Goodbye 2011. HELLO 2012!!

Goodbye 2011.

You have brought me many things this year:

• New friends - I have met lots of new friends through my kids and my gym.  They have all helped me realize how good life is.  Many of them brought me new inspiration to continue to improve my life and achieve my goals.
• New strength - I have learned that I am both mentally and physically stronger than I had previously believed.  This is just amazing to me!  While it is more fun and I push myself harder when working out with my sister, I know that it is all up to me to do it for me.
• New knowledge - This year, I have learned a lot about how my eating effects not only how I feel physically, but emotionally as well.  Knowledge that I can feel better, I can eat better, and I can reach my goals.  Knowledge that writing done goals and reading them goes along way to helping me achieve them.
• New freedoms - One of the goals my husband I made this year was to gain our financial freedom, and we have made huge strides!  Another goal was to improve my health, and through the time I've put in at the gym and the kitchen, I have begun to reach those.  I gained the freedom of having more options for places to shop for clothes through this.  To me, these have been the biggest gains of all!

HELLO 2012!!!

New year, new goals!

• Better eating - I am going to start off 2012 with a 30-day Paleo Challenge to jump start my eating.  My focus this year is to consistently eat fresh vegetables and fruits, healthy meats, and healthy fats with most meals. These meals will also be prepared at home with the help of my family.  
• Better exercise routine - I will continue doing CrossFit workouts at least 2 to 3 times per week.  If I am not able to make it to the gym at least 3 times, then I will commit to doing a workout at home (or where ever I may be).  Since I work better when I have something to push myself towards, I will sign up for at least two races this year.  The first one will be at the end of January, and my goal is to finish faster than my previous 5K of 42:10.
• Continue to improve my families financial situation - I will achieve this by focusing more on the budget and making sure they my spending stays within our budgeted amounts.  The first step will be to pack my lunch (this goes hand-in-hand with my first goal!).
• Focus on improving me from within - I will continue to read books that will help me grow from within.  Books that will keep me motivated and help me to find what I am meant to do in life.

These are my commitments to myself and my family for 2012.  Be on the lookout for my updates on my goals!  Hope you all have a happy and healthy 2012!

Oops, I'm slacking!

Miss me? I realized I have been slacking on my updates, so I thought I would post a quick one.

I made it through my 30 day Paleo Challenge!  I managed to lose a whopping 15 lbs!  I was pretty proud of being able to make it all the way through with no cheats (except the last weekend when we took the kids out for pizza).  I'm still waiting to hear the results of who won the challenge at my gym, but I'll update when I know for sure.

I have slipped more than I planned since the challenge is over.  In fact, I have pretty much gone back to eating the way I did before. :-(  I'm trying to get back into it, but it has been difficult since both of my kids are playing summer ball which keeps us running most nights.  This running is also preventing me from going to the gym as much as I was too.  So, tomorrow morning, I'm going to attempt to head to the gym for the 5:15 am class.  Wish me luck getting out of bed that early!

WooHooo!

Yesterday, I was at the gym working out, and it was just me and like 5 guys.  Talk about intemidating!  The workout consisted of several rounds of man makers, wall climbs, and 200 m runs.  (If you don't know what these exercises are google is your friend!) That in and of itself had me concerned, but knowing that I was doing it next to several rather fit men got me a little more nervous.  But, I'm happy to report that I made it through most of the workout.  (I think the coaches noticed we were dying in the humidity, so they cut us off at 25 minutes.  I only had one round left, but was glad they cut it!)  Afterwards, the guy I was working next to commended me on my wall climbs saying that I was flying through them.  Now, I'm not totally sure that he realized who he was talking to cause I didn't feel like I flew through them, but I'll take a compliment when I can get one!

To top it off, I jumped on the scale this morning, and I am only two pounds away from being down 30 lbs since I started this in December!!  And I have been getting compliments from many people on how good I am looking!  So, I treated myself to a little shopping last night (mostly because I no longer own any shorts that fit!), and it felt so nice to be able to shop in the Misses section instead of the Womens!

Yay Me!!

Half way through the challenge....

I've made it half way there!  So far, so good.  The only bumpy days are the ones where I didn't have time to pack something for eating, especially when I have a busy day ahead.  I've had a few cravings for non-Paleo foods, but they have only been when I didn't get enough to eat the rest of the day.  Last week seemed to be the week that everyone else on the challenge decided to slip, but I'm proud to say that I didn't give in (even though I REALLY wanted to on Mother's Day!).  I'm not sure how many inches I've lost so far, but I do know that I've lost in the neighborhood of 8 pounds!!  I spent this past weekend going through my closet and getting rid of some of my "fat" clothes.  That felt great!  Here is a picture to mark the halfway point:

Day 10

Ten days into the 30 day Paleo Challenge.  Things are going good so far.  I had a rough time last Saturday.  We had a lot going on and I didn't plan very well, so I ended up only eating a banana for breakfast at 8, followed by lunch around 2.  Not good!  Then we went out to dinner, and we had a hard time finding a decent item on the menu that fit into the challenge.  I did end up getting some grilled chicken and vegetables (all which tasted very bland); poor John got a burger (which he only ate the meat patty).  Needless to say, neither of us were satisfied, so we both ended up with a strong desire for some ice cream afterwards.  I learned my lesson!  The beginning of this week was a little rough as my stomach was not happy, but it seems to have settled down now.  So, I'm back to feeling good.  The "downside" so far (other than the small craving of ice cream) is that I've shrunk enough that I desperately need to go shopping for some more pants! I went from being able to deal with the slightly baggy pants to they are now falling off in a matter of 1 week!  The tough part is I don't want to buy new one's if I am going to keep losing.  Oh well, I'll deal with it!

Day 4

Four days into the 30 day challenge, and things are going good so far.  No sugar cravings, no headaches, no pains.  So far, it isn't as bad as I thought it might be.  John and the kids have joined in, so I think that is helping.  Sterling isn't completely on board, but he is trying.  Valerie is really trying hard.  I am so proud of them all!  And myself too!  I've noticed that I have more muscle soreness than usual from my workouts, but nothing intolerable.  My biggest challenge came today when we had a food day at work for a co-worker who is leaving.  The whole area smelled of SUGAR all day!  I didn't have a problem passing up the cookies, doughnuts, and cakes, but it was hard to pass up the peach cobbler!  So far, we've been eating all the leftover Easter eggs, grilled chicken, grilled burgers (no bun), lots of salad, and various nuts.  Definitely need to find some good recipes soon!  As soon as I find some, I'll try to post my favorites.  Stay tuned....

Day 1

Today wasn't as hard as I thought.  I was able to stick with the plan.  I didn't feel too hungry throughout the day, and didn't experience any headaches.  Although, I made the mistake of taking the kids grocery shopping afterward, and then was badly wanting a glass of wine!  Don't worry, won't make that mistake again!  And I don't think my sister will make the mistake of meeting me at the grocery store again if she knows I have to bring the kids! HA!