Extreme Makeover for my Body

As i'm writing this i'm icing my glutes aka my butt, yesterday i started my exercise routine again of doing "the biggest loser" workout dvd. Its such a great dvd because its normal people who are fat, chubby, husky, gorda like me who are exercising, sweating, struggling & not looking pretty not like the other workout dvd's that have skinny girls in little sports bras showing off their toned bodies & NOT sweating but looking fabulous. I started exercising again because since starting my massage clinical internship my back has been killing me because i'm not using my legs enough & i've been "muscling" my massage strokes too much that its hurting my body. My quads are super weak & this workout video totally works out my glutes, quads...everything. So i'm a bit sore, but it'll be worth it when i can do 5 massages in a row without killing myself.

I've very proud of myself for losing about 30 pounds since moving here to Salt Lake, i went from about 220 lbs to 190ish right now. I say "ish" because i've gotten on 2 different weight scales & they say different things but both say under 200 lbs. wooo!!  People have asked me what i've been doing....well that one month that my sister & i didn't have a working car really helped because i was forced to walk 1 mile to trax to catch the train to work (which i sorta miss doing) i also rode my bike a couple of times to work, that was like 4 miles one way. Plus, working at Target on the salesfloor i have to walk around & pick up clothes, put them away, etc. Also at school i would practice the massage strokes & would sweat it out there too. Eating good healthy food, although i would indulge sometimes...usually on fridays & would call that time "FAT KID FRIDAY" when i would eat the food that i've been craving. I kinda fell off the boat the last 2 weeks with eating chips. THAT'S my weakness! Doritos Spicy Nachos, Salsa Verde, Cheetos Puffs (am i making you drool? i know i am making myself drool.)

So here is a photo of my sister christina & me when i first moved to Salt Lake, i think it was my first week here. We went to Sweet Tomatoes (my fav salad place) You can notice the weight loss in the change in my face. I really do love healthy yummy food! I love love LOVE veggies!! steamed, roasted, sauteed, grilled.......yum! Salad are yummy too, but i can't have it plain, i need some pizazz in it, lots of it! tomatoes, almonds, cranberries, feta cheese, cucumbers, etc. yuuuum!!

This is when i realized that was losing weight & could finally tell in photos. First it was when i had my photo shoot with my missionary companion Hna Crowley...Caryn. This shirt use to be a bit snug on me, i wore it to her wedding.

Then when i went home for christmas & noticed it even more with photos. Its funny how you can somewhat tell that your losing weight, but not so much until you see it in photo.

I've never been this small that i can remember...well maybe 7th grade when i was 170 lbs & i thought i was fat because all the other girls around me were 140lbs & below. On the mission i did weight, the smallest i remember being was 207lbs, but then i gained 10-15 lbs of depression weight after i came home.

But this is a new year, new me. I love that work pants don't fit me anymore because they are getting too big. my school shirt is getting ridiculously huge on me, it was a little snug on me when i first got it, but now its flowing over me. The hardest thing to keep up with my weight loss goal is the food. Chips are evil but its buying food. Its starting to get a bit expensive, especially fresh fruit & veggies. Or even the idea of making food...thawing the chicken or whatever. trying to figure out what you want to make. But i do fork out the money for good food because i want  good stuff in my body & not junk. I want to live to be 100 with no diseases, ailments or other health problems. My great-grandmother outlived my grandmother to be 100, so its totally possible for me.

So as i sit here on the couch recovering from yesterdays workout with the ice packs now on my quads, its okay. I know that my muscles are hurting because i literally tore them apart yesterday & now they are trying to heal by growing muscle cells to patch up the parts of the muscle that i tore so that they are stronger & won't get hurt the next time i exercise. The body is such a marvelous thing, there is no way that we evolved from apes because the more i learn about the body i know that God was part of making us.