So it begins...AGAIN!

HA HA! I have to laugh because I must say that there is A LOT of truth about the cycles and rythms that our bodies go through! Just like my end of the quarter goal...I missed it! IT SUCKS!!! I was really upset becuase I was only able to get down one more lbs and so I ended it at 222 lbs. Then I did go into to Kody's for like a week because of work and who knows what I am weighing now!

So I figured that it is time to wipe away those tears and just buck up and pull on my big girl panties and move forward from here! That is what I am doing! It has been a diffucult last few weeks because of the activities that my kids are involved in and then also because of some personal things in my life as well as in the lives of Jenn and Christine! You will have to read their blogs CUZ I AIN'T TELLING!!! :)

So I hit the gym again yesterday and I will do it everyday this week so that I can get back on track! I just had a salad for my breakfast so that I am not tempted to eat some SUGAR!!! And I figure that I have to take the good AND the bad as I make this journey!

Thanks for all of those how have supported us and we look forward to hearing from you!

Michelle 4-8-2009

March Madness

I love those words..."MARCH MADNESS". Not because I follow College basketball or anything but because March seems to be a month that is just filled with the madness that is our lives!

So it has been a little while since I blogged and I apologize for that. I have discovered that blogging is like all other "good" habits a person might have...YOU HAVE TO WORK AT IT! LOL!

Well I am REALLY excited to announce that I have nearly completed my first full session with Shilo. I don't think session is the right word but it basically means that I will have completed 16 full work outs with her. Thursday was supposed to be the day (tomorrow) but I had a little bit of an unexpected distraction today and so I didn't get to go and work out and I wont lie, it mad me REALLY CRANKY!

My workouts with Shilo are beginning to become a fix for me. If I have an appt and I have to miss or reschedule, it really pisses me off. I am sure that sounds funny to you! It sounded to funny to myself when I first thought it, but it is so true.

So I will go and see her tomorrow and then again on Fri AND THEN....(drumroll please)....Shilo will give me full stats as to what I have lost pound, inch, and body fat percentage wise! I know I have not lost a ton of weight (YET!) but I do know that in this last month I have lost a lot of inches overall so I am excited to see the results. I will post them as soon as I get them from her!

So for now, I will sign off and say good night! I have to go and help my son set-up for district history fair in the morning. He took first place here in Neola! AND THEN...I am going to work out with SHILO!!! My torturer as I fondly call her! :)

Talk to you soon!
Michelle 3-11-2009

Bitter Days and Better Days

Ok, so I guess one REALLY important factor that I should share with everyone is that I suffer from I guess what they would call clinical depression. Not very proud to say it. Not very excited to have the world know all of my little secrets and quirks, BUT i guess if we are going to lay it all out there then it is important for people to understand EXACTLY where I am coming from.

So I am not sharing this to get anyone's empathy or sympathy or even to give people ammunition against me (of course that part is inevitable) but I share it because a person's mood is a REALLY big part of why they eat and why they do (or do not) exercise.

I have stated before that I am an emotional eater and I have found that the more depressed I become (thus my current funk) the more I eat and the more I self loath. The more I eat and the more I self loath, ultimately the less I go to the gym and do not exercise.

Now it has been awhile since I had a really bad bout with depression (no, I am not medicated) and I had it hit me REALLY bad about 3 weeks ago. Well I was finding ways of coping with it because I have spent MANY hours with a therapist who has helped me to learn the causes of my depression and how to avoid the pitfalls, when I had a VERY hectic week last week and I did not get into Kody's to work out. When I began to miss my workouts, this is when I found myself spiraling into the nastiness of my depression. It is a pretty crappy place. It involves A LOT of crying, a lot of anger, a lot of food, well you get the picture.

Yesterday I had Jenn send me a text saying basically "Get your A@@ back in there and see Cliff and Kitty!" So I did. The funny thing was as I was walking in the door I began to cry even then because my emotions were just bubbling over and not in a good way. I got myself under control (my biggest fear is looking out of control! HA!) and I walked in and Shilo waved at me. Shilo has taken over training for us because Carl got called back to Provo on a family emergency. I hesitantly waved and smiled back and went and got changed. I had been working that morning which is REALLY hard to do when you feel terrible emotionally and I needed to put my workout clothes on.

After I changed, I went over to Shilo, who was helping another gentleman, and she asks me "you ready for me to kick your butt today?" Shilo is awesome! I smiled and replied "yes" and so she told me to go warm up on the treadmill because she was going to be about 15 minutes with gentleman she was already working with.

I jumped on the treadmill and started running and the more I ran, the better I felt. It was different though because I had been running at home the week before but this just felt different in my mind. Don't ask me why. I can not explain the reasoning behind it, all I know is that FOR ME, I needed to know that someone, besides me, cared!

So the whole reason for this story is let people know that the reason we have started this Healthy Edge is not just for the competition side of things, BUT FOR THE COMPANIONSHIP! We truly are trying to create a community for those who are wanting make a POSITIVE change in their lives. IT WILL NOT BE EASY!!! If I had not had Jenn tell me people missed me, if I had not had Shilo care enough to "kick my butt" :) then I would have more than likely surrendered myself to my depression. It truly takes support to do this. A lifestyle change IS NOT EASY! It takes LOTS of work and you will see success and you WILL SEE FAILURE! I do not say this to be mean but to let people know the reality of the situation. Anyone can do anything for a short period of time, BUT only those who a good support team can make a change on a permanent level. It is those who have had the chance to taste failure that will truly know what it is like to succeed and make a true change in their lives.

I hope this helps you! AND I AM GOING TO WORKOUT AGAIN TODAY! Man, I am so sore from yesterday, GOOD JOB SHILO!

Michelle 2-12-2009

SO COOL!!

Ok, so today I had the funnest thing happen to me today! I was going to pick up my son Garrison from pre school down in town (actually, I never left town from dropping him at at school because I had worked out before hand and was trying to save some "dough" on gas money! It is a 24 mile round trip from house to town and back) Well, school was over for Garrison and I went to the door to get him from his teacher and I was in my nasty, sweaty work out clothes and as I was walking up to the door, I had several people say that they had seen our "Healthy Edge" stuff!!!! I was so excited!

First of all, we have to magazines out with the WAY awesome profiles on each of us, Christine, Jenn, and I. Then we have that great write up on what "The Healthy Edge" is all about! Well we were so excited (Jenn and I) when we walked into Kody's Fitness Center this morning to work out with Carl AND our articles and profiles were posted all over! IT WAS SO COOL!!! THANKS KITTY AND CLIFF!!!

So because of the magazine write up AND the stuff at Kody's I had 3, yes that is correct 3, people ask me about it and how I was doing!!!! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!

Then last week I had a girl on the elliptical machine by me who said she was working out at the gym because she had seen our blogs and decided to come down to the gym and sign up and get fit with us! I AM SO EXCITED!!! I really wasn't sure how people would react to all of this, but I am seriously SO overwhelmed at the positive response we have gotten from everyone. THANKS!!! I love getting your emails and your blog comments, and your letters, and your phone calls! I even got a fax once! THANKS YOU GUYS!!! We hope you keep this up with us for the next year and we will see where this contest will take us!

Michelle 1-12-2009