Work Out Wagon Results – Week #8

Last Week’s Stats:
Weight – 147
Tummy – 32/36.75 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.25

Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve once again put my actual results in BOLD)
To actually follow the goals that I have set out to follow…I did do better on this one, no matter WHAT the numbers below say
Move to next step of Couch Potato to 5K running plan – run a minimum of three times during the week Ran Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday
Take only one day a week off of SOME form of exercise – days not running either do a P90X workout or swim Still didn’t do as good on this one…
NO SODAS during the week!!! Only cheated ONE time – YEA!

Current Stats:
Weight – 148
Tummy – 31.5/37 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.25

Here are my goals for this week:
Increase my running length of time and speed, following the Couch Potato to 5K running plan – running at least 3 times
Take only one day off of SOME form of exercise – do a P90X workout or swim on “off days”
Continue with no sodas during the week, and making good diet choices.
Work on smaller meals, more often.

I’m really proud of what I was able to get back on track with last week. I watched what I ate and made sure to exercise more. Yes, I should have done something for two of my three days off, but maybe I’m doing just fine with my baby steps to fitness…

I was disappointed in the numbers posting this week. Despite all of my good efforts, it seems like I fell short a bit. I’m counting on that being blamed for my monthly visitors who brings along water retention and bloating with her when she visits! Next week, I hope to continue to see my weight drop and my measurements decrease as well.

I’m almost 100 days out from the wedding right now, and to be perfectly honest, I’m feeling a bit of pressure about the “hump” that I seem to have hit. I cannot get past the position that I’m at with my weight or my measurements, it seems. So, in order to try to force myself to do better and be more accountable, I’m going back to the food journal and really watching those calories. I’m excited that my workouts are at the level now where I’m burning significant calories…I just want to make sure that I don’t undo all of my hard work with bad eating choices.

You might have noticed also that I added a new goal of eating smaller meals more often. This one is REALLY hard for me to do. Not only do I have to make good snack choices, which isn’t all that hard for me, but I have to eat at set times during the day. I noticed that when I did this when I was first starting out on my workout wagon, it really did seem to speed up my metabolism a bit. The past three weeks or so, I haven’t been doing very good with this aspect of when I eat, and I think that the numbers really reflect that.

Is anyone else out there struggling to get past a “road block” in their fitness program? I’m making progress, so I’m ok with this small set-back, but it’s frustrating all the same.

What are you doing to get over your “hump” in the road?

Joining the YMCA...

So I’ve been writing a lot about our workouts. Something that has been happening recently has really affected our workouts. Texas has been in an early heat wave. Yes, I realize that I live in Texas, and that it’s hot here a lot of the time. I get that. I really do. But it’s been unseasonably hot…in late June we’ve been hitting triple-digits on the temperature front each and every day. A cool day (read cold front) for us is high 90’s.

How has this affected us, you’re asking right about now? Well, we run outside. We don’t own a treadmill and we’re not members of any gym. So this means avoiding heat exhaustion is the most important thing for us. When we first started running, we could run right after work (between 5:30 – 6:30 at night) and have no problems. That quickly changed as May became June. We changed our routine to run about an hour after we ate in the evenings. This might mean a little discomfort while running if we ate too heavy a meal, or didn’t wait the full hour, but it was worth it to run during a cooler period during the day.

source

Last week, we had to start waiting until after 9pm to run. It’s been THAT hot. And that’s just not acceptable for us working folks. Mr. CC works quite a ways away from our house, having to go right through downtown Austin to get there. Which puts him going through some heavy traffic, except that he goes so early in the mornings, that he misses it all. (So for those of you familiar with Austin and it’s traffic, you get that that is VERY early!)

So running that late at night forces us to go to bed later and later. And it’s just going to keep getting hotter and hotter. We needed a better solution. This is starting to affect our desire to work out at all, and staying on track with our goals is important to us. Especially since it's not just ME that is worried about looking her best on her wedding day...this is something that Mr. CC worries about constantly.

So what did we do? We joined the YMCA. I don’t know about the area that you’re in, but in Austin, the YMCA has some top-notch facilities for member use. Nice gyms, workout classes, summer programs for kids, and swimming facilities. An extra score for us, since we “lost” our summertime pool when little CC and I moved out of our apartment in Austin and moved in with Mr. CC. Without access to a pool, the summers in Austin can be L-O-N-G…

So just for your information, joining the Y was a simple choice for us. They offer a family membership, allowing all four of us access to all of the Austin area YMCA facilities, for a mere $75/month. There was no activation fee since we signed up the same day that we took a tour, and there is no contract to sign. It’s month-to-month on bank/credit card draft with just a 30-day cancellation policy to follow. Right now, the kids are young enough where they get in under our cards, and they must be supervised at all times. But the Y does provide on-site child care for ages 6 mos and up. Within a year or so, Mr. CC’s son will be able to roam about as he pleases when we’re there, but little CC will have to continue to go to “Hang Time” until she reaches 13.

Lucky for us, we’re pretty flexible and one of us doesn’t mind sitting watching little CC swim while the other works out and then taking turns. It’s a win-win situation for us. We get to run on treadmills (better for our joints on shock absorption) in the A/C (MUY importante in Tejas!) as well as full access to the rest of the amenities that the YMCA offers.

We’re thrilled with our choice, and just to be certain that I did a good thing financially, I did a break-down on the cost. I figured out that if we go to the Y three days a week (which is how often we’re SUPPOSED to be running each week) the cost is a mere $3.13 per visit. I will GLADLY pay $3 to run in the A/C any day of the week!

Check out the new YMCA that just opened last year, and is the closest one to our house:

source

What new expenses did you incur to meet your fitness goals for your wedding? Was it worth the money that you spent?

Work Out Wagon Results – Week #7

Last Week’s Stats: Weight – 146
Tummy – 32/37 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.25

Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve once again put my actual results in BOLD) Continue to Couch Potato to 5K running plan – moving on to the next week’s workout – run three times during the week Ran Sunday, Monday and Saturday – LONG break in between runs – more on that down below
One additional ab workout during the week Yeah, I’m a stinker - NONE
NO sodas during the week! I broke down and had a soda several days this week – BOO!

Current Stats:
Weight – 147
Tummy – 32/36.75 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.25

Here are my goals for this week:
To actually follow the goals that I set out to follow…
Move to next step of Couch Potato to 5K running plan – run a minimum of three times during the week
Take only one day a week off of SOME form of exercise – days not running either do a P90X workout or swim
NO SODAS during the week!!!

I feel really badly about my progress, or lack there of, for last week. I don’t really have an excuse, except maybe lack of willpower. You see, my birthday fell during the week last week…and although typically a birthday only covers ONE DAY…I feel like I celebrated all week long. Maybe you didn’t catch that…let me say it again. I celebrated all week long. All. Week. Long.

Yeah. So I was a bad little bride-to-be…and I GAINED weight this past week. I started off the week right…running the first two days of my week (since I count Sunday as the start of the week)…and then I’m not really sure what happened. A break on Tuesday since I had run Sunday and Monday turned into a four-day long break. Not really sure what all happened. I know that on Wednesday it was Mr. CC's last baseball game of the "season" and I didn't want to miss it. The weather probably also attributed to my lack of wanting to run - it's been in the triple digits everyday here in Texas. It's even still hot at 9 o'clock at night...and we're running later and later each night just to avoid death from heat stroke...

Oh well. It’s done. It’s over and there’s not much I can do to change what happened.

The good news? I had a GREAT birthday – ate cake for breakfast…followed by a cupcake after lunch…and another half after dinner. Yeah. Maybe I can understand why there was weight gain! LOL. The surprising thing is that my “true tummy” measurement finally changed, which was shocking considering that my total weight measurement went UP…but I’ll take what good news I can get.

I feel like I need to hit the program really hard this week. Rededicate myself to it all. You’ll notice that my first goal this week was actually to FOLLOW the goals that I lay out for myself. To be perfectly honest, I feel like I’ve let you all down with my lack of dedication last week. I know, I know, it’s not that big of a deal…but still. Being open and honest with my good days and bad days here on this blog holds me accountable. Not just with myself, but with you all.

Is it easier for you to stay on track with your goals if you tell someone else about them? Does that help you stay accountable?

Work Out Wagon Results – Week #6

Here we are at the beginning of Week #7, and that means that it's time to report how I did for Week #6...I am really struggling to get over my standstill on my measurements lately...

Last Week’s Stats: Weight – 148
Tummy – 32.5/37 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.5

Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve once again put my actual results in BOLD) Concentrate on my running – run three times each week completing week #5 on Couch Potato to 5K training plan Ran on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday – YEA me for getting one extra workout in!
One additional ab workout during the week None – BOO to me
Continue to make good food choices I think that I did ok…splurged a lot compared to the last few weeks – with two cokes during the week (not just on weekend)

Current Stats:
Weight - 146
Tummy – 32/37 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs - 23.25

Here are my goals for this week:
Continue to Couch Potato to 5K running plan – moving on to the next week’s workout – run three times during the week
One additional ab workout during the week
NO sodas during the week!

So, even though I fell behind (AGAIN!) on the ab workout…I made some progress this week. I was really worried about stepping on my scale this week and running the tape measure around myself…I felt like I ate really poorly this past week. But the numbers don’t lie, and I guess that just goes to show that the workouts (running) are burning off the extra calories that I’m taking in.

This was the first week in SIX WEEKS that I haven’t kept a food journal. It’s not really a journal, just a post-it note on my desk each day, detailing what I eat during the day while I’m at work. (I noticed that I tended to snack the most at my desk while at work, not as much while at home.) So I just detailed what I would eat during working hours and total those calories. Knowing what I needed to consume for the whole day, I would leave work knowing that I had just dinner to worry about if I stayed within a certain range during the day.

It was a way for me to hold myself accountable and keep myself on track. It also helped me keep on track with eating smaller portions more often during the day. Everywhere you look on fitness and weight loss websites, all of the trainers preach and preach about eating less more often during the day, and that trick being a key to speeding up your metabolism. I find this really hard to do during the weekends while I’m at home, but during the work week it’s easy to eat every other hour, or every hour, whatever works best for you. So, not keeping that “food journal” this past week was a struggle for me. I wanted to write down my intake…and total up the calories.

But part of changing my lifestyle, not dieting, is forming better habits. After watching my snacks so closely for 5 weeks, it was easy to take a step back and still retain what I had learned in the past weeks. I’m proud that I still made progress.

This past week was also the first week that I haven’t used meal replacements. I ate full meals, and small snacks all week long. I cheated and had two cokes during the week, instead of just on the weekend. I also went to a party and had sweets. But at no point did I feel too badly about any of it, because I know that I’m running my little tootsies off every other few nights, paying for those sweets. I might still choose to have a meal replacement for breakfast for ease of scrounging up breakfast, but I see now that I can do it without meal replacements too.

I’m SO proud – when going back and checking my official starting point, that makes a grand total of 8 POUNDS DOWN!!! Can I give myself a WOOT?!? Yeah? I can? WOOT!! And if you’ll remember way back when back in February when Mr. CC and I officially started this working out journey, I was actually an additional 4 pounds heavier than my latest “starting point” so that actually brings the total to 12 pounds…YEA ME!

I was really worried about being stuck on a “hump” with my measurements not changing in SO long…how did you handle getting over that in your own workout? I’m ALWAYS looking for new inspiration!

Work Out Wagon Results - Week #5

Are you ready for last week’s recap? Me too! Let’s get right to it…

Last Week’s Stats: Weight – 149
Tummy – 32.75/37.25 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.5
Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve once again put my actual results in BOLD) One P90X workout – chest/back or arms/shoulders along with ab workout NONE! I’m a stinker!
One additional ab workout during the week Did one Ab workout
Run three times – moving to the next week on the Couch Potato to 5K program Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – WOOHOO an extra one!
Continue my good food choices I did ok. No cokes except on the weekend, and I actually started eating “normally” again now that I’m running more each week. The theory being that if I’m burning more calories, then I don’t have to be as “strict” with my diet.

Current Stats:
Weight – 148
Tummy – 32.5/37 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.5

Here are my goals for this week:
Concentrate on my running – run three times each week completing week #5 on Couch Potato to 5K training plan
One additional ab workout during the week
Continue to make good food choices.

So…here’s where I stand. I’m a total of 6 pounds down after 6 weeks. In that six week period, I’ve made several changes. One of the largest changes has been in the amount of exercise that I’m doing. But I’ve also been watching those calories like a hawk, in addition to the exercise.

Now that I’m six weeks into working out again, and I’m over the initial soreness that goes along with starting any new workout program, I’m to that point where I look forward to doing the exercise. I know, there are some out there that might find that fact hard to believe. But believe it or not, I feel better when I run. I don’t know if it’s just a little boost of confidence that I’m doing something that I know is good for me, or of achieving a goal that I’ve set for myself. Either way, I just feel better.

And this past week was a real test for me. I was coming off a hard weekend of eating whatever I wanted and no exercise, and feeling a little pressure since the scale went the wrong direction when I stepped on it last Monday. But knowing that I was increasing my running program again, I was curious to see how I would do if I didn’t follow the strict eating plan that I’ve been on the first few weeks. So I actually ate lunch out, and ate normal foods. I even had a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake one day. Another day, I had a piece of cake when those "mean ladies" at my office brought in another delectable treat. But you know what? I passed the test. I still lost weight. It was only one pound, but that’s nice and healthy. If I keep that up, I’ll have the rest of the weight that I plan to lose before the wedding gone within the next month or so…

Now, this doesn’t mean that I’m back to eating whatever I want by any means. But it does mean that I can treat myself a little more often, and not feel as guilty about “cheating” when it does happen. I’m going to continue the eating pattern that I’ve worked hard to establish the past six weeks – eating smaller, consistent portions throughout the work day. It’s easy when I’m stuck at a desk all day long to eat every hour or hour and a half. It’s harder on the weekends.

So that’s where I am right now. I’m trying to still eat sensible and make good choices, but I’m going to try not keeping my food diary this week. (It’s actually just a post-it note with all that I ate during the day and the calories associated tallied up, but I can call it a food diary if I want!) This may not work for me, it might not be enough accountability. We’ll see. I can always go back to keeping that log if I need to.

Keep the encouragement coming ladies! It’s a BIG help to me…

Work-Out Wagon Results - Week #4

I had the HONOR of spending the entire weekend with my “panel” that I so lovingly wrote about the other day…needless to say, I’m exhausted! But SO happy with all that we got accomplished, and truly feeling blessed to have the wedding party of a bride’s dreams! My girls are GREAT…this past weekend just proved it.

While I’m still waiting for the rest of the pictures to trickle through to me so that I can tell you all about what all we got accomplished this past weekend, and getting my thoughts in order, I think it’s a great time to post my results for last week.

You want to know how I know that my Maids are the best? They offered me a “by” for this week. You know how in sports playoffs when there’s an odd number and someone gets to “win” that week without even playing the game? Well, my Maids told me that I didn’t have to report my work-out wagon results this week! Aren’t they SO sweet?!?! Since we were spending the weekend shopping and eating and doing bridal stuff, we had deemed the weekend to be “calorie free” and ate at most of my favorite restaurants…including dessert at several stops!

But I just can’t do it. So, a big thanks to my Maids for giving me the option, but I feel like I need to still be accountable.

Here we go!
Last Week’s Stats: Weight – 150
Tummy – 33.5/37.5 (true waist/ “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.5

Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve once again put my actual results in BOLD)
Two P90X workouts – chest/back and arms/shoulders along with ab workout I didn’t do ANY P90X workouts…maybe one ab routine – SO BAD!
One additional ab workout during the week Already answered above
Run three times a week – starting the Couch Potato to 5K program I ran twice, which was short of my goal, but I DID follow the program with no problem
Make better food choices I mentioned the no calorie weekend, right? Yeah, so that answers this one…

So, have seen the actual v. the goals for last week, you might think that my current stats would be worse than they are. Even I was shocked!

Current Stats:
Weight – 149
Tummy – 32.75/37.25 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.5

Not bad, huh? And actually, instead of a “by” the Maids also told me that I could post my weight from Friday. Just to be silly, I weighed myself before I left on my weekend trip (the whole trip actually almost didn’t happen…more on that later!) to see how eating whatever I wanted would affect my weight. But I’m being honest and giving you the “after” weight. My “before” weight was actually 147!

Here are my goals for this week:
One P90X workout – chest/back or arms/shoulders along with ab workout
One additional ab workout during the week
Run three times – moving to the next week on the Couch Potato to 5K program
Continue my good food choices

You’ll notice that I changed my P90X goals for this week…we’ll see if that works better for me. The good news is that I’m starting to see the difference that my working out is having on certain areas of my body…and my arms is something that I’m going to HAVE to start focusing on soon! I won’t be able to continue to put that off…

Anyway…so I’ll try to round up the extra pics that I need so that I can tell you all about this past weekend. It was LOTS of fun! The Maids all got to meet each other, and my mom even joined in on the fun…it was a LONG day of shopping, but well worth it with all that we got accomplished. And just to tease you a bit and make sure you come back for more…there was a great chicken dance…with pictures!

See you later!

"Work Out Wagon" Results - Week #3

So…are you ready for the results of week #3? I have to be honest here and say that I was NOT looking forward to getting onto the scale this week…but I’ll get into that in a minute. Here’s a recap for you:

Last Week’s Stats:
Weight – 149
Tummy – 33.75/37 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.75
Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve once again put my actual results in BOLD)
Two P90X workouts – chest/back and arms/shoulders along with ab workout I did NO P90X workout this week! I’m SO bad!
One additional ab workout during the week I did do the ab routine twice
Run three times a week – starting the Couch Potato to 5K program Ran Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday
Continue with no sodas during the week and watching my sweets I did good on the first part – no sodas except for Sunday and Saturday, but I did worse on watching my sweets…nothing major, but did enjoy several birthday treats during the week

So how did this slacking off affect me?

Not as bad as I thought that it would have…

Current Stats:
Weight – 150
Tummy – 33.5/37.5 (true waist/ “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.5

I was disappointed to see my weight go UP this week…but comforted that there was still some loss on size. So I know what you’re all wondering…what the HECK was my deal this week? Several factors came together to do me in, sort of like that movie “The Perfect Storm.” Ok, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as that movie, I mean no one got hurt or died, but still…

For one thing, it was little CC’s birthday week. Which meant that we ate out two more nights than we might have normally…and one of those nights was little CC’s choice (being the birthday girl) and that means Gattitown – heavy pizza. Another night Mr. CC and I did a lot of her birthday shopping and met for dinner beforehand…at Johnny Carino’s…yes, I know…pasta is NOT on the menu when you’re watching your weight. And then Friday night, Mr. CC and I met some friends after work at a local restaurant and enjoyed a cold beverage and a hamburger as little CC ran and played on the playground. Throw in a birthday party with some IRRESISTABLE cake…and you can easily see that I didn’t make the best eating choices last week. I’m not blaming it all on little CC’s birthday or anything, but I was BUSY last week, which meant eating on the go…and those fast choices aren’t always the best.

Secondly, I have my monthly visitor. She blessed me with her presence Saturday as soon as the party was over, and I’m sure (or hoping) that her friend Water Retention is helping add a little to my weight. And my measurements, for that matter. Luckily, her best friend Miss Bitchy, left town today…and Miss Cotton Candy is back to her normal self. I’m not thrilled to be doing this right now, but let’s face it, it’s a fact of women’s lives once a month. And truth be told, I’d MUCH rather do it now, and be back to normal by the time this weekend rolls around…more on that later!

So, there you have it. Not bad, considering all the bad choices that I made last week, and the slacking off that I did on my workouts. But since I’m me, I like to focus on the positives. I DID meet my running goal, and I DID do two ab workouts…I just need to step it up and get back to working out my arms. And watching what I eat…that’s an obvious one!

Here are my goals for this week:
Two P90X workouts – chest/back and arms/shoulders along with ab workout
One additional ab workout during the week
Run three times a week – starting the Couch Potato to 5K program
Make better food choices

I know that last goal is a “little” bit broad, but it just encompasses SO much. More water, less soda, NO pasta, pizza or greasy hamburgers…more salad and eating “in” for lunchtime.

I’m crossing my fingers that I’m better this week! I need to be, I’ve got a big weekend ahead of me…and there are NO calories or stressing about what I’m eating during this time. I promise, I’ll quit teasing you and tell you ALL about it…in a day or two!
Catch you later.

"Work-out Wagon" Results - Week #2

So…are you ready for the results of week #2 on the work-out wagon? I know that I was excited to get on the scale. I’m starting to notice small changes and differences in the way that I feel about myself and how my clothes fit. So here’s a recap for you:

Last Week’s Stats:
Weight – 151
Tummy – (true waist / “tummy”) 34/37
Thighs – 24

Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve once again put my actual results in BOLD)
Two P90X workouts with Mr. CC – choosing from chest/back, arms/shoulders and kempo (following each workout with the ab ripper x workout too) Chest/back on Tuesday (no abs) and Arms/Shoulders on Thursday with abs
Run 2 times this week on other days – 5 minute warm-up then running sprints lasting 30-60 second a piece for 20 minutes followed by 5 minute cool down Ran THREE times this week following program
Cut back on Soda (one every other day, if possible) Sunday and Monday – one each day
Cut back on Sweets (possibly do a reward at the end of the day if I was “good” during the day) I kept up with rewarding myself, and had a piece of cake one day at work – (Those pesky cake-baking people!)

Current Stats:
Weight – 149
Tummy – 33.75/37 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.75

So…what do you think? I think that I did great! I’ve lost a total of 5 pounds since starting this go round, which just really goes to show how watching what you eat (counting those calories) can really help a girl out. I’m hoping to just need to do this religiously for these first few weeks. Once I’ve built up my running and work-outs, counting those calories won’t be nearly as important as they have been the last two weeks. That’s not to say that at that time that I’ll just eat whatever I want, but I don’t think that I’ll worry as much as I do right now about it all.

I’m thrilled to see some improvement on my actual measurements this week. Weight to me is just a number, it’s really more important to me how I fit into my clothes – and the all important WEDDING DRESS that matters more to me. So, although there wasn’t a LOT of improvement, there was some. I really need to get better with my ab ripper X workout to continue to improve those numbers!

So here are my goals for this week:
Two P90X workouts – chest/back and arms/shoulders along with ab workout
One additional ab workout during the week
Run three times a week – starting the Couch Potato to 5K program (more on this later!)
Continue with no sodas during the week and watching my sweets

I think that these goals are totally doable for me, and I’ve made some small adjustments there to try and keep these results coming in. All in all, I’m thrilled with how the first two weeks have gone, and other than some initial stiffness right after I run (those shins just hurt!) I’ve become accustomed to the physical strain again, without the major aches and pains. I can’t wait to see what my small adjustments to my goals might gain me on my results this week.

How are you doing with your own weight loss goals? Do the results that you see help to motivate you all that much more, like mine do?

Update for Week #1

Well, it’s been a week since I got back on the work-out wagon. (That sounds SO funny to type/read – does it give you a chuckle like it does me? Maybe I’m just a dork!)

Anyway. Here’s where we left off:

Beginning stats:
Weight - 154
Tummy - 34/37 (true waist/"tummy")
Thighs – 24

Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve put my actual progress in BOLD)
Two P90X workouts with Mr. CC – choosing from chest/back, arms/shoulders and kempo (following each workout with the ab ripper x workout too)
Arms/shoulders and abs – Tuesday (partial on abs)
Run 2 times this week on other days – 5 minute warm-up then running sprints lasting 30-60 second a piece for 20 minutes followed by 5 minute cool down
Ran – Sunday and Thursday
Walked – Monday
Cut back on Soda (one every other day, if possible)
Sunday, Friday and Saturday had one soda each day
Cut back on Sweets (possibly do a reward at the end of the day if I was “good” during the day)
I won’t say that I didn’t eat sweets, but there were no sweets eaten between meals at my desk all day…and I usually just had something sweet at the end of the day for “being good”

So…I think that I did GREAT! I met almost all of my goals, and eased into my workouts again. Now, that’s not saying that there wasn’t any pain…you might have noticed that the time between my runs was almost a full week. Yes, there were several days of walking (barely) around muttering under my breath with each and every step that I took. But that’s probably normal, right? And the lack of sweets that I ate was amazing to me – I’ve got a HUGE sweet tooth, so I thought that this would be my biggest challenge. Luckily, I anticipated this and stocked my desk with healthier alternatives that would satisfy the sweet urge without eating candy.

By day 4, my legs felt normal again, and I was ready to attempt another run the next day…and I was not as sore that second time after my run as I was the first! The bad news is that since it took me so long to “recover” from the first run, I feel a little behind schedule on my progress with increasing my times on my runs, so I probably just won’t alter that goal any for this week.

Anyway, all of that is just fluff without posting my current stats, so here they are:

Current stats:
Weight - 151
Tummy - (true waist/"tummy") 34/37
Thighs – 24

This Week’s Goals:
Two P90X workouts with Mr. CC – choosing from chest/back, arms/shoulders and kempo (following each workout with the ab ripper x workout too)
Run 2 times this week on other days – 5 minute warm-up then running sprints lasting 30-60 second a piece for 20 minutes followed by 5 minute cool down
Cut back on Soda (one every other day, if possible)
Cut back on Sweets (possibly do a reward at the end of the day if I was “good” during the day)

You might have noticed, but I’m not changing my goals at all for this next week. When Mr. CC and I started our workouts the last time, I noticed that it took my body about two full weeks to get adjusted to the changes that I was starting to make. So, with that in mind, I’m going to keep things status quo for one more week. By the next week, my body will be ready and able to adjust/increase some of those goals so that I see more progress.

I’m thrilled with my progress this last week overall. I made good eating choices, stuck to doing something physical almost every day, and still managed to have time “off” to enjoy myself and my family. If I’m completely honest, then I would have to admit that I’m a little disappointed that none of my measurements changed, even though there was weight loss…guess it came off of my boobs! I hope that I continue to keep up the momentum, and it’s been a lot of fun to hear from you all with your encouraging words and your own work-out plans!

Keep it coming! Good luck this next week!

Workout Woes...

I know that you’re probably all wondering exactly what happened to Miss Cotton Candy’s weekly workout updates?

Hmmm…

Me too!

Just kidding. I know exactly what happened…I haven’t been working out! I know that’s horrible, but at least I’m honest. But I have a reason for being such a slacker, and of course those that know me well know that there’s always a good story! Here’s what happened…

I posted here about our camping trip. So if you read that post, you know that we took a very LONG hike on that Saturday. In addition to that long hike, there were countless trips up and down the slope just to get to our campsite from the parking lot and the restrooms. And Miss Cotton Candy being Miss CC, I wore my flip flops. No, not for the long 5 mile long hike, I wore sensible tennis shoes for THAT, but I wore my flip flops a good percentage of the rest of the time that we were at McKinney Falls SP.

Now, Mama CC can attest to the fact that getting me to wear shoes at all is a feat unto itself, so we’re not surprised to hear that I always have a pair of handy flip flops near, are we? No, we’re really not. And normally it’s not a big deal to wear flip flops…except on rocky, “gently” sloping paths that lead to and from your campsite. A place where the slope is tricky and you might step the wrong way on a big, rough rock and bruise a foot bone…maybe that’s not a good location to wear flip flops.

So, here’s the story. It’s Saturday evening, and Miss CC has to run to HEB for a quick supply run, I think it was for the Easter bunny baskets. I noticed while pushing my buggy around HEB that it was kind of hurting me when I stepped with my left foot, but I really didn’t think anything about it. So later on at the campsite, when it’s STILL hurting, and starting to hurt so much to make me not want to walk up the hill to go to the restroom I realize that the inevitable has happened.

Miss CC has gotten hurt on our camping trip. (I know for some of you this is a shocker…and for the rest of you, you’re not so surprised!)

Anyway, long story short, Mr. CC (dutiful fiancé that he is) checks my foot over very carefully, but it’s getting dark and who knows what I’ve managed to do to it. He questions me thoroughly about my steps that day and when I might have hurt it. Honestly, nothing comes to mind. Another shocker, I know. Seriously, I get injured on such a regular basis that I don’t even notice it most of the time…I don’t really see the problem here. Apparently though, that’s not normal to not remember when you might have hurt yourself.

The next day, I can barely walk on that foot without a pretty good limp. I notice that it feels better when I have my tennis shoes on and it’s laced up rather than my flip flops, so I wear my tennis shoes all day. That night, we look my foot over again since we’re back at home and can see things more clearly. Mr. CC is certain that the top of my foot is all bruised leading him to believe that I’ve broken or bruised a bone, and I assure him that it always looks that particular color, mainly because I just can’t bear the thought of my having broken something, even if it’s just a little foot bone. The thought sickens me…literally sickens me. I feel faint…

Lucky for me, my boss was out at a manager’s meeting all last week, which meant that we could all get away with wearing jeans everyday. And that was a good thing because I needed to wear my tennis shoes for the first few days and not high heels like normal. By the weekend, I’m SURE that I’ll feel better.

The good news is that I do, in fact, feel better by the weekend. The bad news? It still hurts me at times. So working out was out of the question. Did I hear a little “YEA!” sneak out of my mind…yep, I might have. The good thing, I guess, was that Mr. CC was also suffering an injury of cellulitis on his wrist and when we tried to do the workouts that didn’t involve feet, legs or jumping all over the place, he found that he couldn’t do the pull ups without hurting his wrist.

So we took the week off. And that really makes a week and a half, since over the holiday weekend we didn’t do our normal workouts. Sure, we did the 5 mile hike that one day, but hearing about my foot, now you know that we didn’t do anything else that weekend.

We’re going to attempt a workout tonight. Mr. CC’s wrist is looking better and my foot has felt better the last few days. I don’t know that either of us is really ready for it, but we HAVE to start up again before we lose all the ground that we’ve gained so far…

Hopefully next week I’ll start posting about our workouts again. Then again, we have our trip to NOLA this week/weekend…Jazz Fest…Bourbon Street…visiting with our out-of-town friends over drinks…beignets…yeah, I’m wiping the drool off as I type….

What roadblocks did you come across in your work out plans? Was it easy to “get back on the horse” or a little harder than you had thought?

Keeping Things in Check

In all of the hoopla that gets created in a wedding, there are some things that you need to keep foremost in your mind and in your priorities. Well, these are the things that I try to keep in the front of my mind, they won’t apply to everyone I’m sure…but these are mine.

#1 – This is OUR wedding day. Every little detail needs to reflect us – who we are, where we came from, where we’re going. Each of us has unique personality traits (likes/dislikes) that can be incorporated into our wedding and SHOULD be incorporated into the wedding no matter what etiquette says or anyone else says. This is the ONE day in our lives that we get to be totally selfish and do things how we want to. So keeping it about what we want, and making it a true reflection of us is REALLY super important to us (or maybe just to me!). I know that not everyone would put so much into all of the little things that stress me out on a daily basis, but I truly feel that it’s the little things in life that count; and it will be those little personal touches that make this day memorable for us and for our guests.

#2 – Involving those that matter to us. This one is a big one for me. It is SO important to me to involve our families and loved ones in this special day. No matter if they are there as guests, or have a special role on that day, each and every person that is important to me and Mr. CC will be there. Including our children. I can’t imagine not having my daughter or Mr. CC’s son there by our sides as we take this step in our relationship. They’ve been with us every step of the way, and not having them be an important part of this day would make it incomplete. I also am working really hard to find a way to incorporate those that are no longer with us, those that we cherish and hold close in our hearts, whether they’re with us on this plane or the next. I just want to make sure that each person who is able to be there with us knows how much they’ve meant to us – they’ve all had helping hands in creating the person that we are today, and that’s important for me to honor them for.

#3 – No matter what happens, at the end of the day – I WILL BE MARRIED TO THE MAN THAT I LOVE. I will have created a new family, blended mine with his and started our own family. No matter what happens. Rain, sleet, snow, flowers dying, music not being right, food being horrible…none of those things are what is important in the long run. Those things not happening will make my day better, sure – but it won’t make me any less married at the end of the day. Sharing our joy and love and laughter is what is most important to us, no matter what happens to the rest of it all. This point is what I try to focus on most when I feel the stress start to get to me. It’s really helped me, so maybe it will help you too!

Those are my top three. Like I said, they may not be your top three, but they’re mine. Since it’s my wedding (and my blog), then I get to say what mine are. Share with me what yours are (were) when you were planning things and caught up in drama of it all…

Workout Update - Week #5

I hear you, I hear you. I know that I’m running a day behind on my workout recap…it wasn’t intentional, I just got my days mixed up! Trust me, I weighed in and measured right on time just like normal on Monday night, but then mixed my days up when I scheduled the posts to hit my blog…

I posted last week about my concerns about being on the road and not being able to do full workouts, as well as eating out all week long. I tried to be good and make good choices about what I ate, but oftentimes when you’re on the road on business you don’t really get a lot of say about what you eat. For example, our lunches last week were all ordered in for us, and no one that I knew got any say about what we had to eat. So your choices can be limited. And those people that place the food orders obviously did NOT have my bridal workouts in mind when they ordered dessert almost every single day to accompany our lunches! Oh well, I did the best that I could and didn’t suffer any for it.

Or at least, I was hoping that I didn’t!

I also managed to work out a little bit more than I was thinking I would be able to, which was a good thing. Especially since I didn’t deny myself the lunchtime cookies! I mean, come on…what normal, woman can resist a chocolate chip cookie when it’s set right in front of you? There are some strong women out there, but I’m NOT one of them when it comes to chocolate chip cookies…

Ok – enough chit chat. You don’t care about all of that…you just want to know how it all ended up, right? Right. So here we go…

The end of Week #5 left me 1 pound lighter and another ¼” off of my waist!

YEA! I proved to myself that I can work on the road and still do good with my eating choices and my exercise. I’m thrilled with my progress and it’s really starting to show with the way that some of my clothes are fitting…I’ll be tickled pink to get back into some of my dress pants that I either haven’t been able to wear in a while, or thought that they didn’t flatter me as well (even though I can technically button them) as they used to.

So, I’m trying to keep up the good work over here. Now that I’m back home, Mr. CC and I are back to our workout routine, and let me tell you, having a week off of some of the workouts (because I couldn’t do them without the videos) has been HARD to get back into doing. Plyometrics just about killed me last night! But I did it…and I’m not too terribly sore today.

How do you handle travelling while on a diet/exercise regime? Was it difficult or easier than you thought that it would be?

30 Days and Counting…

Yep, I can’t believe it either.

What started out with the days passing SO SLOWLY…seriously slowly here, as each and every movement of my body HURT…and now the days just seem to fly by. It’s like I blinked and all of a sudden I’m at our 30 day mark. I was VERY excited to take our 30 days pictures and tally up our progress thus far.

But before I share with you how I did, I have to talk about the things that you can’t necessarily measure. I’m sleeping better, really soundly especially now that I’m no longer waking myself up when I roll over on sore muscles. I’m drinking more water now that I’m working out (which is SO good for me!) and I’m making better food choices. This is something that’s slightly unconscious on my part, but I’m enjoying this side benefit all the same. And lastly, I feel a little more graceful. I know, I know. There are some people out there (Mom CC) that might be rolling on the floor laughing right now, but I promise you that I feel tighter and more “fluid” in my movements. Which might not be “actual” grace, but a type of grace…but work with me here people!

Now for the fun stuff…

My grand totals to this point in our plan are as follows:

4 pounds lost
½” on my waist is lost

I don’t love you enough to post my Day 1 picture against my Day 30 picture – sorry ladies, that’s really for your benefit, maybe it should be that I love you TOO much to post those pics! I need you here, reading my blog, not running the other way! But I did some work in Photoshop after we took our pictures putting the before and after shots side by side, and I do have to admit to being both amazed and disappointed all at the same time.

Amazed at all of the smaller changes that I can notice, especially on my arms and back. Disappointed because I was expecting to see more results – especially around my tummy area. Oh well. Just gives me something specific to work towards in the next 30 days, right? And maybe I’ll be brave enough to post those 60 Day pictures at that point…

But I need your help with something this week…I’m travelling this week, on the road and away from my workout regime. I was a good girl and packed one set of weights and my resistance bands. I also brought along my workout notebook, where I track my reps and exercises and all…so I’m going to struggle and TRY to do my workouts this week. And being on the road means eating out three meals a day…so I’m going to also TRY to eat right. Keep me in your thoughts and drop me an encouraging line or two, if you have the time. Thanks!

How do you get through times like this? When you’re away from your program and your workout buddy?

Workout Update - Week #3

Yep, it's Tuesday...which means that you get two posts from me today! One regular post, and one to update you on my workout status.

This last week was hard. The workouts are getting easier (or I'm getting accustomed to pain, I don't know which!) but this week I overdid it a little bit one night. As a result, I've been dealing with a really touchy left knee. I'm not even sure what I did or when I did it, but last Thursday morning when I went to work my knee was all swollen and I had to keep ice on it all day long.

Because of that, I actually had TWO days off this past week! Yea me and poor me all at the same time...why poor me you ask? Because that meant that first workout back was THAT much harder! But I used a knee brace and worked through it. I did what I could and didn't worry about the rest.

So, enough chit-chat, this is supposed to be short and sweet...

At the end of Week #3, I have lost another pound and 1/2" off of my waist line. VERY COOL!

Next week, Mr. CC and I will have completed our first month. That means that we take a 30 day picture to compare against our Day 1 pictures, and we total up our progress for the month. Although I might love you enough NOT to share those pictures, you can count on me tallying up my progress for the first month!

Thank you for all of your help and support - keep it coming! It really helps motivate me to continue on the painful path of working out! Talk to you later...

Miss Cotton Candy Needs to Vent...About My Ex

Allright, what’s the point of having a blog if you can’t just vent every once in a while? Right? Right.

Proceed with caution…not to anyone in particular, but I’m just really upset…disappointed…angry…I’m not really sure what I feel right now. Is all of the above ok?

You see it started out so innocently. For the last few years little CC has mentioned wanting to do a sport. But she didn’t know which sport that she wanted to do. We’ve done gymnastics and cheerleading, but unfortunately she is “blessed” with the natural grace and agility that both her mother and her grandmother possess…what a LUCKY girl. Did I mention prone to accidents too? Oh well. Moving on. So about 6 months ago, she got on this kick to join what she calls “soccerball.” Unfortunately at the time, it was mid-season so she had to wait until I could get her registered and on a team.

So last month, I sent in her registration to the local YMCA, and last week received an email from the YMCA’s organizer. He emailed the parents the team roster and let us know that at this time, there was no coach for this team. If any parents were interested in volunteering to coach, he would gladly help them through the process and there was a little seminar that the Y offered to help you be a coach and all. Like a dutiful ex-spouse, I forwarded the email on to my ex. (I mentioned earlier that little CC got her lack of grace from me, right? So I obviously can’t be the coach…)

I don’t know why, but I really expected my ex to step up here. He’s been hounding me and hounding me about this soccer deal. He was upset that I didn’t register her with the league out of Austin in the first place. In my defense, the price was triple what the YMCA wanted and since we don’t even know that she’s going to like “soccerball” I figured it wasn’t worth the price this first year. So he bugs me to get her signed up for soccer and then when he has the opportunity to be more involved with his child and something that SHE wants to do…he totally drops the ball. He says that he doesn’t have time. Well, that was his initial response. Then, when he found out that he (as the coach) would get to set the practice days and times, said he would think about it and contact the organizer about being the coach.

A week passes…the parents receive another email stating that we STILL don’t have a coach and our first game is Saturday, March 28th…

I forward the email on to my ex AGAIN, with a note this time asking him if he intended to do this or not. You see, what happened is when I went home the week before and told Mr. CC about little CC’s team not having a coach, he literally jumped out of his chair and said “I’ll do it!” I’m not kidding. Leapt out of the chair with excitement and enthusiasm for this opportunity.

To be fair, and to support Mr. CC in this endeavor, I did “clear it” with my ex. No, I didn’t ask for his permission, but I let him know that Mr. CC was willing to do it, and wanted to do it, just so that my ex couldn’t come back later and make a stink about it. I was honestly afraid that when my ex found out about Mr. CC’s interest in coaching, that he would then “all of a sudden” be interested and available to do it. His exact words over text to me concerning coaching were “I don’t know if I can. I know we want her in soccer but taking on a coaching job wasn’t really in my mind.” So I was afraid that once he found out that Mr. CC was willing to do the job, my ex would suddenly find the time. And that’s the wrong reason to coach her team.

I don’t really know if I’m shocked or not that he said for Mr. CC to go ahead and do it.

Typical, to be perfectly honest. He’s never followed through on most other things in life, so why start now? Take the glory, if there’s any to be had, and let someone else do the hard work. Then look back later and not be sure why everyone doesn’t like you…yeah, pretty typical.

So I started out being upset over this whole thing. But you know what I realized? I realized how lucky I am. How truly blessed I am to have Mr. CC in my life.

I love this man. With all of my heart. I love that he loves my child this much. That he is willing to be in whatever awkward situation that my ex will make of this…he knows how my ex is, and still offers to do this for little CC. I can’t say enough. I literally have tears in my eyes writing this post…I just never thought that I would be this lucky. I say a prayer of thanks as I finish up this post…

My special angel was really watching over me when she sent Mr. CC my way!

The End of Week #2...

Well, it’s Tuesday, so you might know what that means if you’ve been paying attention. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t fret, I’m gonna tell you anyway!

Since today is Tuesday that means that yesterday was Monday, which equals to weigh in day at the Cotton Candy household.

Yep, that’s right guys and gals, we’ve finished week numero 2…

And my mantra is no longer “it’ll be ok” or “I’m gonna make it” or anything of the sort. Yep, you read that right, I feel good. I’m still sore, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve either gotten used to a certain amount of pain and accepted it as a part of my daily life, or my muscles are adjusting to the trauma that I’ve put them through in the last two weeks.

So enough chit chat. You’re not here for that…you want to know how I did, right?

(I’m proud of myself, I have to admit.)

I’m down two more pounds and I’ve lost ¼” off of my waist.

But more than those WONDERFUL numbers, I feel better. I feel tighter, Mr. CC and I both decided it’s not that we feel buff or anything – we’ve still got a LONG way to go – but we feel “less jiggly.” It makes sense to us…but that may just be further proof that we’re perfect for each other!

So there you have it – a little bonus post on accountability day. Have a great day!

Workout Update - Week #1

Well, I promised you a weekly update on my workout progress, so here it is.

But before I share that with you all, I have to say thanks for all the concern and care that you’ve shown me for my sore muscles! I’ve gotten several comments expressing how “concerned” you all are! Too funny.

Ok – so for the first week, we didn’t do so good. Not that we didn’t see progress, but we didn’t do so good sticking to the program. This program is ROUGH! I mean, R-U-F-F! It was so bad, and I’m not sure if I already shared this or not (bear with me if I did!), that we were not even able to complete a whole workout until the end of the week. We didn’t want to push it after our first disastrous exposure to the program, so we did as much as we could each night and eventually settled into a rhythm. The hardest part for me is remembering that I’m NOT supposed to be keeping up with them. The people in the videos have all finished the program at least once, or they’ve been doing this for a year or more, so you as the beginner at home are not expected to lift the weight that they lift, or do the number of reps that they do. You start out, doing as much as you can, keeping a workout log so that you can track your improvement. But it’s hard not to do what they’re doing…but when you’re first starting out you just can’t. You’ll hurt yourself!

So for the first week, or two or three weeks, you might only be able to do 5 reps of each exercise. But you should try to do more the next time that you do that series. There is a different video for each night of the week, repeating no set of exercises. And I don’t know if you’re “supposed” to go in order or not. We didn’t go in order last week, since it was our first week and making this time commitment and adjustment has been rough. So we’re not sure if we had kept to the required actions and order if we would have had better results.

Enough talking already…here you go. I didn’t lose any inches in either my waist or my thigh the first week, but I lost ONE POUND! Mr. CC actually thinks that it’s two pounds, but we disagree on how much my shoes weigh. Last week when we weighed in officially I had socks and shoes on, last night I didn’t have any on and added three pounds into my weight to compensate. He thinks that it should be one pound. We split the difference and wrote down my weight plus 2, which put me at minus one pound.

Isn’t that cool?!?! I would have liked to have seen more progress, but it was our first week, and for just starting up we did great. And I’m VERY happy to report that we have finished almost every workout this week that we’ve done so far, so we’re making progress. Yea us!

I won’t share Mr. CC’s progress with you all or give you actual numbers to work with yet. Mr. CC thinks that I share too much on my blog. But isn’t that the point? Sharing what’s going on with my life so that those who can’t keep up with me via email or phone calls can still keep up with me?

Maybe most people don’t blog each day, but I enjoy it. It’s very soothing, and therapeutic to a degree, especially when I write about something that is bothering me. And since there are people out there that read it daily, I hope that you look forward to what’s going on or what I’m sharing. Maybe it’s too much, I don’t know. I’ve always been prone to sharing too much, my whole life I’ve been this way. I’m a horrible liar and maybe that leads into the whole thing. I’m an open book because I have no choice but to be that way. If I try to keep something inside or hidden or flat out lie about something it just doesn’t work for me.

So if I share too much, I’m sorry. Don’t read. I can’t change, and choose not to change the way that I am to appease anyone else ever again. Unless it’s harmful to someone, that’s the only excuse that I can think of that is acceptable for me, and I seriously doubt that me sharing my workout program and progress with you all is harming anyone. Now, if I posted my before pictures, you might lose your lunch…and THAT would be harmful…haha! LOL!

So keep the good words of encouragement coming, and I will be sure to share a weekly update with you all on my progress towards losing that 15 pounds that I would like to lose for the wedding. Does anyone have any special workout "secrets" that they can share to keep me motivated as I go along? I promise to share if you share...

It'll Get Better - My New Mantra

I’m not really feeling very creative today. Maybe it’s because my ENTIRE body hurts…

Haha…that’s what some of you out there are thinking…

Haha right back at you.

Yeah, I’ve been pretty much hating life for about a week now. Yep, for those of you intellectuals out there, that’s exactly how long I’ve been working out now. Good job! You get a GOLD star for the day.

My legs hurt. My abs hurt. My arms hurt. There was even a day in there where my toes hurt. But mostly, my BACK hurts. I did something to it during chest & back…or yoga…or plyometrics…you can really just toss out a dart and see what it hits because it could have been ANY of these workouts that hurt my back. And like the little trooper that I’m trying to be, I’m working through the pain. Or that’s what I’ve been trying to do. But last night, as Mr. CC dutifully tried to rub the soreness out of my right-side mid-to-lower back and I bit the pillow to keep from crying in pain…I started to re-think my position here.

I thought that I was doing the right thing. Work through the pain. Work to my limit, but not over it. Being very careful not to push too hard because I don’t want to tear anything. And everyday I keep telling myself that it’s getting better. But at night when I lay down to go to sleep, I have to be honest with myself (Because if you lie to yourself when you’re talking to yourself, well that just makes you one giant step closer to insane). I’ve been sleeping on a heating pad for a portion of the night ever since Friday…taking long soaks in the tub (ouch – twist my arm here!)…trying not to sleep on that side of my body…pretty much just doing everything that I can think of to help this get better…and it’s not. I’ve even taken some narcotics – but that masks the pain, doesn’t really improve it. Even if I do appreciate the illusion of being pain free, it’s not a permanent solution.

The good news is that Mr. CC has officially ruled it as just a “knot” that seems to take up the ENTIRE right side of my mid-to-lower back. Oh, ok. It’s just a knot. No big deal…

Right.

And the tears are still streaming down my face as he rubs on it…just a little “knot.”

“It’ll get better” seem to be my famous last words. Maybe someday someone who cares will etch them on my tombstone…

Ok- that’s a little dramatic, I know. But it’s the only way that I can convey through a blog how MUCH my back hurts! The good news is that tonight is our measuring night. We’ll weigh in and measure it all up and see what kind of progress our suffering has gained us. Hopefully it’s enough to make us keep working hard on things…I would hate to see no improvement at all, even if realistically I know to expect that for the first week or two.

I'm sitting here crossing my fingers, and I know that I have a good team of support from all of you out there cheering me on. It just seems all that much scarier to me now that other people know what I'm working on and towards. I liked the whole accountability idea in the beginning, but now it's making me more nervous than normal.

Has anyone else experienced that? Shared something and then worried about how it will feel if you don't "measure" up? Or did it help motivate you more when you share it all?

Accountability...it's a BEACH!

Allright ladies. The countdown has begun. What countdown you say? No, not that one. The one that MOST brides think about is the countdown to their wedding day…and that’s not the one that I’m referring to. I’m referring to the weight loss countdown.

Yep, I said it. I just ordered a size 8 bridal dress, and even though the girls at the shop assure me that the dress will fit when it gets here in 8 more weeks (give or take), I really don’t want to risk it. Plus, when trying on the dress, there were certain aspects of my body that I wasn’t exactly pleased with. Not that I’m grossly obese or heavily overweight, but still I can be honest and say that I could use some toning and trimming.

Enter Mr. CC. He’s a Marine. (Yes, he’s still a Marine even though he’s actually not in the USMC anymore…don’t get me started!) So he takes his physical fitness VERY seriously. Now, with that being said, he’ll be the first one to tell you that since his release from the USMC he’s let that area of his life get a little lax shall we say. So, with both of being disgusted at the thought of putting on swimsuits this year we made a pact.

We WILL start working out and taking care of ourselves so that by the time the wedding rolls around, we both feel good about how we look.

To be perfectly honest, although loss of weight would be nice, it’s not my actual goal here. I want to fit into my clothes again (Barbie doll size or not!) and I want them to fit well. I don’t want them to be tight, I don’t want them to leave marks at the waistline. I want to be able to wear all the clothes in my closet – not that ALL of my clothes SHOULD be worn (I know there are things that need to go to Goodwill!) but having the option to wear them should I choose is what I’m after.

More than likely, during this process, I will lose weight. But I’m more interested in the inches shed. I want to be tone and yes, a little bit buff, a lot more than I want to be a certain weight. Muscle carries weight, so if to get toned and trimmed I initially lose weight and then gain it back I’m ok with that as long as I’m gaining tone and definition and more muscles, not lose and jiggly fat.

Because let’s be honest ladies – the jiggle is NOT pretty. And I’ve got some jiggle right now to be perfectly honest.

And since everyone knows that it’s easier to have a work out buddy (or a trainer) Mr. CC and I have agreed to do this together. He shopped around for a fitness program that we could both do at our various levels and he decided that our tool to get us into the shape that we want to be in was this program called P90X. We ordered it two weeks ago, it got here this past week, and we’re ready to begin. Except that in our enthusiasm to do something, we went about it a little bit wrong.

What we should have done was sit down, read the book that clearly said “Read Me FIRST!” and made sure that we were ready for the hard-core intensity of these workouts. We should have followed along in the book to see what tools that we would need to have ready and available in order to meet our fitness goals. And then there is the all dreaded before shots. Yep, pictures, weights and measurements need to be taken so that you can clearly see where you started and how much progress you’re making along the way.

The program is a 90-day program consisting of 12 various workouts. And apparently there’s an order to the workouts, since we randomly chose one that didn’t require the tools that we didn’t have handy the day that we decided to start this whole thing and that program just about killed us. Yeah, it was an hour long workout…we lasted for 20 minutes. And could barely move the next day. And yesterday was even worse. I swear that with every single step that I took a curse word was either muttered out loud or screamed loudly throughout my head…lots of curse words.

So last night, we decided to be smart about our workouts. Better late than never, right? We outlined our plan, picked our days on and off for the week so that we know we’ll be consistent, purchased all the tools that we need to do the workouts and made a commitment to do this. We also did something that I’ve never done before. We went to GNC. Now, Mr. CC being a Marine, he’s been down this road before where you take supplements to help your workout. Miss CC has never done this, and to be frank, I’m not sure that I’ve ever been in a GNC before…

There is a whole world out stuff out there that you can take. Sure, they carry regular vitamins and holistic medicines, but the bulk of GNC’s business comes from their work-out supplements. There are pills and shakes and drink mixes that you can take that can help your workouts. Now, I didn’t live in a plastic bubble for the bulk of my life, so I knew that there were shakes and protein drinks that guys took when they wanted to bulk up. What I didn’t know was that there were other reasons to take these things besides building mass to your muscles.

There are actually drinks and shakes and mixes out there that help your muscles heal. There are things that you can take that promote calorie burning, that encourage your muscles to burn the fat cells attached to them. There are things that you can take to boost your energy and give your workout a new level once you might reach a peak. I just didn’t know about all of this. So when Mr. CC started talking about supplements, I have to admit to being skeptical. But once we visited the store and he showed me what he was talking about, I began to see what he was talking about. As you work out, there are things that your body needs that you might or might not get from your daily food intake. These things can help your body adjust to the workouts that you’re starting and actually promote the muscle healing process (and since I was still muttering curse words under my breath when I climbed any type of step, I was ALL about the healing muscle stuff!).

This has just opened up a whole new world for me. I’ve worked out before to lose weight or trim my waistline, but I’ve never worked out with someone who knew what they were doing. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever worked out like this with a buddy. There were friends that took the same kickboxing or aerobics classes, but that’s all that we did. It wasn’t like this where I’m accountable to someone. We’ve made ourselves be open and honest with each other about what we want to accomplish and how we each plan to get there (he’s cutting carbs for 30 days and I won’t even TALK about cutting out pasta!) and the lines of communication are open and free flowing.

And I’m excited about this! I see that this could bring a new level to our relationship. We’re learning how to set goals together and accomplish those goals through research, dedication, hard work and persistence. We’re going to be each other’s cheer leader to encourage good choices on the hard days. And if need be, we’ll be each other’s support when our legs won’t carry us up the stairs to our bedroom! Whatever is needed.

Thank you Mr. CC for doing this with me. I truly appreciate it and am excited to start our workouts tonight.

And tonight the moment of truth comes in. Yes ma’am. It’s picture night. We’ll take our “Before” shots, step on the scales and whip out the tape measure. We’ll record these stats and do the weighing and measuring on a weekly basis (Mondays) and we’ll take new pictures at the first of each month to note our progress. So just to add one more level of accountability to myself, I’m going to share this information with you, my readers. I know that you’ll be excited for me too as I start this process to looking my best and feeling my best on my wedding day.

And to be honest, I started this process two weeks ago when I ordered my dress. So, I’ll share with you what little I have done to this point, and you can bear with me and watch me “bloom” with our new workouts and follow my progress. The morning after I placed the order for my dress, I weighed in at 158 pounds. After two weeks of watching what I eat, cutting out sodas, and trying not to eat as much sweets…I was down three pounds when I weighed myself over the week. Not a lot, but something at the same time.

Tonight we’ll get an official number to go with, and start working on this in earnest. Wish me luck, and I’ll be sure to keep you posted – although the pictures might be kept private as I’m SURE there are just some things that your friends DON’T need to see!