Skipped weigh in = lazy week

Saturday I skipped weigh in - my first time skipping since I joined WW. And its been all downhill since then. Amazing what happens when your mindset changes. And let me tell ya my mindset changed this past week.
Exercising was still part of the game but eating right went out the window very quickly once I told Bill "I am not going to weigh in on Saturday" - those 9 words started me spiraling out of control.

Today I feel like the biggest pile of pooh you've ever seen. I feel bloated, dehydrated, lethargic and just plain icky. My eating this past week has included far too many out of the normal things like chips & dips, guacamole by the bowl full, chocolate dipped shortbread cookies (later discovered were 5pts a piece! - don't ask how many of those I ate in one day!!), ice cream & really anything else I can think of sounds good.

Now I know ideally my weight loss journey looks different than my friends or my neighbors but rationalizing this in my head is a whole other animal. I find I am comparing myself to "So and so who has been on WW since Feb and has lost 40lbs"  or the Y member who has lost "25lbs in 2months" and then I beat myself up. I get down & depressed.  Which I am sure does nothing to help my physiological weight loss.  Yes, I said it - weight loss is also physiological. I believe when you  mentally focus on something it can either motivate you or it can distract you - which is what it does for me.

This morning Bill and I had a great conversation on this subject. And  he helped me realize that when I focus on how much am I going to loose? How many points did I eat today? How many points do I have left for the week? Or  did I make the 30lb mark today?  that I get distracted from the  journey at hand, which is just to loose weight. And when I do this my personality is to become obsessive. I wake up thinking of it & go to bed thinking of it. Which for me has resulted in lower weight losses or 2 gains.

So for the rest of the week until Saturdays weigh in I will be focusing on my exercise workouts and staying on track points wise. Which would also mean no more 5point choc cookies. (Thanks to my friends for taking those away from me)  And Bill has said "I will not allow you to skip weigh in any more" - So good or bad I will be weighing in on Saturday.

**In swimming news I swam 2 laps (4x down & back) without stopping yesterday and I completed a total of 8 laps.  By September I have to swim 9 laps or 18x down and back for the Triathlon. Swimming is definitely coming along. Woohoo!

Just keep swimming

These two items are fast becoming my good friends. I met with a friend this week to see what my swimming abilities were ie....how can we make swimming easier for Gina? Ginny and I know each other from MOPS. We have known each other for the last 3 years but I never knew she was a swimmer let alone a swim coach. Where have I been? Obviously not paying enough attention to Ginny 

Ginny is a straight shooter - No seriously she is. After we found each other on the Y pool deck she jumps in the pool and says "So show me what you got" And I was like "What swim?"  to which she replies "That is what we are here for, right?"   I knew if I sucked she would tell me, it would be the truth but it would oddly not be mean coming from Ginny. You just have to know Ginny to understand. 

After swimming 1/2 a lap she casually swims down to me. I am hanging onto the ledge for dear life trying to catch my breath. She says "Here's what I like" "You have a strong stroke, you make minimal splash, you swim with your head down & your are very parallel with the water." "But you suck at breathing" - see what I mean?  Mind you I am still trying to catch my breath & I utter  "yep, that's what I figured"

The next 45mins were spent running me through some drills, swimming on my side, and teaching me to side breath.  Don't ask me how she did it but by the end I was swimming & breathing effectively and I was NOT dying on the side of the pool. I mean literally in that small amount of time she had taught me how to breath and swim at the same time. Along the way she said many funny things to try and teach me & keep me focused. 

"Your forehead doesn't need to breath only your nose and mouth"

"Slow down, it's not a race, at least not yet"

"What are you doing? You are not the rabbit you are the turtle"

I am happy to report that this morning I went to the gym and swam 11 laps!!  Eleven laps with proper breathing & I did not die. I am sure that Ginny would be proud. Just so you know I have to complete 9 laps (so 18 times down & back) in order to equal the 1/4 mile swim for the Triathlon.

So in the words of Dori the fish from Finding Neemo - "Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming"

Survior - hear me roar

  I am a Survivor!! Last week Bill was gone on a business trip to California. To say I was nervous to be alone with the kids for 5 days & 4nights was an understatement. Bill has never gone away on a business trip and in the 7yrs we have been together we have never been more than 2 nights away from one another. 

  I was nervous of how the week would go and in preparation two bottles of my favorite wine were bought. Not that I would resort to drinking wine in a moment of craziness. I also planned a few extra play dates/activities to keep the kids and I busy throughout the week. Believing the distraction would be good for all of us.

  The week went really well and before we knew it Friday had arrived. The moon & stars aligned this week and the kids were actually pretty well behaved. In fact so few issues occurred that extra wine wasn't even needed. And keeping us busy resulted in very tired kids which meant early bed times, woohoo!

  Eating went well too because 1. our carbaholic was gone and 2. warmer weather meant lighter meals.

  Working out went Amazing!!  I worked out a total of 6 days this past week. One of these workouts was even a "block" workout and proved to be a little more challenging than I thought. I see more block trainings in my future in preparation for this Triathlon.

  Weigh in on Saturday was only .8 down. I was hoping for bigger loss due to my great eating & workouts. the scale was against me  But it was not meant to be this week.

Monthly measurements weren't as exciting either. And this gal did NOT make Bill take the measurements twice. With the results still not much different.

Arms = 16.5 no change

Bust = 43.5 no change

Waist = 39 1 inch change

Hips = 53 1.5 inch change

Onward & upwards with a new week and I aiming for a bigger number. I am only 3lbs from the 30 mark and I really want to get to that weight loss number. To add to my challenge I am meeting with a swim coach on Tuesday. Here's to helping me improve my pathetic swim stroke.

A little of this, a little of that & 2lbs down

Wow, it's been a busy week. 5 workouts completed last week, glorious sunshine in the NW and Mothers Day.
And a 2lb loss weigh in on Saturday. WooHoo!

I am trying to stay on course this week while Bill is out of town. Trying to not drink every bottle of wine we own, steal raid whatever kids candy I can find and not eat ice cream every day since it's so hot out. Today is Tuesday and I have managed to survive, so far.

Today, I tried the "Butts and Gutts" class at the YMCA. I can guarantee you that the name of the class fits it to the "T".  The class was over 4hrs ago and I am sore and creeping around like an old lady. A very cute, chic old lady, but none the less and old lady.

Tomorrow I am going to try to do a "block" style workout. So doing 2 of my triathlon events back to back. I will attempt or dye trying to run for 2 miles & then immediately ride for as long as I can on the bike. Then on Thursday my "block" workout will be a swim and then bike. There will be blog worthy notes for sure so stay tuned.

And so to finish this quick blog I leave you with my new favorite quote. Go out, find a goal & stretch.

"A good goal is like a strenuous exercise - it makes you stretch" - Mary Kay Ash

"A life less sedentary"

"Live a life less sedentary, Live a life less ordinary, Live a life extraordinary"

Bare Naked Ladies

Let me introduce you to my song - these lyrics have come to have new meaning for me. Here's why:

This weeks weigh in was hard for me. I went in with a great attitude believing I would & could cross over the 25lb mark. And it was not to be. I gained .6 ounces.  How? I don't know how but it happened.  I came home discouraged & beat down.  My husband did a his weekly job of encouraging me. And it was then that I remembered these words and I am choosing a new outlook. 

Life less sedentary - I am exercising more than I have in a long time, 4-5x a week. On Sunday I did a 2mile run on the treadmill. I can now run 2miles without stopping. I would say that is a life less sedentary!

Life less ordinary - I am training for a Sprint Triathlon - I found myself telling my friend, who is a spin teacher at the YMCA, "it's just a sprint triathlon".  And she came back at me with a BIG  "So what - it's a Triathlon & it's more than anyone else is doing". She then went onto tell me how the first ever conducted triathlon race was a sprint distance. (more to come on that in another post) I am changing the way I look at the race now. I am completing a Triathlon, yes there are many different lengths, but I will be completing one in Sept.

Life extraordinary - I am the healthiest mentally and physically than I have been in a long time. And I am 

 24lbs down since mid January, 24lbs that isn't on my body any longer & 24lbs that I am DARN proud of. 

I am not going to let a mere .6 ounces keep me down - I am moving on. Next up - swim practice tomorrow.

You are what you eat

Have you ever heard the saying You are what you eat? If you haven't you've been living under a rock I am sure. Just kidding. I have heard this saying so many times and until yesterday it didn't really strike me, make me go "hmmm" or anything. That is until yesterday.

Since mid January I have been on WW - doing great & except for a couple times staying on course & shedding the pounds regularly each week.  And I love WW because I can eat whatever I want. There is no counting calories and no giving up my favorite foods. Living within moderation & portion control. Which should be a no brainer I know. With WW comes the ability to eat as many fruits & veggies a day as I like. There are no point values with them. So because of this option I eat a salad 1-2x a day. And at least 1 veggie with dinner but most nights I eat 2. I indulge during snack times on veggies & this amazing jalapeno yogurt dip from Costco. (1pt for 2 tbsp) and feel full & satisfied.

Then yesterday hit - We decided it was a family adventure day - which included a trip to the Pacific Science Center. Which ended up with a trip to Dicks burgers. Now I love Dicks cheeseburgers & fries. They are yummy delicious but I always feel "blah" afterwards. I am sure it's all the grease the food is cooked in. So we rarely eat there. And then I decided since we were in Seattle we should try out Molly Moons ice cream. I have heard about Molly Moon on the radio and in the paper. DELICIOUS!!!  That's what I have to say about the ice cream. Made with real cream and fresh ingredients. It was an amazing treat to end our family adventure day.

Bye the time we got home I was in a food coma - I felt so "BLAAAH" and no energy. Downright disgusting almost. Bill tried to encourage me to go to the gym and I tried to get up the unction to go but I just wasn't feeling it. Even E tried to get me to go workout and when I decided not to go she burst into tears. Later as I lay in bed Bill and I chatted about why I felt so down. And it occurred to me I had eaten horrible, high fat/calorie food all day & not exercised.

     Could my body really be getting used to eating healthy?
     Could my body really be telling me it preferred healthy food?
     Could my body really be saying "I enjoy working out and you are depriving me"?

A resounding YES to all of these questions. My body for the first time in a long time is actually feeling very healthy, likes eating fruits and veggies, likes working out 4x5 days a week. And last night it was letting me know what it likes.

The saying "You are what you eat" will be going up in a few places in my house today. I want to remember this feeling. Now if I could just bottle up this feeling so when I get the desire to go crazy I can just sniff it and the feeling will come rushing back. Where do I go to do that?


*To my WW teammates I did not add up my points yesterday - I am just counting all my weekly & daily points gone for the week*

Fake it like you mean it

  Today I attempted  went lap swimming at the gym. Whoever said "Fake it like you mean it" has never tried to swim laps. And if they had they wouldn't have told this SAHM to go swim laps at 5am with all the other crazy and elite lap swimmers. Who I am sure are only swimming at 5am to avoid the wannabe swimmers like me.

  Let me first say that I pretty much grew up in Florida - so in and around water. So I know how to swim but leisure swimming and lap swimming are TOTALLY different animals.  And just because I grew up swimming does not mean that I am an automatic great swimmer. I suck BIG time as I learned this morning.

  First, I should have known from the moment my swim cap split I was doomed. That should have been my sign to just pack up and head home. I tried the cap on last night with my goggles and it fit great. Today in the locker room at 5:15am in my sleepy, caffeine deprived state I ripped it with my nail. Swim cap down for the count.
  Instead I say "oh, well" and head for the pool deck and my cold shower. Upon entering the pool deck I see that all 4 lanes are filled with 1 swimmer in each, crap I am going to have to share a lane. I quickly assess the lanes:

Lane 1 = crazy man with white cap on swimming like something is after him = nope
Lane 2 = fit man who is just too physically fit to even be real = nope
Lane 3 = someones dad - just gross = nope
Lane 4 = a woman - swimming medium speed and stopping to take drinks of her water bottle = perfect

  I slip on my goggles and climb in while she is down at the other end of the lane. Now just in case you aren't swimming elites here and if you are I do not want to hear about it,  down & back in this pool is 1 lap.  My plan that I pepped myself up for was 10 laps. I know a little eager my first time out, don't fault me.

  The next 20mins, because that's all I lasted, consisted of me trying to swim, faking it - which I know wasn't going over well. I am sure the lifeguard was like "who is this lady?" and "why is she swimming laps?" And I don't even want to know what the woman sharing the lane thought of my child like strokes that kept splashing her & stirring up the water in her lane.  And my "built in cushion" - my butt - wasn't  much help today, in fact more of a hindrance. It kept me sagging down in the water and I kept hearing the song "Don't bring me down" (cant remember who sings it or any other lyrics) literally these lyrics kept ringing through my ears.  Just so you know, if I ever meet J-Lo I am going to ask her if she has ever done lap swimming because I am sure that is one area she will say having a booty did not do well for her.

  Uggh, so it wasn't the most successful lap swim. And I have the cuts on my knuckles to prove it. (I was really trying to hug the side of the pool to give my lap partner space, guess I gave her too much space) But I can say I attempted it. Guess, I will wait for my friend Kirsten to come help me, she has graciously agreed to come help train me in a few weeks. Until then I will be faking it like I mean it at the local YMCA.