First Performance

Lisa's first ballet recital was yesterday. It was so cute and she did great. I am so proud of her!

GOAL!

I had a really great feeling as I walked into my Jenny Craig Center this morning. I was overjoyed when I stepped on the scale and I had PASSED my goal weight!!! This week I lost 3.4 pounds! I figured I would lose a lot this week. With the previous two weeks combined I had only lost a pound. And- I started lap swimming. A workout change always wakes up your metabolism. So here I am... 70+ pounds lighter than I was last April. I sent my consultant roses to say "thank you." I really couldn't have done this w/o her. Her advice and insight have been invaluable. Of course now that I think about it I really couldn't have done this w/o a lot of people. Hmmmm. I am going to have to type up a little list of thank yous and post it. I'll have that soon. For now-- thanks everyone and Yay Me!

New Therapist

I saw my new physical therapist yesterday. She basically specializes in working w/ people who are not completely healed after being in therapy a while. I really think she is going to be able to help me out. She actually taught me how to realign my hips MYSELF! Thank goodness. I wish I'd known this years ago! She adjusted me and stretched me. My leg and hips really felt better when I left! Yay! I hope this injury nightmare is almost over.

In exercise news.... I pulled myself out of bed this morning, loaded up the kiddos, and drove to the YMCA. Yes. I went swimming. And- it still the worst workout known to man. I swam a 1/2 mile. I also got in weights and abs tonight. I've got a weigh in is tomorrow... wish me luck!

The Best of Friends- Me & Chipotle

Just in case anyone reading this has forgot... I eat 1200 calories a day. I am hungry. My sister once said to me- "Who on Earth thinks they can lose weight and NOT be hungry? If you want to lose weight, you will be hungry. Accept it." Oh- the wisdom. Jenny Craig food is amazing... I could eat it for the rest of my life. But I'd like to have a little more of it during the course of my day! I know that I will be eating more calories when I achieve my goal and start on the maintenance program. I am looking forward to this. In the meantime I am surfing the Internet looking at pictures of my favorite food-

The Chipotle Burrito.

I have found a great informational site on Chipotle. Here is a interactive Chipotle menu calculator. You can go there and plug in what you eat when you are at the greatest restaurant in the world and receive instant and exact calorie information. It is genius really. I plugged in my info and OMG! For my favorite steak burrito, plus chips (you have to get their chips), it is a whopping 1478 calories!!!!!!! Wow! And I would eat this several times a week when I was pregnant. Anyway- the last time I went to Chipotle was August. I am thinking about going and getting 1/2 a burrito sometime next fall. I'll let you know how that works out. I miss you old friend.

Day "Off"

I know today was supposed to be my day off. Well..... I took a day off swimming. I still managed to work out. I did an easy half-hour on the elliptical machine (EASY for my leg) and a free weights routine. (Also, abs 500- like every night.) I am super excited about my appointment w/ the physical therapy specialist tomorrow. Hopefully she will be able to help me out. Wish me luck. I'll have a full report tomorrow. Not much else going on. Peace.

Swimming- Day 3

Wow. Swimming sucks. I really don't know how else to say it. It ranks somewhere between a terrible hangover and a funeral. I am so spent after I am done swimming. Today I swam 1/2 a mile. It is not like running 1/2 a mile.... where I don't even get winded. First off you can run a 1/2 a mile in 4 or 5 minutes. It took me 25 minutes to swim that far. After a 1/2 mile I pull myself, panting mind you, out of the pool. I crawl to the locker room. I sit on the floor to dress. I don't even know how I drive home! My Dad says he gets a burst of energy for the next few hours after a swim. I get an overwhelming desire for a nap. The good thing about today was I met a nice lifeguard and she gave me a lot of tips. I bombarded her w/ questions about breathing, water in ears, stroke form, and sore muscle groups. She probably thinks I am loony! But she was a great help. After 3 days of swimming, I am taking tomorrow off. I plan to swim Thursday and Friday to finish out the week. Geesh! Swimming is for the birds... or the fish... or whatever. Peace out.

Swimming Along

Swimming. I've been thinking about it for a while. It is a great way to get a cardio workout. But it is not running. It takes a lot more effort. There's the suit, the goggles, the towel, getting to the pool, changing, water in your noes and ears, etc. And all that does not include the actual swimming part. So I've been ignoring the nagging feeling to go swim. However, after a couple runs last week, my leg is out of commission. Even the elliptical machine is painful. It is the constant bending and rotation of my leg that causes pain. My sports medicine doctor said to stop spinning and the elliptical if they cause pain. So here I am. Not running.... again. I have to get some cardio. So I went to the pool last night and this afternoon for the first laps of my hopefully short swimming career. I was exhausted both times!!! I don't know how swimmers do it. It sure did feel good to be exercising though. I hope to go a few times a week until my leg is better. I'll keep you posted on how this newest venture works out. Peace out!

2008 Olympic Trials

This morning I watched the Women's Olympic Marathon Trials. It was such an exciting race. The favorite, Deena Kastor, won! I wanted her to win and was cheering her on the whole way. I love to watch her run. Now the Olympic team is set w/ these 3 amazingly fast ladies! Jack woke up around mile 19 and could not believe how fast they were going. He said, "Did they just start running? Are they in the first mile?" The team looks really good. Deena for sure has a chance at Gold in Beijing.

In weight loss news.... I am down .8 of a pound for the week. I'll take it!! With just 3 pounds left to reach my goal I realize that things are slowing down. On the agenda for today's exercise is an elliptical workout and weights/abs. Peace out!

Bike Ride

Yesterday we went on our first family bike ride. I know. I know. We've been married 6 years and this is just now our first bike ride? But biking is something I NEVER would have done when I was overweight. But now that I am a healthy weight I am not embarrassed. Last week our friends the DeLucias were telling us how much they enjoy biking as a family. So Jack bought him and me bikes on Tuesday. We also got a baby seat and helmet for Baby Jack. (Lisa already had a bike.) We had such a good morning. We biked around the neighborhood and went to a nearby Urban Nature Preserve that we like to visit. It was so much fun! Thanks for the inspiration Tara and Ant!

More Biggest Loser

Here is a better picture of Ali. It is from the finale last night so this is her final weight. Amazing!

Again- here is her before w/ her Mother, Bette-Sue, who lost 75 pounds. I am so in awe of these women and the rest of the competitors. You can see all their transformations here. The past 2 seasons of this show have really helped me in my battle w/ weight. Yay for the Biggest Loser!

Girl Power

Congrats Ali... The first female Biggest Loser!! Tonight's finale was amazing to watch. I love this show. It is such an inspiration to me. Ali has lost over 45% of her total body weight. This isn't the final picture of her w/ all her weight off. I am going to be looking for one from the finale to post on here. Again- congrats to Ali and all the other contestants who have all lost so much! I love this show.

A Check Up

I started feeling better yesterday. It was miraculous. My leg did not hurt one time all day. I was able to lift weights and do all my abs w/o any pain. Heck- I was walking w/o any pain, which is new for me. This really lifted my spirits and I stopped feeling so down in the dumps. Today I went to my Sports Medicine Doctor for her to check the healing process of my IT Band. She thinks I need a physical therapy specialist b/c my band is still so inflamed. So I am headed to a new therapist... but hopefully not for extended treatment. Overall the injury appears to be healing... just very slowly. After my appointment I went to the YMCA for a workout on the elliptical machine. I did a 45 minute interval workout and it felt great. I am really hopeful that my leg will be better soon. I need to get to bed. Peace!

Focus on the positive

My Jenny Craig consultant says on weeks like this... like when I only lose .2 of a pound... to focus on the positive. Well-The above jeans are Express Size 6 and I got them for $3! Yes. $3! How is that for positive?!!

Busy & Frustrated

I haven't been blogging much lately. Things have been busy around here since Jack got home. There have been lots of doctor's appointments, trips to the store, visits w/ friends and loved ones, and plenty of play time w/ the kiddos. I've also been a little down about my leg injury. I am still having problems w/ my IT Band. I have run a total of 4 times in the last 7 weeks. And 3 of those times were to just try out my leg to see if it hurt. At this point I am no longer worried about running.... I would just like to walk w/o pain. I see my sports medicine doctor on Monday and it could not come soon enough. I had a sports massage today. It was relaxing but didn't loosen up my IT band or hamstring as I hoped it would. I don't like being such a downer so I am going to log off now. I am sure I will feel better tomorrow. In the words of my favorite heroine - "After all tomorrow is another day!

Good Times

Outback

Jack and I had a date tonight. It was so nice to go out just the two of us. We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. I studied the menu online for an hour today trying to pick something healthy. I had a side salad for an appetizer w/ fat free dressing, their smallest and leanest cut of steak, 5 grilled shrimp, and about half of a baked potato w/ just a little bit of butter. I was a little over my dinner and dessert calories-- but not much. Jack got the loaded fries. They had cheese and bacon on them. They were beautiful. Oh Outback, this is not a healthy relationship. I did have some. Too many to be exact! I can feel the salt and carbs in my system as I type! Oh well. I have no other choice but to move on. We had such a good time that I am not really bothered by my lapse. It was so nice being together. Peace out Mates.

A Good Day

Today is a happy day at our house. After being out of town for 14 weeks, Jack arrived home this morning around 6:30 am. Needless to say we are all very excited to see him. However, after a 36 hour drive and a morning of errands, he is tired. And so are the children. I just tucked everyone in for a nap. Lisa was so happy to be napping w/ Daddy.

In weight-loss news.... We went to the Jenny Craig center for my weigh in this morning. I am down another 1.8 pounds!!! Yay me!!! This loss today puts me into the 120's!!! I haven't been here in a while and it sure feels nice. Today was also my measurements day. I lost 6 inches last month!! And 3 of them were off of my abs! So all my ab work is starting to pay off. I am so glad-- if I hadn't lost any inches off my abs this month I probably would have never done another crunch again! I lost a total of 8.4 pounds in the month of March. This makes it my second biggest month to date. I have 4 pounds left to reach my goal. I am so close. Ahhh!!

A Change

I am so happy w/ my new haircut! I have side bangs but you can't tell in these pictures. My stylist took about six inches off the longest layer. No- I didn't wear the tank-top out! You couldn't see all my layers w/ my black sweater on. Anyway, I am so loving this hair. She showed me how I can wear it wavy too. I feel like a new woman!

A Special Day

Happy Anniversary! One year ago today I started my Jenny Craig life style change on the advice of my best friend Tara. And although I am not at my goal yet- I am 65 pounds lighter than I was on that day. My relationship w/ Jenny has been fantastic. We did separate for a few months over last summer. I continued to lose weight on my own during that time.... but I really missed Jenny. I came back in September b/c Jenny just makes losing weight so convenient! Today at the gym two friends of mine were standing behind me while I spoke w/ someone else. They didn't realize I could hear their conversation.

Girl 1- Um- where did the other half of Sarah go?

Girl 2- I was wondering the same thing. I haven't seen her since Christmas and she looks like a different person.

About 10 minutes later I had moved around the room and got to talk w/ them.

Girl 1- Sarah! Where did the rest of you go!

Me- It is gone! Outta here!

Girl 2- You look great. I bet you are going to say, "It was easy", right?

Me- Thanks guys. I joined Jenny Craig a year ago. No- It has definitely not been easy.

I was flattered by the compliment. But "easy" is not a word I would use to describe the past year. Fast. Now that is a word I would use. If someone had told me before I started that this journey would take more than a year. Ha! I would have been so discouraged. I would have NEVER begun. I am so glad I did start though. I am a year older anyway, right? Yay for Jenny Craig!

Abs 500!

I had a good workout today. I am still nervous to run after it not working so great last week. So I took a long walk on my treadmill. 4.1 miles to be exact. Of course, I would rather be running. But all in all it was a nice walk. I did a weights routine and all of my physical therapy exercises too. I am doing a new abs routine as well. I love Billy Blanks Ab Boot Camp but it is 35 minutes long! I don't always have the time for it. So I have started my new routine.... Abs 500. For the past week every night I have done 500 crunches. I used to do 250 a night and I thought it was time to step it up a notch. I do all different kinds. Crunches on the exercise ball. Crunches w/ my legs up. Bicycle crunches. Side crunches. Lower abs. Upper abs. You name it. My trainer says that your abs are really able to take a beating and that you should work them out everyday. I say- I am sore!