Sunday, September 22, 2013

Frustrated and Ready to Change!

It's been a long while since I've posted... I've been busier than I ever have! Coaching volleyball has brought so much joy to me and I love it more than I ever thought possible. But it keeps me super busy!  School is in full swing these days too and the beginning of the year is busy on its own. I am also in the middle of 2 graduate classes! So finding time for the gym and choosing to eat right has been put to the wayside and it's really starting to show. 

The scale is really not my friend these days and it's been weeks since I've stepped into a Weight Watchers meeting. My clothes are fitting tighter these days and I hate that feeling. I haven't felt like this in a long time and it's partly why I haven't posted on here. 

But it's time to "come clean" of the bad habits I've picked up and look to my readers for support and accountability! I know what it will take to get back to where I was about 8 pounds ago and pre knee surgery. 

No more eating on the go! No more skipping the gym on the days that I have time to go but I'm just so tired! No more eating things just "because I want too"! 

I'm setting some October goals a week early so I can get back in the mindset and get a head start! 

OCT. GOALS: 
Post weekly weigh-ins blog post - This won't take long I just have to sit down and make time to do it!

Lost an average of 2lbs a week- very reasonable and I've done it before!  

Track my points 6 days out of the week - I usually do good about 4 days out of the week for tracking then Fri- Sun I just don't. 

Workout 5 days a week- This will require some early morning workouts on days I know that an afternoon workout is impossible. But I can do it! No more laziness! 

Go to a Weight Watchers Meeting once a week- I love my Monday meetings leader Ginny, but if I can't make Monday there are plenty of other meetings during the week I can go to! 

I hope that someone reading this can help me stay accountable. I'm tired of making excuses since August and I'm ready to be the best me I can be! I've come to far to continue to backslide! 

Be thinking of your October goals and set you own! Let's get this fall started right!


Monday, July 8, 2013

Suprising Weigh-In = Happy Monday

I woke up today with the dreaded feeling knowing that I had to go back to Summer School this morning and that I needed to weigh. I do not normally "dread" a weigh in but I know over the past week and half I have finally gotten my appetite back and it's back with a vengeance! On top of that I don't get any cardio anymore since I am still recovering and my only workouts are at physical therapy (though they are tough). I couldn't help but think that the number would be up a pound or two or three. So I stepped on and a number popped up and I was so skeptical that I stepped back off the scale, turned it off then back on, and stepped on again. The number was still the same!! 178.8! What? In the 170's... AGAIN. Now we all know that the 170's dangle in front of me from time to time and that I can never quite stay in them for more than a week or two, but this time it feels different. I feel like I got here by some weird chance (or the fact I have no muscle in my left leg and that has helped me) and that I can fight to stay here and lose even more.

When I went to bed last night I had already decided that I was starting back with counting my points and that I was getting rid of the jar of Nutella in my pantry. I bought the big jar of Nutella the other day in a moment of weakness as I was wandering the isles at Publix and thought that I could handle it now. UMmmm no. It must go! I read on It Sux to be Fat last week that I need to FIGHT every battle at the grocery store. Jenn made an excellent point saying that it's easier to say no one time in the grocery store than 100 times at home. Weighing in this morning back in the 170's made it so much easier to get back on track. I don't feel so much like I'm starting over and having to back track to lose whatever poundage I had gained since surgery.

I did venture out to Planet Fitness the other day and I was so surprised at how down it made me feel in the first few minutes. I thought I would be so happy just being in there and working out, but to the contrary I was sad because I couldn't just run and jump on the treadmill and pound out a few miles. I had to work slowly and carefully. I did all the things I do at physical therapy and 10 minutes on the elliptical (which turned out to the highlight of my time in there) and by the end I felt much better. Being sad about not running made me realize what an athlete and gym lover I really have become during this journey.

Have you noticed yourself loving something that you never thought you would on your weight-loss journey?

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Weigh-in Update Knee Surgery

Sorry for the absence lately, having knee surgery and the recovery process has been a lot more difficult than I had imagined it would. Once the surgery was underway, Dr. Walcott discovered that I had torn my meniscus also. He repaired both my ACL and meniscus and I have been doing physical therapy 3 times a week for a few weeks now. I still have a long way to go, but I WILL get there and be back to running in no time.

I haven't had much of an appetite since surgery and I was able to stand on the scale yesterday morning..... down 6 pounds since the morning of surgery! I was so surprised. Now the hard part is to keep in under control while I am not able to get in any cardio workouts. Therapy has surprisingly turned out to be quite a workout! My upper body is sore most everyday from the crutches, so while I'm "down & out" I'm still working a good many of my muscle groups! Good to know!

I have had several bad days since this started and while I find myself crying and feeling sorry for myself I have been able to dig deep and know that this too shall pass. I've had a great support system of friends and family that check on me daily!

Have you ever found yourself going through something that was harder than you expected? How did you deal with trying to remain positive while struggling each day?

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Summer Goals

Summer vacation is in full swing these days. Although I am teaching summer school 2 days a week for half a day I still have lots of free time. I was hoping this summer was going to be full of working out and eating right, but with my lingering knee injury still getting in the way of most activity, this summer hasn't quite started the way I hoped.

I tore my ACL sometime between November and May. I had injured it originally in November but worked through it until I couldn't stand it anymore. I went to see Dr. Walcott at AOS and he confirmed that I had torn my ACL and surgery was probably the best option. Being the stubborn athlete I am I have continued to try to workout and run with it torn hoping if I ignored it long enough I would eventually just forget about it. Not going to happen. I wanted to postpone surgery so that I could workout all summer and concentrate on losing these last 20 pounds (yes, it's still 20) while I was out of school. Last weekend I went to the gym and ran for the first time in about 3 weeks and finished 3 miles in 30 minutes. I was stoked! But then reality hit later that afternoon with knee pain and swelling. For three days after that run I was unable to do anymore working out. Finally, I made an appointment and now I'm scheduled to have surgery Monday morning.

Surgery! The one thing I've been dreading since I first hurt myself months ago. But I know that after I have this surgery and go through the physical therapy I will be on the road to running again and being able to be active full time!

I not only postponed surgery because I love to workout and other obvious reasons but I'm terrified that without working out I may GAIN weight. I'm afraid old habits may creep back in and I may find myself heavier by the end of the summer. I will not let these negative thoughts and fear of failure stop me from doing what I know I can do. I can plan my meals and eat right! I can go to the gym and work out upper body and abs (hoping to get this 6 pack soon hahahaha)! I will overcome this injury and I will be back better than ever!

So here are my summer goals:

To Recover! I will not feel sorry for myself. I will do what the PT and Dr. tell me to do so that I can get back to activity as soon as possible.

To Plan! I will plan my meals and continue to follow the plan.

To Blog! I have been a terrible at keeping up with this blog. The end of the school year was overwhelmingly busy and didn't make time to keep my readers updated! I will blog once a week this summer so be ready!! :)

What are your summer goals and how are you going to reach them?
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Photo found on Pinterest






Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Back on the Wagon!

Well I took a break from blogging the last few weeks.

I pretty much took a break from everything.

No tracking.

No making good choices.

I did exercise regularly, but there isn't enough exercise in the world to counteract all the bad choices I've made the last couple of weeks.

The main reason I didn't want to blog was that I didn't want to update the fact that I haven't met any of my goals since before spring break. That was 3 weeks ago.

Life does happen. Things do get in the way. Life does go on. I'm back on track and I have done amazing tracking and making good choices this week.

I skipped weigh in for two weeks in a row (which is unheard of for me), though I wasn't blind to the weight. I weighed at home while I was MIA from my meetings.

Needless to say when I went back to my Monday meeting this week, weigh in reflected three weeks of careless choices.

All that is history now. No need to dwell on that fact. What's done is done!

NOW onto some good news!

I received a phone call yesterday asking would I be interested in coaching volleyball!!! Of course, I said YES!!!! I was so honored. No, I don't know much about volleyball except for the key terms that most every knows. I did play volleyball..... in middle school PE! I am so excited and I will do my best to learn as much as I can about volleyball and give these girls a very successful and fun season!

After I got off the phone I couldn't help but think about how thankful I was that I began my weight loss journey and have been so successful! I know that if I was still the 300 pound couch potato that I was 4 years ago I would have never crossed her mind! And I would have never wanted to coach volleyball! This journey truly has changed my life and I'm so excited about the opportunities that are still to come!

What are some exciting things that have come your way since losing weight? What are some things you hope to do once you embark on your weight loss journey!


I have been postponing writing this post for several days because sometimes I feel more like a fraud than a role model. Some weeks I don't do the things I tell so many people to do. I don't take my own advice from time to time. But it's part of the journey. This is a speed bump that I am now over and I'm back on the road to reaching my goals and hopefully encouraging some of you to reach yours. Have a great week. 

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Mud-Mania 2013 & Weekly Weigh-In

Here we are before the race ready to get MUDDY!! 
Last Saturday me and my brother ran in Auburn's Mud-Mania! Earlier in March I set goals and one of my goals for this month was to complete this 5K with 20+ obstacles in under 50 minutes! We set out for Auburn early Saturday morning and it was freeeezing!

Waiting for the race to start I was so nervous. Almost as nervous as I was on the day of the half marathon. I'm not sure if the nerves were because I was scared of the unknown or if it was because I set a time goal. Probably a little of both.

The race starts off by running through a huge mud pit! For someone who has spent the majority of their life avoiding mud this was an experience to remember!



A huge fun slip and slide! 
I didn't wear a watch so I really had no concept of time or how long we had been gone but when we crossed the finish line I knew it couldn't have been 50 minutes already. We checked our time and we finished in a whopping 38:54! Wow!!! We not only met my goal but we smashed it!
We finished quite MUDDY! 
I'm so glad that I was able to run this race with my brother, Kevin! He has recently started running and he did amazing!!

Now on to Monday's weigh-in. . . Dum dum duuummmmm! I had a big week last week as far as exercise went. I earned 53 activity points (a new high for me), ran over 23 miles, and crushed the mud run! I tracked 6 days and really watched my points (again)! Stepping on the scale I was confident in whatever the number was I determined to not let it get me down.

Another week with a low number, but it is a loss so I can't be too let down. And incredibly I'm back in the 170's! Now to meet my goal of losing 8 pounds in March I have to be able to lose 3.2 this coming up Monday! Seems impossible with the way I've been working this month and the small numbers that seem to show up every Monday. But I will still strive forward and no matter what comes up this Monday I will know I tried my absolute best this month! 

How are your March goals coming along? There is less than a week of March left! 




Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Tilapia Salad -- Weekly Weigh-in

Last night was my regular meeting night. I went (even in terrible weather) and stood on the scale, wishing, praying, and hoping I had lost 2.4! I made sure I had on no jewelry and made sure to breathe all the way out (hey I'll do whatever I think might help). My fearless leader, Ginny, wrote down the number and was so happy for me, but it wasn't what I wanted. 1.8. Don't get me wrong I'm happy for the loss. I'm happy to be nearing the 170's again. I'm happy to have lost 3.4 pounds over the past 2 weeks. I'm happy to have not gained.

But I can't help but be disappointed that I missed my weekly goal again this week. I have set this very realistic goal of losing 8 pounds in the month of March. I am trying my best to reach this goal. In the event that I don't reach my goal of 8 pounds I want to look back at this month and think that there was nothing I could have done differently. 

Things I did good last week: 

I tracked 5 days.

I earned 32 activity points. 

I made good choices while out to eat and even found a new favorite dish! (more on that in a second)

I performed the best I've done so far this season for co-ed softball on Sunday! (it was only practice but I'll take it:)

Overall it was a great week and I'll just have to settle be happy with the 1.8. 



NEW RECIPE 
Last Friday night I ate at Charles Anthony's Pub (off the Mitylene exit in Montgomery). I ordered a Tilapia Salad. It was amazing and I couldn't wait to try and whip up my own version of it at home. 

It's quick and easy and only 7 PP without dressing!!

Ingredients: 
3 oz of cooked Tilapia (I prefer cajun or blackened) 
2 cups of spring mix
1 stalk chopped celery
1/2 diced tomatoes
1 tbsp blue cheese 
2 tbsp dried cranberries
1 tbsp chopped pecans 

Directions: 
Bake tilapia filet on 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes (or until done). 
Put all other ingredients in bowl and place cooked tilapia on top. 

I found an amazing lemon vinaigrette recipe that you can make in less than 5 minutes with simple ingredients. I put this recipe in the recipe builder and the dressing is 4 points for 2 tbsp (it yields about 12 tbsp). 

I hope that your weekly weigh in goes well! If you try this fresh salad please let me know what you think! Have a great and healthy week!