What? It's been 2 years?!?

...and we start again! 2 years, one deployment, and one baby later and I'm still on my journey. Why do I call it a journey? Because it's constant work, constant movement toward the goal. I am so proud of the work I've done, but I've still got a long way to go. So, here's to getting back in the race!

Reached a MILEstone today!

Tonight I ran a mile! It took me 12 minutes and I was on a treadmill, but hey, it was a mile! I'm really proud of myself.

Edward is home for two weeks of R&R right now, and we're trying to make good food choices. It's been kind of like a vacation, but we're doing pretty good in that area. He is being very supportive of my lifestyle changes, and I'm thankful for him.

I can't wait to post new pictures when I reach the 200 lb mark!

Weigh In

Official weight for the week:

204

Almost there!

Weigh-in

This morning I woke up at 1100, put on the lightest clothes I have (which were short running shorts and a thin t-shirt) and braved the snow to make my official weigh in for this week...and I ran out of gas on the way! Thankfully there is a gas station between me and the gym and I was able to get gas, but not without hearing a lecture on the importance of dressing for the weather and wearing proper shoes from the older man pumping gas beside me. Oh, well. Here's my stats for this week.

Weight: 206
Waist: 39"
BMI: 29.6

I keep thinking how much further I would be right now if I had just kept up my workouts during last semester, but I guess I can't linger on shoulda, coulda, woulda. That might take me all the way back to when I quit playing sports in high school and started gaining weight!

I am so excited about my stats this week. It's been tough balancing my school schedule with workouts and eating schedules, but I think I'm getting into the groove now. With my BMI at 29.6 I am now officially out of the OBESE category and now fall into OVERWEIGHT measurements. That's a pretty exciting step for me, and I know I have more exciting milestones laying just around the corner!

The soldier is coming...

It's only a week a half until Edward comes home for leave! I'm excited. I'm not sure that I'll get below 200 by then, but I'm trying hard.

Just call me Gumby

Today was my first day on the new workout, and it definitely kicked my butt. I barely made it to the sauna afterward! Hopefully my body doesn't hate me tomorrow :)

I started my new semester last week and I'm really looking forward to the classes I signed up for this semester. I'm confident they will be applicable to my future career...whatever it is!

Stuffed Poblano peppers with brown rice

Ingredients:

6 poblano peppers
1 pkg vegetarian breakfast sausage
4 oz shredded Mexican style cheese
4 oz Neufchatel cheese (you can use cream cheese, but it'll change the dietary information)
1 10 oz can of Rotel, drained
Cilantro (you'll use about a 1/4 bushel)
Cumen
Brown rice
1 Roma tomato, diced
Black pepper

Directions:
1. Roast poblanos for about 5 minutes on each side, or until the skin is black and bubbly. Using the broiler is easiest because you can do all of them at the same time. When completely black, remove from heat and place in a plastic bag, set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Brown "sausage" on lightly oiled skillet for a few minutes. Add cilantro, 1/4-1/2 tsp cumen, and Rotel in the last minutes.
3. Remove from heat and dump in a medium bowl. Stir in shredded cheese.
4. Remove blackened outer skin from the peppers. It should lift off easily. Be careful not to remove too much flesh. Cut a slit from the top of the pepper to about an inch from the bottom. Remove seeds, rinse out if necessary, but be careful as the pepper will be tender and easily damaged.
5. Portion off the "sausage" mixture into 6 parts. Using a small spoon (tea spoon or small table spoon) spread half a portion into the bottom of each pepper. Using a butter knife, cut the neufchatel cheese into 6 portions and place on top of "sausage" layer. Spread the rest of each portion on top of the neufchatel cheese. Close the pepper as much as it will go and place inside a 9x12 baking dish.
6. Cook peppers for 15 minutes. While the peppers are cooking, mix cooked rice, diced tomato, and cumen and pepper to taste in a pan. Add a bit of water and cook until heated. Simmer until the peppers are done.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts (for stuffed peppers only)- Calories: 215, Fat: 10.2 g, Cholesterol: 32.5 mg, Sodium: 775.28 mg, Carbohydrates: 16.2 g, Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 3.25 g, Protein: 16.77 g

My personal trainer rocks

I talked to my personal trainer today about a new circuit to maximize my gym time and weight loss. She gave me a list of machines and workouts that I know are going to kick my butt, and she also gave me a few tips on helping to get down cottage cheese (I only see cow boogers when I see cottage cheese!).

Right now I am craving Whataburger. So, for once, it's a blessing that there's not one in this state :)

Miranda who?

So, it's been a while. School, life, whatever other excuse you wanna make up for me :)

But, this is it. My post-holiday weight is 215, and I'm on the final stretch to 200. My goal is to punch 200 lbs in the face by February 16.

I'm Baaaaaack!

So its been a looong time since I posted on here. But in my defense I see that it has been a while since Miranda has logged on also! I am pleased to announce that I am still working hard to get the weight off and I am currently down to 225lbs. The most exciting part is that I am down to a size 16!! I can't wait until I get down to a 14 because I will officially be average. At least according to the average size that women in America wear! A lot has happened to me since the last time I posted. I was promoted at work and moved to a different branch. Now I am at an extremely busy banking center and it keeps me on my toes. Its a very good thing for me, though. At this point I am only 25 lbs away from hitting the 200lb mark. I have set a personal goal to hit that number by the end of this year. At that point I will only have 35 more lbs to get to my final goal of 165. Then I will see if I need to go lower. I hope everyone is doing well. Until next time....

Shalena

Week 12 weigh in

Here's my stats for this week:

212.1

Yeah, not a big loss, and maybe I won't be to 200 by the time we hike Pikes Peak...but I might be there by the time we get down :)

Weigh in

Okay, so I realize I haven't been updating my progress as much as I was in the beginning. I guess you could say that life has gotten in the way of my blogging career. :) Don't worry, though, I am still on track with my plan. I have been doing a great job with eating right and excersizing on a regular basis. When I started this whole journey with Miranda in the blogger's world I weighed in at 260 lbs. I am very happy to announce that this morning I weighed in at 233 lbs! That is just 3 lbs shy of a total loss of 30 lbs since the blog was started! This also brings me to a total loss of 75 lbs since last February. Wow, I can't believe I just threw that number out there for the whole world to see! Gulp!

Week 11 check in

Here's my weigh in results for today:

213.1

I have no idea how I lost weight this week, and definitely no idea how I managed 3 lbs. I was very loose with my food choices this past week, which included Buffalo Wild Wings, Chick-fil-a (twice...once I ordered my old meal!), and half a pot of chocolate fondue! Plus, I was so stressed and lazy that I only went to the gym 2 or 3 times last week! AND it's that time of month for me...thank goodness for the sauna.

My official starting weight for this race was 234.5, which means to date I've lost 21.4 lbs. When Edward left for Afghanistan I was at 246 lbs, a total loss of 32.9 lbs since June 2 :) Not too shabby! I might just make it to 200 lbs by the time Jerry gets here to climb Pikes Peak with me!

Week 10 Check In

We're already at week 10! Here's my stats:

Weight: 216.9

BMI: 31

Waist: 41

Arm: 14

Thigh: 24

Hips: 46

Chest: 47

% fat: 36.1

New pics and updates

This evening my lovely sister called me and chewed me out because I haven't posted any new pics or weight updates in a few weeks. She really made me feel bad! She said I disappointed her! So as all good big sisters do I decided to give her what she wanted. But what do I see when I log in????? No new posts period! Nothing from her in a week or so either! What a hypocrite, huh?? But I will take the high road and I won't make a big deal about it or even say anything to her. Sometimes you need to know how to pick your battles. ;) Anyhow...I have been so swamped with work stuff and kid stuff and sister stuff the last couple of weeks that I have not even taken a look at the blog. The good thing is that I have still continued to lose weight and even dropped another pant size! Below are new pics of me at 240lbs. As of this morning, though, I am at 237lbs. :)

On the road again...

Well, the Houston part of my trip is over. It was really, really good to see everyone, and I had a really good time in New Braunfels with my uncle, aunt and cousins. Now I'm in the Dallas area, staying with Word's parents and seeing people I haven't seen in years :)

Haven't posted any updates in a while, so I thought I'd get something up now.

Weight: 222.4

It's been really good seeing everyone, but I really miss Colorado! I can't wait to get up there and get back into my routine. I never thought I'd see the day when I, Miranda Fairman, enjoyed routine, but I guess it's what makes the time go by faster and makes me feel like I'll see my honey sooner. Plus I really miss the gym :)

Back home

I'm in Houston! It's great to see my family :) When I walked into the house lastnight I couldn't believe how different Shalena looked! Wow.

I forgot to post my weigh in for Wednesday. Officially my weight for this week was:

224.4

But I'm not discouraged, I know it's water weight. One of the lovely monthly benefits of being a woman ;)

Tackling Waterfalls

When I typed the titled I heard "Waterfalls" by TLC in my head :)

This weekend I revisited my current favorite spot in Colorado Springs- Helen Hunt Falls. It's only about 12 minutes away from my house and it's free to go, so I love to drive up there and sit by the falls and read. It is very peaceful- usually- until the summer tourists show up starting in late May. I haven't been up there too much this summer because I've been very busy doing schoolwork (which is almost done!), but I decided to go on Saturday and use hiking to the top as my workout.

When we first moved to Colorado I went on a photography "expedition" through Colorado Springs with the Outdoor Recreation Center on post. The guide took us to a few places in Colorado Springs to take pictures, taught us how to shoot landscapes. When we got to Helen Hunt falls I fell in love, but when we started hiking up to the second waterfall and I could barely breathe halfway up the 1/3 mi hike, I lost my affection and just wanted to get back to a normal elevation- like below sea level...

I haven't tried to go to the top since then because the falls quickly froze after my first trip up there last year, but since it was a beautiful day on Saturday and there were no rainclouds, I took a couple of friends and finally hiked to the second fall. The view from the top was amazing, but honestly not too different from what I saw the first time I went up and didn't make it to the top! But, the exciting part is that I climbed without getting tired, and when I got to the top I wasn't even breathing hard! I know that I'm acclimated to the altitude now, but that's only part of it. I wouldn't have been able to get up so easily a couple of months ago :) Yay!

My Family Readiness Group (FRG is a team of volunteers that assist spouses of deployed soldiers with information regarding their soldiers and act as liasons between spouses and the unit) is joining the Pikes Peak Challenge this fall. It's a fundraising event for traumatic brain injury research and care, and participants hike up to the top of Pikes Peak. I'm really excited because I wanted to hike Pikes Peak this summer anyway, but now I have people that are going to train to do it, too :) It's funny because when they were talking about the event at the FRG meeting they were treating it like "just a 13 mile hike." But, man, that's a 7510 ft elevation gain, and it will take at least 8-10 hours to get from the trailhead to the summit. That's not just any 13 mile hike...

Disney Pics

Here are a few of the many pictures we took while we were on vacation...

Weigh in and measurements

I weighed myself this morning and I was very happy to see that I already lost my vacation weight plus some! I guess most of it must have been water weight. I must have eaten a TON of sodium while eating all that horrible food. I have noticed that since Monday I have been peeing a lot. (I know....TMI) Below are my stats for this week. Miranda so graciously pointed out that I have only posted my stats twice since we started the blog so I couldn't let her show me up this time! You will notice that I am posting all of my measurements as well:

Weight: 247 lbs

Neck: 15 1/2"

Bust: 48"

Waist: 45 3/4"

Hips: 50 1/4"

Thighs: 24 1/2"

Calves: 17"

Arms: 14"

So there you go. Now the whole world can see just how big my thighs actually are!!! I hope that they will get smaller and smaller as time passes on.

Good night!!

Week 5 check in

Here's my stats for this week:

Weight: 223

BMI: 32.00

Waist: 43"

Arm: 14"

Thigh: 26"

Hips: 47"

Chest: 48.5"

Neck: 14.5"

Prom Dress

I fit into my prom dress :) Not such a big deal because I wasn't skinny winny in high school, but still cool! Haven't been able to do that in a while!

Why do vacations have to end???

You may have noticed that I was on a short hiatus last week. Ric, the girls, and I were in the Sunshine State having fun at Disneyworld. It was the first time any of us have ever been and we had a blast! I wanna go back already!! I was so amazed at the technology that Disney uses in all of its attractions. And some of those attractions have been around for many years. The best part of the trip was seeing the actual castle up close and personal. It is amazingly beautiful...especially at night. I think I enjoyed it more than the girls did!

I must make a confession, though. The whole week we were on vacation I did not make the right food choices. I felt like a total failure! The worst part is that when I ate the things I have been craving for the last few months they didn't even taste good! After I would eat anything bad I would feel disappointment and guilt. What good is that?? The good thing is that I drank plenty of water and walked a bunch. The bad thing is that I gained around 5 lbs. When I stepped on the scale last night after we got home I weighed 255 lbs. I weighed 250 lbs the morning that we left. This morning I weighed again and I was back down to 253 lbs, which is a good thing. Tomorrow is our 1 month anniversary of starting this journey and if I happen to weigh in at 250 lbs again that will mean I have lost a total of 10 lbs in one month! I definitely think I will be happy with that! I will try and post some pics later this week. We have been so busy since we have been back and tomorrow is my first day back at work. This weekend we plan on sitting down and sorting through the pictures. There are soooo many! I hope you all had a wonderful week last week and that this week is even better!

Shalena

Check this out

Tonight I stir fried some mixed veggies and at the last minute I added the crunchy kind of chow mein noodles, and when I got a forkfull of broccoli and red bell pepper I realized...

It tasted exactly like the fried veggies that come with the calamari at Red Lobster.

Yum.

Weigh in week 4

Here's my official stats for this week:

Weight: 228.6

After the rain

I took a nap today. It was a dark and rainy day, perfect for napping. I never take naps, but it was nice to get some much needed rest. I get woken up most mornings by Revelry playing over the loudspeakers on post at 0630, and my rest is just shot after that- tossing and turning, trying to ignore the dogs licking and poking me to get up and let them outside. Sometimes I wake up and Heisman is staring at me. As soon as I open my eyes he licks my face and jumps off the bed, running toward the door barking. That's hard to ignore. But, I digress.

After my nap I decided to take a bike ride since it had stopped raining, and I got to experience the post like I never have before. Usually if it's raining I just stay inside or run around doing errands in the car, so I've never taken the time to stop and take in the smells and how it feels outside after the rain. It was amazing. Every smell was enhanced and the color of the sky highlighted textures I've never noticed before...plus it was a ton of fun to ride through the puddles and mud! It's just not a good ride unless you have mud running down your legs and back afterwards :)

One of the things I love about Colorado is how cool it is after rain, especially after the toasty couple of weeks we've been having. I can walk outside without my glasses fogging up, without a swarm of mosquitoes surrounding me, and without my lungs drowning in the humidity! But, don't get too jealous- I was nervous to ride up a certain part of post because of the bears. You don't get that in Texas :)

Strawberry, Pineapple and Blueberry Smoothie

What you need:

1/4 C frozen pineapple

4-5 fresh strawberries

1/4 C fresh blueberries

1 C 1% lowfat milk

Directions:

1. Rinse and stem fresh fruit and place in blender in the following order: Pineapple, blueberries, strawberries.
2. Pour milk over the fruit and blend for about 20 seconds, or until the fruit is completely blended.
3. Enjoy!

Usually when I make smoothies I use all frozen fruits and add 1 pkt of Equal because frozen fruit loses its sweetness. Using some fresh fruit eliminates the need for artificial sweeteners or sugar.

Tostadas de jaiba

I got this recipe from a friend, it's a traditional recipe for HOT days when you just want something light and cool to fill you up! It's cheap, easy, and tastes so good!

What you need:

1/2 lb imitation crab meat

3 regular tomatoes (or 4-5 roma tomatoes)

2 medium white onions

1-2 bunches of cilantro

2 limes

salt

Corn tostadas (Mission sells them in a tall red package by the tortillas)

Hot sauce for topping if you like

Directions:

1. Shred the crab into flakes along the natural lines. It should be pretty easy to shred apart.
2. Dice tomatoes, onions, and cilantro according to your preference. I like to taste everything together and individually so I chop my onions and tomatoes sort of big. My friend's son doen't like onions too much, so she cuts hers small.
3. Mix the crab, onion, tomato, cilantro in a medium bowl, then squeeze lime juice over and stir well.
4. Add salt to taste, spoon onto tostadas and enjoy!

Imitation crab is actually made out of fish, so it has low calories and fat, but the processing of the fish adds sodium. Overall it's a light and healthy meal. I'll post the nutrition fact later. I accidentally threw out the package :)

Well, I got the results from my Personal Wellness Profile appointment at the wellness center, and even though our new official weigh in day is Wednesday, I thought I'd post new pictures along with the results from my profile...

Current measurements:

Weight: 227.6

BMI: 32.7

% fat: 47.9

Fat mass (amount of fat in my body): 104.4 lb

Fat free mass (weight of muscle, bones, skin, tissue, organs and everything but fat): 123.21 lb

Desirable ranges:

Fat %: 17-24%

Fat mass: 25.2-39.01 lbs

To be at the upper end of the desirable range for fat mass, I need to lose 65.39 lbs of fat, which would put my total weight at 162.21 lbs- all else held constant. If I didn't have an ounce of fat on my body I would weigh 123.21 lbs!

According to my profile, which is a compilation of answers to questions that were asked along with my stats, my health age is 22.9 years. This measurement reflects my current health practices and how they affect longevity. If I were to do the test they do on The Biggest Loser to determine the actual age of their bodies, I'm sure it would be much higher. But this is a good indicator that the choices I'm making right now are healthy. If I were to reduce my weight to the desirable range my potential health age is 21.2 years. For this health assessment, their suggestions for good health practices are as follows:

1. Not smoking
2. Regular aerobic exercise
3. Eat breakfast daily
4. Limit snacking (of unhealthy snacks)
5. Maintain a healthy weight
6. Get adequate sleep, 7-8 hrs/night
7. Don't drink or limit to 1-2 drinks in any one day

I'm going to redo the measurements above in 6 weeks, and again in 12 weeks, just to see where I am. If I continue to lose just 2 lbs of fat a week, I will be in the desirable range of body fat within 32 weeks, or by the end of next February! That just happens to be when Edward is coming home for R&R, so that'll be an exciting month for me!!!

My day on the river

On Friday I woke up and went to a clinic for a wellness exam. I'll post the results later, but while I was sitting in the wellness office I decided I wasn't going to waste the weekend sitting around at home or randomly wandering around town because I'm bored. I wanted to do something I've never done, something I was kind of afraid to do. So, I looked up what the Fort Carson Outdoor Recreation Center had going on this weekend and my choices were rafting, horseback riding, or kayaking.

I've been wanting to try kayaking for a while, but I was afraid I wouldn't fit in the kayaks (even though the guy at the rec center told me I would) and I have to admit, I'm kind of afraid of water activities. Water is very powerful, and while I'm not afraid of water as a whole, being at its mercy makes me nervous. So, since the white water rafting and horseback riding trips were full, I decided on kayaking. My day of reckoning had come.

The class started on Friday night, and we picked out kayaks and other gear, then went to the indoor pool on post to practice using the boats. I was so proud of myself for fitting in the kayak (although I barely did. I don't know what that guy at the rec center was thinking, because when I asked I was about 20 lbs heavier. I would have looked like a sausage stuffed in that kayak) and when we got to the pool I lost all excitement because I couldn't get into the thing in the water without help. I hit my head on the instructor's boat a couple of times by falling over when he thought I had it. I felt like an idiot. Thankfully there was only one other student, and he just laughed at me :)

When I finally did get in the boat I did great at paddling, keeping balance, and exiting the boat when I flipped. However, when it came time to flipping back over without exiting the boat, I failed miserably. Oh, I did wonderful when we were practicing, but when I had to be in the middle of the pool, flip myself over and wait for someone to come rescue me by bringing the bow of their boat close enough for me to grab and flip myself back over (called a T rescue, and the move I have to do to flip back over is called the hip snap) I just couldn't do it. I panicked everytime and put my hands wrong on the boat or tried to use both knees to flip over on one side, which doesn't work. I didn't feel comfortable enough to go on the river in the kayak because if I flipped I would have to exit the boat and it would take about 15 minutes to get to the side, get back in the boat, and get back into the flow, and I didn't want to slow the whole team down like that.

So I ended up using an inflatable open top kayak called a duckie. I was very comfortable in it, and it was a lot of fun. In the closed kayak my feet fell asleep and my legs cramped, I got HUGE nasty bruises on the inside of my knees from doing the flips to many times, and my hips were punished everytime I had to get back into the kayak. When I woke up this morning I was so sore from adding new exercises this week and being in the kayak on Friday that I could hardly move. But once my adrenaline started pumping it was easy to forget about my pains and enjoy the ride on the river. We saw deer and squirrels, and I thought I saw a skunk, but it ended up being a tree trunk. All in all it was a great experience, but I'm feeling the punishment to my body everywhere. My ear hurts, my hands hurt, my butt hurts, my hips, my knees, my abs, my arms, my shoulders, my back, head, neck, feet, calves, thighs, pecs, even my elbows.

Maybe I did too much this week...but I had a lot of fun!