Six months later

My 'just a few days' break turned into 6 months.  I'm going to try this again.  It seems that logging my food and exercise is the only thing that works for me.  I've got all the tools in place. My fancy activity tracking apps, a plan of how I will be eating and the motivation to make a change.

Today is New Year's Eve.  We have our traditional lobster dinner planned and will go to the neighbors house for a few hours.  I very rarely see midnight and I doubt tonight is an exception.

Tomorrow is Sunday and I will be weighing myself and possibly taking full body pictures. I'm not sure that I can handle that at this weight though. We'll see....

60 Days of Blogging!!!

Day 60

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.8

I did it!!!  I feel like this!!!

I'm so proud of myself.  60 days in a row.  I will probably take a few days off now and refocus on what I want to do with this blog.  Definitely want to do more about the fitness but right now I'm focusing on getting one more week down the road.  I want to be here:

I've realized that I can do anything that I set my mind too.  I'm still at about 7.5 lbs down but that's 60 days in and I haven't even given it 100%. I know that I can do this and I know that I've made excuses.  I'm ready for vacation and then I am going to refocus my efforts.  22.8 lbs to go and I WILL DO THIS!

Unpleasant to be around

Day 59

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.8

This was how the work day ended.

I'm really hoping that my foot gets better soon.  I'm tired of not running.  It effects my whole day and makes me grumpy and quick tempered.  Not having patience is bad when your kids are out of school for the Summer.  It's not their fault that I didn't exercise and feel bad about it.

So, it was a total fail day.  I had this beer, cooked the kids tacos for dinner and then went out to dinner and had wine and pizza.  I'm really surprised the scale hasn't exploded and gone up a bunch.

Wow!  Am I negative or what?!?!?!?  I'll get over it and rebound.  I always do...

Just another manic Monday

Day 58

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.8

Even though I slept awful last night, I've got this!  Maybe I'll need a little nap but mostly I'll be fine.

Easy day to start the week off.  The kids and I went to the pool midmorning to get some of their crazies out.  Lots of work after that and got dinner ready for the oven before taking the youngest to Karate.

The grown ups had he turkey stuffed bell peppers from this website.

Turkey stuffed peppers

The kids had the old stand by of Roast Beef French Dip sandwiches made in the crockpot.  It takes 10 minutes to put together and they all love it.

We didn't make it to Karate graduation on Saturday so Zoey got her Brown Belt today.

After dinner and kids bedtime, Jason and I caught up on Game of Thrones.  That show makes me sad/happy/mad all at once all the time.  Can't quit watching!

Sunday Meal Prep

Day 57

Change                         : + 0.2

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.8

I'm up just a smidgeon today.  No biggie.  No run for me today and I plan to abstain tomorrow as well.  I want a few more days of rest and stretching to see if my foot gets better.

It was an easy day around here.  It started with menu planning, grocery shopping and meal prep and ended with a nice drink and some couch time.  I don't meal prep nearly as much as I used to but I wanted to do a few things to make the week easier. I cooked chicken breast 3 ways, a tuna noodle salad, a sweet pea salad, pizza pasta for the kids, brussels sprouts and bacon, boiled some eggs and cooked halibut for dinner.

On Pinterest, I saw a different way to cook chicken that I liked.  You cube the chicken, toss it in oil (I did olive oil but will try coconut at some point), mix in your seasoning and then put it all on a sheet pan separated by aluminum foil. I baked it at 400 for 20 minutes.  Next time I'll cut the time down by 2-3 minutes.

The Sweet Pea salad turned out really good too.  That's greek yogurt mixed with red wine vinegar and not just a bunch of mayo.

Here are the Pinterest links that I used:

Chicken prep

Sweet Pea Salad

Pizza Pasta Salad (for the kids)

Tuna Noodle Salad

Now if I can just make it through Monday!

It's all connected

Day 56

Change                         : -  0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.6

I weighed today and the scale hasn't moved.  Go me!  That's pretty good for having 4 days of not running this week.

Today, I ran again.  Not bad at all. My heel still feels off but I'm pretty sure I know why. I had this big epiphany while I was running.  My hips have always been tight which makes my hamstrings tight.  When my hamstrings are tight my calves get tight and then (TA DA) my heel hurts. So the great big secret here is to stretch out my hips every day.

9 ways to stretch your hip flexors from SkinnyMom

It was another pretty great day around here.  I sat outside and read magazines for about 2 hours while Jason did yard work.  We  went to see the new TMNT movie and then had an early dinner at Bonefish.  Once again, I love their grilled lamb.  After we got home, the kids went upstairs to watch a movie and Jason and I watched DeadPool.  Very funny but definitely not for kids.

I've been thinking lately that it's almost time to sign up for #6.  Of course, it won't be until Fall.  I don't see how people run after 8 am during the Summer.

I ran today

Day 55

Change                         : -  0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.6

I'm still not wanting to weigh. Probably because I didn't run for 4 days this week.  My foot didn't hurt all day so that was some kind of progress.

It was a good Friday. I got a lot of work done, cooked some great steak for dinner and we spent several hours outside playing basketball and watching fire flies.  Ended the night with a little Lip Sync Battle and called it a day.  Doesn't get much better than that.

Cooking mishap

Day 53

Change                         : -  0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.6

I'm really scared that I'm going to forget to post a blog this close to hitting that 60 day goal.  I can do this!  No run again today.  I'm going tomorrow though.  I'll do the shorter route that's about 3 miles instead of the 4 mile one.

Funny story unrelated to weight loss or exercising.  We had a bunch of bananas about to go bad so I told my girls they could make banana bread and banana muffins.  They love to cook, especially when it's unsupervised (except for the oven part).  From the picture below, can you tell that anything went wrong?

They forgot to add the flour to the bread.  I even checked with them before it went in the oven and they were sure they had added everything. Nope.

It's hard to eat healthy when I don't exercise

Day 52

Change                         : -  0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.6

On the days that I get up and go for a run first thing, I have no trouble making wise food decisions all day.  Day 3 of not running to rest my foot and I had a burger for lunch and then pizza for dinner. Forced rest is not my thing.

While looking into weights and different routines to incorporate, I found these arm exercises.  They seem like something I can follow.  I like keep it simple.

21 Day Arm Exercise

My arms are really weak and that's probably why I dislike doing the exercises so much.  Triceps are especially hard for me.

Oh heel no....(I'm so funny in my own mind)

Day 51

Change                         : -  0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.6

Another day with no running.  My heel is still sporadically sore throughout the day.  I'm going to give it 3 days and then try again I think.

Work is crazy for me this week but I took an hour at lunch to take the kids to the pool and get them out of the house for a bit.  There were only two other people there besides us.  It was nice to just sit for a little while.

Got home and made some tuna salad for lunch. Costco had a sample of it on Monday and I've wanted more since then.  Fast and healthy!

I'm still planning to incorporate some weights into my life but there never seems to be enough hours in the day to plan something out.  I guess that I could get up earlier but I really like my sleep and not waking up to an alarm so we'll see....

Surviving Monday and it's been 50 days!!!

Day 50

Change                         : -  0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.6

50 days of blogging!  Woo Hoo!  Go me!!!  I'm really proud to have stuck with it this long without missing a day. It will be weird after day 60 to not have to blog if I don't have time or just don't feel like it.

Monday was definitely a Monday.  It was especially bad because I did zero food prep or meal planning on Sunday.  I normally at least have an idea of what I'm going to do for the week.  Luckily, there's not even any junk in the house to eat so there are no temptations. I had to run to Costco at lunch and the scallops looked good so that's what we're having for dinner.  The kids will have some pasta with it and I'm going to steam some asparagus for all of us. That sounds pretty healthy to me!

I really do push the 'how close can I get to running out of gas' thing too far sometimes.  This was what it looked like when I pulled into the gas station.

I took the day off from running and I'm hoping that by tomorrow my heel will be feeling better.  It would stink to be sidelined after just getting back into it.  We'll see though...

Beginning of an injury

Day 49

Change                         : -  0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.6

My heel hurts.  From everything I've read, it looks like the beginning of Achilles tendonitis.  My calves have felt tight lately and I haven't been stretching like I should.  It's only bad first thing in the morning and when I've been sitting for a while. I should probably take a few days off from running and rest it but I don't want to.  I'm back at the stage of running feeling natural and I love it.

Today was a pretty lazy day.  I haven't been grocery shopping or meal planned at all.  I've got to get that done as quickly as possible so I don't eat out every night this week.

The girls and I went out to lunch by ourselves. Buffalo Wild Wings was good. I had a giant beer, cheese curds and wings.  I only had 4 wings so I really don't even feel bad about it. It was a great lunch with a lot of laughing and giggling.

We brought the boys some to go lunch and then I had a wonderful hour and a  half nap. Just what I needed before starting a new work week.  Here's to hoping Monday doesn't live up to it's reputation.

I just need to beat the sun

Day 48

Change                         : -  2.6

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    7.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  22.6

What a day!  I finally weighed myself and was very pleasantly surprised.  I'm down 7.4 pounds over the last 48 days!  If I get 2.6 more in the next 12 days, I will have attained my initial 60 day goal.

I was up and out for a run before 7 and it was still ridiculously hot.  This is what 75 degrees and 95% humidity looks like.  I think that on sunny days I need to run before the sun comes out.  It will still be humid but at last the sun won't kill me.

After the run, I was able to get the house straightened up before karate.  Zoey tested for her brown belt and passed.  I'm so proud of her!  Lot's of hard work went into it.  Now all 3 are brown belts.  Next stop advanced brown, then novice black and then BLACK!

Jason and the kids went to see the Angry Birds movie.  I opted out.  I love my cartoons but I had no desire to see that one.  Apparently, I made a good call. Jason said it was bad.  We met for dinner at Bonefish after the movie.  The lamb was wonderful and we had a great time. I love when the day turns out like this.

Why are short weeks the longest?

Day 47

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.8

For a work week that was only 4 days long, it lasted forever!  I'm ready for a slow week where I don't have to think much and can run on autopilot.  That hasn't happened in the 8 years I've been with the company but I'm definitely due for it.

I'm going to weigh myself tomorrow.  I think that holding off for this long has made me anxious. I over analyze my body parts, guessing if I'm bigger or smaller in certain areas.  That's not very healthy.

Power of positive thinking (and exercise)

Day 46

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.8

I few more days before I'm ready to weigh in again. Today was good though. I got up early and went for a run. It was just under 4 miles and was just what I needed.  I guess that all those experts who say exercise makes you happy were right.  Starting my day with a run is the best way to ensure a good attitude.

I've been slacking on my food lately.  Not eating anything really bad for me but I don't think I'm getting enough calories.  That will slow my metabolism down so I need to work on it.  I've also started taking Vital Proteins.  I put 2 scoops in my coffee, it has no taste and gives me 18 grams of protein.  I'm going to try it for a few weeks before I decide what I think.  Maybe it will make my knees not hurt and my skin look like I'm younger.  We can only hope....

So lazy

Day 45

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.8

I didn't leave the house at all today.  Seriously, I'm not even sure why I got dressed.  It would have been a good yoga pants and t-shirt kind of day.

I didn't take the kids to karate and made everyone have leftovers for dinner.  Then I spent the evening on the couch.  

Pretty lazy day all around....

Calgon take me away

Day 44

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.8

Those Calgon commercials were so funny back in the 80's/90's.  Sadly, I can't remember how old I was when they were popular.

Still haven't gotten on the scale.  It was a long Tuesday.  After being off of work for 5 days, my email was ridiculous.  Like not even close to fun.

After dealing with a little bit of email, I had to take Jason to his follow up appointment after his surgery.  They removed all of the packaging and stuff from his nose.  There were 3 things in each side to come out.  It didn't help that we had to drive 30 minutes to get there, spend 45 minutes in the office and drive home 30 minutes.  This was my whole view in the office.

We got home and I worked and worked until it was time for karate.  I dropped the kids off and headed down to Antonetta's to order Italian for everyone for dinner.  It was actually nice.  I had about 50 minutes to sit and have a drink and not have to worry or do anything.

One thing I've noticed lately is that my attitude has been more negative than I like.  I try to be upbeat as often as possible but it has seemed harder lately.  I think that I need a little more structure and a little more help getting things done around the house.  At least that's the route I'm going to take.  I don't like feeling like I'm in a bad mood all of the time.

I've also sucked at taking pictures lately.  I want to really work on that.  I think I need to go buy a new lens for my camera too.  Maybe a trip to Best Buy to see what they have is in order.  

Happy Memorial Day!

Day 43

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.8

My plan is to just get back to a 'normal' day before weighing.  I ran again today but waited too late and it was very hot.  The hottest run that I've done in a long time.  At least 75 with a lot of humidity and very sunny.  The sunshine was the killer everything else was tolerable.

Happy Memorial Day!  We should always remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can have our freedom.

The day was good.  I enjoyed my hot run, had some outside time, did some of the never ending laundry and ate BBQ that I didn't have to cook.

I ran today!!!!

Day 42

I went for a run today!  First time in about a week and a half and it felt really, really good.  When I don't run I forget how much I enjoy it.  I like the 'I can barely breathe but look what I can make my body do' feeling.  

After the run, I had to do something that I try my best to not ever do.  Yard work.  Jason had trimmed the bushes out front before his surgery but didn't have time to clean up the mess left behind.  I don't like yard work.  I've stated several times that my marriage clause had a no outside work condition in it. I enlisted the two uninjured kids to help and they were useless. They ended up just irritating each other instead of helping.

It took me about an hour to finish everything up.  Surprisingly, I had a pretty big sense of accomplishment when I was done.  I'm not saying I liked it.  I'm just saying it could have been worse.

After I cooled down enough to shower, Mia and I ran to big up some pre-cooked barbecue for Memorial Day.  Lazy, I know, but it just seemed easier with everything else going on right now.

I tried to have a nap but Jason put on the new Point Break and I ended up watching it even though it was an awful, awful movie with zero plot line or character development.  

After grilling some burgers for dinner everyone scattered their separate ways and I got to hang out on the couch alone and read a book.  Heavenly!

It's all in my head

Day 41


Saturday was not a bad day.  I took the kids shopping for bathing suits and to do some grocery shopping.  It's amazing when a 13, 11 and 9 year old are good for 4 whole hours in a row.  I was really proud of them.  I think they understood that I really just needed for them to act like I know they can. We wanted to get out of the house to give Jason a little bit of quiet.  It was too hot for us to just be outside so shopping was the answer.

While we were out we stopped at Petco to get some fish food and a few new fish.  The kids tried their best to get me to adopt a new kitten.  Of course they all promised to take care of it and that I wouldn't have to do a thing.  Ha ha ha!  It's not my first rodeo.

Lately, I have come to the realization that I sabotage all of my hard work of exercising and eating healthy just because I can't decide what to do instead of having an afternoon drink or weekend snack.  I thought at first it was boredom but it's really not, it's indecision. There are soo many things that I like to do: read, knit, catch up on tv shows, go through magazines, pick new pinterest recipes,  learn more about blogging, photography, etc.  There are really many, many things that I enjoy doing. The problem is that there are so many, I just don't know where to start.  I also feel that maybe taking that time for myself is selfish.  I shouldn't feel that way, I am the everything person. If it's needed, I get it done.  Period.

This is the mindset that needs to be changed the most.  Maybe I need to keep a list of these things and randomly pick one each day.  Just let that be my choice without making a choice.  Or maybe, I need to learn to be more decisive.  Maybe not say maybe anymore and just do.

The end is in sight

Day 40

What a long couple of days it's been.  No, I haven't weighed in and I don't want to. So,Thursday was all day at the Surgery center, not too bad.  We got home, got Jason settled and I had to get to the grocery store and then get home and take care of the kids and him.

Friday was long too.  Firs thing, I have to take Mia to the doctor because she felt awful.  The doctor was concerned with her chest so we had to go get a chest X-ray.  We find out that she has a sinus infection and thankfully not pneumonia.  From there we leave to drive 35 minutes away to get Jason a different pain prescription because his isn't working.  They don't have it ready so I wait for 20 minutes.  We drive back from there to the pharmacy and wait 30 minutes to get it filled.  We get home and I have about two hours of free time before I have to start cooking stuff.  While I'm washing something in the sink I notice water coming out from the cabinet.  It seems we have a leak.

I get this cleaned up, get the kids fed and finally sit down to watch a movie with Jason.  We watched Spectre and I loved it.  The day was long and I was tired but I made it through the whole movie.

I'm hoping to get back to normalcy soon.

Surgery Day

Day 39

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.8

Jason had surgery today.  He had a double deviated septum and really needed it fixed.  We had to leave around 8:30 and didn't get home until 2.

Since I had hours and hours of sitting around, I decided to start researching weight training programs that I can do from home.  I want 20-30 minutes of exercises that I can do about 4 days a week.  My running will go back up to 5-6 days a week starting this weekend.

The first mile especially! On the days you don't really feel like running those are the worst.

Last Day of School

Day 38

Change                         : + 0.2

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.8

The last day of school has finally come and gone.  It's usually a few days before the kids start saying how bored they are.  We take a picture here every year at the beginning and end of school.  I need to frame those two together.

I wanted to go for a run but we had the 5th grade walk at school and then I had tons to get done before they got home.  I love this picture of Jason and Mia. She looks so grown up. I can't believe she's going to middle school.

I try to do something each year when they get home from school on the last day.  This year I greeted them with silly string and then let them shoot each other.  Very fun! We also had our traditional Dave and Buster's outing.  Always fun and then we had a late dinner at Outback.

No exercise news today.  There doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.

No movement and I'm good with that

Day 37

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.6

The scale is stuck, maybe it needs new batteries.  Ha ha ha!  Just kidding! I'm glad that it's staying the same because I have't exercised in several days.  I'm doing okay with food but could do better.

Lunch was amazingly good and easy - shredded chicken, black beans, cheese and salsa! I guess if I'm going to take pictures of my food I should use something other than paper plates.

One more day until school is out for Summer....

3 days to go

Day 36

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.6

Wednesday is the kids last day of school.  I'm not sure I'm ready for Summer.  This is pretty much the only time that it's not that much fun to work from home.  Granted, I save a ton of money on babysitters and day camps but they are here ALL DAY LONG!  There's no break where I get to be alone.  I'll live but it's still a challenge to come up with non-electronic things for them to do.  I'm trying to not let them rot their brains.

This is going to come as a shock but I had something different for breakfast today. I cooked some sweet potatoes in coconut oil for a bit then added some water and covered the pan to steam them through.  Once the water was gone, I added just a touch more put in the spinach and closed the lid again to let it wilt.  While this was going on, I fried an egg in 1/2 a teaspoon of coconut oil and then piled it all together. The runny yolk was just what the sweet potatoes and spinach needed.

This was very filling so I didn't feel like much for lunch.  I just had a few pieces of low sodium turkey and some cherry tomatoes.  We went out to dinner and I tried the Soft-shell crab.  Big mistake!  It was greasy and I didn't eat half of it.  I need to stick with what I know is good.

My exercise game has been off track lately.  There are so many things going on right now that I feel like I'm limping to the finish line.  By Friday, I should really be at a good place.  I'm going to find the right weight routines online that I want to do and get everything on a schedule.  If I have it written down, it will get done.  Maybe I need a new online planner/organizer.  Something else to research...

Sometimes you have to just say no.

Day 35

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.6

Today I said NO to weighing in.  We had plans to leave early and go show the kids the land.  I honestly just didn't want to know what the scale said.  I wanted to enjoy myself and not stress.  There would be no time for my long Sunday run today and I planned to sit around outside a lot and not do a whole bunch.

Here's our new covered boat slip.

The kids are really excited at the thought of us having a lake house to go to. It will be several years but we've put the process to get started in place.

The rest of the day was spent doing some grocery shopping and a little bit of food prep for the week.  Monday is the only day we don't have anything planned this week. I'm going to try to get a little bit more organized.  Even with being overly busy, I'm going to try to make good food decisions.

There are only 3 days of school left until the kids are home for Summer vacation...

We got the land!

Day 34

Change                         : + 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.6

My big news was that we had an appointment at a a land auction on the Lake.  70 lots were available and there were 100s of appointments.  We were lucky to have a really early slot.  The agent helping us was amazing and managed to get us the lot that we wanted.  We have land on the lake and a private, covered boat slot.  We were also lucky enough to get a second plot of land that we will use as an investment property.  What an amazing day!

I'm ready to get back focused on my nutrition and exercise.  This week is going to be rough though.  I've got a doctors appointment, the kids' last day of school, Jason has sinus surgery and I've got to get to a good place at work because I'm only working through Wednesday.  I know that sounds like a lot of excuses but sometimes it's hard to focus on so many things at once.

Arrrggghhhhhh!

Day 33

Change                         : + 0.4

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.6

Friday was a very long day and I didn't eat well at all or exercise.  I'm owning up to this.  I realize that the last week I've been half-assed in my nutrition and exercise.  Food is my go to stress release.  I might need some of these:

Work has been really stressful lately and I seem to be unfocused.  This isn't any kind of excuse to not stay on track but at least I've identified that is the problem.

Friday was busy, just really busy and I kept getting thrown curve balls.  There was fifth grade awards at school first thing.  I didn't get back home until 9:45 and had emails and tons of things to catch up on.  During lunch, I needed to do my quick hour long run to Costco, Sam's and Kroger.  When I got to Costco, it was closed due to a power outage.  I readjust and go to Sam's and swing back by Costco 30 minutes later and they were still closed.  I gave up and went to Kroger.  Not 5 minutes in the school calls and Mia has hurt her hand, the nurse thinks it's broken.  One trip to the orthopedic later, we have a broken hand and I'm back home an hour and a half later than planned.

I worked until 4:30 and then really had to go to Costco to get halibut for dinner.  I ate all of the samples.  I cooked dinner for everyone and didn't want fish so got Jason to take me out for Italian.  I had eggplant rollitini and meatballs.  Seriously, I'm very off track.  There was also wine involved.

Must make a plan and stick to it if I want to get results.  It's simple logic but I somehow keep falling off track.  Very disappointing and frustrating.

It must be the weather's fault

Day 32

Change                         : + 0.4

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.8

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.2


Rainy weather makes me sad.  Well, let me rephrase that, rainy weather makes me sad when I have to do something other than lay on the couch.  It's just something about the lack of sunshine that makes me want to eat all of the food. I didn't, even though I wanted to.  Food wise it was a pretty good day and I even got in a run in the drizzle.

This weekend, I'm going to have to suck it and go bathing suit shopping.  How not fun is that?!?!?  I think I'm going to go for swim shorts this year just to change it up.  I've done swim skirts for a long time.  Maybe I should embrace the fact that I don't have thin legs and might not ever.  That's okay, they are strong legs.  That's more important.

We have big plans this weekend that I hope work out.  I'm not going to mention anything about it so I don't jinx it.  More to come on Sunday....

Weight loss is weird

Day 31

Change                         :  - 0.4

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    6.2

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  23.8

It's funny to me that the scale moved for the first time in a few days today. I did not eat well yesterday.  My mouth was sore from having my wisdom tooth removed and I decided that was my excuse to eat whatever was soft.  Grits and eggs for breakfast, leftover Lo Mein for lunch, a corn/cheese/black bean tortilla for snack and then 1.5 pieces of pizza (not even that soft) for dinner. Throw in a beer and two glasses of wine and that's my day.

So it seems to me that the way to lose weight is not exercise and eat whatever you want. Ha ha!  Kidding of course, I'll probably be up 1.5 tomorrow when it catches up with me.

30 Days of Blogging

Day 30

Change                         :  - 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.8

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.2

I can't believe that I made it 30 days!!!!  Really, for me, this is such an accomplishment and I am very proud of myself for being consistent in all aspects.  By continuing to track my food and weight loss, I'm down almost 6 pounds this month.  If I can do this every month, I'm only 4 months from my goal weight.  That is a great feeling!!!

I had a little snag in my day though.  It rained all morning!  Not that little drizzly stuff that I can still run in but real rain so no exercise for me.  Then I had an appointment with the fancy dentist to schedule having a wisdom tooth removed and he decided to just remove it while I was there.  WTH?!?!?!  Anyway, I survived and don't have much pain at all from it.  You can see on the left side of the picture that the numbing stuff has started to work.  My face is drooping.  I'm glad that it's over and done with though.

Now that I'm at the halfway point of blogging, I need to set goals for the second 30 days.  I want to add in some weights each day and continue to run.  I feel like I've hit my first plateau because I've been gaining and losing the same pound every few days.  I'm hoping a few small tweaks in my diet and exercise will get things moving again.

Monday Confession

Day 29

Change                         :  - 0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.8

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.2

I have a confession.  I gave up on my 30 day challenge. Day 23 was my last day and I know that I could have continued on and finished it up.  The thing is, I just didn't want to.  There's no reason that I need to hold a plank for longer than 3 minutes.  Seriously.  I will continue to do the exercises but I'm capping the number instead of continuing to go up every day.

I had a good run on Monday.  I added about 1/2 a mile to the day just because the weather was perfect and my legs felt fresh. These guys tried to block my path though.

Lunch was leftover halibut and broccoli.  It was really good.  I was hungry all morning for some reason but managed to only eat what I was supposed to.

The rest of the day was pretty nice.  We didn't have anywhere to go so the kids and I did some cleaning up and cooked dinner together.  It was a fun way to start the, sure to be long, week.

3 Things

Day 28

Change                         :  - 0.4

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.8

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.2

1 - I really stink at posting anything with any depth on the weekends.  I'm not sure why this is.  Maybe my brain is overloaded from working all week and can't think straight by then.

2 - Even though I have great intentions, I have not gotten better about taking more pictures.  We were at some really pretty places on Sunday, I had my camera and did not take a single picture of the pretty view.

3 - There might be 5 of us in the family but we really don't do a whole bunch out of the normal routine.  It seems to be average family life stuff.  I go to the grocery store, do laundry, clean, drive the kids to karate and that's about it.  I think we are about as vanilla as you can get.

We were in the car a lot on Sunday looking at possible land to buy on the lake. We left early so I decided to take a day off from my run.  This was the first time I'd missed in 20 days.  It was funny because my legs were more sore from sitting in the car than from my run.

The kids, despite holding still for so long, were troopers and it was nice to get some 'you are stuck in the same car with me' talk time.  

Almost missed it

Day 27

Change                         :    0.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.6

I almost forgot to blog today.  No change on the scale which is good considering I drank and ate out today.

Saturday was fun and fast.  I had to get up early to get in my run. The weather was absolutely perfect.  It was in the low 50's and sunny.

We had to leave for the karate tournament at 9:00 and were there until almost 1:00.  It went well!  We walked away with a second place, a third place and two fourth place trophies.  The kids had fun but realized that if they want to place higher they need to put in more effort.

We had a little outside time after that.  Love to see the kids doing things together especially if it's a made up game.

Saturday night we decided to go to Movie Tavern for dinner and a movie to see the new Captain America movie.  The movie was full or action and adventure and we all loved it!  

Down and up and down and up

Day 26

Change                         : + 1.0

Pounds Lost (PL)          :    5.4

Pounds to Lose (PTL)   :  24.6

It seems that I'm losing and gaining the same pound over and over.  I'm still down 5.5 for the month so that's okay.  My plan is to lose at least 5 a month until I hit my goal.

Friday was a pretty average day.  I did a lot of work, ran a couple of errands and had a nice dinner at home with the family.  Mia and I picked the first herbs from our little garden and made an appetizer.  We picked basil, cilantro and garlic chives.  The basil with mozzarella, tomatoes and a touch of aged balsamic was really tasty.

Tomorrow we have a karate tournament and then we're going to see the new Captain America movie.  Here's to hoping I am strong at Movie Tavern and can resist their sweet potatoes fries. They are my weakness...