Friday, 2 May 2014

One Step At a Time

I can't believe it's been three months since I last blogged. Life is busy! My son turned 1, my daughter turned 3, lots of family get togethers, and of course, lots of cakes!

When I started this blog, my goal was to be down 100lbs by my sons' 1st birthday. Ya, so that didn't happen. At ALL. I honestly think I expected way too much of myself. When I wanted to concentrate on eating healthy and exercising, I was concentrating on being a newly single Mom of 2, moving into a new house, and starting a new life.

I can finally say that I am ready. My head is in the game. I know how to balance everything now. I am down 30lbs from my starting weight last year. I feel GREAT.

For the last 4 days I have been doing Jillian Michaels DVD Extreme Shed & Shred. My god, does that woman ever kick your ass. I started sweating during the warm up! Sad, eh? I push myself as hard as I can, but when my body tells me to stop, I listen. I haven't been able to finish the full 60 mins of the DVD yet, but each day I get further. Day 1 I only lasted about 25 mins, and yesterday I made it through 45 minutes before I stopped. Today I WILL finish the entire thing. Little by little I am working towards my Ultimate Goal (which, by the way, is still losing 100lbs). Even after 4 days, I feel stronger. I am achieving the little goals I set for myself week after week. Instead of looking at the big picture and constantly getting set back because it seems so far away and so unattainable, i am instead making small achievable goals, which i am happy to report i am CRUSHING.

My current goal is to lose 30lbs in 3 months - my girl friend is getting married, and I want to buy a pretty new dress and shoes and feel FABULOUS!

So, I guess the message I want to get across to those that are on this journey as well, is don't let small set backs keep you from attaining your dreams. Don't get discouraged because you didn't lose enough weight in a week, or in a month, that you would've liked. You can do this. You can achieve anything you put your mind to. I know it, because I finally realize it.

Keep crushing those goals. Stay positive.

Happy Friday!

Caitie xo

Friday, 7 February 2014

I Love Fridays!

Yes, I love Fridays! And no, not because it's the weekend - I'm a Mom, weekends are no different than weekdays for me. :) No, I love Fridays because it's weigh-in day!

This week I lost 5.8lbs!! Wahoo! That brings my total to 11.9lbs in two weeks! I was challenged to lose 10lbs, and I think it's safe to say that I've crushed that challenge!

So, week 2 of using Visalus. I have an abundance of energy, my skin feels great (weird, i lnow), and yet again I wasn't starving! Like I mentioned in my last post, being hungry was my biggest fear. But now I'm at the point where I am almost forcing myself to eat a morning and afternoon snack! It's amazing. I'm not only happy for the awesome weightloss these past two weeks, I'm happy that I feel great.

But, like anything, sometimes it can be hard to stay motivated (although i'm not at that point just yet). So, being pro-active, I decided to write out a list of rewards - for every 10lbs I lose, I'm rewarding myself! See the photo below.


Well, it looks like I'm treating mysef to a pedicure! I'm the most excited about a SHOPPING SPREE! C'mon, who wouldn't be excited about that!?

My goals for this week are:
- continue to get in my 8-10 glasses of water (the past two weeks I've been great with it, but I want to make sure I keep up with it!)
- workout 30 mins each day (i've been slacking on the exercise, ugh) 
- eat more fruits and veggies 
- continue to smile and be happy!!

I am so so so excited about my progress this far, and cannot wait to achieve my goal!

Another fantastic thing about Visalus: since I lost 10lbs, a child gets 30 meals; i recieve an "I Lost It" t-shirt, and my name gets put into a draw to win $1,000! How incredible is that!? 

If you want more information on the Project 10 Challenge, check out:
www.caitiemurphy.bodybyvi.com

Happy Friday, friends! 
Stay Happy & Fabulous!!

Caitie xo

Friday, 31 January 2014

Vi To The Rescue

Happy Friday!

Like my last blog post, I've been up since 3:30 ... I'm starting to wonder if my children woll ever sleep peacefully through the night!

Today is weigh-in day, and what a better way to start an extremely early morning then to weigh yourself and find out you've lost ....

5.9lbs!!

Booyah! I was SO excited when I stepped on the scale!

This week I decided to try something new. My friends Paula challenged me to lose 10lbs on the Project 10 Challenge with Visalus! I accepted, and was happy to report to her this morning that I'm already more than halfway there!

When it comes to weightloss, everyone is different. I'm the type of person that needs "help" to lose weight - as in shakes/supplements. Kudos to all those out there that are rocking their weight loss with heathy eating and exercising! Visalus is probably the most delicious shake I've had. It literally tastes like you're drinking cake! Soooooooo good.

The one thing that I was worried about with drinking a shake for breakfast and lunch, is that I would be STARVING! Surprisingly enough, I wasn't. It was actually the opposite. I packed those shakes so full of fruits/ice/almond milk that i ended up having roughly 2 glasses for both meals!

For someone who doesn't get nearly enough sleep (thanks, kids!), the major thing I lack is energy. This week, my energy levels did a 360! I was so full of energy that I had no problem fitting in a workout, and was able to stay awake past 9pm *gasp!*

So, from here on out, I'll be documenting my journey with Visalus. I am so excited!! I'll reach my goal of 100lbs lost in no time!

If you're looking to challenge yourself, try Visalus! If you're not ready to start it, try challenging yourself by starting a bet with your friends! Last month, three friends and I had a bet about who could clock the most workout time using the Nike Training Club app! The pot was $80. Sadly, I didn't win, but it was good motivation to help me workout! This month, we're doing a challenge to see who can lose the most body fat! It's exciting, and let's face it, money is a huge motivator ;)

If you're interested in learning more about the challenge, you can check out www.caitiemurphy.bodybyvi.com, or shoot me a message via facebook at www.facebook.com/confessionsofaphatchick

Until next Friday, stay fabulous Phat Chick fans!

Caitie
xo

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

It's Time To Forgive & Forget

I've been up since 3:30am - my little man had a raging fever. He's ok now, and was back to sleep by 5. I decided to stay up (since I already downed 2 cups of coffee) and got a little workout in. I'm feeling great!

These last few days I have stuck with eating healthy, drinking 8-10 glasses of water every day, and exercising (a minimum of 10 mins a day - basically all I can get in while watching 4 kids under the age of 4). I have so much energy, it's insane. So much so, that I have a hard time falling asleep, which kind of sucks.

So, I'm sitting here, post-workout, with a glass of water, and decided to update the blog.

As I'm sitting here, I'm staring at my Grade 8 graduation dress.Yes, the dress I wore when I was 13. I'm a pack-rat and I love to keep everything, but it amazes me that I've kept it all these years. I had this dress at a time when I was convinced that I was fat, obese, ugly, unworthy - all because the people surrounding me told me I was. I was teased constantly. There were comments about my weight on a daily basis. It was torture. I wasn't that much bigger than anyone else, yet because I wasn't the same size, I was picked on.

Recently I met a new friend. She's one of those people that, just after talking for 10 minutes, you feel as if you've known her your entire life.

She was over the other day, and I pulled out my graduation dress. I told her that my goal was to fit into that dress again. To get back to the weight/size that I was when I thought I was fat. This dress is at least 5-6 sizes too small. It hurts to think that back then, at only 13, I hated myself.

I told my friend my goals, and together we came up with a plan to help me reach them. She said something to me that stuck. She said "Don't let the kids from grade 8 haunt you and keep you from your goals."

Even after all these years, I still think about the comments, the hate, the endless teasing. But what she said was so true. After that, I knew I needed to move on from grade 8 and live my life.

To those people who made my life hell:

I forgive you.
I forgive you for taking away my self-esteem and self-worth.
I forgive you for making me cry myself to sleep every night.
I forgive you for making me feel unworthy.

It's time to let go of the past.

It's time to forgive and forget.

It's time to love myself, and know that I am worthy, and those comments will not haunt my thoughts again.

Happy Tuesday.
Go be yourself. Go be fabulous!

Caitie xo

Monday, 13 January 2014

Everyday I'm Strugglin'

I have to say, this sucks. And by "this" I mean this journey. I know no one said it would be easy, but seriously ... it sucks. Why isn't there a magical little fairy that can come visit you at night, and just suck all the fat out of you while you're sleeping!? Seriously, that'd be awesome.

Unfortunately, life doesn't work like that. Instead, you're required to work your ass off and do it yourself. You have to battle your food addictions. You have to workout, and in turn every muscle you have burns. You have to sweat. You constantly have to be alert and watch what you eat, what you drink. And it doesn't end when you get to your goal weight. It'll be a struggle for life.

But what doesn't help .... complaining. All the damn time. Like i'm doing right now. The onlyperson who can change me is me.

So, time for a mental change. Positivity from here on out.

I spent the weekend coming up with a plan, that I hope will work. I think the best thing i could be doing to help make this easier is to prep all my meals for the week. Do you do this? How do you plan out what you'll have? Let me know, give me some ideas! I'm utterly clueless when it comes to meal prep.

I also wrote out what i'd like to accomplish this year. I'd like to lose the rest of my 100lbs (which is 80lbs or so. I don't exactly know, as i refuse to weigh myself right now! I'd also like to make it a priority to get a workout in every day, which unfortunately means that i'll probably have to get up at the crack of dawn before my kids (YAAAAAAAAY!). What goals have you set out for yourself this year, and how do you plan on achieving them?

I'm in need of some Monday Motivation to take these blues away!

i hope your Monday is going fabulous!

Stay positive ... and I'll try and do the same ;)

Caitie xox

Monday, 16 December 2013

The good, The bad, and The ugly

Well, it's definitely been a while. I should've updated every week, but I didn't ... and I really have no excuse other than the fact that I have completely and utterly fallen off the wagon. Hard. I've been eating SO shitty, that I literally feel sick. Why have I been doing this? Because I'm stressed. There's a million things happening, some good some bad, and I've been stuffing my face in order to cope with it. The perks of being an emotional eater, I guess. I can't even tell you how much weight I've gained because I'm terrified to step on the scale.

I'm in the midst of trying to quit smoking. I thought eating healthy and exercising was hard ... but NOTHING compares to trying to stop smoking. It's sad that it's so addicting, and has so much power over someones life. The good news is that I've managed to cut down from a pack per day to half a pack. Everyday I try and have one less cigarette, but it's hard. Eating and smoking are how I deal with stress amd other emotions. I need another outlet tode-stress, and I've decided that exercise is it. I haven't exercised in God knows how long, but I'm going back to it. I may have fallen pretty fast and hard off the wagon, but I'm getting back on. 

I've also decided to stick to weighing myself once a month. I've become obsessed with my scale - some weeks weighing myself multiple times a day. But what good is that? It's definitely not motivating. 

So, as of this morning I have jumped back onto the wagon. I'm going to take it slow, day-by-day. I'll suck it up, and weigh myself today so I know where I'm at and where I need/want to be. I'm hoping to be officially done smoking by January 1st. It'll be a hell of a lot easier to exercise when I'm not out of breath and wheezing the entire time. I have a huge dispenser that I'm using for water. I've filled it up, dumped 3 trays of ice cubes into it, and added 3 lemons. Another goal is to try and up my water intake every week, and I know this will help. (I'll have to take a picture of it to show you) 

So, all-in-all, it's been a shitty few weeks. But I'm slowly getting back on track. I'm not completely giving up, not after how far I've come in the last few years. I'm focusing on a few goals, instead of so many that it overwhelms me. I'll keep updating the blog once a week. :) 

Happy Monday, don't give up.

Caitie -xo-

Sunday, 24 November 2013

Week 3 -Slowly but Surely

Happy #weighinsunday!

This week was fairly good! I had some cheat times and didn't exercise every day, but I'm down 5lbs!! So I'm now at 251.8lbs! I have passed my pre-baby weight - what a Phat Chick Fist Pump moment!!! My next goal is to get down to 230lbs, which is what I weighed in grade 11 - 10 years ago!  When I reach that goal, i'm going shopping. I already have clothes that are too big for me, but i'm cheap lol so I'm waiting until I get to that milestone to treat myself!

I came to the realization today that I most likely will not hit my 100lb loss by my goal date. And no, this does not mean i'm giving up. I'd rather be realistic now, than be disappointed in myself if I don't hit my goal. I'm still going to do everything I can to reach it, but I'm finally in the right frame of mind: if I don't get there by my goal, it doesn't mean I've failed. I've already come a LONG way, and by the time February 21st comes around, I'll be even healthier and in better shape than I am now.

So, this weeks' goals:

    • keep track of EVERYTHING i put in my mouth. I've downloaded the MyFitness Pal app, and I'm planning on using it religiously this week (I haven't really utilized it yet) 
    • lose 2-3"
    • lose at least 3lbs
    • exercise! (do Jillian Michaels dvds at least three times, go for walks, and use the Nike Training Club app
    • stay positive! I've been pretty good up to this point, and I know that my positivity is what keeps me going! some days it's hard (especially lately when i'm running on no sleep) 
I think next month I'm going to invest in a gym membership also. I have a few friends who have them, and I think having a workout buddy will keep me on track with my exeecising! 

That's all for now, folks. See ya on the flipside (well, next sunday anyway!)

Stay positive, keep going, and never forget that I believe in YOU.

Caitie
xo