Wake Up and Be Awesome!

That is going to be my new motto from now on...  "Wake Up and Be Awesome!"

As you can probably see I have not done anything with my blog since January :(  Make that I haven't really done much of anything with anything since January.  I went through a bit of a funk that took a loooooooong time to start climbing out of.  I still have a ways to go to get everything in order, but I seem to be on the right track.  This little gem that I got at the last National Guard Yellow Ribbon event we attend has been coming in handy :)  Seriously... a stress ball in the shape of a grenade??  Genius!!


For those of you who have been following my blog for awhile, you know I have always struggled with my weight and, as a result, self esteem.  Back in April, I found Adventure Health and Fitness along with fitness instructors Mike & Laura.  They focus on small group training for women, most of who are busy moms with crazy schedules.  I was a little apprehensive since I had never really done small group or one on one training and, of course, didn't want to look silly while exercising or *gasp* not be able to finish a session.  In addition, I had hurt my heel last year when I started training for a 5K and hadn't done any exercise since.  I finally got up the nerve to go in for my introductory session.  What I found during my first class was what I needed to start moving forward again.  Mike was fantastic.  There are women of all fitness levels in the classes and because there are no more than 6 - 8 in a class, it gives the trainers the opportunity to work with people to ensure our form is right and we're doing what we're supposed to be doing.  As I had suspected, I couldn't finish the class :(  But, I did get through about 75% before I had to stop and take a break.  But, I felt good enough to continue!  By class #4, I was able to get through the entire 40 minute class without the need to take a break other then the water breaks.  On July 29th, 3 months later, I did 5 real push-ups (NOT on the knees) and a 20 second plank (NOT on the knees)!  First time ever in my life to do this.  Oh, and by the way, be a part of one of Laura's classes is a little like working out with Jillian Michaels... except without the yelling :)  BTW... my new motto came from a Facebook post from AHF!


Another change that I've made is regarding my eating habits.  In January, I tried the Sonoma diet for a couple of weeks.  The food was great, but it was A LOT of prep and cooking.  Most nights we wouldn't eat dinner until after 8:00 PM since we usually don't get home in the evenings until almost 6:30 PM.  So it didn't really work with our lifestyle.  We need something that can be thrown together in 30 minutes or less.  I gave Weight Watchers another go, but this time online since it has been difficult to get to the meetings.  Not enough accountability for me and too many choices.  In March, I tried Jenny Craig for 30 days.  Now this was something I could do since most things were prepackaged so I didn't really have to think about what to make.  And a lot of it was pretty good.  In 30 days I lost 8 lbs so it definitely works.  The only problem is that it is so expensive.  You still have to buy your veggies and stuff to go with the meals.

Towards the end of June, one of my co-workers introduced me to Isagenix, which is a nutritional cleanse program.  It cuts out caffeine, sugar, gluten, and loads of other toxins that you put into your body everyday.  I was intrigued since I needed to do something to get myself back on track.  So, being who I am, I did a bunch of research.  A lot of the stuff they had in the program, my trainers also recommended.  So, Freddy and I decided to give the 30 day cleanse program a go.  We started on July 7th.  The program consisted of 5 days of 2 shakes, 2 snacks, and a meal and then 2 deep cleanse days where you are drinking a cleansing liquid 4 times during the day.  No food on the cleans days except for some small wafers in between drinks.  The cleanse days were surprisingly easy and I ended up losing 10 lbs on the program.  Freddy also ended up losing some weight as well.  We also ate much healthier for our dinners since we had a list of foods to choose from.  In addition, we started shopping at our Whole Foods store and ate more organic foods.  It is a little more expensive, but the combination of Isagenix AND my training classes was the same price as 30 days of Jenny Craig so I figure it all evens out in the end.  We are starting another 30 day cleanse tomorrow so I'm looking forward to reporting our progress.


AND, with all this motivation, I finally start moving forward on our house and making it a home.  We moved in last September, and then Superstorm Sandy happened, and then my motivation was gone.  Over the past 2 months, I've been making steps to get things organized and put together. I have big plans for our front yard next summer!


Oh yeah... this little guy is my main driving force for getting my behind in gear...


So... for the rest of 2013 I'm going to strive to wake up in the morning and BE AWESOME!

~AKO