New Beginnings

Weekly Update: This week I gave my nutrition a little bit of a 'break' knowing that at the end of the week I planned to start Hammer and Chisel, my newest program and do the nutrition 100% (with the exception of Christmas).    This was intentional, so I expected a bit of a gain.  So that being said I have made the choice to not look at my weight this week.

I love to start these blogs with year over year, or progress photos.   I look back at the last 15 months and it's interesting to me, that in the last year I have lost 35 pounds, but in the first 6 months I lost 40.   goes to show you that weight really isn't everything and it's ok if it takes a while to come off.

I don't have photos from my back from the very before ones - but I did take this one last December, and compared to this December, I'm extremely proud of how my back has changed!

I wanted to share this photo here - this group of moms means the world to me.  I didn't know them before I had my son, they actually met me at the most challenging time in my life. I was so happy to be a mom, but I was struggling so much as well, and my stress for my son let me forget about myself.  These moms, women I just met 2 years ago have been the most influential people in my life so far.   We are all so extremely different, and would have never crossed paths had it not been for that one common thread - we all met in nursing group where we all were struggling with various things.  

These moms are the ones that encouraged me to follow my dreams.  They have supported me through my weight loss, never judging me before I lost the weight, and having confidence in me before I had the confidence in myself.

Next up - here are some fitness photos from the week!   I have two type of fitness I do many days - I have my ME time, at 5:30am.  This isn't always easy, but I'm always happy at the end of it.   I have a private group of sillies who all take morning photos and encourage each other at 3, 4, 5am to get up and get moving.  While I'm technically alone in my basement, I never really feel alone.

Here's a slightly less groggy fitness photo - as I mentioned, I am moving on to a new program, the company's newest one, Hammer & Chisel. This is not a program for the faint of heart, but after 15 months of dedication to my own health and fitness I feel ready to tackle this program. I spent the beginning of the week printing out worksheets and reading through materials so I would be ready to start!

So the 'second' part of my daily fitness is traveling all around the state helping other moms make time for themselves.  Here I am teaching a group of local moms core Pilates work using the stability ball.  These classes make me so happy!

Food news!  In preparation of starting the new program, I wanted to make sure I had foods ready to go for the week. I made this awesome butternut squash casserole with quinoa and tempeh - it made 10 servings!!

Grilled Asparagus

Cut up peppers

Easy quinoa salad!

Zoodles!!

If you enjoy my blog, I'd love to have you in my private (women only) Facebook Group dedicated to health, fitness and nutrition: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FitandHealthyPrivateGroup/

If you'd like to work with me as your coach, create a free account:  http://www.beachbodycoach.com/chapmaki

Mommy & Me Website: http://www.fitandbalancedmom.com/

Contact: fitandbalancedmom@gmail.com

Double Post!

Weekly Update:  I missed last week!!  I am so sorry about that, but this post will make up for it.  As you can imagine, with the holiday I was enjoying my family time and Thanksgiving hit on the same day that I do my blogs and weekly updates.   This week I am down 0.6lbs for a total of 78 pounds!!    This represents two weeks and the holiday. I am still really playing around with this whole "maintain" mentality.   I never missed a workout over the 2 weeks and I am feeling really good in general. I will say I overindulged over the holiday weekend.  Oddly it was really the days AFTER that were the issue, not so much the actual holiday!

I wanted to take some time here to highlight a few things I am grateful for. I have a wonderful private group of women who support each other in all aspects of healthy living - and they have helped me not only with my health and fitness journey - but also with so many other things.  In the last year I have started to wash and moisturize my face regularly, floss daily, stop biting my nails and also get my workouts done in the morning (instead of at night).  And all along the way I have really learned how to focus on optimism as well.

I love this quote - it really summarizes my life these days.  Before I left my full time job in corporate America, I was sitting in my HR's office and this was on her wall. I thought, well that would be nice, but no one gets to do that.

I can honestly say, I work pretty much all day long these days, but it never feels like work because I LOVE what I do. I chose to work because I am enjoying every second of every day.  I hate to even call it 'work' because it more or less feels like my purpose in life.

With the holiday weekend I wanted to share a photo comparison - the top photo is about 30 pounds into my weight loss journey (before then it didn't occur to me to take back shots), the bottom is from this weekend.   It's photos like this that remind me how far I have come, even with an 'off' weekend, I am extremely proud of the changes I have made in my life, and with my body and strength.

Here is another one - I love showing photos with my son.  My love for him hasn't changed, but what these photos remind me is just how much my ability to interact with him has changed.   I am now able to run around with him without worrying about being winded or hurting myself.  I can love him AND play with him at his pace and that is truly an amazing feeling.

When I started, I had NO clue where I would end up, I just knew I needed something and I knew the 3 weeks ahead of me would pass either way, I am so grateful that I took a chance on something...a chance that changed my life.

With the holiday weekend, I participated I the Manchester Road Race for the first time since having my son.  This is a 4.8 mile run on Thanksgiving day.   What was really exciting was that as I was picking my outfit for the run, I put on a pair of leggings and thought immediately "wow, I love what I see!" that is a big step for me, and I had to capture it and share it!

Here I am at the road race with my friend and fellow coach, Katie.   We ran the entire thing and in 48 minutes almost exactly.   It felt so great to be able to get out there and run and have no doubt that I could do it.

I also kept up with my workouts all week - I am having a ton of fun with P90X3 using the medicine ball instead of weights! I love using fun fitness equipment.

As I was working out mid week last week, I was struck with gratitude over something actually sort of strange.   My left knee is very 'crunchy' and quite honestly on the verge of serious injury.  It is a result of some permanent damage I did spending so much time overweight.  When I workout, I have to be careful what I do, but as I continue to gain strength I am constantly reminded that I am still capable of moving and that I was able to turn my health around before the injury turned into a knee replacement or other type of surgery.

I think the most exciting part of last week was this!! My husband and mom helped clean out a spot in our basement so I could have my own GYM!  I have been slowly getting stuff from ebay, craig's list, local tag sales....and it finally is complete AND I have a space.  I actually am going to start working out at 5am now, because I really love the space and having my 'me' time.

Food news!!  I have been totally obsessed with the crock pot this fall.   I attempted a chili with some squash instead of sweet potatoes - total victory!

Here's a post race shot of me on Thanksgiving morning - I rewarded myself with two bananas after the race!

If you enjoy my blog, I'd love to have you in my private (women only) Facebook Group dedicated to health, fitness and nutrition: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FitandHealthyPrivateGroup/

If you'd like to work with me as your coach, create a free account:  http://www.beachbodycoach.com/chapmaki

Mommy & Me Website: http://www.fitandbalancedmom.com/

Contact: fitandbalancedmom@gmail.com

Balancing

Weekly Update:  This week is a fun one because I had my physical. I wanted to talk a little bit about weight for a minute and share the photo below.  In the past I have always struggled with my weight.  Growing up, I was over weight since about the age of 8. I always knew I was overweight but never knew what to do about it or really had any grasp on how to lose weight. I would do random diets (like once I ate cabbage soup for a week), another time I tried to give myself salmonella.    Then in college I figured out how to lose weight, I discovered fitness (I discovered I loved fitness too!) but I also developed some unhealthy body image issues and unhealthy relationships with food and fitness.  Fast forward to 2014, since I never really learned how to take care of my body, and I didn't want to go the starvation route while pregnant/nursing - I gained and gained.   The most recent photo I am a good 30 pounds heavier than my prior 'low' but so much happier.

So with that said, this week I am up 1.8lbs for a current total of 74.6 pounds. I actually am fairly certain a good deal is 'fake' because last night I decided to eat HALF a pie.   No clue what got into me, but this morning I was really regretting it because my head was pounding from all the sugar!

But despite the pie, what I'm happy about is that I talked to my doctor about my weight because it's technically still over the healthy BMI range by about 15 pounds.  We talked quite a bit and she agreed that my current weight is my ideal weight.  It's funny because she is the one that asked me (with out prompting) if I thought that a lower weight I could maintain in a healthy way.  I immediately blurted out "no".   I haven't been lower since developing my new healthy mentality, so I can't say for certain, but I will say in the past once I start to get too low, I start to get into very unhealthy habits.

Here is another great side by side that really has some meaning beyond what you'll see.  On the left it was well before kids, and I had recently 'regained' 30 of the 60 pounds I had lost in college.   I remember feeling so overweight this weekend for the wedding I was in, fixated on that 30 pound gain.   Well in the photo on the right I am the exact same weight, maybe 1 or 2 pounds more.  I feel so much better about myself and so proud to be able to wear this dress.  Same girl, same dress, same weight - different mental state.

Speaking of mental state, I wanted to share something on perspective.    I often share progress photos, and I'm usually fairly clothed meaning my shorts/bottom is usually up around my belly button.  Well, I wanted to show something very important here about perspective.  You may see the first photo and think 'wow, she lost all that weight and she doesn't have any skin, and that's not the case as you can see from the bottom photo.   What is important here however is what I chose to personally focus on myself.  For years the image in the bottom photo was all I could think about, and that thought consumed me.   But now, I choose to think about the top photo and look at the abs I have, and how far I have come. I do not ignore any part of my body, but the bottom photo does not consume me anymore. I have chosen a perspective and choose to look at what I'm proud of instead of let my little imperfections dominate my mind.

More on transformations - I wanted to share this very important transformation with the group.  This is a woman I have been coaching for about 8 months.   She herself is a coach as well now, sharing with others along her journey and helping motivate and encourage them just as I motivate and encourage others.    What I love here is the happiness in her eyes on the right hand photo.   Pam has always loved hiking, and when I met her this was one of the first things I learned about her - but her weight was definitely something that was affecting her ability to hike and do things she loved.   I look at this photo on the right and see nothing but happiness.  She has lost a total of 50 pounds so far, and regained her health and ability to do things in her life that bring her joy and to me, that is exactly the right WHY to focus on when you have a weight loss goal.  Numbers don't reflect just how much life we get when we take care of ourselves.

And finally, food news!!!

I made just one thing in terms of food prep this weekend but it was tasty!  Pumpkin curry!  I threw a ton of stuff in the crock pot and got 10 servings out of it with very little effort. 

Another new favorite food of mine recently are these Shakeology peanut butter cups!   Chocolate Shakeology mixed with coconut oil, then put into muffin liners and topped with a dab of fresh, no salt peanut butter.  Freeze/let sit and enjoy!!

If you enjoy my blog, I'd love to have you in my private (women only) Facebook Group dedicated to health, fitness and nutrition: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FitandHealthyPrivateGroup/

If you'd like to work with me as your coach, create a free account:  http://www.beachbodycoach.com/chapmaki

Mommy & Me Website: http://www.fitandbalancedmom.com/

Contact: fitandbalancedmom@gmail.com

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Weekly Update:   So this week represents two weeks - one of which was last week when I was on vacation and the other was just a few days of this week where I got myself back on track.   This week I am only up 1.6lbs for a total of 76.4lbs total - I'm proud of this!!

I mention vacation, because I made a conscious decision early on that I was going to 'enjoy' myself and not stress out about food choices.  I had full intentions of being on track - but it became very clear that getting in my protein and healthy foods on vacation was going to be a struggle.   Yes, there were 'tempting' foods like my soft pretzels, but really the issue was lack of vegetables and lack of protein!  It's amazing to me how hard it is some places to get vegetarian proteins, and how 'carb-centric' we are most places (especially for vegetarian meals).  Meals aren't very balanced as a vegetarian at restaurants...basically the up the carbs instead of putting in a good non meat protein.

That being said, I managed to have a blast with my family which was my biggest goal of the week!  

I had to include this photo.  Doesn't matter that I've lost a lot of weight, my thighs still touch, and they probably always will! I really don't care that they touch, the only downfall is walking around miles a day in hot sticky weather while wearing skirts and dresses.  Vaseline to the rescue!

Here's my 2 year old son the day after we got home - post vacation hangover is what I like to call it!

And I had one of myself too.   It nearly got in the way of my 5:30am routine, but I ended up caving and having Advil (I really hate taking meds), and within an hour my headache that I had had for over 12 hours subsided and I was able to move forward with Day 2 of my new workout program (P90X3!).

And here is a yummy meal I made my first night home, "Breakfast Pizza" on a wrap!

If you enjoy my blog, I'd love to have you in my private (women only) Facebook Group dedicated to health, fitness and nutrition: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FitandHealthyPrivateGroup/

If you'd like to work with me as your coach, create a free account:  http://www.beachbodycoach.com/chapmaki

Mommy & Me Website: http://www.fitandbalancedmom.com/

Contact: fitandbalancedmom@gmail.com

Disney!!

Weekly Update: This week I don't have an actual 'update' as I'm in Disney, and I have to say my food choices aren't what I expected.   I did get food for the hotel and have been sticking with some solid choices (banana and Shakeology for breakfast, peppers and hummus as well as chia seeds for snacks).  But my lunches and dinners aren't the foods I typically eat, and I can honestly say I feel the sodium building in my hands, I don't love it, but I am enjoying being a little more relaxed and know I'll get right back on track when I'm home.  I'm also super proud that I haven't missed a single workout.   At this point, the workout is mostly about my ME time than anything else.

Here are a couple photos from before we headed out on vacation - we got to dress up for Halloween at Mommy & Me Pilates class - so much fun!  And of course the little puppy doing his own thing in the corner would be Benjamin!

This photo has nothing to do with anything really, except the fact that it was Halloween and we headed to Disney for the week and all dressed up like puppies from Paw Patrol.  You gotta have some fun, right?

Another crazy eyed photo - now this one DOES have meaning, it was taken at 3am as I did my morning workout before hitting the airport for a 7am flight.  I woke up a half hour before my alarm and thought "why NOT workout".

So, regardless of the fact that I am not totally where I was planning to be with food this week, I still have to say I'm really impressed with how I've been doing recently.  Here are my before and after photos from Body Beast - a program just months ago I swore I'd never do.  The funny thing is I think it's my favorite so far!   I see the biggest changes in my face, posture and stomach!

I had to throw this one in there too - when I took these very first 'before' photos over a year ago, I had no clue where I'd end up.  I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised not just with the physical component but the mental and emotional changes too.   

If you enjoy my blog, I'd love to have you in my private (women only) Facebook Group dedicated to health, fitness and nutrition: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FitandHealthyPrivateGroup/

Back to my comment about my workouts - the first thing I did when we got here was check out the gym! Other than teaching classes at a gym, I haven't stepped foot in one in years.   I still did my Body Beast workouts (it was cool using different weights, sort of a fun change), I used my Beachbody On Demand (ask me for details!) and was able to stream the workouts from my iPad.

Now, this one is funny - in a disturbing way.  Disney is fun and all, but man is it tiring!  By 8pm my legs feel like they will fall off and I'm just all around exhausted.   I've been sticking to my morning workouts though because I love how it feels, I just FEEL good when I do them and I like the serenity of 5:30am.     This one is from Day 3 of vacation, I literally look like I got hit by a car in the first one, maybe because  my son decided to greet me at 5:30am (usually he's down for the count until at least 7!).   But I love the shift that just a half hour can do in terms of how I feel.

Another key to my days besides the bananas and Shakeology has been my morning Energize (love love love it).  I never thought I'd be one for something like this, but I tried it just to 'see' what I thought and quickly got hooked!

Here is my "home" at 5:30am - love it!

And of course, vacation isn't just about food and fitness, it's about family too!!   My favorite part of this is the third one when we went to give Ben a kiss and he wanted NOTHING to do with it!  A side note, I saw these photos and immediately loved what I saw. It's nice to see a photo of myself and not cringe (not that anyone, any size should ever be embarrassed of how they look, but nonetheless I had been for a while).  I feel like I look like ME again, you know?

Ok food news!   Like I said, it's not been totally off the charts good, but I knew I'd be having pretzels as they are my FAVORITE food (other than bananas, of course).   And I have to say these really do hold up to my standards quite nicely!

And here is my food prep!  Peppers, hummus and chia seeds pre portioned out for the week!

And of course it's Florida, and it's hot, and I never miss my hydration.  I've hit over 100 ounces every single day, most days I get to 100 by noon.

More hotel food prep - Shakeology and bananas are my go-tos, even on vacation I have to have them for breakfast as it starts my day off right.

If you'd like to work with me as your coach, create a free account:  http://www.beachbodycoach.com/chapmaki

Mommy & Me Website: http://www.fitandbalancedmom.com/

Contact: fitandbalancedmom@gmail.com