Christmas Ponderings

Hello! It's still busy, busy around here...so here's a few thoughts I've been having as Christmas gets closer.

• Puppy chow is the bomb!!! (as the kids say) I've never made it until this year and LOVE IT!!! But did you know that peanut butter-chocolate-buttery covered chex coated in powdered sugar is about 600+ calories for one cup?!? Yes, I figured this out so I could journal it. Now, I used real butter, so maybe margerine would lessen the calories some. Maybe. LOL Let's say I carefully enjoyed every little piece that went into my mouth, and thankfully I made it for our Children's Church kids, so only about one full cup stayed in my house. Good thing....
• Snacking has helped me stay on track this week. The good snacking, that is. I've kept blackberries in the fridge, Naked Juice drinks, fresh cheese and crackers and these cool (albeit processed) mini lunchables that are only 150 calories each in the fridge. Taking time to eat a small snack every couple of hours when I feel hungry has kept me from binging because I waited too long to eat.
• Water is my friend!!!!! I think I'm finally getting a good habit of drinking water. It's been easy to get 64 oz in daily, and many days I get more in. Yay!!
• Learning that you don't have to live up to all the expectations you set for yourself at the holidays is a great way to relieve yourself of stress. I was getting worried about some baking I hadn't gotten done, and then realized that every year doesn't have to be exactly like the year before. I take care of the basics, keep a good attitude and don't let the stress of not meeting last year's (or the proverbial "Jones' " ) standards keep me from enjoying Christmas preparations.

Okay, I'll stop there for today. I hope you are all enjoying your holiday preparations. I'll be back tomorrow morning with my weigh-in and update and then it will be a final greeting until after Christmas. A small little comment about a weight-related Christmas miracle for me.

For those that will be traveling before I update tomorrow... have a great Christmas!

Bread & Cookies, Oh My!

So last night we had an early dinner and I ate light, leaving myself some calorie room for a treat later. By 10:00, after we returned home from a church function, I was hungry again and, unfortunately, did not settle for maybe a small cookie and some hot tea. Nope. I had a small meatball sandwich on a nice, soft bolillo roll and then....two Hershey kiss cookies afterwards with half a cup of 1% milk.

Oh my!

I wasn't too stuffed when I got into bed, but when I made myself add all those calories into my journal I was kept thinking, "Well, so much for saying not to beat yourself up for what you eat during the holidays. Good grief, Leah!!"

When my stomach was growling I really just wanted something of substance, not a cookie. So I think the meatballs would've been okay, but I easily could've enjoyed them without the roll and still been under my calories for the day. I wasn't upset for eating when I was that hungry, only a little bugged that I went over by so much and for fluff foods. It was the roll and the cookies afterwards that spike me up another 400+ calories.

But today is a new day, with no mistakes in it yet (I think.. LOL) and I'm going to do my best to stay away from those extra things that can ruin a hard day's work. I can do this. First off I'm going to get that exercise done. Have a good day everyone! Here's to not beating ourselves up, but learning from what we do. :)

Two Sides to the Story at Christmastime

I've had the worst time getting a thought out correctly today...here goes yet another attempt. :)

First side of the story is this: I'm saddened by people who are beating themselves up on their weight loss blogs for eating things "off plan", seeing a slight gain or maintaining or not finding time to get in the exercise like they normally would.

Folks, it's a busy time of year. From extra baking, parties, gift purchasing, wrapping and even mailing, programs, the list goes on. For some, weight loss takes a back seat. If you have a slight gain or a maintaining type of backseat, then I think it's fine.

Don't beat yourself up for not living up to your normal standards of weight loss when you are so busy. It's not worth it to be stressed out over your weight during a wonderful time of year as this. Please, just keep in the back of your mind that you want to keep working on getting healthier and enjoy the season! As soon as the holidays are over you'll have plenty of time to get back into motion with the weight loss goals.

The other side of the story: For me I'm finally "getting it". My desires as to what I want during the holidays have changed greatly and I rejoice in this fact. I've had one too many high calorie days this week already, but I am still journaling all I eat.

I'd still like to see a small loss during December and I think I might. I'm enjoying baking, parties and the like, but I'm also making time for exercise at least three days a week.

Last year I think I all but gave up on exercise during Christmastime. I just didn't make time for it. This year I feel so much better getting that exercise in that I really am trying to do it when my time allows. Walking into the gym during December is a great feeling - like, "Yea, I'm trying to stay healthy during Christmastime!!"

To sum it up, let me say this... Yes, I'm working on trying to continue my good choices, tracking my food and the like, during the holidays, but if you aren't that's okay. I won't think any less of you if you indulge and quit exercising right now. I may blog about how good I feel about my different attitudes this holiday season, but if it's not your way lately that's fine.

We each have our journeys and I hope you don't lose the joy this season brings because you're too busy comparing yourself to others. It's not worth it. Please just keep your chin up and we'll enjoy hearing about your holidays and what your plans are for getting back on track after the holidays are over.

***BIG HUG***

One Bit of Red

I had to edit my update from Friday to note that I did not get that last day of exercise in yesterday. It was a busy day for us and it just didn't happen.

This week the exercise should be a little easier to get in, or at least I am not working, so that will help.

Weigh-In ... Hot 100 Update #12

Today's Weight: 187.5

Loss/Gain: -2.0 lbs

Total Loss So Far: -43.5 lbs

Well, as many of you know my biggest happy moment this week was reaching my running goal of jogging at 4.8 mph on the treadmill for 25 minutes straight!! Today as I was jogging I realized that it's a good thing I reached this goal a little early, because I won't be going to the gym after next Wednesday. My husband is taking his final boards' exam on the 29th & 30th of this month and isn't around much to watch the kids unless absolutely necessary.

I won't keep you long as I'm sure you're all busy with holiday preparations. So, here's my Hot 100 Challenge update for this week:

WEIGHT GOAL: Lose 0.5 - 1.5 lbs a week (Beginning weight 194.0). I am down this week, which puts me just a pound above my lowest weight so far. Technically I'm doing well, because my minimum of 0.5 lbs a week would put me at 6.0 pounds lost so far and I've lost 6.5. yay..I guess. :)

ACTIVITY GOALS:Exercise four days a week, no skimping down to three during the holidays. *edited on Sunday* I did not get that 4th days of exercise in...was planning on it for Saturday, but something was added to my already busy day, so it didn't happen. It was a good reason to miss it, so I'm not too worried. Should be easier next week.

Be able to jog at 4.8 mph for 25 minutes. This gives metime for slight warm up and cool down on the treadmill that has a 30-minute limit at the gym. Done!!!!!!!!!!!! YEA!!!!! I did this on Tuesday and am thrilled. Actually today I jogged 2.0 miles in seconds under 25 minutes, so I did this two times this week. SO HAPPY!!!

FOOD GOALS: Drink at least 64 oz of water daily. Done . Been getting more like 96 oz in a day lately. :)Journal all my eats and drinks and stay within my calorie goals daily, with the exception of one high-calorie day that I allow to throw things off a bit. Yes.

EMOTIONAL GOAL: **I've decided to make my emotional goal the goal of visiting one new blog each week. Connecting with others on this journey is the emotional support I need at this time. Yes.

HOLIDAY GOAL: Only one or two "foo-foo" coffee drinks from Starbucks the week I am visiting my mom in November. I will stick to regular coffee and cream the rest of the weeks. Done. I've actually been ordering hot tea when I go now. My favorite is the Hot Cinnamon Spice, which you can only find at Barnes & Noble's Starbucks these days. Yum!

Do you see all that green?!? :) Just a little happy over here in Oklahoma! I tracked what I ate all week and stayed under or just at 1500 calories daily, with the exception of my one high day.

I've even allowed myself a cookie or some cinnamon roasted pecans here and there. I simply tracked it and fit it into my day. I also only had one cookie if I had one.

Funny how being careful shows on the scale, huh? =)

I'm planning to stay on track this week and see another loss before our day of festivities. Have a great weekend everyone!!

My Biggest Loser Confession

*Caution: I've wanted to get this off my chest for a very long time.*

Well, I have to admit that I watched every single episode of The Biggest Loser this fall. We don't have a television, so we watched them a day later online. It's only the second season we've ever watched, but I enjoyed it..most of the time.

My confession is that I have not liked Jessica (red from Arizona) or Elizabeth (yellow from the east coast) at all. They have irritated me. Mainly Elizabeth, because of her quitting attitude. Yet somehow she made it to the final four.

I have no really good reason for not liking Jessica, but she resonated the wrong way with me.

As for Elizabeth...

This is the critical, ugly Leah coming out, but I did not feel that Elizabeth deserved one bit to make it to the final four. She was up for elimination how many times???? [shaking head] She kept not giving it her all how many weeks??

Or did she?

This is the thought that is hard for me to handle, and why I must confess.

I have a feeling that the reason I didn't like Elizabeth so much is because I saw so much of myself in her. Now, I'm not that whiny one bit. For the most part I also don't try to act like I'm doing the best I can - I know when I'm not giving it my all - but I do see the need for someone else to push me, congratulate me and the slacking when I could do better in me.

Ada has been my hero on this show, but I think I'm more like Elizabeth than any of them and that bugs me. (Um, I think I see some of myself in Jessica too, so maybe that's part of my dislike for her.)

Argh.... If you know me personally, or even as personal as blog following can get, you might agree with my husband that I'm nothing like Elizabeth. But don't they say that the person you usually dislike the most is most like you?

*sigh* So, I while I have tried to be gracious with Elizabeth when watching the show, it's been hard.

There. That's my confession. I find so much inspiration from that show, but this season she really had me upset at times. I think, in a way, maybe it was a good eye opener for me as to how I've treated my weight loss journey.

While I know the changes I've made in my life are great and life lasting, I know I could do better. I will do better. And I guess I can be gracious enough to say that I was happy to see her comment during the finale that it's not over for her, she will keep working on it until she reaches her goal.

Me too, Elizabeth, me too.

My First Year As A Runner

One year ago on December 16th I posted about how I jogged my first mile all the way through. It took me 16 minutes and I was never so proud of a workout as I was that day.

I still can't tell you what spurred me to try running, but after seeing I could run a mile I decided to try more. I had caught the running bug.

In January I started the Couch to 5K running program and ran my first 5K in April. It was a turtle pace, but I jogged that entire 5K in 43:44.

On and off since then I've continued my running. Today I'm happy to say that I reached my running goal for the Hot 100 Challenge by jogging for 25 minutes straight at 4.8 mph. I actually felt like I was at a quick, easy pace for me for the first three quarters of the run. It didn't become really difficult until the last 5-10 minutes. By then I was almost done, so I knew I couldn't quit.

One year and twenty some pounds later and I've improved my running from a 16-minute mile to a 12:30-minute mile for two miles consecutively. Glory!!

With improvements like this I'll be quick as a cricket in no time! (Mom, that was for you... *grin*)

Have a great day everyone!!