What I Wore Sunday

Here are a couple of my latest What I Wore Sunday outfits!

 Again, I am loving the shopping and the outfits I am finding for church.

Up first, this grey skirt is from New York and Co.. This store has quickly become a favorite of mine. There is always a sale going on. I get emails from them daily and am pretty sure John is going to ban their emails from my email account any day now. The sheer(peach/grey stripe) top is from Old Navy. I loved it so much that I went back and bought the black and tan one...sure to make its appearance very soon! The grey t-shirt underneath is from Down East Basics. I love their fitted t-shirts and am collecting all of the colors, one by one! I think everyone should have one of each color in their closet. The necklace is from Old Navy and my tiny silver earning were found at New York and Co..

I found this super fun black and white A-line dress at Old Navy (on sale). It is a tank top dress so I added a black fitted t-shirt from Down  East Basics underneath. The black cardigan is from Old Navy and so are the red bracelets. Red necklace is from Charming Charlie's and the red heels are Madden Girl found at Famous Footwear.

 This outfit, minus the black shirt was purchased from Down East Basics. The black shirt was purchased at Target. The maxi skirt was on sale and so was the cardigan. Belt was a last minute add to the pile to complete the outfit. This skirt has quickly has become one of my favorites. I love all of the fun colors in the skirt. I am thinking I may need a job at Down East Basics to support my shopping habits :).

The weight loss/getting fit journey needed to happen. I feel better and have a ton more energy. At the end of the day, I have decided that the journey was all worth even if it was just for the fun shopping factor.

Happy shopping, friends!

Running

Never in a million years did I EVER think that I would posting a blog post with the title RUNNING!
I have spent the last few weeks/months training for my 1st half marathon. I have been running quite a few miles each Saturday in preparation  for my big run in May. When I started my "getting healthy" journey two years ago, I NEVER, EVER wanted or dreamed that I would become a runner. In fact, I am pretty sure that I swore (up and down) that I would NEVER, EVER run for fun...ummm hello 5k(Nov. 2011 and Aug, 2012) 10k (Nov. 2012) and now a 1/2 marathon(May 2013). I wanted to lose weight, get healthy, feel better AND to be able to do it without running :). Funny how things change. Let me just preface this post with the "I still don't love running"! I am actually waiting to experience that runner's high that people/friends keep talking about.

Fitness MD has played a BIG part in my being able to just run. Most of our workouts incorporate cardio/running. When I joined Fitness MD, those first few months were B-R-U-T-A-L. When I had to run a large lap, or worse, being told to run two large laps(=1 mile), in a row, I would cringe. There were days I wanted to cry. There were days that I wanted to take the short cut(basically cheat). There were days that I wand to get in my car and just go home. After two weeks of not being able to run those large laps without stopping at least once, I made a deal with myself. I promised myself that I would never walk a large  lap EVER again. If I had to, I could run it slow but I always had to run it. To this day, I have run every single large lap I have ever been told to run at Fitness MD. You may be saying to yourself, "so, why is she talking about this?" There are two reasons. First, I ran 12 miles on Saturday. I RAN 12 MILES on Saturday. It was on my schedule and I did it. I got it done. Woot! Woot! Thankful that my friend Stephanie joined me...made it so do-able! That is just 1.1 miles less than I will be running on my 1/2 marathon day! I can do it! I know I can. The 2nd reason I am recording my running feats on my blog today is because I was so proud of myself today. I actually slept in and hit the 11:30 am Fit Club class instead of the 5 am . In the 11:30 am class today, there was a girls high school softball team training and doing to workout with us. At certain points in the workout, we had to run large laps(1/2 mile) for time. The 1st two large laps that we had to run, I beat every single one of those high schoolers. Beat them...meaning I was faster than them. Who knew :)??? For the last two large laps that we ran, I stayed even with their fastest runners. I am not bragging or anything(ok, maybe I am...just a little) but I was able to hang with those teeny boppers. Who knew??? As I have thought about my running self, this quote has played over and over in my mind.

And that, my friends is what I have learned...YOU JUST HAVE TO GO!

I interrupt my daily November Thankful posts to document another BIG check mark on  my "to-do" goal, oriented list. November 2012 marks the month that I nailed my final Weight Loss/Goal Weight.I weighed in at Weight Watchers and couldn't believe my eyes. The # I had been chasing for SO long was staring back at me on that scale.  I am so happy, thrilled beyond measure, jumping for joy, screaming from the roof tops, jumping  up and down...you get the idea :-). I have lost a total of 120 lbs.. I reached my personal goal weight. That final goal weight has changed  a few times over the last two years for the simple fact that I knew I could do it! I am so happy that I started the journey and made the choice to find my healthy self. To remember/document  the journey, I had John snap the after photos. My friend, Meredith created my "Before" and "After" photos so I could see the side by side visual! Thank you, Mer. It is crazy to see just how far I have come!

A HUGE  Thank You to my friends and family who have cheered me on, along the way. Having a great support system was key for me! I am thankful for my Weight Watchers leader, Jan.  She has been so supportive. She has celebrated with  me, cheered me on and kept me on track. I am thankful for the new friends I have made at Fitness MD. It has been fun meeting new people and challenging myself along the way. I am thankful for my friend, Amanda. She attends Fit Club EVERY morning with me and I am so glad she is there. We cheer each other on. We roll our  eyes at each other when the trainers get on us or when  it is time to run another large lap. I am also so thankful for John. I may have driven him a tad bit crazy with my weekly weigh ins and exercising but I am truly thankful for his support and unconditional love.

I am happy to report along with my final goal weight reached, I also lost my 4th and final child :-). I have taken a photo with each  of my boys as I have lost the amount that they weighed at that particular time.  You can find those posts here, and here and here.  I  lost 120 lbs. and Tanner weighs about 125 lbs.. It is crazy to think that I lost an almost 14 year old boy. I had him jump on  my back and he was heavy :-).I can't even imagine carrying that extra weight around anymore. We won't mention the fact that he is officially taller than  me now.

This next photo was for fun! I knew that when I  reached my goal weight, I wanted a picture with the pair of jeans that I wore to that family photo shoot 2 years that sent me into over drive to pull the weight off. You can find that story here.

To those of you who may be in the middle of your own journey or maybe you are just starting, I want to tell you that YOU CAN DO IT! Stick with it and you will be so glad that you did. I wasn't perfect all of the time.Who is??? I was consistent and kept with it. If I had a  bad day(which we all do and are entitled to), I would regroup and get back to the things that I knew I should be doing. With that kind of mind set, it just became habit and a part of my lifestyle.

I will leave you with a few of my favorite inspirations that kept me going along the way!

2 years

Today marks two years, to the day of when I first stepped into Weight Watchers and began my journey! It is amazing to see and the feel the difference two years can make in ones life. On one hand, when I joined Weight Watchers, I was super excited to get started and to begin my journey. On the other hand, I was overwhelmed of what was ahead of me. The goals and job that needed to be done seemed VERY daunting and overwhelming. It wasn't always easy but I stuck with it. Each day consisted of putting one foot in front of the other and focusing on the final goal I had set for myself.

I am so close to accomplishing what I set out to do. I am happy to report, at this two year mark, I am 1 pound away from my final goal. I single pound!!! I am not gonna lie, I am SO excited and SO ready to reach that goal. I feel like I have been chasing that final (weight) goal number forever. In a way, I kind of have been. Losing the 100 lbs., in (slightly) over a year almost seemed easy. I guess easy isn't quite the right word. Maybe consistent is a better word to describe that 1st year. The lbs. came off, each week, consistently! Once I reached that 100 lb. mark, the last 19 lbs. that I had/wanted  to lose seemed to be a slow, drawn out process. I am happy to report that I have stuck with it. I attend my weekly Weight Watchers meetings. I track my food/points. I go to the gym 6 days a week. I walk or run on my treadmill. I try to make the better choices each and every day!

I love Weight Watchers(and no, I am not being paid to say this) and the tools I have been given to lead/ live a healthier life.  What a difference 2 years can make!!!

This is a quote I pinned over on Pinterest. It has constantly echoed in my ear over the last two years.

I wanted it AND I needed it for myself. I had to get back on track and find the healthy me!
At the two year mark, I can honestly say that  I am so glad I took the journey!

one for the books

I wasn't sure if I was going to blog/post about this. After thinking it over, I have decided that it IS part of my story, part of my journey. Each day(except Sundays)I spend some time on my treadmill. I either walk or run intervals. To help with the "boringness" of treadmill time, I like to watch TV shows that I have recorded during the week. One of those shows that I like to watch is the Dr. Oz Show. I have learned many things while watching his show. Back in September 2011, Dr. Oz announced a new contest that he was going to launch with Sharecare. The name of the contest was/is The Million Dollar You Contest. The person who transformed their life/health in the biggest way would be awarded 1 million dollars and a trip to the the Dr. Oz show in New York. I figured, what the heck? I was in the middle of losing my 100 lbs. and needed that extra motivation, that extra push if you will. You had to get your initial weigh in recorded at your local Weight Watchers. I figured it would be easy because I was already weighing in, once a week at my local WW. Along with that initial weigh in, you had to complete 6 other steps to even qualify for the Million Dollars. I had to tell fiends about the contest, make an appt. with my Primary Care Physician, find out my family health history, find out what my BMI was and a few other things. I am happy to report that during the contest, I completed all of the 7 required steps, the last one being my FINAL weigh in on April 9th. The 9th was the last possible day to get your weight verified by Weight Watchers. After weighing in, I came home on that Monday and logged my current weight on my Sharecare page and sent my #'s off to the show for the contest. I was feeling pretty proud of myself, my total wight loss was 113 lbs.. Half of that weight was lost during the Million Dollar You Contest. So I went about my day, wondering if I even had a chance at this. The next morning, I went to the gym, like I do each day. I came home from the gym and logged onto my computer, wondering if there would be any news from the contest. This is what showed up in my inbox.

I was in shock and so very excited. Out of the 1.3 million people who had registered for this contest, I had made it to the Final 200. WOW! I quickly forwarded the email off to my little support group of family and friends who have cheered me on and then I tried to calm my nerves.

The next phase was to wait for one of the Dr. Oz Producers to contact me. On Tuesday(April 10), I received my 1st phone call from Annie, at the Dr. Oz show. She was super nice and wanted to hear all about my journey and how the contest/Dr. Oz had inspired me to transform myself. That phone call lasted about 45 minutes. I was so excited and was talking a mile a minute. She had to ask me to slow down because she had to type all of my responses :-). Again, she was super sweet. We said goodbye and I hung up the phone and wondered what my chances were?

Annie called me back on Thursday and we chatted a little bit more about my health and how it had changed with my weight loss. I told her that I had considered myself a healthy(happy) fat person. Even with the extra weight, I did not have high blood pressure. I did not have high cholesterol. I did not suffer from heart disease. I was simply a young Mom to 4 boys who wanted to live/lead a healthier life. I want to be around to watch my boys grow up and do amazing things. In order to do that, I knew I had to make some changes in my world and I did. I want to inspire others to find a healthier version of themselves. I want others to be happy. After a 25 minute phone conversation, I hung up the phone. Again, wondering what my chances were.

I am not gonna lie. It was longest weekend and the longest 5 days of my life. I hadn't heard anything and it was driving me crazy. It was Tuesday(April 17th) afternoon and we were on our way out the door to a baseball game. I hit the refresh button my laptop one last time to see if there was a new emails. It was there! In my inbox! There it was! Another email from Dr Oz/Sharecare. This email notified me that I did not make it to the next round/the TOP 50. My heart sunk. I'm not gonna lie, I was so disappointed. I began to replay the conversations that I had had with Annie, wondering if I had said something wrong. I am only human. As I sit here today and share my story via my blog, I am nothing but proud of what I have accomplished. I have worked hard. I have replaced bad habits with good ones. I have found an exercise routine/gym that I LOVE. I am happy and healthy and I feel great! I know I lost all of my weight in a very healthy way! I didn't take any short cuts. I worked hard for every single pound I lost.

At this point in the Million Dollar You Contest, they should have it narrowed down to the top 10 finalists. I am so anxious and excited to see who actually wins the Million Dollars and the trip to New York(what I was most excited about). I will be cheering that winner on simply for the fact that I know, first hand, how hard it is to make big changes.

Within a weeks time, I learned that I was the 3rd place winner in the Green Tangerines Biggest Loser contest and that I had placed in the Top 200 for the Million Dollar You Contest. Those two contests kept me moving towards some BIG goals. I am thankful for the push and challenge both of the contests gave me.
Many people have asked what I will be working towards next. My new goal is to have Michelle Obama arms :-). I saw her on the Biggest Loser working out with those contestants and was in awe of her very defined arms. I have decided that will be my new goal/challenge :-). With some hard work, I am convinced that I can check that goal off of my list in the near future!

Biggest Loser Challenge...

Green Tangerines style! The Green Tangerines Biggest Loser Challenge just ended(April 6, 2012). This was my 3rd time participating in the challenge. It started back in January. At that point, I was soooooo close to reaching my 100 lb. weight loss. I was super excited for the challenge and that extra push to get to my final goal weight. Who doesn't love a friendly competition? We had weekly weigh-ins. We had to send a photo of our feet on our scale(had to be the same scale each week). Kelly would post the weekly standings and we could see where we fell during the contest. It was just what I needed to keep going towards my goal.

As I said, the contest ended and we just found out today where we placed. I am happy to report that I took 3rd place in the Women's category. Sure, I would have loved to have won first place(and that cash prize) but I am really happy with 3rd place. This is my 3rd time participating in the GTBLC. This is my 1st time placing in the top 3. You can check out the winners here (click on gt biggest loser to the right under favorites)and read about their journey. Along with their stories, you will find their before and after photos. That old saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words" is really true. What a difference 12 weeks makes. I am proud of each one of the contestants who stuck with it and continued to lose weight each week.

100

It is official! 100 is my new favorite number! Are you asking yourself, "why 100?" I am happy, proud, floored, ecstatic to announce that I have lost 100 lbs.. Can you believe that? I am still having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. 100 lbs.!!! When I wrote that goal down, a little over a year ago, that number almost seemed unattainable. I wasn't sure how I was going to do it but I knew that I had the determination and drive to attempt it. Honestly, I was a little unsure of my lofty goal. Just a little over a year later, I am there. There have been MANY heart to heart talks with John about what I wanted to accomplish. There have been MANY "you can do this" statements from John. There have been MANY early mornings spent at Fitness MD. There have been MANY afternoons spent at Fitness MD. There have been MANY friends cheering me on. There have been MANY Weight Watchers meeting attended. There have been MANY Weight Watcher Points Plus counted. There have been MANY habits kicked to the curb. There have been MANY new,healthy habits formed. There have been MANY miles logged (outdoors and) on my treadmill. There have been MANY tears shed. There have been MANY smiles due to triumphs/victories on that darn scale. There have been MANY weekly weight goals set by David at Fitness MD. There have been MANY people who have cheered me on! To you, I say thank you for the bottom of my heart. It has been quite the journey. A journey I am so glad I decided to take. Not only am I 100 lbs. lighter but I feel great!

Today was the day I officially stepped on the scale and hit that 100 lb. loss! It was exciting and very satisfying. The Weight Watcher leaders were excited for me and made a big deal about it. I was even called to the front of the room so the rest of the members/group could ask questions about my journey. I spent about 15 minutes in front of the group, sharing my story and answering their questions! And seriously, had I known they were going to do that to me, I would have dressed a tad bit cuter-ha! I went in my workout clothes.

This is my cute WW leader, Jan! She has been so positive and so wonderful! She has cheered me on each week. It has meant the world to me.



When I got home from my weigh in, this is what greeted me in our garage. As soon as I had texted John telling him that I had nailed my 100 lb. loss, without me knowing, he ran to the party store and purchased supplies to decorate the wall in our garage. As soon as I saw it, I bawled.




















Not only did he decorate the garage, I walked into the kitchen to find this. So fun!



I am so thankful to have John in my life. He has been so supportive and his love unconditional! I am so thankful to have that in my best friend, my partner in crime.

Now that I have hit my 100 lb. weight loss goal, friends and family are asking "now what?" Well, I have a few more lbs. that I want to lose and their are a few goals that are related to the gym that I want to kick some trash on. I can't wait to see what 2012 holds for me!

sneaky friends

My friend Amanda and I have been talking about treating ourselves to a pedicure and dinner at Pluto's. Amanda and I workout every morning together & thought we would do this for every 5-10 lbs. that we lost. Well, we have been talking about this since the early Fall(2011) and have lost (several) 10 lbs. (over& over since then). We finally narrowed down a day and time to treat ourselves. Amanda picked me up and we headed to Island Nails. We enjoyed fabulous pedicures. You know the ones...where they dip your feet in the paraffin wax and rub hot rocks on your legs. It was heavenly!



After an hour of getting our feet pampered, we headed to Pluto's for dinner. Amanda and I walked into Pluto's and got into line to order our salads. As soon as we stood in line, I heard lots of clapping and cheering. I turned towards the dining area to see what all the commotion was about and started to recognize lots of familiar faces...sweet faces of some of my very favorite people in the world. It took a minute for me to register what was going on. My friends had been a little sneaky and had gathered together to help me celebrate my weight loss. It was such a BIG surprise and sooooooo unexpected. They had beautiful flowers and colorful balloons waiting for me. I received hugs from each and every one of them with lots of congratulations. I totally lost it and started to cry.









I was so overwhelmed(in a good way) and floored that they were able to pull this surprise off. After the hugs, they had me sit down and open a fun basket of goodies. This basket was filled with exercise items. There was a new water bottle, new sweat towels, rubber bands for my hair, Fiber One bars, Vitamin Water, a bunch of bananas, and a Fitness MD tank top with a note from the Fitness MD crew. It was so thoughtful and so much fun to open. Then they had me open the card. There was a HUGE list of names of friends who had contributed. Inside that card were two, $100 Visa cards with a note that read: "this is to buy some new, girly clothes for yourself." Oh my goodness! How fun is that?


















































I felt so loved and spoiled. I am very thankful for each one of those girlfriends. They have cheered me on from day one and helped me believe that I could do it and succeed! I feel very blessed to be surrounded by such amazing ladies who have BIG hearts. I am VERY lucky to call each one of them MY friend...sneaky or not :-)!

celebrating 1 year

So...I have gone back and forth a million times as to whether or not I would share this post, publicly! This is one of those posts that I knew I wanted to record and share at some point! As I looked at my before and after photos, I could not believe I was staring at the same lady. While my physical appearance has changed, my heart has remained the same. I am still the fun, life loving, happy person that I have always been. I have finally settled on sharing these photos via my blog in hopes that someone out there in blog land will be inspired...and simply for the fact that it is part of my story, my journey.

January 8, 2012 marked my 1 year anniversary with Fitness MD.I walked into Fitness MD on January 8,2011. My very first visit to Fitness MD consisted of participating in assessments. Every 6 weeks they assess your progress. I was starting from ground zero. They measured me, weighed me, pinched my fat and assessed what I was capable of doing(sit ups, timed 1.5 mile run, push ups,bench dips,pull ups, etc...). Honestly it was so humiliating and one of the most uncomfortable things I had ever done...for the simple fact that I was out of shape. The trainers in charge of the assessments were friendly and easy to work with. They weren't the problem. The main thing I learned about myself from that very first visit was that we all have to start somewhere. If I was going to make some BIG changes in my life, I would have to do things that pulled me out of my comfort zone and pushed to me to my limits...to places that I simply didn't want to go when I first started. I attended Fit Club(think Boot Camp/Biggest Loser style)Monday-Friday. The class is an hour long and I would walk out of there drenched in sweat. Some days, I would walk out of there, get into my car and cry! I am not gonna lie, it was hard! I was doing things that I never imagined myself doing in a million years. They were tears of joy, frustration, happiness, and pain. Knowing myself as I do, I knew that I had to give this 110 percent to make it work and happen for me. I committed myself to going 5 days a week and to NOT make ANY excuses as to why I could miss a day here or there. Again 110 percent. I am happy to report that 1 year later, I am still attending Fit Club 5 days a week(sometimes more). As of this week, I started attending the 1/2 hour Cardio Blaster class that is right before the Fit Club class that I attend. While I have not reached my final destination in the goal department, I am inching closer to it every day. Not a day goes by that I don't think about the HUGE impact that Fitness MD has had on my life. It may sound silly to some but for me, it has been a big part of my world and success. I am thankful for those who have cheered me on from the start(John, family and friends) and continue to do so. I am thankful for David and the opportunity I had to give Fitness MD a try. I am thankful for the entire staff at Fitness MD. They have pushed me and encouraged me to try harder and to do more. A year later, I can honestly tell you that I now look forward to those assessments every 6 weeks. It has been FUN watching my #'s decrease(weight, inches, and timed runs).

So without further ado, I give you the before and after pictures of my journey so far. Again, I struggled with my decision to put these out here for the public to view. It is a very personal thing. If these photos can help motivate someone else to find their happy/healthy place/self then it is all worth it to me! If anyone is interested in checking out Fitness MD, you can get a free 10 day trial pass. Let me know if you are interested and I will meet you down there for a Fit Club class :-).

Before(1-7-2011)...





















After(1-8-2012)...





















One final note. I want to share ONE quote(of the many) that has inspired me along this journey. It reads:
"There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses: only results."
Kenneth Blanchard

p.s. I if can do this...anyone can!