Category Archives: {F}itness

12 weeks + 99% positive attitude * 3x workouts = 36lbs lost

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If you would have told me in mid-August, as the sweltering summer heat was making me very conscious of my sweating rolls of chub, that I would be able to a) run a 5k and maintain a 2-mile per day workout and b) lose 36 pounds without feeling deprived I would called you crazy.  Yet here I am – 3 months later and 36 pounds lighter (-4.2 this week!) to say that it really does work. 

This is my third time joining Weight Watchers, and I really do believe that it is the most balanced and realistic approach to weight loss and lifestyle change.  I remember the first time I joined there was a woman who came in and was totally serious and determined to meet her goal without messing around.  Then there was me.  I was gung-ho for a while, but then began to slack.  Plateau.  Cheat.  I played games and convinced myself that I was really doing all that I could, knowing full-well that I wasn’t.

This time, I wanted to be that woman.  So far, I have.  With one week of maintaining and one week of a half-pound gain, I’ve managed to drop every other week.  Honestly, I’m starting to get a little freaked out.  Especially these past two weeks.  I’ve really started to get lax in my devotion to making the right choices.  I almost feel like I need a bad weigh in to movitate me to get back on track.  But who am I to argue with the scale?!

Seriously though, it’s amazing how much better I feel and how much energy I have these days.  The simple fact of taking control over my food choices and my level of activity has made a dramatic difference in all areas of my life.  Knowing that my goal is in sight, it’s pretty exciting to think about the possibility of reaching it by the holidays and then working to maintain.  I hope that all your weight loss or fitness goals are going well or that you’re able to find the motivation to take things to a new level.  I’d love to hear your stories and could use some affirmation or new motivation to stay on the straight and narrow myself!  One thing I’d love to learn more about is spinning.  I’d like to find a class in the area, but I don’t know if there is any “equipment” that you need and/or if it’s worth the cost of a gym membership since. I would also have a pretty hefty drive which (to keep with the math theme of the post) is directly porportionate to the number of times I would opt to stay home.  Spinners – please chime in!

Drumroll Please…

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It’s better late than never, but I forgot to report that Tuesday night I shed another 4.6 pounds!!  That brings me to a total of 22 pounds, and I met my first 10% goal!!  It’s amazing how much healthier I feel and how some of the smarter eating habits have simply become second nature!  I’ve got another 10% goal in mind and after that, we’ll start talking ultimate goal.  I can only hope I continue to have such success!

 I suppose, this is fitness related too…they officially posted the assistant cross country coaching position, and I applied.  As of today I’m acting as the assistant coach!  It’s pretty cool so far and luckily the season is nearly half over….I say luckily only because the long days have me a bit tuckered out each night! 

Better to keep up…

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than catch up!  At least that’s what I tell my students!  And look, here I am trying to cram at least three days of blog-worthy material into a frantic 15 minute-composition before I leave school to pick-up my angel.  I’ll try to hit the high points…

  1. We’ve had no other car incidents since Thursday
  2. We’ve had no better luck contacting our insurance agency
  3. Although, I haven’t really tried very diligently since I was still pretty annoyed
  4. C. had his 6 month check-up where we learned he jumped from 50th percentile in all areas to 65th for height, 75th for head circumference, and dropped to 25th for weight.
  5. We figured the crazy poops were the culprit for the less-than-stellar weight gain, and the doc wasn’t worried so we weren’t either
  6. I lied…I was worried (and continue to be) but have decided to accept that and move on
  7. Gavin arrived Friday evening to head to our race with us on Saturday morning.
  8. Calder decided to wake up every few hours Friday night, screaming his bloody head off
  9. Garth took said screamer for a 4:30 a.m. gas fill-up to calm him down.  Reportedly, he was asleep before leaving the driveway
  10. He was also awake before Garth was back in bed after setting the carseat down by the bed.
  11. Crazy gas (and I’m sure some shot soreness) was the cause for the insomnia
  12. The boys stayed home Saturday morning, so I headed to the race solo
  13. I was sad about not having anyone there with me, but I still ran like a champ and met my goals – running the whole time and not being last!
  14. Six-month picture appointment went fabulously – perfectly timed around the afternoon nap schedule
  15. I spent $50 less on pictures this time!
  16. Several of you will soon be receiving the e-mail so you can order your own pictures of my sweet boy!
  17. Sunday found us at church for a while, preparing for the service, enjoying the service and talking about where we see the church headed in the next year or so. 
  18. I spent most of the afternoon/evening under 2 fleece blankets wearing a sweatshirt and terrycloth pants trying to shake the chills and aching (which I think was from more than my 3.2 miles worth of running the day before).
  19. Woke up around 9:30 sweating like crazy and happy that my fever had broken!
  20. Survived Monday and look forward to hanging out with my good friend Emily tonight!

“I don’t wanna go!”

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Tonight I was definitely not wanting to go weigh in!  After a crazy first week of school, a weekend women’s retreat, and all the joys of being a woman I knew the scale was not going to be my friend!  And it stinks too because I’ve been bustin’ my tail on the treadmill, rivertrail, whatever I can use to run, walk, skip or otherwise be active and get ready for our race this weekend!

 I almost got out of the weigh in due to an odd power outage in town.  We lost power at the middle school a little after 4 today, and I figured it would be a quick flash and back on.  Well, when I left my WW meeting around 6:30, it was still out…stoplights, everything.  And it was pretty widespread too.  I heard the credit union was out and the light on the opposite end of town was also out!  We’ve tried checking our school e-mail to no avail.  We’re wondering if there’s still no power, or if the system just has to be re-set.  I know, it’s crazy to even think about the possibility of no school tomorrow.  But I think I’ve hit on just the word that makes it exciting.  P-O-S-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y!  Even if it doesn’t come to pass, just thinking of the potential for something out of the ordinary can be exciting enough.  I think that’s why I loved waitressing so much back in college.  Each night, there was the possibility of that crazy large tip or that record-breaking take for the night!

What do you mean I changed the subject?  Oh, yeah.  The weigh in.  Well, it wasn’t as horrible as it could have been.  I did gain, but it was less than a half pound.  So I felt alright with that.  Even though I really wanted to make my 10% this week (only 3 pounds to go!) I still think I can do it within a couple weeks at least!  And if nothing else, this slight increase might be just the motivation I need to really stay on plan this week instead of giving myself a few more “free days.”  I’m still down 17 or 18 pounds so that’s definitely a bonus!

As for the race, we’ve decided against the Bertha Brock Trail Run and opted for the Rambler Run in Perry instead.  I really wasn’t feeling confident about the potential for crazy hills on the trails and thought the road might be a better place to begin.  Plus, Garth will be able to push C. in the jogger now.  My goal is to run the whole thing, regardless of time.  Ideally I’d like to finish somewhere aside from last, but I’d be okay with that for now.

Oh, and get this!  I’ve got a great new oxy moron for you!  Ready.  Amanda C. – Cross Country Coach!  Seriously.  Can you believe it?  Alright, it’s not official, but if we get like 2-3 more students, I might be brought on as an assistant coach for CC!  I love the irony of it, since most of my life I’ve avoided running at all costs.  But, I did run with the kids today and it was pretty cool.  I felt a bit like a traffic accident…you know, people can’t help but gawk!  The kids were really watching me and I think it tripped them out seeing me do excercise and stuff.  I suppose since they only know the pregnant me, it might feel a little weird.  I think it could be a good thing, but I am a little worried about our already crazy schedule.  Luckily, the season will be over in a month, so it wouldn’t be too terrible!

That’s it for now!  Hopefully, I’ll be able to juggle things better in the coming weeks (read: post shorter entries with greater frequency).  Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a note to let me know you were here!

Feelin’ the Love

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After a 12-hour first day at school (G. has late practice this week), we just finished dinner (I know, it’s really late to have just eaten) and wrapping up our lunches for tomorrow.  My legs are killing me!  It’s amazing how just standing all day really takes a toll.  I did run on the riverwalk with the new jogger for the first time.  It’s a lot harder than I thought it’d be!  I think not having the power of your arms really makes the difference.  I found myself running one handed a lot.  Plus, it’s so different running outside than it is inside on the treadmill.  I climbed some killer hills (remember the one we walked in the massive snowstorm Mom and Dad?), but all in all I made it about 2 miles running and walked maybe another mile or so.

And (drumroll please) I weighed in tonight a little worried about the holiday picnic yesterday and the couple of nights of pizza.  But, it must have worked out in the long run because I was down another 4.2!!!  That makes a grand total of around 18 pounds so far!  It feels really go do be doing more to get healthier and to stay active.  Plus, I think I’m a much happier teacher right now than I would have been had I needed to dress for work 18 pounds ago! 🙂

I hope to post some shots of my classroom later this week…but for now, I have to do a little computer work and then rest up for tomorrow’s crazy day!  It seems like my classes are going to be pretty good for the most part…it will just a take a while to get used to 2nd hour conference.  It will all fall into place soon enough though!

I hope everyone else is enjoying a good start to their school year…and if you’re out there, stop by and say hello.  I haven’t had any comments in a super long time.  Didn’t you accept my apology for missing a few days worth of entries?