"Impossible is not a word!"

In the words of the song "What Faith Can Do" by Kutlass, "Impossible is not a word, It's just a reason for someone not to try." As one quote says, "Impossible, even the word says I'm Possible." I've considered MANY things impossible in my lifetime. BUT, I also know, as a Christian, that ALL things are in fact POSSIBLE. I once thought I'd NEVER be able to have children, it was impossible for me to conceive on my own and carry to term. Here I am now with 4 children here on earth, only 1 conceived with fertility meds. I know that God had a plan, it wasn't that it was impossible, it was just that my timing and plans don't always coincide with the plans HE has for me. Along those same lines... I thought I was just born to be fat and that it was impossible for me to lose weight. Well, one thing I know, I was not a fat toddler/preschooler. My weight wasn't "predetermined" for me. Bad habits, over eating, stress and lack of self discipline led to my weight issues. Impossibility wasn't the issue, but it was often the excuse! The issue was facing fears and putting in hard work. Let's face it, I'm a lazy person. I ENJOY being lazy. Losing weight requires hard work, self discipline and a positive attitude. How many of those things can I control? EVERY.SINGLE.ONE of them! Today, I did something that not long ago (ie: last night) I thought was IMPOSSIBLE. I fought it with every bit of me this morning. I knew I was facing this challenge and I was NOT mentally prepared for it. I've been sick this week, so I was thinking, "OH, I'll just say I needed extra rest to try and get well." Morning came and my alarm went off. I hit snooze 4 times. Reluctantly, I hoisted myself out of bed. I went into the bathroom where I'd laid out my running clothes last night. I got dressed. Still with a negative attitude, I moved on to the kitchen, filled my water bottle, got a teaspoon of nutella. As I was putting away the nutella, my elbow hit my water cup, sending 32 oz. of water all over my kitchen floor. I was pretty ticked at this point. I thought, if that was any indication of how my morning was going to go, I should probably just get back in bed. I am very glad that I DID NOT go with those thoughts. Instead, I laced up my shoes and headed out to Mom's Treehouse to meet with my fellow Mother Runners. Part of my motivation to get up and go, was seeing that a dear friend was suffering with a stomach illness after caring for her very sick son all week. I figured, I'm in relatively good health today (except the congestion I have and mildly sore throat). I decided to dedicate my run to my sweet friend! We all met at the Treehouse, took a quick group photo and headed out for our run. I am the slowest intermediate runner, and I am OK with that, if someone is willing to run back with me. I tend to have negative self talk if I run by myself. Today, Stefanie and Stephanie ran with me and Rachel ran with me some as well. At one point, even the beginners passed me... It's OK, they were just running 4 miles. I had to set a pace that could take me the long haul. Today I was facing a 7 mile run. The furthest I'd run was 6.2 miles. At about a mile in, I was already feeling pretty worthless! The beginning of this run had some pretty big hills. I was so thankful to have someone to talk with while I ran, it really helps me not to focus on the distance remaining. Before I knew it, we'd completed 4 miles and the beginners headed off for the Treehouse. At this point Stephanie W. had come back to run with me for the remainder of the run. She's so easy to run with because she happily chats along and helps you not think about what might be hurting. The first thing she said was, "Well, we are over 1/2 way done!" We kept running and at one point I said, "I'm so tired! My legs are tired." She said, "We are almost done, you can do it." We kept running. Then stomach cramps hit... the bathroom kind! I thought OMG, I'm gonna crap my pants! -- I said to sStephanie, "Now's a great time to realize I have to go to the bathroom!" Stephanie said, "Just ignore it, the feeling will go away!" She was right, and it DID go away! Then we turned the corner and were on our home stretch... as we were running I felt GREAT, I felt like I could keep running further, I dare say, today I might have actually been able to run 10 miles. I don't know if I was in a zone or if I was in complete insanity, but stopping was not an option or a desire at that point, I was feeling great. We got to our turn into the parking lot and I could not believe we were at 7 miles! We got just past the grocery store and I said, "Let's pick it up!" and we SPRINTED -- yes SPRINTED to the Treehouse! Not only was 7 miles POSSIBLE, it was possible with a sprint at the finish and a HUGE smile on my face! As I drove home from my run, the tears took over. I realized how for so very long, I let the un-word IMPOSSIBLE rule my life! It's so easy to make excuses of why we CAN'T do something. So easy to give up. So easy to be in denial. So easy to just be complacent! It's HARD to take that first step to POSSIBLE. Once you face that hard step and take that hard step you realize that "impossible" was squashing your dreams and keeping you from experiencing the most amazing things in your life! My runners high is so thrilling! And it lasts all day! My accomplishment was so sweet, better than ANY candy! I not only CAN, but I DID! All things are possible. You just have to want it badly enough! This morning, I didn't want this run, it was impossible and overwhelming, it was a thorn in my side and something I was more than reluctant to want to do. My end goal: being stronger, getting down to "One"derland was WORTH facing this run today... and it turned out to be one of the most positive and empowering experiences of my life. Did I come in last? YEP, DEADLAST, do I care? Not even a little bit!!! I faced and impossibility and proved that it is POSSIBLE! If I can do this, ANYONE can do this! You've just got to find your motivation! Make today an awesome day!!!

5K, 10K, 227, OH MY!

A lot has gone on since last I posted. I've been working out and really accomplished some major goals. I have not been eating my best, and I do need to work on that and start being more deliberate about when and what I eat. Don't worry, I haven't gone overboard, and I am not overeating, just not always making the wisest choices. All that said, let me share with you what has been happening in my life. One of my closest friends emailed me a while ago asking if I wanted to do the Disney Halloween 5K on October 1 of this year. A trip to Disney very much excited me. However, I couldn't see that happening. BUT, I told her, sure, I'd love to do it. Somehow the trip came to fruition! On September 28, at 4:40 a.m. we loaded up her car and drove to Disney (straight, 12 hours -- well more like 10.5 with her driving, heehee)! Our first night there, we took it pretty easy. We headed to Downtown Disney, enjoyed some dinner at Earl of Sandwich and walked around looking in stores and checking out what was new. We woke up on Friday morning with a plan. We were going to Animal Kingdom. Here in lies one of my first of many MILESTONES! Once in the park, Sarah told me we were going to ride Everest first. Everest is a roller coaster. I cannot tell you when last I rode a roller coaster. I do believe it was before any of my children were born, which means, it would have been before 2002 -- that means it must have been 10 years ago. Why hadn't I ridden a roller coaster ride in all that time... well several reasons: I was pregnant a lot from 2001-2010, I was watching the babies so others could ride the rides, but the most significant reasons was that one of the last roller coasters I'd ridden, they had to give me a seatbelt extender... and I was MORTIFIED! I never wanted to ride a roller coaster ride again, not to mention my fat was always wedged into the roller coaster seats and it was very uncomfortable. SO, we headed to Everest and I was a nervous wreck. What if the seats were still too small? What if I still needed an extender? Was I going to be embarrassed? Low and behold, I fit in my seat beside Sarah, the lap bar did not squish my fat over the bar, no extenders were needed. I was riding a roller coaster like any NORMAL person! And that ride was thrilling.I had forgotten how much I love roller coasters. That ride was a release for me. What an amazing milestone to reach! After that, we went to ride the Safari... my absolute favorite part of Animal Kingdom. I just love riding where the wild animals are. They are so beautiful and such a great reminder of God's creation. As we are in line for this, one of the cast members leans over and tells us that another line is open, so we go where she motions and I look up and see this handsome and familiar looking face. I look at Sarah and say, "Hey, I think that is Joey Fatone!" She says, "I don't know who the hell that is!" So, I try to explain he was in a boy band and told her to just LOOK at him because she DOES know who he is. She looked closer and said, "Oh yes he looks familiar, is he in 98 degrees or something." Well, my mind went blank and I could not remember N'Sync so I said, "No, he's with Justin TImberlake." Meanwhile, they are standing right there, and I'm sure they sensed what was going on. I did not say HI or anything at that point. I was a little star struck (which has only really happened once before, when I was going to meet Harry Connick, Jr. and I chickened out!). So we went on our safari and saw the animals (but only 1 elephant, which made me a little sad). Then we decided, the Nemo Show was up next. It's like a Broadway production. So amazing! As we are in line, they happen by again (Joey Fatone and his entourage). Sarah notices a tattoo of RENT on his calf, and I was like "OMG, he was in RENT on Broadway! It REALLY is HIM!" Again, star struck. So I finally look at her and say, "I'm totally kicking myself for not saying HI. How dumb! But he's with his family and that's just rude. BUT man, why didn't I just say HI?" By this point Sarah is just rolling her eyes at me. We watch a brilliant performance of Nemo and head out of the theater, where Sarah says, "Hey, there's your boyfriend!" And sure enough, they had just emerged from the show as well. She said, "Stand over here and I'll take your picture and he'll be in the background." I thought, THIS is brilliant, then I can tell everyone I saw him, and they'll have picture proof, but I won't have to interrupt him with his family. So, as Sarah is taking the picture, I get tapped on the shoulder. A woman says, "If you just ask him, he'll take his picture with you, and it will be better than this one." This woman was in his entourage, not sure if it was his wife or a family member, but she was really sweet. I said, "Are you sure?" and she said, "Just ask him!" So, I turned around and asked him if I could get a picture "real quick" and he said, "Sure, real quick" and I apologized for taking him away from his family. And I felt like a moron, but was thrilled to have the picture! He was very sweet about it. I thanked him, and then thanked his family member. WooHoo!

The rest of Friday we spent at the ESPN Runners Expo and then at Epcot for Wine & Dine. The runner's expo was AWESOME! So many great vendors. I got my queen of hearts "Sweaty Band" and I love it! We got a free sample of Oikos greek yogurt, and it was delicious as far as yogurt goes. We got shot blocks and running gels. Sarah got new inserts for her shoes. And then it was time to eat our way through the countries of Epcot. We started in Canada. Then I hit the Caribbean, followed up by Mexico! Once our tummies were full and satisfied, we went on back to our room and got to bed so we'd be ready for our early morning wake up call. At 5 a.m. after a few hits of the snooze on the alarm, we were up and ready to go. We got our gear on, and rolled out by 6 a.m. to Animal Kingdom, where we lined up for the race. There were a few glitches for the run, ie: we should have signed up for a faster pace. We were surrounded by walkers which made it difficult to get our running pace established, having to bob and weave between these walkers, who were not polite enough to keep to the sides of the course, as was suggested by Disney. Then there was a bottle neck on the course, which slowed everyone down to walk. This was a huge frustration to me, because I was needing to hit my pace and get comfortable to settle in for the long haul. As soon as we got through the bottle neck, then it was a HILL up into the park. I thought I was never going to hit my pace. Finally, at that point, things thinned out somewhat and I was able to get my stride. At about 2 miles, I was feeling good and thinking, "Wow, I'm half way in, I can do this!" It was only when I got back out of the park and realized I was at 3 miles, that it hit me, "This race is almost over, KICK IT UP A NOTCH!" and I did. I sprinted the last .1 of the race across the finish line with a smile on my face. My first running race was done and I had completed it without walking (other than the forced walk through the bottleneck).

After coming home from this awesome experience, I started hearing more and more about this AmFam/CHoR 10K that was coming up on October 8. I thought, hmmm... maybe I should give it a shot. I knew I was slated to run 6 miles with my Mother Runners group and I thought, why not run 6.2 for charity instead!?! So, I called on my Sarah and she was willing to try it with me. We started out at the back of the pack (on purpose) and we did our slow jog (Sarah's being faster than mine, so she'd come back for me or slow down ever so often), we made it through mile three and that is when the BIG HILL was before us. We started up this hill and next thing I know, Sarah is in PAIN, I knew something was wrong, instantly, by the look of terror on her face. I kept running, and she kept moving up that hill. I ran to a lady on the path and said, My friend is back there and is injured can you help her... so she took off and I kept running. About 4 miles in, I was feeling SO guilty for leaving Sarah. I made a deal with myself, run to the finish and then come back and walk her in! I got to mile 5, and I thought...I can't do this any more, I'm going to have to start walking... there is no chance I can make it to the finish running. No chance. That is when I recognized that I was experience self defeat. I changed my inner dialogue right then! I prayed to God, give me wings so I can cross that finish line! I told myself, "People run 26.2 miles EVERY day, you are only doing 6.2, YOU'VE GOT THIS!" I begged myself not to give up, that it was just a little bit further. I turned a corner and saw a police officer, I said, "Are we close?" She said, "Yes, just around the corner, you're almost there!" I flashed back to Sarah, and I was worried, but I kept moving forward. I rounded another corner... NO BALLOONS, NO MUSIC... I thought I was going to die. I kept concentrating on the woman power walking in front of me. "I CAN, I WILL!" I channeled my inner Rachel (running coach). I prayed a little more. I rounded another corner, this time I saw a guy with a sign, the sign said .1 -- I WAS ALMOST THERE! My legs were not happy. They wanted to give up. My run was falling apart, it was a snail's pace, but I refused to just walk to the finish. I rounded the last corner and God sent my wings -- my pace picked up and I heard this sweet little voice, "Mommy!" and I looked and it was my Maegan, and I said, "Come run me across the finish line!" Next thing I knew, Maegan, Mia and Wils were with me, I crossed the finish line with Wils in front and Maegan and Mia holding my hands. It was the PERFECT finish! Sarah was strolling Cait on the median and was standing with my friend Mike and Matt was at the finish line video taping the big finish. I was never so happy to see Sarah. I looked at Matt and said, "That is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life." Then, "I think I'm going to throw up! I need to keep walking." So Sarah walked with me and helped me cool down. I saw a little boy with an orange and I said, "I have to have that!" Sarah got me an orange slice and some water. We walked to where the kids were playing in a bounce house and suddenly, I thought I was going to pass out. I said, I have to lay down, NOW. So I did. I dropped right where I was, into the grass, shut my eyes and continued to talk to my friends/family. Once I reopened my eyes, I decided to stretch my legs, and that helped a lot. I laid there a few more minutes, while Sarah got looked at by the paramedics. They tied an ice pack to her leg. Shortly after that we left. I was still pretty sick when I came home, so I hopped in the shower and then got in bed and rested for about 45 minutes. The rest of the day, I was riding a high and feeling VERY accomplished. SO now you've heard about my 5K and my 10K, so what's this 227??? Well, that would be what my Wii indicated when I weighed on it this week! 227 -- remember, I started at 288! That means I've lost 261 lbs! This is HUGE for me! Many milestones have been had in the past 2 weeks. Now that the holidays are coming up, I am REALLY going to have to stay focused and keep going! Please cheer me on and encourage me to make it to the end of the year. It would be so nice to ring in the new year at 199.5 or better! Right now, however, I'm celebrating my 227!!!

Wiggle Room

Last week, I won tickets to Disney On Ice. I took my 2nd daughter and my best friend and her daughter. It was a mess as our tickets were not at Will Call when we got there. But to make a long story short, we got in. I had not been to a show at the Coliseum since last December.

We found our seats and even though we missed the beginning of the show, we were happy to be there. As I sat there, after a while I suddenly realized, I fit in my seat. Well, I've always "fit" in my seat, but never comfortably. The arms of the chairs used to cut into my hips as I sat. I could never get my legs comfortable. This experience was totally different. I sat there, and actually had wiggle room. I had room to put my hands on either side of me, in the seat! It was an amazing feeling. I cannot remember the last time I comfortably sat in those seats, maybe at the circus in middle school.

Just another way my journey has positively impacted my life.

Biggest Loser

A new season of Biggest Loser started last night. It was great. I shed tears. I really connected with "Becky" mom of 4, 238 lbs. At the beginning of the week, she got a phone call in the middle of the night. Her husband called to tell her that her father had passed away. He was suffering Congestive Heart Failure, he was also a diabetic. How I relate to Becky: I am the mom of 4 (3 girls 1 boy), I ended my last session of Body Back at 238 lbs. My father is a diabetic who has suffered from congestive heart failure, but praise God, I still have my dad in my daily life. Her story just struck me. I loved how when she learned about her father's passing, she did not immediately break down and raid a fridge... instead, she got up and went to the gym and worked out her frustrations. She was dedicated to making a change in her life. She used this awful news to inspire her and energize her. And while everyone else stayed on the ranch, she went home to be with her family for a short time. She came back for weigh in, and bless her heart, that first week, she lost 10 lbs! I was so proud of her.

Hearing all of their stories, I UNDERSTAND where they are, how they got there and how difficult it is to let go of everything we hold on to. How difficult it is to STOP letting others define who we are, I get it! As my friend, Jenny, says, you've got to find your "AWESOME." Get it back and don't let go! We have to stop letting other steal our Awesome! We are beautifully made, hand sculpted to be who we are.

I look at my body, and I'm sad at what I've done to it. This body was a gift and for far too long, I didn't appreciate that gift. I didn't care for the gift properly. I mistreated my gift. I abused my gift. I let others define my gift as something less than desirable. Through my journey, I'm rediscovering this gift. I have a new view of this gift. A renewed passion to care for this gift. I don't believe that God gives us anything that HE knows we can't take care of... however, it is up to us and our free will to do with the gift as we want. When I stopped to remember that my body is a gift created for me specifically and according to His plans for me, I realized just how much I've mistreated my gift. I want this body to glorify God. I want this body to be all that HE destined for it to be. Yes, I will have saggy arms, but that is my consequence for misusing my gift. That doesn't mean I should stop caring. He gave me 2 legs... 2 working legs -- if I just sit all the time and never use those legs, then what is the purpose of having legs? I'm neglecting the gift. He gave me 2 working arms. I think of Shylar, my sweet little cousin, with her 1 arm. She was born that way. Does she let having 1 arm hold her back from anything? NO WAY! Should I make excuses for not doing things when I have 2 arms? NO WAY! If a child with 1 arm doesn't let her 1 arm limit her, then why should I with 2 arms put up limitations for myself? I am SO blessed to have this body. I need to care for it like the gift it is!

I had to do an interview this week for a special project at church. The topic was FEAR of FAILING and what gives us the courage to face that fear. My point of view was from the weight loss aspect. I started putting my weight on in 2nd grade. I've almost never known life without obesity. As a preschooler, I was a model. I thought highly of myself. I even said, I'd never get fat like my sister. -- yes, I said those horrible words. I said them in front of a family member, who has never let me live down the fact that I did in fact get fat, fatter than my sister has ever been in her life. This family member has made it her mission, to tell people what I said when I was 4. It is often the topic of conversation when this person meets new friends of mine. For far too long I let this define me. Of course, throughout my life, I've tried losing weight. I've tried and I've failed, usually through negative self talk and allowing other's opinions of me to define me and my self worth. Having tried and failed so many times, I became fearful of failing, so fearful it would keep me from even trying.

When I started my journey with Body Back, my biggest fear was not seeing results. My next biggest fear was seeing results and getting complacent and lazy thinking "I've got this." What has given me courage to continue has been my faith and my realization that this body is only a gift. Knowing that God created me and can sustain me. Knowing that He intended this body to be a healthy place for my soul to dwell in. When I am feeling weak, I look back at where I started on March 1 at 288 lbs. I look at that picture. I'm smiling in that picture. I don't look miserable at all, but I don't look truly happy either. I almost look like I'm suffocating, but OK with it. Then I look at where I was 8 weeks later, thinner, standing taller... so on and so forth, until I get to my current picture. And I see JOY on my face. I'm not near my goal yet, but I am filled with JOY as I have come so far. I have learned so much.

My fears are still very much a part of me. I am great a sabotaging myself. I need no help. I can really talk myself into some trouble. It's just that now, when the fear creeps up, when I start making poor decisions related to my overall health -- I now can bring myself back around. I have become equipped with the tools to ask God for help. I've got support in place to keep me motivated. The fear will always be there, but I don't ever have to succumb to the fear. I am wonderfully made, by a Creator who gives me the strength I need to be all that He created me to be. I'm so thankful for the HOPE I have in HIM!

Today was a weigh in day. I went in with NO fear. I knew that I was going to have a success today. I started this session at 234.5 and today I weighed in at 232.5. More exciting than anything is that I can say now, I have LESS than 100 lbs. to lose in order to reach my overall goal! I only have 33 to lose to reach ONEderland!!!

Have a successful day and remember that YOU are AWESOME! Don't let anyone tell you any differently! xoxo

I did not fall off the face of the earth!

OK, I know it has been a while since I posted, and this post will be brief, but you never know, I could post again later today! Life has been so busy!!! Body Back started, then school started, then preschool started, I'm working on The Congenital Heart Walk Central VA 2011 and I'm about to leave for Disney to do my very first running race! See, BUSY!

Body Back is going great so far. VERY tough, but I feel it is working. My clothes are beginning to get looser and it looks like I may be down a size by Halloween!!! Won't that be awesome!? I'll answer that, YES!

I've been continuing training for the 8k, though I may not actually run the Richmond race. I do still plan to do the VA Beach race in March, however. Speaking of training. I'm about to head out the door for Mother Runner Training Team. I'm quite intimidated and nervous about this run. It will be my furthest run yet, and it is pretty chilly outside. So, if you are reading this between 7 & 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, then please say a little prayer for me!

Time for me to get ready and go! Have a great weekend!

Assessment Update

Weight: 234.5
Inches: I did not pay attention!!! Sorry.
BUT, what that 234.5 means is that I am now down 54 lbs from where I started on March 1!!! THAT is super exciting. We did not run today, due to the weather. We should run our 1/2 on Thursday. I'll post again on Thursday with my goals and with my run time. Looking forward to this new session! Hoping to drop between 10-15 lbs before my brother in laws wedding in October. That's a tall order, but if I work hard and do what I am supposed to, I can make it happen!

Today is a big day!

Not only does school start today, but I'm back to class myself... BODY BACK CLASS!!! Looking forward to it. Can't wait to see what I can sculpt this go round! 15 lbs. goal this go round. With all the traveling I'll be doing, that is sure to be a challenge, but I'm up for it! :) Must stay focused!

I will be back and let you know my starting weight for this session and my assessment results. Stay tuned...

Friday and a long weekend!

Got up this morning and ran with Kim Hughes. Always such a treat to run with Kim because we can find so much to talk about. The talking through the run makes the run go so quickly. When I first started the run this morning, I was not feeling it. I was thinking, maybe we should only do 2 miles instead of 3. I just wasn't interested in doing more. Before I knew it, we were back to where we had started and we'd run all 3 miles we intended to run. That is such a great feeling. We kept it a nice easy pace for both of us.

Today's run, while shorter, was actually harder than the 4 miles we did yesterday. It turns out 10 degrees and high humidity makes a HUGE difference in how you run! This morning, the air was thick and heavy. Yesterday, the air was light and crisp. HUGE difference in the two days, and thus a huge difference on the run.

I got two new running shirts last night. I got my fall/winter jacket type pullover as one of my shirts. It is white w/ reflective material. I love it! And I got a new pink short sleeve tech shirt. It is SUPER bright, so that I hope drivers can see me now when I run. I need to find running tights for when the weather begins to turn cold. I have a favorite kind of sock. I got them at Target, and now I hate running in any other kind of sock. I must find more of these awesome socks!

I'm very interested in making BETTER quality exercise clothing for "plus size" figures. I know that I can now wear exercise clothing from big name brands, but prior to losing 52 lbs. I could hardly find any good workout clothing. Everything was cotton. Dry wicking was non-existent. Forget about compression leggings/capris. AND, everything was frumpy/dumpy. I've googled like a mad woman, and cannot find quality "plus size" workout clothing. I know how I felt when I started, I felt defeated, fat, ugly and sweaty. Have good quality, good feeling clothing to workout in, makes me more excited to workout. So, I'm determined to find a company to work with to develop a line of clothing geared to the women who have 100+ to lose, who are serious about their weight loss and who want to feel good while they are working out. I'm passionate about this! I have to figure out how to make it happen.

Four Miles and an Aftershock

This morning, I got up at 4:50 to get ready for my run. I did everything I normally do, and then I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a water and ran out the door. I was a little bit early, but that was OK for me, I didn't mind being early. I got in my car and headed to the meeting spot for the run, to meet with Kim. Apparently, in my running around and getting in the car, we experienced a 3.4 aftershock. Not terrible, but it would have been noticeable, had I not been in my zone, focused on my impending run. The aftershock did not rouse anyone in our house. I didn't even know about it until I got back in my car after the run. I turned on the radio, and they were talking about the aftershock and where everyone was when it happened. I realized then, that it was probably as I was getting into my car to leave the house, and thus, why I didn't notice it. I called my mom to check in. She said she slept through it. I called my sister, and she said, at first it sounded like big rain drops, but then she realized it wasn't raining and it was actually her house rattling. Her alarm had gone off just minutes before her house shook.

These aftershocks are the follow up quakes to the original quake, which was a 5.8/5.9 quake from last week. So far the strongest aftershock has been a 4.5 and that one woke me up. I was pretty sure it was an aftershock, but Matthew said it was a train. Only I never heard a train whistle, so I knew better.These aftershocks can go on for quite some time, so I am told.

I hoped on my Wii this morning before my run. I weighed in and am holding steady at 236 -- that means I've lost 2 lbs. since Body Back ended AND I did not gain anything while on vacation. Hot Diggity! I have 36.5 lbs to lose by New Years. I don't know if it is possible, but I am SURE going to give it my best shot! :)

My run with Kim this morning was a nice easy 14:45 pace. We ran for 4 miles. It was a glorious morning. My knee had been bothering me, but not during my run (thank goodness). So this week, I've done two 3 mile runs and a 4 mile run. I'm pretty pleased with training! Training this week called for two 2 mile runs, a 3 mile run and then a 3.5 mile run. So, at some point, I have another half mile I need to squeeze in, if I don't make it to the 3.5 mile run on Saturday.

My Disney 5K is one month from today. I am very much looking forward to this event and running it with my sorority sister, possibly 2 of them. I think I am ready. Now to maintain and make sure I don't get hurt between now and then!

Earthquakes, Hurricanes and Fires... OH MY!

It is never a dull moment in Virginia! Vacation was wonderful and we were welcomed home by smokey air, an earthquake and Hurricane Irene! I am keeping on with my running and healthy eating. I am missing Body Back classes, and am ready to get back to it!

Hurricane Irene left our family without power. We are on day 3 of no power, headed into day 4. We have been staying with my sister since Sunday. She and my parents both have power, so we can get hot meals and showers and do laundry!

Today I ran my three miles on my own, in the dark! It was a little bit intimidating, but I did it! 3+ miles and then a 1/4 cool down walk, followed by stretches. I felt good afterward. I'm trying to get up to running a comfortable 4, and I think I'm getting close to being able to do that. Getting up there will allow me to get faster in my 5K! I look forward to being faster, but most all, I just enjoy running. I never believed those words would be a part of my life! HA! Funny how life changes.

I need to post my after pictures from this past Body Back class. The difference is amazing... running is changing the shape of my body. Body Back is sculpting my shoulders and chest and back, and running is sculpting my legs. I'm just amazed at the difference in my definition. I still have a very long ways to go (just around 100 lbs)... but from where I started, I am well pleased with the results.

OK, I must get ready for bed. I am going to attempt to make it to a drop in Body Back class in the morning. I just wanted to check in, so that you know I am STILL on my journey and not giving up, even through the craziness that life throws at us. I'm loving the changes. Lord knows, I already feel so much better!

We are feeling so blessed to only have our power out. Our friends had a tree drop through their sunroom and continue on to crush their SUV in the driveway, beside the sunroom. I cannot imagine.

Heading Out!

This could be my last post for a week... just wanted to give a heads up. I mean you never know, I could post next week. We'll see! Heading out for a 2-3 mile run with a friend. Then it's breakfast with Spiderman at the Children's Museum... never a dull moment! ;)

8 Week Assessments! June 21- August 11

Today, after 8 weeks of working hard, we had our assessments! Of course, my alarm did not go off (It was user error, of that I am certain!). I woke up and saw light, and I KNEW something was amiss! I grabbed my phone, and it said 5:49 --- WHAT????!!!! I set the alarm for 4:50, so unless that alarm went off and I never heard it, then I guess I set it incorrectly! I jumped up, ran to the bathroom, threw on clothes, brushed my teeth and put on deodorant... no time for fixing hair... just had to GO! Jumped in the car and drove (carefully and not recklessly) straight to the TreeHouse. Thankfully, people were still weighing in and they'd not started assessments by the time I rolled in (without my shoes and socks on).

I weighed in, and dag if that mean old scale didn't say I'd gained 1 lb. since Tuesday! HUH??!! It did not matter, I was still down to my goal! I lost the 15 lbs needed to take me to a total of 50 lbs. lost since March 1!!! Super exciting! My goal was to lose 50 by vacation, and by golly, I DID IT!!! I'm going on vacation a full 50 lbs. lighter! Amazing.

After weigh in, Alex took our measurements. What a difference 8 weeks makes. My chest dropped 3 inches. My waist dropped 3.5 inches, my hips 2 inches and my thighs 2 inches! My goal was to lose 1 inch in my thighs this 8 weeks. I did that PLUS! A total of 10.5 inches lost this session!!! I'd say, so far, WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

Then came assessments... This was frustrating for me. I did not hold my plank for 1:30 like I'd so hoped to do. However, my side plank, I held for longer than I thought was possible for me! My situps improved by 2, my pushups by 5. My squats did not improve... I was doing them too slowly I think, but I was trying to do them perfectly. My bicep curls did not go so well, not awful, just not where I wanted them to be. BUT, then comes the biggie -- Our 1/2 mile run. At the beginning of this class, my 1/2 mile run was 6:10. Throughout the session, we ran the 1/2 a couple of times. I brought it to a 5:48, then to a 5:32. My hope today was to bring it to a 5:30. When I crossed the finish line (and I sprinted at the end... I'll quote Annette "Lisa, I can't catch up to you!" -- she'd had already finished and came back to run me in when I suddenly burst forth with my sprint.) -- as I was saying, when I crossed the finish line, I was panting and grasping for air and all I wanted to do was lay down. My time for this 1/2 mile was 5:18!!!!!! Unbelievable.

Now, you know, we are running with others. The others in my class (the majority) run this 1/2 in under 5 -- as in some of them run it in under 3:30!!! So, I have to remember that I am not competing against their time. I am competing against MY previous times. So, while I want to be as fast as they are... I'm just proud of myself for being faster than my last time. And when you look at where I started in March... my 1/2 mile was 7:43 -- 5.5 months later, to have a time of 5:18 -- I cannot complain. Now, I do have to say, my goal for the next 8 weeks, is to shave that 18 seconds OFF of my time. I can! I WILL!!!

Over all after 3 sessions:
Start on March 1: 288 lbs
Finish on August 11: 238 lbs.

1st session-
-18.5 lbs
2nd session-
-16.5 lbs
3rd session-
-15 lbs
Total: -50 lbs

Inches-
1st session-
-8 inches
2nd session-
-9 inches
3rd session-
-10.5 inches
Total: -27.5 inches

The Good Things

Sometimes I think, and I am guilty of this myself, that people think you have to give up all the good things in your life in order to lose weight. Give up all the good foods. It is not about deprivation at all. It is not about starvation. It's about moderation. Oh yes, I know... blah blah blah -- "Everything in moderation." I've heard it all before. Only, every time I'd heard it before, I wasn't in a place to accept it. I wasn't in a place to believe it. I wasn't ready to learn moderation. Moderation takes active thought and participation.

I'm going to tell you the BIGGEST secret to my recent success. FOOD JOURNALING. It's as simple as writing down everything you eat. Can you cheat and not write things down? Well, sure you can! But, how will that help you? Do you really want to see a difference? If the answer is yes, then start journaling. Remember this quote the next time you want to just skip writing something in your journal: "If you cheat, you are only cheating yourself." -- My friend Laura told me that, back when I first started Body Back in March. Those words have stuck with me these past 5.5 months. Journaling has been a key factor in my success. When I'm struggling, I can usually pinpoint where my problem is in my food journal, and make an adjustment.

OK, so now you are journaling, and you see that you are eating some foods a lot and other foods not nearly enough. Start switching it up... you don't have to make a drastic change over night, you just have to be willing to start making a change. For breakfast you are eating waffles and syrup. Switch it up, eat 1 waffle (fiber plus if you can) and put a tbsp. of a natural nut butter on it... Yum! And then on the side, have a boiled egg and a piece of fruit... You will be full, I promise. Now take a look at your morning snack -- is it yogurt? Yoplait? try Chiobani instead!!! (Greek yogurt has more nutrition!) -- I hate yogurt, so this is not easy for me. I'd rather have a lite english muffin with tomato and pepper jack cheese, melted under the broiler -- can't do that at work? Grab an Emerald Nuts 100 calorie pack of walnuts & almonds, eat with an apricot or some raisins. OK, so you forgot lunch and you step out to McDonalds -- would have been just as easy to go to Subway? Or even Taco Bell? -- Instead of a Cheeseburger and Fries, why not 2 chicken fresco tacos from Taco Bell? -- Bringing lunch from home? Try making a caprese salad and a turkey wrap on whole wheat tortilla with hummus rather than mayo! -- afternoon snack grab some cut up carrots and celery ... make dip from greek yogurt, dill and cucumber (or whatever you think might taste good) just limit the dip to 2 table spoons. For dinner, fix a yummy salad using baby spinach and feta, go easy on the dressing (tip: put dressing on the side, dip your fork in it before taking a bite of salad) -- serve with grilled chicken or fish and some steamed veggies of your choice. -- You'll find that you are satisfied all day long, and you actually enjoy these foods. It will take away the craving for constant sugar throughout the day. Then when you are at a party or out with friends, if you want a special dessert, you can indulge, but split it with a friend. Eat it slowly and purposefully, because that will be more satisfying. You will feel satisfied without feeling guilty or over stuffed!

Another secret that works... MEAL PLANNING -- Plan ahead for your week, shop according to your plan, and allow for substitutions and spur of the moment changes. If you know you have a party coming up, then plan for it! Going on vacation? Figure out where you are eating PRIOR to your trip. Research their menus and pick the best options. I'm living proof that this works!

Try to get the processed foods out of your house. If you don't have them to reach for when you are hungry, then you'll choose better options! Limit alcohol. It's empty calories and can make you eat MORE! Be sure to drink your water. Learn to eat in the calorie range that is right for your body and goals. My Fitness Pal (.com) is a GREAT tool for helping with all of this.

So, don't give up the good things. Just learn how to manage them in a healthy way. And enjoy them when you have them. Take time to savor. As I always say, "If it doesn't have flavor or taste good, I won't stick to it!"

A look back...

So today, I got a message from my mom on FaceBook. The "conversation" as FB refers to it, showed an excerpt from earlier messages -- this is what I read:

"Just thinking about some hurtful things that were said to me on the school bus, and it was of course about my weight... anyway, with raising Maegan, I know I need to be setting the example for her for leading a healthy life, and sometimes I let the words of these girls echo in my head and then I get that defeated feeling, and I need to break the cycle... it's the same with the way Grandma treats me -- I need to learn how to get past those words and not let them effect me. I just really want to help Maegan never be fat so she won't have to experience those hurtful things that "Mean Girls" do ... ya know?"

I wrote that to my mom in November of 2010 -- well before I started Body Back. You see, my decision to start Body Back was being made even back then, only I didn't know it! I was struggling with letting go and moving forward and getting healthy to be a role model for my children.

Here I am 9 months later and 47 lbs. lighter and running a mile in under 14 minutes. I'm amazed at how far I have come. I'm happy that I have such supportive friends family that help me get here and remind me to keep going, but to take it one step at a time. I am beyond happy that I have made these changes in my life! From 288+ down to 241 since March 1 -- I've lost more than my son weighs (just 10 lbs. less than what my oldest child weighs). I just hope that my kids are comprehending these changes and applying the healthy habits to their own life.

On a side note: My run today was a difficult 3 miles. Difficult only because I was pushing myself to run faster. That's why I opted for the shorter 3 miles rather than the longer 4. Running 3 comfortably is no problem now, today I needed to get out of my comfort zone and work on picking up my speed. If I were to run 4, I would not have been able to maintain the increase in speed. So, I ran harder, and Kay and Angie pushed me to finish hard -- and I did. I finished my 3 miles in under 45 minutes! In all actuality, I finished at a pace under 14 minutes! -- Part of our run was a little eventful. As we rounded a corner (using the sidewalk rather than the road), we got back down on the road for the home stretch of our run, when a car came barreling toward us. We both had to jump out of the way. We don't believe the woman ever saw us, even though there was plenty of day light and I'm not really an easy target to miss. Angie had on a tomato red top, so we were clearly visible. I think someone needs to find that woman and start a caffeine IV STAT! She had to have been half asleep or not paying attention... I seriously hope she didn't do it on purpose! She scared the mess out of me. Maybe even shaved a couple of years off my life.

The reason why I am attempting to improve my speed, is that I am running the Disney Halloween 5K in October. We have to have a pace better than 16 minutes/mile. I'm trying to get my time closer to the 13 minutes/mile range, so I can feel good and strong about my race.

It's Wednesday, and I'm taking the kids to swim with my cousin this afternoon, so I'd better get busy getting prepared!

Three pounds to goal!

Body Back was awesome this morning. Notice, I did not say EASY... because, it wasn't! We worked hard. I did my 1/2 mile in 5:32!!! Can you believe that??? I can't! :) My goal for next Thursday is to get it under 5:30! I've done great with my goals this session, I blew away my run three miles goal. I think I've hit my 1 inch lost in the thighs. And now I'm just 3.5 lbs from my goal of losing 50 lbs. 3.5 is a lot to lose in 1.5 weeks, but I will give it my all!

I am so thankful to be where I am in my life right now. Now just to get my house ready to sell, and then to build our new home... I'm so ready to be settled in our new home with our children and having a space for everything and a little office area for me and my Children's Heart Foundation work. Body Back has been such a great experience for me. I love how it has helped me in other areas of my life.

One thing I am REALLY looking forward to right now is the Disney Halloween 5K! My friend, Sarah, and I are going to run this, while our husbands cheer us on from the sidelines! As soon as I get childcare all worked out, then the trip will be set in stone! I can hardly wait! I've got the 3 miles down pat. Now I just need to learn to speed up! I'd love to run this at a 14 minute mile pace or better.

It's TUESDAY and time to get the kids off to VBS Extreme Days! Have a great one!

Monday Monday...

It was a muggy one out there! I was late for my run this morning by 6 minutes! I got up at 4:50 to get ready, but I wanted to weigh first. the Wiimotes were not apparently in the mood to cooperate. So, I woke Matt up (which he was actually laying there with his eyes open, and normally I don't think he even hears when I get up and leave) and asked for his help. He got it to work at 5:15 (when I normally leave) but I was determined to weigh PRIOR to my run. (I do this to keep myself in the know, not wanting to lose sight of my goals and I weigh 1 time per day about 4 days per week, always around 5 am.)

Today I ran with Angie, Angel and Stefanie. We have a great little group and we run well together. I always bring up the rear, but someone is always willing to run with me, which I appreciate. Today we dropped Stefanie off at 3 miles, and then we carried on for 1 extra. Four miles is a great run. I'm tired afterward, but I feel good. Working my way up to that 5! I'll get there. I enjoy running with girls training for the 1/2 marathon, because it will help me go farther so that my 8K will not seem like such a daunting task. I am hoping that by the 8K, I'll be running 5-6 miles per run. (apx. 15-18 miles per week)

I truly never knew that I'd enjoy running. My best friend can vouch that I have NEVER in my life enjoyed running and have always said that I'd never run unless someone was chasing me! My whole attitude has adjusted and now I don't enjoy short runs at all, but would much rather run 2+ miles at one time. My legs are so tight on a short run or a sprint, but on the long run my legs warm up and then it is just about maintaining and keeping moving, and not about the discomfort, because on the longer runs, I tend not to feel the discomfort except in the very beginning and then again when my legs begin to fatigue. I wish I could describe it so that non-runners could understand it. I'm not a fast runner by any means, and most people would call me a slogger (slow jogger) -- but the fact is, I am out there, and I am moving and I am burning calories and I am enjoying myself.

I must say, the company I keep on my runs helps make it fun. Angel and I can tell each other anything, and we do. That can provide endless laughs. Then there is Stefanie, I don't know that I've ever met a sweeter and more genuine person. Running with her is like running with a best friend, you know she's there for you and happy to be there with you. And then Angie! She's an inspiration. She never stops going, she doesn't give up and she gives you the courage to keep plugging. She is so encouraging and has a smile on her face almost 100% of the time. The four of us make running look fun, because we all smile while we run. Why do we smile? Some days I smile because if I don't, I think I may not make it through the first mile. Those are days when I'm tired from not enough sleep, or grumpy because something in my life isn't going my way. Some days I smile because I'm just so glad to be out in God's world, enjoying his creation with wonderful friends at my side. We smile because we enjoy our run and we enjoy sharing our lives with each other. We smile because we are doing something wonderful for our bodies. There isn't much for us NOT to smile about! Besides that, all three of the girls I run with have wicked senses of humor, which helps keep me laughing and smiling and enjoying my time!

Shameless plug: OK, today I was DYING for a SweatyBand! I'm telling you... I sweat like a piggy, especially in the humidity. My poor eyes just sting with sweat throughout the run. A SweatyBand would have been a perfect accessory for today's run! Looking forward to receiving my first one in the mail, SOON!

Super Excited

SweatyBands just donated a 2 pack of bands for our Congenital Heart Walk silent auction! I'm beyond stoked!!! This is a company I'm proud to stand behind!

Saturday is not a rest day any longer!

Today, I got up at 5 and drove up to LadySmith Village. I met up with my girl friend, Sarah, and we went for a morning run. It was nasty humid, but not too hot, yet. We got in a good 2.75 + miles. LadySmith Village is a hilly place, and we left the neighborhood and ran up to the Elementary School... which is off of a GRAVEL road! The majority of our run was on this hilly gravel road. WOW! BUT, we did it and we had an awesome time! We are both interested in running the Disney Halloween 5K -- it's during the Disney Wine & Dine Race Weekend. It sounds incredibly fun. We would be running through Animal Kingdom... Awesomeness!

While running, sweat just kept dripping into my eyes, and while stretching it was even worse! Sarah showed me her headband that she was wearing. It's called a "SweatyBand" -- it is the cutest sweat band I've ever seen! She gave me the bag that it came in (that had the logo and the url) and I immediately came home to check them out! They have a style for every woman! They have skinny ones and fat ones! (I prefer fat ones). I will so be ordering some of these little lovelies! You should read the testimonials. People love them! I love cute workout gear, this is totally added to my list of LIKES!!! I linked them on the side of my blog, so go check them out! and tell them I sent ya! ;)

Have an amazing weekend!

A Bit of Perspective

Just wanted to give a bit of perspective from a fat person point of view -- for those who have never been fat or out of shape.

I should have made this post a VERY long time ago, because it is always on my mind. I always seem to forget to post about it or I just push it to the back of my mind. So here ya go:

A fit thin person, who has always been fit and thin does not understand what a fat or heavy out of shape person feels, thinks and goes through when making their changes. This is NOT a bad thing, it is just that they don't know the perspective from where we are coming. So, I'm going to attempt to relate what it is like -- Let's take a 1/2 mile run. To a thin fit person, they may see that 1/2 mile run as no challenge at all, just something they have to do. (I don't really know, because I've never been a thin fit person) -- but to a fat/heavy (or even a thin) out of shape individual that little 1/2 mile run is a challenge. It is like climbing a mountain. It is something we absolutely do not think we can do, physically. I remember my first 1/2 mile assessment in March. I wanted to cry when I found out we had to run a 1/2 mile and it would be timed. I could only see it as a mountain, an impossible mountain. I ran only part of it, panting the whole way. I was ashamed of myself for finishing last, but happy to finish. Here I am several months later -- the 1/2 mile does not seem nearly as scary. I still finish last, but I improve with each run. Each class we face more challenges. I still think there are things that I mentally cannot wrap my head around how I will physically attempt that challenge. I'm still fat. I still have a lot of weight to haul. It is NOT easy. Is that an excuse for me to give up and not try? NO WAY! It may make me cry because I push myself to the brink or it may make me angry because I can't do it with finesse. It may not be pretty, but I try.

I say all this just to give you a glimpse of how things look from my side. This is not to offer up any excuses, because I no longer believe that being fat is a limitation. Being fat is an invitation to change your life. I've been fat since elementary school. I've had people make fun of me both behind my back and to my face. I've been humiliated because of my weight. My favorite "compliment" -- "You have such a pretty face." They may as well just add the unspoken half of their backhanded compliment that just hangs in the air "if only you weren't so fat!"

This blog is not just to celebrate my successes, which I have to admit, I LOVE doing! This blog is to bring awareness that you can make a change in your life and that being fat doesn't have to define who you are or limit you. Use your "FAT" as your fuel for your change. Get mad, cry, feel the feelings you need to feel, and then make the changes in your life to be a healthier you! Make a challenge to yourself to do something you've never done or never thought you could do. Work towards that goal. Show yourself that you can do anything you put your mind to, even if you are carrying extra weight. It feels like you "can't" do it, but if you work at it enough you CAN do it! That mountain seems impossible and to others that mountain seems like a mole hill. But is it OUR mountain to power over and even if no one else gets it, no one else understands how something so simple could be so tough for us -- just push their thoughts aside and focus on climbing that mountain and making that change, accomplishing that goal for no other reason than to PROVE to yourself that YOU can do it!

For me, I know I can't do it alone and I pull my strength from my Heavenly Father. There are days I don't want to get out of bed, I know that HE is who wakes me and encourages me to face my mountains. He is the one, when I feel like giving up, that sends me that extra burst of energy to get the task done. I can do ALL things through HIM who gives me strength! I hope I never forget it or lose sight of who gives me my strength. I have this body on loan... and I need to take excellent care of it. I have not, in the past, taken care of my body. I had to change my outlook to get where I am today. I had to rethink the purpose of my body. I'm so blessed to have moving working parts of my body, some don't have what I do, and I need to be thankful and use those for His Glory! My mountains that I face will always be there, there is always going to be another challenge that may seem impossible, but I know I can do it, it may take time. It make take repeated efforts, but I can do it! He is in me and He gets me through any challenge, physical or otherwise. THANK YOU, GOD, for being faithful and for giving me the body that you did. Forgive me for not taking care of it in the past. Help me to strive to be the best I can be FOR YOU! Thank you for placing challenges in my way, so that I have no choice but to lean on Your strength.

Face your challenges today and every day, head on and KNOW that you can and will prevail. Never give up!


Oh, and I'm now officially at 243.5 lbs.!!!

Wed. Food Journal

Breakfast
2 Egg white omelet w/ mushrooms, onions, green pepper and garlic, sprinkled with parm. cheese

Snack
Luna Protein Bar (Mint Choc. Chip)
Movie PopCorn (3 cups)

Lunch
Black beans (Bush's low sodium) w/ onions, 2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese, 2 tablespoons homemade fresh salsa (no sodium)

Snack
1/2 banana
1/4 nuts (mixed)

Dinner
Whole Wheat Bagel, 1/3 fat cream cheese, onion, tomato, spinach, 2 slices natural deli turkey
tomato slices, 1oz mozz, fresh basil, drizzle of Kens Healthy Options Italian
1/4 peach (fresh)

Life Happens

Today was one of those "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of days. My sister and nephew decided to camp over at our house last night. My middle daughter spent the night with Gammy & PopPop. I stayed up too late talking with my sister and my husband. I got up and went running this morning with Angel and Michelle. We got in our three miles and I headed straight home. I pulled in the driveway and my phone started ringing. It was mom, she said Mia was asking to go home. I backed out of the drive and headed over to their house to get Mia.

When we got home, everyone was still sleeping. That didn't last long. Soon enough, everyone was awake. I knew I didn't want to be in the house all day, so I had the brilliant idea to go to the movies. We got ready in record time and headed to the theater. Cait was really not thrilled with our plan, but once I got popcorn, she was content.

Following the movies, we returned home and fed everyone. Then we let the kids play while we cleaned my room and then she (sister) took a nap while I read a book. Before we knew it, it was nearly 5 pm and Maegan was standing in the kitchen screaming that her ear was in pain. I realized at this point, I'd forgotten to eat my snack as well as I had omitted 2 items from breakfast unintentionally in my haste to get to the movies earlier. But, I know better than to ignore ear pain. So I called the doctor and piled everyone in the car. I had Matt meet us at the Dr. since my sister had to get my nephew to baseball and couldn't ride with us.

Once Matt arrived, he stayed with the littles while I took Maegs in for her visit. The good news is... NO EAR INFECTION!!! The child just had insane amounts of wax in her ear. They pulled out the wax and then we went on our merry way. We didn't get home until nearly 7 pm and I had to figure out something for dinner. The kids got turkey, peaches, carrots and pretzels (which apparently they don't like these organic 7 grain pretzels I found). I fed Matt leftover pizza, and then I fixed myself a bagel with turkey, cream cheese (lite), spinach, tomato and onion as well as a side of tomatoes, fresh mozz and basil drizzled with a little Italian dressing (High Fructose Corn Syrup FREE).

I was supposed to head out to a Mother Runners social, but I was exhausted by this point and it was already 7:20, it started at 7:30 and I live 20 minutes away. So, instead, I'm preparing my clothes for class tomorrow, putting my kids to bed and then curling up in bed with my new book. Body Back at 6 a.m. tomorrow! I'm ready!

Shoulders...

One last thing. I'm so excited because I can feel my bones in the tops of my shoulders. It's these little things that keep me moving forward. It's these little things that keep me excited. It's these little things that make this hard work worth it. It's these little things that make me feel successful.

Goal reminder for this 8 weeks:
Lose 15 lbs (to make it -50 since March 1)!
Lose 1 inch in my thighs!

Now that I am wearing misses size 18, I know that I'm achieving my goals. I'm being rewarded for my hard work. It makes me not want to give up. It makes me want to work even harder. I want to see just how far I can go!

A cooler morning

It may have been a cooler morning out there today, but the humidity was still high. Thus, our morning workout induced even more sweat than usual. (I'm not complaining, because I hope it means MORE weight loss for me.) At one point, sweat rolled UP my nose!!! Hahahaha, I looked at Angel and told her I just might drown from the sweat.

Today we did surfer girls... WOW, that is NOT an easy exercise, but it is REALLY fun! I wish I could remember how to do them, but my brain literally warped today and I think I lost quite a few brain cells! I just remember being in a plank, popping up onto my feet then doing a squat hop facing to the left and then a 180 squat hop to the right, then popping back down and then out into a plank. Absolutely made you think you could surf! ;) There were many other exercises and we have homework to finish what we started in class. I am hoping the kids will work out with me!

The Wii was kind to me this morning and showed a significant weight loss... praying it wasn't a fluke and that I am on my way to making my goal by week 8! Seriously ready to say "I've lost 50 lbs." and celebrate that loss! HELP ME MAKE MY GOAL, keep me focused and excited!!! :)

Tomorrow I will run in the morning. It's going to be hot, but the results will be so worth it!

Great 3 mile run

It wasn't a fast run, but it was a 3 mile run in the humidity this morning. I ran with Angie and we had a nice time. We were missing Angel, Kim and Stefanie! Hoping Kim had a great morning at Body Back and that Stefanie is enjoying her visit with her sister in NY. Hoping Angel will join me on Wednesday morning for a run. My friend Michelle will be running with me on Wednesday morning, so I will run even though Angie will not be with me.

I truly enjoy the run, even when I don't want to get up in the morning. I'm so glad I DID get up! I'm so glad I DID run. And when my IT Band started nagging at me, I kept going and just made sure to stretch it well, following the run. The stretching really helped it out, it is not hurting at all this evening.

Tomorrow is the beginning of week 6 of Body Back (my third session) -- I hope to make it a great class!

Not a horrible day...

So, yesterday was FILLED with parties and party food. I think I did pretty well considering the offerings. I don't know that I came close to my calorie intake, but I'll do better today!

Had a charity event at BlackFinn last night. What a blast. CornHole is so much fun, and I realize it really isn't a skill game at all. We won 2 rounds lost 2 rounds, but had so much fun! We met some great people and we had some friends out there supporting us. It ended up being a successful event for our charity. Our first deposit into our bank account will be a nice one!

Now I'm hoping for a quiet Sunday. I do hope to get some cardio in at some point today!

A little friendly competition!

This morning was a fun class. We had a little friendly competition with the other 6 am class. It was a twist on the 100s class. We had to race the other team to get through 10 exercises with 100 reps each! The "losers" had to do 100 reps more of an exercise of the other team's choosing. Our team lost (but we fought hard) -- both teams ended up doing the last 100 reps together. Then we did some awesome stretching. I am still so sore from Tuesday's class and today was just as difficult and sweat producing. It was a challenging class and I KNOW I'll be feeling it tomorrow! I'm already feeling it in the right side of my chest.

I'll be journaling my food on the Facebook Group page for our class. I'm glad for this accountability. I need it! I write down my food every single day, so that I can see where I am making poor decisions and work on changing that, but it is nice to have other read it as well! I stopped journaling here, because #1 I thought it might be boring for those following and #2 because I journal every day on My Fitness Pal, I felt it redundant.

Five pounds to get to my 50 goal -- only 3 weeks left of class! I need a boost so I can see these pounds fall away! I may have to stick to the Body Back Recpies/Meal ideas for the next 3 weeks, to make sure I maximize my efforts! I want to go into vacation feeling motivated and excited!!!

Keep me moving in the right direction!

The Injury, day 2!

Day 2... lookin right nice! Still tender to the touch, but no longer feels like a ad sunburn. The shoulder is tender to the touch, but it works just fine! Looks like I will heal up nicely! :) No pain, no gain, right???!!! ;)

Friday, Friday, Friday!!!!!!

You all made it to FRIDAY with me! Friday is my favorite day of the week, because it is KICKBOXING day! I bought my own gloves today! :) Very exciting! Only a few more weeks until I get to break another board! I just love being able to take out all of the stress from the week, on a target, kicking and punching! Nothing better than picturing some one unsavory standing in front of me (aka the target) and then letting loose! MAN, I love it.

Definitely sore today from yesterday, both the graceful face plant I took as well as the dips (leg and tricep) -- my gracious, Alex made us hurt, but didn't let us feel it during class, we just had fun. (Even with a mouthful of dirt and playing a game I don't necessarily enjoy, I STILL had fun.

Today, I was a glutton for punishment! I decided that since Jazzercise is FREE on Friday nights in July, I'd just pop up there for a class! And I did! :) And Laura met me up there (thanks, Laura!) We had a ball shaking our groove thang! I'm not super coordinated, so for me I spent a lot of time laughing at myself... but I worked up a big time sweat. My friend from high school, Katherine Dolan is the instructor, and she was on fire tonight!

After my Jazzercise class, I decided, I MUST have my sushi (I'd already planned it in my food diary for today, so I was hankering) -- I went to Tokyo Sushi and ordered a few rolls to share with my husband and sister. Oh heavens, it's just too yummy! The good thing is, I know when to say when, and I don't add the soy or the wasabi (even though I love both).

This week was an emotionally difficult week for me. A sweet child with CHD passed away at UVA this week while waiting for his heart transplant. I met his mother through facebook, and she is precious! She's a very young, single mom of 4, and now she's having to bury her oldest son. I cannot imagine what she is facing, and it has torn me up. I'd do anything to erase her pain. Congenital Heart Defects are not "just a hole in the heart" it is so much more and can be fatal. His little heart just could not push any longer, he needed a break. Tonight we are lighting our porch lights in memory of sweet Kayden James Barnes. Kayden was about 5 months shy of his 4th birthday. He and my Mia were basically the same age. I can't imagine NOT having Mia in my life. I cannot imagine what Misty is going through without her little Kayden. Kayden's brothers are too young to understand, but his older sister, Alexis, IS old enough to understand and she is missing her baby brother. Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers.

I hope everyone hugs their loved ones a little tighter tonight, and enjoys a wonderful and peaceful weekend.

Taking One for Team Two

In a sacrifice move on the kickball field, I was tagged out at first. Only when tagged, I skidded and landed on my face. The result is this pretty little strawberry on my left cheek. I'm reminded yet again, why I don't play kickball, softball, baseball etc. I'm not so good at running bases. Not sure I've ever even contacted home plate other than to take my turn "at bat."

YIKES!

Here are the pictures of my progress form 3/1/2011 until 6/9/2011 -- 35 lbs. They aren't the prettiest pictures ever, but you see the progress. In the Capri picture, I'm holding up my size 26 capri jeans, that I was wearing when I started my journey in March.

Week 4, the Journey continues

Today was an awesome day at Body Back. Our classes was "Curves on Crack" -- or you could call it extreme circuits! Because so many ladies signed up for our 6 am T-Th class, we've had to break into 2 groups. Tuesdays, my group is outside, Thursdays the other group is outside. Well, if you are anywhere near VA right now, you know we are having some mighty warm temperatures. Some may even call it "extreme heat" -- It really isn't as horrible as they make it out to be. The humidity is what zaps you, the heat, eh, not a big deal!

So, we took our water bottles and met on the sidewalk in front of Mom's Treehouse. Rachel was our "guest" instructor for the day. She explained that today was not going to be an easy day. She loves us, really she does! However, she also wants to see us work towards great results. She wants to see us prove our strength to ... OURSELVES!

She started off our session with a warm up and a lecture on the importance of nutrition. Our class got to brag that we are all actively writing in our food journals... GO US! Then she unleashed the hounds! 2 minute circuits, cadrio/core circuits. I must say, as difficult as this class proved to be... it was awesome! Angel and I looked as though we worked out in a rain cloud, we were pouring sweat off of everywhere, butt cheeks, calves, arms, you name it, there was sweat! My clothes were so soaked when I got home, they actually THUNKED when they hit the floor! (I'm not even exaggerating!)

As class was winding down, my last circuit was a wall sit... after having just done line touches, I was welcoming this little sit on the wall. Only Rachel got a little devil in her and said, "LISA, LEG UP!" UHHHHHH do what????? Put a leg up in the air and do a wall sit with only ONE leg on the ground??? I'm spent... OK, no, I CAN I WILL do this! Ta da... up went the leg, the other leg was shaking, but who cares, I was doing it! Then she shouted, "LISA, SWITCH!" I was so done at that point, but I knew there were only 15 seconds left, I could do this. Those last 15 seconds were not easy, but I did it!!! And those last 15 seconds are the ones that count!

During that class I drank over 33 oz. of water! I probably sweat out about the same. Tomorrow is supposed to be hot as well. We are running in the morning, only we are starting half an hour earlier than we did today! Hopefully that will make all the difference.

I decided to go ahead and weigh today. I weighed in at 246.0 -- if you are keeping track, that's 42 lbs down! Which means, I only have 8 to go until I get to 50 down! I have 4.5 weeks left to do that in! I CAN I WILL -- and HE gives me the strength to do it!

I still can't believe it!

I cannot believe that I am running 3 miles... without stopping! REALLY? ME? I'm doing this? If you had told me at Christmas, that by July I'd be running 3 miles, I would have laughed in your face and said, "FAT CHANCE!" Yet, here it is, July, and I'm running 3 miles!

I came to a discovery today. I actually enjoy the long run MORE than the quick 1/2 mile. And YES, I am slow, but I don't care. I love the ladies I run with. They keep me moving, even when my legs say that they no longer want to run, the ladies keep me moving! Angel, Angie, Kim and Stefanie ran with me today. It was a great group and we shaved time off of our run from last week (which is always exciting for me)!!! I know in time, I will get faster, but for now, I'm just concentrating on making those three miles count!

If you are one of those people that say they can't run, I get it. I was there, too! I never thought I could run. I didn't believe Angel when she said that I'd be running one day. She's athletic, of course she can run. I've been a couch potato nearly my entire life, there was no way I could run or would have the desire to run. Alas, Angel KNEW what she was talking about. Running is addictive. I think it must be the endorphins you get after running three miles. It makes you feel amazing. You think, "WOW! I just did that, and I'm not having a heart attack and I didn't die and my legs still work."

I have to thank my Creator for making such amazing bodies! Legs that can run. Lungs that can breathe. Sweat glands to keep us cool. How wonderfully we were made. Let us never take it for granted for one second. Running is a blessing, not a curse! I am blessed to be able to get out there and use the body He gave me! Thank you God for good friends to run with, beautiful sunshine and a healthy working body. Let me never neglect the blessings you have given me. Amen.

I love Kickboxing!

I don't know if I have said it on my blog before, but even if I have, it bears repeating! I LOVE KICKBOXING!

We got in from Fireworks around 10:30 last night. I got my workout clothes set out and crawled in bed around 11. Thankfully, Angel texted me a little after 11, which reminded me I left my phone in the kitchen. My alarm was set and I signed off of Facebook and went to sleep. 3 a.m. I hear whimpering. My oldest came bounding down the stairs and into our room. I asked what was wrong and she told me she had a bloody nose and needed to go potty. I roused Matt and asked if he could PLEASE tend to her, so I could get just a little more sleep before my 5:45 class. He got up with her, but I still couldn't sleep because I could hear her crying, and mom's just don't sleep through crying, our hearts don't let us! I let him get her all fixed up, then I heard her go upstairs and he returned to bed. Finally, I thought, I could rest easy again. Then I hear her sobbing. I go to the stairs and look up and see her standing in the bathroom. I asked what was wrong and she told me she had run into the door handle. She was OK, no blood, so I sent her back to bed. I got back in bed and drifted off to sleep, only to be awakened at 4 by my middle daughter, who wanted to sleep in our bed. So in she climbed. I finally drifted back off to sleep and was well into a dream when the alarm went off.

I grabbed my phone and struggled to turn off the alarm. I was not well rested. I was NOT happy about getting up to put on my workout clothes. I had no idea how I was going to drive to class because my head was so filled with sleep and the desire to continue sleeping. I put my feet on the floor. I got up and walked to the bathroom, where I got dressed for class. I was still groggy. I went back in my room and grabbed the computer and ipad and sat down on the sofa to procrastinate leaving for class. It didn't take long before I knew I needed to leave or I would risk being late and I hate being late.

Getting in my car, I turned on the stereo to 90.5, Positive Hits. Matthew West was singing "Strong Enough" -- this song has become my life motto, ESPECIALLY where Body Back and my journey are concerned! Here are the lyrics:

STRONG ENOUGH, Matthew West
You must
You must think I'm strong
To give me what I'm going through

Well, forgive me
Forgive me if I'm wrong
But this looks like more than I can do
On my own

I know I'm not strong enough to be
everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up
I'm not strong enough
Hands of mercy won't you cover me
Lord right now I'm asking you to be
Strong enough
Strong enough
For the both of us

Well, maybe
Maybe that's the point
To reach the point of giving up

Cause when I'm finally
Finally at rock bottom
Well, that's when I start looking up
And reaching out

I know I'm not strong enough to be
Everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up
I'm not stong enough
Hands of mercy won't you cover me
Lord right now I'm asking you to be
Strong enough
Strong enough

Cause I'm broken
Down to nothing
But I'm still holding on to the one thing
You are God
and you are strong
When I am weak

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
And I don't have to be
Strong enough
Strong enough

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
And I don't have to be
Strong enough
Strong enough

Oh, yeah

I know I'm not strong enough to be
Everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up
I'm not strong enough
Hands of mercy won't you cover me
Lord right now I'm asking you to be
Strong enough
Strong enough
Strong enough


After hearing this song, I was WIDE awake and ready to face my kickboxing class. Susan taught us today. Angel came today! We had 5 of us in class. Susan led us through some great exercises and we took turns doing push kicks on the bag. We literally kicked the bag from the center of the room, to the wall, all with push kicks! EMPOWERING!!!!!!! Then at the end of class, we made a circle and sparred 2 at a time in the center of the circle. The sparring was so much fun! Those who made up the circle side stepped while those in the center sparred. We each got a turn to "fight" everyone in the center of the circle. This was so much fun. We laughed just as much as we "fought" and we were all sweating profusely, or making our fat cells cry (as some choose to say). When we were finished, we all stretched out and relaxed. I love kickboxing, I love the power it makes me feel and the energy it gives me! I'm so glad I have the opportunity to take Mom's Martial Arts Kickboxing! I wish everyone could experience kickboxing. What a wonderful way to work out aggression! I'm always a little stunned when class is over, because it goes by SO quickly! So, I'll say it again, I LOVE KICKBOXING!

Physical and Emotional

What a morning. Got up and weighed on my Wii. (I do this about 3 times per week, to make sure I'm staying on target.) Was thrilled to see a significant reduction in my BMI and a 2.2 lb loss bringing me down to 247 (again, this is on the Wii, so it is NOT my official weigh in weight). -- that means, 41 pounds GONE!

OK, Just got a very important phone call that I need to return, and so I'm going to cut this short and just say that Body Back this morning was extremely difficult for me (not in a bad way) -- Mentally I had to push myself just as much as I was physically pushing myself. This resulted in a major sobbing fest. I hate crying in front of others. I had no control over my emotions once they hit. What an amazing day. I'm so THANKFUL for challenges and pushing myself further than I think I can go. I am so appreciative of my precious girls that I work out with. They cheer me on. I could not do this without them. And of course, my constant... God by my side, giving me that strength to move me one more inch when I think I can't possibly do it... and I can't do it on my own, I'm so VERY thankful for HIS faithfulness and provision!

5 weeks left, I CAN! I WILL!

Happy Hump Day!

It's SO quiet in my house. Everyone is sleeping. I've been up for 2.5 hours and have already done a 3 mile run with Angel and Angela! I truly thought I was going to puke around mile 2.6, but I kept going and I made it through without puking!!! I came home and did a wonderful series of stretches that felt SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! Running 3 miles was my goal for Body Back this 8 weeks. Well, this is week 3 of this session, and I hit my goal! WOW!!! Set a goal and then accomplish it, and see if it doesn't make you feel so strong! I'm so THANKFUL to God for giving me what I need to accomplish these goals!

I was only down 1 lb. yesterday. I am not discouraged. I am in the 240's now. I started in the 280's!!! How could I possibly be discouraged by that awesome news? I'm beyond blessed. I look forward to seeing more drop off as I go! I would really like to be 238 by the end of this session. I do not think that is TOO ambitious, but it will take dedication and devotion. I CAN! I WILL!

We did Cario & Core yesterday... WOW!!! Alex kicked our booties! I loved it! The sweat was just streaming down into my eyes, at one point, I could not even open my eyes. I was SO Super Sweaty that when we did planks, my arms literally slid on the mat causing me not to be able to hold my planks so well. (very frustrating, I might add) And my booty is in shock today, after we did backwards shuffles! What a workout!!!

Stepping up my eating this week. Working on being more diligent in getting my calories in, so that I can maximize my weight loss efforts. Over the weekend, I underestimated my will power and left a lot of wiggle room for parties and events... turns out, I really didn't need the wiggle room... I exercised much will power and resistance to things that were less than healthy offered at the parties, thus by the end of the day, I was no where near my 1470 calorie goals on Friday, Saturday and Sunday! I truly believe that played a HUGE part in my only losing 1 lb. despite my stepped up cardio efforts! You have to FEED the machine FUEL for it to work efficiently! Really focusing on that and the stepped up cardio this week.

Tomorrow I have Body Back and Friday I have KickBoxing. Not sure what my workouts will be this weekend, but I know I will run again on Monday morning. The more comfortable I get in my three mile run, the better I will perform in my Congenital Heart Walk 3 mile fun run in November!

Stick with me, and if you don't see a post from me in a while, be sure to ask me why I haven't updated! Your support and encouragement is AMAZING and so very helpful! Thanks for being with me on this journey!

Happy Holiday Weekend!

I hope everyone has been having a fantastic weekend and are enjoying all the fun that a holiday weekend brings.
Friday was my 11 year wedding anniversary. I woke up and went to kickboxing and ate "light" all day, in anticipation of dinner out, my nieces birthday and then the movies with my sweetheart. As it turns out, I totally overestimated and did not end up eating all of my calories, thus causing a horrible headache.

Saturday, I spent the morning with my mom and the children. I worked on push ups and sit ups. The kids joined in. The afternoon brought a fun family cookout in Goochland. We had such a wonderful time. It was easy to make good choices while at the cookout. I split my chicken breast between my sister, my youngest and myself. I made sure to bring a caprese salad, so that I'd have something healthy to choose. It was HUGE hit. When I went to get a helping, there was hardly any left. Again on Saturday, I did not eat all of my calories. I had hoped to go for a run on Saturday, but we ended up not getting home until very late, and there was some activity going on in my neighborhood (drunk driver, possibly) -- so I opted to stay in and go early Sunday morning.

As it was, I woke up to a thunderstorm, and then Matt had to play guitar at church, so he had to leave by 7:30. No Run! I spent Sunday afternoon at my parents' house. I worked on sit ups and push ups again (this time doing as many as I can in one minute). I hope to head out for a run this evening once the kids are down. I know I'm heading out for a run at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow with some of the girls. :) I'm looking forward to it, even though I know I'll be the dog's tail, following behind, bringing up the rear. I hope I do alright!

Looking forward to fireworks tomorrow night, over the Diamond with all the kids. I'd say, all in all, it's been a fantastic holiday weekend. The most exciting part of the weekend for me was Friday when I went to find a dress for Friday night's date with my husband. I ended up buying 2 dresses. BOTH dresses were purchased from the MISSES section and NOT the "BIG GIRLS" section! I consider this a milestone! :) NOW, if weigh in on Tuesday puts me at -40 lbs. that will just be the "icing on the cake" and it will taste better than any icing on any cake! :D

Weekends and Workouts

I cannot believe Sunday night is here already! This weekend FLEW by! I went to my nephew's All Stars Baseball game on Friday night. They lost by 1 run, but he had a beautiful double play. I was very proud. He's six. :) Saturday morning, I laced up my trainers and met my best friend for a 1 hour walk in Cedarlea Park. It was a gorgeous morning for a walk. After our walk, we worked on me facing my fear. I was able to jump up on the curb with both feet several times... but it took QUITE a long time for me to get there. Melinda could actually SEE my mental block and how hard I was trying to overcome it. It felt great to actually JUMP with both feet up onto the curb. And I did not fall ONCE! :)

The rest of Saturday was spent with friends, playing in the yard, working on the house and spreading mulch. Saturday night was rough. Two of the 4 kids were running fevers over 103 and sobbing. Sunday morning, we made an impromptu trip to Pediatric Associates of Richmond, where Dr. Webber ran strep tests on the three littlest in the family. All were negative (of course)... that was good news, because it meant I could go on to help out at the Richmond Weddings Expo -- I LOVE helping out with this show. I love meeting with the vendors and seeing all the excited brides. In the past, I'd always stop by the catering tables on my way out. Today, I packed my own food, and visited Kalico Kitchen (my family's company) without feeling a need to sample the cake.

Tonight we spent the evening at my sister's house. It was party in the backyard and cookout night. I spent most of my time inside with the baby, due to the mosquitos being aggressive. We did not get home until nearly 11 p.m. but that's alright. I put the baby to bed, and Matt put the other three to bed. I suited up and went for a jog... 1 mile in light drizzle, awesome!

Now, I am going to go to bed and PRAY I can sleep until 8 a.m. However if I wake up earlier then I'm going grocery shopping. I'm out of veggies and fruits. I've become addicted to fresh apricots! Sleep well!

A very painful experience

As I type this, my toe is still throbbing... It wasn't pretty. It was grotesque. I keep reliving it. I'm sure at any moment I'm going to vomit when I think about it. I wish it on no one. It was awful and it is still awful.

I went to kickboxing this morning. It was a small class, just me and Angie. We were practicing kicks. I was barefoot. I'll spare you the gory details. Just know that what I did to my toe/nail is something you NEVER want to go through! I did what I had to do to quickly "fix" the problem and then said, Let's just keep going and not think about it. So we did. Maybe I was in shock. I don't really know. All I know is I made it through class.

I'm supposed to meet my best friend in the morning for a walk. I'm praying I can stand having my shoe on my foot.

Um apparently I started this and never finished it... that's what happens when you have 4 kids! LOL Oh well. The Toe Is BETTER! :D

Good Morning!

It's a cloudy morning, but what a glorious day! Had a great workout with my Body Back ladies! Happy to see Rebekah in the mix this morning! :) Shout out to Laura for coming back and for working it out this morning with us! Excited to meet Stephanie this morning. She's a rockstar! I hope to participate in her 5K this weekend in Innsbrook. I don't know that I'll run the whole thing, but I will definitely walk the whole thing, no problem!

My calf and knee are bugging out, so it looks like tomorrow after kickboxing, I'll be keeping it low key and won't attempt an extra cardio tomorrow. I do plan to get in at least a mile this afternoon (walk or run is fine by me... as long as I get that heart rate up!!!) If it rains, then I'll just do something here, maybe a latin dance workout. Saturday, I hope to do the 5K, then Sunday I'll probably focus on crunches, planks and push ups and I'll do a short run with my cousin (AFTER working the Richmond Wedding Expo all day). Monday I will rest so that I'll be at full steam for Tuesday's class. Looking forward to having Angel back in the mix with me! I miss my accountability partner! Hoping Angie and Kathy will be with us on Monday as well.

We set goals today. My goals are very specific this time: Make it to -50 lbs. Lose 1 inch off of my thighs. Run 3 miles without stopping. As for assessment goals, those are: 25 sit-ups in 1 minute, 35 second side plank, 2 minute plank and 7 push ups.

This morning, after class, I started my day off with a big veggie omelet. Here is what I used: 2 egg whites, 1/5 of a red pepper chopped, 1/4 vidalia onion chopped, 1 tsp minced garlic, 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup shredded baby spinach. Spray the pan w/ Pam Olive Oil Cooking Spray (or use a "misto" with olive oil), saute mushrooms and onions until the onions become translucent, add in red pepper, add in garlic, add in eggs over medium heat. Allow eggs to set somewhat then top with shredded spinach and parmesan cheese. Fold in half. Make sure eggs have cooked through, and then slide onto a plate. I have a delicious apricot waiting for me, but I'm too full to eat it right now, so it has to wait.

My food plan for today: (I've not yet added it to FitnessPal just yet, so the plan may have to be tweaked to get near my "preferred" calorie intake.)

Breakfast
Omelet & apricot

Snack
Tomato, Pepper Jack melt

Lunch
Turkey wrap, w/ spinach, onion, pepper
Banana berry salad

Snack
100 calorie nuts
1/2 cup cottage cheese

Dinner
1 cup broccoli
salad (spinach, lettuce, onion, pepper, olive oil & vinegar dressing)
Chicken Slider (ground chicken breast w/ ranch dressing mix -- I only use 1/2 the package for 1 pound of chicken-- on a potato whole grain slider roll)

Snack
ONLY if I am still hungry and need additional calories to round out my day -- could be string cheese and crackers, milk and a granola bar, or if I am needing extra protein: Luna Protein Bar. I'll know once I enter everything into My Fitness Pal app!

I hope everyone has a great day! There is so much to be thankful for... today I am thankful for precious friends to work out with! I am thankful for the encouragement and for the laughs we share! I'm so blessed to have this opportunity to use the body God gave me and I hope in my working out that I am blessing God.

Session 3 has begun

It started off with a bang! I've dropped 3 lbs. since last Thursday. That means I am now 12 lbs. away from that 50 lb. milestone!!! It is so close I can TASTE it!!! I cannot wait to hit that milestone. Beyond weight, we also ran our 1/2 mile this morning. I shaved 8 seconds off of my time from Thursday, without pushing myself harder, (I think the difference could have been that I did not have to do squats prior to the run!) ;) -- Soon I hope to run the 1/2 in under 6 minutes. Today's time was 6:02.

Tonight I logged in 3 more miles in under 1 hour. Very happy about that. This was walking, not running. It was quite hot and muggy and I was soaked with sweat when I got home. Hoping to head to bed shortly. It's been a great day, but I'm exhausted.

Session 3 ...

Tomorrow morning I start session 3. My summer class is at 6 a.m. rather than 5:30. I get to sleep until 5:15, WooHoo!!! Going to go set out my clothes now and then I meet my new instructor in the morning! I'm looking forward to being 15+ pounds lighter after this session. I loaded up on fresh groceries tonight, so I'm ready to get going!

I ended up not doing an actual workout tonight because I did extra housework today and broke a nice sweat while doing so. Hopefully, I'll have a good 1/2 mile run tomorrow!

I'll update when I get the chance!

Father's DAY itself...

Father's Day, we got up and went to the 9:30 service at church. Then we headed to my mom's house for Cait's nap and to wait for my siblings and dad so that we could go to Kitchen 64 for an early dinner. I put on my size 20 black capris, to find out they are too big now (already... good thing I only paid $7 for them). I put on an Ann Taylor Loft purple fancy t-shirt and some wedge espadrils.

We hung out at mom's and I knew I needed to eat. Mom had made some berry salad, so I had a nice serving of that plus some of her green beans (not a whole serving, just a taste), and then I made myself a salad with swiss cheese, "natural" deli turkey and lettuce with some red wine vinegar dressing and croutons. I knew that would hold me over until dinner, we were eating VERY early (4 p.m.) -- When we got to dinner I had a very difficult time choosing my meal. I wasn't super hungry, so I knew fish tacos would be too much. I wasn't really in the mood for crab cakes and I wasn't sure how they were prepared. I settled on the roasted red pepper and mozzarella plate. Great choice! It was way too much for me to eat by myself, so I shared with Cait and my mom and Matt. I knew the calories would be too small, and that I'd have to eat more later in the evening, but I was OK with that. When our bill came, our little family of six had dinner with leftovers all for (including tip) $35! Awesome!

After we got home that evening, we got on SKYPE with my inlaws. Then my sister showed up. I threw her a pair of socks and trainers and she and I and my nephew went for a walk. We logged in 1.5 miles. It was a great day! I think Matt was pretty pleased with the gift the kids gave him! It wasn't much, but it was definitely well thought out. (A VCU RAMS Tervis Tumbler 24 oz.)

I hope the rest of the week goes as well as the weekend did. Now what's with this rain??? I know we need it, so I'm trying not to complain!

Father's Day Weekend Fun and some new trainers!

I don't do any structured classes on the weekend, so working out has to be at my own motivation and initiative. Right now I am in a zone of wanting to hit the 50 lb. mark! I WANT to say, I've lost 50 lbs! SO, even though I have no structured classes, I made sure I burned some calories this weekend and had fun doing it!

Saturday, we'd worked on the house most of the day and my sister and I shopped for Father's Day Gifts. I ended up buying some much needed new trainers, since I have completely worn out my last pair! When I got home, I told Matt that it was much too pretty outside, we needed to get out. We decided to head over to the Cedarlea Park neighborhood. We parked our car up at the pavilion and then walked 1/2 a mile to the playground area. Their playground is a lot of fun, though Caitlynn was not to excited about it, she was content to watch from her stroller while the rest of us acted like monkeys! My kids have never seen me play on the playground equipment. We climbed the ladders, went down the slides. I helped them on the seesaws. We even were on the swings. I haven't really been on a swing since college, other than to just sit on one and watch my kids play. At one point, Wils looked at me and said, "Mommy, you can swing REALLY high!" Then while the kids were on the swings, Matt and I climbed up on the equipment and Wils piped up once more and said, "It's like you are kids again!" It was a priceless evening.

While we were there we decided I should face one of my fears (I actually faced TWO of my fears, climbing ladders --success and then this one) ... I tried to jump with both feet from the ground up onto the edging around the playground. Maegan did it, Wils did it, Matt did it... I couldn't do it. I tried and I tried. I can't tell you how many times I tried. I just could not do it. So, at one point Matt says to me, "Can you do it for a $10,000 ring?" Um, I gave it my best shot, but I still failed. Looks like that is a fear I'm going to have to work hard to conquer. I wonder what he would have done if I had accomplished it... I'm pretty sure I would not have gotten a $10,000 ring.

Speaking of rings, we had talked earlier in the day about my jewelry. My rings are falling off now. None of my jewelry fits like it is supposed to fit. I call my hands "Man Hands" because I wear such big sizes in rings! I don't have prissy pretty girly hands, no bony fingers... just chubby fingers. I can remember Chris Morgan, in 5th grade, as we were sitting at the lunch table. He reached across the table and grabbed one of my hands and said to me, "Your hands are so cute. Your fingers are just so chubby." I did NOT take it as a compliment. I was so embarrassed. I was 10 years old and already in big trouble with my weight. My friends were all in the 60-80 lb. range, and I was well over 100 lbs. I'm so ready for pretty hands and my rings are desperate for resizing!

So, back to the subject at hand. Once we finished on the playground, we headed back up to our car. I logged in 1 mile, plus a lot of fun on the playground. Once home, we washed the kids and put them to bed. I decided I wanted to get out and walk 3 more miles, just to burn some extra calories. With a goal of 15 lbs this 8 weeks, I need to keep on top of the workouts. So, I grabbed my iPod and out the door we went. I walked 2.25 miles and then the song "Let's Get It Started" came on. The first line is "And the bass keeps runnin runnin and runnin runnin ..." and I just had to run at that point. So I ran the 3/4 of a mile back home. So I logged in a total of 4 miles of cardio walk/run -- over 1 hour, and at least an hour of playing on that playground.

My new trainers have been great. They do annoy my right heel just a bit, but I think it is because they are not broken in to my foot just yet. They are so light on my feet and I can feel the gel sole when I am running. I'm pleased with my choice. And they are PINK! :)