Please be patient with me, I will be updating and adding in my food diary, but for now, I will leave you with these lovely snapshots of my scale over the past few days!

Weigh-In Snapshots for this week!

Last Monday, at our workout, I weighed in at 158.0 fully clothed, with shoes. Today, I weighed in at 155.2, fully clothed, with shoes...at home, though, BEFORE I got dressed for the day, my scale said:

October 19th, 2009 October 18th, 2009 October 16th, 2009

Monday, October 19th, 2009 B: Oatmeal S: Apple/Almonds L: 1/2 pb on wg S: protein bar D: turkey wrap ACTIVITY: Lisa Druxman workout

Tuesday, October 20th,2009 B: oatmeal S: grapes/chs L: turkey wrap S: 1/2 pb on wg D: turkey (grilled), stm'd veggies ACTIVITY: X

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 B: Oatmeal S: apple/almonds L: turkey wrap S: banana/pb D: grilled chkn, stm'd vegs ACTIVITY: Lisa Druxman workout

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 B: Oatmeal S: yogurt/granola L: turkey wrap S: banana/pb D: egg/turkey wrap ACTIVITY: X

Friday, October 23rd, 2009 B: Oatmeal S: 1/2pb on wg L: turkey wrap S: a few corn chips with homemade dip (courtesy of my brother, for his homecoming dinner!) D: grilled tuna (thanks, hubby! It was DELICIOUS!) ACTIVITY: X

Saturday, October 24th, 2009 B: Oatmeal S: yogurt/berries L: turkey wrap S: banana/pb D: scrambled wrap (chipotle (organic) salsa, scrambled egg, turkey) YUM! ACTIVITY: X

Sunday, October 25th, 2009 B: Scramble leftovers (without the wrap) S: Coffee (with creamer) **1st cup of coffee since August. L: Turkey wrap Late Snack/Early Dinner: meatballs, 2 crackers w/cheese spread, small cup of juice. (at a friend's housewarming party) ACTIVITY: X

Due to a very minor and silly knee injury LAST week during a workout, I made a quick visit to my doctor this week, to have it checked, just to be sure I wasn't harming it by continuing to workout, because BELIEVE ME, I have not stopped working out on it! He recommended not doing quite so much HIGH IMPACT (temporarily), and giving it a little rest. I will say that I had to lighten up on the impact, not because I was being a good patient and listening to his advice, but because my knee forced me into it. After a very painful workout on Wednesday, I gave it a rest this weekend, and haven't had any pain since Wednesday. I go back to working out tomorrow morning, so I will find out if the rest did it good, which I am PRETTY SURE it did!

I've already buzzed my late night gym buddy to get back into the gym together this week, and am looking forward to our late night workouts and chats in the hot tub after!

This week, my belly-dancing class ends, but I plan to find out when the new session begins, and sign myself up again!

Many of you know that Thursday, the 22nd of October, was the day of announcing the 2 new Mamavation Moms. Those 2 lucky ladies are Alyssa and Stacie, and you can see their videos, and follow their journeys at www.mamavation.com. Please stop by and congratulate them, and show them your support!

I will continue to post my weekly updates, and link them to the Mamavation Follow Along Program, as well as show my support for the many moms involved in Mamavation, as well as the many moms I know who are NOT a part of Mamavation, but are aspiring to bring healthy habits to their own families.

I will also continue to look for new and exciting ways to stay motivated towards my goals, and inspire you to reach yours, so please stay tuned!

By putting myself out there for everyone to see, and by remaining active on twitter, I made some friends, and connections that have proven to be extremely valuable to my goals. One of the friends I had connected with, and met while campaigning for the first round, messaged me when she found out about a testimonial group. We decided to "buddy" up and go together, to show one another support.

That first day of working out with Lisa Druxman, I looked at my friend and said "What have you gotten me into?" Now, a month and a half later, I can answer that question myself "a healthier routine and smaller clothes!" And what an amazing feeling when that friend told me that I looked 1/2 the size from when she had met me! BECAUSE I AM! But hearing someone (besides your randy hubby) SAY they can see the difference makes it so much more REAL, and gives you such an amazing boost in confidence!

I have been working out with the testimonial group since the beginning of September, and have PERSONALLY seen amazing changes, but not just my own! It's a real eye-opener when you can look at someone just a month and a half after meeting them, and they look completely different from day 1. Soon, we will find out which of us have been chosen to represent Lisa's workout on-screen, and regardless of whether or not I am selected, I have already begun a new life process that is PRICELESS, and it's very own reward.

I'm one of those who wants EVERYONE to win, and even though some people aren't "chosen" for a particular role, I believe that we have all won JUST by being a part of something amazing! This applies to both Mamavation AND my testimonial group right now! We have all been rewarded simply by having the opportunity to participate, and we choose whether we make that reward a big one or small one by what we decide to take away from that opportunity.

For the Mamavation Mom candidates, Leah has given us ALL an amazing chance to inspire others, and doing something meaningful while improving ourselves and the health of our families. If you were not chosen to be a finalist, and even if you WERE chosen as a finalist, but don't WIN the finals, you can still choose to be an inspiration and make a lifestyle change by joining the Follow Along Program. If you are at all confused about how to do this, go to Mamavation and read more about it. Or you could check out my Follow Along Journals to find some inspiration for doing your own!

My Journals:

Today's Stats Is it really that hard? Getting on the Right Schedule Setting Some Goals for the Week Food/Activity Log is UP! My First "Whoopin" from Lisa Druxman Weekly Mamavation Update 04SEP09 Mamavation Update 05SEP09-11SEP09 More, Please! Mamavation Update 12SEP09 Challenge in Change Weekly Update 19SEP09-25SEP09 How Exciting! Winning Feeling Mamavation Weekly Update 26SEP09 Weekly Weigh-In & Journal 03OCT09-09OCT09 Weekly Journal 10OCT09-16OCT09

Not only did I join Lisa's testimonial group, but I also signed up for a belly-dancing class at a community college near where I live. I bugged a couple of friends to join me for the classes, to make it more fun. One of my close friends decided to join me, and we also decided to make the gym part of our after-class routine. We had previously been doing some Jillian Michaels workouts, but that proved to be more challenging with 4 kids between us, all on different schedules. So the class and gym afterwards works great for us, and provides us with something we desperately need...time away from both of our homes (and families). This is the same friend I mentioned in my VLOG, that told me I had inspired her to begin her own health & fitness blog!

More recently, I met ANOTHER online friend, and we began talking about fitness, and decided to hit the gym together sometime. We talked about it for a couple of weeks or so, before I made it one of my Mamavation Monday Commitments to meet that friend at the gym at least twice that very week! We worked out 2 evenings that week, and did our socializing afterwards with a nice soak in the hot tub to relax before heading home for sleep. I have thoroughly enjoyed those late night workouts and chats, and am looking forward to continuing our little ritual!

So, you see, even when you don't make the cut for a "title", you've already committed yourself to making changes and becoming an inspiration...and what better way to support others while gaining support for yourself, than to do the Mamavation Follow Along Program (as a member of BookieBoo's Mamavation Group, and recruit yourself some workout "buddies" if that is what works for you! It has worked for me, along with committing myself to CLASSES, where I am also held accountable for showing up and participating. After my testimonial group has ended, I will be looking for more classes, possibly at my local gym, or another class through one of the local colleges, to take the place of those workouts.

A friend once posted a quote, and I found it at the perfect time...right after I was NOT chosen for the Round 1 Mamavation Finals. I feel compelled to share this quote with you:

"The highest reward for a persons improvement is not what they get because of it; it's what they become as a result of it"

Thank you ALL in advance! Your support is a key role in my success, and I appreciate EVERY bit of it!

If you become a new Twitter member, please be sure to add me @PickleSugarPlum, and send me a message to add you back! Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just to the effect of:

@PickleSugarPlum I am here to support you in becoming a #Mamavation Mom! Please Follow back!

This helps me separate the real support from the spammers!

Thanks again, to everyone who has been supporting me over the past 9 weeks, and to those who are just joining in to show support!