Bikini Body? Probably Not. Happy body? You bet!

Todays Weight: 268.4. That's 87 lbs. So the last few months have been getting increasingly harder to shed those pounds. It's getting to the point that I can't just rely on my diet and mild physical activity. It's time to get serious about fitness. You know I have been talking a lot about hiking. I am so excited I have found this wonderful outdoor activity that I love to do, but I know with my crazy life, its not always possible to get out to do it. I'm still going to commit myself to getting out there as much as I can. I even bought myself some kick ass hiking shoes!

But I know I need something feasible to get me through most days when I just cant get out there. Thanks to my good friend Bylly, for introducing me to the "Bikini Body Mommy 90 day challenge". Now I know I'm not a mommy, and I also know I'm not going to be "bikini body ready" in 90 days, but I just did day 1 of the workout and holy hell, it is intense and I feel really good after completing it. So for those of you who don't know what the BBMC is, check out her facebook page/youtube. She is starting a new challenge in a couple of weeks, but I decided I would jump on her old youtube videos and start with the old challenge while I wait. It is less than 20 minutes each day of high intensity training and day 1 was only 8 minutes and I'm dying, but loving it.

 I am excited to try this out and see where it takes me. Like I said, I'm still planning on hiking, biking, and hitting the weight room at my condo as much as I can, but at least now I know I can have something on hand for when I just cant get out there. I would love it if there where others out there that want to do it with me? (I know Bylly will be)

On a completely side note, I am in need of some new recipes. I get to the point where the same things all the time just aren't cutting it. I love to see what others out there are coming up with for good, healthy meal options. Mind you, I dont eat any red meat (including pork) and some chicken, if it is too dry is hard too. I also cant eat most breads, sticky rice, or super cheesy things. But if you have any great meal ideas for me, I would love you to share some of your recipes. You can post them to my facebook, email me at sachki80@gmail.com or text them to me. Thanks everyone!

bringing it home.....

8 months, 270 lbs, that's 85 lbs so far. Ok so I have been getting a lot of crap from people because I haven't posted since April. Life just gets in the way sometimes, ya know? I have been so busy over the past 4 months. I decided to go back to school, to get my bachelors degree in nursing. That has really taken up a lot of my spare time. It has also made it significantly harder to stay up with being active. I know I should never make excuses for not exercising, but once I started with classes, that was my life. I still feel like I have made some good progress though. I have lost 16 lbs since I last blogged in April. And this includes the 10 lbs I gained while I was in Peru, and then had to lose again. So technically you could say I lost 26 lbs. Oh yeah, I went to Peru!

So Peru was pretty much amazing. I went on a humanitarian mission with the Hope Alliance to distribute glasses to the people of northern Peru. It was the most rewarding experience. I had so much fun. I got to meet some really cool people and share some wonderful experiences. I saw lots of cool places and tried lots of yummy food. Yeah....the food....Ok so this is the deal. Because I was traveling internationally, and specifically to a place that is less developed than the US, I had to have all the saline taken out of my band before I went. (For those of you who are confused, my band is connected to a small port implanted under my abdominal wall that can be accessed with a needle. I can have saline injected into the band to make it tighter or looser depending on how I'm doing. Well even though the band will cause restriction on its own, the saline helps constrict it even more, giving me that "full" feeling) It's a precaution because if I were to have have any trouble with my band, say, something got stuck, there would be trouble finding a medical professional who would know how to access my port and treat me. Therefore, I had all the saline removed. Now, my appetite was still much less than it ever was before the band, but I had no trouble eating anything and I could eat more than I was used to when the band was full of saline. Hence the gaining 10 lbs while I was there. The food was really good, most of the time. Its funny because I even got really sick while I was there and lost of lot fluid but even with being sick, I still managed to gain weight, which proves that it is much easier to put on weight that it is to take if off.

Since coming back from Peru, I have lost all the weight I put on (I was actually down to an 84 lb weight loss on July 5th, which was the day I left for Peru)and a big contributor to that was that when I got back, I started having the saline put back into my band. You cant replace it all at once, because the opening would just close off completely and I wouldnt be able to swallow anything at all, including liquids. So we put it back in a little at a time, faster than it was put in originally. I had a total of 7mls in there before I left. I got 3 mls put back in when I got home, and another 3mls will be put in tomorrow, so we can go faster this time, but it will still take some time to get back to where I was.

Another big contributor to my success has also been Camp Fellowship. Most of you know I am a part of this wonderful camp where I am one of the counselor directors. We run a summer Christian camp every July. Camp has always been a special place for me. It helps to remind myself who I am and what I want out of life. It renews my spirit and drive and puts me back together when I feel broken. Bring it home. This place has been a part of my life for 24 years now, and I couldn't imagine my life without it. When I got up there it was this instant refresh. I felt this instant pull to get my life back in order. I felt slightly broken from all the craziness the summer brought. Trying to do an entire semester of school in 5 weeks, while also traveling to a foreign country. All while having to worry about my health and weight loss. It has been an overwhelming summer, to say the least. But as soon as I got to camp, I knew I was home, and I knew what I needed to do. (It may sound crazy to those of you who have never had the joy of experiencing camp. It is indescribable, almost, to anyone who has never been there, but trust me, this place is magical.)I found a new drive to get back to where I was, and I had the love an support of so many people who have always just loved me unconditionally, and were there to help push me back to where I needed to be. I have known this girl, Emily, since we were 10 years old. We started out at this camp together as scared little campers, and now 24 years later we are still running things together. We have always been friends, but there have been times where we haven't been super close. Not because of anything we did, but just because life takes you way from the people you love sometimes. Emily and I came together at camp this year and I feel like for the first time in a long time, we are closer to each other than we have ever been. We shared some pretty intense and real moments during that week at camp and found a common bond that is driving us. I love this woman so much and I am so happy she is in my life. She is helping to push me so hard right now. I hope I can be the same strength for her that she needs.

Also, I have found a huge passion for hiking. Another thing that Emily has encouraged me to do. I am always looking for hiking partners, so if anyone is interested, hit me up. I am going to need that push again when school starts back up. Anyway, as you can see, a lot has happened since we last talked. I have fallen a few times and had to find the strength to get back up, but I am stronger than ever these days, and nothing is going to stop me now. I had a goal originally set out to lose 100 lbs by the time I left for Peru. Sometimes we set goal that just aren't attainable. That's ok. The point is that I am making goals and I am working hard towards them always. I didn't make that goal, but I have a new goal, that I think it is more realistic. I want to lose 100 lbs before I hit my 1 year mark. 1 year will be December 12th. That's 4 months from now. I have 4 months to lose 15 lbs. Let see if I can do it. But I need everyone's help. Because I have said it before, I can't do this alone. My sweet friend Steph said to me recently that every time she sees me, I look different. She said she always wants to tell me how good I look, but didn't know if it was overkill or if I didn't always want people to talk about it. I told her that I always want the encouragement. I'm not saying this because I need people to go out of their way to compliment me. I have become such a strong person over these past 8 months, I don't feel like I need that anymore to feel special, but every time I hear someone tell me that I look good, or that Im doing great, it just sends a little fire into my heart. That little spark of energy I need to keep going. Please dont ever feel bad or awkward about wanting to ask me questions or talk to me about it. I will always be open to sharing anything you want to know. Even if you just want to know what the "magic number" is as Melissa said to me once. Thank you all for continuing to support me on my journey. I am loving my life and where I am right now. A huge thanks to everyone that has continued to push me. Oh and my awesome sister Emily has lost over 90 lbs. She is my inspiration always. Love you sissy!