Back on Track - lowest weight since Baby #3 was born!

I am back on track now after the holiday weekend and have been eat GREAT since Sunday. 1200 each day. I have reached my lowest weight since before I was pregnant with my third child!

Did I mention how great I am feeling?! Still have some to go... but I am on my way!

Here I am playing around on my son's bike after a one hour training session, then two miles of running.

Not So Healthy Holiday Weekend

The food I ate was very healthy however I still managed to consume 3000 calories on thanksgiving. And it did not stop there. I ended up in a downward spiral and ate an unhealthy 3000 calories each day for the next two days. Luckily I was able to stop myself from spinning on Sunday morning. I finished yesterday with only 1100 calories and a two mile run. Doing great again today. I plan to see the weight I put back on quickly disappear and then some. 

It's Happening!

I have lost 10 pounds eating right and exercising, but it took me making a bet with friends to get me on track. It is $100 that I must place in a pot. We all put $100 in a pot and must reach our goal weight by January 16th. Whomever makes it shares the pot - those that do not, lose it. The bet was made after the Denver 1/2 Marathon that we all ran together and I have been counting Calories since very day after I got home.

I have about 5 pounds to go to my goal, but I have extended my goal an additional five pounds - secretly for myself.

Meals include lots of white meat including chicken, turkey and some pork. All groceries are being purchased at the local Farmer's Market. I have been buying lots of Organic and Natural foods. Eating Out has been minimal, in fact, it has been over a week since I last ate out, which may not seem like much, but is a LONG time for my family and me.

My training for my next half marathon continues. It will be the PF Changs Phoenix 1/2 Marathon. I have not ran further than the over 5k I just participated in, but the marathon is 8 weeks out from next Sunday and my official training starts on Tuesday - walking two miles, running one, and walking another two. I did go 6.3 miles on the Elliptical Trainer today as well as an addition half mile of running on the treadmill.

I ate well again today. I consumed 1200 calories and have been keeping track in MyFitnessPal. MyFitnessPal has been my life saver this time around. It helps me keep track of ,y calories very easily.

Another HUGE part of my motivation this time around is my friends all think that diet pills are the answer. I am tired of hearing the "I've tried everything and can't lose weight" speech...

Also another dear friend of mine, has considered taking these pills without trying anything at all.

I hired a personal trainer to come into my home twice a week. She is a new friend of mine. I have been coaching both of her kids in gymnastics for the last three sessions. I talked to her about the fitness pills and she agreed with me that it will in fact, mess your body up. It shuts down your metabolism completely she confirmed She is very educated in health and fitness. I told my friends, I will show you - I will lose weight by eating right and exercising, you will see.. so I am bound and determine to show them that it can be done. Most of all, I want to help them lose the weight they want to without taking these unhealthy pills.

My trainer has been amazing. She challenges me each time and thus far, I am sore each time. I am not sure I could do this without her either. She has been a major part of my eating habits, staying motivated and continuing to excersize.

I feel like everything is in the proper place right now for me to be successful.

My First 5k!

I ran my first 5k this morning. The Aflac Iron Girl 5k.  My time was 31:24 for a pace of 10:08 min/mile.  I finished 26/141 in my division ages 25-29 and 209/1014. 

My First Half Marathon!

I ran the PF Changs Inaugural 1/2 marathon in Denver. I finished in 2:52:13. My pace was 13:09. I finished the first 5k in 33:02, the 10k in 1:10:36, 11 mile in 2:22:24.

The Furthest I've Ever Run Without Stopping!

Marathon Training

I have never been 7 miles by foot (that I can recall), until today. 

Today's Run

No much progress since I last wrote. Gained most of my weight back and was not cooking much at all, but in the last three weeks, I have made most of my families meals with fresh foods and I have been training for a 1/2 marathon in Denver on Oct. 17th. It has been about three weeks since I started my training. I am down from 147 pounds to 143 pounds. I guess will see if this time does it. Will I ever get this baby weight off??

Slacking No More

So I have been slacking - or I should say I was slacking. It is now April and I weigh the same as I did when I wrote that first post on December 31st.

I actually lost about 6 pounds. I was down to 144 pounds and then with the cruise with my husband so near, I gave up. I was not going to look the way I wanted to anyway, so I gave up. As a result, I put it all back on while on the cruise.

This time I am not counting calories. This time however, I am changing the food that I put into my body. Before when I would count calories I would lose weight because I was putting less of the bad stuff into my body. Now, I am no longer counting because this time I am cooking. I am used to cooking, but never really from scratch. I would take the wonderful shortcuts the food industry in America has made for us. Canned cream of chicken soup, frozen lasagnas, bagged pre-washed salads. Not anymore. I am making it all from scratch - eventually I will even be baking my own bread.

I spent about two hours at our Farmer's Market buying fresh fruits and veggies. I gathered the ingredients for three of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution dinner recipes and two for breakfast.

I have cooked fish before - fresh fish, in the oven, but never ate it. The look of a plain fish laying on my plate, I just could not put it in my mouth. Last night though, I made the most delicious Jamie Oliver Fish Pie Recipe. It had cod and shrimp along with many vegetables and juice from a fresh lemon. It was all folded together and taste was incredible. As I side I steamed fresh organic broccoli and made one of his Asian inspired sauces that was to die for.

Today I made Lasagna from scratch! I have never done this before. It had Super Lean organic ground beef, seven fresh vegetables, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and egg noodles.

This is the first time I have changed my diet this dramatically and I believe these are the freshest meal I have ever eaten. I have to say that it feels so good to feed myself and my family this way. And if I can lose weight at the same time - that is a HUGE plus! I will let you know if the scale changes for me, but I still feel better knowing that the food going into my body and my childrens' bodies is 100% real food. No additives, no preservatives, no junk!

Made it Through the Weekend

I have discovered when you write down everything that you eat, you realize how much you put in, or used to put in your mouth. You start to cut out that 130 calorie cookie you pick up in the kitchen while cooking lunch or dinner or the 120 glass of soda you would have drank instead of pouring yourself a glass of water. When you go to a birthday party you realize just how much everyone around you in snacking and eating while you restrain.

You choose to drink a 200 calorie beer when you go out to dinner instead of a 1000 calorie margarita (although you desperately want one).

I even went out to dinner. I ordered a grill chicken and avocado sandwich that was most likely still over 1000 calories. It came with the most delicious garlic french fries. The difference was, I also ordered grilled asparagus and ate them first, and instead of gorging myself on with the whole meal I ate only half of it, and took the rest home to finish the following day. I claimed one of them as my cheat day, and the other I had to really be careful about my caloric intake so that I still met my goal of 1200 per day. Since I started, day one I was 149.8, the next day, I was 152 and then 151. After the cheat day I was 151.6 and now I am 149.7. I truly believe that since I am consuming so much less I have lost this weight in pounds of fat off my body. I have not exercised since that four mile bike ride, but I plan to begin walking or bike riding the kids to school on a daily basis to help burn those calories.