Weekly weigh in ~ Merry Christmas Eve!

Lesli ~ I do my weigh ins on Monday now & I love it! It inspires me throughout the week and keeps me focused on the weekend! I was really pumped after my Monday weigh in, because I made good progress and lost weight! This week is going to be a tough week for all of is, but I know my challenges will be not being in my kitchen or at my gym. I know they key for me will be about keeping my portions in check and my meals balanced. Not so easy when there are Oreo truffles & peanut butter balls around!:) I did pack my weights, yoga mat & yoga DVD, so hopefully I can find some "me" time to get my burn in! Next weeks weigh in will be here before I know it!

Week ~ -2
Goal ~ -10
to go ~ -8

Atlanta Half Marathon

Last year, I posted a huge announcement on this blog about my decision to run a half marathon. I set the date of December 12th to participate in the Kiawah Island Half Marathon. What I didn't know at the time was, that was my older brother's graduation date... I could not miss that for the world because... well... he started working towards his Bachelor's degree in 1997. This was a HUGE accomplishment to say the least....

I decided this year that I was going to do it, and since there is a great half marathon right here in Atlanta, I figured it was the perfect time. It was the morning of Thanksgiving, and I thought what better way to start off a day of glutinous eating.... I'll run 13.1 miles, and eat to my heart's content with not one ounce of guilt.

This experience was such a time of great self reflection for me. First of all, I am not a runner. In fact, I don't even like running. I can say this now because I spent the past 3 months telling myself that I did like to run because I needed to stay in a good head space until after the race.... now its over, now I can say it... I DO NOT LIKE RUNNING! Why then would I EVER decide to participate in a half marathon?

I guess I just decided that I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone, set a goal that would be very hard for me to get through and accomplish it. When I found out that my brother's graduation date fell on the race day of the first half marathon that I planned on doing, my first reaction was relief. I was SO relieved that I didn't have to put myself through that... It was nice to say, " Well I started training and I was going to do it, but something beyond my control came up and I couldn't." After I thought about that, I was kind of disgusted. When did I become this person that runs from a challenge? I knew then that I had to prove to myself that I could do it.

I would love to say that I woke up with a fresh sense of strength and purpose, and was very disciplined and dedicated to this new task....... but I can't. I had meltdowns, breakdowns, my limbs went numb, pains in my back, my shins, my hair was a mess.... I was a mess. I know one thing for sure. It took the support of my very loving and patient friends to get me through this. I could never have done this without their great advice and words of encouragement through this entire process.

I still can't believe I finished. But I did...

WEEKLY WEIGH IN

I lost 1 pound! :) YIPEE!!!

Ryan's Total: 1 pound


I think I will start posting a picture each week so I can look back and hopefully see results. I will try to wear the same outfit (if I can remember).

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Christina:

Hey Ya'll! I'm back in too! Today is my first day to start counting points and feeling great! I read through some of my old posts and got a bit sad. I was so motivated and encouraged to get to my goal weight, and unfortuantely, I have let the pounds slip back on over the course of this year.....There is however, one thing I know for sure, I can definately get them off again!!!

I look forward to updating every week, and hearing from all of you!

Christina Goal: -25 pounds

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Lesli: 0 lbs

I held steady this week and was so happy! I started my period on weigh in day (as luck would have it) and was so thankful to not be 10lbs up. Of course, that's how I felt! I had a little cold sneak up on me also, so I was proud that I pushed through and kept my workout routing going.

Workout Schedule:

Monday: 1 hr spin

Tuesday: 1 hr strength training (Bob Harper inside out method)

Wednesday: 1 hr spin

Thursday: rest

Friday: 1 hr yoga

Saturday or Sunday: Run & Rest

This week I focused on scaling back my portion sizes and staying away from carbs at night. I eat pretty much the same thing for breakfast and lunch everyday. Kashi cereal for breakfast to get my carbs in early and grilled chicken and fruit salad. No carbs for lunch is really easy for me, but not as easy at night, because Justin is usually eating with me! We plan our meals for the week on Sunday, so I'm going to start being a lot more specific about cutting out our night carbs! Coudln't hurt either of us!=)

I'M IN!

I have been a YO YO lately. I'm not ashamed to admit it. It's so hard for me to loose weight and I get so mad when I do very well for 2 weeks and loose just 1 pound, so I say F*** IT and eat whatever I want...but we all no the truth. That's just a excuse that I've made up in my head. I know it's healthy to loose weight slowly and I just need to stick with it. I know you guys are thinking to yourself, oh here Ryan goes again saying she's going to loose all this weight. WELL, I'm not promising you anything, but I do promise you I'm eating healthier. When I got the email from Lesli last week I felt motivated, she sparked something. I want to say THANK YOU LESLI for helping me get started again! I'm excited! I'm on week two and anxiously waiting for Thursday to get here so I can weigh myself :) That sounds crazy doesn't it?

Here is a picture I have from this past weekend. This is what I look like NOW. I hopefully will loose my double chin in 2011, that's all I ask for. Thanks AGAIN LESLI for lighting my fire :)

~Work Out video Queen~

I am so the Queen of Work Out Videos and I'm ready to accept my crown! My gym recently added spin classes to it's line up, but before then you'd be hard pressed to find a hard core work out class! Therefore, I resorted to videos and exercise tv on demand! My first video ever was Jillian Michael's ~ The Shred. It's what kick started my healthy lifestyle and set a pretty high standard for meeting my work out video criteria.

I've recently come across some new *favorites* and I'd be remiss if I didn't take the time to share the good with you!

I said in my last update that I've been yoga-obsessed lately and I owe it all to this video. I discovered it on demand and I can't get enough of it! I went to do it the other day and the video was OFF demand, so I immediately hopped online and ordered my very own copy!

Yogis... meet Yogaworks Body Slim

This chick on the cover is not the chick that does the video, but she's in the video! So the video last 50 minutes... about 45 minutes of hard core yoga and 5-6 minutes of cool down stretching and relaxing. It's challenging enough to make you sweat, but not unattainable for the beginner yogi! There are 3 different cardio-flowing sequences that get your heart rate up followed by slow burns to really tone your muscles. I normally do this first thing in the morning and I can feel the sensation of the poses in my muscles for hours.

I've seen the most results in my leg strength and my arms are more visibly toned. This one is definitely worth adding to your collection, and I added it to mine for a little less than $10!

~Namaste~

2 YEARS!

Hey old friend! Can you believe it's almost been 2 years since we started this weight loss blog? CRAZY! It feels great to be 2 years healthier and stronger! Good grief - I haven't written a FFC blog or an ALLO blog in so long that I can hardly remember how to write one!

Let's just get real ~ I have a big work event in February and I want to look good. I have never in my healthy life been so motivated, committed and so focused as when I was doing my weekly weigh ins for FourFatChicks! Seems the smarted thing for me to do was to round up some other FatChicks and start weighing in on the blog every week!

We are so happy that y'all are going to be holding us accountable for the next few months! Each Friday we'll update our weight and share our thoughts and feelings throughout the week. I just started on monday, so I won't be able to update my weight loss until next Friday! Same as before, we'll fill you in on what's filling us up and how we're burning those calories!

Lesli's Goals~
Weight Loss: 10lbs
Body: visibly toned & strong
Exercise(s) I'm love right now: Yoga, Running & Spinning
Food I'm loving right now: Spicy Grilled Chicken & Fruit Salad

it's good to be back!

from ALifeLesOrdinary... "A 'BIG' Moment"

I conduct all of our first round interviews in our business. Some people will hire anyone, I will not. One of the questions that has always stuck out to me is question number 6. Who is your hero? 97.9% of the time I get Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle or Grandparent. And when I ask why, I usually get the same response. "They've always been there for me." LAME! Shouldn't a hero be someone who inspires greatness in you? I think it's a tough question and every time I ask it I wonder who I would say.

A few weeks ago I was in Atlanta for business and Alison Sweeney *tweeted* an invite to go work out with she and Jillian in Atlanta. I assumed that they'd be working out downtown and I'd be a good 20 miles from where all the magic was happening. For grins I googled it, and would you believe my luck... they were 4 miles down the same street I was staying on! What? I called Justin and he said, "DUH! You have to go!" The opportunity to work out with the work out person I most look up to? It was MY moment and I had to take it!


So what was actually going on was Biggest Loser was shooting their first episode of Season 10 & invited the community to come out for a workout and show taping. They shot various parts of the episode around the country. They introduced 3 potential BL's and had them compete for 2 spots on the show. Jillian led the entire group in a work out and when I say led I'm saying that when I was doing push-ups my hands were basically touching her shoes and I was praying to the virgin Mary tattoo on her ankle! I expected there to be 1,000s and 1,000s of people there, but there were maybe 175?

Filming a show is a huge undertaking, so there was a lot of waiting around, but I was a woman with time and my iPhone {excuse the poor quality of the photos} on & in my hands, so I was in for the long hall. They interviewed people who were future cast hopefuls and asked how BL had inspired the crowd. BL inspired me to run a Half Marathon {which I'll be doing again this September!}.

First things first ~ Alison Sweeney runs out! Haven't we all been loving Ali since she was chunky Sami on Days? She was TINY in person and so engaging with the crowd. Also, she had on the cutest nude wedges ever and I can't quit thinking about them and looking for them!

Then out came Jillian and the workout started immediately, so I snapped a pic before she came over and camped out by me. Jillian seems very HARD and LOUD on BL, but it was definitely more of a playful "yell" during the filming.



Yes, the workout was HARD! For those of you who have ever done one of Jillian's work out video's, it was like doing one of her videos on fast forward. 10 minutes and I was pouring sweat and panting! So, if you've been wishing and hoping you could get trained by Jillian I suggest you put her video on fast forward and try to keep up!

Then the potential contestants came out to tell their story and weigh in before the competition. Which was the first 2 to complete a mile would be immediately escorted to the ranch. There were limos outside, but I have no idea where they were really going.

Before anyone came out the director said, "I'm not sure how many of you have stepped on the scale lately, but I'm sure most of you haven't stepped on the scale in front of strangers. Please be respectful." Then he genuinely choked up. It was just as emotional in person as it is on your couch. You can't edit that kind of emotion in to a reality tv show... it's just there.

Ali tweeting how excited she was to meet me in person. Y'all all saw that tweet, right?

My turn on the scale! Thankfully, with NO cameras (but my own), NO sound affects, and NO actual weight being posted!

I didn't get to take my picture with Jillian, but I got a good picture of who Jillian is. I think there's a lot of "acting" in these situations and putting on for the camera, but cameras rolling or not...Jillian loves her work and her mission is to make your life better. I was amazed at how genuine she is and how truly un-judgmental she is. Is un-judgmental a word? I left that day with much deeper appreciation for Bob & Jillian and what they do on the Biggest Loser and to everyone being inspired at home. I also left with my answer to the interview question if I ever get asked.