Goal Weight

three weeks ago, i hit my goal weight.  it took me almost two years. i wanted to share what things worked for me to lose the 54 pounds... to maybe help others out, but also for me to look back at my blog and remember what i had in place to be successful.

• FitBit- i love my FitBit. i love how it tracks everything from sleep to heart rate. i love how it keeps track of my exercise. i love how it lets me connect with friends and join challenges every week to hold me accountable and stay on track. i also love reading the FitBit community newsfeed to learn about others and their struggles and successes. i love getting badges. (silly, i know... but it totally motivates me!) i love all the data it has collected since i started wearing it in June 2017. it has been amazing watching my stats and seeing how my lifestyle affects my health. if you don't own one, i strongly recommend putting it in on your christmas list. and then i can add you to the workweek hustles!

• Instagram- i joined instagram in may thanks to a great friend. i didn't know much about it, but i decided to use it more as a fitness tool than social one. i follow marathon runners, running pages, and moms who run! i follow jillian michaels and health pages. my newsfeed is all about fitness and being healthy with of course pictures of my friends' adorable children in there too!

• Exercise Buddy-my brother was my running buddy all summer. he would meet me every saturday morning for a long run. i loved having him meet me and it held me accountable to get out of bed and get moving. but... my brother is a busy man. he owns a pizza place and has a wife and three children of his own. i knew he couldn't keep meeting me every weekend. luckily my best friend from high school stepped in! she has been meeting up with me on the weekends and running. we do tend to get busy sometimes with our families, but we text each other and keep each other in the loop with our exercise if we can't get together. 

• Moving on-i am a binge eater. i have been one my whole life. especially at social events. i eat even when i am full. i can't get away from the appetizer table or dessert table. back in the day, if i binged during a weekend, i would then binge again on monday, tuesday, and then forget the "diet." i have been working really hard at moving on from tough eating days. it's okay to have a rough day of eating or two... i have been working really hard at bouncing back after a junk fest. i try to always have healthy breakfasts, lunches, and dinners ready to go on Mondays to help get me focused on being healthy for the week. 

• Stepping on the Scale-i've been trying to step on the scale a couple times a week to keep myself in check. i would dodge the scale if i knew i was eating terrible. i didn't want to admit to the damage i was doing and then i would be shocked after a month of ignoring it. it would always be up 20 pounds. i especially make sure i step on that sucker after a rough eating weekend. knowing that number helps guide me to healthier choices on a monday. i also step on it after a good workout to keep me working out as well. 

• Taking Pictures-definitely the hardest thing because i hate myself in photos. there are not many pictures of me around and i am okay with this. but, taking pictures really can show progress when the number on the scale isn't moving. this definitely helped keep me motivated when i got frustrated.

                                       (197 pounds)                                                   

(143 pounds)

so here i am. i am at my goal weight. my wedding day weight. now i have to maintain. this is so much harder to me than losing. hoping all the things i have in place can help me maintain this weight. i am happy here. i no longer am trying to lose. my only goal is to not gain... especially that dreaded 20 pounds.

Routines.

i wanted to take some time and share some things that i have changed in my life to help keep me on track with eating healthy and exercising.

i think sometimes as mothers we start to put ourselves on the back burner. we put our children and husbands front and center. which i think is instinct. part of being a woman. our job is to care for our family. meet their needs. give them love. care. and direction. however, while taking care of everyone, i forgot to take care of myself. taking care of myself takes time. one change i made my was to start making time for me. to take care of myself.

finding the time to exercise, plan meals/shop, and sleep became very important to me over the summer. every sunday, i spent Nolan's nap time planning the week ahead in my wellness log.

i wrote out my workout plans. in my mind, i had to stick with the exercise plan i wrote for the whole week. I would use Nolan's nap time to do my workouts during the week. landon would have his quiet time playing in the basement while i did my exercise. i did this throughout the whole summer. i prepped and made breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. i also was in bed by 10:00 and up around 7:00. it was the best amount of sleep. i spent my days eating healthy, exercising, and resting. but then something happened... august 20th.

reality hit. i was no longer home anymore. it was time to go back to work. the sunday before august 20th, i sat and planned out my exercise and meals. i tried to squeeze my workouts in first thing in the morning around 5 AM. i tried for a few weeks, but it was terrible. i felt miserable. i didn't put my "all" into my workouts. i would stop early. and then i would be EXHAUSTED by 2 in the afternoon. sometimes i would even end up with a headache at work. i decided that exercising in the morning was not for me especially when i had to work the whole day afterwards.

i had to figure out what to do. i knew i didn't want to do my workouts after work. i already have such little time with my kids being a working mom that i didn't want to use that small chunk of time. so, i decided to exercise at night. after the kids are in bed. i usually get on the treadmill or pop in a Jillian Michaels DVD around 8:00. some days it is hard to get myself going. but since it is written in my wellness journal, i know i have to do it so i can check it off. i'm usually done by 9 and in the shower and cozy in pjs by 9:30. i relax with a sparkle water and a book until 10:00 and then to bed i go. this has been my routine since the middle of september. that has been one change. making and sticking to a routine. making it a habit. i've had a couple rest days here and there, but i can always feel myself ready to get back into my night routine. another change i made was to take time to fill in my wellness log. taking the time to fill it out and following through has been really motivating to me.

i'm sure any calendar would work to keep track of your health, but i got my journal here! i love erin condren and all her products...this journal was worth the twelve bucks! :)

A Runner.

i got pretty quiet when school started back up again at the end of august... and even more quieter after the half marathon in september. i'm not exactly sure why... one reason for sure is because i didn't want to annoy everyone with my running. i fell back in love with it again after such a long break from it. i never thought i would be a runner again, and having the opportunity to be healthy and race has been... well... FUN! it feels like i never stopped.

i also was never shy about posting my weight. i've been as high as 218 pounds pregnant. and i stayed around 197 pounds for five years until i took the 100 days of no sugar challenge almost two years ago now. that is when my lifestyle started to change. i realized i had a huge sugar addiction and that sugar was causing my weight gain and the difficulty to lose. i had no problem sharing my weight loss. posting updates. cheering for losses. frustrated with gains. i loved sharing all that over the past two years. but then... the end of august hit. and something happened...i dropped a good amount of weight quickly. with no crazy dieting. just running and eating healthy. i think i broke the plateau i was sitting at and it really surprised me! eating healthy has come so easily to me with my new love of running. and as i continue to eat healthy and run... weight continues to come off. for some reason, i am having a harder time posting my weight the lower i go than the higher i go. another reason i may have been a little quieter.

looking back, i wish i wrote more over the past couple months. my goal in september was to make it to christmas without gaining 20 pounds. fall is the hardest time of year for me. it can be stressful with a new school year. stress means food. it can be fun with fall and holiday activities. fun means food and drinks. running has helped with the stress. running has helped with the fun. i don't mind having some fun with food because in the back of my mind, i am exercising and being healthy. balance. i think i am finally understanding how to have a healthy relationship with food.

i'm hoping to update this blog a little more. i'm hoping to share the path i have been on since june that led me to where i am today... my lowest weight.  i am also hoping to write about the strategies i used and am currently using to help keep me exercising and eating healthy.  it is a lifestyle change... and i'm hoping i can keep this change going for as long as i can.

Diet Bet

what exactly is a Diet Bet? i can honestly say that i heard about Diet Bet back in january and decided to download the app... it looked super overwhelming when i opened it and never even touched it again until july 8th. a friend of mine was telling me about it and i figured i would give it a try to see what it is was all about. i did a little research first to be sure it was legit... and i can honestly say... it totally is!!!

here is my diet bet journey...

on the night of  july 8th, i grabbed my scale from my bedroom and brought it downstairs. i agreed to do the diet bet and paid $35.00. At that point, they give you a word to write on a piece of paper and you are to place that word with your scale in a photo. 

you then have a few minutes to either take a picture of your whole body either in a mirror or have someone take it for you. once you completed that step, you are officially in the challenge! The challenge is to lose 4% of your weight in 4 weeks and you win at least your $35 dollars back and possibly more depending on who succeeds at the challenge... sounded totally doable. i am super competitive and i was determined to not lose this challenge (or my 35 dollars!)... the goal was set at 162.2 pounds.

i started off the challenge at 169.0 pounds which i was frustrated with since i already was running for two weeks before and barely lost any weight. i had to reassess my diet since i knew my exercise was on point. i downloaded the LoseIt app and decided to count calories. boy was i shocked when i realized the amount of calories i was consuming in a day. it was canceling out all my hard work of running! i wasn't eating terrible... just too much. 

i also decided to go back to jillian michaels on the days i wasn't running or doing an easy run. i started shredding three days a week to help build muscle and help burn calories. 

so for four weeks i counted calories, ran and shredded... 

Then on Sunday morning, i nervously stepped on the scale. the new number was 162.0 pounds. i won by .2 pounds! i won by the skin of my teeth!!!

I did my official weigh out which followed the same process as the official weigh in. i received an email saying i won the challenge and i would get my winnings when everything was calculated. this afternoon, i received my payout $47.53... i made a little over 12 bucks on losing 7 pounds! 

( I won... Woot! Woot!!)

(July 8th Weigh in)

(August 5th Weigh out)

i definitely will do another diet bet again, but maybe in the fall when i always seem to pack on my weight after all the hard work i do the rest of the year. pumpkin lattes, candy corn, and halloween candy get me every time! Would you do a Diet Bet?!

The Fall

today was field day. a day i look forward to spending with my class every year. it's a day when you get to loosen up a little with your students. a day when you don't mind them being noisy in a hallway. a day when you don't mind them breaking out into the Floss dance all over the school. it's a day when you finally get the opportunity to see your class come together more as a little family and we take a break from the daily routine in the classroom. it is an exhausting day, but always a memorable one. and today's field day had an ending that i will never forget.

let me start by sharing that every year our school does a teacher 4x100 meter relay at the end of field day. all of the students, teachers, and parents gather on the bleachers to cheer on runners. teachers are responsible for finding their teammates and forming the relay team. this year i struggled getting a team together. i was able to coax a couple teacher friends in joining my relay and i volunteered to run 200 meters and the rest of the crew run 100 meters. this was the plan until the last minute when a teacher decided to join our team from the stands and be our anchor leg! i was so excited to have a complete team!

i was the lead off runner and got in position in the 6th lane, which in my opinion is the worst lane... but today was life saving. the whistle blew and i took off. i felt like i was in high school/college again running on the track. i pumped both my arms (thank goodness i was sweating and my pants stayed up) and ran the fastest my legs could carry me. my mind was in college again... however, i quickly realized my team was not. i ran full speed up until the second leg. she looked at me ready to go, but i couldn't slow myself down enough to pass off the baton... and before i knew it i ran into her. it was a scene. i somehow ended up in the grass (see... lane 6 was live saving) with my feet up in the air against the fence. and my second leg friend...wiped out on the track and got some track burn! she quickly got up and ran her leg as fast as she could. i also quickly got up and looked over at the bleachers with up to 500 people looking at my direction. i decided to check on my second leg friend before i headed back for what i like to call "the walk of shame." luckily she was fine and we both laughed hysterically at the whole wipe out.

we went together back towards the bleachers laughing hoping this would make people realize we were fine and hopefully move on from the whole incident. however, we were checked on. by teachers. by parents. and of course students. it was probably one of the most embarrassing moments i have ever been through, yet i can't stop chuckling about it every time i think about it!

now... if only i knew how the whole race ended... someone must have it on camera somewhere...  🙈

The Clothes Dilema

clothes. i have a really tough time with clothes. i hate clothes shopping. i hate trying on clothes. i am terrible with style. i prefer comfort. my go to style is black leggings, dress/long top, and brown boots. tim calls this look "the Theresa" and i chuckle, but totally agree with him.

i have a hard time buying clothes for myself that fit right. i don't like tight things. however, i've been having problems with clothing that is too big for me... especially the bottoms. and especially my workout clothes.

i have plenty of extra large and large sizes of shorts. however, within the last month or so, i have been having some trouble keeping my shorts up on my runs. i have to run with one hand holding my shorts up until i get sweaty enough for them to stick and stay up on their own... gross. i know. this happened during my 10 miles on Broad Street...it took 3 miles for me to sweat enough for my shorts to stay up!

i told tim i needed to buy new exercise shorts, but didn't know if i should buy the medium. it would be tight. i don't like tight. but i also am getting annoyed running with one hand holding my shorts up. so on sunday, i went shopping and tried on two pairs of Nike exercise shorts.  i tried the medium on first. they felt tight. i tried on the large Nike exercise shorts. they felt comfortable, but i knew deep down, i would be holding them up when i went running. i got over my fear of tighter feeling shorts and bought the mediums.

i went for my first run sunday night for six miles in my medium shorts. and for the first time, i ran with both hands swinging at my sides from the beginning of my run to the end of my run. those shorts are definitely tight... and i'm sure it is a sight to see... which is why i am thankful that i have my treadmill in my basement. 😁

Broad Street Then and Now

Broad Street is officially over... i've had some time to reflect on the race over the past few days and thought i would share some things i experienced before, during and after the 10 mile race.

racing has changed over the past 12 years. i was an avid runner and racer up until 2006. i trained for many different distances... fast, slow, short or long. the following things really stuck out to me running Broad Street in 2018 compared to 2006. and the first thing is the SIZE.

Broad Street was much smaller. there were not as many people cheering and screaming on the side of the road. on saturday, there were people everywhere along the 10 mile stretch cheering, holding signs, singing songs, dancing, and playing musical instruments. it was amazing! i found it so amusing... i even laughed at a few points at some signs and silly cheers!

which brings me to the second difference in 12 years... head phones. everyone around me had ear buds in their ears. i looked over to a girl next to me running at mile 2 and wanted to make some quick small talk and realized she couldn't hear me. in fact, MANY people couldn't hear me. even though the people in the streets were noisy, the runners were quiet... quietly listening to their music. they weren't able to hear all the fun going on around them!

which brings me to the last big change in the Broad Street run. SELFIES. Holy moly. i can't even tell you how many selfies i must be photo bombing. before the race even started, i think i was in at least 20! i tried to smile in the background of some of the strangers. and then i pretended to stretch in the background. some i even waved in! and when the race started... people would stop in the middle of the run... and take a selfie! when i was coming through city hall, people would stop, TURN AROUND, and take a selfie with hundreds of people running by!

( I got in on a Selfie with my cousin Dave!!)

so as i finish this post and finish reflecting... i realized times have changed. i am getting old. which explains the hip pain and the MASSIVE amount of gray hair i have.

Approaching Race Day

It feels like just yesterday when i heard i was picked to run the Broad Street 10 miler. i thought the chances were slim for me to be chosen in the lottery. i was laying in bed on that cold day in February when i got the news. i remember thinking to myself, "how the heck was i going to find time to run? how am i going to train for this race? what have i gotten myself into?"

i had to come up with a plan... a training plan to help me get to the finish line on May 6th. luckily the Philly News had a ten week training program for newbies. beginners. and a beginner i was. i tried to run over the summer using the Couch to 5K app... but i failed with the heat and a hurt hip. and the last time i ran a race... was in 2006. when i crossed the finish line with a time of 3:48ish at the Philadelphia Marathon.  Twelve years ago!

 i had to accept that i would not run broad street fast. my goal was just to finish the ten miles without stopping.  so on a cold, dark february night...week 1 of the program...i did my first run... really slow... 2.5 miles...15 minutes a mile pace and i almost died. i had no idea how i was going to get 10 miles completed! i continued increasing my speed and miles as the weeks went on. i got hit hard with the flu for a couple weeks in march which was challenging to recover from, but i was able to keep focused on my goal... finishing Broad Street.

now the race is only a few days away. i am getting excited. i am excited to be with a group of runners. i am excited to race again. i'm excited that i am a "runner" again. here's hoping i meet my goal... and also hoping i fall back in love with one of my first loves... running.

A New Challenge

It's been a while since i blogged... for years i blogged about my weight journeys. this time i took a different approach. i decided to use my journal. i wrote so much in my journal that i ended up finishing it. i decided to buy a new one in March to finish up my 100 days... a wellness journal. i absolutely LOVE my wellness journal. i'm going to write about my wellness journal in another post, but wanted to share how writing down food, exercise, measurements, weight, successes, failures,  and most importantly goals really helped me keep focused over the 100 days. 

i'm going to keep the 65 day challenge the same as the 100 day challenge! Here it goes!!

If you can, try to do the following things everyday for the next 65 days:

1. Take a picture of yourself in front of a mirror tomorrow. You will then take another picture on Day 65 and see the changes in your body!

2. Check off every day of  the challenge that you completed in your calendars. there is something amazing about checking off a successful day. knowing you want to check the day off helps you stay focused on your goal.

3. Date your journal and write something you did for yourself that day. it can be a sentence. it might be " i walked away from the cookies on the table at work today!" or "i exercised for 20 minutes even though i felt like staying in my pjs for the night!" or "I took an amazing bath and enjoyed reading a book"

4. For those wanting to lose weight, step on the scale every Tuesday and record your weight in your journals. i will continue posting my weight every week. I will continue posting a weight loss update every Tuesday. If you feel comfortable, you can post your loss!

You can do whatever weight loss plan that will work best for your body and yourself. i know some are doing apps on their phones and others are still cutting out the sugar...i'm still controlling my sugar intake because eating sugar definitely causes me to gain weight.

hopefully we will feel like moving more with the weather getting nicer! i will try to post an exercise update every night. i would love to hear how everyone else is moving their bodies during the day/evening! i still have the FitBit Challenge going... If you are interested in joining, let me know! 

My ultimate goal is to "maybe" wear a two piece bathing suit at the beach in June... I'm still thinking about it though especially because that means i have to accept all my stretch marks down the front of my stomach... thank you landon and nolan! 

Planning, Prepping, and Cooking

One of the goals that i wrote in my journal on tuesday was to learn how to be a better cook. i am a terrible cook. i went to catholic school for elementary and middle school and never had a culinary class offered to me. and i had no interest to learn in high school. i still really have no interest, but i am going to try really hard to enjoy it!

last night, i went through all the recipes shared with the group and picked out a few to try to cook. i wrote down the meals and jotted all the ingredients down that i needed on my grocery list. i went grocery shopping this morning and picked up pretty much everything. i did forget some key items and get mixed up with a few items too!

i decided to make the lasagna soup today since it is so cold. i opened the laptop, brought up the recipe and poured myself a glass of wine.

tim watched me and taught me a couple things as i started preparing the meal (he is the cook in the family.) i will be honest and share that i have never worked with sausage before. i was super grossed out taking the sausage out of the casing.

i made a few mistakes with the soup. i completely forgot to buy spinach to throw in it. and i didn't know there was a difference between marinara sauce and just any jar of sauce you can buy in a store. i bought a four cheese classico jar of sauce. whoops!

the soup still turned out really delicious! Thanks Kim for sharing this recipe! i'll be bringing leftovers to lunch on monday! during the rest of the week i am going to work on chicken soup, chicken pot pie soup, and some banana muffins! thank you for all your recipe ideas!

Get Healthy 2018 Challenge

I have been doing a lot of thinking about this challenge and all of you! Some of you are looking to exercise more. Others are looking to lose weight. We all want to feel healthier and be more comfortable with ourselves and our lifestyles.

Every single January since 2001 (except the two Januarys i was pregnant!), i have done this weight loss thing. my weight is something i struggle with all the time. it will be something i struggle with for the rest of my life. this is the very first time i am doing this with a group of women. i am excited to see what changes can be made in all of our lives over the next couple of months!

Here it goes! This is the challenge... I hope you jump on board and stay with me!

We will be eating healthier and exercising for 100 days straight. This will take us into early spring and past Easter! It will start tomorrow and end on April 11th. The other part of the challenge is for the group to lose 100 pounds total by April 11th. I know not everyone has to lose weight, so if you are not interested in doing this... you can just read the weight loss updates and cheer us on! :)

If you can, try to do the following things everyday for the next 100 days:

1. Take a picture of yourself in front of a mirror (YES! EVERY DAY! It only takes a second!)-I hate looking at pictures of myself. i hate taking pictures of myself. however, the changes you will see over the 100 days will make you LOVE it. Make a weight loss album in your photo books on your ipads or iphones. add your daily photo to it every night!

2. Check off every day of  the challenge that you completed in your calendars. there is something amazing about checking off a successful day. knowing you want to check the day off helps you stay focused on your goal.

3. Date your journal and write something you did for yourself that day. it can be a sentence. it might be " i walked away from the cookies on the table at work today!" or "i exercised for 20 minutes even though i felt like staying in my pjs for the night!" or "I took an amazing bath and enjoyed reading a book"

If you can, try to do the following every Tuesday for the next 100 days:

1. For those wanting to lose weight, step on the scale and record your weight in your journals.

2. Write a small goal you want to accomplish for the week in your journals.

3. Write if you accomplished your small goal for the week in your journals.

You can choose any weight loss plan you want that works for your body! i am jumping back to the sugar thing because i know i have BIG problems with it. You can absolutely join me if you want!

You can also choose any exercise plan you want that works for your body! i am going to start the 30 Day Shred tomorrow night since that always gets me focused on exercising again. You are more than welcome to join me, but feel free to do any other exercise you love. i love the idea of running again, but this time of year is always so hard for me to get outside and do it!

Post as much as you like to the Group! Share your successes, struggles, recipes, exercise routines, goals, pictures and thoughts!

I will put a post up to add your Before and After pictures on Day 50 and Day 100 if you feel comfortable to post! I will also put a post up every Tuesday to share your weight loss if you so choose to do so!

FitBit Challenges will be starting today... I plan on having two groups... One group that is competitive and one group that just wants to keep an eye on steps and keep moving. Let me know which one to add you to in the comments below!

Thank you for joining the challenge! There is no money involved, but i think EVERYONE should treat yourselves to a new shirt or a trip to ULTA to freshen up your makeup every month to keep you motived through the 100 days...and to keep focused on making yourself a healthier and better you!  I know I will be doing it!

Do you accept the 100 day challenge?