No Better Reason...

I don't wear it much anymore because it is a little big for me, which a co-worker pointed out one of the last times I wore it.  But, I haven't done laundry in a while and I didn't have much to wear today, so  I put it on, not really caring that it was too big...I'm feeling bloated today anyway thanks to lovely Aunt Flo.  Its a nice shirt. I wish I could shrink it so I could wear it longer.  But then, it happened.  A sure sign that it is time to retire the shirt forever.  As I was leaving work for the day...I had made it through the WHOLE DAY...and then, as I was walking to the elevator...someone said to me "Oh, it looks like you are expecting!"  Um, WHAT??? What do you even say to that??? So I said "oh no, no way!" And then she goes on..."oh, new baby?"  Um, only if you count a 2 year old as new....yeah, I know it was a "fat shirt" and I shouldn't have worn it, but really?  She felt bad, and I didn't want to make her feel any worse, so I brushed it off, and truly, it didn't bother me too much.  The shirt was for me about 20-30 pounds ago, I should have known better.  Well, I know better now...this shirt has been officially been retired!

My eating for today was doing pretty good for a while, but afternoon and after dinner are my two trouble times.  So after my snack a work today I had a few spoonfuls of reduced fat peanut butter.  I didn't need it and it racked up the calories.  And dinner was so good I had to have a second helping.  And now I want to eat something else, but I don't need  it!  So here is my report for the day...

www.myfitnesspal.com

Woops!  Not great...

For exercise, I decided to take the little guy out for a run in the jogging stroller.  Not an easy task that is for sure.  I have to have burned more calories than the websites say pushing that darn thing, right??

www.nikeplus.com

One thing I have enjoyed checking out once and a while is how much time and miles I have racked up since I started tracking it, and how many calories I have burned.  Here's what I have so far from the last 3 months or so:

How cool is that?? 

On the road again....

I haven't completely gotten off the Road to Hot Mommy, but I have been going pretty slow.  I have been able to maintain my 35 pound weight loss, but I haven't been making any more progress.  I have been sticking to exercising 2-3 days a week at least with my running, but I haven't been putting much more effort that than into it.  Why? Because I don't really feel like watching what I eat constantly, I want to eat the yummy stuff, not the healthy stuff.  And I kind of enjoy running, but the circuit training is painful and boring!

But I need to get back on track again.  Watch what I eat most of the time, work the strength training back in and keep up on my running. I'm tired of the plateau and am ready to work to see the scale start moving in the right direction again!

This week, I am going to start tracking what I eat again and stop eating at the cafeteria at work.  Mission accomplished today. 

My food report for today (www.myfitnesspal.com)


For exercise, I got a short family walk and a short run in today.  I've been using my Nike+ and with the exception of a few glitches in the beginning, it really works great. I love it!  Nike is working on redesigning their website, so hopefully that will fix some of the issues they were having.  Even with the glitches, I would recommend this to anyone that wants to track their speed/distance but is on a tight budget.

My exercise reports for today: (www.nikeplus.com)

My run:


My walk:

Not very impressive, but every step counts, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

So...as I said..."On the Road Again...."

New Exercise Gadget!

Woo hoo!!  Today in the mail I got a new gadget that has been recently been introduced to me, that has me excited to get out and hit the road running.  It is called Nike + iPod.  I don't think this is a new product but it is new to me.  Reading the instruction manual and seeing all the fun things it can do...I wish I would have known about this sooner.  I spent about 30 bucks and got an adapter that plugs into my old school iPod nano, and a sensor that is made for a special kind of Nike shoe. I don't have that shoe, so I ordered a little pouch that attaches to my shoelaces and holds the sensor.  This little thing works on iPod nanos, iPod touch (2nd generation or later) and the iPhone 3GS or later.  It tracks workouts, provides feedback, you can set goals, and so much more.  And it give you progress updates in your ear as you run.  As luck would have it, tomorrow is supposed to be good weather for an outside run so I don't have to wait long to test it out!  Did I mention you can upload your workout data to nikeplus.com?  I haven't visited the site yet, but I've been told you can also upload your workouts to MapMyRun.com, which is what I use.  I'll update on my thoughts after I use it a few times.

On to my progress. This week has been a struggle.  I'm tired, getting a cold, I think PMS is creeping up on me again, and to top it off, my husband started working out of town this week.  So, I haven't been eating great and exercise is something I have dreaded.  I did get on the treadmill today and ran for 1.5 miles straight in about 19 minutes.  Total time on the treadmill was 29.04 and I covered 1.94 miles.  I'm keeping at about 35 pounds lost.

The circuit training is still hard work, but I'm not a sore the next day.  And the plank exercises do not cause strings of four letters words to come out of my mouth each time I do it.  

And progress is happening in places...I have been told by my hubby in the last week that my butt is getting bonier and my boobs are getting smaller.  I'm not sure about the butt, however, I do see what he means about the boobs.  Both are good news by the way.  And in true, dorky Mickala fashion, as I was drying my hair in the locker room after my run today all of the sudden my guns jumped out at me.  I have definition in my biceps.  I don't know how it happened...or when...but cool!

So tomorrow I have a running date with my Nike + iPod and a friend I haven't seen in a while.  I have the day off to clean my house in preparation for my younger child's 2nd Birthday party this weekend.  We'll see how my eating goes.  Being at home causes problems for me sometimes, but I should keep busy enough not to have too many problems.

Until next time....happy running!

Doing much better!

Well, PMS is over and I have a new resolve!  Last week was an improvement and this week has been great!  I finished week 7 of Couch to 5k, with 3 25 minute runs.  I still find myself taking small breaks to get sips of water, but I think some of it is out of boredom of being on the treadmill.  I can't wait to get outside to start running again!  I bought myself some warm outside running clothes, so hoping to hit the streets soon!  I started week 8 of Couch to 5k last night, and I almost didn't finish.  I was close to convincing myself to repeat week 7 and do 25 minute runs instead of 28.  But by the time I got to 25 I decided I could complete 3 more minutes.

I know in order to really see the pounds drop, I have to keep up my cardio, be better about what I eat and also add some strength training.  I really need to exercise 5 days a week, at least.  So today I met with a wellness coach at work for a personal training session.  I wanted to do something that I can do at work or at home so I have flexibility on when I can get these workouts in, so she decided circuit training was a good fit for me.  It was hard work, and I'm not sure I'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow, but I think it is a great full body workout.

As far as eating goes, I'm trying to watch my portions, make sure I have some protein at each meal to keep me full and eat lots of fruits and veggies.  Being Valentine's Day on Wednesday, it has been a challenge to stay away from the sweets, and I haven't been perfect, but I have done pretty good.  There is still some temptation at work, but I only have 2 days left this week!

I'm starting to think I'm addicted to food.  Seriously. I'm gonna look into it a little more, but this could be part of my problem...or just another excuse.  Who knows, but whatever it is...I can get past it.

And, I've saved the best news for last.  After mid-challenge weight in week at my Team Up to Trim Down challenge week, I was a little disappointed to only lose 2 pounds in 5 weeks.  I wasn't surprised, because my heart wasn't always in it, but still disappointed.  Anyway, I wish weigh-ins would have been this week, because I'm already 2 more pounds down.  This puts me within 1 pound of being half done with my weight loss journey.  HALF WAY TO MY GOAL!!  This has been very inspiring to see the scale move down again, and being so close to a milestone. YAY ME!!

Tomorrow is another running day, but not sure how I will get it in since I have a meeting tomorrow night that will last until 9 or 10 at night.  Might have to be one of my two days off of exercise for the week.

Until next time...happy running!

This week has been a struggle

I have had an even harder time sticking to healthy foods this week than I have in the past past 4 weeks.  I'm blaming PMS.  Should I? No.  But I am.  I have struggled to hit the requirements for fruits and vegetables every day this week, and found myself asking things like..."a pickle is a veggie, right?"  I was supposed to eat at least 3 vegetables and 2 fruits every day this week.  I got them in, but added a lot of unnecessary junk with it.  I did discover how to get both fruits and a veggie in for breakfast.  Smoothies are wonderful things.  My morning smoothie consists of fresh spinach, frozen strawberries and frozen banana, and some milk.  Even my boys beg for this every morning.  

I haven't been feeling it too much for exercise this week either.  I have been so tired (blaming PMS for this one too), that getting my three runs in has been almost torturous at times.  But thanks to the Team Up to Trim Down challenge at work, I have done them.  I still have one more day of exercise to do tomorrow.  Not sure what I'm going to do...but whatever it is, it has to be for 20 minutes.  Maybe some yoga.  Should do the Wii Active again, but that game made me sore for almost a week last time!

Anyway, my runs were hard, but I got them done.  I finished the week tonight with a 22 minute run!  I stopped the treadmill once to get a drink and blow my nose (am I the only one that gets a runny nose when I run?) and then I took a quick break to get another sip of water.  I have yet to master the skill of drinking out of a cup while running.

Next week is a fresh start.  I'm planning to add strength training to the exercise plan this week.  The Team Up challenge is continue eating the fruits, veggies, exercise for 20 mins 4 days a week, stretch 3 days and now we are adding push ups and squats.  Week 7 of the Couch to 5k program brings 3 days of 25 minutes of running!  Getting close to the end, only 3 weeks left!!  Should be ready for my first 5k.  I think it will be in April.

To those of you who would like to try running, but hesitate...if I can do this, you can!  A year ago I struggled to run for 60 seconds.  Don't believe me? Go back to the beginning of this blog.  

Tonight I ran for 22 minutes...I covered 2.18 miles in 33 minutes.  

Until next time everyone, Happy Running!

This week has been a blur!

I can't believe I haven't posted since Monday!  Nothing earth shattering happened this week, that I can remember at least.  I'm still struggling to get my eating habits straightened out, but this week's challenge at work has been very helpful.  On more than one occasion, I found myself grabbing some baby carrots or other veggie instead of another, more unhealthy snack to make sure I got my 3 veggies in this week.

I did complete day 2 and 3 of Week 5 of the Couch to 5k program.  They were both much more of a struggle than day 1 was that's for sure!  I slowed my speed down to 4.5 mph for both of these runs, and that was enough for me to be able to complete it.  Day 2 was an 8 minute run, 5 minute walk, 8 minute run; Day 3 was a 20 minute run.  I don't think I had to stop during day 2, although I don't even remember doing it, honestly.  Day 3, I stopped for about 45 seconds to a minute total, for small water breaks throughout the run.  Not too bad...moving on to Week 6 tomorrow.

Also starting another week of my challenge at work.  I think this week is work out for 20 mins...4 days (I think) eat 3 veggies a day and add in two fruits.  This is all by memory since Friday, so I'm not 100% sure what it is.  I'm going to try a banana strawberry smoothie with spinach tomorrow morning for breakfast.  We'll see how that goes.

The health person behind the challenge at work sent us a really handy menu planner last week.  It helps you plan out each meal to ensure your meal is balanced.  I thought I would share it will all of you.  You can find it here, I hope you find it as useful as I did!

I'm a little bit frustrated with the lack of weight loss as of late, but I know it is because of my eating habits.  Tuesday is my last day of class until March.  I think I really need to amp up my workouts on my non-running days once class is over.

Monday brings a new day, and a new week. 

Happy running everyone!

I can do this!!!

Still need to work on my eating habits.  I didn't do so hot again today, although I did drink more water than I have in other days. And I did manage to get my three veggies eaten. I had to break down and have some hot chocolate this afternoon though, just to warm up.  My hands were freezing!

I went to the gym on my lunch break today to start week 5 of the Couch to 5k program.  Run for 5 minutes, walk for 3, repeat twice.  I actually did pretty good.  Day 2 brings on 8 minute runs.  Pondering running faster for the middle run.  It almost seemed too easy today.  The last run was a bit of a push though.  Maybe that's the way it is supposed to be every run.

Day off of working out tomorrow.  I have class tomorrow night and I'm sure I'll be spending my lunch hour trying to finish cranking out a 4 page paper about an opera.  Yeesh...yes it is that bad.  I've tried to start it twice, but haven't gotten very far.  Maybe 3 paragraphs on my last attempt.

Until next time...happy running!