Fabulously Fit Friend: Nicolle Lost 117lbs!

I have this friend that has always been in my life for almost as long as I can remember.  My first sleepover was at her house.  Her dad and my dad were in a couple different worship bands together.  We have gone to church (three...maybe four...completely different churches) together most of our lives.  In the last few years I noticed she was shrinking.  She was eating healthy and making changes in her life to improve her fitness.   She strived to keep the right spiritual mindset throughout this journey.  Nicolle is truly an inspiration!  She lost a total of 117 lbs.  Here is how she did it!

How did you begin your weight loss journey?  What made you desire change?

I was honestly pretty overweight my whole life and I was never aware how obese I really was. Occasionally people would bring up dieting and eating healthier but I attributed my size to bring big boned with slow metabolism since a lot of my family are the same way. When I was 19, a coworker suggested going to curves because she had been really wanting to lose and asked me if I would be her accountability partner. Honestly, going to the gym never had crossed my mind previously because again, I attributed my size to just "how God made me." I was shocked when I went to curves and was weighed and measured for the first time in a LONG while at a whopping 261 lbs. I'm so thankful for God blessing me with that coworker who challenged me and made me aware of how unhealthy I was.

What changes did you make to start to see results?  Did you set goals?  If so, what were they?

I signed up for curves the same night I was weighed and measured. It was really helpful having an accountability partner to start my weight loss with. I had no previous experience with exercise or eating healthy but at first it consisted of going to curves and having Lean Cuisines for lunch---but no other changes. The weight started coming off pretty quickly at first probably because I had so much to lose and my original goal was being under 200 or no longer being a plus size.

Where did you look for encouragement and help when you needed it?  
 The coworker I had was again such a blessing and she really was turning me to scripture. She made me aware of gluttony being a sin and not taking care of myself was not bringing God glory as my body is a temple to the Lord. God definitely provides strength during the times I needed it most.  At one point, I started to take weight loss to the extreme and working out became and idol. It was important for me to remember "Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:7, 8 ESV) I had to be in the Word and not sacrifice my prayer time and time with The Lord for exercise because that was not God glorifying. 
How long have you kept it off?  How are you keeping it off?

It's been a long time. Since I started losing I haven't put any back on (with the exception of 5 lbs here and there) I no longer go to curves or eat Lean Cuisines but I made staying fit a lifestyle. I have to make conscious decisions to stop when I'm full and not have cake every single time someone offers it. At work I go walking around the building every break. I pack my own healthy lunches and snacks instead of eating out. I go out hiking with friends or do workout videos at home. I try to stay active and am much more aware of my body and the decisions I make with food. 

If you could give the readers three tips for getting healthy, what would those be?

1. Remember that our chief end is to glorify God (and enjoy Him forever) and that aspect applies to your healthy lifestyle too. Don't forget to honor The Lord in your habits and seek Him for the strength you need.
2. Make a lifestyle change. You can't fad diet just to go back to eating bad every day after you lost the weight.  You are going to gain it all back if you do. You need to make conscious efforts to have self control, make smart food decisions (but also be realistic and realize you still can have pizza or cake sometimes too).
3. Be active. You don't have to be in a gym for 3 hours a day, but work it into your schedule. For me, it's walking on breaks at work, hiking with friends, workout videos, or for days that I'm so busy and I dont have time to set aside to exercise, I will honestly dance while I'm cleaning the house. Find something to do to stay moving even in small ways.

Surprise!

I surprised myself this morning.  I fought that negative voice inside my head that said I couldn't plank for 6 minutes and planked for 6:15!  I haven't planked in a couple days, so I had to make up for lost time!  So, with 17 days to go, I have planked 54:30 out of 120 minutes.  I'm almost 1/2 way there!  I have to say that this is one if my favorite exercises now.  It takes a lot of focus to get to the last seconds of the plank, but it is always a challenge!

Old Goal Met, New Goal Set!

My last post stated that I wanted to reach 3 minutes in a forearm plank by the end of the summer.  I surprised myself.  I've now surpassed that goal by a whole 2 minutes and 15 seconds.  I planked (accompanied by my sweet, fit friend Natalie) today for 5:15, beating yesterday's time of 5:03 (below).  I honestly feel so amazing after doing these planks.  By 5 minutes, my arms are shaking, but with each day, I feel myself getting stronger.  So, my new goal that I made for myself 9 days ago was to do 120 minutes of planks in 30 days.  I have planked a total of 48 minutes in those 9 days and am going to keep chipping away at that goal.  I have 21 days and 72 minutes to go!  I find it goes faster if I do the planks with someone, watch some Netflix on my phone, or listen to a sermon to make the time go faster!

My hubby joining me for a plank!

Where have I been?

Ha!  It has been some time since I've blogged and I totally pooped out on the Pinterest Fitness posts.  For those of you who were following that, sorry about that!   Perhaps I shouldn't have committed to posting that while on vacation!  Despite that, I did run on my vacation, and did some workouts from Pinterest.

My kiddos had to wake up early for this... ;)

My 10k went well, considering I fell at about mile 2.  I was running down hill and my leg sometimes likes to stop working when going down hill.  I land on my toosh and my hands, got up quickly, and was on my way.  Quite a bit of the race was uphill and at an elevation of 5,000 feet.  So, considering all that, I came in at 59:18.  Not bad.  I definitely want to improve on that, though!

Since the 10K and our return home from vacation, I have run, but haven't enjoyed that so much because it gets hot really early.  So, I'm taking it indoors and doing the workout I won from the before/after photo contest.

With the 10K behind me, I want to set some new goals.  Goals are so important when it comes to staying fit.  I need something to work towards.  I need a challenge.  Here are some of my new goals for the summer:

1.)  Be able to do 20 pull-ups.  Unassisted.  I'm up to 5 right now.
2.)  Build up my core muscles.  Hold a forearm plank for 3 minutes.  I'm up to 1:30.
3.)  Complete the "Busy Mom Gets Fit" workout series and as a result, stay toned!  I'm in the second week of that.
4.)  Keep running twice a week!  (Haven't been too good with this one!)

So, there you have it!  What are some of your goals for the summer?

Pinterest Fitness Day 18: Health Benefits of Cherries

I went to the local farm the other day to buy produce and I discovered the cherries are ripe!  Yum!!!  This morning, I found a heart shaped cherry and it reminded me that these red beauties are full of antioxidants.  They also can help you get to sleep.  I found a nice summary of the health benefits from Oasis Advanced Wellness on Pinterest. Enjoy!

Pinterest Fitness Day 17: Bedroom Workout & Punjammies

Sometimes its nice to roll out of bed and workout.  Or perhaps in your pajamas.  That is what I did today.  I found the workout above on Pinterest.  A lot of the exercises posted through tumblr.com end up not showing up through the link, so I hope just by posting the image with the link on the bottom, I will give credit to whom it is due!

Anywho, this workout proved to be fun and invigorating---perfect to jumpstart your day!  The jumping jacks really help with that, of course.  I used my exercise ball to do the leg extensions to make it a bit more challenging.  I also leaned on my medicine ball to do the russian twists with to make it more of a challenge.  It took about 30 minutes and I built up a good sweat!

Speaking of pajamas, I want to point out that I exercised in my Punjammies.  "What are Punjammies?" Well, they are pajamas made by young girls and women in India who have been rescued from the grip of human trafficking and prostitution.  The International Princess Project is the organization that produces and sales the Punjammies.  In their words from their Facebook page, they are "ADVOCATING for enslaved prostitutes, RESTORING their broken lives, EMPOWERING them to live free."  To learn more about the Punjammies and the International Princess Project, you can go to www.intlprincess.org, and view the video above.  Human Trafficking is horrible.  HORRIBLE.  That word seems too weak.  There really are no words to show the shame, filth, and lack of human moral and compassion of human trafficking.  So, take a look at the video.  Each pair of Punjammies are made by a rescued girl or woman.  It is an awesome cause!  Oh, and they are super compfy! 

Pinterest Fitness Day 16: Widdle Your Middle

I love to do a variety of abdominal exercises to keep my middle widdled.  Doing just crunches and sit-ups doesn't cover all of your abdominal muscles.  Through Pinterest, I found that Fitness magazine has an arrangement of ab exercises that give you the variety your abs need.  You can find that workout HERE.  I did the exercise 3 times through, with the reps that Fitness Magazine suggested.  Fitness Magazine is a great resource for exercises and nutrition, as well as motivational articles from people who lost weight or achieved their fitness goals.  I get one in the mail every month and look forward to it!  The website is just as resourceful!