31 MORE Days!!

About my blog:
I started my blog in March of 2007. Basically, I was very inspired & encouraged by Roni’s blog. I’d been reading her blog everyday for months and months. I had been to blogs all over the internet and hadn’t found a single ONE that actually kept up with their site so faithfully. BUT, hundreds of people visit her site everyday to read about her journey- built in accountability! I wanted and needed that (and still do!!) so much, but knew I wouldn’t be able to get that from a blog because I figured that no one would read my blog. So, I thought for a while and towards the end of February 2007, I decided to write this email to friends and family members- some because I knew they’d be supportive, and some because I would never want them to see me fail. Trust me, this was totally out of character for me!!

The e-mail I wrote to friends and family:

Subject: Feel free to just delete… just don’t tell me!

"Hey everyone, I hate to bug all of you on a daily basis… but I’m going to do it anyway! :oD Like the subject line says, feel free to just delete my emails if they get on your nerves, just DON’T TELL ME!! I need the accountability. I thought about starting a blog, but it’s too easy for me to think “no one will read it anyway”. So, instead I’m planning to email all of you on a daily basis. (I’m apologizing now!)

As you all know, Miss Jenalyn (my sister) will become Mrs. Smith this May, and well.. our dress fitting is in only 4 weeks!! I’ve been doing Bootcamp with Jason’s (my hubby) chiropractor- which I LOVE and plan to do again and again, but I still have some more weight to lose before the fitting. There are only 2 more weeks of bootcamp left, and after that I am going to do a 2 week free trial at the Total Body Fitness up the road. Since it’s also beginning to warm up, I plan to walk/jog everyday as well.

While the exercise has been really great and I’ve seen some exciting results (-15 INCHES total overall!!), I KNOW that if I don’t eat right, I’m just chasing my tail. When I first started in January, I was tracking everything I ate every day using the Weight Watchers points system in addition to bootcamp. The weight was coming off consistently every week and then, we hit a bit of a stressful time and I stopped tracking, then I stopped trying to make the best choices in food, and by the third week I was so depressed because the past two weeks were so bad I just let it continue and get even worse. By the time I was brave enough to get back on the scale at the end of the third week, I had regained 1/2 of the 8 lbs I had lost in January!! :o( But, I started tracking my food and making healthy eating choices again, and now I only have 1 more pound to lose to get back to where I was a month ago.. how frustrating!!

Anyway.. since my lapse, I’ve found it to be really hard to keep writing down my points and tracking like I should. It’s the same excuse- “no one’s going to see it anyway”. It just makes it too easy to not track or make good choices and just think I’ll work out harder tomorrow. So, I’m going to email my daily menus with points to all of you wonderful people everyday and I’ll send you my weight loss totals each week too. Comments are welcomed, and if any of you want to bug me with your menus on a daily basis I’d feel less guilty about bugging you! :o)

Jenalyn almost gave me a heart attack this morning when she (mistakenly) told me we had 2 weeks until the fitting, but it was a good kick in the butt! I have 31 days, and I know it’s a little bit faster than ideal, but I’d like to drop 10 lbs by then. With WW, I get 22 daily points and a total of 35 extra (”flex”) points per week as well as the option to use any extra activity points that I earn by working out. The count DOWN is on!! :o) Talk to you all again tomorrow!!"

So, from that to here- I sent them emails every day for just the full 31 Days (they are archived on my old site if you care) From there, I just tried to keep going for 31 MORE days (ah ha! That's where my blog name comes from!) I continued doing BootCamp for over a year, and came within 7 pounds of my goal weight! At that point, I got pretty frustrated that I couldn't seem to lose anymore. I was happy with my body, but that number, the goal I had set just kept taunting me. Eventually I got too frustrated and stopped counting points. I was still "good" and I still exercised, but I stopped blogging, lost my accountability & the weight slowly crept back. Now that Roni has this awesome new site, I'm trying to get back to where I was. I'm not too far off, but it is too far for me. My "skinny clothes" are all just a bit snug & I WILL NOT buy bigger clothes!!! I no longer do Boot Camp, but from BC I did learn how to run, and so I'm working to become better at that and would like to use running as my main form of exercise.

About Me & My Family:
My name is Jynell, I am 28 year old SAH MOM & live in Pennsylvania with my wonderful hubby of 9 1/2 years, Jason & 3 awesome kiddos, Ellysha, (6), Emmelia, (5) & Ezekiel (2 1/2). In high school and college I was always involved in sports and in great shape without much effort. But, I’ve always loved to cook and bake, and once Jason and I got married there was only the two of us to eat it all instead of the crowd I was used to at home (I’m the oldest of 6 kids!). So, over the first 3 years of our marriage I slowly gained about 50 lbs!! Yuck! I was miserable and decided that I was going to lose the weight. I started eating less and choosing better foods. I also played competitive volleyball (doubles or quads) 3-4 times a week. And 6 months later, I had lost slightly over 30 lbs & 20 some inches overall!! Then I got pregnant, and again, and again! :o) Three pregnancies in four years has definitely taken it’s toll on my body!! After each one however I had been able to lose all of the baby weight- BUT, after I had Zeke I began to stay home full time. When all the kids were napping in the afternoon I’d relax by sitting on the couch & watching a little tv while having a snack (or two). I regained almost 20 lbs!! :o( Through Boot Camp & blogging I had lost 34 pounds and over 45 inches!!! At that point, I hit a wall and regained some- partly because of holidays, and partly because I got lazy. But I am back on track and on my way back DOWN!! I have 12 pounds to lose to get back to where I was, and 19 total to get to my goal! I'd love to make some new friends here as I continue my journey in weight loss. Feel free to comment or shoot me an email. I’ll try to keep up with getting back to you as best I can! Thanks for stopping by!! :oD