And on track...

At least so far (it is only Monday!). I stayed up way too late last night and had a little trouble waking up, but I am glad I ran first thing. It definitely helped me wake up. This evening I started week 1 of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution again. I felt really good during the workout. I used heavier weights to have more of a challenge. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of results I see over the next 90 days.  For the first JMBR that I did (up to week 10), the total loss is 22.6 pounds and 28.5 inches.  I'm pretty happy with this considering that I did fall off track part of the way through and did have trouble getting focused. So now I am starting new with numbers and we'll see where this second attempt at the full 90 day program goes.  I'm hoping that a more relaxed summer schedule (well, at least the kiddos don't have school!)  will help me be able to keep up with the workouts and be ready for fall half marathons!

Starting Again....

So, I've made it to JMBR Phase 3. But, I've had a really hard time keeping up these past two weeks. I think that Jillian may have over-estimated my abilities when she designed phase 3 :) So tomorrow I will be going back to phase 1 and work through the 90 days again. This will put me finishing around mid-September. I am hoping that by starting again when I get to phase 3 this time I will be able to complete the whole 90 days. I do have a final weight loss and inches loss for the time I did JMBR this round. I will post that soon- not sure of the totals right now. I am planning to start a new set of measurements for this round. The plan is still to do running in the morning and JMBR in the evening. I got in several miles last week and I am still focusing on speed and I am planning on a long run at some time this week or weekend.

I don't have a meal plan laid out yet for this week. I've got a couple things that didn't get cooked last week, so I may be cooking a couple of those recipes. I am planning on some zucchini pizzas that I found on skinnytaste. I am actually having some success with my garden (for the first time ever!), so we are starting to have some yummy veggies to eat. Though my younger boys are starting to make faces when I tell them we are having zucchini....they do seem excited to start getting tomatoes though- the first of those should be ready this week. As the weather really starts to heat up, I don't usually like to cook as much. This summer I am planning on more salads. I have one kiddo who really loves salads, so just 3 more to win over!

Sunday Meal Planning

So baseball is done- we had a great season, and Caleb really enjoyed it, so I am so glad that we did it even though it did make our lives a little hectic over the past couple of months. One of the things that suffered the most was our meal planning. I tried in the beginning but when we started with rainouts and make up games it just got to be a little too much. I'd have a plan and then it'd get changed at the last minute, so eventually I decided that it was better just to do the best we could.

But this week we are back to normal-ish, so back to meal planning.....

Monday: Broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken

Tuesday: Quick dinner (open house for the two oldest at school)

Wednesday: Crusted honey mustard chicken

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Chicken Cordon Bleu

Saturday: Hot dogs (hopefully following a fun outside day!)

Sunday: Leftovers or Kids' choice

This week also starts a new summer schedule for me. My kiddos still have 2 weeks left of school, but I am going to start a new training schedule for the fall halfs that I have coming up. I also have a couple things planned for the summer months, I am still planning on a half a month. Those halfs will be very low key- I am really working towards more of a time goal for my fall halfs, so that is what I'm concentrating on. When it comes to my summer halfs, I am thinking that I may split the distance over a couple different runs- maybe in the same day, maybe two different days. I just don't want to push so hard that I can't meet my ultimate goal that I have in place for the fall.

I am also going to go back to evening workouts for JMBR. I have found that time works so much better for me when it comes to that. So starting tomorrow I am planning on running in the morning and JMBR in the evening. I am really hoping that will work well for me.

It's Diva Weekend

Another month, another half :) The car is packed and I'm ready- well, the car is packed...

In just a bit, I'll load up my littlest one (and the real diva of the bunch!) and my Find Your Happy Pace friend and I will go and pick up my other monkeys from school and start out on our drive. We'll be meeting up with my mom (who will take over the monkeys) and my sister around dinner time and then Mom and monkeys will head back to my parent's house for the weekend and sister, friend and I will continue on to Run Like a Diva. The race is Sunday, so we'll have time to explore the expo and hang out for a bit on Saturday before consuming our pre-race fajitas (a new tradition that started in Disney World) and getting to bed early. If you are running this weekend, good luck! Can't wait to hear about your experience :)

In other exciting news this week, I completed Phase 2 of JMBR. It was a good phase, not a great one for me. I really hit that lull during this phase and definitely did not put forth my best effort all the time. But, not quitting really is key sometimes- just getting it done is what matters. Phase 3 will start on Monday. But, here are the numbers: this week, I lost 3.2 pounds, total for phase 2- 10.6 pounds and 9.5 inches overall. I'm still really liking this program, it is challenging and I am really excited to have the consistent results :)

Friday Weigh In

Down 2.2 today, total is 37.4. I know that the meal planning has really helped this week because my mind has not been on exercise. I've done the workouts, but I have not really given my all. The week started off strong on Monday, but fell apart a little starting Tuesday and went completely downhill from there.

Workout 6 was also pretty good. The running man exercise showed up as one of the cardio intervals- yuck! Although- when I do try to do the workout when my kids are awake, they do love that one. Not sure why!

Sunday is the March of Dimes walk (still time to donate if you'd like!). I hope my older two are ready for the 5 mile walk- there are a lot of kids walking with us, so it should be a fun time! Then I am hoping for a better week next week- everyone has an off week now and then- the important this is what you do after the rough week, right?

JMBR Phase 1 Complete!

I am so excited to report that I am done with phase 1 of JMBR and thrilled with the results so far! The way the program is designed I have not gotten bored with the workouts at all- it's been fun and a lot of hard work. I did cardio 1 along with the strength workouts most days. Either that or I did my running intervals. I am ready to see what workouts 5 and 6 are like along with a new cardio workout as well.

This week I am down another 3.8 pounds (one of my highest weeks ever in this journey). This makes my total for 17 weeks 35.2 pounds! I wish I'd taken measurements when I very first started, but I didn't think about it. But, I did take measurements when I started JMBR, and on phase 1, I have lost 9.2 pounds and 19 inches overall! Very exciting and I am looking forward to phase 2 and to becoming closer to my goals!

Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon

For me personally, it was not great. Somewhere between Thursday when I posted and Saturday morning (race day), I completely lost all motivation for this race. I just was not mentally prepared and that really messed this race up for me. Like always, I got all of my stuff together the night before. The only thing I didn't check was that my ipod was charged (big mistake!). The kiddos had spring break this week, so I've been a little off schedule with training and we had the long weekend out of town. Not to mention, I had been at the doctor twice with the littlest one who ended up with an ear and sinus infection. I had a little of a pesky cough earlier in the week that had become pretty regular by Friday. So I was not feeling 100% to begin with, making this race hard to get into mentally.

Saturday morning I went next door to meet my neighbors who were running also. We got to the race site at about 6:30 am (race time was 8:00), since we were so early, we just hung out in the car for a bit because it was 37 degrees outside. This was the smallest half marathon I've done with only 774 finishers. We got out of the car and headed to the start (after a stop at the porta potties). No fireworks at this start- just a countdown and we were off.

The course was a straight out and back. And I mean straight- when I plugged in my watch to download my times, the gps of the course is a straight line. It was a nice area to be in- I'd never visited the dismal swamp area before (and with a name like that, I don't know why?!). I was coughing a lot on the way down in the morning and my throat was starting to hurt. But I got started and went to turn on my ipod- nothing. Absolutely nothing. Never again will I think that I've got enough charge on it to not charge it before a race. I tried to be positive. I've never run a race without music- maybe it would be okay. The first couple miles were ok- I wasn't too bored, got to chat with a few people along the way. Then between coughing and one of my knees starting to hurt I began to set aside any ideas I had for this race (I was thinking I'd have a new PR after this one- after all, I've improved with every race). I decided to walk until I felt better and then try running again.

I settled into a good walking pace and was able to actually look around and enjoy the scenery around me. I saw so many butterflies- that was really neat. I passed a porta potty with a "no dumping" sign beside it (I took a picture, but the camera messed up on my phone and it was lost). Someone had a sense of humor when placing that porta potty. It was a nice day to be out for a run or walk, which made this no music 13.1 miles a little easier to stomach. I ended up mostly walking this one, but still finished at 3:29:47. Not great, but I didn't quit (something I considered more than once). Evidently I only set PRs at the ocean or at Disney :)

I started week 4 of JMBR. It is the final week of phase 1, workouts 3 and 4 again. I did workout 3 yesterday and it was rough, but I'm very glad I worked through it. I will start running again on Wednesday. I did not run as much between the shamrock half marathon and the dismal swamp and I really do want to set a new PR at the diva in May, meaning I have a little over 4 weeks to get more training in. So I am going back to running first thing in the morning and then doing JMBR in the evening.

Weigh in was Friday, and I was down 1.4 pounds. Not bad considering our weekend out of town. I am really looking forward to my weigh in and measurement on Friday since that will be the end of JMBR phase 1.

Days 10 & 11

Yesterday was a cardio 1 day.  I was able to get up and get that done before getting the rest of the day started.  I like cardio 1- it is broken up into three parts (at least that is how I see it).  You go through a rotation of 8 exercises and do each of them 3 times each.  So I look at each set of 8 exercises as an individual part.  So as I am going through cardio 1 I am just focused on getting through each part.

This morning was workout 1 again.  I don't mind workout 1- this will be the last time for this workout for this session.  I am looking forward to seeing what kind of workout takes the place of this one.  I'm closing in on finishing week 2, next week brings new workouts- no chance to get bored!

One thing I am finding after these two weeks- I think I will have to go back to doing the workouts at night.  I have found that I am having a hard time waking up and in turn I am having a hard time giving my all in the mornings.  During week 1 when I was doing the workouts at night I was having a little trouble falling asleep at the beginning of the week, but as the week went on I was not having as much trouble.  I always thought I would be a morning workout person and I am still finding that when I run, I prefer to run in the mornings.  But, there is something about JMBR and my journey with it that I am finding that evening workouts are going to be better.  I think it may have to do with the amount of concentration it takes on my part to complete the workouts.  When I run, I can start off a little foggy and then become more focused, but with JMBR you really need to be focused from the start.

Kiddos and I are headed out of town tomorrow morning (after I finish my workout), and I am planning on taking JMBR with me along with the extras needed to complete the workouts.  Because of heading out of town, I did my weigh in this morning- getting everything ready and packed and all, there is a chance I would forget in the morning, so I did it this morning.  Down 2.6 this morning, making the total for 15 weeks 30 pounds :)

Friday Weigh In

Down 1.4 today.  I was thinking it might be more with adding in JMBR, but I'm not disappointed at all- I'm also tracking measurements that I will share at the end of phase one and those I'm very pleased with this week!  I'm just so excited that I've been eating right and I've managed to get in every workout as well so far this week.  Next week I am looking forward to getting my workouts back to a morning schedule.  I really wanted to start on Monday, which threw me into nightly workouts for this week, but I am one who really does better with morning workouts.  I don't like getting up early, but when I work out at night, I have trouble falling asleep.  Not because I'm not tired, because I am- I just can't seem to turn my brain off!  So, two more days and I will be done with week 1- a very fast week all things considered!

Weigh In

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, but I did weigh in and was down 1.2. Making the total for 12 weeks 25 pounds. I'm now getting past the point where I usually give up out of frustration over not losing weight. It seems like the combination of weight watchers and running are really working for me. I would like to add in some cross training, but honestly I having a hard time fitting it in right now. Between school schedules (3 different ones!), a toddler at home full time, meal planning, kids' activities, grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, and keeping up with the house, there really isn't much time leftover. I'm hoping the summer will bring more time for that. Until then, jumping on the trampoline will have to count as cross training :) Hey it seems to be filling in that spot really well for right now!

Friday Weigh in

This week was much better than last week. Down 2.8, total now is 23.8. I have to say, I'm happy with that number. I'm 11 weeks in and averaging a little over 2 pounds per week. This week I was back to eating the meals I'd planned along with running since I am fully recovered from the princess half. I'm 9 days away from the shamrock half, I'm think I'm on target to reach my goal for this race. It's been a little harder than I thought it would be to recover and get ready for the next race in just 3 weeks. But, keeping these races scheduled is keeping me accountable and I'm meeting my goals because of it!

And, a little weight loss info from Losing 30 Pounds in College:

How Much Have You Lost?

1 pound- a Guinea Pig

1.5 pounds- a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts

2 pounds- a rack of baby back ribs

3 pounds- an average human brain

4 pounds- an ostrich egg

5 pounds- a Chihuahua

7.5 pounds- an average newborn

8 pounds- a human head

10 pounds- chemical additives an American consumes each year

11 pounds- an average housecat

12 pounds- a Bald Eagle

15 pounds- 10 dozen large eggs

16 pounds- a sperm whale's brain

20 pounds- an automobile tire

23 pounds- amount of pizza an average American eats in a year

24 pounds- a 3 gallon tub of super premium ice cream

25 pounds- an average 2 year old

30 pounds- amount of cheese an average American eats in a year

33 pounds- a cinder block

36 pounds- a mid-size microwave

40 pounds- a 5 gallon bottle of water or an average human leg

44 pounds- an elephant heart

50 pounds- a small bale of hay

55 pounds- a 5000 BTU air conditioner

60 pounds- an elephant penis

66 pounds- fats and oils an average American eats in a year

70 pounds- an Irish Setter

77 pounds- a gold brick

80 pounds- the world's largest ball of tape

90 pounds- a newborn calf

100 pounds- a 2 month old horse

Friday Weigh in

Today was actually better than I thought. I had some treats while on my trip last weekend and of course we ate out most of the trip. But overall down .8, making the total so far 21 pounds. I have a goal of 10 pounds per month, and this puts me over the goal for this month and gives me a head start for next month as well :)

Now I seem to be suffering from post-vacation and post-race blues. It was such a great experience and I had such a good time that I am kind of blah. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to be back home and we have all settled back into our daily routine. We have plans for our annual birthday dinner for Dr. Seuss- green eggs and a movie, probably also read a book or two.

It's just a little over two weeks until my next half- that is sneaking up fast! I have been able to get a couple runs in this week, so I am feeling really good. The recovery time between races is becoming easier and easier, which I am thankful for.

Friday Weigh In and Pinterest....

Down 2.8 today! Very excited about that number because it keeps me on track for my 10 pound goal for February. This week it took a little more to get running. It was definitely a week for overcoming excuses and putting goals first. I got in a run every day Tuesday- Friday. I'm planning on another run tomorrow and taking Sunday off. Next week I'm also planning on running Monday- Thursday and then off Friday and Saturday in preparation for half marathon #2!

And on to pinterest. It is full of craft inspirations, recipes (dangerously delicious looking ones), organization ideas, quotes and endless ways to consume your time. Not by actually doing anything, but just by having tons of things to look at and just when you think you've seen it all, someone goes and pins something else! It's an endless cycle.

I love pinterest. I love to check out the recipes (even knowing it'll be a while before I make any of them), get ideas for reorganizing my house, finding new craft ideas, and even to make my list of places to visit one day. I really love to read the funny quotes that people pin. I don't know who comes up with some of them, but I like that when I am having a rough day I can usually count on being able to find a funny quote to make me laugh.

I've seen this one before, and being that I am now 8 weeks into this journey, I thought it was appropriate.

I have noticed a change. I don't know that I 'see' it as much as I feel it in my clothes. My 'small' jeans are loose and my shirts are also feeling loose. I have so much more energy than I had before. I've noticed a change in my attitude. I also feel like I have more confidence. I've got one half marathon of my deployment challenge done and in 11 days I will have the second one completed. I am not feeling as unsure of this half marathon as I did a month ago. I know I can do it. I know I can complete it in the time allowed. I just know. And that confidence hasn't been there- at least not in an exercise sense. So here we go, another week down- just keep going.

Friday Weigh in

Down 2 this week! I'm very happy with that. So far I have exercised every day this week. I'm hoping to get in two more workouts this week. I have a goal of 10 pounds per month, I reached that in January, with a couple extra pounds lost to give a cushion for February. So, 5 more pounds to reach the goal of 20 total pounds by the end of the month.

I know that being back to cooking and eating at home has made the big difference this week as well. I am happy to have found some new very yummy recipes that everyone seems to enjoy.

I found this on another blog and thought I'd share- it definitely made me laugh and I know I feel this way sometimes:

Friday Weigh in

Down 1 pound this week. I'm okay with that. I gave myself a couple meals off while out in California for the half marathon. I know I worked some of that off, but I also knew that by eating that I would be counter productive in my weight loss. But I'd just run/walked 13.1 miles, so I was going to enjoy a good meal while I was there. Moderation is key. I didn't go all out all week and eat anything and everything I wanted, and that has paid off. One pound down is better than adding 3 :)

I will be back to meal planning this week, so the next post on Sunday will be a weekly meal plan.

Weigh in and Confession

I'll admit it, I have a problem-

I am a compulsive weigher (not sure if that is a word, but that is what I am). When I am trying to lose weight I will weigh myself every day- sometimes two or three times a day. I once had my husband hide the scale from me and only bring it out on weigh days. I never 'count' the weight until the end of the week, but I am obsessive about it- every morning I get on the scale, another time before bed, and every once in a while when I am upstairs I will again step on that scale. I'm not sure why I do it. I know I'm not going to see a loss throughout the day, why would I? I'm drinking about a gallon of water every day- that alone weighs 8 pounds. Of course my weight is going to go up through the day. I know the benefits of weighing only once a week- I don't obsess as much and it makes it easier to lose- I just concentrate on what I'm eating and my exercising. That being said- I'm adding another goal to my list. Only weigh in on Fridays. No stepping on the scale on any other day, unless I will be out of town on weigh in day.

Onto this week- it was a loss week, down 1.2 pounds. Not nearly what I was wanting to follow last week with, but it was a loss. I know last week was my first full week of dieting, so it was going to be high. I wasn't expecting anything less from last week. This week I did everything the same as far as point watching and running/exercising and it was enough for a loss, just not enough for a big loss. I wasn't thinking I'd have another 5 pound week, but I was hoping to get about 3, just to even out the total loss to 10. But that'll have to wait for next week.

Next week at this time I'll be on a plane, headed out to complete set 1 of my deployment goal. To say that I am nervous is an understatement. I know I can complete the distance- I've done it before. I am still nervous about the time limit. I've been working hard to get my pace faster. I just hope it's enough.

Any other compulsive weighers out there?

Windy!

It is so windy outside today that it woke me up this morning (before my alarm- ugh!). As I laid there and listened to the wind I was totally dreading my long run today. Even last week when it was barely windy, pushing the jogging stroller was frustrating enough, today was going to be horrible. Then I remembered that my neighbor (husband also gone) and I had discussed child swapping so each of us could do our long runs without having to take a kiddo too. Yesterday we talked about doing those on Saturday, so once I decided I would take her up on that offer I was left with the decision to get up and do a shorter run this morning or not. I didn't do anything yesterday so I thought it was better to at least get up and do something. So I got up and got Caleb ready for school and then got started. I thought I'd try out a 4.5 mph mile and see what happened. I was actually able to complete a mile and a half before my boredom got the better of me (ok, I was a little tired also, but mostly bored). The pace felt good, I think I will try it out on my long run tomorrow. I know I probably won't keep it up, but I am going to work towards that, hoping to stay under the 16 minute pace that is required for the half that I am running in two weeks. More to come on that run later....

Now we are off and running for the day- a stop at the grocery store (because Monday is a day off school, and I really don't feel like torturing myself with a trip to the store on a holiday with all four), pick up a birthday gift for a party tomorrow, and make the buffalo chicken dip for the party tonight. I'm anxious to see how these "healthier" versions of some of my favorite dips turn out- reviews for those later this weekend.

And the big news of the day- it is weigh in day- down 5.4 pounds this week! That number thrills me. I've been paying very close attention to what I've been eating this week and I've exercised 4 out of 7 days this week. I'll probably try to increase the number of workout days this week. I didn't run or do any other kind of exercise yesterday and my attitude really suffered for it. I want to at least get on the treadmill or outside for some kind of exercise every day. That's going to be the goal for this week (along with some more pounds).

A couple new things

Yesterday was my first long interval day with my new running schedule. Before my husband left, he left me with 4 short interval running workouts and 4 long interval running workouts to rotate through. As of right now, my schedule is to do short intervals on Monday, long intervals on Wednesday, and my long runs are scheduled for Friday. My run yesterday was to run 800 meters as fast as I could and then rest the same amount of time as it took to run. Repeated 4 times. As always, I started off way too ambitious. I started off at 6 mph, but ended up the first one at 5 mph. Then was the nice break. I got some water, checked on the kids and got ready to start again. I managed to finish them all, with an average of 5 mph for them all, slowing and speeding back up. It was a great workout, and I even get to add 2 miles to my running total :)

New thing #2- I've joined weight watchers online (I mean, do they really think I can make a meeting without childcare?!?!?). I am now actively counting, measuring and paying attention to everything I eat. I've never liked being so anal about food, but I've come to accept that it is something I'm going to have to do. Sure, I can run at my current weight, but I simply want to be healthier over all, so this is what has to be done. The days of counting points are in front of me, but it is something I'm looking forward to. I'm mostly looking forward to the end result, but I also am enjoying the researching of all of the new recipes and planning out meals (I do love to plan!). So now I will also post some new recipes and reviews of them by myself and my kiddos. Because, honestly, that's the part that is always hard for me- to find kid friendly recipes that also fit a healthy lifestyle.

And on that note- tonight's dinner is Spinach Lasagna Rolls that can be found on Skinnytaste. They were really easy to make and are now cooking. Because of the rolls, they are all portioned out and each roll is 6 points. I'm really looking forward to having them for dinner. My oldest actually picked them out- I was searching recipes online and he pointed to them and said we should have them for dinner. Hopefully he likes them as well as he liked the picture!

*Update*
The verdict is in on the spinach lasagna rolls- I had 4 clean plates after everyone declared that they 'loved' them.  My oldest even went as far as to say he wanted to have them every day.  I thought they were very good, and I'm not a fan of spinach at all.  It is a recipe I would recommend to a friend though!