I think I hit that point... I actually ENJOY running!

Stepping on the scale this morning felt great.  It read 175.4…. 10.4lbs down from Christmas Day!  It felt great to finally break that 10lb barrier!  Only 15-20lbs to go!  I’d be very happy at 160 but would really like to get to 155lbs.

I also took my measurements today, my stomach measured at 29” and my hips at 43.25”.  I am hoping in a week and a half when my trainer gets back from vacation… that my stats are even a bit lower!  I also am getting my body fat checked on 2/25.

I had a great weekend which kicked off with working at the Y on Friday night… Saturday I cleaned my house, met my cousin Katy for lunch at Grapevine Café and and a great time catching up with her!  Then I headed down to Neenah and had plans for the evening to do hibachi for dinner & see a Skyline Comedy café show.  It was a great time!

Today I had a surprise birthday party to go to around lunch time, and was able to hang out with some of my friends J  My dad came over and attempted to fix my broken garage door opener, unfortunately, we think the motor might be shot L  After dad and Jeremy left, I headed out for my 6 mile run that I avoided yesterday.  It was sunny but chilly and the sidewalks were still super icy!  PEOPLE… learn to shovel and salt!  I ran mostly on roads, against traffic… and some drivers are so RUDE!

Here’s my route and stats for the day:

I chose a super tough route today which basically takes me consistently uphill for the first 2 ½ mile with a bit of downhill, but then right back up.  Mile two was particularly tough and I ended up having to walk a bit up the hill because it was icy and there was quite a bit of traffic.  Mile 4-5-6 was flatter and I pushed myself a bit more even though my legs were frozen.  All in all a good run after a week of being sick J  Looking forward to the next few weeks… taper to 4 next week then back up to 6 before mileage starts climbing in March & April!!

I also realized that if I continue to run at the pace I ran today (6 miles in 66 minutes)… I could finish the Bellin come June with my fastest time in my 6 years of running the race!

Have a great week!

 

40 days

As many of you saw on Facebook, I chose what to do for Lent this year.

I put a lot of thought into different things I could do or give up for 40 days.  And I think my choice satisfies both "doing" and "giving up".  This year, I have chosen to give up all non-essential spending.  I really started looking hard at my budget and my checkbook (becuase I use my debit card for basically everything), and realized how quickly I spend a few dollars here and there... places where it's really not needed.

Some of the ways to quit non-essential spending:

• No shopping for clothing, books, movies, etc.
• No downloading any new itunes music.
• No stopping for "fast food" when I have plenty of food I can eat and make at home.  
• This will also help with my goal for 2013 to make a new recipe each week.
•  It will also reduce the amount of food I throw away each week.
•  If I have plans with friends to meet for dinner, I will continue with those plans as I feel that time with friends is important and special!
•  No buying sodas or snacks out of the vending machine at work.
• Etc.

At the end of Lent, I plan to make a donation to the charity of my choice.  I am still thinking of which one I would like to do.  Likely, it will be something to do with animals - so either Happily Ever After or the Bay Area Humane Society.  

In keeping with what most people do, I did a bit of shopping online tonight.  I purchased a movie I have been wanting for a few weeks, because it went on sale (Pitch Perfect) and I bought my new running shoes.  While I could have justified this as an essential purchase in a few weeks, I bought them now and I won't be tempted to cheat with those (and possibly other things) at a later date.

Here are my new kicks...

Aren't they purddy!??!  I am a huge fan of the Asics Gel Kayano line.  I have 3 pairs of the 17's... two of which have met their expiration date and one pair that I have been wearing to run outdoors (so I feel bad wearing them at the gym).  These newbies will be worn strictly indoors until road conditions clear in spring!  These are the new Gel Kayano 19's.  I skipped buying the 18's line after I had heard many poor reviews about them.  I am hoping the 19's fit like a glove!  I will let you know how I like them in a few weeks.

Even though I have been fighting a nasty head cold since Sunday... and taking a rest day yesterday... I managed to get to the gym and run 3.1 miles on the treadmill tonight in 32:02!  I really pushed myself and now I'm off to bed!

Needing a weekend after my weekend!

I had an incredibly busy weekend... dinner plans Friday night, yummy Friday Fish @ Brett Favre's steakhouse!

Saturday I kicked off my day with a 5 mile run outside (skipped the Prevea training run because it was 3 degrees) and went around 10 when it warmed up to about 10 degrees!  I had to run slower and walk a few times because of snow and ice patches... but I finished in about 58 minutes.  Clearly it was cold out... this is what my legs looked like, post run:

It literally HURT to shower.

After I ran, I went up to the campground with my parents and let the dogs run around in the snow... they had a great time :)  Colby found something he liked and stuck his whole head in the snowbank!

Once I was back from Door County, I headed down to Fond du Lac for dinner & snow tubing with my college friends... we had a BLAST snow tubing at Sunburst Hill in Kewaskum.  I wish I could hang out with these people all the time, and not just a few times a year!

On Sunday I did a Spinathon at the Y... you can see me in the blue tank top here (front row):

It was the hardest spin class I have ever done in my life... seriously, I was dripping sweat!  After class it was off to celebrate the 6th and 4th birthday's of these cutie-patooties:

I also started getting sick on Sunday, which as carried over today and I feel it getting worse :(  However, that isn't stopping me from making a new meal tonight... this chicken recipe and steamed yukon gold potatoes.  YUM!  I'm now off to freeze my bootie off walking Colby... and if I somehow muster up the energy, I will make my way to the gym to run 3 miles.  I doubt that's happening, but we will see!

Here's to a quick week as I have lots of fun and exciting plans again next weekend!

So the scale actually DOES move!!

I was beginning to think that the scale would be stuck on 178 forever... but low and behold, it moved to 177 today!  It's only a pound, but after the last 3 weeks... I'll take it!  I am just hoping this downward trend continues and I'm not stuck at 177 for the next 3 weeks.

Life... it gets busy!  Here's a little of what's been going on...

Last Friday I did a 3 mile run at the gym.

Saturday my dad and I went snowshoeing, we brought Colby along.  It was so much fun... and so rare that I get to hang out with just my dad!  We did 2 miles through my great uncle's woods... Colby was pretty tired & had a frozen body by the end :)

Saturday night I went out to Luxemburg and had dinner with a few of my cousins... after a yummy dinner it was game time :)  We got a little creative with our game pieces!

Sunday I did 5 1/2 miles on the treadmill at the gym.  I am sick of it being cold and snowing... I am ready for spring and nice outdoor running weather!

Monday I did Spin with Lisa :)

Tuesday I ran 3 1/2 miles on the treadmill at the gym.

Today... I baked :)  It's rest day!

I've been waiting to make this recipe from Emily Bites... Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Singles.  I tried a 1/2 of one, super yummy and planning for this to be my breakfast the next few mornings.  If you're following weight watchers they are only 3 points plus each! :)

 Since I'm terrible at having an open bag of chocolate chips in my house... I also made a batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies.  I made a few, and then froze the rest of the dough for another day :)  I used good 'ole Betty Crocker for that recipe! :)

I've got a busy few days coming up... hopefully I can get a few more workouts in this week... I have lots of fun things happening this weekend :)

A lil update

The story of my life right now is FRUSTRATION STATION.  I weighed in yet another week and didn't lose ANYTHING.  Imagine how frustrating it is to be super strict with what you eat... no junk food at ALL, and working out, minimum 30 minutes a day... 6 days a week for 5 straight weeks, and NOTHING.  The scale doesn't budge an ounce.

So another week and I'm sitting at 178.  My trainer took my waist & hip measurements again on Tuesday... I stayed the same in my waist & lost 1/4inch in my hips... since 12/31.  I really thought I'd see better results as pants that I haven't worn in a few months are fitting & able to be worn again.  She did say that measuring me at the end of the day after I've eaten a few meals/snacks, would be different than morning results.  I guess I can't expect miracles in 5 weeks.

I posted on Facebook for recommendations about seeing a nutritionist.  I got a few recommendations from friends who offered me their materials before seeking one out on my own.  I read through some of the stuff I got today... and I am going to try some of the meal suggestions/and try and make them fit with Weight Watchers.  There are a few things I'd like to try before giving up on WW all together...

1) cutting out *most* carbs 
2) no processed foods
3) adding a bit more dairy back into my diet (I was having digestive issues, so I cut it out and it's been such a huge help to my system).  If I add more back in, it will be yogurt, cottage cheese & a glass of milk on occasion. 
4) going back to having protein shakes for breakfast instead of oatmeal
5) completely cutting out diet soda (I drink maybe 4-5 per week... diet coke or diet root beer)

If those options don't work, I am definitely going to see a dietician/nutritionist. 

Some of the things my trainer has recommended are:
1) Workout in the morning before I eat anything
2) Cut back my spinning and switch to all running
3) Try running outside as much as possible... you get better calorie burn outside than on the treadmill.  With days like today, it's kind of hard to run outside!

Ok, this picture was from Sunday's snowstorm... but you get the idea ;)

Here was my car after being at work for 9 hours today!

I really enjoy my two spin classes a week... if I gave one up, it'd probably be the weekday class.  I am really loving going to class on Sundays.  My running is going great, and I finally feel confident in my ability to just pick up and go for a run... here's a few pictures post-run from Monday...

That's sweat glistening on my face :)

$150 Running Shoes practically destroyed... will no longer be worn inside, I guess it's time to invest in a new "indoor" pair!

Monday's run was interesting & fun.  I knew I wanted to run outside on Monday so I rescheduled my personal training from Monday to Tuesday.  I got home from work & changed... and Colby knew I was headed out, so I decided to take him with me.  Well the fun with Colby lasted 1.6 miles, he had to be taken home because it was just too hard to jump puddles and run around sidewalks that didn't get cleared.  He had fun and was tired though.  Once I dropped him off, then I headed back out for the last 1.5 miles by myself.  It was a slower run (because Colby stops a million times & there were some slippery spots), but I still averaged about 11:40 per mile.

And finally... an update on my 2013 goals.

1) My savings plan is working great... I have put the allotted amount of money away each Sunday... and as of this weekend coming up, I will have put away $21.  It's fun to start watching the money grow quickly!  I also did my taxes last weekend and plan to use that money to continue to pay things off... the thought of one day not having any types of loans would be great!  Only a few years and a few thousand left on those darn student loans!

2) Making a new recipe each week.  I guess you could say that I have stuck to this.  Some of them have been much more simplistic (like making individual pizzas with flat out bread or soup), but I am sticking with it.  I plan to create some new, more intensive recipes in the coming weeks!

I was NOT a fan of this soup mix...  my favorite gourmet cheddar broccoli.  I found it in the organic section at Festival.  It had almost NO flavor.  I added frozen broccoli florets as well and that just did not help.

 Have a great snowy night :)

Is it Spring Yet!?!

Simply put, this week's weather really dragged me down!!  I am very ready for spring to be here.  I completed all 3 of my scheduled runs on the treadmill, which is very UNLIKE me.  However, I did it to save my body from the brutally cold temperatures.  I wussed out on this morning's run outside... and went to the Y instead, where it was HOT!

My Saturday runs seem to be going phenomenal, while my weekday runs are just ehhh. 

Monday: 2.1 miles on treadmill @ work... 25:01(11:55 pace)

Thursday: 2.1 miles on treadmill @ work... 24:33 (11:41 pace)

Saturday: 4.5 miles on treadmill @ YMCA... 47:48 (10:37 pace) & did an additional 1/2 mile at a jog/walk to finish up 5 miles

I ordered a pair of compression socks and got them this week... they are my new best friend.  I wear them after a run and it helps the soreness soooo much!

 I didn't post a weigh-in update on Wednesday because there was nothing to report... I stayed the exact same as the previous week, 178.0.  I am hoping for a good number next week!  I'd love to hit my first 5% (which means I need to lose 1.5lbs).

My concern is with working out 5-6 days per week, I might not be eating enough, so I decided to do some experimenting with the number of points I eat per day.  Friday - Tuesday, my plan is to eat my daily points & the points I earn from working out.  Maybe that will make a difference?

 I got a comment at work this week that I am looking slimmer... I don't think I can see it yet.  I'll try and take new pictures this week!

After my run, breakfast and shower... I took Colby to the dog park.  He had SOOO much fun!! :)  He was sitting and waiting for me to give him a drink of water...

Happy weekend everyone :)

Alarm.... Oh I hate my alarm!

My alarm was going off this morning... starting at 6:30am... and I really, really did not want to get out of bed.  I even got out of bed, looked outside, pretended it was snowing, and crawled back into bed.  I thought to myself, well, I can just go run later at the Y.  Suddenly it was like a light bulb went off in my head that said... get your butt out of bed and go to the training run.  There is no reason I couldn't go, so I hopped out of bed at the last minute (7:30), threw on clothes, let Colby outside and I was out the door by 7:45am.  Turns out, it was actually pretty decent outside... and I had a great run!!

The plan this morning was 4.3 miles, which I finished in 46:07 ~ 10:44/mile pace!  I also must have been running hard today because I burned almost 700 calories!

Mile 1: 10:28
Mile 2: 11:05
Mile 3: 11:05
Mile 4: 10:47
Last .3: 10:27

I got home and took Colby for a short run to finish out 5 miles.  In the early afternoon I then took Colby for a 2 mile walk... I think we can certainly say I got my exercise today!

Tonight I am curled up on the couch listening to the wind howl... watching Pitch Perfect.  So far this is a great movie!  I can't believe how long I've waited to see this movie!

I'm going to attempt a double spin class tomorrow... 1 hour 30 minutes.  WOWZA... my legs might be jello afterwards :)

Weigh In Numero Quatro (that's Spanish for 4)

Hey all, happy weigh in day!  Today was another positive weigh in... down another 1.4lbs this week!  That brings my total weight loss since Christmas day to 7.8lbs! :)  I weighed in at 178.0 this morning.

I had another great run last night... it was just two miles but I was able to run outside before I went to volleyball.  I am so happy it's slowly starting to stay lighter a bit longer.  I hope I continue to say my runs are going well as the distance grows!

I went 2 miles, and ran a 10:39 pace.  I am satisfied with how much faster I am running starting out this year as compared to last year.

I am also really learning a lot more on Heart Rate Based Calorie burn... http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

My garmin seems to be very accurate which is exciting for me.  What I learned however, is the Activity point tracker on Weight Watchers is NOT accurate at all.  So, for the last 3 weeks I've been using that way to track my workouts... even though I don't "eat" my activity points, it's still gratifying to know how many I earn.  So, what I am doing now is tracking my calories burned via my Garmin, and transferring those into Activity points.

I have learned that it exaggerates it by 1/3 to 1/2 more than I actually earn.  I read on the WW message boards that 1 AP = 80 calories.  So, I feel like I will be getting a much more accurate reading on how much I am actually earning!

Here's to 2 more great runs this week... 2 miles tomorrow & 4.3 on Saturday!

Saturday Run

1) Weekends go way too fast... I say this every week and it never gets better!  I swear they go faster and faster each weekend!!

2) I had a great Saturday morning training run... 3 miles.  I arrived around 7:45am to the mall (where the run starts), and ran into a few people I knew before warming up.  My Garmin worked great!  They have sky-lights in the mall, so I stood underneath and was able to locate the satellites inside before heading outside to start running.  It was the perfect temperature January run... about 44!  However... the wind was FIERCE!  There was also a lot of up-hill running.  The only part of the run that I really struggled with was the last 1/2 mile... it was into the wind the whole stretch and I felt like I wasn't moving.  Believe it or not, I actually paced under 11 minutes per mile, which I was SHOCKED by!  I didn't start off this good last year, so I am hoping that all my strength training is paying off :)

• 3 miles in 32:40 (10:54 pace)  
• Mile 1 - 10:39, mile 2 - 11:14, mile 3 - 10:48
• Burned 327 calories... blonde moment, I never realized on my first few runs that it calculates my calorie loss!

3)  This week I've got a full schedule... Monday, 2 mile run & 30 min personal training, Tuesday - Volleyball & end of season dinner... must be good eating bar food, Wednesday - Spin class, Thursday - 2 mile run & strength training, Friday - off, Saturday - 4.3 mile training run.

4) Praying for a good weigh in again on Wednesday... I'm sitting right where I weighed in last Wednesday, so I'm planning to be VERY good the next 2 days and hope to see at least a 1lb. loss again this week!

5) Bummed the Packers lost but... next season will be here before we  know it! :)  Let's look forward to Spring & Summer first!!

Weigh In #3

Well folks... the scale is headed in the right direction!! :)  I lost 4lbs last week!  I weighed in at 179.4 today.  I was hoping for a bit less, but I am incredibly happy with 4lbs!

I earned my first 'star' milestone on Weight Watchers online... 5lbs lost!  My total is at 6.1lbs... pictures to come at 10lbs down! :)

I absolutely loved the Chicken Tortilla soup that I made on Saturday... but after only eating 1 cup at a time, I finally finished the batch today.  While I loved it, I won't be making it again for a while!  You can find the recipe here.  I made a few modifications:  I used 1 tsp. minced garlic instead of fresh, I added about 11-12oz of chicken, 1 whole can of Rotel, and I skipped the cilantro because I forgot it at the store :)

I finally decided on my two "resolutions" for 2013.  I found an awesome money savings plan online where you save $1 for every week it is... ex:

$1 week 1
$2 week 2
etc..
$52 week 52.

In the end you save almost $1400!!  Maybe I'll finally be able to enjoy a vacation in 2014!

My second resolution is to make one new recipe per week.  I haven't picked one for this week yet... it will either be dinner tomorrow or Friday.

Back to Winter Running

I came home sick from work yesterday... I was having some major stomach issues for the last few days.  After resting and taking some meds, I finally feel like ME again today.  I knew I wanted to get a run in for my workout... but when I woke up it was 5 degrees out.  I decided to wait until around 11 to take Colby for a walk... realized the sun was shining bright and most of the sidewalks were ICE-free. 

I didn't want to push myself after being sick & not running outside since October, so I just did an easy 2 miles.  It was also the first time I got to try out my Garmin Forerunning 110 running watch!  I thought it would be super awkward to run with the heart rate monitor strap around my chest, but it actually wasn't.  It has a great design and I didn't even notice it.

I could have run another mile, but decided to not push my chances with my stomach... and head back home.  There's always the next run! I feel ready to start official training runs next Saturday with the group!  WAHOO

Speaking of stomach/digestive issues... after 5 days of having issues, I was feeling great when I stepped on the scale this morning and it read 178.2... just gotta keep that number going in the right direction for weigh in on Wednesday!

Using my Garmin for the first time also allowed me to play around with the website, which will track all my outdoor miles beginning with today! :)  I was also happy to learn that I can use it for biking too... blonde moment, I didn't even think of that!

 

This afternoon I ran a few errands... boy was the grocery store busy!!!  You'd think there was some big Packer playoff game in town!  Oh wait... there is :)  GO PACK GO!!!

I'm making a new recipe for dinner tonight... Chicken Tortilla Soup (4 WW p+)!  It's an Emily Bites recipe :)  I hope it turns out well... it smells good!! After that I'm off to a friend's to watch the game!

Week 2 Weigh In

Just a quick post to report that I only lost 1.0lbs as of my weigh in yesterday.  It's still better than zero or gaining... but I thought I would see a bigger loss on the scale!

I took new pictures this week but I did not think there was any changes... so then I decided that I would only take pictures when I hit milestones.  Since Weight Watchers set my first goal as a loss of 5%, I decided I will take pictures when I hit that goal (176.5lbs).  Stay Tuned!

The next frustration I have is that we did a Maintain No Gain challenge from November 19th... ending tomorrow.  I gained weight.  Sadly, I weighed in on a day that my weight was super low (177.2).  I was having a terrible week and had lost a bit of weight. 

I was hoping to be back down to that weight, but of course I am not... so I am out $10.00. :(

I just feel like I need things to really turn around soon... head into a positive direction!

Here's to making 2013 my year!

Off Schedule

So weird when holidays fall during the week.  I kept thinking all day today that it was Sunday.  I am happy that returning to work is only for 3 days.  In those 3 days I have a lot going on... so I will be ready for Saturday to get here! :)

I have my weekly weigh in tomorrow morning... which I am not too confident about.  I took today as as a rest day, after having worked out for the last 3 days & I have two workouts tomorrow planned.  I will be working with my personal trainer for 30 minutes at 1pm & then taking a 6:30pm Spin class.  I also ate pretty terrible today... I had a sensible breakfast, but then I went to out to lunch at Applebee's with my parents to celebrate my birthday (yesterday).  They used to have such a better WW menu, their 3 choices now are very disappointing.  For dinner I was at my cousin's apartment for the Rose Bowl... we had Papa Murphy's pizza and too many snacks!  I am sad to say that I looked at it the wrong way... I can start fresh tomorrow.  I need to learn to make smarter choice when they are occurring instead of thinking I can start fresh tomorrow!!!

I am looking forward to the new season of the Biggest Loser starting on Sunday... it's always motivating to watch that show :)

I'll be back on Wednesday or Thursday with a pictures & weigh in update!