Monday mix tape - good news and bad news edition

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted. What was worse is that I looked back on the positivity in that last post and realized I need to get back up there again!

The bad news:

The arm injury finally got the best of me and I went to the doctor on Friday. I have a classic case of tendonitis and am not allowed to lift weights until it's 100% better. Other than that I can do just about anything but the constant pain doesn't help with motivation for exercise. I've taken good care of it over the last few days and hope it goes away soon. What's the rush you ask? I've gained 9 freaking pounds.

The good news:

I did a 3 minute plank. I swear I thought my trainer was crazy when she said that was something people did.
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The guy at the Goodwill donation truck told me I was looking great. He's seen me shrink the last few months as I keep handing him more and more clothes that no longer fit. I found that laugh out loud to myself funny.
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I just ordered peanut butter online for the first time which I find very strange but oh well! I tried a Justin's Nut Butter Honey Peanut Butter 80 calorie pack at Starbucks and it was amazing. I just ordered 40 packs. Finally a way to eat peanut butter and banana (or apple!) at my desk. It's seriously delicious.
At least there are more good things on the list than bad but the bad was a serious blow.

The plan for the week is to focus on cardio and cut down on the carbs. I hope to get this 9 lbs off as quick as it came on. I have to have to have to keep going!

Monday mix tape

I'm back! My arm is feeling much better and my trainer is back from vacation just in time. I just had a great, sweaty workout despite taking it easy on my arm. I could have been working around it all along but the rest felt needed and it made me all that more excited to get back. Needless to say, I'm going to avoid the scale for another week and just focus on getting back to full strength. Funny what a lot of stress and a lot of pain can do to ones virtuous eating habits.

I was trying to explain to my trainer how I felt while she was gone and I was injured. It was difficult to put into words. I felt like a slug. Slow, weak, tired, barely wanting to move. The fact that its in the high 90s here isn't helping but I know what the real culprit was. We ate out a lot during that time and it was that oh so delicious combo of sugar, salt, fat and processed carbs. Delicious and poisonous.

So, in a week of not much progress on the physical front, there was a ton of progress made on the mental front. Never in my life have I enjoyed my workouts enough to miss them. I've also never been this in tune with my body and paying attention to what makes me feel good (and not good!) These are the makings of a lifestyle change and not the on again, off again roller coaster ride I've been on as long as I can remember.

Hey, Hot Wing Lady part deux

It's been another non-stop week here but I'm hanging in there and enjoying my work even though there are not enough hours in the day to do it all!! I'm grateful for the abundance of work as well as the energy and God given talent to make it all look nice :)

Something happened last night I had to share. Almost three years ago I wrote this post about my relationship with chicken wings and the lady that makes them at the local supermarket.

Things have changes so much grocery shopping wise. I rarely venture into the middle aisles anymore except for dog supplies, toilet paper and salt and vinegar PopChips. I wouldn't recognize my cart if I lost it so I keep it close by. I used to be embarrassed by it especially if a weekend was coming up. I have been asked if I was having a party and I wasn't. God that's horrifying.

Anyway, I was in the seafood department and the chicken wing maker was behind the counter and came running out after me, hugged me and said "I saw you and your husband the other day and I hardly recognized you both. You look so great no wonder I haven't seen you in a while!"

I SO needed that encounter.

I was stressed and feeling snacky. I haven't been working out all week due to an arm injury that happened sometime over the weekend. I must have pulled a muscle because I haven't even been able to make a fist or lift my coffee. It's feeling better but now I'm dreading getting back to it. Just goes to show myself I can't ever stop. If I were like Shelley, I wouldn't let the injury get in my way but I did and now I'm going to pay for it!! :)

Monday Mix Tape - late edition

I'm not really doing well with my Monday posts am I??

Still really busy. Too busy but not complaining. EVER. I've even brought some old co-workers in to help me get all this work done. We joke that we're "getting the band back together" and I love it! Yesterday was my longest day in history. 17 hours of work. It was fun work but LONG.

My workouts have suffered this week but thankfully I've been doing well with my eating so we're maintaining this week. I had to cancel my trainer appointment yesterday to go to a printer - that was the first time I've had to do that in the 12 weeks or so I've been doing it so I guess it's not horrible. No way will I let this spell of crazy get me off track.

In the midst of all the crazy, I had this brilliant idea for an anniversary gift for our neighbors. Of course I put it off until the last minute and got them in their back yard literally 5 minutes before they came home from vacation.Now we all have our own pillows and chairs around the fire pit - just in time for the hot summer! :) I made them all out of fabric from the Ikea clearance bin. Eventually I'd like to sell these on Etsy. I think they would make a great wedding gift. If only there were more hours in a day....

I'm going to yoga tonight even though I went to bed at 2:30 am and got up at 6. I'm so stiff and sore from being cramped up in my work chair and I'm ready to sweat again. I can't believe how much I miss exercise when I don't get it these days. I've always wanted that feeling and I finally got it!

Have a great, healthy week!

Monday Mix Tape (Wednesday edition)

I've been desperate to have a minute to post to thank y'all for your incredibly kind support after my 5k on Saturday. I feel like a superstar :) I'm also glad some I could offer some inspiration - I swear, if I can do it you can do it too!

The day after the race I was having some shin pain and decided to call the running store and find out when I bought my shoes. They were 10 months old already so I decided I deserved a new pairThese are the updated version of what I had and the are so nice and bouncy!


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Things are crazy busy on the work front (amen!) but that means no double workouts this week. I did manage at least an hour every day so far but I'm feeling the effects from stress of it all. I know that the workouts will help me deal with it better but sometimes it's really hard to step away from work to go to yoga or run.

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I've had a love hate relationship with the Biggest Loser over the years but there is REALLY something special about this season's group. They are amazing and every single one of them has already won. I'm motivated by every single word that they say. Jillian BOWED to Olivia at the end last night. You seriously know you did a good job if Jillian bows down to you!!! It was very touching and I don't think I've ever seen the trainers so affected by a group like that before. This whole idea that one of "us" could motivate the trainers is new to me but I get it a little more now.

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I've come to the conclusion that I only lose weight one week out of the month. Blame it on hormones, age, perimenopause, or all of the above, but I'm starting to be okay with it. I should see a little loss again in the next week or two. I still check my weight every day but I don't let it affect me like I used to. I've learned that living this way is much less about the scale and so much more about feeling strong and accomplishing awesome things.

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Speaking of awesome, if anyone is trying to keep up with my record setting planks, you've got to kick it up a notch
2 minutes 31 seconds
That's right. New record set on Monday. Karen saw the whole thing. I need to think about how I will celebrate getting to 3 minutes :)

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Now I must work. Have a great and healthy rest of the week!

5k number 3

I have to say this whole 'athletic' thing is fun :)


A nice picture before the race with my runner friend and neighbor.
I look like I'm on drugs and haven't even had my 5 hour energy yet. I was just really excited!


I'm still smiling since it's just started

Not as smiley but still having fun!

I can't believe how much progress I've made since my last 5k only 8 weeks ago.
10 minutes faster!!

While I was out there I could literally feel the core work I've been doing. I could feel the strength in my abs and my hips as picked up my legs and I'm able to take much bigger strides (well as big as my 2 foot long legs allow!)

A special shout out to Karen for helping me get so strong, caring about my core, and helping me feel good wearing that tight t-shirt with those really short sleeves ;)

Oh and I can't forget to thank our supportive spouses who enjoyed coffee and pastries while taking pictures!

Nirvana - not just a band

I always seem to head out to my yoga class feeling excited really good about myself. I've shed some pounds, have a few cute new workout outfits and can now do every one of the 26 poses without modifying anything. I'm almost ready to move out of the back row - almost.

As I've mentioned before, looking at yourself in the mirror is a huge part of the meditative side of the practice. Noticing how you feel at different times is also important and it's not always pleasant. I was troubled when I realized just how deflated I feel when I look in the mirror. I FEEL like I look like all the other girls in the class and there I am, faced with the big fat truth.

I made a decision right then that there was never going to be any negative self-talk in that room again.

I pay $16 a class to be there. The place is built on positivity. It makes me feel amazing. I'm better at it than some of the skinniest girls in there. I deserve it.

I know it's human nature to compare but I owe it to myself to let that kind of thinking go and not allowing it at the yoga studio is a good start. I will do my best to dig deep and focus on the progress I have made and not how far I have to go - especially when the journey feels so long. Maybe it will help to change what I see looking back at me.

A work in progress

Sometimes when I'm doing really well, I feel invincible and then when I make a bad choice, I beat myself up. I've been doing that all day and I thought it would be a good idea to blog about it and move on.

Friday night my husband was out. In the past I would have "stocked up" for this which is something Lyn always manages to blog so openly and honestly about. I would have gotten all my favorite food and settled in for a night of eating and watching TV. I was very proud of myself for going to yoga and coming home and eating some shrimp, spinach and white beans. Not sure what happened but by the time I had gone to bed, I had probably managed to eat another 500 calories in a kitchen that has nothing but healthy food in it. Way too much peanut butter, some cereal, a piece of chocolate, some Pop Chips.

The rest of the weekend I ate way too much and polished it off by drinking way too many cheap margaritas which of course led to waking up too hungover to work out.

I got on the scale this morning and saw the damage and was really disappointed with myself. I think that's the best way to put it. I'm not really upset about what I ate and/or drank. More about the fact that I "checked out" for the weekend and didn't even try to make up for it with exercise.

This particular part of this journey for me is all about self discovery. The why behind it all. After dwelling on this for far too long today I've come to the conclusion that last week I pushed myself too hard towards a number on the scale and probably didn't eat enough. That left me exhausted and starving by Friday night. I know better than that and will try not to let it happen again.

I'm hoping to undo the damage very quickly since I have a 5k to run on Saturday morning. The plan for the week is less meat and more water, making sure to fuel myself properly for the crazy amounts of exercise I'm doing.

Moving on now!!! Here's to a healthy week!

A great week

I was hoping to have time today to do a nice, long, thought provoking post but I just finished working and have to leave for yoga in 10 minutes.

I worked my butt off this week. I ate flawlessly despite a dinner party mid-week and a concert last night. I ate smaller portions and I was drenched with sweat every day from working out. I was in total control and it worked.

3 pounds down! Every one of them earned! :) We are almost to the teens! Have a great weekend everyone!