Day 8 countdown to bikinis

I didn't write a blog for #9 countdown day because I was at a funeral. So 9 reasons I think you shouldn't put off your goals in life is because you never know when your last day will be... repeat that 9 times!

On to #8 countdown day: in your life God gives you people who help encourage you, that help keep your head on straight, that kick your butt when you really need it, and who love you no matter what. Here is a list of 8 people (who aren't my trainers) who have been there for me this past year and next to their name is one thing that sticks out of why I have added them to this list!!! Thank you to each of your people on this list, you all amaze me and make my life so much better!!

8 People who have impacted my weight loss journey:

1. Valerie Proulx - Doesn't put up with my excuses of why I cant

2. Michelle Howard - Keeps me motivated always

3. Aunt Dee - Tells me how proud she is of me

4. Brittanie Bailey - Encourages me through everything

5. Samantha Jackson - My workout buddy

6. Patricia Farrell - My Accountability Partner

7. Julie Fisher - Nutritionist

8. Caleb Lassiter - The reason for everything I do in life!

Top 10 Funny Reasons I Lost Weight

In honor of only having 10 more days til I go bikini shopping, I have put together a list of my Top 10 Reasons I lost weight!!

(Funny Version – David Letterman style)

Top 10 Funny Reasons I Lost Weight:

10. Only Kangaroo’s are suppose to have pouches

9. Not a big fan of having to take my inner tube with me everywhere I go

8. The Chicken Fat on my arms waved more than my hand ever did

7. I didn’t want anything on my body called “Chicken Fat”

6. Tired of my legs rubbing together and causing fires

5. Having a 4 year old ask you if you are pregnant 6 months after giving birth, not fun

4. When I giggled, everything wiggled

3. I was starting to really miss my belly button

2. Two boobs is cute, 4 boobs (side boobs) is not

And the #1 funny reason why I lost weight…

1. I didn’t want to have to visit Omar the Tent Maker this summer to buy a bathing suit

Happy Birthday Michelle!

 

Tomorrow is my Best Friends birthday! Michelle will be 26 years young or like I like to tell her... she is on the downward slope of her 20's... she is half way to 52! Yes, I know I am such a nice friend!!!

As you all know, Michelle is one of the major reasons I am on my weight loss journey and why I have made it this far. We have literally been by each others sides through thick and thin (lol). Michelle and I love to people watch where ever we go, and love to point out the older ladies that are doing the same exact thing we are... hanging out with their Best Friend. We have said so many times before that one day when we are old and gray, we will sit next to each other on the porch of a nursing home in our rocking chairs just talking about how crazy we once were. Well, as Michelle's birthday is apporaching I have been thinking alot about that "dream" of ours. It will happen one day, I am sure of it. But since we have lost weight, it probably wont happen as soon as it would have before. Michelle has lost 75lbs, I can only imagine how many years that has added on to her life. How many more birthdays she is going to be able to have because she is healthy; all because she made a decision to lose weight!

So for your birthday this year Michelle (Elizabeth) Ann Howard, I want to say I am proud of you! I am proud of you for adding years onto your life. I am proud of you for keeping the weight off. I am proud of you for always pushing forward even when you get knocked down. I am proud of you for inspiring people around you. One day when we are sitting there on the porch, old and gray, I will look back at this time in our lives and remind you that I am so very proud of you for what you accomplished.

Happy 26th Birthday to my Best Friend, my sister, my inspiration, my motivation, and my son's God Mother/Aunt... I Love You Michelle!!!



4lbs by the 4th!

Last night was my weigh in, in case you somehow missed that on FB yesterday. Ha-Ha! I was aiming to hit my 100 pounds lost, which would mean that I would have to lose 7.6 pounds for the past 2 weeks. Very high goal for myself, but I am all about setting the bar high so I push myself as hard as I can. I won’t lie, Lo and I were very anxious about getting on the scale. Lo even told me “when you start freaking out, don’t do it in here… go out there and freak out so I have my space!” Gotta love Lo! I stepped on the scale and 169.8 popped up, I needed 165.8 to show up. I am proud of my 3.6 pounds lost and very proud that I am now in the 160’s!!! I have NEVER been in the 160’s as an adult. I love it.

My new Campaign – “4lbs by the 4^th!”

My next weigh in is May 4^th and I need to lose 4 pounds by that time. It is very doable and well, I am going to do it. I told myself I will not stop my 2 a days until I hit my 100, so the 2 a days will continue. My New Year’s resolution was to hit 100 pounds lost by the day I go bikini shopping, which is May 7^th… So, here goes nothing!!!

100 pounds, I am coming for you!!!

Warrior Dash Results!!

Warrior Dash this year was amazing!! I scraped up my leg, have bruises on my knees and sliced the back off my ankle open... but amazing is just the word to describe it!!! I loved being able to share this experience with 3 wonderful woman who I adore... Kristi, Nancy and Christy Jolly! We made a promise before we started to stay together and leave no man behind and we kept that promise. With every obstacle, we were able to cheer each other on and help each other overcome the fear they had. I know I couldnt do the high balance beam if it wasnt for those 3 women standing at the end cheering me on!!!

I cant wait til our girls trip in November to Austin for the next Warrior Dash!!! It is going to be even more AMAZING!!!!

Here are our results

Me: Overall 1429 out of 7393. Overalll in age group 368 out of 894. My time was 43:58.05

Kristi: Overall 1430 out of 7393. Overalll in age group 151 out of 430. Her time was 43:58.05

Christy Jolly: Overall 1426 out of 7393. Overalll in age group 150 out of 430. Her time was 43:57.45

Nancy: Overall 1474 out of 7393. Overalll in age group 156 out of 430. Her time was 44:21.75

Portion Control - playing tricks on your mind!

Have you ever heard the saying “It’s not what you are saying; it’s how you are saying it” My parents use to say that to me all the time. Well, I am not relating it to my weight loss journey (kinda). “It’s not what you are EATING; it’s how much you are eating!”

If you look on the back of your favorite packaged food you will see the nutrition facts that are broken up by servings. If you are trying to lose weight, these nutrition facts can become your best friend if you really pay attention to them. Along with the nutrition facts, you will also want to start paying attention to what you use to serve your food on (ie: plates, bowls, and cups). Together these two things can help kick start your change of lifestyle in the food department.

Let me elaborate more… This morning I had a bowl of cereal. Before I started losing weight, I would just pour cereal into a regular bowl until it reached the top and then poured my milk in. Now, I look on the nutrition facts and see that ¾ a cup of dry cereal is 110 calories. I get out my measuring cup, measure it out and pour it into a small bowl (I use Caleb’s bowls or a small ice cream bowl). Look at the pictures below and see what a difference it will make when you measure stuff out and use the correct plates, bowls or cups to serve yourself and others. It’s all about playing tricks on your mind, the fuller the plate the more satisfied you are. If you use a smaller plate then your healthy portion looks like a whole lot more then it would on a regular size plate…

Breakfast – ¾ cup of cereal

Juice – ½ cup of OJ

Dinner – 1 cup of veggies and turkey sausage

½ Marathon

For the past 12 weeks my trainer, Lo, has been training to run her 1^st ever ½ marathon. This past Sunday, she finally accomplished that goal as she crossed the finish line in Dallas at Fair Park! She completed this race with her sister, Amy, and friends Karla and Norris. I just wanted to tell each of you girls that I am very proud of you and that you have inspired me!

Amy – Your dedication to follow through and finish the half just amazes me. As I was standing on the side lines and witnessed Keith holding you up, walking you across the finish line, it brought tears to my eyes for many reasons. So many people would have given up when they got knocked down, but no not you. With little to no energy left, you held on tight to your husband and put one foot in front of another and pressed on. Watching Keith holding you up and walking you to the end as he kept looking at you and then at the finish line and back at you, it was a story of love. In everything you do in life, you need to have  that one person that picks you up when you get knocked down, helps dust you off, and if need be carries you to the finish! Keith knew how important it was for you to finish and was prepared to do what it took to make that goal a reality. You are a very lucky woman Amy!!! I am VERY proud of you and I am happy to hear that you are doing better!!!

Lo (sorry if this is sappy) – I have heard all your stories of every time you have trained in the past 12 weeks. You have pressed on in the ice and snow, you have gotten lost in Fort Worth, and you have run countless miles on that stupid dreadmill… You set out a goal and you were determined to not let anything get in your way of achieving that goal. I know I have told you a million and one times, but you make me so proud. You inspire me. You motivate me. You are just pure amazing! Standing there close to the finish, I kept getting excited as I saw a neon green top come around the corner just knowing that it was you. Each person that pasted left me more and more excited just knowing that you would soon be running right past me. I felt as if I was on a blind date, I was shaking with excitement (could’ve been the hangover, LOL) and my stomach was full of butterflies. As you turned the corner and you made your way to me, a sense of pride came over me. I was so proud to cheer you on and to make sure that everyone in that crowd knew that you were MY TRAINER!!! I felt like a parent cheering for my child who just won a game. That moment takes a place in my Top 10 Proudest Moments! You did it Lo, YOU DID IT!!!

With all of that being said, I want to make an announcement:

Coming this Fall – Jordan WILL run a ½ marathon!!!!!

Bikini Photos!!!!!

1^st and foremost, today is exactly 1 month, 30 days, and who knows how many hours until Brittanie Bailey and I get in ‘Da Hoe’ and make our way to Just Add Water and shop the day away for the PERFECT bikini!!!! I never thought I would make it, but its almost here…!

Now, you might wonder what had me flipping out and shouting so loud that I woke up Caleb. Well this is the part I could be a real bia bia and just say I was joking, but this topic is NO laughing matter!!! (lol)… Last night was weigh-in (I lost 4.2 which means I am 8 lbs away from losing 100) and also my monthly bikini photo shoot.

Samantha came over, took the photos, and we uploaded them to my laptop. I decided to just compare January to April, mainly because viewing four photos at once is tricky and my laptop sucks. As I pulled up January’s photos, a pile of emotions came over me. Inside I wanted to cry because I can’t believe how I let myself get that big (and I had lost almost 70 pounds there). On the outside, I was over come with pride knowing that I took a goal and kicked its booty! Then, BAM! I pulled up April’s photo next to January’s and that’s when the jumping, shouting, laughing, crying, every emotion you can think of took over me. I viewed the front, the left side, the back and the right side over and over and over in awe. I still have 30 pounds to go, but for the 1^st time in my entire life I can proudly say that I looked at those April pictures and was proud to be able to share them with everyone.

You have to know, this process is very emotional. Weight loss isn’t for the weak, you have to wake up daily and know you can do it. You have to remind yourself daily that no matter what, it’s a new day and you can achieve what you desire if you stick with it. You have to take out the negative people in your life and replace them with positive, uplifting, and motivational people. I just want to say thank you to each one of you. You may just be reading a blog, but to me you are more than just a blog follower. You make my journey so rewarding to know that I get to share my every up and down with people who care. I am sitting here crying my eyes out right now because 1. I feel so accomplished and 2. I feel so blessed to have you taking time out of your life to read my blog and support me. So, from the bottom of my heart… Thank you…!

I have stalled enough… here is what you have been waiting for!!!

January 2011 – April 2011 Bikini Photos!!!



Weekly Workout Rountine

My sweet friend Jessica Schneider has requested that I blog about my weekly workout routine... so without further adieu, here you go Jess!

I always start my week off on Sunday by sitting down and writing out my menu plan and my workout plan for the week. I feel like whatever day you start your week on, what you do that day will determine how you live the rest of the week.

Sunday:

I go to the gym for an hour or two (depending on what is going on that day) and do pure cardio with 20 minutes of ab's.

Monday and Wednesday are exactly the same:
On lunch I walk to Larry North and do 30 minutes of cardio (either running or inclines). In the evening, I train with Lo. We usually end up doing arms (shoulders, biceps, and triceps), legs (calves, thighs and butt) or a full ab/core workout.

Tuesday and Thursday are basically the same:
Before work I go to Larry North for an hour of cardio. Tuesdays I do a class that my trainer through work teaches and Thursday I will get on the elliptical or treadmill (running or inclines). After work on Tuesdays I go 24 in Lake Worth and run a mile before I go to Cardio Dance Party (45 minutes) followed by Crunch Time (15 minutes). Thursday after work, I go to 24 in Lake Worth, run a mile, Turbo Kickboxing (45 minutes) followed by Crunch Time (15 minutes).

Friday:
On lunch I walk to Larry North and do 30 minutes of cardio (either running or inclines). After work, I go to 24 in Lake Worth and do the elliptical for 30 minutes before an hour of Cardio Dance Party

Saturday:
This is my rest day, unless I have a 5k. If I do have a 5k then I will use Friday as my rest day.

There you have it, my addiction broken down by the day!!!

Tip: actually write out your plan and hang it up somewhere that you will see it daily to help remind you of what your goals are for yourself!!! I have mine hanging up at my desk...