Goals for Summer

Today is officially my first day of summer vacation! Yesterday I turned in my keys and closed the chapter on my 17th year of teaching. Each school year goes by faster and faster, and summer breaks seem to fly by in a wink. This summer I am determined to slow down and fully enjoy all of those little moments that add up to a wonderful summer. After all, this will be the only time I'll ever get to enjoy my children in the ages that they are--a 12 year-old just finishing elementary school and looking forward to new adventures in middle school, a soon-to-be 10 year-old whom I need to convince to lay off the electronics a bit, and a rambunctious three year-old spitfire who can speak in a British accent like no one's business. So, in order to make the most of the brief time we have together, I've come up with a few general goals for us for the summer.

1. More reading, less screen time.
2. More activity, less lounging.
3. More smiles, less pestering.
4. More purging of stuff we don't need, less clutter.

I've also come up with very specific goals for myself. These include:

1. Read with each of the kids every day, but don't forget to make time for your own books.
2. Write daily. You have tons of ideas for the blog, so use them!
3. Be active each day. This means getting in at least 12,000 steps per day. Start running again!
4. Drink lots of water.
5. No gluten, no chips, no fast food, no junk.
6. Be fully present while with the kids. 

Happy summer!! :)

"March"ing Onward!

I can’t believe that it’s been so long since I’ve blogged! It has been well over a month since I was celebrating the loss of my first ten pounds. Well, here we are now in March, and I’m happy to report that I am down another nine pounds, for a total of 19 pounds gone! (I can’t wait to get one more pound off because 20 lbs gone is my first weight loss goal.)

Looking back at where I was in January, I am so proud off all that I’ve accomplished in the past seven weeks!

Here are a few of my highlights:

·      19 pounds gone!
·      I’m completely off caffeine!
·      I am gluten free!
·      I completed the Hot Chocolate 5K with a time of 54 minutes!
·      My pants are so loose that I worry about them falling off!
·      Since January 14, I have walked a total of 108.85 miles!!
·      I have even begun jogging!

The hot chocolate was actually lukewarm!
But it was perfect on this freezing day!
YUM!!

I am currently on day 3 of a 10-day detox program that I got from my doctor. It is very limiting as to what you can eat, but you gradually stop eating from certain food groups. Today I tried to eat fish, but I think I’m going to be sticking to eating beans as my protein. I have to drink a special detox shake several times a day and take a detox pill. I am determined to make it through this torture program!

Three Day Weekend

It was such a busy and productive weekend! I left work as soon as I could on Friday so I could get my workout done quickly. I’d made a vow to do some outdoor walking in preparation for the upcoming Hot Chocolate 5K. The secretary at my school had told me about a great walking trail in a neighboring community. My BFF and I loaded up my kids, and off we went on Saturday. We loved the trail! It circled a small lake, had a slight hill, and even meandered through a wooden area. It was quite scenic! On Saturday, we walked 2.1 miles. We walked 2.6 miles on Sunday afternoon, and on Sunday, we walked 2.8 miles. We even managed to cut almost two minutes off our pace! (I’ve begun using the Map My Run app. It’s great!)

Five lbs. of fat, compared to 5 lbs. of muscle
I have now lost TWO of those fat chunks!

We were out of school on Monday for MLK Day. I’d been anxiously awaiting my trip to get my blood work done at my doctor’s office. I had to fast until my appointment at 11:45. That was no big deal. I was scared to step onto the scale, but I just knew that I had to have lost weight. Yes, I did! I lost TEN
pounds!! In just three short weeks of exercise, eating cleaner and mostly Gluten-free, drinking more water, and two weeks of no Coke! Yea, me! Seeing that number on the scale motivated me more than anything to keep working hard!

I added up all of the miles I’ve walked since I started keeping track last week. In seven days, I’ve walked 15.21 miles!

I think I may be becoming obsessed with this fitness business!!

Thursday, celebrating Katie!

Today was a special day for two big reasons. First, it was my oldest child’s birthday. Katie turned 12! I think back on the day that she was born, and I am filled with warm memories. I know that I weighed at least 50 lbs. less than I do now. And that’s depressing…. But I’m doing something about it.

Woo hoo! 100 workouts!

Since Katie wanted me to come home early to get the celebrations started early, I knew I didn’t have as much time as usual to exercise. I considered not going at all, but I knew that was not an option. I especially wanted to go because it was my 100th visit to Curves! (Woo hoo! It certainly took me long enough to reach that milestone!)

I decided to skip the circuit at Curves, and just do the treadmill. I walked 2 miles in 41 minutes. I walked at 3 mph on a 2.0 incline. I burned 233 calories and 146 fat calories.

I had a rough time while walking. I hated every second, every step. I tried increasing my speed, but I kept feeling like I was going to trip. My left arm was going numb each time I held onto the handle. I was not enjoying the book I was reading. I was just in a hurry to get home, I suppose. My BFF showed up when I had about 10 minutes left. Thank goodness, because she talked and entertained me. I survived, but barely.

I compared today’s stats with the previous day. I can’t believe how many more calories you can burn just by increasing the incline.

Reasons to be proud today: Day four of NO COKE! When we went to eat at McAlester’s Deli, I ate relatively healthy lunch (baked potato) without any gluten! I did my walking! I made my 100^th visit to Curves! We had birthday cake tonight, and I only ate a tiny, microscopic sliver of cake!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Today was my 8^th workout, 10^th day of the “New Me” program, and 3 days without Coke. I walked on the treadmill for 41:14 minutes at an incline of 2.5. I burned 262 calories and 163 fat calories. This was my 99^th workout at Curves! I felt good on the treadmill today. My belly bulge feels like it’s shrinking somewhat. No gluten today!

It was a good day.

Changes I've Made So Far

1.    I am trying to work out every week day. I go to Curves. Yes, Curves. I know the negative connotation that brings. But I work out there because I feel safe there. I don’t worry about hiding myself or my body, and I’m not intimidated by the staff or the clients. It’s difficult to go on Saturdays because I’d have to find a sitter. Continued goal: I’d like to do some exercise with my family on the weekends.

2.     No more soda! This is so HARD for me.

3.     Go GLUTEN-FREE. I do not have celiac disease, but I am definitely on the gluten-intolerance spectrum. I can eat it, but I pay the price soon afterwards. I love gluten, but it does not love me.

4.     No more stopping at McDonald’s before school. Everyday (yes, every single stinkin’ day) I’d buy a large Coke. It’s only a dollar! Most days I would get a hash brown. Other days, I’d get a sausage biscuit or McGriddle WITH CHEESE. (Oh, don’t even get me started on how I LOVE cheese!) In fact, I’m trying to go without fast food at all!

Day 9, 7th workout of “New Year, New Me: Fit and Fabulous before 40” (98th Curves workout, 25 days to Hot Chocolate 5K)

Treadmill--35.23 minutes, 1.70 miles, 2.5 incline, 218 calories burned, 136 fat calories burned

I woke up this morning, and before I had even gotten out of bed, I had two epiphanies. First, I realized that I hadn’t had any Coke in over 24 hours. For me, that is a miracle! Typically I’d have two Cokes at minimum. I could never just stop drinking Coke because of the horrendous caffeine-withdrawal headaches that I would get. I think that I was able to go caffeine-free because of the green coffee bean extract I’ve been taking. Yea, me! It’s so nice to think that I may finally have the “soda monkey” off my back.

Secondly, I thought about Monday morning. I decided to slip quietly into the nurse’s office to weigh myself. I was only a pound or two lighter than when I’d weighed a few days earlier (and that was being weighed at the end of the day!). Well, I got depressed. While reflecting upon this, I had my second epiphany—I had to stop weighing myself. I have been saying all along that this journey is to make me stronger. If can focus on that, rather than just weight loss, I think I can be more successful, stay sane, and not beat myself up for the numbers I see on the scale.

We had a very busy afternoon/evening planned. I had to leave work a little early in order to exercise before the busy-ness. I was able to do the Curves circuit twice. I’m trying to make a concerted effort to work myself harder during the circuit. I did my 35 minutes of treadmill time. My BFF was there to chat with, so that was nice and made time go by faster. The problems began later that evening, when I made my dinner shake. I ended up spilling it all over myself and my van. My daughter even had some splatter on her. Bottom line: I didn’t eat until we got home after 8 pm. By then, I was too hungry to make something healthy. I ended up heating a sausage biscuit and making myself a small sandwich. Hello, GLUTEN! But I was so very hungry, I did it. And I felt horribly afterward.  My mind kept visualizing a Coke. My mouth was watering. But I said NO. I HAD WILL POWER! J

Lessons learned today:

I’m beginning a soda-free life finally!

I will not step on a scale unless it is at a doctor’s office.

I must have a back-up plan for making fast, healthy food.