A different kind of muffin

I love muffins! I rarely bake them, but when I see them in a bakery they are hard to resist!

So nice and fluffy that they poof out around the edge of the cupcake liner meant to hold them in.

But, the sad thing is…..when you eat too many then you get THIS version of the muffin showing up on your OWN BODY……the DREADED “muffin top”……..

A few years ago I did the “Body for Life” work-out and eating plan and I was strong and fit.

But, somewhere along the way I started getting pre-occupied with my rug hooking business and I started spending all of my free time dyeing wool and hooking and working and eating comfort foods because I was pretty stressed out most of the time (not all bad stress mind you…..a lot of it was the good stress of success).

Then one day I woke up and found that my body had created this “muffin top”! Oh I tried to disguise it….and I’ve been doing a pretty good job…..I gave away my skinny, low-rise jeans and went up a size….I quit tucking in my shirt, I wore “busier” printed tops…..you know all the tricks just as well as I do…..don’t you?

Well, the tricks worked fine for my psyche until I came across this photo on my camera…..

Kenny had been taking pictures of the garden and also snapped some pictures of me cleaning out the pool (this was taken in May)…..It was just one of those moments when I was a little horrified….granted it was the first of summer and I am pasty white which doesn’t help matters.

At that moment I called my hairdresser and got in to get my hair cut short again…..I think the longer hair was dragging me down….I just feel more powerful with my short hair….so yes, my hair is short again. I made a decision to stop doing my rug hooking business so I had more time to focus on a lot of things that had started getting neglected along the way…..things like my home and my health. (I’ve been fortunate to be “healthy enough”, but I mean FIT and healthy)

I think this is when I started dabbling with the yoga…..I think the yoga has helped me find my center and gave me time to think about what other changes I wanted to make in my life.

But, I digress, the “muffin top” was still haunting me…..taunting me, even over the edge of my scrubs that I wear to work everyday.When you have a muffin top over scrubs…..that’s a bad, bad thing!

This past weekend I signed up with Jillian Michaels

…..you know her….the kick-ass trainer from “Biggest Loser”?!  I have never watched “Biggest Loser”, but I did discover her earlier this summer on “Losing It With Jillian”.  I liked her hard, but empathetic personality with the families she worked with. Below is a video of my favorite episode.

I have to say that the food you get to prepare and eat is delicious and fresh and REAL food….there is no processed food on her eating plan…..and the workouts are HARD…..I mean, sweat dripping off of me in the first 5-7 minutes…..I want to quit…..this is too hard…..that kind of a HARD workout…..but anything is worth doing to get rid of this muffin top and get FIT again!

Here is my favorite new move that I’ve learned……I like it because I can feel it working! Goodness knows I’d LOVE to have a nice round booty instead of the “shoebox butt” I was born with :)

One-Leg Pelvic Thrust

Step 1

Lie on your back in front of a bench or platform with your knees bent and your heels on the bench. Your legs should form a 90-degree angle with your knees directly above your hips, and your arms should rest on the floor at your side. Keeping your knees together, exhale and extend your right leg up toward the ceiling. Now, exhale and press your left heel into the bench.

Step 2

Lift your hips, pressing your right leg straight up toward the ceiling. Inhale and slowly lower your body back down to the floor, and repeat on the other side.

I’ll check back in with you in a month and let you know how it’s going…..so far I’ve lost 5 pounds in 1 week! YAY!