A Dedication To My Daughter

First I would like to say happy Halloween. In the spirit of celebration, we visited a local pumpkin patch to pick the prettiest pumpkin for our princess. In addition to having a farmer’s market and corn mazes, they had all sorts of animals to feed. We saw ponies, and llamas, sheep, goats, and a turkey. Also among the barnyard bunch were pigs, rabbits, chickens, a peacock, an ostrich, and a dear. Amelia was so funny. She looked completely flabbergasted. It is amazing to get to see the world new again through your child’s eyes. It is such a gift and a blessing to be a mommy. I know we have our share of blah days now and then, but these awesome days are beyond compare. We found the perfect pumpkin and brought it home to carve. This was the first year that we attempted a Jack-o-lantern stencil, and it came out pretty good if I do say so myself. It is super spooktacular!

We were up until after midnight carving our fingers to the bone and enjoying the eve of our daughter’s first Halloween, and although I was sill sleepy when the alarm sounded at 6 am, I took some advice and “SUCKED IT UP BUTTERCUP” (I plan on using that term on a regular basis now). I donned my new sneakers, made a few adjustments to my work out play list on my I-pod, grabbed a box of yogurt raisins and a bottle of water to go, and we headed out the door. Did I mention what an amazing and supportive husband I have? He woke up with me at 6 am (on a Saturday none the less) and got the baby ready and packed the diaper bag. In the car on the way to the race, I popped open my box of raisins and took a mouthful. I quickly realized that they were covered in ants (note to self…we need ant baits for the kitchen pantry…yuck). I guess the added protein was OK on my meal plan, but I was completely nauseated about the fact that I had just eaten live ants, so we stopped and got a plain croissant. We finally arrived at the race site, and met up with Marilyn, her husband Craig, Sophie, and another girl in my boot camp named Morgan. We chatted until it was race time. The “GO” horn sounded before I knew it, and we were off. Marilyn walked/jogged with me for almost the first mile, and I saw Phil (the GMA producer) jogging while I was on my race route. He cheered and shouted for me. I also met Ann, a fellow blogger. She was super sweet. I finally made it to the turn around, and I chugged some water. I was on my way back to the finish line. Previous to the race, I set 2 goals for myself. I wanted to finish the race in under an hour, and I did not want to finish last. I was chugging along at a pretty good pace, on target with my goals when I realized that my right shoe was untied. I had a short debate within my head as to weather or not to stop and tie it. Of course, the mommy in me won, and I stopped to tie my shoe. I was disappointed that I fell behind, but I said a little prayer that God would give me continued strength and endurance, and I pressed on. I reached the last intersection before the finish line, and I began to pick up the pace. I was jogging along, and people in cars along the race route were honking and cheering from open windows. I saw the last turn on our route, and Marilyn was running toward me. She helped me push myself to the final turn where I saw my husband and daughter waiting. I realized I was on the home stretch, and we (Marilyn and I) did several sprints to the end. When I finally arrived at the finish line, I was met with people cheering and clapping. I had done it. I met my goals…both of them. My official time was 59:27 and I finished 2nd to last. I was overwhelmed with emotion, and tears began to stream down my face. I scoped up my baby girl and showered her with hugs and kisses. We commenced with more pictures and a light snack. I had about 2 bites of a slice of veggie pizza and a granny smith green apple. I soaked in the moment. I was on top of the world.

A bit fatigued, we headed for breakfast. I had 2 egg beaters, 3 turkey sausage links, a tomato slice, and ½ of a fruit and yogurt parfait. It was delicious, and the protein was just what I need to help my muscles feel fully recovered. When we got home, I responded to a few emails, and laid down for a nap. I am headed off for a shower in a bit and then the evening Halloween festivities begin. We are taking Amelia to my grandfather’s church for a fall festival and we are taking her to see some family while she is all dressed up as the cutest lady bug ever! That’s all for now. I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend and a Happy and Safe Halloween.

A Blah Kind Of Day

Today was just another day. Amelia was extra cranky today. I finally saw that illusive tooth that I have only been able to feel up until now. It is super cute! She has been a total mommy’s girl today, so I was not able to get much done around the house with the exception of some laundry during her nap.

A few things are going on that I wanted to tell you about. First, Saturday, In addition to being Amelia’s first Halloween, marks the date of my 1st ever 5K race. I am so excited. I am picking up my packet and some other information about the race tomorrow. I am really looking forward to it. A fellow blogger is also going to be there, so I hope to hook up with her at some point during or after the race.

The other important thing that is coming up is metabolic testing. This is a service that my personal trainer offers. She uses a rented hospital quality machine that tells you exactly how many calories you burn. This is not exclusive to her boot campers, so if you are local and would like to sign up, please fill out the form located on her website. The date is set for Nov 7th from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. Maybe I will see some of you there.

I didn’t do my regular walk tonight for a couple of reasons. 1; I switched it up a bit because I am trying to build my endurance and recovery time for Saturday, and 2; it was getting late, and I really wanted to catch the Yankee game. My workout tonight was amazing though. We have a loop of parking spaces near our house with a little field in the middle. The pace was to walk 1 loop, Jump rope 20 times, walk again, and then run. We did 3 sets and were panting and sweating our butts off. Eddie said that I need to quit hanging out with Sophie because I am turning into a drill sergeant too.

We just had a major meltdown here with a poopy, sleeping baby that I had to wake up to change because her dad didn’t have the foresight to do it before put her in bed and a cat with an injured foot, so that’s it for tonight…I am out!

Slow And Steady Wins The Race.

I feel as if I need to refocus on my goal. I would first like to say thanks to everyone for your continued support and encouragement. For those of you that have just joined my blog, the objective is to loose 100 pounds in 1 year. I have lost 17 pounds in the past 8 weeks and 2 days (58 days). Suffice to say, I am right on target for my goal. I have lost an average of 2 pounds a week thus far, and I plan to continue modifying my food and exercise regimen on a continuous and gradual basis. I am definitely more than 100 pounds overweight, but that is my intermediate goal. My short term goal is an average of 2 pounds per week. I want to gradually ease into my new lifestyle as I have tried “diets” in the past with varied levels of success. The one thing that these diets had in common was that they all ended in failure. In the past, I tried strict meal plans with large amounts of exercise, and I quickly burned out (usually within the 1st 3 months). I felt deprived and unhappy with my diets and threw in the towel. I realize that some changes still need to be made in my current meal plan, but for now, I am happy with my progress. I am working closely with my trainer and she is aware of my choices. While she does not endorse every morsel that I place in my mouth, she is also happy with my progress so far. I have already drastically overhauled my eating habits and more changes are yet to come. I have also done a complete 180 when it comes to exercise. In fact, today during boot camp, we ran and walked in intervals, and Marilyn had to speed up to catch me when I was running. She said “Wow, look at you go, I can’t believe how fast you are running!” That was a huge boost to my ego, and the added confidence that I needed headed into the 5K on Saturday. I would like to say publicly (as I have said everything else I suppose) I welcome suggestions with open arms, and encourage those of you who are willing, to email your daily meals for the following week. This will help me to know what is working for people that have already achieved success. I am not an expert obviously, or I wouldn’t be in the predicament of weighing 396 pounds. I am still learning, just as many of you are. I would also like to say that I am going to reach my goal, and while I do want to loose 100 pounds in a year, my main focus is getting healthy. I feel that if I make the changes necessary to live a healthy lifestyle, the weight loss will be a natural bi-product.

The Yankees are on, and I am missing an already disappointing game. Although I am probably not missing much by the sounds of my husband’s angry tone, I am excited that the they are finally back in the World Series and want to catch the game incase their place in this post season is short lived. I hope everyone is well. Only 2 more days to the weekend. Have a great rest of the week.

Weight, Say That Again...

I apologize for not blogging last night, but we were having some technical difficulties. I am so glad that my husband knows a thing or two about computers. It is like having a mechanic in the house J. I did weigh yesterday, and that darn scale almost met her demise. She said that I gained a pound!! I refused to take that for an answer, so I got on the scale again this morning, and I was back down to 396. That’s more like it! I didn’t lose any this week, but I didn’t gain either. After the weekend I had, I am pretty happy with that.

My Oblique muscles are killing me. We did some crazy exercise using a resistance band that, I’m sure, Marilyn dreamed up while trying to figure out new and unique ways to torture us. The way you do it is hold the handle of one (or both) sides of the resistance band while stepping with one foot in the middle of the band (if you can picture it. It is so hard to explain exercise in type, so I will make sure that we do this one on the video) The foot that is stepping on the band is back slightly further than your other foot, Then while holding the handle(s) you move your arms (without bending your elbows of course) from hip level on the side that you are stepping on the band and you twist using your oblique muscles to bring your arms to shoulder level on the other side. It sounds complicated, but it’s actually pretty easy until you do about 10 of them, and then you are hoping the end is near. I still feel it 2 days later. It hurts (in a good way) to laugh. We have a potential date to shoot the exercise video. It will be November 14th, so give me about a week to get it uploaded after that.

I did really well on eating yesterday.
Breakfast: 2 packets of apple cinnamon oatmeal
Snack: Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese
Lunch: Healthy Choice chicken and pasta in pesto sauce, broccoli and carrots, and cherry crisp
Snack: Cup of yogurt
Dinner: Grilled chicken salad with ranch dressing and a biscuit

I have boot camp again tonight, so I guess that means 2 posts today!! The Yankees are playing tonight also, so it might be a late post. This is a monumental occasion. They are finally back in the World Series for the first time in 6 years! I will post more later. Let’s Go Yankees!!

Might As Well Jump!

Well, today was awesome (if I had to choose 1 word to describe it). I met my mom for a late lunch at Bob Evans (for those of you that don’t know it, suffice to say that their buttermilk biscuits are heavenly). I avoided the biscuits and stuck with a side salad. Marilyn (my personal trainer) taught me a cool trick about salad dressing. If you dip your fork in the dressing before each bite instead of pouring it directly on the salad, you use way less, and it is totally satisfying. My mom has jumped on the wagon with me and has lost somewhere near 16 pounds. She is doing great. She experimented with a recipe for flourless brownies that she brought for me to sample. They weren’t half bad. Once we perfect it, I will be sure to pass it along. It was perfect with the exception of the sweetness level. It could have been a lot sweeter, so we have to work on that. She said that it didn’t take any time to make, so I am looking forward to the next batch.

As you know, Today was boot camp, and it was also the last day of week 8 on my new program. My endurance has gone through the roof (the credit goes to Marilyn I’m sure). In class today, I shocked everyone. I jumped rope. I didn’t skip rope. I full on (Rocky VI) jumped rope. I lasted for a while too. For those of you that don’t think you can do it, I am living proof. Some people just stopped their own exercise and stared. I am sure it was a sight. Although I’m sure I didn’t look it, I felt like a star athlete training for the Olympics (I hope you all enjoy these fantasies I dream up in my head). I giggled like a giddy school girl on the inside. The truth is. I was so proud of myself! Phil (the produce for GMA that came to my house to set up for the live interview) just happened by the park where we workout. I am sure that was a total coincidence. I bet he is a super double agent sent by ABC to spy on me, and he was shocked to see me there. I was dripping sweat, with a big smile on my face (as if to say, Ha, I told you I would be here). I hope he comes on Wednesday too; I will make him jump rope with me!

My food today consisted of the following:
Breakfast: Peanut butter sandwich on Wheat
Lunch: Healthy Choice Penne Pasta with tomato basil sauce and a side salad with ranch dressing
Dinner: Chicken Caesar Sandwich on 3 cheese bread
I went grocery shopping after boot camp, and was too tired to make dinner, so we stopped at Panera.

Tomorrow is day 1 of week 9, and it is also my weigh day. Aunt Flo has been visiting this week, so I am hoping to at least hold steady at 396…we shall see. If she knows what’s good for her, she will be just as sweet as she was last week! I am going to go for now, I had some workout tonight, and I have a headache from the weight of my sports bra on my shoulder ( I hope I loose some weight in my boobs soon) I am going to take some Advil and call it a night. I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I will talk to you tomorrow!

PS. The Yankees made it to the World Series…it’s about time!

Confection Affection!!

My crazy confection weekend has finally come to a close. I must say, I did pretty well considering my love for cake, cookies and treats of all kinds. The first party was on Saturday, and I ate 2 hot dogs…1 was turkey, and 1 was all beef topped with organic condiments. There were 2 cakes at this party. 1 was chocolate with chocolate frosting, and 1 was marble with butter cream frosting. It is amazing that I know this without having tasted either of these cakes. I am like a wine connoisseur that can tell the flavors of the wine just by the smell. I can tell the contents of a cake just by the sight…sad, I know! I resisted the temptation and steered clear of the cake…both of them. I was so proud of me. After the party, we had a late lunch with a friend at Ruby Tuesday’s. I ate a spinach and mushroom quiche with broccoli and a salad…I was starved, so I ate a little more than I should have I suspect, but I tried to make some decent choices. That was it for Saturday. Sadly, the Yankees got rained out, so nothing major happened for the rest of the day.

Sunday dawned, and my day started with a shower, and then it was off to church. The message today was about God’s promise and I was so blessed by the word. After church, we headed to the 2nd birthday party of the weekend. I was famished as all I had eaten was a turkey and cheddar luchable. I really have to work on this no breakfast thing, I know. I was in a hurry to get to church OK! I did end up having a couple of bites of cake…like 3 or 4 small bites, and Eddie ate the rest. I was almost glad I did, because I was able to prove to myself that I do have self control, and food is not my master. For lunch, I ate a buffalo chicken sandwich from Subway with sun chips and water. When we got home from the party, we were all beat, so all three of us piled in the bed and took a nap. It was just what I needed after a long and exhausting weekend.

I do have a confession to make. I did not walk on Friday. My daughter has been so miserable with her teeth, and she fell asleep. I just didn’t have the heart to wake her up. I didn’t get in any real exercise this weekend either, so I am really looking forward to getting back to boot camp tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great week. I will post more soon. Goodnight and sleep tight!

Let Them Eat Cake...

I am sorry that I didn’t post last night. Here is my official excuse: The dog ate my keyboard! Amelia is teething, and I can feel that the tops of her bottom front teeth have broken through her gums. She is completely miserable and so am I. She looks so pitiful. I have tried Baby Ora-gel, and she hates it. I have tried Tylenol, and that doesn’t seem to help. The only thing that has provided any temporary relief is Luigi’s Italian Ice. Wow, imagine that, a popsicle makes her feel better…what am I going to do with this kid?

Other than the teething trouble, things are good. We are finally getting caught up on some bills (thanks to the help of my amazing grandfather), My eye Dr. gave me a new pair of trial contact lenses…thank goodness, and I received an awesome new pair of sneakers from the New Balance Store in Carollwood off of Dale Mabry (shameless plug). I am a total convert. I used to be a hardcore Nike fan, but my new RUNNING shoes are super comfy and supportive. Did you notice I said RUNNING shoes? OK, I just wanted to be sure!

Well, it is finally Friday, and the weekend is upon us. I have church and 2 birthday parties this weekend. There is no rest for the weary. I am tired just thinking about it. I am curious how I am going to cope with all of that birthday cake. Cake is like a drug to me. I might consider buying it on the black market if it were ever outlawed, so you see my dilemma. I am not an emotional wreck. I don’t eat my feelings (although I know people who do, and it a serious problem) I just like cake…and pizza and ice cream for that matter. I just had to get that off of my chest. I have been getting some emails from people that seem to think that I have some deep seeded psychological issues, and I just wanted to assure everyone that is not the case. If I did, trust me, I would seek professional help.

I am going for another walk tonight. I went for one last night too. This is just a public service announcement…I am not going to get into the details, just take my word for it. DO NOT….and I repeat DO NOT run, walk, or do exercise of any kind on a full stomach! I am sure you already knew that, but me, being the person I am, had to find out the hard way. Suffice to say, I am having dinner AFTER my walk tonight.

My meals today consisted of the following:
No breakfast (I know, shame on me)
Lunch: Michelina's Lean Gourmet Chicken Cheese and Rice, 4 oz pineapple in pineapple juice, 1 cup sugar free Jell-o
Snack: Sliced Apple with peanut butter
Dinner: Wheat pasta with 96% lean ground beef, and Heart Smart Traditional Prego Pasta Sauce.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I am going to be super busy, so if you don’t hear from me on Saturday or Sunday, don’t panic. I will back with a full report on Monday. I know I sound like a broken record, but don’t forget about kickball. That’s all for now XOXOXO