Not much to say

This isn't a very interesting or necessary update but since it's been a few weeks I figured I'd say a little something in case anyone is reading and/or cares.
Well, I hurt my back just about 2 weeks ago & that has put a damper on my work out plans. I was actually in the midst of a workout when I hurt myself so even on the days when I've felt somewhat better I've been afraid to do much of anything because I don't want to hurt myself even worse.
On the "bright" side, I haven't had much appetite since I've hurt myself. I've even had days where I've been sick to my stomach with the pain & so I haven't fallen back on my old habit of trying to eat the pain away. I've actually lost nearly 10 lbs since the original injury so I've been pretty happy about that.
I really want to have the motivation to not only get back to working out (because I'm actually eating pretty healthy, not 100% of the time but I'm impressed & surprised by my self control lately) but also the motivation to get to a doctor (probably a chiropractor) and get my back fixed. But I'm not feeling ANY type of motivation when I roll out of bed, feel fine for the first 10-15 minutes then realize that my back ISN'T better and I spend the rest of the day prone on the couch, moving as slowly & cautiously as I can so that I don't send waves of pain throughout my body. Somehow I just haven't felt like getting on the phone to make an appointment (after finding a chiropractor first of course) and then figuring out who will stay with my girls while I go to said appointment. It all just sounds like too much effort & not worth the pain (literal & figurative) to get it done.
So there ya go. That's my update (or my whiny vent as it were). No progress in the working out department but I am seeing the numbers on the scale getting smaller, bit by bit. Here's to the next update being a little less whiny & a lot more positive!

Monday Update

I figured I'd check in & recap my weekend. I feel like it makes me more accountable if I tell people what I am/have been doing.
Friday was a good day all around. I even got in a tiny workout, swimming in my mom's pool. Even though I wasn't really swimming since I was holding AJ, that in itself is a workout as she gets bigger! I also "got" to carry around K, who is currently 36 lbs! Even in water, that is quite a "load". I ate pretty healthy for dinner considering we ate fast food (have you tried the chargrilled & fruit salad at Chik-Fil-A? SOOOO yummy!) and I barely met my water goal. Not sure how that happened, I usually drink WAY more water than I did on Friday.
Saturday was another basically good day. I went to IKEA with my bestie & if you've never gone you may not believe me when I say, THAT was my workout! IKEA is HUGE (kind of funny since most of the furniture they sell is designed to be compact & fit in small spaces) & it takes at least an hour to get from the front door all the way to the checkout. I even scored 2 totally cute aprons that were in the "as-is" section so they were discounted! Getting all my water to drink was SO EASY since I was out in the hottest part of the day. I felt like I couldn't get enough water to drink on Saturday!
Yesterday was Father's Day & believe me when I say it was SO HARD to eat healthy! I made Mark & the girls an oven baked peach french toast & cheesy/bacon scrambled eggs. I will admit to eating a few bites of the girls leftover french toast (but I made it with whole wheat french bread so that makes it healthy-ER right?!?) but then I made myself a spinach & protein smoothie that was pretty good too. I forgot to mention I made a really good, very healthy & balanced dinner on Saturday night (peachy chicken & brown rice~I even kept track of what I put in it & how much if you want the recipe~only 353 calories a serving!) so I had a serving of that for lunch yesterday. For dinner we went to my in-laws house to celebrate Father's Day with my father-in-law, Mark & our brother-in-law, who was celebrating his FIRST father's day! My wonderful father-in-law grilled "make your own" kabobs (chicken AND steak with LOTS of yummy veggies my great mother-in-law chopped up) and I brought a cucumber fruit salad that was really good. The "boys" (all grown men but still) & my little girls all got in the pool and so did my adorable little 10 month old niece. I put my feet in but that was all I was willing to do. Surprisingly my lack of desire to get in the pool had nothing to do with my body image. I was just feeling lazy & didn't want to go to the trouble of getting in my swimming suit! We finished the night with some (WAY TOO) good fruit pizza my mother-in-law made and I can honestly say it was good enough that I *almost* don't regret going over my calorie goal!
Today has started out pretty well. I ate some of the cucumber fruit salad and then got down to working out. I did a full upper body workout (almost pooped out a couple times but I am proud to say I didn't!) and got in some core exercises too! 25 minutes on the elliptical & now I'm ready for lunch! I've also already reached my water intake goal, something about working out in AZ makes it SUPER easy to want to drink enough water~and FAST!
Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good physically & mentally I'm super proud of myself. I'll be even more proud when I can check in this weekend & say I've worked out & eaten well all week!

a long awaited (and mostly pointless) update

I've been off the wagon for a while now. I had spurts of good intentions followed by long periods of indifference coupled with active sabotage. But I feel ready to really commit & make the changes I've been avoiding.
I saw my doctor this morning to follow up on my Phentermine prescription from a few months ago. I was down less than 20 pounds in just over 3 months. Not so stellar considering I know what I could've been down had I been diligent but I'm determined not to beat myself up over that.
While I waited to be seen I set about making a workout routine. The thing is, I know what to do to achieve my goals, I really do. Its the actually DOING what I need to do that I seem to get stuck on. Now I have a workable routine, nothing too crazy & it is all stuff I can do, here at home, even if my girls are around & underfoot (as they are wont to be). Mostly just light weight lifting/strength training but I don't want to attempt too much & get discouraged  (followed quickly be giving up if my past is any indication).
I also have a plan to begin a couch to 5K program in 2 weeks. The start date for that was originally 2 weeks ago but when I went to download a program for my iPod I discovered that my iPod wouldn't support the 3rd party application necessary & that was a good enough excuse not to start. I did discover that an iPhone will support the application so, next Wednesday, I'm going to join the rest of you in smartphone world & upgrade my poor little slider for an iPhone. Once I have that up & running (haha, I'm so punny!) I'll be fresh out of excuses & I'll begin. I'll be sure to update as soon as I actually achieve my first day of the program.
So that's where I'm at right now. I'm allowing myself until Monday before starting the new workout routine but I'm determined that I'll eat healthy over the weekend. So far so good, I've even joined myfitnesspal.com (apparently its better/easier to use than livestrong.com~which is what I had been using) and have tracked both my breakfast (spinach berry protein smoothie) and lunch (grilled turkey burger with provolone cheese). I only have 2 more cups of water to drink before I reach my water intake goal (easy peasy in hot AZ weather!) and I'm already thinking about a healthy dinner for tonight.
Have a healthy, active Father's Day weekend!

No pedi for me

I'm sad to report that I am not going to be able to get a pedicure today. I did not meet my goal of getting to 228 lbs this week so I will keep my old, chipping color & wait until I finally reach my goal. At least I didn't gain this week...

In other news, I am contemplating re-joining a gym instead of continuing with boot camp. While I <3 boot camp & the amazing workout I get there I am having SUCH a hard time getting up to get there on time. The baby STILL isn't sleeping through the night (she's not even 5 months old yet, I guess I could cut her some slack) and even though Mark gets up with her more often than not my sleep is still broken and it makes me more tired than a full night's sleep would. I feel terrible paying for the monthly fee and than sleeping through it more often than not. Also, now that AJ is older I could take her to the gym with me (she & K could go) if I join a gym with a decent kids' club. That way I could go after Mark & the big kids are off for the day and still get the sleep I seem to be needing right now.

I'm also still not running, like, ever. It has been BEAUTIFUL in the mornings this week & it has made me LONG to put on my running shoes and just go. I haven't been able to, or rather, I haven't felt comfortable doing that. With Mark on nights I just didn't feel right leaving K awake (AJ was still sleeping in the room with Mark every morning) while I went for a quick jog. Even though I was most likely only going to be gone 20 minutes max (that's one episode of Team UmiZoomi) I just didn't fell like that was a good idea. Now that Mark is off nights I won't have that as an option even. Still trying to figure out when would be a good running time. Joining a gym is starting to look better and better (even though I don't care for running on a treadmill that option is better than getting up at 6 or something to run).

There you have it, I'm still above 230 lbs, my toes are still wearing old, chipped polish & I might be joining a gym. Oh, and I'm going shopping today to spend money on some shorts. I'm not terribly happy about that but I REFUSE to wear sweats and maternity shorts this summer and it's already getting hot here. Good times...

A wedding & a pedicure

So, I've been REALLY off the wagon. I haven't worked out in 2 weeks (unless you count all the work it took ridding our kids & our house of LICE the week before last) and I've been less than diligent with my diet.
But now Mark & I have a wedding to attend in a little less than 3 weeks & I am motivated to look better than I do now! We'll be seeing family & friends we haven't seen for quite some time. Some we just saw at Thanksgiving and since I was 37 weeks pregnant at the time I KNOW I'll look better than the last time they saw me. The others we haven't seen since my sister-in-law got married in October of 2010 when K was about 6 months old. I like to think I already look better than I did then but I don't really know.
Anyway, Mark is working nights for the rest of this week so boot camp is out until next week. I have intentions of using my elliptical every day & I know the BL:UW workout would probable be beneficial too. We'll see if my motivation extends to actually working out or not. I have started out the day eating better than I have in a weeks & I know it sounds silly but I already feel lighter. So I'll be keeping up with the clean eating & watching my carb intake.
And I'm *thisclose* to reaching my goal of being under 230 lbs and being able to get a pedicure. I haven't had one since February & it is getting almost painful to look at my feet. My color isn't too bad but my toenails are SO LONG! I don't know why the sight of my feet hasn't been enough to get my butt in gear and work off the 3 lbs necessary for me to be able to get the pedicure (I want to be 228 before I get one so I know it isn't a fluke) but it hasn't. I'm really looking forward to seeing the numbers on the scale go down enough that I can treat myself to the relaxation & beauty of a pedicure, hopefully this Saturday! I'll update (with a picture even!) once I reach my goal & have pretty toes to show off.

My weight loss secret

After a VERY stressful week at our house where I got no more than 6 hrs of sleep (and as little as 4 more than once) each night & ate no less than 3 mini Twix bars a day and only made it to boot camp ONE day, I lost 4 lbs in 5 days.
Yeah, it's nice to see the numbers on the scale go down but if THIS is the only way for me to drop the pounds I want to shed, I think I might have to change my mind about the old "fat & happy" lifestyle...
Oh, and~due to Mark's work schedule the next 2 weeks I will most likely NOT be able to participate in Pat's Run. I'm kind of bummed but also a little relieved as I haven't trained at all. Lame, I know. I still have aspirations to do the Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving, that's gotta count for something!

Still not training

I went to boot camp this morning. It was so much harder than I wanted it to be. Not that I don't love & appreciate a challenging workout, because I do. Today just felt like the first day & I know it is because I only worked out twice last week. What can I expect when I got sick on top of having my period (and a RIDICULOUSLY heavy one at that)?
But I hung in there, almost to the end. Mostly because I am so tired of being fat & out of shape. (quick side note: IF I ever get pregnant again would someone PLEASE remind me~preferably often and vigorously~how much I hate the task of getting BACK in shape so that I can at least sort of STAY in shape? Please?!?) The other part is the fact that I signed up for Pat's Run & I (possibly foolishly) signed up as a "jogger" rather than a "walker". I also estimated I would be done in an hour or less. (I thought I estimated at an hour& 10 minutes but on thinking about it more I am pretty sure I had delusions of more skill) So I feel that I need to do push myself through the feelings of tiredness & get myself in better shape, FAST. (as you may notice by the countdown in my sidebar I have approximately 46 days left before the run~insert scared face here~)
Now, boot camp is a KILLER workout. I know that in short order I will be more fit & feeling stronger. I also know that as I continue going my endurance & stamina will also increase, as will my speed when running (or jogging or just walking along). However, I'm pretty terrified that roughly 45 days isn't enough to get me to a point where I won't be ashamed of myself and my run time. So that means I need to be running outside of boot camp. And have I begun my race training you ask? No, I have not (hence the title of this little rant).
I have all the valid reasons in the world. Like last week, sick and "losing my transmission" as my good (and hilarious) friend Erin would say. On top of that, my iPod isn't charged. And if it were, I don't have a playlist of songs suitable for keeping me motivated for a run. Plus, its still pretty cold in the mornings here (yeah, I said cold. 45 degrees IS cold in Arizona, okay?) and I only have about 30 minutes after boot camp before I have to get my kids up & going for the day. Did I mention that my baby isn't even 3 months old yet?
(Do I have enough reasons yet? I can probably think of a few more)
As I type this I am looking at my "reasons" and I know what they really are; excuses. Lame, weak, crybaby excuses. Because I also know that when it REALLY mattered to me I made every single one of those excuses mean NOTHING when I was training for my first 10K. And I know I can do that again. I just have to commit to it & follow through with my commitment.
So I'm going to post this here in the hopes that by publicly announcing my goal it may entice me to follow through. My goal is to run a minimum of three times each week (M-F) with another run at least every other Saturday. I know that time constraints will keep me to one mile during the week & I will strive for 3 miles on Saturdays.
Now, if you see me or should feel inclined to comment here, will you please ask me how I'm doing and if I've gotten in a run? Thanks.