exercise chart

SO what you are seeing in the picture is my exercise calendar. Each circled R is a day I ran. Pretty Darn Good!

I am hoping that next month looks just as good!

Recipe makeover CUPCAKES

I will admit I borrowed this recipe from another blogger, not sure who, speak up if it is you!! Yummy healthier chocolate cupcakes!

Big Simple Chocolate Cupcakes

• Chocolate Fudge cake mix (I used Betty Crocker fudge chocolate Cake Mix)
• 1-15oz can of pumpkin
• 2/3 cup of water
• Sprinkles (optional)
• Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
Beat the cake mix, pumpkin and water for about 2-3 minutes. The batter will seem light and airy.
Spray 2 6-cup muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop the batter into the muffin pan and top with sprinkles. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

You can make 12 large cupcakes, for about 4 points or 24 smaller ones for 2 points

Input

So I am wondering for all you out there who work out during the day/ on lunch breaks etc. How do you fit it in? DO you completely redo your hair/makeup? This seems to be something that deters me many days because I have the energy to workout but don't want to deal with redoing/blow drying my hair. I realize a simple answer would be to workout before my day starts which means only doing my hair once. I truly enjoy having my workout done first thing in the day but I enjoy the workout more when I am in the mood to work out. I actually really enjoy working out mid day during my lunch break when possible but hate going back to work with wet hair.

Honestly I am not a morning person, I keep trying to be but weekends always trip me up. I mean geez who wants to get up early on the weekend? Weekends are made for sleeping! Maybe getting up early will be one of next weeks goals.

Oh well its late and I am ready for bed. Did I mention I got in a second run this evening? Well I did!

Holy pizza yum batman!

For the record I am sure all of you know this already but those Arnold round bread things are Amazing for mini pizzas! I usually use english muffins, I detest using pita or wraps but this was amazing! Yum Yum Yum. I was going to take a picture but I didn't want to stop eating and find the camera!

Just a tip I pop them in the toaster to crisp them up before putting on topping.

Enjoy!

YES!

So I had a late start today didn't any any obligations until 4pm (class) so I wanted to get my run in early. I really wasn't feeling it to tell the truth but I decided that if I put on my workout clothes and sneakers, started my run then I could quit. SO as predicted once I started I felt the need to push through. Yay, I got my run in!

I have kicked serious ass this month as you will see from the picture of my exercise board that I will put up tomorrow (Wow June is gone already?!). I started my running program on the 4th and have run almost everyday! Amazing. I cannot believe I have stuck with it this long! Granted I am still on week 2 intervals but hey I am still running! I would say this is the longest that I have ever stuck with an exercise programs.

I am feeling pretty good.

Can you see it?

If you are really close to goal then you can probably see it, the result of all your hard work. If you are like me at the beginning and really the end goal (weight) is so far away you can barely see it then it might be helpful to set smaller goals.

When you set small/short term goals then it can help you keep up the hard work towards that big goal. Makes sense right? If you are constantly thinking that it is going to take forever than it is easy to give up. If you are constantly celebrating (not with cake) small goals then it will improve your outlook on the journey of your weight loss.

My small goals consist of 5% loss, every 5lbs, every 10lbs, working out x amount of times, and meeting my weekly goals(that always change) This can be something like "this week I will carry my water bottle with me everywhere" or "no diet soda this week" and even "I will stop my negative talk this week" . Small available goals that you are completely in control of.

Yes that is key, your small goals should be under your control because as we all know sometimes no matter how hard we work we can't make the scale read a smaller number. You cannot make your body lose 2lbs a week, you can try to persuade it to but in the end our bodies are really complex and it isn't a guarantee.

So the point that I am trying to make is that you should try setting a small weekly goal or two. So here are mine.

1.Eat out no more than 1 time this week.
2. Move up to 2 minute running intervals.
3. do crunches, push ups, and planks during commercials

So #3 isn't the best for a goal because it is not really specifically measurable. It is not likely that I can do this during every commercial (I watch a lot of tv) but it is a good thing to get into the habit of and a good way to fit a little activity. So as far as #3 as a goal I will feel that I have met it if I do it during atleast one show a day.

Well there are my goals for this week. I hope you can make and meet some good short term goals this week!

15 week challenge

I'm in! Check it out, you have until 6pm today to sign up HERE Thanks Amy!

On to other good news I was down that 1lb today! Yay that is down 9lbs toward my 40 by February! I am so happy with 1lb because that is my goal each week, 1 lb that is doable. I am working slow and steady this time, appreciating my body and what it is doing! I feel good.

Reviews

Ok so here are the new shoes. They are pretty cute and feel much better however they do need a litl breaking in seeing as my left foot hurt some after my run. Speaking of my run I managed to run a full 3 minutes on my last run! It was supposed to be 90 seconds but I decided to push myself as far as I could go! It was a pretty proud moment. It makes me think that I could move up to the week 3 of c25k sooner rather than later! Yay!


SO that brings us to the DVD review. I picked it up at Walmart for a steal around $14. As you can see it is from a company called 10 Minute SOlutions, this particular set is called Dance it Off and Tone it Up. It came with two toning bands which is nice because they are used for two of the 10 minute workouts.
There are 5 workouts each ten minutes long some cardio some strength training.


As you can see from the screenshot to the below you have the option of choosing one session, play all or and this is the good part you can create a playlist of which you would like to do and what order. NICE. Overall I watched all the sessions and attempted on Cardio and one Strength training.

The Cardio was really fun as it teaches you actual choreography BUT I realized how uncoorordinated I truely am. I couldn't get the moves down but it was so fun I am going to keep trying. The strength training worked on isolating ab movements kinda like belly dancing, not bad.

Overall I would say if you are more coordinated than I am try it. It seems like it is going to be a lot of fun.

New

New shoes new work out DVD will post pics and a review later....Off to run...

Eat those points!

So I in theory (ww theory that is) overate this week by like 10 points including eating all flex and activity points. I am down my pound as of this morning! Tomorrow is the official weigh in but I am feeling pretty good. Last week when I stuck to the plan to the T, didn't eat all my activity/flex points I stayed the same.

CONCLUSION: Eat you activity points! and flexies too! Granted there was only one day that the point were wasted on junk then rest of my activity/flex were used on realtivly healthy things like cereal, lowfat cheese, and pretzels.

It is such a mind bender to think that I have to eat all those points to loose. It is a completely different mindframe to think oh well I worked out I have to eat more. I am so used to eat less so you loose more!

Does anyone else have trouble with this concept? Or this same situation? Or am I a freak? DO you eat all your flex/activity points?

So I've come to the conclusion that having Mcdonalds midweek using my flex points was a poor choice. I spent the rest of the week playing catch up worrying about going in my daily points. I put myself in a bad position. I usually using my flex points slowly during the week instead of blowing them on one meal. I like the safetynet. I usually do not eat my activity points unless I am really hungry.

This week however ever since the burger incident I have felt a little pressed. Instead of eating less than I needed I chose instead to eat normally and if I went over I didn't freak out. Thats life, Mcdonalds happens.

Sometimes...I wonder..

Sometimes I wonder if it is easier to lose weigh if you have been thin before. I have never been thin or even the appropriate weight. I sometimes think that if I knew what it felt like to be thin and healthy then it would be easier. Now don't get me wrong I don't think it is ever easy but maybe easier. Maybe it would be easier if I knew that I could be thinner and what it looks/feels like.

I have no idea what 120 feels like, I can very vaguely remember 160. Ahh to live in my goal body for a day would do me a world of good.

Three problems

One I just ate mcdonalds

Two I had a quarter pounder with cheese and fries.

Three I am still hungry


SAD

short and sweet

Not sleeping well again, yucky rainy weather for 2 weeks straight. Exam tonight, day off tomorrow. Need to get it together. No run today. Food is predictable.

feeling ehh

I would be lying if I said that not losing anything this week wasn't bothering me. I have tried to look past it and accept that thats the way it is. I am trying to be grateful that I lost 2lbs the week before. Its not working.

I ran today and used 8 of my weekly 35 which kinda sucks since my week started yesterday. I am really tired I had a nonstop weekend totally lacking a day of rest. I need to get more positive I know that I can do this. Quite honestly I am pissed off at myself for not being stronger/feeling better about the situation. Grr I need to suck it up!

Goals for the rest of the week..
1. Drink up..the water! not the vodka (I confuse those two sometimes on the weekend)
2. Keep up the running
3. Have long walk on my day off.
4 Get to bed early and get some good quality sleep
5. Not weigh myself again until weigh in day! (thats a tough one!!)

weigh in

Stayed the same.....Oh well I lost 2lbs last week so I am still on track.

Had fruit and coffee for breakfast, lunch was fried chicken sandwich with fries (oops), then dinner was cereal. Overall I indulged in lunch but the rest of the day was pretty good. I have to admit as tasty as lunch was I really didnt want to eat it. I knew that I was making a poor choice wasn't feeding my body but rather just feeding my tastebuds.

I got my run in tonight so that was good. I am amazed at how I am able to fit running into my schedule since my full time school schedule is down to one class now. I have run 14 out of the 19 days of this month and I started on the 4th! SO really I have only missed 2 out of 16 days! Pretty good.

I am thinking that I will be needing new sneaker soon because my feet are starting to hurt when I am done running so I will see how that fits into the budget. Also I will be spending the day (starting at 6:30am) in the car driving up north with a friend who has to visit/possibly say goodby to her grandmother who is in the hospital. SO 3 hours there 3 hours back then we are heading to a housewarming party. Food will definitely be a challenge tomorrow but I am armed with 5 weekly points and 23 activity points so I should be fine. I am still going to try to stick to my 27 daily points but if I have a few treats I know that I am covered.

Well well goodnight!

Inner dialog

Welcome to another edition of what goes on inside my head....

Place/time : home/didn't yet run today/ ran yesterday and the 4 days before.

Me: Man I am hungry, cannot stop snacking! MMmmm ww pepperjack cheese and pretzels yum yum yum.....

Maybe I should run...yeah I totally should run....eeh kinda tired. gunna eat more cheese instead.

Hrm.. thats a lot of cheese maybe I SHOULD run....but I have the weekly points to cover all this and all my activity points ...its cool I'll just relax tonight....

Must stop eating pretzels.....must stop eating pretzels....

Oh no I am losing my resolve.....its going to all go downhill...I am going to fail at this whol eweigh loss thing...wait this isnt a weight loss thing it is my life.

I'm gonna go run.

EDIT
I did go for the run! Also I wanted to add that I am on to week two of c25k as of 2 runs ago.

today

Food was ok and I got my run in. I am hopefully going to sleep better tonight because last night was rough. I neeeed my sleep. off to bed goodnight!

weird food day

It is so weird today I didn't want to eat anything at all. I ended up eating a bunch of random things like cheezits, soup, pretzels, but nothing really substantial. I didnt even eat a whole bowl of soup. I ended up making some rice for dinner and eating a ton of watermelon. I guess overall not a bad day because I within my points but boy did I feel yucky this afternoon.

I also had an exam today which I am pretty sure I did poorly on. Lucky me the prof drops the lowest grade. It never feels good to study a lot and still know that you did poorly. Oh well no use dwelling on it now I suppose.

I did get my run in this evening which was a surprise for me! I really didn't think I would. Ahh well off to the tub! Good night!

Two runs, 5 bottles of water and one point under that is an amazing day.

Being under in points and having that much activity may sound a little rough but the truth is that I ate really healthy today so I am feeling good, eating a bowl of cereal after my run!

The best part is that I am not forcing myself to run, I wanted to. I go the urge, got ready, and began to run. I will say that it was a push to get through my runs and at a point I wanted to stop but I knew that I would feel better if I finished. AND I did!

It was a good day, hope yours was as well.

Weigh in

Weighed in this morning and I was down 2lbs! Woot I have to say I was expecting it as it showed up earlier in the week a couple times too. I am very happy with that because I haev a really hard time losing 1lb in a week but 2 is outstanding. Yay for running!

Speaking of running I got my run in this morning too! I wanted to make sure I got it in before my study session this afternoon (which got cancelled during my run Crap!) so it is nice to see myself planning ahead to get my runs in!

Off to shower!

16 activity points!

I did my run tonight and surprisingly my legs feel better now that I ran. I have earned 16 activity points this week and I still have one day left to go!! I love it!

No more Amatos for me

Wow I just looked up my sandwich from amatos, a poorboy (ham, tomatoes, melted mozzarella) and it makes me want to throw up. 972 calories! 52g of fat! What the hell?!?! I thought that I was doing a good job choosing a sandwich over fast food. Wrong. It makes me sad that I wasted all those calories on something that wasn't even that good. Dammit!

The bottom line is that it scares me soo much to think of all the dinners out that I have had or will have. WHo can I trust? How do I make a good choice when there is none. Even some salads are 1000 calories! It really is no wonder that we are such a fat country.

I am so glad that I only used a couple of my weekly points this week and none of my activity points so I am covered for my sandwich mistake.

I was going to have a rest day but....now I think I will have a run.

Got my run in this morning! It was tough I'm not going to lie I may need another rest day tomorrow. My calves are still pretty tight. Just to catch you up on my c25k progress I am still running week one. I have decided that I am going to stay at one til I am feeling like I can push harder (does that makes sense?) SO I will probably turn this 9 week program into a 19 week program! Oh well as long as I am still running I don't care how long it takes me.

I am going to be meeting my internship teacher today at 1 so I will be in 3rd grade for a few hours! Fun fun!. I hope we hit it off ok because I will be in her classroom 20 hours a week!

SO I am off to get dressed. Have a lovely day!

Wow, I had a moment. I came home to run on my lunch today which I have done for the past 2 days. I have been craving it. Well today I felt it in my muscles but all the same I wanted to come home and run. I got ready, did my warm up walk and my first run. I felt like crap my body didn't want to run. SO I suppose you are expecting me to say...I did it anyways. Nope. I stopped because I knew that I had hit a point where if I pushed too hard I would burn out and hate running.

I am feeling really good about this choice, I listened to my body. I think that my calves will thank me for the rest.

Umm I came home on my lunch break to run today....because I wanted to. Wow thats weird.

By the way I booked my cruise this evening!! Yay its really happening!!

Help.

Hey how many of you go to classes, zumba, cardio kick, pilates etc? I am thinking of getting a gym membership just for the class since I own a treadmill. They are offering a one time fee of $245 so I think that means for life right? It is world gym if that helps. Let me know!

Sometimes it blows my mind that I could someday weigh 120lbs. I am a little person under all this fat. I am just 5ft tall... 183lbs does not belong to a 5ft tall girl. In my wildest dreams I cannot image that I could weigh under 135 but the truth is I could.

I ran this morning even though it was a rest day and to be honest I am wanting to do it again tonight! Running is so addictive!

I put off my project and now I am starting it at 7pm that is not the best idea. I'm sure it will be fine though, shouldn't take me too long then maybe another run!

Food was really easy today, I am within my point and didn't even use my activity points. I find that after running I don't snack as much, what a nice perk!

I guess I should discuss that I have a wee bit of an addictive personality. Once I get into something (running, certain foods, etc.) I want to do it until I am sick of it. This is why I worry so much about running a lot in the beginning. I don't want to get sick of running.

Ahh well off to get that project done!

I was feeling very ambivalent this morning about breakfast, thinking eh I'm not really craving anything. I knew I was hungry and that eating breakfast was important so I decided to just eat some frosted flakes.....and then the epiphany. Why eat crap when I am undecided? Instead I went in and made a smoothie for the same if not less # of points and got 2 fruits, protein(whey) and almond milk. Which I think is a much better choice.

I am also thinking of running again today even though I ran yesterday. I am really working on building my cardiovascular, my muscles aren't even sore from the run yesterday. From my personal history I am very worried about burning myself out and giving up. I know I could just go for a walk or something but that is not what I am wanting. I want sweaty running intervals.

I also have a huge project/presentation to do for tomorrow that I have got to get working on. I am such a procrastinator! I have plenty of time though it should only take me 2hours tops. It is a simple power point that breaks down a physiological psych article into the basic points and methods.

So I am on the right track with my weight loss I lost another pound this week, slow and steady. I am really just aiming for a pound each week which will bring me down close to 40lbs for the cruise. Here is to another great week!

Run # 2 and chocolate milkshakes

So I just got done run number 2 of the c25k and I am feeling good. I got a very exciting text durring my run(yes I have my phone with me on the treadmill, I also was watching a movie and listening to my ipod. I am a multitasker...hello. Ha!) SO anyways it was my friend Jess (the one I was planning a cruise with, plus our husbands) and she fixed teh shceduling problem and WE ARE GOING!! The Bahamas cruise is back on!! YAAAAY!

I am feeling good that even though I thought we weren't going that I kept up with my exercise and good eating. It would have been a good excuse to give up! Think that counts as karma towards our trip? I do.

So I am enjoying my after run treat which is an excellent replacement for a chocolate milkshake!!
It called Jess' Choco-protein milkshake or something like that haha

You simply blend 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons of choclate syrup (if you use light you can use more!) and a handful of ice to make it "healthy" add a scoop of whey protein powder. If you like chocolate cover bananas then add a frozen banana, heaven! PS big serving

Honestly the basic recipe is from a magazine for frozen chocolate milk and it really is a chocolate milkshake replacement in my mind, it is that good. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Food find

So this food find is perfect for me because if there is ice cream in the house I WILL eat it. nonstop.
SO this is portioned out for me, light ice cream. It tastes great and the vanilla is 3 pts and the chocolate is 4pts. They are about $1 each so a little more expensive but to me its worth it. I can eat ice cream without the guilt of eating an entire 12 serving tub of it!

Beware TWI ahead

So today is the day I was to start the couch to 5k and I had a great excuse to get out of it. I woke up with my period, horrible. I was cranky, achy, and tired.

But I did it anyways! Yay go me.

Well well well I am still feeling pretty bummed about my trip. We may have to push it til April which I am not sure I want to do. I live in Maine so one of the main perks of going in Feb was that we would be somewhere warm while there was snow at home. Plus April is 2 months farther way, almost a whole year away I'm not sure how things will be going then or how I will be feeling about things in a year.

Its so funny how motivating going on a cruise was for me. I want to keep that motivation though and keep moving forward. I guess it makes me think about the fact that a cruise is more motivating than simply living a healthier life, that is weird. Why is it that knowing that I want to be thin not enough.

I know that that is a psychological piece that I need to work on for sure.

I'm feeling really sad, my friend who was going on the cruise cant get that week off. Since I have to follow the public school vacation schedule I am tied and cannot miss a week. The kicker she can't get it off because it IS a school break and there are other nurses with seniority and they have kids in school so they get those weeks.

I am very sad. I want to hit something, eat something, and cry. Instead I am going to head back to work, this should be good. By the way I have an exam at 4. Sad sad day.

I've been thinking there is a little over 8 months until my cruise, I would be thrilled to lose 40lbs by then which means I would only need to lose 5lbs a month or 1.25lbs a week. Totally doable right? That would bring me down to 145lbs which I haven't seen since middle school. WOW

As a set in the right direction I plan on restarting the couch to 5k podcast with a little modification. In the past I have found that the program moves too fast for me, the jump from running 90 seconds to 3 minutes is too much too fast so I will be working through weeks 1 and 2 more than once. I also plan on doing it every other day as opposed to 3 days a week that way I am at a more steady pace. I am thinking that I will do yoga on the days that I do not run.

Its a big change but I think I can do it. I usually give up on exercise because it makes my weight go up but I am going to focus on the knowledge of the improvements in my body.

I really want to enjoy my cruise without feeling to self conscious to do the things that I really want to do. I want to feel more comfortable with my body and be able to fully experience the trip!

Wish me luck!

Breakfast day 1 check strawberry smoothie.

By the way guess who is planning a cruise in February!?!?!!

Never been on one or been anywhere tropical so I am very excited! We are deciding our location and exact dates on Thursday. I better get my bum moving so that I can feel good in my bathing suit!! oh yeah and because I am going to be late for work! Have a lovely day!