Myfitnesspal is a pal o' mine

So today is day 2 of using Myfitnesspal and I have to say I like it. I'm realizing as I get older that I really am a little anal and more than a bit of a control freak. The ability to count my calories in and burned is wonderful. I find it really easy to use as well.

Three weeks of little or no exercise has had an impact. Yesterday the plan was to do my regular hour on the dreadmill, but I wasn't able to. I was only able to do a half an hour. Which sucked big time. I'm going to try and increase it little by little over this next week. I'm hoping it won't take me too long to get back up to speed.

I've done quite a bit of yoga over this last 6 months or so and I think I'm going to give it a go on my own. I mean, really, the poses are generally the same, no matter who I take it from and to do a 1/2 hour or so a day shouldn't be that difficult, should it???? My core is in desperate need of a work out as well.

The plan for today is to do 35 minutes on the dreadmill and then 20-30 minutes of yoga. That will give me my hour of exercise for the day.

BL and Yoga

So I was in tears by the end of tonight's BL. Why did it have to be those two below the yellow line? I was really gunnin' for Joelle to be there. Holy shit, I didn't think Bob had those kind of words in his vocabulary. I'm realy glad that the others chose to have Dan stay. He so needs to be there.

Yoga tonight was really hard. I have to say I hate the plank position. I can't do it for more than a few seconds, but I will get stronger. I am determined to be. This class is a lot different from the one I took last fall. I'm not sure if I really like it or not. There are certain poses that she doesn't do that I miss. She focuses more on the strength training aspect of yoga, rather than the connection between mind and body. I will continue through the next 8 weeks of the course though. The more and varied experiences I have the better I will get at yoga, I hope ;)

Today's eats: /25

Yogurt w/Kashi Go Lean Crunch (-7) 7/25
KFC toonie (-17) 24/25
Yoga (+3) 24/28
Kashi Go Lean Crunch (-4) 28/28

So needless to say that while I am within my points for the day, my eating sucked. BIG TIME! This is not the way to ensure I have a loss on Thursday. Tomorrow is going to be a clean eating OP day.

Hell Yeah!!!!!

Stuff

I got a new yoga mat today. Hopefully that will help with the slippage issue. My old one just didn't grip the floor anymore. I also picked up a set of 1lb wrist weights for when I'm walking to try and increase my upper body strength. I have to admit I focussed on my arms a lot more with them on and my hands weren't swollen beyond belief (like they are normally) at the end of my walk.

Today's eats: /25

Yogurt, kashi, banana combo w/ coffee (-8) 8/25
Cheesburger happy meal w/diet coke (-14) 22/25
Hamurger, rice, corn combo (-8) 30/25

dreadmill (+5) 30/30

I think I may end up using some of my Flex points later tonight for a little snackiepoo. I know that I am still feeling a bit hungry and frankly there is pretty much zero nutrition in a Rotten Ronnie's Happy Meal. The kids were hungry and really wanted to go, so I made the best choice I could, although I really should have gotten the apple slices instead of fries.

Go Team Angie - We're goin' down (in lbs that is!!!)

I am so excited to be on Angie's team for the BLBE #2!! I can't wait to kick some ass and take some names.

Tomorrow is WI and it will be part 1, I guess, of my first official week in BLBE #2. I have to admit I am expecting a loss. I worked out like a maniac (for me anyway) this week. I have had some sort of physical activity EVERY DAY this week. It is getting easier to keep the momentum going I think. Part of the motivation is having a fellow BLBEr in the house, although he's playing for the other team. I want to kick his ass at this so that will totally keep me going :-D

Today's eats: /25

Kashi, Liberte yogurt, cool whip, sliced banana combo and coffee w/sf caramel syrup (-8) 8/25
clementine, 1 bite of a Larabar (-1.5) 9.5/25
tuna sammie and the rest of the larabar (-8) 17.5/25
3.5 oz chicken, baked potato w/ 1Tbsp non fat sour cream and 15g of light cheese, corn (-9.5) 27/25

Dreadmill 27/30
FP's remain at 17/35

Can you say S-N-O-W?

When I awoke this morning this is what greeted me:

and this:
I swear I have not seen this much snow in ages, and as the only adult home (hubby had already dug out his car and gone to work) it fell to me to dig us out. I have to say that my endurance has definitely improved. I was able to shovel for 1.5 hours with no trouble stamina wise. I really need to work on my upper body strength however. OMG do my arms and wrists hurt tonight.

After all that work this is what I was able to accomplish. Yay me!!!!!

I am very proud of myself. I pray that no more snow comes for a while.

Exercise Mama

I'm back with a vengance. I've decided (for today at least) that I've had enough of this and I am getting back to exercising. I did 7km on the treadmill tonight. It felt great and I probably could have done more but my DD came out of her room to tell me she couldn't sleep because the treadmill was making too much noise. OOOPS! Oh well, I guess she'll just have to get used to it because Mama is on a mission.

I did very well for eating today. I got called into work unexpectedly but still managed to bring a healthy lunch with me. We went to Subway for supper and I had a salad instead of a sub so that made a big difference. I'm still a few POINTS short on the day plus all of my AP's too. It's like I get all hyper vigilant and then don't eat enough in order to loose the weight. Someday I will get this right. I promise!!!!!!

Yummy Yogurt!!!

Success! I found the yogurt!!!! And is it ever good. Now the challenge will be to keep the kids out of it. The NI is listed for 175g per serving which kinda sucks as I don't have a kitchen scale. I guess that will have to be a purchase after Christmas.

I put the Today's Eats section back on my sidebar. I've been really crappy lately at journalling my food. A lot of "keeping track" in my head and we all know how well that works.

After I get the kids to bed I have a few hours before hubby gets home from work. I think that I am going to plunk my but on the treadmill and walk walk walk for as long as I can stand it. I'm not going to give myself any time limits but I must do at least 5k.

The best laid plans

I got up at 5am this morning in order to get my 5km in before going to school today. I really wanted to walk outside today and maybe even run a little. I really, really wanted to run today. But when I woke up this is what I saw (except of course it was dark and the street wasn't plowed yet).

Hmmmmm...let's think. Ah, NO!

Not gonna happen.

So it was back to my old friend the treadmill. On goes the TV and I merrily walk along, watching the news, silently congratulating myself for getting out of bed and doing this in plenty of time before school. I'll be able to make a healthy nutritious breakfast for everyone and pack great lunches for us all.

I have 60 meters left to go when I hear the pitter patter of little feet. Okay not so little, it was DH. No school today he informs me.

Talk about loosing the wind out of your sails.

But, I have completed another 5km on my way to Halifax. I am almost out of Pictou County. By tomorrow I will be past the school where I teach. Yay!!!

Grit and Determination

I was so angry with myself Thursday morning when I got on that scale and saw that gain. It wasn't even a little gain...it was HUGE ! At least that was how it felt. I let myself wallow in self pity for a while. But no more!!!

I am DOWNRIGHT DETERMINED that I will end this challenge down at least 10lbs. That isn't the 22 I was originally shooting for but who cares. My fitness level has really increased since starting this challenge. I was subbing at the local high school today and I walked! I walked to school, downtown at lunch time and walked home again. Look at me! That was 3km +/- of walking that I chose to do. I'm really impressed with myself. Can'tcha tell????

Goal setting for my "Walk to Halifax"

Today was okay as far as food went. Not very on plan but not REALLY off either.

We had a really busy day. Did some shopping for the kids and then went over to Mom's to check out all the loot. OMG they have a lot of stuff. Santa is generous. I think, other than one more item each, I am done! On December 2nd!!!! Unheard of.

I didn't get to my walk until tonight but I just have to say something I RAN!!! I was able to run for a couple minutes about 4 times during my walk. Had the treadmill cranked up to 6.5 km/h. And it felt great. I wasn't even really all that out of breath when I dialed back the speed. My regular speed was 5.0km/h. Not bad when I could barely do 20 minutes at 3.5 km/h when I first got the treadmill last January.

So I am now 10 km down on my trip to Hfx. I've decided on Point Pleasant park as my destination. That means I have 166.5 km left to go. Divide that by 5km a day that is 33 more legs (plus 1.5km). I think I need to set a timeline goal as well as the distance. If I walked every day I would get to Halifax on January 5th. I think it is unrealistic for me to try to walk every day though. Christmas is coming and that means a lot of busy days ahead. If I shoot for 5 days a week that would have me finishing around January 13th. So I'm going to say January 15th I will be there!!!!!!

Back on track.... kind of

So much for getting back on track. I have to say that food wise I have done much better today. I have stayed withing my 26pts and have made good choices. As far as exercise goes......................nada.

Woke up this morning with my left shoulder and neck completely siezed up. I have a recurring issue with the nerves in my upper back and neck. Most of August and early September was spent with the pain moving from side to side and at times so bad it hurt to hold my head up. It has been really well behaved the last little while and I had hoped it was resolved. No such luck. I'm going to have to try and suffer through and get some walking in tomorrow. If I can keep my arm from jostling too much it should be okay.

So far, so good

This weekend has gone much better than last. I'm still having trouble getting my snacks in but with a little more effort I can manage that. I had a small slip today. Went into town to apply for a job at Penningtons and had to drive past the dreaded Golden Arches. I had some change in my pocket and some points to spend so I thought "I'll just get a small fries". So I did. I ate maybe half and thought "These don't taste nearly as good as they smell." So I stopped. I wish I hadn't stopped in the first place but I'm glad I kept it under control. Salty foods are a big weakness of mine.

On another topic, my little guy just started school this year and this weekend he had his first "homework". He had brought home his poem binder and he was supposed to read/sing them with me. OMG!!! He is soooo smart. He has been reading for almost a year now and actually has trouble pointing to the words as he says them because it slows him down too much. I was trying to sing along and he was saying "no no no Mommy that isn't the tune, it goes like this" in that long suffering voice of his. *sigh* They grow up so fast. I'll turn around and he'll be a teenager :(

It is now 9:35 at night and I have yet to exercise today. I better get off my butt and onto the treadmill.

Have a great day tomorrow!

Problems with points???

Does anyone else have a hard time sometimes eating enough points? I find that when I am monitoring what is going into my mouth I have a bunch of points left at the end of the day. Either I didn't plan well enough or things get adjusted throughout the day and then I'm left with 4 or 5 points to eat after supper (exactly the time I don't want to be eating). For example:

b-oatmeal w/br sugar and milk 5pt (check)
s-Activia and a pear 3pt (check, although I ate it a little late because I had to spend snack with the Primaries)
l-Lean Cuisine and veggies 6pt (Maple brown beans 2pt) -4pt
s-100 cal pack of ritz 2pt (coffee w/milk and twin 1pt) -5pt
S-WW honey mustard porkchops w/salad and dressing 8pt (porkchops were half the size they were supposed to be so only 2pt each, stirfried rice and veggies 1/2cup 2.5 pt, milk to drink 6.5pt total) -6.5 pt
bs/dessert - banana 2pt (haven't gotten to it yet)

So if I eat the banana I will only be short 6.5 pts.

That is a whole other meal for goodness sake. How does this happen?????

I have no idea how to remedy this situation. If I weren't paying attention I would be 20pts over, easy, if I know me. GGGRRRRRRR!!!!

Exercise this week so far:
45 min treadmill Sunday
500m swimming Monday (so pathetic, I think it'll take me a while to get into the rhythm of it.)
1hr yoga Tuesday (Love Yoga!!!!!)

Going to try and swim and walk tomorrow!!! We'll see.

Start Fresh Monday....

...hopefully for the last time. I want to stop having "fresh starts", I'd like to be able to stay committed to this process all the time. Part of the problem with me on the weekends is that my hubby gets up for work at 5am. I don't get up with him and the kids are getting up on their own now. There are mornings where I don't wake up until 9 or 9:30. That completely throws me off for the day. I don't eat breakfast, I have a hard time getting my act together to get housework done. I know that these are excuses and they are going to stop now.



Here is my plan....I've asked my daughter to wake me when she wakes up on Saturday and Sunday (I don't often hear them until they start fighting :p) I am going to create a "honey-do" list for myself for the weekend on Friday night so that I have a solid plan of what needs to be done. Also its nice to have a list to cross things off of! Included on that list will be exercise for the weekend. I find it far too easy for the day to slip away and not have any kind of a workout done. I have started to plan out the meals for the week and I would like to try and get some of the meals pre-prepared on Sunday so that all I have to do is throw them into the oven during the week. I didn't get that done this week but I will next week.

Today's menu

b-oatmeal w/br sugar and milk 5pt
s- Activia 2pt
l - Bacon and egg sandwich (with fat free cheese) 7pt
s-coffee w/milk and twin 1pt
S-poached halibut w/salad and hollandaise sauce 7pt
s-100 cal graham crackers 2pt
s-banana w/milk 3pt

26/26

Today's plan + edits

A few things needed to be changed because the day never goes exactly as planned. I'm proud to say that out of all the treats on the staff room table, I only had one small biscuit and a bit of homemade jam. I didn't even sniff the brownies :)

I happened to run into a girl I know at the grocery store, and she told me that she was getting ready to teach yoga in about an hour. Today was going to be the free introductory lesson to see if there was enough interest. I thought "Hey, I've always wanted to do yoga" So, long story short, my DH arranged it so that I could go for an hour and do yoga. It was fabulous! I plan to take the six week course from her. So no treadmill tonight, but yoga instead.

Just a quick post this morning to set out the meal plan for today

Breakfast
Ensure plus - 8pts
Tea - 0 pts

8/31

Lunch
1 slice multigrain bread - 2pts
1 T pea butter - 2 pts
1 t jam - 1pt
1 apple - 1pt
carrot sticks - 1pt
1 small biscuit -2pts
1 t jam - 1 pt

18/31

Supper
roast beef (still working on that roast from Sunday) - 3 pts
salad -0pts
dressing - 1 pt
iced tea with lemon - 1pt

23/31

Snack
yogurt -2 pts

25/31

So one point of my FLEX used today. I hope that I can stick to this. The plan is to do at least 20 min (hopefully an hour) on the treadmill after school. I've asked DH to push my ass even if I'm whinning. I think he is a little afraid that I will be mad at him, but like I said, I might be upset because you are pushing me at the moment but I'll be happier in the long run.

Have a great day everyone!

Day 2 and still OP!! oh yeah and LIFE SUCKS!!!

Okay, so far so good today! I am on plan and still fired up. I do have to admit that during my workout the whinny little voice in my head was rearing its ugly little head. But I trudged on through and made it all the way to the finish. I really have to do the "self-talk" sort of thing. I need to keep telling myself to just do it and quit bellyaching! That is my biggest fear, I'll give in to that little voice and I'll fail just like I always do. NOT THIS TIME!!!

Breakfast
oatmeal - 2pts
0.5% milk -1pt
maple syrup - 1pt
OJ - 2pts

6/31

Treadmill for 52:40 minutes, walking 3.438km (about a third at an incline) with 300 cal burned. That was really hard. I wanted to give up after about 10 minutes but I pushed through. I want to swim today as well, but I applied for a job whose competition closes at noon. I don't want to miss the phone call and potential interview. What to do, what to do????

Lunch
2slices bread - 4pts
roast beef - 5 pts
1/2 tbsp mayo - 2 pts

17/31

Alright, today has officially turned to the worst kind of crap it can be. I just recieved a phone call telling me that one of the students at the school where I work passed away this morning. I'm still in shock. He had been ill all of his life (a kidney transplant survivor) but I just saw him last week and he was doing fine. I worked closely with him last year but hadn't really had a chance to touch base with him this year. He was only 7 years old. His mom is an E.A. at the school, so I know her quite well too. I can not imagine what she is going through right now. My heart breaks for her, her husband and daughter. I feel guilty being grateful for the two healthy kids I have.

I am going to take the kids out for dinner. I will chose the healthiest option available. I know this is not a good reponse to this but I just don't have the heart to cook a meal right now and get out the door for piano lessons at 5. I am truely pathetic.

Tomorrow's plan

So the plan for tomorrow is this:

a 15 minute walk on the treadmill
noon lane swim (if my throat is feeling better by then)

Breakfast:

oatmeal w/milk and 1 tsp brown sugar
coffee w/milk and sugar

Lunch:

tuna sandwich w/ cucumber slices
water

Supper:

roast beef
steamed potatoes and broccoli

I'll post again tomorrow evening to see if I can stick to it!