SarahBeth0625 Member

I will be honest -- I have raised all three the same and it comes down to personality. Our daughter NEVER ran off and has always stayed right by my side. She would never need to be harnessed and I remember thinking (even when she was a baby), "what is wrong with this kid?" because she was so easy-going. She still is at 3.5…

While I do not own one personally, my oldest runs and has always been a runner. We give him his freedom in parks, but if we were to ever travel with him again, he would be the perfect face for one of those monkey backpack/harnesses. He has dyspraxia which also goes along with ADHD (undiagnosed, but they are monitoring him…

Aw, thanks!! My goals next are to do some heavier lifting. I do plenty of different things now, but I would love to see myself with the BIG weights/barbells. I do weighted lunges/squats with 15-20 lb. dumbbells, as well as upright rows, curls (regular and hammer; supinated), push-ups, and lots of abwork. Some machines…

Three kids: 6, 3, and 2. I'm a work-in-progress but I'm continuing to work hard at it! Six days a week at the Y, always. :) Combination of strength training and cardio. This was where I was a year ago. Same starting and ending weight; a whole lot of toning helped me lose some inches. :smile:

My heartrate monitor (Polar FT4) was a good investment. They are right around $60 and will give you a better estimate as you input weight, height, and it calculates your burn based on your actual heartrate. Also, studies have proven that if you can see where your heartrate is, you will burn more calories to keep yourself…

I'm 33 and I like to maintain 162-165 as an average while I exercise. Sometimes it might get up to 173 during a burst, but I feel good at 161 and above.

Cardio warm-up for 16 mins, then chest, shoulders, and abs. :)

Hey girl! Born in WI, raised mostly in MN, Wisconsin for life. :) haha

One word: Youtube! A few more words: weighted lunges/squats. Start with maybe 8-10 lb dumbbells. Regular curls/hammer curls/supinated.... I had to Youtube EVERYTHING because I was so clueless in the beginning. I like doing 10 minute ab videos 3x a week too -- there is a lot of great stuff out there. My favorite one is the…

I need about 25 minutes after the shower (shower is about 8 minutes). Pretty low-maintenance. I also am very natural with things -- as in, I have never had a manicure or a pedicure, and I go to the salon maybe every 2 months just for a trim. I refuse to color my hair until I actually need to. LOL :smile: My purses come…

I eat on a budget, but some of my favorite things are chicken breast, greek yogurt, and baked cod. My kids also like to eat tuna... I buy it in the pouches. I am coming around to liking it....

There better be room for a Sarah sandwich! :wink: As for me, still one and only one. :blushing: :heart:

Leg day... I do a whole bunch of weighted lunges and squats and it gets my heartrate up there -- higher than when I'm working it as hard as I can on the elliptical. I love it though. :)

I don't sweat it... I have a liking for chocolate. I eat a 240 calorie 3 Musketeers bar most days. Some days I have two. As long as I stay under my calorie goal, or just meet it, I am happy. :smile: I do not believe in total deprivation as I think over time, for a lot of people, they end up overindulging. Therefore a daily…

Yep, I plan to. Just need to do some youtubing for proper form.

LOL, thanks! Yep, that is me. Three kids and all. I actually am embarrassed to admit I haven't done any "barbell" stuff YET -- but I want to. I just do a ton of different exercises on all the muscle groups with dummbells, and I also do some of the Cybex machines.

I nicely inform people that lifting does not make every woman look like she belongs on the cover of Muscle & Fitness. I even had to tell my husband that because he didn't know. I have even showed people some healthy examples of women who lift and they all look amazing!

Cardio today. I am debating between swimming laps or doing my usual elliptical. If my kids are naughty again in the childcare center, I'd rather not be in the pool when they come get me, but dang, I love swimming laps. It changes things up a little.

LOL. If someone mentioned that I was at the gym a lot (which I am... 6 days a week at the Y), I would take it as a compliment. I am sure being older people, they are just being conversational. I definitely noticed "the regulars" where I go and sometimes I see new faces too. When people disappear I always wonder if they…

I don't know. I think it may all depend on your weight and activity level as well as what you are accommodated to. I did power walking for about 12 years, going at a good 4 MPH pace. I was no longer feeling a burn, even after an hour of walking. Even if I was pushing a stroller. Since the heartrate monitor basically…

The most comfortable for me... seamless non-cotton bikini type... I have some ones from Target that tend to be my "workout" underwear (wish I could remember the name of them, but they're almost like the old way the VS Body undies used to be). Otherwise, I have my nice VS ones for the rest of the time but I find that that…

I try and buy the more natural sandwich meats... Applegate Naturals is a good brand. However, I can't always buy the best, so I do eat some other stuff too I continue to see results as it's not like it makes up ALL of my diet. I do remember to eat my apples, other fruits, and lots of steamed veggies :)

LOL, thank you!!! I make working out a mandatory thing. That's how I have been successful in the past with other goals (breastfeeding, etc.). Anyway, the winter is the worst time... I have to get three coats on, boots, mittens, etc.... get them into the car (no van, which I wish I had), unload them at the Y, then when…

Lots of homemade meals, minimal processed foods, I like my sandwiches so lots of those (LOL), as much fresh fruit as possible, frozen veggies steamed with as many meals as possible, Chobani yogurt (daily breakfast), I do treat myself to chocolate because I don't believe in total deprivation so I'm big on the 3 Musketeers…

Thank you all. You are all too kind. Would you have ever guessed that I did zero sports in high school and I had zero confidence in myself to do anything physical? Now I do weights and feel confident and it's just so great. It does as much mentally for me as it does physically.

:laugh: LOL!! I look forward to the challenge. :smile: :wink:

:blushing: Aw, I can never thank you enough. I wouldn't have even known where to start if it wouldn't have been for you. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Thanks, all! :) Haha, yep! That's the Mississippi River. Grew up in MN and live in WI, but right on the border.

Proud tandem nursing mama here! :) The weight did just come right off, especially when my youngest was a newborn (and my daughter was 18 months at the time -- they both sucked the weight right off)!

Yes!!! That is my favorite one!