Movin' Mommas

Off Topic: Victory for Many Precious Babies!

2012-02-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

UPDATE (February 3rd): The decision was reversed. To say that this is disappointing to me would be an understatement. More information here:
http://news.yahoo.com/komen-drops-plan-cut-planned-parenthood-grants-163643930.html

~~Hello all! This is off the topic of the blog, but I thought it was important enough to share with you all!~~

Susan G. Komen for the Cure stopped funding for Planned Parenthood. They are currently hearing from a lot of angry supporters of Planned Parenthood. They need to hear from many as many pro-lifers as possible to know that they are supported in their decision!

~~More information on my blog here:~~
~~http://eight-twenty-eight.blogspot.com/2012/02/victory-for-precious-babies.html~~

~~As we strive to make our bodies healthy and strong, let's help the unborn babies have a chance for a healthy and strong body too! Thank you so much! :)~~

Habits gone...well, almost

2012-01-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

It takes 21 time of consecutively doing something to make a habit! I decided to make the habit of NOT biting my finger nails, and flossing. So far, flossing and not biting have been a success. The only downside is I've picked up a new habit...eating. I bite my nails when I'm nervous. Now it seems I eat when I'm nervous or stressed, or blah, blah, blah.

Current weight (141)

Gained weight and I don't feel so great about it. I need a new habit. How about sugar free gum chewing? Ah, I don't know. All I know is I'm frustrated with myself, but my nails and teeth look nice =)

I need help getting back on track

2012-01-18T20:17:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to go to sleep but my stomach is too distended from eating too much. I'm really thirsty but if I put something else in my mouth I'm going to burst. I'm going to take pictures of my food tomorrow to bring awareness and make it public. At least I'm out of the ingredients to make vegan cookies --- the batch I gone already. I'm up 5 pounds! Ack!

In other news I've gone 8.5 miles in three days of excursions in the snow pushing 1or 2 kids and going at either my pace or my daughter's pace.

Light Alfredo Sauce Recipe

2012-01-14T22:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I haven't shared this before, but Our Best Bites has a recipe for alfredo sauce that is light, but it tastes super good! It also doesn't make you have that "oof" feeling that you usually get after eating something with alfredo sauce. If you haven't tried this recipe before, try it! I absolutely love it.

Here is the recipe! http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/08/guiltless-alfredo-sauce/

pregnancy: a photo essay

2012-01-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

Ahh, the incredible growing Angela!

15 weeks

20 weeks

25 weeks

30 weeks

35 weeks

Aaaaand, baby Laurel.

I'm so in love with my baby. I am not in love with my body (especially those dang stretch marks). This will be a tough year, but I know I can find success if I strive for it.

Let the new adventures begin!

New Approach

2012-01-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

My 200 lb butt is planning on running a half marathon in June. I laugh at myself, and yet feel driven to do it, so for the past 2 months I have been training and slowly changing how I eat and exercise. Here is what I do, and the reasons behind it...

First, food. I started with only one rule, and over the past two months, I've added two more.

#1. - The first and most important rule is No Binging. Not binging in the medical sense, but overeating at all. For instance, I had been up to eating a medium Blizzard from DQ, but that was always when I was feeling crappy in one way or another, and it was becoming pretty frequent. I consider that a binge. Now, I can have a mini Blizzard, because that constitutes a treat, not a binge. I allow myself to eat, treats and all, I just can't binge on any one thing.

I realized that all the times I have tried to cut something out of my diet, I would always end up binging on that one thing. I couldn't do that to myself again, so I made this my rule to live by because it doesn't cut anything out. I can have anything I want. What this has done for me is taken a lot of the pressure off. I don't sit there and count up all the mistakes I made that day with my food, or plan anything out, etc. I eat like I normally would, I just try to eat with more of a mind than an emotion. This also makes me mindful of how the food makes me feel and that in turn has allowed me to add these other rules.

#2 - No Pop. I don't drink a lot of pop anyway. Only when I would go out to a fast food place would I get my own pop. But, I really want to run well, and breathe well while I'm running, and pop will not help me get there. This was a pretty easy rule to put in place and stick to, and it has made a big difference in my mental attitude toward food. Since I can cut this easy thing out and not feel like I want to binge on it, maybe I can add another rule.

#3 - No French Fries. This is a recent one. The past few times I have gone out to eat and snacked on the fries, I felt really icky afterwards. So, this one will be a tad harder to follow since I do like fries, but at least I don't have a whole shelf full of them in my house. I think because I have been exercising so consistently, I'm beginning to notice that my body is telling me what it needs in order to function at the level I'm pushing it. Food is becoming more fuel instead of therapist.

Next, exercise.

I have also taken a different approach to the fitness portion of my training. My one rule is, just go out and do it. It doesn't matter how much I do, or what I do, I just need to do something. I want to do this forever, so there is no final goal, no weight I want to reach, just consistent exercise. However, I really do want to run 13 miles, or at least as much of it as I am capable of, so a major portion of my training has been running. But I also know I need to lose weight in order to rack up my miles comfortably, so I am incorporating some strength training and bodyweight workouts with my running. There were no results at all the first month or so. I just felt how my body was changing and that is what I took as my encouragement. I put my scale away and I am not going by how much weight I lose. I look at myself in the mirror and am happy with what I have been doing. That is what has kept me going.

My attitude has been so much better during the course of each day, and I am finding reasons to go workout. If I had a bad day, I want to go sweat until I feel better. If I had a good day, I want to end it on an upswing so I'll go workout. I'm finding that sweating and pushing my body pretty hard on a regular basis is a huge mood booster. I am off my anti-depressants now and happier and more confident than I have been in a very long time. I don't look too different, but that's OK. I feel like a completely different person, and I know without a doubt that my body will have to make some compensations to keep up with me, and pretty soon I'll be noticing the changes in how my clothes fit, and how I look in the mirror.

I follow fitness blogs, I like fitness facebook pages, and I have friends who are training for this half-marathon and will be doing it with me. The blogs and facebook pages post encouragement everyday in the form of pictures, quotes, and sayings that run around in my head. I have some of them posted up in my house. My favorite one is:

"Being fat is hard. Being fit is hard. Choose your hard."

So, this is my update. This is what has been working for me, and it's been working well. I do like to have goals, like the half-marathon in June, and those goals push me harder, but it's not the end goal. I want to feel good, look good, and be athletic. I've always been happy when I have had a sport to participate in. I hope you all are finding ways to make lasting changes in your lives. I'm really glad I have a place to post about this part of my life and get encouragement and support back. You all are just wonderful!

Never Going On A No Sugar Fast Again!!!

2012-01-02T09:50:00.001-08:00

I tried to not eat sugar until Christmas Eve. After only a few hicups on my part, Christmas Eve came, and I ate, and ate, and ate. I was at 137 Christmas Eve, and came home weighing 143. SIX pounds!!!! Ugh. So my new goals are:

One Sweet Treat A Week!
Run a 10 mile Race in March
Run a 1/2 marathon in April
Exercise 5-6 days a week consistently!!!
Maybe become a pregnant momma again....stay tuned!
Re-read the entire Book of Mormon
Go on dates at least 2 times a month with my husband.

Spiritual, physical, emotional, and social goals for 2012

Statistically 75% of people break their new year's goals within the first WEEK! Only about 5-10% make it to June. Let's not be in the 75%!!!

Take on this 2012 Fitness Challenge

2011-12-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

Seven weeks is all you need, well maybe only nine weeks forthe running aspect, to get back into shape, feel good about you, and even pushyourself. Yes, every year, many people make those New Year Resolutions only tonever have them pan out. This could be due to many various reasons. Too busy,not enough time, gym memberships are excessively expensive; I am addicted toZumba and other reasons. Well, stop feeling guilty, stop procrastinating, andstop making up excuses. What am Italking about here? Good old fashion push ups, sit-ups, squat thrusts, and thecapability of conditioning yourself to go from couch potato to running a 5kMarathon.

100 Pushups in SevenWeeks

Yes, I am serious. In seven weeks, the challenge is to do100 consecutive pushups without strain, pain, or exhaustion. The way it worksis to do an initial test forwhat you are capable of doing right now. Based on those results, you then findyour starting point. For me, a 41 year old, my current Pushup amount is apathetic five, maybe six if I push out the last one and hopefully not a kidneyor something. This puts me at Rank 2.

Once I do the initial test, I go to where Week 1 starts and look at thecolumn where my initial test puts me. Since I am between Rank 1 and 2, I willstart out with Rank 1. There are 5 Sets to be accomplished. Thus, for me, thefirst set would be two, then 3, following up with set 3 with 2 pushups, setfour will have me at 2 additional pushups and the final set maxing out at 3.Total, I would have done 12 pushups in one setting.

Two-hundredSit-ups

Sit-ups are the most common factor in a basic exerciseprogram. Like the pushups, you want to do an initial test of how many you cando. The ultimate goal is to complete 200 consecutive sit-ups at the end of the six-weekregimen. In addition, like the pushups, you will find where you can perform theamount of sit-ups and where your starting point will be.

Two-hundredSquats

Have you always wanted to increase your leg strength? Squatswill be the way to go on this exercise program. If you have weights at home,you can implement them as well. If not, do not worry about it. However, thegoal is to perform two-hundred consecutive squats in six weeks time. Thisfollows the same program as the pushups and sit-ups, initial test, find yourranking, and find your starting point.

One-fifty Dips

Have a good solid chair or couch? This exercise routine willbe put together in your six-week fitness program. Again, there is no gym membership,no expensive exercise equipment one needs to purchase, and it all uses yourbody weight as resistance in strengthening and conditioning. Much like all theothers mentioned, do an initial test, find your rank, and start at the startingpoint suggested for your age and rank.

Couchto 5K running program

This program is designed to take someone who has not reallydone any running, or is out of shape and then condition their body to startbuilding up endurance and stamina required to run long distance. This programis nine weeks long and not six weeks long. However, once started on thesuggested exercise program, it may become part of a person’s daily routinewhere they constantly do their work outs to keep themselves fit and in shape.After all, this is what weight loss is all about right?

Each week is broken into three days, with week one. There isno initial test. There is no ranking. It is a simple 20-minute program that canbe done on those alternate days where one is not doing the pushups, sit-ups,squats, and dips.

The actual programoutlook

Now, we come to the part where we put together the fitnessroutine. Here is how my New Years Resolution routine will look like.

Monday –

Stretch for 5 Minutes

Set 1 Pushups

Set1 Squat Thrust

Set 1 Dips

Set 1 Sit ups

Repeat for Sets 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Tuesday –

Week 1 – Workout 1 running program

Wednesday –

Stretch for 5 minutes

Set 1 Pushups

Set 1 Squats

Set 1 Dips

Set 1 Sit-ups

Repeat for sets 2, 3, 4 and 5

Thursday -

Week 1 – Workout 2

Friday –

Follow Monday and Wednesday exercise program

Saturday –

Week 1 – Workout 3

Notice that the running alternates with the fitness program.The total amount of time should be at least 30 minutes long. This helps get ourbodies focused and awaken to perform the tasks we are requiring our bodies todo. Will this program work for all? I do not know, heck, I am not sure if itwill work for me. However, I do know that when we condition our bodies toperform specific tasks on a consistent basis, our bodies are quickly able toadapt to that condition. Integrate this with also healthy and nutritious menuitems may help give us that rounded weight loss program that many diet fadsfail. Furthermore, aside from the dips, this program is the very same type ofprogram that many of our troops participate in for physical fitness exercisesin basic training.

Take this week, prepare a time to do the work out program,and then in nine weeks, let us see how successful we are in performing theseroutines and the end results of these routines give us.

Cautionary note: Should always consult a qualifiedphysician before engaging in any exercise program. In addition, this article isbased on my own personal goals and do not make any claims to whether it will besuccessful for everyone.

MPE: Morality and child rearing article

2011-12-08T16:21:00.001-08:00

If you have not already done so, check out the Marysville Parenting Examiner column by Timothy R. Berman. A freelance writer who provides information, insight, and observation on parenthood, the challenges we have in parenting our children today, and links to references that will help encourage parents to become better equipped in meeting the demands of modern parenting.

Today's article is a hybrid of a review and commentary on raising morally intelligent children. Based on an article published in the December 2011 edition of the Parent Map magazine.

Here is a snippet of the article:

The December 2011 issue of the Parent Map is out and has wonderful articles for all parents. One such article is the feature article titled Raising Morality: Nurturing character and conscience in our children by Malia Jacobsen. Let us face the facts here, read any news story, or turn on the news, and there is something wrong with the way our society is operating. And, if you think it is just the false pretense of those who are religious saying that we live in a society where morality has significantly declined, then one has not fully considered that there are others out there saying the same thing that many preachers and religious leaders are saying. Hence, we will look at why parents have an obligation to raise their children with the appropriate measures of understanding and determining right from wrong. The Marysville Parenting Examiner would like to open up discussion on the importance of morality as it pertains to raising morally conscience children in our society and culture today.

To read more see the article Morality and child rearing at the Marysville Parenting Examiner. Subscribe to receive email updates when an article is published, and always remember that you can comment using your social media network like Facebook. Join in on the discussions and share your thoughts.

15k/ No Sugar Until Thanksgiving/ Exercise advent Calendar

2011-11-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

It's been a little while, so I thought I'd post!

I'm trying hard to maintain my weight loss. It seems like my body doesn't want to go below 140 pounds. And, honestly, I'm okay with that. It was my original goal. I feel good, my size 6 jeans are lose now, I can't complain. But, I'm scared I won't be able to maintain it. I joke with Brad it's time to have another baby so I won't have to maintain it anymore! lol.
I'm doing my longest run so far the Saturday after Thanksgiving. 9.3miles with my friend Audrey. I love talking to her and running with her. It makes the miles fly!
It will be 2.5 weeks since I've had chocolate, ice cream, candy, cupcakes, or sweets of any kind on Thanksgiving. My sweet tooth got too sweet there for a while and I gained a couple of pounds and didn't feel good. Now I really feel like I'll deserve my pumpkin roll this year! Besides, this is a huge deal for me because I've never even gone more that a few days with out eating chocolate or having some treat. Maybe I'll try to wait til Christmas to have my next sweets after Thanksgiving!?
I was joking to Brad in the car about doing an exercise advent calendar for myself. I would come up with a bunch of different exercises i.e. run 5 miles, zumba, bike 20 miles, etc. mix them all up and put them randomly in my advent calendar. I guess I'm getting tired of my normal routine, and I want to feel good going into the holidays.
I was such a faithful 6 day a week exerciser, now I seem to get 4 or 5 if I'm lucky. I need to be better. I want to be better. But it's a journey!!!!

Thanks for posting. I love hearing your stories and suggestions. Shout out to Rose for getting pregnant with baby #5! You, my dear, are brave!!! Best of luck to you!

Healthy Substitutions for Pregnancy Cravings

2011-11-15T14:10:00.001-08:00

I know this may not apply to many people who read this right now, but I ran across an article that I thought I would share. At the bottom is a list of things that you might crave, as well as a healthy substitution which may help curb the craving. I'll have to try to remember this!

http://www.babycenter.com/0_six-healthy-fixes-for-pregnancy-junk-food-cravings_669.bc

Adventure Race for Africa!

2011-11-13T00:14:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited for next summer! My sister and I decided to skip the Women of Steel triathlon this year because it always falls on the weekend before school is out...which means that I have driven up for the race, back for the last week of school and then up for the summer. Awful! We are still doing a triathlon, though, but this year it will be Canoe/Bike/Run instead of Swim/Bike/Run. It will also be a team race--my sister and brother-in-law and I will be a team. And, yes, both my sister and I started singing "Take a boy and a girl (and the girl's sister) in a little canoe..." when we talked about doing the race together! :)

http://adventureraceforafrica.com/race-details

We will also do our annual long bike ride and probably a half marathon. I've become a bit on the fence about doing the marathon again. We'll see how I feel when it is time to sign up :) And we're informally gathering a team for the Wasatch Back Ragnar (2013 if we can get together a team of 12!) so let me know if that is on your "bucket list." Yes, I know I'm a glutton when it comes to these things but whenever I see a race I want to do I sign up for it because I worry that I might not always be able to do such things. The ironic thing about that fear, though, is that doing all of this exercise has made me feel better than I ever have so maybe the racing has kept the MS on the run!

Training

2011-11-12T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hello all! Here I am again after months of disappearing. After much deliberation, I have decided to train for some events next year. The first one is in May, and it's a duathlon, which means you still have three legs of the race like a triathlon, but you run, bike, and run again. It cuts out the swimming part, which is good because May in Idaho is still pretty chilly and I'd be swimming in a lake. The next event is in June and it's the Teton Dam Half Marathon. Pretty ambitious, but I'm determined. I've got family and friends doing this with me, so there is a great support system for me.

So, I have begun my training. That includes losing weight. You know all that weight I lost earlier in the year? Well, I gained it all back, and now it's time again to do something about it. I'm actually not too concerned over my weight, I just want to be able to accomplish my goals.

My training is going to be a mix of running and doing BODYROCK.tv workouts. These workouts are tough! They are at home, around 15 mins long depending on the workout, and there's a new one almost everyday. They are also amazing. Simple exercises but the way they are implemented makes them so hard, but also very satisfying. The newest workouts have a few pieces of equipment being used, but I have begun these workouts from the oldest and I'm moving up to the newer ones. The old workouts don't use anything special. Your bodyweight, a timer, and a little space in your house is all you need. Check it out, and try a workout or two!

Nutrition, overeating, and stuff

2011-11-07T16:03:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I have chummed in so I thought I'd let you know what I've been up to.

The responsibility of providing good nutrition for my family is both exciting and overwhelming. I'm really forming the eating habits and subsequent lifestyles of three people! It is one thing for me to be I charge of myself but I'm responsible for feeding my two girls and most of my husband's diet. My older daughter had a few tests done and she has very low iron, vitamin D, and protein. It feels like a report card somewhat. It is discouraging because I feel that I work really hard to provide good food for my family. It feels like I'm swimming upstream. We don't drink sodas and I don't buy 90% of the boxed foods, chips, crackers, or cookies that are in grocery stores. We very rarely eat fast food and don't go out to restaurants very much. We get organic produce delivered, shop at PCC and Trader Joes to avoid hydrogenated oils, genetically modified foods, and HFCS. It feels like I have to dodge all the food options out there and yet I'm not succeeding.

As far as my weightloss goes, I went from 185 postpartum to 148 and have bounced up to 150. I have increased my excersize by training for a half-marathon and also increased my eating. It has been challenging to find the balance between fueling my running and recovery versus taking advantage of the calorie burn and eating extra. When I'm a little hungry all the time and never feel totally full, I'll lose weight but to do so there are so few bites available during the day. For instance today, it dipped into some Thai food leftovers of pumpkin curry, veggies, and rice. I had about a 1 cup serving size but that could be the extra calories that keep me from losing weight. My belly still sticks outs and I feel bloated much of the time so I know I could get by with less.

One challenge is that I'm exhausted! I'm the mother of a very active 3 year old and a 10 month baby. I don't get to nap during the day and I don't get to sleep very much at night. Sometimes I turn to sugar and chocolate to help me get through the day. I'm eating through my exhaustion and boredom staying home with the kids..

Okay, well, that was not very positive, sorry.

uncharted territory

2011-10-31T07:52:00.000-07:00

Well. I haven't eaten that much Halloween candy, but I've been craving carbs and ice cream. I guess people (read: me) just eat with reckless abandon when they're pregnant.

In any case, today I officially weigh one pound more than I did at 37 weeks when I was pregnant with Wesley. Which means I now weigh more than I have ever weighed before. Whoa nelly. I'm 32 weeks today (another OB appt this afternoon), and I imagine over the next few weeks as baby fills out that a few more pounds will creep on. Which is fine. I'm trying not to stress, although it is weird to be in this spot.

So! We'll just do our best to keep it reasonable and then we'll work really hard afterwards. I seem to recall when I was nursing I lost a ton of weight quickly and easily at then allowed myself to continue to eat with reckless abandon -- undoing the success I had seen! Oop! I'll definitely be more careful this time around.

I can't wait to meet this little one!

(30 weeks -- I wear the same outfit each time. Ideally, after it's all over, I crop out my face and just show the belly, then have a scrapbook page with all of them side by side. So ignore my cheesy grin :-)

Here I GROW again...

2011-10-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm pregnant again! My pre-pregnancy weight is 145. I don't know what I weigh now, and I don't want to know. In fact, I'm doing something that some people may find a little unusual.

I'm not going to weigh myself when I'm pregnant. They weighed me at the doctor's office today, and I looked away, determined not to know the number. For this pregnancy, I want to be completely oblivious to how much weight I gain!

Here's why... in past pregnancies, I've gained a lot of weight. I gained 60 pounds with my first baby, and I gained 55 pounds with the pregnancy before this one. It was depressing!

Sure, I'll eat healthy during this pregnancy, and hopefully I won't gain a lot of weight. However, if I gain a lot of weight while I'm pregnant, I can't exactly do anything about it WHILE I'm still pregnant. So why depress myself by keeping track of how fat I'm getting? :)

I wonder how long I can keep this up... if curiosity will eventually get the better of me...

Have any of you ever gone without looking at your scale for an extended period of time before?

I reached my goal weight.

2011-10-12T04:15:00.001-07:00

After

Before

I reached my goal weight of 140 lbs.

I'm tired of running because my knees hurt all the time.

Total weight loss 58 lbs.

New goal 135.

Keep it up everyone. You gals are amazing.

Finally! And a goal...

2011-10-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

Soooo... I finally updated the blog background... it was still on a St. Patrick's Day theme!

And... I think I'm finally motivated enough to lose the jiggle and get back to my wedding weight of 120 pounds, although my ultimate goal is a little lower than that. I'm not sure of my exact weight right now, but I think I have about 25 pounds to lose. I wonder if I can do by the end of October! That'd sure be something, wouldn't it?

Ticker Change :-)

2011-10-02T23:10:00.000-07:00

So my new longest run is....26.2 miles. Oh my goodness, that is as long as it sounds. No, it's actually longer. I finished in 6 hrs, 4 min, and 21 sec. My brother and our niece ran it too but they were ahead of me (my brother ran it in just under 4 hours and said it was the hardest marathon he had run simply because of the heat). They were all certain I had been carried off the course because so many people were collapsing due to heat exhaustion. At one point they called me and my phone answered for me (it was in my hydration belt) but obviously I didn't answer the phone or talk when they asked me how I was. My sister said they had visions of me lying in a ditch somewhere only able to answer the phone (not able to talk!). :) Someone reminded them of the thousands of other runners and support people out there. I may have collapsed but I wouldn't be left to die...

But, actually, I didn't collapse at all. I'm not entirely sure why not. Maybe because I'm one tough cookie :) Maybe because I kept to my slow-and-steady pace. Maybe because I kept hydrated and dumped a cup or two of water on myself at every aid station after it got hot. I think the hardest part for me was resisting the temptation to start out too fast. I am used to people passing me on my runs but it is an entirely different sensation to have thousands of people stream by you like you are standing still. Very hard to keep to your pace when your whole body wants to just keep up with them! It thinned out fairly quickly, though, and my next test was when the 5 hour pacer group came up from behind me. I expected them to pass me but to my surprise I kept up with them for quite a few minutes. I got to know some of the group and actually started to think that perhaps I would run a 5 hour marathon. Then they started inching away from me and my first inclination was to kick it up just a tiny bit so I could keep up. I remembered my pace, though, and let them inch away from me. Man, that was hard! In the end it was better, though. I could not have kept up the higher pace, even though it wasn't all that faster than I was going. One guy I saw from that time period I ended up passing 4 hours later! He started out fast and then died. Slow and steady really does win the race, guys! Know your body and just keep at it.

It was an interesting experience to run such a long marathon. Apparently the overall winner complained about the heat being a bad factor in his race and I had to laugh. Like it was hot by the time he finished at 9 am! You want to know heat? Stay out on the course until nearly 1 pm!!!! Oh, I am so sunburned. My brother wasn't sunburned at all and when I asked him about it he reminded me that I had been out in the sun much longer than he was! Yes, I think the 4 hour marathoners may be faster but the 6 hour marathoners are stronger. They were just putting their all out there for 4 hours. We were running at full capacity for 6 hours! So who is the stronger runner/person? Exactly!

Ok, I'm pretty tired so I'm going to craw up the stairs to bed. I had actually packed a little bag so I could sleep downstairs for a few days but realized today that I can't avoid the stairs unless my children suddenly develop the ability to put themselves to bed with absolutely no help from mom. Oh, how I look forward to those days! Until then, I'll crawl up the stairs...

shout out to MARIANNE

2011-10-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

Just a friendly blog-world shout out to Marianne who is AWESOME and ran a MARATHON this weekend!!! YOU GO, GIRL!

I:

Sat on my bum
Ate some ice cream
Thought about physical activity but did nothing of the sort.

Just sayin. Marianne, you are amazing! Great work!

Don't...

2011-10-02T19:32:00.001-07:00

"Don't reward yourself with food. You're not a dog."

Slow and Steady

2011-10-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

While we wait for General Conference to start, I'll make a quick post on my progress. Well, here goes... I've lost 10 pounds in 8 weeks! So, I'm down to 118 pounds. I've also lost inches on my waist, hip, thighs, and arms. I alternate between strength training and cardio workouts 5 or 6 days a week, and make sure I rest on Sundays. When I first started working out, I would burn an average of 215 calories per cardio session. But this past week, I pushed myself a little harder, worked out a little longer, and have burned an average of 400 calories per session. I'm aiming toward losing two pounds a week for the next four weeks. So, here's hoping to getting down to 110 pounds in 4 weeks. Hope I can get'r done!

How is everyone? Hope you've been able to accomplish your goals :-)

nothing keeping them down

2011-09-05T13:59:00.000-07:00

Inspiration comes in the strangest places. I loved this short article in the most recent Subaru magazine. Ha! You buy a Subaru and get a magazine.

It's about twin sisters who were active during college, then one of them got leukemia and almost died. The other kept training and did triathlons, and the one who survived cancer also eventually trained to complete in triathlons.

Basically, the part I liked was this:

Mental toughness is just as important as the physical training. ... Winning and self discipline go hand in hand.

“There are days when the only person getting you out the door to train is yourself,” Rebeccah said. “Even though being a pro triathlete is a full-time job, days aren't structured like a normal nine-to-five work day. It takes a lot of focus to go out and hit all of the hard workouts – even if you are tired or there is something else you might feel like doing. You have to want to work hard.”

Do I want to work hard? Is being healthy worth it to me?

I was so inspired by their story. Here is a woman who battled cancer -- cancer!! -- and she doesn't make any excuses. She has the best excuse of all! And yet she is a triathlete. Wow. The article said she is the first cancer survivor to become a pro triathlete. Talk about not taking every waking breathing day for granted.

I love it.

I have more to say, but I'll stop at that. This pregnancy has not been easy for me and I have had some complications come up, which more than anything has made me realize that when this sweet baby girl is born and I'm not pregnant, I need to do all I can to be healthy, to get to a healthy weight for my height and take care of myself (and my family) better. Like I've said before, I always made excuses for myself because I wasn't "that bad," but I've never really been "that good" in fact, or in the best place for me. I must be better. No excuses.

Share your inspiration! I love to hear the stories.

Mandela Treadmill

2011-09-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

I remember my sister telling me about how Nelson Mandela kept fit during all of his years confined to a tiny cell--he jogged in place! I called upon that memory when my schedule was such that I could NOT get to the gym this week. It's too hot here to run during the day and although I can get early morning babysitting I couldn't get anyone to run with me. Finally in desperation I cleared a path in my kitchen and living room and spent 40 minutes running in circles in my little townhouse (every third circle I would go up and down my staircase). It was very odd at first but it was still a pretty decent workout. Definitely better than nothing at all. And when it was time to get the girls up for school I just ran on in, encourage the sleeping one to get up and ran on out. Repeating this several times wasn't nearly as frustrating as it usually is because it fit in with the rhythm of my exercise :)

The big test of my Mandela Treadmill, though, will be next Saturday. I had someone to my last big training run with me but she wanted to run on the marathon course and that would mean needing a babysitter at 4 am (to get to the shuttle in time, shuttle up to the course and then do the actual running before the heat of the day). There's no way I could get a babysitter at 4 am. Well, there's a slim chance but I'd have to pay through the nose and the babysitter would have to stay until 10 am at least....very expensive. I decided instead to run on my Mandela Treadmill from 5 am to 6:30 am and then have a babysitter from 6:30 am (when it starts to get light) until it starts to get hot (about 8:30 or 9 am). I have no idea if this will get me the miles I need but it will be 3.5 to 4 hours of continuous exertion, which is training enough at this point. Wish me luck!!!!

16.5 Down...9.7 To Go

2011-08-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

Inching up those miles! Today's run was gorgeous and brutal. Started out at 5:20 am and it was already hot. I went running with a friend of mine who ended up being more of a walker but luckily I'm such a slow runner that it was ok until his knee started to act up. We ran down into the desert (almost to Arizona :-) and were still out in the middle of nowhere when the sun came up. Gorgeous! When we got to the end of the 12 mile loop my friend's knee was hurting too bad for him to continue so I dropped him off at his car and started the 5 mile loop. About 1.5 miles into it the thought crossed my mind that I should turn around and head home. Did I listen? Nope! A mile or so after that it became so hideously hot that I couldn't run anymore. I started walking and wracking my brains for shortcuts home. Then I started praying that someone who knew me would drive by and give me a ride home. Then I remembered that I had a cell phone! I started texting people but it was still too early for ordinary folks on a Saturday morning. I ended up having a very long, very hot, very expensive walk (I pay my Extreme Babysitters--those who arrive in the wee hours of the morning--a higher hourly rate). Brutal. The worst part was that earlier this week my podiatrist told me that if I wanted to avoid surgery for my neuritis I wouldn't do a lot of long distance running. I should make this marathon my first and possibly my last (or at least my last one for at least 5 years). So I'm not so motivated anymore! But I have to do some more long runs so that I don't completely die on marathon day. I'm totally burnt out but I know I have to put in the hours in order to have fun on race day. I'm sure, too, that if I had kept running in that heat I would have had heat stroke! Start praying now that October 1 is an overcast, rainy day here in St. George.

On the bright side, I did burn 1374 calories. I'm pondering signing up for the online version of Weight Watchers. My sister has had such great success with WW and it really makes sense to me. I figure if I am more aware of the value of what I eat then I can make cuts without feeling like I am on a starvation diet. I think about how hard it was to burn those 1374 calories and how easy it is to put at least that many in my mouth! It's disheartening to say the least. It's very disheartening to be putting in so many hours training and still have both a baby belly and a weight that is on the rise. I'm telling myself those 5 extra pounds are pure muscle....

Plateauing

2011-08-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

I've gone from 185 to 148 pounds in 8 months. My ticker can be updated to 37 pounds lost. Hey, I'm counting every single pound and celebrating! I'm proud of what I have done but I see room for improvement in my quest to be healthy, fit, strong, and full of energy.

In January I identified healthy habits that I wanted to make habitual and added them to my lifestyle one at a time. Since then, I have started to drop them and want to rekindle the points challenge that Angela inspired me to try.

Healthy habits I want in my life:
Drink 8 cups of water a day - I tend to eat when I'm really thirsty and if I'm fully hydrated then I don't feel so hungry
Take my vitamins - this is an easy step to ensuring that I feel my best
Exercise - at least 20 minutes everyday of something

I'm fairly satisfied with my diet. I don't eat HFCS or hydrogenated oils. I avoid food with added sugar - check your can of black beans for hidden sugar. I'm careful to limit calories in beverages which limits me to iced tea and water or diluted juices. There is certainly room for improvement but diet is not in my goal setting right now.

One point each, three points a day, my goal is to earn 30 points in August. If I achieve this goal I will reward myself by hiring a house keeper before my next house guest comes and buying 1 new pair of jeans in preparation for the fall.

Ready, set, go!

New Longest Run!

2011-08-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

15.90 down, 10.3 to go

It just about killed me! I wrapped my shin with an ace bandage, though, which seemed to help. It is doing a lot better now that I am stretching every day (whether I run or not). The funny thing is that I posted on FB "15.90 miles today. Funeral tomorrow." and several people did not get the joke! (Including our own dear Angela ;)

Now that the summer is over for me (school starts on Monday) I'll be heading back to the land of paid babysitters so I think I can only attempt three more long runs before the marathon. I'm starting to hyperventilate about it all! Or maybe that's just me feeling stressed about school starting :) (I know I'm the only mom out there who doesn't long for the first day of school! We spend most of the summer visiting family and starting school again means I have to be the one to make dinner every day...and change every single diaper...)

How's Everyone?

2011-08-06T15:58:00.001-07:00

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing? Any fun or exciting news about burning those calories?

I need to take this to heart...

2011-07-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

No More Over-Eating!

2011-07-30T00:55:00.000-07:00

For the past 5 years, my food portion on my plate doubled & tripled. I would stuff myself until there is absolutely no more room left in my stomach to be stuffed. I'm not bragging or anything, but I've been able to gobble up 3 large slices of pizza, and then some. No joke. And the sad part was, I didn't think it was a big deal to eat more than my stomach could handle, in one sitting. But, it all changed after I saw recent pictures of myself (next to skinny people), as well as being in the higher end of the weight scale for someone of my petite stature.

The concerned weight issue started about threes weeks ago. While my daughter and I were at her pediatrician's office, I hopped on the scale and weighed myself (just out of curiosity). The scale read 128 pounds. I was bothered by it; yet I wasn't surprised. I did, however, made a mental note to start eating right and exercise (again). But for an entire week after I weighed myself, I didn't do anything. I kept eating the same big portions, and didn't even try to exercise. But, by the second week, I saw recent pictures of myself on FB (from friends who've tagged me) and realized how BIG I was next to friends whom I've known for decades. They looked like they were still in their early 20's. Each of the ladies have at least 2 kids, yet there's no sign of weight issues for them. So, tired of looking like a hippo, I decided to SERIOUSLY do something about it.

First, and foremost, I cut back on my humongous portions. No more seconds, nor thirds. I've also made more effort to drink more water. And get this... I even started exercising again. Since it's not a good idea to be walking/jogging outside in the scorching heat (average between 95-100 degrees), I stayed inside and did Zumba Gold routines in my living room. There's so many Zumba videos on Youtube its not even funny. Albeit, I'm not consistent with my exercises, and may skip a day or two. But I am doing more and burning more calories than I was three weeks ago.

All of these changes did allow me lose some weight. After about two weeks of portion control and some exercises, I lost 5 pounds. So, I'm down to 123. My goal is to lose the last 23 pounds in three months. According to my calculation, that's just a little over seven pounds a month that I need to work on losing. I think it's a reasonable goal. KEEPING FINGERS CROSSED.

my big excuse

2011-07-26T08:39:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, it's been too long! We need each other!

Well. Unfortunately, to the opposite effect of this wonderful blog, I am gaining weight. And I will be for the next 5 months! Yup, I am pregnant. There is a little bean in there kicking away. I am 18 weeks this week, and I have even felt it move. It has a healthy little heartbeat and I am doing a good job giving it Wavy Lays, Oreos, and ice cream.

Wait. WHAT?

Yes, friends, I need help! I need to reign in this monster of "not caring about diet" and start caring a little more! Yesterday my doctor said my blood pressure was high, and for just being early in the second trimester that is a problem! I need to be careful. I haven't even been exercising... and I wanna be... so what will that do for blood pressure?

So, if anyone has any great ideas, please let me know. I need to see a specialist (seriously! boo!) and want to take control of my life and body and pregnancy, so it doesn't run away from me leaving a trail of cookie crumbs behind it.

Some quick googling says diet can be most effective when it is full of fruits, vegetables, and fiber. I have no problem getting fiber (I've had serious problems with THAT this pregnancy so fiber is a priority!) and fresh fruits and easy to come by in the summer! I need to focus more on vegetables.

I think I'll start small with my goals...

5 of my 20-oz water bottles a day (this is a necessity for all that fiber!)
2 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of fruit (I want to increase to 3 as soon as I can prove to myself I can do 2)
30 min of exercise at least 4 times weekly (I did a nice sunny walk on Sunday so I'm 1 down for this week)

I'll check in next week with how I did. I don't want to fail. I need to change things so I feel better. I gained EIGHT POUNDS in 5 weeks. The weight part is what I hate the most about those darn OB visits!!!

How about you guys? What is your most recent challenge?

Race to 20 pounds lost...

2011-07-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

So I was having a hard time being held accountable to people I don't see (like on the blog), but every little bit helps, right? So on Facebook, I posted a challenge... a race to see who could lose 20 pounds (in a healthy way) first!

It's because I've been lazy the past few months and gained some weight back. It has to go! My ticker on the side has been updated to show where I stand since I delivered my daughter about a year ago! Yep, it's not as high as it used to be... Leslie is in the lead!!! :)

Well so far in my "race," I've lost 5 pounds. If any of you want to join the race, just take your weight from last week, and you can start at how much you've lost since last week! :)

I may start running. There is this super fit girl in my ward, and she runs 3 miles almost every day... I'd love to be as fit as she is... so I guess I need to get off my butt. :)

Checking In

2011-07-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

Summer is awesome! I eat all of the fresh fruits and veggies I get for FREE thanks to my awesome grandfather's hard working green thumb. I contribute to the family farm too, so when I eat the produce it makes me feel good that I'm working for my food... literally. Working with my Poppop on his farm is the best thing ever. It's so relaxing and peaceful. We talk about anything and everything. I will defiantly have a garden when we get a house!

I ran my longest run on the 4th of July. It was 8 miles. It was difficult, but I'm glad I did it. Now just 5.1 til a 1/2 marathon. With my internship I'm finding it difficult to train, so I'll have to start training in August when its crazy hot!

I am now smaller than I was before I got pregnant with Ruby. My official weight is 143, making my weight loss 55 pounds. For the first time in my life I am in a healthy BMI zone. My body fat is 25%. I could stand to lose some more fat, but I'm trying...and I feel good!

14.6 down, 11.6 to go!

2011-07-18T23:01:00.001-07:00

I wasn't feeling very well yesterday so I contemplated putting off my long run, but I didn't want to lose momentum. I'm glad I didn't put it off because it really went well. I only did a few miles in the canyon (it got a little wilderness-y and I was suddenly creeped out to be running out there alone) and then did some crazy loops around town to make it to 14.6 (the hardest one being when I hit the turn to go home and realized I'd be short of my goal so I kept running up the road another .6 before turning around to go back to the intersection that would lead to REST). I'm not nearly as sore as I was after the half, perhaps because I did a lot of flat sections rather than straight downhill. Next week's goal is 16 miles (I'm increasing by 1.5 each week). I'm starting to think I'm a little bit crazy. It took a little over 3 hrs to do the long run today, which meant I was short on my hours at work and have to work a crazy long day tomorrow. Yikes! Next time I'll have to start out earlier in the morning.

Maintaining

2011-07-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

I've officially lost 0 weight in the last 28 days. Bummer.
I've officially maintained my weight for the last 28 days. Success! At least I did not go up.

I'm going to be selling all of my clothes that are too big for me in a garage sale this weekend. It is a risk but I don't want to go back up in weight and I'm also officially NOT getting pregnant again leaving no good reason to go up in weight again.

Update my ticker!!!!

2011-07-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

My longest run is now 13.1 miles!!!!!! I'm about to go blog about the race on my Bike MS team's website so head over there (teamironeagles.blogspot) if you want to see pics :)

It was a great run but I definitely definitely definitely need to run faster. I want to run ONE race in my life where I finish with most of the other runners and I don't find myself struggling to the finish line while most people are walking to their cars. Seriously. That was the suckiest part of the race.

Lame...

2011-07-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

So I decided to try to swap the sugar with honey in the blueberry muffins that I was making... but they tasted way better with the sugar!!! Okay, so this is lame! I guess I'm going to need your help making these muffins healthier! The recipe is already egg-free... so it's already fairly low in cholesterol!

It tastes good as is... but my goals are to reduce the fat and get the refined ingredients out of there (like the sugar and white flour). Anyone want to try adjusting it?

http://www.egglesscooking.com/2009/03/02/vegan-blueberry-muffins/

75 Miles, Baby!

2011-07-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, ok, we didn't quite make the 100 mile goal for our bike ride, but we did much better this year. Last year we did the 75 mile route, took a 2 hour lunch, and nearly died by the end. This year we took the 100 mile route, didn't ever make it to lunch (by the time we got there it was all cleared up! Of course, it was 4:30 pm), and felt pretty good by the time we decided to throw in the towel. If you want to see pics and things you can check out our team blog (click on my name and it should be there in the list of blogs I contribute to). Here's to a faster 75 next year! I told my family I didn't want to attempt the 100 mile route again until there was a hope we could reach lunch at lunchtime :)

In Development...

2011-06-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

A recipe for a healthy blueberry muffin with a vegan option.

Eliminating the white sugar should be a cinch...

I'm crossing my fingers for being able to replace the white flour with whole grains and still have it taste good.

Here's to hoping that I'll have a healthy recipe to post for you soon!

Jeff Galloway

2011-06-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

I went to a Relief Society activity earlier this month about exercising. They brought in "The Walking Man" (who was trained by Jeff Galloway and used most of his information) and he talked about walking and running using form, breathing, relaxing, and stride, among other things. It was new information to me, so I thought I'd share with you in case it was new to you as well.

Here are a few things he said:

Breathe from your tummy, not just in your upper chest. And breathe deep. This keeps your body oxygenated a whole lot better.
Keep your head over your shoulders and your shoulders over your hips. Keeping your body upright and straight allows the muscles in your upper body to relax because you aren't leaning forward or backward putting stress on your back, neck, or hips. Also, keep your shoulders down and relaxed. You use up precious energy if you have them pulled up to your ears.
Arms swing loose at your side in a forward and back motion, not side to side. And hands are also relaxed. He said to use the loop of tension, which means you put your thumb and middle finger together and relax the rest of the hand. This somehow puts all the tension you would have in your shoulders and arms into that little loop your fingers make.
And the most important thing for me: Stride. Keep your stride small so your hips are not swinging forward and you aren't landing on your heels. You should land in the middle of your foot. And run slowly. If you want to run fast, keep the same stride, just move your feet faster.

He also talked about walking when you feel fatigued. Giving your body a rest, or a time of recovery, is actually better and helps you gain endurance faster than pushing yourself when you are huffing and puffing and about to die.

So, with all that, I decided I'd try all of those things out and go for a walk/jog. I've always thought I couldn't run because I have exercise induced asthma, but I also don't follow any of those guidelines above. I was a basketball player, and so I learned how to run by sprinting everywhere. I realized that I also try to run longer distances the same way I play basketball.

There is a 3 mile loop around my house, and I took it one day. I went slow. I walked slow for the first mile or so, varying my speed depending on how I felt. If I felt I was getting out of breath, then I slowed down and focused on breathing and form. Then I tried jogging and I was pleasantly surprised! I was able to jog for a much longer period of time than usual and I was still breathing just fine. I walked again and jogged a few more times by the time the 3 miles were up. And I felt like I could keep going by the end of my 3 miles! Even jogging! So, now I'm training for a triathlon next year, and I'm going to try and do the whole thing, instead of just a part of it like I did this year.

I still haven't lost any more weight, but I'm hoping with my training and such that things will begin to move that direction again.

Slacking.

2011-06-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

OK, so I haven't exercised in over a month, and hasn't really watched my waistline either. I think I gained, instead of losing weight. How's everyone doing?

Back Where I Left Off

2011-06-21T01:56:00.000-07:00

I wanted to announce that at 6 months postpartum, I've officially lost all of my baby weight which means I'm back where I left off. It felt doable to take off what I put on but I'm feeling rather intimidated about losing the weight that I've been carrying around for 6 or more years.

Marianne's post makes me feel like exercising more.

Marathon Training

2011-06-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

Well, ladies, the marathon training has begun in earnest. I have also begun working considerably more hours at my online job so I'm treating myself by buying a runner's watch. After much agonizing I decided upon a truly glorious one...and discovered it could be found at Costco for $180 less than I had found it elsewhere. I am SO excited to go get it.

As part of my marathon prep I decided to run a half marathon up here in the higher altitudes. I'm signed up for the Hobbler Half in July and I'm really excited about it. It runs down Hobble Creek Canyon, which is gorgeous. It's going to be a really beautiful run.

In other exercise news, I'll be up in Logan next week for the MS bike ride. We're planning on doing 100 miles and I'm hoping to rent an ultra light bike so I don't have to ride my ancient lead pipe that whole route. We'll see how that works out! There's still time to join the team if you want to!

Baby Steps

2011-05-31T00:03:00.000-07:00

So I'm realizing that my stress-related weight loss days are LONG gone. I moved up a size from those days and now that size is getting a little snug. I tell myself it is my amazingly large muscles. But I know my jiggly baby belly has something to do with it too! I'm trying to make healthier eating choices so that my exercise goes to burn off fat and not to burn off empty calories that I shouldn't have consumed anyway.

So I need some praise tonight. I generally snack a lot when working late at night. This is to help me stay awake but also because that's when I get snacky. Right now I am super snacky. Actually, downright hungry. Ordinarily I would pour a glass of milk and get out the oreos. I am not doing that! I am going to go to bed. Ok, I might have a cracker first. (Dinner was a very long time ago.) But no oreos.

Also, a mini update: I just got diagnosed with neuritis in my foot! Painful! Basically that is when a specific nerve gets inflamed and does fun stuff like make your toe go numb. I had a horrible steroid shot (right on the nerve...pleasant...) and have been babying the foot ever since. I was worried that the injury would spell the end of my marathon dreams but so far everything is good. I've been soaking in Epsom salts every night, wearing super soft soled shoes and drinking soy milk. No pain or numbness for several days! Apparently having MS makes me prone to this sort of injury. What a pain (literally). I see even more that eventually my main workout is going to be swimming (that's the best thing for MS anyhow since your core temperature doesn't go up). For now, though, I'm going to run and bike while I still can!!!

PS on the weight is a number issue: I agree that I wouldn't be so upset about creeping back up to 140 (not there yet) if I knew it was all muscle. The thing with the rising number for me is that it is indicative of an upsetting trend, not that the number itself is bad.

PPS The oreo desire is finally waning. Better dash to bed before it returns!

checking in potpourri

2011-05-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

Article in the NY Times Friday was depressing.... says 1 in 3 Americans is OBESE! Not just overweight, but downright obese. Ugh. I don't like to think of myself in those terms, but I surely need to watch what I eat and take care of myself. I think I always compare myself, thinking "I'm not that bad," which is dangerous. I imagine people who are "that bad" can't really pinpoint how exactly they got there. Then it's too scary to change. We all need to be careful and stay motivated.

In other news, this week was the finale of The Biggest Loser. It was the first time in the history of the show that the final three were ALL WOMEN. You go, girls! The gal who won and the runner up were sisters... by the end of the show these women were seriously SMOKIN' HOT. It was CRAZY. They look FABULOUS.

Before...

After...

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The one in the purple with the shorter hair, Olivia, was the winner. Her sister Hannah with the longer blonde hair was the runner up. They both went from ~260 and ~255 pounds to ~130 and ~125 pounds. INSANE. I am so motivated and touched and inspired and AMAZED at them. If they can be smokin' hot, I can too. I mean, WOW. I always thought my "goal" would be 140 or something, if I could be 140 I'd be happy... but they got there and kept going. They wanted to be even better. I am just floored. I really do like that show!

Soooo.... now it's my turn. How can I be healthy? I need to set some goals for myself, goals where I have to CHECK IN with you guys and stay accountable. So here goes...

1. Exercise at least THREE times a week.
2. Eat SIX servings of fruits and vegetables a day -- ideally, three fruits and three vegetables.
3. Drink 80 ounces of water a day. That is 10 "glasses" of 8 ounces each.

These are goals I think I can do for now. More later. I am not going away because I need to take control of something in this crazy world where I feel less control. You guys are awesome, let's go for it!!

I Did It!

2011-05-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

I have officially lost all of my baby weight. 50 is now off my body, and I really don't want to ever see it back. I'm loving the fact that I can run 10k's and not feel like I'm going to die the whole time. I love the energy I have. I love that I sleep so well. But, most of all, I love that I'm teaching Ruby through my example about how to live a happy, healthy, and productive life as a healthy movin momma!

P.S. I did Zumba for the first time and LOVED IT!!!! Everyone should Zumba!

Belly Dance Workout

2011-05-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

Hey ladies! How's everyone doing? Are you getting close to reaching your goals?
I know its hard, but I if we put our minds to it, we can achieve.

I'm still struggling, and at times, don't feel like doing anything. But exercise and getting in shape has always been in the back of my mind. I just need to motivate myself a little more, or maybe do things differently. I think what I need to be totally motivated is to do something that I would consider fun, and would actually enjoy. Don't get me wrong, I love to take long walks. But even that can get boring. So, I'm going to temporarily eliminate old routine, and will try plugging in a new one.

I've always loved to dance. Mainly hip hop. But ever since I can remember I've always wanted to learn the art of belly dancing. So, where do I go for all of my FREE videos? YOUTUBE! Yep, that's right. Youtube has been my #1 source, and luckily there's lots of videos on belly dancing.

This particular video ( I think ) is a combination of aerobic and belly dance. It looks fun and something I will probably enjoy doing. My only problem is...trying not to shake the entire apartment unit (we live upstairs, and every little noise we make feels more like an earthquake just erupted). My challenge, of course, is to figure out how to do this exercise without annoying our downstairs neighbors.

WHAT ABOUT YOU LADIES? WHAT DO YOU FIND FUN TO DO AS PART OF YOUR EXERCISE REGIMENT?

Organic vs. Non-organic. And Why?

2011-05-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a short article that I read today about how consuming non-organic produce can make it that much harder to lose weight. According to this article, researchers believe that the "toxins can interfere with the energy-burning process." Interesting eh? I think so.

For the past several years, I've been buying organic produce whenever possible simply because I don't like the idea of eating food that's been sprayed with pesticide (even though I always make sure the produce gets washed thoroughly). Who wants harmful chemicals in their food anyway, right? Well, now that I've read this article, I'm motivated even more to continue to look for special deals/sales on organic produce in the grocery store. Yes, some organic stuffs are pretty pricey, but you can actually find pretty good deals when they're on sale. FYI... the article has a short list of produce that you should buy organic as well as produce that doesn't necessarily have to be organic. I guess the rule of thumb is, "if the skin is thin, go for the organic ones. If the skin is thick and can be peeled, non-organic should be fine."

Well, now that I know pesticides and toxins are the enemies, I think I will try to increase my allies in my battle to lose weight. In other words, buy more organic.

I'm a Yo-yo!

2011-05-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I weighed myself again today hoping to see better results. But, instead of having lost more weight, I gained weight. In fact, I think I've gained all the weight that I lost the last few months. What's the deal?

I think I need to travel some more, run from one terminal to the next, to shed some serious pounds. LOL!

So, here I am... a yo-yo. My weight is up and down. I wish it would be more down than up. LOL!

Ticker Change

2011-05-05T07:15:00.001-07:00

I'm now in Maryland for 4 months. The food is amazing, and that's difficult for me. However, with all the stress of moving I still managed to only skip one of my work outs (first time in 5 months). But doesn't moving and cleaning count as a work out? Anyway, I love running here, and because of that I've lost more weight. I'm down to 152 which means that I lost 46 pounds! I think I'll reach my goal of losing my baby weight in 9 months. My thought was it takes 9 months to gain, so it will take 9 months to lose....and I'm doing it!!!

Current weight 152

Ideal weight 140

Pounds to lose 12

If you're in the American Fork area...

2011-05-03T23:57:00.001-07:00

...come to the Rec Center at 7 pm and hear me speak! As one of the Women of Steel I get the opportunity to do a little inspirational speech the night before the triathlon and because I am so awesome you know it will be fabulous :-) Well, I'm hoping it will be fabulous. I only have it about half written thus far!

Binge Eating Disorder

2011-04-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to look up information about binge eating disorder. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have it.

Here's the information I found:
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/binge-eating-disorder/default.htm

If only it were easy to overcome!!! I feel pretty discouraged.

Severe Lack of Motivation

2011-04-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't wanted to report because I know that I set a huge goal a couple of week ago, and haven't done anything to accomplish it. I think I did good for the first three days, then not so good after that.

I just don't feel motivated. I want my body to be in better shape... but I don't feel motivated enough to do anything about it.

Mud Run

2011-04-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

Tell me if I'm a little bit crazy. I really want to do a Mud Run. What is a mud run? Basically it's a 5-10K run through a military style obstacle course. In the mud. At the end you are almost entirely caked in mud. That sounds totally awesome to me. But not to anyone in my family! I thought my crazy sister was going to do it with me and she called me today to say that she didn't want to do it after all. Because she didn't want to get so muddy! Seriously!!!!! So now I'm contemplating how hard I want to beat the bushes for like minded people. There are two mud runs in Utah on June 4. One is down south (New Harmony) and one is up north (Soldier's Hollow). I'm putting out a call for any interested parties so I can decide which one to do, if any. What do you guys think? Crazy? Or totally fun?

By the way, I am officially signed up for the St. George Marathon now (did I already post about that?) and will start training in earnest in June. I'm so excited because I'll do most of my long runs up north in the higher elevations and then do the race down here. Such a great training strategy and I didn't even plan it that way!!! Also, I'll be up in American Fork on May 21 for the Women of Steel triathlon. They haven't confirmed, but I think I'll be giving an inspirational speech the night before as the last year's Women of Steel tend to do. So if you're in the area, stop by! I'll try to be as brilliant as I can. :)

Revelation

2011-04-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

I realized something last night while I was contemplating my weight and what I need to do about it. I realized that I call myself - fat. Big surprise, huh? Well, I saw it in a whole new light last night.

I call myself fat, like that's my name. I am Fat.

But that's not my name. That's not who I am. So, here's me changing that thought process.

I am Kotryna.

I am Kotryna. Fearless, strong, passionate, full of love, and independent. I have faith. I have a tendency to be corny, clumsy, forgetful, and forgiving. I love just about everybody, especially if they've got strange quirks.

I can do anything I want to. Let me say that again - I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT TO!

I know I'm a good person and a good mother and wife. I love God and all He has done to show me how special I am, how worth it I am to fight for. I love to be happy and cheerful and laugh. I know I am not perfect, and I am OK with that. I know I am a work in progress and that's OK.

I am Kotryna.

I love being healthy. I am athletic. I love competing against myself and beating my personal best. I love to hike, camp, ride horses, play basketball, and bike. I love to wrestle with my boys. I love the feeling after a good workout when I realize that I can do more, that I'm getting stronger.

Here's me getting back in the saddle and continuing on my journey.

big baller

2011-04-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

I posted this on my personal blog, but I thought it was appropriate for here, too:

I'm really proud of myself this month. I went out of my comfort zone and did something that really, I've never done before. Never thought I could do.

I played basketball.

Rewind, Angela, age 14: Yes, I joined the young women at Church in the annual basketball tournament, but I was terrible. I was short. I didn't have any fun. I did it for the social atmosphere. I got to see my friends, and plus the young men were having a tournament at the same time so I got to see them, too *wink* By no means was I a basketball player.

Rewind, Angela, age 20: At BYU, my roommate slash dear friend slash favorite person Sarah was an excellent basketball player. I went to all of her intramural games, and what did I do? I kept the scorebooks. I marked off points and switched the jump ball sign and did whatever else the sidelined scorekeeper did. The two of us were also big fans of the BYU women's basketball team and went to almost all their games for four years. I've blogged about this before. Anyway, my point is, I was awfully good at cheering for other people playing basketball. I didn't dare do it myself.

So, why did I start playing basketball in January? Frankly, I was trying to fit in more exercise. I wanted to be more healthy. I aimed to work out every single day. I also kept track of my calories and food intake. I used this Web site that told me if I played a real basketball game for 90 minutes I would burn more than 900 calories. OK then, I'm sold. Maybe I'm terrible, but let's get out there and burn some calories.

And I had a blast.

Yes, I'm still short. But I'm kinda scrappy and stole the ball from people. I did manage to make a few baskets. I made a lot of new friends. We played Thursday nights and Saturday mornings, and basically whoever came, we made up teams and ran around for awhile. I was astonished actually at how much fun I had, sweating with new friends and just trying and feeling good about myself. Of course, HA!, my knees sort of took a beating and my right shooting arm would be sore after every game, but that's OK. A game every once in awhile is good for you, as long as you take it easy afterward :-)

The last game was last week; we had a big tournament over the course of a few weeks between four or five different stakes. The first game we lost miserably, ugh it was bad, so we went into the losers' bracket. We won one game by forfeit, then played that team that beat us miserably again. And this time the tables were turned! We creamed them! And I even got a basket. Some girls on our team are really good and get baskets every time, but me, I just get lucky every once in awhile. I came home that night on top of the world. (We lost our next game but it was still lots of fun. And lots of calories burned.)

The funny part about this is: I was a spectator for all those years. All those years I thought I wasn't good enough, I couldn't play, no one would want me on their team. But when I finally said, "to heck with it, I'm only here for the exercise," I had so much fun. I am really glad I wasn't a shrinking violet. I ran fast and clapped loud and made mistakes and had fun.

The moral of the story is: I'm not going to waste another minute of my life, no way. I can do what I want to do. I don't have to be on the sidelines, watching everyone else have fun. I hope I never forget this lesson.

Thrown for a loop

2011-04-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

Pretty personal here...

I just found out that I might have an eating disorder - BED. Binge Eating Disorder. It's basically like bulimia just without the vomiting. I had been doing so well with staying on track and losing weight at a healthy rate, and then a couple of months ago I started noticing that I'd begin to sabotage myself over a weekend by eating and eating and eating. If I wasn't eating, then I'd pace around the house, trying to talk myself out of going into the kitchen. But that wouldn't work. Just to calm myself down, I'd go get something else to chow down on. This would last over about three days, and then I'd relax and start back up again with my "diet". I guess I've always had binge episodes, but never to this extent, and they didn't start like this until I was actively and consistently trying to lose weight.

Now, I'm finding it very difficult to get motivated again. I keep thinking, "What's the point? I'm just going to ruin it all anyway." I guess I've got to get through the shock of it and find a way to get over myself. I'll be going to the doctor to find out what my options are.

I am still dedicated to making this my year to get my health under control. This is a setback I wasn't expecting, and when I'm not depressed about it, I can feel my real me wanting to take it by the horns and not let it beat me or my goals. But that feeling is still fleeting right now. Mostly I want to give up and accept that I'll be fat the rest of my life.

So, I've got to fight to stay on top of my imperfections. Fighting is hard work, but if anyone can do it, then I can. Right?

Right.

Ticker Changes/ Texas

2011-04-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, everything really is bigger in TX! This week Brad and I were in Houston looking for housing because we're relocating there for Brad's job. We went to the Papa's chain restaurants, including Papa's BBQ and Papacito's. Those portions were out-of-control big. Brad and I split and entree and still couldn't eat it all. When I asked the locals why their portions were so big there responded, "We just like to give you some now, and some to eat later." Well, people of TX, you're not really helping all the over eaters out there, like me! No matter how hard I tried, I always ate way too much, but the crazy thing was I still had tons to take home to gorge myself on later that night/ for breakfast the next morning. While I love, love, love the people, and the city, it will take a while to get used to the food!

Despite my crazy TX food experience, I still lost 1 pound, and I ran 6 miles today. I guess if I can run 6 miles 4 weeks before my 10k, then I should be able to do it. I'm not looking to have a fantastic time, I just wanna finish.

Back to TX...When I went to meet Brad's fellow employee's, their wives commented about how good I looked for having a 7 month old. I told them I gained 50 pounds, and the only way I'm losing the weight is working out 6 days a week. It hit me after that conversation with those women that I really have come a long way. I may not be back to pre-Ruby weight yet, but I'm setting realistic goals for myself, and doing the best I can. After I got home after an exausting day of plane delays, etc. I was tired. But something inside me says that I can't go to bed unless I've worked out. Considering that, I think I've come pretty far, and I'm happy!

Great walk

2011-04-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

The last few days I didn't do too well with working out and eating more healthier. I was in a slum because there had been some bad news from my family in WA. I wasn't motivated because all I could think about was my family and how I could help them. But today, I decided to get out and go for a walk/jog at one of the parks that Madi and I used to go on a nearly daily basis. It's almost like Green Lake in WA, but this one doesn't have "beaches" or a playground for kids. It does however, have fishes, turtles, and ducks/mallards. And other people beside myself who walk/jog there.

Today I did more walking than jogging. I pushed myself to last about 1 hour. I haven't walked/jogged for an entire hour in a long time. I felt great afterward. My goal is to continue walking/jogging every other day, and to do it for about 1 hour. Hoping nothing comes up that'll deter me from achieving this goal.

health coach goals

2011-04-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

I thought you guys might be interested in the goals I set with my health coach last week. I started them officially today... and I think these are great short-term goals. If I can do these for two weeks, then we'll make it a little more tough :-)

Here they are:

1. No food after 8 PM. (Ideally, no food in the 2 hours before bed.)

But, if I HAVE to eat, I should eat a vegetable or low-fat protein only (cheese stick, yogurt, similar.)

2. Journal all my exercise on MyFitnessPal or similar. Workout 3-5 times a week.

If I can go a step further, journal my food intake as well.

3. Drink 56 ounces of water daily. (This is a step up from my last goal of 48 ounces water.)

If I can go a step further, drink 64 ounces water.

There you go. I'm also trying to cut out sweets (so hard) and eat more healthy. For example we grabbed lunch at McDonald's today. And I got a salad! I actually like their salads. I was proud of myself for that good choice.

Any short term goals for you? Who wants to do this with me? Anything I need to ask my coach on your behalf? haha ;-)

Ernestine Shepherd...What an Inspiration!

2011-04-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

This lady is one amazing woman. Ernestine Shepherd is 74 years young and a bodybuilder. She's an inspiration and an example that anyone can be fit at any age. After watching this video and hear her talk about how she would get up EVERY morning at 3 a.m. to read her scripture before she does anything else, I was like "WOW! Are you serious?!" And yes, she is serious! She not only reads her scripture, but she also give thanks and asks God for help in her exercises. She says, "all the exercise in the world is not going to help if you don't pray about it." Then at 4 a.m. she goes out and run 10 miles. Ernestine says we need to be "determined, dedicated, [and] disciplined to be fit." She also thinks exercising is fun. If she think of it as work, then it's not something she wants to do.

Well, after listening to Ernestine talk about her morning routine, which includes starting off with reading the scripture, thanking God and pray about exercise, I'm more determined to get fit and stay fit. I don't want to be a bodybuilder, but I do want to be toned with six pack abs.

So, tomorrow I'm going to start off with reading my scriptures, thanking and praying to Heavenly Father for help in my exercise regimen.
Who's with me?? We can do this together ladies!!

This video is 11 minutes long because it's a segment from the 700 Club TV show. The first 5 1/2 minutes covers the story about Ernestine, and other 6 minutes has nothing to do with Ernestine or fitness.

This is a short clip on Ernestine, her accomplishments in the bodybuilding world, and the work out classes that she teaches.

Staying fit shouldn't be a short term goal.

2011-04-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

I weighed myself this morning, and the scale showed 120. For the past two weeks, my weight hasn't changed much. It's both good news, and bad news. Good news--I'm not gaining weight. Bad news--I'm not anywhere near my intended target--to shed more pounds and be down to 110 pounds by, say... June 2011 (hoping). I have two months to lose 10 pounds. I think it's attainable if I work really hard at it.

On a side note, I found a thought provoking quote by William Shakespeare, "The golden age is before us, not behind us." This made me ponder a little more as to why I should be more motivated and more consistent with eating healthy and exercise on a regular basis. I realized that not only do I want to be healthy now, but I should want to be healthy when I'm in my golden years. 20 years from now I don't want to be "confined" and be limited in physical movements because I had failed to commit myself to maintaining a healthy lifestyle by regular exercise and nutritious meals.
I want to be active and run around with my kid(s) and grand-kids (hopefully there will be grand-kids in the future :-).

So, in short, my desire to be healthy should not be a short term thing. I should plan to be fit and healthy for the rest of my life. I want to be like one of those ladies that can kick butt in Zumba at 50 or 60 years old.

Here's a short youtube video on a granny doing the zumba.

finally, angelalois speaks up

2011-04-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

OK. My summary. HA. Let's just say I haven't posted because I'm slacking and lacking motivation! GAH!

After March rolled around (remember I was sick in February), I finally had some healthy days, but still felt overall pretty blah. And I just couldn't do it. I'd go a whole day without a treat then eat 3 bowls of ice cream after dinner. I'd go a whole day without vegetables. I don't know what it was. It's like, I KNOW the things that make me feel successful, but I just couldn't bring myself to do them!

Overall, I am worried about my medical condition... gosh it is always something. In the past 1.5 months, I've had many ailments:

Knee joint pain
Sore throat(s)
Cracked, itchy hands
Carpal tunnel? Seriously? A pain in my wrists
Head injury where I smacked my head on a metal chair AND IT HURT LIKE HECK!
Urinary tract infection? or not? I just need to kick up the cranberry juice and water I think
Icky bloated womanly CRAP

I.E., I feel like junk. And I suppose not exercising and eating a lot of sugar is a HUGE culprit in this yuckiness. I believe I've put on a few pounds, but I made myself a deal: I'd be really really really good this week and weigh myself next Monday morning. This week is my week to recoup, so I need every minute to count.

It starts now.

In fact:

I've been recording on My Fitness Pal my food for today
I'm planning to exercise after dinner (or maybe Wesley's nap if he gets up soon)
I've eaten two fruits already today and one vegetable
I've only had super healthy carbs -- homemade whole wheat bread

Other goals for this week:

Exercise daily (6 days! Gah! we'll see if it can be done)
Track my 10 points... maybe I will replace February and March with April and May to give myself a full 100 days!
No treats; no eating after 8 PM

Right now it's not so much about losing weight as it is FEELING BETTER and getting back to where I was a few weeks ago. (So I guess yes it is about losing weight :-) I do find when you write down everything you eat you tend to EAT A LOT LESS so you don't have to write it down! Seriously.

ALSO, one of bit of (fat-free, carb-free, sugar-free) icing on the cake: I have a health coach through my insurance company. I have a phone call scheduled for this week to talk about my goals and issues. That should be interesting!

So, let's keep motivating each other. You guys are awesome and I need this.

Rose's Birthday Challenge

2011-04-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hello! You get to see me on video this week. :)

I also have a friend who challenged me to a race to get back to 120 pounds. I report directly to her every week too!

Longest Run

2011-04-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

I know this is not a crazy good improvement, but my longest run is now 5 miles. I'm so close to my 10k that I'll do on my 23rd birthday. I'm excited! I finally know what a runners high feels like!

KG Update

2011-04-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I've done pretty well on my own so far I'd say. I lost another two pounds and am hoping for more in the next few weeks. Yipee! I've been struggling with my eating and I have good days and bad days. I get on a health kick for a few days, and then I struggle with the carb and sweet cravings. But, I recognize my weakness and I work on it all the time.

I've recently begun biking again and I love it. I have a new motivation to lose weight, and that is to be a more effective cyclist. I want to improve my time and be able to climb hills better.

I've also recently come up with a pretty darn good smoothie that makes me feel so good after I drink it. My kids love it too, and they don't even know how healthy it is for them. Here's what I put in it, but I make adjustments based on what I have on hand, and it always turns out good.

3 kale leaves
few handfuls of spinach
1 cup water
1/2 cup grape juice
1/2 banana
1 kiwi

I blend all this up first and then I add frozen mixed berries until it's the consistency that I like. Sometimes I even add a tablespoon or two of protein powder.

Try it! The kale and spinach you can pack in there and you can't even taste it, but you can feel good about getting such good greens in your diet. It would be a perfect breakfast.

So, this is my update! Until next time...

Nutrition Before & After a Run

2011-04-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

This just a little tidbit on nutrition for a pre & post run. I was reading an article on Ask.com about training for a 5K, and the type of food to avoid before and after you run. It's not a surprise to read that one should stay away from high fat food such a hamburger, fries, and cheese, etc. But I was surprised to learn that lactose free drinks such as rice and almond milk are hard to digest because it doesn't have any sugar lactose.
If you want to check out the webpage that I had mentioned earlier, and for a list of certain foods to avoid & eat before a good run, click here.
(I was going to copy and paste, but decided not to because it was a bit long).

Do you have suggestions/ideas to add to the list of food to avoid for those who might want to start running?

Marianne Checks In!

2011-03-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

Things here are going ok. I'm actually a little heavier than I want to be but I'm going to pretend it's muscle doing that to the scale and not my still jiggly stomach. I'm very excited to register for the St. G. marathon on Friday when it opens up. Yippee! I have also been so darn proud of myself in the running I have done since I ran with my brother. I used his tip for running up hills (shorten your stride but maintain your cadence) and have run all the hills in my workouts since then! I discovered that walking up the hill kills your momentum so much more than you think it will. Even stopping to walk for just a tiny bit kicks you in the tush. So don't walk, ladies! Just do it! I felt SO good when I made it up the killer hill by my house. It wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined it would be (as I walked it lo these many months) and at the top of the hill it wasn't a struggle to get back into my running cadence. The running at the top of the hill was cake compared to running up the hill and actually felt really good. So, to recap, don't walk! You can do it!

Oh, and I'm sad because I finally decided to do the Utah Valley Half (I have several friends & relations doing the full marathon) but they are sold out except for 4 person teams. Anyone want to be on my team? Everybody would run the full distance but your times would be averaged and you would then compete against other teams. I'm back and forth on it because races are so darn fun but I do have quite a full racing schedule this year.

In food news, I'm keeping fewer treats in my house (which I curse every night at about this time) but I'm really in a slump as far as dinner is concerned. We're eating very boring, not terribly nutritiously glorious meals. I should do something about that. But I probably won't.

Leslie's Post

2011-03-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

I'm a work-outaholic now. I have done 2 works outs a day now this week, and I've still been able to maintain my 6 days a week work out schedule since New Year's (I still can't believe I'm doing it).

I've lost a total 42 pounds, but can't seem to lose the 8 extra to get down to my pre-Ruby weight. Sometimes I get really discouraged, because I'm trying so hard and not seeing as many results. Believe it or not, I'm not even having problems overeating! I'm drinking at least 10 glasses of water a day, 5 fruits and veggies, and lots of fiber. I take Ruby for a walk everyday, I run with 2 of my girlfriends, things really are going great. So, why should I be discouraged, right?

Speaking of running, I've joined a running group called the Village Runners to help people in Laos. I have a lot of Lao friends, so it's fun to get together and run, and keep up with each others lives.

I can honestly say I'm doing my best, and my clothes are the proof. BIG NEWS: All of my old jeans fit. Yep- every single pair! So, is it true, is weight really just a number? Because right now, I'm feeling a gazillion times better than I did about a month after I had Ruby. And, besides, muscle weighs more than fat.

I'm sure I'll lose the extra weight. I should be happy I've lost this much in 6 months....I guess...

Rose is here!!!

2011-03-30T06:26:00.003-07:00

Here is my roll call post. I have not lost any more weight since December of 2010. There were some times that I briefly escaped the 140s, but my body seems pretty determined to stay in that range.

I didn't do the 100 Day Challenge! Whoops.

My goal was to be back to 120 pounds by now. I have 20-25 pounds to go for that. Usually I'm motivated for the first 6 hours after making a goal, and then I'm not so motivated any more!

On the plus side, I'm not craving sugar and sweets like I used to. I think I'm past the "baking kick" that started at the beginning of December. 4 full months of baking! Yikes... that would explain why I'm still holding on to 20 pounds that I don't want to be there!

I have company all this week, so I doubt I'm going to be able to stay on the wagon of working out this week. So... NEXT week... I think I'll start 6 weeks of Biggest Loser workouts, plus yard work. Working out in the yard burns a gazillion calories for me!

I'm also going to try to find small ways to make my meals healthier. The other day, I made fried rice with brown rice instead of white. Also, when I'm hungry in between meals, I want to eat fruits, vegetables, and water.

I'll figure it out one of these days. My husband is still betting that I'll get pregnant again before I get back to my wedding weight!

I need some kind of competition, I think...

BlueDrangonfly Checks In

2011-03-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

While writing this I’m eating a Vegan Trail Mix Cookie. Why? God only knows. They sound healthy but do not fit into a 1,000 calorie diet. You read that right, for my height and weight I am awarded 1,000 calories per day. By estimation, I think I consume 1,500 calories a day and it feels sparse. So, I indulge...

My 100 day challenge had a few setbacks including illnesses and unplanned surgery. It made it difficult to focus on my diet and impossible to exercise. I found it hard sometimes to count my blessings and do what I can. I felt that if I was not exercising then there was not any point focusing on diet. That is totally wrong! I’d have to run a 12 minute mile pace for an hour to burn the amount of calories that can easily be eaten in four Vegan Trail Mix Cookies.

Illnesses and surgery forced me to use diet as weight loss rather than rely on exercise. What I found out about myself is that exercise makes me happy. I feel joyful after exercising and I don’t experience that same joy after eating 1,000 calories a day - imagine that.

In the future, I’d like to incorporate exercise without using it as a license to eat more. As for the 100 day challenge, I’m at 672 points. I’ve successfully made drinking water a habit and drinking anything with calories a once a week treat. My other success was no eating after dinner or in the middle of the night for that matter. Areas for improvement include exercising more and eating less sweets - nothing new there.

My next challenge is completing a 5k by running/jogging the entire way. I can go the distance easily but I want to be able to run the distance continuously. I’m not focused on a timed goal but to just run the entire race rather than walk the event. In the process, I want to shed the last 8 pregnancy pounds by the race on June 4th. My brother is getting married in August and I’d like to shed another 10 pounds. To accomplish 18 pounds of weightloss, I need to lose 1 pound per week consistently. Gulp. I’ll need your help. I’ve been losing at the rate of 0.8 pounds per week but that includes a lot of the easily lost pregnancy weight. I think these last 18 pounds to my ultimate goal will be much harder. Or, maybe I need to turn my thinking around.

No change

2011-03-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well, the past two weeks I didn't exercise much, and I didn't eat so well either. So, no huge weight change. Every time I stepped on the scale, I either gained or lost a pound or two. I guess it depended on what I was wearing and what I ate that day. So, I'm going to say that my weight is still the same.

The reason for the "lack" of motivation to exercise and eat properly was because my mental state was "de-railed" two weeks ago due to unexpected events that happened at the last minute. We had planned to go on a short vacation, but that didn't happen. On top of that, a family member was in a car accident, and I was more concerned about her well being than anything else. With all of that that went on, my eating habit shifted. It was hard to get back to "normal" once I was "de-railed." So, the last week I didn't do a whole lot; except for letting my mental state re-cooperate from all of the excitements from two weeks ago.

Now that it's been about two weeks since all of the chaos, I'm going to try and do better this week. Wish me luck! And I wish everyone great success as well!

Your Retired Teacher Wants a Roll Call!

2011-03-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

Hey all contributors, let's take roll! I want to hear a current update from KG, Rose, Marianne, Leslie, Nikiy, Angelalois, and all those lurkers out there.

Write in and tell us about your progress, efforts, goals, challenges, successes, and so forth. With April just around the corner I feel a need to refuel my energy for better health and nutrition and find that I get motivated by hearing from all of you. The 100 day challenge is nearly complete. How are your points totaling up? Did you achieve your goals? What will your challenge be once the 100 day challenge is complete? Did you make new habits that you think will be easy to continue without much effort? If you did not do the 100 day challenge at all, what did you do? What will you be focusing on next? Tell one, tell all!

P.S. - My answer to all these questions will be coming soon.

Back again

2011-03-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been sick around here, just like everyone else, and I didn't do anything for a couple of weeks. So, I didn't post. In those two weeks, I decided to stop going to the PT office and do this on my own for a little while. I felt that I could push myself harder in the workouts and that I was ready to make this on my own.

So, with that said, I had gained 4 pounds in the two weeks I did nothing except eat. I was pretty surprised at how much I ate. I felt like I was eating all day long, that I just wasn't happy unless there was some food in my mouth. It really felt like an addiction. I was living to eat instead of eating to live.

So, I got myself back on track after everyone got better. Last week, those 4 pounds that I gained were melted off again. I've been running more, eating better, and am focused again.

My new goal... bike the 12 miles in the Rigby Triathlon on May 28th. It's all flat, so it's not that difficult, but it will be a good hump to get over before the real triathlon in August. That triathlon has a grueling 14 miles of biking with about 2 miles of consistent uphill in the beginning. If I can do that, I will consider myself pretty accomplished.

Starting anew, I'll post my new weight loss next week.

Rose's Monday Weigh-In

2011-03-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Nothing exciting to report this week. I had to take a break due to shin pain... and I didn't do the gazillion pushups that I said I would do.

I'm hoping to get back on board this week with The Biggest Loser. Boot Camp on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Weight Loss Yoga on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Wish me luck! :)

9.5 Miles!

2011-03-20T00:17:00.000-07:00

I went running with my brother today into a COLD headwind. Managed to make 9.5 miles without dying. He runs much faster than I do but he very graciously ran slow with me and gave me some great tips. He has run lots of half marathons and several marathons and he said that he always runs 3 miles and then walks for .10. That's what we did this morning and it made it very do-able. I also used the "goo" for the first time and while it is fairly nasty it is also quite effective. My brother says that if I can run 10 miles then I can run a half marathon for sure so I am contemplating doing the Utah Valley Half in June. He is doing the full marathon so if anyone wants to run a slow half marathon with me...let me know! I have decided to for sure sign up for the St. George Marathon, though. I make the commitment next month (residents don't have to enter the lottery if they register in the month of April). I want to and I don't want to. It's a big race. Big commitment. I'm nervous that I won't be ready in October!

So, anyhow, could you change my ticker, Rose?

Ticker Change, Please!

2011-03-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

I mentioned it a couple of times on here, but I don't know how to change me ticker. I lost a total of 39 pounds now and would like to change my current stat of 36 pounds. Please, and thank you. Continue to kick butt ladies!

Yay!

2011-03-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I dropped down to 120. YAY! All that portion control and eating more fresh veggies and fruits really helped alot.

Rose's Monday Weigh-In

2011-03-14T07:32:00.001-07:00

Still in the 140s. I ran too much last week, so my shins hate me. So I might be taking a break this week... but the break isn't allowed to last longer than one week, and it's no excuse to pig out! :)

Tuesday Update: Pushing 150 pounds... if I'm not already there. AGH!!! Scratch the "rest" plan for this week... if my shins scream at me, I'll do a gazillion push ups!

2nd 5k

2011-03-12T18:35:00.000-08:00

I did the Rex Lee Run today. I came in 850th place out of 1356 runners. Not too bad. Plus I shaved almost 5 minutes off of my first 5k. I'm excited to do a 10K when I go home to Maryland for the summer!

On a negative note, I've eaten way to much! My granny is visiting and she's makes the best brownies and lemon shortbread cookies ever. I'm such a sucker for those dang cookies, it's ridiculous!

still sick

2011-03-08T10:20:00.000-08:00

I have now been sick for more than a month. I wake up with a sore throat every single day. Frankly, I am afraid to exercise since I don't want to beat my body while it's down. I called the doctor's office and the nurse said if I didn't have a fever, diarrhea, vomiting incidents, chills, etc., then chances are my sore throat was viral only and they couldn't do anything for me anyway. She told me to take ibuprofen.

But virus after virus after virus? This has to be some kind of record.

So, I'm in a bad mood because I feel like crap. And it's Girl Scout cookie season so I'm not eating that well either. But I am trying... yesterday was much better than last week. Every day is a chance to be better.

I've updated the sidebar with some junk I threw away. I basically think it's benefiting me the most because it's old junk food that is probably inedible anyway but I'd probably force down my throat anyway because I feel like I owe it to myself to consume what I've purchased. Does that make sense? Food is money, right?

Well, I've decided that life is too short to eat gross food.

This goes for wet salad mix as well. And especially kettle corn from the Evergreen State Fair (in August) and girl scout cookies from years ago and anything else that I don't have to eat simply because it's in my house.

That's all for now. I'm praying for more will power.

Let's Not Go Back!!!

2011-03-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, I weighed 139 on the scale this morning. Now that I've gotten past 140, and it's NOT Christmas cookie season, can I please not see the 140s again?!?!

I've been on a baking kick recently, which has made it difficult! This week, I'm going to satisfy my baking kick by FHE treats tonight, and taking something to a potluck on Saturday night. Plus, my usual unhealthy Saturday morning breakfast... :) AND... a loaf of whole-wheat bread. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect fluffy whole-wheat bread recipe!

So I couldn't drink a lot of lemon water last week, because we were out of lemon juice. However, my husband is going to be picking up some from the store today, so hopefully that will take care of that.

This is the last week of my PE class at school. 45 minutes of cardio, Monday--Friday of this week! Let's see if that helps the plateau...!

Philosophy of Jeans

2011-03-05T14:04:00.001-08:00

So I decided to buy a new pair of jeans. I have my favorite pair of jeans that now have holes in the knees (but they are the I'm Too Sexy To Care type holes and I wear them well), my not favorite pair of jeans that are a bit big and several pairs of Not My Size jeans. So in a moment of high emotion (read: PMS) I decided to do some retail therapy and finally buy a new pair of jeans. I know, dear reader, that you are thinking, "CAUTION!" Yes, PMS is a bad time to buy jeans. The size I thought I would want to buy (the size of my favorite jeans) was skin tight. Barely zip it up tight. Tight. We'll call this one Size X. I bought the size up, Size Y. And, of course, when I'm not retaining water they are too big. But Size X is still a bit tight. Oh how I wish there was a size X.5! I think I need to go try on a million pairs of jeans and find someone with an X that actually fits me. But who has that kind of time? Or that amount of emotional resources? (trying on jeans being, basically, a combat position in the clothing war)

Ugh. So I'm hitching up my jeans again, only this time I've paid $35 for the privilege.

Update

2011-03-05T09:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't lose any weight by my birthday. But, I didn't gain any weight either. So, it's both good and back news, I guess.
New game plan:
Still going to eat plain oatmeal w/a little bit of organic pure cane sugar for breakfast.
Still going to drink one cup of organic Red Rooibos herbal tea (non- caffeine) with a dash of creamer and a teaspoon of organic pure cane sugar.
Still going to keep busy through out the day.
Still cut down on fat and sugar intake.
Not going to eat standard 3 meals a day, but eat 6 small mini meals day. Will include more fruit and raw veggies.
Do brisk walks, if not jog, whenever we go play at the park.
Drink more water.

Hope this new game plan will work.

Thank You and My Update

2011-03-01T09:00:00.001-08:00

Hey Ladies! I love reading this blog and hearing what each of you are doing to be healthy moms. You inspire me with your determination. It is encouraging to know that I am not the only one on this journey to feel better and look great. With my growing and active children I am thrilled to be able to play with them more. I have more energy and when my daughter says, "Mom, climb with me. Go down the slide. Chase me," I happily can participate. Most of this is coming off of a really terrible pregnancy and now being 12 weeks postpartum. I'm not stopping here, I want to be in better shape than before this pregnancy. My brother is getting married in August and I'd like to weigh at his wedding what I weighed at my sister's wedding in 1995. This goal is only 10 pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight but those last 10 pounds are really hard to lose.

Here is my update:
I finally broke from 163 to 160!
I exercised 12 times in February.
My total weight loss is 25 pounds and I have 20 pounds to go by August 2011.
I have earned 340 out of 580 points in the 1,000 point challenge.

I just purchased the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout. It is only 20 minutes but you do it everyday. Yikes, can I really do it everyday for 30 days? Wish me motivation and persistence. If they say to do it everyday that what have I got to lose but weight and inches if I really do what she says?

Thanks for keeping me motivated everyone!

No News...

2011-02-28T21:59:00.000-08:00

Whoops, I accidentally posted this on my personal blog this morning! Now I need to put it here:

Stressful week = eating lots of junk and not exercising = still in the 140s.

Yesterday morning I ate something so fatty (and so delicious), that everyone here would probably gain 5 pounds by the mere mention of the dish on this blog!

This week, I have a battle plan... let's see if I'll stick to it.

Work out every day from Monday through Saturday.

Drink a small cup of lemon water before and after every meal (including dessert)!

Be active around the house too... cleaning it, organizing it... NOT sitting on my butt in front of the computer!

We're planning on doing our family pictures sometime this month, so I want to look amazing for them. C'mon scale... BUDGE! (Towards the smaller numbers, I mean...).

One more thing. Tonight, for Family Home Evening, is the only night I'm going to bake TREATS! Got it? Got it. Good. (whimper)

And on an additional note, I haven't been doing good on the water. I realized today (after I had already done my grocery shopping), that I don't have enough lemon juice to do that all week. So the lemon water routine will start next week, but I'm still going to try to drink plenty of water! I wasn't really active around the house today. Maybe I'll do better tomorrow!

Confessions of a Slacker

2011-02-28T21:05:00.001-08:00

I have been losing focus. After each Wednesday, I "celebrate" by slacking off a little, and my celebrations are lasting almost the whole week between weigh ins now. My father-in-law is here visiting and I am realizing how easily influenced I am with eating junk food. As soon as 8pm hits, he gets out the cookies, chips, or whatever else there is to munch on in the house and watches a movie. Man, that is hard. That's one of my favorite things to do! Munch and watch movies. Apparently it's his as well, and that doesn't help my motivation stick around.

Plus, my kids have been sick a lot lately... yada yada yada.

And I seem to make every excuse possible to explain why I have been cheating on my eating so much. No wonder I haven't been losing weight, even though my workouts have been intense.

My father-in-law leaves on Saturday to go back home. I am getting myself all psyched up for how that will help me. He's helped us out in countless other ways, but my eating has suffered.

On another note, I wanted to share a website that I'm enjoying. They post a workout to do everyday using interval training. I think it's interesting and I'm planning on taking it on soon. Check it out...

http://www.bodyrock.tv/

Checking back in on Wednesday - KG

KG Weigh In

2011-02-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

None. No pounds lost. But guess what? I'm not worried about it.

In the past few days I have noticed that I am definitely smaller and that makes me happy. I have also increased the intensity of my workouts and that makes me feel pretty good.

I was shaving my legs the other day and noticed that my calves were pretty defined. They haven't looked this good in years! I may be big still, but there are surely changes going on and those are very encouraging.

I might have to post pictures to compare to later pictures as well. We'll see though. :)

Stats:

Current weight - 199.5 lbs.

Weight lost - 0

some visual motivation

2011-02-22T16:55:00.000-08:00

I am sorta weird but did this on purpose: Yesterday, being that it was a holiday, was 50% off at Value Village, one of my favorite places to shop. I suppose I like it 1) for being cheap, and 2) because I see the clothes I buy there as a transitional clothes. Yes, sigh, if I was a superstar and had lost the 20 pounds I wish I had lost by now, maybe I'd go out and buy new clothes in a teenier size, but since I'm still working toward my goal any clothes I buy are "transitional" and therefore I don't want to pay full price and it's not that big of a deal if they are used.

That being said, and perhaps this is a smidge contradictory, I bought some shirts yesterday that were cute but didn't fit me 100%. They are a bit too small! They fit OK, but they don't look the best because they are too tight.

Where am I going with this? This post is really for BLCT, who is mother and is a lurker on our blog. My madre goes to see her doc every 6 months, and always hates it for the same reason I hate going to the doc: that they weigh you. But my AWESOME MOM had lost 16 pounds at her doctor visit a few weeks ago! GO MOM! So I said we would embark on a little journey together and make a goal to lose another 15 pounds by her next appointment, in August. And if she wants she should join the blog and type up some entries :-)

SO! Here I am in my new shirts today... and I'm going to lost 15 pounds and take the same pictures again in August! I am excited! (I really like how Rose posts her weight loss photos in the same shirt. It gives great comparison.)

(Disclaimer: I suppose it is in the realm of possibility that I could be pregnant in August, because I'd sure like to be on the pregnancy bandwagon, but as of this very second a pregnancy is not in the cards so we'll just assume I have 6 months to embark in this little journey. If plans change than we'll make it for August 2012, how about that?)

Why I didn't smile I don't know. I think I'm feeling a little stupid setting the camera on a timer. But whatever. That last blue one is my favorite. It's Banana Republic, new with tags!! I got it for $3.50! Hot dog.

OK, here we go! I updated my ticker to 12 pounds... since we started in January 2010 I have lost 12 pounds. Let's do 15 more!

I like to Move It, Move It!

2011-02-22T13:44:00.000-08:00

No crazy weight loss to report. But, I do have good news. I have worked out 6 days a week for 8 weeks straight. It feels so good to actually stick to something! Now, if I could only stick to my diet! AH!

Total weight loss: 36 pounds

Yippee!

2011-02-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

I know it's been several weeks since I last posted on here. And I feel terrible about it. Now that we're settled down, I will try to post at least once a week, if not more. And try to interact alot more on this blog than on FB.
So, to keep you up to date on my weight loss status, I have lost a few pounds. I was surprised because I did quite a bit of traveling for an entire week, and didn't get to eat any home cooked meals. But I guess going from one end of the terminal, and walking here and there really did give me a workout.

My size 10 petite jeans is a little loose. And I can fit into a size 8. So, I definitely lost some pounds, I just don't know how much because when I started I didn't have a scale. I was going by pant size. However, since we moved to Spring, TX, I went to Target and bought myself a scale. So now, I weigh myself everyday. So far, my weight fluates between 123 & 125. I guess it just depends on what I ate that day. So, technically, I currently weigh 125 pounds. I am aiming to get down to 120 by March 4. That's my birthday. And what a geat birthday gift to myself if I could go down to 120. I would be singing "happy, happy, joy, joy!"

What I Ate The Next Day

2011-02-21T20:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, for science's sake I'm going to do another eating post. It's interesting to see it in black and white (and red all over. hahaha).

Breakfast/Lunch: We slept in and didn't eat anything until about 11 am. Then I had a fried egg and two bowls of fruit loops (bonding moment with my older daughter). Glass of crystal light "juice" (as my 2 yr old calls it).

Afternoon snack: Handful of gummy bears, 3 or 4 rollos (darn those children for leading me down this path of temptation..."Mo canny, mama?")

Dinner: Spaghetti, large salad, carrots and crystal light (I hate the taste of plain water). A few bites of stovetop stuffing. That was a request from the 2 yr old, by the way.

FHE treat: chocolate cookies made from cake mix (a little odd but still chocolate and therefore good). I had two or three with a glass of milk (whole because I was too lazy to get out both gallons of milk. My skinny minnie girls both still drink whole milk to try to make it so you can't see their ribs.)

Late Night Snack: More of the odd cookies (3) and 1% milk

I'm all done eating for today.

Rose's Monday Weigh-In

2011-02-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, I weighed 140.5 today. I saw that it was hovering around there, so I stuck around long enough to see the exact number. I'm glad to see it's on the low end of the 140s today. Hopefully I will be in the 130s by next week! (Gee, that sounds familiar).

Also, for those of you who didn't catch it... Marianne offered the great suggestion of being too busy to eat! That's certainly worked for me, and I highly recommend it. :)

Oh... and you know how I've been "stuck" for the past 2 months? I decided to measure myself out of curiosity, and I discovered that my body fat percentage is now below the 30% mark! (29.24% to be exact). I was also surprised to discover inches lost from various places in my my body, including 2.5 inches from my shoulders and 1.75 inches from both my hips and thighs.

So even though I thought I wasn't making progress, I guess I was!

What I Ate (The Use Your Imagination Version)

2011-02-20T21:40:00.000-08:00

I'll take up Rose's challenge but as it is retrospective I do not have photos.

Breakfast: Chugged down a protein drink made with frozen peaches & almond milk while simultaneously feeding & clothing the baby and just prior to letting the dog out & feeding him (having just poured my 7 yr old's cereal & milk)

Lunch: Small bowl of tomato soup & 3/4 of a grilled cheese sandwich before dashing off to choir.

Dinner: Large salad with vidallia onion vinagrette (yummy!), manicotti (homemade), roll & water. 4 pieces of lemon meringue pie. I am not kidding. 4 pieces. I finished the kids' pieces and just kept going. It was delicious.

Late night snack: ??? I'm hungry. Will probably eat a roll. Maybe mint oreos and milk.

What I Ate Today

2011-02-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

As promised... I photographed what I ate today. Does anyone else want to try it? It'll be fun to see what kind of stuff we eat.

Breakfast: 100% Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

This is a jumbo one. I ate one and didn't like it. That kept me from going back for more!

Lunch: Peanut Butter and Honey "Sandwich"

We had some hot dog buns that needed to be used... so I spread it on one of those instead of bread.

Dinner: Peach Cobbler

Holy sugar Batman! After I did the math, I realized that my serving alone had 1/3 cup of sugar in it. Bleck.

After Dinner: Cheese Slice

I needed something to counteract all that sugar, so I asked for a slice of cheese.

And that's what I've eaten today. I've only had water to drink, because we need to run to the store on Monday to get more milk!

By the way, the only thing that I ate today that I recommend is the slice of cheese.

i threw away...

2011-02-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

Here's my junked junk food:

two crushed mini candy canes
two huge Valentine's Day lollipops that were -- wait for it -- from VDay 2003
a mini bag of Sour Patch kids (I hate those; why are they in m house?)
two candies that have Japanese writing on them... I'm not even sure what they are! why would I put that in my mouth??
two lollipops that were shaped like Micky Mouse... darn cute, but definitely old and inedible
a baby bottle filled with rock candy which was given to me in 2008; I used it as a rattle for a long time with Wesley when he was a baby, then I started eating the candy. I liked it and all... but it was in 2008. And now the rest of the rock candy has congealed. It doesn't even rattle.
another heart-shaped lollipop from a VDay many moons ago (sad)
A "Montevergine," candy from Brazil my brother gave me when he got home from his mission... in like 2001... he gave me two and one was really good and I ate it, so I guess I decided to "save" the other one. And now it's hard as a rock. SEE YA!

That felt good! Maybe I'll do it again sometime.

Junk Food Disposal Challenge

2011-02-18T15:54:00.000-08:00

Okay... so concerning junk food, I assuming that some of us eat it because we don't want it to go to waste. So, we use our bodies as a garbage disposal, and the junk winds up going to our "waist" instead.

So here's the challenge!

Throw away some junk food that is calling your name. Just chuck it into the trash and don't think back. If you need to, open the package and dump the contents into the trash, to curb the urge to go trash picking later.

Here's what I'm throwing out. 3 partially eaten McFlurries. They belong(ed) to my children. It's their leftovers in the freezer... but my husband told them that if they didn't behave, that we were going to eat their ice cream. They were monsters this afternoon... and so I was thinking "Hooray! I get M&M McFlurries!!!"

Well... I'm going to go chuck them. Right now. The kids don't get them. And neither do I!

Okay, go grab some junk food and throw it away! Now!

EDIT: For fun, let's record how many calories went to waste instead of to our waists! The McFlurries were at least about 50% there. I went to the McDonald's website and looked up the calories. 710 calories in each of those little suckers! Multiply it by three and then by 50%, I get over 1000 calories! And to think that I was ready to eat all of those by myself! So come back and report on what you've dumped, and how many calories it was, and we'll record how many calories we've dumped as a group!

I've also updated the weight loss ticker to show how many pounds we've lost together as a group!!! :D

Plateau

2011-02-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

I have hit a plateau and am getting discouraged. I feel that I'm working hard at never getting really full and gradually increasing my exercising intensity and frequency. I'm doing really well at not eating at night after dinner but am having a hard time getting all of my water in. I'm nursing right now and feel thirsty all of the time. My goal is to not drink extra calories so that leaves water, water, and more water. It sounds like a lot of us are in a slump. One of the best ways I've lost weight in the past is to eat bite for bite with a skinny person. To do this, they have been my roommate or we have taken a trip together. Since I don't see a girls vacation coming soon I'll need to find another way. We should recruit a skinny person to our blog - someone who has navigated this weightloss journey already. I just want the scale to change in the ones place. I'd like to see **2 instead of **3. Argh!

KG Weigh In

2011-02-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

I didn't forget to post last week. I had gained a pound and felt too discouraged about it to have the desire to post it to the world. So, I worked extra hard this past week and I lost 2 1/2 pounds! That puts me in the 100's! I'm pretty happy about that.

I wanted to say to those of you who are feeling discouraged, just keep going and working at it! You'll get that motivation back if you keep working through the discouragement. You'll see results, if not as soon as you want to. They will come if you work and continue trying to change your way of life. Remember, it takes a lot of time to change yourself. It took a long time to develop the habits you have now, and it will take time to change those habits.

So, I'm off my soap box now.

Stats:

Current weight - 199.5 lbs

Weight lost - 2 1/2 lbs (Really it's 1 1/2 since I didn't post last week. Just for accuracy on the ticker on the sidebar.)

the flesh is weak

2011-02-16T22:35:00.000-08:00

Friends, I am alive. BlueDragonfly even drug me out of my house this week for some walk/runs and it was awesome.

But I am feeling sick... and tired... and weak. I got sick maybe two weeks ago, like lie on my side in front of the heater with a fever and I can't swallow sick. Then as soon as I thought I was recovered, I got a silly cold. And now that maybe that is going away, I am afraid I am getting something else. My throat is starting to hurt again.

It's just not fair. I feel so icky... not even close to 100%. And when I'm just lazing about the house, I am more tempted. Last week at Trader Joe's I bought this container of "s'mores," chocolate covered graham crackers and marshmallow treats. I thought, "this will be fun to indulge in on my day off." Yeah right. I bought the container on Saturday and today they are gone. I ate them all. I am so disappointed in myself. I've lost my "sweets" point for the last, uhh, two weeks.

Help! I need motivation! I feel so much better when I'm not eating sugar, but when my body is used to having it every day stopping cold turkey hurts! Why can't I keep the big picture in my head? Why can't I take care of myself better? When you're sick you need chicken noodle soup and OJ and rest, not chocolate! But not me. I lose all control.

Sooo it's been a tough week. Or two.