Been Stuck In A Rut!

I know I haven't posted in a while, sorry for my lack of focus and today's post wont be about weight lose. Recently I been stuck in a rut of lives unexpected twists and turns and of course the evil and negative thoughts that come with it. Apart from from my self esteem issues I always take anything and everything that does not happen according to plan as a negative or sign of something bad to come. So then the endless dark voices in my head run wild and free. Me and my husband (future husband) had my engagement ring in layaway and almost paid off. We have been struggling and working hard to come up in this twisted world.

Recently we was presented with an opportunity to get a car from a friend of his dad's and he said we could just make payments each month. That was an answer to our prayers. We really need a good car and he said nothing was wrong with it but it sat for 2 years because he had another car. We looked at the car and feel in love with it. It is a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse and looked great. So we got the car and took it to a friends to get it looked at to make sure everything was good and get it inspected.

We was soon be crushed with a huge debt. Car repairs of 2100.00, because after a thorough inspection the timing belt and bunch of other stuff needed fixed and it failed inspection 2 times. Wow could things get any worse for us? Why is it when you work hard it seems life treats harsher and harsher. We are good people only trying to make our dreams come true and build our family. Well I ended up having to make a decision I didn't want to make but I had to think about us and what was most important. I gave up my ring.......

Yup, I canceled the layaway to get the money we paid on it to pay for this car. So of course when that happened my mind was swimming with negatives and little evil voices telling me this and that and the positive voice fighting back. Which one do I believe? and is my intuition clouded by my fears and insecurities? So obviously I started getting bad feelings about my relationship and thinking and fearing the worst. Then my dumb but did something stupid to even further my fears.

I was bored and feeling like I am going crazy because the thought of loosing my best friend and the love of my life to another women or what ever circumstance was just to painful to think about. So I decided to get psychic advice and found a free chat room. This psychic was pulling cards for people in the room. At that time she was doing cards for love. I waiting patiently for my turn and when she pulled my card she said "red flags, red flags be cautious. When I asked if my fears could be giving me the red flags she just said to "well....just be careful" After that I broke down and thought oh no my worst fear is going to come true because earlier that day I prayed to God and asked him to give me a sign.

I called my mom who just was recently brought back into my life (I was adopted and that's another story) to confide in her. My mother who raised me passed away 2 years ago and last year my sister found me, so it feels really good to have a mother to go to when feeling down. She told me not to listen that psychic and to let all my fears from the bad experiences in my past, GO. She said that this is what driving is driving this fear and don't play into it or it will destroy me and everything I want. She believes that the ring was a way for us to save money for this moment right now and that, that particular ring was not meant for me. Which is odd because the ring my husband wanted to buy (he wants to design the ring himself with the diamond cut the way he wants) was not in our price range so we went with a bit cheaper one that wasn't complicated to get like the other one he intended to buy me. Maybe she is right....should I believe my mom or take all this as a sign of bad things to come? I don't know I feel confused and scared and tend to get depressed easily.

I do look at it as we will have a good car that will last us for a long time because basically everything will be new and he said when we pay the car off we will put another ring in layaway. Even though all this has been going on for the last week I haven't deterred from my workout's. I also did a weight in yesterday and I am happy to announce the scale finally moved down 2 pounds. So I am glad I took my husband's advice, he was right after all.

Week 2!

Well this is my second week in to my new challenge and I am feeling great. I am having some fun with this new found fitness freedom. I have started to create a playlist of music to work out to and have started dancing again. Yesterday a really good song came song and I found myself dancing instead of doing my usual warm up. 10 minutes of dancing was was enough of a warm up because I sure could feel my leg muscles working.

Yoga! what can I say but "Oh where have you been all my life?" I am pretty speechless as to the effects I am feeling only after 3 total yoga workouts. I always had this idea that yoga was just for relaxation and composed of easy moves that didn't workout you out because you are basically held in stationary postures. I never dreamed it could work you like this. My muscles are sore and I can really feel them. Especially my upper body, arms/ chest. Someone even noticed my triceps the other day at work and said I am getting some definition. Really? Only after one week?


Of course my arms are not swimming in fat either like my lower body and belly. Is it me or does it seem when the fat falls off it just slides down instead of evaporating? No upper body fat really maybe just a small amount compared to the 10 ton tub of lard I call thighs. Oh why? Oh why? does the fat still shine on these thighs of mine? I can't explain it so I will file this question away as a U.F.O (Unidentified Fatty Object)

Since I am in such good spirits I think I will do a weight in on Friday just for shitz and giggles. I was contemplating on whether or not I should do my measurements but then again it may be image damaging if I don't see any changes in body composition. I know! I know! it has only been two weeks since I started this new challenge, so you know if you haven't noticed by now I can be a bit impatient about things but I do it quietly heheheh. I am slowly learning to accept things as they are and wait patiently for things to change. Easier said than done IMO.

One another level I just want to say that my heart and prayers are with those families in CO. As I reflect on this tragic event all I can say is "What is the world coming to?" are we in total chaos and lost our minds? or is there some government experiment going on and they put something in the drinking water? What have we as people lowered ourselves to? What is this sicko's motive to go and gun down people in a movie theater? Words just can't express my emotions on this and how I view society today. I could go on and on on this subject but I will refrain or this will be an all day post lol.

Sorry for the short post, I wanted to add ,more but my eyes feel like they have bricks on them and I need a nap after a long day. Have a happy Tuesday!!

Fighting Skin Issues after weight lose

If any of you are like me after 3 pregnancy's, gaining a massive amount of weight then loosing it we all have the same problem with stretch marks and or hanging loose skin. Luckily I don't a large amount of loose skin but I do just a bit especially on my belly. Of course I still have fat to burn off in those areas so if it will become a problem I don't know yet. However I do have a mad amount of stretch marks all over my body. Stomach, legs, under my upper arms, hips, butt you name it.

 

 

I have been doing research for the last 2 years on ways to heal my stretch marks and to tighten the skin. The market is largely packed with miracle creams or surgery options. Most of the creams on the market will leave your wallet empty and surgery options are just not in my list of things to try. I don't like the idea of surgery nor do I have the money for it.

I am skeptical about creams because 1) I don't have the extra money to pay hundreds of dollars for a product that may or not work. 2) The harsh chemicals that some of the creams contain. and 3) I don't want to hop from one cream to the next trying to find something that actually works and wasting my money.

I did try Avon's stretch mark cream but I got no results from this product. I have tried Palmer's Cocoa butter formula with little results, just soft skin. I even experimented with baby oil which I did not like because I hate having that greasy feeling on my skin. So I keep searching and searching. I am more focused on something that is all natural and wont leave my bank account crying. So far I have found a lot of good reviews about Emu oil. 

Emu oil is said to penetrate deeper down into the layers of the skin to heal not only the surface but under the skin. It also has a lot of other uses to, it is known to heal acne, ease joint pain, other skin aliments and list goes on. It is a bit pricey from what I have seen but if it works it is well worth trying. I have not yet tried it but I plan to when I get a few extra dollars. I also read that other natural oils can be used and known to heal/ tighten skin is grape seed oil, jojoba oil, and other essential oils. Try doing a search for natural oils that heal the skin and see what you come up with.

My theory on skin is this....I believe with our skin (that is a living organ) there is a way to completely heal our skin. A stretch mark is nothing but a scar and scars can be healed completely or to the point of not being noticed at all. I do not believe the hype that no matter what we do we can't fix this problem unless we have surgery. There is a all natural way to fix this problem and I intend to find it. So I have decided to try natural oils with a combination of exfoliation. If one oil don't work I will try another or I can play mad scientist and start mixing my own mixes. 

In the mean time here are some tips to at least help get our skin on the right track until a miracle has been found for us suffering women.

• Exfoliate with a good body scrub. I like a good body wash with sea salts but St.Ives apricot scrub is good to. I would do this at least a couple times a week, more if your skin can tolerate it. Just don't scrub yourself raw
• Moisturize with a lotion that contains vitamin E, aloe vera, cocoa butter, or collagen. Those seem to be the most popular and widely sold combo's I have seen so far.
• Drink plenty of water. Water will help keep your skin hydrated and help flush out toxins in your body
• Take a relaxing bath in Epsom salt. I hear that it helps to draw toxins out of your skin
• Massage your skin with a good oil like Vitamin E, jojoba oil or any essential oil that helps with skin issues
• Eat foods that are full of good skin vitamins like avocado, mango's, almonds, and oyster's.

I may not have the answer's these are just some of the tip's I have used along the way while loosing weight to help minimize skin looseness and attempting to get rid of these awful stretch mark's. Try doing some searching of your own and see what you can find. There is a wealth of information out there, so much of it in fact it gets me confused on what to do or what to try.

I would love to hear from real people what they have tried and what has worked for them. So what products or methods have you used to help tighten the skin or heal stretch marks?

Sweaty Betty In the House

I got my Sweaty Betty band that I won from a giveaway on Fitville. So here it is for all to see and oooooooooooooooooooo and awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww in it awesomeness.

I tested it and I LOVED IT. I did feel a few sweat bead roll down my face but nothing like it used to. When I removed the band it was soaked after a 45 minute workout. I also have declared that today is officially going to be my first day of my 10 week challenge since last week got screwed up by my ever stubborn bad tooth. Ok here is the break down............

• July 16 - Sept 28 
• Just say no to cardio
• Only work on strength training 

Stats as of today....

• Weight in: 135lbs
• Waist in inches: 34 inches
• Right Thigh: 23 1/2 inches
• Left Thigh: 23 1/2 inches

My workouts will vary so I don't get bored but I will focus on full body workouts as opposed to breaking each muscle up on given days. I will add in 2 days of yoga along with 3 days of complete body weight training with light weights. I want to focus more on form and control then intense bursts of fast pace movement. I feel more controlled movements utilize our muscle more, but that is just my opinion. I hope and pray this works because I have realized that cardio is no longer working for me. Been doing it for 6 months with minimal results. I have to say I am enjoying just turning on the radio and going freely with it instead of having to keep up with an instructor although I do miss my workout DVD's but then again I have my yoga DVD's to cure my withdraws.

Did I mention it is HOT HOT HOT today. I thought I was going to melt away at work. I can not wait until Fall, my favorite time of the year. I also had to refrain from my lime drink after my workouts due to the acidity and I have a raw gum with stitches so I am substituting with green tea, and I can barley eat anything which really stinks. Guess I have to suck it up and deal with it. I was a bad girl yesterday and bought mint ice cream hehehehe. I did not get B-Day cake so ice cream was just as good to me. YES I ate some and it was YUMMY, did I mention YUMMY oh I am so so bad. Shhhh told tell nobody hehehehe.

How is everyone dealing with the heat? Ice cream ^ ^

Lazy Days!

 

Well I been lazy and that's an understatement. Since my drama with my tooth I been laid up in bed looped out on pain meds. Spent my birthday that way but oh well, I am in pain dang it. My gum got tore when they removed my upper back molar so they had to stitch it up. Luckily I got my hubby cuddling with me for the weekend. Monday, pain or no pain I am getting back into action. Can't let myself go for to long even though it has been nice to take a short break.

The weather I have to say has been nice last few days. Raining here a bit. At least it is not 110 degrees outside to where I feel like I am going to melt into a puddle of sweat soon as I walk out the door. I will probably crawl myself out of bed today and take advantage of this nice day to go grocery shopping for a few things. I had some brainstorms as I have been Miss. Laziness and came up with a few topics I want to add to the site. I am sure we are all fighting these same issues and aim to bring us together as a support system and knowledge bank for all to share.

Back to being LAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tooth Be Gone!

Just wanted to update everyone that I got my tooth pulled this morning and now I am just relaxing at home with my pain meds and tea. Feeling icky about missing out on my workouts for the past couple days but eh...It couldn't be helped. Feeling much better knowing the tooth is gone now just the recovery period. Living off the congee I made since I can't eat much which really sucks because I am so hungry but at the same time don't feel like eating.

Wish the scale would drop a pound or two hehehehehe. Back to curl up in bed and rest hope everyone's Friday the 13th was a lucky one.

Misery Loves Company

Well today has just not been my day. For a couple of days my tooth that had a filling fall out has been giving me slight problems until this morning. I woke up this morning and did my usual routine before work, made coffee, packed me and the hubby's lunch and ate my cereal. Only thing is I had a hard time eating and my tooth was bothering me till no end. So I popped a couple of Tylenol for my tooth pain and monthly cramps and set out for work. About 3 hours in and the pain was back better then ever. Worse thing is when the whole side of my face decides to join in on the fun. I was a miserable sight today so I decided to head home and look for a dentist.

I knew I was going to have to find one soon for this tooth but not this early on and especially not when all our bills hit and my poor birthday is Saturday. To top things off why couldn't this have happened when I did have the insurance before I got laid off a few months back. Why do these things seem to happen when you know you don't have the money to pay for it and these things cost so much to begin with. Luckily my prayers were answered from a referral service I found on the interne and the dentist they referred me to does a payment plan. So I made the first appointment I could get for tomorrow. I hate to call off work and miss out on the moola that I never get to spend anyway because Uncle Sam and his subordinates wants all my money.

I don't care I can't take tooth pain. Call me a big whimpy butt, but I hate the dentist to begin with (I go regardless) the dentistry tools make my skin crawl when I see them and I hate them scrapping and picking at my teeth. I would rather give birth then deal with tooth aches. They are the absolute worst IMO. On top of everything else I still have the miserable crampies. So I shamelessly dug my way through the medicine looking some old Vicodin from when my son broke his wrist over a year ago because the Tylenol just aint doing nothing for me now. I am slightly at ease now with my hot tea my hubby told me to make.

He told me to make congee since I can't eat anything that requires me to chew. Wish I had some ginger he suggested to make ginger tea and that it really helps with tooth aches, unfortunately I am all out of fresh ginger so green tea and honey is  my new friend this afternoon. Oh and I am never the lucky one to win things only on a rare occasion and today is just such a day. I entered in the giveaway for the Sweaty Betty headband from Lee at Fitville and guess what I won. I was so excited and happy that the pain was forgotten.

Thank you so much Lee you really did make my day.