"Results from February" Jessica's Journey ,March 4th

Sometimes I feel like the end of the month is when I get to show my big reveal...what are my results from this month.

Why do I only share these once a month?
Simply...I only do measurements once a month.  I am not going to lose inches in a week...just not going to happen.  Doing measurements each month works for me and that is what I have been doing for about a year.  (some of those numbers that I first recorded were quite a bit bigger than what I record now!)
I usually only get on the scale once a month (if I actually do that month).  I've talked about the scale a few times before (check out this blog) and I really am trying not to let that number dictate how I am feeling.  I know what I am eating, I know how much I am exercising and I know if I am making healthy choices.  Right now I am trying to make 90% of my choices the healthy options and that it tough.  I am trying though and have made a lot of changes over these last couple of years on this journey.  Little steps lead to a lot of changes eventually and I will stick with these changes better if I go one change at a time.

What is my big reveal for February?
Remember...Valentines Day was this month and there was a lot of chocolate in our house.  I may need to talk with Dove and Godiva for next year so these options aren't available in my home.  :)

Big Reveal #1...With all the chocolate that was consumed I still managed to lose 1/2 an inch in my hips!  I literally can see the changes in my hips.  I can feel muscle, I can see the difference that has happened over January until now (January I lost even more in my hips than in February!)

Big Reveal #2...I am not focused on the scale and I really am serious about that.  But when you have a number in your mind that you want to be past and that number has been part of your life for over 16 years you really have to be a little bit excited when you beat that number.  This week I beat that number and actually saw it on the scale.  (You can all scream and shout for me!)  Reality was this...I was to the point where this number was actually haunting me.  I would watch Biggest Loser and there is a big hoop-la when someone gets past this number.  They make it seem so easy.  You watch an hour or two of their show, see them do some exercises and then that week they are down 5 pounds or so AND they made it past one of their big milestones.  I know that there is a lot more to the show than what we see and I know that the food choices that they eat are not the same as what I have available in front of me at home.  The last few weeks someone has made it past that milestone and each time I heard the words, "I can't believe I am below _____" I either stuck out my tongue at them or told them to shut up.  It was like Biggest Loser was now taunting me.  Ha Ha you are still stuck at this weight that you wanted to be past a year ago.
This week one of my friends also beat that number and texted it to me.  At that point I decided that I was done and it was time to get very serious.  A few days later I did my weigh-in for the month and I made it!

How are my changes possible?
Determination.  
Self-motivated.
Self-control (which I am learning about).
Having a goal & a plan to reach those goals.  At the start of my journey I did a lot of this on my own.  Once I hit a plateau though I wasn't sure what to do next.  I have made a lot of progress and reached several small goals since I started a plan with Jeff Burbank on October 31st.  At the moment I am doing things in the gym that I would just stare at people doing or would see videos about the exercise but think in my head that I would never even attempt something like that.  Those were the people that I thought were crazy.  :)  I had no idea at that point how important strength training was.  Jeff is offering a great deal right now for those that want to try out his program.  He is starting this March 6th (very soon!) and has a few more spots for people to sign up.  $50 gets you training programs that are personalized from him (which truly are amazing) until July 4th.  After that you will get 6 more months of training programs and nutrition information from a class that he will be taking from Precision Nutrition.  That is one great deal!  Just think of what changes you will see in your body with the results from this program.  And it is just $50.  If you are interested and are ready to put in some work to see some results you can check out his offer on his website.  There is even a spot to sign up using Pay Pal....he has really made it as simple and as cheap as possible for you to make some changes.

Why am I telling you about this?
Personally, I know that it works.  If I see something that works I just have to tell someone.  I know that I was stuck in the endless elliptical cycles and endless running on the treadmill and was thinking that I was going to make huge weight loss goals using those methods of cardio.  I would love to go up to people at the gym that I see on the elliptical every day and tell them all about strength training but I don't know that I would have appreciated a stranger approaching me.  :)  I can write about this though and hopefully I will help change the perspective that many women have on strength training.  Strength training 1) it won't make you bulky 2) you will burn more calories throughout the day if you do strength train, 3)  you will get a lot stronger and simple things like carrying jugs of milk (or kids) will be so much easier and 4) muscle takes up less space than the same weight of fat.  Why wouldn't you want to strength train?

If you haven't signed up yet...you probably should today ;)  Payment must be made via Pay Pal prior to March 6th.  If you have any questions feel free to ask!  I'd be happy to answer what I can and Jeff also has an e-mail address on his website.