CHRISTINE IN THE HOUSE #P90X STYLE

So a little about me, I'm 24 , just under 6 feet tall and weigh 190 pounds. I have always considered myself an active person but haven't really been healthy four around five years. I was at my heaviest a little while after my daughter was born, weighing around 215. I was pretty depressed and didn't know how to start getting back into shape. I got invited to play some coed volleyball once a week and it quickly became one of my favorite nights of the week.

Now its been a few years and I am back to a fairly active lifestyle, still playing volleyball once a week, but still not where I'd like to be. I guess it really hit me, that I wasn't very fit, when I needed to have surgery earlier this year. I found out I had stage 1 carcinoid cancer. They found a malignant tumor in my appendix. Two surgeries, around a foot and a half of my intestines and ten lymph nodes later they pronounced me cancer free and told me to keep an eye out for symptoms of new tumors. The surgeries kicked my butt and with the possibility of facing this again I know my health and fitness will play a very crucial roll in my recovery.

So some of my weaknesses and excuses have been: "I don't have enough time or energy"  "I'll start tomorrow" or "I don't have the money to join a gym or buy all the health foods". Candy and fast food are probably my biggest problems right now... I gave up soda about a year ago and saw huge improvements in my health and weight but I still drink energy drinks way more often than I should... Gotta work on that.
So my first goals are I'm gonna give up my energy drinks, and I'm gonna try to sleep better (oh yeah I'm an insomniac...its not good for my health) so those two kinda go hand in hand, if I'm not so tired I can't justify buying an energy drink. Longer term goal is the Spartan race with Jenn next year! And I don't want to just suffer through it, I want to freakin rock it! Heck yes!

My goal weight is kinda floating around between 170 and 175, I guess ill know when I get there but my main focus is muscle tone and flexibility... I want my body to be able to do whatever I ask of it.
When I reach that point of knowing my body is ready to take on anything and everything, I'm going to feel like the world is mine for the taking... I will do things I want to do without wondering if I physically can.
I wanted to be part of this group because I need people to push me, to workout with me and keep me motivated. And this group is made up of awesome people that I honestly want to succeed with and spend time with so, yes this is awesome!
Wish me luck! :) 

A weak Moment. More like Evening

It started off with a couple of spoon fulls of waffle cone ice cream. :(

Just went down from there. I started finding little pieces of chocolate that my wife "hides" so that she can have her guilty pleasures fulfilled. I tried to take away some of the guilt I was having by bringing her one of the pieces I had found.

I just kept eating and eating and didn't know why.  It wasn't until this morning visiting with my brother when he said it happens to him late at night. He starts to eat to try to stay awake and watch TV.

So from now on. I will be going to bed if I don't have a project to work  on and you can't eat while sleeping. Unless of course you are a sleep eater. HMMM

What do you do to control what you eat in the evening? Or anytime for that matter?

Hey, I'm Jenn

Hey! I'm Jenn... a 38 year old single mom raising 4 young children while going to school full time.  My reasons for being here are, first; my kiddos.  I want to run and play with them and not feel exhausted.  Second; I'm determined to run an obstacle race next spring, preferably the Spartan.   And third; yes, I admit it, I want a bangin' bod... don't we all???   

Trained in ballet and modern dance for 15 years and very physically active with water skiing, cross country skiing, hiking, aerobics, mountain biking, rollerblading and morning runs along the river... all before my heart stopped in December 1999.  I was 25, the doctors couldn't explain it so I was restricted from exercise, told not to walk more than ½ a block at a time. 

By January of 2008 I'd visited the ER three more times with no answers and gained around 40-50 lbs within a matter of weeks after each episode.  I baffled the doctor's with the gain, my weight ballooning to 220 lbs at one point.  Since I was restricted from perusing weight loss it'd take months to shed the pounds each time. 

In June 2011 I was officially divorced and tried to move on.  Now, 1 ½ years later, I'm finding myself in court repeatedly.  The stress from it all is attacking my body; through weight gain, physical pain, tiredness, insomnia, skin problems, extreme anemia, low vitamin D and emotional distress.  Due to all of this I forget to eat and struggle to intake 600-800 calories a day... so why am I overweight?  That's the question I asked and am hoping to find an answer for.  In the meantime.... 

I begged my doctor to allow me to exercise.  He agreed if I took it slow!!! I began walking with my awesome friend Christine. 2 to 8 miles every morning.  I felt amazing as I began seeing a huge improvement with my physical pain, tiredness and distress.  From there we set the goal of running the Spartan in the spring... and here I am, using this blog to be accountable so I don't slack off. 

My strategy... use P90X and Insanity, continue walking with Christine and change up my diet by adding more fruits and veggies to the mix... I'll also be working with my doctor.