Pity Party

Having a pity party tonight. I made the mistake of looking at some old photo's of the thin Melody. I also took some time to check out some of my old girls friends on facebook. It appears that I am the only one who gained weight or is still overweight since high school. I feel like I work my ass off in the gym and am not seeing results. I should say not seeing fast results. I have this girlfriend that I haven't seen 1995 and she looks amazing. She has become very successful and has married well as well. She has 4 kids and still looks great. HOW? It doesn't seem fair. Yes I am comparing myself to her and that isn't fair to myself but this is what I do. I feel like I am never going to lose my weight. Okay enough for tonight.

Jasmine's Surgery

Every child does it; the "what" or "I didn't hear you". Back in November I started to notice that Jasmine was saying these things more often then normal or not even hearing us. After a couple months of this increasing frustration we decided that maybe it was time to get her ears checked. It had gotten so bad that we could be sitting at the table with her and she wouldn't hear us. Several doctor appointments later we find out that Jasmine really can't hear. She has fluid buildup and will need to have tubes put in to drain the fluid. Her doctor also suggested removing her adenoids while he was in since they are very large and could also be affecting her hearing. I was so nervous. I trust her doctor it's just the idea of my baby having surgery for anything scared me.

Here she is getting ready to go in. She was playing with the tv remote.

Here she is right afterwards. 

She did great and mom didn't need to worry about anything. After a long weekend of resting she is like her old self again. Here she is at the Easter Egg hunt this past weekend; just 3 days after surgery. 

Special Kind of Morning

A good mom is one that wakes up with you not once, not twice but three times in the middle of the night to clean up vomit, diarrhea, or any other bodily fluids that came out. A good mom is one that allows you to sleep with her even though it puts her at risk. A good mom is one that doesn't say a word when she gets thrown up on in the middle of the night. She just changes her clothes, flips the pillow over and goes back to bed. A good mom wakes up after only getting a couple of hours of sleep scrubs the mattresses, does up laundry, cleans up sick kid, calls school to report illness, locates someone to cover second shift and still manages to primp herself for a fun day of work; where she will get yelled at by grouchy old farts with a smile on her face and bags under her eyes.

Day 2

DietBet Day 2:

Woke up this morning to find that we received 3 inches of snow last night and another 3 have fallen since (still coming down). It is really hard to find motivation to workout when it's cold, wet, and just plain nasty out.

My day at work started out with an office meeting and a box of donuts calling my name. You would be so proud of me; I pulled out my fat free muffin and said no to the donuts. I found the best muffins. The whole family loves them.

They are so yummy. I make them using my mini muffin tin. I can eat two for 140 calories. I feel like I am cheating by eating two vs one large one. 

Last night we ran around town trying to find a new mini van or crossover so we stopped at Wendy's for dinner. I picked up a small chili for lunch today. It wasn't bad. Hoping that it doesn't make me gassy and bloated though. Nothing worse then trying to run on the treadmill at the gym and feeling like that. I know a little TMI, but hey we've all been there. 

Tonight I have a PTO meeting at the little girls school. I need to figure out when to make dinner. I guess I will get oldest MiKayla picked up from track practice then head home to make a nice salmon dinner, eat, then head to my meeting. Hoping to get a light workout in before bed. I will let you know how that goes.  Gotta love this on the go life I lead. 

Day 1

DietBet day 1:

This morning I got up to find that first mother nature hates me physically and mentally. Besides that I started out pretty good. I had my oatmeal this morning. This is huge for me since most mornings I don't eat anything or maybe a piece of fruit. I had a lean pocket for lunch today and a small 140 calorie snack after.

Because I have to be to work by 7am which means I need to leave my house by 6:30am I really do not have time to workout in the morning so I go after work. I decided that today I would run. I did 3 miles on the treadmill. Felt pretty good to get to 3 miles, but boy was it tough.

I finished up the night by having a smarter Wendy's choice dinner and relaxing before bed.

Incentive

It has been a long week. My three beautiful children keep me very busy or maybe I keep them busy which in turn keeps me busy.. something like that.. all I know is that I am always busy. We have gymnastics, church, swim lessons, school activities, softball starting, etc., etc. We all the craziness in my life I am trying to find time to workout and being that it's winter in Northern Michigan that means I need to find gym time. Needless to say it's been hard to find enough time to give it 100%; until now.

What has changed you might ask? Well I now have some financial incentive. My little sister stopped by tonight and told me about this site called DietBet. DietBet holds weight loss challenges. You pay $25 and bet to lose 4% of your weight in 28 days. if you can do that you will win the pot divided by all that lose their 4% so at least your $25.

To be honest with you while signing up I though piece of cake.. then I calculated my 4%. I haven't had my official weigh in yet but I figure that 4% should be about 7 pounds. Yikes!!! That is 2 pounds a week. That goal is harder then it might sound. We have weeks that are up and down and lately I have been averaging about 1.25 pounds a week. So not only do I need to do what I have been doing but kick it up by double the effort.

No turning back now.. official weigh in will be on Sunday afternoon. Wish me luck!

I think I can! I think I can!

First off let me start by saying I am sick of winter... It's cold and icy and I am so over it. The only thing nice about winter is that it is acceptable to run around in long pants and big sweaters.

Back in January I decided I need to become a runner. All the women I know who have lost weight either walk or run and most run. I went out and bought some running shoes, joined the gym and decided I needed to start training for a 5K as motivation. After several weeks of training I decided to see how well I could do on the treadmill. I was going to run 3.1 miles and see how long it takes me. I was still learning how to log things on my run keeper so it's listed as walking not running.

Last night I was feeling pretty good and decided it was time to try it again. Here are my results:

I didn't go the full 3.10 so it's not a perfect comparison but it's pretty darn good. That 0.10 of a mile is only maybe another minute if that. As you can see though my average pace has sped up and even if I add another minute to my run last night I have shaved 4+ minutes off in just a little over a month. 

In addition I want to note that this time and distance includes a 5 minute warm up walking before I start running. I am going to wait a couple weeks and try starting my time after my warm up and see what my true 5K treadmill time is. Even though the scale lately hasn't moved this to me is a sign that my overall health is improving and I am becoming more fit. I have not registered for the April 20th 5K yet but I think I might just to see. 

Down Stress, Down

There have been many studies that show that stress can hinder weight loss. I can honestly say that this is true because I am proof. But, is it because stress causes our body to freak out or is it because stress causes munchies and other poor diet habits? Because I am one of those poor choice people I decided to research food that helps fight stress. I found this acticle online: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2081112/Foods-fight-stress-Changing-diet-overcome-anxiety-step-successful-weight-loss.html

There are several reasons why we stress and different way to cope with it. Here are some of the key points I found:

• Bloated and Stressed: Eat Jerusalem artichokes, chicory, bananas, garlic, onions and leeks. 
• Wired and Stresses: Eat protein with every meal; eggs, meat or fish. Also eat healthy fats and plenty of vegetables.
• Cold and Stressed: Eat less sugar and refined carbs. Eat protein and good fats with each meal. Cut back on alcohol and coffee. Avoid raw cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and kale. Eat warming foods such as chili, ginger, green tea, turmeric, cider vinegar, horseradish and wasabi.
• Ill and Stressed: Eat fresh brightly coloured fruit and vegetables. Spices, tea, green tea, garlic, red wine and dark chocolate are also good to eat. 
• Hormonal and Stressed: Eat organic meat, eggs and dairy products tend to be lower in growth hormones. Eat a little fermented soy like soy sauce, tamari, miso, and tempeh can help. Also eat plenty of fiber. 
• Tired and stressed: Eat more red meat, fish and eggs, spinach and watercress, poultry, milk, tofu and mushrooms. Also make sure to get more fluids by increasing fruit and veggie intake. 
• Demotivated and Stressed: Eat protein with every meal. Eat bio-yogurt and cut back on sugar.  

I think the key here is to eat your protein, limit your sugar, and avoid gassy foods. The one thing that stood out to me was that I need to become ill and stressed because those people get to eat chocolate. So, before you pick up a bag of chips and munch the stress away take a look at this list and pick the best alternative. 

5K & ME

The sun is out and the birds are singing.. Spring is right around the corner; or we hope it is. I have been really trying to focus on weight lose and myself this year. I choice to not make a resolution but rather to change my lifestyle starting with me.

Over the years I have followed blogs by some amazing women who have all lost a ton of weight and the one thing they all have in common is that they run. I haven never been a runner. I have short, fat legs and have never liked the look of jogging pants.

I decide that this year I was going to sign up for a couple 5k's and just try it out. I have done a couple local 5k's and done okay. Already, not okay - I sucked but I finished. This time I plan on training for one. I signed up for my first 5K of the season July 17th in Minneapolis, MN. I figured it would be fun to run with my older sister plus it is time for me to go home for a visit. Together we registered for a 5K Color Run.

After registering for my first 5K I was feeling pretty good so decided to get started but how..... 

First step was to buy some new running shoes. I went into a local shoe store and purchased the top rated that fit my feet and felt good. They are the ugliest shoes ever.

The next step was to get a gym membership and start using it. I joined the local YMCA and enrolled the kids in classes. I figured that if they had class I would have zero excuse to not workout since I was already there. After doing a little research I decided to download a Couch to 5K app for my phone and to get started. 

Just like any diet/fitness plan I have ever tried before; I start out strong. I was running 3 times a week. Every day I got faster and further. I decided that I need to add another 5K to my schedule. I signed up for the local 5K I had done before on Memorial Day. I also signed up for another Color Run in August closer to home with my little sister. As the weeks have gone by the weight has slowly come off but not as fast as I would like  and now I am gaining not losing. Frustration is setting in and it's hard to get motivated. I own the gear, I set a goal, I hired a personal trainer; so what's the problem?

My family has always struggled with their weight and my sisters feel my pain. My little sister has been trying to help me figure out what's going on. She got me a BodyMedia. 

This allows me to track everything happening with my body. Sleep, steps, activity, and food. I have learned a ton in the past 2 weeks. I find that my workouts are not the problem. My problem is logging my food and staying honest with myself. Log the 4 tablespoons of frosting I ate, not pretend that I didn't. 

Weight loss is a challenge and I struggle every day. Today though is a new day and I plan to focus on ME.