IT'S TIME

Hi!  I'm Erica and have been following this blog since the beginning - bathing in the inspiration you ladies give me - however still falling short in the self discipline area and forcing myself to begin an actual fitness routine.  I think I was afraid to ever post and find myself  held accountable to my goals but let's face it - IT'S TIME!  And I think the whole idea of being held accountable is a good idea at this point! :)

 

To start off, I thought I'd tell you a bit about myself.  I am a homemaker to a wonderful husband a three beautiful children!  My husband and I are movie buffs (nothing better than curling up on the couch with your hubby and a bowl of popcorn - oops I shouldn't say popcorn on a fitness blog now should I :).  I love interior design and enjoy doing yard work, reading and scrapbooking although it is getting harder and harder to find the time to do any of these at the moment.  I find myself VERY busy with three young children.  And that's okay, in fact I love it!  I often remind myself that "there is a time and a season for all things" and right now I'd much rather cherish the small every day moments with my kids while I have them in my home and can enjoy their laughter and energy. 

And that last word brings me to the greatest reason for FINALLY posting on this blog.  My kids are VERY active and are blessed with an incredible amount of energy.  I figure I'll never be able to keep up with them if I don't try to get a bit more fit! :)  That coupled with the idea that I'd like to eat a bit healthier as well as be an example of good health to my kids and wa-la...here I am.

 

With all that in mind, I've decided that I'm most interested in simply getting fit or toned rather than losing weight mostly because...well...I'm not fit or toned :)  and really my weight hasn't changed much over the years.  However, I know that muscle weighs more than fat so the fact is that although my weight hasn't changed much and that it didn't take long for me to get back to my 'before baby' weight, my muscle tone is gone and I in fact have more fat I'm carrying around than I have in the past.  At this point, my goal is to lose 1 1/2 in. around each thigh and 4 inches around my belly.  And it would be great to lose about 8 lbs. but have attained more muscle tone with that weight.  I'll have to give it some more thought about particulars in a later post. 

 

To try and help, I started doing Zumba three times a week (occasionally missing here and there) about three months ago - just here at my house via DVDs.  I really love the energy in the workouts and I'll admit...I'm a dancer...and prefer that type of workout over others.  I've never been a runner/jogger however I realize that variety is best for your body and so over time I might have to branch out a bit and try new things.  I also just started tracking my caloric intake just to give me an idea of where I am in my eating habits and to see if I feel like by simply adding exercise I can continue to eat the way I do (which I really do feel is pretty healthy with a good variety of foods) even including my treats OR if it might be wiser to switch up my diet as well.  If the later is the case, I'll have to take that on in time but for now, I'm starting with simply adding exercise to my routine and hope to be able to accomplish that and move on from there.  I'll keep you (and myself included) posted on my progress.  Wish me luck and thanks again for all your inspiration!!!

New kind of goal...

So I lost a little weight the good old fashion way after I was done nursing Morgan, and then, as to be expected, I have kind of hit a plateau. Oh well. I'll work through it. But...instead of making MORE "weight-loss" goals, or even dieting goals (no white flour, no treats, etc.), I decided to come up with a few FITNESS goals for me to work towards instead. It'll be nice for a change to focus on these goals instead of weight! Here are a few that I am working on.

Run a 9 minute mile.  (When I run it's more like  a "slog"  ...aka slow-jog, so a 9 minute mile is a good goal for me!)

Run 6 miles without stopping.  (Let me clarify....the 9 -minute mile and the 6 mile run in NO WAY relate to one another. Got that?  I'll do my 9 minute mile one day. And run a slow 10-11 minute mile for a full 6 miles another day.

Do 1 pull-up. Yes only 1. I would try for more, but I know my limitations. I have never done this before. Not sure I'll get there either, but I'll try.  This may be my hardest goal yet! haha

Swim 1 mile, preferably in a decent amount of time!  45 minutes would be a decent amount of time in my eyes!

Do 30 boy push-ups without killing over.

A 2 minute plank with no breaks.  (With good form.  No butt in the air!)

3 minute wall-sit



Anyway- don't laugh at my goals. They may seem easy to YOU, they may seem hard. Who knows, and who cares? We're all at different levels in fitness and all that matters is we're trying right?  I'm still using myfitnesspal, and sticking to my calorie goals everyday. Hopefully, I'll reach some of THESE goals in the next few months! Maybe you should make your own and post them for me so we can work on them together???

Remember how anybody can be an author on my fitness blog?  Yeah...lately I'm the only one who posts on here, but if you want in...just let me know! It's a great way to stay motivated knowing others are doing it too!

Oh...and I'd love to be able to do the middle splits. Not sure that's really that "healthy" but kind of a fun challenge.  We shall see!

Before and After pictures....

This picture was taken back in the Summer,

This picture was taken today.

 

I still have a ways to go to be at my ultimate goal, but I'm not gonna lie. I feel pretty good about the progress I've made and the self-discipline I've kept. 

I'm down 27 pounds, and have been able to maintain what I've lost through the Holidays!  (Hooray!)  

 It's not been easy.  I've stuck to my calorie goals and kept exercising even when I wanted to be lazy and eat orange sticks. I did have more sweets than I would have liked, but I'm going off treats until Valentine's Day, just for extra help.

 

It's funny to me that maintaining a healthy body weight can be so easy for some, and so hard for others. But, I guess we all have our different struggles in life. Just glad that MYstruggle motivates me to be healthy!  

Here's to 2013!! Let's see what we can do girls!

21 pounds GONE!

I'm seriously in love with MYFITNESSPAL.COM!  It's amazing. Who knew that counting calories really works?? haha.  I love that it takes into consideration MY BMR so that I can see what's the healthiest way for me, personally, to lose the weight. It's great. I eat between 12-1300 calories a day, and am allowed a little more with exercise if I choose, or I can just use that extra calories burned from exercise to lose the weight faster.  Anyway- I'm down 21 pounds and I'm feeling good. I have a good 20 pounds to go if I want to be at my ULTIMATE goal, but I'm only about 8 pounds away from where I was at my very lowest as an adult, so I'm getting there.  Wish me luck through the Holidays! I lived through Thanksgiving and pie, but I need extra help with Orange sticks and English toffee!

14 pounds down...

I think I'm the only one left here, but I'm working hard, so I'm going to brag about it today.  I am far from where I was, and where I want to be, but I am getting there. I am using MYFITNESSPAL.COM and I love it! It tracks my exercise, tells me how many calories I burn, and it tracks what I eat so I know how many calories are going in also. I'm trying to stick to 12-1300 calories a day, and I usually burn about 500 calories during my workouts. I exercise 6 days a week, and I have lost 14 pounds so far. I'm still working hard, but the calorie thing is working for me. It helps me see that even when I "think" I'm eating healthy- I still need to be aware of how many calories are going in. Eating has always been my struggle, so this is helping. Also- if I eat good all day, I can usually fit in something sweet if I have enough calories to do it.  This helps too. Everyone needs a little something sweet now and then.  Hope you girls are all doing okay. I'd love an update if you get a minute!

6 weeks into my challenge

So I am now 6 weeks into my 8-week challenge and it's going great! I'm running about 3 miles now (Pushing a double jogger...uphill half the time...) and I feel like I'm really finally getting back into shape. I've lost 8 pounds in 6 weeks, so I can't complain. Slowly and steadily this baby weight is coming off. When I finish nursing, I hope it will all come off! I found a website that is called myfitnesspal.com and it is awesome. I set up my personal information and goals on it. Then, it tells me how many calories a day I should be eating to lose x-amount of weight per week. (Whatever the amount you want to lose per week...) and then you put in all the food you eat everyday and the exercises you do. It counts the calories for you (even breaking it up into proteins, carbs and fats) and it is extremely detailed! It has almost every brand of cereal and sour cream and everything else you can imagine. It's so easy for me to do! And it keeps me on track throughout the day because I know that I have to be accountable for what I eat.  If anybody is interested, check it out. It's free and it's awesome.

3-weeks into my challenge....

So it has been 3 weeks since I started my 8-week challenge. I'm doing good in some areas, and need to adjust a little in others.  Here's my update.

I've lost about 4 pounds.  Not bad, huh?  I've been drinking TONS, eating less, and besides one day when I went crazy and had a few of the most amazing cupcakes I've ever tasted, I've stuck to my "once a week treat".  I have not even cheated when it came to not eating after 8pm, which I was concerned about, so that is good. But...I could probably still improve on eating whole wheat more. I do good for breakfast and lunch, but sometimes dinner I will have white flour. I've been good at using whole grain pastas and brown rice, but I sure love me some good white-flour dinner rolls/tortillas, etc.  I'm working on it. I've been pretty strict to keep track on my computer of everything I eat/drink. I think this has helped a ton. I can see how I did one day, and improve the next. It's good to see it written out.

As for the exercising, I've been doing better than planned. I've been able to find time to do a little more than 30 minutes everyday, and I really have been sore somewhere every single day! I'm going to step it up a notch again this week and work a little harder on my endurance, (to build it up).  I feel like I'm getting back into shape. Slowly. But it's coming.

As for my mental health...I do still need to get more rest, but I have been reading an awesome book about Joseph Smith in my spare time that has helped me keep perspective in my life. Hopefully, my next update will show even more improvements!