Starting the Journey: Smooth Fitness {#SmoothBlogger}

If you visited here much at all in 2011, it was hard to miss my weekly weight loss journey with Nutrisystem. Having never tried a diet program before, I was skeptical at just how well it would work for me. After all, the combination of my lack of willpower and my complete laziness had been a hurdle that I could never overcome in the past, so what would be different this time?

Fast-forward quite a few months and I was floored that, just in the nick of time for BlogHer 2011, I reached the milestone of losing 25 pounds. Looking back, I can still barely believe it.

Heading out to San Diego, I felt great about myself (and the cute dress that I had bought for the occasion). I was in a smaller size than I had ever worn and it finally seemed like I wasn't disliking what I saw in the mirror.  Life was good, right?

I'll never get tired of posting this picture because of how much I loved that dress!

As with a lot of aspects of my life, I took things too far. Instead of ending Nutrisystem early enough that I would be able to go back to regular eating and use the skills that I had learned, I stayed with the program (even though I wasn't losing more weight) until I was so ready for "normal" food that I overindulged time and time again once I had the opportunity.

I could list the excuses (e.g. our Caribbean vacation where I should have realized that having a chocolate croissant with breakfast every morning wouldn't bode well) and I could try to place the blame (I tell my husband daily that his nonchalant eating is my problem) but we all know it's me.

Me.

I'm the one who takes too big of a portion, I'm the one who can't turn down dessert and I'm the one who always has some sort of reason why there's no time to go to the gym (even though they're still taking my money every month).

My husband called me a Yo-Yo Dieter recently and I scoffed at him... but then I look at the fact that I've gained back 14 of the 25 that I was so thrilled to lose and know that he's totally right. That beloved dress from BlogHer last year? I don't dare go near it because of the level of disappointment that I would feel when it wouldn't fit.

So the time is here and now to cut the yo-yo string and just make the change to a healthier lifestyle. Eating better will be half the battle and getting some much-needed exercise will be the other half. Which, thanks to Smooth Fitness, is now much easier to do.

Right before leaving on our trip to visit the Hilton Garden Inn Orlando at SeaWorld two weeks ago, this happened:

Which led to this:

And, 1.5 hours later, finally resulted in this beautiful creation:

Although the delivery guys weren't all too happy about having to bring the Smooth CE 8.0LC Commercial Elliptical up a flight of stairs to its new home, they managed to hide their disdain fairly well as my health-club-at-home took shape in my bedroom.

Over the next few months you're going to hear more, much more, about this amazing machine (as well as other awesome Treadmills and Ellipticals that Smooth Fitness has to offer) as my ongoing Elliptical review takes place.

But essentially, the Smooth CE 8.0LC is going to be my new best friend.

I'm going to spend hours upon hours enjoying the comfortable cushioned foot pedals, the 21" stride length, the easy to read LED display, the SmoothSound Audio System, and more. I fully expect this buddy of mine to to keep me accountable and not let me give up my quest to get in shape for good.

At the same time, I've decided for myself that it's not going to be good enough if I just "check in" with my progress, because that will quickly lead to slacking off. Instead, I'm going to keep track on a handy dandy little calendar that will truly show just how much exercise I have accumulated starting with Day 1.

Number of minutes on the the Smooth CE 8.0LC (in red) as well as any extra exercise from the day (in blue)

Two days down, the rest of my life to go.

This calendar is already working because, sure enough, I was ready to slack off on only my second day and come up with an excuse. Instead, knowing how sad it was going to look to post that empty box, I stuck it out and put in 25 (exhausting) minutes on the Smooth CE 8.0LC again... as well as an extra five in taking the time to learn more about some of the endless number of features that this machine includes.

Even if my favorite dress has to stay home from BlogHer this year (seven weeks away!), I'll reach my goal of fitting into it at some point in the future. It'll happen!

And this time? This time, thanks to Smooth Fitness and some healthy eating, I'll keep on wearing it for good.

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Find out more about Smooth Fitness and the incredible Smooth CE 8.0LC Commerical Elliptical on their website and be sure to connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.

Even better, they have just kicked off their Viral Video Contest where the winner will receive Smooth Fitness' #1 Selling Treadmill, the Smooth 5.65. Head over to their website to see the contest rules and get your video camera out and your creative hat on to enter by July 15, 2012!

As a #SmoothBlogger, I have been provided with a Smooth CE 8.0 Commerical Elliptical from Smooth Fitness. However, all thoughts and opinions shared are honest and my own.