Back to the gym I go!

It was a long, fun, unstructured, lazy at times, summer. While Shanna's been rocking her weight loss, I've been slowly creeping up on the scale...BOO! I can't be too upset about it; when I don't put in the effort, I can't expect magical results! As a result I was up a total of 10 pounds, YIKES! 3 weeks ago I started focusing on what I was eating again, then two weeks ago I added back in my gym time. I can't believe how much better I feel already. Plus, I'm down 5 of those pesky pounds! 

My muscles keep having to remind my brain that I my body knows what it's doing, & to stop questioning whether or not I can do the work! I really missed working out though, even if I have been super sore!

So, who's with me? Anyone else ready to recommit?  My body is sore, but I'm still going to drag my shrinking butt to the gym!

100 gone!

Fifteen years ago I gave birth to twins who were so early, that I had no idea what would become of them, and what my life would be. Would they be healthy? Would they live? Could I handle whatever challenges we might face? I turned to M&M's. Literally. I went through bags of them the first year of my cute little babies life.My family can tell you that M&M's were always around. When they came home from the hospital 3 months later, my sister would come over every day to watch them so I could workout. I worked out, and gained almost 100 lbs. Who knew you couldn't eat bags full of chocolate, and not gain weight just because you were working out?!

During the next 8 or 9 years, between the normal stresses of life, and having another baby, my weight stayed about the same. I would lose 20 pounds, but fall back into old habbits. The one thing I did do right, was that I always worked out pretty consistently.

When I was about 30, I fell on a slippery tile floor and broke my back. I ended up having surgery, and gained another 50 pounds on top of the 100! Yikes! I still tried to walk as much as I could, but it is really hard when you get big.

Well now I can say that I am getting my health back! Within a couple years after back surgery, I lost some weight, but kind of stalled out, which brings us to last summer. I gave up my treats, started working harder in my workouts and since last summer, I have lost 57 pounds, BUT....from my highest weight after back surgery, I have now lost 100 pounds!!! Life is good, and I have a wonderful husband and 3 healthy kids too(One towers over me!). We are all on this journey of life together, and I am thankful for their support. We all need it!

This week I have started calorie counting again. I hate it, but it works. If you want to join me, come find me at My Fitness Pal. I am shanse. I love friends!

1 Year Out...Now what??!

As of today, I have not had any chocolate/treats/desserts for one year! I made a goal and I stuck to it!

These are 3 of the many things I have learned.

1) My body doesn't always do things the way I want. I had to go with it anyway. I thought that I would be down roughly 100 pounds or so. I am about half way to that goal. The thing is, is that I am ok with it. Yes, I wish I was smaller, but I am on my way!

2) Sugar makes me feel like junk. I ate a lot of sugar, and I payed for it. Sugar makes me tired, and cranky. I think my family likes me better without sugar. I like myself better.

3) Giving up sugar was definitely not as hard as  I told myself it would be.  I am happy to say that once I made up my mind, it really wasn't a big deal. I thought it would be hard around Halloween, Christmas, etc., but the holidays were still just as fun and wonderful. Family parties were still memorable like always, and I realized that I didn't need chocolate to have a good time!

I am not exactly sure when I will eat a treat again. That is a very scary thing for me. I am really afreaid that once I eat something, all of the cravings will come back. So for now, I am going to be treat free a while longer. Today, I decided that I will give up chips/fried food until my birthday in September. I want to feel really good this summer and give myself the gift of better health for my birthday!

So yay for me, I DID IT!!!

What is something that would be hard for YOU to give up?

I love your support!

Hi everyone! We are still around slowly but surely losing. I feel like I have so much to say, but I don't know where to start! Maybe I should have been better at updating our blog! Life got so busy with the end of the school year. My weight is very slowly going down still, but I have decided to pick up the pace. Erin and I are doing a weight loss challenge, but here is the kick...We are competing on different teams! Erin is going down!!! Anyway, the thing I have been thinking about lately is support. Supporting each other. I feel like their are so many people supporting me on this journey.Without getting to cheesy, their are some things I need to say. First, I am so glad to have a friend that will go with me to the gym everyday! I think it is so important to have someone you can count on and who is counting on you. It makes us get there! Ok, yes...sometimes we skip and go to Target instead, or halfway through, we decide we are leaving and going to Carl's Jr., but for the most part. we work hard and push each other to do better, so thanks Erin! Next, I am thankful for the support of friends and neighbors. It does so much for me when people say how great I am looking or say what an inspiration we are. It makes me want to try that much harder! I am also thankful for family! My sisters constantly tell me that it is OK and even great that my weight is coming off soooo sllooow this year. They reassure me that I dont need to lose it super fast! The rest of my family has been very nice as well. And, my own little family. My kids tell me how awesome I am, and Jess is constantly listening to my triumphs and my insecurities and he has been a huge inspiration and help to me! And I also definitely have Divine help. I have said many, many prayers and I made a promise to my Heavenly Father this year, and He has made things possible for me that I didn't think would be. Prayer has been key for me! I a so thankful to be on this journey. As of now, I am down 52 pounds, and I am so excited to be down another 52!

 We keep finding out about people following us, and we want to hear from you, so tell us what helps you, or how you feel supported, or just say Hi. :)

That stupid yoyo!

I have been stagnant for the last couple of months and it's really frustrating. I know what I need to change... mostly my eating, and I change for a while, then let life take over and end up slipping back into bad habits.  Luckily, I've not yo-yo-ed too much weight, but it's still really annoying.  I came across this article today and it's really interesting.  Give it a read

Change!

Wow, putting our before and current during pictures has been super eye opening!  I can't believe how much we've both changed in only 7 months.  I'm so grateful to have such a great friend be my partner in this journey.  We both plateaued the last 2 months and we are finally moving forward again.  We challenged each other to no sweets...which Shanna has been doing for the last 8 months, no fried food...including chips, and no eating after 7. I have now lost a total of 39 pounds! 

 Miss Shanna is rocking her new gym clothes!  She looks so good!  She's now lost a total of 44 pounds!

I hope we are helping some of you meet your fitness goals as we are meeting ours. We really love and need to hear from you...it helps us keep moving forward!  Take a picture of yourself today and make goals of what you'd like your fitness to be like in 6 months.  Then continue taking pictures.  If you do we'd love to see them!

Hey everyone! We are still here!

Wow. It is March first today. This year is flying by! Since Christmas, I am down 2 pounds. Two little, tiny pounds. And I had to work for those pounds. Ok this week I had to work for those pounds! You see, Erin and I have been going. We have been missing from this blog, but we have been keeping up our workouts and trying to lose. Nothing. We switched up our workouts, and inches were coming off but pounds? NOTHING! Then we got an idea. Maybe food matters! Haha, just kidding, we know it does. Working out comes naturally for me. I love it. I love the way I feel, and I love going to the gym with Erin most of the time. Counting calories. I Hate it. I would rather do anything than count calories, but it works darn it! Anyways, this week, we decided to clean up our eating a lot. No chips/fried foods for 2 weeks. No late night snacking, get our water in, and no treats(I have already been doing that for 8 months!). After two weeks, we are buying each other a prize!!! Erin is buying me some new workout shoes, and I am buying her whatever she ends up choosing. It will be fun, and I still get to avoid calorie counting for a few more weeks! I have to mix things up constantly so I don't get bored. :) So I guess today, I am just feeling thankful that we are 8 months in to this weight loss, and although it hasn't been easy, we have NEVER GIVEN UP, and we are going to so this!  We want to hear form YOU! How have your weight loss goals been going this new year?

p.s. Our March pictures will be up in the next week! We like doing the every two months pics better!

p.p.s. How did everyone do on the KSL 10 pound challenge??? Cami and Courtney were the only ones who entered Our Giveaway, so you both win!!! Send me a message with your address, and your prize will be on its way!

Thanks everyone for your motivation and support! We love it when you stop and tell us you love what we are doing, or when friends of friends tell us you read our blog! We are having so much fun doing this together!

Yum!

What do you get when you add Garden noodles to a can of V8 juice?  Delicious macaroni and tomato soup!  It is one of my favorite and quick lunches.  I love the Ronzoni spaghetti noodles that have tons of fiber...they taste, seriously, just like normal noodles.  No cardboard-y taste!  This week Ronzoni noodles are on sale for 0.49 a box at Smith's so I decided to try the garden delight noodles, ad matched it at Walmart and loaded up.  

I just microwave my noodles in water with salt for about 8-10 minutes in a pyrex measuring cup bowl.  Dump out remaining water, then add can of v8 juice and some pepper.  Microwave for another minute.  Then YUM!

What are your go to fast yummy lunches???

What the crap is up with me?

I have been in a massive funk the last two months.  Not just in getting fit, it seems like in everything.  I'm still working out and trying to eat well, but then I cave into cravings and blow my progress.  I've been super grouchy and feel like I'm trying to give my best to everyone around me except for my family and myself.  I'm sick of it!  So today's post is how to get out of a crappy funk!

#1. You have to recognize that you are in a funk...and figure out what's causing it.

#2. Let go of whatever is causing you stress.  I've realized that a) I've been trying to do things all on my own...again!  When I forget to ask Heavenly Father for help and guidance, I tend to wear myself out really quickly, and eventually fall flat on my face.  And b) I've reached a weight that I haven't been for a really long time, and although I still have a ways to go, I'm comfortable, but also a little scared to keep going.

#3.If I tell myself negative things my body with react and hold on to my stress.

#4. If I have a bad day with my eating I don't need to carry that disappointment on to the next day. And I have to move forward or else I fall back!

#5.   I need to stop stressing about how far I have to go and just keep going.  When I stop looking forward and backward, and just focus on what I'm doing now to make a difference, I progress much easier.

I really hope this helps someone out there because it really helps me to write down how I'm feeling when I struggle...it seems like I can get through the struggles a heck of a lot faster and move on with my goals.

Super simple eating tips

Since I have some yummy food to share today, tip #2 is going to be about eating.To lose weight, you need fewer calories. Period.  Create a deficit from your current calorie intake and you'll see pounds come off. You can either eat less, exercise more, or a combo of both.  If you don't know how many calories you eat right now, try tracking it by either writing it all down, or using a website to look up food and track it.  We really like myfitnesspal.   You can track your food and exercise and it tracks your weight and measurements for you.  Plus, then you can be friends with Shanna and I on there...who wouldn't want that???  A quick thing you can do to get started is cut a daily snack, or cut dinner by half the size as a start.  

 A huge thing I've found that works for me is that I HAVE TO EAT BREAKFAST. I feel so much better and lose better.  This is one of my biggest challenges and I still have to remind myself to do it sometimes.  I don't eat a huge meal, usually a handful of almonds or a protein shake. We work out at 9:30 every morning so if I eat too much I feel sick...but if I don't eat at all I seem to hold on to weight & I eat later at night....my other major challenge.  Pick a reasonable time that works for you to stop eating food at night.  Eating at night was probably the first thing I really cut down on doing, and noticed immediate results.  (If you eat breakfast & lunch you won't have the craving to eat at night nearly as strong.)  Night time munching is one of the fastest ways to pick up and hold onto weight.  

 Okay, on to this pizza.  So good!  I love pizza!  My kids love it too.  Some of you may just want to lose weight on your journey...my goal is to be healthier all around.  I want to feel good and look good.  Not by cutting out everything I enjoy eating, but tweaking things here and there and using moderation on foods that aren't great.  (I'm a health nut wanna be...basically!  I like being healthy but still eat junk sometimes too!)

This pizza has a greek pita crust.  I get them at Costco.  They are the Papa Pita brand.  Then I make my pizza sauce, but you could use marinara or store bought sauce.  The sauce is just a can of tomato paste and a can of tomato sauce mixed together with a little bit of water.  Add some dashes of italian seasoning, garlic powder & onion powder to taste.  A titch of sugar and salt and pepper.  Then add veggies you like.  I have green peppers and zucchini...so good on pizza and in eggs.  It gives a slight sweetness. Then top with a little bit of cheese. I have 1/6 of a cup of pizza blend cheese on there, but you could use just mozzarella.  Bake at @425 for 8-10 minutes.  The best part is my kids love making their own.  I don't have to make dough and they are really good. Plus the toppings are endless. (This version has 280 calories, 7 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber.)

This smoothie is my secret weapon.  I do not like spinach.  Neither do my kids, but you can't even tell it's in this smoothie.  First off, throw about a cup of spinach in your blender. Add water to cover your spinach.  Add half to a whole drink mix packet (to taste).  I like to use the Hawiian Punch orange one. It gives it a great citrusy flavor.  Blend it up well so it's liquified.

 Then throw in 1-2 cups of frozen berries.  (Depending on how many you are serving you may want to add more water.) Blend and you're done. (A whole blender full has 95 calories, 0 fat, 3 grams protein and 5 g fiber.)

 I love this lunch, but more importantly my kids love it too.  Usually I can't even sit down to eat before they've all drunk their smoothies.
 I hope you'll give these a try.  Let me know what you think!

***Disclaimer*** I know there are ways to make this healthier, but my goal is to eat healthy, not cut out everything I enjoy out of my diet.  If you get too extreme it will be really hard to continue...I want this to be a lifetime lifestyle change, not just a diet!

A few keys that have worked for me

I've been asked several times what I'm doing to lose weight, and I usually just say, "Exercising and eating better."  That's true, but there are a few keys that when I'm doing them I consistently lose weight and feel really good.  I think for the next week I'm going to try to do a post a day on some of those things.  Now don't think you need to try to add all these things into your life in one day.  Just pick one thing and start doing that for an entire week, then add another thing for a whole week...and so on.  Otherwise, if you're anything like me, it's too much to change all at once and you won't do any of them.

The first thing on my list is drinking water.  I know this may sound stupid, but it makes such a difference.  When I'm focused on getting in my water I'm way more aware of what and how much I'm eating.  So, how much to drink???  I've always heard 8 eight ounce glasses of water a day, but that doesn't factor in weight or amount of activity.  This is a website where you can answer a few questions and it will let you know how much you really need to drink.  With my size and exercise I'm supposed to drink 102-127 ounces.  Now believe me, I don't get that in every day, but I usually get between 64 and 100 ounces.

I really like adding the juice of a whole fresh lemon to my water and a packet of Great Value Vitamin Enhanced Kiwi Strawberry. It's a natural flavor instead of like candy flavoring. I know some of you don't like artificial sweeteners, but don't freak out...I have 1 pack a day mixed in with 32 oz and it makes my water taste really good!

Check back tomorrow for this yummy recipe.

6 months worth of work really is paying off!

All right.  It's that time again. Progress pictures!!!  I'm not gonna lie.  I didn't budge over the holidays.  I would go up 2 down 2 up 2 down 2.  But the important thing is that I at least maintained, and now I'm ready to get moving like crazy! In 6 months, I'm down a total of 35 pounds.

But Shanna on the other hand, with her resolve to not eat treats for a year...which she is rocking by the way...lost 5 pounds.  Putting her at a total 40 pounds.

Not gonna lie, I'm more than a little jealous!  We are both super excited for the new year and ready to blast through January.  We are debating on whether or not to start our own fitness group or not.  Is anyone interested in doing this with us?  You don't have to live locally, we would come up with daily/weekly goals and have some sort of reward at the end.  We could also do it for money or not.  Let us know.

Weight Loss Challenge!

                     

                 Are You Ready to Get Going, and lose a few pounds?!

KSL is doing a 10 pound challenge, and we want you to come and do the challenge with Erin and I!       Use the link below, and then come back and tell us, and we will enter you for a chance to win a goodie bag of items to get you started on your own journey to health! Let's start of 2014 with little less of ourselves!

                                                                                                   http://unity.lolofit.com/ten_pound_challenge_users/new

oh, and check back later tonight or tomorrow. We have are 6 month pictures we will be posting. :-D

Here's to 2014!!!

Happy New Year!!!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! Erin and I went to the gym on Christmas Eve and left very happy. Erin kept her weight steady through all of the holiday parties and yummy treats, and I made my goal of  40 pounds before Christmas! Yay for us! Usually one of us is having and good day and the other is feeling discouraged, so it was a Christmas Miracle for us both! :D   

I love to weigh myself everyday. That is not necessarily good or bad, but it is bad for me. I am either so happy or so bugged for the whole day, so I decided that I was not going to weigh for a whole month. Yikes. I weighed this morning and I won't be weighing again until February 1st. I am kicking it up a notch this month to really get back into losing some weight, and Erin and I want any and all of you to come along with us! 

We want to do a little Weight loss competition! It will be easy and little or no money. We just want everyone to join us in our journey to health. We are still working out the small details so we will let you know in the next few days. In the meantime, let us know if you would like to join in! Come on, you know you want to!!!

Here's to all of our health in 2014!!!