Hello there lovely people!
It is FRIDAY! I am so ready for this Sabbath, I spent all day yesterday thinking it was Friday and I was finally going to get to rest lol. I was heart broken when my husband corrected me saying "it's only Thursday". Today was another long day, Had early morning errands then a surprise trip to Science City with the family. We were there from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. My feet were wore out!
But I still had to get my workout in!

So here is how it went..

Workouts:
The treadmill was acting up again so thankfully I had time to go outside! The good news is I got in my 3 miles, this time with my daughter! The not so good news is.. because it was outside, 3 miles and she is 9... we walked. But hey, the elevator guy was impressed lol. And I was so proud of her!

Meals:
Breakfast- Oatmeal
Snack- Graham Crackers
Lunch- Turkey sandwich
Snack- Halo Top ice cream
Dinner- Home made chipotle style salad

I was going to save the ice cream for dessert but it was melting before I could get home and the kids were dying to go to the park. So, I grabbed them a cone and we headed to the park to enjoy our ice cream! This is the first time in over a week that I have stepped out and had something sweet. And due to our surprise trip, I didn't have any time to grab something better. (plus no food is allowed in Science City)

Goals:
Finish more water
Get up early enough next week to run outside!

What do yo uhave planned for the weekend? Let me know in the comments below!

Hello there lovey people!
This day was a complete disaster workout wise. I mean am I alive and well yes, but it definitely was not the best. To start things off, I woke up waaayy before I wanted to lol. My husband brought home one of my favorite wines and I am craving a cookie.. BAD! lol I have been eating clean and working hard for 8 days now and my chocolate addiction is not for the weak.

So here is how it went!

Workouts:
I told myself, I was going to make it a goal to run more everyday. A mile is good, but for the results I want I know I need to do more. So I thought 3 miles a day would be a great starting point. So I get up to do my 3 miles and it is DARK and scary looking outside! Storms were coming in and I didn't even know it! So I headed outside and took off. I completed one mile outside and decided to head in because lightning had started and I was not up to see how bad it would get. Soon as I got inside it started to pour.  I headed downstairs to the gym to finish my two miles. Or so I thought. I started running on the treadmill as normal and right when I got to .40 miles, the treadmill decides it was going to stop. It kept stopping every few steps so I ended up walking for the rest of the mile so I could just finish and not trip due to it stopping suddenly. After my second mile, I did 15x3 lat pulls at 40lbs.


Meals:
Breakfast- Sausage, oatmeal
Snack- Quest chocolate protein
Lunch- House salad with chicken
Snack- Annie's graham crackers, 1/2 cup of milk
Dinner- House salad, sweet potato fries (baked)

Goals:
Drink more water
Finish 3 miles tomorrow

Even though this day went nowhere near as planned, I know tomorrow is a new day and I will continue to fight through!

OH YEA..... DID I MENTION,

I lost 9lbs in in these past 8 days! YAY!
Do you have a favorite protein supplement? Let me know in the comments below!

What are your summer/ fitness goals? Let me know in the comments below!

Hello there lovely people!
I am going to make this short and sweet because I have a crazy day tomorrow lol.
Today I felt great! My kiddos were in the gym with me working out and I loved seeing how happy it made them. Leading by example!!

Workouts:
I woke up late so today I did 3 miles on the treadmill :). I am so proud of myself because I kept a steady pace the entire time! I raised the speed a few times and never slowed down once.


Meals: 
Breakfast- Oatmeal, Quest protein Shake
Snack- Nothing
Lunch- Light tuna salad with crackers and cheese
Snack- Banana
Dinner- 1/2 salad from Chipotle
Snack- Strawberries

Goals:
Run faster mile
Drink MORE water!

Can't wait to weigh in tomorrow and hopefully have a great progress photo!

Hello there lovely people!

Last Sunday we had the best Father's Day ever! Our family braved the humidity and possible rain for a family fun filled day at Schlitterbahn Water Parks in Kansas City.
Schlitterbahn has several locations through out Texas and only one in Kansas City. With tons of water slides, lazy rivers and an awesome wave pool, I can see why we were there for over 8, yes 8 hours! Thankfully they allow outdoor food and drinks so we weren't spending an arm and a leg for lunch. They also have free life jackets and tubes for all of their guests. I was extremely happy that they also had double tubes and some with bottoms so little Italy could sit comfortably. That put my mind at ease!

As you may know Father's Day is something that my husband doesn't really care to celebrate, which is fine. But let me tell you this.... he had a BLAST and was so happy we went! We all were :)

Here are a few photos from our Father's Day at Schlitterbanh!

Ready for a day of fun!

Gift shop browsing

All smiles (face full of snacks lol)

Someone was excited!

Getting ready to hit the waters!

Time for lunch

Non stop fun ALL DAY LONG!

Hello there lovely people!

Day 5 has come to a wrap and I am feeling great! My husband complimented me this evening( he has seen me at my worst) and it made me feel great about myself. Again I was lacking in the sleep department because some of my kids decided they wanted to party like rock stars all night! They woke me up at 4:30 this morning and again at 6:30! Yea it was going to be a long day for sure.

So here is my Day 5!

Workouts:
I started out with my mile run and 3x10 dead lifts (15lb each hand) and 3x10 straight leg raises each side. Surprisingly my legs were not sore today! I figured running 3 miles yesterday would have them aching lol.

Hello there lovely people!
DAY 4 IS A WRAP!! Today was such a loooonnnggg day! I am fortunate to be a #momsquad ambassador for iFamilykc with is a local family magazine here in Kansas City. Today we were at the Just For Her Event meeting tons of people and spreading our name like wildfire! It was a lot of fun :). I was up late this morning so I didn't get to run outside before. Plus I didn't want to rush trying to get ready and not look like who shot John.

My legs and arms are still really sore and after today's workout, I'm sure they will be EVEN MORE SORE tomorrow!

So here is my Day 4 recap!

Workouts:
I use my Nike Run Club app every time I run. Today as I was preparing for my mile, I log into the app and up pops a challenge..... ""join the millions of others taking the Just Do It Sunday 5k challenge". Foolishly I thought.. hmp ok?! After mile one I thought "I got this, no big deal". but by mile 2, I was contemplating stopping my run. Just then (this may sound super cheesy) but Kevin Hart's voice came on and told me to keep going! So I did! I love that they have people that motivate you on the app... it feels good to hear those voices instead of the ones in your head saying you can't do it. So today's run was a little over 3 miles. 3.10 to be exact.

 Dinner- Salad with chicken, cheese and homemade salsa. sweet potato on the side.

Goals:
Drink all 3 liters a day
Stretch more
Run faster

I am so ready for bed right now and trying to muscle energy for tomorrow! Do you use MyFitnessPal or any Nike apps? What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments below!

Hello there lovely people! It is day 3 and my legs are definitely feeling the "burn" after these past couple days. Walking around has become a chore in it's own but I love it lol!

Today I felt pumped and ready to go! I had some amazing, much needed rest this Sabbath and It gave me the extra energy I needed. Today was a little hard on my stomach because we go to church from 1-3. So, we leave the house around 12 and that makes lunch time a little shaky. It's always easy to stop at Chick- Fil- A on the way to church, and even though it was tempting... I didn't!

So here is Day 3 in a nutshell!

Workouts:
Another mile today except it was on the treadmill. I observe the Sabbath from Friday to Saturday so all of my workouts will be Saturday night when the sun goes down. So tonight I did my mile and arms. I did 3x10 left and right arm raises and 3x10 rows. My shoulder were on FIYAHHH!! lol








Meals:
Breakfast- Oatmeal
Snack- Annie's Graham Crackers
Lunch- Quest Chocolate Protein Shake
Snack- Simply Nature Dark chocolate Pecan Bar (energy bar), 1 cup of Motts Natural Applesauce,
Dinner- Chicken Street Tacos (because tacos are life). I can eat these every day! Chicken, onions and cilantro AND homemade salsa... MMMM!
Snack- 1 cup of pineapples

Today I had quite a bit of sugar because I didn't plan too well. I forget that church is right around lunch time!

Goals:
Shorten mile time
Finish 3 litters a day
Lose 3-4 pounds a week

Day 3 is a wrap folks! Did you catch day 2? You can check it out HERE!

Hello lovely people!

Today is day one of my new (again) journey. Some people think the hardest part is getting started, I actually think staying motivated is the hardest part. Once I make up my mind about something, I can easily start.. I'm a planner so I love preparing for stuff lol. But keeping on track and staying positive is always my downfall.

So.... here it is..  DAY 1 is in the books!

Workouts:
I started with a mile jog around my neighborhood then hit the gym for some arms. I know this doesn't seem like a lot. At one point I was able to do waaayyy more lol. But like I said before, this is a NEW BEGINNING!





Meals:
Breakfast- two packs of oatmeal.
Lunch- Muscle Milk vanilla creme protein, one cup of fresh pineapple.
Snack- 1 serving of Annie's Organic cinnamon grahams.
Dinner- Salad w/ baked chicken, sweet potato fries.
Snack- 1 cup of applesauce

Goals:
Drink MORE water
Run faster
Lift heavier!


Check back tomorrow for DAY 2!

**edited**
I forgot to post my starting weight. When I remembered I thought, hmmm do I really want to post that? But hey, you can see me, you know I am over weight so why not.. Starting weight is 274 and my goal weight is 135 ( if my husband lets me lol)

Hello there lovely people... just an FYI, I'm about to get REAL!

For years decades,  I have been battling a thing we call 'being obese'.

This is something that is always difficult for me to talk about let alone share it with the world. So please, kind words only...

Hi my name is Brigette and I am obese. I do not  like  hate it and I wish it was something that I never had the opportunity to deal with. I'm not here to blame anyone for my upbringing or influence on the poor decisions that I have made, nor am I here to "shame" anyone for whatever body they live in. I can only speak for me and what I have gone through. The fact is, being over weight is a daily struggle that each individual has to cope with in their own way.

For me, it started with self hate and idolizing. As a kid, I would always look at those around me and think "why couldn't I look like them? Why am I fat? Why is my hair in an afro and why do they think I am a boy?" So many times I would cry myself to sleep praying I could look different. I wanted to look like Britney Spears and all the girls I seen on Nickelodeon. I wanted straight hair and to be skinny.

I remember one time I was watching 'Full House' and DJ was going to Kimmy's pool party. She hated the way she looked and she started a crash diet. She would workout and not eat anything. Now as a girl in elementary school, this should not be a solution to any problem I had.. but it was. I tried not eating for a few days and it didn't work ( I was hangry). Thankfully, God kept me from going down a path that was going to be harder than  I knew at the time. Once I realized that not eating was not going to work, I slowly began to become depressed. I tried overly hard to be happy and in return, people began to dislike me. That made it even worse. I was lonely, with few friends and an older brother that EVERYONE loved... but that's a horse of a different color.

As I got older, I got bigger, much bigger. All my friends turned out to not really be my friends and the fat jokes got more and more intense. I don't know if you know what it's like to be ridiculed by teachers and students in front of majority of the school.... but I will tell you this.. it sucks. Everyday was a new joke. From me being called smokey the bear to being told I would be pretty if I lost weight. Just typing these words bring up very painful memories.

Once I was in high school, some of the jokes died down. It was common knowledge that I was over weight and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. By this time, I am not only depressed and lonely, I was desperate. I wanted to feel wanted, liked and needed by someone that liked me for me. Sure I had A LOT of friends now, but they never knew the real pain that I felt. They never understood why I would act they way I would, say the things I did, or feel the way I felt. They were always chosen out of the crowd and I was the one taking all the salt in an open wound. That's right... I was the nice, fat friend that would do the dirty work of being mediator, listener or the one that could put in a good word. Trust me, when you like someone and I mean reaaalllyy like someone but all they want to know is "can you hook me up with so and so"... those words are like poison.

Fast forward a few years now..

Married, kids and a great life. Just one thing that is still getting in the way... the weight. Yes I was big when I got married, that doesn't mean that the insecurity leaves. My husband is a small guy (bigger now) but then he was a small guy. I knew he loved me, but that never stopped the thoughts, the insecurities or the self hate. Whenever we would go out, I would feel uncomfortable standing next to him. All I could do was wonder if people thought we looked like the number 10.

After my second child I had reached 300 pounds. I was determined to lose the weight and get healthy after my blood pressure skyrocketed during labor and I needed to be put on oxygen while in the operating room. All my kiddos are via c-section BTW.

I started out slow, walking and biking for 30 minutes each. I was nursing my son at the time so that helped a great deal. I found an amazing trainer that not only pushed me, but I felt actually believed in me. I had lost 101 pounds! I had actually hit 199 pounds! That quickly came to an end when I found out I was pregnant with my third child. I worked out twice as hard, ate just as clean but I still gained 60+
 pounds.

After I had my little Italy, I was even more determined, I worked my butt off for months and was 6 pounds away from my pre pregnancy weight. I was so focused! Well long story short, one kid in school and driving 45 minutes to workout almost everyday became too much. I didn't have the time to travel back and forth and get my daughter ready and off to school in the morning. So I left my trainer. I did all the things I learned from him but my life slowly became consumed with kids and my business. I didn't work out as much, I wasn't sleeping as much and I was always on the go. I would get so stressed out and afraid of gaining the weight that I would start to get depressed and the cycle would continue.

I had made great friends at my gym and I loved my trainer. I felt like they were part of my family... most times I seen them more than my husband lol. Leaving them behind was one of the hardest times of my life. My support system was gone. I didn't have someone next to me pushing me and telling me I can go 10 more. Sure my husband supports everything I do, it's just different when you have someone that is just as passionate as you are about something.

Fast forward to this week...

For Father's Day this year, we went to Schlitterbahn. A huge water park full of lazy rivers and water slides. We loved it... until I seen myself in my bathing suit as I was leaving the restroom. I had taken a picture two years prior in the same suit and it was almost falling off because it was so big.. This time, it barely fit. I wanted to burst into tears but my two oldest girls were with me and that would not be something I would want them to see me struggle with. I made up my mind then and there that this life I had been trapped in was going to be over!

I have decided, that like I had before, I will be keeping my weight loss journal on my blog. I love blogging and have done it for years now. I knew that if I put it out there, I would have no choice but to hold myself accountable... supporters or not. This time I would be MY supporter.

So.. tomorrow starts Day 1 of my new beginning! I hope you will join me on this crazy, scary, emotional and TRIUMPHANT journey to a whole new me..

As always... if you have any advice, tips or kind words, let me know in the comments below.

Today

Today

My first few months after baby #2

Roughly 300 lbs

before and after L: baby #2- R: After baby #3