Life's Curve Balls

Literally in a sense... life threw me a big curve ball early Monday morning around 2am.  I was wakened by severe excruciating shooting/stabbing pain in my right flank.  My intuition said "go to the ER."  My husband said wait till you can make an appointment with the doctor.  SO I did... I rode out this pain that I couldn't find relieve from by doing anything; sitting, standing, lying..nothing! So I finally make it into my doctor and he runs all the basic labs and says; "It looks like possibly a UTI that turned into a kidney infection."  So he sends in the basic drugs to treat both types of infections. I get a shot of anti-inflammatory medication in the tukus which hurt like a MUG.  Then all through out all of this doctors visit my migraine proceeds to worsen as the flank pain worsens so I'm just DYING or at least I felt like I was...  So my husband drives me home and puts me to bed.  I finally get some sleep now that the medications are all working. 

I go to work the next day and can not take ANY of my narcotics obviously because I am at work!  So I pop the IB Phrophen as often as I can and writhe in pain the entire day.  It went something like the pain would dull then it would turn into stabbing pain in my side and it hurt to breathe.  After making it out alive I made another one of many pit stops and the pain was worsening.  SO I hit up the after hours and they added another script to the mountain of pills they have me taking.  

So I struggled through another day at work doing all the same as the day before. By the end of the day my momma was very concerned and really thought I should go get it checked out at the ER.  I was being stubborn and putting it off. So I called the after hours doc and he basically said go get a ct scan to find out whats going on in there.  So hubby, kids and I loaded up and I was delivered to the Emergency room for further examination.

Basically I've passed a kidney stone, have a missed stone/s in my kidneys or an obstruction up around my kidney because my kidney was very swollen which was causing the pain! (Nephritis) They said the rest of the parts were fine.  So not necessarily a kidney infection but something is not right.  So they drugged me up some more and sent some more pills home to add to that pill mountain then referred me to a Urologist doc!  

So I call today and they tell me to come right on in.  I run up there and see Dr. UA-he looks through everything and says well go home assess the pain if its same or worse the rest of today do not eat or drink after midnight and call at 8 to come in for a SCOPE! YIKES! So I put my narc's to the side and endured pure kidney pain for the last 6+ hours to determine if any of it was getting better.  WRONG ANSWER stabbing pain back so on we go to visit Dr. UA and see what the hecks wrong! 

In closing this long boring blog I haven't exercised since Saturday! I am going S.T.I.R. crazy in my own body!  Kind of like cabin fever because I want to run and exercise but this broken down kidney isn't letting me.  So here I am day...5 going on 6 days of no cardio no NOTHING but sitting on my ass and eating bad food here and there of course.  I'm still shaking like I should for the most part but this really stinks.  Weight isn't coming off it's just hanging out at the same...SO this week will be a DUD week on the weight-loss front.  Hopefully after some resolution tomorrow and some recovery this weekend I'll b back on the elliptical kicking my ass back into losing more weight! 

~Meredith

Habit Is What Keeps You Going

 

 

Before I get started on my weekly updates... I just have to say it really sucks some major you know what when your typing up a really good blog and your hand hits the wrong thing on your very sensitive lap top keyboard and it wipes the entire blog out!  Yeeeaaah I thought it would have saved most of it in the drafts at least... I was WRONG!  So as I type this just know I am actually starting over which is super frustrating!

 

The quote at the top of my blog basically says it all!  Out of that quote something I have noticed about myself so far in this journey, I have developed a very good habit and it has honestly been what's kept me going strong!  After talking with one of my best friends about her weight-loss journey from years ago when she completely transformed herself; I was able to get a better idea of my timeline in this journey and how to achieve my goals and keep them! In a nutshell she estimated over a year around 2 or so years to get the full results she wanted.  Not just the weight-loss but the tone in her body.  Lately I have been wondering if my stomach will ever go back to the way it was.  Of course its changed tremendously. However now I have much more confidence that it will and I will be able to maintain my final goals the slower it comes off.  That being said I have absolutely no problem losing the rest of this weight slowly.

 

As for the results this week -2.6 pounds this week!  The first significant loss I've had in close to a month!  I do hope this is the beginning of losing again so I will just keep doing what I have always done.  Follow my Vi and keep hitting it hard at the gym!!!  I've finally made it over my half way point of my total weight loss... -51.8 pounds!!! I can't wait to see that number after the next 10!!!

 

 

~Meredith



MORE!!!!!!!



More results is defiantly my goal!  More visual, more physical, more on the scale, and more in my clothes!  I am getting there slowly but surely.  I did the math on how much I have lost in my second month of my current 90 day challenge so far and it's not a whole lot.  That weight loss plateau really threw me back.  BUT...BUT...I am seeing the results in how I feel, how I look, how my clothes fit me, and how much farther I can push myself while working out.  My scale is finally liking me again and I am STILL losing this week!  I won't get ahead of myself and start posting results.  I'll be good and wait for the end of the week total results before I share. 

 

I will admit, my scale hating me for two weeks really brought me down.  Don't misunderstand I did not let it steer me off track...too much!  LOL  I had one piece of cake on my daughters birthday and one piece at her party.  I had pizza a week in a half ago and I even had a McDonald French Fry and some adult beverages!  Ohhhhhhhhh No she didn't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh but yes I did!  I let myself have a pity party a few times and I will admit they were delightful treats at the time.  However I have stayed on my VI shake regime and my work out regime on the daily.  After my treating I would tell myself; "Self that was good but did you really need that?  Did it make you feel any better?  No!  So just keep drinking that Vi and exercising your butt off!  There may not be results on the scale right now but look at those shorts, look at those work pants, you are still losing inches!  The weight will start coming off again just KEEP PUSHING!!!"  AND yes I really did tell myself all that!  Something I have learned sometimes we can be our own motivator and now that I see the scale going down again I feel 1000 X's MORE motivated to keep going and to push harder! 

 

 

I am 5.4 pound away from what I weighted mid 2006 (pre-marriage) and I took a look at how I felt then VS how I feel now!  1000 X's better because Even though I am about to weigh what I did in 2006...  I am more physically fit at this weight now then I was then!  All the credit for that goes to living the Visalus  Body by Vi Life and making best friends with my gym!  This new lifestyle is way better!  When I finally meet my final goal I am going to be so thrilled to be where I want to be but to know I have gained much more than my goal weight.  I will have gained the lifestyle I need in order to live a long healthy life for myself and my children... and look SMOKIN HOT doing it! 

 

 

~Meredith

Weight loss frustrations

Lets start this off with WEIGHT LOSS PLATEAUS  SUCK!!!! My last post I was still dropping tiny amounts not quite stuck but I could feel it coming! The last two weeks yes TWO weeks I've maintained my weight but no loss! I thought "what the hell why not..." Stepped on the scale today and I've finally moved -0.8 pounds down! I'm -0.2 pounds away from an over all loss of 50 pounds. I know aunt flow visiting for 2-3 months straight didn't help at all! But I've been AF free now for 3 weeks no hormone fluctuations that I can tell I'm hoping the depo shot is finally working like it should (no periods) it will help tons in the weight loss department that's for sure! I'm not done logging for the week so as I write this I'm crossing my fingers for a GOOD over all weekly loss this week. We shall see...

I can not remember if I posted this part last time... I am officially down 5 pant sizes and I bought two pairs size 12/14 work out pants!!!! Woo hoo! As for my clothes I'm trying to hold out for size 12's before I go buy more pants for work and jeans. Those cost the most! So tucking rolling and belting will have to work for now! Despite the two weeks of no weight loss I have lost inches so that tells me I'm defiantly toning and building muscle! That's all for now! 

~Meredith

I Got the "Umph"

This last week was probably the longest week at work I think I've ever had!  However, the week passed and now my weekend has passed!  Everytime we get personal time to be with our families, to be home, or get somthing done the time flies by way too fast!  Once we go back to work time pratically stops.  The most annoying part in life for sure!  

My baby sister married her love and best friend this past Saturday!  I was her matron of honor and took care of all the pre-wedding celebrations.  All in which were a success and now that she and her husband are married; my matron duties have been lifted!  It was fun but boy howdy it was crazy at times for sure!  Aren't most all pre-weddings/weddings?  Her ceremony was absolutly stunning and all went well as we all hoped.  Everyone enjoyed the reception following the ceremony and got our boogie on!

As you may have guessed my diet went waaaaay down the drain as well as my normal gym/workouts.  I felt awful sooo awful but I got to enjoy some mexican food, some steak, pizza, annnnnd some delicious adult beverages!  Now all the fun and celebration has passed back on the Vi and Gym train!  Toot toot!!  :)

Despite all the non-normal past 3 or so days I still managed to lose this last week!  This week I am down -1.4 #'s bringing my second 90 day total loss to: -11.8 #'s running a grand total over all weight loss of -49.8 #'s!  Yes my friends only 0.8 more pounds to -50 and I will be half way there with -50 to go!  Now that the big day has come and gone for my sister the remainder of my second 90 day challenge should, for the most part, be interuption free!  

As I previously mentioned in my last post; I started the Ergometer/Stairs at the gym!  I broke a new record today and went 2 miles on the Ergometer in 32 minutes!  I was draaaaaaaging by the last 10 minutes and had to kick it down on the intensity to make it through the entire work out.  However tomorrow I will go strong 10, go easy 10, go strong 10, and go easy 10 bumping my stair climbing from 30-40 minutes.  By the way I feel I know my body is in the stage of shock from adding this work out to my regime. Which is precisly my intention; in order to suceed you gotta push harder every time!!!  My motivational quote up there felt fitting to my current gym challenge climbing stairs.  It is completely true... "The difference between Try and Triumph is UMPH!"  I got the umph and I'm ready to kick this challenge into high gears!  Who's with me?

~Meredith

First Month Down

This last week I completed the first month of my 2nd 90 day Visalus Body by Vi Challenge!  As the most recent trends have been a much slower loss.  I've been teetering on trying to hit a weight loss plateau.  I haven't officially I'm still losing just smaller amounts at a time.  This last week I implemented some changes to kick start the weight loss such as.. Switching from 2% milk in my shakes to water (over this weekend) Starting tomorrow my shakes will be made using skim milk.  I cut back on one snack a day last week except for Friday when I really hit he gym hard and needed the extra energy to make it through the tough work out.  So tomorrow on my normal work out days I will only have two snacks a day which may or may not be bad.  I shake ALLLLL the time now and my doctor thinks I am Hypoglycemic....

  In the past eating subsided the shaking and light headed-ness/vertigo.  However I have noticed over the last 30 + days it doesn't matter if I eat a protein bar right before I work out and eat dinner right after.  I am STILL getting light headed and shaking/having vertigo like spells.  I've had a headache every single day for the last 3 weeks which out of that about every other day I'm full on migraine pain by the end of the day.  I've used far too much of my pain medicine because IB prophen just isn't cutting it.  I will be making an appointment with my PCP to have blood work up done and try to find out why I'm experiencing these symptoms while eating like I should.

As far as changes to my work out I have cut back on relying only on the elliptical as my main cardio work out.  I have expanded onto the more challenging machines and it's kickin my ass!  Real good!  The last time I changed up my work out I made it over the plateau and got back into the swing of losing sufficient weight and getting into shape at the same time.  I now climb stairs on the ergometer starts at the gym.  So far I've gone 30 minutes and 100 floors.  I will not even try to deny it; I nearly vomited towards the end.  I use the elliptical for a little bit; however I am now resorting to the treadmill.  One new discovering I made on some of our treadmills at the gym are: the new ones have BUILT IN FANS!  Yes that's right!  While your working your ass off sweating like a pig there is cold air blowing right on you; It's UH-Mazing!!!! Last but not least I am using the weights for my arms, inner and outer thighs.  From everything I have read to add weights to your routine every other day or so plus cardio.  By using different machines you get cardio but using a different motion/different muscles.  Therefore it throws your body off guard and walla! The weight starts shedding again!  Of course I work my abs now every day and I can already see some ton it the upper two sides of my stomach forming!  Now to see that in the mid to lower will be perfect!  

Last week I lost 0.8 pounds total this week I lost 0.6 pounds total bringing me to 1.4 pounds over two weeks.  Since I started my challenge at -38 #'s I am now down a total for the first month of my second challenge: -9.8 pounds.  That makes a grand total loss of -47.8 pounds!!! Here's some updated pics!!!

~Meredith

She Did Whhhhhhaaaat!

Its been a FANTASTIC week!!!  I was a little nervous the first half because my routine kept getting thrown off as far as getting my normal gym time in.  Although the end of the week I made a nice recovery.  Then I made my final weigh in for this week ending weight...

That makes a grand total loss for this week... -4 Pounds!!!  My second 90 day challenge total loss so far is:-6.8 pounds so far!  It's been slower going bu t I'm really toning up and becoming very limber in this weight loss process.  I expect the last 54.2 pounds will be MUCH slower moving.  I'm perfectly okay with it because once all of this weight is GONE its NOT coming back!  I'm done with all that weight business!!  My total loss so far is -44.8 pounds.

Also I made two big purchases this week reflecting my weight loss.  I went from a size 20 dress pant to size 16.  I continued to wear my 18's saggin and rolled up for as long as I could.  I had size 37 waste 36 length which was extremely tight!  I purchased a size,,, 33 waste of some seriously cute Silver jeans!!!  I wore them out for the first time last night and their already loose on me!!!  My husband was like YOUR GETTING A NEW BELT first!  hahahahaha!  This buying new clothes is starting to get expensive.  However I am trying to keep my wardrobe limited as the weight comes off so when I do purchase stuff I will really get it worn before I have to buy more!  Of course after I meet my goal weight you can guarantee I'm filling my closet full and I am so effing excited!!!

Now for the highlight of my week...

My husband and I threw my baby sister and brother-in-law to be their bachelor/bachelorette party.  They did kind of combine party.  My husband had all the guys over to our house for smoking meats, beer, guy talk, and down to the river to pop some bullets! All the while I was in charge of the ladies.  I booked a Vertical Vixen Party at Teaze Dance and Fitness where we also showered the bride with some hot lingere! 

It was most all the girls first time there with the exception of a few girls who had attended parties there.  We signed up for an hour in a half to do gifts and then to learn a lap/strip dance routine and some sexy pole dancing!  I tip my hat to show girls because we are all so so sore from our lap/pole dancing.  I actually purchased from Vicky Secrets a cute pair of Yoga shorts and totally rocked em out in my "new skin." We all learned to swing around the pole, slide down the pole, and do the fire man twirl around the pole to the floor.  Not gonna lie it was hard...although being a righty surprisingly the left side was much easier.  All of the ladies did a fantastic and really danced well!  We had some laughs and so so so so much fun.  After we got done dancing our instructor posed us for pictures.  I've defiantly turned a new leaf in my fitness because being able to keep up with all we did last night plus a night long of dancing at the Wormy Dog Saloon.  I am proud and feeling so motivated to hit the gym tomorrow!!!  I will be planning for regular classes at Teaze with my sister to learn some more and to get that amazing work out!!!

Thats all for this week!  After todays Tornado disaster here in Oklahoma I'm praying tomorrow doesn't end up like yesterday!  This girls got some ass to kick at the gym!!  No time for all that weather mess!!!

~Meredith

Sore IS the New SeXy

The best feeling in the world is that moment when you feel your going to crash but you push harder.  Your pain changes almost instantly when your adrenaline gears up and for several moments your on this high...

This has been an amazing week in the gym and in the pool.

However the scale has only moved slightly this week.  Total loss this week -0.8 pounds.  Mother Nature decided to come visit this week so that I know is a huge contribution to the numbers on the scale!  I decided to kick mother nature to the curb completely so I started the Depo shot last month.  It's going to take 3-6 months to get ride of my monthly visits but it will be well worth the wait!  No more hormone fluctuations and no more interruptions to my weight loss... that's the plan anyway!

I know despite the numbers on the scale my body is still changing.  I have been really working my abs and today starts my 30 day ab challenge! 

Today is Mother's Day and all I have on my agenda is to keep my kids busy so I can get house hold work done, work out, cook, and get everyone ready for the week ahead!  A lot coming up this week and this next weekend!  

On the work out agenda for today...

Hip hop Abs, thighs, and butt and Hip Hop Cardio

Day 1 Ab Challenge routine

then... A Run Outside

~Meredith

Bring on the Burn

A week already?  Well technically I'm writing a day early.  Although I won't tally up my week ending loss until tomorrow since I recorded last Sunday.  Yes, yes I have weighed... But I'm not sharing just yet! Now that I have dropped a significant amount of weight my skin is starting to sag everywhere it seems.  It's safe to say this body here is defiantly Under Construction!  It's really not THAT bad however I am my own worst critic!  

Each day I do cardio regardless of what day of the week or whether I am doing it at home or at the gym.  Cardio is an every day thing for me. As of this point in my weight loss journey I'm ready to start really working on my tummy.  My WORST problem area so far... The picture above is a "mini" challenge within my over all 2nd 90 day Vi challenge.  This is specific to your abs/core/tummy.  As you can see the schedule is pretty wicked looking BUT it's time to take my core to boot camp!  

The calender starts at the first of the month which obviously we are well passed the first of May and right smack in the middle of May.  That being said I decided to start fresh on a Sunday and follow the schedule shown in the picture above for 30 days.  Tomorrow, 5/11/13 starts the 30 day Ab Challenge.  I'm super nervous at how much it's going to hurt doing this on top of my elliptical exercise and lap swimming.  With No pain there is No gain so bring on the BURN!!!  

No before or after pictures for this challenge just because I am a skeptic and not 100% sure just how much or how drastic of a change this challenge will bring to my entire core. One additional thing I will be doing this coming week specifically is attending a "Wrap Party" at my sisters house.  She has a friend who sells and uses this product to tighten, tone, and lift whatever problem area on your body.  In my case it's my stomach mid to lower mostly... Tuesday is when the Wrap party takes place.  I'll be wrapped up for the first time around my mid to lower stomach then after the wrap is removed I should see a pretty good difference.  Over the following 72 hours post wrap my stomach should continue to life tighten and tone as a result of the wrap. For some women they have lost some good weight with the wrap because it detoxes the area you wrapping.  I'm not sure the exact science behind it but I can see how that could work for some women.  We shall see...

Off to the gym I go...Swim Time!

~Meredith

Run With Your Heart Not your Legs

"The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be."

~Oprah Winfrey 

What a week!  This week has been my first major milestone for my weight loss journey!  I can not even begin to describe the sense of accomplishment and motivation I have now.  Weight loss has been one of my major struggles in my life.  Food has always controlled me... I never realized it until I turned my lifestyle around.  We live is such a fast paced world.  The lady of the home works whether a household is a family of one, two or a family of more; it is the reality of this day and age.  It's become so expensive to live especially if you want to live comfortably.  I feel this is WHY our country has the highest obesity rate.  We go and go and go with no time to really put in what it takes to eat healthy.  We scarf our food down because we have NO time to sit and properly eat allowing proper digestion.  Our bodies are running on constant over drive.  So our poor bodies start storing fat and weight comes rapidly.  This leaves me to conclude why so many people do not exercise or maintain an active lifestyle.  We're simply too tired!  

For my personally, having the realization of my families health history and knowing so many little lives depend on me has been one of my biggest motivators.  I don't have time to allow the fast pace in our life to bring me down.  I have to keep at my best as much as possible so I can be everything my family needs me to be.  I want to live a long full life watching my children grow up. I want to be able to keep up with all my grand babies in the far future. I don't think my perspective on life was near as sharp as it is now that I have SO much to live for.  Much more than I ever imagined I could possibly have.  I let myself get so out of control I have to work extra hard now to meet my goals and be where I need to be.

On that note I have far exceeded my first short term goal and I am ready to push harder and meet each coming goal until I am at a maintaining level! (my final goal) Previously I reported my final 1st 90 days Vi Challenge was -38 pounds!  I did my week ending weigh in this morning and lost an additional -2.2#'s!  This week in total I lost -3.86#'s!  My grand total over all weight loss to date is -40.2#'s!  I can't believe in less than 10 pounds I will be half way to my final goal!  Life is defiantly fabulous right now!!! 

~Meredith

FIRST 90 Day Visalus Body by Vi Weight-Loss Challenge Results

Drum Roll Please...

 

I DID IT!!!!

My first goal for my first 90 day Visalus Body by Vi Weight Loss Challenge was to lose -37 pounds!  My starting weight was 237 as of today -38 pounds later I weigh 199!  The first time I've been below 200 in YEARS!!!  Here comes the "Debbie-downer" I HOPED to have lost more at least by 5 pounds more.  However I am perfectly happy with my results so far.  I have worked extremely hard to get to the point I am now.  I have done SO MUCH weight loss research as far as how to lose weight in a healthy way and KEEP IT OFF!  There is NO going back not ever!  

I previously mentioned my husband and I battled male factor infertility which lead us to adopt our four beautiful children.  I have completely come to terms with my not ever carrying my own baby and I am perfectly okay with it because I feel I am the mother God made me to be to MY kids!  With that said; I officially closed that chapter in my life.   Now I am focusing on getting back to myself physically so that I can focus and enjoy all the time in the world I have with my son and 3 beautiful daughters!  Onward and forward!

If your interested in trying the Visalus Body by Vi shakes and wish to join the challenge let me know!  I am a firm believer in this life style and now I can say I am officially living proof!  I am now ready to take on my NEXT 90 Day Visalus Body by Vi challenge! Starting today 5/3/2013!!!

Second 90 Day Challenge Before

~Meredith  

Kicking Ass

 

The last two weeks have been a whirl wind of good, bad, and ugly all rolled into one.  Last weekend was my sisters Bridal Shower.  I am her Matron of Honor and so I have been working extra hard on making these events leading up to her big day as special as possible.  Needless to say I did not attend my normal gym times/routine last weekend at all.  I made due and used my Nike App on my IPHONE and jogged all around my childhood neighborhood two Saturdays ago.  Also I have started a new habit on Sundays since I have no child care available Sundays and their daddy works. I wait until daddy gets home then I take off from my house and put in 3-4 miles jogging the country side where I live.  It's become one of my favorite things to do when I can't be at the gym.  It's safe to say I have a healthy addiction.  I can hardly stomach bad foods anymore and I'm a workout-a-holic.  I am to the point I am working out 6-7 days a week riding mostly at 7 days a week.

Last week weigh-in I lost 1.2 pounds and this week I lost .8 pounds; bringing in a two week total of 2 pounds.  Over-all I am down -35.8 pounds leaving a remaining 1.2 pounds to lose to meet my first 90 day Visalus Body by Vi Challenge.  I should be done with my last shake mix of my 3rd month supply this week.  So the grand total loss for the first challenge is coming up around the corner!  I've noticed since my last major weekly loss of over 4 pounds my weight has fluctuated between the big loss and the small loss over the last two weeks where I am now.  I am losing which is good but its been slower moving the last two weeks.  Its as though I'm riding the line of losing and hitting a weight plateau.  If I do actually plateau it'll be my second one so far in my weight loss journey.  If in-deed I do then here in the next week or two I should see a drastic drop in weight from where I am now. (based on past trends)  I weight 201.2 right now and my normal plateau is around 200.

After tracking my food diary and work out routines/results I don't see anything negative that could be a contributing factor.  Although the last plateau was a cross road for my body where I started gaining muscle which as we all know muscle weighs more than fat.  I FEEL stronger and I look so much smaller!  It's amazing how the scale is telling me I am losing slowly but I see and feel so much of a drastic change in my body!  I am 110% out of plus size clothing.  I wear a regular size Large in tops.  My bra size has gone from a 38 DD to a 36 C. I was in a plus size 1 top or size 20 pant and now my plus size 1 and extra larges are like wearing bags and size 18 pants are falling down.  I know I'm a 16 because I can hardly hold my pants up. (this momma needs to go shopping BAD!!!) My size 18 work pants are saggin and baggin and I'm rolling em up to hold em up! Two dress sizes down!!!  What UP!!!

My newest additions to my work outs are as follows.  The only time I do less than 65 minutes on the elliptical is when I have to rush out of the gym by a certain time to pick up my kids from daycare before they close.  If their daddy picks them up then I have time for a full work out at the capacity I am at now.  The ramp is at a 14 and the resistance is now a 9.  I do 65 minutes with 10 minute miles.  After the cool down I complete around 6.5 miles.  Once I finish the elliptical I stretch for 10-15 minutes and work on my stomach as follows: 40 regular sit ups; 10  Leg Ups? (Lie on back legs straight up in air ankles crossed then slightly bend knees and lower slowly toward the ground then back up) 40 sit ups rotating sides (reg sit up w/ knees bent feet flat then twist to right touch opposite elbow to opposite knee, regular sit up, then rotate cross sit up to the left side, then back center to regular sit up) I do this 40 times; 10 leg ups; 40 sit ups; 40 rotating sit ups. I stretch my stomach muscles really good afterwards.  If I am not dead afterwards I will do more on the balance ball.

  I am swimming 3-4 times a week at 1000 meters (20 full laps) doing front crawl 5 laps then 1 breast stroke lap.  I rotate this through out all 20 full laps.  It's major progress because when I first started I struggled with my breathing rhythm doing the front crawl so I built it up from doing just the breast stroke to where I am now.  My back and arms have really strengthened up from swimming and for me its like my own meditation.  If I am having a bad day I could swim way more than 1000 meters if the pool schedule and my time frame wasn't cut so short.  On Friday or Saturdays when I have extra time I cycle in the gym for a good while on top of everything else.  I still have stayed clear of the weights because I am more focused on cardio to burn more fat vs muscle gain.  I figure about 30 more pounds down and I will start focusing on incorporating strength exercises to my work out to help tone up the smaller problem areas and give my improved body a more defined look. Saving the bad for last... I bought some new running shoes some beautiful Nike's and they feel so good to run in.  My shins don;t hurt when I run in them however I am still breaking them it.  The back/heel was very stiff and now I have two awful blisters that I'm struggling with getting them to heal.  I have been putting 3 blister protecting bandaides over them with two pairs of socks to cushion them when I run.  They hurt so BAD!  I know the only way for them to completely heal faster is to not wear my tennis shoes so they won't rub but that means NO working out.  I can't do it barefoot and I can't wear flip flops SO I choose to deal with the pain!  :) But DAMN it hurts!

My next picture post will be at the end of my first challenge once I complete the last of my Vi shakes from the first 90 day challenge!

~Meredith

All We Got is Right Now!

It's been a week already?  Geez it feels like the week drug on and the weekend went by at super sonic speed!  WHHYY??  This weekend I did something I never do... I took BOTH Saturday and Sunday off from the gym!  WHHHAAAT!  I know not me at ALL!  Since my last post I have been in excruciating pain!  my body hurts head to toe.  On top of that I started working abs this week. It felt as though someone punched me in the stomach repeatedly.  Can we say OUUCH!  I pushed through and towards the end of the week started to ease up a little or I was gonna crash to the floor.  After smearing my body in Ice and Hot all week, hot showers, the heating pad, then took two days of rest; I'm finally feeling completely normal again.  So I am geared up and ready to hit the ground running tomorrow at the gym!  

With NO Pain theres NO Gain...since I pushed through all the pain I "gained a nice loss!" This week ending I am down -4.2 more pounds total.  This puts me at a total weight loss of -33.8 pounds so far!  It only 65.2 pound more to lose before I meet my long term goal!  To say its been easy so far would be a lie.  There's nothing easy about losing weight.  The shakes I eat continuously keep my system detoxed.  The exercises feel so good but can cause so much pain afterwards.  This last week I crashed hard every single night.  Being a busy mom of 4 small children I am constantly going from sun up to sun down.  So as you can imagine my body gets very worn out.  It is all so worth the work and all the yuckies along the way.  I was never able to get pregnant due to male factor infertility so I have never experienced a major body change within a certain period of time similar to a women in her 9 mo pregnancy.  This body change within this time frame I've set for myself is the most change my body has dealt with like that. Pregnancy seems like such a beautiful thing (which it is don't get me wrong) But like the horror stories of things a pregnant woman endure that arent' so pretty... There's that same element of not so pretty things a person losing a lot of weight endures. I will be so glad to look back on this one day and say, "I did it!!!"  

I promised pics last week which aren't exact to my weekend ending loss.  I did the picture in the middle of the week but never the less the progress is definite!  Here tis':

~Meredith

2nd Month Final Weight

It's time once again to record my final weight loss for the 2nd month of VI Shakes.  As I previously mentioned I got about a week in a half to 2 weeks worth of days behind during alll my traveling etc.. So I waited until I finished my 2nd month supply of shakes.  4 days ago I used up the last of my 2nd month of shake mix.  So I weighed through out the last 4 days to watch the scale go down.  As of today my official weigh day for the week and end of the 2nd month I am at a total loss of -29.6 #'s!!! 

As of today I am only 7.4 #'s away from meeting my first 90 day challenge goal!  I know I can do this and I will do this!  Each day that passes I feel more and more motivated to meet my final goal!  Seeing the numbers drop is motivation in itself.  Although, the biggest motivation is seeing my body shrink right before my very own eyes!  I can't believe how long my torso on my body looks now!  It's amazing at how being healthy can change so much not only about how you look but how you feel.  

I feel so good in my own body again and I've not felt that way in a long time. I'm catching eyes at the gym which is pretty awesome!  When your old and married like myself; its very refreshing to get reactions from people the way I once did!  I haven't had time to get an updated pic but thats on my to do list for this weekend.  So I'll post my pic updated within the next week!  

~Meredith

Sunday Funday

It's Sunday!  Although I am already mourning the loss of my weekend to the work week ahead...  It's been a productive day and restful in some ways.  I was reading different weight loss blogs a few minutes ago.  Trying to find other people out there rocking in the same boat.  I found one blog that had the link to making a avitar model of your body where you can see a computer generated version of your weight loss.  I am apart of a facebook group that linked this up once before; however I've not had time till now to check it out. This is the model from my heaviest weight (on the left) to my current weight (on the right)  This shows an idea of how my body has changed so far -21.2 pounds.

This of course does not have all the exact areas of my body/shape exactly.  I am much taller than this model appears, yes I put in my height. It could be my torso is longer than this model and my legs are longer than this model.  Take this model and stretch it up in the torso and down in the legs and that's probably more accurate.  Just from looking myself over in my birthday suit (by myself of course) I can see where my problem areas have gotten so much better and the changes in my body are visually noticeable all over really.   The only thing is my boobs aren't getting smaller fast enough for me.  But as I have previously mentioned I gained the most weight then I have ever gained in my entire life!  Of course it's going to take a little longer and more work to get to the final goal.  If you would like to make your own model check it out Here you'll get a kick out of it.  It's fun to mess around with and will be interesting to see throughout my weight-loss journey. 

~Meredith

"All I Do Is Win Win Win No Matter What!"

Despite the gloomy cold day it got off to a great start!  I woke up and almost forgot to weigh in; I was THAT tired!  But I remembered right before I started to make my shake.  I ran my rear back to my bathroom, shed all my garments, and stepped on the scale... -2 additional pounds!!!  Not only did I lose 2 pounds by this mornings weigh in... That is 2 additional pounds from my 0.8 loss yesterday morning; after my last post.  Since my last post I've lost 2.8 pounds total bringing my GRAND TOTAL weight loss to 21.2 pounds!  

**DOIN THE HAPPY DANCE!!!**

I got a super late start to the day today.  After work yesterday I went to the gym and got a long good work out in.  I swam 1000 meters in 30 minutes!  Then headed off to the gym to run on the elliptical for 50 minutes for close to 4.50 miles.  Afterwards I showered and dressed at the gym and headed out to visit one of my besties and her precious bundle!  We were up till nearly 5am talking, hanging out, and getting me some baby time.  So I didn't get to sleep till the wee hours of the morning today.  I slept in till 11am (6 hours of sleep) before my precious loves playing noises woke me out of a good sleep!  I drug Myself out of bed and to the blender, weighed, and now I'm letting my breakfast shake settle before heading off to the gym.  After seeing my weight as 215.8 on the scale it was like a double shot from the coffee shop of energy!  So I'm ready to go and ready to get those numbers down even more!  I'm now 15.8 pounds away of meeting my first 90 day challenge goal weight!  I can do this, yes!!! 

~Meredith

A Woman Fighting Like a Man in Weightloss War

As I previously mentioned several posts back my computer died.  Well my amazing superman of a Husband fixed it!  Yep, he's the best!  Basically he took out the crashed hard drive and purchased a new one for this particular Lap top and set it all up... WA-LA!  This lady here is pretty excited to finally be able to post with out squinting my eyes on my tiny little phone to blog!

Anyhow moving on...  Let's start with the last 3 weeks maybe 4 going back.  My weekends have consisted of traveling and family events.  Enough to get me off my STRICT Vi Shake diet.  I had them for my breakfasts and lunches when I was able to make them.  Although my vacation to Denver was a NO shake weekend.  The airlines probably wouldn't have appreciated my bringing a large mixer on the airplane with a large spinney blade in it LOL so I opted normal food that weekend.  The next weekend I had previously made plans ahead of time to accompany my sister and her mother in law to this amazing Wine Vineyard in Anadarko, OK.  Way far from home for me and the whole point was of course wine tasting and lunch with the girls.  Despite the fact I chose healthy and moderated how much wine... it was just enough to go with the (no exercising) bit to throw my body off.  Sunday I was on the shakes but no sitter for my kids for me to go sweat it all out.  SO this last weekend came and we went on a little trip some place nice... I can't exactly talk details such as why, where, and who.  A family secret, yes!  Don't we all have them *wink  I am excited to report although the interruption I had one good visit to the gym and line danced for 2 hours in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  I have to say...It was the BEST weekend ever!!

So we are now currently up to this week.  As I mentioned I had 3-4 weeks where my schedule was just NOT working out like I like.  So I hit a plateau on the weight loss.  Never fear my focus was there; I kept pushing through that time period with every opportunity to be on my normal diet and exercise like normal when possible.  So I am please to share I made it through my first weight-loss plateau!  Let me break it down for you...

• Last weigh in recorded down 220.8
• Over the last 2 weeks (or so) 4# gain = total 224.8
• As of Wednesday last week lost 2#'s of gained weight = 222.8
• As of Friday Last week Lost additional 2#'s = 220.8 (original lowest weight from last recorded)
• As of Last Night Lost 0.8 #'s = 220#'s
• As of this morning Weight Loss -1.4#'s = current weight 218.6!!

That brings me to my lowest so far!  Grand total weight loss to date: 18.4#!!!  There for a while I was really feeling awful and pushed myself despite the plateau.  I kept going and kept pushing and I've finally made it over the first hump so to speak.  I imagine there will be quite a few periods like that during my journey.  I say BRING EM' ON Suckas!!  I'm gonna fight this fight to the death!

As for visual changes I DO Notice so much already.  My front spare tire is shrinking and already much smaller!  My back in shaping up, waste is coming in on the right places, booty and legs are becoming more toned!  My boobs are getting smaller (not small enough for me yet LOL)  My arms are shaping up and my face looks skinner.  I had gained weight to the heaviest I've ever been which caused my size 18 dress pants and jeans to be uncomfortably snug forcing me to buy dress pants in 20's!  AWFUL!  I've never exceeded an 18 in my life!  I am pleased to announce the 20's fall right off of me now.  I was noticing my 18's fit like they were supposed to then today I realized their getting too big on me.  I can still wear them.  I'd say I'm stuck in between 16-18 dress size for now.  But I have my 16's hung up crisp and ready to put on!  I'll be even more excited when I get down to a 10!  I have jeans I've been holding onto for that moment! I am hoping in about -18.4 pounds I loose I'll have my 16's on!  One last thing to add; I am the Matron of Honor for my baby sisters wedding in June.  My dress that I ordered in January "18" was extremely snug.  It came in this last Monday.  When I tried it on my whole top half was swimming in it!  Essentially I am waiting to the very last minute I can to get it altered.  I'm hoping they'll just get me a size 16 (or better) by then!  *fingers crossed*  I will be weighing in Saturday morning and praying I will have even more of a loss to report! I did meet my next work out goal...I made it to running 6 miles in 65 minutes today!  It was completely invigorating!

                                                                                                                             ~Meredith

Approaching the One Month Mark

Here I sit today posting just a few short days until my 1 month mark.  I started the Vi Challenge on January 26th...The 26th of February is a short 3 days away!!!  I am not weighing in on the 26th necessarily... I will Weigh in at the end of the work week before I leave for Colorado.  I want a full weeks work out under my belt before my weekly meeting with the scale.  However I am stoked to find out the grand total weight loss after one full month of replacing Breakfast and lunch with Vi Shakes. 

So far it's been so much easier than I anticipated.  I really love food, especially breakfast food and really bad foods which are oh so good.  There have been about a handful of times when my husband is cooking bacon for the kids my mouth has watered and I considered 1 piece.  I learned after those times I'm much stronger now than I used to be.  I am glad to report I DID NOT cheat and I DID NOT eat any bacon!!!  I know there are thousands of ways to "cut back" or "eat healthier lighter" portions.  For myself these shakes have been a life savor because their just so easy and thoughtless.  I get the full satisfaction I need and snack on nuts in between shakes.  I feel like I've eaten when really I have not.  I have developed a good habit of taking my multi-vitamin every day with out missing along with my water pills.  I feel energized and better all the way around.  By the time dinner comes I'm so excited to eat!  I know exactly how many calories are in my main "go to" week-night meals. Its a click of a button on my iPhone to count the calories for anything such as a restaurant.  I can tell my stomach as shrunk because I get fuller faster and stay full!  The only downside to the VI shakes is not only is it replacing my meals and helping keep better track of my calorie/protein intake; its cleansing my system STILL!  Sometimes not so pleasant but I can tell its detoxing my system and filling it with the proper amounts of nutrients needed. 

As for last weeks weigh-in I lost 1.5 pounds.  I had pizza with my family twice last week for dinner.  Although I can't complain because I still lost!  As for this week I've put my foot down; no fast food with the family but planned out chicken meals all week and stew the last two days for my dinners.  I eat a fresh homemade salad with all my meals with homemade ranch dressing-its so delicious!  Also, I am not going to do any strength exercises over the next month.  I did for about the last two weeks. For the next 4 weeks I'm focusing strictly on cardio to help shed the pounds.  Then in my 3rd month I'll add small amounts of strength exercises to my cardio work outs for sculpting. 

As I previously mentioned I used to lifeguard and swim A LOT!  We didn't have a swim team at my school so I never had that option as a teenager.  Although I still have such a passion for swimming!  I love it, I'm good at it, and it makes me feel so great!  So I purchased my new swim goggles and got reacquainted with the swimming lanes!  It was HARD at first.  I was able to tell just out of shape I really am.  So I took it slow and easy the first time-struggled getting the breathing down...But the second time on it's been so invigorating while I'm swimming and afterwards.  I have my breathing back down so off I go!  So far the longest I have swam is 1000 meters.  The length of the pool is 25 meters one way.  So down and back is 50 meters... To get to 500 meters I swim 10 laps (down and back as 1 lap) to get to 1000 I swim 20 laps (down and back as  lap)  Now that I am back in my groove I'm swimming and working out on the elliptical in one work out session.  For example on average I will swim between 500-1000 meters (depending on the pool schedule) then use the elliptical for 50-65 minutes high intensity. On average I'm burning 1,020ish-1,200+) calories a work out.  Needless to say I'm pretty darn sore. 

As for this weeks results: Lost 2.2 lbs this week bringing my total correct weight loss to -14lbs!  Next week I'll do my weekly/monthly count on weight loss and report those results!  It's so hard to believe I've made it through 1 out of 3 months of my 1st challenge!  My motivation is on high and I have a lot of uplifting family members and friends who are encouraging me on on a daily basis!  I couldn't do this with out their support.  Most of all my husband has been my biggest fan.  He has complimented me every day, asked how my work out and shakes are going, and always tells me what a wonderful job I'm doing! I am truly blessed and count my sweet blessings each day! 

~Meredith