Weigh-In ... Argh.

Today's Weight: 202.0

Loss/Gain: +1.5 lbs

Total Loss So Far: -29.0 lbs

I'll do my update on my challenge tomorrow.

Learning two things this week.

1. PMS week was not a good week to try and hit 199.
2. Getting up to workout before work is not easy, and I've been a wimp. I've only worked out two mornings this week. Argh. Have to make my body do what it needs to do even though I don't want to. Yea...so I'll get back to you tomorrow with my challenge update.

I can say that I did not overeat this week. If I ate until full I waited until I was hungry again to eat a meal. I munched a bit when I shouldn't have and I ate more chocolate than a once-daily-weight-loss-portion. Not getting those workouts in didn't help anything.

Talk To You Later!

Busy as a Bee

I'm dropping in to say a quick hello in case I don't have time later to post. On top of working full time I've been preparing for a yard sale this weekend. Busy. Busy.

I've gotten up two of the last four mornings to workout before getting ready for school and I plan on getting up tomorrow morning.

I'm doing 30-day Shred those three mornings. I still need to get on top of getting up the other two. It's a little harder than I thought to get up early every single morning to workout. I've always enjoyed working out a little bit later than 6:00 a.m., so this is going to take some getting used to.

Eating has been fine. A little more munchy and added chocolate than normal. But, hhmm....let's see...oh yes, it's been about four weeks. That means I'm due for a visit from TOM any day now, and saw proof in the last 24 hours that it won't be long.

That being said, I'm fully preparing myself to not see 199 on the scale tomorrow. I'm not to upset about it, because I did see it once this week already. Alas, it was only once and it was 199.5, so ... I won't get my hopes up, but you know I'll be showing it for sure in a week if it doesn't magically appear tomorrow morning.

I haven't checked many blogs, but I will catch up soon. I hope you are all having a nice week and I will be back in the morning to post my weigh-in before heading off to school.

Monday Inspiration (I hope) :o)

Today began my four weeks of substituting to finish out the year for a teacher who is off to have her baby. I was a good girl and got up just after 6:00 am to workout before going about the rest of my morning duties. It would be good for me to get up at 5:30, just to have some extra time, but I'm happy I did this much. It wasn't too hard either, so I'm excited about not having to give up my workouts for this temporary job situation. :o) Also, now that I'm home for the day I'm so grateful the workout is done and I can enjoy the evening taking care of other things and relaxing with family.

Today I saw a poster in a neighboring teacher's room with this quote:

"A mistake is a chance to try harder."

Someone commented on my last post that they are impressed I've stuck it out on my weight loss journey for almost a year now. Well, I must say it's because I've continued to use every mistake along the way to learn and try harder the next time. There have been plenty of mistakes, believe me (it's why I've lost 30 pounds in almost a year instead 60 or 90), but I've not let my mistakes push me to quit. I simply refuse to give up on my reaching my weight loss goals this time around. I simply keep going and try harder.

Over the course of time trying harder will always win the battle. I know it's true for me and it can be true for you too!

Have a great week everyone!

Progression Pics 11 Months

Well, for the first time in a while I can say that I've lost more than a couple of pounds during a month.

I showed a six-pound loss since taking my last picture. This doesn't look really noticeable, but I know these last five pounds or so have really helped my clothes to start getting loose. My size 20w stuff is definitely done, it's all way to loose now. And 18w's are comfy, 16w's are beginning to invade my closet. Glory!!

Another non-scale victory is as I was doing the 30-day Shred DVD again yesterday my 12-year-old twin girls walked in at different times and told me they couldn't believe how skinny I was getting. I was wearing the outfit I take my pictures in, which is more snug than what I normally workout in. ;) They are such confidence boosters - those girls!! :D

Weight Loss Progression Pics

Oh, and I'm sorry that the pictures I took last night are so blurry. I need to find out what's up with my camera. It's been blurring the last few times I've taken self portraits. hhm....

I hope you're weekend is going well.

Greek Yogurt Giveaway

Well, I'm not only posting about this giveaway because I think it'd be fun to win, but because I'm thinking seriously of trying some greek yogurt and was tickled it came up in a blog the same week I was having these thoughts. :)

So, click here to read about a giveaway from Barbara at My Journey To Healthy Living. And if you have a minute I'm curious...

• Have you tried greek yogurt?
• What do you think of it?
• Do you think the benefits from greek yogurt are worth the extra cost, or is it more like a scam to make us feel "healthier" for eating it compared to regular yogurt?

Thanks for your opinions!

Weigh-In ... Getttin With It Update #4

Today's Weight: 200.5

Loss/Gain: -2.0 lbs

Total Loss So Far: -30.5 lbs

I stepped on the scale THREE times to make sure this was correct, and then I allowed myself to be VERY excited!!! I texted my husband right away to tell him the good news. It makes me nervous to be this close to 199...maybe next week. We'll see. :) I'm trying not to think about that, because it puts my stomach to jumbling just to think about it.

One day at a time - one day at a time ...

....which is how I've been doing on my Gettin' With It challenge, so here's the results:

• First off ... I want to see at least 10 pounds lost - Beginning weight is 205.0. Yes! 4.5/10 lost so far. So close to halfway there at halfway through my challenge. Woo Hoo!!
• Take my mutli-vitamin and calcium daily. Pretty sure I got it in every day. I might have missed one, but I'm not sure.
• Drink 64 oz. of water daily. Yes! I drank 64 oz all but one day. For some reason Wednesday I was busy or something and didn't quite get the full 64 in, I drank 32 for sure that day though.
• One sweet treat a day. I think I did this at least 5/7 days, but I know the portions weren't always "weight loss size". Funny thing is I'm finding myself not craving the sweets as much any more. It's like the physical hunger for a treat isn't there, but the mental hunger still is. I'm thinking this might have something to do with getting more protein in my diet or eating more fruit. Now if I can listen to my body instead of my mind we'll be okay. I'm finding it hard to do that right now when it comes to the sweets. The regular food part is good, so I know this will come together as well.
• Eat one fruit or veggie with each meal. Again about 5-6 days out of 7. Sundays can be the hardest. Then again I'm trying to make sure it gets done each day, but I can't remember if I did it all seven, so I am leaning towards the safe side by saying I didn't. Sorry if that was confusing... :)
• No snacking if I'm not truly hungry. Again, my snacking has been very little and often times is some cantaloupe I've cut up or some blackberries from the fridge. I'm just happy that's it's not dipping into the M&Ms. :)
• Exercise at least 4 days a week. Today will be four days for me. Though I'm extremely sore from doing the Shred yesterday. Wow. :)

I'm worried about not getting more intense workouts in now that my days will be very busy, but I'm also learning to listen to my body and not eat if I'm not hungry. Less intense/less time working out equals less hunger, so if I stick to listening to my body and only eat until satisfied I'm sure I'll be fine. Wait. I know I'll be fine...I showed a loss this week didn't I ? ;)

Have a great day and a very nice weekend everyone!

On My Way To Being Shredded

With four weeks of full-time work coming up and then summer vacation wherein my kids will be home from school for about ten weeks I figured I'd better figure out what I'm going to do to fit in workouts.

My husband is gracious enough to let me get away in the evenings to the gym, but this ends up taking almost two hours out of every evening. I really don't want to do that more than once or twice. So, I figured I'd better figure out what I can do from home in the mornings.

That's when I decided to look into doing Jillian Michael's 30-day shred. I don't want to lose the strength and speed I have gained through my jogging and using weights at the gym while working out from home, so I needed to find something tough. But I also don't want to get up at 4:00 am every morning to fit an hour-long workout in.

My friend suggested this DVD (and I know many of you have tried it) and said it will probably help me in my running and is also a great, intense workout for a short period of time.

She was right. I've just finished my first workout of the 30-day shred and I'm drenched in sweat and slightly exhausted. IT'S GREAT!!!

I think this DVD will be the perfect workout for me every morning these last few weeks of school. Then I can alternate with them and going for jogs outside during the summer.

As Jillian said at the end of the program...I'm on my way to being shredded. :) Though, honestly, I'll just be glad if it keeps my heart rate up long enough to burn calories and help me lose more weight.

I'll keep you posted. :)

This and That Ramblings

The week is going well. I let myself go a little more on the weekend, so I feel like I'm trying to catch up on better eating habits to see a loss this week. hhmm...not the best habit, but I noticed it and so that's good. My weight was maintained on Monday morning, and that is also very good. In the past I've always been up and then scrambling to see a loss by Friday. However, I'm still going to have to work on that weekend eating.

Today my husband and I went out for a late lunch after my dental appointment. I had these great egg, ham, cheese and avocado "tacos". I ordered two, but was only able to finish one and a nibble of the other (and two or three small bites of hubbies food). I wasn't stuffed, but satisfied. This is a great feeling!! To stop eating when satisfied and not feel like I'm depriving myself. Woo Hoo!

I am having a new problem though....my tank undershirts (used for covering cleavage in some more "stylishly" lower cut t-shirts) are getting too big. I know this because today my undershirt wasn't doing it's job of covering that little triangle shaped problem area. I kept pulling it and adjusting it when it finally hit me that it's too loose. YAY!! Another non-scale victory for me...loose clothing.

Oh, and another VERY happy moment in my week.... My husband walked in yesterday behind me and commented on how good my jeans looked on me. They are my 16w's, thank you very much!! He's not one to throw out comments often without me fishing for them, so...my reply was:

"You say the nicest things!!!" and a GREAT BIG HUG!!!

I hope you're all having a nice week and are finding yourself one step closer to your health and weight loss goals. I know I am.

Opportunity

There is a church marquee that we pass by regularly, and a few weeks ago they had the following quote on display.

"Opportunity is often times disguised as work."

How many times have you heard someone, or yourself, make excuses for not being able to lose weight.

• I can't get to a gym, or find time to exercise.
• I can afford fresh and/or healthy foods.
• It's to hard to cook healthy for me AND my family.

The list goes on and on. I know that many times I was looking for the perfect situation or opportunity to lose weight. Many times I felt I wasn't in the prime place to start a weight loss journey. But really the prime opportunity I was looking for to make weight loss easy was disguised as work.

• It was going to take some work and planning to fit in exercise.
• It was going to take some work and planning to fit purchasing healthier foods into my budget.
• I had to be creative to figure out how to fit healthier foods into my diet and cook things my family liked.

As I've begun to do the work necessary to make this weight loss journey a success I'm seeing that the opportunity was always there. However, as the quote above said, it was simply disguised as work and I was really just too lazy to make it happen.

Weigh-In ... Getttin With It Update #3

Today's Weight: 202.5

Loss/Gain: -1.0 lb

Total Loss So Far: -28.5

Okay, I'm glad I am down a pound, but I must be honest in that I was expecting a tad more. The past two mornings I was down more than this. Poor me...okay, that's enough! :)

I am very happy to be this close to having lost 30 pounds and I'm SO GLAD I'm far, far away from 209 (where I was stuck for months) and even 205 didn't come on my scales this week. Woo Hoo!

And now for my Gettin' With It update:

• First off ... I want to see at least 10 pounds lost - Beginning weight is 205.0. Yes! 2.5/10 lost so far. I'm so excited to know that I fully plan on meeting this 10-pound goal!!
• Take my mutli-vitamin and calcium daily. 75% of the time. I think I forgot a few mornings, but I know I did it most of the days.
• Drink 64 oz. of water daily. Yes! I'm not sure if the spring weather is making it easier to drink more water, but getting those two 32-ounce cups drank daily has not been a problem at all.
• One sweet treat a day. 6/7 days. One day I allowed myself more. It was almost like I just got it out of my system - sort of a "free" day of sorts. I didn't overdo it, but I know I had more than one.
• Eat one fruit or veggie with each meal. Probably 5 out of 7 days. Sundays are the worst and I know two evenings I didn't have a veggie with dinner, BUT I did have three veggies during those daytimes.
• No snacking if I'm not truly hungry. The snacking was really pretty non-existent this week. If I did snack I was either hungry or had fruit for a snack, so I'm pleased with that.
• Exercise at least 4 days a week. Only three days this week as my hip was bothering me one day and then I worked today, so I haven't worked out yet.

Overall, I'm pleased with my progress. If I can follow these goals at least 75% of the time, then I am content. Well, actually, I guess if I can follow them and see weight loss I am content.

I know I need to try and meet these goals all seven days, so I will be working on that and hope to reach that by the end of the eight weeks.

Thanks for stopping by to check in on me. If I get too busy to post tomorrow I wish you all a wonderful, relaxing weekend! I appreciate the encouragement and comments that you all leave me!

Until next time....

Because I Wanted To

Last weekend was wonderful! I was so busy on that I didn't even get on the computer until Sunday night. This is a great thing for me, for a two reasons.

• Recently I can waste a lot of time on the computer and sitting still instead of taking care of projects/chores that need to be tended to.
• In the past, I spent tons of time on the computer because I didn't have the energy to do much else.

And this leads me to some things I observed about my weekend that made me so happy.

Short story: I have an abundance of energy daily that I can't remember having, like, pretty much ever, and I ate well because I chose to, not because I felt obligated to.

Below is the long story if you're interested. I just can't stand not to write it all out, because it makes me so happy. :)

Saturday started with a soccer game at 9:00am. Husband went to do some volunteer work at the dental college and I took the kids to pick up and take a friend to work. Then we washed our van at a quick drive through with free shop vacs (love that!!), then we went to the store to find shorts for one of my daughters, which lead us to find great deals for all three kids. We stopped for lunch and took it home to eat.

During lunch I informed everyone that we needed to get to our Saturday chores before any more playing. So, then it was clean house and wash towels. I tend to hop on the computer between different housecleaning chores, but I didn't this day. (That's not weight loss related, but just having energy and staying focused. :) )

About the time housecleaning was done I realized my husband would be home from the school soon, so I texted him to ask if we could go buy the deep freezer we've been talking about.

So our evening was spent buying a deep freezer (which, yes, I'm in heaven about) and then going out for dinner. Where..... drum roll please.....

.....

....

.... I was faced with mexican restaurant food and chose to order the grilled chicken and veggies with fresh pico de gallo and rice just BECAUSE I WANTED TO.

Nothing else sounded that good. Fresh grilled chicken breast and veggies sounded much better. Yes, I had chips before our meal, but I enjoyed them in moderation. Plus, I only ate half of my dinner because I got full.

I know you all understand the excitement I was feeling as I took a picture of my plate (much to the rolled eyes of my husband) just to show you that THIS was want I wanted to eat and then I didn't even finish it all.

I went home a very contented woman, who actually ended up going and picking up aforementioned friend from work and taking her home before finally settling down for the night.

But...the good feelings don't stop there....

Sunday afternoon I was really wanting some good bar-b-q, and my husband spoiled us and let us go out to eat for a second day in a row. We went to this wonderful bar-b-q place where I ordered the baked potato with chopped brisket and everything else (but the cheese..I know...I didn't want cheese though..).

That potato hit the spot.

I ate it slowly, enjoying every bite and then suddenly began to realize I was getting full. So, I slowed even more, enjoying conversation with the kids and hubby, and then finally stopped.

I was done.

It was very good, but I was full, so I didn't eat the last couple of bites of meat and the last 1/4 of the potato. (This wasn't the HUGE ones, but a good sized potato). It felt good to leave the restaurant satisfied, but not stuffed!!

Then...more good news....

Usually about an hour prior to leaving for the evening service I'll get a munchy feeling and want to eat something sweet with my second cup of coffee. Well, that feeling kind of hit again, but I stopped, felt if I was hungry, decided I was still full from lunch and just enjoyed the coffee by itself while I caught up on blogs.

BIG change for me....and not because I forbid myself, but again BECAUSE I WANTED TO. :)

After the evening service I was definitely hungry and had a small dinner with hubby while kids enjoyed a snack before bed.

So, as I went to bed Sunday night I was content and happy that there are solid changes going on in my body and mind towards food. I am making choices because it's what I want now, and not just because it's what the plan allows or the rules say I should do.

I told Diane earlier that sometimes I get nervous wondering if these good choices will last, but I have decided to enjoy where I'm at right now and keep my eyes focused on one day at a time. I will not worry about all the tomorrows. :)

p.s. Can you see now why I imagine that dress I buy next year might be smaller than I thought originally?? :D There is hope!!

Nat'l Women's Health Week

Tricia over at Endurance Isn't Only Physical has posted about a great pledge idea and giveaway for National Women's Health Week in May.

I made a pledge for this and you can view it by clicking here. What can you pledge to do during this week to better care for your health? If you're not sure, head on over to Tricia's blog and see what others are pledging. :)

Change of Thoughts

I had a plan for a post today, but then I started catching up on weight loss blog reading. I came across this over at 266 and I found it so inspiring that I had to change plans and share this with you instead.

She, 266, wrote an amazing post called What A Difference A Year Makes and ends it with this comment:

"I went and had that dessert… I engaged in the patterns that got me to my biggest state within minutes of discovering how far gone I really was. It took me another four months to really get serious about this journey; before that I stumbled more times than I can count. I get how hard this is and I understand that we are all fighting lifetimes of habits and emotions and circumstances. But, I have to ask… Where could you be next year?"

I left a comment on her post that my original goal was to buy a dress for my husband's graduation in May 2011 that was NOT from the women's department. And each small victory and pound of weight lost I find myself imaging that the dress could possibly end up being smaller than I ever dreamed.

That, my friends, is where I could be next year. :)

No Acceptance

There is one type of acceptance that I have decided I will not allow in my life.

The acceptance of defeat.

One of my favorite movies is "Facing the Giants" and there is this wonderful quote that a father who is wheelchair bound tells his son:

"If you accept defeat, David, then that's what you'll get."

How many times in my weight loss attempts (and other areas of life) have I accepted defeat before it even happened? I set myself up to fail and thus I failed.

Not this time. I refuse to accept defeat in this journey. No matter the amount of time it takes to reach my goals I will press on.

Weigh-In ... Getttin With It Update #2

Today's Weight:203.5

Loss/Gain: -2.0 lbs

Total Loss So Far: -27.5 lbs

I did not get up early enough before work to post earlier today, but here it is. I"M EXCITED! This is the lowest I've been so far for my weigh-ins on this journey. Woo hoo!

And here is my second update on my own "Getting With It" challenge:

My goals:

• First off ... I want to see at least 10 pounds lost. Beginning weight is 205.0. 1.5/10 lost so far. (I had a gain the first week, so my whole 2 pounds down this week doesn't count. ) I'm excited to finally be down and 199 is getting closer and closer!!
• Take my mutli-vitamin and calcium daily. 75% of the time - For some reason I was forgetting to take them.
• Drink 64 oz. of water daily.Yes, 5/7 days. It's becoming easier and easier to get water in. I also only had one "real" soda and that was barely today with lunch. I drank diet every other time I wanted some, though mostly I drank sweet tea made with splenda or water.
• One sweet treat a day. Only 50%, because two days I had more than one sweet treat and then the other days I only had a sweet treat once a day, but they were not always weight loss portions.
• Eat one fruit or veggie with each meal.I've done well with this except for the two days I didn't get all my water in. Sundays (and then Easter this week) are always a little more difficult. But I am doing much better than before, so I"m happy with that. It's funny how now I'm checking to make sure I have my fruit or veggie with a meal. ie. Last night we ordered pizza and I sauteed zucchini to have on the side with mine. It smelled so good hubby and one daughter had some with me. :)
• No snacking if I'm not truly hungry. Pretty good. This still takes work. - Ditto what I wrote last week...I'm getting much better at this though.
• Exercise at least 4 days a week. With my hip being sore after my race I've only exercised two days this week. It feels very out of the norm, but I am noticing that the rest is helping my hip to feel better. I'll be back to my regular routine a.s.a.p.

Overall, things are looking much better on the weight loss journey. I still have many moments where I can't imagine myself at goal, but I remind myself to take it one day at a time, one meal at a time and not worry about the end result.

I also haven't seen 203 on the scale for at least five years and I'm thrilled to finally see my scale getting closer and closer to the 100's. :)

I hope you all have a nice weekend!

My Easter Basket

Every year I put together Easter baskets for my children and I also make a combination basket for my husband and myself. It's always exciting to not only watch them enjoy their treats and little gifts I put in, but also to dip into my own basket and snack on my favorite treats knowing they are all mine and I don't have to share (hubby likes starbursts, etc. and I like chocolate...so we really don't have to share).

This year was different.

First off, I bought less candy for my kids and added a little larger gift instead. I had explained to them that they don't need tons of candy, so they were expecting this and were fine with it.

I also didn't put together a basket for my husband and myself. Instead I put two of our favorite kinds of candies into a little goodie bag with some Easter grass and that was our "basket".

My kids noticed that there wasn't a basket for us and asked why. I told them we didn't really need all that candy, and that we had a few bits of our favorites to enjoy in our little bag. They shrugged an okay and went on their way.

Then on the way to church I was placing my newly purchased purse in the van and I told my kids, "You know, this is my Easter basket this year!" :) I had been looking for a while for the "perfect" spring purse and had found one at Kohls just two days before Easter.

They, of course, just giggled and grinned at me.

Hey, it's calorie-free and there's no guilt from using it over and over...unlike all the candy would've given me after eating way too much of it. :)

My Hip and a Good Post

First the not so good news. My hip has been bothering me since my run on Saturday. It actually began to ache during the beginning of the run, but I pressed on. I don't remember it aching again until Sunday sometime. I was on my feet all day Saturday afternoon/evening cooking for Easter and then a lot of Sunday setting out Easter dinner and having guests over. I've never had this kind pain before.

So, Monday I didn't exercise to give my hip a break. Then yesterday I did the elliptical instead of jogging to keep the pressure off of it (I know this helps my knees if they get sore). However, it's still achy. *sigh* So, today I simply went for a brisk 30-minute walk and then did weights for upper body.

I have no intention of hurting myself just to be a runner or very fit. So, I'm taking it a little lighter on the workouts until I am not achy in my hip. I can almost feel it aching direction where the joint sits in the socket. Hhmm..

On a happier, and more encouraging note...if you don't follow Diane over at Fit to the Finish you should go check out her post from today called "When the Fun Fades". It's a very good insight into how to keep going on a weight loss journey even when the "honeymoon" period passes. I found her post so true, because I've quit diets many times in the past because it was no longer "fun" to eat right and exercise.

I hope you're all having a very nice week!

Thankful Reflection

It was one year ago today THE PHOTO (above) was taken. This was the photo that kind of pushed me over the edge. I posted about it when I started my blog and you can read about those feelings by clicking here.

One year later I am so grateful that I am no longer the woman in that picture - happy with everything in life except her weight and health. Then I was at a loss as to where to begin to take care of my health, because I knew I had failed at diets so many times in the past and I refused to start a diet again.

Today that has changed and I'm so very grateful for this. I may not be near my weight loss goal yet, but I am more active, I have more energy to get through busy days than I ever remember having before and I have hope.

Hope that I can change.

Hope that I am capable of things I didn't think I was.

Hope that I will continue to reach my goals.

And hope in knowing I will never give up.

Are you frustrated with where you're at, or are you in need of encouragement? Take a minute to think about where you were a year ago. What has changed for the better? What can you learn from as you move forward?

I hope this spring offers you some nice days to ponder and be thankful for the newness of life you are experiencing in your weight loss journey just like I did today.

I Finished The Run

This past Saturday was my first 5K race.

It was a beautiful day to run, with normal winds and not the howling blowing winds that brought in our rain storm on Friday. Whew! I felt much better about jogging once that storm passed.

However, I was still nervous all morning and kept myself busy with Easter dinner preparations. I kept telling myself that I was just going to workout in the afternoon, hoping to trick my nerves out of thinking about the race. That only kind of helped. Then I made some calls to my mom and then one my close friends just before the race to talk off some nervous energy. My husband had to study for an exam, but he met me and the kids at the race site.

Everyone took off and I found out pretty much in the first yards that I was going to be the last one. Step by step people passed me until I was jogging alone This thought was a little sad to me, but then I reminded myself that I was working on my own goals and not competing. (I found out later there were a few people walking it behind me.)

After that I just kept placing one foot in front of the other. I thought about my brother who is not well right now and thanked the Lord I was healthy enough to jog. I thought about how the road had a few hills in it and though I was bummed for the inclines I would just keep going. I did even wonder for a minute why the heck I was doing this? Then I reminded myself that I've run the distance before and I knew I could finish. :)

There was only one portion that was difficult and it was a slight incline on my way back to the finish line. But I would find things along the way to be little mini goals. "Just to the fence post. Okay, now get to the next cone. "

Suddenly off in the distance I saw this guy standing there at the last turn back to the finish line. It was my husband! I just grinned at him and passed him heading back towards the finish.

Upon reaching the finish line people were clapping and "Woo Hoo'ing' and it made me feel so good to know that I had finished it. I grinned real big and after crossing the line (and hearing the 'beep!' of my timing chip) I just cried for a few seconds.

My son asked,"Are you happy or sad?" I told him it was a happy cry that I finished. My family was very supportive of me and I felt wonderful knowing I had accomplished this great goal in my weight loss journey.

I finished it jogging the entire time, and my official time was 43:44.

My goal was to try and jog it in 45 minutes, so I came in under my goal by just over a minute. That made me very happy. Though, I'm sure the guy chuckled when at the halfway mark he says, "22 minutes" and I replied in a rasping voice, "Perfect!" .

Of course, there were many that got in faster than me, but a handful them all stopped and walked for portions. So, I was very content that though my time was slow I jogged the entire distance without stopping.

Yes, it was perfect -- an afternoon event I won't soon forget. :)

I Won Again! :)

As I was catching up on my blog reading after being off the computer on a busy weekend I came across this post at Endurance Isn't Only Physical stating I won her KettleWorx giveaway.

Whee! This will be fun to try as I've never used a kettle bell (is that what it's called?!?) before. I'll let you know what I think of it when I get it and try it.

I have a full moth of work coming up in a couple of weeks, so it will be nice to have some new workout stuff to use at home since I'll be working out in the evenings a lot then.

Happy Easter

""And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away.....

........And he saith unto them, be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here..." Mark 16:4a & 6a

I thank the Lord that he gave his only son to die on the cross for our sins so many years ago, paying the price we should've all had to pay.

Upon his resurrection he not only gained his own life back, but he gained life and hope for us all if we will accept the free gift of salvation.

To quote a favorite praise song of mine:

"Hallelujah! Jesus is Alive!

Death has lost it's victory and the grave has been denied

Jesus lives forever

He's Alive!

He Alive!"

Have a wonderful Easter Sunday everyone!

Weigh-In ... Getttin With It Update #1

Today's Weight:205.0

Loss/Gain: +0.5 lb.

Total Loss So Far: -25.5

Well, the lovely TOM has arrived along with my little half of a pound gain. I was wondering why there wasn't at least a one-pound loss, but now I know.

I looked up my last three monthly weigh-ins affected by TOM and they were +2.5, +0.5, and +1.5. So, I'm happy this week was only up half a pound. I didn't have munchies like usual, so that was good. Either that or I stayed focused and so I didn't see a gain. hhmm... being focused... :)

In case you missed it, I started myself on my own personal challenge for eight weeks. I named it "Gettin With It". You can click on the badge/button on the right side to read all about it.

Here's my first update:

My goals:

• First off ... I want to see at least 10 pounds lost. 0/10 lost so far.
• Take my mutli-vitamin and calcium daily. YES! I've done this daily since posting my challenge.
• Drink 64 oz. of water daily. YES, all days except for yesterday, but I think I drank about 6-7 glasses, so that's pretty close.
• One sweet treat a day. Yes, however I don't think they were always weight loss portions. i.e. One day I had 1 cup of ice cream instead of a serving, which is 1/2 cup. But then yesterday I didn't have any sweets, because I didn't really want any in the evening after dinner, so I guess it balances out.
• Eat one fruit or veggie with each meal.Pretty good. I think I've done it 90% of the days/time. This morning I did not, because I got rushed at the last minute. Definitely doing better than in the past though.
• No snacking if I'm not truly hungry. Pretty good. This still takes work.
• Exercise at least 4 days a week. I jogged 3 days so far this week and did full body weights one of those days. Since my 5K is tomorrow and I have a lot of housecleaning/back porch cleaning to work on today I took a break from jogging. Don't want to be too tired. :)

Overall, I'm pretty excited about how this first week of my Gettin With It challenge is going. I am looking forward to good things and I look forward to everyone else doing well that has joined me in this.

Happy Friday!!

Just Have Fun

My first 5K race is coming up in two days. I am very excited about it with the exception of one thing. We have seen high winds daily here. It's nice because it's airing out my house with cool to warm weather, however I know what I feel like jogging against wind - and it's not fast. :)

So, all week I've been a little nervous about how I'll do jogging in that wind. I'm most nervous when I'm driving and catch a glimpse of huge US flags that are blowing perfectly horizontal in the wind.

Last night I verbalized this nervousness to my husband and his reply was this:

"Just have fun, Leah. When you go to the gym and run and when you run on Saturday, just have fun."

So, like The Little Engine That Could I will keep repeating to myself "Just have fun. Just have fun." And I will! :)

***

P.S. It was supposed to rain, but it looks like this lovely wind has blown it over and all inclement weather should be over by Saturday morning. I'm grateful for that!