May 2016 Workout Playlist

We are rolling right along through my favorite month, and I've got a collection of my absolute favorites for you to sweat to.  HERE is what I'm listening to this month. Some old my all-time  favorites, old and new. You can listen to my May 2016 workout playlist, as well as all of the others I created for free on Spotify.

April 2016 Playlist

April has pretty much come and gone, but I've got a new playlist for you just in the nick of time! HERE is what I'm listening to this month. Some old favorites, some new, and a song from the movie Zootopia that has a really great message. You can listen to my April 2016 workout playlist, as well as all of the others I created for free on Spotify.

What are some of your favorites to work out to?? I would love to check them out!

March 2016 Workout Playlist

March came in like a lion, and so I created a workout playlist that comes in like a lion as well! HERE is what I'm listening to this month. A bunch of upbeat, fun ones including one of my all time favorites, Just A Girl. You can listen to my March 2016 workout playlist, as well as all of the others I created for free on Spotify.

Do you have any favoroite workout songs right now?

February 2016 FREE Workout Playlist

Hello February! New month, new playlist! I had a lot of fun with this month's playlist, and challenged myself to get as many songs about love on there as possible. I've been listening to it at the gym, and when I'm home working on the computer too. You can find it HERE along with quite a few other playlists I've created for free on Spotify. I hope you enjoy, and I'd love to know what your favorite song to workout to is!

January's Workout Playlist

I can hardly believe we are in January - new month, new playlist! HERE is what I'm listening to this month. A bunch of upbeat, fun ones including one of my all time favorites, Just A Girl. You can listen to my January 2016 workout playlist for free on Spotify.

You can find my past monthly workout playlists HERE. Enjoy!

December Workout Playlist

Happy December, friends! Christmas is almost here and it seems inevitable that most people gain 5 (or more!) pounds this time of year. Keep up your workout habits, and eat as clean as you can, and that won't be you! HERE is my December workout playlist, available for free on Spotify. I *had* to include a couple of Christmas songs, but they are my absolute favorite, and they're upbeat, so I hope you understand ;)

You can find my past monthly workout playlists HERE. Enjoy!

November Workout Playlist

Another month, another playlist! This is one of my very favorites, and I listen to it not only at the gym, but in the car, at home...everywhere! If you only listed to one song - listen to #2. I'm obsessed!!

HERE is my November workout playlist, available for free on Spotify. A collection of current hits, and past favorites to help keep you going during your workouts. You can find my past monthly workout playlists HERE. Enjoy!

October Workout Playlist

Another month, another playlist! HERE is my October workout playlist, available for free on Spotify. A collection of current hits, and past favorites to help keep you going during your workouts. You can find my past monthly workout playlists HERE. Enjoy!

September Workout Playlist

 I feel like by now you guys know that I am a music freak! When I'm working out on my own (not during a class, or with a trainer) I *need* great music to keep me going, but I also need to switch it up. HERE is my free workout playlist for September 2015. Click HERE to access the others, and let me know what you think!

August Workout Playlist

A new workout playlist for August!

You can get it for free on Spotify, HERE. And if you missed either of the previous playlists, you can snag them for free on Spotify HERE (June), and July's HERE. Enjoy!

July Workout Playlist

Just wanted to share a playlist I've been loving lately. I got lots of compliments on the last playlist I shared, so figured I'd share this one too. You can get it for free on Spotify, HERE. And if you missed June's playlist, you can snag that one for free on Spotify HERE. Enjoy!

Six Month Fitness Journey Check In

Hey friends! I have officially been on my fitness loss journey for six months, and wanted to do a blog post check in/progress report to answer a lot of the questions I've been getting.

The #1 question I am asked - How did you get started? It's simple really. One day (the day after

Christmas, to be exact) I woke up with a complete mental change. I wanted to be healthy. I didn't want to be fat anymore. I wanted to enjoy family walks. I wanted to feel comfortable in my own skin. More than anything I wanted to be a great example for my girls.

How did you lose the weight? I did Weight Watchers for a couple months but it really wasn't for me. So, I spoke to a nutritionist available through my insurance who told me I have to eat higher protein and lower carbs. So I do. I didn't eliminate carbs because that isn't realistic, but I do try to minimize them. I also work out a lot. I can't believe how much I've grown to LOVE working out! I take Zumba three days a week, cycle twice a week, and yoga once a week and I do strength training too.

Do you ever cheat? Yep. I'm only human. I have one cheat day a week, where I'll indulge in a favorite (usually carb-heavy) meal, but I still keep the rest of the day pretty much to my new way of eating. I haven't given up my favorite coffee drink - a nonfat iced mocha - and I don't feel guilty about that. I have it several times a week, and am fine. If I gave up everything this wouldn't be a realistic life change.

What do you enjoy most since losing weight? The energy!! I have a ton of energy now, which goes to show how little I had before! I truly do wake up excited to go to the gym. I never thought I'd be that person. I love going on family walks now, and my girls and Tony are wanting to go home sooner than I am! I also love shopping in non-plus sized stores! It's opened up a whole new world, lol!

My family and I did a 5K in honor of my Auntie Linda a few weeks ago. Pre-fitness journey I would have (of course!) done the 5K but I would have struggled. But now, the three miles was an absolute breeze!

What size did you start at? What are you now? I get asked this ALL. THE. TIME. in addition to what I weighed then, vs. what I weigh now. While I can't imagine I'll ever feel comfortable disclosing my weight, I will share the sizes, which is something I never thought I would do. I started out in a size 20 pant (at my very biggest I wore a 22,) 2X top and 2X (or 3X depending on the cut) dress, and size 42E (or DDDD) bra. As you can imagine that bra size was hard to find, and I often had to special order. I am now in a size 14 pant, which is getting too big, but I'm still not quite a 12 although I think I will be soon. I wear a size Large shirt and dress. I NEVER thought I'd see the day when my clothing size didn't have an X in front of it. Bra size is (currently) a 36DDD which is also kind of hard to find, but I manage. I can't wait until those bad boys go down even more!

Anything you're struggling with since losing weight? Yes. Loose skin, especially under my arms. I not-so-lovingly refer to that area as my bat wings, and it drives me batty. (Ya see what I did there?) It was also incredibly hard packing up my entire wardrobe and getting rid of it. New clothes are fun, but letting go of everything is hard. I donated most of it, plan to consign the nicer items, and have opened up an instagram account - @glitterandglosscloset - that I will start adding to soon. Also my shoe size has gone down from a 10 to a 9 (except tennis shoes!) so I've had to get rid of all of my shoes, with the exception of a handful that I just love too much, and will wear too big! Also, now the scale has kind of stopped moving. In the beginning I had really consistent, great loss. But I had a lot more to lose then. Now it's staying the same, going up, or going down just a few ounces. I am being told that I'm probably developing muscle, which weighs more than fat, but I'm not seeing any muscle.

Those are the questions I'm asked most often, but feel free to email me (or comment here) any others you'd like answered. Speaking of emails, thank you for the sweet emails I've gotten! I've tried my best to respond to each and every one of them, and your sweet words mean the world to me!

Now onto some measurements. Though I weigh myself every Friday, sometimes the scale goes up when I know I've worked hard. I started taking my measurements on January 6, my first day that I truly committed to this lifestyle change, and have been blown away by some of the changes! The biggest change I can see visually is in my thighs - they have gone down so much! Something I'd like to see more progress on - my calves. They're still massive.

I wanted to share something that has also helped - a great workout playlist for me is an absolute must when I'm doing weight training, or cardio on the elliptical machine. I switch up my playlist often, so I don't get bored. I made my current workout playlist available on Spotify to share with all of you, in case you like it too. You can find it (free!) HERE.

And now, some before and after pictures. They're not great, I know, but they will have to do:

That outfit is now swimming on me!! it was the first outfit I wore on my first day to the gym :)

Random Tidbits:

• I've had to un-follow almost every food board from people I follow on Pinterest, unless it's specifically marked as a healthy food board. I was never tempted by food pictures before, but now that I've restricted so many things, for the sake of health I don't even want to look at it. Also, some of the recipes I would have pinned before, now gross me out to even look at, which (I guess?) is a good thing.
• On a flip side I've started following a few new fitness-related accounts on Facebook and Pinterest. One of my favorites to follow is Pop Sugar Fitness on FB. They post a lot of helpful articles that I really relate to!
• I snack now more than ever (HERE is a great list of snacks!) but my meals are pretty small. I find that I get hungry quickly, but also fill up pretty quickly. It's probably the snacking, but it's keeping my metabolism going, so I'm ok with it!
• I also drink a TON of water, and have cut alcohol to once a week or less.
• I am BY NO MEANS an expert. I'm just sharing what has been working for me so far. I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to work out at a gym that I love, take classes that I love, with teachers that I love so often. I know it's a luxury that not everyone has, and I am so very grateful!

As always, thank you so much for your support!! If you got through this whole, long-winded post I especially thank you!!

If you're on Instagram, you can follow my fitness journey with the hashtag #glitterandglossgettingfit