"Umm, I'll have the Lobster Bisque, the Cheese tart baked in cheese, then the Prime Rib with the butter side and twice baked potato and I'll finish off with the chocolate cheesecake and another coke... err make that a diet coke...I'm watching my weight".

I kid you not, this is a typical cruise dinner aboard the Disney Magic. When it's all inclusive, it's alllllll inclusive. I threw caution (and my calorie counter) to the wind and ate as I pleased and loved every artery clogged minute of it. We would wake up and make our way to the breakfast buffet where I'd have a fresh croissant, some eggs, maybe bacon and fruit. Then lunch would be another buffet of Asian dishes, pastas, or maybe pizza and burgers on the pool deck. Then every single night we would dress up and make our way to some fancy restaurant where we would choose an appetizer, a soup or salad, an entree and a desert. I never even let myself think about how many calories I was consuming because why bother. And after 2 glorious weeks we came home and were tossed into turkey Christmas dinners, Birthday cakes and pizza parties.

So in short, I put off getting on the scale until yesterday. I was actually not as worried as I thought I would be because Greg kept telling me I looked the same and my clothes seemed to fit the same as well. But the verdict is in...

Weight Today (post holiday and cruise): 166
Feeling: WHHAATTT?? I don't know how it happened. It must have been the walking, swimming and de-stressing. But although the numbers are not as bad as I thought, I know that a lot of my muscle has turned to mush and I feel more sluggish than before. So YoHo YoHo it's back to work I go.

Thanks for staying tuned everyone. How was your holidays? Who wants to join me in a Spring 2010 10K run??

Well it has been a week and a half of my meal shakes and I must admit, I like it. I like feeling like there is some structure and predictability to my daily food intake. Before the shakes I would wake up and spend the day fighting my urges and hoping for the best. But with the shakes I know what I'm having for breakfast and lunch and I have all day to prepare and plan a hearty and healthy dinner. I've eliminated the guessing and hoping that when lunch rolls around I'll have the stuff and the will power to eat something healthy and good for me. Now I just throw some fruits and yogurts or whatever in my blender, add some powder and sip away. It's filling and yummy.

I prep some boiled eggs and trail mix things for when I want to munch on something, and we're keeping lots of christmas oranges around too, so even my snacking has been going great and I'm finally feeling like the eating part of the equation is under control.

Fitness wise, I've been running lots at the gym working my way up to doing a 10 kilometer run. I've been really enjoying it actually and I average about 11 minute miles and can run 2 miles fairly well. I'm a sweaty mess by the end but at least I'm feeling good and could keep going. However my nasty shin splints are acting up again so I need to keep working on that and giving them some rest.

I'm doing 30 minutes of running/walking about 4 times a week, 20-30 minutes of weights 4 times a week and one hour of swimming once a week. In January I'm going to be in a WorldBeat dance/cardio class for one hour once a week as well so that might help switch it up a bit too. And in the spring I'm planning to do my first 10 K run! All this scheduling and planning is the only way I keep getting it done. Only recently is it starting to become "fun-ish". So if you're in the midst of working out, I encourage you to keep at it because it does get easier as you gain confidence as well as stamina.

Anyways, as I prepare and pack for my 2 week Florida trip I have mixed emotions. On the one hand I really want to enjoy myself, have fun and indulge when I want to. But on the other hand I don't want to come back and be right where I started, nor do I want to go back to that feeling of grossness and lower self esteem. I think my "plan" such as it is, is to indulge but avoid pigging out. I think that's the good thing about going on a cruise; everything is included so if you want to try something but you only want a few bites then that's okay. So maybe I'll get what I want and have a few bites and keep my portions reasonable. Or maybe I'll check my "plan" with my baggage and do what I want!

Any tips for travelling?

Weight Today: 165 (less than pre-pregnancy weight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Workout: yesterday 60 minutes, tonight 30 minutes
Feeling: Excited to be less than pre-preggo weight but still pluggin away. I'm actually feeling more determined than ever now that I'm back to where I was before I became pregnant. Ironically I'm the same weight (minus one pound) that I was on the cruise we took 3 years ago, after which I became pregnant. Hmmmm.

My recent absence from this blog has been for two reasons. Firstly, I had a really bad week, ate a lot of crap and gained a couple pounds. I felt so gross that I didn't want to blog about how I downed an entire bag of chips and hummus, or how Greg and I ate a chocolate cake in T minus 2 days. Secondly, I decided to try herbalife and wasn't sure how I felt about sharing that. I didn't want people think that I was suckered into some stupid diet club, or bought some pills that claim to do magic because herbalife is actually neither of those things.

I briefly mentioned it in my last post but a lot has changed since then. In a nutshell, I was getting frustrated at my slow progress and decided to do some research into herbalife. I spent a lot of time reading about it and considering it until I eventually contacted the Lethbridge distributor, Debora, and decided to meet with her for a free consultation. Greg, being ultras supportive of me, gave me a few months supply of their stuff as part of my birthday present and now we both are trying their stuff in hopes of being healthier.

So what is it? Well, basically we replace meals with these shakes. It's not Slimfast by any means. It's a powder that has tones of vitamins, minerals, and good stuff your body needs that you never get in your ordinary diet. Plus it has many antioxidants and detoxifying properties, so when combined with some fruits, soy or skim milk your body gets all the nutrition and cleans itself out at the same time. Herbalife also sells other products to increase weight loss like protein powders, metabolism pills and various teas but we decided to go with the shakes for now to just give our bodies a boost and get them digesting some good stuff. Since Greg doesn't need to lose weight (sigh) he only drinks one for breakfast. He normally was eating a granola bar and 34 cups of coffee for breakfast so this is a huge step up. I'm replacing both breakfast and lunch with shakes and eating healthy snacks in between.

I feel this is a way for me to get control over the diet side of this journey. My attempts at eating healthier were lacking and this new plan gives me structure and an easy guide to follow. I don't have to count calories, or add points. For me it sounded like a no-brainer way to "diet". Another applealing thing to me was that herbalife states over and over again that this is not a miracle thing and is not designed to do magic. It's only designed to give your body the right "tools" to break down fats and gain energy and nutrients. So when combined with healthy snacks and exercise people lose weight. It's even recommended for people who don't need to lose weight because of all the health benefits associated with the right intake of vitamins, minerals and good stuff.

So being a sceptic I thought I would possibly gain some weight at first, feel grumpy, miss chewing and feel the bottom of my stomach reaching up and touching my ribs in a growl of hunger. BUT to my extreme surprise I was so full that I couldn't finish my lunch shake. I was also so energized and focused that I went all day without coffee and didn't even miss it. My snacks of boiled egg, almonds, apples and carrot sticks between shakes keep me full, and I mean FULL all day. This is day 6 and I am loving it so far. So we'll see where this takes me.

Weight before herbalife: back up to 169 (UUGGG)
Weight today: 166 (lowest yet)
workout today: got monthly visitor so we'll see
Feeling: still sceptical but motivated to continue. And grateful for some structure on the diet side of things.

The worst part of working out regularly is that you need to continually increase the amount of time or the difficulty of your workout to keep feeling challenged. My 20 minute runs used to be it for me. They would send me stumbling through the door drenched and unable to utter a two word sentence. But now 20 minutes is my warm up and trying to put in 30-60 minutes of exercise a day is a lot harder than fitting in a 20 minute "run". Needless to say I only get 2-3 good workouts in a week now. I still try to do something every day but getting to a class at the gym or hitting the elliptical and weights for an hour is very time-consuming.

On a dietary note, things are still up and down. We never have much junk in the house, but this week Greg was crazing cupcakes and I wanted chips and artichoke dip. So we bought both and ate it all!!!!!!!!!! We both had upset stomachs, and a day of indigestion. Then we decided to top that off with a few Tim Hortons runs and some oven pizzas. Luckily the weight didn't pile on but it didn't come off either. But what's feeling worse to me right now is my energy level and my overall feeling of uggg. Gross food really hits you hard when you avoid it for a long time. I'm not trying to brag but we NEVER have pop, McDonalds, or fast food in general. We rarely have chips and almost never have something like cupcakes around here. So to eat it all in one week feels really McNasty and gave us the McGutRot.

Then I met a girl who is on this program called Herbalife, which right off the bat made me roll my eyes but after hearing her talk about it honestly for 2 hours and then doing my own research and contact with the distributor I have decided to meet for a free consultation and discuss it. In a nutshell it is a meal replacement that is a shake you make with a billion vitamins and healthy stuff in it and almost no calories. The point is to replace one meal with this, continue your exercises and healthy(ish) eating and boost your weight loss. The Lethbridge rep also runs a weight loss challenge that runs for 12 weeks and is only $40. And the best part is, whoever loses the most weight in 12 weeks wins everyone else's $40!! I'm thinking of doing the one in January and shedding all my Florida and Vacation weight.

Anyhow, more on herbalife later. For now, I'm off to think of something to cook with my asparagus for dinner.

Weight Today: 167
Workout: 60 minutes tonight...Goodbye evening.
Feeling: Like I'm learning more and more about healthy living and all the things our body needs and all the junk we put in it. This has been a fun week of research for me.

www.herbalife.com

If you're thinking of investing in some free weights, I would encourage you to take a look into the resistance band. This little number was about $15 at Canadian Tire and can serve a variety of functions that would otherwise require an entire set of free weights. And at $7 a piece, who can afford all the different weights?

The nice thing about the tube is that you can adjust the intensity level by either giving yourself more slack or making it tighter, and thus harder to move. It was recommended to me by a personal trainer at my gym when I had such bad shin splints a few months ago. She suggested I sit on the floor with the rubber tubing around my feet and flex my feet until the tubing felt tight. That exercise will help build calf muscle and reduce the splints.

Since then I have looked up a number of different exercises and am finding resistance training challenging but also very effective. For this shoulder and ab exercise, you stand on a piece of the band and lift the end in the air, and then crunch down to the side. When the band is at the peak in the air it's the hardest and is working all those arm muscles.


This is the crunch back down. If you exhale while you crunch this way you are working your obliques.

If you stand on the tubing in the middle in a lunged position you can do bicep curls with it. The lunch makes it a core workout too.

Staying in the lunch and pushing your arms back works your triceps...oh boy does it ever.
Anyhow, for a few bucks this investment is awesome and I recommend it to anyone. Plus its easy to store and light as a feather!

Weight Today: 167
Workout: Elliptical and resistance training yesterday, probably more Elliptical tonight
Feeling: anxious about the weight I'll probably gain on my upcoming trip to Florida. But confident in my ability to bounce back. My goals for the new year are exciting and challenging! tba

Dear weekend; why do you fail me?

It seems it's always the weekends that do me in. It's non stop with the movie nights that usually mean pizza, the Starbucks runs, and the socializing and dinners that include my days worth of calories. To top that off I rarely get a workout in because of all the stuff going on and the fact that Greg is home and we just want to have some family time. Then Monday rolls around and the scale disappoints me.

So here I am on Monday afternoon deciding what to do tonight. Watch TV or go to the gym or just do some cardio at home. Oh brother.

I was also inspired by my sister's new diet and decided to take tomorrow to prepare some chicken breasts, rice and veggies in advance and keep them in the fridge for my lunches for the rest of the week. I sometimes skip lunch and then end up stuffing my face around 3pm with some bready-cookie type thing. This way I hope to make myself eat lunch and keep my energy levels up and my metabolism burning for the rest of the day.

Weight Today: 168
Workout: t.b.a
Feeling: slightly inspired lately to work my way towards a new fitness goal such as a half marathon or at least a local run.

Well I sucked it up and kept on keepin' on (who says that?). Anyways, I ate a piece of cake and felt nasty so I changed out of my pajamas and did a workout. Let me tell you how incredibly difficult it is to get out of ones pajamas and into really tight pants and a sports bra. It should never be done.

Anyways, I got all sweaty at 9 in the evening, showered and went to bed. The next day I decided to get on the scale and to my surprise it showed no gain and some nice loss going on.




So I guess I'll keep on pluggin' away. I think it's also time to combine more nutrition and diet into the mix as well. I'm not planning on counting all the calories I eat or becoming obsessed about it, but I am going to need to pay closer attention to this because I've heard it can be up to 80% of the battle. That's HUGE. So on the menu this morning:

coffee
egg white omelet with tomato and a piece of whole grain toast

I've also swapped a dinner plate for a salad plate for all my meals to keep my portions smaller.

Weight today: 167 (on old scale which battery was replaced)
Workout: at least 60 minutes of aquafit tonight
Feeling: determined and much better, thank you.

hhhhhheeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllpppppppppppp mmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I have done nothing as far as workouts in 4 days. Bluck. I feel frumpy and grumpy. As soon as I stop working out, counting calories and watching what I eat I end up back where I started and I do not want that to happen again. I have had a busy week but that is no excuse. I told myself that if you want this to happen, you need to make it happen. That means fitting it into your schedule as a priority and making sure people know that you need to go to the gym or the pool or hit the Elliptical and whatever else is going on can wait. But after family visits, halloweening, parties, and movie rentals the work out has been slipping further and further down the priority list.

I fear another back slide and that really scares me. I know that 4 days without working out does not equal backslide, but it's not just that I haven't worked out. It's also that I feel unmotivated and apathetic about it now. I still want to lose weight and look good, but that drive, that determination is fading and I want it back.

So, what do people do when they hit this kind of dry period in their journey? Why are some athletes able to maintain years and even decades of regular fitness and not ride this rollercoster that the rest of us seem to be on of our fat highs and our skinny lows? I need to answer to these questions. I need to tap into what it is that athletic people have that I don't. Maybe I'll never be an athletic person with ripped arms and the ability to do regular push ups. Maybe some people are just able to obtain that and others are not?

I bet I would feel differently if my results were more dramatic, but after six weeks and only 4 (maybe 5) pounds of weight gone, I feel I'm grasping for some hope to hold onto and keep this journey alive.

Weight today: haven't even checked
Workout: debating if I should do something right now
Feeling: see above

This week has been more about food control and less about working out than last week. Yesterday I only did 20 minutes on the Elliptical and 10 minutes of weights. Tonight I did go to a one hour step class that kicked my butt. But all in all I'm really controlling my portion sizes and asking myself "are you really hungry? or bored?".

Being someone who works out and tries to stay fit means you're always wet. I fell like I finally get dried off and I'm wet again. I go through at least twice as much laundry as before, with all my sweaty bras and shirts, and I have to constantly be showering. Needless to say I'm too lazy to blow dry my hair and straighten it after each workout so I feel like I'm always walking/driving around like this...



This is no joke either. I go to work and use the gym equipment after my shift and drive home like this. Then I cook dinner and by the time I get around to showering I put my hair in a pony and go to bed. Then I wake up looking like this again. I'm actually missing "getting ready". That thing people do when they do their hair and put on make up. And even wear a bra that doesn't give you uni-boob and have a strange odor.

But I suppose small price to pay for being fit (er).

Weight Today: 164
Workout: 1 hour
Feeling: sweaty and stinky...and a little slobby.

Weight Today: 165 (new scale) 168 (old scale)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I attribute this newest low number to my slightly upset stomach and my monthly visitor, both of which take away most of my appetite and make me want to just sleep. But I suppose I should take some of the credit since THREE days last week I worked out Twice in one day! I am, for the first time ever, looking forward to getting over this bug and getting back to the gym.

The Biggest Loser Simple Swaps book is really cool so far. I've been inspired to eat, not drink my calories (bye bye Cinnamin Dolce Latte), purchase a kitchen spray bottle to use for dressings and dips as opposed to glopping a quarter cup on my plate, and plan plan plan. By planning my snacks and meals in advance I'm much less likely to get super hungry and shove 5 cookies in my pie hole. So even with this bug I take the occasional bite of banana or yogurt to keep my tummy thinking stuff is coming. My food journal has been my weakness from the beginning. I know that people who use a food journal during thier weight loss journey are like 80% more likely to succeed and lose more weight, but for some reason I just couldn't stay on top of it. So this planning idea has kind of got me doing my food journal in advance. Instead of writing down everything I ate after I already ate it, I write down what I am going to eat and am much more successful. So far I've only done it two days but both days I ended up eating less that I had planned (okay probably due to sickness but whatever).

For example...

Today:
Banana
Yogurt
Water
Chicken breast squers and baked potato
1 cup brocolli
tea
almonds
Baked Basa in Orange slices
whole grain rice
Peas and Corn
Milk

I got the idea for the Basa in Oranges from the butcher who told me this non fat way to prepare fish is his favorite. I'll let you know how it is.

I'm really kickin' it into high gear this week. I mentioned how I worked out twice the other day, and yesterday I did the same thing. I ran 2 and a half miles in the morning and then did an hour of aquafit in the evening. Today I'll do another 2 mile run and tonight is a class completely geared towards weight training, so that will be a good hour and 45 minutes of exercise a day for two days in a row. I figure if this won't get me out of my hump, nothing will.

I was talking to my friend Richelle after aquafit last night and her goals inspired me. She doesn't care about her numbers as much as she wants to fit into nice clothes and feel good about it. I think one thing I've been neglecting is that I am feeling much better in clothes than I used to even if my numbers on the scale are not much different. Although it is frustrating to not see progress on the scale, it still feels good to flex my leg and not be able to pinch any fat. I know I have gained significant muscle mass and lost fat so today I'm deciding to be proud of myself for that and not worry so much about my consistent 169.

I picked up a little treat for myself...
It has some awesome alternatives as well as trainer tips and recipes. I'll let you know what changes I make and if they're any good.

Weight Today: 169 (My digital scale is dying and so I'm switching to another scale in the house that says 167. This is actually a number consistent with the scales at the gym but I thought it wasn't fair to just switch to a lighter scale for the heck of it. Now that I'm forced to....oh well)

Workout: 2 1/2 mile run and an hour of weights tonight

Feeling: fit (er)

It turns out that losing weight you gained really quickly can be easier than weight that has been around a while. I gained a couple pounds with all the family here but it's already gone and I'm happy to report I'm back on track. On Sunday I worked out twice. I did 25 minutes on the Elliptical and some free weights before church, and then in the evening did another 20 minutes of cardio. Then yesterday and today has been my regular 25 minutes on the Elliptical and some sit-ups/push-ups. I'm consistently doing 30 full sit-ups (not crunches), 15 push-ups, 50 leg lefts (with each leg) and a few minutes of squats after my cardio stuff. The entire thing takes about 45 minutes to an hour. I'm going to aquafit on Wednesdays and a class that is an hour of weight training on Thursdays too.

My diet, however, is a lot harder to get back on track than my exercise. My stomach gets used to yummy bad foods and now I crave them all the time again. For example I made cookies (oops) and ate 3 today. It takes a few days of hunger and a bad mood to get used to smaller portions and healthier foods. Here's to my baditude these next few days.

Weight Today: 169
Workout: noted above
Feeling: like I NEED to get out of this 169/168 area and dig a little deeper into those 160's . I was a little too flippity floppity in my swimsuit so there is plenty of firming to be done.

Don't ask.

Weight Today: Too afraid to look
Workout: today 45 minutes, last two days...nada
Calories: a zillion (KFC, Tim Hortons, Blizzard)
Feeling: help me

All my company is gone...Grad and Festivities are over. Time to get back to the Nitty Gritty.

Ugg. Liam has been sick. Parents have been visiting. Mom's been cookin'. We've been celebrating. All in all, I've slacked for a few days now and am feeling bloated and sluggish. I tried to hit the Elliptical yesterday but Liam's screaming diarrhea pains were no match for me and I only got 9 minutes in. I knew it wouldn't be easy to have company and keep working out but even if I only maintain my 169 I'll be happy. I love having all my family here and that's why I would rather spend time with them than at the gym or the pool. And I love that my mom will cook yummy ribs and deserts but I know I'm going to have to make up for it pretty soon.

So this sluggish report brings my first month of The Blubber Blog to a close with a not-so-grand total of 3.5 pounds gone, and 3 inches off.

Weight today: 169 (this is getting old...time to plunge into that 168 already)
Workout: nada so far, and lets be realistic...it's The Office tonight on tv.
Feeling: blah

Quick update since I've been busy busy with family here.

I've been successful at working out 3 out of 4 days this long weekend. I hit the Elliptical, the gym with my sister and the Elliptical again. I slacked on my weights and sit-ups but am proud to say I am maintaining my weight this holiday season and am excited to get back into things and keep losing.

At the gym, my sister introduced me to some interval training. We did the treadmill and spent 2 minutes warming up at a 2 incline, then we increased the incline to 4 for two minutes, then back to a 2 for two minutes, then a 6 for two minutes, then a 2 for two minutes, and so on. That process took about 20 minutes, so then we ran for a few minutes pretty fast and then did a few minutes of cool down. I liked the idea so much I tried in out on the Elliptical and really liked it. I think it will be a cool way to switch things up once in a while.

I plan to head back to aquafit with my friend as well as increase my classes at the gym starting tomorrow.

On a sweeter note, I ate half a piece of cheesecake, some cinnamon buns, two cookies and a few lattes this weekend. (shame) . At least I tried to control portion sizes for the most part and had a really good time.

However I can really feel the difference in my energy level, my appetite and my waist line. Although my weight is being maintained my belly feels a little less tight, my muscles are loose and unworked and the more sweets and treats I eat, the more I want. It's strange how if you avoid crap food for a while, your body starts to forget what it is like and how good it is and it becomes easier and easier to keep at it. But one weekend of goodies and I'm back to being Hungy Audrey and thinking about what I could munch on.

My goal for the rest of this week: Resist and Persist
Weight Today: 169
Workout: 25 minutes of cardio
Feeling: indulged yet still inspired.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Pluggin' away, pluggin' away.

I took Sunday off of exercising because of the big family dinner we had here (which was a success), and then went back at it yesterday with an aqua vengeance. My friend and I decided to hit up the Senior's Centre for some pool workout and it was actually really awesome. It turns out the facility actually caters to all ages and in the evenings there are classes for any adults and even some kid's swimming lessons. So it turned out to be pretty run and really good on my shins. I didn't feel like I was working too hard at the time but today I can feel my arms and I think we'll be going again.

So tonight will probably be another Elliptical night since I'm at home getting ready for more company. But I really plan to keep working out even when all my family gets here. I decided that this is really important to me and I'm feeling so good that I don't want to stop now, even for a week.

Weight Today: 169
Calories: I'm thinking of stopping this part. I don't like counting every little thing...I'm generally just becoming more aware and conscious of what I put in my mouth...but this is getting annoying.
Workout: will do 45 minutes tonight.
Feeling: encouraged by all the additional things in my life that are turning around as a result of my commitment to be healthy and fit.

One Thanksgiving dinner down and one to go. I made a big old turkey tonight and it turned out great. I tried to prepare a variety of veggies but their health benefits were greatly diminished by the plethora of butter whipped sweet potatoes, creamy gravy, chocolate cake, and pumpkin pie. In order to reduce the negative impact this dinner was sure to have on my weight watching I kept the rest of my foods today to a minimum in calories; banana, yogurt, All Bran, coffee.

This seasons could not have come at a worse time. I am really beginning to feel different and I have worked SO hard to get out of those dang 170's that I would be devastated if I fell back into them because of some gravy and pie.

On a fitness note, my cousin the personal trainer/fitness guru informed me that 6 days of cardio a week is too much and counter productive. At first I wasn't sure how to take that because it was working for me so far, but her argument was that building your muscles and strength will make your cardio endurance better and will allow your body to recoup between runs and therefore preform better too. So, although I have been feeling like my weight training was a bit useless and not really a calorie burner I have decided to do a little more of it anyhow. My cousin also said that when you're trying to burn calories, or bounce back from a pregnancy, it's your muscles that will help you and not your cardio. Just something to ponder.

Anyhow, wish me luck with this next week of company, dinners, deserts and sitting around. This will be a real test of my seriousness if I am willing to take time away from the visiting to get my workout in.

Weight Today: 169.1 (but whose counting)
Workout: nada today, but after 6 days in a row I deserved a break.
Calories: don't ask...why am I even tracking this anymore?
Feeling: nervous but still on board!

Day 6 in a row of working out. Just did Elliptical and my shins felt great.

Weight Today: 169... finally
Workout: 30 minutes
Calories: ...it's married couples desert night. HELP ME!!!
Feeling: glad to be out of those dang 170's...pluggin' away.

Next challenge: two weekends in a row of Thanksgiving dinners, family visits and various food-related functions. Dun dun dun.

I've been a little busy....working out! I have spent the last 4 days in a row working out every night and I feel great. I feel healthy, slimmer, energetic and I really am starting to feel like I'm in a routine and that I can do this for the long haul.

BUT, tonight after a ridiculously long hour of sweat and jello-legs at my Drills and Skills class, my right shin felt like it was ripping off my leg. Yesterday my back felt a little pinchy on the right side and tonight my shin hurt, and so when I asked the instructor/trainer about this she concluded that I have a shin-splint. Boooo

Basically it's a tear in the muscle that comes from running improperly and from not stretching or strengthening it too. She told me that so many people decide to start running and run into this problem because they are just unaware that the shin muscle is one of the weakest leg muscles and if you run poorly it will easily be injured. So bad news= I'm supposed to let it rest and heal for 2 weeks. Good news = it's getting colder and darker out so my days of running outside were numbered anyhow.

I plan on still doing the elliptical and my weight training, and am also thinking now about more yoga and possibly swimming (even though public pools gross me out big time). I guess I should switch it up and discover more variety in exercises but it still saddens me that I can't be outside running with my ipod and feeling that fresh air.

So here's to trying new exercises and to proper stretching and strengthening.

Weight Today: 170.01 (170 is the a clingy devil)
Work out: 70 minutes of intense cardio and weights in the Drills and Skills (of the devil) class.
Calories: still suck at counting but I did eat an Arbys roast beef sandwich for lunch....dang
Feeling: blah

Okay, I've been slightly off the wagon over the weekend but that was really to be expected. I enjoyed a mini pizza and a fast food burger but tonight I jumped right back on the wagon and pushed myself harder than ever.

I did my 20 minute run outside, came inside to do my lunges, weights, sit-ups and push-ups, and then hopped on the elliptical for the last 10 minutes and I FEEL GREAT! Finally I'm getting into a bit of a routine where my body is actually starting to crave workouts and want to go running. I feel sluggish and lazy when I don't and the post-workout feeling of adrenalin and alertness are so awesome.

I know I've been giving Greg a hard time telling him not to coach me or tell me to do more, but tonight I felt like I wanted him to tell me to push myself harder. I think I'm gaining confidence from exercising and caring about my body and so I'm now looking for him to not only drill me a bit but also to encourage me (which he is great at). He noticed today that my innertube belly was looking slightly smaller and guess what...

it is 2 inches smaller!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it when we measured me again today. I guess it's not all about the weight, it's also about the results of your body.

New Measurements: 40-34-40 (yay for tummy not sticking out farther than boobies)
Weight Today: 171
Calories: lost track...need to work harder on this one
Feeling: encouraged and ready to tackle this next week

I'm also beginning to see more changes than just the physical ones. Greg and I were talking about the difference exercise makes in a person's life. Not just the stress relief, the health benefits and the body toning, but the emotional and inner changes are big as well. I have been feeling more attractive despite few results, and just the fact that I'm trying to be healthier tells Greg that I care about how I look and I care about our relationship. He told me he feels that I must still want to be beautiful and attractive to him, and that also tells him that I must find him attractive because I want to look good to "impress" him. I had no idea about some of these messages I was sending to Greg unintentionally but I'm really noticing how it can strengthen a marriage as well as restore inner confidence.

40-34-42

No, that is not my locker combination....it's my big 'ol measurements as of yesterday. I decided to track my inches as well as my weight to see the big picture of what's really going on. I noticed that my face and neck were slimming out a bit and my body seemed to be looking a little different despite not losing much weight so Greg suggested I track inches too. This idea was both good and bad. Good in that I can tell when I'm slimming out but bad because I had no idea that the inner-tube surrounding my belly is 2 inches bigger than my bowling-ball boobs. Yikes.

New goal: make inner-tube smaller than boobs.

On a brighter note did workout yesterday and will be back at it again tonight. I've done 30 minutes of cardio again but threw in some sit-ups and weights yesterday. Greg (my wanna-be personal trainer) told me to do 30 sit ups (not crunches) and I made it to 27. Tonight it's 30. The Biggest Loser motivated me as usual but this time gave me another idea. Jillian suggests you pre-package your own lunches/snacks in zip-lock bags in the fridge so that you can easily eat the right portion size and calories. I might try doing that for work-days to avoid the impulse fast food.

Weight today: 171
Workout: will probably do 30 - 45 minutes
Calorie intake: hmmm...venti caramel machiatto? Oopsie. Muffin? Oopsie.
Feeling: generally still inspired.

The only good thing about my monthly visitor is that I don't get very hungry. Other than that it just makes me want to sit on the couch with a heating pad and watch movies...(done and done). So needless to say I haven't done much by the way of working out the since Saturday and tonight is Biggest Loser on t.v. so I'm bound to feel guilty and want to get my butt in motion.

However the veggie platter stocked in the fridge has been a success. Greg and I have munched on that the last couple nights while watching t.v. and it's kept my hands busy and my body healthy. Speaking of keeping my hands busy, I think I've discovered another piece of the puzzle. A friend of mine has a dad who is very sick with cancer all through his body and is probably going to die in the next few weeks. The man has smoked 70 cigarettes a day for the last 50 years!!!! Can you believe it? So even though the doctors have told this man that it is too late to make healthy lifestyle changes he has decided to try to quit smoking. They are going through a book written by an ex-smoker that debunks myths about cigarettes. One myth being that smoking is a habit because the nicotine addiction. This book claims that even for the heaviest of smokers, the nicotine only stays in the body for 4 days after a person quits. The rest of the habit is simply, well, habit. It's that smokers don't know what to do with their hands or their time so they take up smoking again.

I argue that the same could be true for over eaters. Sitting down to watch t.v. is often done with munchies or stress is handled with eating, or even boredome. All the same reasons a smoker would need a cigarette could be true for over eaters. So could debunking the myths of eating to yourself help you overcome eating habits?

I may have to take up cross-stitch to keep my hands busy while I sit around.

Weight Today: 171 (decent)
Workout: nada so far
Calorie intake: 100 so far (banana)
Feeling: bloated, cramped, but sill overall motivation.

So I have done two days in a row of no breakfast, glass of water and a workout. Then followed by intense sweating and a shower. I actually feel surprisingly good and waiting to eat that first bite works for me since I'm not really into early morning breakfast anyways. It seems the working out and the mornings are not my weak point. It's the late night movie time or monopoly games that make me a munchaholic. So today I went and bought a ton of veggies and some dip (25 calories in a serving and no fat) and I plan to keep it fresh and stocked in the fridge for the evening munchies. I hope this will help me avoid spreading whipping cream on a cookie and scarfing it down like it was my last treat ever (did that yesterday...shame).

One other thing I think I might try is planning out what I'm going to eat for the day the night before or in the morning. I think if I have a plan then I might stick to it. The impulsive grab-a-cookie might be swayed if my schedule says I'm to eat an apple at 3pm with some nuts. We'll see how that works out. So far today I'm right on schedule.

Weight today: 172.1 (almost)
Workout: 30 minutes cardio in my fat-burning zone (70% of 220-your age)
Caloric intake: it's only 2:30 but 500
Feeling: better than yesterday!

This is all I've had to eat so far today and according to this source, I have consumed about 68% of my daily caloric intake. WHAT?! I'M HUNGRY. This is going to be a lot harder than I originally thought. Losing weight is a science, you need to constantly be calculating and estimating and measuring. My kitchen has turned into a science lab and I'm the mad, hungry scientist. Today a friend called me up to see if I wanted to go running twice a week in the morning with her. I said sure, but the evening actually works better for me. But she insists on mornings because according to the book "Fit for Life" the best way to lose weight is to wake up, drink water and go work out. That way your body is burning from your fat reserves and not from your breakfast. That makes some sense, but I also know you need to eat in the morning to get your body working. ARGG.... so many conflicting opinions.

Food Item	Servings	Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
Banana	1.00	121	0g	0mg	1mg	31g	17g	4g	1g
yogurt	1.00	180	0g	0mg	110mg	37g	35g	2g	7g
All-Bran Bran Flakes	1.00	170	1g	0mg	290mg	27g	4g	5g	4g
Latte - Homemade	1.00	115	4g	0mg	0mg	7g	4g	3g	6g
Milk-1%	1.00	60	1g	7mg	80mg	7g	7g	0g	5g
Totals:		646	6g	7mg	481mg	109g	67g	14g	23g

Weight today: 172
Workout: nada
Calories consumed by end of day: 1600 (waffles for dinner)
Feeling: uh-oh

the beginning

I really can't say when the journey first began. I remember I weighed a hefty 166 in January of 2007, but by March I was pregnant and there was no time to get that perfect pre-pregnancy body that would be easy to bounce back to. I saw pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted and in no time I was ready to POP at about 205 pounds.

I dropped about 20 pounds in the hospital and felt much lighter when I came home. But it didn't take long before my 186 pounds of blubber was slopping over my jeans, and the old "I just had a baby" excuse was about the only thing wearing thing.

Picture below: January 5 2008, 186 lbs.And by October 2008 I still had not lost a pound of my baby fat. I was beginning to feel sad and discouraged that even breastfeeding hadn't done a thing for me. I realized it was time to get serious and try to at least get back to my 166 pre-pregnancy weight.

Picture below: October 2008 at the beginning of my official "journey", 186 lbs.

By Christmas I had already dropped about 10 pounds and was really beginning to feel better about myself. My clothes were fitting better and people were noticing that I was thinner. But about the only thing I had changed was my caloric intake. I still had not made a habit of working out (which I would later find to be a crucial part of the equation). Still, those 10 pounds came off fast and I was okay with eating an orange for date night while Greg had a bag of chips.

Picture below: Christmas 2008, 177 pounds
Then school and life hit again and I only managed to lost another 5 pounds between January and August of 2009. These last 8 months of stagnant weight loss have gotten me itching for some serious changes.

Picture below: Last day of school, August 2009, 172 pounds



So Today I begin this blog. I hope to inspire others, record my ups and downs, and give myself a place to journal in order to hopefully have some accountability. I'm searching for any way to stir the pot and keep myself motivated enough to get out of this slump and back on track. I'm not looking to be super Audrey, weighing 122 with abs of steal. I'm just looking to feel good about myself again, and to achieve something that I really want to achieve. I want my family to be healthy and I want to look good in a bathing suit because dang it, I deserve it.


Pictures below: September 16, 2009, 172 pounds.