A New Year is Coming Closer

I haven't posted anything on here in a long time. The truth is I had reached a good place in my quest for a healthier life. My husband and I joined Metabolic Research Center and lost a little over 20 lbs each in 2013.

It was wonderful. I've never felt so good. We were eating healthy and exercising. For the first time I LOVED running. Before I enjoyed it, but mostly I liked how I felt when I was finished. You know that sense of accomplishment. The knowledge that you did something hard and uncomfortable because it was good for you. But when I was 20 lbs. lighter I enjoyed the actual running. My body felt strong. I didn't have trouble breathing and the motion felt wonderful!

Then life slammed me again. I held on for almost a year, but last August I started the slow weight gain. Ounce by ounce, pound by pound I regained all that I had lost. Then I had one week where I was so depressed and frustrated that I gained another 10 pounds.

I didn't care.

Part of me wanted to eat myself to death.

Good news. I've gotten over that. In fact, over the week of Christmas I actually lost 2 lbs by simply drinking more water and paying attention to my portions. I still ate everything I wanted, but I did it sensibly.

This morning I woke up and put in 30 minutes on the treadmill. It felt good to be doing something for myself again. There is a journey ahead, but at least this time I know I can do it.

The trick will be staying where I want to be for the rest of my life.

Here's to New Year's resolutions!

I survived 3 weeks of vacation!

Shortly after my last post I headed to TN for a two week vacation to visit family. Usually going home is easy because I still do the cooking. However, my mom had just moved homes and schools. This meant we were very busy helping her get things done and we often didn't have time to cook. Or go home between things. There was also a lot of fun stuff too, not just work. We shopped almost the entire two weeks and visited other friends and family.

My biggest fear was gaining a lot of weight from all the eating out. I did my best to make good choices--grilled chicken, salads, dressing on the side so I could use just a tiny bit, etc. However, I did eat the chips and salsa, had a fried cheese stick, ate the cherry chocolate chip cake with cream cheese frosting my sister made...and it was all so good! My goal was to enjoy the time with my family and just make sure I only ate "a little" of the yummy things that had added the pounds over the years.

I increased my water intake. Some days I was getting 120 oz in. My first weigh in home I had gained 3 lbs. I think some of it was still travel water retention. Who knows? Anyway, the next week home was our staycation. More travel, but more active fun as well. At the next weigh in I was back to my pre-travel weight.

Half a pound a way from my 20 lb loss goal.

I'm hitting it this week for my birthday. It's my gift to myself. The  new goal is to lose the last 8 lbs of my goal over the next month. That's 2 pounds a week. I know I can do it if I add the regular exercise and keep eating good foods.

Wish me luck! No, better yet, ask me if I've exercised.

Starting weight: 177
Current weight: 158

Getting Healthy Week 2

Last week went pretty good, even though I had to make some changes in my plan.

Last Week's Plan

Monday--Cardio Step 8:45 AM  I ran/walked 2 miles/hills/40 minutes on the treadmill
Tuesday--Treadmill 8:00 AM, Tone & Tighten 8:45 AM, Zumba 6:10 PM with my girls I went to yoga with hubby instead
Wednesday--PiYo (pilates and yoga mix) 10:30 AM Tone & Tighten with a new friend and ran 1 mile
Thursday--Treadmill 8:00 AM, Tone & Tighten 8:45 AM, Zumba 6:10 PM Took a day off to sleep all day!
Friday--Cardio Step 8:45 AM Water Aerobics
Saturday--Treadmill 10:00 AM, Yoga 10:50 AM Just went for a short walk with my family

Even though I made changes, I'm proud of myself for doing something each day. It's a good start!

This Week's Plan
Monday--Tone & Tighten 8:45 AM, Treadmill
Tuesday--Zumba 6:10 PM, Serenity Yoga 7 PM
Wednesday--Tone & Tighten 8:45 AM, Treadmill
Thursday--Zumba 6:10 PM, Serenity Yoga 7 PM
Friday--Water Aerobics 8:45 AM, Treadmill

Marathon Training Weeks 8 and 9

Week starting August 29th
Monday 4 miles check
Tuesday 7 miles ran 3, biked 4
Wednesday 4 miles missed
Thursday Rest check
Friday 7 miles missed
Saturday 15 miles--did 8 miles

Week starting September 5
Monday 4 miles missed
Tuesday 5 miles ran 2 miles holding onto the treadmill for dear life. The seas were a bit wavy.
Wednesday 5 hour kayak and snorkle tour in Freeport--check, and it was amazing!
Thursday walk Naussau all day--Was soaked in sweat after five minutes! Walked for hours, it was wonderful and completely draining
Friday 5 miles took a nap by the pool instead
Saturday ?? miles We plan to do something, but I need to check and see when we port--just spent the day with the family

Weeks 5, 6 and 7 Marathon Training

Week 5 Starting August 8th
Monday 3 miles check
Tuesday 6 miles check for 4 miles
Wednesday Rest
Thursday 6 miles check for 4 miles
Friday 12 miles check
Saturday 3 miles missed

Week 6 Starting August 15th
Monday 3 miles Check
Tuesday 5 miles Check
Wednesday 3 miles missed
Thursday Rest Check
Friday 6 miles skipped
Saturday 9 miles skipped

As you can see, I struggled with my motivation last week. In fact I did a lot of emotional eating and count it a miracle that I actually maintained my weight with no gain. Don't really know what the deal is/was. I tried to get out of this whole marathon thing, but my training partner won't let me. I'm still not motivated, but at least I have someone to push me forward anyway.

Week 7 Starting August 22nd

Monday 4 miles Check
Tuesday 7 miles Ran 3 miles and stationary biked 7
Wednesday 4 miles Check for 4.5 miles
Thursday Rest Oh yeah!
Friday 7 miles Finked out and only did 3
Saturday 14 miles I made it 13.5 miles! For the last quarter mile I took my shoes off because the blisters were on fire. It really does feel different to run without your shoes. Might not be so bad if I had Hobit feet.

Marathon Training Week 3 and 4

This week (July 25th-30th):
Monday--3 miles missed
Tuesday--5 miles check
Wednesday--3 miles check
Thursday--Cross train check
Friday--5 miles missed
Saturday--6 miles check for 5 miles

Next Week (Aug 1st-6th): (I'm going to be at Girl's Camp so I'm just trying to get something in. All week qualifies as cross training with all the stairs!)
Monday--3 miles
Tuesday--2 miles check
Wednesday--3 miles check for 2 miles
Thursday--4 miles (late breakfast morning) check for 2 miles
Friday--rest
Saturday--2 miles (go to gym to cross train on bikes when I get home)

Official Marathon Training Week 2

I keep forgetting to log in and report that I am training for the marathon in November. The 18 week training schedule started last week.

Life is not helping me but I have a good friend who is giving me a hard time every time I miss or slack on a planned run. That is helping me.

Last week looked like this:
Monday--2 miles with my daughter
Tuesday--5 miles with my friend (ugly because it was hot and I almost passed out. We ran about 2.5 and then walked the rest.)
Wednesday--3.3 miles
Thursday--nothing
Friday--walked 2 miles
Saturday--nothing

This week:
Monday--3 miles check
Tuesday--5 miles check (and I ran it all!)
Wednesday--3 miles check
Thursday--Cross train check
Friday--5 miles Ran 2 miles hard and then they kicked me out of the gym for closing. Too hot outside.
Saturday--9 miles check--early and out on the greenway

Goals day 7-9

Sunday--Rest

Day 8--Drove for 7 hours and then did 30 minutes Zumba with my mom and sister (then company showed up so we stopped).

Day 9--Went to the Y and managed 30 minutes deep water aerobics before getting kicked out for bad weather. Walked around the track a few times to dry off before leaving.

We plan to go back tonight and I'll run on the treadmill.

Goals Days 4-6

Day 4--Rest day--did errands all day.

Day 5--Sort of a rest day--did laundry and cleaned in the morning did a little water aerobics. A very little.

Day 6--Ran 4 miles, walked 1, went to the pool and did 20 minutes aerobics for inner thighs and treading water in deep end.

Total miles run this week: 11

Today is Sunday, so no plans. Tomorrow I'll get up early to run before driving with the kids to TN. :)

Fitness Goal Days 2 and 3

Day 2:
My body was reacting to the healthy diet and more active lifestyle...in multiple ways. So, I did some low weight, high reps for my arms and some ab work.

Day 3:
AM--ran 2 miles
All day at Cub Scout Camp working on the canoe crew. This translated into at least 4 solid hours of paddling. (5 groups + the Pixie Scouts at lunch time) I'm feeling it as I type, but it was the most fun I've had so far this summer.
Skipped the PM run and had a milk shake. :) Hey! Don't judge me.

The Myrtle Beach 1/2 Marathon

I did it! My training was lack-luster at best, but I still pulled off a 1/2 marathon with my average time of 2:35

Before driving down to Myrtle Beach, Nathan and I only ran six miles at one time. Usually we work up to ten before the race, but we were slackers. I'm sort of ashamed by that fact, but it is what it is. We did what we could and then decided to just go and enjoy the run.

I didn't set any time goals or goals for how long I would run before walking. My mental game was simple.

It's a beautiful sunny day at the beach and I'm just out for a fun run with my hubby and a few thousand friends.

And it was beautiful! The sun came up a few minutes after the start, clear blue skies, the full moon slowly sinking out of sight, and a light sea breeze to keep things comfortable. You really couldn't ask for better running conditions.

I highly recommend this race! 

The crowds were not as great as the Country Music. In fact they were non-existant, but there were enough people running that you never ran alone. The course was flat. And I mean flat. There was a stretch of road that was really annoying though. Down the main strip of shops and miniature golf places was wavy. The road was slightly slanted for run off, and then the cars had worn ruts (sort of) in the road. So for about 4 miles it was really hard on the ankles. Once that smoothed out it was a perfect run.

With hubby beside me I managed to run eight miles before stopping to walk. I didn't walk long though because it was more painful than running. My body actually felt pretty good until mile 8. That's when my hips started to tighten up and the blister started on my right foot. My breathing was good too. I stopped twice after mile 8 to stretch out my hips, but kept running (slowly) the rest of the way with a few walk stops of around a minute.

The last half mile is ALWAYS the worst for me, because I know I'm so close. It's all mental by then. I KNOW I can run half a mile. By that time I had already run 12.6 of them, so what's another half? It's half a mile of "there's nothing left" or "I'm gonna throw up" or "I think I can, I think I can". Or usually all three.


I hit the last tenth and thought "MOVE" and nothing happened. My feet were still on automatic pilot which was all I could hope for. And then another runner stepped up beside me. It was the girl in the long purple striped socks that I had stayed close to for at least half the race. (I was wearing my awesome long heart socks.)

"Come on, let's do this! We've stayed together the whole time so don't quit on me now."

And we sprinted!

We crossed the finish line together, thanked each other and hugged before going our separate ways. That's why I love running. What other competitive sport is also so encouraging, with complete strangers?

 The afternoon before.

 Sleepy eyed start.

 Starting right at sunrise. The moon is that bright circle in the tree.

 The hotels hid the ocean most of the time, but we did get glimpses.

 Yay! The finish line!

And the medals were awesome!

Summer Fitness Challenge

I started today. I made the google document public, so click HERE to see it. You can follow my progress or keep track of your own. I didn't use my real name. I'm Anne Shirley for this fitness challenge. She is probably my all time favorite book character for oh so many reasons.

Anyway, all my embarrassing info is there for everyone to see. I'm a runner and I didn't even time my 5K today. I did run 2.5 miles this morning, but I didn't time it. (But I will this week) I knew it would be ugly since I have not run for a month, and Saturday we hiked almost 3 miles. It was a beautiful hike, but hard. Hard on the quads. It was a lot of real climbing up and down through the Blue Ridge Mountains. We loved it! I'll write more about it another day. One note though--we enjoyed this challenging hike much better than our little "walks" through the woods. So, the lesson is we need to challenge ourselves to really enjoy life. Our bodies are made for it, they enjoy it and it is so rewarding in the end.

Tomorrow I'll post the Oyoko Don recipe and every week I'll post a progress report on my fitness challenge. It isn't too late to join me!

And here comes the rain! So much for hanging out at the pool all day today.

Economical Two Week Menu

I learned something new on Wednesday. Some people may want to see my "I'm cooking the old stand-bys" menu. I don't usually post these because I figure everyone knows how to cook these things, and it doesn't sound very interesting. However, a new friend said she keeps checking this blog and has been disappointed in the lack of posts. I was like, Wow! Really? To be honest with you, I felt like no one really cared, so I've focused my energy elsewhere. Since someone asked, here I am.

She said she wanted to see what my stand-bys were. These meals are usually some of the cheapest, easiest meals that I make, and they are usually kid pleasers. At least they please my kids. The other nice thing about them is I don't have to think. Just cook.

Remember, I shop for two weeks at a time. Well, at least most of it. I have to go back for milk, bread and sometimes butter and eggs (and whatever little things I forgot, or we ate for a snack instead of saving it--CHEESE). So, here is a menu of 15 dinners. I have also started putting half of certain dishes in the freezer instead of putting the leftovers in the fridge. Three of the meals on this list came out of my freezer. (I already threw the grocery list away, sorry!)

TIP: A good way to choose what to freeze? If they love it when you make it, but never eat it left over. Freeze it, warm it in the oven and they will never know the difference!

1. Tacos (beef or chicken--ready in 10-15 minutes)
2. Hamburgers/hotdogs on the grill, potato salad
3. Grilled cheese and tomato soup
4. Chimichangas (store bought frozen burritoes are given new life)
5. Oyoko don, rice, salad (This is not a stand-by. It was the one new meal I wanted to do this go around. Maybe tonight?)
6. Baked potato bar--chili, green bell peppers, cheddar cheese, ranch dressing (or whatever you want to put on it)
7. Toasted Hoagies (who needs Subway??)
8. BBQ chicken on the grill, corn on the cob (You know, slap some bbq sauce on chicken, throw it on the grill, yummy, easy!)
9. Taco soup
10. Scalloped potatoes, green beans, dinner rolls (from freezer)
11. Porcupine meatballs, rice, green peas
12. Alfredo Pasta with vegetables

From the Freezer:
13. Lasagna (a little more expensive initially, but we get three meals out of one pan--so cheap!)
14. Three cheese chicken linguine
15. Stroganoff on rice

And there you have it. I'll work on writing up some of the recipes--potato salad, taco soup, and Oyoko Don for next week.

Next week also starts my new drive to keep running and drop this last stubborn 10 lbs. I've held a steady weight for the last two years, and although that is good, I'm ready to kick that last 10! No one really signed up for the fitness challenge (just my best buds Laura and Mia). Is it because you don't run? You don't have to be a runner. You get to pick and choose what elements of the challenge you want to take on.

I'll post the Google Doc and make it public on Tuesday. Then you can log in with an alias and record/track what you want. :)

Summer Fitness Challenge

Ok, I know I've been horrible ABSENT for the last few months. I apologize again for that! I've been making new writing friends on my Other Blog. Things are moving along very nicely with my novel though. As a matter of fact, I should finish my revisions (5 pages a day--50 left) by the end of next week. Then I will take a mandatory break and wait for the rejections to roll in before starting a new project in the fall. Well, I'm sure I'll keep dabling in little stories, but I won't start serious outlining of another novel until September.

Sorry, I'm wondering off and typing my stream of thought. Let's get back on track with THIS blog and the next fitness project for me and you--if you wish to join me.

I have been running twice since the CM 1/2. Both were good runs and I'm ready to keep things moving. With only 2 weeks of Seminary left, I plan to sleep in until 6am and then run before it gets too hot outside during the summer. But, I think I need some more motivation. Something to keep me excited and moving forward. Something not requiring $$.

The men at church are starting a fitness challenge this weekend and it sounds REALLY fun! When I asked Nathan why the wives were not invited to participate he looked at me and replied.

"There was no way we were going to suggest any of you needed to join us."

I laughed because it is so true. I'm always asking him to encourage me, but everytime he does I get mad at him. Poor men, can't win even when they do what we ask.

So...I want to start our own Summer Fitness Challenge. We will have a private Google Doc to share (you can ask to be invited in the comments section) to record weight, and some other things. Here is what the men are doing.

Bragging Rights for:

• Fastest 5K
• Most improved 5K time
• Most push ups in a minute
• Most pounds lost
• Greatest percentage of weight lost

I think we should add:

• Biggest drop in pant size
• Most inches lost

What do you think? Here are the rules--everything will be recorded on our Google Doc (you can sign in with a fake name if that makes you  more comfortable).

1. We start on May 31st (Memorial Day) because it will be hard to start, but hanging out at the pool parties on this day will motivate us to set our goals.
2. On this day, find a tread mill, set the incline to 1 and run 3.2 miles as fast as you can. This will be our baseline for the most improved at the end.
3. Also, have someone time you doing push ups for 1 minute so we can see the improvement at the end.
4. Measure your waist, thighs, and upper arm--record.
5. Weigh yourself--record.
6. If you blog--advertise it and let's make this a great big party!

Everyone can choose their own form of exercise, but blog about it. Share it with us in case we want to join you in your challenge of choice. You choose your food choices as well. I recommend that you make an appointment with your doctor and ask them what your specific calorie needs are and then work to meet them--not exceed them. If you recorded your calories for a day, I think you would be shocked!

Do you have suggestions on how we can run this? Should we have real prizes at the end? What should they be? Are you willing to chip in to get prizes?

I'm setting up the Google Doc now. If you wish to join the challenge From May 31st to August 31st, simply post below that you want to join and I will send you an invite to the google doc. You may need to email me your email if I don't know you personally. My email is forloveoffood@hotmail.com

Country Music 1/2 Marathon 2010

Saturday was the day. My hubby, his sister and I ran the Country Music 1/2 Marathon in Nashville. We trained, and we prayed the rain would wait until we finished running. Actually, by mile 10 I was thinking a little rain would feel pretty good. It was the predicted lightening I wanted to hold off.

I would like to say I am thrilled with the outcome, but I'm a little disappointed. However, in an effort to be more positive I will say this. I AM CONSISTENT. We have run this race three years in a row. My times? 2:34, 2:33 and 2:34. I still enjoyed every minute of the experience and this year I can still walk up and down stairs! The first year I could barely walk the next day, last year it was just stairs that gave me problems. So, I guess I should look at the bright side. I may not be any faster, but my body is stronger. Here are some pictures from the day.

Week 9 report

Yay! I stuck to it this week. Well, the running part anyway.

Monday--4.5 miles with hubby
Tuesday--4 miles with Kiah
Wednesday--rest
Thursday--4 miles by myself
Friday--hiked with the family (only 1 mile and real slow, but we were enjoying nature)
Saturday--10 miles, no stopping to walk in 1:49:28. Consistent 11 minute miles makes me happy. I don't have to be fasts, just consistent.

Week 8 Training

Sorry that I slacked off with my reporting last week. I have a new calling at church and so the only blogging I did was on my writing blog--CharityWrites. In fact, I am pushing myself hard to finish revisions on my book. I want to be able to say "It is FINISHED" before the kids get out of school in June. Things are going well, but I keep finding things I can make better. Until it is done, I doubt I will post many  new recipes. I can't seem to divide my mind that many times. :) We are having a lot of standard meals that I can cook without paying any attention to what I'm tossing in the pan.

Running was hard, but I think last week was my best week in spite of being so tired. I am now teaching early morning seminary, which makes it interesting trying to find the time to get my run in. I refuse to get up and run at 4am. Anyway, I love the opportunity to be with the youth in the morning and I know my body wil eventually adjust to the new schedule. Until then, I just need to teach myself to go to bed earlier and keep moving forward.

I now have week 8 goals in the sidebar and will report on the last two weeks of running.

Week 6--
Monday--Easy Run (45 minutes) Only ran 3 miles
Tuesday--Pilates and Speed workout Did my pilates
Wednesday--Rest Day--hardly :)
Thursday--Easy Run (50 minutes) Missed
Friday--Pilates and Bike ride Did my pilates
Saturday--Long Run (6 miles) I chickened out and only ran 4
Sunday--Rest Day

Week 7--
Monday--Easy Run (50 minutes) Ran just under 5 miles. Later in the day I walked 2 miles with my family.
Tuesday--Pilates and Speed workout Did my pilates
Wednesday--Rest Day--hardly :)
Thursday--Easy Run (50 minutes) Early mornings caught up with me today, but I made myself run 2 miles without walking anyway. Figure it was better than nothing.
Friday--Pilates and Bike ride Did my pilates
Saturday--Long Run (7 miles) I ran 7 miles in 1:17:33 Only 11 minutes of that total was spent walking, so I am pretty happy with that...for now.
Sunday--Rest Day

I think it hit me yesterday that the race is only 5 weeks away! I have to buckle down and get serious. Here are some of the tunes that popped up this week. LA is Lady Antebellum.

Training Week 3

Here is to a better week this week. I'm going to bed, alarm is set...

Monday--Easy Run 40 minutes
Tuesday--Pilates for Core Strength and Speed workout
Wednesday--Rest day
Thursday--Easy Run 40 minutes
Friday--Pilates and Bike ride
Saturday--Long run 5 miles

1/2 Marathon Training Week 2

Goodness, it is already after lunch and I haven't posted this week's plan, or gone running. Perhaps if I toss my goals out into the online world I'll find the motivation to step out my door. At least the sun is shining today!

Week 2 Plan:
Monday--Easy run 30 minutes
Tuesday--2 mile run, doing intervals (run slow, run fast, run slow, run fast...at least I think that is what intervals means.) Strength training, concentrating on abs
Wednesday--Rest day
Thursday--Easy run 35 minutes
Friday--Strength training and Cross training--Bike
Saturday--Run 4 miles

My calorie intake has been well under control for almost 20 days in a row! The good news is that I still feel like I am eating a lot, I'm not hungry, and I am eating healthier choices. Funny how just paying attention to what you actually do put in your mouth can make such a difference.

Week 1 Report

My body is protesting. Remember how I took 3 months off of running? Well, I stuck to my plan this week and my body does not know what hit it. I ache in places that I forgot I had, but it is that good kind of pain. As I walked down the hill to my house after my run today, I could not help but think about the motion of my feet. Heel touches down, the pad rolls against the road and then the toes push the ground away behind me. Over and over again. It is a miracle how our bodies work.

Anyway, I was sore and tight all over until I went dancing tonight. That loosened everything up, but a poor choice in footwear has left the bottom of my feet very tender. Luckily I stopped before any blisters actually formed, just barely. Here is my report for how I did with my training this week. I moved some things around, but hit everything in one form or another.

KEY
Black--original plan
Red--report
Blue--the song that was playing on my ipod as I started running, or the song that really stuck out for the whole run. I thought it would be fun to share.

Monday--Easy run 30 minutes. (check!)
Tuesday--Speed work, Strength training (I did the strength training, light weights, lots of reps for arms, and enough squats to make the stairs difficult)
Wednesday--Rest day (moved my speed workout to here because of icy rain on Tuesday) The Sound of Madness by Shinedown
Thursday--Easy run 30 minutes (check) Over You by Daughtry--chorus "Should started running, a long long time ago..." and Starts with Goodbye by Carrie Underwood--chorus "guess it's gonna have to hurt, I guess I'm gonna have to cry, and let go of some things I've loved to get to the other side. I guess it's going to break me down, like falling when you try to fly..." The last song came on when my legs hurt because they were so tight. I wanted to stop, but the song kept me going.
Friday--Strength training and Cross training (Took this as my rest day)
Saturday--Long Run--3 miles (check, I also danced for about an hour later that night. I'm counting that as the cross training I missed on Friday) Fighter by Christina Aguliera
Sunday--Rest day

I also made and decorated some cake today for the Luau/Boy Scout fundraiser/Ring Ceremony and reception for one of our scout leaders and his new bride. The food was excellent, the entertainment took me to the Islands, and the dancing afterward took me back to the 80's. I have jet lag!

My baking assistant.

I made three cakes--strawberry, banana, and orange juice--to stay with the tropical theme. All had real fruit in them and turned out perfect if I do say so myself.
This was the little wedding cake. Banana on the bottom, covered in buttercream and brown sugar for the sand. Cheesecake on top. And yes, I cheated and bought the cheesecake. I need to buy springform pans and find a good cheesecake recipe.