Negative Nelly Trying to be Postitive

OK I'm motivated by Annette's purely positive attitude. With that in mind, here are positive changes I have made over my weight loss journey:

BEFORE: For dinner, I'd serve Noodle or Rice-a-Roni every night for a side dish

NOW: I serve brown rice or whole grain noodles occasionally for dinner

BEFORE: Ate fast food at least 4 times a week

NOW: Eat out once a week...usually Papa Murphy's Delite Hawaiian style pizza

BEFORE: Never thought about a portion or portion control

NOW: I anally measure out my food with a food scale or measuring cups...including my wine!

BEFORE: Breakfast would be Diet Dr. Pepper or Frappuccino , and pastry

NOW: Lower sugar Quaker oatmeal, Kashi Go Lean Crunch w/ nonfat milk, or on busy days a Clif Bar and fruit

BEFORE: I'd eat about 3-4 cookies for dessert without a second thought

NOW: Dessert can be fruit, yogurt, WW or Skinny Cow Fudgecicle, or sugar free pudding

BEFORE: Off and on exerciser with taking a step aerobics class here or taking walks there

NOW: Unless sick or recovery from surgery, I try to do something active at least 5 times a week

BEFORE: Ate Velveeta mac n cheese like no bodies business, and then the lower fat version came and ate twice as much since it was better for me

NOW: Mac n who?

BEFORE: On busy days, I'd be a Hamburger Helper fool

NOW: You couldn't pay me to eat that stuff

BEFORE: Drank alcohol most weekends

NOW: Occasionally/rarely drink

BEFORE: Never paid attention to food labels

NOW: Takes me twice as long to grocery shop since I'm inspecting every new label I encounter

BEFORE: Fav restaurant order: Denny's Sampler or All American Slam

NOW: Outback Steakhouse's Grill Chicken on the Barbie

BEFORE: Ate at brunch buffets for most holidays and plenty of other Sundays

NOW: We go to the park or do something as a family rather than it being about the food

BEFORE: Ate chips and french fries as if they were a veggie...you know...since they're made from potatoes!

NOW: Very rarely eat either since both are trigger foods for me

BEFORE: Drank anything and everything except water

NOW: Drink at least 64 oz. plus I make sure I drink a water bottle full before I get my next cup of coffee

BEFORE: Maximum amount of workout- walk 4 miles

NOW- Can run up to 7.5 miles

BEFORE: Size 18 clothes, XL -XXL shirts

NOW: Between a 2-4, size xs-s shirts

Reflecting back I am definitely a more healthy person. I am grateful, strangely, for my health scare and infertility because it woke me up to my out of control lifestyle. Making my changes, I now have my crazy, insane, no-fear but totally worth it, twins. And believe me, they help me with having an active lifestyle.

Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone!!!

Back to work is tiring and I haven't even met a student yet!

I've been an exhausted, emotional wreck the last 2 days. Setting up a classroom is hard work. I really hate it when people say to me, "Oh it must be nice to have 3 months off in the summer." Yes it is nice to have consecutive days off. But it's not 3 months, and believe me, I work way above and beyond my 7 hour day. I don't know many other people who stay at their jobs after they are "clocked out." I don't know of many people who take their work home and stay up to finish it and I don't know of many people who go in on their days off (holidays and weekends) to do their work and not get paid. I was at work today from 8:30 am until 8:30 pm. I am WIPED OUT!!!!

Anyway, here's my status: still pissed at my lovely lady lumps but I'll get over it. I never thought I'd see the day where I was pissed that I weight 125. That's the weight I always used to lie and say I was when I was really 140! Ha! I also should be grateful that I actually weigh less now than I did in high school and that I say I weighed on my driver's licence. Come on ladies, am I the only one who ALWAYS lied on my weight for that. I actually weigh less than it says now so I want to get it renewed for the 1st time in my life!

For exercise, I'm .5 miles away from my 100 mile goal for the month.

Wednesday- rest day for running, but did my buns and thighs Pilates video and day 2 of week 1 in the Push Up challenge: 12, 12, 10, 10, 12 plus 2 sets of 12 dips on my stairs

Thursday- Walked for 5 min. 4 rpms on a 4% incline, ran on 4% incline @ 5 rpms 1 mile, another mile on 1% w/ 4 gradual pickups from 6, 6.2, 6.4 then 6.8 rpms, repeat both for a total of 4 miles running, and 5 min. cool down at 4% incline 4 rpms. I felt my chest muscles running this morning from the push ups yesterday.

OK, off to bed for another long day so I don't have to go into work this Labor Day weekend.

Muscles-Better...Attitude-Crapola

My muscles feel much better today and handled running great. Today for my training I ran a 2 mile warm up, did 7 1:00 aerobic sprints which added up to a little over a mile with recovery time, and a 2 mile cool down. I was DRIPPING with sweat and loved it. I know I worked then. I am really glad I rested yesterday.

So as most of you know, due to two very healthy twins and a weight loss, I had a tummy tuck June 23. They removed a pound of skin so naturally, I expected to see myself weighing 1 pound less on the scale. That has NOT EVER HAPPENED. In fact, I have been up roughly 10 lbs. since this surgery. Could I blame it on fluid retention post surgery? Sure. Could I blame it on being on partial bed rest for 6 weeks? Perhaps. But whatever it is I have a frickin muffin top that I haven't had in a year and a half. My frickin jeans are tight and have hang over. What the hell??? Even now, I've been back to working out regularly for 3 weeks and has it showed on the scale? NO!!!! Am I allowing myself to eat more since I'm working out more and maybe that's it? NO!!!! So why is the weight sticking to me? It's pissing me off. I'd kick it's ass if it wasn't planted onto mine! GGrrrrr is about all I can say right now. Guh to the errrrrrrrrrrrrr. What's funny too is that I'm EXHAUSTED tonight and all I did most of the day was sit my ever growing ass and talk or listen to people talk. I'm glad I ran in the AM.

I am glad that I am following a 1/2 marathon training plan so I can feel better about "resting" today. Normally after having a hard workout day, if I'm sore, I would just tell myself to stop being a wimp, suck it up, and workout some more. Seeing scheduled rest days gives me permission to do just that...rest... because my muscles need it. Oh boy are they sore. Right now if my thighs could talk they would say,

"This is bull*%$#,
hell to the no,
oh-no-you-din't!!!"

I did a LOT of stretching today. Also, I kept myself moving most of the day because if I sit for too long and try to walk my legs say, "Think again!" It did have a nice, hot bath in my jacuzzi tub during nap time and that was fab-u-lous! I highly recommend long baths as any kind of reward for oneself. That along with a nice gossip mag and I am set! Tomorrow it's back to training and school for me. Question of the day: What do you do to ease sore muscles?

Weekend Happenings

Friday night I was invited to a coworkers house for a house warming party. There were drinks and appetizers there. I have been doing Weight Watchers since 2005 and I still struggle eating in social situations. Especially if there's alcohol involved. I felt like I did OK with only having 2 glasses of wine, but for some reason the MINUTE I have wine, all of my old eating habits come back. I just want to eat everything!!! Luckily, she had pretty healthy appetizers there: hummus and pita bread, chips and salsa, and fruit and dip. I was stupid to not eat dinner before going over there. Then I had one more drink of a fresh huckleberry martini (never had a martini in my life). It was good but it made me let my guard down some more. The host had left over carrot cake that she got out, set it on the table, and just gave everyone forks (minus the plate). I felt like a Hoover vacuum just sucking up that cake. I could not stop eating it. IT wasn't even real carrot cake but did I care? NO! I haven't had cake in months so I just went c-r-a-z-y!!! Not a wise choice. The one thing I am proud of was I was really needing some real food and passed several fast food restaurants on the way home. In the past, I would have had McDonalds all the way. I resisted the greasy, yet delicious after drinking, temptation. Yeah for me. The sad part is, I probably went to bed around 2 am and my darling duo came to wake me at 6 am. OK, I am not 21 anymore. Having no sleep, not enough nutrition the night before, plus a slight hangover kicked my ass. I was beat up feeling all day. The only productive thing I did Saturday was I did go on a 4 mile run! After that I had to have a 3 hour nap!

Sunday was better. I got a decent amount of sleep which helps tremendously. Then, I went on our local trail system that goes along our river and did my 1st long run for my 1/2 marathon training. It was 7 miles. Boy, I can't believe how fast I got out of shape. I ran a 12K in May in 59 minutes. Today was a bit shorter distance than that and it took me about an hour and 20 minutes. I did not stop once though! I had to keep telling myself that it's just the first week. I can get my speed back throughout this training...I don't have to do it all the 1st week. Then, I got a lot of work down in my classroom. I feel so much better when I am productive. I just feel bad that 2 days I was away from my kiddos a lot. They LOVE their grandma though and she was here all weekend. Ah mommy guilt. I'll save that for my next blog.

Intimidation Anyone?

So as you've been reading, I'm trying to become a runner. I'm still not sure if long distance running will be for me, but I'm willing to try it to see. But I can TOTALLY see how some people don't want to try new things. New things are intimidating. New things to me make me feel stupid. I hate feeling stupid so I usually resort to not trying it rather than looking stupid. Right now I'm reading all of these runners blogs and running sites. They speak in another language that I just don't get. I called my ultra athletic sister-in-law last night for some advice and she made me feel even more overwhelmed. I always thought running was just running but it's NOT apparently. Here are some examples:

Runners usually just use their outer leg muscles and are off balance with their inner leg muscles and so I should do some downhill training or else I can get a knee injury.

Runners do either in-outs or point to points.

Tempo runs

Gentle pick ups

Recovery food

Cross training

Luckily, when I started running I didn't do any research, I just ran. If I would have read all of this 1st, I would have dropped my head in shame and continued working out to my DVD's, at home, in private, where I wouldn't feel incompetent.

Today is a rest day in my training, so I did weights instead. Here's my workout for the morning:
100 push up challenge day 1:
10
10
8
6
10

2 sets of 15 dips on my stairs

Then the following with my 8 lb. weights, 2 sets of each:
squats
lunges
bent over row (thanks to Miz's blooper reel)
overhead press
alternating bicep curls
pull ups
single leg squats (oh this takes some serious balance)

1 set:
plank position tricep kick backs (again thanks Miz for the demo on the vid)
I actually worked up a sweat lifting at home. That may be a first! When you all do weights, do you at it at home or at the gym? How many days a week do you lift?

Getting Stabbed in the Eye with an Ice Pick

That used to be my choice over running. When people would tell me they were running, I'd think to myself, "Are you kidding me? Why? What's the point?" Running and myself were never on the same level. I used to be a very active child. I participated in soccer from grades 3-7 until I developed asthma and it was a struggle me. In jr. high, I was on the drill team and played basketball, volleyball, softball and track. In my 9th grade year, I injured my knee and how to go to physical therapy. In high school, I was on the drill team again so I danced about an hour a day. I LOVE to dance. In another life, I would have loved to learn to dance professionally. Right now, I just get my own grove on. In my senior year, I reinjured my my knee dancing and had to be on crutches for a month and go back to physical therapy. That year of high school, I dropped out of the dance team since they were more into the flags and I wanted to dance to MC Hammer. Not even realizing it, this is when my weight jumped up 20 lbs. It's taken me this long to figure out that my body needs to be active. I was active so long to just drop it was not a good thing.



I have been on this weight loss journey for a long time. I look back over the journals I've kept for the last 10 years. Besides my current weight, the lowest my weight was was 155 on my wedding day. Now a month earlier, I weighed 170. How did I drop the weight so fast? Like many people in the 90's: Phen Fen. I won't EVEN go into how stupid that was and how much it messed up my body. Quick fixes were my thing.



Having previous knee injuries and weighing 191 on this 5'4 frame it was HARD to walk let alone run. But walking and step aerobics is where I started. It's embarrassing to admit it, but my thighs used to chafe when I'd walk. They would burn and itch. My mom bought me some balm to put on before I walk to see if that would help. I liked step aerobics because it seemed dancey in nature. I have another embarrassing admission. Since I was on the dance team in school, I have pretty good rhythm and can catch onto routines easily. Even though I was bigger than many others in class, I could do the routines faster than many. I used to love being in the front of my class and showing my stuff. It made me smile when the instructors would point me out as someone to watch and follow. I'm horrible huh? I had to feel good about myself for something.



What's my point to all of this? There has to be SOMETHING active that each of us like to do and are physically able to do. I started out liking a certain type of exercise, but found as my weight dropped it was easier for me to try new things. I've read many of your blogs and a lot of your enjoy gardening. That's a great. low inpact exercise along with:

*walking

*housework

*swimming

*parking your car as far from a store as possible

*cleaning out your car

*playing with kids/grandkids

*taking a hike

*yoga

*cycling

*lifting light weights

*using the stairs rather than elevator

*dancing (with my kids is the most fun)

Last year when my school year began, I gave up running and pretty much exercising altogether until January. I do NOT and WILL not do that again. Right now, I have decided to train as if I will do the 1/2 marathon on October 12. It can't hurt. I'll still see about the race. I'm following an 8 week beginning training program from Runner's World. So here is how my week has been so far:

MONDAY- Stretched and rode bike pulling my monkeys through strong winds

TUESDAY- 5 min. warm up walking, ran 4 miles doing 7 - 1:00 speed intervals, 5 min cool down

WEDNESDAY- Cleaned classroom

THURSDAY- 5 min. warm up walking, ran 1 mile 4% incline, 1 gentle pickup, 1 mile 1% incline, 1 gentle pickup, 1 mile 4%, gentle pickup, last mile 1%, 5 min. cool down walking

I have to have a goal for myself, otherwise I slack. Another people with goals out there or advice on training for a 1/2 marathon?