Just joined Curves and now Fitness Pal!

shawnalaufer

Hi everyone! My name is Shawna. I recently quit my job of 5 years working for a large cable company to be a SAHM. I know, with this economy, what am I, nuts?! Well the truth is that the company was going under a lot of undesirable changes, ones that were not going to work with my current situation with a new baby and a preschooler at home. And when I figured childcare cost, my take home pay really wasnt much- I also sell Jafra cosmetics and I knew if I wanted to, I could easily make that difference up working from home. So I quit. The stress was causing me to make some unwise choices in diet and it wasnt helping my already overweight self lose any of my post baby weight. I had to get out, for my health and my sanity.

I have been a SAHM since May 2011 and loving it! I love getting to spend more time with my beautiful daughters, Shaylee and Kaylyn. I am also able to see those "firsts" with my youngest, Kaylyn, that I missed with my oldest, Shaylee. It took me a little while to get into the swing of things but by June I was ready to get on board and start working off the extra 50+ pounds I was carrying around. I joined Curves fitness center and I absolutely love it! I was so intimidated with regular gyms that I practically lived on the treadmills- you can't really look too stupid on them, LOL. But I learned a while back that treadmills alone weren't going to give me the results I wanted and needed. Curves gives me a full body workout with its circuit of fitness equipment and in only 30 minutes. Just when I start thinking " this f-ing sucks!" and want to give up, the recording comes on and tells me to change to another piece of equipment. Thirty minutes goes by fast! And if I ever need help, their is a educated trainer right there- no having to pay extra for a 'personal trainer'.

Plus they have this keytag program called Curves Smart. With Curves Smart, every piece of equipment in the circuit is programmed with your body's information to give you moment-by-moment feedback. It also automatically adjusts to your body's endurance level so you stay continually challenged and achieve your potential on every machine, during every workout. Then it automatically computes all of your workout data to produce detailed progress reports that show your overall muscle strength, your calories burned and how close you are to reaching your goals. I like being able to SEE my progress!

I then joined Sparkpeople.com and while it's a really good program, I really fell in love with Fitness Pal's app that allows you to scan products and have the nutritional info right there. I just joined so I haven't had a chance to use this feature yet, but when I compared my nutrional goals with Sparkpeople to Fitness Pal, they were exactly the same so I knew I would be in good hands with Fitness Pal. I have tried just about every diet pill out there, and yo-yo'ed with diets before, but its good to see a solid diet plan right at my fingertips that isn't all fad or trend. Just good ol' healthy portion control and monitoring your calories, fat, carbs and proteins!

I am super excited to begin really putting my all into getting to my goal weight of 120 lbs by this December, as it is when I will be going into surgery for a breast augmentation. Before I get a bunch of comments about this, I am getting this surgery because ever since I was 16 years old, I have always felt that my body just isn't proportional. I got hips and a butt but am rather small on top so finding bikinis and dresses has always been a major issue, and usually ended in frustration and disappointment. Plus with having two babies which I both nursed for the first few months of their lives, let's just say, things aren't where they used to be, LOL! With this surgery, I can make things a little more even, plump things up a bit, get things back where they used to be, hahaha!

Getting to my goal weight is very important to me to achieve the overall appearance I am looking for. Who wouldn't want to look in the mirror and like what they see? I live in Florida where a bikini is practically the dress code, and it would be so nice to be able to not only find one that fits, but have the confidence to wear it! I hope to find lots of encouraging and supportive folks here on Fitness Pal. Thanks for having me!

Kelly_Wilson1990

Welcome Shawna. I also belong to Curves. I love it and Curves with Zumba. I was also very intimidated at regular gyms. My Fitness Pal is an excellent tool with great people.

SusanneWhittington

welcome and congrats to your decision. Thanks for sharing your story, you make me look into curves now

MaeKhaleesi

I used to use Sparkpeople, but I've found that the MFP app is much more useful, so I've switched to them. I also live in Florida, and I haven't been in a bikini since before my son was born. :frown: Anyway, good luck with your weight loss!

Perfectlycrooked

Welcome! (:
There's also tons of support here too, I don't know what I would do without my friends on here :P

beefluv86

Welcome! Curves is awesome, looks like you are starting on the right track. Good luck with your weight loss.

Rivergrrrl

I just joined both MFP and Curves too. Let's see if it works for both of us. I need to get myself moving back to health! And congrats on choosing to be a SAHM! Those times are precious.

DRetel

Welcome to MFP! I've learned a lot in the week I've been here! Hope you enjoy it as much as I have so far!
Best of luck on your journey to better health and fitness!

mellymink

Welcome to MFP, I know you'll love it. And I just wanted to say good for you, making the decision to be a stay-at-home mom! Your girls are probably SO loving it. My mom used to babysit during the day in our home, so we got to spend time with her growing up and the memories are just priceless for her and also for my sister and I. Have fun at curves & with your new MFP account. You'll do great!