Quick check-in

Morning folks! Hope you had a great weekend.  I was good and made a menu plan for the week.  I also went and did the shopping so I have everything.  Did a 4.5 mi run yesterday & weights Saturday.  This week is the start of Body Sculpting Bible Week 3&4.  I'm noticing some nice improvements in muscle tone and strength gains.  As mentioned in a previous post, Sunday was my measurement day.   I'm kicking myself for not taking measurements when I started back up (at 172 lbs).  I did take measurements starting on Sept 29 (at 162 lbs).  Since then, in one month, I have lost 3.5" overall... 1.25" off the bust, 1" off the waist, 1.25" off the hips.  Yay :) Using the military body fat calculator here I am now at 28% body fat (down from 31% a month ago).  Hoping to get down to the low 20's upper teens eventually :)
Gotta run...lots to get taken care of around the house.  Here's to a great week!   

Be safe my friends...

I got a serious phone call from my sister-in-law last night.  You see, her sister and a long time friend were out running yesterday morning when tragedy hit.  Even though they were wearing headlamps and running smart, a car struck the friend.  Unfortunately, she did not survive the incident. A 27 year old woman, taken too soon.   

I want to remind all of you to be safe.  This is my "phone call" to you.  Life can be tragically short.  I found this statistic on the RoadID website- "Year after year, over 122,000 runners, walkers, and cyclists are hit by cars".

A few safety tips and reminders-

• NEVER assume a driver sees you. 
• If you wear headphones while running, make sure they aren't turned up so loud that you can't hear what's going on
• Wear bright colors
• Most of all, BE AWARE

No matter how careful you are though, accidents can happen.  It's easy to forget simple safety precautions, but please, don't.  In this particular situation they were doing everything right and still...

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved.
 

  

Weigh-in 10/25

Previous Weight: 156.4
Current Weight: 155.6
Change: -0.8

Almost one pound down this week. Since I had a significant, 2+ lb loss last week I was only expecting about a half pound loss this week *smiles*.  Sunday is my bi-monthly measurement day, so I'm curious to see how that goes. 
Some of you may have noticed that I didn't post my weekly goals on Monday.  It's not that I forgot, it's just been a busy week.  I did them "in my head" which I'm finding isn't as effective as posting them here lol.  So here it is-

1. Quit nibbling! (This is a repeat from last week, but the nibbling this week has been over the top).

Yep, just one focused goal for the week.  I could list all the goals from my previous weeks, earlier bedtime, new healthy recipe, cook at home, evening walk w/family etc. but I really need to focus on the nibbling thing.  Part of the problem is my meal timing has been wonky which means I've let myself get too hungry with no plan for the upcoming meal so I grab a bit of this or that...never a good idea.  The other piece is that I'm relatively comfortable at 155 lbs and my clothes fit so some of the urgency is lost.  It's not that I don't want to lose more, because I do, but hey, I can throw my jeans in the dryer on accident and still wear them lol.
Being aware of this "comfort zone" is a big step. Can't change what I don't acknowledge :) So, the focus is now on getting into the 140's.  I'm going to conservatively set a timeline for Thanksgiving.  4 weeks to lose 5.8 lbs(which would put me at 149.8).  That's a 1.5 lb loss per week...healthy and attainable and on point with how I've been losing lately.
I do have one other little bit of info to share.  I had a fantastic NSV this week. For the first time in several years (since I got pregnant with #3), I was able to break an 8 min/mi pace on a 3 mi run.  7:54/mi actually.  Woo-hoo!

  

Pin your workout...

Are you a Pinterest user???  I am.  My latest obsession?  Cruising and repinning from the "Health & Fitness" boards.
It helps me add variety to my basic workouts.  I love seeing new variations of basic moves, like squats or ab moves.  It's fantastic!  With winter coming, I like having a bank of workouts to pick and choose from.  This way I won't get bored :)
Happy Pinning...

  

Weigh-in 10/18

Previous weight: 159.0
Current Weight: 156.4
Change: -2.6
  

Feels  good to have such a nice loss this week.  After 6 weeks back on track I have lost a total of 15.8 lbs.  Woo!  Even better, my measurements are getting smaller and I can wear clothes that I couldn't wear 6 weeks ago without serious discomfort & waistband spill over.  Double WOO!
Today is weight training day.  I'm still a bit sore from Tuesday's session but that's not a bad thing :)

Hope your week is going well! Talk to y'all soon....

Power up with green tea...

This one's for you Aimee, since you asked about green tea in the last post.

So green tea.  We've all heard the hype surrounding it.  It burns fat & makes you invincible. Okay, no, not really.  It is incredibly good for you though for a variety of reasons. There's a great article here on WebMD. 
While much of the data on green tea is anecdotal, one thing that's apparent is that it's chock full of antioxidants and has zero calories.

  
"Taken altogether, the evidence certainly suggests that incorporating at least a few cups of green tea every day will positively affect your health," says Diane McKay, PhD, a Tufts University scientist who studies antioxidants. "It's not going to cure anything and it shouldn't be consumed as a drug, but it can complement the rest of the diet."
McCullough bears the same reminder: eat your fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, and nuts -- and go ahead, drink as much green tea as you want.
 *Excerpt from WedMD article

I hope that it's helping to speed up my metabolism and burn body fat, but if not, that's okay.  I'm still getting some excellent anti-inflamatory benefits with the addition of the antioxidants.
My absolute favorite brand of green tea...

Yummmy, hot or cold.  This is what Starbucks serves, but if you order it, ask for it unsweetened. Another thing to watch for is prepared green teas. They are often pre-sweetened.

Anybody else drink green tea?    

Monday Mashup

First off, HAPPY MONDAY!  Hope you had a great weekend!  Mine was quite nice.  Friday was my girly's 8th birthday. Running around cleaning house, making her cake and all the rest meant I was on the go most of the day.  I had a couple bites of her birthday cake, and of course licked a little bit of frosting while creating the "masterpiece".  The licks and bites were enough to satisfy me though and I had no desire to eat more...yay.
Saturday was Halloween Party time.  Saturday wasn't my day, unfortunately.  I had problems with everything.  While trying to finish my costume I managed to use the wrong product, had to call in my sister-in-law to save the day.  Thank you Melissa for bringing me your hot glue gun :) Next I managed to screw up the pumpkin roll we were planning on bringing to the party (don't ask me how, I still haven't figured out what I did wrong).  Hubby had to go to the store and pick up something else for us to take.  Then somehow I got the time for the party wrong and we showed up WAY early.  Thankfully the hosts were gracious and let us hang out and we helped them finish getting things ready lol.  It all worked out in the end though and we had a great time!  I know you're all dying to see me in my costume....no? Too bad.

Please excuse the smile...my husband is the worst photographer.  He gives no warning, takes one picture and then walks away.

Sunday was a pretty kick back day.  No hangover for me (since I didn't drink).  I went for a nice walk, did some housework and hung out with the fam.
This morning I got up at 5:30 am, did my pilates, took the oldest to school and went for a 3.25 mi run.  Remember what I said about coming back stronger after a recovery week?  Yeah, turns out it was true.  My pace this morning with the double stroller...8:34/mi.  That's the fastest I've run with the kids, ever.
So what's next? Well, I finished reading this book-

I'll be starting the recommended strength training regime this week and plan on following it through the next 6 weeks. I enjoyed this book because it is very thorough in explaining the individual exercises with proper form.  As with most books, there are a few things that I don't 100% agree with (mostly nutrition related, because I know what works for me personally) but overall, I like the book as a strength training guide.  They also touch a bit on visualization techniques, which I liked too.
If you're looking for other strength training sources, The New Rules of Lifting for Women is another highly recommended book (though I haven't read it yet).
Finally, since it's Monday, that means it's goal setting day.  Here goes:

1. Cut down on the nibbling- I nibble on things a lot.  I'll grab an animal cracker from the kid's plate, or a bit of cheese while making lunches.  While it's not out of control now, it has the potential to become worse.
2. Eat 8-10 serving of vegetables daily
3. Drink 2-3 cups of green tea daily 

So there you have it.  Here's to a great week!

  

 

PB Fix...

As some of you know, peanut butter has a special place in my heart.  Since I have a difficult time with portion control, I stopped buying it.  Two of my kids are allergic to peanuts anyway and hubby only eats it occasionally so it's presence in the house isn't really missed (except by me).

Enter PB2. 

 I heard about this a long time ago and finally decided to give it a try.  Essentially it's a dried peanut butter powder.  The drying process removes a large percentage of the fat (I'm not afraid of the fat, but having lower fat helps this fit easier into my daily intake).  I also found it has a built in portion control factor since you have to mix the powder before eating.  This is much better for me since I can't just dip into the jar any ol' time (yes, I used to eat pb by the spoonful when the mood struck).
So now I just throw some into plain greek yogurt or a smoothie and get my pb fix.  It's also good on celery for a mid afternoon snack.

Anybody else tried this??  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the product!

P.S. Have a great weekend! :)

Weigh-in 10/11

Weigh-in day!
Previous Weight: 160.6
Current Weight: 159.0
Change: -1.6

Again, this week is pretty consistent with the past few weeks' losses.  I like this average.  It means that it's healthy and (hopefully) FAT LOSS, not muscle loss.  Since I've been eating lots of protein and doing my strength training I feel confident that my losses are primarily fat...woo.  The last thing I want is muscle loss. Especially since lean, mean machine is the ultimate goal :)
Quick update on my weekly goals and workouts...  Things are going well.  The next few days are going to be hectic so I'm not sure if I'll be able to hit all my planned workout components.  My daughter is turning 8 tomorrow so I have cake to make and lots of other little things to handle.  I've already done my pilates this morning and plan on hitting the trail for a walk with the kids after dropping birthday girl off at school. We'll have to see how tomorrow shapes up, but pilates and a walk should fit into the day somewhere.
Saturday evening hubby and I  have a Halloween party to attend.  I've got to finish my costume and figure out what side I'm bringing (Hubby wants me to make a pumpkin roll, but that seems dangerous because I LOVE PUMPKIN ROLL lol).  I'm still thinking on that one.  Suggestions are welcome.  The other thing I have to figure out is whether or not to drink at the party.  When I got back on track last month I made a decision not to drink for the rest of the year.  No particular reason, other than I know how negatively alcohol affects metabolism.  It seems silly to drink when I'm working this hard.  I know from past experience that I shouldn't drink while trying to lose weight because it is counter productive to my personal weight loss.  Other people can drink and lose weight.  Me? Not so much. It seems like a no-brainer, but... I guess we'll see.  When I told my husband I wasn't planning on drinking his response was "Well I was planning on you drinking." Oi.

Alright folks, that's all for now.  Hope your week is going well!  Please give me suggestions on healthy sides I can take to the party...I'm desperate :)

Roasted Vegetables

I love that the weather is cooling down!  Finally, I can cook dinner in the oven and not heat up a house that I'm trying to keep cool with the AC.  Truth be told, my VERY FAVORITE way to cook vegetables is to roast them but I don't do it during the warmer months because running the oven at 400* for 30+ minutes just seems crazy.  I like steamed veggies just fine, but roasting makes 'em amazing. Last night I made roasted cauliflower. Sooooooo, so, so YUM!
This is the recipe I used

Broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts & beets all turn out fantastic when roasted.  My family eats it up too, no complaints (even the beets). 
Hope you are having a great week!

Goals and Recovery

I made the decision yesterday that this week should be an active recovery week.  My body is feeling tired, so instead of pushing harder, I'm backing off a bit.  I'm still going to exercise, but not as intensely.  The plan for the week looks something like this:

Monday- Pilates,  Saddle Bag Workout, wall sit (3 minutes), walk
Tuesday- Pilates, Sculpt a Lean Body Workout, walk
Wednesday-Pilates,  Saddle Bag Workout, wall sit (3 minutes), walk
Thursday- Pilates, Sculpt a Lean Body Workout, walk
Friday- Pilates,  Saddle Bag Workout, wall sit (3 minutes), walk
Saturday- Pilates, Sculpt a Lean Body Workout, walk
Sunday- Pilates, walk

The exercise all focuses more on walking and isometric type exercise which is great for muscle tone.  Something I've learned along the way is that rest is very important. I get stronger and faster following a week of rest.  (This is not a week of sitting on my butt,  just less intensity). 

Goals for this week-

• Get to bed by 10 pm (This is a repeat from last week because I struggled with it)
• Get up with the alarm @ 5:35 so I can have a bit of alone time
• Have more patience with my children (Not a fitness goal, but something I need to concentrate on right now).

Here's to a great week!
  

Get to bed crazy lady...

Previous weight: 162.4
Current weight:160.6
Loss: -1.8

Hooray for consistency!  There's a part of me that still wants the instant gratification of huge losses on the scale, but the bigger part of me just tells her to "SHUSH!".  In the past 4 weeks I've lost 11.8 lbs.  The big picture tells the story.  My clothes are feeling more comfortable again and I feel good.  I am running again and experiencing nice strength gains.  My husband told me this week I might give the old men a heart attack at the Halloween party we're going to next weekend (giggle).  All in all things are good.  I manged to shake off the cold my kids tried to give me.  I will confess though that I've been struggling with getting to bed by 10 pm.  I know it's important to get my sleep, so I am committing to an "early" bedtime from now till Monday.
Tonight is the perfect night for trying a new healthy recipe so I can check that off the list of goals for the week.  If it's any good I'll share tomorrow.
Hope your week is on track.  Later gators... 

Ramblings about my day....so far

Last week I relied heavily on smoothies for breakfast because it's fast and easy.  Usually mid morning is when I have the time to cook and sit down for a full meal.  This morning however, my 4 year old woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4:15 am and woke up the youngest too while he was at it. Normally I would just send them back to bed, but Riley (the 4 yr old) has asthma and needed a breathing treatment as we've had a cold running through our household. Cue noisy machine and TV time while he does his treatment. Meaning we didn't go back to bed.  Sooooo, I got to do yoga and make a full breakfast for myself before taking the oldest to school this morning. Not necessarily a BAD thing, but yeah, 4:15 am is really early :)
The two kids ended up falling asleep in the car after dropping sister at school...wouldn't that be nice for Mom (a nap I mean, not sleeping in the car)?  Riley actually ended up dozing for most of my 30 minute run too.  Having a cold & asthma really takes it out of the little guy.  Thankfully he's doing much better today than yesterday.
I'm trying to fight this bug off myself.  I really don't want to get sick!  I kept my run short, slow & easy today so as not to overly tax my body, but still get something in.

This was breakfast and pretty typical of what I make most days at some point.... eggs (slightly overcooked from trying to take care of something with the kids while cooking lol), sauteed bell pepper & baby kale, and a slice of turkey breast. These eggs came from my parents' chickens and they are delicious! I was lucky to get some from them when they passed through town this past weekend.   Normally I do a combo of egg whites and whole eggs to get more protein, but I ran out of whites today.  For a while I was separating eggs and tossing the yolks, but it just felt too wasteful so I started buying the 100% egg whites to use with the regular eggs.  Adding the turkey breast to breakfast is also a great way to bump up the protein without the fat.

What is your favorite breakfast??  Do you eat vegetables for breakfast? I love new ideas! Please share.  

Goalie Goals...

I've gotta tell you, I found setting short term goals last week to be incredibly helpful.  Just having a specific idea of what I wanted to concentrate on was great, so I figured I'd make it a weekly thing. Monday morning is as good a time as any (cause you know it's always easier to start on Monday lol).  So without further ado, here they are:

1. Go to bed before 10 p.m.
2. Practice yoga or pilates every day
3. Spend a minimum of 30 minutes daily reading something fitness/health related
4. Try a new, healthy recipe
5. Take an evening walk (hopefully with the family) at least twice

There you have it folks.  While they're not earth shattering, the goals I've set will help me stay on track when combined with other habits I've formed. Here's to a great week!