Snow Day!

What a bummer - woke up to a white world, so there was no class this morning. That wouldn't have been so bad, if I could have fallen asleep, which I could not. And, I missed working out last night because of our schedules.

I guess I will have to be extra diligent in watching my intake today. Yesterday was an easy day for me. I ate and was satisfied and wasn't hungry and wanting to snack. That is a major positive...a hurdle that I am glad to have surpassed, because it is the munchies that are my downfall. I can stop eating after a serving at meal time, but at snack time, if I am munchie, I struggle to stop.

I completed day 1 of the 30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge last night. It worked out well for me. I even added a second plank to the end of the 4 moves. I think I will try to do that again tonight. I figure that the additional plank work is only a positive for me.

30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge
Day 2 - 15 second Plank, 20 sit ups, 15 crunches, 30 squats
I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.

Boot Camp - Day 1

Wow! That really is the only way to sum it up. Today, I participated in my first boot camp class. It is taught by my spinning instructor and I know most of my classmates. The warm up was very reminiscent of P90X and other like programs. Some cardio followed by stretching. Then, we did a mix of what I would call plyometrics style exercises. None were too long, but all were intense. You were getting cardio, but with the associated squats, lunges, push ups and the like, it was clear that you were working the muscles too. Then, we grabbed a weight bar and a step and proceeded to do some squats, chest presses, upright rows, and more. Of course, we wrapped up with some stretches. The workout was great! I was feeling it by the end - love that feeling! I followed up the boot camp with a 1 mile quick walk at the track (around a 12 minute mile).

I am confident that by tomorrow, stairs will be a challenge. I sure hope that I can make it through Spinning with the soreness I anticipate. Now, if we can talk her into doing the class twice a week instead of just once.

Yesterday was a good day. I started the day with Spinning and a 1/4 mile cool down walk. It was a more intense spinning class, based on my heart rate monitor. I had to take some longer breaks to fully recover.

Eating was good too. I started with my typical protein (MRS) shake and a banana. Lunch was a steakhouse wedge (dressing on the side) with a wonderful horseradish cheddar cheese and apple slices. Dinner was Lasagne. I fit in a snack of a cinnamon roll, made for my manager's birthday (they are just too irresistible - so soft and so easy to make too!).

The best part, the scale responded in a positive fashion. Not much, but I was down from my previous low. That felt good.

Keep on Keeping On

I have been like the little engine lately...just sort of chugging along. Not making much in the way of progress, but continuing to be conscientious about what I choose to eat and sticking to a regular workout schedule. I may not be having a scale impact, but I think by now the one thing that I know about my body is that it will seem to not react and then suddenly, BOOM!, I will be down a decent amount and will continue to waffle around a weight for a little while again.

This morning was frustrating, I will admit. I had been out last night for a concert and got home and to bed much later than I normally do. My husband said to me, it is okay to miss a class. I said that I wanted to try and still make it to class. I got up and headed up to the Y a little late and only had time for 7/8 mile warm up (but I did run a full 1/2 of that distance). When I headed over to the group exercise room, my fellow class mate was there, but no sign of the instructor. We gave her a few minutes and when she didn't show, we figured there was no class. So, here I was - at the Y and warmed up, what would I do. I decided to walk. So, I headed back to the track. It was much more crowded than it is first thing in the morning. I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go, but decided that my workout ought to be twice as long as my warm up, so I settled on 1 3/4 miles. It seemed a bit strange to run the warm up and walk the work out, but it is what it is and I just couldn't muster up the run after having cooled down in prep for class.

I guess I will have to try to make it to another Zumba class later this week to make up for the miss.

This weekend was a banner weekend for working out. I went to Zumba on Saturday morning, because I knew the substitute would be there and she does a great workout with lots of squats and lunges and hops. Then, Saturday afternoon we went roller skating with friends. Then, Sunday, my son had a birthday party at Pump it Up and since it was small, the parents got in on the jumping and we ran the obstacle course. It was a nice little unplanned bonus exercise and certainly made me realize that I am not a kid anymore. I was very ready for a nap after playing hard.

Generally, eating has been really good. I even did a reasonably acceptable job with eating out dinner this weekend and enjoying the Big Game with friends. I tried to snack mostly on the cut vegetables and only have a taste here and there of the buffalo chicken dip and other things that I simply love. I know that I need to figure out the balance, because I want to be able to enjoy life and maintain a healthy weight.

Another Cold Beginning

As I was hanging out this morning, allowing myself to wake up and get ready for my run, I was reading my friend's running blog. She had shared about how she completed her first 10 mile run. I paused and thought about that - at a rate of 10 - 11 minutes per mile, that is 100 - 110 minutes or just under 2 hours. I am not sure when I would find the time to do that length of a run. I am glad that I can fit in a couple of miles of run/walk each day, but I am not sure how I would ever fit in much more. Sure, when the sun comes up earlier or when the indoor track reopens in the morning, I can get back to doing 4 to 5 miles round trip. But, where would I find 2 hours. Perhaps on a weekend, or on a day off. I guess I will have to be content in the time that I have and be glad that I am that much more active than I used to be and in that much better overall health.

The other thing that struck me was that she complained about how hot and humid it was on her ten mile run. I guess this caught my attention because as I walked out the door, it was 43F. I think I prefer the cool to the hot, thank you very much.

Either I am just getting faster with continued effort or the cold really makes me move. Today, I fit in 6 laps at the track. I started out running and after a couple of laps, the cold air was tough on my lungs. I switched back to walking, although, I only did 1/4 of a lap before returning to running. I wound up running a lap, walking 1/4, running 1 1/4, walking 1/4 and finishing with a lap of running. I knew that I could handle the cold air for short periods and figured it was better to keep on running. I know that with time, my lungs will adapt to the cooler air and I will be able to go further. The best part was that my average pace for the total outing was 11:15. When you consider that I walk up and walked some at the track and walk part way home, that is a pretty good pace.

Eating was pretty good yesterday. There were some caramels sitting around at work and well, I can't resist a soft, buttery caramel that melts in your mouth - unfortunately, I think I had like 4 or 5 of them. Hopefully, they are all gone and won't tempt me again today. Today should be good for eating - not much to stand in the way, plus I have fresh tomatoes that I am taking for a sandwich today. Yum!

S-T-I-C-K-Y!

When I woke up this morning, I checked outside and saw that the roads were dry. This was a good start, as it was supposed to be raining this morning. I got ready and came down to check out the weather. I was glad to see that it was not supposed to rain for the next couple of hours and the radar was reasonably clear. For whatever reason, as I got ready this morning, I failed to drink any water. I don't go for very long runs, so I don't carry water with me - it seems awkward to me to run with something in my hands - so, I always hydrate before I go. I headed out and it was dark. Now, like I said, it is supposed to rain so it is overcast. I got to the track and my walking friends were there. I was glad, I had decided on the way up that if they weren't there, I wasn't going to stay with the darkness. I started out with a one mile run. I probably could have run further, but since I hadn't had water, I thought it was probably best not to push. I walked a half mile and then ran the last quarter of a mile and after a walk out of the track, ran the .45 miles from light post to home. Unfortunately, even at 6:30 when I was leaving the track, my friends were but shadows on the track. I think that means that I will have to definitely stick with my approach of only staying if they are there. It is just too dark to stay alone.

What really surprised me was how humid it was. Even though it seemed cool out, it was very sticky. On the run home, I think that it was actually misting. Either that, or the air was so wet that you could almost feel droplets.

It was a pretty good run. I am noticing that when I run, my pace fluctuates from around 8:40 per mile to 10:00 per mile. I am actually very pleased with that pace range - I never would have guessed that I was running that 'fast'. I think that I could actually sustain the range pace over the course of a 5K and could do a 30 minute 5K. I don't have any planned right now.

It was good that I got out and ran, because I did not go for a walk or run all weekend. I had great plans to get up and go, but it was so cozy in my bed and our days started so early that I would have had to get up like I do during the week. I just couldn't see myself getting up at 6 am to run on the weekend. I am more of a 7 am runner on the weekends, especially now that it is darker in the morning.

Eating was reasonable over the weekend. We ate out and snacked, but I was able to balance my portion size with enjoying the treats and was able to sustain my weight for the weekend. I just need to get it down - I am just a few weeks from my goal of being half way through the weight loss and starting to think I won't get there. We will see, if I eat well and run everyday, maybe I can pull it out.

What a Weekend!

I love a busy weekend. I love company. I love going out to eat with friends and family. The problem - I don't fit in my exercise, I tend to eat more. I do well at meals, but seem to have more opportunities to snack, enjoy dessert and share a glass of wine with friends. The result - I feel disappointed in myself. I wonder why I couldn't enjoy with going so far beyond my daily targets. I wonder why I couldn't make time for a quick walk or run.

Then, I spend the next few days trying to re-adapt my body to normal. I find myself hungry at times that I shouldn't be, simply because I had more food the days before. I find myself struggling to work out - not only convincing myself to do it, but then feeling 'unfit' when I do.

The good news is that I do make it back to a good balance of healthy eating and beneficial activity - the problem is that I have lost days in advancing to my goal, because I have spent them heading the wrong way and recovering.

I am only a few weeks from my mid-point of my goal period and my lowest weight is still 2# from my goal and I haven't yet fully recovered back to that lowest weight. I so much so had hoped to not only meet, but to exceed my goal for the mid-point. Now, I am hoping just to make it to my goal. A fact that leaves me disappointed. I am happy for the progress that I have made, just bummed that I allow myself to make decisions that set me back.

I started my day with a 1 mile walk at the track, which is a 2.1 mile walk in total. I ran yesterday, but my knees were bothering me, so I felt that a walk was a smarter workout. It is staying dark way too late anymore. I keep leaving home later and later and the past two days, when I finish my workout, the street lights are still on. That is not a good thing, there are still two plus months before we fall back, eventually I will not have light to go outside for a workout in the morning. I will have to return to some DVD workouts. That is not necessarily a bad thing, I just like the outdoor workout.

Eating was mostly on track yesterday. Right up until I had some ice cream for dessert. We have a leftover cake and ice cream from my son's birthday. I just needed a little something at the end of the day. At least it wasn't a large serving. Today, I'm hopeful for another good day of eating, which will help me continue back in the right direction.

Going the Distance

Well, that might make one think that I really had some sort of a record breaking outing today, which I certainly did not. What I did experience is how your mind makes all the difference in your outing. When I got to the track, I wasn't really sure what my work out plan was. As soon as I got to my lane, I started to run. I thought about what I might want to do. Before I even finished my first lap, my body was ready to be done. I simply couldn't allow that. I convinced myself to try to run 4 laps. Then, when I got my time/distance update near the middle of my third lap, I decided I would run at least until the next update - that would put me into my fifth lap. As I got the update, I decided that I really should keep going. I decided I would complete six laps. As I was completing my sixth lap, I decided that it was important to me that I finish strong, so I decided I would sprint the last 1/4 lap - which actually would put me to 6 1/4 laps of running. When I completed the sprint, I got my update which was the one that I needed to head home on. Rather than finishing the 3/4 lap remaining, I walked back the 1/4 that I had just run. It was a good outing, especially considering that yesterday I wasn't sure about running even one lap.

Eating was mostly good yesterday. I started my day with a protein shake and a banana. Unfortunately, my banana was squishy on the bottom. I had designs on making some oatmeal, but one thing lead to another and it was lunch time. I had lunch with a friend. We met for Mexican, which when you are hungry is a challenge - those chips kept calling my name! I had the chicken fajitas, no rice, no beans, no tortillas. Essentially grilled chicken and veggies. Makes me not feel so bad about those chips. In the mid-afternoon, I stumbled upon a banana cream pie - I couldn't help it, I had to have a sliver. I skipped most of the crust (if that is a plus?). Dinner was coconut shrimp (baked) and pierogie.

The scale responded nicely on the road to recovery of my current low. If I stay strong today and don't give in to chips and banana pie, I am confident the scale will respond again tomorrow.

Where Does the Time Go?

Okay, so clearly, I missed providing an update on my progress for several days - Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday to be exact. Crazy! My life that is. I have been so busy that I have been sleeping in in the morning. In an attempt to fit in some level of exercise, I have had to squeeze other stuff out of my day.

Let's start with today. I finally was up at the right time. I got some laundry done and headed out for my run. It felt great. I went up to the track and was able to fit in 9 laps, I alternated between running and sprint intervals on a 1-1-2-1-2-1-1 pattern - starting and ending with a run. I must say that getting up there much earlier would have been tough. My 'normal' time is starting to be on the cutting edge of dawn, much earlier and it would have been still more dark than light out. I am going to have to see how much longer 'normal' will work. They installed new lights by the track, but they weren't on this morning.

Last night, I was able to go to Zumba. It really is a fun work out. The more I go, the more comfortable I become with the regular songs/moves. Of course, last night, she introduced some new moves and my body can feel the changes. I am sore in new places. Felt great. Yesterday morning, my run was short. I only went to the track for 3/4 of a mile. I did one lap of running and two of sprint intervals. I was just glad to do what I did, since I had slept in past when I would normally head out for a run. Eating was good yesterday. The family went out to dinner while I was at Zumba (less temptation for me) and so I had two eggs over easy and toast for dinner. That really is a favorite meal for me and the protein was a good choice after my Zumba workout.

Over the weekend, Friday included, there really wasn't any working out. It was raining on Friday morning and the weekend was busy with baseball tournaments, going out with friends, grocery shopping, Bible study and more. Eating was of course a challenge because we were on the go, plus two of my meals were at a Winery - lunch one afternoon for work and dinner out with my husband and some friends. So, of course, there was wine! I also fell behind on the 30 Day Ab Challenge. I hope to pick up day 25 tonight (I was already a day behind, now I am 5 days behind).

Overall, the scale is hanging tight. I am hoping to overcome this plateau and start moving in the right direction again.

Tuesday

When I got up this morning, I headed up to the track and it was crazy warm. It was already 77 at 6 am. The sky was very cool looking - to the East was beautiful with lots of pink, to the West dark and ominous.

(dark and ominous didn't photo so well)

Ever hear that saying of Red Skies in the Morning, Sailors take Warning? The phrase certain felt appropriate this morning. I decided that the skies, coupled with my early morning meeting, meant that I should shorten my workout. I set a target of 1 1/4 miles and decided to start running from the beginning, like I did yesterday. It felt good. I probably could have gone farther, but again the skies and the meeting had me confident in my decision to stop after 5 laps.

Eating was good yesterday. We even had fast food (I fed the family for $2.56) - Arby's Roast Beef and 1/2 a value curly fries - only came in at about 560 calories, including the Arby's and Horsey Sauce. I had some cheese as a snack, because I was just shy of my daily calorie target and about 10 g shy of the protein target. I finished the day just within all targets and 2 g shy on protein.

Tuesday

Yesterday was a great day. I started my day with an awesome run and then in the evening, I had the chance to go to Zumba with my friend. I really am enjoying the Zumba. It is a decent workout and I don't feel completely uncoordinated in the class - which in most aerobics type classes I have taken before I am completely uncoordinated. Next week, if I go, I am on my own because my friend is out of town.

Eating was good yesterday. I actually found myself below target for the day and relaxed and enjoyed a little cheese and crackers and a small drink with my husband, while we watched the pilots for The Food Network Star. Which reminds me, I need to go vote. I think that I like Justin - he is just wacky enough to be entertaining. Second choice, not sure if I would go with Martie or Yvon. I just know that Michele is my least favorite, just couldn't see myself watching her show.

Travel enters the mix tonight and tomorrow. I will have to see how I manage the eating out and limited options for working out. Ab Challenge Day 15 (which I did on Day 16 because I flipped my recovery day due to schedule), wasn't too bad. It is always refreshing to find one that I can do. I will have to see about Day 17 at a hotel - that might just have to wait until Day 18 when I can lay on my own floor.

Just in the Nick of Time

When I woke up this morning and checked the weather, there was rain showing up to the west. It seemed to be almost on top of us, so I decided I would wait a few minutes before I headed out. Well, a few minutes turned into 15 and still no rain, so I checked the map and it seemed to have moved south but not east. I decided I would give it a go and hope for the best. Well, it was a good decision. I got up to the track and resumed my counter-clockwise approach to the track. I started with my standard 1 lap of walking to warm up and then moved onto running. I wound up running 6 laps, but could have run more. Well, except for the fact that as the sun was getting higher in the sky, the dark blue sky to the west became more and more ominous looking and then as I was finishing the 5th lap, I noticed a rainbow. As I finished the 6th lap, I decided I would capture the rainbow and sky:

As I headed home, I could feel the breeze picking up against my back. I was hopeful that I would get home before the rain started. After opening the garage door, I snapped this picture of the rainbow, now more fully developed and a hint of second rainbow starting:

Then, it started to sprinkle. I headed inside, content in knowing that I had run 1 1/2 miles straight and had seen a beautiful rainbow at the end of my run. It was a great rain too, the sun was shining and it was coming down. Beautiful to watch from the dryness of my home.

Last night, I fit in both Zumba with my friend, as well as Day 9 of the Ab Challenge. I am not yet feeling the Ab workout, which has me worried that I am not giving it 110%. I will just have to be sure to give it more.

Eating was good yesterday. I tried a new recipe at dinner - it was shrimp and pineapple kebobs with a brown sugar and lime glaze. Very tasty and pretty healthy too!

The scale is finally starting to respond and I have almost fully recovered the last week and a half of intermittent picnics, parties and nights out.

I'm On a Roll

WooHoo! I was a little nervous about running today. Not only was it 70 degrees and 70% humidity at 5:30 am when I checked before going out for a run, but my sides were very tender from having completed the first two days of the 30 Day Ab Challenge. Even as I was walking up, I could feel the heaviness of the air and felt a bit like I was walking with a stitch in my side like you get when you over exert. I decided, as I frequently seem to do, that I would just do what I could. My first goal was one lap. My second goal was to get a five minute update from RunKeeper. My next goal was to make it until that next five minute update. Then, it was to complete one mile. Then, it was to give it all and see how far I could get on the fifth lap. Then, it was to get that next five minute update. In the end, not only did I do the 5 laps to match yesterday, I went an extra 1/4 of a lap. I was very happy. I slowed down and took this picture of the sunrise:

Then, I ran one more lap for good measure and headed home from my workout. I decided that I needed to water and rake my garden, so I spent a few minutes tending to my garden before coming inside.

I seem to be stuck again. I went a little beyond on Saturday and can't seem to fully recover. The biggest challenge is that again tonight, I will face challenge. We were invited to two picnics and I ran into one host at the grocery store buying a case of wine. I am just going to have to make sure that I plan today for an evening with more calories than normal. I'm not yet sure how I will do this. If it weren't supposed to be so warm, I would consider an extra walk at lunch time. I will have to see what I can do.

Tuesday

I did it! I 'bested' myself again today. I know that at some point I will not be able to make much improvement, but now, while I can, I want to celebrate. Today, I was able to run 3 1/2 laps and then after only 1/2 lap of walking, ran another 3 laps. I did the same distance as yesterday and finished one minute quicker. It was awesome.

Yesterday, we had friends over for dinner and grilled out. I am not sure what I expected, but the hamburgers that we have are chock full of calories. I exceeded my daily target for yesterday. I was a little bummed with myself for not thinking ahead. Not that a hot dog is healthy by any means, but it would have been a better fit in my daily target. Oh well, you live and you learn.

The good news is that I was down from yesterday, but not back where I should be on the scale. I tend to have more faith in today's number than yesterday's seemingly inflated number. Hopefully, tomorrow all will return to normal.

Tuesday

I got up on time today, but I wound up logging on to my work computer to disable my out of office, which I got a reminder that I failed to do yesterday. One thing led to another and suddenly it was 5:50. I wasn't going to let that discourage me, so I headed out for my run. I am glad that I did. It was a great run. I did the same 7 laps at the track that I have for the past few days, in less time! Of course, I know that the real reason for that is that I ran more than I did but it still sounds great to me. Also, today I took the paved walkway into and out of the track. Evidently, this adds a few hundredths of a mile to my journey. You see Friday, the paved path was closed and I had to enter and leave through the grass. Yesterday, I entered on the grass and left on the path, as the grass was squishy. There was 0.06 miles different between the all grass and all paved paths. Today, starting on the second lap and ending on the 7th, I ran 1 1/2 laps, 1 3/4 laps and 2 laps, for a total of 5 1/4 laps, just over 1.25 miles. Not bad, considering I was only at the track for 1.75 miles and I ran that great of a majority. Even with my approximately 1.15 miles of walking up and back, I was still able to have a total pace under 13 minutes/mile. I am glad about that.

Eating was good yesterday. A change in evening sports plans left dinner a little strange. I had a small piece of turkey loaf that the family ate without me in anticipation of soccer and baseball. Then, after the kids were in bed my husband needed something to complete the 'Florida' dinner that he had at 4 pm, so he heated a frozen pizza and I had a slice of that. After burning my mouth, I switched to my evening snack of Wheat Thins and string cheese. I was on target for the day with my calories, but came in just shy (2g) of the target range for protein. Everything else was well within range.

I feel so good about myself. I am proud that I continue to get up and go for a run/walk. I recognize that getting healthy and losing weight is hard work, but it is work that I am willing to complete in order to achieve my goals.

Tuesday

WooHooo! What a run/walk. I am so glad that I went out for my morning activity today. I was so tempted to not go or cut it short or just walk. It was a little bit late when I got up. I actually was up when my alarm went off and then, decided, I really just want to lie here for 5 more minutes - 30 minutes later I got up. Then, by the time I had my shoes on and ready to go, it was already 45 minutes later than I normally start. I got outside and it was muggy, but fortunately not warm. I decided to head up to the track. I figured that I could still do 1 mile at the track at least, most likely walking I thought. Then, after I did my first lap, I decided, I'm at the track I may as well at least run part of a lap, even if I don't complete it. Well, I completed that lap and even ran about 10 paces beyond. Then, after the next walking lap, I decided I would run another lap. As I started, I thought, I might as well try to run 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 laps. The extra few minutes won't be that much of a problem. Then, I got my five minute update. I completed the lap, passed the 1/4 turn and then the 1/2. Then, I thought, I wonder if I could actually run the full time between updates, knowing I had started running before the start of the first one. I completed lap 2 and then passed the 1/4 turn and then as I approached the 1/2 turn, I got my update. I finished running at the 1/2. So, I went from maybe not going, to walking, to running 3 1/2 laps with 2 1/2 of the laps being continuous. It felt so good. Then, I was walking home and about 1/2 way up my street, it began to sprinkle. As I entered my garage, it began to rain. Talk about timing!

Eating was good yesterday. I was back on track with a normal breakfast, a reasonable lunch and a good dinner. I even had an evening snack and stayed near the lower portion of my target. It was good to eat normal - to not feel stuffed, to feel satisfied (ie not empty calories).

The scale took two days, but this morning, I did return to where I was Saturday morning before my very social day. That is not too bad. Two days to recover, tells me that I can have days where I enjoy myself and not get off track, as long as I don't make them too frequent.

#s to Go: 28.6#

It's Tuesday!

I overslept today. It was only by 30 minutes and it won't make me late for work, but it did mean that I didn't have as much work out time as normal. Yesterday, when I went up to the track, I found a padlock on the gate and wound up walking in the neighborhood. I was so worried that maybe the city schools had changed their mind on allowing it to be open to the public, so I was glad to see the gate open when I arrived at the track this morning. It was especially good since I had less time available. I knew that the time at the track splitting my team between running and walking would be more effective than the same time walking in the neighborhood. It felt good, but for some reason, after my second 1/4 mile run, I felt a little nauseous. I took time, caught my breath and was able to complete my work out. I think I must just have been pushing myself. My overall pace was 10 seconds per mile better than it was on Thursday (last time I ran). That may not sound that great, but I ran half the distance that I normally do and had the same walk up and back, meaning that if I had doubled up on my run, I would have expected it to be even better. I wound up with just over 2.5 miles of workout today, in just about 35 minutes.

I finally learned how to effectively edit my route on RunKeeper. When I walk in the neighborhood, I sometimes have serious noise in the route. I learned how to delete data points to smooth the route. It worked great and I wish I had known how to get rid of the ghost marks long ago. It makes me more confident in the numbers - if it is out of whack, I can realign and get it much closer to reality.

Eating was pretty good yesterday. I splurged on a cup of onion soup yesterday. I should have skipped the croutons and cheese, but the soup was so yummy and only 140 calories (I didn't look closely enough to know if that was with or without the toppings). I have a new favorite chip. I mentioned last week about the Smartfood Selects, they are just such a tasty snack and meet that need for crunch without being too much. The 100 calories fit perfectly in my day.

I also have discovered two favorite evening snacks that I seem to alternate between - except last night, where I had both! I have some Wheat Thins Sundried Tomato Basil crackers and a string cheese - this is a 220 calorie snack. I like to have it on days where I feel like my protein is low for the day. It's only 8g in total, but it can be the bump I need to meet the target level of daily protein. The second is the Weight Watchers Giant Cookies & Cream Bars. At only 130 calories, this is a great sweet treat to end my day.

Time to start the rest of my day.

A New Beginning...

I feel like I may be redundant here, did I previously declare a new beginning and then make the connection to Little House on the Prairie. I suppose that if I did, I apologize, but clearly the two are tied in my head.

It's been a while since I have really been monitoring what I'm eating and making a concerted effort to workout on a regular basis.

I have been meaning to refocus for a while now, but just haven't had the energy to get up in the morning and workout and for whatever reason, in my head, once I miss a workout, there seems to be less emphasis on what I am eating.

Well, that changed this morning. It was a pathetic walk that was both short and off pace, but a start is a start. I got out there this morning and I walked 2.25 miles, in about 34 minutes. It's funny how you 'remember' what your numbers should be. As I was rounding the one cul de sac, I thought to myself, I normally am here on this cul de sac between 1.07 and 1.1 miles depending on how far around the curve I was, 15 minutes into the workout. Today, I had already passed 15 minutes and was only at 1.01 when I did.

I am returning to counting calories. I came across Runs for Cookies the other day and I found her story inspiring. She referenced using Spark People to track and I decided I would give that a try.

Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, the pounds have slowly crept back on, so I am starting at a much higher point than I would have hoped to be.

#s to Go: ~34#

My goals, which I thought of as I walked this morning:

I would like to be at least half way to my goal by my birthday. That gives me just about 16 weeks to lose 17 pounds. Seems reasonable. I would like to be the rest of the way to my goal by New Year's. This gives me about 14 weeks to lose 17 pounds. These are loose goals and I hope to be ahead at the first marker, making the second one easier to obtain.

I would like to commit to walking and/or running at least 4 days each week. Ideally, I will make it out there 5-6 times per week, but in the interest of successfully meeting my goal and not being discouraged, I will target 4 days and see anything beyond that as a bonus.

I would like to try to fit in some strength training too. Since this will be reserved for rainy days and evenings, I would hope to fit it in at least 3 days a week. This works great if I use the P90X strength videos, since there are three per week.

I haven't yet set a calorie consumption target, but will give that some thought. I think that previously I found that the 1200 - 1400 calorie range was the right place for me.