making good use of my time

I got up this morning feeling a bit tired, but had plenty to do before I got to work at 1. However, I knew that I would not have a very active day overall. I ran out of time to enter my food info online at breakfast. Very glad that I only planned on 3 meals because my breakfast ended up being far over my calories on breakfast, but average on the other two. I thought, well, maybe tonight I will have something small.

Well today at work, I was working with a very active little girl. Unfortunately she was doing a slip n slide, and that wasn't something I was going to be doing, nor was I going to be running around after her at all while she did it. So, here's the first time today that I made a decision that I needed to be "making good use of my time". I had been sitting and reading and watching her. I decided that it was a big back yard, and thought...Jillian would say something like, "seriously, you're going to just sit there when you could be working out?". So, I knew it wouldn't be a huge work out or anything, but walking vs sitting, walking wins everytime. I did a ton of walking and there were some steps, so I even went up and down on the steps and just kept moving! There actually was a point earlier in the day when we were playing inside and I thought that doing my crunches while she played inside near me would be a good idea. Unfortunately, she decided she wanted to go play outside.

After entering all of my food on the bodybugg at about 9:00, it was clear that there would be no additional food tonight and that it was going to take a lot to reach my 1900 deficit goal. I also realized for the second time today that I needed to be "making good use of my time". I had to complete a few things at home before working out, and go take care of some pets. I was not really interested in working out, but I rememebered how I felt last night after I worked out for those few hours, so I just decided to stay at home and do another Wii work out with my ankle weights and weighted gloves. I knew that I didn't want to run because I just wanted to give my knee one more day to heal. Just wasn't up for swimming either. So, that's why I did the Wii work out.

Well, here are the results:
Calories consumed: 1387
calories burned: 3288
Calorie deficit: 1901
I made my deficit, it was close, i can't believe how close!!....but I made it!!

On another note, Losing it with Jillian had the season finale. I'm sure that if I watched on TV, I would have known that, but oh well. Bummer. I will probably watch the reruns of Biggest Loser to keep my focus and to remind me of the important things I need to. I also thought that some of the episodes might have challenges that I could use and adapt to what I am doing!

Tomorrow will be a busy day with a child care job and 3 pet sitting jobs, one of which is overnight! I will get my work out in though. I have also scheduled a racquetball game with my nephew for Saturday morning at 7am! Can't wait!!

Okay, what I learned today is that if you work at home(as a mom/dad), or as a child care provider, that doesn't need to be an excuse for not being active. Usually when the kids are playing by themselves and don't really want adult interaction, I have laundry or other things that need to be done in the house for the family that I am working with. However, if there is a time when I don't have those things to get done or when the child/children want me close by, but not really doing things with them, I can do something to keep my body active. If you have steps in the room, easy choice, but what if you have nothing, no weights, steps, well, jumping jacks, crunches, push ups, lunges. You get the point, right?

That was much longer than planned, but thanks so much for reading!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

magnificent day!!!

Turns out that I got 4 hours of sleep. That 1.5 hour nap helped to get me through the day. I am sooo happy that I made meals the night before. I was able to enter all of the food online into the BodyBugg program before leaving for work. I am trying to do that every morning when I eat my breakfast, then I know for sure how many calories I will be eating. I used to estimate, and was fairly close, but not exact, and I realized that I needed to be more exact.


At work today, it was great activity for sure!! I played hockey and won the game today..whoo hoo! We also walked to the park and played there. Then, miniature golf. My steps for the day were 22357!!! Most people shoot for 10,000 steps per day. It is very rare that I don't hit 10,000, but 22,357!!! My knee felt great all day, except right after the hockey game later in the afternoon.


It is now Thursday morning at 12:40am. I can't believe that I am still awake. Tonight my last meal was at 5:30. My Mona vie I always do later in the eve because I tend to sleep better then. So, after my long day, checking on the pets and hanging out with them for about an hour, I got home about 8. I was really tired. I didn't want to go to the pool or the gym. I really just wanted to go to sleep. I knew that I needed to burn some calories since Monday and Tuesday were realy not great deficits. So, I sat for a few minutes, had some water, and then put on my work out clothes. I did about 2.5 hours of Wii. I put on ankle weights and my weighted gloves too. I did some extreme working out, even though it was just regular Wii stuff. I can't believe how much I was sweating (sorry, not trying to be gross, just trying to illustrate the point that I was working hard). I did boxing for 10 minutes, and with the weighted gloves, awesome!! I also did "advanced step"(6 minutes) like 4 times and I did 3o minutes of "free step". I feel great, but my knee feels a little sore.

So, as you know, no watching "Losing it with Jillian" unless I hit 2000 calorie deficit, right? I had that goal in mind toinght, that's for sure. Well, here are my stats:
Calories consumed: 1550
Calories burned: 4003
Calorie deficit: 2453 !!!!

so, I am going take a nice hot bath, watch Losing It with Jillian on my computer and got to bed. I have a less busy day planned for tomorrow, so I plan to atttempt the C25K using the eliptical machine. Wish me luck!!

What I learned today was that I do need things to motivate me, and that I can choose to work out even if I have had an incredibly long, tiring day and don't want to work out. It is up to me to make the decision everyday.

Have a wonderful day and thank you for reading! I would love to read some of your comments.

It is Thursday night, I forgot to post this last night...I didn't do crunches on Monday or Tuesday, so I had 450 to do on Wednesday night. I did them at 3 different points of my work out. just wanted you to know!!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

tuesday

I am not doing too well with my weekly goals this week. Mainly the posting daily on the blog. I have been wiped out!! tuesday I worked only 10-4:30, checked some pets and then planned on going straight to the gym. I got home, and was so incredibly tired that I took an hour and a half nap before going to my meeting. After my meeting, I packed up my food(3 meals) for Wednesday. It saves so much time in the morning, but I really didn't want to do it on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, I had to be up at 4:45am on Wednesday, so there was no work out.

Calories consumed: 2931
calories burned: 1121 (waaay low)
calorie deficit: 1810

I didn't hit 1900 deficit, but for not working out at the gym, I did pretty well I think!

I know that there will be days where I just have too many obligations. Though my health and this challenge is my focus, I do have to earn a living, right? I know that I will only get about 4 hours of sleep Tuesday night, but knew that I had to get the food prepared, and I am not willing to give up my Tuesday night TEAM meeting. I think that taking the nap for 1.5 hours was a better choice than going to the gym.

More info tomorrow night for Wednesday. It will be a very long day, working 6:30am-6pm. Luckily it is close to home, as are the pets that I am watching!

I thought that I would mention that my knee was sore on Monday and again on Tuesday. At bedtime, I decided to take 2 aleve. I realy hate to do it, but I just really need some relief, it hurts so much! I am hoping that it will help.

Thanks for reading, and I am sorry for not hitting the goal of posting each day. Will make that a better focus after today.

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

frustration-weight in #5

Well, frustration is how I would describe my weigh-in today. I moved 1 pound closer to my goal today. 1 pound is better than a gain, so I am happy about it. I did so much swimming this week, and had calorie deficits every day, so I am a bit confused.

Like I have mention and been taught by some great leaders: plan do check adjust.

I think that one of the things that I realized is that I didn't drink enough water this week(check). I drink a lot of water, but with all of the working out, I know that I needed more and I am sure that could be a part of it(adjust). So, I increased my water for today. I also have been eating a last meal around 9 or 10(check). That is okay if I am going to bed at midnight or 1, which is usually the case. However, I want to try and stop that practice(adjust). So, today only 3 meals with the last one at about 6:30/7.

Tomorrow, I am going to really focus on calendars and planning eating and work out times around jobs. I will have limited to no time to work out tomorrow due to work and business meeting schedule. I also have to go to bed really early for a job on Wed at 6:30am!

Today I did no work out, and will even add my 150 crunches to tomorrow. I made ginger tofu stir fry(my 1 new recipe this week). I also made my GF tortillas. I am very tired now. This will be my one day off of working out, unfortunately.

oh,stats for today. 6.5-7 hours of sleep. calories consumed 1264, calories burned: 2943, toatl deficit: 1679.

off to bed now, thanks for reading.

Learning and Growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

for Sunday

Hi, it is Monday night, and again, I am very tired. Sorry to not have posted yesterday. Life is a bit crazy with pet sitting, work, the gym...life in general. I am finding it hard to make sure I get the sleep that I need. I am getting it, but seem to be waking up at about 6-6.5 hours every night, then try and go back to sleep. Strange to me, I'm sure that this will pass.

Sunday was another productive day. I did many things that I just needed to get done for me and day to day living. In addition, I made big charts around the house. One with my daily, weekly and monthly goals with rewards posted on them. I made a chart to track all of my measurements. Last i made a chart to track me getting to my goal weight. I went to the gym and did the treadmill for a little while, but my knee was really bothering me. So, I did weights after just a short time on the tread mill. Later in the evening, I went to 24 HR fitness since the pool at my apartment complex closes at 10pm. I did the bike for 20 minutes, then weights for about 40 minutes. Then, I did swimming in the pool. I did some running, but very little since the pool gets deeper on one end. It is longer than the pool at my apartment complex. My guess is double or close to double the length, but not totally sure. I did 61 lengths of the pool in 1 hour. It felt great, and I felt good that I was able to swim most of it. when my shoulder gave me trouble, I went on my back to swim.

calories consumed 1566, calories burned 3176..total deficit of 1610 on 07/25.

I was looking at all the information, and basically, I am going to just focus on a deficit of 1900 per day.

I felt tired all day. I have felt tired for days. I am taking my iron, my vitamin D and my multi vitamin. I have been getting my sleep. Need to figure out how to get more sleep with my schdule.

Oh, I did the C25K 5 times this week. The only problem is my knee. I was able to do the 3 minutes of running mentally, but my knee/shin is making it tough. In talking with a friend, I have decided to take her suggestion. I am going to do this week C25K challenge again, but on the elliptical machine. Speed up when it says run, slow when I am supposed to walk. When i do the elliptical now, it burns in my quad muscles after a minute of doing it, which tells me that my quads need to be strengthened. when i get through this week of it, i will probably continue the C25K training on there and as the muscles above my knee get stronger, switch back to the treadmill and regular running.

okay, have to go post for Monday. LOL

Thanks for reading!
Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

productivity

Today was a very productive day! I got many things done around the apartment and got two work outs in! I did plan on weights to, but doing the C25K and running/swimming for 50 minutes in the pool and my crunches of course, was enough for my muscles. What I learned is that I planned everything really well, but it would have made more sense to do the gym in the morning and swim at night, then I would have been able to do weights too. Well, tomorrow is another day!

I burned 3311 calories, consumed 1595, for a total deficit around 1715..not the end of the day yet so not totally sure of the hours.

Tomorrow will be another 2 work out day and it will include weights. I think I might try the eliptical tomorrow, and hope it will be good on my knee/shin. Today was strange. I did the C25K and my shin hurt a bunch, hard to walk afterwards. I iced it, 2 aleve, and my mona vie active, then went and checked on a pet. After swimming it felt totally fine. I am trying to reach my 5 pound goal for the week, so need to keep really busy tomorrow!!

I am a bit tired,so I am going to go.
thanks for reading

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

balance

What I mean is that I needed to get back to a more balanced place in my life. With all the work and working out, food prep, all of that stuff that I have been focusing on, I have neglected some things around the apartment! So, no excuse about not working out, this is my "down day" for working out. Like I have discussed before, I need some order when I walk into my apartment. So, I didn't sit around and watch tv, I didn't say, "ugg, I don't want to work out", I said, "wow, maybe I need more sleep or maybe this chaos is why I am losing things and feeling a little overwhelmed". I decided that I would have dinner, then I cleaned my entire apartment. I am also watching some pets, so I have to make sure that I go over there a couple of times a day for the next week or 2. If my space is cluttered, dirty, chaotic, then it is hard for me to continue to meet my commtiments and to move forward and not feel overwhelmed. I feel that all of us need this to an extent, but "order" is different for everyone. However, when I talk with people, they tell me, "I just have so much stuff! I don't know where to start." Now that I think about it, that is like what lots of people, myself included, say/have said about trying to lose a lot of weight. Do you know what I mean? Like it is so much weight, they don't know where to start, it just seems like an unsurmountable task. Does that make any sense? Well, one thing to say, it just takes making a decision every day to move closer to your goal.

A couple of updates; I think that I have mentioned that I am growing my hair out so that I can donate it. Well, I have had just one trim since December, and my hair was looking a bit unhealthy. So, I bit the bullet and paid for a good haircut. Here is the tip that I learned from my hairdresser. When you swim, make sure that you rinse your hair right after, and then use a clarifying shampoo to make sure all the chlorine gets out and your hair feels healthy. I knew I had to get the chlorine out, but didn't really think about a new shampoo..it slipped my mind.
Next, an update on my knee. I went to the chiropractor today. He said NOT to run on anything except the treadmill because it is better on my joints. I used to have a baker's syst in the center of my knee joint, and he said that might have come back, but seemed like my tendon was a bit strained. He gave me a couple of new stretches, including some leg extensions. The one in the gym is often too heavy for my knee joint-it clicks. So, it sounds like if I use my ankle weights and just sit on a chair and do the leg extensions, that will help my quad muscles.

Okay, stats for the day. 7 hours of sleep last night, calories consumed-1773, calories burned-3069 for a total deficit of 1296. Not a stellar day for calorie burn, but I still burned a calories, and I have a fairly open weekend to really work out a ton! Oh, I did do my 125 crunches so that I don't have 250 to do tomorrow :)

So, food for thought I guess is: If you are feeling overwhelmed in one or more areas of your life, think of how you can do just ONE thing today. Some people say that if they only do one thing a day, they will never finish. Though I understand that way of thinking, you might be surprised that once you go through that top rack in the closet, it feels so freeing that you just keep going until the 2nd rack is done. Also, if that doesn't happen and you only do one thing each day on that, that is one more thing than you did the day before on the project, right? good luck! I look forward to hearing all about it and cheering you on!!

Thanks for all of the support.

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

no excuses!

Today's topic..excuses! As David J. Schwartz calls it in his book "The Magic of Thinking Big"-excusitis, see chapter 2. Most of us have them for the things that we need to get done, but don't want to, right? We often say "I don't have the time". Well, we make the time if it is our priority...now you may be thinking, "no, really, I don't have the time!" Let's break it down a bit. Get a piece of paper and write down your goal. For this example, I will use my goal of getting to my ideal goal weight. If I think about each thing that I do during the day, is it leading me closer to or further away from my dream? (thanks Matt Abraham for that quote). If I know that I am short on time and need to get some food for my dinner, going to a fast food restaurant and getting fries, though they are quick, that would not lead me closer to my goal, but if I run into a grocery store and grab a banana and some rice cakes or nuts, that would get the meal quickly AND move me closer to my goal. Also, if I get home from work after a hard day, and choose to sit on the couch and turn on the TV and do nothing, that will not lead me closer to my goal. I am not saying that TV is a terrible thing necessarily, but it is not leading me closer to my goal, but goign to the gym will. I may be more tired, but I just take a shower and head to bed, right? So, I am challenging you to kick the excuses that you have for whatever goal you are reaching for. Let me know how it turns out!!

So, why do I bring up this topic tonight? Let me tell you about my day. I drove 20 min to an appointment, then drove an hour to a house sitting job, then drove an hour to my nanny job, then drove an hour to a house where I checked in with a family who is having me pet sit starting tomorrow, then 10 min drive to home...8pm when I got home. Though I was tired, I felt like I had been doing so much sitting, I wanted to work out. All day I had been telling myself, "when you get home about 8, you are going to try out your new water shoes and do some swimming and running in the pool for an hour." Oh, I needed to eat at 9:30. Well, that gave me 90 minutes, but since I had been driving so much and not had much activity, I felt tired and wanted to sleep, veg out, read, hang out on the computer. I thought about my goal. I looked at my goals that are up for me to see. Then, I went swimming/running in the pool for an hour, did 5 more lengths of the pool than last time. The pool was soooo cold when I got in, but then I got started and it felt great to do! I came home and had a quick dinner, and then changed clothes and went back to the gym because I knew I had about an hour more that I could work out before having to get to bed and I wanted to get more calories burned. Did I want to go back? Nope, I wanted to hang out in sweats, but again, revisited my goal and went to the gym and did weeek 3, day 3 of C25K!!! I looked ahead at next week, and I am terrified to do it! Oh, I also did a few weights.

Jillian talks a ton about goal setting in her book "Winning by Losing" if you are looking for some help with that. In addition, in "The Magic of Thinking Big", chaper 12 is a great resource for that too!!

For today, I got 6.5 hours of sleep, 1717 calories consumed, 3610 calories burned for a total deficit of 1893!

Thanks for reading! What's your excuse for not moving forward?

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

Week 3, day 2 of C25K

A very busy day again today, but in a good way!! I do better when I am busy, that's for sure. I had little to no pain in my knee/shin area all day, thanks to double dose of Mona Vie active blend and a noon dose of Aleve too. As much as I don't want to take Aleve, or any medication, I think that for a c,ouple of days, I have to do it.

Well, there was confusion about a job that I was doing tonight. I planned on going out to eat with the little boy, but that didn't happen. So, I ended up missing a meal...sort of. I stopped at a new gluten free bakery in San Carlos, called Zest. I'll post the link. Well, I got a gluten free baguette and a loaf of sunflower, flax and sesame seed bread. I ate a little bit since it was meal time. However, when I got home, I was famished!! I had a taco salad..I used a vegie and gluten free seasoned taco meat, black olives, some Gf tortilla chips, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts and salsa... YUM!!

I really didn't want to work out, because I was worried about my knee. But, I did want to do the run, because my knee felt so good. Sort of strange, I know. Well, part way through the run, it did start to hurt a little. I pushed through and did the run again, it felt so good to push through it! I was trying to hit my 2000 calorie deficit so that I could watch Losing it with Jillian on my computer tonight, so I stayed in the gym and did weights. I decided that I would push the knee some more, so I did the leg press...I worked up to 210 pounds (3 sets of 10) and then I did the same weight for my calfs too! After that I did a ton of arm exercises. I also did a total of 250 crunches since I totally forgot yesterday.

The results today...calorie burn 3651, consumed: 1616, total deficit: 2035!! So, I hit my goal and will watch the show while I soak in a tub. By the way, I did my Mona Vie when I got back and my knee feels totally fine. I plan to swim tomorrow for sure and take a day off of the running...I think.

So, are you ready for a challenge?? How about you try a whole day with no soda? Can you do it?? I know for some of you, it is pretty tough, but I remember when I quit soda, I was 21. It was terrible. However, eventually, I felt so much better!! I have had sodas here and there throught the past 21 years, but it was never a regular thing, and it was more of an exception to my day to day life than a regular occurrance. I don't recall the last time that I had one. Let me know how you do.

I just had to say one last thing after soaking in the tub and watching Losing it.***if you haven't seen it and plan to watch, then wait to read the rest of the blog..it will spoil it** She helped a family this week, and it was great to see the 10 year old boy see the importance of the changes that Jillian recommended. What was really great to see is the parents take responsibility for the way their family was AND how they could set the example in their house to help their entire family. Jillian helped them see that the son was following the example set by his dad, and mom, but was identifying more with the dad. They all looked so much happier and healthier just six weeks later. I will be thinking more and more about the example that I am setting.

Until next time...

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

fight through the pain..for now

I will make it quick, I really need to get to bed!

I added some "buttons" to the bottom of each post, now you can post these directly to facebook, twitter, etc.

I worked today, then had to drive 45 min each way to a place I am house sitting, then to my TEAM meeting. By the time I got home, it was 11:25pm. I knew I couldn't swim at my apartment complex, and I really didn't want to go to 24 hour fitness to swim, because I have an early morning tomorrow. I guess I should explain that I talked to a veteran runner tonight at my meeting, and talked to her about my knee. Well, I took her tip (thanks Linda V) and ended up doing day 1 of week 3 of the C25K!!! it was a 5 min warm up , 90 second run, 90 second walk, 3 min run, 3 min walk..that cycle, 2 times, then a 5 min cool down. I wore my knee brace, had my new running shoes and my ankle brace. Though it hurt a little, I pushed through the discomfort and did all!

I met my calorie consumed goal, was a little under on my burn, but overall deficit of 1374!...ugg, just remembered, I have to do my crunches still!! It is strange, the way the body bugg works is that the day ends at midnight, but I often don't go to bed until 2am. So, some of my calorie burn is often recorded on the next day. So, my calorie burn doesn't always include everything..however, I do try and complete all of my activity by midnight.

What did I learn today? My food planning for today worked fabulously!! pushing through the discomfort is okay, and though 3 minutes of running sounded daunting, it really wasn't too bad. I am not running at a huge speed only 4.5, but it's faster than I was running a month ago. :)

Tomorrow I plan to hit 2000 calorie deficit, so that I can watch Tuesday's episode of Losing it.

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

weigh-in #4

How did you do on your goals this past week? My goal for the week was 5 pounds, but as I predicted, it was less. My guess was 3 and I got 2.8 pounds closer to my goal when I weighed-in this morning.

I am going to work on logging my food on the computer in the morning, because the calories I comsume seem to be higher than I have planned for.

I did try a new thing this past week that I forgot to tell you about. I love potatoes, how about you? Well, I have tried to focus on only 1 serving of them per week. This past week, I par boiled a red potato for about 10 minutes, sliced it, then used my Misto and added garlic powder and rosemary and put on my grill pan. It was sooo delicious! This week I am going to try a new recipe for ginger lemon chicken. I will be substituting tofu for the chicken though. Not sure which day I will cook it, but I will keep you posted on how it tasted! Tonight I cooked some roasted potatoes and onion with garlic, rosemary and olive oil. I also made some brown jasime rice. So, I plan to freeze some and have some during the week. I also found a new gluten free salsa, and plan to make tortillas this week, so I can make some burritos!

Let me tell you a little about my day. I got to sleep in, and didn't have to be at work until 1pm. Right when I got there, I was busy with 3 little girls and then the girls, their parents and grandmother and I went to miniature golf. Lots of walking around, but obviously, not a work out. I also missed my 3:30 meal so ate it at about 6. I got off early, at 5:40, so I was thinking about the work outs I was going to do. However, due to the traffic in the bay area and stopping to get produce at Whole Foods on my way home,I finally got home about 8:15. I knew that I was totally beat, and I needed to eat at about 10, but I knew that I HAD to work out. I had decided on swimming, and there are pools here at my apartment complex that close at 10pm or the gym a mile away open 24 hours, but I soooo didn't feel like swimming! Well, I just bit the bullet and got my swim suit on and went to the pool at 8:50pm. The length of the pool is about 20-25 yards I am going to ask at the apartment office tomorrow. Well, I swam and ran, using my arms, in the pool. I did a total of 115 lengths of the pool which, if my calculations are correct, works out to about 2330-2875 yards tonight! That's 1.30681 miles to about 1.63352 mi. My knee is still sore a little, but it didn't hurt to do the exercise, so I think that I will stick to this for now! Oh, by the way, the swimming felt GREAT! I will be adding in weights too, but didn't do any tonight. Oh, but of course, I did my 125 crunches.

What I noticed about today is that I can choose to make the time to work out, even when I am tired. I would be tired whether I worked out or not, so why not be a little more tired, be healthier and just get it done, right?

I would love to hear what some of your favorite brown bag lunches are! I know that I have dietary restrictions, but I can modify a lot of things that other people eat, so let me hear what you're eating!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

a bump in the road.....

I hope that you all had a wonderful Sunday!

I had a more productive Sunday than I did Saturday, that is for sure! I am not sure of my calorie break downs for Friday and Saturday, because I lost the paper that had all of the foods that I ate and amounts. I will say that my calorie burn for Saturday didn't even hit 2000!!! so ridiculous.

Okay, let's focus on Sunday. Today I was more active, left the house, went to the gym and did 250 crunches because I did none on Saturday at all. I did the C25K tonight, but the knee discomfort is still there. I think I may break down and go to the doctor. It hurts just to lift my leg up to walk, put on a shoe, and when I run for sure. It actually is less the knee and more the discomfort that radiates down from the knee to my ankle. I did notice that if I run on my toes, it hurts less. I I guess I will be in the pool to get my work outs done, along with some weights maybe I will start with the yoga on the wii, we'll see.

Tomorrow is my weigh in and though my goal is 5 pounds, my guess is that I will only hit 3 pounds.

You know how I was have mentioned getting to the bottom of why we have challenges with food? In Jillian's book, "Winning by Losing" this is something she talks about being so important. That book is also great for talking about goal setting. Well, I was driving today and a thought came to me. I don't really know if it is my reason, but maybe it is, or maybe it is for you, I don't know. I started to think about how are all told that we need to put ourselves first sometimes if we want to succeed in our health and fitness goals. I know this is something that is hard for so many people, I am at the top of the list. I have been taking time for myself in this past month, that's for sure. Here's what popped into my head today: Maybe if I put so much focus on me, that will take away from the people I care about, the kids I look after and the families that I help. I don't know if that is one of the reasons that I have sabotaged myself in the past, subconsciously, but I guess that it could be. I mean it came into my head for some reason. I think that what I need to do is really think about this. I need to remember that if I am not healthy, then no matter what, I can't help anyone at all. So, for now, I need to make short term sacrafies for long term gain. I guess that the lesson learned here is to keep really thinking about the why, not just what I am doing to work out, consume calories, whatever.

There is a great facebook page: minimalist journey, that is attatched to a website also: http://www.minimalistjourney.com/ Many of you have expressed that the thing that is hitting home so much is the decluttering that I talked about. Well, this minimalist journey website is awesome. I don't think I am going to take it to this extreme, but it is a great place to go to really think about all of the things that we have.

That's all for now, time for me to get to sleep!

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful week!!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

Friday and Saturday

I am combining Friday and Saturday, because when I got off of work Friday, I was just feeling really tired and my knee was really sore, and I was tired. Also, though better on Saturday, my knee and my shin were still hurting a bit so very little activity.

Saturday was a complete down day with not one commitment scheduled, so I watched dvd's, did stuff around the house, tons of stuff on the computer, but very little working out.

Friday night I soaked in the tub and finally watched the episode of Losing it that I "earned" for having the 2000+ deficit day. The thing I liked was that even though they parents didn't lose a ton of weight in the 6 weeks while Jillian was gone, the family learned to better communicate, put their children and their health first, and set a better example for their children. Like me, their journey is taking a different path than massive weight loss right away. They had to focus on their relationships and the reason WHY they were eating, and not healthy before they could really make such a commitment to lose all of their weight.


The bodybugg site is down for maintenance, so I can't post everything for Friday and Saturday, but I know I had a deficit of about 1100 cals on Friday, and Saturday, my guess is that I didn't have a deficit at all today..if I did, it was very small.

I have set up a page on facebook called Jillian inspired journey and on twitter it is jillianinspired . so, you can follow mini posts there if you would like.

Here's what I learned in the past 2 days: I have actually realized that one day a week of rest is not a bad thing, and I need to stop feeling guilty about that. Relaxing has never been my strength, but if I want to have a balanced and healthier life, then I need to get better at that.

I am aiming for a better day tomorrow as far as fitness goes, and I have to do my day three of the C25K! I am hoping the knee is totally better..and my new running shoes that I ordered, I get to pick up tomorrow at the office where I live. whoo hoo, that will help, I'm sure!

Happy Sunday to you all!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

busy day..i'm beat

My day began at 5:15am...no, not to work out, but because I had to be at work 7:30am..an hour away. I worked with 2 families today, and my meals ended up being all messed up as far as timing!! However, it was a great, active day with very little down time, just the kind of day I enjoy!

Calories consumed: 1703
calories burned: 4013
deficit: 2310

So, here were the food challenges today. I packed food thinking I would eat certain things at certain places. Unfortunately, I wasn't where I planned when I planned to eat. So, I ate less at certain times, and I didn't eat at the 4 hour mark. I think that having food that I don't need to heat might be the key, but it's tough when I bring 2-3 meals with me in a day. Any suggestions?

So, you can see that I had a long day, and the last thing that I wanted to do when I finally got home at about 9:15pm,was work out. However, I wanted another 2000 calorie deficit day. I had to do a few things online, and deal with some job things, finally about 10:30 or so, I popped in my jillian michaels 2010 ultimatum for the Wii. I did the set up and began the work out. The push up killed me, but I did the 5 min run(running in place, so not super fast), and some of the exercises. But, like I said, the push ups didn't work out for me. My muscles were too fatigued and my shoulder was hurting. So, I did Wii fit instead, for an hour, along with my 125 crunches.

Tomorrow I have my C25K work out, and this weekend, I plan to swim for sure.

Thanks for reading!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

i hit my goal!!

What a great day! I was not hungry all day, and I ate so few calories! It's about using my calories smart I guess!!

Today started out really great! I think I am actually starting to like the workout in the morning thing. Not super early, today was 9am. I did my C25K today and it went really well! It really is just the knee that is bothering me, but like I said before, mentally and breathing still going great, and I returned to my original pace. Still not fast, but faster than I was 3 weeks ago, right?! I unfortunately had a pretty sedentary afternoon with the little girl I was watching, so not so many calories burned. Luckily, I had a really light lunch! I am so used to being active, it is hard for me to sit for a long period of time. So, tonight, I got home at 8pm, ate my dinner, worked out(I did some running!! I also did a ton of weights and then the Wii for 30 minutes)

I actually consumed only 1133 calories, burned 3228 for a total deficit of 2095! So, I can watch Losing it with Jillian. However, it is getting late and I need to get up early, so I am headed to bed.

I wasn't sure if I would hit my calorie burn goal, but I made a decision to do it and even when I wanted to stop doing weights, I wanted the goal more. So, I pushed through and hit it!!

Thanks for reading!
Learning and growing into a healthier me.
~Cindy Lou

Learning lessons

Well, good day of learning lessons!!!

I was under on my calories consumed, I think...more explanation in a minute
also under on my calories burned. Luckily I still had a deficit of 1267 calories.

The first lesson learned was..bring your dinner on Tuesdays, and don't plan on going out!!! I actually went to whole foods, got some cabbage salad and some roasted red potatoes. Overall pretty good choice, but 1: I spent $ I didn't need to spend and 2: I don't know the actual calorie count. I DID get all the groups..carb, protien and fat, so that is still good. Since I didn't know the actual calorie count for the meals, I had to estimate..so, not sure if my calories are totally accurate..I think that they are probably pretty close, though! Lesson #2 learned..pack food, always!!!

Second lesson was learned at about midnight when I "sync'd" my bodybugg and saw my calories burned were too low. I knew that I wasn't as active today, and knew that I had a meeting from 8-10 and wouldn't be able to go to the gym. I did a ton on the Wii(no, I didn't do the Jillian ultimatum 2010, my knee is still a little bad, and I need it okay for running tomorrow)from 11-12, but it wasn't enough at all! What I learned was that I need to work out in the morning on tuesdays and/or when I take kids to the park, I need to be more active, not just follow them around. I could have been walking around the park in circles, stepping up and down on the play structure or the curb..just being more active. SO, lesson #2 learned!!

I was going to try and use my ankle/wrist weights tonight to increase my calorie burn while doing the Wii, but they need to be returned..they don't stay on my legs properly. I will have to go to Big 5 or something and look at a wide variety of them to find better ones. Do any of you have ones that work really well for you that you can recommend?

Oh, I talked to a personal trainer tonight about the knee and what exercises I could do to strengthen that muscle above the knee. She recommended squats for sure, and some lunges done with proper form. Also, she recommended using one of those exercise balls against a wall and do squats that way. I remember seeing that in Jillian's book too, I think!! It wasn't specifically listed to help those muscles, but it's there.

Tomorrow will be a busier day, and I will make sure that I have more hours dedicated to working out!!

I want to watch "Losing it with Jillian" online tomorrow, but I can only do it if I reach a goal. The goal I am setting is that I will have an overall deficit of 2000 calories. I will not watch the show until I achieve that goal!

Thanks again for reading!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

weigh in #3 and C25K..week 2

How are all of you doing? Have any of you set any goals?

Weigh in...4.1 pounds closer to my goal!!!

Well, I set out to get 8 hours of sleep, but woke up after 6...I was able to go back to sleep and got in another hour. So, I guess I met my sleep goal. I actually did a little working out this morning, worked and then did a work out tonight!! So, overall calorie deficit of 1985!!

Tonight's workout I did the C25K..this routine is 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking. Since my knee is bothering me, I slowed both the walk and run by .2. My mental attitude and breathing was good, but my right knee seemed worse tonight. I iced my knee and will double up on my mona vie active blend for the next couple of days, I am hoping that helps. I think some Ben Gay might help a little too; We'll see if it is needed.

I made a purchase tonight to improve any workouts I do at home and to add to my overall activity at home too. I bought some ankle/wrist weights($14) and a set of dumbells that can be as heavy as 40 pounds each($20)..both at walmart! I will be using the ankle weights when I do the free step and when I do the boxing, I'll put on my wrists, it will be great to increase the calorie burn! In addition, I purchased what I hope to be the last of the glass containers(instead of plastic). I am following Jillian's advice and I have gotten rid of all of my plastic storage containers, plastic utensils, teflon pans...more on the steps in the book another time.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. Remember me being a slug on Saturday? Well, I did 200 crunches on Sunday to make up for Saturday. Also, today I increased my crunches to 125.

Tomorrow I am determined to try Jillian's Wii 2010 ultimatum. I might take a break from the gym, or maybe I'll just do the eliptical or swimming!

I am off for now, thanks for reading!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

run, run, run

Well, it is official, I am NOT a morning person. I guess I really knew that, but thought that I would let you know that. :) I got my 8 hours and used a different pillow, and my neck feels so incredible!!

Well, I didn't hit my calorie burn, I was way below on my calories consumed. I had planned on certain work out times, and a business meeting that I thought wasn't going to happen, did. I was really happy about that, but it threw off the work out schedule. But, I did have a calorie deficit of 1428 anyway!

For the majority of the work out I was alone in the gym. I wasn't doing the C25K training, but I was on the treadmill and decided to do a couple of different things to see how I did. I usually walk at 3.5 and run at 4.5. Today I walked at 3.5 and then decided to run just at 4.0 and see how long I could run. I ran for 3 minutes!!!Since there was noone in the gym, it gave me an opportunity to try some things that I usually don't, because I have never tried those pieces of equipment before and want to try without anyone around. So, I did a TON of different weight machines and free weights, so that was exciting! Also, on both the Biggest Loser and on Losing it with Jillian, she has the people on the treadmill do sprints. So, with noone around I tried some. Maybe these speeds are slow to most of you, but for me, they are sprints. So, I sped up to 6.0...I ran the sprint for 30 seconds! Then, I waited a few minutes. It was bothering my knee, but wanted to try one more sprint at 8.0. I ran it for only about 10 seconds, but it was really hurting my knee. I know this will change, but it was too uncomfortable. I lowered to 7.0, and ran that for 30 seconds also! I hope that my body will respond to these sprints and that I have the confidence to do more each day!! I would love to hear at what speed you all run.

Tomorrow is weigh in..can't wait. I have a 5 pound goal..wish me luck!!!

Thanks again for the reading and the input.

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

Saturday..slug day

Hi, well, I got my 8 hours of sleep and a nap, that's the good news. I had a very small calorie deficit..less than 1000. I had a very full day of activities around the house and then driving and a lot of sitting..ugg. I was below on consumed calories, which is fabulous!! Everything I read says that having one day of not being active is important. I don't think it means I need to do nothing, but that is what I had time for today. Tomorrow will be an active day around the house and working out after I get a very full night of sleep..in just a few minutes!!

I talked to a couple of friends that are nurses about my "goal weight". One said to just make sure that you are happy, that your blood work is good and pay more attention to how your body feels and how you feel about yourself. Oh, and that she doesn't go off of the weight/height charts. The other one told me to focus on BMI, but if I had to put a weight on it, then I might want to shoot for 10 pounds heavier than my current goal. Well, good info from both. As far as the BMI, like I told her, when I hit the 60 pound mark, I will reevaluate my goal and when I get to 80 pounds, I will focus more on BMI. I also agree with the first friend. It is very important how your body feels when exercise(especially paying attention to my joints) and how I feel about myself.

I guess I feel like I need to address this. Most people, myself included, say "it isn't about the size you are, it is about how you feel about yourself, and if you are healthy, and if you are a good person." By all of my stats, with the exception of my weight, I am in good health. I do my best to treat others well, and overall, I feel good about the person that I am. However, for better or worse, I look at the person I want to be and the life that I would like to have and the example that I want to set, and I want to make changes. It isn't because I feel that I have to look a certain way, but because the person that I want to be is a person that can conquer this challenge to be a healthier weight and feel better and do better when i am doing different sports. Changing will make me feel better about me, not because of how I look, but because of the accomplishment and the example I can set for others. Does that make any sense to you? I hope so. with that said, I am leaving my goal weight where it was, and will make adjustments as I move closer to the goal. Muscle weights more than fat, and I already have quite a bit of muscle and the potential for much more. So, I will need to see how my body changes in the next couple of months.

I would love to hear your suggestions on your favorite work-out tunes. My friend, Juile, and I were talking aboutwhat we listen to when we are working out along with where we like to work out. So, I am looking for input from all of you...
1-where to you prefer to work out (like walking or running)?
a. the gym
b. a track
c. the outdoors
2-what do you listen to when you work out?
a. audio books--your favorite ones?
b. music--if you like music, what are some of your top picks to listen to?


I am off to bed for a great 8 hours of sleep and tomorrow I look forward to 2 different work outs!

thanks again for reading. I look forward to your comments!!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

Friday...taking to the open road

It is very early on Sunday morning, and Saturday was a long day. So, this might be short.

Stats for Friday...
I didn't get 7 hours of sleep, but I will make it up sleeping in on Saturday morning for sure.
calories burned: 4348
calories consumed: 1490
calorie deficit: 2858

I have to tell you about the day though, it was great!! I was in Pleasanton in the morning at a house where I do some work. I didn't want to go to the gym, and I knew I had a few hours to kill, so I decided that I would do my C25K work out there, out in the open and not on a treadmill. I have to say, I was not thrilled about the idea. I forgot my knee brace, so a little bit of concern there. Also, there are a few inclines, and when I use the treadmill, I don't do inclines at this point..mainly because of my knee. Well, I did it!!! I was not having a ton of trouble with it either, it was amazing!! I looked at my phone where I have the app, and saw that I was about to have to run. I was headed up a little hill, and I told myself, "you can do this, only 2 more runs left." It was getting tough. I knew I couldn't stop..then all of a sudden I heard....the VOICE. Yes, Jillian Michaels, "you're seriously going to stop, seriously..you have 2 runs left..get moving!" So, duh, I did! That 60 second run ended and I was walking uphill and thinking okay, you can do this, one more run, you can do this..then, it went into "cool down" mode!!! I was so thrilled that my body was up for another run, and I didn't have to do one!! Then, I was walking the rest of the way back to the house, and the last song I heard, as I was walking up to the house was Garth Brooks, "We shall be free". It was waaay perfect timing and it was so great!!

When I got back to the house I even did more on the wii there. After work, I even did more!!

Overall, a really great day!!

I was worried to take the run to the open road. Once again, I broke through my limiting belief.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to read!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

just thinking

Not much to say about today. I can't sync my bodybugg because the site is down for maintenance. I will sync tomorrow and fill you in.

I got my "reward" for getting 10 puonds closer to my goal. I bought a DVD. Do you even care what it is? Well, it has 2 movies on it: Kate and Leopold and Serendipity, and it was only $10. I just happened to see it at Target. Maybe I'll get something more exciting next time.

Today I had grand plans to work out at the place where I was going to need to be while the carpets were being cleaned. Well, the pool was freezing, and I had to run an errand. I did end up doing the Wii for about 45 minutes. Tonight I did my 100 crunches and did 30 minutes of free step on the Wii. Nothing too exciting, but I'm pretty sure that I made my calorie burn goal.

I did great with eating every 4 hours, but remember the eat like a king at breakfast, prince for lunch, then 2 paupers..well, the last pauper got a crown, I ate like a king at dinner too. I went a little over in my calories. I have to tell you why. I found a great pizza crust. I didn't make a pizza though, I cooked it and dipped it pasta sauce. It tasted fantastic and reminded me that I can eat anything that I want, so I don't need to over induldge, I can eat the remainder at another meal. I think that I was just so happy to find a gluten free crust that actually tasted really good, that I ate more than I needed to. I felt tired soon after that, and it was too big of a meal. Again, another lesson learned!

Here's what I'm noticing. Now that I plan to eat 4 times a day, and I know roughly how many calories to eat at each meal, and I know to make sure there is a carb, fat and protien at every meal, I don't really think about food too much. I mean I think about all the planning for it, and what I will be having later in the day and stuff, but because of my schedule, I used to not really know when I was going to eat, and I might have to run and grab something. I would have an idea of when my meals would be, but never really made the timing so much of a focus. I know that I can eat anything, I just budget it in, and work out more if I eat above on my calories. I remember when I was growing up if I had leftovers or a food that I liked, I would not want to leave it because someone else might eat it. Maybe that is why I have that old habit of over indulging. i think that I was worried that I wouldn't be able to have more of that item in the near future. Does that make any sense?

My meals are planned for tomorrow, and I do day 3 of week 1 of C25K..wish me luck!

I am off to bed. I will be working out in the morning and in the eve, only one short job tomorrow. whoo hoo!

learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

yee haw!!!

I can not believe it!!!

Okay, only 6.5 hours of sleep last night, but took a 30 min nap this eve. About to go bed in one hour, so I will get my 7 hours in tonight.

So, at the first job today, 2 games of hockey, then at job #2 today, running around with 3 children and then to the park. After my eve nap, a short walk, then did my
C25K and NO CRAMPS!! I wore my knee brace, so my knee felt better, the running was waaay easier today and then I increased all my weights. The crunches were easier, so I may increase by 25 sooner than next monday, we'll see. Did Wii for only 30min, and if you have not done Wii Fit Plus, try it and do the rhythm march. I did a PERFECT MARCH tonight for the 2nd time it is sooo fun! I didn't do my meditation, because after this, I am going to relax in the bath and watch Losing it with Jillian on the computer before bed.

Here are the stats:
calories consumed: below target
calories burned: waaay over target
calorie deficit: 3032!!!! that is almost a pound in one day!!

I have not really felt hungry all day. I wasn't on time with my eating on my lunch, but it all worked out in the end. Need to make food that is easier to eat in the car between jobs for those days that I go from one to another.

Meals are planned for tomorrow and I can't wait for another huge calorie burn!!

Must go relax in tub and then get some sleep. Thanks so much for reading..do you have any comments for me??? click the comment link below.

I will be adding to the blog tomorrow, sorry I missed it today, but sleep is more important right now.

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

keep moving

Okay, it has been a long day, and I just need to get to bed so this will be short!

above on calorie consumed and burn targets, but overall deficit is 1528. So, if i just go by my deficits, then I have burned 1 pound in the last 2 days. I will have a more successful activity level the rest of the week, because I need to hit 5 pounds closer to my goal this week.

Okay, since I had a meeting late, didn't have a ton of time and just did Wii for about 45 minutes. The cool thing that I have been doing each night at the end of every Wii session is the thing where you sit on the Wii balance board, and just relax and focus. I do it the max time..3 minutes. I use that time for meditating and visualizing. I visualize me at my goal weight, and doing the things that I want to do when I hit that weight. I feel so peaceful when I am done.

I have rewritten my goals with dates on them. I will really work on the blog tomorrow night and post the updates with dates. After I type this, I will be doing my crunches..I just remembered..ugg. I plan to do 100 per day. Each week I will increase that goal by 25 crunches. My friend's 14 year old son, Marcus, does 200 sit ups per night and some push ups too, it's impressive. I'm not to the push ups yet. I will add that into my goals and pick a date to start them.

Need sleep!!

Oh, thought for the day...Revisiting and visualizing goals daily and course correcting as needed helps keep you focused on the end result!

Thanks for reading! What are some of your goals?? Mine for tomorrow is to tackle a task in Jillian's book, "Master your Metabolism". I'll let you know how it goes.

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

Weight in #2 and...the drive is back

Well, the energy and drive is back. The slug has slinked away!

Weigh in #2 results... I am 3 more pounds closer to my goal! So, that hits my first goal of 10 pounds. My reward for the first 10 pounds is that I get to buy myself a DVD this week!!

I got 7 hours of sleep.
way below on calorie intake target
way above on calorie burn target
calorie deficit: 2126
now THAT was a physically productive day!!

I started the C25K program over. Saturday I didn't touch the handrails, and today after each run, I was holding the handrails. Not to be lazy, but because I hurt. Mentally it was easier, but I got a cramp in both of my sides, it was strange. I have gotten the cramp each time I have done this program, but today it was much worse. Any suggestions from any of you runners?

After that, I lifted weights, then did Wii for an hour. I also had a ton to do around the house, so got a ton of activity done then too, so that was great!!

I am looking forward to another very productive day tomorrow. Starting on Wednesday, I will be attacking Jillian's book and walking through some of the steps and letting you know my progress on those steps.

Last, some people have told me that my goal weight is not correct for my height and age. I have looked it up online and my goal is pretty realistic. However, as I get closer, I will revisit the topic. Thanks to all of you for your concern!!

That's all for now, and tomorrow, I will not do the C25K(supposed to do every other day) so it will be a different work out, and crunches will be involved.

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

I think that I'm a slug

Well, it all starts with a dream, right? I had the dream..In fact, I had 8.5 hours of dreams last night...LOL.

Well, I had ideas for today, and instead, I was basically a slug. I didn't do the
C25K tonight..basically, like I said, I was a slug. I felt out of sorts all day, and I'm not quite sure why. I did eat below target on calories, but I was also a little below on calories burned, so overall, my "last chance work out day" gave me a deficit of only 977 calories. I am trying to look at the positive and be happy that I still had a deficit.

Yesterday when I went to bed, I remembered something I wanted to mention last night. So, I was in the gym last night and there were 2 guys working out, and then some other people came out. A few stares from people. It's funny, noone likes someone who is overweight but they think it's bad to see them work out. It reminded me of the saying "the people that mind don't matter, and the people who matter don't mind." or something close to that. It's true. I had to remind myself of all of you cheering me on. Not those people looking at me running. Then, when I was running again, I started thinking a different way. I decided that they were looking at me and thinking, "wow, look at that girl, she's that big and is running, what's my excuse? I think that is great!" I started standing taller when I was running.

Okay, a new day tomorrow, and a good night's sleep coming up!

thanks for reading!

Learning and growing into a healthier me.
~Cindy Lou

couch to 5-death..I mean 5K

Saturday: a day of no work, and lots of errands and things to do.

Let's start with the positive:
Calorie intake: below target
Calorie burn: above target
Calorie deficit: 1807!!!!
Sleep: 8 hours plus a nap in the middle of the day! fun bonus :)

Well, the couch to 5K, day 2 was hard, but mainly easier than yesterday. So all I have to say is running is just wrong. I mean if we were meant to run, then we would have saber tooth tigers chasing us all day, right? I hope you're laughing a little after that one!! I could walk miles and miles, but this running thing, I'm not so sure about. I know it is something that I WILL be able to do, and it will just take time to train my body to do it, but I can't see me saying "I love to run!"...ever. I think that I subconsciously I want to be able to say that I love it, but mainly because then it means I have a cut, ripped and healthy body. I am thinking that I may need to redo week one next week to make sure that I am ready for week 2.

I had a somewhat busy day, but as far as working out...I did the C25K program, lifted a few weights, and then home to do the Wii for 30 minutes. I just LOVE rhythm parade on the Wii. All of those years of marching band are paying off :)

Tomorrow is Independence Day, and I will be blasting Martina McBride's song with the same title, along with celebrating my new found independence. I will also be unloading the remainder of my car and loading up stuff from the place I was petsitting and unloading that--that sounds like a big enough work out for me, LOL. New goals will be posted at home. Last chance work out before weigh-in on Monday!!

Thanks for reading and have a safe and happy 4th of July!!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

couch to 5k

Howdy all! Well, more and more people are telling me that they are reading and liking my blog, but my "followers" is not increasing, come on, click the button :)

Okay, it was a strange day. I went to bed at 2am (bad) slept until about 10am (good, 8 hours of sleep). Unfortunately that is not on the schedule for eating, so it was strange. However, I was less hungry all day, and I ate fewer calories.

I didn't go over on consumed calories, and I didn't quite burn as many as my goal, but my deficit was 1845 calories!

New things today..
I tried something called "mochi". Okay, either I cooked it wrong, or it is just gross to me.
I also tried a new gluten free bagel made by "Udi's". Can I just say.."OMG!!" After not eating a real bagel, and having an okay gluten free bagel, this was seriously to die for!!! I ate a bagel with peanut butter (Santa Cruz organic 100% natural dark roast crunchy) for breakfast, and I wasn't hungry at the 4 hour mark, I actually missed my 4 hour mark (not good) and ate it at 5 hours. For dinner, ginger stir fry!! I made enough for 5 servings, and stored in glass containers, as I have rid my house of the majority of plastic containers because it is best for us and the environment, AND Jillian recommends it in her book. Since I am doing my best to follow all of her recommendations, I have been gradually weeding out the plastic and have made the switch to glass storage.

The last new thing today was starting the "couch to 5K" program. It is 3 days a week, you are supposed to rest a day in between, but I didn't really know that, so this week, I will do it all in a row. It is a downloadable app on my Google droid phone, I think that you can download on iphone too, but not totally sure. It is pretty cool. It was a total of 28.5 minutes. 5 min warm up and then walk for 90 seconds, run for 60 seconds, then a cool down walk. It was fairly easy at first, but I got a cramp half way through. Did I want to stop? YEP, sure did. However, once again, Jillian's voice raged in my head, "Seriously, you can't do this? Get your hands off the handrails!! Push through, you can do this, come on, you know you can!!" What is really great about this program is that you see the time counting down, until you get to walk. It will also beep when it is time to switch to the next thing (run or walk). The pattern changes next week, we'll see how it goes then! The program is 9 weeks long. So, I am going to run a 5K either with a group or by myself, in September, possibly October. I just looked and there is one in Aptos on October 9, 2010 at http://www.active.com/ . However, I will be looking online for other options also. I will decide in the next couple of weeks.

All in all, today was a success to me. Now to get to sleep, get my 8 hours in. I have no work this weekend, so there will be more work outs for sure!!!

There are plenty of sites to see the couch to 5K program info, i got it free on Droid phone, the one online has a cost. It looks like there are also facebook groups for people doing the C25K. So get off the couch and join me, and maybe you can run the 5K with me in 9-12 weeks!!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~cindy Lou

the promise of sleep

last night I found out that I will not be pet sitting for the month of July, so I went and packed up all of my things at the house that I had left there. It will make the working out easier, that's for sure.

Today(Thursday)was a great day! I know I mentioned it in previous blog, but it is amazing how great I felt when I woke up this morning. It took me a little while to wake up, but then, I got up, and looked at my clean and organized apartment. It was a great way to start out the day!!! I didn't wake up feeling weighed down by knowing that I had to still fold laundry, clean the kitchen, etc.

New food today. A wonderful gluten free Udi's au naturel granola. Not only did it taste fabulous, but it was really filling too! As a reward for last week of meeting my daily and weekly goals, I got sushi(vegetarian) for my dinner. Not sure how to count that as far as calories, but think that I did okay.

I am finding it difficult to have the food prepared for the day when I don't know if I will be by a kitchen to heat things up, or if I need to make something that needs to be uncooked. I also don't know what will be going on with the children that I will be watching, so I find myself in a strange situation. what I am noticing is that I will still have 2 hours until my next meal, I'm not hungry at all, but I am not sure if I will have the opportunity to eat at the right time, so then I start to sort of stress out. I just mean internally, not outwardly. I am getting better about taking it in stride.

Today, again, I went over on calories. Each day this week that I have gone over in calories, it wasn't because I ate more than 4 meals, or because I ate junk, it was because I added in to much of something into 1 or more of my meals.

Tommorrow's focus is to count the calories better as I am preparing the meals. I plan to get 7 hours of sleep tonight. We will see how that goes.

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou

change of plans..back to organized space

This is a post of Wednesday...

Only 6.5 hours of sleep again last night. Not good, and I am really feeling the drag now. Again, calorie consumption is too high, but still a calorie deficit of 1401, so I am happy about that. I have also had trouble getting my last meal in before 9 and at the 4 hour mark. Frustrating, but something else to try and plan for.

Monday night I "moved" back home from a pet sitting job where I had been for about 10days. I left many things there because I am also watching the dog for the entire month of July. After working at two jobs, and running a couple of errands, I needed a fast dinner. I stopped at Jack in the Box and got my rice and vegetables. When I got home, my apartment was just so out of control. When I "move" back home, I just dropped most of the stuff, and haven't had time to put it away. I haven't been sleeping well. I have been having restless nights. Well, it all goes back to getting back to the uncluttered and organized. So, what did I do? I sacraficed one more night of sleep. I got everything washed, cleaned, put away. I only got 5 hours of sleep, but it felt like 8 because I slept so soundly.

I think the most important thing that I am learning through all of this is that life will get in the way, but how I handle those obstacles is the key. I have been taught that before, but I think that it is sinking in more and prioritizing what will make the most difference, is where I need to focus. Does this make any sense at all?

My tip to take away some of that "overwhelmed" feeling is to get your space under control, and then it is less likely to add to your excuses of why you are putting off the meal planning and exercising. If you need tips where to start, let me know, I would be happy to help!

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~cindy Lou

breaking through my limiting belief

Hi all..well, a couple of my daily goals have not been met, but I am sticking to it all. I have been writing my blogs out, and just haven't had time to type them in. the other daily goal I have struggled with the last couple of days was getting enough sleep and the other one, is staying within my calorie goal. I have still had a calorie deficit every day, so I am happy about that.

So, this is from Tuesday...
I am exhausted!! i only got 6.5 hours of sleep. In the past, that was not something that I noticed affecting me so much, but after getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night for awhile now, I can say that 6.5 hours is not enough for me to function properly at all! Now I know why Jillian says to get at least 7 hours every night.

I took care of a 12 year old boy today who LOVES to play hockey in the back yard. I have played him 2 or 3 times before. It is always a good workout for me. He always wins, which is totally fine, but what is funny, is that he hardly tries, and I am dripping in sweat. Today(tuesday), we played 2 games and he won, and the 3rd time I just decided that I was goign to push as hard as possible to actually beat him. obviously it wasn't about beating a 12 year old that was not even working that hard to beat me because he actually had some skills, and I don't. It was kinda like Monday night when I was running on the Wii, I just said to myself, "if Jillian were here, would you really be slacking off? OR, would you just keep running, pushing through? Yes, I won the game. I hope that you get that it was more about not trying as hard and this time, I didn't stop. I had a limiting belief about what I was capable of. I broke through that today. Though I was exhausted at bedtime, I felt great about it!

1802 deficit in calories, but I did go over on how many calories I ate.

okay, on to tomorrow...

thanks for reading, even though it's posted late.

learning and growing into a healthier me.
~Cindy Lou