Super Duper!

--Trisha
Last week 209.8, and today...207.8!! That's a two-pounder! I did NOT expect that, but I will take it. I know that TOM is any day now, and I am so glad that I weighed today before the all-day Halloween eating at school than if I woulda weighed in tomorrow!! I might actually weigh tomorrow, just to see the damage, LOL! Normally I wait all week...

And, something else I am totally proud of myself about: I got up at 5:30, and I went to the gym! I ran a 12-minute mile today, THE best I have ever done :)) I cranked the treadmill up to 8 mph for 90 seconds, and I did that TWICE!!! I will admit that I was a little terrified of falling on my face and off the back of the treadmill, but in reality, I am a lot stronger than I give myself credit for being!! My goal is to be able to do 10 mph for 30 seconds. I am going to go for that on Wednesday!!! Stay tuned...

This workout also helped me not feel so guilty for the sweets I ate today. I did write EVERYTHING down that went in my mouth :) I did eat small portions!!!

I have a plan to workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at the gym, jogging on the treadmill, maybe some elliptical, and I would love to get the weights started, though that may be a little more down the road. I felt RADICAL all day, full of energy, that I don't think was just the sugar! Then through November, I have Zumba on Tuesdays, plus I have my Zumba dvds.

I also have re-focused my water goal, and I am on several days in a row of back to 100 ounces at least! I can totally feel the difference. I feel so much better when I drink enough water :))

I am so excited for this next month!! On October 3rd I weighed 215. So, I lost 7.2 pounds this month. IF I were to do the same this month, I would be right close to the 200 mark!! THAT is some SUPER motivation!!!

A journey, for sure!

Stephanie,
Thank you for having the courage to share your condition. I just wanted to say a few things about this challenge. I truly believe it's grown to mean so much more than just a challenge to each of us. I feel like it has pushed your struggle to the surface, and now you are able to focus on healing. And, holy smokes, you have been exercising for 3 1/2 months now!! So many benefits there, as well as where would you be physically right now without it?

I believe that this challenge, which has really turned more into a motivational blog between two unlikely people, has definitely made things better between us! Our entire readership does not know of our recent stress between our two households, but I believe that it healed much more quickly than it would have back in the day.

The bottom line is that neither one of us wanted to give up on all the progress we have made, in large part due to this blog!!! Is everything perfect? Of course not, but I feel like we can see things differently now, and that through this blog, we haven't just viewed one another based on our roles in a little one's life! Rather we see each other as women, as real people!

I look forward to seeing where our journey continues to take us :)

Trisha's Weigh-In

I had lots of exercise this weekend :))
I had lots of food experiences, too!!
You can check it all out on my other blog.

Today I was nervous when I stepped on the scale, but ALAS!!! I weigh 209.8!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I lost 2 pounds this past week :))) And, I am now officially--albeit not by much--out of the 210s!! WOO HOO :) I can't hardly believe that I now have less than 10 pounds to pull under 200!!! TALK ABOUT MOTIVATION :)

I gave Stephanie back the Health magazine she gave me. The crazy thing was that I had bought the same magazine(for the first time) right before she gave it to me!! I also gave her a Women's Running magazine, which was also the first time I bought it.

Love, love exercise

I really do love exercising :)

Read all about my INTENSE jumprope workout that I did today! Thanks, Stephanie for the jumprope!!

I am loving ZUMBA, and I will get to do it twice this week!!! Maybe more. I ZUMBA each Tuesday with my cheer squad, and this week is a free try it out class, and we have THE best teacher, Lydia, and I invited Stephanie to come :)) As well, my friend Tina contacting me and is GIVING me her ZUMBA dvds :) HOW AMAZINGLY cool is that?!?

So long 220s...we shall NEVER meet again!

--Trisha's weigh-in and week review!

I now weigh 218! This is exciting :) I am glad to see the 220s GONE forever! That's a solid two pounds this week, and I feel like I am in a real routine now that may be (?) more lifelong instead of a diet per se?! Since I am eating normal things on occasion, or even a special thing here and there!

I did eat TWO pieces of veggie pizza on Friday night, which is the first pizza in I don't even know how long!!! I also ate a brownie and a caramel apple on Saturday. ZOOKS...that was two things that I really didn't need, but OH BOY I ENJOYED THEM BOTH :))

I did live up to my challenge, and yesterday I walked 13.6 miles in 3 hours and 50 minutes. If you are a person walking around a track, that would be 53 laps!!!! I walked a gi-normous loop up where I live. This means that I can make the deadline when I go to Vegas in December! Yesterday was quite an experience though, which you can read about over on my other blog!!

This week, I am writing EVERYTHING down that I eat and blogging it over at my other blog :) I am figuring calories, too. Depending on my icky sicky cold, I may work out in the morning...we will see if that's in my cards or not.

I haven't fallen off the face of the planet...yet!

Hello! I am still alive and KICKING :) You can see just how muy ocupado (VERY BUSY) my life has been this past couple of weeks on my other blog that I finally updated.

As for the challenge this week...I highly doubt I will make it happen, as it means I will be up at 4 a.m. because of meetings and other obligations I have in the morning. Next week, however, NO problem! I do have two challenges for myself next week. 1) I am going to exercise at least three times in the morning, and 2) I am going to write everything down that I eat and blog about it on my other blog (I know boring...). I have been doing a good job of eating and squeezing exercise in (YEAH for Zumba yesterday!), but I am ready to fine tune some things now that life will be on some sort of normal schedule.

This weekend, I plan on walking 13 miles at one time, and timing myself. That will be my intense exercise challenge for me :)))

I am keeping water going, and it hasn't been hard, and really it's more of a habit now :)))

It's been awesome that people are noticing that I am losing weight. I have had several people tell me so this past couple of weeks, and it's such an upper!!

I need to upload new pics and also do my measurements sometime soon!!

weigh in and challenge results for Stephanie

CONGRATS TRISHA!!! We both accomplished our challenge and it ROCKED!  I have your prize already so I just have to get it to you!  :) 

This challenge was tough.  I didn't think I had enough energy to do it but I did!  I barely have enough energy to do what I do everyday with the little sleep I get, actually the interruptions in sleep that I get! :)  But I did it and I loved it!  It makes me want to do this at least once a month too!  I can't wait for the weather to cool off a bit so I can make more of my lunch hour exercise.  Right now, I get dizzy and too hot to do too much.  Don't want heat stroke! LOL! 

Weigh in results:
Last week: 186
This week: 185.5

1/2 lb loss...not the best but I will take it.  I think that we are gaining a bit more muscle which maybe is slowing down the number on the scales????  Or is that just a justification and we really just need to work harder?  But really we need to remember to live life too and be happy.  We are healthier than we ever have been and I am so proud of us!!!  We need to be able to have a little slice of cake and some ice cream or pasta salad or a small candy bar every so often. They don't consume our lives anymore they are actually just treats now! ;)   

Recap of the last few days and what the scale said this morning!

--Trisha
To see exactly how I did on this week's challenge, check out my other blog!! I am super happy with the results of this weekend!! This was the recharge I needed, as I was feeling like the motivation flame was fanning a little :) And, I am proud of both of us for mastering our weekend challenge. Now, I am excited to find the perfect reward to give to Stephanie :))))

Now for the weigh-in...not so good news.
Last week: 223
This week: 224 Gain of +1 pound. This is my first gain :(

But, oddly enough, I am not all broken-hearted about it. It could be TOM (that's never regular, but if it were, it would be coming right now), and I know that I didn't make the best choices eating this last week. I thoroughly enjoyed my homemade pasta salad (my mama's recipe), and more of it than I knew I should. I also ate some yummy cherry chocolate cupcakes at the cheer sleepover. Truly, I am not sweating the small stuff. I know next week will be better!

As well, just yesterday I saw a co-worker who I have not seen since the last day of school, and she commented on my loss! YEAH, first person to do so :))) That was a major pick-me-up!!

I am working hard on my plan for this week--first week back to school. I will blog about it later. I am excited for school to start, and I know I will be successful with my health goals.

P.S. My calves hurt the most today...they feel like they are hard as a rock and not moving, LOL! But, I would totally do they exact same workout again. As a matter of fact, I think I might do it once a month, and see if my times change.

Check it out!

I kicked the physical challenge's butt this week! I am SOOOO glad we had it, or I would have never done what I did!!!! I feel so awesome :))

Check it out right here!!!

I'll take that challenge!

Game on Trisha!!  Good idea!  Something to mix it up!!  Something intense!!! 

What about if we do an hour a day of intense exercise???  It doesn't have to be at one time but at least a 1/2 hour at a time?? 

And yes WATER!!!  125 oz sounds good to me! 

A cleansing of the soul...I need this badly!  So much is going on and about to go on that is stressful and sad and I need some good endorphins running through my body!  I feel good when I exercise and I need to remember that and stick to it.  Perfect timing for this idea Trisha!!! 

As for the prize...what about our favorite "the coffee card"!!!  :)  Or what about we spend 5-10 bucks on each other in anyway we want as long as we keep it healthy?? 

What about??

I think it would be really fun, depending on our fitness levels, to have a physical challenge that we both do together at the same time. Maybe it's 10 sets of bleachers or hiking up a huge hill (like up at the Loup Loup), or...

We could set a date when we are going to do it, and then have some time to train, and then do it! It's kinda like a Biggest Loser challenge.

Any ideas? What do you think?

Stephanie here...

I think that is a terrific idea! But for some reason I am a bit hesitant and I think it is only because so far my exercise has only been done with just me! And because today I am functioning on about 3 hours sleep (baby issues) and 10 sets of bleachers or a huge hill seems very challenging and unachievable right now. LOL  But I know on a day that I get more sleep, it will seem more appealing.  Definitely would need training time! Which would be more challenging to you?  For me, because I know how hard it is already, 10 sets of bleachers at one time would be super duper hard!  A hill would be hard but for some reason I don't think as challenging. 

--Trisha
I can completely understand your hesitation, especially with your sleep-deprivation going on!!! I think the bleachers would be more challenging for me, but even a hill is tough, considering I am packing so many EXTRA pounds. I just watch the Biggest Loser, and I am always fascinated by how much they endure that they think they can't. That really pushing themselves to the limit bit. When you are ready, let me know. There is something about that having someone to go against that you can find that little extra motivation, that push that we sometimes need!

I think a fun winter challenge...to hike up the sledding hill at the Loup 10 times!! We would hike up and sled down, and then back up, etc. I have always thought it would be a fun competition to have like 10 people total compete, and they could each pay $10, with the winner taking home the total prize money.

A little insight...

So I wanted to share some thoughts. 

I have had a lot of comments made to me, about how I am doing and they go from the good side to the bad side.  Some people say "great job! I can see your hard work is paying off!" to "I think you should find a way to get the weight off fast and then it will be easier.  In the past, this slow and steady pace didn't work for you." REALLY? Maybe the truth hurts...I don't know.  I have taken those comments and made the most of them and I really want to show them what I am made of!

I have been doing a lot of research on diets and gimmicks and such and if you look at them all in a nutshell, they all have you eating the same things...fruits, veggies, lean protein.  All in different amounts so the diets are unique, but really they are all the same.  Some diets have you eating so few calories that you can't exercise or you would pass out or feel very fatigued.  Some diets have you exercise ALL THE TIME!  Most diets want you to buy some sort of membership or merchandise.  So my common sense tells me that if you keep to a realistic calorie intake and exercise regularly, weight loss is attainable.  Do what Trisha and I are doing, stay away from processed foods, added unnatural sugars and exercise, you will win the race, maybe slow, maybe fast...all depending on your body.  I don't think that living a healthy lifestyle should make you feel like you can't participate in family functions because you can't eat what is being served.  That is where moderation comes in.  Don't eat a ton of birthday cake or a ton of spaghetti or pizza.  Maybe make some changes and eat a big salad and just a small amount of the other stuff.  Use common sense!  Make healthy choices. Pay attention to others around you that you find inspirational.  (I have noticed that people who don't have weight issues, don't eat a ton of food.  Imagine that!)  How are they eating, how are they maintaining in keeping active.  I think that sometimes with me needing to lose weight first before maintaining, I need to exercise a bit harder and eat just a bit more salad than everyone else!  I don't really have any articles to link to because I don't really want to lead anyone in the wrong direction.  My common sense may be different than others, but this is just my two bits and what I have learned so far in my journey. I am listening to my body and paying attention to what I eat and exercises I do and how it makes me feel.  It doesn't happen overnight...(how many times have I heard that?! LOL)

So Trisha, I truly believe we are doing this the right way.  :) 

Sweaty and good!!

--Trisha
It was a sweaty day, and a day that I am working on making my life as simple as I can! I feel tired, but a really good accomplished tired!

Trisha's 'TUDE

This week--all of two days,I know, but feels like a week already--I have been doing everything I am supposed to do (eating clean, water,exercise), but I definitely don't feel as motivated...kinda have the blahs, not the blues, just the I-don't-want-to-do-much-of-anything-and-just-want-to-be-a-bum attitude. My best friend said that it's because I have been so busy and so on the go for the entire summer that I need a mellow slow down time.

Exercise has been fun this week, but I have not, for the first time this summer, been exercising super early in the morning, like I normally do...maybe that's it?!

OK, for the challenge:
Yesterday = Massage (ahhhhhh) and Zumba class, which was a blast, even though I felt completely uncoordinated!

Today = Slept in :) And,finished reading another book because I carved out time today to read!

Hopefully tomorrow brings a reset to my get-up-and-go!

Purging!

Exercise can be such a good emotional purge! It can really help you move through tough things. I know whenever I am frustrated or stressed and I hit the road, I always feel better when I'm done working out! Today was an especially good 90 minute walk!

Challenging challenge

--Trisha
So, the clean eating challenge for this week, well, it has not been happening for me. I was eating cleaner before I went to cheer camp in Ellensburg. I did have some processed foods, no sweets or desserts, but it is hard when the cooking is out of my hands, and with all the exercise, I was HUNGRY! I did watch portions, and made the best of my choices! I did one night eat a PB&J instead of the greasy tacos they were serving, and I did choose wheat bread, but I didn't have a choice of organic bread or jelly or PB.

For me, the clean eating is starting today! And, so far so good :)

I've been keeping up on my water! And, holy smokes, we walked (about 4 miles a day) and moved and did a ton of exercise all week. I also had to walk up 40 stairs to my room, which I did that at least four times a day.

Honestly, my goal for this week is to maintain, maybe have a small loss. My week two is never as good as my week one and three.

Challenges!!!

Well its Thursday, which means time for new challenges!!  Trisha and I have been talking and figured the next best thing for us would be to have a week of no sugar, no processed foods. So today is day one of that challenge. 

Our weekend challenge is getting in an hour of exercise!  A half hour was totally doable!  An hour will be a challenge, for me at least. 

This will be a fun but difficult week.  I hope to see some big results for the both of us! 

Exercise Challenge

--Trisha
Friday night I did a fun Cardio Blast video (30 minutes), and we rocked it out to Just Dance on the Wii for 20minutes.

Saturday I did the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders (DCC) video for an hour! It really kicked my butt!

Sunday I wasn't sure I was going to get exercise in, since I didn't do it first thing in the morning, the day and its millions of things to do seemed to get in the way, BUT, I did go out at 6:30 last night, and I was kinda grumpy about it. I ended up having THE best walk/jog that I have had in what feels like forever. I walked a total of 30 minutes and jogged 10 minutes, which is the first jogging I have done since the attack of the nasty blister (that we were worried about blood poisoning...). And, I saw two deer in my neighbor's field, which I think are the same two that I usually see further down Robinson Canyon. AND, there were two jets practicing maneuvers right above me for about 10 minutes! They started with a really wide circle and moved until their circle was super tight! COOL.

This morning  I had to get up earlier than normal at 5:15, and I did a 25 minute walk/ 10 minute jog. I feel great! I saw a rainbow and a gi-normous helicopter (Coast Guard rescue size) right near me drying cherries. Not cool for the cherries, but pretty cool to see.

I can definitely say that if we hadn't of had this challenge I would not have worked out yesterday, so it's definitely a good thing and a MOTIVATION for me :)))