FitViews

I was going through my blog updating things today when I noticed that I have not updated my workout log since I started ChaLEAN Extreme . Oops! Sorry about that, I'll fix that soon.  While perusing my workout calendar to make sure I'd logged everything so that I can update my workout log I realized something...I haven't been running. What the? I have been sticking faithfully to my ChaLEAN at 5am, but my runs...I have let them slide. Many, many runs are crossed out on my workout calendar. I planned them and simply didn't do them. Dangit. I am a runner. A runner however must run! Two things have been my excuses lately. 1. time. I am struggling to fit in the ChaLEAN workouts and runs. 2. childcare. Of which I have none, lol. I AM the childcare. Pondering these issues I realize they are really just excuses. Things I need to fix so that I can RUN. I am missing it terribly. There are many times I have wished I could go for a run to clear out the junk in my head

Please enjoy this guest post from Danielle of www.mayorofthebux.com  She is a Twitter friend and she totally rocks. I am so proud of her. Danielle inspires and amazes me! She's going to do great things...you watch. Boot camp – a love story I have struggled with my weight for what feels like forever. From being enrolled in weight watchers at a young age to going to a nutritionist in college while my friends were scarfing down pizza and going to keggers. But one thing I never fully enjoyed has been working out, until now. A little over a year ago a friend and I started walking at a local track and eventually joined a 24 hour gym. It’s been great, but I needed something more hands on, more intense.    My older sis kept “hinting” to me about a local boot camp class that meets in Springfield. Annoyed that she would drop not so subtle hints I joined just to spite her… yea my reasoning doesn’t make sense to me either. The boot camp I attend is taught by a former contest of The Biggest

I have always been insecure. Many people in my life are shocked to hear that, but it's true.  Insecure about my looks, my weight, my writing, my mothering, and most of all how others view me. Lately I have felt like I am really overcoming all that, kicking butt, becoming comfortable in my own skin...but then it sneaks up on me out of nowhere. Someone unfollows me on Twitter, or someone gives me a weird look at the store, or a blog post doesn't get many comments...and I'm that insecure high school girl again. They don't like me, why don't they like me, did I say something, did I do something??? Yikes, it hits my like a sucker punch in the stomach.  And I hate it!  I feel like that insecure girl in those moments, but I am a 33 year old woman who has done and will do much in my life. I have a great life. I have huge goals. I have an awesomely supportive husband, great friends, great kids, a passion for writing, yada yada. The list goes on. So why is it that

I used to work out alone. Only. Either in my room with the door shut or in the living room before everyone got up. I never wanted people to SEE me working out. Yeesh. That would have been tragic. I ran my hubby and kids off if they wandered in. I was way too uncomfortable to have a workout buddy. I am not sure when this changed. I think it happened little by little. This morning, my hubby and 7 year old got up before I had finished my workout. It was a tough, sweat pouring workout. And they proceeded to watch me finish it. I said jokingly...This isn't a spectator sport, but it didn't bother me. This sort of thing happens a lot these days. But I no longer feel embarrassed and chase them out. My little boys will even be next to me trying to copy the 'moves' of the workout sometimes. My kids are always watching. Just by seeing my consistently working out they are learning that being active, working out, is just a part of life. I love that. Tomorrow morning I wi

Well, how was your week? Mine was busy. Workouts, food tracking, daily life, plus getting ready for a double birthday party this weekend (My youngest boys' b-days are a little over a week apart so we have their party together). Busy. I changed my weigh ins to Thursday because my rest day on ChaLEAN is moving to Thursday. I had a guest post yesterday, so I didn't do a weigh in post. My weight was 172.5. So, I lost the 1.5 I had gained and am moving back in the right direction. Relieved.  I didn't do so well posting my food every day. I posted several, but not all. Just didn't get it done. Kind of time consuming taking pics of everything I eat, then tracking in Sparkpeople, then doing a post. I have however tracked every day in Sparkpeople. I will keep that up and probably do food accountability posts a few times a week now. Every day is just a lot. We'll see. I have been wearing my heart rate monitor all day the last two days. Interesting. Yesterday was my

Please enjoy this guest post from Al of  http://sweatinguntilhappy.blogspot.com/  I think a lot of us can relate. Looking in the Mirror So there I was last night sitting on the couch watching biggest loser. On this weeks episode the final four contestants were returning from a 30 day home visit.  They showed footage of how each of the contestants handled being at home but one story hit home with me. Daris from Oklahoma was struggling with finding ways to deal with his stress. He found himself raiding the kitchen in the middle of the night eating away his emotions. Watching that I instantly felt like I was looking in a mirror.  I have spent many nights wandering through the kitchen and digging through the pantry in search of food to ease my emotions. It’s something that I deal with everyday, and yes most days I am in control but every now and then it will get the best of me. I haven’t always been in control of it though, it took me eating my way into a 480 lb body for me t

I have wanted yellow running shoes since I started running. Not sure why, I just like bright colors like yellow and orange, especially for my running shoes. However, I have never been able to find yellow in shoes that fit my feet well.  I did a post about my dream running gear a little while back as part of the runapalooza week I did leading up to my fastest 5k . Well, Puma saw that post, contacted me, and sent me the exact YELLOW shoes from that post! Thank you Puma. (Yep, that's my disclaimer, the shoes were free, the opinions however are 100% my own) A little info about them from www.puma.com : Looking for a little stability? This shoe won't help you find your dream home, job or partner, but it will keep you steady on your feet. And that's a start. This tech'd out little number comes equipped with full-length idCELL cushioning and a long-lasting duoCELL crash pad in the heel. Maximum cushioning + maximum guidance = a difference your feet will appreciate. Feature

I didn't do food accountability posts for the weekend. I took pics Saturday, but never got them posted, then Sunday I went shopping with hubby and just didn't do anything. My food was good for the weekend though. So, here's yesterday's (Monday's). Breakfast: 2 cups coffee with Half and Half. 5 a Day smoothie, with lots of fresh spinach and strawberries (and whey protein, finally bought some, woo, I was going into withdrawals, although SuperTarget didn't have my Designer Whey, I know, gasp, so I bought some other brand, not sure I love.) recipe under my recipe tab. Snack: Peanut butter smoothie. With almond milk, whey protein, 1 tblsp peanut butter, ice. Lunch: Strawberry smoothie with almond milk, whey protein, and frozen strawberries, and an Ezekiel pita with 1 Tblsp Peanut Butter on top (yes, I was a bit smoothie obsessed yesterday, I blame it on too long without whey protein). Snack: Honey Almond Flax Kashi bar, yum. Snack 2 (I am always hungrier on da

I have not enjoyed shopping for clothes for a very long time. Nothing ever fit right. Nothing ever looked right. I was convinced that dressing rooms made me sweat. And don't even get me started on all those criticizing mirrors in there. I hated it, dreaded it. Everything cute was too small. Everything trendy might fit one thigh. I would go. Try on lots. Hate how I looked in everything and rarely come home with anything. I pretty much settled for jeans and hoodies, jeans and hoodies, jeans and hoodies. Today I went shopping. I just wanted one summer outfit because most of my clothes are getting baggy. It rocked . I just went to SuperTarget. No need spending big bucks on clothes I hope to be too small for soon. I timidly went to the juniors sizes. I have not fit into these in a long, long time. I found a really cute pair of dark wash jean capris with cuffs that hit about at the knees. I looked at the size 15. Hmmm, they looked big. I remembered the last time I'd t

It's kind of funny, I am loving reading everyone's comments on yesterday's food post. Now, I may or may not take every single person's advice, but I just love hearing everyone's opinions. So, feel free, to tell me what you think! Someone asked about Oikos. Yes, love Oikos, also like Chobani and Fage. Several commented maybe I didn't eat enough. I am seriously considering that. Right now I do weigh and measure my food and track on Sparkpeople, so I know how many calories I am eating, and the nutrient content. When I go to those online calculators it says I should eat more calories, but when I do, I don't lose weight. I stay the same. Yesterday I wore my heart rate monitor all day and it says I burn less calories than those calculators suggest too. My resting heart rate is much lower since I'm more fit now. Maybe that is part of it? I am very confused about all this right now. Hrmmm. Would love to hear thoughts on that. OK, onto the food. Breakfast

After reading through the comments on my post yesterday I decided I would do a nightly post of everything I eat. I will take pics of absolutely anything that I consume except water. I am going to do it for a week, and then decide if I want to keep doing it. I have to say, it's helping already! I really think about what I choose to eat knowing I have to take a picture and put it all together in a post on here. I am so much more mindful. I know I won't do this forever, but it's good accountability for me for right now. I have to learn to make good choices for life, this is simply a crutch for now. It's a little humorous because I feel like I need to explain what I eat. Like, yes, I like strong coffee with lots of cream and am totally OK spending that many calories on it, or...this isn't a typical day, sure need to go grocery shopping, usually there are a few smoothies in there. Weird. Anyway, day 1 of my food post accountability project. Breakfast: Coffee wit

Looking back just now I've noticed an interesting pattern in my weight loss.  I get very serious, intense, and lose 3, 4, even 5 pounds fairly quickly. Then, I sort of hang out at that weight a while, then I do it again, then hang out there for a while, and on and on. How strange. While I guess it's good I maintain between these 'bursts' of weight loss this is not a pattern I want to continue. I have noticed myself 'slacking' again lately. Instead of getting super crazy intense like I would normally do, I want to focus on becoming more consistent. Consistency is key. I thought I had it, but looking back, not so much. I have been consistently inconsistent.  I want to consistently lose a pound or two a week, not 4 one week and 0 the next three.  I have been consistent with my exercise, especially since starting ChaLEAN Extreme, but not with my eating. I obviously haven't gone crazy since I have maintained my weight, but I am not reaching the goals

  Yes, it's Wednesday. Yes, this should be a weigh in post. But no, no it's not. I am not weighing today. Why? Because I know it will tell me I am exactly the same. I didn't track my calories several days, but was awesome with my workouts. That equals no weight loss, and since I already know that, and can feel that on my body... ...I choose not to step on the scale, I just don't want to see it at the moment. On to the next week...working out hard, better tracking, and feeling fanfriggintastic!! Take that scale, you don't own me.

Just wanted to do a quick post. I am still feeling behind from the weekend (I left for the weekend behind and am trying to catch up), so unfortunately the blog gets put on the back burner while I catch up on real life! We had a great weekend, a great Mother's Day at Vonda's. The kids ran their first race of the kid race series they are doing for the summer. Lots of fun. I hope all is well with everyone. I am working on several reviews and some video posts. I will be back with something more coherent soon! Have a great day.

I was perusing the blogs last night and noticed that several of my friends are in 'funks'. Also, on Twitter a few have said things about being in a funk, and one friend just hasn't been around and I suspect he's in a funk. The crazy thing was my browser or internet was being weird and I couldn't leave comments on blogs or send DM's on Twitter last night. I could go to a page, but as soon as I tried to do one of those things I got an error page. Well, ha ha Google Chrome, you shall not thwart me! I am dedicating an entire blog post to my funky friends. Take that. I have been intimately acquainted with that up and down emotional roller coaster. I know how it can be. Many of you are frustrated with your life in general, or frustrated that you are making poor eating choices, not working out enough, not seeing the results you want, whatever. I know how you feel, I've been there. I think that many of us think the battle we are fighting is completely physica

  I decided I wanted to post more before pics. The before pics I've posted thus far are from when I started this blog. I was already well on my way in the weight loss process by then though.  I have hunted and hunted. I am having a heck of a time finding ANY. I found these really fuzzy ones. Me at 204.5 on the left and 200 on the right. The only reason I had these is because I took them for Sparkpeople.  Crazy how much I have always hidden from the camera! No more hiding from the camera. I want to be in pics with my kids. I don't want to look back at family albums and NOT be in them. I know some of me at my highest weight, about 226, exist. I will keep hunting! Do you hide from the camera?

I am struggling with writing lately. I just feel sort of ho hum. Like I have nothing important to say. I think part of it is that I am behind on my blog reading. I just haven't had time lately to visit blogs. I miss that. Hoping to find  make time soon. When I am not connecting I lose interest in my blog. Weird. Just wanted to put that out there, it's what I'm feeling this morning. On with the weigh in post. I weighed in this morning at 173. Happy with that. I've lost a pound of the pound and a half I had gained the previous 3 weeks. I'll take it. Since sitting down and getting real about why I was so freaking hungry lately I have started tracking on Sparkpeople again. For about a month I had been just jotting calories down on a tablet in the kitchen. By logging on Sparkpeople I can look at what I am eating and my nutrient balance. Well, I had let my protein slip. I was only getting 70-80 grams a day. Which might be fine for some, but for me, especially with d

I believe that how we handle setbacks is a huge predictor of our success. This holds true in many if not all areas of our lives. In particular I am talking about weight loss, healthy living, and fitness. How we handle setbacks in these areas predicts whether we will succeed, or not. In the past if I had a setback, I handled it in a few very non-productive ways. If I ate way too much (of what was undoubtedly junk) I might: Say, oh well, messed up, might as well keep eating for the rest of the day...or the rest of the weekend...or why not the rest of the week. However this often lead to never getting back to making good food choices in proper portions. Freak out and decide to not eat for the rest of the day. While it might balance out the calories it is definitely not the healthy way to handle things. Make excuses for myself. Oh, I'm tired, I've had a bad day, it's that time of the month, blah blah blah. This also isn't productive. Being honest with myself is so imp

Another Replay in Dietland. Hope you enjoy one of my favorite posts! This one really meant a lot to me. See ya Monday. Adult Onset Athlete and a Writer? Yep, That's Me! My sis called last night just to chat. Things have been hectic for both of us lately and she was apologizing for 'f alling off the Earth '. Which made me laugh because usually I'm the one that does that. We talked about my blog, her art, our lives, our kids, all the news, the usual. During the conversation she said I sounded good, happy. My response was that I am.  I feel good, I feel happy, and am in a really good head space right now.  I had a strange moment a few days ago. I was commenting on someone's blog and I realized that something was different about this 'time' of losing weight and getting healthy. I've set goals just like I always do, but this time I  believe  I can do it. I deep down to my toes  believe  I will reach that size 6 jeans, and my goal weight, and all these cr