Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Mamavation Monday Post #1

I've been following #mamavation on Twitter for a while and love the sense of community.  I've used the topic hashtag a few times and am so impressed by the fact that (now former) strangers have instantly communicated and cheered me on.  It's a new year, so I've decided to pledge the Mamavation Sistahood so that I can continue to be encouraged by the community, but also so I can give back.  I'm a firm believer that if you put yourself out there on social media, you'll see a great return on the investment.  As a side note, I met my husband on Match.com; found my job on LinkedIn.com, made friends on MySpace and Facebook; and have hired people for my work team from Twitter.  The online world has been good to me.

About me...I'm 32 years old and live in the state of PA.  I'm happily married and have a 3.5 year old daughter, N.  I work full time as the director of an HR team.  I love my job and really love being a working mom.  I get stressed out by it all every now and then, but I don't think I could work inside the home.

A little over a year ago, I began a weight loss journey.  My goal was to lose the 25 pounds I packed on since moving to a new (less active) city and having a child.  A couple of months into the diet, I started using the MyFitnessPal app religiously to track my food and exercise and it worked!  In fact, I blew my 25 pound goal out of the water and lost a total of 40 pounds so I'm now the same size that I was before starting grad school (for some reason I gained 15 pounds while in school...probably because I didn't have time to work out!).  I've maintained my weight for about 8 months and have no intention of waining it back.  Here's the before and after pic.
Recently, I've become bored with my workouts.  I work out primarily at home, after my child, N, goes to bed.  We're lucky to have an elliptical and weight bench/rack in the house, so I don't have to go far to exercise.  I generally do 2.5-3.5 miles on the elliptical 3 times per week and incorporate upper body strength training into each cardio session.  I'm pretty strong and feel very fit.  After trying a couple of the Mamavation hazing workouts, I've realized that I need to work on my lower body and change up my routine.  I don't want to just hang out on the elliptical.  I don't want to just walk or jog...I want something that will challenge me.  I'm not a huge runner thanks to a high school knee injury.  I need people to share their workout ideas and motivate me to do something more than my normal, boring routine.  That's why I'm here.

I posted my resolutions yesterday.  Specific to the Mamavation community, I need your help with #3 - Focus on wellness, not just fitness.  Change my workout routine to include more yoga and strength training to help me feel calm and centered. 

I hope this will be the first of many Mamavation Monday posts and am exited to pledge the Sistahood!

6 comments:

  1. Hey! So nice to meet you! I think you'll really like the 2 week challenges that we have in Mamavation, they're my favorite workout changes - I always pick up something new from them! @way2gomom

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  2. Wow! You look GREAT! Happy to have you join us! :) And as Joanna said, the 2 Week Challenges are SUPER awesome.

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    1. Thanks so much for the comment! I'm looking forward to the 2 Week Challenges. Happy New Year!

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  3. Welcome to the sisterhood. We are so excited for you to be part of it. Please let us know if you need anything we are here to support you. You look great and have a great week.

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  4. Congrats on your success with your weight loss. I am looking to get back on track and get back on the exercise wagon. I am so excited to hear all these wonderful things about the mamavation community. Looking forward to reading more posts from you

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