Skinny Mini Challenge...final day

It's the last day of January and the skinny mini challenge is drawing to a close. I hope everyone had a great month. I need to have all the participants' final weight emailed to me by Feb 2nd so we can crown a winner...

No drinky for you!

So, this is interesting...my number of posts has now exceeded my weight (141 lbs this morning and I'm writing my 143rd post). Maybe this is only interesting to me. It is completely random :P
Anywhooo, today is a busy day. I have to admit I'm a little nervous how it's going to go eating-wise, but I'm pretty confident in myself and my ability to make the right choices. Lunch out with grandma shouldn't be too difficult. I'm getting good at making the healthy choices. This evening is an unknown which is what makes me nervous. A friend of hubby's is hosting a get together.... first a Cookie Lee jewelry party, followed by a poker game. It should be alot of fun. Since it's about an hour and a half away I don't have the option of eating before I go. Guess I'm just going to have to roll with it. It helps being ultra focused on getting down the last, gasp, 5 lbs. And I am thankful that alcohol is taken out of the equation for me....hubby's been up since 3 am this morning so I will be driving home. No drinking during the poker game for me {silver lining- maybe I'll play better}. And I figure as long as I don't touch the desserts, I should be fine.
Now comes the difficult part...figuring out what to wear.

No candied walnuts please...

Gotta share my little NSV (non-scale victory) from this evening. And let me say, I'm glad I had that drop on the scale this morning, cause otherwise I probably would've had a very BAD day. Having that drop helped keep me focused tonight.
Anyway, Wednesdays are more hectic for our family than every other day of the week. Well, hubby said he would figure out dinner {since he couldn't decide} while I was working today in piglet's kindergarten class. Fine, one less thing for me to think about. Unfortunately, he didn't. So, after much discussion we ended up going out...to a restaurant we've never tried. An Italian place that just, Oooo, smelled heavenly. I did have a bite of the fresh bread, a bite {maybe two} of piglet's mac'n'cheese, but I ordered a grilled chicken salad, minus the candied walnuts, with the rasp. vinaigrette on the side. Even though today was supposed to be a higher calorie day, I knew if I ordered anything else, I would probably be in trouble. So, I was good. I had a taste of the tiramisu that hubby brought home for dessert, but satisfied myself with a SF pudding and later, a cup of tea. And I am proud of myself!
Thank you all for the kind comments about my latest drop, that's really helping motivate me forward. Now, off to lift weights while I watch some TV :)

Concentrate...

Finally, the scale is showing some progress again! I've been bouncing up and down 5-7 lbs for a while and it felt like the scale wasn't ever going to get below 145...EVER. But guess what, I just kept at it. I figured if I was "perfect" for 2 weeks and the scale hadn't moved below 145ish, fine. That was it, 145 was the end. I was gonna call it good. But then I concentrated on eating clean, varying my calories (the calorie cycling I mentioned a few posts ago), and exercising as per my plan. And it paid off.
I am 1-frickin' 42! I am 6 away from goal, and 3 from being 130-something. I ran 3 miles yesterday in 22:32 (that's a 7:30 mi). I'm as happy as a clam this morning. Can't you just feel the excitement....Yee-haw! (Okay, no more coffee for me this morning!)
Anyway, it seems to me that my body was used to me getting to the 145 point and then losing it and noshing away and gaining back. It had to make sure I was serious about this current mode so it hung out at the one number till finally there was no choice but to move. It's like my body said "Oh, okay, you're serious this time." So, for those of you in the same boat, {and I know you're out there reading this}, show your body you are serious! Concentrate on what you know needs to be done and keep moving forward...

100....in a ROW?

Today I decided to move forward into a new challenge. What is it you ask? It's the 100 push up challenge. If you haven't heard of it, here's the scoop...it's a 6 week training that by the time you finish, will allow you to perform 100 push ups consecutively. I'm stoked. That would be awesome! It's fairly simple and straight forward too, totally easy to follow. If you want to learn more about it and join in the fun, click HERE. I know I can spare 30 minutes a week in pursuit of this task....especially since I'm really on fire to get my arms toned up. I am really happy with the added strength I achieved recently with my dumbell, but I think this is just going to rip me up...in a good way :) My starting point, for those of you interested, is 20 push ups (not too shabby, right?)
So...anybody else want to do this? Anybody in the middle of it now? Feedback, PLEASE!!

*Quick update* I just finished day one and managed 48 push ups total over 5 sets. This took me all of 7 minutes to finish and my 5 year old got a kick out of counting for me! Fun stuff!

Movin' and Groovin' Again....

I was on a roll this week! And let me say, WOW, it feels great. I missed 1 pilates workout, but other than that I've done everything else I planned. I've also had 5 days of solid, on track eating. Monday is weigh-in day and I am actually EXCITED. The calorie cycling I mentioned in my last post seems to be doing the trick. I would definitely recommend trying it. It's really not that difficult if you're already tracking calories. Saturdays I've decided will be "high calorie" days {1500 or so} since I have my long runs on Sunday mornings. I want to make sure my body is properly fueled for my runs. Something I tried this week is planning out my meals for the next day. This is really helping me stay on track and focused. I'm not as scattered and I'm not eating stuff just cause it's there. I have a plan and I'm sticking to it. My new favorite breakfast is cottage cheese{2%} and fruit...yummy! Pineapple is my favorite pairing and so delish in the morning and it definitely combats my sweet tooth. I also did blueberries and cc...super good too.
All right, that's it. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Gotta get my pilates done before my youngest wakes from his nap or I'll have a monkey crawling all over me while I attempt to exercise :) Here's to new and improved bodies!
(And sorry this post isn't exactly the most cohesive. Just lots of general jibber-jabber for those who are interested. Oh well, can't have awesome posts all the time!)

Zig, no, Zag.....

Have you heard of calorie cycling? The zig-zag diet? The basic idea is that every few days you boost or drop your calories so that your body doesn't get used to a reduced calorie intake and slow down your metabolism to compensate for the reduction. I have actually been doing this for a while, just not on purpose. So now, I am going to try the technique more purposefully. There is a great little overview and calculator to help you figure out your own caloric needs here.
It makes a lot of sense to me. The last two days have been very low cal days so today I bump it up(around 1450) and tomorrow I drop it down(1150-1250). I'm very curious to see how my body responds. I really think this may be the key to help me get to goal....
But what do you think? Gimmicky? Silly? Smart? I think it's worth a try. I'm counting calories anyway. We'll see. I'll keep you posted one way or another.

I CAN!!

Oh yeah, I'M BAAACK! It's such a good feeling to be back in control. I've been trying a few things to push me in the right direction. Setting the goals for the half marathon and the shopping spree helped. I know I generally do better with a concrete date/goal in mind.
Something else I've been trying is putting up little messages on the fridge. I've been using the kid's magnet letters, which makes it kinda fun (and very easily changed). What does it say right now?... Stop Freaking out, GOAL 136, DO IT. I have to get a little creative and make the messages short since there are letters that have disappeared {as they tend to do}. But I'm finding it's really helping me. I like coming up with new blurbs cause I can make it tough or I can make it nice, depending on what I need. The "stop freaking out" reminder has been very helpful the last couple days.
Also, seeing my "right now" picture gave me a huge boost to just get it done and finish this journey strong. I've come a long way and I need to prove to myself I CAN, and will finish it...

Yup, I'm MENTAL...

A big Thank You to everyone who commented on the "Exposed" post. In the spirit of full disclosure I have to tell y'all that I almost deleted the sucker about a half dozen times. But screw it, that would've defeated the whole purpose! I was so freaked out by the fact that people I know (and everyone else for that matter) was going to see my body. But guess what, this is me. Right now. I'm never going to have the "perfect" body but I need to love what is mine. And now, if you know me personally, you know what I'd look like if I were to wear a bikini to the next pool party (uh, yeah right).
Anyway, Exposed was an interestingly difficult emotional growth process for me. I've had some really bad moments and some really bad foods the past few days. This evening when I went for my run I was feeling pretty off kilter, but I came back with a clear head.
That's one of the things I love about running (or walking). It gives me time to think. Time to mull. I knew that I needed that time today so I left the ipod at home. I've found that some days I want the music and some days I need the sound of my breathing and my feet pounding the pavement. I needed to think about how once again I'm approaching my goal weight and freaking out. What can I do to push past this fear of success. Why is it that I can't get to my goal? Why am I holding MYSELF back?
While I don't really have an answer, I am just going to keep pushing. I really want to be at goal by the time I run my half marathon. I've also decided that I am going to reward myself with a shopping spree when I hit goal....trust me, this is almost difficult(I'd rather save the money). But, my clothes selection is pretty pitiful at this point. So if I want the new clothes, I gotta do the work. And I need to stay off the scale! I'm back to weighing once or more a day...gack! Not good for the mental health. And let's face it, I'm at a mental roadblock. But I have confidence in myself and my ability to do this. I will fight and claw my way to goal. Somehow my brain will eventually get the message...
Oh, and stay tuned... I will be posting a "now" picture in the side bar soon {we'll see how good my 5 yr old does with the camera}.

Exposed...

Let me just start this by saying, I am VERY self conscious about my body. I've been dealing with body issues for as long as I can remember. So what better way to start dealing with them than posting a picture of myself "EXPOSED". And let me tell you, this is a huge step! If you want to find out more about the "Exposed Movement" you can read about it here. I also want to say a special thanks to Greta for inspiring me to put this out there.
When you get down to it, our bodies are amazing. They allow us to do so many things that we just take for granted. I have birthed and nursed 2 children, I have run a half marathon, I am physically capable of many things because I am a STRONG woman!


I'm curious, what do you think about the "exposed movement"?

Meet my new friend...

I got to thinking that I need to do some lifting to tone up the arms and shoulders. So, today I bought something like this....Mine is actually a 15 pounder, not a 45 lb, but you get the idea. I only got one, which my husband thinks is hilarious, but next time I'm at Wally World I'll pick up another. They aren't expensive, but I just didn't want to spend another $13 when I can make do with the one for now. I really want to tone up my arms so I made the decision to work at it. Shoulders, biceps & triceps hopefully have met their match. I've always had bigger arms (in my opinion), so now it's time to buff 'em up.
Anyway, I'm having a good week all around. Hope you are too! For those of you competing in the skinny mini challenge, don't forget to shoot me an email on the 15th and let me know how you're doing. Can't wait to hear the updates!

Sparkin' it up...

I burnt myself out on counting points. I felt like I couldn't eat much anymore so I've just been floating. Eating healthy (mostly) and kinda keeping track in my head what I'm eating. I wasn't feeling like it was very productive though in helping me get to my final goal weight. I needed more stucture again. So, I decided to change it up a little and try using SparkPeople. You can check it out here. I really like it. And the best thing, it's FREE! There are lots of helpful gadgets and they'll even provide you with meal plans if you want.
One thing I've come to realize on this journey is that you gotta shake things up sometimes. Tweak it till it starts working for you again. Just like anything else, you can become complacent. So if it seems like I'm getting lazy with something, I find a new angle. I read a new book. I try something else. And here's the thing, there's no perfect formula for everyone. Find what works for you and do it!

My Bad & My Good

I guess it's time to confess. Last night I slipped up. Me and pizza, we had an encounter... and it wasn't pretty! Analyzing my binge is helping me realize some triggers though. This is not about making excuses either. I chose to put the food in my mouth, no one forced me. As I was shoving food in my mouth I was already mad at myself, but it was almost compulsive. Thankfully, today I actually feel more in control. There have been a few little niggles to "EAT" excessively today, but I am not going to do that to myself. I felt so horrible last night and I don't want to feel that way again anytime soon. So here were some of the triggers....PMS (a big part), being off my normal routine (first the holidays and now hubby is home this week on vacation), waiting too long between meals till I was REALLY hungry, and finally, not stopping when I was full.
The funny thing is, I know the exact second when it turned from eating dinner to a pizza scarfing marathon. I made myself a nice big salad and ate it first before even touching the one piece of pizza on my plate. I got halfway through the piece and felt full. Instead of stopping though, I kept eating. It tasted really good and I hate to leave food on my plate when there are just a few bites left. And then there was something about that overly full feeling that just sent me over and I grabbed another piece, and another (you get the picture). I ate myself sick. Horrible, but true!
I even missed my run last night because I felt so gross. I probably would've thrown up if I'd attempted to run. So I ran tonight instead. I felt like throwing up today too, but for an entirely different reason, because I pushed so hard. And guess what, I set a personal record for myself... 3 miles in 22:42 (that's a 7:33 mile)! I don't know if it was the cold or the fact that I felt the need to pound it out on the pavement. I just kept saying {PUSH,PUSH} and {Gotta make up for the pizza} over and over in my head, and look what it got me, a record time.
Something I realized on my run, last nights' issues are going to make me stronger. It gives me insight to what I can do in the future to avoid going down the bad path. For now, I'm gonna bask in my post-run endorphins. Tomorrow I keep moving forward!

Let's go girls!

While I know the competition started on the 1st, I just thought I'd send out a quick update on the skinny mini challenge. There are 8 ladies competing. How awesome is that? I can't wait to see how everyone does. Here in the next few days I'm going to start working on the trophy and, I'm on the lookout for the perfect prize. Good luck girlies!

What about hashbrowns?

First off, I just want to say Thanks for the nice comments on my last post. It was good for me to see the comparison photos too because I don't always see the changes my body has been through when I look in the mirror. I've talked about it before, the mental disconnect between reality and what we see in our head. Even my husband kinda forgot what I used to look like 60 lbs ago. He walked in this morning and I had the pictures up on the screen. He stopped, did a double take and said.... "Whoa". It wasn't a bad thing though. It was more of a surprised reaction. He sees me every day so it's been a gradual shift as opposed to the stark contrast of the pictures. It was pretty funny to be honest. And, it was helpful later in the evening while we were cruisin' the grocery store for a few things.

• D- "Oooo, what about hash browns? Does that sound good? Are you gonna eat them if we buy them for dinner though?"
• Me- "We can get them if you want but I'm not going to have any."
• D- "Ugh, you make me so mad sometimes." (In a disgusted "why won't you eat all crap I want" tone of voice and shaking his head)
• Me- "Well dear, I can eat the hash browns and all the other junk in the cart and go back to looking just like I did in that picture. But, I really don't want too. That's not the way I eat anymore."

He got this look on his face and didn't say anymore on the subject. I kinda wonder what his reaction would be if I told him I decided to cut out both sugary treats and alcohol. I'm trying not to focus on it and make it a big deal. It's really not. I'm just taking each situation as it comes...saying no thanks to a Mudslide or half a candy bar and staying out of the ice cream is what I need to do right now to hit goal. I'm trying to teach myself control again. The holidays really wreaked havoc on my self control. To be perfectly honest though, I'd been letting the reins slip a bit the closer I got to goal. Fear of succeeding can make a person do interesting things. And, the mid-afternoon munchies are really killin' me the last few days. I'm not even really that hungry, I just want to eat. Today I started munching but pulled it together. Popping a piece of gum and drinking a cup of tea helped me ride it out. And, hubby did offer to help me make a veggie tray for easier and more healthy snacking options to combat the munchies. Wasn't that sweet?
Finally, I'm going to pull out the Star Wars quote again....Control, Control, you must learn Control! I think that's my motto for the week :) What about you?

Update from the weekend...

Anyone interested in my weekend? Well, it was great! It wasn't perfect (diet-wise), but things in life rarely are. I made decent food choices for the most part, which wasn't always easy. We left yesterday and headed out of town to see a show for a band that my husband loves. Anyway, the show was at a brewery. I'll admit, I had 3 pints. We were at a BREWERY! We did walk to the venue though, about a 1.5 round trip, and we rocked out pretty good too. I think the small things count.

A few other things I'm proud of.....I ate the good stuff and left the rest when my lunch came (normally I am a clean your plate freak, so this was a huge deal for me), I ate half of a wheat bagel with a bit of jelly instead of the whole white bagel slathered in cream cheese (or heaven forbid, one or two of the pastries), I also stuck to my plan and went for a 4 mile run when we got home, and I was able to buy myself a size Small band t-shirt. Wanna see? Wanna see? This is not the greatest pic of me...after a whirlwind trip and a run, but oh well! It was just awesome to have the shirt fit.
This was me 9 months ago...I NEVER would have been able to fit this shirt.
Sometimes you have to look back at where you came from. This is proof of the hard work I've done. And proof that I can get to my goal if I've come this far! And seriously, if I can do this, so can you!

Tested already!

SOOOO... about that no alcohol thing. Can I start that tomorrow? Hubby and I are going to a concert tonight. I truly didn't think I would get to go. We've been struggling, trying to find a sitter for the kids and it just wasn't happening. (The concert is 4 hours from home so it's an overnight thing). Anyway, we finally arrived at like plan G after exhausting all other options and thought, why not see if my grandma (the kids' great grandma) would come along. She agreed. So, she's going to stay at the hotel with the kids while hubby and I go out....how awesome is she!!
Now I have the decision to make...to drink or not to drink. Guess we'll see how I feel tonight. If I feel like it I will, if not then I won't. It just seems funny that as soon as I decide to cut the booze I have this come up. That's life though. But, regardless of whether I drink tonight, I'm gonna go out and have fun with my hubby! That's the thing I need to concentrate on.
Now, I gotta go and get everything packed....eeek, only a few hours till we hit the road! Have a great weekend everyone!

Healthy livin' in 2010

It seems like everyone is posting about their resolutions for 2010. I generally don't do the whole "New Years Resolution" list. But, I did some thinking on my run this morning (I know, scary huh?). Thinking about what I've been letting slide. Thinking about my goal weight. Just thinking about what I need to do to get comfortable in my own skin. So what did I figure out you ask? Here are a few of the high points.
First off, exercise makes me feel good so I need to make the time to do it. Having a race to train for really makes a difference so I need to make sure I am doing one every few months. Secondly, sugar is my enemy. I'm talking candy, cake, ice cream.....sweets (period). So I need to stay away because if I eat a little it opens a door that I have a hard time locking back down. And finally, I need to ditch the alcohol for a while. I don't drink alot, but lately I've been slipping back into the habit of a beer or two or a glass of wine in the evening. While this is not a big deal, I know that while losing weight I do better if I banish the alcohol altogether.
So there we have it, I guess I did make some resolutions for the new year.....exercise, no sugar, & no alcohol (till goal). Healthy living in 2010 if you want to boil it down. I'm using the Skinny Mini as a jumping off point. I've set my goal where I want to be by the end of the month and I am going to push, push, push to get there. It's not to late to join the party either. If you want to participate in the challenge email me by Monday Jan 4th. Let's kick off the new year right!