Cousin Got Married..Check...I Got Fatter...Check...Now I'm Kickin Serious Booty...Pending Check

Well there was a couple of crazy weeks of lifestyle change failures.  Now we are on the other side of all of the big events for the spring and it's time we start boosting our exercise routines and healthier lifestyle.  Tonight I am going to work on getting some tasks out of the way on my computer and then I am going to plan out my entire weekly workout routine.  It needs a reboot and I plan on making it exciting and fun to get into.  On a side note, I will be using an app or two to make it more interesting and thought I would share those with you right now.

Nexercise (link)

Nexercise is a fun little app for the iPhone and Android phones that tracks your workouts with a little extra incentive, PRIZES!  The more you work out the more point and "pocket change" you earn that you can spend towards three different things.  First, you can choose to spend these points on entering contests for a chance to win big prizes.  Second, you can spend your points towards gift cards! They offer a variety of brands, from Puma to Nike.  Third, you can choose to translate those points into money towards charities.  There are a couple other options I don't quite understand at the moment because I don't have accounts for them, but there's "Pocket Change" and "Kiip" as well as the mPOINTS I just discussed.

GymPact (link)

GymPact is quite the interesting entry in the whole fitness app game.  The idea is this...You form a "pact" each week of the number of days you plan on working out next week.  Then you pledge a certain dollar amount that you are willing to lose if you miss a workout.  The kicker here is that if you keep the pact, you MAKE MONEY!! :)  If you are willing to use this as an incentive (losing money if you miss workouts and earning money if you stick to it) then this is for you!

Needless to say, I will be using Nexercise for now, until exercise becomes routine in my life.  

The goal is to lose what I gained back the last few weeks by my Doctor's appointment in 19 days.  Jocelyn started working towards her goal today.  She began the Couch to 5K program.  I will let her talk about that more next time she posts, but basically she is shooting for running the Run or Dye 5K.  I am looking forward to that purely because I get to throw dye on her while she is running hehehehe ;) 

If I'm not too embarrassed by my workout routine I may post it up! hah just messin, I won't be, so I shall post it when it is done and everyone can help me tweak it to make it better if you like :)

Michael OUT!

You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry, HULK SMASH!

Slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things.  Tomorrow I will begin my workout regimen.  3-5 lifting days, 3-5 cardio/core exercises, 1 circuit training day per week.  This flabby mess will be a solid hunk of muscle if I have to kill myself doing it.  I think I am starting to get a handle on the root of my frustrations and anger as of late.  Little things have been bothering me but I could never tell why.  I have been tracking every little thing that triggers anger/changes in mood the past couple days.  The irritability has been messing with my motivation to workout and eat well.  I think this will be an essential step towards progressing.  It is helping make me realize that a lot of the time they are silly things that I really shouldn't be wasting my time fuming over and hurting my health.

Stressing and anger increases risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, and damage to other organs, and generally interfere with the normal functioning of a lot of our various systems.  Also these mental states have been known to slow down metabolism, decrease motivation, and increase cravings and susceptibility to addictions, of which food is for me.  The best way of tackling problems like these is by finding the root of them and going at it from there and I think I will be able to pinpoint that and start working on it.  I am going to start tackling the various stressors that I can get out of the way so I can move beyond this overwhelmed feeling.  Another thing I have to keep in mind is that life is not always fair and I can't expect the general populous to live to my expectations of common courtesy and respect.  If I can accept that, then that will eliminate a number of my frustrations.

Anyways, I am all over the place!  I am kind of starting to take posting as a way to let my flow of consciousness materialize on this page.  It can be somewhat therapeutic.  Please comment on any of my ramblings, let me know if I'm totally out of left field with any of my assumptions and observations :) I need to start accepting others' help, I cannot do this by myself and of course I am no subject matter expert when it comes to this new found Type A personality that came out of 2012 and when it comes to physical fitness.  All I know is that I am extremely sure I want to improve myself in every way possible.  This ten years of laziness and procrastination needs to be on its way out for good.  Kiss it goodbye and let the door hit it hard on the arse on the way out!

I will see you all in two days and let you know how the new Mike is turning out!

Michael OUT!

What's going on??

Hey guys! So what week is this now? It's week 20! i can't believe it,only 32 more weeks to go for 2013! Believe me,we have a lot of work to do still!

As Mike explained we sort if have up and let life take over.  Our good eating habits that we achieved over the past couple of months began to slowly dwindle back to the awful habits we once encountered.  After weeks of feeling not the greatest due to these bad choices we decided it is time to start over again!!

My new schedule is going well at work.  I am rather enjoying working directly with dementia and Alzheimer's patients tremendously!  SInce my schedule is strictly first shift is it slowly becoming easier to be motivated to work out!  You will be happy to know last week I went on 3 bike rides! I am going to strive to do three bike rides this week as well as two strength training work outs!  I have also been using the fitness buddy app on my iPhone and watching my calorie intake, it is really useful! If anyone wants to add me feel free!  i would love to have more fitness buddies :)

Due to not weighing ourselves today look forward to pictures tomorrow!!! I can't wait until then!

Jocelyn!!

The Return

It has been an eventful and busy several weeks where we lost sight of this blog and our new way, lifestyle change.  Like a number of people in this world we let ourselves become overwhelmed with all the demands and trials life has given to us.  This made it difficult to see the forest through the trees, at least for me.  I was able to take a step back on my trip home this past weekend and see the source of some of my feelings and laziness as well. 

I have decided to focus on two primary goals to get a hold back on my life.  One - get some after hours projects done and over with to alleviate the extra stress and free up time to actually wind down from the stresses of work and other things. Two - ignore my initial gut reactions to things, as they tend to stop me from accomplishing anything.  As well as think things through before making decisions on whether or not I want to go on a bike ride today, work on after hours work today, clean around the house today, post on the blog today, etc...I need to balance out how I think, with respect to myself and with respect to others. Sometimes I neglect myself and sometimes others.

This weekend, a couple of our awesome followers brought the blog up to me and how it was a help to them in a variety of forms.  Thanks to them, this totally reaffirmed my belief in the value of continuing this blog.  Thank you!! I will begin posting more and more as we resume our lifestyle change.  More frequent shorter posts unlike this one lol :) This time through it will not be entirely focused only on what happened that day/week with regards to the lifestyle change but also about life in Toledo and updates about Jocelyn and I as we become more active this summer.  Some of our loyal followers had made it clear that they liked reading because it was a window into what/how we were doing.

I do not know why I didn't think of this originally in regards to this blog, but 'lifestyle' is not just about how we eat and how we exercise, but also about how we think, how we feel, what we do with each other, how we treat others.  This is a great opportunity to reshape every facet that needs reshaping and keep everyone up to date on our progress in hopes to better our situation and to be inspirational to others and show everyone even our lazy butts can get it done ;) 

Okay I think I bored you all to tears enough.  :) Jocelyn just got home so I am going to greet her with a smile and big open arms!

Michael OUT

And We're Back!

Hi all! We have been on a hiatus it would appear! But we are back.  We had a crazy schedule shift with Jocelyn's job change and a number of other things happening. We had a bit of a slump over the past few weeks.  Though, I am happy to say, we are swinging back full force!  For starters let's see the damage from the past few weeks:

Jocelyn's Results

Weight Gained: 2.4 lbs

Status: We're back and kickin'

Michael's Results

Weight Gained: 7 lbs

Status: Here we go again, for realz!

I'd say for the amount of time we suffered this slump, that's not too bad at all! We didn't lose our ground, just a minor set back in the long term that is the rest of our lives.  Eating well, working out, it's the full deal this time.  I think we'll start seeing results, and at the very least all of you loyal followers will be seeing more posts!  You sticking with us is a big motivator, thank you so much everyone!  I will leave it here for today as it is getting kind of late.  BUT know this...You have NOT heard the last of us.

Michael OUT!

For the love of PEEPS!

In case you have been wandering about my absence I have been having an affair with peeps. Yes, I have said it, I have been having an affair with those fluffy marshmallow concoctions. Why you may ask? I just do not know. I have always loved Peeps all my life they especially remind me of my grandpa. However, the love of peeps has not been my only obstacle the past couple weeks. I realize Michael and I have sadly strayed away from our lifestyle change. We were doing so well and than all of a sudden when there was a change in our lifestyle this new change suddenly came to a halt. We have been going through an on going schedule battle. Most nights Michael and I do not eat dinner together anymore , so we do not cook as much together. Also, the nights we do our shopping and weigh in have changed as well because I now work second shift on those nights. So, after several weeks of both of us in a slump we decided it was time to get out of it and go on with our lives. This is not a reason for us to quit just alter our schedule a bit. So, there is a proposed plan in play to see how it works for the next couple of weeks. This is it:

Monday- WEIGH IN DAY/RESULTS along with Shopping and Chopping!
Tuesday- Mike is in charge of the blog
Wednesday- Jocelyn is in charge of the blog
Thursday- Mike is in charge of the blog
Friday-Jocelyn is in charge of the blog
Saturday and Sunday will vary depending on if I work the weekend of not. If I work Mike will do it, if I am off than the blog is my responsibility.

Mike and I have found that having a laid out plan is best for us at this point since my schedule jumps around a lot and I am still in the midst of getting used to it! So, this is one of the many changes that is taking place in our life but it is very necessary. I have been feeling very guilty that I have been slacking on this lifestyle change and at times have been ready to throw in the towel.
The nice weather is putting me in a particularly good mood lately. Mike and I have been talking about purchasing roller blades and finally learning how to roller blade. This may be a little dangerous at first but have no fear I will be wearing a helmet. I have been thinking up all sorts of creative ways to get active over the next few months and roller blading is one of them. I also love to go on bike rides. Today I rode my bike to the gas station and put some air in it. My goal Wednesday is to actually hit the bike trail for about an hour before work. I figured if I could just find things to enjoy such as bike riding and roller blading than maybe just maybe taking the weight off won`t be as hard. I have also been researching the possibility of getting a pool pass for the summer to one of our public pools here in Sylvania because I  have always loved to swim.This is up in the air for the moment along with a gym membership. I have been researching gyms lately as well but only really one sparks my interest just because it offers kick boxing and yoga. I have always wanted to try classes like those.
These are just some things I am thinking about today. Mostly the point of this blog was for two purposes, one to confess my affair with peeps and two to tell you WE ARE BACK!!! Now, due to us not weighing ourselves today we will announce our weights tomorrow of what we gained or lost since our last weigh in on the blog, mostly gain. I really don`t think either one of us has lost since last time we posted. However, next week is a very good week I can feel it in my bones!!!

So, thank you for those of us who have not given up on us. Please keep supporting us because we really do need it!
Until Wednesday,
Jocelyn

She's Got High Hopes

Well folks I guess I should say "Hello", sorry it has been so long! My schedule has been nothing short of hectic. Between figuring out my new schedule and incorporating it into my life and keeping up with school I am slowly drowning. Sometimes I just want to come home and pass out, and sometimes I do. With that being said my lifestyle change has been slowly slacking as well.

My schedule is currently a balance between first shift and second shift. Adding school into that you have a recipe for chaos. It is becoming rather difficult to have an eating schedule like I did as well as cooking every night. My plan was to rely on slow cooked meals but as of right now that is not even working. Honestly, we have had good intentions with buying healthy foods and setting goals, but some of them have not been put back into place. I will say that I am still eating healthy lunches but not as much water as I used to due to it is hard to drink as much water as I used to during work. Everything has changed in my life and I am still trying to adapt.

Some days when I step on the scale I feel as though it is lying and I am really not loosing any weight. I am stuck on a plateau and I can not get off it. I know my number one problem is my fear and also not willing to move forward. I know I have to up my game and change my plans. I always have great plans but have a very difficult time putting them into action.

However, I still have high hopes. I have so many things to look forward to this year that I want to look fantastic at. Michael and I have many weddings to go to this year and I would love to feel great in a dress instead of obsessing which color makes my thighs look smaller, which cut makes my arms slimmer, and which fabric clings less to my belly. For once I would love to throw on a dress and just go with it but for the time being I can not. This October my best friend is getting married and I am her maid of honor! It is so exciting to me and also a big honor to be a part of her special day but than there is that part of me that doesn`t want to stand up in front of 100 plus people and speak with the body I have at this time. There are so many things that keep me holding on to my goals but so many things that have me letting go.

As Michael shared with you my friend helped create a workout for me. I really need to put it into play. Yes, I am admitting I have not really worked out to that plan yet. Tomorrow I am going to sit down and write out my schedule. I feel a daily schedule right at this moment will help me the most. So, time management and meal planning is my goal for tomorrow.

I am also going to try to blog more as much as I can. I really want to continue this lifestyle change until the end...well there is no end to this really. There is no giving up. I remember in the beginning I was all about this and than slowly day by day I found myself slowly giving in to my old life. I know things have changed since January. I am lighter, I feel better and even my taste buds have changed but yet sometimes I feel like I have moved no where!

So with my goals in mind...CHEERS to TOMORROW!!
I HAVE HIGH HOPES!

For Now,
Jocelyn