Weeks Ten and Eleven. Vegas and the KS Bar in the same post?!

So Week TEN. I worked out and ate great Sunday, July 15th-Friday July 20th. Then that Friday, July 20th at 3:05 PM I got on a plane, and arrived shortly thereafter in Las-Wonderful-Vegas. First stop: The Paris Hotel. Oh wait...I take that back. First stop: Forever 21. Huh???!!

Well, my dear reader, I have this friend named Jessica Edwards who has this cat named Mona who didn't want her sweet owner to leave her. So she peed in her suitcase. All over her meticulously-planned out Vegas apparel. For Jess to discover after she had already left and had to be to the airport in fifteen minutes. So Carly, Jess and I started our crazy trip rolling around luggage in the Vegas Forever 21 so Jessica could replace her now cat-urine filled suitcase of clothes.

Mission accomplished. New dresses in hand, we arrived at our second stop - The Paris Hotel!! We got ready, and took a couple cabs off the strip to a delicious tapas and sangria dinner to kick off Laura Beth Bjerg's Bachelorette Party of the Century. It was perfect. Then we rode this big ol limo with unlimited beer back to the strip. It had a sunroof you could stand up through, so yeah, that happened.
The rest of our weekend was filled with free drinks, tables, and service everywhere, lots of dancing, even more laughs, and honestly just the best time ever. We love you Laura and can't wait for the wedding in just three short weeks!!!

The whole group.

Cheers!

The bachelorette and I. Best friends for 20 years!

After getting home late Sunday night, I woke up bright and early to start studying for the Kansas Bar, which I was taking on Tuesday. Yes, I went to Vegas the weekend before a bar exam. And I don't regret it for a second!! I drove to Topeka that night and took the test the next day, then was back to work on Wednesday.

So week eleven equalled no work outs for five days and not  paying that much attention to my diet either. But I ended the week with workouts Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and still weigh the same. I'm completely back on track now which is great. I am only down ten-eleven pounds, but I am hoping to work really hard and lose two this week!

Week Nine - 10 pounds have left the premises.

Week nine has probably been the best I've done so far on this "journey". (Hahahaha....I HATE when they use the word journey on the bachelorette, that was a joke.) I have worked out every day except Friday, eaten almost close to perfect, and lost two L-B's, ba-by!! Last night I asked Taylor if it was weird to go from having a lazy wife always in pajamas to a wife always in workout clothes and he told me it was bizarre. He came home from Denver and California and was married to literally a different person. He told me since I pulled such a huge one-eighty, he was worried I would just quit one day and erase all my hard work. I totally understood what he meant, but it hurt my feelings too that he thought I wouldn't stay on track. He wasn't trying to discourage me or be mean at all...(not trying to put him on blast here), but I told him that the reason I won't do that and the reason I've changed so much is that this is the first time the "switch" went off in my head that allowed me to truly commit and change my lifestyle. And that's why I'm here to stay. I will slip up, but I won't just gain all my weight back in a couple weeks like I used to always do. In the past, I was never fully ready to commit. I didn't want to let go of the 3000 calorie Mi Ranchito meals, eating whenever, whatever, and the comfort of sweet, fluffy, yummy food. I didn't want to practice any restraint in my social life, and I didn't want to tell myself no. I wanted so, so badly to lose weight and be healthy but not bad enough to give up the things I loved. This time around, I finally became ready to let go of my fear of not having that comfort in food and the couch. And there's nothing wrong at all with ice cream, and beer, and french fries, and mexican food, I just (at this point) don't know how to have a healthy relationship with them. So we had to break up. They were so comforting and distracting but our relationship was just making me unhealthy and unhappy. This is all so mental, and I finally got to the place I needed to be. So I think that I will stay on this path, and will maintain my goal weight once I get there.

Weigh In: Down two pounds, so down TEN pounds now!

High: Amp Camp has been really motivating. We have gotten three emails this week from Shawna, our instructor, with tips, recipes, motivation, etc. It's really fun to get that in my inbox!


Low: Knee Pain. I go from my back, to my shoulders, and now my knees. Sheesh. I think I'm going to head to the chiropractor this week to get things checked out. Those suckers are feeling bizarre. I know they are overworked, but I hope it's nothing serious and they'll loosen up over time...


Exercise Update: Worked out every day except Friday, and while I was a little stressed out since Amp Camp instructs me to work out seven days a week, I know my knees needed that break and I think they are thanking me.


Goals for Next Week: Well ladies and gentlemen, in six short days I will be in Vegas for Laura's Bachelorette Party!!! Sooo...that requires me to be absolutely perfect in my eating and working out Sunday-Thursday since Friday and Saturday I will be sinning in Sin City. This is my first trip to Vegas and it's for the best occasion ever, so I'm going to live it up, but my goal is to jump right back on track immediately afterwards and keep on truckin.


And since I feel bad for never posting pics or fun things anymore, here is a picture of Maeby doing her "Quick, act like a human!" trick.

Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen?!!

Amp Camp and Week 8

Wow...so, lots to report! Last week, the week of the fourth of July, was my eighth week of this big old get- not-so-big shindig. Other than the holiday splurging, it was a great week!! I lost another pound, went to Fusion Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday, and signed up for Amp Camp. I think it's safe to say that Fusion has really changed my life. I've gone 20 freakin times in a month. It feels great and I'm seeing crazy results.

So...Amp Camp. What is it? Well, it's through Fusion, and it's an eight week hardcore fat camp :). (They would never call it that, really skinny girls are in it too, it's just to "amp up" your fitness and find the "healthiest you".) We met for the first time Sunday. I had "before" pics taken, measurements taken, my push-ups and sit-ups per minute timed, and given a very strict diet and exercise plan. I also had to go run a mile on my own and time it. I was so scared and dreaded it so badly. I haven't ran a mile since eighth grade and really didn't think I could run the whole thing. But I went to the gym on Monday, ran on the track, and ran the whole time. And it wasn't hard! My time was super slow, but it was honestly the BEST feeling. I could not believe I didn't hate it and actually could do it easily!

After the intro on Sunday, we met for our first workout Tuesday morning at 5:30 AM at the Shawnee Mission East track. I really don't remember the first ten minutes. I was asleep. All I know is that it was one of the hardest hours of my life, it was dark out when we started, and there was A.LOT.OF.RUNNING. And sprinting. And STAIRS. So maybe I don't like this running thing after all. :) I was a zombie at work yesterday, but guess what? I got up again this morning and went to Fusion at 5:30. I feel much better today.

In addition to our 5:30 Tuesday morning group workouts, we have two mandatory take home workouts per week on a treadmill or elliptical. The other four days of the week we are supposed to work out on our own for an hour. So Fusion class for me. We stick to a 1200 calorie diet, which is fine with me because that's what I was already doing, but there are some more restrictions - no more than 30 carbs per meal, no more than 25 added grams a sugar per day, and at least 10 grams of protein per meal. Those guidelines are really helpful for me and I've been eating really well. I'm starting to love shopping for healthy stuff and looking for healthy recipes. Trader Joe's is absolute heaven for eating healthy on a budget. I've switched from regular whole wheat bread to Ezekial bread, which is much cheaper there than anywhere else, and regular skim milk to almond milk, which is also very affordable at good old Trader Joe's. Sorry for no fun pics or flair, I'll write more at the end of this week, week nine!!