Noticeable

This week, I have had more compliments on the way that I look than I have had in years. I have had multiple people tell me that I look like I have lost a lot of weight. I am sooooo excited! It took just about 20 lbs., but people are finally starting to notice!!

Other things I have noticed since eating better and working out? My face is clearer. I never really had acne, but the last year has been horrible. I was shocked that I was all of a sudden breaking out when I am 30 years old. Now, I truly believe it had to do with my eating habits and workout habits. Glad to see an end to that!

Also, today I found a picture of me from the Fall baseball season on the team's website. I was SHOCKED at the fat lady sitting on the bleachers cheering on my son. What a wakeup call! I am going to paste this picture of me somewhere where I can see it often and remind me of what happens if I eat junk. The good news is that I am now 20 lbs. lighter, but I am still shocked and outraged when I see pictures of me from the fall. It is majorly motivating for me. That being said, I am going to get off my computer and go do some crunches... and then maybe some arm workouts. If my muscles weren't so fatigued from the 5k I ran yesterday, I would go for a run. However, I think my body would me much better served if I wait until tomorrow.

Here is my official "before" picture that I found today, taken in October, 2011:

This is a picture of me in March of this year:

And, here is a picture of me and my kiddos at the zoo just a couple of weeks ago.

I've still got a ways to go, but the change is definitely noticeable. 

My First 5k

About a year and a half ago, a little girl named Grace passed away from a rare pediatric brain cancer. She attended the boys' elementary school and was in first grade when she passed away. In her memory, her family has started a foundation to raise funds for cancer research. It is a tremendously worthy cause in memory of an amazing little girl.

That being said, I have decided to walk/run in their first ever 5k this Saturday. It is also my first 5k since I have become an adult. I did one 5k when I was about 13 years old and have never done another. So, at 8 am on Saturday, I will be walking.

To support my fundraising efforts in this race, go here:

http://csn.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&eventID=621&participantID=3672

There is also a link to Grace's website for more information on her story.
www.soarwithgrace.org

I have just registered for this event and it is only a few days away. I am hopeful that I can reach my donation goal. Thanks!

Measurement Monday (or Tuesday...)

Yesterday was Memorial Day and my blogging schedule went out the window just like every other schedule does on a national holiday. We had a great time with some friends at our house, but of course that meant lots of delicious and not-so-healthy temptations.

My weight results are skewed because of all of the fabulous food that I consumed yesterday. I am fully confident, however, that next week's results will be much better. Lesson learned: don't ignore calorie counting on the day before your weigh-in.... or ever for that matter.

New this week: I lost my pedometer. It sure didn't take long. I think that it is hidden in the deep dark crevices of my couch cushions. I fell asleep there after my walk one night and haven't seen it since. I will have to go on a scavenger hunt today to see if I can locate it.

Weight: +2.5 lbs. (ouch!)
Number of days hit 10,000 steps: 5
Average steps per day: 11,367
Number of days eating 5 servings fruits/vegetables: 4
Number of days under calorie limit: 5
Number of days where I completely and totally blew it: 2 (including Memorial Day)

I also did horribly with my other goals that I set for the week. I snacked in the evenings more nights than I care to admit. I did not hit 15,000 steps on any days. I lost my pedometer....

Now to talk about the positives. I was over 10,000 steps on all days that I still had my pedometer. I am assuming that I hit about the same on all of the rest of the days since I easily average over 8,000 steps without doing anything special. I began an ab and arm workout routine. I also started adding running into my walking routine. Overall, not too bad.

Oh! And, for the first time in a year, I was able to get on my "goal" swimsuit. It wasn't attractive and definitely was not picture worthy, but I got it on! It is a bikini that I was what I wore after I lost the weight from the boys' pregnancy. I have kept it because I absolutely love it and feel that it can motivate me to try harder. Seeing the difference last night and realizing that I could actually get it on was an awesome feeling. I can and will do it!

Too far gone?

I often feel defeated. I feel like I can't conquer my bad eating habits and lose weight and that I just need to learn to be happy with who I am. But, I can't. I can't be happy being uncomfortable in my clothing. I can't be happy feeling like I have not taken care of myself. I can't be happy worrying about family history and potential health problems that could happen because I have gained weight. I know that I should love myself no matter what, but I can't make it happen. I feel like I am too far gone.

I read a blog today though that made me realize that I CAN do it. If someone else can do it, so can I. This lady lost over 200 lbs. without surgery. 200 lbs. makes my measly 50 look insignificant. I am amazed and motivated by this woman's ability to conquer everything and do it. Check it out!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=4896689

Measurement Monday!

I am going to attempt to keep accountable by weighing in and recapping my week every Monday. With that being said, here we go!

Weekly Recap:

Weight: -3 lbs.!!! (Not bad for one week!)

Average steps per day: 10,716

Number of days hit 10,000 steps: 5

Number of days exercised: 6

Number of days under calorie limit: 5

Number of days eating 5 servings of fruit/vegetables: 5 

The worst "step" day was the day after I only got 3 hours of sleep at night. I ended up taking a 2.5 hour nap in the middle of the morning and then with the boys' baseball game and grocery shopping didn't have time to make it up with a long walk. I still walked over 7,000 steps that day, but did not hit my goal. The other day that I didn't hit that goal, I was very close (within 500 steps) and the day before was my highest day of almost 15,000 steps. I am going to continue to strive to hit that 10,000 step goal every day.

I am also very proud of myself and the choices I made during a social event on Saturday. I normally make horrible decisions when I am at a social gathering and over-indulge with the excuse that it is only one day a month that I am at an event like this. This time, I didn't eat a single chip, ate mostly fruits and vegetables as the sides, and brought bbq chicken for me instead of the normal hotdog. I even ended up sharing my bbq chicken with one of my boys and didn't even touch the second piece that I brought along. I was craving one of the casseroles that were there, so I took 2 bites and then left the rest alone. I did have a single serving of dessert and 2 sodas, which is where I really need to work harder next time. I knew that was going to be the most difficult for me to resist since I love sugar and rarely have soda and there is an abundance of that at these events. 

Goals for the week:

1. Back off on nighttime snacking. I love eating popcorn or lowfat ice cream at night while relaxing and watching TV. Right now it is part of my wind-down routine. I usually save my calories so that I can have that snack, but I am hoping to cut those calories in half this week. I am going to try to make healthier choices like eating carrots with a tablespoon of light ranch dip or a piece of fruit. When I am craving something sweet, I will try a nonfat yogurt instead of ice cream.
2. 10,000 steps EVERY day and 15,000 steps at least twice this week. I have seen that 10,000 steps really isn't that difficult for me to achieve. I regularly hit 8,000 without even trying. So, I am stepping up the goal slightly to see if I can hit it. I need to try and make small changes in my lifestyle in order for me to lose weight, and this one seems reachable and doable for me.
3. Workout 7 days. I need to make time, even if it is for only 10-15 minutes. If I am super busy like I was on Sunday, or really tired, I can still do Wii Fit for 10 minutes or go for a quick walk up my street. The problem is remembering that when I am exhausted and just want to sit down and do nothing.
4. Remember that soda is NOT an option... PERIOD! I need to be proactive with bringing unsweetened iced tea or water with me wherever I go so that I am not tempted to go through a drive thru when I am thirsty.
5. Be in bed (and on my way to sleeping) at 11 pm every night. Not 11:15, not 11:30, not midnight. I am exhausted a lot and part of that is that I am only getting between 6 and 7 hours a night, if I have no interruptions from little ones having nightmares, needing cuddles, or needing a drink of water. My body does best at about 9 hours a night. I have more energy with eating more healthily, but still not enough to make it happily through my day.

The good news: I am at the lowest weight that I have been in a year! I still have a lot to go, but May of last year was when the eating really seemed to get out of control for me and the regular exercise went out the window. Now, I am back on track and off to a good start. 

Emotional Eating Good-bye

I am an emotional eater. I know that is one of my biggest problems.

Yesterday was a really tough day for me. I was very emotional and it has definitely transferred into this morning. I woke up wanting chocolate and monkey bread and pancakes and cookies. I have been working really hard to resist eating this crap, but I no longer cared. I just wanted to feel better. I knew that I had to get out of the funk, out of the house, and most importantly, out of the emotional eating cycle. So, I got up and put on my workout clothes and running shoes. My kids were upset that I was going for a walk so early in the morning, but Daddy was home, so I knew that they would get over it and be fine once they were fed. I almost stayed home... but, I knew that if I did, I would join them in eating and make tremendously unhealthy decisions.

I first walked through the woods. That seems to center me and makes me feel closer to God if only for a few minutes. I took some deep breaths, prayed, calmed down, and was just by myself. Then, I kicked it into a higher gear and walked/jogged a mile (half of which was uphill). The sadness turned to anger at the plights of my life. Soon, the anger turned to a feeling of calm and then I knew that I was once again in control. I was in control of myself and in control of my eating. I came home, did my morning weigh in as extra motivation, and then grabbed a nonfat yogurt with granola for my breakfast.

At least for this morning, good-bye emotional eating!

10,000 Steps a Day!

I purchased a pedometer. It's not the first one that I have owned and worn on a regular basis, but it is the nicest one that I have owned. It was on clearance at Target for 30% off and I was in the market for a new one, so I figured I should go ahead. It has a clock, step counter, mileage tracker, time spent exercising and average speed. I want to eventually purchase a Fit Bit, so I figured that this would be a good little precursor to make sure that I can stick with the wearing the pedometer without losing it or dropping it in the toilet.

I have found in the past that the pedometer really keeps me motivated. It is a constant little reminder that tells me to park a little farther, use the stairs instead of the elevator, and go for my nightly walk. I become obsessed with the little numbers, always striving to reach the recommended 10,000 steps.

I was doing some research on Google and found that the average American takes somewhere between 3,000-5,000 steps and that generally you are considered sedentary if you take less than 5,000 steps. 10,000 is the magic number for health benefits. I consistently hit at least 8,000 steps with just my normal, everyday stuff.

This leads me to my first publicly announced goal: To hit that 10,000 mark daily. No excuses, no whining, no complaining. If my normal, everyday activities of being a busy mom can get me to 8,000, then I can easily come up with 2,000 more. So, if you peek in my house and see me walking in circles around my kitchen and living room, you know what I am doing. If you see me shaking my pedometer to increase my step count, throw something at me.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated? Do you use a pedometer? What's your daily steps goal?