The KettleBell

Good Afternoon Friends!

The weather around my part of the world seems to be slowly climbing each day. It makes me want to take out my summer clothes and say adios  to this terribly, cold winter weather. 

Two nights ago I convinced my new neighbor and her friend to attend a kettlebell class with me at a Mixed Martial Arts gym. I will say this as a disclaimer: I have no intentions of joining and MMA gym to learn how to fight but when I saw the kettlebell class that was being offered, I knew that I had to get in there and try it out. 

If you don't know already, this is what the kettle bell looks like. 

It's an awkward piece of gym equipment that can honestly be your best friend and your worst enemy. Personally, I like to think of it as my best friend (as it sheds the calories right off) most of the time. When I am right in the middle of a workout, the kettlebell being my enemy is an understatement. 

So I figured that this would be a good opportunity to try and new fitness class with new people that I was coming to know. While the actual exercises themselves were difficult, the instructor was a BUST. I had such trouble understanding where these exercises were coming from. He seemed to have zero confidence which made the workout seem unsafe and awkward. A few times during the workout he would try to assess our exertion by asking us if we "felt alright." Based on everything I know about fitness, this is not an accurate nor a good way to determine how exerted a person is while they are working out. 

Needless to say, unless the girls want to go back, I am good continuing the fitness routine that I am currently involved in. 

Speaking of, my mom and sister came to our house last night because they were flying out today to go to Disney. Because they were up at the crack of dawn, or 4am, I decided that I would get to the gym and at least get 2-3 miles in. 

I ran 2 miles in 19:20 (a 9:40 pace) which is PR for me! 

Awesome, right?!

I am finally feeling like exercise is becoming a HABIT. Yes, I said it. A habit. Like mentioned in one of my first posts; A good habit takes 66 days to stick (ouch.) Whereas a bad habit only takes 21 days to stick (even bigger ouch.) I will say, that even though my exercising has been great, my eating hasn't been stellar and the scale is letting me know! I am up 2 lbs this week already. 

What. A. Buzz. Kill.

I still have half the week left until my Sunday weigh in. So until then, I am going to turn around my eating and report either a no gain or a loss on Sunday!

What motivates you to work out and eat well?

Madalyn

Pinterest Monday #1

Good Morning World!

Today marks the third week that I am into this journey to try and become more fit, and healthier. I have to say that almost a month has gone by and I already see my body changing. 

It's official.

I am painfully addicted to Pinterest. I believe I may need to start a support group for it. 

You can find my boards by clicking Here. 

While I am addicted to this wonderful website, it has been a GREAT source of motivation for losing weight and eating well. I have found endless recipes for every meal that are healthy and easy to make.

With that being said, I am excited to tell you that I am going to start sharing my favorite pins from the week on Mondays.

Cheesy Quinoa - Recipe

Roasted Garlic Chicken Pizza - Recipe

Chunky Vegetable Soup

Baked Zucchini Chips

Have a wonderful Monday!

Madalyn

Weekly Weigh In: February 24, 2013

Good Morning, 

I am here to share my giant loss this week!

Last week, I forgot to mention that I was down 2 pounds for a total weight loss of 3.2 pounds. 

This week I was down 3.2 pounds.

My total weight loss to this day is 6.4 pounds. 

This means that I am already at my goal for February. Do I want to slack off and relax this week because I hit my goal? No, not really. I am feeling so empowered that I want to work out more and eat even better. 

I realize that even after just a few short weeks, that eating crummy, bad food is already making me feel sick. I attended a Baby Shower on Saturday and ate some junk and some veggies and fruit and I came home feeling lethargic and sick. Yuck!

This week I am going to work on drinking more water. I packed my Nalgene today and have already drank 16 fl oz of water on top of my morning tea. I am going to try and lose 3.6 pounds this week so I can be down 10 pounds by the end of the month. 

Good luck with your week! Stay positive and know that you are worth it!

Madalyn

P.S. Stay tuned for a Pinterest post tomorrow!

My Non-Scale Victories #1

After visiting a blog today, I committed to writing about my non scale victories. 

To tell you the truth, there are many this week.

Yesterday, I was on an eating spree in the morning. I negatively told myself that I wasn't going to be able to fix it because the day had already progressed so far. Instead of letting that negative talk get to me, I PUT THE FORK DOWN!

Another non scale victory would be consistently exercising 3-4 times per week for the past three weeks. I am at about a 10 minute mile running pace and can go about 4 miles.

This week, i began to think about how changing my eating habits would benefit me in the long run. I am able to see and feel a difference, even after just a few weeks.

Below are some Pinterest photo's for some motivation! Get out there and get fit!

I love this quote because it is sooooo true somedays. I think about going to the gym and then I think some more and then I think some more. And then by the time I get ready to go, I either am tired or end up not going. I NEEEEEEEEEED to change that behavior. Putting that on the goals list for March.

I love this idea! Putting the number of marbles to match the number of pounds you want to lose. After each pound lost, you place one from the pounds you have to the pounds you lose. I am SO visual so this is something that I must do.

I often try to think of this quote when I feel like I am not exercising as well as the day before or the week before. I just remind myself that I am at least doing something instead of nothing.

Reason number 0092 "Because I want to be strong, healthy, and happy." What words to live by!

What are your non scale victories?

Madalyn

Running Accomplishment

Today marks almost two weeks that I have been exercising and eating well. 

When I arrived at the gym, I was only going to try to run one mile straight, and then walk for another 45 minutes or so. I hit a mile and continued to run. It was a proud moment for me. I made it to 1.25 miles and then began to walk at 3.5. While I was listening to my Pandora Playlist, I talked myself into running for 2 minutes at 6.2 and then walk for a minute to regain my heart rate. 

This is what happened:

4 miles in under 45 minutes!!! 

I know I am bragging, but it's impressive to me that I could actually go that far in that short amount of time. Praise the Lord! 

Have you ever set a goal, achieved it, and then continued through it to achieve more. 

This weekend, I am going to try and complete 4.5 miles by running 3 minutes on and 1 minute off. 

We'll see how it goes!

Madalyn

My Husband is Awesome!

Good Morning!

I hope you had a wonderful evening celebrating Valentines with your loves! I know that I had a wonderful day sharing the love with my students, co workers, and husband. 

When Josh and I first started dating in 2009, I told him that I had dumped a guy for buying me flowers on any occasion. I may or may not have been lying. Since then, Josh has been scared to death to purchase me any flowers. Last year, I found a dozen roses on the kitchen counter and he told me that some bum had just left the flowers on his doorstep. He still swears that even to this day, he didn't purchase those flowers. 

This year, as a married couple, he was still on the defense about the flower business. As more and more co-workers received flowers, I started to become upset. He knew that I wanted flowers, but chose not send me anything. :( Like I said again, The whole expectation thing with marriage is a work in progress and I don't know if it ever ends. 

By lunch, I knew I wasn't going to get anything... 

I received a call during my lunch break.

My heart started beating.

The secretary told me that there was a small package waiting for me at the reception desk.

It took everything inside of me not to scream with joy! I got my flowers!!!!!

When I came to the front desk, I was surprised to see that there were no flowers for me, but there was a wrapped package. 

When I unwrapped it, I found this:

An massive edible arrangement. Oh My. I read the letter from my husband that included the mushy-gushy stuff, and then a note that told me to share with my kiddos. 

When I arrived home that night, I was so excited to show him my appreciation. Instead of a welcome home from the hubs, I got a "here's the dog and the leash. Don't come back until 5:30."

What was going on??? All I wanted to do was to come home to my loving husband and tell him how much I adored his gift. Instead, I got kicked out of the house.

So I obeyed and came home to a wonderfully cooked dinner.

Because we have been strapped for cash since getting married, I decided to do something romantic and special that I kind of stole from www.itsuxtobefat.com. 

I wrote down a lot of things that I loved about my husband. He was so surprised. I feel like it's not always the expensive gifts that mean the most. Rather the gifts that involve the heart are much more special than any monetary gift.

So next year, if you are strapped for cash, stay in, make dinner, write love notes, and just enjoy each others company. 

With love, 

Madalyn

P.S.

This is how the table was set on Valentines Night...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Valentine's Day Love!

I guess today would one of the most appropriate days to introduce a little more about my husband because after all, it is Valentine's Day.

I married the love of my life on November 18, 2012. The most perfect wedding took place that day, and I continue to count my blessings because the Lord lead me to this wonderful man.

I'll spare you all of the wedding details until a later date when I have more time to write. :) But here is a sneak peak of our wedding. :)

This is my husband Josh and our puppy George. 

These two keep me company in times of laughter and in times of sorrow. 

Be sure to stick around. Tomorrow, I will let you know how Joshua and I spent our Valentines Day! (Hopefully with some healthy foods!!)

Madalyn