Can I really handle this?

Ok so this week was our first week of clinicals in nursing school and our first week of Body Back round 2.
Monday was a great day we studied and had class - NO STRESS!
Tuesday - NOT so much. We had body back at 5 AM, class from 8-10, and clinical from 11-7. It was probably the most stressed out I have ever been, it was ridiculous.
Today (Wednesday) - Clinical from 7-3 and not as bad as Tuesday but Im still exhausted.

So Tuesday I pretty much had a break down. I expected nursing school to be stressful.....I even expected to cry at times but seriously Tuesday for me was so far beyond stressful. I dont know if it was the fact that it was a new unit with a new teacher or the fact that I had a LOT of things to do during clincial but it was so stressful. I was sucking back the tears all day and when I got home and couldnt spend more than 5 minutes with my baby girl, i just broke. She wanted Mommy to rock her to sleep and I just couldnt. I had way to much to do to prepare for the following clinical day and her cries broke my heart </3 It was a horrible day and I SERIOUSLY considered quitting the nursing program. Sometimes i feel like it just isnt worth the stress and heartache of leaving my baby girl!

BUT of course Wednesday morning I got up and went to clinical......it was a better day.

Day one of Body Back went well.......okay not really. Me & Mandy realized that it took us 8 weeks to get in shape and about 4 weeks to get back out of shape! Our assessments were not impressive! But we are ready to tackle it and get fit again :)

Im praying that next week is a better week (clinically) because MAN, i'm not sure I can really handle another year of this kind of stress!!!

I guess no one said nursing school while doing an exercise program and managing a family/marriage is easy :)

XOXO,

Nat

RIPPED Weigh In 8/2

I weighed in at 136.4.

Only .2 lbs down from last week, but hey at least I didn't gain.

So I am seriously lacking ambition lately. I am still losing weight and eating better.... but I have noticed that I am not as motivated to workout.

I miss body back so much. If it didn't interfere with school, I for sure would have signed up again. I have still been going to RIPPED 2-3 times per week, but that is about it.

Natalie and I haven't made it out to stroller strides in awhile. I find it is WAY to hot for my sweaty self!

Oh well, we will see what the next few weeks holds.

3 weeks till school starts again! AHHHHHHHHHHH.

Nat's Wrap Up.....

My story is a bit different than Mandy's.........I have been heavy ever since I got out of high school and realized that you cant survive off of fast food. My eating habits changed after I had my daughter and had gallbladder issues. Ever since then I really researched what I was eating and how it was affecting my body. I have slowly lost weight over the past 3 years and even though I had lost some weight, I still wasnt comfortable with my body and how it looked! So then me & Mandy decided to do Body Back. 

When I signed up for Body Back I expected big changes, what I got was a life change :) I realized so many things about myself during this 8 weeks.......for example I really didnt hate working out or running like I thought, I hated being out of shape and how hard that made it! Now that I am more in shape, I actually like getting out of the house and being active every day! 

I will never be able to say enough wonderful things about the Body Back program. It has completely changed me, and I love it :) Amanda described Breanne so perfectly....."She knows just when to push you to your hardest, and when to back off and just say something sweet. ". 

Ok, on with my results....

Before, After, % Change

Weight: 158, 147, 7%

Chest: 37, 35, 5% <-- And I wasnt wearing a bra.....my boobs are actually shrinking! Damn!

Waist: 31, 28.5, 8% YAY!

Hips: 43, 41, 5%

Thigh: 26, 24.5, 6%

Arm: 11.5, 11, 4%

I cant believe I am going to put my before/after pictures on here but Mandy is right, we wanted this blog to be real so here goes..........

Seriously??? My back fat situation was RIDICULOUS! 

And my last picture is one of me in a bikini.....now I may not look like a supermodel but Body Back has given me the confidence to wear it even though I haven't owned one since high school!

Thank you Body Back girls for all of your support and kind words, you will forever have a spot in my heart :) Breanne, words cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me!

Now, my weight loss journey is not over. I would like to get down to 140 before going back to school. I weighed in this morning at 146.6 (Down 0.4 from final weigh in). Not a huge loss but I'm not surprised because i did splurge a little bit this weekend.......though after looking at my before pictures, I have NO appetite! 

Thank you everyone who has supported me through this process, Mandy - I could have never done it without you! We are doing so many life changing things together right now, I dont know how we are going to survive when we get jobs in the real world, without each other........hmmm maybe we just have to get jobs together! Love you!

XOXO,

Nat

RIPPED Weigh In

Weighed in at RIPPED today.

136.6.... I am down 2 lbs since friday! WOO HOO!

Come check it out. This class is not just for mom's, anyone can come. :)

http://www.t3fitnessenergy.com/R.I.P.P.E.D.html

Body Back Final Thoughts

After 30 minutes of trying to get the formatting correct on my last post, and not being able to write anymore after the pictures, I figured I would just make a new post. Lol.

So Body Back truly was an amazing journey to go on. I learned so much about myself and my capabilities. I had no idea that I could actually lose weight if I put my mind to it. I have become such a stronger person and I am so happy with the changes I see in my body.

When I started Body Back I heard a lot of people say, "why do you need to do that, you are already skinny." Well now I am exposed in my before and after pictures... I really wasn't skinny. I was 20lbs heavier than after I gave birth to Aaron. I don't know what happened in those three years but I really was not proud of how I let my body go.

Every time I have tried to lose weight or workout, I would give up after a week or sooner. Body back proved to me that I have it in me to focus my mind and lose the weight, while changing eating habits. I really believe that I have made permanent changes in my family, as far as food... and that means more than losing any weight.

Spending these last 8 weeks with my sister has grown our relationship in a different way. We always push each other, but to push each other and see such incredible results is so amazing. I love that I have her in my life.

Every single one of those women in body back and changed my life. I will take something from every one of them, and I am so grateful that I met them. I hope we can keep in touch, and maybe I will see some of you at RIPPED.

Breanne, has been an incredible instructor. Better than I could have ever asked. She knows just when to push you to your hardest, and when to back off and just say something sweet. She is probably one of the nicest (sometimes psychotic when it comes to working out) people I have ever met. I would not be where I am at right now if it wasn't for her. I am thankful that I met her and I am positive that this session won't be the last time she will push me to the point of throwing up.

The last 8 weeks have been such a roller coaster. We have cried, almost thrown up, laughed, sweated (is that a word?) and encouraged each other... what better way to spend my summer??

Thank you to everyone who has supported me, including my amazing husband and son. I am thankful for everyone in my life. I could not be happier.

The journey does not stop here. I will be doing RIPPED twice a week and stroller strides twice a week until school starts. I want to try to lost at least 5 more lbs before going back. Natalie and I will be weighing in every week, as well as taking pictures and measurements at the end of these next 5 weeks.

Alright, I think I need to be done before I start balling!!! :)

Here are a couple more pics from Body Back!!

Our sweaty hand prints from doing push ups after sprinting up mt. rubidoux

Such a beautiful way to start the morning.

After one of our last chance workouts.

Amanda's Final Assessments

Last Friday was our final assessment day. This is the day that it all came down to. Final weigh in, and final measurements, and final chance to see how far we have come with our workouts!

I woke up in the morning feeling fat. I ate out the night before because my husband's family was leaving for Haiti on missions trip with our church, and I am pretty sure the

excess sodium was stuck to my butt. I got ready and put on my clothes. I had cheer shorts on from when I was in high school

and a pink sports bra (funny thing about the sports bra, when we took our before pictures, I didn't have on a sports bra... so when you see how many inches I lost in my boobs, yea thats not accurate, because if I lost that many inches, I am pretty sure I would have holes.)

I looked in the mirror and thought to myself, ok what can I do to make this the best picture ever... lol ya I did it, I did like 10 sit ups. Crazy I know.... even when I was doing them, I was laughing at myself. I thought I

could tighten up those muscles so maybe I would have like a 2 pack, sitting on a tire of course.

It gets crazier, THEN I thought... hmm when is the last time I went to the bathroom (number 2) Maybe that will drop another .4 lbs. (I am weird about even .2 lbs). No luck there.

THEN.... I didn't eat breakfast (that would add the .4 lbs back on that I didn't lose from taking a crap). I also knew we wouldn't be doing any crazy workouts so I figured I would be fine.

So I got to the studio and weighed in.

138.4 - :( I was up 1.2 lbs. Maybe all my craziness made my body say, ummmm no your not gunna try to lose weight in the 30 minutes before weighing in.... so there, that will teach ya a lession! I think it also may be because my Aunt that visited a few weeks ago, was supposed to be coming again. :(

Total weight loss: 10.2 lbs. I am so proud of myself for losing that weight. I never thought this was possible, and now I know that it is. :)

Here are my before and after measurements... again disregard the chest measurement.

Chest 35.5 32.5 8%

Waist 29 28 3%

Hips 41.5 40.5 2%

Thigh 24.5 23.5 4%

Arm 11 10.5 5%

And here is my workout assessment:

Jump Rope 0:20 1:15 73%

Bicep Curls 22 40 45%

Plank 0:49 1:31 46%

Push Ups 8 28 71%

Sit Ups 16 23 30%

Squats 31 49 37%

Side Bridge 0:32 1:22 61%

My overall percentage of change was 394% YAY!!!!!

Now, I AM going to post my before and after pictures, but let me tell you... I had NO idea that I looked the way I looked on my before pics, seriously if I knew my back looked like that I would have laid off the oreo's for sure. I am so happy with my after results, but DANG.... I am embarrased even looking at before pictures! Oh well, I told myself I would be honest with this blog so here goes:

The final workout...

So this morning was our final workout of the Body Back program! Those of you who know me probably know that I have been DREADING it for as long as I have known about it! We were running up Mt. Rubidoux.....I hate running, so I was not looking forward to this!

My morning was a mess! My alarm clock went off and I apparently slept through it for 20 minutes because by the time I realized it was going off it was 5:05 and I needed to be there at 5:15! So I got dressed and ran out the door....I didnt even get a chance to eat breakfast (I know Breanne would kick me if she could right now), but I made it.

Then came the torture. We went up the steep way, and it felt VERY steep. Every time we were running I felt like my legs weighed a million pounds. I pushed through the pain and kept going until it got so bad that I felt like I had to stop. I slowed to a walk and heard Breanne behind me "DO NOT STOP RUNNING, PICK IT UP".....now she is normally a very sweet person, but when she yells at you during workouts she seems a tad possessed, so I ran again the rest of the way :) I remember Mandy telling Breanne she kinda wanted to punch her a little bit! There is something so intense about pushing your body to the limit and having someone push it even further.

We were all SO happy and proud of ourselves when we got to the top. We talked about what Body Back meant to us and we all pretty much cried like a bunch of sissy lala's. Tomorrow is assessment day and I'm so excited to see my results, but sad to see Body Back end! It's very bitter sweet.  We will update everyone tomorrow when we get our results :)

XOXO,

Nat

What Rhythm???

Okay so today starts week 8! Here are the weigh in results for the week....

Nat: 149.0 (Down 9 pounds)
Mandy: 137.2 (Down 11.6 pounds)

We are doing SOOO good! Im so proud of how much weight we have lost and better than that we have gotten so much stronger!!!

So this morning was quite an adventure! Breanne told us we were going to be having a "special workout" this morning. I figured it would be some torturous running class but it wasnt....it was Zumba! She had one of her Zumba instructors come in early and teach us! I was so excited because I had heard of it several times and wanted to try it! Then the music started and I realized that the salsa portion of my brain is extremely underdeveloped.

Me & Mandy kept talking about where our rhythm went! Back in our high school days we used to go to the club and get down & dirty......and we looked good doing it! So why did we suck at Zumba? Im convinced it is because we are not used to the salsa music. I KNOW we still have rhythm because every time it came to the "hump the air" move or the "hip rolls" we were having no trouble at all! I dont know how good we looked doing it but we felt good! So even though we both looked like we had no clue what we were doing, it was a lot of fun! Its a very high energy class with constant moving around! The instructor had some serious salsa rhythm.....her ass bounced to the music perfectly! The music was SO fast and her butt was just bouncing right on the beat every time! I dont know why mine cant do that! Oh well......I would totally do it again just because it was so fun!

Going into our final week our goals of 135 (Mandy) & 145 (Nat) are looming over our heads. We both really want to meet our goals but we dont plan on stopping our weight loss journey with this week. We plan on continuing throughout the rest of the Summer and of course when we go back to school we want to make sure we focus on taking care of ourselves so that we don't gain it back! Wish us luck for our final week! Our next workout is Mt. Rubidoux on Thursday....I am SO dreading it because we apparently have to run (yes run) up it....the steep route. So who wants to help me think of a REALLY good excuse for why I cant make it :) Just kidding Breanne.....I will be there!

XOXO,

Nat

Let's get RIPPED

We had another weigh in this morning. Usually it is on Monday morning's, but because of fourth of July we changed it to today. We had to be at the studio for a RIPPED class at 5:00am. I came in a couple minutes late and the studio was packed with women already starting their warm ups.

I dropped off my stuff, and saw the dreaded scale. I debated just starting my work out and then I would weigh in later, but for some reason I feel like if I jumble everything around before weighing in I will have a higher reading. Weird I know! So I weighed in...

and I gained 0.4lbs. :( I kind of expected that this week. I could pretty much feel all week that I wasn't losing any weight. Usually I feel super skinny the first couple of days during the week and then I start feeling a little more bloated by the end of the week. I also didn't stick to the meal plan very good.

According to Breanne, week 6 is notorious for good results, so I feel motivated now to get back on the meal plan, workout hard this week and drop a couple more pounds!!

So this morning we had a RIPPED class, which is a normal class that the studio holds on Tuesday's and Thursday's. Body Back's girls joined the RIPPED girls for a great workout. RIPPED is kind of like workout routines choreographed really well to music. Each song has specific areas that we work out. It was actually a lot of fun. I feel it brought out the cheerleader in me. Learning routines and grooving to music.

At one point, we were doing some leg squats and push ups, and during the push ups the music had this hardcore bass beat to it. I sat up and asked Natalie, "Don't you feel like a bad ass right now?"

There was another "routine" where it took a lot of coordination and it was very easy to get lost. I looked over at Natalie and she has this weird smile on her face and was just hopping awkwardly in place. It was pretty hilarious.

So after a great workout today, I am ready for the week... and I am hoping for a 2lb weight loss this week!!!! :)

XoXo

Amanda

"Mama says they was my magic shoes" - Forest Gump

I don't know what week Natalie is on, but we are starting week 5 and we ARE halfway through the program! Crazy lady!

AND... okay, okay so I sweat like a 900 lb woman, and pretty much look like this:

But lets not talk about what Natalie likes to do in Yoga..... there is a really funny picture I want to put in this blog, but I won't do that to her!!! :)

So today I went and got some new running shoes. Ever since that crazy running class a couple of weeks ago, I feel like I have permanent shin splints and have the knees of a 90 year old woman. Great now I am 90 and weigh 900 lbs. Ugh.

I have had a really hard time running the past few classes, so I figured its about time to invest in some new shoes. These are the ones I got:

I am excited to try them out on Thursday. Hopefully they help out my knees and I can "Run Forest, RUN".

So YAY for our weight loss this past week. Natalie and I are doing better than I thought we would do and I am so proud of us. I am not sure what my deal was in class today. I really was not feeling the work out at all. I had every reason to be motivated considering my weight loss, but I don't think I pushed myself as hard as I should have.

Oh well, its a new week and I am hoping for another 2 lb weight loss this week. Lets keep our fingers crossed!! :)

Week 4

So this is the beginning of week four....we are almost halfway through the program :) Although it has been REALLY tough, it feels like it went by pretty fast! We are making better food choices every day than we would have before this program.

Last night (Sunday) me & Mandy started to panic a little bit about the weigh in! We were both feeling a little bloated so we decided we needed a last minute sweat fest. Now, if you have ever worked out with Mandy then you know that she sweats on a whole 'nother level. Its like a 900 lb woman walking through 115 degree weather....its crazy! We will be doing something for 2 seconds and her hair will be wet, but hey its workin' for her! Sweat it out sister :) Anyway, we decided to go to Mt. Rubidoux and go for a quick hike. We decided this like 15 minutes before sunset so by the time we got there it was getting dim out. We pushed ourselves through the steep trail on the mountain and when we got to the top it felt great. What didnt feel great were the tricep dips and push ups we did when we got there :) Once we headed down I was so glad that we did it, i felt better already! That was until we realized that it was getting DARK very quick. About halfway down it started to get so dark that we couldnt really see in front of us. It was SO scary. The "baby" snake we saw on our way up was suddenly in the front of Mandy's mind, and I swore there was a serial killer hiding behind a tree. Between the both of us we got really creeped out. After threatening to take out my "razor blade", hearing lots of movement in the bushes and pretty much running and screaming the whole way down, I was happy to be at my car :) Needless to say we wont be going on anymore nighttime hikes, but it was still a fun experience. When I got home i felt refreshed and was not feeling too terrible about the weigh in looming the next morning.

So this morning came and when I woke up I was pretty much dreading the scale....let's face it, it has not been my friend lately! The alarm went off, i cussed under my breath, thought seriously about going back to sleep and got up. When I got to body back i I saw the scale and wanted to fake an illness to go back home! But i got on it anyway.....here are this weeks results.

Nat: -3.8 lbs this week, 7 lbs total
Mandy: -2.4 lbs this week, 8.8 lbs total

We both had a really great week! I am very nervous that my body is going to remain in this really annoying pattern of loss-gain-loss-gain, but hopefully it will begin to act normal and let me have a loss ;)

XOXO,

Nat

S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y?!?!

Ok so I kind of sucked this week on Body Back! My week was busy with taking a friend out to a birthday lunch, my first extreme couponing trip, a day at Disneyland, a Father's Day BBQ for my hubby, and taking the hubby for dinner on Father's Day! I ate out A LOT. I made good choices, but I still ate out WAY to much! So this is my morning.....

5:25 AM: Corey smacks me "Babe you are gunna be late!! Get up!" I look at the clock "Ummm no I already am late! I was supposed to be there 10 minutes ago!"

CRAP! So I race to get ready and arrive to Body Back 25 minutes late :( When I get there I weigh in to find out that.....

I GAINED 1.4 pounds.......Seriously, week 1 all over again? And this is a whole pound more that that debacle! I was irritated. Even though I was seriously irritated that I gained, I know that it cannot be real weight. I have not eaten nearly enough calories to gain over a pound. I feel like it is not even possible. Breanne mentioned that if you ate out a lot, there is a lot of sodium in the food so you could be retaining fluids. I am praying that is what happened with me because seriously, I had  my share of "mistakes" over the week but none tragic enough to gain this amount of weight! So for now I stand at only 3.2 lbs lost. Hopefully next week will catch me up because if not, Im going to Chipotle......Ok i'm kidding. Or not.

Mandy, however is kicking some serious ass and lost another 1.6 lbs for a total of 6.4 Lbs!!! She is doing so well and is holding steady with the weight loss! She was even in Laughlin this week and managed to pull through and lose weight! YOU GO GIRL!

As for this weeks plan I am going to really try to crack down on the eating out. If it doesn't come out of my refrigerator, I'm not going to eat it! Well, we will see how that goes considering we are taking my mother-in-law out to dinner for her birthday tonight and tomorrow we are meeting some school friends for lunch! All I can do is my best! 

XOXO,

Nat

Week 2 Assessments

So we kinda slacked this week with our blogging. A lot has happened this week, so I will just recap a few things.

Weigh in on Monday:

Amanda

Previous Weight: 145.8

Current Weight: 143.8

Yay I lost another 2 lbs.... that makes 4.8 total in two weeks.

Natalie

Previous Weight: 158.4

Current Weight: 153.4

YES you are seeing this correctly, my amazing sister lost 5 lbs last week!!! I am so proud of her and the hard work that she has done.

The weigh in tomorrow is going to be a little more challenging.... I went to laughlin for 3 days and didn't eat that great, and it kinda threw me off track... I haven't been eating my snacks like a should, I have been adding some things in there that I wouldn't have eaten the first week. I am really motivated to get back on track this week. I went grocery shopping, so I am good in the food department, there are no excuses now. I really didn't work out as much as I have been this week either. I only worked out 3 times, and normally I do about 5 workouts each week.

AND to top it off, my aunt came to town.... you know her name! :( So I have been super bloated this week. I won't be surprised if I gained a little bit with all that was going on this week.

On the upside, I had a very emotional and proud workout on thursday.... it was a running class... I hate running. We would do 5 minute jog, 1 minute walk, 2 minute run, 1 minute walk, 1 minute sprint, 1 minute walk... and so on. This was the worst class I have ever had and I pretty much felt like I wanted to punch everyone and everything. Those 1 minute sprints last so long, but the 1 minute walks I swear were only 20 seconds.

To top it off, we had to sprint up the hill every 3o seconds.... AND THEN, when we got to the top of the hill, Breanne told us to run all the way back to the studio. She said it wasn't that far. HAHA! She said we could run as slow or as fast as we wanted. A couple minutes in I was starting to lose it.... Breanne starting running next to me, I told her I was about to start crying, next thing I know I am crying and Breanne is giving this really amazing motivational speech about how I have these gremlins on my shoulder telling me that I can't do this and they want me to stop... and I CAN DO THIS. I cried and pushed and it hurt so bad. I really did not think I could make it up that hill. Breanne ran with me the whole time and encouraged me to keep going and I did. I broke down my wall and wiped those gremlins off my shoulder and sprinted the last couple seconds. When I made it, I broke down crying because I was so proud that I did it and I hurt so bad all over my body. I could not ask for a better instructor through all of this. She pushes us so hard and expects so much from us, but I wouldn't want it any other way!

Tania tracked our calories burned for that running class....... 900!!!! WOW!

This week had its ups and downs, but I am definitely ready to get back to business and get back on track.

I will update you all on our weigh in tomorrow.... cross your fingers that I did not gain any weight!!! :)

LBS till I meet my goal: 8.8

XoXo

Amanda

No Pain, No Gain

So my week started off pretty good. Body Back on Monday, Nursing 2 Final on Tuesday (I passed!! WOO HOO), Stroller Strides on Wednesday and Body Back this morning.

This morning was a running class and we were paired in teams. I was paired with Kate, and Natalie was paired with Jo. Breanne gave us a little bit of motivation and told us that whoever got to each station first would not have to do the cardio part of that station. Let me tell you, we all basically sprinted to the first station. My legs felt like they were detached from my body, I felt like I looked like Jim Carey in dumb and dumber when he was fake running in the doggy van with his arms moving at top speed, I probably had that same look on my face. I could hardly keep up with Kate.

Not really sure who got to the station first, we lost our top speed somewhere halfway! At this station we first did wheel barrels, this is the one from my cheer days that I HATED. It is such an awkward position and I sound like a frog croaking when I breath in. Next we had to do tag team sprinting, Kate ran halfway, came back and tagged me, and then I ran halfway and came back and tagged her. I sprinted to the halfway mark, turned back and could see nothing but Kate's Yellow arm sticking out at me to tag it. I tagged it, and then CRACK, I fell to the ground. My first thought was, really I am going to be that girl?? Then I realized that it actually hurt and started to hold back the tears. Natalie was so cute... "OMG, are you okay?" Lol... we talked about it later laughing about what she was thinking when I fell to the ground, did she get shot, did she have a heart attack, why the hell did she just pounce to the ground right next to me? I am sure I was so graceful! :)

Breanne came over, and her voice said it all.... "Did you hear a pop?" "Yeah" "Oh Geez!"

The rest of the workout sucked. I really badly wanted to be working out with the rest of these girls, but instead I was trying to keep off my foot. I still did little workouts here and there, including push ups.... by the way, I did 15 in a row and it just barely started hurting. During initial assessments I did 8 in 1 minute and couldn't feel my arms...... I also did wall squats that Breanne said I "rocked". Ya baby! Here is a picture of the partner triceps, apparently I wasn't important because I was now a gimp... (j/k breanne) My legs are the ones barely showing with the black pants on.

The way back up the hill was okay. I walked pretty much the whole way. Tania was really sweet and kept me company. I am really starting to enjoy these ladies company. They are very motivating and inspiring. When we got back we did abs while we enjoyed a light drizzle of rain on our faces. Although during I pretty much told Breanne that it was pouring... lol. I can sometimes exaggerate.

So I have spent the rest of the day just taking care of my ankle (RICE, for all you nursing students).

I really want to go to stroller strides tomorrow. I still want a good weigh in on Monday and I WONT let this stupid ankle get in my way.

I am also excited to spend this weekend with my baby boy. Adam is out of town for the mens boat trip with our church. Can we say party??? Yeah right, I will probably be in bed by 8. I am old!

XoXo

Amanda,

P.S. Shmily

Assessment Day - Week One - Amanda

This morning was our first weigh in. Natalie and I have been dreading this all week. Like Natalie, I have not necessarily felt "skinny" all week. I had a couple of mornings where I was feeling more fit, but not skinny. Of course, when I woke up this morning I felt very bloated (probably those 2 chicken tacos, on corn tortillas, with lettuce, and salsa - probably the heaviest thing I have eaten all week). 

I was running a little bit late this morning, one because I chopped off all of my hair, and I have yet to figure out a way to put it up when I am exercising. I can't stand my sweaty hair on my neck. And two, because I forgot that I needed to print out a photo that inspires to keep moving on. These are the photos I picked: 

My number 1 fan!! I want to be a strong healthy mama for my little boy, and I want to set a good example for him! 

 I know, I know... I can't help it... I love Britney! This picture inspires me, because her stomach is what I want mine to look like! :) 

Anyways, back to assessments. I got to class and everyone was in line, including Natalie (her face was priceless, she looked terrified to stand on that scale). 

I took my shoes off and walked up to the dreaded scale with her. I felt really bad when I saw that she had gained 0.4lbs. I really didn't know what to say. I got on the scale next. 

Starting Weight: 

148.6

Ending Weight: 

145.8

YAY! I lost almost 3 lbs. I was so excited. The room aura was a little bit awkward though. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to smile or if I had to be super quiet like everyone else. I chose to be quiet. 

During the workouts, I really had mixed feelings (ambivalence, as we learned in nursing). I was happy that I lost, but really sad that Natalie didn't. 

The workouts were really hard today. I didn't feel completely into it, like I should considering I had a very motivating weight loss. I felt weak and really just wanted to crawl back in bed with my boys at home. I pushed through the mountain climbers, test the waters, arm lifts, ladder, cherry pickers, reverse leg planks, sit up punches, wall squats, and whatever else we did that I can't remember, probably cause I blacked out.

I feel like this week will be a tough one for me. I had a really great food week last week, and fought off some really tough temptations that I never thought possible. I am hoping that I can stick with it this week so that I can drop another 2lbs. My goal for body back was to be down to 135, which is 13.8 lbs. If I lose 2lbs per week... that gives me a grace period on the weeks that I don't lose as much. I am very optimistic that I can reach this goal, I just have to keep going! :) 

Amanda

You must be F-ing kidding...

So today was our weigh in for week 1 of body back. I had already told Amanda that I was worried about it because usually when I start some sort of "eating plan" I feel skinnier within a day or two which I didn't on this plan. All week I have been saying, I just don't feel like I am losing ANYTHING. So this morning 4:30 came very early, I ate my breakfast and headed for Body Back.

When I got there, everyone was lined up to weigh in. I got in line and waited my turn........

I gained 0.4 lbs.

When I first saw the number a million things were going through my head......You must be f-ing kidding me. I have worked out 5 times this week, followed the meal plan, done everything I'm supposed to do and I GAINED weight? I probably should have just stayed home, slept in late and eaten freaking oreo's all day which I cant do now because I have nothing in the house but brown rice and water. Why am I even doing this if it isn't going to work for me....blah blah blah you get the picture. I pretty much had that stuff going through my head the entire class.

I just don't understand how I could have eaten better than I ever have, exercised harder than I ever have and GAINED weight, it doesn't make sense. I instructor was very sweet, she just told me that my body is probably just in shock mode holding onto everything. I wish that made me feel better. So after crying the whole way home I decided that I need to just get over it. Yes, I did this program to lose weight but I also did it to be healthy and I know that I ate healthier last week than I ever have. I will just stick to the program for now and hope that I see some results next week.

So, in other news, our Nursing 2 final is tomorrow. I am going to be so happy when it is over and I get my grade :) I am already in Summer mode!!!

"I think I might vomit..."

So today was our first "real" Body Back workout. Most of it is a blur because I couldn't really breathe the whole time but I will try to give you some details. I knew before I went that it was going to be a "running" workout and that scared me.....I look like some sort of superhero when I run and it's just awkward! When I got there the instructor Breanne got right to business and had us run down the street to a parking lot. "It's not far" she said. Halfway through the run I was thinking "really, where the HELL is this place?!?!", it was far......very far. When we got there the real madness began and this is where I get a little fuzzy......we squatted, and jumped, and did some things that made my ass feel like it might just fall off! Right around the next station is where I began to get VERY nauseous.....we jumped, and did some arm exercises. I was THISCLOSE to throwing up throughout the rest of class. I even started tearing up at one point thinking "really, this is ridiculous!" but I pushed through it! The last torture we had to endure was to wrap a resistance band around our hips and have someone pull us back while we tried to run UP a hill. Needless to say I thought I was going to die, but I managed to do it alive.

Once we got back to the starting point we stretched a bit. I felt like my whole body was jello. Let me tell you that feeling did not last long......I am already sore, very sore! I'm pretty sure getting out of bed tomorrow morning will be a 30 minute event, and sitting on the toilet will be a chore!!

I am so proud of us for getting through our first really tough workout :) We weigh in on Monday so we will post our week 1 results then! Hopefully we see the results we want to keep us motivated!

As far as food goes, I am pretty bored. There isn't a huge array of meals to chose from for this 8 weeks because they want to help us achieve maximum results. I have pretty much been sticking with the same few things and I'm going to have to switch it up soon to keep myself entertained! Other than that I have felt great, and satisfied! I only felt hungry the first day of the program and now it is becoming much easier.....the eating part at least :)

XOXO,

Nat

Grocery Dash

So Natalie came over last night so that we can make our meal plan for body back. I was very excited about this because I just came home from 3 days in Arizona of eating crap. I knew Body Back was starting on Monday so I figured, eh what the heck... I will just eat all of this:

 Bean Dip

 Chicken Tacos

 Pepsi

BBQ'd Ribs



So by Sunday night I was very ready to start eating healthy.

However, everything changed as soon as I started trying to write my meal plan. I realized that I will be eating chicken every single day. There are not a whole lot of food options on the body back plan, so I was already getting bored just making my plan. I have about 30 dinners that I make for my family, so I think after this 8 weeks, I will be soooo over chicken.

I toughed through making the meal plan and headed off to sprouts. Here is what my meal plan looks like for the next 2 weeks.

Things just got uglier from here. Not only was I shopping at a new grocery store, but I was forced to buy things I didn't even know what it was, like Kale and Flaxseed.

As Natalie and I headed through the store, our anxiety levels and frustrations began to rise. We were both on a strict budget and everything felt like it cost $5.00 per item. I began to check things off my list that I would just get at Winco.... I seriously can't get away from that store, its so cheap.

Little miss Cassidy decided to throw a little bit of fun in there too as if we weren't having enough, she was whining, crying, begging for yogurt, and asking to put bags on her hands, lol.

About halfway through the store, we had our chicken (which was $1.99 per lb :) ) and our full cart of produce. We started thinking that maybe we should just go to Winco, and this is where we absolutely lost our minds. The conversation went a little bit like this:

Amanda: Maybe we should just ditch our carts and go to Winco, I know we can get everything we need there for half the price.
Natalie: Well how are we going to leave the carts?
Amanda: We can say we have a family emergency.
Natalie: How are we going to say that with a straight face?
Amanda: We can say we forgot our wallets at home, and ask them to hold the carts for us, and just not come back.
Natalie: Both of us left our wallets at home?
Amanda: We can just tell them that their prices are ridiculous and walk out.
Natalie: We could, but I really want to buy the chicken
Amanda: Me too.
Natalie: Come on, lets just go buy what we have, and we can finish tomorrow at Winco.

All the way up to the checkstand, we were crying about the meal plan, the grocery shopping experience, and Cassidy.

We loaded up our groceries and got in the car. Natalie rolled down her window and said "See you at 5:15 in the morning" .... I cringed.

Today, I feel like I am in a better frame of mind. I am off to a good start with the meal plan and am about to leave to finish my shopping at Winco.

I know that we can do this, and I am going to be so proud of us when we do. I just hope we can keep our sanity!!! :)

This is my first Body Back breakfast (at 4:45am I might add)



Wow, I'm really outta shape...

School is winding down now and we are coming to the end of this semester (Thank God). Me & Mandy decided today was the perfect day to get back to Stroller Strides since they were having a field trip to the fire station! We were both really excited and ready to get our bodies in shape :) Fast forward about 3 minutes into class and my thighs were burning during the warm up. Yes, I said warm up. By the first "station" we were giving each other the "wow, I cant really breathe" look and Mandy even said "Body Back is harder than this?". We were feeling pretty out of shape to say the least. Then it was station 2 and let me just say, I HATE jumping jacks! I always have....it seems like no matter when I need to do them, I always realize I should have gone pee first. Each time I jump I pee just a little bit......multiply that by like 50 and that little bit really adds up. Nice, so not only am I outta shape but I'm peeing my pants while exercising. Station 3 is pretty much a blur of arm exercises while lunging, Im pretty sure I lost consciousness sometime during that station! By the end of class we were soaked from sweat, I know really attractive, right? Once it was over we felt so glad that we did it and proud of ourselves for doing our best! Its nice to have someone there with you who knows exactly what you are thinking with just a look! Needless to say we are getting pretty nervous about Body Back. I'm glad we can get a few classes under our belt before beginning the really tough stuff!

Mandy

  

Me - Wow, nice hair.

After class we headed to the fire station. The kids were so excited to see the big fire truck. The firemen gave us a tour, let the kids sit in the truck, and even put on their uniforms for us.....wait I mean for the kids! Overall it was a great field trip and the kids had a blast!

By the fire truck!

 Me & Cassidy

Mandy, Aaron, Cassidy

Testing, Testing 1 2 3.........4

Test days are the worst... there is so much tension in the air, every second of the day leading up to the test you feel like you have to be studying, and you just feel like "this is the test I am gunna bomb, I just know it."

In nursing school you have to get a 75% in the class in order to move on. In nursing 1 we had 16 tests during the semester (usually about 1 per week) so it was okay if you "bombed" a couple, because you would still have a good grade in the class. In nursing 2 we only have 4 tests that make up 75% of our grade in the class, and one final that makes up about 25% of the grade in the class. So needless to say, one bad day and you are screwed.

Last Friday, Natalie and I mapped out our plan to study for the weekend. It looked a little bit like this:

Friday:
330-500pm Clean the house
500-600pm Make Dinner
600-800pm Study
800-900pm Give Aaron/Cassidy a bath and put to bed
900-1200am Study

Saturday:
700-800 Wake Up
800-1100 Study

You get the picture....

So we pretty much had zero time over the weekend to do anything but care for our family's and study. Its pretty exhausting when you know for like 4 days you will have no life. :(

We pretty much stuck to our schedules with a little bit of change here and there.... we had a horrible time studying on Sunday. We were distracted at Chipotle, starbucks, the comfy bed in my mom's house, and then of course... my mom's chicken tacos. Instead of studying at my mom's house Natalie and I took fat pictures... lol. None of which I will be posting!!

 Studying on Friday

Natalie just couldn't help herself. 

So Monday morning, bright and early started with me waking up 50 minutes late (why do Monday's always SUCK). I got to school around 6:50am and Natalie and I had our typical test morning conversation....

Natalie: "Are you ready sister?"
Me: "No, not at all, are you?"
Natalie: "NOO, I feel so jacked!"

So then the cramming began.

We studied for about 3 hours, went to pre-clinical, and then came back home and had lunch with Corey, Natalie's husband. Well, I more gave the stank eye every time Natalie would make a peep cause I was trying to study. My favorite part of lunch was Meka driving up saying, "Who's this guy?" Probably thinking we had another stalker on our hands.

2:00pm was testing time, and as we walked in the room I could feel my heart beating in my throat. We sat at the front of the room, which I hate because I get so distracted with everything that is going on around me. I said my prayer, told the girls good luck and started the test.

15 minutes later Natalie is done... lol. Okay, maybe not 15 minutes but DAMN she is always done so fast.

1hr and 30 minutes later I am done. I don't know what my problem was but I could not focus during this test at all and it took me forever.

We went home and I was in such a funk all night, cause I wanted my score and I was dreading clinical the next day.

Received texts that grades are up....... ugh.



Me: 87%
Natalie 87%
How do we manage to do that?

YAY!!!!!!!!! We are very proud of these scores considering it is so hard to get a high B on these tests. Finally we can relax for the week and start studying for the final next week!!!

Here are some more pics of nursing school!

Putting an NG tube in. 

 Cleaning the pins from a broken arm

 Only the best instructor ever. 

 Natalie turning the baby. 

 How creepy is this kid??

 All of our babies!

 Class officers

 Natalie and I caring for our baby. 

 Turning the baby. 

Clinical group - Pediatrics