Keeping My Eyes on the Prize

WORLD PHYSIQUE TRANSFORMATION OF THE MONTH INTERVIEW

2009-07-01T14:01:00.003-04:00

At the HALF WAY mark!!!!

2009-06-28T12:04:00.002-04:00

Oh my goodness... I can't believe that I am finally at the half way mark of my weight loss progress. To date I have lost 32 lbs (in 5 months time). That is such a great feeling to have!! My goodness! So I figure that by November I will have made it to my final goal and at that point I can start tweaking things so that I can possibly lose another 10 lbs. WOOHOO!!!

Ok... more later... gotta start Fung Shui'ing my house! Ha ha!

World Physique Transformation of the month

2009-06-24T16:12:00.004-04:00

YES... this is the new progress pics you see above... whatcha think??? I am so amazed at the changes my body has made! WOW!!!

Anyway lets get to the main discussion... As you can see by the title, the topic of my blog today is World Physique Transformation of the month. Why you ask? Because I've been chosen!!! WOOHOOO!! I just finished my interview today. Wow, there sure are a lot of questions. But I hope that my story can inspire other people in their journey to being healthy and living healthy. I'm not sure when the story will post. But keep an eye out for it. Here is the link to their page. I will also post the story once it gets published.

http://worldphysique.com

And if you're interested, feel free to join the social community. Its great! There are a lot of people willing to help and motivate you to reach your goals.

http://community.worldphysique.com

re-vamp!

2009-06-05T13:14:00.002-04:00

I know its been a while since I blogged. So today I decided to look over what I had blogged about previously and I also looked at my goals. OH WOW do I need to really kick things up a notch... well actually SEVERAL notches!!! My weight loss has slowed down so much! I can't wait to start training with my PT again. I miss her! My diet has been fairly good. But I did have more cheat meals than what I should have. So I know that's why my weight loss has slowed. But I didn't fall off the wagon that bad. So being totally strict again like I did in the beginning is just what I'm gonna have to do. PERIOD! Anywho... thats my story today. Time for a total RE-VAMP!!! Grrrrr!

my visit with my trainer

2009-05-22T22:25:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I had an appointment to see my trainer and go over my diet. I knew she wasn't going to like what she saw. I was down .2 lbs since the last time I saw her (almost two weeks previous). So needless to say she wasn't all to pleased. The last two weeks have been tough on me emotionally and mentally. Even though I had a week off from work, I've been struggling with things in my mind and in my heart. A lot of different things have been weighing on me and every day I think about those things. Its made me feel depressed and constantly questioning myself and the choices I've made in my life that has brought me to the situation I'm in now. I talked about my struggles with my trainer and she told me that stress makes it harder for a person to lose weight. And she's right! She told me that I need to get over this hump and push thru it and fight to stay focused. I love the way she talks to me about things. It gives me a new sense of confidence in myself and in my abilities. She's an awesome trainer! Thank GOD I have her on my side!

So, today I have had a successful day of eating all the right foods and keeping my body fueled. And tonight I had an AWESOME workout! I trained legs and really pushed it hard. I think my tush is really going to hurt for the next few days. Then I did an hour on the elliptical. I was soaked in sweat by the time I finished. I feel great! :)

Tomorrow is a new day again and I will be getting up bright and early to meet up with my trainer and some other people to do an hour bootcamp. All the proceeds go to charity. So I'll be getting my butt kicked while giving a little something to help out with Alex's Lemonade Stand. Its a wonderful reason to get my butt kicked, don't you think?

Vacation is over.... boooooo :(

2009-05-18T15:32:00.002-04:00

Ok... so I'm back at work now. And of course I have the piles of things to do that were left for me all last week. Ugh! Last week I had my vacation. I spent a lot of time in the gym, so that was definitely a good thing. But, my trainer changed up my eating plan and well... I dont like it. Blah! Its not that I dont like the food. I just think that I like what I was eating before so much better. This time its kind of boring and well... blah! I feel like all I can eat are protein shakes, egg whites, oatmeal and some lean meat with green veggies. I can do that maybe a few days out of the week, but every day??? I just have to suck it up and do it. I was well... not so good with my eating this week. I had a few meals that weren't on my list. But I did stay within a 1300 calorie range. But again, my body knows that I'm not eating right and now my weight loss has slowed down. I did lose almost 1/2 lbs in 8 days, but thats really not much at all considering how much I should be losing if I followed my trainers plans to the T! And well, she did say no cheat meals this week either. But did I listen??? NO... I had a few. And of course I have excuses for having cheat meals... like my daughters birthday party. But I can hear her little voice in my ear saying... NO EXCUSES... FOLLOW THE PLAN! What can I say... she's my personal "Jillian Michaels Junior"! LOL! Anyway... Today I started back to eating the foods I'm allowed to eat and I always log them in my iPhone. So far so good. I want to lose a few more pounds before I see her. So, I will be going to the gym tonight and will be kicking my butt all week (like I should have been doing LAST WEEK!!!).

By the way... I plan on posting some progress pics soon. So keep checking back. :)

I'm BACK!!! And the weight STILL GOES DOWN! YAY!!!

2009-05-08T14:31:00.003-04:00

I am SO SORRY for not blogging lately! For the last two weeks I have been fighting a virus at my job. And of course I am the only one that can fix these darn things. So, my computer along with everyone elses has been basically in repair mode. Anyway, I'm finally back on line again. YAY!!! Today is the first day of my week vacation from work. I cant wait to just finally relax, get more focused on my eating and exercising and catch up on some things around the house. I took sort of a two week hiatus from working out. I've been so exhausted. Not really from exercising but from working my mind trying to clean things up at work. ANYWAY... I am psyched! I'm still losing weight and now that I'm on vacation I'll be able to really focus on myself and kick it into HIGH GEAR! WOOHOO! Well, I'm off to get some R&R then go to the gym and burn some fat later on tonight. I will be back later... I PROMISE!! :)

Question of today??? WHERE IS SPRING?

2009-04-15T10:02:00.003-04:00

For three days this week its been cold and rainy. Thank goodness the weather is going to warm up tomorrow and its supposed to be near 70 over the weekend. YAY! But for now I am cold and would just LOVE to go home, lay on the couch with a nice warm blanket, watch tv and drink hot tea. Ahhhh, that sounds so nice.

Ok, so here's an update on my progress. I saw my trainer yesterday and I'm happy to say that I met my weekly goal with her and I am 2 lbs less than when I saw her last week. YAY!!! And then next week I have to be 2 lbs less. But, I've been so hungry lately. So, my trainer changed up my diet. Its not as flexible, but still not bad. AND she has me taking in more fiber... like almost every meal! So, today I started on the new plan but I had to make some modifications for breakfast. I didn't have enough egg whites. Gonna have to go shopping on Saturday morning. :) For now I am going to try my best to stick as close to the plan as possible. What ever I have to modify will be from the last eating plan. So its not going to be too far off.

Anywho... I will blog more later on. Sorry I've been so lax. I promise I'll try to be a better blogger. :)

Thank you all for your support and encouragement! Love ya's!!!

New progress pics and more

2009-04-04T23:55:00.006-04:00

Hey all, well I took some new progress pics today! Woohoo! I had a wonderful saturday. I spent the morning with my daughters, then met up with a friend JoAnne (bodybuilder friend at that) for lunch. We talked about how I'm doing with my progress and my new found love for this healthy lifestyle. It was a healthy lunch. All clean foods. :) On our way out she gave me a hug and told me how proud she is of me and to keep doing what I'm doing. That felt really good to hear. On top of that, I was talking to another fitness friend of mine who has an online magazine called "World Physique, Inc". They are holding a few contests, one of which is "Transformation of the Month". Well, guess who entered the contest??? ME!!! I talked to the girl that owns the company. She told me that I am perfect for the contest and that she would LOVE to feature me in her magazine! How awesome is that???? So, I took the new progress pics today, wrote up a nice little bio of my journey and emailed it off to her. I'm anxious to hear back and see if they will feature me in their magazine. People... my new life is just beginning and it is on a GOOD roll!!!! Well, enjoy the pics, let me know what you think. Oh and my weight is slowly but surely coming down still. Thank goodness!! *hugs* to all!

I know... I'm a lazy blogger. :)

2009-04-02T13:47:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I've been kinda taking a vacation from blogging... not intentionally though. Anyway, I am still losing the weight! My trainer is still kicking my butt! And I am still kicking my own butt! I plan on waiting until the end of April to take more progress pics. So... I will be back!! :)

another quicky.... MORE PROGRESS PICS

2009-03-25T15:57:00.006-04:00

I put these together today. I am so amazed at how much my body is changing! WOOHOO!!!!!

Moving along in so many ways!

2009-03-22T20:55:00.002-04:00

Its been about a week since I posted. Just thought I'd put a little update on here. :) I am STILL losing weight! YAY! and guess what??? I can see my triceps! YAY!! It feels so good to watch the scale go down and see my muscles getting more shapely and defined. My trainer said "WOW, you're getting oblique's!" Ha ha!!! My week at training has been kind of slow though. Between having band practice on Mondays, the motorcycle safety/beginner course on Wednesday, and buying my first motorcycle on Friday and then taking the course again today, I haven't trained as often as I should. My trainer kicked my butt on Tuesday and Saturday. I kicked my own butt on Thursday. So I am glad that I got in at least 3 workout days last week. Its better than not working out at all. I want to count today as a workout day too. Because let me tell you, learning how to ride a motorcycle is just as taxing on your body as working out in a gym. The bike that I'm learning on is heavy. And you're using muscles that you don't use on a day to day basis. I messaged my trainer asking her what I can do to strengthen my "motorcycle" muscles. Ha ha ha! Seriously though, my hips, butt, neck, and shoulders are very sore and tired. Anyway, I am going to relax and watch one of my favorite tv shows "Desperate Housewives". I'll update more later. :)

my first authorized cheat meal

2009-03-16T14:35:00.002-04:00

Well, I did it. I had my first authorized cheat meal on Saturday night. I ate 10 chicken wings with blue cheese dressing and celery and drank about 3 1/2 Sugar free red-bulls with vodka. OH MY GOODNESS... let me tell you how awful I felt the next day! My stomach was upset, I felt extremely bloated and lethargic AND I had three pimples break out on my face!!! I did 50 minutes of turbo jam (kickboxing) and 20 minutes of abs on Sunday. But I sure as heck didn't feel very energetic. I guess it was a good learning experience for me because now I know that I prefer eating healthy. I would eat grilled chicken with a sweet potato and edamame ANY DAY over chicken wings or any kind of greasy food. So I am back right on track as if I never had a cheat meal and I plan on sticking to it. Even if my trainer wants me to have an authorized cheat meal, I think I might either opt out... or find something that really isn't all that bad (or greasy for that matter). I never knew how good healthy foods actually tasted until that was all I was used to eating. I'M LOVING THIS HEALTHY LIFESTYLE!!!!

Just a quicky! :)

2009-03-10T23:05:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone,

Well, I just got home from a KICK BUTT workout with my personal trainer! I am exhausted. BUT, I wanted to post some progress pics again. I am so amazed at the changes my body has made in such a short amount of time!! I am truly truly blessed to have the support from family, friends, and my wonderful awesome trainer! Ok, so here is the pic of my "before progress" (taken on Jan. 21st 2009) and "now progress" (taken today March 10th 2009).

Good night all!

*hugs*
~ Carolyn ~

Progress Pics... its not much... but its SOMETHING! :)

2009-03-01T22:22:00.004-05:00

This was me back in August 2008. I was really trying to get myself motivated to workout and lose weight. But the REAL work didn't start until January 14th 2009. So... check this out... its not much... just my biceps. But wow oh wow! I am really happy with my progress so far! :) Woohoo!

Weight going DOWN and strength/endurance going UP!

2009-02-27T21:37:00.002-05:00

Ok so maybe my goals are a little extreme, but I am STILL reaching them! I am so proud of myself for finally sticking to a plan and not wavering (not even a little bit). I was watching The Biggest Loser this week and one of the girls said "You know you can do it when something clicks inside of you". Well, something definitely "clicked". I dont know what it was... maybe because I got tired of trying every diet I could and failing at them all. Maybe it was because my trainer two years ago got to busy to train me and push me along. Maybe it was because I just wasn't following his plan like he wanted me to. Hence the reason for my lack of success. I felt like a failure. Like I not only failed my trainer, but I failed myself. But the good thing was that I NEVER STOPPED TRYING. I was determined to redeem myself. So, here I am...on the road to redemption and I'm DOING IT!!! Every day I feel different. I dont let the small things keep me from going after my goals. If I dont lose weight one week, no big deal. I know I'm doing the right things. It just means I have to tweak my diet and exercise routine a little bit. And that's what I did... and BOOM... the weight is falling off of me! And I realize that I will hit plateaus. So, when those plateaus come, thats when I change it up and do something different. Whether its eat less carbs and more protein, up my cardio, change my weight lifting routing... what ever it takes I am bound and determined to reach each and every goal little by little... what ever it takes!

Well, I'm going to get some rest now. I just had to fill you all in on just a little bit of whats going on. I've been fighting the flu, or bronchitis, or strep throat, or something. Whatever it is, it sucks... especially because I have to take rest days and not work out. BUT that's not going to stop me once I'm better. :) WOOHOO!!! I am going to be so freakin' HOT this summer!!!

Love ya'll!

2 lbs shy of meeting my Feb. Goal??? I'LL TAKE IT!!!

2009-02-16T23:21:00.002-05:00

Wooohoooo!!!!!! I am so happy. I am now officially under the 190's. Sunday morning I weighed in at 189.4! I lost 3lbs since last week. My trainer is so happy with me! So happy that she kicked my butt for an hour! She had me do a supersetting, circuit training, kick Carolyn's butt workout! OUCH! My lats are sore today (among other things). She wanted to give me a cheat meal this week for my reward. But I told her I wasn't ready for one... mentally I'm just not ready. I've been doing so good sticking to the plan that I'm afraid that one cheat meal will mess it up. So, we are going to do the cheat meal next week. *sigh* Well... its late and I'm going to bed. But I just had to share!!!

*hugs*

SUNDAY FUNDAY??? Hmmmm... How about KICK CAROLYN'S BUTT DAY!

2009-02-08T22:22:00.006-05:00

Today I had my appointment with my trainer, Cindy. I call her Jillian Michaels Junior. I'm not joking either. This girl kicks my butt every time I see her (usually twice per week). She had me start off with a quick warm up on the treadmill... then the killer warm up which consisted of these things she calls "Burpees" with a shoulder press. From that I went to reverse pull-ups, then ab work which was passing the stability ball from my arms to between my legs. Then I had to do that whole thing all over again! THEN... (yeah, i'm not done yet), she had me do shoulder presses, down to bent over rows, then finishing that off with dead lifts, then right over to ab crunches, then bicycles, then start ALL over AGAIN!... Not done yet... THEN the finale'... lying leg lifts for my lower abdominals and about 50 jumping jacks with these funny looking soccer/cheerleading kicks. Woooh!!! I was sweating and panting... she kicked my butt!!! THEN......... you thought I was done, didn't you???.... She takes me to the cardio room, puts me on the elliptical, sets it up for intervals, level 2, for 30 minutes. OUCH!! My heart was pumping, I was sweating so much it was running down my face. Wooohoooo! What a workout! And I made it thru the whole thing with out stopping, and no cheating. I am so proud of myself!!!

Oh and just to give you all an idea of what I'm eating (all Low Glycemic Index foods every 2 1/2 to 3 hours)... here's a little sample of my day:

Meal 1: 1 egg, 3 egg whites, 1 cup broccoli
1/4 cup dry old fashioned oatmeal with cinnamon and splenda

Meal 2: Protein Shake made in Blender with
1 Scoop Whey Isolate,
1 tbsp Berry Berry Sugar Free Metamucil,
1 tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
4 oz Water
5 or 6 Ice Cubes

Meal 3: 4 oz Grilled Chicken
2 Cups Romaine Lettuce or Mixed Greens Salad
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinigarette
1 Slice Ezekiel Bread

Meal 4: 1 Orange
10 Raw Almonds

Meal 5: 4 oz Flounder
1 cup Shelled Edamame (Soy Beans)

Meal 6: (only if I'm still hungry and had a late workout but no
eating right before bedtime)
1/2 Protein Shake (no peanut butter)
1 String Cheese

And of course I am drinking at least one gallon of water per day. Oh and No alcohol allowed by the way (at least not for a while). Sugar Free Red-Bull is my drink when we go out. So I can still enjoy myself, but without cheating! :)

So, that was my day today! My trainer is very proud of me and you know what??? I am VERY proud of me too! :) Woooohooooo!!!

Oh yeah, one more thing... everyone, this exercise/diet plan that I am following (which is now a way of life for me), is really so easy! I've struggled for so long and finally I've found something that works for me. If I can do this, trust me, so can you!!!! Kick butt people!! KICK BUTT!!!

My body is a furnace and I'm on FIRE!!!

2009-02-04T23:12:00.002-05:00

Yeah, thats right! I am on FIRE! I am so happy with myself. I'm addicted to this new lifestyle that I have now. I weighed myself this morning and lost MORE weight. Yeah yeah I know... stay away from scale! Ha ha! But its being so nice to me!! :) I love it! And speaking of being addicted to a new life style... I now have a new favorite food... EDAMAME (soy beans)! Oh my goodness... these are the most delicious things I have ever had! Put a little sea salt on them and WOW! Not only are they good, but they are high in fiber and protein! So... I have 10 days left to reach my first monthly goal. I can see 187 lbs right around the corner. This morning I weighed 192.4lbs. So that leaves me 5.4 lbs to go. Can I do that in 10 days? YOU BET I CAN and I WILL TO!! :-)

Well, I am going to hit the sack. MY eyes and my body are saying "sleep... sleep... sleep...". Guess I should listen, huh? Good Night all! Mmwwaahh!

3rd day on new diet and I'm feeling GOOD

2009-02-01T20:57:00.003-05:00

Well, last thursday I started seeing a personal trainer who is also a friend of mine "Cindy". She has been seriously kicking my butt in the gym... and what can I say except it really feels good to finally sweat like a pig! Ha ha! This past thursday she gave me my new diet to follow. I started following it religiously on Friday and I'm happy to admit that I haven't cheated one bit. Actually, I really like it. Breakfast is delicious, I especially LOVE the protein shakes with... drum roll please... all natural peanut butter (MY FAVORITE) and surprisingly Sugar Free Metamucil Berry Berry. The protein shakes are Whey Isolate which is a very low carb mix. Everything in my diet for the first two weeks are low glycemic index foods. So, as some of you probably already do, I now have to keep a food journal. AND as Cindy says "Make sure you eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours". So, its seems like I'm always eating something. Yet, my calories haven't gone beyond 1200 per day. Take that and the 600 to 900 calories that I've been burning at the gym and I am bound to lose this weight! OH speaking of losing weight... I LOST MORE! Yipeee!!! I was 194.0 this morning. I feel my first weight lose goal coming! And I know I'm going to reach it. I WILL LOSE 3 lbs this week, and 3lbs next week... and well, that one extra pound, I'm gonna try extra hard to lose that too. But I have to keep it healthy. So 3 lbs per week is what I'm pushing for. I WILL DO THIS! YEAH!!!

Ok... back to watching the Super Bowl. GO PITTSBURGH!

Caught the fitness bug!

2009-01-28T15:01:00.002-05:00

Yes, I did! I caught the fitness bug. Since I started working out on a consistent basis on Dec. 26th, I am finally waking up every morning thinking about my exercise plan for that day and what foods I will eat and how good I feel already! I am officially addicted to exercising every day and following a low glycemic index food plan. I have so far to date lost 4.2 lbs in 14 days time. That is 2.1 lbs per week. WOW!!! In those 14 days I have increased my cardio to one hour and have been doing high reps, low weight resistance exercises. I've also been using a program on my iPhone called Lose It which has been GREAT for me! It is doing exactly what it says it does. I use it to keep track of what I eat and my exercise. So far I have been eating enough calories and burning off enough calories to lose 2 lbs per week. So, now I have 17 more days and 7 lbs to go to reach my next goal of 187 lbs. I can do it! I WILL DO IT!!!

I gave in... BUT... I'm getting there!

2009-01-21T14:37:00.003-05:00

I have been going crazy trying to stay away from the scale and just focusing on eating better and working out. Well, this morning I gave in to the scale and I was happy to see that I was down almost 4 lbs! Yay!!! I will reach my next goal, I just know it!!! ALSO... I hired a personal trainer/girlfriend of mine to help me reach my goals and kick start my metabolism. I'm so excited. I start the workout tomorrow and get my diet plan on Sunday! Yipee!!!! I cant wait! 2009 is starting out GREAT!

Yay! I've reached my first goal... almost!

2009-01-15T20:54:00.002-05:00

Hey hey!!! I can't believe it! I actually reached my first goal. Tomorrow will mark 21 days straight going to the gym! WOOHOO!!! The fitness habit has technically set in. As they say, it takes 21 days to form a habit and I did it! Yay!! I am so proud of me! Now to reach my next goal and keep going from there! I WILL be at 187lbs by February 14th! Say it with me people! GO CAROLYN! GO CAROLYN! GO CAROLYN!

Setting forth goals to accomplish

2009-01-14T12:57:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone,

Well, I finally got around to adding my goals to my blog. I originally posted them a little while back, but I had to re-do them. I'm keeping a positive mindset and constantly telling myself and other people that I WILL reach my final goal by July. It might be August when I reach it, because my weight hasn't dropped since I started... which is crappy, but it could be that I'm packing on the muscle right now. Who knows. But, I am determined to work my butt off and reach my goal by July anyway. Anyway, I will keep it updated.

Have a great day everyone!!!

2009 - My Year to Shine!

2009-01-13T11:12:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone! I know its been a while since I blogged. I enjoy reading everyone else's blogs, but writing my own... well as you can see, I tend to take a little while getting around to it. ANYWAY... I wanted to let you all know that 2009 has started off GREAT so far. Actually, I got a kick start on 2009 the day after Christmas. I've been consistently going to my local Golds Gym and THANK GOD for my husband. He has been wonderful with helping me train. He has been such a motivation for me!!! So, needless to say, my workouts have been AWESOME since Christmas. Now I need to start being more disciplined with my diet. I've been slacking with my food choices. They haven't been extremely bad... Ok ok... with the exception of the last week or so... yeah, I've indulged in some fast food, large breakfasts consisting of pancakes, french toast, scrapple... BAD BAD BAD!!! So, today I start back on eating clean. I know that my workouts are going great and I have my hunger back for working out. So thats a positive thing. Now I will incorporate eating clean. I WILL reach my goal by July 2009! I am so excited!!! WOOHOOOOOOO!!!

Twas the day after Christmas...

2008-12-26T22:33:00.003-05:00

Well hello hello!!! As you can see I haven't posted lately. The hustle and bustle of Christmas and well... you know LIFE has kept me quite busy. BUT... that didn't stop me from taking another step towards my goals. TODAY was my first day back inside a GYM! Yes, I said INSIDE a GYM. LOL! :) I joined our local Golds Gym and I LOVE IT! The gym is fairly new, so I have the luxury of working out on new equipment and hey, get this... they have a cardio theater that looks like a real movie theater... with theater lighting, big screen, the whole sha-bang!! I didn't go in there today though. Instead I went to the gym that is LADY's only (so cool) and did 55 minutes of cardio while watching talk shows. Ha ha! Then I happily went out to the big gym area where all of the other people were (mostly guys... woooweeeeeee!) and worked on my legs. I was so psyched to find out that my strength really hasn't changed much. I did 4 sets on the leg press machine ending at 260lbs for 12 reps!!! Yeah!!!! And then did the usual leg extension & leg curl exercises... but forgot to do calves DARN IT! Then finished off with some ab crunches and ab twists on the ball. I had so much fun working out today and I love the atmosphere in the gym! What can I say... I started my new years a few days early. :) I am really looking forward to going again tomorrow. Yipee!!! Well, I hope you all had a nice Christmas. Mine was wonderful!

'til later!
~ CC

I AM PSYCHED!!!! YEAH!!!

2008-12-14T12:42:00.006-05:00

Hey everyone! Well, I did it today! I'm so psyched! I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about how and why I've been struggling with weight loss and staying motivated. WELL... I finally figured it out... for some reason I have this rebellion complex... I seem to do better being accountable to myself than relying on other people for accountability. I don't know why... but when I rely on someone else (ie, friends, husband, etc.) something inside me makes me want to rebel. WHAT THE HECK IS UP WITH ME?? Anyway... I am psyched BECAUSE I finally decided that I need to be accountable to ME! I created my vision today and set all sorts of goals for myself. Daily goals, monthly goals and future goals. I'm going to keep my vision and goals right in front of me every day too! I am SO looking forward to each day and reaching each daily goal. And before I know it, one month will have gone by and I will have reached my monthly goal. Next year is going to be my year. WATCH OUT EVERYONE! By July 2009 I am going to be HOT HOT HOT!!! And THEN... watch out fitness world! I WILL BE THE NEXT FITNESS/WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS STORY!!!!

Love you guys and thank you for being my inspiration too!!!

~ CC

My Daily Goals

My Daily Goals

· Lose at least 1 lb per week, strive for 3lbs per week

· Drink at least 1 gallon of water per day

· Do cardio at least 5 times per week

· Do weight resistant exercise at least 3 times per week

· Exercise for 3 weeks straight

· Eat healthy daily allowances from each food group

· Take my supplements on a regular basis

· Record weekly measurements and weight

· Record daily food/fluid/supplement intake

My Monthly Goals

· Weigh 187 lbs by January 14^th

· Wear a size 12 jeans comfortably by end of January

· Weigh 177 lbs by February 14^th

· Weigh 167 lbs by March 14^th

· Start a running program by end of March

· Weigh 157 lbs by April 14^th

· Wear a size 10 pair of jeans comfortably by the end of April

· Weigh 147 lbs by May 14^th

· Run5k by end of May

· Weigh 137 lbs by June 14^th

· Wear a size 8 pair of jeans comfortably by the end of June

· Weigh 127 lbs by July 14^th

· Maintain around 127 lbs every month there after

· Wear a size 6 pair of jeans comfortably by the end of July

My Future Goals

· Have tummy tuck to remove lose abdominal skin

· Hire Personal Trainer to prepare for a fitness competition

· Compete in a Fitness competition

· Obtain my Personal Training Cert

· Train, Motivate and Inspire other people to reach their fitness goals

Ok ok... so i'm a slacker

2008-12-11T20:31:00.002-05:00

Well, the holidays are here! YAY!!! I still have not done any Christmas shopping yet either! Anyway... I've been kind of off of the wagon for a few weeks. With the business of work, home, and "life" in general I just decided to take a break from worrying about what I'm eating, and if I exercised or not. Well, now I have this little voice telling me that I better get back on the wagon ASAP. So, I am determined to do this "AGAIN". I'm going to focus on a vision, a game plan, a schedule, or something to that affect. My goal starting next week is to start back on my one hour of cardio/circuit training at least 6 days per week. AND I'll be starting a new supplement (fat burner" called DREN. I'm looking forward to the results. I desparately need a jump start in this weight loss journey. Being stuck between 193 and 198lbs is NOT good for this 5'3" frame. I'm feeling the weight take its toll on my joints, and my lower back... plus my asthma isn't getting any better. :( So I have no choice but to do something NOW!!! So, here I am... I'm BACK!!!!! Pray for me! Please???

Love
~CC

Red wine or white wine ... ugh!

2008-11-14T19:51:00.003-05:00

So, it's Friday. Tonight is movie and game night with my daughters. Hubby is at his daughters (my step-daughters) basketball game. Then he goes off to work his second job as a bouncer. So its just me and my twin 6 year olds. Anyway, I've been craving wine lately. Last week I definitely over did it on the wine. Let me see, I probably had a bottle and a half thru out the week... I put on 3 lbs!! Ugh! For some reason when I drink wine I can feel my body start to retain water. Its weird... So, after over doing it on the wine last week... mind you I hadn't had wine in a long time... I decided to have one or two glasses tonight and hope that it wont give me the same icky result. So, I had my first glass of Reisling, and now I'm drinking my second and final glass of wine for the evening, Cabernet Sauvignon. Well, guess what... I'm feeling my body retain water. Ugh! Grrrr! Why can't I drink wine without feeling that way? Not that I'm trying to drink it on a regular basis. But every once in a while I would like to feel ok with having a glass or two.

Ok, so enough of the wine talk. On to some good stuff (not that wine isn't good... yummy... ha ha ha!). I've started back up with working out again. I kind of took three weeks off... not intentionally though... I was sick and just couldn't get back in the flow again... until this week!!! YEAH! I've also been seeing nutritionist for the past month or so. I've learned so much already. And here I thought I knew all I needed to know. I mean I've been dieting and exercising for almost 20 years now! Yes... you can say I'm the typical YO-YO dieter. Not to mention I've bought just about every exercise video and dvd that you see on those saturday morning infomercials! Hmmm... I dont want to think about how much money I've spent on that stuff! Ugh! So, thru all of this I've learned that yeah the videos and diets work, but only when you combine proper diet and a high enough intensity workouts to burn the fat and calories and build the muscle and be CONSISTENT! Also, I've learned that setting smaller goals are so much better and easier to reach than setting larger long term goals. So, thats where I am right now. I'm working on reaching the smaller goals. And here they are...

work out in the mornings at least 6 days per week (I do Beachbody Turbo Jam and P90X)
build up my workouts to at least 60 minutes per day (I'm currently at 20 minutes on an average)
have a 1200 calorie daily limit (so far I've been averaging at 1500 calories per day) I'm using fitday.com to keep track of everything. Its great!
reach a weight goal of 180lbs by January 12, 2009 (my current weight is 195, I started at 199 4 weeks ago, went down to 193, gained 3 back last week, lost one this week so far).
drink more water (at least 72 oz per day)

Well, that's about it for now. I'm gonna finish my wine and enjoy a movie with the girls. Ahhhhhh... feels so good to relax.

My first blog

2008-11-13T13:39:00.000-05:00

Hmmm, what do I say? Well I've read lots of other blogs from friends, and people that inspire me. I've been struggling with many different things in my life (my weight, finances, marriage, etc.) What can I say other than "Life" has been quite a challenge for me. But God has kept me safe and the challenges have only made me that much stronger. So I thought maybe it would be good to express it here. And hey, I'm sure sometime down the road I'll look back and see the changes and progress I've made and realize that life isn't always as bad as it seems. So, as my blog title says... I am "Keeping My Eyes on the Prize". Well, thats it for now. I'll be back posting more later. FOR SURE!