Because time has been getting away!

Next week is Thanksgiving, already?! Goodness gracious, where has this year gone? At any rate, I am here, blogging, which I've been trying to do at least once every two weeks. Since I started working full-time this week, I've barely had much time on my hands (I'm not complaining, trust me).

I haven't ran in two weeks. I am slightly okay with this because I had to transition into a brand new schedule and get things figured out. On the flip side of that, because I'm on a strict schedule now, I'm planning meals much further in advance that I was when I had a lot of time on my hands. Not to mention, at my last weigh-in, I lost an entire pound in one week which I haven't done in month. Typically it's between .2-.8 of a pound. So I'm okay with this. In lieu of running as much as I was, I've been increasing the amount of push-ups, squats and ab work throughout the day. I have traded out a normal chair at work for a yoga ball and although I am standing more than sitting throughout the day, while I am sitting I am engaging my core.

I am loving this opportunity to be back on a schedule. When I wasn't working, I was able to just do as I please and I would workout whenever, eat whenever, do housework whenever...etc. Being back on a schedule is fantastic. I'm up at 5:30am, shower and get ready for school, eat breakfast and then relax until it's time to leave for school at 6:45am. On Monday, I get home around 3:45pm and relax until I leave for my Weight Watchers meeting which begins at 7:00pm, then come home and we eat dinner together. On Tuesday, after school I work my Weight Watcher meeting and get home around 8:30pm. Tuesday is a really long day, but I love both of my jobs so it's pretty painless. Wednesday, by the time I get home it's time to head to my in-laws for dinner. I really look forward to Thursday. I have absolutely nothing to do after school.

Hunting season began in Illinois today. I was up at 2:30am, sending Kristian off with snacks and sandwiches to keep him going all day. Decided to stay up and get the laundry done, paid some bills, and blog - this way I won't have many chores to keep up with over the weekend. It's 4:17am and I've still got over an hour before my alarm goes off. Kristian will hunt today, tomorrow and Sunday all day. Then next weekend he heads up to Michigan for his regular deer camp season and finally, the first week of December is second season Illinois, which he was lucky and won the lottery they do for hunting in Illinois. He is very excited. Our stock of venison is just about out and it's time to replenish.

The holidays are rapidly approaching. Regarding weight loss, I do believe I can lose over the holiday season (Halloween-Valentine's Day), like I did last year. The holidays are not a problem for me. I choose to eat as I want on actual day (making conscious decisions) but I don't eat leftovers. I think a lot of people gain over the holiday season because there is always so much food leftover and it's continuous throughout the next few months. The holidays are tough. Knowing I lost weight last year during this time is comforting and assuring I can do it again. I'm a short five pounds from my goal.

For a little holiday humor...

Womanly Curves

Now is as good a time as ever to update. Clearly, I've been slacking in the "blogging" department. Luckily, that is the only place I've been slacking.

I am finally back to weighing in under 130 lbs. I intend on staying there. Damn it. However, I am struggling. My goal is 120, however I recently saw a picture of me that makes me think I should change it to 125lbs.



This is from Halloween. I'm in the background (I hope, obviously) and although you can't see my face, I saw this picture when my sister-in-law posted it and I was looking at my waist and hips. I feel like I'm losing my curves. Halloween was the first day I was wearing my size 1 jeans other than just trying them on and being discouraged they were too tight. They actually fit GREAT! I'm afraid that if I lose about 9 more pounds, getting my to 120, I might just look too thin.

We are going away this weekend and I'm sure we will be taking pictures. Maybe I'll reassess this after looking at those. I don't want to lose my "womanly" curves. Perhaps it's just because I'm wearing a t-shirt.

On a side note, if you would have told me two years ago I'd be whining about not having curves, I probably would have laughed at you.

That all aside, I did feel like a million bucks at a recent event...

 Absolutely LOVING this look. I love the cooler weather. I get to break out the tights and boots. Possibly my favorite season to dress for.

Been keeping up with my running.



This is my friend Val. She and I have ran two 5k together. She's significantly faster than I am, running her first 5k in just over 26 minutes. But not to worry - we are both extremely supportive of each other and she is a fantastic running partner. Now I need to talk her into running longer distances. I've been running 3 miles on short days and up to 7.5 miles on longer days.

My progression is impressive I think.

Starting in August: You can tell I was just starting to get into being more active here. At least outdoors. However, most of my mileage came from my bike.

In September I had less mileage, however, all my mileage was from running. The two areas in gray is where I was messing around with putting in my "at home" workouts but I've decided there is no need to put those on the calendar because I have a separate calendar for that at home anyway. My longest route here was just about 3.3 miles. 

October absolutely rocked for me. A total of 56.35 running miles. Although it averaged 1.8 miles a day, I obviously didn't run every day. Clearly, I took the week of the 16th off. That week, my allergies absolutely got the best of me. Although, I do remember on the 9th, my allergies were terrible and I was on allergy medicine but I felt so guilty not running all week so I hopped on my bike and rode 7.44 miles. All the while, my nose running and it being completely disgusting. My best day was on October 29th, when I ran 7.57 miles. I'm slightly disappointed because today is the Hot Chocolate 15K and I was asked earlier in the summer to run it with a friend of mine and I told her there is no way I'd run that far. Ha. What a difference a couple of months make. I totally could have done it with her today. 

I'm going to take a break on running official 5k's or any other races. I've been running a lot on my own that I don't feel I need to pay anymore to run these distances. Before, signing up for a 5k would motivate me to run prior to the race - however, now I don't need that extra motivation so I'll save the money and continue to run on my own. I am thinking about a half-marathon in the spring. 

This has been another great "on plan" week and I'm anticipating a good weigh-in on Monday. I have to start going back to Monday night meetings, because I start working this Monday. It's going to be so nice having a job again. This brings up the challenge of keeping up with running, but I will figure it out somehow. With the pending winter weather, I may be doing more inside workouts than outdoor. Whatever gets the job done my friends.  

Busy Bee

Hello my faithful followers! My sincere apologies, it has been much longer than I expected since I last blogged. I must stay, for being a jobless/childless gal, I'm awfully busy! Between interviewing and preparing for my new Weight Watchers meeting, I've had little time for the computer. So...let's update!

Last night was the kick-off of our new Weight Watchers meeting at a location that previously had no PM meetings. We were expecting things to begin slowly, hoping that word had gotten around that there was a new meeting but still skeptical that enough marketing had been done. We were amazed when seven brand new members walked in the door, it was a great start to a new meeting! I'm looking forward to next Tuesday where I can hear all of their success and inevitably, frustrations, about their first week learning a new lifestyle. I will try to update in the future on my successes and failures as a new leader with a new meeting. Many experiences are yet to come.

On the interview front, I've had a few interviews for teaching positions and thankfully I know a lot of people who are able to help out with getting interviews, because in teaching that is the only way you get into a school...who you know. Unfortunately, who I know hasn't paid off entirely because someone else interviewing always seems to know someone higher up or more influential. Ahh, such is life. I'm positive it just means the right job hasn't come along yet and I will remain patient.

The best thing about being jobless (besides sleeping in, of course) is I can continue my workout with no distractions. I have been continuing to run throughout the week and I am slowly increasing my mileage. So far, this week, I started off on Sunday with a 7.44 mile bike ride. My allergies were absolutely terrible and I was under the influence of allergy medicine, but I just couldn't help but feel worse just sitting in the house all day. While I figured running would be harder on my body than usual under the circumstance, I thought to take out my bike and go for a ride. On Monday, I ran my furthest distance yet, 5 miles. I completed it in 58:17 which breaks down to an 11.6 min/mile. I am completing my first official 8k on November 13th and my goal is to complete it in under 60:00 minutes. I think I'll do just fine. I was very happy with 58:17 for my first 5 miles and I was utterly exhausted afterwards. Hopefully my next 5 miles will be slightly quicker and easier to run. It was pretty warm that morning I did the 5 miles and I don't run particularly well in warm weather. I prefer weather closer to the 45*-50* range. Definitely not 75*. This "Indian Summer" is taking a toll on my running AND allergies! Yesterday I ran 3.51 miles in 38:25 which breaks down to a 10.8 min/mile. Looking back at all my running data, I'm showing good consistency which is what I am working on right now. Breathing correctly, setting a good pace...eventually I will work on speeding up, but I feel like I need these things down pat first. Since this week has been bike ride, run, run, run, today I am going to switch it up with a little strength and core training I think. Go figure, it's the first cool fall-like day in the past two weeks too! Perfect for running!

Update on last weeks progress...

I'm up .5 lb. Last week I had an early appointment and couldn't make it to my regular WW meeting, so I weighed myself at home and was down, so technically I'm up .5lb from my home weigh-in but I was down .8lb from my previous weigh-in at my WW meeting. So...take it as you will. Either way, it's no big deal. Whenever my exercise is increased, I gain. I'm still trying to find my balance between intense exercise and eating the appropriate amount to re-energize my body. I weighed in this past Monday at 131.2 lbs. I'm really hoping that all this running pays off and I can break into the 120's again soon. Funny thing, on Saturday I stepped on the scale and I was 128lbs. Sometimes I wish the random weigh-ins were accurate but the only ones that matter to me are the once a week, same day same time. With how often your body weight fluctuates, I find it that to be most accurate. Anyhow, looking back at my weekly progress, I did well with my Good Health Guidelines, minus the healthy oils. I'm sure I got them in somewhere, but just not enough for me to count them really. I just don't use oils. I need to work on that. I tracked what I ate every day last week, even Saturday when we went out to celebrate my good friends 30th birthday. Fishbowl drink and all.

Last week was a good week. Despite a small gain. As I've said before, although my goal is 120lbs, I'm happy with how my body looks. If I wasn't such a number girl, I'd probably make this my goal. But let's see what 10 lbs more does.

Oh, and I've found my absolute FAVORITE thing about running.

...we searched the other day and cannot find cellulite. Anywhere. For that reason alone, I will continue to run.

Bucket List

This week I had a conversation about having a "Bucket List." Not in regards to growing old but in regards to weight loss.

Therefore, I present to you, my Bucket List:

• Be able to cross my legs, comfortably
• Run a 5K
• Wear smaller size than JH
• Fit back into ATs hand-me-downs
• Able to see collarbone bone while standing normal
• Fit into single digit jeans
• Thigh stop rubbing together
• No "back fat"
• Weight less than my husband
• See abdominal muscles
• Wear a bikini, proudly
• Run an 8K
• Run a 10K
• Run a 15K
• Run a half-marathon
• Lose "Muffin Top"
• Wear smaller size than AT
• Goal weight
• Do at least one pull-up
• Maintain goal weight
• Become Weight Watcher Leader

I've made a good dent in my "Bucket List." I'm still working on getting to and maintaining my goal weight of 120 lbs. I'm also working on my running. I've completed multiple 5K races this year with my very first (since losing weight) being the Naperville Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving of last year. My time was 34:02 and my aunt & uncle ran the entire thing with me, supporting me the whole way. Even as I dry heaved at the end. The most recent 5K I completed was this past Sunday, the Plainfield Harvest 5K, with a time of 29:45. A significant difference from almost a year ago. I've improved immensely and I'm very happy with my time of 29:45 and would be okay with keeping that my personal best. In October, I plan on running another 5K, Dick Pond Cocoa 5K Run and in November I will have my first 8K, Joliet RedEye 8K followed by going full circle back to the Naperville Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning. 

I've never been a distance runner. I am quick but my endurance is less than exceptional. I am taking it slow in increasing my distances but I feel as though I am ready to move on to a few 8K races and then on to 10K races. Eventually I will work my way to a half-marathon. I don't have a time set to complete that bullet point on my "Bucket List" but I'm thinking possibly around summer/fall 2013. I am in no rush and the longer it takes to get to a half-marathon, the more races I do to prepare myself and improve on my personal times and my endurance. Looking forward to the 8K race in November, my goal is to run the 5 miles in under 60 minutes. Keeping less than a 12 minute mile average will be sufficient for my first 8K. It's a goal I know I can achieve and the harder I work the further I'll stay from 60 minutes. 

On another note, here is last weeks progress:

My husband was on vacation all week which can either make for a perfectly perfect week of eating...or...a terrible disaster. Luckily, it made for a perfectly perfect week. Well, until he got home and we had no food in the house and ordered pizza Saturday night...and Sunday night, thanks to the neighbors. No big thing though. I was perfectly perfect Monday-Friday, I ran, I ate well, etc. This is why I love this lifestyle. I can still eat pizza (two days in a row) and enjoy more than a few beers on football Sunday and I still lost weight. Sure it was only .2lbs but imagine how much water I was retaining from the weekend. I'm sure I was down much more than that. Although I don't count it, I was down 2 lbs this morning from yesterday morning. Because Sunday I ran the Plainfield Harvest 5K and ran it really hard, I took yesterday as my day off to recover. It was a really gloomy day out anyhow, so it worked out well. Today I ran 3.42 miles, working my way up to 5 miles. I learned that I need to work on finding a good pace from the beginning. Typically I take off out of the gate at top speed and shortly die out. I ran the entire 5K on Sunday, not stopping once and today I ran the entire 3.42 miles without stopping. That is a big milestone for me.

On to another great week of healthy eating and daily exercise. It's amazing how good it makes you feel!

What's on your "Bucket List?"

Patience

Let me set the scene for you...

I work out 6 days out of 7 and then I attend my weekly weigh-in and I'm up 1.4 pounds from the last week. Typically what I would do the week after the poor weigh-in is cut back my workouts to maybe 3 days a week. Then I weigh-in again the next Monday and BAM! I'm down 4 lbs. I have a love/hate relationship with working out. I don't buy the "muscle weighs more than fat" idea. One pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat, the muscle just takes up less space. If I maintained that would be fine, but I don't like gaining.

A fellow WW member at my meeting today told me to have patience and to keep working out this week as I did last week. I believe she is right and it is no wonder that my weigh-in fluctuates so much when one week I work out hardcore and gain but then stop and lose. I need to keep pace from week to week. This week, I will work out just like last and we will see how it turns out.

I'm not discouraged, really. One just expects that if they workout a lot they see weight loss, not gain.

I had a fantastic week of workouts. Starting last Monday I worked out using my Fit in Six PS3 game. I did 45-60 minutes of that Monday, Tuesday & Friday. Wednesday I ran 3.27 miles, Thursday I ran 1.75 miles, Saturday I ran 2.0 miles and Sunday I rested. Today I began the week with 3.4 miles which is to and from my Weight Watcher meeting. This Sunday I'm registered to run a 5K through the town I live in, it will be my first one in my hometown so I'm looking forward to it.

I have been thinking recently how I've ran quite a few 5Ks (3.2miles) and I think I'm ready to move on to 8Ks (5 miles). There is an 8K near my home in November that I'm going to register for and my goal is to complete it in under 60 minutes which would be a 12 min/mile and an attainable goal. When I run multiple miles now I maintain between 10-11 min/mile depending on how far I run. Since an 8K is a little more than I'm use to I will allow myself to have a slightly slower time. I was a sprinter in high school and it's difficult for me to not sprint the first mile, I need to learn to pace myself over multiple miles. I'm not looking to place in the top of my age group, I just want to complete these races and build myself up to a half-marathon, perhaps. At this point a marathon seems like a crazy idea. Why would anyone want to run 26.2 miles?! I might get there someday, but right now I'm starting with 5Ks and I think I'm ready to move on to 8Ks. Looking forward to this Sunday, my goal is to run this 5K in less than 32:45 which is my personal best thus far. I would have to maintain just under a 10 min/mile the whole time. I know it won't be easy for me, I still feel as though my endurance had much room for improvement, but if I can complete this at 32:30 I would be thrilled. Shaving off 15 seconds in a lot in running.

Next week after my weigh-in I will hopefully have better news that working out has helped me lose, not gain, even if it is muscle. This week: patience. Patience in that my hard work will pay off on the scale.

Perfect Weather For a Run

Had a good week last week. Lost .5lb from the week before. The weekend was a little crazy, and I used up the rest of my weekly PointsPlus values. But hey, that's what they are there for, right? With football season rapidly approaching, Sunday will be full of goodness! My Good Health Guidelines look pretty fulfilled, with the exception of essential oils. I'm finding it difficult to regularly get in 2 tsp of olive oil. I don't cook with it often, I suppose I should start. I worked out every day except Wednesday which I took as a day off to rest my muscles. Everyday last week I worked out with my Fit in Six for the PS3, a workout "game" that I've raved about before. 

Path through the forest preserve 

Lake behind city hall

This week so far, Monday and Tuesday I've worked out with my "game" and this morning I went for a nice 3.27 mile run through my town. I live near city hall and there is a nice lake behind it with a track that stretches around the lake and through a forest preserve. It was a perfect 53 degrees and no wind this morning so while my husband snuggled up with the pups this cool morning, I threw on my running shoes and sprinted out the door. It took me about 41 minutes to complete which is longer than normal, however, I stopped to take a few pictures and enjoy the scenery. It won't be long before the leaves are all on the ground, covered with snow.

Next week my husband will be out of town. He leaves Saturday and returns Friday possibly. This will either make or break me next week. I tend to go one way or the other when he is out of town - I'm either perfect because I don't have to cook really so I make just enough for myself and it's nothing spectacular, whereas, when he is home I cook a big dinner every night. Or, I make so many plans with friends I haven't seen in a while that I end up meeting up with girlfriends almost every night of the week for dinner and/or drinks. We'll see how this goes. Right now I'm focused on having a perfect week. Tomorrow I may take off of working out to left my muscles recover, but then again I said I was going to take today off. I always feel guilty when I'm on a workout streak and then I take a day off. Maybe I'll just make it lighter.

On a closing note, today is mine and my husbands 3 year wedding anniversary! We really aren't the anniversary celebrating type, so I won't have to worry about dinner out or anything. Although just in case, I've got activity pointsplus and all my weeklies left. <3

What Unemployment Does to a Person, Specifically...Me.

I suppose technically, I'm not unemployed, however, I consider working for WW a hobby more than a job. So I retract "unemployment" from my title and change it to "not having a 5 day, 9am-5pm job."

There. That's better.

So let's chat...

First and foremost, what not having a 5 day, 9am-5pm job does to me specifically? I putz around on Facebook a lot. Mostly playing mindless games. Please, stop judging me. In a short break from my games I decided to create a "page" for my blog. Really, my friend FitMommaBoom encouraged it. I figured it would be a good way to condense my Facebook from flooding it with weight loss things that some people may not care to follow and will make this blog and my site more organized. So, if you follow this blog and we are not Facebook friends, feel free to "like" my Facebook page and follow me here.

Secondly, this weekend I ate something that I hadn't eaten since before beginning my journey. My husband and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings. There are two places that we use to eat at when we would choose to go out. Buffalo Wild Wings is one and Red Robin is the other. Neither of which I've been too since before February 2010. Not because I couldn't make a healthy choice, because I definitely COULD. It's that I would choose NOT to and I did not want to put myself in that position.

This far into my journey, I made the choice that I wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings and order whatever I chose to order. I wasn't going to feel guilty, as I haven't so much as looked at wings in almost two years. Needless to say, I went a little crazy and ordered what I typically would have ordered. 12 boneless wings (medium sauce) and we shared a basket of buffalo chips with cheese. I even had actual ranch dressing. Oh, and two tall Black & Blue's (Guinness & Blue Moon). I ate (and drank) it all. And I tracked.

I also ended the week -15PPV. Luckily, I only had a slight gain. Phew!

At first I wasn't going to blog about this but as I thought about it, why not? I made the conscious decision to do what I did. I didn't feel guilty about it and if I wanted to hide it then maybe I did feel guilty. So I'm blogging and I'm not guilty. I'm accountable.

I'm glad I decided to go. Every time I pass a Buffalo Wild Wings I always think to myself how much I miss it and how much I love wings. Quite honestly, after we left I told my husband I'm really glad we went and that I indulged a bit. It wasn't as good as I remembered and now when I pass one I won't feel as if I'm depriving myself of that restaurant. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the wings. But I don't feel it's something I'll crave.

Lesson learned? Don't deprive yourself of your favorites. If I hadn't chosen to go there I wouldn't know that it's just not that great anymore and I'd still feel like I was depriving myself every time I see one. I also learned that if I keep my daily eating habits in check 95% of the time, it's okay to indulge every once in a (Black &) Blue Moon!