A discovery...

So I discovered today that D and I can NOT go Souper Salad by ourselves and its best to stick to Jasons Deli if we are by ourselves. We hit up SS for dinner tonite and even though I'm ok cal-wise, it was quite a struggle. I was even AT the counter to get nachos but someone was in a rush behind me so I went and sat back down. I was good. But it was just barely. The main problem though, was when I opened myself up to GOING there, knowing it would be a temptation, I opened myself up to other temptations. The whole way home I wanted to go grab more food, even though I am FULL from SS. The fact that I did get full was probably my saving grace. It reminds me how easy it would be to relapse again, so I'm putting myself under tighter control to curtail it. No more places like that alone (well, with just D anyway, you know what I mean).

I did allow myself cals today. Even though there was no 3 mile walk, we have been active. I started the day with a lowfat granola bar after my morning workout (see below). Lunch was at my grandma's. We had beef stroganoff (I kept my portion limited), then an ear of corn with just salt and pepper, green beans, and then a blueberry muffin as dessert. Dinner was at SS. I had a big salad with lowfat ranch. Plus 3 little slices of pizza, 3/4th of a breadstick, about half a cup of mac n cheese, and then some frozen yogurt. This will end my day at 1711 calories, but I'm leaving room for a 100 cal snack later if I need it, which would be 1811 calories.

Output: I got up this morning and did the 32 minute WATP, knowing there would not likely be a 3 mile walk today. This evening when we got home from dinner, I was feeling more up to it so D and I took a 20 minute walk (as far as I could stray from the house). And I still need to make up 8 minutes sometime this evening to complete my day, which will probably be some cardio dance.

A semiquiet day at home...

AF is kicking serious tail today so we spent most of our day at home aside from meeting friends for dinner. D didn't exactly let me relax all day, lol, but it was nice. It was definitely wonderful to get to have some good D and Mommy time.

Even though my typical weekends are higher cals, since I didn't do a 3 mile walk today, I kept it down a bit and away from 1800 cals. Breakfast this morning was an early lowfat granola bar. Then lunch, I found a package of porkchops hidden in the freezer. Yay! I didn't think we had anything but chicken. So we had shake n bake porkchops, Lipton butter noodles (made without butter) and green beans for lunch. I had an afternoon snack of a whole wheat tortilla with a slice of 2% milk cheese. Dinner was at Chick Fil A, D and I both got kids meals, I had ketchup with mine, and then a kids ice cream cone. This evening I had a 100 cal minibag of popcorn to end my day at 1529 calories.

Output: I still made sure to get my time in. Earlier today I did 35 minutes on the stationary bike. It does come in handy for these AF days. Then D and I did 4 spurts of dancing today, each one roughly 5-10 minutes, in between bathroom breaks...lol. I had to wear the little man out somehow...but he did take a very good nap for mommy today! I'm hoping tomorrow I can do my 3 mile walk!!!

My po baby...

So we had the ER trip on Wednesday evening. Yesterday D was complaining of ear pain, and this morning, he woke up in pain and with his left ear draining fluid. I took him to school for a bit but called the doctor and got him in early. Yeah, D-man now has a fullblown ear infection. :( His doc said she couldn't even see his ear drum, the ear was so full of pus. So we don't know if its perforated or not, and will have to wait til we go see the new ENT on Tuesday. Good times. Poor little guy, you could really tell he wasn't feeling well and he took over a 2 hour nap. He started on antibiotics tonite so hopefully those will help!

It was a light day for me for food. Since I went to go get him early, I didn't really have time to focus on eating today. Breakfast was a Nature Valley Salty Sweet peanut bar. After his doc visit, I stopped to get him lunch at Sonic, but I only got apple slices and an iced tea. I ate at home, a homemade cheese quesadilla (whole wheat tortilla (sprayed with Pam) and 2% milk cheese). My afternoon snack was a Quaker lowfat granola bar. Dinner was at Chilis. I had the Guiltless Grilled Chicken sandwich with corn on the cob (no butter) and a side salad with lowfat ranch. Then for dessert we hit up Braums and I had a kid cup of cappuccino chunky chocolate to end my day at 1217 calories. Oh and yes, D got ice cream too for being such a trooper.

Output: today is my official rest day for the week. Monday was going to be but I did 2 hours of swimming so thats my half day. AF started yesterday and has been kicking booty today so nada. I'm still gonna be over 3000 cals burned today though since I did move around a lot with going up to D's school twice, to the doctor, etc.

A better day

Today was decent. D was acting like he was feeling ok this morning, though he did complain about a little bit of pain. I sent him off to school anyway, as he had no fever and no drainage from his nose. I'll admit I'm still in a bit of disbelief from yesterday, still harboring anger on D's behalf towards the ENT for putting him through all this for so long! But what made it worse to me is that it looks like he tried to hide it. If he had removed it yesterday in the office, explained it was an accident, sure, I would have been upset, but I would have understood. Things happen. But fess up and be a man about it. THAT'S what has me all riled up and feeling violated. I'll get over it in time, and its not like I'm sitting here letting it control my life, but it does hurt. I was up half the night grieving that D had had that mess in there for 3 months and that I had no clue what was going on. I hate that he had to deal with that! But I'm definitely relieved that its hopefully resolved. We will be following up with another ENT next week or the week after, NOT the same one.

Foodwise, I've been good today. Breakfast was a Quaker chewy lowfat granola bar. Lunch was Spaghetti-Os and a 100 cal pack of cheese crackers. My afternoon snack was a Special K protein bar and then a tbsp of peanut butter. Dinner was 2 light hotdogs on one slice of whole wheat bread with a slice of 2% cheese and a bit of Miracle Whip, plus a side of grapes. My dessert tonite was a Quaker MiniDelites pouch to end my day at 1360 calories.

Output: today was a training day so D and I hoofed it on a 3 mile walk. It took me exactly 56 minutes tonite to do it. Since I was low, I did 5 minutes of crunches and squats this evening.

Speechless and in disbelief

We finally got an issue with D resolved this evening that has me floored at the why's behind it. Long story short, he's had a rotten smell coming from his nose since January. In February, his ENT took his tonsils/adenoids out. The smell continued, plus we had the added bonus of red tinged nasal drainage. Two post-op appts between the surgery and March 31st, the ENT just said it was still healing. I took him back this morning to the ENT where he said there was suddenly a foreign object in there, and he scheduled us for surgery so he could sedate D and extract it. This made me suspicious, it was a little too coincidental that he'd had the smell and bloody discharge since the surgery.

So I took him to the ER, and I am so thankful I followed my momma instinct on that. The ER doc looked in his nose, got some forceps, had 3 of us hold him down, and pulled out what appears to be, a surgical sponge. The first thing the nurse said was: "That looks like a surgical sponge. Wait, didn't he have tonsil surgery recently???" I was in shock. I had my suspicions but never realized they would be so on target. The ER doc said she was surprised the ENT didn't already take it out as it was pretty low. Which completely leads me to believe that he KNEW what it was when he looked in D's nose this morning, and wanted to cover up that he had left it there. I am absolutely furious. D has been dealing with this for 3 months now! I've already filed a complaint against him to the Texas Board of Medical Examiners and will be filing one with Medicaid as well. I'm not sure what else I can do to make sure he is held accountable for this, but am hopeful that one of these will take care of it.

Foodwise, despite it all, I managed to hang on and not go crazy with eating. It was tough and I did have to invoke my emergency 100 cals when I treated D and I to ice cream after his traumatic evening. But lets start with breakfast. Since we went to the ENT first this morning, I fixed us a breakfast of two slices of toast with a bit of butter and reduced sugar jelly and turkey sausage. Lunch was Annie's Cheese Ravioli and a 100 cal pack of cheese crackers. My afternoon snack was a Special K protein bar. Dinner ended up being Shake n Bake chicken nuggets with ketchup, mashed tatoes and green beans. I had a slice of 2% cheese while cooking dinner. My evening snack was a kids cup of orange sherbet from Braums to end my day at 1419 calories.

Output: Today was an off day from training, so I got up and did the 32 minute WATP before fixing D and I some breakfast. I got in a 10 minute brisk walk at work during my break, and then late this evening I did 20 min of cardio dance to finish off my day.

Back to work...

Its always so hard to come back after a busy weekend! I feel like I need another weekend to recoup from this one! It was a blast though...so glad summer is about here! I went shopping at lunch and got a jogging stroller for D (YAY!), plus two shirts with that dryweave stuff to try out when walking.

Today I was in SUCH a snacky mood! Uggh, I think AF is just around the corner. So lets get to it. Breakfast was oatmeal, and then a 100 cal cracker pack shortly after. Lunch was a Weight Watchers ziti meal and baked chips. Shortly after lunch I had another 100 cal cracker baggie, and then my late afternoon snack was a Special K Protein bar and almonds. Dinner tonite was a tuna/miracle whip sandwich with grapes. And this evening I had a slice of 2% milk cheese to end my day at 1350 calories.

Output: we tested out the stroller this evening with a 3 mile neighborhood walk, it was nice! I noticed my pace was a bit faster, though still not quite what it was on Saturday at the 5K, mainly because of freakin HILLS in the neighborhood, but it was ok. I was still happy about my time. It was a bit faster than at Chisholm Trail the other day. It took exactly 58 minutes to do, so later this evening I did 2 minutes of crunches to finish up the day.

Happy Memorial Day!

And I just want to say a sincere THANK YOU to all of our veterans, those who have given their lives in service to our nation, and their families.

We had such a fun, exhausting day. For lunch, we headed over to the Addison Fountains for some playtime with friends! I'll put up pics on our other blog tomorrow, I'm TIRED today. Then after a stop at Beth's house, we headed over to Oak Point pool for 2 hours of swim time! The boys LOVE that place, and I love the deep end where I can really get in some activity!! After that, we ate a healthy dinner at Beth's (high sodium but healthy otherwise). D is now passed out in the bed and I will be soon to follow.

But first...here's food. Breakfast was 2 nutrigrain lowfat waffles, with a bit of bluebonnet spread, light syrup, and 2 turkey sausage patties. Lunch was at the fountais, a picnic lunch! I had 2 turkey/cheese sandwiches, plus a 100 cal chips and grapes. After that, I had a Quaker Mini Delites. After swimming, I had a lowfat granola bar. Dinner was chicken stirfry (chicken, rice, soy sauce, broccoli, and carrots, YUM! Thanks Beth for the invite!!) After dinner, we had raspberry sherbet. This evening, I had a 100 cal snack pack to end my day at 1789 calories.

Output: we have decided to add in a "Rest Day" to the challenge since two of us need it for half marathon training. We now get one full day off a week, and one "half day" (no cardio, just the 30 other) each week. I'll go ahead and count today as my full rest day, since most Mondays will be anyway, but I still did 2 hours of swimming! So my GWF cals are lower than usual, but I can't wear that in the water, so I know its much higher.

Day one begins...

Today began Day 1 of half marathon training. And I am SO realizing how much its hindering me to have to push D in the stroller I have for him. We have a Maclaren Volo, and its NOT doing the trick! And I can't expect D to walk that far so I HAVE to push him. I did let him get up this morning and walk some, he did fine, but it really wore him out. So I need to figure out an alternative. Maybe a jogging stroller? But I dunno of one that would hold his weight...46-47 lbs. Yeesh. Unfortunately he HAS to be with me for the majority of our walks, though once we get to 6+ miles, I will have sitters watch him, but thats just once a week. Anyone have ideas?

Today was quite the busy day...foodwise I did really good. Breakfast was two Special K waffles with a bit of light syrup and bluebonnet margarine. Lunch was at Blackeyed Pea. I had grilled chicken with bbq sauce, plus rice, a house salad, and 1.5 rolls with a tad of butter. Dinner was at Jasons Deli. I got a big salad of romaine and tomatoes with some cheese on top and lowfat ranch. Plus a side of grilled chicken, and apples. Yes I realize I had pretty much the same thing today...lol it just sounded good! I also had a chocolate lowfat frozen yogurt cone at Jasons Deli. Then this evening we went to a movie and I had a pickle and some popcorn to end my day at 1830 calories.

Output: a 1 hour 5 minute walk this morning (3.25 miles) for Day One of training. Then this afternoon we went swimming for an HOUR...yes I'm tired! lol My Go Wear Fit shows I burned 3683 calories today, but that's not counting the swimming which Lose It estimates at 668 cals. I think I hit a record number of cals burned for me!! An estimated 4351 cals burned! That rocks!!! I am SO glad that tomorrow is now a rest day but will explain that tomorrow.

One long day! 5K and more!

Today was quite the busy day for us! And we were running from 6am til we got home tonite at 7pm. I'm exhausted! We started out doing the Red Nose Run 5K this morning with some DAM friends Casey and Jamie. Check out pics (as usual) on D and I's adventure blog. After a recovering breakfast at IHOP, the boys wanted to go to the park and play. :-O Then we decided to go swimming. After a good swim, we had a yummy dinner at Souper Salad before heading home to crash! It was fun to hang out with Casey and her son M all day! Thanks Casey!

Foodwise, I ate a lot, but planned it out as I went and stayed under 1900 cals (though just barely). Before the 5K, I had a turkey tortilla rollup and part of a banana. After the race, I had a little pack of Wheat Thins. At IHOP, I got the Baby Cakes meal (which is a kids meal: scrambled egg substitute, 5 silver dollar pancakes, 1 strip of bacon and sugar free syrup). After parktime we hit up Braums for some capp chunky choc frozen yogurt. Dinner was at Souper Salad. I had a big romaine salad with some cheese and light ranch, plus pizza and breadsticks, and some mac n cheese to end my day at 1899 calories.

Output: LOTS! It took 58.5 minutes to do the 5K this morning. Then, 30 minutes of swimming, before the boys got too cold and tired. Its 8pm and I'm at 3274 cals burned, not counting the swimming which shows to be around 330 cals burned. Will edit tomorrow with my total.

Walking My Way to 13

So yesterday was about 5Ks. Today, let's talk Half Marathons. That's right, 13.1 miles, or a little over 4 times that of a 5K. And...I'm going to do one this year. Do I sound crazy yet? Cause I kind of feel it. I keep going back and forth between excitement and a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. But I know I can do this. I now have a training buddy and a training schedule that is reasonable. And I have 17 weeks to get ready for it.

Here's the plan. We're going to do the Heels and Hills Half Marathon in September. But with a backup plan. The HHH has a time limit of 4 hours. So if by August, we don't feel we have our time down enough, then we're going to do the White Rock Half in December, which is a 5.5 hour max. Either way, I'm doing one this year. I think we have a good solid plan for it, and if I can stick with it, I WILL do this. I have this deep seated NEED to do it. Bear with me through this process, it's very quickly becoming an obsession, but at least its not one that will HURT my body, as long as I stick with knowing that this IS a process and a long term one at that, it can only help me. And while I'm not betting on it, I'm really hoping that a side benefit will be this weight melting off...lol I keep telling myself to not look to Sept 27th (race day), but to take the small steps, and look at the week only, no more than that.

I'm starting the training this coming sunday (though I will be doing a 5K tomorrow as well, thats just a bonus), but will just be repeating week 1 until June 14th when I start it for real. Sundays will be long walk days, so after June 21st or so, I'll need to have someone watch D for me. I'm still figuring out logistics, but I want this enough that I'll work it out!

Ok on to food...I'm definitely uncertain about how to work out the food part of this training. I'm VERY comfortable in my light weekdays and higher weekends, it works for me. So I'm scared to change that much. But I've already started feeling more hungry. I need to keep changing up what I eat and figuring out what will work best.

Today is our weekly CFA day since we have church tonite. Breakfast was oatmeal again. I did have a midmorning snack of 100 cal chips. Lunch was a Lean Cuisine pizza and big leafy salad with Zesty Italian light (the ONE thing I grabbed from the office catering in OTB, I was good!!). My afternoon snack was almonds. And dinner was a CFA Kids meal with no ketchup. This evening I had a whole wheat tortilla with a bit of Bluebonnet spread to end my day at 1295 calories.

Output: I got up this morning and did the 32 min WATP. At lunchtime I took a 15 min walk outside (down to the pond, around once, and back). This evening I did 15 minutes of cardio dance to get in the rest of my time. Tomorrow is a 5K so I don't want to overdo it.

Dispelling the fear of a 5K

I've seen quite a few comments from those who seem to be apprehensive about a 5K. And just wanted to dispell some common misconceptions. Don't be scared of the 5K. You don't HAVE to run it. I have done 3 of them and have not run one yet. YET. lol They aren't going to pull you out of it for walking. And that said, if you do walk it, its not bad, and doesn't have to be speed walking. My highest time, my first 5K, was an hour and 15 minutes. I weighed more than I do now. And that's pushing a stroller with a 45lb kid in it. Its just an hour walk. If you can speed up in it, or run any part of it, that makes it even less time. If I can do one, ANYONE can. Not anything to be leery of, so I hope this encourages more of you to get out there and sign up for them! Here's the link to the calendar for Run On so you can see which ones are coming up. Most 5Ks benefit a good cause, so you can feel good about helping others AND doing something good for your body! I think I burned 700 cals last weekend doing the mall walk 5K and that was indoors on flat ground. It's so good for you to get out there and just WALK. We're going to be doing another 5K this weekend, I'd love to have more people joining us! Keep checking the right hand side of the blog for info on which ones we are doing and let me know if you want to come with us!

Ok I had to get that out. Now we can move on to food for today. Apparently its going to be a light day. lol Breakfast this morning was oatmeal. Then I had some almonds a little before lunchtime. Lunch is a Weight Watchers Ziti meal and 100 cal chips pack. My afternoon snack is a 100 cal Kudos Granola bar. Dinner tonite was smoked turkey, Lipton butter noodles (no butter added), and broccoli. And my evening snack was half a cup of Braums capp chunky choc to end my day at 1258 calories. I'm trying to choose more substantial foods (like the oatmeal) so I feel better about what I AM getting.

Output: I got up this morning and did the 32 minute WATP. I was pretty tired after swimming last night but still managed to work it out. Then we got in a walk this evening at Bob Woodruff. I did 2.8 miles in about 55 minutes. Not great time but its ok. I didn't want to over do since the humidity was killing me, but did want to get in a good walk. Yeah I think I hit my hour today...lol

New addition to Exercise Challenge rules

Now that summer is fast approaching, we had to add in rules for how swimming counts towards the challenge. The decision was made to allow it to count like the Wii Sports does. Swimming will count as half time and cannot count towards your 30 min straight, but it does count towards your 30 add'l. If you are doing laps , it counts fulltime. We're going swimming tonite so this decision really needed to be made. lol

Food today is good. I had oatmeal for breakfast (trying to switch up breakfast and see what works best with the morning workouts to get me through the morning), and then reduced fat wheat thins as a late morning snack. Lunch is a Lean Cuisine pizza and half a baggie of chex mix. My afternoon snack was almonds. Dinner this evening is Subway. I'm getting a 6 inch ham on wheat with american cheese and mustard, plus a side of apple slices. After swimming, I had a whole wheat tortilla with a bit of Bluebonnet spread to end my day at 1252 calories.

Output: I got up this morning and did the 32 min WATP since swimming won't count for everything tonite. Tonite was an hour of swimming to get in my add'l 30 min.

It's so nice outside!!

Ok I'ma whine for a minute...how was it pouring rain on Saturday when we could have spent the whole day outside like we did on Sunday, but yesterday and today, days I can barely get outside, are just BEA-U-TI-FUL. It's not fair!!!! AND this weekend its supposed to be rainy AGAIN...WTF!! *end whine* Ok I'm done, thank you for allowing me to get that out.

That said, it really is gorgeous out there, I've taken a few lunch time walks out there, and am loving even that short bit of time I have. Unfortunately, with D getting to bed so late on Sunday, I haven't been able to really enjoy it in the evenings either. Tonite will be another one I can't as he needs a few days to recoup by going to bed early. :( I hate to not take advantage of this while we have it, soon it will be summer and boiling you the minute you walk outside. Oh well...

Food today, I had a turkey/whole wheat tortilla rollup for breakfast this morning, and then some reduced fat wheat thins abit later. Lunch was a Smart Ones Ziti meal and pretzels. My afternoon snack is almonds. Dinner was Shake N Bake chicken nuggets with some ketchup, instant mashed tatoes, and green beans. Right after that, I had a chocolate pudding, and then late this evening I had half a cup of rainbow sherbet to end my day at 1319 calories.

Output: I am LOVING that my hour is done for the day. lol Such a great feeling! I got up this morning and did the 32 min WATP, and then took a 30 minute walk at lunch (down to the pond and circled around it 4 times). I'm TIRED, but feeling good about it, that its over with and that I don't HAVE to do anything tonite if I don't want to.

Definitely a Monday

And I am TIRED and SORE from all our adventures yesterday! I most certainly did not get up this morning and work out, but don't worry, I'm not letting the hour pass me by today! Its been a decent day overall, just a typical day, back in the swing of things. I'm ready for this coming weekend, its another busy one planned!

I ate my usuals today. Breakfast was a Fiber One bar. Lunch was a 100 cal cheese crackers pack and a Lean Cuisine pizza. My afternoon snack is almonds. Dinner was light hotdogs on whole wheat sugar free bread (was so excited, I found some more in the freezer!) with a bit of Miracle Whip, sugar snap peas, 6 reduced fat wheat thins, and part of a 100 cal choc pretzel baggie. Dessert tonite was a chocolate pudding cup to end my day at 1278 calories.

Output: No morning workout (hey, I'm not Superwoman! I wouldn't have made it through the day if I had!...lol) But I took a 40 minute walk at lunch, and this evening I did the 18 minute WATP, plus 5 minutes of crunches, flys and bicycle crunches ( I struggled through 50 crunches, 10 bicycles, and 20 flys).

Day trippin...

Today we joined up with Beth and her boys, and took a day trip to Wichita Falls to go see a fellow DAMmer! We took the kids to the park, took a REALLLLLLLLLY long walk, more playtime, etc. It was a really fun day, thanks Abbie, for letting us come invade WF! Once I upload pics, those will be up on D and I's Adventure blog.

Foodwise, I did decent despite quite a bit of struggle. The majority of it was snacks that we brought with us. Breakfast was a whole wheat tortilla, with about 1/2 a tbsp of bluebonnet, and then some reduced fat wheat thins. Lunch was 1.5 PBJs, a 100 cal pack of Fritos, a 100 cal choc covered pretzels. After our walk, I had a baggie of apple slices and then a 100 cal pack of cheddar party mix. Dinner was at Chilis. I got the guiltless grilled chicken sandwich with corn on the cob (no butter added), and lowfat ranch on the side. Then when we got home at 11pm this evening, I had two 100 cal snacks (the frito baggie and the cheddar party mix) to end my day at 1598 calories.

Output: we did an over an hour and a half walk! I burned a messload of calories! It was outside at a park so I'm not sure how far it was, but I'm ending my day at 3712 calories burned. I'm exhausted!!! I do believe thats a record for me.

A 5K and more!

Today was such a fun day! Look at our other blog for pics!

We were going to do a 5K but it got rained out, so...we went and did our breakfast splurge and THEN went to the mall to walk. We did 3.4 miles in an hour flat! Woohoo!

Today was a planned splurge day. So don't be shocked at the high cals...lol and crap food! Before heading out to what would have been the 5K, I had a whole wheat tortilla with a bit of Bluebonnet margarine. Breakfast was at IHOP! I had 3/4th of the Bacon Temptation omelette with salsa and 1/2 of the hashbrowns with some ketchup. After we got home from our walk, I had a bag of Mini Pringles. Then before heading to church at 5, I had a serving of reduced fat Wheat Thins. Dinner was at Souper Salad. I had 4 small slices of pizza (they are only 90 cals each), a breadstick, a small serving of mac n cheese, a few bites (literally) of their spaghetti, and then a big salad with romaine, cheese, and light ranch. It was yum!!! I ended my day at 1994 calories, which worked out perfect. Even though it was a splurge day, I didn't want to go over 2000 cals and ruin the whole benefit of the 5k...lol

Output: a 1 hour 3.4 mile walk. I need to remember we have to do an hour a day now for the challenge! I hit 3475 calories burned today...yay!

Exercise Challenge Update!

Today is our original finish date for the Exercise Challenge. But ummm...we're all still in a three way tie!! I'm SO proud of my girls, Teresa and Jamie, for sticking through this with me. We have been rocking it and it's really keeping us all motivated! So...we're extending the challenge. We kinda have to anyway to get a winner. But as of tomorrow, its now being bumped to an hour of exercise a day, with 30 minutes being straight cardio, and then 30 minutes of whatever. We'll be starting this tomorrow, then taking a 5 day break in June so that one of my fellow challengers can go on vaca, but then we'll be right back up on it afterward (I doubt I'll take the break from working out, I'm in a really good groove with it, and scared to take a day or morning off. I'm afraid I won't want to start back up!) So that's the update on what's going on with that. Thanks ladies for doing this with me!!!

In other news, I'm doing a 5K tomorrow morning. Yeah, I have to get in bed tonite! lol Its going to be quite a busy weekend for us. I hope D can handle it all!

On to food today. Today is looking like most every day this week...lol I did switch up breakfast, to have a Kashi Cherry Dark Chocolate granola bar (it came in the sample pack we got at Taste Addison). It was REALLY good! I'll def have to put those in the breakfast rotation! Lunch is going to be a Weight Watchers ziti meal and pretzels. My afternoon snack will be half a serving of almonds (still out of yogurt...booooo). Dinner will be on the way to church so we'll probably do CFA Kids meals again. I hate to twice in one week, but they really work for keeping us going. And they keep me from falling off the wagon in SO many other ways. Then this evening, I'll have a choc pudding to end my day at 1242 calories.

Output: I got up this morning and did the 32 minute WATP. It was insanely hard to get up, but I know I'm busy both at lunch and this evening so won't have time to get in all my minutes later. I'll have to make up the last 13 minutes somewhere today though.

A carby day

Yeah apparently today is all about the carbs...with some good fat and protein thrown in.

I discovered that if I swig a shot of apple juice and down a glass of water before I work out in the mornings, I don't get that faint feeling, AND don't have to eat my breakfast before leaving the house. So this morning, I had an ounce of that. Then I had my Fiber One bar when I got to work. Lunch was a South Beach pepperoni pizza and pretzels. My afternoon snack is going to be half a serving of almonds (I forgot I'm out of yogurt :( ). I was going to have a PBJ for dinner which D has been begging for, but I ended up realizing that a tuna sandwich with miracle whip has the same cals, so I had that! A whole can of tuna mixed with 2 tbsp of MW, on whole grain sugar free bread. We also had a pouch of mini Pringles. My evening snack was 1/2 cup of Braums cappuccino chunky choc frozen yogurt to end my day at 1240 calories.

Output: did my 32 minute WATP this morning. This evening I spent some time at the play area maze chasing D and Beths boys around, but I wasn't sure how much time that was all total, so I did 14 minutes of cardio dance this evening just to make sure I was legit. I'm currently at 3203 calories, and its 11pm. I'll be right around 3300 cals burned for the day.

One Long Wednesday

I'm glad its OVER. heh...I'm TIRED!

I had a low cal day today, but I'm feeling fine about it. We have a splurge coming up this saturday after doing a 5K so I will def be eating good! Breakfast was a Fiber One bar. Lunch was a Weight Watchers Ziti, and my afternoon snack was a fat free yogurt. Same ol same ol. I don't mind eating the same things though. It keeps me consistent. For dinner, we had to run errands and I was low on cals anyway, so we grabbed CFA Kids Meals (with ketchup) and then I had a choc pudding this evening to end my day at 1202 calories.

Output, LOTS! I got up and did the 32 minute WATP this morning. Then traffic was NOTHING for once, so I was at work early, so, I did a brisk walk around the building for 15 minutes to get my time done. This evening I did another 30 minutes or so of cardio dance to get my cals up. I ended my day at 3094 calories. SO close to 3100!!! lol I'm glad I raised my goal to 3000 a day though, looks like it should be easy enough to hit most days with some extra evening work.

The food part of the day...

See previous post for One Year Anniversary of the Diet pics!

Food today was light. I was pretty busy at work and it just happened. Breakfast was a Fiber One oats and caramel bar. Lunch was a South Beach pepperoni pizza. Afternoon snack was a fat free yogurt. Dinner was scrounging through the freezer/pantry for whatever I could find...lol We ended up having an italian grilled chicken breast with some ketchup on the side, Lipton herb and butter rice (no butter added), and green beans. And an evening snack of a chocolate pudding. However I realized I overcalculated the rice, and was under 1200 cals, so I had some grapes this evening to bump me up to 1202 calories eaten.

Output: I got up early this morning and did the WATP 32 minute two mile. Then at lunch I took a 15 minute brisk walk around Walmart to finish my time up. I also did some dancing around the house this evening with my headphones on. And I'm apparently not very good at guessing how many cals I'll burn because my first edit of this said 2800...then 2900...then 3000. I ended up hitting 3177 cals burned for the day...lol

Happy One Year on the diet!

I made it a year! And haven't gained it all back! lol That's HUGE for me. I weighed in this morning to commemorate the day, and am at 268 lbs. So down officially 62 lbs in a year.

Here are a few progress pictures! Feel free to ignore the adorable monster boy in most of them...lol I don't get a lot of pics by myself.

Mothers Day 2008


Beth and I 6 days after the diet started - May 18, 2008

June 2008

July 2008, my birthday
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
Jan 2009 - Right before the relapse really hit
May 2, 2009 - 20 lbs to go til back at November 2008 weight

Looking back on a year

Tomorrow is an anniversary of sorts. It's been a year since Beth and I started on a diet journey that we had no clue would come as far as it has. I got to looking back on our first posts on the Losin blog we had, and got all nostalgic. We had no clue what we were doing, but we did our best, and changed things up so much as we went along, trying to do what felt right for our own bodies. Its been a heck of a year! I know Beth's right around her goal weight, and despite my awful setback, I'm still 60 lbs down from what I was a year ago.

We've both changed so much since then that its just unreal to me. Our friendship got stronger the past year, though has definitely been tested through all this to its limits, and has shown us new ways of dealing with things. I also think this past year has made me a better mommy, as I have more energy to deal with D, less weight to cart around when chasing after him, and so much more willingness to go DO things. I find myself more confident at times but also less confident at times, as I learn how to move around in a lesser body, and its really been interesting. When I had the relapse I could tell in how it felt to move around that I had gained back, and have felt the changes all over again as I've come back down. Some days I can really feel the missing parts of me, and other days it feels like I haven't lost a bit.

Despite my chagrin at having gained back almost half of what I had lost during the relapse, I'm proud that I was finally able to get it under control and get back to losing it. I'm also taking steps to "fix" the issues I have with food, in hopes of keeping another relapse from happening. That is my only real goal this next year of the diet. I'm not setting a specific weight goal, loss will happen as I stick with this day by day, for life, and I fully believe thats when you get the "permanent" weight loss.

It's been an incredible year, and I can't wait to share the next year with all of you , and to see where I am another year from now. Thanks to all of you for supporting me in this, and pushing me to be better. Tomorrow I'll post some before and during shots for you guys.

On to food today...breakfast was a Fiber One bar. I was better prepared this morning and already had it at home with me, so I ate half of it slowly after my workout to keep from feeling faint, and then the rest on the way to work. I also had a tbsp of peanut butter abit later in the morning. Lunch is a Weight Watchers Ziti meal and grapes. My afternoon snack is of course a fatfree yogurt. Its the only thing I've found that keeps me from having dizzy spells before dinner, so I make sure to keep it on hand at all times. Dinner tonite was a Subway 6 inch ham on wheat with american cheese and light mayo, and then a baggie of baked chips. I need a big grocery shopping trip but it will have to wait til Wednesday at least. Gotta love payday...lol Tonite was a choc pudding cup for dessert to end my day at 1297 calories.

Output: I got up this morning despite being up super late last night, and did the 32 min 2 mile WATP. I took a 15 min walk at lunch to finish up my time today.

Happy Mothers Day...

I want to say I hope all my fellow mommies had a wonderful day...I hope you were able to relax and enjoy it, all mommies deserve it.

As for me...I struggle with this day. Not having my mom in my life for years hits me pretty hard this time of year. I think if I had closure in it, I could accept it and move on, but the fact that she doesn't WANT me in her life and hasn't since I was a kid, is what does it. Despite that, I tried really hard to make it a good day for D and I, as I LOVE being his mommy, and really wanted to make it our day. He was up early and raring to go, so I took us both to Dennys for breakfast. After that, we made a quick trip to South Dallas to give my grandma a card for Mothers Day before we headed back north to meet some friends at the Butterfly Exhibit at Collin Creek. Of course, pics are on D and I's blog...lol we ate at the mall and then D and I headed home after a quick store run to get what I wanted for dinner. lol I got lots of yummy food I wanted today (but within reason and portion carefully controlled). Unfortunately, the day didn't end on a good note. I don't know if D was just overtired from the day, despite a nap, or what, but from the time we got home to the time he went to bed (at 6:15...lol cause I couldn't take it anymore), it was a constant battle. I'm spending the evening watching chick flicks and playing literati with a friend online. I hate being so alone on days like this, when it seems like everyone has someone to celebrate it with them.

On to food...breakfast was a Jr Grand Slam at Dennys, no syrup (only 400 cals total!). At the mall, D and I split a chicken quesadilla (with a few chips and salsa), and then a chocolate chip cookie from Subway. And then dinner was half of a Tony's frozen pizza and a cup of rainbow sherbet to end my day at 1833 calories. It was a lot of crap, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was very careful to plan it out.

Output: since we got to the mall really early, we walked for 25 minutes, then waited a little more, and then did another 20 minutes still waiting. Everyone was really late, but it was funny because even though everyone was late, we are all there at the same time. It worked out! I'm tired though. I'm definitely going to hit 3000 cals today, though just barely. lol

A long, fun day...with a scary evening...

We had a really great day today. Kind of bummed around all morning, then at noon, my friend hit us up and joined us at Taste Addison. You can see our pics of it on D and I's blog. It was so much fun. We let the boys go play in the fountains for awhile, I tried Topz for the first time (YUM!), and I did great on eating there. I didn't eat any of my trigger foods (which would be pizza and snocones/ice cream...lol those suckers are DANGEROUS!). After our fun, we had some dinner, and then headed to Walmart. Mainly because I wasn't quite ready to go home yet...lol and then after that, D convinced me to take him to the park to play, even though it was pretty cool and windy outside. He had a great time til the end. And because of that ending, D got to see his mommy break down in tears.

When I took his hand when it was time for us to go (which I did KNOWING he has a tendency to run), I could tell he was about to start fussing about it. So I told him I bet he couldn't beat me to the top of the hill which is between the parking lot and playground. We both took off up it. But he got up a full step ahead of me, and kept going. Into the parking lot. I couldn't go after him because I know he will REALLY take off running, and the street was on the other side. And then I saw was a car turning in at that exact time. Praise the Lord, they saw him and stopped. I think the panic in my voice stopped him long enough for me to get to him. Basically, he scared the ever living bejeebies outta me.

I do NOT understand why he flips the switch like that...and I'm having such a hard time this evening dealing with just how "different" he is than other kids, with all his issues. I really think that I'm going to have to hold his hand 24/7 when he's not in the stroller, cause I can't chance it. I hate that I see other kids able to follow their parents or walk beside them when mine can't, and I'm scared to death that he's gonna get hit by a car someday over this. He's almost 5 and is still pulling this mess.

After I grabbed him up and got us both home, shaking the whole way, I talked to him about it, about how scared I was for him, and while doin that, was when I finally broke down in tears. He got really sober at that, and all I could do was pull him into a hug and just cry. He said "I sorry, mommy" and you could really tell it hit him then, but he's done this before with almost the same results. He just doesn't process what he's doing til after the fact, and I don't really think he CAN help it.

*sigh*

So thats been our day in a not-so-nutshell.

Like I said above, I did good with eating today and am even managing to keep it together tonite. Breakfast/early lunch was a PBJ and reduced fat wheat thins. A late lunch was at Taste Addison. I had a Topz cheeseburger with ketchup and fries. If you don't know what Topz is, they make healthy crap. lol Low fat hamburgers and baked fries. They weren't exactly low CAL, but I got online before we ate and checked cal counts against my plan for the day, so I was good. I downed two bottles of water while there and resisted everything else. For dinner, we hit up CFA and I got chicken nuggets and a side salad with light italian dressing. No snack tonite as I'm not really hungry. I'm ending my day at 1811 calories.

Output: 5 hours of walking at Taste Addison, plus an hour long Walmart trip, AND walking at the park, left me exhausted. But I still had to complete the challenge for today, so I did 20 minutes on the bike tonite. I'm already at 3278 cals burned today, so I'm guessing it will be close to 3400 by midnite.

I hit a short term goal!

I don't really want to go into much detail, but I'm super happy with myself right now, and I just had to share that...lol yeah I know thats pretty obscure, but trust me, its a good thing!

On another good note...I'm still doing great with getting up! I did not get up one day this week, but other than that, have been rocking it. This morning I even did more of a workout than the bike, but will go into that in a minute. My workout though was so good, I couldn't wait til I got to work to eat, as I got faint. So I had half a serving of reduced fat wheat thins. At work, I had a Fiber One Oats and Caramel bar. Lunch was a South Beach pepperoni pizza. My afternoon snack was a fat free yogurt (instead of the cake that was at work...urgghh). Dinner was a CFA Kids Meal before my meeting at church, and then this evening I had a chocolate pudding cup to end my day at 1295 calories. The weekend is here so expect higher cals the next two days!

Output: I got up this morning and...did the Walk Away the Pounds 2 mile! It was 32 minutes and I was glad to have that out the way. Then at lunch I got in a 15 minute walk to finish my day. I hit 3098 cals burned today.

I missed you Leslie!!

Its been almost a month since I even thought about my Walk Away the Pounds dvd (WATP), and I so rarely did it before that time. Well I've been wanting to get in more upper body work, and the bike in the mornings just isn't cutting it! I need to get my whole body moving. Walking yesterday burned almost twice as many cals as a bike ride for the same amount of minutes. So...I'm incorporating WATP again. I did so great with it at the first of the diet, I think I need it back.

Food first. Today was a light day in anticipation of a free KFC meal, but KFC was only giving away rainchecks. So we ended up going elsewhere (I still made a good choice, even though my first inclination was to go get crap). But first, breakfast was a Fiber One Oats and Caramel bar. Lunch was a South Beach pepperoni pizza. My afternoon snack was a fat free yogurt. The dinner that would have been KFC, we instead hit up Boston Market and Braums (for the same cals, actually, a bit less!!) At Boston Market, I got the 1/4th white chicken meal, with 1.5 servings of garlic dill new potatoes (I GOT 2, but gave D half of one), and light ranch to dip my chicken in...lol Then we went to Braums and I got a dip of cappuccino chunky choc frozen yogurt (YUM!) to end my day at 1260 calories.

Output: I got up this morning and did my 30 on the bike. But like I said above, looking at the calories burned, really got me down, its just not as much of a workout. So tonite, I told my Literati buddy, that if I won, I'd do the 18 minutes WATP, but if LOST, I'd do the 32 minute one. Well...I won...BUT I decided to do the 32 minute anyway, just to see the calorie burn. And its VERY comparable to just walking, much more than the bike! So I know what I will probably be doing in the mornings now. I burned 3176 cals today...woohoo!

Happy day after Cinco De Mayo!

LOL Ok so I forgot to say it yesterday...better late than never right??

Ha...it was another day to reap the reward of delayed gratification. Last night I struggled mightily with wanting, of all things, waffles. So I told myself, if I resisted, we could have em for dinner tonite. And we did. And they were quite yum, and definitely worth it.

But lets start at the beginning. Breakfast was a Fiber One Oats and Apple Streusle bar. I had pretzels before I went on my walk. Lunch was a can of Annie's cheese ravioli. It was pretty good! I also had applesauce with it. My afternoon snack was a South Beach pb/choc bar and a fatfree yogurt. Dinner was waffles (Nutrigrain lowfat with light syrup and country crock light, healthy, huh?). And then an evening dessert of a choc pudding cup to end my day at 1266 calories.

Output: I took a 30 minute walk at lunch, down to the pond near my work and back twice, which was 1.5 miles. Then I did 15 minutes this evening (in sets of 5 min) of leg lifts, crunches, and lunges to finish my day.

Tired Tuesday

I was SO tired and just weary all day long. I was glad when it was over. I got to come home this evening and cuddle with a sweet 5 year old on the couch watching Biggest Loser after D went to bed. lol I'm babysitting tonite. And D needed to go to bed early. Its been a pretty quiet, calm evening here.

Foodwise, I've been good today. I can't say I haven't struggled but I've got goals to hit and am determined. Breakfast today was a Fiber One Oats and Caramel bar. Lunch was a Weight Watchers ziti meal and pretzels. My afternoon snack was a South Beach PB/Choc wafer bar and a fat free yogurt. Dinner was leftover meatloaf from my gmas, with a bit of ketchup, mashed tatoes and broccoli. And my dessert this evening was a fudgsicle to end my day at 1265 calories.

Output: I barely got up this morning with time to work out...lol I did a 30 minute bike ride (5.1 miles, yes I was tired). Then I got in two 5 minute walks during the day today, and this evening I did 10 minutes of crunches (50), lunges, and squats to complete my day. I'm looking to hit about 2800 cals today but its only 9pm...so won't post the total til tomorrow.

An almost bad news Monday

Well we found out yesterday that D's PPCD school closed due to several "probable" cases of H1N1 flu. Woo. So no school for D for two weeks!! His daycare is still open, thank goodness, but we found out when we GOT there, that all kids that go to his PPCD school have to have a doctors note in order to come to daycare. So back home we went til his doc office opened at 9am. D was NOT a happy camper. But it all worked out, we got a doc note very quickly once they did open and off he went back to school. Yay!

I had a tough time with food today, I'll admit. I didn't over eat or blow the diet, but I sure struggled. Breakfast was TWO granola bars (*bag over head*) and a cup of Juicy Juice apple juice. This was mainly because I was hungry for once after my bike ride, so I had one before leaving the house, but then wanted another when I got to work. Lunch was a Weight Watchers ziti meal and baked chips. My afternoon snack was a South Beach pb/chocolate wafer bars. Dinner was Hamburger Helper (sent from my grandmas), green beans, and a slice of 2% milk cheese while fixing it. Then for dessert this evening after letting the kids play for forever, we hit up Braums. I had the frozen yogurt Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate, but the kids size. And when I got home this evening, I had a dizzy spell while bathing D, so I had a slice of 2% milk cheese to end my day at 1408 calories.

Output: I did not go to Curves this morning (and don't think I'm going to for awhile. I know people don't wipe down the stuff, and its kind of ooging me out thinking about germs...flu and otherwise). I did get up and do 30 minutes on the bike (5.3 miles!!) and at lunch I walked 15 minutes around the building to get in the rest of my time. We did walk alot this evening, parked by the play area and walked over to the stores, so I got some more time in. I can't post my cals burned today though since my GWF battery died on me late last night. I charged it this morning, but it totally missed my morning workout. Oh well. Tomorrow I should be good to go.

The day after...

Oh I was tired this morning. lol But I did get to sleep in some without a certain 4 year old popping out of his room. My day quickly took a downer as I got to listen to quite the guilt trip ALL DAY at my grandma's (she and my bro watched D for me). Oh what fun.

Other than that, it was a decent day. D took a two hour nap at my gma's, as he was exhausted from the evening.

My cals are highish again. I sure will be glad to get back into the work routine of things!!! This morning, breakfast was cheese rollups at home (whole wheat tortilla, and 2% milk cheese). Lunch was at my grandma's. We had meatloaf (with onion crunchy things on top, blah), mashed tatoes, green beans, tomato slices and corn on the cob. I had a snack cake for dessert, and then dinner, D and I split a baked ziti and breadstick at the mall (Sbarro). Dessert this evening was a Kudos Granola bar to end my day at 1823 calories.

Output: a 50 minute walk at the mall. I had quite a few frustrations to walk out so D and I booked it. I didn't post cals burned for yesterday and today since I did not wear the GWF for the party yesterday and in sleep either. I did wear it most of today otherwise, but I know its not accurate. I will be back to posting those tomorrow.

Happy birthday, Beth!!!

Happy happy birthday to one of my best friends! I'm so glad your party was a success and that we all got to hang out as long as we did! It was so much fun!

Foodwise today, I barely stayed under my 1900 cals...lol barely, a whole 9 cals. Although I think it was less than that even, I substituted egg beaters for eggs at Dennys, but didn't account for the change.

Breakfast was early as D was up and going, so I had a slice of 2% milk cheese and a granola bar. Lunch was Banquet Homestyle Bakes pasta and meatballs, and then a snack of a fat free yogurt before heading to the party. At the party, I had chicken nuggets from CFA with fat free ranch, 1 slice of thin crust pepperoni pizza, a few tortilla chips with salsa, some grapes, and a VERY YUMM piece of strawberry daiquiri cake. YUM! Then for the afterparty, we headed to Dennys, and I got the junior grand slam but with the above substitution to end my day at 1891 calories (though its prolly about a 100 cals less).

Output: I got in a 30 min bike ride (5.2 miles) and then 30 min on Wii Sports to get in my time today. Thats about all the activity I did before the party, otherwise, we bummed around the house all morning. lol It was kinda nice.

Such a fun day!!!

So today was an awesome day! My friend was in town from Austin and we had a blast! It started out kinda sour, because I had to take D to the doc first. And the po baby had to get two shots, which are ones he has to have to start kinder in the fall. Poor little guy, he was limping good this evening and ended up passing out asleep at our Splurge this evening... :(

Tina and I went downtown and hit up the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art after I took D to daycare from his doc appt. It was a really neat exhibit, and I learned so much that I had no idea of! Now of course, AF was being a pain, so I had to make some bathroom stops several times, which was definitely distracting but otherwise, I was quite intrigued by it all. Such a great idea, Tina!!!!! After a light lunch, we went and picked up D from PPCD, and then took a nice walk to get my exercise in today. Then after more exercise at my house to finish it up, it was time to head to the splurge...at Texas Roadhouse!!! YUM!!!! I ended up not eating one of the things I had planned on, but I still had an awesome splurge. Like I said above, D fell asleep halfway through the meal, which turned out pretty nice...though I sure felt bad for him. I gave him some tylenol before bed to see if that helps the pain. When we got back to my house, we watched Bride and Prejudice (no, not PRIDE and Prejudice), different movie. It was super cute though! And now its time for me to put it to bed, I'm exhausted!!!

But first, here's food. Breakfast was a whole wheat tortilla with a 2% milk cheese slice and 8 ounces of apple juice. Lunch was a Chickfila grilled chicken salad with light italian dressing. And dinner...ahhhh dinner. Texas Roadhouse. I got chicken fried steak (ate 3/4th of it), and then had some steak fries dipped in ranch dressing. I wanted a roll but never got ranch dressing until my food was there...lol so that helped. After that we all enjoyed some yummy birthday cake for Beth!!! Well, her bday is tomorrow but since its now tradition to hit up TRH for it so she can get up on that saddle, I figured cake was appropriate. And YES it was! I ended my day at 2385 calories which is not bad for a splurge!

Output...gosh, I was up and about ALL DAY long. 3 hours at the museum! We did take a 30 minute good walk, and then I did 30 minutes of Wii Sports (so 15 min towards challenge), to hit my 45 min total. But I hit a record today for cals burned. I burned 3753 cals today!!! I can def tell we were MOVING. lol