Everyone loves some B&A's!!

Allow me first to tell you how behind I am on reading blogs!!
I have a 5 hour car ride this evening (PA bound, bay-bay!!) so I'm hoping to catch up!!
I've missed my daily correspondence with y'all!!

Ok, now that that's off my chest!
Without further adieu...

It's crazy that this day is here!
I remember reading all about Operation Red Bikini (ORB) back in December and thinking,
"Gosh, Memorial Day weekend is so far away, sure, I'll join the challenge!"
I remember taking forever to leave my comment saying "I'm in!" cos I didn't know what I wanted my end ORB result to be.

I went back to Kassie's post explaining the details and found my comment stating my solidarity!

The bikini was still a questionable decision even as I hit "publish" on that comment.
Along the journey, I decided that I have always had and probably always will have a pouch as my lower stomach, so Mama wanted to go for a sexyfied one piece.
Well, I ordered this one, but it's still on back order so I have yet to receive it!

But, since we were going to the Lake last weekend, I needed a swim suit.
So guess who scrounged through her old bathing suits only to end up rocking a bikini top and board shorts?!?

While I don't feel I looked terrible, I think I would still feel comfortable in my one piece if it ever decides to arrive!

Now....the size 6s I mentioned...I knew exactly what pair I was talking about!
But, before we see if I actually fit into them...
Let's discuss my ORB journey over these past 5 months.

My weight loss plan of action has basically been running and cleaning up my eating.
I was training for my half starting in December until completed in March.
Holidays and events were all sprinkled in during these 5 months so, while the running was non-negotiable, my food choices were not always...

I did really well when I stayed on track (basically through the week) and I did really bad when I went off track (hello, weekend!) with eating.
So I have to say thank God that I actually still ran.
That's what kept me from not gaining anything over a few pounds.
But horrible eating sometimes kept me from losing any.

As weight loss can sometimes go, I gained, I plateaued and I lost but I never (and still haven't) gave up!

It wasn't until about April that I was starting to get envious curious of the muscle definition I was seeing in some people that I started throwing in some free weights.
And then, come May, my super supportive Team KLM helped me buckle down through the May Meltdown with Ms. Michaels challenge!

I am beyond pleased to announce that I did the 30 Day Shred every single day for 30 days straight!!
I also stuck to my running schedule where I was concentrating on speed training this month.

Gold star every day!! Hollerrrrr!

And I promised B&A's so I am here to deliver!

My #4MChallenge Before stats:

Weight:       149 lbs

Arms:         12 1/2"

Chest:          35"

Waist:         34 1/2"

Hips:            37"

Thighs:       22 1/2"

And After:

Weight:       145 lbs

Arms:         12"

Chest:          34"

Waist:         33 1/2"

Hips:            36"

Thighs:       22"

That's a 4 pound loss and 4 inches lost overall!!!

And now time for a little side by side action...

And then, just for funsies...

I'm pretty pleased with my results, I have to say. :)

The #4MChallenge was a success.

And THANK YOU for all the encouragement along the way!
I cannot express it enough!

It seriously meant the world to me!!

Curiosity getting to ya about the size 6's?!?!
probably not!

December 18th was when Kassie posted the deets about Operation Red Bikini.

I went back to find a pic of me from around that time as well as my "Thick Thursday" weigh-in from around then.

December 20th. Weight: 165 lbs

And today, May 31. Weight: 145 lbs

and rocking some size 6 jeans!

These are 2 different pair of size 6's even though they look identical!!

Man, seeing these results makes me even more amped and motivated.

And encouraged!!

I look at the pics when I was 20 pounds heavier and it takes me back to thinking about how far away the 140's were.

And now I'm here!!

I don't know how many people have commented on my weight loss to this point.
Telling me, "Oh man, I need to lose weight"
And asking how I've done it.
I can see it in their eyes that they'd like those results.
They'd like to lose weight.
But I can also see that the dedication and motivation isn't entirely there.
I can see that doubt is there.

I am a firm believer that the WANT to lose weight has to light a fire in your ass that shines through your eyes.
You have to WANT to take this journey.
It just won't work until it is a true motivated desire!

And I can't light that fire for you.
What I can do is show you my results.
That the proof is in the pudding! Mmmm...did she say pudding?!?!
And maybe that can help to ignite that fire in YOU!
But it's gotta come from you.
From within you.

And it's not always going to be easy...
Motivation.
Hard Work.

Failures.
Triumphs.
Weight Loss.
Plateuas.
Dedication.
But it will always be worth it!!

I am truly here to say you CAN do it.
And I know people say, "If I can do it, you can do it."
But that's the honest-to-God truth.
I didn't just snap my fingers and 45 pounds came off.
I WORKED for it!
And YOU CAN too!

I'm still a work in progress.
I'd like to lose 5-10 pounds more.
I'd like to not gain the weight back.
Maintenance scares me a little.

But then I remember that I don't just get to a goal weight and then stop all this work.
I continue to put in the work. Put in the effort. And get those results.

Again, THANK YOU does not even justify how grateful I am to all of you that have been along my journey with me.
Your encouraging words and tips and solidarity have truly helped spur me on.
Stronger.
Faster.
Farther.
My mantra!

Elle and Kassie....thanks for ORB and all the accountability along this journey!!
I think I can speak for everyone when I say we enjoyed it!!

Now all of you go out there and have a fabulous weekend!!

And Pennsylvania...I'm coming for ya, baby!!

;)

Memorial Day Weekends are always the Best!

It's true!!
Every Memorial Day weekend is always full with stuff going on, and I love it all!!

This weekend was no different!
We went into the weekend not really having set plans, but plans evolved nonetheless!

Saturday, we went to my husband's cousin's wedding.

I am a SUCKER for matching attire to a wedding (or any dress up event, really!)
My husband rolls his eyes and vocally expresses his "annoyance" with it, but secretly I think he likes it just as much as I do! ; )
This was Memorial Day weekend so Red, White, and Blue as our coordinated colors were a no-brainer!

And just cos I think this is hysterical....here's one of the outtakes of our little "photo shoot" to get the beautiful picture above!

This sums US up perfectly!!

Sunday, we were busy grocery shopping, getting the house cleaned, etc as we had planned a spontaneous cookout at our house.
(Spontaneous as in this was decided about 4 pm Saturday evening!)

My husband's entire family lives within a 2 mile radius, so they all came over to our house for an outdoor, backyard cookout.
Complete with burgers, hot dogs, chips and dips, fruit, cupcakes, s'mores, sprinklers and sparklers!
I was too busy having a good time so I only managed to get a pic of the kids enjoying the sprinkler!

Monday, we headed to the lake.
(Another decision made about 4 or 5 pm the day before!)

A family of close friends to my husband's family have a house up at the lake with a 2-story dock that I love!!
We set up Royce's little kiddie pool up on the top deck while momma enjoyed some brewskis, sun, and fun!

Such a good weekend and I am now officially ready for summa summa summa-time!!

Now, surfer dude, Royce says "Have a great day and don't forget to HANG LOOSE!"

Weighing Heavy

Yes, I am checking in on this Weigh In Wednesday.
But my weight is one thing that is NOT heavy....

I just scoured through my Instagram (@kbeavtann) and saw that Kimmy has updated us all that that sweet little girl she knew did not make it out of alive from the horrible tornado destruction that happened in Moore, OK.

Let's all continue to pray for the family of this sweet face.
And family's all over that area that are experiencing loss....of loved ones, houses....
There are so many ways we can donate and give back too.
Check out Kimmy's post on ways to help.
We are praying for you, OK!!


And weighing in a little less heavy today is my weight.
148 this morning!
I am feeling really good about how I look right now.
I feel like I can see the inches lost from the #4MChallenge.
I haven't taken actual measurements since May 1st, but I am loving the tone and lack of love handles I am seeing!
I just feel good about results I am seeing.
(I may or may not have text this pic to my husband yesterday) 

I downloaded a BMI calculator and bitch tells me I'm overweight.

Dag'on shortie!!
If I were 2 inches taller, I'd be on the higher end of "normal"

Now, before you tell me not to dwell on that, I'm not.
Sure, I'm going to bust my tail to get that into the "Normal" range.
But again, I feel awesome, so I'm going more on that!
I know there are areas that need more work and I will continue to work.

140 is my "happy weight" I think!
That would put me at 24.8 BMI.
And I'd be ok with that!

I think my personal ideal weight is 135, but I know that's a tough weight for me to maintain.
So we'll see where I go.

I'm now getting into that "I don't necessarily care about losing el bees. Now I want to tone and muscle up!" mindset!
I have some ideas of what I'm thinking about doing after the #4MChallenge.
JM 6 week 6 pack?!?!
I'm hearing a lot about CrossFit and it's definitely got my attention...
I'm totally intrigued by this whole Macros stuff that Elle and Kassie have been talking about.
I'm just cheap and don't want to spend the moulah.
But I'm also lazy and don't want to do the research myself! ;)
So, just toying with some ideas of where to go next!
I'll keep you posted!

Weekend What's Up!

Another weekend logged in the books!

I am guilty of wishing time away, y'all...
In less than 2 weeks, I'll be back up in PA again!
I can't wait to see a TON of my favorite people, but more specifically, my nieces!!
The only thing better than being a mommy is being an auntie!! :)

Ignore the freak on the right...isn't my niece, Camdyn, gorgeous?!?!

Sweet, sweet baby Claire

And this little cutie, I haven't seen since the first weekend in March. 
              :( #sademoticon
And when I do see her in 2 weeks, she'll officially be 11 months.
              :( :(  #doublesademoticon
Almost a year old!!!
(Make sure y'all are following my super creative sister's blog cos with a Panda-themed first birthday party, there's sure to be a post about all things DIY panda decor!!)


Anywho...back to the weekend that was...
Friday evening we went to my husband's little cousin's (as well as some other sweet little 4 and 5 year-olds that are in our life!!) Pre-K graduation.
I, however, took no pictures because my 20 month old had me chasing him around in the back!


Saturday morning, I woke up, did the 30 Day Shred and then woke my boys up.
We headed down to the trail that is seriously like 2 minutes by our house where the local hospital had organized a 5k.
It was a free event (just bring items to donate to the food pantry) and they organized it to promote healthy living.
I loved the idea...a free 5k to get people out there!
There was a very small crowd and it was a very low key event, but I think they have potential to grow it into something!

I actually finished 5th!
Since it was so informal, and since a lot of us depend on our GPS through our phones, when I finished it said it was only 2.91 miles. Oh well!! At least we all got out there and got active!

My husband ran it and pushed Royce too and he finished 8th! I was quite proud of him (them)!

After the race, we went to the spring fest our little town was having then spent the rest of the day hanging out!
It was a nice little day with my nice little family!


Sunday, I woke up, shredded, then wrote on diapers.

We were throwing a dear friend a baby shower and her baby-on-the-way has some medical issues.
So they have a long road ahead of them when the sweet little boy finally arrives, and my friend has hung tight to God's word to get her through all of these unknowns.
So, my sister-in-law and I looked up some verses/words of encouragement to write on the diapers so it's like a little pick-me-up when you least expect it!! :)

Then, we went to church.

Is it sad that I got more out of watching a church service on TV than I have out of the last couple of churches I've visited this past month?!?
Well, I did...
And it was so cute to see Royce clapping and swaying to the worship songs.
In his diaper.
While da-da and ma-ma laid on the couches in their PJs.
Don't judge us.

Then it was time to get ready for the shower.

I didn't take any pictures at the shower, but we decorated it up nice, y'all! ;)
And she got lots of stuff!
And speaking of stuff...I totally STUFFED my face!!

And because I only ran not even 3 miles on Saturday I had planned to run some time on Sunday.
But when I got home, the couch was calling my name.
So I didn't run.
And then I read this status on Facebook

Slap in the face!

Oh well!! It was a great little weekend!!

Make it a great Monday!!

3 weeks in!!

First things first...
Thank you to all the sweet comments from yesterday's post reassuring me of my running ability.
I'm often too hard on myself when it comes to my time/pace/distance...
Sometimes I need to just forget about all of that and just enjoy the ride!!

Yesterday, I tried my hand at Yasso 800s for my speed work.
I intended to do 4 intervals of a half mile in 4 minutes followed by a slow jog/walk for 4 minutes.
I only completed 3 intervals!

Perhaps it was the 84 degree weather.
Or perhaps this was pretty intense!!
I DO NOT like to have to walk when I go for a RUN.
So, I fully intended to slow jog on the 4 minute recover intervals.
But I had to walk...twice!

I was slightly bummed that I didn't complete the intended 4 intervals.
This is where a running group or at least a dedicated partner would have pushed me to get that last interval done.

But I was also super proud of those 3 completed intervals!
It was tough!
Which tells me it's worth it!! :)

Side note...I need your help!
I bought a pair of shorts from the Victoria's Secret VSX line and they're ok, but I have tree trunks for thighs, so I haven't found a pair of shorts that don't ride up my thicky thick thighs.

Please impart to me your wisdom on running shorts!!


Now, on to the #4MChallenge.
I'm sure we could all agree that Ms. Michaels does not like to wait!


<center> <a href="http://statigr.am/tag/4MChallenge" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/K_Fievel/4MChallenge_button3_zps63db381b.png" width="300" /></a></center>
I'm going strong on every day and still enjoying it!

Sure, the past couple of mornings have been difficult to get out of bed, but I have to remind myself of how I feel when it's done and I manage to drag myself out of bed!!

Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred is delightful.
Jillian tells me my "shoulders should be burning right now" and dammit if that ain't the truth!

I don't know what my measurements are to this point, but I feel like I see some muscle definition/smaller love handles in certain areas! :)
Yeah, B&A's!!!

That's all for today, my dears!!
TGIF!!

Let's get back to Running, Shall we?!?

I. Am. Tired. Y'all!
Now hold on...Don't even go there!
I know the pregnancy bug has been going around, but it has not hit this girl!
I'm not entirely sure why I'm so gosh darn tired.

Sure, I've been getting up at 6am every single morning.
But I've been going to bed at 10pm.
I've been working out like a haus but isn't that supposed to give you more energy?
Meh! I guess some days we're just more tired than others.

Let's move on, shall we?!?

I haven't blogged about running in quite some time.
I've still been running.
I just haven't been running well.

I was really starting to pride myself in an average sub 9 minute mile.
And then I came to the realization that the My Fitness Pal app I have been using is pretty inaccurate.

So I switched and tried Run Keeper and Nike +
I would run both of these apps simultaneously and they were tit for tat as far as distance and pace goes.
I asked for your advice on IG and Nike + won out by like one vote.

So I've been using Nike + as of late.

(P.S. I want to add more of you!! My only friend on the app is Miss Sparklin One and I want more friends!! It totally motivates me when it shows me that "my friend" has worked out. Gets my butt up and running! So tell me how to find you or look for me "KyraTanner")

Anyway, I was pretty devastated to learn that I wasn't as fast as I thought I was.

 Remember...I was consistently getting under 9 minutes per mile no matter what distance I ran on MapMyRun

I was constantly comparing my time to anyone that was faster.
I wrote this post about how I wanted to beat all these people in my next race.
My arrogance was taking over.
And slowing me down.

I'm a very competitive person.
I am constantly trying to be faster...
Trying to beat my previous times.
And that's OK.
It's OK to push myself to be better and better each time.
It's OK to make goals and strive to achieve them.

It's not OK when that competitiveness starts getting out of hand.
When I start comparing myself...my running ability...to others.
When I want to beat this person or that person's time.
When I see a faster time of someone else and get mad or upset or bummed that I didn't go that fast on a certain day.


I am here today to tell you, I am working on that pride and competitiveness when it comes to comparing myself to others.
My time compared to your time does not define me.

What defines me is my effort to push myself further and faster and harder because that's only helping to mold and create a better ME.

I'm not gonna lie and say this will be easy.
I will constantly have to remind myself that my progress is my progress and is not measured by anyone else's progress.
I've compared myself to others my whole life.
I've never felt like I was good enough.
Always thinking if I were skinnier, prettier, richer, faster, stronger, more popular, funnier...the list goes on...
then I would have finally made it in life.

Guess what?!?!
I have made it in life.
Because I am Me.

Wow, that was pretty deep for someone so exhausted!! 
:)

I've already started adopting this attitude and I had a great run on Tuesday!

This is 6 seconds slower than my fastest 5k time!
I was stoked because I felt like the speed training and cross training I've been doing this month are actually working!!
On my training schedule for this month I've set up Tuesday's to run 3.1 miles (5K) at pace (meaning the pace I would like to run in an actual race).
And Thursday's are set up to be Speed Work.

Today, I am excited to try Yasso 800's in which Elle Noel so kindly explained in this post the other day!
My goal marathon time is 4 hours as well, so I will be running a half mile (800 meters) in 4 minutes, followed by a slow jog for 4 minutes and repeat for a total of 4 rounds.



Now, allow me to brag on my husband for a hot minute.
He's been walking fairly regularly and last night about 8:30pm he decided he was gonna go out for a brisk walk/jog.
He came back after 2 miles and this pace...

I was pretty amazed and proud of him!
That's a great pace for someone who kind of "just started" running!

Here's to a fabulous day, folks!

Wonderful Weekend and a Winner!

Good Monday morning, my people!!
I am in a stellar mood!!
I think I'm still reeling from a really great Mother's Day yesterday!
Or just a really great weekend in general!

On Saturday, I woke up at 5:40 am....no alarm!!
I got up and got my sweat sesh on with Ms Michaels.
I then proceeded to cuddle with my baby boy, foam roll, and get in 6 miles all before lunch time!

So, since I did all that, I sat and watched and took pictures of my boys getting our garden all set up for summertime!

I'm so excited!
This year we'll have Watermelon, Squash, Zucchini, Green Beans, Butter Beans, Banana Peppers and Tomatoes!

After naps and showers we got our redneck on for a 9-year-olds Duck Dynasty birthday party!!

I may or may not have participated in a doughnut eating contest in which I tied for the win by eating 4 doughnuts... #dietfail


Sunday morning, my baby boy was up bright and early at 5:30 am.
He must have wanted to spend EXTRA time awake with his mommy on Mother's Day!

I got my shred on and went to church with my guys!
(Where I won a little gift for being the youngest mother. You know it's mostly and older congregation when the youngest mother there is 30!!)

And oh yeah, I got my Mother's Day gift!

I've been talking about wanting a fire pit for at least a year now!
I love it! And it was absolutely perfect out yesterday to enjoy it and make s'mores!!

I took a much needed nap with my baby boy then got up and cleaned since the in-laws were coming for dinner.
My husband cooked us some steaks and potatoes and it was delicious!!
(So delicious, hungry girl didn't even think to take a picture to give props to my hubs!!)

I then got a sweet gift from my in-laws

I've been eying some Oragmai Owl for a few months now!
I was shocked to get one.
I've already started thinking about more charms I want to add to it!

The night was complete by sitting out by the fire, drinking a Summer Shandy and eating S'mores.
It was truly a perfect day.
Aside from all the crying!
I was extremely emotional yesterday.
I was so overcome with emotional joy of how blessed I truly feel to be this little guy's momma!

He's the best thing.
My world.
And I couldn't love him anymore than I already do.
I love being a mom.
Being his mom.
And I truly felt appreciated and know that I have the best "job" in the world.
There's nothing else I'd rather do!

Which reminds me....
Thank you to everyone who entered the Mother's Day Giveaway!
We have a winner, folks!!

Kristie P at PG Sisters!!!!!
I had to be sure to post pictures showing I didn't rig this!!!

Seeing as how I kind of called Kristie out in the initial post about the giveaway...comparing her to Mrs. Duggar.
Kristie is supermom to 4 sweet little kids!!
Well deserved!
Email me, Kristie, so we can figure out how we're gonna fit 19 kids on one pendant! ;)


Hope everyone has a great Monday!!