Slowly but surely...

the weight is coming off. I've lost another 1.5lbs! My total so far is 16.2lbs lost! YEAH!! Thank you everyone for your continued support. It means a lot to both of us! :)

I have finally added another photo to the slide show too!

30 Pound Mark!!!

I just can't contain my excitement any longer :) Yesterday was my 4 month mark since I started this journey of losing weight, but I completely forgot to weigh myself in the morning because our dd had some friends down all weekend to go to the NIN concert & it threw my dates off track, not to mention losing a LOT of sleep in the process (having 5 teenagers can do that to you!). But it was so worth it when I jumped on the scale this morning! I've lost another 2.2 lbs. since Friday & hit the 30 lb. mark! WOOHOO!!! In 4 months, I've lost a total of 30.8 lbs. & lowered my BMI by 4.2%! And, to top it all of, I measured myself today & in 1 month, I've lost another 4 inches for a total of at least 8 1/2+ inches (I never measured myself when I first started, so I'm going by my 1 month measurements). I also added some new front & side pictures to my slideshow over there --->

I thought I would also share the amazing job my dh is doing. He's lost a total of 25 pounds in 4 months & you can really tell it in his stomach by these pictures. He's losing his 'love handles' ;)

Thank-you for sharing in the excitement with me & for supporting Toni & I along the way! I know I still have a very long way to go, but we're doing this & we WILL win this battle!

Keep movin',
Benita

Under A Pound

This was a hard week for me weight wise. Last Saturday, we went to the drive-in & once again, I overdid it on the popcorn :( What is it about movie theater popcorn that I just can't resist???

I was struggling with my weight all week & had even gained 3 pounds back at one point. OUCH! But I managed to get those 3 lbs. back off my body along with another .6 lbs. this week. It's not a big loss, but still a loss nonetheless & that's what matters!

At the Biggest Loser meeting last night, I had lost 2 lbs. according to their scale for a total of 10.2 pounds lost in 4 weeks :) Jim is doing really good as well.....he's down 12 pounds in 4 weeks!

Monday, the 25th, is picture day along with my monthly weigh-in & measurements, so I'll be updating my slideshow with my 4 month pictures then. Now we just need to beg Toni to put some new pictures on her slideshow ;)

Have a wonderful weekend & keep movin'!
Benita

Another BIG Loss :)

I can hardly believe it myself! If it wasn't for the scale showing me the numbers, I probably wouldn't believe it. And I even weighed myself 3 times to make sure I was seeing it right, lol. I lost another 4.4 lbs. this week! WOOHOO!!!!! I am now down a total of 28 lbs.! 28!!! That's the weight of 2 of my bowling balls :) When I think about carrying these 2 bowling balls around with me everyday, wow! There's no way I would want to do that! But just 3 1/2 months ago, I was! Just like the name of my bowling ball.....I'm in the ZONE :)

I have really stepped up my workouts these past 2 weeks, just pushing myself a little harder, raising the incline more on the treadmill, the intensity more on the bike & yesterday, I did 100 minutes of cardio! 100! Usually I'm happy with just 60 minutes of cardio, but for some reason, I just didn't want to stop yesterday :) I started out doing 25 minutes on the bike, then 45 minutes on the treadmill, another 25 minutes on the elliptical & finished it up with 5 minutes on the Stair Master. Phew! I'm exhausted by just writing that now, lol. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do 100 minutes everytime I go to the gym, but I'm going to try to do that at least once a week from now on.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I'll be at the gym :)

Benita

A big milestone for me :)

No weigh-in for me yesterday. As some of you may have read on my "Moved to the Mountains" blog, I am starting a part-time job as a paraprofessional at my son's elementary school so I was at orientation all morning yesterday! My first day is next Monday, so today I decided to make the most of Iain being home, and I went out shopping. Having been a SAHM for 11 years, I really don't possess many clothes that are stain-free or unfaded :) Comes with the territory, I guess!

BUT here's the big thing: after years of shopping almost exclusively at Lane Bryant...I went to Macy's today and bought several pairs of pants in sizes 14 and 16!! YEAH!! I don't remember the last time I was able to buy some clothes in the "regular" part of a store. Wow! The feeling I had today was better than seeing any number on the scale...now I can really see what a difference the gym makes...as well as losing weight, my shape is really changing!

I know, I need to post a new photo. I'll get Nattie or Iain to take one tomorrow :) Thank you everyone for all the support you're giving to Benita and me! You guys ROCK!

A Very BIG Loss!!!

If you remember my post from last Friday, I didn't have a good weigh-in at all last week. But this week was HUGE! If you count what I weighed last Friday (after the popcorn & movie), I have lost 6.6 pounds this week!!! :) But if you go by my weigh-in last Thursday (the last day of July), I've lost 4.6 pounds, which is the actual number I'm going by since I didn't count my weight gain on Friday. Still with me? :) 4.6 pounds!!! Gone in 1 week! That makes 23.6 pounds lost to date & only 88 more to go to reach my long-term goal!

Plus, on top of all that, last night was our Biggest Loser Weight Loss Competition meeting & when they weighed me there, I was down 5.2 pounds from last week's weigh-in :) I wasn't the biggest loser this week as another lady lost 9 lbs. & a guy had lost 10, but 5.2 is still amazing!

Until next week, keep movin' & never give up :)
Benita

Feeling better today :)

I went and had an awesome workout at the gym yesterday - my trainer was saying lots of people find it difficult to keep their routine when the kiddos are home and trips, etc. are happening. I know now that seeing the trainer twice a week is one of those things that is really going to help me on this journey. If I'm alone doing reps on a weight machine, I might stop at 10 or 11 reps, but the trainer will push me to do 15, and as he said, "it's those last few that are really going to make the difference" :)

This morning I dropped the kiddos off at art camp and headed directly to the gym. I worked out for an hour on the treadmill and then did 30 minutes of weights. Yeah me! Same plan for tomorrow and Thursday too...

Well....it was bound to happen sometime...

Yep, I gained this week. I gained 1.5lbs! I guess the weeks of not exercising quite as much have caught up with me :( I got on the scale at home yesterday and suspected that the WW scale would show a gain, and I was right.

These are the most difficult days for me...previously if I was on WW and I'd get to a week with a gain, that would be the end for me. I'd tell myself I was not going to be successful with my weight loss, and I'd quit.

Not this time, though. I just have to keep on going! I'm back to seeing my trainer this afternoon, and the kids are at art camp all week so every morning after I drop them off I'll be hitting the gym! Wish me luck for a better week ahead - I'll need it!!

A New Month

I'm not going to be counting my weigh-in this morning, but let me explain why. Since yesterday was the last day in July, I decided to weigh myself & I was down another pound. But then last night, we lost power AGAIN so we couldn't go to the gym. Instead, we went to see the movie Step Brothers (which was hilarious, btw, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under, say, 16). Well, if you know me, you'll know that I canNOT resist popcorn at the movies! And I'm ashamed to say that I ate a BUNCH of it last night! So when I got on the scale this morning, it wasn't good AT ALL! I ended up weighing 2 pounds more than I did just yesterday :( But I'm not going to let it get me down! I'm not going to let it set me back! I'm going to get back up on my feet, dust myself off & start fresh! Afterall, it's a new month today :) And I think I did pretty darn good in July, if I don't say so myself. I lost a total of 6.4 lbs. in July (and yes, I AM counting that 1 pound from yesterday) & exercised for a total of 2,263 minutes (see exercise log below)! Not too shabby, huh?

Last night, Jim & I joined The Biggest Loser :) Not the show (although I wish it was!), but a local weightloss competition that runs for 12 weeks. It only cost $29 per person to join & at the end of the 12 weeks, the top 3 'biggest losers' will win money from the prize pot ($25 of each entry fee goes into the pot). I'm hoping that this will help boost my weightloss even more.....it can't hurt, right? If you gain a pound during any given week, you have to add $1 to the pot for each pound gained. That right there is definitely incentive to not gain any weight! The only part that stinks is that the meetings aren't until 7:00 p.m. in the evening & you have to be weighed with your clothes on, lol. So when they weighed me last night, I was actually 3 lbs. more than my weigh-in yesterday morning. It also didn't help that Jim & I had just eaten dinner beforehand. Ah well......I still think it'll be fun & hopefully very rewarding :)

Now onto my monthly exercise log:

July 1: 70 minutes Groovin' Moves Class, 5 minutes stair master, 15 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes weight machines (abs & upper body).
July 2: Rest Day.
July 3: 60 minutes Groovin' Moves Class, 70 minutes weight machines (abs & lower body), 20 minutes treadmill (up to 5.0 incline), 5 minutes stair master, 20 minutes elliptical.
July 4: 45 minute walk with the dogs.
July 5: 10 minutes bike, 26 minutes treadmill (up to 4.0 speed), 24 minutes elliptical, 45 minutes weight machines (upper body & abs).
July 6: 3 hours low activity (walking around Gibraltor Trade Center), 45 minutes swimming....10 laps racing with my dh .
July 7: 45 minutes elliptical (a new record ), 20 minutes abs.
July 8: 60 minutes Groovin' Moves class, 45 minutes abs & upper body, 20 minutes elliptical.
July 9: 45 minute walk with dh & the dogs (about 2 miles), day off from the gym.
July 10: 60 minute Groovin' Moves class, 20 minutes elliptical, 25 minutes treadmill, 18 minutes bike, 45 minutes weight machines (lower body & abs), 10 minutes playing basketball.
July 11: Day off....was too depressed to go to the gym, but I know if I would have, I would have felt better. Live & learn, I guess
July 12: 10 minutes bike, 20 minutes treadmill, 5 minutes stair master, 15 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes weight machines (upper body & abs).
July 13: Zero, Zilch, Nada Another depressing day
July 14: 10 minutes bike, 10 minutes elliptical w/arms, 5 minutes stair master, 25 minutes elliptical w/o arms, 10 minutes treadmill, 45 minutes weight machines (lower body & abs).
July 15: 60 minutes Groovin' Moves class, 10 minutes abs, 20 minutes elliptical. July 16: 80 minutes swimming (24 laps).
July 17: 60 minutes Groovin' Moves class, 35 minutes weight machines (upper body & abs), 15 minutes elliptical.
July 18: Day off - DD's 18th birthday
July 19: Another day off as DD's friends decided to stay longer.
July 20: 120 minutes light activity (walking around the Royal Oak Antique & Garage Sale), 40 minutes swimming (12 laps).
July 21: 15 minutes bike, 20 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes weight machines (abs & lower body).
July 22: 70 minutes Groovin' Moves Class, 10 minutes weight machines (abs), 15 minutes elliptical.
July 23: Day off.
July 24: 10 minutes bike, 20 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes treadmill, 40 minutes weight machines (upper body & abs).
July 25: 5 minutes bike, 25 minutes elliptical, 40 minutes weight machines (lower body & abs).
July 26: Day off.
July 27: 30 minutes swimming (12 laps).
July 28: Day off.....had to pick up dd.
July 29: 60 minutes Groovin' Moves Class, 45 minutes weight machines (upper, lower & abs), 15 minutes elliptical w/arms
July 30: 10 minutes bike, 10 minutes elliptical w/arms, 20 minutes elliptical w/o arms, 15 minutes treadmill, 5 minutes stairmaster, 15 minutes abs, 15 minutes basketball (beat dh again ).
July 31: Unplanned day off. Lost power AGAIN!

Minutes exercised: 2263

Have a wonderful weekend & keep on exercising!
Benita