Day 15:203.5

Yesterday went pretty smoothly. I got to the show in time to help set up and do the sound check. There were over 500 people there with over 300 classic cars. The weather was cold and windy... but dancing around on stage helped a little! The music was awesome and we all had a blast! Tonight is another show at 'The Orchard' for the Fall Festival and it is very windy today.. .so I think I will be dressing warm again! Here are some pics from the show. Not very flattering one of me, but it shows you why I need to lose weight! Talk about a mushroom top! Ugh.. I'm gonna have to find something a little more flattering tonight.


So I didnt run this morning.. I am exhausted. So my goal is to do my run tomorrow morning...sometime.

Food is great and portions are even better. I've got to get cleaning...

ITS FAT FREE!!! I SWEAR!!!


Day 14:203.5


Today is a big day... my blogs 1 yr anniversary...my 2 week commitment to running and eating healthy... and tonight the band plays at the casino car show! I woke up tired! LOL No, actually I woke up and jumped on the tready and ran for 20 mins, then did a full weight training circuit... then put in the laundry and am now enjoying the peace and quiet because the kids are still sleeping!! I love mornings like this. I feel like I've conquered so much already!!

I'm afraid I have to keep moving if I am going to get everything done before the show tonight.. Have a great FRIDAY!!!

Day 13:203.5

Now that is how everyday should start off.. a -1.5 lb loss from yesterday! Hmmmm, water retention? Probably.

Ran again this morning. It's like I have said in the past. Its not that its easy, but its getting easier! I am starting to see why people fall in love with running.

My food was awesome yesterday. I ate fruits and veggies and stayed clear of the bread! I did have one small potato for dinner, but obviously it was in perfect proportion. Today I need to do the same.. in fact.. I need to keep it up all weekend if I want to see the 199.9 mark on Mondays weigh in. That may be stretching it a bit, but I can try! If not this Monday then DEFINITELY next week!! Wooohoooo.

Day 12:205

Yesterdays food control was out of control. For some reason I was really craving bread...and I ate it! I also ate way too much sodium..which I think is the cause of the gain. Today is going to have to be a perfect food day.. no if's, and's or but's.

Speaking of butts... mine was on the treadmill for 22 minutes this morning. Thanks to Laura's advice to slow it down a little.. I was breathing great. In fact.. I wanted to keep going!! (and only made it 2 minutes past my 20 min norm!!LOL) But at least I am starting to find my groove!!

I also managed to do my full circuit of weight lifting! TWICE! Yes, its time to step it up again... no worries.. I am working with a training book, so I am following a step by step plan of getting a toned body... according to LL Cool J! LOL Really!!!

On Friday it will be 2 weeks that I have been faithfully running in the morning and watching my food. It will also be my 1 year anniversary of this blog. Yes folks, it has been 1 year that I have been driving myself crazy with food, exorcise and 'diets'. At first it made me say..'ugh... I should be at my goal weight by now' then I took a deep breath. Maybe it took this long for me to finally get my head right. After all, you cant commit to something until you have it in your head that it is the right thing to do. So it took me a year to get it straight in my head.. can you say stubborn? Yes.. I am. But for the last 12 days I have been doing more then I have all year. I wake up in the morning ready to jump out of bed and run. I don't stand in the kitchen sneaking cookies and chips because I know my hubby would be disappointed if he caught me eating again! I eat healthy...I mess up.. but then I'm ready to make up for it. I am finally ready to get this done. I'm finally ready to live life as a healthy woman... So, Friday will be a celebration of a new year of running farther, eating smarter and reaching my goal!

Day 11: 204.5

A half pound gain today, but that doesn't bother me. I did a full circuit of weight lifting yesterday... so hopefully its just new muscle!!

I did my run this morning. I wouldn't say it was easy.. but it was a little easier! Do any of my running blog buddies have advice on breathing techniques?? I cant get a rhythm to my breathing and it really bothers me. Advice?

Food is awesome. I am eating the right size portions and feeling full.. sometimes even leaving food on the plate! Yikes! I've come along way from eating all of my food plus whatever the girls left on their plates! LOL

This week is looking good. The band has two gigs this weekend! Friday night at a car show and Saturday night at The Orchard again. I just hope I can keep from using that as an excuse not to run. At this point though.. I'm having a hard time finding anything as an excuse! I have a picture of myself in my head of me at 145 pounds celebrating my 30th birthday... now THAT is motivation!!

Day 10: 204

I do believe my body is finally getting the idea of this whole diet/exorcise thing. I have lost another 1.5 lbs bringing my total wieght lost for the week to -2.5 lbs!!

I'm also excited because I have hit the double digit numbers in days and haven't cheated once! I also ran my Day 1 of Week 2 this morning. It killed me... but I finished it. So this week is well on its way to being a success!!

Portion control is constantly on my mind (which is probably a good thing)and I am doing pretty good with it. I really think that has been a key to losing the weight finally!

If I can keep this up for another two weeks.. I will be in ONEderland!! And what a ONEderful day that will be!

Day 9: 205.5

Its the first day of Autumn... and I am down 1 lb! Yahoo. Finally, a loss on the scale. I am starting to find my groove when it comes to food.. and also finding little secrets to keep me from eating too much! Such as drinking 3 glasses of water before eating dinner. Eating half of an all natural Cliff Bar for my snack... etc.

Today is a rest day.. so I didn't run.. but I kinda wanted to! LOL It is best to have the rest though.. .tomorrow morning starts day 1 of Week 2 of C25K. I'm gonna need the energy!

See y'all tomorrow!

Day 8:206.5

Ran again this morning.. it kicked my butt. Glad tomorrow is a rest day! Portions sizes are getting better...water is great. I have a million things to get done today, so will make this short and sweet!

Have a wONEderful Day!

Day 7: 206.5
Ok.. so I am still bummed not to be seeing at least a little bit of a loss.. but I think I know the problem. Portion Control. I did farely well yesterday.. at least I thought I did until I remember what I had for dinner. A heaping plate of shrimp linguine with 2 servings of broccoli. It was very healthy.. but I ate enough to feed 2 people.. maybe even 3! Aaaack. So today I really need to pull out the measuring cup and start measuring. I found this :

Meet yourself half-way.
You can lose weight and still eat your favorite foods! Just decrease your portion sizes by half. For example, if you are used to eating a whole deli or sub sandwich at lunch, just eat half and supplement your meal with raw veggies on the side and finish of with some fresh fruit. Then wait to see if you're still hungry. If you pause after eating the first half and allow yourself a few minutes to feel satiated, you just may find you're too full to eat the other half anyway.

That might help a little. If I can remember to pause after eating half of what is on my plate to see if I'm still hungry.

I ran another 1.15 miles this morning. This makes 5 days in a row, 5.5 miles, 1hr and 36min of running this week! Thanks to CoolRunning I can keep track of everything. It makes me feel better when I can write down and keep track of my achievements..and baby, these are some awesome achievements!! I plan on running tomorrow morning and then take Sunday off. Next week I start week 2 of the C25K program... yippee!

Day 6: 206.5


Aaaagh... frustration set in this morning. The fact that I have been doing this for 6 days and not even half a pound lost.. what is going on? Am I still eating wrong? Too much? Not enough? I will admit that for a minute there I was going to ignore the tready and just go back to bed... but I didn't. I griped and groaned while I pulled my shoes on... then mumbled and moaned while I walked over to the tready and turned it on. Ugh.. But I did do my 20 min run this morning.. and I do feel great now. So I'm glad I pushed myself to do it and not let myself give up again.

Am I being silly in thinking I should be seeing results right now?? Is it too early to see a loss?? Oooooooo... measurements!! Hold on!!

(undoing the mess of the measuring tape!)

Ok.. Now I feel like an idiot.. check this out:

Chest = Was 43 Now 41 = -2 inches
Waist = Was 40.5 Now 39 = -1.5 inches
Hips = Was 44 Still 44

Holy Cow.. I've lost 3.5 inches in 6 days... yeehaw!!

So now that I am feeling 5 million times better about this.. I am going to rock it today. I have a whole house that needs to be cleaned... laundry that needs to be folded.. kids that need playing with... and I am ready! Food will be great today... eggs for breakfast, baked potato with salsa for lunch and fresh fish for dinner.

I am SO glad I ran this morning. Just goes to show ya... sometimes you are rockin' when you think you are rollin'!

Day 5 : 206.5

Yep.. back down again.. but will probably see a gain tomorrow because I just did another gut wrenching workout on the bowflex. I also did my run again this morning... yes, that makes 3 morning in a row I have woken up and hopped on the tready! Whoop whoop!! I have to say that it feels great. Deep inside I am excited to go onto to next weeks challenge on C25K...deep, deep inside!hehe

Hubby has gotten onto the health kick again too. He is trying to gain 30 lbs.. in muscle. It helps to be living with someone who is also watching what they eat, and working out everyday.

I have been doing better with food.. although I could still cut down on portion sizes. Little by little I am finding I can fix things. Yesterday I ate less snacks between meals then the day before... today I will focus on my portion control.

I really feel that I will succeed this time if I remember two things:

1) Be persistent... this is something that will take time to fix. Wake up every morning with a fresh look and a new energy.

2) Dont quit... I've got 5 days under my belt, it would be a shame to start over now.

So as I see it, I've got to keep on truckin'... Day 5.... 85 more days to go!

Day 4: 207

Yes, a .5 lb gain.. but I'm not surprised. After running yesterday I hopped on hubby's Boflex and did some major upper body weight lifting. I would expect to see a gain... the great news is.. I ran another mile this morning! The time? Well, I'm not sure when the marker went past 1 mile.. but I did 20 minutes and ended at 1.10 miles. I decided to give Couch to 5K a chance.. and so far I am enjoying it. Hopefully it keeps up. My goal is not to beat my time at the 1 mile.. but to actually be able to run more then a minute at a time. My stamina sucks.. so this should help alot.

No weights today... I think I will stick to that on mon/wed/fri. If you've never had a Boflex.. you should try one. They really are great to workout on. The only thing I hate is having to change around all the pullys and weights when you want to change excorsizes.

Ok, so we all know that dieting is a head game, and I am trying to work on the way I percieve food.. and my body. There are a couple of things that scare me. First, I am worried that I will lose 20 lbs and be happy with that and stop. Second, I am scared of self sabotage, something I am very familiar with. (Aren't we all). Third, I am scared to reach my goal. Why? Because I have never weighed 135 lbs. Ok, so maybe I did, when I was 10 .. but it was only for a few seconds. I'm not sure why I'm scared.. maybe because it seems like something that will never happen.. a dream...

I am slowly accepting the fact that this will not be a quick fix. I like to remember the summer before my freshmen year of high school. I graduated the 8th grade weighing 180 lbs... thats alot for a 13 yr old going from a private school to a public school. I think my dad was scared for me.. so he signed me up for a Tae Kwon Do class. I remember being terrified of the instructor (who only spoke korean during class). Mr. Kim always pushed me...I would be purple in the face on all fours, wheezing, and he would tell me to get up and do it again or I would have to do the wall chair. YIKES! Ok..ok..ok. I would drag myself off the floor and do it again, and again and again. After awhile it got easier. I would still sweat like crazy..but I never fell to the floor. I became quite good at forms and sparring. After 3 months of going to class 3-4 nights a week, I started High school at 145 lbs. I was strong, happy and very confident. I ended up winning 1st place in 24 tournaments and even went to Nationals where I placed 2nd in sparring. I could have been amazing if I had not quit. (That is a whole other story). The reason for this story is to remind myself that if I dig deep I can do this. It IS possible to lose weight, I am NOT stuck being that timid fat girl. I have to get off the floor and do it again, and again, and again.

My goal is to see the bold 'DAY 90' on the top of my blog...because by then, I will know that Tigerlilly is back.

Day 3:206.5

No loss yet.. time to step it up a bit and add some exorcise!! I started running again this morning. 1 mile in 16:50.... ugh. Gonna have to work on that! Little by little... tomorrow morning I will run again. Does anyone have a great running schedule that you used to get you back in shape??? I know there is the C2K thing.. I haven't really tried it yet, but it looked confusing! LOL

Yesterdays diet was good.. not great. There is something that Heather wrote that really hit the nail on the dot.

Heather writes: It is selfish. It is choosing sugar in my coffee over the possibility of seeing my grandchildren. It is choosing “just one more bite” over being able to have monkey sex with my husband (you can’t erotically swing from chandeliers if you are obese). It is choosing ROUTE 44 SONIC CHERRY COKES over being able to participate in your child’s Fun Run, Jump Rope for Heart, Turkey Trot, Track ‘n Field.

IT IS CHOOSING YOURSELF OVER EVERYTHING ELSE.

Thinking about this all day yesterday kept me from reaching for those crackers when I walked by the kitchen. It helped me wake up this morning and go straight for the tready..It helped me not take that extra bite when I was already full..(maybe it was the thought of swinging from the ceiling!) At the same time though (and this may be where it gets confusing) you have to be selfish. You have to spend that hour in the morning working out while the kids watch TV.. .you have to have 'mommy time', otherwise you go crazy trying to do all of this at the same time. Its too easy to just be a mom and worry about everyone else but yourself...So, just to recap ... Don't be selfish and let yourself continue being obese and unhealthy, but be selfish and take the time to get healthy!!

Day 2: 206.5

Weighed in the same this morning. Not that I'm expecting a 2 pound loss in one day... although that would be fantastic! LOL

Stayed on track yesterday as well. The only fatty thing I had was a turkey burger with green chile's. It was delicious... and will be a welcome addition to my list of 'acceptable yummies'.

I did not get the tready out... I know, shame on me... but really it's hubbys fault for staying in bed all day and not wanting to help me move furniture. Today he is off for is weekly golf game with his brothers, so I am going to try and find a way to set it up... even if it means clearing a 3 ft space where it stands and staring at a corner wall the whole time!

So Day 3 is well on its way with a yogurt, melon and cup of tea. I am feeling good and drinking plenty of water. This will be a good day!

Day 1: 206.5

Yes, I slid my feet onto that evil thing lurking in the bathroom this morning. Not as bad a gain as I had thought. Only 1.5 pounds. But like Christine says.. its takes a day to gain 5 lbs and 3 weeks to lose it!! I am hoping to at least be back down to 205 by my weigh in on the 24th. I am feeling pretty good about this though. I ate healthy yesterday...hit just under 1500 calories! Todays goal is to find a niche to put my treadmill in so that I can start running again.

I have to say a big THANK YOU to Laura over at Life of L. She is only 11 lbs from reaching her goal... and she is such an inspiration. Go over and give her some love.. she is awsome!! (Thanks for the advice Laura, always very much appreciated!!)

So today is my Day 1... (another thing I have adopted from Life of L) and my starting weight is 206.5. As I figure, I have about 180 days (6 months) to kick butt and reach goal. That will bring me to April. That is a big month for me. I will be turning 30 on the 25th of April. I dont see myself as a 30 year old, although some days I feel 50. I actually feel pretty good about turning 30.. at least mentally I do. But physically, well, who wants to turn another decade older being fat? Not me! Damn it, I am a mother of two (and will not be adding to that number... EVER), I have a good looking husband who deserves a beautiful wife at his side.. and I am not going to be a fat 30. Ok, so now that that is settled... lets get with it.

See you tomorrow!

It is almost half way thru the month of September and I can tell you right now that I have not lost a single pound. In fact, I am pretty sure I have gained back a couple of pounds... or 5. Either way, I have not jumped on the scale (or even crawled on to the scale) in weeks. I think that is one of the reasons I have let myself dive back into bad habits. Its easy to ignore your weight when you have no idea where your at.

I desperately need to get back on track. Today I have done great so far. Keeping my fat grams down to 12 g per meal and calories around 1500 per day. I am not going to drag myself onto the scale just yet. The last thing I need is to be discouraged now. So, once again I am committing myself to a healthier way of life.. and postponing my weigh in until the 24th. I am praying that by then I will see a number lower then 205... that would make me very happy.

Running has come to a complete stop too. Mostly because we rearranged the house and the treadmill is now folded up in a corner with no way out. I am hoping to talk my hubby into letting me put it in front of the TV so that I can walk while watching all my fave TV shows. There's 3 hours right there!!! LOL The weather is starting to cool off at night, hopefully that means the weather will start cooling off during the day too. I would walk at night, but people drive like idiots on my street... there is always a dead dog, deer, elk... even bear... lying on the street hit by a car. If they cant stop for a bear or elk I cant see them stopping for me. I'd much rather walk during the day when I can see whats coming!

As for everything else, well, there isn't much to tell. As my friend said the other night... same shit, different pile! Will hopefully be blogging everyday again... forgive me for taking such an extended break... c-ya tomorrow!

I am spending my days trying to find my focus again. Digging deep to find the strength to say no to fatty foods and yes to veggies and fruit. Pushing myself to get off my butt and get moving. So today I will leave you with a little humor from Getting2Goal and will be back Monday morning with my first weigh in of September!

God Bless

THE WORD

And God populated the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow vegetable of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

And Satan created McDonald's. And McDonald's brought forth the 99-cent double-cheeseburger. And Satan said to Man, "You want fries with that?"

And Man said, "Super size them."
And Man gained pounds.

And God created the healthful yogurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair.

And Satan brought forth chocolate.
And woman gained pounds.

And God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad."

And Satan brought forth ice cream.
And woman gained pounds. And God said, "I have sent your heart healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them."

And Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter.

And Man gained pounds and his bad cholesterol went through the roof.

And God brought forth running shoes and Man resolved to lose those extra pounds.

And Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2.

And Man gained pounds.

And God said, "You're running up the score, Devil."

And God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition.

And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fat fried them. And he created sour cream dip also.

And Man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol.

And Satan saw and said, "It is good."

And Man went into cardiac arrest.

And God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

And so, Satan created HMOs.

Hello!!

I haven't written in days, but it feel like weeks. So, where to start. This weekend was full of excitement. The band I am in was scheduled to play Saturday and Sunday night from 7-11pm. Saturday morning we all showed up early to help load, unload and set up the stage. We then took shifts hanging out to keep an eye out on all the equipment and instruments. That night the clouds started to roll in. Not a big deal if it only sprinkled for a second... but that is not what it did. At first I saw the lightening at a distance. A couple of minutes later the rain was pouring down. We managed to get a huge tarp strapped down over the entire stage, and then we all ran for cover. My car was parked right behind the stage, under one of the massive trees. I was in the car for two minutes when there was a flash and bang. When I opened my eyes there were leaves and branches falling on my car. When the rain finally stopped, I got out of my car and saw that 5 trees around the stage (including the one I had parked under) had been struck my lightening and had a spiral cut down the entire trunk. Needless to say, we did not play that night. We were lucky that no one got hurt, and nothing was too seriously damaged. The next night we were nervous seeing clouds in the sky once again, but as the time got closer and closer the sky turned blue and the sun was shining. It ended up being a beautiful night to play... and what a blast!! We got booked for another weekend at the same place... so I'm hoping that means they like usMy whole family showed up to watch my debut... so it was a fun family outing. My girls danced their little legs off and then went home early to crawl into bed. My mom, aunt and grandmother stayed for a while longer, but said the misquitos were getting to bad. The next show is scheduled for during the day... so it will be a little more fun!

Monday I slept.. all day. I think I was coming down with something but managed to sleep it off. Yesterday I spent the whole day steam cleaning my carpets.. a huge workout considering a couple of areas had me going over them 3 and 4 times. Next to do will be painting... but that can wait a little while longer.

So my scale is trapped behind a couple of heavy boxes in my dining room. I haven't even thought about weighing myself since I cant see it. It's been kinda nice, although I know that I have been slipping on my diet.. and exorcise. I kinda want to just say 'screw it'. Who need to be on a diet? But I know that if I continue doing what I'm doing then the weight will just keep going up, and then I will be miserable. So, I'm not going to give up... I will keep track of my food and get my butt on the treadmill again. I am going to give myself another week before I pull that scale out though... I don't need to see a high number right now.

Time to catch up with all of y'all. Thanks for coming back!!