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