A little about the summer

What was I up to over the summer besides gaining weight?  Well in the fitness world, in July I did the Color Run with some friends.  That was a blast and I highly suggest doing it in the future.

Here I am getting ready to head over to the start line.  All nice and clean.

 The run went in waves.  It was a sea of white ahead of us.

 At one point on the course you go over a bridge and could see down to everyone ahead of you.

 Yellow color station.  This was the one color that got really congested.

 All done

 When I got home.  Right after the run my friends and I went to a diner for breakfast.  Well if that didn't result in a lot of questions about why we were such a colorful bunch. 

 I did try to preserve the shirt by using the steps listed on their website, but it didn't really work.  Every wash there seems to be less and less coloring.  I'm about ready to just bleach the whole shirt again because it's to the point of it looking like I washed a white shirt with clothes that bled while in the wash. 

I also did spinning for the first time.  That I absolutely loved and can't wait to go again and now that my run training is over I will be able to.  It was from a groupon deal so I have 5 classes left since the first was free.  I was also able to go to some amazing zumba classes/events.  I recently bought a groupon for another gym that offers zumba classes so I'll have to start to figure out when I can fit that into my schedule too.  So that is what I have been up to, along with trying to fit in run training for the Rock and Roll Half that I just did. 

I'm baaaccck

As if I don't have enough other stuff to do, I realized today I  need to get back into blogging to help hold myself accountable.  I stepped on the scale for the first time in well over a month and well, it wasn't pretty.  I gained probably about 15 lbs since the beginning of summer!  Yeah, on a 5 ft tall person that is a substantial amount of weight.  I'm hoping some of it is carb hangover from doing my run on Sunday (which I'll get into later) and my leg muscles are looking pretty killer, but yeah some of that weight is definitely not a good weight gain.  So here I am, ready to get back at it.  I realize I NEED to track every little bite that goes into my mouth again. 

And the winner is ....

I used random.org to choose the winner of the Weight Watchers coupons.  Drum roll please .....

Dinat102 please send me an email with your address to ontheroadtotheskinnyme at gmail dot com and I'll get the coupons right out to you! 

The scale

For the past year I've been on a rollercoaster with my weight.  Up a few pounds, down a few pounds.  I've become obsessed with the scale hoping that the number would be lower.  It can be quite frustrating to be working my tail off and limiting what I eat only to not see a change when I'd step on the scale. 

 About a week and a half ago I finally told myself that that number doesn't define who I am.  Yes the scale is staying the same but my body is changing - Parts of me are slimming down, I'm toning up, my clothes are fitting better and I've been able to buy the next size down.  This isn't even including the endurance that I now have and most likely overall better health within my body.  So even though the scale and I are constantly fighting with each other all my hard work really isn't going to waste.  I've only weighed myself 1x since then, which is huge because I would often weigh myself 2x/day! 
 
Today is your final day for your chance to win Weight Watcher Coupons.  Check it out here!

Top 15 Reasons to Run

Tomorrow is the last day for my giveaway!

The week to come

Here is how the week should play out for me.  It looks like a week of Zumba :

Mon- Zumba & ARC trainer
Tues- run
Wed- Zumba
Thurs-long Run
Fri- stretch & strength
Sat- Rest
Sun- Zumba - Boogie for Boobies

Just a few more days for your chance to win some Weight Watcher product coupons with my giveaway!

Funny Friday

Don't forget to check out my giveway.  Right now it takes just 1 comment and you'll be the winner. LOL

Win it Wednesday!

I'm excited to announce my first giveaway!

A friend of mine gave me these coupons that she won from a Weight Watchers House Party.  Unfortunately I have ZERO restraint when it comes to having sweet foods in the house.  ZERO.  Instead of having the coupons go to waste or me overindulging, I decided to have a giveaway so one of you could benefit from them. 

Winner will receive:
(2) coupons for (1) FREE WW frozen novelty or cup product
(2) coupons for (1) FREE WW Sweet bakery product
(1) coupon for $1 off WW frozen novelty or cups
(2) coupons for $1 off 1 WW Sweet Bakery product


All coupons expire 7/31/12.

How to enter:

- follow the blog (leave comment saying you do)

- leave a comment saying what your favorite WW product is or your favorite healthy sweet treat

- spread the word - share on FB, your blog or twitter (leave 1 comment for each that you do)

So there you have it, the potential for 5 entries.  Contest ends 6/20/12 11:59pm.  Winner will be announced in the 6/21/12 blog post.

I'm going to kick your a$$ today

Is how my zumba instructor started off Saturday - and that she did.  Sadly it was her last class at that gym.  I only have 4 more visits left on the groupon that I purchased so hopefully the replacements will be just as good.  The husband ended up taking the kids to Ocean City on Saturday since I already had a few things planned for myself I was able to enjoy a full day to myself (minus the morning tball game).  Silly me thought it would be fun to go for a run in the afternoon when it was nearly 90 degrees and after over an hour of zumba and 15 min on the ARC trainer.  Yeah, I only ran for about 1 mile and ended up walking the other 2. 

Here is how I'm hoping the week shapes up in the exercise world.  I'm unofficially starting my training for Septembers RnR Philly half.  Official training starts the end of June, but I've been slacking with consistent running so I'm repeating week 1 a few times.  I'll be following the Hal Higdon plan and adapting it to fit my schedule:
Mon - ARC trainer + upper/core
Tues - run
Wed - Zumba kinect
Thurs - run + upper/core
Fri - elliptical
Sat - rest
Sun - run 4 miles 

Funny Friday

Change of plans

Last night didn't go exactly as I had planned.  I got to the gym early enough for kickboxing, but then saw the time was changed to 7:15 which would mean that it wouldn't be over before the 8pm zumba class.  They were having an outdoor class and I didn't have my watch to be able to skip out in time to make it to the beginning of zumba.  so I chose to head to the cardio area for some machine work.  I did the Arc trainer for 1 hour and headed to the room where zumba is held, to find out that there was only the 7pm class that day rather than a 7pm and 8pm class.  I've had a very stressful week at home with the kids and was not ready to head home yet, especially to get home right at bedtime routine.  So I decided I needed to run out some of my frustration/anger.  The sun was still up but was starting to make it's way down so an outdoor run at the park would have had to been a short quick one.  I pass my regular gym on the way home so I decided to stop there for a run (I really dislike the treadmills at the other gym).  My goal when I got there was 3 miles.  Around 2 miles my ankle/shin area started to tense up.  I should probably have this checked out sometime but it's been going on for YEARS (as in over a decade).  All I have to do is stretch it out until my ankle area pops then all is well.  So I hopped back on the treadmill.  As I got closer to 3 miles I thought - Why not go for 4?  I was getting into that groove you get once everything is warmed up.  4 miles approached and I thought - heck what's another mile?  So I continued to 5 miles then walked the rest until the treadmill stopped at the 60 minute point when it automatically shuts down.  I was one red faced sweaty mess, but good golly did it feel good.  I haven't run 5 miles in a while - I forgot that feeling you get once you're one with a decent run.  So even though I didn't have the fun zumba class, I got my exercise therapy in and am already having a better day today than any other day this week.

Happy National Running Day!

How should I celebrate?  With a zumba class of course.  It just so works out that tonight is zumba and possibly kickboxing if I can get to the gym fast enough rather than a running day.  Oh well.  Hopefully most of you will get some mileage in to celebrate.

I made these Southwestern Stuffed Peppers for dinner last night and wow are they good!  I used 3 peppers and had leftover stuffing (which by the way is perfectly amazing by itself).  I apparently wasn't as organized as I thought I was for the 17 day diet this week as I thought I was since as I was making these I realized that I wasn't really supposed to be having rice, but at least it was brown rice right?  Normally I'm not a fan of stuffed peppers but I like this consistency much better than the ordinary kind.

All signed up

Today was the first day to register for the 2012 Run the Bridge 10k and I'm now officially all signed up.  Hopefully this year I'll shave a few minutes off of my time from last year.

Today I'm on day 1 of the first cycle of the 17 day diet.  I decide that I need to jump start my healthy eating habits again after falling off the wagon recently.  To do that I really need a good laid out plan, and for me it's the first cycle of this diet.  So here's to hopefully getting back on track and not feeling so sluggish and tired.  This week should be a good one for me and the exercise world.  Here's how I'm hoping it will play out.

Mon- treadmill walk
Tues- run
Wed- kickboxing/zumba
Thurs- run
Fri- arc trainer/ upper body
Sat- zumba (my favorite instructors last day)
Sun- REST!

Funny Friday

Here we are Friday already!  After the husband being away all week and me lacking my workouts, I'm ready for some running and zumba this weekend.

word to the wise

It fits!

I spent the weekend at my parents house over the weekend and came across my wedding dress.  I decided to be brave and see if the dress still fits.  I weighed a little less than I do now on our wedding day and after having kids the body changes so I wasn't sure if I would be able to get it zipped.  Well 6.5 years and 2 kids later - it fits! 

Proud Mama

Taking a break from the health/fitness posts today to share that my oldest graduated preschool today.  He picked out his own outfit this morning.  I swear he has more style than me.

Do it

Try it Tuesday

This weeks Try it Tuesday is brought to you by Garnier Fructis and BzzAgent.  I've been participating in a BzzAgent campaign for Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Shampoo and conditioner.  With this campaign, I received both the shampoo and conditioner to try.  Let me tell you, my hair has not felt as soft as it does now in such a long time.  Seriously. I was not blessed with a good hair texture.  Some parts are spiral curls, some waves, some straight with an overall poofyness (yes that is a word lol).  All of that requires me to straighten my hair nearly every day.   Since using the triple nutrition shampoo and conditioner, my hair has a bit of a shine again.  And guess what?  It all started with just the very first use.  So here is another product that I do highly recommend. 

Despite not getting a workout in over the weekend, I think I did pretty good.  I had the sweet tooth a few times but I didn't give in.  Ok I say I didn't get a workout in, but really that's not the truth.  I didn't get a formal workout in, but I did a lot of gardening/housework and that  burns calories.

This morning I started the week off on the right foot (literally since that is the foot I always start my runs with) with a 2.75 mile run.  The route I chose today has some inclines and I conquered those.  Normally I slow down with inclines, but today I took them on strong.

Here is how the week is hopefully going to pan out:
Mon - Run
Tues- arc trainer + upper body
Wed - am run + hopefully pm Zumba
Thurs - circuit training + elliptical
Fri - rest
Saturday - run
Sunday - rest

Funny Friday

So guilty of this! 

Schedule ... what?

This week I'm so off with my planned workouts.  So far it has looked like this.

Monday- nada
Tuesday - nada
Wednesday - I made up for my slacking and did back to back classes at the gym - kickboxing & zumba
thursday - run - 3.4 miles

Last night was my first time taking a kickboxing class and I fell in love.  The teacher looked like Billy Blanks from Taebo.  I used to do Taebo all the time back in my younger days so I felt like my tv came to life.  I absolutely plan on doing more back to back classes. 

This morning I woke up and got my butt out of bed for a run.  I love that the sun is rising earlier because it makes my early morning runs a little safer.  So today I decided to try a new route.  I liked it, but it's completely straight and I felt like it took forever to get to the turn around point.  My legs were not having the run at first.  Around mile 2 is when I felt like I started to come alive. It took a lot of talking to myself to keep going, but I did.

Try it tuesday

I used Jergens Natural Glow express last week to get rid of tan lines that I had going on that looked ridiculous with the dress I chose to wear.  It worked wonders.  Highly recommend! 

Weekend recap

Over the weekend I did waayy too much eating and drinking and not enough exercise.  But I did have a blast.  I have never seen so much delicious food as I did at the wedding that I attended.  Wow.  At least I spent a few hours out on the dance floor burning up some calories right?  Here are a few pictures from the night.  The first is a comparison using my "Oh my god I need to lose weight" picture.

My self pic

 While we were waiting for cocktail hour to start.  I need to work on my arms.

This week looks like it will be a fun workout week.  The zumba instructor that I love is starting a new class and it looks like I should be able to make it to at least 1 of those.  This morning was an alarm clock fail.  I'll have to figure something out to do later.
Monday- something
Tuesday-run/upper body/zumba
Wednesday- elliptical/zumba
Thursday- arc trainer/upper body/possible zumba depending on when kindergarten orientation is over
Friday-circuit training/walk
Saturday- run
Sunday- off

Funny Friday

Measurements

I finally remembered to do body measurements this morning!  So here they are.  I thought it felt like my hips were getting smaller. (what is in parenthesis = total lost since I started measuring).

Right arm: 11" (-2.0")
Left arm: 11.0" (-2.25")
Right Thigh: 22.755" (-4.25")
Left Thigh: 22.75" (-4.25")
waist: 32.75" (-6.75")
chest: 37.75" (-5.25")
hips: 38.75" (-5.25")

Here's a math equation for you

cool weather + rain+warm blankets = what?

The answer to that would be turning the alarm off and missing the gym.  The bed was so nice and cozy this morning I fell right back asleep before I got out of bed.  Oh well.  I'll get my workout in later tonight. 

Here is how the week is playing out in the workout world:
Mon - treadmill walk/ARC trainer/upper body
Tues- 3 mile run (it felt great!)
Wed- was to be elliptical/upper body but will now Zumba dancing while watching something on tv
Thurs - JM 30 day shred
Fri - Zumba kinect or Kenpox
Sat- wedding reception --> dancing my butt off
Sun- rest!

This is one of my favorite songs right now.  They play it at Zumba and the dork that I am I start doing the zumba moves when I hear it here at home.  Really how can you not at least start tapping your feet? 

Try it Tuesday

A few weeks ago I found out about a great deal on Blueberry Vanilla granola bars at Monkey Brains Store.  It was $1/box and free shipping.  You have to order in batches of 9 boxes.  I ended up ordering 18 boxes.  My boys can be picky about their food, but I knew if they didn't like it the husband or myself would eat them.  The other day a huge box arrived by UPS.  I totally forgot I ordered these  and was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box and found all that was in there.  In addition to the 18 boxes that I ordered, they also included 6 boxes of oatmeal and 2 other flavors of granola bars.  The oldest, Mr. Picky whose food choices vary hour to hour wasn't a fan, but my youngest loves them as does the husband and myself.  The best part about Monkey Brains products?  "Monkey Bars and Monkey Brains are 100% natural: no additives, no preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup. You’ll love how clean our ingredients lists are!!"  Go check it out!

Joggers have a longer life span

When I was at the gym today I was watching CNN (exciting I know).  There was a segment about how joggers have a longer life span.

"Jogging and longevity: Joggers live longer than non-joggers -- by an average of about six years, say European researchers who followed 20,000 people for up to 35 years. One intriguing twist: Deaths rates are lowest, they say, in people who jog lightly -- running at a slow to moderate pace for 1 to 2.5 hours each week. News accounts and a press release about the research do not say how closely the researchers examined other differences among joggers and non-joggers that might contribute to longer life spans. But one researcher proclaims: "We can say with certainty that regular jogging increases longevity. The good news is that you don't actually need to do that much to reap the benefits."

I knew being a slower runner would come to my advantage at one point!  Coincidence maybe, but as that segment came to an end, I saw 2 people go from walking to jogging.

1086

Last night I remembered to take the HRM to Zumba so I could see how many calories I actually burn in one class.  Everything I have read said anywhere between 600-1000 calories could be burned in 1 class.  I got to the gym early so I did 30 min on the elliptical for a warm up.  That registered in at 303 calories.  After 55 minutes dancing my butt off - the HRM registered in at 783.  So grand total of 1086 calories burned for the night.  I wish it was always so easy and fun to burn as many calories as I do at Zumba. 

What are you waiting for?

Preview of the week

Here is how I'm hoping my workouts will shape up to be for the week:

Monday - walking
Tuesday - Arc trainer, lower weights
Wednesday - zumba & elliptical
Thursday - run, upper weights
Friday - circuit train/walk
Saturday - Rest - Mani/pedi with a friend
Sunday - zumba (if the local gym has their freebie) or run

Funny Friday

So it's finally FRIDAY!!  I was disappointed yesterday afternoon when I realized it was only Thursday.  This weekend looks like it will be a gym workout on Sunday morning and something at home tomorrow since tomorrow is another good yard sale day. Here is Funny Friday.  Enjoy your weekend.

Za Za Za Zumba

I probably mentioned it back when I purchased it, but a little while ago one of the local gyms offered a deal on groupon for 10 visits at a really great price.  Included in the visits were all the fitness classes that are offered.  I bought the deal because they have spinning and zumba.  Last night I was finally able to make it for my first visit and did a zumba class.  Oh.My.Goodness.  The instructor was CRAZY!  It was such a great workout and I cannot wait until I go back for the next class.  The best of all the zumba classes I have taken so far.  I got there a little early so I did 10 minutes on the ARC trainer to warm up.  After the class I headed back to the cardio area for a short run.  I ended up only doing 1 mile because I was dying of heat.  I realized as I started running that I wasn't wearing capris that breathe well and I get so hot while running that I need that kind of clothes otherwise I die.  I ended up walking the next 8 minutes to make a great 90 minute workout all together.  I almost started cracking up in the middle of zumba because this picture came to mind.

Saturday deals

One thing I love besides working out is finding great deals.  It's quite a joy when I'm able to combine the 2 of deal finding and work-out/health related.  That is what happened Saturday.

Its April, and in this area that means one of the prime months for yard sales.  Saturday the fam and myself headed out to see if we could find anything at a town-wide yard sale a few towns over from here.  We only had a short period of time because the oldest had a tball game in the morning.  For the most part we lucked out until the boys saw a dump truck sitting on a table.  You know because we don't already have a bunch.  As I was looking around at that house I saw Jillian Michael's 30 day shred.  $1!  I've been wanting to get it since it's no longer offered on the cables On Demand.  Sweet!  Later that day I found myself at TJ Maxx where I came across a hand held water bottle.  I've been wanting to get one since I'll be starting training for the half soon.  They also had a water belt, but I opted for the bottle since I think the belt will get on my nerves.  So for under $7 here is what I picked up Saturday:

I feel like I'm back

When I started the 17 day diet I had to drop my workouts down because of the low calorie and carb intake.  At that time, my husband also started his new job so we were trying to figure out our new gym routines.  I am admitting that I am a 17 day diet dropout.  It did help me get off the plateau and lose a few pounds, but I just don't think it's for me to live my life one.  Today I started tracking on Myfitnesspal again.  I woke up earlier than I have to get a good long cardio workout in.  So I feel like I'm back.  I feel like this is the best way for me to live my life in a healthy and happy way.  So thank you 17 day diet for the jump start that I needed and hello again Myfitnesspal. 

This week the boys and I started our garden from seeds. I won a GrowUms kit from a friends blog contest.  If you have kids and a garden, these are really cute.  We ended up with the Salad kit which includes seeds for Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes.  We had already picked up seeds for a different lettuce variety, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini and green peppers.  Another friend's daughter was selling GrowUms for a school fundraiser so I ordered the herb kit.  That will include Oregano, Cilantro, Parsley and Basil.

We've had success with growing everything before (except carrots this is our first year for that) so I'm pretty excited to be able to go in the backyard for much of my produce.  I really enjoy getting the kids involved in gardening because they can see how fruits/veggies grow and they often enjoy eating the food more when they take part in growing it!

On to Cycle 3

Yesterday began cycle 3 of The 17 Day diet.  The final cycle before the maintenance cycle.  Honestly, I wasn't very vigilant during most of cycle 2.  It all started with eating a real sandwich at the beginning of the cycle.  Oh I love bread. And then there's Easter and the ice cream that my son wanted when it was really hot the other day.  And And And... geeze I'm sounding like some of the Biggest Loser contestants this season.  BUT the good news is - when I weighed myself yesterday I was 156.2.  So despite the bad eating and not really working out as much as I should, I was able to maintain my weight.  So then there's the question of man what would I have been at if I didn't cheat? haha.  So this cycle I'm determined to stay focused the entire time.  I will do it.  I'm excited for dinner tonight since I picked up some shrimp for dinner.  The husband is away so I'm treating myself with a food that he is allergic to. :)

Head on over to Running Diva Mom for your chance to win a Sistas Shirt.  I'm loving some of the sayings on these shirts.

Know what is a great feeling?

Going shopping and having to buy a size smaller in clothes.  I had so much fun shopping over the weekend.  Everything I bought was a size Medium.  And I also bought shorts with a single digit sizing.  What a great boost that was. 

This week is absolutely GORGEOUS here in New Jersey - with summer-like temperatures.  Of course though, work schedules don't allow for outdoor running, except for yesterday morning.  Tonight I will be getting my zumba on thanks to the Kinect.  I think I might start up the Push-up challenge that I started last year.  My arms are looking decent, but a more definition would be great for tank top season. 

Funny Friday

It's Friday!  All day I keep thinking it's Thursday.  This weekend I will be outlet shopping with a friend.  I desperately need some new clothes so I'm super excited about going.  Hopefully I can find some things that I like and actually fit good.  There's an Under Armour store where we are going so I'm hoping to get some new workout clothes too.  Whoop!

Today I will ...

Zumba Rush

I cannot wait for the kids to go to bed so I can get my workout on.  Today Mr. Mailman brought me my Zumba Rush for the Xbox Kinect.  This week is one of those weeks where my gym time is limited due to the husbands work schedule so I'm pretty excited to give this a try. 

Weekend recap

I can sum up my weekend in the world of eating and exercising in 2 words.  Not good.  I had every anticipation to do a long run, but yeah, that never happened.  I had a lot of errands to do on Saturday and we ended up sleeping in a little later than planned.  And well yesterday, yesterday was Easter.  I did pass on dessert.  But that was because I was so incredibly stuffed from eating a larger meal than normal.  As I always say when I have a bad day.  "I was throwing my body off".  So now I'm back on track with no plans of cheating for a long time.  I'm going to a wedding Mother's Day weekend and want to look awesome.

Funny Friday

Happy Easter to all of my readers!

The Rachael Ray show

That is where I was yesterday.  One of the great things about where I live is I can easily be in NYC & Washington DC is 2 hours, Philadelphia in a few minutes and the shore in less than an hour.  If we ever move that is what I will miss most.

Do you see me? lol.  Left size, back row, second from the left in the blue.  So this proves they don't just put the pretty girls in the front, they also go in the back ... and middle.  wherever.

So anyways.  Yesterday morning 3 of my friends and I headed up to NYC for the day to be in the Rachael Ray show audience.  Oh what fun it was!  It's a bad idea to go there hungry though.  For our taping they did 3 food segments and oh.  my.  gosh.  The food smelled AMAZING!  My stomach was GROWLING!  Part way through they handed out a snack, a full size bag of Herr's baked chips.  I didn't want to have crumbs on my face, you know just in case the camera does a close up.  lol So I opted not to eat any.  As soon as it was over, we headed down the street to Cosi for dinner where I broke the diet and had a delicious Chicken Pesto melt for dinner.  It was such a fantastic day and I would totally do it over again if given the opportunity.  There was a giveaway - certificate to Havaianas.  I ordered mine today and opted to pay a little out of pocket to get a pair of espadrilles rather than the flip flops that would have been totally free.  I've been eyeing up a pair at Target so with this gift certificate I was able to get these cheaper than at Target.  Aren't they the cutest?

 

So now it's back to life, back to reality after a fun day.  Back to being a stressed out mom.  Back to the 17 Day Diet.  At least I have a delicious meal cooking in the crockpot for dinner.  I've been in a cooking slump and yesterday brought me out of it.  

Try it Tuesday

A few months ago one of my friends mentioned PB2 to me.  I thought about trying it occasionally, but never got around to actually buying it.  For our dinner club, my one friend made this delicious dip.  Days later, I still had the wonderful taste in my mouth so I ordered myself some PB2 from Amazon.  This morning I sprinkled a tiny bit on my vanilla yogurt.  Yum!

Free Zumba?

Don't mind if I do.

Saturday I was out shopping for an outfit to wear when I go to the Rachael Ray show on Wednesday and I got a text from a friend saying that the gym where we did Zumba back in January or February was having a free class that night.  The oldest had a tball game so I had to decline going.  Later I found out the tball game was canceled.  I was for a second that he wouldn't be able to play that night, but then turned to delight because I wouldn't have to stand out in the damp and cold weather we were having.  And I would be able to make it to the class!  What a workout it was!  I was feeling it in my core and legs the next day.  Apparently the first Sunday of every month they offer a free class as a community event.  Super excited about that!  I love my freebies.

And yes, I found something to wear for my fun day in NYC.  I think I'm most excited about the super cute pair of shoes that I scored.  Seriously, how cute are these flats?

End cycle 1, begin cycle 2

Today marks the day that I can begin cycle 2 of the 17 day diet.  Truthfully I'm kind of excited because I'm starting to get bored of eating pretty much the same foods every day.  In all honesty, I have cheated a few times.  I've had a few bites of pretzels and over the weekend I had a few other cheats. 

Cycle 1 ended with me weighing in the morning at 156.0.  That makes an 11.4 lb loss since I started the 17 day diet, well 17 days ago.  Today also marks 30 lbs loss since I started this journey October 2010.  3 more pounds to go until I reach my next goal - being out of the obese BMI range.  Maybe before Easter?  Hopefully!

The Color Run

I first heard about the Color Run probably about 2 months ago.  The first time I checked the website I was bummed because I didn't see any location closer than about 2 hours from my house.  I've checked a few random times since then but never saw a nearby city listed.  This morning when I was checking my Facebook page, I saw in the suggested pages The Color Run - Philadelphia.  Hmm ... could it be?  Is there going to be one in Philadelphia, which is just a hop, skip and a jump over the river?  Yes!  July 8th.  I signed up this morning and am super excited. 

Try it Tuesday

on Wednesday. 

Yesterday was a busy day running the oldest from school to soccer to tball game so I never got around to posting this weeks Try it Tuesday.  I made this Sweet Pineapple Strawberry Spa water on Saturday when I had some friends over for our Dinner club meeting.   It was a hit.  I did add in an orange that I had along with half of a lemon. 

Well hello there allergies

Ugh.  I feel absolutely horrible today.  All I want to do is eat comfort food rather than that healthy stuff and curl up and sleep.  As a result I cheated and had a few bites of macaroni and cheese that the boys had for dinner.  Shh.  Don't tell anyone.

Funny Friday

The difference in clothing

Today I was able to go for a nice run outside in the morning.  I was finally able to try out a long sleeve dri fit shirt that I found at Target.  As I was running, I was feeling confident.  And really I feel like it was because of the clothes I was wearing.  I felt like I looked like a runner, wearing running clothes.  I wasn't just wearing whatever old tshirt that was clean.  I really need to do some serious shopping and get myself some more actual running clothes so I can always feel like I felt today.

One week down

Today marks the 1 week from the start of doing the 17 Day diet.  And the week begins with a happy weigh-in - 159.2.  So 8.2 lbs gone.  Like I said last week, part of the reason for that high weigh-in was bloat, but I FEEL so much thinner this week!  A typical day during this cycle for me is:

breakfast - 2 eggs with veggies
snack - yogurt
lunch - tuna with tiny bit of mayo (or chicken leftovers) & salad
snack - apple
dinner - chicken & some kind of veggie combo or something made with ground turkey

I added sauerkraut to a few meals.  I also count out a serving of red grapes at the beginning of the day that I grab whenever I feel the need to munch.  If I'm still hungry at a part of the day I dip some carrots/broccoli/cauliflower in low fat ranch dressing.  Oh and iced coffee.  Coffee-Mate Sugar Free Vanilla Caramel creamer has helped get me through the sweet tooth cravings.  Yesterday I did have a few Pop Chips.  I consider having a few compared to devouring a bag quite a success. :)

I took a 'During' picture the other day for a comparison.  I like doing comparisons because at times I don't feel like my work is paying off (especially when the scale becomes stagnant).  So looking at pictures I'm able to point out where progress is being made.  Here's the comparison I did in October:

and this was Saturday night (I'm starting to get a butt!):

Friday I treated myself to an afternoon of getting my hair cut and highlighted.  Oh it felt so great!  Before kids, I would do this on a regular basis.  Sadly, this was my first time getting it highlighted in over 3 years.  What a great feeling.

Funny Friday

A good day

Today was a good day for me.  My body is getting used to not having the soda.  I went to the gym this morning and ran for part of the workout.  I didn't feel sluggish.  My legs didn't feel like cement blocks.  I was actually able to resist the baked french fries that I made for the rest of the family for dinner.  Oh how I love baked french fries so it did take some will power to not pop one in the mouth to make sure they were cooked or nicely seasoned.  I have my eye on the goal right now.

Oh the headaches

Yesterday was a truly awful day, well really night.  The caffeine withdraw headaches came on full force.  I've been drinking more soda than I really should the past few weeks.  With the 17 day diet, you're really not supposed to be drinking any soda, diet or regular.  When I felt the headaches coming on, I poured myself a tiny tiny bit hoping that it would work, but to no avail.  So yesterday my body was going into shock.  Thankfully I found some advil and that helped.  Let's hope today goes better. 

The 17 Day Diet - Day 1

I survived day 1! There was a question about what the 17 Day Diet is.  This website has a quick synopsis of the diet.

Today was a grocery shopping day for me.  I got all stocked up on the foods that I will need for the week.  The boys and I went during the daytime and got home at lunch time.  I realized how much I randomly grab non healthy foods when I'm not prepared.  I was so hungry and just wanting to reach into the bag of animal crackers and devour them.  But I held myself together until I was able to make myself tuna and celery for lunch.  So yes, I made it through the day without eating the leftovers from the boys plates.  But most importantly, a little bit ago as I was organizing I came across a HUGE piece of chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream icing from my sister-in-law's birthday over the weekend.  Oh that looked so delicious and it took some restraint to not take a nibble while the husband at a slice of it.

So the starting weight for this diet is 167.4.  Talk about extreme bloat from poor eating over the weekend and a woman's monthly.  At the end of last week I was in the 162's.    So we'll see how this goes!

The 17 Day Diet

I just got done reading The 17 Day Diet by Dr. Mike Moreno.  I heard some good things about it and decided to give it a shot.  So on Monday I will begin with day 1.  In the meantime, my neighbor was diagnosed with diabetes and brought over 3 new containers of ice cream that she wanted to get rid of.  One was chocolate marshmallow - one of my favorite flavors of ice cream.  I've been staying within my calories by eating tons of vegetables followed with big bowls of ice cream after the boys went to bed this week (hang my head in shame).   Not good.  I'm really not much of a "diet" type person, but I think the 17 Day Diet is what I really need right now.

Out of the comfort zone

I haven't watched it all yet, but last nights excuse on the Biggest Loser was about getting out of your comfort zone.  This is one part of my life I'm really trying to work on this year, one of my New Years resolutions.  I took a step a few weeks ago by attending a zumba class at a local gym.  I'm more of a person who likes to just go run or work on some machines at the gym compared to joining in classes where I have to follow an instructor.  So what a joy to my eyes this morning when I was checking my email and saw a new groupon.  Visits to a nearby gym that offers various classes, including kickboxing, zumba and spinning  I bought the 10 visit package and I'm rather excited to change up my workouts a bit.

On a side note I almost made a fool of myself at the gym this morning.  Part of the show that I did see last night had one contestant running at 10.0 for 30 seconds.  Silly me thought it would be a good idea to give it a try.  If she was able to do it, surely I would.  LOL  I almost fell flat on my face.  Thankfully I was able to lower it down pretty quick without wiping out.

Cute headband giveaway alert!  Runner ... Maybe has a giveaway for GlitzBandz.  These are adorable and I think I will be buying myself some.

Determination, Satisfaction

A new chapter

March 1st began a new adventure in the life of our family.  The husband began a new job that has it's pros and cons for my workouts.  The pros are that he will be working from home at times = less early wake ups to make it to the gym.  Today I found out that my gym apparently turns into a geriatric convention at 8:30am.  The cons - there will be some times where he will be way for a few days = no gym time.  I'm going to be buying zumba for kinect to help fulfill the boredom I get with at home workouts. 

I began keeping my food journal/calorie counting with MyFitnessPal again today.  February wasn't the best month for me so I'm determined to make March amazing.  Today I got a great run in.  Yesterday to church I wore pants (without spanx to hold it all in) that I used to wear to work prior to kids.  Those are my NSV's.

Funny Friday

Get in Shape girl

My pinterest health and fitness board is called Get in Shape Girl.  Anyone remember the Get in Shape Girl ribbon from the 80's?  Oh how I loved that ribbon stick.  Seriously one of my favorite Christmas presents from my younger days, right up there with my Caboodle.

You get stronger

This morning I woke up and headed to the gym.  I felt like I needed to run so I did a bike warm-up then headed over to the treadmill.  My goal was to do 30 min of running.  I started out at 5.2, which seems to be my pace when I run longer distances.  When I got to the end of the first mile, I felt like I was running too slow.  Like my head was always 2 steps ahead of the pace my legs were moving.  So I kicked it up to 5.3.  Still felt that way.  Kicked it up again, 5.4.  The last 10 minutes I kicked it up to 5.5.  That felt like the pace where I needed to be.  When I got close to the 30 minutes I asked myself why stop at 30 minutes?  Yes I should leave by 6am so the husband has his time at the gym, but would I quit a 5k when I was just shy of the finish line?  No.  So I kept on going until I got to that 3.1.  When I got home I was glad I didn't cut the run off at 30 min because the husband was still in bed and by the time he was dressed to go, the little one was awake and attached to him so he never made it to the gym this morning. 

So today marks the end of February.  I'm determined to make March an amazing month.  February was an off and on month for me.  So my goal is to stay focused.  I have the Fluff to Fit competition as well as the competition between me and the hubs (we decided to extend our competition) coming to an end the first week of April.  My eye is on the prize and on feeling healthier.

Well it's Tuesday

and normally that means Try it Tuesday, but really I can't think of anything to post.  So instead, I will post my treadmill PR from last week.  It was this past Friday.  After 30 minutes on the Arc trainer, my legs felt loose, which was much better than the day before when they did not want to wake up for a run.  Instead of hitting the weights for a longer time, I headed over to the treadmill area to get a quick 1 mile in.  9:08.  Best time yet for me.  I had to take a picture of course. (It took a few seconds to grab my phone)  My next goal is to get it into the 8's. 

Funny Friday

trying something new

So this week I'm trying something new and not counting calories.  Instead I am just eating when I am hungry.  I feel like when I count calories I'm obsessed with food.  I'm constantly thinking about what I can eat next to stay within my calorie range (either high or low depending on my workout).  So I'm taking a break and following the lead of my body.  Oh it's noon?  Time for lunch!  Oooh 2:30?  snack time!  The only meal I am eating even if I am not hungry is dinner, because we do dinner as a family.  I have a hard enough time some nights getting the kids to eat dinner that I need to be the example.  When I am eating, I'm trying to make conscious choices of natural foods with little processed foods.  I guess it's my own spin on what I've read of the paleo diet.  I also found a just that holds 1 gallon of what so I've been making sure to drink enough too.  So we'll see how this works and see if I can finally get passed these numbers I keep jumping around on the scale. 

Try it Tuesday

I've been getting my share of burpees lately while doing the Jillian Michaels 6 week 6 pack.  It does feel like it works for me!

Well that was ugly

This morning I woke up and headed out for a run.  My normal run for a Saturday until I start training for the half is between 5-6 miles.  I do the same route every time.  I'm in South Jersey, which is pretty darn flat, but I swear I picked a route that has every possible incline in the immediate area.  My head was in the run.  My heart was in the run.  But apparently my legs missed the memo on what they were supposed to be doing.  They did not warm up and get loose the entire time.  During the run I was blaming it on the lack of real exercise the past 2 weeks, but when I got home and was fixing myself breakfast, I realized what the issue probably was.  This week I ate not very good and lacked in the water intake.  So all those factors probably contributed to a miserable hour.  But the good news is that yes I put the miles in.  So I had to walk up pretty much every incline.  But I finished.  And that is what is important.  Now I can eat some Chinese food for dinner and then start afresh with getting my healthy eating habits back and drink drink drink that water.  I need to get another gallon container that I can fill up and leave on the counter every day so I am aware of how much I am drinking (or not drinking).  When I did that I really felt great and had some great runs.  So there it is, that was my bad run day.  Here's to a better run next week and a good week coming ahead.

Get out of bed sleepy head

Can I just say I am so ready for this week to be over?  These past 2 weeks of having my regular workout routine being off is really starting to take a toll on me.  I'm really trying to stay motivated but it's starting to wear very thin.  I'm ready for Saturday when I can get a good workout in and get my mojo back.  I need a workout where the sweat is pouring off of me.  I think this morning was the first morning that I got my butt out of bed for the Jillian Michael's 6week 6pack.  I've slacked.  I always say I'm going to workout at night, but when that night comes I'm just tired and lacking the push I need to change my clothes for a workout.  This morning I brought my butt out and got the workout done.  And it felt great.  Why can't I remember how great that feels?  And why do I have such a problem getting out of bed to workout at home but such an easy time to hop out of bed to head to the gym?  I have a goal reward for finishing the 6 week 6 pack - a new haircut and highlights.  That is what I try to remember when I feel like putting it off just one more day. 

After all these years

I realized I've been tying my shoes the wrong way!  I stumbled across this video fro Runner's World on where else ... pinterest.

Love is in the air

Here it Valentine's day!  I hope everyone is able to spend it with at least one person who is special to you.  So ... calories don't exist on Valentine's day right?  I certainly hope not.  I'm going to need to do a good workout tonight!

Weekly Weigh-In & other ramblings

Today the husband is home from work, which always throws off my morning routine.  That results in me not doing a weigh-in.  BUT as of Friday when I last weighed myself - 159.6!  The lowest I've been since 2008.  7 more lbs to go to be out of the obese range on the BMI scale. 

This weekend was an ok weekend.  Not the best but yet not the worst.  I took a break from calorie counting.  That doesn't meant that I went crazy eating, actually I think I pretty much ended up where I should be daily, if not at least it was pretty close.  Saturday is normally my longer workout day.  I ended up sleeping in which did not allow time for my morning workout since we take the boys to the Lowe's Build and Grow clinics.  I did muster up the energy at the end of the day for a Jillian Michael's 6 week 6 pack (JM 6W6P) workout.  The husband walked in at the end of the workout and commented on how he can really see the muscles in my legs & arms now.  Yesterday was a rest day as scheduled.

Today I will be doing my workout at night.  I normally do not like night workouts, but I will do my est to enjoy it this one time.  The workout portion of the week should go as follows.  It's a crappy week with really no gym time except for today and Saturday:

Monday - elliptical, upper or lower body (whichever machines are open the most at the gym), JM 6W6P
Tuesday -JM 6W6P
Wednesday - JM 6W6P, KenpoX
Thursday-  JM 6W6P, upper body
Friday-JM 6W6P, CardioX
Saturday -RUN - (after the long week of no gym time I might just never want to stop running)
Sunday - rest

Funny Friday

 One of my cousins posted this on Facebook:

You know you're overweight when...
the clapping you're hearing while exercising is not your imaginary cheering squad, it's your fat!

My newest toy

Last week I got a package in the mail - my new HRM!  I've been wanting to get one and found a very good price on ebay so I bought it as a Valentine's Day present to myself.  My favorite feature is the calorie counter so now I will have a bit more accurate count.