My Stats!

One of the great things about the Beachbody site is that I can go on there and keep track of my measurements.

I must say, I wasn't feeling too great about my progress these past few days. It's like I have hit a wall I am very slowly trying to climb over, and occasionally I get slapped off of it. But looking back at my progress even since February, I must say I am impressed.

   
 
Sometimes it really pays to record your measurements and watch what is happening when you make an effort to be healthier. And I'm not talking watching your weight. Weighing yourself can drive you nuts, especially if you do it every day! (Seriously, don't do it every day). The scale might say you have gained if you are retaining water; ladies you know what I am talking about. How about the first week or so after you start a new work out program? The scale is not going to be your friend. And when you have reached the point that you are really building muscle, you might not see the scale move for a while.

But how about breaking out that tape measure? Or even the body fat tester. I personally stick with the tape. I haven't jumped on the scale in a couple of weeks, but I do break out the tape and measure the target areas of my body. You might not know it, but I am actually about the same weight right now that I was on March 25! I've lost inches, but not pounds.

Honestly, I don't care about the pounds so much anymore. I focus more on how my clothes fit. I spoke of that the other day. I am now smaller than I was before I got married. I think ignoring the scale can be a great thing when you are making your best efforts.

So to sum it up: Don't let the scale rule your life! You can be making great progress and the scale will beat you down. It has done that to me before. I felt amazing, was on an exercise high, and brought the scale out to find that the number had either not changed or gone up.

I encourage you to go to Team Beachbody and register. Put me as your coach! (If you send me an inbox message I will tell you my Coach ID number to list me). It is a great resource for keeping track of your numbers and also has many great features.

And Happy Birthday Beachbody!! 13 years old today!

My Ultimate Reset

Okay so this post is mainly my shameless advertising.

Beachbody has a new reset out and it is called The Ultimate Reset.

What is the Ultimate Reset, you ask?

Imagine that your body can be reset like a computer to "factory settings." You can detox and flush out all of the bad things that are lingering in your body to make way for healthier nutrients. It can help you lose weight, have more energy, and improve your digestion.

The way it works is in three phases:

• Reclaim
• Release
• Restore

Do you want to know more? Click the link above and my site can explain it much better than I can hope. You won't have to starve yourself on this Reset, and you won't be depriving yourself of nutrients essential to your health.

Just think, in 21 days you can have a noticeable difference in the way your body looks and works.

If you have any questions, contact me!

My Clothing

About seven months ago, I abhorred clothing shopping. I say abhorred because it is a much stronger word than hated. We use "hate" so much in our vocabulary today I feel it has lost its effectiveness. So to effectively demonstrate how I really felt about going shopping for clothing, I shall use words like abhor, detest, loathe, and the like.

Seven months ago I was wearing my maternity clothes most of the time. I was struggling to get my size 10 jeans on and I refused to buy size 12 unless I had the absolute need. And yes, I am sharing my sizes with you. I am an open book here. Ask me anything about my numbers and I'll tell you! (Well, almost anything). A shopping trip to purchase new clothes almost always resulted in kicking myself for gaining so much and buying either no clothes and insisting I would lose weight, or just buying one necessary pair of pants. I loathed buying a pair of pants when I had convinced myself I would lose the weight--I just hadn't committed to exercise and eating right yet.  My shirts were larges and rarely had much shape.

In December, after having been on P90X for about two months, I finally was in a solid size 10, which was pretty awesome. No more muffin top! (As a side note, remember, wearing clothes that fit you is much better than wearing clothes too small. No one will know what size you are wearing, as long as you get clothes at fit you properly. So if you fit well into a 10, don't squeeze into those size eight jeans until you are ready.) My large shirts were a little looser, but I was not yet ready to downsize until I lost a little more.

As Spring started approaching, I knew that my summer clothes from last year would not fit anymore. I went clothing shopping in March once again. By that point I was well on my way with Insanity and has lost over 20 pounds. I was down to an 8 in jean size! And I finally bought shirts in Medium. Needless to say, I was ecstatic. From being a large to a fairly average, healthy size was absolutely amazing. Trying on clothes in the dressing room didn't make me want to cry. As every woman knows, some brands make clothes of the same size that fit differently, so not every size eight jean was a perfect fit, but I could easily slip in to most of them. I remember last summer when I couldn't get a size 8 halfway up to my waist.

So today I went back. My medium shirts weren't fitting so well anymore and I only had three that I kept washing and wearing over and over again (yeah, I tend to buy a couple things at a time because I'm a penny pincer. I will own up to that label), and my size eight shorts kept trying to slide off of my waist. For kicks and giggles, I grabbed a few small shirts and a size 6 shorts and squeezed myself and the jogging stroller into a dressing room.

I am so proud to say that seven months after starting to be faithful to my exercising, I can wear small shirts! And I don't mean that I squeeze in to it. I FIT! I had to give my 18 month old a high five since she was the only person I had with me, but needless to say I felt so accomplished. The size six jeans were a "Squeeze in to," but I'm not far away. I bought a size 8 short that fit better than my others. (Remember, different brands, different fits!) As for what the number on the scale is, I don't know. And frankly, I don't care. The number on the scale doesn't matter as much as the size of the clothes I wear and how I fit in to them.

My Incentive

So this is a good time to mention I haven't worn a bikini since like Junior year of high school, if I remember right. It's not that I didn't have the body for it back then, it was the simple fact that I am entirely too shy and too modest to wear one. Most of the time... And anyone who really knows me can attest to that.

So with my husband's upcoming R&R and our reservation at the beach, I realized I needed a new bathing suit. The one from last year will be a little too big to wear again. (Queue silent cheer!) We went to JCPenny's because frankly, they never disappoint me with their clothes. Of course up front when you first hit the swimsuit section were the friendly suits. The tankinis resided in this area, perfect for covering bellies all stretched out from having babies or having eaten too many sweets prior to swimsuit season. That was what I originally went for. I didn't want a one piece, of course! I absolutely hate it when you have to use the bathroom and you are wearing a one piece. Even worse if you have just been in the pool and you have the sudden urge to "go." Nothing like the bathroom dance to get a wet one piece off! But I digress.

On the back wall were these cute little suits. Solid colored, mix and match tops and bottoms to wear. As I said before, I haven't worn a two piece actual bikini since I was in high school. I have lost a good deal of weight, and I knew I could lose more before my husband's vacation came up, so for the heck of it I decided to try some of them on. I chose yellow, grabbed the two types of tops and the two types of bottoms and carted them off to the fitting room. I first tried on the tankini top and bikini bottom. Cute, covers everything. Love!

Then I got a little braver. I put on the bikini top and the cute little skirt bottom. Okay I'll admit, a little flabby in the tummy still, and those stretch marks are never going to fade (at least not on their own). But considering where I was last year, it was a huge difference. And I realized--with my mom's help, of course--that in the time frame I have left until R & R, I could make the bikini even hotter.

So I did the impulsive thing. I bought the bikini.

The way my thinking goes is this: If I buy the tankini top, I won't do as great with my eating habits. My brain will think along the lines of "well, I have a top that covers my tummy. I'll just eat ONE doughnut at church." Instead, I bought the bikini top and now have the mindset of "Oh dear, I can't eat that at all. I have to lose these last few pounds before my time is up!"

                                       

                                       

So that is it up above. That's the bikini I have pictures of now to remind myself what I am working for. That's the bikini I think of every time I head to the fridge. And ever since I have bought it, I've been pretty religious about what I have eaten. Let's hope it pays off and I can stick to my eating plan. I would hate to have to go back to JCPenny's the day before my husband's R&R starts and switch out the top. Not to mention I do want to look nice when he comes back.

What about you? Do you have that bathing suit picked out for this summer? Are you going to be brave and daring, or safe?