"Strength grows in the moments when you think you can't go on but you keep going anyway"

Things have been continuing to go very well with my health journey. This past week alone my husband, Joe, and I have been building up our very own home gym in the basement of our work house (considering we "live" here ten days at a time). We have been becoming increasingly productive with work and life which, at time, leaves us less time for the gym. Such as our weekends on, not even one of us can go to the gym when the kiddos are in bed because the gym closes at 7pm on weekends. Also winter is coming which will make it harder to go to the gym. We have been very fortunate enough to have family friends donate a nice weight lifting bench and a Boflex machine. We have also added our personal TV to play fitness videos (I LOVE the Les Mills On Demand service), our personal elliptical, dumbbells, yoga mat, our Gold's Gym Barbell with 100lbs weights. The home gym is already proving to be a major asset to our health journey. We have been talking about next adding a punching bag and some good floor mats to cover the concrete floor.

We call it "The Locker Room"

Every day I am finding it easier to live this healthy alternative lifestyle. I am not even thinking about snacking at night which has been my latest big success. I am also really starting to notice changes with my body. I can feel and see my pelvic bone which I forgot was there since two years ago. My arms are becoming more defined which is a first in ever. My stomach has even become smaller in size which has been my biggest insecurity when I gained all the weight. It has also been a major confidence boost to hear about how much I have lost from friends and family. I am so far deep into this journey I know 100% that there is NO turning back. My husband, Joe, has been my biggest help. He has adapted to this lifestyle so well that he is making sure that he gets his fitness in everyday as well as making healthy choices. When you have your partner to join you on your journey, it makes things a million times easier. We have been doing awesome at encouraging and pushing each other to do better and more. So far we have both lost a combined weight of 80 pounds, so it is defiantly working!
I know I promised to write about our hiking adventure on Mount Jefferson on Oct 10. Unfortunately we were not able to hike it because it ended up snowing on the summit. We were still able to hike on a mountain but this time it was Bubble Rock which is located in Acadia National Park. The mountain itself looks pretty cool which sits right beside Cadillac Mountain. Despite choosing a different mountain that only had .4 mile trail to the summit, it was at a steep incline up, so we had a good share of scrambles on the way up. When we reached we top we not only had an awesome view of the park and Jordan pond we saw the infamous bubble rock. What is really cool about this huge rock is that is sits right on the edge of the mountain. It looks like you can just push the rock off the ledge but it's not that easy. There are actual teams of people that come and try pushing the rock. A cool history fact is that back when the glaciers were around the large rock was placed right on top of the mountain. It is proven that the make up of the rock is completely different then the rock in the mountain.

Just a small portion of what we had to do

The top view over Jordan Pond and Acadia

"Bubble Rock" looks more like a "bubble butt"

It has been a little while since my last post. I have been rather busy with life. The good news is that I have remained active and losing the pounds! I want to first announce that I am officially under 200 pounds!!! I honestly cannot count how many times I have doubted myself on being able to lose the 35 pounds to get where I am right now. I was ready to accept that I was going to be a 200 plus gal, but I had to dig in deep and stick with this. I have been known for starting projects and not finishing them. My fear was that I wasn't going to be able to stick with a strict health regiment and have history repeat itself. But that is not how my story is going to end. My health journey has no end and when I change my thought process to this, it makes it easier to keep going. Every day I am always facing personal challenges. Such as.. Am I doing enough cardio? Am I able to stop snacking after 7pm? When am I going to be able to do this without even thinking?

The past two months have been my greatest with my fitness and health. I completed my second 5k in under 37 minutes which has been my best time so far. The 5k was the Early Rise n' Shine which the fee was covered by my work so my husband and I both signed up. This was his very first 5k which we both finished at the same time. I will have to say that the greatest secret to my success is to have someone to do it along with. We both gained the weight and now we are both losing the weight. It just makes sense right?

Joe and I finishing together

Group photo with the amazing people I work with.

My next major fitness goal will be this weekend where my parents, sister, myself, and Joe will hike the Caps Ridge Trail on Mt Jefferson. This is a 2.5 mile hike one way which sounds easy right? I wish but that would make a terrible fitness goal. Not this 2.5 mile hike is 2,700 ft elevation gain. The summit elevation alone is 5,712 ft. This trail is surprisingly considered the easiest because it only has moderate exposure plus it is the shortest in distance. What it lacks in distance makes up in literal climbing. I recently learned the hiking term "scrambling", which is pretty much a step down from rock climbing. It is a very physically demanding hike and I am super excited and scared. I am excited but really enjoy hiking. I love the amazing view you get at the top and the sense of accomplishment you feel when you reach back to the bottom. I am terrified because 99% of the hike is on a steep incline and a large portion is above the treeline so we will be fully exposed to wind and cold. I am hoping the weather will remain good and have a good view at the top. Considering Mt Jefferson is the third tallest mountain in NH plus being next to Mt Washington, there is a chance of being in the clouds. So let's keep our fingers crossed!!

http://4000footers.com/photo%20%20jefferson.jpg

I have honestly never been so proud of myself and what my body has been able to achieve. With Winter coming, I am afraid the holidays and the lack of being outside will hinder, but I cannot allow me to fall into old habits. Just not an option! Joe and I have been slowly building up a home gym in our basement. So far we have a weight bench that was donated by family friends. We purchased a barbell with weights. We also have yet to set up a weight machine that my grandparents gave us and we need to pick up a Boflex machine another family friend is giving us. So I have a good feeling that we will good plus we still have our gym membership to Planet Fitness. When there is a will there is a way!!

Our bench and barbell