How I'm doing eight months out

Amelia is almost eight months old, which means I am eight months postpartum. It's about time I do a little update on myself.

In July, I started my membership at the Family Wellness Center. The main reason I went there is because they have childcare available almost all of the time. I pay a hefty amount for it, but it's so very valuable. Three to four times a week, I bring all three girls there and then work out for up to an hour and a half. I cannot tell you how amazing this has been for me both mentally and physically. I also go most weekends if we are in town, but they often stay home with hubby if it's possible.

Why a gym membership, and an expensive one to boot? We have chosen to keep the girls home instead of sending them to preschool (another post for another time) so I spend a lot of time with them. Like, basically, all of the time.  Mostly that's fabulous since I choose to do that and I really can't or shouldn't be complaining about it. There's just a need at times for some seperation. I also have a need to just be healthy for myself and for them.

I tried. I tried really hard to work out at home. One of the rooms in our basement is set up like a mini gym and everything. The problem wasn't the equipment, though, it was the time. With Amelia sleeping irregularly since forever, I couldn't count on doing it at naptime. Every single time I tried, she woke up and needed me. Then, the big girls stopped napping in the afternoon. That left either mornings before they got up or evenings after they went to bed. (I tried to work out with them awake and that was laughable at best and insanely frustrating at worst. Just no.)

I was committed to the morning workout idea because I just love the idea of it, but Amelia was nowhere near the point of being predictable. If anything the only predictable thing was that she would wake up when I had planned on getting up and heading downstairs. So that just didn't work. Plus, she was waking up 4-6 times a night so I really did need the sleep. That took out the late night working out too, because re: sleep needed.

So, I got the membership, and now we go either late morning or late afternoon. There has been some adjustment with meal prep and other kinds of outings, but overall it's great. The girls are thrilled to go and the steady socialization has been just what Amelia needs since she is so clingy to me almost all of the time. 

I have found that I need a super intense workout for me to feel accomplished. It clears my head and leaves me with a good tired feeling. I go from being snappy and short tempered to being calm and annoyingly happy. This is good for my time with the girls and let's face it, everyone else, too.

As for food, I was counting my macros and using myfitnesspal.com. It was going well but it's a lot of work. I lost all but about 5 lbs that way (very slowly, but I was okay with that) and then I sort of stalled. I wasn't following it closely enough for it to truly work and I knew it. I was struggling because I just wasn't hungry enough to eat as much as it said I should eat. Weird problem, right? But I decided to listen to my body for a while and just eat when I was feeling hungry. The last five lbs came right off when I did that.

Since then, I've been slipping back into old habits and eating mindlessly, so I'll probably go back to counting macros or at least staying within the calorie limit. I know my weight hasn't gone up a lot, but it's fluctuating a little higher than I want. 

As for how I look and feel, I think it's going pretty great! I'm back to my prebaby weight and size, fitting into my smallest jeans and most tops. My body shape is still different with my tummy being thicker than before, but I can tell that I'm overall tighter and more toned from lifting weights. It's kind of crazy. My weight isn't really lower, but becasue my muscles are more toned I can fit easily into  clothes that were super tight when I wore them before I was pregnant. 

Being back to this point has been rewarding enough for me to stall right now. I was just so happy to have options again and feel like I have some sort of style. Ultimately, my goal is to lose another 20 lbs and reevaluate at that point. I will continue to run, lift weights, and go to a bunch of different fitness classes since that helps me all around (mind, body, and soul) and will be working on intuitive eating with tracking mixed in to keep my head in the game.

These pictures are posted in chronological order from mid July to last weekend. It's not that noticeable, but I'm still proud of the changes I've made.

And a comparison shot or two:

July to October 2015

All of these pictures show me one thing. I need to find a decent, well lit full length mirror. :)

Good results, energy levels, and sweet spots

I redid my macros now that I'm working out on a regular basis. My carbs went up quite a bit and fats went up a little too. Actually, so did protein! Mostly, though, I was excited to see the carbs go up. I had them set pretty low because I was basically a bum all day sitting around nursing or rocking her to sleep or playing games with the older girls. Now that I'm more active, I can eat more carbs, in fact I need more carbs to keep my energy level up.

While doing this, I measured myself and discovered that I lost a few inches in my waist and hips. Glad to see this non scale victory! I had noticed that my one pair of non maternity jeans were fitting a little better but I attributed it to them being stretched out. Each inch that disappears brings me a little closer to fitting in most of my old clothes, so I'm celebrating every single one. I'm only down 6 lbs right now, but again, every pound counts, and weight lifting is going to help shape my body even more. Every day that I am sore from it, I can tell that I'm moving in the right direction.

Even better, though, is that my energy level is so consistently high now. I don't crash midday and I want to work out, even at night when the kids are in bed and I'm ready to be done with parenting for the day. Before iifym and exercising, I was so tired out by 8:00 at night that I would fall asleep on the couch before heading to bed a few hours later. Now, I'm able to use that time to clean up a bit, work out, or just read (without falling asleep!) a book. It's a huge weight off of my shoulders.

I've found a sweet spot with my meals for now. Keeping my lunch lighter, I have been including a protein shake around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon to fuel me until dinner time, which is usually later since we like to wait to eat with hubby. I haven't been snacking at all during naps, which I was terrible at while pregnant. Every morning, I find myself filling up the huge jug of water, my precious coffee concoction (currently: chocolate chip cookie creamer with a bit of ready whip on top - amazing and not terribly awful for me), and then later on my protein shake. If I don't get them back to the kitchen when finished my side table ends up a bit crowded:

It's okay though. I'm getting into a groove with this new lifestyle. I'm figuring it out, slowly but surely. I do spend more time prepping food (I love you, fruits and veggies, but you take so.much.prep.time.) but I try to do it in mass quantities so that I am not doing it all day every day.

I've also learned that I need to have a solid breakfast with a higher amount of protein than I'm prone to eat if I'm not careful. I have been obtaining this by sauteing veggies and ham with egg whites, or Ezekiel bread with Pb2, or hard boiled eggs with turkey sausage. Today, I added overnight oats that had some protein powder mixed in to really keep me full until lunch time. It worked, tasted great, and didn't take hardly any prep time which is huge for me. Mornings are busy enough around here; I don't have time to be in the kitchen making large meals.

We are on the brink of a weather heat wave, and I am so excited. According to my weather app, today is the last day below 50 degrees, which means we'll be spending a lot more time outside, preferably with me getting some exercise in while the kids burn off some energy too. It was just too cold today to be outside with Amelia, but knowing that tomorrow will be a lot nicer made it easier for me to stay inside. I'm just itching to get out there! The girls are too. Their Easter baskets had some outdoor toys in them and they haven't got to use them too much yet. Soon, girls, soon! (More on Easter in a upcoming post).

So that's where I'm at right now with food and exercise. Lifestyle changes take time, but I'm happy to keep plugging away at it.

One month after baby - how I'm doing

I didn't do many posts about how I was doing after I had the older girls, but looking back I wish I would have. There are so many changes happening with the kids, but I also am all over the place and want to note it before I forget it.

This time, recovery was tougher. With all of the blood loss from Amelia's birth, I was weaker and much more tired longer. I distinctly remember bouncing back pretty quickly (within two days) after Audrey was born. I had more energy than I knew what to do with and was in great spirits. This time, my mood was good but my energy level was nonexistent. Walking around the house was enough for me. After about two weeks, I could really feel my energy levels returning to normal. I was napping every day when the girls napped (if the girls napped). Finally, four weeks later, I am at the point where I don't need a nap every day. I don't have any desire to nap, which is how I felt after the older girls were born. I haven't felt like that since before I was pregnant with Amelia. It's so nice to have that time back in the middle of the day. Sure, I spend most of it attending to one of the kids and not necessarily getting much else done, but it's time that I have back. It's valuable.

I started out this pregnancy weighing about ten pounds more and then also gained an additional five to ten pounds. This left me with about fifteen pounds more to lose than last time. Honestly, though, I need to lose a lot more than fifteen pounds. That is the first goal, to get back to my pre pregnancy weight, but after that it's just to keep losing weight and toning up. 

I spent a lot of time while pregnant researching what I could do to accomplish this. What else did I have to do? I've yoyo'd in the past and have actually learned a lot, but now it's time to actually apply it. I've learned what I like and dislike with exercise. Running is a favorite, but I have to be careful to not overdue it since my weight is still high. I do not want another stress fracture. I love kickboxing for cardio and BodyPump for weight lifting. I love pilates so I'm going to try to fit PiYo into my workout routine. 

That's a lot to squeeze in, but it'll keep things interesting and hopefully prevent me from getting bored and conveniently "not having time" for exercise. Finding time for it all is an issue. I was hoping that I would be able to get up in the morning before everyone else, 5:30 or 6:00, and get it in before the day started. So far, that hasn't been possible (I'm not cleared for exercise but I could do pilates or stretches, etc) because a certain baby doesn't sleep awesome from 5:00 til morning. As she gets older we'll hopefully be able to get in a routine that works better for this, but it's not an option right now. I can't just leave her upstairs crying and fussing with a daddy that needs to get to work. I can't bring her with me because our basement is freezing and she'd probably freak out. That leaves either exercising when the girls are up, which is hard and I hate doing it, or waiting until naptime, which is when I typically need a break as well. Some days I feel like I could be up to it, and other days I need to catch up on sleep. It's just a weird place right now.

But I still have about four weeks left before I am cleared to workout. So there is time to figure it out. 

As far as eating, I have started working on this already. About two weeks ago, I started eating according to my macros. This means that I am eating foods to fit within a set limit for carbs, fats, and mostly proteins. It is a huge adjustment to eat a lot more protein. But amazingly I have already seen results so I will stick with it. I am able to eat a lot more food than the average diet as long as I'm choosing wisely with the foods I eat. Protein protein protein! It helps so much. 

Again, mentally I'm doing pretty good. Three kids three and under is a lot to juggle but I haven't felt too overwhelmed (other than naptime, seriously I just hate starting naptime every day! Necessary, but no fun.) I've been able to keep up on laundry, general tidiness, and getting us out of the house. That's all I wanted to accomplish at this point. I will start cooking supper for us again now that our friends have all brought us food and that is done. (So so wonderful; it made the transition from two to three so much easier.) Let's hope that doesn't overwhelm me! Amelia likes to be worn in a sling, and I'm banking on that to help with the chaos/late afternoon crying that sometimes happens. 

Losing it, or not

A couple of weeks ago, I was hit with a realization. 

I'm tired of thinking about food.

I've been more or less thinking about food, what it will do to me, how good it is, how bad it is, how much I want it or think I need it, for years and years now. It's been a constant thought in my head almost all of the time.

I've read a few blogs that have shifted focus from losing weight to loving yourself and breaking emotional eating habits. I'm not as concerned about loving myself (because what is my body other than a vessel from God?) and more concerned with just living my life, this life that is so good and a huge gift from God. 

In relation to this post, I'm slowly realizing that I would have time for a lot more if I just chilled out a bit with the whole self image thing. I find myself wondering what the big deal is anyways. Why in the world am I so concerned about how I look? Who is really caring? My life revolves around a husband that has loved me through many (weight) ups and downs, two girls that see me as their loving mother/caretaker, and friends and family that truly love me for me no matter what. I no longer have a job that revolves around tons of people and opinions that aren't always wanted. I'm generally not in the public eye, and even if I was, what is the big deal?? 

More importantly, how am I feeling? That is what I've been thinking lately. Isn't it more important to feel good? Looking good makes me feel great, for that thirty seconds I'm looking in the mirror. Then I forget about it because there are just a lot of other things going on and really it doesn't matter. 

So last week, I turned off my internal food monitor (ha, as if it were that easy). I just ate when I was hungry and (for the most part) stopped when I was full. I didn't snack a ton, and I didn't worry about what I was eating. Honestly, it was quite refreshing. 

Then, of course, life took a turn and things got busy and my emotional eating reared it's ugly head. So I've been eating pretty terribly. Having a sugared up coffee for lunch, chocolate bar for part of supper, crackers and cheese for lunch the next day, you get the picture. 

I'm feeling it now, having headaches, feeling tired, generally without energy. All of that is not so fun. But what I am also experiencing is a feeling of peace. It is refreshing to not be thinking about how many pounds I weigh or if this food is more points than this other food that is actually healthier but is higher in fat. 

I need to find the middle ground. There has to be middle ground. I cannot continue eating like this because it doesn't feel good. I miss having energy and these headaches are mind numbing. I'm fairly certain it is from what I'm eating, so it's important to move back a little. 

But I don't want to move all the way back. I want to be able to live this life and not look back at it thinking, "I wasted so much time worrying about food."

Here is where I am. I do so hope I get to that point soon, where I can make healthier decisions without becoming obsessed. 

NSVs and the weekly weigh in

Non Scale Victories:

 

As KTJ says, "It is nice to take time to see the accomplishments you’ve had during the week, big or small, even if that scale isn’t moving!

Too many of us base our success just on the number we see on the scale, but there is so much more to it! All the little changes we make are helping us make a healthier lifestyle. Whether you lost weight this week or not, let’s celebrate your non-scale victories! So whether you said no to that birthday cake in the office, ran a 5k, or tracked your food every day this week. . . it is time to celebrate!"

 

So here are mine:

 

With rough bedtimes being the downfall of almost every single day lately (two year olds are so fun, right?) I have had some serious emotional eating temptations after dark. Like my whole attitude revolved around this inner dialogue: I am going to eat a huge plate of nachos and then top it off with a Hershey's bar. It's going to rock. No, self, that will undo every single thing you've done this week. Stop for real. Just stop. Oh my goodness where are some crackers? I could put cheese on them. And then make brownies and eat the dough. No need to bake them. Bahh stop! Go drink water! You can do better than this! You are not reliant on food! BAhhhhh! You know what would be so refreshing right now? An ice cold beer. No, a summer shandy! No, a glass of wine! HELLO that is like 4-8 points that you don't have any more because you ate all of those chips and cheese. Get it together, self.

 

So yeah. It wasn't pretty. But thankfully I won out more times than I didn't. I did give in a little but it is so much more controlled (and appropriate with portion sizes) than it used to be.

 

Last night, after having eaten a ton at a friend's house who had a little women's retreat (tacos, brownies, cookies (yes more than one), coffee with sweet creamer, etc) I came home and made spaghetti for the family. We're trying to use up as much food as possible (less to move and store when we are fridge-less) so our meals are creative and not at all good for you. Instead of eating a huge bowl of it, I made some green beans and ate 80% of those and 20% pasta. I stopped when I felt satisfied and didn't even finish my meager serving. It was so rewarding to know that I had that kind of control in spite of how tired I was and how bad the day had already been. 

 

And sure enough, it paid off with a weight loss. But the NSV honestly means so much more to me.

 

 

Weigh In info: Down another 1.2 lbs. Total weight loss: 11.4 lbs. Slow but steady! I am happy for a loss in general this week. My heart wasn't as committed every day so I had a few more slip ups. Generally, still feeling "in this" but thoughts of moving and the craziness that is about to happen with being in limbo between houses, not being settled right away, and not having a full kitchen for the first week makes me just pray for a maintenance week. I'll still do my best though!

For your convenience, you can follow Living with Intention by choosing one of these options:

Non Scale Victories and a weigh in

Remember how I mentioned that little time period in the middle of the day called nap time? And how I tend to get "hungry" and want to munch on anything that isn't healthy? BAM. Beat that down to the ground this week. I planned for it, so the pretzel braids I had were no big thang and I topped it off with a handful of grapes. It was perfect. Oh if only every day were so simple as this. 

It's only been a couple of weeks since I've started losing weight for real, but it's been years in the making of changing my life style and food habits. I've always known the basics, that I need to eat way more fruits and vegetables and limit the carbs but still include some. I know that I need to eat good fats and not just avoid all of them altogether. I've been working on eating more protein and reducing but not eliminating dairy. Seriously, it's a huge process. But. the results are pretty incredible. You guys, I love so many more varieties of food. I love Indian, real Chinese (not Americanized), Thai, and Italian (of course). American food in all of its fatty goodness doesn't have as much appeal to me lately. I still make it, for the family of course, but overall I've been leaning more towards recipes centered around vegetables and spices with a lot of flavor. My taste palate has changed immensely. I am absolutely loving eating vegetables like crazy and have tried a bunch of new recipes, almost all of them being successes with myself and the family. I don't want as much sugar (although I still have enough to not go crazy binging later). Seriously, if I can keep this up and make it a legit lifestyle change, then I'll be golden for never gaining it back.

This week, I started doing the 30 Day Shred (Jillian Michaels). It's not so bad, although I can't say that I am doing every single second of it. I still take 5 second breaks every so often but yes definitely there is a difference already... three days in. I love that it is short, but I can see how boring it will get if I don't mix it up. Mostly, I am doing it because it's not running and it's not walking so my foot is less affected. I still feel some foot pain though, so I need to watch it.

And lastly, I am feeling comfortable in my clothes more and more. It helps that I just stocked up on a few more tank tops, but this is one of the perks that I most look forward to. Being comfortable makes such a huge difference when it comes to repeated success in this process. (Don't I sound like such an expert? Ha.) When you feel good, you want to keep feeling good, right? Take it and run, girl. (A little self pep talk never hurt anybody!)

And now for the weigh in results. 3.2 lbs down this week! That's a great amount, although Weight Watchers is telling me it's too much in one week. I'm not too worried about it since I am working out and doing some strength training. My total weight loss is 10.2 lbs. A great start.

As always, check out KTJ Weighing In for more inspiration and Non Scale Victories.

For your convenience, you can follow Living with Intention by choosing one of these options:

Weigh in day and 4/7

I've set up my weigh in days to be on Thursdays through Weight Watchers. In an effort to be held accountable by you, my lovely readers, I think it'd be worth briefly mentioning each week even if it isn't a change I'm particularly proud of. 

I started tracking my points on Monday, June 15th. I had weighed myself the day before that, so from Sunday to Thursday I was down 6.2 lbs. Before you get carried away thinking I'm overdoing it and need to slow down immediately, keep in mind that approximately three lbs of that was water weight and I did not get that starting weight in the morning right after I woke up like I usually do. I had weighed myself the night before a couple of hours after eating supper. I'm still counting it, though, as an extremely successful week. 

This morning, I got on the scale expecting to maintain. I was praying I wouldn't see a gain, but after this week of travelling, a few small but poor choices when I was home, and only one good day of exercise, I wouldn't have been too surprised to see the number go up. Thankfully, the number went down .8 lbs. I'm very happy with that. 

But... let's get to the more important part! Non-scale victories (NSVs). The number on the scale should not be taken too seriously. Sure, it's a great way to gauge how you are doing when you have a huge number of lbs to lose like myself. But sometimes what you expect based on how you ate and exercised is not adequately reflected on that stubborn scale. Sometimes, you have to look beyond it to feel victorious and see that you are still progressing.  KTJ over at KTJ Weighing In does a weekly link-up for these lovely NSVs and I'm excited to do them too! Seriously, NSVs can make or break it for me on this journey. I'm thankfully not that naive to rely only on the scale anymore.

1. There was a point this weekend where I just wanted a second helping. It didn't matter what the food was as long as I was eating something. When eating with a large group, it is normal and expected that you sit at the table after you are done eating for a while and be part of the general conversation. I love it, so I am not complaining about it in general, but it makes it hard to stop eating when the food is right in front of me. Having that restraint is a constant battle, as silly as it seems. Every single time I do manage to avoid overeating in that setting, it is a huge NSV.

2. I have virtually cut out snacking, or as I like to call it "grazing", throughout the day. While I still struggle with the pre-bedtime dessert or snack, during the day I have been great at eating enough to be satisfied at meals so that I don't feel like I need something in between. This is especially hard when the girls are napping. If we've had a particularly rough morning or early afternoon, it has become a bad habit to either eat a huge lunch then because I didn't have time to eat before then or eat a comfort food filled snack on the couch without a solid limit. This week, I didn't even feel that urge to snack. HUGE.

3. Emotionally eating is very much an addiction. Being able to say "no" when I am feeling that pull of needing comfort for whatever reason is huge. I didn't succeed every time, but I did succeed more often than not. The little things add up, yo! My small weight loss this week proves it (but even if it hadn't, it still would have been a NSV).

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I'm getting my inspiration to post every day from Jennifer over at Conversion Diary.There are a bunch of other bloggers linking up so feel free to read those too!



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The start (again)

We spent the weekend at the lake, enjoying family, humid and rainy weather, a fun festival in the park nearby, and of course, food. Lots and lots of food.

And the number on the scale is showing it. Once again, I am basically starting over, feeling awful about myself and questioning my motives, attitude, and strength. What am I trying to accomplish? Why is this the one huge (so huge) thing in my life that never seems to go right? 

In a desperate attempt to right these wrongs, I signed up for Weight Watchers (online) again. This would be my...fourth?...time actively using it and I have my doubts, but at the same time, I am kind of excited. You know how it goes, you get all geared up and ready to just beat this and  shed the pounds and have all kinds of plans (I'm great at coming up with plans, just not executing them apparently) and spreadsheets and meal plans and...well you get the idea. So here I am, starting over again, weight about 5 lbs higher than before (!!) and ready to commit yet again. As I told my mom this weekend, what good would it do to just quit trying? Even if I am trying and failing over and over, at least I'm still trying. 

I so desperately wish I had a good friend to do this with, to talk through the hard days and moments immediately as they happened instead of blogging about it later. That's not an option at this point, which makes this seem a bit overwhelming. Doing it alone scares me and I can already see a few huge challenges coming up this week since the girls and I will be visiting friends and family at the end of the week for five days. I fail miserably when not at home on my set schedule, so having that obstacle right at the start of this seems ridiculously scary. 

But I can do this, right? I can see results, make changes, succeed, meet the goals. 

It hit me the other day, as I recounted another bad dream to my husband that put him in a bad light, that my insecurities about my body and weight are affecting so much more than I realize. Subconsciously, I am scared of so many things happening because of how I view myself. Rejection from him, my friends, my family and even strangers, feeling unworthy, feeling the judgement, not being able to keep up to my kids, passing it on to them, this love of food and poor choices that will give them a lifelong struggle that could be avoided. It terrifies me, yet doesn't motivate me enough to make the changes. You know what that is? Sin. Straight up sin. The laziness, fear, cowardliness, and lack of self will is evident in every picture I see of myself or when I feel yet another injury on my over worked body(from the extra weight, not my work outs).

One thing for my to grasp, my tiny silver lining in this, is that God is using this to humble me in a huge way. As mentioned in other posts, I am a perfectionist, and my lack of control here brings me back down in a huge way. This really is not something I can do alone. This is not something that I can master and manipulate. I am at the mercy of my Lord, and I need to keep that in my mind, right in the front, more than anything.

I know it sounds harsh, like I am figuratively beating myself up, but sometimes that is what is needed, to be shaken out of a stupor, brought back to reality. 

Today I start again. Join me in prayer and cheers of support, won't you? God knows (for real) that I will need it.


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5k details and a fitness update

I ran a 5k yesterday! It must be noted that I haven't run a 5k since right after I got married, almost four years ago. I've had intentions to, but pregnancy and being extremely out of shape have prevented me from actually doing it. 

So... running a 5k, at this point, is a huge accomplishment for me. While it used to be my average run, now it is definitely a stretch for me. Let's be real here. Running is a lot harder when you are carrying around an extra 40+ lbs. I definitely could feel that right away. I also have been having ridiculous problems with my feet, something I also contribute to my weight. It's a lot more stressful for them to be pushed that far than it was when I ran this much before. I still want to run because as always, the more I do it the more I love it, but the extra weight is making it much more difficult. If only it just fell off as I ran? That'd be great. Thanks.

I also PR'd this run, although my "official time" is unknown and not accurate because this race was tiny, a bit unorganized, and was a little over an actual 5k distance. So... according to my Runtastic app, my stats were:

Time: 34:38

1k: 6:50 min

2k: 7:15 min

3k: 7:07 min

4k: 6:48 min

5k: 6:35 min

Notice how I started out strong, slowed down a bit, and finished strong? That was a huge mental battle, but I knew I wanted to finish strong and I knew wanted to run the whole thing. I also made a friend along the way. There was a girl (much more fit and clearly more active than me) that was alternating between running and walking just enough that she was staying right ahead of me. I made it a goal to catch up to her and we talked a little (as much as one can talk while running farther and faster than usual). She hadn't run in a long time and was more or less there to support a friend, but I think she was feeling discouraged that she couldn't just run the whole thing. I told her that we were on track to get in under 35 minutes, and that we had just hit 4k (since I had my app talking to me - best motivator ever!) and she paced with me for most of it before taking off ahead of me right at the end. It was awesome to have someone to run with and distract me on that final leg.

If I remember correctly, my other 5k was ran in about 35 minutes. I remember being extremely disappointed with that but not surprised. I had just gotten married and had been on a week long honeymoon food binge with no exercise. I hadn't run in over two weeks and my serious training had ended over a month before. I had a few side aches as I ran (my kryptonite) and just didn't do my best. Now, remember that I was a lot smaller then than I am now. Me getting done with this race in less time is a huge accomplishment. I need to remember that when I am feeling discouraged.

My foot pain, on the other hand, is so frustrating. I limped around all day yesterday and can already tell that today will be similar. I'm on track to buying a pair of hiking sandals, you know the ones, that you see older ladies wearing with dressy shirts and shorts? Always cracked me up, but now I can relate. Anything to make my feet feel better! I so wish I could pull off the fit mama hiker lady look and just look athletic, but unfortunately I cannot fool even myself into believing that's possible at my current size. Oh well, yet another reason to shed the lbs. So on that note, some pictures, some motivation, and some weekend. Maybe some good eating habits will form over the weekend instead of the usual "blow it and start over Monday" attitude I end up with. Happy Friday everyone!

I recruited my friend and her husband to run the race with me, although they are super fast and were waiting for me at the end. It was great to have someone there with me though!

Hubby brought the girls with and hung out on the sidelines. Audrey was due for a nap and finally fell asleep just before I got done (typical). She looked so cute in her little checkered dress (same one from hubby's birthday if you remember) and polka dot headband. I could eat her up.

This girl. Ahh I love her.

Okay but seriously. too cute.

Weekend update plus running progress

You know those mornings when you try so hard to be productive and start the day out on the right note? No matter how hard you try, you fail. The day is tough and things keep going wrong. That's the day today, and last Monday, and the one before that. How do I break this cycle?? Note that it is only 9:09 AM and I am already saying this.

Mostly, this morning hasn't been awful; I think I'm just frustrated because my running progress has slowed considerably due to my calves not keeping up. As you know, this is nothing new, but I'm just tired of it and today it really got to me. I probably only ran half of the two miles I did, and while my calves are aching, the rest of my body is wondering when the work out begins.

Did you catch that? I went for my run at 7:30 this morning with the girls and Hannah, my parents' dog who is staying with us this week. I also purchased a kettlebell this weekend, but now realize that I got too small of a weight and will have to buy at least two more. I know I will like them and enjoy using the one I have, but man I feel like I am constantly spending money all the time. Hubby said, "why don't you just go to the gym?" in which I laughed and said, "will you stay home with the girls so I can do that?" He stopped making suggestions at that point. 

On to the weekend.... we spent some time outside (although it wasn't very hot and was about to rain so our timing was a little off) and my parents gave Josie her birthday present. They got her a sandbox that is a whole lot classier than the turtle shape I was planning on getting for her. It's the shape of ... a castle maybe? with a sun design on the cover. The cover is my favorite part because I'd prefer the girls to avoid cat liter boxes that take over sandboxes. Way to go grandparents!

We also had to say good bye to friends of ours that are moving all the way to the east coast. They happen to also be Josie's godparents, so we made yet another attempt to get a picture of the three of them. I don't know what the deal is, but I have never gotten even one good picture of them. This one is grainy and I had to be in it (cropped out later of course) to keep Josie semi happy. Ridiculous, yo!

We also went for a bike ride with auntie Lara and daddy even came too. Audrey was not having it so we stopped at a park to pull it together. It was too wet to play much, but we made the most of it.

Not pictured: Hubby and I had a date night on Friday night, we helped our friends above pack up for the move on Saturday night, we went to church on Sunday morning, and had more quality time with auntie Lara on Sunday afternoon. 

Looking at a calendar, the weekends are filling up so fast! It's crazy to think that we only have a handful of them left before we are moving and getting situated in a new home that will take up all of our time and energy. 




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