Two best friends living two hours away from each other, battling their own issues, on a journey to support each other to get skinnier, healthier and in better shape!
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
*BEST FRIEND VISIT*
Saturday, Amber came up to visit the girls and I! It was SO very needed! I haven’t seen her since February!! To be exact it was 2 DAYS after Erica was born was the last visit! It was a fun! Our plan was to take the girls for a walk, which DID happen! Of course it was interrupted by a phone call from my husband telling me he needed the car keys; my plan was to check the mail after coming back from our walk! After taking the keys back to my love, we continued our walk. It was so nice to be outside. I’m glad we went because it has been raining non-stop on the island since Saturday! A bit bummy but I can’t do much to change the weather. Had a snack after our walk & talked about eating healthier; exchanged tips AND delicious food/snacks that would be good for us both to eat! Well, until next time.
xOx-Stephanie.
Last night sucked.
Spent part of last night in the ER, it was awesome. Not. They tried to tell me I had a) slight flu, not likely because I wasn’t puking and didn’t have sore muscles. b) food poisoning. or c) appendicitis!! They wanted to hook me up to an IV draw blood, run a CT scan and do a urine sample. I told them NO WAY BUDDY! I know, it’s serious and life threatening but something in my gut told me it’s not that. So I listened. Got some medicine and went home to bed. Well I made the mistake of getting Starbucks (like I do every day before I go run errands) and drinking it. Well ladies and gents it all happened again, everything I had experienced last night while in the comfort of my home was now happening to me while I was trying to drive to my moms. Then it dawns on me, both my aunts on my dads side are lactose intolerant, my cousins (their children) are too…I start explaining this to my mom and she tells me she is too! I figured it out, maybe I’m not completely lactose intolerant, but clearly having too much too often makes me REALLY sick.
So I’m sitting here feeling crummy, when I still need to do a load of laundry on top of the loads that are both in the washer and dryer, do the dishes, clean my apartment AND pack before we leave tomorrow morning…Yeah I doubt anything is going to get done until my boyfriend gets home from work tonight…
On a positive note: My babygirl (kitten, Clyde) is a year old today! :’) Gaah. I just love her so much :))
Anyways no working out yesterday or today because of obviously reasons…But Stephanie (the other half of this blog) and I spent a good few hours together yesterday. We went on a good walk too with her girls. So happy to see them!
I’ll update from Florida.
Love, Amber.
Update from Steph!
Hello blog-land!
It’s been forever and a million days since I last posted. I think my last post was a couple of belly shots to show my postpartum progress…come to think of it, it was probably an “I’m sorry I’ve been so MIA from blogging”—kinda like this one. I haven’t been keeping up with blogging at all and I’m hardly ever on a computer anymore. I am always mobile, it’s the easiest. I’ve been having to start & stop tying this post because my youngest, Erica; 3 months, loves her attention and if she doesn’t have it fully (at times) she definitely has no issue with letting you know! I have been slacking in the {eating healthier & exercising area. I’m not a horrible eater but I do have my weaknesses at times like everyone else! As far as exercising goes, that needs to be stepped up, A LOT! The weather has been SO gorgeous outside and I have failed to go for walks. The majority of my time is spend indoors. Right now I’m blogging when I should probably be doing the dishes that are in the sink.
~CHANGE BEGINS NOW~
The first thing I am going to change is getting out of the house more, whether it’s a quick walk to the mail box or a mile walk around the off-base housing complex. My girls love being outside so that should be NO problem! My husband’s work schedule is about to change which means I am going to TRY and get him out to walk with me & our girls in the afternoon. That’s right, Mr. Tracy, if you ever read this, you WILL be bothered to walk with me! :)
I guess this will be all for now, Erica is calling for Momma!
xOx~Stephanie
Note to self:
Oh maybe notes…
-Don’t take yoga with the crazy lady after Zumba.
-Bring extra socks so you don’t have to put the sweaty ones back on after yoga.
-Don’t park in the compact section in the front row, because obviously non-compact car driver do not know how to read and like to park like idiots in the compact spots.
-Buy chocolate milk for post-workouts.
Anyways just to remind myself for future references :)
Love, Amber.
another chance.
Spent some quality time with my Bonni-bell. Went to the dog park for about 30 minutes and then walked down the marina and back. Bon got her pant on while I got my sweat on. It was a win-win for us both. Now I am enjoying the relaxing sounds of my dish-washer going, the washer and dryer doing their thing as well as our fan sending cool air my direction.
So I decided to treat myself, especially since I’m going to Zumba and then Yoga tonight.
My very first Non-fat greek yogurt fruit smoothie.
And I can tell you everything that is in it:
3/4c Non-fat plain greek yogurt.
1/4c water.
1/2c. frozen fruit medley (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries.)
2 cut up fresh strawberrries.
Oh yeah that’s it :) Quite proud of myself. Can’t wait to make more of them!! Only next time I need to remember to put the water and yogurt on bottom, the frozen fruit got stuck in the blades :/ Poor little baby blender.
Anyways Florida is right around the corner, literally, we leave Monday morning!!! Bought a new dress for the trip and a new t-shirt, which I wore after the gym yesterday, but that’s okay!
Anyways, another day of waking up before noon and staying awake. This working out regularly stuff really does help fight depression. :)))
Loveee, Amber!
Things are looking up! :D
If someone would have told me 4-5 months ago that I, Amber Dawn Kennard, would someday soon go to the grocery store and not buy: a SINGLE box of cheez-its, bag of chips or cookies, case of diet coke, jugs of juice. And would actually sit and read the ingredients label and fill my shopping cart with COLORS, fruits, veggies ya know ;) I would tell you that you are FREAKING NUTS!
Well folks it happened, something in me yesterday made me only buy healthy or semi-healthy foods. Lots of veggies and fruits. Eggs. Milk. Frozen fruits and veggies. Yuuup. You read that correctly. ME! Bought healthy food. And you know what I are when we put away all the groceries, an organic salad with cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms and a little bit of shredded cheese. Now the only bad part to my salad was the ranch dressing. But I did about a third of what I would normally do. So that counts for something! :) I even managed to eat some greek yogurt for dessert instead of cookies or ice cream.
Unfortunately I wished this sudden change would have happened 6 months ago…but everything happens for a reason. And the fact that it is becoming easier to get out of bed every morning is probably more important to me than how I look right now. I plan to continue to work out up until Florida, and even while in Florida, maybe go jogging with my little sister, as well as do planks and push ups. Florida isn’t my whole summer, just the beginning!
Oh! Good news, I got into weight training class at my college, was on the wait list #3 a week ago, and now I’m in the class! So excited, MTWTh 1-230p all summer long! And yesterday we made our first trip of moving things down to our new house! It was the only day off my boyfriend has until we leave for Florida Monday, so we will have to finish moving when we get back! But I’m so excited for this new adventure God has given us! Even managed to hit the gym for a few minutes before I got overwhelmed with all the people that were there. Gonna go here in a few after I finish getting ready!
These sunny days are making me soooo happy! Gah! Can’t even beginning to explain.
Thank you all for your support and love, no matter how slow this process is for me! I really do appreciate all the positive vibes!
Love, Amber :)
MOVING DAY!
Yuuup! It’s finally here…kinda. Tomorrow is the only day off Max has off before we leave for Florida on Monday so we are moving as much stuff as we can down to our house! Leaving only animal things, a box of clothes, bathroom stuff, food and the tv-xbox. Oh and our mattress. Tomorrow is going to be busy. Hopefully the electrical work will be pretty close to done so we won’t be in his way too much! Lol. Still on the wait list for weight training for Summer quarter. But I did get in for Fall quarter, let’s hope two people drop out before the end of June so I can make it in this Summer :D Since none of the other PE classes work with my sched :/ #lame Anyways! Off to make pancakes for the boyfran before he gets home from work. Then lose ourselves in Bones season 4. So ready to be caught up! Lol
-Amber
Finally a before/after shot WITH faces so you know its legit! Congrats to this girl. Definitely huge motivation! :D
(Source: kristinbecomesfit)
Not even fitness related. But I loved this part of the movie. Lol. <3 Avengers <3 :D
-Amber
(Source: kimlennox)
So I broke old PR’s and made new ones at the gym today, whoo-who! Pretty proud of myself. Especially since it was my first time in a few days going! :)
The sun is shining, pushed myself at the gym, signed up for school again. Gahhh. :)
Thank you Lord. Everything happens for a reason!!
-Amber
The next person who tries and tell me that I think that I am fat, or that I am losing weight because I think I am fat is literally going to get poked in the eyeballs when I see you next. I am NOT fat. I know this. I just want to TONE up.
“tone up;
a. to give a higher or stronger tone to.
-take off weight [syn: reduce] [ant: gain]”
1.) As long as I exercise, I can eat anything I want. Exercise doesn’t constitute a free pass to excessively binge on unhealthy foods. You’ll be undoing all of the hard work that you put into your workout. Just encase you haven’t gotten the message yet; abs are also made in the kitchen. Think of your body as a car. You need to put fuel into your body just as you’d put fuel into a car. You wouldn’t put mud, garbage, and other yucky things into your car’s gas tank, would you? No, it wouldn’t run. So, don’t fill your body’s tank with poor food choices. Treat your body with the respect it deserves.
2.) Salads are always the safest choice. Just because it has lettuce and vegetables doesn’t make it healthy! As long as you make the right choices, then yes, salads can be very nutritional. But, if you’re loading your salads with fried chicken, high fat cheeses and dressings, and mountains of croutons, then you might as well go for the burger and fries instead. In fact, some salads pack more calories than a burger and fries. Read about “The Worst Salads in America.” I rest my case.
3.) Eating several mini meals is always better than eating a few larger meals. For some people, this is true, but everyone is different. The more meals you have, the more opportunities you have to lose self-control. Choose a plan that fits your needs and lifestyle. If you choose to have 3 meals per day, choose a small, healthy snack in between each meal to sufficiently hold you over. Try fruit and Greek yogurt, a small bowl of whole grain cereal, or carrots with a serving of hummus and whole grain crackers.
4.) As long as it’s healthy, I can eat as much of it as I want. Calories still count no matter what you eat. Regardless, your caloric consumption should come from healthy foods, but this doesn’t constitute the excuse to eat larger quantities of these foods. A serving size is a serving size for a reason. For some people, they may need more, but we should all still be aware of what we’re putting into our bodies. For instance, all-natural nut butters are healthy, but it’s also a food that is high in fat (good fats) and calories. Therefore, you shouldn’t grab a spoon and eat the entire jar within one sitting or day.
5.) Eating late at night will cause weight gain. A calorie is a calorie. It really doesn’t matter what time you consume them. What matters is how many calories you take in for the entire day. Just be careful because people tend to have snack attacks while watching prime time TV shows or a late night movie. Avoid mindless eating and portion your snack before you sit down.
6.) Skipping meals is beneficial. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a reason. It jump starts your metabolism and provides your body with sustained energy. So if you skip meals, you’re going to slow down your metabolism, feel sluggish, and more than likely, you may binge on more food later on in the day. And, if you begin the day with a healthy choices, you’ll probably want to continuously make healthy choices for each subsequent meal.
7.) Carbohydrates are fattening. They will be if your carbohydrates primarily come from donuts, cake, white bread, mountains of pasta, and so forth. Carbs give us energy, but it’s all about choosing the best carbs available (ie. whole grains and fruit) and consuming the appropriate amount. Carbs should come from whole grains, beans, fruit, and veggies. With good carbs comes fiber and fiber has been known to aid in weight loss. Benefits of carbs.
8.) Fast food and dining out should be avoided. Yes, this is true if you have the willpower of an ant, but all you really have to do is make the right choices. If you want success badly enough, you’ll make better choices. Plain and simple. Just plan ahead. Many restaurants post nutritional information and display healthier options on their websites. Don’t arrive overly hungry, nor skip every meal that day until you head out. That’s a recipe for disaster. Skip the fries and opt for fruit or veggies instead. Portions are typically huge, so split a meal or take half home to have for lunch the next day.
9.) The sooner the success, the better. Of course it sounds great, but it’s not healthy. Answer this. Have you have gained all of your excess weight in 1 night? Chances are, your answer is no. Rome wasn’t built in a day. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Besides, most quick fixes are nearly impossible to stick with for your entire life. You’ll gain back the 10 lbs faster than you can say “10 lbs” once you begin eating normal again. Make sensible changes that you’ll be able to stick with from now until forever. Take it from me. I’ve tried taking the easy-way-out, but it completely backfired. It’s not worth the cost or miserableness of cutting out too much at once.
(Source: chasefear)
Down 5lbs since I last weighed myself which was a couple weeks ago I think. Granted I COULD be where I want to be by now. But things happen and you can either cry about the past or move on. Im proud that I’ve come this far. Going to the gym later tonight. Then work for the next 3 days. Probably will hit up the gym after work though…because IM STARTING TO FIT IN MY CLOTHES BETTER. Yuuup. ANNND Im starting to see my stomach get flatter and some definition. So that means I gotta keep working at it.
Thank you to Brett, who has been helping me at the gym when our schedules match up! And for helping me with routines and giving me tips and advice :)
Thank you to Mark, for texting me and encouraging me every day or so. Even if I don’t make it to the gym you are there for me.
And especially big big big THANK YOU to my wonderful amazing boyfriend Max, who has held me when I’ve cried. Who has listen to me beat myself up. Who has said nothing but positives things to me through out this. And for supporting me when I need it most.
It’s nice to know that through everyone’s busy lives and schedules these people are here to help me, even tho I haven’t come as far as I have wanted too. And even when I give up for a week or two they are there for me each and every time through the whole thing helping me. I love you guys! More than words could ever say! You are truly some of my best friends.
-Amber.
