Hi Girls!!! It was great to see you guys when I was in town. Since my trip, I feel like I've been doing so much better emotionally. Going to Colorado and spending time with great friends was exactly what I needed!! Amber you look great. I could tell that you had lost a little more weight...keep it up. You'll definitely have to keep us updated on how Crossfit is going. The more I learn about it, the more I realize that I'm probably too weak to do it. It's way too intense...but I truly admire you and Aaron for doing it. Shannon...Brazilian Butt Lift is definitely doing some great things for your BOOTY!! BTW, I took the pencil test and I'm pretty sure my saddle bags could hold a pencil or two...normally, I would have cried but for some reason, I thought it was funny.

One of my best friends, Kyla does Crossfit but the Crossfit gym schedule is not the most ideal for her right now. SOOOOO, she asked if she could borrow some of my Chalean cardio videos for the days that she can't make it to Crossfit. She was actually very impressed with the workouts. She said that she was sore for days. It was so nice to talk to someone here in Texas that had done some Chalean!!! Finally! I'm gonna keep trying to win her over into the world of Chalean.

Honestly, I'm still not 100% deligent with my working out. I think I'm in need of some rest and renewed inspiration. So, I'm going to take a full week off next week to pray about getting back into things with amazing strength, motivation, and dedication. The past 2-weeks or so, my weight has not gone above 122. It has actually gone as low as 120.3 which is the lowest I've been in a very, very, very long time. I feel great so I'm not too worried about taking some time off. I'll keep you guys updated!!!

Happy sweating!!!

All squats are NOT created equal.

Hi girls! Another few weeks have slipped by & I've fallen behind on blogging! So sorry! Sarai, it was wonderful visiting with you on your trip to Colorado. I wish we could see you every weekend...or work with you each week? Just kidding. I am truly thrilled that you are enjoying your job in Lubbock. It sounds like a good place to be. I agree with Shannon & am pleased that you have found a balance between workouts, eating, & life, and are not obsessing about either to any extent. Hope your birthday was a fun-filled day & you were able to do something special!

Shannon, I think its fantastic you have found yet another program that you can stick with and get results from! I am also impressed with your eating changes! I've noticed some yummy salads sneaking their way into your lunches lately=)=)=)

Aaron's personal training is going really well, & I think he's found a true passion. He says he's never been this motivated or happy about going to school. He is really, really taking it seriously, & I think it is a possible reality that he sticks with this for a few years before pursuing maritime school. We shall see. As long as he is happy, & we are able to pay our bills, I would love for him to stick with this...after all, it means free personal training sessions for ME!!!

He's taught me how to do a 'real squat'. Its nothing close to what I thought a real squat was. Basically you bring your butt lower than parallel to the floor-almost touching the back of your calves, & focus on pressing your knees outward, because Aaron learned that most weighted-squat knee injuries occur if your knees tilt inward toward each other. He has me hold a weighted ball out in front of me to help stabilize my position & that brings my core, shoulders, & knees into proper alignment, like magic. It doesn't hurt my knees at all, but the movement is so unfamiliar & intense I can only do about 12 without weights & my legs are totally smoked. I've maintained my weightloss this month, but haven't lost more. I'm comfortable with that because I know I am adding muscle. My goal is to lose about 3 more pounds before I'm completely satisfied. There is still some jiggle going on that I don't approve of =) I am really enjoying working out with Aaron, I think we are learning from each other. He's teaching me the workout logistics, but I'm teaching him what NOT to say to his future female clients.

Have a super week!

Day Off!!

Well, I had to take today off since I have a foot injury. It is nothing big. Though I am obviously not a Doctor, I think it is Plantar Fasciitis based on the research I did. It is no big deal, just an inflammation of that tissue. I was going to still workout but after yesterday's workout (which was very painful-foot pain I mean), a long day of shopping off and on, and walking Apollo, I was in a lot of pain by the end of the day, so I decided to rest today. Anyway, not much else is going on with me in terms of my workouts. I am going to do one more month of the Brazilian butt lift and then go back to Chalean Extreme and maybe do some sort of alternating between CE and BBL...we will see.

Sarai,
You will definitely have to let me know what you think of Turbo Fire. I am glad that you haven't been "worrying" about not working out as much or your eating as you used to. It really can become obsessive, which isn't necessarily a good thing even though it is with healthy habits.

Anyway, I hope you are both doing well. Take care!!

Lost track...or switch tracks???

Hi Girls!!! Sorry I haven't been so great about keeping in touch but I haven't really had much to report. At least it didn't feel like it. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm having a season of "slacking off" with my diet and exercise. Not sure why, but my consistency with maintaining my workouts and eating right are fair at best. I could give you about a thousand and one excuses but the bottom line is that I'm struggling. Normally, I would feel guilty and horrible about what I'm going through but I honestly think that God is trying to teach me something through all of this. Not sure exactly what but I definitely feel like my obsession about weight and my body are subsiding while my desire for God and acceptance for what I look like are increasing. Having said that, I know myself and I have faith that God will restore my consistency with my work outs and my eating...but this time, hopefully with a more pure and healed heart.

The thing that has kept me "sane" through all of this is that my weight hasn't really fluctuated. In fact, at one point in the past few weeks, my weight dipped down to 120.9. I almost had a heart attack when I saw the number on the scale but honestly, I was just thankful for the strong body that God has given me. The other thing that has kept me motivated is that for the past 4-5 years, I have maintained a steady level of progress which I'm excited to continue with. I started 2006 with a weight range of 140-143; 2007 with a weight range of 135-140; 2008 with a weight range of 130-135; 2009 with a weight range of 126-130; and 2010 with a weight range of 124-127. Right now, I'm sitting comfortably at a weight range of 121-123. I'm a size 4/6...I think I can deal with that. I think I can actually feel very proud of my accomplishment. I still want to meet my goal of 115 by December but it's not as high on the priority list as it was before. AHHHHH, freedom...feels good.

Thanks for letting me pep talk myself. I needed that. I'm so excited about TurboFire. I'm going to finish out the year with Chalean Extreme but then I'm definitely gettin it in January...CAN'T WAIT!!!

Amber, I am so stinking proud of you...118?!!!!! Are you kidding me...you're amazing. And Shannon, you have always been such a wonderful inspiration. I will pray for you and Pat as you make modifications to your diet. I love you both and I hope to see you both this weekend for a TIGHT A.S.S. REUNION!!!!

Getting on track....

So, as you guys know or at least just recently read, I have started the new Brazil Butt Lift program (two weeks down) and it has definitely helped with my mental and physical status. Mentally, I am more "excited" about working out and I am having more "fun" because the workouts are new enough that I don't find myself getting bored. Physically, my body is getting challenged in different ways, so every workout I "feel" my muscles working hard to complete the exercises. So, this change prompted me to decide to get back on track with my eating as well and maybe even take it a little more serious then before. While I wasn't doing anything just horrible with my eating before, I definitely was doing bigger portions and definitely a lot more sugar (i.e. cookies), but I have changed things. I just bought a bunch of salad stuff and chicken to go on top....so, I am going to try to take after Amber (a very faithful salad eater:)) and incorporate more of that into my diet. Pat and I are also going to limit our "splurge" eating (if you will) to 1-2 times a week instead of 3-4 because of our schedule and time together. Hopefully with both of us trying to get on track with our eating, we will be there for each other so we don't have quite so many slip-ups.

Well, that is my news. Hope things are going well for both of you. :)