Schaumburg Half Marathon

The day finally came and went. I started a training program 11 weeks ago for the goal I had myself at New Years. I've started this last year, instead of a New Years resolution, I made a New Years goal in which I have all year to accomplish. For 2012, it was the half marathon.

I did really well on the training program for about 7 weeks. I was making all my runs and cross-train days, but I started assistant coaching freshman basketball and that really took over my time after school. My training started to slack because I typically don't get home until after 7:00 pm, by which time we have dinner and it's too dark for me to go running outside. As yesterday approached, I wasn't too concerned. I knew I could finish and I was up to 8.5 miles of non-stop running in my training. Yesterday I made it up to about 9.5 before I took my first walk for about 30 seconds. Overall, I walked less than 1/2 mile throughout the entire 13.1 miles. I was pretty impressed with myself.

I was pumped and ready to go. I was a little nervous on Friday, but Saturday I felt great. Friday night I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and bought a brand new running outfit. I've wanted compression pants for a long time but didn't want to drop the money on them. I was lucky to find both Nike compression pants and a Nike compression top for only $70 with all the Black Friday sales/coupons. For $70, I had to get both and I'm glad I did. They were the keep warm kind also, which was perfect since it was only 25 degrees during the race. At 9:15 am, off I went. Well, really it was 9:25 am by the time I crossed the starting line. I had set a light goal for myself. I say light goal, because realistically, my goal was to finish a half marathon this year. However, throughout training I was keeping a good pace on long runs at 11:00 min/miles and was hoping to be consistent with that during the race. It's amazing how different it is from short runs. At first I was down on myself for training at such a slow pace for myself when I can run a 5k with a 9-9:30 min/mile. Obviously, keeping pace for 13 miles is much different than 3 miles and I eventually got over it. So, at 11:00 min/miles for 13.1 miles it should have taken 144.1 minutes which is 2 hours and 24 minutes. My official race time was 2 hours and 29 minutes (17 seconds), so about a 11:24 min/mile. I placed 1424 out of 1647 runners, and 115th out of 150 in my age group (Female 25-29). I was a bit on the slower side but I'm okay with that! I did my absolute best and I am sure feeling that today.

Up until around mile 9 I was doing great and felt great. Towards the end, my hip flexors really began to hurt. My aunt had suggested it was because I was taking the same sort of step, or running the same way for so long, so we quickly walked using a long stride and sort of swinging my hips in a different motion to open them up and move them differently. That was the only thing that had bothered me throughout the entire race, but boy was it painful! That was during mile 11 that I finally stretched them out because I wanted to finish strong, which I did. I picked up my pace and sprinted (or at least what felt like sprinting after 2 1/2 hours of running) through the finish line to pick up my finishers medal.

Kristian felt really bad that he couldn't be there to support me, however, in my absentmindedness, I registered for the race during his annual family trip up to deer camp. I was totally okay with it though, he felt worse than he needed too. It worked out well, I took the dogs and stayed at my uncle's house which is a bit closer to the race than where I live. I drove to my co-workers house, which is like 2 miles from the starting line and she and her boyfriend dropped me off and picked me up. It was great! Didn't have to fight parking or anything. I really appreciated that.

What really helped me through was having my Aunt Teri there to help pace me throughout the race. She met me some time between mile 3 and 4 and jumped in to run with me. It was nice to chat with someone while running, it really made the time fly when she left me around mile 6. Then I was on my own again until she met up with me around mile 10. This time, my Uncle Larry was with her too, taking photos. He ran with us a bit, snapping photos but not for very long. He's a bike rider, not a runner. My aunt ran with me just until the finish line where she hopped out and let me finish in all my glory. I'm really glad she was there. Once I started hurting, if I was alone chances are I would have walked more and gotten down on myself, but I didn't. So a big "THANK YOU" to my aunt for being there and running with me.

I'm pretty sore today. My hips are okay, but my back, my thighs and the front of my feet hurt. Almost the ankle, but more towards the front, like the tendon that goes to your big toe. It's weird but that's where it hurts.
As I mentioned yesterday to those I was with, I have absolute no desire to run a full marathon. As I was closing in on the finish line yesterday, I told my aunt that there is no way I'd do 26.2 miles. She reminded me that I'd only be half way done. No way! I am proud of my 13.1 miles. If you ever hear me mentioning that I want to run a full marathon, please direct me to this blog post so I can remember the half marathon.

Half Marathon Training

I have been epically failing at blogging lately. My new job has me so tied up, in a good way, that I'm barely on the computer for personal use anymore. I absolutely love my new career as a high school teacher and am thrilled that all the people I work with are super supportive in helping me adapt. After four years of not working, this is definitely a breath of fresh air. I love getting involved and meeting new people. There is just something about walking down the hallway and hearing a student yell over people "Hi Mrs. Jagow!!" I am a lucky, lucky girl to have not only one job that I love and get to help people but TWO, between school and Weight Watchers.

In a post from the beginning of the year, I made it my new years resolution to run a half marathon. I am not a summer runner, in fact, I'm quite a sissy to the heat. On September 10th, I started training for a half marathon I am running on November 24th. It's an 11 week training program and here is where I am so far.



Week 1:
Monday: 3 m (33:33)(11:07)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 3 m (34:13)(11:23)
Thursday: 3 m (33:05)(11:00)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 4 m (38:39)(9:35)
Sunday: 90 minute Bikram Yoga class

Week 2:
Monday: 3 m (31:19)(10:23)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: (31:04)(10:18) Later in the evening I started to feel under the weather.
Thursday: 3 m (30:55)(10:17) Sick
Friday: 5 m (54:45) Sick. Didn't care how long it took as long as I finished and got in the miles.
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Fighting a nasty cold...took an extra rest day on cross train day.

Week 3:
Monday: 4 m (47:57)(11:57) Day I felt the worst. Again, just wanted to get in the miles and not skip a run.
Tuesday: Rest. Thank God.
Wednesday: 3 m (29:33)(9:50) First day I started feeling better. Obviously.
Thursday: 3 m (29:26)(9:48)
(Today) Friday: Rest
Saturday: Will complete 6 m run
Sunday: Cross - Likely a Bikram Yoga class.

Week 3 was really tough. I've been running inside on a treadmill since my cold hasn't fully gone away. It's a little easier on the respiratory system inside rather than outdoors which it's a bit cooler. Hopefully next week I can get back outside. Treadmill running is so boring, although since I'm running at school it is nice to have other people around while I'm running. My overall times are getting better, but I'm struggling to find a good pace that I can keep for 13.1 miles. If I make a goal of 120 minutes that would be a 9:16 mile. That seems like an unobtainable goal right now. Although, I think I can do better than 150 minutes which would average an 11:45 mile. Somewhere in between two and two and a half hours would be acceptable to me. It's my first half marathon and a really just want to finish. Any pace I have would be a personal best since it's my first one!

I recently purchased new running shoes and I love them!


They are the new Nike Vomero 7's and I hadn't realized how old my previous ones were. It was like getting new tires for your car. It was so much more comfortable! I also got a pair of inserts because I hadn't realized how high of arches I have. What a difference! Although yesterday I forgot socks and now I have some awesome blisters.

I'm pretty excited to continue training and increase my running endurance. It's almost time to start thinking about a new years resolution for 2013!

Post-Vacation

Last week, my husband and I decided, relatively last minute, to take a trip. I say relatively last minute because while we had planned for this time off we didn't really know where we were headed to. We were trying to decide between Memphis, New Orleans or Cabo. His first choice was New Orleans and my first choice was Memphis. Naturally, Memphis it was! We were off to celebrate his 31st birthday and my last week before the school year starts for first year teachers. Not to mention - we hadn't been on a vacation together since our honeymoon in Fiji almost 4 years ago!

Hello Beale Street!

My intentions were good. I packed us a bag of goodies for the 8 hour car ride to Tennessee, full of all my yummy Weight Watchers snacks.
First stop we made - Casey's General Store - for Slim Jim's and Apple Fritters, of course.

Whoops. 

We stopped in Sikeston, Missouri at Lambert's Cafe for lunch. It's a cute country restaurant that is known for their "Throwed Rolls" - literally - the roll guy comes out of the kitchen with hot rolls and throws them right to you. Put your hands up and you've shortly after got a hot roll nestled in between them.

Hot Buns!

Once we got to our hotel, which was facing Beale Street - we unpacked, rested a bit and then started our long weekend of living it up in the night life.

View from hotel - Beale Street - and right below is Silky O'Sullivans. That was our "go-to" place.

Each day started with lunch someplace, then a nap, followed by setting out for dinner around 6pm and returned back to the hotel sometimes between 3am-5am the next morning. I'll say, for 31, Kristian can sure hang with the best of them!

Because Beale Street is closed off and open containers are allowed we had a lot of these 32oz "Big Ass Beer" cups.    And one of these Hurricane drinks from Silky's ^
<------I even got a little bit more crazy and got a 100oz WalkMeDown drink from an outside bar.   
 At any rate, the food and drinks were plentiful. No surprise.

So much fun!

By Saturday afternoon, my body was hating me for what I had been doing to it for the past few days. Trying all these new foods and few drinks I'd consumed. Our hotel had a workout room - so I utilized that and ran on the treadmill for about 4.5 miles in addition to all the walking were were doing already. It reminded me how much I hate treadmills, but I knew I had to kick up my activity. Luckily, I have my awesome ActiveLink device that let's me know where my activity is for the day in relation to my activity goals.

Goodness I love this device!

 Once I got home and plugged it into the computer to see all my fancy graphs of activity, I found out I AVERAGED 102% of my daily goal!

Today was the dreaded weigh-in day. It's always stressful to weigh-in after a gluttonous vacation. I was curious to weigh-in on Sunday after we got back home but I knew it wouldn't be an accurate depiction of my actual weight so I waited until my regular weigh-in day of Wednesday morning.

To my surprise - I lost 1.7lbs over vacation.

WHA!?

It was the perfect mixture of extra activity and eating I suppose. This vacation was already guilt-free because I told myself before we left, "it's okay if I gain a little weight". I think it is very important to set that goal for yourself before you leave for vacation. What is your objective? Is it okay to gain a little weight because it's vacation and you know you will get right back on track once you get home? Do you just want to maintain your weight? Or do you want to lose? And what happens if you don't hit that objective or it isn't realistic? I knew I hadn't been on vacation in quite a while so gaining was okay for me, however, I still kept up with regular exercise and much more was added on since we walked everywhere and danced every night while we were out enjoying the live blues music.

This post would have taken a slightly difference direction had I gained over vacation - but it still would have been positive and I would still have been accountable for what I ate and drank. It was my choice and now I'm right back on track to my regular eating habits.

Warrior Dash!

This past Saturday was the Warrior Dash. I have been looking forward to this event since I registered in December for it. That's a long time to wait! This event is pretty epic. I am still ridiculously sore from it and I like to think I am in good shape. I used so many muscles that I did not even know I had. For those who don't know about the Warrior Dash, here is what is to expect...

The Warrior Dash is a 5k, but not an ordinary 5k where you run the entire thing. I can run a 5k in about 28 minutes, when in competitive mode. It took our group between 48-50 minutes to complete this 5k. It is full of obstacles, roughly 12-17 different kinds. There was a tight rope walk over what I think was a dried up stream, rock climbing walls, vertical and horizontal cargo net climbs, lots of crawling in/through dirt tunnels and under barbed wire, jumping over rusted out cars, sliding down mudslides into pools of mud, giant hills to run up and at the end, before wading in a small pond of mud, we leapt over two rows of fire. It was intense. Much more so than I had anticipated. You definitely have to be in some kind of shape to do this. There was a lot of jumping off obstacles. Kudos to my Aunt Teri, who recently had back AND knee surgery and she still completed it like nothing. It was amazing to see someone who just a few months ago was in a knee and back brace from surgery, jumping and climbing and crawling through these obstacles. She's a warrior, no doubt!

Aunt Teri and I before the race!

If you didn't take some caution throughout this race, you could seriously injure yourself. Two of the six of us in our group were bleeding by the end, and my knee is scratched up pretty good. We all survived to brag about it though, and we are getting pumped up for next year’s Warrior Dash! The obstacles change each year, my group said that last year there were different ones and about half of what there was this year, so I anticipate next year’s course! 

This is our group before and then after. The best is that Carrie, Maggie and Steve all wore white shirts and clearly you can see how dirty they are!

At one point, I think I had more mud in my mouth that actually on my body!

After the race, there was someone at the finish line giving out the medals. This was the first event that I've earned a medal! Yay! 

After the race, we hung out for a while at the festival that follows for a while. It was hot and I ended up getting pretty toasty! Once I got home, the first thing I did was shower. Twice! After the first shower, I was drying myself off and noticed there was STILL mud on me! So I hopped back in and re-washed again! After the second one, I was good to go. I drove over to my aunt’s house where we proceeded to  nice little restaurant, Brio, for appetizers and martinis and then met my uncle a little later at Adelle’s for dinner and more martinis. My aunt and I know how to treat ourselves after an event like that! 

I am still working on my Jillian Michaels’ 6 Week 6 Pack challenge. I just finished week 2 and wrote out my schedule for week 3 this morning. I hadn’t planned to take yesterday as a rest day, but I had too and after I woke up this morning, I decided I had to take today also. In the DVD, there is A LOT of upper bodywork and my upper body is still quite sore from Saturday. It is no big deal, I’ll just do the DVD workout Tuesday through Saturday and I’ll still be on track. Sunday, I’m going to the Pride parade in Boystown, so I know I’ll get plenty of walking anyway. Even on my schedules days off last week, which were Tuesday and Saturday, I got lots of activity in. Tuesday we went to see the Conan O’Brien taping and in between getting our tickets and the show starting, we walked at least 6-7 miles. And Saturday, obviously, was the Warrior Dash.

It has been an extremely active week for me and I’m looking forward to a calmer week this week. At least I came out of it a WARRIOR!

  

6 Week Challenge

For many, winter is the tougher season to lose/maintain weight, with being inside a lot and craving comfort foods in the cold months and moving less. Summertime is ideal to lose/maintain weight; your outdoors, moving more, gardening, eating less when it's hot outside, etc. I swear, I'm the opposite. Winter is easier for me to maintain. While I'm inside more and move less, I tend to eat less because I'm not in as many social situations. Once Memorial Day hits, BANG! Outside every day, with friends every weekend, BBQs and whatnot. I'm more of a fall/winter runner than a mid-July runner, but I do use my DVDs more in the summer.

This summer, my goal is to maintain/lose instead of gaining a little. I don't typically gain much, maybe 5 lbs, but I'd rather lose 5 more, right?! My biggest challenge in the summer is the weekend BBQ's and the cold drinks. There is nothing better on a hot summer day than an ice cold beer. Seriously. It's so refreshing! Plus, when we are all outside playing Ladder Ball or Bags or Bocce Ball...everyone always has a full drink. It's pretty much mandatory. Since typically the eating/drinking increases and my activity is relatively the same, I tend to gain a little.

So, on Monday I started a new 6 week challenge for myself. I've been doing Jillian Michael's 6 Week to 6 Pack DVD, intermittently, for a while now. My challenge is to do it 5 days a week for 6 weeks, which is her recommended frequency of the program. It might sound silly, but I can already see a slight difference since Monday in my core. I'm taken progress pictures so that I can see the difference from week 1 to week 6 and I will likely share. This week, my plan is Monday-Friday with rest on Saturday and Sunday...although I'll be open to running or whatnot but I won't mandate myself to pushing it too much. I really want to see just what this DVD can offer on it's own along with a healthy diet.

Sunday I'm, hopefully, participating in the Weight Watchers 5K, although I doubt I'll run it. I say hopefully because I have a bridal shower to attend at 1pm about 40 miles from my house. The 5K starts at 9am but because it's a Weight Watchers event, I end up walking the 5K a few times with members and chatting a lot.  Last year, I walked it with a new member who was by herself and didn't necessarily think she could do it. Of course, she did. I'm just not sure how much time I'll have to go there and socialize only to rush home, get ready and leave for the shower. I'm debating still.

Jumping over fire!

Next Saturday, June 16th, is the Warrior Dash. I'm so excited for this 5K! I registered before Christmas and have been anticipating it since! It's not a 5K that I will run for a PR, since it's an obstacle course. I was told by someone that did it last year, that you could run the first mile, maybe, but then it's pretty much obstacles. Climbing over cargo nets, army crawling through mud, jumping over fire...can't wait! Hopefully we get some awesome pictures! It's a very crowded race - a few hundred people in each 30 minute wave and it's a 2 day event!

Climbing cargo nets

So I've clearly other activities planned during my 6 week challenge and hopefully it's all a good mixture to help me look more toned. I'm excited to see the end results!

Tire obstacle

Mud pit!

"Fat" Days

I hope no one is offended by what I've titled this entry, but let's face, regardless if your skinny, fit, chubby or obese - we all have better days than others when it comes to how we feel in our bodies. Don't we typically label the days we are uncomfortable in our body as "fat" days? Well, that's how I'm feeling today.

Let's start this off with good news first and also the antecedent to why I'm feeling "fat" today.

After waiting for almost 4 weeks after I had a second interview at a high school nearby, they FINALLY called this past Friday to offer me a teaching position for the 2012/13 school year. I couldn't be more happy and I know I've worked hard and deserve it. It works great also because this was just my first interview for the next school year and now I don't have to worry about interviewing and can just enjoy my summer. This job is also pretty much exactly what I wanted so I'm glad I waiting an entire school year and just subbed last school year to wait for what I want. I hate settling for less than that. At any rate, after I received the phone call from the principal, I literally hung up the phone and started jumping up and down like a fool. It was a humorous site to see, I'm sure.

So, as our society is accustomed to, we celebrated with food and drink. We first went to one of my old college professors' home, who lives near us. She was having an end of school year party for the families at her children's school and invited us by for a drink to celebrate. Then, my husband and I went to a Mexican restaurant, where, since we were celebrating I ordered whatever I wanted plus two margaritas. We continued the evening at home on our patio with a few more drinks. The next morning I woke up bright at early for work (ironically, a WW meeting) and felt great! But, by the time I was getting ready to leave I was famished and everyone knows the foods you crave after a night of some choice beverages. So, I picked up 2 hot dogs for the husband and a gyro for me, although I only ate half. That night we grilled chicken tenderloins and had a balanced meal so that wasn't terrible. Afterwards, I went to my friend's house and sat on her patio and had some drinks with them. Sunday, I finished my gyro for lunch and then we went to a Memorial Day party. Naturally, there were grilled foods and different kinds of sides and realistically, I didn't too do poorly there. But, in the hot summer heat, a few more beverages were consumed. That night when we got home, I started getting hungry and made some pierogies. Not the best choice at 7pm. Finally, yesterday we had a few friends over. We used our smoker for the first time and smoked fresh salmon that my husband caught off Lake Michigan last weekend, 2 racks of ribs and had a beer can chicken on the grill,  plus the necessary sides. Oh, and how could I forget? After everyone left yesterday we topped off our weekend of gluttony with a Culver's Concrete Mixer.

So, is my "fat" day warranted now? I think so.

Ha! This is what I feel like...like my inner fat girl is torturing me with temptations, resulting in fear of the scale!

It doesn't matter how active I was or what exercise I got it, I just feel blah. I feel soft. So this week it's time to get back to my regular scheduled programming. I picked up Jillian Michaels' 6 week to 6 pack DVD that I was doing sporadically but I think I might do it as recommended, 5 days a week for 6 weeks. I did her 30 Day Shred last year for 30 straight days and loved it. So on top of running, I think I'll get back to feeling like my normal self in no time, but in the interim, this blows!

 But, this happens to most of us and the reason I have this blog is so that people going through the same journey know they aren't alone. Whether others admit it or not, no one is perfect at their exercise routine or their eating lifestyles. We all slip up, or don't give the 100% that you know you could. The important thing is, you recognize it, own it and get back on track by making a plan.

My plan this week: increasing exercise and accurately tracking my food. I know it works and it's fool proof for me. Do what works.

What Works For You?

What works for me, doesn't work for everyone. Beginning or maintaining a healthy lifestyle means something different to each individual. Lately I have heard a lot of "this is how you do it if you want to do it right" kind of tones and I don't agree with it. Everyone knows that I lost all my weight with the support of Weight Watchers, and I now work for them. This worked for me. I recognized that I couldn't do this alone and that I needed the support of other people going through the same thing as I was. I do not feel weaker because of this, but rather stronger, that I was able to put pride aside and ask for help when I needed it. However, not everyone needs a group of people to hold them accountable but rather only themselves. Perfectly awesome! Whatever works for the individual is key.

All of us on a weight loss journey have the same ultimate goal: to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. How you get there doesn't matter. I've made it known that when I began my personal journey, my main focus was on food and portion control. I exercised here and there but that wasn't a main focus for me at that point in my journey. I lost probably the first 40-50lbs with little exercise but strictly portion control and keeping my food journal. I had reasons why I did it this way. I knew that if I started off with high intensity workouts, there would be a chance that as I lost my weight I would stop exercising as much. I can't prove that this would have been the case but I know myself better than anyone, and I believe that would have happened. If I were to stop the high intensity workouts and only focus on food, I wouldn't have hit my ultimate goal. Instead, I focused on food more strictly and as I got closer to goal, increased my workout. I know that if I don't workout for a week, I won't put weight on, as long as I eat in a healthy way.

Exercise and activity is no doubt a huge part of my life now. I'm up to 7 miles of non-stop running with a 9:30/mile roughly and am training for a half-marathon soon. If I'm not running I'm using a DVD at home. Not to mention, at work I push around a 140+lb girl in her wheelchair who cannot help because she has had a few strokes and is dead weight on her left side. On Monday I ran a mile with her in P.E. - albeit a 13 minute mile, pushing 140+lbs while in work clothes/shoes (not workout clothes/shoes) I was pretty happy to have had that extra activity.

Others focus on eating and activity at the beginning and that works for them. And then some just focus on activity and not the eating portion at first and that works for them.

It's not a competition with anyone but yourself. It doesn't matter how long it takes one to reach their ultimate goal. My theory was, the longer it took me to reach my goal the more I learned and was educated about my choices.

Find what works for you and what you can maintain for the rest of your life. Forget about what everyone else is doing. If it works for you and your body, you're well on your way to you ultimate goal.

Importance of Progress Monitoring

Tuesday's are very busy days for me and I rarely get much activity. It's a simple schedule, but has me tied up just about all day. I work from 6:45am-2:30pm and then come home and get ready for my Weight Watchers meeting that I arrive at around 4:30pm and don't get home until roughly 8:30pm. By then, activity is not a priority. Sleep is. The two hours in between school and my meeting include travel times and changing from one outfit to the next and freshening. Certainly, not enough time to workout and shower. Today was different, however. School was dismissed at 11:00am thanks to PSAE testing. I took advantage of the early dismissal and packed accordingly to run home. MapQuest tells me it's 7.07 miles from school to home but MapMyRun calculated it as 6.76 miles, so that's what I'll go with.

I crushed my times and made a personal best. I ran the distance in 1 hour and 7 minutes (12 seconds). And I ran the entire thing, not stopping once.

What made me most happy is when the woman come over my music on my iPhone and said "Time is 48 minutes and distance is 5 miles." It made me think back to the Shamrock Shuffle when I ran it in just over 56 minutes and I knew I could do much better had I not enjoyed the evening before as much as I had. I love when I can prove myself right. 48 minutes. I was happy as a clam. When I got home from my run I was looking back at my old runs and the longest run I've done so far is 7.3 miles and that took me 1 hour and 26 minutes. Whether 7.07 miles is correct or 6.76 miles is correct for this run - I would have crushed my 1 hour 26 minute time if I ran to 7.3 miles.

I averaged a 9:36 min/mile this run. I guess the speed trials I've been doing are working. Lately I've been testing my speed rather than my distance to try and work up my endurance. The last run I did was 1.86 miles in 16:10 which was an 8:36 min/mile. Since the 7.3 miles I ran on March 6th was an 11:36 min/mile I'd say I've vastly improved. Funny this was, I told my husband that if it takes me more than 90 minutes to come look for me. He was surprised when I got home much earlier than he thought I would. Ahh the power of positive thinking! It really keeps you going!

This has shown me just how important it is to progress monitor your workouts. Even if running isn't your thing - take notes on the workouts you do, how you feel, and what you were capable of doing that day. To see the progression is such a great feeling - it's proof that you are getting stronger! Knowing that I've crushed my times and have improved my overall endurance really makes me happy and keeps me pushing harder with my running abilities.

Life After Goal

I find it so much more difficult to find things to write about now that I'm at my goal weight and maintaining. I had mentioned before that my new goals were to increase and focus more on my activity and I've been doing just that. Specifically, the territory in which I work for Weight Watcher is divided between two states. We are currently have a battle between states on activity - which state can get more Service Providers to be active at least 15 minutes every day, anyone who has less than 5 days of rest is entered in to win some prize. This is a great motivator for my new goal, if I have a chance to win a prize! Luckily, for me, 15 minutes is no big deal and I rarely would do activity for anything under 30 minutes. Since I have been working full time, until the end of the school year now, I've been participating in my students' P.E. class. It's not intense exercise, but I could just choose not to participate at all and risk no activity for the day. Plus, it's activities I wouldn't do at home - like playing basketball and dancing. It's so fun!

This week I'm on spring break so I've really been focusing on more intense workouts. On Sunday, I went for a 2 mile run, focusing on speed, not distance. I ran 2 miles in 18:03 which was a 9:01/mile. I was extremely happy with that, especially since I had completed a 30 minute upper body boot camp right before. The rest of this week I've been switching it up. I bought a new DVD series that I'm really enjoying. 

This Jennifer Cohen PointsPlus Fitness Series includes five DVDs
*Total Body Cardio Stretch - this is essentially a yoga DVD
* Upper Body Boot Camp
*Lower Body Interval Training
*Core Cardio
*Cardio Basic

This week I've been doing two DVDs each with their Express Workout option. It's a quick 15 minutes intense workout. I've been starting with Disc 1 which is the Total Body Cardio Stretch and then proceed to Disc 2 for the 15 minute Express Workout. Then the second day I started again with Disc 1 and then Disc 3, etc. Today I did the main workout for Disc 5 - Cardio Basic. The main workouts are between 30-40 minutes and every exercise is broken down into beginner, intermediate and expert. It's nice when DVDs offer that option because anyone can do them and you can increase your intensity at your own personal level. It's always a good way to show growth when you've been doing it long enough. It's my guess that Jennifer Cohen uses Jillian Michaels as a fitness mentor, because she says a lot of the same things I've noticed in Jillian says also, but without the intimidation Jillian has.

Tomorrow I'll be switching it up and I'm very excited to be getting back to a Bikram Yoga class. If you recall, I did a 30 day Bikram trial at a studio near my home and really enjoyed it! It's been quite a while since my last Bikram class and I've convinced a good friend of mine to join me. It should be a fun 90 minutes! I think it's time I take my measures too. All this activity surely must have changed those!

My favorite Bikram pose!

Shufflin'

 

 

This weekend was the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k race in downtown Chicago. It was my first "official" 8k. I've ran farther than an 8k on my own but never participated in an official race. I ran it with my brother-in-law and his boyfriend and it was lots of fun! We got dressed up in St. Patrick's Day gear and ran it together. We ended up with a time of 56:37 which was totally okay! It was most fun to have ran together and chat during it. We also were able to spend time at the runner's expo the night before and it was great to see all the different products out there and try some new things. It was pretty informational! It was my first race through Chicago and it was fun to see the sites, especially when main roads are closed off for you and people are on the sidewalks cheering for everyone. It was definitely the largest race I've ran, with some 40,000 people, and at certain points it was a little crowded around turns where you couldn't really run too much, but other than that it was a really nice race! The weather was absolutely perfect too. I knew we all could have ran it much faster, however, on 4 hours of sleep and *cough* slight hangovers *cough*, our time was pretty decent. We hadn't intended on that part...but the night before got the best of us. One of my goals was to run the entire race without stopping and we did just that. Not to mention, we stayed at a condo on Lake Shore Drive that was pretty far north, so we walked exactly 3.2 miles to the race, ran 4.97 miles then walked 3.2 back home. We ran/walked about 11.5 miles yesterday on top of all the walking we did Saturday night around the city! 2 5ks AND an 8k in one day. Phew! Good training for my half marathon!

This whole past weekend really was just about having fun with those we love! We had two friends visiting from Germany so we took them out into the city and ended up at two different bars. One bar we actually ran into a friend of mine from high school who was celebrating her bachelorette party! It was fun to be able to join in for part of it! Around 2am we finally had decided we should probably get a little sleep before the race in the morning.

By the time we got home from dinner last night, my body was on empty. I laid down to spend time with my husband since I hadn't seen him since Saturday morning and before I knew it I was asleep by 5pm. He woke me up to tell me to get to bed at 9pm and I slept until my alarm sounded at 5:30am this morning. Now I'm refreshed and refueled and feel like I can do it all over again today. I was surprisingly not sore today. Yesterday, a few hours after the race I was sore, but not today. I did stretch really well and I'm sure walking another 3.2 miles home helped. My next race on the agenda is the Warrior Dash on June 16th. I'm looking forward to getting down and dirty at that race!

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New Goals

I'm feeling slightly strange now that I am at goal. I keep thinking, well, what's my objective this week? I'm  not trying to lose weight anymore. For the past 2+ years that has been my main objective every week. Lose weight. Sure, I worked out and whatnot but only to succeed at the main objective of losing weight.

True, my goal is to maintain my weight week to week now, but I find that a boring weekly goal. Making a goal to lose was far more fun and challenging.

Now that spring is rapidly approaching and starting Monday I've got a full time teaching gig until the end of the school year, I figured it would be good to make my objectives geared towards fitness. While I generally workout pretty regularly, I'm not as dedicated and goal oriented towards it as I was towards losing weight each week. So this week I wrote out my activity plan. It's already been altered slightly, but I'm still basically on track.

Sunday evening when I planned it out it looked like this:

Monday: 30 Day Shred Level 3

Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Run
Thursday: Jessica Cohen Weight Watchers DVD
Friday: 30 Day Shred Level 3
Saturday: 30 Day Shred Level 2
Sunday: Rest

Here is how it has gone so far and what it looks like for the rest of the week:

Monday: 30 Day Shred Level 3

• Goodness, I forgot how INTENSE Level 3 was! Perhaps I should have started at Level 1 or 2 just to get myself use to Jillian Michaels' crazy workout antics! So much plyometric (jump) training!

Tuesday: Run

• Ran 7.3 miles, unexpectedly. Just kept going. Was in a zone with my music and the warm 60 degree day with the sun blaring. Never mind the 30 mph winds, see, they were at my back for the first 3.6 miles. When I turned around I was surprised how much I underestimated those winds, especially since I run down a long straight road surrounded by open cornfields. Nothing blocking the gusts that randomly pushed me off course at times! Regardless, I completed 7.3 miles in 84 minutes. Not my best, but definitely the most difficult run I've done due to the high winds.

Wednesday: Run

• Tuesday evening I received an unexpected phone call from the high school near my home asking for me to come in the next morning to meet some people and talk about starting earlier than anticipated. This threw me off course for the day. Since I had to shower early for this meeting and we had plans to go to my in-laws, I chose not to run so I didn't have to shower and get ready twice. Wednesday became my rest day.

Thursday (today): Jessica Cohen Weight Watchers DVD

• Completed the 34 minute routine. I have the sampler DVD that was given to Weight Watcher employees and I absolutely love it. Saturday morning at my meeting I am going to buy the entire 5 disc set so I can incorporate the whole program throughout the week. 

Friday: 30 Day Shred Level 3

Saturday: 30 Day Shred Level 2

Sunday: Run

• No longer a rest day because of Wednesday's run being interrupted. Not sure how far I'll run - that usually is dependent on how I'm feeling when I hit the ground running. 

If I'm not outside running, I really enjoy working out at home to DVDs. I feel so much less pressure than when I had a gym membership. It was always hard for me to get to the gym after I'd come home from work. I'd always just want to rest. In the winter, forget it. I wasn't about to get into my cold car and get to the gym, sweat, and then return to my cold car. Plus I always hated when I had to wait for a machine or if it was really crowded. I love my DVDs because I can workout on my own and I don't have to wear anything but my shorts and my sports bra. I don't have to leave my house. And I use mostly my own body resistance, which I prefer, as opposed to weight machines. 

I mention this because I want people to find what works for them and their individual schedules. I'm not a gym person, it doesn't work for me. I get more intense workouts on my own at home or out on the pavement. If you are a gym person - then rock it out! Find what works for you. 

GOAL!

Finally, after 383 days, I hit my personal goal of 125lbs!

In the past two weeks, I switched to Simply Filling, which I've been blogging about. The first week I lost 3.8lbs which left me with 1.2lb to lose in week two in order to hit goal. I did well all week, but the weekend is always tough. We had friends over Saturday evening and ordered a deep dish pizza from our favorite pizza place. I ordered a salad, and only had a little taste of the pizza. I didn't want to work so hard and ruin it by eating a piece of deep dish. On top of the pizza, we had multiple desserts and wine. I had the desserts and drank 20PPV worth of wine. I was seriously afraid for Monday morning.

When I walked into my meeting on Monday, I wasn't feeling confident. In fact, I talked to myself, telling myself it's okay if I don't hit goal, I will next week. I feel that it is a pattern of mine, that when I am so close to goal I destroy myself the week before and gain. I think it's because I know things will change when I hit goal - and almost feel like the learning will stop, although that's silly because I know it doesn't. But again, it's more of a mental/emotional journey than a physical, at least for me.

At any rate, Monday morning I hopped on the scale. I had weighed my shirt and my wedding ring together prior and it came out to 2/10th of a pound. I was fully prepared if I weighed in at 125.2 to take off my ring...and shirt. Silly enough, it's not the first time I've done that. Other weekly weigh-in people will understand the crazy things we sometimes do for the lowest possible number. When I got on the scale, I closed my eyes at first, sure that I had possibly maintained but not certainly lost 1.2lbs. To my surprise, the scale read exactly 125.0 on the dot. I'm not sure I could pull that off again if I tried! I was ecstatic and couldn't believe it. I squealed with joy! Finally, after 2 years and 2ish weeks, I had done it. I had a goal in mind, and I achieved it.

So now begins my six weeks of maintenance. Maintaining a number between 123-127lbs, because after all, if I can't maintain my goal weight, what was the point? I certainly don't want to change habits to where I put 10 pounds back on, right? My goal was 125lbs. and that is where I intend on staying.

Monday night we celebrated. Quite honestly, I wanted to do something that I hadn't done since before Weight Watchers. I want to eat a meal that I wouldn't typically eat anymore. While it might sound counter productive, I live a lifestyle where I am so active and 99% of the time I eat strict to my new lifestyle. Eating like I did Monday is something that might happen only once in a few months, and I think I deserved the opportunity, so long as I was accountable for it. As you can see by my progress chart above, I was accountable as I'm -16 PPV in the hole this week. ;-) What did I eat? Well, we went to Red Robin. We ordered the Towerin' Onion Ring appetizer, split between 3 people. I had ordered the Royal Red Burger, no mayo and only ate about half. Also enjoyed a few fries and a skinny margarita. Afterwards, one thing I've been craving for a while was a Concrete Mixer from Culver's - so I got a Snickers Concrete Mixer. I didn't eat until I was stuffed, I ate until I was satisfied, which is a big change already. Before, I would have wolfed down the burger and friends and probably would have had 2 regular margaritas and a large concrete mixer. So, not only was I held accountable for what I ate - I didn't force myself to eat it all. Positive changes happened. For the rest of the week - it's been back to Simply Filling and eating "Power Foods".

I'm very happy with my journey. Now begins a new journey, maintenance. I never want to go back to the person I was, physically or emotionally. I am a new person in both aspects. A better person.

I want thank everyone who has supported me throughout the weight loss portion of this. Those who have put up with my modifications through every meal. Those who accepted my choices to stay home on nights out because I didn't feel strong enough to make good choices. Those who pushed me to challenge myself physically. Those who called me first when they had clothes to get rid of and knew I was looking for newer sizes. Those who have followed this blog and provided positive support and feedback.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I couldn't do this alone and I was luckily enough to not have to.

Simply...Spectacular!

Last week, I conducted an experiment of trying the Simply Filling technique for 7 days. I was nervous - afraid I might gain because I wasn't to track and weigh all my food, which I've been doing for 2 years now, however, to switch things up, I gave it a try. 


Check out the progress report...

I lost 3.8 pounds in one week! I weighed in this morning at 126.2 lbs from my 130.0 last week! I have 1.2 lbs left until I hit my personal goal of 125. So I am going to continue the Simply Filling technique this week. 


Looking back at last week you can see that I tracked on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Those days I had foods that were not "Power Foods" and I had 49 weekly points plus values to use for non-power foods.   In fact, I exceeded the 49 by 17 and I still lost 3.8 lbs. Unbelievable! 


As far as the food health guidelines go - I got liquids, daily and fruit/veggie every day. I'm out of my multivitamin and haven't pick up another bottle yet, so I didn't get that in. There is no excuse not to get in my 2 tsp. of EVOO everyday because although it's not a "power food", I don't have to track up to 2 tsp. of a healthy oil. Sometimes it just skips my mind. 


Exercising - I haven't been tracking anything other than when I run outdoors. Last week, I was able to handle the chill twice. Wednesday, I when for a 1.98 mile run (21:53) and Friday, I went for a 3.5 mile run (36:29) for 8 activity points plus values. 


A lot of people have been interested in what I ate all week because I had mentioned that it was a lot of food and so strange not to track these items! So - here was my weekly menu!


Monday Feb. 13th
Day 1


Breakfast:
Coffee, black, no sugar
1 Hard-boiled egg
1 Weight Watchers Maple Oatmeal
8 oz. of Skim Milk

Lunch:
Weight Watchers Creme Brulee Smoothie with Strawberries - 1 small clementine

Dinner:
Venison roast - Brussel Sprouts - Sm. Sweet Potato

Dessert:
Tall glass of skim milk - Strawberries w/Splenda


Tuesday Feb. 14th
Day 2


Breakfast: 
Coffee, black, no sugar - 3 poached eggs - 3 slices of Pepperidge Farm light style wheat toast

Lunch: 
Bag of steamed edamame - clementine

Dinner: 
Barilla Whole Grain pasta with green peppers, tomatoes, half chicken breast, & EVOO

Snack/Desserts: 
half chicken breast, Starbucks Skinny Caramel Macchiato (SIMPLY FILLING!!!!!), Strawberries & Splenda. 


Wednesday Feb 15th
Day 3


Breakfast: 
Coffee, black, no sugar - 3 eggs - 3 slices of Pepperidge Farm Light Wheat Bread - Banana

Lunch: 
Leftover whole grain penne with chicken breast, green peppers, tomato and EVOO

Dinner: 
Bowl of Chicken enchiladas soup (I counted as 6p+)

Other/Snack:
2 beers (Counted as 10p+), strawberries with splenda, 3 clementines

Thursday Feb 16th

Day 4

Breakfast:
Banana - Clementine - Coffee, black, no sugar -  Hard-boiled egg

Lunch: 
Steamed edamame - WW yogurt

Dinner:
Venison sandwich (triple decker y'all!): 3 pieces of pepperidge farm light wheat bread, onion, tomato, venison, 1 tbsp light miracle whip (1p+) , vension, 1 small sweet potato

Other: Starbucks grande skinny caramel macchiato

Friday Feb 17th

Day 5

Breakfast:

Coffee, black, no sugar - 2 bananas - 16 oz fat free milk - 2 sm. clementines

Lunch:

3 slices Pepperidge Farm Light Style Wheat bread - 3 eggs - WW yogurt

Dinner: I met my aunt for happy hour/dinner Friday evening...we went to two places.

@Kona Grill - Edamame, 2 glasses of red wine that I counted as 16.5 oz (I'm sure it was less but I'd rather over track than under) for 14 p+

@Redstone - Spinach Salad with grapes & apples, dressing on the side (barely used) and 2 Blue Moons for 11 p+

Saturday Feb 18th

Day 6

Breakfast:

Coffee, black, no sugar - 1 banana - WW Oatmeal - WW smoothie

Lunch:

Steamed Lima Beans - Poached Chicken Breast - Activia light FF yogurt

Dinner: Went to a Mardi Gras party @6pm

Crab legs - 2 crab cakes for 5p+

27 p+ worth of alcohol

Sunday Feb 19th

Day 7

Breakfast:

3 sm. clementines - 2 eggs - 2 slices of Pepperidge Farm Light Style Wheat bread - WW Oatmeal

Lunch: 

Steamed Lima Beans (big breakfast, wasn't too hungry for lunch)

Dinner:

2 sm grilled sweet potatoes - grilled asparagus - grilled chicken breast

So what do you think? That's a lot of food to eat and lose 3.8 lbs in one week, isn't it!? I'm sure you can't blame me for doing it again this week. Also, we've only plan on Saturday so I won't drink as much as I did between Friday and Saturday and it's suppose to be nice this week so hopefully I'll get out running more!

Meanwhile - here is a photo of me at the Mardi Gras party!

I'm looking forward to this next week and hitting my goal, finally. Maybe if I get really good at Simply Filling I can try for 120 lbs...?? 

Simply...Experimenting

If you are a regular reader of mine, you know that I have been struggling to get to my personal goal weight. If you are a Weight Watcher member that has been in some of the same meetings as I have, you know that I'm terrified of trying the Simply Filling technique. This week I'm taking a leap of faith and trying it out.

Yesterday I weighed in at 130.0 - and while that's 2.4lbs more than I weighed in two weeks ago, I wasn't really upset about it. I know that I had been tracking very inconsistently over the past two weeks - and that's why I hadn't even weighed in the week before. So, I take accountability for it and I own my 130.0lbs. It's still a healthy weight for me so I'm not worried about it - but I'd like to sit comfortably in the 120's.

I am all about changing things up when it comes to my weight loss. I look forward to winter when I switch from running everyday to indoor workouts, and now I'm looking forward to spring to continue my running again. I was talking yesterday with my husband how for me, no other workout compares to running. When I consistently run throughout the week I have flat, defined abs. Once I stop running, while my stomach stayed flat it isn't as defined, even though I still workout. I missing running. I also like to change things up when it comes to what I eat. When we switched over from the Momentum plan to the PointsPlus plan, a lot of people were hesitant. Like them, I had lost most of my weight on the Momentum and it's difficult for some people to abandon something that worked for them. I saw it as a change in the right direction - a kick start for our bodies. And of course, it was. My first week on PointsPlus I had lost something like 4 pounds which is an insane amount of weight for me.

While we've always had the Simply Filling option, it's something that I was very scared of. There is little tracking involved and you don't have to weigh out your portions. Simply Filling is a technique used when you eat only Power Foods, or, whole grains, lean proteins, low fat dairy, etc. The only thing you track are any foods that are not Power Foods and you have 49 PointsPlus to use for those. On this technique, you can eat until you are satisfied. That is the part that scared me - do I know when I'm really satisfied? I know that I can eat and eat and eat, that's how I got here in the first place. However, looking at this as a change, I'm going to try this for a week and see how it reflects on the scale. If it goes down, perhaps I'll continue this into next week. If it goes up, I won't be upset, as I'm just simply experimenting.

Yesterday was my first day trying Simply Filling and my verdict so far....I love it!

Here was my intake yesterday:

Breakfast:
Coffee, black, no sugar
1 Hard-boiled egg
1 Weight Watchers Maple Oatmeal
8 oz. of Skim Milk

Lunch:
Weight Watchers Creme Brulee Smoothie with Strawberries
1 small clementine

Dinner:
Venison roast
Brussel Sprouts
Sm. Sweet Potato

Dessert:
Tall glass of skim milk
Strawberries w/Splenda

It was completely foreign to not weigh out my protein or potato, but liberating at the same time. While I didn't "track" my foods, I still kind of did. While they aren't worth and PointsPlus values, I still tracked them so I could review my food intake at the end of the week. My lunch would typically be larger, but I had been running around and didn't get home until 3pm and didn't want to eat a larger lunch that close to dinner.

I'm excited to see the outcome of this and I'm keeping it positive. Hopefully my experience will encourage others who have wanted to try Simply Filling but just aren't sure about it. I can report, although I don't count it because it's Tuesday, not Monday, but I weighed myself this morning, with sweatpants on and I weighed in at 128.5lbs. I know you can't rely on an accurate weight throughout the week, and only rely on the one weigh-in that is the same time and day each week, so I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch.

That being said, if this is what 130.0 lbs looks like that I am a happy lady!

Penance

At this point, I am not on schedule to hit goal by my anniversary next week. While I'm disappointed, I did it to myself. My plan was that I needed to lose 1.8lb in two weeks, or .9lb each week. At weigh-in on Monday I was up .8lb. If I want to hit goal this Monday, I would need to lose 2.6lbs in one week. That's a lot of weight.

Here is what I am accountable for last week:

Since I weigh-in on Monday evenings, I eat less during the day and then have a larger dinner. Since I was down so much I treated us to dinner with gyros. I love gyros. I figured I have a week to work it off, no big deal. We sometimes will do this on Mondays. Although I didn't plan for the rest of my week. Thursday night, my friend came over to watch American Idol like we typically would do. I normally make dinner for us but she wanted to treat us to pizza since we always provide dinner. Then on Sunday, we had my family's annual Fish Fry dinner with my uncle's home craft beers. Had I planned properly, I would have not participated Monday or Thursday evening in the meals and had something different. Secondly, the workout program that I use on the PlayStation comes with sensors that you wear on both arms and one around the leg. The leg sensor stopped working and because I was upset about that I didn't change my workouts to anything else. When one sensor doesn't work you can't perform the workouts because it can't properly gauge your moves. Makes sense. However, it's been beautiful, unseasonably warm weather and I could have ran outside. I was being stubborn.

Last week is over. It's a new week.

I've taken advantage of the fitness center at my school. 4th period I have a plan period and I've been getting into the fitness center and running on the treadmill. Monday I ran a mile and a half on the treadmill and 30 minutes on the elliptical, Tuesday I ran a 5k in just over 30 minutes, Wednesday I ran on the treadmill for 25 minutes and did about 5 minutes on a bike and today I ran another 5k in 29:51. My 6th graders have gym 4th period so they have been cheering me on and running near me. It's really cute! I have been nearly perfect with tracking this week and staying within my DPT each day. I have been making good choices both physically and mentally this week.

Friday is my last day at the school I'm currently subbing at. Some of the ladies I work with and I are going out after school Friday for some drinks. I am prepared for that. I had plans to meet a friend Thursday evening as well but I didn't want to be in the situation two nights in a row, so I've rescheduled Thursday night for next week. Saturday is a very busy day - I was offered a new Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday mornings at 8am in LaGrange. I'm excited to be in a new meeting and meet new people - I'm also glad that it's at 8am and I need to be up by 6am - since this will keep me in check on Friday nights. This Saturday after the meeting, we are heading out to Pingree Grove for a good friends son's 2nd birthday party. This particular friend is always very conscious when I come over and makes WW friendly things. Do I expect this to be the case at her son's party...no...however, I do know her father has done WW and she is aware and tries to cook in a healthy way. Sunday, I work in the afternoon before the Super Bowl game. Afterwards, we are heading to the neighbors house for Super Bowl. She has already told me that she's making a bunch of junk and I'm not sure I'm going to have time to make something healthy to bring - but I am going to plan on eating before hand and not eat there. Since I weigh-in on Monday morning now that I won't be working for a while, I want to have the best possible weight loss, even if it isn't the 2.6 lbs I need to hit goal.

I'm ready to go back to a flexible schedule for a while. I'm off steady work until April when I take over another long term substitute position at the high school. When I have a flexible schedule I eat later in the day and am not as hungry come dinner, unlike now when I eat breakfast at 6:30am and lunch at 11:15am.

In a way, for the sake of this blog, I'm happy I had a set-back this week. You don't hear about the set-backs as often as the successes. However, I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. I give into temptation. Just like you. Now that I've made those mistakes I am accountable for them and have to work extra hard this week. I know that if I had stayed on track last week I wouldn't have to work so darn hard this week. That puts things into perspective for the weeks ahead. It's not worth the pizza overload or extra drinks to have to work out so hard and eat so perfect. Everything in moderation, right? Well, last week I had EVERYTHING in moderation! Now I pay my penance this week.

Poundage

My two year anniversary is February 8th, which is a Wednesday. I weigh-in on Monday's, so by February 6th I have 1.8 pounds to lose if I want to hit goal on my anniversary. I have two weeks. These last two weeks I lost exactly 1.0 lb each. One whole pound is quite a lot to lose at my current weigh in just one week. In order to hit my goal by the date I want, I've got to average a .9lb loss these next two weeks. Not quite a whole pound.

I don't doubt that I can do it. However, the only hesitation I have is that it is still quite a bit of weight to lose in one week - almost an entire pound. At 126.8 lbs, one pound is a lot. So what do I have to do to reach my goal of 1.8lb in two weeks?

Exercise. Duh.

I have really been utilizing my EA Sports Active game for the PS3. It has me on a 9 week program where I have 4 days on and 3 days off. This has proven to be working for me since I've shed 2 whole pounds in 2 weeks.

My schedule right now if a bit hectic in the beginning of the week so the 4 days on, 3 days off is perfect.

Since I weigh-in on Monday evenings, my pre-weigh in "ritual" consists of little food during the day and no liquids after 3pm. I have enough time to flush out any liquid I intake during the day before 7pm. We all have our weigh-in rituals. That is what works for me. Since I eat less than normal for breakfast and lunch and don't drink water after 3pm, I don't workout on Monday.

Tuesday's are my busiest day. I work from 7:15-3:00pm and then I lead my WW meeting at 6:30pm. I have thought about working out in the school fitness room in between 3:00-4:30pm, however, I'd have to shower and get ready for my meeting anyway - so since I've been working I don't workout on Tuesday. I don't get home from my meeting until 8:30pm, and by that time I eat dinner and head to bed.

Wednesday after school I get home and wind down for about 30 minutes or so before we head to my in-laws for dinner.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are my PRIME TIME for workouts. I find that this works best for me. Since the weekend is the time I would typically use my extra weekly PointsPlus values, the vigorous exercise pairs nicely.

Last week I had nearly perfect days as far as eating on plan went. Wednesday night was the only night I went a little over what I normally would eat. I made a promise to myself that I would not slide down throughout the rest of the week - which sometimes is the case. With the weekends freeing up now that the holidays are winding down, they are easier to manage.

Ironically, yesterday I started having jaw pains. After a little research and chatting with others, we think it's a possiblity that I have TMJ. I have a pain that starts in my left cheekbone and goes to my left ear and then runs down my face. I cannot open my mouth entirely or chew properly without excruciating pains. Last night while I was eating broccoli, I must have opened too wide and a horrible feeling came across my face that immediately made me break down in tears, it hurt that bad. This morning it was very tender, it seems to have eased up a little now but still very sore. It was a difficult task to eat lunch without wincing with every bite.

Perhaps this will help me with my poundage this week...? I certainly won't be eating as quickly as I typically do, thus becoming full quicker...? Also, for dessert I usually will snack on frozen WW mini bars that are a bit chocolatey or caramel flavored - I can't imagine they will be easy to chew.

Changing the topic...

...I have a lot of activities planned for this spring/summer.

First up - March 25th - Shamrock Shuffle 8k.
Next - June 16th - Warrior Dash
July 21st - Great Urban Race
Finally - November 22nd, my New Year's Resolution - Half Marathon Turkey Trot

I am really looking forward to participating in these events and I welcome anyone to join me!