Happy Thanksgiving!

I ran my 5k this morning and it was such an amazing experience. It was 40 degrees and foggy when I arrived. I wasn't thrilled with the temperature...



but after the race I was left with this feeling of accomplishment that I can't even begin to describe. It brought me to tears.



My chips stats were:

91 of 105 Age Group
1102 of 1311 overall
finish 36 minutes 32 seconds
average 12:25mi

Living at the beach did not give me the hill training I needed for this race, but I finished running, that was my main goal, and I did it!



Happy Turkey Day!

Giving Thanks

I knew my post today wasn't going to be about weight loss, I knew I wanted to write about what I am thankful for. Then I saw Roni's post asking what we are thankful for and realized I wasn't the only one with that idea and I think it's a great one.

I am thankful for my husband who puts up with me regardless of my antics on any given day. I know it's not easy to live with me, but he only rarely seems to mind. :)

I am thankful for my family. Some days they drive me absolutely nuts and some days they make me cry but I love each and every one of them more than words could ever express. They are amazing people and I feel truly lucky to call them family.

I am thankful for my health. I have the ability to get out of bed every day. I think I take this for granted too often. This in itself is an amazing gift.

I am thankful for my friends, they make me laugh and pick me up when I fall.

I am thankful for BlogToLose.com, everyone on that site is there for me when I feel like people in my "real life" don't understand the struggle I am going through changing my life. They just get me.

There is so much in my life that I am truly thankful for. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it really makes you think about all of the wonderful things in your life and gives you time to be with those you love. No pressure, just love and be loved in returned.

I won't be around much for several days, I'm going to see my family and won't have constant internet access. On Thursday morning I have my first 5k race and I am nervous and excited! Thanks to some extra motivation (in tee shirt form) from my dear friend Heather, I think I will just:




Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!

Can you remind me?

Today makes 1 week since I've ran at all, longer since I've run well. I woke up last Saturday morning with a water balloon for a knee and I've not worked out since. It has been very painful, but it's finally starting to ease up. With my race on Thursday, I haven't wanted to risk it. I want to run that 5k. Tomorrow I am going to try and do an easy two miles, walking as much as I need to. It feels so weird now when I'm not exercising a lot, but I like that.

This weekend is going to be an emotional one. My best friend is moving away and this is our last hurrah. I just have to remember to keep my habits in check. Food will not make me feel any better and neither will booze. Ok, booze might temporarily help, but the next day I will feel worse.

On Wednesday I leave for Greensboro for Thanksgiving and I know that will be a test in willpower. I am going to allow myself to eat what I want...in moderation. I'm not going to be so concerned with counting points that I don't enjoy myself. I would feel worse for that than I would for eating poorly. I am going to fit activity in where I can and since I will be responsible for a good amount of the cooking on Thanksgiving Day and for our Tree Trimming party on Friday, I will substitute healthy options whenever possible.

I think I am writing this more for me than anyone else. I always tell people "Can you remind me to (insert random thing here)..." because if I say something out loud, even if they don't remind me I am always more apt to remember it, so if you guys don't mind...

Can you guys remind me to enjoy myself in moderation, enjoy the time with my friends and family and cherish every moment of the next week while keeping myself healthy? That would be great...Thanks. :)

Like a slap in the face it's hit me!

Something just dawned on me like a slap in the face. On January 5th I will have been on my journey of health and wellness for 1 entire year. That is less than 2 months away!

These last few weeks have been rough, I'm not going to lie. I haven't been tracking or exercising enough. I have been out of town, my knee looked like a water balloon on Saturday,



but those are not excuses. The truth is I have made poor food choices and I have been lazy. There it is, I said it. I'm not going to get all down and out about, I have maintained. I am just going to try and do better. That's all we can do.

The point I'm trying to make is, on January 5th, 1 year from the start of this journey that has totally changed me as a person...will I be happy with how far I have come?

I can't deny I am proud of how far I have come, 46lbs is no small potatoes. It's significant. I have a confidence that I've never had before and I am comfortable in my own skin. I still have weight loss that I want to achieve, I still have to complete my first 5k next week, but the answer is yes. I will be happy on January 5th. Not even one time did I completely give up. I had rough days, I had rough weeks...but I didn't give up. The next day, the next meal...it was all a chance to DO BETTER and most of the time I did! Not because I had to, but because I wanted to!

So bring it on Holiday Season, with your cakes, pies and casseroles, you won't beat me down! :)

Just a quick check-in!

This has been a crazy week for me and I don't see it slowing down anytime soon and to top it off, my laptop took a big nose dive on me this morning! Not a good way to start the day...oh, that's right, that's not how I started my day. I started my day with my 3.5 mile run!


(taken with my brand new fancy camera (Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Digital Elph I bought for myself with my extra cash from some side projects I've been working on lately. It's replacing a 9 year old dinosaur that was a great arm work out when kept in my purse!)

I told you, with the repeated week it was going to look busy and boy does it! I know I skipped my run the other day, but I did go to the gym and ride the cardio bike for 45 minutes (while reading New Moon, again...anyone else a Twilight fan? I am so excited for next week it's insane!!) on Tuesday and Wednesday. My run this morning wasn't great, it was on a treadmill due to the lovely tropical system slowly moving up the East Coast, but I did it. Since my laptop took a nose dive, I don't have my nike+ stats, it didn't sync. :(

I wanted to update that I did make it to my run! I am going out of town this weekend and my workload is out of control to compensate, so I better get back to it. I will try to check in again after weigh-in tomorrow morning!

I hope you all have fantastic Thursdays! :)

Gimme a break!

This morning I woke up at 5:45am for my 3.5 mile training run. I had a full night sleep, I slept great. I woke up easily, walked around my house, had a glass of water and stared at my running clothes. I did not want to run. I knew this was more than just a whiny "I don't want to do this", this was a decision I was going to make because I knew I wasn't going to push through this time. I visualized myself running, the idea didn't sit well. So, I crawled back into bed and made the choice to skip my run this morning.

I usually am excited and if I can push through the whiny voice in my head not wanting to run, I know I will be happy. This morning was different. I feel like I'm getting a little burnt out on running. I've been training for my 5k which is in 2 weeks, on Thanksgiving Day, and I've been running every other day for 3 weeks. I do other exercises, but I don't do any other type of cardio and I think that I just needed a break from running. I have no doubt that I will pick back up with running on Thursday with my next scheduled 3.5 mile run...but today, I just needed a break. I never want running to feel like a chore. That's not why I started.

That being said, I almost didn't post today. I was going to email a friend and explain myself for accountability, but I didn't want to post it to the world. Then I realized, why do I feel guilty? Why shouldn't I be accountable? I skipped a run. I'm still eating well, I have been a running machine for the past 3 weeks, I'm not jumping ship...I just skipped a run. I made a thought out choice to skip a run. It wasn't a lazy decision, it didn't come from me not getting enough sleep or being hungover. I have nothing to feel bad about. Sometimes, we just need a break.

I tried a new recipe last night, Cheesy Polenta Casserole. I of course used organic polenta, low fat cheeses (Italian blend and a little fat free cheddar) and I bulked up my tomato sauce (I used a can of tomato sauce with my seasonings) with some frozen peas. I also used a slightly larger dish and only layered twice. It turned out amazingly well! It's delicious and very filling! I should have taken a picture, it looked beautiful too!

I am in a good place right now, mentally and physically. I am enjoying my life and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It's amazing the confidence it gives me to be able to say that and mean it.

Happy Tuesday.

A happy weekend.

My "weekend" or day off really, started on Saturday at 4:45 when I got off of work. I went home, got laundry started, made dinner and watched a movie with my husband. After the movie, we decided to play cards. Just me and husband, hanging out in our pajamas, listening to music and playing Rummy. Such a simple night, but we had so much fun. We talked and laughed, finishing just in time to curl up on the couch and watch Saturday Night Live.

Sunday morning, I got up and met my girlfriends for a 2 mile easy trail jog. I didn't worry about my pace or how much I jogged vs. walked. I just enjoyed having company while doing something that I have learned to love. We did 2 miles and then stopped for a photo op:


(Me, Kelly & Katie)

after which we went to Starbucks and sat in the sun drinking our beverages of choice. I had a Cafe Misto with a pump of pumpkin spice syrup. We talked and laughed for about an hour. Just enjoying each others company and the beautiful day.

We decided to go up to the bar and meet the guys for football, we drank too many beers, but laughed and talked for hours.



Last night I got home and slept like a baby. Was this the healthiest weekend ever? No. I did OK, not great but this was a weekend of record. I enjoyed the company of those around me, felt loved and I loved in return. Mentally I needed this weekend more I realized.

Sometimes the healthiest thing you can do for yourself is to sit back, relax, love and be loved. That's what this weekend was about for me. There are no regrets, no guilt, no doubt. This weekend was perfect, just as it was.

A loss! Alert the media!

I had my weigh in this morning and I lost 1.3lbs this week! Yay! Alert the media! My first loss in a while! Totally doing the cabbage patch and the Roger Rabbit in my head. :)

Yesterday I had my 3.5mi training run:



And I wanted to do something different, so I decided to head to a nearby garden that has lots of walking and bike trails. I took some of the toughest bike trails, mostly on accident as I was in the middle of the maritime forest:



It was a nice change of pace, and the trails really challenged me! Some of the bike trails had really loose sand, so I equate it to running uphill on the beach. But the scenery couldn't be more beautiful.




It was definitely nice to change things up a bit, I made good time too. I wonder if running through the woods, alone, kicked up my adrenaline a little bit, it felt like it at times. :) I had this whole horror movie montage in my head. I ran a 10:28'ish average according to Nike+. Not too bad for my first trail run.

A funny note about my training, I messed up my schedule somehow when I adapted it for my race being on Thanksgiving day and I'm a week short. So, if I follow training as it shows on my schedule, my race would be 11/19 instead of 11/26. I have to repeat 1 whole week of training. So, I'm going to repeat this week. Next week's schedule pictures will be very busy looking that's for sure! Hey, it's all about rolling with the changes. :)

That's about it for today! I'm call this weekend at work, so that means no drinking and a lot of time at home, I'm hoping that will help me stay on point! Happy Friday!

New Work Out and Holiday Tips from Bitch Cakes

Today is a rest day...see:



(I remembered!)

So, on Monday I DVR'ed a couple new workouts on FitTV, Core Max and Stretch Max with Cathe Friedrich. Both workouts were very good, the core was all abs and I had to rest a lot, but I felt like I got an amazing ab work out. The Stretch Max was my favorite. It felt wonderful and was just 30 minutes of stretching. It was really great first thing in the morning. If you have the FitTV channel, you should try them out!

Last night, I stayed On-Point! My total point allotment right now is 22, I went up to 23, but I did run 3.5 miles yesterday morning, so I had the activity points. I even managed to tweet, eat and post!

Food	Units
Tuesday's food journal
mis-mash yogurt, banana, pumpkin apple butter sprinkled with cereal	4
lentil soup with 3 wasa crisp'n lights (love those things, 3 for 1 point!)	5
jam thumbprints! http://twitpic.com/o5u72	2
lite pimento cheese spread with wasa crisps as a snack after work	3
hungry-girl's eggplant parm and roasted asparagus	4
jam thumbprints	1
100 calorie bag of kettle corn and 2 tbsp raisins	2
jam thumbprints (damn addictive things) and a dove dark chocolate square. all done for the day!	2
Total:	23

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

I talk about Wasa Crisp'n Lights a lot, I've always loved Wasa products but have never tried these. They are fantastic and you get 3 Crisps for 1 weight watcher point! They are great with Light Pimento Cheese, Peanut Butter or even topped with artichoke hearts. You should definitely look for them!

While reading blogs this morning I came across an awesome entry from Bitch Cakes (if you don't follow her, you really should...she is fierce! She rides her bike all over NYC and the boroughs...in heels!) where she shared tips/strategies for staying on track and staying motivated during the holidays! It is a fantastic reminder of the little things we can do to remain in control. I plan to practice quite a few of them myself!

In non-health related news...

I'm working on a side project for a friend of mine at home and it requires me to sit at my laptop and do data entry. My desk is a disaster area and used mostly for junk collection and was once used for crafts. I haven't felt like cleaning it off, so I sit at my coffee table while I work. Last night is a prime example of why I don't blog from home much.



Chaser the Wonder Schnauzer is always reading over my shoulder!

Here's to an on-point day filled with healthy choices! :)

I am thankful.

A friend of mine on Facebook is doing "30 Days of Thankful" and the idea behind it is to update your status everyday of the month of November with something that you are thankful for. I decided to steal her idea and start my own "30 Days of Thankful" yesterday. Yesterday I wrote how I was thankful for my husband who puts up with me regardless of my particular antics on that day, and for today:

"30 Days of Thankful" - Today I am thankful for the ability to run, while I may not be very good at it, I am very thankful that I can.

This morning, I woke up at 6am for my 3.5mile training run. It was 47 degrees.

47.

I've never run outside when it was below, say, 60? So I bundled up and headed out:



I was a bit nervous about the distance, I haven't run over 3 miles in awhile, but it ended up being a great run. My nose felt like it was going to fall off and my shirt sleeves were covered in snot, but I felt great. I probably could have gone 4 miles, but I had to get ready for work and I didn't want to break my schedule...which I forgot to take a picture of, again. :)

Anyway, after my run my legs ached a bit, but not bad and it was then that I realized that I was thankful for the ability to run. It may not seem like much, but I have 2 working legs (most of the time, I do trip a lot) that can carry me where I want to go. They couldn't run at first, but they worked their way up to it, kind of like my lungs, they're not the fastest and they struggle a little with distance, but THEY CAN. I am thankful for that, very thankful. Running has become such a huge form of stress release and happiness for me, I never would have even imagined that before.

Ok, moving on. It's Tuesday and so far so good. Yesterday was OP and so far today has been too. I made these yummy goodies:



...out of the recent Weight Watchers magazine, however I substituted Splenda for granulated sugar, omitted the hazelnuts and used sugar free jam, so by my calculations it's 1 point per 2 cookies. They are very yummy!

That's more than enough for today folks. Happy Tuesdays! :)

Atonement.

Saturday night I embarrassed myself. I made myself sick. I binged, right in front of people. I stuffed myself to the gills with Halloween Candy, mini-tacos, chips and dip. As fast as I could shove it in my mouth I did. Granted, it wasn't the binge sessions of my past, but it was bad enough that I was sick to my stomach all night long and for a good part of Sunday. Sunday I went for a 2 mile training run and I could feel every piece of candy, every unhealthy choice I made with every step.

I thought about not writing today, letting the weekend just kind of disappear into a week I plan to fill with healthy choices but that would not be accountability. I need to get this weekend thing handled and fast. I am very angry at myself and my lack of willpower this weekend. I only have 3 and 1/2 weeks to get things in check.

In other news...I was a Bumble Bee for Halloween and my Husband was God's Gift to Women.



I did find that if I have a glass of water with my beer and I choose a hearty full flavored beer, I drink a lot less. I've been doing this when I drink lately and it helps me to drink slower and drink less. Pumpkin Beer is fantastic, by the way.



Ok, so that's my disappointing weekend recap. Sunday was an on-point good day and I plan continue such success for the rest of the week.

Here's to a new week, a new month and a new day!