Carie's Weight Loss Journey - Week 17

Hello again! Week 17! Has it really been 17 weeks?! Seems unreal! It has flown by!

In my last post, I had just started  my 30 day No-Binge-Eating Challenge. I am very pleased to say that I was successful in the challenge. It was not easy. Not at all. I found myself scanning my cupboards and the fridge almost every night looking for food to eat. It was robotic. After I put the girls down for bed at night, I head straight for the kitchen to find something to eat that I can eat by myself. And in a house with three kiddos, I NEVER have food to myself. By the third week into the challenge, I found myself doing other things after I put my girls down for the night. I would watch some Netflix, craft, clean up the toys in the living room, etc. I realized that I didn't need to eat after my girls went down. Sure, it's nice! But it's not a need. I started drinking a large glass of ice water, and if the "I'm hungry" feeling didn't go away, I would eat some popcorn or other healthy snack. And I made sure to keep it light, because I have been going to bed earlier than I use to because I'm tired from working out!

I have kept the same workout schedule as before. Zumba on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. Running/Elliptical/Weight Lifting on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday each week. I didn't do what I said I was going to by running each day. Vivian's feeding schedule changed up on me and I haven't been able to get up early enough to run. BUT, I am feeling so much better running! I am pushing myself more and more and seeing just how far I can go before I have to stop. I am amazed myself a few times! But my fear came true this month. I had a 2 pound gain. And yes, I know that muscle weighs more than fat. But it is very discouraging when I've been working as hard as I have been. I decided to look into different workouts to burn major calories and came across some "shredmill" workouts for the treadmill. And those worked! I saw results the next morning on the scale! The workouts also about made me keel over! But I did survive!

In my town, we have an annual hot-air balloon race. The weekend-long celebration is pretty amazing! There was a fun flight that Friday evening, a 5K balloon chase that Saturday morning, followed by the parade uptown! I represented the YMCA again by doing Zumba in the parade! It was much, MUCH cooler than the 4th of July parade! And considering I am about 20 pounds lighter, I had a much easier time doing Zumba! It was a gorgeous morning and I had a lot of fun! (I'm in the orange!)

I also decided to start taking Power Hour at the YMCA on Tuesday and Thursday each week. I am still going to get a run in the mornings, but it won't be a hard run until Saturday. Power Hour is an intense class! It is a circuit training class. The instructor, Dave, likes to push people to their limits in a good way. He encourages you as you push yourself, and right when you want to stop, he tells you not to give up and push just a little bit more. It is an awesome class! I have NEVER done anything like it in my life! I was literally dripping with sweat about 10 minutes into the workout! I wanted to stop, I felt like throwing up, but I kept pushing and I made it through my first two days in the class! I also learned that my bladder isn't very strong when I have to jump up and down as fast as I can. I guess having three children back to back took it's toll on my body in ways that I didn't realize until just recently! Luckily I didn't pee my pants, but I came VERY close! No fun there! But we all got a good laugh in at class!

I have one week until my baby turns one and I have started weaning her from breastfeeding. It's a little sad for me, but I am looking forward to not having to time her feedings with my workouts! Which is why my morning runs haven't been happening. I need to feed her before I can run, and she hasn't been waking up until my husband leaves for work. I can't run with a "full tank" on my chest! I am also looking forward to being able to do things without having the extra weight on my chest! It's not much, but it sure feels like a lot when you're jumping rope or jumping over things... or running in place... you get the idea! Point: I am looking forward to having smaller boobs! Makes me think of this:

Start to Week 9, then Week 13 and Week 17 progression photos:

Start to Week 17 photos:

Week 13 and Week 17 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

Week 14 Weight: 172 lbs

Week 15 Weight: 173 lbs

Week 16 Weight: 169 lbs

Week 17 Weight: 168 lbs

Weight Lost Since Week 13: 5 lbs

Total Weight Lost: 34 lbs

Weight To Go: 33 lbs

I had a 2 pound gain. Which sucked, but I blasted it out of the water with a 4 pound loss in one week during Week 16! Thank you, shredmill workouts! I broke into the 160's! I haven't seen those numbers since college! And, to top it all off, I REACHED MY HALF-WAY GOAL!

New ZUMBA shirt for me! WOO HOO! I have no Zumba clothes, so I'm pretty pumped! I can't believe I am at my half way goal! I've lost 34 pounds! It's amazing! I feel so great! But I do know that it is going to be tough from here on out. I am going to be super diligent this next month with my calorie logging and working out. This month has been a little slack for me when it comes to logging my calories into My Fitness Pal. I've been honest with it, but I need to start cutting back on the sweets. Especially with Halloween coming up at the end of next month!

Next weekend is a big one for our family! My baby girl is turning one and I will be running the Color Run in Des Monies for my first 5K since High School! I am very excited! And a little nervous! I know that the color run is a fun run, but I have been training to be able to run it without stopping! I am there! I am ready! I plan on running some other 5K's and 10K's before the DAM to DAM this coming June 2013.

My plan for this month is to continue doing Zumba, Power Hour, shredmill workout on Saturdays, and running when I can during the week after I'm finished breastfeeding!

My new motto/advice for the month:

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!

The Summer is Almost Over

It has been a while since I've posted anything other than a weight loss update, so I figured that since we're well into August, I'd finally post a family update!

We last left off at my nephew's birthday party. A lot has happened since then! So I'll do my best to remember all that has happened!

On July 10th, we had our friends Amber and Jake, over for supper! They brought their puppy, Maddie, with them. The girls were a little scared at first, especially Caitlin, but they all warmed up to her and had a blast chasing her around!

The next day, I wanted to work on the wall art for the girls' room upstairs. (I'll be posting more on that on my craft blog!) I am doing the fabric in embroidery hoops that is popular right now. I don't usually like trends, but I really like the look of the finished product! Anyway, while I was getting things ready, I decided to feed Vivian beforehand. After she was finished, she got a hold of one of the hoops and kept looking thorugh it and saying, "Hiiiiii! Hiiiii! Hiiiii!" It was super cute, so I had to snap a photo! When Caitlin saw what I was doing, she wanted me to take a photo of her. Right before I snapped the photo, she said, "Hold on! I have to put my puzzle on my head!" I love that little girl!

On July 13th, I spent my day preparing for Jamie's birthday party at my house. I found a pin on pinterest for glee themed cupcakes, so I decided to make them for the party! I served them with fruit and dip, popcorn, and strawberry lemonade. Jenny, Deidre, and Karmen came over to help us celebrate! We watched The Vow and painted our nails! It was nice to kick back and relax with friends!

We have spent a lot of time outside! The girls just love playing in the yard and going to the pool. That is how most of the last month or so has been spent!

One Saturday the pool was closed, so we broke out our own! We even got a sprinkler! The girls had a blast! Even Vivian was enjoying the water!

We spend our evenings in the front yard enjoying to cooler weather! Charles chased the girls around and took the photos below on the right. They had so much fun running around with their Daddy!

The next morning, the weather was cool. I took the girls outside and had the camera with me. Caitlin noticed and said, "Mommy, Rosie and I are going to make silly faces! Take pictures of us!" So I did!

Vivian even wanted to join in on the picture taking! She was being a ham!

On the days where the weather was too hot to go outside, my girls had plenty to do inside! We played Memory a lot, colored in coloring books, drew on blank paper, sang songs, and more! It gives me a taste of what it must be like for Mothers who homeschool! 

Cheese-faces!

Spinning around in their Sunday dresses!

One of the things I love the most about being a stay-at-home mother is being able to watch my daughters grow each day. It is a day-to-day process and it goes by so fast! I swear it feels like we just brought Caitlin home from the hospital! Where have the past 3+ years gone? It's gone by so, so fast! Before I had Caity, people would always tell me, "Don't blink!". It's taken me this long to realize what they meant. 

I now say that to every new parent! It is so true! It's hard for me to believe that Vivian is 10 months old! Where has the time gone? So much has happened and yet I feel like some days go so slow. I guess having children changes a parent's perspective on time. That's all we really have that's important. I try to spend as much time with my daughters as I possibly can! I don't know how much time I have with them. (of course I hope it's years and years and years and YEARS!) But what I want my children to remember later in life is that I spent my time with them. Playing, laughing, singing, dancing....

Our Five Year Anniversary

Five years ago today, Charles and I sat in the celestial room in the Nauvoo, Illinois Temple as the sun was rising. It was shining right into the room and bouncing off the chandelier inside. It was just the two of us sitting on a couch, holding hands, and looking into each other's eyes. It was a wonderful moment for us... one that we will never forget. It was the first day of the rest of our eternity together.

We had our family and friends by our sides that day in the temple, as well as outside waiting for us. I am the only member of the Church in my family, so my best friend Jenelle sat next to me in the temple in the Mother's seat. It meant the world to me to know that she was sitting next to me, supporting me. I had a tough road in 2007 leading up to the day I entered into the temple to be sealed to my eternal companion.

The people standing by our sides in our wedding party are the people who supported us both through every single curve ball and bump in the road. There were some people who weren't able to make it to stand with us, but they were there in spirit. By my side that day were Jenelle, my matron of honor, and Alyce, my maid of honor. The other two ladies who weren't able to stand with me were Caitlin, my second maid of honor, and Sara, my third maid of honor. As you can see, I couldn't choose just ONE maid of honor... so I had three! By Charles' side that day were John, his best man, and Brigham, his groomsman. The other two groomsmen who weren't able to stand with him were Nate and Brandon.

A few weeks after the wedding, we honeymooned in Huatulco, Mexico. We spent an all inclusive week at the Gala Resort. It was a beautiful honeymoon and we had an amazing time losing track of time! We had no schedule to go by... no clocks... it was just us and the ocean! Our hope is to go back on our 10th or 15th anniversary! I am excited for that week!

We found out on our first anniversary that we were expecting a baby! We later found out that we would be expecting a little girl! It was a wonderful way to wake up on our first anniversary!

I can't even count the ways that we have changed as a couple over the past five years... we have welcomed three beautiful daughters; Caitlin Nadine, Rosalie Cadence, and Vivian Rane. God has blessed us so much by giving us our three little ladies! We have grown so close as a couple and as parents.

I love our love. It is truly one of a kind! Our love has shaped and molded us into the people we are today. We have gained and lost so much in the past five years... but with everything, we have turned to God and trusted in His plan for us. We have been blessed more times than I can count... I am grateful.

As with everything that we have celebrated and endured over the past five years... COME WHAT MAY!

And on a side note, I tried the five-year-dress challenge today. And guess what...

IT STILL FITS!

Thank goodness for corset style wedding dresses! 

Seven Years and Ten Months

Today is my seven year anniversary for belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Seven years ago today, I entered the waters of baptism to take upon me the name of Christ and stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things, and in all places. I had some amazing people who were by my side that day! *Note; some of these photos are kinda hard to see because they were taken with a disposable camera and scanned back in 2005! I wish I would've had a digital camera back then!

Elder Grant Powell
He was transferred in a few weeks before my baptism. He confirmed me a member the next day.

Elder Nate Miller
One of the original Missionaries who taught me. This was right before the baptism!

Elder Nate Miller
After the baptism, before we went back into the chapel.

Elder Kevin Johnson
Outside afterwards. He was in the original set of Missionaries who taught me.

At the park afterwards.
Alyce, Adam, Carie (me), and Dan

My best friend, Alyce, shared the gospel with me after we had graduated in 2005.  It was exactly what I needed for myself.  I had a lot of opposition from my family and some of my friends, but in the end, the decision was my own. And of all the people to have come, when Adam and Dan showed up, tears started streaming down my face. The three of us had been through a lot in High School, and no matter what, they were there that day to support me. Alyce saw a light in me and never gave up on me. There were times where I thought she'd run for the hills... but she stayed by my side! And for that, I am eternally grateful!

Alyce and Carie
Sisters FOREVER
On the way home from my baptism.

My last discussion before I left for College.
(L to R) Clinton, Clark, Elder Powell, Caleb, Carie (me), Elder Miller, Alyce

When I went to UNI, I met so many wonderful people. People who inspired me and made me want to better myself. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father put those people in my life. I needed them. I still do. I probably always will. They are my family now. We have all changed, and some of us hardly talk anymore, but it doesn't change the fact that these people have touched my life and set amazing examples for me.

Carie and Jenelle
She is my Mother in the gospel. I can't even describe the love I feel for this woman. She. Is. Amazing.
She took me through the temple for my Endowment and sat at my side in the Mother's seat on my wedding day.
I love her so much. I wish we lived closer.

Carie and Sara
We are called the RCC (Recent Convert Chicks)
I love this girl so much! We were baptized around the same time!

Nicole, Cara, Melinda, Sara, and Carie
Some of the amazing women I met while at UNI.

Christopher and Carie
I love this guy! He's my best friend! We are into a lot of the same things (musicals, music, etc) and he has been awesome to me these past seven years! 

Dave and Carie
Dave is an amazing guy! He helped me through some really hard times!

Sammy G and Carie
Sammy was there for me all the time! He never judged me and proved to be a best friend! 

And of course, there are many more people that have changed my life, and they know who they are! But the one person who has changed my life for the better, I married! I needed a righteous priesthood holder to lead me to the temple. I needed a best friend in my darkest hour. This man helped me to become the woman, wife, and mother that I am today. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have my gorgeous daughters: Caitlin, Rosalie, and Vivian. Charles, I love you. You are my eternal companion. And I thank Heavenly Father above all, for you. 

Our Wedding Day
August 11, 2007

I have changed in so many ways since I was at college. And I know it has been for the better. But I still have a long ways to go! I am learning more and more each day. I pray to be a better Latter-day Saint, daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, and teacher. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have received in my seven years. I look forward to the next seven years, and MORE! 

Today is also Vivian's 10th month! It's hard to believe that my baby is 10 months old! Times sure does fly!

Crazy to think that I am now planning for her first birthday party! She is getting so big, so fast! She will be walking before I know it! It makes me happy and a little sad! I'm not ready for my baby to be walking! She is talking more and more! Her personality is shining through in all that she does! She is my sunshine baby!