A Run and A Weigh In

Went for my run last night. I got out later than planned, but we persevered and got it done. It was a nice run. I went for 40 minutes. No idea how far I ran, but I'm not really keeping track. I'm just hoping to get my endurance back and pick up the pace so I can try and run with my friends again and actually keep up.

I have plans to shred it later today. Probably during naptime. I was going to do it during Munchkin's first nap here, but I spent it finishing a long-awaited Halloween costume for Monkey. Now she's a Pink Princess. :) So it will have to wait til later. But I'm excited to continue muscle toning and whatnot. I know I'll feel better when I've done it. Will probably post about it tomorrow. Perhaps after tomorrow's run. :)

Oh, and I remembered to weigh in before eating this morning. A decent weigh in. I'm hoping to keep it in this range or lower. It's motivating me to get my shred done this afternoon. Although I suppose the cinnamon roll I ate for breakfast might not've been the best option. I swear I did great over Thanksgiving. But we got sent home with some insane stuff. Like a tray of cinnamon rolls, an entire apple pie, and I was told my husband has to bring home a pumpkin pie today. Seriously? At least I'm not a huge pie eater, or I'd be in trouble. And the cinnamon rolls are mostly gone and I only ate 1. Myst maintain self-control. :)

Make a Plan + Good Moment

I've made a plan to go running 3 days this week. On my non-running week days, I'm going to shred with Jillian. Yes, I am. I didn't gorge over the Thanksgiving holiday, so I'm feeling pretty good.  I genuinely forgot to step on the scale Saturday morning, but I did later that day and my numbers were actually pretty darn low. But I forget exactly what it said. If I remember, I'll step on the mighty Oz tomorrow morning for a check-in.

Okay, time to share a made-me-feel-good moment. I was walking the hallways at church last week, taking Monkey to the potty when I ran into a friend. I hadn't seen her since late July. She looked at me and said, "You look awesome!" It was very genuine and sincere, and it made me feel pretty great. I haven't made great strides in the numbers department, but I feel like every step I make helps me to be healthier, and feel healthier. (They can be two very different things, you know.) When I feel healthier, I think it gives me more confidence, which I think everyone can agree makes a woman attractive. So here's to feeling healthier. :)

Running + The Hubs is Awesome

I was planning on running this evening with friends. Then last night happened and I wasn't planning on running at all. My sick kid (Moose) did great. Monkey woke up once. Munchkin decided to have her wake-up talking fest from 3-4 am. I was so tired today I thought running would not happen. Sometime around 4 or so I got a second wind and thought maybe I would. Then, when the hubs came home, he gave me a pep-talk. Let me just say, the hubs is so awesome. He's my best support and I couldn't do anything without him. He told me he knew I was tired but that he thought I should go running anyway. He didn't want my circumstance to make decisions for me. He's super supportive about taking over at home with the kids so I can get my time to go. It's so awesome.

So I did go. I went from 6-7. My friends are going later tonight. I felt really good after going. The girl's basketball team was practicing during that time, so I imagine I can always go at that time during the week and I'll be able to get into the gym with no problem. So perhaps we've found our solution to our time/scheduling conflicts after all.

Feeling positive. :)

Change of Pace + Weigh In

I kinda fell off the map this week. We had a few crazy days and busy nights. I didn't go running or do anything else intentional this past week. I am going to go running tomorrow night and I'm really looking forward to it. With all the snow outside and less daylight, I'm brainstorming for new ways to get my exercise in. The hubs and I have been thinking it over. He's so amazing and supportive. Love that guy. We might end up with a gym membership. Even if it's just over the winter. If I'm able to get running a few times a week with my friend at the High School track, then that will do it for me too. She's just getting back into running, and she's prepping for a marathon. So I imagine she's going to be doing more as well. So now we'll just have keep brainstorming for ways to make it work, and keep getting it in when I can.

Oh, I did weigh in yesterday. Went up a pound or so. Until I can get more regular cardio in, I think I'm going to stay in a general range of 2-3 pounds, always vascillating up and down. I'm not even close to where I'd like to be, but it's not an uncomfortable place for me either. Not giving up. Just reevaluating and finding what will work best with our daily routines and whatnot.  I might need to mix in some Jillina Michaels this week to keep myself feeling like I'm on track. And Thanksgiving never did anyone's waistlines any favors either. :)

Running

Went for a run last night. It felt really good. Most of it, anyway. Here's the low down. We went to the High School indoor track. My friend's husband works there as AP (same high school where the hubs teaches) so she can get us in whether or not the school is open. Yay for that. However, upon parking and jumping out of her car, I didn't realize we were parked on a huge puddle of ice. So I fell right down on my keister. Still feeling that one today. (But so far no bruising, so I'm hoping it wasn't too bad.) The 2 gals I ran with are a bit more experienced and have been running longer, so their pace was a bit faster than mine, while talking. I couldn't keep up with them without talking. So I ran with my mp3 player and just got back in the groove of it all. It's been over 2 months since I've run, so it'll take me some time to get my rhythm back. Not to mention the track is small and a circle, so that takes getting used to as well. But I look forward to doing it some more.

Perfect Chicken Salad

A while ago I was talking about my amazing chicken salad I like to eat for lunch. Well, I had it again today and thought I should finally share the yummy recipe. The whole thing is the Santa Fe Chicken Salad. But I only use the marinade for the chicken and make a simpler salad with it. Here's the link to the recipe. I use the marinade to make the chicken, and I often only marinate the chicken for like 10 minutes. So don't feel hampered by time. Then I add fresh lettuce (romaine usually), chopped tomatoes and bell peppers. Then I top with ranch and french fried onions. I know, they sound so bad. But I like them better than croutons because they're so small that they permeate their yumminess throughout the salad and not just a few bites. I don't use a ton, so I don't feel like I'm making my salad fatty. If you have time, or want to make a special dinner, I highly recommend the entire salad. It's so, so, so good. But if you just want to try out the chicken, it's also delicious!

Weigh In: Change of Direction

I did weigh in this morning. I actually forgot right off and actually ate a small breakfast. But the numbers weren't awful, so that was nice. Although during the 3 days my girlies were sick and nothing got done, my eating habits were awful. I didn't eat much at all but empty calories, with the occasional healthy dinner. But my kids are better, not a single night wake-up last night. (Hallelujah!)

So, the last few days I have been craving a run. I do enjoy Jillian, but I think for the results I want, her work-outs aren't really doing it for me. If I wanted to be "shredded" I would certainly come back to her. But right now I want to drop 16 lbs. For me that requires cardio and a lot of sweating. 20 minutes a day just doesn't feel like it's doing it. And it's really hard for me to dedicate myself to a daily work-out. But if I could go running a few times a week I feel like it would be more productive at this stage of my weight-loss. I think after I lose 8 lbs. or so, I could come back to Jillian's DVD and it would work better for me. I don't know.

Excuses, excuses right? I think I'm just craving some time running and I need something different. So my goal over the next few days is to reach out to some of my fellow runners and see who's doing what. Being in the lovely North West, daylight is an issue. (Today the sun rose at 7:40 am and set at 5:03 pm) A big issue. And finding time without children. Which is why my limited daylight hours are problematic since I'm always alone with 2 or more kids during that time. But I'm hoping to find a solution. I will find a solution.

Sick Days

No I'm not sick, but my 2 girls have been for the last 3 days. Normally sick kids don't necessarily throw a big wrench into my day, but when they wake me up multiple times a night, I'm not quite myself. So exercising has been thrown out the window. For that matter, eating really well has too. When I get woken up more than once I go on survival mode and just try to make it through the day without getting grouchy. I've been successful at that. But I've also been successful at doing basically nothing productive. So there's my reason for no blogs the last few days.

It's the weekend now, so I'm hoping to get some extra sleep and recharge my batteries a bit. I'm feeling really drained. But the hubs is so good to me, I know I'll get some good rest this weekend. So here's to a little bit more sleep, some recharging, and perhaps a new start on Monday.

Real life strikes again.

Day 17

Oh yes, I did more push-ups this time. The real ones. Although I have to admit, I don't go down very far. But I imagine it's still working my muscles more than if I'm on my knees, as well as my core. Today I was really feeling a bit stronger. I thought that perhaps the extra weight that's not quite ready to go away is my abs actually getting muscles again. (Yes, 3 pregnancies will completely ruin abs in my experience.)

I also realized today that I'm over half way to my 30 days. Granted, I haven't been doing 30 days consecutive, but I live a real life with a husband and 3 kids. I'm just not that devoted to consecutive work-outs. All my devotion is taken in my family. But I'm sticking with it, and for that I'm still quite proud of myself. It's all about lasting lifestyle changes and I feel like I'm doing that.

Yummy Breakfast

I've mastered a delicious chicken salad (to be shared next) for my lunches, and it got me thinking to a better breakfast option. I remembered a smoothie I used to drink every morning for quite a long while. It's so delicious, and very good for you. It had been a long time since I'd made it, but I made it this morning. Yummy! Here's a link to the recipe. I actually used raspberries since we had them. Still good. I have a small bit left, and possibly some blueberries (all of these are frozen) so I think I'll do a half-raspberry, half-blueberry one tomorrow morning. If I'm still feeling hungry, I'll add a piece of whole wheat toast with some butter and cinnamon sugar, or a mini-bagel. I don't feel guilty for the sugary topping because cinnamon is very good for you and I eat more toast because of it. I'm a sucker for cinnamon sugar toast. :)

Day 16: Early Start

My day did start earlier today. Yay! I was partially forced by the baby waking up early. By the time I got her back to sleep, I decided to just start the day. So glad I did. It's made quite a difference, I think.

I got my work-out in today. Felt nice. I tried for the first time to do real push-ups, no knees. I managed 2 before I realized I wasn't going to be able to do much more. The second time around I only managed 1. But that'll be my goal, to beat those numbers. Perhaps I'll slowly be able to do more. I definitely think I'm going to try out level 2 next Monday, just for a break in the routine. I'll probably not be able to start doing it daily, but perhaps every few days. Until I feel like I can handle the next step up in difficulty.

Priorities

I'll just say straight out that: No, I didn't work out today. There, I said it. Onto my thoughts on priorities.  Today was a Saturday. Those are a big day in our house since the hubs is actually home the whole day and it seems like the one day to get things done like grocery shopping or major errands since we can go without kids. Anyhow, I realized this morning (and I've been realizing it for a while, but for the first time it hit me with more intensity) that I am feeling less of a desire to get as much sleep as possible and more of a desire to get up before my kids so I can get things done. This is a big deal for me. I am a big sleep. 10 hours a night, please. I am not a morning person. Let me repeat: NOT a morning person. But I'm realizing that since I've been using my nap-time to exercise and read the scriptures each day I don't have much time to do anything else on my to-do list like sew, write in journals, craft, clean (I actually do enjoy cleaning from time to time), write letters, or whatever else is on my to-do list that week. I thought today that if I could just get up before the kids and exercise and shower, maybe even do my scripture reading, I could get other things done during nap-time and it would feel nice to get more done. Exercising is still a priority for me. So is eating right. And don't get me wrong, I get a good amount of sleep. The hubs and me are not night owls. Our lights are out before or right after 10 most nights. He wakes up at 5 during the week, and I'm tempted to join him. Guess we'll have to let Munchkin sleep in her crib instead of the living room like she has been. Let's hope she's over her 4:00 am chat session-phase.

It may be a while yet before I put this new train of thought into action. I don't know. But I do feel like I'm getting closer to turning over a new lead. You could say I've spotted the leaf, and have thought about turning it over, but have not made any attempt to touch it quite yet. :) How's that for non-commitla?

Weigh In: Sigh

Well, apparently my numbers went up. Although I'm not completely discouraged. I cheated a bit and weighed in a few days ago, just for a check-up. Anyway, at that time my numbers had gone down, for the first time in a few weeks. So I'm convinced my body is finally starting to get back in gear. This morning was just a bad morning, I guess. Maybe I snacked too much yesterday. I'd have to say that's still my one vice is I've been snacking a bit lately. Doesn't help if the hubs makes a 9x13 chocolate cake and no one eats it but me and him. :) So my mini-goal for this week is to quit the snacking. In all other nutritional areas, I've been doing good. I've been eating some killer chicken salads for lunch, and drinking a good amount of water.  So farewell snacking.

I refuse to be discouraged. I can be healthy. I will be healthy. I am still making progress, despite what numbers on the scale say. This week will be a good week. (Like my positive self-talk. I don't know if I competely believe it yet, but I will eventually.)

Day 15: And some

I was being really good and getting my work-out in during naptime. However, I was called mid work-out and had to go up to the school for my favorite kindergartener. Which meant I had to get someone to come over and sit with my 2 sleeping girls so I could drive the .75 mile to the school. It was a big hassle but it got done. When I got back, however, the baby was up and my work-out was put on permanent hold. So although I didn't finish it, I'm considering today's work-out done.

So yesterday. No excuses, just an explanation. The hubs was gone from 6 am-9 pm. On days like that I prepare to do nothing (low expectations lead to less stress). I ended up having a very busy afternoon nonetheless. By the evening, when all kids were asleep and I could've potentially done my work-out, I had been in such a do-nothing-mentality that it was really hard to get myself to do it. So yesterday was an official un-necessary day off. Life strikes again. Tomorrow's Saturday. Any bets as to whether or not I'll be able to get my work-out in? :)

Day 14

Yay for getting my work-out done today. My regular nap-time slot was filled with getting in a late lunch. So that meant my beating had to wait til after the kiddos were in bed. That was also filled with time with the hubs since he hit the hay early, having a cold. So I did it all by myself in the late hours (for me) right before going to bed. I did well, remembering to pace myself. I also tried to remember that I'm usually doing alright by the end of the work-out, so I could push myself a little harder on some of the earlier exercises, knowing I'd be able to still finish on top. It seemed to work. Although I still can't do a traditional push-up. Perhaps in a month or two. :)

Day 13

I'm back! I wasn't honestly sure I would be. I can admit that at the beginning of today's work-out, I would have rather been doing just about anything. But by the end I was so glad I did it. I took my time, kept my own pace and did really well. It felt really good. My current desire is to finish this week and next week doing Level 1 and try out Level 2 the following Monday. It might end up being a bit tough, but I think the new exercises will be enough to break the monotony, even if I have to go right back to Level 1 the next day. It'll give me a taste of what is coming, something to set my sights on.

I'm also feeling very renewed after a weekend with friends and family. There is so much support and love there. I have some amazing readers who gave, and constantly give me encouraging comments and support. So that was a nice boost. Especially since I haven't been making the progress I'd like to be. But my nutritional goals are back in practice and I'm determined to have a good week mentally, emotionally and physically. I'm hoping it leads to some weight loss too, but even if it doesn't, I'll feel good about doing what I set out to do.