I can't believe I am doing this

So....uh....I am going to show you all a bikini progress picture. Yikes!

Now, here's the thing. I went to a bachlorette party this weekend and I knew I was going to wear a swim suit for hot tubbing. So, I went shopping to find one. Everything I found emphasized my love handles. My #1 trouble zone! No matter what I do or how clean I eat they never seem to slim down.

Instead of beating the shit out of myself like always, I thought about it. Really thought about it.

You see, I have scoliosis. My back curves in the middle and in the lower lumbar area. Which makes sense that my weight really shows in those areas. If that makes sense. Ha!

So, when I thought about it, I realized that that is how my scoliosis affects my body. Do I believe that one day I will be happy with my love handle area? Absolutely! Right now, although it still makes me self conscious, I have worked too hard to let that bring me down!

I used to be 175 pounds, possibly heavier! I am in the high 120's right now, all because of hard work and perseverance! I am going to show what I have got. You know what? When I put that suit on, I got compliments and it felt good!

The photo on the left is January of this year and the photo on the right is from March of this year.

Ignore the shitty look on my face. Haha!

When I study this photo a little, I see a difference!

From now on, I will celebrate the fact that my body works and carries me! I can run, walk, and lift thanks to that body! I will be sure to appreciate it more now.

That is the conclusion I came to standing in a dressing room looking at the body I have!

Still alive and kickin'

Well, shit! I was doing pretty good. Posting about 1-2 times a week and then life got in my way.

When I last left you, I was working out like a mad woman and I still am.

Just a week after my last post, I got a text from my best friend saying one of our friends had passed away. I was totally not expecting it. We were planning a Wendover trip for his birthday. Even now, it doesn't feel real. I swear he is going to just show up one day and give me a big hug. His service was beautiful. Although it was a sad circumstance, I still loved seeing some old friends.

Terry, my best Ash and I in Wendover 2007

I then spent the next couple of weeks continuing my awesome workouts!

And I am finally seeing some results in the rear end area. I have always had a flat butt, but as you will see it is plumping up nicely!

That is a 4 week difference! I am so impressed with myself and my dedication. I have come such a long way this past year and I am definitely not stopping now.

We also had our first camping trip of the year! We went 2 hours south of Salt Lake City. It was chilly only one day and I even got a sunburn.

It was so nice to be able to wear a tank top and capris!

Camping takes a lot out of our pups, as you can tell.

I also turned 28 on the 9th of April. We had a couple of little celebrations.

My dad, brother, boyfriend and I went to dinner at Sizzler and came back to our house to have a piece of cake that my dad and brother were nice enough to bring! I may or may not have eaten most of that cake by myself in 3 days. Oops! It is long gone now and I am back to clean eating.

Then my mom, both brothers, boyfriend and our friend Andy went out to a bar the weekend after my bday.

They got us a VIP table for the night, because someone else cancelled. It was a blast, but I was definitely hurting and really sick the next day :/ It was still really fun though.

Up next....bachlorette party weekend! The boyfriend's cousin is gettin married in 3 weeks. So, we stayed at a hotel in Park City(not too far from where this years Blend Retreat will be held). The townhomes we stayed in was gorgeous!!!!

The night started with some snacks and shots, naturally.

Followed by some last minute errands and dinner. Last we hit up a club on Main Street.

Ready for a night out with some of my favorite women!!'

I danced like a fool and had a great time!!

We finished off the night with a hot tub party that lasted until 6AM. Let's just say Sunday I was exhausted!

Now that you are all caught up, I hope to be back with some fun posts soon!

Have a great day everyone!

I am on fire

I got a new polar heart rate monitor and can I just tell you...holy motivation batman! I really wanted to skip the gym Tuesday, but I had a new toy to play with. So, up I got!

That would be the good ole morning wake up call. Yes, the serenity prayer is my background. Sometimes I need it!

I am also working on building the muscles in my flat derrière.

Lots of heavy squats, weighted lunges, step mill and weighted step ups are happening!

So far I am loving the heart rate monitor. I was using my garmin, but it acted wonky in my gym. So I knew I needed to get something else. I found a killer deal on one and scooped that Shiz right up!

This week I have worked out 4 days in a row. Which is unheard of for me. Usually I workout 3-4 days the whole week. If all goes well, I will be having a Team No Days Off week. After 11 days of no workout, I am okay with no rest days for one week.

This mornings workout started with workout B workout 6 from New Rules of Lifting for Women. I then hopped on the step mill or 15 minutes an finished on the elliptical for 25 minutes.

I feel so good this week! It is nice to be putting in the work again.

How many times have you worked out this week?
4! Holler!!

What is your favorite piece of fitness equipment?
I love the elliptical, but am just starting to get into the spin bike and stepmill!

Ahhh...that felt good!

Finally, Finally, FINALLY!!!

A workout! Yippee!

I met a friend of mine, Kari, at a new(to me) 24 hr fitness today. Kari has been asking if I want to go to a spin class and it hasn't worked out until today. The plan was yoga, as I still have a little coughing action. However, I woke up feeling so much better with a minimal cough. So I decided the gym was happening.

We warmed up on spin bikes while waiting for the spin class to start. The class was fantastic! The instructor is nice and personable. She knew how to motivate us to work at our level.

It was my first class and I will definitely be going back for Kari and I's Sunday morning dates! I have missed her.

After spin, it was yoga time! I haven't done yoga in ages. Actually the last class I did was with my mom like 14 years ago. The class was challenging, but fairly relaxing.

Overall, I was there for 2 and a half hours and burned 786 calories! It was quite the welcome back. I am looking forward to the 4:30AM alarm tomorrow.

Yes, I am crazy!

Now, let me tell you a funny (or scary depending on how you look at it) story.

We live by a pond/canal with lots of ducks, geese and even goats. Often times cars are way backed up for the geese to cross the road. Friday night, you couldn't get passed them because they were walking in a zig zag. Chad told me to go shoo them out of the road.

I jump out of the truck and run behind them telling them to move. Then, because I think I am funny, I started imitating their running. Apparently they didn't like that and started hissing at me. Haha. It freaked me out for a second, but it got them out of the road and we were able to pass them.

What was your workout this weekend?

Have you ever had to shoo something out of the road?

I hope you have had a nice weekend. Tomorrow, come back for some talk about food!

Dear Gym,

Dear Sweet Gym,

I have not seen you in over a week and honestly, I miss you tremendously! I saw you yesterday and wanted to cry.

You see, I have been sick. I don't feel sick, but my body is telling me that I am. I have a stuffy nose and I am hacking up a lung a few times a day. This has been going on for 9 days now.

I have been asked (by my other true love) to not come back to you until I am 100%. I know he is right, as hacking up a lung when I am with you is not appealing to the other people who come to visit you.

However, today is different. I woke up feeling pretty good. Still have a little coughing, but no lung hacking up happening! Hallelujah!!

Tomorrow, I will be by to visit. Because I can't stand to be away from you any longer!

Sincerely,
Miles In Murray

This is called the "sick and going to Walmart, so I don't give a f*ck" look. I have been rocking this, but tomorrow my ass will be wearing this..

And I am ready to sport the workout clothes and gym bag!

Womp womp

Looks like my day of food blogging everything was a 2/3 success and 1/3 fail. I don't know how good bloggers do it. Those posts take quite a bit if time to make.

That night, I ended up having a larabar for my snack.

After work, I walked into my house and it looked like this...

It was chaos. All thanks to this beauty.

iPhone photos suck!

This is the boyfriend's new tank stand. We are doing a "tank reveal party" and I will have better pictures then to show.

Anyways, we had to go return a truck we borrowed to move the stand and by the time we did that it was almost 9 and we didn't feel like waiting an hour for dinner to cook. So, In N Out happened. I got the cheeseburger protein style. Utah is new to the whole In N Out thing and I just don't think the food lives up to the hype taste wise. Price wise, it is decent. I just don't love the food.

Overall, that day wasn't terrible food wise. My macros were pretty spot on for my goals.

The past 2 days I have been feeling a little blah. My voice is hit and miss, but I don't feel like I have a cold or sickness. I just feel like my body is worn out. So, I haven't been to the gym. I really want to go, but if this is turning into a sickness, I don't want to be the dick that spreads it around the gym lol.

That is a huge pet peeve of mine. If you are sick or feeling a little sick, DO NOT GO TO THE DAMN GYM! Every morning I see people use machines and walk away without wiping down the equipment. That is just nasty! I am going to be the crazy gym lady who brings Lysol to the gym haha.

That is my recap of the past couple of days.

What is your biggest pet peeve at the gym?

Round 2 of the day

Today has been pretty uneventful so far. I am really busy right now at work which makes the day fly. However, at the end of everyday, I am left thinking, 'I still have a ton of sh*t to do.' There is one thing I never forget to do through the chaotic days.

My morning snack. Cottage cheese and grapes. Everyday! I am obsessed.

Running and weightlifting has made me hungry non stop. Some days I feel like all I do is eat. I am okay with that too.

I mean who could resist this delicious bowl of chili, otherwise known as lunch? I top my chili with some avocado and Greek yogurt.

The past 3 Sundays I have taken some time to meal plan and grocery shop. I make one dish for lunch all week. In the case of this chili, I have enough for 12 meals. I calculated out the cost of all supplies and it is about $1.50 per meal. Not too shabby.

Some of my past lunches have been:
Clean(er) chicken enchiladas
Spaghetti squash with meat sauce
Salads(Chicken, roast beef or salmon)
Turkey sandwiches

Just to name a few.

I will be doing a post soon on how my eating habits have changed in recent weeks and the difference I am seeing physically, mentally and emotionally.

Any questions so far?

I hope you guys are still hanging in there, this has been rather fun :)