Get Your Body Back 2009 Challenge: Final Recap

Missed these?

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5

Determined. Inspired. Motivated. Changed. Renewed.

Get My Body Back Update From OSG Sis!

Hello fellow OSG fans! For those of you who have been a fan of Angela’s amazing website for some time, you may remember the segments I did on getting my body back after 2 babies! It has been several months since my last update so here I am with my latest news!

[This was us at the gym in the summer of 2009]

When I first started back at the gym in January, I held very high expectations for what I was going to achieve and when I would achieve it. I was determined to get to the gym 6 days a week and to complete intense workouts at every session. I was successful with this for only a short period of time because this is not realistic for me, my friends! On top of being a full-time mom and caregiver for my two boys, I also work about 25 hours a week (at night when my hubby is home). So, my time at the gym is limited. I have found two mornings a week, (when my oldest son is in pre-school and my baby is in a play group) when I hit the gym to sweat it out! My time is limited to about 1.5 hours so I have learned to make the most of this time! I am still loving every minute of my STRONG class! They also have a newer version out, called Urban Strong that incorporates cardio in between weight tracks. This is, by far, the best one hour workout I have ever had! The sweat drips off of me and I leave feeling renewed, refreshed and accomplished!

There have been set backs on my road to health though. In early September, I fractured my foot quite badly. My sweet little boy jumped on my foot in excitement and I knew right then and there that something was very, very wrong. It was about 7 weeks before I felt confident that I could give my workouts 100% again. For those of you who have had an injury, you know how frustrating it can be to watch all your hard work go down the drain. Time heals all wounds though and I am happy to report that I am back to my old self and enjoying my old routine at the gym again!

On another happy note, I was fortunate enough to purchase an elliptical trainer for my home back in July. I decided on the Octane Q37ce. What a beautiful machine! It is so amazing to have the convenience of a good cardio workout in the comfort of my home! This also helps me to fit in a workout 2-3 other times during the week as getting to the gym is harder for me right now. This way, I can workout when the boys are sleeping! For the other mommies out there who are busy and finding it hard to fit in a workout, I strongly encourage you to look into the benefit of having a piece of equipment in your home. This is especially true for those of you who live in colder climates like myself and outdoor cardio may be very difficult for several months out of the year. Although my elliptical was expensive, I see it as an investment piece. Over the years, gym memberships certainly do add up!

Next on my fitness agenda is to re-learn how to ice skate. I use to skate as a child, but over the years and many moves later, I lost my ability to do so! I see skating as a fun way to be with my kids and to get some exercise at the same time! I am also very eager to try Hot Yoga! There is a studio in my area that offers classes with very flexible time slots. One thing at a time though. I try not to expect too much at one time.

Thanks to my beautiful sister, my world has been opened to so many nutritious alternatives that I may never have tried! I start every morning off now with a Green Monster. My 21 month old son also loves them! I also have drastically reduced the amount of meat we eat and I now replace a few meals a week with lentils, veggie stir-fry’s or meatless dishes. I may never be able to give meat up completely, but I am happy with and grateful for the healthy adjustments I have made and I am much more open minded to try new things now! Thanks Ange – I owe it all to you!!!

I am enjoying my journey and learning that we are all made differently. Some of us will be a size 2 when we leave the hospital and some of us may never get there again, but it is okay either way. I often remind myself of a wonderful piece of inspiration I was once told:

For every time you look at someone else with envy at how beautiful they may be or how perfect their life may seem, just remember there is someone else right behind you, thinking the exact same thing about you!

Cheers to all of you! Keep up the great work and for all of you mommies out there, remember to be proud of your body and grateful for the little miracles it helped you create!

Kristi

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Thanks sis! You are very inspiring have come a long way! I hope that your posts were helpful for others out there who are looking to get on their own journey too.

Any moms out there? How do YOU stay balanced? Or, do you know a mom who stays fit while juggling a busy lifestyle? What are her strategies?

I love Kristi’s discovery that fitness did not have to mean 6 days a week at the gym. I think it is best to do what you can fit in your own lifestyle and you will be more likely to stick with it!

Good afternoon!

Oh my gosh I have been freezing at work all day!! The heat broke over the weekend and it was just fixed this morning, so the building has been an ice cube all morning. The heat is slowly coming out, but we are all here sitting in our coats and gloves on (which makes for slow typing!). I can barely feel my toes- they are frozen!

Since I have been frozen, I have been dreaming of a nice hot soup.

I decided that I am going to make this delicious looking Bean Soup with Kale tonight for dinner!

I found this recipe on All Recipes submitted by USA WEEKEND columnist Jean Carper.

I already have some modifications planned for this recipe:

• I am going to use red lentils instead of the white beans.
• I am also going to use grape tomatoes instead of the plum tomatoes.
• I am also going to add organic carrots and possibly a red pepper to get in some more veggies.

I hope it warms me up!!!

Do you tend to make modifications to recipes when cooking? Or do you tend to stick to the recipe?

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Without further ado, I present to you my sister’s next installment in her Get Your Body Back 2009 Challenge: Week 4!

Missed these?

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Having a baby…..It’s a truly life changing event.  People can share their stories with you and try to explain the many things that you will feel throughout your pregnancy and during motherhood, but until you experience it, you will never fully comprehend it.  It is the most fulfilling and meaningful journey in life, as far as I am concerned.

As I mentioned in one of my previous guest posts, losing baby weight is not always as easy as we want it to be.  This is certainly the case with me after my second child.  You can look at it two ways I have decided.  Embrace the body you have now, or spend forever feeling down about yourself.  I have decided to embrace the body I have now and chose to live a healthy lifestyle.  After all what really matters is that I am being healthy, getting proper exercise and eating right.  Sure, there are always going to be the people who have a baby and wear their “skinny” jeans home from the hospital, but that is not realistic for every body!

Being a mom of two and working two jobs doesn’t always make healthy meals and exercise easy to fit in.  The key to succeeding at this is simple: Plan Ahead!  Making a list at the start of each week as to what you are going to eat makes it far less tempting to order in.  Preparing and making sure that you have all of the required groceries on hand certainly helps too!  I was watching a show a while back (probably Oprah) where the guest came on to talk about preparing meals for the week ahead.  This lady actually prepared her meals for Monday-Friday on Sundays and had them ready to go each day so that when she came home from work, pretty much all that had to be done was heating the food up.  I can’t say that I am that organized, but I sure would love to get there! 

The point is, being healthy is more than fitting into your old jeans or reaching the “perfect” (and sometimes unrealistic) number on the scale.  It is a lifestyle.  It is about improving your life.   It is not something that you can do for a couple of months and then quit and go back to your old ways.  It requires constant upkeep and determination.  I know a lot of people that have new years diets or bathing-suit shopping diets.  The problem with these is that they are often only temporary.  The person usually goes back to their original weight or sometimes even more, a few months down the road.  The reason that people cannot maintain that weight loss is because it is not a lifestyle change.  In order for it to work, it has to be something that you can live with….permanently.  Depriving yourself for weeks at a time will only lead you back to the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting.  I know this because I have been there.

I am really proud of myself now.  I am proud that I am making improvements in my health and that I am setting a good example for my boys.  My three year old always asks me why I go to the gym and what do I do there!  I tell him that mommy goes there to exercise and get stronger so I can be healthy and be more fun to play with.  He tells me all the time that I am so fast and so strong J  lol

Here is the low down on my week of workouts:

Jan. 12:  Rest day

Jan. 13:  Awesome Strong class (55 mins. Of weight training) and 30 minutes at level 7 on the elliptical

Jan. 14:  35 minutes at Level 7 on the elliptical

Jan 15:  Strong class again and 30 minutes at Level 7 on the elliptical

Jan. 16:  40 minutes at Level 7 on the elliptical

Jan. 17:  Urban Stong class (weight training with cardio in between sets..LOVE this!)  with a 10 min. warm up on the elliptical

Jan. 18:  40 min. at Level 7 on the elliptical

I feel great.  I really look forward to my workouts now.  It gives a break from the sometimes hectic real world.  It is a great way to relieve stress and even on my busiest days, I now try to fit in some type of exercise.  Starting next week, it will become more difficult for me to fit in as many workouts because I will be back to working 6-7 days a week, but I have been planning ahead and trying to find ways to squeeze them in.

Stay tuned for my next post 2 weeks from now when I will update you on my progress and include a couple new photos.

Have a great week J!

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Ange back.

Wow Kristi, your posts are so inspiring! What a kick butt week you had for your workouts!!! I am so proud of the progress you have made I loved your comment about planning meals ahead. I really need to do this more. I mentioned in a previous post that I usually don’t plan my meals ahead and I often just throw something together. Well, this can be good for coming up with new recipe ideas, but it doesn’t always work because I realize I should have bought more items from the grocery store if I DO decide to make a certain recipe. I think one of my goals is going to be planning at least a few dinner’s worth of ideas on the weekend, and then plan my grocery shop accordingly!

What cute comment from my nephew! You are instilling such a positive example in your boys. Good for you!!!!

I am looking forward to the picture updates in your next installment!

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Don’t forget to enter the Honest Foods and Neal Brothers contest!! Contest closes on Thursday!

PS- Eric and I finally watched last week’s Office episode last night!! It was hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!! (31 miles!!!!! 31 miles!!!!)

And because I needed a laugh….

I’m in trouble because I’m normal and slightly arrogant. A lot of people don’t like themselves and I happen to be totally in love with myself.

~Mike Tyson

hahahahahaahaha

Morning everyone!

I was still a bit sore this morning so I decided to start my day off with a bit of yoga! I did some stretching and yoga poses this morning. They felt. so. good. I can’t believe that I had been neglecting my flexibility for so long! I am seriously getting hooked.

I went onto the free website called Yoga Today and I did 15 mins. of their video for ‘Skiers and Snowboarders’ for all levels. It felt good to stretch out all my stiff muscles!

Breakfast was delicious this morning:

I chopped up an apple, sprinkled with cinnamon and microwaved for 1 minute. Then I melted a Tbsp. of Almond butter in the microwave (alone) for about 15 seconds. I stirred it up and mixed it into the apples. Then, I sprinkled it with some crunched up Spelt cereal (1/4 cup?) on the apple AB mixture and mixed it up. I poured in some Almond Breeze (maybe a couple tbsps) and stirred. It was like a mini healthy apple crisp!

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Now, for week 3 of Kristi’s ‘Get My Body Back’ Challenge 2009:

Missed these?

Week 1

Week 2

Kristi: Ok, I admit it.  It does get easier.  Working out that is!  I have noticed over the last few weeks that my cardio is slowly improving.  It sure isn’t fun getting back into it after not working out in about 4 years!  The first few times running the track or hitting the elliptical, I thought I was going to D-I-E.  There is no other way to put it.  I was out of breath, sore, and weak.  I growled at the “gym rats” that sped past me J  My body was craving rest and giving up would have been oh-so easy.  But, I didn’t and I won’t.  There is no way I am going through this again! 

The Workouts:

Jan. 5:  Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Burn – Level 1 (20 minutes)

Jan. 6:  Rest Day (This was the day before my son’s 3^rd birthday, so my free time was spent decorating his cake and the house etc. so I chose this day as an off day) 

Jan. 7:  Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Burn – Level 2 (20 minutes)

Jan. 8:  35 minutes on the elliptical, interval training at level 7    

Jan. 9:  35 minutes on the elliptical, interval training at level 7

Jan. 10:  30 minutes of cardio (running and walking the track) followed by my FAVOURITE weight training/cardio class, Urban Strong (55 minutes).  I was completely exhausted after this!

Jan. 11:  30 minutes on the elliptical, interval training at level 7

Jan. 12:  Today is a well deserved rest day!

So, as I told you a couple weeks ago, I bought the Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Burn dvd.  For those of you thinking of buying it, the best place to get it is at Costco.  I saw it there in a box set that also includes a yoga for weight loss dvd and another workout dvd by the other trainer on the Biggest Loser, Bob Harper (all for $19.99).  My 30 Day Burn alone was $14.99. 

As for the dvd itself, I must say it is a decent 20 minute workout.  Jillian keeps you going non-stop for the full 20 minutes.  There are no breaks or rest periods, which I guess is the whole point if you only have 20 minutes to work out.  It has to be tough!  Level one was challenging, but I noticed a big difference when I did Level 2.  I haven’t yet had time to do Level 3, but I am a little scared!

I can see the dvd getting boring very fast, but I am not too surprised because this is usually the case with me and any workout dvd.  I do think that it is a great alternative for the days that I cannot get to the gym because of my work schedule and watching my boys.  I will most likely only be doing this dvd a couple of times a week as I much prefer the variety at my gym.

I am very excited for this week!  Tuesday and Thursday mornings (for the next few months), I have my two boys enrolled in playgroups at the recreation centre where I work out.  This will allow me two mornings a week to get to the gym for some high intensity workouts!  I love working out in the morning!  I always find that if I leave it to the end of the day that I am usually too tired or I make excuses.    

Over the last couple of weeks, I have noticed that my knees are very sore when I choose to run instead of opting for another form of cardio.  This is one of the main reasons that I usually work out on the elliptical.  Does this happen to any of you, or am I just getting old?  J  I find there is minimal pressure on my joints when I use the elliptical, plus this way I can tune in to the tv!

I was curious the other day so I weighed myself.  I should not have!!!  It only made my heart sink a bit.  I don’t know what I was expecting to see.  My weight hasn’t changed at all.  Then, I got to thinking about it all and I came to the realization that the scale is just a number.  It is not a reflection of my muscle mass versus fat or a tally of my progress.  More importantly though, it does not reflect how I have felt the last couple of weeks.  No matter what the scale says, I don’t know if I would ever be satisfied.  What I do know is that I feel healthier, and I am seeing changes in my body.  I know I am gaining muscle and that my body is toning and therefore, improving.  So, if I never lose the last 5 lbs., but I feel better and I am seeing improvements then who cares, right?!

I plan to track my measurements from this point forward so that I can see progress that way J

Have a fabulous week!  Thanks for staying tuned to my weekly updates and for your heartfelt comments!

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Thanks Kristi!! Wow your progress has just been amazing! You are doing so well with planning ahead and scheduling your workouts. Thanks for the tip about purchasing the 30-Day Shred DVD pack at Costco! I never would have thought to look there. I agree with you about the DVD having the potential to get boring. While it is a great DVD, there isn’t much variation aside from the 3 levels. I think what I am going to do is vary the levels each week to try and mix it up a bit more. I too am scared for level 3! lol. I might get the courage to do that this week.  

And obviously, I agree with what you said about the scale! I think especially when you are weight training and doing such intense sessions, that it is best to avoid the scale. I think if I would get on the scale now, I would find myself to have gained weight since my marathon and strength training started in the fall. I think it will be good if you avoid it for now and just focus on how you are feeling. Like you said- you feel healthier and are seeing changes in your body. That’s all that matters! Keep up the great work!

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The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.

~Jim Rohn

Morning everyone!

I have been running around this morning trying to get ready for my team day. We are going over to the ‘boss‘s house for our team meeting.

I am a bit nervous about it, but I hope that it goes well. I tend to have lots of anxiety, especially about these types of situations so it can make it more difficult than it should be. Once it is over though, I always find myself saying ‘that wasn’t so bad’ so I need to keep that in mind!

We each were asked to prepare a list of all of our accomplishments this past year, our personal highlight, and what we hope to accomplish in the new year. Is it just me, or is that in itself stressful to think about? Agh. I have about 2.5 pages typed- my boss told me not to leave a thing out so I didn’t. Good grief. We are supposed to finish wrapping up today by 3pm so let’s hope that is correct and I get home early today!

Once I get through today, it is smooth sailing. I booked off Tuesday and Wednesday off work because I have lots of appointments to go to, as well as more organizing to finish at home that I didn’t have time for over Christmas week. Then it will be a short 2 day work week until the weekend! Not bad.

My workout this morning was a wonderful 2 mile Army Fitness Test, followed by a 1 mile easy run.

The stats:

• 0.10 mile walking warm up, 4.0 mph, 3% incline
• 2 mile Army Fitness test (9.0 mph, incline 0%, except for 2-10 sec bouts at 6.0 mph to rest)
• Max heart rate: 176 bpm (90% of max)
• Avg heart rate: 166 bpm (85% of max)
• Total duration: 13:46 (beat Army Fitness test #2 by 25 seconds!!!!)
• Feel the burn: 134 kcals

Then I ran 1 mile as a cool down:

• 1 mile run, 6.0 mph, incline 3%
• Feel the burn: 83 kcals
• Total cals burned: 217

 It felt great to beat my last test by 25 seconds!

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As promised, here is my sister Kristi’s second entry in the ‘Get Your Body Back 2009′ Challenge! [If you missed her first entry, you can see it here]

 My first week of “getting my body back” is off to a great start! My game plan is to keep it real so I don’t burn out too quickly or toss in the towel because I am expecting too much, too soon.

My week of Workouts:

January 1: I hit the gym for a 30 min. cardio session. I switched it up between running and walking for ultra fat-burning results. I also did ab work at the end.

January 2: I took this day off. (I know, I know, a day off already??!!) I wanted to use this day for Jillian’s 30 Day Burn, but I simply ran out of time. We were out the entire day with the kids and that evening I had a one hour massage and there was no way I was going to work out after that!)

January 3: I had an AWESOME workout!!! I did a 55 minute class at my gym called Urban Strong. It consists of weight training every major muscle group in your body with cardio in between sets. There is no breaks in this class! I sweated up a storm! 

January 4: Another 30 minutes of cardio! I did the elliptical this time to change it up. I am hopefully picking up an Ipod today which I am really excited about! I currently use a disc-man at the gym and the cds I have are so boring. Hopefully downloading a ton of new tunes will keep me pumping through the tough workouts!

I should tell you a bit about what I ate this week too! I don’t restrict or eliminate any foods from my diet. I have done this in the past and it is always short lived. I love all types of food and I find that eating in moderation is a better game plan for me. My meals this week included: steak, fajitas, chicken salad, tuna, pasta , pizza and wings…(yum yum!) and some desserts. I tried to include lots of fruits and veggies and to keep my night time snacks healthy!

I am the type of person who bores very easily during workouts. It is very important that I change it up often and find new ways to keep it entertaining. I have a short attention span for most things in life, especially working out! This is why I chose to workout at a gym versus at home. I love being able to attend different classes and to have endless pieces of equipment to chose from. My facility also has a pool, running track and skating rink which I plan on incorporating into my workouts.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of days when I think working out at home would be so convenient, especially because I could fit in my workout when my kids are sleeping. However, I know myself well and I think boredom would set in relatively quickly and I would be less successful if I opted for this route. That works for a lot of people, but it’s not for the easily distracted type, like myself. 

I am not going to lie. I am not the type of person who loves to workout. There are about a million other things I’d rather do first. I must admit though, I do feel a sense of accomplishment after a workout. I feel proud of myself and I often think that wasn’t so bad! The only thing that seems to be missing is a work-out buddy. I really wish I had a good friend or family member to join me on this journey. I am a real people person and enjoying these workouts with someone else would make it that much more enjoyable for me. There are a couple of people I plan to attack in the next few weeks to join me!

I plan to do Jillian’s 30 Day Burn on Monday and Tuesday this week. These are the nights I am working and will not be able to make it to the gym. I briefly watched Level 1 and it looks like a very intense, kick your butt 20 minutes. I think this will be a great way to fit in a workout on the days that I working out at home.

If you can believe it, I can already feel a change in my body. I can feel my muscles changing, growing and recovering from my workouts. I am shocking my body back into to shape. This is a journey that I plan to stick with.

Thank you all for the feedback and comments on my first post. Angela is much an inspiration to me. Her website is so encouraging and real. There is no fluff, or hiding who she is. What you see is what you get. Like she said, there are good days and bad days, ups and down. We all go through it. 

Have a great week! Stay tuned for my next post a week from today.

Thanks Kristi! You are doing awesome! I totally agree with you that it is important not to overwhelm yourself and to expect too much from the get go.
If anyone has any questions to ask Kristi, leave a comment, and she can try to answer them in next Monday’s entry!

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See you this afternoon for FAQ’s! Have a great day!

HAPPY 2009 everyone!!!

I must say, our night last night was probably one of the most low-key night’s Eric and I have had yet!

We missed the ball drop!!! LOL.

We were watching a movie at home, and all of a sudden I was like….’ITS 12!!!!!!’ We put on the TV to see everyone in New York celebrating their hearts out.

Ah well. We had a late smootch anyways.

Here is a picture of Benny and I celebrating:

I was up late last night working on my new page. Please visit this page to learn about my pledge goal for the charity I am running my half marathon for!

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So as I promised, today will be the first post of my sister as she tries to get her body back after having 2 kids! This will be a weekly feature on the blog from now on.

Here is my sister’s first entry:

Motivation, motive, need (the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior).

The definition forgets to inform us that acquiring motivation may be one of the hardest things to do.

Sometimes, we can find a short wind of motivation, perhaps for a few days. Other times we may succeed in keeping our motivation alive. It all depends on what is driving us to keep going, persisting to achieve.

Let me tell you all a bit about myself.

My name is Kristi (sister of Oh She Glows creator, Angela). I am a 29 year old mother of two wonderful, active, curious and loving little boys. Being a mother is the most rewarding and fulfilling “job” I could ever imagine. Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to have children and to stay at home and raise them. Little did I know back then that my dream to stay at home with my kids would at times be challenging, draining and tiring. Finding the time to work out can be tough and at the bottom of my list of things to do.

Before kids, I found it very easy to stay in shape

During my first pregnancy, I gained about 45-50 lbs. It was hard to see the scale increasing each week, but I was able to look past the numbers and realize that my body was growing a miracle and it would require my body to build a safe and happy home for my baby to grow in. Some people gain as little as 20 lbs., other as much as 80 lbs. The way I looked at it was, eat healthy and when you are hungry. Indulge a little, enjoy your experience and let your body take care of the rest.

Throughout the first pregnancy I did swim for about 30 mins., 2-3 times a week. Mostly because I heard it would help with the delivery (I don’t think it did since I was in there for 17 hours and I was induced!) and also because I loved feeling weightless in the water.

Luckily after the birth of my first son, my weight pretty much took care of itself. I did not diet or exercise after I had my baby. Within 3 months of delivering him, I was at my original weight and back into all of my old clothes. My body pretty much returned to its original pre-pregnancy state.

Me several months after my first son was born

Then came the good news of my second pregnancy! My first boy, was about 16 months old when I got pregnant with my second. Because I had been before this all before, I was again not worried about the number on the scale. With my second pregnancy I gained the same amount within a couple of pounds. I had heard that losing the weight the second time around would be much harder. It worried me a bit, but to be honest with you, I didn’t give it a whole lot of thought.

The difference with my second pregnancy was that I did not swim, walk or do any form of low-impact exercise. I found it much harder the second time around to exercise because I was busy chasing around my son and my husband worked extremely long hours which prevented me from having any “me” time at the end of each day.

About 8 months pregnant with my second son

Excuses? Perhaps a bit. I certainly could have incorporated a daily walk with him in the stroller each day. But I didn’t.

So, at the end of the day what we all have left is an end result. Mine was about 30-35 lbs. of post delivery baby weight to take off.

My second son, is now 10 months old and I have made it to the gym about a dozen times since his birth. My intensions are so good, but my drive, motivation and output is not so good. I have about 5-6 lbs. of left over weight to lose. Many of you may think, no big-deal or that shouldn’t be hard to lose! For me, it is not the number on the scale, but the shape of my body. I am now left with a round, stretched belly that is a sore spot for my self-esteem. I feel uncomfortable in a lot of clothes because I do not like the way shirts are now so clingy and short on me.

A picture of me this summer camping

My goal with this baby-body challenge is to tighten, tone and increase my stamina to give myself more energy each day to care for my family. My goal is to find a way to transform into a healthy lifestyle that I can stay motivated to maintain.

The Plan:

My plan throughout all of this is to make the time to exercise 3-4 times a week. For me, that is a very realistic goal. Because I am working a couple of part-time jobs now in the evenings, it limits me to how much time I have without my kids, to hit the gym.

So, I will hit the gym 3-4 times a week and I will most likely incorporate cardio and weights into each session. I will be planning ahead at the start of each week as to which classes I will be attending and what type of cardio and duration I will be striving for. Along with this, I will be planning healthy, balanced meals with room to enjoy a little too!

I also just purchased Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Burn which I will do on the days that I am crunched for time or cannot make it to the gym. I haven’t tried it yet, but I have heard phenomenal things about it and I am so excited to try it out!

Please stay tuned for my weekly updates!

Have a wonderful week and Happy New Year!!!

Thank you so much to Angela for allowing me to be a part of this amazing and inspirational website! xo

~Are any of you struggling to lose post-baby weight? How do you find the time and energy to get back into shape?

 

Ange here:

Thanks sis!!

I have said it before, and I will say it again. My sister is perfect in my eyes.

Although I can relate to the feeling of wanting to make a positive change in your life.

I told Kristi, even if you never lose the extra weight that you want to, if you are making exercise and healthy eating a regular part of your life, you will be much happier as a result.

It’s not about the numbers, but about how we feel.

When my sister and I were going to the gym over Christmas I was happy for her because not only was she taking the time for herself, but she was happy and proud after a good workout.

We should all have this opportunity in our lives.

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See you later for more Jan 1st fun!!

I am off to hit the treadmill shortly.