She's Baaaaack!

Holy crap!  Has it really been nine months since I blogged??  SO MUCH has happened in those nine months I don't even know where to begin.  First, I'd like to say THANK YOU to everyone who has reached out to me on Facebook thanking me for inspiring them to start getting healthy and losing weight too.  It feels AWESOME to know that I can have an impact on you like so many others have had on me!  That beng said, here's a recap of the last 9 months:

Summer was awesome at the Rutkowski Resort.  We had lots of good times with friends and family enjoying the beautiful pool and amazing (HOT) Chicago weather.  Definitely an AWESOME summer with TONS of memories being made.  We fell in love with our home and can't wait to live here for many years to come.

Fall was beautiful as always.  It's my favorite season so I'm a bit biased.  We hosted Thanksgiving dinner for 20+ people at our house and it was a HUGE success!  We also processed the first harvest from Wise Ambition Wines (aka our grape vineyard that came with the house) and it was DEEEEElicious!  I am definitely going to keep a better eye on the fruit this fall to make sure we can save some grapes from the neighborhood raccoon bandits.

Winter was mild.  We stayed here for Christmas (first time in 4 years) and did the family hopping thing.  It was nice to see everyone this year, but we definitely enjoy the new family tradition we've started of going away for the holidays....so, we went away AFTER them this year.  In January we took the kids to Jamaica for a week long vacation.  It.was.awesome.  First time taking them out of the country and it was a little never wracking at times, but so rewarding.  They had an absolute blast.

Now we get to Spring!  Carmen went to her first school dance and Cole is starting baseball.  It's almost time to open the pool for the season (NEXT WEEKEND) and thisclose to swimsuit season.  Eeeeek!  In preparation for Summer, I've been working on staying healthy and eating cleaner all most winter and I am happy to report that I am down 74 pounds since the beginning of my weight loss journey (October 2011).  I am hoping to keep up the losses, lose 26 more and hit 100 pounds lost by the end of summer.  I don't think I can, I KNOW I CAN.  The 2013 LoziLu Mud Run is May 18th and I am totally super excited to run walk it with my coworker and cousins.   Then, at the end of May, my gallbladder gets removed.  This might set me back a bit in the exercise department since I won't be able to hoop like I have been and won't be able to do any real exercising for 4 weeks.  Looks like I will be taking lots of walks this summer!

Hoping to keep up with this blogging thing as it dows seem to be therapeutic...kinda like a journal, but public and it keeps me accountable.  So, stay tuned, keep reading and keep messaging me how YOU'RE doing on your journey!  I love hearing from you all...

XOXO
M

So, what in the world is HOOPING?

My ex-neighbor BFF (Ms. New Booty) has recently started hula hooping for fitness and thought that I would thoroughly enjoy an exercise change of pace.  So I got a hoop from Kelly for my birthday and I've been practicing every day since.  I am getting better - I can feel that I am - but I am having a really hard time keeping the darn thing on my waist.  Is it because I am no skinny minnie?  Is my hoop too small?  It's a 42" Hoopnotica Travelhoop so I can add another segment to it if I need to.

My problem with not being good at something is that I lose the drive to TRY.  I know, I know practice makes perfect and I have been practicing.  I just don't know how many more good solid drops my toes and ankles can handle.  Not to mention my poor bruised sides.  YEOWCH!

I do love how hooping makes me feel though.  It gets my heart pumping and my hips swinging.  Almost like going dancing.  I will keep it up, but I am completely teaching myself how to feel the hoop and do it.  I've never been able to hula hoop - even as a little girl.

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Xilo Gum and Birthday Greatness

Well I did it, I survived my birthday weekend with a smile on my face and a total loss of 23.8 pounds so far!  My weekend was full of awesome, including but not limited to: a MUCH needed mani/pedi, a massage (my first in over 6 years), a nice long nap, Chris Porter at the Improv, the first birthday party of my best friends son, hot tubbing, filet mignon, a Bar Mitzvah and LOTS of family time. Whew...I am pooped!  Almost feel like I need another day off to get caught up on laundry sleep.  *yawn*

On to bigger and better things!  I got an early birthday present from HCG Diet.com with some awesome goodies to try out thanks to my friend Kelly Olexa and her company FitFluential.  Kelly put me in contact with the awesome team at HCGDiet.com and they hooked me up with some Xilo Gum and Chocolate Triumph Slim to try out.

The Xilo gum is FANTASTIC and exactly what I have been looking for to help me get through the desire to snack.  It has a very good flavor and doesn't taste any different than any other regular gum.  I definitely didn't feel like I was eating "diet" gum which was great.  I will definitely be continuing to chew on this gum to keep my cravings at bay.

Stay tuned for my full review of the Triumph Slim.  This weekend was wonky with my eating, so I'm not sure how it effects the scale for me yet.  HOWEVER, I do know that it is YUMMY and made no birthday cake easy as pie.  I mixed in 4 frozen strawberries, some water and a scoop of the powder - used my Magic Bullet and made HCG heaven in a cup.  YUM!

I hope everyone is enjoying their last few weekends of summer - soak it up peeps, Christmas is right around the corner!

Peace ☮

Hallelujah!

After a rough couple days only losing .4 and .2 I woke up this morning and FINALLY had a significant loss. 2 pounds - bringing me down 21.8 total pounds lost and I could not be more excited!  On top of that, I did my measurements this morning and have lost 23.25 inches (I measure my bust, waist, hips, thighs, calves, upper arms and neck).  I think I figured out what I was doing wrong with my puny losses...I wasn't eating enough protein.  I ate an extra serving of protein yesterday to test my theory and WOW - could it be that I was right?  I am going to eat extra protein today and see what tomorrow brings...so excited to continue on my HCG adventure.  With results like these, who wouldn't be?

My birthday is tomorrow and I will be 31 years old.  This will be my first birthday without cake or a special indulgent meal.  Instead, I am going to use my birthday money from my grandma to get a massage in the morning and to take Carmen with me to get pedicures.  It's so hard for me to spend money on myself, but I DESERVE THIS.  I am 31 years old, so I have earned the right to spoil myself once a year - so that's what I'm going to do.  Really looking forward to my birthday this year and celebrating at the Improv with some friends too.  Although I am kind of apprehensive about the 2 item minimum and the tasty morsels they provide while making you laugh.  I guess this is all part of re-learning how to eat for fuel, not for fun/boredom/pleasure/sadness.  I know I can do it because I can do ANYTHING!

It's Football Season....FINALLY!

Around the Rutkowski house, our favorite season of the year is FOOTBALL SEASON. We love watching gridiron games...pee wee, high school, college, arena, NFL - We love it all! Which is why my husband and I are so ridiculously excited that our little guy Cole is playing tackle football this year for the Prairie Ridge Junior Wolves. It's his first year and it's a LOT to learn, but I'm super excited for his games.

Watching him practice with his team tonight got me thinking about how much I despised playing sports in school. Maybe it's because I've never been very coordinated or maybe it's because I stop having fun (and caring) when I realize I'm not very good at something. Either way, I am by no means "athletic" or "graceful." I'm very glad that Cole seems to have gotten the athletic gene from my husband. The joy on his face when he puts on those pads and helmet is inspirational. Such unabashed childhood joy. It really is heartwarming.

Speaking of heartwarming (not really, I just needed a trasition into my next thought), this morning I had a tender, heartwarming moment with the bathroom scale. 19 POUNDS DOWN! Yeah buddy - I was ecstatic when I saw that! Plus, I will hopefully be getting some Xilo Gum and Triumph Slim HCG Approved Meal Replacement powder from HCGDiet.com to help fuel my HCG journey. I'm excited to try the meal replacement shakes because eating fish and chicken is getting kinda old and I don't seem to lose as well with beef.  Stay tuned to see my reviews on these products. I can't wait!

Here's a picture of my little football player in the meantime:

What keeps YOU motivated?

The thought of the day is motivation and I am wondering....how do YOU stay motivated to be healthy and eat right? Is it a specific goal in the future? Is it a picture from your past? Is it blogs of other, like-minded fitness people?

For me, motivation is a very personal topic. If you know me, you know that I have never been a small or petite. I've been big my whole life and not just overweight big, I'm 6' tall and big boned too. I'm pretty sure my bones, skin and guts weigh at least 160. You see, my whole family is made up of (mostly) large, hardworking, Midwestern German/Welch/Russian people. We work hard, play hard and LOVE our food. Thin people in my family have to constantly fight their genes in order to be thin. It is an uphill struggle that I was ok with not fighting (the key word here is "WAS").

I enjoy going to the gym and getting my sweat on. Freeing my endorphins is a fantastic feeling, but when weight loss is my ultimate goal and I find myself working out a ton and not losing anymore, I lose ALL motivation. See, my motivation comes from RESULTS. Maybe it's because I am part of the "Instant Gratification" generation, but I almost get a high when I step on the scale and see the number steadily going down. I was OVERJOYED last night when I took my measurements, 12.25 inches lost so far on this crazy HCG journey and I could not be happier with the results.

So, back to my question... What are YOU motivated by? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Swai...Oh my my!

Oh em gee. Swai is so good! *drool*

3.5oz of this beautiful, light, flaky, HCG friendly white fish cooked in lemon juice and water with garlic, fresh basil & Roma tomato is UNDER 100 CALORIES! Yeah I said it before, and I will say it again...this fish is BOMB!

Here, have some food porn: