Well, I got up this morning and did 30 Day Shred L 1 on an empty stomach.  I also did Cardioke right afterward.  That was really a fun workout.  I had never done it before.  The end came with a song that he said his wife had written and oh, that song really touched me.  I couldn’t actually sing it like I was supposed to because it choked me up a bit.  Basically trying to tell myself that I am enough.  Clearly I have some true self esteem issues or else I would not have had a problem singing it.  Anyways, I plan to do the same workout tomorow.  30DS L1 and Cardioke.  Unfortunately, since I am out of town, diet is kinda out of the window, but I do want to get my workouts in and continue to increase my endurance and stamina so that I can do that Advanced rotation next month.

I spent quite a bit of time with my little niece today.  Wow, she is absolutely perfect!  Just so small and sweet.  Her little infant cry is just so adorable.  She is so tiny, the preemie diapers are too big.  It really is something.  Tomorrow, Laniyah and my sis come home from the hospital.  We are going to spend a few days here and then head on back home.  I really miss my hubby and I know the girls miss their daddy.  I am grateful that he is agreeable to letting us stay this long.  He is a true gem.

I am really blessed to have the wonderful family that I have.  My husband and I have a great relationship and the girls are really close to their daddy.  I cannot believe that this year will be our 10 year anniversary.  We will be actually going on our va ca in November, that gives us 12 weeks to get in shape.  Whoo Hoo!  Plenty of time for a transformation.  I am going to stick with the Jillian workouts and starting next week really clean up the diet.  I am hoping to reach 220 by end of September.

Well, contrary to what I said earlier, I did not stay away from the Chinese food.  Ugh!  I hate this.  I was doing so good.  Well, I can either sit there and sqawk about how I messed up or I can dust myself off and get restarted.  Well, I have elected to dust myself off and get restarted.  I have joined a Jillian Challenge on LHCF and it kicks off tomorrow.  There are quite a few ladies involved and that is exciting.  As I mentioned the other day, I have decided to go ahead and do the exercise tv rotation.  A little easier and then it gives me something to work up to.  After I complete this rotation and challenge, I will move on to my advanced rotation.  I am sure that I will be able to tell a huge difference between then and how I did last week.  Phew!  Jillian is tough, but I feel that she is definitely one of the instructors that will have me looking my best by our anniversary.

I picked up some Flax and Granola cereal the other day at Aldi’s and it is just the best cereal.  Especially when I mix it with Vanilla Soymilk.  Mmmm Mmmmm good.  I am going to get up and workout in the morning and start my day off with a bowl of that cereal and some fruit.  It is rare that I am so blown away by a cereal, it was pretty good.  I went to Aldi’s today and I was stoked that they had it here and so I got a box and I am ready to roll for tomorrow.  I don’t really know how great my eating is going to be while I am here.  Main thing is, I want to get my workouts, water and good breakfast in.  It’s just so much going on, it is so hard to keep focused.

I still can’t believe I’m a Aunt!  I’m so happy to have the privilege.  She is just so precious.

Okay, according to the scale, I am getting started at around 235.  My goal weight by our anniversary is to break Twoderville.  I would like to reach 199.  Yes, that is 36 lbs!  It’s a stab in the dark because I don’t know how quickly I will lose weight eating clean.  Generally in the past when I lost at a fast pace, I was low carbing.  I am not low carbing and my metabolism is a mess so I really don’t know what to expect.

Now, how do I plan to do it?

- Stick to Jillian Rotation (although, I think I am going to change the one I am currently doing)

- Continue to follow Clean Eating Plan

- Drink plenty of water

Pretty simple stuff, but I have to wrap my mind around the whole plan and be determined to stick to it, no matter what.  I’ve joined a challenge and I think that will really help me to stay on track.  Exercise TV has a rotation that I have decided to switch over to.  The current rotation that I am trying is obviously advanced and a little much for me right now.  HOWEVER, after I complete this 4 week rotation, I will move over to the Advanced it.  I will really want to punch it up because my anniversary will be getting close.  Here is the link to the JM Rotation if you would like to check it out:    Jillian Rotation Just Click on Download workout.  I think I will transition over to this plan starting on Sunday.

Right now, my clothes are averaging 18/20 or 2x.  I don’t want to wear those after these 10 weeks.  Let’s see exactly how much time I have left.  We may actually be leaving on our vacation mid November, but I will just use our actual anniversary date which is October 30th.  That will give me around 72 days.  Practically 2 1/2 months.  I think that quite a difference can be made in that time frame.  At least I hope.

Eating has still been pretty good and I hope to continue this way.  I will have to go out of town next week ( my sister is due) and so I am trying to figure out exactly how I am going to stay on track.  I know that I can p/u some ingredients and make some meals while I am there.  It’s hard though because here in TN, I have yet to find a good chinese food restaurant.  Generally when I go back home, I get it then, but I can’t do it now because it will mess up my chance of meeting my goals.

Anyways, my meals today were as follows:

M1 - Protein Tonic

M2 - Performance Pancakes , Per Dani Spies.  Click hHere is the Recipe

M3 - Iron Soup

M4 - Rick’s Grilled Chicken Penne Pasta & a side salad  - Click here for the Recipe

Dani’s site is an awesome site with a wide variety of wonderful clean eating recipes.  If you are a fan of clean eating or just need more ideas, DEFINITELY visit Dani’s site!  I really enjoyed the Penne Pasta.  I used Whole Wheat Pasta and just grilled a few pieces of chicken.  It was very easy and very delicious.  The PB pancakes were very good as well.  I loved the taste of the bananas mixed into the pancakes.

Another successful day under my belt!  I will keep taking one day at a time.  It is really my hope that after I work through the next 10-12 weeks, that all of this will become a habit and I won’t have to think about it all so much.  I am really enjoying it thusfar.

I did get on the scale this morning and it was pretty much what I guessed.  I guessed 235 and sure enough I am 234.6.  Blech!  Pretty much where I was 2 years ago.   Well, this time, it is going to be a longer and healthier process and a plan that I hope to stick for life.  Come back over the next 10 weeks to check my progess.  I have never ate clean and exercised before, so I really don’t know what type of results to expect.  I will shoot for and hope for the very best.

I guess this all started recently when i picked up a book at the resale shop called Energy Forever.  Here is the link on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Energy-Forever-Techniques-Fatigue-Turbocharge/dp/0440225493/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250569650&sr=8-1

I haven’t finished reading the book, but the information that I have gotten thusfar has been AWESOME! It touches on every aspect of your life that may deplete your energy and offers suggestions on things to do different.  I just love the book and so glad that I found it. Even though I just started, I already feel that my energy levels are improving.  I can only hope that within a month or so, I will really start noticing changes.

I am also considering adding a natural fat burner to my daily regiment, CLA.  I have read good things about it.  It’s just that I have taken my body through so much over the past few years and I would love to help my body along with natural things and vitamins.

My diet was very good today.  I did only get 4 meals in today, but they were all very clean.  I am very excited that I was able to do this.  Today’s meals were as follows:

M1- Bowl of Organic Flaxseed Cereal and 1 Banana

M2-Bowl of Iron Soup and a RyKrisp Multigrain Cracker

M3-Kashi Bar and Grapes

M4-Tilapia, Brocolli and Brown Rice

I drank water all day today and I did get my workout in.  Oh, but my quads are soooo sore today, so I didn’t know if I was going to get the workout in.  It’s pretty sad, I have so many workouts.  My husband finally unearthed my workouts today and come to find out, I already own the Cardio Kickbox workout.  Well, I ordered the Biggest Winner set from a Ya Ya, so it should get here later this week, so I guess I will have another copy.  I just had such a hard time getting around, I didn’t know if I was going to get my workout in today.  I went ahead and did it and I am very glad that I did.  I only did it the one time.  It was pretty intense.  I dont much care for rewinding a workout and doing it twice.  I just rather do 1 longer workout.  Anyways, I have Taebo’s now and I will have the Cardio KB soon.

So, today was another successful day.  My husband unearthed the scales today, so I think I will do the dreaded weighing tomorrow so I know where I am.  I have a general idea, but we will see if I am correct.

Per Tosca, diet is 90% of the equation to reach your body goals.  Therefore, I knew that I have to clean up my diet in order to see real results.  I am so over the crash diet thing though.  There are so many bandwagons to jump on in order to lose weight.  The one diet mistake in my past that I regret the most is following that crash, weight loss plan.  While I lost the weight pretty quickly, I’ve gained it all back and I know that I jacked up my metabolism.  Last time that I really tried to lose weight, I plateaued for such a long time.  I know it is because of bad decisions that I made dietwise.  So, what feels right for me at this time is eating natural foods.  Fruits, vegetables, lean meats.  For the most part, if I can’t read the stuff on the label, I am not eating it.  It’s going to take a little time to make a total transition, but today was certainly a start.

For breakfast I had a breakfast protein shake made of milk, egg, wheat germ oil and wheat germ.  I also added some agave nectar that really punched it up.  For lunch, I made a soup called Iron Soup.  I will be adding the recipe to my blog.  It was so yummy.  It was in the latest issue of Oxygen magazine and I am so glad that i made it.  It will definitely be something that I eat regularly.  Then for dinner, I had a salad made of spinach leaves with ham, chicken, few pecans and light dressing.  For snack, I had a Kashi bar and 1/2 bananna.  I tried to stick with water all day.  So, I think that yesterday was quite successful.  I think my calories were a little low, but I plan to rectify that by having a plan.  My goal is to have all of my meals planned out and know exactly what I am going to eat.  I also want to have a general idea of the calories that I burn each day because I want to keep my calorie intake to around 1,500.  I am basically going by the goal weight x10 thing.  Since I want to be around 150 lbs, 1500 calories.

Since energy has been lacking lately, I have added a multivitamin to my daily plan as well.  i decided to take the One Source Ultimate Multi for women.  It is basically the same as the GNC Ultra vitamin without the pricetag.  The only other difference that I could see is that the GNC version is time-release.  For energy purposes, I have also been taking a 100 mg B6 vitamin and I will be adding Chlorella as well.  Per Tosca’s recommendation, I have been taking my vitamins at night before I go to bed, so that I won’t just pee out my vitamins all day.  Seems to be working well so far.

So, that was Day #1.  I am really hoping that Day #2 will be as smooth as today.  I still haven’t planned out my meal plan for the day, but I will get that together soon.

JM’s 4-Week Complete DVD “I’m A Bully” Rotation (Advanced)
For Weight Loss, Building Strength and MuscleWeek #1
Sunday - No More Trouble Zones
Monday - Cardio Kickbox (2x)
Tuesday - 30 Day Shred - Level 1 and 2
Wednesday - Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism
Thursday - Maximize Full Frontal
Friday - Rest Day or Maximize Backside
Saturday - Rest Day or Maximize Backside

Week #2
Sunday - No More Trouble Zones
Monday - Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism
Tuesday - Shape Up Front
Wednesday - Cardio Kickbox (2x)
Thursday - Shape Up Backside
Friday - Rest Day or 30 Day Shred Level 2 and 3
Saturday - Rest Day or 30 Day Shred Level 2 and 3

Week #3
Sunday - Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism
Monday- Maximize Back In Action
Tuesday - Cardio Kickbox (2x)
Wednesday - Maximize Full Frontal
Thursday - Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism
Friday - Rest Day or The Biggest Loser Body Sculpt
Saturday - Rest Day or The Biggest Loser Body Sculpt

Week #4
Sunday - 30 Day Shred - Level 1, 2 and 3
Monday - Cardio Kickbox (2x)
Tuesday - No More Trouble Zones
Wednesday -Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism
Thursday - Maximize Full Frontal and Shape Up Backside
Friday - Rest Day or Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism
Saturday - Rest Day or Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism

Special shout out to blacKandi who created this awesome rotation!  I cannot wait to get started and hopefully see a change in my bod.

I’m no novice to this whole thing of transforming my bod.  I have also decided to clean up my diet and watch my calories.  More details to come.  It has taken me a little time to come to this point, but I am absolutely ready and excited about all the changes that are sure come.

What I have been feeling for the past week or so is DDR.  I just love it.  I have a Wii and I also have a PS2.  I am really loving the PS2 version.  I put it on workout mode and I get an excellent cardio workout and I have loads of fun.   If you haven’t tried DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) definitely give it a try if you are in a bit of a workout slump.  You can do it in the comfort of your own living room and dance time away.  I can’t believe how fast the time goes by.  Right now, I am doing between 30-35 minutes.  It’s really a blast.  It feels good to get activity in this way.  It doesn’t feel forced.  It’s certainly not boring and I am burning some major calories.

I really want to start incorporating some weight training into my workouts, but I am not feeling long and tedious workouts.  I am thinking that JV (Joyce Vedral) has some great weight training workouts and they are short and to the point.  I have a new one coming by Netflix tomorrow called “The Cougar Workout”.  You can check out a clip of it on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZcvnzotBl4&feature=PlayList&p=7D1A1B2797182530&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=98o

I will get it probably tomorrow afternoon, so I won’t get to try it until Wednesday.  I’ll be sure to post a review once I do it.   She is really good about fast, efficient and effective workouts so I am looking forward to trying.

Well, things are going pretty well so far.  I will post more about my eating as time goes on.   Right now, my eating and working out are basically an exercise of listening to myself.  Trusting myself.

So what exactly is ~~ Slim By Design???

Why don’t ya  grab a cup of coffee and let me tell you.  As far back as I can remember, I have been on a diet.  Even when I was thin, I was on a diet.  Some of the craziest ones too - Eat 1 meal per day, drink gallons of water, drink this before you go to sleep, take these pills 20 minutes before you eat.  All the while I was murdering my metabolism and lord knows what else to my body.

As I got older, I thought I was getting smarter by trying more commercialized or “traditional” plans.  I mean if it is in a book or on a website, it must be safe right?  WRONG!  Obviously, I wasn’t getting any smarter, because over the last 2 years, I was caught up in a very dangerous and controversial diet plan and entered a ridiculous contest in which I had to lose a large amount of weight in a short period of time to continue to compete.  While I may have lost weight in those efforts, it doesn’t mean a darn thing when you are staring at yourself in the mirror knowing that you weigh at least 230 lbs.  AGAIN!!   After all of the starvation, frustration and hard work - I’m right back where I started!

There isn’t much more frustrating and humiliating than that.  Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight shouldn’t be that hard.  I think that if I wasn’t trying to make myself fit into a mold of a specific plan but designed a plan for ME, I just might have permanent success.  I know me!  I wake up to me everyday.  I know what I will and won’t eat!  I know what is healthy and what is not.  I know when I need to get off the couch and move it!

So that is what Slim By Design is all about!  It’s about reaching my weight loss goals - MY WAY! So anytime you get a moment,  stop by and check out my progress and leave comments.  I’d love to have friends along the way!