Karl's commitment to fitness for the next 28 days - Day 1

I wasn't always a big guy, as a child, teen and young adult I lived-breathed-and died for basketball. When you eat like a teenager and stop playing ball like one it turns out... you gain 40 lbs in 2 months. Ouch. Then, add a broken hand, and a second child in and you gain another 20 lbs. OK so maybe you didn't gain 60 lbs but I did. 

In the last 4 months while adhering to the Slenderiiz program (you can read more about that HERE} I have lost 50 lbs, primarily by taking some quality supplements, incorporating clean eating at a 1250 calorie intake (more on days when I work out) and 20 minutes of light cardio 4 days a week. I have come to a point where I want to tone up my newly exposed muscles and gain the strength and agility back that I need in order to safely play basketball again. 

My friend Brock, who I have known since elementary school had killer results in his commitment to fitness where he blogged about reducing his body fat from 21% to 11% in 28 days by using the same supplements but a higher intensity work out regimen than my previous 20 minutes of light cardio. You can read about Brock's 28 days HERE.

Friday July 19th was my first of the Next 28 days, where I am committing to following the work out regimen I will be posting from Brock's blog as well as continuing to eat clean - we are dairy free, gluten free, sugar free, soy free, and low glycemic. This is the first time I have attempted intense work outs baring weight on my left hand that's had 2 reconstructive surgeries since a car wreck in October of 2010.

                           It is a lot easier to bare weight on my hand now that I'm 50 lbs lighter!
I really was intimidated by this work out routine because it pushes me to bare weight on my hand and use my lower back in ways that I haven't done since completing physical therapy. Did I mention I have degenerative disk disease? I have moderate to severe arthritis in my lower back at the ripe age of 32 years old. My doctor has been very frank in telling me that if I don't lose the weight around my belly than I'm going to end up having the back of a 90 year old by the time I am 40 years old.

I'm not a writer, or a body builder or a nutrition expert but I have been inspired. I want people to see that even if you have health issues, or insecurities there's no reason to settle and give in to accepting the weight, the lack of strength. I refuse to give in anymore, I will be healthy and I will be fit. You better believe I will be playing basketball again some day soon too.

 Upper Body/Core  

Curls: 4 sets, 10-15 reps.  

Push-ups: 4 sets, 10-15 reps

Crunches: 4 sets, 25 each

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Tricep Extension: 4 sets, 10-15 reps

                                           Incline Push-ups: 4 sets, 12-15 reps

Tri-Plank: 4 sets, 1:00 minute each. 20 seconds left side, 20 seconds right side 20 seconds center

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Bent Shoulder Row: 4 sets, 12-15 reps

Decline Push-ups: 4 sets, 10-15 reps

Leg Lifts 4 sets, 25 reps

Lower Body/Core

Squats: 4 sets, 12-15 reps

Sit-backs: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Toe Raises: 4 sets, 12-15 reps

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Lunges 4 sets, 10-20 reps

Weighted Side-Bends 4 sets 12 reps per side

Wall-sits 4 sets 30-45 seconds

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Split-Squat: 4 sets, 10 reps

Sit-ups: 4 sets, 25 each

Toe Raises: 4 sets, 25 each

My plan is to do 3 days of upper body/core followed by 2 days of lower body/core then a rest day from lifting but used for 40 minutes of cardio and day 7 will be stretching and some Yoga. -I've never tried Yoga before but Danielle's mom teaches it and we've been googling videos on You Tube to figure out what will work best for stretching out and strengthening my problem areas.

I have a huge support system between my wife, kids, friends at the gym, and the whole Next 28 Days contributors and audience and am looking forward to the remaining 27 days!

You can also follow my blog
posts at 
http://thenext28days.com/karl28

Progress Update: Being Real

I've spent nearly a lifetime making some good choices with food, but a large portion making inadequate choices with food. I wouldn't say they were terrible, or life ending but they brought me to a point of near obesity. What changed ? I couldn't look in the mirror and make positive comments about myself anymore. My children were requesting fast food, pizza and throwing fits when I did make dinner at home. Our quality of life was poor and it was all because of the choices we were making about food. I had an unhealthy relationship with food.

Those of you following our blog, you already know why I'm here and what our family and some of our friends are working on, a lifestyle change. Not a DIET, not a FAD, but a change in our relationship with food. One that doesn't mean we turn to food for comfort, for happiness, for boredom, but rather as fuel, as nutrition and as a teaching lesson to our children. 16 Weeks of eating clean, eliminating gluten, sugar, dairy and soy from our eating habits and incorporating a rainbow of healthy food options into our home.

Karl is down 45lbs, I am down 35 lbs, our kids are asking for snacks like hummus and bell peppers. Nadine has discovered she loves asparagus! I'm so proud of the progress we've made in just under 4 months. Our lifestyle change was really put to the test this summer as we have been traveling a lot. I am SUPER proud to inform you all that we did not stop for fast food once on either of our road trips. We drove 22 hours in a week the first week and then 39 hours in 5 days on our second trip. I packed a cooler full of salsa, veggies, baked black bean chips, unsweetened applesauce, unsweetened coconut milk, purenourish shakes, apples, oranges, white albacore tuna packed in water, Organic goat cheddar cheese and lots and lots of water. I will confess that I lived off from a combination of coffee and rejuveniix for energy since we only slept for 2 of 4 nights on our second road trip.

Here's where I have to confess, we are not perfect. Just because something is vegan, doesn't mean it's a healthy choice, and just because it's gluten free doesn't mean it is healthier than regular bread. We "rewarded" ourselves with vegan donuts, Karl bought me a vegan lemon cupcake, and we had dairy free pizza when we got home. Our first exposure to refined sugar, soy, and gluten in 15 weeks and we were miserable. By we I mean I was miserable and unfortunately my family paid the price. My chronic acid reflux (GERD) came back with vengeance and so did my irritable bowl syndrome (IBS) and my seasonal pollen allergies were out of control (I think because my immune system was compromised by eating foods that made me sick)! Sorry if that's too much information for you all but here's what I gathered from this experience. My body is at it's best on the Slenderiiz food program, when I follow it to the letter and avoid my food allergies, I have energy, my seasonal pollen allergies are minimal, and I have no symptoms at all from GERD or IBS. Karl was irritable and had a supreme sugar crash after the experience and agreed that "rewarding" our efforts is the sign of us not really taking the lifestyle change serious as a long-term choice and our bodies need us to treat it serious. At a certain point we will reach our goal weights, we CAN'T look in the mirror and ask "Am I thin enough?" or "Am I fit?" we have to change our view and look at what we are putting in our bodies and ask "Am I HEALTHY?" I want to play with my children without my joints hurting, without stomach aches, and I want to have the longest possible life to enjoy my family which means this is not a FAD not a DIET and FAILURE is not an option.

Sunday, We hit the reset button and are back to eating clean, making meal plans and getting active. We genuinely care for our friends, family and even all you international blog readers. Do yourself a favor, don't judge your health by what you see in the mirror, or what size of clothes you're wearing. Look at your food, your vitamins, your beverages and your activities and then honestly ask yourself "Am I HEALTHY?" "Am I teaching my children to be Healthy?" "Am I making choices that will help me be there for my family, friends and community as long as healthfully permitting?". If your answer is NO to any of those questions, you're in need of a lifestyle change, please feel free to use us a support system.

On a lighter note, I have tons of recipes to share with you all since I didn't get very many blog posts in while we were traveling! Stay tuned =)

Jeff's progress at 70 days!

I have an update on our good friend Jeff's progress.  After 70 days Jeff is down a whopping 40lbs. We have an update coming for all three of us coming soon!
Congratulations Jeff!

Slenderiiz.com/Oregon

Almond cookies (Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Soy Free)

Yesenia, a fellow Slenderiiz user and friend, posted a link to some delicious cookies today! http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Flourless_-sugar-free-peanut-butter-cookies-309702

The recipe calls for peanut butter and peanuts, so I adapted to almond butter and chopped almonds. The only other substitute I made was instead of using a tsp of water I used a tsp of coconut milk.

(Makes about 2 dozen small cookies, recipe adapted from Flourless Almond Butter Cookies from Cookie Madness.)

Ingredients:

1 large egg

1 cup granular Splenda or Stevia-in-the-Raw Granulated Sweetener

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp.vanilla extract

1 cup creamy natural almond butter (check sugar content, the one I used had no sugar in the ingredients)

1 tsp. water (I used coconut milk)

1/3 cup chopped almonds (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.

In mixing bowl, use electric beater to beat together the egg, Stevia, baking powder, and vanilla for about a minute. Add almond butter and water and beat together. (The mixture was fairly dry and broken apart. Just be sure the peanut butter is mixed well with the other ingredients.) Add peanuts if using, and blend into dough.

Use a large non-stick cookie sheet. Measure out a heaping teaspoon of batter for each cookie, then smash down with a fork. Bake 15 minutes, or slightly longer, until cookies feel firm and are slightly browned.

Tip: For easy clean up line your baking sheets with foil.

Yesenia's cookies look so beautiful I had to share =)

Chicken Fajita Salad (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free, Soy Free)

Last night I made some homemade pico de gallo as I prepped for our lunches this week. This afternoon I stared in to the fridge and thought about how easy it would be to snag my toddler up and grab a bite to eat out instead. Haha! Talk about how we trick ourselves into making choices out of "convenience" when really not having to leave the home at all is way more convenient. On a whim I threw together this keeper, a recipe I will definitely be reusing time and time again.

Things you are going to need:
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast (fat trimmed) or 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs (fat trimmed)
season both sides well with:

• salt
• pepper
• cumin
• onion powder
• garlic powder

1/2 tbs of coconut oil (you can sub olive oil)
6 tbs pico de gallo
1 bell pepper (or 5 mini bell peppers)
1 cup mixed greens salad
1/2 a lime

In a medium sized nonstick skillet (this allows you to use less oil) heat up the coconut oil to medium/high heat. with tongs place your well seasoned chicken in to the skillet and brown both sides.

Cut the bell pepper in to strips and toss in to the skillet. Stir occasionally, after 2 minutes add 4 tbs of pico (save 2 tbs for a fresh garnish to dress your salad with) and toss and use the liquid to help pick up (de-glaze) the brownings on the bottom of the skillet (there is so much flavor in there!). Reduce the heat to medium /low) and remove the chicken and cut the chicken into strips then place back in to your skillet. Squeeze the 1/2 a lime into the skillet to help brighten the mix and coat the chicken in the yummy seasonings that have coated the bottom of the skillet.

Lay down a bead of spring salad mix on the plate and top with the fajita mix. Garnish with your remaining 2 tbs of pico de gallo. Enjoy!

4 oz serving of chicken fajita on salad is 220 calories.
6 oz serving of chicken fajita on salad is 338 calories.

Well balanced and delicious! Who needs to eat out? The secret to healthy eating is in your grocery cart.

Quinoa Pancakes with Strawberry Basil Compote

I've heard so many great things about Quinoa as a replacement for rice, bread crumbs, cornmeal and etc. that this last time while I was at the store I grabbed a bag. Unsure what I was going to do with it I left it on the counter and started pondering.... My oldest asked if we could have breakfast for dinner (she wanted a bagel and banana) and it dawned on me that we haven't had pancakes in over a month! Pancakes used to be our staple breakfast, lunch or dinner if the cupboards were bare.

I started looking around and found a recipe from Martha Stewart as my foundation, but it required several alterations to be Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Sugar Free.

Things you need:

1 cup cooked Quinoa

1/2 tsp nutmeg (or cinnamon if you're going to top with apples)

• 3/4 cup almond flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder (Rumford is confirmed gluten free)

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 medium sized eggs

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted, plus more for skillet

• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

• 1 tablespoon stevia (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together quinoa, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut oil, unsweetened coconut milk, and stevia until smooth. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and whisk to combine.

1. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with coconut oil and heat over medium-high. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on top, 2 minutes. Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside, 2 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more coconut oil and remaining batter (reduce heat to medium if overbrowning). Serve with fresh fruit or preserves if desired.

Strawberry Basil Compote

Things you need:
1 package of frozen strawberries or 1 lb of fresh strawberries
2 sprigs of basil
1 tablespoon of stevia
1 tablespoon of stevia

Easy prep

Rough chop the basil leaves

Toss strawberries, basil, lemon juice, and stevia in a glass bowl and microwave for 7 minutes. Let sit for 2 minutes to thicken.

or 

heat on stove in a pot until the strawberries reach the desired consistency.

Lettuce Wrapped Bison Burgers

We love Bison for it's lean qualities and flavor, and burgers were are go to staple for at least 2 meals a week...only before our lifestyle change we were eating them from Carl's Junior's drive thru instead of our grill.

You can have your burger and eat it too haha!

Bison is super lean, the suggested serving size is 4 ounces which grilled yields 190 calories.

I seasoned both sides of the 4 oz patties with black pepper, red pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and dried onions. You can also use McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning (it's gluten free and sugar free).

Grill as usual I grill ours medium well (we're not pink meat people lol)

While your meat is resting off the grill wash your iceberg lettuce leaves and arrange, your toppings.

Our toppings:
Trader Joes low fat mayo (sugar free) 15 calories (1/2 tbs)
Mustard (0 calories)
Dill pickles (0 calories)
Cherry tomatoes (10 calories)
Iceberg lettuce (1 calorie)

Total burger was 216 calories and finger licking delicious!

P.s. Karl topped his burger with some salsa instead of tomatoes/pickles and raw red onions for some extra spice/sweetness. He had raving reviews.

(criteria meets Slenderiiz program approved foods)

Progress Update measured by PANTS!

Today was weigh in day and we didn't make it to the gym lol oops! We will do our official weigh in tomorrow morning.
BUT!!
Karl and I went shopping for jeans today, the progress is in the numbers!
Karl started out in 42x34 Silver brand jeans and as of today is wearing 36x34 Silver jeans!
Danielle started out in 33x32 Silver brand jeans and as of today is wearing 30x32 Silver jeans!

Karl and I have collectively almost lost 50lbs, not bad for only 37 days right?

This lifestyle change has been one of the best things to happen to us.

How are you all doing in your journey? Are you just getting started, starting over, or thinking about starting? Take it from us, there's never a time like now to save your life by making healthier choices with your food, activities, and fluids.

Hidden sugars!

I thought we were doing so good with our new lifestyle of Dairy free, Gluten Free, Sugar free and no prefab or processed foods and then we hit a plateau  Nothing shakes your confidence like a plateau after you have such amazing results like we were seeing. Then on Easter I was getting ready to make a GF, DF, SF brownie when my mom pointed out that the original coconut milk we were using had cane juice in it.. I was blown away! We also had to change our coconut oil, sugar free chocolate bars, and our steak seasoning! There's hidden sugar where ever you look, so I've come to terms with you don't know what you're eating unless you make it yourself.

Common places where you might find sugar:
Drinks
Juice
Dairy Substitutes
Ketchup
BBQ sauce
Mixed Seasonings
jarred salsa
Canned fruits, vegetables and sauces
Sugar free candy (may contain malitol or sorbitol which is a sugar from alcohol)
chips
Crackers
popcorn

Know what you're eating and you can save lbs, inches, possibly disease from your future =)

Progress report on Karl After 29 days on the Slenderiiz program he is down 23 lbs, 29 days on the Slenderiiz program and Danielle is down 10lbs. I consumed the sugar loaded coconut milk at least 2-3 times a day this last month so with these adjustments I have a goal of being at a total loss of 30lbs by May 1st! and Karl's goal is to be down a total of 45 lbs by May 1st.

Stay tuned for a recipe for Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free Brownies.

2 Weeks and Going Strong!

2 weeks on a 1250 calorie diet, with the addition of our Slenderiiz homeopathic drops. We are really starting to see some great results and also starting to get into a groove for being organized with meal planning and grocery shopping. This journey is off to a great start and has us sooooooo motivated to meet all our goals!

Week 2 Progress Update

Karl is down 16 lbs in 14 days! His exact words when seeing this side by side was "Good bye man boobs and double chin, hello motivation to get ripped!" If this is what 2 weeks brings I can't wait to see where he is at our 60 day mark.

6.5 lbs in 2 weeks and nearly 5 inches off my waist! The biggest difference for me is being able to see the definition between bust and belly. I feel like by the end of 60 days I will be closer to having abs!



Remember our friend Jeff? Jeff is down 16 lbs as of this morning as well!
Collectively the 3 of us have lost 38.5 lbs in 14 days. I think that's pretty darn amazing.

Over coming challenges

Initially I was concerned about being able to keep up with all of the fresh food. We didn't eat fast food very often but we ate out for Thai and Mexican food quite a bit. The downside of eating out is that you don't know what's going in to your food or how to accurately account for calories.

So to curb these temptations of easy and accessible meals I have been prepping food ahead of time on Sundays and Wednesdays. Right now our fridge is full of bags of broccoli, corn, "California Vegetables" (mixed veggies in a bag", bell peppers, apples, oranges, avocados, shredded chicken, mixed tuna, and baked cod. Every meal is accounted for for the next 3 days.

A couple nights ago I baked my fish recipe with cod

Then I put all the cod and drippings away in the fridge sealed tightly and through out the last couple days we've nibble on it, or packed it for Karl's lunch as he goes to work. In between we had several other proteins for dinner, and our Purenourish shakes for breakfast.

This evening, was one of those nights where I wanted Thai food. I didn't want to cook, all 4 of us were sick. I opened the fridge and there was the cod and a bag of mixed veggies that I had pulled from the freezer and put in the fridge for easy cooking.

In a saute pan I threw the veggies and some corn in with salt, pepper and garlic and once it was heated up I added two pieces of fish and some of the drippings to flavor the veggies.

From the time I dragged my bottom off the couch to putting the veggies and fish in a bowl, it took 9 minutes and only 300 calories per serving.


It's only one of many examples how being prepared saved us from wavering from our program which could set us back in our goals by 3 or 4 days.

What are ways you keep from straying from your diet program?

Celebrating a week of progress!

Hello dear friends and followers!

Sunday marked our first 7 days of lifestyle change eating and exercise combined with our "liquid discipline" ;) Homeopathic drops. We have some great results! and will continue to combine the Slenderize program with our dietary and work out changes.

Remember Jeff from our earlier post? You can read about him joining our journey HERE.

Just a reminder of where we started:

Karl on 2/27/13 285 lbs , Waist measuring 49 inches, Chest measuring 48 inches.

Danielle on 2/27/13 176 lbs, Waist measuring 44 inches, Chest measuring 37 inches

Jeff on 3/3/13 270 lbs, Waist measuring 48 inches

UPDATE!

Karl on 3/10/13 274 lbs (down 11 lbs!!)

Danielle 3/10/13 172 lbs (down 4 lbs) but I have lost a total of almost 2 inches off my WAIST! yes! down to 42.1 inches =)

Jeff on 3/10/13 258 lbs (down 12 lbs!)

Collectively the 3 of us lost 27 lbs in one week =) pretty exciting stuff!!!!

Lean Proteins to Keep you Full and Full of Energy!

We are learning quickly that the key to sustaining energy, feeling full with out feeling stuffed, and keeping caloric intake under control is portions. We love fresh fruit and veggies but tend to stray on proteins so here's a versatile recipe for cooking lean fish full of flavor but skipping the full fat ;)

Baked Fish

1 clove garlic, minced

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon rosemary

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

juice of 2 fresh lemons

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 (6 ounce) fillets halibut/cod or Salmon

(if you roll the lemons first before squeezing  them, you will get way more juice out with less effort) Mix all your seasonings to prepare the marinade. Place your fish in marinade and cover/refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

After you squeeze the lemons in to the mix, slice them thinly and place over the fish, this will help penetrate the flavor but also retain moisture. Bake at 375 deg. F (for white fish)  at 7-13 minutes, and 400 deg. F (for salmon) for 18-22 minutes until the flesh is opaque pink.

6 oz of salmon with this recipe is 246 calories, 6 oz of cod with this recipe is 281 calories. (according to Fitness Pal)

This is 4 oz of cod, 4 oz of salmon, 1/4 cup broccoli, 1/3 bellpepper 466 calories

Stay tuned for an awesome progress report from Karl, Jeff and I. This Sunday is our first full week completed on the journey as a team of 3 =)

Healthy Food on the Go!

Mandy posted this request on our Facebook wall this morning and I was more than happy to dive in to a blog response ;)

Believe it or not, your planning for a healthy lunch tomorrow starts with tonight's meal! If you can strive to have a lean protein each night make sure you have enough for left overs the next day.
I turn just about every dinner into a salad some how. I looked online for recipes to give you but I feel like building blocks to every day lunches or quick food is the key here.

Salad Base
I keep spring leaf salad in the fridge at all times
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Sprouts
Peas
Black olives
Hard boiled eggs
2 Lemons (wedge and save to use in place of salad dressing if you desire)

Salads don't have to be lack luster and can be hearty!
Sunday night set aside an hour to prepare for your week's lunches.
Cut up your tomatoes (I recommend de-seeding them so you cut down on moisture), Cucumbers, rinse your sprouts, and defrost a bag of frozen peas. I keep mine all separate so they maintain their individual flavors all week and don't get slimy.

Now envision that you have all of your salad base ready for you every night to pack your lunch, you had chicken tonight so you toss some chicken in there, you had ground beef, pork chops, even fish it can be added to your salad!

If you have a meal that integrates your protein in to your food like a casserole, lasagna and enchiladas then you wont really have anything to throw on your salad but here's the back up plan.

Have some quality lunch meat ready for back up, or one of my favorites it s tuna salad.
Here's my tuna mix.

One pouch of White albacore tuna
1tbs Wish Bone Robusto Italian Dressing
1 tbs of olive oil mayonaise
dash of ground pepper

This makes two servings and yields 126 calories for a 1/2 cup

                                 
  I use these Glad containers that are built for salads.










For snacks on the run I use raw almonds, baby carrots and PureNourish meal shakes (I use Vanilla coconut milk to mix, since its not naturally very sweet). I'm also a big fan of Safeway's (Von's) "Open Nature" branded nut bars.

Progress Update

We have several friends who are on this healthier lifestyle change journey which is very exciting! Hopefully as the month progresses we will get some of their testimonies posted here. One of our close friends Jeff has agreed to actively participate in logging his journey as well.

Saturday 3/2/2013 we took some before pictures... oh boy just to warn you they are NOT flattering.

From Left to right: Jeff, Karl and Danielle

These make me cringe...seriously.

So here's an update on where we are:

Karl on 2/27/13 285 lbs , Waist measuring 49 inches, Chest measuring 48 inches.

On 3/4/13 he's at 279 lbs, waist measuring 48 inches, Chest measuring 47 inches.

Danielle on 2/27/13 176 lbs, Waist measuring 44 inches, Chest measuring 37 inches

Danielle on 3/4/13 174 lbs, Waist measuring 42.5 inches, Chest measuring 36.75 inches

We are starting to see some progress which is very promising! On Sunday the three of us started a homeopathic system that's supposed to support weight loss and natural energy. Hopefully this will help jump start our goals. 

As soon as I get an update on Jeff I will let you know his progress too!

Push!

Today I had an epiphany!

Let me start from the beginning...

As one of the life style changes I've made this week, instead of driving my daughter to school I've been walking her to the bus stop (it's a 0.9 miles there and 0.9 miles back) I figured an nearly 2 mile walk twice a day 5 days a week is a guarantee of [1.8 miles*5=9 miles a week] 9 miles of walking per week and 45 min of cardio per day. Today I realized that after walking 9 miles in 5 days I wasn't sore, not even the slightest. So this was ok exercise for me but it wasn't GREAT exercise! 9 miles at 4 miles per hour (brisk walk) is only 941 calories (two meals worth of calories). 

calculation based off Fitness Pal

Here's what I realized, I want extraordinary results. Walking 1.8 miles a day is improvement from no activity [haha] but I wasn't pushing myself. So, after I dropped Nadine off at the bus stop and watched her ride away Noah and I went on a stroll. We walked 4 miles, came home had lunch and then I did my Weight Watcher's exercise "Punch it out" video [30 minutes]. All in all I burned my 900 calories in one day instead of 5! And it only took me an extra hour and a half from my day. 

Active kids means I'm going to be an active mom!

I heard from a friend once that "we lose weight to look good in our clothes, but we work out to look good naked." 

Not every day has to be a vigorous work out, and you shouldn't work out so hard to where you don't want to work out again for days. But you can accomplish this by PUSHING yourself 3-5 days a week to walk the extra steps.

Simple ways to increase your steps:

• Park the farthest spot away from the store.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Take the kids or your pet out for a walk.
• Pace around while you talk on the phone.
• Walk around the block when you go to get the mail.

What are tips and tricks you have for getting in EXTRAordinary exercise?

Join us in our journey

Where we started

10 years ago and 120 lbs lighter than we currently are Karl and I (Danielle) were blissfully dating and engaged. The only real life stresses we had since we lived at each of our parent's homes were jobs, school and when we could see each other in between.

Once we got married both of us gained a little weight (me about 15 lbs and Karl about 20lbs), and we wrote this off as only being able to afford top ramen, hot dogs, and occasionally frozen veggies. Both of us maintained at that weight for 2 years until we had our first child (Nadine). I gained 20 lbs but lost all of it by the time Nadine was 2 years old. Karl however traded in his time playing basketball for daddy time and kept the athlete's eating habits with out the athlete's workout. Karl gained, 40 lbs and to this day has not lost it. We started eating better, and lived a relatively healthy lifestyle so I maintained my weight pretty well but my main food group was coffee. After we started trying to get pregnant with our second child was when I started packing on the pounds. Three miscarriages left me depressed, hormonal and 30 lbs heavier, I weighed the same amount as when I was FULL TERM with Nadine. After 2 years of trying we were blessed with our Son Noah. A bad car wreck had me on intermittent bed-rest through my pregnancy and after Noah was born I had 12 months of physical therapy for the back damage I had from the car wreck, leaving me literally in the worse shape of my life. Karl has had 2 reconstructive surgeries on his left hand and has been battling bulging discs in his back also as a result from not just one but TWO car wrecks that happened with in 17 days of each other.

So 2 years post car wrecks here we are.

In our Christmas photos this year we hid behind our kids, both embarrassed of our peak in weight. Karl at 282 lbs (6'4'') and me at 176 lbs (5'4'')

We are tired of excuses, we both have been cleared of physical therapy for several months and since Noah is turning 2 in a few short days I can no longer tell myself that "I just had a baby". It's time for a change, it can't just be about the weight loss because it will come back if that is the case. Our journey has to be about a healthier lifestyle; better food choices, nutrition habits, exercise, and listening to our doctor about our health risks from obesity. The truth is that we should have made this change a long time ago, but we were afraid of failing, and often times its hard to see progress on your own and it is easier to give up than to push forward.

This blog is for our own accountability, but its also to share our story. Share what works, what doesn't, the obstacles we face and how we over come them and on occasion we will be sharing other friend's stories as they start their own journeys as well. 

Karl Marshall 

Current weight: 285 lbs

Goal weight: 225lbs

Current BMI: 35.6

Goal BMI: 27

Danielle Marshall

Current weight 176 lbs

Goal weight 125 lbs

Current BMI: 28.5

Goal BMI: 21.5