Thanks Everyone!

Thank you everyone that game me advice on what to wear yesterday!! I was going to chose one dress and return the other I decided to keep both and wear them during the summer : ) But here are a few pics from the wedding!

The winner was

Number 2!!

my handsome hubs

before the ceremony

me and the bride

windy!!

all in all it was a fun night! Love weddings! Thanks again everyone for the advice I appreciate it

What dress???

Bloggie friends! Going to a wedding tonight not sure what dress to wear help!!
Option 1



Or option 2



Let me know asap!! Thanks I very much I appreciate it!!

First giveaway coming soon!

Once I hit 100 followers I am going to do my first giveaway!!!! I'm looking forward to it and only about 21ppl to go. I'll be doing a prize for a random follower (details to come on how to qualify) and a prize for the 100th follower could it be you?!?!?!

Catching up!

So I think its been about a week or so since I last posted. I don't know why, like I always say I'm here reading every day but just not much to write about. I had a weigh in on Wednesday and honestly I thought I was going to bomb it with the way my dinners have been lately, but I was down to 167.8 and this morning I weighed in at 167.2! Which once again puts me below my second goal of losing 10% I'm not going to count it the second weigh in until its a for sure thing next Wednesday on weigh in day, but it's nice to see the scale moving in the right direction again. I feel like in a way I kinda shocked my body by changing my calorie intake. I haven't been following ww completely 100% for about a week now. I would count my points used during the day but once dinner came I would pretty much eat whatever and however much I wanted. I did notice that if we did go to a restaurant that I would still make healthy choices unlike what I would do before. I never did eat from fast food though. I'm kind of over fast food in all reality. But now that I am back to being on plan by body is back to losing mode thank god.

My goal for April was to get under 165 and I don't think that's honestly going to happen. I'm really close but I really blew it this month. I got into a funk once my work schedule changed then getting put on jury duty (which I love btw) but now I am finally getting back in the groove. My jury duty is always out by 430 so I have been going to zumba and eating right since I can take my lunch. I have given up on being lazy for dinners and started cooking again. The last two nights I have tried new recipes and have loved them. Everything I have made out of the ww cookbook so far has been delicious!!! I have gone to zumba the past two nights but taking a break tonight to see some family. Then Friday I am going to a wedding where I am sure there will be plenty of dancing, then Saturday I am going to a Zumba toning class.

I felt like I was getting complacent with where I was at in my current weight. I thought I looked ok, obviously not where I wanted to be since I have another 25lbs to go but I was semi happy with where I was. Things fit well and I got noticed again and the words hot and sexy had been coming out of my husbands mouth a lot more frequently. Then on Easter Sunday, I saw a lot of family that I haven't seen since Christmas and I have lost about 18lbs since Christmas so it shows. Everyone's reaction seemed to be "wow you have lost a lot of weight you look good, great, awesome," a bunch of different things. It always makes me a feel a little awkward when ppl notice I have lost weight. I don't really know what to say besides thank you. It makes me feel uncomfortable in a way especially when it comes from someone overweight or who has failed at weight loss previously. It also sometimes makes me thing I looked really ugly before when I was heavier with peoples shocked reactions. Does anyone ever feel this way when people notice their weight loss? Don't get me wrong I love that people notice and that's what has fueled the fire in me to get back into it. I haven't seen these ppl in a while and I have lost about 18lbs and they all notice if I can get to goal by the next time I see them what will they think then??? Obviously I am not doing this for other people but I was getting discouraged by not seeing the evil scale move in the right direction, but these people made everything so clear to me. Yah its been a few weeks since I had seen a loss, yah I may not be where I thought I was going to be at this point, but I have come a long way in a few months. Almost 20lbs down since December that may be slow but I have kept it off and I have worked hard to get to where I am now. I am at my half way point and the only place to go from here is down. My goal is within a reachable distance and I can't wait to get there!

I have come to realize

That routine keeps me in check. I was selected for jury duty and will be in court the next three weeks. That's really all I can say about it but the whole thing has completely thrown off my routine. Before I would be at the gym at least 3-4x's a week while throwing in zumba when it worked with my schedule then I would come home and cook dinner and never really go over points unless we went out somewhere which didn't happen often. Now that I have been in jury duty the past week I have felt completely thrown off, I have no energy I'm not in the mood to cook ever when I get home and the gym hasn't happened since Monday. I haven't seen any change on the scale because I haven't been overeating. I can take my lunch to the court which has been great, I couldn't imagine having to buy it everyday for three weeks+, and I have been making breakfast like I should be. Just dinner time I am exhausted. Who would of thought sitting all day would make you tired. The good thing about having jury duty is that I now have Saturday and Sunday's off for the next three weeks. So what that means is that I get to go to a Saturday boot camp at 10 then a zumba class at 11 at the same place! Hopefully this is the jumpstart I need to get back into the fitness routine. I will keep you updated and let you know how it goes but I'm really looking forward to it.

I hate when I start a month off with all of these plans and one simple thing can throw me off I don't know why its that way. I really wanted to be at goal by June 1st. obviously that is not going to happen. I have 25lbs to go so that would put me at mid August if I can lose 1.5lbs a week. I would ideally like to be at goal by my bday which is august 7th. It's time to get focused and honestly just stop being lazy. Sticking to the diet isn't the only thing that will get me there I need to add the workouts back in.

Last thing thank you to all of my new and not so new followers!! I appreciate your love and following me it means a lot!! Sorry I haven't been able to reply back to your posts. I read blogs from work and it doesn't allow me to comment on any posts but don't think I don't appreciate it!!!

Chobani review

Chobani was nice enough to send me a box of their flavors to sample and write a review about and I haven't gotten around to doing it until now!




This is the box they sent me with the different flavors. Here are some facts from their website

Www.chobani.com

All natural. No preservatives.
No artificial flavors.
Free of synthetic growth hormones. (Milk from cows not treated with rBST
Includes 5 live & active cultures, including 3 probiotics.
Made with real fruit.
Twice the protein of regular yogurts.
A good source of bone-building calcium.
Gluten-Free and Kosher-Certified.
Safe for people with corn, nut and soy allergies.

The flavor options are amazing. They have been a little hard for me to find in the stores but when I do I stock up!! I'm going to review each flavor just like I did with my review on the vitatops.

Peach: I loved the peach one. This flavor had the best amount of fruit chunks out of all of them. I live how it tasted and paired it up with breakfast.

Pineapple: this flavor is my favorite out of them all. If you enjoy pineapple you will for sure love this yogurt!!! I love to have this one as a mid day snack for only 3pts+ I lucked out because they sent me two in my box!

Strawberry: this flavor I was not too impressed with. I have had it before but it is less fruity then the rest and the fruit is less chunky and more liquid which I'm not a huge fan of. This would be good to have with a low protein breakfast to help keep you fuller longer.

Mango: mango was delicious and had great chunks in it. As you can tell I prefer the more chunky yogurts :-)

Blueberry: this is another one of my top faves. This one is not as chunky as the rest but it mixes well. The blueberry is so good if I have a craving for sweets after lunch I normally grab for this yogurt flavor.

Raspberry: this one surprised me. It tasted a lot better then I expected it to. Also one not as chunky as some of the other ones.

Lemon: not a fan of this one at all. I'm not a fan of lemon in general and I couldn't get over the taste.

Plain low fat and plain non fat: These were both used for green protein smoothie shakes

Black cherry: This also was another surprise to me I took it to work to have for a snack and it got to cold and actually froze up. so when I went to eat it I had to let it sit for a while but once it thawed a bit it was super cold and super delicious.

Pomegranate: This one was another that I didn't like. I'm not a huge fan of pomegranate and the flavor didn't sit well with me

All in all chobani is a great alternative to some other popular yogurts and they are not filled with aspertame and high fructose corn syrup. Definetly pick some up and try it out it's a good high protein low point snack.

I'm ready to get back in it!

source

I still have not gone to the gym yet... I don't know what the issue has been but I have been so exhausted after work lately and I probably have no energy since I haven't been working out lol. My hubby has been having pains in his fore arm from lifting and hasn't been going to the gym either because he wanted to take a week off and I think that is kind of throwing me off since we go together normally. My work came out with the new scheduling system and I am never out of there before 6 and 6 is on a good day. That also doesn't help since most of my time was devoted to Zumba that started at 630 BUT! I went to jury duty on Tuesday and I was asked to come back for round two of selections on Monday. If I am chosen for the final jury I will be off of work for almost almost a month and out of trial at 5 so that leaves my evenings open for any kind of workout!! I can't discuss what the trial is about until afterward but it seems interesting and I would love to experience it! Have any of you been on a jury if so how was your experience?

So I'm back to being focused and my points restarted yesterday I am in a wedding end of June and I would really like to be down another 15lbs at the least by then I have 10weeks until the date so I for sure should be able to be down that many!!! I only have 27lbs to go until I'm at goal so I'm at my half way point. I slacked off a bit but I'm ready to get back into it. I'm so thankful it didn't affect the scale at all. I weighed in at 169.0 this week only a few more pounds until my 10%mark.

I'm behind on recipes but I'm going to make 4 different ones this weekend to make up for the two weeks I'm behind. Thinking of making a soup, a dessert, a cocktail, and a side item. My mom also asked me to bring an entree to easter lunch with my family. So I need to find a recipe for that through ww but it has to feed at least 10. That's a big meal!! Any suggestions?

Sorry for the rambling! Hope everyone has a good healthy week!

Vitalicious Review!

source

Sarah Long was nice enough to offer some samples for review on my blog from vitalicious! If you haven't tired thier product and you are currently are on a weight loss journey you need to get to the closest store that sells them or order a sample pack online because they are not only healthy but simply amazing! They only need to be cooked for about 20-25secs in the microwave and you can have them for breakfast, a snack, or dessert! Here is some background info that sarah sent me!

"NEW YORK, NY – Two years before the country’s largest food manufacturers poured
millions into promoting 100-calorie portioned snacks, Aryeh Hecht had already launched the
category in 2002 with his 2-ounce, 100-calorie VitaMuffins. Though moist, chocolate chip-studded chocolate muffins and rich brownies slathered with frosting and nuts don’t sound like diet foods, Mr. Hecht’s mission with VitaliciousFoods was to create baked goods to offer sound nutrition,not just portion control.

While most of today’s 100-calorie foods are loaded with sugar, artificial ingredients and preservatives, Vitalicious baked goods still remain as eponymously “vital” and “delicious” as they were at the outset of the now thriving category.

Over the years, Vitalicious’ individually-wrappedVitaMuffin™, VitaTops™, VitaBrownies™, VitaCakes™ and VitaMuffin Mix™ have exploded inpopularity among dieters and non-dieters alike because they are satisfying and provideexcellent daily nutrition. In fact, clinical studies have found foods high in fiber and protein
help you feel full longer and eat less.

Vitalicious fortifies its products with nutraceuticals, vitamins and nutrients your body needs to stay healthy and energetic. Vitalicious also takes pride in producing only all-natural products, without any artificial additives or preservatives of any kind.

Here is the VitaBreakdown of what you get in each individually-wrapped serving:100 calories
No artificial ingredients
No preservatives
Whole grains
5g - 6g of fiber
0g - 1.5g of fat
3g - 4g protein
15 vitamins and minerals"

 Most of the products are within the 3-4pt+ side. I have been having the chocolate one's for low cal, low point dessert. I was sent out
Dark Chocolate Pomegranate: This one is my least fave of the ones I have tried. The chocolate is good but I am not a huge fan of pomegranate and the taste is pretty strong.
Pumpkin Spice: Have not had this one yet
Corn Muffin: This one was very good! I paired it up with chicken and steamed veggie dinner and it was delicious!
Mint Chocolate: If you like chocolate and mint you will love this one!!! The mint is not too powerful but I love to have this with glass of milk.
Apple Crumb: This one is by far my fave for breakfast!!! I made some scrambled egg whites and threw this in the microwave for 20secs and it came out perfect. It was so delicious and reminded me of a healthier apple pie!
Fudgy peanut Butter: This one is a little on the plain side. I couldn't taste the peanut butter very much but still great for dessert.
Deep Chocolate: I have had this one before that I purchased myself I made this one and cut up some strawberries and bananas and put them in a bowl together. Very good and low point dessert!
RaisinBran: I'm not a huge fan of raisins so this one didn't sit well with me. Also the bran tasted a little dried out to me and I ended up giving it to hubby. He likes stuff like this in general and loved it.
Banana Nut: This is another good one for breakfast or I will have it as a mid morning snack at work since it's quick and easy to eat.
Cran bran: Haven't tried this one yet.
Banana Fudge: This was good had a lot of fudge
and a deep chocolate brownie pack: I have only had one of these. It's 4pts+ per brownie so I use these sparingly depending on how many I have left during the day.

Thanks for sticking with this long review!  Last thing I have about this awesome product is

is that they are only a few hundred fans to go before they reach 15,000 fans on Facebook, so Vitalicious will be giving 50% off one of its most popular 100-calorie VitaTops for one hour if the milestone number is reached by April 15^th!! Once Vitalicious reaches 15,000 fans, within 24 hours, Vitalicious will announce the chosen product and start time for the “Happy Hour.”

Once “Happy Hour” begins, that flavor will automatically be discounted 50% upon checkout at Vitalicious.com for 60 minutes. So go and "like" them here!!

Awful weekend!

So I have been mia for the past few days life has been one crazy place!!! I may have had the worst eating weekend ever. You may remember a few posts back that I mentioned wanting to get back into doing nails again. Well I have been doing nails on the side for friends and family and last week I had two different people wanting to have them done, tie that along with a new work schedule and my workouts have become no existent. It's so weird skipping almost a week of not working out. I don't like it at all and I'm hoping to get back into this week and if not for sure next week. I have to work till 830 twice this week and then I also have 3 different ppl wanting to get their nails done. The following week though no one is wanting to come get anything done as of now so we will see how that goes. I know these are all excuses but I'm stretched beyond thin right now. I haven't sacrificed my eating at all during the week everything has been good except for the awful weekend mentioned above. Don't get me wrong it was an awesome weekend but we will see what happens tomorrow at weigh in. So Friday I had my bros gf come get her nails done for prom. So I had not only mine but 4other mouths to feed so we decided to go with something easy and order pizza. Now I know I didn't have to have any since I was eating at home but it was just to easy to pass up with the time constraints I had. Then Saturday for dinner my hubs took me on a surprise date out to this cute Mexican food place. He asked if I would mind since it would be out of point range and of course I said yes. I don't want counting points to interfere with date nights with my husband. So we had chips and salsa, a margarita of course, I had chicken enchiladas, and we finished it with fried ice cream!! SUPER BAD choices but I'm 100% ok with it but I definitely paid for it the next day. I haven't ate like that in a while and when your body gets used to eating clean fresh foods and you add that to it, it doesn't go well. So the next day I recouped with a lot of water to get the sodium flushed and I was also really tired the whole day, not sure if that was tied to it or not but it was nice to catch up. Then for dinner that night the father in law had us over for a bbq. I don't think I did too bad there it was bbq ribs, pasta salad, but a lot of wine. I also brought the dessert. I made fudge from ww.

I haven't seen too much of a difference on the scale so far but only time will tell. Tomorrow is my official weigh in. I'm not expecting a loss but hoping for at least a maintain. I really miss working out and I just need to get back in it!!! How was everyone's weekend???

Weigh in...

Last weigh in: 171.0lbs
This morning: 169.4lbs
Loss of : 1.6lbs

That was not me this morning lol. I don't know what's going on. Yah its a loss but I'm still losing from what I had gained last weigh in so in a way it doesn't count to me. It's really frustrating because I barley used any of my weekly points I worked out almost everyday and even added in strength training. Also I saw the scale go as low as 167.5 this week and my eating stayed the same the whole week. So yah I'm upset about it a little but I'm just going to stick with it of course and see what happens next week. I also started tracking my calories on sparkpeople this week just to see what I am actually eating and if it's enough to actually lose anything or if my working out is overpowering my eating. I really want to get out of this high 160 mark.

I'm taking to day off from working out to get a rest day in and also I have someone coming to get their nails done. Interesting fact about myself is I went to school to be a nail tech but never got my license. I currently work retail making around $50k a year but am not happy in the current job I have. So I am starting to do some practicing on the side so I can get my license and start working in a salon. The only thing that bothers me about that is the cut in pay I would get. I think it's better to do it now before we start making a family and before hubby starts going to school that way I can get settled in a job build up a clientele. We are also trying to save up two months worth of money for bills just in case I'm not making too much when I first start out. Do you think it's a good decision? What would you do if you were in my position about both things??? I appreciate any input!!!

I'm Spent....

I have officially over done it! I got off of work at 4:30 and headed to the gym and did my "b" day of strength training which seemed to take forever. There were so many people there and a bunch of girls are machine hogs!! My gym has a womens only area and it was packed today. They only have one of each of the machines like legs arms and all that. So while I was working out there was group of 3girls there and they would just lay their towels on the machines they wanted to use even if they were not using them so no one else could. So then I ask to use one of the machines that was next in my rotation and they told me I could after their last set I thought that was incredibly rude lol so I had to wait around for them to finish. Then after that when I wanted a machine and there were people on it they would do their set then just sit there and take the machine and not get off and not do another set. Needless to say it was very frustrating and I don't think I will be going that early again. I like when I go in the evening around 8ish and no one is there. Sometimes I even have the room to myself which is nice. Sorry to be negative but its been a long day.

So after that was over I headed over to my zumba class and I didn't realize until I got there how exhausted I was. My entire body was sore and I just couldn't get into it but I decided to stay the whole time and I am glad that I did. I hope that it makes a difference in my weigh in tomorrow too I am hoping I am getting close to my 10% loss mark I really want to get under 165. I kinda have a feeling I am not eating enough I barely used any of my weekly points and I for sure did not eat any of my activity points. I don't even calculate those because I don't really know what to track. So I'm going to see what happens with my next two weigh ins and see how it goes and if I don't lose anything I'm going to start eating a little bit more. Wish me luck! I'll let you guys know how it goes tomorrow!

Oh! last thing! I'm a big believer in God and I just want to say thank you to him for everything he has blessed me with. I have a good job, in good health, I like that I have the strength and determination to work out and work towards a goal, I have an amazing husband and an awesome family. He has truly blessed me with so many amazing things and opportunities and I couldn't be more thankful!!

First goal reached and a new title!!!

So I just set my April goals a couple of days ago and I can already check one off the list! I ran a 5k under 45mins. Make that under 40mins!!! I ran on Sunday night after my strength training workout and it felt awesome. I put on an episode of south park (I started at season one and making my way to current season) I set the speed to 5mph and went for it. I got to the one mile mark and started to feel a little tired but I just took some deep breaths and took my mind off of it. I noticed that I only had about 15mins left in the show and I wanted to be able to finish it so I just kept going without thinking about it. The show ended and I was at the two mile mark so exciting. That's when I finally gave out though. I go to about a mile and a half and was still under 40mins. The last time I did my 5k I finished around 48 and was determined to finish before that. So I kicked it up to 5.5mph and finished it out at 39mins!!! I went to go take a pic and I hit stop on the treadmill on accident and it cleared it off! I was so incredibly disappointed but that means I just gotta do it again I'm going to try for it Thursday!

I went to an awesome Zumba tonight but I'm so bummed I will not be able to go next Monday since I have to work. I may have jury duty next Tuesday but I'm hoping that they dismiss my group so I don't have to go. The only thing about zumba that bothers me is I get so incredibly sweaty it looks like I peed myself!

  

This pic for example looks like I wet myself lol but it was an awesome workout. Oh! this outfit is brand new it's a medium shirt and a size small pant. they were a little sung but definitely more comfortable  and not falling off the whole time which drives me crazy!!

excuse my weird hairdo lol

I decided to change up the name of this blog and make it from before 2 after. A journey through ww. I think it has a nice ring to it let me know what you think!!! Also my friend Diana just joined the fitness blog world!! Visit her Here!!!! I know everyone is awesome about making new bloggers welcome so show her some love!!!

I should be getting my products from chobani and vitatops to review this week so looking forward to that. Also I will be trying to new desserts so be on the lookout for their reviews too!!

April Goals!

Well March wasn't that great of a month even though I got in a bunch of zumba time I didn't lose very many lbs at all but I managed to lose some inches. I'm ready to make April count so here are my goals for the month!

1. Make 1-2 new ww recipes a week
2. Get under 165lbs (also would get my reward!!)
3. Do my strength training 3x's a week
4. Get my treadmill 5k under 45mins
5. Fit into my 11 jeans from This post

We will see where I go I am determined to get all of them checked off the list!

Changing it up and Progress Pics!!!

This was originally written on Friday Haven't gotten around to posting it:

I am one exhausted lady. I have been to the gym every day so far this week but for sure taking a day off tomorrow. If you have been following you know I have a sushi date tomorrow and I can't wait!!! I decided to go with my gut and change my weigh in day. I think it will work best for me and I will be happier with the results I get. I took measurements and progress pics today. I was going to post my current measurements but I forgot them at work (I'm making a spreadsheet) so I will do it tomorrow.

March Recap:
March was not a good month for me. I have been struggling the last two months to move the scale down. I get it going then I always seem to do something to mess it up. I only lost around 4lbs but it would be up one down two up a few down one. So I didn't make to much progress. April is going to be my month especially since I added in some strength training! Here are a few progress pics

Not to much of adifference

can see it in my waist a little

 I only lost a total of 4.4lbs from feb to april. Honestly I think that's unacceptable and I need to get this show on the road here. I should of been at least down by 8. So I'm ready for an awesome month in April. I wish that I could of been at my goal by my original date of June 1st but I have 26lbs to go and I have two months to do it. It is not a realistic date to lose that much now. On another note I did lose a decent amount of inches 10.75 actually so I guess that makes me feel better. Here is a list of my measurements.

Feb		April
Chest:	33	Chest:	32
Waist:	39.75	Waist	37
Hips:	41	Hips	39.25
Bust:	37	Bust	36
L Thigh	24.5	L thigh	22.25
R Thigh	23.5	R thigh	22
L Bicep	12.5	L bicep	12.5
R Bicep	13.25	R bicep	12.75

so just for fun here are a few comp pics from May 10 to now

I have lost 26lbs and 24.15inches. I hope this time next year I am in maintenance.