't know this!) 

Meals
Last Wednesday night I made the Chicken Cordon Blue Bake recipe from Relish.  I didn't think it had enough flavor then but when I heated leftovers for lunch yesterday...OMG it was sooo delicious!  I guess it's one of those recipes that's better the second time around.

Thursday, instead of Relish's Salmon Burger recipe I just did my regular salmon cakes recipe (from grandma)...so nothing really special.  I made the meatballs and sauce for the Swedish Meatballs recipe that night also.  The meatballs baked nicely but I just couldn't get the sauce to thicken.

Friday, I used Relish's Flank Steak Gyros recipe for the meat but my own recipe for the tzatziki.  What they had listed just was missing a little something.  No pictures were taken but Benny said the Flank Steak was the right meat so now I know what to get when we want to go Greek again LOL

I saved the Swedish Meatballs meal for Saturday since Austin said he likes them.  The sauce still wasn't thick so that was blah but the meatballs were wonderful!  Melt in your mouth type meatballs!  I wish I'd at least taken a picture of the steps for them to share.

Sunday I made a modified version of the Slow Cooker Pizza Casserole....modified because we use ground beef not ground turkey, we don't like olives, and I didn't pick up any pepperoni.  I did take pictures of this one and will have a post for it sometime this weekend.  Here's a sneak peak of the leftovers...

 
Monday I made the Chicken with Clementine Salsa.  The recipe calls for it to be grilled but we don't own a grill and it's way to cold to be outside anyway.  OMG it was sooo good!  There were a couple of things I changed with the recipe but it was wonderful anyway.  Here's a sneak peak of my plate...

What workouts or new meals have you tried recently?