3rd Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge: Chaos!

I've decided to keep an online record of my 3rd Body by Vi Challenge. I'm going to do my best to post periodic updates here on the blog as another level of accountability. I'm down 23 pounds so far since September 2010. The best part is that the inches have melted away - I'm now wearing size 10 pants and large tops (some mediums and that's quite the accomplishment with these big boobs). I never in a million years thought I'd be this size again. So for the record, that's down from a tight size 16 in pants and extra large tops. Yep, I'm excited!

My goal for this next 90 days is to lose 10 pounds and go down to size 8 pants. I'm not going to set a goal for a smaller top because, again, big boobs ... don't think it's reasonable to expect a lot more change there. The way I'm going to have to meet this goal is to concentrate on exercise and building lean muscle. Luckily for me, the Vi-Shape does just that!

I may be a little crazy starting this challenge right now because there's a lot of craziness going on. We're going through a small remodeling project at home, so my den is currently in this state:

The project is almost complete although there are repairs to be made to the floor that can't be seen in this picture. Obviously, this empty room means all of the den furniture is in other parts of the house. The demolition that has since been cleaned up left plaster dust all over everything, so there's the added chaos of washing everything in the kitchen. The calm in the middle of the storm: the day's 2 shakes and my morning coffee!

Of course, it could always be worse. My husband's office literally no longer exists. The tornadoes in NC destroyed his building leaving him with an unwanted skylight. Thankfully, the tornado hit on a Saturday when the office and other commercial buildings were empty. God is good!

I know I'll face some unique challenges during this third 90 day challenge. I have many positives in my life that will help me overcome the obstacles: a supportive family, motivation to succeed and a great arsenal of tools at my disposal. Stay tuned for updates!

My first giveaway!

Okay, be gentle ... this is my first time ...

for a giveaway, that is!

I'm so excited about the wonderful lifestyle changes Body by Vi has helped me to make the past 4 months that I decided to share with my fellow bloggers. You may have noticed the little widget in the right sidebar with links to various Body by Vi sites. (I really like the BMI calculator as I enjoy changing the weight to see how far I've come so far and the weight loss milestones I will reach in 2011). Hopefully, you've also read my prior posts written during my first BBV challenge. They're not all about Body by Vi, but I think you'll be able to pick up on my enthusiasm about how great I'm feeling in those posts.

With that said, I'm giving away a free ViSalus Body by Vi challenge "Balance Kit." The balance kit includes 1 bag of the Vi-Shape shake mix and a 5-pack assortment of flavor mix-ins. To better describe the Vi-shape shake mix, I copied and pasted from the corporate website, of course ...

The "Balance Kit" is designed to help you begin your journey by giving your body good nutritional balance. This kit contains 30 servings of balanced nutrition with our Vi-Shape™ Nutritional Shake Mix for once-a-day balanced nutrition. The kit includes an assortment of our Health Flavors, to add flavor variety, and added health benefits to your shake.

The Vi-Shape™ nutritional shake mix includes patented ingredients to help you maximize nutrient absorption while cutting calories. Shake mixes with milk or water for nutrition on the go. Low sodium, no trans fat, and an amazing Sweet Cream flavor. Our version of the perfect “fast food.”

The balance kit includes enough shake mix for 30 meals, so you can use it once a day as a recovery drink after your run, for a meal on the go in order to not hit the drive-thru, or to replace 1 or 2 meals a day if you're like me and looking to lose a few more pounds in 2011.

This is a $49 value and I'll ship it to anywhere in the US. The giveaway ends Thursday, January 6 at midnight EST and I'll use random.org to choose a comment number. I'm keeping it simple since it's my first giveaway ...

- 1 entry for leaving a comment describing 1 of your goals/resolutions for 2011

- 1 entry for following my blog (please leave a separate comment below that you are a new follower or already are one)
- 1 entry for mentioning this on your blog (separate comment)

- 1 entry for a mention on your facebook or twitter (separate comment)

I hope this appeals to some of you! Look at it this way, I have very few followers so your chances of winning are really good! And this will also help you start 2011 a little healthier! And I used way too many !!!!

Sweet 16

I haven't spent much time in blog-land lately. I know my massive group of followers has missed me terribly :-)

The good news is that I've been away simply because I've been busy for positive reasons: family time, work, focusing on LOSING WEIGHT!

Oh, yeah, why is 16 so sweet? Check it out ...

16 pounds and 16 inches lost in 90 days thanks to Body by Vi

I married my best friend 16 years ago today

I'm going to do my best to write a longer post with some new weight loss progress pictures this weekend, but I just wanted to put this out there for the world to see now. I am LOVING life!

Knowin' Jack Sh*t

This post says it all.

I'm somewhere between depression and acceptance, hopefully leaning more on the acceptance side of the fence.

Take the time to click over to the May 18, 2010 post at Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit.

Why is it so hard to take the last step when you're thisclose to making the healthy lifestyle commitment?

~when you know what to do, but just aren't doing it~

~because you've failed so many times before~

To be continued ... I hope.

Three Things Thursday

We had the annual health screening at my employer's wellness program kick-off event today. No real surprises although I expected my cholesterol to be higher, so that's good news at least. Total cholesterol measured at 190; years ago it was 270, so that's a huge improvement. My HDL (the "good" cholesterol) was 67 so that's in the good range. Triglycerides and LDL were normal but at the higher end, although they're not entirely accurate because I ate breakfast this morning (see below for the reason). My blood sugar and blood pressure were both normal (never have had a problem with either thankfully). Weight, BMI, waist ... well, let's not discuss that. I don't have a place on my card where the nurse recorded my BS level, although I'm sure that's higher some days than others. Surely I wasn't the only one there who thought it odd that they abbreviated blood sugar that way, although I'm probably the only one who took a picture of the sign (sorry about the glare).
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I had planned to fast this morning so I would have accurate lipid panel results, but I had to eat a banana and a bowl of cheerios. And why, did I have to eat, you might ask?

I woke up early enough to run this morning, that's why!

Yeah, I'm still amazed. To say I'm not a morning person is a huge understatement. I loathe mornings and sleep until the last possible minute. I did stay in bed a little too long and got up at 6:20 instead of 5:45, but at least I did that. My plan's two slow run:walk miles are in the books and I'm super excited. My heel is still feeling good, too. Hopefully the worst of the PF is over. Once school starts next week with the busier evenings of homework, music lessons and softball practice, the morning will be the best time to run. Wish me luck on sticking to that!
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I'm curious as to whether anyone reading this uses runkeeper for tracking runs. I've been using it for the past month on my droid phone. I like it and I think it's fairly accurate at measuring my routes. I used the google mytracks app prior to that, and the nike + system when I started running. I'd still love a Garmin, but that purchase is not going to happen anytime soon. The phone apps seem to be an acceptable replacement at this point, though.