Good morning!!
Final day of the Skinny Dippin' Rally!! I honestly have NO idea how this will turn out...it's exciting for the "wrong" reasons. :) I expected this month to be full of witty banter between two sisters. Back and forth taunting and bragging on the blog! Teases of how much weight was lost! Threats of fat pants being mailed to the other! Pictures of the "Prize Sign" posted!
What a let down, right? Sigh. Sorry, folks!! I think any future challenges will have to be with a more willing and available partner. :) Truthfully, Joann may have lost 20 pounds this month. She may send me a picture tomorrow of a scale showing a great loss, but I really had hoped for more on the blog front. Her telling us what she was doing for diet, struggles she met with her schedule, that kind of stuff...
Anyway, I am actually excited to weigh tomorrow morning. This is not because I've had a good and easy week. Opposite of that! It has been a struggle. Giving me numbers (points) rather than foods I should/shouldn't or can/can't eat has proven to be a lot different. When I open the refrigerator and know I could eat anything in there, but I have to track it and check the points value...that is just flat intimidating to me! Not to mention this week's strange obstacles and changes in my life. Well, my Weight Watcher's point tally shows me at a -2 as of last night. Yep, not only did I blow my flex points and my activity points, but I am even NEGATIVE for the week! Crazy. I will fix that today and plan to end even, but I don't know how that is going to translate at tomorrow's weigh in. I have been doing a couple of things in addition to the diet that I think of as my "little tricks". Hopefully to counteract the few indulgences I allowed myself the past couple of days.
This week's challenges involved Vacation Bible School for the boys, a broken computer cord, and a new attitude being displayed by my 20 month old daughter. Yeeeehaw. The VBS was awesome. The boys were excited from day one and they came home singing songs and talking about new friends. We had the opportunity to go last night for a performance of their songs and a nice dinner with the other families involved. We met some really nice people! The only reason this was a "challenge" is the timing. They were to arrive between 8:30 and 9:00 each morning. This should be no problem for the family that wakes at 6:30, right? Well, Zoe's new attitude comes into play...she has been "sleep training" (crying it out) and not going to sleep until 9:00 pm! Then she sleeps in until at least 8:00. Let me say this..."sleeping in" is supposed to be awesome. Unfortunately, when only 25% are doing it, it is not a treat. It becomes a nuisance.
We will skip ahead to discuss this attitude problem. Now, Zoe is my first girl AND she is the youngest of 4. I don't know what I expected, but this is a whole new "terrible two's" for me! She is very defiant and strong-willed and stubborn and LOUD. The LOUD is the worst part, truly. Even when she says "no" I can write it off as cute. When she gets to screaming and yelling, particularly when it involves "MOMMA"...well, I can barely think let alone expect myself to stay out of the kitchen! What is it about that stress that just makes me want to stuff my face? The funny thing is how much I've trained my brain to still want to stay somewhat "healthy". So, I just overeat fruit. Ha, ha, ha. Or, my biggest blunder of the week, peanut butter and honey sandwiches! I know that is not healthy, but let's be honest it is kind of weak in the grand scheme of "junk food". Now, you may be wondering how on earth those two things got me to my negative 2 score on Weight Watchers? Well, I made a fruit salad and used some canned peaches and pineapple which DO have a point value on WW. Peanut butter and honey have values, plus bread, bread, bread...so yummy.
I'm rambling and getting distracted. Well, I really just wanted to talk about my "little tricks"! Very little, actually. Number one is the old standby of drinking 100 ounces of water a day. Every time I feel myself gravitating towards the kitchen or putting something extra in my mouth, I fill up my 20 ounce water cup and drink it. All of it. This has likely resulted in more than 100 ounces of water on a couple days, but I know I got at least that amount every day. Number two is that I have stopped eating by 6:30 each night. I read somewhere (sorry, should cite my source) that your body needs 12 hours of "fasting" in order to start burning fat overnight. This does contradict some of my other diets which recommend (and even encourage) a late snack. Either way, this week, I have made it a point to eat nothing beyond 6:30. It's actually not hard for me to do that...night time is NOT my favorite snacking time. The chaos of getting the kids in pajamas and to bed has been enough to keep me out of the kitchen and consequently crash as soon as the quiet settles over the house. Number three is my "early breakfast" every day. 6:30 or 7:00 am, I have an apple and a cup of coffee. I call this my own version of the Activia Challenge. :) Ha, ha. It helps me to curb my appetite long enough to get the kids fed and dressed and allows me time to consider my breakfast options. I love breakfast, and always have. When you wake up as early as we do, it can be super easy to just get in the kitchen and eat, eat, eat. Then, once the kids are up and ready to eat, it makes me want to eat again. I think breakfast is not only important to eat, but it is also a good chance to set up your day right! If you eat well in the morning, you may want to stay "good" all day. Either way, it's been working for me! Also, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, right? Well...it's can't hurt!
So, a quick note about exercise. I'm loving it. I start the final week of Couch to 5K on Friday, even though I would not call yesterday's run a "success". I think I got very overzealous and came out of the gate too strong. I had mapped out a route around my friend's house who agreed to watch Zoe while I ran. As I was running, I got SO hot and my legs were burning and I just kept thinking, I'm going to quit, I'm going to quit. Now, these thoughts are nothing new, but I finally hit a wall and just couldn't keep going. Just couldn't. I was very angry with myself and managed to hold back the tears somehow. I didn't complete the route, so when I got home I mapped out what I did complete and discovered I finished 2.34 miles in 23.5 minutes. Conclusion: I was running too fast in the beginning. For me to be able to walk about .4 mile and still average a 10 minute mile? Outdoors? Yeah...I need a pace car to follow me, apparently! I am going to rest my sore legs today and get back to it tomorrow. I will move on to Week 9 and begin my full 30 minute runs.
I do want to share how God used my frustrations and turned it around quickly. As I mentioned, I was very upset and mentally yelling at myself for quitting. I tried to begin running again, but my legs had truly had it. I got back to my friend's house and stretched on her porch while asking God what I was to learn from this, what had I done wrong? Why had the other runs seemed to be going so well? Just when I was feeling confident about Monday's 5K, I get hit with this? WHY? Well, my friend had already left for our Bible study group, so nobody was home and I assumed the door was locked. Needless to say, I was pretty sweaty and gross...not exactly wanting to join my group looking like that! I went into her backyard which is surrounded by a tall privacy fence and decided to change clothes back there. As I looked around to find a spot that was hidden from any neighbors who may have been looking out their 2nd floor window, I found myself in the corner outside of her bedroom window. As I changed tops, I had a vision of her husband being home and peeking out his window at a most inopportune moment! Not wanting this to become a reality, once I changed my shirt, I decided to get in the backseat of my minivan for the pants changing. If any of you has children and a mini-van, I am hoping you will understand this next part. I moved the booster seat over and peeled off my pants...then I accidentally sat down. On potato chips and stickers and sucker sticks and something unidentifiable! EEEEWWWWW. Yeah. Sweaty butt and legs. It was disgusting, but got me laughing! Hard! Then I finally get my pants on and try to open the door...only to remember I had put the childproof lock on, so the kids couldn't get out of the backseat without me opening the door for them. Awesome.
I hope this helped you laugh today! It was a fantastic reminder yesterday to not be so overly confident with myself that I don't credit God for my running success, but also to realize He loves me and would rather see me laugh (even at my own expense!) than be sad. It was a whirlwind of emotions. :)
Have a great day! I plan to, as well.
xoxo
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
W20: D1 (June 27)
HEY! The end of this week will be my halfway point! How awesome is that??? I wish I had written down where I hoped to be at this point when I first started...truthfully, I think I would have said I just hope I am still working on it! I never would have predicted 50 pounds by now. Seriously. Never would have predicted the running going well, either, I'm sure! Man...just thinking back is crazy. What a different person I have become in a short 19 weeks. I am here to tell you ALL that it can be done! Whatever goal you hope to accomplish, you have to believe it. You just have to! Make it happen, because there is absolutely nothing holding you back other than yourself.
I'm not going to allow myself to ramble right now...I'm sure I'll get sentimental on Sunday, and I will allow myself to go on and on at that point. So - you've been warned!
Well, today has been a great day. Yesterday was pretty darn good, too! I signed the boys up for a VBS at St. Paul Community Church that runs Monday through Thursday of this week, so I dropped them off there this morning. Zoe and I went to the Maryland Farms YMCA. I had been told over the phone I could drop her in the "YPlay" and then run the 5K route outdoors...turns out that information was incorrect. You are allowed to run in the parking lot, if you want, but they have no distances measured. They have an indoor track around a tennis court, but you have to run 14 laps to equal a mile and I was looking to do at least 3 miles today! So, to keep myself from getting dizzy, I went to the Cardio Theater room and got on the dreaded treadmill. They were showing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles today. Yes, seriously. 5 minute warm up walk, 28 minute run...all to the tune of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo fighting crime. Those brave turtles! Eating pizza, too. Well, I'm not going to say it was easy, but I did complete my 28 minutes of running and even completed the distance of 3.2 (over 5K!) miles!! Yeeee-HAW. It felt good. When I was done. Ha, ha!
Happy with Weight Watchers. I blew all my "flex" points over the weekend, and I am totally fine with that. I allowed myself to have some fun and not obsess and just made sure to keep track of ev-er-y-thing. I get extra points when I track my exercise, too, but I am trying to ignore those extras during the week. The weekends are harder (I'm sure lots of people find this to be true) because we are all home and trying to relax and that is when the need to snack comes in to play. Plus, I usually do all my grocery shopping over the weekend and having a full fridge and pantry just seems to make me hungrier! Luckily, my husband is still being extra-supportive, so I feel like he's always watching me whenever I am in the kitchen...it works.
Well, that's all I have for today. I haven't heard from my sister in a while, but I will be ON her about texting me a picture of the scale Friday! She and my parents will be here this weekend (Conner is turning 5 Friday!), so at the latest I will make her get on mine Saturday, but I'm sure she will comply with getting up there Friday. This month has flown by! I really hope I am at my goal of 10 pounds....I have put the scale up so I am not tempted to peek this week.
Have a great rest of the day!
xoxo
I'm not going to allow myself to ramble right now...I'm sure I'll get sentimental on Sunday, and I will allow myself to go on and on at that point. So - you've been warned!
Well, today has been a great day. Yesterday was pretty darn good, too! I signed the boys up for a VBS at St. Paul Community Church that runs Monday through Thursday of this week, so I dropped them off there this morning. Zoe and I went to the Maryland Farms YMCA. I had been told over the phone I could drop her in the "YPlay" and then run the 5K route outdoors...turns out that information was incorrect. You are allowed to run in the parking lot, if you want, but they have no distances measured. They have an indoor track around a tennis court, but you have to run 14 laps to equal a mile and I was looking to do at least 3 miles today! So, to keep myself from getting dizzy, I went to the Cardio Theater room and got on the dreaded treadmill. They were showing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles today. Yes, seriously. 5 minute warm up walk, 28 minute run...all to the tune of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo fighting crime. Those brave turtles! Eating pizza, too. Well, I'm not going to say it was easy, but I did complete my 28 minutes of running and even completed the distance of 3.2 (over 5K!) miles!! Yeeee-HAW. It felt good. When I was done. Ha, ha!
Happy with Weight Watchers. I blew all my "flex" points over the weekend, and I am totally fine with that. I allowed myself to have some fun and not obsess and just made sure to keep track of ev-er-y-thing. I get extra points when I track my exercise, too, but I am trying to ignore those extras during the week. The weekends are harder (I'm sure lots of people find this to be true) because we are all home and trying to relax and that is when the need to snack comes in to play. Plus, I usually do all my grocery shopping over the weekend and having a full fridge and pantry just seems to make me hungrier! Luckily, my husband is still being extra-supportive, so I feel like he's always watching me whenever I am in the kitchen...it works.
Well, that's all I have for today. I haven't heard from my sister in a while, but I will be ON her about texting me a picture of the scale Friday! She and my parents will be here this weekend (Conner is turning 5 Friday!), so at the latest I will make her get on mine Saturday, but I'm sure she will comply with getting up there Friday. This month has flown by! I really hope I am at my goal of 10 pounds....I have put the scale up so I am not tempted to peek this week.
Have a great rest of the day!
xoxo
Saturday, June 25, 2011
W19: D6 (June 25)
Hello! I am sitting outside enjoying the sun while the kiddos play, figured I could give a quick update.
Not much really to tell, truthfully. I really enjoy the Weight Watcher's plan. I like the online service being so easy to use and the points being already tallied for almost everything I eat. I was having an issue with using up my points, but that hasn't been a problem yesterday and today. Ha, ha. I have decided Friday's will be perfect for my "splurge" days since I weigh that morning...it also was nice last night to eat hot dogs with the kids at the church's screening of Veggie Tales.
Today was a new stage in my workout routine!! I intended to start my Week 8 workouts (three 28 minute runs) by heading out to the 5K route Shaun and I will be running on the 4th of July. However, on my way there, I turned into Percy Warner park instead. A friend of mine has been running the Harpeth Woods trail for a couple (few?) weeks now, and I figured I could give that a shot. Wow. Whoa. The trail is 2.5 miles with a "moderate" rating. I decided to walk down to the sign as my 5 minute warm up, then turn around and run the loop during my 28 minutes of music. I didn't have anything else to use as a "tracker" for time or distance beyond just completing one or the other...I prayed continuously that I would reach the end before the music ended. As I ran through the relatively flat parts, I felt good. A few limbs to hurdle and some rocks to jump over...way more entertaining of a run than my usual flat track! Then I hit the uphill. The most ridiculous incline I have ever attempted. In the woods. Trees in the way. Up, up, up. I thought it would never end. I started getting nervous about my time! What if I finish my music before the loop ends?? What if I lose sight of the blue marks on the trees?? Aaaahhhh!! :) Well, then I got some more flat terrain. Flatter, anyways. I got back to my usual pace. It felt good, I started feeling a little more optimistic. A few more inclines and then the beautiful downhill. I was flying! It felt so good and freeing (and maybe a little scary) and I just kept praying for the music not to end. Would you believe I saw the final step down at my starting point sign and the music ended when I turned in front of it!!! Perfect timing. I am quite proud of a 28 minute trail run with an average of just over an 11 minute mile. VERY pleased. I truly owe it to God's grace...He was there for every step. Pushing me forward when I really didn't think I could do it. Giving me sweet breezes when I started to get overheated.
After my nature wake up, I headed to the grocery store with one of my twins. We had just a few more things to get at Harris Teeter (Super Doubles Week!), but it somehow ended up taking me an hour and a half! Whew. By the time we got home and put those groceries away, we had to leave yet again for a birthday party. The sky was kind of dark, but I packed everyone's swimsuits just in case...the party was in the clubhouse of an apartment community and the pool is right outside. I knew the kids would see it, and if the sky was clear, we would be swimming. Sure enough, when I thought I was in the clear - somebody looked outside and noticed the pool. I couldn't say "no"!! We swam for about an hour, then began the fight to get the kids to leave. We always have such a great time going places and playing, but leaving any activity is SUCH a struggle! No matter how long we have been somewhere, how much fun we have had there, how many bribing "treats" we use...there is always some yelling, some tears, and major frustration involved. Anyway, we eventually got home and enjoyed a good 3 hours of quiet time.
My plan for this week is to do the three 28 minute runs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I have decided today's run can't count because it wasn't 28 straight minutes of running. On Monday and Wednesday, the boys will be going to a VBS at St. Paul Community Church, so I will probably take Zoe to the Y and run there. I found out I can do our 5K route at the Maryland Farms Y while the kids are in the daycare. Awesome.
I have been sharing the word about my blog quite a bit lately...I guess 50 pounds is pretty noticeable. :) I want to welcome anybody who has recently begun reading!! Thank you for visiting the blog, please click "follow"! You can do it either anonymously or by using a name of your choosing. I would love to see that number get higher...it truly does help my motivation. The accountability here is what keeps me going. I am sort of thinking it is what keeps my sister, Jo, away??
Where are you, Jo Bean??? You did so great during the first half of the month and I want to hear about this second half!!
Okay, time to make dinner.
xoxo
Not much really to tell, truthfully. I really enjoy the Weight Watcher's plan. I like the online service being so easy to use and the points being already tallied for almost everything I eat. I was having an issue with using up my points, but that hasn't been a problem yesterday and today. Ha, ha. I have decided Friday's will be perfect for my "splurge" days since I weigh that morning...it also was nice last night to eat hot dogs with the kids at the church's screening of Veggie Tales.
Today was a new stage in my workout routine!! I intended to start my Week 8 workouts (three 28 minute runs) by heading out to the 5K route Shaun and I will be running on the 4th of July. However, on my way there, I turned into Percy Warner park instead. A friend of mine has been running the Harpeth Woods trail for a couple (few?) weeks now, and I figured I could give that a shot. Wow. Whoa. The trail is 2.5 miles with a "moderate" rating. I decided to walk down to the sign as my 5 minute warm up, then turn around and run the loop during my 28 minutes of music. I didn't have anything else to use as a "tracker" for time or distance beyond just completing one or the other...I prayed continuously that I would reach the end before the music ended. As I ran through the relatively flat parts, I felt good. A few limbs to hurdle and some rocks to jump over...way more entertaining of a run than my usual flat track! Then I hit the uphill. The most ridiculous incline I have ever attempted. In the woods. Trees in the way. Up, up, up. I thought it would never end. I started getting nervous about my time! What if I finish my music before the loop ends?? What if I lose sight of the blue marks on the trees?? Aaaahhhh!! :) Well, then I got some more flat terrain. Flatter, anyways. I got back to my usual pace. It felt good, I started feeling a little more optimistic. A few more inclines and then the beautiful downhill. I was flying! It felt so good and freeing (and maybe a little scary) and I just kept praying for the music not to end. Would you believe I saw the final step down at my starting point sign and the music ended when I turned in front of it!!! Perfect timing. I am quite proud of a 28 minute trail run with an average of just over an 11 minute mile. VERY pleased. I truly owe it to God's grace...He was there for every step. Pushing me forward when I really didn't think I could do it. Giving me sweet breezes when I started to get overheated.
After my nature wake up, I headed to the grocery store with one of my twins. We had just a few more things to get at Harris Teeter (Super Doubles Week!), but it somehow ended up taking me an hour and a half! Whew. By the time we got home and put those groceries away, we had to leave yet again for a birthday party. The sky was kind of dark, but I packed everyone's swimsuits just in case...the party was in the clubhouse of an apartment community and the pool is right outside. I knew the kids would see it, and if the sky was clear, we would be swimming. Sure enough, when I thought I was in the clear - somebody looked outside and noticed the pool. I couldn't say "no"!! We swam for about an hour, then began the fight to get the kids to leave. We always have such a great time going places and playing, but leaving any activity is SUCH a struggle! No matter how long we have been somewhere, how much fun we have had there, how many bribing "treats" we use...there is always some yelling, some tears, and major frustration involved. Anyway, we eventually got home and enjoyed a good 3 hours of quiet time.
My plan for this week is to do the three 28 minute runs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I have decided today's run can't count because it wasn't 28 straight minutes of running. On Monday and Wednesday, the boys will be going to a VBS at St. Paul Community Church, so I will probably take Zoe to the Y and run there. I found out I can do our 5K route at the Maryland Farms Y while the kids are in the daycare. Awesome.
I have been sharing the word about my blog quite a bit lately...I guess 50 pounds is pretty noticeable. :) I want to welcome anybody who has recently begun reading!! Thank you for visiting the blog, please click "follow"! You can do it either anonymously or by using a name of your choosing. I would love to see that number get higher...it truly does help my motivation. The accountability here is what keeps me going. I am sort of thinking it is what keeps my sister, Jo, away??
Where are you, Jo Bean??? You did so great during the first half of the month and I want to hear about this second half!!
Okay, time to make dinner.
xoxo
Friday, June 24, 2011
W19: D5 (June 24)
Goooooood Morning!!!
I know I wasn't going to really count weights through the month, and this morning I even had Shaun look at the weight and enter it into Weight Watchers online! However, he was too excited to let me get away with not looking...so I peeked and have officially reached the 50 pound mark today!!! 50 freakin' pounds. Yeeeeee-Haw. That is what my oldest son, Conner, weighs! Who, by the way, will be 5 years old one week from today. I love it. I will not, however, say the time has flown. It has absolutely not flown...it has, in fact, dragged at some (most) points. I am very excited for him to reach this great age, though, and we will celebrate several times over the next week (or two!).
Back to the diet and exercise stuff. Ha, ha. Well, I am loving Weight Watchers. My good friend, Jess, called yesterday and we were discussing how much food it takes to reach your points each day! Add to the already high points I am regularly allowed, there are "flex points" which add up to more than one whole's day points...then I get "activity points" every time I track my exercise! Crazy. It works, though! 2.5 pounds in less than a week of following their plan! So, I'm not going to document my food here, but I am using WW online program to track points and activity.
Speaking of activity...I rocked week 7 of the Couch to 5K!!! Three workouts of 25 minute runs (preceded by 5 minute warm up walk). I know I wrote already about the treadmill run, but yesterdays run was even better!! I went to the Y and ran the track, the Bellevue Y is 13 laps for a mile. Lots of laps, but I really didn't want to get on the treadmill again. I mentally decided I was going to just run the 25 minutes and see how far I could get, then I really wanted to see how much longer I would have to run to finish 3 miles. As I was running (and counting) I got a little distracted with some thoughts...and lost count!! I remembered having reached 26 (2 miles), but I realized I was holding up fingers for 30? Couldn't remember running those 4 laps, so I kept counting from 30, but then I thought the numbers were getting kinda high considering my 25 minutes weren't up. I subtracted 4 and the music ended right after I passed 38 laps! Doing the math, that is at least 2.92 miles. Yay! I was feeling it, though. My legs were super sore last night. It could have been from the running, but I also went to the grocery store right afterwards (with a friend's 2 daughters aged 4 and 5 1/2) and then picked up my crazy crew and went through our usual afternoon/early evening busyness...it was, literally, 7 before I sat down. Whew.
Anyway, I have a "sneaky" plan for Saturday's run. I am going to leave the house by 6:30 and head out to the site of the 5K run Shaun and I are participating in on the 4th of July. Week 8 is three 28 minute runs, so I plan to do my warm up walk somewhere near the starting line, then see how far I can get during my 28 minutes. I am really, really hoping I can finish in that time! Shaun has been talking awfully big about how good he's going to do next Monday in the race...I find it a little offensive since I have been working so hard to train and he does nothing. He says playing hockey once a week is tougher than running "just 3 miles". We'll see. I honestly will be impressed if he does well, but I think he is going to be surprised at how not easy running outdoors for 20+ minutes can be! Or maybe it is easy. His strategy? "All I have to do is pace myself with the guys my age, then sprint the final 100 yards!" Sigh. Stay tuned for the outcome! By the way, I have entered the "Athena" category specifically for women who weigh 150 pounds or more...maybe I will place! Ha, ha.
Have a great day!!
xoxo
I know I wasn't going to really count weights through the month, and this morning I even had Shaun look at the weight and enter it into Weight Watchers online! However, he was too excited to let me get away with not looking...so I peeked and have officially reached the 50 pound mark today!!! 50 freakin' pounds. Yeeeeee-Haw. That is what my oldest son, Conner, weighs! Who, by the way, will be 5 years old one week from today. I love it. I will not, however, say the time has flown. It has absolutely not flown...it has, in fact, dragged at some (most) points. I am very excited for him to reach this great age, though, and we will celebrate several times over the next week (or two!).
Back to the diet and exercise stuff. Ha, ha. Well, I am loving Weight Watchers. My good friend, Jess, called yesterday and we were discussing how much food it takes to reach your points each day! Add to the already high points I am regularly allowed, there are "flex points" which add up to more than one whole's day points...then I get "activity points" every time I track my exercise! Crazy. It works, though! 2.5 pounds in less than a week of following their plan! So, I'm not going to document my food here, but I am using WW online program to track points and activity.
Speaking of activity...I rocked week 7 of the Couch to 5K!!! Three workouts of 25 minute runs (preceded by 5 minute warm up walk). I know I wrote already about the treadmill run, but yesterdays run was even better!! I went to the Y and ran the track, the Bellevue Y is 13 laps for a mile. Lots of laps, but I really didn't want to get on the treadmill again. I mentally decided I was going to just run the 25 minutes and see how far I could get, then I really wanted to see how much longer I would have to run to finish 3 miles. As I was running (and counting) I got a little distracted with some thoughts...and lost count!! I remembered having reached 26 (2 miles), but I realized I was holding up fingers for 30? Couldn't remember running those 4 laps, so I kept counting from 30, but then I thought the numbers were getting kinda high considering my 25 minutes weren't up. I subtracted 4 and the music ended right after I passed 38 laps! Doing the math, that is at least 2.92 miles. Yay! I was feeling it, though. My legs were super sore last night. It could have been from the running, but I also went to the grocery store right afterwards (with a friend's 2 daughters aged 4 and 5 1/2) and then picked up my crazy crew and went through our usual afternoon/early evening busyness...it was, literally, 7 before I sat down. Whew.
Anyway, I have a "sneaky" plan for Saturday's run. I am going to leave the house by 6:30 and head out to the site of the 5K run Shaun and I are participating in on the 4th of July. Week 8 is three 28 minute runs, so I plan to do my warm up walk somewhere near the starting line, then see how far I can get during my 28 minutes. I am really, really hoping I can finish in that time! Shaun has been talking awfully big about how good he's going to do next Monday in the race...I find it a little offensive since I have been working so hard to train and he does nothing. He says playing hockey once a week is tougher than running "just 3 miles". We'll see. I honestly will be impressed if he does well, but I think he is going to be surprised at how not easy running outdoors for 20+ minutes can be! Or maybe it is easy. His strategy? "All I have to do is pace myself with the guys my age, then sprint the final 100 yards!" Sigh. Stay tuned for the outcome! By the way, I have entered the "Athena" category specifically for women who weigh 150 pounds or more...maybe I will place! Ha, ha.
Have a great day!!
xoxo
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
W19: D2 (June 21)
This is probably going to be kinda short...I am resting my legs while Zoe takes a super long nap, and I thought it would be a good time to write a quick update!
I will begin with exercise...resting my legs is necessary right now because I worked HARD this morning! I am in the middle of Week 7 of the Couch to 5K program, plus my 1/2 marathon training plan starts today. I also was googling other 1/2 marathon training programs last night...just to see what I would be expected to do today if I thought I was going to run the one in September. SO - here is where I came up with today's workout. C25K called for a 5 minute warm up walk followed by 25 minutes of running (or 2.5 miles). Active Trainer's walk/run training program called for 5 minute warm up walk, followed by 3 minute run, 2 minute walk, repeated 7 times (35 minutes), then 5 minute cool down. The running plan I found (and didn't save) said 4 miles today. Here is what I did: 5 minute warm up walk, 25 minute run, 2 minute walk, 3 minute run, 2 minute walk, 3 minute run, 5 minute cool down walk. TOTAL was just over 4 miles. Whew. Unfortunately, for the first time I had to use a treadmill...I am not a fan. After speaking with a good friend this afternoon, I believe I am running too fast. I'm not sure when (or if) I will hit a wall, but I am nervous to try slowing down! I have always been more of a "sprinter"...only running when necessary to get somewhere fast or get away from someone or get to the ball. Never ran for sport! So, we'll see what happens.
Diet-wise, I have officially signed up with Weight Watcher's online!!! I am very excited, actually. Kind of getting bogged down with following my own plan and doing my own counting. Plus, I am really excited to start using some of their recipes!
Baby is awake and it's time to get the boys. All for today!
xoxo
I will begin with exercise...resting my legs is necessary right now because I worked HARD this morning! I am in the middle of Week 7 of the Couch to 5K program, plus my 1/2 marathon training plan starts today. I also was googling other 1/2 marathon training programs last night...just to see what I would be expected to do today if I thought I was going to run the one in September. SO - here is where I came up with today's workout. C25K called for a 5 minute warm up walk followed by 25 minutes of running (or 2.5 miles). Active Trainer's walk/run training program called for 5 minute warm up walk, followed by 3 minute run, 2 minute walk, repeated 7 times (35 minutes), then 5 minute cool down. The running plan I found (and didn't save) said 4 miles today. Here is what I did: 5 minute warm up walk, 25 minute run, 2 minute walk, 3 minute run, 2 minute walk, 3 minute run, 5 minute cool down walk. TOTAL was just over 4 miles. Whew. Unfortunately, for the first time I had to use a treadmill...I am not a fan. After speaking with a good friend this afternoon, I believe I am running too fast. I'm not sure when (or if) I will hit a wall, but I am nervous to try slowing down! I have always been more of a "sprinter"...only running when necessary to get somewhere fast or get away from someone or get to the ball. Never ran for sport! So, we'll see what happens.
Diet-wise, I have officially signed up with Weight Watcher's online!!! I am very excited, actually. Kind of getting bogged down with following my own plan and doing my own counting. Plus, I am really excited to start using some of their recipes!
Baby is awake and it's time to get the boys. All for today!
xoxo
Monday, June 20, 2011
W19: D1 (June 20)
Good morning! Howdy! Hola! (We have been watching Diego a lot in this house)
Ha, ha. Just wanted to quickly check in and let you know all is well. I am revamping my "plan" for the next two weeks to finish off the month with a BANG! Hopefully. I'll just be honest with you about the weekend...well, Saturday in particular. I started good and ended bad....sooooo bad. It was, at the same time, soooo good! A dear friend is moving to Birmingham and there was a going away party on Saturday night. I am not sure what struck me in the early afternoon, but I went a little nuts with some Almond Windmill cookies from Trader Joe's. They were ridiculously delicious. Mmmmm. So, after the cookies, I just figured it would be fine to blow the whole day totally and eat a big ol' cheeseburger at the cookout! Oh, and some of Shannon's cheeseball. I have been turning that thing down for months, and it was finally time to give it a whirl! Definitely worth it.
All of that led to a very, very full belly...still even full at 7 am yesterday when I went out for my run! I thought I would need to eat a little something before running, but one lick of the yogurt lid and my stomach turned. I had some coffee and water and went out the door. Yesterday's run was awesome...and awful. Awful first because I decided to get back outdoors and run the track at the middle school again. Every single quarter mile lap resulted in my thoughts of quitting. "Just one more lap...just one more." The only thought that got me through. Awesome because I actually ended my 25 minutes at 2.625 miles! Maintaining my pace from Friday - an indoor run on a flat track. My outdoor track has an incline...and it's outside! It may have only been 76 degrees, but it was still hotter than a nice air conditioned gym. Whew! Finished it and, once again, felt just fine after 1 minute of walking.
Time to get back to the kiddos! I believe we will go check out another "new YMCA" today...no running for me, but I really need to do my Bible study this week. The kids need to play somewhere that I don't have to clean! :)
Have a great day!!
xoxo
Ha, ha. Just wanted to quickly check in and let you know all is well. I am revamping my "plan" for the next two weeks to finish off the month with a BANG! Hopefully. I'll just be honest with you about the weekend...well, Saturday in particular. I started good and ended bad....sooooo bad. It was, at the same time, soooo good! A dear friend is moving to Birmingham and there was a going away party on Saturday night. I am not sure what struck me in the early afternoon, but I went a little nuts with some Almond Windmill cookies from Trader Joe's. They were ridiculously delicious. Mmmmm. So, after the cookies, I just figured it would be fine to blow the whole day totally and eat a big ol' cheeseburger at the cookout! Oh, and some of Shannon's cheeseball. I have been turning that thing down for months, and it was finally time to give it a whirl! Definitely worth it.
All of that led to a very, very full belly...still even full at 7 am yesterday when I went out for my run! I thought I would need to eat a little something before running, but one lick of the yogurt lid and my stomach turned. I had some coffee and water and went out the door. Yesterday's run was awesome...and awful. Awful first because I decided to get back outdoors and run the track at the middle school again. Every single quarter mile lap resulted in my thoughts of quitting. "Just one more lap...just one more." The only thought that got me through. Awesome because I actually ended my 25 minutes at 2.625 miles! Maintaining my pace from Friday - an indoor run on a flat track. My outdoor track has an incline...and it's outside! It may have only been 76 degrees, but it was still hotter than a nice air conditioned gym. Whew! Finished it and, once again, felt just fine after 1 minute of walking.
Time to get back to the kiddos! I believe we will go check out another "new YMCA" today...no running for me, but I really need to do my Bible study this week. The kids need to play somewhere that I don't have to clean! :)
Have a great day!!
xoxo
Friday, June 17, 2011
W18: D5 (June 17)
Today is another birthday to "shout out"!! Ashley, a dear friend for many years now, happy, happy birthday to you!! I hope you have a wonderful day, and I hope your sweet little girls give you tons of hugs and kisses and smiles....maybe no dirty diapers? Ha, ha. Probably too much to ask, but whatever!
I just realized I was doing this blog when my most loyal reader's birthday passed. Well, April 23rd's post should have read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESS!!!!" Sorry, dear. I appreciate knowing every day I have someone who is following me and holding me accountable. You are a good friend and we will get together again soon!!
Okay, good morning to everyone (anyone) else. Ha, ha. Not much to add to yesterday's update, but Joann did send me a picture of her scale and she has already lost 8.6 pounds!!! Quite the rock star! This has sort of refueled my fire because you know I can't lose to my little sister.
Yesterday I fully stayed on track. Ate only what was "allowed" and drank all my water (I have been doing this all along, but realized I haven't mentioned it in a while). Today is my 25 minute run (all in a row!), so I'm nervous and excited about that. Unfortunately, the kids are not being overly cooperative this morning, so I am not sure when this run is going to happen. The twins have realized they can pitch a super fit and it is harder for me to leave them in various "class"es. At Bible study it is not a problem because those teachers now how to handle that...at the Y, however, they can really only handle so much. So far the kids have been excited to be there because they play outside and they are all in the same room, but Jack has already been telling me he's not going. I have told him if he won't allow me to have time to run and shower at the Y, I will not take them to the library for the puppet show.
Does this seem selfish? I realize I am not "entitled" to any amount of personal time during the day, but 30 minutes of running and 10 minutes of shower really does add up to a nicer mommy for the rest of the day. I can't get up early in the morning to run because Shaun leaves the house at 6:15 and I just cannot fathom getting up at 5 to run, then having a full day that doesn't "end" until the kids go to bed at 8. This whole week there has been stuff going on after Shaun gets home from work at 4:30, so there hasn't been time then. I can't go after bedtime only because I am SO ready to just fall into bed at that point. I know people have different views and opinions of what being a stay at home mom really is all about or should look like...I think I change my own personal thoughts on this every day.
Moving on. I could go on and on and on about this, so I will just stop. I will get my run in today - even if it doesn't happen until 9 o'clock this evening! I hope everyone has a great day!!
xoxo
I just realized I was doing this blog when my most loyal reader's birthday passed. Well, April 23rd's post should have read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESS!!!!" Sorry, dear. I appreciate knowing every day I have someone who is following me and holding me accountable. You are a good friend and we will get together again soon!!
Okay, good morning to everyone (anyone) else. Ha, ha. Not much to add to yesterday's update, but Joann did send me a picture of her scale and she has already lost 8.6 pounds!!! Quite the rock star! This has sort of refueled my fire because you know I can't lose to my little sister.
Yesterday I fully stayed on track. Ate only what was "allowed" and drank all my water (I have been doing this all along, but realized I haven't mentioned it in a while). Today is my 25 minute run (all in a row!), so I'm nervous and excited about that. Unfortunately, the kids are not being overly cooperative this morning, so I am not sure when this run is going to happen. The twins have realized they can pitch a super fit and it is harder for me to leave them in various "class"es. At Bible study it is not a problem because those teachers now how to handle that...at the Y, however, they can really only handle so much. So far the kids have been excited to be there because they play outside and they are all in the same room, but Jack has already been telling me he's not going. I have told him if he won't allow me to have time to run and shower at the Y, I will not take them to the library for the puppet show.
Does this seem selfish? I realize I am not "entitled" to any amount of personal time during the day, but 30 minutes of running and 10 minutes of shower really does add up to a nicer mommy for the rest of the day. I can't get up early in the morning to run because Shaun leaves the house at 6:15 and I just cannot fathom getting up at 5 to run, then having a full day that doesn't "end" until the kids go to bed at 8. This whole week there has been stuff going on after Shaun gets home from work at 4:30, so there hasn't been time then. I can't go after bedtime only because I am SO ready to just fall into bed at that point. I know people have different views and opinions of what being a stay at home mom really is all about or should look like...I think I change my own personal thoughts on this every day.
Moving on. I could go on and on and on about this, so I will just stop. I will get my run in today - even if it doesn't happen until 9 o'clock this evening! I hope everyone has a great day!!
xoxo
Thursday, June 16, 2011
W18: D4 (June 16)
Howdy! (got tired of "good morning")
I haven't posted in a couple days and I realize the last one was kind of a downer, so I am here to tell you Happy Days Are Here Again! I lost two pounds last week. Yeehaw! Oh, wait. I guess that is just since Monday...unless you count the zero loss for last week. Geez, I forgot today is Thursday.
Okay, since this is a competition month, I am only going to count the weight on June 1st - 195.5, the weight today (halfway through the month) - 191.5, and then I will weigh on July 1st. My goal was 10 pounds. I have so far lost 4. Better kick it in gear now!!!
DIET: The 17 day diet works. There is no doubt about that. The problem is...you have to follow it! I was perfect yesterday. I felt good, I ate well, I didn't get hungry till later in the evening which is fine because I have figured out to just plan breakfast and read a book (not in the kitchen) and it subsides. I have been volunteering at my church's VBS this week, leaving the house at 5:15. This means, eating dinner before I leave and then nothing else for the rest of the evening. This has actually been easier to me. Having things to distract me and actual activities in the evening is nice. Nice for Conner, too...he's been sleeping in every morning. I mentioned before altering my "parenting" on occasion (often), and I intend to figure out a schedule for mornings and evenings that will make sleeping a regular thing in this house. It is getting quite ridiculous.
EXERCISE: Yesterday was great. I was having a rough morning, emotionally, and I needed to run SO bad. It really has helped me when I need to sort things out in my head or just think about nothing. Yesterday was no exception. The workout (week 6 day 2, Couch to 5K) called for 5 minute walking warm up, 10 minute jog, 3 minute walk, 10 minute jog. I tracked my "mileage" separately and ended up running 1.13 miles in the first 10 minutes and 1.12 miles in the 2nd! Yay! This is a time I am happy to stay at...especially consistently! My knees have been bothering me quite a bit, so I was thinking of using the Free "Injury Assessment" people at the Y. A friend suggested it may be my shoes, too, so I might try a different pair. I hate to do that right before the 25 minute runs begin, but I would also hate to ruin a knee!
Well, I hope you are all doing great. I will get on the horn with my sister and have her update us all. She knows we are weighing today for an update...I believe her goal is also 10 pounds for this month. She originally told me her goal is just to stay on a diet for 30 days! Ha, ha.
xoxo
I haven't posted in a couple days and I realize the last one was kind of a downer, so I am here to tell you Happy Days Are Here Again! I lost two pounds last week. Yeehaw! Oh, wait. I guess that is just since Monday...unless you count the zero loss for last week. Geez, I forgot today is Thursday.
Okay, since this is a competition month, I am only going to count the weight on June 1st - 195.5, the weight today (halfway through the month) - 191.5, and then I will weigh on July 1st. My goal was 10 pounds. I have so far lost 4. Better kick it in gear now!!!
DIET: The 17 day diet works. There is no doubt about that. The problem is...you have to follow it! I was perfect yesterday. I felt good, I ate well, I didn't get hungry till later in the evening which is fine because I have figured out to just plan breakfast and read a book (not in the kitchen) and it subsides. I have been volunteering at my church's VBS this week, leaving the house at 5:15. This means, eating dinner before I leave and then nothing else for the rest of the evening. This has actually been easier to me. Having things to distract me and actual activities in the evening is nice. Nice for Conner, too...he's been sleeping in every morning. I mentioned before altering my "parenting" on occasion (often), and I intend to figure out a schedule for mornings and evenings that will make sleeping a regular thing in this house. It is getting quite ridiculous.
EXERCISE: Yesterday was great. I was having a rough morning, emotionally, and I needed to run SO bad. It really has helped me when I need to sort things out in my head or just think about nothing. Yesterday was no exception. The workout (week 6 day 2, Couch to 5K) called for 5 minute walking warm up, 10 minute jog, 3 minute walk, 10 minute jog. I tracked my "mileage" separately and ended up running 1.13 miles in the first 10 minutes and 1.12 miles in the 2nd! Yay! This is a time I am happy to stay at...especially consistently! My knees have been bothering me quite a bit, so I was thinking of using the Free "Injury Assessment" people at the Y. A friend suggested it may be my shoes, too, so I might try a different pair. I hate to do that right before the 25 minute runs begin, but I would also hate to ruin a knee!
Well, I hope you are all doing great. I will get on the horn with my sister and have her update us all. She knows we are weighing today for an update...I believe her goal is also 10 pounds for this month. She originally told me her goal is just to stay on a diet for 30 days! Ha, ha.
xoxo
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Quickie...
Well, I have fallen, fallen, fallen. After two wonderful days of talking with friends and making new friends and "bragging" on myself...I just gorged on some stupid pastries that shouldn't have even been in my house. Seriously.
So, this slip brought me to the computer to google "fastest diet ever". Just to see. Maybe I should do a "cleanse" or some sort of diet that will kick my butt and make me appreciate broccoli and carrots. Because, I feel like if I eat another damn carrot, I am going to scream! I didn't really want those silly pastries, but it looked so much more appetizing than anything else in my refrigerator! I had a wonderful lunch, a big salad with some turkey sausage and it was delicious! And filling! I was not hungry. I just went crazy. I can blame lots of things - Zoe not napping, the laundry not folding itself, the rain and thunder, the major thought process involved with planning out healthy meals while the family still gets to eat spaghetti. Yeah, I've thought a lot about the why. However, let's be honest...the answer is ME. I made a choice. We have been talking a lot in this house about choices and their consequences. I alter my parenting tactics on a regular basis (weekly...sometimes daily), and I am trying the natural consequence tactic right now. To an extent. Don't ask how it's working. Jus t to bring myself to the conclusion to own up to my own personal CHOICE of eating those pastries. I will be the one to suffer the consequence of potential weight gain. And now I'm even madder at myself!!!!
Okay, back to the google search. When I searched I was led on another search and another...brought me around to a whole cluster/gaggle/group of blogs written by already skinny women who want to be skinnier. They all deny any eating disorders, but they also write openly about lying to their spouses and saying they have eaten more that day than they truly have. They write about wanting to see their bones...they post pictures of super skinny, scary models and write notes about how beautiful that is. WHAT?!?!? Okay. I have joked often about wanting, just once!, for someone to refer to me as skinny. Just last night I was talking with a friend about how much I would love for a close friend/relative to tell me they thought I should put on a few pounds. I realize I am not at that place right now, but I do think it would be fun - for my birthday in October, maybe? - to hear those words. Just once! Know what I would do immediately? Eat an entire pizza, drink a couple pitchers of beer, and take a NAP! I would relish the fact that someone was concerned with my thinness, and then I would promptly correct it. At least, I think I would.
I cannot believe there is an actual 5'5" woman out there who thinks she is fat at 134 pounds! She literally describes herself as "furious" about her weight. Being about 5'8"-5'9", I have seen ranges for a healthy weight usually topping out at about 170. I would LOVE to be there! I would even, likely, call that low enough for some wiggle room. However, my 190's are done. I'm over them. I want to see the 180's SO SO SO bad.
I'm not sure what my point of this posting was, but I just had to write. I just have to assure everyone I am in no way wanting my rib bones to show. I have zero interest in looking "breakable". I just want to be thin and fit into cute clothes and feel comfortable. I enjoy eating healthy, but I want to be at a place where I can eat a pastry or two and not get so ridiculously angry with myself that I continue on to eat 5 or 6!! Where is that healthy mindset?
So, this slip brought me to the computer to google "fastest diet ever". Just to see. Maybe I should do a "cleanse" or some sort of diet that will kick my butt and make me appreciate broccoli and carrots. Because, I feel like if I eat another damn carrot, I am going to scream! I didn't really want those silly pastries, but it looked so much more appetizing than anything else in my refrigerator! I had a wonderful lunch, a big salad with some turkey sausage and it was delicious! And filling! I was not hungry. I just went crazy. I can blame lots of things - Zoe not napping, the laundry not folding itself, the rain and thunder, the major thought process involved with planning out healthy meals while the family still gets to eat spaghetti. Yeah, I've thought a lot about the why. However, let's be honest...the answer is ME. I made a choice. We have been talking a lot in this house about choices and their consequences. I alter my parenting tactics on a regular basis (weekly...sometimes daily), and I am trying the natural consequence tactic right now. To an extent. Don't ask how it's working. Jus t to bring myself to the conclusion to own up to my own personal CHOICE of eating those pastries. I will be the one to suffer the consequence of potential weight gain. And now I'm even madder at myself!!!!
Okay, back to the google search. When I searched I was led on another search and another...brought me around to a whole cluster/gaggle/group of blogs written by already skinny women who want to be skinnier. They all deny any eating disorders, but they also write openly about lying to their spouses and saying they have eaten more that day than they truly have. They write about wanting to see their bones...they post pictures of super skinny, scary models and write notes about how beautiful that is. WHAT?!?!? Okay. I have joked often about wanting, just once!, for someone to refer to me as skinny. Just last night I was talking with a friend about how much I would love for a close friend/relative to tell me they thought I should put on a few pounds. I realize I am not at that place right now, but I do think it would be fun - for my birthday in October, maybe? - to hear those words. Just once! Know what I would do immediately? Eat an entire pizza, drink a couple pitchers of beer, and take a NAP! I would relish the fact that someone was concerned with my thinness, and then I would promptly correct it. At least, I think I would.
I cannot believe there is an actual 5'5" woman out there who thinks she is fat at 134 pounds! She literally describes herself as "furious" about her weight. Being about 5'8"-5'9", I have seen ranges for a healthy weight usually topping out at about 170. I would LOVE to be there! I would even, likely, call that low enough for some wiggle room. However, my 190's are done. I'm over them. I want to see the 180's SO SO SO bad.
I'm not sure what my point of this posting was, but I just had to write. I just have to assure everyone I am in no way wanting my rib bones to show. I have zero interest in looking "breakable". I just want to be thin and fit into cute clothes and feel comfortable. I enjoy eating healthy, but I want to be at a place where I can eat a pastry or two and not get so ridiculously angry with myself that I continue on to eat 5 or 6!! Where is that healthy mindset?
Monday, June 13, 2011
W18: D1 (June 13)
Good morning!! This will be short and sweet, but I felt bad about not posting all weekend.
I weighed myself Saturday morning (because I am obsessed, ha!) and am quite disappointed in today's weight. However, I will confess Shaun and I had a date night on Saturday evening and I did not follow any sort of plan. I started out with the best of intentions - ordered a nice salad at The Cheesecake Factory - then I split a piece of cheesecake with Shaun. And had popcorn at the movies. Yum, yum, yum. It was worth it. Even if I am up in pounds this morning from Saturday's weight, I am at the same spot I was a week ago. Joann and I have agreed to officially weigh (and tell) on Thursday, the 16th. So you have to wait. Ha, ha.
Friday was a great day in my Couch to 5K journey. GREAT day. I ran for 20 minutes in a row and got through 2.12 miles in that time! I have never run for that long at one time, and certainly never run 2 miles in a row. It felt so amazing. I would not have believed it was possible a few weeks ago - truly! Whew. I took Saturday and Sunday off from running, but I did do my first Zumba class ever yesterday. Wow. Now that is a fun workout! I plan to attend the Sunday, 1:30 class regularly from now on. Helps to get the dance club craving out, too! Ha, ha.
Diet-wise things have been just fine. Other than Saturday, I really am not having a hard time sticking to this one. I want to eat other things, of course, but I am full enough after eating what's allowed that I don't "have to have" anything else. Plus, as I said, the weight loss on the scale makes me very motivated to continue and stick to it! I'm hoping today's number being the same as a week ago is just because I haven't fully metabolized Saturday's bad stuff and maybe after running Monday and Wednesday this week, we will see another big loss on Thursday. Stay tuned...
I weighed myself Saturday morning (because I am obsessed, ha!) and am quite disappointed in today's weight. However, I will confess Shaun and I had a date night on Saturday evening and I did not follow any sort of plan. I started out with the best of intentions - ordered a nice salad at The Cheesecake Factory - then I split a piece of cheesecake with Shaun. And had popcorn at the movies. Yum, yum, yum. It was worth it. Even if I am up in pounds this morning from Saturday's weight, I am at the same spot I was a week ago. Joann and I have agreed to officially weigh (and tell) on Thursday, the 16th. So you have to wait. Ha, ha.
Friday was a great day in my Couch to 5K journey. GREAT day. I ran for 20 minutes in a row and got through 2.12 miles in that time! I have never run for that long at one time, and certainly never run 2 miles in a row. It felt so amazing. I would not have believed it was possible a few weeks ago - truly! Whew. I took Saturday and Sunday off from running, but I did do my first Zumba class ever yesterday. Wow. Now that is a fun workout! I plan to attend the Sunday, 1:30 class regularly from now on. Helps to get the dance club craving out, too! Ha, ha.
Diet-wise things have been just fine. Other than Saturday, I really am not having a hard time sticking to this one. I want to eat other things, of course, but I am full enough after eating what's allowed that I don't "have to have" anything else. Plus, as I said, the weight loss on the scale makes me very motivated to continue and stick to it! I'm hoping today's number being the same as a week ago is just because I haven't fully metabolized Saturday's bad stuff and maybe after running Monday and Wednesday this week, we will see another big loss on Thursday. Stay tuned...
Friday, June 10, 2011
week one day five
MEAT DAY!!! Hooray for ground beef. It is so good in the soup and so good to snack on. I'm a little light headed with excitement. Yesterday went okay. I had a beet salad, but I eat veggies everyday so I don't feel like that was cheating too bad. I've been super busy all week and staying up late, but tonight I don't think I will be. It'll be an easy night and I can relax this evening and watch a movie. I was informed last night by some drunk guy who was smoking and drinking that movies will kill me. I reminded him that smoking and drinking will too, so I'll pick my body battles I guess.
Oh yeah, so last night I was working and the chef at our restaurant stopped me and asked if I've lost a bunch of weight in the past few weeks because he can really see it in my face. And I was thinking the other day to myself that I thought my face looked thinner, but then I thought maybe it was just my imagination, but Corey confirmed it. That comment has motivated me to continue.
I know that the diet says that I am only supposed to eat meat and tomatoes today, but I also eat cheese since I can eat fat free dairy every day. And I will eat eggs too. I've also decided to extent my meat day one extra day so that day one of the diet will be on Tuesday and I'll be able to go to brunch on Sundays or cookouts or something. Trying to find brown rice and veggies at a cookout doesn't sound like much fun. Okay, that's all for now.
Oh yeah, so last night I was working and the chef at our restaurant stopped me and asked if I've lost a bunch of weight in the past few weeks because he can really see it in my face. And I was thinking the other day to myself that I thought my face looked thinner, but then I thought maybe it was just my imagination, but Corey confirmed it. That comment has motivated me to continue.
I know that the diet says that I am only supposed to eat meat and tomatoes today, but I also eat cheese since I can eat fat free dairy every day. And I will eat eggs too. I've also decided to extent my meat day one extra day so that day one of the diet will be on Tuesday and I'll be able to go to brunch on Sundays or cookouts or something. Trying to find brown rice and veggies at a cookout doesn't sound like much fun. Okay, that's all for now.
W17: D5 (June 10)
Good morning!! I am in a fabulous mood this morning and I truly hope it will continue! I got my hair done last night - some new colors and a fresh cut. Yay! That always makes a girl feel light on her toes...add to that the incredible weight loss this 17-day diet is providing, and you have yourself one shiny, happy person. :)
This 17-day diet is IT!! I have to say a huge thanks to my friend, Jennifer, for the recommendation! I also want to thank Sydney for the referral to http://www.sparkpeople.com/. It has helped me so much to see the food I'm eating, the calorie totals each day, the calories I'm burning each day and week with my exercise. It's awesome! If you happen to be a member, please "friend" me...i have, like, 2 friends and one of those is the website administrator. Sad. Ha, ha.
Well, yesterday, I strayed a tiny bit. I ate perfectly all day, and I even had my food decided for my dinner. However, I made my hair appointment at the last minute, and was only able to make dinner for the kids and husband. I made "Breakfast Pizza" for them...easy recipe from E-Mealz. Well, it looked SO yummy and everyone was eating it SO well...I just couldn't resist. I knew I was going to eat a piece or nothing, and sometimes eating nothing is worse for you (well, mostly eating nothing is no good)...so, I ate a piece. Maybe 2. Small pieces! Nothing compared to what Shaun was inhaling! :) Ha, ha. It was delicious, and I left for my hair appointment and drank a lot of water. I still call that a success. Especially when you see the recipe below...there really wasn't anything "bad". Just the pizza crust is a "treat" when you haven't had bread in a while.
Today's plan should be easy to stick to:
Day 8
Breakfast
6 ounces plain, low-fat yogurt, 1 cup of berries or chopped fruit (I have canned no-sugar added peaches and pears), you may also sweeten with Truvia or 1 Tablespoon of sugar free jam. (I didn't need anything to sweeten)
1 cup green tea
Snack
Fruit serving (I think we are going to pick blueberries today, so this should be easy!)
Lunch
Salmon Salad (they give you the option of using canned salmon on top of a salad, but I have a frozen salmon filet that was supposed to be last night's dinner, so I'm using that)
1 cup green tea
Snack
Probiotic Serving (Kefir)
Dinner
Turkey burgers (hooray!)
Steamed vegetables
Side salad
1 cup green tea
Today seems like more food than usual? Oh yeah! Yesterday's "Taco Salad" was pretty good. I kind of left out the important part...forgot to grab taco seasoning. So, it was really just a salad with turkey burger on top. Still yummy! I cooked the turkey burger with some Smoky Barbecue Rub (Pampered Chef), and it was fabulous.
Talk to you tomorrow!! Have a great day!!
xoxo
P.S. Everyone send me good juju and prayers and happy thoughts this evening...it's the 20 minute run workout!!!!!!!
Breakfast Pizza
It's pretty simple...well, VERY simple, actually. Not to mention light. If you are feeding more than 4, you may need to make 2. Or have some hefty "sides".
1 can pizza dough
1/2 package of bacon
1 tomato, thinly sliced
4 ounces mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 tsp. dried basil
Basically cook up the dough, I love to use the Thin Crust from Pillsbury, so you cook it ahead of time. Cook and crumble the bacon. Layer bacon, then tomatoes, then cheese on the dough. Whisk the egg, milk, and basil together and then drizzle that over the top. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the egg sets.
Shaun says it tastes like an omelet!
This 17-day diet is IT!! I have to say a huge thanks to my friend, Jennifer, for the recommendation! I also want to thank Sydney for the referral to http://www.sparkpeople.com/. It has helped me so much to see the food I'm eating, the calorie totals each day, the calories I'm burning each day and week with my exercise. It's awesome! If you happen to be a member, please "friend" me...i have, like, 2 friends and one of those is the website administrator. Sad. Ha, ha.
Well, yesterday, I strayed a tiny bit. I ate perfectly all day, and I even had my food decided for my dinner. However, I made my hair appointment at the last minute, and was only able to make dinner for the kids and husband. I made "Breakfast Pizza" for them...easy recipe from E-Mealz. Well, it looked SO yummy and everyone was eating it SO well...I just couldn't resist. I knew I was going to eat a piece or nothing, and sometimes eating nothing is worse for you (well, mostly eating nothing is no good)...so, I ate a piece. Maybe 2. Small pieces! Nothing compared to what Shaun was inhaling! :) Ha, ha. It was delicious, and I left for my hair appointment and drank a lot of water. I still call that a success. Especially when you see the recipe below...there really wasn't anything "bad". Just the pizza crust is a "treat" when you haven't had bread in a while.
Today's plan should be easy to stick to:
Day 8
Breakfast
6 ounces plain, low-fat yogurt, 1 cup of berries or chopped fruit (I have canned no-sugar added peaches and pears), you may also sweeten with Truvia or 1 Tablespoon of sugar free jam. (I didn't need anything to sweeten)
1 cup green tea
Snack
Fruit serving (I think we are going to pick blueberries today, so this should be easy!)
Lunch
Salmon Salad (they give you the option of using canned salmon on top of a salad, but I have a frozen salmon filet that was supposed to be last night's dinner, so I'm using that)
1 cup green tea
Snack
Probiotic Serving (Kefir)
Dinner
Turkey burgers (hooray!)
Steamed vegetables
Side salad
1 cup green tea
Today seems like more food than usual? Oh yeah! Yesterday's "Taco Salad" was pretty good. I kind of left out the important part...forgot to grab taco seasoning. So, it was really just a salad with turkey burger on top. Still yummy! I cooked the turkey burger with some Smoky Barbecue Rub (Pampered Chef), and it was fabulous.
Talk to you tomorrow!! Have a great day!!
xoxo
P.S. Everyone send me good juju and prayers and happy thoughts this evening...it's the 20 minute run workout!!!!!!!
Breakfast Pizza
It's pretty simple...well, VERY simple, actually. Not to mention light. If you are feeding more than 4, you may need to make 2. Or have some hefty "sides".
1 can pizza dough
1/2 package of bacon
1 tomato, thinly sliced
4 ounces mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 tsp. dried basil
Basically cook up the dough, I love to use the Thin Crust from Pillsbury, so you cook it ahead of time. Cook and crumble the bacon. Layer bacon, then tomatoes, then cheese on the dough. Whisk the egg, milk, and basil together and then drizzle that over the top. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the egg sets.
Shaun says it tastes like an omelet!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
W17: D4 (June 9)
Good morning! I dropped all four kids off at school and I am gearing up for a cleaning day. Woohoo! Does anyone else get excited to clean? Usually I don't, but it is SO nice to have nobody else around and I am just able to do my own thing. Yeehaw!
Well, yesterday went very well. I ate on plan...until "dinner". I made grilled chicken bites (just cut up chicken and bake it in the oven with some seasonings on it) for the kids and Shaun, and I decided to eat those instead of cooking the salmon. Also, I just ate carrots with the chicken. Basically, I was planning to head to the Y after naps, but then all four kids took a great nap (never happens!) and I decided that meant everyone deserved to go swimming! This meant waiting until Shaun got home (truthfully, Henry didn't wake up until after he was home anyway!) and eating dinner before we left. I didn't want to be too full to run, but also wanted to know I had eaten something. Blah, blah, blah. Summary: I decided to just eat what was made along with the rest of the family so we could get on to the Y.
Yesterday was Workout #2 for Week 5 of Couch to 5K. It was awesome !!! For all of you self-proclaimed non-runners, this program is fantastic!! I promise you on Day 1 I was thinking, no way am I going to be able to run 5 minutes in a row...let alone 8...then 20??? 30???? So, I may be getting ahead of myself, but last night's workout consisted of 5 minute walking warmup, 8 minute run, 5 minute walk, and another 8 minute run. I am running for time at this point, not distance, but I still want to make sure I am at least at the distance mark, too. Basically, the 8 minute runs could also be done as 3/4 of a mile runs. I beat that! I really was hoping to get a whole mile in the 8 minutes, but nope...very, very close!! At the Y track, 13 laps = 1 mile. For each 8 minute run, I completed 11 laps and then a little extra. By my calculations, this is about 0.85 mile. Not bad!!! Friday's workout is a 20 minute run, and I am not going to lie...I am all kinds of intimidated. However, I know I can do it!!!!
Diet-wise, I'm not in the kitchen right now where I write on my board what I can eat today...I will try to tell you from memory...
I already ate breakfast: 1 egg, 2 egg whites, scrambled with 2 T fat free feta cheese and a little salsa on top! Also, an apple.
Snack is probiotic plus fruit - I am planning to eat the Greek yogurt and canned peaches.
Lunch - I am actually going to make a recipe from the 17-day diet book! It's for a Taco Salad. Mmmmmm...and, of course, a cup of green tea!
Afternoon snack is another probiotic. I have another container of the Kefir smoothie, so I will have a glass of this.
Dinner tonight is stir-fried veggies and chicken. Yum, yum!
That wasn't too bad for this poor memory. :)
By the way - did everyone see that my sister finally wrote an entry?!?!? THANKS, JO!!! She also texted me a photo of her scale. I know her goal is 40 pounds, but I am not sure how much of that she is hoping to lose in the first month? I am hoping to figure out a way to put a couple "tickers" on my blog to show the weight loss for this month. Anyone know how to do this??
Talk to you soon, have a great day!!
xoxo
Well, yesterday went very well. I ate on plan...until "dinner". I made grilled chicken bites (just cut up chicken and bake it in the oven with some seasonings on it) for the kids and Shaun, and I decided to eat those instead of cooking the salmon. Also, I just ate carrots with the chicken. Basically, I was planning to head to the Y after naps, but then all four kids took a great nap (never happens!) and I decided that meant everyone deserved to go swimming! This meant waiting until Shaun got home (truthfully, Henry didn't wake up until after he was home anyway!) and eating dinner before we left. I didn't want to be too full to run, but also wanted to know I had eaten something. Blah, blah, blah. Summary: I decided to just eat what was made along with the rest of the family so we could get on to the Y.
Yesterday was Workout #2 for Week 5 of Couch to 5K. It was awesome !!! For all of you self-proclaimed non-runners, this program is fantastic!! I promise you on Day 1 I was thinking, no way am I going to be able to run 5 minutes in a row...let alone 8...then 20??? 30???? So, I may be getting ahead of myself, but last night's workout consisted of 5 minute walking warmup, 8 minute run, 5 minute walk, and another 8 minute run. I am running for time at this point, not distance, but I still want to make sure I am at least at the distance mark, too. Basically, the 8 minute runs could also be done as 3/4 of a mile runs. I beat that! I really was hoping to get a whole mile in the 8 minutes, but nope...very, very close!! At the Y track, 13 laps = 1 mile. For each 8 minute run, I completed 11 laps and then a little extra. By my calculations, this is about 0.85 mile. Not bad!!! Friday's workout is a 20 minute run, and I am not going to lie...I am all kinds of intimidated. However, I know I can do it!!!!
Diet-wise, I'm not in the kitchen right now where I write on my board what I can eat today...I will try to tell you from memory...
I already ate breakfast: 1 egg, 2 egg whites, scrambled with 2 T fat free feta cheese and a little salsa on top! Also, an apple.
Snack is probiotic plus fruit - I am planning to eat the Greek yogurt and canned peaches.
Lunch - I am actually going to make a recipe from the 17-day diet book! It's for a Taco Salad. Mmmmmm...and, of course, a cup of green tea!
Afternoon snack is another probiotic. I have another container of the Kefir smoothie, so I will have a glass of this.
Dinner tonight is stir-fried veggies and chicken. Yum, yum!
That wasn't too bad for this poor memory. :)
By the way - did everyone see that my sister finally wrote an entry?!?!? THANKS, JO!!! She also texted me a photo of her scale. I know her goal is 40 pounds, but I am not sure how much of that she is hoping to lose in the first month? I am hoping to figure out a way to put a couple "tickers" on my blog to show the weight loss for this month. Anyone know how to do this??
Talk to you soon, have a great day!!
xoxo
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Day um....Three?
Hi everyone, as you have been reading, I am Audrey's sister. I guess I should tell you a little about myself and then go into what I've been eating.
I live in Charlottesville, VA with my boyfriend and I work at my mom's restaurant full time. I'm around food and booze on a regular basis which can make dieting difficult. Nevertheless, I've done this before and am confident I can do it again. I'm starting with what Audrey and I like to call the cabbage soup diet. She's done it a couple times a week at a time. I'll be doing it until it stops working or I get sick of it. The last time I did this diet I did it for two and a half months. That would be nice again. I want to lose forty pounds, and when I get there I may go for another ten.
So I went to the grocery last week and got all the stuff ready and started Saturday. It was a good day and easy, but I felt tired. And all I wanted all day was a martini, so I had one which led to another and before I knew it, it was Sunday and I felt like crap. So Sunday was a free day and I figured I'd start over again Monday. Which I did. I felt a little tired in the afternoon and forgot that I was supposed to go to dinner with a friend. I did just fine, but we shared a bottle of wine and I needed to taste some beers to figure out which one I'm going to put on our list. So food wise I did good. I ate vegetables at dinner even though day one is only fruit. I always eat vegetables because they are so low in calories, plus that's what's in the soup.
Tuesday was rough because we had a server wine training, so more wine and I started to get a little buzzed and I ate some bread and meat and cheese because the carrots and hummus weren't soaking up the alcohol like I needed them to. Also I didn't have soup at all yesterday and didn't allow myself the baked potato because of all the other goodies I got. I'm on to day three now. Only fruits and vegetables.
In the past this has been the hardest day for me, but I'm confident I'll be fine today. I have a lot of work to do that will distract me. So here goes nothing day three!!!
I live in Charlottesville, VA with my boyfriend and I work at my mom's restaurant full time. I'm around food and booze on a regular basis which can make dieting difficult. Nevertheless, I've done this before and am confident I can do it again. I'm starting with what Audrey and I like to call the cabbage soup diet. She's done it a couple times a week at a time. I'll be doing it until it stops working or I get sick of it. The last time I did this diet I did it for two and a half months. That would be nice again. I want to lose forty pounds, and when I get there I may go for another ten.
So I went to the grocery last week and got all the stuff ready and started Saturday. It was a good day and easy, but I felt tired. And all I wanted all day was a martini, so I had one which led to another and before I knew it, it was Sunday and I felt like crap. So Sunday was a free day and I figured I'd start over again Monday. Which I did. I felt a little tired in the afternoon and forgot that I was supposed to go to dinner with a friend. I did just fine, but we shared a bottle of wine and I needed to taste some beers to figure out which one I'm going to put on our list. So food wise I did good. I ate vegetables at dinner even though day one is only fruit. I always eat vegetables because they are so low in calories, plus that's what's in the soup.
Tuesday was rough because we had a server wine training, so more wine and I started to get a little buzzed and I ate some bread and meat and cheese because the carrots and hummus weren't soaking up the alcohol like I needed them to. Also I didn't have soup at all yesterday and didn't allow myself the baked potato because of all the other goodies I got. I'm on to day three now. Only fruits and vegetables.
In the past this has been the hardest day for me, but I'm confident I'll be fine today. I have a lot of work to do that will distract me. So here goes nothing day three!!!
W17: D3 (June 8)
Good morning!!
Well, I did speak with my sister a couple days ago and she said she had gone grocery shopping and was ready to begin her diet. She said she would be posting blogs in the "morning"...which we then realized meant 11 am to her. :) However - where are you, Jo Dunkle?!?!?!?
I will admit, I'm a little frustrated with the lack of blogging, or even just the simple picture of a scale I requested on the 1st. I am, though, looking forward to kicking her butt at this weight loss and rubbing it all in her face when I see her over 4th of July weekend!!! Sorry to be somewhat rude, but it's gonna be F-U-N. :)
I just wanted to update everyone that may have been wondering. Even if the Skinny Dippin' Rally only has one participant - just know that I am a faithful participant! An excited participant! I will not stray for this entire month and I intend to knock your socks off with my diligence and transformation. I have also decided to (try to) post NO pictures until the 1st of July. Even on Facebook. Some of you see me in real life, but for those who are out of town - I think it will be fun to see the change over a long period of time.
Okay! Yesterday went well. As I've said, I am tracking my calories on SparkPeople.com, so I do know yesterday's calorie count was a little higher than the first few days'. I stuck to the food plan...once again very much enjoyed my salads. Instead of ground turkey "patties", I browned some ground turkey and added it to my "side salad". The kids liked it, as well! It has been really fun for me to watch my children enjoying salad. The more goodies I add in, the more they like it! I have discovered they don't HAVE to have Ranch dressing, they like grape tomatoes, and we have a 50% approval for Feta cheese. (Zoe and Jack are not fans)
Here's today's "schedule":
Day 6
Breakfast
6 ounces plain, low-fat yogurt, mixed with 1 cup berries or other fruit on the list. You may sweeten the mixture with 1 packet of Truvia or a tablespoon of sugar-free fruit jam. (we are out of fruit today, so I think I will be using 1/2 a can of peaches with no sugar-added)
1 cup green tea
Lunch
Grilled Chicken breast with tossed salad drizzled with 1 tablespoon of olive or flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup green tea
Dinner
Any grilled or baked fish
Steamed cleansing vegetables
1 cup green tea
Snacks
2nd fruit serving (I have apples, but at the Bible study brunch, there may be some other yummy fruit available!)
2nd probiotic serving (I'm going to finish up the strawberry banana Kefir smoothie)
Okay, everyone, I hope you have a wonderful day. Today is my 2nd workout for week 5 of Couch to 5K. I plan to head to the YMCA after everyone naps, so it will be another air conditioned run. Yay! After running, I have promised Jack he can go swimming with me. I took Henry last night and it was a lot of fun! Shaun and I are planning to take everyone over the weekend, but when it's just me going solo, I need to keep the kid number to 1. :)
xoxo
Well, I did speak with my sister a couple days ago and she said she had gone grocery shopping and was ready to begin her diet. She said she would be posting blogs in the "morning"...which we then realized meant 11 am to her. :) However - where are you, Jo Dunkle?!?!?!?
I will admit, I'm a little frustrated with the lack of blogging, or even just the simple picture of a scale I requested on the 1st. I am, though, looking forward to kicking her butt at this weight loss and rubbing it all in her face when I see her over 4th of July weekend!!! Sorry to be somewhat rude, but it's gonna be F-U-N. :)
I just wanted to update everyone that may have been wondering. Even if the Skinny Dippin' Rally only has one participant - just know that I am a faithful participant! An excited participant! I will not stray for this entire month and I intend to knock your socks off with my diligence and transformation. I have also decided to (try to) post NO pictures until the 1st of July. Even on Facebook. Some of you see me in real life, but for those who are out of town - I think it will be fun to see the change over a long period of time.
Okay! Yesterday went well. As I've said, I am tracking my calories on SparkPeople.com, so I do know yesterday's calorie count was a little higher than the first few days'. I stuck to the food plan...once again very much enjoyed my salads. Instead of ground turkey "patties", I browned some ground turkey and added it to my "side salad". The kids liked it, as well! It has been really fun for me to watch my children enjoying salad. The more goodies I add in, the more they like it! I have discovered they don't HAVE to have Ranch dressing, they like grape tomatoes, and we have a 50% approval for Feta cheese. (Zoe and Jack are not fans)
Here's today's "schedule":
Day 6
Breakfast
6 ounces plain, low-fat yogurt, mixed with 1 cup berries or other fruit on the list. You may sweeten the mixture with 1 packet of Truvia or a tablespoon of sugar-free fruit jam. (we are out of fruit today, so I think I will be using 1/2 a can of peaches with no sugar-added)
1 cup green tea
Lunch
Grilled Chicken breast with tossed salad drizzled with 1 tablespoon of olive or flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup green tea
Dinner
Any grilled or baked fish
Steamed cleansing vegetables
1 cup green tea
Snacks
2nd fruit serving (I have apples, but at the Bible study brunch, there may be some other yummy fruit available!)
2nd probiotic serving (I'm going to finish up the strawberry banana Kefir smoothie)
Okay, everyone, I hope you have a wonderful day. Today is my 2nd workout for week 5 of Couch to 5K. I plan to head to the YMCA after everyone naps, so it will be another air conditioned run. Yay! After running, I have promised Jack he can go swimming with me. I took Henry last night and it was a lot of fun! Shaun and I are planning to take everyone over the weekend, but when it's just me going solo, I need to keep the kid number to 1. :)
xoxo
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
W17: D2 (June 7)
Good morning! Sorry for leaving you hanging a few days!!
I definitely should have posted yesterday when I passed the halfway point!!!! At least, the pounds lost halfway point. I have lost 45 pounds in 16 weeks. I love it.
Well, the 17-day diet turns out to be a very low-calorie diet. Very low-cal. However, it is also very filling, so I am not dying to just gorge myself on anything! I do allow myself extra veggies, however, and sometimes a little more (plain) yogurt than it calls for. I also joined the YMCA yesterday and discovered how much easier running is when you are indoors with an air conditioner!!! I ran on the track and truly felt as though I could continue running even when my workout was over. I would like to still do some outdoors stuff so I can continue to appreciate the indoor track, though. Tomorrow's run involves 8 minutes in a row at two different intervals...I would love to see if I can complete a mile in one of those 8 minutes! Currently, including the walking 5 minutes for warm up, I am averaging 11 min./mile. I am however, going farther than 1/2 mile when I do my 5 minute run. Anyway, I'll let you know. :)
So, I promised someone I would post each day's food allowances. I'm going to do that now, and I will just put in parentheses if I "strayed" at all or altered what was supposed to be eaten.
Day 3
Breakfast
2 hard-boiled or poached eggs (yuk. I just scrambled 'em)
1/2 grapefruit or other fresh fruit in season (strawberries for me)
1 cup green tea (to be honest, after my wake up drink of hot water with lemon and a cup of coffee, I usually don't drink this in the mornings. I do drink the afternoon and evening cups, though)
Lunch
1 large bowl of Chicken-Vegetable Soup (this refers to a recipe in the back of the book. I didn't have any of the ingredients, so I just had a big salad)
1 cup green tea
Dinner
Plenty of roasted turkey breast or turkey tenderloin, steamed carrots and steamed asparagus (Sunday was a big day and I was quite busy. I did hit the grocery store at 7 pm and got some grilled chicken bites. I ate these and some steamed carrots for dinner when I got home.)
1 cup green tea
Snacks
6 oz. plain low-fat yogurt, sweetened with Truvia or a tablespoon of sugar-free fruit jam
Kefir smoothie: Mix one cup of kefir with 1 cup of frozen unsweetened berries, sugar-free fruit jam, and 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil. Blend until smooth. (So, I don't have a blender and it turns out there is a product CALLED Kefir smoothie. I just bought two kinds of that. It's like drinking yogurt. So far I have only tasted the strawberry-banana flavor...yum.)
Day 4
Breakfast
Kefir smoothie
1 cup green tea
Lunch
Marinated Vegetable Salad or Super Salad (I didn't check the recipes in the back, but I made a crazy big awesome yummy salad with lettuce, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, fat free feta, broccoli, cauliflower, and apples...drizzled with Marie's All Natural Italian Vinaigrette (fewer calories and fat grams than the olive oil/balsamic vinegar combo allowed). This salad was freakin' DEEE-lish, and when I tracked it on Spark People, the total calories was under 300!!)
6 oz. plain low-fat yogurt with a sliced fresh peach, or other fruit in season
Dinner
Eggplant Parmesan (I will type up these recipes in a separate post sometime soon.)
Alternative dinner: Any of the lean proteins with plenty of cooked cleansing vegetables from the list. (I grilled up some chicken and it was SO, SO good. Also cooked broccoli and ate my fill!)
1 cup green tea
TODAY (Day 5)
Breakfast
2 scrambled egg whites
1/2 grapefruit or other fresh fruit in season (going to be a peach)
1 cup green tea
Lunch
Salad of baby spinach leaves, grape tomatoes, and crumbled low-fat feta or blue cheese; drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive or flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup green tea
Dinner
Ground turkey patties, with side salad drizzled with 1 tablespoon of olive or flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup green tea
Snacks
1 cup of fresh berries
6 oz. plain low-fat yogurt, sweetened with Truvia or a tablespoon of sugar-free fruit jam
Have a great day!!
xoxo
I definitely should have posted yesterday when I passed the halfway point!!!! At least, the pounds lost halfway point. I have lost 45 pounds in 16 weeks. I love it.
Well, the 17-day diet turns out to be a very low-calorie diet. Very low-cal. However, it is also very filling, so I am not dying to just gorge myself on anything! I do allow myself extra veggies, however, and sometimes a little more (plain) yogurt than it calls for. I also joined the YMCA yesterday and discovered how much easier running is when you are indoors with an air conditioner!!! I ran on the track and truly felt as though I could continue running even when my workout was over. I would like to still do some outdoors stuff so I can continue to appreciate the indoor track, though. Tomorrow's run involves 8 minutes in a row at two different intervals...I would love to see if I can complete a mile in one of those 8 minutes! Currently, including the walking 5 minutes for warm up, I am averaging 11 min./mile. I am however, going farther than 1/2 mile when I do my 5 minute run. Anyway, I'll let you know. :)
So, I promised someone I would post each day's food allowances. I'm going to do that now, and I will just put in parentheses if I "strayed" at all or altered what was supposed to be eaten.
Day 3
Breakfast
2 hard-boiled or poached eggs (yuk. I just scrambled 'em)
1/2 grapefruit or other fresh fruit in season (strawberries for me)
1 cup green tea (to be honest, after my wake up drink of hot water with lemon and a cup of coffee, I usually don't drink this in the mornings. I do drink the afternoon and evening cups, though)
Lunch
1 large bowl of Chicken-Vegetable Soup (this refers to a recipe in the back of the book. I didn't have any of the ingredients, so I just had a big salad)
1 cup green tea
Dinner
Plenty of roasted turkey breast or turkey tenderloin, steamed carrots and steamed asparagus (Sunday was a big day and I was quite busy. I did hit the grocery store at 7 pm and got some grilled chicken bites. I ate these and some steamed carrots for dinner when I got home.)
1 cup green tea
Snacks
6 oz. plain low-fat yogurt, sweetened with Truvia or a tablespoon of sugar-free fruit jam
Kefir smoothie: Mix one cup of kefir with 1 cup of frozen unsweetened berries, sugar-free fruit jam, and 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil. Blend until smooth. (So, I don't have a blender and it turns out there is a product CALLED Kefir smoothie. I just bought two kinds of that. It's like drinking yogurt. So far I have only tasted the strawberry-banana flavor...yum.)
Day 4
Breakfast
Kefir smoothie
1 cup green tea
Lunch
Marinated Vegetable Salad or Super Salad (I didn't check the recipes in the back, but I made a crazy big awesome yummy salad with lettuce, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, fat free feta, broccoli, cauliflower, and apples...drizzled with Marie's All Natural Italian Vinaigrette (fewer calories and fat grams than the olive oil/balsamic vinegar combo allowed). This salad was freakin' DEEE-lish, and when I tracked it on Spark People, the total calories was under 300!!)
6 oz. plain low-fat yogurt with a sliced fresh peach, or other fruit in season
Dinner
Eggplant Parmesan (I will type up these recipes in a separate post sometime soon.)
Alternative dinner: Any of the lean proteins with plenty of cooked cleansing vegetables from the list. (I grilled up some chicken and it was SO, SO good. Also cooked broccoli and ate my fill!)
1 cup green tea
TODAY (Day 5)
Breakfast
2 scrambled egg whites
1/2 grapefruit or other fresh fruit in season (going to be a peach)
1 cup green tea
Lunch
Salad of baby spinach leaves, grape tomatoes, and crumbled low-fat feta or blue cheese; drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive or flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup green tea
Dinner
Ground turkey patties, with side salad drizzled with 1 tablespoon of olive or flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup green tea
Snacks
1 cup of fresh berries
6 oz. plain low-fat yogurt, sweetened with Truvia or a tablespoon of sugar-free fruit jam
Have a great day!!
xoxo
Saturday, June 4, 2011
W16: D6 (June 4)
Good morning! I am a little sleepy this morning because we "celebrated" Shaun being out of town with a sleepover last night! Staying up way too late chatting with 2 friends, after putting 7 kids to bed (also way too late)...fun evening, early morning.
Well, I am so far not hating this 17-day diet! Yesterday, I kept track of my food intake on SparkPeople.com, as well, and I think I ate way too few calories. However, I wasn't hungry, so maybe some calories are more filling than others I usually would choose? I did successfully complete Week 4, but it was T-O-U-G-H!!! As soon as Shaun got home I headed out the door...95 degrees, sun blazing, "air quality warning" on the radio. Oh yeah. I kept deciding to quit...but then just telling myself, one more lap (or 1/2 lap or foot or whatever), and I actually DID IT!! If I haven't said it before, I am absolutely NOT a runner. I played sports in junior high and high school (and even one year in college), but the conditioning portion of the season was always my least favorite. I played soccer, but I was a goalie. Not a whole lot of running. :) Also, there is something so significantly different about short sprints and long distance (ha, ha...2 miles long distance?) running...if someone was chasing me, I definitely believe I could beat them. If they waited a few minutes and kept chasing, they would likely have no problem scooping me off the ground. Ha.
All of that just to say I love running now! It is the greatest escape I never knew was just sitting there and waiting for me to find it!! If I want to think about something, I can think while I run. If I want to zone out and specifically not think, running offers me that option as well! It is so obviously one of God's greatest blessings to us...you need nothing to run. Just your body. You don't even need shoes!! Not sure if I have recommended this book here before or not, but I had a book recommended to me called Born To Run, by Christopher McDougall. It was really good. Read it.
So, I ate ONLY what was allowed yesterday. Nothing more, nothing less. My fruit choices were strawberries and an apple.
Here is today's menu:
Day 2
Breakfast
6 ounces plain low-fat yogurt, mixed with 1 cup berries (using blueberries) or other fruit. You may sweeten the mixture with 1 packet of Truvia or sugar-free fruit jam. (okay, as I am typing exactly what you just read, Jack just walked up with my container of blueberries as he finished off the last few. Ha, ha, ha. Also, just wanted to say sugar-free jam is freakin' good!!)
1 cup green tea (I bought Luzianne Specially Blended for iced tea - Family Size tea bags (ha, ha, mom) and I made a pitcher full, I thought I would have to sweeten but I actually have enjoyed drinking it on ice with a little lime juice squeezed in)
Snack
1 serving of fruit
Lunch
Super Salad! (large salad with a generous bed of greens and salad vegetables of your choice - tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, celery, etc., drizzled with 1 tablespoon of olive oil or flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons herbed vinegar or vinegar of your choice)
1 cup green tea
Snack
6 ounces sugar-free fruit-flavored yogurt or 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt, sweetened with Truvia or a tablespoon of sugar-free fruit jam
Dinner
Plenty of grilled or baked salmon with liberal amounts of any vegetables from the list
1 cup green tea
Have a great day!!
xoxo
Well, I am so far not hating this 17-day diet! Yesterday, I kept track of my food intake on SparkPeople.com, as well, and I think I ate way too few calories. However, I wasn't hungry, so maybe some calories are more filling than others I usually would choose? I did successfully complete Week 4, but it was T-O-U-G-H!!! As soon as Shaun got home I headed out the door...95 degrees, sun blazing, "air quality warning" on the radio. Oh yeah. I kept deciding to quit...but then just telling myself, one more lap (or 1/2 lap or foot or whatever), and I actually DID IT!! If I haven't said it before, I am absolutely NOT a runner. I played sports in junior high and high school (and even one year in college), but the conditioning portion of the season was always my least favorite. I played soccer, but I was a goalie. Not a whole lot of running. :) Also, there is something so significantly different about short sprints and long distance (ha, ha...2 miles long distance?) running...if someone was chasing me, I definitely believe I could beat them. If they waited a few minutes and kept chasing, they would likely have no problem scooping me off the ground. Ha.
All of that just to say I love running now! It is the greatest escape I never knew was just sitting there and waiting for me to find it!! If I want to think about something, I can think while I run. If I want to zone out and specifically not think, running offers me that option as well! It is so obviously one of God's greatest blessings to us...you need nothing to run. Just your body. You don't even need shoes!! Not sure if I have recommended this book here before or not, but I had a book recommended to me called Born To Run, by Christopher McDougall. It was really good. Read it.
So, I ate ONLY what was allowed yesterday. Nothing more, nothing less. My fruit choices were strawberries and an apple.
Here is today's menu:
Day 2
Breakfast
6 ounces plain low-fat yogurt, mixed with 1 cup berries (using blueberries) or other fruit. You may sweeten the mixture with 1 packet of Truvia or sugar-free fruit jam. (okay, as I am typing exactly what you just read, Jack just walked up with my container of blueberries as he finished off the last few. Ha, ha, ha. Also, just wanted to say sugar-free jam is freakin' good!!)
1 cup green tea (I bought Luzianne Specially Blended for iced tea - Family Size tea bags (ha, ha, mom) and I made a pitcher full, I thought I would have to sweeten but I actually have enjoyed drinking it on ice with a little lime juice squeezed in)
Snack
1 serving of fruit
Lunch
Super Salad! (large salad with a generous bed of greens and salad vegetables of your choice - tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, celery, etc., drizzled with 1 tablespoon of olive oil or flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons herbed vinegar or vinegar of your choice)
1 cup green tea
Snack
6 ounces sugar-free fruit-flavored yogurt or 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt, sweetened with Truvia or a tablespoon of sugar-free fruit jam
Dinner
Plenty of grilled or baked salmon with liberal amounts of any vegetables from the list
1 cup green tea
Have a great day!!
xoxo
Friday, June 3, 2011
W16: D5 (June 3)
First of all, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet Aunt Jill!! She is a great motivator for me in so many ways. Often referred to as my "spiritual advisor"! I love you and I know this will be a great year for you!!
To everyone else, good morning! This will be super short because I don't have much to say...just 3 points.
#1. Nobody has made their donation as of this morning. Really? Even my own mother has ignored this?? C'mon, please. Once again - here is THE LINK.
#2. Jo Dunkle has not accepted my email to make her an author on this blog. JO-BEANIE, get on it!!!
#3. I am starting 17-day diet today. This is mostly because I went grocery shopping yesterday and bought all the stuff and there was lettuce on sale because it would expire today, and I didn't want to waste eating lettuce without it really needing to be eaten. Anyone besides me understand this? Ha, ha.
So...here is the plan from the book.
Day One:
Breakfast: 2 scrambled egg whites, 1/2 grapefruit or other fresh fruit, cup of green tea
Lunch: Large green salad topped with tuna, drizzle 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar over top
Dinner: Liberal amounts of grilled chicken and vegetables (there is a list of approved veggies and it sure seems to list every vegetable I have ever eaten? no corn or potatoes, obviously)
2 Snacks (whenever, but before 2 pm): 6 ounces of plain, sugar free, yogurt topped with 2-3 Tablespoons of sugar free jam
Fresh fruit
That's it! Also, every morning of this diet, I am to wake up and immediately have a cup of HOT water with 1/2 a lemon squeezed in. This is sitting right here with me ready to be drank/drunk/had. Whatever.
Wish me luck! I am completing Week 4 of the Couch to 5K this evening around 4:30 (HOT and MUGGY). Workout #2 was pretty rough, but I did successfully complete it! I did a lot of stretching Wednesday evening, so my legs are feeling pretty good today.
Have a great day!! xoxo
To everyone else, good morning! This will be super short because I don't have much to say...just 3 points.
#1. Nobody has made their donation as of this morning. Really? Even my own mother has ignored this?? C'mon, please. Once again - here is THE LINK.
#2. Jo Dunkle has not accepted my email to make her an author on this blog. JO-BEANIE, get on it!!!
#3. I am starting 17-day diet today. This is mostly because I went grocery shopping yesterday and bought all the stuff and there was lettuce on sale because it would expire today, and I didn't want to waste eating lettuce without it really needing to be eaten. Anyone besides me understand this? Ha, ha.
So...here is the plan from the book.
Day One:
Breakfast: 2 scrambled egg whites, 1/2 grapefruit or other fresh fruit, cup of green tea
Lunch: Large green salad topped with tuna, drizzle 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar over top
Dinner: Liberal amounts of grilled chicken and vegetables (there is a list of approved veggies and it sure seems to list every vegetable I have ever eaten? no corn or potatoes, obviously)
2 Snacks (whenever, but before 2 pm): 6 ounces of plain, sugar free, yogurt topped with 2-3 Tablespoons of sugar free jam
Fresh fruit
That's it! Also, every morning of this diet, I am to wake up and immediately have a cup of HOT water with 1/2 a lemon squeezed in. This is sitting right here with me ready to be drank/drunk/had. Whatever.
Wish me luck! I am completing Week 4 of the Couch to 5K this evening around 4:30 (HOT and MUGGY). Workout #2 was pretty rough, but I did successfully complete it! I did a lot of stretching Wednesday evening, so my legs are feeling pretty good today.
Have a great day!! xoxo
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
W16: D3 (June 1)
Good morning!!! Like my new "hip" Title? Ha, ha. Only for this month...for the good ol'
Skinny Dippin' Rally!!!
To my pleasant surprise this morning I am down another 2 pounds...bringing last month's total to 7 pounds!!! Let's start with the ADA pledges first this morning. I have signed up for a Diabetes walk in November and would like for all pledges to go towards my fundraising goal of $200! Please go HERE to make your donation for the past 2 months of loss. When I started losing for the ADA I weighed 210. As of today, all pledges I have are for $1 per pounds, so please click the link and donate your $14.50! I will track you down if I have to...
;) You know better. This is total honor system, but please know it IS helping with my motivation!
Moving on...it is the month of June! I did hear my sister has been not returning my calls because she was doing some charity event in the middle of the woods over the weekend. Awesome for her!! I plan to get her on the phone at some point today and I already told my mom to get a picture of her on the scale as SOON as she sees her!
For the past (almost) 4 weeks, I started with The Scarsdale Diet for the first 2 weeks. Now that I am no longer doing it, I sort of miss it? I find myself at the grocery store looking at the sale on lunchmeat (an allowed food) and almost considering going back! It was very nice to have everything written down as far as what to eat and when. Of course, while doing it, I was annoyed, but now I recognize how much easier it makes things! That must be why Jenny Craig and NutriSystem work so well. They send you (most of) the food and you just eat that. No guessing, no checking labels, no "portion control". I hate portion control.
After 2 weeks of The Scarsdale Diet, I switched over to what I am currently doing - a combination of Slim Fast and Special K cereal. I have enough Slim Fast leftover to complete today, tomorrow, and Friday, so I am going to do that and hit the grocery store on Thursday (while ALL the kids are at school! Hooray!). Saturday I will begin the 17-day-diet. The book has specific menus written out, and I plan to follow these. I am hoping this will be made easier by my plans to begin volunteering at a couple of places as much as possible while I have the four kids enrolled in one day a week over the summer. (okay, the boys go two days a week, Zoe goes for one of those days due to space at the center) Anyway, I am looking forward to having it written out for me and being easy. I will continue on with my Couch to 5K program, but my actual half-marathon training begins on June 21st, so I am not totally sure how I will handle the overlap. The training program I was planning to follow starts with running 3 minutes/walking 2 minutes, but by the time I am done with C25K, I should be running 30 minutes in a row. The final day of my marathon training says I should run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. That doesn't seem "better"? Anyone want to weigh in on this for me??
So, a couple more days of my sweet and easy Slim Fast/Special K, and then I will have new things to report and new foods to talk about!!
By the way, I did post a new picture on the Picture Progression page in a new outfit! I explain under the picture, but the outfit I had picked out did not fit a couple weeks ago. This morning I thought it looked pretty darn good. Oops. So, if anyone has any size 12/14 clothes they have lying around to donate, please send them my way. I need some more goal clothes!! Yes, I have full intentions of spending some $$$ when I reach my goal, but I am 45.5 pounds away from that and should be in all new sizes, right?? :)
Have a great day!
xoxo
Skinny Dippin' Rally!!!
To my pleasant surprise this morning I am down another 2 pounds...bringing last month's total to 7 pounds!!! Let's start with the ADA pledges first this morning. I have signed up for a Diabetes walk in November and would like for all pledges to go towards my fundraising goal of $200! Please go HERE to make your donation for the past 2 months of loss. When I started losing for the ADA I weighed 210. As of today, all pledges I have are for $1 per pounds, so please click the link and donate your $14.50! I will track you down if I have to...
;) You know better. This is total honor system, but please know it IS helping with my motivation!
Moving on...it is the month of June! I did hear my sister has been not returning my calls because she was doing some charity event in the middle of the woods over the weekend. Awesome for her!! I plan to get her on the phone at some point today and I already told my mom to get a picture of her on the scale as SOON as she sees her!
For the past (almost) 4 weeks, I started with The Scarsdale Diet for the first 2 weeks. Now that I am no longer doing it, I sort of miss it? I find myself at the grocery store looking at the sale on lunchmeat (an allowed food) and almost considering going back! It was very nice to have everything written down as far as what to eat and when. Of course, while doing it, I was annoyed, but now I recognize how much easier it makes things! That must be why Jenny Craig and NutriSystem work so well. They send you (most of) the food and you just eat that. No guessing, no checking labels, no "portion control". I hate portion control.
After 2 weeks of The Scarsdale Diet, I switched over to what I am currently doing - a combination of Slim Fast and Special K cereal. I have enough Slim Fast leftover to complete today, tomorrow, and Friday, so I am going to do that and hit the grocery store on Thursday (while ALL the kids are at school! Hooray!). Saturday I will begin the 17-day-diet. The book has specific menus written out, and I plan to follow these. I am hoping this will be made easier by my plans to begin volunteering at a couple of places as much as possible while I have the four kids enrolled in one day a week over the summer. (okay, the boys go two days a week, Zoe goes for one of those days due to space at the center) Anyway, I am looking forward to having it written out for me and being easy. I will continue on with my Couch to 5K program, but my actual half-marathon training begins on June 21st, so I am not totally sure how I will handle the overlap. The training program I was planning to follow starts with running 3 minutes/walking 2 minutes, but by the time I am done with C25K, I should be running 30 minutes in a row. The final day of my marathon training says I should run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. That doesn't seem "better"? Anyone want to weigh in on this for me??
So, a couple more days of my sweet and easy Slim Fast/Special K, and then I will have new things to report and new foods to talk about!!
By the way, I did post a new picture on the Picture Progression page in a new outfit! I explain under the picture, but the outfit I had picked out did not fit a couple weeks ago. This morning I thought it looked pretty darn good. Oops. So, if anyone has any size 12/14 clothes they have lying around to donate, please send them my way. I need some more goal clothes!! Yes, I have full intentions of spending some $$$ when I reach my goal, but I am 45.5 pounds away from that and should be in all new sizes, right?? :)
Have a great day!
xoxo
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