angela bishop — Mamavation

The A Team wraps up: what we lost and what we gained.

December 8, 2012 By Angela Bishop 1 Comment

It’s been an interesting seven weeks for the both of us for sure. The goal of this campaign is to lose weight and get healthier, but we’ve also gained a lot too. A week or so into the campaign, Andrea and I realized that we weren’t going to come up with showstopping weight losses each week. And we were okay with that.

I will talk about my own personal gains first, and then I’ll get to the losses. One thing I got out of this campaign was a boost of confidence. In the beginning I was having kind of a hard time, and honestly I just wanted to drop out. Instead, I just kind of accepted that I wasn’t going to have the results I had anticipated. I had admitted defeat. A few weeks in I got tired of feeling helpless and I made some changes. I realized that my body now is different from my body in the last campaign I did and what worked for me then obviously wasn’t doing it this time. And it worked, as I watched the pounds fall off so much easier.

So what did I lose?

Still got a ways to go but I'm okay with that

Starting Weight: 212.4
Difference from Last Week: -3.4
Total Weight Lost: 7.2
Percentage of Body Weight Lost to Date: 3.39%

________________________________________________

A wrap-up, another chapter…it all went by so quickly, right? . I never imagined this campaign would take the turns it did. Andrea here, yeah, the pregnant half of this duo. Since my first Mamavation campaign I had gained back and had become less active. This was to be a way to focus more on losing weight. The truth is I needed to focus more on my health and fixate less on the scale. Well, it all worked out when I found out my fatigue and lack of motivation was actually a baby.

Completely planned, or actually something I had wanted for a while finally happened. Baby #3 will be my last and has definitely left a lasting impression on me already. As Angela mentioned, we both gained a lot during the Grad Campaign. I gained a new, growing family member, a new motivation… and some healthy pregnancy weight.

Yes, I am starting to show, but I can be proud of the modest weight gain that I have made over the past 13 weeks.

The best thing is my energy is coming back and this past week my husband started talking about me getting out and walking again. He knows it has been a tough 13 weeks for me. I am so lucky to have his support and patience.

Starting Weight: 208.6 lbs.
Difference from Last Week: -.2 lbs.
Total Weight Lost: 9.6 lbs.
Percentage of Body Weight Lost to Date: 4.6% (I am counting lost, not added )

Thank you to the sponsors for making this all possible! Big thank you to New Balance, Billy Blanks, Omron Fitness and Inspired RD for support and equipment to help us achieve our fitness goals. Also a thank you to the whole Mamavation community and our fellow graduates.

Filed Under: Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms Tagged With: alysa bajenaru RD, andrew kruse, angela bishop, Billy Blanks, exercise, family, fitness, healthy living, lifestyle, longterm, mamavation mom, Mamavation Moms, New Balance, Omron Fitness, vlogs

Embracing the name ‘Mom’

December 1, 2012 By andreakruse 4 Comments

As Mamavation Moms we might all hail from different areas of the country, but we all have one big thing in common, we are all Moms. Some parts of that job description require more or less from us, but we have all been through the fatigue of pregnancy and bleary-eyed nursing stages. I hope in the past 6 weeks you have enjoyed the ride along with us as we openly and honestly shared our frustration, our triumphs and motivation to not give up. Being a Mom is a tough job, but we can’t forget to pencil our own health into the job description.

I, Andrea, had my first ultrasound this past week. It might have been my 3rd, but I am always nervous about them. I am glad to say it was pretty short and uneventful.

Baby #3 - a Tae Bo Natural

My due date was pushed up another week or so and I am rather grateful. Baby #3 will be gracing our family around June 9th, 2013. I did enjoy the little mini Tae Bo workout he/she showed off as the poor technician tried to get all the measurements. There were jabs, hooks and even this little kick. I thought it seemed very appropriate considering I have been using the modified Billy Blanks DVDs during most of this pregnancy.

As for me? Well, being told I am closer to 12 weeks, 4 days was a bright spot for me. It means this ugly morning sickness should pass soon and I might even get back a little energy. Yes, Santa… I have been good this year. Please throw a little extra energy into my stocking! As for food? Again, not the best. I just can’t get hungry and jump immediately to low-blood sugar shakes. I am still trying to carry a small bag of nuts around with me for a little boost. I am trying to make the best decisions I can, but can’t wait to really enjoy my food again.

As this campaign starts to wrap up, I still have a long journey to go… about 6 months left in this pregnancy, in fact. Of course my role of ‘Mom’ will go on long after even that. My journey breastfeeding, another toddler and then the daily balance of 3 kids will last for years. Do you see where this is going? Yes. I will constantly have to keep adjusting and preparing for the chaos parenthood throws at us. But, I will always proudly be a Mamavation Mom and I have the skills, ability and support here to handle whatever comes up.

As for my scale pic?

I was pretty excited to only see a .2 lb gain this week. The scale in the Dr.’s office, of course, is a little different but only showed a 1.1 lb gain from the 13th to the 29th. I was pretty happy with that. My Dr. was very impressed with my gradual/healthy progress.

Starting Weight: 208.6 lbs.
Difference from Last Week: +.2 lbs.
Total Weight Lost: 9.6 lbs.
Percentage of Body Weight Lost to Date: 4.6% (I am counting lost, not added )

5.3 lbs gain in 12 weeks of pregnancy!

____________________________________________

Angela here. I’ve had a pretty good week, and I hope to have some great news for you on Monday night Mamavation TV. After Thanksgiving something just clicked in me and I knew I had to make a few more drastic changes to really see results. Portion control wasn’t working for me. I was always hungry, very hormonal, and lethargic too. So last week I went to the grocery store and I bought a bunch of ‘real’ food. Mostly meat and vegetables, actually. I made dinner every single night, (as well as breakfast and lunch too) even when I was having very specific restaurant cravings. I haven’t bothered controlling my portions, because my body does it for me. And I can happily say I feel more energetic and happy, which is a nice change for the better!

As for the scale, here’s last week’s results. (Find out my new total Monday night!)

Starting Weight: 212.4
Difference from Last Week: -.6
Total Weight Lost: 3.8
Percentage of Body Weight Lost to Date: 1.79%

Filed Under: Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms Tagged With: andrea kruse, angela bishop, Billy Blanks, family, featured, healthy living, InspiredRD, Long Term, Mamavation Moms, New Balance, Omron Fitness, vlog, vlogs

Getting Over The Hump

November 24, 2012 By Angela Bishop 10 Comments

Oh boy has it been an interesting five weeks. I feel like I’ve been climbing an imaginary hill – it’s a big hill – and I’m almost to the top. We’ve got two weeks left as Mamavation Moms but I don’t intend to stop there. With all of the challenges I’ve had to face I feel like I am just finally making some progress. This time of year is always when I gain a lot of weight, but I’ve got a plan in place, I’ve got the tools I need, and I’ve also got a great support system to help me through it.

I hope everyone else had a productive week and a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

Starting Weight: 212.4
Difference from Last Week: -1.6
Total Weight Lost: 3.2
Percentage of Body Weight Lost to Date: 1.51%

_____________________________________

Much like Angela talked about a hill, I feel like a fell into a big swamp of quicksand. The pregnancy fatigue for the first trimester cut down on my productivity for the day since I was up around 8 am and to bed by 8 pm. I felt like any action I took just pulled me down farther into a pit of fatigue. I know it is only temporary, but over the course of the past few weeks I have struggled with self doubt and frustration. It can hit the best of us for various reasons and the hardest part is to remember that forward motion sometimes means accepting the things we can’t change and making the most of what we can. None of us can tackle the world, but we can chip away at big obstacles with persistence and tenacity.

So as I huff and puff and fall asleep mid-day, I can surround myself with positive affirmations and visualize myself being a strong and active pregnant mom. I can also meal plan and prepare for healthy calories and nutrition to nourish my body. I don’t have to give up control of that.

The holidays were quieter than I had expected. The whole house was sick so we opted to stay home and not share germs with Great Grandparents. That ended up being a huge weight off my shoulder. My stress level was down and I could truly be thankful for my family. This was a great chance to really watch what I ate and enjoy the food I prepared, last minute, with my husband. We also played some Xbox Kinect dance games and just enjoyed ourselves.

Overall, the week was better than I expected. I will be happy when the coughing is gone and runny noses are a distant memory. This coming week includes a long overdue ultrasound and baby update – which I am looking forward to! As my energy slowly comes back I have big plans to expand my daily prenatal workout with longer workouts and more Billy Blanks fun.

As for my scale pic, it was a big jump… but after the losses I wasn’t too surprised. I hope to see the fluctuations even out a bit more soon.

Starting Weight: 208.6 lbs.
Difference from Last Week: +5 lbs.
Total Weight Lost: 9.6 lbs.
Percentage of Body Weight Lost to Date: 4.6% (I am counting lost, not added )

Full Body Weight Training On The Go With MizFit

June 10, 2011 By Angela Bishop 7 Comments

Less than an hour after getting off the plane I found myself in a hotel banquet room, getting ready for a total body workout with the wonderful and knowledgable Carla Birnberg, aka MizFit. If you’ve ever spent half a day traveling, you know how tiring it can be. I usually reach for some caffeine when I get checked into my hotel, but this time I got a different kind of pick-me-up. The idea behind the workout was that even while traveling you can still get a great full body workout with minimum equipment. If your hotel doesn’t have a fitness room, no problem. All you need is a little space, and a little resistance. A resistance band is something that will easily tuck into your luggage, but if you don’t have one you can even use a couple of water bottles.

Miz started us out with some cardio to get our muscles warm and our heart-rate elevated. A few options are jumping jacks, skipping rope (with or without the rope), running in place, or running up and down the hotel stairs.

After you’re nice and warm, it’s time to really work those muscles. I wrote down every thing we did so that I could use it in the future. I will be going on “vacation” a week from today, spending two weeks in Florida, with my kids, visiting my parents and siblings and friends too. Since I can’t bring a bunch of workout DVDs and weights with me, this will be a perfect accompaniment to my running schedule. When doing this workout, make sure to rest in between each set for at least 45 seconds. Take a few breaths, grab a quick sip of water and continue on.

@bookieboo demonstrating a perfect crab

MizFit’s Mamavation Travel Work-out

-Warm-up Cardio.
-3 sets of 15 pushups (standard, bent-knee or wall.)
-3 sets of wall sits (or squats) for at least 30 seconds. Try to go a little deeper or longer with each one.
-Lunges from one end of the room to the other. If the room is small, do it twice.
-Seated rowing with resistance band, 2 sets of 10.
-Stretch your back with the cat pose.
-Bicep curls with resistance band or water bottles, 3 sets of 10.
-Stretch your arms.
-Crabs, 3 sets of 10.
-Stretch your triceps.
-Shoulder raises with band or water bottles, 3 sets of 10.
-Stretch your shoulders.

@mizfitonline @bookieboo and @bodhi_bear

And there you have it. A great workout for arms, legs, and back, wherever you are. You may not be able to keep up an intense workout routine while traveling, but at least you can rest at the end of the day knowing you did something good for yourself.

Filed Under: Featured, Longterm, Uncategorized Tagged With: angela bishop, conference, exercise, fitness, mamavation, mamavaton, mizfitonline, motivation, on the go, resistance bands, rubberbanditz, social media, thank you, traveling, vacation, weight loss

Mamavation Final Post: @ninemoremonths

May 21, 2011 By Angela Bishop 5 Comments

Fun with the family.

I can’t believe it. I did it. I survived two Mamavation campaigns. In a row! I was nervous, and unsure of how I would handle it. I maybe thought it would have gotten a little easier, but honestly it didn’t. I will probably struggle for the rest of my life with making time for myself. It won’t be second nature, but it is starting to become a habit, and this is good. I have the tools, I have the support group, and now I have the habits to keep me going strong.

Things that I have noticed about myself that have changed:
-My confidence has skyrocketed.
-I have more energy.
-I am generally in a better mood.
-I am more naturally inclined to make healthy choices.
-I enjoy (rather than dread) spending time outdoors with friends and family.
-I can keep up with my kids!

I am happier, which means my family is happier. Mamavation really has changed my life in a good way.

Before: 201lbs, embarrassed to even show my face.

Bust: 44″
Left Arm: 14 3/4″
Right Arm: 14 1/2″
Waist: 38″
Hips: 44″
Left Thigh: 24″
Right Thigh: 24 1/2″

After:

Bust: 41″
Left Arm: 13 1/2″
Right Arm: 13 1/2″
Waist: 36″
Hips: 41″
Left Thigh: 23 1/2″
Right Thigh: 23 1/2″

Inches Lost: 11.75

Ending weight:

Total weight loss:
26.4 pounds!

SUPER BIG HUGE thank you to our wonderful sponsors! Chefs Requested, Earth Footwear, EAS Active, and of course Orville Redenbacher. Thank you also to our wonderful coaches Pete Cohen, Alysa Bajenaru, RD and Tracey Mallett and last but not least the wonderfully supportive community of Mamavation! I love you all!

Filed Under: Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: alysa bajenaru RD, angela bishop, chefs requested, ConAgra foods, ea sports active, earth footwear, featured, Long Term, Mamavation Moms, pete cohen, Tracey Mallett, vlog

Week 5 and healthy snacks with @ninemoremonths

May 6, 2011 By Angela Bishop 8 Comments

Sweaty and tired but oh so happy.

I can’t believe it is week 5 already! It’s been going by crazy fast, and I’m a little sad that there’s only two more weeks left. On the bright side, in a little over 3 weeks I get to meet and hang out with some of my Mamavation friends! I am really looking forward to getting away from the house, letting loose, working out, and having fun. Other than that, it’s been a good week and I’m pretty proud of myself for a few things.

A few highlights from the week:

-I RAN a 5K! So awesome, so amazing. I can’t believe I had that in me. I have to give credit to Leah for helping me push through.
-Already committed to yet another 5K. I may become addicted.
-I bought a skirt in a size TWELVE! In January I was in an 18. I haven’t been a 12 in at least 7 years.
-Finished our softball season with a winning record for our first season EVER.
-Made it through a super stressful bad day without using my crutch. (Junk Food!)

If you’ve been reading my Daily Food Journals you might notice that I sometimes have problems getting my snacks in. Some healthy snacks are super easy for an on-the-go type of mom, while others take a bit of prep work, and a few are just best eaten at home only. My biggest issue is time, so I tend to reach for snacks that are easy and quick. Before Mamavation, easy and quick snacks usually meant unhealthy snacks. Now that I’ve done a full overhaul of the kitchen, there’s no more junk food to fall back on. And no, I’m not always perfect and I don’t always eat the things I’m supposed to, but I’ve come so incredibly far and all of those little changes have finally started to add up to big things.

Little changes on the scale soon add up to big ones.

Even though I’m not losing a lot of weight each week, I’m still losing weight. As long as the scale is heading in the right direction I really don’t have much to complain about.

BIG thank you to our wonderful sponsors! Chefs Requested, Earth Footwear, EAS Active, and of course Orville Redenbacher. Thank you also to our wonderful coaches Pete Cohen, Alysa Bajenaru, RD and Tracey Mallett and last but not least the wonderfully supportive community of Mamavation!

Filed Under: Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: alysa bajenaru RD, angela bishop, chefs requested, ConAgra foods, diet, ea sports active, earth footwear, featured, Long Term, Mamavation Moms, Orville, pete cohen, Tracey Mallett, vlog, vlogs

Planning is Key. Week 4 with @ninemoremonths

April 29, 2011 By Angela Bishop 10 Comments

I’ve never been a planner. In fact, I’m a very last-minute kind of person. Schedules? No thanks. Calendars? Mine are blank. Meal planning? A foreign concept to me up until a few months ago. Things that I would have never done on my own are things that I now welcome, thanks to Mamavation. Having a workout schedule is incredibly helpful for someone who can barely make time for anything. And the meal plan? It has been my saving grace.

If you are any bit like I was, I fully encourage you to try meal planning. It may seem like a daunting task at first, but it really isn’t as bad as it seems! Start by reading the Food Journals of current and former Mamavation moms on Bookieboo. You can get a good idea of what our meal plans look like, and you can even find some really great meal ideas. Then take inventory of your fridge, freezer and pantry. I try to build my weekly plan around my freezer and pantry, and then I hit the grocery store for the fruits and veggies to fill in the gaps. This is my way of not wasting a lot of food. Lastly, don’t worry if once in a while you can’t stick to what you planned. It’s okay if you make a different dinner than the one you planned for. Things come up, don’t beat yourself up for it!

Ready for a home run!

This coming Wednesday is our last softball game of the season. In fact, for me it will be my last game for a while because I made the decision not to return for the summer season. I will hopefully be given the opportunity to sub if they need someone, but I will not be committing to a full 12 weeks. I have a few reasons for this, and I’m actually not going to go into all of them.

It’s a little bitter sweet. I’ve only been playing for about two years now, but I’ve come such a long way. I started at ground zero, barely able to hit a ball past the pitcher, unable to throw from one end of the infield to the other, one of the slowest runners on the team. Now I can hit into the outfield, throw from pretty much any position, and when I’m running the bases my team calls me “wheels.” The team has evolved as well. Season after season of not winning a game, or maybe winning only one or two. This season we are number one in our division. 8 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie. It’s pretty incredible! And so great to know that I contributed to that.

So this coming Wednesday is the “playoffs.” The top four teams are competing for the title of Champion, and of course a cool T-shirt. I hope that we win, but either way, I’m proud of myself and my team.

This week’s video is hopefully a little more coherent than last week’s video. I am feeling much better thanks to Alysa’s advice! Down a total of 23.2 pounds since January. The weekly losses are getting smaller, but looking at the bigger picture makes me feel great.

Still haven't given myself a pedicure...

Filed Under: Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: alysa bajenaru RD, angela bishop, chefs requested, ConAgra foods, diet, ea sports active, earth footwear, featured, fitness, Long Term, Mamavation Moms, Orville, pete cohen, Tracey Mallett, videos, vlog, vlogs

Week 3 with @ninemoremonths

April 22, 2011 By Angela Bishop 7 Comments

This week has been a struggle in taking care of myself. I am so incredibly thankful to be a part of Mamavation again. Because if it wasn’t for the campaign I would be right back on the back burner again. That back burner is how I got to be overweight, even obese, in the first place.

As moms we instinctively put our families first. When my to-do list seems like it’s miles long, usually the last things on the list are the ones that are for me. Working out, making sure to eat right, showering, putting on something besides pajamas, you get the point. But because I have people watching me, responsibilities, a contract, I can’t just ignore myself. And this is so awesome because it’s the kind of pushing and motivation that I need to succeed.

I am a creature of habit. Most of us are. Even though I have been doing so well my brain still occasionally wants to revert back to the old habits. The bad ones.

I am down 22.8 pounds. I haven’t been this weight in YEARS. Such an amazing feeling. Once again, sorry for the lack of pedicure. I need to give myself a mani pedi stat. Another prime example of putting things on the back burner.

Sorry if I’m not making much sense this week. I think I’m going to let my video do the talking for me.

Where DOES the time go?! Week 2 with @ninemoremonths

April 15, 2011 By Angela Bishop 10 Comments

Gotta do the 5K in style...

This week I’m really dealing with the time management aspect of the campaign and of my life. I have never been a very organized. Shocking, I know.

When I first became a Mamavation Mom I took a leave of absence from my job. Granted, I have a really part time job as it is, but I wanted to remove as many distractions as possible. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, so back to work I go.

Now I know there are and have been plenty of Mamavation Moms who have juggled work, school, cooking, cleaning and fitness. I have the utmost respect and admiration for them. And maybe a little bit of jealousy because I am not that talented.

I am not perfect. I am far from it.
My house is messy.
My clean laundry sits in piles in my bedroom.
My sink hasn’t been completely empty in who knows how long.
And you know what? I don’t care right now.

But when I leave the house, no one is looking at that stuff. They are looking at me. And they are happy for me, excited about my progress and proud of my dedication. And that makes me feel a million times better than being able to see my reflection in the kitchen sink.

Happy dance!!

Sunday morning I weighed in at 180 pounds. 21 pounds down from my application weight in January.

It’s definitely getting harder to lose the weight. I’m not dropping 2, 3 or 6 pounds in a week. Even though I feel like my goal is so close I can almost grab it, I know that it’s going to take a little longer. It’s going to take more dedication, more strength, and more hard work. I am thankful now more than ever to have this campaign pushing me forward because the last time I got this far I ended up back in the 200′s. I am never going there again.

Thank goodness for laptops, I was able to vlog this week from my in-laws’ house.

Filed Under: Featured, Longterm, Mamavation Moms, Videos Tagged With: alysa bajenaru RD, angela bishop, chefs requested, ConAgra foods, ea sports active, earth footwear, featured, fitness, health, Mamavation Moms, Orville, pete cohen, Tracey Mallett, videos, vlog, vlogs, weight loss

Mamavation Husband Interview with @ninemoremonths

March 22, 2011 By Angela Bishop 5 Comments

I wanted to post something that might be helpful to all of the applications for Mamavation Campaign 8. I could give lots of advice and feedback, but I wanted to do something a little different. If you’ve applied, or are thinking of applying, grab your husband and share this little bit of advice that I managed to talk my husband into giving us.

When you first found out that I was going to be a Mamavation Mom, what did that mean to you? It didn’t mean anything to me, because at that point I didn’t really know what Mamavation was about. I thought it was just a group of bloggers trying to lose weight, and I hadn’t quite fully grasped the support side of it yet. When I found out more about it I was happy for you, knowing that getting healthy was something you have wanted to achieve for a long time, but struggled with. I could see that you were excited about and I wanted to see you have success.

You knew that I would have to make a lot of changes during the program. Did you think those changes would affect you that much? I knew that things would be different, but it became more challenging for me than I anticipated. During the program you were more preoccupied with your goals and activities and schedule that you had to keep on a daily basis. After working all day I had to come home and pick up some of the slack so that you could have time to complete everything. I think adding kids to an equation like this makes it a lot harder to fit everything in, but being committed to a relationship, sometimes you have to change your game plan too. Your wife will have her schedule, and that means you (the husband) will have things you need to do too to help her.

Once you saw me start changing for the better, did it have any effects on you at all? I was happy to see the changes, and I definitely wanted to try to make changes for myself as well. The biggest problem with that was that it’s hard for me to find the time and motivation for myself as well when I’m trying to help my wife succeed. I would like to start making some time for myself as well, but during the campaign everything kind of revolves around the mom, which is not a bad thing, but just different than what is normal for us.

What advice would you give to the husbands of the next round of campaign moms? Don’t be discouraged. It will be tough at points, knowing that there’s going to be a lot more asked of you. You may feel like you’re putting a lot more effort in, but you have nothing to show for it yourself. But, moving through the program, you’ll see positive changes in your wife, physically and mentally, which will be beneficial for you and your children. Mamavation isn’t just about making hot moms, it’s unique because it has the family aspect to it, and because of that, every member of the family plays a role. In order for your wife to be successful, you have to be a part of it.

Thank you to my husband for sharing his thoughts with us. Yes, the campaign was frustrating for him and he felt like he didn’t get a lot of time to his self. It puts a lot of strain on a relationship, but it’s short, and once it’s over you will both be thankful that you stuck through it.

Good luck to all of the applicants, you have all already made amazing changes in your lives!

Filed Under: Mamavation Moms, Mamavation Mondays Tagged With: angela bishop, fitness, health, Mamavation Moms, motivation, personal journey