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

Mid-July 2013 Check In

I'm still computer-less and I wonder if that's helping me lose weight. As of today I'm 1/2 a pound from the 20 pound loss benchmark. That's two thirds of the way to my goal.

The exciting part is I'm feeling better, lighter, healthier. The other day I felt the NEED to go for a run. It wasn't "I should go for a run" it was "I want to go for a run". And I did. I ran two miles before stopping to walk and that was because I needed to catch my breath--not any aches or tiredness. It felt wonderful!

And, this may border on TMI, but I can pull my pants up and down without unbuttoning them! Oh, yes. For Christmas I want a shopping spree!

Starting weight in May--177lbs
Current weight--158

Way more food than I can eat!

Hubby and I have been doing the MRC meal plans for 14 days now (that includes the first week that is just a  work you into it kind of thing). 8 days in we had both lost 6.5 pounds!

There have been days that I wanted to scream because I couldn't eat something I wanted. Something that my kids were eating right in front of me. What you might ask?

• Freezer waffles
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
• sweet and salty granola bar
• ANYTHING that didn't include lettuce

However, the results prove that this is worth it. And, I'm not hungry. It's just those mental cravings for all the things I love but shouldn't eat as much of as I did. 

The following pictures are not great since my table is brown, but I'm posting them to show how much food I'm eating. It's a ton! Most of the time I have to sit and make myself finish because I'm just not hungry, but they say I need to eat it all to get the required nutrients. We also weigh everything now! 4 oz of meat is a lot of meat!

 Orange Beef and Broccoli (4 oz meat, 4 oz veg, 4 oz salad, 50 calories of starch)

(4 oz of turkey burger, 4 oz squash/zucchini, 4 oz salad)

Changes Are A Comin'!

I thought I was done with this little "pursuit of health" blog. A few months ago I decided to resign myself to being overweight, tired and old looking. It was just too much work and I didn't feel like I had the support to stay strong. Plus life was VERY stressful with a move and book release.

However...

Changes are coming, and this time they are for the good.

Last week I moved into my new home (yes, just 7 months after the last move) and I hope to be here for the next 10 years at least. It was a good time for hubby and I do sit down and take a good look at where we were health wise. We didn't really like what we saw and it finally hit us how it is affecting our children's health.

On Monday we both went to Metabolic Research Center and signed up. Here's what I like after just 4 days:

• I go in twice a week so there is accountability.
• I have someone to talk to who wants me to succeed, has been where I am and met their goals.
• It's real life choices, not a diet
• I don't have to buy food, but they are teaching me how to shop at the local grocery store to make better choices.
• In the beginning I have a very specific menu that is easy to follow.
• The food is normal food that I already eat and like.
• My family can eat what I eat and I don't have to buy "extra" groceries to support two meals.
• Did I say it was easy? It is.
• I've not felt hungry once.
• I'm sleeping better which means my energy is improving.
• They offer herbal supplements but they are optional (other than the protein drinks and multi-vitamin)
• I lost 4.5 pounds by sticking to the plan over 3 days!

Do I need to say anything other than that? I know that's just water weight, but it boosted my hope that this time I can get on the right track and stay here.

I'll post an update here every Friday with how things are going, how I feel and my favorite recipe of the week. Once I start going to their classes (all included) I'll share what I learn with you.

Here is to finally living healthy.

Run Bentonville!

I haven't posted in a few weeks, but I have been going to the gym and trying to eat as well as possible over the holidays.

The good news is I didn't GAIN any weight over December. Yay!

Tomorrow starts the official training for the 1/2 marathon hubby and I signed up for. The sporadic running and exercising of December was an effort to make this week not quite so hard. It doesn't look like much, but  so far I've logged 3 miles for 2013.

Hey, it's a start! I'll add 2 more tomorrow plus the tone and tighten class. Here we go!

Lose that weight! Week 3

Okay, last week was a bit of a bust. I got sick in the middle and then had too many late nights and early mornings. But tomorrow is a new day and I'm getting right back to work!


Last Week's Plan
Monday--Tone & Tighten 8:45 AM, Treadmill--Stayed home to finish something my publisher needed right away but did some hand weights and squats in my kitchen. Went to the night weight class in the pool with my daughters.
Tuesday--Zumba 6:10 PM, Serenity Yoga 7 PM--Fail
Wednesday--Tone & Tighten 8:45 AM, Treadmill--Sick
Thursday--Zumba 6:10 PM, Serenity Yoga 7 PM--Fail
Friday--Water Aerobics 8:45 AM, Treadmill--Went for a half hour walk
Saturday I walked around (slow/shopping I HATE SHOPPING) from 9:30-2:00. That's got to count for something, right?

This Week's Plan
Monday--Tone & Tighten 8:45 AM, Treadmill
Tuesday--Zumba 9:30 AM
Wednesday--PiYo 10:30 AM, Treadmill
Thursday--Tone & Tighten 8:45 AM
Friday--Water Aerobics 8:45 AM, Treadmill

Post Thanksgiving Training Week 1

I'm starting over.

Again.

We've recently moved, so it's a new house, new town, and a new state of mind. Right?

There's no better time than now to start. Plus, I haven't been running in over a year. I really miss it and want to start up again. The Country Music 1/2 is in 5 months and I think I can be ready.

Here's the plan for the week:

Monday--Cardio Step 8:45 AM
Tuesday--Treadmill 8:00 AM, Tone & Tighten 8:45 AM, Zumba 6:10 PM with my girls
Wednesday--PiYo (pilates and yoga mix) 10:30 AM
Thursday--Treadmill 8:00 AM, Tone & Tighten 8:45 AM, Zumba 6:10 PM
Friday--Cardio Step 8:45 AM
Saturday--Treadmill 10:00 AM, Yoga 10:50 AM

Frustrated

Well, after a week of running the kitchen at camp, and a week of travel after that, I managed to gain back the 4lbs I had lost.

It's very frustrating. And what do I do when I get frustrated? I eat!

I'm finally home and ready to get back on track. Today I'll shop for groceries, get the laundry done, plan "back to school shopping", and plan my exercise routines for next week. The kids don't go back to school until the 27th, but I need to start running and exercising before then. It'll just be easier once they're all gone during the day. Mentally I think I'll be more successful with a quiet house and no one standing at my elbow "Mom? Mom?" Momming me to death.

And think how clean my house is going to be!

The biggest challenge is going to be putting correct eating (portions) with the exercise. I'm finally getting more sleep and drinking enough water. I also noticed that the week I stuck to my training menu I lost weight--and it had me eating 400 more calories than I normally eat. Perhaps my body is storing the fat because it's in starvation mode?

My trainer has me on 1400 on non exercise days and 1800 on workouts. Before I was aiming for 1200 and 1400. That's a big difference. The trick will be healthy 1800--lean protein, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Wish me luck!

Fit Days July 12-13

I'm really enjoying these workouts, especially now that I've learned how to switch out the ones with equipment that I don't own. Each exercise has several listed that work the same muscles, so I just substitute ones that don't require machines or other stuff I don't have.

The work out still take about 30 minutes to do, and I'm still "aware" of certain body areas for the day or two afterward. However, some of the exercises I'm doing more often are getting easier. I guess it's time to buy the next set of dumbbells.

Day 12

Day 13

Fit Days 7-11

So far the hardest part about this workout routine is the reporting. :) The exercises are easy enough for me to do from home, and if anything pops up that I don't have equipment for I just substitute a different one that hits the same muscles. Every day I'm aware of a different body part. There have been a few that I don't think I ever used before this workout.

Last week I lost 1 pound. That's a start right? Now to just keep moving in the right direction.

Here's what I did (I'm not listing the stretching at the end. Please remember to slow down and take several minutes to stretch all the areas you've just worked):
Saturday the 7th--Swimming laps (I'm not a swimmer, so my 400 yards was good)

Monday 9th--
Warm up was swimming.

Tuesday 10th-- 

Wednesday 11th--
Warm up was 5 minutes jump rope

Getting Fit Day 2

Warm Up
Run up and down my stairs for 4 minutes

Work Out

Weights I used(cause I'm weak!):
1-- 5 pounds for all sets
2-- none needed
3-- 5 pounds for all sets
4-- Didn't do--no equip.
5-- 3 pounds, my shoulders are weak!
6--didn't do
7--double 3's first two sets, double 5 third set, one 3 and one 5 last set

Cool Down
Quad stretch
Side Bend stretch--you know, sitting on floor legs wide, bend side then other side to stretch leg and side.


Menu for the day--
Breakfast--Egg white and spinach omelet
Snack--1 slice whole grain bread, 1 tablespoon almond butter
Lunch--potato salad with Canadian Bacon (lower fat mayo)
Snack--apple, mozzarella cheese, tomato and wheat crackers
Dinner--Black Bean Burrito (black beans, red onion, salsa, low-fat sour cream on small size tortilla
Snack--yogurt

I'm Alive and New Training Program

Things have been going great for me on the writing goal side of life. The fitness side, eh, not so much. However, thanks to my lovely writing community, I won three free months of an online personal fitness trainer.

The first month has gone by and although travel prevented me from really sticking with it, I already feel stronger and better. Today marks DAY 1 in my mind of seriously getting down to work. There are no travel plans, camps, or other distractions in July and therefore NO EXCUSES.

I'm really excited about it. The program comes with menus and shopping lists! I'll blog more about it in the future, along with some of my favorite recipes, but for the sake of time, today I'll just post my workout--that I've already completed!

Run--30 minutes at moderate pace.
Arm reaching crunch--1 set of 20
Dumbbell crunch--3 sets of 30
Exercise ball tuck--3 sets of 20 (my balance makes this hard!)
Leg-tucked crunch--3 sets of 25
Plank--3 sets of 1 minute
Jump rope--3 minutes fast



Starting weight July 2, 2012--174lbs

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

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

BBQ Chicken and Black Bean Burrito

Here is another yummy recipe from the Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 Days Plan. My kids even ate this one!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces (Jillian prefers organic)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup low-sodium bbq sauce
15 ounces low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (organic if you can)
Whole grain tortillas
1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

 Heat oil in a large skillet over medium  heat. Add chicken, onion and garlic. Cook and stir until chicken is fully cooked, no pink left.

 Stir in bbq sauce and black beans. Sprinkle with cheese and cook 5 minutes more or until thoroughly heated.

Spoon mixture into tortilla, top with 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt and roll up.

Easy peasy and delicious!

Chickpea Burgers

Wow! I have a new recipe for you! First, I did really great last week with a new exercise routine. I'm doing the Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30. Last week was just a test run and I did the video 4 out of the 5 planned days. Not bad.

It's brutal, but you can do anything for 20 minutes. Right? This week I add the food component and I'm setting a goal to run my 2 miles a day as well. I'll let you know how it goes. Needless to say, I think I'll be sleeping really good.

This recipe comes from the free 30 day menu that came with the exercise DVD.

And, no, the pasta salad isn't part of the menu from Jillian, but I only had 1/3 cup of it.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pitas, 6-inch whole-wheat (I used the Whole Grain Thin Bun instead)
Burger
1 can garbanzo (chickpeas) beans, rinsed
4 scallions
1 egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon oregano, fresh, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sauce
1/2 cup yogurt, low-fat plain
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup parsley, flat-leaf, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine the ingredients for the burgers in a food processor. Pulse, stopping to scape down the sides as needed, until a coarse mixture forms that holds together when pressed. (This was the hardest part for me because I don't have a food processor and my blender didn't work very well because it is pasty.

Once it is well mixed and pasty, form into 4 patties. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook until golden and crips, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes more.

Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl. Place burgers on the bread of choice and top with the sauce.

I thought they were really good, but I think I'll increase the amount of spices to give it a bit more kick. Maybe add some red pepper flakes. :)

339 calories, 16 g fat, 53 g Carbs, 9 g fiber, 15 g protein

Week 2 Training and Eating Habits

"He who fails to plan, plans to fail."

Unknown, but possibly Ben Franklin

The holidays are officially over and it's time to buckle down and get back on track. I've found that I eat better when I'm running because I don't want to waste all that effort. I also eat better when I keep track of what I'm eating. However, it's too late to fix it when I write everything down at night after eating it.

Last night I sat down and planned all of my meals for the next week and looked up the calories for each. I didn't plan my snacks because I never know what will be around in my house, but I did write down how many calories I had left over after all three meals so I would know how much good be used for snacks.

I found this great Weekly Food Diary online and sat down to fill it out. Then I decided I wanted to make the chart available to you, so I opened publisher and created my own. This is what it looks like blank.

And this is what my first week looks like all filled out.

You should be able to click on it to see it bigger. All I have to do is look to see what I'm eating, mark my water glasses and make sure I do the listed exercises.

I tried to add the file to my google docs and chose the share with everyone option. Let me know if these work.
Publisher File
JPEG

Training Day 7

I give last week a 6 out of 10 on progress and effort. Friday I convinced myself it was ok to skip my run and spend it with the family because I was doing a long run on Saturday. Well, we stayed up until 2 am Friday  night and then it rained most of the day Saturday. See where this is going?

Tomorrow I'll start all over again. I'm doing 3 runs at 40 minutes during the week and then next Saturday will be a 6 mile run. I'm also doing a pilates video to help strengthen my core, and a Jillian Michaels video. Once each during the week. Week 3 I'll add biking. (Oh, how I hate biking!)

Anyway, did you know you can download a free 12 page weight guide from Rite Aid? I took a look at it today and it has some great and simple ways to start living healthier. Things we can all do. Here is the link to it:

http://content.riteaid.com/weight/RiteWeight-Guide-2011.pdf