Maria Week 13

I'm sort of getting a jump on this week. YAY!
After a violent rollercoaster with weight (gaining 6 lbs in one week - didn't think that was possible and then losing 4 lbs in one day - didn't think THAT was possible.) I am finally back to my original weight. So no loss to report, but nothing gained either. I'll take that.
Didn't really measure this week - measured my waist and found I had lost 1/2 inch on the small part of my waist, but nothing on the larger part so I stopped measuring.
Working out like crazy! Got a freaking half marathon to train for that I'm scared to death of! So because of all my workouts and some fruits and veggies I'll be depositing the max $10

Maria's Week 11

I have hit a new low. It's only a half pound lower than my last low, but the way the past two weeks have been - it's incredibly exciting.
Also, I a need to be committed .... to an insane asylum. In a fit of temporary insanity I registered to run a half marathon in Moab in March. YIKES! What as I thinking!?!?!?!?! I haven't been selected - it's a lottery so there's a chance I won't be running (I'm secretly praying for that). It will be good though - get my butt into shape. And it's nice to have a deadline - even if it is only 3.5 months away!!! (banging my head against the wall at this time).
So, new low, but not quite low enough for a milestone - still half a pound away for that. And only 3.5 lbs from my goal! That's exciting! Maybe I'll reevaluate my goal. Lost another inch in my waist - the biggest part of my waist. The smallest part is the same - strange. But that's a milestone! Lost another inch and a half off my chest - what?!?!?! How is this happening? Not where I want to be losing anything! I measured 3 times to be sure. Nearly an inch in my ribs, an inch in my hips, quarter inch in my bottom (another place I don't really want to lose), and 1/2 inch off each thigh. I'm getting there - slowly but surely.
I'll be depositing $14 - max plus 2 milestones.

Maria Week 10

ARGH! I worked my butt off this past week and I still gained 2.5 lbs. Ok, ok, so I also ate like crap. :-( So I have no one to blame but myself. I've been sick for eating so badly and ... again, still haven't learned my lesson. Maybe someday I'll get it through that thick head of mine. For now, I'm weak - chocolate and peanut butter and salty tortilla chips have been calling my name and I've completely given in. (I blame PMS - for the cravings AND the weight gain.)
So, with all my workouts, fruits and veggies most days, minus $1 for gaining more than 2 lbs, I will be depositing $16. (Told you I worked my butt off! I'm thinking of having all my mail delivered to Gold's Gym since it is my primary residency.)

Shout out to VL

I want to give a shout out to VL who has lost 8 lbs in a little over a week and has been working out consistently and eating healthier. I am honored and flattered to know that I am inspiring and motivating others to lead healthier lives. And the greatest compliment I could ever get is that someone made better choices because of me.
Wa-hoo! VL - you are a rockstar! I am so proud of you. Keep up the good work and keep calling me to check in ;-) You are motivating and inspiring me to be better, too!

Maria Week 9

Lost a full pound from last week. I'm very excited about that because I now weigh less than the weight reported on my drivers license. I'd be willing to bet that there are very few people out there who can say that!
Also, I have reason to believe that I have inspired more than just my fellow Butterfly girls to get in shape.
I have gotten a few compliments at the gym from guys in my classes that I talk to, but not necessarily "friendly" with. They've been telling me that I look great and that I've lost a lot of weight or that they've really seen a change. Always nice to hear. Oh, and my favorite - one asked me what my goals were. Different sort of question than I usually get - specifically said goals. I liked that.
Depositing $10

Maria's Week 8

I felt like it was a good week for me. I look back on my BodyDaemon journal and I missed several work outs (or else I missed logging them because I don’t feel like I missed that many work outs.) But good results this week so I’m happy. I lost inches almost all over, but I will only report what is significant. I lost another inch from waist – that’s a milestone! But more importantly, I am an inch smaller than I was in high school (and then I was SUCKING IN!!!!!!! This time I wanted it to be accurate so there was absolutely no sucking of any kind.) I didn’t specify a milestone for losing inches from my butt, but I’m going to count it anyway – I lost 1 ½ inches from my butt! This is like losing inches off my chest – a little bittersweet. We all know I didn’t have much of a butt to begin.
Good thing I hit those weigh and measurement milestones because I’m sucking it up on my newest ones. In fact, I completely forgot that I had set one not to eat out for two weeks. Hmmm … may need to rethink that one.
Had my bodyfat % tested – FINALLY! And I so wish I had done this before I started working out. But I am extremely happy to report that it was 3% less than it was when I had it measure in high school and again in college. WA-HOO!!!!!!
Finally, there is this ultra fit and thin woman in my classes and the past two classes I’ve had with her she’s commented on how great and how thin I look. You gotta love that – it never gets old!
Depositing $12.50
Oh, and adding new milestone - every 1% of bodyfat lost.

Maria Week 7

I know the title of my post is really boring, but it helps keep my hopeless brain a tiny bit organized.
I worked extra hard this week to try and make up for all the workouts I missed last week. I think I did pretty good as far as that goes. I also tried harder to eat more fruits and veggies. I need to measure myself (promised myself I'd do it this week, but I'm menstrating so I put it off!) I'm feeling a difference even in my few new items of clothing so I think I might hit that go down a size milestone soon. YAY! (Except that I'm not financially ready to go buy a new wardrobe - ARGH!)
Didn't lose any weight this week - that's two weeks in a row. I'm hoping this isn't a (watch out - naughty word warning) "plateau".
Also, I think I've got my free day under control. I weighed myself the morning of my free day (or free meal, rather) and then again the next day and I'd only gone up 0.2 lbs! I was careful with what I ate all day except that one meal and then I didn't eat anything after 6 PM. I did notice that I am not getting enough water on my free days and I think that could be part of the problem, too. I'm dehydrated, but I think I'm hungry so I eat.
I'll be depositing $16 - unless anyone has any objections to that. I know that it's past the "limit" but I earned it (without milestones) and I want a very expensive reward next year.

Rippling Muscles

Not mine. I don't have any. Well ..... I don't have many. At least not yet.
Some day I'll have some. Some day I'll be covered in them. Just like my beautiful inspiration.


I began watching myself in the mirror while working out to ensure that I had good form; was doing the exercises properly. I continue to use the mirrors for that purpose as well. But now I also use the mirrors to watch some of my muscles bulge and ripple. Yep, some of them are starting to ripple!
I have never liked my calves. I have always thought they were too big. But they weren't fat so I didn't know WHAT to do about them. I still think they're too big, but I'm starting to like them - A LOT! They're getting a lot of definition and I love to watch them in the mirrors while I'm on the bicycle, treadmill, or elliptical - to watch my rippling muscles.

Maria Week 5

I'm a bit late - sorry, this week has been hectic. Well, I'm at my lowest weight in about 5 years. (Although just barely). I'm down from last week by nearly 2 lbs. Which means I am 0.4 lbs from another milestone.
I haven't been able to workout as hard as usual. I was busy on Saturday and skipped the entire day. I was pretty upset with myself about it and I was really feeling the lost workout that day. I was just so antsy all day.
I am taking a new supplement with essential oils that is also supposed to help with energy and I am sure feeling it. I am hungry all the time. And it would seem I might be able to increase my caloric and carbohydrate intake and still lose weight. Wahoo! (Fingers crossed)
I didn't measure this week. But I can say that I am wearing the smaller of the three pair of jeans I bought about 2 months ago when nothing else fit anymore and I noticed today that they fit a bit big in the waist. YAY!
I am depositing $7.50 today.

Working Lunches, Dinner Parties, and Football Games

I got killed this last week. With three working lunches, four dinner parties, and one football game I cheated nearly every day! And I have paid for it in many ways; stomach aches nearly everyday (you'd think I'd learn), gaining 4 lbs, and losing money.
On a positive note. I lost 2 of those 4 lbs before my weigh in. I literally ran a pound off last night. Also, it isn't one of my listed milestones, but it's a big deal to a girl who's never been able to run a mile without stopping before - I ran 2 1/2 miles last night and I didn't stop to rest once. I think I might have been able to go a little further, too, but it was getting really dark.
Another thing is that I'm seeing a lot of definition in my forearms and calves. I didn't have far to go with them, but I haven't concentrated on them at all. Usually I avoid exercises that work my calves because the last thing I want is for them to be any bigger and there wasn't much fat to lose from them. But nonetheless - they are looking very defined and I sort of like them!
I'm updating my milestones. I don't believe I'm getting enough sleep so I'm creating a milestone regarding that. I want to be in bed weeknights by 9 PM. In bed by 9:00 PM should mean I'm asleep by 9:03 PM. That will put me at 7 hours of sleep each night. I've also seriously slacked off on the food journal - primarily because I have no idea how to calculate a lot of the foods I've eaten. So I'm creating a new milestone regarding not eating out and keeping an ACCURATE food journal.
I'll be depositing $13. Lots of working out and a milestone seemed to have made up for my bad eating days.

Maria's Week 2

Hello Ladies! Interesting week for me. I've been much more careful with what I'm eating. I've created an on-line food journal (which I've only actually utlized the past three days) that tells me exactly how many calories, carbs, etc I'm eating. And I can also enter my workouts and it will tell me how many calories I've burned. I'm really liking it. I just need to decide WHICH on-line journal I'm going to use - right now I'm trying to decide between three.
www.sparkpeople.com
www.fitday.com
www.dailyplate.com
Anyway ...I lost 1 lb since last week. And I am extremely happy with that one little pound since I am also menstrating this week and we all know what that can do to our bodies! ARGH! I feel like I've gained 10! I didn't measure myself this week because 1) I'm only going to measure like once a month and 2) ... well... as I said, I'm menstrating and well know what that can do to our bodies.
I'll be depositing the max $10 this week.
My goal for the week is to keep my new on-line journal completely up to date and as accurate as possible - which means I need to pay closer attention to how much time I spend at the gym. And to drink more water!

Maria Weighing In

I feel I need to start by saying this has been a tough week for me. I went out of town on Wednesday and was gone until Sunday. I'm sure you all know how difficult it can be to eat well when you're traveling. It was also my anniversary - so there was a little celebration dinner (or two) for that, a BYU home game (i.e. stadium food), and my belated birthday dinner with the Sanders family (i.e. cake). On Monday morning I weighed myself and was disappointed, but not surprised, to see that I had gained 0.4 lbs since my last weigh in (Wednesday morning).
That said ... I did 1 hour of cardio Wednesday morning, 1 hour of cardio Thursday morning, 1 hour of cardio Friday afternoon, 1 hour of cardio Monday morning, and 1 hour of weight training Tuesday morning. And I am happy to report that this morning, when I stepped onto that scale, not only had I lost the 0.4 I had put on over the weekend, I had also lost another 0.6 lbs for a total of 1 lb since last Wednesday. Considering the week I've had - I think that's pretty good!
I'll be depositing $5 for week 1 as soon as we have a place to deposit it.

P.S. I know that gaining 0.4 lbs is not a big deal - you can easily fluctuate as much as a pound in a day (if not even more!). Knowing this, however, does not make it any less frustrating to see that extra 0.4 lbs on the scale.

Ok, Janis, I finally did it!

Janis has been encouraging me to measure myself again for the past several weeks. As I've mentioned before I have been working out pretty intensely for about four months now. I've lost about 10 lbs and went down one pant size. But for some reason getting out the measuring tape was a very daunting task. I was just so concerned about being disappointed. Well, last night, I bit the bullet. I needed to remeasure myself for the beginning of this new challenge anyway. There wasn't significant changes in most of areas - just like half an inch in my thighs, hips, etc. But in my waist - 3 inches. Wahoo!

How the Yaya's are going to get to Paradise

This is us before (and chubby). By this time next year we will all look as good if not better - since we're younger and all - than every single one of the women in the movie poster behind us thanks to our ingenious diet and exercise plan outlined below. Wish us luck (and don't bring us any cookies).

Everyone should begin by weighing themselves and taking their measurements the morning of Thursday September 18th and then log into: http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_nutrition_guide.htm to determine the amount of calories needed in their daily diet to reach their set weight loss goal. This will determine the daily caloric and carbohydrate intake and workouts needed to reach their goal. You are allowed one free food day each week.

Everyone is required to report in on the blog between Tuesday morning and Wednesday at noon. At that time progress should be reported along with listing the amount of their deposit and what each dollar represents and any other encouragement needed including recipes, workout ideas, etc. The theory is that if we’re keeping tabs on each other we’ll be more likely to accomplish our fitness goals and then of course there’s the vacation . . . that’s always a bonus.

Everyone is to deposit the money earned from the previous weeks activities between Tuesday morning and Wednesday at noon in a designated online savings account. Cash can be earned in the following ways:
Up to 4 – 45 minute cardio workouts $1.00 each
Up to 4 – 25 minute toning workouts 1.00 each
Milestone reached 2.00 each
Meeting fruit and or vegetable servings each day 0.50 each day

Cash can be deducted from deposit in the following ways:
Consuming 50 or more calories/day than allotted $1.00 each day
Gaining more than two pounds since last weigh-in 1.00
Less than four total workouts in one week 1.00

Milestones are to be determined by each individual at the beginning of the challenge and posted on the blog but should be something similar to the following:
Losing 5 lbs
Going down a dress or pant size
Losing 5 inches
Running a 5k
Entering a cycling race
However, milestones other than those originally listed can be added at a later date if you feel you’ve accomplished something that deserves recognition.

If everyone deposits the $5 weekly minimum, we will have accrued approx. $1,000 by August 31, 2009 (however if everyone deposits the maximum of $10 a week – not including milestones – we will have $2,000, before interest). At that time the final amount will be divided between the four of us to be put toward a Yaya vacation. In order to ensure that everyone is an equal participant the following guidelines will be applied:
If at any time someone deposits less than the $5 minimum for more than one week in a row, $3 will be deducted from their final total.
Example: If we had $1,000 in our account it would first be divided into $250 each and then deductions would be made. If Janis deposits only $4 two weeks in a row five different times through the year, she will lose $15 from her final total, meaning that she would have only $235 and Rachel, Marion and Maria would each have $255. If the final amount doesn’t cover the trip everyone will be required to come up with the rest out of pocket.

If at any time someone needs to drop out of the challenge the cash will be divided in four and their quarter will be set aside to go toward their trip. Everyone is welcome to come even if the challenge is not completed but they will have to pay the remainder of their way on their own.

Our trip will be determined by the amount of money in our account at the end of August 2009. The following options have been presented:

$1000 Spa getaway in Park City or another location
$1500 Shopping trip to New York City
$2000 Cruise to Mexico or some other sunny place