Facing the music

Alright, here I am. Back on track.

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I had fabulous time on my long weekend. Went to a Brewer’s game, had a blast at the fair, and headed up north for a few days to check out a small Oktoberfest festival in my mom’s hometown.

Here's Matt and I with our friends, Cari and Ryan testing out Wisconsin's best wine at the state fair. It was so hot and humid all day. We spent as much time inside as we could.

Here's Matt and I at the Oktoberfest. Can't you tell how excited he was to take this picture? I loved it.

Not gonna lie. I did not eat well at all this weekend. I was going to go to the gym last night, get a run in, and survey the damage. But, instead I decided to watch like 4 hours of Intervention.

I know. Wrong decision. But, it felt so good at the time.

Anyway, I’ll be back at the gym tonight and will have a weigh in for you tomorrow. I’m expecting a gain. Just hoping it’s not too much.

I did get some running in too. Here are my miles for last week:
Mon: 4.31
Tues: 2.03
Wed: 4.31
Fri: 3.36
For a total of 14.01 miles for the week.

As you can see, I definitely did not run Saturday or Sunday. I was too busy laying in the sun and stuffing my face. ☺ Sorry, it’s the truth.

My miles are going to be down this week. I skipped my usual run yesterday and I don’t think I’ll get one in tomorrow, Thursday, or Friday because I have a super busy week of work. I’m planning on getting to the gym Saturday and Sunday, along with tonight. So, I’m going to set a goal of 12 miles this week. Hopefully, next week I will have more time and can shoot for 20 miles.

I’ll be back tomorrow with the weigh in. Think light thoughts for me.

Leaving to be gluttonous … See you in a week

I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the Wisconsin State Fair, but I think this article, oh and this one, pretty much says it all.

My summer is not complete without the Wisconsin State Fair. State fair park is my Mecca. I live for the state fair. Among all those deliciously fattening foods on a stick and the cheeseburger stuffed between a Krispy Kreme donut, the fair also features cream puffs (Oh, how I live for cream puffs!), amazing corn on the cob, gi-normous turkey legs, grilled cheese featuring the best cheese the Dairyland has to offer, beer from a ton of different Wisconsin micro-breweries, and a variety of flavored milk (including cherry vanilla, root beer, and mocha) at 25 cents a pop.



Mmmmm ... turkey legs. This shot was taken last year at the good ole fair.




With my good friend, Katy at the fair last year enjoying the quarter milk. Stomach ache always follows. Nothing leaves you feeling better than four glass of flavored, sugary whole milk.

Other than food, the state fair offers a ton of shopping opportunities in the expo center (It’s like live infomercials. It’s amazing!), a giant slide that you have to do, and lots of animals for us city folk to look at.


Riding down the giant slide. Walking up those stairs will be the most exercise I will get that day.

I’ve given up a lot of food this summer. I’ve been so good at avoiding custard and brats and other foods that make me think of summer. With that said, I am prepared to do damage this week.

My good friend Cari, and her husband Ryan are coming up from Pensacola, Florida for the fair. (and also a wedding, but mainly the fair. Her friend knew how much she loved the fair and made sure to schedule her wedding so that Cari and Ryan could kill two birds with one stone on their trip back home to Milwaukee. Ok, not really. It’s just an amazing coincidence. The fair gods were looking down on her. Sorry, I digress.)

So, I am taking the day off of work on Friday to go. Matt doesn’t have to work either, so he’ll be able to go, too. Not only will I be taking the day off from work, but also the day off from dieting.

I don’t feel bad about doing it. Months ago I knew this day would come. And I’ve prepared for it. I've worked hard. My original goal was to be down to 125 when the fair came around. I am almost there and am so proud of all the work I’ve put in so far. So, I’m ready to indulge.

I’m sure I’m going to feel super gross afterwards, which could be a positive. It will remind my body and mind what this food does to me, making me extra motivated to come back and work hard starting next week. Maybe this planned binge will give me the extra push I need,

But, while I’m eating it, I will enjoy it. After all, it will be 365 days until I eat like that again.

I will be running a lot this week. I’m hoping to hit 20 miles. I already got 4.5 in last night. I have a busy night tonight, but am going to try to get in a few tonight. I’m also going to skip a weigh in this week and just wait until next Tuesday to survey the damage, which I’m sure there will be lots of.

So, until then, I shall be stuffing my face.

P.S. Does anyone know how many Weight Watchers points there are in a cheeseburger on a Krispy Kreme donut?

Not the mini kind

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope your weekend was as good as mine. I had so much fun, I was asleep at 8 last night. That’s right, 8! I swear I’m an 80-year-old woman in a 23-year-old’s body.

Anyway, did a lot of fun things this weekend. Went to the Brewer’s game yesterday and tailgated beforehand. It was lots of fun. But, definitely ate too much. Pretty sure it’s going to affect the weigh-in for tomorrow.

I golfed, and not the mini kind ☺, for the first time ev-a on Saturday. It was so much fun! We were playing in a memorial golf outing for a family friend of my friend Brianna. (Did ya follow that?) Brianna and I were on a team with two guys and we played best ball. That’s when each player on the team plays his or her own golf ball throughout the round, and on each stroke the best ball of the group serves as where everyone leaves their ball for the next stroke. You have to use at least 4 strokes from each player, making sure every member of the team contributes.

Brianna and I in the golf cart. She's actually driving it in the picture. Thank goodness there's not a lot to crash into on a golf course.


Preparing for awesomeness. And I know I'm in everything you're not supposed to wear when golfing, but I do what I want. So there. :)

Tiger in training. And not to gloat or anything, but I love the way my back looks in this shot. My back has never looked like that! I love it!

I had a few good drives. I suck at chipping though. There was this one time it took me like 9 swings to hit the ball. No joke. It was pretty comical.

Also, I went to the gym on BOTH Saturday and Sunday! I think that’s the first time that’s happened in … well, quite possibly it’s the first time ever. Here’s my running schedule for the week:

Mon: 6.15 miles in 60:00
Tues: 3.35 miles in 30:05
Sat: 3.26 miles in 30:00
Sun: 4.35 miles in 40:00

I ran a total of 17.11 miles in 2:40:05. Which I’m super pumped about! Ideally, I would like to run 5 days out of the week, but I am very proud of what I got in. I also did some yoga on Saturday. I’ve never really been a yoga person before, but for whatever reason, loved it on Saturday. So, I think I’m going to try and get it in a few times a week. It really makes me body feel less sore after running and helps me relax.

On a side note: I was using a weight machine on Saturday and one of the trainer’s at my gym came up to me and gave me a few tips. She told me that I should be lifting a lot more than I am. Now, I’m always afraid of my arm’s getting too big and looking manly. I’ve been told in the past do less weight and more reps. That way I’d get toned and not super big. I told the trainer this and she basically laughed. Apparently I don’t have to worry about getting manly-big because I don’t have enough testosterone in my body. She told me that I should be lifting enough weight so that it’s work every time and on the 8-10 rep, I should really be struggling. It was a huge epiphany.

I’d also like to say that I honestly really love my gym. And, the trainer coming up to me out of nowhere and helping me is a great example as to why I do. Everyone is awesome and friendly and super helpful. There’s no one telling me I can only spend 30 minutes on a cardio machine and I never have to wait to use any equipment. I used to hate, hate. HATE going to the gym. But now I have really come to enjoy. It has become my time of day to de-stress and relax. I’ve never loved a gym as much as I love the one I have now and I know that plays a huge part in me actually going.

So, make sure you find a gym you actually like before you get a membership. All gym’s offer a free week’s pass before you commit to a membership. Make sure you shop around and can really see yourself spending lots of time there each week. Trust me, if you can’t see it, it won’t happen.

Weighing in

So, to start off, I got in 6.16 miles in 60 minutes yesterday at the gym (plus a half mile cool down but I'm not going to count that in my miles for the week). I felt amazing after and wish I would've gone 7 miles like I originally planned. I haven't run more than 3.5 miles in a long time, so just knowing that I can run that far felt great.

I also thought I would be super sore this morning, but my legs feel great today! After yesterday's run, I am slightly more motivated to work towards running a half marathon. I've signed up for an 8K in October. If I enjoy that race, I think I'll plan on doing a half marathon next summer.

I'm also going to try get my long run in for the week on Sunday mornings. I usually have the time and if I start to get that into my routine, it will be much easier.

I also would like to get in 15 miles this week. As of today, 6.16 miles down. I'd like to get in 3 more today after work.

Also, the moment you've all been waiting for, I weighed myself after the run yesterday and I actually lost a pound for the week! I came in at 128.2. Even though this was after the run, it was also after chugging a bunch of water.

The fact that I thought I ate bad the previous week showed me two things.

1. I'm a lot more active than I think I am. Between at least 2x daily dog walks and work, I get in a lot of walking.
2. My idea of what is healthy and what is not has changed drastically since I started Weight Watchers. I am now programed to recognize when I may be consuming too many calories and can compensate for the day with everything else I eat.

On a side note, the Center of Disease Control has issued a new report that says nine states in the U.S. now have an obesity rate of 30% or more. That's almost 1 in 3 people! The scariest part of the report: in the year 2000, there were zero, yes ZERO!, states that had a 30% or more obesity rate. It's really scary to think about and definitely motivates me to keep going.

Confessions

Hate to say it, but there were two things I was lacking this weekend: self-discipline and motivation.

Confession #1: I didn't run the 10 miles I wanted to this weekend.
Confession #2: I went out to dinner on Saturday and Sunday.
Confession #3: I didn't even run 1 mile this weekend.

Phew ... feels good to get that off my chest.

But seriously, I was pretty busy this weekend and sadly did not find time to make it to the gym. When I did go out to eat, I did choose relatively healthier meals, but eating at home would have been better. So, remember last week when I said I was ready to focus? Well, this time I really mean it.

I'll be back with a weigh in tomorrow and we'll find out the real damage. As far as the seven mile run, my plan is to do that today after work. I'll tell ya all about it tomorrow.

Until then ...

I will ...

Run 10 miles this weekend between Saturday and Sunday.

I have been toying with the idea of running a half marathon. I'm not quite motivated enough yet to do it though, I'm afraid.

My general 3-4 times a week routine is a 3.5 mile run at the gym followed by weights and abs.

I'm challenging myself to make run of the runs this weekend a 7 mile. If I can do it, I really think I may be more motivated to actually buckle down and commit to a half marathon.

I hope everyone enjoys your weekend. Here are a few pics from good ole NYC.




At Yankee Stadium. Jay-Z is sitting behind home plate. No joke. Can't you see him ...

Central Park ... so gorgeous!!!

P.S. I just joined a network called Blogs to Lose. Check it out on the side of the page. --->

Ready … set … focus!!

Alright, I’m back! It’s been a busy week. I had an amazing trip to NYC visiting a few friends. I was back to work on Monday, but so unbelievably busy. It was crazy.

But now, I finally feel like I am back into my routine and can begin focusing again on my weight loss goals.

With that said, I’ve decided it is time to set myself an ultimate goal. If I give myself something to work towards, I will work towards it. I checked out a BMI calculator to find a healthy weight for my height. A healthy BMI falls between 18.5 and 24.9. I decided I want to shoot somewhere between 19 and 20.

After a few quick calculations, I have chosen a final goal of *drum roll please* ….

115 pounds.

Now, the question is, how much more do I have to lose in order to get there. I weighed myself yesterday, and before I did it, I was really nervous. I thought the trip to New York would definitely have put a few pounds on me. I had my fair share of drinks and food when we were there. I definitely wasn’t eating as healthy as I usually do. I mean. it was a vacation after all.

Needless to say, I was prepared for the worst yesterday. But, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. I guess all the walking and sweating (It was unbearably hot the whole time) really helped keep the weight gain down.

I weighed in at 129.2. So, I only gained about a pound on the trip. Feeling pretty good about that.

This leaves 14.8 left to lose. And, I’m ready to get it off! So, here we go. The journey begins.

On another note, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s very important to set mini goals for yourself. It makes everything so much more attainable. I’m setting my first mini goal at 125 and hope to be there within the next three weeks.

I've also added a tracker in the left column of the screen. I'll continue to weigh myself weekly, but now we'll all be able to easily see the progression (or regression on a bad week).

Here goes nothing …