To Gym or Not to Gym

My blog postings are far apart these days, but not because I don't want to post.  Just so busy with work and planning for the approaching holiday, training for my half marathon last week, and getting through a lot of appointments.  Crazy!

I feel like I am finally starting to feel better.  After 5 months, the migraines are no longer every single day and the intensity isn't as much.  Fighting those migraines for 5 months together with the medications really took a lot of my strength and it was very difficult for me to continue with the training to the marathon.  So I made the decision to switch to half-marathon and so glad that I did.  On November 16th, I ran my third half-marathon, Delaware Canal Half Marathon, which takes place on the towpath along the beautiful Delaware Canal, starting in Washington's Crossing in Pennsylvania.

I had high hopes going into this race.  My training had been great for the past few weeks.  I felt I handled the carb loading properly over the course of 10 days rather than the night before.  I tapered leading up to the race.  I had my mind set that I was going to GO OUT SLOW.  I was ready.  But things don't always go as planned, and I did go out too fast, and I did struggle at the end, but I finished.  So I'm going to take pride in that.

I want to now take the next few months to build my strength back, get stronger physically and mentally, not just in running.  So my question comes back to what do I do?  My love is running, but I know that I should not run every day.  That's all I want to do though.

I have a membership to the YMCA that honestly, I have not used in a year.  I ask myself if I'm not going to use it, why not cancel it and save myself the money.  For our joint membership, it's about $600 a year.  When you're living on a budget, that's a big dump of money that could be used somewhere else.

But am I sacrificing my own well being?  Yes, it does take a little more time out of my day to get to the gym and work out versus just throwing on the running gear and getting out for a run, but the gym is perfect for cross-training and core.  I know that, yes, and I constantly battle with it.  Once I get into the routine of going to back to the gym, it's kind of addictive.  It's just that one giant step to get me going back, and it's really bad timing with the holidays approaching and work being so busy.

What do I want?  What do I really want to achieve over the next few months to help me do better in the next half-marathon, which is in May?  Well, I think that dropping another 5-6 pounds would definitely help, as would building core and upper body strength, neither of which I have.

But is there a way for me to attain these goals in another manner and still cancel the Y membership, save the $600 bucks a year?  I guess that's the answer I'm searching for.

So it's time to make a decision.

Football Sundays Now vs. Football Sundays Then

So I got to thinking today how much things have changed.  Who knew back then that it would change so drastically, but sadly, it has.

These days, my perfect football Sunday consists of hanging out in my kitchen, preferably after a good run on a cold crisp morning, dressed in fleece pants or jammies and a sweatshirt, cooking something yummy for dinner, prepping some meals for the week, and watching the games while I enjoy a glass or two of wine or a martini (or two) at happy hour and hanging out on the internet.

But my football Sundays of the past were a WHOLE DIFFERENT BALLGAME!

Beer, lots of beer, of course!  In fact, I so clearly remember my orientation when I joined Weight Watchers and realizing that I was going to have to give up all that beer on Sundays!  Horror of Horror!  No!!!!!  But I did.

Then there was the FOOTBALL FOOD.  Those memories came back to me today and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  I can't even imagine eating today the way I ate back then.  No way.  Hot wings.... I can eat one or two occasionally now, but bowls of them, as an appetizer, with all that blue cheese dressing!  And  how about the nachos that we used to make!  The homemade beef topping, the two or three kinds of cheese topping, refried beans, the sliced jalapenos, sour cream, black olives and salsa.  Actually, I would still enjoy that, but would be afraid I couldn't stop and how I would feel after.   Better to stay away

Chili with cheese over pasta!  That was another favorite for Sunday football.  Oh, THEN THERE WAS THE FRENCH ONION SOUP!  Oh, my god, I could go on forever.  How did I ever survive?

Well, at least I have the memories.  Some of those foods I can modify but will never be the same.  They will never be the same.  I remember my Weight Watcher leader telling me one time about "The Burger in Her Mind".  She never had another burger, because no burger would ever be as good as the one that she had dreamed of.  That's kind of the way I remember football Sunday.

So I'll stick to my new way, and leave the past behind.  I'll enjoy the occassional wing or two without the Pepcid or Tums.

I Miss This Thing....

I miss blogging.  I miss writing posts daily about how I'm feeling, what I'm struggling with, my successes.  I miss reading what everyone else is doing and dealing with, their successes.  Blogging helped me to focus, helped me to get through, helped me get where I wanted to get, helped me be where I wanted to be.

But it took up a lot of my time, and I don't seem to have that time now.  Training for marathon #2 takes a lot of time, along with work, of course, and having a rough summer with unexplained daily chronic headaches, tests, doctors appointments.  It's all been a little overwhelming.

   

#WYCWYC Thanks for Reminding Me!

I have once again been reminded that it's not always about the long run, the hour workout at the gym, etc.  Anything you do throughout the day is activity and is better than nothing at all.

Thanks, Roni, for reminding me.

http://ronisweigh.com/2013/09/the-wycwyc-challenge.html

So I am inspired now to just try every day to add some little bit of activity here and there.  I have been suffering with migraine headaches since the first week of June. It had really taken a toll on me.  I was tired, and struggling to follow a healthy lifestyle, and although I am starting to feel better and have managed to continue marathon training, my heart is only half in it.    But I feel like I'm on my way.  Thanks to a lot of wonderful bloggers out there who have inspired me to just keep moving, I think it's all coming together.

Begins Again Today - One Step In the Right Direction

Been a long, difficult summer, full of migraine headaches with no apparent reason but hopefully, we're on the road to feeling better with a combination of a few medications that seem to be helping to control the headaches.

In the meantime, I realize that I absolutely HAVE NOT been tracking what I eat.  I have not been binge eating or overeating, have not been eating cake, candy and ice cream every day, but I've let go a lot of my healthy eating habits, and today I'm taking one big step in the right direction to gain control once again.  I'm over my goal weight by about 7 pounds AND IT IS NOT GOING TO STAY!

So today is the day.  I woke up this morning and just decided it's time.  Stop procrastinating.  Stop using the migraines as an excuse.  Just Do It!

Just get back from a short run.  I'm going to hit the showers, throw some shorts on and my "Just Do It"
t-shirt  as a reminder and get this day started.

One day at a time, one meal at a time, one healthy choice at a time.  I am going to turn this thing around!

Still here...just quietly

So I've been kind of taking a break from blogging.  It's been kind of a lousy summer for me.   I've been battling with headaches/migraines since the first week in June.  Been on antibiotics, steroids, antibiotics, and now found a new doctor who has me on a headache/migraine medicine and muscle relaxer.  She believes they may be tension headaches.

So because I sit in front of the computer all day long for work, it becomes a struggle to look at the computer screen any longer when my work is done.  Hopefully, this will resolve soon.  Once I'm feeling better, I hope to get back to blogging more often.

For now, I'm just reading all my favorites.

Comfort Zone Breakouts

Not adding any fluff to this post.  No time to drag it out, but wanted to get this post written while I had a minute.

Body Image has ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS been an issue for me.  Even now after maintaining my goal weight for four years, it's still an issue with me.

And as a runner, I see many other women/girls out there running, of all ages, and admire all those that are running on these hot days clad in what I call "shortie shorts" and a sports bra.  For me, that was just not in the cards....or so I thought.   It had always been longer running shorts and running shirts with some sort of sleeve.

Slowly, I started to change.  First came the sleeves.  These summer runs are hot, humid.  I decided I didn't care about showing the flabby arms while I ran.  So in came the sleeveless, tank type running shirts.  Oh, my gosh, so much better!

Then I went shopping one day last year for some new running shorts and came across a pair of "shortie" compression shorts.  Me?  I don't think so, but tried them on anyway.  Not so bad.  I still was not convinced that I could wear them out in public but I bouth them, and eventually, I got up the nerve to wear them out running.  I was still self-conscious about it.  I may have lost 75 pounds, but the top of my legs still have a lot of "jiggle" hanging around.  Then I realized that no one was really analyzing that while I ran past them, and if they were, that's their problem.  These shorts are comfortable and cooler!

Now, the last remaining barrier, the sports bra.  Of course, I have sports bras, but would never wear it without an additional running shirt over it.  But why?  There are certainly plenty of women out there with similar body shapes as mine who are.  Why do I have such a problem with it?  Body image.  It's been a problem since I was a child.  Again, even though I have lost the weight, I still have not lost that feeling that I needed to hide my flaws.  But everyone has flaws.

Yesterday, I took a baby step in right direction.  It was not a big step, but one in the right direction.  I had just returned from a run and had already taken off the top shirt, trying to cool off before hitting the showers.  But I wanted to check out the garden before I did that.  I headed right out the back door, belly in the sunlight, and had not a care that all the neighbors would see me out there.    WHO IS THIS PERSON?!!

Will I take another step in that same direction and actually free myself of that fear, go for a run with my belly showing?  Absolutely, although maybe some tummy toning work first.   Might be a reason to get me back to the gym and add it into a strength training routine.

A new goal has been set.

Still Fighting Back!

Hello folks.  I have been struggling lately.  Struggling to stay on program, struggling to get through the day sometimes.

I have not been feeling my usual self since the first week in June, persistent daily headaches.  The doctor has been treating me for sinus infection, allergies, but that didn't work.  Now they're running more tests to see if there is anything else going on.

In the meantime, the scale did go up.  I admit when I am not feeling well, it's very difficult to focus on the healthy choices for our meals.  I have tried to continue to eat fruit and fresh vegetables and with the Jersey corn and tomatoes coming in now, that's getting easier.

The headaches seem a little better right now.  In fact, I don't think I took anything for pain yesterday.  THAT'S  a good thing.

Also, I made the decision to try to give up artificial sweeteners such as Sweet & Low, Splenda, etc.  I am now using Stevia for my coffee and iced tea.  It's a little more expensive, but I think in the long run, it can only do good things for me.  From what I understand, artificial sweeteners aren't doing us any favors at all.

And I've still been out running, in first week of marathon training now.  Hopefully, these headaches will go away.

So that's the scoop.  I'm fighting back, getting in lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and trying to drink more water.  I've also started drinking a little Gatorade each day.  I don't know if it's really helping, but I think it is.

Weigh-In Shocker/Comfortable with the Maybes

I am writing this post before I get a chance to talk myself out of it.  Got on the scale this morning and was ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED  at the number I saw.

What happened?  I don't know.  Well, MAYBE I know a little, but not that much damage!  I had a nice weekend, enjoyed a little more than the normal limitations, but don't feel I deserve THAT NUMBER!

Now, honestly, I have not been feeling well at all for the last four weeks, and for the last two weeks, I have been on antibiotics AND A STEROID.  Could that have something to do with it?  MAYBE.  I don't know.  I was worried about a gain when they put me on the steroids, but didn't want to use that as an excuse, just throw my hands in the air and say oh, well, I'm going to gain weight.

I've been eating a lot of fruit lately, which is  a good thing, but am I eating too much fruit?  MAYBE.

Have I been weighing and measuring?  Well, not completely, but at the same time, I didn't think I was that off track.  But was I?  MAYBE.  How do I know?  How do I know how far off track I am if I am not counting?

MAYBE  it's a fluke, a fake number.  MAYBE it will drop dramatically next time I get on that scale, but maybe not.  I don't want to .... I WILL NOT rely on the MAYBE's.  I want to rely on what works.

What works?  Eating sensibly, weighing and measuring, exercising, drinking water, MAKING GOOD CHOICES!

So we restart here.  That number is GOING DOWN.  I refuse to see that number on the scale.  No way!

So we're off, off to have a better day and off to get it started by going on a run.

Post Vacation Weigh-In - How it All Went Down?

In the four years since I've reached my goal weight, every trip to Florida to visit my mom has resulted in a gain at the scale upon my result.  So this time, I was pleasantly surprised upon weighing in this past weekend to learn that the number went down!  Really?  Really!

After thinking about it, I attribute it to the following.  Past vacations have had a lot of focus on food and cooking, snacks and cocktails.  I would go down there and every day, we would cook one of our favorite dishes.  If we're down at the holidays, there's the addition of candy and cookies, holiday treats, and then, of course, cocktail hour at 5:00 p.m. sharp (sometimes a little earlier).

This trip was definitely different.  We did not focus on the food as much.  We did cook, but not every day.  Sometimes we went out for lunch and then had a snack or sandwich for dinner.  Sometimes we went out to dinner and ate light earlier in the day.  Sometimes we heated up leftovers.  The time was not spent cooking and filling up too much, but instead, was spent relaxing and enjoying time with mom.

I was able to get out and run more this trip as well, and my total weekly mileage was more than the usual trip.

I ran to the beach....

 I ran over the bridge...

 I ran in the park at the base of the bridge...

We strolled along the beach and did some treasure hunting....

Finally, I have been trying to focus a lot more on properly hydrating and keeping away from diet sodas and beverages.  So on most days, I stuck to my routine of making a pitcher of infused water to drink throughout the day.

Now, since my weigh-in this past weekend, I'm a little unsteady.  I have not been tracking and, honestly, not paying as close attention as I should to what I'm eating, but hey, it's my birthday week, and as long as I'm not going totally overboard, I'm enjoying a little and will pay the consequences if necessary.   Went to a picnic this weekend and enjoyed a piece of fried chicken (which I NEVER get) and chips (which I NEVER get), and a few other little treats.  But the upside is that do to being on certain medications, I have avoided alcoholic beverages and will have to continue to do so for another week.  So there's some saved calories right there!

Restarting the Engine

It's back to reality today.  Back from my trip.  Time to get back to life as usual and work.  Blahhhhhh!

The routine is always so difficult at the start, but once the engine is started and I begin moving forward, it becomes easier.

So here I go, turning the key, engine started, warming up, and off I go.  Now I just have to keep my eye on the road and keep moving forward.

This analogy refers to many aspects of my life, not just the healthy eating.

I am also ready to set some new goals, one of which is to look ahead to a start date for marathon training AND to focus more this time around on the nutritional aspects as well as the mileage aspects.

Something In the Water....

Infused water is big now.  I've been seeing it all over the blogs and internet lately.  I actually started making it a few months ago at the suggestion of my cousin and not from anything I was reading about.

I'm going through a 2-quarter pitcher a day.  I make it late morning and leave it on the kitchen counter, just adding ice when needed.  By leaving the pitcher out in full sight, it reminds me every time I go by to refill my cup.  

Each day is a little different, depending on what I have in stock. This was yesterday's water:  orange and lemon wedges (rind removed), cucumber, strawberries, and a spring of rosemary.  

I've also been using A LOT of fresh mint, and I've been using blueberries or watermelon too.

Here's A GREAT post about tips for drinking enough water, published today on one of MY FAVORITE SITES:

http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/23-tips-for-drinking-more-water-each-day/

The benefits of drinking water, of course, are huge.  For me, I feel so much better when I'm getting all my water in.  Here are some benefits listed on WebMD:

"1. Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature."

"2. Water Can Help Control Calories. For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn't have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help. "

"3. Water Helps Energize Muscles. Cells that don't maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue.  Drinking enough fluids is important when exercising."

"4. Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good. Your skin contains plenty of water, and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss."

"5. Water Helps Your Kidneys. Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells."

"When you're getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions."

"6. Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function. Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don't get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration -- and the result is constipation."

My New Favorite Sauce

Not a lot of time to post today, so I'm going to try to make this short.  I love cooking pasta sauce on the weekends.  I LOVE PASTA!  I also try to have lots of veggies to have either with my pasta or on the side.  With this sauce, you get it all in one pot, chock full of lots of great veggies.  This sauce comes out so chunky and thick.  I loved it.

So credit goes to David at http://keepitupdavid.wordpress.com/.  This guy has done a fabulous job of getting healthy and taking off A LOT of weight.  It's a wonderful blog full of interesting information on his adventures and discovering different foods.

For the recipe and pics of this fabulous sauce, follow this link.  http://keepitupdavid.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/macrae/

For a sneak peak at the sauce, here's a pic from his post.  In this particular shot, he paired the sauce with roasted brussel sprouts.



 I am definitely going to try this.  I also plan on grilling up some eggplant and zucchini and serving the service over that with a bit of shredded cheese.

Weekend Check-In and Weigh-In

For some reason, these days, I'm only making it to my WW meeting every other week.  Since I'm a lifetime member, I only have to go once a month, but I'm normally there every week.  It's just what works for me.

So I went this morning and the result is I'm the same, one pound above goal, which is okay.  I can be 2 pounds above goal and still not have to pay.  But I am on a mission to get back under goal in the next 2 to 3 weeks, for a few reasons.

Reason number one, in less than three weeks, I will be celebrating 4 years maintaining my goal weight and living this healthy lifestyle.  I am very very proud of that.  Being overweight has been a battle I struggled with my entire life, until this last journey.  I was able to lose all the weight I needed to and have now maintained it for 4 years.  So I desperately want to see that number back under goal when I celebrate my 4-year anniversary.

Reason number two, I will be going on vacation in less than a month.  I ALWAYS gain a few pounds when I go.  So I'd like to be under goal before I get there.

Reason three, I want to once again wear my goal ring!  I have a ring that I bought prior to reaching goal, and then put it in my jewelry box and didn't place it on my finger again until the day I reached goal.  Recently, I took that ring off and put it back in the jewelry box again, promising myself that I would wear it only after I got back to goal.  So close.  I want to wear that ring when I leave for vacation.

So there it is, in writing.  Now to continue what I'm doing to get there.


It's cold and windy here today, great day for cooking.  I am trying out a new recipe today that I am very excited about!  Got it from one of the blogs I read.  Hope to share it with you in the next few days.

Feeling like a Loser Blogger....but not a "loser" blogger.

I am feeling really bummed about my blogging lately.  I love blogging and it has definitely been something that has helped me maintain my weight loss.  But life sometimes just gets in the way.  Too much going on, too much to do, not enough time.

This is what I've been up to....

Cleaning out all the flower beds and then laying two yards of mulch has kept me crazy busy, plus working, plus running, plus other obligations.  But now it's done.  I even got the veggie garden planted pretty much except for a few plants that will go in later this week.

On weightloss/maintenance topic?  Well, good news is that the last four weight-ins, the number has dropped slightly each time.  That's a good thing.  Bad news is that according to my home scale, the number has gone up a few pounds since last weigh-in.  I have this week to get it back down before returning for weigh-in on Saturday.

Back to making up a big pitcher of water each day flavored with lemon, mint, and fresh ginger.  I leave it out and just keep through ice in it.  By leaving the water pitcher on the counter during the day, it's a much better signal to me to keep refilling my glass.  Yesterday was a successful water day.  Got it all in by the end of the day.

This is exactly what the maintenance journey is all about for me, little ups and downs.

We've have a trip coming in the near future to Florida.  I'd like to shed these "few pounds" before I go so that my summer clothes will be nice and comfy.  THAT'S a big motivation, comfortable clothes.

10-mile run vs. Running After the Ice Cream Truck

So today I ran a 10-mile race.  I was trying to beat my time from last year.  Missed it, but not by much.

Checked my splits on Runkeeper and then posted this on Facebook:

"Just checked my splits on Runkeeper. Had a GREAT PACE for the first 5 miles. Then I kind of fizzled. Guess that means I went out too fast."

A friend who has known me for many years, knew me when I was overweight, posted this in response:

"Who cares about the splits on the runkeeper......damn you completed the run not once BUT twice.....something you would have never said 20 years ago. I am so proud of you!!!!"

I immediately started to respond, and then thought, wow, she really did hit the nail on the head.  I responded as follows:

"Thanks, but not quite. Today was 10 miles. The full marathon in November was 26.2 miles" (Didn't realize at the time that she was probably referring to the the fact that I ran 10-miler last year and this year.). "BUT either way, I would have NEVER done either of those 20 years ago. Hell, I wouldn't have run a quarter mile 20 years ago unless I was chasing the ice cream man. LOL!"

But seriously, that is so so true.  20 years ago, 75+ pounds heavier, I would have NEVER EVER thought of running AT ALL.  Now look, I'm comparing my time from last year to this year and analyzing what went wrong that the two runs were about a minute or two difference total time!

CERTainly can!

Been a busy week.  Been a tough week.  Been a great week!  My husband and I have been taking classes for CERT - Community Emergency Response Team - and this week, we graduated!!!!

It had been a long time since I took classes for anything, and honestly, it was difficult for me.   I sometimes felt overwhelmed, but it was something I wanted, and I drew on my experiences in my journey to get healthy to get me through these classes.

What were those experiences?

Keep trying.  You can do this.  Let others motivate you to continue.  Relax.  Have fun.  LOOK FORWARD.

It has been a busy couple of weeks between Bob's surgery, work, community commitments, work.... oh, did I say that already?  

I saw a number on the scale at the beginning of the week that made my eyes pop.  I was not ready to see that number ever again!  So I decided to try a few of the old tricks.  Think before eating.  Are you hungry?  Why are you eating?  Is there an emotion attached to this choice?  Are you tired?  Are you hungry enough to eat an apple?

I also made a big picture of water every day with the goal of drinking all of it by the end of the day.  Most days, I did, or came very very close.  I found that by adding a few lemon slices, some fresh mint or lemon balm and a few slices of fresh ginger, that I was enjoying the water.  This is a habit I'm going to try to continue.

So tomorrow I'll return to my meeting and weigh-in (I've missed two in a row) and see what the "official number" is.   But no matter, I feel good and IT'S BEEN A GOOD WEEK.

So can I continue to live a healthy lifestyle, be active in my community, be happy?

CERT-ainly can!

The Stress - My Weakness - My Return

It's no secret that when I go through a stressful situation in my life, all the things that I have learned throughout this journey kind of just slip away, smart choices, healthy eating, drinking water, TRACKING.... all gone.

No different this time, I'm afraid.  My husband had surgery last week.  The first day, I did okay.  After that, everything just disappeared.

This morning, the scale tells the story.  I have gained a few pounds in just a week.  Frustrating.  Don't like admitting it, my weaknesses, but at least I know what they are, and I am able to pull myself up and get back to what I love doing for myself and what I know works, healthy choices, tracking, hydrating, and exercise.

 I did run one day last week but it was more of a stress buster than for enjoyment.  But today I'm off for a nice long run, longest in a months, getting myself ready for a 10-miler I'm doing in a few weeks.  After that, I plan to make a big pitcher of water for the day, flavored with mint, lemon, ginger, and work in the garden.

Hopefully, my husband has turned the corner with the pain and will really really start feeling better now!

just no words...or not enough

I had planned on getting back to my blog today, writing about what a great weekend I had, how great I feel, but now after today's horrific attacks at the Boston Marathon, I just have nothing to say other than these words:  shocked, stunned, horrified, sad, angry...FAITH, hope, love, healing, determination.

Red Light Food Still....RED LIGHT!!!!

Red Light Food - definition, for me anyway, a food that I can't trust myself to eat in moderation, a food that causes me to forget it all and say I don't care for just a few moments while I eat it, and then regret it the minute I am finished, of course.

My red light food has ALWAYS, since the beginning of this journey, been pizza.  Even now, almost four years after reaching my goal weight, I still lose control with a home baked pizza fresh out of the oven.  With a pizza ordered from the local pizza place, it's different.  I can always stop up the street for a slice when I want it and be perfectly satisfied.  But when the house smells so delicious from the pizza cooking in the oven, and the cheese is all melty and crispy on the edges...well, yeah.  You get the idea.  I have a love affair with home cooked pizza.

I should have known better, but noooooo.  Let's run to the store, get what we need, and we'll throw a pizza in the oven and load it up with fresh veggies.  THAT'S THE ONLY good "skinny" about it.  I loaded up half the pizza with chopped mushrooms, rings of red, orange, and yellow peppers, and --- get this -- tiny slices of asparagus.  Looked so pretty.  Oh, and by the way, asparagus on pizza is so good!

I SHOULD have known better.  I should have known I couldn't resist.  Yeah.  I guess I did know I couldn't resist and did it anyway.  I was lost by the time I drizzled the olive oil over the top.

Calculated out though.  3 slices (yes, I did), 26 points!  OUCH!  I had 10 points left for the day.  I did get a few activity points this morning.  That helped out... I guess.  The good news is it's over.  I don't do it that often, and now it's done, out of my system, AND I have the rest of the week yet.  I can still run a few times this week, and  be extra careful with my choices for the rest of the week.

So that's it.  The truth is out.  I may not ever be able to control myself when it comes to freshly home cooked pizza.  NEVER EVER EVER!!!

Maybe I Need a Makeover.....

Sort of feeling like I need to take this blog in a new direction.  Instead of blogging randomly about how I'm feeling, what I'm doing, what's up with my running and the struggles I'm having, maybe it's time to give it more of a theme.


Hmmmm.....

Highly Disappointed --- But Recovered Quickly

I had a good week.  Used a lot of extras early in the week, but snap back, counted, tracked, and was happy to get back out and run three times this week.

Waking up this morning and getting ready to go to my weigh-in and meeting, I was anxious to get there.  I knew I had a good week.  I felt good and my clothes fit better.  I couldn't wait to see that number go down again!

Arrived at my meeting with a big smile, happy to see everyone and looking forward to another loss.  Was greatly disappointed when I was told that I had gained.  WHAT?!!!  Kidding, right?  But I worked hard, I counted and tracked and worked out, made great choices!!!

Then I thought about it.  So if I feel good, then does that number matter so much this week?  It's only a number this week.  I FEEL GREAT!  

And I set myself up for another good week by NOT bringing all that Easter candy in the house.  We did dye the eggs, because that's tradition, but the basket of candy, just a direct path down a slippery slope for me, a trip I don't want to take.

So that's that.  Now, if my weigh-ins continue to slide over the next week or two weeks, I may feel differently, but right now, I'm good.

Looking forward to Easter with the family tomorrow and hopefully lots of fun and laughs.

Ditch the GPS More Often?

I have always been very faithful to my smartphone and Runkeeper.  When I run, they're with me, both for safety, in case of an emergency, but most importantly, Runkeeper lets me know how far I've gone, and what my pace is.

Yesterday, I went out for a 3 mile run.  Runkeeper decided it wasn't into it.  So as I ran, I had no idea was my true mileage/pace was.

I am trying to push my pace back up little by little to get back to where I was.  In the last few weeks, I've only run a few times because of doctor's orders.  Since getting back out there, I was barely making it under a 12 minute mile pace, which is just crazy slow for me.  I've been in the 10's.

Last week, I ran a little over 2 miles, with a pace of 11:58 (SUPER YUCK!)  This past Sunday, my pace was 11:48 (still super yuck!)  I couldn't figure out what was going on.  I didn't feel like I was going that slow, but knew I felt very sluggish on both runs.

Yesterday, I was super stressed out from things and needed a run.  Running is my greatest tool for dealing with stress.  So I headed out before  lunch, and right away,  I knew the GPS was off.  Sometimes it will adjust and catch up pretty quickly.  Not this time.  By the time I was done.....according to Runkeeper, I ran 16.91 miles in 34 minutes!!!!!

When I got home, I used mapmyrun.com to check on my distance and figure out my pace.  I checked it twice, and it seems correct.  I ran just over 3.3 miles at a pace of 10:09!   WHAT???!!!  That's more like it!

Maybe I should go without the GPS more often.  Maybe I'm not pushing myself enough.  Maybe it's better for me NOT to know what my current pace is while I'm running!  Hmmm.  Might just have to test it out and leave the Runkeeper OFF next time I run.  

Believe In What You Know!

This week has been a little unsettling for me.  I was sidelined by the doctor from running due to a "little issue" with my toes, lots of blood work, which thankfully, all came back fine, and scheduled for follow-up with the foot doctor.

In the meantime, trying to get the weight back down where I want it to be....and no running?  How can I possibly do that?  How can I possibly lose weight without running?  Oh, my gosh, what am I going to do?!!

No, just kidding.  I didn't panic.  But I was a little unsettled that first day.  Then I thought about it.  Wait a minute.  I lost at least 50 pounds before I EVER started running.  How did I do that?  Think back.  Well, let's see.  I followed the program!  Imagine that!

So this week, I flipped my focus.  I refused to focus on the fact that I couldn't run, refused to let that derail me.  Instead, I focused on what I could do, and surprise, surprise, I had another good weigh-in this morning!!!

TRUST YOURSELF!  BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.  YOU CAN DO THIS!  Don't give up just because things change in your life.  You have to be flexible.  You have to be willing to make changes and "roll with the punches".

Oh, and by the way, that goal I set to do 100 sit-ups by the end of 2013?  DONE!  Guess I'm going to start thinking of a new goal to replace that one.

No Running.... Backup Plan

Yep.  Doctor's orders again, no running.  Not the end of the world.  I know.   I know.  But you know, it's difficult.  Those of you who run or really, any kind of exercise and do it faithfully will understand, it becomes an addiction for some.  It's a part of my life.  It's how I deal with stress.  It's how I organize my thoughts.  It's been key to my success in keeping the weight off (which is what really scares me), and it has helped me to create a new me.  I am more confident and outgoing in many aspects of my life, which I absolutely am convinced was as a result of learning how to push myself past my comfort zone and start running, go a little faster than I think I can, go a little further (okay, sometimes a lot farther) than I think I can.

So now what?  Well, hopefully, it's very temporary.  Had a bunch of blood work done, on super antibiotic, and see foot doctor next week.

For now, I am sidelined and will not be in Philly for the Leprechaun Run.  This is an event that my husband and I were both looking forward to.  It's for Special Olympics.  I was registered for the 5-mile run, and my hubby was going to participate in the fun run.  After finding out I couldn't run, we were both going to do the fun run anyway, since we're registered, but looks like lousy weather, and I don't need to be out in the rain/snow.

So we'll chalk it up to registration $$$ going to a great cause, and we'll look for another event when I'm given the clearance.

The question is what now?  I have been extra careful with my food choices this week and hoping to still see a good result at weigh-in tomorrow.  If I can't get back to running in the next week, I'll have to find another option for exercise for a while.  I don't know if the elliptical is off limits.  I'll have to ask about that, but I'm thinking maybe it's time to get back to the pool and start swimming.  Been a while and not sure I like the idea of putting a bathing suit on, but there we go again with that "comfort zone" thing.

Do you have a backup plan if you can't do what you normally do for exericse?

The Ring is Off/The Battle is On!

So I'm not sure if I ever posted about "the ring" before or not, but for those of you who don't know the story, when I got close to reaching my goal weight, I bought a ring for myself.

When I got home, the ring was placed into jewelry box, and I DID NOT wear it until I got to goal.  It was an incentive for me.

Lately, I've struggled.  I am a few pounds over goal and struggling to get back to where I want to be.

This morning, I thought about what I needed to do, what helped me to those last few pounds off originally to get to my goal weight.  Incentives are always a great thing!  And I remembered the ring.  I wear that ring every day.  Today, I did not.  I have taken the ring off and once again placed it safely in my jewelry box where it will remain until I get back to goal.

I will be miss it, but I know that if I do what has to proven to work in the past, it won't be long before I am once again wearing one of my favorite pieces of jewelry.

Recovery Mode

Well, it's been a while since my last post, but not that long.  I've struggled lately.  I'll admit it.  I've been up.  I've been down.  I've been up.  I've been down.  Right now, I'm up.   No Excuses Here.  It is what it is, and now it's about fixing it.  It's about recovery.  It's about making it right, putting myself back to a routine that I know works for me.  

I know where I'm at now.  I know what my goal is, and I'm over that more than I'm comfortable with.  I know where I want to be.  So it's a fresh start.

Felt so great yesterday just to get to my meeting, get on the scale and make it real and move on from there.  

Even though I've been at goal going on 4 years, part of keeping myself here is going to my weekly meetings.  I enjoy it.  I ALWAYS get something out of it, and I don't care if I have to do this the rest of my life, because I love it feeling good!

So that's it.  Went for a nice run this morning.  Had a nice lunch.  Struggled to get some work done this afternoon, and getting ready to go cook a nice dinner with lots of veggies.

Giving Blood and Running

So no sense making it into a long story.  The bottom line, if you're giving blood, wait a couple days before you run or at least give yourself a break for not being up to your usual.

Yeah, never dawned on me, but quite obvious now.  My friend and I decided on Friday afternoon that we would do something totally different for me, and go to the gym for a workout on Friday night.  Totally different because number one, I don't work out normally in the evenings, and number two, NEVER on a Friday night.

Never dawned on us that we should think about it since the blood donation that morning.

The workout was just not easy at all.  The normal energy level was just not there, not at all.  Could it be from giving blood in the morning.  Maybe, or maybe it's just because it's a Friday night and it's been a busy week.  Still did the time on the treadmill, moved to the elliptical, and finished up.

This morning, we went for our long run.  Although it was definitely a better run, still didn't quite feel right.  And also, even though it was pretty cold out, drank more water than normal during the run.  Fighting off a bug?  Not sure.  Again, that bell went off, could it be from giving blood?

When we got home, decided to do a little research and found the following information:

Donating Blood and Running


1. Blood volumes. You typically donate a pint of blood (450 g) and it takes your body 2 to 3 days to recover the volume. It takes about 2 months to recover the lost red blood cells.


2. Drop in performance. When you have less blood, your body can carry less oxygen. Expect to lose about 10% of your typical performance ability. This will be most noticeable to long distance runners. Note some experts say it can take up to 3 months to regain total aerobic capacity. Yikes!


3. Recovering from donation. To get back in top-notch running form, be sure to drink extra fluids immediately after the donation and the next day. Also, make sure you are eating things with protein and iron in them to help replenish. The experts say think of a blood donation as a day of rest.


4. It’s not all bad. While you may have an initial reduction in performance, there is at least one theory that says donating may have the benefit of actually increasing the amount of red blood cell count when your body recovers. This would happen because your body might overshooting the target level. Just a theory though.

Aha!  So now it all makes sense after reading the above.  And my opinion?  So what if your running performance suffers for a little while after giving blood.  DONATE BLOOD....YOU COULD BE SAVING A LIFE!!!!

Going In Blind

Far as I'm concerned, without the scale, I'm blind as a bat, as they say.  It all revolves around the scale for me.  Always has.  Always about that number.

I am one of those Weight Watchers members who, although told not to do so, monitored that number during the week to see how I was doing.  If I had a bad week and was going to see a bad number at my meeting, I wanted to at least be a little prepared ahead of time.

As I posted a few weeks ago, I have had the same scale for 20-some years.  It was "old faithful", but in the last few years, wasn't so faithful anymore.  We decided it was time to put her to rest and buy a new fancy "digital scale".  We purchased one that we saw on sale, one with some extra bells and whistles, monitors body fat, etc.  We came home, and immediately threw the old scale out.  At first, the new digital seemed great, although was not 100% accurate.  Over the next few weeks, we realized it was not accurate at all, to the point where you could get on the scale, get off, get right back on, and there would be a difference of 5 pounds in a matter of seconds or an ERROR message!

So all week, I have been without a scale at all, no way to monitor how I was doing.  On top of that, I was sick for a week with a terrible cold and really didn't track my points much at all.  I ate what helped the cold, chili, chicken soup and crackers, chicken casserole, pasta and clam sauce, basically, whatever I wanted, AND of course, sipped on blackberry brandy (medicinal purposes).  However, what I did do was NOT OVER INDULGE, tried to pay attention to the signals of when my belly was satisfied instead of my brain.

With no scale at home, I had no way to check "the number" before this morning's meeting.  My only way of knowing whether I was doing okay or not was how my clothes fit.  The past few days, I started pulling jeans out of the closet to see which ones fit and which ones were "a little snug".  Surprisingly, it didn't seem too bad.  Still, I considered skipping weigh-in until I had a new scale.

This morning, I got up and decided that was a crazy idea!  I needed to know.  I was going to bite the bullet and get to a meeting so I could see just how bad my week had been.

Surprising, I actually did well!  The number went down, not up!

So now I wonder, should I replace the scale?  Should I try to turn over another new leaf, try something different, and gain more confidence in what I'm doing instead of relying on the number?

Well, the answer is I'm going to give it another week and see how happens.  I still want a new scale, but think maybe I'll set a date a few weeks out go give myself a chance to learn to live without it.

NO TIME TO BE SICK...TOO BUSY LIVING HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Two weeks in a row, I've had to skip my long run.  Last week, something was wrong with my foot.  This weekend, fighting a cold.  Darn it!   I really hate missing my long runs on the weekends.

I DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE SICK.  I'M TOO BUSY LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE!

I'm fighting this cold with all I've got so that I can get back to running or workout at the gym tomorrow.  I do feel better today.  Hoping to get out this afternoon for a walk and some fresh air.

I hate feeling "off", out of my usual pattern.  Yesterday, all I wanted for dinner was pasta with white clam sauce (and that's what I had..a lot of it).  For some reason, when I get a cold, that's my go-to comfort food.  Chicken soup too.  Made the broth yesterday, and getting ready to make the soup now.  Should be ready for lunch.

Dinner will be baked chicken thighs with butternut squash, rutabega, and yukon gold potatoes, drizzled with a little honey, sauteed swiss chard on the side.

Did well this week with my water challenge, until yesterday.  Drank a lot of hot tea though.  That's got to count, right?

Hard Landing!!!

Hit the boot camp class yesterday....and hit the floor!  They moved the class to the gym, I guess because it was a larger class, which was great!  I was doing short sprints, first forward, then backward.  I am a runner, but not backwards.  Well, that was obvious when my I tripped and I landed smack down on my rear end!  Pretty funny at the time, but halfway through the class, I was already feeling it.  I'm still kind of laughin at myself, but it is really sore.

Anyway, looks like there's a lot of great blog reading out there today.  Unfortunately, I'm going to be busy working all morning and won't have time to read until the weekend.

MUST STAY FOCUSED ON WORK.  CANNOT BE DISTRACTED.  MUST STAY FOCUSED ON BEING HEALTHY.  CANNOT BE DISTRACTED.

Looking forward to a run on Sunday.  Looks like good weather.

Forgot About Spin Class!!!!

Yep, adding to the "goals list" for 2013 again.  I forgot all about this one.

Now that I finally got my feet wet with an exercise class, I'm going to take them more often.  I want to continue to do boot camp even though it's going to be a different instructor, but I think I also want to take either a spin class or chisel.  I'm leaning more towards spin right now.

Who spins?  Do you like it?

Take It Over 1,000 Miles

See, I'm already changing my goal list, and it's only day two!  I forgot one very important one.

In 2012, I logged 875.52 miles with DailyMile.  In 2013, I'm looking to shoot that number over the 1,000 mile mark.  Starts today.

One more cup of coffee, and then since I have no work on my desk yet, I'm heading out to run.  I will chip away at the 1,000 mark day by day, week by week, month by month.

So doing the calculation, that's going to be an average of over 19 miles a week.  That's a lot!  But I know that since another goal is two marathons, there will be a lot of weeks where I'll accumulate more than that.  So let's see what happens.

Better start saving for a few new  pair of running shoes.

2013 Goals - Personal or Public

We are all looking at a new year this morning with fresh eyes.  I'm sure most of us have at least thought about what are our 2013 goals (for some of us, resolutions) are going to be.    I know I have.

But here is my dilemma this morning, on January 1, 2013.  Do I want to make this new goals list public by posting all about  it on this blog, or do I want to keep it more personal to me?  Or maybe it's that I haven't quite made a decision on all of them.  Maybe I'm not sure that this list is set in stone and therefore, afraid to post it and make it public?

I think maybe that's the answer.  But why should I worry about that.  I mean, what's wrong with instead of having a list of goals set in stone, have a list that's subject to change, ditching goals that don't work out and swapping in new ones that maybe you find are a better fit after the new year is really in full swing?

So here goes, my new list of goals for January, but subject to change:

1.  Obviously, marathon(s).  I'd like to run at least two marathons in 2013, and of course, want to PR my
first marathon, which was this past November.  That shouldn't be too difficult.  :)

2.  More Family Time.  I think I've already started working on this one in the past month and hope to continue it.  I enjoy spending time with my brothers, sister, nieces, nephews, in-laws.  Sunday dinners once in a while would be nice, game night, hiking trips, etc.

3.  Pay down credit cards - That needs no explanation!

4.  Emergency Fund - I need to work on this one.  Being self-employed has it's cons, one of them being that you don't have a guaranteed paycheck every week.  So I want to work hard to establish an emergency fund, and when work is slow and I'm not getting the paycheck I need, I can take a draw from the emergency fund.  When work is good, I can build on the emergency fund.

5.  Second honeymoon - This was on my list of 2012 goals, but we never got there.  Bob and I have been married 22 years, and have not gone on many trips at all, other than our trips to Florida to visit mom and my aunt, uncle, and cousins..  A second honeymoon would be nice.

6.  100 sit-ups - I apparently have no strength for doing sit-ups.  Learned this while taking my first boot camp class.  I'm working on it.  Did 20 in a row, twice in one evening, last week.  So I'm going to build on this and hopefully by the end of 2013, will be able to do 100 straight.

7.  Skiing - Bob and I used to ski all the time while we were dating.  Even at my heavy weight, I still enjoyed it, although getting a snow suit that fit was difficult.  I had to get a men's size, and it was way too long and fit very snugly.  I still have that snow suit, and even though I "swim" in it now, I still wear it.  Anyway, Bob can't ski now due to a really bad back, but I'd still like to go.  I have cousins who ski.  Hoping to maybe hook up with them and get back on the slopes.

8.  A Number on the Scale - This is the biggie.  I'm tired of playing around with this.  I'm tired of hovering over that goal number every week.  I WANT a cushion (not in the seat of my pants).  I want to be able to enjoy myself at a party once in a while without constantly worrying about going over goal.  So first, I have to get back to goal, which as of this morning, is between 3 and 4 pounds (I have a very old scale), and then I'd like to get off another 5 pounds.  Part of this goal is also to get a new scale, a digital one.

So there you have it.  Again, this list is subject to changes, additions, deletions, but I've done it.  I've set it down in writing.

Now it's time to go enjoy a New Year's Breakfast (will report back tomorrow on the WW 5-point breakfast casserole).  :0

Happy New Year to everyone.