What is normal?

Hey y'all I'm back!

What a crazy holiday month it has been.
We just got back from Iowa from our 3.5 week I guess vacation which it felt nothing like.
So glad to be home.  I feel like I've been running around with my head cut off ever since we were back.  Our trip didn't go as planned.
The flu and some other bug hit our family and we were down and out for about two weeks of the trip.  Let's just say I've seen enough and cleaned up enough vomit to last a life time.
My daughter even puked on the airplane on our way there.
That should have been a sign:)
We didn't get to see near the amount of people we wanted to or get to spend as much quality time with people that we wanted to.
If we weren't sick it seemed like they were:)
And I have to wonder what we were thinking going to bak to Iowa in winter when we could have spent it in Raleigh.
I think 3/4 of the days there was negative temperatures.
I remember it being 20 and sunny one day and we were saying it's so nice out. LOL
But it is what it is.
It was still a good time and our children go to spend time with their grandparents and cousins.
It was a trip we will never forget:)

Welp I managed to go to the gym twice or maybe three times when we were back.
I think I've been hovering between 153-155.
I honestly didn't watch what I ate and barely worked out.
I think being sick helped keep my weight down:)
I can tell I'm not near as tone was I was.
I think a lot of my muscle turned to flab.
So time to jump back on the wagon.
I need to hit 150 asap, then 145.
My small goals are my focus now.
So far this week things have been all screwed up.
My daughter seems to want to nap whenever I want to go to the gym and our toilets are broke and the repair people have come two different days right when I needed to head to the gym.
I can only go when daycares is open so that limits me a little.
Hopefully after this crazy week things will get back to normal.
Wait, is there a normal?  I mean with two kids nothing is normal right.

Anyways I hope your holidays were all good.
Starting on Monday I'm getting back to hopefully my normal workout routine and I will be back posting like I normally do.
It felt good to unplug for a while.
I didn't get on an actually computer once while I was in Iowa.
I got on my phone but basically I just checked my email and fb.
It feels weird typing on here but I'm sure that will last a whole 20 min:)
Anyway I hope the holidays didn't kill anyone.
I'm excited to get back to it and figure out what my new goals are for 2015.
I'm really thinking I want to hit the 140 mark.
Will see hopefully a new year and  a new me:) 

Stay positive,
Shelby

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

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!

Holiday Home Workout

Happy Monday!
Hope y'all had a grrrrrrreat weekend!
I sure did.
We celebrated my son's birthday on Saturday.
I made him a minion cake that turned out pretty awesome.

Who knew I was such a suzy homemaker? LOL
Yesterday we did a little Christmas shopping and bought a Christmas tree!  Whoop Whoop!
We left ours in Germany because it was a piece, so I had to buy a new one this year.
We got a small, skinny little thing that will do for now and that I can use as a second tree in the future.
After the holiday season is over, I plan on buying a humongously awesome tree on sale:)

Ok now to the workout stuff.

We're heading out for Thanksgiving so I need to have a workout plan in place.  I don't want to undo all the work I've done.
There is so much info out there on different at-home workouts.

I found a resistence band in our hall closet that I plan to put to use.
Not sure where it came from or how it got there but I was really happy to find it.
It will help with the workout routine while I'm on the road yo.

So here's what I have come up with.
When I read this, it sounds crazy but I think it will be a good plan.
I wanted to test it out this weekend but for some reason I didn't get to it.
So hopefully this afternoon or tomorrow I'll get the test run in and report back.
I'm really wondering how the rest periods will be.
Push through arrrrrgh!!!!!!!

5 min warm up(5 rounds)
-30 sec. jumping
-30 sec. standing toe taps on stairs

4 rounds
-stair jumps to top both feet (skip 1 or 2 steps your preference)
-resistance band squats with shoulder press 10-15
-wide stride sprint up stairs
-20sec rest

5 stair sprints

4 rounds
-elastic band good mornings 10-15
-criss cross rows 10-15
-100 toe taps in push up position on second stair (tap 10 first step alternating, tap 10 second step alternating)
30 sec. rest

5 sprints

4 rounds
-resistance band curls 10-15
-resistance band overhead tricep extention 10-15
-40 toe taps each foot, knee twists each leg in push up position on step.
30 sec. rest

5 stair sprints skipping one step

4 rounds
-Abs (wrap resistance band around door knob, hold band with resistance at waist and arms out; then twist away from door knob) 10-15 each side
-push ups 10-15
-3 sprints
30sec. rest

4 rounds
-resistance band donkey kicks on hands and knees 10-15
-side steps 10-15
-40 toe taps each foot, knee twits each leg in push up position on step.
30 sec. rest

5 sprints

Looks awesome, but we'll see.
Remember this week is results week.
I'll get pics and measurements done for Tuesday so stay tuned.
The last 4 weeks have been amazing.
I look and feel so much better and I got a ton of compliments at my son's party.
I gave myself a much-deserved pat on the back.

Shelby

Progress Pics!

Can't believe Thanksgiving is next week already.

I am overly excited for it.  

This is our first Thanksgiving in 3 years that's in America. 

I can't wait to just lounge around all day with the Fam!   

We're heading to GA for it so it will be like a mini vacation. 

And I'm getting my hair done to. I can't wait!  

It's gonna be epic.  Lol!

Since I'm heading out of town I won't have a gym to get ripped in. 

Well maybe first I'll check and see if any of the Fam has any guest passes I can use at there gym. 

Oooooh That would be nice. 

But I need to come up with a routine I can do myself at home.  

There's so many tips and tricks out there it makes my head spin just thinking about it. 

But I'll do some research and post my Turkey Vacation workout on Monday incase anyone is interested. 

Now to the good part. PICS!!!!!!

Here's my progress pics since I started this whole thing.

Definitely good changes!  

Big changes!   

I can't wait to do my final 4 week measurements and pics on Tuesday. 

I've worked so hard. 

Now just have to make that final push. 

Happy Thursday!!!!!

Peace,

Shelby

It's a choice

My husband decided to write a guest blog today.  
I feel so fancy having a guest blogger like I'm important or something. Hee hee
He sent this to me and it made my day.  
It's not about working out or losing weight.
It's about how much he appreciates what I do.  
He's such a good writer!
So here's to all those stay at home moms out there.
Hope you enjoy!


I find it hard to answer the question, “So what does your wife do?” It seems cliché and old-fashioned to say, “My wife is a homemaker” or “My wife works at home.” I don’t picture myself as a 2014 version of Don Draper, and Shelby definitely isn’t my Betty Draper. There’s another answer to that question, but it just sounds downright lazy, “No, my wife doesn’t work / doesn’t have a job.” The fact is: she works. Her job is regularly harder than mine. It requires careful planning, enormous amounts of patience and a nearly unlimited willingness to give of herself.   

The dad work-mom home arrangement might sound 1960s cliché. But in reality, it feels very modern. Shelby actually had three professional jobs before I had my first one. She was the main breadwinner for nearly seven years before our move to Germany more or less forced her into the homemaker role. We’ve been lucky (and maybe smart) enough to be able to craft a decent living off of one main paycheck. In a day-and-age when a family of four generally requires two cars, individual bedrooms, some outdoor space, tv, internet, fun money and everything else, that’s not an easy task.  Shelby working at home also saves us daycare costs, which we found out this year, would run about $2000/month for both kids full-time. Her “other” job would have to pay quite a bit to justify that cost. 

What’s more, we once had our son in full-time daycare. What we both came to realize is that neither of us saw him for 10 hours a day. If you include sleep hours, we actually saw and interacted with our son for about 3 hours a day during the work week. That felt less like a family and more like a collection of people living together. There was one point when we moved back to the U.S. when we contemplated Shelby going back to work, and I asked the question, “Are we sure that we want to be away from our kids for 10 hours a day?” The question wasn’t intended to make her stay home, even though that was one of the consequences of our decision. The question forced both of us to examine our priorities when it comes to our kids. That, I think, is the hallmark of a modern relationship. In the 1960s, custom dictated familial roles. In 2014, your priorities and values have a much greater influence over who does what in the family. 

So when I’m asked what my wife does, I answer, “She’s a mom.” She’s not even a homemaker, but for me that has more to do with keeping the house clean and the laundry done. Those are chores, and work—if you can manage it—shouldn’t be a chore. Being a mother is her profession at the moment. Will that change? I’m almost certain of it. That’s the modern piece; become who you want to be in the moment and find work over chores, no matter what custom or tradition say.

~a loving husband. 

 


Peace,

Shelby

 

Thank you!

I have only told a few of my friends and family about this blog. I don't know why I'm so afraid to let them in on my little secret. Well I do know why. I don't want to be judged. It's scary putting yourself out there for strangers to listen but it's even scarier for me for people I actually know to read this. I know that they should all be supportive but honestly I'm not sure if they all will be.  Some will think I'm stupid and that I look fine and most probably won't care which is fine by me. I know it's just a fear. I know my friends and family will support me. Like I said it's just scary. I've never been this honest in my life and it feels great. I don't think a lot of my friends and family know how much I have struggled with myself in the last 3 years. It's not their fault they all have their own lives and own struggles, plus I've been living in a foreign country and have seen them all not even a handful of times. My husband has always been supportive. And he hasn't been afraid to tell me to do something about myself if I'm not happy. I love him! And I know I'm the only one that can do anything about it, and that my friends can be a really hard pill to swallow!

I don't consider myself over weight but let's face it I could definitely stand to shed a few pounds. And I want everyone to know the whole point of all this is to get healthy and fit. I have two kids and a husband that I want to be healthy and happy for. I want to show my kids what it's like live healthy and hopefully it won't be a challenge for then to live like that in the future. I have a lot of fat stored in my stomach area I really need to get off.  This excess storage puts me at greater risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke. You might be laughing thinking it won't affect me now because I'm young but if I don't take care of it now my fear is it will only add to that whole middle age spread thing that's supposed to happen:) And that puts me at more risk when I get older. So why not take care of it now. Why not set myself up for a better future.

I am a stay at home mom and since my gym has a nursery this is the perfect time in my life to be the me I want to be. I have no more excuses. And to be honest excuses only end up making me feel more depressed at the end of the day. The changes I've already seen in myself in the last 4 weeks are amazing. I wish I would have picked up some weights a long time ago. I'm writing this blog for fun and if anyone wants to follow and maybe get a little inspired by it great, if not that's ok too. This is going to be a journey, my journey and I can't wait to see where it takes me. And if you want to join in the ride great!

A big thanks to all my friends and family that have read this and continue to. Your support means the world to me! Especially you B. Love you all! And don't be afraid to post comments. I'd love to hear any supportive words you have.

Peace,
Shelby

Weigh in Wednesday!

Do you see that?  Yes that number up there in that picture.  Whoop Whoop finally some movement!
I am so proud of it!
All this hard work and finally some results on the scale.  
I couldn't be happier.
Only two pounds away from my first small goal of 155lbs.
I even tried on a pair of my shorts that were very tight on me in September.
Happy to say they are way to big today.
I'm know I've lost inches.  I wish I would have measured myself at the beginning of this journey but at least I did at the beginning of this 4 week challenge so I can hopefully see some progress there!
Here are some two week pics of my stomach.
I see small changes which I'm super happy about.
Must be doing something right!

November 5

October 22

This whole experience isn't easy.
I've tried to lose weight time and time again.
I'm not sure what clicked this time.
I am thinking it's because I'm more focused on changing my body and building muscle then just losing weight.
Can you see those little changes in my stomach and hips, ahhhhhhh, so happy. Maybe one day I can have stomach muscles instead of my baby pouch.  :)  A girl can dream!
Hope you all have a great hump day, cause I'm gonna!!!!

Peace,
Shelby

What's your Motivation

What's your motivation?

I'm not sure if anyone else does this but I keep a calendar on the fridge that is just for my work outs.
I write down my schedule for the week or even the month.
Then with a red sharpie I cross out that day if I worked out.
I love it!
It's great to have a visual reference to see how far I've come.
I never get to whip out my red lipstick(I'm a stay at home mom that would look weird)but I always get excited to whip out that red sharpie.
I'm a stay at home mom and some times self achievement is hard to see.
Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining about staying home one bit.
I love my kids and I know they are my most wonderful thing I've accomplished.
But I also need something that I do for myself, something no one else can give me but myself.
Right now I'm glad to say I'm doing that and it feels AMAZING!

Today was bicep and back day.  I've been working in a new sit up-cardio routine opposite of my sprint days. Here it is.

-jog a mile
-sit-ups (crunches, bicycle, russian twists, and leg raises if I have time)
-sprint half mile
-sit-ups
-sprint half mile
-sit-ups
-sprint half mile

I'm usually exhausted when I'm done.  I think I would have added on one more set of each today but I didn't have time.
I'm also thinking of adding on another set to weight workouts.  I need to mix it up a bit so my body guessing.
Don't want to get to comfortable.

Peace,
Shelby