Week 71

weight 137


this week was really emotional.. going through some stuff in my personal life .....so I am stepping back and just breathing..... phew....and permission to just be in my own skin for awhile with no pressure.. I don't have to make a choice right now.. when the time comes I will know.

just wrapped up my first 90 days at my new job.. I feel I can relax a little now.. confident in my role. they offered me full time in January which will really help. The full time comes with more responsibilities. Changing careers is pretty stressful overall. I did just ok with my workouts this week... nothing to fabulous.... lots of walking outside... my heart was not in running at all..... just felt lethargic... but I still did my mon, tue, thurs workout  and today walked over  6 miles.

I ate like crap today.... the zoo offered pizza hut or McDonald's...I should have planned ahead and packed a healthy option. I did pass up ice-cream and ate my trail mix instead. I had a kid sized meal of cheeseburger/small fries and diet coke.. that was my first fast food meal in a long time. Felt like crud afterwards....

Zoo

Walked 12,200 stepa, 5 miles and 22 flights of stairs at The zoo today

Lunch

screwy scale

140 yesterday
137 today

week 70

weight 140

Now this scale is pissing me off......really taking a good honest look at my food diary on MFP and will have to re-evaluate things. Prolly too much snacking is the culprit if I am being 100% honest.... been eating candy here & there at work..... I am doing my thing with my workouts and walking on my lunch breaks and with Liv on rest days.. I will clean up my diet and be back in my 135 comfort zone in no time. John thinks it's muscle. I have not brought out the tape measure in awhile... so I will do that and we will see.

I have been sore... from my increase in outdoor runs and my weights tends to creep up when I am healing ( body retains water while repairing muscle)... but it is stretch to account for that much of an increase. Just 2 weeks ago I was 135. I can't let it have power over me or bring me down... but just let it be a reminder to take a look at my diet and hone in on weaknesses.

One positive is that my resting HR is in the " Athlete' category.... that made me smile. That is a Non scale victory and something to be proud of.


Sat- run/walk

sun- rest day

mon- run/walk

tue- run/walk

wens- rest day

thurs- elliptical

fri- rest day

sat- Today. Going to do some weights and run in or out if the rain stops.

A girl cant live on salad alone

A stick To your ribs lunch
Chick tortilla soup topped with cheddar cheese
Corn bread and butter

Good workout today

Run/walk outside

Monday Runday and Mental Health

Improving my outdoor pace. I am basically redoing the c25k outdoors.... warming up, running until I can't run anymore, then reverting to walking.... wash, rinse, repeat for 30 min and I average about 1.5 -2 miles... depending on how much energy I have.  My HR monitor is really helping me... it seems that running outside really gets my HR up.... too high at points so I need to stop and walk until it lowers... I think It's a pacing, breathing, practice makes perfect issue.... I am not sure what my pace is but I am sure I need to slow down.  Running outside definitely challenges me and my body.. I am still feeling Saturdays run.


I have been a little to snacky at my new job..... eating out of boredom/stress. This has probably accounted for my weight gain. Again I need to choose fruits & nuts for snacks and not the high sugar 100 calorie packs that my sweet tooth is drawn too. My new job has been a big adjustment in my life....been there just shy of 3 months and I have days that I really miss my old job. I am not crazy about my 45 min commute. I feel more isolated at my new work place.... lonely.... it's less of a social job.. and I did not realize how social we were at my old job.... it may have been toxic and dysfunctional at times... but those Ladies really were my sounding board. I am slowly getting to know my new coworkers and it is a very professional mostly drama free environment. I have been trying hard to connect with friends and luckily have been able to meet up for lunch, play dates and have a lunch date  with my old coworker next week that I am looking forward to.


I decided to seek out a therapist.. I am uninsured which is what has deterred me in the past. There is a place near my job that has a sliding fee scale and based on my income I need to pay about $30 a session. I have my first visit later this week. That copay doable if I go every other week. I think just having someone to talk to regarding some of my concerns is only going to help me. I have a very positive view of therapy and I have gone on & off for several years. I think this could also help keep my emotional eating in check if I am getting those feelings out in other ways.

I really want to overcome my elevator phobia... this is a newish problem for me and I am extremely embarrassed by it. It seemingly came out of nowhere.. I noticed that my throat started feeling dry when in an elevator and then feeling anxiety when it took awhile for the doors to open and then I was in a old faulty elevator that shuddered and that did me in so to speak. I have read about this particular fear and some say it's hard to overcome as the rides don't last long enough for a person to wait out the symptoms. I don't have any irrational fears of being stuck... by avoiding elevators I am avoiding those uncomfortable feelings. I know it will pass.. I know I will be fine... but they are terrifying enough to take the stairs/

I am perplexed by this.. I rode elevators without a care for 40 years and then one day... anxiety.


really hoping I can find a good therapist to help me through this and just be a sounding board .

week 69

weight 139


Hello Yo-yo scale... again... whatev's... I know I am doing alright. I was 142 at the doc scale.


I worked out tue, thurs, and Sat this week.

really motivated by my HR monitor.... wish I could find one device to do it all.. my fitbit monitors cals burned, distance, steps, stairs, and sleep.. however it does not do HR. My HR monitor does HR, cals burned and duration but not distance or pace/speed... oh well.. between the too I get most of what I need.

HR monitor

I got a new HR monitor.. yeah.. I don't know what took me so long... I have been kinda sorta wanting one.I bought mine used on ebay. Seriously people.... ebay can save you so much money, especially on fitness stuff. It was easy to figure out and set up.. it comes with a chest strap and monitor. Today was the first day I used it....Silly me I thought my target HR was up in the 160's... so I was working my ass off wondering why I was not reaching my HR. I was like Damn how much harder can I workout... I was dripping in sweat...My fitbit had 10 petals which is basically the max. After the fact I looked at my stats and I was in the zone all along.... well at least I got a good workout out of it


Interesting that Lifting weights and push ups got my HR up really quick and also I seem to recover really fast... I heard Chris say on Extreme weight loss that this is a good sign of cardiovascular fitness.

putting me first

today I got home from work around 2.45....I immediately changed into my workout clothing and was filling my water bottle when John questioned why I was not picking Liv up from school since I was home. Hello John... your home as well? Liv goes to afternoon latch key daily for a little bit so John can work.. she is typically picked up by 4pm. I explained that I needed to workout and would not be picking Liv up... John knows this...I take her and pick her up on Mondays and I try to pick her up on Tuesday or Thursday if I can. My schedule changes and when I can I always work out in the morning so I can be with Liv in the afternoons... but today I needed to get my workout in.


John mentioned something about a workout not being important.... scuse me???? it's very important to me.. Hello.. do you not know me at all?

week 68

weight 135



Finally a break from my 137 streak....... I seriously felt like I was at 137 for 3 months straight. I knew something had to give eventually. I know that when I am sore that the body is retaining water to repair itself. I knew I was making good choices and working out.


This week I have been really sore... a good sore. I am in this in between stage with my strength training and one set of weights is to light but another is to heavy...I started adding 2 lb wrist weights to make up the difference and it has been working....I can feel it. The biggest challenge is finding ways to continue confusing and challenging my muscles.


I am getting ready to hop on the elliptical and get my workout out of the way... tonight is meet the teacher night ( yeah)

Constant Craving

I have been craving pot pie......


I contemplated making one for the family.. but they are so labor intensive. I asked John to pick me up a Marie Calendar's individual sized one. I nearly fainted when I looked at the calories and fat... over 600 calories and 34 grams of fat... yikes.... I never would have purchased it had I been shopping. I thought I would save it for the weekend when I don't count calories... but after eating salads for the past few days, I really want a stick to your bones dinner.



what also makes it bad is that today is my rest day.. so I don't have the extra calories to spare so to speak. But it's all good.. I am going to have it and enjoy it.. I will be over my calories...but it's not the end of the world. I will prolly just make up for it by eating extra clean on the weekend which is my usual splurge time.



what have you been craving?

Office lunch

Getting my salad on

Cooked The chicken breast last night in moroccan seasonings and it is so yummy

What did you have For lunch?

Screw The scale

I feel great

Interesting book

Monday Run day

I did good today with my outdoor run..... it was the longest distance I ran outside without stopping..... none of you will know what this means... but so I document this for myself I warmed up inside on the treadmill for 6 minutes, then ran from home to mrs. wolfs/parkland and then back down to Willowick drive and back home. It prolly took me 9 minutes and was prolly a little over 1/2 mile or 3/4 mile. Then I walked back to mrs.wolfs and ran back home. Then I came inside and ran a mile on the treadmill in 10 minutes.. I did about 2 miles total.


My biggest thing with outdoor running is pacing and getting so winded. I don't get that winded running 3 miles on the treadmill. I just keep trying, keep practicing and slowly I am improving.




I am think by next Monday I will be able to do the full mile... That will be amazing.

Protien shakes Q&A

Hi Lauri! I finally got the protein powder to try some of your smoothies. What type of pudding mix are you using? Do you ever make a double batch so you can have some ready for the next day or do they not store well? Thanks for the fitness and diet inspiration! As a fellow adoptive parent I started with your blog with Liv and now read this one too! Britt

Britt,

I just use jello or generic brand regular INSTANT pudding mix and add about a tablespoon... its like 25 calories extra but really gives the smoothie some body and makes it taste decadent. I probably should try sugar free jello but I really try to avoid artificial sweeteners. I like to use Vanilla, Banana or chocolate.


My fav tip- Just adding a tablespoon of unsweetened baking cocoa makes any smoothie chocolate... that way you can just buy vanilla as your base and make a number of different varieties. I have a bag of blueberry's, strawberry's, pumpkin and bananas in the freezer all ready to go so making one in the morning just takes minutes. I have found that using plain almond milk cuts the sugar quite a bit. I was buying the " vanilla" almond milk. My almond milk has 60 calories but my friend uses a type that is only 30 calories... so I will have to look for that. I have also started adding flax. I don't make any in bulk... not sure it would keep... let me know if you have luck with that...I think it would get watery but I am not sure.


what brand of protein powder did you get?

I have tried EAS brand chocolate, muscle milk banana creme, Vanilla Shakeology and 1 step wellness chocolate and French vanilla....

Shakeology is crazy expensive and there is so much hype around it..I tasted wheat grass in this and it was not a fav.