A toast!

Today is my 2 month anniversary w/ Jenny Craig. I am still in love. My sole source of nutrition for this time has been Jenny cuisine and I am so glad! I've added 20 pounds to my total weight loss just since joining Jenny! So- Here's to double chocolate cake, chicken fajitas, walnut brownies, cheese enchiladas, turkey burgers, and beef chow mein!! May we spend many more happy, non-hungry, months together! (But not too many.)

Won't Take This Sitting Down!

I've slacked on blogging this week. There is only one reason for it, really. I CANNOT SIT DOWN!!! My all strength class on Monday was really tough. The class meets 3 days a week but we have a different teacher for each day b/c the regular instructor is on maternity leave. So on Monday's Cindy is our teacher. Cindy is a friend I've made at the YMCA. She is a super-nice, cool, Christian, mother of 4. Our daughters are in swim together. Anyway- Cindy gives the toughest workout of all the instructors. This is the second week in a row that my legs hurt so bad that I can barely get in and out of a sitting position. And it is Wednesday night! Class was over 48 hours ago!

Over It!!

I ran today. It was super-good. I didn't run yesterday b/c my leg hurt worse than normal. Worse than normal? What the heck does that mean. I've been thinking a lot about my IT band issues and frankly, I am getting pissed. I don't know much about this IT band but I do know this... it is slowing me down. I've got places to go, things to do, and weight to lose. This wimpy band is getting in my way. It started to really hurt on October 23rd. That is over a month ago! I have done everything I've been told to do: stretch, take anti-inflammatory meds, see a chiropractor, stretch, get new shoes, run outside when possible, stretch, take time off from running, strength train, ice, wear a brace, get a medical massage, and of course, stretch. I am stretching as I type this! So now I am getting a little impatient. Having this injury is highly inefficient. I simply don't have time for this. Last night I almost went through the roof when my 3 year-old said to me while I was stretching "Is that your IT band Mom?" Ahhhhh! I seriously need this to stop consuming my life. I think the reason I am most frustrated is b/c it is effecting my weight loss. Running 4 days a week really helps my weight loss go faster. I guess I am still meeting my 4 pound a month goal. But last month I lost like 14 pounds or something ridiculous like that. That is certainly not going to be happening this month. This is just really a mini-vent. I am still losing weight and I was able to run today... so maybe I need to chill out. But I am going to stop typing about my injury now b/c it is making me unproductive again. Writing about my IT band is just another way I am letting it control me!
P.S. I looked up "running injured" and this is one of the pictures I got. So sad.

Thanksgiving doesn't hold me down!

Today's weigh in went much better than last weeks. I am down 2.2 pounds!! Take that! Who knows what the difference between this week and last week is. Maybe it is the added calories of a take-out Mexican meal? Maybe I need to do that weekly..... I am so kidding. I do know that I had to bring my calories down to 1200 on a few days. The computer program at Jenny Craig says that I do not need to go down to 1200 calories until I've lost another 10 pounds. Scientifically, I should still be losing weight at my current weight and eating 1500 calories 7 days a week. But I have a theory that my metabolism is a little messed up from years of overeating, dieting, and diet pills. So I think I may need to go down to 1200 calories a little sooner. I plan on eating only 1200 3 days this week. We shall see what the scale says next week! I am so happy to have made it through Thanksgiving. I feel like I've really accomplished something by still losing weight this week. Peace out!

And it is done!

Okay- It is 11 pm on Thanksgiving evening and I think I've survived. I have avoided my Mother's wonderful cooking- potatoes, stuffing, turkey, pies and all! That was difficult. I ate my teeny Jenny Craig Turkey w/ stuffing and gravy meal and a salad. My plate was microscopic in comparison to the plates of everyone else. That is okay. I allowed myself an extra pickle for good measure. I had to keep telling myself that I cannot eat what everyone else eats... It obviously does not work out well for me. Next up I avoided pizza, bread sticks, and peanut buttercup cookies w/ our closest friends. This was also very difficult. I had my Jenny Craig Pesto Pizza meal and another salad. I tried to eat slow and drink a lot of water. Actually I've drank 2 gallons of water over the course of the day. I chewed a lot of gum too. Oh yeah, I also had another pickle w/ dinner. (It is okay... really. I knew this would be tough. I allotted room for extra pickles today.) Last night I wrote down everything that I would put in my mouth today. I left enough room for a glass of wine.... which I did have at my parent's house. I stuck to my plan exactly. Days total calories= 1500!! Not a bit more! I am emotionally exhausted. I'm going to bed before I eat something.

Bracing Myself

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Here are some facts. Most are mildly disturbing.

-The average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day.

-Americans feast on 535 million pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving.

-The top five most popular ways to serve leftover Thanksgiving turkey are: Sandwich, Soup or Stew, Casserole, Stir-fry, and Salad.

-One cup of cranberry sauce contains about 400 calories.

-James Madison declared Thanksgiving twice in 1815! (Who could do this twice?)

Geesh! Wish me luck!!

The cupboards are NOT bare!

I am focused now... after my little slip-up yesterday. I am concentrating on my Jenny Craig food and how much I love it! And I have plenty of it to get me through the week. Here are some pics of just how much Jenny food I have. The first one is of my pantry w/ all my dry food. The second one is of my freezer w/ all my frozen food. This looks like a lot of food but it is just a week's worth. Some of the food I am having this week include lemon cake, a s'mores bar, cheese curls, a turkey burger, and chicken tortilla soup! Yummy!!

El Cheato

It was a calculated attack. It was thought out. Planned. I went off my diet. Just for one meal. I didn't have cookies, rice crispy treats, Swedish fish, Starbursts, Skittles, Chocolate Cookie dough ice cream, or a "Blondie" from Applebees. No- I had Mexican. Of course. My 2nd biggest weakness. (After my number one trigger food....pretzels.) I had steak fajitas, beans, rice, and chips and salsa. It was good. But, boy do I feel terrible. The guilt is overpowering. How can something so yummy make you feel so bad? So I've estimated the calories from my "meal-o-shame" and will be taking it out of my daily intake over the rest of the week. I can honestly say it was not worth it. But I guess I had to figure that out for myself.

Going Down.... Barely

My weigh-in today was okay. I lost .4 of a pound this week. Hmmm. It is my lowest weekly weight loss to date and is a little discouraging. I know that I will have low weeks but I still don't like it. I followed Jenny Craig exactly. But I did miss a couple days of running b/c I've been sick. I am not sure why my loss was so small. Hopefully next week I will make up for it.

Under the Weather

This is me. I am not doing well. Sick. Sick. Sick. Didn't make my run today. Didn't do much today. I did feel up to brushing my teeth... that is about it. I also have two sick children to take care of, which has been challenging. I have been toting my sick, whiny, 40 pound, 3-year-old around.... not good. I re-injured my leg doing this. Not good. Anyway, so many bigger things have been going on in the world today.... this is just little, 'ole, sick me. Achoo!

Weighty Issue

My Mom came and watched my sick children today so I could go to my all strength class. (Thanks Mom.) I am trying to decide what size weights to use. I know it is said that heavier weights will bulk you up and lighter weights will tone you. But what is heavy for me? I mean the 5 pound weights seem so heavy during my class... But I carry my 22 pound, bruiser of a son everywhere! I just can't figure it out. Everyone uses 2 sizes- a pair of light weights and a pair of heavy weights. We use the light weights for triceps, shoulders, and chest... and whenever we get tired w/ the heavy weights. We use the heavy weights for legs, back, and biceps. I can't figure out what should be my lights and what should be my heavies! Right now I am using 3 pound lights and 5 pound heavies. I am the only one using these sizes. Everyone else uses 5's and 8's or 8's and 10's. Maybe even more.... it is hard for me to tell always. Geesh, I am so nosy. Anyway, I want to be getting the most out of this class so I am constantly wondering if I should be lifting more. I really have no upper-body strength. The sad thing is all these ladies lifting more than me are a lot older. Like the one closest in age to me is at least 10 years older!! I am such a wimp!

Getting There!

I made it to all strength class today. Barely! Lisa was sick all weekend so I figured I would take her temp. this morning and if she had a fever I wouldn't go. Well, her temp. was just in the low 99's.... but I was sick!! Stuffy nose, sore throat, etc. I wasn't going to go. But then- at 7:15- I was like: "I will probably have a ton of missed classes this winter b/c of sick kids. If I am the only one sick, I am going!!" So, I bundled the kids up, threw a bottle at Baby Jack, threw a bag of Kix at Lisa, and hopped in the car. I made it to the Y by my 8 am class and I am so glad I went. It is not that class was super (it was good) but I am glad I made it b/c I just don't want to start missing classes for minor illnesses. That would not be something good for me to start! (Sorry no pic today... my computer is really messed up.)

Weighing Wonders!

I weighed in at my Jenny Craig center today. And, what do you know, I am down another 2.4 pounds!!!!!!!! I just can't believe it. I was made to do this program! I think I am addicted to it. Seriously, even after I lose all my weight I think I will continue to go to my center and I will for sure keep eating their great food! Speaking of Jenny food-- They added a new menu. Jenny has always had 2 weekly menus. A client just rotates back and forth. Week 1. Week 2. Week 1. Week 2. And so on. But now they have added a third week and I am so excited. They added some new foods and mixed in some of the old ones. The new foods are so cool. I can't wait to try them all. New foods include: broccoli and cheese stuffed potato, turkey and cranberry salad, meatball stuffed sandwich, wedding soup, chicken and tortilla soup, pasta fagioli, gingerbread men cookies, and chicken carbonara. This new menu will bring some variety to my meals... which is super. I tried the chicken carbonara tonight and it was great. I have lost 14.2 pounds in the 6 weeks I've been back w/ Jenny. That is an average of 2.36 pounds a week! YAY!!

A little to the middle....

I went for a medical massage today. It was fabulous! I love how I was able to relax. She worked on my hamstrings and my IT band a lot. Massage therapists are so fascinating to me. This woman was so sweet and soft spoken. She talked a lot about the rhythm of the body and the internal connections of all the organs. Everything is always so light and fluffy when you talk to these natural-types. I do buy into their manner of thinking to some extent. Don't get me wrong... I am not about to move to Boulder or anything.... but they know things about the body that are really interesting. This woman is for sure in the right profession for her. I was so at ease and feel so much better now! I want to go back tomorrow!

Picture This....

This is me a little over halfway to my goal. I was going to post a "before" pic too. However, after looking at them, I am just not that brave at this point. Maybe when I have lost all my weight. For those of you who haven't seen me in a while, I hope I look slightly different to you! I sure feel different.

My Mom also took some pictures of the kids and me. I have very few pictures taken over the last few years b/c of my weight. So there aren't too many captured moments of me w/ Lisa and Baby Jack. I am feeling a little better about being in front of a camera.

Back in the Saddle Again

I just finished my first run in a week and a half. It was exhilarating. I am so glad to be running again. I took it really easy. I plopped the kids in front of Dora and jumped on the treadmill. (Baby Jack started giggling like crazy when Dora came on. I looked at Lisa sitting near him w/ her Dora doll, Dora phone, and Dora shirt and it dawned on me.... I think Baby Jack thinks Dora is his other sister.) Anyway-- I did 2 miles alternating walking and running for quarter miles. My knee and leg did not hurt at all. It was a little stiff in the beginning, but no pain. I stretched for 5 minutes before and am still doing my post-run stretch. BTW- The new shoes are fabulous! Very light. Tomorrow I will be doing a photo update on my blog... At Ria's suggestion. See you then! Peace.

Awesome All Strength Class

My All Strength class was great!! I think I am really going to like it. There are about 10 ladies in it of various fitness levels. We worked so many muscles today. I am already so sore and I know I will be even more tomorrow. But that is good. I don't know all the official muscle names, but in layman's terms, we worked: arms, thighs, calves, abs, back, and bottoms! We used different size hand weights. It was fabulous.

In other news- My doctor says I am cleared to run starting tomorrow! Yay!! I have to go reeeeeeeeeallllllllllllllllly slow. Like a run some/walk some slow. I am excited to start back. I don't know how much longer I could have stayed at 1200 calories!!! I am starving. So I will be moving the calories back up to 1500. Anyway- before my run tomorrow I have to stretch a lot. Got it. Also, I have to stop if I have any knee or hamstring pain. Got it. Can't wait to try my new purple Mizunos! Wish me luck.

The Shoe Fits

I had a great time the past few days hanging out w/ my folks. We went running shoe shopping on Saturday at this great shop in Cincinnati. Bob Roncker's Running Spot is one of the top 50 running stores in the United States. It is such a cool shop and I really liked it. I was fitted for my new shoes by a nice guy named Matt. Matt seemed very surprised that I was running the shoes I have been. I have been running in a stability shoe. When I last shopped for running shoes I was adamant that I wanted support b/c I was worried about my weight hurting my knees and ankles. Well, that is what I was sold. So it may have been my fault. But Matt says I should NOT be in a stability shoe b/c I supinate slightly. (My foot roles outward when I run.) A stability shoe supports your arches so much that it pushes your foot up and out b/c it is made for people whose feet roll in. So these stability shoes that I've been running in, have been making a very small problem worse. And I didn't even know it! I tried on 5 different styles of neutral running shoes. I really tried to make the 2 pair of pink styles the best fit... but they just weren't. That is okay. I ended up w/ the Mizuno Wave Rider 10's and they are purple! They have a lot less cushioning then other shoes and remind me of my racing flats from when I ran track in high school. They are light and airy. I think I will really like them. Now I just have to be released by my doctor to run again.

In other news- A new session starts at the YMCA tomorrow and I start my new workout class. I will be doing a weight lifting and toning class called "All Strength". It is from 8 to 9 am. I am excited about it. I've been talking to a lot of people about my classes (my best friend, my doctor, ladies at the YMCA). The advice I have received has been to take a weight lifting class... especially since I got injured running. Everyone says the stronger I am the less likely it is I will get hurt. I tend to think that is true. However, I will be missing all the cardio I took last session. I am considering taking a Tuesday/Thursday cardio class of some kind. I plan to decide that by the end of this week.

No Need to be Nervous

I was able to maintain.... and then some!!! I am down 1.8 pounds this week!!!! Yay!! I am so happy and surprised. I was really so nervous about it. I've hit a milestone w/ this weigh in. I am at my pre-baby weight. (That being my before Lisa weight.) I was a little over weight when I got pregnant w/ her. But I am so happy to be here. I was also at this weight briefly in 2005 and have not seen it since. It is a small moral victory for me. I am so excited that the pounds are still coming off. I have now lost 40 pounds since the birth of Baby Jack!!! I can't believe it. I have 3o more to go. That is a little daunting to me.... As a wise woman once said: "I don't want to think about that now. I'll think about that tomorrow."

Nervous

I am a little nervous about tomorrow's weigh in. All I want to do is maintain. Just maintain my loss from last week. I don't feel that is a lot to ask. I have stayed on the diet plan all week.... as always. But b/c I have not been doing any cardio I am worried. I will keep you posted. Peace.