Lots of A-HAs

I had a big A-HA moment this week.  I've been trying to diligently track all my food & activity on My Fitness Pal and I've been somewhat successful.  If I don't do it immediately before or after a meal, it doesn't get done.  And then I have guilt.  Ugh, I'm so hard on myself!  I noticed one of my friends had her food diary as public.  I thought that was a bit daring.  I always had mine private because I didn't want people to see when I slipped up.  Of course whenever I started a new diet, I told my friends.  I couldn't dare to be seen as failing, even though everyone has a bad day.  And sometimes you just NEED pizza and wine.  Anyways, I realized that the best way for me to help others in my coaching was to show them what I was eating.  I've found that I need to eat a lot more calories than I thought and what better way to show others that you can eat a lot & still be healthy.  So I made the decision on Monday to make mine public (EEK!).  Now ALL of my friends can see EVERYTHING I log here.  If you're on MFP, my username is andee711.  I even promise to log the pizza and wine :)

I've always been a been a yo yo dieter (like the majority of us).  I go hard core for about a week or two, then I have a slip up, then I say "ah screw it".  And a few months later, I feel gross about myself and the cycle starts all over again.  I actually thought about it & I've been doing this for about 20 years.  Wow...20 years.  Since I was a teenager.  In all that time, I never found something that clicked for me.  I finally feel like this is it.  Since January, I've been eating right (90% of the time) and exercising pretty regularly.  Sure I have weeks where I just don't have it in me or I'm super sore and those days I give myself a break.  I allow myself to take a break instead of beating myself up about missing a workout or eating junk, which is often the beginning of the end for me.

I'm seeing changes in myself that I never thought I'd see.  First there are the physical ones...less wobble in my arms, the backs of my thighs are noticeably smaller, and I HAVE to put my jeans in the dryer.  Now the mental changes.  I feel better about myself.  I feel better in who I am and in the knowledge that I am setting an example for my family (gotta love it when your 4yr old joins you in your workout).  My anxiety is better because I get all of this nervous energy out.  I know I am doing something good for ME and as a mom, it's sometimes hard to enjoy something that is just for you and not for your whole family.  But wait a sec, I AM doing this for my family!  (that was a serious a-ha moment after I wrote that last sentence)  My healthy lifestyle is benefiting them as much as it is me!  We went for a big walk Easter Sunday instead of just lazing around the house.  My husband is going for a run most nights.  My boys, who are already active, are more in tune with healthy eating.  Though as I type this my 4yr old is gnawing on a big chocolate bunny but, whatevs, it's spring break, he's been playing outside most of the day and is covered in dirt.

Get your family involved!  Get your friends on board!  YOU can be the catalyst to everyone around you being healthier!

http://bit.ly/1dpmHFG

New Program!

I haven't posted for a while for a few reasons but mainly, I just didn't have a moment where I thought "I need to do a blog post about this".  I've been having a tough time grieving lately and it's hard to be motivational to others when you're having a crappy day.  The exercise does help though.  Helps lift my mood, focus on something that's good for me and sweat out the negativity in my life.

I finished ChaLEAN Extreme and, while I didn't lose a lot of weight, I lost a bunch of inches!  Here are some before/after pics:

Where did my hips go??  I'll be honest, I didn't think I had that much of a change while I was doing it so I'm so glad I took before/after shots.  I HATE pictures of myself.  Even the ones that look good.  Don't like my body, smile, hair, clothes, none of it.  But I'm slowly working to change that mindset.  It takes time to change a lifetime of habits but I'm on my way.

I then started what has become BeachBody's huge seller, the 21 Day Fix.  It sold more in a week than they had projected entirely, to the point where it got back ordered pretty quickly.  Here's what you get with the Fix:

2 workout DVDs with 10 workouts, Shakeology shaker cup, meal plan & containers for portion control.  OMG I was in love.  Portion control is, I think, where the majority of us struggle and these containers really and truly help.  There is a calorie calculator and a chart that shows you exactly how many of each container you can eat & what to put in it.  It was slightly intimidating at first because A-I was excited and B-I like to complicate things for myself.  

I started off strong and then life got in the way for about a week so I've restarted the Fix to get myself back on track.  Week 1 went great and then I started doing a squat challenge which REALLY gave me a lot of pain in my hip joint so I needed to take like 4-5 days off.  Couple that with working last week and I just went off the rails.  It happens.  Nobody's perfect.  Least of all me.

I'm day 2 into my restarted week 1 and let me tell you, the chick that devised this system is the devil herself.  Autumn Calabrese is a fitness trainer & bikini competition winner and has a SMOKING body.  The workouts are tough but they're only 30 minutes.  You can do anything for 30 minutes, right?  One of the things I love about the BeachBody workouts is there's a timer on the bottom of the screen so you know exactly how much longer you have to endure whatever it is you're doing.  

Don't forget, as a BeachBody Coach, my coaching is 100% free!  Just sign up for a FREE BeachBody account so I can keep track of who I'm coaching.  I became a coach to help others with their fitness & nutrition goals.  Helping others, in turn, helps me to keep myself on track & motivated.  Just follow my link or message me with any questions.  http://bit.ly/1dpmHFG

Until next time.....

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

When I got married, I moved to England 5 days after my wedding.  My husband is from England and I had decided to live there.  It was tough moving to a brand new place but exciting and after a year or so we though, hey let's add a kid to the mix.  Jack was born in January 2005 and 3 months later we moved back to the US.  I was suddenly around all the junk food I hadn't seen for a while and after 5 months, I looked like this:

Yup, that's me in the middle (and my dad on the left thinking, damn she got fat!).  All 240 lbs of me on a 5'3" frame (that's 17 stone for you metric peeps).  I made the pic as big as I could so you could see just how big I was.  It was after seeing these pictures of my son's baptism I needed to do something.  I was already starting to have trouble walking because of the weight on my ankles and generally had zero energy.  And so began my never ending weight loss journey.  Thankfully, I don't look like that anymore.  Here are my before pictures from 2 months ago.

I still have a long way to go but I am so much stronger and healthier than I was 9 years ago.  I am currently about 60 days into ChaLEAN Extreme with 30 days to go.  I'll take true "after" pictures in a month when I'm done.

How have I been doing?  Well, I still haven't lost much weight.  And my measurements haven't really changed.  BUT!  I have significantly less jiggle in my arms and thighs and overall, I feel stronger.  I guess my fatness is being replaced with muscle!  Hellooooo summer tank tops!  Let's be honest, being healthy is awesome but looking good in your clothes is pretty up there too.

My biggest challenge is consistently eating right.  I LOVE FOOD.  I'd say about 80% of the time, I do really well with my meal planning/eating.  The other day I was feeling really down and the only comfort food that looked appealing was low fat cottage cheese.  Seriously?  Who eats low fat cottage cheese when they're in tears?  Well this girl did!  It's all about small victories and changes.  I've never been a skinny person and I never will be and for the first time in my life, I'm 100% OK with that.  Like I tell my son, it would be a pretty boring place if we all looked the same.

#strongisthenewskinny

In addition to the blog, I also have an Instagram account which has loads of pictures of my boys, food, motivational stuff & I'm hoping to add lots of sweaty pics of myself.  Because nothing says "work out" like looking at someone who's sweaty and sore.  My main hash tags are #strongisthenewskinny, #teamharmony, #byebyefatgirl.  Follow me!

Around the time Chalene Johnson takes a break in my routine, I should be getting the 21 Day Fix program.  It's a program that comes with containers for portion control, a meal plan, and workouts.  I CAN'T WAIT!!!  It completely exceeded sales expectations within 8 hours of its release and I've seen AH-MAZING results from people who have done it.  It's been back ordered and I really hope it's here by the end of the month.  I honestly never thought that I would see fitness programs and thing "OMG I HAVE to try that".  It's more addicting than I ever dreamed it would be.  Working out addicting?  Yeah, I'm kinda getting there.  Head on over to my page to grab a challenge pack for the 21 Day Fix, T25, P90X (1,2,&3), some Shakeology or whatever you feel like trying.

Right?

People keep telling me that I'm inspiring and motivational with all this fitness stuff.  I truly hope so.  I absolutely love helping people and knowing that I'm motivating people is really helping me reach my goals.

Tuesday Sucked, but Wednesday Was Better

My mother died in July 2013.  It still pains me to type that or read it.  We had our close and not so close times in our relationship.  At the time of her death, it was one of our not so close times.  Regardless, she was always there when I needed to talk.  And yesterday, I really needed to talk to her.  I think for the first time in my life I had my first real "I just want my mom" moment.  There were lots of tears and it was an emotionally draining day.  In terms of my workouts, it was a rest day and I took FULL advantage.  We're getting a snow storm and our cupboards were bare so I did a big shop.  I then fed my family cereal and oatmeal for dinner and ordered myself a small sub and cheddar bacon fries.  Because it was a shitty day and damn it, salad just wasn't going to cut it!  Normally, I'm a "cook everything from scratch" kinda gal but sometimes you just have to say screw it.

I just started the Push Circuit of ChaLEAN Extreme.  Today was Push Circuit 2.  I usually do my workout in the morning or, if I have to work, in the early afternoon.  Today I was tired from work, freezing cold, and worn out emotionally.  3pm came and I thought, well it's now or never.  So I put on my smelly workout clothes and, among other exercises, did one legged dead lifts (helloooo hamstrings!).  I IMMEDIATELY felt better physically and mentally.  I mean, let's be honest, of course I thought "thank goodness that's over with" but I also thought "that's it?".  The workouts in CLX are 30-45 min long.  Actually only Burn Intervals is 45 min long.  If my 9 yr old wasn't about to get off the bus, I totally would've done Ab Burner or the bonus Turbo Jam workout.  My point is that within 30 minutes, I wasn't cold, my energy went through the roof, I felt happier and I WANTED to do more!  

My life has been filled with self doubt and food regret.  I love food.  I love to eat it, cook it, read about it, watch cooking shows and my favorite, serve it to those I love.  As much as I love everything about food, I do what everyone else does...1 bad food decision and I'm off the rails.   Forget the diet.  Forget eating healthy.  What's the point?  Yesterday I made the decision to permanently change my thinking.  One bad meal does not a diet break.  I hate the term "diet" and "lifestyle change", even though that what I'm doing but I have no better words.  

So yeah, yesterday sucked.  Big time.  But today was better because I exercised and for 30 minutes, focused on nothing more than making my muscles stronger.  And I had a free chocolate covered strawberry...that was a bonus :)

New Beginnings

A few days after Christmas, I posted this

Why? Because it's hilarious. Don't we all see that on Facebook like, the day after Christmas? 2013 was a tough year and this was the perfect time to make a fresh start with myself - mind, body & soul. A friend of mine had been posting stuff about Focus T25. It's by Shaun T, the lunatic that does Insanity. I'm all for working out but Insanity scared the hell out of me and I have arthritis in my knees. Plus if I do jumping in a work out, I'm going to have to invest in Depends (thanks kids).
Anywho, she is a coach with Team Beachbody and set out to find a program that would help me lose weight and wouldn't be too stressful on the knees. She came back with ChaLEAN Extreme by Chalene Johnson. A little blonde lady who has as much energy as a sugar rushed squirrel. Extreme circuit training *insert scared look*.
I work part time and when I go to the gym, I get bored and don't work as hard as I should. She was also telling me about Shakeology "The Healthiest Meal of the Day".  A shake in which you can add water or other stuff to.  Well why not.  I mean, I've tried almost every diet out there.
Weight Watchers
Jenny Craig
Slim Fast
Atkins
South Beach
Dukan
Optifast
Special K (2 bowls of cereal & 1 meal a day)
as well as your general count calories/work out.

A few things worked, but as with most diets after a few weeks I got bored or didn't see results so I fell back into the same 'ole patterns. She gave me some samples of shake-o and I was surprised at how full it made me. When I work, it's from 9:30-12:30 so I have breakfast around 8:30 and then usually don't eat again until after 1. I never felt hungry! So I thought, eh why not. I'll buy the Challenge Pack and give it a whirl. I signed up the be a Team Beachbody Coach so I could get a discount (who doesn't love a deal?)
                                               On January 9th, my big blue box appeared

                                                              And inside was this

along with my big bag of chocolate Shakeology.
Good Lord, what have I gotten myself into?!?!!? 7 DVDs, a guide book (a guide book???  It came with a guide book!) a resistance band, some giant rubber band called a thigh toner and a ripped chick on the cover.
Today it's February 9th. I've finished phase 1 which is called the Burn phase. Mostly weight training and a little cardio.
Sad part - I haven't lost any weight. Not an ounce.
Thrilling part? I've lost 3 inches off my hips & 1 1/2 off my waist. My dear tape measure is becoming my new best friend and the scale remains my enemy. I have a ton of energy, I feel stronger (had to buy heavier weights!), and drinking the Shakeology really helps me not go for junk food.

So if you're interested in anything Beachbody, Shakeology, P90X, T25, or anything else drop me a line!  Being a coach will not only get me a discount on stuff but it will also fulfill my desire to help people reach their goals.  I've been 240lbs and I've been 140lbs and everything in between (which is where I am now) so I can definitely commiserate with wanting to change and having trouble.

Until next time....

Hello!

So I'm joining the blogging world.  I've called it Serendipitous Fitness for a few reasons.  Serendipity is one of my favorite words.  It sounds lovely yet I never use it.  It means "pleasant surprise" or "happy accident".  I've recently begun a journey of better health.  Like everyone else on January 1st, I said "this will be the year I lose weight and get healthy" (kinda like what I say every January 1st).  I started working out and eating healthier and realized that it really made me feel GOOD!  So it was a pleasant surprise that fitness and wellness has made me feel amazing.  I'm hoping to share my story and my journey as well as inspire others.