Spark Challenge

As you may know, I am an active member of the popular healthy-living website, SparkPeople.com. In an effort to help SparkPeople live out their mission of helping millions of people reach their goals and live healthier lives, I have joined a contest they're holding called "The Spark Free Chapter Challenge." If you have one minute to spare, I could use your help, because I REALLY want to win!  


So here's the deal with the challenge…  
Chris Downie, SparkPeople's CEO and founder, recently published a book called "The Spark" that offers a proven new approach to improving your health, transforming your life and reaching your goals (for example, real people have lost over 10 million pounds using their free online program)! People like me who are helping them "Spread The Spark" through The Spark Free Chapter Challenge are encouraging our friends and family to download a FREE chapter of "The Spark" book. And for every person I can encourage to download the chapter, I will get an additional chance to win a $500 weekend getaway and other prizes, as well as something they offer called "SparkPoints," which also help motivate me to reach my goals.  


All you have to do to help is download a free chapter from The Spark book. Nothing else.  


To do so, simply go to 


http://book.sparkpeople.com/book.asp?u=WKLYTTON  


and click the button to download your free chapter. If you would be willing to help me with this, I would truly appreciate it, and I also think you will enjoy reading this free chapter from "The Spark". I know I did!  


Thanks! WKLYTTON (my username)

Pictures

Soooo I was thinking I should put some pictures of myself on here. You know, before, during, and after my weight journey, but when I started to look for a picture to add, I came up with nothing. And the reason I came up with nothing is because I take most of the pictures so I have tons of pictures of my family. The ones that I do end up in, I always crop them to 'cut out the fat' on me. 

Then I was looking through some pictures that my best friend took of me in Sept 09 and I didn't like what I saw. This is the picture that did it for me. It's been 4 months since that picture and out of those 4 months, I have been on my healthy journey for 1 month. So I decided to put on that same outfit and take a picture of me today. One problem. I can't find those shorts. I remember going through my drawer and getting rid of a bunch of shorts that I thought I would never get into anymore cause I was letting myself get toooooo big. NOW, I'm thinking, YEAH! Cause I've made room for my NEW wardrobe I'm going to buy when I get to my goal weight!!! ;)

So it's not the greatest picture, but in the bottom picture, you can tell I have a waist!!!! My 'love handles' are not near as huge anymore!!! I'm down two sizes in jeans and it's a great feeling!!! 

Just keep swimming...Just keep swimming!!! I am looking forward to summer now. Maybe I'll be able to put on a swim suit without fidgeting and tugging at it all day.

 I am soooo glad I have made the life style choice to become a more fit and healthier person. It is paying off! 

There will be more pictures I'm sure.... Stay tuned! 

Weight vs Inches

When I first started my lifestyle change, notice I didn't say DIET, I was so ready to see some good numbers on the scale, but it didn't really happen for me. I couldn't figure out why. I was eating right, logging my food into SPARK, working out like a dog, and I would lose maybe 1 lb in a week. My muscles hurt so bad I wanted to curl up on the bed with a heating pad and cry. Then I started researching it. I found what I was looking for on www.SPARKPEOPLE.com.

(taken directly from the site)

I just started exercising to lose weight, but I've gained weight. Why did this happen?

It's true that many people either gain a little weight or don't see any change on the scale for as long as 4-6 weeks after making a significant change in their level of exercise. This is often explained as "gaining muscle while losing fat" but that isn't quite accurate. This extra weight is usually water.  When you start doing more exercise, your body begins storing more fuel in your muscle cells, where it can be used easily and quickly to fuel your workouts. The process of converting glucose (carbohydrates) into fuel that your muscles actually store and use (glycogen) requires three molecules of water for every molecule of glucose. As your muscles are building up glycogen stores, your body has to retain extra water for this purpose. That's what causes most of the initial weight gain or lack of weight loss. This is a good thing—not something to worry about. However, despite what the scale says, you are actually losing fat during this time. The extra water retention will stop once your body has adjusted to its new activity level. At that point, the scale should start moving down. You'll end up with less fat, and muscles that can handle a larger amount of work. Written by Dean Anderson, Certified Personal Trainer So there's the answer! I was doing a good job. My muscles were holding that extra water. After I realized this a couple weeks ago, I did some measurements of myself. I've recently blogged about the inches lost in my waist, but I have more to tell now. I have lost a total of 6 inches (SO FAR) in my waist and 4 inches off my thighs. Isn't that amazing! Also, my body finally let go of all that extra water and I lost an incredible 4.8 lbs this week which puts me at a total loss of 16 lbs. I still have 24 lbs to go til I reach my goal, but I know I can do it. My muscles aren't near as sore anymore and I can still walk when it's time for bed, haha! I couldn't have done this without my support system or without all the knowledge SPARK has given me. It sure does feel good to have come this far and there's no way I'm stopping now!  So for those of you out there, and I know there are some, who haven't seen that number they were looking for on the scale, please get out the tape measure and take some measurements of yourself. Drink lots of water, your muscles need it! Listen to your clothes. It's not all about the scale!

Finally!!

Last night my husband and I were laying in bed and of course I was talking about SparkPeople.com and how it has really got me going on my journey. I talked about how my weight was coming off and how good I am feeling. I haven't had a headache in 3 weeks, I have tons of energy, I am more connected to my family, and I feel absolutely amazing! I told him I could read on that site for hours, and  I do! :) I love the supportive community on there. I love that I can post a blog and a stranger will immediately post a comment. It really makes me a happy person.

I didn't work out yesterday and was a little upset about it, but my husband told me not to worry about it because I am doing a great job and deserved a break. I know I've been working hard, my body is telling me so! My pants are falling off and I got into another pair of jeans that have been hiding in my closet for months!! Yippy!

Anyway, I keep yapping about all I've done and what I want to do and my husband says to me, "I'm glad you finally came around to wanting to exercise and get healthy!"

Hummm... I wasn't always a lazy bum, I just didn't really care to spend a lot of time in the gym or read food labels that made no sense to me. I wanted to go out and eat AND have dessert. .... But NOW I'm loving the gym and I read EVERY label. I would rather go to the gym and get in a good workout than go to the mall. Yes, I'm serious! The gym gives me a place to clear my head and jam to music while I'm burning those calories away. I can put my kids into the kid care and just enjoy time with my husband and my music. It's a great feeling. It might have taken me awhile to come around, but hey, it's better late than never!

So I want to say thank you to my amazing husband for giving me strength, support, love, and inspiration. You and our kids are my whole world. Love you!

Victory Dance!

I am high on life today! 

I knew that my pants were telling me something when I had to keep pulling them up yesterday so this morning I decided to do some measurements. I figured I'd lost a little off my waist, but when I got the measurement, I was blown away!

I lost an inch and a half in a week! Isn't that great!!!!!!!

I know that all the hard work of exercising and eating healthy are really doing me good. It feels great and motivates me more. I am so pumped up right now! I will be in a brand new bikini this summer

feeling good about myself. My self esteem is coming back strong.

High Five!!!!

A New Goal

Today was the first day of a new class I joined at the YMCA and it was great! It felt great to move around and sweat. My arms and legs got a great workout and so did my heart! ;) I am really loving being active. Before starting this journey, I have sat on the couch and done nothing all day long! Not anymore. All part of the new me. It feels good to be up and active and for my muscles to ache later. It all means my muscles are getting stronger and some of that fat is going away. That makes me very happy.  :)

We live in Colorado and I see people biking all the time. On the highway. On trails. Up the mountain. It looks like a lot of fun. We went on a trip recently and I noticed a ton of mountain bicyclers out my window with their backpacks strapped on. The more I looked, the more I saw and there were also tons of trails. I remember making the comment to Willy, my husband, that I wished I was in shape so I could get out there and ride the trails also. So at this moment, I am making that one of my goals. I want to go mountain biking!

My New Best Friend

I have a new best friend that goes everywhere I go. It's not a person. It's not a dog. It's my water bottle!

I have NEVER been the person to drink 8 glasses of water. I've never really been the person to drink 1 glass of water. I hated water.

Things have changed.

Once I had my epiphany to get healthy, drinking water came naturally. I do it without even thinking about it. It's all in your mind set..at least that's how I feel about it.

I have my 8 glasses of water every single day and feel lost without my bottle in my hand. It sits next to me when I'm on the computer, it goes with me in the car, and it is filled up first thing every morning. What a great new habit! I no longer drink cokes. I do have my one cup of coffee in the morning with my sugar free hazelnut creamer, 2 tsp of Truvia, and 2 tsp of benefiber. I must say, I feel amazing. I have more energy by replacing the coke with water and only having one cup of coffee compared to 3 or 4 every morning. My body feels good.

Water does a body good. :)

Starting Over

Hi, my name is Kelly and I am overweight.

Those are some hard words to say. Outloud.

This is the beginning of a new me. I am going to be open and honest about my past weight problems and how I am going to overcome them and become a new, fit, and healthy woman. I'm sure there will be triumphs and some tears shed, but that's life. It's not going to be easy, but I feel like if I keep a journal of it here, I will hold myself accountable and I will be able to have somewhere to vent my reliefs and frustrations.

Here it goes...

I am a 29 year old with the most wonderful family ever. I have a husband that supports me through thick and thin. He is an absolutely amazing man and I couldn't ask for more. As we get older and wiser, we realize that we're in this together and as God as our Savior, we can conquer anything. My husband, Willy, and I have two  totally awesome kids. Madison is 5 years old and our little ballerina and Travis is 4 years old and our little superhero. Our kids are our life.

A little history on my weight and how I got where I am.

I was pretty thin and healthy in high school, though then, I thought like most girls that age that I was fat. I know now looking back, I was NOT fat. A couple years after high school, I started to put weight on, which is normal, I was growing. I also wasn't as active as I should have been and put on a little too much by the time I was age 22. I went through some rough times around this time. I married and divorced within a year and a half and with that came ups and downs on my weight.

I committed to Willy in 2003 and we were pregnant not long after that. I have to admit, I ate everything in sight! I was hungry continuously and really didn't eat healthy. I could eat a whole box of cereal for breakfast! I put on about 55 lbs with my pregnancy. After having my daughter, I did manage to get a few of the pounds off, but then got pregnant with my son. My body hadn't recovered from the first pregnancy and then here we go again. I'm not complaining about my pregnancies, I wouldn't trade either of my kids for the world. I look back and wish I'd eaten differently or maybe been more active after having the babies!

In the last 4 years, I have been up and down, wayyyyy up and then wayyyy down. It's been a yo-yo diet. I've tried pills. I've tried watching what I eat, but wasn't exercising. I've tried not eating. That will all work, to a certain point. I gained it all back and then some. My family travels the country for work purposes and I always find myself gaining a lot of weight when we move. It is a combination of stress and eating out way too much. I refuse to do that anymore. I am on a positive ride here, and it's going to continue forever. I just know it. I have finally decided it's time to get serious. I'm not getting any younger. It's time to get healthy and fit. It's time to live my life to the fullest. 2010 is my year to shine and my light will not go out this time. I am confident.

I, along with my family, have joined the YMCA and am exercising regularly. I am making healthier food choices and with the help of www.sparkpeople.com, I am logging my food and seeing how what I eat breaks down. It will break your total day of eating into a pie chart and you can see if you are on track, or if you may need to add more protein and maybe less fat. It's a great tool and would be absolutely lost without it.  I am also a part of a group of friends that we call "Biggest Loser, Home Version". My friends in this group are amazing. We all have different goals and are very supportive of each other. I know some of them in the group, and others, I just met, but it still feels like family. It's amazing to be a part of that. I know with our support of each other and the motivation we will all reach our personal goals. We weigh in every Monday and the group grows every week. It's going to be awesome when we all reach our personal goals and we can say our group shed X amount of lbs.

So here's to 2010. A new beginning. Starting over. Whatever you want to call it.

My name is Kelly and I am a confident woman starting a journey to a healthy lifestyle.
Today is the first day of the rest of my life.