hopefully an answer to my problem...

for the past eight to tenth months, i've slowly noticed strange things going on with my body! it all started with gaining weight (about 15-20 pounds in the last 8-10 months), and not to say that i don't eat my fair share of treats (especially chocolate), but it still seemed strange since i was continuing to work out. then i started noticing that my energy level seemed a lot lower than it had been...i just didn't have the energy to go to the gym after work which was strange. within the last 2-3 months, my appetite has been ravenous...i eat all day (healthy snacks though!) and when i eat a meal, i'm starving 2 hours later. last week i woke up in the middle of the night soaked in sweat and realized that this had been happening for a few months, a couple times a week, but i just hadn't been paying attention to it because i was so tired when i would wake up in the middle of the night.

after deciding that there really should be an explanation for all of this, i finally made a doctor's appointment last week. it was a family doctor that i hadn't been to before, but my friend amy recommended her...and i loved her! she took the time to talk to me about all of my symptoms and go over some different possibilities and options!

yesterday the nurse called me with the results of my lab work, and they discovered that i have a vitamin d (the sunshine vitamin!) deficiency...which the doctor told me is also related to hormones (hence the increased appetite and night sweats). they want me to try some vitamin d therapy for a month and see if that helps. i certainly hope it does because this eating all the time thing is not working out well for my body! the summer is approaching (which will hopefully help the deficiency since i will be out in the sun...i'm ready for the winter to be long gone this year!), and i definitely want to get this problem under control before bathing suit weather (not to mention the 3 weddings we are going to in May and June)! i have so many cute dresses and bathing suits to wear this summer, but as of right now i don't think i could get my hips into any of them! time to hit the gym really hard and keep my fingers crossed that the vitamin d therapy helps!

the joys of spinning

before christmas i decided to try a spinning/cycling class at my gym. i started off with the 30 minute easy rider class (taught by jessica) but soon realized i was probably going to need to add a little more than just 30 minutes of it to my weekly gym schedule! so last week i decided to try the hour long class that takes place right after the 30 minute easy class. it actually went really well, and i wasn't sore the next day...shockingly! i felt so good after my hour and a half of spinning that i decided to try another hour long class the next day...with a different instructor (susan). that class was more intense than the hour and a half from the day before...susan doesn't give any breaks and makes you work your ass off (hopefully literally...i haven't seen much of a difference yet, but it's only been two weeks)! not that jessica doesn't make us work, it just seems that she breaks up the class a little differently!

this week i decided to do it all over again...an hour and a half on tuesday and then an hour on wednesday. tuesday was rough...i thought i would only make it 30 minutes, then i decided i could do an hour, but in the end i made it through the whole hour and a half! i did all of the sprints, jumps, and hills...and felt like i'd had another awesome workout at the end! i did susan's class last night and seriously thought i was going to die by the end of it...meanwhile susan (who is probably 50 years old mind you!) looks like she just took a short stroll down the street! on tuesday, i was feeling really good about my fitness level, but after yesterday i'm thinking i have a hell of a lot of cycling to do in the next few months (along with other classes and workouts at the gym) to get ready for the summer!

i had heard lots of stories about cycling and how much it hurts your butt...however i must have a lot of padding in mine because i really haven't been all that sore. i was ready for the kind of soreness where you can't sit down, and once you do sit down it's hell trying to get up, but luckily i haven't experienced that...at least not yet! here's to many more cycling classes...

girl time

today was packed full of girl time with amy! jon went to the usc football game with tee, so amy and i went shopping and out to dinner! it has been a lot of fun catching up with amy and having girl time...no boys allowed! :) tomorrow morning she and i are going to walk the ravenel bridge for some much needed exercise...especially after the calzone and peppermint chocolate chip milkshake i had tonight! i love my husband with all my heart, but girl time is definitely necessary in life! much love to all my great girlfriends out there...you are awesome and i'm extremely lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful friends!!!! xoxo

resisting the urge

so let me start by saying i'm very proud of myself so far today...because i have resisted the urge to get a doughnut out of the dunkin donuts box! i had a great tae bo workout last night, and i hate to ruin it by eating a doughnut this morning so i stuck to my english muffin with cheese! also i'm looking forward to a great dinner at easterby's tonight, so i figured i should save up for that!

a little less than 6 hours until the beginning of an awesome weekend....

fun filled long weekend ahead

i'm so ready for this weekend to get here! we have friends and family coming into town that we haven't seen in awhile, so it should be a fun filled weekend...and it's a long weekend too! having monday off from work makes the weekend even better!

weekend events so far....
tomorrow night jon and i are going to easterby's (all you can eat crab legs for jon) with my mom and hopefully getting to see our nieces once kirk and laura and the babies get into town. saturday morning i am planning to hit the farmer's market downtown with my mom and maybe pick a few cupcakes at cupcake...the most awesome cupcake place ever!!! we are having an end of summer party at the windmueller's saturday afternoon...boats, jet ski, beer, jello shots, good friends and family - what more could we ask for?! saturday night will hopefully involve a trip downtown to go out on the town for the night with our friends! we haven't gone out downtown in a few months so i'm hoping that works out! as for sunday and monday...relaxation time and whatever fun might come along!

only one more workday to go until the fun begins! it's almost time to call it a day at work and hit the gym for a great tae bo workout tonight! xoxo

just another day...

today has been just another day...wake up, work, gym, home, and soon it will be sleepy time! today was busy at work, and by the time i got to the gym i didn't really feel like working out. i pushed through it though and got a little bit of a workout tonight!

i'm super excited about getting my hair "did" tomorrow! i always look forward to my hair appointments, and tomorrow is one of those days! not sure if i will make any drastic changes (probably not!), but it always feels good to have a fresh hairdo!

that's all for tonight! xoxo

awesome cardio workout

yesterday i did a cardio workout with bill, a personal trainer who just got his black belt! it was awesome....he taught me how to punch and a few kicks as well. it was 30 minutes of hard core cardio! it ended with flipping a tire (semi truck sized, not car sized) over all the way down the gym and all the way back! it was the first time in a while that i actually felt like i had more energy after working out, and i can't wait to try it again next week. i'm definitely going to invest in some personal boxing gloves (possibly bright pink) before next week's session though because the ones at the gym were gross! tonight...self defense class!

gym buddies and tacky comments

on tuesday i began my journey with a fitness coaching class and personal trainer! it's definitely time to get back into shape...bathing suit season here i come!

at my first class on tuesday, i was amazed by the people taking the class with me. there was about 6 others, all of who have been taking the class for several months. they seem to be gym buddies....you know, those people who met at the gym and only hang out at the gym! personally, i don't care to have any gym buddies - i'm there for one purpose - to work out...and in the process i tend to get really sweaty and gross! (i like sweating though because it makes me feel like i'm really doing something!) i don't care to spend extra time at the gym chatting with "gym buddies" or talking to the trainers after my workout...at that point i'm ready to get home and take a shower because i'm sweating profusely and i'm sure that the b.o. is coming out of my pores.

tacky comments....as i was taking the class on tuesday (and keep in mind i had just met these people), a girl commented on my engagement and wedding rings. that comment led to another about my bling bling and so on until basically the whole class was talking about it, along with the trainer. i just couldn't believe the tackiness...the comments weren't like "i really like your rings". they were more like "wow, your ring is blinding me" and "heidi is having to lift extra weight with that big rock on her finger"! give me a freakin' break people! my ring is beautiful, if i do say so myself, but have a little tact if you decide to compliment someone!

kickin' some ass...

tonight was week 2 of my self defense class! it was awesome...we learned how to protect ourselves if someone breaks in our house...and got a good workout in the process! last week they gave each of us a t-shirt that says 'oops, i broke a nail...kickin' your a**'! i will be wearing it proudly!

speaking of workout, tomorrow i am going to the gym and getting a personal trainer! it's time to get serious and get in shape for bathing suit season!

i'm so ready for the long weekend to arrive...2 more days of work this week!

happy mother's day

happy mother's day to all the mothers out there! jon and i celebrated mother's day with our mothers today at the windmueller's! we were planning to go out on the boat after cooking out, but the weather got nasty! luckily we got to have lunch outside before the storms rolled in!

mothers are a wonderful thing, and i feel for all of those who have lost their mothers too soon! my mom tends to drive me crazy at times, but i don't know what i would do without her! she raised me in tough conditions as a single parent, and i give her a lot of credit for making it through the rough times by herself! my stepmother has also been an important part of my life, and i don't know what i would do without her. she put up with me when i was little...i remember telling her that my daddy would let me do something when she told me i couldn't...i was about 6 at the time. what a brat i must have seemed like! i love you mom and diane...thanks for all you have done for me and all that you continue to do!

i've had quite a busy weekend, but i'm finally getting a little time to relax with jon this evening before another week begins tomorrow! yesterday i spent the day with my mom and katie car shopping for my mom. after being at the chevrolet dealership for almost 3 hours yesterday, i remembered why i don't like to go car shopping! unfortunately my mom has to buy a car this week, so she has no choice but to car shop. she found out on thursday that her car was totaled (after an accident a couple weeks ago), so she is driving a rental car which the insurance company will quit paying for tomorrow! she's found a car that she likes here, but she's heading back to columbia in the morning to check out a couple more before making a final decision!

this week is going to be pretty busy! stefani and dan's bundle of joy should be arriving on tuesday (if not before)! poor stefani...she's been miserable the last couple of weeks and was so hoping the baby would arrive before now! i can't wait to find out if it's going to be a girl or boy...sophie grace or spencer leo?!

wednesday night i begin taking a 6 week self defense class...which i'm hoping will also be a great workout! i have definitely stayed out of the gym too long (almost 2 months now) and i have to get back into it this week. i'm hoping to do some cardio this week and start working with a personal trainer next week! i definitely need some quick results because bathing suit weather is here!

time for a little more relaxation before heading to bed in a few hours! xoxo

gym...what was i thinking?!

so i haven't been to the gym in about two months, but today i decided it was time to get back into it! boy was it rough....i sweated it out for forty minutes on the eliptical and bicycle and felt good about it once i was done, but while i was doing it...not so much fun! it was a little strange walking into the gym after not being there for two months, but i got on the machines and did my normal people watching and a little reading in attempt to make the time go by as quickly as possible!

people watching in the gym is quite entertaining! i'm one of those people who doesn't go to the gym to socialize and i certainly don't wear short shorts and a skimpy top looking for attention. to me the gym is the place i go to work off (hopefully) at least a small portion of the calories i've consumed during the day and relieve stress. during this process, i become a sweaty, smelly mess and the last thing i want to do is talk to people as i'm doing it! i like to get it done and get out of there....however, i've observed many people there who seem to have all night to spend in the gym chatting with their "gym buddies" while tying up the machines! to each is own, i guess....just please don't sit on the machine i'm patiently waiting to use carrying on a conversation with your "gym buddy"!

another day at the gym tomorrow as i slowly get back into it and hopefully getting a personal trainer to kick my butt into shape...i'd like to at least see some progress before i begin consistenly wearing my bikini every weekend this summer!

those weekends will be here very soon!!! :)

middle of the week...and lots of work to get done

it's the middle of the week and i have tons of work to get done. this weekend looks like it's going to be spent in my office attempting to dig out from the paperwork slowly stacking up on my desk! tax season is soooo much fun! (said sarcastically!) i've been productive so far this week though, so at least i'm making progress!

i'm heading to the gym this afternoon to work out some stress and hopefully meet with my new personal trainer! i'm hoping to get a great work out routine from him, so i can get in shape before bathing suit season...which will be here before i know it!

i'm so freakin' excited about our trip to utah in less than 3 weeks. jon and i are heading to utah on february 15th with my brother-in-law, kris, and his awesome girlfriend, anne! we are planning on an extremely fun filled week of skiing, drinking, eating, a tour of their pool cover manufacturer, and whatever else we can possibly find to do in utah! i've never been on the other side of the mississippi (except on an airplane to mexico last september), so i'm super excited about seeing the mountains of utah!

time to get back to work and continue digging out from the paperwork! xoxo

end of the weekend

well another weekend is over, and unfortunately i think it was the last free weekend i'm going to have until we leave for utah on february 15th! jon and i had a good time in myrtle beach with my parents and cousins...shopping, eating, and playing wii! we are enjoying a relaxing sunday before the beginning of another busy week, and i'm attempting to get in the mood to do some pcs work.

this week is going to be comprised of several late nights at work in order to catch up from friday and get everything finished for the friday payroll deadline. also this week, the gym is going to be a top priority. i'm meeting with a personal trainer tomorrow in the hopes of getting a great workout routine that i will stick with in the long run!

time to get to work so i'm not up all night getting it done!