An update. I am always behind.

I have been reading all of these articals lately about how to become a successful blogger. And I was trying so hard to find the motiviation. It amazes me how much work goes into creating a blog worth reading. I just don't know that I am that kind of blogger. I think my blogging is mostly a way to keep a journal for myself. I love to write. I love to journal life events and write love notes to my husband and babies. But for some reason, I enjoy writing more when it isn't something I have to "keep up" with. It is easier for me to just write when I am compelled to jot down my feelings. Which is why, I haven't written an update on my birthday goal for almost 4 weeks. It's silly really. I am keeping track at home with a paper journal. But I am not transferring it to the blog world. I do however have to say, that the last 4 weeks have showed wonderful progress. In the last 22 days I am down 14.2 lbs. Insert and all expressions of excitement! I have 17 weeks until my 30th birthday. Actually seven weeks exactly, today. And a change like 14.2 lbs is incredible! I am feeling so confident that I will smash my 30 pound goal before my birthday. My plan now is a little different. I plan to have the second 15 pounds gone before July 1st. Which means, I will spend the last 8 weeks before my birthday just killing it at the gym. More strength training than cardio. I am excited to start seeing muscle definition again and I am determined to feel great in a bathing suit this summer!! I want to wear this... How perfect is this high waisted suit? I know I will feel more comfortable with this style suit. Especially since it will literally by my first time wearing a bikini. Body image issues are silly. But I am determined to feel great going forward.

One big giant "Ah-Ha" moment for me was realizing just how important diet is to losing the weight. Obviously we all know that eating clean is the way to go. But even down to the types of proteins, fruits and veggies. How much each meal and how frequently. I have literally not stepped in the gym for the last 4 weeks. It is hard not going. I would feel much more guilty not going if I didn't see the scale move. So that motivation keeps me moving. I love being in the gym. Getting a good workout in and sweating like crazy. I love the pump after a killer arm workout and that is what I miss most! But I have to keep reminding myself to eliminate the fat first. Then the muscle growth and toning will be far easier! I do have to admit...I want bad food. I crave something different every single day. Yesterday I wanted Chic-fil-a. The day before was pancakes and bacon. Today I want Mexican food and ice cream. And believe me when I say, that I am counting the days until I allow myself a cheat meal. But it is so encouraging to know that I am more excited and motivated by the clean eating. I actually think it will be hard for me to divulge. And I am already preparing my stomach for the aches. This journey is by far the most exciting because I have Kyle to support me in it. I am so grateful for his patience when I cook the most boring dinners. He reminds me how great I am doing everyday and never forgets to tell me that I am beautiful. This process wouldn't be what it is without his love! XOXO

Week 3- Changes

We have movement people! The scale is working in my favor this week. I am down 2 lbs. And even if it is just water weight, I will take it. I am consuming a minimum of 78 ounces of water and a maximum of 1 gallon. I also have commited myself to eliminate coffee from my diet for now. I have trained myself over the last 6 months to drink my brewed coffee with sugar free vanilla and a small amount of cream instead of the latte or machiatto that I had learned to drink when coffee was new to me. Then recently I decided that I need to get used to drinking my coffee black. So baby steps...until now I have my brewed coffee with just 2 pumps sugar free vanilla and a splash of skim milk. And I love it that way. It is definitely how I prefer it. Giving it up for this new fitness goal is worth it. If I feel the need for caffiene I will have an unsweetened green tea. Somehow I think I will manage without coffee. :) This week I am a little extra tired because I am going to bed later than usual and still waking up at dawn with Gage. :) That boy is up with the sun. However I am still getting great workouts. Yesterday I did legs and abs. Leg days are by far my favorite. They always have been. I am not totally sure why. Maybe because I feel most strong when I am using my legs. I also added weighed hip thrusts at 60 lbs. It was my first time doing them weighed and I am already feeling the soreness. It is a beautiful thing. This morning (Tuesday) I was able to get a workout in. Which is rare. Actually so rare that I don't think I have gone to the gym on a Tuesday morning in 3 years. But Kyle's work schedule had him home this morning. So he told me that he would take the kids to school so I could get a workout in. BEST HUSBAND EVER! So I did sprint drills and abs. I am trying to increase my speed on the treadmill. This morning I got my speed to 8.5. I don't really know how often I should increase my speed or how long it should take for me to get to a speed of 10. But my plan is to try it tomorrow. Wish me luck! Hopefully I don't have a gym fail and go flying off the treadmill. Could you imagine that humiliation. :) My diet is clean this week. And I can feel the difference. Lots of veggies and lean protein.

Week Two

It came and went. This time with a pound increase. Talk about frustration! I am trying to figure out what I need to do differently. There are so many methods, applications and calculations to fat loss. How to eat. When to eat. What to eat. Do I work out every day? Do I do cardio every day? Do I just focus on my diet and then start my workouts after I see some change? I wish I knew the answers. What I wish is that I was one of those girls that could stop drinking soda and lose 10 lbs. Nope...all I have to do is look at food and I gain weight. However, I need to remember that I had another baby since the last time I was super active and eating clean. So my body composition is different. I am also just about 30 and I have heard that "things" start to change. I am all for change...I just want to get a handle on my body before I can't anymore. So although the first 2 weeks of this process have been incredibly frustrating. I am still taking it day by day. I am reminding myself of a quote that I love..."Failure to prepare is preparing to fail." When I am not at work, I am driving kids all over town. I spend many hours in my car and away from my own kitchen. Which means I need to prepare my day before the craziness starts. For me...ziplock baggies full of protein and veggies will have to be sufficient. I can't get myself to spend a ton of money on fancy lunch boxes and tupperware containers. However, loading my purse with plastic baggies is easy. Execution is KEY! I WILL succeed! So here is to the next week! Wish me luck! I am also going to post a BEFORE picture. I already feel vulnerable just thinking about it. But it needs to be done!

Week One

Week 1 ended on Easter Sunday. And Sunday was proof that I have zero will power! I caved and ate macaroni, scalloped potatoes and baked beans. All week I did great. Kyle and I even went to dinner at Zinburger on Saturday and I got the bunless turkey burger and an unsweetened iced tea. I still had something delicious and healthy. But Easter hit and I couldn't stop eating! However, we had an amazing day praising our Savior! Then Monday morning. The scale and I had to meet. I knew I wouldn't like what I was about to read. I am pretty in-tune with my body and can tell if I have lost or gained weight just by how I am feeling when I wake up. So it was no surprise that I didn't lose any weight! ZERO pounds lost! Yuck! That was my own fault. The same reason my body hasn't changed since our (almost 2 year old) son was born. So I helped Kyle get the kids off to school and hit the pavement. I had a good 3.5 mile run before I had to be home to get ready for work. It is amazing how I feel after a good cardio session. Which says a lot..because I despise cardio! But I am finally starting to enjoy running. **** Well today is Tuesday which is the second day of the second week and I am on track for success! I tried a new recipe yesterday. Broiled chicken, roasted veggies and a chimichurri sauce. Yum! It is super healthy and my entire family loved it! That is a giant success in my "cooking book!" :) I will post the recipe tomorrow. Here's to another week! Bring the weight loss!!

Accountability

I am going to be 30 years old in just 6 short months. How is that even possible? Well, I can't seem to stop time so I am going to do everything I can to document this journey of mine.

 For those of you who don't know me, I am Jessica Arrowsmith. I am a follower of Christ, a doding wife and mother to 4 beautiful children. And that about sums it up. My life is not overwhelmingly interesting. We don't have gobs of money to spend on lavish vacation, expensive cars or the newest shoes at Nordstrom. However through the love of God, I am most certainly the happiest and emotion-filled woman there is. Don't ask me about my husband or I may never shut up. :)

 I have decided to start this blog specifically to document my fitness journey. I have been a yo-yo "dieter" for as long as I can remember. Even when I was a teenager. My mom, sisters and I would try the newest diet around. Back then I was a healthy 128 and thought I was fat. I am just over 5'6. So 128 was darn good. But because I am curvy in my butt and thighs I felt "fat." When my friends and I would go wander the mall, I would dread walking into Abercrombie & Fitch. I would pray none of my girlfriends were looking when I picked up the size 6 after they just picked up their tiny, size 2. 

I gained gobs of weight after the birth of my first daughter. Mostly because of depression. And once I was free from that volitile relationship, I took the reigns of my life. Every moment that I was not working or sleeping, I was sweating. Whether that was buckling McKenna into the bike trailer and riding 20+ miles or hiking Camelback or rocking a killer workout at Gold's Gym. Yup...Gold's. I was the fattest and youngest girl in that entire place. But I was determined. Being around the "meat-heads" made me hungry to look like them. Okay maybe I didn't want to be a giant beastly woman. But I did start thinking about becoming a figure competitor. That was about the time I hired a trainer. 

 Now let's back track and give you the reality of my weight gain...in numbers. When I was in high school I was a healthy 128. Before my first pregnancy I had allowed weight gain from well, laziness. Then I had my first appointment at the OB, to determine my pregnancy with McKenna I was 156. I gained a normal 21 lbs and lost 17 of it before I even left the hospital. Then depression hit. Which is a story for another time. I ate myself to a whopping 208 lbs. That was only in an 8 month time period. I remember very clearly the day I realized I had become so fat. And yes...I was fat! There is not nice way to say it. Anyway, we were in Ohio visiting some of McKenna's family. I remember looking in the mirror as I finished my make-up and thought, my face looked chubby. But never did I think that I was as big as I really was. Then we got pictures back from the trip. There I was, all 208 lbs of me sitting on a rock. I looked like a beached whale. I mean it. It scared me to tears! 

 But it wasn't until a year later that I actually did something about it. So getting a trainer was amazing! I had one-on-one sessions as well as group sessions and Saturday boot camps. The people I worked out with quickly became my friends and my biggest supporters. They helped me realize my potential and within 6 months I had lost 48 lbs. I remember being so nervous to step on the scale at the gym. I had hidden my true weight from everyone for so long. Knowing the trainers and my fellow trainees would see the number, made me feel sick to my stomach. But I stepped on the scale and saw 160. It felt good! Then the best part, was measurements. My trainer had told me all along that losing inches was far more important than the pounds lost. It proved real change in my body. Well at my 6 month check-up I had lost a totaly of 13 1/4 inches from my body. Now that was encouraging! I stayed with that trainer for just under a year because he moved. Then I decided to start working out on my own. He had taught me so much and I felt very confident that I could keep up the momentum on my own. And I did.

 I got a membership at Lifetime Fitness. It was close to my house, so everyday after work I would pick up McKenna and we would head to the gym. It was so rewarding and became my necessity. It made me happy to workout. Fast forward to today. I have an amazing husband and a total of 4 little Arrowsmiths. Our youngest is going to be 2 in August and I am nowhere near that fit girl I once knew. Being a wife and mother is my first priority. They are what make me the happiest woman on earth. Now I am to a point where I want to not only be the happiest woman on earth...I want to be the hottest as well! I am greedy aren't I? And full of myself. Ha! That was sarcasm obviously. I will never be the hottest woman ever. But I want to be the hottest woman my husband has ever seen. And that is good enough for me! So after all that babble I have set myself a 6 month goal. I am giving myself 24 weeks to lose 35 lbs. That is just over 1 pound a week. Totally managable when I break it up weekly. And that means I will be posting weekly. My weigh-ins will be every Monday morning. So I will update early in the weeks on my progress. BRING ON 30!!