November - Already?

Well look at that. The 11th month is already here.  I had high hopes for this year, including making it back to 150. 

However, over the course of a year, I have done some pretty amazing things.  I have run my 5th half marathon, my 4th 10K, completed a 12 week lifting program and done 1 full (and 2 half) Whole30s.  I have tested some new things to see what I can do to make myself better and healthier. I have dragged my family through most of it (they are great sports!)

So I am not where I want to be with my weight. And I honestly haven't had my body fat tested lately, although it's on my list of "Things to Do" next time I go to the gym.  But I feel like I have a greater understanding of my body, what makes it tick and what makes it sloth... 

I am in a fitness group that will start reading It Starts with Food as a group this week.  The plan is to do a GROUP Whole30 starting January 1, after reading the entire book.  I haven't committed to it yet, I just haven't decided if I am in the right place mentally. But the more I talk to people, the more I find myself saying "Oh, that wasn't a problem for me during my Whole30!" or "Whole30 fixed that in me!" and wonder why I wouldn't do another one?  It will have been 4 months since my last attempt and will probably be a great time to go for it.  I know Paleo is NOT for me as a lifestyle, but a good kick-start never hurt anyone. 

My weigh in on November 1 was a wakeup call (166). I'd been drowning myself in candy for a good week. I knew my October weight out was going to be HORRIBLE. Things can only go down from here.  So I recalled my first goal of the year - to fit into that Believe shirt. I still have time - my goal is to wear that shirt as much as possible starting the day after Thanksgiving. What does that mean? That means I have to clean up my food for the rest of November. I have to be spot-on with my working out and my water intake (I STINK at drinking water!! Coffee until it's time for wine, people!) 

I am definitely reevaluating the weight goal of 150 that I originally had for myself. I no longer think there is a magical scale number that will make me suddenly "healthy." Instead I am going for fitting in certain clothes and a body fat percentage as close to 22% as I can get.  I think I've mentioned this before, but the lowest I've ever gotten my BF% was during the clean eating phase we did last year. We still eat pretty closely to that, although I have never found a whole wheat or rice pasta that tasted worth eating so we still eat white pasta.  But I have homemade spices and sauces now for a long time and will continue to do so.  

So sorry for the rambling post. Nothing earth shattering today, just trying to get all of my thoughts out on what the last 10 months has brought me - almost right back to where I was at the start of the year...    

Jamie Eason's LiveFit Training Program

After my colossal fitness failure two weeks ago, I sat down to do some serious thinking about what I want out of my workouts.   I love love my circuit classes, kickboxing and spinning, but I don't know that they are what I NEED right now.  My ultimate goal is to drop my body fat to about 20% and to get my weight back to around 153.

Some research led me to www.bodybuilding.com to find a workout plan.  I stumbled on Jamie Eason's LiveFit training program and figured I might as well give it a shot, it certainly seemed to work for her. :-)

I completed 3 of the 4 Week 1 Workouts already (day 4 will be tomorrow!) and so far? I feel awesome!  The hard part is that in phase 1 there is NO cardio!  SO brutal for me. So brutal that the first day, it took me 19 min to do the whole workout.....   and it was unthinkable to just LEAVE the gym, so I did my treadmill interval workout from the previous week, 4.17 miles. Oops.  Tuesday I was able to do the lifting and leave (23 min) and Thursday I did Day 3 (and spinning).  I think for where I am and what I want to accomplish, a little cardio during the plan won't hurt me.

Clean eating is a big part of this plan too.  I've been trying to stay as clean as I can. I'm working on bulking up my veggies and paring down my carbs.   Which reminds me ....


I had a discussion with one of the trainers (who runs) at the gym and told her about the high protein macros I was following. She told me that the way I work out, there is NO WAY 15% carbs would fuel my body the way I need to be fueled. She explained that is probably why I couldn't even hold a side plank by Friday a few weeks ago.  So I researched macros for runners and found a better balance at 45% carbs, 30% protein, 25% fat.  Those numbers have been a lot more realistic for me and my workouts have felt MUCH better!

I have a bunch of food porn pictures, but I'll save that for my next post! 

Do you have any phenomenal ways (that aren't smoothies) to get more green in your day? 

Why hello again!

So for as much as I haven't been around, I HAVE been doing really well!!

Last week, I ran 4 days!  More than I've run in a LONG time!

This morning I went to the gym. I lifted for a half hour before my 45 minute circuit class. 

I am back to the place where I have a huge surplus of calories at the end of the day. I am so cautious not to overeat that I tend to under eat. I know it's just as bad! I am trying to find some healthy clean options to bulk up my calories these days!

This morning I also put my baybee on a bus for KINDERGARTEN!!   I still have no idea how that happened!

Onward, people. I gained 1lb for the first August weigh in. Which didn't surprise me because I was alarmingly LOW for the initial weigh in - only 3lbs from my goal weight!  Just hoping to tone up at least this month since I'm getting my booty moving! 

Gotta train for the big 10K coming up!

Love/Hate

If it's not been obvious in the past, I have a love/hate relationship with running. 

I love how I feel after a long run - accomplished, fit, energized.  I love how it has made me stronger. I love how I lose weight from my hips, where I could never lose it any other way before I started running. 

But I hate running too. I hate how I feel DURING a run. I hate the self-conscious feeling I get about my "form."  I hate living in a neighborhood I can't run through, causing me to have to drive somewhere just to put on my shoes and run for a distance. 

I am a member of a Facebook group with a bunch of women who are rock stars. No, serious rock stars. Some have lost 50+ lbs, some have just started working out but are kicking butt. Some are pregnant and still doing full CrossFit workouts!  Same love/hate. I LOVE the motivation & inspiration. I hate myself for not getting up and doing more, for making excuses and for not making my health a priority.

As some of the girls are starting to use running as their cardio workout, I'm remembering the highs I used to have. The first time I ran 20 minutes without walking. The first time I ran 5, 6, 8 miles. My first half marathon.  I remember the achievement, the feeling of accomplishment, the feeling of pride. 

These are the things I need to keep me going. No pant size or body fat percentage is going to keep me motivated. Food tastes better, regardless of how many times I read the "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" crap on Pinterest. Because guess what? Food.Tastes.Good.  Good food AND bad food, it tastes GOOD.  

I need these stories of accomplishment.

 It even helps me to read back through my OWN blog and remember how amazing it feels to finish a long run, to eat clean for 3 months straight (oh my gosh my body is DYING for healthy food!) and to feel GOOD about myself. 

And I need to get back to a place where I am making time, carving out a particular time for me to work out. I haven't worked out when that will be yet. I am NOT a morning person, but I am willing to attempt to get up early enough to go to the gym before work. It's worth a try to get back to where I was, where I want to be again!

Apparently I have all the drive in the world - but no get up and GO!

How do you, especially moms (both SAHM, working & everything in between) prioritize your health with your family in mind?

March Stats

Well, another month has come and gone and it's time for another check in. Here are the numbers - I'm pleased to say that my body fat percentage is FINALLY on its way down! 

These are my total losses since Jan 1, so it's not looking too shabby.   I am ok with the gain in my arm because I'm getting some pretty great definition in my arms! 

I am starting a new job on April 1 (squee!! sooo excited!) and had to go out shopping for some work appropriate clothing (because my recent Mommy uniform of jeans and tshirts won't quite cut it). I was thrilled to find that I could fit into this size small shirt and size 8 dress pants!

I still feel like I have some left to lose, but I am close to my goal weight (my sweet spot seems to be around 152/153) and I remember back when I started, I stated that I would love to get to a 10 and an 8 would be a PIPE dream, but here I am!

Now I'm just working on fine tuning my workout routines around my new work schedule, training for my upcoming races (2 more in the quest for #13in2013!) and still trying to provide my family with the most healthy food I can make for them!

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Drumroll....

Despite my over indulging in dinner (and drinks!) last night, this morning 

I WEIGHED IN AT GOAL!

and for my "happy weight loss" present, I think I need a new scale!

 

 It's SO great to finally see the word GOAL all over Weight Watchers!

Now the big question, do I go into maintenance mode (where I get a few extra pts) or do I reset my goal weight to something a little lower?  Part of me feels like I still have some ways to go, that I could probably lose 5 more lbs and be more comfortable. Part of me is just so TIRED of always dieting!  The weight guideline from WW says 128-160 is my healthy range. I'm at the high end of that, but I honestly don't know if my body can get lower - between my body shape and having babies, I may just be at my "right" weight now!

So there ya go. I finally did it!! What the road ahead holds, I have no idea :-) But I'm going to celebrate with a (sugar free) peanut butter and (sugar free) jelly sandwich :-)

Stuck.

I'm feeling defeated.

The line has stopped moving (well, significantly downward at least).

Since April, I've been within FOUR POUNDS of goal. I've weighed in on off-days at 150. I've NEVER hit goal officially on a weigh in day.  I've been kicking my butt spinning, running, classes.... and I just can't.get.there.

I've hit a wall. I'm in that place that says "JUST GIVE UP!!! Eat sugar, drink and be merry!"  So I did. Yesterday, I had a Reese's egg & a cookie. Today I had another egg and some yogurt (sugary greek yogurt, it's delish!)  And you know what? I don't feel better. I feel worse. I've been short with my kids, crabby to everyone, my patience is non-existent. I feel bloated, my joints hurt and my head aches. 

SO WHY DO I KEEP DOING IT TO MYSELF?!?!

This week I have decided to just live.  Eat what I can/want and see what happens.  Maybe if I pack on a few pounds, I can do a strict detox on the other end and actually see my goal. 

It doesn't hurt that my new (awesome) class is kicking my butt.  I have been experiencing some serious low back pain that has sidelined me from a lot of my normal workout activities.

What do you do when you get stuck??

Juicing

Taking another step towards healthy!

My mom was in town this weekend and has been doing a lot of juicing. I am NOT a fan of "thick" drinks. My husband makes a fruit smoothie every.single.morning for himself and the kiddos, but the thickenss of it just makes me gag. So when my mom said "Let's go get a juicer and you can see if you like it!"  I was NOT on board.

We did that Saturday. After we picked up the juicer, we went to Whole Foods and loaded up on greens, veggies and a few pieces of fruit. When we got home, we set up the juicer and got to work.

This was our "recipe" the first day:

Kale
Carrots
Cucumbers
2 Apples
3 Ribs of Celery
1 Lemon
About 1" of fresh ginger

It smelled like freshly mowed grass - and it tasted WORSE!!

So the second day, after a little research, I tried something different.  I got rid of the celery, which I read can make the juice bitter. I swapped the lemon for an orange.  I split my greens between watercress and kale and only used 1 apple.  That was INCREDIBLE!

Then this morning, I skipped the apple and orange - and added PINEAPPLE - omg soo good!!

Today my "recipe" was:

1/4 of a fresh pineapple
Cucumber
Carrots
Spinach
Watercress

It was sooooo goood!

Am I doing a "juice cleanse"? Nope. I'm not even doing it more than once a day. At this point, it's just a morning thing for me. I want it to get the extra nutrition from veggies that I don't normally eat or enjoy.

I plan to get a few different things from the grocery store in the next few weeks, including parsnips and beets. I will, for now, continue to add one to two pieces of fruit to my juice until I can tolerate the greens on their own. I don't think I'm getting TOO much sugar out of it if I'm just having a small glass of juice and in the long run, I'm getting a lot of nutritional value that I wouldn't have otherwise.

 If you juice, what is your favorite combination? 

And in case you're wondering, I did not hit my magical GOAL number for weigh in this week. :( I gained 1lb because I took the weekend off from counting points and working out. My mom was in town and that is my cue to go out to eat, enjoy and indulge :-) I deserve those weekends once in awhile. Goal is waiting for me, hopefully next week!

I managed to make it to yoga this morning. I've talked Jen into taking a spin class with me tomorrow night. My hubby is going back too. Then I will have Pilates on Thursday and another spin class on Friday morning. I'm hoping that Mother's Day finds us with good weather so that we can go out for a family bike ride (with the little guy in the trailer and my big girl on her trail-behind bike attached to mine!)

Delay!

I know you've all been waiting with bated breath to hear about my WI on Monday.   Let me calm your hopes - I didn't make goal :(

Saturday I wound up visiting Urgent Care in the evening for what I thought was strep.  Turns out it was a virus, but I was wallowing in my pain and had stopped at the store for some (sugar free) vanilla ice cream and (sugar free) chocolate fudge. Sunday I could do nothing but eat (hello sugary things! bring on the cravings!) and Monday AM I was at 151.  Granted, last week I weighed in at 151.5 so still a LOSS (the scale is moving in the right direction!) but not my official GOAL. I was sad, but such is life.

As a sidebar, when you're quitting sugar keep in mind that things like Splenda and Stevia are all still "sugars." You are just replacing real sugar with a fake sweetness - which doesn't actually detox your body.  If you're going for a full sugar detox, you must cut all of it from your system for awhile. If you keep giving your body the "sweet" it's craving, you'll never get away from the grasp of the addiction.

Instead, I went to the gym. I ran a 5K in 30 min and lifted (some heavier weights than usual, too!) I missed spinning on Friday and yoga on Tuesday thanks to a sick kiddo (same sick kiddo but two different illnesses- that's how we roll.)

But since E is all better, tomorrow I will ship her off to school, the little man off to the child care at the gym and I will be SPINNING my heart out! I will miss Pilates this week because of a kiddo dentist appointment, but hope to get right back to it with another spin class on Friday.

I've talked Jen into taking a spin class with me. Leave her some love and let her know she'll do just fine :-) It really is addicting! I can see why people keep going.   There is something cathartic about working out until you are drenched that really makes it worth it.

(unofficial) WOOP!

This morning, I weighed in at.... *drum roll*   

150.0!!!! 

Unofficial goal, as my WI day is scheduled for Monday. As long as I can stick with the program for the weekend (ugh, good luck!) it looks like Monday I will be weighing in at my GOAL WEIGHT. 

OMG people, I never ever thought I could do it. And look, I'm almost there! And who knows where I can go from here. I've started taking spinning classes, I'm continuing to run and I am loving the peace I am finding through yoga.  I just can't believe I am the same person I was a year ago.

Mother's Day 2011

For the record, these are me in the jeans I was wearing in the above picture and as recently as OCTOBER. 

A "healthy" weight?

I am four pounds from my "goal weight" - 150. My intention tonight was to blog about how to start FEELING like the weight is gone.  However, as I started looking at "ideal weight calculators," (a little research onto my goal number), the numbers were so vastly different! I think that's going to be where I need to start as I think about my "goal" and whether or not it's where I want to stop. 

 I remember that at 175, when I set my "ultimate dream goal" of 150lbs, I thought "Right. My body that has carried and birthed two children, in my 30's now and addicted to sugar? NEVER GONNA HAPPEN."  

And yet, here I am. One year and some change after giving birth to my son, I am 33lbs lighter, the smallest I've been in at least 7 years, more athletic than I've ever been in my *entire* life...  I'm staring at 150lbs and it's so attainable now.

Here are just a few of the results of the calculators - I put 5'7" tall, female and 154lbs into each. 

 

So while my 150 goal is within all of the recommendations, I'm realizing how much lower the MIDPOINT is - 140 seems to be closer to "ideal" than 150. 

So how do I determine where my stopping point is?  What do guidelines do you follow? Do you go by how you feel? Medical tests (cholesterol, etc)? Pants size? Athletic accomplishment? 

My next post is going to be a little self-help/therapy session, so if you're not into that, skip it ;-)