Secret Project Revealed!

So...remember in March when I posted about a secret project?  Well - the secret is out!  I got to operate camera for the Russell Wilson workout that was released on the Xbox Fitness channel last Friday!  The company I work for has other workouts through Xbox Fitness already but this one was, by far, the BIGGEST!
All the stress aside, it was a fun two days.  I mean, watching the set being built, the lighting rig go up, wardrobe...everything production-wise still excites me, no matter how many times I've seen it before.  There's just something so fun about watching crews make it happen because sometimes we all forget how many people it actually takes to complete the illusion that we know as "movie magic".

If you've got an Xbox One, try out the Athlete Fit with Russell Wilson workout and let me know how you like it!  During the R+D phase for it, I took it as many times as possible here at the office, and let me tell you - it's NOT easy but it IS fun!  And believe me, it goes by really fast and you'll feel so much better for it :)

Happy Tuesday!

**SPOILER ALERT: Russell Wilson is extremely nice :)

My job did a thing...

So, we had a BIG announcement at work on Wednesday.  We rebranded AND we announced our super-secret partnership with XBOX Fitness!  Check out the video:



I'll give you a hint at who did the camerawork and lighting...LOL
Actually, I can't take all the credit on the lighting - that goes to my Production Supervisor. He's a BEAST when it comes to lighting! Check out this side-by-side we did while we were testing our lighting set-up for the announcement video shoot:


He did such a great job (and Heather was nice enough to sit in for us to get some test footage).  I'm so glad we can now green screen instead of fudging through it with some grey paper and and RGB Key.  Okay, okay, enough nerd talk.

I am really excited about the XBOX Fitness partnership, though.  The classes are AWESOME - and I'm not just saying that because I work there, I'm saying it because it's true!  They're only 30 minutes and time flies by while you're doing it!  If you're one of the lucky ones to snag an XBOX One, I urge you to try the Mossa classes!  I believe they're free for a year if you have an XBOX Gold membership...I'm not sure how the memberships work since my old man is the keeper of the XBOX at our house (it's just a Netflix / Hulu box for me! Ha!).

But seriously - try the Mossa workouts.  They're great.  I never thought I'd enjoy the Mossa Fight workout (because Group Kick always intimidates me) but Fight is so much fun and you'll feel AMAZING afterwards!  Take it from me!  It's the thing I needed to break my weight-loss plateau.

Who's getting an XBOX One?  Let me know how you like the Mossa workouts!

Weight Loss Update

This was posted to She Loves You Fit Blog here
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You know, on my way to work this morning, I realized I haven't done a measurements post, like, AT ALL.
First of all let me say that I'm truly amazed at how far I've come.  When I "officially" started in January of this year, my goal was was 70 lbs away.  70!!  It felt so far away and yes, I felt like giving up that first month but my BF kept me on track by pushing me and going on this journey with me and together, we've lost a lot of weight.
When I started with Lose It, I was at 206.4 lbs.  I hated that number!  Absolutely hated it!  I also hated the fact that in order for Lose It to work properly, you HAD to weigh yourself everyday so that it can calculate how many calories you have for the day in order to reach your goal weight.  My goal is to lose at least 1.5 lbs a week.  That's pretty reasonable, right?
This morning, I weighed in at 167.6 lbs.  I've lost a total of 38.8 lbs and I'm roughly 30 lbs away from my goal!  Time really does fly by!  I can believe I'm down this far already and while some days are harder than others, it has been a great adventure.
I know sometimes you don't feel like working out or counting those extra calories you've eaten - and believe me, I've had plenty of over-my-calorie-budget days - but it's all worth it.  And I'm the WORST when it comes to that but you know, I've been taking a different approach since my friend passed away a few weeks ago.
I've changed my outlook on life since that happened.  I don't know why it just clicked but it did and I'm very grateful that it did because I feel like I have a different perspective on things now.  I'm getting better about not sweating the small stuff - like not working out for a few days or having a little extra food here and there - that stuff doesn't bother me as much anymore because I'm trying to see the bigger picture.  Sure, I still have to work hard to reach my goals and I get that but I'll try not to be so hard on myself for stumbling along the way.  There's no point in wasting time on those little things.  So long as you reach your goals, you did it and that's all that matters.  I'm almost there and I'm so proud of myself for getting this far and I know I still have further to go but you know, instead of preparing myself for the worst, I'm excited because the outcome will be worth all the moaning, groaning, sweating and calorie counting.
Just remember that when things get rough, it's okay to take a break.  You owe yourself that much.  But know that you have to get back on track bigger and better every time because that's when you'll truly start seeing results.
Much love to you all and thank you for joining me on this journey!  You guys are awesome!!

Mini-Update

I've been a very bad blogger.  I've run off and started another blog!  Eep!  Don't worry - it's not permanent.  It's more to help me get my nutrition and weight loss back on track since I hit a major plateau about a month ago.
I'm now posting here in an effort to help keep me on track AND to help keep my friend on track.  You see, she asked me if I would be her accountability partner in her 3 month clean eating adventure - to which I said "Yes".  Now, I'm trying to keep a pretty well-detailed log (outside of the Lose It app) to keep track of the fitness side of things and I figured why not do it from the ol' Tumblr?  I also started a Fitocracy account - which I'm still trying to figure out how to NOT post it to the She Loves You Blog tumblr but to the She Loves You Fit Blog tumblr...

Anyways - that's where I've been.  Sorry for the radio silence.  Something tragic also happened the last few days and I'm pretty shaken.  I hate that it feels like this needed to happen before I realized how precious life is.  I'll write more about it later but you can read about it here in the mean time...

Despite all that, I hope you all have a wonderful Friday
xoxo

Weight Loss Goals - Challenge Accepted!

In my last post, I talked about my resolution to lose weight.  Why is it so important to me?
Well, a few years ago, my Dad took me out to a nice lunch and proceeded to tell me that he would help me find a weight loss program to be on while he was away in Iraq.  It sounds mean and I took it the wrong way, as I would, and even though we worked it out and I ended up on a diet program that didn't really work for me, mentally and emotionally, I did it for 3 months before deciding to stop it.
It was taking an emotional toll on me.  I know that sounds like an excuse or something but it really did take a toll on me.  I was hungry all the time and I wasn't exactly advertising that I was on a diet at work because I feared extreme judgement from my coworkers.  They can't be that cruel - but they do make jokes about 114lbs being "huge".  Ouch.
I felt withdrawn.  It was almost like I was grounded.  I felt like a bad kid constantly being in trouble and it was awful.  Yes, I was losing weight but I felt miserable emotionally.  I hated feeling that way and after pleading with my Dad in very emotional emails, we cancelled it.
There were a few upsides to it, though.  I learned how to eat healthier and I thought I was making better choices.  I also learned what I like and don't like as far as cooking goes.
But I was still gaining weight.

A few weeks ago, I had a dream.  I dreamt that I received a wedding invitation to a wedding in Montana.  There was a note inside from the bride-to-be telling me to get down to a size 10 by March.  How specific.  And you would think that I would be upset by this in the dream and waking up but, surprisingly, I was very calm.  In the dream, I achieved my goal by getting down to a size 8 - what what! - and everyone was impressed.  When I woke up, I had a very Barney Stinson moment



And I proceeded to tell my friend (and coworker) my goal - just for the sake of getting out into the Universe.  I'm hoping that even though I'm feeling discouraged because of my weight GAIN, I don't lose momentum.  In fact, I have made another deal with myself - which will remain secret because it's very personal - and I'm hoping I can make good on it very, very soon.

Onward and upward!

Hiking Adventure

For Father's Day, the old man and I ventured up to the North Georgia Mountains (Squidbilly country) to meet up with his Dad, sister and brother-in-law to hike up the 425 steps to the top of Amicalola Falls.  I had been there once before with Oni for some location scouting that didn't exactly work out but I got some great photos!
This time was no different except I knew we would be hiking so I dressed appropriately.  We started at the base of the falls where the reflecting pool was and walked up.  The view was amazing!  When Oni and I went, we started at the top and walked down the steps to the bridge over the falls but for some reason, the view was way better walking up and then back down again.  On the way down, I did get a case of jelly legs, so I kept moving in a very strange manner so that my legs wouldn't give out from under me.  I thought my legs were stronger than that but I guess I thought wrong!  Either way, it was a wonderful walk and even though some pre-planning had gone awry (or didn't happen at all at the hands of the day's organizer - not me) and nagging party member aside, it was a fun day.



This photo was taken on the way back down the steps so technically, we walked 850 steps (not including another trail we walked...)


Here's a very sinister looking photo I snapped of the old man at the top of the falls


Check out the route I tracked with the Nike+ GPS app

I like how erratic the stair climbing makes the path look. The big loop on the right side is some mini trail we ended up walking because our organizer thought was an alternate way down to our cars...Meh. In all, we covered roughly 4.1 miles.  I say "roughly" because the green dot where I started my tracking was into the trail some and the finish was at the trunk of the car.  Either way it was a nice walk and I'd like to come back for another go at those steps!