Day 56 - Day 59

Day 56

Zumba Time! And it was a blast. Burns (supposedly) a shit load of calories and was fun. One of the classes I can do with my daughter at the Y so that helps make it more fun as well.
Funny that actual walking/jogging don't hurt my ankles or knees but I did have some twinges while doing Zumba. I am changing up my shoes next time and hopefully that will make a difference. I really do like doing it and it would kinda suck to not be able to because I have stupid old lady joints.

Day 57/58

What I am thinking of as well deserved break days. That actually wasn't the plan...But Friday I just couldn't get motivated (Work from home evilness) and it was absolutely pouring rain. I kept waiting for a break in the rain that just didn't come and I ended up sitting there like a big ole lump. Saturday I was slightly more active with no planned exercise but my daughter, me, and the grandbaby  did a double feature at the drafthouse. Ate a huge meal and drank too much. Then ended up going to a friends house and drank a little more (oops). 

Day 59

I don't understand anything about weight loss. So I bust my ass all week and the scale never moves. I lay around for 2 days eating and drinking and barely moving and I lose 2 lbs....Whatever. Just going to keep on keepin on. Had a great day...seriously great day.
Zombies Zombies and More Zombies.
I got out and did my Zombies, Run! 5K week 1 workout 3 redo and kept up the trend of faster and longer. So that made me happy.

First Week One Workout 3: 1.8 miles, 37:53 minutes, 21:03 pace

Last Week One Workout 3: 1.95 miles, 36:42 minutes, 18:51 pace

Last but not least I did and extra .75 miles walking to my daughters house to watch the season 4 premier of The Walking Dead...
Yes
Life is now made and I can enjoy my Sundays while I wait for Doctor Who to come back in Nov/Dec.

Tip for the week: We had Daily's Frozen Lemonade (includes alcohol) to drink. One frozen pouch is considered a serving...and 10oz = 280 calories. I turned my one serving into 3 and left enough for another one or 2 in the pouch. Added perrier to about 1-2 oz of the mix at a time. Didn't get plastered, didn't drink 1000 calories, kept a glass in my hand the entire time. I was happy.

Day 55

I think I have lost my mind. Maybe in a good way. I worked out morning noon and night last night and I actually loved every part of it.
Yoga in the morning
Zombies, Run! 5k in the afternoon
and then 25 minutes of swimming laps in the evening.
Let's just say....Ass kicked.

Took my first yoga class today. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!
I am going to try and head back at least 2 or 3 times a week. It was a gentle yoga...so lots of older people, and really just relaxing in general. It felt great after the strength training on Monday. I think I am going to stick with the gentle yoga for a few weeks until I am used to it. Our YMCA offers a lot of different yoga classes.

More improvement from Zombies, Run! 5k!
As you may have read I have gone back and started the program over. I wasn't ready to move on to week 4 and knew it. So back to the beginning I went!
Week 1 Workout 2:
1st time: 1.87 miles, 38:34 minutes, 20:36 pace
Day 55: 1.98 miles, 36:11 minutes, 18:15 pace

Last was a swim in the gym pool. It felt good to do after the Zombies Run. 25 minutes. 22 laps. I am slow slow slow...but that is OK. The more I do the more I will be able to do right?




I also got a pair of Dr. Scholls Active Series insoles free from Influenster to try out and review. I think I will take my insoles out and try them this weekend. See how they make the feet feel.

Day 47 - Day 48

Day 47 Last day of September

I have completely lost my motivation. I did nothing. Well not true. I tried to do so and mething. I knew that I wasn't going to get a workout in so I figured I would take the little one swimming and at least run around the pool for an hour. We got there and she fell apart. Didn't want to swim. Missed her daddy and wanted me to take her back to her mom to wait for him. I turned around and went home instead of doing the right thing and dropping her back off at home and then going back to the gym.

Part of the reason (not an excuse) was a ridiculous woman at the gym. She completely deflated anything I was thinking about myself. A woman was there doing what looked like PT with another woman and was wearing vibram 5 toes. I have heard that these are great for flat footed people and asked her about it. Said I was thinking about getting them for my walk/runs but wanted to get some real world reviews vs ones found on the internet....She turned around and looked at me and said... "Someone your weight should not be running".... UHM. I asked about your f*&king shoes not your opinion on my weight. Also....she was about my size. Maybe a little taller...but definitely NOT a small woman. But still it really was a blow. Here is this woman who doesn't know a thing about me or my exercise level OR how I am doing it telling me I have no business doing it because I am too fat. 

Day 48 First Day of October

Woke up still feeling really put off about what that woman had said to me. Amazing  how someone can be so callous and no matter how you think you can handle anything it really effects your thinking. This was one of my work from home days and I just sat in one place all day feeling sorry for myself. Power inhaled Mike & Ikes and just felt like shit. At some point I realized I needed something from my car and ran down the stairs grabbed it, ran back up and while I was out of breath I didn't feel like I was dying. A month ago that wouldn't have happened. I would have gotten out to the car and back up the front steps and had to stop...and then slowly walked back up my stairs room and STILL been out of breath and feeling like I was dying. 

So...I threw my workout clothes on, went for a 2 mile quick walk and then took the baby swimming for the night. 

Basically I spent the evening giving that nasty woman and my own internal insecure woman the finger.

Some days you just have to give the bird to all out there who have something negative to say. Will I ever run a marathon? Probably not. I may never get below a 19 minute mile. I hope I do and I am working on it..but that doesn't mean I can't run. Be careful what you say. You might think you are helping and end up being the person that completely breaks someones confidence.

Be strong. Mentally. It will do more to change your physical health than you realize!

Day 35

You know...I almost didn't give myself credit for stuff yesterday. I got home from work and was so tired that it took everything in me to eat dinner, get the trash together and then stay awake praying for 9pm to come so I could go to sleep. I did no walk no run no anything...Then I remembered as I was getting ready to write this that...YES I DID...I got up and swam laps for 20 minutes yesterday morning! Whoo hoo! So...no guilt necessary! Yay!

I am a firm believer in do what your body is telling you. If you are way more tired than usual...maybe it is your body's way of telling you to take a break...or keep you from causing injury or aggravating a current injury. I slept from 10 until 7...I NEVER do that. I also got up and got moving and realized that my knee felt good. I actually hadn't realized it didn't feel good until I stayed off of it for a day. So...Listen to your body!

Day 34

Tuesday work from home ultimate lazy blahs.
Went from almost no steps at 8pm (work area -->bathroom--->work area) to just a bit less than 10k by 930. Unexpected double walk. Whoo hoo!
I got lost in my music and listening to the Zombies Run5k (find me  Leave a comment with your user!) stuff and forgot to turn around 1/2 way through. So by the time I finished my run I was more than 1.5 miles from home. Did a swift walk back and even added another .5 mile to get my steps up closer to 10k.
Weight is down another 2 lbs since last Monday!
Still need to check the inches. But I think the clothes are a tad bit loose! (It's the little things)
So while I sat on my ass for the majority of the day I don't feel bad since I busted it out in the evening.

I think this is going to be the recipe of the weekend!
Grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos...they look divine!

The recipe is from:http://recipes.womenshealthmag.com/Recipe/grilled-fish-tacos-ii.aspx

• 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cubed

• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and cubed

• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped

• Juice of 1 lime, plus wedges for garnish

• chopped fresh cilantro

• salt and black pepper

• canola oil

• 2 large mahimahi fillets (1 1/2 lb total)

• 1 tbsp blackening spice

• 8 corn tortillas

• 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage

Mix the mango, avocado, onion, and the juice of 1 lime in a bowl. Season with cilantro, salt, and pepper.
Heat a grill or stovetop grill pan until hot. Drizzle a light coating of oil over the fish and rub on the blackening spice. Cook the fish, undisturbed, for 4 minutes. Carefully flip with a spatula and cook for another 4 minutes. Remove.Warm the tortillas on the grill for 1 to 2 minutes or wrap in damp paper towels and microwave for 1 minute until warm and pliable.Break the fish into chunks and divide among the warm tortillas. Top with the cabbage and the mango salsa. Serve with the lime wedge

CALORIES

405.1 CAL (2 Tacos)

FAT

11.3 G

SATURATED FAT

1.7 G

CHOLESTEROL

124.2 MG

SODIUM

614.5 MG

CARBOHYDRATES

42.6 G

TOTAL SUGARS

10.2 G

DIETARY FIBER

8.1 G

PROTEIN

36.5 G

Day 33

That Monday morning super excited I am gonna workout like a pro this week get up and go feeling...And I did it! Well kinda...Then I blew it.
I dragged my insomniac ass out of bed and got to the gym by 6:15. Someone explain to me all of these crazy people who are up doing the same thing?! Seriously...I got the last lane in the pool. 20 minutes of laps (and that means a lap...not only find my breath but catch it) then a lap back. Repeat.  By the time I left there were people lined up waiting.

Got to work...things were hectic and ended up not doing my stairs. I decided to do a walk instead...and...it was raining. Ding Ding...brilliant idea! Our garage is 2 levels so I walked the bottom one over and over...and over until I had done a mile.

Thinking it's a good start to the day right? Yup.
Did it end as well? NOPE!
Out to dinner. Margaritas were my enemy. Again. Last time. I missed doing my Zombies, Run! 5k. Just came on home and did nothing the rest of the night. Oh well...That is going to be my biggest hurdle. Stopping the eating out. Doing it less...but still more than I would care. No more for the rest of the week. Well...hopefully. Beach trip coming up over the weekend so I am sure we will eat out at least one night there.



Don't regret my workout! I regret not doing it!

Day 27 - Day 28

Day 27

I finished Week 1 of Zombies, Run! 5k and actually feel like I can move on to week 2! Yay!!!!
Ordered per the app to take a day off so that is what I am going to do. So I will start that on Thursday (Day 29). Went for a nice 45 minute swim with the little one after and had just a nice evening. 

Day 28

Well....not all days can be great. In fact food/exercise wise this day kinda sucked. I didn't even make my 5000 step goal on fitbit. 

The fun thing is....This was my granddaughters first ballet class... So I went to go watch her class and then well...we had to celebrate...so we went to lunch. (Damn margaritas) Food wise I had 2 rockfish tacos, NOT FRIED! WHOO HOO! only 3 chips, a couple of bites of the rice...you know the drill...but I did have 2 margaritas with everyone else there. I just have to stay home! I keep saying it....one day it will sink in.
Oh...I did decide to start doing the stairs at work. So I did once up and down the 7 floors of my building. The only exercise I got....

So my question to anyone who wants to answer today....

How do you lose weight? 

I can step on the scale every day for 6 days and it won't budge at all...come day 7 all of a sudden 3 lbs lost or gained. I would expect a daily fluctuation, however I don't even get that usually. Just there, there, there for days...then bam. Surprise! Because of this I tend to only weigh myself about once or twice a week and not obsess over an ounce here or there. 

How about you? Daily fluctuation? One big change? 

Also...would love to get some new inspiration for music to listen to while working out! Share your favorites!

Day 26

 Another revelation: I am a lot more social than I realize. Going out to dinner will end up being the death of me. So...I need to get that in order. Took the grandbabe and her mom to our local drafthouse to see Monster's University... It's a drafthouse...I had a margarita and a cheeseburger. I did ditch the bun and subbed out grilled veggies for the fries...so...that is something right?

I got in a decent move. I am not going to say workout because it was a quick 1/2 hour walk and then 40 minutes in the pool with the baby after dinner. 

Quick question/poll: Do you eat back your workout calories? I am having an issue with this at the moment since I don't use a HRM yet so I am not positive just how many calories I am burning off as well as unless I am eating a pre-made meal I am not 100% on just how many calories I am taking in. 

Leave answers in the comments! I would love to know what everyone else thinks. 

Day 24

Good day! Good exercise and good eating. Better than my normal Saturdays. Did 1.7 miles on Day 2 of the Zombies, Run! 5k app. Monday should finish the first round (again) and I think this time I am going to be up for moving on to the 2nd week. I knew in the beginning that it wasn't going to be a strict 8 week off my ass to running a 5k...but here's to maybe being able to do a Turkey Trot at the end of November....maybe. We will see how week 2 goes..then 3...then....



The grandbabe wasn't up for a swim so I went without her and swam laps for 40 minutes. Tortoise slow...but I was doing them. I just need to keep that momentum up on all days she doesn't want to go swimming...only way to go is up right?

Another note...my sleep is so screwy right now I am going just a bit bonkers. I am normally a wicked insomniac. Not able to go to sleep, then when I do waking up 3 hours later...etc. Well that is changing slightly and hopefully in the next week or 2 will stabilize itself. In bed by 11 and up 7? Actually sleeping the majority of that? It would be great! Hoping the exercise is going to play a big part in that happening.

Day 22 and Day 23

Day 22

So this was a half good half bad kinda day. I went for a walk at lunch like I had planned...then the grandbaby decided she wasn't in the mood for a swim so I decided it was good to go out to dinner and have some drinks. Went over what I want my calories to be but I didn't beat myself up about it. One day out of the week wasn't going to kill me right? WRONG. I had zero motivation on day 23. I get that I can/need a day off during the week but have found that it can't be proceeded by a night where I indulge a bit. 

Day 23

Eh....what a crap day Friday was. Couple of things I learned for future Tuesdays and Fridays (My work from home days) If I am going to have 2 days "off" then these might be the days to do it. So hard to get motivated to move when the rest of my day, while working, is doing so in my pajamas. I did pull it together a bit and take the baby swimming but that is minimal and more fun than focused on calorie burning (I do jog constantly either in place or chasing after her but there are no laps involved).  I need to see what next week brings and decide then if getting up on those 2 days and getting myself moving is what is needed or if I decide those are my 2 days off. I need a schedule. That is definite. Next week will be getting that schedule in order!

Day 21

Find me on Runkeeper

View on my walk

First full day with the Fitbit Flex! Yeah...I love it. I have decided to start taking lunch time walks. Day 21 a quick mile down to the little "lake" near my office. It was a nice walk and a great break from the office. I don't normally take a lunch break, the people I work for tend to go out to lunch and between money and waistline it isn't a good activity for me to partake in...but....this might just be the right substitute. I work in the office 3 days a week so that 1 mile a day will add up to an extra 3 miles a week!!! Now the question is going to be if I can force myself to get up and move on those 2 days I work from home? We will see tomorrow.

Find me on Fitbit!

Loving the Fitbit Flex stats!!! So I have both runs AND my swim accounted for!!!!

Find me on Zombies Run! 5k

So...not only did I do a mile at lunch...I restarted Zombies Run! 5k. It felt good. I wasn't anywhere near as out of it when I first started...maybe I am getting into shape????

And as an aside...down another pound!

Day 20

Guess who got a Fitbit Flex?! This girl! I just may love this thing more than anything in my life right now. Well maybe not that much but we will see. It feels good to be motivated. Really good. Having goals and being able to see them be completed or not and having no excuse for it is really a glorious thing.
Come find me on FitBit and add me as a friend if you use it as well!

Me on FitBit

Me on Runkeeper

Did a quick walk/jog before taking Emily (The 3 year old grandbaby) swimming last night. Scary thing is....these are starting to feel good! The thing I am working on now is time management and exercise. Trying to get from point a to point b mixed with c , d, e and f throughout the day isn't the easiest thing to do. I have gone from almost completely inactive to finding that I have almost zero time. We are probably swimming from 4-5 nights a week for 1-2 hours average. Great time to spend with the babe. I think in the end that is going to be the big thing I take away from this. She likes to "help" me exercise and we run around playing different games that keep us moving the entire time. I have been logging these swims as Water aerobics, water calisthenics on MyFitnessPal. The calorie burn seems a bit high...but I am not "eating back" my workout calories so I am not too concerned about it. I need to get a good waterproof HRM so I can accurately measure all of my workout calorie burns but until then...just knowing I am moving is doing me good!

On a personal note...went to my local cinema and drafthouse last night and saw This is the End. Good, raunchy fun! Splurged and had 2 margaritas... One of my goals for September is to lower my alcohol consumption. So nothing Monday, Tuesday 2 margaritas...gonna try to keep the trend to none for the next few nights.  It is mostly a matter of just keeping myself at home. And broke til the end of the week so it shouldn't be a problem!

Day 18 Happy September and Monthly Goals!

Happy September!

Day 18 brought swimming in the ocean a brunch with way too many mimosas and a wonderful ridiculously long nap!

While August was my lets get this started month, September is going to be my "this is serious move your ass" month.

Goals:
Exercise....
1)Keep up the calorie goodness but improve the quality of the food I eat
2)Reduce the amount of alcohol I drink. Amazing when I see it logged just how much I drink. Silly empty calories that I just don't need.
3)Buy and start using Fitbit Flex as soon as I get back to town. I am sure it is going to take a day or so to figure it out and set my goals on there....Then STICK TO THEM!
4)Restart Zombies Run! 5k! I doubt I will be ready for a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot...but maybe I will be up to a walk/run one. I had hoped to be up to a Zombie one by Halloween but I don't see it in the cards with how my ankles have been responding.
5)Drink more water! Seriously....how hard is it to just drink water all day? Well...according to my food log...pretty damn hard.

Personal
1)Get my personal life in perspective. It is way to focused on other people right now. Priorities are family and self and that is it.

The picture above is my motivation for this month (and maybe this whole journey). I love everything about the picture....but me. I want to be able to come back next September 1st and be able to recreate this image and be happy instead of just wanting to hide a beautiful image away. Thanks to my lovely daughter Clarice (Her blog-- Love Inspired) for taking this picture!

What are some of your goals for September?

Day 17

Unfortunately the days at the beach are starting to come to an end. Tomorrow and then heading home Monday night.
Eating today was a true test of will power. Breakfast and lunch were under control. Dinner could have been a disaster.

This is The Bobbie.... I am posting the pic of this for a couple of reasons. One it is an amazing sandwich. 2...I was really well behaved. We took half and then cut it into 4 pieces. I only ate one of the 4 pieces.









After we went for a sunset swim in the ocean. 30 minutes of bouncing around with the grandbaby, constantly water jogging the entire time or actually swimming. No clue how many calories that might have burned but I was moving.

Once we got home from that instead of sitting down to another meal I got up and went for a 1/2 hour walk/run. This is the first workout one since my ankles decided they were fubar. But slow and steady. I wish I had done the extra 2.5 minutes for the full 30 minutes, but my feet/ankles hurt and I don't want to be completely down again so I listened to the old body and stopped.









I think I have decided to get something along the lines of a Fitbit Flex. It is worn 24 hrs and is able to be submerged up to 10 meters. This is the only one I have found that has that capability. Since I spend so much time in the pool I really need that functionality. Anyone have one and have an opinion? I would love to hear it. Other suggestions are more than welcome also!

Day 16

Well...this is what vacation is for right? I give up about now. I realize dinners are just going to be out of control so I am trying to keep the morning/afternoon under control. But life is too short to freak about the small stuff when on vacation with your family.

We did go and play in the ocean at night so I burned off a few calories...but not enough to make up for the amazing crabs and beer and margaritas....Thank goodness this doesn't happen very often. I think that once the sun goes down tonight (Day 17)
I am going to try and get in a walk/run.

I am going to start Zombies Run! 5K over on Tuesday when we get                                                         home from the beach. Again. The goal for September is to make it to                                                       week 2 of the app...

Day 12 - Day 15

Quick week recap! Monday saw me back in the pool! My ankles held out well which made me happy! Tuesday - BASEBALL! Took my mom, sister, and granddaughter to see a Nationals game. It was so much fun! I should have turned on my Runkeeper! App and set it to walk. Probably got a good 2 miles in between walking to and from the car and then around the park.  Wednesday....Just hell day all around. Not a fun work day, then my daughter had an issue with her hip so off to the doctor we went. 4 hours, x-rays, prescriptions later....she has sciatica. Poor kid is just always having some sort of thing go wrong.  

Thursday....DROVE TO THE BEACH! Whoo hoo! Seriously...I need this time. But...I am not just going to sit on my ass! Last night we went on an almost mile and a half walk. Slow...but we were moving. You can only go so fast with a 3 year old in tow.  I put a few 10-15 second runs in there, masked as races with the baby, to see how my ankles would hold up. Mixed reviews on that! They did great while I was out walking and running but later that night lots of ouches getting up to roam around the house.  

Day 7

Ass officially kicked. Restarted the Zombies, Run! 5k this morning with a friend from the office. Slower time. Which is OK. I actually think I overdid it the last 2 days. My ankles are fried. I am officially down for the night. Feet elevated. Ice on the ankles...hobbling to the bathroom when needed. It should be OK (or better) tomorrow. But I am definitely taking an off day from walking/running. Swimming will happen. Nothing with an impact on the feet though.

Weight seems to have stayed the same for the week though. THINKING that it is a mix of muscle gain vs. fat loss. I definitely have been eating less and working out so hopefully the next time I hit up a scale it will show a downward trend. But that isn't what my focus is on. Just getting healthy and being able to move and do what I want when I want without having to worry about am I going to run out of breath if I want to go hiking or taking my granddaughter for a bike ride. You get the idea....I just want to be able to move and still enjoy myself.

Swim tomorrow. Walk/Run break. Then full bore again on Thursday!

Day 3

Woot Woot! I feel pretty damn accomplished today. These 2 images are from the same workout. Zombies, Run! 5k day 2 completed and 3rd day of stats tracked on RunKeeper. Then a nice hour long romp with the babe around the pool.
After we went and had a nice dinner. I separated half of all of my food out so I didn't gorge and stuff my face like I usually do. We shall see how it works out. But I am liking this have a bit of what I like without worrying about every damn calorie. Just trying to be smart. No cravings. Yummy tastes. But a bite or 2 of dessert instead of the entire bread pudding! Sounds simple huh?
Now...the question is...Hell's Kitchen or a movie?

Day 2

Yesterday I got out and got moving. It was a day off from Zombies, Run! 5k so I decided to walk and swim instead. Not an incredibly fast walk as you can see. I am slower than a turtle. But at least I got out and did it. I can only get better/faster right? I am using RunKeeper to track all walks and hopefully one day runs! (Find me there: Jessica on RunKeeper).

After the walk I went and swam laps for 25 min. KICKED MY ASS. I am in the pool every day but that is usually running around after my 3 year old granddaughter. While I am moving and getting good movement out of it...it isn't the same and making it up and down and up and down those lanes. I had long breaks in between each lap but I kept forcing myself to do just one more until I was done.

Food was Good. Stayed in the allotted calories for the day. Until...

A friend asked me to come over and drink.

Well...it would be rude to turn that down right? I did modify my normal a bit. (Quite a bit) Glass filled halfway with soda water and then margarita poured on top. I still enjoyed it...It did 2 things really: Let me be social and have a few drinks like I wanted to...and I didn't get completely wasted. Considering how these nights with my friend normally end...both of these were good! So tired this morning but not hungover and I don't feel completely useless.

I use MyFitnessPal to track my food (Find me there: Jessica on MyFitnessPal). I decided to not go with a specific diet. I know that I won't be able to keep that up for an unknown amount of time...so I am just trying to modify portions and daily intake. 

OH! And the good (and encouraging news)....Down 3 lbs!!!