14 Jan
Healthy Train: The Beginning
My goodness, I am feeling pumped up right now. What is this healthy train I titled my post after? It’s something that Bobbi+Mike started and I admit I’ve thought considered joining before, specifically the last one, right after I had T1. But I felt overwhelmed with a new baby that I just couldn’t get around to it.
This time though, I saw Bobbi’s tweet about an extension for the contest, and when I read her post and realized that she is giving away a FREE SESSION (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) to the winner, I jumped into the shower (I saw the tweet on my elevator ride back up from the gym), and had That Husband help me with my before pictures. I cannot even tell you how motivating this free session is for me.
1. Because Bobbi+Mike sit at the very top of my list of favorite photographers, for many many reasons. I met Bobbi once and she is the sweetest person you can imagine. I hope they shoot Kelli Nicole’s wedding one day (I know Kelli kind of wants them too 
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2. I love having my picture taken. Love love love! In fact we have a saying in our family that goes “It’s all about the pictures.” Did you know that my husband thought the only reason I wanted his parents to come to our wedding was so I could have them in the pictures? As in, I didn’t care about them actually being there, I just cared about the pictures being incomplete. That is so NOT what I thought, but it was rather devastating to think that my future husband thought that about me.
3. I’ll be skinny, because I won, and I can have some new headshots done. And, fun little fact, if I actually lost that much weight, and we decided we were ready to try for a second baby, I could possibly conceive in July and have yet another April baby. It is the best time to have a birthday after all! (I’m not actually saying this will happen, I’m just daydreaming out loud. )
Bobbi won’t post the before pictures of everyone who joins in the beginning, only those who stick with it until the very end, but I thought you might enjoy my progress photos as I go.
We had to send in before pictures that included the number the scale showed, and so here is mine. I post my weight on my food blog, which is usually a bit lower because I weigh myself naked when I get up for that number. I’ll try to take a picture like this each time (TH took this one for me, I also took one when I was holding my own camera and the number was significantly higher!), and next time I will try to take care of my nasty toenails and bathroom floor. Sick.
As I said, I took these pictures right after I came back from my workout, which means I was red faced still. I also picked my face that morning (awesome) so I’ve got some lovely spots on my chin. Before and after pictures are supposed to show a very dramatic difference, right?
I chose to wear a cream shirt because it camouflages my fat rolls the last (again, trying to make sure you see the difference in the end). I’m looking forward to wearing some of my old “skinny” jeans for the after pictures!
Back fat, begone!
Based on past healthy trains if I want to win this I will have to lose at least 20% of my current body weight which is something like…
45 lbs!!!
Here I go!
P.S.-Aren’t these photos an awesome example of what having your hair done, makeup on, and dressing for your body can do for you? Just look at the difference between this and my last post.
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
That makes it sound like you’re trying to lose 145 lbs
We have that same scale and I really love it (mainly because I can see the display even without my contacts in).
Good luck!
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Jenna Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Ooops, in my excitement I accidentally added a 1 in there.
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Kate Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Hah, I read that as you wanted to be at 145
Also, we are like, the same person, body composition-wise. Thanks for posting this, I’m joining and sending my photos in as son as I get home from work!
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Good for you, Jenna! I wanted to enter the giveaway but a. I don’t live local to Bobbi and Mike and b. I don’t have much weight to lose. Not to sound like a jerk. But I’m jumping on the Healthy Train in spirit! In 3 weeks I’ve kept up with C25K, cross-trained on off days, and totally revamped my eating habits, and I’m very proud!
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2Gooooooo Jenna!! I hope you win!!
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3Good job. Having something that really motivates you is key, so the photo session dangling out there is great.
I saw your tweet about C25K and wanted to encourage you to keep doing it. I bet you can do 3 minutes already if you take it really slow, and if not, you’ll be able to soon. I started running about 8 years ago. The first month or two totally sucked but for some reason I stuck with it and now it’s something I really enjoy.
I guess my point is just that it WILL get easier if you stick with it.
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4Good luck, Jenna!!!
Can’t wait to see the progress and After pictures!
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5Good luck - Sounds like a great motivator for you!! I saw your tweet about running too and I say just give it a try. You never know how strong you are until you push yourself. The great thing about running is that I think it burns the most amount of calories the the shortest amount of time! Great way to squeeze in an effective calorie-scorching workout if you are short on time!
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6Um, kind of? I’ve literally had DREAMS of them photographing my wedding! I LOVE Bobbi and Mike! 1818
I hope you win! That would be so awesome in so many ways. I know you can do it! Good luck!!!
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7Good for you Jenna!! You can do it!! I am rooting for you!
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8That’s awesome! I wish I could do it - but being pregnant probably isn’t the best time to be losing too much weight. Good luck!
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9Good luck Jenna!! You can do it!
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10Good luck! I think this is the perfect kind of motivation for you, for all the reasons you stated
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11Go Jenna! You have a lot of people rooting for you. This sounds like a great motivation for you. I wish I could join in but I’ll have to wait until after this little babe comes in July for a weight loss routine.
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12What a great idea!
The fantastic part is that you win either way, right? Because at the end you’ll be in better shape than you are now.
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13This is awesome! I need to take some before pictures.
I was looking over pictures from the summer when I was in summer clothes like shorts or shorter-sleeved tops and was amazed at how much bigger I looked. I’m really surprised at how dressing a certain way can make a person look totally different.
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14Girl, you haven’t seen back fat until you’ve seen mine. I was searching for yours and couldn’t find it! It’s my number one least favorite fat attribute about myself. I carry all my weight in my stomach/back, which has the added lovely feature of being very unhealthy to boot. I sometimes wish I had the pear shape like others because at least you can hide it a bit in pictures and such. But *sigh* - grass is always greener, etc. I do love my legs and arms though! No matter how big I get they don’t change too much! And I never get a double chin. Until I reach my goal weight, I’ve got to focus on the positive!
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15What jeans are you wearing? I know you’re the same height as me and it doesn’t look like those have been hemmed so I’m curious!
It’ll be fun to watch your progress! Good luck!
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Jenna Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
They are from the thrift store. Fashion Bug (ha!) and I think they are either short or petite.
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Go Jenna!! My husband and I are both doing the Healthy Train this time around too! It’s amazing what accountability you have when you know others will see the honest hard work that you’ve done. So far, we’ve been doing great, and I even started a little food blog (not really for others, but just so I can keep track). Good luck! We’ll all stick together in this one. You can totally do it!!!
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Jenna Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 6:19 pm
I’m taking you two DOWN!
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This seems like a really fun and motivating way to loose weight! I like it. Good luck! I hope you win.
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18Good luck Jenna! I just wanted to let you know that although you may still be carrying extra post-baby weight, you can see in these pictures that your natural body shape is still very beautiful. We’re all rooting for you!
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19WOO HOO!!! What a great goal! I think this is very admirable (and a baby sounds like a good reason for getting to that goal too)! I think this is totally doable for you, especially since you sound excited about it! Good luck Jenna, you can do it!!
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20Woohoo! I need motivation like this to get me moving too. Can’t wait to follow along with your progress!
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21This seems like a great reward/motivator for you, good idea! I think the name is a bit of a misnomer though-it isn’t necessarily “healthy” for everyone to attempt to lose 20 per cent or more of their body weight, depending on their starting weight. I wonder whether Bobbi has gotten submissions from people for whom this would represent an unhealthy pursuit and what she’s done about that moral connundrum? Anyway, I don’t mean to be a downer, I’m just genuinely curious about that (and I work in communications, so I can’t help but overthink branding and word choice).
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Jenna Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
The goal for the group is just to lose weight. Based on past Healthy Trains I know that the winners lose 20% of their body weight. We have monthly weigh ins though so I’ll be able to see where I need to be to be at the top.
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I am so depressed about my body situation that I actually canceled my ob/gyn appointment because I didn’t have the courage to get on the scale. I don’t think it’s healthy for me to be anywhere near one of those things.
Good luck! You are inspiring me!
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Shelley Reply:
January 16th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Emmie - you should let your weight stop you from going to the doctor. No one can force you to step on the scale. . . you could always politely decline and the nurse will skip to getting your blood pressure checked.
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Shelley Reply:
January 16th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
*shouldn’t
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Emmie Reply:
January 16th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Oh I know! I was having an off day when I wrote this! A little post holiday where everything was fitting just a little too tight!!!
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RAH RAH RAH! You can do it! I’m really excited to follow along with your progress.
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24Yay awesome!!!
They held a “biggest loser” contest at my workplace a few years ago and I remember printing out the poster and writing in big block letters “CHARMAINE WON!!!” across it then posting it for everyone to see. The funny thing is, I won in the number of workouts, but not in weight or inches lost… man did I make people want to beat me (and that was worth it).
JENNA WON! Lots of good luck to you.
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25Good Luck Jenna!! I’ll be cheering you on!
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26This is so inspiring! I’m pregnant with baby #2 and trying really hard to keep my weight gain under control. With my first I lost the baby weight plus 25 pounds before getting pregnant again…I don’t want to start back at square one!
I love your food blog and can’t wait to be seeing progress pictures! I’m rooting for you!
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27Go Jenna! Sounds like a great way to stay motivated & hold yourself accountable (which are some of my struggles w/working out & losing weight!). Good luck with everything!
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28I keep my fingers crossed for you Jenna! Trzymam kciuki!
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29I think it’s definitly an achievable goal, especially with the program you started lately. You’ve done it before after all.
It’s so important to have a goal and something to motivate you at the end.
And yes, taking the time to dress up and put makeup on always makes a difference. At least I’m not the only one picking my face (such a bad habbit I’m terrible to get rid off).
Anyhow. I look forward to see your progress.
Oh and yes, you can run 3 minutes, it’s not as long as you think. You’ll have to run for that long in no time just to catch up with T1 I’m sure, so it’s good practice
Do make sure you have good running shoes and a good sporting bra as you increase your mileage/time. It can make a huge difference. They’re pricey but worth the investment.
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30My thoughts when I saw these pics:
1. BLUE EYES!
2. They really show how much you’ve lost since your pregnancy!
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31Good for you Jenna! I’ll totally be cheering you on!
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32Hey beauty! I’m not sure I ever received these photos
Were you planning on competing??? 
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