Celebrate Good Times.. COME ON!

November 27, 2012 By 7 Comments


There’s a party going on right here.. A celebration, to last through out the year..

SING IT WITH ME!!

No? Fine.

But seriously, this post is all about celebrating. Celebrating victories in weight loss no matter how small they are.

I think it’s something we all forget to do, especially when we are waist deep in our weight loss journey. I mean sure, in the beginning you were celebrating all those little accomplishments. The week you lost just 1 pound. The week you only made it to the gym twice, but by golly those 2 times were more than you would have done in the past. The week you had dessert just 4 times instead of every night.

As we progress in our journey we forget about those things and instead get down on ourselves when we have a week where we only lose 1 pound. Or we berate ourselves for only making it to the gym 3 times instead of our normal 5. Or allow ourselves to be consumed with guilt because we broke down that one day and ate 1 cookie.

I’m guilty of this.

We get to that place where we are happy with what we have accomplished and we want to accomplish so much more that we neglect to focus on just taking it one day at a time like we have been up until that point.

I need to get back to that place. Sure, I’ve been losing steadily these last few weeks, but I realized that I am expecting it. I know that if the scale showed less than a 1lb loss I would be completely pissed. I know that time is coming soon, my loss is going to plateau sooner than I think, so to combat that I’m going to focus on the little accomplishments from the last week and really try to recognize them and give myself credit for them regularly here on out.

So, here are my small victories from last week.

  • Completed a workout between the kids throwing up on 2 different days.
  • Drank only water on Tuesday (132oz in the hopes of not catching what the kids had.)
  • Took multiple trips upstairs to put laundry away in order to get steps in.
  • Only ate 1 plate of food during Thanksgiving Dinner!
There. Those of my small victories that I would have overlooked had I not took the time during the post to call them out.
How about you? What are you small victories from the last week??

SAY ‘EM LOUD AND SAY ‘EM PROUD
(Done yonder in the comments!)

And here are a couple more victories from us this week!

mamavation all star campaign

 Thank you to our awesome sponsors for making this Graduate Campaign possible! New Balance, Billy Blanks, Omron Fitness and Registered Dietitian, Alysa Bajenaru of Inspired RD!

Filed Under: confessional, Featured, healthy living, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Tap, tap, tap – Is this thing on??

November 13, 2012 By 5 Comments

So I gotta tell ya. I’m feeling a bit out of the loop!

It’s me Tina, this week. I’m still enjoying paradise during vacation and because of this I really feel like I’m missing all of you. I’ve been trying to tweet various pictures and such, but seriously, keeping up with the kids and making sure we don’t lose them is really taxing!

As I mentioned last week I brought my Billy Blanks Tae Bo DVD’s with me. I’ve been trying to get up early every morning to get them in. There have been 3 times however, when I was so exhausted from the morning working and the site-seeing that we did the previous day, that I slept in. Those days were hard because it meant doing my workout in the evening. If nothing else I have definitely learned that I am not an evening workout girl. After I eat dinner I am ready to curl up, read, and slowly drift off to sleep.

My hubs has partaken in a couple of my Tae Bo workouts and it’s been great. He was a bit surprised at how intense and fast paced they were.

So, I don’t have a scale pic for this week. Where we are staying I don’t have access to one and short of finding a Wal-mart and weighing myself in the aisle, it wasn’t gonna happen. Especially since the closest Wal-mart is like a 35 minute drive away. Instead I will let you enjoy a few pics from our vaca. :)

The North Shore

Pearl Harbor, aboard the USS Bowfish (submarine)

Hubs & I at Germaine's Luau near Honalulu. AWESOME!

This week, please keep my partner Kimberly in your thoughts and prayers. She is still struggling with new meds and such so the positive vibes would really go a long way.

Now for the video of the week. This is a bit different for me since filming was a bit hard, seeing as we are basically living in less than 900 sq. ft. cottage. Hope you enjoy it!

Thank you to our awesome sponsors for making this Graduate Campaign possible! New Balance, Billy Blanks, Omron Fitness and Registered Dietitian, Alysa Bajenaru of Inspired RD!

Filed Under: confessional, Featured, healthy living, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: , , , , , ,

In conclusion…

October 10, 2012 By 9 Comments

In college I always remember using those two words to wrap up technical papers. I figured it was a fitting way to begin this, my last post as a Mamavation Mom.

This time next week I will be a Mamavation Graduate. Holy Schnikes!!

This has been an unbelievable surreal journey, one I never thought I would take. To say that it has been life changing would be an understatement. The empowerment that I have gained through this journey is amazing. I truly feel #BadAss, actually I’m thinking of legally having that added to my name. ;)

The Mamavation community is spectacular. The amount of unyielding support you all gave to both Rachel and I is staggering. I’m not sure how you all did it, but you always seemed to know exactly when I needed a pick me up tweet. It was always on days when I just didn’t want to get out of bed, or really wanted that snickers bar. I have to say, I almost felt like I was doing this campaign for all of us, not just myself and that’s what kept me going. I can’t thank you all enough.

This being my last post we will of course need to remind you what I looked like just over 6 weeks ago.

tina kelley before

..and after

tina kelley after

Not too shabby right?

Measurements:

  • Chest – 37″ (down 1.5″)
  • Waist – 35.5″ (down 5″)
  • Hips – 39.5″ (down 4″)
  • Left arm – 12″ (no change)
  • Right arm – 12″ (no change)
  • Left thigh – 21″ (down 2.5″)
  • Right thigh – 21.5″ (down 1.5″)

And here is where I’m at on the scale showcasing a loss of 1.8lbs last week.
tina kelley scale

I got a pedicure for this final picture, I was getting tired of looking at my sad ass toes.

Before you watch the video I need to call someone out, Alysa. You don’t hear me mention her in the video and that was purely an oversight on my part. Alysa has been a HUGE factor in the success that I have had. She has changed the way that I look at food. She has also changed the way I think about it. I’m no longer obsessed with counting calories, now I focus on putting the right foods in my mouth. So, on Monday I shall tip my glass to her. ;)

Deep down from the bottom of my heart I thank all of those that were involved in this campaign. I’m still kicking ass hard on this final week and I do it in honor of all of them.
Mamavation
Earth Footwear (@EarthFootwear)
Omron Fitness (@OmronFitness)
New Balance (@NewBalance)
Leah aka @Bookieboo
Mark aka @MrBookieboo
Pete aka @PeteCohen_
Alysa aka @InspiredRD
Shelley aka @Momma_Oz
Shannon aka @ShannonMSander
Mentors: Hanan aka @LilacCityMomma and Wendy aka @WeightsOver

Later gators..

Filed Under: confessional, Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: , , ,

It’s me VS Billy Blanks

October 3, 2012 By 16 Comments

More on that a bit later.

Quite honestly I can’t believe we are already coming to the end of this amazing journey.

In other news, I’m kind of excited to be coming to the end of this journey because it means that I just have a little over a week and then I can partake in some spirits. :)

Anyway, last week was quite eventful. I fell ill and was running a fever with chills. As soon as Leah heard, she gave me the day off from any workout and told me just to rest. YAY! The next day I ended up going to the doc and was diagnosed with a sinus infection. Double YAY! Kidding, of course. My doc was quite surprised when I asked when he thought I could start working out again. He told me I should just rest and take it easy. My reply, “Sorry doc, no can do.” Reluctantly, he told me that since I wasn’t running a fever anymore I could work out the next day. YIPPEE!

I admit, it hurt. Breathing was hard and I wanted to quit, but I made it through.

Saturday, I got up early and trekked to Portland. Why?

Because it was Color Run time! That’s right, I ran a 5K just 2 days after the doc prescribed me meds. I had been looking forward to it and there was no way I was going to miss it. It was an absolute BLAST! I ran it with a couple of good friends and surprising enough, I spent most of the time encouraging them to run and not walk. Talk about a role reversal from the first time I ran a 5K. My hubs spent the whole time pushing me to just run a little farther.

In the end I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. Our time wasn’t super fast which didn’t matter too much. We already have plans to do it again next year, but will recruit many more ladies to go with us.

portland color run

So, now to the meat and potatoes of the post.

I have steadily been losing about 2lbs every week. Last week was no different. The kicker about this week is the fact that I hit a milestone. I officially weigh less now than I did before I got before my husband and I starting trying to have my son, over 9 years ago!

mamavation scale tina kelley

The significance of the number is not lost on me. I’m pretty sure that this was a sign from hell week after I gave it the bird a couple weeks ago. Last week could very well constitute as my hell week for this campaign.

I’m really focusing on hitting it hard these last 2 weeks. I would like make it to a lose of 15lbs. I know it’s possible, I just have to buckle down and DO IT!

Vid time.. don’t miss it or you won’t see a great comparison between me and Billy Blanks. :)

No week is complete without thanking the people and sponsors who are helping bring my goals to fruition!
Mamavation
Earth Footwear (@EarthFootwear)
Omron Fitness (@OmronFitness)
New Balance (@NewBalance)
Leah aka @Bookieboo
Mark aka @MrBookieboo
Pete aka @PeteCohen_
Alysa aka @InspiredRD
Shelley aka @Momma_Oz
Shannon aka @ShannonMSander
Mentors: Hanan aka @LilacCityMomma and Wendy aka @WeightsOver

Filed Under: confessional, Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: , ,

Journey isn’t just a band..

September 27, 2012 By 8 Comments

It’s the theme for my post this week.

In just the past 4 weeks this Mamavation campaign has been an incredible journey. But to be honest with you, I didn’t always see it as such.

In the beginning I was looking at this experience as a way to quickly get my butt in gear and allow me to lose the weight I wanted in a short amount of time. That isn’t the right way to look at it, AT ALL.

I’ve been listening to Pete Cohen of the Weight Loss Guru. Patience is a huge theme throughout his program and I think in order to have patience you have to realize that weight loss is a journey. It’s not something that is going to happen quickly. We’ve probably all heard, “It took you a long time to put that weight on, it’s going to take just as long to take it off.” While this is true it’s hard to accept it. I don’t know about you but I didn’t really notice I was gaining weight until I woke up one day, looked in the mirror and wondered who this person was in front of me that seemingly ate the old me. Sure, I knew deep down that my body was changing, but my life was so consumed with other things that I didn’t have the time to deal with it.

Because of this, it’s taken me a bit longer to accept that it’s going to take a while to get all this extra flab off me.

weight loss mamavation

I’ve lost a total of 7lbs during the campaign and I’ve finally broken into the 160′s on the scale. This has made me ecstatic! I’m seeing my body change shape in the way my clothes fit me which feels amazing. I neglected to post my current measurements last week so I’m doing that this week.

  • Chest – 37″ (down 1.5″)
  • Waist – 37.5″ (down 3″)
  • Hips – 41.5″ (down 2″)
  • Left arm – 12″ (no change)
  • Right arm – 12″ (no change)
  • Left thigh – 22″ (down1.5″)
  • Right thigh – 22.5″ (down 0.5″)

Now to the best part.. the video :)

No week is complete without thanking the people and sponsors who are helping bring my goals to fruition!
Mamavation
Earth Footwear (@EarthFootwear)
Omron Fitness (@OmronFitness)
New Balance (@NewBalance)
Leah aka @Bookieboo
Mark aka @MrBookieboo
Pete aka @PeteCohen_
Alysa aka @InspiredRD
Shelley aka @Momma_Oz
Shannon aka @ShannonMSander
Mentors: Hanan aka @LilacCityMomma and Wendy aka @WeightsOver

Filed Under: confessional, Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: , , ,

Right round baby…

September 19, 2012 By 11 Comments

I survived HELL WEEK!!

That’s right, I made Hell Week my bitch!

Sorry, language. I forget myself sometimes.

So, I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve already gone through the freak out stage last year when I did the Move It and Lose It Challenge, but I’m feeling pretty good. That’s not to say that I don’t crave stuff every once in a while, like soda or ice cream, but it hasn’t been too hard for me to make it past the cravings.

I will tell you that so far my biggest obstacle has been PMS. We can talk about that here right? Sure we can.

I hate the bloated feeling that I have right now. Last night I made the mistake of stepping on the scale just out of curiousity and I almost cried at the number. It made it seem like I hadn’t been working hard at all. Thankfully, after a full nights sleep I’m seeing more clearly and I know that was a pretty dumb thing for me to do. Honestly, I can’t just base the success of this campaign on the number that is on the scale. Healthy living is a journey my friends, a journey with many obstacles and WAY more triumphs.

My triumph for today? This morning during my mile run I didn’t have to coax myself through it. If you don’t know what I’m talking about I encourage you to read THIS POST. Instead I just kept thinking to myself how good I felt and how, although, I was sweating like a pig on a BBQ, I didn’t want to stop. It was awesome!

So, in the last 3 weeks I’ve lost a total of 6lbs.
tina kelley scale weight loss

My goal for next week, to break into the 160′s. I WILL DO IT!

On to my video for the week.. Be sure to watch it ‘cuz I’ve got some important tips on how to get 10,000 steps each day!

No week is complete without thanking the people and sponsors who are helping bring my goals to fruition!
Mamavation
Earth Footwear (@EarthFootwear)
Omron Fitness (@OmronFitness)
New Balance (@NewBalance)
Leah aka @Bookieboo
Mark aka @MrBookieboo
Pete aka @PeteCohen_
Alysa aka @InspiredRD
Shelley aka @Momma_Oz
Shannon aka @ShannonMSander
Mentors: Hanan aka @LilacCityMomma and Wendy aka @WeightsOver

Filed Under: confessional, Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: , , , ,

I see your Hell Week and raise you..

September 12, 2012 By 16 Comments

A middle finger!

That’s pretty much the attitude I have taken about this whole “Hell Week” thing. Sure, in the back of my mind I know that it’s probably coming for me, kind of like the boogeyman in all those scary movies I’ve watched, but it’s not going to stop me.

When we went to Fitcation this year, we got to listen to an amazing speaker, Joshua Medcalf. One of the big takeaways we received from him was to change our beliefs. No, not your religious beliefs, the beliefs that you have in everyday life. If I believe that “Hell Week” is going to drag me down, it will. Instead I’m going to choose to believe that I will overcome it no matter what.

So, that leads me to my scale pic for the week..

tina kelley

dang.. I need a pedicure..

Down 1.4lbs from last week.

At first I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t more, but again, I’m changing my beliefs! Any loss gets me that much closer to my goal.

This last week I’ve started running again. Thanks to New Balance (@NewBalance) I’m now sporting some fancy new running shoes. You can see them in the video below. I’m loving them and realizing again why I love running so much. I’ve written about it before on my own site, but it really comes down to the fact that when I’m running no one needs anything from me. I don’t have to be a mom or wife in those 30-40 minutes that I’m huffing and puffing. It’s glorious!

So anyway, watch my video.. it’s really the best part about this whole post. :)

Is it just me or are my videos getting longer?? I’ll work on that ;)

No week is complete without thanking the people and sponsors who are helping bring my goals to fruition!
Mamavation
Earth Footwear (@EarthFootwear)
Omron Fitness (@OmronFitness)
New Balance (@NewBalance)
Leah aka @Bookieboo
Mark aka @MrBookieboo
Pete aka @PeteCohen_
Alysa aka @InspiredRD
Shelley aka @Momma_Oz
Shannon aka @ShannonMSander
Mentors: Hanan aka @LilacCityMomma and Wendy aka @WeightsOver

Filed Under: confessional, Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: , , ,

It’s a loser’s game, and I’m a loser..

September 5, 2012 By 22 Comments

Of pounds that is!!!

Now, if you remember my scale picture from last week displayed 175.4lbs. That’s 3 pounds baby!

I’m pretty happy with that. Even though it may not seem like a lot it’s still progress.

This week we received our meal plans from Alysa – @InspiredRD which has made me even more optimistic that I will reach my goals. With just a couple days of following the meal plan it’s really hitting home that I don’t have to starve myself to lose weight. It’s all about the foods I’m choosing to put into my body.

The variety of foods that I can eat on Alysa’s plan is awesome and the book we received with it that lists our exchanges for certain foods is going to make creating my own meal plan that much easier.

The kids are back BOTH back in school by the end of this week so I’m looking forward to making it back to the gym in the mornings. The nice thing about that is I’ll be able to sneak in a class here and there to supplement the workouts from Mark – @MrBookieBoo.

Because it’s WAY more fun to listen to and see me than just read my words, here is my weekly video diary. :)

No week is complete without thanking the people and sponsors who are helping bring my goals to fruition!
Mamavation
Earth Footwear (@EarthFootwear)
Omron Fitness (@OmronFitness)
New Balance (@NewBalance)
Leah aka @Bookieboo
Mark aka @MrBookieboo
Alysa aka @InspiredRD
Shelley aka @Momma_Oz
Shannon aka @ShannonMSander
Mentors: Hanan aka @LilacCityMomma and Wendy aka @WeightsOver

Filed Under: confessional, Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: , , ,

Let the losing begin!

August 29, 2012 By 34 Comments

I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am for the opportunity I have been given through Mamavation.

It took a solid day and a half for me to overcome the shock that I felt Monday night when I read my name on that Twitter stream.

The workouts have been great so far and some of the exercises bring back memories of Fitcation, darn tricep push-ups. The great thing so far is the awesome support I’m getting from the Mamavation Team, Mentors, Community, and my fellow Mamavation Mom, Rachel (@rachhabs).

I made a little video about it too.. Like to see it? Here is goes:


And of course, no initial Mamavation post would be complete without the dreaded before and after pics. I would only take pictures of myself half naked for Leah. :)

tina kelley front side view

And the scale..
tina kelley scale

My measurements:

  • Chest – 38.5″
  • Waist – 40.5″
  • Hips – 43.5″
  • Left arm – 12″
  • Right arm – 12″
  • Left thigh – 23.5″
  • Right thigh – 23″

My goal for this Mamavation Campaign is to lose 25lbs. I’d love to be down to 150lbs by then, but ultimately I will be 150lbs in 10 weeks no matter what! My big motivation for this campaign is a family trip to Hawaii in November.

As many moms, or women, can relate, when you are overweight you do not want to walk out on the beach in a swimsuit. Well, I’m basically done with that. I want to walk out on the beach behind our cottage feeling great about myself. And I know that with the help of Mamavation I will get there.

That’s why I definitely have to thank Earth Footwear (@EarthFootwear), Omron Fitness (@OmronFitness), and New Balance (@NewBalance) for sponsoring this campaign. These companies are helping bring my goals to fruition.

Filed Under: confessional, Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms Tagged With: , ,