Week 4 Day 6

Sorry I've been MIA friends!  This has been a big week for us.  On Monday, I had emergency surgery and have been recovering this week.  I have been doing my best to get the rest and nutrition I need to feel better, but, between the pain, fatigue and general business of this time of year, it hasn't been easy.  I am finally starting to feel like myself again and hopefully I'll check out okay at my follow up appointment next week.

It's been a struggle to eat healthy whole foods since I don't have the energy to shop, cook and clean.  Darab has been super husband, taking care of all the shopping, cooking, cleaning, kids and of course his work, which is pretty busy this time of year.  We did have some help from my mom this week, which was incredible and so appreciated.  I might be ready to take some easy walks this weekend and next week, but I need to listen to my body and my doctor and not push myself.  I had trouble with that this week.  I'm going to focus on rest and eating right for now and try not to think too much about how and when I'm going to get back into working out.

Thanks for all your continued support and encouragement!

Week 3 Day 7

Three weeks are just about complete for me!  I can't believe that I'm a quarter of the way into this thing.  I've been thinking a lot about how much I have changed in just 3 short little weeks.  Here is some of what's changed for me...

1. I have dropped a size and have a bunch of clothes that I got to try on and realize that they fit...from my own closet!  It's like shopping, but it's free.
2. I ran with my son in the rain to the entrance to Sunday School and wasn't panting by the time we reached the door.  That wouldn't have been the case a few weeks ago.
3. I wake up in the morning, and I'm moderately happy.  Sure, I would like to have slept past 7, but it only takes me a few minutes to become a happy and productive member of this family.  
4. I am managing my time a lot better now.  I'm no longer feeling behind, rushed or late all the time.  I'm not exactly sure how this happened since I have been spending at least 7 hours a week working out and cooking almost everything I'm eating.  Somehow it feels as if I have more time.  
5. I was excited to shop for my Christmas party dress and the old me would have dreaded it.  The 6 was a little big, so I ordered a 4 and when it came in the mail...it zipped!  
6. I don't miss diet soda.
7. I don't miss bread.
8. I've influenced my hubby.  He's eating almost as good as I am and working out too.  He's looking pretty good. ;)
9. I'm starting to understand that not loading my kids up with carbs as snacks is good for them and I shouldn't feel guilty about it.
10. Feeling this in control of you body and this good in my own skin is something that I don't ever want to loose.  

Can you tell that I'm happy that I am doing this?  It ain't easy, but man it feels so good.  

Today was a rest day and boy did I enjoy it.  We did some errands as a family, and then cleaned and hung around the house.  We made dinner tonight, meatloaf from Everyday Paleo.  I actually saw one of my facebook friends post a photo of his version last night.  I didn't know he was doing the whole Paleo thing, so that was a fun surprise.  Anyway the meatloaf sounded great and I'm blessed with a husband who will try anything, so we made it.  It was pretty easy, and very tasty, but it didn't hold together very well.  When we tried to slice it, it basically just crumbled apart. Here is the before...

And the mixing...

And then me making a little meat baby...

Inspired by The Meat Baby of course...

So wrong.  Anyhow, this is how the meatloaf turned out after it we tried to slice it and it crumbled...

We roasted up some broccoli and brussels sprouts with a little olive oil, salt and pepper to go along side.  Of course I forgot to put the sweet potatoes in the oven, so no baked potatoes to go along with it.  The kids don't really like any type of potato or sweet potato dish anyway, so not a big deal.  I forgot to take a photo of my plate before I devoured it, so here is my girl's plate with her seconds...

She can eat brussels sprouts like there is no tomorrow.  Yum, yum, yum!  Now I'm off to watch the season finale of Boardwalk Empire!  I'm so excited!  Good night!

Week 3 Day 6

Cheat Meal!  I had been thinking about it for hours...definitely throughout my late afternoon run.  We decided on Chipotle after the kids were in bed, so I could really enjoy devouring it without having to constantly say, "Don't play with your food" or "Don't wipe your hands on your pants".  It took me at least 15 minutes with their online nutrition calculator to decide exactly what was worth being in my salad.  I was really surprised at all the sodium in their food.  But I guess even though it's good quality, it's still fast food.  So for my cheat meal I decided on a salad with steak, black beans, fajita veggies, guacamole and something I haven't had in weeks...CHEESE!  I decided to get a few salsas on the side, so I could add a half serving, because the salsas had a ton of sodium.  Who knew?  Here is what my meal looked like...

It was so tasty.  Part of the appeal is that I didn't have to cook it.  I didn't realize until I did this program how much I relied on packaged or prepared food, or eating out.  It really does feel better to cook what you eat and control the quality of ingredients, but it does take a lot of work.  Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of options for eating well while eating out.  It's making me a little nervous for all of the parties and eating out that are going to happen this month.  I'll have to prepare myself and have a plan going into these events.  But back to cheating.  My cheat meal wouldn't be complete without a cheat dessert...and this is what I have chosen.  

I love Snickers and I'm a sucker for all the holiday themed ones that they come up with.  This little guy isn't cheap, calorie wise I mean.  It has 160 calories, 9 grams of fat and 17 grams of sugar.  I'm going to savor every bite.  By the way, I did run today and did a little ab work to.  So hopefully the 761 calories burned today will help out with the cheating.  

Week 3 Day 5

Friday!  This was a long week, and I'm so glad that it's the weekend.  This morning I studied my new chest and biceps workout.  I look up all the exercises online and then email myself a list of everything I need to do along with a link that tells me how to do it.  I probably look like such an ass in the weight room.  Someone who can't do more than one exercise without checking her phone, but really I'm watching a video of what I'm supposed to do.  I was so happy to find out, again, that I am getting better.  My arms started out so weak, and I'm sure they still are, but I'm able to do all the reps where I couldn't before, and in most cases I'm using more weight.  It is so encouraging.  It feels great to know that if I just keep going, I will improve.  After chest and biceps I did abs.  The new ab workout I got was a lot tougher than what I've been doing the past 2 weeks.  It was a real struggle to get through, actually.  Those V-ups...pretty tough.  I think I'll need to do abs more often.

And now the food.  I ate the usual for most of the day...egg whites and turkey bacon for breakfast, protein shake after my workout and crab salad for lunch.  Little One and I left to get Little Guy from school and then we all had to stay for a meeting to plan a preschool movie night.  By the time we left, it was 4:15 and I didn't have a plan for dinner.  We stopped at the store and I threatened the kids several times to ensure good behavior.  They had a pretty major problem with following directions at Seattle Super Supplements earlier this week.  But this time they did pretty well and we bought a good quality rotisserie chicken, some veggies and a little indulgence...sweet potato waffle fries.  The ingredient list on the fries was pretty good, but not perfect.  Even so, I really wanted something that would satisfy a craving for something sort of junkie and this seemed like it could work.  I got home and we got cooking.  The kids were super happy to have at chicken legs and I made myself a fantastic chicken, bacon, avocado sandwich.  I took the skin off my chicken breast, cooked turkey bacon, added a little mayo, tomato and red onion and wrapped it in green leaf lettuce.  It was so delicious!  I didn't even miss bread and cheese.  I ate it with about a serving of sweet potato waffle fries and made a little dipping sauce to go with them, equal parts honey and mustard.  This was the best meal I've had all week.  It was about 475 calories, which is high.  I've been eating smaller meals more often, but I wasn't home at my usual snack time, and was so hungry by the time we did get home.  It felt a little strange to eat a larger meal, but was worth it.

I also found a new treat.  Well I sent Darab on a bit of a quest.  He tried 3 stores in 2 days and finally scored at Whole Foods.  It's called Arctic Zero.  It's a frozen dessert that is super low in calories and sugar, fat free, dairy free and pretty darn tasty.  It's made from concentrated whey protein and is all natural.  I'm pretty sure it's allowed and it is really nice to have a little something sweet after dinner and not feel bad about it.  It's not rich and creamy like ice cream, but it certainly gets the job done and at only 37 calories per serving, I'll take it.  I tried the Chocolate Peanut Butter but they have more flavors that I can't wait to try.  It is possible to eat well and be happy, after all. :)

Week 3 Day 4

I had a first today...I ran on a treadmill!  Once again, was more nervous than something actually is scary.  When will I learn?  The cardio room was more than half full, so I was a little intimidated.  I don't know what I was thinking...that I would trip and fly backwards like a cartoon or sitcom or something.  That didn't happen.  I actually found it to be pretty similar to running on the track outside.  I can find a groove when I'm not paying attention to a path or dealing with different inclines.  I think I still prefer running outside, so I will probably keep doing that on Saturdays when I can use the school track.  But until I'm ready to run in the rain, the treadmill will do the trick.

Now onto food.  Turkey bacon and eggs whites for breakfast.  The newness of eating breakfast has worn off and I really don't like egg whites, but I'm getting used to it.  I have noticed that I am relying on coffee much less in the mornings.  I used to have 2 cups before I left my house in the morning, now I have one and sometimes I don't even finish it.  It may have a little something to do with the fact that I gave up flavored creamer for black coffee, but I think it mostly has to do with getting a good nights sleep and more energy throughout the day, including first thing in the morning.  I have never been a morning person, but since I've started this, I'm closer than I've ever been.  We've also been early to school most everyday in the last 3 weeks.  It's been nice.

After I picked up Little One from school, we went to have teriyaki.  My daughter calls it chicken and rice.  It's a place that we would go once a week or so, but haven't been since I've changed what I've been eating.  I had to ask how they cooked the chicken and ask them to grill it without oil and to steam the cabbage instead of cook it in the usual wok.  I felt a little high maintenance, but they were really nice about it.  We ordered chicken breast instead of the usual Lunch Special A, which is chicken and gyoza with vegetables and rice.  We still got the rice, but I didn't eat any.  I also avoided any extra teriyaki sauce.  So we had a nice little lunch together.

I have been craving something sweet and satisfying and chocolatey for awhile now and today I found something that fit the bill...in a diet sort of way.  I found a chocolate brownie protein bar by Quest Bar. It has 20 grams of protein, 19 grams of fiber, 1 gram of sugar and is only 190 calories.  The only downside is it's $2.50 a bar, which seems high to me.  But the bars seem like a really good option for when I am on the go, especially right after a work out.  Let's hope my new food coach approves.  Yep, that's right, my old one parted ways with Fit Systems, so I have to get to know someone new.  I'm sure he will be great, but I'm a little nervous.

Overall a pretty good day. :)

Week 3 Day 3

What a difference a day makes!  I had a much better day today.  For starters, I got close to 8 hours of sleep last night.  The kids got up and going a little earlier, which made the morning less rushed.  I was ready for my workout as soon as I dropped the kids off at school.  There was a Step Class that started at 9:30 and a few weeks ago I went and it was full.  Today I got there almost 20 minutes early and got one of the last few spots.  It was so great.  I still really sucked at the choreography, but I could keep up with the whole cardio element.  It felt so great to notice improvement.  After class, I did legs and again, noticed that I had developed more strength.  Next was shoulders, and even though I'm getting better, I don't feel like I'm developing strength in my arms as quickly.  I'm sure it'll come if I'm patient.  By the time I left to pick up Little One I had burned 1077 calories.  That was a great way for me to get my head back in the game.

I ate a protein bar after my workout, since I wouldn't have a chance to go home for awhile.  I went for high protein and low sugar and it was pretty good.  Later in the afternoon, I made myself a yummy crab salad.  Who needs a sandwich when they can have this for lunch...

It was so yummy.  I didn't realize that crab was so high in protein and low in calories and fat.  It's a little pricey, but it's nice to switch up what I'm eating.  For dinner, I made spaghetti squash and meatballs.  Meatballs aren't quite the same when you leave out the parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs.  They were okay, but I'm going to have to find a way to make them great.  

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, so I will have a first.  Either my first time running in the rain or on a treadmill.  I'm pretty nervous about either option.  I'll just do what I've done pretty well for the last two plus weeks...just do it.  I guess Nike was really onto something.  Well, I'm off to finally watch Boardwalk Empire with my sweetie. 

Week 3 Day 2

I was in a big slump today.  I didn't wake up with the most energy today and the first thing I do in the morning is weigh myself...and I was up 0.6 pounds.  I've dropped 4 pounds in 2 weeks, so I was discouraged to see the number go up.  I'm trying to keep it in perspective.  I know I'm still doing what I'm supposed to be doing and it will work...today was just one of those days where I never really found my groove.  Little things weren't going my way and for some reason I thought that a sandwich or chocolate would be a good solution.  I actually ended up eating really well today, but my goodness, eating junk sounded so good!

My heart rate monitor wasn't working consistently during my run, so I don't have an accurate number of calories burned for today and that was really frustrating for me.  I'm pretty sure I did enough as far as my workout, but I don't have that number to prove it.  Ugh!  I think some of the initial excitement I had has worn off and I'm crashing pretty hard.  What I'm doing didn't change today, just how I feel about it...so I'm really trying hard to remember that I trust this process and everyday isn't going to be easy.  In fact, no one ever told me this was going to be easy, but everyone is saying that it will be worth it, and I do still believe that.  I really didn't want to whine during this whole process, but I do want to be honest about how each day is going here.  So I made it through today and I hope tomorrow is better.

Week 3 Day 1

I was back to the strictest diet today.  Breakfast was egg whites with lean chicken sausage and broccoli.  Not bad.  Lunch was a mixed green salad with avocado and tomatoes and a teeny bit of raspberry vinaigrette.  I was in a little rush so I went for a protein bar before my workout.  Low sugar, high protein and tasty.  My workout today was back, triceps, abs and a little elliptical to burn my calories for the day.  I really liked the back stuff, and most of the triceps stuff, but I still couldn't do the Seated dips.  I don't even know if I was any better at them than last week.  I blew through abs and the elliptical and made my way home to make dinner.  Tonight was carne asada, pre-marinated by Trader Joe's.  It's so good and we all love it.  I had sautéed some mushrooms, sweet onions and mushrooms to go with the steak.  I fixed my "tacos" with iceberg lettuce leaves, tomatoes, green onions and a little guacamole.  The kiddos had theirs with corn tortillas and some shredded cheese.  They did a great job of trying the sautéed veggies too.  My mom was over and she decided to try a lettuce taco too and she liked it.  We let the kids choose one of their pieces of Halloween candy for dessert...and I had to leave the room.  I have such a sweet tooth and just couldn't be in the same room to watch them choose and eat their piece of candy.  We negotiated with them and agreed to let them keep 8 pieces of candy and we bought the rest.  After tonight, they each have 6 pieces left, so I guess I'll have to avoid that candy a little longer.

Week 2 Day 7

Sunday, rest day.  I've loved the break from working out today.  My legs were a bit sore from yesterday's run...but overall it was a good day!  Darab and I went out to do some Christmas shopping.  Thanks Mom, for staying with the little ones.  We are off to a good start with shopping, but while we were out we stopped to eat.  I haven't been to a restaurant in the last two weeks and didn't really think it would be as hard as it was.  We ate sushi and I just didn't eat the rice...but I did have a few bites of rolls and that involved a little white rice.  Ahhh!  It feels pretty bad to admit that.  I'll have to plan a bit better next time we are going to be eating out.

I think I did a bit better when I took my mom out to dinner.  We went to a really great Italian restaurant.  We shared beef carpaccio for an appetizer.  It was topped with arugala and parmesan shavings, which I easily avoided.  But, oh my, the carpaccio with arugala and a little balsamic drizzled on top was so good.  My mom got this fabulous looking, super thin crust pizza for dinner.  It looked yummy.  But I got a very tasty salad with balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil.  We had a nice time and I didn't bust my calories for the day.  Still I think I could've eaten better today, so I'm looking forward to getting by to what I know has been working well, hard work and a strict diet.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the progress I've made in the last 2 weeks!  I really wish I hadn't waited so long to get started.  But hey, it could've been worse, I could've waited until after the holidays. ;-)

Week 2 Day 6

Today was pretty great.  My mom stayed over last night and today I talked her into decorating our place for Christmas.  The kids were very excited!  We haven't got a tree yet or put the lights up outside, but the rest looks pretty cute...and I didn't do any of it.  My mom has the magic touch with decorating, I do not.

I was dreading today's workout.  Really, really dreading it.  Even though I was grouchy and didn't want to go work out at all, I got myself ready and went to the same track I did on Thanksgiving and got started.  I thought I would try alternating between 3 minutes jogging and a minute and a half walking.  I did okay, so I decided to walk for only a minute between jogs.  After doing this for 15 minutes, I decided to try to run for longer.  I wasn't sure how much longer, but I made it to 5 minutes...then 10, 15, 30, 45 and finally started my cool down after I had jogged for 60 minutes.  It was unreal.  I found a good pace and then the Maroon 5 song, "Moves Like Jagger" came on and I just found my groove.  I don't even like that song, but something about running to music made me think of Rocky and I just loved it!  I didn't want to stop, so I didn't and before I knew it, I had burned through 1053 calories.  I think that might make up for the extra calories I ate on Thanksgiving.

I can't believe that less than 2 weeks ago, I could barely run for 2 and half minutes.  And when I did, I thought I was going to collapse.  It's amazing to me that I would make this much progress in 2 weeks!  I know I've been working really hard, but there have been moments that I wasn't completely convinced I could do this.  I'm still a little unsure about how far I will come in the next 10 weeks, but I'm getting a lot less nervous about it and way more excited!

Week 2 Day 5

So today wasn't the best day...the Huskies Coug'd the Apple Cup.  Not good.

Other than that, we had a nice day.  We all went to the YMCA for a Itty Bitty Sports Sampler for the kids.  Little One really liked it so she will probably take basketball in January.  After that I went to do my chest and biceps workout.  I really sucked at it last time, so right away I noticed an improvement.  I could actually finish all of the bicep sets.  It felt awesome.  I used the 20 pound bar for Straight Bar Curls and the Preacher Curls and I really struggled to finish last week.  The gym doesn't have a 25 pound bar and the 30 was too heavy, so I will have to figure something out for next week.  The one I had the most trouble with today was the Seated Cable Fly.  I can only do about 5 before I start really struggling and shaking.

When I finished the chest and bicep stuff, I did a quick ab workout and then went to the elliptical to burn through the rest of my calories for the day.  I pushed myself and was sweaty and done in 10 minutes and did a 5 minute cool down.  When I left, it was pouring down rain.  I'm really wondering if tomorrow will be the first day I run in the rain.  Yikes!

We had my parents over for leftovers today.  My dad loves the classic turkey and cranberry sandwich, but my mom tried the low sugar cranberries, no bread stuffing and the maple sweet potatoes...and she loved them!  She said the stuffing had all the satisfying flavor of my typical stuffing, but without all the heaviness.  I had a really hard time not eating a huge plate of leftovers.  My cheat day can't extend into the long weekend, so I ate a nice serving of turkey breast and minimized or skipped everything else.  After all, eating such rich food yesterday kind of did a number on my stomach.  Just another benefit of healthy eating.

Darab and I are going to our first movie in months.  We are going to see Skyfall.  He's pretty stoked and I'm hoping I can stay awake until midnight.  I am going to sneak in my own popcorn, water and satsuma.  I love having treats at the movies and hopefully this will satisfy my sweet and salty cravings.  I'll let you know tomorrow. Good night!

Thanksgiving! Week 2 Day 4

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving today!  Our dinner guest cancelled, so it was just the four of us.  Pajamas, cooking, eating, watching football, playing, running, cooking, eating, cooking, playing, watching football, cooking, eating, movie watching, falling asleep, cooking, eating, Godfather Part II on TV.  What a wonderfully relaxing time we had.  Very thankful for our little family and our many blessings.  

First things first, I got to sleep until 8.  It was lovely.  When I woke up, we got started in the kitchen.  We all made pumpkin muffins together.  I know...not diet friendly, but Little Guy has been asking for them for awhile and I didn't eat a one.  Right after we pulled the muffins out of the oven, we put the turkey in.  We tried the Pioneer Woman's method of cooking the turkey, which meant that it went into the oven on a low temperature for 3 hours, so I had time to get my run in.  My running buddy had gotten sick and couldn't make it.  I was nervous about going out running by myself and even thought for a minute of trying to make this my rest day...but ultimately, I got ready and left.  I found a track that was open and was so glad that it wasn't raining. 

I started right where I left off last time, alternating between 2 minute runs and 1 minute 30 second walks.  About 10 minutes in I decided to try 2 minute 30 second runs and kept my walk the same.  It was a little tougher and got my heart rate up a bit more...but it also helped me burn more calories and I wanted to get back home, so I kept it up.  I was listening to the radio and keeping my own time and I wasn't bored or dying, and before I knew it 45 minutes had passed and 600 calories were burned.  Awesome.  On my drive home, I was thinking about what I was thankful for and I truly am grateful that I jumped into this whole heartedly.  I am really shocked at how much change has taken place in less than two weeks.  I am also thankful for everyone at Fit Systems and everyone that has been so incredibly supportive of me.  I am very grateful.

Onto the food!  I got home and got cookin!  We made some yummy appetizers.  Crab Stuffed Mushrooms and Prosciutto Wrapped Pears.  They were delicious!  Here are the mushrooms...

And here is Darab enjoying them...

And here are the Prosciutto Wrapped Pears and you can find the recipe here.  She also has a Crab Stuffed Mushroom Recipe, but just kind of winged ours.

Onto dinner!  Now that we had a few goodies in our tummy, we started making all the fixins to accompany our turkey.  Here is what we came up with...

The star of the meal were these Maple Sweet Potatoes.  I usually make a sweet potato dish with a cup of butter and over a cup of sugar, and they are always a favorite...but these were better!  I cut the butter in half and used maple syrup to sweeten the potatoes.  I left the brown sugar and flour out of the yummy pecan topping and used almond meal and maple sugar instead.  They were still not a low calorie food, but they were so worth the cheat!  My goodness.

No green bean casserole for us.  We opted for green beans wrapped in bacon.

Carrots with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted.  

Stuffing with no bread crumbs, WHAT?  It was darn tasty.  All the normal stuff I usually put in my stuffing- onions, celery, apples, sausage, poultry seasoning and fresh herbs.  But since I didn't add the bread crumbs, I threw in a bunch of quartered mushrooms and a few handfuls of chopped walnuts.  It turned out to be really flavorful and satisfying.  

And of course, the turkey!!!  We got a big turkey, so we could have a lot of leftovers.  The lean protein is something that I can eat guilt-free all weekend.

And on the plate...

Here is what my plate looked like...

I didn't take a separate photo of the cranberry sauce, but you can see it on the plate.  I made it last night with fresh squeezed orange juice instead of water and 3 tablespoons of honey.  We thought it needed a little more sweetness so we added a tablespoon of agave.  I thought it still tasted a bit tart, but it must have settled overnight, because we all loved it.  Both kids wanted more.

There were a few non paleo items at our Thanksgiving table.  One was the gravy.  I haven't looked into making a roux without flour yet, so I just went ahead and used a few tablespoons of flour.  And we did buy some dinner rolls.  I usually make them and love everything about fresh rolls, but not this year.  They had some classic pull apart rolls at Trader Joe's for 2 bucks.  And for a cheat of a hundred calories, that gooey white roll was worth every calorie.

And now dessert.  I am the only one who really likes pumpkin pie so I decided to skip it this year.  I might make pumpkin smoothie later this weekend to get my pumpkin fix.  Instead I made an Apple Crumble loosely based on my favorite Apple Crisp recipe.  I used almond meal instead of flour and maple sugar instead of brown sugar.  I didn't think it was sweet enough, but it was still really good.  Darab doesn't like super sweet desserts so he thought it was perfect.  Even though we cooked with butter for this meal, we didn't use any other dairy.  So for dessert, we whipped up some coconut cream to go with our crumble.  It was super easy and tasty.  Even though it does have a pretty strong coconut flavor, we both liked it and didn't find it too overpowering.

And that was how we ate this Thanksgiving!  It was delicious and didn't seem like we were missing out on anything.  And it felt great to eat so well and not feel guilty and heavy afterwards.  I did go over my calorie goal by several hundred, but this is my cheat day for the week.  And it was well worth it. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Week 2 Day 3

Today is Thanksgiving Eve!  It's been a busy day.  I finished up the grocery shopping, including a crazy trip to Costco, which was packed before their doors even opened.  It took me an hour to get 4 things.  Oh well, I did the rest of the shopping with Little One at Trader Joe's and then we got Little Guy from school.

I didn't have time to work out this morning, but Darab came home early and headed to the gym.  Today was legs and shoulders.  I struggled a little bit to stay focused.  To be honest, I was so sore the day after I did legs last week that I think I was a little scared of that happening again.  I still pushed myself and did all my exercises.  The squats got tough at the end, but I really like the hamstring stuff.  Shoulders are still really hard for me.  You have to use your arms to do the shoulder exercises and I'm still really struggling with weak arms..  The Overhead Press and the Side Lateral Raise were the toughest.  Still, I think I did better than last week.

When I got home, I chopped veggies to get ready for tomorrow.  Darab mashed the roasted sweet potatoes.  And we made the cranberry sauce.  We used fresh squeezed orange juice instead of water and added 3 tablespoons of honey.  We tasted it and apparently, neither of our tastes have adjusted to our sugarless diet yet, so we ended up adding a touch of agave to sweeten it up just a bit more.  It's still tart, but I think it'll do.  Since I'm cooking everything, there will be no "cream of" ingredients and no bread.  We will see how it goes!

Week 2 Day 2

Today I went for a run...and I almost liked it!!!  That's right, today's assignment was running and, although I'm still not in a place to follow the plan exactly, I did much better than last time.  We alternated between running and walking for 45 minutes instead of 30.  Our time running was increased and our time walking was decreased compared to our first run.  It was tough...my heart rate went up, but I wasn't so uncomfortable that I wanted to stop like last week.  I think that as we keep this up I might actually really like it.  It is blowing my mind that I might actually become a full blown runner.

Today we had some pre-Thanksgiving feasts.  The first was in Little One's preschool class and it was mainly for the kiddos to try different holiday foods.  The second was Darab's office ordering a Thanksgiving lunch, so Little One and I joined him for lunch.  I got to eat some turkey breast with a little, teeny, tiny bit of cranberry sauce, but everything else had some combination of cream, bread and/or potato so I stuck with the turkey.

Darab worked late and then went to guys beer night so the kids and I hung out together tonight.  I made pork tenderloin, broccoli and carnival squash.  It all turned out pretty well.  For a little night time snack, I cooked a diced apple in some water with cinnamon and a few chopped almonds, then poured it on top of some cottage cheese.  Yum!  A nice sweet and satisfying end to the day.

Week 2 Day 1

I woke up and Darab had made the kids' breakfast, then I made Darab's breakfast, then the kids made my breakfast.  That would've been nice, but I made my own breakfast...while I was hounding the kids to finish theirs and go wash up.  It's getting easier to eat each day.  Today's was chicken sausage, egg whites and avocado.  Yummy.

I took the kids to school, but didn't have time to get a work out in my precious free time.  Little One and I did some shopping after I picked her up and came home to make lunch.  Hers was cheese, crackers, turkey and apples.  Mine was italian chicken sausage, spinach and spaghetti squash.  The spaghetti squash was left over from last night.  We made it for the first time and had it with garlic shrimp.  It's doesn't really compare to pasta, but it was really good...great with garlic shrimp.  Darab had a second dinner of the spaghetti squash with marinara.  He seemed to like it.  Little One tried some of my squash and she said she liked it, but didn't take anymore bites.  

After we picked up Little Guy from school, we came home and I marinated some pork tenderloin for tomorrows dinner.  This whole healthy eating does take some prep work.  Then we headed off for the Y so I could work out with Darab while the kids played.  It rained buckets here today, and when Little Guy ran into the YMCA he slipped and knocked his head hard on the tile floor.  So I was the mom who dropped all of her stuff on the floor to hold her SCREAMING child and the entire lobby was watching us.  Parenthood.  And ice pack and several hugs, rubs and kisses later, Little Guy was ready to play.  So we went to go work out.

Today was back and triceps.  I really liked the back stuff and some of the triceps stuff, but once again I felt like there were a few things that I just completely sucked at.  For example, Seated Dips.  I couldn't do them.  I tried and bent my arms all weird and ended up with my butt on the ground.  I felt like a wuss.  I ended up doing them with my feel tucked up like I was sitting, and still I could BARELY do 8 in a row.  But I did do 8 in a row 4 times...barely.  

After weights, I still had calories to burn.  Off to the elliptical I went.  Again, I was so happy that my endurance increased and I was able to get my heart rate up and keep that pace up for 6 minutes!  Then I slowed down for about 5 minutes.  I cranked it back up for another 6 minutes then did a 5 minute cool down and boom, exceeded my calories burned for the day.  Awesome.

So it was just a simple canned tuna dinner for the hubby and I.  Made some pumpkin muffins for a PTA thing and didn't eat a single crumb.  We watched Boardwalk Empire last night, and oh my goodness!  So tonight we are going to watch Walking Dead!  Bye!

Week 1 Day 7

One week down...11 to go until I reach my goal!  I am so happy.  This week had it's rough spots for sure, and I'm certain that there will be more, but I'm feeling good and making progress.  I've learned a lot this past week and have decided to share some of it in list form...

1. Sugar (and fake sugar) withdrawal isn't as tough as I thought it would be.
2. It's not that hard to choke down breakfast in the morning, and when I do, I find that I'm not dragging late in the morning like I used to.
3. Preparing all your own meals from fresh food requires a lot of planning, shopping, chopping, cooking and dish doing.  
4. I've identified with my inner animal...when I haven't eaten for awhile I get super cranky and you don't want to get between me and my next meal.
5. If I eat the good food, I'm not hungry even if I've only eaten a small amount of calories.
6. The first time you workout, you suck and think you will suck forever.  You learn that's not true the second time you work out.  
7. My left arm is my primary baby carrying arm and is stronger than the right.
8. Posting all of this in a blog and linking it to my Facebook is bringing me closer to my friends and showing me just how many people support me.  It also landed me a running buddy and another offer.
9. My husband is more supportive than I could've imagined.  And he's pretty excited for me to achieve my goal.
10. My kids are extremely patient and forgiving, even when I wasn't.

Today was a rest day, so no work out.  I did take my Week 1 photos and measurements and sent them off the good people at Fit Systems.  It's still weird, but I imagine it'll get easier.  I've also been thinking a lot about how I wanted to cheat today, since I'm allowed one cheat day in my diet per week.  So it's 9 pm and I'm still wondering.  I think I'm going to have a few chocolate chips and maybe a handful of popcorn.  I didn't want to ruin the progress I've made...and I am well aware of the eating holiday that is taking place this week.  I will be cooking on Thanksgiving and doing my best to incorporate some Thanksgiving recipes from Everyday Paleo.  I'm more than a little nervous about it.

Today was also bikini shopping day!  The selection wasn't great here in Seattle in mid-November.  But I managed to find a really cute black one with a few ruffles.  I didn't bother to try it on since I'm not yet a size small, but I think it'll be really cute on once I am.  

Thanks for cheering me on in my first week!

Week 1 Day 6

Today was so wonderful for so many reasons.  The first one being that I slept in this morning.  Thanks Darab!  When I did finally rise, I was so pleasantly surprised to find my hubby making a healthy breakfast...for himself!  I could've been upset that he wasn't making it for me, but I am just so happy that he has been supportive of my program.  He asked me lots of questions and went grain free today.  He made a great eating buddy for me.  I did make my own breakfast.  Lean chicken sausage sautéed with fresh spinach and an egg.  So yummy!

He also made a great work out buddy!  We all piled in the van and went to the YMCA.  Today was chest and biceps.  I walked into the weight room ready to go.  It was so nice to have Darab working out with me.  I quickly realized just how weak my arms and chest are.  Most of the exercises were really tough, even with a very light weights.  When it came to biceps I couldn't even finish a few of the sets.  My arms just simply stopped.  It was a little frustrating to feel like such a wuss, but based on how I'm still feeling it in my arms, I did the most I could do.

I didn't burn all of my calories in the weight room, so I hopped onto the elliptical to make my daily goal.  I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I've already built up a little endurance!  I quickly got my heart rate up and was able to keep up a good pace with a high resistance.  I burned through those last few calories pretty quickly and then did a little cool down.  It was so satisfying.

After the workout, we went to Seattle Super Supplements and I got a protein powder.  They are always so nice and helpful there.  The lady helped me find a protein powder that met all of my food coach's requirements and recommended a liquid fish oil supplement.  She even said that I could bring back my fish oil capsules that I didn't like because of the fish oil taste.  According to her, if you don't have your gallbladder, you can't break down the fat and you end up with the fishy burps.  Not good.  I'm willing to try the liquid.  I chose chocolate for the protein powder and made one up as soon as we got home.  It was so nice to feed the chocolate craving.  I threw some frozen berries in there and it was delicious.

Today I did the a good job of eating several small meals.  That's been a little challenging for me so far, but it is part of what I'm supposed to do.  It worked out pretty well.  Every time I could feel myself getting crabby it was because I was hungry, so I went to the kitchen to make something to eat.  I never had that bloated, too full feeling and I got to eat something yummy whenever I was hungry.  And I'm still under my calories for the day!

Another reason today rocked...Stanford beat Oregon and Notre Dame will be ranked number 1.  The Huskies are ranked and Kansas was knocked off.  Awesome college football day.  

Week 1 Day 5

MY LEGS ARE SORE!!!  I feel like I'm limping when I walk and I groan when I stand up from sitting.  I'm hoping that by tomorrow I'm not hurting as bad, but either way I will be ready to work my chest and biceps.

This morning started out with my husband's alarm on his phone going off right next to me.  It completely startled me and woke me up a whole 15 minutes earlier than I wanted.  I'm not a bright and shiny person any morning, but this morning I didn't stand a chance and neither did my husband.  Poor husband.  

I managed to eat breakfast and get the kids out the door.  After I walked the kids to class I met up with a fellow PTA mom and we drove to a path to do our first run together.  I was nervous because my last run went so horribly wrong, but this time was so great!  Not easy, but great.  I am so grateful that she kept time and pace, so all I had to do was follow directions.  Running with a pal is definitely the way to go, so we made plans for next week, including Thanksgiving morning.  Hooray!  After our run and chat I went to the Y to do abs.  Abs were difficult, but really quick.  I had to do a plank for 30 seconds twice and was completely shaking for the last 10 seconds each time.  Maybe a little embarrassing, but I liked it.  

I came home with Little One and we were ready to eat lunch.  I decided to make a recipe that my food coach sent me called Apple Pie Breakfast.  It was basically oatmeal cooked with a chopped apple, almonds and cinnamon over cottage cheese.  It might sound weird, but it was delicious!  After I ate it, I felt really heavy.  Then for the rest of the day I kept thinking about food...all of the crappy food I want to eat.  This is the first day that I've had huge bad food cravings.  I saw cherry pie and pizza on TV and wanted to eat them.  And I heard about Hostess going out of business and wanted to eat Twinkies and Ding Dongs even though I can't remember the last time I did.  Not fun.  

Of course I didn't give in and eat anything I'm not supposed to.  I'm excited to plan out some meals for next week and get some protein powder to make shakes with.  I'm hoping that there is a chocolate flavor that satisfies a craving.  Yep, that would be nice.

Week 1 Day 4

Well, a good night's sleep can change a lot!  Today was a good day.  It was a little tough to eat my eggs and turkey bacon, but once we got out the door, I felt good.  I got the kids to school and drove to the Y.

I had my list of leg and shoulder exercises and my phone so I could look them up.  It took me awhile to find my way around the weight rooms and to figure out how to adjust the machines.  Then I had to figure out how much weight to use.  I surprised myself with how much I could do (legs) and how little I could do (shoulders).  My muscles got pretty shaky toward the end, but I had a really good time!  It was a nice break from focusing on cardio.  I'm super sore.  When I lifted up my daughter, every single muscle I had ached.

I came home after picking up Little One from preschool and made us lunch.  I was happy there were leftovers again, so I had some leftover fajita steak and peppers with guacamole and black beans.  I took a shower while Little One took a nap and then we headed off to Lego Club.  And that is where I found a running buddy!!!  So we have plans to run tomorrow morning.  She knows that I am just beginning since she read Day 3, so I don't need to feel self conscious about not keeping up.  I'm very excited to not have to go it alone, at least for tomorrow.

I made my first ever chicken curry for dinner.  It was pretty easy and tasty.  And a little bit later, I made my first healthy dessert...baked apples and pears with cinnamon, nutmeg, walnuts and a tiny bit of honey.  It really hit the spot.  I love a sweet treat at the end of the day.  I'm going to have to ask when I can incorporate some kind of chocolate into my diet.  Just a little, tiny bit.

Week 1 Day 3

Last night I got a wonderful 8 hours of sleep.  I was so tired last night that I left laundry and dishes for my hubby to do while I went to sleep...but that happens a lot here.  I have a really good husband.

I woke up this morning and instead of leaving breakfast as the last thing I did before we left, I did it first. One slice of turkey bacon, 3 egg whites scrambled with some diced orange bell pepper and green onion.  I sent a photo to my food coach and got the seal of approval.  It still feels completely weird to eat at 7 am, but I'll get used to it.  It makes me thirsty which is great, because I need to drink at least a gallon of water a day.  I've come close, but I don't think I've made it quite to the gallon marker yet.  I did buy some sparkling water today, so I can have something fizzy.

I took the kids to school and, armed with my water bottle and heart rate monitor, I headed for Step Class.  I got there just a few minutes early...which apparently was late.  The place was PACKED and there were no more step things left.  I didn't know what I was going to do to burn my 500 calories for the day, until I saw an email from the food coach.  It was a workout plan.  It took me several minutes to figure out what it was telling me to do for the cardio days.  (I haven't even made an attempt to figure out the muscle days yet.)  When I did figure it out, I realized I was going to be running.  Yikes!  I'm not good at it and I don't like it.  I went home and tried it.  I thought I was going to die.  I was breathing hard, my legs were BURNING, and my ears started hurting...and this is after 3 minutes of jogging.  I went as long as I could, then walked for a minute or so, then jogged again for as long as could and kept this up for 10 minutes...which, according to my plan, was my warm up.

I started getting nervous about how much time I had left until I had to pick up Little One from preschool and how I wasn't going to burn enough calories in that time frame to make my goal.  I tried not to over think it and just kept going.  I ended up jogging down my street, running back to my house, walking around my van, and doing that over and over until I thought I was going die...and that took about 12 minutes.  Then I did some jogging and walking to cool down for a few minutes before I went to get Little One.

That was so hard.  Harder than being the slowest, clumsiest person in the classes at the Y.  I was told to check out YouTube for help.  Who knew?  I did and I read some of the comments and it sounds like I'm pretty typical for someone who is just learning to run.  I can't believe I have to do this every other day.  God help me.  I really hope I get the hang of it and soon.  When I was miserably running today, my mind went to its comfort zone and started saying stuff like, "you're not cut out for this" and "you're not good at this and never going to be, so give up".  I called BS on that.  I'm going to figure this out and make my goal.  Here's to bikini shopping this weekend!

The rest of the day was a bit better.  I had a much easier time making my lunch since there were some leftovers from last nights dinner.  I had 1 1/2 Chile Lime Chicken Burgers from Trader Joe's.  Super yummy, although I will probably need to figure out how to make my own with ground chicken breast instead of just ground chicken.  Along side I had some steamed broccoli and 1/3 cup black beans.  I loaded everything up with some fresh Serrano Salsa, which is my new favorite condiment.  Four tablespoons at 10 calories!

We carried the Mexican theme right into dinner with some flank steak fajitas.  I had really been looking forward to this because it meant that we could all eat the same thing together.  I'm pretty tired of making different food for the kids and doing 2 sets of dishes after each meal.  Eventually, I will learn how to do this so they are eating closer to what I am eating instead of a typical, carb heavy kid diet.  But I need to get way more comfortable with doing this for myself first.

Dinner didn't really end up going as well as I was hoping it would.  I was doing all the prep work and hoping Darab would walk through the door so he could go out in the cold and BBQ the flank steak.  The kids wouldn't stop...being kids.  Fighting, talking, playing.  It was all too much for me.  I was hungry, tired and maybe going through sugar and bread withdrawal?  I've lost my patience and dinner wasn't nearly as satisfying as I was hoping.  My husband came to the rescue again and put the kids to bed.  I am so grateful for his support.  I have some calories left to spend today, so I'm going to go for a sure thing... a berry smoothie.

Even though today was a little frustrating, it wasn't unbearable.  I made it though and I'll do it again tomorrow.

Week 1 Day 2

Today started out okay.  My sweetie nudged me awake and left my black coffee on the night stand.  We went to bed a little late last night because we finally watched last Sunday's episode of Walking Dead.  I still don't think I've fully recovered from the show the week before, but it was a good episode, none the less.

Anyway, I was a little tired this morning, but there were some things I had to do.  Make the kiddos breakfast and get them ready for school.  And get myself ready to go straight to the gym after I dropped them off in order to make a 9 am class....this included eating breakfast.  I'm not really a fan of eating in the morning.  I'd much rather just drink coffee.  So I came up with some orange bell pepper sautéed in coconut oil and egg whites.  I put it in a little dish and looked at it for a few minutes while I was gearing up to eat it.  Here's what it looked like...

I took a bite and it was pretty darn good.  I am going to start preparing the night before to give myself a better shot at a successful morning.  Have my work out clothes and gym stuff ready, and get my meat and veggies cut up for my healthy breakfast.  But I'm pretty happy that I ate breakfast and got the kids to school on time today.  I should also mention that my hubby walked out the door with all of our soda and all the Halloween candy that was left in the house.  We made an offer to the kids last night to purchase their candy and they accepted right away...so off it went!

So today's work out killed me.  I went to a class called Cardio Kickboxing.  Most everyone there was in shape and wearing fancy work out clothes.  The Step instructor from yesterday came to take the class.  I had an, "Oh crap.  I shouldn't be here" moment...then decided to stay and give it my all.  Apparently, my all pales in comparison to everyone else's that was there.  I struggled!  There was so much jumping and kicking.  It was so hard to keep up.  It was a lot of leg work, and at some point mine just wouldn't move.  Crazy stuff started going through my head like, "What have I gotten myself into?" and "Maybe I'm just not the athletic type."  I felt like an idiot and sort of wanted to leave and cry, but I didn't!  I stayed, did my best and burned 699 calories!!!  Yeah!

After working out I went to pick up my little one from preschool.  I basically limped to her classroom because my legs were so tired.  I'm sore but it feels kinda nice, like I really earned something.  I came home and was HUNGRY!  I made some tuna, heavy on the celery, very light on the mayo and ate it up. 

Now I just need to muster up some energy to take care of the kids tonight while Darab works late, make and eat a healthy dinner and get some good rest.  Then I get to do the whole thing again tomorrow!  

Week 1 Day 1

I'm a little surprised that today wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I have been so nervous and scared about starting this, and there really was no need to be.  This is something that I really want, so if anything, I'm really stoked that I'm doing this!  I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!

The day started out wonderfully...we didn't have to get up early and get ready for school.  We did, however, get to the Y at 9:20.  I got the kids signed into Adventure Zone, which they love, and made my way to the Step class.  This is only the second time that I've worked out at the Y since we joined in January.  I mainly use it to go swimming with the kids and to get rid of them.  Darab will take them there to play while he works out and I get some quiet time.  So it took me a few minutes to find the room that Step class was in.  I found a place and got going.  It didn't take long for the instructor to ask me if I had done step before.  I guess I looked like a beginner.  I told her it had been a few years.  She said that if I didn't get all the choreography that I could just do something that I knew in it's place, but to just keep moving.  So I did.  I was the slowest, clumsiest person there by far...and probably the youngest too.  But I did my best and I kept up with maybe half of the routine.  My heart rate went way up and I got all good and sweaty.  

After class was over, I was feeling a little discouraged, but when I looked down at my heart rate monitor watch thing and saw that I burned 782 calories.  I'm still not sure I believe it, but that is completely awesome.  I exceeded my goal.  Eating was a bit more challenging.  I know all the stuff I shouldn't eat and haven't had a problem avoiding that.  But I sort of don't know what to choose out of all the stuff I can eat.  Darab helped me make dinner and together we ate a delicious chicken and vegetable stir fry without rice.  

I did touch base with my nutrition coach and she told me something I suspected was coming...no more Coke Zero.  I'm a little ashamed to admit that giving up soda will be more difficult for me than giving up sugar and bread.  My wonderful husband jumped right in and said he would give it up too.  I am going to follow directions and do it without whining, and so I say, "Farewell soda.  We've had lots of great times together, but you're holding me back, and I can't drink you anymore."

Introduction

I have a secret.  I have always wanted to know what it would be like to be in shape...really in shape.  Strong, athletic, confident and secure in your own body.  I know people who go to the gym or do CrossFit and I admire them.  I see people running on the sidewalk and I'm sort of baffled.  How do they do that?  Do they actually like running?

As it stands now, I don't work out at all and I don't pay any attention to what I eat.  Zero.  I'm not happy with how I look or feel.  I don't have much energy.  I usually view the day in terms of what I "have to do", instead of what I "get to do".  It really ends up feeling like I'm just getting by...and I hate that.  I want to feel good and enjoy my life, not just feel sick and tired day after day.  

I usually try my best to conceal how I feel and most of the time I pull it off.  I clean up okay, but in my heart I know that I'm settling.  I want something better for myself.  There is a lot of shame and fear in admitting that for me.  So why would I fess up on a blog for anyone to see?  Well, it's all part of the plan.  I am getting help.  I start a 12 week plan tomorrow with FIT Systems.  It is as far out of my comfort zone as I can get.  Sending photos, measurements and my weight to a childhood friend that I haven't seen since 6th grade and a bunch of strangers everyweek. Agreeing to keep a food diary and follow a workout plan.  Buying the bikini I will take after photos in on my first trip to Vegas in February.  What!  I can't believe I am doing this...but I am very excited.  It's my time.  I'm going to do this and I will not fail.  I'm putting it all out there for everyone to see, for everyone to hold me accountable.  Let the journey begin!