It's All About the Numbers (Chanon)

Chanon

When I agreed to do this blog... I did not realize that I needed to add a number in my profile.  I would be happy to add that I am the mother of 4 children. Or that I've been married for almost 17 years. I am 5' 9" tall. It would have been easier to give out my personal cell phone # then to put the one before the lb.  I wear a size 16, I am 39 years old and I weighed 242 lbs at my last doctors appointment, 2.5 weeks ago.  Happy to report that after being scared straight... That number is 227lb today. 
My A1C number and cholesterol count may have been the numbers  that were the ones that actually scared me straight.  I have my A1C tested every 6 months as a Follow up to gestational diabetes. This time my number was 6.8 and in summary if I have another number over 6.6 I will be diagnosed with adult onset diabetes. Which in my case, is completely avoidable. ( A1C is an average measure of your sugar count over a 3 month period) The cholesterol numbers were equally frightening with low good and high bad cholesterol counts. Again pretty certain these are completely controllable with diet and exercise.  
So when I ask myself what is going to Drive my Heath journey... It is not solely in the numbers and what the numbers break down to, but the consequences of the numbers and what they will mean to me and my family if I don't make changes.
I am a 39 year old mamma who is at risk of heart disease and diabetes because of the choices I make daily.   If I'm being honest... I have these risk factors for a few reasons, one is the amount of sugar I have put into my body, two is I always have an excuse as to why today there isn't enough time for me, and three I haven't taken the science of an aging body seriously.  When my Doctor so kindly looked over these numbers at my appointment he asked this question..... What's your plan?
What are you going to do about these numbers? He said this is a loving kind tone. He wasn't reprimanding me or telling me I have no self control.  He followed the question with this... What is it going to take for you to make YOU a priority? I shrug my shoulders... Wanting so badly for him to snap his fingers and give me the magic Answer.  He did not. What he gave me was 3 months to make some changes and the empowerment of saying.... You are worth this!  
I need to be Driven. Being asked to blog was 3 days after this appointment and for me was my sign that I am worth this and maybe I can encourage others along the way. Accountability is contagious and has always been a good motivator for me! 

The Goals.... Win at the numbers game!  Lower my A1C, Lower my Cholesrerol, reduce my risk of heart disease, exercise 3 times per week...( increase heart rate for 30 minutes... Not slowly walking and counting it as my exercise plan) drop 60bs ( already down 15.. 45 more to go), eliminate processed sugar, Set a good example for my children, care enough about me to invest in Me.  To be Fit by 40.... I have until Thanksgiving day 2016. 

This is a picture of me and my daughter on 4/2/16

I want to blame the angle of the camera... But nope it's not the camera... It's me... All of me!
I love the symbol of Lady Liberty standing behind me. It's a great reminder of 2 things: 1- I can have freedom from sugar addiction and reckless eating 2- height helps carry the weight, but isn't an excuse for it. ( lady liberty has zero back fat)

This is a pic of me and my nephew on 4/22/16... I can already tell a difference in my face

I love this quote!! 


Becky Higgins is a wise woman.... My end goal of being healthy and having good numbers to report.... Is what I need to keep in the mirror daily! The end is so worth this!!!

Blessings for a week full of wellness! Remember to give yourself grace if you slip up on your journey. Be Driven.

Chanon 

Get Fit with Abby!

Abby

 

Hi my name is Abby.  I was born and raised in Lancaster, PA.  I served 8 years in the U.S. Navy.  I’ve been out now for 9 years and living in Lancaster, PA.  I’m a wife and mother to 3 boys.  My husband is a personal trainer and a wonderful husband and Daddy.  My kids are twin 10 year olds and a 3 year old.  Mitchell, Chase, and Conner are my world.  They are amazing, awesome kids.  I’m blessed by God to have such an amazing family. 

I haven’t always been healthy and fit.  I used to drink and smoke a lot.  I’ve quit smoking for 10 years and barley drink.  Since I moved home after the Navy, my dad would always challenge me to a race across the Wrightsville Bridge.  I couldn’t beat him and I wanted to so bad.  I also started running races at this time and my 5k time was about 35 minutes.  I wanted to get my 5k time down to 25 minutes or less.  I ran every day that summer. I beat my dad and got my 5k time down to 25 minutes.  I also lost weight and gained muscle.  Since this little challenge of mine I have become, over the last 10 years, very healthy and fit.  I don’t even buy potato chips at the store anymore. 

 I got bored with just running 5k’s and 5 mile races so I decided to race in a triathlon.  I did my first TRI back in 2009.  I did pretty well for my first time.  It was the sprint Tri for Life at the Hempfield Rec Center.  After that I decided I wanted to run a half-marathon and a Marathon.  Before I ran my first marathon I ran at least 5 half-marathons.  I knew I was capable of running a marathon just as long as I trained for it.  I ran my first Marine Corps Marathon in just under 4 hours.  I was super proud of myself, but knew right then that long distance running wasn’t for me.  The 26.2 miles really took a toll on my body.  After the marathon in 2010 I kept running races and eventually injured myself.  I was starting to transition out of so much running to weight lifting.  During a training session at a “CrossFit like gym” I tore my ACL clean off.  I had surgery and was back on my feet in 4 months running another half marathon.  After my last half marathon I decided to give running a rest and start weight lifting. 

The world of CrossFit really caught my eye.  I liked the hard work and the mini challenges while you were working out.  I have been to a couple of CrossFit gyms and like them all, but it is expensive and I wanted to be at the gym my husband trains at.  Right now I’m weight training and running when I can. I’ll run a few favorite races with my twins, but we don’t train for them.  My sister, Libby wants to run a half and I’ll do that one long race with her because I know she needs the support and we always have fun.  I do The Tri for Life every year.  I don’t usually train for it, I rely on my weight training to make me strong enough to get through the race.  This year in the Tri for life I got my best time and finished 4^th in my age group.  The kids and I will run a couple of 5 k’s and my son Chase has beat me one time by 3 seconds and has been trying to beat me again ever since.  

I also love cooking healthy food. I love using fresh veggies and mixing super foods and antioxidant rich foods together so I can heal faster from weight training and get back into the gym.  I usually cook 6 chicken breasts, a few different veggie, and quinoa for the week.  This way I don’t have to cook 2 different meal.  One meal for my husband and I and one for the kids.  I have all boys and they are picky eaters.  I cook healthy for them too but they don’t eat quinoa and peppers.  Sometimes my 3 year old will have an apple and peanut butter for dinner.  As long as they pick something healthy I don’t care if its breakfast at dinner time.  It’s what gets their belly full and happy. 

I’m just like everyone else.  I deal with the daily struggles of “not having enough time in the day to get everything done” I always have a fitness goal.  Right now my husband and I are trying to prep food for one week. We usually prep food for the week, but it’s been so busy with sports we have fallen off the wagon.  We want to do it for 13 or 14 weeks.  So far it’s Monday and we have nothing prepped.  I’ll spend my afternoon, after work, grocery shopping and prepping food today.  Our goal to preparing food and packaging it for the week is very vain of us.  We want to look good in our bathing suits on our vacation at Bethany beach.  Besides this goal, we usually try to eat healthy all the time.  My husband and I are into building muscle and dropping body fat.  We are both at the tipping point of this life style.  What I mean by that, is we are lean and have muscles but the muscles aren’t defined enough.  In order to get the muscles to a defined point we really have to stick to our diets.  This is the 80/20 rule.  80% diet and 20% exercise.  Have you ever heard of the “Abs are made in the kitchen” Well it’s true what you put in your mouth reflects in your body.  I have always been a yo-yo when it comes to body weight.  I’ve been anywhere between 120 and 200.  200 lbs. is when I was pregnant with my twins and my 3 year old.  I have lost all the weight, but always struggled getting to my ideal weight which is 125.  I’m about 127-130 and since I’ve been weight lifting that number is ok with me because of all the muscle I’m gaining.  There is a delicate balance between weight training and diet.  I want to be lean and defined, not bulky. 

So to sum up my goal I want to follow a specific clean eating diet, prepare food for the week, for 14 weeks, be healthy, weight train as much as I can, run when I have the chance, and by beach time look fabulous in my bikini.  After the 14 weeks I’m hoping this just becomes my life style and feels normal to do it all the time. 

I actually started writing this on Monday.  I went grocery shopping last night, prepared all my food, and went for a 4.5 mile run after my husband got home.  I made:

6 chicken breast with 25% reduced sodium taco seasoning and coconut oil

2 boxes of garlic and herb quinoa with fresh chopped kale

A head of broccoli and cauliflower

3 yellow peppers and 3 orange pepper

5 avocados

I’ll mix chicken, quinoa, peppers, avocado and some lime vinaigrette every day this week for lunch and dinner. 

Here are some pictures:

 See You Next Friday,

Abby

Nervous! (Denise)

Panda log: 04.29.2016

Hi.

Well, here it goes. I'm jumping right in. I experienced one whole year of some raw and rough emotions. I'm not going to bore you with the details. I will say, it was tough! Mostly because I've spent a lot of energy throughout my life trying not to feel too many, telling myself that I was stronger that way. What I've learned through my “year of emotions”, and very much feeling every one to their fullest, is that, not letting myself do this in the past has made me weak! I didn't realize, in the midst of it all, the lesson I was learning and how life changing it would be. As I allowed myself to feel and experience every emotion, I started feeling stronger. I'm not sure at which point it happened but,  in my new found vulnerability, I  felt alive in a way I had not experienced  before. I realized that stuffing all my emotions down for all those years was suffocating me, making me weak, and preventing me from living in full truth. You are probably wondering why I'm talking about emotions when this is a blog about weight and health and struggles with them. Well, let me introduce myself. Hi, my name is Denise, and I am an emotional eater.

What I hope to gain by blogging about my struggles:

1.     Separate my emotions from my eating. It will be a daily reminder that I am stronger when I cope with my feelings and not drown them out.

2.   Get strong. I'm no spring chicken and it’s caught up with me! I've heard people say “move it or lose it” but now, it echoes through my head as absolute truth.

3.   Eat healthful. When I'm eating my normal organic diet, I feel good, but need to practice portion control. When I'm stopping at the bakery, just this once, and it turns into three times a week, I feel horrible. Hello acid reflex and hello sweatpants. 

4.   Be kind to myself. Baby steps. And remind myself, on a daily basis, of #thegoodthings.

Peace,

Panda

P.S.  I just have to say, I'm already loving these ladies that I'm blogging with. The encouragement I have received from the last three days of their blogs has been a blessing to me already.

All About Amy!

AMY

Height: 5'1"

Weight: 238 lbs.

Measurements:

Bust: 50 inches

Chest: 42 1/2 inches

Waist: 44 inches

Hips: 54 inches

Thighs: 46 inches

Current BMI: 45

Goals: My goals are to lose at least 30 pounds in the next 90 days, Get off needing soda daily and drink more water (at least 4 bottles a day), and commit to exercising more ( at least 3 to 4 days a week if not more). I also would like to be more active with my family and get my BMI into a normal range.

Motivation and Support: My motivation is to feel healthier and have more energy. My support is my husband and kids.

HERE GOES NOTHING! LET THE FUN BEGIN....

I am a wife and a mother of 3 children ages 16, 10, and 4. My family keeps me very busy but I need to stop using that as an excuse to be lazy. I have always been heavier then my sister and all my friends but over the past few years I have just gotten heavier and heavier and truthfully didn't really care. I go yearly to the doctors and get blood work done to make sure I am "healthy" and when everything comes back normal I use that as an excuse to stay fat. Well just because my body is not rebelling and I am not unhealthy now doesn't mean it isn't coming. I know I am a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. Lets face it, I am overweight and have a strong family history of heart disease and I am lucky things aren't worse with my health and I need to stop making excuses as to why I can't get healthy.

I have a very bad habit of not eating breakfast in the morning which I know is not setting me up to do well so one of the things I know I need to change is this. I also drink a TON of soda. I realized the other day I was drinking like 4 20oz sodas a day which in itself is like 1000 calories a day just in soda. That is ridiculous but because of that I am very dependent on caffeine so I know I just can't stop that cold turkey. So I will be looking for other sources for caffeine that are healthier and hope to as quickly as possible get off caffeine all together. Also in the past I have cut out some soda but instead of replacing it with water I would just not drink anything at all. Well this isn't healthy either which is why I want to make sure I am drinking more water daily as well. I mean I go days without drinking any water so I need to improve drastically in this area. I also need to learn to portion control.
We all tend to eat way more then we should  and I am no exception to this. So I will be working hard to make sure I pay attention to what the portion size is and sticking to it. In fact I plan to keep track of what I eat and drink on my phone with an app so I can make sure to keep myself accountable for all I am doing.

My kids are very active. My daughter who is 16 plays soccer on several teams at a time and can't get enough of it. She also is very disciplined about eating and exercising. I always say I need to just follow her around and do exactly what she does and I would be skinny. My 10 year old son plays lacrosse. And our 4 year old daughter of course is 4 so she is very active like she should be. She has some special needs which require us to be at the doctors and therapy a lot and that can be emotionally draining but she has physical issues and still gets out there and runs around and so should I. I am constantly running somewhere with them so that keeps me busy but that is no excuse to be lazy. When I go to practices with them I usually sit in my car or talk to a friend but what I need to be doing is using that time to walk or to do some sort of exercise. Other people do it and I see them but I just never get off my butt and join in. Well that needs to change now! I want to be able to participate with my kids when they want to play and not get tired or worry I am too out of shape to do it.

I really am at rock bottom and need to do something but I also know if I just jump into the deep end without a boat I will fail. I can't jump in and go 100 miles an hour because no one can keep up that pace. So what I need to do instead is start slow and be realistic with my goals and hope that that sets me up for success. I look forward to seeing progress and I know it is not going to be easy but I am ready for the hard work.

READY FOR CHANGE!

Meet Donna!

Donna

Height 5’5”

Weight 174.5

Goal weight 149

Fitness Goals: Improve run time.  Run half marathon in under 2:10.

Maintain my goal weight once I lose weight.

Life Goals: Maintain balance between work, family, and fitness.

I am so happy to introduce myself. My name is Donna. I am 38 years old. I am a mother to 3 beautiful children, ages 3, 4 and 7.  I also work as a full time IT professional.  I have been married to my husband for 12 years.

Here’s some background info on me and how I’ve gotten to where I am currently.  I was never super athletic in HS. I joined the Navy when I was 18 and was thrown into a lion’s den of push-ups, sit-ups and running, none of which I really enjoyed.  I have always tried to maintain some type of fitness whether it be Zumba, Step, Spinning, you name it, I’ve tried it, but I’ve never been able to really control my weight. For the past 15 years that has been one of my biggest struggles.  I’ll lose 15-20 lbs, feel great, and then allow something to throw me off course which inevitable puts all my bad habits back into play.  My latest passion has been running.  I started 5 years ago training for a 5K, then worked up to my first half marathon.  I truly enjoy it and the friends I’ve made from running is nothing short of amazing.  Running is manageable with my current lifestyle.  It’s my 30-45 minutes of clear headiness that I need to maintain my sanity for the rest of the day.  I have a gym membership but right now in my life there is no time.  That is definitely a goal of mine to incorporate weight training again but that will have to wait until baseball season is over!  My oldest son is an avid baseball player, which as you moms may know, takes anywhere from 3-4 days a week.  I have taken advice from a very wise friend and started utilizing baseball practice to exercise.  Even if it’s walking around the field while the boys are practicing, I’ll do it.  I started wearing a fitbit which helps monitor my steps and makes me feel like I’m putting in the work even on days that I’m struggling to find energy.  As you can see, I’m motivated and already have some of the pieces in place, it’s just sticking to this path and not letting life throw me off.

Last year I hit an all-time high, 185.  I had outgrown my fat clothes and swore I would not buy an entire wardrobe to accommodate my weight gain.  I made a huge change.  Started eating clean and oh boy, what a difference that made!! I lost 25 lbs in 4 months.  I also ran a half marathon in my fastest time last Dec.  Just like so many other times in my life, the minute I crossed the finish line I threw all my healthy habits out the window.  Seriously, the drive home from the marathon, I stopped for burgers and fries!! What?? I hadn’t eaten that in months!!  This of course started the weeks leading to the holidays, then my anniversary, then valentines, and so here I am 178 lbs.  I made the decision on April 17^th to stop all the bad habits and get back to where I was last year.  My goal is to be even more in shape so when I run my next half marathon in December of 2016, I’ll kill my time by 15-20 minutes.  I am so eager to start blogging because I have so much to share with you.  It’s been over a week and I have lost 5 lbs already.  I did one of the scariest things and had a body analysis done.  Not something I would ever recommend but it showed me where I am on paper and that will help as the months go by. I am 100% committed to my journey and to sharing my experiences with anyone who will listen.  I am turning 39 in a few months and my ultimate goal is to be in the best shape of my life while maintaining my family and work.  It’s all about balance!!

So now that you know a little about me I want to tell you about a few challenges I had this week.  I’ve been eating clean for 7 days and my baseball moms invited me to dinner and drinks Friday night. I immediately panic because of course I want to go, but uh oh what am I going to eat?!!  I quickly jump at the chance to be the designated driver, who needs those wasted calories from alcohol anyways…. Now for the restaurant meal.  I scope out the menu online beforehand and find what I think is the healthiest option.  My advice to anyone eating at a restaurant is keep it simple. Skip the apps and desserts and go for the grilled meats!!  The meal plan I follow is a combination of Whole30 and Paleo. I’ve cut out all white starchy items, i.e. Bread, potato, tortillas….and yes my husband is Mexican so this is very hard!!!  It’s totally working though.  Starches out…veggies, fruits and meats, in!! 

Healthy Yummy Foods and My Handsome Man

 Last minute change, we decide to go to one of the ladies houses because she ran into a babysitting situation at the last minute.  It actually worked in my favor because I ate dinner at my house before I went.  I encourage you to share your journey with everyone because this next surprise was what got me through the night….my girlfriend knew about me changing my habits and actually had a bowl of strawberries for me when I got there!!!  She was my angel in disguise at that very moment and I appreciate her heartfelt gesture more than she knows!!  So girls night out was a success!! I drank water this time, but as I get closer to my goal I plan to incorporate alcohol in moderation.   Don’t be scared to join your friends.  This is a lifestyle change and we can’t avoid things that make us happy simply because the situation may involve bad foods. 

I had another big event this past weekend, a quinceanera Saturday night.  Again, normally I’d be excited for the awesome food and candy table but I took a deep breath and thought about it sensibly.  I am human…so I decided to eat the dinner at the party and it was so worth it! My plan was to stick solely to water, but a couple at my table pulled out a bottle of something blue and started pouring me a glass.  I succumbed to temptation #1, the blue drink.  I also fell victim to temptation #2, the cake!! I tried to set an expectation of how I’d avoid these temptations but sometimes we fail.  I hate to use that word fail though because I really do feel like I’m in it to win it.  I danced the calories off to make myself feel not so guilty and ultimately had an awesome time at the party. 

So here we are… I’ve made it 9 days eating healthy and now I have a forum to share all of my trials and tribulations.  Have an awesome week everyone!  My goal this week is to run 3 miles, 2 times and hopefully get a long run in on the weekend.  Let’s kill it, Y’all!

Turning Roadblocks into Dust (Libby)



Libby 

Height 5'1.5"
Weight 147 lbs
Goal 127 lbs
Fitness Goals: Run a half marathon
Keep the weight off
Stay consistent
Improve my run time
Food Goals: Log all food





I have been 20 lbs overweight since my childhood.  I struggle gaining and losing these 20lbs. now and have in the past.  During my 20's I was at an ideal weight, very fit, and loved the skin I was in.  It is not my fluffy snuggle belly that necessarily bothers me or the fact that I can't run around in my daisy dukes anymore.  I think the 20lbs continue to gnaw at me because it is the one mountain I have not conquered.  I have accomplished so many things in my life that I am proud of, they were hard, some very hard, but I DID it. The goals that I reached in my life were not any less daunting but I could picture the end result; getting that degree, making rank, getting my family healthy.  

I often wonder when I read fitness and weight loss success stories, when did these men and women stop accepting defeat and MOVE towards their goal and did NOT stop until they reached it.  I no longer want to stop, I no longer accept defeat, I no longer allow myself to accept false justification for bad behavior.  It.Is.Time.  The lie I like to believe is that I am not strong enough to remove the roadblocks that keep me from my best self, my best Libby...I choose to crash through them, turn them into dust. Throughout the next 90 days I plan to share the moments I celebrate, cry, laugh, and experience as I make a life change that has eluded me for far too long. 

I bought a visual to hang in my room and remind myself of my weight loss goals.  When I showed my family my visual reminder their jaws hit the floor, they could not hide their surprise.  There may have even been a chuckle or two; mainly because they have not seen me in one of these for about 11 years.  I got a two-piece bathing suit.  I vow to you and my family that I WILL get into it by the end of this summer, confidently. 

This is a very generous tankini; All of my suits look like this.

This is the goal two-piece suit. Notice it is NOT strappy in any way.  It is also very modest and comes up to my belly button. You would have thought I bought a thong or one of those scrunchy butt  bikinis with some of the reactions...LOL!

I will leave you with this, until next Monday, I tried the suit on for a bottom line (no pun intended).  Lets just say...I need to be SUPER DUPER dedicated. There was a lot of pushing in and popping out, some bulging here and there going on, it wasn't pretty.

Goals this week: Run my half marathon training schedule

Log all of my food

Start the INSANITY program

Wish me Luck.

Libby