Biggest Loser

Yay, yay, yay for me! I was this week's biggest loser at HFH with my 4 pound loss!

Fat Ticker Friday

Guess who lost 4 pounds this week? Yep, me - for a total of 7 pounds lost now! I now get to display my 5 gone badge from Hot For The Holidays over there on the left and the 10 pound badge is only 2.5 pounds away.

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I haven't been very good about getting to the gym lately and am tired of my jeans being too tight, so I vowed it was time to get back on track. I still haven't been back to the gym, but I've really been trying to cut back on how much I'm eating, which seems to be what worked for me this week. Hopefully if I keep that up and add a few days at the gym next week, I'll be able to hit that 10 pound mark - and then work on the next 10.

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Tonight is family movie night at Ryan's school, so I'll be treating myself to a gondola and some popcorn and then it's back on track tomorrow.

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(And I really wish I knew why blogger messes up the text formatting so much when you add a picture to posts. It's really frustrating me to have to keep putting periods between my paragraphs.)

I Worked My Butt Off Moment

This week's challenge for HFH over at Baby Tea Leaves was to PUSH IT past my comfort zone at least once. So I did. Yesterday. And I survived. It wasn't a big thing, really. You see, normally I power walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes, then hit the elliptical machine for 10 and follow it up back on the treadmill for a final 10.

I get bored easily and changing it up keeps me from quitting. OK, it's also easier in 10 min increments. I don't want to get stuck in a comfort zone though and decided it was time to change it up - so I did 15 min on the treadmill and then 15 min on the elliptical and have every intention of upping the times more as I go along.

I use to take the group classes offered at the gym, but that is no longer an option when school is in session now that I'm working part time at one of the schools here. It's the only way I can actually work out for an hour without losing my mind. I miss those classes and am going to have to figure out how to survive the cardio machines in their place. (On days when there is only a half day or no school, I WILL spoil myself and make it to the classes on those days.)

So, that brings us to today's weigh in. I'm a nervous wreck because my weight has been bouncing around all week. While I've been working out most mornings during the week and have cut out fast food and am trying to eat right, I'm still struggling. I suspect that it may have something to do with too much sodium and building muscle. We'll see - I may have to get serious and starting counting calories or weight watchers points or something soon if I don't start getting the results I want.

Today's weight loss: 0 ugh. gained 1.5 pounds
Total weight loss to date: 3 pounds

What the???

Motivate Me, Please

Looky what I found by way of Maggie. Should be fun. This is just what I've been looking for - a group of people with the same common goal to help keep me motivated and on track. Be sure to check it out!

Trim Up Tuesday - Baby Steps

Well, I guess I made it through my first week back at Trim Up Tuesday. I started out this week taking it slow since we all know how fast I tend to jump back into the whole working out thing only to end up injured and out of commission for the next couple of months. My effort, however, was squashed by busy schedules, rain and then getting sick. I'm not really sure how, but I did manage to lose 2.5 pounds this week.

I'm going to try something new here. I think it will help me to do this as more of a journal type thing. Something to the effect of holding me more accountable....blah blah blah. I'm just going to go with it and see what happens.

Week One:

Tuesday: Sore from my first day back to the gym yesterday. Thought about not working out today, but the pull to do something was strong so I grabbed our dog and headed to a nearby trail for 25 minutes of uphill and downhill torture. Has anyone found the secret to avoiding shin splints?

Wednesday: Holy calf pain. Those hills yesterday got me good - I wonder if the poor dog is sore, too. Very seriously considered taking the dog over to the Rock Island trail after school/work this afternoon for a walk, but chickened out after talking to another Playground Supervisor Mommy at work and hearing that two women were recently attacked on the trail in broad daylight. Will rethink that plan after I buy some mace. Where can one buy mace at these days? Decided to give my calves the day off.

Thursday: Rainy, stormy day + running around town getting errands done = no work out today.

Friday: 5 hours of house cleaning today. Well call that a workout and run with it.

Saturday: Too busy being a family to do anything else today. Ashley had a double header this morning. After that we went out to lunch, did a little shopping and then it was time to head over to our friend's backyard party.

Sunday: Awful allergies got me good. Or maybe it's a cold. Can allergies really make you feel this bad? Had to leave the party early last night and was in bed by 8:30pm.

Monday: Still sick and miserable. Enough said.

So, as we can all see here, I didn't really keep up with the excersice, but I did spend 2 hours a day at work walking all over the playground. I also didn't eat out as much this week, which is probably a big help.

Weight loss this week: 2.5 pounds

Total weight loss: 2.5 pounds

Trim Up Tuesday - Week One

I figured with everyone else so gung ho to get back into shape that I better jump back on the bandwagon. I've now put on twenty pounds since quitting smoking over 8 months ago. It's time to get back to it. (Now if I could just muster up some enthusiasm.)

Exercise

• I worked out 2 times this week.
• I did 20 minutes of cardio this week.
• I did 4 hours of brisk activity this week.

Goals

• My new goal is: to make it to the gym at least 3 times this week and to eat out less.

Trim Up Tuesday

I'll admit it. I've spent the last week eating whatever I've wanted while I stayed away from the gym due to my leg injury. Yet I still lost one pound. I'm delightfully surprised. Let's just call it one last hurrah before cracking down and getting serious again. It's on!

My leg is much better, although I haven't tried doing anything other than cleaning with it. Tonight Ashley has volleyball practice, so I'm going to walk the track and see how it feels. If all goes well, I may try Body Step tomorrow. I *need* to get back to the gym - it's what keeps me on track. We'll see how it goes.

Today's update:

Weight

• I have lost 1 pound(s) since I started!
• I lost 1 pound(s) this week!

Exercise

• I worked out 0 time(s) this week.
• I did 0 hour(s) and 0 minutes of cardio this week.
• I did 0 hour(s) and 0 minutes of strength training this week.
• I did 14 hour(s) and 0 minutes of brisk activity this week. (Spring cleaning may be what saved me from gaining this week.)

Goals

• I did meet my last goal.
• My Last Goal Was: To heal and get back to the gym. I'm ready to give it a go again!
• My new goal is: To eat out less this week, which means I better crack down and plan some meals for my family that work with our "busy kids in sports" schedule.

Trim Up Tuesday - Week Two

Here we are at week two and I haven't given up yet. In fact, I'm more motivated now than ever. My mom and I took our before pictures when I was at her house this weekend. I'd like to believe that the camera adds on what you don't see when you look in the mirror, but you can't argue with something that's sitting right in front of your face.

Since quitting smoking, I've now put on 20 pounds and it's time to lose that plus more. I've done it before (right after Ryan was born) and I can do it again! As of now I want to lose 80 pounds. (Don't see it? Look again at my midsection and thighs. OMG, I can't believe I'm being this honest.)

Before:

(because putting your hands on your hips makes you look a lot thinner - lol)

I'll be printing this picture off and hanging it on my pantry door. And just in case that still isn't enough to keep me from opening the damn door, I may hang a picture of my backside inside the door, right on the snack shelf. (Thanks for the idea, Grandma!)

Now that brings us to today's reality check... Please hold while Lynda goes and strips of anything that may add any extra unwanted not really there ounce and then weighs herself... Ok, I'm back (and yes, I'm wearing clothes) here we go...drum roll please...

Trim Up Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Weight

• I lost 1 pound this week! (I wasn't expecting to lose any, so yay for me!)
• I am 79 pounds away from my ideal weight.

Exercise

• I did 2 hours and 15 minutes of cardio this week.

Goals

• I did not meet my last goal.
• My Last Goal Was: To eat healthier and snack less. (I blew it by going to Chicago for the weekend.)
• My new goal is: Let's try this again. To eat healthier and snack less.

So there you have it. One pound gone, even on top of all that bread I ate last night. You cannot put bread in front of me and expect it to stay there! Especially if it's from Avanti's.

Want to join the fun at Trim Up Tuesdays?

Trim Up Tuesday - Week Two

Well, here I am at week two of this journey and while I'm still at the same weight that I was at last week, I'm not panicking yet because earlier in the week I was down two and a half pounds. I know where I went wrong. It was the Easter ham, yummy corn casserole and that Chocolate Bunny.

I made it to the gym 4 days over the course of the last week and even power walked for 45 minutes on the indoor track while Ashley had Volleyball practice.

My problem is the darn eating. It seems like the more I work out, the hungrier I am. I've even bought a bunch of those 100 calorie snack packs, but like I said - that Chocolate Bunny may be the culprit.

Here are this week's stats:

Weight

• I am the same weight as last week. (Hey, that's better than gaining!)

Exercise

• I did 195 minutes of cardio this week
• I did 45 minutes of brisk activity this week

Goals

• I did meet my last goal
• My Last Goal Was: To make it to the gym at least 3 times.
• My new goal is: To eat healthier and snack less.

Trim Up Tuesday - Week One

It's time for me to get serious here. I can no longer use quitting smoking as an excuse for gaining weight. Since quitting, I've gained 15 freaking pounds on top of what I already need to loose. I don't consider myself grossly overweight, but I don't consider myself as being at an average weight. I'm scared though. I've never tried to lose weight as a nonsmoker before so this could prove to be the most difficult thing I've ever done.

I'm going to set small goals for myself that will lead me up to the final result. First up? Losing that 15 pounds that I put on since quitting smoking.

Time logged in to the gym over the past week: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Pounds lost since last Tuesday: 0

Pounds gained since last Tuesday: 0

Total pounds lost: 0

0? *Screams* Are you kidding me? Is this someone's idea of a bad joke? Please tell me that the scale not moving has something to do with building muscle because this is sad. I've sweat my butt off and nearly killed myself at the gym over the past week and have been trying to eat healthier.

Guess this just means I'm going to need to buckle down and get serious. Trial week is over!

Spring Preview

As soon as the kids got home from school today, we headed outdoors to enjoy the warmer weather. While it reached 56 degrees today, it was still a little on the cold side.

Ryan and his friend that comes over after school played a game of baseball.

Both of them impressed me with how well they were hitting each other's pitches.
Both Ryan and his friend are moving up to machine pitch baseball this year, so this is very promising to see.

Ryan slams one out of the backyard.

Running to second base.

This kid is ready to learn how to slide!

Quick "cheese" for mom.

Chloe was happy to get outside for awhile, too.

She is determined to graduate to the big girl swing.

After Ryan's friend got picked, Ryan and I took Chloe and the dog for a walk.

Camera oops.

I tried to get a picture of Ryan and Chloe walking, but the dog had other ideas. Every time Ryan would get ahead of Chloe, she would run with her arms out, trying to catch up with him, yelling "Eye-an!"

After dinner Ryan really wanted to see if any of his friends were out playing so we went for another (much longer) walk. No one was outside and now the sore muscles are really kicking in. I may have overdone it today, but I really needed that second walk after taking a second helping of spaghetti tonight.

Is it bedtime yet? It's all hitting me now.

Someone Finally Heard My Prayers

It is a beautiful 56 degrees and sunny outside right now. I can't wait for my kids to get home from school and for Chloe to get up from her nap so we can head on outside until the sun goes down. (I guess I'll have to feed everyone at some point, though.)

I forced (no exaggeration there) myself to go to Body Step at the gym this morning. It was 60 minutes of pure evil torture. OK, it wasn't that bad, but by the end of the class I was in a world of hurt. I never thought I'd see the day that I did classes like this. Two years ago my friend (hi, Em!) joined and somehow managed to talk my stuck in a treadmill and elliptical routine butt into going to one of these classes. Now I'm hooked. There's no way I could go and work out for an hour on one of those machines and not drop dead from boredom. So, now I'm back to going and hopefully won't start slacking off after two weeks again.

I came home and had a banana to tide me over until lunch, which consisted of 2 chicken ceasar wraps with grated parmesan cheese - oh so yummy and only 8 points. Yummy, but not all that filling. I'm now eating Girl Scout Lemonades straight from the box from the freezer where I thought they'd be safe. Hm, who knew they were so good frozen?! I am in so much trouble here. Thank, God the box isn't full!

No More Excuses

I have been a nonsmoker for 3 months and 1 week. It sure seems like it should be longer than that though - a good thing, I'm sure. I really don't keep track much anymore. The only reason I knew I had passed the 3 month mark is because the little ticker over there to the left told me so. I'm down to taking just one Chantix pill in the morning and am ready to go off. I still can't remember to take the darn things and I'm tired of the headaches, nausea, moodiness and being tired. It's time to get back to being myself again.

So now with 3 months under my belt, it's time to stop making excuses for gaining weight and not taking care of myself. I've put on 15 pounds (and trust me, I didn't need it to begin with) since I quit smoking. It's been forever since my last visit to the darn gym. Between sick kids, school carnivals, time changes and being sick myself, it's time to go back. Body Step tomorrow morning at 9am. No excuses.

To give myself a little jump start and some motivation, I dragged out the stack of Weight Watchers books from the back of my kitchen cabinet, dusted them off and recorded my points for today. I've been watching what I've been eating today and was pretty excited to see how I was doing. Apparently, not so well. I have 3 points left for dinner. Not good.