Happy 40th to ME!

Thursday was the big day, I turned 40 years old. I'm pleased to say that having finished the C25K two days earlier, I stuck wtih my plans and ran 5K or 3.11 miles. It took me about 42 minutes, and my legs still hurt, but I am sooo glad I stuck it out and kept running. Now that it is done, it is time to keep my focus and start planning for a half marathon. I know myself, and know I need to take this in small increments. I need to sign up for a 5K run and improve my time. This pace training is my first step in training for a half marathon.

Week 9 At Last!

I did Day 1 of Week 9 today of the C25K program. I cannot believe how much I love running. There are certain times when it stinks big time but I love the thrill of knowing I've set a goal and have accomplished it. Today's run was 30 minutes and I ran 40.5 laps around the track equalling 2.25 miles. I have only 2 more runs left in the program - Sunday and Tuesday. On Thursday, I turn the big 40 and plan on running for distance to run a true 5K. I imagine it will probably take me 40 minutes but that is okay. I know I'm slow. After I get over the hurdle of running the 5K, then I'll start working on my pace and really start pushing myself faster. ;-)

Personal Goal Update!

While my weight is still fluctuating (not concerned), my personal goal this week has been achieved. My goal was to run 2 miles and last night I ran 2.05 miles in 28 minutes. I did the first mile before I even reached the 14 minute mark. I was really pushing my pace and I paid for it in the second half of the run. It kicked my rear. But even though it hurt, it felt good to really get my heart rate going. It was probably the best cardio work out I've had yet. I think my next run I'll try pushing myself the second half. My next goal is to get to 2.25 miles in the time allotted.

Tuesday Weigh-In and Running and 40

Today was a happy weigh-in day. I'm down to 193.6. If you look at my weigh-in's over on the left, you'll see I started the GAG challenge at 198, lost some, gained too much back and am finally losing again. That denial posting was a big fat 2 something. I guess that sure scared me because I swore before that I would never hit the 2 hundreds again. I can't even tell you what it really was because I saw that 2 and quit looking.

I am in the middle of Week 6 of the C25K. It isn't easy for sure, but I'm doing it. I went through the calendar and cooincidentally the last week (week 9) ends on my birthday. I am turning the big 4-0 this year and I think it is fitting that I complete the C25K challenge on my birthday. What a way to welcome the 40's, in better shape than I was for my 30's!

Goal Update

My goal this week was a 2 parter. The first half was to run 20 minutes straight and live afterwards. Since my heart is still beating, I guess I did it. It really was a good run. I even ran a little longer for a total of 23.5 minutes. I could have run longer, but the song was over.

The second part of the goal was to not go crazy on the halloween candy and while I have indulged a little bit, I haven't gone nuts. Thankfully all the chocolate is gone, so it really isn't a problem anymore.

And I'm pleased to say the weight is steadily dropping. I can't wait to see what it says tomorrow.

down some more :)

I'm a scale fanatic. I can't help myself - I usually weigh everyday. Today it said 195.1. That is a loss of 1.6 just from Tuesday. It feels great to see these numbers going down again.

C25K Day 2 of Week 5 - SUCCESS!

Week 5, Day 2 consisted of a 5 min walk, 8 min RUN, 5 min walk, 8 min RUN, 5 min walk (16 minutes run time total). I'm so glad to get to this point and discover that I can do it. My next run will be for 20 minutes. Just 5 short weeks ago I couldn't run 60 SECONDS! The program plans a day of rest in between, but I find it hard to resist the urge to run every day.

I'm learning what I can about crossfit now. I'd like to do it on my off days. I'm hoping to not look like a complete dodo-head at the gym messing with the weights.

Down 3.2 pounds!

It feels great to see the numbers going down again - even if I haven't gotten to my lowest point yet. I know I'm on the right track and feel healthier and stronger already. Yippee!!

Monday rambling

Since last Tuesday (199.9) I've lost 2.9 pounds (197.0) and hope tomorrow's official weigh-in stays good. I finally, FINALLY, feel like I'm back in the game. The running is going good, and my membership to the YMCA is up and running. Now I need to find the time to get up there and check it out. I'm looking to add a upper body weight training and core strengthening exercises on my non-running days.

3. What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?
My children. They are sweet, nice, polite and funny. I've received compliments on them all the time. But even though I am proud of them, I do not take the credit. We attend church, bible study and are active in our church but I also believe it is their natures. They certainly didn't get their dispositions from me.

4. What was your most embarrassing moment?
I fall. I fall - a lot. And usually with witnesses. I will walk down a hallway and trip over a speck on the floor. I wish my middle name was Grace, cause then I could have a tiny claim to grace. I have taken klutz to a new level. I've fallen down stairs a dozen or so times, 2 ditches, parking lots, walking through a door (chipped my knee and received a deep bone bruise and deadened the nerves), off the porch (into a small garden wood fence sending huge long splinters down into my knee which took 2 trips to the doc to dig them all out), as a kid, I tore the ligaments in my wrist and elbow, and a few concussions all from falling. I can call my sister and say "well, I fell again . . ." and that leads to a fun conversation.

I survived Halloween

whew - glad it's over. I didn't over eat. I didn't binge on candy. I had one bowl of chili (made with ground venison instead of beef) and one slice of apple pie (made by my mil with no sugar). Then when we got home I allowed myself, 1 piece of candy from the kids' haul. A mini Reeses's Peanut Butter cup. Just one. I made 14 dozen chocolate cupcakes today and didn't eat a single one (for our church's harvestfest).

I love running!

People are going to get so sick of hearing me blather on about running. It is just so amazing to see my efforts pay off. Yesterday I went back over my previous posts on my blog. A month ago, I never would have thought that I would be really training for a 5K and an eventual half-marathon and a future marathon. A month ago, my mind was full of whiny excuses of why I couldn't run. But today, I did Day 1 of Week 5 - WEEK FIVE!!! I guess those endorphins are zooming around in me right now cause whew-weeeeee I feel good.

1. What makes this weight loss effort different than any previous attempts?
I suppose at this point of my weight loss journey it is different because I have a new focus besides just losing weight. Now, I have the goal to strengthen my body and increase my endurance. I finally have some real encouragement from my husband. When I first started trying to lose weight, one of his most memorable comments was "I'm surprised you've managed to stick with it". Gee thanks. I think he realized right away how bad that sounded. This time, he is pleased and proud right there with me for every minute that I've run. I have found an exercise that energizes me instead of bringing me down and making me feel a failure. I'm sure there will be set backs, but I hope I'm learning lessons now that will enable me to just push on through.

Physically, I am amazed. My knees no longer hurt. My thighs felt a little rough going up the incline but it was temporary. My back is still bothering me, but ironically, as long as I keep moving, it is just a small ache. It is when sit in one spot (you know - on the couch in front of the tv) that it locks up. I have degenerative bone disease in one foot. 8 yrs ago, I could barely walk on that foot. I was supposed to have surgery on it, but I chose physical therapy instead, which worked. As long as I take care of my feet, they are fine. One of my excuses for why I couldn't run, was my bad feet. I laugh now because it is soooooo a non-issue.

Lastly, tonight I took a moment on the run to enjoy nature. Fall really is my favorite season and tonight was wonderful. Cool air, crinkly leaves, the wind blowing through the trees. It was all good. I think I spent a quarter of a mile just giving thanks to the Lord for enabling me to enjoy his blessings.

C25K to half-marathan!

Maybe this is too early, but I think I might keep going after I finish the C25K and start training for a half-marathon. I know I don't want to get to a 5K and then not have a goal. I don't want to quit after having worked so hard to get to a 5K, so I really think I'll have to set another goal to keep myself motivated. So my plan right now is to continue the C25K, then once that is complete, then I'll start the half-marathon training, which is a 10 week plan. While weight loss is a goal, it isn't my only goal. I'm done with thinking I can't do something because I'm fat, or injured or old, or blah blah blah!

I have 5 more weeks (out of 9) of the C25K and I found a 10 week training schedule for the half-marathon. My next step will be to sign up for the Go St. Louis run on April 11th.

Weigh In

Today I weighed-in at 199.9. Last week had me even worse, so bad that I didn't even record it. I saw that 2 and blanked it out. I'm down but I hope this has been a lesson for me. I need to get back to recording my food and see what is messing me up.

On the bright side, I started Week 4 Day 1 yesterday. It was cold and wet - a constant drizzle. I borrowed one of my husband's caps and wore a sweatshirt. The cold and wet weather turned out to be perfect running weather. I'm already very careful about foot placement when I run (because I'm a KLUTZ), so the wet leaves weren't a problem. The problem happened in that I put some rice in the microwave before I set out to run. Nobody else was home. When I finished the run, I walked in to a smokey house. Needless to say, it is a good thing the house didn't catch on fire. And I need a new microwave.

Back to the run. It was hard but do-able. This week had a 3 min run, 5 min run, 3 min run and a last 5 min run, so 16 minutes run time in all.

Day 1 Week 3 of C25K

Yep, I did it. I did it a day early too. I decided to take advantage of the good weather and just go for it. I need to invest in some good shoes before too long. Today's run added up to 9 minutes of running! That sure beats week 1.

Good luck everybody and don't give up!

C25K works!

Way back in February '09 when I started my journey to lose weight and become healthier, I knew I wanted to run. But at 225 pounds I didn't think it would be safe. I have problems with my feet, and occassionally my knees and back. I used Livestrong (Daily Plate) to count my calories and I did walk but not as much as I should have. Still I lost 30 pounds - until May when I hit a brick wall. Since then I've been maintaining (give or take 5 pounds).

So 2 weeks ago, I just bit bullet and walked out my front door and started the C25K program. I have an iPhone and downloaded a C25K app that works with my iPod playlist running in the background. That first week was a killer. No way was I able to do the full 60 seconds jogging sessions. It was hard, I pushed myself and got through them but admit I had to walk during a few of them or start walking early. Week 2 had me running past the 60 seconds and then some, but since the intervals increased to 90 seconds I couldn't do them all. I had some success the 2nd day and ran the full intervals except for 1 that I lost my focus on 8 seconds short (silly earbud problem but I gotta have my music). Then today - YA-HOO!! Today was Day 3 of Week 2. I ran every single second of the jogging sessions. I could have run MORE! My back has been killing me since yesterday but amazingly running doesn't bother my back a bit. The sprint home (just for fun) did bother my knee, so maybe I should save the sprinting for daylight hours. It might help if I can see where I'm placing my feet.

So, Tuesday I start Day 1 of Week 3. The running session increases to 3 minutes. I'd like to start tomorrow (Monday) but I will let my knee heal a little first. It is just that I feel like I can do it and just want to test myself and really see what I can do. I've been reading on a C25K website about runners who make it all the way through the program with great success and then stop. I don't want that to be me. I want to make it to a 5K and then start working on going farther. Maybe someday I'll actually run in a half marathan or a whole marathan.

Tuesday Weigh-In

199.7! It is so far up that I just want to hide my head. I'm using my second free pass and am going to hope that the improvements in my running will see a loss soon.

Challenge Points - 1295

My new running partner

My 11 yr old daughter Becca ran with me today. Little stinker did a lot of giggling as she skipped on out ahead of me. Good news is today was Day 1 of Week 2 was hard but mostly manageable. The jogging increased to 90 second intervals and I managed to do most of them. That frustrating incline killed me on one of them. But I'm pleased that I was able to do as much as I did.

Sunday

We spent the afternoon at my husband's aunt's house. It was nice visiting with everybody. The food was weird, so I stuck with the brocolli/cauliflower salad and drank water.

Need running advice

Okay - so I've completed week 1 (day 3) of the C25K program. Day 3 should have been easier but I had to deal with the cold wet weather. My ears really began to hurt, especially the earbuds I used were causing pain. Any suggestions on either ear covers or should I get new ear buds? What do people wear when they run in the cold/wet weather? I wore sweats and a sweatshirt. The temp was in the 40s. Ironically, my loop has one annoying long incline which isn't really steep, it's just long and wouldn't you know every running session timed to be at that incline. So while my legs didn't hurt as much as they did on the 2 previous runs, they didn't cooperate as well. I think it was the cold weather - and running into the wind really stinks also. Plus there were wet leaves, pine needles and acorns. I was very nervous and afraid of injuring myself. So, on Thursday, my employer said he would provide me with a YMCA membership, so I'll be able to run the inside track. I'm excited and hope having a flat safe surface will keep me motivated - and the free nursery while I run will be nice. Hopefully, he'll get that set up next week.

C25K Day 2 oops

I just completed Day 2! After completing it, I then realized I was supposed to skip a day in between runs. Oh well. I do feel good - in a painful way. Today, instead of focusing on making it to the next tree, or the next trashcan, I focused on the music and even caught myself dancing a long and managed to run the entire 60 second sessions - all except one session that just timed itself to start at the beginning of the incline. My legs wobbled and said no way. So, I walked, skipped, jogged, walked my way through the incline. When the cooldown was finished, I was still on my street but several houses down. So I turned around and SPRINTED my way home. I felt great.

No more excuses

I did it. I just completed Day 1 of the C25K program. OUCH. Because of the rain, I couldn't do it this morning and had thought I'd do it tonight when my husband came home from karate. Then I wondered what other excuse I'd have to NOT do it today. So, without thinking about it another second, I got dressed and headed out the door. It was hard, I had to stop running a few seconds early most of the run sessions but I didn't quit. I kept up the "I'll keep going till I get to that next tree or stop sign" and then I would say "ok, keep going till that next trash can or the white truck, etc.". One of the few run sessions I managed to zone out and run the entire 60 seconds, so obviously I need to try doing that again. I also kept Jillian's voice (from Biggest Loser) yelling in my head to keep going and not quit.

Rain Delay

Well, I woke up to run this morning but it was pouring down rain. We have a busy day planned so I plan on running tonight (unless I manage to squeeze it in earlier). I realize why I like the tracking point challenges. It is because I get to make charts! :-D

Weigh-in this morning was another disappointment. 197.3 which is UP again. I'm using my first free pass.

I RAN!!!

I feel GREAT! I've been wanting to run, but had that fear saying "I can't do it". Plus, I wasn't looking forward to the neighbors seeing me fail. After lunch, the kids and I headed out the door. The toddler in his stroller, the 8 yr old on her scooter and the 11 yr old on her bike. Halfway around our loop, the 11 yr old was way far ahead and I just decided to go for it. I ran about 6 house lengths, and while I know that isn't a huge distance, the only reason I quit was because the 8 yr old was at that point 6 house lengths behind me and I wanted her to catch up. The toddler thought it was great. I can't WAIT to do it again. We finished off the loop (with the scooter hanging off the stroller) and came in for nap. Tomorrow morning, I plan on getting outside before my husband leaves for work. I'm going to try the Couch to 5K plan where you alternate walking and running.

Monday = dog farts

Our dog disappeared yesterday but was happily returned to his this morning. I got about 4 hrs of broken sleep last night. I kept invisioning some freak had stolen him and sold him to a medical lab. Thankfully, he was just enjoying a mini-vacation at a neighbor's home, one street over. My 2 year old has been petting him and playing with his tale for the last 20 minutes and didn't seem to mind when the dog farted. Which reminded me why I keep kicking him outside in the first place.

I'm tired, the house is a wreck from the weekend. The girls are working on their school work, but I hope we will be able to get out for a walk soon. I need to wake up and breathe some fresh fall air.

A little late but I thought I should do it anyway

Week 4 Challenge Survey
1. Do you feel your eating habits that ended you into this challenge are a direct result of habits formed during childhood?

I remember the night our mother told us she was getting divorced. My sister Nancy and I sat next to her eating chocolate chips right out of the bag. It's been one type of comfort food or another after that.

2. Tell me about your living situation. Are you married? Kids? In College? What is your life like OUTSIDE of weightloss?

Married, 3 kids, SAHM/homeschooling, I work at a karate studio (the office part, although I can and have broken boards with my feet). I seem to spend a lot of time driving people places.

3. If you were given a magic wand that you could use one time to do one thing, what would you use it for?

Give my home a complete extreme makeover. We have too much junk and too small of a house. I could use one more bedroom really.

4. What is your favorite thing about this time of year? Least favorite?

The cooler days, the clear crisp air, the leaves turning and the wind are all my favorites. My least favorite would be the rain that makes the leaves piles of muck.

5. You have a day off, no responsibilities, so what will you do with it?

I'd sleep and read all day long.

6. What is YOUR sin food?

Reese's peanut butter cups - the minis

7. Your in a foul mood, what lifts you out of it?

Laughing with my husband.

8. Your in a good mood, what keeps you there?

Enjoying the moments with my family.

9. What is one of your biggest struggles right now?

Exercise and water intake. I will literally be so busy all day and then realize I hadn't drank a single drop all day.

10. Your motivation is running low, where do you find your refill?

Watching The Biggest Loser helps.

11. Your in house support (meaning the people in your life that you see face to face) is beginning to dictate your weightloss journey by telling you your too heavy, or your getting too thin, but your not where you want to be. What do you do? How do you handle it?

Hasn't happened yet, although my husband one time got snarky and got on my laptop and brought up my Livestrong page and turned the computer to face me as I was just starting to eat a bowl of icecream (although it was Edy's frozen yogurt). I did explain that I had calories budgeted for my treat. Otherwise, he has been supportive.

12. List me your favorite:color:smell:activity with your child:Activity with your girlfriends/ guy buddies:way to relax:

Color: lavender/blue
Smell: the smell when you first walk into your house and the crockpot has been cooking dinner all day.
Activity with my kids: zoo
Activity with girlfriends: hanging around and talking
Relax: a book and a bed!

13. Where do you honestly see yourself at the end of this challenge?

I had hoped to be 30 pounds lighter but at this point I don't see it happening unless I really get off this plateau. So honestly, a 15 pound loss seems more realistic.

14. What are your goals AFTER Gag?

After GAG, I still plan on staying on my weight loss journey. I started this last February and want to lose a total of 100-110 pounds. I've lost 30 so far and while maintaining is okay, I still want to lose this excess pounds.

15. How do you think GAG is going so far? What would you like to see done differently? (I must be asking for torture! LOL)

I think GAG is ok, but I did better when the point challenge involved me drinking and moving. I don't have as much computer time as necessary for some of the other challenges.

16. Tell me all about your "typical" autumn weekend? Special activities that arise as well?

So far, we drove 2 hrs away to visit my husband's great-aunt out in the country. We spent hours in her backyard and taking pictures in front of a 100 yr old tree. We also hike in a nearby state park.

17. Is there one person in your life, who you hope your weightloss journey inspires?

I hope it inspires my children to not make the same bad eating habits. Right now they all eat fairly healthy, they eat their veggies and they don't overeat. I do know that I inspired a friend to start eating healthier and tracking his food and he's lost about 10 pounds already.

18. How did you find GAG, and what made you committ to join?

My sister Nancy told me about it. We are losing weight together and she knew I needed more motivation.

19. If you could nominate one BIGGEST INSPIRATION out of all your Team Gaggers, who would you nominate?

Of course my sister Nancy is the BEST inspiration of all. Not only has she committed to lose weight (she's already lost 60 pounds!), but with her new attitude and meal planning her husband has lost around 60 pounds, her oldest son has lost weight and her two older daughters have also lost weight. The teens/tween all have hit the point of just maintaining and look fabulous. Their entire family have a new healthier LIFESTYLE, not just a diet. We were able to visit recently, and to witness the whole family have healthier bodies and attitudes is very uplifting. I'm very happy for them all.

20. Please, tell me about you. What are your dreams? What are your desires for your life? What sparks the passion inside of you about your life? What goals do you have that seem impossible?

Dreams: family unity, enjoying each other and maintaining close bonds.
Life desires: raise my children in the Lord
Passion: I love to give to others
Mission impossible: getting my sister Nancy to move her family back to Missouri where they belong before her children set down their roots there and then none of them will come back here! waaaaaa!!

Dressing Room Warning and weigh-in

Last night, I decided to buy some jeans one size too small to encourage myself to try harder. While digging through the clearance rack, I noticed an older man walking around by himself. He had a pink shirt or dress over his arm/hand, so I thought he was just holding it for his wife or something. Right then my gut was saying something was up but I ignored it. So I found some jeans plus a ton of other stuff and went into the dressing room. I was at Kohl's so there was no attendant. I walked in and went into the first dressing room on the right. As I was squeezing myself into the small jeans (which I got up but are no where near buttoning) I saw a flash over the top wall of the dressing room. My first thought was the overhead flourescent lights had flickered or something, but the flash wasn't from the same area as the lights. The flash came right over the wall near the back wall (same wall as the mirror). I think that guy stuck his hand up over the wall and took my picture. All he would have had to do was walk one foot into the dressing room entrance and stick his arm up and over. Considering I had the pants almost up, he didn't catch much. I replayed it over and over in my head and it seems so fishy. I wandered around a bit to see if he was still hanging around but he was gone. I did report it to customer service. In the future, I will definately go to a stall away from the door, but I remember when I walked in that I deliberately chose that stall cause I didn't want to be trapped in the back of the dressing room area. So, even then he was giving me the creeps.

Weigh-in: 195, so down a bit but still not much. I need to up my water intake and get moving. I keep saying it but I haven't followed through.

Up

What a bummer. I'm up to 195.2. I have no excuses. I have considered using one of my free passes but I think I should save that in case I have a really bad week with a larger gain. Not that I'm planning on it, but I would hate to saddle my teammates with a 3+ gain one week cause I used my pass for a 1 pound gain.

Small loss

Half a pound down from last week. It is small but at least it is still a loss. I am still relieved to show a loss since I'd been on vacation visiting my sister Nancy (also doing GAG). I was hoping my scale would show a better loss considering her's showed me at 193-something yesterday morning.

My personal goal for this week is to drink lots of water like last week and to fit at least one type of work out in a day, whether it is a quick walk around the block or an hour walk at the mall. I want to MOVE every day.

Point total

Visiting my sister and fellow GAG competitor Nancy

My kids and I drove 7 hrs to visit with my sister Nancy and her family. After eating a yummy low cal dinner and chatting a bit, Nancy had me sweating on her treadmill. Then she decided I wasn't working hard enough and had me up the incline. whew, I'm all wore out now. I managed to walk 30 minutes but she kept going for an additional 30. She is a powerhouse! ;-D

Tuesday Weigh In

Down from last week 4.1 pounds. I know I've been whining about fluctuating and should be happy about this but I still view last week's weigh in as a fluctuation, so it is hard to feel like I lost anything when I was really hoping to be around 193 or so. Okay, I'll quit whining now and will be happy that I saw a loss this week. ;-)

ugh

194.8 - that is up from yesterday morning. I was good yesterday too. I know it must be the medicine. All I can do is keep chugging the water.

We were supposed to go camping but between me still being sick, and wet and rainy weather, we cancelled. Guess I don't need to worry about smores after all.

So my new plan for the weekend, is to send DH out for lots of fruits and veggies. That will help keep me from the boredom binge.

My favorite fruit salad combination is:

A BIG BOWL
Start with sliced strawberries, with 1 tspn of real sugar to bring out the juice.
Green grapes sliced
Granny Smith applie - diced
Banana - sliced
Blueberries
and chunks of sliced oranges put in individual bowls since my oldest child does not like oranges.

We eat fruit salad as if it is a dessert! yummy!

Go Team Cupid!

I just found out about the teams and I think this is a GREAT idea. It will be a great motivator to keep me on track, since I don't want to be the one who causes our team to fall behind. I'm looking forward to getting to know my teammates as we encourage each other on!

Recipe for non-disaster eating

I know I'll be pre-planning all our weekend meals. One of the meals will definately be the pita pocket. I think my kids will love them too.

I can blog from my iPhone

Thought this might help make things faster on Tuesday mornings. I love my iPhone. ;-)

A New Discovery

I saw a package of Pita Pockets in the bread aisle last night. I was comparing labels because my old favorite Arnold Multi-Grain Thins snuck some sucralose into their bread (splenda). I try to avoid any and all artificial sweeteners, so this has me bummed. I also have to give up my Fiber One because they also now have sucralose in it. I swear, when I first started eating these things, they did NOT have sucralose.

So my new find is pita pockets, okay, so it isn't really new, but I've never made one before. Turns out a pita pocket with all natural ingredients, no HFCS, no dyes and no sucralose has only 80 calories. Only drawback is the limitation on how much I can actually stuff down in it. Today, I cooked 2 small chicken breast in a little extra virgin olive oil with some seasonings. Then I cut one chicken breast up, sliced tomatos, some chives and steamed brocolli, topped with about 1 tablespoon of grated cheddar. This made 2 pita pockets - one for me and one for my mom. She of course emptied the salt shaker into it, but that is her. Overall, I foresee a lot of pita pockets in my future. Estimated calories around 270.

Labor Day Weekend Plan

I've been whining about my head cold which really should just be called, a snotty nose cold for a week now. Two of my poor kids have it just as bad. We've already gone through 2 boxes of tissues! But since we were on the mend, we haven't had any medicine since Monday night. It is good to not have that zombie feeling anymore. I admit that while sick, I did eat garbage, delicious sweet garbage like donuts, and icecream - which we all know is great for sore throats and big butts. So yesterday's weigh-in was really dismal. I've been hovering around 195 all summer and yesterday it jumped up to 198 in the morning and 199 in the evening. I remember how happy I was to get out of the 200's and be in Onederland and I almost blew it. I'm sure the medicine has helped contribute with water retention but I know it was really me. I need to drink lots of water, which I've gotten out of the habit of doing. Besides being a long winded rambler, I am also a chronic scale addict. Today's (Wednesday) weigh-in had a slight loss, which I hope is some of that water retention. 196.7.

In two days, unless we are really really sick, we are supposed to go camping. Camping = smores. I'm not too worried about the actual meals because they will be our usual food and I can control those portions. Our snacks will be fruits and veggies. It is the smores that will kill my will power. So, for my Labor Day Weekend Plan, I'm going to plan in the smores. I will allow myself 1/2 a smore each night (which is half of the long graham cracker) so maybe that should equal a full smore if we count the square as the smore. I will stop at that one smore and not go crazy eating roasted marshmellows too.

Our meals will be all homemade, no processed foods. I know at least one night, probably 2 we will have venison cooked on the grill. I plan on walks with my kids around the campgrounds. Plus chasing a 2 year old all around should be exercise enough.

Full body shot

This is my beginning picture for the Gag Challenge. This is also a picture of me minus 30 pounds from when I started in February.

Tuesday Weigh-In

My morning weigh-in was dismal - 198, but I've been sick and take comfort in knowing that the medicine is at fault, not my lack of will power or the donuts. Tonight's lovely scale photo was after eating and while still dressed, which we all know, does NOT count. This for gag purposes!

Nancy made me do it.

Mean lady won't let me take a nap, so I'm here writing a blog. I've got nothin' to say yet, so blah blah blah.