Total Health Tuesday- Numbers Update

Well its been about a month since I have weighed in, and I have my follow-up with the nutritionist and the DR this week so I'm sure they will have more info for me to share next week.
Since the last time I weighed in I have lost 5 lbs!
Yippee!!
I also taped myself off a month ago and based off my new measurements I have lost a total of 3 inches overall!
Double Yippee!!
So here's how the past month has been...

What's working:
Working out. I run/walk 4-5 times a week traveling about 12-15 miles per week.
Menu Planning. By making sure I have the meals planned I have avoided calling my favorite pizza place for delivery for a month! Yay!
Rising early. Getting up before the kids means I wake up on my terms and no one else's. I'm thinking about implementing this on the weekends as well to set a better tone.
Being conscious. During my shower or clothes folding time I take the moment to focus on areas of our day that I would like to work on (ie: getting dressed time in the morning with Hazel, everyone speaking kindly and softly, and mealtimes where I know there will be a little resistance from some on trying new dishes). By recognizing these parts of my day before they happen I am able to mentally prepare myself for these times and possibly think of ways to better deal with them.

What's not working:

Food Tracking. For some reason I'm having a hard time being consistent with my tracking. I think its because I'm worn out by the menu planning, working out, and other stuff.
Feeling overwhelmed: I recognize that I'm in a tough spot with moving, schooling, and a hubby that has a non-existent schedule. While I try to take a moment to collect myself and breathe, I am constantly bombarded with thoughts of what I still need to get done and the basic fact that I plain ole' miss my partner in crime.
My face: Ugh the acne's back. It was gone for about a week or two and then it's back. This is definitely on my list of things to talk about with the Dr.

What I'm hoping to work on:
Honestly I don't think that I can add anything new to my plate right now without signing my own commitment to the looney bin. My goal for the next month will be to continue with positive progress and try to work a little more on food tracking.

What are your successes this month? Any areas you recognize you would like to focus on? Battle plan for those areas?

Total Health Tuesday- Willpower

Willpower is something everyone struggles with, especially when taking on a new challenge.
The struggle to not eat too much, or too little.
The stamina it takes to WANT to get up early to workout.
The drive one must muster to push themselves physically to the next challenge.
Where does this energy come from?
Can you always depend on a partner to lean on?
What can get you through when you are all that there is?

I do not believe that we as individuals have an unending amount of strength, while it may be true that we don't always realize our greatest potential, that potential is like a muscle who needs to be gradually worked to its optimal performance.
So.. how do you train your will power? How do you make it stronger without exhausting yourself and crumpling?
Budget.
Yes as in checks and balances budget.
When you want to give more to one area, you HAVE to give less to another.
Most people look at their lives and say I HAVE to do x,y,and z (work, cook, clean for example).
They look at the essentials only and claim there is no wiggle room. What about the non-essentials?
Like the massive amount of activities you and your family attend.
Or your need to help others when you have not taken 5 minutes yourself to wash your hair.
Or the *one* show you have to watch that keeps you up late at night.
Can you eliminate these from your budget?
Can you look at your calendar and say, "NO MORE!" and trim the excess of the agenda and actually stay at home?
Can you restrain yourself from volunteering to take on everyone else's needs?
Can you turn the TV off knowing that in this day and age of Hulu, TIVO, and Netflix, that the show will still be there when you actually have time to watch it?
Is it really worth that time to watch it?
These are all questions I have had to wrestle with over the past few months, areas I have found myself stealing from my will power.
You see I'm working on becoming a better me. One that actually lives and not survives.
For me that means stepping back, saying no to the extra home school activity of the week, or going to bed when I really want to see the next episode of Dexter, or just being the ear that a friend wants when she's venting instead of pushing myself on her to take care of something for her.
She knows I'm here, maybe an ear is better than a superhero right now.

I'm certain that by maintaining my budget of energy and focusing on the things that are important and maybe just a little hard, that eventually they won't take up so much energy, and I can add in an outing or two.
Maybe I will decide that we are just ok hanging out here too.
Either way I will keep myself sane and on track and be able to do my job so that everyone else can do theirs.
That's what I want for my willpower.

Total Health Tuesday- When the Going Gets Tough...

(alternately titled; My Get Up and Go, Got Up and Went!)

Last week was RUFF!
Physically, emotionally, everything. I'm not sure really where this cloud came from, but for most of the week I felt a lot like Eeyore with my own personal little rain cloud of bad mood hovering over me.

By the end of the week I had not logged NEARLY as many miles as I normally would have, I felt like bleh, I was eating like bleh, and my consistency on logging my meals?
Bleh.
I really did feel gross all over but couldn't shake it enough to turn things around.
That is until I stepped on the scale *just* to see where I was.
Up.
Oh No! This is NOT going to happen. Things have been going good for too many weeks now for me to succumb to this waah waah attitude and ruin all my good work.
Ironically we touched on this in Sunday School.

So... I knew what I needed to do. Back to my Lose It! App, revamped my treadmill workout a little so I push my self and reward myself, and paid closer attention to what's actually happening this week so I can realistically plan my meals accordingly.

So far, MUCH better! The rain seems to be staying outside watering my mud where it should be instead of annoyingly tap tap tapping on my head. I feel a lot less bleh and hurt a lot less this week, which is always a good thing.
I do believe I need to really be aware of burnout and make sure I have more mental downtime than I have been allowing. I think that's where this all came from. It's a vicious cycle I tell ya!

So when the going gets tough, the tough get back to a SIMPLE routine.
Do you have any secrets to staying on course? How 'bout bad days? What do YOU do for them?

Total Health Tuesday- Speed, I am Speed...

Occasionally the Disney movie Cars makes it to the DVD player.
Whenever that happens I immediately think of a certain Nascar obsessed little boy I once knew.....
Anyways! Today I want to talk about speed. About putting a little more "umph" into the workout.
Since I have been doing my Bible in 90 Days Challenge, I have mainly been walking my miles while reading my daily requirements. This is because I usually get behind on the reading on the weekends when our schedule is a little different and I'm not getting up so early.
Now that I have gotten a little ahead and almost completed the challenge (YAY!) it has freed me up for a little running time.
On Saturday I walked and ran a Budget 5k. When I logged my time and speed into my Lose It! app on my ipod I noticed something.... the calories burned.
For the part I walked (about 20 minutes) was at a speed of 4.5 mph and according to Lose It! I burned about 200 calories.
Now the day before I walked and walked at a reading pace and walked with some speed. For the 40 minutes I walked at 3 mph (to me it seems like a regular walking pace) I burned only 174!
REALLY!?!
I think we would all agree that our time is precious and that we do not want to spend more time on one thing that is needed, so SPEED! I am SPEED!
I have upped my speed on my workouts and try to push myself a little harder, this saves me almost 15 minutes on my workout (I stop at 3 miles).
Do you know what you can do with 15 MINUTES!!
By pushing yourself just a little more you can accomplish so much in a short amount of time.
I plan to incorporate this push at least 3 workouts a week, to really give it my all and see what I can do.
And because I haven't posted a video in a while... enjoy.

"Float Like a Butterfly Sting like a Beamer!" ;)

For You Anglea- Budget 5k

My buddy down in Florida scheduled a budget 5k for today. To be honest, I had completely let the date slip my mind until I saw her reminder Friday morning.
My first thought was, "I'm just gonna have to pass, I haven't prepared".
Plus I had already walked/ran everyday this week, so I didn't think I had anymore left in me.
But as they say, "There's no time like the present."
And the kids had wrangled Daddy in front of the TV.....AND we enjoyed ourselves a LITTLE too much
going out to eat last night.
So, here it is. My first timed race of the year......

I didn't have any real goals when I hoped on the treadmill, but then as I started I realized I wanted to finish before 40 minutes. And I did...barely.

I think that's pretty good for not officially "training" for the 5k.
Thanks Ang!

Total Health Tuesday- Celebration Time

So, It's been exactly one month since I posted any stats. I finally have an appointment with the Nutritionist tomorrow but I wanted to share here my successes that I have had on my own.

Since Feb 15 I have lost 5 pounds! YAY!!
I have also surpassed the 100 mile mark on my trek to run and walk 500 miles in the year 2011. I'm actually ahead of the curve! Double YAY!!
After some really tough months of not even wanting to look at myself in the mirror, my face is FINALLY starting to clear up!

I really think the medicine is helping, but is definitely not a cure all. I also learned this past week that I cannot just depend on the meds to handle everything and that I have to remain diligent in my healthy eating habits. I ate horribly Tuesday and paid for it the next two days. While I am learning that I can indulge a little and not berate myself too bad, being conscious of not having a total blowout DAY is very important.

So for all my successes I am rewarding myself with a new pair of running shoes! Seriously though after going from sometimes 10 miles a week to more like 15 miles a week my shoes and my feet are worn out. Momma needs some cushion for her feet. I will also get a "free' day tomorrow as Mike has taken the day off for my appt. and told me to "go and have a day to yourself". Have I mentioned lately how much I love this man?

Have you had any successes lately? How are you rewarding yourself?

Total Health Tuesday...What I'm doing RIGHT

So many times when one embarks upon a health or fitness journey there immediately appears a list.
A List of things you are doing wrong.
Don't eat this, don't drink that, do this workout over the other.
Obviously this is necessary to point out mistakes so that one can better themselves, but I think too often we don't stop to think of all the things we are doing right to better ourselves. Our list may begin short, but I think its important to really look back and add to it so that even when you think NOTHING is going in your favor, you can see Hey! I did THIS!!
Corny?
Maybe. But sometimes you need the pep talk.
Sometimes the hill you are trying to get over right now is blocking everything else from sight until you turn around and look at the Mountains you just covered. Maybe everything you have gone through does not fit in the "normal" fitness category, but its still your accomplishment and therefore should be celebrated.

So I made a list

1. I quit smoking
2. I have managed to pull myself out of a deep depression following my miscarriage
3. I taught myself to knit
4. I have run for 4 miles without stopping (it was only once but it WAS so its an accomplishment)
5. I have learned to cook without meat for 90% of our meals
6. I make all our sandwich bread
   
7. I constantly strive to eliminate stress.
8. I have kept my bathroom clean for a whole month straight!
9. I have made our laundry soap for 3 years now!
10. I have lost 12lbs (solidly) since we moved to Rhode Island
11. I have begun to rise before my children to meet my day.
12. I have eliminated cereal from our budget for almost a year now.
13. I have "moved" (worked out in some way) for 5-6 days a week since the beginning of the year.
14. With the inspiration of Dave Ramsey and the teamwork of my husband, we have managed to live credit card free and credit card bill free for a year.
    

Like I said, all accomplishments may not adhere to the normal *fitness* category, but accomplishments are accomplishments and therefore should be celebrated.
Do you have things that you haven't celebrated?
Let's Celebrate together. Leave a comment or link below to your accomplishments great and small.
And just for fun here's an oldie but a goodie that will remind you to.....

Not So Fat Tuesday....

Well it is confirmed... at least according to my Dr., that I have Polycycstic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
And because every book I read and "professional" I talk to seems to have a different theory on the why's and how's of PCOS I won't even try to explain it.
I have an imbalance of sorts which causes a lot of things to happen or not happen in my body, ie: it's very difficult for me to lose weight.
Which to some seems like a poor excuse, but I am actually glad to at least have a reason. When you're heavy and you "try" to lose weight everyone just assumes you aren't doing enough. I've had trainers tell me this, I've had Dr.s tell me this, I've had family tell me this all my life.
It's rough physically but the physical has nothing on the emotional especially when you were spending 10+ hours a week in the gym.
I have decided to work with the Drs to create a treatment plan that involves both the medical aspect and the Lifestyle aspect of this issue.
They have me on meds to equal out my insulin levels and I have an appointment to meet with a dietitian to work out a food plan for me. There are different schools of thought on what diet regime actually works so I will study and do my thing until I can get in with the "Pro" and see what she has to say.
Because weight loss is and will be difficult for me for a while I don't think its really helping me to continue publicly updating whether I have lost according to the scales or not (the scales did not move this week btw).
I do want to hold myself accountable for taking control of the situation, even if its to my imaginary readers ;-)
So I was thinking I would like to turn this into a TOTAL HEALTH TUESDAY post from now on and talk about the positive things I am finding to do for my body, my mind, and general sanity!
And because the scales do play a part in my health I plan to celebrate my successes when they come and not on a weekly time line that seems to leave me on an emotional roller coaster steered by the numbers on the scale.
So if you are reading and want to play along, feel free to celebrate your successes in the comments box or link to a healthy post on your blog.
If you still want scales inspiration check out my buddy Nicole where she does her thing losing baby weight at Ramblings by Nicole
she has also found inspiration weight wise through one of her fav blogs
Me, I'm gona take this route until I can get a handle on things and feel more confident.