"Begin today and write in it your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records, they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to you, each other, your children, your grand-children and others throughout the generations. Remember, the Savior chastised those who failed to record important events." --President Spencer W. Kimball

May 17, 2011

Turning a new leaf.....


"If your heart is in the right place, tell your butt to get there!"



I got married back in November 2002......this is what I looked like back then......

I've never been small by any means of the word....always the biggest one in my family, especially since both my sisters were a size 2 in high school and I was never smaller than a 12.......but while on my mission in Chile, I lost a lot of weight and the size I was when I got married was perfect for me.  I would give anything to be that size again.......

Lately, I'd say for the past several years....I've been absolutely disgusted with myself.  It's actually gotten to the point where I try to always be the one taking pictures so I don't have to be in them....and I can't even stand looking at myself in the mirror.  I'm in denial about the size of clothes I have to buy now and I just hate how I feel and how I see myself.  It's totally my own fault, I've totally let myself go since being married....and after almost 9 years and 3 babies.......I've gained 65lbs.  :( 

Ova is so sweet, he's constantly telling me I'm beautiful and when we dress up to go somewhere, he always tells me I look nice.  I'm grateful for that....but I just don't see it......

I totally blame myself, because for the last few years I've been throwing a pity party for myself and not doing anything about it.....I mean, how am I gonna make myself feel better about myself if I don't take any action to fix the problem.....it's not like it can fix itself!

So, Ova's older brother has a friend who works at the Gold's Gym in Provo.....his brother has been going there for a couple months now, and he kept telling us how great he feels and how much weigh he is losing.....I totally thank him for giving us the motivation to start!

On April 19th, Ova and I became members of Gold's Gym.....and honestly we made a goal that day to go to the gym everyday, to eat healthier, and to motivate and push each other to get where we both want to be.  Thankfully, we've been sticking to our plan!

I'm actually very surprised at myself.  I've never really dedicated myself to a workout program before, and I'm pretty much super lazy......I could just see myself getting tired and instead of pushing myself, just giving up.  I didn't really know at first how this deal we made was going to work out.  Like I said, I'm actually very surprised at myself.....I have been able to push myself a lot harder than I thought I would be able to and I've been keeping up with the schedule we set for ourselves!

Here's our gym routine:
When we get there, we ride the bike for 20 minutes....just to get some cardio in and to stretch out before we lift....
Then we lift.....alternating arms one day, legs the next......
Ova is my personal trainer and he's the best because he pushes me when he sees I need pushing and he always says "good job babe" after every set he sees me struggle through.
After we lift, we hit the treadmill......we're not at the point where we can run like we'd both like to....so for now we speed walk for 20-40minutes.
And somedays when we're done with our workout, we hit the sauna and hot tub!

I'm very grateful that we have the ability to go together.....to workout together, lose weight together and get in shape together.  It's quality time that we get to spend together and I love it!

I must say though, I'm getting extremely discouraged because he's dropping weight so much quicker than I am.....it's frustrating because we work out the same...do everything the same (except for the weights of course, because he can lift so much more than me)......but he's already dropped 30lbs, and I've only dropped 5.  I know that men lose weight a lot quicker than women......but it's frustrating!

I gotta stick to it though and keep pushing!  Although my results aren't as great as Ova's......I feel great and that's what I'm happy about!  It feels great to know that I'm finally doing something to change what I hate about myself.....and even if it takes a while.... I.CAN.DO.IT!!!

9 comments:

Tina Tuakoi said...

YOU CAN DO IT! :) You've got it Monica, way to stay motivated. :)

shaunita said...

that's awesome! Stick with it and you'll see those pounds drop off.

Klarah said...

Wow.. Just reading your gym routine makes me exhausted!!LOL! I need to be more motivated to do the same. I am glad you at least have the courage to write about something such as your weight as I find myself throwing the same pity partys now that you did in your past. I need to step my game up and get on your level:) For what it's worth I have gained more then you have since being married after having just two kids... I know sad huh!?!LOL! Well once this baby is out I am determined to find a cheap gym membership somewhere so I can start dropping the pounds & get in shape to gain enough energy to keep up with all of my boys! I'm so happy your sticking to your routine. Keep it up so that after this baby is born I can follow in your foot steps:)

nivadivadiaries said...

You can do it! Hooray for Monica! Commit 2B Fit! X2 Rise & Grind! Wish I lived closer so we can be work out buddies. I get tired of working out alone. =( Wish you the best on your health and fitness journey back to your happy weight! =)

pwincessdi said...

Good for you Monica, that pic on your wedding day is so beautiful! I know u can do it, especially with Ova by your side helping and pushing you :) When we lived in Cali, me and Pulu went every morning and although we didn't workout together, just walking in together was enough motivation. Maybe you should change up your workouts cause like u said men do lose weight a lot faster than women. That's why I didn't work out with Pulu cause I was doing all the workouts this one lady was doing, I always followed her cause she had a personal trainer and I knew she knew what she was doing. I would highly HIGHLY recommend taking Pilates! I found that when I stretched every muscle, it was easier for me to exercise, I was more flexible, and yeah that's my 2 cents! I can't wait to have this baby outta me, so I can hop on the bandwagon for the 20 millionth time! :) heheheeh Good luck girl!

Fiona and Hoko Tuakoi said...

You can so do it!! Yay for both of you on your weight loss so far. :D I can definitely see how it can be frustrating to see him losing so much more at a time than you. That must be hard. But you're doing so AWESOME!! Keep it up. Something I've learned over the years is how what we eat is 90% of the battle. So I'm trying to make more healthier choices, too. :D Love you Mon!! Keep up the GREAT work!! The feeling of achievement afterwards makes it all worthwhile. :D

MARCIA said...

YES.YOU.CAN!!! Congratulations on losing 5lbs. It is totally unfair that men lose weight faster than woman and it just sucks to see it. But I know you can do it! I'm in the same boat. Gained weight from day one of our marriage and now 13 yrs later I've decided to take a stand for myself. No one else will, right? Good job Monica...just keep going!!

Tiff and Kyle said...

you are amazing! Thank you for your strength. I have been struggling for a long time too. What I see in my head is not what I see in the mirror so I choose just to look in my head.
You're my hero!

Kiki Fangupo said...

I feel you on so many levels! I freak'n got frustrated too and just gave up. It's so annoying to look at Ti Tonga's skinny butt lol. Keep up the good work though!! Excited that you guys got a plan and are sticking to it.