Week 38: Day 5

Good morning!!

Some blogs I follow do a "Three Things Thursday", but I missed out, so I'm doing "Four Fings Friday".

1.  Shrinkvivor:  I gotta say, I'm pretty very disappointed to report I was sent to Exile Island last night.  I'm mostly sad because the other 2 girls left were either up in weight (3 lbs) or down just a tiny amount (.2) and both had less exercise minutes than me.  This leads me to believe one or both put my name down as a "vote" which we had all agreed to NOT do each week.  Whatever.  I realize it is just a game, and compared to all the others I likely would not have made it another week...I hate to lose.  And I have zero motivation to care now!  Exile Island will have it's own "winner", but there are a lotta lotta ladies on the Island (and even some guys, I believe)...


2.  HBBC:  I have joined another online challenge that seems to be a bit more suited to the direction my "journey" has taken me!  It's called the Holiday Bootie Busting Challenge.  Yay!  If you will click on the picture at the top of my blog page on the right - says "HBBC" - that will take you to the web page where you can sign up or just read all about it.  Basically, we (contestants) will track MILES and/or fitness minutes from November 19 through January 6, and each week you will have to fill your points in to a spreadsheet.  Points are given for each mile run, 3 miles biked, 20 minutes of weigh-lifting, 15 minutes of low impact aerobics, 10 minutes of high impact aerobics, and each day you hit 7 servings of fruits and/or vegetables!  There will also be some mini challenges and questions on Facebook to get extra points.  Fun!!

3.  Dieting:  I'm sick of dieting.  Anybody else ever hit that "wall"?  It seems like I will decide on a plan and then get so obsessed and consumed with the allowed foods on that plan, that I "freak out" and just start eating!  Ridiculous.  I'm not even hungry when I'm eating...it's like a part of my brain thinks this food will all go bad.  It really is back to my old mentality.  The exact mentality that kept me from losing the weight earlier!  So...I made it, like, 30+ weeks of doing great, and now I'm right back where I started.  Granted, I'm 50+ pounds lighter, but you know what I mean?  My current "plan" is to only eat when I'm hungry and really, really focus on the veggies.  Fruit is so easy for me to eat, I'm trying to keep more greens around the house and just choose those first.  I also am remembering the "rules" from Jackie Warner's plan and I'm going to really focus on 4 "meals" a day, each one including some protein and nothing with sugars higher than 5 grams.

4.  Kids:  I have 4 kids, for those who are just joining.  Haha.  Conner is doing SO great in kindergarten!!!  He is learning to read!  And, like, REALLY reading!!!  It has made bedtime stories much more entertaining.  The twins, Jack and Henry, will be 4 in eleven days.  Zoe just turned 2.  These three wear me out every day...they are just bundles of uncertain energy!!  I say uncertain because they can't seem to figure out WHAT they want to do...rarely can I get everyone on the same page at the same time.  Including meals.  Here is an actual scenario from yesterday - first, I joined a new Bible study group (LOVE IT!), so we had that from 9-11.  The teacher in the daycare said the three were great and did wonderful.  We headed over to my mom's house for lunch.  She had made pasta and chicken and carrots - yum.  The kids were so excited to see her and be hanging out at her house (where anything goes, as opposed to our house where they have to take shoes off at the front door), they just could not sit still to eat lunch.  So, we packed up their lunch and took it home.  When we got home they wanted to play outside and the weather was perfect, so I let them be in the backyard.  Zoe asked for a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.  Anyone else?  No.  I make the sandwich, take it to Zoe, and now Jack and Henry want one, too.  I make them each a sandwich, take them outside, clean up Zoe's mess, go back to the kitchen to clean up MY mess, back outside and Jack has finished his sandwich.  Wants another one.  Head back to the kitchen, make another sandwich, take it to Jack...now Henry wants another one.  I sneakily turn the tv on as I head out to give Henry his sandwich so they will see it and maybe come in for "naptime".  It sort of works.  All three gravitate towards the tv, and sit on the couch or chair, I get blankets and full sippy-cups and then they want their pasta from grandma's house!  Seriously?  Okay, bowls of pasta for the twins, string cheese for Zoe, head to the kitchen for a final clean-up and I was all of a sudden so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open!  I just knew, just knew, the three were going to fall asleep...I got excited about having time to take a quick nap before picking Conner up from the bus.  Yeah, no such luck.  No naps, poopy diaper for Zoe, more food requests from the twins...oh, boy, it was an exhausting day.  I thought I would skip my run in favor of a nap when Shaun got home, but I changed my mind at the last minute and went out for my scheduled 30 minute run.  I was super glad I did, but I was also very, very ready for bed after stories last night!! 

I have completely lost track of what I was talking about in the first place.  I met a woman at the park the other day who stays home with her 2 sons, aged 3 & 2, so we have invited them over for today.  I'm excited to make a friend who lives close, and from the little bit of talking we did the other day, I think our husbands will hit it off, too!  Fun!

Sorry for the rambling...here's a picture (found the cord!) of one way I tried to take the kids for a walk the other day.

That is a double stroller AND a single stroller. 
I thought maybe I could use Henry to push Zoe's stroller while I pushed the big one...
we made it to the end of our street and everyone was over it.

I tried a few different variations, but we just ended up running around the front yard together!  Ha!  When I pushed them to the park on Wednesday (1.7 miles), I just loaded the twins up in the back seat and Zoe in the front of the double stroller.  Thankfully, they were all munching on Halloween candy and happy to sit for almost the full 30 minutes it took me to get there.  I say "almost" because the whining started about 7 minutes from the park. 

Have a great day!
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

Shrinkvivor Week 2

Oh my gosh, she's back??  Yeehaw!

Sorry about the hiatus.  Actually, not really all that sorry.  Mostly sorry because I missed out on reading the blogs I follow!!! 

Here's the scoop - we have moved to Virginia.  We are settled in and absolutely loving it so far.  Well...except the whole husband with no job part.  Seriously.  Financially it's whatever, but mentally I cannot spend another moment with him!  He is an "extremist".  Might be the wrong word, but here's my explanation.  It is all one way or the other with him... either cleaning every single inch of this place or sitting on his ass watching Sportscenter.  He nitpicks everything I do...I'm on the computer trying to get together a grocery list and he is demanding I look up other things for him.  I said, "I'm doing something."  "Oh, what?  Facebook?  Real important.  I'm going to go unload the dishwasher and then we need to hang up all these pictures."  Really?  We've lived here for 3 days and you are going to bitch about wanting to hang up pictures.  I personally find it a little more important to feed my kids.  Sorry about my lack of priorities there, boss.

GRRRR.  Yeah, we need LESS togetherness. 

Moving on - I gained 2 pounds this week.  BOOOO.  I did manage to log some pretty good fitness minutes.  I hope nobody gets angry, but I totally counted active moving.  Basically, not just packing up boxes here and there, but I gave myself an hour for each day I was actually loading up a truck (took us about 2 1/2 hours, actually) and then the night we unloaded the truck.  I think I mentioned we lucked out and got someone to drive the moving truck from TN to VA.  It was awesome and well worth it!!  I highly recommend uship.com, but specifically Ken Weaver.  He was very helpful and personable and all of our stuff arrived as promised!  Hooray!  He didn't arrive in Virginia until 8:30 on Saturday evening, so Shaun and I were able to leave the kids (sleeping) at my parents' house while we busted ass unloading.  I did get out for a run on Monday which was super nice.  just over 3 miles.  I ran from our house to the main gate and a chunk of it was along the lake...yay!!  The neighborhood is kind of hilly, but the hills are little, so it's not rough.  There aren't sidewalks, but the speed limit is 25 and we actually have our own neighborhood police department, so the limits are very enforced. 

My diet went out the window.  I really keep trying to get back on track, but then I will just get hungry bored and snack.  We don't even have anything in the fridge to snack on, actually!!  Bread.  Good ol' bread.  Sigh.

I have a book called "Eat All Day Diet".  Since I haven't blogged about any new meal plans lately, I thought I would give it a shot.  As I mentioned, I need to hit up the grocery store, so I'll type up some details either tomorrow or this evening regarding WHAT I am able to "eat all day". 

Prayers, everyone, for Shaun to land a great job!  Every other aspect of this move has been so obviously blessed, I have no reason to think this part will be otherwise...sometimes it is just hard to be patient for God's timing, right? 

xoxo

Shrinkvivor W1 Results!

Good morning!!

I am so sorry to have been gone.  I promise to be better soon...

Week one of Shrinkvivor is over!  Our weekly challenge was fitness minutes and the mini-challenge was no fast food.  I think I did pretty good, but I peeked in at one of my teammates and she KILLED my fitness minutes!!  Wooooow, Shera!!!!  WTG!! 

Starting Weight: 186
Today's Weight: 184.5
Fitness Minutes breakdown:
     Wednesday - Run 20 minutes, Warm up/Cool Down 10 minutes
     Thursday - Run 22 minutes, Warm up/Cool Down 10 minutes
     Friday - 10 minutes of push-ups and sit-ups, alternating every 30 seconds
     Saturday - Run/Walk with kids in the stroller - 40 minutes
     Sunday - Run/Walk - 30 minutes
     Monday - 10 minutes of push-ups and sit-ups, alternating every 30 seconds
     Tuesday - Run 30 minutes, Warm up/Cool Down 5 minutes, "Tworkout" 15 minutes
Fitness Minutes TOTAL:  202 minutes!  (Shera had 600 minutes, OMG)

This week they are continuing the fitness minutes challenge and the mini-challenge is to get some good sleep.  Yeah.  We'll see how that pans out around here!

So, the "Tworkout" was kinda cute...the website doing the Shrinkvivor Challenge (shrinkingjeans.net) has a lot of cool and motivating stuff to check out on their website.  From 8:00-9:00 PM on Tuesday evenings, they send out exercises to do via Twitter.  It was really fun last night!  I'll definitely be keeping up with those...some of the stuff they send out is things I have never heard of and would definitely not be doing if it weren't for the accountability of someone knowing I was part of the Tworkout crew!  Hahaha.  If you are on Twitter, you should check it out next week.

Slim Fast is not going so awesome, but it is waaaayyyy easier than trying to diet right now.  Just in case somone is reading this here and could ruin a certain surprise I am working on, I will just leave it at that.  ALSO, I'm a little ticked that Slim Fast has gone down to 4 packs instead of the usual 6 packs and they are still the same price!!!  Crazy.  I think I have 2 shakes left and I will finish those up today, but I may just have to somehow track calories for a bit instead.  That is the hardest thing ever for me to do.  Ugh.

The 15K training is going well!  It starts off with such low mileage, that I have actually been running for time instead.  Basically, when it called for 2 miles last week, I just made it a point to run for 20 minutes.  I know I am consistently faster than 10 minutes per mile, so that way - just in case I get tired! - I know I will cover the proper mileage.  It is getting COLD outside and while it does help me to run faster, I am going to need to invest in some gloves!  Yesterday my hands were downright numb when I got home. 

Well, that's all for today.  I will be back to wiring more frequently very soon.  There is a lot going on in my "real life"...good stuff, but it is leaving me with less time to blog.

Have a great day!
xoxo

Shrinkvivor Week 1!!

Gooood morning!

I gotta be honest with you, it is NOT such a "good" morning around here.  Sigh.  The changing of the seasons has caused everyone in this house to feel a little under the weather and I'm sure you can all guess who is the biggest baby in all of this.  (hint, not me)  Dealing with 4 kids with bad attitudes and sniffly noses is one thing...add in the unemployed 31 year old hubs and I am about ready to run away!

Shrinkvivor starts today!!!  My official weigh-in this morning was 186.  This week's challenge is fitness minutes....awesome.  Truly, truly awesome.  I have found a 15K to run in Washington DC on December 3rd, and my training starts yesterday today!  The timing of this run is perfect...I think...well, I have decided.....um.  Okay, I'm going to run the Charlottesville FULL Marathon!  Maybe.  Probably.  UGH!  I am feeling really good about the half, and I really enjoyed it the whole time.  Is it weird that I feel like the challenge wasn't enough?

I'll think on this a bit longer...I have my eye on the 15K for now.  The biggest reason to do the 15K is it's called "Will Run For Chocolate" (yum) AND instead of a t-shirt you get a running jacket!  Niiiiiiiiice.  The back says "Hot Chocolate 5K/15K"...I thought about doing the 5K, but I really want to do some serious training that involves some long runs.  I really, really enjoy my long run Saturdays!!  Running "away" from all the whining and crying at home....and the kids, too.  Hahaha.

Sorry to be such a "husband-basher" this morning...tooooo much togetherness!!  The moving planning is really falling into place and getting us stressed excited!  We are having a yard sale this weekend and trying to focus on the short goal of getting everything together for that.  I have to manage carefully because Shaun is pretty good at wanting to sell everything.  Nevermind if it's a family heirloom or the kids' favorite toy or clothing I wear daily!  He keeps mentioning moving to Charlottesville with whatever fits in the van.  Really?  No.  He just gets overwhelmed easily.  Good thing I'm around.  Hahaha.

I gotta get on these fitness minutes!!  As soon as I get some coffee, I'll be heading out for a quick 2 mile run!  Hmmm...maybe I should WALK all my runs to get more minutes?  Hahahaha.

Have a great day!!

xoxo

Week 31: Day 6

Gooooooood morning!!!

Sorry I haven't been around.  No excuses will be shared.  Trust me, I have lots, though.  I just woke up and don't have my thoughts about me enough to have a great posting, but here are some bullet points I would like to share...

*  I officially signed up and paid my fee for Zombie Buffet 5K!  I signed up as a runner and chose wave 2 as my first choice or wave 3 as my second choice.  Basically, they are going to "release" the runners in 4 different waves and each of those waves will determine how many zombies you are likely to encounter during your run.  It's all very technical.  Hahaha!  I cannot wait.  I have thinking about a costume...not completely sure exactly what just yet, but cheerleader seems like an okay costume to run in, wouldn't you agree?

*  A few of the girls from my Mayor's Challenge 5K team have started training with the various offerings already!!  If you are interested, check out their website here for a list of all the groups that are meeting and when.  After the half marathon, I plan to meet at the McCabe Community Center for their 9 am runs on Saturdays.  Also, the Green Hills YMCA is offering trainings during the week on Tuesday and Thursdays at 11:30 (and Fridays).  You do not have to be a member if you are working towards the Mayor's Run! 

*  I have signed up for Shrinkvivor 2011!!  It is a 7 week Challenge offered up here.  Looks like a lot of fun and a good way for me to get back on track and have someone else tell me what to do!  Plus, you all know this girl likes a little competition.  ;)  I encourage you all to join up!!  There is even a non-weight loss group for those who want to participate in the " weekly physical challenges, check-ins, immunity idols, tribal councils" without losing any weight.  The registration lasts until Wednesday, September 21st, which is when they will randomly place you on a team of 7 and the challenge will begin on the following Wednesday, September 28th.

That's all my points for today, I think.  I am heading out in about an hour for my 10-miler, and then next weekend is the HALF!!  I am very excited.  I got a new shirt last night (yes, I will be wearing it for my run today to "test it out") and I am now looking for a white runner's skirt.  The black one would work fine, but I think a white one would be "prettier" with the socks I have chosen.  I'm such a girl, right?  This week I will only be doing 9 miles total throughout the week and I am definitely using Thursday as a FULL rest day.  Friday will be a "cross training with the kids" day...no plans yet, but I will try to at least be a little bit active with them to get my "jitters" out! 

Diet-wise, I don't know what to say.  I wish I could say I've been all good and on point...but I haven't.  I have been allowing myself bites here and nibbles there and a full slice of pizza last night.  It's just been hard!  For several reasons.  It seems that on days when I don't run (which suppresses my appetite for a good 2-3 hours), I am starving, like, alllllll day long!  I will eat the same breakfast as on any other day, but it will just do nothing but seem to fuel my hunger.  Very frustrating!  I should be using my Sensa, but I keep forgetting to sprinkle it on my foods!  Also, when I have a whey protein shake, or I'm eating a piece of fruit (like an apple or peach), I can't use it.  It's hard to form a habit with this, for some reason.  I have never been a big "seasoner" once my food is ready to be eaten, so that may be one problem.

Know what?  Basically...dieting is HARD.  It has become harder now that I've lost a lot of weight.  Hovering between 50 and 55 pounds lost is awesome, but I keep thinking about a time in my life when I weighed what I weigh now and I wanted to lose weight!  I want to have the stamina for that girl!  I will not, will not, will NOT give up.  I plan to kick ass at the Shrinkvivor Challenge and finish up these 40 weeks with a BANG!  I may be behind schedule, but that is NO reason to think I should stop here.  I can totally do this.

I found these pictures online...look how skinny my leg looks!
And, no, I am not wearing shin guards.  Haha.

Yeeeehaw!!  Have a great day,
xoxo