Reservoir

I haven't been running as much as I'd like to these days.  I just haven't been feeling it.  I'm still staying active though.  I'm doing either the 30DS or Ripped in 30 5-6 days a week most mornings at 4:15am.  I'm also trying to get in some walks.  Lately I've been headed to the Lafayette Reservoir.  It's 2.75 hilly miles around.  I love the rolling hills and how pretty it is.  Hopefully soon I'll get back my desire to run but for now I'm happy doing this.

Temptations

There have been a lot of temptations this week around me.  I gave in to some.  This one wasn't a good one to give in to.  I didn't even like it that much yet I ate all of it.  One thing I need to work on is not finishing things that I'm just not enjoying as much.  Just because I have a donut in front of me doesn't mean I need to eat all of it.  I would have rather ate 2-3 bites of a donut I really liked than eat a whole one I thought was meh.

This one wasn't as bad because it was just a nonfat latte.  I'd still rather eat 90 calories than drink them though (unless it's wine!).

Post It

This morning when I woke up at 4:15am to do the 30 Day Shred, I walked out to the family room and saw this Post It stuck on the TV:

I love my husband.  I'm so blessed to have him as a huge supporter of me in my efforts to work out.

Does it ever get easy?

I've really been struggling lately.  I have been waking up at 4:15am Monday thru today (with plans to continue through Friday) to do the 30 Day Shred.  It's one of the only times in the day I can guarantee get it done.  It also frees up my afternoons somewhat to squeeze in a run if I can.  But it's hard.  That's EARLY in the morning to wake up.  I'm exhausted by 9pm and back in bed. 

I've also been tracking my calories using My Fitness Pal and while I like how it holds me accountable to what I put in my mouth, especially days like today when I feel like snacking All.Day.Long it's annoying to constantly think about how many calories each item has.  I began to wonder when will it be easy?  When can I eat without thinking about how many calories it has?  When will I be able to sleep in until 5:30 and just get up and get ready for work (pretty sad that I now consider 5:30am sleeping in!)?

But then I realized I don't think it ever will get easy.  Even when I lose these last 12-15 pounds and I'm wearing size 4s instead of 6s, it won't be easy.  Because when it gets easy I stop working out.  I stop running.  I stop watching what I eat.  Then I will gain weight.  I will lose my ability to run 2-3 miles relatively easily.  Heaven forbid I might have to start back at the beginning of the Couch to 5K.  My muscles will grow soft again and I will no longer see definition in my arms as I am beginning to see now.

I think when I first started this process to get into shape after having E I saw it as something that had a finite time limit.  Once my tummy was flat, once I could run X distance, once I had a toned body, I could stop.  But it doesn't work like that.  That puts me right back to the beginning again where I would have to start again.

I need to see this as a lifestyle change.  This is something that I will be doing for the rest of my life.  Because I want to be healthy.  I want to be toned and confident in how I look.  I want to be able to always go out for a run.  I want to be a healthy role model for my boys so they see exercise and eating well as a way of life.  So no, it will never get easy.  But I now believe it will get easier.  I'm just waiting for that day.  :-)

Goals - Week of May 6

Update on last week's goals:

Exercise: 
30 Day Shred Monday through Friday at 4:20am.
*I did the 30DS 5 times last week.  I woke up at 4:20am Monday thru Thursday but because I skipped Friday I did it on Saturday morning before the boys woke up. 
Run at least twice but ideally 3 times.  Even if it is just a slow, one mile jog.  I want to start it up again.



*I ran once on Monday but only 2 miles and it was ROUGH.  I think the heat (it was close to 90 degrees) made it extra difficult.  I ran/walked the Reservoir which is 2.75 miles and hilly so that was pretty good although I walked more than I ran.  Thursday I met up with a friend to walk the lake (3 miles).  Not as many miles running but at least I got some miles in.

  Food:
I started tracking my calories today.  I want to track calories to really get an idea of what I'm taking in each day.  I hope it will hold me more accountable to those little bites I sneak every now and then.  Also I need to curb my sweet tooth a bit.
*Monday through Friday I did great with this.  I stayed within my calorie allotment each day even when eating out.  However M and I went out of town Saturday thru Sunday and drank a lot of wine and I definitely ate what I wanted.

Other goals:
I want to keep up the water intake.  It's supposed to be close to 90 degrees every day so I know this is important.  I also want to try and get into the chiropractor this week as well as get a massage to see if I can start healing my back pain. 
*Been doing well with the water intake.  I didn't make it to the chiropractor but I did get a massage Thursday and I really felt a difference!

Goals Week of May 6:

Exercise:
30DS Monday thru Friday at 4:20am.  I'd also like to see if I can do it one additional day on either Saturday or Sunday.  I also want to run 3 times this week even if it is only 2 miles. 

Food:
Continue to log my food and exercise intake with My Fitness Pal.  Stay on track even on the weekend when I'm more likely to eat out at least once.

Other Goal:
The massage really seemed to help me last week and my back pain has been considerably less intense so I want to try and get another massage this week.   

Bay Area

I love living in the Bay Area.  There are some moments when I'm blown away by how beautiful this area is.  I feel very lucky to live here.

In other news, I got up and did the 30 Day Shred yesterday and today at 4:20 this morning.  It felt good to get it over with at the beginning of my day.  I also went out for my first run in 2 weeks yesterday.  I ran 2 miles.  My back was hurting during most of the run but I was able to run without it hurting more.  It was hot in the afternoon (90 degrees) so I ran slow but it felt good to be back out there again.

I ran in my new Saucony Kinvaras.  I'm obsessed.  I had bought some Saucony Cortanas and they just weren't working for me so I exchanged them for what I know I love.  They are a bit wild in color but I think that makes them more fun.  I also wore my new running skirt from Title Nine.  It was super comfortable.  I may have to go buy another one.

Update on Last Week and This Week's Goals

Here were my goals for last week and my update on how I did with them (in bold).

Exercise:  I plan on doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Monday through Friday.  I wake up super early to do it so I can take care of it right away.  For me this means waking up at 4:20 in the morning.  While I do not like waking up that early I do love getting it taken care of.  It also helps set the right tone for the rest of the day.  I'm hoping the cross training will be good for my endurance and help strengthen my core which in turn might help out my back.


Not a total success - I did the 30DS three days last week Monday thru Wednesday.
I hope to run 3 times this week.  I'm not sure when yet though.  I think I'm going to try for Tuesday afternoon, Friday afternoon, and one time this weekend.  I might be able to squeeze in a run Wednesday afternoon too.
I didn't run once.  :-(  My back is just still not in a good spot.  I didn't want to make it worse by running.


Food:
Making healthy choices is going to be tough this week.  My birthday is tomorrow and that means I have a lot of opportunities to indulge.  I have lunch and dinner plans tomorrow.  My parents offered to watch the boys so M and I could do dinner Wednesday.  Then Thursday and Friday I'm meeting up with friends for dinner.  I know I will probably not be making the best choices and allowing myself dessert since I normally turn it down.  But hopefully I don't go too far off the deep end.
I definitely indulged more than usual and I did eat out almost every day which is unheard of for me.  But when I wasn't eating out or having a special birthday meal then I tried to make healthy choices.

Other goals:
My other goal this week is to watch my water intake.  It's start to warm up (today has a projected high of 88 degrees) so I know I need to drink water.  My goal is 100 ounces a day. 
I did pretty good with this one.  I drank close to 100 ounces every day. 

Week or April 29 Goals
 
Exercise: 
30 Day Shred Monday through Friday at 4:20am.

Run at least twice but ideally 3 times.  Even if it is just a slow, one mile jog.  I want to start it up again.

  Food:
I started tracking my calories today.  I want to track calories to really get an idea of what I'm taking in each day.  I hope it will hold me more accountable to those little bites I sneak every now and then.  Also I need to curb my sweet tooth a bit.

Other goals:
I want to keep up the water intake.  It's supposed to be close to 90 degrees every day so I know this is important.  I also want to try and get into the chiropractor this week as well as get a massage to see if I can start healing my back pain.