Hi from the Trailer

So so far I seem to have taken a vacation from eating healthy and
exercising. It's funny how quickly one can lose their mojo and get out
of the swing of things. I have eaten lots of fruit, could use more veg
and less booze but need to do much better or I will come back in three weeks looking like a blimp. I have run one 8:1x2 session and stopped at two sets rather than three because it was too freakin hot. I do not know how those of you who live in hot weather all the time do it .... I commend you. Here we are normally cool most days.  Anyway, other than walking the dog, I have not done much else.  Need to fix that.
<Insert slap upside of head> 
So I'll sign off now and go take the dog for a run, it's a cool day.

Well I'm Off.....

I’m outta here for three weeks. I probably will keep my blogging up-to-date but likely only once or twice just to let you know I’m workin the program. I’m going to do this healthy living to the best of my ability while “on Vacation” but I am NOT going to stress out about it at all. I am just going to let it all go (the worry) and enjoy myself (reasonably and consciously). I will be making the right choices (most of the time). And now that I’ve gone running alone with Katie a couple of times, I’m hoping that I will continue it while in the more popular campground and work something out for the secluded one. I will keep active.

So I weighed (yuck) and measured myself this morning and will see how I make out when I get back. I’m really really really hoping there is absolutely NO gain….. anywhere!

I hope all of you have a fantastic weekend and I will keep in touch.

 

TTYL

S

Weekend Update...

Had a pretty busy weekend. Friday night was pretty weird….. Went to pick up my SO young son from the Ex and her parents were visiting from out of town. I’ve met them quite a few times and they like me quite a bit so we were asked to stay for awhile…. Which we did. Then had burgers from the BBQ. By that time I was so hungry I didn’t care about the bun/burger too much fat combo so I ate it. But the night was weird sitting around a fire with an Ex and her BF and  I think it was only weird for me…. Her BF said the next time we came over we needed to trade secrets about the ex couple – like I would do that :).

 

Then on Saturday had my sister and Bro-in-law’s 25^th wedding anniversary. I ate but probably  not as good as I should have but I also didn’t worry about it that night. I worked hard to put the entire thing together so was busy visiting, cleaning and making sure everything went smoothly…. And it did.

 

I did not exercise all weekend so hit the road yesterday morning with little Katie and did my L2R and added 3 more minutes to my running time 8:1x3 – It wasn’t that bad adding another minute to each set. I think I’ve reached the point where it will start to get easier now (still challenging as heck but much better than before). Those of you doing C25K – hang in there – it does get better.

 

So this week I am now trying to get ready for camping for 3 weeks – yahoo I can’t wait. The BF and I have company coming along with us for 10 days (kids) but after that it is just us. I’m looking forward to that part because we need some relationship nurturing and I’m looking forward to hopefully rekindling things. And hopefully getting his activity level up a little. Yesterday again he was complaining that he just doesn’t feel good, no energy, no gumption. I try to  tell him as gentle as I can that  he needs to ‘EXERCISE’ and then he will feel much much better. He did start doing stuff yesterday and when I saw him last night, he mentioned he was feeling better. I just need to keep at him without nagging and get his a$$ off the couch.

 

I’m also worried about the food thing during camping. I’ve got to make good choices and it isn’t always easy when I cook out in the middle of no-where but I will do what I can. Exercise should be OK now that I’m getting used to running with Katie. As long as I’m not in isolated country I should be able to get out and do some jogging 3 times  a week (or more). The rest of the time we will likely be out fishing the rivers so will be wading in the rivers and walking along the shores – it all takes effort.

 

Katie & I ran our first session... and other ramblings :)

Yesterday I wanted to write about supportive spouses and how much mine really isn’t. But I don’t want to sound like a whiner – so I didn’t. Today I just wanted to say that those of you that have supportive spouses during your journey to a healthier you - be grateful for them as it is something some folks just don't have. Maybe one day my SO will get off that couch and at least walk with me. I certainly hope it is before it is too late and he suffers medically from something more serious than just plain laziness (heart attack, high blood pressure, etc.). However, he needs a wake up call and I can't seem to get it across to him. I'm not giving up though. (OK maybe a little whine was written anyway).

So today I wanted to let you know that Katie (my Pup) and I went for our first jog/walk session this morning. For some reason the little brat was crying at 3:00 a.m. and at 4 when my alarm went off she was a little bit louder. So I got my housecoat on and let her out and all she wanted was lovin and no outside constitutional…. Brat.

So I got dressed to run outside and took her with me. We had hit the streets by 4:30 this morning. It is very lovely at that time of the day, as there is absolutely no one out 'n about except crazy me and my dog, the bunnies and the birds. She did well and only tried to run into me a couple of times otherwise, she heeled really well. When we walk her she is training to heel right up close and this doesn’t work so well for me when I jog but we will learn together how to get along. Since I’ve been running with my co-worker downtown here, the pathway is fairly flat. My community isn’t so I found this morning a bit more challenging and my pace was a bit slower. Mind you, this is Friday and by Friday I’m danged tired as I’ve done 4 days in a row of up at 4:00 a.m. and exercising and I didn’t get to bed as early as I liked almost every day this week. I’m usually beat by today… and today is no exception. And to push myself a bit more, I walked another 1.8 miles from my home to the train station to get to work this morning. I’ve walked 8800 steps all before 8:00 a.m. I think I’ll make my 10,000+ today for sure. In fact, I’ve been averaging about 13,000-15,000 a day – not bad I’d say.

I was reading Jen’s blog this morning and she was talking about “stop making it so hard”, “take it one day at a time” and I have often thought this myself and it was a welcome reminder this morning that I really need to just let this weight loss thing go and just live one day at a time making good clean conscious choices. I think I’m stressing myself out WAY TOO MUCH about that stupid scale not moving and I need to just let it all go.

OK, I finally posted my Picture....

I don't know what I'm afraid of? People that know me seeing my trials and tribulations? It's funny how it is so much easier to share your life story with total strangers than it is to those around you on a daily basis. I'm a private person and I guess this blog has been my release and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. But I see how much all of you share about yourselves and it makes me feel all that much closer to your story because you share your visuals of what you are eating, seeing, and I can put a face to your stories - I think it is so cool. So it's time for me to let go and hopefully you will feel more comfortable with me.

So for my profile Pic, I choose a recent picture of myself and not my prior fat self. I just didn't want to see that picture too often. I think eventually I am going to post it so that I have a before and after record but I'm so new to this blogging thing, I don't have the right software just yet.
What do all of you use? I'm just doing the basic layout on the blogger.com website and even though I work in the computer field, I'm a dummy when it comes to these types of things :)

TTYL
Sandra

I'm changing my ST again....

I was doing the Chalene Johnson Extreme program and finished the first month – the Burn phase and now I should be starting the Lean phase. However, in ten days I go off on vacation again for 3 weeks of camping and the chances of me doing the workouts are slim. So this morning I went through an old routine that is easily adaptable to bands when I go camping so I’m just going  to stick with that for July/August (or until I get back 3^rd week of Aug).

I think I’m afraid of working my legs too much because I Run/Walk every other day and since I’m just migrating myself up in numbers (with the running), I don’t want my legs to be sore and possibly make it harder to run. I’ll admit, the soreness I felt when I first started running is no longer there. I remember how my legs, and lower back ached all the time. Now I feel the odd stiffness but not much. It either means my body has adapted to the workout and it isn’t as efficient or it has just adapted to the stress caused by running and I’m still burning tons of fat.…. Don’t know which one…. I’m hoping I’m still burning lots of fat.

So last night I really was determined not to eat after 7:30 but by 9:00 I was very hungry. Not the “I’m bored, I want something to eat” hungry, but real hunger. Beware the following sentences are a rant:  I get up each day at 4:00 a.m. and workout before I go to work, then I do my 8 hours and come home. Last night I came home to the BF, his daughter and her BF all sleeping in the living room. No one did the dishes, emptied the Dishwasher or fed the dog. So I did it all then had a shake with my really noisy Magic Bullet ;) and woke them all up (except the BF…. He is a heavy sleeper). Let’s just say I was a teeny weensy bit crabby last night.

So all –in-all, I probably didn’t have enough calories yesterday (I always drink a shake for breaky at work) and by 9:00 I was actually truly hungry. So I had a small snack which totally blew my goal on the very first night of the week :( Oh well, I think in this case it was OK as I was down in lbs this morning to where I thought I should have been in the first place. Since coming back from Mazatlan in May, I’ve bounced up and down 3 lbs and it’s kind of getting on my nerves. Today I am hungry!!!!

 

TTYL

S

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend News and Ramblings....

Had the BF’s 50th B-Day party at our house on Saturday. He knew about so it wasn’t a surprise. Hard to keep something like that a surprise when you live in the same house and I was running around like a nut case trying to get everything cleaned and organized. He has a habit of sitting around and just watching T.V. and had I been doing all the running around without his help, I would have divorced him (before we even get married :) ).

The party was a lot of fun, we had friends over that I hadn’t seen for some time and they sure did comment on the difference they see in me. Even the BF had been talking to one of the ladies a couple of days before and she told me that he said “I’m with her every day and I see the changes, but she just doesn’t see them”. And he is right. I know I have lost weight, I know I’ve lost inches, but sometimes I look in the mirror and still see the very “fat” me. And that’s because there is still so much to lose and I’m unhappy about how slow this is going. But I did feel good on Saturday when I got the compliments…. Which is something I need to learn to accept gracefully instead of “thanks but I’ve got a long ways to go”. I need to just say “thanks”.

Anyway, I made Potato and Mac salads, Chilli and buns, veggie’s/dip, fruit and of course there were the chips and dip. The guacamole went over really well, the Quinoa/Cranberry/Walnut salad wasn’t quite up there. One lady asked me if this was how I had lost all the weight – eating stuff like this (as she pointed to the Quinoa). I said “Yup, I eat as clean as I can”. Then I lift my bottle of beer to my lips and think what a hypocrite I am…. Beer does not equal clean…

I got my run in on Saturday morning before all the day’s activities started but I didn’t get any in yesterday at all, in fact, I really felt like crap all day long and it is absolutely my fault and no whining here.

Today I came downtown and ran again with my buddy and another buddy who is visiting the city for the week. She is a runner and could have likely run circles around us but she kept pace with us and the conversation going. I have noticed that I can now talk a bit while running and not gasp for breath. This is a great improvement over a couple of months ago. When we first started, we could talk minimally but not to any great length, and used to comment about the ladies running behind or in front of us that chatted the entire time… not us, we were almost gasping. Now we talk, not as much as those ladies yet, but we do talk and that means our lungs are improving. I’m happy about that.

I’ve read the following three words lately – in a couple of blogs and then again this morning in a success story
patience, consistency, and moderation

This is something I need to work on :
Patience – I didn’t gain this weight overnight, I’m certainly not going to lose it overnight. And I’m not restricting my food as I am in this for a lifetime so I need to “learn” the right way to eat and along with that is some ups and downs while I find the right balance.
Consistency – Haven’t really given the consistency much thought yet but what does trigger in the brain in is that I need to plan and prepare everything ahead of time. Without that preparation I can often just grab what is convienient and that's not good.
Moderation – I read something this morning that kind had that light bulb went on effect in my brain. Sugar and the effects of it on your body. If you have just a little bit, it can possibly trigger hunger signals in your brain and you can over indulge in a certain food, not because you are hungry but because something to do with the sugar. I wish I had kept track of the link where I read it but I didn’t. It seems like as soon as I know I can’t have something, when I have just a little bit of it, it triggers a binge type effect and I want to eat it all. I’ve certainly done that “tomorrow is a new day and a new start” thing and ALL of this is triggered by the late night eating. I’ll eat 100% during the day, then get home eat my dinner then “feel” like snacking ALL night long. And usually on crunchy stuff – so I crave the popcorn and chips. What’s up with that!!

Cleansing...

I’ve decided it’s time for a cleanse. I’ve had a headache now for the last week (or longer) - and no the beer doesn’t have anything to do with it because I haven’t had one since last Friday and I still have the headache. I’ve also got some weird cravings and other signs of Candida so it is time to get rid of the little buggers. And I am soooooooo tired of the headache.

I always struggle a bit with cleansing because I’m never sure what supplement will wipe out another. i.e., if I take caprylic acidc with my acidophilus or my vitamins will it just shuttle it through my system without me absorbing any of the nutrients. I think the way I’m doing things is pretty safe and I probably should be able to tell within a few days if I’m missing out on something.

I don’t have an issue with eating too much sugar but I do have an issue with is the alcohol so I’ve got to make a conscious choice to not drink anything while I go through this – otherwise the little critters will still have something to feed off of.

Here’s hoping that I don’t have too many side effects from the “kill off”.

:)

S

Week July 6th Goals

Short Term Goals:
New:
Week July 6th - No eating after 7:30 p.m.
- exercise 5x this week.
- Be good to myself

Archived:
Week June 22nd – NO eating after 7:30 p.m. – did not accomplish
Week June 29th – Exercise EVERY day (I’ll be out camping so this could be a bit of a challenge), eat as healthy and clean as I possibly can. - did not accomplish

Long Term Goals:
Walk/Jog 75 Miles per month (increase each month by 5 miles) (I’ve been increasing my running by one minute each week so it should be easy enough to add 5 miles for month).

• July - goal is to walk 80mi (June - only walked 62.5 out of 75 mi)
• Lose 45 lbs (FNF Starting Wt - Current = -2.4 loss)

Maybe a week off isn't a bad idea....

Once in awhile.

Today was my L2R session with my friend and I was worried as I hadn’t done any running last week, only walking, and not at all aerobic to boot. So I got up at 4:00, got to our meeting place (downtown) by 5:30 and off we went. We did 7:1x3  (we did 6:1x3,4:1 12 days before) so even though it was same amount of running minutes, it was an additional minute added to each session. AND I made it. I felt like throwing up during the middle of the second set but I moved past it and then made it right to the end. So even if we won’t win any races at the pace we are currently running, it at least allows me to finish it. I feel good today because I made it through and I will do it again on Thursday!

I hope everyone has a very successful day!

Ttyl

S

I'm back and I'm in trouble....

I had a fairly nice relaxing week and for exercise all I did was walk. Walk, walk, walk. No running, no strength training. I actually started feeling like crap because I wasn’t eating well enough, drinking enough water or exercising enough. All for very dumb reasons (hence why I am in trouble). Here is my list and the ensuing excuses:

Not eating well enough

- Didn’t bring very many raw veggies or fruit because I just didn’t have the fridge room.

- Didn’t eat every 3-4 hours like I should

- Ate sunflower seeds which I know aren’t all that BAD for you, they do have a lot of salt and fat involved.

- Drank too much beer – in fact I realized why when I was out there. When I get bored, I want a beer. It must lesson the boredom or something. It was a kind of light bulb thing that went on. So in 3 weeks, I have another 3 weeks of camping so I need to come up with something quick to replace that boredom beer with something more to my benefit.

Not drinking enough water

- Hate the out houses

- Out fishing along the rivers in the middle of nowhere in waders and just didn’t want to have to constantly have to go to the bathroom in the bushes with the bears :)

- Reason number one again…

Not enough exercising

- Walked the dog 3 miles or more for 4 days in a row. Got bored doing the same route each day around the campground and didn’t trust going completely out in the wilderness without someone else (my BF to be exact).

- No one else would walk with me so after awhile it was easy just to sit on my @ss like everyone else.

- Didn’t do any strength training with my bands because we had my BF’s 10 year old son staying with us, so he takes up the hide-a-bed in my trailer and therefore all my floor space. He doesn’t wake up until 10 or later (same as his dad) and I wasn’t into doing it outside where everyone could see me. Stupid I know…..

- I could have done it after everyone was up and about but by then I was so pissed that everyone spends all morning sleeping then gets up and asks me “what’s for breakfast?”.

I need to find something to do with myself when I go camping. We do a lot of fishing which involves lots of walking but none of it is aerobic. Walk, stop, fish, walk, stop, fish, etc…

I bring my bike but after one or two rides by myself, I find it boring. I walk the dog, but again, walking the same route gets boring. I crochet so maybe I need to dig that out again and get my fingers moving instead of holding a beer. I read, tons… but I can still drink beer while reading (and eat sunflower seeds). I can read a book every other day depending on how good it is (but that doesn’t keep my active or not bored really). I can’t get anyone else to do anything active with me so not sure what else to do….

TTYL

S