Healthy

I’m still here, I’m still running, still hoping to one day hit my goal. So far it hasn’t happened and I’m beginning to think maybe my body has a “happy place” at 160 lbs. I’ve been hovering there for months and to be honest, I feel good and I feel healthy! I’m not stressing about the numbers but I certainly wouldn’t cry if those last 10 lbs wanted to leave permanently! My 10K race is in less than 3 weeks and I’m running 3x/week to train for it. It’s going to be fun but I’ll also be glad when it’s over! This has just been a crazy busy summer and I’m honestly looking forward to fall already… which says a lot because I really hate winter!

Picking Up Again

I’ve been quite a slacker again. Sigh. But the goal is definitely in sight – 9 lbs to go! I’ve discovered there is great truth to the saying that the last 10 lbs are the hardest to lose. But unfortunately I think it’s more of a mental issue than anything else. I look back and I think, Wow, I’ve come so far… and I kinda lose my motivation to go that last little way.

I had a great run this morning though, 3 miles in 29 minutes. 6.2 mph, 385 calories burned!

Finding Clarity

I think I’ve always had a love affair with food. As a kid, I could eat TONS and was even given the nickname “garburator” when I was about 12. I wasn’t overweight as a kid though; I guess I had pretty good metabolism. I grew up in a family of 10 kids, we lived 45 minutes from the nearest decent grocery store, and we grew basically ALL our own food. Beef, poultry, veggies, fruit… it all came from our 80 acres in northern Alberta. We never had pop or chips or processed food in the house, mostly because we couldn’t afford it.

So, growing up, I vowed that when I had my own home, I would eat absolutely whatever I wanted to! I would have cupboards overflowing with potato chips and Oreos and cases of Coke. And for the first years of our marriage, that’s what we did! I gained 25 lbs in the first 2-3 years of marriage. Then I had a baby. And another. And the weight started sticking. I was 160 when I got pregnant the first time, and happily got back to that weight before I got pregnant again. But by the 3rd pregnancy my normal weight was 175, and 3 months after Sawyer was born in April 2010, I was at 202 and realized it was time to move. And that’s how this whole journey started. By fall, I had lost 12 pounds, and then I lost my motivation again.

On December 29, still in the season of parties and sugary treats, I said, “Enough”. And started Weight Watchers online, as well as working out full time at home. I lost 20 lbs in the first 6 weeks. I was on a roll! It has had many ups and downs… I kinda fell off the wagon for March and April, but I’m back on track now and happy to report I weighed in at 163.5 this morning, nly 3.5 lbs away from my original pre-pregnancy weight 10 years ago!

Anyway, I’ve finally reached the conclusion that from here on in, I will never be able to mindlessly eat whatever sounds good at the moment. I have to log EVERY bite that goes into my mouth and while I will still allow some treats and the occasional splurge, I need to be really careful. A moment of clarity came to me last week… I was in a convenience store and noticed my old favorite snack, the good ole Honey Bun. So I thought I’d check the calories just out of curiosity. Folks, it was 600 calories!!! That’s the kind of thing I used to eat 2 or 3 or more of, in one sitting! That’s when it hit me that calories are actually my friend. They are numbers, which I’m kinda good at, and if my daily total should be 1200 than you just don’t sit and eat sugary carbs at 600 calories a pop. That childhood metabolism is gone and I need to take charge.

I still obsess about food, and I’ll probably always struggle with that. But I know where “giving in” will take me… a long road of obesity and health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Health issues that my mom is dealing with. And I have become my mom in other ways… I feed my boys healthy foods. Whole grains and veggies, very few packaged goodies in their lunches and very few cookies. I do hope they eventually come to the same conclusion I did, but I also want them to have a balanced view of food. I let them have just enough “junk” that when they’re leaving home they won’t crave all the bad stuff. They watch Biggest Loser online with me and they see firsthand what unhealthy eating habits can do. I tell them that for right now, as kids, they don’t need to worry about calories (in first grade, Blake obsessed about it) but that as they grow up, to always make healthy choices. I hope it’s enough, I hope it’s not too much.

Happy Day

I’m so not good at self denial. I guess it’s not in our makeup as humans to begin with but I think I’m super bad at it! Anyway the rigid Points-counting is paying off… I’ve lost 2.5 lbs in the last 2 days! So inspired again to stick with it no matter what!

And I just wanted to share with you some yummy snack options I’ve discovered that are only 1-3 points each:

Babybel light cheese. These are SO yummy and full of protein but only 1 point each!

Jell-O Temptations Mousse. So so good. Feels like a splurge but only 1 point each!

Laughing Cow light cheese spread on celery and sprinkled with pomegranate Craisins. Mmm. Heaven for only 3 points!

Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches. These are so good, and a little more at 4 points but still easy to work into the budget!

I’m on the PointsPlus system so all the points I list reflect that.

Alive Again

One of my favorite songs that comes up on my phone while using Cardio Trainer is Alive Again by Matt Maher. It always makes me giggle as I’m panting around the track… “I’m breathing in and breathing out” … The first day I ran, it was actually the first song on the playlist… I woke up early, not sure if I’m totally crazy, and the first words I hear are “I woke up in darkness, sounded by silence, oh where, where have I gone?”

Anyway, I thought that was a fitting title for today’s post, because I LOST A WHOLE POUND!! Insert applause here! I gave myself a pep talk yesterday and stayed completely on points all day, which is tough since I weaned Sawyer… my daily PointsPlus limit is 29 and it was 38 while breastfeeding. So I’m trying to adjust to that and I seriously think about food all day long. No joke. I obsess and crave and try to deny the hunger beast. I’m definitely leaning on God for this one; impossible to do it on my own!

It always amazes my how ANY loss just immediately motivates me again!

Running stats this morning: 2.3 miles in 26 minutes. Speed: 5.3 mph. Calories burned: 296

Keep Calm and Carry On

Down 0.5 lbs from last week. I want so badly to LOSE and I can’t figure out why I’m not! When I started WW, I lost 2-3 lbs/week consistently for the first 6 weeks. Where did that determination go? And why isn’t my body responding as well now? I was breastfeeding at the time, which may have helped more than I realized!

Anyway, I’ve decided to go forth and not worry about weight loss. I’m going to focus more on being active and healthy, spending time outside with my kids, keep up my running routine and I’m sure the results will follow as well.

Running stats for this morning: 2.1 miles in 22 minutes. Calories burned: 269, Speed: 5.6 mph.

Accomplishment

We slept in a little this morning, and I decided to go for a run even though it IS the weekend! I told the boys that I was going to try for 2 miles (my first mini-goal) and if I succeeded they had to give me a big hug when I got back.

Sooo… I DID IT!! It was hard and I thought I was going to faint/collapse/die, but I actually did the full 2 miles and it felt SO good! My stats for this run are: 2.0 miles in 22 minutes. Speed 5.4 mph. 258 calories burned.

And no, my weight still hasn’t dropped, but I do feel healthier and more energetic than I have in a long time and that’s worth it!

Disappointment

My weight is NOT going down and I’m not sure what to do about it. I’m watching calories, running at least a mile each day… I know that I’m probably building muscle and that could be causing the .5 lb gain but it’s discouraging since I like to see results in the form of numbers! Definitely need to pick it up with Jillian Michaels again since I’ve given her quite an extended vacation. Right now I just find it easier to run.

And I’m feeling a lot of sadness today for a good friend (well, actually a-friend-of-a-friend, but we’ve become email friends) who lost her 13-month-old daughter yesterday to a drowning accident. The tears have flowed since I have a child the same age… my heart breaks for her… D, we’re holding you up in prayer today!

Run With It

Day 2 of running. It was tough getting up this morning. Ah but the fresh spring air definitely helps! I went a little further this morning, 1.3 miles in 13 minutes, burning 172 calories! My speed this morning was 5.7 mph, up from 5.0 yesterday. Someone asked me yesterday what my goal was and I guess I’m thinking of doing a 5K this summer possibly. So exciting – I’ve never done anything like it! One added benefit of getting up and getting active before 7 am: I have WAY more energy and get tons more housework done. We *all* benefit!

Back on Track

It’s been a crazy 6 weeks or so, including a trip to the Dominican. I completely gave up on workouts and eating right. Argh. I was so worried but I hopped back on the scale and guess what? I’m 169.5. STILL. So at least I didn’t GAIN. And that makes me happy.

I woke up earlier this morning and went for a run. CardioTrainer is a great app to have on my Android phone; it uses GPS to track where you’ve gone, counts your steps, calorie burn, etc. So this morning’s run went like this: 1.1 miles in 13 minutes, 146 calories burned. It’s not huge, but it’s a start!