The Perfect 10

A new year and a new goal.

Steve at logmyloss.com has a new challenge beginning this week. The Perfect 10 for 2010 challenge. I was already planning on making some New Year fitness resolutions so why not call them goals and take a chance at winning a fabulous prize. Beside the Hot 100 challenge really helped keep my motivated through the years end. Boy-oh-boy do I need motivation when it is cold outside... there are always those icy mornings when it would be so much easier to just stay in bed, turn the heated blanket up to 10 and pull my comforter over my head rather than head out to Zumba class or running on the treadmill. But then I remember I have to account for these things so I pull myself out of bed.

Here are my Goals...

1) I am going to try at least one new fitness activity every week... even if it is just a new piece of equipment at the gym or some group exercise class.

2) I am going to workout a minimum of 4 hours each week... even when I work everyday.

3) I will lose at least 10 pounds.

I look forward to reading about your goals too so head over to logmyloss.com and join the challenge.

Quick update

Christmas is over and I did not weigh myself this week because on Friday I am doing a New Year Day weigh-in for the first day of 2010 (btw how are we saying this? "Two thousand and ten" or "twenty ten"? I think I am leaning toward "twenty ten"). I have done pretty well over holidays but I have to admit to eating way too many cookies over the past week. Exercise has been good so hopefully I will come out ahead in the calories burned over calories consumed department.

I have sent out a couple emails in an attempt to get a few sessions with a personal trainer in the new year. I feel like I have done pretty well on my own with the cardio, burning calories and losing weight but I want to get a little more serious about the toning and getting strong.

I have one non-fitness related new year resolution... I am going to take more pictures this year.

That Felt Great

Today was the calm before the storm... we are supposed to get hit with a big blizzard tonight and into Christmas. Today was hovering around 30 degrees with no wind and the snow from the last storm is off the roads (if not the sidewalks). One of my goals for the week was getting in at least 4 workouts (two 90 min. and two 60 min). Yesterday I had a great 90 min. workout at the YMCA and today I decided I would try hitting the road for a run since running outdoors is not going to be an option for the next few days.

I am working nights this week so when I woke up I had to convince myself it was a good idea to get out of bed... that was a tough sell. But I let the devil and angel on my shoulders duke it for a 15 minutes and I pulled myself out of bed. It is always such a struggle to get myself moving. The thing that gets me moving is how wonderful I will feel when I am done. There is a natural high I get from running outdoors that I don't get with any other work out. I love Zumba and I really get a good work-out with it but I don't get that euphoric accomplished feeling I get when I am running. I am not sure what that is but I love it.

I did another 6 miles today and I am still under 200 pounds so the "Hot 100 goals" still great! Thanks to South Beach Steve for the idea it was a great motivator during the tough holiday season.

Weigh-in Week 24

Today is a weigh in day and when I stepped on the scale this morning there was this voice in my head that told me I was going to gain some weight this week. I didn't do too bad in the eating department but I did have one meal of Americanized Chinese food (and I didn't stop at eating only half like I said I would) and I did have a couple cookies. What worried me was my lack of really tough work-outs this week. I had one really great 90 minute work out and a good 60 minute work-out but that was it for the week.

Well it is weigh day so I stepped on the scale and was pleasantly surprised to see 192.2 appear between my pink freshly painted toe nails. I little over a pound gone since last week (1.2 to be exact) and I am happy with that.

What will next week hold? I have no clue right now I am just hoping I can get in at least two 90 minute workouts and two 60 minute work outs. I am sure there will be cookies and cakes galore at work this week and my goal is to not eat any food at work that I didn't bring in myself.

BTW... The photo doesn't have anything to do with anything my blog was just feeling a bit boring this morning. I don't take enough photos which means I don't post enough interesting images on my blog which probably gets a little boring so I added a chair of puppies this morning. Is there anything cuter than a chair of Golden Retriever puppies?

Great work out night

I went to the gym for Zumba class last night and for some reason I got the time wrong... What? I have been doing this for months now and suddenly I forgot what time the class started. I was 30 minutes early for class so I decided to jump on the dreaded treadmill. I picked one in front of the television thinking the mindless chatter of a game show would distract me. I started by walking and the first question popped up... "What President comes last when alphabetizing by last name?" Hmmm... I should know this. So I started thinking and I guess drifting because suddenly I stepped off the moving part of the treadmill and stumbled a bit (you are probably wondering why I considered this a great workout, trust me it's coming). I had this image of falling and causing a domino effect across all the treadmills, which were full. Luckily that didn't happen and I decided watching television was dangerous (the answer was Woodrow Wilson by the way).

At minute 3 I increased my pace to 5.5 miles an hour and on the treadmill next to me a woman (with a rocking body) gets on and starts running. She looks over and says hello. I am a pretty friendly person so I smiled and we starting chatting back and forth. She was regretting eating nachos before running and I was regretting eating that chocolate chip cookie. It turns out she runs marathons and she gave me a lot of good tips and a lot of motivation. Before I knew it my 30 minutes was up and it was time for Zumba.

I think I need a workout buddy.

I head over to the gym for an hour of Zumba (which is always a good time) and find out that on New Years Day the YMCA is going to have a Zumba-thon. FUN! What a great way to ring in the new year.

One last thing I would like to say congrats to Fat Free Me who reached her goal weight this week. That is so exciting and such great motivation for the rest of us who are almost there, or half way there or no where near there. She did it and so can the rest of us! You Rock!

160 days

This is week 23 and to recap after Thanksgiving I was up a pound hovering just below the 200 pound mark at 199.8. Last week I completely forgot to weigh myself and then decided I would skip it.

OK... now we are updated. This week I was back on the scale and it showed 193.4, that is a 6.4 pond loss over the weeks since Thanksgiving. Losing weight during December what a novel idea I don't think I have ever done that before. I am totally enjoying myself this holiday but having the ability to shop in "Normal" stores does have it's dangers. When I go Christmas shopping I tend to spend a little too much time looking for things for myself and that has put me three presents behind. How many days until Christmas? WAIT... don't tell me, I don't want to know.

I am also making the guys on my crew very happy because I have had this urge to bake Christmas cookies... I don't know why I guess I just think a house should smell like cookies during the Holidays. I have baked twice this week and instead of having the entire 2 dozen to eat myself I had one and then packed up the rest for the crew at work. They seem to enjoy them.

I bought two very cute skirts are Goodwill this week... one is a size 12 and the other a size 10. When I got home I decided I would try on the size 12 skirt, figuring I wouldn't be able to get it pulled over my butt. Surprisingly it pulled all the way up but couldn't zip it yet... next month I'll be wearing it.

The Hot 100 goals

Running 10K is happily complete... I have run the 10K route about 5 times in the last two weeks so I am considering that goal accomplished.

Being under 200 pounds also happily complete... unless I go off the deep end and eat nothing but cheesecake and potato chips this week I think I can stay under 200 pounds. I am hoping to be in the 180's by the new year.

I am off to grocery shopping and if you are looking for some great food ideas head over to A Forty-Somethings Weight Loss Journey I felt particularly enlightened about healthy food ideas after reading.

Enjoy!

Hate it Hate it Hate it

So if you can't tell... I hate "it". With "it" being running on the treadmill at the YMCA. I love having a membership to the YMCA mostly because I enjoy the variety of classes. Having the ability to take any class from aerobics to zumba has really helped me stay motivated. When the bad weather hit this week, dumping a foot snow over the area it was enough to keep off the roads (probably a wise decision). Then freezing winds kept me indoors for several more days, it was really getting me itchy for running. So I headed to the YMCA early and jumped on a treadmill before Zumba class. I could barley stand 20 minutes but struggled through 30. It wasn't more difficult, I wasn't more winded or more sore. I just hated it. I was bored and the treadmills are directly in front of a mirror so I just stare at myself running. I had my ipod on but it wasn't helping I was just plain annoyed.

When I run outside I think about things... like what my wardrobe will be like when I get to my goal weight, what I would do if I won the lottery, what it will be like to show up at my class reunion thinner than I was in high school... and I run. I don't get bored or frustrated. I enjoy it. I can easily do over an hour without realizing how much time has passed.

I either need the weather to change and the ice to disappear from the sidewalks or I need to learn to enjoy the treadmill. I don't want running to become a chore but I also don't want to stop running for the winter months.

Week Report

I haven't been around much this week I went out of town with my sister and niece on a Christmas shopping trip. I bought my first pair of American Eagle Jeans... they are a size 14 (Giddy laughter). I seem to be a solid size 14 now with every pair of jeans fitting me without cutting off the blood flow at the waist, which was where I was a few weeks ago. Shopping is so much more fun now that I can shop in just about any store. I bought several things for myself all my jeans in a size 14 and all my shirts in a size large (no W's or X's in my new wardrobe).

On Monday I got together with my parents and sisters. When I first arrived my Mom asked me how much weight I lost this week because she has been having some Internet issues and didn't get to read my blog. I thought "Wow, I didn't weigh myself this week!" Not only did I not weigh myself but I didn't even think of it. Typically, whenever I put something in my mouth I think about what is going to show up on the scale. When I thought back over the week I did have a few meals out but I didn't over do it. I worked out every day I had off and I felt good. So I decided this was a good thing and didn't weigh myself this week.

I will be back on the scale Monday morning.

BTW... shoveling snow burns calories right? Because we had a big blizzard today and the only time I left my house was to shovel the sidewalk.

a So-So week

A couple of victories to tell you about...

First, I ran the turkey trot 5k on Thanksgiving morning and I finished in 36 minutes and 16 seconds, that is 2 minutes faster than my last 5K at the end of September. I was very happy with my time.

Second, I ran a 10k route 3 more times so I am considering that "hot 100" goal accomplished. Yippee!

The setbacks...

I didn't work out nearly as much as I should have this week running twice and taking one Zumba class. This wouldn't have been a big deal if it hadn't also been Thanksgiving week. I ate way too much on Thanksgiving and then had leftover stuffing and yams on Saturday (I threw away the leftover pie). Stepping on the scale Sunday morning I was prepared to see a gain. I gained a pound this week putting me at 199.8.

Today is the start of new week and my goal is to get rid of that extra pound plus a couple more.

The Hot 100 goals are going well...
I completed a 10k run 4 times and my weight is currently under 200 pounds (if ever so slightly under) so all I have to do is keep it under 200 and I can consider my Hot 100 goals completed.

Good-bye fat clothes

I took three large garbage bags full of clothes to Goodwill this morning. As I threw things in the bag I realized the things sized 20 and 18 were mostly bought from Goodwill only a few months ago... seems more like clothes rental. There was one skirt I have had for several years that I loved-loved-loved when I bought it but only wore it twice. Since I don't (or really can't) dress up for work I seldom get a chance to wear dress clothes. So instead of ending up in the Goodwill bag I used it to recover my office chair (see photo below).



What do you think?

Inside the store I found a pair of size 14 Levi jeans that fit but are still a little tight around the waist and pair of size 12 jeans that I just thought were too cute to pass up. I will get into them some day. I also found a pair of pj pants and a pair of running pants.

I probably won't post again until after the Holiday. Have a wonderful day!

Weigh-in Week 20

Last week was 202.4 and I was crossing my fingers to get into the 100's this week and I did. YIPPEE! 198.8 pounds showed up on my scale this morning, that is a 3.6 pound loss this week. I have really increased my workouts in the past couple weeks and it sure is paying off on the scale.

This week however is going to be a little different, and my goal this week is not to gain any weight. This is my long work week so fewer hours to exercise but I do plan on attending at least 1 zumba class and I am running the 5K Turkey Trot at the YMCA on Thanksgiving morning, add a couple more runs scattered through the week and I think I have an acceptable workout schedule. But then of course there is Thanksgiving and on Saturday I am helping my sister give a baby shower for one of her friends (both of which will revolve around good food).

Why do we do that? Why do celebrations always involve food? Case in point... at work we have had these rail cars filled with hazardous waste on our lot for a long time. We got a grant from the state to help pay for cleaning and disposal. On Friday they finally hauled the cars away. Afterward I get a call from the offices telling me to come down to the cafeteria and celebrate by having cake and ice cream. Cake and ice cream to celebrate waste disposal? Or should it be waist disposal?

The Hot 100 goals...
#1... be less than 200 pounds. Made it! Now I just have to keep it off between Thanksgiving and New Year and that goal is as good as done.

#2... run a full 10K, I have a 10K route and have been running/walking it once a week. This week with my 5 minute warm-up and cool down I did run the entire thing in 1 hour and 20 minutes. But I am not going to call this one finished until I run it a couple more times.

Tried spinning

I gave spinning a try... it seriously kicked my ass. I went into this class think, "I have been running and taking zumba and riding my bike for months, this shouldn't be too bad." Wow I was not prepared for my legs felling like jell-o after only the first hill interval. Every time the instructor told me to "push it" I wanted to get off my bike and full body tackle that skinny bitch to the ground. The only thing that stopped me was being uncertain that my legs could support my own body weight. Ok... maybe I am exaggerating a bit. The instructor was actually very friendly and she told me at the beginning of class that she may tell me to do things in an attempt to push me further but I should ignore her if my body was telling me to rest. So I did. I didn't have a problem with sprints or jumps it was when she wanted us to stand for longer than a couple minutes that I had a problem. I didn't feel too bad after the class as far as sore legs (although my butt is sore from the bike seat). I will definitely try a spinning class again but what I really need is a different upper body workout. Does anybody have an upper body workout the enjoy and/or has shown results?

Week 19

Weigh-in day once again. With such a great week of working out I was anxious to get on the scale this morning... 202.4 (a four pound loss!!!). This was a bigger loss than I expected, ever since hitting 210 (and a size 16) my weight loss seemed to go from 5 pounds a week to 2 pounds a week. So four pounds this week was very exciting. It is also exciting because it marks a 60 pound weight loss mark, it makes my BMI 29.9 which makes me overweight instead of obese, and it puts me just 2.5 pounds away from being in the 100's (maybe next week???).

I have noticed this week that the size 18 jeans are getting too big to wear, I had to keep pulling up my pants at work last night. It may be time to donate those pants too. :) I also need to get to the thrift store and find some size 14 jeans.

Hot 100 goals
Just 2.4 pounds away from being 200 pounds.
Ran/Walked a 10k this week and will try it again on Wednesday.

Great Work-Out Week

I was a work out freak this week, getting in a workout everyday. Saturday I had Zumba, Sunday a run, Monday a run, Tuesday zumba class and a run, Wednesday water yoga, a 4 mile walk and zumba class, and Today was a run and zumba class. I was feeling particularly energetic today before going for my run so I mapped out a 10K route and decided to see how well I could do on this hot 100 goal. I didn't run the entire distance (but I didn't expect to either) but I ran for most of it walking for about 1/2 mile, maybe a little more. I am feeling pretty confident that I will make this goal.

Also I had a fun NSV this week... I was taking a walk around our local mall looking for good deals. I wandering into Payless shoes and one thing I have always wanted was pair of knee high black boots but I have never been able to get a pair completely zipped. I saw a pair that I liked a lot, although the heel was a bit higher than I would like. I pulled them on fully expecting them not to zip but they did! All the way up over my calf and I loved them. That night I was going to a see old silent Laurel and Hardy movies with my movie group so I put on a knee length red and black skirt and my new black boots... I loved it! I have always wanted to wear something like that.

aghhh... what a week

I like to run... I run for fun... I run for fun in the hot hot sun.

Dr. Seuss poems aside I haven't been running in the hot hot sun for over a month I have actually been running in the cold cold wind but that doesn't really rhyme. Anyway, I changed up my run a little this week mostly because it gets dark so early now and I don't get done with work until it's fairly late. When I work days I can often talk myself out of running since it's late, I'm tired and it's dark (and kinda creepy) on some of the streets along my route. So this week I was working days and I decided I had to patch this loop hole before I fall completely in and lose my running motivation for the winter. So instead of in increasing my mileage this week I attempted to increase my pace with speed intervals. It takes me about an hour to run 4.7 miles so instead I found a 40 minute program that takes me through a warm-up, a set of speed intervals, an endurance run and another set of speed intervals. The speed intervals are ten minutes long with one minute at a slower pace and one minute at a fast racing pace. I figured with a workout that is 20 minutes shorter I would be less likely to talk myself out of running when I get home late and am dead on my feet. So I did better with running this week but only had time for one Zumba class... working a swing shift kinda sucks sometimes... but now I am on my 7 days off... working swing shift is kinda sweet sometimes.

I did my weigh-in this morning and the scale showed 206.4 that is a 2.2 pound loss for the week and it's about what I expected. Still well on my way to accomplishing the Hot 100 goals of being less than 200 pounds and increasing my running distance to a full 10k. (I am hoping to find a 10k route that I can run/walk at least once this week while I am off).

More photos...

A friend of mine posted some photos on Facebook from the weekend and it got me looking through some of my old Facebook photos that friends "tagged" of me in the past. I thought I would share a few before weight loss and some current comparison photos. I may not be able to tell a difference in my appearance from day to day but I sure see a difference in these photos.

Before... Helping decorate the birthday cake.

Last weekend... Helping carve a pumpkin.

Before... at a birthday party with my friend Greg.

Last weekend... Trick or Treating with my friend Greg.

Weigh-in Monday

On "The Biggest Loser" everyone has those weeks when you step on the scale and the number is much higher than you would like... and often higher than you deserve. They stand on the scale and shake their heads saying, "I don't know what I did wrong." This morning I weighed in a day late because I was away for the weekend. When I stood on the scale it showed a one pound loss. I would like to say I could stand on the scale and shake my head like a Biggest Loser contestant but in reality I knew I wouldn't lose much this week for a couple reasons. First, planned exercise was detoured twice once to watch my niece (totally worth it) and the second time for a job interview (not sure if it was worth it yet). Secondly, I went out to eat with a work friend once this week and went out to eat twice this weekend. Lastly, it was Halloween and I did have a Reese's Peanut Butter cup from the Trick-or-Treater stash. On the positive side while I was away this weekend I got up earlier than my friend on both days and set my ipod to count down 5 miles. So I was away for the weekend but I made sure I kept up with my workouts even though we had a couple late nights. Also, I think I am getting better about ordering at restaurants and making healthier choices without even thinking much about it. All in all, when I got on the scale this morning I knew I wouldn't see a four pound lose this week and in reality I don't feel bad about losing one pound... I actually think it was a pretty successful week.

The Hot 100 goals are still going along well... However this week I am working days and I think I might do shorter runs because I have some new speed interval music I downloaded because I want to improve my pace a little before the Turkey Trot run on Thanksgiving morning. More updates on running will be coming soon.

Have a good Monday!

Photo update

In the comments of my last post someone suggested I post some updated photos so here they are... the ones on the top were taken the day I started this blog and the photos on the bottom are of me today. Do you see a difference? I am never sure I do. My mom has commented that I look really different and one day I saw my sister at the Y and she wasn't sure it was me so I know I look different but I don't really see it too much.

Today I cleaned out my clothes everything that is bigger than a size 18 went into one pile and anything smaller went into a different pile. I ended up with two laundry baskets and a garbage bag full of clothes I never want to wear again. In the past I would have just piled then in my closet but now I am thinking maybe I should just give them away... it could be cathartic. What do you think?

Weigh-in Day

I must say I have been a terrible blogger lately. I haven't posted since Monday but I have been reading - I promise. I have just had some things (unrelated to weight) on my mind this week. A couple weeks ago I, quite accidentally, came across a job posting for a position I think I would really like but it would involve moving to an even smaller, more northern town. I thought about it for about 1/2 a day and decided to apply anyway... hey maybe they wouldn't even call and then at least I can say I tried. Well this week they called for an interview. Just to set the scene; I enjoyed living in the city and I hadn't planned on moving back to the "North Woods" of Wisconsin but things just happened that way. Really, I am perfectly happy here and I don't regret trading concerts and vegetarian restaurants for more time with my family. Right now I don't see much of a trade off in moving further north. I told one of my Milwaukee friends about the job and he asked, "There is something north of you besides Canada?" I go back and forth between praying I don't get the job and excitement about having a different job (aka making more $).

Anyway, that is what has been on my mind while I was MIA this week just to reassure anyone who suspected I was elbow deep in a turtle cheesecake or something like that.

This weeks weigh-in was good... 209.8, a 3.8 pound loss.

Next week I am going to Milwaukee for Halloween. Hopefully I can keep up the diet over Halloween.

Hot 100 goals are still going strong... only 9.8 pounds to go before I weigh less than 200, that's exciting!
I am planning on running 4.5 miles again this week but am planning an increase to 5 miles next week. 6.2 miles here I come!

Temptation

If you read my previous post you already know that I hit the 50 pounds gone marker this week so I received the milestone award from 266 and I would like to say thank you. It's a great reward-award that I appreciate it.

Because of the number that appeared on the scale this week I was feeling pretty good about things so I decided to try on the size 16 jeans I had sitting on my dresser. I held up the first pair and I thought "these are never going to fit." To my surprise I pulled them all the way up and buttoned them without any struggle at all. I didn't have to lay on the bed to get them zipped and I felt comfortable wearing them. I thought maybe I misread the size so I took them off and sure enough they are a 16... the second pair also fit. Awesome! These are jeans that I had sitting in my closet for a few years (since the last time I lost weight) and every year when I go to dig for my Christmas decorations or an old text book I stumble across them and look at them longingly for a few seconds before sighing and putting them back in the box.
The last time I lost weight I moved 1500 miles from home for a temporary job. I was away from my family and friends for six months (although I met a lot of great people there) and I focused on work and eating healthy. I didn't have friends around to ask me if I wanted to split a pizza or share a popcorn at the movie. When the job was finished I returned to my friends and family and (unfortunately) my bad habits. On my trip home I was a size 16 and wearing the same pair of jeans I am wearing right now... it took me over a year to put all the weight back on.
Suddenly it dawned on me, from this point on I am in completely uncharted territory I have never in my teen or adult life been smaller than a size 16, I have jeans in my closet that vary in size from 22 to 16 but nothing in a 14 or a 12. I am not even sure what I will look like as a size 12 or a 10.
In my previous attempt to lose weight I completely removed temptation from my life, I didn't go out to eat and I bought single serving size portions of food so there wasn't even the opportunity to snack at night. This time, however, I have gone out to eat, went on vacation, had parties and met friends for a night out. Now the holiday seasons are upon us and I have considered banishing all things sweet (including ingredients to bake sweets) from my cupboards. However, I am thinking maybe this isn't the way to go maybe it would be better to face temptations head on.

How do you plan to confront the holiday season?

Weigh in Day: Week 15

I have been feeling extra vigilant this week about not eating sweets and getting my workouts done everyday. I wish I could say this comes from my own determination but really I think it is coming from fear. This is the time of the year when (in past experience) I give up on the weight loss and start eating my own weight in Holiday cookies. The vigilance paid off (whatever the reason is) because I lost 4 pounds this week, that puts me at 213.6 - drum roll please - that means I made the 50 pounds gone mark! Please excuse my while I dance around the room...

Ok... I'm back.

Accounting for the Hot 100!

Goal #1: Be 200 pounds or less by the end of the year (that is a 2 pound a week loss). Still doing good on that one... only 13.6 pounds to go.

Goal #2: Be able to run 10K. I increased to 4.5 miles this week and my pace didn't change, I am so happy with that.

Be careful what you wish for...

Be careful what you wish for because those wishing gods can really have a twisted sense of humor sometimes. We have really gotten a lot rain this week and not only does that make me not want to run but it also means I will have incredibly busy days at work because we have to test all our waste water and it really adds up when mother nature decides to drop a ton of it on us. Anyway all week I have been complaining about the rain... actually I enjoyed running in that light summer rain but this cold, windy, stinging rain is just annoying. I got up one morning at it was raining and cold and I finally said, "I wish it would stop raining." Well guess what? It stopped raining and started snowing. Yeah you heard that right... one of the worst four letter words I can come up with at the beginning of October, SNOW. Welcome to Northern Wisconsin. The leaves aren't even off the trees yet and I had to run in snow. It got a little slick and I took a good slide on my stairs but at least I didn't fall. It is all gone already but I will be very careful about sending out wishes in the near future.

I also realized I forgot to account for the Hot 100 goals on weigh-in day so I will do it now:

Goal #1: Be 200 pounds or less by the end of the year (that is a 2 pound a week loss). Still doing good on that one... only 17.6 pounds to go. Although the idea of holiday meals are starting to scare me a little.

Goal #2: Be able to run 10K. I am doing pretty good with the four miles and my pace has improved (back to the 3.5 mile pace) so this week I want to up that another 1/2 mile.

Weigh in Day: Week 14

Is it really week 14? It doesn't seem like I have been here that long. I can definitely see the results and sometimes when I walk past a mirror or window and catch a glimpse of myself from a different angle I have to stop for a second and admire.

Sometimes life gets in the way of plans.. for some reason this week at work things just kept breaking. I had planned on running 6 days but the one night I ended up at work for several extra hours because of faulty GC method, and after working 15 hours all I could think about was food and bed. Then the next day was so stressful that when one of the guys suggested a night out with the crew I just couldn't resist the fun. So my plan of 6 days fell to 4 days. But... I really don't feel all that bad about it.

This week was not the best in exercise or food but the scale was still my friend and I lost 2 pounds so that puts me at 217.6.

This week I am off from work so running and/or Zumba every day! I am really loving Zumba now that I know the routines.

I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling

New shoes day! I went on a short shopping trip with my parents and my little sister. The one thing I said I needed was new running shoes (those things wear out fast). Well we stopped at a couple thrift stores first and I bought a pair of jeans and we were just about to leave when I saw the first pair of shoes. See top photo of yellow shoes with a red bow... I just had to have these shoes for Halloween. I don't know what I am going to be but I am going to wear these shoes... the girl at the cash register suggested Minnie Mouse (but I'm not to thrilled with that idea). Anyone else have a suggestion of a costume those shoes would go with?

I also got new running shoes, pink and white Nikes. I haven't tried them out yet but I will be doing it at sometime today.

I am off to Zumba class. Talk to you all tomorrow.

An Award!

Am I really that fat passed along this award to me... after about 10 minutes of dancing around my office singing - "I got my first award. I got my first award" repeatedly I am going to say thanks and answer the questions to the best of my ability. Hope you enjoy them.

1. Where is your cell phone? IDK (I'd look in the couch cushions first)
2. Your hair? messy
3. Your mother? The greatest person I know.
4. Your father? The one I could always lean on.
5. Your favorite food? Pizza
6. Your dream last night? I don't recall
7. Your favorite drink? XXX Vitamin Water
8. Your dream/goal? Get to a healthy weight
9. What room are you in? Office
10. Your hobby? geocaching
11. Your fear? Failing at work
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? In a job I enjoy.
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren’t? Shy
15. Muffins? Yummy
16. Wish list item? A puppy
17. Where did you grow up? Wausaukee, Wisconsin
18. Last thing you did? Called my mom
19. What are you wearing? pajama pants with puppies on them.
20. Your TV? Is off
21. Your pets? Two cats (Lyle and Morton)
22. Friends? My sisters.
23. Your life? Happy
24. Your mood? Happy
25. Missing someone? Greg
26. Vehicle? Saturn Station Wagon
27. Something you’re not wearing? A Pink Fedora
28. Your favorite store? Barnes and Noble
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? 10 minutes ago (I laugh a lot)
31. Last time you cried? When I saw Love Happens
32. Your best friend? Terri
33. One place that I go to over and over? Barnes and Noble
34. One person who emails me regularly? Aunt Linda
35. Favorite place to eat? Blue Bike Burrito


I will tag a few of my favorite bloggers with the same award... Enjoy!
Confessions of a + Sized Girl
Fat in College
Joania's Weight Loss Journey
Weight Loss Mama
Doublechinned

Amazing

I stole this image from my sister's blog (you should stop by and tell her she has awesome kids). Anyway, this is my 12 year old niece crossing the finish line as the first woman overall... yeah you heard that right. Not the first one in her age group, the first female to cross the finish line. I wonder if the guy running just ahead of her had friends at the finish line yelling, "Hey! You are going to get passed by a little girl!" I like to think he did. Why am I posting this you ask? Well as a proud aunt I reserve the right to brag a little about my niece, but also because I think we can learn a lot from from niece and nephew.

They are tough and they are always give it 100%, even when they take a fall or they are behind. When I went to watch them in a triathlon recently I watched my nephew finish the run portion and tag the next member of his team. We were all telling him how great his time was when my mom noticed he had a bloody knee. We asked what happened and he said "Oh, I fell." Here is a kid running 5K, not only does he fall and hurt his knee and then gets back up to finish the race but he doesn't even mention it. My niece finished the entire triathlon on her own and came in the second woman overall... did I mention she's 12?

These kids are amazing! I want to be amazing too.

Weigh in Day: Week 13

I did my weigh-in first thing this morning... 219.6 pounds (that's a 3.8 pound loss this week). Something about that number makes me giddy. I don't know what it is... maybe it just seems so much closer to the hundreds.

Accounting for the "Hot 100" goals:

Goal #1: Be 200 pounds or less by the end of the year (that is a 2 pound a week loss). Still doing good on that one... only 19.6 pounds to go.

Goal #2: Be able to run 10K. I increased my run by 1/2 mile this week (3.5 to 4 miles) and my average pace went way up, the last mile seems really long. However, I have decreased my average pace every day so I figure I will give it a couple weeks and increase another 1/2 mile.

God bless endorphins

When I woke up today I was still very sore from working out but I had planned a 4 mile run today. That is a half mile farther than my usual run because of the Hot 100 goal of increasing my running distance. I was skeptical I would be able to do the entire thing. I put on my running shoes and headed for the door. When I got outside I realized it was really really cold today, an icy cold morning. So I put on a long sleeve shirt and my new hat and started out. I started with a fast paced walk hoping the endorphins would kick in before I finished my 5 minute warm up, no such luck my legs still hurt. I decided to suck it up and start out on the full 4 miles. It was actually an amazing transformation... after only a couple minutes the pain in my legs was gone... Thank You Endorphins!
I finished the entire four miles with a 5 minute walking warm-up and 5 minute walking cool down. To be honest the last mile was a really slow run and if any elderly people with walkers had been out for an early morning stroll they probably would have passed me. I am still glad I finished the entire thing and my legs actually feel better tonight. I still can't lift my arms above my head but I'm ok with that.

Whip it or Skip it?

I am looking forward to this movie... I am planning to see it on Sunday. I bet Roller Derby is good exercise. I bet they wouldn't sit on the sidelines because their thighs hurt.

If you haven't already guessed I am sore today... either from Tabata or the Tabata/Zumba combo I tried yesterday. I am avoiding getting into a sitting position because I know it will ache to get back up. Tomorrow morning I am planning on running (probably with some walking too) 4 miles and right now I am wondering if that is a good idea. What do you do when you are sore from working out? Do you push it through the next workout anyway or do you take an extra day to rest your muscles? So what would you do? Whip it or Skip it?

Tabata

One word... WOW! Tabata kicked my ass. I had mentioned earlier that I wanted to try tabata after reading about it at log my loss and it seems like a simple concept. Work out in 20 second intervals for four minutes. Since I have always enjoyed circuit training I thought I might enjoy tabata. So I found a Tabata timer online and a couple songs. I started thinking about what exercises I should do... squats, jumping jacks, stepper... then at the last minute I decided to add an arm exercise using my yoga ball. I have been ready to try tabata for about a week now but I just could get motivated to try it... mostly because it sounds really hard. I decided to bit the bullet and give it a try today. I did good through the squats, my legs were sore and I slowed down a lot in the last two intervals. Then I rested and moved onto jumping jacks, which went ok but they are a lot harder then I was expecting. Then I moved onto my arm exercise (which is kind of like a push up only the yoga ball is at your feet and takes off some of the weight) by the last minute I thought I was going to fall on my face. I made it through but my arms were like string and I think I only did two in the last twenty seconds. I started the stepping but I was exhausted. I only made it through the first minute and then shut off the timer.

I was expecting this to be hard... but it was even harder. Maybe I am trying the wrong exercises. I will have to give this some thought.

Week 12

Today is weigh-in day... and the scale said 223.4 pounds that is a 3.4 pound loss. That also means that I hit the "40 pounds gone" mark today (40.6 to be exact). How exciting is that? I have also decided to use my weigh-in day as a reminder to account for my "Hot 100" goals for the end of the year.

Goal #1: Be 200 pounds or less by the end of the year (that is a 2 pound a week loss). Doing good on that one so far.

Goal #2: Be able to run 10K. I ran 5k yesterday and I am planning on expanding my morning runs from 3.5 to 4 miles in the next week.

So far so good!

Peshtigo Fire Tower 5k Run

I ran the Peshtigo Fire Tower 5k Run this morning, above you can see the t-shirt I got (one of my favorite things about running these races are the t-shirts). I had two goals when I arrived at this race; first was to run the entire race and second was to finish in under 40 minutes. I had to slow down and walk at about mile 2 for a little but I did finish the last mile fast and I did the race in 38 minutes, so goal number two was a success. However, I had an almost embarrassing moment at the finish line but made it through with my dignity. I had really pushed it my last mile but especially the last half mile and I didn't realize it at the beginning of the race but our Congressman Steven Kagen was giving out the commemorative wooden medallions... wait is that the right word? Can a medallion be wooden? Anyway, he was giving them to the runners as they crossed the finish line. You would run past the clock, someone would rip off the bottom portion of your number and then Steven Kagen would put medallion around your neck. Well since I had been pushing it so hard across the finish line when I stopped running I really felt like I was going to be sick. I wanted to get out of that area ASAP just in case I did lose my breakfast I didn't want to do it on the track. While attempting my hasty exit the Congressman steps in front of me, offers me a congratulations and puts the medallion around my neck. All I could think was, "If he doesn't hurry this up I am totally going to barf on my Congressman." Well I made it through and after getting a drink of water I felt much better and I didn't actually lose my breakfast. For the next run my goals are to run the entire race, finish faster than I did today and don't barf on a Congressman.

Where I work there is a college student that works part-time and over the summer she took time off to participate in an internship. She came back a couple weeks ago but yesterday she and I were the only people in the lab and I was telling her something when right in the middle she interrupts me and says, "I just have to say I can tell you are losing weight, ok go on with what you were saying." I tell you this story for two reasons, first, this is the first time someone that didn't know I was dieting has commented on my weight loss and it made my day. Secondly, I felt like she was uncomfortable paying me that compliment. Do people find it awkward to comment on a persons weight even if it's complimentary?

Going out with a bang!

South Beach Steve at Log My Loss has come up with a genius idea. Make goals for the last 100 days of 2009, aka "going out with a bang." It is kind of like New Years resolutions, only the opposite. Does that make sense? Goals you want to complete before the new year. I think it's a great idea. I have decided to accept the challenge because I like to have goals... and I really do love jalapeno peppers (the possible challenge award).

One popped into my head right away, I want to run 10K before the end of the year. That isn't to say I want to compete in a 10K race I just want to be up to running 6.2 miles so I can run a 10K race next summer. I had a few other goals in mind like not eating any of the holiday cookies but I want to avoid goals I can easily forget. When I was member of Curves they had a list of challenges for the members to complete for a week and you got a prize at the end of the week. So I signed up to not drink any soda... well my first lunch break I mindlessly grabbed a diet soda out of fridge and was about half way through before I remembered the challenge, (Dang) then I felt bad all day. I would like to avoid that. I considered the 100 push up challenge, which I have been thinking about lately, but I don't want two fitness goals and I am not really sure I can do it so I will just try that silently on my own... just in case I fall on my face. Originally when I started this blog I said I wanted to be down to 200 pounds by the New Year so I think I will stick with that goal (that's about 2 pounds a week).

So the recap:

Goal #1: Be able to run 10K.
Goal #2: Be 200 pounds or less.

Good luck to everyone in the challenge I look forward to reading your updates.

Squash and weigh-in

I did my weigh-in this morning, for those of you keeping track it is a day late. Yesterday I had a rather strange scale experience. When I got home from work I had a headache, I used to get them all the time but hadn't had one in over a year so I was surprised by it. I got on the scale and it said 224 pounds. I was not expecting to lose over five pounds this week so I got off the scale thinking perhaps there was an error, so I tried it again, and again it said 224. I wondered if I was dehydrated. I tried to think of the last time I had some water and the last time I could remember drinking water was at least 12 hours prior. I thought that would explain my headache too. So I didn't count that weigh-in, instead I drank some water and went to sleep. I made sure I stayed hydrated today and did a weigh-in again this morning. It was 226.8, that's more like I expected, a three pound loss (seems to be the trend I have had lately). So that is the one I am counting this week. With the three pound loss I also tried on the size 18 jeans I had from the last time I lost weight and they fit! Yippee! I am wearing them to work tonight.

What do you think; can being dehydrated cause a 3 pound difference in your weight?

Today I also made spaghetti squash... first I went to the thrift store to find a small baking dish (all I have are big ones). So about 31 dollars later after I also found a pair of pants, a measuring cup, some toys for my niece and a very cool cake stand I also had my baking dish. Now that I had my two serving size baking dish I went home to prepare my first spaghetti squash meal. I layered the squash, a low-fat cheese mixture, and marina sauce in three layers (kind of like lasagna) and baked it for 30 minutes. I wasn't sure what to expect. I have had squash before and it always seemed to be more of a sweet taste, but that could have been the butter, brown sugar and marshmallow fluff. I wasn't sure what to expect. When I took it out of the oven it looked beautiful. I served up half with a side of salad. It was delicious. I will definitely be trying more things with spaghetti squash.

A Spaghetti squash...um... I think

I was reading a website yesterday about the wonder that is a spaghetti squash. Innards like spaghetti strands and way better for you than white pasta. Lets take a quick tally... for regular white spaghetti 240 calories, 1 gram of fat, 47 carbs, and 2 grams of dietary fiber. Compared to the spaghetti squash 40 calories, 0 grams of fat, 10 carbs and 2 grams of dietary fiber. Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner in the nutrition category.

However, I have been eating pasta all my life and know exactly how to buy it, cook it and eat it. I can not say the same for the squash. When I entered the automatic doors of the local grocery store I was a completely naive squash buyer and I didn't even know it yet. I go the produce department and find a giant cardboard bin labeled "Assorted squash 69 cents a pound." Assorted squash? How long have they been selling food like this? Well it's amazing how many varieties of squash there are and how different they aren't, I felt like I was playing a round of squash roulette. I had a vague image in my head of what I remember a spaghetti squash looked like from the website. I was standing over the bin saying, "Ok, just look for something that looks pumpkin-y but yellow." I narrowed it down to two and decided to buy the smaller of the two... if I choose poorly at least it didn't cost that much.

I got home and set the squash on the table until this morning. It takes about 45 minutes to cook in the oven and that is just about how long it takes for my morning run. I think I will quickly cut this open and put it in the oven while I am running. Well there doesn't seem to be such a thing as quickly cutting this thing open. I take the few jabs at it and I can't move my knife... hmmm... I grasp the closest solid object which happens to be a can opener and start using the knife and can opener like a hammer and chisel. I am just about ready to get out the blow torch when the thing finally cracks down the middle. At this point I am still uncertain that I even bought the right squash... so I slowly peak inside and I still have no idea. This is not what I was picturing but I throw it on the cookie sheet anyway and head out for my run (On a side note I recorded my fastest mile this morning... as my niece would say "I kicked asphalt). When I get home the innards are nice and soft and I scoop them out, and guess what? They actually look like spaghetti. So I bought the right one. Yeah me! Now the spaghetti innards are in the refrigerator for a recipe I am going to make tomorrow I will let you know who wins in the taste category... squash or pasta.

Bloggers block

Is that a real thing? I am not sure but this week I just haven't had much to say. I considered writing about eating, but I only got a sentence out before running out of things to say. I started writing about "triggers" but didn't get past the title. I thought about writing several other things but nothing that I could get out of my head and into a Google Document. What do you write about when you have nothing to write about?

So today (while attempting to stay awake during a very boring night at work) I figured I would just sit down and start writing and not worry about where I end up.

Hmmm... did you know it's talk like a pirate day?

Hmmm... I sometimes think I want a different job.

Hmmm... I would like to travel for a full year. Is that crazy?

Sometimes I think I like change too much. I like my job and I like being close to my family but I always get this itch to change things... move to a new city, start a new job, make a new friend, get a new style. Then I say to myself... "Hey self! You're an adult now it's time to settle into a job and plan for your future."

That's probably a good idea.

Great work out day

Yesterday was the season premier of The Biggest Loser, and I had never seen the show before but since many people have mentioned the show on their blogs I figured I would watch it. It's an interesting show and by the end I was literally cheering them on from my living room sofa.

When I woke up this morning I was motivated to work out, I ran 3.5 miles then brought my bike in to get the tires fixed so I could ride my bike around town again (it has been sitting on my deck with a flat tire for weeks), and then I decided to give Zumba a try again tonight... and I rode my bike to the gym. It's a good thing that I did all that exercise because my eating wasn't great today, it wasn't terrible but I really wanted to eat anything and everything. I have always been a bored eater, when I can't think of something else to do I look in refrigerator. While sitting on the couch channel surfing to kill time (since I had the afternoon off from work) I wanted nothing more than to eat... eat chips or ice cream but I don't keep that around anymore so I had some grapes. When I finished those I wanted something else so I decided it would be a better idea to get out of the house for a while.

Came home in time for dinner and my urge to empty the refrigerator (much like Cookie Monster emptying a cookie jar) had passed and I am ready to settle in for the night.

PS... if you ever try Zumba and feel lost after the first class give it another try, it gets much easier the second time around.

My hips won't do that

I tried a Zumba class for the first time today. I was surprised by the number of people in the class ,there must have been about 40 and they were every age, weight and gender. I was kind of surprised by that. For some reason I pictured 20-40 year old fit women doing this. Anyway... about two minutes into the warm-up I started noting exits for the quickest and least noticeable exit... because I can not move like that. I am not sure what the instructor is doing with her hips but I am pretty sure I can't do it. Before making a hasty exit I decided to watch other people in the class too, and guess what, about 90% of the class sucked at least as bad as me (if not more). I didn't feel so bad after that. I just tried to follow along as best I could and not worry too much about it. It is pretty fun and the instructor is perky and cute (don't you just hate people like that?) I am just kidding she was actually pretty great and easy to follow, my moves looked more like repetitive aerobic movements and less like dancing but I think it's a good workout. I am pretty sure I will try it again.

Weigh-in Day - a day early

I decided to weigh-in a day early because I am leaving town for the weekend and do not plan on traveling with my scale. The results this week... 229.8, that is a 3.2 loss for the week and a total loss of 34.2 pounds. :-)

I had a fun day with my family yesterday celebrating my birthday... we went to lunch at my favorite place. If you ever find yourself in Marinette Wisconsin (I am not sure why you would, but if you do) stop at Blue Bike Burrito it is very yummy and not only that but the guys who own it will let you do anything you want with the menu, so being on a special diet isn't a problem. You want grilled veggies on a taco shell with salsa and beans? No problem! Even though no one in their right mind would eat a taco that way, but then again, I have never claimed to be in my right mind. In the photos you can see two of my gifts, a hat that I can wear running when the weather turns cold and a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my sisters garden.

It was a lovely day. I hope you are having a lovely day too.

Birthday Thanks

Happy Birthday to me
my cake is fat-free.
My clothes are all baggy
get me a shopping spree.

Today is my birthday and since I accomplished my birthday goal weeks ago I am feeling pretty darn good about myself. So I started poking around some of your blogs and I just have to say it... I love you guys! Not in a I-am-watching-you-through-the-window kind of way but in a hand-me-a-drink-I-want-to-make-a-toast kind of way. You guys are awesome and awe inspiring! I don't know how many times I have been reading a blog and said "I want to try that" or "I want to do that" or "I want to be just like that." From "South Beach Steve" and his Tabata to "AM I Really That Fat" and her Zumba class . From "A Forty-somethings Weight Loss Journey" shopping for size 10 pants to "Fat-Free Me" running a 10K. BTW, I am going to try a Zumba class next week and I just downloaded some Tabata songs.

I feel so motivated by all your stories and success. Of course I also love your posts when they are about how frustrating it is to have the same number appear on the scale every week and how difficult it is to get through the parties and cravings. I can relate and it makes me feel less odd to know I am not the only one.

Thanks to everyone... maybe I could do it without you but I don't really want to find out because I am having too much fun reading all your posts.

plaid pants

I love these pants... ok ok I know you hate them. Most people do. The guys at work pick on me mercilessly when I wear them. Today one guy said, "It's nice that you get to wear you pajamas to work." He snickered at me and I just said, "These pants are cool! What do you know about cool anyway?"

When I first dropped from a size 22 to a 20 I got these pants at Goodwill, and now they are getting a little bit big on me. I just have to say I am going to miss these pants when they are too big for me. I probably wouldn't even think about it but I don't really have a lot of clothes that I really like. Typically when I shop for clothes it goes like this...

Do they have it in my size?
Does the marked size actually correspond to my size?
Does it cover all the curves and bulges?
Is it at least not hideous?

If I answer yes to all these questions I buy it.

One of the things I think about while I am working out is how great it be to go shopping when I can go to any store and buy clothes off any rack. I do love these pants but even better will be loving all my clothes when I can actually wear what I want.

Week 9

Today was another weigh-in day... 233 pounds, a 3.2 pound loss from last week and a 31 pound loss total. I made the 30 pounds lost mark! Yippee!

A happy start to the day although it was a slow start to the day.

This morning I was less than ambitious when I opened my eyes and saw 6:30 in red illuminated numbers on my alarm clock. I was supposed to get up and run by 7:00 o'clock but that didn't really seem all that appealing as I laid curled up and cozy under my comforter. I did some quick reasoning with myself trying to think as many reasons as possible why it was acceptable, even preferable to stay in bed and have a lazy Sunday morning. Well let me just say it wasn't a hard sell and I drifted off to sleep promising myself that whatever time it was that I finally got out of bed I would run. The next time I opened my eyes the clock was telling me it was 9:00... ok that's late. I got out of bed and feed the cats and did my weigh in and checked my email and on and on. By the time I put on my running shoes it was almost 10:00. As is typically the case there was a price to pay for my procrastination. The sun was high in the sky and with was getting warm outside, I hate running when it's hot. There was quite a bit of traffic especially at the park I run through (when I run early I typically have the place to myself), I hate waiting for traffic at the corners. There were people everywhere, walking dogs, kids on bikes, and couples out for a stroll, I really prefer the solitude of morning runs. I will have to remember how much nicer it is to run early the next time I don't want to get out of bed.

The pants story

An interesting thing happened this morning while I was running... I had run for about half mile when I had to yank up my pants. I didn't think much of it but then after another few minutes I had to pull them up again and then again, it was starting to get a little frustrating having to pull up my pants every other minute. When they started to slip for about the fifteenth time I rolled my eyes and pulled them pack up and I grumbles "stupid pants" under my breath. As soon as I said it a light bulb went on... Wait. If my pants are falling down it must be because they are getting too big. And if my pants are getting too big that must mean that I am getting smaller.Yippie ! Suddenly I wanted to shout to passersby "Hey my pants are falling down." I wanted to shout it at cars and the that guy who passed me on the bike. "Hey! Guess What. My pants are falling down." I wanted to tell that lady walking her dog and those kids walking to school...ok maybe that's not a good idea ... I didn't want my weight loss joy to turn into a lewd conduct charge. Suddenly this thing that had made me so frustrated for the first half of run had me smiling and cheerful for the second half. I was so exited about it that later, to treat myself, I went to the store and bought a new pair of running pants.

Pizza review

Pizza is one of my favorite foods on the planet. I don't know who invented it but I sure hope that guy got a Nobel Prize or something. I have been craving pizza lately but (insert sigh here) my favorite local pizza joint is definitely on the "avoid these foods while dieting" list. So I decided to take another route. I went to the grocery store and found several varieties of frozen pizza that were vegetarian and in a box labeled, light, healthy, lean, or whatever. Over the past three days I have tried all the brands my local grocer carries in an attempt to find my favorite healthy substitute for those days when I just really want pizza. I decide I would do a little review of all the pizzas I tried.

They first Day I tried the "Smart Ones four cheese pizza"

(370 calories 7 g fat)Definitely not my favorite, on a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this one a 1. The pizza had very little sauce on it so it was kind of dry. There was a lot of cheese but it didn't taste like cheese it tasted like nothing. I think the person who taste tested this pizza must have been skinny and figured that fat people will eat anything. Not going to be my pizza replacement.

The second day I tried the "Healthy Choice French bread pizza"

(350 calories and 5 g fat)

Meh... it's ok. I would eat it someone offered me a free one but I don't think I would buy it again. I would give it a 5 on the diet pizza scale. The crust didn't cook evenly so the ends were very hard by the time the middle cooked enough to melt the cheese. I like the texture in general and the sauce was really yummy.

The third day I tried the "Lean Cuisine Four Cheese Pizza"

(360 calories and 6g fat)

I like this one a lot... I would give it a 9 on the diet pizza scale. Cheese was abundant and yummy and the sauce was yummy. What more can I say? I think Lean Cuisine pizzas are going to be my healthy alternative during those pizza cravings.

But with three consecutive days of pizza for dinner it may be a while before those cravings hit again.

Happy morning

What an absolutely cheerful morning.

When I got home from my morning run I checked my refrigerator to plan the meals for the day and found the contents to be less than appealing. Either frozen Smart Ones Lasagna Florentine or canned soup. Hmmm neither of those sounded great and I didn't have any fruit at all (an absolute necessity). So I decided a trip to the grocery store was in my morning plans... but then I remembered it's Farmers Market Day! Is there anything better than a farmers market?

While I wandered around the booths of tomatoes, potatoes, jams and flowers I decided vegetable soup sounded wonderful. It got me thinking about the chicken dumpling soup my mom used to make when I was a kid. It had these great dumplings and I thought they were the best part of the soup. When I would go back for a second helping I would always skip the soup and just steal a couple more dumplings. I had to be sneaky about it because my Dad would always say that's cheating (like only picking the M&Ms out of the trail mix). I picked up the rest of the ingredients I needed and a gorgeous bunch of organic flowers to make my kitchen pretty while I cook. Since I have been avoiding white flour I couldn't make dumplings... or could I?

I wondered how dumplings would turn out using wheat flour. I did a quick search online for recipes and found a few... one that even called for raisins in the dumpling. What? Raisins? First they take over cookies and now dumplings. None of the recipes online sounded all that great. So I decided to make my mom's recipe (or what I think it was anyway) with a few substitutions to make them more diet friendly. Wheat flour for white flour, egg beaters for eggs, skim milk for 2% milk and so one.

It turned out great! The dumplings didn't hold together as well as Mom's did but they were really good with the right texture and everything. Now my kitchen smells like soup and is so cheerful with a bright bunch of flowers on the counter.

Wishing you all a cheerful day!

Is it really week 8?

On my run this morning I had to wear a long sleeve shirt and long pants. Does this mean summer is almost over? I am not sure I am ready for fall.

Today is week 8 weigh-in... 236.2, a 2.8 pound loss this week.

Have a spectacular day!

Motivation

I seem to be lacking in motivation today... (this seems to happen when I work days). I have become very good at talking myself out of exercising.

Tonight when I left work I was really hungry and on my way to the parking lot some guy comes walking up with about ten pizza boxes. It smelled so heavenly I wanted to turn around and follow him wherever he and the pizzas were going. Of course I didn't but I did have to go to the grocery store where I walked past a display of Little Debbie snack cakes on sale... I am not sure if Little Debbie is a real person but I am fairly certain that she is the devil. Those sugary high fat snack cakes are so affordable I could buy several boxes a week even when I was a poor college student, subsisting mostly on ramen noodles and spaghetti-o's.

So long story short, I didn't give in to the sugar cravings. I bought salad fixings instead. But then when I got home I told myself I did so good not giving into my sugar cravings that I didn't have to work out tonight. See how easy it is?

Any ideas on how to get this lazy girl back in her running shoes while on day shift?

A hard workout

I think Jillian Michaels hates fat people and wants them to suffer. If you haven't already guessed I started the Thirty Day Shred DVD. Wow... level 1 kicked my arse and I can no longer sit in my chair without my legs protesting in pain. I think it is going to take longer than 30 days to get through all three levels. I have three thoughts on this DVD:
First, I can't do a single push-up... nope not even the easy kind. It takes the entire minute for me to struggle through one.
Second, I really need a better sport bra if I am going to be bouncing around that much... I did the last half of the jumping jacks while holding my boobs flat.
Third, it's hard but I am going to continue on anyway. Because like it says in one of my favorite movies, "If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great.”

Also, I changed my profile photo today... I really like it I can tell that my face is getting slimmer.

Scale nightmares

I am back in the Midwest after spending ten days on the Pacific coast (see photo of the Pacific Ocean at Third Beach). I would say I did ok on my diet... not great, but ok. In restaurants I ordered the food that was the healthiest, asking for salads as a substitute for fries, nixing the cheese on omelets and the mayo on sandwiches. I didn't eat any sweets or fried foods. However, I still had a feeling that I was going to gain some weight because I did have some potato salad and a couple other salads that were mayo based and I have been trying to avoid oil and mayo lately. My aunt made such great breakfasts, lunches and dinners including panacakes, muffins and creamy salads. I was definetly eating more than I had been in the past six weeks. I started getting concerned about the scale the last two days of my trip, so much so that I had dreams about getting on the scale both nights. They involved getting on the scale and realizing I had regained all the weight I lost or weighing more. These dreams may have had more of an impact than I thought because I was somewhat afraid to step on the scale this morning. My hands were even shaking a bit. I knew it wouldn't be as bad as my scale nightmares but I was still nervous. I finally bit the bullet and hopped on the scale, and I did gain a little weight I am at 139.0... that is a 1.2 pound gain over ten days ago. I guess I still have a lot to learn about eating healthy at restaurants, but I am sure I can loss that in no time.

The scale is one crazy beast

This is my pre-vacation week so between working days and attempting to get everything ready for vacation I really haven't been all that active... running a few times, walking around town, and my job keeps me moving quite a bit. I did, however, feel like my weigh-in this morning was going to be less than spectacular. I was so surprised to see 237.8 appear on the scale this morning. That is a 5.6 pound loss. What? How did that even happen? I am not sure but I am going to enjoy it none the less. This means I have met my mini goal of 240 pounds almost a month early (giddy laughter).

The scale is one crazy beast.

I am leaving for my vacation today so I won't be posting until I get back (in 10 days) but hopefully I will have some gorgeous rain forest photos to pretty up my blog a bit.

Staples

I went to see the movie Julie and Julia last night and have been thinking a lot about food today... that's a dangerous movie to see while you are trying to diet (lots of butter). I started thinking about how my "staple" foods have changed over the past few weeks. You know what I mean by "staples" right? Those things you must buy when you do your grocery shopping. You seldom forget a staple but when you do you take a trip back to the grocery store to pick it up, it is just that important. Before my staples consisted of cheeses (sharp cheddar and feta being my favorites), soda, pizza, pasta, nacho chips, cheese dip, and of course a variety of sweets. I haven't bought any of these things in over a month, but I have a group of new staples. Foods that are both healthy and so delicious I love to eat them.

My new staples list:
Boca burgers (have I mentioned I haven't eaten meat in 9 years)
Low-fat laughing cow soft cheese (only 35 calories a wedge)
10 calorie Vitamin Water (I heard these aren't great for me but I love them and they help curb my soda cravings)
Whole Wheat bread
Smart ones Lasagna Florentine (for quick lunch at work)
Lean Cuisine Margherita Pizza (for quick lunch at work)
salsa
egg beaters
fresh fruit
fresh veggies

Much like Julia Child, I love to eat so I am glad I have found foods that I love.

Also... I went to Barnes and Noble today (I could spend all day in that store). Wandering through the DVD's I found Jillian Micheal's "30 Day Shred" for 50% off (not including my membership discount... giddy laughter). So I got it. I am going to try it for 30 days but I won't start until I get back from my vaction.

Weigh in Day Again

I feel like I had a pretty good week, I ran most days and I think I ate pretty well. So first thing this morning I was excited to get on the scale and the results were good, 243.4 pounds... that means 4.2 pounds gone this week. That also means I only have 3.4 pounds to loss to meet my mini birthday goal weight. I am feeling pretty confident I will complete that goal early and start focusing on my next goal.

The biggest challenge facing me in the up coming weeks is my vacation. I will be gone for 10 days to Washington State/Olympic Park. I am still planning on running in the mornings and I signed up to run a 5K in Washington on one of the weekends. Plus I plan on doing some hiking so I am not too concerned about getting enough enough exercise. I am more concerned that I will be able to stick to a healthy diet.

Anyone out there have some words of wisdom for me about dieting and vacations?

441

441. That was the number pinned to my shirt when I ran my first 5K. Ok... so I didn't so much run a 5K as I did run and then walk and then run and then walk (ok I think you get the picture) but I finished. My niece and nephew both took first place in their respective age groups and I am so proud of them. My younger sister, who was also running for the first time, kept saying she felt bad about slowing me down. Can you believe it? Someone is slowing me down! Just a couple weeks ago I couldn't run a block and now I am running for 10-20 minutes at a time. When we got done with the race I told her about the couch to 5K and I put the podcasts on her ipod for her. I hope she likes it as much as I do. Tomorrow is my weigh in day so I will posting again soon.

Giddy day

I got my new ipod today and bright blue generation 4 nano. I am so excited! It is amazing how new technology makes me so giddy.

DLF>DNF>>DNS

I saw this (see title) on a t-shirt the other day and it feels pretty appropriate for me right now. It means A Dead Last Finish is greater than A Did Not Finish which is much greater than A Did Not Start. I think is a great sentiment for anyone starting a running/walking program but it feels very appropriate for me today because I am going to a 5K run/walk this weekend. My younger sister would like to start running so she called and asked if I wanted to do this run/walk with her. I have been jogging most mornings but since my iPod broke I just run when I feel like running, jog when I feel like jogging and walk when I feel like walking. This morning I decided to see how far a 5k really is. I went to google maps and traced a path from my house in a loop around town until I found one that was 3.1 miles. I headed out early this morning to try out the 5K. I discovered that 3.1 miles is a lot further than it sounds. I told my sister we may finish last but we will finish... and really that's enough for now.

Weight Loss Visual

I was playing around today on the "My Virtual Model" website (the weight loss option) and figured why not type in my current weight and goal weight to see the difference. This is my current weight along side my goal weight of 140 pounds. I am not even sure what size that is for a woman of 5' 8".

Since I have never been thin in my adult life I am not sure what my goal should really be. The thinnest I have been is a size 16 and the last time I wore that size was about three years ago and if I remember correctly I had dieted down to about 200 pounds. According to the National institute of Health, a healthy weight (using Body Mass Index (BMI)) for a woman my height is between 122 and 164 so I just went with something in the middle. Hopefully, as I lose weight, I will find a comfort zone... a weight that feels right for me.

Weigh-in Day

It's Sunday again so I jumped on the scale first thing this morning... and I lost 2.6 pounds this week. That is just about on target and at 247.6 pounds I am feeling pretty confident that I will make the Birthday "mini goal" of 240 pounds (that is 7.6 pounds to lose in just over 5 weeks). Now I just have to decide what I am going to do to celebrate. Any suggestions?

You may have noticed (well I have) that my weight loss has been kind of up and down... the first week there was a 5 pound loss, Week two was only 1 pound, week three was the 7 pound loss and this week a two pound loss. Don't get me wrong I am not disappointed with any of these numbers a loss is a loss and I am happy it's gone. But I think I have figured something out about my activity level and my job. I work a rotating shift... days one week, nights the next. The weeks that I work nights I am a lot more active and I think that makes all the difference. I get to run when I get home from work at 6am and it's cool and it's quiet as compared to running when I am done with work on days, it is hot and muggy (although it's been fairly cool this week) and I have to share the bike path with bikes, roller bladers, walkers and runners. I like the solitude of running in the morning and I enjoy it much less when I run at night. I was going to try the gym last night only to find out it closes early on Saturday... oh well tomorrow is another day.