Week 37: Day 1

WEEK 37?!?!  Seriously??  I mean, I knew that was coming after week 36, but holy moly!!

Cabbage soup diet has gone very well.  Today is my final day - brown rice and veggies all day.  As much as I want!  I bet it won't be all that much.  I mean, I like brown rice...but I am having a hard time getting excited about it this morning.  Haha.

This time around, the cabbage soup plan has actually not been terrible.  I have really really enjoyed the soup and I just keep reminding myself that it's only 1 week!  I am actually thinking of doing 1 week of the soup, then taking 3 days off and starting another week with the soup.  The only problem is my training program increasing...the first 4 days are hard with no real protein.  It's a nice fall back plan, though, for when I get out of hand.  Haha.

Speaking of training - yesterday I went to a "park" I have driven by many, many times to see if there was a trail I could run.  Sure enough, I had 4 miles on the schedule and the sign showed a 2.4 mile path to the Monticello information center!  I decided to walk 5 minutes, then run until I got there and run all the way back.  I did exactly that, but either I was way faster than usual, or the mileage was off (I actually "mapped" the run when I got back on dailymile.com and it sure did say 2.4 miles each way!).  Anyway, I logged 40 minutes of fitness yesterday for Shrinkvivor and covered more than my 4 miles for training purposes.  Hooray!

Would you believe I have signed myself up for 2 5K's this weekend?  I'm kind of excited, actually.  I really, really want to get under 27 minutes and now i have TWO chances to do that!  The first race is in a town called Zion Crossroads just a few miles down the road from my house.  Saturday morning, 8 am...then I am having Zoe's birthday party at 11 am that day.  Whoo.  Luckily, I have only invited family, so they will be okay if I pass out in the middle.  Hahaha.  Then, Sunday, I was feeling all left out reading about the Nashville zombie run, so I signed up to do the Charlottesville zombie race!  It is being filmed and then made into a short film which will be screened on Monday night!  Super fun.  I really want to do a costume for both - okay to be the same one - but I have ZERO money and no real fun clothes to mess with.  Plus, I still need it to be comfortable for running.  Hmmm.  Any ideas?  Too bad I can't fit back into my prom dress yet (MAJOR goal), because that would be hilarious.  Prom Queen costume!  I don't have any fancy dresses...according to weather.com it's going to be chilly for both races.  I was thinking of wearing my black running skirt, bright orange tank top, and some black and orange striped knee-socks.  If all else fails, I guess Halloween colors are better than nothing!

I have written up a schedule for me and the littles to follow today.  Lots of outdoor play, scheduled snacks, midday storytime before lunch, QUIET time after lunch...I really hope we have a great day together.  Shaun left for work (yay!) and took the car today, so it's just me and them.  With no escape.  Hahahaha. 

Have a great day!
xoxo

Week 36: Day 6

Goooooood morning!!!

Seriously, it's 7:37 am and all of the boys have finished their breakfasts and are dressed and have waaaaayyy more energy than I do.  Geez!!!  I made the mistake of telling them Grandma is coming over and we're going to a pumpkin patch.  Now they are all over me about "when?  when is gramma getting here?  can we go now?"  NO!  The place doesn't even open for another 2 and a half hours!!!

Whew.  Got that out.  Sorry.  :) 

Shaun got the job!  Hooray!  He goes in Monday morning and he is very excited.  Me, too, for that matter.  Even though this will put me home with the three with no car...I don't care.  Get him out of this house and let me get back to some "normal"!  Haha.

Banana day wasn't too bad yesterday.  I did have a salad last night after work...I was so so hungry and my soup wasn't ready before I left the house to take a serving.  The salad was deeee-lish.  Arugula leaves with hazelnuts, carrots (thinly sliced) and zucchini, topped with a champagne vinaigrette.  Mmmmmm.  Today I can have up to 20 ounces of cooked beef and up to 6 tomatoes.  I'm not a big tomato eater, but I did buy some because it's nice to have the variety.  I have soup that simmered allll night long divided up into 3 containers to get me through my last three days.  I am feeling really good this time!  And skinny...awesome.  :)  Staying away from the scale until Tuesday, though.  Or maybe even Wednesday for the Shrinkvivor check in?

Know what else is Wednesday?  My 32nd birthday!!!  Wahoo!

Exercise-wise I really haven't done much.  Last night we were super busy, so I was bustling around the restaurant quite a bit, but I'm not counting any minutes for Shrinkvivor.  Today I need to get out for a couple mile run...I would like to run 22 minutes (like I planned the other day) with a 10 minute warm up walk and 10 minute cool down.  I also really, really need to do some sit-ups and push-ups...or something!  I have the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, and now our DVD player is in our bedroom with carpeting, so maybe?  I have heard mixed reviews..."super tough" and "doable".  If I could just incorporate those workouts a couple times a day, I think I would notice a difference in the shaping up of my body.  And boy does it need some shaping up!

:)

Okay, I'm all done with typing.  Have a great day!

xoxo

Week 36: Day 5

Good (almost) afternoon!

I have had a busy day already, and I am totally ready for a nap.  Unfortunately, the children do not seem to be on the same page.  Sigh.

Well, I made it through another day of cabbage soup diet!!  Yesterday was fruits and veggies...it was tough, I'm not going to lie.  I did get a recipe for some "pumpkin cookies" from my aunt that I tried.  It involves a can of pumpkin, some nonfat dry milk, splenda, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla...I think that's all.  Oh, and Butter Buds!  Anyway, they were okay...I mean, I think in the grand scheme of "real world", they weren't good, but they were DELICIOUS to me in my "state" yesterday!  Ha, ha.  I did also use 2 laughing cow swiss cheese wedges to dip my carrots in last night, too.  Full confessions here, folks!

Today is banana day.  I finished off my first batch of the soup and have already eaten 2 of my allotted 8 bananas for the day.  I can also have up to 8 glasses of skim milk today.  It's pretty cold outside, so I'm planning to have the kids "help" me make another crock-pot full of soup for an indoors activity.  I will make a banana smoothie in an hour or so...and I'll have another bowl of soup before work tonight.  I am planning to help my sister out in the 9 1/2 Lounge after my hosting shift is over...they are open till 3 am, I believe, so it could prove to be a long night for me.  I just love being in town at the restaurant, though!  It is such a fun place...kind of small and intimate and always full of friendly people.  So fun!!!

I am sorry to be a little rambly...I am kind of sleepy.  I had an appointment at 7 o'clock this morning at the Social Services office.  I'm not ashamed to admit we need food stamps and Medicaid to help us out!  So, I was up early after a long night of creepy dreams...I was working on some of my trivia questions last night and I am having a "spooky" theme for Halloween.  I read some scary stories on the internet RIGHT before I fell asleep!  Not smart. 

Two last "real life" things before I wrap this up...

*Shaun has an interview at 2:00 today!  Yay!!  Everyone keep things crossed and send up some extra prayers that this will be the job for him.  :)

*Yesterday, Conner had to "charge" his lunch at school because he gave his $20 lunch money to a kid on the bus!  We couldn't get a straight answer out of him regarding why he would give money to another kid...I always thought the "give me your lunch money" thing was only on tv and in movies!  Anyway, today, since I had that appointment at 7 am, Shaun had to put on his big-boy-pants and confront the kid.  In the nicest way possible, of course.  So, he asked the bus driver who the kid was and I guess the kid apologized profusely and handed the full $20 over.  Haha.  All's well that ends well!

Okay, the end.

Have a great day!
xoxo

Week 36: Day 4

Good morning!!!

I promised every day posting, so here is a quickie post! 

DIET:  Day 3 of cabbage soup diet today, all fruits and veggies (and soup).  Going well so far...but it's only 10:48!  Haha.  Yesterday was veggies only and the best damn baked potato EVER for dinner!!  I sort of accidentally strayed a little, little bit yesterday.  I had it in my mind that chickpeas were veggies and I totally dipped my carrots in hummus!  Gasp!  My mom later informed me hummus is a protein...crap.  It was delicious, though.  ;)  So far today I have had an orange, an apple, and a bunch of grapes.  I am waiting till about 11:30 to have my first bowl of soup...I'm going to head into "town" with my mom at noon, and I plan to run for 22 minutes while there.  I am really wanting to break 27 minutes in my 5K next weekend, so I'm shooting for 2.5 miles in my 22 minutes of running today.

EXERCISE:  Oops.  Kind of covered it in "diet", huh?  Well, yesterday I didn't do any form of fitness.  As I mentioned, I want to run for 22 minutes today, and I do plan to walk for at least 10 extra minutes.  While in town, I want to visit the Charlottesville Running Company to see about joining up with a crew training for the Charlottesville Full.  I am really "itching" to get back to the trails out here, but it's been raining, so I kind of want to wait till it dries out at least a little.  I think I have a 5 miler on the schedule for next week, so hopefully we'll have several dry days in a row.  Also, I don't want to do that much running while on the cabbage soup plan.  Not enough calories and I know I will be way too hungry to stay strong if I get in a "good" workout!  Walking is "good", I'm not suggesting otherwise, I just don't find myself to be quite as ravenous afterwards as I am after a longer run...

REAL LIFE:  Ugh.  Right now I'm being screamed at, literally, by Henry because I took a pack of gum away from him.  My real life sucks.  Ha!  Shaun still hasn't landed a job, but he has had a couple of good meetings and/or interviews with people...so hopefully something great will come of it...and fast! 

The End for now!!

xoxo

W36:D3 & Shrinkvivor Week 3 Results!

Good morning!!

Well, I am on day 2 of the cabbage soup diet and yesterday actually went pretty well!!  I ate plums and apples and fresh pineapple and soup and lots and lots of grapes.  It was delicious.  I got hungry a couple of times, but was totally able to settle my stomach with water...and grapes.  I'm telling you, I ate a LOT of grapes. 

Here's my Shrinkvivor "stats" for the previous week:
Starting weight: 186
Last week's weight: 186.5
Today's weight: 185!  Heading back in the right direction!!
Fitness minutes Total: 193 minutes
Fitness minutes breakdown:
     Wednesday ran 2.06 miles - 18 minutes
     Saturday ran 4 miles on a trail in the woods (sooo cool!) - 45 minutes
     Sunday went to the playground with the kids, walked the track (alternating between walking forwards and walking backwards!) for 25 minutes, then did strength training on the playground for 15 minutes - 40 minutes
     Monday VERY active, sweat inducing moving of furniture around the house, checked the clock before and after, and I promise you I was moooooving and sweating and huffing and puffing.  Moving stuff upstairs is no easy task!! - 60 minutes
     Tuesday ran 2.2 miles with a 5 minute warm up walk and a 5 minute cool down walk - 30 minutes

I want to say a little something about the challenge being MINUTES again.  I realize I need to do more strength training and cross training.  I know it, for sure, but it is so hard for me to find motivation when I am in my house.  Walking is crazy boring.  There, I said it.  Walking the track last week with the boys was brutal!!  This is why I tried to be very intentional when rearranging the house.  I kept moving and did deep cleaning while I was moving and even did some high knee raises during periods we weren't hauling furniture around.  (by the way, we moved our "master" bedroom upstairs, put all four kids in one bedroom, and then changed the former MB into a playroom)  I am not happy about my total being so low...especially compared to the Gray team who apparently averages over 600 minutes among their 7 contestants.  I'm sorry to be suspicious, but I am.  I was really hoping for mileage to be counted, but I also recognize that you can't really count "mileage" in a Zumba class! 

Here's my personal goal/challenge for this week:  CROSS TRAINING.  Every single night I need to be doing my push-ups and sit-ups...Shaun has even agreed to join me in these!  I am the new "Trivia Master" at Fellini's on Tuesday nights, so I won't be able to do the tworkout, but I CAN look back and see what exercises they tweeted!  As long as the weather will cooperate, I would like to take the kids to the trails I "discovered" and get them moving for at least 30 minutes, too!  I know there are some "On Demand" workouts I can do...even if it is just 10 minutes here and there, that will still be way better than NONE! 

Okay, the Shrinkvivor mini challenge is 64 ounces of water per day.  By the way, last week's mini challenge was eat something green every day and I added spinach to everything I could!!  At least once a day.  Yay!  Water is no problem, it's all I drink anyway.

Quick side note - have you ever heard of or drank blk water?  It is awesome.  I will review it in tomorrow's posting, k?

Um...I think I covered everything.  I'll get back to the outline format tomorrow.  Diet, exercise...as far as "real life" goes, I am so happy to be doing work at the restaurant!!!  Last night I was Trivia Master for the first time, and I definitely see where I can improve (like, my questions were WAY too hard!)...but overall it was really, really fun!!  We are working on doing some extra marketing to get more people in, and it has been awesome using my brain for adult work again.  I love my kids, but seriously...sometimes I get so freakin' sick of saying "That's great!  Nice job!  Thank you for saying please!  Do you need to go potty?"  And...reading Llama Llama 16 times can get a bit dull.

Know what I'm sayin?

Have a great day!!!
xoxo

Week 36: Day 2

Good morning!!

I have decided to do the cabbage soup diet again.  Don't judge me.  I seriously need something to shake me up and get me feeling better!!  When I am just watching calories or points or whatever, I end up totally going bananas and just snack-snack-snacking until I feel I have ruined the day already, I might as well just eat the rest of the loaf!  Sad, yes, but it's my demon and I have to live with it.

So, today is fruit day!  All fruit and nothing but fruit!  Yum, yum!!  I have started my day with an apple and lots of grapes.   I have a beautiful pineapple to cut into for lunch, and of course my soup simmered overnight and has filled the house with delicious scents!  Hooray.  I may end up posting 6 times a day while I try to be successful on this plan.

I chose this week, by the way, because I am only on schedule to run 2 miles at a time 3 times this week.  Even the cross training times are only 35 minutes.  I think this will be "safer" than a week where I am to run 5+ miles at a time.  Right?

I know I am about 15 pounds away from a very happy place and I would just like to get these 15 pounds gone.  I feel like my running times will improve and I will feel better...and maybe a part of me thinks it will be "easier" to eat well?  I don't know.  I do know this: I do not feel good right now, I am not happy with my food choices lately, I need to do something different.

So, there you have it!  I am heading out the door as soon as I post this to go for a 20 minute run with 5 minute warm up and 5 minute coold down.  Then, we have a park play date at 9:30, and tonight is my first night as TriviaMaster!!!  I will be assembling my questions this afternoon and head out to the restaurant around 7?  We are also planning to do some rearranging today while Shaun is still home.

On that note: We sent out his resume to at least 6 different *hot* leads yesterday from Craigslist and the Virginia unemployment page and monster.com. He made several phone calls, as well, so we are really hoping one of these pans out....soon.  Keep those prayers comin'!!

Have a great day,
xoxo

Week 28: Day 1

Hello!!

Good ol' Monday.  Luckily, the kids don't seem to upset about my choice of a lazy, lazy day today.  Mentally I have all sorts of motivation to rearrange and clean this house, but physically?  Yeah.  Not happening.  I did start in the boys' room, but quickly lost interest.  I think it's time to paint.

Does anyone else experience this extreme need to move things around?  Frequently?  I have several friends who will tell you that every time they come in to my house it is arranged differently.  I love it.  I love to move things around, I love the freshness of new arrangements, I love the new feel.  I also, however, love new pictures hung and new colors on the walls.  Unfortunately, those last two things can be a little expensive!  Anyway, I think it may be time to paint.  We have only lived here for 9 months, so that might not happen for a bit, but it does take me some time to pick out colors....

I get restless easily.  Unfortunately, my day to day is SO monotonous, I don't get a lot of release for that restlessness.  I guess I could channel it into coming up with new things for the kids to do, but I really feel limited with their young ages and attention spans.  Not to mention intelligence level.  I love my kids, I truly think they are all super smart FOR THEIR AGE.  This does not translate to "smart for an adult".  Right? 

Okay, speaking of restlessness and young children - they really want to go outside and wait for their big brother to get off the bus.  I'll make my point now.  :)

So, my Kindle screen froze.  Again.  This was my 3rd Kindle in a year, and now my 4th is en route to me.  Ugh.  Luckily, Amazon replaces them for free, but unluckily, my 17 day diet book is on the Kindle, so I have to wait for the replacement to get here in order to tell you the meal plan!  I am so so sorry.  I received an email stating the replacement would be here tomorrow, so I will post in the afternoon with details of at least the first week.

Kristin is doing AWESOME.  She wanted me to let everyone know that she did "fall off the wagon" on Saturday.  Friday evening she went out to a concert and drank 3 beers - which she said went to her head way faster than 3 beers usually do!  Haha.  So, Saturday she had a very long day at work and allowed herself to get too hungry, and she ate Subway for dinner.  Gasp!  :)  I told her that was fine, I totally understand.  She ate on "plan" for day 7 of cabbage soup yesterday (brown rice and veggies).  I didn't hear from her this morning, but yesterday morning she was showing a loss of over 10 pounds!!  She also had to do a little shopping because an outfit she had intended to wear to her new job today was too loose to still look good!  I'd call that a successful first week, for sure.

Kristin will do Slim Fast for the next three days (including today).  I set her up with enough shakes and snacks, and we will do an official weigh in Thursday morning before she begins 17 day diet.

I hope everyone is having a great day!

P.S.!!!  i did the random.org drawing today and the E-Mealz winner is Adam Shapaka!!  He has won a 6 month subscription to E-Mealz.com.  Hooray!

xoxo

Week 27: Day 2 (KLD 2)

Good EARLY morning! 

I am writing this before the mad rush of getting everyone (that's right, everyone) ready for school! 

* Yesterday was so awesome.  Seriously, I am on to something with this whole NOT getting up too darn early to enjoy the rest of my day!  It does have to be said, however, that I would not go back and change any of the days I was getting up so early.  The habit of running had to be made, and the only way to do that was truly having a time to myself to get it done.  That time would not have happened any other time of day.  SO - for anyone thinking "Oh, I don't have time."  Yes, you do.  It may be uncomfortable for a bit, but you have to create a habit before you can rely on yourself to really keep it up.  Now, I am missing running, seriously.  I am heading over to a Greenway after dropping off the littles at 9, so I am really excited about that!  Yesterday was so COOL!  We got Conner off to school (he has become and bus ride and LOVES it!  So does momma...pick up and drop off in our front yard?  Oh yeah.), and then I blogged and got dressed and we headed out to the streets.  The twins riding their bikes and Zoe in the stroller.  We live on a not-too-busy street, but cars will use it as a pass through and sometimes drive too fast, so we headed around the corner to a cul de sac.  The boys were able to just ride up and down and back and forth and circling as fast as they could!  Turns out they are pretty darn fast.  I decided to run along with them and use my stopwatch to sort of recreate Week 1 of C25K.  When I would begin running ("racing") with them, I would make sure I ran for at least 60 seconds.  Then, I would intentionally walk for 60-90 seconds to get my heart rate back down.  It was fun!  The boys thought it was hilarious that I couldn't keep up with them riding their bikes (by the way, Zoe's stroller is the worst stroller I have ever used, I truly HATE it)...especially at the point when my shorts FELL OFF!!!  Hilarious, embarrassing...all of the above.  So, we swung around to visit a neighbor who used to watch the twins when they were much younger (before I had Zoe).  We hung out at her house for about 20 minutes and then the boys were itching to get back out to their bikes.  I decided to let them ride about 50 feet up a slightly busier road in order to get to new not busy streets...that was the biggest workout of them all!!  Chasing after them and trying to keep them to the edge of the road and one twin is slower than the other so flipping my head back and forth to watch them both.  Whew!  A passerby (driving) even stopped to encourage me and said, "Girl!  You got to get that exercise in any way you can!  You doin' it!  Good job!"  It was sweet.  :)  So, we then got to go down a HUUUUGGGE hill and the boys were flying!!!  Made me very nervous, but they honestly did a great job of using their brakes just enough to keep themselves from going too fast and getting out of control.  I am so amazed at these little guys!!  When we got home I mapped our route to the best of my memory and it was over 2 miles that they rode!  Would you believe they did not get off the bikes once except for the short time we were at the neighbors' house?  Nice.  When we got home, I was as sweaty as I usually am getting home from a long run!  All three of them took a nap after lunch, so that made it all the more better.  :)

*I kept up with SparkPeople yesterday...the only thing I dislike about using that website (or any website for that matter) is that I do not have a fancy cool phone to track my food from anywhere.  I have to get on the computer every time, and if the point is to keep track throughout the day I find myself on the computer every few hours.  Normally, no, this is not a "problem", but it does get annoying...I am very easily distracted when I open up the computer.  I entered a recipe last night and got SO bothered by it wanting me to select category and type of food and enter instructions and blah, blah, blah.  I should probably just do it the old-fashioned way.  Carry a notebook around and write everything down...that way, too, it will be extra work and maybe I will decide I don't need to eat that extra couple hundred calories!  After reading the comment from Erin on yesterday's post, I did a little bit of research as to a proper "Runner's Diet".  I found some good information, but not really anything I could use outside of "tips"...like a meal plan.  You gotta tell me what to do or I am going to break all your rules and make up my own!  Runner's World magazine (my favorite) has a book out, so I'm going to stop by McKay Books and see if they have it there.  For those not in Nashville, McKay is the most awesome used book store.  You can get most books for under a dollar...I have found some of my favorites for 10 cents!!  They also have music, movies, books on tape...everything!  It's awesome.  So, I will check it out to see if they have this Runner's World Runner's Diet book...I do agree with her that I am not eating properly for the kind of exercise I have now added in.

*Kristin's Day One went GREAT!!!!  She weighed in the morning, but I need to get her permission once more to report the number.  She said she LOVES the soup and wants to eat it all the time (good thing cause she's gonna be eating a lot of it!).  The fruit salad was delicious and she was feeling good!  Her only complaint was the extreme "cleaning" effect the soup was having, but we both agreed this is to be expected when switching from what she WAS eating (particularly over last bachelorette party weekend) to all of these fresh, awesome foods!  Today I have set her up with a package of baby carrots, some sugar snap peas, and one package of steamable broccoli/cauliflower.  She also has all of the leftover vegetables from when I made the soup.  And, of course, I got her a baked potato for tonight!  Yum, yum!  I think she may have been nervous about eating a baked potato, but I assured her (and if she's reading this, let me assure you again) EAT THE BAKED POTATO!!  LOAD IT UP WITH BUTTER!!  It may feel so wrong, but it is absolutely a part of the plan and you need to eat it!!!!

*I do have 50 followers once again and will be opening up the E-Mealz giveaway!  Over the next 6 days, I will pose a question at the end of each blog posting...you will be given 1 entry for being a follower and 1 entry for every question you answer.  I will use Random.com (.org?) again on Monday morning to get the winner!  The winner will receive a 6 month membership to E-Mealz.com...this is the website I have been using to plan out our weekly dinners!  They give you 7 meals a week, with recipes, and a grocery list broken down by section of your chosen grocery store!  I use the Publix plan, and often take it to Kroger to compare prices. 

*I have a follower who is really, really wanting to do another challenge.  I am very competitive, so of course this speaks to me.  I was thinking about a 17 day diet challenge when Kristin begins that diet on August 25, 2011.  Let me know if you would like to enter this challenge!  Basically, we would all follow the 17-day-diet plan (I will detail it for those who don't want to buy the book), weigh in on day 1 and then day "18", and do percentages just like we did for the Slim Fast Challenge.  Interested??

Today's Bonus Question:  What is the farthest distance you have ever run?  My current answer is 8.65 miles...I am very excited for the answer to change to 13.1 miles in September!! 

Have a great day,             (Also, please vote by clicking the brown link below!!)
xoxo

Week 27: Day 1 (SFC final results!)

Good morning!!!

I cannot believe it is Week 27 for me!  That's kind of crappy since today's weigh in wasn't phenomenal as I'd hoped.  :)  Damn.  Now I'm 5 pounds behind schedule!!!  GRRRR.

Okay, let's talk happy things.  The Slim Fast Challengers have all reported in...here are the results:

Bonnie	237.6	236.4	0.51%
Audrey	188.5	189.5	-0.53%
Liz	195.4	191.2	2.15%
Heather	143.6	137.8	4.04%
Shonda	156.8	153.1	2.36%
LJ	243.5	226	7.19%

Heather and LJ rocked it!!!  Everyone (except me) did great, actually, and I'm very pleased.  All losses!!  Again, with the exception of me.  Way to go, right?  Ha, ha.

So, since LJ is a guy, I have decided to award Heather with the "Love Cuff", and he will get a prize that hasn't been determined just yet.  I'm not saying guys don't enjoy bracelets, and I totally offered to let him give it to his wife, but his sweet wife said this wasn't about her and she would rather he got something meaningful to HIM to reward his efforts.  Awww.

Today marks day one of Kristin's Losing Days!  I am starting her off with the Cabbage Soup Diet, so I made her a beautiful bowl of fruit salad, couple of oranges, couple of apples, and, of course, the soup.  I found a "new" recipe for the soup with a lot more veggies in it (at least it looked like a lot more!), so she should be good.  Kristin loves all foods...even all fruits and vegetables, so it's going to be pretty darn easy to do her shopping!  The fruit salad included strawberries, canteloupe, pears, peaches, and green grapes.  All fruits were fresh and diced up by yours truly.  I should have taken a picture because it really was pretty.  I instructed her she could have coffee since she drinks it black, and she needs to drink between 80 and 100 ounces of water. 

For my own dieting plan, this week I will be religiously using SparkPeople to track all foods.  I'm going to try really, really focusing on only eating when I am hungry and only eating until that hunger has been satisfied!  This week is going to be a new one for me...Conner has kindergarten all 5 days, the littles are in school on Tuesday and Thursday, and I don't have any plans for those two days!  The weather is a bit cooler, too, so I don't feel as restricted to doing my running at the crack of dawn.

Speaking of running, here's where I am at with that...don't worry, still loving it, and totally still training.  However, I ran 4 days last week and felt tired, tired, tired.  I noticed that, rather than having more energy to get out a play with the kids (part of the reason for losing weight), I am sleepy and cranky and just wanting to lay around.  Rather than "waste" all of my energy on myself before they are even up, I would like for my days with the kids to be more about being outside and playing!  So, I'm going to get up super early to run on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but leave the Monday, Wednesday, Fridays for "cross training".  Riding bikes with the kids (well, I don't have a bike, but I can run alongside them!), walks around the neighborhood, playing at the park, etc.  I think this will help with my snacking all day, too, since I will be more up for being outdoors rather than distracting myself from sleepiness with food.  Does anyone else do this?  Ugh.  I totally got right back into old habits this weekend...putting food in my mouth just for the sake of it, or just to get the taste there.  Why don't they make pizza flavored toothpaste?  I know that sounds gross, but minty fresh isn't what I want when I want to snack!  Pickle flavored gum is another idea I had before.  Ha, ha, ha.

So, this week's running plan will be Tuesday and Thursday morning, running 7 min/walking 1 min for a total of 48 minutes.  Today I am taking the kids out in the neighborhood for some fun bike riding!!  They are not allowed to ride in the streets, so it's pretty exciting to them when we relax the rules a bit.  We haven't gone out and about since they learned to ride without training wheels, though...should be interesting. 

I currently don't have any plans for Wednesday, but I'm thinking Friday we will go to the YMCA pool.  My 3 month gifted membership ends September 6...sad face!  I will say I don't feel like it is quite worth the cost, but I really, really enjoy having the membership as "back up".  Ever since taking the kids to the pool there, they get really bratty and screamy when I try to check them in to the daycare.  It's very annoying.  This results in me not wanting to go unless we are using the pool...add to that the fact I have no clue what I'm doing with any weight lifting and I can't run on the indoor track anymore.  Basically, I'm saying I don't think we will be renewing our membership. 

Segue from "September" talk...I have found a 1K race for my sons to do on September 5th!  It is in Franklin and they are all really excited.  I think it will be fun for me to NOT race that day and just make it all about their first!!  Now to get them all tennis shoes and not break the bank, right? 

I hope everyone has a great day! 

xoxo

Week Ten: Day Five

Good morning!

It feels like a Saturday to me because Shaun is home, but then I remembered - it's Good Friday!! 

FOOD: Yesterday was ground beef and tomatoes day.  Remember how excited I was in the morning?  That did not last.  I think I may have to wait several months before trying this meal plan again.  Whew.  I had a bowl of cabbage soup with ground beef stirred in for "breakfast".  It was delicious and filling.  The boys had school yesterday, and Zoe and I drove out to visit with my grandfather.  It was nice to see him, and I really didn't feel hungry at all the entire morning.  Well, even in to the afternoon!  We got home about 2 and played for a bit before leaving to get the boys a little before 3.  I felt like I should eat something because I hadn't eaten anything since that breakfast, so I heated up some ground beef I had cooked the night before.  It was very tasty, but I really wasn't excited about it.  For dinner last night we had "Pick Your Plate".  Basically anything leftover in the fridge was warmed up and put on a plate...then the kids got to pick which one they wanted to eat!  I also made some quesadillas and biscuits.  Random?  Yes.  Fun?  Yes.

I am heading to the grocery store this morning to get some steak and vegetables!  This is my favorite day on this diet plan.  All you can eat beef and veggies.  We are having friends over this evening for an egg hunt and dinner, so the grill may be going all day long.  Good times!  Also, I see there is quite a great sale at Publix on Special K, so I'm going to stock up for next week.  I think I may even do it for 2 weeks before embarking on the ol' 17-day diet.  We'll see.

EXERCISE:  I took Zoe for a walk yesterday!  Woohoo!  I would guess we walked for about 25 minutes.  I focused on not taking it slow and trying to get my heart rate up a little bit.  I am having to "guess" because I checked the time when we left and when we got back, but forgot to check how much time we spent playing at the little playground.  I know it wasn't 60 minutes, but it was something which is better than nothing. 

Have a great day!
xoxo

Week Ten: Day Four

Good morning!

Whew, am I ever sick of bananas...and really looking forward to some ground beef this morning!  What a strange sentence.  Ha, ha!

FOOD/DRINK:  Ate 6 bananas yesterday and could only choke down the soup once.  I drank so, so, so much water.  I didn't feel hungry, really.  Just bored?  Actually, yesterday was definitely NOT boring.  We had a great time running around the house during the day, everyone took at least an hour nap, and I left during dinnertime to get some errands done.  I really do think my mind is changing directions and food is becoming less of the focus for me!  Love it!  So, I have to tell about two things I cooked last night.  First of all, dinner was a huge hit.  Beef Macaroni Casserole.  THEN, I made Zuchinni Blueberry bread.  Oh my.  This house smelled SO good.  Both Shaun and I came out from putting our crew to bed (me with the boys, Shaun with Zoe) and just sniffed in hard.  Mmmmm.  I will work on finding a candle company to "bottle" that scent!  Both recipes will be included below, but I did not figure out the calorie count.  Sorry!!

EXERCISE:  Dude.  I hate this category.  I am taking Zoe for an hour walk today.  If it is too cold outside, we will go to the mall!  I PROMISE.  I was talking to a friend yesterday about how I allow myself an out when I have plans with a friend and they have to cancel for whatever reason.  This does NOT mean I have to cancel on myself!!  I am driving out to see my grandfather this morning with Zoe, and was planning for her to nap in the car on the way home.  She sleeps pretty good in the stroller, so I'll wear her out good this morning at grandpa's and she can half-nap in the car, half-nap during my walk.  Perfect.  Consider it done.

TIPS/ISSUES:  Yeah, I got nothing for banana day tips.  Except, keep yourself busy!!  Keep thinking about the ground beef you get to eat the next day!

BEEF MACARONI CASSEROLE
1.5 pounds ground beef
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 T flour
1/2 cup water
1 cup uncooked macaroni noodles
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brown meat and onion together.  Drain.  Add crushed tomatoes, flour, and water.  Cover and simmer for 13 minutes.  Meanwhile, boil macaroni.  Drain and combine with meat mixture.  Turn into casserole dish.  Sprinkle with cheese and bake 15 minutes at 400.

ZUCCHINI BLUEBERRY BREAD
(I am going to write the recipe as it's written, in parentheses I will tell you changes I made)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (okay, my dad bakes desserts for a living.  I called him to ask about this and he has never heard of such an ingredient.  I couldn't find it at Kroger, so I just used another cup of all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt (just used regular table salt)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil (during my conversation with my dad, he said this is the only oil I should ever be buying.  I used vegetable oil because it was what I had.  lol)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly coat the bottom of 4 mini 5-inch loaf pans or 1 9-inch pan with cooking spray; set aside.
In a large bowl combine flours, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder; set aside.  In another bowl, mix eggs, oil, and vanilla extract.  Add to flour mixture and stir until combined.  Gently stir in zucchini and then blueberries.  (just a note.  This mixture is quite thick.  I used the beaters at first, then switched to a spatula as I was adding in the veggies and fruit.)
Spoon batter into prepared pans.  Bake about 40 minutes for mini pans (this was exactly the right amount of time) or about 1 hour for 9-inch pan or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of each comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pan 10 minutes before removing.  Serve warm or let cool completely before slicing.  Each mini loaf makes 8 pieces (yeah, right), while the large loaf has 12.  Freeze extra mini loaves for up to 3 months.  (My opinion: there is no way you would need to freeze any of these, unless you cook a bunch at one time!  In the first 30 minutes of being awake this morning, my family has gone through one mini loaf and I am thinking I'm going to have to serve the one I was planning to give to a friend.  I am giving one loaf to my grandfather today and Shaun is taking one to a guy at work, so I can give opinions from them, too, later.) 

xoxo

Week Ten: Day Three

Good morning!

I have to admit...I'm a little disappointed.  No new "followers" and only $3 in pledges.  I know times are tough, but when I was selfishly asking you to pay ME, I had over $6 per pound!  What is that?  I'm going to assume it's a busy week and nobody's reading...even though the "stats" page tells a different story.  Hmmm.  Here's a couple things to consider:  You can follow this blog anonymously.  For example, I know of three people off the top of my head - two of which are guys - who have told me they read regularly, yet they are not official followers.  You know who you are!!!  Ha, ha.  Another thing, if you post a comment on here, I have to approve it before it posts for the world to see.  You can post these completely anonymously and I have no way of tracking down who/where it came from.  Please feel free to use this feature to tell me how you really feel!  If you are at all confused about how to pledge, you can post it as a comment and even let me know if you don't want it to actually show on the blog, or email me at aldunkle@msn.com.  Or send me a message on Facebook.  Or send out some smoke signals.  Up to you.  I really want to contact the ADA to let them know I am doing this, but I have to be able to say I have more than $3 per pound pledged!!!  I will accept anything over $0.10 per pound...that would amount to just $6 total!  Please???

Okay, back to diet talk. 

FOOD/DRINK:  I drank so much water yesterday, I was up at least 4 times overnight to use the restroom.  Craziness.  I also had a couple cups of coffee...that chocolate glazed donut stuff is GOOOOOOD.  I'm planning to try the Cinnamon Roll flavor next.  Oooooooh.  Yesterday was fruits and vegetables day.  I did forget to post yesterday morning, so just to let you know veggies day was not bad.  I bought some spaghetti squash and really enjoyed my bowl of "spaghetti"!  The squash topped with stewed Italian-style tomatoes.  Mmmmm.  I also steamed some broccoli to add to my soup, and then the baked potato was, of course, wonderful for dinner.  I made a huge bowl of fruit salad yesterday morning and cut up some cucumbers before leaving the house in the morning.  I dropped off the boys, but I also took on watching a friend's 4 year old daughter.  I would make that trade any day.  LOL  I ate my fill of fruit and finished up the "spaghetti" for lunch.  I also ate about three Sugar Free Jello cups during the day.  Last night I was feeling hungry (and exhausted), so I had a "dessert" of strawberries and Fat Free Whipped Topping.  Ahhhh.  It was great.  Today is Bananas and Skim Milk day!  Not my favorite, but I have my eye on the "prize" of tomorrow morning...adding ground beef to my soup.  Yippee!

EXERCISE:  I took the girls - Zoe and Emme - over to a friend's house.  We had all the intentions of walking, but the kids were playing so good together we sat and gabbed instead!  We did take the kiddos for a walk down a very steep hill to play in the creek for a bit...the walk back up the hill felt like quite a bit of exercise!!  I started off pulling the wagon back up, but (thankfully) two of the three kids got out, so my load lightened up a lot.  Ha.  I not only had the extra 4 year old girl, but the neighbor's two boys came over when my boys got home, so there were 7 kids under the age of 6 to chase around the yard.  It was pretty fun, but I'm sure you can imagine I slept HARD last night.

TIPS/ISSUES:  Follow my blog!  Pledge some dimes or quarters or dollars to the American Diabetes Association!  Keep on truckin'.  Ha, ha.

xoxo

Week Ten: Day One

Good morning! 

Week "double-digits"?!?  Hooray! 

Yesterday was a great day.  I'm not speaking diet-wise because I was super hungry and the cabbage soup is affecting me in a way it never has before and all the fruit was making my tongue hurt!  However, the church sermon also affected me in a new way, and I talked to some friends I haven't spoken to in a few months and they led me to change things up a little bit.

So much to think about...so many kids running through the kitchen as I attempt to type this...

I will post a separate blog later today about the "change".  It will concern the weight loss pledges.

FOOD/DRINK:  I think I said quite a bit above, right?  Fruit all day, a few bowls of cabbage soup.  Three apples, a fresh pineapple, one canteloupe, two pounds of strawberries, one pint of blueberries.  Whew!  Also, the chocolate covered glazed donut coffee is ridiculously good.  I mean, WOW.  I had about three bowls of soup and drank water, water, water.

EXERCISE:  BOOOO to me!!  Other than walking around Wal-Mart for an hour (can I count this?!), and parking super far from everywhere I went yesterday - nada.  I fully intended to get out there, but the kids really didn't nap at a good time and then I just kept finding things I needed to do!  Excuses, excuses, excuses.  I am taking the kids to the park today for a little picnic, so I'll see if I can get them to walk the track with me for a bit.  I did find a little workout to do on my off-days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), so maybe I can do that at the park while they play!

I'm going to include a recipe for the dinner I made the kids and Shaun last night.  There was not one bite leftover and everyone was mmmm-ing throughout.  Zoe even ate two full plates!!

SMOKEY ORANGE CHICKEN (I halved this recipe)
6-8 chicken breasts
1 cup Orange Marmalade
2 T Liquid Smoke
2 T Soy sauce

Place chicken breasts in baking dish (I used my Pampered Chef Deep-Covered Baker!), season with salt and pepper.  In a small bowl, mix marmalade, liquid smoke, and soy sauce.  Pour over chicken and bake at 350 (uncovered) for 35-40 minutes. 

xoxo

Week Nine: Day Seven

Good morning!!

I officially lost 2 more pounds last week with the Right Size smoothies!!  Very exciting...especially since that puts my total at 30.5 pounds lost.  Love it!

FOOD/DRINK:  We should just change this category to FOOD.  Drink = water and lots of it.  LOTS.  Ha, ha.  I also purchased some Chocolate Glazed Donut coffee yesterday and that will be my morning "treat".  It is so good.  Anyway, you may notice I am starting a new plan a day early...this is due to the smoothie powder running out too soon.  I admit I didn't use an actual "leveler" each time, but I definitely didn't expect to run out 2 days early?  The canister says it has 30 servings, I drink 2 per day...it only lasted me 13 days.  Anyway, I have decided to begin the cabbage soup diet today.  You all may remember this from my very first week.  I have two main reasons for doing it again:  1. It provides great weight loss and this may help me get over that 200 pound mark!; 2. It's easy.  I have been reading this 17-day diet book and I think I need a little bit more time to wrap my head around it.  I don't like not having a plan, and I really don't want to get distracted and/or frustrated at this point in my weight loss.  So, there you have it.  My mom is coming to visit next Tuesday, the 26th, and she is going to help me write out a meal plan and grocery list for my first 17 days.  This means, I will begin cabbage soup today, final day of that will be next Saturday.  I will do 8 days of either Slim Fast or Special K, then begin the 17 day diet. 

As for today, it's FRUIT day for me!  I made a large bowl of fresh pineapple and canteloupe last night.  I plan to assemble the cabbage soup before church and let it sit in the crockpot while I am gone.  I also have a bag of apples at my disposal, and a second pineapple waiting to be chopped.  Oh yeah, and red seedless grapes are only a dollar a pound at Harris Teeter, so we have a drawer full of those in the fridge.  Yummy!

EXERCISE:  I wasn't able to focus on getting in my 60 minutes of walking yesterday, so I am pledging to do it today.  I would like to find a track to do it, so I can also know my distance.  Results tomorrow! 

I didn't do the photo shoot Friday, by the way.  It ended up being quite the trying day.  I have to admit I took the kids to the drop in daycare down the street for a couple hours just to save some of my sanity!  It was the perfect amount of time to put away all the laundry, clean the bedrooms, and watch our DVR'ed episodes of The Office and Parks and Rec.  I made lunch for the kids and went to pick them up with a fresh new attitude.  They had a blast playing with "new" toys and being out of the house, so I call that a win-win.

Have a great day!

xoxo