Try to survive the holidays

The holiday season is in full swing in the house.
I will start off by apologizing now.
I have not been updated as often as I would like.
My kids have been sick, now I feel like pooh, and we have been crazy busy on top of that.
I haven't experienced crazy holidays in a while.
I have tons of packing to get done by Thursday day this week a because it's time for IOWA!!!!!
So I will post on this blog but it probably will be minimal till mid January and might not be so fitness related:)
Here's some fun pics from our community Christmas party last night.
The kiddos had a blast and so did I.
The hubby was outta town so he was there in spirit:)

We have my hubby's xmas party tonight.
I'm gonna look smokin hot.  LOL!
I'll post pics.  This will be the first time I've worn a dress in a while.
And the first time I've worn something other then yoga pants or sweat pants two nights in a row,whoa watch out!

I still haven't gotten a chance to check into gyms where I'm going to be.
I need to. Working out outside in December/January in Iowa usually isn't an option.
And I know if I don't I will feel like a fat blob by the time we leave.

I will say not drinking is not an option over this holiday.  I'm going to be living with family for 3 weeks straight.
Drinking maybe what gets me through it.
Don't get me wrong I love and have a blast with my kin but sometimes there is drama ( wait I lied it's more then sometimes).
But that's what the holidays are all about:)

So what are some tips to keep the holiday weight gain down?

1. Drink your dinner - raising your class up to your lips and putting it back down counts as an arm workout.  Make sure you alternate arms;)
2. Bring a small child with you so consistently chasing them around.  You won't have time to eat.
3.Only eat at buffets so your consistently getting up and down to get food.

LoL that's all I got for now:)
I know I'll have tons of stories and advice on how not to go completely insane over the holidays.

Keep calm and breath:)
Shelby

Weigh in Wednesday

I was completely dreading today.
Getting on the scale was the last thing I wanted to do after eating crap and drinking wine all weekend.
But I knew it had to be done so I sucked it up and jumped on.
And to my surprise

I'm not really sure how this happened.  I mean I guess I did eat crap for two days but Monday I started eating normal healthy again.
I guess something can be said for eating right.
Actually I think a lot can be said.
I've struggled to lose weight for the last 3 years.
I've gone to the gym at times pretty consistently even though it mainly consisted of running and the scale never budged.
I think ever since I changed my diet and eat mainly clean it has made a huge difference in everything.
There are definitely days when all I want to eat is crap but those are becoming fewer and farther in between.
I eat way less sugar then I used to and I think it makes me feel 100% better over all.
I'm not stupid in know that the holidays will be a struggle.
I think they are for everyone.
I would really just like to maintain and hopefully hoover around 150 by the end of the month.

One big thing for me is to not beat myself up when I eat something that's not good for me, when drink a little to much wine, or if I skip a workout.
I used to beat myself up all the time and it turned into feeling sorry for myself and I would just give up.
I've come to realize being a stay at home mom, or a mom in general, or I guess just life in general calls for doing things on the fly.
You have kids and most of the time they come first or something important pops up that you have to take care of and can't make it to the gym.
My daughter has a cold and a nasty cough right now and I can't take her to my gyms daycare.
Normally I would beat myself up over this but it is what it is and I can't change that.
I'll try to do some little things at home but if I don't have time then I don't.
I still focus on eating healthy and that tends to be enough if I need it to be.
Don't get me wrong I want to workout and I'm hoping she feels better soon so I can get in the gym.
I need to get my lift on but I'm just saying you gotta work with what you got.
Don't beat yourself up just do what you can do and when your doing it give it 110%
I need to remember that when I'm in Iowa for 3 weeks and finding a gym might not be that easy:)

Ok enough with me lecturing I hope you all have a great hump day.
I will post pics soon but with my daughter being sick I haven't had time.
One step closer to small goal number #2.  I'm giving myself a, YOU GO GIRL!  lol

Shelby

Trip to Asheville, NC

What a whirl wind weekend.
We decided to take a trip to Asheville, NC this weekend.
We rented a cabin in the mountains.  It was fantastic!
If you ever get a chance to go I would recommend it.
I hope we get to go back this summer and check out more of the outdoor activities.
It was chilly out and hard to go hiking with my 1yr old.
We mostly just chilled and relaxed.
Drank to much wine, watched some football and hung out.

I had heard of this resturant called Tupelo Honey that was supposed to have southern food with a twist but was supposed to be hard to get into.
They don't take reservations and there's always a line.
Saturday was a little rainy and we got into town around 10:30am so I thought it would be a great time to check it out for an early lunch.
With the rain and it being so early there surely wouldn't be a line, right?
WRONG.
There was but turns out it was only a 20 min wait so we walked around a little and then got seated!

The food was excellent.
We ordered way to much food but it was all soooo yummy!
They give you biscuits at the beginning with blue berry jam.
They were to die for and I don't even like jam that well.
The kids were getting restless and hungry so the biscuits helped keep the them under control to.
We ordered fried chicken and biscuits and some breakfast bowl.
Me and my hubby shared both.
Not healthy at all, I know,  but it was worth it!
So if your ever in Asheville hit up Tupelo Honey! It's a must.
And I think they are opening on in Raleigh now in the Cameron Village area down by NC State.  Num Num!

Every since we've been back from Asheville my daughter has been sick.
I didn't make it to the gym yesterday because she can't go in the daycare.
I'm hoping she's feeling better today.
I need to go burn some calories off from the weekend.
I hope you all had a good weekend and are having some fun adventures this Christmas season.
I have a ton of them coming up so I'll be busy busy busy!

Peace,
Shelby

New Workout Strategy and New Hair

*New hair color*  

What cha think?  

It's growing on me.  

I feel like I need to get some self tanner for my face though

The darker hair makes me look pale.  

And a new shirt.  

Gosh I'm really horrible at taking selfies.  

You can tell I don't do it that often.

Thought I'd throw a pic of my yummy breakfast in here today.
I used left over veggies to spice up my eggs this morning.
They were delicious.
I need to mix that up to.
Plain eggs were getting BORING!
On a side note did you know asparagus makes your pee smell funny.
If you didn't know before you do know:) LOL

I found a new workout I've tried the last three days.  

I've had to modify it a bit but that's ok, it's whatever works for me right?

I got back on bodybuilding.com and decided to give their Rewired workout a whirl.  

It's more focused on burning fat and building muscle. 

The Erin Stern workout I was going to try seemed to focus more on building muscle and that's not what I need right now.  

Eventually it will be, but I want to burn some fat first. 

I might try to incorporate part of her workout into mine though because there was some stuff I really liked.

I've also increased my treadmill times this week.

As you all know, well if anyone reads this they would know that lately I have had a bad taste in my mouth for running:)

I had been doing basically 20 min on the treadmill 5-6 times a week.  

They were all mostly HITT workouts.  

This week I've been on the treadmill at least 30-40 min. per workout.

I'm going to keep that plan going and increase it to hopefully 45 min per workout when I have time.

Doing a 45 min treadmill workout plus weights makes for a long time at the gym.

I wouldn't really care but I can only put my daughter in the daycare there for two hours and I like to try to shower if I can before I leave.  

It just makes my life easier. 

So I'll have to play it by ear and see what I can work in and what I can't.

So hopefully I see some results from this new strategy for a couple weeks.  

I need to find a good ab workout to incorporate to.  

I'm not a fan of situps.  

I will lift arms and legs all day but situps, blahhh!!!! Not my fav!

Ok better get moving.
Have a good one!

~Shelby

Weigh in Wednesday

Well only an extra pound on that scale this morning. whoop whoop!
I can live with that.
I was scared it would be more like 5.
Now I only have about 2 weeks to get some more weight off before I leave.
What's a realistic goal for this month?
Do I shoot to lose 5lbs, 7lbs, 10lbs??????
Or do I just try not to gain any weight since it's the holiday season?
I'm going to be in Iowa for 3 weeks, 3 loooooong weeks.
That's 3 weeks of traveling back and forth between my family and my husbands family home towns.
There's will be lots of drinking and lots of food.
So I need a plan.
I need to check with the YMCA in our home towns because I think since were members here we can use their facilities in other cities either for a free or a discount.
That would make working out a lot easier!
Just another thing to add to my list of to do's before we go.

So I think I'm going to shoot for a 5lb weight loss this month.
That will put me at 150 going into the new year and I will be happy with that.
I know it's only 5lbs.
They lose more then 5lbs in a week on the biggest loser all the time.
But for some reason my weight is not coming off like it used to.
I must be getting old.  LOL
At least I'm trying to lose all this weight the healthy way and not starving myself.
For to many years I would just not eat and workout and it sucked but it worked.
But obviously it didn't work for the long haul.
Cause here we are again:)
Now I'm just ranting.
So 5lbs this month.
It's on, and if for some reason if I manage to lose more then 5 I will be in absolute heaven.

When I really think about it I'm sitting at a really comfortable weight for me.
Any time I have been between 150-155 I've just been comfortable.
I could just stop now and be content with how I look but I know more then likely the weight would creep back on.
I don't want to be comfortable.
I want to push my body as far as I can personally right now.
I want to be fit and strong.
So here we go.

Here's my measurements from my 4 week challenge.
Not to shabby if I say so myself.

Frist number is old measurement second is new 

Bicep

R-11 - 11

L-11 - 10.5

Hips(right around the hip bone)

38 - 36

Butt

43- 40.5

Thigh(10in. above the knee)

R-25 - 24

L-26 - 25

Calf

R-15 - 15

L-15 - 14.5

I lost a total of 7.5 inches. 

Can't disappointed about that at all!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Shelby

My Motivation

Got some new shades
What do you think?  I think I like! hee hee
It was in the 70's here yesterday.
I don't think I've ever lived any where where it was 70 degrees in December.
I'm really liking livin in NC!

Last night I made homemade playdough for the first time ever.
I was a little skeptical of how it was going to turn out.
I had to make it for my son's school.
It actually turned out really good.
It's the edible kind.  Here's the recipe incase anyone interested.


Edible Play-dough

Mix in a medium size pot
2 cups Flour
1 cups Salt
4tbs cream of tarter
2 cups water
3tsp food coloring
2tbs. oil
Cook on medium heat.  Stir for about 3-5 min.  A ball will for in the middle of the pot.  Remove ball onto a floured surface and knead it till it's the consistency you want.  I had to add a little extra flour to it.  Let cool completely and store in a air tight container.


I finally got into the gym yesterday.
It was way less of a struggle then I figured it would be.
I think I'm stuck.
I feel myself just going through the motions.
I need to change it up, a routine that will really burn the calories.
I feel like I may have been focusing on building a lot of muscle which is good but I think I need to burn more fat while I'm building muscle.
I've been doing a lot of internet searching and there's just sooooo much info and so many opinions.
Maybe I need to find a trainer once that will push me in the right direction.
Until I can find something solid I'll just keep doing what I'm doin and hopefully keep dropping pounds.
I was actually going to get on the scale this morning but completely forgot.
Guess you'll just have to wait till tomorrow to see the damage from Thanksgiving.
My clothes all still fit so that's a positive.
Maybe it won't be as bad as I'm fearing it will be:) HA!

If anyone has any advice I have open ears!
I love tips but no tricks:)

I hope everyone is getting back into their routines.
Get back in that gym!
Here's my motivation for Tuesday.
Love these little monsters!

Monday drag.

Well as you can tell my Tuesday stats didn't happen.
I do have them I just didn't get them posted before I left on Tuesday.
It was a crazy rush to get to the gym, finish packing my family, and get out the door.
Then I planned on blogging from my families house but that didn't happen either.
The internet was sketchy and I was on vacation I tried to unplug for a bit.
I will get that all posted tomorrow that is if I can find it.
It was so good to be home yesterday and sleeping in my own bed after our 7.5hr trip with the little ones.
Does anyone want to come unpack for me?
I have no desire:)
Trying to back into the routine today isn't going so smoothly but will push through.

On our trip my daughter discovered ketchup.
She was just sucking it off her french fries.
Tomatoes are one of her favorite foods so we thought she might like ketchup.
We were right!

My Thanksgiving was fabulous!
It was everything I wanted it to be after being in Germany for the last 3 years.
Did you know Germany doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving.
You'd be surprised how many people doesn't realize that.
It always takes people a second after I say my husband has to work on Thanksgiving to realize Germans have no reason to celebrate:
So I ate way to much and I know I'm going to pay for it.
My self control, yeah that  pretty much went out the window.
I feel like I've ate for the last 3 days. Wowzers!
But hey ya know what it's was Thanksgiving and I'm not beating myself up over it.
Today I'm getting this booty back in the gym.

I didn't workout at all why I was gone either.  FML.
I was at the gym on Tuesday morning before we left doing a tricep pull down with my right tri and I had a sharp pain shoot up through my shoulder to my neck.  I have barely been able to move since.  I've been popping ibuprofen like candy.  I hope it feels better today.  I'm at least going to get my leg workout in and some HITT!  Wednesday I'll jump back on the scale but I'm giving myself some buffer days:)  I want to drop at least 5-7lbs before we leave for Christmas.  I'm determined and I think this little Thanksgiving break was exactly what I needed.  Whoop Whoop.

I did manage to get some black friday shopping in. Whoop Whoop!
It was actually pretty awesome and not stressful at all.
Yes, I'm talking about shopping on the busiest Thursday and Friday of the year.
I went to wal-mart on Thursday to get some dvd players for the car for the ride home.
We picked those up and two TV's and were out of wal-mart in 1/2 an hour.
Didn't even have to wait in line to pay.
Friday morning at 7 me and my hubby went shopping to get home some work clothes.
We basically got half off on everything we bought.  It was great!
Then after we got home I decided to brave a trip to target.
This was about 10am.
I parked right up front and waited in no lines and everything I still wanted was still there.
Can you say awesome cause I can!!!!!

Hope you all jump back in after the break!
Make the most out of the weeks in-between now and Christmas.
You will thank yourself for it once Christmas rolls around.

Peace,
Shelby