Are You With Me? Part 3

Oh bother! Feeling a little like Eeyore today. Lost a big fat zero pounds this week :/ Discouraged? Yes. Giving up? No way! Pounds are not the only way to measure fitness success. So, I'll list a few of this week's successes.

1. We ran/walked a 5K! How fun is that! Earth Fare hosted it's 2nd annual Ketchup Family Fun Run last weekend. The entire family got up before 6:00 a.m. to be in the parking lot by 7:00 for registration. That in itself was an accomplishment. lol So there I was with two children in a double stroller with "Chunky" (aka Yaffa) wrapped around my body ready to run, er, walk a 5K. I jogged a whole minute and a half until I got in front of the really old people so I wouldn't be the "rotten tomato" of the race. I finished my "power walk" in 56 minutes. Not bad. Oh, btw, I wasn't the rotten tomato, but those two old people that I wanted to get in front of in the beginning passed me up in the last 3 minutes of the race. We all had a really great time and the family was immediately talking about doing another one very soon. Sheesh! Give a mom a break! Below are a few pictures.

2. I out endured my husband. Tom joined me for one of my workouts this week and could barely keep up. Yes, he's recovering from a back injury, but still! I could never have out done him on his worst day ever. Now for me, that's an accomplishment! Below are a couple of pictures Tom took of me doing my plyometrics (jump training) workout.

3. I feel stronger and have more energy. I'm sore just about every day. But somehow it's a good sore. Not so much that I can't function, but just enough to tell my mind that, "Yeah, you worked out and it makes a difference". My body reminds me that I am getting stronger and that my labors are not in vain.

I did have a couple of weak days. I really wanted to cheat and have some kind of yummy goodness, stuff I usually wouldn't even normally eat, BUT I had self control. I did not want to sabotage myself. Besides, I know from past experiences that it never feels worth it afterwards. It doesn't really fill that void or bring you comfort. What really brings you comfort at the end of the day is to be able to say with complete conviction, "I did my best!"

This week's lesson: Do your best and forget the rest!

Shalom,

Julie  

Are You With Me? Part 2

It's been one week since I started Shoshanna's Are You With Me challenge. I have to say it's been quite easy. I thought I'd really mourn the dairy (I've gone dairy-free before) and my beloved bread, but honestly it's been no big deal. We even went on a weekend getaway and I had no problems. 

It's definitely a mindset. You have to be ready and convinced in your own mind that this is what you need to do. I know that I need to get this extra weight off. I know that I need to get in shape. I know that I need more energy. I'm a much more pleasant mommy and wife when I'm fit. So, here I am, plugging along on this life long journey. 

So, what have I done this week? As far as food goes, I already have dairy-free options at my house since five of my children are allergic to dairy. I'm very aware of the foods that contain it. We went out to eat four nights this past week. I had a grilled chicken salad with oil and vinegar from Subway, a burger no bun and french fries from Five Guys, `Grilled Chicken with rice and corn on the cob from Chilis, and a Moe's naked (no shell) burrito eaten with my tortilla chips. Wednesdays are breakfast night at my house. We had scrambled eggs, potato and turkey sausage hash, and biscuits. I purchased a gluten free biscuit mix. The biscuits were yummy. I even reheated one today for lunch and ate tuna salad on top. Breakfasts and lunches have mostly been smoothie with protein powder and Erin's Green Drink Mix. I really enjoy smoothies. They're quick and easy.

I got in my one hour of exercise each day except two that we were in the car all day traveling on our trip. I did my P90X workouts and walked on the day we were on vacation.. Tom even bought me a heart rate monitor that tells me when I'm in "the zone" and how many calories I've burned during my workouts. I feel much better when I get in my exercise. It's nice just knowing that I'm doing something so great for my body and being a good example to my children.

In addition to this week's diet changes and continued exercise I have been gently cleansing my body by taking bentonite clay capsules and drinking lots of water with lemon or lime. I would like to add some extra fiber next week, but I need to order it. You can watch a video by Shoshanna on cleansing while pregnant or nursing here.

This week's results have been more than I had expected. I have more energy, I have learned that I have more resolve than I had thought, and I lost five pounds! I'm so happy with this progress.

This coming week I hope to add another half an hour a day activity that will get the blood flowing, try some new gluten free recipes, and add in the extra fiber. Oh and did I mention the family will be running/walking in a Fun Family 5K this weekend? Uh huh. Sure are!

Are you with me? It's never too late too improve your life.

Shalom!

Are You With Me?

I order most of my herbs through Bulk Herb Store and get their weekly e-newsletters. Last week Shoshanna posted a challenge, Are You With Me?. It's her diet and exercise challenge. Basically she's going wheat, dairy, and sugar free and exercising for 1 hour a day for the entire month of March. I've been exercising, but I get terribly bored with the same things all the time and am always looking for ways to change up what I'm doing. This sounded like a great challenge for me since I've gone sugar and dairy free before, but not wheat free. Now I'll be doing all three! Great! I'm up for that! There's an added bonus. Whomever makes the most progress at the end of the month will win Shoshanna's Making Babies DVD Series. You have to document your progress, so, I'll be doing that here.

My starting weight is 168. We'll see how many pounds I can shed by the end of the month.

Are YOU with me?

Julie