Dare I Attempt?

Well - the clock keeps ticking till our Disney trip. And my convention weekend. Convention weekend is only 27 days away. Not sure about Disney just yet - don't want to obsess about it. ;)

Anyway - I'm considering attempting the 30 Day Shred. I was actually motivated by(and more interested in trying) the Firm Express that's been advertised on TV. But I know the results they show are less likely to be found in me - for a variety of reasons. I was searching online to find some real life examples and to see if it'd be worth trying. There's very little out there, probably because it's newer.

I also wonder if I should invest the money when I have several videos at home that I don't use. You can probably see where I'm headed. If you've seen the Firm Express infomercial you know they're using short bursts of energy followed by a recovery time. It's a bit more complex I'm sure - but it does sound similar to Jillian Michael's circuit training routines.

I also searched for results for the 30DS - with lots out there. Results are good - nothing amazing like 20 pounds lost but alot of inches lost. And inches matter alot!! Because it's more about me becoming smaller(and a happier healthier weight) than just a number game.

I have two problems though.

1. I hate the 30DS. It's not Jillian, it's because I've done level 1 many times and I don't like it ~ not for 10 days in a row. And I know level 2 is harder... so it's a wall every morning of doing a workout I don't particularly like.

2. I'm horrible at completing things. It's true - it's definitely apart of me, even though I'm aware of it and don't like it. I have trouble following through. I actually considered getting thru at least a week of the 30DS before posting it on my blog. I haven't - but I thought about it.

But here's what's awesome about it.
1. If I do complete 30 days - I'll definitely make some changes in my body.
2. I'll be closer to my goals. - especially my first time sensitive goal.
3. I will have become stronger.
4. I'll have completed something!!!
5. I'll have developed a new routine of putting fitness first in my day.
6. Maybe I'll even get my eating under control!

Looks like there's alot more positive than negative. I'll have to keep coming back and reading my hopeful results - and keep striving towards them. Maybe if I complete this and am looking for something new - I'll try the Firm Express. Which would be a nice reward don't yah think??

Oh - P.S. I've already finished Day 1 of 30DS. Didn't love it but enjoyed the comfort of knowing the routine. Definitly worked up a sweat and flexed some muscles I haven't worked in a while.

So Annoyed With Myself

I'm so mad! I totally messed up the 4th of July. Part of it was planned. I knew I would eat a piece of lemon cake and strawberry rhubarb pie. Well, I didn't know there would be brownies too. I didn't eat a brownie though - and had just half a piece of pie - until I had the other half of pie and half a brownie.

Okay - I can live with that. Not trilled, but whatever.

But then we went to fireworks at great grandma's house. She had all sorts of snacks for us after the fireworks. Um, grandma, it's 10pm, the kids need to go to bed! So I let my husband take the kids home and I stayed with my parents and ate pie and ice cream. I didn't want it, I don't think any of us did. But what is she going to do with a whole pie? It wasn't even good. Neither was the lemon cake, really. I was disappointed.

I'm up over a pound and I'm so mad. I ate low carb at dinner and low cal throughout the day. I hate the *obligation* to eat. I suppose I could have just gone home and avoided the whole issue - but I don't see this side of my family enough, so I didn't want to.

I'm going to continue to keep my low carb efforts low cal too - see if I can get this weight off quickly.

Back on Track

The Strawberry Sabotage of 2011 definitely set me back, a solid 4 pounds.

It wasn't just the strawberries - at was the carb cravings that did me in. I've been struggling with sweets every night. I have been making low carb choices during the day - but get relaxed about it in the evening and then toss it out the window with a bunch of snacks late.

But I'm back on track now. Not sure what triggered be to get back on track. I think it was remembering my goal. It was remembering the clock is ticking and the Disney trip is closer all the time. I will be super disappointed if I don't make significant progress before then. I don't expect to be at goal weight by any means - but well on my way. Not screwing around with the same 5 pounds.

I also noticed I'm getting a little chub. As easily as I noticed a difference in my clothes with just a few pounds lost - it started coming back. NOT OKAY WITH THAT!

On a plus side - I did my measurements for July 1st - and I lost 1.5 inches - mostly in my arms and waist. I'm actually pretty excited about that!!! I threw on a shirt the other day - one that was purchased but never worn because it just didn't fit in the arms - and it was perfect!!! I wore it for our anniversary dinner! I've really wanted my arms to shape up a bit for the summer sleeveless look - and they totally give my chubbiness away - so it seems like it's working!

I technically didn't lose any weight this month - maybe half a pound. But at my low I was down about 4ish pounds - I forget exactly.

So all those things together have motivated me to quit screwing this up and get back on track.

(Sorry for the harsh language but I mean business!!!!)

So I look at the next month - I need a mini goal or focus. What do I want to accomplish by when?? I'm motivated for the Disney goal, but I need a mini goal to help me get there. (I'll also need similar goals after Disney to keep going!!!)

I actually have a little trip planned in August! Our Mops group is heading to convention - so I'll be spending about 4 days away from the family! So my gaol is to be below 190 by then. Right now I'm at 197, my June low was 193. I'm actually hoping for 187 - I don't know why, but anything below 190 would be AWESOME!!! I'm pleased that I'm officially below the 200's and I'm not going back. So I'd like to be officially below the 190's. If I remember correctly 185 is where I started before I got pregnant before baby #3. Well - maybe it was 175/180. But then, that was my old scale too - so ti really was probably closer to 190(since it was about 10 pounds nicer than reality!) But mentally - I'm looking for what I used to see on the scale, even if it wasn't accurate.

Another positive note - I've been trying on shorts and capris from my former life - just 1 size smaller - a 14. They fit! Not very flattering though -but I don't think I'd be too uncomfortable in them either - just need the right shirt to hide any puff. So I'll wait a bit longer and hopefully be in them before the Mops convention. I wore 1 suitable pair to church this morning!

Strawberry Sabotage

So I last wrote that I was going to take a run. Update: no run.

I don't know where my mind was, but the following day was set aside for family fun at the amusement park. So it really wasn't an option.

Monday came and I went strawberry picking with my mom and 1 child. We did alot of running around town - apparently there was a bad rain storm last week and wiped out the crops. So we were lucky to get what we did and fortunately one farm in town was unaffected. So I went out and bought a zillion strawberries. 16 quarts to be exact.

So now I'm processing all these berries before they go horribly bad. Yesterday I cleaned and froze 2 cookie sheets worth. I also made a strawberry pie - yum!!

Today my mother came over and we make 6 batches of jelly - that would be 17 jars sitting in my kitchen right now. My mom took 3 quarts of berries home with her. So I'm left with about 3-4 quarts. I want to clean them and either freeze them plain or lightly sugar them and freeze them. Maybe keep some for shortcake.

The life of a strawberry is short.

And now I'm exhausted. Maybe it's the extra sugar rush from the pie and I'm crashing... but it's alot of work!! So running is not on the list until later. I need to recoup. There's alot that's been neglected lately and my patience is thin with the kids. Fortunately I have preprepped meals or we'd be in extra trouble.

I want all this done, but there's so much else I want to do too. I've pretty much chucked the low carb diet for this week. I am enjoying the strawberries and making it through the week.

On the Verge

So it's finally summer. Well, I shouldn't speak so soon... it's been barley 65 the past two days - with the extra bonus of rain. I think we've exceeded our rainfall for the year already - so - AWESOME! (dripping with sarcasm... even that pun...)


Okay - so summer - refocus. It's summer and I'm hearing about and reading about everyone running. Not too surprising... but now I'm feeling left out. Like there's this big block party of runners and they're running a few blocks from my house so I won't be included. Which is totally absurd - I could join the runners, but I need to watch House Hunters and dream about the vacation home we'll never have. I feel like I'm missing out on this bond - this runners bond because I once attempted a habit of running. I ran a 5K - I entered the club!(metaphorically speaking) but I'm missing out on the friendship because I slipped out the back door and haven't been coming to practice.

I didn't know what I would miss. What I'm missing.

But my hip hasn't been the same since my long run before the 5K. Sometimes even just walking it goes out of place and I'm hobbling a bit. I'm not sure how much it would cost to go see a chiropractor... alot since our insurance sucks. And I don't want to go for multiple visits - just one to *fix it.*

But I feel like if I don't get out there and run soon - I'm going to burn up. You know how when you've rested a few days, unfortunately out of your routine, but then you come back with more strength and energy than you've had in a workout in a long time?? Well - that's what I feel like. I'm done being a sloth - I need to sprint! Of course, that's not super healthy to just skip the warm up and sprint - but I'm busting at my energy seems here! And although I've done some good workouts - it's not the same. I need to get out of the studio, away from the videos and Just GO.

Just Go.
I think tomorrow - I'll Just Go.

The Truth

I almost didn't WI today - until I realized it was Friday and time to do it. I'm glad I did.

My weight today was 195.3 lbs. 1.9 lb gain from last week. It was actually a whole pound higher earlier in the week, so I'm okay with this!

I'm not really okay with it, but I've discovered a bit about what and how I can eat this week.

I can not just load up on carbs. But any carbs will not destroy my day - even sweet ones. I just need to keep them in check and not over do it. So Pizza Hut was not a good idea, especially followed by DQ.

I'm not sure why I went do far off plan. The sweets have just been screaming my name this week. Every night I've had something sweet - usually with milk, which also has carbs.

But I noticed that as long as I did good during the day - I still lost a little weight even with some sweets at night. Now this doesn't mean I want to continue this trend - but it's not all or nothing either. There is a point to continue making healthy, low-carb choices during the day. It's worth making the effort, even though I'm tired of doing so.

I remind myself too that I lost weight doing this. I'm solidly below 200 lbs now... even going off plan this week - and that makes me happy. And that makes me want to continue.

Last night we had an awesome dinner - my husband said the best thing I've cooked in a long time. Chicken Cordon Bleu. It was awesome!! Not too hard.. but I wouldn't just whip it up everyday. With a side of broccoli, it was a great low card dinner that I didn't need to feel deprived or different.

I also need to get to the gym more, I've lacked on that considerable. My mom is joining the Y again this week - so we're going tomorrow. I slept in today so I missed one of my favorite classes. Sleep - it's worth it sometimes!

A day turns into a streak...

So I've not been a very good low carb dieter. I strive to do low carb alot of the time... even with my snacks. But then I've reached my breaking point and I say "Forget it! What can I eat?!?"

I think it's the stress. My husband is in the midst of changing jobs - or switching jobs. It's a confusing mess. He took a job at another company - but then his current job counter offered. But it's taken 7 business days and it's not even official yet. He ~ I mean ~ we decided that he would take the counter offer and stay with the current company. More money - yeah! But he's turning down a job in the field he went to school for - at a *nice* company. (Their good to their employees and are stable)His current company is big, but there's alot of red tape(aka BS) that makes things unfavorable. Hopefully this raise and new manager makes the difference. I'm just not sure what the right decision is. The decision is pretty much made... but it's been stressful. I really just want my husband to be happy and enjoy what he does. I think he wants to feel appreciated and respected for his work. It's also stressing me out that he hasn't told this other company yet. He's waiting until everything is on paper - which is good... but I feel bad when his start date is continually approaching. I don't do good with confrontation - it's not even me who has to deal with it... but it bothers me.

So, I spent the afternoon with a friend and her brood of kids. Nice, but there's alot of kids and it takes some work since they're so young. I kept wanting to sneak a snack. Shortly after she left and the kids started to squabble - it was decided. Pizza Hut tonight. Apparently I have not conquered the stress eating monster within. And right now - I don't care. I'll have a salad, try to avoid extra crust, maybe even get thin crust... I won't make things as bad as possible - but I've been craving this for a week now... and I might as well enjoy it and move on.