31 December 2013

2013 Year in Review and 2014 Goal Setting

First. I would like to take a minute to look back at my 2013.

I had a lot of victories.

I started working out for serious.  During 2013,  I did all of the following:
  • Deadlift 175 lbs
  • Did the Fight for Air Stairclimb- this is serious business!
  • participated in several 5ks
  • did 2 10ks.
  • finally picked up yoga as a serious habit
It was all imperfect.  But I did my best at each race and what more can you ask, really.

In 2013. I also did a lot of knitting. I made:
  • Several pairs of mittens
  • Several hats
  • a scarf for Dev
  • a couple of pairs of fingerless mitts
  • finally finished socks I cast on in Maryland
  • a lovely shawl for one of my BFF
 And I lost about 20 lbs over the past year.  I gained and lost much more than that, but the net loss isn't bad at all.




 2013 was a tough one for a lot of people in my family, and it wasn't exactly easy on me, either.  My life went fine, other than my company having a layoff, but in 2013, the following things happened to my sister
  • divorced her husband
  • moved into a rental after years of owning
  • bought a house, but a major fixer upper
  • as a single parent of 3 kids, started nursing school
  • developed anxiety
  • children got into her anxiety medication and two of them were airlifted to a hospital an hour away (they are ok!)
  • witnessed her lovely, 13 year old yellow lab having a very long, grand mal seizure
  • fell down the stairs at her house, breaking her leg
  • had to withdraw from nursing school due to said broken leg
That's a lot of crap for one year.  Thankfully, there was some good mixed in with there, so she's not giving up on life or anything :)  it was a harder year on me, because I love my sister a lot and hate to see her suffering

Now, what do I hope to accomplish in 2013 in three sections

Fitness Goals
  • complete several events.  Fight for Air, Relay for Life- walk a half marathon
  • in the spring, I am going to start back on Couch to 5K.  To this end, I want to complete a 5k where I run the entire thing
  • I'm doing Fight for Air again.  Normally, I would be gunning for a PR, but I have a friend that's doing it with me and my goal is to support her up the stairs.
  • I want to be able to do 50 push ups on my toes.
Weight Loss Goals
I don't believe in setting defined be x weight by x day goals, so for this I will say I just want to be a little better one year from today than I am today.  If I could be out of the Obese range, I'd be delighted.  If I was out of the overweight range, I would be estatic. 

Knitting goals
  • Knit through at least 1/2 of my (admittedly small) stash.  Most of my stash is remnants.  I will be making at least a few pairs of crazy socks for Deven.
  • Start holiday knitting sooner.  Like July
  • SAY NO to people that want me to knit things for them in November.  
  • Knit more for myself.
  • Challenge myself to make harder projects. Lace- a sweater maybe?  MAYBE TRY ARGYLE?  Learn how to Fair Isle

Organizational Goals
  • Finally tackle the spare room.  Reduce the volume of stuff in there by 1/2
  • put in a shelving system that actually makes sense in the spare room
  • get better at keeping things organized in there
All in all, these goals are all both big and small.  Doable and frightening and challenging.  Just what goals should be.


Happy New Year, everyone!

06 December 2013

Things I Never Thought I Would Say

I don't want to have to tell you again, PUT SOME PANTS ON.

26 November 2013

Home

Last week Tuesday was my Friday.  We were packing up and heading to Maryland to visit my in-laws.  We had a little detour to Sun Prairie where our friends Nate and Matt live.  They are kind dog liking kind of people, so they kindly took Conner for us. We ate at Buck and Honey's- a great Sun Prairie local establishment.  They had a lighter menu, so I didn't veer TOO hard off track.  I ordered the red wine flight.  It came in a special kind of cast iron carrier.   Unfortunately, it became tippy as you drank the wine out of it.  I should have taken it off of the carrier but didn't think that far. 

Matt asked me to get the salt and CHAOS ENSUED.  My carrier tipped over, breaking the third wine glass and spilling all over the table. I thought that was it, but nooope, it also went on the floor and quite a ways away.  Whoops.  I hope none landed on anyone.  That would make me feel wretched.  Then Deven dropped his entire piece of pizza on the floor.  He wanted to eat it anyway (gross) but it fell in the same place where the glass fell. So yeah. No.  Our server joked that we weren't allowed back.  That's probably not a terrible idea on his fault. Haha.

We sent Dev to school until noon on Wednesday.  Our trip didn't start until 2:30 and we can really accomplish a lot more without him, so we got ourselves around and even did a little shopping.  I went to Weight Watchers and got my head screwed on straight before our trip.  I tracked my points pretty carefully and headed to Maryland with not very many extra points- see also Buck and Honey's.  I decided to make an allowance for myself to use my activity points for the weeks affected by this trip.

This is especially helpful as we were both celebrating Raj's birthday and Thanksgiving the following day.    So here I am, home with 0 remaining extra points.  If I need extra food on actual Thanksgiving, it will have to come from my activity.  I'm right out for going over those points, too.  I've been working very hard and I want to continue the downward trend through Thanksgiving.

I had a lot of wins in Maryland, actually.  I went for 2 longish runs, a long walk, did my crunches and planks.  I came home, stood on the scale and was only up about a pound.  That gain has gone and now I am pretty much holding steady from when I left.

All in all, not too bad. Not too bad at all.

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12 November 2013

Visiting Family

On Friday, I headed to Weight Watchers before work (Woohoo! I lost 2.4 and got my 5%) and went out for breakfast with Dev.  Looking at this picture, you can see how many tries it takes to get a picture of him where he looks legitimately happy.



  I dropped him off at school and headed into work.  I had a half day because we were going to Iowa after Raj got off work and I wanted to get us ready.  Once I got home, I did my Planksgiving, my challenge workout and took the dog for a walk.   I didn't have a ton of time to walk, but I did hit this trail.
I'm lucky enough to live in a neighborhood that has loads of trails and nearly all of them are as lovely as this shot.  If you look closely, you can see that there are a couple of apples on the ground near where I took this picture.  I wish you could smell the area.  It smells like an orchard even though there's just the one apple tree.

I need to get a picture of Conner on a walk sometime.  He smiles the whole time.  In a few weeks, Conner will turn 3.  I am here to tell you that the older he gets, the more pleasant it is to have him as a pet.  Now, you can sometimes pet him without him assuming that you want to play.  He's still busy, probably always will be, but he becomes more and more a faithful companion with each passing year.

It was too dark for the drive to Iowa for me to get much knitting done, but I was able to finish Deven's mittens while we were in Iowa.  I snapped this shot of me knitting in the car.  I'd just started the thumbs.

Once you get to the thumbs, you just have a few minutes of knitting left.  Less than an hour later, I snapped this shot of Deven wearing the finished product.
Dev couldn't be bothered to look at the camera or smile properly.  He was far too busy watching a DVD in the car. 

So, we got home and I got started on the laundry.  Dev had gotten his sneakers FILTHY at school, so those needed to be washed and dried before Monday.  We ran out, got some groceries and collapsed in a heap on the couch.

We've almost got our lives back together.  Today is the last day of the first week of the Holiday Hustle. I owe 10 minutes each for strength and cardio.  Obviously this won't be a problem at all.  I'll do my requirements and finish up the 10 minutes by running stairs.  My strength- I will do the daily challenge and finish up with crunches and push ups.

I'm off to scour Ravelry.  I need to find the perfect mittens to make for Dev's teacher and for a volunteer that is working with Deven.  We feel so lucky that Dev's school is working so hard to keep him challenged.  Dev reads above grade level-so they did an assessment and are utilizing a retired teacher to work with him at his level.  He reads books that are a little challenging for him and after she has him write a few sentences about what he's read.  It's easy enough to look at a kid and say 'he already reads, so phonics will be a good review.' I'm so pleased that his school didn't do that.

Anyway, I'm grateful for Dev's wonderful kindergarten teacher and his volunteer, so I really want to make some special mittens.

Be well, everyone!



05 November 2013

Invitations

Thanksgiving season is here.  We don't usually travel for Thanksgiving because 1) airfare is ridiculous and 2) I don't want to :).  We've got a plan for a nice, solitary Thanksgiving around here.

We are lucky enough to have invitations to several Thanksgiving meals, but I feel like Thanksgiving should be a family event, so I am going to keep it to my family of three.  We might have a friend come by as she's at loose ends, but if I am the one doing the cooking, I have a lot more control of the food on the table, healthfulness of the choices, calories I consume.

I'm thinking we will do a small turkey roast that comes built in with cranberry stuffing.  That way 1) I am not buying a separate cranberry dish and 2) we won't have a ton of leftovers.  For a veg, I think I will make a nice harvest salad with dried cranberries, roasted almonds, lovely veg.  And mashed potatoes, BECAUSE I SAID SO. 

I'll be making a pumpkin pie without modifications because I can splurge on one thing on Thanksgiving and that will be it.  No one will be overstuffed and uncomfortable.

I'm also starting the day with a 5K.  I'm not sure if I will be running or walking. I am going to listen to my body and do what feels right.  Right now, I'm having pain in the hamstrings, low back and calf, plus feet as always, so running seems like a really silly idea.  But that's several days away and I could end up being a ball of fire on Turkey Day.

Activity v. 2.0 will come when my friends pick me up for a night of Christmas shopping.  We are going to brave Black Friday and probably overconsume on the good old caffeine.  It sounds like we will be out most of the night and into the morning.  Raj has to work day after Thanksgiving, so he'll be taking Dev with him to work and I will be picking him up when we are done.  Should be fun.

I'm nervous about getting in so many workout minutes, but I know I can do it.  Yesterday I set a goal to do 50 push ups on my toes by the end of 2014.  This means that a good portion of my strength training for the year will be dedicated to push ups and things to move me towards that goal.  As always, my legs and core need a lot of work, so I know I can get where I need to be. 

I will probably set up a tabata style workout for myself to get the cardio in.  Plus maybe get Raj to mitt for me a bit for more boxing time. 

Either way, little by little, reaching my goals and making healthy plans.

Be well, everyone.

04 November 2013

Goals for the Work Week

So, here I am without a challenge (until Wednesday,) but I am not without goals...  Here's what I want to accomplish this week.  I'll check back in on Friday and let you know how I did.


1) Make a point to get up every single hour.  I'm going to set a reminder to this end.  I'd like to make myself a cup of tea or something that will require me to walk around for a few minutes.

2) Make sure I move at least 40 minutes per day, preferably one hour per day.

3) Keep up with the 30 Day Yoga and Planksgiving challenges. 

4) Do some strength training every day.  I've got a 50s challenge in my mind.  Something like on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I do 50 Crunches, 50 bicycles, 50 reverse crunches and on Tuesday and Thursday I do 50 butt tap squats and 50 yoga block lunges and 50 push ups (as many as possible on my toes.)

5) Track my food.  I KNOW for a fact I do better if I have to put things down on paper.

6) Finish my mittens.  I have about 1/4 of the last mitten to go.  If it was a weekend, it would be a slam dunk that I would finish it today, but I think at this point, I will be lucky to finish this week.  After that, I will be casting on mittens for little Dev.  

I'm a little sad about daylight savings time.  It means I am going to be coming home in the full dark at 5:30.  I don't like to exercise outside in the dark, so that means I will be working out in the house.  I miiiight need to pick up a Weight Watcher's active link to make sure that I am getting enough fitness minutes in.  I need to constantly be challenging myself so that I can be constantly improving myself.  I think it's really easy to kind of kid yourself about how much you are really doing.

Dev and I have been walking about a mile and a quarter to his school every day, I walk back home to grab the car and drive home.  This has been working out VERY well for us.  It puts us both in a positive mind frame for the day and it starts my day out with a little activity.  It's time to get my bum in the shower so I can walk that crazy kid to school.

Have a great week everyone!

03 November 2013

Sunday

Planksgiving is going well.  I mean, it's only 3 days in, so it's not like it is that hard at this point.

I'm feeling a little lost this morning, since our fall fitness challenge is over.  We have the Holiday Hustle starting this week, but it's not as involved.  I'm really looking forward to the 90 minute fitness classes that are upcoming.

I'm also on day 11 of doyouyoga.com's 30 Day Yoga Challenge.  You can find out more about that challenge here.  Erin is a great yoga instructor.  Some days this is a huge challenge and some days it's just a pleasure.  Either way, you've totally got 20 minutes to add more yoga into your life.  I strongly recommend it.

Sunday mornings are my favorite.  We all get up whenever we want, Raj and I sit around drinking coffee.  I usually work on some knitting.  Deven gets to watch movies or play video games.  We all tidy up the house a bit and I try to take the dog for a 4-5 mile walk.  It's a wonderful, restorative day.


Today's project is to get going on and hopefully finish knitting my mittens.  I finished my first mitten yesterday, on to the second one.  I will probably do a proper pattern review on Ravelry and will definitely post pictures of my finished mittens once I get them both done.  They are not meant to match, but coordinate and I love the look of my first finished mitten.

Yesterday's weigh in was a really good one.  I was down 2.6 lbs for a total of 11.4 pounds lost overall.  I'm a bit over what the My Fitness Pal tracker says I am, but that's because I regained EVERYTHING and I didn't want to reset everything.  In any event, I am back on a losing trend and counting points, logging food and staying active.

Last night we went to a friend's house for s'mores, a bonfire, and conversation.  I had one s'more. To be honest, I am pretty meh about the whole deal.  I think they are overly sweet.  So yeah, I am out for future s'mores.  It didn't trigger me to eat all the sugar in the world, but I think that's because I took the time to log my points about it.  They were also offering caramel apple crisp. THAT was tempting, but after the s'more, I certainly didn't need more sugar.  In any event, I think that sticking to my whole no sugar thing is the best for me.  I was much more satisfied with the conversation, watching the kids play, watching our dog play with their dogs, and warming up by the fire.

I'm going to try to post a Sunday brain dump, so that I can keep active on this blog.  I don't have a ton of readers, but I love those that I have :) 

I am happy with the place I am at right now.  I don't need to be perfect, I just need each day to be a little better than I was the day before.  To try one thing each day that's challenging.   I've been doing that and seeing great results.

Now, off to the couch for some knitting and coffee sipping.  I'll get Sunday dinner in the crockpot soon and we will all just relax and enjoy each other.  Be well, everyone.

01 November 2013

I'm Totally Doing This






Shrinking Jeans is so awesome.

So, What's Next?

Saturday is the end of the challenge I'm on.  Well, my trainer thought of that and has created a Holiday Hustle.  It requires...

1) 8 weeks commitment.
2) Minimum of 180 cardio and 120 strength minutes
3) A virtual 5K
4) an optional (but most likely to be attended by me) boxing and functional fitness class (90 minutes every Saturday AM)


I'm excited.  I am making no claims to having things figured out, but I'm doing pretty well.  Something about the combination of regular exposure to my trainer and Weight Watchers is currently resonating.

I'm not some huge Weight Watchers proponent, but  at this moment in time, I am doing well.  I'm 5 weeks in, feeling like I am doing ok.

Tracking my food and going to meetings are huge components of my success.  Next week, I have a major challenge coming up.  I'm going to Central Iowa to see my sisters.  We get down there infrequently enough that we tend to create celebrations where they shouldn't be.  We grew up in a huge food is love family and so here comes the celebration food.

I've challenged my sisters to eat healthfully when I am there, to avoid all the treats.  And I will get them out walking.  I'm also going to be bringing my boxing gear and teaching them some sparring.  Should be fun.

One of the things that I really need to do is to keep incorporating my healthy lifestyle items into celebratory times.  There's no reason that a quick trip to see the family should pull me off course the way I seem to let it do. 

Just making small changes, day by day.

31 October 2013

Stuff I Never Thought I'd Say- Volume 2

We are in the middle of a challenge.  It's a lunges challenge.

The other day, I totally did 25 more lunges per side than I needed to, because I misread the calendar.


When discussing it, I said "I don't mind lunges."  WHOA.  When did that happen?

Stuff I Never Thought I'd Say- Part one

This morning, to Deven:


"Deven, you can only wear one pair of underpants."

He was getting ready for school and was wearing both Skylanders undies and Spiderman undies.  He must have been suffering some internal conflict about which he preferred.  Alternately, he could have forgotten to take off yesterday's underpants first.

Fall Challenge, New Blog Feature and Looking Towards the Holidays

I'm towards the end of the final week of my Fall Challenge with my trainer.  It's been a good challenge, tough and eye opening.  As always, when working with Rebecca,  I learn a lot about myself, push myself to do things that I wouldn't otherwise attempt, and even if I don't lose a pound, I bring myself to a healthier place overall.

This challenge I learned the following things about myself.

  • I can't handle sugar.  I just cant.  I can go forever without eating sugar, but as soon as I have it I need to eat all the sugar in the world.
  • I can totally handle a longer wall-sit than I feel like I can.  This challenge, I went from an all time longest wall-sit of 2:38 to a 4:11  wall-sit.
  • I have more mental toughness than I give myself credit for.  I did 2 10ks without the fitness to run them.  Granted, they both sucked the joy out of my life, but I am proud of this. 
I'm going to be adding a new blog feature later today.  It's "Stuff I Never Thought I Would Say"  Mostly dedicated to my son, but sometimes my dog or my occasionally strange husband.

Looking towards the holidays, I have some minor goals.  I want to leave this year lighter than I started it.  Currently I am about 6 lbs lighter than I was on 1 January 2013.  I want to keep losing, building strength and creating pride in myself.  I don't have some big, sweeping goal, but I want to do strength training of some kind 3 times per week, do yoga nearly daily and be diligent with walking the dog.  I'm taking a break from running, as I don't want to injure myself and sidetrack things. That being said, it's so good for the dog to run, so I might start couch to 5k again from the beginning.  Let's be honest, guys.  I don't particularly like to run, so I should probably get fit another way.

Stay tuned.  Later today, I will be in with a post or 4 of things that I never thought I'd hear myself saying. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

17 October 2013

Doing Ok

Last Sunday, I did my second 10K and my last for a time.  My time was around the same and with the adjustments I made, I ran relatively pain free.  I'm just too slow for such a competitive race.  I left the course feeling like a failure, fat, slow, unappreciated.  Some of this was my own insecurities, but some was race organization.

I'm not ever going to be the thinnest runner on the course, but at this point in my life, I'm usually the fattest (in the 10K zone).  I've got arthritis in my ankle and also in my spine and that adds some discomfort to my runs.   My toes are too close together, so they rub in my shoes, no matter how lose the toe is.  And I'm slow.  I'm actually QUITE slow.  This is fine with me, because I'm not out to win, but it doesn't feel nice to cross the finish line when only 2 volunteers are there cheering.

So anyway.  I've been back on Weight Watchers for about 3 weeks.  Looking forward to Saturday's weigh in to see if I crossed the 10 lbs lost range.  Whether I did or didn't, I've been giving it my best effort and am not thinking of veering off course. 

Some people get 7 year itch with their plans.  I get 3 week itch.  I've been trying to articulate a plan that will work for me for a few weeks now.  Here's what I've come up with so far.

1) Fall Challenge Weekly goals.  - I NEED to spend more time doing yoga.  My goal for next week is to spend at least 10 minutes a day doing yoga.  EVERY day.  Preferably more time than that spent.

2) Strength Training.  I avoid this when it's not part of a specific challenge.  I'm not pleased with this.  To this end, On Sunday, I will start 30 Day Shred.  I'm also running only 3 days per week.

3) Weight Watchers goals.  My goal is to leave at least 1 extra point every week. So far, I've been doing it and so far, I am averaging about 3.7 lbs lost.  I know this speed can't keep up, but maybe I can keep a slow, steady downhill.

4) Move more- It's knitting season. My knitting is ramping up, which is AWESOME, but I also need to be making sure that I am getting up at least 5 minutes of every hour.   It's just not a good idea to be sitting still for 3 hours, no matter how captivating my knitting is.

5) Stair Climb.  The Stair Climb is just 5 months away.  I better start running my stairs.  I'm thinking I will just start running the stairs in my house for 5 minutes of every hour.  It's not much, but it's better than nothing.  Maybe one day per week, I will just run up and down them for 20 full minutes.

I'm not expecting great, huge changes.   I just want to be a little better every day.

03 October 2013

Last Sunday

Last Sunday, I ran the first of 2 10ks this season.  I've trained the distance several times, so I was unprepared for the pain I had. 


This course was HILLY.  REALLY HILLY.  I've always struggled with back pain, particularly when running, but by mile one, it was really cranking up.  I just took some extra walking breaks and soldiered on.  By mile two, my toes were really hurting.  I just kept on keeping on.

By mile three, I could think of nothing but the pain.  Nothing to do but go forward, as now it's as far to get back to the start as it is to finish.

Mile 4.  We stopped to take a selfie.  More than halfway there.  This run is torture, you all.

Mile 5... Everything hurts, but maybe we can do this.

Mile 6. AGONY.  I can't breathe either.  Exercise asthma FTW.

Jogged in the last .2 and OMG SO HAPPY WE ARE DONE.  It took forever. 1:28:08.  Slow but finished and that was my goal.

We weren't dead last, but we weren't far from it.  I have one 10k to go.  Right now, I feel like it will be my last, but never say never.

Doing well on Weight Watchers.  Feeling pretty good.  I don't want to get too optimistic, because I can stay on any diet for about 3 weeks.  I just need to stick with this. It's not EASY, but it's easier than other plans. 

25 September 2013

Weight Watchers

Well, I've been thinking about it for months, but I joined Weight Watchers yesterday.  I'm really curious to see what's changed between my last go-round and now.

I've got a good friend doing it and she's lost a lot of weight and not gonna lie, my bitter heart was jealous.  So after rolling it over in my head for a few weeks, I went ahead and joined.    My first meeting isn't until this weekend, but I am on plan as of now. 

Maybe standing on a scale in front of someone will give me the accountability I need.  I'm really hoping that I can get my nutrition in step with my exercise and just move slowly downward.  I don't need big, flashy results.  I just need to be a little better today than I was yesterday.

Sunday is my first 10k.  I'm nervous about it.  I know I can move the distance but I'm a big girl and I am likely to be the biggest person signed up for the 10k distance.

I've got this, anyway. 


11 September 2013

A New Approach

For the past 25 years or so, my diet approach has been 'Lose the weight as quickly as possible by restricting this or that or the other thing"

Well, that's frustrating because eventually you want one of the forbidden items.  and then the floodgates.

So, I changed my goals.  My goals now are to move SOMEHOW every day for at least 40 minutes, to do at least one strength training item per day and to eat about 2,000 calories per day.  If I run/walk for over an hour, I add a few more calories in.  I can usually make room for an indulgence or two every day.

It's not perfect, but it works for me.

I'm feeling happier and more comfortable with where I am.  Just watching now, to see if this is the honeymoon phase.  I hope not.

07 September 2013

My week

So this week kicked off with a bang and a whimper. The bang was a shitload of jumping jacks. Like really really a lot of jumping jacks. Sunday was 300 and everyday added or stayed the same. Today's was 800. The whimper was me whining about the jacks.

The next bang was me committing to three six-mile runs this week. The whimper came from my poor, sad, blistered toes.  For some reason I decided that I needed to do that distance for the first time  three times. But I said it. And so I did it. Sunday morning crazy Conner and I went out and knocked that out. Slowly. I'm not a fast runner y'all. I planned to knock it out consecutive but Monday was a big no can do. I went for a four mile walk instead with friends Becky and Cooper. We had a lovely time taking notice of the day. Tuesday was OMG first day of kindergarten so sad old mom took the day off and ran with my friend Sara. She had no schedule or agenda and was just there for me. It was perfect. Six miles and one to go.  Wednesday was guilt day but more on that later. Thursday after work was my day. Hydrated all day and home long enough to put on my sports bra and my sneakers. I start off slowly and stay that way but meander my way around the neighborhood ticking off miles little by little. It was a pleasure although some of the actual miles felt rough. By the end of mile six my aforementioned blistered toes were voting to secede from their union with my body. But I did it. Goal met. Five points for me!

Guilt day. Dev had a fever. Dev had a cough. We treated symptoms but didn't really worry because he was acting fine. Not remotely like a sick person. Saturday morning we all did Color Me Rad. We get home. Whoa. Biiig fever. Give my little busy some Motrin and on with our day. Not acting sick. Sunday sick off and on. Monday same. Tuesday no fever so off to kindergarten we go. Mention to the teacher that he's not feeling perfect. Get a call from the nurse that he was in but not acting sick so she sent him back to class. We pick him up and take him to urgent care. Oh, have we met? Worst mom ever. My kid has pneumonia. Ten seconds after his first dose of his antibiotics and he's so much better.
I'm going to feel better about this in about a dozen years.

Moving into next week. My goal for this week is active recovery. Run our walk with Conner six days. Happy mom, happy dog.

Keep moving forward everyone.

01 September 2013

Trying out blogger for the tablet, Weekly and Monthly goals +Challenge

My laptop had been functioning just fine until Thursday when it wouldn't boot. It hasn't booted since. My husband's computer is usually occupied by him, so my screen time is vastly diminished. This is a good thing as my first 10k is in less than a month. I've been struggling with my runs lately, so I devised a new plan. At least twice this week, I will go out and cover at least six miles on my feet. On off days I will work on my legs and back and core.
I've downloaded a Tabata timer and set it for 12 intervals of 5 minutes running/one minute walking. It is my hope that this will allow me to get the six miles under my belt. If I can keep this up I should be ready for the 10k by the end of the month.
Because I'm posting this blog from my tablet I can use voice recognition to type. This is super cool. The only thing is I don't always speak clearly enough and sometimes voice recognition thinks I said something kinda weird. I mean, I usually am saying something weird but not the way it thinks.
I met and exceeded my  goal to run 40 miles in the month of August. I'm really really proud of this. It was in no way easy for me but what it did was prove to myself that I'm far stronger than I think.
For the month of September it is my intention to continue the training program by running three days per week, to track my food every single day even when I don't want to, do at least 15 minutes of yoga focusing primarily on my back my legs and my hips, and to stay within my calorie range at least 5 days per week.
I'm in a fall challenge with my trainer so I will have lots of other goals to me throughout the month too. I'm looking forward to this new challenge and I'm feeling pretty good about myself despite the fact that I still haven't lost any weight. I met with my trainer at the end of last week and had a fat caliper test. I've lost inches just about everywhere and I have definitely lost fat everywhere. Seeing that has made it far less painful that I have actually gained 4 pounds since I started working with her at the beginning of the year.
The fall challenge requires me to make a weekly goal. For me this weeks goal is to do three six mile interval run walks.
I'm still really struggling with my food but I feel like I'm stronger and better. I know that if I keep staying the course I will eventually reach my goals. I just need to get my food in line.  This challenge should help me with that.
Be well, everyone. I hope you're also also moving towards making yourselves proud and meeting your goals.

27 August 2013

Struggle, Always Struggle

I've been a giant ball of stress.  My in-laws came for a visit.  Now, don't get me wrong, they are lovely people, but they live in a museum, practically and I, well, don't.  Not even close.

So I took Wednesday off from work and frantically deep-cleaned my house.  My husband took Thursday off from work and helped me do more scrubbing.  They arrived Friday AM and my house was preeeetty much as clean as I'd want it to be.  But there were still things.  Like I have worn out cookware.  It took my mother-in-law 2.3 seconds to mention this. It will be about 7 years before new cookware makes it anywhere in our budget.  We have muuuuch bigger priorities.  What we have is adequate, at least until we've replaced our terrible truck and possibly moved into a house with a fence for my puppy.

We're from different cultures, my in-laws and me.  A lot of the things they expect as normal would NEVER EVER happen in my central Iowa upbringing.  Many things come off as downright rude.  So I spent the better part of 4 days stress eating, rage suppressing, biting my tongue.  For example, my father-in-law called me from the kitchen, where I was cooking dinner, to tell me to refill his glass and to grab a refill for my husband, too.

I tried to focus this stressed out energy on my runs, but for the past 3 runs, I couldn't find my groove.  I just got new kicks and I'm not sure if they are causing problems or if I am causing problems for myself.  I plan to scale back my runs to 10-1-10-1-10-1-10 starting tonight and see if that sorts that.  It's calf pain I am having, so I don't know if that can be attributed to my shoes or no.  I KNOW it means I need to do more yoga, but here I sit, on my arse, blogging about yoga instead of doing it.  FAIL.  I keep trying to just stretch it out.  I really need to.  I am better than wearing out at 8 minutes in.  I'm a strong girl.  I've got this.

Anyway, I am giving the shoes the side-eye.  I've got a couple more weeks of test runs before I am stuck with them, so we shall see...

We are at right about a month before my first 10k EVER.  YES I CAN.

17 August 2013

My week.

Stuff I did this week.

Bootcamp, twice.  I really enjoyed it, too.  I needed a good run with bootcamps, because last week, I was ready to quit.  I was doing whole thirty and I would run completely out of energy before it was over.  There were a lot of factors at play here, but I think not having any non-fruit carbs was really kicking my butt.  I brought some Ezekiel bread back in and I've now got enough energy to make it through about 90 minutes of strenuous exercise.

3 training runs.  Sunday morning's run was ok, I really struggled on Wednesday- had to keep talking myself through it until I finished and today's run was an absolute dream.  I loved every second.  One of my BFFs met me for the last half-mile or so and it was such a joy to see her pretty face and hear her ramp it up beside me.  I've come a long way.  I can now run and talk a little at the same time.  It used to be that I needed to spend ALL of my attention on watching my breathing.  I'm really starting to think I can run these 10Ks.  Total mileage for the week was 13.11.  That's 3 3.5 mile runs and a shorty before bootcamp on Tuesday.

Not knit.  I've got projects on deck, really I do, but I keep turning my head away from them.  They are pretty much all straight knitting and that's so damned boring that I just want to do something else.  I need to stop, because I can't pick up something more interesting until I have these things off the needles. BECAUSE I SAY SO.

Ran a webinar.  At work, I've taken over running our team's weekly webinar.  I get a good amount of stage fright, but I am getting more confident week by week.  I'm starting to get to a place where I believe I can be good at it.  That's a good place to be.

Boxing class.  I LOVE TO BOX.  REALLY REALLY.  Something about boxing class makes me feel like all is well in the world for at least 3 hours after.  A friend I haven't seen for too long came to class today for the first time and she seemed to enjoy it.  This makes me happy.  Everyone should hit some stuff once a week.  It's good for the soul.

Counted calories- Even when it was inconvenient.  I may not lose weight this week.  I really can't be arsed to care too much.  But if I don't, it won't be because I didn't make myself accountable. 

All in all, I am really great with where I am.  I had an epiphany today.   I honestly don't care if I stay this weight forever, so long as this body will allow me to do the things I want to do.  I want to fuel it with healthy foods, do a better job of getting enough sleep and keep pushing myself to be better, faster, and stronger.  I am not defined by what the scale says.  Do I wish I looked better? Sure.  I think we all have that voice in our heads telling us to feel a certain way about ourselves.  But I am taking myself back from that voice.  I may not always feel this way, but today I do.  And I would like to feel this way tomorrow.  And that's a really, really great start.

So, how the heck are you?

14 August 2013

I signed up to do what?

Last night, I went on a race registration spree.

I have 5 events coming up and am now registered for 4 of them.

The first, Color Me Rad, will be walked with Raj and Deven.  I did this race last year and it was FUN FUN FUN!  I can't wait to get all messy!  That's August 31.

Coming up after my fellow Warriors and I will Run Back to the 80s on September 17.  We are planning on dressing like 80s TV show.  I'm thinking of Mama from Mama's family or maybe something from Facts of Life.

Coming up right after that is probably the one I am most scared of.  On September 29, I am going to run the Zoo Run Run 10k. This will be my longest ever race.  I'm nervous but I've got this.  YES I CAN.

After that, I registered for Gilda's Run 10k to benefit Gilda's Club on October 13- supporting people with cancer.

I am also doing a 12 mile moonlit walk at some point in October.  I might also add the haunted hustle and a Thanksgiving run (or 2) but for now, this is what I'm up to!

My weight isn't changing.  I'm still gaining and losing the same 5 lbs.  I need to just stay the course, track my food and try not to eat more than 1/2 of my exercise calories.  I've got this.  I know what to do, I just have to do it.

07 August 2013

Shrinking Jeans Summer Blowout Weightloss Challenge


I need a boost.  I decided to join The Shrinking Jeans Summer Blowout Weightloss Challenge.  I'm going to stay the course with my calorie counting, clean eating, 40 miles run for the month of August, 30 minutes of yoga per day and twice a week bootcamp and once per week boxing.

I'm proud of my fitness, but my weight continues to be higher than I'd like it and higher than it has been at various points of this year.  I'm disappointed to report that I am only one pound less than I was on 1/1/2013.  It's time for me to continue putting in the work.  Here's what I learned doesn't work for me.  MODERATION.  If I open the door, I open the floodgates and my self control goes out the window.  I need to just use my common sense, make better decisions and keep working hard.  You don't lose weight in the gym, you lose it in the kitchen.

My trainer will be doing fall and holiday fitness challenges.  I will definitely be in it with her, as my fitness has grown by leaps and bounds.  If I could get my food dialed in, I would seriously be all set.

I accidentally agreed to run a 10K in September and another in October, so I am working hard to get ready for that.  This week's training runs are 4 10-minute runs with a one minute walk break between each run.  Next week, it's 3 15-minute runs. I'm a little scared of it, but I'm tough, I've got this.  Prepare yourself for weeks of whining about too much running, which is probably better than weeks of silence I've been giving this blog lately.

So, how are you all? What are you doing to make your life a more positive place?



18 June 2013

What I've Been Up To

True to form, If I am not posting around here, I'm probably offtrack.  Lame.

I need to keep myself more accountable.  I've been eating poorly, but exercising well.  As a result of my eating poorly, I've put back all of the weight I lost this year.  It's not over for me, though.  I am doing a 2 times per week bootcamp now, boxing on Saturday and training runs M, W, and F.  I think the more frequent nature of meeting with my trainer coupled with my basic competitive nature, I should be able to drag myself back on track and into eating correctly.

Starting my day with exercise does help me to eat more correctly.  I am counting calories again, watching my sugar and trying to plan my food days.

Other things I've been up to.  My family and I went to New York City and really enjoyed ourselves.  We packed a lot of sightseeing in just a couple of days.  We spent a lot of time walking.  Frequently our walks had Deven on shoulders because a little kid has a hard time keeping up with 6 adults.

I've been enjoying work.  No problems there.

I've been knitting.  I recently knit an octopus- (pattern from Purl Soho).  I loved knitting that and am kind of sad it's cast off.  It's going to get its own post here in the future. 

On Friday night, I participated in Relay for Life.  It's very high on the top 10 most powerful events I've ever completed.  I spent about 6.5 hours on the course.  I would have spent longer, but unfortunately, rain and lightening kept us off for the last 2 hours.  It showed me that I do have the stuff to participate in a half marathon or full marathon, but if I am going to do that, I'd like to run it.  So for now, I'm trying to work my way up to 10K by the end of the summer.

I'm glad to be back here, blogging and being accountable.  I'll try to check in a couple of times per week.

Be well, everyone.

09 May 2013

Bingetastic

My workouts have been very good. My food, not so much.

Time to get back in order.

I'm going to drop my available calories and make myself earn more food with exercise. But I am not going to be dropping calories by much.

Next week, I will record my honest weight regardless of the result, but it's going to hurt.

I'm happy with where I am. I just need to re-clean my diet.  To much dining out. Too many cheat days.

I've got this.


09 April 2013

Playtex Secrets- A product review

I'm a bzz agent.  This means that I am perodically given free or reduced cost products to try and give my honest opinions about. Sometimes that opinion is negative. Sometimes it's positive.  I always try to give a well thought out review of each campaign I am part of.



Recently, I was given the opportunity to join the Playtex Secrets campaign.  It's a a new kind of bra.  I am constantly struggling with my bras.  I spend far, far to much time pulling on my bras, adjusting, etc.  I've got an entire drawer full of very expensive bras and none that I am happy to wear.

I was skeptical about getting a bra in the mail just giving my band and cup size, but figured I wasn't out anything as this campaign was offering a bra at no cost to me.

A few days later, my bzzkit arrived with my new bra.  I was so excited I ran off to put it on right away.

So comfortable.  It's not perfect, but it's good.  It doesn't pull up, it doesn't pinch, the underwire doesn't poke.  It is true to size, feels great and has fast become my favorite bra. 

It has successfully made it through 4 washes (I was waiting to get it through a couple of washes before I posted this review).  It's not less comfortable or less supportive following a laundering. 

It's a cute bra, pretty full coverage. Some might think of it as a downside.  It's not sexy, but it leaves a nice silhouette under clothes.

 I've got several coupons for money off a Playtex Secrets bra.  I don't WANT to share these coupons, because I am a greedy git and I like this bra but I would be WILLING to share a coupon or two (or even three) for $5 off of a Playtex Secrets bra from Kohls.  Just leave a comment with an email address and I will contact you off the blog for a mailing address.










02 April 2013

Awakening

I love Spring.  I love those first crisp days when you aren't sure if you should wear a jacket or a coat.  My desire for outdoor fitness is high, so I put the Gentle Leader on crazy Conner and put on my running shoes and head out the door. 

The world is still mostly painted in graytone.  Grass is gray, dirty snow melting into rotten puddles on lawns.  Many sidewalks are damaged from winter's aggression.  There is a crunch underfoot from sand, no longer needed, but yet to wash away. 

My app tells me it's time to start running.  I quicken my pace slightly and urge the dog to a jog.  We run along, turning up a steep hill in a neighborhood street.  I notice the trees are starting to bud.  I smile, remembering how gorgeous this stretch of land is in the summer.  My app tells me it is time to walk.  I slow my pace and look at the ground below.  Little patches of grass are starting to turn green.  I smile again, I love watching the world wake up.  My app tells me to run again.  This run is longer.  As I go, I focus on my breathing. One, two, three, four in and one, two, three, four out.  I'm getting more tired.  This is the part where I start to think about giving up.  I remind myself that I am no quitter.  I pick up my knees a little higher, push a little harder.  The run gets less tiresome.  I have renewed energy.  The app tells me it is time to walk.  I slow my pace and praise the dog.  We decide where we want to go next.  The app tells me it is time to run again.  It's going well.  I am lost in noticing the earth's awakening. It occurs to me that I am having my own awakening. 

This past few months, I've realized that I am strong, way tougher than I give myself credit for.  I can keep up in a very challenging workout.  I'm not elite, but I am trying.  I don't quit.  I keep running at a challenge until I finish it.  The app tells me it is time to walk again.  We slow our pace and notice the world.  I'm grateful for these minutes, where it is just me and my dog vs. my desire to succeed and my obesity.  I'm getting stronger every run, every workout.

It's time to run again.  I am tired when this run starts.  Normally, I'd want to quit.  I won't be quitting.  The dog starts to pull in pursuit of another dog.  I tell him to stop.  We watch where that dog goes and turn the opposite way.  I don't want to spend the last few minutes of this workout being pulled.  I am in charge of me, of this time.  I push myself.  Very tired.  Pick up feet a little higher, count my breaths again, one, two, three, four in and one, two, three, four out.  Focus on one thing so you can't focus on the smaller things.  I'm not really that tired.  One, two, three, four in and one, two, three, four out.  And it's time to walk and cool down.

The athlete in me is awakening with spring.  I am inspired.  I can't wait to see how far I can go.

Be well, everyone.

25 March 2013

Friend Makin’ Mondays: Ten Questions


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If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
 Ten Questions
1. Describe the kind of home you would live in if money were no object. I want a home with 2 or three fire places, gourmet kitchen, master suite, a jack and jill bathroom between Deven's room  and guest room and preferably an indoor gym and fitness center.  And a big back yard, fully fenced in for the dog and my little guy to be able to run and play. Brick house, by the way.  And I'd need it to be on jogging and running friendly streets. I don't want much in this world.
2. Are you more conservative in your actions or more rebellious? I have a really rebellious mouth, but overall, my social anxiety doesn't allow me to to go over the top much.
3. Would you go to Mars even if it meant you could never return to Earth?  No.  My family is everything to me.  I can't imagine a life without them.
4. Name one song that makes you want to dance every time you hear it. Hahahaaha, nothing that makes me dance, but it is NOT possible for me not to sing along with Bon Jovi's Livin on a Prayer.
5. Share one thing that you wish you could go back and do differently in your life.  I don't regret my experiences in this life because all of them have shaped the person I've become.  That being said, I really could have done without the life experience of marrying my first husband.  He was a jerk.
6. Share at least one accomplishment that people wouldn't expect you to be proud of.  My fitness level has improved an amazing amount in the past 3 months.  I can't wait to see what the next three months bring.
7. Describe one delicious thing that you've eaten lately.   Ooooh, I am loving a nice salad with pumpkin seed oil.  Who needs salad dressing?
8. If you had a theme song that would play every time you entered a room, which song would you choose? Roof with a Hole by Meat Puppets.  I don't know why.  I love that song.  It doesn't define me, but it makes me feel happy for some reason.
9. Had technology enhanced your life, or has it over complicated your life? The internet brought me my husband. Which, by extension, brought me my son. So enhanced. 
10. If you could get paid to do any job, which job would you choose?  Knitter and coffee taster. WHICH ARE ACTUAL PROFESSIONS.

Now it's your turn to answer this week's questions!  Don't forget to come back and link up in the comments.  Happy Monday, friends!!!!

24 March 2013

Fight for Air and Progress report.

It's been a bit since I checked in here.  I've been doing great on plan.  I've been eating clean, working out dirty.  I took it down a notch over the past week because I had a major event on Saturday.  The American Lung Association Fight for Air.

I got up a little later than usual and fixed a huge breakfast.  (Hash browns, a slice of Ezekiel bread and an egg) and soaked in epsom salts.  I got my warrior gear on and Raj snapped a quick picture.
I thought the shot was cute enough to warrant sharing here.  It's not particularly often that I am pleased with a picture of me.  My hard work is really starting to show.  I've lost 20 lbs, but I LOOK like I have lost more like 30. 



My family and I finished getting our gear around and headed to Milwaukee for the big climb.  It was about a 90 minute drive over, so I had plenty of time to stoke the fires of my nervousness.  I saw it in the horizon as we approached downtown Milwaukee. At 12:25, I was to go to the top of this building.
 Approaching it, I swallowed hard.  47 flights is kind of an abstract idea until you are standing at the bottom of it.  My stomach, already fluttery with nerves consistent with doing an activity for the first time dropped.  I thought I was going to be sick.  This is what I saw as I approached the building. 
I was beyond nervous.  Thanks to GIS for theses pictures.  I was far to keyed up to think about grabbing pictures on my own. It was cold and I very cleverly didn't bring a heavier coat.  I wasn't sure that I was strong enough to climb these 47 flights of stairs. 1034 steps into the sky.

I mean, who does that?  Apparently LOTS of people.  When we got there, the place was PACKED and it was chaos.  It was a huge event.  There were probably 20 people to a wave and we were in wave 55.  We weren't the last wave.  Firemen were racing to the top in full gear in a separate stairwell.  I'm really impressed at the athleticism of those ladies and gentlemen.

We came in, got settled and I did some people watching while I worked on calming my nerves.  My team arrived and we grouped up.  Raj and Deven retreated to a cafe to chill and watch Avengers.  I wasn't going to be terribly long.  I had about 30 minutes until wave time and everyone told me that given the tough workouts our trainer puts on, I will be fine.  I've got my doubts. Sara and Kelly, ladies I met in January when we starting working out together, start helping me with a strategy- Sara offers to pace with me.  I don't want her to do that because I am afraid of holding her back. I want her to have her shot at PR. I've decided to go on my own. Kelly also offers.  I say that I am not sure what I will need because I've never done anything like that before. 

We go down and warm up.  We worry over our trainer who has been extremely ill with food poisoning.  I'm not convinced she should go.  She's stubborn. We put our timing chips on and head down to the very bottom of the building.

It was really cool. There were lines of people giving fives and cheering us on.   They have actual cheerleaders.  They document your number and send people up in about 5 second intervals.  I start climbing too fast.  Too soon, I am on the 5th floor and completely out of breath.  There's no flippin way I am going to make it. I take the first water stop.  I'm breathing hard.  I catch my breath a bit and start back up.  Kelly, who had stopped to use the restroom before climbing, catches up to me.  We fall into a comfortable (ish) pace together.   We stop when we need to, for just a few seconds, to catch our breath and climb again.  We mark off when we are a third of the way, more than half way, two thirds away.  Kelly tells me that the last few flights are short.  I'm looking forward to those.  Pretty soon, we can start to hear cheering at the top.  43 flights up.  We stop for the last time to catch our breath.  We decide that it's time and UP WE GO.  It's so hard but we definitely have this.  We are going to do it.  I have no idea how much time has passed, but it's almost over.  Then we are at the top and the cheering is for us.  A finisher's medal is draped around our necks. I don't know when I have ever been more proud of myself after an athletic endeavor. I don't want to share Kelly's picture here, because I didn't ask  her permission, but the next few shots are of me, tired but victorious.  Plus that gorgeous view, earned by a hard climb from sub- ground to the top.

I didn't take that medal off until I got home and ready for a shower.  I've never pushed myself quite so far out of my comfort zone.  Life is good.  A quick check in with the results table and I have my finish time.  18:33.  I climbed 1034 stairs in 18 minutes and 33 seconds.  So much faster than a 5K, yet somehow, so much HARDER.

And my trainer?  I am in AWE of her.  She was really struggling, very sick, but she persevered and made it  to the top.  I sincerely hope she's resting today because no one has ever earned a rest more than her.  I'm glad she's leading me to fitness because she's an amazing example.  I'm so proud to be a Mojo Warrior.
.

12 March 2013

Tuesday

Today is Tuesday, my workout day.  I work out most other days, too.  But on Tuesday we work extra hard because that's group training.

Today is a repeat of a earlier workout.  I am excited to see how many more times we get through Ms. Cindy (5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 weighted squats)  than we did before.

I think the scale is up.  I am trying really hard to be ok with this.  My trainer bumped up my calories and I've felt hungry ever since.


Also at tonight's workout, we have boxing.  My fav.  I will be sure to get some aggressions out.    I've been neglecting this blog.  I almost feel like I post over here when I am flailing around failing.  In any event, I am doing well, am happy to be working out and waiting for the weather to turn around.  I reallllly want to start running so I can register for a 10K.  I know I can.

11 March 2013

Friend Makin' Monday - Food Questions

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If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: http://www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
Food Questions
1. What did you eat for dinner last night? Homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese
2. If you could make one food calorie-free for the next year, What would you choose? Hmmm.  I dunno.  Almonds.
3. How often do you go to the grocery store? We usually go once per week, but have to hit multiple different stores.
4. Do you make a list before buying groceries? I try to, but I don't really stick with it.
5. List three things that can always be found in your kitchen. Milk, Ezekiel bread and nut butters.
6. How often do you clean out your fridge? I spot clean frequently and take everything out and wash it down about quarterly..
7. Do you ever use a slow cooker? If so, will you share a recipe? Very rarely.
8. How often do you try new recipes? Lately, I've been making a new recipe every week or so.  This past weekend, I made 3 new recipes.
9. What is the most delicious meal(s) you make? The Fit Cook's Skinny Masitas de Puerco.  YUM.
10. Share at least one thing that is currently in your kitchen even though you don't like it. Ketchup.  I hate it.  My family loves it.

Now it's your turn to answer this week's questions!  Don't forget to come back and link up in the comments.  Happy Monday, friends!

06 March 2013

I'm doing so well

I haven't had a lot to say on this blog, mainly because I have been so busy living life.

I've been very consistent on my program.  On track nearly nonstop since January.  I'm down almost 17 lbs (sadly, this is most of my holiday gain, I still have some to go). 

Eating clean is working for me.  Like REALLY working.  I don't have tons of cravings.  I can give in to a very small craving, a taste is adequate and I move on. 

Going back to meat seems to be the right choice for me.  I've been very steady, eating clean, exercising plenty, loving my program.


19 February 2013

My challenge

I am absolutely loving this challenge.  I'm down a good amount of weight, I'm stronger.  I am doing actual strength training.

I'm eating meat again, but have started the process of moving my family to organic meats.

We get our eggs from a farm when we can't get them from my mom.

I'm really looking forward to summer, where the Farmer's Market offers excellent produce.  We will be attempting to go with recipes and buy most of our groceries from the Farmer's Market.

I'm a little stiff and sore today.  We are doing squataday.  Yesterday's squats was 100. Today it's 100 again. Tomorrow is a little back off, only 50 squats.

Tonight is group training. Can't wait!  It's boxing + some kind of beating- usually very intense.

It's good for me to work hard. 

Right now, I am looking forward to March 20.   I get the straightened hair cut off and go back to curly.  I hate transitional hair.


12 February 2013

Woot

I'm totally wearing pants that didn't fit before.

Finally making progress, not wanting to derail myself. 


This is good.

10 February 2013

Busy times

I've really been diving into my challenge, which is leaving me with little energy for blogging.

I've done 340 cardio minutes this week, plus a good amount of strength, some really excellent stretching and I've eaten very healthfully.

I've got to make sure I change things, because I'm not a vegetarian anymore.  I'm just a girl that eats meat but not so often.

Today is my rest day.  It's a lovely, restorative thing.  I've gone to yoga, but otherwise, I've been relaxing and enjoying my day.

Tomorrow it's back at it.  I owe 50 minutes of cardio 6 days per week. 3 days of strength.  At least 4 days of yoga and 7 days of squats (we are also doing a squatathon.)

I'm super happy right now.  Disappointed with the slow movement of the scale, but delighted with my life nonetheless.

Be well.

29 January 2013

No Excuses Here

I haven't had a lot to say lately, but I have been up to a bunch.

For starters, I have been more or less on track/in control since 1/2. This includes eating much less sugar, no added sugar, no fake sweetners, reducing the amount of fruit I am eating, etc.

I've also been eating pretty much exclusively whole foods.  For example- today's foods are

Breakfast
Old fashioned Quaker Oatmeal with 6 strawberries and a tablespoon of raw almond butter
coffee with 1% milk.

Lunch
Salad with red peppers and garbanzo beans
Thousand Island Dressing (not clean, but I am not a wasteful person, so I am using it up)

Dinner
2 slices of cinnamon raisin ezekiel bread with  2 tbsp natural peanut butter

Snacks
Hummus with veggies and a whole wheat pita (snack 1)
1/2 grapefruit with a string cheese (snack 2)

This is enough food to keep me quite full and satisfied and craving almost nothing. 


I've also been working out.  Real workouts with strength training.  That's new stuff for me!  I have one structured group workout with my besties per week, plus try for yoga on Sunday afternoon and try to fit in 5 cardio workouts per week plus two additional strength training workouts.

Some other changes.  I've been eating meat again.  The transition to clean left me craving meat left and right, and feeling kind of weak and HUNGRY.  I added a little bit of meat here and there (maybe 2x per week) and all of a sudden, I am feeling better, more satisfied.

I don't know that this is perfect eating, or perfect living, but it feels good, man.  I like it and I am not going to change it until it stops feeling good.

How are you?  Have you made any big changes?

15 January 2013

It's been a hard 4 days.

I haven't been able to follow my challenge really at all.

First, my son got the flu.  Very snuggly and clingy, he passed the flu on to me in short order.  On Friday night, I left my house for the first time in about 36 hours and got my haircut.  Shortly after getting home from my haircut, I started coughing.  That stinks.

I coughed throughout the night. I woke up feeling like I was hit by a truck.  By noon, I was running a very small fever.  My appetite tanked.  I had enough energy to move from couch to kitchen, refill my water glass and back to the couch.  The cough gets worse. The congestion really sets in.  I'm sick as a dog at this point.  I sleep fitfully and rest.  Sunday morning, I wake up, burning fever, 102.5.  I can hardly breathe.  The simplest movement exhausts me.  I struggle through the day.

Monday, I wake up with a fever of 103.5.  I make an appointment at my doctor's office.  The verdict? unsurprising. Influenza.   The swab to test for influenza is very unpleasant.  It goes up your nose and down the back of your throat.  It burns some.  It will clear that portion of your nose, you know?  Gross.

I finished the day with a fever of 100.5, snuggled up in bed dosed up heavily with Nyquil.  I waited too long to go to the doctor, so it wasn't worth it for me to get Tamiflu.  I decided to be swabbed because Raj hasn't gotten sick.  If I have a positive flu test, if Raj gets sick, he just needs to call our doctor and she will prescribe Tamiflu for Raj to hopefully minimize his symptoms and duration.

I woke up this morning with a very small fever.  Just 99.6.  I took some NyQuil.  and now I am feeling pretty decent.  Tired, have a bad cold, but pretty healthy.  It's good to be back(ish)

07 January 2013

Friend Makin' Mondays: Simple Questions




fmm
If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Simple Questions
1. Outside my window I see...our pine trees, some street lights, the neighbors' houses and a ton of snow
2. My kitchen counters are...in desperate need of replacement
3. Yesterday I drank...lots of water and coffee.
4. My cell phone is..a Droid Razr.
5. My computer is...getting old.
6. My favorite reality show is...Top Chef.
7. My workouts are...tough for me.  But I'm doing them.
8. The last book I read is...a book I've read many times.  The Namesake
9. My week will be....challenging. It's my first week of clean eating.
10.  So far 2013 has been...a good year.  I've made some goals, and I'm working toward them.  More on that later. (I didn't change Kenlie's answer because it works well with my answer)

Now it's your turn to answer this week's questions.  Don't forget to come back and link up in the comments!  Happy Monday, friends!

03 January 2013

Day 2

Yesterday's promises were all kept.  The planks by the skin of my teeth.

Today's promises are

  • To do my planks.  Two 1 minute thirty planks
  • to run the stairs 30 times up and down
  • spend 15 minutes organizing Deven's art supplies.
  • 20 minutes of Zumba this morning (already done)
  • to eat as best I can.  (We are having a work catered lunch)
  • to spend some individual time playing board games with Deven.
I am feeling tired today.  It was hard to get up for Zumba.  But I did it. 

02 January 2013

Promise Keeper

This morning I got up, did 20 minutes of Zumba and did my plank (one minute, thirty seconds this morning).  I made a healthy lunch, packed 64 oz of flavor infused water and drank my coffee.  I made my favorite breakfast and did some laundry.

I feel like this is a really solid way to start the work week.  I'm excited about this positive start to my day.  I've got my outfit for work planned in my head and I feel so cute just thinking about it.

A black skirt and black tights, a purple argyle cardigan with a white tank underneath and my new knee high boots. 

I'm taking care of me.  Keeping promises to myself.  Doing things that make me feel good. 

Tonight after work I promise

  • To do one more plank.
  • To run the stairs in my house at least 30 times up and down. (ten times at a go)
  • To clean in the kitchen for 15 minutes (I will set a timer)
  • To take the time to apply lotion before bed so I wake up with soft feeling and good smelling skin.
  • To fold the laundry.
  • To play one board game with Deven.
  • To knit at least 4 rows on Raj's socks.
This is all small stuff.  It's all BIG stuff.  Because little movements amount to big change.   I'm waiting to see what my trainer has in the works for us on Sunday, but I am not waiting for her.  I am fixing myself little by little.  I can and will make the life changes I need to make.  I can and will be accountable on this blog.

Life is most sincerely good.  Make the most of it.

Love,
Emily.

01 January 2013

Easing Back into Healthy Living

Today, I am being mindful about my choices, I am tracking my food.  I made a point to move.  I did my plank from my challenge. 

Oh, planks are really hard for me right now. Which is precisely why I am going to push myself to do something that is really hard every day. I will watch for Rebecca's e-mail and do her daily challenge.  And I will set weekly promises to myself.  Because I plan to be nicer to myself in 2013, I will keep my promises to myself.


For the rest of this week, I promise to  complete Rebecca's workout challenge EVERY DAY.

I promise that during at least 3 commercials per night, I will run the stairs 10 times.

I promise that I will get up and do WiiZumba at least 3 times this week.  Preferably before work.

I promise to feed my body with healthy, delicious food.

I promise to track my food.  Even if I am over the calorie target.

I promise not to beat myself up for going over the calorie target, if I do.

For this week, I promise to reduce stress in my life by taking the time to tidy up a little every day instead of waiting until I am so anxious about the state of our house. And to forgive if it is messy.

and I'm going to knit.