I enlisted some help!

With my weightloss not proving to be as easy as I thought I figured I would enlist some help!!

I did some searching for a personal trainer who was willing to work with me and visualize my goals and not just put me on a generic diet, with a generic workout, and have me working out there forever with no results.

I am happy to say I will start training with Chris from Main Street Fitness in Warren!!
We are alternating between 2 and 3 times a week! I am excited because he is excited to have me reach my goal weight by christmas!! WOOT WOOT!!

This chubby chick wont be so chubby anymore.

I dont want anyone to think I gave up or gave in or anything. I think with more time I would have been able to do this on my own but when you need help its smart to ask for it instead of just getting discouraged, which I have been.

Happy Monday!

MY SASH IS IN!!!

This make the pageant feel a whole lot more realistic. Up until now ive just had paperwork to get settled and am still trying to meet my sponsorship amount. I got a cute little package yesterday and was sooooo excited when I read who it was from.

A Balancing Act

I know other people are able to balance way more things in life but I seem to have a lot going on and am trying to treck through!

I am currently working Monday through Friday 8:30-5

I am in school for nursing and have class Monday & Tuesday from 7-9:30

I am getting my phlebotomy certification and have class 9-4 on Saturdays.

I am obviously trying to get in shape for the pageant and am up at 5am Monday thru Friday and at 6 on Saturday. This causes me to have to be in bed by 10ish. I miss all my shows!

I am buying a house ( just put in an offer yesterday Eek!)

I babysit every other weekend on Saturday nights

I help my husbands Nana clean once a week after I get out of work

I never see my husband :( He is in class on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at night and so when im coming home he is leaving for class.

I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately and just want to pause time for a little bit. I feel like I am not able to fully engage myself in any one of the things I mentioned because I am so worried about what the next thing I have to do is. I think I need to prioritize.

Me
Pageant
School
Work

Sound right?!

I survived the weekend!

Whoa that was tough!

We normally go out for dinner on weekends at least one night and it has always been hard for me to eat healthy. I managed to eat out twice over the weekend and ate healthy meals all within my calorie allowance!

On another good note I am down 1.6 pounds!!!

Not what I was hoping for but honestly ill take it!
It was a tough week for me with school and work and working out. I missed a few days of workouts at the gym because I was in extreme pain after over exerting myself by doing my lower body workout and then taking a "chizeled" class.
Needless to say I was cursing the fact that I have 3 floors....

Losing My Butt!!

Anyone know how to get rid of it?!

This pic is actually a time where it was tolerable! While my husband was deployed ( I should probably explain my life before this lol) I had nothing better to do than workout.I didnt really hit the gym but I walked at least twice a day.When he came home I had dropped from from a size 12-14 to a 6 and weighed 125 lbs.

Needless to say after 2 years and about 30 lbs I am now trying to find a way to get a good lower body workout since walking twice a day is not an option anymore. How do you tone your lower body?!



Awww... This is when he came home and we reunited for the first time in a year. I think it was 2 years ago today.

Dress Searching

I hopped on a website of a local dress shop to check out some dresses and get a feel for styles I like. I look under prom dresses because those are often what is worn for pageants as well and wow have prom dress styles changed in the years since I attended prom!...

When did prom dresses become so......... LITTLE?!

My Headshots Are Done!!

I met with the AMAZING Mandy from Mandy Mayberry Photography. It was such a nice day out and I was so comfortable working with her. We got some really great shots and I had to narrow it down which was so hard to do!

I am down to my final 3 all which are so different. Ill post them as soon as I get home.

I would highly recommend Mandy!!! She will be my go-to photographer from now on!

I can breath a sigh of relief... first check off my long list of to-dos for the pageant!

Well Hello Tuesday Morning Spin Instructor!

Nothing is more motivating than a very pretty spin instructor at 6am!

I laugh because I am normally not the type to push myself too hard but this Tuesday morning class has me sweating my butt off! I told my husband I try and spin faster to get closer to the instructor but my bike wont move :)

Eye candy apparently motivates me.... Heres to hoping hes there Thursday and Saturday mornings too!

A Bad Start To My Monday

Ive never been a happy camper on Monday mornings to begin with and this morning made it even worse.

I woke up before 5 to get to the gym no later than 5:15. Planned my workout and was excited to try kickboxing this morning. I get to the gym only to see people waiting outside the door. The gym normally opens at 5am. I sat around for a few to see if anyone would be there . I used to work the early morning shift at a gym and know what its like to just hit snooze "one more time". No one showed by 5:30. This basically pushes my whole workout schedule back a day so now I will be working out on Sunday.

I started monitoring my calories and am well prepared by cooking enough chicken for my lunches for the week and I brought a blender for my protein shake snacks during the day.

NO EXCUSES!!!

Sponsorship

As a requirement for the pageant we have to obtain sponsors who help alleviate the cost of the pageant. Sponsorship amount is $550 total and anyone who helps me achieve that goal is listed as a sponsor under my profile in the program at the pageant. Sponsorship money helps pay for pageant expenses we well as allows the winner to participate in the Mrs America Pageant at no cost to her!

I plan on heading to local businesses to hopefully raise all my sponsorship money!

To sponsor me click the sponsor me link on the side of my blog!

Any money over my sponsorship amount will be donated to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. A charity where proceeds go to send children of special ops men and women who have given their lives to college. A great cause!

http://www.specialops.org/

Before Pics

WARNING!!!! Before Pics








Ahhh My moment of truth. As my husband took these he warned I wouldn't like them but that they were definitely going to be my motivation. Everyone has a starting point and here is mine. Weighing in at a whopping 155.2 lbs

Setting Up A Plan

Ive struggled so many times to lose the weight but never thought it through or had a solid plan for my workouts or meals. My husband introduced me to "The Body Sculpting Bible For Women" It's a very helpful and informative book. I like that it spells everything out for you. From the food to the workouts. So here is my plan:

2 pounds a week to lose approx 30 pounds before Christmas.

I am not an after work kind of workout girl so I have been getting up at 5AM.....Yes thats right 5AM!!!!!

I purchased a little pink notebook to record what my daily workouts are and also to make sure I have a few meal plans.

There are 3 workouts that I do over 6 days. So day 1 is also day 4.

I have tons of options for food and its really clean eating ( nothing processed)

I will be doing at least 45 min of cardio 6 days a week. I LOVE spinning and plan on taking the class at least twice a week. I get bored just walking on a treadmill so I plan on mixing it up with intervals on a machine 3 days a week and classes the other 3.

Wish me luck!

The Beginning!

So I am sure most of you are probably curious why a chubby chick is looking to turn pageant ready. Here is your answer!

I was once told by an already gorgeous pageant ready woman that I should consider pageants... ME?! Did she not see I was about 30lbs overweight and was far from girly with my hair pulled back, plain clothes and no makeup everyday. I thought long and hard about it and then decided that what did I have to lose?! ( Other than 30lbs )

I chose not to tell anyone and signed myself up for the Mrs Rhode Island America Pageant.

I now hold the title of Mrs Warren and will be competing February 2011 for Mrs Rhode Island.