Family Style Workouts

This weekend I went to Michigan to see my sister & her family.  I rode up with my mom, dad, and nephew.  We had oh so much fun!  There was plenty of junk included in the weekend (gummy bears, beer, donuts, wine, cupcakes, Tanqueray, cake balls, whiskey, pizza).  As tasty as all the bad for me stuff was, it wasn't the best part of the weekend.

I absolutely LOVED working out with my family.  My sister has a make-shift gym in her basement.  They have an elliptical, a handful of assorted weights, and a couple of ab wheels.  Saturday afternoon my sister, 2 nephews (2 & 7 years old) went downstairs to workout.  My 7-year-old nephew tried out the elliptical to start.  He loved it & was sweating in his pajamas....yes we were all still in pajamas into the afternoon :).

Testing out the elliptical

After my sister's workout she did abs using the ab wheel.  It was adorable to watch her 2-year-old son workout with her.  He was checking out how his mama did it and trying to copy her every move.

Monkey see...

Monkey do :)

Having a family with similar health and fitness goals is encouraging.  Surround yourself with people who have a like mindset and you will succeed.

TG(tomorrow)IF

Today's been a rough day.  My kiddos at school drove me to my wits end!  TG(tomorrow)IF!!!!

My weekend includes plans for visiting with family members, cuddling babies, reading stories, probably a glass or two of wine, and a few good workouts with my sister.  I think the combo of relaxation & a change in my workout partner will be just what the doctor ordered.  Happy Friday!  Have a great weekend.

I've Still Got It....Kind of

Today I ran sprints with the kids at practice.  I was still able to keep up with or beat the majority of them.  Maybe I'm in better shape than I thought :)  Even as some of the kids ran past me, I smiled.  I was outside, and I was running!!  Oh happy day.

Bonus Round

Another snow day for the teacher family!

Today I didn't think I'd have time to get a workout in. Lulu was supposed to have shots after school so I figured my evening would be spent cuddling a cranky baby. With that in mind, I did a double workout yesterday.  About half way through my boot camp class I got a text that school was delayed (woohoo!!). I thought, alright now I can squeeze in a quick before school workout. Then, right as I was getting up, the phone went off again saying school was cancelled.

Instead of squeezing in a workout I had plenty of time. I fed Lulu, read her I Love you, Stinky Face, ate a pear & drank some water, then started my workout.  Oh how I love mornings like this! It wasn't anything fancy, but it's done. And I'm going to aim to double up again today. No excuses with a whole day stuck inside!

My gym today, complete with tiny cheerleader on the play mat.

The Beer (cider) Stays

In my last post I talked about wanting to get fit without spending oodles of moolah.  In addition to that, I'm not willing to give up everything delicious.  However, I am more than willing to indulge in moderation.

I'm currently drinking a Strongbow Cider mmmmmm!

My major weakness are as follows:

• Beer
• Sweets
• Tortilla chips
• Pizza

Fitting into my closet full of clothes is important to me, but I know I can do it without sacrificing all the yummies that I love.  Instead of giving up something completely, I am setting some boundaries.  For example, the last two days I have gone without sweets.  I don't plan to do it forever.  I actually don't even have a stopping point or goal in mind.  Both days I've just woken up and said, "I'm not going to eat sweets today."   Then I do it.

Before my wedding I hired a personal trainer to get my booty in gear.  That is exactly what she did!  I gave up sweets 99.9% (I ate 1/2 a slice of pie at Thanksgiving).  After 8 weeks of giving up sweets (not all sugar, I ate fruit still) I was toned & tiny (size 2/4).

A little pre-wedding workout :)

My thinking is I need to be conscience of what I eat, but I don't need to be crazy about calorie counting or restricting.  So, today I don't eat sweets, but I drink a hard cider.  Maybe tomorrow I'll say no alcohol, but eat a cookie.  Heck!  Maybe I'll skip both.  The point is, I'm trying not to make myself feel restricted, while staying conscientious.  

What's happening here?

So, I have a strong desire to get myself into a physical state I can be proud of.  I've recently started following a number of motivational fitness people on social media.  I love, love, love hearing about their progress and seeing what they are doing to work out and live fit.  I hate that everything they advocate costs money.  Not just a little bit of money, but a pretty penny (on my budget).

My goal is to motivate others to workout without breaking the bank.  

I workout in my house using mostly YouTube videos on my computer & 5 pound hand weights.

Workout "studio" aka the sunroom

My workouts are often interrupted by my #1 cheerleader, Lulu.

She often requires cuddles mid-workout....I don't usually mind.

I am certain I can get a strong body without paying hundreds on workout programs & gym memberships while setting a good example of a healthy, happy life for my daughter.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning

Let's start with a few things about me:

1. I'm Anni

2. 26 years young

3. Wife to the greatest guy around

4. Mom of a sweet, cuddly little girl

5. Lover of running, lifting, boot camp, and burpees 

6. Minimal self control in the presence of sweets, pizza, and beer

As I begin this blogging journey I am 20 weeks & 3 days post-partum.  I've been focusing on losing weight & inches for the last 4 weeks, and have lost 2.2 pounds.  I know I'm not doing as much as I could be doing and need a little accountability.  I'm not completely unhappy with my body, in fact I'm pretty proud of it.  However, I have a closet full of great clothes that would look a heck of a lot better if they didn't include a muffin top.  

So let's start at the very beginning.  Here's the journey I took to get to my current starting point.

I started running in 4th grade.  I was a self-proclaimed sprinter.  My first coach tried to put me in the mile.  I ran 1 lap (of 4), walked off the track, and told him I was a sprinter.

In high school I ran track all four years.  My events were the 100m, 200m, 4x100m, 400m, & 4x400m. I also tried my legs at cross country for a couple of years, but HATED it!  (The distance was what I hated, not the experience)

I'm third from the right.  Senior night 2005

When I started college in 2005 I was mortified of the elusive "freshman fifteen".  I couldn't imagine gaining five pounds, let alone fifteen or more!  So instead of indulging in fries and ice cream, I counted every single calorie and worked out twice a day.  The numbers kept me in control, or so I thought.  Calorie counting became an obsession and watching the numbers go down on the scale was exhilarating.  At my lowest I weighed around 115.

Halloween 2005

After a few people close to me commented on how my frame continued to shrink I decided that I wasn't being the healthiest I could be.  I ditched the calorie counting and decided to work on being strong & healthy as opposed to as skinny as possible.  My sophomore year I joined Team in Training and began training to run my 1st half marathon.  I knew I had to find something to work towards or I would be in a constant battle with food.

Disney World 1/2 Marathon 2007

I put on a few pounds and felt pretty strong, and I found a love of running!  I completed my first half marathon January 2007 at Disney World.  Then I was infected.  I got bit by the distance running bug and I never turned back!  Since then I've run 10+ more half marathons and even 1 full marathon in 2012.

Philadelphia Marathon 2012

2.5 months after I ran the Philadelphia Marathon, I found I was pregnant with our first little one.  I decided to keep as active of a lifestyle as I could.  I had already signed up to run a marathon in May (20ish weeks), but I didn't think that would be possible.  I changed it to a 1/2 marathon and decided to run one half marathon each trimester.  I was successful!  I ran my last half marathon 2 months before my daughter was born.

March 2013 (2.5 months pregnant)

May 2013 (4 months pregnant)

July 2013 (7 months pregnant)

September 26 we welcomed our little girl into the world.  That was the beginning of my first time having to lose weight to be healthy, not just because I wanted to.  I didn't know what I was getting myself into.  I figured it would just sort of happen.  Heck, I had pretty much been the same weight the last 10 years.  Unfortunately, it hasn't been quite that easy.  I'm learning that I need to put serious focus and effort into losing this weight and gaining my happy, healthy, strong body back.  So here I am.  20 weeks post-partum and working my way back into a body I'm proud of.

Starting Point: February 16, 2014

I want to be proud and I want to show others that they can achieve their physical goals without spending loads of moolah.  The point of this blog is NOT comparing bodies.  This is my journey.  One that I will have to struggle through & will hopefully get to celebrate.  Your journey will be different, but ,with any luck, equally as fulfilling.  We can do this!  Ready or not a change is coming.  Where do you hope to be next week? Month?  Year?