What makes you quit or stick?

So I have just been giggling all week over my hubs video (if you haven't seen it, please look at my post under this one). I wanted to figure out how I could show it to my coworkers. We have a collaboration day where the teachers get together and well...collaborate. Each week one of us take turns leading a reflection or an energizer activity. I volunteered to lead it this week. So then my task was to figure out how to make the video educational. I started think about how he would fall and kept getting up. Why did he keep getting up when it was clearly such a hard thing to do? I did it once, lost my top, and quit. So I made my theme, "What makes you stick with something even when it's hard to do?"

To start off, I had pics of me on table of before and after pics of me to remind them of what I used to look like. They always tease me, but I let them know how every day is still a struggle for me to make good choices. It's hard, but I stick with it. Here are some of the pics I shared with them: BEFORES:

AFTERS:

I had everyone choose one activity that was hard and they quit right away and give a reason for quitting. Some people said things like ballroom dancing because I have no rhythm or piano because I just didn't see the value in it. Then I asked them to right down an activity they've done that was hard but they stuck with it and why they were able to. Some people said things like smoking and to quit it took years of baby steps and behavioral changes to get it done. Others said learning about Reading Recovery skills and even though it took years to learn and was really tough since they saw the value in it and how it helped others they stuck with it. Another said it was dealing with her fathers death and what helped her was to lean on others and allows experts to help guide her along the way. Hmm that's funny, sounds very Weight Watchery to me. You learn from experts, go to meetings for support, have to know that you see the value in getting healthy and that you'll be able to keep it off, changing your behaviors for success, and celebrating the small successes. When people shared, I gave them a little sticker just like they do in my Weight Watcher meetings too!

Now what's funny to me is what started out was just an excuse to show my hubs trying to surf, ended up being an hour long conversation about quitting. I had a ton of teachers thank me afterwards for either helping them reflect on the quitting in their own life, children's or students lives. Also, some took the pics of me before and after to put on their fridge for their own personal weight motivation! It was very flattering and fun...all just so I could show my hubs video:).

A Quicky

I'd call this an "afternoon delight" but it's 9:00 PM where I live. So my hubs and I had a total BLAST acting like kids this weekend. My mom watched the boys for us, like usual. We started by riding up a 25 minute gondola to the top of a mountain.
There, we went inner tubing down 4 different tracks.

They have an escalator to take you back up the hill. Kind of a cheat. Would have been a great workout to walk back up, but you can't cause the only place to walk was the bunny hill and you'd get clobbered by the newbies. Then we went to the water park. They have 3 big rides that all take inner tubes. This was a good workout because I made sure I skipped stairs and went up them as fast as I could every time. I had to burn off my margarita and mudslide! Luckily I did 45 minutes on the StairMaster before going on this trip! Then there was this ride that simulates a wave that you can either surf or boogie board on. You know how in my last post I was worried my girls were going to fall out? Well guess what...one of them did when I fell off the boogie board and the 35 mph water shot me to the top of the ride. I know some guys saw because every time I walked by they'd elbow each other. To tell you the truth I felt a little bad for them. I mean, at least if you get a free boobie shot it should be a nice boob. Mine now after having 3 kids and losing 70 lbs. are just skin really. I call them my tribal boobs (like in National Geographic). Nothing good to see here people. Shield your eyes in fact.

Now I know I have stretch marks and probably have no business wearing a 2 piece, but I felt good in it. So good, I'm going to show you it now:

I forgot about shoes so I had to wear my snow boots to get over to the water park!

Behind me is the ride where I lost my top. My contact got very blurry that day and I couldn't see (plus one too many drink didn't help). So here's how I looked at the end of the night with my hubs.

I am proud that though I was sore in the am and had a bit too much to drink last night, I came home and still ran my 6 miles in 55 minutes! Not bad on a hangover.

And now for the best part. If any of you are down, sad, depressed, I invite you to watch this video of my hubs. It makes me laugh until I cry. I can't get enough of it. It shows true heart and tenacity.

This video is kind of symbolic for my weight loss/health journey. At first you don't succeed, you fall on your face, butt, arse, etc, but you pick yourself up and try again!

Thanks again blogger buddies

So thanks all for the advice. Also, thank you to you followers old and new. It's so flattering to see others want to read my babble.
I should bring the ingredients to school to have a little egg white omelet mini meal after school. I just liked the IDEA of bars with protein. But they really don't fill me, so I need to get another after lunch snack/meal. I have been better the rest of the week perhaps since I've been back to work.
I had my second day of 1/2 training today and I STRUGGLED. I ran 1 mile for a warm up at an easy pace. Then I ran 3 miles at a tempo speed which means a speed that pushes your stamina beyond your normal run. I had to stop twice to alleviate my side aches. Finally, I finished with a 1 mile cool down. I ended up running 5 miles in about 45 minutes. I did run at night and this was why I usually avoided it. It's hard for my temperamental tummy to run with food in it. I was a hot sweaty mess when I was done. On my off days, I am trying to add more toning and strength training. Yesterday I busted out my old Windsor Pilates DVD's and did the hips and thighs one then the abs one. I love that even though you don't lift weights with these moves, they are still very challenging.
On a scarier note, I went bathing suit shopping last weekend. I kept telling myself I'd have to wear a one piece to hid my stretch marks. But the one pieces I liked had the back or sides cut out and my scar still showed. So I found a higher cut bikini bottom and hid my tummy tuck scars and a bikini top I like. I'm just nervous at my age a- I have no business wearing it and b- I still have some stretchmarks. But, I feel good that I have a flat stomach now that looks good in a bikini. The last time I wore a bikini I had no business wearing one. Someone really should have told me. So, I bought one and will use it on an indoor water park this weekend. Now I wish I bought the sportier one to keep the "girls" from flying out while rushing down a water slide. I don't want to flash any children ya know!

Munchies

For some strange reason I had the munchies yesterday. I have upped my protein, but yet I just wanted to munch yesterday. I'm not sure if it was boredom since I was home instead of at work, or a reaction to having a long run on Sunday since I haven't had one in two weeks. I just don't know. I didn't work out at all yesterday. I had my normal protein cereal with milk. But then, I started grabbing a few bites of Cheddar Chex Mix. Then I had an apple to tied me over until lunch. Maybe I should have had it with some cheese or peanut butter? Then I had my lunch of baby carrots, 1 cup Mexican Style Chicken Tortilla, and my new favorite...Morning Start Mushroom burger. I also love the Morning Start Black Bean patty. They are tasty and are a great source of protein. I just have to make sure I also have a fruit or more veggies to keep full. Then a few hours later I was hungry again so I ate a granola bar with protein. Still hungry. Next I ate a Zone mini snack bar. Still hungry. Somehow I ended up on the couch with what was left of my kids' Cinnamon Toast Crunch and was eating it by the handfuls. I've NEVER done that! What in the heck? I rallied by having just light soup, 4 oz. lean cut steak, salad, and green beans. My dessert was sugar free jello. I just don't get it.

Today was a great day. I got up at 5:15 to run for 3.5 miles. On my training schedule, all Monday are just a light run. It said 2 miles, but I went for more. I want to do at least 35-45 minutes of cardio and if I run just 2 miles, that won't happen. Do I walk uphill the rest of the time? Should I do yoga to stretch? I need to exercise for more than 19 minutes on run days. Any advice runners? OR advice on my once in awhile food freak outs? I blamed it on not enough protein but I am eating WAY more than I used to.

I'm Back to Running

After one of my sons was diagnosed with a "little bit" of pneumonia a few weeks ago, I was ultra paranoid about my cough. Well, on Tuesday I finally tried running and ran for 4.1 miles. Then I did 1 minute on 2 minutes off sprints for 35 minutes and did a total of 4.7 miles. On Saturday, I did my Wii Fit which I hadn't done in 2 weeks either. Ouch am I sore today. I was worried that being sore I wouldn't be able to run a longer distance today, but I was able to. It only seems to hurt afterwards and not during luckily. I ran for 5.5 miles today! Starting Tuesday, I'm officially back in 1/2 marathon training. I am running a 1/2 marathon on my 36th birthday! People think it's a strange thing to do on your birthday, but I can't think of a better gift than the gift of good health! I am going to run several 5 mile, 5K, 10K, and a 12K before to prepare myself. Hopefully I have learned a little bit about food and my body so that I don't have a bad reaction and get sick like the last one. If I'm able to handle this 1/2, I may tackle a full marathon in the fall. It all depends on what my tummy does, but not eating Luna or Clif bars anymore has really helped!!! I have several friends now that are running, they say, because of me. It's weird to think that I am influencing people to RUN. Before I used to complain that I had no other friends that ran, but now I have a bunch and they ask if they can run races with me! My only problem is, when I'm running I'm in a zone. I don't think I'd be able to chit chat. And what if I want to go faster...wouldn't it be rude to leave people? There will be races when it's for a good cause and I won't be in competitive mode. But for the others I'm going to have to go it alone. Is that horribly selfish of me? I'm very happy to be their inspiration though. That's how I got started running. My sister in law has done an Ironman for crying out loud! Personally I can never see myself exercising for 12 hours straight! She is my inspiration. I think that's why it's important to have at least one healthy friend around. Your friends and family can be such an influence on your weight and health that you have to have at least one person to talk to, aspire to be like, or just have as a support. There are too many people that are saboteurs (usually without even knowing it).

Getting it Done Not the Same as Doing it Yourself

So today I kept watching my students "helping" each other. They were grabbing their friends' papers and writing answers for them or they would show their friend their paper so they could copy the answers. I told them that they may think they are helping their friends but they really aren't. Eventually, they need to learn the information themselves (they are 2nd graders). I came up with this example. What would happen if there was a teenager who watched their parents drive for years but never learned themselves to drive and you hand them the car keys. I'll tell you. Well what happened to me was I was 15 1/2 and it was my first day with a learners permit. I kept bragging to my step dad that I was such an awesome driver (though I had not driven a day in my life). So he basically told me to put up or shut up. He got out of his truck and told me to drive. It was 8 o'clock at night and he had an old truck that was some weird stick shift that didn't even go into 1st gear. So I started driving and some how shifted it and was able to drive it around the corner in our neighborhood. Then I got to our driveway that was shared with the neighbors and had a slight incline to it. I made it about 3 feet up the driveway before it died. I tried to restart it and get it going. I had trouble with the clutch and the truck just started lurching forward. The truck bumped into our neighbors Pinto over and over again as the truck would lurch forward, roll back, lurch forward, roll back. My step dad kept screaming at me to put on the brake. I thought I was hitting the brake the whole time when in actuality it was the clutch. I moved that Pinto with the giant truck from the driveway to the middle of their front yard. The only reason I stopped was that he finally ripped the keys out of the ignition. My problem was I couldn't just drive by watching others drive. I had to LEARN to drive all by myself.
I started thinking about this analogy. This is exactly how I feel about diet plans that make you buy their foods. Or these companies that ship you gourmet diet meals. I feel strongly that to live a healthy live and maintain your weight loss, you MUST learn to prepare food on your own. If it's not sustainable, your weight loss will not last. Now I know some people may not like Weight Watchers or may think that we obsess about points. For me, it's just learning about nutrition and portion control. It's about being conscious of what I put into my mouth daily. I know I still have a lot to learn. But I have learned enough to lose 65 lbs (now days), and have been at this weight or lower for the past 2 years. You just have to learn about food and labels, measure your food, and keep track of the amount you eat.

So Much Fun

I don't know why my hubs and I love dressing up so much but we do. We did not dress up for Halloween this year, so I guess this was our time to do it. At the party, there were a mix of healthy and nonhealthy snacks. I did well at the beginning by munching on the baby carrots, pineapple, and melons. After several drinks of a Boone's Punch ( when's the last time you heard that), I munched on a few nonhealthy snacks. I laughed almost all night though so that had to burn off some calories right? Well as promised, here's some of my Flashdance attire.

First, I had to have jelly bracelets and a bow in my hair. I tried to put big curls in with hot rollers but the curls didn't stick.

Then I had my cut grey sweatshirt and legwarmers.

Last, my hubs was a 80's big hair rocker. He looks like he belongs in the bad Twisted Sister!

Top it off with a little neon and I was ready to go!

I wasn't able to run today. All night when I'd laugh it would turn into a coughing fit. I will walk tomorrow and see how I do so I can hopefully run by Tuesday.

Feeling Better

I am so happy to be feeling better for many reasons. Hopefully by Sunday I'll feel up to running again. I'm really excited though for tomorrow. Now that I know I'm up to it, the hubs and I are going to an 80's theme party! Totally rad!!! It's actually not that much of a stretch since the 80's are coming back. I always wanted to be Madonna when I was little. You can buy lace gloves and jelly bracelets every where!!! I still don't feel too comfortable wearing a belly shirt though due to too many babies ans stretchmarks, so instead I decided to be the chick from Flashdance!

I bought an over sized gray sweatshirt that I'm going to cut, leggings, and leg warmers. Leg warmers are back. In fact, I bought 2 pairs and I'll have to take a pair back. I have tone of jelly bracelets and hot rollers to make my curls bigger. My hubs is going to be a hair band rocker! I Love this kind of stuff. And I feel comfortable now just wearing a sweatshirt and leggings. I NEVER would have worn that before! I'll have to get pictures but I can't wait!!!

Gentle Reminders

Having a cold right now, I get winded walking up the stairs. This reminds me of when I was overweight. Now-a-days, I can run up flights of stairs doing two at a time and not be winded. But today, it reminds me of when I struggled with stairs.
It reminds me of when I HAD to take Prevacid every day, otherwise I would have extreme acid reflux. In fact, when I ran out and wouldn't have enough to get me through the weekend, I would pay my pharmacist $5 a pill until they could reach my doctor to hold me over until Monday because nothing over the counter helped me.
It reminds me of when just walking for a half an hour made me sweat and chafe!
It reminds me of having to wear tummy sucking in underwear up to my boobs thinking I was hiding my fat.
It reminds me of needing to make the change from wearing regular clothes to plus size. I went into Victoria Secrets once to get a bra. I told them my size was 40D and they told me they don't fit my size that I needed to go to Lane Bryant. Ouch.
It reminds me of when I had to have two different sleep studies done on me. I had to be fitted for a c-pap mask to wear nightly so I would have relief from my sleep apnea. Super sexy by the way! Can you say...darth vadar?
It reminds me when I could feel the folds of fat on my back. I joke about my back fat now, this is nothing compared to the 2-3 rolls I had before.

I need these gentle reminders to help me. I have become more complacent. I have become more easily tempted by foods. I have listened too much to the late night cravings. I need to be reminded of my past so I do not repeat it!

How the???

How is it that I work out consistently and eat mostly healthy but yet I keep getting sick. How is this? Maybe because I'm not a clean freak and need to Lysol my house more? Maybe I need to step up my hand washing? My hands are so dry and cracked right now from washing through that it almost doesn't seem worth it. One of my twins was diagnosed with a little bit of pneumonia on Friday, the other twin with an upper respiratory infection, and now I have my appointment today. Ugh. Whenever I'm sick, I can't run because of my asthma so I'm slowly losing what I've worked the last 3 months to gave back. I was drinking EmergenC yesterday along with sucking zinc lozenges but I feel worse today! Grrrrr

Learning to Love More Protein

So, I said I would post my meals for the week and as you can see I only made it 5 days. That is more tracking than I've been doing and I had great results. I wish I could tell you how many points or calories I consumed over the weekend. But I cannot. All I can say is that girls night out + chips and salsa + Mexican Flautas + Margaritas + various other mixed drinks = hows counting points anymore??? I was proud I got my long run out of the way Saturday morning though since I knew I wouldn't feel well on Sunday. I ran 6 miles in 55 minutes.

I have learned that I really need to just try and eat as clean as I can. Processed foods don't get along too well with my tummy. Speaking of, I can't tell you how much easier it has been to run on the weekends for me now. Since I was eating a Luna or Clif bars, my tummy would start to run and give me shooting pains while running. That is no longer happening and it feels great! My goal is to not snack at night and track again to keep on points. Having more protein has helped me a ton. I know I could add more and add more in a more natural state, but I'm baby stepping it!