Weighing the Matter: Inches vs. Pounds

A new favorite page I'm following on Facebook: Fitness and Faithfulness. And on her blog. My quote of the week is being borrowed from her Facebook page via Chalene Johnson: "Energy is a state of mind. Tell yourself you're tired and you will be. Tell yourself you feel great and you will." ~ Chalene Johnson

Before I forget... My update on my "Skinny Taste" meals from last week. The chicken piccata was fantastic!! The skinny chicken enchiladas were good too, but I think I built them up in my mind that they would taste just like the ones I order at my favorite Mexican restaurants, but of course they did not. My husband devoured them! Next time I make them, I would add some (skinny) guacamole, and perhaps a Skinnygirl Margarita (note: you must be 21+ to visit the Skinnygirl Cocktails website to see their margaritas)... I think that's what it was missing. It will mean a few extra calories but I think it will be well worth it!

While I'm on the topic of Skinnygirl Spirits, I was surfing the net and saw not only do they have the margarita mix out, but they have several cocktails  their own line of vodka, plus a (very small) line of wine. Personally, I am not sure that I'd try the wine since I am a bit of a wine-o and am particular about what I'll drink, but these other options could be worth checking out. I also saw on Pinterest that Skinnygirl is starting to sell "on the go" bars on their website. Sadly, there aren't any locations near me where I could purchase these so I may need to go through their website, but it's a great option. I'm interested in seeing what else they come up with as this company continues to develop.

Week 3 down of the Bikini Body Mommy Challenge, onto Week 4. I feel like even though I'm having success with losing the pounds (I lost 1.3lbs this past week), I am getting frustrated with my new "mommy pouch" that doesn't seem to want to go away. I know that my body is changing because I can feel it in my clothes (and notice it visually in certain places too... Like my thighs). This brings up the weekly "Slim by the Summer" question: pounds or inches?

We all know that we can lose inches without losing the pounds since muscle does weigh something. To be perfectly honest, I have never really taken measurements regularly. I always wondered if I would be accurately measuring the same exact spot on my waist, hips, or wherever each time, so didn't know how accurate my results would be. I did happen to take some of my measurements at the beginning of the year that I just re-measured and it does appear I have lost a few inches overall which is exciting. I feel the most successful when I fit back into certain clothes though. I'm wearing my old "fat" jeans with a belt because they are a little big, but my "skinny" jeans don't fit again yet. I am getting there though! The biggest reward will be that dress I keep talking about though. It zips almost halfway up... But is still quite snug around the tummy (mommy pouch!!). I need to start doing more abs exercises... perhaps I should go through everything I've been pinning to my fitness board for help.

Another way I can tell I must be gaining that muscle... 3 of the 6 days of circuit training on the Bikini Body Mommy Challenge, I perform the same exercises for the same amount of time and note how many I was able to perform. I improved my numbers of each exercise, each day. In fact, some of my numbers improved so much, I was shocked! I didn't think my strength and stamina would improve so much and so quickly. I am so proud that I am getting stronger because I know that means I am doing the right thing.

This past week, I made another addition to cardio routine to keep mixing it up. I purchased Zumba Core for Wii. This game is supposed to target your abs a bit more than the others, so hopefully I will start to see the results of this soon. I've never done Zumba but I was in dance when I was younger and love dancing in general so I was looking forward to this. And I am in love! It's so fun, you don't even realize how quickly the time is passing. Some of the moves can be tricky but as you do it more and more, it becomes like second nature and you pick it up.

... 'til next time!