Sleepless in South Florida

I was up at 6:30 am to take my husband to work. We only have 1 vehicle, so I have to take him to work on the days that I go to boot camp. I HATE getting up early, but I am determined to whatever it takes at this point. My little pumpkin woke up smiling, so that made the morning a little better. When I got home, I answered some emails and chatted with a few people, paid some bills, and fed the baby. I had a pretty laid back morning.

I took a break from the computer in the afternoon…my husband thinks I’m an addict, but I can quit any time I want…I swear. I snuggled up with my daughter and took a much needed nap. It was some nice quite time with the otherwise quite energetic rug rat. She is all over the place now, and she is starting to try and climb…let the stress and worry begin. Who am I kidding, the worry started from the 1st day I found out I was pregnant!

My day started to fall apart from there, I got Amelia ready, and I got myself ready to go pick Eddie up from work and head to boot camp. Sounds pretty simple right…WRONG! I was in the bathroom when the nightmare began. I was trying to get my contacts in. they were stuck to the inside of the lid, and wouldn’t you know it…I dropped the stupid lid. I have still not been able to find my contacts…they must have vanished into thin air. By the time I gave up the search party, Amelia was screaming for a bottle, and I was running 15 min late. I made a bottle and headed out the door. I was happy to be on the road until I looked down at the dash and realized I was on E. I was on the verge of throwing in the towel. I stopped to get gas (10 dollars used to fill my tank. What happened to those days?), and finally made it to Eddie’s work…15 min late. He had a frustrating day dealing with Sallie Mae about his student loans, so he was none too happy to be stranded at work for an additional 15 min. I made it to boot camp. Amazingly, I was only about 5 min late. I rushed to join the class, but I don’t think I pushed myself as hard as I could have because I was still peeved from the chaos of getting there, and I hate working out in my glasses.

Although I was aggravated, I must have still gotten a pretty good workout because I am completely aware of my abs tonight. I wouldn’t say I am sore, but it feels like I had a work out. After boot camp, I was talking to Marilyn (my trainer) because some of you have reached out and have been asking what kind of exercises I do. Marilyn has offered to do a series of short exercise videos with me that I will upload to you tube and post a link were you can download them at no charge. I will keep you updated with the details. It may take a few weeks, but I thought that would be better than trying to explain it in writing.

My meals today consisted of the following:
Breakfast: Peanut butter sandwich on wheat
Lunch: Chicken and Broccoli Fettuccini (Michelina’s lean gourmet) ½ cup 2% cottage cheese, 4 oz pineapple chunks (in pineapple juice) and a cup of sugar free jello
Dinner: 12” tuna sub from subway on Honey Oat bread
I know I did not get enough calories in today because I took a nap, Se La Vi…tomorrow is another day.

Please don’t forget to send me an email (Stacypie3279@aol.com) if you would like to join us for kick ball. Once we have enough people, we will nail down a time and place. All fitness levels are welcome. It is 1 am here, so I am going to hit the sack. Goodnight and sweet dreams!

Where Do I Begin...

I guess at the beginning would be good…Today was my weigh day. I grumbled as I made my way to the bathroom. I peed before I stepped on the scale. Everyone knows that you always weigh on an empty bladder, and never with wet hair. Ever ounce counts! My little sweet scale told me that I weigh 396 pounds. I was shocked. That means I have lost 3 pounds this week and 17 in total. I’m not going to read too much into it though because I have a feeling that she is just buttering me up for the holidays.

My GMA interview aired a little after 8 am today. I was a bit nervous being live, but I made it through. How did I do? We had oatmeal for breakfast and leftovers for lunch. I made a strawberry chicken salad (the ingredients can be found on a previous post). I answered a bunch of emails today, and I made almost 200 new friends on Facebook and Myspace. I feel so blessed to have so much support and encouragement. I read every single comment, and was touched by so many of you. One email in particular was from a 15 year old girl. She also has a blog, and she blogged about me today. I was stunned by her talent and maturity. I hope she is representative of the future of our country.

We are all in this together. We have a tough road ahead of us, but we can do it. We will do it. I have no doubt. For those of you not on a weight loss journey, I am sure you are on some kind of journey. We all meet challenges at some point, but the principals are all the same…Stay Focused, Stay Positive, and Never Give Up.

Grilled chicken and broccoli was on the menu for dinner. It was delish. I like broccoli for a couple of reasons. I like the taste of it steamed, and you can have it in larger portions with little negative impact. I am all about more bang for your buck. I am a mom on a budget after all. I will be going for a walk tonight, but first, the Yankees. We are in game 4 of the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels. The yanks lead by 1 game, but to win they need the best of 7. Speaking of games, I am still taking names for kickball. I really want to get something nailed down, so please let me know if you are interested. I hope there are no extra innings tonight. I didn’t get much sleep last night because Amelia was up with a fever from her shots yesterday, and I was anxious about today. I hope everyone is having a great week. Tomorrow is boot camp, so I will post more soon. Good night for now.

ABC...Easy As 123...

I just realized that I never told you when my segment on Good Morning America is going to run. That was a pretty big oversight on my part. I am really sorry. It will run in the 8 o’clock hour tomorrow, October 20th. I am really looking forward to the interview. In addition to the footage that has already been filmed, I am going live via satellite on the show tomorrow. ABC has also sent me a video camera to film a video diary of my progress that will be aired on a periodic basis. I am sure that I will find out more details about that as time goes on. I had a jam packed day today. Amelia had 2 doctor’s appointments today (she had to get shots again...yuck). She had her regular check up and her first eye exam. She read the eye chart perfectly…lol. I also had an eye exam, and then went to Boot Camp this evening. While I was running up a hill, I twisted my ankle a bit. I shook it off and sat for a while. While my ankle was resting, I did some bicep curls with 12 pound weights. We ran some crazy obstacle course today, and my suspicions were confirmed. Marilyn’s daughter, Sophie is a drill sergeant! She worked out with me today, and when it was time to climb the hill for the second time, she said…and I quote “Let’s try to do it 4 times this time since we did it 3 last times.” My first reaction was to say “Where is the camera? Am I getting punked?” I quickly found out that there was no practical joke involved, and ran my butt up the hill…4 times. It was easy for Sophie; she is 10, and probably weighs about as much as my right leg! I could not disappoint her though (she is a total doll) so I sucked it up and hiked my butt up and down that hill. I am in the midst of cooking diner (Strawberry Chicken Salad), and the Yankees lost tonight. Suffice to say, my husband is in a less than desirable mood. I swear that the world could stop spinning, and it wouldn’t matter as long as the Yankees were winning! I am going to hit the road for tonight, because I have to finish dinner and make my house presentable for ABC for the 2nd time this week. I hope I get an offer for a maid out of this deal…here’s hoping. Have a good evening.

Crisp Fall Air…Spring In My Step!

Thursday was a lot of fun, but it was such a long day. The camera crew was here for 9 hours. From 9 am until 6pm. I was completely wrecked after they left. I am totally dumbfounded as to how families can endure making reality shows. It was like a TV set in my living room. Furniture was rearranged and there was camera equipment everywhere. It was complete chaos! Friday was not much better. I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a train. I think because I stood a lot for the interview, and there was very little time for rest. Amelia slept, well, like a baby. She took 2 naps while the camera guys were here. It was business as usual for her. I guess she is accustomed to the camera, because her dad and I always have the camera in her face like the paparazzi. We did have to run a few errands yesterday, and Eddie had a doctor’s appointment, so while we were out, we took Amelia to the Yankee gift shop at Legends Field for the first time. We have been going there for the past 10 years for birthday and Christmas gifts. Marie is the lady that runs the store, and we have known her since we have been going there. She has seen us go from dating to engaged to married to pregnant. Just our luck, yesterday was her day off…we will try and see her again soon. I woke up feeling much better today, and the weather was perfect! The high was 74 degrees. That is my kind of weather! We went for a walk this evening, and it was 66 degrees. As most of you already know, I am going to participate in The Great West Chase on Oct 31st, so I have tried to kick it up a notch. We walked along Bayshore, and there are light posts about every 50 yards, so my pace was to walk 2 light posts and run 1. By the time it was time to turn around and head back, I had gone .2 miles farther than normal. On the way back to the car, something truly amazing happened. When it came time for me to run, I sprinted. Eddie said that it looked like I was running for my life away from a pack of wild dogs! It was an out of body experience. I felt like my body was inhabited by Carl Lewis! I think I might have been able to take him at that moment. My husband, almost a full 200 pounds lighter than me, had to run to catch up with me! When he finally reached me, he was cheering and clapping. He said that seeing that made him believe that anything is possible. He just kept telling me that I am amazing. Truthfully, I feel amazing. When I put the pedal to the medal and I was running as fast as I could, I felt totally free! I felt like I was out running the fat! I felt unstoppable! The hubs sacrificed half of the Yankee game in order to walk with me (and that’s something because they finally made it to the ALCS), so I am going to go and watch the end of the game with him. I will post more soon. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Good Morning America...

Good morning...well afternoon I guess. I am so sorry that I didn't have a chance to update my blog yesterday. I was busy getting my house clean for the interview. It is going very well by the way. I was so nervous, but I was assured by the camera crew that "the camera loves me"! I had boot camp last night, and we played Marilyn's version of a "game" It was like dodge ball without the throwing. Basically we had to start at a middle point, squat to pick up a ball, and run back to our base and squat to place the ball on the ground. Once all the balls were gone from the middle, we had to run to the other team’s base and steal balls from them. I have a pretty competitive spirit, so I really pushed myself. I got really tired, and I got a stitch in my side. I had a really good workout despite the fact my first instinct was skip boot camp yesterday to get ready for the interview. I shook that thought out of me head, tied up my sneakers, and hit the bricks. It was a little warm yesterday for outdoor activity. I just can’t wait for some cooler weather to come upon us. Winter will be bitter sweet because I will get some relief from the heat, but that means no water aerobics for a few months. I will increase my walking at that point, and I am sure that Marilyn has some big things in store for me now that my blog is going national...again bitter sweet!! I have a few more hours of shooting, so I am going to say goodbye for now. I will post more soon. Please don't forget to email me about your interest in kickball if you haven't already.

A Stay Of Execution...For Now!

Today was a good day. It started with my appointment with my scale. As you know, we haven’t been on the greatest terms lately. I think that she sensed that she was pushing her luck, so she told me I weighed 399 pounds. I lost 1 pound, but after last week, I will take it. Losing a pound is better than gaining a pound any day (unless you are Paris Hilton, that girl needs to eat a sandwich)! I am so happy that I am finally going in the right direction on the scale. I did a 45 min water aerobic routine this evening. They FINALLY got the pool cleaned. I was worried that that pool would be frozen over before I had a chance to get back in it! It was a terrific workout. I swam for a while, did some ab work, leg work, and I worked on my arms using these really cool under water dumb bells. They are light as a feather out of the water, but once you get them under the water, they work like a charm. I have some pretty exciting news. I got a call this morning from ABC Action News - Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts. It seems that since my story was featured in the St. Pete Times, it has been picked up on the news wire. I am doing an interview on Thursday. I’m not sure when the story is going to run, but I will keep you updated. I was completely dumbfounded. I can’t believe that this has become so news worthy. I am a mom and a wife and I am trying to get to a healthy weight for my family. I am so amazed that my little blog has stirred up so much attention. My main motivation for starting a blog was to gain accountability, and, well, I guess there is no turning back now. I am so excited to share my story. I hope that I am able to inspire more people to get fit and healthy. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity, and I appreciate all of you that have already joined me on this journey. I always look forward to your emails and comments. I am still collecting names for kickball, so if you are interested please email me at Stacypie3279@aol.com. I have boot camp tomorrow, so I will be sure to post an update tomorrow evening. I told Marilyn about my interview, and she said that means that we have to bump up the exercise (Note to self…don’t tell Marilyn about any more interviews) I need to give my daughter a bath, so I am going to bid you all a good night.

Fe Fi Fo Fired...I Am So Stinkin' Tired

I reluctantly went to boot camp today. I was searching for an excuse not to go (I had some pretty convincing ones all planned out) because I am so tired, but I received some awesome and encouraging emails today from some of my email subscribers, so I got off my butt and went. I am so glad I did, because I had a terrific work out. I ran a lot today. I do it now just because I can. I am not sure how it looks to everyone else, but it feels amazing to me, and I guess that's all that matters. I did these really cool one-legged squats today where I was on my tip toe on one leg and flat footed on the other leg. The tip toe leg supported 20% of my weight, and the flat foot leg supported the other 80%...That's 320 pounds...I just realized how unbelievable that is. Anyway, it was a great exercise and took so much pressure off of my knees. I also did 100 crunches holding an 8 pound ball for leverage. I feel like I ate a jar of Vick's Vapor Rub after I work out. I feel like I can breathe so much easier, and my recovery time after exercise is getting so much better. The best is yet to come, and it will only get better from here. I would like to take a moment to say hello to all of my new email subscribers and say thank you for joining me on my journey. It really helps me stay focused when I feel like all of you are counting on me. I don't want to let you guys down. Thanks so much for keeping me accountable. I am determined to reach my goals, but I am human and I do get distracted or feel unmotivated sometimes, and I am so glad that I can rely on you guys to keep me on track. Please check out the videos in my video bar. I have some stuff on there of my daughter, Amelia, and a video from a vacation in NY in 2004. It is pretty sad that I needed a video of the Hershey store in Time's Square. I guess I should have realized there was a problem way back then. My weigh day is tomorrow. Please cross your fingers and say a prayer for me. I need to see some results this week...and the scale better take me seriously. If she doesn’t tell me what I want to here, she is going to be sleeping with the fishes! I am going to call it a night for now, but I will give you an update regarding the outcome of my date with the scale tomorrow. I hope everyone is having a good week so far. Nighty Night.