First things first, today's weigh in: 157.0! That is a 2.4 pound loss for the week, a week that inlcuded Thanksgiving!! My total loss is now 79.8 pounds, and I am 20.2 pounds from my goal. Yay me!
I mentioned yesterday that with the changes to the Weight Watchers plan the amount of WWPP allowed each day/week has increased from the old Points Plan. I don't want to give the values of all foods, but I would like to spotlight a few things.
My favorite breakfast, an english muffin with peanut butter was formerly 4 Points; it is now 7 WWPP. With a banana added, it was 6 Points, now it is 7 WWP. I love that comparison!
Raw almonds, my afternoon snack of choice, was 2 Points and it's also 2 WWPP.
My beloved Chobani yogurt was 3 Points and it is 3 WWPP.
A grande skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks was 3 Points and it's also 3 WWPP.
A grande nonfat chai tea latte from Starbucks was 4 Points and it's now 6 WWPP (the sugar [carbs] increase the WWPP).
Cottage cheese, 1/2 cup = 2 Points and 3 WWPP.
So that gives you an idea of the changes. It's clear that eating the healther stuff is better. Now, given that I'm a human Points calculator I will still be figuring Points and monitoring exactly how many WWPP I'm eating versus how much it'd be worth using Points. I want to know if the new plan is helping me or hindering me. I'm really excited to find out!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Weight Watchers: A New Beginning
I am really, really excited about the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus Plan, (hereinafter referred to as WWPP). Anyway, I love what I have read so far about this plan! I was so excited to get up and read all about it this morning! I would like to share it all with you, however, I truly feel that it's not okay to give away the Weight Watchers program for free. For this reason, I'm only going to share the highlights as they pertain to me.
Basically, the scoop is this: Points used to be calculated using the calories, fat and fiber of all foods; WWPP are calculated using the carbohydrates, protein, fat and fiber--no calories. The only obstacle with this is that I have been calculating Points using the cal/fat/fiber method for so long, I can do it in my head, but with WWPP I'll have to relearn the values for everything. I'm up for the challenge and luckily the updated iPhone application was available tonight which gives me all I need for on the go calculations.
Another big change is to the number of daily WWPP and weekly points which have both increased. At first glance that sounds awesome, except that the WWPP value of most foods is higher than the old Points value. So I believe it will even out.
The biggest change, and the most exciting one, is the one I predicted: fresh fruits are now worth zero WWPP!! This is awesome. I love eating fruit and will happily reach for fruit over other snacks if they are free. Bananas were always 2 Points because of their sugar content and now they are free! Splendid! That seems almost too good to be true, however, I think the extra fruit consumption will also be accounted for in the increased "cost" of most of the other foods.
Overall, it's a bit daunting to think about learning a whole new plan, but in a way it feels like a fresh start to me. I'm fine with kissing the old Points plan good bye. It's changed a bit through the years, but the program always worked well and I became a Lifetime Member of WW by counting Points. I have lost nearly 80 pounds this year by counting Points, but now I embrace the WWPP plan as something different and exciting, a new beginning. I think it makes perfect sense to leave the calories out of the equation and use more of the nutrients in the food to calculate their value. It all will help promote the benefits of eating more whole, fresh foods as opposed to processed garbage like 100 calorie packs. It's a great change for Weight Watchers because unfortunately some people do get stuck in 100-calorieville and never see the big picture of eating healthy, balanced foods/meals. For example, now someone can eat a 100 calorie pack of Chex Mix for 3 WWPP, or a banana and an apple for zero WWPP!
I do have one concern and that is that some folks are bound to go overboard with fruit. I sincerely do not think a lot of fruit is bad for you in moderation; WW does recommend to stop eating when you're satisfied, but sadly some people cannot recognize that sensation in their bodies. I wonder how people will adapt to this part of the plan. I remember when the Points plan first came around, the Points value could be calculated on foods using fiber up to 11 grams which significantly lowers the Points value of foods high in fiber--I heard people at meetings talking about eating Fiber One by the boxful. The problem was people weren't losing enough weight and WW made a change and limited the fiber to 4 grams. I wonder if in a year or so they'll decide all fruits must be counted in some way. Only time will tell. Don't ruin it for us, people! Just kidding!
Anyway, as I said I am excited for the WWPP and overall I think the changes are awesome. This old dog is ready to learn some new tricks! I thought it would be a great time to change my weigh in day to Monday and start a new week in conjunction with the new program. Unfortunately, they aren't allowing changes to your weigh in day for a couple weeks. Oh well, tomorrow will be here soon enough, and Tuesday has always been my weigh in day; I became a Lifetime Member on a Tuesday. So let's hear it for Tuesdays! And Weight Watchers!
And fruit!
Weight Watchers PointPlus Plan and Points are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International Inc.
Basically, the scoop is this: Points used to be calculated using the calories, fat and fiber of all foods; WWPP are calculated using the carbohydrates, protein, fat and fiber--no calories. The only obstacle with this is that I have been calculating Points using the cal/fat/fiber method for so long, I can do it in my head, but with WWPP I'll have to relearn the values for everything. I'm up for the challenge and luckily the updated iPhone application was available tonight which gives me all I need for on the go calculations.
Another big change is to the number of daily WWPP and weekly points which have both increased. At first glance that sounds awesome, except that the WWPP value of most foods is higher than the old Points value. So I believe it will even out.
The biggest change, and the most exciting one, is the one I predicted: fresh fruits are now worth zero WWPP!! This is awesome. I love eating fruit and will happily reach for fruit over other snacks if they are free. Bananas were always 2 Points because of their sugar content and now they are free! Splendid! That seems almost too good to be true, however, I think the extra fruit consumption will also be accounted for in the increased "cost" of most of the other foods.
Overall, it's a bit daunting to think about learning a whole new plan, but in a way it feels like a fresh start to me. I'm fine with kissing the old Points plan good bye. It's changed a bit through the years, but the program always worked well and I became a Lifetime Member of WW by counting Points. I have lost nearly 80 pounds this year by counting Points, but now I embrace the WWPP plan as something different and exciting, a new beginning. I think it makes perfect sense to leave the calories out of the equation and use more of the nutrients in the food to calculate their value. It all will help promote the benefits of eating more whole, fresh foods as opposed to processed garbage like 100 calorie packs. It's a great change for Weight Watchers because unfortunately some people do get stuck in 100-calorieville and never see the big picture of eating healthy, balanced foods/meals. For example, now someone can eat a 100 calorie pack of Chex Mix for 3 WWPP, or a banana and an apple for zero WWPP!
I do have one concern and that is that some folks are bound to go overboard with fruit. I sincerely do not think a lot of fruit is bad for you in moderation; WW does recommend to stop eating when you're satisfied, but sadly some people cannot recognize that sensation in their bodies. I wonder how people will adapt to this part of the plan. I remember when the Points plan first came around, the Points value could be calculated on foods using fiber up to 11 grams which significantly lowers the Points value of foods high in fiber--I heard people at meetings talking about eating Fiber One by the boxful. The problem was people weren't losing enough weight and WW made a change and limited the fiber to 4 grams. I wonder if in a year or so they'll decide all fruits must be counted in some way. Only time will tell. Don't ruin it for us, people! Just kidding!
Anyway, as I said I am excited for the WWPP and overall I think the changes are awesome. This old dog is ready to learn some new tricks! I thought it would be a great time to change my weigh in day to Monday and start a new week in conjunction with the new program. Unfortunately, they aren't allowing changes to your weigh in day for a couple weeks. Oh well, tomorrow will be here soon enough, and Tuesday has always been my weigh in day; I became a Lifetime Member on a Tuesday. So let's hear it for Tuesdays! And Weight Watchers!
And fruit!
Weight Watchers PointPlus Plan and Points are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International Inc.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday Stuff
It seems unfair that tomorrow is already Monday. I am not ready to say good-bye to the weekend. I'm just not.
For those that asked, the movie yesterday "Love and Other Drugs" was only so-so. Had I not gone with my husband, I might have watched it in a different frame of mind, you know, drooling over Jake and such. And I was wondering too much about whether he was hating it, or thinking it was too sappy, which kind of kept my mind halfway away from the movie itself. So, it was okay, not the worst movie, not the best. I'll see it again on DVD without my husband just to see it with a different perspective.
Yesterday I also watched the movie "Julie & Julia". I hadn't heard much good about the movie so I waited until it was on Starz to watch it. I shouldn't have waited; I really liked it! I loved the concept of her blog and undertaking the year long project. Of course it was totally awesome that it all led to a book deal and whatnot, but mainly it got me to thinking about whether I could plan a year long project for 2011 and blog about it. That's kind of what I've been doing with this blog in 2010, but I'm thinking of something unrelated to a running or weight loss goal. Something fun and different. I don't know what it would be, but I'm considering my options.
I got some major organizing done this weekend. I cleaned and straightened out all my kitchen drawers and organized two cupboards. I am an organizing junkie and I don't like when things are just thrown into cupboards and drawers all willy-nilly. I also don't like having things around that I don't use. So I sorted all the plastic containers and lids to make sure there was one lid per container, and I got rid of some utensils and other things that I never use. Purging feels great to me!
I also went through all my scrapbooking paper and most of the embellishments. I now have a stack of paper nearly a foot tall that I plan to give to a crafty mom or some other scrapbooker who will use it. Papers I bought when I first started scrapbooking no longer fit my tastes so there's no point in keeping it all around. I also sorted through some pictures and organized my scrap room/office. It's all leading up to rediscovering the joy of scrapbooking. I just have to know where to begin and that starts with knowing what supplies I have. I am planning a project which involves transferring many, many photos from an old album of my dad's into a new scrapbook. This needs to be done by Christmas when my grandma will be in town so she can help me with labels. I will start this week!
Changing my exercise routine in November/December is not going to happen. There's too many things going on to make big changes like that, I've decided. And beating myself up for not making planned changes leads to no good. For that reason, I am committed to running 4 times a week through December and not worrying about adding in strength training or anything else. I'll run when I can, but I'm not planning to get up and do it before work. I think spring would be an awesome time to switch to morning workouts, but fall/winter is not appealing. And that is okay.
I put off my weekend run until 5:00 pm tonight! And I can tell you that wasn't really smart, but at least I got it done. I have rested my knee since Thursday's Turkey Trot and it felt pretty good today. I ran slow, but I got 4 miles done. So far so good on my new shoes. My eating has been on track since Thursday. I did eat a bunch of popcorn yesterday, but I didn't eat a lot of other things due to my headache. Today I stayed within my points range and ran for 6 extra points! So I'm feeling like I'll see a loss on the scale this week and I can't wait.
Finally, one final point for this Sunday. I'm super excited about the new Weight Watchers plan to be unveiled tomorrow! I really hope I can read about it while enjoying my morning coffee. Every change that has come about from WW over the years has been wonderful and I've no doubt these changes will be good. The teaser email mentioned changing the way we think about fruits and veggies. Do you think that means fruit will count less, or veggies will count more? I can't imagine that it would be the latter. And not counting fruit would be a huge deal since I'm already a little loose with the counting of fruit anyway. After all, as I heard a WW leader say one time, "The fruit isn't the problem, it's the fruit pie." I count the points on fruit, but I usually don't measure it, I just guesstimate, and I've never counted an apple for more than one point regardless of its size. Anyway, I'm anxious to see the changes and will be really interested in reading what other bloggers think about it as the week goes by.
Enough rambling for this Sunday. I'm ready for bed. Good night!
For those that asked, the movie yesterday "Love and Other Drugs" was only so-so. Had I not gone with my husband, I might have watched it in a different frame of mind, you know, drooling over Jake and such. And I was wondering too much about whether he was hating it, or thinking it was too sappy, which kind of kept my mind halfway away from the movie itself. So, it was okay, not the worst movie, not the best. I'll see it again on DVD without my husband just to see it with a different perspective.
Yesterday I also watched the movie "Julie & Julia". I hadn't heard much good about the movie so I waited until it was on Starz to watch it. I shouldn't have waited; I really liked it! I loved the concept of her blog and undertaking the year long project. Of course it was totally awesome that it all led to a book deal and whatnot, but mainly it got me to thinking about whether I could plan a year long project for 2011 and blog about it. That's kind of what I've been doing with this blog in 2010, but I'm thinking of something unrelated to a running or weight loss goal. Something fun and different. I don't know what it would be, but I'm considering my options.
I got some major organizing done this weekend. I cleaned and straightened out all my kitchen drawers and organized two cupboards. I am an organizing junkie and I don't like when things are just thrown into cupboards and drawers all willy-nilly. I also don't like having things around that I don't use. So I sorted all the plastic containers and lids to make sure there was one lid per container, and I got rid of some utensils and other things that I never use. Purging feels great to me!
I also went through all my scrapbooking paper and most of the embellishments. I now have a stack of paper nearly a foot tall that I plan to give to a crafty mom or some other scrapbooker who will use it. Papers I bought when I first started scrapbooking no longer fit my tastes so there's no point in keeping it all around. I also sorted through some pictures and organized my scrap room/office. It's all leading up to rediscovering the joy of scrapbooking. I just have to know where to begin and that starts with knowing what supplies I have. I am planning a project which involves transferring many, many photos from an old album of my dad's into a new scrapbook. This needs to be done by Christmas when my grandma will be in town so she can help me with labels. I will start this week!
Changing my exercise routine in November/December is not going to happen. There's too many things going on to make big changes like that, I've decided. And beating myself up for not making planned changes leads to no good. For that reason, I am committed to running 4 times a week through December and not worrying about adding in strength training or anything else. I'll run when I can, but I'm not planning to get up and do it before work. I think spring would be an awesome time to switch to morning workouts, but fall/winter is not appealing. And that is okay.
I put off my weekend run until 5:00 pm tonight! And I can tell you that wasn't really smart, but at least I got it done. I have rested my knee since Thursday's Turkey Trot and it felt pretty good today. I ran slow, but I got 4 miles done. So far so good on my new shoes. My eating has been on track since Thursday. I did eat a bunch of popcorn yesterday, but I didn't eat a lot of other things due to my headache. Today I stayed within my points range and ran for 6 extra points! So I'm feeling like I'll see a loss on the scale this week and I can't wait.
Finally, one final point for this Sunday. I'm super excited about the new Weight Watchers plan to be unveiled tomorrow! I really hope I can read about it while enjoying my morning coffee. Every change that has come about from WW over the years has been wonderful and I've no doubt these changes will be good. The teaser email mentioned changing the way we think about fruits and veggies. Do you think that means fruit will count less, or veggies will count more? I can't imagine that it would be the latter. And not counting fruit would be a huge deal since I'm already a little loose with the counting of fruit anyway. After all, as I heard a WW leader say one time, "The fruit isn't the problem, it's the fruit pie." I count the points on fruit, but I usually don't measure it, I just guesstimate, and I've never counted an apple for more than one point regardless of its size. Anyway, I'm anxious to see the changes and will be really interested in reading what other bloggers think about it as the week goes by.
Enough rambling for this Sunday. I'm ready for bed. Good night!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Lazy Saturday
It is snowing, snowing, snowing here in the Pacific Northwest! I don't know how many inches we have, but it's a lot. Perhaps I should turn on the news and find out, it looks like almost 2 feet of accumulation to me. I can't believe a week ago I was running outside, seems surreal, kinda.
We are going to venture out into the snow a bit later today. I'm dragging my husband to see "Love and other Drugs" and then we need a few essentials from the grocery store. I'll need to have extra hands to carry since we won't be pushing any carts out to the car today. My son is at his grandparents so we'll take advantage of being "kid free" for a few hours, otherwise I wouldn't want to go anywhere near the white stuff. I am so not a winter person. I'll admit, it's beautiful outside right now, so fluffy and white, but it really makes driving the pits, especially with my long commute. Oh well, no work until Monday so I'll worry about it then.
Our Thanksgiving was great. We spent the day with family since our travel plans were cancelled and it was very relaxing. I successfully said no to the cheesecake and yes to the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cooked carrots, broccoli, green bean casserole, a roll with butter, olives, and pasta. I will say I had decent sized portions (mainly because the size of the plate was limiting), but I also had seconds of a few items. And I'm okay with all of it. Like many have said the past few days, it's just a meal and I'm right back on track.
Somehow I forgot to weigh on Thanksgiving, and for the sake of self preservation, I didn't weigh the day after or even today. I can tell the sodium consumption is effecting me just by how my rings are fitting; I don't need the blatant reminder from the scale.
Today I have a four mile run planned. However, I am tired and somewhat groggy. I have been battling sinus issues for a couple days complete with an icky headache. I can't seem to get my butt off the couch and down to the treadmill. It will be okay if I put it off until tomorrow, but I'll give it a bit longer before I decide--that's the beauty of weekends. I can really capitalize on my laziness!
We are going to venture out into the snow a bit later today. I'm dragging my husband to see "Love and other Drugs" and then we need a few essentials from the grocery store. I'll need to have extra hands to carry since we won't be pushing any carts out to the car today. My son is at his grandparents so we'll take advantage of being "kid free" for a few hours, otherwise I wouldn't want to go anywhere near the white stuff. I am so not a winter person. I'll admit, it's beautiful outside right now, so fluffy and white, but it really makes driving the pits, especially with my long commute. Oh well, no work until Monday so I'll worry about it then.
Our Thanksgiving was great. We spent the day with family since our travel plans were cancelled and it was very relaxing. I successfully said no to the cheesecake and yes to the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cooked carrots, broccoli, green bean casserole, a roll with butter, olives, and pasta. I will say I had decent sized portions (mainly because the size of the plate was limiting), but I also had seconds of a few items. And I'm okay with all of it. Like many have said the past few days, it's just a meal and I'm right back on track.
Somehow I forgot to weigh on Thanksgiving, and for the sake of self preservation, I didn't weigh the day after or even today. I can tell the sodium consumption is effecting me just by how my rings are fitting; I don't need the blatant reminder from the scale.
Today I have a four mile run planned. However, I am tired and somewhat groggy. I have been battling sinus issues for a couple days complete with an icky headache. I can't seem to get my butt off the couch and down to the treadmill. It will be okay if I put it off until tomorrow, but I'll give it a bit longer before I decide--that's the beauty of weekends. I can really capitalize on my laziness!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
My Turkey Trot was fabulous!! I ran my fastest 5K (on the treadmill) this morning at 31:13! Woot woot! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Here I am before the run.
And here I am after! Blurry!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
'Twas the night before Thanksgiving, and all through the house, the smell of pumpkin cheesecake was drifting about! (I know that doesn't exactly rhyme.)
Oh. My. Goodness. I want to eat it! Remember what I said before, about how I dream of not politely declining the dessert, but eating it and enjoying it and not feeling guilty? Sadly, it's not going to be tomorrow. And I made the dessert! I love, love, love pumpkin cheesecake, more even than regular cheesecake--at least in October, November and December--and I have one cooling on the counter right now. I took some pictures earlier so I could share the wonder that is pumpkin cheesecake. Sorry, they turned out a little dark.
So while I will not be indulging in the deliciousness of my cheesecake, I will be eating stuffing and mashed potatoes and this pasta dish I have decided to add to our Thanksgiving tradition, just for my son! So, I'm choosing what to indulge in and what to forgo. As a consolation, I plan to mix pumpkin and yummy spices into my morning oatmeal!
Our Thanksgiving travel plans were cancelled, so sad. We have a tradition of spending Thanksgiving with some good friends, but this year the weather is keeping us home. Stink! At least we have family here to spend the day with and I still don't have to cook, well except for the cheesecake and pasta dish. I know it will be a great day, but I will still miss our friends.
I will be running my Turkey Trot tomorrow morning and I can't wait. Today's run was really, really great! I ran 4 miles and my knee felt great! There was residual pain, but I did not feel like I was continuing to put stress on it with each step as I had before. That is awesome! And my knee has continued to feel great all day, no ice even! And I stood on my feet for two hours in the kitchen without issue! So I might even try for a fast 5K tomorrow, we'll see. I'll be back tomorrow to share my results.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am very thankful this year, for so many things that I can't begin to list them! But I must mention this blog as being very high on that list. I love having this outlet for myself and knowing there are some of you reading really makes me feel proud. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Oh. My. Goodness. I want to eat it! Remember what I said before, about how I dream of not politely declining the dessert, but eating it and enjoying it and not feeling guilty? Sadly, it's not going to be tomorrow. And I made the dessert! I love, love, love pumpkin cheesecake, more even than regular cheesecake--at least in October, November and December--and I have one cooling on the counter right now. I took some pictures earlier so I could share the wonder that is pumpkin cheesecake. Sorry, they turned out a little dark.
Here is the yummy graham cracker and chopped pecan crust!
Three 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla--yum!
Added the eggs, so creamy.
Add the pumpkin and more sugar after...
You reserve some of the plain batter so you can make a swirl.
Mix, mix, mix.
The finished product. See the swirl? That's the reason for the reserved batter. It's so pretty and easy, but looks extravagant!
(Clearly I am not a food blogger.)
Our Thanksgiving travel plans were cancelled, so sad. We have a tradition of spending Thanksgiving with some good friends, but this year the weather is keeping us home. Stink! At least we have family here to spend the day with and I still don't have to cook, well except for the cheesecake and pasta dish. I know it will be a great day, but I will still miss our friends.
I will be running my Turkey Trot tomorrow morning and I can't wait. Today's run was really, really great! I ran 4 miles and my knee felt great! There was residual pain, but I did not feel like I was continuing to put stress on it with each step as I had before. That is awesome! And my knee has continued to feel great all day, no ice even! And I stood on my feet for two hours in the kitchen without issue! So I might even try for a fast 5K tomorrow, we'll see. I'll be back tomorrow to share my results.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am very thankful this year, for so many things that I can't begin to list them! But I must mention this blog as being very high on that list. I love having this outlet for myself and knowing there are some of you reading really makes me feel proud. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
The Running Shoe Diaries: More New Shoes
Monday I had a pretty terrific run. Since I was working at home, I ran on my lunch "hour" which was a great time of day. I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn and exercise before my morning coffee, and I didn't have to drive home in the dark, make dinner, and then reach for my exercise clothes instead of pajamas. I'd say lunchtime would be the ideal workout time if I could make it happen regularly. Sadly, it can't, but I'll take advantage when I can.
I ran 4 miles on Monday. I have decided to continue running 4 days a week for now, but instead of three 5K runs and one 5-6 mile run, I'm going to run 4 miles on each run. 4 miles is a great distance. It's longer than a 5K which makes me feel a little more accomplished, and it's shorter than 5-6 miles which means less time I'll have to spend on the treadmill at one time. This plan actually ups my mileage to 16 miles per week. But learning from experience, I am not making any long term plans, I'm just going to take one week at a time.
Yesterday I bought new running shoes. I know what you're thinking, I'm thinking it too. And I don't have a response except to say that today I went to the running shoe store. I talked to them at length. I let them watch me stand like a flamingo on one foot, I let them watch me run down the hall. I pretty much hated it. BUT I decided that I am not looking for purple shoes; I am not looking for Nikes; I am not even looking for cute. What I am looking for is something that will help me run without pain. And they recommended (just like the doctor) stability shoes and I ended up buying a perfectly hideous pair of Adidas Supernovas Sequence 3*. They are white, silver and blue. I showed them to my son and he said, "But you don't wear blue shoes." Right. Except I am now willing to wear any color or style of shoes if they correct the pains. The shin/knee pain I went to the doctor for is better. But the other knee pain (that was faint before) has gotten worse and worse, and as a bonus my other shin has started hurting. I tried to ignore it, but today I could barely walk normally and stairs were incredibly painful. WTF?! Sorry, I'm just frustrated.
So anyway, I bought these hideous shoes with money I don't have, all the while feeling dismayed, defeated and depressed. I tried them out on a 2 mile run/walk last night, but there was so much pain in my knee that it was hard to tell how they felt. Today I have 4 miles planned so I have iced last night, and I won't walk much on it today, and will ice again shortly. I'm working from home again so I'll be able to run at lunch. I will take it slow and easy and stop if I need to. I am crossing my fingers for improvement. It already feels better this morning than it did yesterday.
I have these shoes for up to 14 days in order to try them out. If they don't help, my next pair will be Brooks, and after that it will be Asics. I'm in for the long haul. I am not ready to try custom orthotics since the doctor said he thought I'd get the most benefit from stability shoes. At that point, I just didn't want to have to buy a new pair of shoes! Argh! I guess I'll be listing some "practically new" shoes on eBay soon so I can afford to pay for these new ones!
*Just my personal opinion, of course.
I ran 4 miles on Monday. I have decided to continue running 4 days a week for now, but instead of three 5K runs and one 5-6 mile run, I'm going to run 4 miles on each run. 4 miles is a great distance. It's longer than a 5K which makes me feel a little more accomplished, and it's shorter than 5-6 miles which means less time I'll have to spend on the treadmill at one time. This plan actually ups my mileage to 16 miles per week. But learning from experience, I am not making any long term plans, I'm just going to take one week at a time.
Yesterday I bought new running shoes. I know what you're thinking, I'm thinking it too. And I don't have a response except to say that today I went to the running shoe store. I talked to them at length. I let them watch me stand like a flamingo on one foot, I let them watch me run down the hall. I pretty much hated it. BUT I decided that I am not looking for purple shoes; I am not looking for Nikes; I am not even looking for cute. What I am looking for is something that will help me run without pain. And they recommended (just like the doctor) stability shoes and I ended up buying a perfectly hideous pair of Adidas Supernovas Sequence 3*. They are white, silver and blue. I showed them to my son and he said, "But you don't wear blue shoes." Right. Except I am now willing to wear any color or style of shoes if they correct the pains. The shin/knee pain I went to the doctor for is better. But the other knee pain (that was faint before) has gotten worse and worse, and as a bonus my other shin has started hurting. I tried to ignore it, but today I could barely walk normally and stairs were incredibly painful. WTF?! Sorry, I'm just frustrated.
So anyway, I bought these hideous shoes with money I don't have, all the while feeling dismayed, defeated and depressed. I tried them out on a 2 mile run/walk last night, but there was so much pain in my knee that it was hard to tell how they felt. Today I have 4 miles planned so I have iced last night, and I won't walk much on it today, and will ice again shortly. I'm working from home again so I'll be able to run at lunch. I will take it slow and easy and stop if I need to. I am crossing my fingers for improvement. It already feels better this morning than it did yesterday.
I have these shoes for up to 14 days in order to try them out. If they don't help, my next pair will be Brooks, and after that it will be Asics. I'm in for the long haul. I am not ready to try custom orthotics since the doctor said he thought I'd get the most benefit from stability shoes. At that point, I just didn't want to have to buy a new pair of shoes! Argh! I guess I'll be listing some "practically new" shoes on eBay soon so I can afford to pay for these new ones!
*Just my personal opinion, of course.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The One and Only Drawback of Being Thinner
I'm freezing!
We are experiencing cold weather right now. Our fall has been unusually cold on the whole, but this week includes snow and now frigid temperatures. Right now it's 0 degrees with a low of -15 expected overnight! Tomorrow will be bitterly cold too!
And I am freezing! My feet are cold, my arms are cold, everything is cold. I have lost my insulation and that is awesome, but I'm also freezing all the time. Prior to these low temps I was cold, but now I'm just freezing! I wear long sleeves and flannel to bed, and I actually wrap up in a blanket before getting under the covers. It's crazy! Brrrr!!
Of course, I'll take freezing over obesity anyday. :-)
We are experiencing cold weather right now. Our fall has been unusually cold on the whole, but this week includes snow and now frigid temperatures. Right now it's 0 degrees with a low of -15 expected overnight! Tomorrow will be bitterly cold too!
And I am freezing! My feet are cold, my arms are cold, everything is cold. I have lost my insulation and that is awesome, but I'm also freezing all the time. Prior to these low temps I was cold, but now I'm just freezing! I wear long sleeves and flannel to bed, and I actually wrap up in a blanket before getting under the covers. It's crazy! Brrrr!!
Of course, I'll take freezing over obesity anyday. :-)
Monday, November 22, 2010
I Can't Let the Darkness Derail Me!
So the time change...yeah, not a fan. I am lucky in that I do not have to be to work at the crack of dawn so when I drive to work it is light out. But when I leave work it is not. I drive 30-40 minutes home in the darkness and when I get there it feels like bedtime. It's not, of course. There is dinner to make, dishes to wash, family to spend time with, a workout, shower, TV/computer time, and then bedtime. Unfortunately, it has become very difficult to force myself to get in my runs. And those Jillian DVDs I'd planned? Nonexistent. Argh!!
Winters are hard for me, always have been. I am so much more unmotivated and prone to napping. You could say I usually hibernate in the winter. But that's the old me. The new me has workouts on the schedule, dammit!
I thought changing my workouts to the morning would help. Get up, get it done. But apparently I can't make the change from sleeping until 7:00 or 8:00 to getting up at 5:00 and immediately donning my workout clothes let alone actually working out at that hour. Perhaps I should start slower, like actually getting up at the same time everyday and getting out the door to work. That would be a major accomplishment in itself. Or maybe 6:00 would be a better time to aim for. I don't know what's going to work, but clearly what I have tried isn't so far.
This is a struggle for me. I spend so much time beating myself up over not getting up and getting it done when I had planned to that my day usually starts out for sh!t. I tell myself I'll never regret getting up and doing it, yet that statement holds no water in the wee hours of the morning darkness.
I will find my groove, I hope. One day at a time. Today I am working at home which gives me ample opportunity to get in a run. This week requires extra exercise, doesn't it? I don't *plan* to go overboard on Thanksgiving, but I do plan to enjoy myself without tracking. Unfortunately I also enjoyed myself without tracking over the weekend. Not that I went overboard too much; the worst thing I had was full butter microwave popcorn. Sometimes we just need a weekend off. But it's right back on the bandwagon today. Counting and running. This is my life.
Winters are hard for me, always have been. I am so much more unmotivated and prone to napping. You could say I usually hibernate in the winter. But that's the old me. The new me has workouts on the schedule, dammit!
I thought changing my workouts to the morning would help. Get up, get it done. But apparently I can't make the change from sleeping until 7:00 or 8:00 to getting up at 5:00 and immediately donning my workout clothes let alone actually working out at that hour. Perhaps I should start slower, like actually getting up at the same time everyday and getting out the door to work. That would be a major accomplishment in itself. Or maybe 6:00 would be a better time to aim for. I don't know what's going to work, but clearly what I have tried isn't so far.
This is a struggle for me. I spend so much time beating myself up over not getting up and getting it done when I had planned to that my day usually starts out for sh!t. I tell myself I'll never regret getting up and doing it, yet that statement holds no water in the wee hours of the morning darkness.
I will find my groove, I hope. One day at a time. Today I am working at home which gives me ample opportunity to get in a run. This week requires extra exercise, doesn't it? I don't *plan* to go overboard on Thanksgiving, but I do plan to enjoy myself without tracking. Unfortunately I also enjoyed myself without tracking over the weekend. Not that I went overboard too much; the worst thing I had was full butter microwave popcorn. Sometimes we just need a weekend off. But it's right back on the bandwagon today. Counting and running. This is my life.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Turkey Trot Plans
I was looking for a Turkey Trot event in my area, but there aren't any so I am glad to have found that A Journey to Thin is hosting one online. I'm joining this event and you can too. Make sure you check it out!
Jessica's Gifts Giveaway
Stephanie Anne over at Running to Health is hosting a giveaway for a necklace from Jessica's Gifts. Hop on over to her blog for all the details on how to win this adorable necklace.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Jingle Bell Run AND Walk
Yesterday I headed down with my family to pick up my race packet for the Jingle Bell Run/Walk. I had already decided I wasn't going to do the actual event, but I wanted my shirt! But as we were driving downtown, I started feeling guilty for not completing it just because it was going to be cold. I asked my son if he wanted to complete a 5K with me. "You get a shirt" I said. "How long is a 5K?" he wanted to know. I said it was longer than the 2 mile walk we completed in June, but not much longer. "Okay." He was in! We picked up my bib and shirt and got my son registered (with a late fee). Unfortunately, they didn't have anymore shirts, but they gave us a ticket to pick one up at the race or have one ordered, depending on supplies. That was a bit of a bummer, but what are you gonna do? Luckily he didn't change his mind about the event and back out on me!
I'm proud to say my son and I completed the 5K in 52:23. We stayed fairly warm except our legs were a little frozen, the temperature was hovering around 30 degrees. We basically walked the whole way, but it's okay (his running training begins soon--ha ha!) I was very glad and excited to have my son with me. It was a fun event, lots of costumes and bells. Everyone was given bells for their shoes and lots of people were adorned with much larger, louder bells. Here we are before we left the house.
My son did end up getting a shirt, however, instead of waiting to have one mailed he opted for the adult medium which is the same size as mine. It's a little big on him. I'm excited about the shirt, the long sleeve style is great and I love the artwork!! Here we are modeling after we came home.
Since the event became a Jingle Bell 5K Walk, I still had a run to complete when I got home. So I headed out (with another layer on my legs) and ran a 5K. Here I am after my Jingle Bell Run--note the Bondi Band for the occasion.
All in all, I'd say it was a fabulously successful day!
I'm proud to say my son and I completed the 5K in 52:23. We stayed fairly warm except our legs were a little frozen, the temperature was hovering around 30 degrees. We basically walked the whole way, but it's okay (his running training begins soon--ha ha!) I was very glad and excited to have my son with me. It was a fun event, lots of costumes and bells. Everyone was given bells for their shoes and lots of people were adorned with much larger, louder bells. Here we are before we left the house.
Since the event became a Jingle Bell 5K Walk, I still had a run to complete when I got home. So I headed out (with another layer on my legs) and ran a 5K. Here I am after my Jingle Bell Run--note the Bondi Band for the occasion.
All in all, I'd say it was a fabulously successful day!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Another Thursday Run
Unlike last Thursday's run, this Thursday's run sucked!
I decided to omit the music and watch a movie instead. My treadmill has a built in television which I never use. I thought focusing on something other than the red wall in front of me might take my mind off the run and make the time go faster.
It did not.
It might have been my choice of movie: Serendipity.
It might have been the time of my run: 8:00 PM
Regardless, it was a not a good run. I planned 5 miles but barely made it 4.
Some runs are just like that.
I decided to omit the music and watch a movie instead. My treadmill has a built in television which I never use. I thought focusing on something other than the red wall in front of me might take my mind off the run and make the time go faster.
It did not.
It might have been my choice of movie: Serendipity.
It might have been the time of my run: 8:00 PM
Regardless, it was a not a good run. I planned 5 miles but barely made it 4.
Some runs are just like that.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A Hodge-Podge of Thoughts Before Bed
I looked back at my weight log and noticed that I entered the 160s back on August 19! That means it took me almost three months to lose the last 10 pounds!! No wonder it seemed like the 150s were elusive. I know, I know, a loss is a loss and at least I'm sticking with it. But aren't we all itching to get there fast?
I have about 23 pounds left to lose until I reach my goal and if it takes me a half a year to do it....well, I'm not sure how I could stick to it. I want to get to the next phase; don't we all? So I'm taking a look at my eating, my points allowance, my exercise plan, and my soul in order to figure out how I can get this these pounds moving a bit faster. What am I willing to change?
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Tonight we went to Disney on Ice. I actually thought we were done with those shows, that my son wasn't interested, but he asked if we could go so I obliged. I am sad to report that I think it was probably our last year. It's so not the same when your child isn't mesmerized by the show. In past years, it was so fun to watch him get excited about the sights and sounds; this year he was more interested in playing with my iPhone than anything else.
I'm okay with my son growing up. I don't get teary over the inevitable transition from childhood into adolescence and young adulthood, etc. But occasionally I get a little melancholy over the years that have already past. They go so quickly, don't they? (Unless you're dieting, that makes things slow down a little. ha ha)
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I heard today that Trader Joe's is coming to my little town in 2011!! This is so exciting to me. I have only been there once, but I picked up some of the best stuff--some healthy, some not so healthy (cough cough, mini peanut butter cups, cough). I can't wait to have access to their healthy options whenever I want. Now we just need to get a Whole Foods!
---------------------------
I have been reading a bit and listening to podcasts about building on your strengths. Have you ever heard of a speaker by the name of Marcus Buckingham? He is phenomenal and makes so much sense. He defines strengths as not just what you're good at, but as something that makes you feel strong. Sure, you're probably good at it too, but doing it also makes you feel energized and alive. I'm thinking about this with regard to my job and my responsibilities at home. There are many things I do that make me feel strong and there are some that make me feel weak, drained, and depleted. I am asking myself what changes I can make so that more of my time is spent playing to my strengths. I'm still in the listing stage, but I'm excited about the prospects.
-----------------------------
I am making a commitment to getting some scrapbooking done this weekend. I love scrapbooking, but I have not been very active with it for quite awhile. I made a page completion goal earlier in the year and I am far from achieving it. I need to get back to it because I know how enjoyable it is. I have so many supplies that I either need to use up or get rid of. I think I'd rather use them up although digital scrapbooking holds an allure that it never did before. Making my blog header felt like scrapbooking and it was so fun! So this weekend, I will scrap!
------------------------------
I will not be doing the 5K event this weekend. Well, I'll be doing a 5K on my treadmill, but not outside at the official event. It is going to be too cold for me! But I'm still hoping for Friday's 5 mile run to be outside.
-------------------------------
I missed my run today, and I ate 3 ounces of corn chips. Hey, at least I measured them, right? I will make it up tomorrow. And with that I must get to bed.
Night night.
I have about 23 pounds left to lose until I reach my goal and if it takes me a half a year to do it....well, I'm not sure how I could stick to it. I want to get to the next phase; don't we all? So I'm taking a look at my eating, my points allowance, my exercise plan, and my soul in order to figure out how I can get this these pounds moving a bit faster. What am I willing to change?
---------------------------
Tonight we went to Disney on Ice. I actually thought we were done with those shows, that my son wasn't interested, but he asked if we could go so I obliged. I am sad to report that I think it was probably our last year. It's so not the same when your child isn't mesmerized by the show. In past years, it was so fun to watch him get excited about the sights and sounds; this year he was more interested in playing with my iPhone than anything else.
I'm okay with my son growing up. I don't get teary over the inevitable transition from childhood into adolescence and young adulthood, etc. But occasionally I get a little melancholy over the years that have already past. They go so quickly, don't they? (Unless you're dieting, that makes things slow down a little. ha ha)
---------------------------
I heard today that Trader Joe's is coming to my little town in 2011!! This is so exciting to me. I have only been there once, but I picked up some of the best stuff--some healthy, some not so healthy (cough cough, mini peanut butter cups, cough). I can't wait to have access to their healthy options whenever I want. Now we just need to get a Whole Foods!
---------------------------
I have been reading a bit and listening to podcasts about building on your strengths. Have you ever heard of a speaker by the name of Marcus Buckingham? He is phenomenal and makes so much sense. He defines strengths as not just what you're good at, but as something that makes you feel strong. Sure, you're probably good at it too, but doing it also makes you feel energized and alive. I'm thinking about this with regard to my job and my responsibilities at home. There are many things I do that make me feel strong and there are some that make me feel weak, drained, and depleted. I am asking myself what changes I can make so that more of my time is spent playing to my strengths. I'm still in the listing stage, but I'm excited about the prospects.
-----------------------------
I am making a commitment to getting some scrapbooking done this weekend. I love scrapbooking, but I have not been very active with it for quite awhile. I made a page completion goal earlier in the year and I am far from achieving it. I need to get back to it because I know how enjoyable it is. I have so many supplies that I either need to use up or get rid of. I think I'd rather use them up although digital scrapbooking holds an allure that it never did before. Making my blog header felt like scrapbooking and it was so fun! So this weekend, I will scrap!
------------------------------
I will not be doing the 5K event this weekend. Well, I'll be doing a 5K on my treadmill, but not outside at the official event. It is going to be too cold for me! But I'm still hoping for Friday's 5 mile run to be outside.
-------------------------------
I missed my run today, and I ate 3 ounces of corn chips. Hey, at least I measured them, right? I will make it up tomorrow. And with that I must get to bed.
Night night.
Thank You!
This is a great community! I'm still fairly new here and I already feel the love and support that goes around the blogging community. Bare with me as I still don't know what I'm doing most of the time. :) Thanks for coming by and leaving comments. I really appreciate it!
Thanks to Rae's suggestion for scrapblog.com, I have made a new blog header. Well, it's more like a blog page as it's fairly large, but I'm pretty proud of myself. Stop by and see it if you have time. :)
Again, thank you for all the comments and support. You're all great!
Thanks to Rae's suggestion for scrapblog.com, I have made a new blog header. Well, it's more like a blog page as it's fairly large, but I'm pretty proud of myself. Stop by and see it if you have time. :)
Again, thank you for all the comments and support. You're all great!
Yummy Food Finds
For every one new thing I've tried that I haven't liked, there are at least two or three things I've tried which are great! I'll share a few with you. Maybe you'll find something new you've not tried before. Enjoy!
Bananas in oatmeal
Unlike the FAIL combo of nut butter in oatmeal, I do love to add banana to oatmeal. I hesitated to try this combo because I didn't think I would like to have warm bananas. I'm picky with my bananas and feel like they have one day of perfect edibility. If they are past their prime, they seem like warm mooshy messes. That's what I thought it would be like in a bowl of hot oatmeal, but I was wrong, it's sooooo tasty! So far I only slice them and do not stir or mash them into the oatmeal, but I'm willing to give that a try sometime soon.
Bananas with peanut butter
I've heard about this combination many times and though it sounded good, I never tried it. Man was I wasting time. I like just a banana with peanut butter, or even better, an English muffin with peanut butter, topped with banana. Or a peanut butter and banana sandwich. It's all luscious goodness. Provided the bananas are at their prime edibility stage.
Whole wheat pasta
Pasta is my favorite thing in the whole wide world. I can eat pasta all by itself, with butter, with cheese (preferred), with sauce, with salt, with, with, with pretty much anything. I have tried whole wheat pasta a few times in the past and was less than impressed. Well, it's all about a frame of mind, I think. When you're eating anything and everything, whole wheat pasta is kind of blah. When you're eating healthy and counting points, whole wheat pasta is yahoo, more pasta for less points! So yeah, I am eating and liking whole wheat pasta now.
Greek yogurt
I posted about this before. I have tried a few brands and can most definitely recommend Chobani as my favorite! I have not tried Fage which I see mentioned a lot, but I've tried other "fake Greeks". Chobani is rich and creamy and I love that it's nonfat. There are a few low fat options, but my stores don't seem to carry those. I keep hoping Chobani picks me to review their yogurt--I could use a free case of it, ha ha. Anyway, I buy Chobani at Costco which gives you the most value for your dollar, otherwise it's not the most economical yogurt. But it's so chalked full of protein that I am a forever convert. (Although I still occasionally eat Yoplait or Dannon regular non-Greek yogurt.)
Raw Almonds
Yep, plain, not roasted, not salted, just raw almonds. I love these for an afternoon snack. I always measure them out (12= 2pts), never sneaking extra because I know they can pack on the calories right quick. I even like them chopped and added to oatmeal for extra crunch. Yum!
Sandwich Thins
I love bread. Bread is my drug! I could eat only bread for every meal. And this is why the sandwich thins are great. They are enough bread to make a sandwich (see bananas and peanut butter), while not adding too many calories to each meal. Beware, though, on WW they are only 1 point, but if you eat two, they are 3.5 points! I have only tried Oroweat (Arnold for some of you) but I know there are other brands. Oroweat has I think four varieties, whole wheat, multi-grain, honey wheat, and whole grain white. I love them all! They also work great for hamburgers or my preferred Gardenburgers.
Mini Baby Bel Cheese
These little wax encased jobbies are so tasty. I love string cheese and always have, but the Baby Bels are different enough to make it seem like you're eating fancy cheese. I love to slice them up and serve them with some Triscuit Thins. I'm also planning to try a grilled cheese made with a sandwich thin and a Baby Bel. But mostly I just eat them straight out of the fridge. Small bites, mmmmm.
Wheat Berries
I have only made these once, but they are very yummy. They take awhile to prepare, about an hour, but once they are made you can store them for a couple days, if you can keep your hands out of them. I think they are great to just grab a handful or sprinkle on salad, kind of like sunflower seeds. They are nutty and chewy and just overall tasty. I'm itching to use them in a salad recipe I saw over the weekend.
Are any of these things on your meal plan? What foods do you think are the yummiest?
Bananas in oatmeal
Unlike the FAIL combo of nut butter in oatmeal, I do love to add banana to oatmeal. I hesitated to try this combo because I didn't think I would like to have warm bananas. I'm picky with my bananas and feel like they have one day of perfect edibility. If they are past their prime, they seem like warm mooshy messes. That's what I thought it would be like in a bowl of hot oatmeal, but I was wrong, it's sooooo tasty! So far I only slice them and do not stir or mash them into the oatmeal, but I'm willing to give that a try sometime soon.
Bananas with peanut butter
I've heard about this combination many times and though it sounded good, I never tried it. Man was I wasting time. I like just a banana with peanut butter, or even better, an English muffin with peanut butter, topped with banana. Or a peanut butter and banana sandwich. It's all luscious goodness. Provided the bananas are at their prime edibility stage.
Whole wheat pasta
Pasta is my favorite thing in the whole wide world. I can eat pasta all by itself, with butter, with cheese (preferred), with sauce, with salt, with, with, with pretty much anything. I have tried whole wheat pasta a few times in the past and was less than impressed. Well, it's all about a frame of mind, I think. When you're eating anything and everything, whole wheat pasta is kind of blah. When you're eating healthy and counting points, whole wheat pasta is yahoo, more pasta for less points! So yeah, I am eating and liking whole wheat pasta now.
Greek yogurt
I posted about this before. I have tried a few brands and can most definitely recommend Chobani as my favorite! I have not tried Fage which I see mentioned a lot, but I've tried other "fake Greeks". Chobani is rich and creamy and I love that it's nonfat. There are a few low fat options, but my stores don't seem to carry those. I keep hoping Chobani picks me to review their yogurt--I could use a free case of it, ha ha. Anyway, I buy Chobani at Costco which gives you the most value for your dollar, otherwise it's not the most economical yogurt. But it's so chalked full of protein that I am a forever convert. (Although I still occasionally eat Yoplait or Dannon regular non-Greek yogurt.)
Raw Almonds
Yep, plain, not roasted, not salted, just raw almonds. I love these for an afternoon snack. I always measure them out (12= 2pts), never sneaking extra because I know they can pack on the calories right quick. I even like them chopped and added to oatmeal for extra crunch. Yum!
Sandwich Thins
I love bread. Bread is my drug! I could eat only bread for every meal. And this is why the sandwich thins are great. They are enough bread to make a sandwich (see bananas and peanut butter), while not adding too many calories to each meal. Beware, though, on WW they are only 1 point, but if you eat two, they are 3.5 points! I have only tried Oroweat (Arnold for some of you) but I know there are other brands. Oroweat has I think four varieties, whole wheat, multi-grain, honey wheat, and whole grain white. I love them all! They also work great for hamburgers or my preferred Gardenburgers.
Mini Baby Bel Cheese
These little wax encased jobbies are so tasty. I love string cheese and always have, but the Baby Bels are different enough to make it seem like you're eating fancy cheese. I love to slice them up and serve them with some Triscuit Thins. I'm also planning to try a grilled cheese made with a sandwich thin and a Baby Bel. But mostly I just eat them straight out of the fridge. Small bites, mmmmm.
Wheat Berries
I have only made these once, but they are very yummy. They take awhile to prepare, about an hour, but once they are made you can store them for a couple days, if you can keep your hands out of them. I think they are great to just grab a handful or sprinkle on salad, kind of like sunflower seeds. They are nutty and chewy and just overall tasty. I'm itching to use them in a salad recipe I saw over the weekend.
Are any of these things on your meal plan? What foods do you think are the yummiest?
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Need Blog Header
I've been fiddling with my blog look again tonight. I have made it much cleaner while still showcasing the purple that I love! What I need now is a blog header. How do I make one of these cute things? I don't want anything too complicated, just a pic or a two, and some fancy font. Any suggestions? Are there programs for this? Or maybe my best option is to pay someone to design it for me? Thanks in advance!
Surprising Food Disappointments
As I find more and more "healthy living" blogs, I find more and more foods I think sound yummy and want to try. Many of them turn out great, some turn out to be surprising disappointments. Today I thought I would share some of those disappointments.
Steel cut oats
First, let me say I love oatmeal. It is yummy, creamy, and comforting goodness. I like quick cooking oats, regular rolled oats, and those little packets of cinnamon flavorted Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal. In my prior life, I also consumed the regularpure sugar flavored packets of instant Quaker oatmeal, but I'm pretty sure those hold no nutritional value for me now or ever again. Anyway, given my oatmeal repertoire, I felt sure that steel cut oats would be my next love. I'm sad to say I was wrong. I have tried these things a number of ways and I just can't get them to a point of tasting good. First, the cooking process is long, which is fine and I was prepared for the time. However, I wasn't prepared for the mess of them boiling over if you cover the pan, or the disgusting dried ring of yuck around the edge of the pan that forms when you do not cover them. Ucky ucky ucky! In serving these I have tried adding healthful things like fruit, nuts, almond milk, milk, evaporated cane juice, bananas, and even nut butters (see next paragraph). I mean, steel cut oats are not the worst thing in the world, but they are not good enough to add to my pantry for good. I like to keep things simple, so I'll stick to my Quaker rolled oats for now.
Nut butter in oatmeal, steel cut or rolled or otherwise
I love nut butters! Peanut butter is my favorite, but I also like almond butter on occasion. I thought for sure adding either of these to my oatmeal would make for nut buttery goodness. Wrong! This combination seems not to be for me. I think it's because while I like PB or AB on toast or a toasted English muffin, I do not like either of them HOT and they get hot in a bowl of hot oatmeal. I still look at bloggers' pictures of a bowl of oatmeal topped with nut butter and think dang, that looks good, but for some reason looks aren't everything.
Butternut squash
I thought this was something I really liked. Loved, no, but liked, yes. I had it at a friend's house one time and it was so yummy. I realize now the yumminess was from the butter and brown sugar that was added. I have been wanting to try roasted butternut squash, butternut squash risotto, and all other kinds of things involving this squash. Sadly, when I roasted it, the smell was so much like squash I almost gagged and then the taste of it was pure SQUASH. Ew, icky. Bummer, I don't like squash.
Roasted chick peas
Another thing I read about on other blogs and was anxious to try was roasted chick peas. Now, mind you, I only tried these once but once was probably enough for this lifetime. I do love a good garbanzo bean, in minestrone, on salads, even plain, but the roasted variety just didn't cut the mustard. I was expecting something like a roasted nut, but what I got was a roasted bean. Blech!
So there you have it. Just a few things that I'll not be adding to my food plan. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on Yummy Food Finds.
What have you tried lately that you thought would be awesome but turned out to be icky?
Steel cut oats
First, let me say I love oatmeal. It is yummy, creamy, and comforting goodness. I like quick cooking oats, regular rolled oats, and those little packets of cinnamon flavorted Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal. In my prior life, I also consumed the regular
Nut butter in oatmeal, steel cut or rolled or otherwise
I love nut butters! Peanut butter is my favorite, but I also like almond butter on occasion. I thought for sure adding either of these to my oatmeal would make for nut buttery goodness. Wrong! This combination seems not to be for me. I think it's because while I like PB or AB on toast or a toasted English muffin, I do not like either of them HOT and they get hot in a bowl of hot oatmeal. I still look at bloggers' pictures of a bowl of oatmeal topped with nut butter and think dang, that looks good, but for some reason looks aren't everything.
Butternut squash
I thought this was something I really liked. Loved, no, but liked, yes. I had it at a friend's house one time and it was so yummy. I realize now the yumminess was from the butter and brown sugar that was added. I have been wanting to try roasted butternut squash, butternut squash risotto, and all other kinds of things involving this squash. Sadly, when I roasted it, the smell was so much like squash I almost gagged and then the taste of it was pure SQUASH. Ew, icky. Bummer, I don't like squash.
Roasted chick peas
Another thing I read about on other blogs and was anxious to try was roasted chick peas. Now, mind you, I only tried these once but once was probably enough for this lifetime. I do love a good garbanzo bean, in minestrone, on salads, even plain, but the roasted variety just didn't cut the mustard. I was expecting something like a roasted nut, but what I got was a roasted bean. Blech!
So there you have it. Just a few things that I'll not be adding to my food plan. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on Yummy Food Finds.
What have you tried lately that you thought would be awesome but turned out to be icky?
I See the 5!
Yesterday I posted about the elusive 150s, today I entered the 150s!! Yahoo!
Today's weight: 159.6 lbs
Total loss: 77.2 lbs
Total lbs to go: 22.8! That sounds like nothing at all.
Here's to another great week!
Today's weight: 159.6 lbs
Total loss: 77.2 lbs
Total lbs to go: 22.8! That sounds like nothing at all.
Here's to another great week!
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Elusive 150s and Running Thoughts
I am dying to see a 5 in the middle of my weight number, but I just can't seem to break into the 150s yet. The scale said 162 this morning. I had a fairly good weekend eating-wise and I logged all those miles between Wednesday and Sunday so I feel really good about my efforts. I just need to stay focused and keep plugging away. We'll see what tomorrow's official weigh in brings.
I checked the weekend forecast and the weather is set to get colder and colder with snow and rain and high temps in the mid-30s. That's entirely too cold for this warm-blooded runner. Still on the fence about the event because I'm already registered, however, the registration fee is actually a donation for arthritis research so all is not lost. Plus, I can pick up my race shirt on Friday, it's not a finisher's shirt. Would it be cheating if I picked up the shirt on Friday and then ran my 5k Saturday morning in my toasty basement on the treadmill? After all, I registered for the race as a way to stay accountable and keep going. A run is a run, I say.
I wanted to add more about my friend and her 5k. For some reason after I posted yesterday I started feeling guilty, thinking that it might have sounded like I think she can't be faster than me. That's not it at all. We have run together a few times and I always feel like I'm struggling to keep up with her...she's very fit. That was my motivation for wanting to run a 5k with a similar time. I wish she was coming to visit this weekend to run the race with me. I know she'd push me to be faster and achieve a better time.
But it's not all about the run times.
I like knowing that I am capable of running a sub 10:00 minute mile. I like knowing I might even be able to run a 32:00 5k next time, at least on a treadmill. But for my everyday runs, I'm okay being slower than that. Slower feels better on my legs, my lungs, and my knees. I asked myself last night whether I'd rather be able to log a sub-30 minute 5k, or run 10 miles without stopping to walk. I know it doesn't have to be either-or, and that both things are achievable, but if I had to choose, I'd go for the 10 miles. You see, for me, being able to run longer distances feels like more of an accomplishment than running faster. That is why I run mostly for distance instead of time. When I plan a run, it's either 5k, 4 miles, 5 miles, or 10k. I like the feeling of accomplishment from setting a distance goal and then running that distance. It feels more complete than running for a specific amount of time.
Now, should I decided next year to tackle that half marathon, I might possibly switch back to running for time. I followed the Couch to 5K program using the specified run/walk times, and many of the half marathon training schedules are based on adding a little time to each long run. Two of my coworkers (a marathoner and half-marathoner) successfully follow this method and swear by it. When it comes to running 90+ minutes, they say it is easier to add 5 or 10 minutes each week because some days you run faster, some days you run slower. A timed run has a finite end in sight. That all makes perfect sense to me, although adding a half mile or mile each week seems perfectly doable as well.
For now, I'm sticking to 10K and under and I'll keep running for distance. Not sure when I'll make the decision about a half. Definitely not before January, though it always seems to be knocking around in the back of my mind.
What do you run for, time or distance? Why?
I checked the weekend forecast and the weather is set to get colder and colder with snow and rain and high temps in the mid-30s. That's entirely too cold for this warm-blooded runner. Still on the fence about the event because I'm already registered, however, the registration fee is actually a donation for arthritis research so all is not lost. Plus, I can pick up my race shirt on Friday, it's not a finisher's shirt. Would it be cheating if I picked up the shirt on Friday and then ran my 5k Saturday morning in my toasty basement on the treadmill? After all, I registered for the race as a way to stay accountable and keep going. A run is a run, I say.
I wanted to add more about my friend and her 5k. For some reason after I posted yesterday I started feeling guilty, thinking that it might have sounded like I think she can't be faster than me. That's not it at all. We have run together a few times and I always feel like I'm struggling to keep up with her...she's very fit. That was my motivation for wanting to run a 5k with a similar time. I wish she was coming to visit this weekend to run the race with me. I know she'd push me to be faster and achieve a better time.
But it's not all about the run times.
I like knowing that I am capable of running a sub 10:00 minute mile. I like knowing I might even be able to run a 32:00 5k next time, at least on a treadmill. But for my everyday runs, I'm okay being slower than that. Slower feels better on my legs, my lungs, and my knees. I asked myself last night whether I'd rather be able to log a sub-30 minute 5k, or run 10 miles without stopping to walk. I know it doesn't have to be either-or, and that both things are achievable, but if I had to choose, I'd go for the 10 miles. You see, for me, being able to run longer distances feels like more of an accomplishment than running faster. That is why I run mostly for distance instead of time. When I plan a run, it's either 5k, 4 miles, 5 miles, or 10k. I like the feeling of accomplishment from setting a distance goal and then running that distance. It feels more complete than running for a specific amount of time.
Now, should I decided next year to tackle that half marathon, I might possibly switch back to running for time. I followed the Couch to 5K program using the specified run/walk times, and many of the half marathon training schedules are based on adding a little time to each long run. Two of my coworkers (a marathoner and half-marathoner) successfully follow this method and swear by it. When it comes to running 90+ minutes, they say it is easier to add 5 or 10 minutes each week because some days you run faster, some days you run slower. A timed run has a finite end in sight. That all makes perfect sense to me, although adding a half mile or mile each week seems perfectly doable as well.
For now, I'm sticking to 10K and under and I'll keep running for distance. Not sure when I'll make the decision about a half. Definitely not before January, though it always seems to be knocking around in the back of my mind.
What do you run for, time or distance? Why?
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Fastest 5K, Fastest Mile
My friend texted me yesterday that she ran a Turkey Trot 5K in 32:30! We ran one together back in August and neither of us were that fast, although close. I have been running a lot this year compared to her; she runs 5Ks or 30 min, does yoga, goes hiking, all kind of active things. Oh, and she also completed a 10K on 10/10/10! Me, I just run. Not to discount her activities at all, but I'm thinking that with all the running I'm doing, I should be able to run as fast, shouldn't I? Hearing of her time yesterday felt kind of like a challenge. Could I run a 5K in 32:30?
Today I planned a 5K, just a regular day on the treadmill. But about 10 minutes in I decided to try and match her time, or even beat it. I'm happy to report that I got the exact same time!! And that's actually weird because of how much I varied the speed on this run. I started at a regular pace, so I had to really kick it into high gear at the end. I started at 5.2 on the treadmill and ended at 6.5. For me, that's fast! So my finish time was 32:30 and I recorded my fastest mile to date which was 9:52! I finally exceeded my goal of 10 minutes a mile. I guess the easy paces of this past week were a good lead in to today's run.
This coming weekend I have a scheduled 5K event which I have been waffling about. Do I or don't I? I'm still not sure because if it's cruddy weather, I'd rather skip it than take the risk of getting sick right before Thanksgiving. But if I end up doing it, I now have a time to aim for. Can I do that outside? In the cold? I guess we'll see. Regardless, kudos to my friend on such a great time yesterday and challenging me to keep going. I'm now more on the "do" side for the event on 11/20 thanks to her!
Here's me after my run. I was tired, couldn't even smile. My dark shirt doesn't show the sweat as much as a light shirt would, but trust me, I was drenched!
Today I planned a 5K, just a regular day on the treadmill. But about 10 minutes in I decided to try and match her time, or even beat it. I'm happy to report that I got the exact same time!! And that's actually weird because of how much I varied the speed on this run. I started at a regular pace, so I had to really kick it into high gear at the end. I started at 5.2 on the treadmill and ended at 6.5. For me, that's fast! So my finish time was 32:30 and I recorded my fastest mile to date which was 9:52! I finally exceeded my goal of 10 minutes a mile. I guess the easy paces of this past week were a good lead in to today's run.
This coming weekend I have a scheduled 5K event which I have been waffling about. Do I or don't I? I'm still not sure because if it's cruddy weather, I'd rather skip it than take the risk of getting sick right before Thanksgiving. But if I end up doing it, I now have a time to aim for. Can I do that outside? In the cold? I guess we'll see. Regardless, kudos to my friend on such a great time yesterday and challenging me to keep going. I'm now more on the "do" side for the event on 11/20 thanks to her!
Here's me after my run. I was tired, couldn't even smile. My dark shirt doesn't show the sweat as much as a light shirt would, but trust me, I was drenched!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Out in the Cold
Cold weather running...I'm not a huge fan. BUT, today's run was so awesome!! Here are the stats from Nike+. I have no idea what the first dip was all about, but the second was when I had to stop and tie my shoe.
I set out to complete a 10K and I did it! Check out my newest Bondi Band for just such an occasion.
I planned a water stop at home around halfway and I also needed to potty (during which I paused my Nike+), and I am pleased with my time on this run. This week I have been taking my time, listening to my body, and I'm finding that a pace of 11:15 - 11:30 feels best right now. I am fine with that. And do you wanna know the best part? My leg DOESN'T hurt anymore!!! I am so relieved, I can't even tell you how relieved. The purple shoes + my OTC orthotics = pain free running! Woohoo!
So back to the cold weather running...another shout out for the Bondi Band. It works perfect for keeping your ears warm out there.
In addition, today I wore my new neck gaitor which was a run-saver. I actually picked it up while on my potty break because my neck and face were so cold. So I set out like this.
However once I got warmed up, I didn't need it so much on face and I lowered it. But occasionally I brought it back up to warm up my lips and nose again. An awesome, awesome invention.
And finally, the other key to this successful run was my gloves. My husband picked up these babies at Costco and they are terrific.
That shiny grid pattern is extra texture for gripping. It will come in handy if someone happens to toss me a football as I run by.
I've been on a high all day (even during my long afternoon nap, lol). I am so thrilled about following up yesterday's 5 mile run on the treadmill with a successful 10K run outside today. I could not feel more proud of myself.
I set out to complete a 10K and I did it! Check out my newest Bondi Band for just such an occasion.
I planned a water stop at home around halfway and I also needed to potty (during which I paused my Nike+), and I am pleased with my time on this run. This week I have been taking my time, listening to my body, and I'm finding that a pace of 11:15 - 11:30 feels best right now. I am fine with that. And do you wanna know the best part? My leg DOESN'T hurt anymore!!! I am so relieved, I can't even tell you how relieved. The purple shoes + my OTC orthotics = pain free running! Woohoo!
So back to the cold weather running...another shout out for the Bondi Band. It works perfect for keeping your ears warm out there.
In addition, today I wore my new neck gaitor which was a run-saver. I actually picked it up while on my potty break because my neck and face were so cold. So I set out like this.
However once I got warmed up, I didn't need it so much on face and I lowered it. But occasionally I brought it back up to warm up my lips and nose again. An awesome, awesome invention.
And finally, the other key to this successful run was my gloves. My husband picked up these babies at Costco and they are terrific.
That shiny grid pattern is extra texture for gripping. It will come in handy if someone happens to toss me a football as I run by.
I've been on a high all day (even during my long afternoon nap, lol). I am so thrilled about following up yesterday's 5 mile run on the treadmill with a successful 10K run outside today. I could not feel more proud of myself.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
That's What I'm Talking About, Baby!
I made up Monday's missed run tonight. Although I usually only run 5K on Monday, today I decided to run 5 miles.
It was absolutely awesome! It was not a PR, but it was easy and fun and I'm so glad I did it.
I love running!
It was absolutely awesome! It was not a PR, but it was easy and fun and I'm so glad I did it.
I love running!
Sleep, Interrupted
My brother is going through some difficult times. Suffice it to say some choices he has made have left him with little options and he's been forced to make some changes in his life. One of these changes is that he move into a place that does not allow pets. In the interest of charity and generosity, we offered to keep his dog for him while he gets things under control.
This is Missy*.
She is a 4 year old English Springer Spaniel who has only lived with one person most of her life and no other animals since she was a pup. She's a fairly high energy little thing, but we hoped she would adjust to all of us.
Missy came to stay on October 18. My cats weren't impressed. For a couple days both cats hid, hissed, and were very puffy. The third cat wouldn't even come inside. Our dog Chance, who is the sweetest, most good natured dog on the planet, was thrown for a loop. Now she was sharing beds, water, the yard, attention. But she was adjusting. Missy, on the other hand, did not take kindly to the sharing and last week decided to take a bite out of poor Chance's ear. While the wound bled quite a bit, it seemed fairly superficial. Until a few days later when we noticed that her ear was filled with either blood or puss. There really weren't any signs on the outside of trauma, but clearly she needed medical attention.
Here is Chance*. Is that not the most pitiful thing you've ever seen? Not only is she going to be wearing the "cone of shame" for 21 days, she has a piece of pliable yet stiff plastic stapled to her right ear. Basically they had to cut her ear open, fix the problem, then sew and staple it back together. The plastic will keep her ear from "curling" as it heals.
And all for the low low price of $599.98!
Missy's future in our home was coming into question. She had also tried to go after Chance on Saturday night, but luckily we were right there and could break it up. She has one cat attack on record from her days of roaming free outside at my brother's place, but she was pretty good at leaving the cats alone, thankfully. However, give her a toy and she'd growl at you for looking at her sometimes. Our good deed was seeming more and more like a bad idea. I so wanted to be able to help my brother out, but we can't have a dog in our house that can't be trusted, you know. So we made a difficult decision and asked my parents to take her in, and Missy's stay at our house ended yesterday.
So, last night after dealing with all that stress during the day, I was lucky enough to make it to bed by 8:45. My husband came too. He fell asleep before his head touched the pillow while I was wide awake listening to him snore and the dog wimper. She would not lay down and she would not be quiet. I can't blame her, of course, she's wearing a lamp shade and has about 10 metal staples in her ear! I offered her water, she wouldn't drink it. I gave her part of a milkbone which she did eat, but that didn't seem to help her go to sleep. I spent two hours telling her to be quiet, waking my husband up to deal with her, and listening to him huff and puff over my audacity. But finally, around 11:30 I was finally able to sleep.
Only to wake up several times; once because the dog was making noise, once because I was hot, and another time for no apparent reason. Except no apparent reason turned into me laying there in the dark thinking about poor Missy, poor my brother, poor my parents, and poor Chance. The whole situation just isn't fair to anyone, and I could not turn off my brain enough to settle back into slumber until around 4:30 this morning.
Needless to say there was no morning workout today. I woke up feeling more exhausted than when I went to bed.
Happy Veteren's Day! I'm at work today, is anyone else?
*Sorry for the picture quality; cell phone pics.
This is Missy*.
She is a 4 year old English Springer Spaniel who has only lived with one person most of her life and no other animals since she was a pup. She's a fairly high energy little thing, but we hoped she would adjust to all of us.Missy came to stay on October 18. My cats weren't impressed. For a couple days both cats hid, hissed, and were very puffy. The third cat wouldn't even come inside. Our dog Chance, who is the sweetest, most good natured dog on the planet, was thrown for a loop. Now she was sharing beds, water, the yard, attention. But she was adjusting. Missy, on the other hand, did not take kindly to the sharing and last week decided to take a bite out of poor Chance's ear. While the wound bled quite a bit, it seemed fairly superficial. Until a few days later when we noticed that her ear was filled with either blood or puss. There really weren't any signs on the outside of trauma, but clearly she needed medical attention.
Here is Chance*. Is that not the most pitiful thing you've ever seen? Not only is she going to be wearing the "cone of shame" for 21 days, she has a piece of pliable yet stiff plastic stapled to her right ear. Basically they had to cut her ear open, fix the problem, then sew and staple it back together. The plastic will keep her ear from "curling" as it heals.And all for the low low price of $599.98!
Missy's future in our home was coming into question. She had also tried to go after Chance on Saturday night, but luckily we were right there and could break it up. She has one cat attack on record from her days of roaming free outside at my brother's place, but she was pretty good at leaving the cats alone, thankfully. However, give her a toy and she'd growl at you for looking at her sometimes. Our good deed was seeming more and more like a bad idea. I so wanted to be able to help my brother out, but we can't have a dog in our house that can't be trusted, you know. So we made a difficult decision and asked my parents to take her in, and Missy's stay at our house ended yesterday.
So, last night after dealing with all that stress during the day, I was lucky enough to make it to bed by 8:45. My husband came too. He fell asleep before his head touched the pillow while I was wide awake listening to him snore and the dog wimper. She would not lay down and she would not be quiet. I can't blame her, of course, she's wearing a lamp shade and has about 10 metal staples in her ear! I offered her water, she wouldn't drink it. I gave her part of a milkbone which she did eat, but that didn't seem to help her go to sleep. I spent two hours telling her to be quiet, waking my husband up to deal with her, and listening to him huff and puff over my audacity. But finally, around 11:30 I was finally able to sleep.
Only to wake up several times; once because the dog was making noise, once because I was hot, and another time for no apparent reason. Except no apparent reason turned into me laying there in the dark thinking about poor Missy, poor my brother, poor my parents, and poor Chance. The whole situation just isn't fair to anyone, and I could not turn off my brain enough to settle back into slumber until around 4:30 this morning.
Needless to say there was no morning workout today. I woke up feeling more exhausted than when I went to bed.
Happy Veteren's Day! I'm at work today, is anyone else?
*Sorry for the picture quality; cell phone pics.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Finding Balance
Helllooooooo everyone!
It feels like forever since I've posted, but I guess it's only a few days.
Today's post is coming to you live from lunchtime! My evenings have felt so short lately that I don't feel like I have time to do much. After I get home from work, there's dinner to prepare, cleanup, family time, put the kid to bed, go to bed myself. I don't think this going to bed by 9:00 business is for me.
As I've mentioned before, in my early twenties I used to get up and hit the gym before work. I got up at 4:45 easily to to make this happen. I believe I went to bed early as well, but couldn't tell you what time. A couple things have changed since then to make this type of schedule far more difficult to adjust to now. The first is age. Now, I realize at 36 I am far from old, but I am much older than I was at 21-22. While I feel younger today than I have in years, I do not feel like I did back in my early twenties. My body just requires more sleep than it did before. Aside from age, though, is the biggest change and that is that I am a mom now and all time is not my own. I cannot just veg out in front of the TV when I get home from work like I could back then and I can't just do whatever I want all weekend. This makes for far less "me" time. (I'm sure I don't need to go on and on about how I love my child and wouldn't trade being a mom for all the "me" time in the world.) For my husband and me, the evening after my son goes to bed is the time to relax and unwind. Cutting this time short, while for a good cause, makes me a tad cranky. By the end of last week I felt like I had done nothing, accomplished nothing. Yes, I completed my workouts, but paying bills, straightening, organized, relaxing, watching a little TV, not so much.
I'm not ready to say the early morning workouts and early bedtimes are a bust. Because I still enjoy getting my sweat on early in the morning and being done with it for the day. Right now, I'm just saying I'm not sure this is the schedule for me.
But, as a mom, evening workouts are hard to fit in sometimes too. Take last night. Backup to Sunday night when I didn't go to bed until after 11:00 which meant I didn't get up to workout yesterday morning because I was too sleepy. I decided I would just get it done in the evening. Well, I got home from work at 5:00, fixed dinner for the family, and then we headed out at 6:15 for my son's soccer game at 7:00. All the while I was planning to come home and run. But by the time I got home at 8:30, I was tired, and well, that just didn't happen because I wanted to get to bed early enough to get up this morning and workout. After all, I could combine the run and DVD workout this morning. But did I do it? No! I slept in this morning until 7:30 even though I was in bed by 9:30. Whoops! Now I'm either looking at a workout sometime this evening or a missed workout for the week. The former option seems like the only acceptable one.
Finding balance is the hardest thing I face as a mother. (Well, aside from the constant worry and anxiety over the health and well being of my child, of course!) Enough family time, enough husband time, enough time for work, enough time for chores, enough time for pets, enough time for me. I know I am not alone in feeling this way and that millions of moms feel just like me. But it's overwhelming at times and gets me down a bit. Being a healthy mom is important, I realize this. Taking time to get and stay fit, even if it takes away from family time a little, is definitely better for the family in the long run. I have to find a way to hold this thought in the forefront of my mind and keep doing my best. Maybe it's not possible to ever feel like I'm doing all I can and being the best mom I can be, or perhaps that's what makes a good mom...
Well, enough of that. On to my weigh in! I posted a loss for the week! I'm still not officially down to what I was two weeks ago, but I blame the yakisoba noodles I started Sunday night and finished last night because I weighed a couple pounds less on Friday. My rings feel tight today so I know there's extra water here. I'm okay with it, though. I'm back to weighing in almost daily and it helps with perspective.
Onward and downward.
What's your schedule like? How do you find balance?
It feels like forever since I've posted, but I guess it's only a few days.
Today's post is coming to you live from lunchtime! My evenings have felt so short lately that I don't feel like I have time to do much. After I get home from work, there's dinner to prepare, cleanup, family time, put the kid to bed, go to bed myself. I don't think this going to bed by 9:00 business is for me.
As I've mentioned before, in my early twenties I used to get up and hit the gym before work. I got up at 4:45 easily to to make this happen. I believe I went to bed early as well, but couldn't tell you what time. A couple things have changed since then to make this type of schedule far more difficult to adjust to now. The first is age. Now, I realize at 36 I am far from old, but I am much older than I was at 21-22. While I feel younger today than I have in years, I do not feel like I did back in my early twenties. My body just requires more sleep than it did before. Aside from age, though, is the biggest change and that is that I am a mom now and all time is not my own. I cannot just veg out in front of the TV when I get home from work like I could back then and I can't just do whatever I want all weekend. This makes for far less "me" time. (I'm sure I don't need to go on and on about how I love my child and wouldn't trade being a mom for all the "me" time in the world.) For my husband and me, the evening after my son goes to bed is the time to relax and unwind. Cutting this time short, while for a good cause, makes me a tad cranky. By the end of last week I felt like I had done nothing, accomplished nothing. Yes, I completed my workouts, but paying bills, straightening, organized, relaxing, watching a little TV, not so much.
I'm not ready to say the early morning workouts and early bedtimes are a bust. Because I still enjoy getting my sweat on early in the morning and being done with it for the day. Right now, I'm just saying I'm not sure this is the schedule for me.
But, as a mom, evening workouts are hard to fit in sometimes too. Take last night. Backup to Sunday night when I didn't go to bed until after 11:00 which meant I didn't get up to workout yesterday morning because I was too sleepy. I decided I would just get it done in the evening. Well, I got home from work at 5:00, fixed dinner for the family, and then we headed out at 6:15 for my son's soccer game at 7:00. All the while I was planning to come home and run. But by the time I got home at 8:30, I was tired, and well, that just didn't happen because I wanted to get to bed early enough to get up this morning and workout. After all, I could combine the run and DVD workout this morning. But did I do it? No! I slept in this morning until 7:30 even though I was in bed by 9:30. Whoops! Now I'm either looking at a workout sometime this evening or a missed workout for the week. The former option seems like the only acceptable one.
Finding balance is the hardest thing I face as a mother. (Well, aside from the constant worry and anxiety over the health and well being of my child, of course!) Enough family time, enough husband time, enough time for work, enough time for chores, enough time for pets, enough time for me. I know I am not alone in feeling this way and that millions of moms feel just like me. But it's overwhelming at times and gets me down a bit. Being a healthy mom is important, I realize this. Taking time to get and stay fit, even if it takes away from family time a little, is definitely better for the family in the long run. I have to find a way to hold this thought in the forefront of my mind and keep doing my best. Maybe it's not possible to ever feel like I'm doing all I can and being the best mom I can be, or perhaps that's what makes a good mom...
Well, enough of that. On to my weigh in! I posted a loss for the week! I'm still not officially down to what I was two weeks ago, but I blame the yakisoba noodles I started Sunday night and finished last night because I weighed a couple pounds less on Friday. My rings feel tight today so I know there's extra water here. I'm okay with it, though. I'm back to weighing in almost daily and it helps with perspective.
Onward and downward.
What's your schedule like? How do you find balance?
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Tomorrow is a New Day
I need to just say that I am stressed. I don't really want to get into why, but sometimes it's just hard to get through stuff. Life and all that comes with it sometimes seems overwhelming, you know? I hate to wish time away, but when they say "this too shall pass", I really hope they mean quickly!
So I have been fairly successful in avoiding the scale like I planned. In the past couple weeks I have only been on the scale for my scheduled Tuesday weigh-ins. I thought I was becoming obsessed with the scale. I decided to take a break so I wouldn't focus as much on the daily numbers which were always going up and down, sometimes 2-3 pounds. But I am now realizing that the obsession with the numbers was actually not an unhealthy obsession. It helped me stay focused on my weight, but kind of in a good way. Like if it I was up in the morning, I might have felt a little upset about it, but it was also a reminder of what I needed to do. If I was down, then I started the day off with a great feeling of accomplishment which helped me stay motivated. I've really missed that daily check-in, and I can't wait to "check in" tomorrow morning. I'm glad I experimented this way because now I know it's not an unhealthy obsession, or even an obsession, it's just something I do, weigh everyday.
Today was a strange day. Lots of stress and changes in my normal schedule and when all was said and done, I didn't fit in my daily run. Now I am preparing to both run and Shred tomorrow morning. That means I need to get to bed, it's 9:24!
I do want to share one piece of a good news and that is I finally got a new computer!! I bought it with money I don't have at a completely wrong time for our budget, but I need it. I am trying not to feel too guilty about it and just enjoy it. And it really is great! I cannot wait to get all my data transferred over to this machine. Once that is done I plan to celebrate by taking my computer to Starbucks and spending time surfing and blogging and doing whatever else I haven't been able to do with that other POS! Yay, for a computer that works!
So I have been fairly successful in avoiding the scale like I planned. In the past couple weeks I have only been on the scale for my scheduled Tuesday weigh-ins. I thought I was becoming obsessed with the scale. I decided to take a break so I wouldn't focus as much on the daily numbers which were always going up and down, sometimes 2-3 pounds. But I am now realizing that the obsession with the numbers was actually not an unhealthy obsession. It helped me stay focused on my weight, but kind of in a good way. Like if it I was up in the morning, I might have felt a little upset about it, but it was also a reminder of what I needed to do. If I was down, then I started the day off with a great feeling of accomplishment which helped me stay motivated. I've really missed that daily check-in, and I can't wait to "check in" tomorrow morning. I'm glad I experimented this way because now I know it's not an unhealthy obsession, or even an obsession, it's just something I do, weigh everyday.
Today was a strange day. Lots of stress and changes in my normal schedule and when all was said and done, I didn't fit in my daily run. Now I am preparing to both run and Shred tomorrow morning. That means I need to get to bed, it's 9:24!
I do want to share one piece of a good news and that is I finally got a new computer!! I bought it with money I don't have at a completely wrong time for our budget, but I need it. I am trying not to feel too guilty about it and just enjoy it. And it really is great! I cannot wait to get all my data transferred over to this machine. Once that is done I plan to celebrate by taking my computer to Starbucks and spending time surfing and blogging and doing whatever else I haven't been able to do with that other POS! Yay, for a computer that works!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Ugh!
I don't know how else to put it. Today's weigh in was ucky ucky. I post a gain of 3.6 pounds! Too bad I have no one to blame but me, well and TOM, too. But mostly me. Still, the enchiladas were good. If only I'd avoided all those chips!
But I am back on track today.
But I am back on track today.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Some More November Items
I was again successful in getting up to run before work. Never mind that I was up actually at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. I'm sure that's irrelevant, until about 30 minutes from now when I'm ready to crash that is. I have no idea what woke me up, but I couldn't go right back to sleep. I knew if I finally fell back to sleep only to be awakened by my alarm at 5:00, I'd feel awful and not want to get up. I played a little on my sucky home computer before heading to the treadmill. There's something completely wrong with getting on that thing before 4:00 a.m. so I stalled a bit! I actually ended up having a great run when I got around to it. I completed my 5K and almost kept going and thought, what am I, crazy?! And promptly ended my workout.
I also had a great run on Saturday. With these two runs, I went back to the purple shoes and orthotics--I'd given them a rest last week. My leg and knee felt pretty good on these two runs so I think I'm used to the orthotics now which makes me super happy! Saturday's run was even outside and I felt great. Luckily it was a lot warmer and drier than Friday's run so I was able to focus more on how I felt in my shoes. Maybe I've turned a corner, I don't know.
One thing I notice about working out in the morning is that I am sooooo much hungrier by lunch time. Not only am I eating breakfast hours earlier than I had been, but I'm burning way more calories before I used to even get out of bed! I have planned for this by making sure I have enough snacks and lunch with me at work, but lunchtime is getting earlier and earlier. Today I barely made it until 11:00! Thank goodness for Greek yogurt!
Anyway, I have a few more things I'd like to add about November which are plans or goals, however you want to look at them.
The first is to become really strict about following Weight Watchers. This is a hard time of year for even the most disciplined so for someone like me it could make or break me. I don't just want to survive this holiday season but I want to thrive. I want a loss for the month of November in a big way! I need a jump start on these last 25 lbs because I've got two months until my goal date of 12/31/2010! If I focus really well on eating within my points and keep up the workout schedule I have planned, I should be able to rack up a nice loss for the month, or at least a nice effort. I am so ready to be at my goal weight and begin maintenance! I need to remember that anytime I reach for something counteractive to my efforts!
Unfortunately, we'll have to be starting this phase on November 2 since we went out to Mexican tonight and I had two cheese enchiladas, beans, rice and a basket of chips practically all to myself! It was not pretty. I'm not going to feel guilty, though, because I hardly ever eat out and I usually play it pretty safe. But tonight I wanted FOOD! I should have stuck with one enchilada, but I wanted two and they were very, very tasty! Now I feel like I haven't lost any weight at all. My gut is so stuffed and my pants feel tight. From one meal! Oh well, tomorrow is a new day, a new workout, a new Weight Watchers week! I'm pretty sure I'll see a gain in the morning, though, from all the salt from the past few days and probably actual weight gain.
My second November goal is to start and stick with a skin care regimen. Nothing vigorous, just a simple application of lotion, at least once a day. You see, I have icky skin. I have what's called keratosis pilaris which is just a fancy name for chicken skin. Really, it is. Actually, the medical definition is this: keratosis pilaris is a common skin condition in which a protein in the skin called keratin forms hard plugs within hair follicles. Doesn't that sound gross? Well, it is (and I'm not trying to insult anyone else who has it, only me). I have it on my arms and the backs of my legs the worst and then a few other places not as much. I share this information because I now know it is a common skin issue, but many people have no idea that's what they have. I didn't. I went to the dermatologist almost two years ago to have her look at a mole and just happened to ask about the nasty skin on my arms. I was embarrassed by it and thought she'd tell me I needed to wash more, scrub more, something MORE. But she assured me that it's common, incurable but treatable, and gave me literature to that effect. I've since consulted my favorite physician, Google, as well. It is common and can improve with age--I'm still waiting for that because the opposite seems true for me. She recommended the use of a lotion containing lactic acid which helps exfoliate the skin--a chemical peel of sorts. But now that I know it's not a hygiene issue, I'm actually less bothered by it. All this time has gone by and I've not been very diligent about keeping up with using the lotion, unfortunately. Apparently, I cannot seem to find time to apply a layer of lotion on a daily basis! It's not an arduous process or anything and the lotion is fine, but it makes you kind of sticky and then you have to wait to get dressed and it just increases my overall daily maintenance. Blech! But, November is the month to start applying it EVERYDAY, maybe even TWICE a day as recommended. I know I'll see results because even when I use it occasionally I notice a difference. It should be incentive enough to stick with it...
And finally, my last goal for November is to get our household stuff in order, at least my part of it. My husband has been off work for over a year now and does great with keeping up on most things like the regular straightening, cleaning, shopping, homework, etc., but I haven't been very good at doing my part to stay organized. I tend to rely on him for a lot of stuff and then feel lost when I don't know what's going on. My son is in third grade and has daily tasks to do, plus homework, and I'll be darned if we aren't always getting things done at the last minute! My husband and I are both procrastinators to the nth degree! We're training my son to be the same--eek! I feel disorganized most of the time without a clue of what's going on and I believe my son milks this all he can. Not in a bad way, just in a kid way. If we wait long enough then the home chores get left by the wayside. What I'd like to do is make a chart or something showing everyone's regular tasks/chores for the week and then we'll all have to be diligent about getting everything done. I do not like feeling lost at the home front, but it's my own fault. I need to step up and get more involved so I know what's going on. I'm falling into that role of a working parent who knows nothing about anything at home while the stay at home parent manages it all. Not fair to my husband and not good for me. And not good for my son. This change isn't going to happen overnight, but I'm thinking a family meeting is in order.
What about you, how do you keep the home, kids, chores, everything organized?
I also had a great run on Saturday. With these two runs, I went back to the purple shoes and orthotics--I'd given them a rest last week. My leg and knee felt pretty good on these two runs so I think I'm used to the orthotics now which makes me super happy! Saturday's run was even outside and I felt great. Luckily it was a lot warmer and drier than Friday's run so I was able to focus more on how I felt in my shoes. Maybe I've turned a corner, I don't know.
One thing I notice about working out in the morning is that I am sooooo much hungrier by lunch time. Not only am I eating breakfast hours earlier than I had been, but I'm burning way more calories before I used to even get out of bed! I have planned for this by making sure I have enough snacks and lunch with me at work, but lunchtime is getting earlier and earlier. Today I barely made it until 11:00! Thank goodness for Greek yogurt!
Anyway, I have a few more things I'd like to add about November which are plans or goals, however you want to look at them.
The first is to become really strict about following Weight Watchers. This is a hard time of year for even the most disciplined so for someone like me it could make or break me. I don't just want to survive this holiday season but I want to thrive. I want a loss for the month of November in a big way! I need a jump start on these last 25 lbs because I've got two months until my goal date of 12/31/2010! If I focus really well on eating within my points and keep up the workout schedule I have planned, I should be able to rack up a nice loss for the month, or at least a nice effort. I am so ready to be at my goal weight and begin maintenance! I need to remember that anytime I reach for something counteractive to my efforts!
Unfortunately, we'll have to be starting this phase on November 2 since we went out to Mexican tonight and I had two cheese enchiladas, beans, rice and a basket of chips practically all to myself! It was not pretty. I'm not going to feel guilty, though, because I hardly ever eat out and I usually play it pretty safe. But tonight I wanted FOOD! I should have stuck with one enchilada, but I wanted two and they were very, very tasty! Now I feel like I haven't lost any weight at all. My gut is so stuffed and my pants feel tight. From one meal! Oh well, tomorrow is a new day, a new workout, a new Weight Watchers week! I'm pretty sure I'll see a gain in the morning, though, from all the salt from the past few days and probably actual weight gain.
My second November goal is to start and stick with a skin care regimen. Nothing vigorous, just a simple application of lotion, at least once a day. You see, I have icky skin. I have what's called keratosis pilaris which is just a fancy name for chicken skin. Really, it is. Actually, the medical definition is this: keratosis pilaris is a common skin condition in which a protein in the skin called keratin forms hard plugs within hair follicles. Doesn't that sound gross? Well, it is (and I'm not trying to insult anyone else who has it, only me). I have it on my arms and the backs of my legs the worst and then a few other places not as much. I share this information because I now know it is a common skin issue, but many people have no idea that's what they have. I didn't. I went to the dermatologist almost two years ago to have her look at a mole and just happened to ask about the nasty skin on my arms. I was embarrassed by it and thought she'd tell me I needed to wash more, scrub more, something MORE. But she assured me that it's common, incurable but treatable, and gave me literature to that effect. I've since consulted my favorite physician, Google, as well. It is common and can improve with age--I'm still waiting for that because the opposite seems true for me. She recommended the use of a lotion containing lactic acid which helps exfoliate the skin--a chemical peel of sorts. But now that I know it's not a hygiene issue, I'm actually less bothered by it. All this time has gone by and I've not been very diligent about keeping up with using the lotion, unfortunately. Apparently, I cannot seem to find time to apply a layer of lotion on a daily basis! It's not an arduous process or anything and the lotion is fine, but it makes you kind of sticky and then you have to wait to get dressed and it just increases my overall daily maintenance. Blech! But, November is the month to start applying it EVERYDAY, maybe even TWICE a day as recommended. I know I'll see results because even when I use it occasionally I notice a difference. It should be incentive enough to stick with it...
And finally, my last goal for November is to get our household stuff in order, at least my part of it. My husband has been off work for over a year now and does great with keeping up on most things like the regular straightening, cleaning, shopping, homework, etc., but I haven't been very good at doing my part to stay organized. I tend to rely on him for a lot of stuff and then feel lost when I don't know what's going on. My son is in third grade and has daily tasks to do, plus homework, and I'll be darned if we aren't always getting things done at the last minute! My husband and I are both procrastinators to the nth degree! We're training my son to be the same--eek! I feel disorganized most of the time without a clue of what's going on and I believe my son milks this all he can. Not in a bad way, just in a kid way. If we wait long enough then the home chores get left by the wayside. What I'd like to do is make a chart or something showing everyone's regular tasks/chores for the week and then we'll all have to be diligent about getting everything done. I do not like feeling lost at the home front, but it's my own fault. I need to step up and get more involved so I know what's going on. I'm falling into that role of a working parent who knows nothing about anything at home while the stay at home parent manages it all. Not fair to my husband and not good for me. And not good for my son. This change isn't going to happen overnight, but I'm thinking a family meeting is in order.
What about you, how do you keep the home, kids, chores, everything organized?
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