I WANT A BLOG UPDATE!!!!!

SO DO I!!!! Can someone write it for me?

Oh goodness it's been a crazy busy month. To update you on my weightloss… well, not much has changed, but I've been maintaining, which is good. I'm still going to bootcamp and kickin' some ass. I haven't been very good about writing down my food, but I've been very cognizant of what I'm eating and I've been pretty darn good in my choices - believe it or not, I was getting home crazy late the other night and went through Wendy's drive-thru and instead of the deep fried spicy chicken sandwich combo with fries, I got a grilled chicken salad with apples and vinaigrette, and a small chili. Of course I know it's not the best food in the world, but I could have done worse.

I think my heart rate monitor needs a new battery and I've stopped wearing it for that reason. It's not quite working right and there have been days where it's only reading 250 calories burned, and there is NO WAY!

So, what else is happening? Oh, ya know… just finished my internship hours and I'm the new Site Supervisor for Cobb County Community Services Board Austell location. That's right, I'm a supervisor. I have over a dozen direct reports and I'm responsible for the outpatient services of The CIRCLE. I know I'm qualified for this job, but I have to admit that I get a little chuckle every time I think that "I'm the boss".  BAHAHAHAHAAAAAA…

My internship paper is due November 16th, and then I have little easy steps and then I can graduate and get my life back. It's been one hell of a ride getting there, but I'm almost done and so ready to be done. I'm just trying not to check out too soon, cause I'm so over this, but still have some work to do.

Not much else to report, just busy busy busy. Oh, and I need to get to the doctor cause I think I might have exercise-induced asthma cause I'm having a hard time breathing with the cold weather. Hopefully I can get to the doctor and get an inhaler and push myself even harder at bootcamp cause I'll be able to breathe once again.

Forgive me if you don't hear much from this end until after I graduate on DECEMBER 13!!! Mark your calendars!!!

HUGS
XOXOX

Halfway There!

I made it to the halfway point. 37.5 is halfway towards my weight loss goal (for now) and this morning I reached 37.8lbs down. I'm super excited. I was feeling like I hit a bit of a plateau and I worked my a$$ off this week and got it done!

Let me apologize for the lack of blog posts the last few weeks. I have been crazy stupid busy with internship and school and work and papers and midterms and exercising. My internship has a position they want to hire me for, but I can't, in good conscience, start working it until I honestly complete all of my 300 internship hours. The issue is that the need this position filled yesterday, so I've bumped up my hours from 17/week to 40+/week. And this week is doubly hard with my Nonprofit Governance mid-term this past Tuesday, and my 40 page internship paper is due on Monday and I only have about 22 pages complete - EEEEEEK.

I've bumped up my exercise each morning at bootcamp. I can no longer use the "I'm out of shape, etc." excuse and I'm pushing myself to be one of the first in our line while running so that I can't drop off too far. Although, when someone who is faster than me is behind, I can feel them breathing on my back and eventually I have to step to the side to let them pass. It's getting harder and harder to burn calories in the morning and I figure that the only way to adjust that is to push myself harder and harder each day.

Once again, I have to go "out of town" for a couple of days for my internship. I haven't seen the menu of food offerings but I heard that it's really really amazing. I keep telling myself that I will go for the healthier options and I'm bringing my shoes to, at the very least, go walking after dinner Sunday night. I'm hoping Debbie will join me. She wants me to get there early on Sunday to go horseback riding, and I'd like to, but I fear that I won't have my paper done and will need the extra couple of hours to get it done.

I'll play it by ear.

KUDOS to me for hitting the half way point!!! Target weight loss goal is 75lbs but that's also my initial target weight loss goal, I've said to myself that I'll re-assess at that point and see if it's possible to drop a few more LBs cause even with 75lbs I'm not within my suggested weight. - CRAZY!

Have a great week all!

Weekly Goal: "Healthy options over the weekend!!!"

HUGS XOXOX

My badge of honor

I've earned my first sticker, although I won't actually be putting it on the back of my car. So this blog will have to be my symbolic bumper. I'm still on a bit of a high from finishing the 5K last Saturday and I'm already looking ahead to more.

Stacy and Eric are having a Running Bootcamp 2 days a week in the evenings that I really want to do, but I simply don't have the time right now and the last thing I need is to add another thing onto my already full plate. I'm sure there will be another after I graduate and I'll do it then.

In the meantime, I'm trying to decide between the Gobble Jog in Marietta or the Thanksgiving Day 5K in Atlanta. I still have time to decide, but I love the idea of knocking out a 5K first thing T'giving morning so that I can eat ALL THE TURKEY I WANT!!!

I plan on heading over to Big Peach Running either today or tomorrow to get me a new pair of kicks! I really need to invest in a good pair of running shoes if I'm going to be putting more time into it so that these feet will last a long time. I also worry about that stupid foot going numb. From what I've read, there seems that there's pressure on a nerve somewhere either in my foot, ankle or leg, that is causing this. I seem to have some of the same symptoms as people on different running forums where the moment I stop running, feeling comes back. So weird, and it's not because my laces are too tight cause they were pretty loose on Saturday.

Stacy took my measurements this week and I had shrinking in all areas, but the biggest reduction was in my arms, going down an inch and a quarter… WHOA!!!

Things are settling down a little and there seems to be a bit of "normalcy" lately, well, as normal as things can get around here. I'm still plugging away at my internship Mondays and Wednesdays (crossing my fingers that they offer me a job) and going to class on Tuesdays, and makin' beads on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and then Sunday is Gods day for Football!!! It's a busy schedule, but I keep telling myself that it will all be over in 2 months. It's just been difficult juggling all things while writing my thesis paper and exercising.

It's time to start celebrating the little accomplishments as well as the big ones. Of course the scale is going down, my body is shrinking, and people are starting to notice. But the things that no one talks about are my rings relentlessly spinning around my fingers, my necklace hanging lower around my neck, my shoes are looser around my feet, the increase in energy that I have daily, and the realization that I need to pick up a smaller sports bra cause this one isn't working out so well anymore. It's those small things that no one thinks of or could even notice, that I feel are to be celebrated even more than the number on the scale or in my clothes.

Not much more to say, been busy, wish I had more time to update my blog, but you'll just have to wait until December for more frequent posts.

Weekly Goal: Download more music to add to my "keep moving mix" for running… Any suggestions?

HUGS XOXOX

When I say "To", you say "Marrow"! "To!" "Marrow!"

Here it is, the long awaited 5K Run Edition of Operation: Longevity!!!

Yesterday was AWESOME! I feel so accomplished and it truly is motivating to meet all these goals. I was even more excited not to do this venture on my own. Jess and Mandi flew in from New Hampshire on Friday afternoon (after Mandi's short make-out session with Enrique Iglesias on stage at the Boston concert the night before - but that's a different story), and Shy met me at my house Saturday Morning and we picked up Nicole on our way down to Atlantic Station. Unfortunately we couldn't find Scott and his daughter Rachel in the crown of 600 runners before the race started, but we were able to meet up afterwards and all go to brunch.

Our Team T-shirts… mine had the ribbon honoring Courtney

First off… the energy was AMAZING!!! All of the volunteers and staff were so excited and supportive of all the runners. The main photographer was excited to see our group and said that she recognized our team name from the registration!!! The gathering site had a bunch of goodies like bagels and cream cheese from Einstein's Bagels as well as coffee, there was a table to sign these giant posters with messages of hope, there was a place where you could register for the donor list and have a buccal swab, and other little sponsor tents.

They had a couple of these standing boards to write on and 3 more tables with posters.

We took a second to visit the little girls room prior to the start of the race and utilized that opportunity for a photo op.

My amazing husband got up super early to come and support us, cheer me on, and I can only assume witness the completion of my first 5K. It was so good to have him there and he was privy to see the first dude cross the finish line at just under 15 minutes… WHAOOOAAAA... that dude is super-human, cause that's just B-A-N-A-N-A-S!!! I don't think I was even at the half-way point at 15 minutes!!! Crazy Kenyan's!!!

I was really excited, not at all nervous before the start, and ready to go. They had a woman sing the national anthem, which was beautiful, albeit soooooo sloooooow. And then we headed over to the starting line!!!

Bummer, but the sun blocked out the "start" sign

Aaaaaaaaand… we're off!

The first mile was super easy, in fact, I couldn't believe how fast it came and went, we hit the 1 mile mark just past 11 minutes and I was thinking… this is a piece of cake, and then came the hills… and more hills, and more, and more, and more. In fact, with the exception of the first half mile, the entire course was uphill… how that's possible?!?!? I don't know… but I swear, the whole freaking thing was UPHILL!!! The second mile mark took FOREVER to get to, and when we turned the corner to see the second mile marker, we were also greeted by this monstrous hill right in front of us to tackle.

If you can't tell already, Nicole was awesome at documenting the entire thing… in fact, we had to take this picture 3 or 4 times because this one lady kept getting in the damn way!!!

There was no way in hell I was able to run that hill… my heart-rate was crazy high as it was, and the idea of adding that much of an incline was preposterous, so admittedly, I walked up the monster hill (and then started running as Nicole was documenting the slope of this monster so it looked like I ran the thing). I was asking the "experienced" runners and they all said that the hill yesterday was a bajillion times worse than the hill in the Peachtree Road Race known as Cardiac Hill. This one was longer and steeper… go figure. In fact Nicole said the entire course was one of the hilliest runs she's done!!!

We rounded another corner and the cool thing is that the 2Day Walk for Breast Cancer was passing us at the same time, so it was really neat to see all of the groups of pink walking the other direction.

The last mile+ was way easier with the exception of my right foot being completely asleep (and had been since about the half way mark). I had to stop and re-tie my shoe cause it was sooooo uncomfortable. I seriously need to get a good pair of running shoes before I do this again, cause it was not a fun feeling. 

We hit the 3 mile mark and I knew it was almost over and the finish line was right around the corner!!!

What an amazing experience, what an amazing feeling of accomplishment, and I have a renewed energy to move forward. 

My final time was 38:43.74 I averaged a 12:29 minute mile. I came in 78 out of the 123 in my age group and 350 out of the 567 participants, overall. Nicole and I both argue that we need to deduct at least 10 second for the times we stopped for photo-ops and our goal is to get down to a 5 minute mile, to beat that crazy Kenyan!!!

I want to send a HUGE shout-out to EVERYONE who supported me. There are far to many of you to name individually, but I had $820 in donations from 23 different donors. I had so many texts, emails and Facebook posts prior to the start of the race to offer support and encouragement. 

And, of course, I can't help but thank my teammates who ran with me. Shy, you rocked it like a bullet, I'm so proud of you and how far you've come, you're such a motivation to me! Mandi, thanks for stopping to cross the finish line with us - it really meant a lot. Nicole, you were right by my side the entire time, documenting every mile and encouraging me along. Jess, you rocked it girl, way to push yourself and run across that finish line!!! Scott and Rachel, I love that I had support from my Bootcamp Family!!!

So… what's next?!?!? Well, there's already talk of the Turkey Trot around Thanksgiving and the Jingle Jog in December… I'll keep ya'll posted!!!

$$$ Show Me The Money $$$

ONLY ONE MORE DAY LEFT TO MAKE A DONATION… Click on the link to the right to support me in my efforts for this 5K and to help me reach my $1000 goal, I'm only a little ways away.

Ooops, I gained .2 LB's this week. That's kinda a sarcastic "ooops" cause let's face it… .2 lbs is a sip of water. I'm actually thrilled that I didn't gain more cause I've come to realize that traveling makes it very difficult to control your diet.

I just got back yesterday after 2 days in Knoxville for a regional SAMHSA Grant meeting pertaining to the grant I'm working on through my internship. It was an extremely successful trip and provided a great opportunity to understand the grant better, see an effective model of integrated health, and get to know some of the individuals that I'm working with as well.

While I was the only person in the fitness room at 5:30 on Wednesday morning (at least until someone else came in at 6am), I realized the difficulty of travel and I now understand how people who travel for work find it difficult to eat well and maintain their weight. I have a relatively consistent diet and the inability to control portions and ingredients was a challenge. For instance, yesterday morning I ordered 2 eggs scrambled (for my protein) and they took a giant spoonful of prepared scrambled eggs that probably equalled the amount of 4 eggs, if not more. That's just an example. Also, admittedly, because I don't travel all the time for work, or pleasure, I use that as an excuse to make less-than-wise food decisions, because "I don't eat like this much".

Another lesson I learned this week was that I am 100% confident that I made the right decision to do bootcamp every morning and not just a stupid gym membership. I WAS SO BORED!!! I ran on the treadmill for 10+ minutes, was bored out of my mind - even with a personal TV right in front of me, and then moved to the elliptical for 20+ minutes - STILL BORED OUT OF MY MIND!!! It wasn't until I got off of the "fancy equipment" and utilized the stability balls, weights, and exercise balls, that I became a little more interested in what I was doing and time FLEW!!!

I did make sure to use my elevator ride to my room, after working out, to text Stacy and save her the trouble of texting me!

On a personal note (non-fitness/weigh loss related), it was very refreshing to be around so many intelligent, powerful, well-spoken, successful women while I was at this regional meeting. There were also men there, but you expect to see the stereotypical business man. What was great was to see was so many women of different ages, backgrounds, races, and education, who are driven and successful. So awesome!

The 5K is next Saturday, Sept. 24 and I'm ready. Not sure if any of you saw the comments on the last post, but last Saturday I managed to run into town and 1/2 way back. Downtown Canton is 2 miles from my house (actually 2.2 miles but I stopped just short of the actual center of town). The exhausting part was all the stinkin' hills that I have to trudge up and down living out here in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains. I'm super confident after this past weekend that I, indeed, can complete this 5K, especially since Atlantic Station is relatively flatter than where I live.

Weekly Goal: Don't get complacent!

HUGS XOXOX

Black hole of time...

I seriously feel like I've been running about 10-15 minutes behind ALL WEEK. No, really. I seemed to wake up late all week and I've been just a little late for everything. So weird cause I'm a pretty punctual person. There are some explanations for some days and others where I've been left scratching my head wondering where the last 10 minutes have gone.

Here's a good example: this morning, I was getting ready to leave for bootcamp at 8:50am, bootcamp starts at 9:15 and it takes me 20 minutes to get there, so explain to me how I was half way there and look at the clock in my car and it was 9:13?!?!? I was still 5 - 10 minutes late this morning. I really don't understand it all.

I've been having alarm clock issues, I got a new iPhone4 and it seems that it doesn't work properly with my iHome alarm clock. I'm finding that half the time my alarm doesn't go off and the other half when it does go off, I'll hit snooze and then it never goes off again. Eventually I find myself waking up just a little too late to get to bootcamp, or even after bootcamp has started, and unfortunately the two times it happened this week were Tuesday and Thursday where there is no 9:15 class. Yesterday I hit snooze, and then suddenly woke myself up at 5:47am. I got my bootie up and rushed to get dressed, got out of the house, into the car and then on my way was stopped at 2 out of the 3 lights in the first 2 miles of my ride over to bootcamp. When I realized that it was after 6:00 and I wasn't even half way there, I decided to throw in the towel and go back home, wait until the sun comes up, and go to the park to run - which I did, but HATE that I missed my bootcamp.

This morning, I set my alarm on my phone which did an awesome job of waking me up on time but I decided to snuggle with the hubby until he had to get up, and figured I can go to the 9:15 class this morning. This is all while Stacy is texting me every day wondering where I am and what's going on, and Michelle, my Belle, is posting comments on here about how she missed me and yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm so thankful and grateful for all of the support and accountability, cause after this past week it would have been easy for me to get into some more bad habits.

On a positive note… DOWN 3 LB's this week!!! WHAT WHAT?!?!? That's right, while I've done a sucky job writing down all my meals (with the exception of the last two days) I've been really good at keeping within my allotted calories EVEN WITH MY DAILY NIBBLE OF CHOCOLATE (which has been 2 pieces of KitKat a day this week - 105 calories).

I'm starting to get nervous about my 5K in 2 weeks. Honestly, I feel like it's a mental hurdle more than a physical one, but when I run my 1mile lap around the path at the park, I just want to be done running after one lap. Part of me thinks that if I was to just start running, had no clue where I was going, or how far I had gone, I would be able to keep it up longer, but the reality is that if I had to do my 5K at the park I would not succeed. I'm also putting a lot of weight on the idea that adrenalin will kick in and I'll just be a force moving with the crowd. Mandi and Jess get in next Friday and I'm really excited that there is a nice little team that's running. I want to go out over the next week and get some t-shirts to make for the run. I already designed the "logo" and a little tribute for The Almighty Talbot.

I'm still short of my donation goal for the Be The One Run, please take a second to click on the link to the right and make a donation if you're able to. I was actually hoping to beat my goal and reach $1000, but it doesn't look like that will happen. I'm still proud to reach $750 - that's a lot of money and that equals 7+ more donors being registered.

GOAL: Keep at writing down all my food, good or bad!

HUGS XOXOX

Calorie is the new cash

Over the past few days/weeks/months I've come to realize that my entire understanding of calories has evolved into a new life-form. No, really! No longer is a calorie a unit of measure to provide nutrients and sustenance for survival (I made up the definition all on my own - are you proud of me?!?!?), but calories are now cash. Each calorie represents a currency of sorts whereby, the more I burn, the more I can eat. Just like, the more you work, the more money you make (theoretically - although still not proven in my case). That being said… I'm now recognizing that the more exercise I do, whereby burning more calories, the more food I can eat. I like this theory. I like food.

The reality is that I will always be a foodie. I like to cook, I like to eat, and I love to dine! I cannot image that at any point in my life will I not follow each and every savory meal with a balance of sweet. I know it sounds really weird but my mouth always feels unbalanced after I eat something savory and the only way to get the Ph level back to normal is to have a bit of sweet yummy goodness. 

I love chocolate and while I haven't necessarily deprived myself of it over the last 5 months, I haven't consumed as much as I feel I my body needs. That's right - I said NEEDS!!! I can't "do the healthy thing" and switch over to dark chocolate, it's just not sweet enough. I live, love, need, yearn, desire, and lust after smooth, creamy, rich, milky chocolate, and if you add a little peanut butter to the mix, I'm in heaven. This is just a reality of life, and if it means that I'll be a size 6 instead of a size 4 - SO BE IT!!! I NEED CHOCOLATE.

Yes, that is me, at my wedding, attempting to drink from the chocolate fountain!!!

The good news is that the 500-600 calories I potentially burn in bootcamp (or any other form of exercise) allows a healthy consumption of chocolate. I'm not all crazy nuts about it, in fact, if I get a package of reese's peanut butter cups I can discipline myself to eat only one. But no longer and I going to deny myself the insatiable need for chocolate. My life just won't allow it. 

Oh lord… Stacy, I can already hear you… "Liz, those are just empty calories… how about you put some peanut butter on a chocolate graham cracker or something" NOT GUNNA HAPPEN - SORRY!!! (Still love you though!) There is no substitute and it's just how it's going to have to be. I can however guarantee that even with my 105 calorie Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, I will still stay within my allotted calories, I'll just have to make adjustments elsewhere. 

Time for my confession… I've really sucked at keeping track of all of my foods. I'm not really eating anything out of the ordinary, which is why I don't necessarily feel like I have to write everything down, but I feel like I'm getting into some bad habits. I seriously eat the same dang thing (or variation of the same thing) every day or week. So the reality is that I'm pretty much taking in the same amount of calories every day. Only issue comes into play is on the days when I haven't exercised. But that's usually the weekend and by the time I have my weigh-in on Friday, those calories are long gone - that cash has been spent!!!

It's my party and I'll eat if I want to...

Well, the scale has not budged in 2 weeks. I totally and completely know why, and I'm ok with it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am an emotional eater, and the last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful. The funny thing is that I didn't eat bad (well, for the most part), I just ate a lot of good!!! There were a couple of exceptions over the last couple of weeks, one being the post hang-over grease relief and the second being my birthday. The funny thing is that I've now suffered the consequences of my poor food choices but I'm ok with it - but just for now. What I found interesting is that 6 months ago I would have eaten as much as I did on my birthday (and maybe even more) on a regular basis and feel full, but not uncomfortable, but I felt ill after my mexican and couple of bites of my cupcake on Tuesday.

I've been plugging away at running and a couple of times last week I stopped at the park and did a quick mile loop run around. I also have recognized that it's getting harder and harder to burn calories every morning at bootcamp. When I first started this I was burning 600+ calories every morning and now I'm lucky if I reach 500. Usually hitting around 450. That's also part of why I've stopped at the park to run, just so that I can get closer to 600 calories burned. I've learned that the more calories I burn in the morning, the more calories I can eat during the day. And I like to eat!!!

I played hookie this morning. My alarm clock either didn't go off, or I turned it off in my sleep this morning. The past week I've felt like someone is sitting on my chest, I blamed it on allergies, but yesterday I was having a hard time breathing during bootcamp which meant that my heart-rate was up kinda high the entire time. Not to mention that my core - both abs and back - are so sore today, so I decided that I just needed a break today.

I'm getting excited for the Be The One Run in a few weeks and there's still time to make a donation, if you have not done so yet. Just click on the link to the right. I don't necessarily feel like I'm quite ready physically, but I've also heard that adrenaline kicks in once you're there and you just end up running with the pack and it's over before you know it!!!

That's all for now… sorry for the lack of posts the last couple of weeks, I've been busy busy busy!!!

This weeks goal: WRITE DOWN ALL MY FOOD

Oh Bother...

I feel like Eeyore lately "The sky has finally fallen. Always knew it would."

No, seriously, I'm a complete and total Debbie Downer, a Negative Nancy, I feel like this stroke of bad luck won't quit and the hits just keep on coming. The crummy thing is that I don't even like myself right now and wouldn't blame someone for not wanting to be around me, I don't care much for my attitude, but man it's getting harder and harder to fight. I seriously feel like Eeyore, although without my tail nailed to my ass (that would make me pretty grumpy too).

My stress level is beyond high with school starting today, my internship two days a week that started yesterday, this GA Tech competition that is Thursday and Friday, in addition to having to find time to work, cause as you all know, if I don't work, I don't get paid.

To add fuel to the fire we have been sweating our asses off since Thursday when our 18 month old Air Conditioning unit crapped out on us and the latest estimate to get it fixed is over $900. There is a warranty on the unit, but it doesn't cover labor and the labor warranty was only for a year… so we're effed. We've called the manufacturer, LENNOX, and threatened to report them to the better business bureau, but they could care less, so I wrote a strongly worded letter to the CEO, of which I'm sure he'll never see, but I let him know what a piece-of-garbage product LENNOX has, how gawd awful their customer support is, and how I will make it a mission to blast their product on every forum, social network and website I can whenever I have the opportunity, and if an opportunity does not present itself, I will create it. I also thanked him for fucking up our American dream (sorry for the language). I know it's a little dramatic, but I can't imagine that someone who's salary is just shy of a million dollars a year (before any applicable bonuses) could possibly understand where we're coming from. BASTARDS!!! So, if you haven't figured it out yet… DON'T BUY LENNOX!!! Don't even consider it, not for one second, DON'T. Down with LENNOX.

And yet people still don't get that their comments of "you've got to be positive", "things will get better", "keep your head up" are just trite, especially as they are saying them while enjoying life with their perfect little families, in their perfectly air conditioned houses, with their comfortable bank accounts, because they work within their ideal job. Positivity gets harder and harder when you have been for years and years and years in the past and you still keep getting shit on.

Thank god for exercise. Boy, if my serotonin levels weren't low as it is with all the stress and misfortune in life, I would be completely certifiable if I didn't get up every morning and exercise. It has been a great stress release and I can't wait until it's a little cooler and I can burn off more stress in the evening. Shy-town met me this past Sunday to go run at Boling Park. We actually finished 5K! I didn't necessarily run the entire thing (Shy did, she's amazing) but I finished! I was so thankful for her agreeing to meet me because I needed to work out some frustration, yet I was in no mood to go and exercise. So her planning on meeting me meant that I had no option but to go. Everyone at bootcamp was so excited for me and today Michelle said that she was thinking about me all day saying "Liz is an athlete" BAHAHAHAAA… I don't know if I'll ever reach athlete status, I'm such a klutz and incredibly uncoordinated, but it's flattering that she thought it.

So here I am, hoping that things don't get worse (cause I've lost all optimism at this point), but hey, at least I haven't lost a son in Lebanon.

Orange Fingertips… OH NO!!!

Sorry for the depressing post last week, but life isn't always rainbows and glitter (or in my case, weight loss and horses) and part of sharing my journey is sharing my life, and the last week has been quite a downer. But in true Liz fashion, I've picked myself up and keep going hoping that hopefully luck will turn my way. What's the saying?!?!? If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all…

Last weekend Woodstock FitBody Bootcamp celebrated it's 2 year anniversary by going up to Ellijay for the weekend and utilized Michelle's father's cabin. We spent Saturday afternoon tubing the Cartecay River, well, actually the river was so low, that we spend 3 hours dragging ass on the Cartecay River, getting bumps and bruises, but a great arm work-out at the same time paddling ourselves because there was NO current. Then we went back to the cabin for some food, spirits, music videos, and karaoke. I can honestly say that it was the first "healthy person" party I've ever been too, and everyone brought a food dish that was healthy… whole wheat pasta salad, green salad, tomato & cucumber salad, fruit platters, veggie platters, hummus, peaches, and the Thai cole slaw that I brought. It was just funny to see no fatty mayo potato salad or pasta salad or the other fattening side dishes that you find at parties. But it was a blast!

I've been pretty darn good at counting all of my calories over the last couple of weeks, with the exception of one night involving a bag of Baked Cheetos - as Mary says "those things are like crack, once you start, it's hard to stop". The crummy thing is that the next morning on the way to bootcamp I realized that I couldn't even hide the evidence cause I had very orange fingertips. Hey… at least they were BAKED Cheetos and not regular ones.

I have been blown away by the amount of support I've been getting for the 5K!!! Courtney's life partner put a link on Support the Almighty Talbot Facebook page and complete strangers, who loved Courtney, have been making donations and I can't help but feel like hopefully I can aid in people's healing by having them know that Courtney is not forgotten. If you haven't been to Courtney's blog page, you should take a minute and go see why she touched so many lives. http://www.thealmightytalbot.com/

If you would like to make a donation, I added a ticker to the right of this blog, so you can easily click on the link and make a donation. My goal is $750 but I'd love to challenge people to help me reach $1000. Every little bit helps. It takes about $100 to process new donors through entering information, running the scientific tests on the swabs, and maintaining the results to find marrow matches. So if 10 people donate $10 that could cover the expense of one person becoming a donor. $10 is not a lot of money… it's skipping your daily Starbucks run twice this week, it's having 2 less cocktails tonight at the bar (or in my case, one cocktail - I have expensive taste), it's brown-bagging your lunch to work one time next week. It's only $10 and that $10 can save someone's life… for me, it's a no-brainer! I would skip Starbucks everyday if it meant saving the life of one person.

I'm also asking EVERYONE reading this blog to pass it along. I've been getting so much feedback and I'm now convinced that I'm reaching more and more people, but I want more - Yeah, I know, I'm greedy.  If you like my blog, you read my blog on a regular basis, and want to continue reading my blog then do me a favor… at the bottom of each post there is a series of little buttons… click one of the buttons to share my blog on your favorite social network sight… click on the Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. button and tell the world that you love Operation: Longevity. I had almost 50 hits on my "What's that smell?" post and I want to reach 100 hits!!! So do it. Have you clicked on it yet? No? Ok, I'll give you a second…



Done?
Ok! Thanks!


Goal for the week: Don't buy Baked Cheetos!!!

Hugs XOXOX

Groundhog’s Day

For the last 6-7 years I have been waking up every morning and diving head first, full-force into the day. Everyday I do whatever I can to better my life, my husbands life, and my marriage. Everyday I find ways to encourage and support those around me. Everyday I pray that maybe this will be the day that the sun will shine on us and the gray cloud hanging over our heads will move away. And everyday I go to bed feeling defeated.

People always say that as long as you’re doing what you love, you’ll be happy… but what if outside forces are keeping you from doing what you love?!?!? What if you have made every effort to better your life by giving to others, gaining a better education, raising yourself up with devotion, and every effort is met with a brick wall? What do you do then? Keep waking up to the same thing day after day and going to bed every night heartbroken?

My amazing, intelligent, passionate husband has been trying for the last 6 years to do what he loves, teaching social studies. He has been met with a year and a half of rejection, heartache, self-doubt, and despair. When he’s not happy, I’m not happy, and when I’m not happy, he’s not happy. I hate that he is beating himself up for things that are out of his control and I hate that the universe doesn’t recognize what an amazing human he is.

No disrespect, but the “hang in there”, “something will come up”, “keep at it”, and “there’s something out there for you” comments are nothing but a reminder that for the last 6 years he has been playing by all the rules to make a better life for himself and us, and losing this game of life. He/we have been hearing those same comments over and over and over again, and they don’t help. If that were the case, then after 6 years something would have come along to enhance our lives. Instead we are met with more and more obstacles that challenge our spirit, and everyday it’s getting harder to keep pushing along when all we’re doing is spinning our wheels.

So forgive me if my smile isn’t as big, my head is held a little lower, and my spirit is not up, but I’m feeling a little broken right now and I just don’t have the fight in me.

What's that smell?!?!?

WEEKEND UPDATE | WEEKEND UPDATE | WEEKEND UPDATE | WEEKEND UPDATE

I haven't been feeling 100% the last few days and I've been extremely lethargic. So tired, in fact, that when my alarm went off yesterday morning to go to the park and run… well, I turned it off and slept another 3 HOURS!!! Now, that's tired. I did managed to get up this morning (albeit a little late) and get over to the park to run. 

I realized pulling into the parking lot that the Rodeo was in town this weekend and the Rodeo conveniently holds their show right in the park area where I run (that was sarcasm, if you couldn't figure it out). When I pulled into the parking lot I saw a couple of horses standing around the park grounds and I thought for a minute that maybe I wasn't allowed to go into the area and run, but then I saw a few people coming out of the area and decided to go for it.* 

*for those of you not familiar with Boling Park… in order to get to the park area where the gravel running path is, you have to go over a little bridge that separates the park from the parking lot.

Let me first say that the smell when I crossed the bridge almost knocked me over. I've said it before and I'll say it again… You can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl. I started to stretch a little to allow my nasal passages to get accustom to the smell of "nature" and then took off, yet again hoping that my Forest Gump leg braces would break off and I would take off (didn't happen). I made one complete lap around and even took a minute off my mile - HOORAY!!! All while having to inhale the lovely aromas and dodging manure on the running path. But then I started getting distracted by all the horsies all over the place. Yes, I did talk to them, called them puppy, and barked at them (Greg can verify that I really do feel that horses should say "woof" instead of "neigh") - I'm certain that the other people walking/running thought I had escaped from some local mental hospital and considered calling the people in white coats to come and take me away.

On my second lap around (which I was walking at this point) a deer came out of the woods to nibble on the hay scattered around for the horses. I'm sure she was also cleaning up the scraps of popcorn and peanuts and lord-know-whatelse the Rodeo goers left behind over the weekend. It reminded me of Templeton, the giant rat from Charlotte's Web, scavenging around after the circus. Silly little deer let me get super close to her. If I was 10 feet away, I'm being generous!!!

Then I scared mamma deer away, I walked on and turned around to see that mamma returned with her two little babies…

I know they're kinda hard to see… but they're in there!!!

 The whole thing kinda reminded me of a couple of years ago when I wrote the blog post about the deer that ran along side of me for a little bit and then darted into the woods. At the time I didn't have a cameral with me, so I drew a picture. If you want to read that post "Mind Over Matter… Matter Wins!" click HERE. If you don't want to go to the past blog, here is the picture…

Very accurate rendition, if I do say so myself.

Oh, but my story doesn't end there… I left the deer family alone and continued on around to where the Rodeo owners (for lack of a better term) had their trailer. They had two beautiful horsies tied up and I stopped to turn my back to one of the horses and tried to take a picture of me with the horse in the background. As I look up this beautiful white horse was trotting right towards me. Scared the be-jesus out of me, but I started to talk to her and she let me pet her and love on her. She was mammoth (way bigger than my dogs, who I sometimes call mini-horses) but was so gentle and I really think that she just wanted to be in my picture too…

I named her Starlight

I did manage to get a picture… finally, of me with the now two horses in the background, although I'm not sure I got Starlights best side.

I know, my face looks kinda funny in this picture, but I have to admit that I wasn't completely comfortable turning my back to this beautiful, but massive animal that could knock my skull into pieces with one swift, little kick. 

Anywho… this is just one more reminder that I'm doing what I should be doing, and that had I not started exercising, I would have missed out on this magnificent experience. 

HUGS XOXOX

Il taxi è qui

Translation: Cab's Here!!!

So one of my silly little guilty pleasures is watching the total debauchery called Jersey Shore!!! Believe me, I know that show is not life changing, but it's pretty entertaining watching orange people make complete and utter fools of themselves. C'mon, I know you watch it too… just admit it.

So why, you ask, is this the title of todays post??? Well GTL of course!!! For those non-Jersey Shore watchers, GTL stands for Gym, Tan, Laundry and well… after my favorite 8 Guidos and Guidettes got to Florence, Italy they went out to GTL and while they were doing the G part, the guys were using Crazy Ropes!!! This is something we do at bootcamp where we have these large, heavy, 20-30 foot ropes that we have to snake up and down… crazy cardio and crazy arm workout. Eric calls it the Pacific Ocean because when you have three of us lined up shaking our ropes, it kinda looks like waves in the ocean.

So here is my giant NERD ALERT!!! I have been so incredibly overwhelmed by the amount of support I have been getting, both emotionally and through donations, for my 5K next month. Not only are the donations pouring in, but I've been getting amazing words of encouragement from everyone and I'm so excited to be doing this, not only for myself, but also for this amazing cause, and believe it or not, I'm doing this also for all of you. I have been hearing over and over again how inspiring I am (which is still a little mind boggling) and I suppose this just keeps the inspiration going.

So why am I a nerd? Well, cause, quite frankly, my eyes well up every time I get another donation because I'm so touched. I know, I know, those of you who know me are now rolling your eyes and saying to yourself… "Liz cries at Hallmark and Publix Holiday Commercials" but this is a different kind of cry - I'm simply so touched by everyone's generosity (and ya'll know that the Publix commercial where the whole family goes to the house of the doctor to surprise him because he can't travel to them for christmas, makes you teary eyed too). It's never too late to make a donation and if you haven't done so yet and would like to, please click HERE.

Stacy went to some trainer training (HA) and she came back with new gadgets and torture ideas and I'm totally feeling it this week. While each day of each week is different, there is always going to be some repetition of exercises and I guess my body was getting used to some of them. Well, not this week. My legs are KILLING ME!!! I was lying flat on the couch last night with Greg's belt wrapped around my foot holding my leg straight up in the air to try and stretch out my hamstrings… OUCH! No pain, No gain - Right?!?!?!? Although, it would be nice if this was easy.

I did get my bootie up early last Saturday and Sunday to go to the park and run around and see how much work training for this 5K is going to be. Saturday I managed to go 1.5 miles w/out stopping and then walked .5 then started to run, but starting back up was not so easy. Then Sunday I went 2 miles non-stop and walked another .5. I keep thinking that I'll be like Forest Gump and my (imaginary) leg braces will break off as I start moving my feet and "I was running", but no, it's hard propelling my butt around and I have a ways to go still.

One pound down this week, although it was not an easy pound and I barely made the cut-off. I've been kinda slack in journaling all of my grub and I suppose I should make that my goal for the week: write down EVERY little bite I put in my mouth!!!

HUGS XOXOX

Running for more toMARROWs!!!

No weight change this week... I'm ok with that. I still know that no-matter-what, I'm getting healthier day by day even if the number on the scale hasn't moved. Disclaimer: The following statement is not a pity-party for one, just something that has to be put into words, but… I just don't quite understand how there can be no change in my weight. I was calorie deficient all week, meaning that my calorie intake was less than my calorie output (which for those of you who don't know, that's how you lose weight) and still I didn't lose any LB's. Who knows… I'm sure it'll show up (or down - HA) next week.

SOOOOO the big, HUGE, amazing news is that I'm about to register to run a 5K in September!!!! OMG I'm so stinking excited. The 5K is for Be The Match Foundation and it's called the Be The One Run.

Here is a little background as to why I've chosen this to be my first 5K EVER!!! (Get the solemn violin music playing in the background of your head as you read this part) So a year (or more) ago Mary brought a blog to my attention, The Almighty Talbot, this blog was being written by a woman, Courtney Talbot, who was recently diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with the Philadelphia Chromosome, 

and was journalling her journey, some could even say that her blog was possibly part of her own therapy. I did not know Courtney and I didn't even really know her partner, Kristen, although Kristen and I went to High School together, but Courtney touched my life in ways she'll never know. I obsessively checked in on her blog to see if there was an update, to monitor her progress, and to gain strength from her words of positivity while battling such a debilitating disease. Courtney was so brutally honest about her determination, her courage, her fears and her anger that you couldn't help but feel like you were sitting in her hospital room with her and listening to her testify her story. There's not too much I could do from 800 miles away, except lift her up in my prayers, and provide a buccal swab to see if I can be a match to Courtney or anyone else who I could possible help. Courtney was blessed to have found a bone marrow match in her sister and was able to have a transplant only to have the transplant not take and unable to find another match before she lost her battle. While she may be gone in body, she will always live on in sprit because of the amazing number of people's lives she touched without even meaning to. And it is in Courtney's memory that I have decided to run my first 5K for this particular foundation. 

Ok, wipe your tears.

I was not thrilled about doing this alone so I first contacted my girlfriend Liz, who's mother was a bone marrow transplant recipient and was fortunate enough to have the marrow take and is now in remission. After she was in 100% I decided to see if anyone else was interested and if we could get a team together. I put the idea out on Facebook and I'm completely overwhelmed by the response. Currently, the participants include Me, Liz, Shy, Nicole, Reanna, and Mandi and Jess (who are flying in from NH) and a few people have said they are interested but have to look into it more. 

I've thrown out a few ideas for a team name and I need to go online and register our team so everyone participating can get themselves registered. Here are the team names I've come up with and I'm interested to see what all of your thoughts are and if you have any other suggestions:

     For more toMARROWs
     Running for more toMARROWs
     Fighting for more toMARROWs
     Match Makers
     Insert your own catchy team name HERE!
So far the number one name is "Running for more toMARROWs" so that's prolly what we'll go with. I want to get a few t-shirts together for the team so I need to get a logo of sorts made (any volunteers?).

Today's bootcamp was pretty awesome and I was so charged afterwards that I stopped at the park on my way home and did a one mile lap around the running trail (go me) and I hope to keep this up until the 5K. I'm seriously not physically there yet, but I figure that I should be in 2 months if I start working hard at it now.

HUGS XOXOX

Someone forgot to eat their Wheaties today...

I almost, ALMOST skipped bootcamp this morning. I hit snooze on my alarm clock one too many times and by the time I realized it, I knew I would be late, so I lied there in bed for a good 10 seconds and weighed my options… turn off my alarm clock, get some more sleep and get up and go to the park and run on my own OR suck it up, get my butt moving and get to bootcamp, even if I am a few minutes late. I chose option 2. I do have to say that I was dragging A$$ the entire time, but the 40 minutes of half-assing it was still more exercise than I would get over the 40 minutes of lying in bed - right?

Summer semester is finally over as of last night, and I have 3-4 weeks before Fall Semester begins. In the meantime, I've been diligently looking for an internship. I've had 2 "interviews" already, I have a follow-up to one tomorrow morning and I'm hoping that I'll have one more prior to the end of the week. I've struggled back and forth as to what I should do concerning my internship and I still haven't come up with a solution. I suppose much of the reason behind this is because I don't exactly know where my placement will be yet, and I don't know what hours would be expected of me the couple of times a week I have to show up.

One of my struggles with my internship, wherever it is, revolves around bootcamp. The reality is that, depending upon the time I'm expected to arrive, bootcamp may be impacted at least 2x's a week. This is a major stress factor for me. As my hero Dr. Phil says… "the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior" and history has a way of repeating itself (I hope you don't all really believe that Dr. Phil is my hero). My patterns in the past have dictated that when something in my life changes, i.e. new job, a move, school, etc., I change all my habits and patterns associated with exercise and diet - and that change is ALWAYS for the worse. I already talked to Stacy about the possibility of having to drop down to 3 days a week once my internship begins and I'm hoping that the 3 days will still hold me accountable and I won't drift too far off my usual behavior. I think my previously mentioned goals has, hopefully, set me up for success by exercising on my own and not necessarily relying on bootcamp M-F to get my workout on!

The other thing that stresses me out is food. I know it's a silly thing, and as long as I prepare I'll be ok, but I like my routine as it is, and the idea of not being able to eat my usual protein and carb within 45 minutes of bootcamp every morning kinda makes me sad. I suppose this is all part of my lifestyle change. I've been pretty darn fortunate to work from home and I've taken advantage of the ability to make my b'fast, lunch and dinner with intermittent snacks at my leisure. I HATE those nasty frozen lunches/dinners and the crazy amounts of sodium in them makes me thirsty just thinking about it. So I have to get my day prepared ahead of time so that I can always have healthy snack and need to keep the mindset that just because someone brings in a dozen donuts for everyone to eat at "work" doesn't mean I have to eat it.

So far I've been doing well sticking to my goal from Friday. I've swayed a little (weekends are hard), but for the most part, I'm sticking to my calorie allotment for each day and I should see some success on Friday.

HUGS XOXOX

The Elusive 25 Pounds

So, I have officially conquered the 25 pound mark. I have to say it was a bit touchy at times this week but success is mine!!! I honestly feel like I have been all over the place this week when it comes to my weight. I do have a strange love affair with my bathroom scale while, in my head, I try to avoid stepping on the scale more than every Friday, the pull is just to strong and I usually succumb to the numbers and hop on once a day. This week I have seen my weight fluctuate five freakin' pounds, that's right, at one point this week the scale said that I was 4 pounds heavier than my weigh-in this morning and at one point, I weighed one pound less. I know that I shouldn't put much "weight" on that number (ha ha, that was a pun, get it? Weight... on a scale?!?!? harrrr!!!) but let's be honest, that's one of the measurements we use when determining health. I suppose that I have to admit that I have yet to acheive one of my 3 goals that I set last month… Let's revisit those goals, shall we?!?!?


1. Begin taking more time to exercise on my own i.e. on the weekends or even again during the week if I have the time or feel so motivated (that one is geared especially for this week w/ vacation around the corner) - CHECK!

2. Stop focusing on the end result and start making small obtainable goals (I want results NOW and I need to set workable goals that are obtainable instead of focusing on the "end") - ALMOST CHECK!

3. Forget about the number on the scale and focus on the number in clothes!!! - NO CHECK!

Doesn't look like I'm doing so well. I'm at about 50% when it comes to those goals, which by academic standards is a big fat failure!!! But I guess even going back to them and re-evaluating is a CHECK! I know Rome wasn't built in a day and I know that I didn't gain all this weight overnight, so I need to realize that the process in reverse takes just as long - although it was way easier putting the weight on. 

Shy came with me to Bootcamp this past Saturday and she kicked some royal A$$. She's so badass. She's doing a 5K tomorrow and tired to get me to commit but I'm just not ready. Michele is trying to get me to do a 5K next weekend, but I really don't want to. I'm just keeping it real. I have no desire right now to do it. Don't get me wrong, it is a goal, but I'm not ready to tackle that goal yet. 

My goal for this week is to stick strictly to my good eating habits. Lose at least a pound by Friday and get past the 25lb mark. Although it's psychological, I feel like I've reached a hump and I need to get over it, otherwise I'll use the "I've hit a plateau" excuse, which I know does exist, but I want it to be a real plateau and not a mental plateau. - Maybe that's what I need to do to check off the previously mentioned goal number 2… post my small obtainable weekly goals on here so that I can focus on the details rather than the big picture, whatcha think?

HUGS XOXOX

hmmmm...

I have nothing insightful to say. Just wanted to let you all know that I'm still here and still doing my thang! Hope everyone is having a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious summer.

Forgive me Trainer, for I have sinned

This is my confession…

Soooo… I maybe, kinda, sorta bought a pint of Ben and Jerry's Late Night Snack, ya know, the one with the salted carmel swirls and chocolate covered potato chips?!?!? and I maybe, kinda, sorta ate WAY too much of it, like maybe all of it. I know, I know, shame on me, but it's no secret that I'm an emotional eater and some things are hard to break. I had a difficult Thursday and Friday getting back from vacation and, well, I had a moment of weakness. Not that it's an excuse, but it is reality. You've got to give me credit for confessing this, it would have been way easier to keep my secret to myself (well, me and Tara, cause I did text her a picture of my pint - but she didn't know I ate the whole dang thing in one sitting).

I also have to confess that over vacation I only kept a "mental count" of my calories and that has extended since being home, so starting today I HAVE TO GET BACK ON TRACK and use myfitnesspal.com and enter in every bite of food that crosses my lips. 

The good news, and Stacy is gunna flip, is that I jumped on the scale over the weekend and I'm down 25lbs (well, until that ice cream takes effect). I have to admit that I had a dr.'s appt. on Thursday and I just took that weight as my check-in weight and didn't really bother hopping on the scale Friday. The cool thing is that Stacy is on vacation this entire week so she won't be doing my weigh-in for almost 2 more weeks and I'm certain that I'll be able to keep off the 25lbs and hopefully more by then. So exciting. I have to say, that I'm having a little bit of a mental block when it comes to losing more weight… I suppose that in my mind 25 pounds is A LOT of weight and while I know that I need to lose more, I kinda feel like I've done a good job and I'm all done. I know that probably doesn't make much sense but it's what's going on in my mind.

There is no bootcamp today or Thursday, but there's a make-up class Saturday and my dear friend Shy is going to come with me to check it out. Shy is my hero and I can't wait to see her run circles around me. I should be out there right now running around and gettin' my exercise on, but Mondays are typically my crazy, busy day and I'm happy to have the break today and will make it up on my own on Thursday and again on Saturday. 

Vacation is over and it's time to get my bootie back in gear and my routine back in place. 

*HUGS* XOXOX

What a long, strange trip it's been!

Annnnnnnnd, I'm back!

G'man and I just completed a whirlwind trip around the northeast and boy are my legs tired… no really, I've been jogging a little more than I normally do and my legs really are tired.

We had a really good trip, better than I expected even. It was so amazing seeing everybody we love, meeting my little Jake and traveling the beautiful mountains of New England. Everyone behaved themselves well in every stop we had along the way, Greg and I enjoyed each other's company, and there was no real drama, traffic, or issues to speak of.

Vermont was beautiful, as always. I posted a bunch of pics on Facebook, for all of you on there. It was so fun playing with my nephew James, Steve and Erin's little one Jackson, Chloe LeNoir, Chloe Solie, Team Trellie, and of course Jake. Greg got a couple of great teaching leads in NJ and who knows where our lives will take us over the next couple of months.

So the speed bump I encountered along the way was the FOOD!!! GOOD GOD the food in New Jersey is so good. The breads, the bagels, the deli meats, the pastries, YUM! I realized that if we end up having to move to NJ for a job for Greg, the food will be my nemesis. I didn't really keep track of all the calories I ate, but I did, kinda, keep a mental record. I was very conscious of what I was eating. I ate my own, brought from home, breakfasts pretty much every morning which is good, cause I feel like the first meal you eat of the day can really set the tone for all the other meals.

I was a good girl and exercised most of the trip. I could not find time our first day, Wednesday, but was able to run around at Gardner Field in Denville, as well as on the tennis courts in Vermont. It was funny at Gardner Field cause I started out running and I just kept going. I realize that this running thing is very psychological. I had no "start" and no "finish" and just wound my way  around the fields, up around Riverview, through the parking lots, etc and was not even very winded, and my heart rate stayed at a good place. It is when I have a finish in place that I start getting tired before I really am. I also successfully pissed off the public works people at Gardner Fields cause they wanted to leaf-blow and I wasn't budging so they had to work around me.

I had a fantastic time in Vermont running around with James'. He's such a cute kid and so stinking smart (but I'm probably a little biased). Instead of saying No, he says "all done" so that became our catch phrase for the rest of the trip. The guys and Sharon and Robin played a pretty intense game of touch football during the family gathering and thankfully no one came away too injured, but all the "older" folks certainly came away sore from running around and were reminded about how out of shape they are. I thought about joining in, but if you go back to my previous post… I sweat and sweat and knowing that there would not be a shower shortly after, I respectfully declined.

I set my alarm this morning to get back to boot camp, but I must have been more worn out from this trip than I thought. I turned my alarm off without even knowing it. I woke around 8am and headed over to the Boiling park to go for a run. I did pretty well and I was pleasantly surprised by how many people were there with me. The great thing is that there were people of all ages, shapes, sizes and paces. Some people were leisurely walking, some were jogging and a few were really running. I have to admit that I was a little envious of those that were running faster than me and had more stamina, but it gives me a good goal. There was one gentleman who, I would guess, is about 75 years old and, god love him, he was running those laps. I'm sure he's probably in better shape than I am, but I still kept an eye on him when I could cause he was kinda hunched over, leaning to one side and was super red, both in the face and his knees (weird).

Stacy is headed out of town for a week or so, so bootcamp will be a little different for the next week or two. The sad part (aside from not having Stacy) is that next week there is no bootcamp on Monday or Thursday but the good part is that there is bootcamp tomorrow, YES - SATURDAY, and again next Saturday. I'm looking forward to it. I know I missed a weigh-in last week, but I did hop on the scale this morning and I actually dropped a pound from 2 weeks ago. I'll update my official weigh-in tomorrow.

Good to be home and back into my routine.

HUGS  XOXOX

Anxiety Abounds

So tomorrow is the big day. Greg and I head out of town, and henceforth away from the security of meal control and my precious boot camp, for the next 8 days.

This is going to be a bit of a test of will power for me. Will power on a couple of different levels. First is food choices. I already mentioned that I plan on putting together a few of my standards to give me a little comfort and security, but I can't eat oatmeal and protein bars 3 meals a days. I will also be tested on my ability to motivate myself to move my ass every day without Stacy's whistle blowing every 60 seconds (I really hated that stupid whistle today!!!). I'm fairly confident that I can get myself up and moving it's just that I get so bored so easily that about 20 minutes into it I usually throw in the towel and stop. Stacy did ask for updates on how I'm doing during the week and for those of you on Facebook, I'm sure you'll see my updates there - and if you don't… CALL ME OUT ON IT. I can't promise that I'll exercise every day, in fact I'm already struggling to find the time tomorrow to exercise, but after that… no excuses.


Stacy asked us to email her our goals for this week… something that we plan on changing week that will move us in the direction of seeing improvement. I figured if I'm sharing this journey with you all, I should share my goals:
1. Begin taking more time to exercise on my own i.e. on the weekends or even again during the week if I have the time or feel so motivated (that one is geared especially for this week w/ vacation around the corner)

2. Stop focusing on the end result and start making small obtainable goals (I want results NOW and I need to set workable goals that are obtainable instead of focusing on the "end")

3. Forget about the number on the scale and focus on the number in clothes!!!

New-Mom-Mary shared with me a site that had a really interesting article. It discussed the idea that you should not focus on the number on the scale, rather the number that changes in your measurements. I've actually read a lot lately from people who are "scale obsessed" and it's all they focus on… there's been stories of people who keep their scale in their garage w/ their exercise equipment and have been known to run through the house naked before stepping into the shower so that they can get on the scale. I've read other stories of people who weigh themselves daily or even a number of times a day. That number can really control your life if you let it. The article really does change your perspective on the number on the scale. Take a look: http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/06/22/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/#more-2514

I have to admit that I do put a lot of "weight" on the scale (HA HA… that was a pun if you didn't get it), and I do measure my progress by that number. I do my actual weigh-in on Fridays and I typically do a mid-week check-in to see how I'm doing, but try to stay away from the scale the rest of the time. I definitely feel that the scale is a good benchmark of how your doing and quite frankly… if I'm up 2 or 3 pounds in my mid-week check then I'm not doing something right and need to assess what's going on to make changes for the rest of the week. I keep debating on if I want to weigh myself this Friday if I can get my hands on a scale. I fear that it won't be calibrated correctly and I'll either come back too heavy or too light which could have ill effects in either direction. I guess we'll see what happens on Friday.

Next post should be from Vermont or New Jersey or Maryland or somewhere up north so keep your eyes pealed. Good luck to all those running the Peachtree on Monday and big hugs to Shy-town who's concurring this HUGE accomplishment. I'll be thinking of you Monday morning and Tiff and I will give you a ring Sunday night to wish you good luck! HUGS TO YOU!!!

Who's that girl?

It's ME!!!

Funny thing happened this week that makes me feel awesome… It was either Tuesday or Wednesday I was standing in the corner of the gym getting ready to start our first circuit rotation and Stacy glanced over at me and had to do a double take cause she didn't recognize me at first… HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!?!?! I'm pretty flattered. The cool thing is that Stacy also sent out an email with an updated summer schedule. In the email she mentioned some of us who have lost bunches of weight over the last few months and "Liz lost 20 pounds in 2 months" was right at the top!!! YAHOOOOOOO… go me! Shout-out to my girl Emily who started the same day I did - she's down 18 pounds so she's kicking some A as well!!!

People are definitely noticing the more compact me at bootcamp and are starting to ask me if I'm doing anything more than just bootcamp and my response every time is, "I just changed my diet and I'm here 5 days a week - no excuses!" Then I get further inquiries into how I changed my diet and I have to say that if I was to try and pin-point the top things I have changed it's 1. Portion Size 2. No processed foods (i.e. nothing out of a box - for the most part) and 3. Counting every single itty bitty calorie that enters this body (Thank You My Fitness Pal, I couldn't have done it without you).

I really don't feel like I'm on a "diet" in fact I hate that word and try to use it in terms of "I've adjusted my diet" not "I'm on a diet". For some reason the dreaded "D" word reeks of failure and never leads to success, rather I feel like my nutritional "diet" is the better route because it's a change in eating behaviors and I'm finally learning what "normal" eating really is. I'm not eating tasteless cardboard, rather I'm paying attention to portion sizes. If I want ice cream, by george, I'll eat ice cream… but instead of the giant bowl in the past that probably consisted on 3 cups of ice cream (i.e. 6 servings) I'll stick with the "normal" 1/2 cup. And I'm satisfied. I do feel bad for all the money my mom spent on sending me to a nutritionist all those years when I was a tween. Mom - some of the info Connie gave me has stuck, I'm just now learning how to put it to work.

I have to admit that it's been HOT and I've been sweating like a pig every morning. I really do feel bad for the person who has to use the fitness ball after all my nasty back sweat has been on it, or the mat that I've been laying on to do pull-ups, etc. Dude, it's gross, but it is what it is, and I am who I am. I've found that if I wear my baseball cap I don't drip as much cause the band soaks up some of the nastyness from my head. I was telling Greg this week that I thought it was supposed to get easier the "fitter" I get, but it's been getting harder and harder every week. I'm sure that has to do with the fact that I've upped my weights, I've graduated to a heavier resistance band, and I'm pushing myself a little more cause I don't have the excuse "I can't do it" anymore.

I weighed in with Stacy this morning. I lost 2lbs from last week, but only 1lb from the week before cause I gained that one pound last week. My measurements are funny… some areas are up, some areas are down and some haven't changed from 2 weeks ago. It's kinda like my body is doing whatever it needs to do to shift my weight around. I'm really not worried about it cause I know I'm working hard and eating well.

Greg and I leave for vacation on Wednesday morning and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous when it comes to staying on track. I just know myself well enough that I'll start working out, but will quit half way through, when I should be doing extra cause I'm sure I'll be eating a lot of food that I wouldn't normally have. I have decided that I will pre-pack some of my normal food items to take with me, such as pre-portioned oatmeal, and some of my sandwich thins, etc. I'm sure I'll feel way better knowing that I have some of my usual standbys. I'm certain that I'll hit this blog up one more time before we head out, but if not, I'll do my best to check in while in the northeast!

HUGS XOXOX

It's a BOY!!!!!

So, enough about me already…

Mary and John had themselves an amazing little baby boy yesterday, Monday, June 20 at 11:54am. Little Jake Michael Miraldi is the sweetest little newborn I know and I love him already. He was 8lbs 7oz and 20.5" and has a head full of blonde hair - yeah, I know, where did that come from?!?!?

He is all I can think about day and night and I can't wait to get up there and see him and hold him and hug him and smother him with lots and lots and lots of kisses from Auntie Liz!!!

Oh M G!!! Isn't he just so perfect?!?!?! I can't stop staring at him. Love Love Love

Anywho… not much else to report. Not feeling too set back from my 1 pound gain last week, in fact I just stepped on the scale to do a mid-week check and I'm back on track, of course I won't have my official weigh-in until Friday.

Stacy was awesome to take some time and sit down with me on Monday to figure out a 5 day exercise plan with what little equipment I'll have available. So we have figured out how to get in my cardio, my "weigh training" with the resistance band, and the best order to do said exercises to maximize benefit and keep me on track so I don't miss a beat once I'm back from vacation. Now all I need to do is buy a resistance band, or two!

Feel free to stay here and stare at Jake for as long as you want, I can't blame you AT ALL!!!

HUGS XOXOX