My Weight Watchers group & C25k

Hi everybody!

First of all, I want to thank everybody for your kind comments on my last post. I hope you know how much they mean to me. A few weeks ago I was explaining my blog and the weight loss blogging community to my friend, who does Weight Watchers. And I said, "My blog friends and followers are my Weight Watchers group!".

I have never wanted to spend the money to go to Weight Watchers or on any other type of weight loss program. In fact, I have been holding out on getting a gym membership until the community fitness center near me opens (which I am sad to know won't be until early 2011) because it will be cheaper. Maybe I haven't done these things because I didn't have confidence I could stick with things and I would lose money or maybe I'm just a cheapskate! So far my current plan seems to be working and I will stick to it unless it stops being effective.

Anyway, back to my weight watchers group. I realize that a big part of the success I have had so far has been accountability on my blog and receiving inspiration and support from you all through your comments and reading your blogs. I was going to mention my WW group members by name but don't want to miss anyone. So let's just say that my group is very diverse in age and background. Some in my group are older than me and help me to know that you are never too old to change your ending. Some in my group are younger than me and remind me of how much fun being young can be and make me wish I had half their energy. Everyone has a different background and story. When I read about their stories, I am inspired. Some in my group have lost A LOT of weight and are either maintaining or have just a little to go. These people remind me that I can do it, too and always share wisdom. Some people have been on the journey for awhile and are half-way to their goal weight. These people also inspire me because they have come so far, yet still have far to go and are happily plugging along. Some are new to the journey like me. These people, help me to know that I am not alone. We have similar struggles and similar successes. I love following along with them. Some make me laugh, some make me cry. All inspire me. Thank you for being part of my WW group!

Today I completed week 3 of the C25k training! Yay for me! I only printed off the first three weeks to follow along with while on the treadmill so I hadn't really looked ahead to next week until yesterday. Holy cow, I'm nervous! This week's training alternated between 1.5 minutes running then 1.5 minutes walking and then 3 minutes of each. I did two circuits of this. Next week 5 minute intervals of running are thrown in and there is less walking between each interval. I can do this, I can do hard things!

I have had a hard time blogging and reading blogs the last couple of days. My kids are still on their 3 week break from school. I've been getting in my exercise time, but after that it has been all about the kids. We've done some fun things. Only one more week to go and then maybe I can get back to a regular blogging and blog reading schedule.

Have a great weekend!

Weigh-In Wednesday

Well, today was my weigh-in. And it looks as if I broke my 1-2-1 pattern after all, just not in the way I wanted to. I was hoping for a 2 pound loss on a one pound week, but instead got a 1.5 pound loss this week, which according to the pattern my body has been following, should have been 2 lbs. That's not to say I am not happy with my loss. I now weigh 191 lbs, I can see the 180's on the horizon and I am just .5 away from a total of 15 lbs. lost!

I want to be able to eat "treats" once in awhile without feeling guilty, as long as they fit into my calorie allowance. This past weekend, I ate coldstone ice cream (kid's size) on Saturday and a slice of coldstone ice cream cake on Sunday. Sunday, I went over my calorie allowance. Now, I find myself feeling guilty and thinking "would I have seen that 2 lb loss had I not had those treats?". The answer is probably, "probably". So here's the deal. I am going to be more careful about the treats I allow myself on weekends. Weekends are not freebies! Even if the treat fits into my calorie budget, the fat may not. I still think treats are okay once in awhile, I just have to learn to moderate more. I don't want to second guess myself come weigh-in day.

Yesterday, was a day off from blogging as I attended my cousin's funeral. It was a very emotional draining day. The cousin was from my dad's side of the family. I have never been very close to my dad's family and really don't know them all that well. Sad to say, I have gotten to know a few of them better on Facebook over the past couple of years than over my whole life. Anyway, seeing all of them under such terrible circumstances was draining. Not to mention, without going into a lot of detail, the family has some definite issues that were magnified yesterday and it all added to the sadness.

I made sure I packed myself a healthy lunch (turkey sandwich and carrots) . I knew I would not be able to stay for the family lunch that the church prepared for us because I had to pick up my kids. The funeral was at lunchtime. I'm glad I packed a lunch because otherwise I would have for sure stopped at a drive-thru and it is pretty hard to eat a salad while driving so I probably would not have picked a salad.

I knew I would be gone most of the day and so I planned ahead of time what we would have for dinner. I wanted something simple, but healthy. I usually eat fish for dinner the day before my weigh-in so I planned on broiling up some salmon. By the time I got home, I was really tired. I started thinking to myself, "I don't want to cook, I've had an emotionally draining day, I "deserve" to not have to cook."I thought about just getting fast food for dinner. Then I thought about my recent challenge with 15 in 15. We are supposed to figure out why we sabotage our goals just because we think we "deserve" to eat something off plan or not exercise. I think Annie's quote is "Why do you think you do not deserve to reach your goals?" No healthy fast food sounded good and certainly not better than broiled salmon. I thought about how eating off plan would have made for an even more crummy day. I also thought about how I deserved to take care of myself, both physically and emotionally. Eating fast food would not help me in either of those ways. So, I determined what I did deserve was a 15 minute catnap on the couch. I took my little nap and was ready to broil up some salmon. Dinner was easy and it was good. Now that is what I call a NSV (non-scale victory) people!

I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

P.S. Has anyone else noticed that Lisa from "One Mom's Weight Loss" has removed her blog and disappeared. I'm so sad. Her blog was a fave of mine. I hope she is well and just decided to quit blogging but hasn't given up on her goals.

P.S.S.- I almost forgot! I completed Week 3, Day 2 of the C25k program this morning!

A New Challenge and an Award

I want to thank LeAnne for awarding me the sunshine award! It is nice to know that my blog is not only benefiting me a ton but bringing some sunshine and inspiration to others!



I am supposed to pass this award onto some other sunshiney bloggers. I love reading blogs! In fact, I wish I had more time to do so. Here are twelve of my faves:

Kristin @ A Fit Me
Lisa @ One Mom's Weight Loss Blog
Mary @ Joy for Mary
Tj @ Tj's Test Kitchen
Cammy @Tippy Toe Diet
Kyle @ Getting Better and Better
Dawn @ 365 days to a new me
Ms.Magnetism @Mission to Lose 130 lbs
Alex @ Another Fat Girl
Tiff @ Project 365
This Girl is Losing it
Tricia @ Endurance isn't only Physical

How was your weekend? I hope great! Mine was just fine, nothing too exciting. I did the treadmill on Saturday, but that was all for exercising. And as far as eating went.....well....let's just say I went a little off plan. Pictured below is what I had for desert yesterday. Well, mine had some raspberries mixed in with it, but basically it was a red velvet cake, with lots of chocolate ice cream, chocolate ganache and raspberry filling from coldstone creamery. So yummy, but it my one slice put me over on my calories. Or maybe it was all the garlic bread I ate with my manicotti at dinner time. Oh well, today is a new day and a new week.

I wanted to tell you all about a new challenge I am participating in. A friend of mine started a group on face book called 15 in 15. The goals is to lose 15 pounds between President's Day and Memorial Day. Today starts week two so it is still early on. If you are a member of facebook and want to join the challenge, just click here. Annie, the group's administrator, is a great motivator and sends each group member messages almost everyday with daily challenges. I told her that I think she would be a great weight loss/healthy living blogger and that you would all love her. She thinks she will eventually start a blog, but for now has given me permission to post her challenges here. So far the challenges have been things like , to track food and exercise in a notebook, create an eating and exercise plan, etc. Also we were challenged to make a contract with ourselves and sign and date it. The contract looks like this:

I commit to...

I promise to...

I know how important this is because....

I will do the following...

My reward will be...

Also she had us dedicate each pound of our weight loss to a person. Since the goal is 15 pounds, this was a list of 15 people who inspire us and for who we want to become healthier for. Obviously, for my overall weight loss goal is a lot more than 15 so I will be going through my list more than once.

If I complete the challenge then I will exceed my goal of a 25 lb loss by summer. I can hardly wait!

I'm copying and pasting the next challenge, so you can see it in Annie's own words:

Okay maybe I'm not. For some reason I can't copy and paste her message. Frustrating! Anyway, today's challenge is about how we sometimes sabotage ourselves. We use excuses like, I deserve it or I'm stressed out to eat off plan or not exercise. The challenge is to identify one reason we sabotage our goals, a reason "we don't think we deserve to reach our goals". Once you've discovered a reason think of three healthy ways you can reward yourselves when you think you deserve something great. These rewards will be for times you are stressed, sad, tired, overworked or excited about your accomplishments.

Annie's words are so much better than mine so you really should join her facebook group. I will spend today thinking on the challenge and blog about it in another post.

I hope you all have a good day. Tomorrow would be a "Things That I love Tuesday" post but I don't think I'll post anything. I have another funeral to go to. This will be two funerals in 10 days. ;( A cousin passed away last week. It was a sad ending to a troubled life. I may blog about it later.

See you on Wednesday.

Doing all this for fun!?

Today I completed week 2 of the C25K training. Yay for me! I did not do it at an incline yet though. So I'm not sure if I want to repeat the week, adding an incline or move on and just deal with the difference of running outside when I actually do start running outside. After reading the comments from yesterday, I have decided to go have a proper shoe fitting and get some new shoes. I hope to do this in a couple of weeks.

Today I had an audience of three while doing Jillian's (yes, we're on a first name basis. Even my son knows her name and who she is) 30-day Shred. My children were in the room while I did the workout. They were mostly playing their nintendo ds', but they were there all the same. Gotta love breaks from school! Anyway, while doing reverse crunches my son (five years old) said, "Look at your bum, you've got a big bum!". Don't you just love the honesty of children? Anyway, my daughters got upset with him and told him that was not nice. I told them, "He shouldn't say that, but it's true. Why do you think I'm doing all this?". To which, one daughter said, "For fun!". I just laughed. But what I really wanted to say is, "Do I look like I am having fun!?, Do you see the sweat pouring down my face!? Do you think I enjoy not being able to walk up and down the stairs without being in pain?! Do you think I enjoy having a hard time washing my hair because it hurts to raise my arms!?". Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration. I can walk up and down the stairs and wash my hair just fine....now.

Will this ever be fun? I know I can't expect to love exercise and think it is fun after just a couple of months of doing it. I have never liked exercise, which is one of the reasons I'm overweight. Although, I like the way I feel after I do the treadmill or Jillian or BL training I don't particularly like it while I am doing it. Mostly, I dread getting up in the morning to get on the treadmill and if I do look forward to a workout it is mostly because I am looking forward to the satisfaction that comes after I have completed it! I dont' think my dislike of exercising has much to do with the types of exercising I am doing. I just don't enjoy it all that much. I hope that eventually this will change. I hope that one day I will find that I do think exercising is fun! What about you all? Do you enjoy exercising? Did you have to reach a point where you enjoyed it, or have you always enjoyed it?

Two Left Feet!

Today, I opted not to do the treadmill because my shins are pretty sore and I want to be able to finish week 2 of my C25K training tomorrow. If anyone has any advice on how to cure/avoid shin splints, let me know.

But sore shins is not what this post is about. After I did my BL training I decided to pop in an old aerobic VHS tape to get some cardio in. The tape I have is one that my mom got while she was doing Jenny Craig a few years back. The last time (4 years ago) I decided to lose weight she gave me her exercise tapes. Attempting to do the aerobics workout reminded me that I do, indeed have two left feet. It also reminded me why I have always avoided actually attending a public aerobics/exercise class of any kind. I am so uncoordinated, I really can't follow along with all the dance-aerobic moves. In fact, I wonder if it is doing me any good at all because I have to concentrate on how to move my feet so much that I am probably not moving them much at all. I know that if I did this particular tape often, I would eventually get it. I think I'll stick to my treadmill and Jillian for my cardio, though.

Are all aerobic workout tapes/dvd's that way, though? Do they all contain complicated (or so it seems to me) dance moves? Or is that a 80-90's thing? Let me know. I have a friend who loves Zumba and wants me to attend a class with her. I am afraid I will just embarrass myself. For those of you who love Zumba, will my two left feet get in the way of a good workout?

Have a great Thursday, everybody! The weekend is right around the corner.

Weigh-In Wednesday and a decision about the scale

So today is weigh-in Wednesday. I weigh myself once every day on my bathroom scale. I do this first thing in the morning in my underwear before I put my workout clothes on. My scale seems to be pretty consistent and today it read a 1 lb. loss. I was a bit disappointed because that is not a change from yesterday and I thought I earned a loss yesterday! Anyway, as you know I have been using The Biggest Loser Wii game for my official Wednesday weigh-ins. So I got on the Wii balance board today and it read 196 for no loss at all! That sucks! So I made a decision...I will no longer use the Wii balance board for my official weigh-ins. I am going to use my bathroom scale. I just don't trust the balance board anymore and I'm sure it doesn't register 1/2 lbs., which I think is just wrong. So my new weight (according to my bathroom scale) is 192.5 for a 1 lb. loss. Maybe I'm just doing this so I can see a loss this week and feel better about myself, feel free to tell me if you think that is just what I'm doing. I figure, I have seen my bathroom scale be consistent over the last few weeks. I weigh myself on it everyday at the same time. I know it reads lower than the wii and the doctor's office scale does, but it is not that much lower. Not to mention, when I weigh myself on the Wii or at the Dr's I am fully clothed and it isn't always first thing in the morning.

About the Wii game. Today I dropped below the yellow line and was in danger of being eliminated AGAIN. I wasn't, but it ticked me off. What more does it want me to do?! I exercise 5-6 days a week and stick to my eating plan. I will still stick with the game, for training purposes and I would really like to complete a 12-week period before getting eliminated but I'm not going to worry about it so much.

About my 1 pound loss. It looks like I've definitely got a pattern going on here. One pound one week, 2 pounds the next. I was really hoping to buck the trend this week but it didn't happen. I know 1-2 lbs. a week is a healthy way to lose weight and that if I lose 6 lbs. a month I will exceed my 2010 goal of a 50lb. loss. However, I also know that most people hit a wall and their weight loss comes at a standstill for a time. I guess I just hoped I could lose more in the beginning before I hit my wall. On the bright side, I have now lost 13 lbs. and if my pattern holds true next week I will hit the 15 lb. mark! The big picture is very satisfying.

Have a great Wednesday, everybody!

Things That I Love Tuesday

***Disclaimer: Unless otherwise noted I have not been asked to promote or review any of the products I feature on "Things that I love Tuesday". They are truly just things I love and when I find things that I love I want everyone to know about them!***

Maybe today's post should be titled "Things That I am Learning to Love" because a few weeks ago I would have never thought I would love Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred! But, yes it is true I actually look forward to my workouts with Jillian. I don't do the DVD every day because I do BL Wii training every other day. I have been averaging the Shred workout about 2-3 times a week. For this reason, I really don't know how many times I have done level 1, but am thinking since I am learning to love it I probably need to move up to level 2. I can't complete the whole workout the way I'm supposed to, though. The last 15-30 seconds of bicycle crunches always get me. I usually end up doing regular crunches during that time. And I have been known to do standing jacks instead of jumping jacks, too. So am I ready to take it to the next level? Do I have to have level 1 mastered before I do level 2? Once I make the leap, I don't want to jump back. I would love any input from my blogging friends out there who have done the shred or from anyone who has an opinion, really.



I would also like to know what workout videos you all like and use. I am waiting for a local community fitness center to open in our neighborhood later this year before I join a gym. So right now, my exercise consists of my treadmill, wii games and my dvd player.

Today, I woke up at my normal early exercise time even though the kids are out of school. It worked out much better, than sleeping in. My kids were not needing me or beating up on each other during my exercise time. I did a lighter treadmill workout since tomorrow I am on day 2 of week 2 of the C25K training. I walked at an incline for 30 minutes, for 1.75 miles. I also did level 1 of the 30-day shred workout.

I survived Valentine's Day and Day one Week Two

Happy Monday! Hopefully, for most of you that work today is not really a Monday and you are enjoying the holiday off. I hope everyone had a great weekend celebrating love.

My weekend was pretty good. We went to the ice cream creamery for dinner and dessert on Friday. I'm happy to say, that because I wanted to enjoy some ice cream I opted for a Turkey Sandwich for dinner and stayed away from my beloved Reuben. I was able to enjoy my ice cream without feeling guilt from having already eaten too many calories. I'm sure I stayed within my calorie range.

Saturday, was my great uncle's funeral. It was a very nice service and I think he would be pleased with it. I really enjoyed seeing cousins that were a big part of my life while growing up but whom I don't see too often now. It's just too bad it had to be at a funeral. After the services, my uncle's church provided the family with a dinner. It was KFC. I love KFC chicken, but am well aware of how fattening it is! I ate a small breast and thigh, with the skin off. I avoided the mashed potatoes, biscuits and chocolate cake. I ate green salad and a corn muffin with my chicken. Saturday morning I finished Week one of the C25K program. I was able to do the whole thing at an incline. I also did some BL training on the Wii.

For Valentine's day I did not receive one oz of chocolate. That's a good thing, right? My hubby gave me a dozen roses and a sweet card. I gave my husband a small bag of chocolates and I did help myself to one piece. Pretty good, I think. We went to my in-law's house for dinner. My MIL made poppy seed chicken, it was very good. She also had chocolate dipped strawberries and brownie bites for dessert. I enjoyed one large strawberry and one brownie bite. It was all great!

I have been weighing myself everyday and I'm pretty sure I will be seeing a loss this week. It makes me happy to know that I can still enjoy things I have always loved, like chocolate and ice cream and still see a loss. I think the key is to plan for your treats. If you allot yourself some treats once in awhile then you can plan. I stayed within my calorie range because I planned for the higher calorie treats. If I deprive myself of sweets then I will not plan for them and may end up "sneaking" some and going over on my calories.

Today I started week 2 of the C25K training. It is basically the same amount of running during the 20 minute period, but at longer stretches of running for less increments. It is 90 seconds of running and then 2 minutes of walking. I did not think it would be too hard, but it was a bit challenging. I was only able to do it at an incline for half of the time. Next week ought to be fun with increments of 3 minutes of running! I also did BL training today. I feel really good about how I have been staying on my training plan this week.

I mentioned in my last post about my kids being out of school for three weeks. Well, one thing I've learned the last few days is although I technically could sleep in, I will still need to get up and exercise early. You see, my kids don't sleep in and by 8:00 they are needing me for this and that. I hope my five-year-old doesn't drive me insane before the three weeks are over!

Are we having fun yet?

Today I helped with two classroom parties. Can I just say that I love being a stay at home and can help at the school, as hectic as it is sometimes. I don't love the whole decorate valentine boxes thing, though. I'm sure this is due to my own lack of creativity. That is why I am glad another Valentine's Day at school is over! I even turned down a donut that a room mom offered me for helping with the party.

Now my kids have a three week break from school. They have three week breaks throughout the year. The first couple of weeks are always great but the last week is always hard. Everyone is getting a bit tired of one another by then. As far as my eating and exercise plan goes I think the break could be good and bad. On the plus side, I won't have to worry about getting the kids off to school in the morning or volunteering (which sometimes has taken the place of my exercise time). On the negative side, ALL THREE of my kids will be home ALL DAY. I will be competing for Wii and DVD player time. Oh well, it should be fun and I think I can make the positives outweigh the negatives.

Tomorrow I finish week 1 of the C25K. I'm looking forward to it. I used an incline yesterday on day 2 for most of the workout and will try to use it the whole time tomorrow. I also started "The Biggest Loser" Wii training up again.

Some good news. Yesterday I saw my dad and step-mom for the first time since Christmas and my step-mom remarked that I looked good and wondered how much I had lost. I'm not sure if she even knew about my new lifestyle. One time my dad did call while I was exercising so maybe he mentioned it to her. Also, today a friend told me how someone had commented to her that I was looking good. The other day while looking in the mirror I thought I could see the difference. But I thought I might need to lose 5-10 lbs more before people started noticing. It feels good to have others notice my hard work. I wish I didn't care so much about others noticing, but I do!

Tomorrow will be spent at a funeral for my Great Uncle. Although, he was in his 80's this was not totally expected. I feel very sad for my sweet Great Aunt, who has now lost two husbands. Death is part of life, but is something I will never get used to. It should be a draining day.

My hubby and I celebrated Valentine's Day last Saturday. He did give me a dozen roses today, very sweet. This weekend the kids will be our valentines. We are going to ice cream tonight. Sunday we are all looking forward to the season premiere of "The Amazing Race". It is really the only show we watch as a whole family. Can't wait! My husband has Monday off, so we might try to catch a movie. I hope everyone has a great, healthy weekend! Happy Valentine's Day

"No one can go back and make a brand new start, my friend, but anyone can start from here and make a brand new end." - Dan Zadra

Another Fat Girl (who's real name I do not know) posted this quote on her blog a couple of days ago and it has been on my mind ever since. I often find myself looking back on mistakes made and wishing I could change some of them. During the last few weeks I have thought to myself more than once, "How did you ever allow yourself to get here anyway!". At times I have even felt a little dumb talking about my weight loss and blogging for fear others were having the same thoughts. "That's great, but why did you even allow yourself to get obese in the first place." Silly, I know.

The truth is we can't go back and start over but we are writing a new chapter and perhaps changing our ending each new day. Just because I allowed myself to get to where I am right now or have made poor decisions in the past doesn't mean I can't change things now. Past mistakes do not undermine what I am accomplishing now. I can be proud of the person I am becoming.

I have thought of this a lot. It is okay to change the kind of parent, spouse, person, etc.. you are, if it is for the best. Some may resist your changing. I think it is okay to say, "I know I'm different than I was before, but you know what I was wrong before and I'm trying to do what is right now".

So thank you, Another Fat Girl for your wise quote. I am looking forward to making a brand new ending. There may be some rough chapters in between but I think the ending will be great! How bout you all? Are you writing new endings for yourselves? Don't look back, keep looking forward.

Weigh-In-Wednesday

Well, today was my weigh in. And the BL scale said 196, for a loss of 2 lbs. I'm very pleased with the results especially considering that Super Bowl Sunday happened this week. It is nice to know that I can still enjoy some of the foods I love once in awhile without taking a big hit at the scale. My trend the last few weeks has been to lose 2 lbs one week and then one pound the next week. I'm hoping to buck that trend this coming week and lose 2 lbs again. Although, I will never complain about a loss, even if it is just one pound.

Today was an off day of my C25K training. I decided to take the advice of some of my readers and not run today. Kyle said, "I've learned to trust the program". So I will trust the program. My shins were a little sore today anyway so a day off from running sounded good. Instead, I just did a fast walk with an incline on my treadmill. I only walked 1.7 miles but it was still some treadmill time. I am looking forward to my C25K training tomorrow. I just hope my shins feel better.

My husband is helping a neighbor with some computer problems and so the neighbor brought over TWO pies as a thank you. I actually tried to give him one of the pies back (is that rude?), saying we did not need two pies. He told me I could give one of them away if I wanted. So that is what I did. I gave one of the pies to another family. This got me thinking. Why do thank yous always seem to come in the form of goodies. Is this just my neighborhood or do you all find that this is true for yours to? I am definitely guilty of thanking people with food myself. Making a batch of cookies is simple enough and everybody loves cookies! And I'm not sure people would appreciate a thank-you card as much as a plate of cookies. So we have a banana cream pie in the fridge. I don't think I'll have a piece of it, seeing how we have plans as a family to go out to a ice cream creamery on Friday. I think I'll save my splurge calories for then. Some of you may wonder why I am even planning to go to a creamery. Well, my kids really enjoy this place and we haven't been for a looooooong time. I figure, I'm the obese one not my kids and they should not be deprived of some of the things they like. I think it is better to teach them to eat things in moderation than to deprive them of all things yummy and fattening.

Today was produce day for our family. What is produce day, you ask? I belong to a produce
co-op group in my neighborhood. We buy produce in bulk from a local produce distributor. Every two weeks one of us goes and picks it up and sorts it into 10 boxes. I share my box with a friend. Anyway, on produce day I often throw out some things(usually lettuce or celery) in my produce crisper from the last produce day to make room for the new stuff. Not today! I was really looking forward to getting the produce because my crispers were pretty much empty. The things that were in there are things I have bought recently that weren't in my produce order and they are still perfectly fresh. I am keeping to my 5 fruits/veggies a day and eating all my produce. Now that is a non-scale victory, I say! I even got excited about the celery that I used to dread finding in the box.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!

Randomness

If you are looking for my usual "Things That I Love" Tuesday post just look below. I have so much on my mind that I decided to do two posts.

First of all, I want to give a big welcome and shout out to my friend Kristin, who just started her own weight loss and healthy living blog. I've told her how supportive you all are, so check her blog out here and give her some love. Thanks!

I started my couch to 5K (C25k) program today. I appreciate all of the support and encouragement you gave me on yesterday's post. Today went really well. I probably ran about as much as I have been doing, but today it was spread out over more frequent increments. My legs were feeling it during the last running interval, but I did it. And I'm happy to say I shaved a couple of minutes off my normal 2 mile time. Yay! I think I am really going to like this. I would be curious to know what everyone's normal "running" speed. Mine is really a jog at 4.8 mph. I walk at 3.8 mph. This is an improvement over when I first started using the treadmill in January. At first, my run was at 4.5 mph. I appreciate Shannon's advice in her comment about setting the incline on my treadmill so it won't be so hard once I start running outside. I was curious about what a difference running outdoors will make. I will start using the incline. Also, the training is for only 3 days a week. I have been doing the treadmill five days a week for the past five weeks. Do I just do my other routines on the off days or should I be resting? I'm not sure I want to rest.

Last night, I made tacos. I wanted to make something that would help us use up the guacamole and salsa left over from Sunday. I only had whole wheat tortillas, so I warmed those up and also had corn chips out in case some in my family would have preferred to make a taco salad. I was surprised that everyone used the whole wheat tortillas (this is a first, I just started buying them for wraps a couple of weeks ago). Everyone liked them, although my husband wished they would have been bigger. I had one taco in a tortilla and then made a salad (minus the chips). Yummy! And finally, I did have a few chips to finish up the guacamole. :) I think sometimes I am reluctant to try to get my family to eat more healthily because they may be resistant. Last night, taught me that they may just surprise me and like the healthy stuff after all!

I have not done my BL Wii game at all this past week because I am still mad that it kicked me off and I have to start all over! I have been doing Jillian's 30 day Shred instead. It is going well. I will have my weigh-in on the BL game tomorrow (I still can't decide on a new scale or not) and then I will get back to training on there as well. I guess part of the challenge will be not getting kicked off before my 12 weeks are up. I also like the variety of training.

Have a great Tuesday everybody!

Things That I Love Tuesday

I have a lot on my mind so today will be two posts. First, my weekly "things that I love" post. I have noticed that most of these are about food. Go figure! Well today's favorite thing is Stretch Island Fruit Company fruit leather:
I usually buy a couple of these 48 count boxes at Costco at a time. But I have also bought them at Wal-Mart. My kids and I have really loved fruit roll-ups in the past. I would always buy boxes of them when they were on sale. Your average fruit roll-up has about 100 cals and lots of added sugar. These fruit leathers are just 45 calories and all the sugar (9g) comes naturally from the fruit. AND they taste better than the overly processed ones we used to buy. One of my kids does not like these but the other two and my husband and I love them. I love the abundant apricot and summer strawberry flavors. Of course, having a piece of fresh fruit would be a better choice but I enjoy these as a snack once in awhile. And I feel better giving these to my kids than the other kinds.

Another New Week

Hey, everybody ! I hope you all had a great weekend. I sure did. I had a great meal on Saturday and watched my fave NBA team win!

Then came Sunday. Superbowl Sunday! All I can say is I made homemade guacamole and homemade salsa, which aren't so bad until you throw in all the tortilla chips I dipped into them. I just couldn't bring myself to pull out the veggies, like I said I would. And I better not forget the pizza rolls I made for dinner.....way too much cheese! Thankfully, yesterday was a fasting day for my church so I didn't eat until dinner. And I did enjoy it all! The scale was still down today so it's all good. Now, if I can avoid eating the rest of the chips this week. On a side note, I thought the Superbowl was a great game! I am a big Peyton Manning fan so I was cheering for the Colts mostly. But the Saints totally deserved to win the game and I'm happy for New Orleans.

You may remember that one of my goals this year is to run/jog (the whole time) a 5K. I am seriously considering starting up the couch to 5K program this week. The first couple of weeks don't seem too bad. I have been running some on the treadmill anyway. It's from about week 4 on that scares me. And looking down at week 9 and seeing that it says run 3 miles, leaves me doubting myself. I will look to Kyle for some inspiration here. I know I can do it if I just take it one week at a time. Okay, I think I just talked myself into it! Tomorrow I will begin my C25k program. Stay tuned......

Happy Monday!

It's Friday!

Happy Friday, everyone! That's right another weekend is here. I am really excited for this weekend. Tonight, the hubby and I are going to watch "Whip It", a movie I've heard a lot 0f good things about. Tomorrow, we are going to one of our favorite restaurants and I'm going to do a splurge item. I'm going to get the parmesan crusted halibut with pesto aioli (at least it's fish). It is sooooooo good. I'll be sure to pass on the mashed potatoes and get some roasted veggies instead.

Following dinner we are going to watch our favorite NBA team play. It should be a great game and the place will be rockin'! I love sports and I love to attend sporting events (which we don't do all that often) so I am really excited. Our seats are in the "nose bleed" section so we will be doing plenty of stair climbing.

Sunday, as everyone knows, is the Superbowl. Again, I love to watch sports and although I don't get into the NFL as much as college football or NBA basketball I am always excited to watch the Superbowl. Or maybe, I've always enjoyed all the food that goes along with it! Ahhh...the food. I'm sure this will be a challenging Sunday for lots of us. I plan on enjoying (in moderation) all of it. I will for sure have veggies and hummus out to enjoy, too.

I hope you all have fun plans for the weekend,too!

I did "30 Day Shred" today and can I say I really like it.....once I get past circuit one. I'm glad the one I least like is at the beginning because I get it over with right off. I just hate jumping jacks! Anyone out there feel the same way? Maybe someday I'll learn to enjoy them.

I don't know if anyone cares but I'm going to list the 10 songs (and a little commentary) I downloaded off of itunes as my 10 lb loss reward. I listened to them while I did the treadmill and I am very happy with my choices. :)

1- Single Ladies- Beyonce (I wonder if she wrote this and just never recorded it before JayZ proposed)

2- Let's Get It Started- Black Eyed Peas

3-Firecracker- Josh Turner ( He sure does have a deep voice for a small guy...oh and he's pretty handsome, too!)

4-Why Don't We Just Dance- Josh Turner ( I love, love, love this video)

5-She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy- Kenny Chesney (I'm pretty sure she likes a lot more than your tractor, Kenny)

6- Footloose- Kenny Loggins ( I couldn't resist and I'm still contemplating downloading the whole soundtrack)

7-Lookin' for a Good Time- Lady Antebellum (FYI- I met Lady A at a concert last year, they are sooooo nice)

8-Just Dance- Lady GaGa ( Why is she so weird?)

9-If Today Was Your Last Day- Nickelback

10-Honky Tonk Badonkadonk- Trace Adkins (I've definitely got a badonkadonk but I don't think he's singing about mine)

So there you have it. I think some of my friends and family would be surprised to see that only half of the songs are Country. I guess I'm branching out for the sake of my exercise playlist.

I think my reward for 20 lbs. lost will be a pedicure. Spring should be here and I will need some pretty toes to show off while wearing sandals.

Have a great weekend everybody!

What I can learn from my kids

I am a hypocrite. Or let's say I used to be a hypocrite. I have always been fairly careful not to let my kids eat what they want (i.e. candy, cookies, etc) when they want (i.e. all the time). I have monitored their TV/Computer time and sent them outside to run and play. At the same time, I have been eating what I want when I want (too much secret pantry time) and have not spent as much time outside running and playing as I should have. I know being a hypocrite is not a good thing, but at least my kids are not obese like me. I am setting a much better example for them now as they see me exercising and eating more healthily. They and my own words to them are examples to me. Here are three ways in which I can learn from them and from my own advice:


This is my 2nd grader. For Christmas, Santa brought the girls roller blades. Sadly, they have never learned how to roller blade and after a trip to a local roller rink they really wanted to learn. They hadn't really tried out their blades because of snow on the ground but last week the weather was nice and so this daughter wanted to try hers out. I was so proud of her! She spent 2 hours on 2 different days outside teaching herself how to Rollerblade.

Our back patio still has lots of snow on it so she did it in our round-about driveway in the front. She wasn't worried about the neighbors or people driving by seeing her fall down. She just wanted to learn how to roller blade! She fell on her bum a lot (notice the dirty bum in the pic)!She skinned her knees. I encouraged her to just get up and keep trying. Before you knew it she was roller blading. She still has a lot of improvement to make but I have no doubt that she will become a great roller blader.

My oldest daughter (5th grade) just started up school band. When the information first came home I encouraged her to take up the flute or clarinet. I felt that this would be easier for her to learn, more feminine and her best friend was doing flute. They would have band the same day. She wanted to learn how to play the trumpet. She has never worried much about what her friends are doing or what is feminine or not. So we signed her up for trumpet. Of course, it is hard and harder than she thought it would be. We've told her the only way to get better is to practice, practice, practice! She is getting better. I am proud of the person my daughter is. She likes to try new things and it isn't worried too much about what others think. She doesn't love to practice so that is what we are working on with her.

My son is a kindergartner learning to read. Learning to read requires lots of patience on both the learner and teacher's (parent's) part. When the teacher first started sending these little readers home, he would say "It's so hard" or "I can't do it". It was definitely hard for me to sit there and listen to him try to pronounce the same words over and over, too. But we did not give up! I told him it would only get easier if he practiced, practiced, practiced. We have sat down every afternoon and read. He is reading! We are on book 17 of set one. I am so proud of him!

So what do these three examples teach me? I think of how often I've thought to myself , "Running is too hard", "I don't want to run outside, people may see me", "I can't take an exercise class at the gym, people will think I'm a dork because I'm so uncoordinated", "How will I ever be able to lose 50 lbs!", " I don't want to watch what I eat", etc....etc...etc... Well, I can learn from my kids as they work to reach their own goals even though the path is hard. My journey WILL be hard, I will fall on my butt sometimes and skin my knees but if I stay on the path and practice, practice, practice I will accomplish my goals.

One thing that I love to say to my kids when they tell me something is "too hard" is "You can do hard things!". I need to start telling myself this more often and believing it.

I CAN DO HARD THINGS....and so can you! Have a great day!

Weigh-In-Wednesday

Well, today was my big weigh-in. And The Biggest Loser's scale said 198 for a loss of 1 pound. My home scale is actually reading a 1.5 lb loss, but I have said the BL scale would be my official one so that is what I'll count. However, I have never seen anything but a whole number on the BL scale so maybe it does not record half pounds. After a great first week, I am sure on the slow and steady pace, aren't I? I will be happy with the loss, though. I have reached my first goal of
-10 lbs and will reap my reward of 10 itune downloads!

So, my weigh in on BL put me below the yellow line and I was eliminated. Yes, it actually ended my challenge! I don't really like that at all about the game. I wanted to complete my 12 week training and now I have to start over. I will still play the game for the training. Maybe I should have bought Wii Active Trainer instead. Does anyone have that and what do you think?
I am seriously considering buying a new scale and using that for my official weigh-ins. Any thoughts on scales? I will do some research online. I want to find one that is accurate and does not cost more than $50.

I know I could be losing more weight if I kicked up my exercise program. Right now, I do 30 minutes on the treadmill most days and then another 30 minutes of strength training about 3 days a week. My plan has been to follow this program for awhile until I hit a wall. I know that increasing my exercise will be a way to breakthrough the wall. Am I right? Anyway, I have never been a big fan of exercise (surprise, surprise!) so starting out slow works best for me. I sure hope the old adage is correct, "Slow and steady wins the race" because I sure am a turtle.

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Things that I Love Tuesday

***Disclaimer: Unless otherwise noted I have not been asked to promote or review any of the products I feature on "Things that I love Tuesday". They are truly just things I love and when I find things that I love I want everyone to know about them!***

Before I get into what I love today I want to refer you to TJ's blog for a giveaway she is doing. It features some of her favorite things. Check it out here.

I love Hummus! I don't know why I tend to only eat this when I am dieting because it is sooooo good. Hummus is a spread made with chickpeas and tahini. It provides a good healthy dose of protein and fat.

I've made it once and will probably try to make it again someday. For now, I have just been buying the pre-made stuff in the stores. I am currently enjoying Atheno's Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. And when that is gone I will start into the tub of Sundried Tomato Hummus I just bought at Costco (Sabra brand). That is one of the great things about hummus, it comes in many different flavors. How do I eat it? My new favorite lunch is a turkey wrap. I spread hummus on a whole wheat tortilla and layer a serving of deli turkey with whatever veggies I'm feeling like that day and roll it up. It is so yummy, I could eat two at a time if I knew better!
I also discovered over the weekend that pita chips dipped into hummus are delicious, as I'm sure veggies would be. This weekend is the Superbowl, instead of buying the normal chips and dips you should try pita chips with hummus instead! So do you all like hummus and how do you eat it? Happy Tuesday! I hope tomorrow is a happy day, it is weigh-in Wednesday.

Happy February and a review!

First of all, thanks to everyone for your encouraging comments on my last post. You guys are the best! I feel like I can do this with your support. Thank you! Thank you!

Happy February to you all! That's right a new month. I feel good to know that this will be my first full month of my new lifestyle. I started the 5th of January so that was not a full month. I look forward to seeing what February brings.....hopefully not too many candy hearts and chocolate!
I had a great weekend. Nothing too eventful. I stayed on my eating plan and did the treadmill on Saturday. I always take Sundays off so on Monday I am ready to conquer a new week. I plan on getting some exercise outside today as it is sunny. I'm just waiting for it to warm up a bit. I woke up early and did "The Biggest Loser" game. Apparently, after 3 weeks it kicks it up a notch. I am no longer doing the beginning level workout, I am now on the moderate level. There is definitely a difference. I have had people ask me how I like "The Biggest Loser" Wii game and so I thought I would do a review today.
I have only watched the show once or twice. I just can't seem to get into it. Sorry BL fans! Because I am not a regular watcher of the show I really did not have any expectations as far as the trainers went. Anyway, the game allows you to do a 12, 6, or 4 week program. I chose the 12 week program. After you input your info and select what your purpose of the training is, maintain, lose a little weight or lose a lot of weight, it creates a program for you. I, of course, want to lose a lot of weight. It set a goal for me to reach by the end of the program. I can't remember mine right off but it is to lose 20+ pounds. The game has features to enter in your calorie intake for the day (it recommends an amount) and to log extra exercise you have done.
I really don't use those features too much because I log those in a notebook and on sparkpeople and usually only turn the game on first thing in the morning.

Now, here's the part I really like and what I use it for. The training workouts. Every other day I have a scheduled training. I really like the training sessions. I have never had a personal trainer and don't know much about exercising so I like that it is all figured out for me. The workout usually consists of two, sometimes three circuits of upper body, lower body, core exercises or yoga. I think the past three weeks, I have repeated the same workout maybe once. Although, I did miss a few sessions. I like the variety of exercises. I feel like the exercises are explained in a manner that they are easy for me to understand and I can follow the trainer easily as well. Like Wii Fit, it measures how well you are executing the exercise. Although, I'm not sure how accurate this can really be. I definitely get sweaty and my muscles burn during the workouts so I figure it must be doing something for me. I do feel more toned as well.

Another feature of the game is the weekly challenges. They are similar to the ones on the show. I have to do two different exercises for a certain amount of time and by doing these exercises my character rides the bike faster, chops wood, tippytoes across the pool, etc. It goes in rounds until I either beat everyone out or I lose a round. I have to do these each Wednesday before I weigh in and can do it for fun anytime.

What do I not like about the game? Well, I wish it was my Mii working out. Instead, you choose a past contestant. Maybe this would be fun for someone who is a fan of the show. As I lose weight, my contestant loses weight. Just today, my son was watching me and said that my character (Allie?) looked a little bit skinny. That made me smile. I find the weigh-ins a little strange. It shows me my weight and then the weight of Allie. I guess her weight loss is proportionate to mine. Then two contestants drop below the yellow line and we vote someone out. I have yet to drop below the yellow line so I don't know what happens if you do. I doubt you could be voted out before your 12 weeks is up.

Anyway, that is my unprofessional review. Overall, I like the workout plan it gives me. I'm glad I got it.

On a total random note. I watched the movie "Footloose" on Saturday. Do any of you remember this fabulous movie? I loved it when I was a teen and I love it now! The soundtrack is so awesome (am I dating myself?)! After watching it, I wished I still had my cassette tape walkman and the soundtrack on tape. I am seriously considering downloading it from itunes. I looked and it costs $10. I think that may be a bit much for a 25 year old soundtrack. However, I will be earning 10 itune downloads when I hit the -10 lb mark. I already have 10 songs on my wishlist, but I may just have to download the "Footloose" soundtrack instead!