180.

First FitNut Weigh In: 170
Final FitNut Weigh In: 165.5

4.5 lbs in a month - not too shabby.

Last week I kicked ROYAL butt. I already posted about my Mon/Tuesday/Wed workouts. Thursday I went to a Spin class (surprisingly only burned 348 calories in class - was disappointed in that!!) and Friday I went to my typical Terrie class, the one that kicks my butt the most. I couldn't even do a side plank!!! My feet went numb, I was weak.... Definitely my body telling me ENOUGH!!

Unfortunately, this week was a complete 180.  Monday morning we had a playdate for my little guy. Tuesday, when I planned to do my treadmill run again, my daughter spiked a fever. I started feeling a sinus infection coming on too, so I didn't even get workouts in at home!

Wednesday she was still sick AND had a snow day.  Thursday, still home. And Friday she FINALLY went back to school, but my little guy had been homebound all week (side effect of a sick big sissy!) and I promised him a day at the children's museum. We had a grand fabulous time, but holy cow, I miss working out!

Tomorrow is Sunday. I am really hoping to go and kill it on a treadmill. I want to do the treadmill workout from two weeks ago.

I haven't even weighed myself. I'm not doing great at keeping up with the protein and macros. OMG so hard to get that much protein.

Sooooooo hopefully next time I update, I can add some AWESOME progress or development. Unfortunately no good news this week :(

Protein Crazy!

So I've tried to focus on my macros more this week. I'm still at 166 with no movement, so I'm hoping if I start to actually focus on the the specific nutrients, maybe I can get the scale moving!

Here are my macro calculations according to my weight and loss goals: 
As you can see, my protein is astronomical. At least, for someone who barely ever breaks 100g of protein a day - see evidence A below, my protein intake for the last 90 days!

Evidence A

I have no earthly clue how to git fit this much protein into my day.  Today was the closest I've come, obviously according to the chart above - and I really feel like I CANNOT eat like this daily

Today, I had:

• 1 cup greek yogurt with flax and honey
• Tuna salad with 2 egg whites in it
• Smoothie with 2 scoops of protein powder
• 10oz of Salsa chicken
• 6 oz greek yogurt, 1 scoop protein powder, flax 

I hit 190 g of protein. Of course, when I work out MyFitnessPal adjusts my totals so my goal is 246 for today - how is this POSSIBLE without eating an entire cow?!? Seriously, I feel like I ate a ton at dinner - 10oz of chicken!! - and it didn't get me close! 

I won't lie - where is says "REPEAT" at the bottom?
I actually told the screen to eff off. 

Anyhow, I am feeling more and more fit again, which is making my heart happy. I love being back at the gym but I'm also finding ways to work out from home and incorporate my kiddos.  I found an awesome HIIT workout on Pinterest that I did yesterday at home. 



My little guy is home with me during hte day and so he did this workout "with" me.  Although during the squats (about 30 in) he said "Mama, this hurts my bones!!"    He lasted until about the first pushup, then he went about playing around the room while I finished up :-) 

Tonight, I did this awesome treadmill workout. I had to adjust the speeds down by about .5 after awhile, but I was able to keep with it until 44 minutes!

So here's to a good final weigh in. I won't be able to join my FitNuts next month but I'm hoping to keep the momentum going on my own, while staying in touch with the main page!

Spinning tomorrow!! Excited to see the results from the HRM when I take the class!

Ooooohhhh boy.

Loving my FitNut family this month!

Start: 170

First weigh in: 167.5

Second weigh in: 166

It's still a good 10lbs over where I'm comfortable, but I'm at least going in the right direction finally. 

I have been using my Garmin inside for activities like my cardio and circuit classes, having dance parties with my littles and playing Wii Zumba (411 calories burnt today, whoop whoop!).  Tomorrow, with the temperatures supposedly hitting mid 50's, I am looking forward to getting outside for a run! 

Goals for this week: 

1. MORE VEGGIES! 
2. More consistent eating - I've found that on days I work out, I'm at less than a net of 1200 calories by bedtime. Which leads me to eat crap to "make up" my calories - NOT what I need to be doing! One of my teammates just suggested dividing my daily caloric allowance to give me a meal "goal". I think this is a great idea! I am going to try to actually stick to this!   
3. Working out 3 times at the gym/outside, 2 times at home.  Just need to get the miles in, especially since we're having a little challenge to see who can log the most miles this week!

So to accomplish #1, I am going to make sure I have salad prepared so I have NO excuses not to serve it with every meal. I have to maximize my intake, especially since we've gotten some AMAZING co-op deliveries lately! 

#2 will be more difficult. If I divide my daily calories (1720) by 4, I get 430 calories per meal. 430 calories for BREAKFAST!??  That will be a huge challenge!! I am definitely going to be challenged by this one.  Then will be attemping 2-215 calorie snacks.  This is my BIGGEST goal for the week. 

#3 should be pretty easy. My daughter is off school on Monday and has a half day on Friday but I should be able to get my workouts in for sure!

So while I'm not thrilled, I'm still at it!! 

Adios, 2013! Bring on 2014!

So thankful for this past year. It's been wonderful!

After my "no cares" December, I weighed in on Jan 1 at 170 (ouch). I haven't been this heavy since November 2011.  I decided it was time to get serious. I resigned from my job 12/19, I have had a wonderful break with my kiddos, but now ? It's time to get serious.

I joined a FitNut challenge again.  Very excited to be back amongst people who are like-minded and ready to change their lives. Even after just 3 days of watching my calories, keeping tabs on my macros and drinking enough water, I sneaked a look at the scale and I'm down 2 lbs already. Now if I can just keep my momentum!

I got a Garmin Forerunner 110 for Christmas. I am ITCHING to get out and run or at least head to the gym and see it in use!   Looking forward to my 500+ calorie burning workouts.

Here's my goal shirt - Next Christmas, I'll be wearing this Believe shirt all over town - and rocking it.  Because you know what? I KNOW I can do it, I DO believe in myself.  Healthy me, here I come. 

So back to clean eating, about 80% of the time. I am going to be working out a responsible number of times - I'm going to try not to let myself get to the obsessive point I reached last January.  I am definitely trying to get back to the 150s and to near 20% body fat.

And I'm ready to be a better me!  Here I go. Back to 150 for me!

November Weigh In #1

Last Friday - 164
Last Sunday - 165
Today (Friday weigh in #1) - 161!!  YAY!


Laying off the Halloween candy was KEY for me today. Laying off the candy at work - also a big deal.  I've been under my calories and trying to eat more veggies and protein for sure.

Hoping to see the 150's next week!!

Floating right along....

I feel like just when I get into the swing of things, something changes! I was doing well running then the stupid sun stopped rising!!! 

I'm still around! I'm getting more serious about my journey this month. It's my last month as a FitNut and I just want to do my team proud. Plus, I would love to get back down into the 150's. I'm at a high I haven't been at in a long time and let's face it, I'm not comfortable. 

So I'm adapting. Instead of running, I'm doing cardio at home by using the Wii!  I do Zumba Fitness and Just Dance (burns a SURPRISING amount of calories!). I've been doing the Biggest Loser game too, but I'm learning that I have to do the advanced levels in order to feel like it's worth my time. 

I had the worst time with Halloween candy last week! But I'm three days clean now :) 

I'm going to be looking back at the blog to figure out what the heck I used to snack on!!!  I'm having the WORST cravings tonight and I would love to be able to combat them!

Lost.

So, half marathon last Sunday.

One run - Wednesday - this week.

10K on Sunday.

I'm gaining weight like nobody's business.  I am stuck over 160lbs and I can't get down to where I want to be. I'm in that place where I just want to give up. Throw in the towel. It's so much easier just to survive than to be healthy. Why IS that??

I KNOW what it takes to get there. I know I CAN do it. What is so hard about JUST DOING IT??

I'm still running, I lift when I can. I try to get all of my 10K steps in for the day.

The wake up moment? The size 10 work pants I had to go out and buy (because the 8s I fit into when I started in April were too small) and that now I feel like a sausage in those. In pants that I used to feel AWESOME wearing. And that I remember running and not feeling my hip-fat jiggle. Or my gut. And my feet didn't hurt from carrying more weight. And I felt like I could accomplish something - anything - when I was succeeding.

So folks, that settles it. I'm back on the wagon. If I need to write it all down, that's what I'll do. But I just can't continue to feel this way!! I'm going to make sure to look into Jamie Eason's recipes and menus to make sure I'm making appropriate food choices and food pairing choices. I'm going to cut out the treats (THE TREATS, OH THE TREATS have been insane lately!!).  Cut back on beer. (not wine, I love my wine too much for that! <--- maybe that's the attitude that is keeping me fat, eh??) DRINK MY WATER!!  I am so so bad about drinking enough water!

Weigh ins are on Tuesdays this month. I'm in a place where I EXPECT to gain every week. It's just not ok to be here. My goal is to lose weight this week, even just 1/2 lb. And to KEEP losing, because something has to change!!

Virtual Race - FitNuts/September

FitNuts had another virtual 5K! The last weekend in Sept, the day we got home from vacation. 

Not my best time, but it was a huge NSV for me. I was having a horrible awful day mood-wise. Instead of turning to food, I left my house and went for a run. It wasn't my best 5K time - but it was still a victory for me. 



I skipped my run Monday, I knew I wouldn't be able to fit it in with going back to work. Tuesday was just a quick 1.5 miler. I have a half marathon on Sunday 10/5 so I didn't want to push myself TOO too hard.  Tuesday while running I twisted my ankle on a stick on the sidewalk. Thankfully it wasn't a long term hurt but it surprised me and slowed down my pace.  

Wednesday I headed to the Y and did my favorite cardio plus and Circuit classes. I hurt myself (MY FAULT, TERRIE, NOT YOURS! :-) ) so I took Thursday off. 

Friday I took a quick run just to keep comfortable. My hips were tight, my calves hurt and my feet were sore. My lower back was so incredibly sore but I made it 1.5 miles. 


 Saturday my family went apple picking. MAYBE one of my most favorite times of year :-)  We picked over 50 lbs of apples! Insane! I couldn't stop getting them, they were so big and lovely!! 


7/13

High Mileage!!

Well, I call my weeks Sunday to Saturday and if that's how it was calculated at RunKeeper, I'd have a high mileage weeks! I usually do a long run, then take 3-4 days off. Not this week! After my 10 miler on Sunday, I FORCED myself to get out Monday. It was a short run, but I did it!

 I took Tuesday as an off day. Wednesday, I went to the gym. I lifted for 37 minutes, including 110 squats (60 with 12lb weights), 30 side lunges (each side), and many leg presses. I ran a quick mile (9:02!) on the treadmill.

Thursday my legs hurt SO BADLY.  My Thursday and Friday runs suffered QUITE badly because of it. I was MUCH slower than average, but I did make myself go. The weather in St. Louis has finally turned (hopefully for the season!) to fall!  Thursday morning was 60 degrees and couldn't have been more perfect!

Today was one of my favorite days. The Color Run! This year, my hubby wanted to come with me. Kids under 5 can run without paying so my kiddos were all ready to run too. My daughter whined to sit down the whole time, except for when I could distract her with trying to figure out what color was next. :-)  My little guy apparently doesn't like being dirty - we had the rain cover on the jogging stroller and after we came out of the color stations, he would take a bandana and wipe every exposed part of his body off. :-)  

17.59 miles this week!! Whoop whoop !! (not counting the 5K this am, which I didn't track!) 

Of course, I forgot to weigh in this am so I did it after the run, after a lunch of burgers and shakes. And after an afternoon nap. So my weigh in was approximately 162 - Ouch! Taking this week to reclaim my comfy place and weigh in at a normal time :-) 

Just a reminder to myself & maybe you too!

Someone posted this on my FitNuts challenge page today. 

It's perfect for today - no run and I wanted to (and practically did) eat all.the.things. 

Word of the week: Awesome.

AWESOME fitness week.
Not so awesome food week.

It all evens out, though, right?

That 10 mile run today was in the POURING rain. It was DELIGHTFUL. 

I may only run when it rains from now on. <3

Some awesome things this week: 

I fit into a dress I've had hanging in my closet since 2006. No kidding - 2006. Tags on and everything. I've tried it on a few times a year since then, no go. But Wednesday? Finally, it fit!

Saturday, I got to snuggle the sweetest baby boy ever. He's a teeny peanut and I ALMOST tried to convince my friends to let me "borrow" him. Babies make my heart happy! 


Saturday when I came home and got the mail, I had a package from a FitNut friend.  We were paired up in my first challenge and have kept up with each other ever since. She sent me a freaking HRM!  Today's run was scheduled to be 9 miles, but I went a whole extra mile because I was so excited to see my burn with the HRM! Thanks, Jenn!! 

Color Run next weekend. Vacation right around the corner. Halloween 10K in mid-October. I turn 32 next month.  Big things on my horizon, people. Big things!! Must.keep.focused!

Jen's Hitched! (Oh yea, & some fitness stuff...)

Our very own Jen has had a lot going on in her life :-)  

Most recently (as in, last night) she got MARRIED!!!  It was the most beautiful day and one of the most perfect weddings I've been a part of in my life! <3 

Friday morning, before the festivities, I went to what is NORMALLY the Friday cardio plus class. But the gym is having the room we have class in cleaned and polished (as they do every year) and we were "homeless." Never fear, our awesome trainer Terrie took us - bah bah buuuuuum - OUTSIDE.  It was 86 degrees, felt like 96 and 58% humidity!  Here's what my FitBit told me at the end of class: What it MEANT was "you idiot, why are you outside in this weather?!?!"  teehee. 

That night was the rehearsal dinner (delicious) and the girls and I stayed at a hotel with Jen so we could get up BRIGHT and early on Saturday for girly prep time before her big day.   I warned the girls before the evening started - it's the last day of the month tomorrow morning, which means i have a weigh in. Which means I brought my SCALE to the hotel. Yes ma'am, that's me. Walking through Ameristar casino with my duffle bag full of - scale. 

My final weigh in for August was 158.  I weighed in the first of the month at 156.5. Of course.

The wedding was gorgeous. There was so much love throughout the whole event, it was amazing. Jen has the most awesome parents who went above and beyond to make it an amazing event, a great party and definitely something to remember! 

I ate dinner, I had drinks, I ate TWO pieces of cake! 

And then I weighed in this morning. 

Lower than last month's initial weigh in. 

*face palm*

So.... this month's plan:

*Eat clean - goal - 75-80% clean

*Follow the FitNuts challenges - I spent some time today putting all the  challenges in my calendar. Boom. There is it. 

*Run 35 miles (minimum) this month.

*Be kinder to myself. 

So here we go - September as  FitNut. I have a most awesome team-within-the-team in Jenn, Stacy and Lindsey. (Team 8!)

Virtual FitNut 5K! Errr.... 10K....

Sunday I had a virtual 5K to complete for my August weight loss challenge.  I haven't gone on a "long" run probably since my (tragic) half marathon in April. I went out knowing that if I just ran a loop, I would quit when I finished my 5K. Instead, I stranded myself!

So I ran my 3.1 miles away from my car. I sprinted when necessary. I went slower than I thought I should be going. I am proud to say it was ALMOST a sub-30 5K, even though i have been averaging 10:45 min/mile when I run the hills in my neighborhood. 

Midway through my run - I was actually feeling GOOD!

But, shock, it's like the hills have made me STRONGER! 

Midway though the run I stopped at a little gazebo and just looked at my surroundings. How lucky am I to be able to run? To take 30 minutes, an hour, to myself to run and listen to good music and take in nature? 

The second leg of my run I took my time. I was definitely losing steam and decided right then that I was NOT going for a PR. If I needed a moment to walk (which I did) or if I stopped for a drink of water, it wasn't the end of the world. And surprise? I finished in only 1:04!  Not my very fastest time, but faster than my last official 10K last October!

I think if I could clean up my eating (omg gummy bears are my downfall right now!) and stick to running every morning before work (my snooze has been working over time this week!), I could get to goal weight in no time.

That's my goal. There's a beach vacation in my not-so-distant future and I would LOVE to be at my goal weight by then. Not so much to ask, really, it's 5-8lbs!

6/13

Week in Review, Aug 19-23

Monday's Run

I skipped a workout Tuesday, but still hit 11,071 steps!

Wednesday I lifted for 20 minutes, then took my favorite Circuit class at the gym!

Thursday's run

 Friday's quick run.

From our garden!

I'm over it.

I am so sick of crappy weigh ins :(

There are only so many weeks I can eat like this and workout like this and NOT see any loss, either on the scale or with the tape measure.


~Feeling defeated.

Helloooooooooo

OMG best weekend ever.

We went camping. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I definitely was NOT on board with this whole camping thing. I went along with it because my husband desperately wanted to go.  The first time we went was fun, but we got about 1,000 ticks by the end of the weekend. 

Gun shy, the next time we went, I opted for a place with WIDE OPEN SPACES and no hikes! However it was a very popular "float trip" place, which apparently translates into "drunken awful scenes" - or it did across from our campsite!

Not this past weekend. This past weekend was a conglomerate of PERFECT conditions. We met up with friends at the campsite. They were 10 sites down from us.  The state part was amazingly family-friendly (ie, no drunken debauchery), paved (good for toddler bike rides!) and the hiking - OH the hiking!! - was amazing. 

Our site was RIGHT on a creek. Friday AM I skipped my run (although I worked out Mon-Thurs last week, yay!) but still managed to hit my 10K (and then some) steps. 

Saturday we went on a COLOSSAL hike. Obviously we didn't hike 10 miles, my kids never would have made it through that! But I was about about 9K when we ended our hike (2500 when we started) so it was a pretty significant stretch! The views were amazing, we walked through and played in a creek, found crawfish, built a dam, climbed "mountains" and spotted wildlife. NO ticks, thankyouverymuch. 

I swear my daughter was with us too, but since we were with her "best friend," I don't have any pictures of just her :-) 

Even the dog got in on it (This is pretty impressive for a 12 year old golden retriever ;-) He walked himself up there!  He did, however, take the steps down, not the slide. 

I will be definitely going back to this site. In fact, I found myself looking at open dates ASAP to try to get back! This is something "old me" never would have done.  At one point during our hike, I could tell my kids were starting to fade. We all sat down for a snack time and my family went wandering around the water. I knew the trail would meet up with the "go home" loop soon , but I wasn't sure how soon and wanted to see if we could hop on that trail from where we were, instead of continuing on.  So I found a way, across rocks in the river, to get to the other side. Then I climbed the "hill" (I swear it should have been a mountain!) to figure out if the flat part was a trail. "Old me" NEVER would have done that. I would have waited for someone else to figure it out, someone else to go forage ahead to find the path. I would have sat down and waited.  But I'm all about moving forward now. 

So let's do it. Let's move forward!! 

Big few weeks. Our very own JEN is getting married in a few weeks. I still have to fit into that bridesmaid dress, so here's hoping I can shed some lbs before then!  After that, I have a beach vacay coming up. Hoping to be comfortable in my own skin by then, at least. I know I'll never wear a bikini again (you know, because I did once) but I would at least like to be comfortable with myself by the time that happens. 

My daily runs will get me there, I'm sure!!   Here's a quick rundown of my last few runs: 

I've been pretty down on myself for my speed on these runs. Then I remember - I am used to running flat ground or a treadmill. I have been running some HUGE hills lately! I know I am building muscle and challenging myself in ways I haven't before. That makes my slower times a little more acceptable to me.  I did run on a treadmill last week in my circuit class at 9.0 for almost an entire 1:15 minutes! Doesn't sound like a lot? Get on a treadmill going 9.0 and tell me it's short ;-) 

Last week: 

Mon: Lifting, circuit class 

Tues: Run 2.26 miles

Wed: Run 1.02 miles

Thurs: Kickboxing, 60 minutes

Friday: CAMPING. 

I feel PROUD of what I'm doing.