Weird weight loss tips that work

I found this article today... I often read weight loss articles but most of them say the same thing I've read a hundred times... just in a different way. Well this article was nice... it had some ideas I hadn't read, and it actually made some sense! I think it has some good advice... so check it out!

Weird Weight-Loss Tips That Work

Matthew wants to workout too!

One big reason I have for wanting to get into shape and be healthy is that I want to teach good eating and exercise habits to my child. And how can I teach these things if I don't do them? Well Matthew sees me workout on a regular basis and here is a quick video Aaron took of him last Saturday... he was eating his breakfast while watching us (Sandie and I) do our workout. Glad to see he is getting into the workout spirit already!

LOLCats

If you haven't heard of LOLCats ... it's just one of those totally random funny sites... a guilty pleasure of mine perhaps? Anyway the site is called I Can Has Cheezburger

Why I love Chalene Johnson

This is Chalene:

She is basically awesome....

also I think I want to be her when I grow up.

Some of you know that about a year and a half ago my sister Sandie and I decided to start working out together to stay motivated (and because up till then we had both been pretty lazy) - and we kicked it off by doing Chalene's ChaLEAN Extreme program. We each lost a considerable amount of weight and it really kick started our weight loss efforts! I had already experienced Chalene's awesomeness from a couple years prior to that when I discovered Turbo Jam, and Sandie too fell for her amazing energy and motivation skills! Starting last January I introduced Sandie to Turbo Jam, and again we remembered why we like doing her workouts! She is adorable, and fun, and she makes us want to keep coming back and doing her workouts over and over again (and we most certainly have). She is personally responsible for probably at least 30 of the 50 pounds I have lost so far. But probably more. I will admit however, We've been doing Turbo Jam for a good 7 months now and are starting to get lazy and enter into that lazy mode where we are kind of halfheartedly doing our workouts and my diet has become pretty weak around the edges. The result? I haven't actually lost any real weight in the last couple months. I haven't really gained either... and I AM healthy... but I am certainly in need of something new to shake things up!

Of course Chalene is on top of it, and just a month ago she came out with her newest program - and, I might add, her most intense - Turbo Fire! I'm really excited to try out this workout. Last week we tried the "HIIT 15" video that was out online as a kind of preview of what the workouts would be like. SO GOOD. It may have been only 15 min, but she works you hard! I can't wait to try the full program - which I fully intend to do. In fact I am going to count on all of YOU to make me keep at it. I think I'm going to take some before pictures and my starting stats and post them up here... and do weekly updates or something like that. So don't let me get lazy! Please hold me accountable!

I read Chalene's blog to keep me motivated, check her out: Chalene Johnson's Blog

If you have any interest in letting Chalene kick your butt as well, 

talk to me and you can try out my workouts!

Inspiration

I've started using an iPhone app called Run Keeper lately that tracks, using the GPS on my phone, the workouts I do. Most of my workouts are walking, but I've also used it to track my running and the hike Sandie and I did a couple weeks ago. If you want to check out my progress/check up on me/keep me motivated you can check out my profile here: Melanie's Runkeeper Profile

I appreciate any and all types of motivation, and recently my (and some of your) cousin Joseph added me as a friend, so to speak, on Run Keeper. And can I just say... WOW. I mean really, WOW. Apparently he is training to complete an olympic triathlon this year. I'm not even sure I totally know what that means, but I know it sounds hard! And way beyond anything I'd ever set out to do! Anyway, any time he completes a workout it posts it up to the site... and I must say that I'm impressed. He is inspiring to me! The more working out I do...walking, running, biking, that sort of thing... the more I actually find myself enjoying it. Hopefully some day I will be fit enough to compete in something like that... actually, my goal is just to be able to do a 5k some day. To actually run a 5k that is.

Check him out, he's awesome: Joseph's Runkeeper Profile

Why you shouldn't run full bore down hill in your work clothes

Every {decent} day at work I take a walk on my lunch break. Yesterday I noticed a little side path I'd never seen before, and decided that today I would try it out. Well it was mostly just a million steps that led into a random neighborhood... but the point is, because I took this new route and kept climbing and climbing those stairs (I had to know where it led!) I ended up taking longer than normal and by the time I got to the top, I was running late for getting back to work on time. I mostly ran down the stairs, and then decided to save some time I could run down the long hill I had walked up to get to the stairs.

So I'm running down the hill, probably looking like an idiot, and I notice a man driving by with his window down slow his car and watch me run by. It was then that it occurred to me that I was in fact not wearing my workout clothes... in fact, I'm wearing a deep v-neck sweater with a tank top underneath... and definitely not wearing my sports bra. Needless to say, I stopped, adjusted myself, and walked the rest of the way back to work.

And in an unrelated note... I saw this lovely gem on my walk back:

What painting skills! And it really gives the van that something 

extra... I'm considering doing this to our van.

Don't forget to vote!!

One more time

I'm going to do a tie breaker...but Dad had a late entry option... which I think MIGHT be my favorite. So I'm adding that one in too. So one more time guys! This time you only get to vote for one name!

I posted this and then I saw that someone changed their vote! Haha, it WAS a 4 way tie, and just for the sake of it I guess the current winner is "My big fat diet blog". But is anyone against one more poll, just for fun?