And the verdict is...

Okay, I had my 5 week (or half way) evaluation on Friday night and the progress results are in. Here goes:

Sit Ups I could do 21 sit ups in a minute at the beginning and this time I did 30. My goal was 33, so I didn't quite get there, but I'm okay with that. My goal for the next 5 weeks is to do 38.

Push Ups I could do 24 modified (girly) push ups in a minute at the beginning and this time I did 40. My goal was 33 so I accomplished that! It surprises me that I made my push up goal and not my sit up goal as much as we work on abs, but it is all good. My goal for the next 5 weeks is to do 26 real push ups. I so courageously tried to get out of this goal as the thought of doing real push ups has always daunted me, but it's time to work on it.

Sit and Reach I reached 19 1/2 inches at the beginning and 21 3/4 this time. My goal was to reach 23 inches, but I still had a 2 1/4 inch gain in flexibility in this amount of time and I am happy with it. My goal for the next 5 weeks will remain 23 inches.

As for measurements... I'll put my beginning measurements in white and my 5 week measurements in blue.

Arms - (R) 11.5 in (L) 11.25 in (R) 11.5 in (L) 11.5 in (they evened out)

Chest - 35.75 in 35 in (- a very noticeable 0.25 in.)

Waist- 30.25 in 29.25 in (- 1 in)

Belly Button- 32 in 31.5 in (- 0.5 in)

Hips (Between Hips & Thigh) 41.75 in 37.75 in (- 4 inches)

Thighs (R) 25.75 in (L) 24.75 in (R) 22 in (L) 22 in (-3.75 in and -2.75 in- they
also evened out)

Weight 156 lbs 150.6 lbs (-5.4 lbs)

Pant Size sz. 10-12 Sz 10 solidly


So there it is. I know they aren't numbers that will make any one's eyes pop out of their heads, but I am happy with them. 5 lbs in 5 weeks doesn't really seem like a lot, but I keep being reminded that this is different than a diet. I am gaining muscle, so the numbers on the scale aren't going to go down as drastically as if I was on a diet. Muscle weighs more than fat and muscle burns fat, so it is all good. I was happy with my fitness test. Again, I know they aren't amazing numbers, but for me they were.


I missed my first workout this weekend. I didn't even work out at home. I had been feeling really rough last week . I think I posted earlier that I still went to work out on Thursday and of course on Friday. But by Saturday morning, I knew I needed to go to the doctor instead. And it was good I did because I had strep throat and was able to get an antibiotic. I'm feeling much better now. Saturday was Alyssa's birthday party, so it was my free day for eating. I had lots of cake and ice cream and while not a ton of food throughout the day, none of the food was made to fit into my current nutrition plan. I was going to be good yesterday (Sunday) and do my bands at home to make up for not working out on Saturday. Plus my free day was over and I needed to eat right again. But my husband is a softie when it comes to the kids and he took everyone to Culvers after church. Now I know that I could have just eaten a salad there, but I RARELY go to Culvers and I surely wasn't interested in just watching everyone chow down on their meals and the always popular cheese curds! So I had a little side salad, but followed it with 1/2 pork tenderloin sandwich (with Mayo!) and a few cheese curds. Kudos to me for cutting the sandwich in half before smothering it in mayo, but yeah, that just set the tone for the day. We went home and the kids and I had a cleaning day (that could be a whole other blog entry!) while Dan went to his work out. After a few hours of thorough cleaning and already feeling like I'd lost the day, I called Dan and asked him to bring me home a soda and something sweet. I said it cryptically, but when it came down to it, I wanted my coveted Carrot Cake. So my darling husband brought me diet soda, carrot cake, and ice cream which we ate after our nutritious (and yummy) meal of chicken nuggets! (yeah, that balance thing was out the window! If I'm gonna blow it, I'm really gonna blow it!) Today, I am back on the wagon though and ready to have at it. I am ready to kick some bootie working out tonight - after 2 days, it seems like it's been forever! And I am in the right mindset for eating well. I'm actually working on convincing myself that this weekend of eating was in reality a good thing for me. I've been told it may be time to switch things up in my diet a bit to keep things going. I'm going on the theory that I just needed to give it a little jolt this weekend so it can really be efficient this week. Sounds good to me!

Anyway, I'm halfway finished with the challenge and looking forward to this second half! I'll keep you posted. Have a fabulous day!

MJ