Jul’s Journey

Well… my personal life has finally heated up so much that I need to allow myself some time to focus on some more personal issues…. I apologize that I just went AWOL and will probably be scarce around here for some time… TLC will be taking the lead on the challenge so be sure to update her weekly on your progress. I hope you are all loving the challenge and finding yourselves motivated and feeling wellness on the inside and outside…

my best to you all…

jul

WOW!!!  I am so excited about this challenge I can hardly stand it.  As I have been walking about in my non-virtual life, I have been finding myself telling more and more people about this… yes, I believe in it…believe, wholeheartedly, that transformation don’t just happen on the inside…that in order for them to stick - in a healthy way - they must encompass more than the part of us that feeds the "i want to fit in my jeans" or "I want to look better" desire….   ultimately FEELING better and being a MORE COMPLETE person is what will have a lasting effect on our lives….don’t cha think???

 Okay, enough…. here we go… we have 23 people that have signed up on this challenge…. they are listed below with links to their pages…. remember responding to blogs gives you points, so….. click away my friends….

Be sure to list your goals in a blog and/or on your short term goal section of your page…. Each week, I will ask you to send either tlc or I your weekly points so we can keep track of the standings… Let’s do this each Sat…. so this week will have only wed.,thurs and friday points in it… from there tally from sat. - friday each week for us…..On November 1st we will announce the winner….   ANd yes, if you win you will have bragging rights AND I will ask each person to publically congratulate the winner on their own site….that way the winner will get public kudos from 22 different sources yahoooo!!!

We have made a few changes to the original point system and will repost with the changes in bold lettering….

Ultimately, We wish you all a great amount of success at this challenge… so, go on….. get busy working on your Inside and your Outside!!!!!

wooooooohoooooooooo!!!! WOOOOOO HOOOOO! WOOHOO!

tlcinwdm, julofthenile, china2u, goforitnicks, hotheather, suzysunshine, mytam302, samcia, nms125, lynnlita, anissa3, buckspin, genki81, wendym1979, frydaddy4668, stormiorsini, spincycler, brielerose, amysuds, jjfit, vtdad, roxyanne, bodybytwa

WOW!!!  I am so excited about this challenge I can hardly stand it.  As I have been walking about in my non-virtual life, I have been finding myself telling more and more people about this… yes, I believe in it…believe, wholeheartedly, that transformation don’t just happen on the inside…that in order for them to stick - in a healthy way - they must encompass more than the part of us that feeds the "i want to fit in my jeans" or "I want to look better" desire….   ultimately FEELING better and being a MORE COMPLETE person is what will have a lasting effect on our lives….don’t cha think???

 Okay, enough…. here we go… we have 23 people that have signed up on this challenge…. they are listed below with links to their pages…. remember responding to blogs gives you points, so….. click away my friends….

Be sure to list your goals in a blog and/or on your short term goal section of your page…. Each week, I will ask you to send either tlc or I your weekly points so we can keep track of the standings… Let’s do this each Sat…. so this week will have only wed.,thurs and friday points in it… from there tally from sat. - friday each week for us…..On November 1st we will announce the winner….   ANd yes, if you win you will have bragging rights AND I will ask each person to publically congratulate the winner on their own site….that way the winner will get public kudos from 22 different sources yahoooo!!!

We have made a few changes to the original point system and will repost with the changes in bold lettering….

Ultimately, We wish you all a great amount of success at this challenge… so, go on….. get busy working on your Inside and your Outside!!!!!

wooooooohoooooooooo!!!! WOOOOOO HOOOOO! WOOHOO!

tlcinwdm, julofthenile, china2u, goforitnicks, hotheather, suzysunshine, mytam302, samcia, nms125, lynnlita, anissa3, buckspin, genki81, wendym1979, frydaddy4668, stormiorsini, spincycler, brielerose, amysuds, jjfit, vtdad, roxyanne, bodybytwa

It has been 20 months since I found a lifestyle of fitness and making better eating choices.  And through this journey I have come to realize that this is not just about obsessing over my food choices, or pushing myself through my weights, or even burning more calories as I do my cardio…. No, this is about taking this lifestyle and attempting a precarious balancing act with all other areas of your life… family, faith, friends, work, laundry, home maintenance….THIS is where things I find things to so easily get out of alignment. 

Yes, choices….this is about making the right ones. And more importantly as I find my way through all of this, I find I need to pick options for myself that are MAINTAINABLE so no other area of my life suffers….. Why am I writing all of this??

I am glad you asked!!

This next challenge is about all of this… Tlcinwdm and I realize the importance of total wellness in life…  (yes, we all want a trimmer, fitter body, but as hotheather has recently experienced, what good is all of that if everything else is awry??)

Enter the IN & OUT challenge!!!!

This challenge is designed to not just develop your outer self, but work on creating balance in your whole life. It will focus on three areas…. Mind, Body and Spirit. Within each catagory you will find tasks that will earn you points…Therefore you are in complete control of your success!

This is how it works:

Start: Oct. 1

End:  Oct. 31

Alright, alright… I have to come up for air at some point! Gulp!!!

I have not been on here much for a few reasons… 1) time 2)job 3)stress/life/etc and this last week I have been enjoying relaxing my diet for a bit and not worrying too much about what goes in…. well, now it is time to get busy. I have 4 weeks until I turn 40 and my abs are hiding again…..

hmmmmmm…. may be a perfect time for a new challenge??? Now I will write more about this on Wed., but I want you to know that Tlcinwdm and I have been crafting, plotting and planning what we think will be a really fun and complete challenge.  After reviewing the final product tonight…. I have to say, you will be busy in many facets of your life with this one… it goes well beyond eating clean… well beyond….

SO, check back on our blogs on Wed…. heh, heh…. have we got some fun planned for you!!!

In other news… shoulder injury is still pretty rough… I tried that fasting deal jjfit does… and successfully fasted from 9pm-9pm this past sat. sun and i had sooooo much energy it was weird….. hmmmmm…..going to try it again this week and see how it goes….and, um… that is about it…

:) smiles and hopes that you are all well….

Hmmm… it occurred to me… I don’t think we ever finalized who cheated last…. I know that fitnfeisty was clean until this past saturday… anyone else??? China2u and samcia…are you still standing????

Well… I thought I would post my results by pictures… I think you will be able to tell which pics are before and which are after…the befores were taken the first day and/ or after the first week… the afters were taken before.

The good… I can see very visable changes, the bad…my butt, hip area still needs plenty of work… so that, together with really defining those abs will be my focus.

 THe next challenge:

My, my…you guys are excited to get going on the next one aren’t you!!! I think that is great! Tlcinwdm and I are going to be co-captaining this one….. the ideas are all hers…and let me tell you, she is brilliant. She figured out a way to make these challenges motivational til the end (as it seems after a few weeks we all lose focus). We will post in the coming week about the next challenge, so be watching….and remember to invite your friends.

Okay, nothing is ever straight-forward with me….Seriously…this is so weird that my trainer is scratching his head.

First, you need to know that my trainer has been doing this for years….he is not new to caliper testing or training… and he, himself is a competitor.

The scene: an excited Julie goes to the gym to meet with trainer Geoff.. she is 131 lbs, lost inches, her lifts are going up and her abs are now visable… woohoooo can’t wait to see what the body fat is now on the 3 pt. site test. He measures…. he remeasures….and here it is…. my bodyfat in 6 weeks with all these changes is exactly the same!!! lol!!! 27.6% (again 1 pt. away from being in the NON average catagory, ie, fat.)

So, with my thryroid issue one would presume I am losing muscle not fat..however, i am getting stronger (even with a very strict diet), OR that I am losing body fat in areas other than the three sites… but not a little…a tiny little change?? And what about those new abs that are starting to show??? 

IT MAKES NO SENSE!!!!!!!! BUT if anyone has an answer, i would love to hear it…. because right now I am just smirking and laughing because if i don’t i’ll start to cry…

UPDATE:  Okay…. this is the answer…. Geoff made a mistake on my thigh measurement. I lost 3 mm in my ab and tricep and the other measurement is faulty. THE plan: continue with my diet changes (less carbs, more protein, less calories), increase cardio, and test in three weeks with both a 3 point test and a 7 or 9 point test. These should better represent where I am. Near as we can tell, I lost about 2% in 6 weeks….. but now I realize how inaccurate these measurements can be. Thank you all for your thoughts!! you guys are the BEST!!!

…… hours ago and quite by accident, Julofthenile, while passing a mirror - lifted her shirt to see if there had been anychange in her abdominal area since the last time she checked (yeah, i check like a fool expecting things to change in hours). Upon said action, Jul was taken aback…..was it the lighting? (probably), was it the angle? (mmm-hmmm), but those two factors seemed to create an apparition of what would appear to be some abdominal muscles developing under her shirt.  The above picture shows proof of this.

It is exactly 6 weeks until I turn 40. And although the picture does not showcase like some of the more famous abs on this site….(we all have our favs… i like livingloca, kltexas, and amykessler’s for female abs) they are beginning to take some form. Which gives me great hope that I may, in fact, meet my goal of having that 6 pack. 

ANY SUGGESTIONS would be greatly appreciated on how to acheive this….until then…. i eat clean!

Well, this is it… the last week for baby got back!!! can hardly believe it too… I definately will be continuing my focus on this wonderful area for the next 2 months (together with my abs…) I figure as I lean out, my abs will become more apparent. SO Get ready to let us know how you did with those goals friends…

Ouch???!!!!!!! Yes, The last three days I have decided to do 2 cardio sessions a day with my normal weights… and I have been inspired by my running friends here…lynlita, tlc, vtdad, phiedippedes (did i spell that right), pix, wendy… man, you all do that.. well, tonight i walked and ran 6.4 miles - in the country - up hill - with no shoes (just kidding), AND I AM SORE!!!! what on earth was I thinking??? 

Cardio wise I am fine out there… but my body HURTS when i run… my feet get sore, my hips ache, my arse is tender out there…. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?????

In other news… TLC and I are working on a new challenge… and her ideas are WONDERFUL!!! you guys are gonna love the next one!!!

STANDINGS FOR LMS ::  Near as I can tell…. there are six left… china2u, samcia, fitnfeisty, lizalaura (all with no cheats), frydaddy with 1 cheat, Roxy with 2 cheats  — does this seem right to you all??? and do you still want to keep going???? Let me know!!!!