I love D.I.!!!!

It was a great day today! Got up at 4:30 am and studied for my final, took my math final at 7 am, went to the gym for an hour and then went shopping for Christmas presents :) I also went to D.I. and got an amazing skirt and 2 shirts. It felt so good to be able try on clothes that were once "dream" clothes. This picture is one of the shirts that I got...that's not the only reason I put it up though. I've had people ask me to post an updates picture of myself. The change can't be seen but I AM still losing and loving it!

The holidays...

It's a great day to be alive! I'm so grateful for all that I have today and for all the wonderful people that Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I finally hit 185!!! That only took me a month! It feels so good to be back in the game :) Yesterday, Saturday, Marth and I had an amazing workout at the gym!! I did the eliptical for 30 minutes until she got there and then we did some heavy lifting for about an hour. I can barely lift my arms today. They're so weak and hurt so stinkin bad but I love it! So glad Marth takes time out of her very busy schedule to kick my butt. I think it gives her grea pleasure to see me in pain. Good pain but pain none-the-less! I determined this Christmas to eat good and keep working out. I'm going to Kentucky for a few weeks and I know it's going to throw off my routine but I'm excited to share some new recipes with my family when I'm there! I love this time of year and wish it could last forever :)

5:45am wake up calls....

Lastnight I was so excited to sleep in this morning, and when I say sleep in that means anything past 6:30, but that didn't happen! At 5:45 I was rudly awakened from my deep sleep by Martha telling me to get up and meet her at the gym in 15! WHAT!!! I was so grumpy and did NOT want to go out into the cold and get my butt royally kicked. But, I got up anyway and thank heavens I did. Let me just tell you a little background. As most of you know these past few weeks have been a little off and everyday I've shed at least one tear. Working out, school, work, eating right, drinking water, everything just seemed to add up and before I knew it I was dropping one of the most important elements....daily exercise. I just couldn't seem to want to workout... I'd still do it somedays but it was definetly NOT willingly! I found myself feeling more depressed, feeling like the world was crashing down on me and not having as much energy to make it through the day. Lastnight I had a heart to heart with Mel and decided that I needed to get my butt in gear so I made the "mistake" of telling Martha that and that's where the 5:45 wake up call comes into play. Working out this morning set such a good tone to my day and I was even told by Mel that I seemed calmer. I felt so much better and felt like I could take on the world again. I know it's such small thing but it changed my whole attitude about my day. I'm so grateful that I have friends that don't forget my goals even when I seem to. Being healthy is my number one and I need to remember that.

I'M BACK!!!!

Hello blogging world...I fell off the face of the earth for a bit, sometimes you just need a breather! I took time to focus on school and my goals in life, I've had time to do a lot of thinking (in between the thinking I do for school) and have decided that I'm in this for the long haul. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to completely fall off the wagon so I guess that means it's meant to be. What I'm trying to say is you're going to be hearing a lot more from me in the future! Yay for reawakenings! :)
Today ran my 2nd 5K! We (Mel and I) shed off 2 minutes off our last time, which means we ran it in 44 minutes! I was soooo excited! 2 minutes is 2 minutes! I'm really getting into running and am starting to enjoy it more and more. It's not my favorite thing to do but I'm sure once the weight keeps coming off it will get easier and easier. I'm just grateful I CAN run! Today I was completely inspired by a gentleman who was disabled and was "running" the 5K in his wheelchair/bike (forget what they're called). So grateful that he came out and showed us how it's all done. I'm so grateful for this time of year.

Up's and Down's

Hey guys! It's been a few days since I've updated. Things have been a little hectic and a little rocky the past couple days and I'm finally sitting down to write my feelings on the week. I wish I could report some amazing success or a goal met but sadly I don't have anything too exciting to report. This week has been a slap in the face when it came to trying to change my life. It's interesting how you can feel on top of the world and have all the motivation to keep going and the next you feel rock bottom and have lost ALL motivation. Trying to take back my life is tough and can sometimes be too much but when I think about all that I've learned in these past 6 months and how unhappy I was before I decided to make this committment to myself my heart starts to beat fast and all I wanna do is go running and then run some more! It's worth it! Every cookie I turn down. Every pizza slice I can't eat. Nothing could possibly taste as good as finding myself and who I really am. I'm back and I'm going to hit it hard starting Monday! It also wouldn't hurt if my running buddy wasn't out of commission for gallbladder surgery. Stupid gallbladders. Hopefully I'll have her back in a few weeks. :) I'm crossing my fingers!

From 24 to 16 and still goin' strong!

What a great night!! I've been meaning to clean out my closet and give away all my "fat" clothes to D.I. for some time now and tonight I finally found the time. :) What an awesome feeling to bag up those 24's and hang up those 16's. I even have a pair of 14 I put up just for good measure! Soon enough, soon enough! These black pants I'm sporting in the mirror are 24 and they use to be TIGHT on me!!! Oh my gosh!! I've got a vanishing waist line! Woohoo!!

NEVER AGAIN!!!!

5K!!!!!

It's official...I'm ADDICTED!!!! Yesterday, Saturday, St. George was putting on a 5K,10K, 1 mile walk for Breast Cancer and so we, bootcamp, decided to run the 5K! What a blast! I LOVE all the girls at bootcamp and love all the support that we give eachother. I don't think I could have finished without them!
The start of the race was a little rough. I had pain in every joint but when we hit 1.5 miles my body pretty much went numb and because of that I couldn't feel the pain anymore. Yay!! I started out the race with Mel and Marth and at about 1.5 miles we met the cutest girl, Alicia, this was her first 5K that she was running for her friend and so we "adopted" her. Mel and Alicia ran together to the end and then Mel, being the most amazing friend EVER, ran BACK and finished again with me and Marth! What an amazing support system I've been blessed with. Crossing that finish line was the most amazing feeling. I couldn't believe I had just completed 3 miles without stopping! Of course me being me I cried in Mel's arms for a few minutes after. Ahhh...such an incredible feeling to have completed my first 5K!! I'm so excited to run my next one the 20th of November with Mel and Marth!!! I love my new life and am LOVING the opportunities I've been presented with because of it! Hope you enjoy the pics...

Before the race, so excited!

Me and Mel after the race
Our numbers

We ran for Cheryle and Julie and all those we love that have been affected by breast cancer

Bootcamp Family-love them ALL!Almost there :)

Finished!

Ready or not...

I've had butterflies the past couple of days and couldn't figure out why until I realized, I'm running a 5K on Saturday!!! Yes, I know it's only 3 miles but I feel like I'm running my first Marathon on Saturday! I'm sooooo excited but sooooo nervous! Mel and I have been running everyday this week. We're now running 2 miles in 30 minutes. Well, she could go faster but because she's the BEST EVER she stays with me and cheers me on. Everyone needs a running buddy like Mel. I'm so excited to run with my bootcamp family on Saturday and to know that it's for a good cause. We've decided that we're going to run a few 5K's, our next on the 20th of November, and then work out way up to 10K and up. So exciting! Thanks for all the support all! I'm so blessed to have you all in my life!! :)

Another break through :)

Tuesday's and Thursday's are bootcamp nights and tonight we had it at Hansen Stadium. Before bootcamp started Mel and I met up and ran a mile on the track and then let Martha kick our butts as we jump squated up the stadium stairs, did one handed push ups on the stairs and did that all over again 3 times. I had to tell you all about a break through that I had tonight while I was jump squating up the stairs. Jenna, one of the girls at bootcamp, brings her little girl who is 7 to bootcamp and as I was finishing up jump squats she asked me why I'm always last to finish. Initially I started to cry and felt sorry for myself and then I realized that at least I'm DOING it and that I didn't give up! Yes...the other bootcampers had already moved onto the other circuit but I was determined to finish those darn jump squats! What a great feeling it was when I reached the top of those stairs. I'm so grateful for my fellow bootcampers! :)

Competition Time!

Sorry about the delay in updates, I was up North for the weekend at my friend's fitness competition. What a busy, busy weekend but a great one as well! Mel, Marth and I had such a great time at the competition. Mel and I had the responsibility of being Martha's stand in coach since her regular one couldn't make it so we made sure everything ran smoothly for her and that she looked her best. What a great job she did!!! I'm so proud of her and what she's accomplished!

In other good news...Mel and I ran 2 WHOLE MILES non stop today in preparation for out 5K this weekend! It almost put me in the ground. you might think I'm kidding but people, I'm totally not! That won't stop me though, bring on 3 miles! Thanks Mel for training with me!

Me, Marth, and Mel at Martha's competition

Tough day...

It was a rough day today. In every aspect, school, diet, emotionally, everything. It was just one of those days. School has been really stressful the past few days because of midterms and I haven't been doing as good as I should be with keeping to a strict schedule of eating since I'm so stressed which doesn't help me in the scale department :(
I had a really great learning experience tonight, I wanted to share it because it helped me to realize a lot about myself and how I work mentally. My day had already been a rough one but when 5 o'clock hit for some reason the sadness did too and all I wanted to do was EAT and eat yummy, fattening, discusting food! Food that I knew would make me want to puke later so...I decided to go to Wendy's instead and get there grilled chicken cranberry salad. I sat down at the table to eat feeling all sorry for myself and having thought of "woe is me" and then I realized that I had overcome something BIG! REAL BIG! I had resisted the tempation to eat gross food and eat a salad instead. Because I was so proud of myself I decided to treat myself to a run around the track at the park. What a great run! I got the posotive endorphins going and then went to bootcamp and now I feel 200% better! So...moral of the story...don't give in to your bad habits that you're trying to break when you're feeling sad or want to retreat back to your comfortable ways. You are strong enough to overcome it!!! As you jump over those hurdles you become THAT much closer to the finish line and THAT much closer to who you want to be. I'm loving my new life and LOVING the wonderful people that I've met and been able to associate with because of it. :)
One more thing...we've decided as a bootcamp to run the Save-A-Sister 5K on October 23rd here in St. George and I wasn't going to do it but with much prodding from my dear friend Mel I broke down and registered! It's official! I'll be running my first 5k in 2 weeks! Holy smokes! I know it's only 3 miles but 3 miles is 3 miles people. Baby steps :)

Let the training begin!

We did it! Mel and I started training for our 5K we're going to run together! We started out walk/running on the Man O War trail and then ALMOST ran 1 mile back to the car. My legs were in so much pain the entire time back and I wanted to stop after every step but having Mel there to keep me going helped so much! It felt so good to be able to finish that mile. We're going to prove to ourselves that we can do this! Marathon in no time!

Diamond Valley, Hiking the Volcano

Got to go hiking today with my Mel! We went to Diamond Valley and hiked the volcano. Good heavens! What a killer! Up hill the entire way but so worth it. The view was AMAZING! So grateful I'm not afraid to feel pain anymore, don't get me wrong, it's not my favorite thing but I'm not afraid to feel it anymore. I'm not afraid to sweat and feel the burn. It was a great hike and a good end to the week :) Love you Mel!

2 years baby!

I started "training" for the St. George Marathon today :) ok, not really but I DID get hardcore with my running this morning at the gym. My goal is to run a 5K, 10k, half marathon and then the St. George Marathon in 2012. Yes, I know that's 2 years but I'm gonna need all the time I can get. I'm currently at 1/2 mile of solid running. Doesn't seem like much but for me it's a VICTORY! Woohoo!! St. George Marathon...HERE I COME!!!!

Started out rough, ending out wonderfully...

I had in my head what my post was going to be about tonight until I went to yoga class and it all changed. I was going to complain about the crapiness of the day and how all I wanted to do ALL day was eat a REAL piece of chocolate! But after yoga...I'm feeling more at peace and am deciding to keep this post a posotive one. Don't worry, you'll get a crabby one later this week I'm sure. Tonight was my first night of yoga at Gold's and boy did I LOVE it! Mel came with. It was so good to have her there. Before yoga we did some lifting, biceps, triceps and shoulders. So amazing but I felt so tight and really needed a stretch and stress reliever. I'm so glad I went. It's definetly going to be my Tuesday night ritual. I feel so relaxed, so centered and ready to take on the world. :) I would recommend it to anyone needing to feel more in tune with their body or just wanting to get a good stretch. It also doesn't hurt when there's a cute boy in the class for us women! There was a looker at mine tonight. Oh my! Can't wait til next Tuesday! ;)

Baking day

Saturday's are baking day for me...meaning I bake 4 dozen cocoa muffins and 4 dozen carrot cake protein bars! Yummy! No, they're not all for me either! Because I love my friends Mel and Leslie sooooo much I bake for them for trade. A little time in the kitchen never hurt anyone :)

The recipes for these came from my friends Martha and Cali's blog (fitgals.blogspot.com) Visit their blog, there are some amazing recipes on there! Thanks Cali and Marth for all the yummy recipes! mmmm...good!

A girl's gotta have her chocolate...

Yep! You've got that right! This little square of Ghirardelli dark chocolate solves all my problems on a stressful day!! When I need a little chocolate fix I KNOW I can always turn to my little square of heaven! :)

The beginning of something big....

Starting this blog has been a long time in the making. It's a very scary thing making yourself vulnerable to the world and letting others into your weight loss journey. I wish I would have recorded my feelings from the very beginning. I've changed so much and some days I don't even know who I am anymore (not in a bad way). I love the person I'm becoming as each pound comes off. Everyday I realize something else I didn't know I could do and I do it! It's such an exciting thing proving yourself wrong! I can't forget to mention the amazing support I've had over these last 6 months. Martha, my trainer, Mel, one of my best friends her in St. George, my bootcamp family, my wonderful family, and my amazing friends! I have been so blessed to have such wonderful cheerleaders to keep me going and to remind me to keep my head up and to stay strong and keep my eye on the goal. I'm not there yet but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's looking pretty darn good! I figured to kick off the "premier" of this blog I'd share of few of my progress pictures. Hold onto your seats people...

Just remember...if I can do it ANYONE can! Believe me!! Hope you enjoy watching my progress and feel free to give me fitness and health tips! Let's help eachother reach our goals, whether you have 5 or 105 pounds to lose! :)