Still Chuggin'

Just a week and a half until my 5K. I am so excited because I feel so ready! I ran my first 3 mile jaunt about 3 weeks ago and have been pleased to see that I can consistently do that. In other words, it wasn't just a fluke. Last night, I took Taylor (9) and Blake (almost 8) for a run with me. It was fun. We went on a bike trail in McHenry that takes us towards Glacier Park so it is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I love it because it is peaceful and as close to country as I really get around here. It follows a railroad track so while I was jogging, Tay and Blake were moseying along, picking wild flowers and walking along the railroad ties. It was truly a picture of what childhood should be and I was grateful for that image. We went just over 2 miles and I was also grateful that when we returned to the van I did not feel winded! This is absolutely amazing to me! I know it is less than the 3 miles I've started running, but for someone who has always loathed running, being able to run an easy 2 miles is mind blowing.

It's interesting how one's thought process can change when new habits are formed. For most of my life, the thought of working out has been a chore; something I would do sometimes because I knew it would be good for me or I knew I would feel better afterwards, but that I didn't ever really care to do. After working out 6 days a week for 10 weeks and now adding the running, I just don't like to even imagine not working out. The last couple of weeks, I've only averaged maybe 4 days a week working out just because one must continue on with real life and it isn't always compatible with my gym schedule. One would think that is great! I used to give Dan a hard time for feeling so bad if he missed a gym day or didn't eat well. Now, I am even worse! So Monday, I am at the clinic and they have already determined I have a bladder infection, but suspect that I have appendicitis, as well. So they decided to do a cat scan and casually mentioned that if it came back that I did indeed have appendicitis, they would admit me into the hospital for surgery. My thoughts were two fold. First, I thought that while I've never thought surgery was a huge deal for others to have, I have never had it and I wasn't interested in that being my Monday afternoon activity. But the very next thought was "I have a 5K to run on the 31st! I can't have surgery! Not only would I probably not be in the best shape to run (and bounce) on the 31, it would set me back in how much I can do and I will go backwards instead of forwards! This just wont do!" You have no idea how much this makes me laugh because it is not me!! Where these thoughts have come from is beyond me! But I know that while I may not be able to keep up a 5-6 workout per week schedule, I can not imagine living a sedentary life again.

Incidentally, I did not have appendicitis. It was determined, however, that besides my bladder infection, I also have a cyst on my ovary and uterine fibroids. (Dan says he would have opted for the appendicitis.) I have an appt. with my OB/GYN next week, so I guess I'll know more then. Until then, I'm good friends with the Naproxen. I'm slightly disheartened because I have been really working hard to fight back against all the disfuntion my body has been spewing the last couple of years. I figure if I am physically strong and have a healthy diet, that has to carry some weight. For awhile things seemed better but I've been struggling to feel great the past month or so. Some of my heavy arms have been coming back and definitely my achy joints. Though I must admit, I was taking natural food supplements because my adrenals were worn down and it had really helped my sore joints feel normal again. I no longer felt like the tin man who needed to always carry his oil can with him. I had run out of the supplements and my chiropractor lives quite a distance away, so I just quit taking them for awhile. The bad news is I paid for it and became really stiff again. The good news is it let me know the supplements really made a positive difference and I am now taking them once again. Now the cyst and/or the fibroids have me in regular discomfort and I am bummed. What does it take to just have a strong, healthy body around here? So, I am disheartened, but not about to give up! I am only 32 and I REFUSE to let my body age at the rate it is trying to! I will fight it every step of the way!

OK, onto better topics... how about a weight watchers update? WW is going very well and I am slowly and steadily shedding the pounds. As of yesturday, I have lost 12.4 pounds. This has been in about 6 or 7 weeks or so (not sure exactly). I think I have averaged between 1.5 and 2 lbs. per week which is a nice rate. I feel like I am in a really good spot because while I wouldn't be opposed to losing a couple more pounds, I am also content where I am so I don't have a ton of pressure on myself. More than losing more lbs., I really want to loose more "cottage cheese" that has taken up residence on my thighs. So toning is more my focus. I had a big milestone last week though. I bought my first pair of size 6 jeans since before I got pregnant with Alyssa. Alyssa is 6 now, so it has been some time. I am excited. I feel confident and I feel empowered to tackle whatever I decide to tackle. Life is good!

Have a blessed day and go do something nice for yourself today!

On the Run...

I just finished my first 2 weeks of training for my 5K that's on May 31. So far it has been great, I'm happy to say. The coaches have been wonderful and encouraging and enthusiastic, which really makes it nice. Each week, we run 3 times; twice as a group and once on our own. The first week, we ran 2 minutes, walked two minutes, ran 2, walked 2 etc. for 20 min. each run. Last week, we bumped it up to running 3 min. walking 2 for 25 minutes. Today, we will start running 4 min, walking 2 min. for 30 minutes. Next week will be run 5, walk 2 (for 35 min. maybe?) and then after that, we will just be running. It has been a very nice way to work our way into it. On Saturday (running 3 and walking 2), we made it about 2 1/2 miles, running just over half of it.



I have been pleased to find that doing the 10 week UBC prior to this (and I am still doing the workouts each night) has definitely been beneficial. I have a lot more stamina than I ever did before. My cardiovascular condition is pretty good from bouncing around the bag for 50 minutes each kickboxing night. All of us who are training for this 5K are beginners of all different ages sizes and fitness levels. I've never been athletic and I've never been a runner - even running bases in softball was traumatic for me! While I have spent my life at the bottom of the pack when it comes to fitness, I have been surprised to find myself always ending at the front of the pack on these runs. It has been a nice though quite surprising thing. I credit that completely to the workouts I've been doing since the beginning of January. It hasn't even been 4 months since I began working out and I am absolutely amazed at the change in my fitness level. I can't wait to see where I am at come this time next year!



As a weight watchers update, I have now officially lost 8.8 pounds since I began (and more than 10 since I started UBC in January). I am at 146.6 pounds and I really feel good about where I'm at. My goal weight is 140 and 143 will put me back to the size I was when I got married - though I'll admit my shape has changed a bit after 4 kids :o) The first 7 pounds or so came off very easily once I started weight watchers, but now it is going quite slowly. That's fine as I'm content where I am and I know it's a lot healthier that way. My instincts are to just keep reducing how much I eat to help me achieve my goal, but my instincts are wrong, so I have to consciously go against them. I want to keep my metabolism up and I want to have energy to work out. I'm still working on it, but I am little by little trying to apply this whole "balance" thing.

That's all for now. Have a great week :o)

I'm back and going strong!

Yes, it has been a long time since I have written. I finished my ultimate body challenge and then jetted off to Jamaica! Ok, so that was 3 or 4 weeks ago, I'm still using it as my excuse. Although I have not been writing, I have continued working, so at least I'm still doing what I need to do.

After taking a week off to go on vacation, I got right back in the saddle and joined weight watchers online. I laughed at myself a little because I was so excited when I first signed up, as if filling out the registration itself was magically going to do the trick. I sat on the couch that morning and had that moment of "Oh - now I have to follow this." But today marks 2 weeks and so far I haven't had any problems following it. I like it because I have a lot more choice in what I eat and as long as I include the good stuff and I watch my portions, I can also have some of the enjoyable stuff (like cheese, mayo, butter, some sweets...) So far, I have lost 7.6 pounds and I feel really good! I am at 147.8 and my ultimate goal is 140 - though I really feel good as I am, so I think I will be happy with whatever else I lose.

I have continued working out when I can. My first week back from Jamaica, I went every day. Dan had to make me go back that first night, but after that, I got a little momentum back. Last week, Dan had to be gone a lot with work, so I only made it to work out twice, but I am back in the saddle this week and plan to continue going every day. At this point in the game, I just feel so much better when I am consistent. Plus, if I miss a couple of days, the workouts are really hard when I return. It's amazing!

I am pleased to announce that I am adding a new challenge to my routine. I have signed up to train for a 5K that will be in Huntley at the end of May. The Running Depot (a running store in Crystal Lake) is doing a training for beginning runners to be able to finish a 5K. Now, this is kinda a big deal because truly I HATE to run. I don't want to hate it. I really want to like it. But so far, I just hate it. When I told Dan about this, his response was "Why would you want to do this? You hate running!" I found it funny and true. But as I said, I want to learn to like it and even if I never do, I will consider it a definite acomplishment to run a 5K. My sister, Elaine, ran a Marathon the year she turned 30. I think that would be a wonderful goal to achieve, but I will see how the 5K goes. No need to put the cart in front of the horse. My sister Kristine is also currently training for her first 5K in Peoria in June. She started training a couple of months ago though, and I know she will do great. My 1sttraining run is tomorrow night. I'll keep you posted!

Anyway, this doesn't really change my routine too much, it just adds a bit. On top of my kickboxing and bands workouts throughout the week, I will run on my own on Mondays, with the group on Wednesday evenings before kickboxing, and then instead of my bands/kickboxing class on Saturday. So, Saturday is the only day I can't just do both. So Mondays are kickboxing and running on my own, Tuesdays are bands, Wednesday I run with the group then jet over to Kickboxing, Thursdays are bands, Friday is kickboxing, Saturday morning is running with the group and on Sunday I will REST! I really feel like accomplishing the Ultimate Body Challenge has given me the confidence to try other things as well. I look forward to checking the 5K off my list and going on to the next thing!


Did I mention that I have a fabulous husband? He has been wonderful in supporting me - especially considering all the extra stuff he is responsible as I take off each night (baths, homework, cleaning up after supper, getting the kids to bed etc.)! It has been wonderful for me to be able to do this for myself and he can see how much happier I am because of it. I am so grateful for his support and encouragement. I totally couldn't do any of this without his help!

One more picture...

Ok - the bottom picture is of me doing an uppercut. I was amazed when I zoomed in at the muscle ( upper picture). Granted, my muscles don't just sit around looking like that, but I was excited to see the definition! (Not so excited about the lack of definition in the chin, but hey... perfection is hard to come by;o)

The End of the Beginning

So Friday night wrapped up the 10 week Ultimate Body Challenge for me. I must admit, I had mixed feelings about it. A huge part of me really didn't want to go in for my final testing and measurements. I knew the numbers weeren't going to make me happy and I just didn't want to see them. Plus, I knew I was going to continue on and I didn't want to be discouraged when I'm just not done yet.

I said before that I wasn't supposed to weigh myself except at the 5 week and 10 week intervals. I did really good the 1st 5 weeks, but have weighed myself periodically the second five weeks so I knew that not only did I not lose any more weight, I gained a couple back. This is a far cry from the up to 30 pounds I was supposed to be able to lose. Now, I didn't need to lose 30, but if that much was the norm, then a good 10 or 15 would have been good. Going into my weigh in, I didn't want to be hung up on a number, but I felt like I failed. I was getting ready to go that night and was fighting back tears because I just felt like a failure. To look at it honestly, I did not excell in the nutrition part and that was my achilles heal. I haven't given up yet, I just haven't found that balance yet. I like yummy food and I am kinda anti-dieting anymore, but balance has never been my strong suit, so I'm still working at it. I'm taking a week off while I go to Jamaica this week, but when I get back I am going to do weight watchers for a bit because I know it works. It doesn't really do anything I don't already know how to do, but it will hopefully help me track things, and get me into some better habits. At times it has been frustrating because I knew I wasn't eating the greatest, but I was still doing so much better than before and in my mind that should have counted! Baby steps.

While the nutrition part was my weekness, I will admit that I am proud of myself in the fitness area. I didn't make it to all my classes because it is impossible to do that without putting life on hold. But if you average it out, I would say I made it to work out at least 5 times a week - even in frigid -20 degree weather! This is huge for me. The working out this much was the part that intimidated me in the beginning and made me a bit fearful of signing up for this program. I hate exercise and I wasn't totally convinced that it wouldn't kill me. But I quickly found that I actually enjoyed it. I enjoyed getting stronger, more flexible, and gaining stamina. I enjoyed working out with my new friends and got lots of energy from my partner on the bag - Tammie. And I enjoyed being given this time for me each day. There were a handful of times that I didn't want to go, but I always felt great after I went. And when it came down to whether or not I would go to the final testing at the end, I knew I had to because I had to cross that finish line to feel the full accomplishment of it all.

So the results... I'm going to give you my measurements from week 1 to week 10. I went backwards from week 5 on some of my measurements which is because a different person measured us at week 5 so they weren't accurate measurements.

Beginning 10 Weeks

Arms L 11.25 R 11.5 L 11.5 R 11.5

Chest 35.75 35

Waist (natural) 30.25 28.25

Belly Button 32 29.5

Between Hips 41.75 40

& Thighs

Calves L 15.25 R 15.25 L 14.75 R 14.75

Thighs L 24.75 R 25.75 L 23.75 R 24

Weight 156.0 153.6

Body Fat 29 27

Total inches lost 10.5

The 2 places I most notice a difference are in my abs and my arms. My abs have a ways to go, but have started to take a little nicer shape. My arms, actually showed zero change in size, but I can see a lot more muscle tone in them and actually have a little something to flex. These are by all means not drastic results, but I can say with honesty that I am more fit and energetic and I just feel good, so it has made a difference.

My fitness test went well. The results are...

Beginning 5 Weeks 10 Weeks

Push Ups - 24 (modified) 40 (modified) 30 regular - this is HUGE for me!

Sit Ups - 21 30 32 ( I could have done more but I ran out of time - I'm not that fast)

Sit and Reach 19.5 in 21. 75 in 23 in - I'm gaining my flexibility back!

So, I am pleased with these results and do feel a sense of accomplishment. They made me glad I crossed the finish line. And like I said, it isn't the end. It is all just beginning and I actually look forward to seeing what I can accomplish in the n ext 10 weeks. I will not be able to commit to going to my workouts to the extent I have as my wonderful husband has had to juggle a lot to make it possible for the duration of this challenge. However, I plan to go whenever it works into my schedule and hope to still achieve at least 3 times a week. As the weather is mercifully getting nicer, I also hope to add in more walking/jogging and bike riding. I hate running, but I still want to learn to love it, maybe that will be one of my next goals. I'll think about what my next goals will be and let you know soon.

Hmmm...

So, the weather is finally making me smile and with the beautiful spring like feel, I decided to get up this morning and go for a walk/jog before Dan had to leave for work. It was nice. I went about a mile and a half, jogging some and walking more, but trying to keep a good pace. (This is the advantage of going by myself in the morning, it can be a little faster than the leisurely to snail like pace we go with the kids.) There are lots of hills around, so even walking is getting a decent work out. Really, it was nice just to be out in the fresh sunshiney air. It is good for the soul after months of a very cold winter.

All is nice and well and this afternoon, Alyssa, Tess and I have a picnic outside and then go for a walk/baike ride together. I walked, pushing Tess in a stroller for the sake of speed and Alyssa rode her bike. Again, it was beautiful and we were all enjoying our time out and about when about half way through my knee starts hurting. At first, I ignored it figuring it just needed to work its way out. It felt a lot like my kneecap needed to pop or crack or adjust or whatever and just wouldn't. But after several minutes of continuing to walk on it (as we were on a walk), it hurt more and more and by the time I got home, I was seriously almost limping. I would have been limping but my pride kept me from it. So I decided to go inside and stretch - something I didn't do this morning but thought of later. The stretching felt great and just quitting walking seemed to help my knee immensely. It feels fine when I'm off it but the ache is still there (albeit not as strong) when I do walk (like to the other room).

So I'm not really sure what to think. While it has been several months since I have ran at all, I've been pretty active with regularl bouncing and kicking along with strength training. I could tell I was using different muscles today, but gosh, I just can't imagine that one little walk/jog would cause an issue. In fact, I think my pride will be really hurt if I injured myself in this small endeaver. But I know nothing about running or about knees or about injuries or anything fitness related, really. I have a kardio kickboxing class tonight and a bands and kickboxing class in the morning (with the focus on lower body - go figure) so I guess I'll take some Motrin and see how it all goes. If anyone has any input, it would be much appreciated!

I quit!

I quit! No, I'm not quitting the UBC. But I did quit the UBC prescribed nutrition plan. It is a plan that works when followed, but I have decided that it is just not one that I could consider a life change. I knew that even if I would stick it out through the challenge, it is not something I would stick to simply because I find it boring and restrictive. As I've said before, I can only eat certain foods, yet I'm supposed to eat them all the time and it just has been driving me crazy. Since my ultimate goal is to find a balance that works for me to have as part of my regular life, I decided to move on and go a different route. For now, I am just watching my calorie, carb and protein intake - very similar to how my husband eats, but in different amounts. With the help of the internet, we figure that since I'm working out every day, I should be able to build muscle and still lose a little weight eating 2000 calories or less, trying to keep my protein up above 100 grams (that protein part is harder than you might think!) That is totally doable and I feel much less stressed since I switched. Again, I'm not looking for a diet plan so much as just a sound nutritional foundation that works for me and my goals - long term. A lot of it is just learning to make healthy eating choices, which before I started the UBC didn't often happen. I'm also still trying to eat small amounts throughout the day to keep my body convinced that it will continually have fuel to burn. The only real difference is that I'm not as concerned about exactly how many strict proteins and strict carbs I put in, so I have more choices. Hopefully this will be good. If not, we'll try something else until we find what works for me.



I was happy with my 5 week results but have been frustrated since. As I wrote, I got sick right around the time of my 5 week testing and that weekend I didn't eat well. After that, I just felt like I'd lost any momentum. I have been so frustrated just feeling like I'm struggling with the diet part, my momentum is gone and the clock is ticking. I now only have 3 1/2 weeks left. While I made it 5 weeks without stepping on the scale the first time, I got on the scale again within a week after we weighed in and I had gained 2 pounds! I was so upset! Actually, my scale at home said I gained 5 pounds (which would be everything I lost!) so I jumped on the scale at the gym (since that's the one I've been using for this) and it just said 2. Granted, 2 is better than 5, but still... Now, I was on an antibiotic and it was just days before my period, so I've been telling myself it is just water. I never did convince myself though. Nonetheless, tonight I was trying on sundresses a friend is letting me borrow for our trip to Jamaica and as I was looking in the mirror, I felt satisfied. I can see that I am toning and I am actually considering wearing a bikini in Jamaica. (We'll see...) I realize that even though I've been saying that I want to tone up, old habits are hard to break. Any time I've ever worked at changing my body, I've always been able to shed the pounds if I've really put in the effort and with that I become noticeably smaller. And I have put in a ton of effort. But this program is different. It isn't about becoming smaller, it is about becoming stronger and more fit. And I am. I am starting to see muscle definition for the first time in my life. When I consider wearing a bikini, it isn't because I am smaller, it is because I am firmer. My 8 year old, Taylor, was watching me try on dresses and as I was between dresses and she could see me in just my skimpies she lovingly told me that I look so much better than the last time she saw me undress several weeks ago when I was trying on workout clothes with her and Alyssa. When I asked for clarification, she explained that I was just bigger then. Good enough. In the long run, I will be happier with being tone than with being skinny. And I can definitely tell I am getting stronger. At the same time, I am having to come to the realization that 10 weeks isn't going to be a magical time frame. While it is a good start, it will have to be just the beginning. I am getting over the illusion that I will have some amazing body at the end of this challenge and realizing that it is really just the beginning of a lifelong (I hope) journey. This is what I've kind of been saying all along, but as I said, old habits are hard to break. But tonight I am content. I enjoy what I'm doing. I like how it makes me feel. I'm definitely making healthier choices and I'd say I'm on my way, at least for today.