W3D1

I did it!!

It's official that I CAN run a whole lap without wishing I were dead. However... on the program it says to run 3 minutes or 400m, which is one lap. So I went with the distance rather than the time, and I think I was jogging about 2 minutes and 40 seconds per lap. So next time I'm going to stick with time, rather than distance.

Anyway, not only did I DO it, but I did some extra laps as well (not consecutively jogging, but jogging nonetheless!)!!

Im excited to finish week 3 and REALLY REALLY challenge myself on week 4. I still cant fathom 5 minutes of jogging... that's almost 2 laps?! But a week ago I couldnt' imagine running ONE lap... so we'll see!

Week 2... DONE

Heaven help me!

We start week 3 of couch to 5K on Wednesday and... I'm so nervous! Up until now, 90 seconds of jogging is all I had to do at a single time, but in week 3 it becomes 3 whole minutes of jogging intervals. That's one full lap, at the pace I've been going.

I'm so nervous but I know I can do it! It's going to be haaaaard but I'll do it and I'll do it without stopping!!

And I am officially going to do a 5k this fall with my sister in law. I'm excited to have a real goal to work towards! And knowing that she's going to be doing it with me is the extra push I need, so I know I absolutely can't give up, because she's counting on me! (Not to mention she's tiny, so I'll have to really work it to keep up with her!) Next phase is signing up for an actual race. Just thinking about that makes me nervous but I'm doing it!

This week is going awesome so far. As far as exercise AND eating well. We did the c25k last night and tonight I'm planning on a 60 minute bike ride. Anyway, as a girl who has spent most of her life feeling insecure and inferior and bad about herself, when I have proud moments I try to really appreciate them all I can. And today at lunch I had one of those moments. And it's as simple as this- I went to the cafe and ordered my turkey sandwich as usual, and rather than ordering the little bag of chips along with it, I got mixed fruit. Because I 100% didn't even want the chips. I just thought about how the grease and oil and fat of the chips would dissolve into all the cells in my body... and about how if I got fruit all the nutrients and vitamins would dissolve into the cells in my body... and when you think of it that way, it's a really simple choice after all! Anyway that was just a proud little moment for me and I wanted to share :O)

Cherish even the small signs of progress.

My weekend funk

"A frog, hopping around the farm, minding his own business, fell right into a pail half-filled with cream. Swimming frantically, he found the sides too steep and too high. Determined not to give up, he continued to struggle. He kicked and squirmed, kicked and squirmed until at last his churning had turned the cream into a block of butter – allowing him to hop right out. He never gave up!" ~sparkpeople.com

This is the story of my weekend, although it doesn't have the happy ending that this did.  I came across this little story in an article about just having to deal with the times that are hard.  This weekend was so hard for me and I don't know why.  My husband related it to our 28 day reminder of being a woman, but I feel like it was much more than that.  I was just overwhelmed and crabby, and to be honest I don't know if I was even being nice.  I was over sensitive to everything, and melodramatic about everything that I wasn't over sensitive to.  

I feel fine today, so now I have the power of hindsight.  All last week I did a great job of exercising and until Friday my eating was great too.  I took a client out for Chinese...and from there I just felt like I lost all control.  I had fast food for supper, then saturday morning i had it again, then we ordered pizza saturday night.  To top it off, Sunday we went to the fair, and I ate like hell AGAIN.

What the hell was I thinking? This is where my frustration is....I know how to do everything right but I don't know how to stop myself once i start.  And then I begin the mental battle of "shoulda coulda woulda" begins. The moral of my story of the weekend is that I have so much to work on and Jillian is right too when she talks about how you have to face your demons to be successful.  I am going to the doctor this week for me pre-employment physical and I have a laundry list of questions for him too.  

Now I am moving on, I will look back to fix it but I'm not going to dwell on it.  

Week 2 Day 1

Last night the husband and I headed to the track for w2d1 of couch to 5k. I'll be honest... it was more difficult than I was expecting! Hence the clipart :O) I did feel like my heart was going to burst out of my chest at the end of every single 90 second interval, but I didn't have to stop jogging during any of the 90 seconds! Of course I wanted to, but I kept thinking 'I've just got to push through this one, because if I can finish this whole session without stopping, then I'll be able to do the next 2 days of week 2 without stopping too, because I'll know I CAN do it!' So with that thought, I kept pushing and it was a success. I am also very happy to be able to say that my calf/shin is feeling great today! No soreness whatsoever! Since it was so incredibly sore after my last jog, the husband and I went to WalMart and got us both (he had extreme foot/leg pain after his last attempt at jogging as well) Dr. Scholls shoe insterts. And I bought an ace bandage to wrap around my calf while jogging AND we were on the track rather than the road. So between these 3 variables, the jog was a great success with zero pain ailing me today. John said he felt great as well, so that was a great improvement for us. I like that he is jogging with me. We both have tomorrow off and are planning a morning jog for day 2. Woohoo! Soon enough I'll be at week 3!

I'm doing really well on my goals for this week, except for today I'm going to miss working out. Which is ok, because I plan to make up for it either Saturday or Sunday. I'm glad I wrote those goals down. I really wasn't in the mood for doing my elliptical on Tuesday, but I made it happen because I wanted to be able to have a good report of my goals at the end of the week.

She's graduating

From week 1 of Couch 2 5K, that is!

I'm very happy to be able to report that I have officially completed week 1 of C25K. I ended up doing it last night instead of elliptical'ing. It was my third and final go at week 1, and it was the best one yet. I'm sure it has a little something to do with the fact that it was the evening and perfect weather (not blistering hot like the other 2 days I've done it) but I felt SOOO good jogging last night! At the end of each 60 second interval I kept thinking 'Wow, I could totally just keep going!' And I DID a couple times. I jogged a couple of the intervals as 90 seconds rather than 60, just because I felt like it. And then on the very last one, I went ahead and jogged for 2 minutes rather than 1. I know they say not to jump ahead in the program (which I'm not really...) but I just wanted to push myself and felt really good about it. And another crazy thing is i'm actually craving to go jogging today! I wont because my calf is sore AND I know at this early on in the program I really do need to be giving myself a day in between jogging. So needless to say, I'm really excited about starting week 2 and seeing how much more I can progress in just a short week. I'll be jogging a full mile without stopping in no time! That will be a HUGE freaking milestone for me. I haven't done that since 10th grade which was about 7 years ago! One small problem I am having is a sore calf/shin after jogging. I'm not sure if it's a shin splint or what, but it's hurting after I jog. I try to focus on my form and everything, but it's giving me troubles every time. I guess all I can really do is be careful, ice it after jogging, and keep going to strengthen whatever the problem is! I really am so excited about this program. I feel like in a way it is giving me a break on watching my weight so closely. I typically weigh myself every day and focus on that a lot more than I probably should, but I feel like this is giving me something else to work towards and focus on, rather than just losing weight. I can't believe i'm saying this but I am honest to goodness thinking about signing up for a 5K this fall. I never thought those words would pass my lips, but I have a feeling that I can push myself a lot harder/farther than I ever realized. Maybe I will become one of those crazy people who loves running afterall!

My 1000 Calorie Day

I just had to celebrate that i burned 1008 calories working out yesterday.  I went on a 30 minute bike ride and burned 354 calories.  I think i increased the burn during my bike ride because i listened to Serena William's Spontaneous Speed that I got off of iTunes.  This is an interval workout that instructs you when to pick up your pace etc.  

Then I went to cardio kickboxing at 5:30 and it was intense.  I burned 654 cals in 45 mins which is just amazing to me.  We did so much ab work, and I learned that jumping rope with a real rope is the number one way to reduce to cellulite. 

anyway just a great day for me and wanted to share it.

My Goals for This Week

This morning Stephanie asked me what my goals for the week are. I HAD been thinking about what I should do this week as far as exercise goes, but I didn't have any definite goals so she got me thinking. My goals for this week:

1. Couch to 5k Tuesday, Thursday (morning!!), and Saturday. Thursday will be my 1st day of week 2, and my first day of doing it in the am!!
2. Monday and Wednesday, 60 minutes of working out either with a video, elliptical, bike, or tennis.
3. Be MINDFUL of what I'm putting in my mouth.
4. Eat more veggies (I've been slacking with this one lately)

Let me take a minute to write about the C25K thing. I'm still really excited about it and anxious to see what kind of progress I make! I did day 2 on Saturday and at the end of each 60 second jog I felt like 'Hey... I could totally keep jogging for a little longer!' Which was an exciting feeling to have, but I didn't do it because I want to stick with the plan and not over do it. I decided that the easiest way to stick with this is to tell people that I'm doing it. That will help keep me accountable for sure. I've told John of course, and Stephanie (duh), but I've also told my sister and my mom, and my sister in law. I also joined the Spark Group (it was after reading some posts in the Spark Group that I decided it was something I should do), and I will be posting regularly there for a little feedback and accountability. I'm looking forward to this week, sort of as a way to un-do all the bad that I did to my body over the weekend. I need to learn that it's OK to flat out say NO to cravings. It's just soooo not worth it! Ever! I feel like when I'm craving something, I will push it off to the side of my mind for a while. And I will push and push and push, until I can't hold it off any longer, and then I cave in. I need to stop doing that and realize that I DO have the strength to just flat out say NO.

I am going to my hometown on August 7th for my friends baby shower. Right now I'm using this as a little motivation stepping stone. I want to feel and look great when I see my old friends!

Who is co-signing your B.S.?

Another jillian quote off of her radio show...but seriously this is something that I feel I need to blog about.  I am guilty of continuously looking to all the wrong places for support in living a healthy life lifestyle and making good choices.  Unfortunately I make the wrong call alot.  Sometimes I find that I am getting ready to make a huge mistake in eating or my will power is getting ready to take a day off....I need to take a moment and realize who I am asking for encouragement.  Usually I call someone that will say "yeah do it just work out for an extra 12031937 hours next week" or "just this once it will be fine you can have a mountain of ice cream" I know who I need to contact in these situations...I know that I need to text mal real quick instead of taking an advice from those around me.

A prime example of this was 4th f july i was so bummed out because I made some horrible choices and i text mal about it pretty late at night...and I mean I was on the verge of falling off the wagon and just really decorating for a stephanie pitty party and her simple response stopped me.  She said "well tomorrow is a new day lets just do better" or something really simple like that. 

So I am back on track starting right now, it is just like me to be melodramatic about messing up for a few days.  I have to get over it and move on.  

"Failure isn't judged by what you did to fail, it is decided by how you respond to it" 

~Jillian Michaels

Stephanie's Day 1 Week 1 of Couch to 5K

So I decided I need a way to hold myself accountable to this new challenge and what better way to hold myself accountable than to blog about it.  It isn't going to a huge monologue about it, but enough to make myself look like an ass if I don't...Yes I know...interesting way to think about it but I truly am motivated by some of the oddest things.  

My first day today actually was surprising ok.  I wore a sweatshirt so I would sweat my bootie off and it worked well.  Then I got through all the circuits, I know that this is probably the easy week, but it is still a heck of a good work out.  Mainly it sets me up for success when I got home and I can recover without feeling as if death is right around the corner.  I burned 350 cals in 30 min which is pretty sweet.  Well we will see how it goes!!

New Granola Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 Cup Butter
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Natural Peanut Butter
2.5 Cup Oats
1 Cup Chopped Nuts (I used roasted almonds with sea salt)
1 Cup Coconut
1 Cup Dried Fruit (I used apricots, apple, mango, and craisen and cut them with scissors)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix all dry ingredients
2. Heat butter, peanut butter, and honey until butter is melted and peanut butter is smooth.
3. Combine rest of ingredients and fold with a wooden spoon until golden brown (2-3 min)
4. Spread evenly on baking sheet and bake at 250 for 15 min, then stir and bake another 15 min. 

Number of Servings: 15

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 15
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 206.9

• Total Fat: 11.1 g
• Cholesterol: 8.1 mg
• Sodium: 26.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 32.2 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5.7 g
• Protein: 4.3 g

And today... she's struggling.

Well I hate days like this.

First off, I really should have been blogging lately, but I just haven't. I HATE how I go through spells of just really really REALLY not feeling in the mood to blog. For instance last month I had great progress pictures, but wasn't in the mood to blog about them. Then went to Virginia which was interesting... but I wasn't in the mood to blog about it. I finally dropped down to 178.4 this week! Hit the 170's!! But alas... not in the mood to blog about it. Heck I even rode my bike 16 miles- from my house to my in-laws house, and burned over 900 calories, WHILE on my period! But naturally... not in the mood for blogging. I hate that. And to be completely honest?? I'm sooo not even in the mood to be doing it now! But I guess you gotta start back up sometime.

As Steph mentioned, we are starting the couch to 5K program. I did day 1 on Wednesday, and was feeling really great. (And should be doing day 2 tonight...hmm. Anyone have some energy they could lend me????) The program starts off really simple, but just to know that I could complete day 1 without much of a struggle at all had me feeling really great about myself. In fact I am now feeling as though I'd like to run a 5K this fall.

But for some reason, the last 2 days (yesterday and today) I have really been struggling.
I've been ravenous. And therefore I have been eating. And eating. And eating. And I've been feeling lethargic for the past 2 days as well. Not sure why this is. I'm drinking a ton of water and I'm not even pms'ing, so I don't understand why I'm so hungry. And I know a big part of the problem is that when I feel this sort of hunger, I go for whatever I can find that's NOT healthy. Screw the apple, I say, as I grab a cookie. It's frustrating when I do that, yet I have continued to do it all day (and it's only noon!? wtf!) When I get this way I fight off the urge for what seems like as long as I can, until I ultimately give in to whatever I am craving. I wish I could find the strength to really fight off cravings when they come like this, rather than just suppress them until I can no longer stand it.

I guess I will say that I'm really proud of myself/excited to be officially into the 170's! It always super exciting to 'down a decade' on the scale. But the second I do, I starting thinking "OK now I'm just dying to get into the 160's!" I think sometimes I need to take a minute and be proud of what I have just accomplished rather than thinking that it's still not good enough.

Last night John and I were going to go for a bike ride (I literally had to force myself to get my biking gear on, I just wanted to stay home and lay on the couch. And this was AFTER an hour long nap!) and when we got to our bikes we made the terrible discovery that we both had flats!! I was soooo irritated because I had finally gotten awake enough, and in the mood for a good ride, knowing that exercise would make me feel more awake and elevate my mood... and it was ruined. Anyway, we decided to go for a walk instead and walked briskly for about 70 minutes. Burned 500 calories, and I was glad we did something rather than just be discouraged by our flat tires. On our walk we talked about how we want to always be active together, and with our children. That we want to be in shape and healthy to be good examples for our future family, as well as to be able to do fun adventurous and active things with them. These conversations always make me happy. I really look forward to raising a healthy family. Having John (who has officially lost 13 lbs, bytheway!) at my side while I am trying to create an active lifestyle has been a great blessing for me.

Ok I'm not sure where I'm going with all this, but I just felt like I needed to blog. That's all for now.

Mal & I's next big adventure

Well by the title it sounds like we are starting our own new cartoon series.  However, Mal and I have decided to start training for a 5K, she found a podcast on itunes by a guy named Robert Ullrey.  I am way excited but also very nervous because to be honest...i never have aspired to be a runner, i just know that i burn a ton of calories when I do it.  We are always willing to try new things so there will be more to come!!

Angel Food Cake Dessert

2 pkgs 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese

1 Cup Sugar

1 contianer cool whip

1 angel food cake loaf

1 quart fresh strawberries

1 container strawberry glaze (in produce section)

Directions:

1. cut up cake and pat down into 9x13 pan

2. mix cream cheese and sugar, then fold in cool whip...add on top of cake 

3. cut up strawberries, combine with glaze, and put on top 

4. refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 12
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 274.3

• Total Fat: 10.5 g
• Cholesterol: 28.0 mg
• Sodium: 188.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 42.7 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.5 g
• Protein: 4.1 g