My first TOO big shirt!

I am SO pathetically excited! I found a shirt that is not only too big, but WAY to big. Like I can't even get away with wearing it without looking a slob!! I am SO excited, can you tell???  

30 lbs lost, pictures, drama and HRM

Wow do I have alot to share, Sorry if this ends up long.

First of all, Today I WI in 2 lbs lighter at 237.6, I NEVER lose 2 lbs in a week, so this is huge for me. That 2 lbs brought me to a new milestone of 30lbs lost. I am SO excited. And even more excited becuase I get to justify the pedicure that I have scheduled for Friday! LOL I scheduled it yesterday beucase I really wanted to get it done before we leave for Colorado, BUT I also didn't think being the same weight for over a month that it would happen, so I went ahead and booked it and just did the reward early. Now i don't feel quilty at ALL!! yay !!
I was also leary about WI today becuase there has been alot of family drama going on this week. My brother is now an estranged family member and no longer welcome in my home. It's sad yes, however it's for the best. I learned after dealing with PPD that you have to rid yourself of toxic people in your life in order to be happy and healthy. He in the end along with his girlfriend and her family were very toxic to me. In the past 3 days I have been called many things, told I need to grow the F*** up, that I was a spolid selfish bitch and inconsiderate to others (not even by my brother, but his girlfriend???!!!) . that hurt. So much so that I found myself second guessing it for a second. I spend alot of time crying, and feeling bad that I was taking my children away from their uncle and godfather, but in the end, I also relalized that they haven't seen or heard from him in over 7 months, so it's not really hurting them. And when they do hear from him, it's not even positive, it's negative and hurtful. So I think this is the best possible outcome of the whole thing. I have family, my mom and dad, Mike's family and a TON of friends who loves us and my children, and that means more to me then any negative person being around can. So needless to say, I am THRILLED for the weightloss considering all the stress and (extra bowls of ice cream) that have been involved in the past 4 days.
So this past weekend as you know I had to yet again go dress shopping (guh!!) My dear friend put these 2 pictures side/side for me to compare and show off, since I for some dumb Reason can NOT figure out how to do it by myself yep!! (DOH!) SO here you go.

The picture on the left is from a wedding last July 267 lbs. the one of the right is from this week, 28lbs down at 239. Although I am not nearly where I wanted to be by now, I am quite proud of how far I've come!
Also!! I am a frequent shopper of onesaleaday. if you have never visited this site be sure to do so! www.onesaleaday.com I've been wanting a heart rate monitor for quite some time now. We just don't have the extra money in our budget to justify it. So today, as I was making my morning rounds for my deal web site, I found the Bowflex HRM on sale for $17.99 from $199.99!!! I HAD to order it!

Who knows if this is the right type to buy or not, who cares? it was only $20!! Here are the details on it,

Easy-to-use fitness watch for aerobic activities

Lightweight and comfortable changeable battery chest belt

Accurate continuous heart rate

Sleek and comfortable design for a good fit on the wrist

ECG heart rate

Counts calories and fat burned during workouts

Programmable heart rate zone with a high and low alarms

% of Max heart rate

High and low target zones w/ alarm

% of average, maximum and minimum heart rate

Stopwatch

Time, Calendar, Alarm

User menu

Personal profile

Chronograph

Memory

Night Vision

Countdown timer

Pacer

Water-resistant
Looks good enough to accomplish what I'll use for for now anyway!! can't wait to get it.

Ok, I think that's it for now. Sorry for the lenght. How is everyone else doing today??

The dress I got.

Races

2 races in 3 days this past week. Needless to say I've been busy! Thursday I had a kickoff run for St. John Vianney. I thought I had finished in 40:03, when viewing the results today though, turns out my official time was 39:53, hey 10 seconds is 10 seconds! 

So here I am before the Race. 
 

And here I am coming up to the finish line. We forgot to put the memory card in the camera so we ran out of memory for any other pictures! DUH!! 
 

Then on Saturday I ran the Crabapple 5K right down the road from my house~ I was excited about this one, since most of the course is what I run when I go running 4 miles on my own, so that was nice! It was SO hot and humid though. When we woke up at 8am it was already 79 out and humidity was sky high. I had Sweat pouring down before I even started running! 
 
 
Taking off 
 
Almost there! 

This is a horrible picture, but I was laughing SO hard. The boys were cheering me on at the finish line, must have been saying Go Mommy, and the guy with the speaker phone said "BRING IT HOME MOMMY!" I was cracking up! 
 
 
 
Mike tried to get my crossing the finish line. he was close 
My final time was 38:44, much better then 2 days before. 

And here is Colin enjoying the free Subway Subs and popcorn after wards!

In 11 days Hubby & I (sans kids) hop on a plane to fly across the country to celebrate his best frieds wedding in Denver, Colorado. I am SO excited for this trip, I can't contain it! :-) Some of you may remember that there was a specific dress that I Really wanted to be able to get into for this wedding. I bought it 4 years ago and never wore it. When I pulled it out in the begining of June to try it on, I could barley get it on, let alone zip it. I had a super strong fitness plan to make it work by August 1st. Although I wasn't able to stick with that plan (jillian Michaels hurts my knees WAY too much) I did get a good strengh routine from a trainer at the gym and continue to run races and do cardio as well. I am happy with how I am working out. Funny part is during this time, I have lost NOTHING! I've gained a pound and lost a few ounces, only to gain them all back again. So be it. I've learned early on that I am a VERY slow looser. Well yesterday, being short of 2 weeks before the wedding, I figured I better try on that dress. Well let's just say I won't be wearing it to the wedding, BUT I was able to get it on, and ZIPPED! Until the boobs came into play. I have lost NOTHING here. And it seems to be my problem! LOL It fits over waist, and hips, but can't zipper it over my chest. *sigh* I am PROUD regardless that altough in the 6 weeks I've lost no weight I was able to get in that dress, that was NOt even close to being able to do so before. So that makes me feel better.

So I did still end up having to go dress shopping yesterday. I had no one to go with, so I had to go alone, which is not easy. you always need another pair of eyes. First two store were horrible. I couldn't find anything and when I did, I felt like a blimp. The last store (Dress Barn, which I should have just went to first off) I found a couple. I've never shopped at a store where the sales staff is so willing to help. I was torn between 2, so had to go out and model them both (since I was ALONE!) to get an opinion. I ended up buying one and even got some earrings to go with it as well. I'll have to take pictures of it later to show you.
I also had a converstation yesterday about weight. It was intersting. When I was younger, I always thought I was HUGE. I've again, always been heavy, but after looking at pictures, when I thought I was really big, I wasn't nearly as big as I thought I was. Now however I am. It's horribly sad that body imagine means so much to us at that young age. Its sad to think that so many years are wasted thinking horrible thoughts about yourslef, only to look back at those years now and WISH you could look like that it. Society makes us think this way and it's sad.

Oh here's a HORRIBLE cell phone picture of the dress. it does it no justice and you can't even see the color or detail! But it's something until I get home later!

Tonight we are going on a late night boat ride (cataraman) with my dad and his wife, and some other friends.

(horrible picture, had to find it online) But it's something we do every year at this time. We have the last sailing time from 8:15pm to 10:15pm. NO kids again, they'll be home with the sitter! Food and drink are included. I am really looking forward to it!!

Here's the thing

Iam SO freaking TIRED!! I can not even begin to tell you how much I just want to sleep. SO much so that I am very heavily considering skipping the gym tonight to vege out at home, do nothing and get to bed at a reasonable hour. I hate feeling like this. The worst part is that tomorrow is weigh in day. I have NO weighted myself or peeked at all, which is for the best, since I am feeling WAY off and bloated and I have been WAY WAY off on my food. It's my own fault I know. I feel like if I take off tonight and relax, I am making an already bad weigh in, even worse, But If I go, I am pushing myself to do things that I know I need a break from. At this point, I know I've gained in the past week, as i have no choice but to take that, I also think I am ok with it. I am too tired to care otherwise. I ran 4 miles friday. Spent all day Saturday running after 2 toddlers at an amusement park, Went for a 4 mile bike ride on Sunday and did 30 min and 30 min ST last night. It's not like I am sitting here doing nothing. I am! But being so tired, also lets my guard down when it comes to food. I eat, becuase I am tired. I've ate way to much today and can't wait to get home and get on PJ's.


I am sorry this is such a debbie downer blog, but I am just wiped. Working full time, not getting to bed until well after 11. Chasing 2 toddlers all over, not just during the day, but in the middle of the night as well, must have caught up with me. I am tired. I need a break. And I am writing this to hold myself accountable for the weigh in that will be a gain tomorrow.

Making the choice NOW to go home after work today and not go to the gym. I am making the choice to take care of me right now, even if that is only in mentality mode and not physical!

Oatmeal pancakes & Race today!

I've never like oatmeal. I've tried many many times to eat it and just can't do it. I have NO idea if it's the texture or what, but it just doesn't work for me. I read a couple weeks back on a spark blog, (NO idea what one, sorry!) About making oatmeal pancakes. Simple ones at that! I thought what the heck?? It doesn't hurt to try and see if I like it! And I do!! I just use one instant packet of quaker oatmeal ( I like maple/brown sugar for flavor) One whole egg and one egg white, mix it together, pour into pan and proceed as if making regular pancakes! One of these is more then enough and plenty filling. the original recipie called for 2 whole eggs, but I couldn't justify the calories and fat in that 2nd whole egg, so I used just the white of the 2nd one. I also tried it with just one egg and a couple tablespoons of water, but It stuck to the pan and really didn't hold very well, so I suggest using the egg rather than water. I also use a little bit (maybe 1-2 tbsp) of light reduced calorie syrup. I can't do the dry thing, just me being weird.

here's a picture of it, of course after I started eating it already! It looks like a ton of syrup is on there, there really isn't. I think it's the glare of the bright lights at work. :-)
Nutrition Info of my version:
Cals 302 (this was 252, but the syrup brings it higher)
Carbs 44
Fat 4
Protein 14
Tonight is also the Subaru 4 Mile Chase Race. I am not sure how i feel about this yet. I've BARLEY ran at all since the 10K. The temps have been in the 90's and the humidity is insane and I just can't run in that. I've been working out. We've been bike riding ALOT. I do the elliptical almost daily, so it's not like I've done nothing, but not a full out run. I did run on the treadmill the other day at the gym and HATED it. I HATE running on the treadmill. funny since that is where I started at! So again, the temps are cooler today, thankfully (84 if that's cooler!) but STILL very high humidity. So we'll see how it goes. It helps that it's at 7pm, so the sun will going down and it'll be cooler then if it was at 9am. I am not shooting for anything other then to finish this honestly. Hopefully in under and 55 minutes (my goal) But again, it's been 1.5 weeks since I ran that distrance, and I have no idea how I'll hold up. I am not sure of the course yet either. Time will tell!!


Here's a cell phone crappy picture of me to leave you with today. I took in the bathroom at work, so it's pretty blurry but it's the best I could do.



July 16th 239lbs.
Happy weekend everyone! We are taking the kids to an amusement park tomorrow wtih a special needs group, super excited for them!

18.2 Mile Bike Ride

Sunday, July 11, 2010

I woke up this morning craving a 10 mile bike ride! Very surprising since we had Colin's birthday party yesterday and had company until close to 11pm last night. 

So we ate, got dressed, loaded up the bikes and trailer and headed out at 9:30 this morning. It was around 73 and perfect riding weather! 

Got to the parking lot and it was already getting warmer. Got us packed up, extra water on hand and rode. We got to the end of the first trail 5.2 miles and decided to keep going. We started In Amherst, NY and ended up in Tonawanda, NY, for those that live in Buffalo. From UB North Campus to Niawanda park. here we are at about the 7 mile mark, quite hot and sweaty! 
Mike very hot! 
 
our little troopers! 
 
Hot and sweaty me! 

We finally made it the first 9 miles and ended at our destination. Mississipi mudds along the Niagara River. So pretty here. We settled in for lunch. I had a great 5oz. marinated Chicken breast on a roll. Hubby had pulled pork and Colin has chicken nuggets. (caden doesn't eat, ever - after we ate, we went up the rooftop to check out the scenery. 

 
  
The boys had a great time running around chasing the birds. Mike and I relaxed with frozen yogurt and watched. We stayed there for about an hour before we decided to make the treck back. We pulled away at 1:20 and made it back to UB parking lot by 2:50. I had to stop ALOT on the way back, my girly parts were a wee bit sore! Darn bike seats. We ended up doing a total of 18.2 miles though and had a great time. Too bad my daughter was a bummer and stayed home. 

And in the end through all the sweat and hard riding we burned over 1100+calories! 

10 10 10 summer challenge

Since Spark ate my 10K blog yesterday, and I don't have pictures with me at work, this one will have do.


My gym (the YMCA) has started a 10 10 10 summer challegne. It's actually 3 challenges in one. they consist of the following

1 - Lost 10lbs

2- Complete 10 cardio miles on Y equipment

3 - Try out 10 different classes.
You can do one of all 3, and if your are able to complete each or all of them, you get entered into a drawaing to win 3 hours of personal training. The competition runs from July 5th to August 25th. Of course I HAD to sign up. I never let anything of the sort pass me by!
So yesterday was my weigh in and first meeting with my trainer. I was SUPER excited about this. I've been weighted at the gym before and I KNOW for some reason the scale is never right. It said I weighed in at 230. I know this is wrong. Even more so since it was 7 at night and I we just finished a HUGE dinner. My scale at home last week was 239, and when I got home from the gym yesteday, just to double check it said 242, so I know 230. is wrong, but we'll use it to track at the Y ONLY. I got my body fat measured and he also took all of my regualr mesurements. He told me I have great running legs. I have to laugh at this, only because everyone tells me I have these amazing legs. And I am lucky enough that I do have nice legs, but this is NOT from weight loss, I've been lucky enough to be born with nice legs, thanks to my dad (LOL) Only NOW they are QUITE muscular! So thank YOU all too for the great comments, I only wish it was becuase I worked HARD to get them that way.
So after all the measuements and things he got a strength circut together for me. He said I didn't need a cardio plan, that between running and what I accomplish on the machines there, I am doing all the right things. he did say that if I am stucks and want to switch it up, then trying doing intervals on the elliptical for 20 mintues instead of just 30 mins of average. So I'll try that too. I loved learning how to use the free weights and different techniques. I have a bunch of things to do, 3 days per week and do each set 16 times for 3 reps. this is interseting, since I typically Only do the machines for 2 reps of 12 each. Hm... So maybe this will help? It's a nice mix of machine, free weights and cable weights. I am excited to start it1
Tonight i plan on doing my strength class, maybe 30 mins of cardio then relaxing in the pool for a bit too. It's in the 90's here and will be for the next few days. I have central air at home, but the pool will still be a nice break from the ordinary.