Hitting a plateau...

I know, I know – I’m the “Fitness Cheerleader” so motivation shouldn’t be an issue. Unfortunately even I battle the workout blahs and this week was tough. After my great 10K run on Sunday, I went out for an easy 6K run on Monday – or so I thought… 1K into my run my calf cramped and the contraction was so strong it caused a minor muscle tear of my soleus muscle. I went to my yoga class on Tuesday, then ran through the pain on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I rested my leg and on Saturday I managed to run 10K with less pain. Through all of that I felt bummed out and I was PMS’ing and turned back to my old self – eating healthy meals yet sabotaging myself with snacking on crap betweeen meals telling myself – it’s ok, there’s always my next meal to eat better.

Despite everything, this week I lost .4lbs. It’s still a lost but when you look at my recent weightloss history you can see that I’m hitting a plateau:

(btw-here’s instructions on how you can create one of these charts for yourself)

My weightloss curve is flattening out. I need to step things up a notch – get back to my healthy eating and add some intensity to my workouts. I need to start running a bit faster and longer on my weekday runs and I need to do something different to burn more calories and bring back my enthusiasm. What could that be? Hmmmm… Weights? Interval training? Maybe swimming?

Yep – that’s what I’m going to do next week, some good ol’ swimming. Heather at Run Faster Mommy added swimming to her routine last week and kick started her weightloss – she lost 5 lbs in a week! On Tuesday and Thursday morning I’m going to get up early and swim some laps before work. (Can you guys all remind me to go to bed early Monday and Wednesday nights?). It shall be interesting to see if this kicks my enthusiasm and motivation back into gear!

How are you doing? Have you had a good or bad week?

Mom On The Run - Sharing Health and Fitness Tips Because Life is a Marathon... Not a Track Meet

Wow! January flew right past me! How about you?

This year I made a few resolutions so I’ve decided each month to go back and re-visit them. To re-cap, my resolutions were to:

1. Learn how to cook
2. Eat healthier
3. Feel better about myself
4. Train for a half-marathon
5. Lose 16lbs (get back to my wedding weight)

So how am I doing with my goals?

1. Learn how to cook
   I’ve definitely been trying and making a big effort in this department. This has been a rather expensive little goal because previously all of our meals came from packages, so I had no spices in the house with the exception of pepper, salt and cinnamon. Purchasing all the spices I need has been expensive, but it’s been worth it. I’ve made a few things that my family has loved: Banana bread, Low-Fat Turkey Chili, Tuna casserole, Beef stew, Beans & Bacon Saute (These recipes can all be found on my Fitness Cheerleader site) and I’ve made some stuff my family hated: Tufu & Veggie Stirfry in a Peanut Sauce (Peanut Butter FAIL), The Best Ever Mashed Potatoes (Parmesan Cheese FAIL). I also made a Quinoa & Black Bean Salad that I love and have been bringing for my lunches.
2. Eat healthier
   This goes hand-in-hand with learning to cook. So far I’ve been successful with this. We’ve definitely eaten a lot less packaged foods, though there have been a few nights where my kids ended up eating a bowl of grapes and a peanut butter sandwich for dinner because the meal I tried to cook didn’t turn out very well. I’ve had a lot of healthy left overs for my lunches, and I even made healthier choices the few times I did eat out. Oh yeah! I almost forgot! I CUT OUT COFFEE!! I’m now drinking decaf green tea instead. I haven’t completely given up caffeine though – I do have one caffeinated green tea from Tim Horton’s each day. This is as much a social thing as a nutritional day because I walk over, and line up at Tim Horton’s every day with one of my co-workers. The nice part about this is that I now sleep WAY better! Yay!

3. Feel better about myself
   This one has been really hard, though I’m starting to be more aware of my mood cycles and have picked out some triggers. Such as:
   • Sleep (or lack of it)
   • Too much caffeine
   • Processed foods
   • Not exercising
   • Missing hubby

Thankfully most of these things I have control of. I can go to sleep earlier, minimize my caffeine intake, eat healthy (clean foods), exercise. I’ll keep working on these things over the year.

4. Stop rushing around and plan ahead
   I did well with this for the first two weeks of the year but I’ve totally slacked off in this department. Brooke has been sleeping horribly (she’s transitioning to a big girl bed) so I’ve been “too tired” in the evenings to pack stuff up, then sleeping in because I’ve spent an hour or more listening to her whimper and try to fall back asleep each night. I’ve done a great job planning meals, grocery shopping and having food on hand. I really need to make more of an effort on the packing and preparing lunches ahead of time thing.
5. Train for a half-marathon
   I’ve really done a great job over the past month sticking to my training plan. This week has been a bummer due to my calf injury, but I got my 10K in this weekend which was completely awesome!
6. Lose 16lbs (get back to my wedding weight)
   I have no idea why being larger than I was 6 yrs ago bugs me so much. I have had two kids after all. But I know I can be fitter, leaner, stronger with more energy – the kind I had before kids. The training, sleeping, healthy eating and planning are all helping with this goal and so far I’m down 6lbs. Not bad for 5 weeks! At this rate I’ll be down to the weight by our 6 yr anniversary on April 6, 2010.

How are your resolutions going? Have you been sticking to them? Don’t worry if you haven’t – you can start over again any time. Every meal and every day is a new fresh start!

Mom On The Run - Sharing Health and Fitness Tips Because Life is a Marathon... Not a Track Meet

As you all know I LOVE LOVE LOVE running!  And I’ve been running a lot lately – so much that I haven’t had time to blog J  Running is my #1 love (well besides my family), though I must admit I love my family more when I’ve been running.  Sunday I ran 10.31k – it felt amazing!  I also loved my family so much more that day (maybe because I got away from them for an hour?). 

It’s been so long since I’ve trained for anything that I’ve forgotten how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Did I mention that I’m training to run the Mississauga ½ Marathon?  Running, strength training, nutrition, rest, recovery, easy runs, hard runs etc… They all need to be carefully balanced when training for an endurance event.  The last race I ran (besides the 10k in September) was the Mississauga ½ marathon 6 yrs ago!  So after Sunday’s hard 10k I decided to run an easy 6k on Monday at lunch.  Unfortunately I hadn’t properly rested my legs (took Sierra swimming Sunday night) and I hadn’t properly refuelled (not enough water, not enough sodium, potassium and carbohydrates to replenish my stores).  Less than a km into Monday’s run my right calf cramped – the contraction was so strong that it caused some minor muscle tearing.  I did Yoga on Tuesday (calling that an active rest day) then ran 5.88k through pain at ½ marathon pace on Wednesday.  By Wednesday night I was limping around the house like a little old lady.  I was in a fair amount of pain. 

The thing is I’m one of those people that when I get an idea in my head, I’m going to do it come hell or high water.  I’m a stubborn little mule.  So I persisted through my training for a few days only to cause more damage.  Yesterday and today I’m forced to rest – I’m supposed to do 10k tomorrow.  I hope that by adding some rest and nutrition pieces to my puzzle that I’ll be able to be back on track next week! 
PS – The other day I got an email from Amanda of UpSpring Baby who told me that she’s listed me as one of her Top ten Fitness Blogs for Moms.  I was listed with some of my heroes, Lisa Johnson Fitness and Workout Mommy.  What an honour!   Thanks Amanda!  (You can follow her on Twitter – she’s @Amanda-Upspring)

Mom On The Run - Sharing Health and Fitness Tips Because Life is a Marathon... Not a Track Meet

I thought I could do it.  I thought this solo-parenting stint would be different.  I thought I could keep the clouds and fog from rolling in.  I developed a network of running buddies.  I would get out to run on my lunches. I planned out healthy meals – I prepared them a week ahead of time & froze them so I wouldn’t have to cook.  Or be stressed. Or eat unhealthy depression causing processed foods.  I gave up coffee – also known to cause depression.  I planned fun family outings:

Sun – fun swim
Mon – swimming lessons
Tues – stay home & Skype daddy (hubby)
Wed – McDonald’s playland, Skype daddy
Thurs – fun swim? Skype daddy?
Fri – Dinner with Oma & Opa
Sat – indoor playground? relax, clean up the tornado of solo-parenting aftermath, wait for daddy

I really really thought I could do this. I followed my plan.  I got out to run.  I ate healthy.

But an email came that shook my foundation, my strength, my courage and self-confidence.  “Honey, I’ll be home next week, but the week after I have to go away again.” I crumbled into tears.  When will this end?  How can I continue to be strong?  When can we be a family again?  Will it ever happen?  Am I waiting for a ship that will never set sail?

Mom On The Run - Sharing Health and Fitness Tips Because Life is a Marathon... Not a Track Meet

This blog has typically been my place to vent, to whine and complain about life.  I come and go based on how happy I am in my life, which is why I haven’t written much here lately.  These days I’ve been a happy, happy girl!
I wish I could say I was happy because I won the lottery, quit my job and now live in a mansion with my own housekeepers, cook and personal trainer, but sadly that hasn’t happened.  Quite the opposite actually.  I’m happy because I’ve decided to take control of my life – training for a half marathon and learning how to cook.
The half-marathon training has been going incredibly well.  I’m getting faster and my long runs are getting easier.  I’ve also lost 3lbs (maybe more because I haven’t weighed myself in a week).  I’m only 3 weeks into my 19 week training plan, but so far it’s been ging well.  I’ve even found a group of runners at work to run with on my lunch hour.  I love the new companionship and I’m looking forward to having that support when ever hubby travels (ie: next week when he’s in Ireland).
This year I’m also learning how to cook (by trial and error).  I don’t really have a lot of time to cook, so my “cooking” really means cutting stuff up, and throwing it in a slow cooker with some spices and water to create an amazingly tastey meal that’s also nutritious.  NUTRITIOUS!  I’m trying to eat less processed foods this year.  The amount of sh*t in processed food stuff is disgusting!  And the things they do to the animals we eat is atrocious!  It’s nasty to think we’re eating all of those hormones and antibiotics – yuck!  I’m reading Skinny Bitch and it’s scared me off of coffee, junk food, and soda.  It’s also doing a good job of making me consider becoming vegan – my pal Cheaty is happy about that.  Truthfully the book should be renamed Healthy Bitch because I feel you should be eating well to be healthy not skinny.  Healthy Bitch propably wouldn’t sell as many copies as a book titled Skinny Bitch.
Now because I’m happy, running, and eating healthy doesn’t mean I haven’t been blogging – quite the opposite actually.  I’ve been writing a TON… just not here.  I’ve been fitness blogging over at The Fitness Cheerleader (I renamed Lazy Mama Fitness because the site name really sucked a$$).  I’m having a blast writing about something I’m passionate about – health and fitness.  It’s amazing how naturally that comes to me and how quickly I can whip up a post compared to here where I struggle to put my thoughts into typed written words.  I’ve written over there almost every day and if you’re interested in checking out the recipes I’ve tried I urge you to come by and visit, yanno say “Hi”.
I’ve rather missed y’all and I really should stop by and comment on your blogs, though I want to tell you that I have been reading all of your posts in an email that I get from FeedBlitz that combines all of your RSS feeds into a daily newsletter of posts, I just haven’t stopped by and left comments.
Have a great day guys!

All the best,
Janice

Mom On The Run - Sharing Health and Fitness Tips Because Life is a Marathon... Not a Track Meet

Exercise is great for metabolism right? Well so is all that bouncing around my internal organs do when I run. I go through phases – some months I run a lot, and some months the comfort and warmth of my couch or the cool water of my pool is more appealing. Generally I run more in the Spring and the Fall when there’s nothing else to do. But so far this winter has been very mild and I’ve been running a lot more. With all of the extra running I’ve found that I’m pooping a heck of a lot more and the act of pooping is a lot easier. Now aren’t you glad I shared that with you?

Mom On The Run - Sharing Health and Fitness Tips Because Life is a Marathon... Not a Track Meet

My goodness!  What a difference a week makes!  Now that I’ve fully recovered from my cracked ribs from my fall, I’m back running regularly again.  I’m amazed at what a difference being active is making on my outlook on life.  Weren’t my posts from October, November and December so depressing?  Holy crap!  I was such a downer – no wonder no one called me, no one else wanted to be brought down!  But I’m back now! 

Work is busy – it’s so awesome!  I love being busy, setting To Do lists, and game plans to accomplish all of my work.  My running is really helping with my feelings of being alert too.  My body is in pain (delayed onset muscle soreness – DOMS), but I like to think of it as the pain of fat melting away.  A gentle pain is good – it tells me my workouts have been hard enough to illicit an adaptive response.  The running has motivated me to eat better too – recovering from my workouts is so hard without the right fuel – I can tell when I haven’t eaten well enough, or rested enough by my running pace.  And my house… is cleaner!  I have more energy and motivation to clean!  The surprising part is that planning and preparation actually leaves me with MORE computer time.  I love my evening computer time – with the exception of Glee, I don’t watch TV.  I hate sports announcers yelling at me, whiny families mis-treating each other, reality shows have lost their appeal… The list goes on.  My favourite shows were the reality shows that had people preparing for an athletic event – the trials and tribulations of training – something I can totally relate to and I haven’t come across too many of them lately.

So I’m starting my own little virtual reality show…. I’m going to be coaching a virtual “Learn-to-Run” program.  My intended audience and participants are the Mamavation Moms from www.bookieboo.com but I’ll set it up so you can also follow along through my health and fitness blog www.lazymama.com if you so choose. I haven’t decided if it’s best run as an email newsletter to participants, or as a forum, a combo of both or what.  Maybe a Learn-to-Run Ning community?  I dunno – I want to find a way to implement it that really minimizes the technical work required to run it, freeing up time to spend motivating and educating.  I have to research the technical side of things before I set it all up.  Basically I want to inspire people and since I love running, and know running and have a Kinesiology degree, what better way is there for me to inspire?  I love the enthusiasm of beginner runners – watching their surprise as they learn what their bodies are capable of doing.  It’s amazing!  Watching Chelle discover running last year was really inspiring. In her words… Woot! Woot!

So yeah – that’s what’s going on with me…

In other news: My mom is doing WAY better!  She’s still in the hospital but is out of critical care and is now in a ward.  She called me from her cell phone that my dad had brought in to her.  Apparently they don’t have patient phones?  I think my dad is just too cheap to pay for the patient phone He didn’t want to pay $0.50 to leave a message on my voicemail from the payphone when my mom was admitted, and instead had my Aunt call me.  LOL!  This apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree… Anyways – my mom and I had a good conversation but she had to stop to catch her breath a few times. Pneumonia is NASTY!  But in a way it’s been good because she hasn’t had a cigarette since Friday and she’s even talking about quitting smoking!!  Which is awesome and I totally support her.  After seeing her on Sunday I truly believe that the Lord didn’t give her a warning, he gave her a second chance.  I really want to support her in any lifestyle changes she decides to make as a result of all of this.

Gosh – I don’t know how to conclude this post – conclusions and closures are always something I have a hard time with.  I hate sayign goodbye at parties – I often just leave.  Not because I don’t want to wish my friends well – it just seems so pessimistic, here’s a hug goodbye in case I never see you again… I don’t like saying goodbye – that’s what funerals are for.  So don’t look for good conlusions and closures on posts, ‘cause you won’t find them J

Mom On The Run - Sharing Health and Fitness Tips Because Life is a Marathon... Not a Track Meet

I’ve had a lot of time to reflect back on last year through my blog posts and sadly, not many good things happened, except for my awesome new job. Love, love, love!!  It’s such a perfect fit for me! I could list all the bad things that happened in 2009, but that’s not what I want 2010 to be about. 

This year I’m going to be positive and focus on the positive. I want to plan out my days to reduce stress and avoid rushing through everything at the last minute, I want to get enough sleep, eat healthy, be active and live in the moment.  I’ve already started making those changes:

1. I’m a www.mamavation.com cheerleader – yeah me! Cheering and supporting all of the ladies in their weight loss efforts.  ‘Cause I’m just oh-so-positive and chipper lately…  The girls I’ve met are incredibly awesome and have even inspired me! Cheering them on and helping them reach their weightloss goals has really helped my self-esteem.  I feel good and proud that I’m now using my Kinesiology degree for something.
2. I’m training for a half-marathon!  Woot!  I’ve ran 17km over the past 4 days!!! The Half-marathon is the Mississauga Half-Marathon on May 16, 2010.  I can’t wait!
3. I’m packing lunches right after putting the kids to bed, and planning out our dinners with Google calendar. I’m oing to try and take the stress out of my life by planning ahead, grocery shopping Friday nights and hopefully avoiding fast food. 

I’m sick of being an emotional train-wreck.  I’m sick of feeling down and unmotivated – this year I’m making a big effort to be happy, healthy and stress-free. 

So ummm.. yeah – that’s about all I had to say.  I’m going to take my shower now (I stink from my 7K run), then lay out tomorrow’s clothes and head to bed.  Good night!

Mom On The Run - Sharing Health and Fitness Tips Because Life is a Marathon... Not a Track Meet

Just a quick post written on my iPod to ask everyone to say a prayer for my mom because she’s in critical care with pneumonia. She was admitted yesterday morning and I was able to visit her yesterday night. My dad and brother say she’s doing better today than yesterday which is great, but she has to stay there for another few days.

Thanks in advance for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers,
- Janice
XXXOOO

Mom On The Run - Sharing Health and Fitness Tips Because Life is a Marathon... Not a Track Meet

T’was the month after Christmas, and all through the house,
nothing would fit me, not even a blouse;
The cookies I’d nibbled, the eggnog I had to taste,
at the holiday parties had gone to my waist;

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber),
I’d remember the marvelous meals I’d prepared,
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared;

The wine and the rum balls; the bread and the cheese,
and the way I’d never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband’s old shirt,
and prepared once again to do battle with dirt,
I said to myself, as only I can,
"You can’t spend a winter disguised as a man!"

So, away with the last of the sour cream dip.
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip.
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished,
’til all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won’t have a cookie–not even a lick.
I’ll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won’t have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I’ll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I’m hungry, I’m lonesome, and life is a bore,
But isn’t that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

Mom On The Run - Sharing Health and Fitness Tips Because Life is a Marathon... Not a Track Meet