Shall We Shrink??

My 10 year old and I went on a bike ride today. There is a trail that I have been wanting to try, but we were a little intimidated because it is where the pros ride. My son isn’t the best rider so I was worried he might get spooked and ride off the side… which FYI is a downhill slope of sharp, huge rock death! Thankfully that did not happen, although he did tell me he really appreciated me putting those images in his head. What?! A mom has to warn her son! ha! We did 5 miles (2.5 in and back), of the 14 potential miles. In this, I have concluded that my fabulus new pink bike is pretty but not functional. I am gonna look for a new bike on Craigslist. I don’t need anything fancy, but a beach cruiser just won’t cut it. Do you know how hard it was to make it up those slopes?! Funny thing though… in the 35 minutes we rode, my heart rate was an average of 111. Which is like, WAY low. Uphill it got way up there, but not for long. Total bummer. I wanted to burn major calories, but that was a no go. I think after I have a better bike I will ride longer and that will make up for the low heart rate. Also, we’ll go faster when my son is a little more comfortable with his bike. So, he has BBall practice in 20 minutes and I am going to get in at least another 30 minutes of cardio. Today is 1 hr of crosstraining for my marathon training, so that should satisfy it.

Ate at Souplantation for lunch today, and ate a little too much, but not too bad. All in all, I made good choices and I am ok with it. That place is SO, SO good! Yummo!

Happy Saturday, chickies!

*******************

Finished up my crosstraining with 30 minutes on the elliptical. I swear, I burn more on the crosstrain days than on run days. I’m sure this will change as my runs get longer… at least I hope! Tomorrow is a long one. BRING IT!

We’re off to settle down with pizza and a movie. I anticipated this, and got a lean cuisine pizza. I know, they are sick, but I am too lazy to make anything homemade tonight and I know I would be wayyyyy too tempted if I tried to eat something non pizza related.

I think I am going to stop reading people’s blogs that I don’t know. I get so frustrated by the ways that people try to lose weight. Hi, the goal should be HEALTH and FITNESS, not just weight loss. My Mom is struggling with this concept and it just frustrates me to no end. I used to come to this site to get motivation and inspiration, and I am finded myself very jaded as of late. That sucks!!!

I did my marathon training run today, and it was alright. Nothing compared to the beach run, but my ear has been hurting so I wanted to stay inside in case I needed to stop… I didn’t want to get lil man’s hopes up as far as going to the park after the run in case I wasn’t feeling up to it. So, the treadmill sucked. My shins hurt and my left foot a little bit, too. But, it’s done and over. YAY! I’ve got  along run tomorrow and I am doing it ALONE, outside, for sure!

Food has been pretty good, although I was a snacky lil thing last night. Just trying to stay hydrated today and carb up for my run tomorrow. It’s so funny… my diet consists of about 65% carbs and I don’t have any problems that all the low carb people say they get with lits of carbs. Maybe it’s because mine are all whole grain and “good” carbs. I dunno. I do know that I love my carb-o diet! ha!

Happy Friday, chickies.

PETA makes me laugh. Their new commercial? Hilarious. And wildly inappropriate for children. Who thinks of this stuff? Vegetable fornication? Sheesh! Although, I am considering going veg again. Meat just totally grosses me out these days. I brought it up to the hubby, and he was adament that he and the boys would continue. Whatev!

I had to get my oil changed today, so I decided to pack the jogging stroller and head to the beach after dropping off the car. I ran for half an hour and then we played on the park at the beach for another half hour. SO much fun! I had to walk back though, so that was another 2 miles of walking. All in all, great workout and a great time. It was almost 70 degrees today, which makes me feel bad for my poor family in OK that are stranded by ice!

Diet is what it is. I haven’t tracked and I don’t plan on it. I have only eaten too much once, at lunch with a friend yesterday, and that is pretty good. All in all, I’d say the not tracking is going pretty well. My weight is exactly the same as it has been for the last 3 weeks! Grrrrrrr! I am ready for a downward change.

I watched THE most motivating movie… Racing Against Time… about senior female athletes. We’re talking 70 year old women running, pole vaulting, and long jumping!! They were so amazing, and one in particular reminded me so much of my grandmother who passed away 9 years ago Sunday. I MISS her so much. You girls should all watch it. LOVED it!

Hope everyone is having a great day

Got lots to do today, but wanted to update really quickly as I didn’t yesterday. Yesterday was a cross train day in marathon training, and I count the 3 HOURS of pushing a stroller at the zoo… at UNGODLY inclines! Checked our marathon route… oh yeah, it runs through the zoo, and oh yeah… it is an incline-y nightmare! I am nervous. Good news? This is gonna make all other marathons look like cake!

Weight is low and holding steady. I have no idea how many calories I have eaten, and I don’t care! Creepy this is actually working… I think at this rate I’ll post a loss on Wednesday. CRAZY!

Alright, I have LOTS to do today. So much for a true rest day! Happy Monday!

Today was a great day. A great, great day. I didn’t eat the most healthy foods, but I didn’t worry about it in the least. I didn’t over do it, and that feels good.

I went to a military give away thing (not sure what it was exactly, a friend invited me) and got my 6 year old a new bike! For free! Which is awesome since we just spent over a hundred dollars on my 10 year olds this week for his birthday. I put that damn thing together when I got home (THAT was loads of fun!!) and then we all went off for a bike lesson. Well, the middle one did, at least. He has never rode without training wheels, but his Dad was a great teacher today and I think he is well on his way! The oldest and I took off on a ride of our own and came home with pistachios and Powerade! YUM! After, we did arts and crafts. We painted and then decorated door nob hangers. That was a riot! I made two for my nieces and they turned out SO cute! It will be a fun Valentine’s gift for them. When the mess was cleaned up, the oldest and I jetted off to the Apple store so I could get a case for my new iPod Touch that my Aunt got me. I LOVE IT!!! This thing is Fab-O! I ended up on the phone catching up with an old coworker and we have a lunch date next week. YEAH!

Finally I was home and settled and was reading when WHAM! motivation. So, I went for a run. Just the 2.7 mile loop around the neighborhood. I learned 2 things. 1. Drunk people that heckle runners at night are actually kind of entertaining, and 2. Under Armour pants run small and go up my crotch when I run. Wedgie picking while running is apparently funny to drunk people. I forgot to throw that in. HA!!

Alright, I’m off to bed. We are going to have a long day at the zoo tomorrow! Hope all you chickies had a great Saturday! Keep moving!!

Not sure what is up with me lately, but I am really angsty. I just read the book Half Assed, by Jennette Fulda, and it kind of irritated me. I’m not sure why, but something about her gets on my nerves. I didn’t think she was witty, like the book Confessions of a Carb Queen (can’t remember the author’s name) was. In fact, I thought she was overkilling the metaphor. Sheesh! Just tell the damn story already! Anyhow, I have a copy if anyone wants to read it. I’ll mail it to you and maybe you will get some motivation out of it

I had another great run today. Besides my crappy attitude, today is going really well! The boys are out of school and we are having a cozy, stay at home day. It’s raining outside. I LOVE staying home when it is raining! The slumber party that keeps getting pushed back is supposed to take place tonight, but my son called to confirm and was unable to get a hold of anyone. I told him if nobody comes we’ll just ditch his brothers and have a date night! Dinner and a movie and some residual birthday shopping. I am hoping nobody can come. Does that make me a bad mom or just selfish??

I have decided that I am not going to count calories anymore. It’s just not fun, and honestly, I weigh the same today as I did two weeks ago, so it’s not really working. I’m just going to focus on running and eating things that will help my running. I’m going to try this until Valentine’s Day and see if that works. I am so over counting calories and guessing how many are in certain things and eating just because my calories are low, not because I am hungry, or feeling guilty for eating more when I am hungry but my calories are high. It’s for the birds! And ultimately, even though I am bigger than I would like to be, I am ok with the way I look. I am fit and healthy and really, that is what is important. I think by taking the stress of food off my back I will be better able to lose weight. And no, this is not an excuse to eat Snickers… that won’t help me beat my hubby!!

Happy Friday, chickies!

I am just so blahish! I don’t feel like doing a thing. I need to get the laundry done. I need to pick up the house. I need to run. I need to paint the new thing I got for our keys. But what am I doing? Absolutely nothing. Where has all of my motivation gone?? I ate for crap yesterday. Utter and total crap. I feel like the more I try to watch what I eat, the more I screw it up. I watched a documentary the other day about being fat, and it was really interesting. It was talking about if you were overweight and had no food issues as a child you would be successful at weight loss, however if you had those issues as a child, chances are you wouldn’t be as successful… that it would be a constant battle forever. That really didn’t make me feel better. It made me feel like I am playing a game I can’t win. My problem is food. Not exercise… I love exercise.  I hate that I eat crap. I hate that I know that I am doing it, and yet I still do it. It’s like no matter how far out of my way I go to not put myself in a situation where I even could do that, I always end up doing it. RAWR. Wow, pity party much? I totally just noticed! Okay, I am snapping out of it. I CAN control this, and I will. Today, so far so good. I am about to go for a nice run.

Have a great day, chickies!

****************************************************************************

I read the other day that they did a study of people with mild to medium depression symptoms and did a study. They halved the group and sent a half to therapy and the other half to the gym for weight training 3 times a week. The weight trainers felt better than the half in therapy! Crazy, huh? Alright, I have to say, there is definitely a link between exercise and mood. I ran my 25 minutes and I am feeling MUCH better! Although, I don’t think I am totally over being sick… my stomach was cramping part of the run and is still doing it on and off now. UGH. In other news, I am feeling all overwhelmed. My BFF is coming here in March, the hubby and lil man are going to see his fam in April, we’re all supposed to do a Vegas trip with my Grandma in April, and then the boys and I are going home in June, followed by a mini girls vaca in July. Seriously, I love that, but I don’t have a job now! I am stressed about how we are going to afford all of this. We’re already committed though. I need to get to budgeting… And, I need to learn how to enjoy things without stressing about money. I mean, these are going to be some of the best memories EVER!

Yes, that is what I have for sure. I have been sick too long, which is letting me watch too much CNN and read too many articles online. I am now convinced the potentially tainted Clif bar I ate has infected me with Salmonella. Nevermind that I have no diarrhea, and that it is the main symptom. I am such a paranoid freak! In my defense, my belly is hurting SO bad. I got dressed in my running clothes today, but haven’t felt up to running quite yet. I hope I get there Today is my son’s 10th birthday. Man, I am getting so OLD! He got a new bike ($125 later… when did kid bikes get so expensive?!) so if I feel better hopefully we can take a ride together tonight, even if it is only around the neighborhood. I miss our alone time!! He’s such a great kid.

So I have had an issue weighing on my mind since I spoke to my Mom the other night. My little sister is getting engaged Friday. We all know it, but she doesn’t yet. (YAY!!!) So, here’s a little background on my Mom… she was always thin… without doing anything. She was 5′9″ and about 110 pounds. She never exercised and she ate crap. 3 kids later, she was still the same. Then the dreaded 4th kid came. She lost most of the weight (she was like me and gained a TON everytime she was pregnant… we’re talking almost 100 pounds and actually with me she gained OVER 100!) and then it stopped. And not only did she stop losing, she started gaining. And gaining. And before she knew it, she weighed about 300 pounds. And that is how I always remember her. She hated it. HATED it. But, she had no idea how to change it. She would starve herself and lose weight, then go back to normal eating and gain it all back. Then she would repeat the process again. It was horrible. It set a horrible example for us kids… we all have body issues except my brother, who inflicts them upon all the women he dates (ass!!). I think my middle sister had eating disorders. My youngest sister probably did too. I didn’t have enough self control to have one. Although, I do remember going on a pickle only diet once, and I managed 3 pickle only days, which culminated with a pickle green foamy barf fest. YUCK. Anyhow, my Mom kinda gave up trying to lose til a few years ago. She actually started working out, doing aerobics in the house twice a day, and though she was on a severely restricted diet, it was better than what she had eaten in the past. She got down to almost 200 and then over the last 2 years has gained it all back (seriously, you can eat 2 lean cuisines and an apple a day to lose weight, but I’m here to tell you: you will NOT keep your weight off!). So, now that my sister is getting married, my Mom is feeling on insecure and weird because her fiance’s mother is gorgeous. I mean, gorgeous. She is also older than my Mom. I know, ouch. Which brings me back to the beginning… Mom is on another “diet.” And, she was bragging to me about only having consumed 800 calories in the past two days. ARGHHHHHHH I am so frustrated with her! She started at 300 and is already down to 290. For her weight, she should be eating around 2000 calories for a nice loss. But will she listen? No. I try to tell her, but what do -I- know? So, I wonder what the long term effects of this are on her health. I also wonder just how far she’ll go to be thin at the wedding, which could be as early as this December. I’m so worried…

And, in other news, I’m gonna be the Maid of Honor in my sisters wedding! I need to start losing weight!!!

Hope all you chickies are having a great day!

Yep, that sums it up. I feel like poop, and I have all day. I haven’t eaten much, but I’m trying to eat every couple hours. The good news? There was great TV today! I was Obama-fied all day. Literally. Until I had to pick the boys up from school. It was grand. So, no run today. I’m home from the bball game and off to get reaquainted with my pj’s. Night yall!

I finally got sick. And man, I was SICK. The good news, my diet was good today!  ha! And thankfully today was a rest day anyway as far as running goes. My oldest son has a BBall game tomorrow, so if I feel better I need to run in the morning. I think it calls for a 25 minute run…

Let’s hope I feel better tomorrow… the hubby won’t be here to handle things like he was today.