Back In the Saddle Again...

So, as I just posted, I started my new job about two months ago, and since then I have been too busy to prioritize my life very well. I've done a lot of eating out, and then a lot of coming home and crashing.

My friend Julie invited me to join her and about 8 other girls that have been going to see a personal trainer. He works with the group of girls so that it's much cheaper for us, but he makes much more money!

So I didn't even give myself any time to think and I responded to the invite immediately. I am finding that the tiny little fat girl inside me is getting quieter and quieter. I was shocked at the fact that it didn't scare me. I was excited to get active again!

Well I have now been going to these "semi-personal" training sessions for three weeks now, and I LOVE IT. It's been great to get some specialized workouts but still get pushed hard.

I actually RAN for 10 minutes straight. I guarentee that is the first time that I had done that since at least middle school. I KNOW that I walked the mile in High School to spite Mr. Kimball (oops)
Tonight we did Tennis drills, and it was a BLAST. I was WAAAAY better than I ever was in High School, which is moderately hilarious since I played Tennis for a year and "attempted" to be decent.
Either way, I'm shocked to find that I don't hate working out! I don't hate being active and I'm NOT terrible at it. Hmmmm makes me wonder if I really could get on some skates.....

Really Long time. No See.

So It's been a solid three months since of updated this blog, and I can honestly say that in regards to my weight loss journey, you haven't missed much. *wah wah waaaah*

So... the update on my life... In September I applied for a job at our neighboring office as a Community Represenative. As a CR you have numerous Relay For Life events that you act as the staff person for and see them through to the success of their event in the spring. I stressed my face off all throughout the interview process because I know that I was technically not qualified (they require a bachelors degree) and that there would be hundreds of applicants. Well after a month of stress eating, having to see a doctor because of stress induced hair loss and 3 interviews....I GOT THE JOB! =)

Since then my life has been chaos. I have 4 events that I am the staff partner for and even though it is REALLY early in the year there is still a lot to prepare for already. I REALLY LOVE my job and everything it entails but I have work meetings most evenings and I have been HORRIBLE and cooking dinner. I have managed to maintain my weight and I'm SLOWLY losing. But I'm ready to get back on track.

SOOOO Here I am, rededicating myself to losing weight. I have lost 74.8 lbs so far (ugh. .2 lbs away from 75!!!) but I'm determined to make it to 75 this week and then by Christmas I want to have lost 80 lbs. I think that's a reasonable goal! =) Here's my promise! Now I HAVE to do it!

Oh... and here's an updated picture. It's from the WFTDA Nationals in Chicago.

Food Review: Buffalo Chicken Pasta

All you really need to know is one word.

AMAZING!

This recipe (actually for lasagna) has been popping up all over the WW message blogs and had gotten mixed reviews. Either people LOVED it or hated it. So I decided to give it a try myself.

It sounded like something that would be right up my alley and it very much was!

I decided since lasagna is slightly more time intensive, and I already had a box of pasta that I'd just make some sort of pasta bake.

So here we go, one box of smart taste Ronzoni

pasta, cooked it until it was al dente, drained it and poured it into a casserole dish.

THEEENNN I chunked up a large chicken breast, I got a precooked rotisserie chicken and it made the prep time much quicker!

Now the best part. In a saucepan I mixed the cubed up chicken, a can of Hunts 4 cheese pasta sauce and appx 3/4 of a cup of Frank's buffalo sauce. (Most recipes call for 1 cup, but I'm a

wimp and I'm glad I only did 3/4 cup) Then I added a handful of mozzarella cheese and stirred.

Poured over the noodles and mixed, and then popped it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes.

VOILA!! Must have! I do believe that the points figure out to be appx 6 per serving. SO WORTH IT!

Weekend Confessional.

Forgive me blogger for I have sinned, it's been over a month since my last confession.

This weekend was AMAAAAZINGLY FUN. And at the same time.. it was an amazing failure at staying on plan. I have been doing so well, and not cheating at all. So I finally got sick of it and totally let loose. I hope that doesn't blow up in my face at weigh in this week.. but trust me, the food was SOOOO GOOD!

I will say that I did a good job at the challenge that my WW leader gave us. It was to try and have 3 different colored fruits and veggies everyday. Here is what I had for lunch that day!

It was super fantastically delicious. Its Panera's strawberry poppyseed chicken salad. It's only 350 calories! I got that a small whole wheat roll and a frozen strawberry lemonade all for 13 points!!! SOOO GOOD! and super colorful!!!

I also discovered Golden Harvest this weekend. It's a hidden treasure in the city of Lansing. It's in old town and kind of off the main drag, but it's beautiful turquoise building drew us in!. Jess had been there before, and had raved about it, so we waited about a half hour to get in, but it was a beautiful day and very worth it! We split their special... a cheddar + bacon + avocado omelette and I ordered a side of homefries with veggies added. Thisssss is what showed up!!! SOOO GOOD.

So obviously the cheese and bacon was NOT very point friendly. But, give me a littttle credit, I DID split it with Jess. And my homefries... were probably one of the best dishes I've ever had. I'm not sure how its possible, but I would definitely eat those everyday if I could =)

So this weekend was kind of a wash all together with eating well, but it was a heck of a lot of fun. Oh and I tried out a new recipe yesterday that I found on the WW messageboards. It's called "BubbleUp Enchiladas" It was super easy to make and will definitely become a regular in my rotation of casseroles to make. All you need is a 10oz can of enchilada sauce. a 16 oz can of tomato sauce, chicken breast or turkey breast, a little reduced fat cheese and a can of reduced fat biscuits. You mix the sauces and meat together, cut up each biscuit into 4 pieces, and then mix it all together. It gets it's name because the biscuits bubble up to the top and cook on top of all the sauce. SOOO GOOD! And only 7 points per serving!

So yeah, that picture doesn't look that delicious but it was.

I've got my water aerobics this week, and I'm making a vow to start doing pushups every night before bed.. I started with 10 last night and I'm hoping that I can work my way up to at least 50. I've lost 63 lbs so far and now I gotta work on toning myself up a bit. =)

Man I'm bad at keeping up with this!

I think Sunday nights might have to be my blogging night. It's nice to come home from wherever I am during the weekend and maybe confess a few weekend "sins"

Well Thursday at WeighIn I lost 2.2 lbs and I hit a pretty amazing milestone! I made it to 60 lbs lost! It's taken me since September but I have lost 60 LBS! Thats so crazy to me still.

So here is my prizeeee!!!!



So I had a week long hiatus from my water aerobics class, but this week it's starting up again, and this time for 6 weeks. I'm pretty excited to get back in the water and back to working out! I need to have a reason to go and work out and it's been nice to have something holding me accountable...

Well.. I'm off to bed, I have a busy couple weeks coming up, and I need to get a bunch done before my aerobics class tomorrow including buying the supplies to make Buffalo Chicken Lasagna!!! I hear that it's super fabulous, so I can't wait to try it!!!

Just in case you were wondering...

hey everyone! I know that I haven't really updated in a while so I figured you were wondering how I was doing.

So the weekend of Father's Day, my WHOLE immediate family was at the cottage for the weekend. If you know my family that is a pretty rare occurence. My sister in-law is finishing up her residency for med school, and her and my brother live in Chicago. SO it was a fabulous celebration of all of us being in the same city again! and because of that....

I ate. and ate.. and ate... Bratwursts and Doritos and potato salad, pasta salad. Cookies.. everything!

Soooo last weeks weigh-in was a bust... I gained a lb. Not bad at all considering, but still disappointing.

But this week I made it to my water aerobics class on Monday and I made sure to track EVERYTHING. I ended up taking home our "traveling tracker" from Weight Watchers, which is a 3 month food tracker that we pass around to all of the people at our meetings. It kind of forces you to track everyday and be responsible for your actions... so it turned out that at weigh-in on Thursday... I lost 2 lbs! Woo hoo! back on track! =)

So I'm down 58 lbs and I'm soooo close to getting a charm for my bracelet. I can't wait!

The A B C's of Kristen =)

A - Age: 25
B - Bed Size - Full
C - Chore you hate: Dusting and Vacuuming
D - Dog's name: My parents have Barnum and Colby
E - Essential start your day item: Gummy Vitamins =)
F - Favorite Color: Silly question. Anything in the Turquoise family.
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5'11"
I - Instrument you play: ummm not really anything. Played cornet for 2 years in Middle School
J - Job Title: Administrative Assistant
K - Kids?: None
L - Living arrangements: Alone in a 1 bedroom in EL
M - Mom's Name: Karen
N - Nicknames: Kris, Krissy, Krisco Nabisco
O - Overnight hospital stay: When I broke my leg I was in the hospital for 3 nights. I have also had quite a few incidents where I went into the hospital at appx. 1am. lol. Usually when I'd twist my ankle non stop!
P - Pet Peeve: People finishing my sentences.
Q - Quote from a movie: "Damn the man, Save the Empire!"
R - Right or Left handed: Right
S - Siblings: Nathan and his wife Courtney, and then Tana and her husband Chad
T - Time you wake up: Usually like 7:20
U- Underwear: Always
V - Vegetable you dislike: Raw cauliflower or Radishes.
W - Workout style: Water Aerobics or walks
X - X-rays taken: Ten million on my leg and ankle.
Y - Yesterday's best moment: Toy Story 3 =)
Z - Zoo Favorite: Giraffe!

Applebees Burger Insanity!

Last weekend I got to see my Brother and Sister-in-law that live in Chicago... They gave me an Applebees gift card for my belated bday present. I have been craving some delicious Applebee's goodness so I've been anticipating that visit and trying to plan ahead for how I wanna spend my money and points. =)


Well I figured that this weekend would be a good opportunity to grab a couple friends and go out to dinner. I checked out the nutritional information for Applebees' and more importantly... my FAVORITE Burger... the Quesadilla Burger. Good Lord it's sooo good! A big burger on a tortilla, with cheddar cheese, Salsa ranch and bacon... Yeah. I knew it had to be bad for me... and would be a lot of points.... but it had to be worth it.. I mean.... LOOK AT IT!

Well, I wanted to plan ahead so that I could make sure that I had enough points to fit that in for dinner this weekend...

My Findings:
Calories: 1420
Fat: 104
Fiber: 0

That equals out to be 36 points.

36.... points.

oh.. and I forgot to mention that does NOT include the fries!!

Needless to say, I have put this burger in its final resting place. It is NOT worth using up all 36 of my daily points for. I'll consider this blog post a Eulogy for it and I'll say goodbye one last time.
Good bye delicious quesadilla burger... we can never meet again. We had some good times together, but this (almost)Former fat girl must say... Rest in Peace.

Just a glimpse at the past....

This is kind of crazy to see.

I know it's not TOTALLY accurate considering It's not a full body shot, but this was also 10 lbs heavier than I am now.

WOW. I <3 Weight Watchers

I'm falling in love....

With water aerobics.

Its the truth and I don't care who knows it! I'll shout it from the rooftops.. I LOVE WATER AEROBICS!!!.. ok ok ok, so i'm being incredibly dramatic, but If definitely found a new passion for the water.

I'm sure it all started from being in the lake all summer every summer for the past 15 years. Well, actually probably from age 8-18. After that I was too lazy to go swimming. But that has definitely changed, I can't get enough of it!

Last Wednesday's water aerobics class was disappointingly lame. Half of the women quit the class, and I'm assuming that there were so many complaints that the instructor was forced to change up her routine. All we did was splash around in the water and hold onto some water noodles.

This weekend, I went up to the cottage and got a good swim in on Saturday, I tried some of the things from the extreme class in lake and could feel the burn!! Then Sunday I went over to Jess Moyer's sisters house, nearby my cottage and took a swim in her pool. Jess asked me to teach a few things from water aerobics, so we did some laps and worked our arms treading water and doing the breast stroke.

I did a good job at making sure that I swam this weekend, but I did a HORRIBLE job at staying on plan. I ended up eating all sorts of picnic foods, even though I packed my own "good-for-me" foods. I left the sandwich thins and lean turkey in the fridge, and splurged on the bratwurst instead. ugh. I know i'll see it on the scale this week!

ANYWAYS....tonight was another water aerobics class, and much to my surprise, we had a new instructor. WOO HOO! The old one was still there, but she was just working with 2 women who are more "advanced" Today's workout was the perfect combination of tough and effective. The new instructor was great at explaining what muscles we were working, and was VERY motivational. By the time I got out of the pool my legs were aching and felt like they were 100 lbs a piece. It was an amazing feeling.

So I'm almost positive that when I finish this session, that I am going to sign up for the 2nd session. I love the workout, and I also just love how much it relaxes me to be in the pool after work.

I also went to Meijer after work today and got a size smaller bathing suit top. It fits great and I love it!


Ta Da! I'm turning into quite the mermaid!


OH!!! AND... I meant to post last week...

I LOST 3.4 LBS LAST WEEK AT WEIGHIN!
all this exercise is seriously working! I'm at 57 lbs down now, and only 3 more to go til I can buy a charm for my bracelet!

My Big Reward...

I've officially lost 54 lbs now since September 17, 2009.

It's been a LOOOONG time coming, and it's taken a LOOOONG time to lose the first 50. But, it's been soooo worth it.

I'm telling all of you out there in blogger world, that Weight Watchers seriously works, and fits into my life so well. It really hasn't even been difficult to do, staying on plan is hard sometimes, but the support that I get at meetings and on the WW message board encourages me to get back on plan!

I went today to get my 50 lb reward. I found it at the Mole Hole, in Okemos. I looked all over Lansing for the right color and size bracelet that I wanted!... A charcoal, braided, double banded leather Pandora Bracelet. Here it is.....

I plan on buying a new charm for it for every 10 lbs I lose from now on! =) Only 10 more beads to go til my goal weight!

Water Aerobics.... OF DOOM

Apparently the theme of my workout experiences revolves around the word... "DOOM"
Yes, Zumba was fun and wasn't THAT difficult. I survived and I'll probably happily go back to classes after I finish my water aerobics class...of DOOM.

So, I'm sure that many of you have seen the show "The Biggest Loser" before. Well as you know, the morning of the weigh-in they have what is called... "A Last Chance Workout...of DOOM".. ok. so no doom, but it is there one last chance to bust their asses and try and drop an extra pound or so before weigh-in.

Tonight, I came as close to a last chance workout as I'll ever have. I initially signed up for water aerobics because I figured it'd be a breeze! I actually cracked a few jokes about how it'll be awkward to be hanging out with a bunch of old geezers twice a week!

WELL!!!.. Was I wrong!

I once again had an internal struggle of forcing myself to go. I had my Lansing Happy Hour Club tonight right across the street from my work at the Hall of Fame Cafe. It was soooo nice to have a beer and socialize, and I did NOT want to leave to go sweat!

I made it back to my apartment with plenty of time to change, and head to the Hannah Community Center in order to find the pool and the locker room. Much to my surprise... Two of the ladies from my Thursday afternoon WW meetings were also taking the class! Also a (good)surprise, the majority of the class was my age! =) (including one very pregnant girl)

So we get in the pool and I notice that our instructor is about 19 years old, and doesn't get in the pool with us. She just stands on the side and shouts. So we start jogging laps across the shallow end, then she yells that we need to start running... then knees higher.. then backwards.. then reverse.. Then we have to get in a circle and run as fast as we can... then turn around and run against the current.... then we turn and do this OVER AND OVER again until the pregnant woman, and 5 of the older women have to step to the side and sit out.

We ran in circles for a half hour... yes water is easier on the joints, yes it was good for me, but GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!! If you're gonna snark at us "Mini-Jillian Michaels" than get in and do it with us!.. So then she tells us that we will be treading water for the next 20 minutes. I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I was already pissed off and determined, so I stuck it out... we had to do the breast stroke forward and back without using our legs, and staying vertical in the water, we did that back and forth across the pool the whole time... Once again women were dropping like flies.. and I got more and more pissed and determined. HA! (P.S. thanks Mom and Dad for buying a cottage on a lake, apparently I am better in the water than I thought!) Meanwhile from the sidelines our instructor was very rudely telling the women who had stopped that they HAD to keep going, she lectured the pregnant woman on how it will be "good for her" and I thought my arms were gonna fall off...But I stuck with it. Just to prove to that Beotch that I could keep up.....

Long story... not short, I survived. It was PAINFUL! More painful than Zumba was. I thought about going to the desk and complaining about the instructor and asking for my money back, like many of the women did.
But I got out of the water and FELT all of my trouble spots aching. This class will be tough, It will make me sweat, and ache but it will ALSO work. I've got to stick to it!!! I KNOW that it will be worth the pain and I'll be a much happier and healthier person when it's done.

But I'm telling you right now blogger, as you as my witness... that little teenage drill sargent better watch her mouth, or my inner fat girl might have some choice words for her! =)

Broccoli Chicken Divan - 6 points

Here is what was for dinner tonight after water aerobics. It totally hit the spot!!!



It was inspired by the fact that Meijer had rotisserie chickens for 3.50 last night! Super easy and super delicious
I know it doesn't looooook super amazing, but I promise that it won't disappoint!


4 Cups of cooked broccoli florets (I used a steam bag)

2 Cups of chopped chicken (Rotisserie is super!)

1 Can of 98% fat free Cream of Chicken soup

1/3 Cup of Skim Milk

1 Cup of low fat cheddar cheese

1.5 cups of cooked brown rice (I used a steam bag)

a couple tablespoons of Panko bread crumbs





Place the broccoli, chicken and cheese in a casserole dish, Mix the soup and milk in a small bowl, season to taste and pour over the chicken and broccoli, add rice and stir until evenly distributed.

Top with bread crumbs, and then bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.



I get about 5 servings out of this recipe, which equals out to be appx 6 WW points. Try it!!!



=)

Doomba Part III and Beyond!

So, this past Thursday was my last official Zumba class of the mini-session that I took. It was such a BEAUTIFUL day outside, I had a really hard time getting motivated to go. However there really is something to this "Inner Healthy Girl" thing. I really wanted to go to the jewelry store and finally get myself the Pandora bracelet that I planned to get as a reward for making it to 50 lbs. However, I packed up my stuff and made it to class, 3 minutes late.. Well when I got there, there was one other person there. (Apparently the rest of the class was outside enjoying the weather, or buying themselves jewelry probably).

Class ended up being me and 3 other people. We went at a little bit of a slower pace, because we were all beginners, so that was really nice. I still have absolutely no rhythm... I will never be a fabulous dancer... But Zumba definitely IS a workout that anyone can do!



By the end of class my arms and hips were burning and it felt GREAT!

Friday night I went up to Mt. Pleasant to visit Jess. I'm afraid that our shenanigans may have been the cause of a gain this week, but it sure was fun! We hit the bar, and had lots of snacks after... At least we got in a mile walk home from the bar. =)

Saturday, I met up with a friend and co-worker, Julie to go to the East Lansing Relay for Life. We got a good hour or so of walking in, and it was such a beautiful day that I decided to wear a summer dress. I got my SPF 50 on during our walk... so I thought I was all set! =)


After that I headed over to Lansing's Pride festival in Old Town. Met up with Amy Call and a few friends, and bumped into some Derby girls. I had a nice chat with Regina and her mom who is now a WW leader in Lansing!.... When I left Pride, I went home to nap for an hour before going to my cousins dance recital... when I got home, I realized that I hadn't put any SPF on my chest... which resulted in this:
OOOOPSY!!!!

So now, My water aerobics class starts tomorrow. I was REALLY excited, until I remembered that my bathing suit is pretty much going to look ridiculous with this burn-line. HA! Oh well.
I'm really curious to see what genre of people will be in class with me. I know I shouldn't worry about it, and just focus on me and my WLJ.

Sorry this wasn't a witty and sarcastic fun blog... I'll get to one of those soon I'm sure. It's just late and I should head to bed, but I didn't wanna leave all you lovelies hanging!

Doomba Part II =)

So I JUST got back from DAY 2 of Zumba. I am not going to lie, there was a little part of me (the fat part) that thought about skipping. There was a (fat) part of me that thought about leaving after a half hour. There was a (chubbo) part of me that thought about heading to the bathroom for a break...

HOWEVER. The inner healthy Kristen put her foot down and made me push through the whole hour.

To my surprise... It FLEW BY!!! All the songs seemed to go faster, I knew what I was doing (a little better than last time), and I seemed to be less sweat-tastic. It was SHOCKING!

I walked out of Zumba today, and my muscles weren't pounded and screaming at me! WEIRD!

Things I learned today:

1. I hate dance studios and their giant mirror walls. sick.

2. I have huge (fat) calves. (don't yell at me, yell at the mirror wall)

3. I STILL have no rhythm or dance moves.

4. I stick my tongue out 90% of the time while I move. (I really hate mirror walls)

5. People will see you and laugh at you when you have your tongue stuck out during salsa marches. (DAMN MIRRORS!)

6. I am building stamina, and I'm well on my way to being 100% a healthy girl. =)

But I still get redfaced. For sure.

Weekend Confessional 6.7.2010

Forgive me Blogger for I have sinned.

It's been infinity days since my last confession.....

Saturday, I had delicious, scrumptious fish tacos. Deep fried. with southwesty mayo on it.
...
I also had 4 Rum and diets. (AT LEAST IT WAS DIET!)

Sunday.... I ate 4 pieces of a medium deluxe pizza.. Plus a salad with Ranch.
...
I also missed my 5k walk.


My penance?
Staying OP (on plan) for the rest of the week.
Eating all 3 meals in a day!
Drinking at least 64 oz a water a day.
Zumba today and Thursday
Walked 1.75 miles Sunday.
Must walk another 1.35 miles before WI (weighin) in order to make up for missed 5k.

Thank you Blogger. I feel much better.

Must... Keep... Going...

So I don't really have much to say today... but it's been kind of a sad and icky day today, so I feel like maybe writing something down will help. I've been doing GREAT since weigh in on Thursday.

I only gained .6 pounds after spending a WEEK of celebrating my birth. My 25th birthday was absolutely fabulous... but very points heavy and very little activity....

• Tuesday I had drinks with Billy and Guine
• Wednesday I had lunch with all of my work friends at Enso in East Lansing. (SOOO GOOD by the way) Followed by a couple no pudge brownies and a cupcake!
• Thursday May 27th, my parents and I went to see James Taylor in concert and went to dinner before hand.
• Friday was when I got together with ALL of my best friends (Huzzah!) and we went out to dinner at La Senorita and got dinner and I had a liter of Margaritas.
• Saturday, I spent the evening with pregnant Jess, and we got sushi and watched "Away We Go" (which is fabulous if you haven't seen it yet)
• Sunday was a daaaaay of celebrations. I got to be there for my "nephew" Henry's baptism, and celebrated Isaac's early 3rd birthday. + Taco bar and Cake.
• Monday was full of napping due to the rain, and over eating all week! =)

So when it was time for weigh in on Thursday, I was more than a little nervous. But somehow by the grace of God I only gained .6 lbs!

So this week I've been a woman on a mission! I have a new goal for myself... I am going to a bunch of weddings this summer, and I've decided that by the wedding I am attending in September, I want to be down 75 lbs.

I can totally get there, but I gotta kick it in high gear! SOOO I Zumba'ed Yesterday, walked a mile or so at the Lansing Relay today, I'm walking the 5K challenge for WW on Sunday, and then Zumba again on Monday. I will probably try and fit in a walk on Tuesday or Wednesday too. That is, if my body doesn't fall to pieces after all that movement!

Alright! Off to bed!

Doom-ba, oh wait, I mean Zumba!!

So. Here I am... I survived my first night at Zumba. I didn't know if I would make it through an ENTIRE HOUR of jumping, dancing and bending. But alas, here I am!


If you aren't aware of what Zumba is, I have been summarizing it to friends as "Latin dance inspired aerobics" If you need more info... don't ask me. I'm still figuring it out!

Well, I was inspired to sign up, because in the weeks before I hit my 50 lb goal, I had hit a pretty long plateau. In fact, I went 2 months without losing any significant weight. So I decided that unless I want to be blah for the rest of my life, I was going to need to GET OUT and DO SOMETHING. (This is a statement I have been hearing from my father probably every other day for appx 20 years now)

I can admit I am not an active person, I do enjoy going for walks and doing workout videos. I used to request to do "Sweating to the Oldies" with my mom when I was younger (and still would if we had the tapes still) but I have never been able to make exercise a priority in my life.

SO, last night I decided that I would sign up for a water aerobics class that started June 14th. PERFECT! I had 2 more weeks that I could stall and "forget" to sign up for it.

Well all my WW messageboard buddies had been RAVING about Zumba, so I decided that I would just see if they offered a beginners class and was ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE it'd be too expensive. Well shit... they had a mini-sampler that was only 3 classes for 15 dollars. An amazing deal! The first thought that entered my mind was, "hopefully it starts in 3 weeks so I'll REALLY forget to sign up"

To my chagrin, the class started TODAY. There's no way that 24 hours could prepare my body and mind for an hour of working out! And yet, something inside me pulled my debit card out of my wallet... and signed up for both water aerobics and Zumba before I could even say NO!!

So all night, and all day today I made sure to tell everyone I saw that I was signed up for Zumba. Many of you probably thought that it was because of how proud of myself I was. There was a little pride... maybe 5%. The rest, was because I KNEW that if I had 15 people ask me tomorrow how Zumba class was, and I had to say that "something came up..." I'd have A LOT of explaining to do.

So I threw on my workout clothes and filled up a nearby waterbottle before heading to the 5:45 class. I was out the door and in my car before my inner chubby girl knew what was going on. I was scared as hell, but I turned my FIJI water label out (I gotta fit in with the other East Lansing Yuppies), and waltzed into the Hannah Community center. I found the gym and of course I was the first one there.

The instructor was a 4'10 lean mean dancing machine... and here I come... the jolly redhead giant. I was the only one there until like 5:59, when appx 7 other women wandered in. Two of them being "Older" women, so I had a little faith I wouldn't be the only one that couldn't keep up.

Well... I wrote way more than I meant to, so here I will sum up everything I learned tonight, in a short list:

1. I can't dance. I've never claimed to be good at it.. but seriously I HAVE NO RHYTHM

2. This redhaired pale German girl, turns into a LOBSTER after Zumba. I mean seriously. BRIGHT RED

3. The redfaced problem doesn't go away for appx 2 hours after working out.

and finally.

4. Zumba is a lot of freaking fun! It kicked my butt, that's for sure! But it was totally doable. As much as I contemplated skipping the next two classes because of "something coming up..." I decided that my inner healthy girl wants this class WAY more than the inner chubbo.

and frankly... It's about damn time that the inner healthy girl got her way!

There's a First Time For Everything.. Including Being Healthy.

So... I honestly was so inspired by my experience at my first EVER Zumba class tonight (you'll hear more about that later), that I decided it was time for me to start a blog about my weight loss journey.

Just to catch you up to speed, I reached my heaviest in September of 2009. It REALLY hit me smack in the chubby little face when my boss handed me the team picture for my Relay For Life team taken on August 14. We had a group picture taken, and I normally slink to the back of the group and try and hide in the shadows so that no one can see my "shape" (round)... Well SOMEHOW.. SOMEONE... pushed me to the front of the group because I was the team captain. Good lord. When my boss handed me the picture I was SO ashamed of how I looked, I was afraid that she would judge me for how bad I looked in that picture. Then I realized, that's what I look like ALL the time. Everyone else saw me as that "horror" everyday, but I refused to look in mirrors and had no clue. So, I decided that enough was enough. She gave me that picture and within a week I signed up for Weight Watchers.

Ugh.. here I am.
Not the same picture but just as bad

Back to the present... Since that fateful day I have lost a total of 53 lbs. It has been 37 weeks on the Weight Watchers program and I'm loving it! =)

It has definitely taught me patience and perseverance, hope and determination. I am determined to be healthy. I dream of the day that I can run a mile without stopping, that I don't get winded and redfaced with any activity, and that I can rollerskate with a NORMAL center of gravity =)

I've come a VERY long way, a lot further than a lot of people can come. But as of today, I am still 110 lbs away from my goal weight. I am confident I will get there, and I do think this blog will help! Any support and words of encouragement would be appreciated, and any advice or constructive criticism is also welcomed!

So now that I've done my first CHEEEEESY post, now stay tuned for my adventures at Zumba!