1 more down

4.5 days in and I'm down another pound. (Well probably more since I had gained a couple since last time.)

I've kept up with my goals so far, and it's been good. I could have done better, but I'm happy with my efforts. Some of my workouts got cut a little shorter than planned, and some of the classes I was going to go to were cancelled (ugggh!) but here's what I have been able to do this week:

Mon: P90X Plyometrics
Tues: 20 min interval run, 10 min rowing machine, ML arms
Wed: 15 min elliptical, 15 min strength, walk to the park, pull weeds
Thurs: 30 min swim, ML arms
Fri: P90X legs & back, ML arms

Tomorrow I'm planning to go for a run. I had to modify the ML arm workout a bit. I had to use lighter weights for a few of them (for now). And instead of the 30-lb bar I just did bicep curls with 10-lb weights (8 reps) and 8 girly pushups instead of walking pushups. I'll get there though.

6 Week Shape-up

For the past few weeks I have really been struggling to stay on track. And I've gained a few pounds back. :(  So.....I've decided to do a 6 week shape-up.  I really wanted to join this 6-week Bootcamp program...I even found a coupon for 50% off. It would still be expensive, but not as bad as paying full price. And they get you RESULTS! But the problem was that the coupon was only good for the 7 or 8 a.m. time. And it's 4 days a week for 6 weeks for an hour. Since that is after Matt needs to leave for work, I don't know what I'd do with my kiddos. If they would have let me use it for the 6 a.m. time, I would have done it. Sigh.

So, I'm doing my own 6 week shape-up. I'm sure it's not going to get me as good of results as Bootcamp, but my goal is to be in the 150s by the end of this 6 weeks (August 2). And then I am (hopefully) going on VACATION!!!!

Here's the tracker I made to keep myself accountable. I'm going to put it up in the kitchen.

So basically I am committing to 6 weeks of:

-80 oz. water daily
-5 fruits/veggies daily
-daily scripture reading
-exercise 5 days a week for 45 min (plus strength training)
-and TRACK MY CALORIES daily using My Fitness Pal
-not eating sugar except for once a week (or 6 total times in the 6 weeks)

I'm planning on doing this arm workout 3X a week for part of my strength training (thanks Hayley for sharing!)



I am going to start triathlon training for my cardio. My dad offered to give me $100 if I beat him in a triathlon this year. In 2009, I almost beat him...I was like 3 minutes too slow. (He actually has had this offer for several years now, but it expires when he turns 60. In February. So this is the year to do it!)

Who wants to join me in a 6 week shape up? Or give me a really awesome prize in 6 weeks when I complete this challenge?

Workout routine

During the health competition, my usual workout routine went something like this...

Sunday: Wrestle with 2 kids at church...ha!
Monday: Clean the house, do the laundry, do 10-20 min of weights, lunges, pushups, situps, etc., maybe walk to the park.
Tuesday: Get to the gym by 6 a.m. and run (3-4 miles) then sometimes do some leg strengthening exercises. 7:30 p.m: go back to the gym and go to Strike class (a high-intensity interval class).
Wednesday: Usually do a Jillian DVD or the elliptical, maybe walk to the park.
Thursday: Mornings the same as Tuesdays and then yoga class at night.
Friday: Same as Wednesdays, plus maybe some weights or abs or something.
Saturday: Run outside or go for a bike ride and do yard work.

I'm not sure Zach was quite ready for the bike trailer....

Tuesdays and Thursdays are my gym days, and on those days I really work hard! And Saturdays too. (Matt and I switch off which weekday mornings we get to go.) The days where I have to work out at home are much harder. But I really need to step it up and get into a better "home day" routine.

I was hoping to start riding my bike more on my non-gym days, but I took Zach in the trailer last week and I'm not quite sure he's ready yet. Maybe I'll give it another month...or figure out how to prop him up better so he's not slouching and his helmet doesn't fall down over his face.

13 for Dean

Like I mentioned in my earlier post, I ran the American Fork Canyon 1/2 Marathon last weekend. I was NOT planning on doing this. I was not ready for a 1/2 marathon...I really had only done one long run of 8.5 miles. But a couple of weeks ago, I had the crazy idea that I was going to do it anyway.

I mean really, what was the worst that could happen? I run 8 miles and walk the rest? No big deal. So I switched my registration from the 5K to the 1/2. Some of my family members and friends were all doing various distances and we decided to wear our IronDean shirts in honor of Dean. (By the way, he won and is going to Kona!)

I actually felt really good for most of the race, and I was really happy with my results. Mile 8 was a little difficult, but then I got a 2nd wind until about Mile 12. Mile 12 was HARD! But I kept going, and at Mile 13, I saw a sign that said, "Mile 13 is for Iron Dean!" That was just what I needed to get me to the finish line!

This was my 5th half marathon, and according to my Garmin (which I am loving, by the way) my stats were:

(sorry for the blurry pic...)

Distance: 13.19 Miles
Time: 2:35:58
Moving Time: 2:27:43 (I may have had 2 potty breaks...)
Avg. Pace: 11:49 min/mi
Avg. Moving Pace: 11:12 min/mi
Avg. Heart Rate: 155
Calories burned: 1407

It was a really nice course and they had Kneader's french toast at the finish line...best post-race food EVER! They had motivating signs all throughout the course, and it really was a beautiful course. I really liked it and I'm glad I had that crazy moment and decided to just do it!

But I have to admit that even though I FELT good doing the race, when I saw the pictures of myself running, I was really discouraged. I feel like I look like I'm just shuffling along like a big ole lug.

Yes, I WAS running here...

I definitely need to get it in gear again and lose the rest of this weight so I can look at pictures and be happy with them. Ever since this competition ended, I have been struggling to stay on track. I really need to find some new motivation. But I also need to be proud of the fact that I finished a HALF MARATHON and felt good enough to run 13 miles without feeling like I was going to die (because I really did feel good about my race that day).

Iron Dean

My next-door neighbor growing up was diagnosed with brain cancer last summer. It came as a shock to everyone because Dean Bullock is...well...a Bullock! He is just about the healthiest, fittest, most amazing athlete I know! Their whole family is. They run marathons, do triathlons...and make it look easy! Seriously, I would probably be able to keep up with any one of them for about 10 seconds before they left me in the dust.

In fact, when Matt and I got married, Matt always joked and called the Bullocks "the Joneses" because we could never keep up with them in our races. Ha!

A bunch of the Bullocks at the last St. George Ironman

Anyway, Dean and some of his kids started doing Ironmans awhile ago. Yeah, awesome! (I pretty much died in my marathon, let alone doing a 2.4-mile swim and a 112-mile bike ride BEFORE running a marathon.)

The mother of all Ironmans is the Kona World Championships (it's like the Boston Marathon of triathlons) and Dean has dreamed of going ever since he started doing tris, but hasn't quite been able to qualify or win the lottery entries. Watch his video here and let him tell you his story. You'll be inspired, I promise! He's in the finals of the Kona Inspired contest. If he wins, he gets to go to the Kona Ironman! Go, vote for him. Support something awesome.

I am running the AF Canyon half marathon this Saturday with a bunch of family members and friends...we are all running in honor of our neighbor Dean. This is a race that raises money for local cancer patients. And...Saturday is the last day to vote. Just do it!

The final results

So this health challenge is over! I didn't win, but I am really happy with the results I got from this challenge. I actually came in 2nd for weight loss at 6% (the winner was a MAN and lost 6.48%, so I came in 1st for the females!). I came in 4th for points...and I was a far ways off from the winner. My final weigh-in was 165.5!!! That's a 9.5-lb loss in 8 weeks. My goal was 10, but I'm happy with 9.5.

So that means that I've lost a total of 24.5 pounds in this journey (since Thanksgiving).

And my final measurements for the challenge are:

Waist: 32 (-1")
Hips: 40.75 (-2.25")
Chest: 31.5 (-3")

For a total of 6.25" lost in this 8-week challenge, and 12.25" total since Thanksgiving. I'd say that's pretty darn good. Here are the before/after pictures. I still have a long way to go, but at least it's not nearly as long as it was 8 weeks ago!

The pics on the left are the "before" and the ones on the right are "after" (in case you couldn't tell!)

Although I can't see a huge difference (besides how tan I have gotten...ha!), I can see a small one and my clothes are starting to fit better. But the important thing is that I have made so much progress in eating better and exercising.

In the past 56 days of this challenge I:

-drank at least 64 oz of water every day
-ate at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies EVERY DAY
-wrote down everything I have eaten for 56 days
-haven't eaten after 9 p.m. every day
-had contact with someone else doing this challenge every day (to encourage each other)
-had 8 "free days" where I could eat whatever (and I totally took advantage of that!)
-went most of the days with NO SUGAR (44 of the 56 days)
-started using My Fitness Pal to count calories. (This started on Week 4, so that means I did it for 35 days.)
-exercised most days
-started seriously running again and made it up to 8.4 miles! (And signed myself up for a 1/2 marathon!)
-I still ate out at least 2 times a week (that is a challenge for another time....)

Anyway, I'd say it was a success. It wasn't easy by any means, but it was good. Now I've got to stay motivated to keep it up!

Last week

So this is the last week of the health competition. I'm not going to win, but so far I have lost 4.2%. That puts me in 3rd place in the weight loss competition. Guess who is ahead of me? TWO MEN! Men just naturally have an easier time losing weight. So that means I am in FIRST place for the females!!! Too bad they don't have gender-separate prizes. Oh well. I am feeling good and that is what matters more.