5K-W1-D2

It was a beautiful morning that smelled of rain. The wind wasn't blowing and that is always a wonderful thing. Kathryn and Tansley joined me and we headed to the track to do our rounds. Five intervals running for 2 minutes and walking for 2 minutes. All went well and I look forward to Friday and adding an extra interval. So far I'm feeling good about all of this. Hopefully that will continue and hoping beyond all hope that this time in addition to being able to run 5K I will also see the numbers on the scale drop. Today the scale read 256.8lbs.

One year later and Day 1 again

I know it's been awhile since I've checked in here, but I'm happy to report that things are going well.  The best news is that my weight continues to go down.  Slow and steady. In the past year I've lost a total of twenty pounds.  Not nearly as much as I had hoped, but I am happy with it.  I put on a shirt I haven't worm in about a year and if fit me so much nicer.  That's really when I realized that 20 pounds isn't too shabby.  Probably the first time that I felt really good about what I had accomplished this past year. 
So now I'm trying to take it up a notch. My goal right now is to work towards losing 10 pounds by the end of April.  I know that is ambitious but I'm going to stay positive, I know how my body works and that it takes a lot to shed the weight, but goals are what keep you moving forward.  So here's to the next 100 days. (Actually 100 days from now is May 16th )

Today I weighed in at 249.4lbs.

just getting started

Yesterday morning when I stepped on the scale it read 258.2lbs. This morning it read 256.2lbs. I like the looks of that. I have been making smoothies for breakfast and eating either eggs or sausages for a protein. I've been trying to eat mostly veggies at lunch and for dinner I'm just eating what I've always eaten. The next thing I need to do is work in some regular exercise. Which means getting to bed sooner so I can get up early. The going to bed early is the hardest part.

Summer is gone...time to get in the groove

Alright, well so much for summer. Totally fell off the wagon, but last I checked I'm still sitting around the 260 mark. Time to get my but in gear and make some changes. To start Jakki Harty has challenged me to lose 10lbs by Oct 10. I'm not sure how reasonable that is, but I think I'll take her up on the challenge. To change things up a bit, she suggested that maybe I cut out carbs for breakfast. That will certainly change things up as I always eat a high fiber cereal for breakfast. So I have to start re thinking breakfast and see if maybe that will be enough to jump start my body into losing some of this weight. I think I'll even try to keep away from carbs for lunch and just allow myself to eat them for supper. I think I can do that. As for exercise I haven't yet figured that out entirely. Donna McLachlan and I want to start working out together a couple of times a week. And I think realistically I will need to just start getting up in the mornings before sending kids off to school. I can do these things! But I need to do some grocery shopping to get me all set up to cut back on my carbs.

Day 101 - The beginning of a new day...I mean Challenge

So here it begins. Another 100 days. The first 100 were eventful, and yet not very eventful. I was pretty good at doing cardio 5 times a week, pretty much forgot all about doing push ups about half way through. And cheated a lot more often than I had said that I would allow.

But that was that, and this is now. So here is what I.m going to work at for this 100 days.

1. Continue with cardio 5 days a week.
2. Track my food at least 5 days a week. But aiming for everyday.
3. Get up at 6am at least 3 days a week to go for a walk or bike ride with Kathryrn. This will morph over the weeks as we prepare to run in the 5k Bonanza day race at the end of these 100 days.
4. Keep up on the blogging each day.

I'll keep it at that for now. I think last time I made it too complicated, too many things to keep track of. Tracking my food everyday is going to take some time, and it really is going to be a challenge, I don't think I have ever been successful at keeping at it for more than 3 weeks...if that. So this will take some dedication. But I know it's possible.

So here is today, and the next 100. 

See you tomorrow.

Day 22

Weighed in at 11am this morning, the scale read 266.0lbs. 

I wish I had something exciting to write about today, but it was just another day with nothing exciting to discuss. My work out was good. I'm thinking about only get up at 6am on Mon, Wed and Fri and then doing my work out at 10am(ish) when Ella lays down for a nap. I've been doing that all this week because I've had this stupid head cold and can't seem to get myself out of bed at 6am. I don't know if I'll change it permanently. Maybe just give myself permission to do it on those mornings that I just can't get up.

I haven't done push ups for a couple of days. I better do that today and get back on track. Lets see if I can do 16...

see you tomorrow.

Day 20 - I can't breath.

OK, if I thought I felt crappy yesterday and didn't want to work out, today trumps that, ten fold. I am so stuffed up, breathing is a really effort. Just like yesterday, I didn't get up early today. BUT I did still do my work out after I laid the baby down for a nap. And just like yesterday, I was glad that I did. I felt great after the work out...now not so much, I'm right back to feeling all stuffed up and crappy. But this morning I felt pretty good.

I stepped on the scale this morning at 7 and the numbers read 265.8lbs. Yeah for that, but as a side note, that was before I had worked out and before I had eaten breakfast. I usually don't weigh myself until after I have worked out, and sometimes not until after I've eaten breakfast. So the numbers might reflect that. I think that I will try to remember to weigh myself before my work out every morning, I seem to like those numbers better....I'm sure it won't make any difference in the long run. Whether I am stuck at 266 or 265, I am still stuck. But for a day or two it might make me feel better.

Day 19 - I don't want to.

I did get up and exercise on Friday and I weighed in at the usual. I just didn't blog because as the day went on I felt more and more ill, so I never did get around to blogging for the day.  Saturday morning was much of the same. In the afternoon we headed to Lethbridge. I spent two hours or so with the kids, walking around one of my favourite places in Lethbridge. Indian Battle Park, it's down by the river. The weather was nice and warm and most of the snow is melted away. There were plenty of puddles and mud for the kids to stomp around it.

This morning, I didn't want to do this anymore. I wanted to be done. I wanted to give up. I hated it, and hated not seeing the numbers on the scale change. Once again the scale read 266.6lbs this morning. I hate maintaining. I can do that without getting up early every morning to work out. If I am getting up every morning to work out, I want to see numbers change. I want to be able to see that it's worth it. It's not like I don't have weight to loose, there is plenty of that. So why can't I loose it? I know the bit about muscle weighing more than fat, so don't feed me that line. I've gone through this frustration before. It's always the same. And I am pretty sure it is what brings me to a halt every time. It is so hard to stay motivated when the numbers on the scale refuse to budge. I know it's only been 19 days (this time). But I am terrified that this is going to end up like every other time and weeks down the road, I'll step on the scale and it will still say 266.6lbs. And then the 100 days will be up, and then what? What I want is that there will be a significant change in those numbers, like by 10 or more so that I can say "look what a difference this made! If I keep this up, I'll be at my goal in no time!" But what happens if I don't get that 10 difference? Nothing. I'll be frustrated and not want to keep going. What's the point? I'm obviously doomed to be this size in spite of my best efforts. Negative talk, negative talk, negative talk....enough.

So because I didn't measure myself on Friday, I did it today.

Arms 14"
Chest 50.25"
waist 49.5"
hip 53.25"
thigh 30.5"
calf 16"

I also added 2 and did 16 pushups today.

Day 16

Today's weight, taken at 7:20am, 266.8lbs. I don't think the piece of cheesecake that my hubby brought home for me last night and I ate at 1am helped out at all with my effort to make that number drop. BUT I hadn't seen him since early (like 3am) Saturday last week. He was away on business in Niagara falls. He got home late and we stayed up way to late. I wasn't going to get up this morning, but Kathryn got up and so then I made myself get out of bed. I am so going to need a nap today.

See you tomorrow.

Day 15 - False hope

So this morning at 6, before I started my work out, I stepped on the scale and it read 264.4lbs. I was almost ecstatic, until I thought of the fact that your weight fluctuates during the day, and usually I don't weigh myself until after I have done my work out. So at 8am, after my work out and after breakfast I stepped on the scale, and guess what popped up....yep that same ol' number 266.6lbs. Bummer.

Everything else went well today. Today I did 14 pushups. I was supposed to add 2, but I just couldn't get past 14...in fact I barely made it to 14. So I'll stick it out here a few more days.

see you tomorrow.

Day 14

It was so hard to get out of bed this morning. Finishing my workout last night at 11pm and not getting to bed until after midnight might have something to do with it.

Today's weight is 266.6lbs taken at 8am. Seem to be stuck in the 266 range. Will have to make a greater effort at thinking about what I am eating and watching portion sizes. It would be really great to see those numbers drop...even just a little bit, and on a regular basis.

Getting out of bed this morning, I thought of how nice it would be if this was easy. If like I just woke up one morning, and BAM, I had lost 15 pounds. And then that just kept happening over and over again until suddenly I was at my ideal weight.

But it ain't gonna happen, so I just gotta keep going.

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Just saw this on pinterest. A good reminder for me on this day.

Day 13

This morning at 7:30 when I stepped on the scale it read 266.6lbs, holding steady...lets see if we can get those numbers to drop this week.

It's 11:20pm and I am just finishing up my work out for the day. I was a lazy bum and refused to get out of bed this morning. But I vowed I would still do my work out today. So there, it's done. I haven't been happy with my ab exercises. I haven't yet felt like they have got a real work out. So it changed it up a bit tonight, and they certainly feel like they got a work out. They may even ache a bit in the morning. So I'll keep up the routine. I also tried a new video that was a 20 minute circuit training work out. I've never done it before so I felt pretty awkward and uncoordinated, but I think I'll get the hang of it. Even with all my awkwardness, I still worked up a good sweat.

The DVD's that I've been using are Shelly Mcdonald's Caribbean Workout, the Aerobics and today the Abs Buns and Thighs. I also use the SparkPeople's Cardio Blast with Coach Nicole. Kathryn really likes this one because it is a lot easier to follow.

Day 12

Today's weight taken at 7:30am is 266.8lbs

Got up even though I didn't want to. I wanted to mope in bed because I miss my hubby. But I got up and was glad I did after I got going. I think that I need to start getting up at 6 instead of 6:15. I know it's just 15 minutes, so it shouldn't be a big deal. But I am not a morning person, so 15 of sleep is always welcome. But I need a little more time to get a little more in. I kinda felt like I cut things short this morning, but I had to get on with the morning and get kids ready for school. So right now I am resetting my alarm to wake me up at 6am.

Today I added 2 to my pushups. That brings me to 14. It was a bit tricky getting those extra two in, but I was able to do it. Slow and steady.

Tonight as I type this, I am dying for a snack. I just have the munchies and I keep thinking about what I could go get to munch on. I just went grocery shopping, so there are all kinds of things to snack on. And most of them are even healthy, but it is 10pm, and part of this challenge is to not eat after dinner, except on cheat day.

See you tomorrow.

Day 11 - This is me now

Alright, I thought I'd better post a picture of me at the beginning of my 100 day challenge so that I have something to compare with at the end of this challenge. Hopefully we'll be able to see some improvement.

Ugh! So here I am in my work out gear(and yes there are still Christmas decorations up...I have no good excuse for it, they are just there). Not great. I could list off a bunch of things that I don't like about this picture of me, but instead, I'm going to force myself to say something nice...

1. I like my smile, I always have, even just this half smile here, I like it. I was actually in the beginning stages of sticking my tongue out at my oldest daughter who is taking the picture.
2. I like my boobs. All thanks to a great bra. At least they don't look like I've had 5 kids.
3. I really like how I look in these glasses, I like how they accentuate my eyes without having to put any makeup on.

Day 10 - a tenth of the way there

I'm terrible at getting anything done towards this on Saturdays. It's 11:30pm and I just now did my pushups(12 of them) and that is all that I did. I kept meaning to get to my ab exercises, but I just never did. It seems to be hard to get around to it with the kids home all day. A lame excuse. I'll do better next Saturday, I promise.

Today's weight, taken at 11:40pm is 268.8lbs...oh yes and I just ate some chocolate chip mint ice cream...and probably more than I should have...

Day 9

Today's weight, taken at 7:30am, is 266.2lbs.

I didn't get up to exercise this morning. I kinda didn't get up right when my alarm went off and then next thing I know it's almost 7am, too late to start now. I'm kinda not sad about that, because last night at bed time, I promised my son that today when Ella was napping we would play with his trains, just him and I. And now because I didn't get up early and exercise I wont feel like I need to have a nap. First thing after breakfast this morning, the boy asked me if Ella was tired because he wanted to play trains. I told him he would just have to wait for Ella to take her nap. I'm hoping that maybe during Ella's afternoon nap that I'll get my work out in, even though all the other kids will be home from school. We'll see how it goes.

This weeks measurements;

Chest 51
waist 50.5"
Hip 54"
Arm 13.75"
Thigh 28.5"
Calf 16.25"

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..Later that day....
So her it is 10:26pm and I am now just finishing up my work out. Better late than never.
For interest sake I just stepped on the scale and it read 268.8lbs

Day 8

Today's weight, taken at 7:30am, is 266.8lbs.
So it seems that there is some progress being made. SO very tired this morning. I really need to work at getting to bed earlier. It's so hard for me, as I am a natural night owl. And there are always so many things to get done once the kids are all in bed. Since I've been doing this I have been having a nap and that doesn't help with the going to bed earlier. But I am too tired to make it through the day with out a nap. James usually comes and hangs out with me in my bed and plays games on my phone. Sometimes he even naps with me. I guess I'm still getting sleep. But it would be nice to use that time when Ella is napping to spend some one on one time with James instead of sleeping...So some how I'm going to have to get this all sorted out.

See you tomorrow.

ps Today I did 12 pushups. It nearly killed me to get the 12 in, but that might have had something to do with the 11 month old trying to climb on my back.

Day 7

Got up this morning without a hitch. Kathryn has been getting up with me. She's awesome. She told me that she'd be my sidekick to keep me in gear. Today we did something different. We worked out to a DVD. It's one that I have used a number of time, so I am used to the routines. Kathryn was struggling to keep up, much like I did the first few times that I tried working out to it. We'll keep at it though, and before I know it she'll be kicking my butt. It was a great work out and I really felt like I had accomplished something. We'll be doing it again tomorrow. In fact, I might just replace riding my bike for a video work out. It's much more enjoyable and I feel like I get more out of it. When the weather gets nice, then we'll start riding outside.

Today's weight: 268.2, taken at 9:25pm.

Day 6

It's 8:44am and I haven't yet done my workout (although I did just shovel the driveway and sidewalk...that must count for something). I was up in plenty of time to do it, the problem was, I was up with a sick baby, that just wanted me to hold her. Once I had her asleep again at about 6am, I tried to lay her down so that I could do my work out, but she woke up and just cried. So I held her instead. Now she is finally asleep in her own bed, and I know that I could totally do a workout, but I am so tired that I just can't bring my self to do it right at this moment, even though it may be the only time I'll have a chance to do it today. So I sit here having an argument discussion with myself about the pros and cons of not doing it right now. But even as I do so, my eyelids are drooping, and I am having a hard time staying awake...so nap time it is. And I'll just have to see what the rest of today brings. As much as I want to stick to my 100 day goal, a sick baby trumps everything else. So I am going to just have to be OK with this and not let guilt set in.

See you tomorrow

Day 5

Yesterday was my rest day, so there was nothing to report.

Today was legs and hips day....ouch. First little miss Ella was up at 5:50 this morning. My alarm was set to go off at 6:15, and of course she wasn't interested in just going back to sleep, So I was up extra early. My legs are still killing me from Friday's work out so I wasn't able to do a full set of most of the exercises, but I gave it my all.  Fun stuff. I then went and rode my bike for 10 minutes. I know I wanted to do 20min, but I'm just going to have to work up to that.

Today I added my two push ups making it an even 10. The last one  was a little tricky but I was able to do it.
Weighing in today at 271.6lbs, taken at 8am. Got a long ways to go. But I'll just keep at it.

See you tomorrow.