Wow!

A whole week without a post!? Geesh, who am I?

This past week has been a revealing kind of week. I have had some weak moments. In-N-Out burger, 2 deserts, 2 times the proportion sizes...it was awful. On the one side, I did run 8 miles that day and needed the fuel. On the other, I could have fueled more properly.

I have decided to stick to a 1200 calorie diet on days I do just cardio.
I will eat 1600(plus 200 for powerade) on the days I run long distances.
I will track in a notebook all 7 days of the week.
I will start weighing 1 time a week, Wednesdays are the chosen days.
I will drink 120 oz of water everyday.
I will work on getting lots of fruits and veggies in every day.

My birthday is next Friday and I WILL be 122 if it kills me :)

I have no clue what I weigh right now. I really hope to still be at 124. Or even 123. We shall see in 2 days!

2 A Days....

Sunday afternoon I ran 6 miles in 1h 2m 08s beating my previous 6 miles by 2 minutes and 6 seconds! I am so proud. No knee pain either. I love this running faster thing!

Woke up at 5AM, got dressed, filled my water, and headed my cute ass to the gym. I walked for 5 minutes, and followed that up with a 10 minute stretch session, as I was still a little tight from Sunday's run. Then, hopped on the elliptical for 40 minutes(totally tried to talk myself out of it, but I pushed on). All in all a good day at the gym. I do like doing cardio for an hour though.

Well my best friend, Sadie, text me while I was at work and asked if I was going running(it is supposed to be a running day, but I skipped the gym yesterday). I said "No" and then I had a change of heart and said, "If you wanna run, I am down!" Her response, "Let's do it dude!". So, today I will be doing a 3 mile or so run with her. It'll be nice to have some company!

Do you get active with your friends or are you a "lone ranger"?

Best Thing About This Week....

I ran 3 miles on Tuesday! That's not the best thing, the best thing is I did it in 29m43s my best time yet. The first mile was 9m31s, the second was 10m41s, and the third was also 9m31s! I have never ran under a 10m mile. In fact, I don't think I have ever run a mile in under 10m15s. My knees felt great during, except when I was running slower. So, maybe I am just running too slow!? What do you think? I was soo proud of myself, I actually cried, because I am a dork.

Still at 124.6 this morning, which is nice. Hoping to see the 123 next Wednesday. Just going to keep on working harder and harder.

Hope you are all having an amazing week!

Luck of the Irish?!

Hi, Happy St. Patrick's Day :)

I didn't realize it was St. Patty's Day until I had left for work. No green on me today, oops!


So, weight this morning was 124.6! Ahhhh....haven't seen that number in, well, ever! I jumped right over it when I gained weight in jr. high. It gives me such a boost. Now that I am weighing, I do believe I will continue to lose it instead of up and down week to week. I feel great. Hey 110, I am coming to get you! Hoping for 122 or lower by my birthday, I think I can get there just fine.

I started journaling yesterday as well, just to give me an idea of how many calories I am consuming, what my workouts are, how much water I am drinking and my day to day weight. I am excited to be journaling. I plan on doing a food journal once a week starting soon. I really need more pictures around this joint!

Now, onto a little more substance. I have a confession to make! My sleeping habits are out of whack, and it is not because of Daylight Savings. I try to be in bed by 9:00 every night, because my first alarm goes off at 4:45AM. I feel that is an adequate amount of sleep. However, in the past month, it keeps getting later and later at night that I go to sleep. I have been getting in bed by 10, but don't fall asleep until 11 or so. Which is not nearly as much sleep as I should be getting. So, I have a plan to get my sleeping back on track.

• Hot Bath: I used to take a hot bath every night at 8:30ish and it totally winds me down from the day. Hoping I can start doing this again most nights.
• Hot Tea: I have heard tea helps when drank before bed.
• No More Laptop in Bed: My brain associates my bed with all the wrong things. For example, TV watching, Internet Surfing, and Reading. I need to break that habit and fast. 
• No Workouts for at least 2 hours before bed: I tend to do last minute workouts right before bed, which leaves me full of energy. So, from now on, all workouts will be done by 7PM.

Do you get enough sleep? How do you unwind before bed?

Have a fantastic St. Patrick's Day!

Refusing To Let The Scale Win.....

I loved reading all of your comments on yesterdays post. Keep looking "outside the box" and start noticing how you feel, rather than how you look/what the scale says! Ahhh...I love hearing all of the great things you are noticing!

Speaking of scales, I wanted to talk a little about what I started doing Saturday. So, I purchased a scale this weekend. I usually use the one at the gym, but my body fat changes anywhere from 25.5% to as low as 21% overnight and I can not trust it. So, I bought one that doesn't do body fat, it just tells me what the number is. I used to have a scale obsession and have quit diets many times because the scale wasn't cooperating and I thought I was "meant to be fat!". Not the case.

I weighed myself Saturday night and I was 127. Went out to see a friends band play and had a jager w/ redbull and a huge blue moon with 2 oranges. We stopped at McDonald's at 2:00AM(it was time change day so really it was 3AM), and I got a cheeseburger. Woke up Sunday and weighed 126. Hmmm....okay. I worked all day Sunday, but my eats were good.
B-yogurt w/ a little protein and fiber one cereal.
L-Subway 6'' Turkey on Honey Oat w/ lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, banana peppers, a little oil and vinegar.
Snack-BBQ Baked Lays potato chips
D-Wonton chips w/ sweet and sour sauce. I had a salad w/ broccoli and Olive Garden dressing.
Drank about 100 oz of water!

Monday I hopped on the scale 127.2. Did I get discouraged? NO! First, I had just woken up and done the #1, no #2 yet. Second, I had more sodium than I normally do the day before. So, I went to the gym and did an hour on the eliptical. Yesterday's eats:
B- 1/4c oatmeal, 1/2c water, 1/4 c raisins, 1 tbsp almond butter, 1/2 tbsp agave nectar(best breakfast ever!) w/ 2 cups of coffee. The coffee contained a little Vanilla Soy Milk and 1 tbsp cinnamon vanilla creamer.
L-Salad w/ broccoli and balsamic vinigarette dressing. I also had 1 cup of Annies white cheddar shells(awesome for a mac n cheese lover like myself!). I had a banana shortly after.
Snack-1 slice 9 grain bread w/ 1 tbsp almond butter and 1/2 tsp agave nectar
D-Salad w/ broccoli, wonton chips, and black bean/corn salsa as dressing(sounds gross, but it was tasty). I paired that with 1 Strawberry Brown Cow Greek Yogurt w/ fiber one cereal in it and 5 raisins.

This morning I weighed 125.6. Which is just over what I weighed last Thursday(?).

Obviously, I hope Thursday to be in the 124 range, but if I am not, I will move on. I weigh everday because I am curious as to what my body is doing. How I weigh day to day.

We shouldn't be so concentrated on what the scale is saying, I mean really. My weight fluctuated 2 pounds in three days. That is not logical because I was doing things right. No overeating, no sweets, plenty of water, and lots of protein, veggies and fruits. I will continue to weigh and Thursdays will be the day that counts. If I don't start losing, then, I will reevaluate.

I just really wish we wouldn't put so much emphasis on what the scale says. It is so sad to read bloggers that say I gained x amount of weight or I only lost x amount. It could just be one of those days where you gain 2 pounds because of sodium or being "backed up"!

So, how do you stay positive when the scale doesn't tell you what you want it to?

Let's Talk....

So, this weekend I have really thought about a few things that have changed about my body and I thought I would share. Just a fair warning, this is a TMI post for just a minute, but not the whole thing and I promise not to be gross.

First things first, my energy level is quite amazing! I wake up happy, I workout, I go to work, I come home, I clean, I cook(or get takeout), and I go to bed. I used to take naps close to everyday, but now, I rarely take naps. Love took a 3 hour nap Saturday(he worked early) and I stayed up. I cleaned, stained cabinets, worked out a little and played with the dogs. We got up together at 6:30, but I had all the energy in the world. I am still surprised that I don't take naps. I deal with a touch of insomnia these days. I go to bed between 10pm and 12am and get up at 4:45am most days. So, I really need to work on getting sleep, so I have a plan. I will share this in a later post!

Secondly, I have never been *AHEM* regular in the potty department. It was normal to not poop for 3 days. I bet you I dropped the kids off at the pool maybe 2 times a week, 3 if I was lucky. Now, I drink 1-2 cups of coffee in the morning, I pack lots of fruits, veggies, and fiber into my diet. Plus, I drink over 100 oz. of water a day. Now, I go at least 2 times, if not 3 or 4 times a day. I love the feeling of not being "plugged" up like I used to. The down side to how regular I am is I have freaking gas pretty badly some days(okay, more like 4 days out of the week). Love always says,"Wow, that was lady like!!! I remember when you would try to hold it in, but now you just let it rip!" I always blame the dogs, but he doesn't believe me! Haha!

Last but not least, the food my body craves. I am currently going off of sweets and treats for 2 week, today is day 4 and it is not that bad. My body craves veggies, fruits and yogurt, which is a long ways from Quesadillas, cookies, and my all time favorite cheesy bean and rice burritos a la Taco Bell. Now, I still remember how much I love those burritos, but I have not had one in almost a year. I love me some banana, kiwi, salad, broccoli and my body craves those now. It is such a great feeling.

So, there you have it! What body changes have you noticed since beginning your journey?

Best Creation Yet.....

Last night, Love didn't get off of work until late, so I didn't eat until about 8:00. Love and I have such different eating habits. He is a meat, brown rice, potatoes, chicken, KFC, hamburgers, kind of guy. No veggies, but sometimes he will eat salad plain salad with lemons or Olive Garden dressing. I, however, love veggies and all sorts of other healthy foods. Like the one below!

This was a tomato basil tortilla(100 calories) with roasted pepper hummus. Then, I heated up some black beans and threw them up. I sauteed up red peppers, yellow peppers, orange peppers and broccoli in a little olive oil and topped the hummus and beans with it. Then, added a little peach and mango salsa to the top! So good, so feeling, and truly awesome creation :)

I don't find it extremely challenging to come up with great meal ideas even though Love and I's eating can be really different. If he wants cheese burgers, I am game. He doesn't actually like buns, so we eat them without them. There is some calorie saving we both do. Chicken and brown rice is a staple in our place. I have a salad or I will add some broccoli to the dish to give it some veggies.

NSV on its way! So, Love decided he wanted a shake last night(raspberry, peanut butter cups, and banana.). He is creative. So, I went to iceberg, where I love love LOVE their shakes and I ordered his shake. I didn't order one for me, not because I wasn't allowing it, but because I really didn't want one. Normally, I would have gotten one and just eaten it anyways, but last night I put thought into it and I want to get to goal. I don't want to have to work off all of the calories the shake had in it! Go me :) !!!!

It is kind of a big deal....

So, I have some really fun events coming up.

First, my 25th birthday is 4 weeks away from today. I am so excited for my birthday this year, mainly because I am finally excited about life! I don't live the unhappy way I used to. I have noticed a lot of different changes in myself in the past 2 weeks(haven't been blogging much, taking short breaks to focus on me). I will talk more on that later.

Second, I am still hoping for the half marathon one week after my 25th birthday. I have ran a couple of days this week and my knees feel strong. Going to try to get in a 6 mile run Saturday after I hit up the running store. I need to kick the workouts up a notch, I have been slacking slightly, although the intensity has increased.

Third, my friend since childhood is getting married. I am excited for the wedding, but I will be seeing a few people who really don't like me. The reasoning behind them not liking me, I do not know and that is in all honesty. At this wedding, I will also be seeing many people that I absolutely adore and have known since I was just a kid. They knew me as a chubby kid, and as an anorexic preteen-teen and then grow into a fat young adult. They haven't seen me this far into my journey and I really want to show them who I am on the inside and just how much I have changed!

Now, let's talk a little about the changes I have gone through recently. I will do these in bullet form.

• Had I been the old me when my parents told me of their divorce, I would have worried, cried, and dwell on it all day all the time. The new me, I have dealt with it. I am moving on and as I told my daddy-o last night, they can do whatever they want and I am just done with it. I don't really see or speak to them anymore. I love them, but there is a lot of tension and I don't want that to be in my life right now. 
• I feel so determined. I have never had this feeling before. I want to take on anything and everything. The "fear to ask for fry sauce" as my momma would say, is gone. I don't fear looking stupid in front of people. I have so much in me to offer and I am ready to give it! Have I mentioned I am 15 pounds from my goal weight!!!!!!!! I weigh 125!!  It has everything to do with my determination. I was up and down in my weight for so long(about 2 months or so), but now my nose is to the grindstone and I will be at goal by summer!!
• I have self confidence. I am excited to go shopping for clothes, specifically for a dress for the wedding I was talking about. I want to always look as gorgeous as I feel inside :) and I do! I have naturally curly hair(like super curly, I will post pics, I promise!) and I don't feel self concious letting it do it's thing. I feel like even when I first wake up, I look damn good. My body is changing and it looks good. I may have a little coming out party this weekend.....on the blog. Maybe get up some befores and afters :)
• I have goals. I have hobbies(2 actually now) Miss Nicole @ let them eat lettuce inspired me to do something. We have a koi pond in the back yard right now and because of the time consumption of the salt water tank inside, it has been neglected and it doesn't look good. So, I had been thinking about what to do in that area. Originally, I was just going to fill the hole back up with dirt and grow grass, but wouldn't a veggie/fruit garden be more awesome! Yes, Nicole posted about it right around the same time I was considering it and last night, we bought the supplies. I will be starting the garden indoor tomorrow and when I am ready to move it outside, I am going with Love's dad(whose garden rocks) to the local nursery to pick up a few more plants :) Awe, bonding time. 

 I have so much more to talk about, but I am going to leave you to digest this for now :) Thanks for reading!!

I have been reading up on your blogs when I can, but the comments are resuming promptly! I really care about you so much and I really hope you know that :)

What a Way To Start A Monday....

Woke up this morning at 4:45AM and hit the gym HARD! Today was weight training day. I did 1 mile warm up run, followed by quad machines, hamstring machines and hip abductor machines, and ending with a 2 mile run. This is the most I have run in 2 weeks and I only had slight inner thigh pain. I call this a win!

Weekend went good. I did some experimenting on my eating. Trying to just eat a 1/4 c of oatmeal with raisins and peanut butter for breakfast. I was hungry after only 3 hours. Usually 1/2 c of oatmeal w/ PB and raisins holds me until lunch time, which is about 5 hours after breakfast. I am trying it again today to see how it goes. Drinking 120+ oz of water. It's 8AM and I have already downed 24 oz.! That's decent.

Saturday night, I splurged on Girl Scout Cookies....I mean splurged. I had 2.5 servings of tagalongs(mmmm...chocolate and peanut buttery goodness) with is oh.....400 calories, but it didn't stop there. I had 2 servings of samoas and 1 serving of thin mints. Oh well, it was a lesson learned. I did not have ANY yesterday though, so that is good. If I am going to eat anymore of the 4 boxes we have left, it will be 1 serving!

The biggest thing in this journey that I have learned is, it is okay to slip. Whether it be once or twice a month or even once or twice a week, you can still learn about yourself and your weaknesses. In the end, it can make your stronger if you work towards it.

5 things I have learned since I began my journey:
1. I have been in denial for YEARS about my emotional eating. I can now admit that, yes I am an emotional eater. Will I be forever, NO!
2. Exercise AND eating right are must for losing and keeping weight off. It's not just about one or the other, it's about both.
3. If there are constant "splurges" you will never lose. I was trying to have "dessert" everyday, but right now, I just can't do it without over doing it. Once or twice a week is fine, but not every day.
4. My body and mind are a whole lot stronger than I had ever imagined. I have pushed myself to do things I have never imagined(running 7 miles!! Heck yes!) and confronting my emotional eating.
5. I am SO HAPPY with myself when I see that I am losing AND when I gain because I get to reflect and learn how to make myself healthier all around! I used to beat myself up for gaining, but now I realize, it is going to happen and I can work through it!

How was your weekend?

Sorry For Leaving You Hanging....

All Weekend!!!! Ahhh. Let's just say, I am not talking about the weekend. Food was AWESOME. Exercise non existent, still struggling with knee pain. Taking my running shoes to the running store and they are going to do what they can to help me!

Plans for the half marathon have changed. I am no longer doing the Salt Lake Half Marathon, at this point. I may change my mind, and I really hope I do. Being injured is terrifying to me, so I want to be certain I am ready physically for it. Mentally, I am ready. I am still planning on the "Happy Valley Half Marathon"(I can't think of the real name of the race, but Happy Valley sounds like sunshine and rainbows anyways). and that is in June. So, I AM going to run it. Or maybe I will still do both....ugh...see back and forth back and forth! lol!

I still don't have a full functioning kitchen, but it is back to normal enough that I am staying on track :) When we started this remodel, I was determined to not eat out nearly as much as The Boy suggested we would have to! I really didn't eat out as much as I thought I would. Sure, last week we did, but this weekend I think we ate out 2 times. I had a cheeseburger from McDonald's last night.....Shhh...no telling ahah. I don't feel badly because I did have just 1 and 4 fries. Then, an apple and scoop of PB for desert. That's fine by me!

Todays eats:
B-1/2 cup of oatmeal, 2/3 cup of water, 1/4 cup low fat milk, 2 scoops PB, Sprinkle of Fiber One Cereal, and 1 scoop of protein powder. It was just okay. I need to work on the consistency and NOT eating it 10 minutes after it's made-COLD AND GOOEY...Gross!

L-Salad made with 2 cups of salad, 1/4 cucumber, 1/4 yellow pepper(I can eat them like apples...so perfect!), 1/4 cup of broccoli, 1 Avocado, Mrs. Dash garlic and herb NO SALT ADDED seasoning, 10 sprays of 2 calorie per spray ranch, and a half cup of fiber one cereal. On the side, I had 1/3 of a Starkist herb and garlic Tuna pouch. It was tasty and very filling!

There are 3 new things I tried today, and wanted to give a little review of:
1. Fiber One cereal-This has 60 calories per 1/2 cup and 57% of the daily fiber suggested. Can you believe it? Those are some good stats. The Boy had a huge(probably a cup and a half) serving last night(to cure his sweet tooth!?) and he was *ahem* "feeling" it this morning. The needed potty break woke him up 30 minutes before he usually gets up. Being one that used to never getting enough fiber in my diet, this stuff is going to be a new staple :)
2. Starkist garlic and herb tuna pouch-I always thought I NEEDED mayo(Lots, please!) to make tuna taste really good, but in the past few months, I have done a little honey mustard and  a touch of mayo and it has been great. Today, I ate the tuna plain. No added spices, nothing. It was delicious. It didn't have an over powering garlic flavor, but it definitely added a little something to the tuna. You will see this in the future.
3. Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning-I worry about sodium intake, not a ton, but I do think about it. This flavoring was great. I used to be a HUGE RANCH FAN, like huge. It went on every salad and it was about 10 times the serving size suggestion. Last night, I smushed(love this word!) an avocado on a paper plate and threw some of this seasoning on and voila, a nice creamy add to a salad. Although, I did add a little ranch, because the avocado wasn't getting the salad very "wet" at all. Weirdo...yes I am!

All 3 of the suggestions above came from a girl that works at the kiosk across from me at the part time gig in the mall! Love her!

So, there you go! What are some new things you have tried lately?