Before...

Before...
Las Vegas May 2011

Monday, March 19, 2012

2-A-Days!

Good Monday morning to you all! It is 8:45 in the morning and I just finished workout numero uno for the day. Yes, it's time for me to start 2-a-days. What are 2-a-days you ask? It's okay if you don't know -- my very athletic soccer crazed friend had no idea -- so I felt pretty cool explaining to HIM something about working out lol. It's where you work out twice a day.

I could not fall asleep to save my life last night. I've been so used to staying up until midnight because I normally don't get up until 8:55 on weekdays and on weekends it varies with what friends are up here visiting. But, with how gorgeous it is outside now and with working later than normal, I set that alarm for 7:30. While I was waking up before the sun decided to shine its pretty little face on me -- thanks to the birds enjoying this gorgeous weather before anybody else -- the alarm went off and I hit snooze. I laid there thinking, "Okay, Jennifer, don't be lazy. Get your big ole bootie out of bed. You know how much better you'll feel once you get outside." And that's what I did. Got up, threw on the spots bra, munched on a FiberOne bar because my friend, life coach, and personal trainer out in Chicago, Stephanie from Step it Up With Steph taught me that you should eat 100 calories when you get up. You also don't want to go out on an empty stomach so a little bar does just the trick.

I started out with a nice walk, taking in the fresh air. Then I found myself in the wog. I wasn't planning on wogging today, but I've been walking for the past few days and figured it was good enough a time as ever. For those just joining me on the road to 100-ish, a wog is a walk/jog -- where I don't think I'm actually up to jog speed yet, but I'm moving faster than a walk. You're welcome.

I looked ahead, set a small goal since it's been a while since I took on the wog, and I passed it and kept going. It was that feeling I had in the fall when I set my goal and I went and I set another goal and just kept going for a long time shocking the hell out of myself. My 50 minute walk turned into being 35 minutes. 2.3 miles in 35 minutes. I'll take it for my first wog around the block...and actually, on the last home stretch, I felt like I was RUNNING. I put the pedal to the metal Fred Flinstone style. I'm sure if I saw myself from across the street I looked like I was just walking fast -- lol -- but man, I felt like I was flying! Felt GREAT.

Throughout the walk/wog/RUN I was my own personal trainer. Talking to myself in my head. It's funny -- last night my roomie and I were watching The Amazing Race and I was making comments on a lot of what was going on (mostly about that annoying chick who will not stop crying on every leg of the race and thinks her marriage is over because she just can't handle the pressure -- man that guy needs to drop her like I'm gonna be dropping these pounds-- hey oooo!) and she asked if I do this when she's not here LOL. I don't think I normally talk to myself...but then this morning I was doing just that. It brought me back to my days as a kid seeing tennis matches on TV or even here at Penn State I went to a few and I laughed at seeing the players yell at themselves. Like literally YELLING at THEMSELVES saying "COME ON! FOCUS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS! ARRGGHHHH!! " And I just thought that was crazy. But today, I was that person. Not verbally, but mentally. I was coaching myself. "Okay, Jennifer, you can do this. Keep it up. Let's wog again. Build up your metabolism. Get ready for that wedding and 10 year reunion." (Ugh, still can't believe my 10 year high school reunion will be this year....if it ever gets planned.)

I hope I just don't turn into a crazy person running down the street yelling at myself. But, if I do, if you hear a "WOOO!" down Waupelani Drive some day, just say, "You go, girrrrrrrrrrrl!"

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Monday, March 12, 2012

Found the Fat Pic!

While I was cleaning up my room, I finally found it. In the bottom of my Mary Kay box (and shameless plug...which everything I have is 50% off so if you need makeup, please buy away .... and Mother's Day is coming up *hint hint.* Tell me your email address and I'll send you the list of what I have available.) was the fat picture I had been looking for.

January-ish 1999

Holy moly mama. Check out that sweet double chin I am rocking....and the whale necklace (irony?) I was certainly in style my freshman year of high school. But, my dream was to look smokin' for prom. Every girl's dream. So, I made a chart. A thermometer like the one you see to the right of this blog and I hung it on my bedroom door. I think I wanted to lose 50 pounds. I have no idea how much I weighed in this picture, but I got moving. I'd go to school all day -- then have band and/or Key Club -- then working at the family restaurant. On weekends I'd waitress or cook all day, come home, change and go out for a run. Mom would always say, "What are you doing? You just ran your butt off all day at work!" But I knew I had a goal. I knew I was an awesome chick on the inside and I wanted that to show on the outside -- obviously not just for looks and to have the guys turn their heads my way, but I knew my family history and wanted to be healthy. Plus, college was right around the corner and I was ready to start a brand new life outside of Naples, Florida.

I remember literally skipping through the halls when the weight started going away. I couldn't stop smiling. I was obsessed with the scale, getting on it every morning before going to school and I swear I was dropping a pound a day. I remember my friend Maria saying one day how if I lost anything else I'd be down to nothing lol. Man, did that sound awesome. I went to work and picked up the oil for the fryer. I think it was 20 pounds? And I had lost 30 or so at this point. I remember picking it up and couldn't believe how much 20 pounds (or whatever it was) felt like. It was so heavy! Just blew my mind that I had melted that off my body. 

Working out was like a drug. I would start doing Tae Bo while cooking. Kicking and punching the air waiting for my orders to come up.  I'd go home and do sit ups and jumping jacks before going to sleep because I heard you actually burn calories while sleeping so I thought that would help speed it up even more. Not sure if that helped...but what's the saying.. "An object in rest stays at rest. An object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction." -- Newton.

It was time to go dress shopping. Ooohhh the beautiful choices out there! I found the perfect dress. Lavender. It was a littttttle on the tight side but I was more than determined to fit my butt in it.  My friend Whitney and I practiced doing our hair one day and went to try on our dresses again.

April 2001

Oh hey, I have a neck....ANNNND dimples -- I get them from my mamaaaaa.

I was in love. I found a dress I loved and fit in it. My hard work had paid off. I even scored a date...which, long story short, did not work out and had to take my sister instead lol. (I laugh now, but that was the downfall on when I started to put on the weight again.)

Me, Uncle Jerry, Heather

There we are on prom day. Too bad Uncle Jerry was a little too old to go to prom because he was ready to boogie on down.

So here I am. The pictures are back on the fridge. Spring is here and I can enjoy the outdoors. Last weekend I went on a three hour walk. It was fabulous. I planned on going on my normal 2.3 mile walk around the block but just kept going and going and going...for three hours instead of the 45 minutes. Walked a lot this weekend, too. Feeling those love handles go down again. Things are moving in the right direction.  Scale isn't moving but I "don't care."  I'm feeling SO MUCH BETTER than I did a few weeks ago which is the most important factor in this journey.

"Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip." -- Arnold H. Glasgow