It's worth a try

I found some beauty products in the bargain bins that claim to help me with a few "problem areas."

I've been using the cocoa butter for a month now and still no improvement on the stretch marks, but honestly I don't really expect to see one. I think if there really was a cure then everyone would know and nobody would have stretch marks ever again.

The cellulite cream I've been using for about a week, but that I really do hope to see something. I've had good results with the Avon one in the past, so I have at least minimal expectations for success with this.

Either way, they cost me a grand total of $6.50 together. What do I have to lose?

Judgment Day, Part 3

Huh. Not sure what to make of this.

This past month I've worked out the most since I started this project and I've stuck with the healthy diet. The scale is finally moving down again -- 153! -- and my clothes keep getting baggier. And yet, I don't see much change in these photos, or in my measurements.

Maybe it's all coming off of my face or somewhere I'm not measuring. Maybe the scale is a liar. Who knows. It is really frustrating, though, that I make the most progress when I do the least. I know that's not right, but that's what the evidence points to right now.

Well, instead of letting myself get too discouraged, I'll end with a comparison that really does show all my hard work:

And can we all agree that these are the most unflattering shorts ever??? Ug.

A new month, some new goals and new inspiration

It's been about a week and a half since I added personal goals to my workouts. I was really pleased to hear from those of you who said you wanted to join me in some of these. I could not be happier about that! The more people working for good, the better our world will be. 


For me, this week was definitely a good time to add these goals. Quite a bit of tension is cropping up at work, and with the ongoing stress over bills and such I really needed all the positivity I could muster. 


Well, I'm proud to say it worked.


Here's what I pledged last week:


Physical goals: 
-Crunches daily
-Cardio three times a week


Personal goals:
-Smile at everyone I meet
-Sincerely compliment at least one person a day


I am happy to report that I met my physical goals... until the weekend, as usual. But it's the best I've done so far, and I am proud of that. I also feel that I'm getting a lot stronger. I can haul my Moose Baby around a lot easier and my stamina is increasing.


Surprisingly, I found it much easier to do cardio -- that thing I loathe the most -- than to sincerely compliment someone every day. It made me rethink my interactions with people, which is a good thing, but  it also made me realize I don't often get past the surface with others. I found myself trying to think up compliments for the people I knew I would see that day, which defeats the purpose of making them sincere and individual. Even though I really did mean them, I don't think it counts if it was planned. 


I also kept up the smiling and cheerfulness -- also very genuine -- which really went a long way at work. I always find that positivity multiplies. Each time you get past something stressful or upsetting, you realize just how strong you are and become empowered to try again. Not only does it get easier, you build on that strength until it becomes second nature to react to live with determination and positivity.


So this week, I will keep my goals rolling and add to them. Before I do, I want to share some new inspiration for the week (or two).


I recently read an article in the June 2009 Ensign called "Hope: The Misunderstood Sister" by Larry Hiller. The part I want to share isn't about hope, but her sister Charity. Hiller describes her this way:

"I picture Charity as being modest and refined, beautiful and gracious. In her presence you feel genuinely loved and accepted. She's unfailingly kind and generous, patient, empathetic, aware of every need, and responsive without being asked. How could you not want the companionship of someone like Charity?"

I will go one step further: How could you not want to be someone like Charity?


From this passage I will derive my personal goals for the next few weeks. I will keep the physical goals the same but add to them until I get my butt into shape.


For the week(s) of June 1 - June 11, 2011:

Physical goals: 

-Crunches daily

-Cardio three times a week

-Leg exercises three times a week

Personal goals: 

-Look for opportunities to engage in meaningful conversation. 

-Ask people questions about themselves and learn to appreciate who they are as a person.

What do you pledge to do this week?

Guess who likes green smoothies?

Although you can't tell by the look on his face here, he was loving it!

Time for some more changes

I keep having these end-of-the-world disaster dreams. Maybe it's because I work in the news and see this stuff every day. Maybe it's because, subconsciously, I feel I need to be better prepared -- not just physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. Life is far too short to be wasting it and not living up to my potential.

A month or two ago I woke up from one of these dreams in a panic, sure it was some kind of sign that I needed to have emergency kits for my baby. Proudly I did complete these and now have one for not just our home but for his babysitter and both sets of his grandparents. I thought this would make the dreams go away, but I had another one last night that made me feel I need to be prepared in less physical ways.

After thinking about it, I've decided that in addition to getting my body in shape through this blog I need to work on the internal aspects of myself.

A year and a half ago I came to a similar decision in my life. I was stuck in a negative place and, despite all the good things I had going for me, I was angry, miserable and consumed by stress. I finally decided enough was enough. I realized it wasn't the external world that was causing these feelings; I was the one allowing them to foster and grow. If I wanted to be happy, I had to take control.

I started small and decided to first learn to control my stress. I did this by focusing on keeping my cool when driving. (Incidentally, I recently wrote an article on this for ksl.com.) The way I stayed calm was to drive compassionately -- meaning, remembering that everyone makes mistakes and I do it too, and that the things other people do on the road are not meant to personally offend or injure me. I let people in, I waved to others who let me in, I moved over for cyclists and I resisted the urge to tailgate or honk when someone was driving ridiculously slow.

It worked. Gradually I saw these habits take hold in other areas of my life. I learned to stop seeing the misdeeds of others as personal affronts and I learned to separate myself and my happiness from another person's anger. I became empowered to walk away from negative situations and gained confidence to seek out a better life. In the end, I became a happier person, a better friend, and a more patient and understanding wife. And now, it's helped me to be a caring and joyful mother.

Through all this I learned a major life lesson: If you want to change the behavior of someone else, all you have to do is change yourself. When you are kind, patient and caring, you will soften the hearts of those around you. If you change, everything else will too.

I like to think that the world (or at least my small corner of it) is a better place because of the joy I try to spread. But, even though I'm 10 times better than I was two years ago, there is still so much room for improvement.

So, in addition to working on my physical self, I will add new personal goals. I will continue my quest to find and spread happiness and to be a force for good in the world. Starting now.

For the week of May 22 - May 28, 2011:

Physical goals: Crunches daily, cardio three times a week
Personal goals: Smile at everyone I meet, sincerely compliment at least one person a day


Now... anyone else ready to change the world?

Weekly recipe roundup: Trainer edition

To sum up my efforts last week, I would say it was a pretty good success. If I were just going by the checklist I wouldn't have done so well, but the reason I had to skimp a bit was because I was just too sore to do some of that stuff and I had to let my muscles recover. All in all, I'm excited about the new workout and I can't wait to see bigger results!

Now, as promised, the weekly recipe roundup you'd pay hundreds of dollars for. That's because I did pay it, in an indirect way. In 2008 when I had awesome health insurance that contributed to this sort of thing, I went to a personal trainer. I worked with Jason at Custom Fit Personal Training in Sugarhouse, and it was worth every penny. If you are able to and are serious about getting fit, I highly recommend this place. It's a small private gym with a handful of trainers and the only time you're allowed in is when you have an appointment or to use the cardio machines. That way there aren't a million sweaty people in line for the weights and it's very one-on-one. After 6 weeks at Custom Fit I lost 10 pounds and 10 inches — and that's only because I cheated and hardly ever did cardio.

The other reason Jason was awesome is because he let me have carbs in my meal plan. And that's what I'm sharing with you in this week's recipe roundup. He gave me two plans, so today I'll start with the beginner and then next week I'll give you the high-protein power plan.

Breakfast:
1 Kroger brand Carb Master yogurt
Handful of berries
2 scoops protein
      -or-
1/2 cup cooked oatmeal (not packaged)
Handful of berries

Snack:
1/2 apple
3-4 oz. jerky
      -or-
Carrots and celery

Lunch:
Sandwich with Sara Lee Carb Smart bread or low-carb tortilla, 2 packages lunch meat, mustard, spinach
1/2 apple
      -or-
Salad with spinach, romaine and red leaf lettuce, tomato, and cucumber with vinaigrette dressing
1 grilled or broiled chicken breast

Snack:
2 sticks string cheese
      -or-
1-2 hard boiled eggs

Dinner:
1 grilled or broiled chicken breast
Steamed or grilled veggies
1/2 cup cottage cheese


Looking back through my measurements from the trainer, it's clear my body has changed after having a baby. Now, my thighs are a tiny bit smaller, my arms are a tiny bit bigger and my waist is exactly the same -  but my hips are 5 inches bigger. While the thought of my hips horrifies me at first, I actually feel better because that's not just fat, that's an actual change in my bone structure. Sadly, if it hasn't gone back to normal after 7 months I really don't think it will now. But hey, you can't win 'em all. I'll just work on what I can and accept the rest.

Hurts so good

I've got a new workout that's kicking my butt! Move over Wii Fit, it's all about The Biggest Loser on Xbox Kinect.

After playing soccer, track & field and boxing on Kinect Sports the other day and working up a pretty good sweat, I had it in my mind that The Biggest Loser game would be just as fun. Well, I wouldn't exactly call it "fun," because it got pretty intense. And it's not a game, it's a full-on personal training session. Since it tracks my entire body while I'm doing the exercises, it would tell me what I'm doing wrong and how to improve, like "lunge lower" and "kick higher." It wasn't what I was expecting—it was much better.



I think I got in the best workout I've had since starting this project. I was beat after 20 minutes, and now I'm pretty sore—but the really good kind of sore where you know you worked hard and you earned those calories burned!

That's it for now. No recipe roundup today because I'm working up something really good. Like, something you'd pay hundreds of dollars to have.  Get excited...