Monday, September 29, 2014

Guest Post - Jessica

Jessica is one of our very favorite people. She was an original member of the (infamous) Pink Team.


She is awesome and a super great workout pal.



We miss her at the gym and are grateful we get to see her every day at work.



(I <heart> this picture! love, Cali)


Hello all!

So, the ladies asked that I do a little guest spot on this, their AWESOME blog. Thing is, never really “blogged” before. So, forgive me in advance if my post isn’t up to the Cupcake Addicts awesome-ness.

To begin, I am extremely familiar with all the torture, struggle, and triumphs that these ladies have blogged. Because I was there with them at the beginning! For the first three months, while it was company-sponsored torture, I was a part of these amazing ladies’ group. And let me tell you, the struggle was as legit as they’ve blogged it up to be. 


Brutal doesn’t even begin to cover it. 


But after three months, I’d felt I’d learned enough to continue the process on my own (and get my hubby on board with me). It was tough leaving my workout buddies but I had high hopes for me and my husband.


A month later, the surprise of the century


I got pregnant!



First thing I thought:
“Woo hoo, free for all! Not only am I not under the tyrannical rule of Mike, but this is the one time in life when you are supposed to gain weight! 


Ice-cream, cookies, nachos, fast food, HERE I COME!!”


Being my first pregnancy, I soon hopped onto my phone and got a pregnancy app that tracks the weeks and gives me little updates on what’s going on.

I immediately found myself annoyed with this new, highly rated app. It had the AUDACITY to tell me, (and I quote!) “Avoid those empty, nutritionless calories and reach for vitamin dense foods”


WHAT!?! Who made this stupid app!?! 


Don’t they know pregnant women have a free pass for nine months in the food department??? 
(minus a few no-no foods, obviously)


Literally, every few days there is a little article to read about how I should “Reach for a banana instead of that donut” or “Try not to save room for that pie and instead fill up before dessert” 


It was Mike in an app. 


In my pocket. 


Guilting me constantly.


After coming to terms with the fact that pregnancy is not a free-for-all, I started really thinking about this idea to avoid the empty calories and eat nutritious, healthy food. I know it sounds like basic, obvious realization, but the thought dawned on me:


Taking care of your body is ALWAYS a good idea.


Really think about that a second, because if it can hit you the way it hit me, then I’ve got my point across. Reaching for a banana is ALWAYS going to be a better idea than that donut, whether you’re 8 years old or 98 years old. Even if that’s the only healthy choice you make that day, you have still done your body a small service in that one small choice.

It’s NEVER too late to start taking small steps to a healthier lifestyle.

It doesn’t have to be a 180-degree lifestyle turn around. It can be as simple as saying “Today, I’ll have a piece of fruit instead of my usual after dinner dessert” or “I’m going to start every day with a small healthy breakfast”

Make a goal today, right now, to do some small thing this week that will make you just a little more healthy than you were last week, whether it’s a food substitution or a little exercise goal (“walk the dog for 15 minutes every day!”). 

Once that has become habit, you can make another! You’ll be surprised how quickly you start to feel better and how easy the small changes can be! 






(We love that she even made her own signature image. That means she has to post a lot!)

This Is Crazy!




I stole this from Chris Powell's Facebook page and I can't get this image out of my head.



Wowzers, right?



This is what Chris says: "Such a powerful image. We are all the same underneath it all! Body fat is just a 'blanket of energy' covering our bones, organs, and muscles. When we eat less energy (food) and move (exercise), the blanket of energy get smaller!!" 


I mean, I have always known that everyone's skeleton basically looks the same, but it's totally eye opening to see this image.


So motivating to continue my journey to make my blanket of energy smaller!


Plateau

(We got this image here).


I have heard about (dreaded) weight loss plateaus...


And I've also heard that there is not really any such thing as a plateau - that it's just all in my head...  


I'm not sure what is true but my body thinks it can take a little break and hang on to its fat reserves!!!   


Well, this is just not going to work for me and my quest to reach my 100 pound goal by my 20th wedding anniversary in February.   I realize I have struggled a little in the nutrition department, and I can always work a little harder in the gym.  But I really want to change it up and get my "Mo-Jo" back and kick my weight loss engine back into gear.   


So...I need your help! I'm asking for anyone that might read this and have any experiences of their own or ideas, to let me know what has worked for them:) 



Friday, September 26, 2014

An Apple A Day

I love Mountain Dew.



Correction, I loved Mountain Dew.



And, not just because I'm not supposed to have it. (Mike has nixed even diet drinks - he's no fun), but I haven't had it in so long that I don't really enjoy it anymore which - like the candy corn in a prior post - makes me a little sad. Only because I found so much enjoyment in it just a few months ago.


I had to drive 6 hours last night after our Thursday night workout at the gym. I was beyond exhausted when I finally reached my destination at 1:30 am. I stopped at 10:30 pm to get gas and - because I was so tired - I bought a diet Mountain Dew, excited to have a (valid) excuse to indulge in a little treat.


And, guess what? It was pretty gross. In fact, I only drank about 1/4 of it.


Anyway, it sounds like I am complaining. I'm not. It's good that my body and tastes have changed, just a little weird that something so delicious doesn't taste good anymore, at all.


Plus, the carbonation does not do good things to my stomach.


I have never had much of a tolerance for caffeine (I blame my parents because they never let me drink it when I was a kid), so when I drank Mountain Dew on the reg, I would usually drink it before noon so I had some chance of sleeping that night. It didn't usually work so I often found myself in the cycle of drinking a Mountain Dew to make it through the day, then taking a sleeping pill so I could sleep at night.


That's not a very healthy or fun way to live and I was always super tired.


Recently, I have been looking to other means to get more energy throughout the day and I am happy to report that I have found that an apple in the morning is working pretty well for me.

(I took this picture on my desk at work. I found an old, beat-up apple in my bag, stole a leaf from Erica's plant and a stem from another apple. I sliced it - not very evenly - with a plastic knife. You work with what you have).


I have always loved apples so this has not been a big adjustment for me.


I wash one as I leave for work, then eat it on the way and I don't usually feel tired throughout the morning - despite my current issues with insomnia.


Plus, and apple a day keeps me out of Mountain Dew Anonymous.


Here are some articles written by people who have found similar results replacing caffeine with an apple:










Thursday, September 25, 2014

Success Is Still Possible - Even Without A Finish Line

This is a guest post from one of our most awesome friends (and fellow trainer Mike victim), Crystal.


We love her!


Hi there!  My name is Crystal and I am one of the amazing ladies who train with the recovering cupcake addict girls.  I wanted to share the experience of my first (and probably last) marathon.  

 I did the Top of Utah Marathon in Sept. 2004 in Logan, Utah with my sister, her sister-in-law and niece.   I weighed about 60 lbs less than I weigh right now (before pregnancy, bad eating habits, knee problems & 2 yrs of prednisone put on the love handles - I will get to that) and by no means was a runner or a skinny girl. However, after training for 5 months, I felt like I was in the best shape of my life. I hadn't lost any lbs, but I lost inches and my stamina improved.  We trained using a walk/run timed combo with Salt Lake Fit.  

If any of you have run the Top of Utah Marathon, you are familiar with mile 22 - where you can look basically down the street and see the finish line, but still have to go 4 miles around to get there.   Believe me, it was really hard to not cut through even with the support of my husband and our dog doing the last 5 miles with me.  My husband even pointed out "Hey look! There is the finish line!" and I saw it with my own eyes and was so tempted to take a shortcut.  I was probably dead last and my sister was about 10 to 15 mins ahead of me.


But, I decided to power through and finish strong.


  I finally turned the corner to the last stretch and was so anxious to be done with this race. I looked toward the end and - to my shock and amazement - saw that the finish line was GONE!!! The marathon organizers had taken it down before I got there.  

Despite extreme exhaustion, I still ran that last little stretch across where the finish line would have been.  My running team and our family were still there waiting for us and I did get my medal before the marathon organizers left with it.   My sister was there waiting too and we hugged and cried from either exhaustion and pain or pure happiness!  I remember she called me a "stinker" for running in the last bit of it across the finish line. I seriously could not have done it without her and she is the one who talked me into doing the training program with her.  It was some great sister time. 

 I finished the marathon in just over 8 hrs, which isn't a great time, but I did it! It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but so glad I had the experience to cross off my bucket list. 

Speaking of knee problems and 2 yrs of prednisone, here is a little about me and I hope my story can show anyone can do this despite health issues and limitations.  I injured my right knee in 2005 tearing my ACL, several ligaments and disclocating my knee in a kick-boxing class.  The orthopedic surgeons messed up not once, not twice, but 3 times & never fixed my ACL. So, I walked around with knee issues for 3 yrs until I found my current orthopedic surgeon who fixed me.  By then, their error had caused bad arthritis and additional damage to both knees from wear and tear.  I continued to have instability & even a few more injuries.  Since 2005 I have had 10 knee surgeries, 3 on my left knee and 7 on my right knee.  I will need early age knee replacements since the damage is already done, but decided I didn't want to ruin my new knees when I finally get them so I needed to make a change in my life and get the weight off.  Our trainer, Mike Andam, has been great to modify workouts to accommodate my old lady knees. 

In 2006, I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called Sarcoidosis.  I was on a steroid drug called prednisone, which causes weight gain.  I gained about 70 to 80 lbs, thus causing more knee problems.  Then I gained another 35 lbs when I was pregnant with my daughter.  The Sarcoidosis has caused a few other health issues over the years, but I have gotten through all of the obstacles.  

Last February when our company started a fitness program with Mike Andam, I was terrified and initially didn't want to do it.  My husband talked me into it and this experience has completely changed my life.  I have done things I never thought I would do again.  I was very athletic growing up but just walking up the stairs at my house or playing with my daughter became difficult.  Although I haven't lost as many lbs as I would like, I have done well. I have lost inches and my bloodwork results did a complete 180 for cholesterol, tryglycerides, liver function and blood sugar.  I have been able to stop taking my pre-diabetes medication as well.   I recently became brave enough to stop wearing my knee braces at workout and so far so good. 
 
I hope my story will help others realize that even if you think you can't do something, it never hurts to try.  I am not going to lie, this is not easy, but it is worth it.  I struggle every day with the emotions and nutrition, but I haven't given up.  I wouldn't be able to this without the support of my husband, my sister, family, friends and these amazing recovering cupcake addict ladies along with Charis and Rae from the rest of our team and our amazing trainer!!!  I am excited to continue our journey together for weeks, months & years to come!!!!  This is a time in my life I will cherish forever with the friends I have made through this training program and some great memories!!!




Monday, September 22, 2014

Pounding the Pavement

I love that I can be outside more since the weather is cooling off.


Because I'm surrounded with this type of beauty:

(Sorry for the pixelated iPhone shot. I didn't have my camera with me)


It was a gorgeous night and I love being outside. 


Exercise is good for the body and being out in nature is so good for the soul.



We live in a beautiful world.



Saturday, September 20, 2014

So Disappointing...

I love Fall and everything that comes with it.


One of my very favorite things about this season is candy corn.



Yep, you heard right.



I love regular candy corn, chocolate candy corn and those delicious little pumpkins.



I was telling this story to Jess, the owner of our gym, and he gave me this look and said, "Really Cali? No one loves candy corn. You're weird."


Um, okay...


So, as the only person on this entire planet who is obsessed with candy corn, I get really excited about Fall.


So far, I have survived this Halloween season (does it bother anyone else that Halloween stuff keeps popping up in the stores earlier and earlier every year? Pretty soon, we'll have the opportunity to start our celebration in June)...anyhoo, so far this year, I have successfully avoided purchasing a bag of candy corn because I am worried that I will scarf down the entire bag in one sitting and be sick for a whole week.


However, the other night, I was in a small local grocery store and saw that they sell candy corn in one of those bulk bins.



Hallelujah!



So, I justified buying one tiny scoop ($.86 worth) so that I can celebrate this wonderful season properly. When I got home, I opened the bag and quickly ate five pieces (2 pumpkins and 3 triangles).


And, guess what?


It tasted absolutely awful.


I was so disappointed. But, the worst part is that I immediately felt sick. Not super sick, but like I had just poured a bunch of straight sugar down my throat. I know that candy corn is pure sugar and corn syrup, but I didn't eat that much.


I was just surprised and a little disappointed that something I look forward to every year no longer tastes good.


It is encouraging though. I've made it almost 7 months with this "new lifestyle" and I'm excited about the changes I'm seeing. It was really hard to get past the constant carb/sugar cycle, but it's good that I don't crave them much anymore.