5K-W4-D1

Today I ran 3 minutes and walked for 1 and repeated that 5 times. I think that on Wednesday I'll try for 6 intervals. It was a beautiful morning with out a breath of wind and the sun shining cheerily. 

Last week I decided to try out the eating plan for the 21 day fix. My friend Jakki ordered me the work out program that comes with some coloured containers that you use to measure out your food. So I figured I'd give it a try, since it's really just about portion control. I've been following it for 4 days, today is day 5 or 21. Here's hoping I finally see some results on the scale again.

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.

still stuck

Weighed in at 258 this morning. There was a glimmer of hope that maybe things were going to go down...but not so. Maybe it was the popcorn and cheesies that I ate on the weekend. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate this? well I do.

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 161

Oh man, I'm getting bad at this. I haven't been tracking my food as much on Sparkpeople.com. I still try to log in everyday to keep me at least thinking about it. This morning the scale read 258lbs.

On Monday we are heading out camping for 10 days, so I won/t be posting or tracking my food. I'm keeping that in mind as I make up our menu and start gathering our food. I'll be trying to keep it as balanced as I can.

Day 153

So this getting up in the morning and walking thing hasn't really been going all that great. But I continue to try to track my food. Even if I don't I have been very mindful  of what I am eating. And the efforts seem to be paying off. Over the weekend the scale dipped to 257lbs. But this morning it was back at 258.6lbs. But I'm OK with that. Summer is coming, and I am so excited! Camping and outdoor fun galore. I was planning the camping menu today. I'm going to have to be careful and try not to indulge too much on the treats so as not to set myself back too far. I think I can do it. I'm liking the direction the scale is going too much to mess this up badly now.

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 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 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.

Day 3

Not much to report on today, except that I hurt...a lot. My thighs are week and so very sore. Feels good and miserable all at the same time. Sure glad I have a couple days break before the leg and hip torture is scheduled again. However, I'm looking forward to the day when the pain is gone and I can do so much more.

Today's weight taken at 10pm is 272. Yikes! Yesterday's was better.

See you tomorrow.

Day 2

Yesterday was Day 1 and I started this challenge by working on my abs and learning that I can do 8 pushups with out stopping. That's actually better than I thought I'd do.

This morning I was up at 6:30am to start my day with a leg and hip workout and then ride my bike. The leg and hip work out looks like this

• 25 squats
• 10 single leg dead lifts (each leg)
• 10 single leg kickbacks (each leg)
• 25 plie squats
• 1 minute of high knees
• 20 calf raises
• 10 side lunges (each leg)
• 10 walking lunges (each leg)
• 1 minute of butt kickers

The idea is to repeat this three times....yeah, that wasn't going to happen today. But I knew that and my plan is to work up to that. Today I almost got through it once. By the time I got tot he walking lunges my legs were shaky and it was hard to keep my balance. The butt kickers...well I couldn't even do those, I could barely jog in place. Then when I went to walk down the stairs to ride my stationary bike, I was so shaky I thought I'd fall down the stairs. I only rode my bike for 10 minutes today because I had to put my bike back together after I had taken the tires off to fill them with air. Ideally I'd like to ride it for at least 20 minutes.

All in all, it was a good morning. I stepped on the scale after my work out, it read 269lbs. This weeks measurements are as follows
Calf 17"
Thigh 28.5"
Hips 54"
Waist 50"
Bust 51"
Arms 14"

100 day challenge

So I came across this site today giveit100.com and it got me thinking. The idea is to do something, anything for 100 days. Maybe you want to learn to juggle, maybe you want to learn to dance, maybe you want to start exercising, whatever it is you do it everyday for 100 days and make a video of you doing it each day. Well I am not interested in making a video, but I am in for documenting it here every day for 100 days, starting today.
This is what I am going to do:

•  Six days a week I will do strength training of some kind
•  Five days a week I will do cardio for at least 20min
•  I will eat smarter, no snacking after supper.
•  Sunday is my rest/cheat day. By "cheat day" I simply mean that is the day I can enjoy a treat that is off limits the rest of the week.

So to start, for the month of January I will be doing the following;

•  Pushups every day, My max right now is 8 with out stopping. I will add 2 every three days.
• Monday, Wednesday, Friday I will do strength training on my hips and legs
• Monday, Wednesday, Friday I will ride my stationary bike for at least 20min
• Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday I will so strength training on my abs
• Tuesday, Thursday I will work out to a exercise DVD for at least 20min
• Everyday I will make a blog post
• I will weigh in everyday and take measurement once a week all of which will be added to my blog post.

When February comes around I will change things up a bit.

So there it is, that is the plan. One hundred days will take me to April 18th, the beginning of Easter Break.

Wish me luck! I'll see you again tomorrow.