Weigh-In-Wednesday

Today is my official weigh-in day. I skipped last week's weigh-in because I was on vacation. I have to admit I was really nervous a few days ago about this upcoming weigh-in. I had gained weight on my vacation and was preparing myself for a gain and for possibly being officially back in the 180's.

The last couple of days have been great days, though. I have eaten on track and exercised really well. In fact yesterday I went to my strength class, then walked 2.25 miles on the treadmill and later on mowed the lawn and did some weeding. On top of all the exercise, I had a dentist appt. that left my mouth numb for hours and so lunch was late and consisted of a banana and greek yogurt. Yesterday may have skewed today's results a little and I may be right back to where I was tomorrow, but today is my official weigh-in day so TODAY is what counts. :)

Anyway, the scale read 187 for a loss (over 2 weeks) of 1 lb and a total loss of 28.5 lbs. Hooray! I overcame the vacation! I am really happy about this. I can't believe I am only 1.5 pounds away from 30 lost.

The friend I walk with has decided she wants to start running so we added a bit of running into our walk today. We ran further than we've ever ran together, which isn't very far, but still further. I think running with her will help me. I have been doing okay running on the treadmill, but once I get outside I just don't seem to do as well. I think having someone to run with who will push me and I will also push her will help me become a runner outside.

I think we're going to sign up for a 5k that is coming up in July and then another one in September. Our goal will be to run the whole thing in September (although July would be great, too). And next year we will set our sights on a 10k.

I hope everyone is having a great hump day and looking forward to a long weekend!

My Vacation: A Bump in the Road

I'm Baaaaackkkk! Did anyone miss me? I haven't blogged for almost two weeks now. Having my kids on a school break, my son's birthday and a week-long vacation thrown in there took me away from blogging. I did think of my blogging peeps and took a look at some blogs, but that was the extent of my blogging.

I must admit it was hard for me to get on here today. It seems blogging is like anything else, if I take a break for awhile it is always hard to get started again. But I feel like blogging is such an important part of my journey, I can't let it fall by the wayside.

Our vacation was wonderful! We headed about 300 miles South and found the sunshine that has been lacking here (I really think Spring is going to skip us this year). We spent most of our time swimming and laying out by the pool. We also went on a short hike in a nearby canyon, raced go-carts, saw "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (Dumb!) and discovered a new favorite family game (Guesstures). I also spent way too much time snacking :( . Things I learned on vacation:

- I love being with my family on vacation. My husband has been working a lot of hours and works hard. When we are on vacation, he plays hard. I'm grateful he can leave his work at home and just play with the family. Our family really needed this time.

-When it feels like the sun is burning your legs, it probably is! That is when it is time to reapply the sunscreen.

-The GPS is only as good as the information you give it. We actually learned this last year on our trip to Disneyland when my husband put in the wrong address to our hotel and we drove around for 30 extra minutes trying to find Disneyland! We re-learned the lesson on this trip. To be frank, I hate Susan ( our GPS), my husband loves her though.

-I don't care if I watch another episode of "Hannah Montana" again! (No explanation needed)

-It is not a good idea to try a new restaurant like "Five Guys" or a new ice cream like Ben & Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio ice cream when you are trying to lose weight. (Now I have two new things to add to my "only eat once in a blue moon" list.

-You really can ruin a few weeks of hard work, by having one week of bad eating. (Bright side. I think it will come off with a week of hard work)


I definitely could have done worse on my vacation. I got up early and walked (with a little jogging) 4 out of the 6 days we were there. I would have made it five straight days if it wasn't for that darn sunburn.

I ate a healthy breakfast every day and my lunches were mostly on track, too. I tried to make fairly good dinner choices, when I could (when we weren't at Five Guys).

The snacking and eating ice cream everyday is what got me. Not good choices. The worst part is that we got home on Friday, but I continued the poor eating all weekend long. It is so easy to fall back into bad habits, isn't it?

Today, so far so good. I got up and went to my exercise class, did a couple of miles on the treadmill and ate a healthy breakfast. I think today will be a great day to get me back on track. Hopefully, by the time I weigh-in on Wednesday the damage won't be too bad.


By the way this is a pic I took from the balcony of our condo on our vacation:



And this is a pick I took from my deck this morning! Uggghhhhh! More snow!!!! We haven't even been able to plant our tomatoes yet!

I think I'm ready for another vacation! Have a great day everybody! I hope to go get caught up on blogs now.

Weigh-In-Wednesday

Thanks everybody for your nice comments yesterday. You all are good for my ego! :)

Today was my weigh-in day and it went well! I weighed in at 178 for a loss of 1.5 pounds! That brings my grand total to 27.5 pounds lost. Woo hoo! I felt really great about my week this past week and am glad that the scale reflects that.

I have decided that cardio really is a big key for me. Last week, I focused only on cardio because I was preparing for the 5K. I was diligent in my cardio everyday and ran 3 times last week. I always see good results on the scale when I am doing well with my cardio.

I know that strength training is important too. I definitely like the toning effect and I know muscle burns fat so I will not stop doing it. I will be careful to continue to include cardio in my workout schedule on the days I have my strength class.

Today I'm going to lunch at The Corner Bakery Cafe. I have never been there and just looked up their menu online. I love that it has easily accessible nutritional info next to each menu item (except for bakery goods). I can't believe how many calories in their Paninis though! Wowzer! I will be having soup and salad. And I'm sure I'll get a treat, too.

What do you do when you go out? Do you check menus ahead of time? Are you often as surprised as I am by how many calories are in some of your favorite meals? Do you get frustrated that some restaurants don't offer nutritional info for their foods or it is really hard to find on the website? Just curious!

Well, I had a short walk with friends this morning but I think I better hop on the treadmill for another mile or two so too offset that cookie or brownie I'm sure to have today!

Happy Wednesday everybody!

Update Pics

Well, this will be a quick post. I just wanted to get some updated pics up. I have been receiving a lot of compliments lately, so I figure all my hard work must finally be showing. Yay! Now, to not get too complacent. I still have a long ways to go.

Here is a pic of me at the beginning of my journey. I never wore this sweater again once I saw this pic. So unflattering!




Here are a couple of pics I took a couple months ago. I had lost 15 lbs. or so.

Here are pics from yesterday. I had planned to take pics in the same outfit, but the shirt was dirty and I'm not into digging through the laundry basket so that idea is out the window. Anyway these are pics of me in my new outfit.

I think I can see the biggest difference in my side shots. My mom had told me that she noticed my back side was shrinking and toning up. After she said that I checked myself out and decided she was right! I think the side shot kind of shows this improvement.

I must say, last week I was trying on clothes at Kohl's and took a good glimpse of myself in the mirror. I do not own a full-lenght mirror so clothes shopping was always a depressing wake-up call for me. Last week, it felt good though. I am proud of the changes I am making. And look forward to having even more progress pics in the next few months!

Have a great day everybody!

The "Almost Perfect" Weekend

Hello, everybody! I hope everyone had a great weekend, especially all you mothers out there. I’m sorry it has been a few days since I posted. Last week was pretty busy for me and this week doesn’t look much better. I think this is just how life is going to be for now on so I need to get used to it.

Anyway, let me give you the update of my “almost perfect” weekend. I know you are all holding your breath about my 5K on Saturday. Well, let me tell you. It was a lot of fun! It was the Race for the Cure and there were literally thousands of people there. That means gridlock at the start and gridlock at the finish (unless you are one of the first ones done).

I was really nervous and then decided that I needed to stop being so nervous. I set my first goal as running to the first water station, which was to be at the halfway mark. I have ran 1 ½ miles on the treadmill pretty regularly. I didn’t make it this time. I’m not sure how far I ran, but it was at least one mile and may have been 1 ¼ miles. Anyway, once I made it to the water station I decided to walk one block, run one block. The blocks in our city are pretty big so I thought this would be good. I did walk a couple of blocks towards the end to give me good energy to finish strong.

When I got close to where I knew the finish line would be I started running pretty good and it felt great to know I was going to be finished :). I was running, only to be stopped by the crowd of others that were finishing, too. There was gridlock at the end and I had to walk across the finish line. We were like cattle, I tell you.

Another bummer, there was no timer at the finish line! I had read online that there would be clocks set up at the beginning and at the end if you wanted to keep your own time because they weren’t keeping official times. The Race for the Cure isn’t really about the actual race. I guess I should have known when there wasn’t any kind of clock at the start line that there wouldn’t be one at the end.

As we were approaching the finish line I noticed the woman next to me looking at a stop watch. I asked her what the time was and it was 39+ minutes. But she said that when we had to start walking it was about 38 minutes. As you all know, my goal was to finish in 38 minutes. Seeing how the thousands of people made it gridlock at the start (It took a bit before I could actually start running) and at the end, I think I will call it goal accomplished!

After the race I realized my cell phone has a stop watch on it. I’ll keep that in mind for next year!

It is still a goal of mine to run an entire 5K this year so I still have work to do. I actually like the fact that running goals give me something to work towards AND help me in my weight loss.

Besides the fact there was no time the only bummer about the race was that I missed my daughter's first ever goal in soccer! :( Hopefully it will be the first of many more this season.

Here are a couple of pics of the race:


Here is a picture with my incredibly supportive mom. She and my oldest daughter did the one mile walk. I was so happy to spend the day before Mother's Day with the woman who is my mother and the beautiful girl who made me a mother.

Here I am after the race, looking pretty dorky in my sunglasses but really happy to have finished in a decent time.

Saturday night, my husband and I went to dinner at PF Changs. So yummy! I’ve never been there and I don’t intend on going there too often, but man was it good. I didn’t worry about calorie counting because I figure between my 5K and other walking downtown that day I would have done about 5 miles by the end of the evening.

After dinner, we headed over to the arena for the Jazz/Lakers game and watched one of the most exciting games I have ever watched. For sure, it was the best game I have ever seen live. Now, to the not-so-perfect part of my weekend. The Jazz lost 111-110! A heartbreaker that is for sure. Those darn Lakers are just too good and long!

Sunday morning I woke up, still bummed about the game. I said to my husband, “They still lost by one point, bummer!” Of course, after having breakfast in bed and receiving the great gifts and cards my kids made me life was good again. I love my kids! I love being a mother and wouldn’t trade it for anything. I thank God each and every day that I can be a mother to these three wonderful children. Of course, it isn’t always fun or easy but it is always worth it. I was treated well on Mother’s day.

We had our mom’s over for dinner last night. I love my mother and mother-in-law. They are true blessing in my life. My husband barbecued steaks. They were delicious and huge! I made sure to cut mine into an appropriate sized serving. I roasted red potatoes, yummy too! We have leftovers. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about what is for dinner tonight.

So that is my almost-perfect weekend report. What did you all do?

This morning I was back to waking up at 5:00 a.m. and back to my exercise class. It was a killer today! I did think to myself several times, “Remind me, why I pay to do this?!” It felt good to be back, though. I love that I got my workout done so early. I have even already cleaned my bathrooms and it is not even 8:00 a.m.! There are definite benefits to rising early.
The kids are once again on a three week break. We have some fun things planned, which may mean less time for blogging over the next few weeks. But tomorrow I plan to post some more progress pics. Be sure to check back! Have a great Monday everybody

Weigh-In-Wednesday

Good morning, everybody! This will be short and oh so sweet. Today is weigh-in day and can I just say, Hellooooooooo 170's! I weighed in at 179.5 for a .5 loss (26 total). I 'm happy with the loss considering I missed out on 3 days of exercise this past week and my eating wasn't that great on Monday. I'm also happy to be out of the 180's. It's been awhile!

I am feeling better and better each day and should be ready for my 5k on Saturday. I'm so excited (nervous)!

Well, that is all for today blogging buddies. I'm off to deliver Pack meeting invites and to conquer a busy day. I hope everyone is healthy and well!

Almost Back

Thanks to all who wished me well yesterday. I think lots of rest and your good vibes helped me. I am feeling much better today. I don't feel 100%, but I'll get there.

I feel kind of like a complainer. Really, my life is not any more hectic than others'. I just don't always handle it too well. I am still getting used to my youngest being older and being involved in activities. I'm still trying to adjust to the busy schedule of 3 school-aged kids. I'll figure it out someday.

Yesterday Beth Anne from the thrifty Ba commented on my post and reminded me not to "junk out" while I was sick. It was a good reminder because I had already eaten a 200 calorie bag of Sun Chips at that point. I'm sorry to say that even after reading her comment I still junked out. I ate chocolate and broke my no chocolate between 2 and 4 p.m. rule. :( I don't know why being sick makes me hungry for stuff that is not good for me. Does that happen to the rest of you?

Also, I always eat better when I have exercised and yesterday I did not exercise at all. The scale was up this morning, but I am confident that with a good day today I will not see a gain tomorrow for my weigh-in.

Since I was rested and feeling somewhat better this morning I decided I better hop on the treadmill. The energy wasn't all the way there. I could only run for about 3/4 of a mile before I had to walk. Then I decided to alternate between walking 1/4 mile and running 1/4 mile until I got to 3 miles. I did run for 1/2 mile once. Well, my time at 3 miles was 42.32. That is off pace if I'm to reach my goal of 38 minutes on Saturday for my 5K.

Even though I was off pace, I feel good about my time today and my chances on Saturday. I ran more than half of it today and expect to do even better when I run again on Thursday. Not to mention, I still am skeptical about how accurate my treadmill is.

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

Oh Please, not this week!

Last week I was bragging to a friend that since I've started this journey I have been really healthy. There have been a couple of times when I have felt a cold coming on, but it never really developed into anything. I have attributed it to my healthier eating and exercise. Well, you'll never guess how I feel right now.

That's right...I feel crummy! I am sick! It came upon me suddenly on Saturday night. I felt like a truck had hit me and I have a full fledged cold. I did rest a lot yesterday and skipped my 5:30 a.m. class this morning so I could sleep in. Usually if I rest a lot when I first feel something coming on it doesn't develop into much. I'm hoping rest will help this go away SOON!

I think I may have stressed myself into this one. This week is a very busy week. We have our usual soccer/baseball games and practices. Besides that, my daughter has a band concert and I am in charge of our neighborhood Cubscout Pack Meeting. I also have commitments to help with Teacher Appreciation week a couple of times this week. Oh...and let's not forget that Saturday morning is the Race for the Cure! Also, my hubby got tickets for us to attend a NBA playoff game on Saturday night (GO JAZZ!) for a Mother's Day date. Yes, this is a great gift for me, I love sports!

I think all of the excitement about what is going on Saturday and all the busy days leading up to the weekend got me all stressed out. Apparently, just thinking about upcoming stress (good and bad) doesn't bode well for my body. It's true. I am often sick for vacations. I get so excited and my body can't handle it! :)

Having said all that, here is my plan for the week. My plan is to run tomorrow and Thursday. I planned on walking today, but think I will pass on exercise today. I will walk with my friend on Wednesday and Friday.

Some have asked what my goal is for the 5K on Saturday. I have a goal to run a whole 5K this year, but I don't think that will happen on Saturday. I have yet to run 3 miles. In fact, the most I can run is 1.5 miles at one time. I did that this past Saturday and then added another 1/3 of a mile after walking some. So my goal for Saturday is to finish it in 38 minutes. I have set this goal based on my times from the two previous 5K's I have participated in over the last couple of years.

I think I should feel well enough by Saturday. I just hope the energy level will be there for my training this week and for race day.

If any of you have quick remedies for getting rid of this cold, let me know! I think I will enjoy the next couple of hours I have to myself before I pick up my kindergartner by resting and watching a show I have DVR'd. Have a great day everybody!