Day 148 (Weigh Day #20 & sweat city)

Yesterday’s boot camp proved to be my triumphant return to my mommy mission. It was a bazillion degrees outside (OK, it was 92, whatev), there was absolutely NO wind (no breeze, no titillating rustle of the sun-drenched leaves) and the air hung thick, unmoving, unbending, like a fun little straight jacket slapped on for someone else’s amusement (certainly not my own).

But …

it was freakin' awesome!

I have never, not even on day one of boot camp when my body was staging a full-out revolt against me, sweat sooooo much! It started with little beads of sweat, which gave way to trickles of sweat, which progressed into full on streams of sweat cascading down into places where streams of sweat should never cascade. By the end, I was a lake. A lake of salty sweat (um, eww).

But … again …

it was freakin' awesome!

I was beyond exhausted, I saw more than my fair share of “birdies” and “stars” and lights fading to black. But I never passed out. I never puked. I just plowed through it when I could and rested when I couldn’t.

Weigh Day No. 20 was yesterday. I was still at 197 (thanks to my blizzard binge last week), and, after yesterday’s fried-chicken feast, I didn’t think I’d see a change today.

But …

it was freakin' awesome!

I lost 2 pounds thanks to the sweat session that was boot camp!!!

I’m a little sore today, a little tired, but I am so ready to go again. To push harder than I pushed yesterday.

YAY! I’m lovin’ me some nasty ol’ sweat. =)

P.s. For those of you working it out al fresco, check out this great feature on weather.com that shows the exercise comfort level and air quality in your area.

Day 147 (hey, babe!)

You know that saying, "winner! winner! chicken dinner!"??

Well, my walking team at work, Hot Soles, brought that saying to life with a celebratory lunch at Babe's Chicken (a dallas-area icon) as a way to see yee-ha for winning the 4-week walking challenge.

We covered more than 1,180 miles to make our hearts more healthy, and then we went and clogged those newly cleaned arteries with a crap-load of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans and melt-in-yo' mouth, slap-ya-mama-they're-so-good biscuits!

Yes, we realize the irony ... it tasted delicious.

Days 140-146 (the blizzard blues)

Baby ailments have plagued our home for more than a week (click here for the backstory) and, instead of using Coop’s ear infections and constant need for MOMMY as a distraction, I used it as an excuse.

To eat. A lot.

Coop’s week-long agony coincided with the official end of my structured, competition-driven workout routine and the culmination of it all left me feeling completely lost and out of sorts. And I gave into that and self-medicated with trips to Dairy Queen.

Three trips, as a matter of fact.

Three chocolate extreme blizzards.

In 5 days.

Oops.

It wasn’t just the inhalation of sweet, creamy goodness punctuated with hunks and chunks of chocolate and brownie that filled my mouth with the deliciousness of comfort I wasn’t able to find elsewhere (umm, did I even look elsewhere? Ha!). It was also the fact that I wasn’t motivated to workout. I only made it to boot camp once … I was at home with Coop the other two days. And, though I squeezed in two workouts at home over the past week, I struggled. Big time.

Chris blew past me with the strength and dead-set determination of a huntin’ dog on the trail of some juicy woodland creature. He devoured the gym with shirt-drenched sweat and a passion I could only show for sleep and fried foods (yes, there was also a secret trip to KFC snuck in there, too. CRAP!). You would think his motivation would’ve served as inspiration. But it didn’t.

It irritated the shit out of me.

He was high on life and weight loss and clothes falling off his waist.

I wanted to strap him to a chair and force-feed him donuts until sprinkles shot out his nose.

It’s now Tuesday and Coop’s back at daycare (yay!) and I have boot camp tonight (double yay!) and I hope to somehow find that motivation I lost over the past few days.

Perhaps I will find it in the sting of sweat in my eyes. The bite of chiggers as they cling to my ankles during “mountain climbers” and push-ups. The aching pain in my chest from suicides and shuffles. Or, perhaps, in my inability to move because every muscle in my body has been pushed beyond the point of exhaustion. Truth be told, that’s one of the best feelings in the world … it reminds you that you're kicking ass, that you’re moving and working and striving to better yourself.

Bring on the pain. Blizzards be damned.

p.s. And if DS EVER sees this, I may regret ever being so honest.

Days 132-139 (Weigh Day #19 & catch up)

oops, too busy last week being an obsessive compulsive mommy regarding the details of Cooper's 1st birthday party to take a minute to blog about my fatness. so, now, listening to my son scream from the other room (we stayed home today ... fever, CRYING, clinginess, DROOL, SNOT, ugh), I thought I'd play catch up while "dada" trys to console the inconsolable tot.

Last week was a great one for my "hot mama" mission:

No. 1: Wednesday was not only weigh day 19 (the scales showed a 2-pound weight loss, I'm now at 197), but also the last day of the 4-week walking challenge. Logging more than 1,180 miles, about 180+ of those were mine, my team Hot Soles was crowned the victor. Yee ha!!!!


No. 2: Thursday was the last official workout for the first session of boot camp (we have a la cart classes the next 2 weeks and the second session starts in June).


To commemorate the occasion, DS took our measurements to see how far we'd come. I was beet red as DS slid the measuring tape around my wobbly bits, made worse by the fact that I asked Hillary (fellow boot camp survivor and marketing co-hort) to document my humiliation with pics.


It was a painful 5ish minutes and, having barely survived the 8 workouts, I wasn't expecting much in the way of shrinking inches. But, I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised!

Here's how I--ahem--stack up:

April 17
neck 13.25"
chest 39.25"
bicep 13.5"
forearm 10.75"
abs 37.5"
hips 45.5"
thigh 23.5"
calf 16.75"

May 15
neck 13" (down .25")
chest 40" (up .75" ... this freaked me out, but DS attributes the "growth" to the insane amount of push-ups
bicep 13.75" (up .25")
forearm 10.5" (down .25")
abs 37" (down .5")
hips 43.25" (down 2.25" hell yeah!)
thigh 23.25" (down .25")
calf 15" (down 1.75" ... woulda' prefered this loss around my big ol' gut, but I'll take it!)

Overall, I lost 5.25" and gained 1", so I averaged a loss of 4.25" in 4 weeks. Pretty damn proud! On to torture round No. 2.

Days 128-131 (mommy's weekend)

it's my first mommy's day!!! For details, click here.

I wrote a rather lengthy post on my mommy blog, but here, on fat chants, I wanted to share pics of my weekend with Coop. It is because of this little man that I am pushing myself harder than I ever have. That I am working out, eating better; that I am striving to be the thinner, healthier, happier mommy that he deserves. I want, I will be that "hot mama" for Coop. One that can keep up with him on the playground. One that doesn't sit on the sidelines (or the couch), but fully lives each moment with him.

And this weekend was no exception. Friday night we walked around the mall so that I could reach (OK, surpass) my goal of 7ish miles a day. Saturday we powered through 4 miles at the park, played in the creek, hit the slide and swings then splashed through the afternoon poolside. Today we went and bought pants. That fit. YAY! A pair of black slacks in an unforgiving fabric - linen - in a size 16 (that's 2 sizes smaller than when I started this mission).

I feel good. No, I feel great. This afternoon, with Cooper asleep in my arms, and Chris at my side, we cuddled as a family, watching P.S. I Love You. And it was one of those simple moments where you realize that, at some point, you've stopped breathing. It was absolutely perfect.

happy, happy mother's day.

Days 125-127 (Weigh Day #18)

Holy banana hammock! Today completes the third week in the four-week walking challenge at work and I have a grand total of 135.575 miles walked (sometimes breathlessly run, thanks to boot camp)!!! Yahoo! Our team total is nearly 850 miles!

Though today’s weigh-in showed a +1 weight gain (bummer!), I feel reinvigorated. I was totally UNmotivated yesterday during boot camp, despite DS’ words of encouragement: “work those gluts, ladies. I want y’all to be able to crack pecans when you’re done!”

While I’m no where near ready to break anything with my ass (well, aside from wind), that’s certainly a goal to keep in mind the next time I get yelled at for not keeping my hips high enough in the air.

Days 120-124 (Weigh Day #17)

I've been a slacker blogger the past few days ... too busy walking my rotisserie-chicken butt around to be bothered to hit a few key strokes at the end of the day. But, that's a good thing, right?

Well, last Wednesday's weigh day revealed little, um, wait, NO change: 200 even. But, after a particularly grueling boot camp on Thursday, I hit the first goal of ALL GOALS! I slinked down out of the 200s and into the slim-and-trim promise that only the 100s can hold!! (198!) Who-hoo!!!

My excitement, however, has been hiding beneath the shadows of an uneaten ding dong — I can’t tell a damn bit of difference when I look in the mirror! I still see the two chins, the two stomachs, the flabby thighs, the wibbly, wobbly bits tucked in every nook and cranny and, of course, the chicken wings that continue to wave long after my arms have stopped. I thought I’d see more of a noticeable, physical difference by the time I reached this weight.

But I don’t.

Oh, hells (blue) bells.

The good news is that I’m still motivated. The 4-week walking challenge at work has me obsessed with a pedometer — I’m averaging 5-7 miles a day between family walks/team walks/and chasing-after-Cooper walks.

Aaaannnnddd then there’s boot camp. It’s the two hours a week I love to hate. DS has integrated the occasional “good job” into his verbal repertoire of “get those knees up! I said run not jog! It’s not my fault your heads are too fat to lift off the ground (my personal fav!)” I’m really proud of all the gals in the group … there’s not one slacker in the bunch and everyone’s really encouraging — even during the times you wish they weren’t (like when your body has all but revolted during a suicide and they’re cheering you on as they sip water at the finish line. “Someone shoot me. Now.”)

All in all, I am still freakin’ amazed at my progress. I have NEVER worked out this hard and this much for this long in my life. My blisters are my battle scars, my aching muscles a reminder that I’m kicking (my own) ass. And I love it. All of it. Even when I swear I can’t go on another second.