Its Not Easy Getting Fit

Its been a long while since my last post, but that doesn't mean I've given up. I'll never give up. I've been maintaining around 153 lbs and I'm now able to buy size 10 pants in almost any brand (we all know how women's pants are, no "10" is the same). In shirts I can now buy a medium! That was one goal I have had since the beginning, it was always so frustrating to have to buy a size XL or XXL. Its so nice being able to shop in any store, before I was pretty much limited to Lane Bryant. Now I can shop in stores like The Limited, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and New York & Co. and not have to wonder if their largest size will fit.

I've really been trying to add more lean muscle mass lately, which is a good reason why my weight loss has slowed dramatically. I've also been looking up different functional fitness moves and I've really started to love kettle bells. There is just so much you can do with them and get an awesome workout. I've also purchased a weighted stability ball for at home ($6 on clearance) so that when I get bored I can play around with that... Haden loves to play with it too.

With school starting soon I'm getting nervous, not about maintaining my weight, but about the class work. Maintaining is on my mind, its not easy, but I know if I continue to live the life style, eat right & workout I'll be just fine. And the school has a fitness center so I have no excuses.
The class that worries me the most is my math class, in high school I never took trig or pre calc and I'm not good at math at all. I guess thats what they have tutors for huh?

That's all for now, stay healthy everyone <3

New Goals/Upsetting News

It has been a few weeks since I've posted anything. Sorry about that, its been crazy around here with packing for the move to the new house and with Haden starting daycare.
I did reach my goal a few weeks ago and I have managed to lose two more pounds since then this week. I don't have very much to lose before I reach 100 pounds lost. Hard to believe! 8 pounds away from that goal. Still have a long ways to go to reduce my body fat to 20%, but I know it is going to take  a long time and I have to be patient.
I currently have almost no clothes that fit properly, they are all way too big. So most of the time I wear my gym clothes because they are the only thing that does not fall off my butt or look super baggy.

On another, no so jolly note... I just found out that I can not go to Penn State York for a major in Nutritional Science... sure I could start there, but then after 2 years I would have to move to Penn State Main in State College to finish for another 2 years. My life is here in York. Its not my favorite place to live, but my husband has a good job, and we found a house to rent for less money than we are spending now in rent. I have looked into other schools in this area and can't find a major that is comparable or even close to what I can to do for a career. I also looked into being able to transfer to a school in Lancaster (45 mins away) after the 2 years.. they don't offer the major either. So right now I have to decide to either not go to school & be stuck in the retail world for the rest of my life  or pick different major that is available to me. I was SO close to starting school, all I have to do is schedule classes! Nothing like waiting till the last minute to tell someone something so important. I was told when I applied that I would be able to finish my major at this campus. Is penn state that desperate for students?!?!?
It would probably be WAY to difficult for us to live apart while I would finish school, I would have to take Haden to state college with me, but I know we would not be able to afford to rent 2 different places. Its just really upsetting. This is what I want to do, this is what I'm passionate about but its so out of reach & unattainable.
Tomorrow I have an advisor meeting at the school so hopefully I will figure something out. Maybe I could Major in biology (if they even offer it!) and minor in nutrition.

Thanks for reading my rant, <3 You All.

So Close!!

I am now just 3 pounds away from my starting goal of 160 pounds!! It is still really hard for me to believe it. And yeah sometimes I do still feel like I'm 249 pounds. I catch myself looking at clothes that are WAY too big for me and I've even walked into Lane Bryant's clothing store. Only when I finally realise the sales lady is starring at me does it click into my head that I no longer fit into anything they sell. Which is a good thing but I used to shop there a lot and really liked some of their clothing (but not the price!). Which I really need to buy some new clothes. I currently only have 2 pairs of pants that don't fall off of my backside. A pair of gym pants and a pair of black dress pants.
Mom if your reading this that's a 'hint hint wink wink' - clothing store gift cards for my birthday... Hahahaha! Hey you can't blame a girl for trying!

I'm so grateful for all of the support I have received from friends, family and folks at the gym. I've gotten so many complements and so many encouraging words. It really does help drive me forward. So Thank You All for your support! I hope that in the long run my journey helps others to do the same. Even if its just small changes like eating more fruits & vegetables or swapping soda for water.

Thanks again everyone and I look forward to the day when I get to tell you all that I've met my goal.

86 down, 3 TO GO!

Bring It On New Year!

I weighed in on New Years day, I lost another pound. So I'm saying Bring it on! LOL. I'm ready to see what this year brings. Its going to be a busy year... hopefully starting school, going to Illinois in May, and Haden is turning 3. Its going to be hectic at times but I will always find a way to fit in my workouts & if I get into school I'll be going for nutrition so that will help remind me to eat right no matter what.

Good luck with your resolutions everyone!

Update

I got some really exciting news this morning! In about 1 month I lowered my Body Fat Percentage by almost 3%. I'm now at 27.7% YAY!!! I'm almost at the fitness level. Super exciting and I've also lost another pound. I might not be losing a whole lot on the scale lately, but my body is changing in very big ways internally & externally. I won't be making my goal of 160 before the new year but it doesn't matter. I'm still working at it and thats all that matters.

I hope everyone has a Happy & Healthy New Year!
I'm super excited to see what 2012 will bring!

Update

Its been a while since I've posted. I'm working out still... as usual. My workouts are progressing and I'm constantly finding out just how much my body has changed. I can now do sit ups with weights in both hands (I couldn't do 1 sit up when I first started).
My trainer and I have started adding more & more weight lifting to my exercises. He really kicked my butt today. My workout today was a quick 5 minute warm-up, 30 minutes with my trainer (mostly weights) and 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer. I felt awesome after my workout, but I know I will be sore either 1 or 2 days from now from the muscle exhaustion.
I'm so happy to be so close to my beginning goal weight. I still plan on losing after I reach 160, it doesn't matter how long it takes but I would really like to get down to 149 pounds before I start school, which I am still waiting on my acceptance letter. 149 would be 100 pounds lost AKA a LOT of WEIGHT! But mostly I will be happy when I can find a comfortable & healthy weight to maintain.
I'm currently at 167 lbs... so hard to believe

Body Fat % & Waist Size

Ok so I'm going to complain here for a second before we get down to business, why? Because I'm sick AGAIN! Third time so far this fall/winter. I was only sick twice last year! Ridiculous really.

Anyways.... On to the good news! My personal trainer tested my Body Fat % again today. We were both very surprised and happy to see how much the number has changed in such a short amount of time. When we checked it for the very first time (which I wish I had my numbers from when I first started this journey, but I wasn't very good at keeping track of everything) I was at 199 pounds.. my body fat percentage was a staggering obese 36.3%...... YIKES! We tested it a second time at 184.4 pounds and my body fat was at 33.9%... still pretty freaking ugly. But... drum roll please.... hahaha.. at 173.0 pounds it is at 30.0%!! I am now in the "average" percentile!! YAY!  [at 24% I will be in the fitness range]
I also changed my waist measurement by quite a lot, when I measured for my wedding dress (I was still in the 200s) it was 46 inches and now my waist is 39.5 inches. Also my pant size, in the very beginning, was a very tight fitting 22/24 and now (depending on the brand) I fit into a size 10 or 12. My size 12 New York & Co. Jeans are soon retiring, they are getting too big. I actually had to steal my husbands belt to keep them at my waist.

All the news really made my day. Especially with being sick, I needed something to cheer me up. It really helped me get through my workout today.

Thanks for reading everybody!