The Gun Show

Remember how a couple of days ago I asked you all if your arms ever felt sore from running? Well the reason I asked is because I have been waking up with sore arms! Very strange considering I have done little arm workouts lately and mostly just running/cardio.

Then last night as I was laying in bed I flexed my arm muscle- and was shocked! I could actually feel a little bit of definition!

Do you know how wonderful it would be not to have flabby, shapeless arms? Ok, you probably do and you probably dream of it as well! Well I decided to take a "before" shot of me this morning and hope that I can compare in a couple of months- when I have some smokin hot guns- right?

All news on the healthy front is swell! I have stuck to my calories and worked out every day this week except yesterday (taking a bit of break). I'm hoping I will drop into that new weight decade by Monday (the same decade as my first goal weight!). So exciting.

I'm Pregnant!!-April Fools!

April fools :)

hehe. I really wanted to say that on FB but there are WAY to many people who would freak out on me!

Anyway, it's that time of the month again...(no not THAT time)...it's time to review my month and talk about this new month's goals!

March was exciting! I think the theme of this month was "something new"- I really did try a TON of new recipes, products, and ways to prepare things!

I started off my month by trying out turkey burgers, which turned out really yummy. After that, Kellen and I splurged on some homemade fondue and went into quite an enjoyable cheese coma. Then I attempted to tackle my first spaghetti squash- it was a stubborn little bugger! I also got to explore the world of oatmeal and even found a recipe that suits my tastebuds- overnight oats.

As far as exercise went, the whole first half of my month I was focused on my race on the 14th- the St. Patty's Day Dash. I came, I rocked. It was fun! And yes, my race addiction has begun. I found a running buddy and registered for my next race. I also got to take the chance to reflect on my running journey for the last couple of months.

I had made a goal to beat my February miles by 5 in March. Well I'm happy to report..I beat my February miles by 10!! With the same amount of workouts. Strange huh??!

All in all, it was a great month! I really had a blast this month and am starting to get used to these sporadic days of sunshine and using them to their full potential!

April will bring new and exciting aspects to this journey as the SUN starts to show through a little more and more fruits and veggies hit the stands!

My goals for April:

-Make it to 35lbs lost (only 3.5 more- so a reasonable goal!)
-Build up my running to 5 miles
-Finish off my aspartame products and discontinue buying them**
-Get outside as much as possible
-Beat my March miles by 5

**Now I really considered putting this decision in a whole post by itself and I probably still will. But I'm not quite promising anything. It's just something I have decided to do for myself as I get closer to my goal weight.

I hope this month brings new levels to each of our journeys. Remember, we can ALL do this, just take it one day at a time!

I will leave you with a sneak peek of what I did for my first day of April:

More pics to come :)

Weigh In Week 18: My struggle with oatmeal and new running goals!

Thank you Thank you Thank you to all who left me supporting comments on my post yesterday about the St. Patty's Day Dash- my first 5k. Check it out here if you didn't get a chance to see it!

I think I may have confused everyone with the title of my post yesterday. Although running the race was my b-day present to myself, my birthday is not actually until Wednesday, which happens to be the "official" St. Patrick's Day.

My goal was to have lost 30 pounds by my birthday. So I will be having a "special" weigh in on Wednesday as well. But for now....

I lost 1 pound this week. That means I have lost a total of 28.5 pounds- which also means I would need to lose 1.5lbs in two days to achieve my goals. Um...hehe....well....we will see!

As far as RUNNING goes...I have set another goal! There is a parade in our hometown in May called VikingFest (oddly enough my town is themed Scandinavian.) The parade kicks off with a 5 mile run that I will be doing. I've set up a brand new training schedule (located on my sidebar) and will be keeping track through my blog.

In other news, I ventured into the world of oatmeal this week.

I have NEVER liked oatmeal. And well. I still don't like it.

I tried making it on the stove according to the package directions. I doctored it up with some delicious goodness:
walnuts.coconut.chocolate PB

Sounds good right?

Ehhhhh....

and then I tried:
Maple syrup. Regular PB

Better.

But still....

Ehhhh.....

It's just so mushy and gushy and...not good....

SO! All you Oatmeal LOVERS- I need ideas! I will try to try all of your ideas in the next couple of weeks (depending on if they fit my "palette" of liking) and will post a pic of the one I decide is my favorite in a couple of weeks.

Well I am now off to start my first day of the "Blogger-Made Home Workout Challenge" started my Seth at 1010in2010. Check it out if you'd like to join in!

Weigh In Week 16: Four Months and Goals

Hello Friends!

Today marks my four month anniversary on my living healthy journey! As of today, I have lost a total of 26 pounds, which earned me my new healthy you challenge badge:



I lost 1.5 pounds this last week, bringing my total for February to a loss of 4 pounds exactly. That is not a CRAZY amount, but you know what? I'm happy. My goal this whole time has always been to lose nice and slow and steadily- 1 pound a week or more- and for the most part, I have achieved that. I also recognize that as I get closer to my goal weight (only 14 pounds away right now!) I will start to lose at a slower rate.

Now March. This is going to be one exciting month. To start with, I have my first race coming up on March 14th- the St. Patty's Day Dash. So I know I've been telling you all that this is a "5k" -3.1 miles right? Well guess what I recently found out?!? It's actually 3.75 miles! That's .75 miles more than I've ever run before. I am really hoping the adrenaline from the race will push me through that last bit of running.

Next comes my 22nd birthday- March 17th. I've decided that this race is my birthday present to myself. But I also would like to set a weight goal- I would like to see 30 pounds down by my birthday. That gives me 17 days to lose 4 pounds. I think I can do it!!

One other thing I'd like to mention is that I was able to try on my motivation jeans when I got to 25 pounds lost! And guess what? I scored three more pants from the pile! I will try the rest on again when I get to 30 pounds lost.

Lastly, I've been keeping track of my workouts/miles in my sidebar. It was such a great feeling to know that I beat my January miles by almost 10 when I added them up last night. This month my goal is to add 5 more miles onto that number (starting with today!).

Goals are SO important and I hope that you will set yourself some for this month, this week, or even just today!

Weigh In Week 13: Oh Monday's, How I Have Come to Love Thee!

February 1st. Today is my third month anniversary on this health journey and I am SO excited. Slow and steady wins the race, right? I lost another 2 pounds this week....bringing my grand total to 22 pounds lost.

January 2010 is behind us. I learned a lot this month and experienced new and exciting moments on this journey.
-I started to FEEL like my body was different
-People began noticing and commenting on my weight loss
-I ran a total of 28 minutes- the longest amount I've ever run consecutively before
-I started my food journal
-I weighed in LESS than my husband AND I finally admitted my weight to him (I was nervous to do this previously)

In February my goals will be:
- Make it back to my high school weight by Feb. 28th
-Finish my c25k program
-Run 3.1 miles 5 times
-Journal ALL month

Before I go let me share with you all the DELICOUS dinner we had last night. My goal lately has been to find dinners that are few ingredients, cheap, healthy and delicious. This one definitely fits in that category:

Thin Tuna Casserole:

This pretty little dish has the following:
-1 can of tuna (packed in water, drained)
-1 can "fat free" cream of chicken soup
-1/2 cup frozen peas
-1/2 cup frozen broccoli
-3 cups cooked whole wheat pasta
-1/2 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese (shredded)

Mix all ingredients except cheese, place in baking dish. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top, bake for 5 more minutes.
350 Calories per serving (give or take a few calories)
Makes four servings...but be prepared! Hubby just may eat TWO!
(Caught red handed eating his second serving)

Let's rock this month bloggers!

What's Up Doc?

Total Sidenote: There it is! Our little tree- on the table to be puppy-proof! I'm am SO excited for Christmas and to spend time with both mine and Kellen's family.

Today was my yearly check up at the doctor's office. I talked to the doctor about my new weight loss journey and compared weight's from one year ago. Last year at this time, I was 2 pounds less than I am today according to the doctor's scale. I can NOT believe that even after losing 13.5 I am still up two pounds from last year. HOLY GUACOMOLE...and NOT good guacomole either....this is like that nasty, processed chip-dip kind. Rough calculations that I have done mean that I had gained 15 pounds over 11 months. What the heck was I doing? Bathing myself in chocolate everyday?!?!

Ok, but seriously, this just shows how desperately important it was for me to make a life change. If I were to continue eating like that and on that same road, I would literally end up in my grave at a seriously young age. (if not literally dead, at least physically!)

Now that I have had such a intense wake up call it is time to BUCKLE DOWN and take some action! I can't wait to be a different person in 2010. And since everyone else is doing pretty little goal lists, I think I may just join the bandwagon:

For 2010:

1. Run three 5k's. My first on my Birthday: March 17th- St. Patrick's Day.

2. Get to my initial goal of 40 pounds down. Completely doable.

3. Drink more water. Period.

4. Start school again and decide on a major. This IS the year!

5. Learn to LOVE myself! Gain back some confidence I used to have when I was a skinnier and healthier me!

That's it for now....I CAN do this!!

Goals/Rewards/Accomplishments

Other than the sweet satisfaction of those sweet "have you lost weight?" comments, Kellen and I sat down together last Saturday and talked about some realistic rewards for my weight loss journey.

10lbs- A date day of my choosing (and I mean ANYTHING I choose...hehe)

15lbs- New Lingerie (a perk for Kellen too, lingerie boosts my self esteem and makes me feel sexy at any weight :) )

20lbs-$100.00 shopping spree. Can you say HELLO size 12 jeans?

25lbs- Kellen cooks me a healthy dinner (we will see how much input I will need to put into this one)

30lbs-$200 shopping spree in Seattle. H&M, we meet again...

35lbs-A hike and picnic lunch with the hubs

40lbs/Goal- Weekend getaway

*My hope is that I will see that 10lb goal in the next 3 weeks. Then my date day will include forcing my own personal scrooge into an entire DAY full of Christmas joy :)

My First Goal: To lose 40 pounds

why 40? because I can't remember when I weighed that much. why 40? because I look back at pictures of me when I was 15, and I had to have weighed close to that then. and I looked good. I know that my body structure is not meant for super skinny weights (150 and below). That's why losing 40 pounds is my goal :)

The Wheels Keep on Turning

So much to share about the last 17 days. But first things first: I stepped on the scale this morning and was down 5 lbs. Technically, my goal is 40 pounds down. I want to celebrate the accomplishment somewhere. So 5lbs in 2 weeks and 2 days. That is pretty good. I'm proud of myself :).

Exercise has been challenging, but what an amazing feeling to feel your lungs expanding and no longer feeling like they are going to pop. It's also great to do a hard workout and not feel like your body can't move from sore muscles. I was at this point I'd say only about a week after I started. A WEEK. And in the past I would have given up after only a couple of days because I couldn't see an end in site.

My one complaint right now are my shins after I run. I think it has to do with jogging on the pavement, but they are pretty sore (and not really a muscle sore, more like shin splints). I hope to try out the H.S. track this weekend (Thanksgiving Holiday). That might help with the splints, not to mention there will be no hills to conquer!

Ok, I must be off to visit my friend Jillian. Working my way up to 30 Day Shred Level 2- haven't quite gotten there yet.

Day 16

Today is my 16th day on this new weight loss "journey" I have embarked upon. As of this date, I am starting to think my scales is possessed by a frustrating "make you think your fat" ghost . I have lost 4lbs. Not as much as I would like, but it is 4 more "drips" than I was at two weeks ago. I will explain the drip theory in a later post.

These are the questions I intend to answer to myself within the next few days:

What makes this time different than any other weight loss attempt?

Why are you doing this? List your reasons.

Who are you doing this for?

Other posts I intend to talk about are:

*Goals-Exercise and Weight Loss
*Healthy snacks and meals