Amazing

I have to say- I never ever ever in my life thought I'd say this- but getting up early has been by far the best weight-related thing I've ever done for myself.

All last week I was up by 5am, doing 45-minutes to an hour of either treadmill or a workout DVD. My husband gets up at 6am and we have our usual morning routine getting ready for work. But I noticed some big differences. I didn't need coffee at work, because I'd had enough time to 'wake up' on my own. I felt SO good all day, major energy all day. And I've been completely psyched to have the entire evening to myself, without the chore of working out ahead of me. Yes, I'm tired earlier in the evening- I'll be honest, the first few days I was asleep by 8:30! But that's leveled out to about 9ish, and I feel amazing. And bonus, my husband says I'm not so crabby in the morning! lol

I'm totally messing that schedule up by two half-night shifts (7p-3a) to cover some funeral leave, but I'll be back to the early morning action on Thursday. I have a cold again (why??) but I'm hitting the Zicam and Theraflu and easing up on the workouts. Food choices this week haven't taken a decidedly vegetarian turn, which I'm really enjoying. Marmot hasn't minded so far!

Hope you all are having a fabulous week!

Fitness Fanatic

I did it! The alarm went off at four-thirty, and I crawled out of bed at five and did 45 minutes on the treadmill. I think I can honestly say that it was the first time I've ever voluntarily gotten out of bed early to exercise. :-D

Below is something I came across that just made me laugh- enjoy!

Preparation is Everything

I'm pretty proud of myself. Let me tell you why: I'm all set to face one of my biggest challenges. Meal planning!

*In my fridge are five bags of cut and washed veggies.

*along withBreakstone Cottage Cheese and Strawberry packs (sweet, but only 130 calories)

*Box of 100-calorie packs (Cheez-its and Oreo cookies)

*Lean Cuisine meals for lunch

*Breakfast shakes (because real breakfast makes me nauseated)

* Dinner is planned for tomorrow night: spaghetti with organic Bertolli tomato sauce, ground turkey and whole wheat noodles.

I have a daily calendar in my room with a package of foil stars- every day I get to give myself stars for drinking 64oz. of water, getting my 30 minutes of exercise, staying on target with my calories, getting fruits and veggies in, and a big gold star for a loss!

I also have it all set up to get up early to work out. Including having the coffee machine set for 5am, my headphones on the treadmill, everything ready to go. My hope is that I can stumble out of bed and get right on the treadmill. Maybe the beginning of a habit? I remember being wide awake at 4am once and getting up, I had the nicest morning. I think the key is the preparation, but we'll see. I'm exhausted today, so an 8pm bedtime might be the best preparation yet.

I hope you are all having a phenomenal week!

Lost: Motivation...Reward for Safe Return!

I keep trying to pull myself up out of this slump, and I keep getting sucked down. I blame salt.

Thanks to everyone who told me what they track. I'll be contacting someone about a Biggest Loser workout DVD!

Watched Biggest Loser tonight, which is always a kick in the ass for me. Is anyone else seriously sick of Tara winning everything? I know Helen gave her the 5 minutes with the cookie (go Helen!) and Tara looked piiiiiissed! lol I loved seeing the difference from the starting and the current weights, nothing like that to put my journey into perspective. I'm afraid to take pictures right now, I feel like I'm just stuck at 229 and going nowhere.

And my husband is on the treadmill as we speak. He's suddenly realized he has a gut and a double chin. Its like oh yeah, I'm not the only one that had the newly-married poundage problem. I know its sick and sadistic, but I love it. He's so supportive, I couldn't ask for better. And he has such a good attitude about doing this with me, to get rid of his belly and to help me get rid of 'the jigglies'.

I'm on the hunt for a good water bottle. The big ones, at least 32 ounces, like Weight Watchers used to have with the straws. I don't like the ones that you bite the straw (like the CamelBak) I'd rather have a regular straw. Any recommendations?

Headed for the treadmill. Hope you all are having a great week! :-)

Refresh

Ok, so I had a pretty bad start to the week. Not going into details (it involved fried food and alcohol) but it wasn't pretty. Totally came down to the fact that my end goal is to be at a healthy weight to have a healthy pregnancy. I have given myself the ultimatum of not trying until I weigh less than 150lbs. So here again, the baby bug bites me in the ass and I'm only 9.5lbs less than what I started at. I'm pretty proud of the 9.5lbs, but I still have 70-some pounds staring me in the face. I know part of it is being depressed because of the winter and being sick/injured, but mostly its disappointment that I let myself get off track.

So what does that mean?? Its time for a refresh. Renew, remind, refresh. A renewal of what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. A kick in the ass, it's time to get back into gear.

*Goals Back Into Focus- I now have a sidebar list about why I'm doing this.

*Reward List Updated- on the sidebar. I really want a new pair of shoes!

*A New Daily Checklist- vitamin, 64oz. water, 30 minutes of exercise, etc.

*Groceries- I need my staples! Yogurt, 100-calorie packs, pickles and Crystal Light.

*New Tracking System- I love Lose It, but I still need something to track all the stuff on my checklist that isn't tracked in Lose It. I have a checklist program on my iPhone, but I'm wondering if a physical checklist (with pretty colored stars??) to track my progress.

I have a request- would you comment and tell me what you track/measure/obsess over in your daily journey? The best of the bunch will get a free Biggest Loser workout DVD of their choice.

You don't take a long journey without stopping to make sure that you're on the right road, and that you have enough gas to get where you want to go. This is my break in the travel, and now I'm back on the road.

Knee Update

Ok, so I had a rather disappointing visit to the doctor. Now I know that PMR is *not* their strong point. (Exhibit A: my right arm with a radial head fracture, that only recently completely regained an acceptable amount of strength and range of motion. Eight months after the fracture and I still have numbness and little strength, I was told to ice it. Seriously.)

So yeah, the knee. I have a specific spot on the side of my knee (if my anatomy is correct, its either my lateral collateral ligament or the head of the fibula) that I can press and get hella pain down my leg. Can't twist it, can't kneel. I'm sucking it up, but its uncomfortable to walk any good distance and its been over a week and a half since the injury. And the brilliant doctor had what advice? Round-the-clock ibuprofen for the next 10-14 days.

Called Dr. Dad and he was not amused. He's back from his conference so I'll be getting down there asap for an eval, and told me I'm off the treadmill til then. This SUCKS.

Ouch

My knee is not ok. I got on the treadmill and was just doing a 3.0 walk at 0 incline, but I only made it about 20 minutes before I noticed that my knee hurt. A LOT. Off the treadmill and a call to Dr. Dad, he said no more treadmill until he can look at it tomorrow. I'm actually bummed, and really hoping its ok. I already have enough problems with my arm after breaking it last winter, this seriously sucks. :-(

And I'm Back...

Its been way too long since I've posted! Some schedule changes at work (doing some 12's instead of my usual 8's) and still having the cough and congestion has been a real drag. I honestly think I've been depressed! And then the classic wipeout on the ice and a sprained knee....seriously, can it be spring already?? lol

But, I have a new 'project'. The Biggest Loser craze has hit my town, and the local NBC affiliate is doing one of their own! I'm on a team with three co-workers (we're the Foo-d Fighters!) and we're officially entered. We logged our starting weights (we're all within a 10lb range) and the challenge is for 12 weeks. And here we are!

I'm really excited! I needed this boost I think, especially after the slump of being sick. I've given my knee enough time to heal according to my Dad (an MD) so I'm hitting it on Monday. Go me!

Something new- alternating my calorie restrictions, hopefully to move on out of this plateau. Its between 1300 and 1800 and changes everyday. I'm stuck at 229.0 and its killing me!