Coach Pound 5: Bridget

Bridget Mann Swan & I met in high school when we were both trying to figure out who we were. She was/is a top notch runner & I was a top notch ice skater. Neither of compete anymore in sports but our friendship is still important. We have been through a LOT together - good moments and bad. Some of the finer include Senior Year High School Spring Break plus vacations to NYC, Cancun, Florida, and Puerto Rico.  

I am so lucky to have Bridget live near me in Chicago. She has always been a motivator of mine to get out and workout or come in and enjoy a good meal and a glass of wine. She is a great example of how to balance many balls - family, job, health & friends. I appreciate her help in showing me how to keep everything moving when it feels like things are going to come crashing down! Thank you Bridget.

10 Pound Mark!!!!

I did it!  I have reached a weight loss of 10 pounds.  Now that is a huge accomplishment but my journey is still continuing.  Truthfully I don’t know where I will end up with weight loss but when I get there I will feel great and ready to maintain.   For now I will celebrate the 10pounds and continue to march forward with more pounds lose. 

Thank you Bridget for getting me to 10pounds.  Woo Hoo!!!!

Tonight I’m off to the Accenture St. Charles Training Center for the week… good news is they have lots of healthy food options.  Bad news is they have lots of unhealthy options.  More bad news is we train ALL day so any work out will have to be in the morning before training starts – oh and the day usually ends at the Q Center Pub.  I need to limit myself to 2 drinks a night!

Then Thursday night I’m off to Dallas for a quick training on Friday and back Saturday.  Since I am technically only down 0.9 from last week Bridget is still my coach.  And I won’t know until next Saturday/Sunday if I lost that full 1 pound.  So I’m asking everyone please send texts, emails, notes of encouragement to help me make the right decisions and get down over that 1 full pound and be on to Coach #6 NEXT WEEK!

Thanks.

Coach Pound 4: Holly M.

Holly Rowland Masters and I have been friends since my sophomore year of College (her freshman year). I don't remember the day we met but I do know she was a huge part of my college experience. Holly & I happened to be sorority sisters but that doesn't give justice to what a great friend she has always been. After college Holly & I both moved to Chicago. Over the years she has moved from Chicago to San Fran to Chicago to Seattle. No matter where she lives we have kept up our friendship. And always given me a fun place to visit! Today Holly is the mother to 2 beautiful and very funny little kiddos - Mikey & Maddy who I want to thank for keeping me active whenever I'm around.

Holly is a great role model for me to follow in this journey. One thing I really admire about Holly is her commitment to buying local produce. She is always cooking up an easy receipt but making it taste like a million bucks. I am thankful she has shared receipts with me and I promise to get in the kitchen more.

Thanks for always being there for me Holly.

Cheating

I’m super excited to let you know I’ve lost another 1.4 pounds!!!  Thanks Lee Ann.  Your morning text messages always gave me a reason to get up and MOVE.

Why I’m cheating (don’t worry it isn’t cheating on my healthy eating)… I’m heading to Seattle Thursday to see my dear friend Holly Rowland Masters for the  weekend.  Holly moved out there earlier this year from Chicago and I’m so excited to go see her and her family.  I’ve asked Holly to be my next coach.. so I’m cheating because I’m not randomly drawing my next coach.  So Lee Ann will coach me through today and then Holly will pick me up tomorrow and whoop my butt into shape when I’m out in Seattle (probably send me to the playground with her active & cute kids). 

I must admit I’m not great about updating the blog but I’ll try to get better.  As long as the weight is going that is what I’m more invested in…..http://helpingkristin.blogspot.com/

THANKS EVERYONE!!!!

A HUGE Accomplishment

So yesterday, day 18 of my journey, was the first day where I felt sore, un-energetic and hungry. I actually got up early and worked out before work (a 30 minute Core Cardio DVD) so that was great but it was during the workout that I felt sore. Then throughout the day I got more and more tired. So after work I ran an errand (the Container Store) prior to cooking a healthy dinner and settling in for a movie. Accomplishment #1 was cooking the Healthy Dinner. I really wanted to order out because I was tired but I knew that wasn't good for me so I decided to do a bison burger & asparagus on the grill. Halfway through the movie I was still on edge a bit so I decided to have a beer. I had 3 Bells Oberon's in the fridge. And I was so proud of myself because I had ONLY 1 last night. It tasted fabulous and it took the edge off. But I had the good sense to say all I needed was one. And I now have 2 to enjoy Saturday as Michigan kicks Notre Dame's butt in football!

I have come along way in this journey.... Cheers to a successful win on my part.

Coach Pound 3: Lee Ann

I met Lee Ann my freshman year of college - her sophomore year. We were both on the Miami Precision (Synchronized) Skating Team. During our years at college we went from acquaintances to best friends. I will never forget many, many hours spent in the Keg Room of King Library (the basement of our school library where there was no key but it felt like a party) talking about life and staring at the hot boys. And then there was all the times traveling the globe for skating (including an unforgettable trip to Rome). Since college Lee Ann and I have grown to become sisters. We inspire each other, make fun of each other, support one another and call bullshit when appropriate. I added her to my list of Coaches because she is always pushing me to be the best I can be.

Over the past two years Lee Ann & I discovered a place like Health Heaven on Earth. It is called Hilton Head Health (check it out: http://www.hhhealth.com/) and there we re-learned a lot of tricks to being healthy. I hope in this coaching session Lee Ann will remind me of those and how simple it can be to live a healthy lifestyle. At H3 I was also introduced to Yoga. I have finally found my inner Yogi in Chicago. I practice at Spring (http://www.springwellnesschicago.com/) and LOVE it. It brings calm to a hectic day but my instructor continuously kicks my butt.

Thanks for always being there for me Lee Ann. I know it won't end at 1 pound.

Pound 3 Coach Announcement (which is actually pound 7 because I've lost 6.2).

We DID it again!  Thanks Natasha… my Pound 2 coach helped me lose 2 pounds.  That loss came out of nowhere – must have been her awesome coaching.

So I had Natasha select a random number (twice) – and both those people have a busy week.  So then I did the Random Number Generator and I selected #17 who was / is Lee Ann Shoker.

So here we go Lee Ann, Pound 3 Coach. 

Coach Pound 2: Natasha

Natasha and I met at Miami University. And I don't quite know what year Natasha and I met but we did meet through our mutual friend Kara. Natasha is always a blast to go out for a drink with (not quite the healthy plan mindset). She is full of energy and life. After college Natasha and I became even closer as we really enjoyed hanging out. She came up to Chicago often and we both experienced NYC for the first time together on a weekend girls trip. We also saw each other in St. Louis for Kara's wedding and a girls trip to South Beach. More recently I have seen Natasha in Cincinnati with her growing family. Honestly Natasha isn't the healthiest person I know but I picked her to be part of this challenge because she is an honest person and she will make me work hard.

Natasha is expecting a little girl this October and has head a tough pregnancy. She met with a dietitian and passed along some GREAT tricks & tips to live by. Thanks Natasha for helping me in this journey.

Holiday Weekend Adventures

Well I was quite nervous going into the holiday weekend.... I didn't know what to expect. Before I talk a little about the weekend. I'll give you the great news. I lost more weight and in fact since I started with my Pound 2 Coach I lost an additional 2 pounds! So great success!!! Thanks Natasha. Stay tuned for the announcement of the Pound 3 Coach.

Going into the weekend I knew I had some plans lined up that were not in alignment with my get healthy plan. So I decided to take it day by day, hour by hour. That started out fantastic. Friday I worked out twice; An hour with my personal trainer doing strength training and an hour walk with a friend (Amy M). Then my Mom came into town and we moved boxes from her car into my place so that was comparable to another 20 minute strength & stair climbing workout. Because my Mom was in town just for the night I wanted to take her to dinner for driving all my things over to Chicago. My Pound 2 Coach told me I could have 2 glasses of wine if I didn't have the bread, appetizers or dessert. I asked my Mom if she minded going to Uncommon Ground (UG). UG is a local restaurant that we go to a lot and so sometimes I get tired of going there. But I choose it because I know they have great tasting and healthy salads. So I ate a very healthy meal and had my 2 glasses of wine. And when my mom enjoyed a glass of wine back at my house watching a Michigan State victory I enjoyed sparkling water in a wine glass. Note - this is my new favorite thing at night.

So Friday was a success. Now Saturday is another story. Saturday I was scheduled to go to a full day concert with my good friend Kristen Kelly. I knew I was going to drink more beer than I should on a healthy eating plan but I'd just consider it a partial cheat day. I thought if I could control the eating then I could forgive the drinking. Well this day got out of control. We were taking a bus to Alpine Valley (the venue about 90 minutes outside Chicago) and the bus broke down on the side of 90W. After an encounter with the Tow Truck, Flames in the engine and Police Officers we were pushed to a side road where we spent about 4 hours awaiting alternative transportation. We missed the majority of the concert (only really arriving for the headliner Pearl Jam) but worse I was quite drunk. To top it off I didn't eat much at all. That was not the intent of the day and I cannot really learn from this experience because how often do you get stuck on the side of the road in the rain for 4 hours with 13 other random strangers, cases of beer and complete Mayhem? What a day!

We got home about 3am on Sunday and my Sunday was a waste of a day. It was not a winner or a loser for my healthy plan because I was in bed all day hung-over. I did have unhealthy brunch plans that I had to cancel on because of my condition – but that really isn’t a good thing. URGH!

Monday was a free day (not healthy wise but with no plans) and I used it to get in a LOT of unpacking of the boxes my Mom brought me and a good run in. Oh and a trip to Whole Foods to buy some healthy groceries for the week. So Monday was a great day. I wasn't tempted to drink after my activities over the weekend either.

This morning the scale said I was down 2 pounds from my last weigh it. As I'm always a little skeptical about water weight I'll re-weight tomorrow for confirmation. And then we will go for Pound 3 Coach.

Moving On.

Well after 3 days I lost another 1.2 pounds. And I weighed myself 2 days in a row to ensure it wasn't a fluke. Great Results from Coach Amy (who I'm sure will enjoy carrying the title of #1 Coach). Thank you Amy!!!!

Here are some highlights:

• I received an amazing and detailed email the first day with great healthy receipts and tips.
• I was held accountable. If I made a plan to workout in the morning - I would get up and do it because I didn't want to tell Amy I didn't.
• I was held accountable. If I was going out to grab dinner & drinks with a friend I would say I'll have 2 drinks and 2 only. I had to report back to Amy so I only had 2.
• I got a lot of texts from Amy encouraging me to make smart choices and to be strong.
• I always knew I could count on Amy if I felt weak. Like last night when our power went out for a couple hours and I really wanted to open a bottle of wine.

As we go down this journey I know it is going to get harder. But I'm ready for the challenge. Amy picked a number which aligned with Natasha Campbell... Coach for Pound 2.