Carie's Weight Loss Journey Week 34

Has it really been 34 weeks? Sheesh! That's almost an entire pregnancy! Having been through three of them, I know what it's like to count down the weeks until you meet your new baby! Except this journey, I'm counting down the pounds until I reach my goal weight! And I am SO close! I will laugh if it takes me 40 weeks! That will be AWESOME! Almost as awesome as this shirt that someone needs to buy for me:

Found HERE

As the 2013 started, a lot of my friends and I made fitness resolutions and/or goals. A lot of those goals are the same, but when I tell people that I want to run a marathon, they look at me like I'm crazy! Maybe I am! But it has always been a dream of mine!

I remember the days I spent running track and cross country in high school. I remember being encouraged by my coaches to push a little harder and run a little faster. They told me that I could do anything I wanted to do, as long as I was willing to put forth the effort. If they gave the team a workout that required us to run to a certain point and then turn around, I would ALWAYS run to the exact spot I was told to turn around, and turn around. I NEVER turned around early. There were people on the team who did... and it would always make me SO angry. I would always finish the workouts last, or close to last. I would get so mad when I was ahead of people, I reached the turn around point, and as soon as I was coming up on those people, they would just turn around when I passed by them. Then they would pass me up near the end and finish before me. Even talking about it stirs up those old feelings I had about always finishing last.

I hated it. I felt like I ALWAYS put forth a huge effort. I did everything I was suppose to do. I did everything I was asked to do. And all the while, others were cheating and finishing before me. It killed me when the coaches wouldn't put me down for a race during track season... I remember passing around the event list and looking for my name, only to find that it wasn't on the sheet. I would try SO hard not to cry... but it never worked. There were only ever a few times in my entire high school running career that I wasn't scheduled to run, but those days were the hardest for me.

I would go over and over in my head, "What did I do wrong? Is coach mad at me? Am I being punished?" I would sit and stew in my mind and get very angry about not being able to run. I hated feeling inadequate and unworthy to even represent my team during a meet. There were plenty of events to go around... some people even ran 3 events in one night. And I got none. I still don't know exactly why. It was hard... But that's okay...

All of it made me a strong person. A strong runner. I may have not been the fastest, but I know I pushed hard each and every workout and race. It made me appreciate the events I got to participate in. It made me appreciate the fact that I could even run at all. There were times I hated running... but in the end, running was my own therapy. I had a hard childhood and a lot of negative thoughts in my head. At all times. Running helped me work out those feelings and leave them all on the road behind me. 

It was because of all that, I KNOW I can run a marathon. I remember setting the goal to run a marathon when I was younger. (I think the original goal was to run the Boston marathon... just to run it, not compete.) I knew it was something that I wanted to put my time, heart, and body into. I don't think I realized just how long a marathon is! But now that I know, the 26.2 miles don't scare me. My mind does.

That statement might sound silly... but it's true. 

That photo says it all. Exactly what I'm afraid of in a marathon is the voice inside my head telling me to quit... telling me that I'm hurting and that I should stop. But the truth is, my body is capable of AMAZING things. And my mind is going to be worn out LONG before my body is! And even if I'm the last person to cross the finish line, I will finish.

I have finally found the marathon that I will be training for and completing this year! I spent last Saturday planning out all of the 2013 races that I will be doing this year! My current list is:

January 25 - Virtual 5K via Runs For Cookies (Time PR 27:32)

May 11 - YMCA 5K
June 1 - DAM to DAM 20K

July 4 - Independence Day 5K

July 13 - The Color Run 5K (Still in the air, one of my best friends is getting married that day.)

Aug 24 - Restoration Run Half-Marathon (13.1 miles)

Sept 14 - Wabash Trail Marathon (26.2 miles)

Sept 21 - Balloon Chase 5K

Nov TBA - Fireman's 5K

I will also be doing more virtual running events as they are created! Basically what happens during a Virtual run is that you sign up to run a 5K, 10K, or whatever the distance is. You run that event on your own, where ever you are, on the day the event takes place. If you sign up for a 5K, you can either map out a 3.1 mile run around your town or run it on the treadmill. Whatever you're able to do! The best part is, they are FREE running events! This is always good for my family!

I ran my first Virtual 5K yesterday after Zumba. I told my friend, Erin, that I was going to be running a 5K afterwards and she decided to join me! I know my endorphins were high because I started out running at 6.3 mph. It felt too slow, and I thought, "What if I get tired really fast, I'll want to stay at this pace." But I decided to bump it up anyway! I increased my speed to 6.7 mph (or a 9 minute mile). I still felt slow, so I increased my speed again to 7 mph (or an 8:30 minute mile). I came up on having under a half of a mile left and decided to push myself even harder and set the speed to 7.5 mph (or an 8 minute mile). I had a rush of endorphins because I literally felt AMAZING. Runner's high! I was watching my time as the distance increased. When I finally hit the 3.1 mark, I stopped the treadmill and looked at my time of 27:32. I almost fell over with excitement. Seriously! I was dripping with sweat but I felt like I could have kept going. But once I stopped, my body caught up with me and I was exhausted! Erin finished her 5K and told me that she was only going to run 1 mile, but seeing me running pushed her to run a full 5K! I am proud of her! I took photos of my racing bib (my number is the birth months of my girls: March, May, and October), me running, my distance, and my time!

I am hoping that my 5K time on the pavement will be equally amazing as my time on a treadmill! Treadmills have inclines, but when you're running a 5K on roads and/or trails, there are hills and wind. I want to get a sub-30 5K on the pavement! Maybe I'll do Zumba beforehand so I can get my endorphins pumping!

My workouts are the same as always! Zumba, Power Hour, Running, and Swimming. But one thing that is new, I've been doing Jillian's 30 Day Shred this month! I have only missed ONE DAY! Aside from my rest days! The results are AMAZING! My jaw dropped when I looked at my before and after photo... and I'm only on day 25! (See my glorious stretch marks from my babies! Oh Lord...)

My pants go up farther now! Ha! My belly no longer rests on top of them! I just put my pants on this morning and didn't even realize it until I compared my photos. And then I cried... happy tears, of course! I am still very self conscious of my belly and stretch marks, but there they are. Raw. Fading. Boom baby. I am proud of my belly though. I've held three babies in that thing! (Well, technically my uterus has, but you know what I mean!) Getting a tattoo on my side was probably not the best idea in the world... my stretch marks have separated the colors and go through the design! Glorious youth! Oh how I've aged!

Start to Week 1, Week 2, Week 4, Week 7, Week 13, Week 26, and Week 34 progression photo:

Start to Week 34 Photos:

Starting Weight: 202 lbs

Week 1 Weight: 193 lbs

Week 2 Weight: 190 lbs

Week 3 Weight: 190 lbs

Week 4 Weight: 189 lbs

Week 5 Weight: 188 lbs

Week 6 Weight: 184 lbs

Week 7 Weight: 182 lbs

Week 8 Weight: 179 lbs

Week 9 Weight: 177 lbs

Week 10 Weight: 175 lbs

Week 11 Weight: 174 lbs

Week 12 Weight: 173 lbs

Week 13 Weight: 171 lbs

Week 14 Weight: 172 lbs

Week 15 Weight: 173 lbs

Week 16 Weight: 169 lbs

Week 17 Weight: 168 lbs

Week 18 Weight: 167 lbs

Week 19 Weight: 166 lbs

Week 20 Weight: 164 lbs

Week 21 Weight: 162 lbs

Week 22 Weight: 161 lbs

Week 23 Weight: 160 lbs

Week 24 Weight: 157 lbs

Week 25 Weight: 159 lbs

Week 26 Weight: 155 lbs
Week 27 Weight: 151 lbs
Week 28 Weight: 156 lbs
Week 29 Weight: 155 lbs
Week 30 Weight: 154 lbs
Week 31 Weight: 154 lbs
Week 32 Weight: 153 lbs
Week 33 Weight: 152 lbs
Week 34 Weight: 151 lbs

Weight Lost Since Week 30: 3 lbs

Total Weight Lost: 51 lbs

Weight To Go: 16 lbs

I have spent the past 10 weeks in the 150's! It has been very frustrating for me. It's hard when I work really hard during my workouts and stay within my calorie range for each day, and the scale doesn't move. I tend to binge when I stress. I have had a few binge nights lately. Not HUGE binges, but a binge is a binge. And they suck. I will even say to myself, "Do not self-sabotage yourself Carie! You don't even want what you're eating! You are just stressed!" And yet, I still eat... Then when I get on the scale the next morning, I beat myself up for the binge. Which stresses me out even more.

It is a vicious cycle.

I have decided to start seeing the positive about my body and my weight. I want to free myself from my emotional attachment to food and my food addictions. I have realized more and more as this journey goes on just how attached I am to food. I've said it before, but I seem to keep forgetting. I noticed myself putting a huge bag of Lay's potato chips in my shopping cart last week. I snapped out of it and put the chips back on the shelf. I kept asking myself why I had even grabbed the chips. I went home and cried about it. I sobbed. Over potato chips. I kept telling myself that it was ridiculous to cry over freaking potato chips. But there I was... sobbing over them.

I started my period the next morning. (Sorry fellas, TMI... but this has a point to it!) I realized right then and there that I ALWAYS buy a huge bag of potato chips the day before I start. I never realized it until that moment. I realized then that I wasn't being ridiculous, I was breaking a cycle. My body craves salty foods, which make me bloat like crazy. Downing an entire bag of salty potato chips was horrible for my body. So on top of my period bloating, my body was being loaded with salt, which makes your body retain water. I didn't cramp as bad. I didn't have crazy cravings. I felt clear.

I started talking to my family about this. About eating healthier. Not just being healthier, but eating healthier. My sister-in-law mentioned the movie Hungry For Change. (It is on Netflix and Hulu. Watch it.) We talked about how the companies making our food pump them full of crap that makes us addicted to it. High fructose corn syrup is in almost EVERYTHING on the shelves at the store. MSG is in a ton of stuff and it is hidden under different names. It is insane. I felt outraged when I watched the documentary. I was ON FIRE. I felt helpless. Until the point in the movie when Joe Cross showed up. I remembered him from the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. (It is also on Netflix and Hulu. Watch it, too.) Then I remembered his stand on Juicing. We can juice fresh produce and have the micro and macro nutrients that are super healthy for our bodies absorbed within minutes of drinking them. There are so many health benefits of juicing. Charles and I are purchasing a juicer with our income tax money so that we can start juicing! You KNOW what you are putting into your body when you juice. When you buy bottled juice from the store, you are putting added chemicals and crap into your body. Which makes it harder for your system to digest and heal itself.

I think a huge part of breaking my food addictions is eating food that is as close to natural as possible. When we eat healthy food, our bodies will crave the healthy food. Sure, a food craving for ice cream or candy bars may arise, but it is SO much easier to fight them off when you think about what you would be putting into your body. Our bodies WANT to be healthy. I want to give my body the healthiest food that I possibly can. That includes the types of meat that I consume. I won't get too much into this, but I want meat from animals that aren't pumped full of hormones. Animals that are free range and grass fed. Reading labels and seeing what is in the food that I purchase and eat has helped me feel better about my health.

I also realized that part of my problem is that I still see the "old Carie" when I look into the mirror. And I am very hard on myself when it comes to my "problem areas" on my body. In the movie Hungry For Change, Dr. Christiane Northrup suggests a daily affirmation, “I accept myself unconditionally right now.” She writes it on a prescription card for her patients. You are suppose to tape it to a mirror and read it, out loud, to yourself for 30 days. It takes your brain that long to learn that simple truth. I am going to start doing this on Monday. I think that it will help me by leaps and bounds. I am learning how to love myself. I thought it would come easy with weight loss, but it is proving to be a struggle. Like most things in life! 

My plan for the next month is to keep up on clean eating and drinking LOTS of water. I am making small changes each day. I learned the hard way that it's not good to go cold turkey on sugar! So I am going to be weaning myself each day. I want to start a binge-free streak as well. And be honest about it. Today is day one. (I can do this!) I am also going to start lifting to build more muscle to burn the fat that is still on my body. I'm thinking of lifting twice a week for right now while I finish Jillian's 30DS. Afterwards, I think I'll go three or four times a week, depending on what's going on. (I'm still trying to wean my baby from breastfeeding.)

I am starting the Live Healthy Iowa 10 week challenge on Monday. I have also signed up on TheBiggestLoser.com for a 6 week challenge to reach my goal weight of 135 lbs in the next six weeks. That's roughly 2 pounds a week! I've gotta get moving! Talk about motivation!

My motto right now:

Carie's Weight Loss Journey - Week 13

This past month has had it's ups and downs for me. Emotionally, mentally, physically, etc. Coming out of the BMI challenge, I slacked off like crazy the first week. Not with working out, but with my food intake. Although my meals stayed the same, I gave into a craving (or two). Cravings for some DQ, or a candy bar (I kept them to the "fun size" only), and even though it was Coke Zero, I still gave into the craving for pop.

I have a friend who has been struggling with binge eating. And I have always struggled with it. She mentioned that she was going to do a 30 day No-Binge-Eating challenge and I jumped on board with her! I figured it would be hard to do that alone, so I might as well help her through! So as of August 24th, I started my 30 day challenge. It. Has. Been. Difficult.

I never realized just how attached I am to food. It hit me when I was sitting on the floor in the kitchen. I had sat down to cry. I cried because I really, really wanted to go through the cabinets and binge. Even though I do not buy junk food, the healthy food is still there. And when you add on serving after serving after serving of different healthy foods, those calories are still going to get me. I have found that I like to binge at night, so I have been going to bed earlier, and that has helped!

I have continued to do Zumba on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. Jamie and I finished up the C25K running plan on August 18th! She is now back to work, so I'm on my own for my workouts. I have continued running on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday each week. I have bumped up my distance some days, and ran for pace other days. I have started running on treadmills. Mostly just so that I know what pace feels good and what pace pushes me a little more. As of right now, a 10 minute mile is doable, but still difficult. My goal for the DAM to DAM is to run a 9.5 minute mile, or even a 9 minute mile.

There are moments when I'm running where all I can think about is stopping. All I want to do is quit. I can't think of anything else pushing me along. That's when I remember...

I went on a 3 mile run with my Zumba instructor, Jen, this morning and she has an app on her smartphone, called Endomondo, that has her running to the beat of certain songs. She told me about it, but it wasn't until we actually started running that I realized just how genius the app is! It tells you when you've run a mile and what your pace is. And you can adjust your pace and songs as needed. It helped me to forget the hurt in my legs and sides, and just keep my feet running with the beat of each song. We wanted to run farther, but I had zero energy. I blame the fact that I had no pre-workout fuel. My bad... I am never doing that again! So hopefully, next time we run, I'm fueled and we can run for 5 or 6 miles!

Through everything this past month, I have been worried that I would see a gain on the scale. Mainly because of my slacking off. But I did not see such a thing! I weighed myself each week and watched my weight go down farther and farther! Talk about a confidence boost! Seeing the number going down made me want to go on a run or do an extra workout to celebrate!

And that's when it hit me. The best way to curb my cravings and beat binge eating is to work out! It gets my mind off of the want and on to the need to see results!

Start to Week 9, and Week 13 photos:

Start to Week 13 photos:

Week 9 and Week 13 photo:

Starting Weight: 202 lbs

Week 1 Weight: 193 lbs

Week 2 Weight: 190 lbs

Week 3 Weight: 190 lbs

Week 4 Weight: 189 lbs

Week 5 Weight: 188 lbs

Week 6 Weight: 184 lbs

Week 7 Weight: 182 lbs

Week 8 Weight: 179 lbs

Week 9 Weight: 177 lbs

Week 10 Weight: 175 lbs

Week 11 Weight: 174 lbs

Week 12 Weight: 173 lbs

Week 13 Weight: 171 lbs

Weight Lost Since Week 9: 6 lbs

Total Weight Lost: 31 lbs

Weight To Go: 36 lbs

My weight lost and weight to go numbers are so close to matching! Which means I'm almost half-way to my goal! I cannot believe it! I got on and off the scale three times today! I am so close to the 160's! I haven't seen those numbers on the scale since college! It feels amazing! Absolutely amazing! I feel amazing! There are moments when I am working out or going to pick up my children and I can actually feel how much stronger I have gotten!

I hit my 30 lb goal and I am getting a full mani/pedi as a reward! I am a few pounds away from my new workout clothes reward for hitting my half-way goal! I love having some incentive to push myself! I really, really want the iPod!

My plan for the next month remains about the same! Attend Zumba like I have been, but I plan on running Monday through Saturday. The days with Zumba will be more "fun run" type days, whereas the other days will be my "hard run" days. I do not want to overdo it, but I also want to take things up a small notch! I am going to start working more on toning (weight lifting) and core strength. I think it will be better for my running if my core strength was better! I still have my baby pooch, even though it doesn't look as prominent as it did back in June.

My new motto for the month is:

Although I'm pretty sure I'm always going to jiggle! It's nice to dream!

Fourth of July Week/Weekend

Our Fourth of July was one for the books this year! It was Vivian's first Fourth of July, the first parade I've been in since High School, and the girls' first fireworks show! This was by far my favorite Independence Day since I've been married! Nothing is better than spending the entire day surrounded by family and friends!

I spent the morning getting ready for the parade with Karmen. We found a site that showed us how to cut regular t-shirts into workout shirts. So we took two shirts and made them for the parade! Once they were done, we headed over to Jennifer's house to line up for the parade. We took photos and then lined up for the parade!

Back Row (L to R): Kayla, Karmen, April, Carie (me), Tawnya
Front Row (L to R): Jennifer and Jessica

Charles was an *awesome* husband and had the girls all to himself! Super Daddy! It was hot outside, but that didn't keep the girls from enjoying the parade! He told me that they got to the parade a little late, but the girls had a blast picking up the candy and waving to the people in the parade!

I knew where they'd be as I started doing Zumba in the parade. They were at the half-way point in the parade, so I knew I'd be tired by the time I saw them! But as soon as I did, they were yelling, "MOMMY!" and I was waving like crazy! It was a nice energy boost!

They met back up with me at Jennifer's house. They were very excited to see me! Caitlin showed me the candy bag, Rosalie showed me some pencils and toys, and Vivian had all smiles! We came home and enjoyed the air conditioning! I showered and everyone else napped before we headed out to Aunt Karen and Uncle Dean's house for the annual 4th of July grill-out.

I was beyond tired, but the party was awesome! The girls just LOVE the toys at their house! PLUS, they bought a bunch of water guns and were filling up water balloons as we ate our supper. We were served hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, pasta salad, grapes, chips, and more! I made some rice krispie treats and sugar cookie cups for dessert and everyone loved them!

After dessert the entire family had a HUGE water balloon fight. I sat out with Vivian to take pictures! It was chaos at first, but soon after, everyone went after Charles!

After the water balloons were done, the adults filled up a bucket and let the kiddos play in it. They filled water guns up, splashed, and in the end, it was dumped over my nephew, Austin! Rosalie got some of the water on her, but she just laughed and laughed!

Afterwards, we went home to watch the fireworks from our front yard. It was the first fireworks display the girls have ever watched! They usually go to bed around 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the fireworks were at 9:30 p.m. The girls napped late, so we knew they'd be fine to stay up. And they did wonderfully! They colored with sidewalk chalk, ran around the yard, and blew bubbles until it was time to watch the fireworks.

Right before the show started, Rosalie decided it was time to take off all her clothes! She does this inside, and we kept telling her to stop, but she decided to not listen... I decided to take photos instead of getting mad! She was super cute!

Once she was "nudie", it was time to watch the fireworks! After each one went off, the girls would giggle and scream, "THE FIREWORK WENT BOOM!" Caity kept her hands over her ears the entire time while Rosalie danced in circles after each firework!

We took the girls to the public pool the day after. It was Vivian's first time at the pool! I forgot my camera, but Jamie went with us and snapped a few photos of Vivian in her floatie!

Vivian turned 9 months on the 6th! Crazy to think that my baby is that old already! She is doing things much faster than my other two. She is pulling up onto things faster, trying to walk across the couch, and more! Happy 9 Months to my beautiful, precious baby girl, Vivian Rane!

We went to Red Oak for my nephew's first birthday party on Saturday. The girls were so excited to see Graydon and have some birthday cake! Once we got there, my sister Melissa was there with her baby boy, Tommy. I have never seen him before, so I was pretty excited to get to hold him! And Caitlin was pretty excited to see him as well!

Graydon and the girls kept loving on each other! They have only seen him about 10 or so times because we live across the state from each other, but they have never forgotten him! As soon as they saw him, they wanted to hold him and love on him!

Happy First Birthday Graydon! We love you very, very much and wish you many more birthdays! We hope to see you more than we did in your first year. Your Mommy and Daddy are very lucky to have such a handsome son!

Carie's Weight Loss Journey - Week 1

I can't even count how many Facebook messages, emails, and phone calls I've received in the past week. 90% of them were people telling me that I can do this, and the other 10% were people who want to join in on my journey. Each message was filled with encouragement, support, and love.

I was literally overwhelmed.

Because of that, I have decided to start sharing some recipes and my workouts on here for those who are looking to cut calories and exercise more.

I am using My Fitness Pal to keep track of everything that I eat, drink, and what I do when I work out.

We have been eating more fresh fruits and veggies. If a recipe calls for 1 lb of meat, we only use 1/2. I don't have any new recipes this week, but I have some that I will post next week.

June 1st through June 3rd - Apparently going "cold turkey" from sugar is NOT the way to go! My body had some serious issues with me dropping sugar 100%. I had a migraine from hell and I couldn't even move. After I realized what was going on, I did some searching on the interwebs and found a healthy way to kick sugar cravings while letting your body slowly adjust.

My sugar cravings are GONE! It only took about 5 days! And it has helped me to cut SO many calories! A tablespoon of the peanut butter/chocolate mixture is about 100 calories. As soon as I started eating the mixture, my migraine disappeared almost instantly. NEVER go cold turkey! Wean yourself from pop, sugar, etc.

Starting June 4th, I was finally able to function! I started my day off with the 100 Workout I found on Pinterest. I did everything except the 10 minute run, I saved that for later when I ran jogged to the gym.

I attended a ZUMBA class that night. I haven't been in a while, and I could tell! I was super tired, but by the second half, I got an energy boost and kept going! I even jogged home! I had to stop twice because Zumba about killed me, but I jogged the whole way!

June 5th I did the 100 Workout again in the morning before my girls woke up. I wasn't as fast with it because I was so sore, but I did finish the workout before my girls woke up! Later that afternoon, I went on a 6+ mile walk with my friend Desiree. I was slow and I kept getting out of breath, but I told myself I could do it and I felt myself getting stronger!

June 6th I was babysitting two extra kiddos so I didn't do the 100 Workout, but my husband was home. We decided to walk (all 5 kids) to his Mom's house for a picnic lunch with the family. I was pushing a double stroller with Caitlin (35+ lbs) and Savannah (28+) lbs, while Charles pushed the double jogger with Rosalie (26+ lbs) and Hunter (20+ lbs) and carried Vivian (19+ lbs) in the Snuggli on his chest. The hills about killed us, but we pushed through and by the time we got to Mom's house, we were ready to collapse! We got a ride home! I attened Zumba later that evening! I was super tired and I was sweating up a storm, but you know what they say!

June 7th I didn't do the 100 Workout again because I was babysitting. I didn't do anything the entire morning/afternoon because I was so tired. But after supper, Charles and I took the girls for a walk. We walked 4+ miles. I pushed Rosalie and Caitlin in the double stroller while Charles pushed Vivian in an umbrella stroller so that he could do some of the Frisbee golf holes (I think that's what you call them?!). I wore a pair of shorts that made my thighs rub together while I was walking, and when we were almost home, my inner thighs hurt really bad. Some of the thoughts that were going through my head consisted of these:

"We're almost home!"

"How did I let myself get this bad?"

"Why did I let myself go?"

"It doesn't matter... it hurts now, but in a little while, it won't anymore."

"I really want to cry about this... but I'm stronger than that."

"I can do this."

My emotions were all over the place when we got home. I had to strip down because I was so sweaty, but also because anything touching my inner thighs was torture. But I didn't cry. I kept telling myself this:

There is a reason I am out walking... I don't want my thighs to rub together when I walk. I can just see myself walking up a hill with strength and courage.

I also realized something when we were out walking and I was hurting, I miss Cross Country and Track. I was in the distance group and I trained all year round. I wasn't the fastest by any stretch, but I was a strong runner. A STRONG RUNNER. I can't even jog a block without having to stop. Yes, I've had 3 kids and my body is different. I know this. But it still is an eye opener. One of my goals is to run the DAM to DAM in Des Moines next year. 12 miles without stopping. I can do this!

June 8th (today) I walked with all three girls to the park down the street. Caitlin was sitting on my shoulders. Talk about a workout! I rested while the girls ran around and by the time we headed back home, the heat wasn't helping at all! But I made it home! I went to Zumba tonight and through my sore muscles and achy legs, I kept telling myself this:

I decided to have my husband take some photos of me at Week 1. I have been cutting calories for the past week, but I've only been working out for the past 5 days. This is how my body has changed!

Start Weight:  202 lbs

Week 1 Weight: 193 lbs

Weight Lost:  9 lbs

Weight To Go:  58 lbs

One week can make a difference!

You can do this!

WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER!