Take that Beeeee-otch!

Ha!  Today?  Today, was a GREAT day!

First of all, yesterday was a fun-tasticly f'ing looooooong day.  We were up at 5:15 so that the husband and the big boy could be at the arena before 6:00 am for the first game of the season.  Apart from a few awkward and uncomfortable moments with some people from my past (now that's a blog post for another time) it was a really great game!  My big boy loves hockey.  He might not be the best player on the team, but he really loves being out there and to me, that's all that counts!

Came home for a bit of down time and then headed west to have pre-Thanksgiving (yup, for us Canadian folk it's only a week 'til turkey time!) with the BIL and SIL.  It was such a gorgeous day for a drive, how could it not have been perfect?  We love going to visit with BIL and SIL.  They live about 21/2 hours away from us, so we don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like.  One of these days we'll have to do something about that, right SIL? ;)

So, with a pre-Thanksgiving dinner under my belt, literally, I was a tiny bit worried about the scale this week.  I knew after finishing my 8 miler on Saturday and behaving myself relatively well that I'd probably be ok, but, well...you just never know!  So I was pretty ecstatic when I saw 166.6 staring back at me this morning! Yup, that's 1.6 away from the goal I set back in July and only 16.6 away from my new final goal!

I actually wrote down my stats this morning (which I normally don't do because I'm too consumed with whatever is flashing back at me to concentrate on the other numbers!)  I really don't know how accurate these numbers are.  I mean, I bought the scale from Walmart, so it's not exactly the most high tech thing out there!  However, the numbers flashed as follows:

Weight - 166.6 (woooooooot)
lbs from fat - 49.2 / 29.6%
Water - 51.3%
BMI - 26.1

The lbs / % of fat is still higher than I'd like it to be, but my BMI is definitely getting closer to the 22 - 24 range that I'd like for it to be in.

So getting back to why today was a GREAT day?  Well, not only did I get my 3-miler in today, I also got my kids off to school with out WWIII, my husband was in an, ahem, fantastic mood, AND I got through level 1, day 2 of JM 30-Day Shred!  Now if I can just get through 30 more days of working out with that crazy bitch, I'll be one happy chick!

On tap for tomorrow?  3.5 miles, 30DS AND the return of haaaaaaaawwwwwwwttttttttt yoga.  Yup, yup, yup!  I cannot wait to sweat my balls off not 1, not 2 but 3 f'ing times tomorrow!  It's gonna be epic!

Go kick some butt!

Eeeeeeek! My baby's all grows up!

How did that happen?  Where the f did the last 4 years go?  This is a picture of me with my boys 4 years ago when my 'big' boy started JK.

Holy shmolie, how young do I look?  How teeny-tiny is my little man?  He was just starting to walk there and the big guy could still easily sit on my lap and not make me feel like I was going to lose a limb due to blood flow stoppage!

This is a pic of my boys from this morning as they were walking out the door, both heading to their first days at school.  The big man started grade 2...whaaaaaat?   Yup, grade freaking 2 and the little guy started his very first day of JK.  Sniff, sniff.

See what 4 years can do?  It definitely gets you a new paint colour on your front door and perhaps even a few hundred inches on a big boy!  And, just so you can see how much their adorable faces have changed, here's one more from this weekend!

We had such an amazing time this weekend, I have to tell you a little bit about it.  We spent the weekend at Blue Mountain where we explored the mountain (see those little 'gondolas' in the background of the above picture?  Those are the husband's worst nightmare!)  We went down the mountain on these amazing little bobsled-like contraptions that brought horrible images to my brain as we whipped around corners going full speed down the hill on a flimsy metal track with nothing but a little netting to catch us if we happened to become a worst case scenario!  It was fun though - like A LOT of fun!  We went swimming and hiking and had more fun together as a family than we have probably all summer.  All in all, it was the perfect ending to a very busy summer!

It was so nice, that I even relented and let my big boy take a picture of the husband and I.  I probably should have consulted with a mirror before agreeing, but oh well!  Here's what nature does to me!

I stepped on the scale Friday morning before going away and was 176 - which made my heart sing!  I stepped on the scale this morning and it said 177.6.  Most of that is just because I wasn't drinking water this weekend the way that I normally do.  I'm not too worried, I know I'll be down to 175 by the end of this week, perhaps even lower.  The immediate goal is to be 170 by next Friday.  169 would be even better, but not sure if that's realistic.  Fingers crossed...

I think what I'm most pleased with about this weekend (well, aside from the fact that we had such a great time and can't wait to go back!) is the fact that I didn't give in to all of the sweets and treats that I was surrounded by!  I made smart food choices all weekend and we were active the whole time!  It was fun and I didn't feel depressed when I stepped on the scale this morning.  As a matter of fact, those jeans that I'm wearing in the picture from 4 years ago?  Those are the same jeans that I pulled on this morning and am currently comfortably wearing while typing this!  Now that, is a victory!

Later this week?  The husband is creating our meal plan - he's apparently decided that it's time to get his game on too!  Yeeeeeeeesssssssss!

I'm a bad, bad blogger!

Whoops!  It would seem that my weighday Monday has come and gone and I was AWOL from this here space!  Don't think for even one second that I didn't pull my sorry butt out of bed on Monday morning, pee and strip down to what my momma gave me to weigh in, because I sure did!  AND the results were totally positive which is why it's pretty funny that I didn't run right out to my laptop to record them for the world to see!  I blame my lack of blogging on the husband being out of town all. week. long. We'll talk about that in a minute though.

Without further ado, may I please announce to you all that I finally, after 2 years, have broken through the 180 mark!!  I was so happy - I can't even tell you how ecstatic I was to see 178.4 waiting for me when I was done saying my little prayer and then prying my eyes open with toothpicks since I was squeezing them shut so fiercely!

So, once I broke through that horrible barrier that has been haunting me for the last two years, I was finally brave enough to go into the dark, depths of my closet and pull out the jeans I've been using as my goal jeans for almost 2 years now.  Once, about a year ago I was able to squeeze into them, but had to really suck everything in to try and do them up.  When I did, I was pretty sure that once I took them off, I was going to be like the magician's assistant in the box after the sawing the body in half trick!  That wouldn't be scaring for my kids at all, would it?
Anywhoooo, I pulled them on *note, I said pulled, not squished all my pudge into* and did them up with next to no effort at all!  They still don't look how I want them to look - I'm probably a 1/2 size too big for them still, but the real victory for me was first of all the fact that I could easily get them on without looking like a jack-in-the-box having a grand mal seizure and secondly that I could actually breath with them on!

You know what the best part about all of these mini successes are for me?  That they are all motivating me to stay on target and continue working towards my goal.  We are 1/2 way through the dicks vs chicks competition right now which means I still have another 6 weeks to try my very best to get to the 12 week goal I set for myself - 165 lbs.  Normally by this point in my weight loss journey, I would have given up my dedication and have resigned myself to being fat.  Not. this. time.  I'm on a mission, and nothing is gonna get in this girl's way!

So back to the husband being away for the entire week.  It's not fun.  Sometimes he drives me crazy when he's here and makes mess all over the house, but I miss him when he's gone and so do the kids.  I can't wait for him to get back and for the long weekend to start!  We've got BIG plans!  We always say we're going to do something big and exciting for the last long weekend of the summer, but things have always gotten in the way.  Now that we don't have our sweet Molly-dog anymore, we are free to come and go as we please without worrying about her.  This weekend should be tons o' fun!  What are you up to this weekend?

Found this on Pinterest and thought it was perfect for today!

Freak out Friday!

Oh shiiiiiiizzzzzzza!  Tomorrow is 15 k day and I'm feeling a whole hell of a lot tiny bit nervous about the whole thing.  I did however, tag along on a quick mall trip this morning with Charlie so that I could get my well deserved and earned Run Swiftly shirt!  I got the hot pink one, so there will be no mistaking me for anyone else there (well, except for the other 50 mamas who went out and bought the same one and will be wearing it tomorrow!)

Game plan is this, take it easy tomorrow, drink as much water as I can between now and 3:00 tomorrow afternoon.  I'm hoping to get lots of protein rich snacks in as well like my delicious, honey, greek yogurt and perhaps some egg whites.  I haven't run since Wednesday, so my legs should be well rested since I'm definitely not walking tonight.

The hope (note, fingers are crossed and I'm squeezing my eyes shut really tight while typing *hope* - talented, I know!) is to finish in under 2 hours.  It's 9 miles - well, a tiny bit over if you want to get really technical. Like 9.32 miles to be precise.  If we average 11 minutes/ mile, that should bring us in at the hour and a quarter mark-ish!  If we can be done in under 2 hrs, I'll be super happy!

So, cross your toes, your fingers, your eyes - whatever you've got for me and I'll post results on Monday.  Maybe, just maybe there will be photos to go along with!

FREAK OUT!

The weight is over...

Ha!  See that funny little play on words I used there?  Yup, that's right, I am *that* girl!  Besides, a little play on words is what a girl needs when the scale didn't say what she wanted it to say!  I contemplated not posting today, but since I started this thing to keep me honest and on track, I really couldn't do that, now could I?  The scale this morning said 189.5 - up only a few points from last week, but not down like it said on Friday when I timidly stepped on to check in!

It's 100% my fault - well, duh! of course it's my fault!  What I mean is, I was supposed to go for my big run yesterday afternoon (7 miles) and I procrastinated the afternoon away until I didn't have enough time to do it until after supper.  Of course, after supper I sat down on the couch while the boys were playing and well, it was game over.  So, today, while the boys are at camp again, I WILL be doing my 7 miles before I get to do anything else!

This week, I've decided to add food journaling to my routine.  I'm not sure if I'll do the traditional, write everything down in a little book, sign up for an app on my phone OR photo journal.  Each has their pros and cons.  Maybe I should do all 3 for a few days and see which works best for me.  I've done the book before - but it's just me writing stuff down and doesn't necessarily have the impact of a visual tracking device like an app on my phone.  If I take pictures, I'm probably going to spend more time making it look pretty AND making sure that it's healthy enough that I can actually have photographic proof of it!

I think also, that I am going to give myself a mini incentive for next week.  I really and I mean REALLY need a pedicure.  Need it like if I took a picture of my dry, flakey feet right now, you'd probably cover your eyes and run screaming from your computer screen.  They are that bad.  Soooooo, If I lose at least 2 lbs this week (like I said, I really need it!) I'm going to book a mani pedi appointment for next week and pamper myself a little bit!

I really need to dig deep and start working harder this week.  If my SIL and I are going to win our little competition, I have to be into the 160's by the beginning of Sept.  That's 6 weeks away and means I have to have a couple of weeks of at least 5 lbs in order to make this work.  I can do it, but I've got to work my ass off - literally, in order to get there.

So, here's what's on tap for this week:
Monday - 7 mile run, some core and arm work
Tuesday - 4 mile run, legs/butt and core work
Wednesday - 2 mile run, core, arm and leg work on the machines
Thursday - 4 mile run
Friday - 3.5 mile run and camping fun!
Saturday - mooooooore camping fun!
Sunday - 7.5 miles

If I can get all of these runs in AND really take control of my eating, this should be a really good week!

Bring it week, BRING IT!

Things just got real interesting, real fast!

First things first, it's weigh-in Monday aaaaaaaand I forgot to take a picture again!  I will next week - I 100% promise!  However, I can tell you that the scale clearly took pity on me and didn't want me to have the spins again so it said 189.3 this morning!  Yippee!
I am not going to lie.  There was fear in my veins this morning as I stepped on that cold, glass platform. Last night, the scale was not so nice to me, especially after downing a bit of red wine and some perfectly cooked prime rib cooked on the bbq care of my loving husband!  It was yummy.  The scale was scary.

Why, you ask, would I bother weighing myself after devouring such a ridiculous meal?  Which I have to admit I was actually pretty good about.  Even though there was bread and fresh, new potatoes on the table, I only had salad and roast.  Nothing else.  Well, and the little bit of wine that I swore I wasn't going to drink until my brother and sister-in-law arrived with one of my favourite reds, Masi.  I mean it would have been rude to not open it and drink some, right?  I can't remember if it's South African or Australian.  Either way, if you've never tried it, you should.  They're delicious and they pair perfectly with ANY meal in my very humble wine opinion!

Getting back to why I was silly enough to step on the scale last night though.  After all the aftermath (or maybe evidence?) had been cleaned up and put away, my Sister-in-law and I were sitting at the table drinking peppermint tea - which I love, especially after a really big meal.  We were talking about shopping trips and when we should plan for a big one when the conversation transitioned to how both of us have a plan to lose some weight and feel better in our clothes again.  My sister-in-law is amazing. I love spending time with her and she is by no means fat - I am clearly stating this here, as she'll probably read this - you are not fat!  I was starting to fill her in on my $2 in the jar workout incentive plan when my brother joined the conversation.  He too chimed in on how he has plans to be about 25 lbs lighter by his birthday in September and then it happened.

My SIL, said 'We need to have a competition!  We're all competitive people, we need to make this a competition for it to really work!'

We tossed around ideas including having to commit to 3 workouts a week, but if you didn't do your 3, you had to pay $2 to everyone for their jars, and if everyone completed their 3, that we each gave ourselves and extra $2.  That, though, wasn't enough incentive for the boys.  Then, of course, with two couples at the table, there was discussion about how the incentive should be couple based - which lasted for all of about, ummmm, 2 seconds!  The day that becomes an incentive is the day you can start calling me Ana Steele!

So, we finally came up with this - Richards (dicks) vs Chicks.  This was 100% courtesy of my brother.  I take NO credit, just reporting the facts.  The idea of Richards vs Chicks is we have 12 weeks to lose as much weight as we can (we all weighed ourselves last night, which will count as our starting weight.)  On the final weigh-in Monday (Canadian Thanksgiving) the team who lost the highest % (think Biggest Loser styles) wins!  In the end, because all 4 of us like travel, we decided the winning team gets to pick a destination (within reason) AND the agenda for the trip.  Sadly, if the guys win, there apparently will be NO shopping for A and I.  However, if we win, watch out boys, cause there will be a whole lotta shopping going on!  This should be exciting!

On a separate note, I got out there and did the 6 miles outside on Friday night with my bestie.  She's a great motivator, because I'm telling you, if she hadn't of been here, I would have been hitting my treadmill again!  It was so humid and sticky out.  We did it though - and not toooooo terribly.  We stuck to 10 and 1's until around the 4 mile mark and then started walking longer.  When we did our last 10 K in May, we finished in 1 hr 18 min I think.  We finished this one in 1 hr 24 min.  Not fantastic, but not horrible either.  The good news is that there is still 5 weeks until the 15 k run.  Gotta get my stamina up so that we can maybe, just maybe finish under 1 hr 45 min.  That's the goal anyhow!

Off to do some meal planning - hope you have an awesomesauce day!

Put another notch on the...

SCHEDULE!  This is not that kind of blog!  Although, I suppose there could be some confusion what with the whole inch by inch thing!  Luckily for you, it's not what this is about - which may or may not be a let down for some, but I'll try to make it up to you, I promise!  

So far this week, I've hit every single run on the schedule and been happy to do it.  Last night I almost baled, but then my phone died which meant that my avoidance tactic of texting was no longer available.  So, I hoisted by butt up off of the energy sucker that I call my couch and went downstairs to the dungeon.  

I'm really glad I did because even though the first mile sucked, once I was going, it was good and I even ran just a little bit faster!  Now don't go getting all excited for me - by faster I mean I ran the 3 miles at 5.6 instead of 5.5!  Nothing earth shattering, I know, but an increase none-the-less!

I now have a whole $12 in the workout jar.  Not enough to even buy a headband from LuLu, but enough to remind me that I'm getting there!

On a completely different topic, I'm now contemplating making some changes to our food.  I have a pretty good understanding of what goes into the foods I have in our home.  I know how to read labels and I understand how taxing it is on our bodies to digest highly processed foods.  We've always been fairly good about eating fresh fruits and veggies and choosing whole grain over bleached, white flours. However, lately, we've become somewhat lax in a few of these areas and I think that this is the perfect time to re-introduce my rule of eating unprocessed foods 95% of the time.  

I'm investigating the Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno.  She has a book specifically for families with kids which I think I'll be picking up later this week so that next week's meal plan can incorporate some of those foods into it.   You can check out her books here.  The kids go to day camp for two weeks starting on Monday which means I'll have a lot more time for healthy meal prep and my runs!

Monday, here I come!!

I think I might try this out tonight after I make a certain someone walk with me (you know who you are...Charlie!)

Later gators!

I'm still standing...barely!

Well, I did it.  I took a big breath (well, then immediately let it out because I didn't want to add anything extra to the number I was about to see) and then gingerly stepped on the platform, one badly painted pink toenail'd foot after another (mental note, next week, a pedicure is definitely in order!)  Then I waited.  I waited long enough to hope that the number would be something totally different than what I thought it was going to be.  Just long enough for a miracle to happen, but not long enough that the number would disappear from the little display screen.  Then I looked down.
Yikes!  What I saw there was not a good revelation, but it was a necessary one!  For the last 3 years I've been hovering between 185 - 190.  For some reason, I haven't been able to break below the 180 mark.  In fact, the last time I was below 180 was 4 years ago, just before my youngest turned 1 when I was 162 - 7 lbs away from what I weighed when I got married.  This morning, I broke the 180 mark, but not in the direction I was hoping.  This morning, the scale told me that I weighed 193.1 lbs.
I feel like the addict whose just hit rock bottom.
Somehow, those numbers this morning hit it home for me that unless I really do something about this now, I'm going to be headed down the path that my mom was on and I can't go there.  My mom passed away almost 8 years ago from an aggressive cancer that she bravely fought for more than 2 years.  I can't help but feel that it was her unhealthy lifestyle and her choice to avoid things like physical activity and making healthy food choices that made her physically unprepared for the fight of her life.  I want to see my boys grow up and get married.  I don't want my kids to be left without their mom before they turn 30.  I want to know my grandkids. 
For that to happen, I have to start making real changes.  Not just talking about it and making false promises to myself, but actually acting on it.  Last week I made some good headway on that.  Getting back on the treadmill and starting to follow the schedule again was an important step in the right direction.  This morning, I am sitting down with my calendar to schedule all of our meals for the week (I know, I know, I said it was going to happen yesterday, but the scheduled run seemed a tiny bit more important!)  Before the end of this week, I am purchasing a 3 month gym pass for the gym that my friend goes to.  I'm going to make her be my gym buddy for the next 3 months, 3 times per week.  With my run schedule only going until the middle of August right now, this will be important to keep me moving!
Next Monday morning when I step on the scale, I'm hoping only that it be down and that the fat % is less.  I'll actually record all of the numbers next week and put those here too.  Gotta keep it real peeps!

Today's goals = meal plan and run 3 miles (outside if it's not too hot!)