So we ad our 1st weigh in this past Saturday....I managed to only lose 2.8 pounds.....LAME!! In that moment I have never been so disappointed in myself. But this will not bring me down, I have my new YMCA membership in hand, and positive thoughts in my head!! I dropped my daughter off to school this morning and headed home to watch the news updates about the school shooting at my Alma Mater Chardon High School. It made me think how precious our time is, and with that I pushed myself to go workout. I want to be healthy for my daughter so with the time I have we can do things she will remember like taking bike rides, going for walks, and just doing fun active things! 

Tonight I am going up to the Y with my husband. I plan on taking full advantage of working out while my sister has my daughter for the evening..... My goal for the next weigh in is to be down about 15 pounds... I plan on keeping up with the exercising and I think I need to tweak my diet a little.... I am going to do some research online to see what needs to be changed. So I hope all goes well....

So I have to admit... I am a little nervous for my 1st weigh in that will be this Saturday. I know I have lost weight but I feel like I should have lost way more. I have been doing really well and am wondering if I need to tweak my diet a little. The first 2  weeks I was doing so well with loading up on veggies and eating 5 to 6 small meals each day, and I really need to go back to that! I have been doing well in my working out, and I know once this weather will make up it's mind and becomes warm with out the rain I will be outside getting a garden prepared, walking, riding my bike, and playing with my daughter. But like last night's episode....there are no more excuses!! I want to get going on this weight loss journey!! I want to show people that it isn't a chore and that it can be fun getting this done!! I still have not missed the fast food or crap foods I used to eat! I have noticed that my daughter has been eating her veggies with less of a fight each evening! My husband has been so supportive of me and keeps our house stocked full of fresh fruit and veggies, I don't know what I would do without him!! My best friend and I have still been working out together and she has looked into getting her family a YMCA family membership to keep her family healthy!! So as I go to my weigh in I am going to keep positive thought in my mind and know that this is just the start, nothing will hold me back!!!

So I just got done with a really good cardio kick boxing work out! I feel amazing. I bought some whey protein shake poweder because my friend and I have been reading up on it. So after our workout I fixed 2 shakes for us....well the flavor is Chocolate so we were bothin thinking "ooohh this is going to be pretty good...." Boy were we wrong!! It tastes like wierd funky rotten chocolate in a glass!!!! But if it is going to help build muscles we are going to just have to suck the down..... I am hoping to start going to the YMCA and utilize the gym there.

Today I got to go on a mini road trip with 2 of my friends! We went to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and The Mustard Seed. We all really took out time and browsed the isles and each picked out a couple fun things to bring home! I got 2 types of pita chips and a Greek yogurt. Then after we were done shopping we decided to eat at Aladin's Eatery in Mentor. It was a great place to try some new fun foods!!! I can't tell you how much fun I had! Just getting to browse and check some interesting foods and products to incorporate into my everyday diet. This week my daughter has Monday off for President's Day so I am hoping to do something fun and active with her!! 

If you have a Wii you need to go get the Gold's Gym Dance Workout!!! It has Latin dancing as well as mini fat burning games that are so fun you kind of forget you're getting a good workout!! It also has cardio kick boxing on it too!!! In a matter of 30 minutes I had burned about 300 calories!!! It's so much fun I am going back for another hour!!!!

My best friend Danielle and I are on going on a mini road trip to the Mustard Seed Organic Market this weekend! We are going to check out the whole store without our kids!! This place is in Solon, and I can't tell you how excited I am!!! They have everything you could imagine!! 

I was watching The Today Show this morning and Dr. Oz was on with his list of 100 foods you should have in your shopping cart so I am going to look over that list and see what I don't have.... I am down another 2 pounds and I am hoping to drop another 2 pounds by the end of this week. Ok well I am going to go work out, I will fill you in on my trip to this store next week!!

I woke up this morning with a stuffy nose, pounding headache, and the feeling of just being super ill. I however won't let this bring me down. I plan on loading up on the vicks and pounding away on my workout bike..... I am hoping to maybe sweat this cold out and keep rocking!! 

This weekend I took a sip of my daughter's pop and about spit it out everywhere....I can't believe how bad that stuff tasted!! I certainly don't miss the sodas or even candy... I had a few of those conversation hearts and the pinks ones were good but it just wasn't worth it. I was not able to take a Zumba class this weekend due the the weather so I was bummed, but I did however get on my bike and jammed out with my daughter and got my sweat on! I forgot how much that works my stomach muscles and legs. This week I have a goal of losing 2 pounds and upping my cardio. It's time to get going! I have found that eating a pretty good breakfast gives me that extra push I need in the mornings, as well as eating 5 small meals a day. By dinner time i feel stuffed after eating about half of whats on my plate. I have been working out every Tuesday, Thursday, and Fridays at my friends house and on Mondays and Wednesdays at home. I just found out that the YMCA is giving us a 4 month membership!! I can't wait to start going there and kicking some major butt!! 

I feel like I am doing pretty well on my commitment of working out daily, but I feel I should be trying harder. I think what I need is to up my cardio every day and spread it out through out the whole day.... in place of eating 3 meals, maybe I should do some cardio 3 times a day. I have been eating just about 5 small meals a day and it really does work for me! I am going to Pulse on Saturday to take a Zumba class :) Maybe this is what I need to kick it up a notch. I did the Biggest Loser Cardio Max DVD(level 2) and The Biggest Loser Boot Camp DVD (level 2). The I worked on ab and lower body...now my whole body is shaking and feels like I got a great workout. Now if you will excuse me I have to go beat my friend who just took a bite of a chocolate cupcake!!!!

So it has been officially been a week since i started my workouts and I am down 3 pounds!! I am so excited!! If I can keep going at this rate I know I am on my way to an amazing new body and mind set!!! Ohhhhh I wish I could explain the how I feel in words!!!! I feel like I could just bounce around and run around the house yelling "I'm down 3 pounds!!!"; but I am sure the neighbors would think I am a nut. Tonight for dinner is going to be some chicken, asparagus, and brown rice! 

I have heard that spaghetti squash is a great substitute for the real thing and Ali Vincent swears that was how she won her season of The Biggest Loser. So when my husband went to the fruit market he picked one up for me so I could give it a try. I cut it in half, scooped out the "guts" and brushed some extra virgin olive oil on it and baked it at 350* for just about an hour. Meanwhile I browned up some 93% lean ground beef and added onion and green pepper to it, then added some sauce. By the time i was done with that and getting my daughter's dinner finished the squash was ready. All I had to do was let it cool and scrape it with a fork and it was ready! I have to tell you I was expecting to hate it, but with the first bite I actually LOVED it!!! I think it was actually better than pasta!! It was so fresh and delish! I got so excited that i had to tell my sister about it, and she told me that she is now going to try it! I am going to look up some other ways to use it in other dishes too. Now that I know it is so good I am starting to wonder what else I can swap in a meal to make it healthy.... 

So after dinner my daughter and I went for a nice brisk walk...she is my "little" coach when I am not with my friend Danielle who keeps me moving and working out. She grabbed my hand and told me she was proud of me, I don't think I have ever been so proud of myself and she made me feel so good inside! She told me "Mom whenever it gets nice outside and you don't make me wear my coat, hat, and gloves, I will take you for bike rides and walks at the park." I have never been so excited for the nice weather to get here so I can keep busy and enjoy the outdoors! 

Today is one of those days of the year where everyone goes crazy eating pizza, chips, dips, wings, burgers, along with the gallons of soda and beer....but not me! This year I will be loading up on fresh veggies and fruit. Don't get me wrong I am sure I will have a chip or two, but I will not be going crazy. I started out my super bowl morning with fresh strawberries, greek yogurt, and 2 egg whites. I even made myself go down to my basement, crank up my Ipod and jog for a while! I am starting  to feel quite confident that I will be able to still go to family gatherings and not have to fill up on foods I don't need. I don't expect people to work around me in the food department, that is my responsibility and I am up for the task! I have to say for this being my 1st weekend of the next few months in losing weight and working out i was expecting to to fail. Seeing myself say no to bad foods and yes to good foods has made me even more focused for the next few months! My husband went to the local farmers market and filled our fridge with strawberries, bananas, apples, spaghetti squash, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and a whole bunch more :) I can't wait for the weather to get just a little bit warmer out so I can take my daughter out for bike rides and walks to the park! I know once the temps go up I will be out and about!

So I was thinking to myself this morning that I haven't really given a back story about myself to you the readers. I grew up in Hambden Township. I am the oldest of 4 girls (yes my dad was surrounded by girls and managed to pull through just fine!) I graduated from Chardon High School in 2002. I also went to Auburn Career Center where I went for Culinary Arts and also met my husband of 7 years. We have a 5 year old daughter who is a ball of energy. In the spring and summer as a family we love to fish, cook outside, and spend lots of time at my parents house! I guess I started gaining weight in my senior year of high school, I had open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve about 3 1/2 weeks before school started. I went from a size 6/7 to a size 14 by the time graduation came. So after graduation I moved out and lived on my own and didn't exactly eat the best or exercise, and before I knew it I was married and starting a family. I have been successful in losing weight in the past it has just been a matter of keeping it off, in which you can tell I haven't been at all good about. So this time I decided it isn't just about me, it's about living a long time to see my little one grow up, graduate, go to college, and have her own life. Don't get me wrong I want to do this for myself but knowing that I have a long future with my husband and daughter that could be cut short is what keeps me going! So whenever I am thinking "jeez I don't think I can do this" I just think of all the support I have been getting and it just makes the "thin" in me work harder so it can be seen.

So I am on my way to becoming a healthy person! I woke up with this feeling in my gut that this is it! No more excuses! I actually don't miss the fast food and soda! I have been waking up easier not dreading the day. I get up get ready, get my daughter ready, make our breakfasts, eat, and out the door we go! I drop her off to school and then I head out to work out! I woke up yesterday super sore but pushed through and walked my treadmill for 30 minutes. Today I will be working out doing some serious cardio!! I actually enjoy working out for the most part...that is until I wake up the next morning feeling like I was beat by a bag full of rocks. What is the famous saying: "no pain no gain"? well if all these sore muscles means I am gaining a healthy life I will take it! It will get easier as the weeks pass so I just need to keep up the good work and dedication!