100 Mile Challenge Update

I just wanted to do a very quick update on the 100 Miles Challenge that I started just so I can have "official" record of how we're doing (since I have been posting on Facebook for accountability

As of Sunday's totals (haven't added in the new numbers since then), I am about 72-point-something and my husband is at about 55-point-something. So, with 9 days left in the month, we are on good track to meet, or beat, that 100 mile mark challenge. We are also participating in the March of Dimes walk this coming Saturday (4/25) which is about a 5-6 mile walk from what I was told, so that will definitely help in the overall goal.

I am also aware that some people who accepted my challenge are doing so well that they have since self-challenged themselves to a 200-Mile challenge and are on their way to meeting that goal, so I am super proud of them and excited for them. Kicking ass and taking names is a great thing. A few others took the challenge in spirit, but challenged themselves to their own personal fitness challenges (like x amount of Yoga every day or X amount of added gym minutes/sets) and have, as far as I am aware, been doing well on their personal challenges as well. I love it when people take an idea and make it work for their own situation and challenge themselves! Keep it up, guys!

How are you doing on your own challenges? Please feel free to let us know in the comments below, or if Facebook is more your thing, there is a newly-formed page I created that you can find here. I hope you are doing well on your goals and meeting your own personal challenges!

Fitness Check-In

I recently did a check-in for the financial side of my quest, and realized that it had been sort of a while since I had updated on the  fitness side, so I thought I'd do a quick rundown:

Current weight: (as of last weigh in on Sunday 2/22) 180.4 pounds--Just a mere 10 pounds from my originally stated goal weight of 170! So I am very excited about that. I had, due to holidays and general less-exercise-than-usual, had been stuck at 181-184 for a while, so it's nice to finally break that, if even by a little.  I expect that if I stayed consistent and maybe even work just a bit harder, I could be around 170 by Mid-March or so.  Since I am happy/comfortable when my old clothes in my closet fit, and this doesn't require an exact number on the scale (after all, that number doesn't account for muscle anyway),  I am confident that I will be there very soon. (And I guess I better start trying on said clothes semi-regularly to see how I am doing...)

Fitness Levels compared to goals:
Running: ehhhh... it's been a while since I have ran consistently, so I am not sure what it would be.  I know that six months ago on my birthday, I said that by 29, I'd like to run 10 miles, but I haven't been working on that. Hmmm. I wonder if I could get to that level in time. That's 6 months (give or take a few days) away, so maybe.  Though, lately I have taken to a mindset to not set such specific goals because I get very upset when I don't meet (or beat) them, which can cause me to get demotivated and lose sight of the bigger picture that being healthy and strong will be a lifelong journey and accomplishment.  Not to say that goals are not important, they definitely are, but I feel it's also important to not beat myself up over it as long as I am working on it. (Sitting around being lazy and not working on anything, on the other hand, is fair game for me to beat myself up for....)

Weights: (Current Max weights)
Squats: 135 Pounds
Deadlifts: 115 Pounds
Bench: 75 Pounds
Pushups: I am up to about 40 wall-based pushups, though  have not worked on it in about 2 weeks.
Shoulders:  20 Pounds each hand (40 total)
-Not currently working on pull-ups/lat pull downs, clean and press, or isolated muscles (other than shoulder press) as husband and I are currently working on a 5*5 program to up our strength. (Which will be it's own post here in the future.)

So that's where I am currently--making some pretty decent progress all told. How are you doing with your goals. Please weigh in (no pun intended) below in the comments!

End of Year Goals Check-In

Towards my birthday, I wrote a post about End-of-Year/29th Birthday Goals, and shortly after, wrote about how hubby and I were going to do the Buff Dudes' Challenge.....

Well, I'll just come right out and say it: I didn't achieve any of those fitness goals. I was on track and making good progress before it got colder, but as the temperature dropped dramatically and it started raining more days than not, I struggled to keep my motivation and routine going (still struggling). I failed to account for that aspect when MAKING the goals, so maybe that aspect alone may be that my goal was less realistic than it could have been.

Or, maybe I just needed to work harder and meet  my goals instead of being a lazy butt.

Either way, I am not going to cry over it because you can't change the past, only the future. For now, between the cold and the holidays (including our anniversary on the 28th), as long as eating is decent and I am getting a walk here and there to maintain, I am ok with what it is. In January and heading into Spring, hubby and I will work as hard as we can to meet the goals.

On the bright side, I am lower in weight than I have been in a while-and definitely lower than I was this time last year, mainly due to the fitbit I have in helping me keep on track. On my birthday, I was 196-199 pounds, but I currently sit at 181, so that is a huge win for me, and I will take it.

As for the financial side of things, here's where we stand on that:

You may remember from this post that both my husband and I were going to be laid off from the same job. As I mentioned in that post, I had already got a new job so had taken my PTO and applied it to my car  payment. Husband's last day was 11/4, and once he (finally) got his first unemployment check, we took a large part of his severance and finished paying off the car. So the car is now owned free and clear! We are very excited about that, but unfortunately, the plan to SAVE that same money got wiped out by the fact that we will need to pay for ACA insurance (instead of having it come out pre-tax from our checks), and that will be about $167/month, and we got notice that our  rent is increasing $50/month starting 1/1/2015. So we were kind of bummed about that since instead of saving it, the amount, and a little more (car payment was $180 including principle payments) will be eaten up by other things. On the bright side: By getting rid of our non-working car (which we've meant to do for months), we save about $20 off the car insurance premium over what we were paying for two cars, so it all balances out and pretty much breaks even, so at least there's that. And, of course it's only temporary that we break even right now, since as soon as hubby gets a job, we SHOULD be able to save a bit more than we are now.

As for where we stand on the rest of the finances, I would say we're doing pretty well, actually. Here are some of the highlights:

-I finally have the day-to-day things fully automated and correct. Since we now have two checking accounts, one is used for "spending" money and one is used for bills money. Since I had calculated what it takes to cover all bills and have it direct deposited in the bills account, and automated, all bills get paid on time (which they were before, but sometimes would get crossed because different due dates so sometimes spending money would screw it up) and having an account for a set amount of spending money has been very helpful for us because if it's not in the account, we don't spend it. (The ultimate, can't-see-it-can't-spend-it set up.) And because of this, it has really cut back on our accidental spending and then having to rearrange/transfer money from savings to cover bills. Win, win!

-While I do still need to set up IRAs for both myself and (help) hubby, and transfer my 401k from previous employer to a new carrier, our savings themselves are slowly growing. When I first started this blog, I believe between all accounts for savings, it was ~$1800, but is now around $2200-2300 (though I do have a few small things to pay off like a medical bill from October when I had laryngitis), so there's good news that we're maintaining the same level, if not growing it very slowly while husband is still unemployed.

That's where I am at currently. I hope that by the end of 2015, I will have all previously laid out goals met, and then some. (I won't rehash them since they are in the linked info and you can see them, so don't want you to have to re-read them, again.)

How about you? Where are you at in your goals and plans? Have you had some set-backs that you're working to overcome? How is that going for you? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Buff Dudes' 12 Week Challenge

I've  been meaning to write this for a while, but as always, sometimes life gets in the way. Oh well, here we go now...

My husband recently decided to re-commit to fitness, so a couple weeks ago, on September First (convenient that a Monday is also the first day of the month!), we started The Buff Dudes' 12 Week Challenge.

Technically, this should be week three for us, but we were so sore after the first week, that we could barely do more than walk-and even that was a challenge. (I even missed Zumba last Tuesday because I was too sore. *Sniff, Sniff*) So with that, we made this week two and got our exercises with walks and whatever we could do last week.

(Side note: if you are sore after the gym or any workout, make sure to stretch and do what you can while recovering. Moderate movement like walking is actually really helpful to feel better. Don't overdo it--work within your limits and respect that your body may need to heal after an intense workout-especially if you are just starting or it's been a while. But "Don't overdo it" does NOT mean, sit around on the couch like a lump. Lack of movement is likely to make your pain worse.)

Husband and I somewhat modified the program because I have somewhat different goals than what's laid out, and we both have limitations in some exercises so we have to do others (Can't do pull ups yet, so work a lot on lat pull-downs, etc.), but this is a great program we can both do that is closest to our individual goals, that still allows us to work as a team. Which is great because we can help keep each other going and kick each other's butts, which is why we like working out together, but gets hard when people have totally different goals.

Since it is only week two for us, there's not much that we can report on in terms of progress. But I will periodically make updates on how we're doing, any changes we are making to the plan, etc. In the meantime, here are the "Before" Pictures (which are technically "progress" pictures for me):

 Until Next Time, as the Buff Dudes say: STAY BUFF, DUDES (and BUFFETTES)!*

*They call women "Grrls", but Husband came up with Buffette, and I like it way better so that's what we use. (And you can feel free to use it, Buff Dudes!)

Pom-Cran-Bluberry Smoothie Recipe

Last year when I was doing a fruit and vegetable cleanse with juicing, smoothies and fruit/veggies as my only source of food/nutrition for a week, I went to Emerald City Smoothie near us, and got an all fruit version of their Eternal Energizer.  (So, no soy milk or alternatives, as their menu offers.) Since the first time I had it, I loved it, and had several more (of course) here and there.  I wanted to recreate the recipe at home, but had forgotten to look for cranberries for the longest time. I finally had some cranberries a few weeks ago,and after some experimentation, I've come up with a pretty good emulation of it, and wanted to share it with you.

Ingredients:
-1 cup frozen blueberries
-1/2 cup frozen cranberries
-1/4 cup concentrate (100%) pomegranate juice (I used POM Wonderful)
-3/4 cup water (you can use less if you'd like a thicker smoothie)

Toss everything in your blender and mix until it's your desired consistency.*  Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Nutrition Info:
150 Calories, 0.4g fat, 4.3g fiber, 38.1g carbs, 5.1mg sodium, 1.1g protein

* You may need to use less or more water, depending on your preferences. I also use frozen fruit, so if you use fresh fruit, you'll probably need to forgo the water since you'll add ice.

Fitbit One Review

My husband got me a Fitbit One for my birthday 2 weeks ago, and after more than a week of wearing it and debating about it, here are some of my thoughts on it.

If you're not familiar with it, Fitbit is a company that makes various body trackers. They come in various styles, including bracelets and, like mine, one you clip to yourself via a holder, and they track things like steps, stairs, calories burned, and sleep.

Pros:
-Sleek, compact design makes it so I don't notice when it's clipped to me. (I keep it clipped to my bra, but you can wear it at your hip, etc.)

-It does keep me moving since I am always trying to get at least the daily goals (10k steps, etc.) or badges, and will find creative ways to do so. I have been known lately to walk around and around and around my kitchen to get more steps, or run up and down the stairs, and have also started taking walks on my breaks at work. So this is very, very good.

-The Fitbit interface makes it very easy to track calories in and out. So easy, in fact, that I actually care and remember to do so every day (so far), as opposed to my maintaining my ideal of "not counting calories, but make each calorie count". (Which, by the way, I think is very important for people who are not trying to lose weight, but maintain. You don't need to stress about every single calorie, but you should work on making the calories you consume count and be productive.) Fitbit interface keeps track of most logged food and recently logged food, so if you are a creature of habit like me and can eat the same thing every day, it is right there and easy to click on to log it. It also allows you to create meals to track multiple foods at once-for example, husband makes turkey wraps for me and after I created the meal and logged the food the first time, I no longer have to find/click every ingredient when I need to log it.

-As mentioned above, the Fitbit awards badges for activities, such as 10,000 steps or 10 flights of stairs,  and increases the amount you need to earn the badge as you keep earning them. So, if  you like to make a game of things, this is a great way to get extra movement.

-Syncs very easily, as long as all things are working correctly. It syncs approximately every 15-20 minutes when you are within 15 feet of the USB and have internet connection.  I have sometimes had to refresh the dashboard once or twice to see the new steps, but otherwise had not had problems.

Updated 09/05/2014 to add: Last night, I could not get it to sync automatically. I followed the trouble shooting steps in the help, including removing USB and reentering, etc. I was able to finally manually sync it by reopening the main platform and "Restarting" it, and then it did automatically sync on it's own after that. So I am glad for that, but it does make me a little twitchy that it had to have that done so early on. We'll see how it goes.

Cons:
-It sometimes has questionable accuracy. There was an instance last week that, from 6:30pm to 8:15pm, it said I took zero steps. I knew this was inaccurate because I had just come from an hour long cardio class, and to get home required walking down stairs, to my car, out of my car, up apartment stairs, and I was walking around the apartment during that time (grabbing dinner, using bathroom, etc.) So it should have tracked at least 200-300 steps during that period.  It occasionally also goes in the opposite direction and, depending on where you wear it, may pick up extra steps than actually occurred. I mostly see it pick up less than actuality though, which is OK.  For the most part, it seems accurate within reason. (No device will ever be 100% accurate 100% of the time.) But when it's off, it seems to be off a bit, as demonstrated above.

-Stairs are not accurate. There is no way around this, at all. Since it is elevation based, and not actual stairs based, it will record flights very differently than what stairs you actually climb. In the Help/FAQ for Fitbit, it shows that it equates 1 flight to 10 feet in elevation gained. So if you are walking in a hilly area, you get credited with flights of stairs, which is awesome. But it's annoying when you spend time climbing up and down stairs over 20 times in a row, which I have done, and get credited with only one or two flights.  So, realizing that, I kind of of gave up on the stairs thing. If I see that I am close to the goal (10 flights/day), I will still go climb a few times to get those in, but don't really rely on the stairs part.

-It is very inconvenient to have to put the tracker in the bracelet it came with at night to track sleep, and then back into the carrying clip in the mornings to track steps, etc.  It requires finagling with Velcro wrist strap at night, which occasionally falls off during the night, and then fidgeting with it in the morning to get it back in the clip in the morning. This is specific to my device, but there are others, so if you get a bracelet style (which I believe is named Fitbit Force), you don't have to worry about this issue.

-Sleep tracking is not accurate. While it is kind of fun to set the timer and then see the numbers, it is not an accurate way to determine sleep patterns. Nor can it be. The Fitbit devices "track" sleep patterns by movement. So if you toss and turn in your sleep, it will track that as restless, which can be good to know, but does not actually have a way to track sleep vs. awake, since you can be wide awake but if you are lying perfectly still, it will count it as asleep.  I do not know if you stopped and restarted the timer each time you awoke, if it would count it as awake.  I was thinking that I would test this soon to find out, but is a matter of remembering to do so during the night. If I ever test this, I will update this post with that information. In the mean time, I will say it's good to get a general idea of sleep times, but would not recommend someone with sleep problems to rely solely on the information you get from the Fitbit devices.

Overall:
Though it does have some things that are...quirky...about it, I did decide to go ahead and keep it.  It did, after all, get me moving more and help me track calories in a convenient way so I knew I wasn't taking in too few or too many. And because of those things, it allowed me make this exciting statement:

I finally broke my 2-month long Plateau and lost just over 5 pounds last week! Hooray!!!

So that's where I stand on the Fitbit One. I hope this helps if you are deciding if you should get one or not.  Do you  have any cool fitness tools that have been helping you? Please share below!

28th Birthday and Goals for the Upcoming Year

Today is my 28th birthday (happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me :)), and as such, I thought it would be a perfect time to come up with some goals, see where I am on current goals. So here are my current numbers and where I am hoping to be:

CURRENT:	GOAL, BY END OF THIS YEAR (DEC 31):
BENCH: 65 POUNDS	110 POUNDS (Doubling my recent 55 pounds)
SQUAT: ~95 POUNDS	200 POUNDS
DEADLIFT: 70-75 POUNDS	150 POUNDS
CLEAN/PRESS: 30 POUNDS	75 POUNDS
CURL: 25 POUNDS	60 POUNDS
TRICEP: 20 POUNDS (Behind Head)	50-60 POUNDS
LAT PULLDOWN: 75 POUNDS	160-170 POUNDS (Or be able to do pull-ups without weight assist)
PUSUPS: 0 PROPER (I am working off the wall currently)	50-75
Running: 3 Laps around park (without stopping), which equals ~.60 miles	10 laps without stopping, which equals ~2.1 miles

So these are my goals for the end of the year. I also started thinking last week about goals for by my 29^th birthday, but all I could come up with was “Run 10 miles (or more)”.  It “bothered” me for a bit that I couldn’t think of anything else, but as I thought on it more and more, I think, maybe that’s a good thing.  I could list high  numbers for goals for weightlifting, but as I am trying to get, and maintain, lean muscle (as opposed to “bulking up”), there would not be much point to that. Plus, it’s hard to predict where one will be in a year, so by not defining anything other than a running goal (that should be achievable), it gives me leeway to define goals as I see where I’m at. It also helps to not set me up for failure or disappointment—since there are few things more disheartening than to set a goal and fail to make it.

Those are my goals for fitness, but what about finances?  Well, those numbers haven’t changed much since my starting post where I said where I was, mostly because I haven’t done anything with it  (fixing my automation, setting up an IRA, etc.)  so that will definitely be a task to take care of right away. (I can’t become a millionaire if I am not working on it!) As for actual goals, since it is hard to define, I don’t have many.  I would, however, like to see our savings at $10,000 minimum (between all accounts), or at least on a path to be there by the end of NEXT year, and to see our 401(k)/IRA and other investment accounts growing.  I can’t control how those accounts grow (other than what I put into them), so I am not even going to try to quantify it with a number, but as long as they are growing, we’re headed in the right direction.

I think these are reasonable and attainable goals, and as long as I keep chipping away at them, I should be “sitting pretty” by this time next year. I may even be a completely different person! (I’m counting on it/hoping for it.) I am taking a loss this week, though, since it IS birthday week and I will be doing/eating things I wouldn’t normally. But that is part of life, and I will get right back it as soon as possible, then… take over the WORLD! Mwahaha.  Or not.  But I will get back on track and keep getting better and better.  I am looking forward to seeing the Erin a year from now!

Current Pictures

I said in an earlier post that I would get more current pictures this week.  Looking at them, I don't see a huge difference, which is weird because I know my clothes are fitting better and that I am looking thinner.

So I guess I will have to trust the process and trust that even though the scale AND picture are seemingly not changing, that I really am.  Which becomes really frustrating and demotivating, but all I can do is keep trying. And there are SOME small differences, if you look closely, so at least there's that.

Here are the older pictures and the ones from today, for comparison:

06/15/2014

 

08/03/2014

06/15/2014

08/03/2014

06/15/2014

08/03/2104

Shin Splints and You: What You can do about these Pests

When I run, I tend to get the dreaded, god-awful lower-leg pain that plagues many runners, newbies and experienced alike. You know what I mean: Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome, or as normal non-medical people call it, shin splints.

Though I do have all kinds of running goals as part of being healthy (races, etc.), you will likely never hear me say I like/love running. I love the power I gain from it (getting faster, gaining endurance, etc.) and the physical benefit of helping me lose weight, but the running itself-meh. I'm sure there are many people who feel the same. This feeling only gets compacted when the elation of your hard-won victory (time or distance) is short-lived because it is followed by pain. Would I like running better if I didn't get shin splints? Maybe, maybe not.

But since it is ultimately part of my long-term goals (to run a marathon someday), and I want to do well at it even if I don't love it, I decided to do some research on ways to help shin splints. It turns out, my instincts were correct, and there a few basic moves you can do to help them (which I already do, so I will need to remember to include them more often). I will get to these in a minute, but first let's talk about shin splints themselves.

What are Shin Splints?

Most simply, shin splints are pain in the front lower leg during or after activities such as running, dancing, etc. It can be towards the sides or straight down below the knee cap. In my experience, it also sometimes includes my ankles becoming tight. Different people experience different things.

What Causes Shin Splints?

Mayo Clinic's very brief description states: "Shin splints are caused by repetitive stress on the shinbone and the connective tissues that attach your muscles to the bone." A more complete description can be found on this site, but the basic gist is that stress and pressure on your bones can cause them.

How can you help Shin Splits?

And finally, what you may have come here for: How can you take care of these irritating things? There are several ways you can help treat/prevent further shin splints. A quick internet search will show you dozens and dozens of different exercises and tricks you can use, but here are some of the most common ones:

-Stretch: It is common knowledge that stretching promotes flexibility and can help alleviate pain in muscles because it expands muscles that have been contracted by exercise. It is hotly debated and highly studied if you should stretch before or after exercise, so I'll leave that to your trainer or doctor to make recommendations for you, but the consensus is that stretching is good for you. You should be doing this even if you don't have shin splints. 

-Toe-Taps are a good way to exercise your shins to strengthen them. (I call them toe-taps, you may call them shin raises.) I find it easier to do them when seated on the edge of a chair, but you can also do them standing.  With feet flat on floor, lift toes toward legs until you feel it in your shin area, and return to flat. Think about the inverse of a calf raise. Instead of raising heels, you will raise toes.  Here is a visual--this is not my image so I don't control if it will always be there. How many times you do this depends on you and your abilities.

-Ankle Circles can help loosen and strengthen your ankles. Make sure to rotate in both directions to get the full benefit. Again, how many times you do this depends on you and your abilities. If you need extra challenge, you could always add in ankle weights. 

-Strengthen Your Calves: There is a lot of information about strengthening calves and shin splints to be found. Here is a great article that covers it better than I can condense it or explain it. 

-Rest: When experiencing symptoms, make sure to rest up. Use ice, elevation, and heat in a combination that helps you. 

-Make sure you have proper gear. What proper gear is, is relative to the individual, and it may take some experimenting to find it. At the very least, you should have well-fitting shoes that give you support where you need it most-which also varies by individual. Some people also use things like braces or wraps to help

.

-Change your stride/gait or form. This is a last resort option, if all else fails to work. That being said,  it is CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT that you do not attempt this on your own, and instead consult with a medical professional such as a Physical Therapist. That point cannot be emphasized enough. If you have tried everything else and still have problems, there may be something entirely different than shin splints going on. Consult with your Medical Professional to rule anything else out and/or to work on changing gait or "strike pattern" (the position your foot is in when it hits the ground).

Above all else, Listen to your Body. While a lot of pain while working out can be psychological (mind over body), only you know how much pain you can tolerate and if something doesn't feel right. Listen to those clues that your body gives you--pain included--to know what's going on and if you should do something about it.

I hope these tips help. If you have one that isn't listed, please feel free to share it in the comments!

Starting/Current Numbers

As promised in my first post, here are all the numbers that I am starting from, or are at currently. I will periodically update as things change, but for certain things, I don't expect them to change very rapidly. So maybe the updates will be infrequent for things like growing 401K, etc., but I will always be as complete as possible.   As of today, 07/29/2014, this is where I am at:

Financial:

Predictable Income: ~21,000/year (Income from day job which doesn't include OT or anything from side/personal projects that I may do), or ~42,000/year if you include husband's income. (We work at the same place, and make the same.)

Checking: ~600ish-- I don't actually expect this to change that drastically because of the way savings accounts are set up and the cyclical nature of getting paid and money going to bills. But you never know...

Savings: ~1800--I actually have 3 accounts for savings, or rather, one account and 2 sub accounts. Though, this number reflects the total of all of them because since they are tied, if a big emergency happens, I could easily transfer funds to use. But let's just hope that doesn't happen.  I have one for "Life's Hassles" or the emergency fund, one for "Down Payment" and one for "Fun/Vacation Money".

Why so many? I believe, and I think many would agree,  that it's important to have REASONS that you are saving to help keep on track. It's easier to say "I am saving for Ireland" or "This will buy my house someday" than to just vaguely say "I need to save." So, if you find yourself struggling to save money, that's my first suggestion: Besides saving for a rainy day, sit down and decide/define WHY you want to save, or what you're saving for. You may just find that this step naturally makes you more conscious of your spending and saving habits, and helps you add to your savings.

401K Plan: My plan account says ~400, but it takes a while to register contributions, and my paystub says ~500, so we'll go with that./ Husband's is ~230. (We both just opened them this year, and he started after me.) We both contribute 10% each check, and receive 4% match from our employer.

Debt: Aside from my car payments (of which I should be rid of in about 7 months), and perhaps a less than $200 cell phone bill that I forgot to pay when I cancelled my previous service (which will be taken care of in the next month or so), neither I nor my husband carry any substantial debt-a fact that I am proud of, especially since at one point after having some hard times after our move between states, we were paying off a maxed out credit card of $1500. Thankfully, that hasn't been the case in about a year or more. So, for the purposes of this blog,  I say I am debt free. Hooray!

Total "Net Worth":  About $3130 between all combined accounts. So, I am a long way from a millionaire. But that's OK--Even Warren Buffett had to start somewhere! 

Health:

Current Weight: ~195-196 Pounds. Despite being consistent in working out and eating better, this number has not changed in several weeks. While I have been experimenting with various factors that could be causing it, I do realize that my body is changing and that I am getting stronger and healthier, so I TRY to not focus on the number on the scale too much. I think I will also go back to not weighing in more than once a week-that seems to be a good number as opposed to the 3-4 times a week I do now.

Pictures are always a good way to track, and husband and I had been doing about every 2 weeks for a while, but haven't been consistent in months-So that's one goal I'll be working on, to be more consistent about pictures-especially since the scale can be a trickster, and a good motivator to keep going is to SEE in a side-by-side comparison how things change.

These ones below are about a month old. I will take some more current ones this week.

So now that we know where I am currently at, let's march forward and make some progress!

Is there something you're working on? Where are you starting from/currently at? Leave a comment below and share in the journey. I'd love to hear from you.

About Buff Millionaire

Hi! Welcome to my blog. This is the first entry, so I thought I'd lay my goals out and answer questions that may (or may not) come up soon:

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The Buff Millionaire? What? What is that?

Well, that's me. Or, at least... it will be. Two of my goals are to be in exceptional athletic shape, and to be financially independent-or, even better, a millionaire.

Recently, it has become sort of a positive mantra in my life. "I'm going to be a buff millionaire." I say it randomly, in good moods and bad. In good moods, it's a reminder to what my future holds. In bad moods, it sometimes helps me remember the bigger picture or gives me a positive thought to try and replace other negative ones. It doesn't ALWAYS work, but then no one is perfect. More importantly, I have made  it a mantra in my life because I believe that the first step to achieving any goal, is to first declare it and believe that you can.

What do I hope to accomplish with this blog?

Currently, this blog will track my progress as I work toward these goals. I don’t know how often I’ll update, or what the updates will consist of-maybe weigh-ins, things I learn about finance, etc.  It may evolve into something entirely different, but for the time being, it will be a way for me to hold myself accountable, remind me to work on things (hopefully), and will allow me to share progress with anyone who may read.  If you're currently working on your own fitness or finance goals-or anything else for that matter-I'd love to hear from you. It's always great to build community, and share journeys 

Do I have specific goals?

Well, yes and no.

As far as my weight/body goes, my first goal is to get back down to 165-170 pounds, as that is what I weighed roughly 5 years ago before moving in with my now-husband and gained a lot of weight. At my highest, I was 215 pounds, and while it has (thankfully!) been a long time since I've seen that weight, I have been gaining and losing the same several pounds and have been hovering in the same area for a while now. So I decided it's time to break the cycle and get where I need to be. Actually, I decided that a long time ago, and have already been working out regularly lately,  but now I have this blog to track where I am.

So, after I hit the 165-170 goal, this is where the non-specific comes in, I will continue to exercise, but will allow my body to get as small as it's meant to, without a number in mind.  So if I get to be a tiny 110, or 140, or 170, it doesn't matter to me, as long as I am HEALTHY. I feel like I'll know when I've reached my body's natural frame, and then from there can work on perfecting my muscle tone.

For the financial side, Well... it recently entered my mind to be a millionaire by the time I am 40. So that's actually a reasonable goal. That gives me 12 years and a few weeks to accomplish this. A lofty goal, perhaps. But I think it can be done and I will work, work, work to make it happen.

How will I meet these goals?

The most basic answer is the best one, in this case: Continuing to work out on a regular basis, and learning how to invest to grow wealth.

Where am I starting from, or where am I currently?

As far as numbers for weight and finances, I will actually make a whole post dedicated to just that. So be on the look out for that soon.

For education and development to meet the goals, well, I am starting from basically ground level and will learn as I go. Especially about investing.

While I have a background in fitness, and was actually very close to being a trainer (just needed to take the certification test), this was many years ago. I still know a lot, and the most important things, but everyone can use some polishing here and there, including me.

About Money... well, I know a lot of tricks I have employed to save money, and they do help here and there. And one thing I will be doing as soon as possible is to FULLY automate my finances (as opposed to what is now just direct deposit to savings and checking and having bills on auto pay) so that I can have that big win of not worrying about if XYZ will come out before I get paid, or if I have to lose some savings to pay off something else, etc. So this will help clear up funds for investing.

And investing itself? Well, I know basically nothing. After reading a well written book-Ramit Sethi's I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Which I highly recommend as a starting point for anyone who may be confused about all the finance mumbo-jumbo that's out there- I finally understood enough to know how to get mine and my husband's 401Ks set up this year-so that's a great start! I'm learning the rest as I go along through lots of reading and searching. I fully expect I'll stumble and make mistakes here and there along the way-it's all part of the process- but the most important thing is to START, and get better as I go.

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So there you go! That's what this blog is all about. Would you like to join me on my adventure? Let's Go!