22 Week Bump Update & Happy 2015!

I hope everyone had an amazing last week of 2014! It's always a great time to reflect on the year as a whole and make new goals for the future.  I'm not really one to set New Year's resolutions, necessarily. However, I think it's always great to re-assess and/or make new goals (personal growth/health(fitness)/financial/etc) on a weekly/monthly/yearly basis. So, I guess I technically do make them! Haha

Here are some goals that I have made for myself in 2015:

1. Write in my gratitude journal every day, even if it is just a sentence.

2. Workout at least 4 days a week (with no more than 2 off days in a row)

3. Focus on my nutrition and allow 1 cheat meal per week.

4. Drink at least half of my weight in oz of water (aiming for a gallon)

5. After my new website is launched, update my blog a minimum of 2x per week.

6. Go on more family vacations, specifically 1 that is longer than the weekend.

These goals are realistic for me.  Not super easy, but also not completely unattainable.  Once I enter the 3rd trimester, I will re-evaluate and see how I am feeling and where my life is.  
Once I have my baby, I will re-evaluate again since I know I will have a recovery period from giving birth and adjusting to life with a newborn and a toddler.

Your goals should always be evolving, because you should be evolving along with them.  If you are just starting out on your weight loss journey, please learn to celebrate the small victories.  For these small wins, all add up to one BIG change.  I cannot stress this enough! If you haven't seen my post about my personal advice on attaining and keeping a healthy lifestyle, click here to read about the "7 FITspiration Lifestyle Tips" I came up.  Included is a separate blog post about setting goals!

Ok, time for the bump-date, haha get it? I really do crack myself up...hahaha

How far along: 22 weeks
Baby is the size of a: Spaghetti Squash( 11 inches and almost 1 lb!)
Total weight gain: 12 lbs (really surprised I didn't gain this week!)

Maternity clothes?: On occasion, I've mostly invested in clothes a size bigger (Target tank tops and Old Navy leggings!) And of course, gym clothes.

Stretch marks? Just the ones I already had from my last pregnancy

Sleep: I missed one of my nausea doses and it threw me off, eek. Been pretty tired, but better than the Nausea Monster!

Best moment this week: Playing volleyball & badminton at family BBQ's.  That counts as a workout, right?

Miss Anything? The usual, but I'm trying to soak this up and be thankful for this miracle that I carry.

Movement: Yes, he is so low! (comparatively)

Cravings: Grilled cheese sandwich with a pickle. Fresh fruit.  Ice cold water. In'N'Out protein and animal style. Starbucks hot, white chocolate mocha. Chipotle! Peanut butter ANYTHING
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: Nope, thank goodness. Too early yet
Symptoms: Still get small waves of nausea, Fatigue, some lower back pain is starting to bug me.

Mood: Overall: Happy! Unless I am hungry....and it turns to hangry (hungry+angry) then feed me or STEP BACK! Hehe

Looking forward to: Cancun in a month! Hubby won a sales incentive trip and I get to accompany him (no toddler)  Can't wait to relax with a virgin piña colada by the beach. 

Exercise: Not bad considering I got hit hard with nausea, and suffered the consequences of catching up (Diclegis has a sleeping aid in it, so makes me a total zombie for a few days). Listened to my body and took an extra off day.

Mon: Shoulders Tue: Back Wed: Biceps/Triceps Thu: OFF Fri: Legs! Sat: OFF Sun: OFF

Gearing up for a better week (nutrition-wise) and my OB appointment tomorrow. I plan to renew my prescription for Diclegis to keep this awful nausea at bay.

Here is my one piece of advice today: Find something that YOU like.  You'll hafta try new things.  Try a yoga class. Go for a run. Lift some weights.  Whatever makes you the most happy and makes you feel alive, stick with that!  Everyone is different, so just because your best friend or sister is an avid runner/crossfitter/yogi/whatever, doesn't mean that you have to be.

Oh, and this:

My FITspiration story

Hello my peeps, I figured I should take some time to tell you more about me. I grew up being active and have played soccer since I was 8.  I played on club teams year-round, High school Varsity soccer all 4 years (Chandler High), and 2 years at one of our local community colleges (CGCC/Chandler-Gilbert).  I didn't realize how much junk food I ate until I was no longer playing soccer 5-6 days a week .  My freshman 15 was more like sophomore 30!  This was my first experience with weight gain.  Late night bean & cheese burritos from our local mexican joint and beer pong is a normal college requirement right? 

It was during that "party girl" era that I was re-acquainted with my husband Rob (we met at CGCC!) Becoming engaged was my first "FITspiration" aha! moment.  I looked in the mirror and realized I had lost the muscle tone that my dear friend, Soccer, gave me.  I replaced it with an extra 25-30 lbs of bloat caused by way too much soda, alcohol, fast food, etc.  We set a wedding date, only 9 months from our engagement.  Did I have it in me to get in shape for this wedding?!?  I never really had to "work" for this, because playing soccer was something fun and I loved it! Sure, I dreaded those 2-a-days, but I had my coaches & my teammates depending on me and holding me accountable.

Wedding planning was upon me, and I found my dress!  I had to order a size 12.  I was truly happy to be getting married to the love of my life, and felt incredibly blessed knowing that he loved me for who I was as a person and not the for what "size" I was.  Still, I was discouraged by my insecurity. Nothing like a wedding dress to motivate you! 

This was around the time that P90X was becoming really popular, so Rob & I invested in the program and gave it a try.  Oh, how I wish I could find my before pics (seriously a MUST).  And HOLY crap did it kick my butt.  I don't even think I got through the first disc without taking many breaks and needing to modify.  But, I DID IT! 

(L) May 2009, sucking it in and smiling! (R) Feb 2010 and 25 lbs lighter

My dress came in a few months later, and at the fitting they told me I would need to get it tailored to a size 8.  I couldn't believe it.  I accomplished my goal of losing 25 lbs!  Best of all, I had my man right by my side to encourage, motivate, and experience it with me.  He lost 20 lbs before the big day!

(L) Pic from our engagement trip in Maui/(R) Pic from Kaui trip 2 weeks before the wedding

Husband & Wife: 02.19.2010

We were hooked, we decided to give Insanity a try to get "beach body" ready for our honeymoon that we booked later that year.  It was down to the wire, and Rob finished! I fell a week short, because I was too excited for our trip and had major packing to do (terrible excuse, but I'm only human)

This was a life-changer for us.  We like being confident with our bodies, and more importantly, we love feeling good.  We have maintained a relatively healthy lifestyle since then and decided it was time to expand our family. 

Let me just be honest and say that being pregnant almost kicked my butt more that P90x did.  I'm sure I will do a more detailed post of my pregnancy.  I did not eat as healthy as I promised myself I would. I did not workout as often as I said I would.  I gained 60 lbs with my daughter, Sofia Rose (born 10.10.2012) and no, I did not have gestational diabetes! Haha....but seriously, it's ok if the thought crossed your mind ;)

(Top L) Just found out! Feb 2012 & 138lbs  (Bottom R) End of Sep 2012 & approx 190lbs

Best day of our lives: Meeting our precious baby girl!

 It's ok, breastfeeding melts it ALL off right? For some women, yes.  Thank your lucky stars if that's you.  Breastfeeding indeed burns up to 500 calories per day and melts off pounds.  For me, it was 30lbs.  I still had 30 unwanted lbs. I also had a C-Section, so I couldn't just pop an Insanity video and pick up where I left off.

In December of 2012,  I was given the "go" to workout.  So I slowly started doing things like jogging and light weights (copying some P90X moves) I eventually bought Turbo Fire and was introduced to HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).  I didn't really commit to anything consistent until November 2013.  Becoming a mom changes you (for the better!) and priorities start to shift.  It took me a long time to realize that taking care of myself (physically, emotionally, and psychologically) is a very crucial part of being a good mom/wife.  That first year of motherhood is a blur, from being up every 2 hours to teething every few months. I'm really blessed to be able to stay home with our little love, but it is a 24/7 gig.

Tired, but happy mama!

I managed to lose about 20lbs in that first year.  I hit a plateau and could not shake those last 7-10 lbs and was getting really bored with my workouts. In November of 2013 (right before the holidays), Rob and I looked at each other (ps He gained 15 lbs during my pregnancy!) and had a shared "aha moment".  We were fed up with going through the motions and truly not eating clean.  After almost a year of pizza & takeout being a majority of our meal choices, we went grocery shopping for "Mean Green Juice recipe" ingredients and other healthy staples.  We purged our fridge and pantry of all the junk food temptations and made a plan of action to get back to our healthier lifestyle.

Mean Green Juice for the whole fam!

 Making healthier eating choices and changing up my workout routine to incorporate more weight training helped me reach my goal of losing those last 10lbs.  A good friend of mine and fellow FITspiration mom, Desiree, told me about the Jaime Eason 12 week trainer program and I did the first 2 phases last year.  I really loved learning the basics and creating a foundation with lifting weights.  

Lately, I like to keep it fresh.  I workout 5-6 days a week.  I model my weight training from Jaime Eason workouts, throw in some TurboFire or T25 for cardio, or do some Power Yoga or Tabata at my gym.

So here I am, 1 year and 4 months after starting my FITspiration journey as a new mom. 

Before: 196 lbs / After: 138 lbs

Tankini tan alert!

I have truly enjoyed sharing my fitness/health ventures with anyone who wants to listen, and I love hearing ideas and FITspirational stories from other people too!

Until next time,

Lex