Feeling better.

I gave myself the weekend to really think about where I am at and where I am going with my lifestyle change. It was a healthy decision because it allowed me to recognize how far I have come, how much I truly have changed, and what I need to change.
Truthfully I do eat pretty good during the week. We rarely go out for dinner, and when we do I make better choices then I use to. I stopped drinking carbonated sodas as well as cut back almost all of the caffeine in my old diet. I get to the gym or go for a run 4-5 days a week, and I continually make healthy choices for my family. What did this mean to me? It means that even though I have gained a few pounds back, I am still living a healthy lifestyle, I am still actively working to make myself a better person.
On another note, my reflection also led to some other insights. First, TOM was on the way, so I was bloated last week, and the scale reflected that. I was down 3 lbs. by Saturday morning. Second, I am building muscle. I know it's not always the best thing to compare your current weight to your past by the way clothes fit, but the majority of my clothes fit the same or better then they did just 7 months ago. Third, my body is STILL not adjusted to my missing organ. The doctor is very concerned with my obsession with a number because studies show it takes about 1-1.5 years before your body adjusts. I am still having "bathroom" issues which most likely result in my body retaining water and supplements it may not have kept before.
All and all I am feeling better about everything. I am on track this week, and I plan to stay here until I see that 120 number on the scale again!!

Getting it all out.

It's Thursday and I got on the scale this morning to see a disappointing gain from last week. I had no intentions of writing a post today, in fact I thought about crawling into bed beating myself up over this. I met my goal of 120 lbs. this past November and today, only 7 months later I am back up to 130 lbs. What happened?
Well, surgery happened. Wedding planning. Stress. Moving. New routines. Most of all new confidence. Once I met goal I had a sort of confidence come over me, I could eat whatever I wanted because I knew I could gain control and loose the weight at any minute...HA!
I did maintain for quite a few months, up and down 119-124 lbs. and I was totally satisfied, but then the surgery happened. I stopped working out for a few months to recover and my weight crept up to 126. I promised myself I would not let it stay there (and I didn't), but somehow I am up to 130 today. I'm not stupid and I know that there are plenty of times I went a week or two without caring about what I ate, I pretty much left counting points up to my head. I just went with it.
Well, I guess it's time to buckle down, face the facts and get back down in my comfort zone. I tracked my points for yesterday (even though I snacked out of frustration) about 26 points, not bad for one day. I also got 3.5 miles in at the gym after work. Looking back in my books, I have been averaging about 13 miles a week. I know I need to double this by August if I want to stay on track for the 60 miles. This week I am hoping to get 15 miles in and work up from there.
I also need to get out after dinner. I usually go to the gym right after work, head home, shower, cook dinner and then stay pretty inactive for the last 2 hours before heading to bed. Sometimes I will have cleaning or something else, but usually you can find me sitting on the sofa with a book. I would love to start using this time to get out on the bike or go for a swim down the street. Even if I just got up and went to the mall, at least I would be moving and out of the snack cabinet!!
So there you have it. I am 130 lbs, man it feels great to get that off my chest and say it.

Here and There

I have been a very bad blogger lately, things are so hectic at work and I never feel like logging on when I get home. I have been working hard to get to the gym or get a run in almost everyday. I have been cooking meals at home, and trying hard to stay out of the snacks, but the scale is not budging. I stepped on last night to see a very disappointing number. I knew I should not have WI that late at night and right out of the shower, but just seeing the number got me upset. I didn't have time to WI this morning for my official number, I guess all I can do is try to get one tomorrow morning.
Derek seems to think I have been stressed out lately and that I am probably retaining water Because of the heat and increased work-outs. I'm not sure, I hope the numbers drop back down soon. I'll update once I get my official WI.

Really Quick

For those of you that haven't met her...meet Michelle an amazing women who has not only lost an amazing amount of weight with WW, but is also participating in her first Tri this Saturday. Stop by and wish her luck!

Official WI

I had my official WI this morning and I am down 3.2 lbs! I was very happy to see that low number on the scale again, it's nice to be back in that comfort zone. I would really like to see the scale move down another 10lbs before the wedding, this would put me just below my goal weight so I have room to "grow" during the wedding/honeymoon! Ha, good thinking!
I made it to the gym last night for a 40 minute run, I reset the treadmill before looking at my miles but I am guessing I got almost 4 miles in (I walked for 10 minutes and ran the rest). I made burgers for dinner, but somehow found myself munching on some M&Ms Derek left sitting out. I need to stop this snacking at night, I just wasn't satisfied though and I still feel hungry today.
I have a meeting tonight that goes till 8 so no work-out and possibly no dinner unless I stop somewhere on the way home. Yuck, what a day!

That wasn't hard.

I never thought I would say it, but making a healthier choice at a restaurant can be easy. Yesterday was my sisters birthday, so the entire family was going to dinner at Big Bowl (similar to PF Chang's). I knew starving myself all day wasn't going to work, so I packed healthy foods for the day (about 10 points worth) and then made sure to leave work on time to get to the gym. I ran for 30 minutes and earned 3 AP's. When we met at the restaurant I carefully scanned the menu, usually I would just order Kung Pao Chicken, my absolute favorite! Last night I ordered the Stir Fry, I choose my own vegetables (broccoli, onions, peppers, mushrooms, pea pods, carrots) added just a small scoop of grilled chicken and asked for the Teriyaki sauce ON THE SIDE! WW recommends doing this but I could never get myself to do it, I mean what good is Asian food without the sauce? DARN GOOD!
I shared my plate with Rosie and it was delicious, I definitely would order it over the fried Kung Pao chicken any day! Yum! And, it must have payed off because the scale is down another 1.2 lbs this morning. That means since Saturday morning I am down 3.2 lbs...I know a lot of it was just water weight, but it feels good to see the scale moving in that direction.
On another note, it has been 2 weeks since I gave up drinking soda. At first I was doing it just to see if I could, and honestly I never thought I would make it as long as this (horrible, I know). I really don't crave it though, and I am sleeping so much better. I wake up to my alarm and don't even feel the need to hit snooze, maybe it's all in my head, I don't know.
I am planning to go to the gym tonight for a run. I need to get 3-4 miles in tonight to stay on my training schedule. Hopefully we get some nice weather this weekend so I can get outside for my long run on Sunday!

Keeping the promise

I promised myself I would get back on track and that is exactly what I did. I made healthy choices, I prepared myself for the week, and I got moving. The scale is already showing a 2 lb. loss since Saturday morning, hopefully it will continue to move in that direction before Wednesdays WI.

We were exhausted this weekend from the traveling and family visits, but we still kept busy. Rosie spent the night with us on Saturday and Sunday we managed to get a ton done. We took two long walks Friday and Sunday, the weather is finally starting to warm up so it is nice to get outside some.

Saturday morning my sister, Rosie and I went to the dress shop to get Rosie measured for her dress. She was so excited to get that dress on, but I only managed to snap this quick photo before she was taking it off again (the joys of a 2 yr. old). She will make an adorable Snowflake Girl!

I am totally prepared for this week. We have birthday dinner for my sister tonight but I am not going to go overboard! I have 3 runs scheduled at the gym during the week and another 2 this coming weekend!

I'm here

It's been a while! A week I believe since I checked in. I was doing pretty good at the end of the week and also through the weekend and then Monday morning rolled around. We woke up to the phone ringing EARLY Monday morning (first sign the day is going to be bad). We have a had a lot of rain so I had assumed it was probably some water at my jobsite, it was Derek's mom, his grandmother had passed away Sunday evening. Derek was so unprepared for this and he is taking it so hard. We packed up on Monday to head down to South Dakota where the services would be held. This is my first full day at work all week.
We tried to be pretty reasonable on the road and living in a hotel for the past few days, but I know I could have done better. I did get on the treadmill for 3 miles on Monday and a 5K on Wednesday. I am hoping to make it over to the gym after work today as well. I am ready to get right back on track today though.

Day Three...

It's day three for me with no caffeine. I guess it was a combination of things that made me decide I needed to cut back, but reading Diet Coke and Zingers defeat made it seem possible. Although I had a cold little can of Diet Coke sitting in my lunch pail I didn't crack it open on Wednesday and I have since been avoiding all caffeine. I had the worst headache yesterday, I seriously felt like banging my head against a wall. Today it has been much better (so far). I guess I don't really miss the taste, I do miss the extra buzz it gives me in the mornings.
It is also the third day of tracking and eating OP. I am starving today, I usually have 2-3 servings of fruit packed in my lunch but we are COMPLETELY out! Can you believe that? We didn't make it to the market on Saturday because we were up North so our selection has been very slim. I did get all my servings in yesterday but today may end up being a bit of a stretch. I will have time to run to the store tonight or tomorrow to stock up though so I'm not worried.
I am going to the gym after work today and will find the time to get there on Sunday. I really hope to see a good loss next week.

Mmm...cake

Okay, it isn't the best photo but like I said I am stuck using my phone to post anything right now. This is the plate of cake we each had to taste. There are 6 flavors of cake (starting at 12:00) Classic, Fudge, Turtle, Mint Chocolate Chip, Baileys Irish Wedding and Cheese Cream Nirvana. As you can see I only took a small bit of each to get an idea of what I liked. By far my favorite is the Baileys Irish Wedding Cake. The picture I posted of Rosie yesterday was her watching me taste the cake. After I got this picture I gave her the plate and she managed to eat all the frosting!!! Talk about a sugar high!
Workouts are going pretty well this week. I played 2 hours of softball on Tuesday night. I took a hit right in my knee during one of the innings that I was catching. My knee is pretty bruised up but is starting to feel better. I got to the gym last night and ran 3 miles, I must not have stretched out very well though because my thighs are killing me today. I am going to the gym right after work tonight and will try to stretch them out a bit better.
It feels good to be on track this week, I have been retaining a lot of water (that time of the month) and my surgery scars are killing me. It seems like they always get really swollen and sore right before Aunt Flow comes to town, this week has been the worst. I am drinking water like crazy though trying to get that horrible feeling to go away.

It's been one of those days!

You don't pay me to write blogs?

Yes, I am still lurking, posting is difficult though because I have to connect through my Blackberry!

We made it to the cabin this past weekend, it was great to just get away and not have to worry about anything. We got home late on Sunday and played some softball before getting ready for the week.

The insurance claim went through just fine on the water damage. We ended up not having to pay a deductible because we mitigated the damage. That was a nice surprise! We will be out of the house for up to 2 weeks when they replace the wood floors.

Our trouble kitty is going to live on a farm tonight. I just couldn't deal with the smell and mess he was making everywhere. I tried everything the vet told me to try and nothing seemed to make things better. In fact this past week I have found nearly 20 spots where he has marked his territory. It is going to be hard to let him go, he is such a cool cat and I do love him.

Wedding planning is in FULL swing. We tried 6 flavors of wedding cake on Friday (small bites). We are going with an Irish Wedding Cake...chocolate cake with a Baileys Irish cream filling...it was to die for and perfect for winter. The cake design is GORGEOUS! Four tiers of round cake with white snowflakes falling in cascades down the side of the cake. The bridesmaids will order their dresses this weekend and hopefully I can decide on the final invitation design! I can't wait to be done.

I feel pretty comfortable with food. Summer is always a bit more work with sports and BBQs but I am keeping up with my work-outs and trying to limit my sweets. I haven't stepped on the scale in a while but possibly tomorrow.

RESTRICTED!

Ahhh! They restricted Blogger on our work network! I have been able to read and comment but it will not allow me to post :( What is a gal supposed to do?!?

Well, I found a way around it but it takes a bit more work and it is a much slower connection. Oh well.