And, sometimes, on a run, you hear in silence exactly what you were suppose to hear.

And sometimes, you finish a run with the exact reflection you needed.

{The above bench was discovered on a run this past weekend on the North Cedar Lake Trail in Minneapolis.}

Original article: Words we all need to hear sometimes

©2013 Prior Fat Girl. All Rights Reserved.

Even if it’s slowly moving, it’s still moving, right?

Stating (June 2nd): 178.0lbs

Current (June 18th): 176.4lbs

Total weight loss: 1.6lbs

Two weeks and only 1.6? Jeeze; I KNOW I can do better than this. I really want to step it up this week. My first thought was about how .2 ounces doesn’t really mean anything; I mean, I could drink a sip of water and gain that right back. But, there were a lot of social events this past weekend with food and the alternative to a .2lb difference is that I could have made unbalanced food choices and actually have gained weight. I indulged in all the amazing food during all the family time but, I did so balanced.

This morning, I got in a 3.5 mile run around North Minneapolis and then, came home to some eggs. My staple breakfast as of late.

I’m going to run a few errands over lunch and then, tonight plan on making chicken & grilled vegetables.

What are YOU having for dinner?

{Also, I’m still working out some tweaks on the new layout. If the layout looks weird to you, let me know what browser you are using, as well as the version (ie: Windows 8).}

Original article: Slowly is at least still moving, right?

©2013 Prior Fat Girl. All Rights Reserved.

Hours of family on Saturday for my sister, Alicia’s wedding/open house/reception and then dinner at my cuz, Kirstin’s house to celebrate my other cuz, Joy’s birthday.

Kirstin and I

Joy and I

And hours of family on Sunday for my uncle, Dave’s 70th birthday party (okay, it was a few months early but, he was in town and a lot of other extended family was too).

Me and Carlos

When I finally did sit down on Sunday to catch my breath, my mind wandered back to a few moments on Saturday that took my breath away.

Reflecting on those moments with Paul and, the year past, brought tears to my eyes. I could see the hesitancy on his face as he walked into the room for Alicia & her husband, Nate’s celebration; I could see the pain in his eyes from those moments his life changed… from the moment all of our lives changed. The guilt I can only imagine he lives with is not greater, not better or worse than the deepest sadness we have mourning the loss of mom. We all suffered that day and, now, learn to live with results of it. Family gatherings are always bitter sweat. Paul has come to a few celebratory events over the past couple years, mostly as they relate to Colton (Alicia’s son). Colton survived the accident when my mom pushed him & his stroller out of harms way.

Aside from the family & a bit of sadness, I did get some Cinderella activities done:

• Laundry & put everything away
• Swept the floors
• Emptied & re-loaded dish washer
• Washed bed sheets & comforter
• Grocery shopping

Speaking of grocery shopping… I noticed as I was emptying my grocery bags on Sunday how much fresh produce & meat I bought, and how little processed foods I purchased. THREE CHEERS FOR ME!

• Asparagus
• Mangos
• Peaches & nectarines
• Apples
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Eggplant
• Red onion
• Mushrooms
• Zucchini
• Sweet potatoes
• 2 types of lettuce
• Eggs
• Tomatoes
• 2 different types of fish
• Steak

Everything above cost about $55 which is actually a little less than we normally spend on weekly groceries. We have some frozen chicken and a few additional frozen veggies we can rely on, plus if we need it, we do have some brown rice. I forgot lemons so I’m not sure how I’m going to cook the fish; I guess just salt & pepper? Or, maybe I just stop being lazy and swing by a grocery store for a few lemons

Monday was one of those days at work where your head spins from the time you walk in until it was time to leave. I’m looking forward to a much more calmer day Tuesday, starting with a sweaty gym session.

But now, it’s time for me to crawl into bed & read a bit before I shut my eyes.

Original article: Moments that take your breath away.

©2013 Prior Fat Girl. All Rights Reserved.

After work, I met Cindy, Jen and Alexa for dinner & girl time. It was so nice to see Alexa’s face in real life versus just twitter, phone, text and email. Face-to-face is so much better – I love those girls, they are my world.

I got to meet Austin for the first time, Alexa’s little guy. He totally wanted to take some selfies with me.

We had Pei Wei since they are #1 delicious and, #2 have a gluten free menu (Alexa is GF). We ordered the spicy chicken, sweet & sour chicken, Vietnamese rolls, edamame and a Asian chicken chopped salad and then just split everything. I focused on the chopped salad and Vietnamese rolls but took a bite of both chicken entrees to taste them. Yum. Cindy brought macaroons from Cocoa and Fig – my first time ever having macaroons and let’s just say I’m hooked. Two may have fallen in my mouth. No. Let me just be accountable. I ate two and they were worth it.

I was kind of bummed yesterday because I really wanted to get a run in, since the weather was so nice. It all turned out in the end because when I got home, the neighbor girls were outside riding their bikes. When they saw me get home, they asked if they could take Iggy for a walk. We did and then when we finished, they asked if they could chase Iggy in the backyard. We tried to chase him a bit and normally  he runs around the backyard trying to outrun us but last night, he just sat staring at us. The girls asked if we could play tag, so we did for a few minutes. Sure, it wasn’t a serious workout and yep, it was maybe 10 minutes but you know, it was good.

If you are reading this post, that means you are seeing the new layout – you love? I’m so excited! BIG thanks to WP Site Care for the awesome new look. There are a few more tweaks I’ll make in the next day but it feels so much lighter & cleaner.

Also, over the last few months (and weeks) I’ve received a few requests for I’m a PriorFatGirl t-shirts & One Bite, One Decision bracelets so I’ve added a link for those.

And now, let the weekend begin!

Original article: Macaroons in my mouth

©2013 Prior Fat Girl. All Rights Reserved.

I think it was Tuesday when I was changing into my workout clothes over lunch and realized I had forgotten my socks. So, a sockless workout it was. Because I deserved a workout.

Last night, I went to my sister, Heidi’s house, to do a little crafting. Crafting for my sister, Alicia’s, wedding reception present. She got married in Vegas in January and is having her reception now that the weather is nicer and we can all be outside. The crafty gift turned out so well and I wish I could show you but, she peaks at the blog every once in awhile and I don’t want to risk it I’m kind of tempted to keep it myself and just give her a gift card to Target – ha!

I got home around 9pm and Carlos asked if I wanted to watch a movie with him. I’m usually not one to start a movie at 9pm on a work night (I’m old & like to be in bed early) but, I knew he had been wanting to watch it so we curled up with some popcorn that Angie’s had sent us. {Giveaway coming soon!}

Yum. It was good – a very light movie popcorn taste, which I preferred. Carlos wanted to add butter but, he is also the person that takes the salt shaker from the counter into the theater with him when we go see movies. I didn’t end up getting to bed until midnight, which is way later than usual and, because of it, turned my alarm off this morning at 5:30am. Didn’t even snooze the alarm, just turned it off. FAIL. I wanted to get a run in before work. I’m okay missing a day because that’s life but, I was really looking forward to a run. Such a good realization for me that my decisions last night effect my decisions today; if I really want to get an AM run in, I shouldn’t stay up later than usual.

I’m meeting Liz, another priorfatgirl, for lunch today so can’t sneak a run in over lunch. And, I’m having dinner with my bestest friends Alexa, Cindy and Jen tonight, which means no activity then either. A day with no activity is okay, just means I have to make sure I’m fueling my body correctly. I started my day with eggs cooked in BUTTER and a banana. Good balance of PFC there for me: protein (eggs), healthy fat (butter) and carbs (banana).

I just submitted final changes for the new layout so check back even later today or tomorrow for the new digs – I can’t wait to get rid of the pink background! Also, I’ve had multiple people ask me in the past few months (and more so in recent weeks) about PriorFatGirl shirts & bracelets so I’ll put up ordering information tomorrow.

Catch ya later!

Original article: How my decision last night effected my morning.

©2013 Prior Fat Girl. All Rights Reserved.

Stating (June 2nd): 178.0lbs

Current (June 11th): 176.8lbs

Total weight loss: 1.2lbs

I’ve been digging simple food lately. I don’t know what happened but I lost my cooking mojo. It’s been almost a month and I’ve just had no excitement to make anything elaborate. Here’s a glimpse at what I ate yesterday:

Totally balanced, right? Protein + carbs +fat = YUM

I took yesterday off from working out but actually plan on getting sweaty TWICE today, because I want to. I want to get in about 30 minutes over lunch, just a warm up + weights and then tonight, I’m doing a Summer Barre Tone workout with Cassie tonight. The Summer Barre Tone workout is actually a 6 week class we are taking through community ed and I’m kind of nervous because it involves grace and, well, I don’t have much of that when we are talking workouts. The class description reads:

Combine the grace of ballet with a series of other forms of aerobic exercise. Adapting exercises from the dance studio with elements of Pilates and Yoga, Barre Tone Workout will improve your strength, endurance and flexibility.

Pray for me, that I find grace before tonight, ha! I felt like I was moving in today at work – I had my purse, snacks/lunch and workout bag with me:

This morning, I started the day with 2 hard-boiled eggs and a kale/blueberry/avocado smoothie. Well, those were the 3 main ingredients. I also added a splash of POM Juice, a bit of water and a spoonful of Dynamic Greens.

I bought Dynamic Greens a couples weeks ago and love the flavor it adds to smoothies. I anticipate questions about what it is so here’s a few sentences:

It provides a “super blend” of 100% natural fruit and vegetable extracts, vitamins, flax lignans, ionic trace minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and symbiotic intestinal flora. It contains no added sugars—only a touch of stevia (a plant-based sweetener.)  This dynamic blend supplies your body with improved energy, metabolism, fat-burning, digestion, detoxification, immunity, repair, recovery, revitalization, and longevity!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to plant this baby:

What is it you ask? It’s a COCONUT! One of our employee’s brought it up from Florida and gave it to the HR team here – it’s already sprouted and so now, I just need to plant it. I’m not sure what to expect out of it, here in MN. We’ll keep it inside and I think it’ll just be a tree, I doubt it’ll ever produce coconuts. Has anyone ever grown a coconut tree inside? Tips or tricks?

Original article: Now, to just keep going.

©2013 Prior Fat Girl. All Rights Reserved.

On Saturday, I went to the One Breath, One Step: Moving Toward Healthiness seminar – it was such a perfect morning to be surrounded by so many amazing people. Elle, another priorfatgirl, didn’t make it into town as planned but despite missing her, it was a productive morning with Cassie. I’ve heard Cassie speak a few times now and each time, I walk away with something new to focus on, or incorporate into my healthiness journey.

A few things I learned on Saturday:

• Never eat a carb alone
• Eat PFC at every meal (Protien, Fat, Carb)
• Fat is good, your body needs it

I feel re-motivated from Saturday mornings learning’s and am excited about being healthy.

After we finished, I changed into running clothes and made my way to the Mississippi River. I parked in the St. Anthony Main area of Minneapolis, ran across the Stone Arch Bridge, up to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge and back again. It was a perfect afternoon for a run!

Iggy was extra cuddly on Saturday afternoon, I didn’t mind at all. 

I didn’t mind because a couple months ago, I watched the 1st episode of Downton Abbey and barely made it through; it was so dry. I tweeted that I didn’t understand what the hype was about and multiple people told me to give it another try, to watch the 2nd episode. Well, I watched the 2nd episode on Saturday and OY VEY – I may have parked my butt on that couch just long enough to watch the ENTIRE first season! Who does that?!!!

Sunday, I watched a bit of the news while sipping on some coffee. I finished my coffee but apparently Iggy wanted the last drop.

Most of Sunday was spent in a funk; I let something someone said to me ruin my entire day. It was really hurtful and while I don’t think they meant for it to hurt, it really did. I took my butt to the gym and pounded out an emotional 45 minutes on the elliptical which helped.

I didn’t eat much until about 3pm when I pulled myself out of the ball I had curled up in and made myself a snack:

Sunflower seeds & cream cheese stuffed between cucumbers

(Protien, Fat, Carbs)

I ran to Trader Joe’s to pick a few things up, then came home and made dinner. I was started to feel a little better so decided I needed some more fresh air. I packed Iggy up and we drove back down to the Stone Arch Bridge and walked around.

After about 1.25 miles, he was exhausted!

I finished the rest of the evening (and the rest of this bottle of wine) while reading my nook.

I’m posting this before weighing myself so I’ll update tomorrow with my weigh-in. Also, stay tuned – the new blog layout will be up this week!

Original article: Running over stone.

©2013 Prior Fat Girl. All Rights Reserved.

That was today.

Someone said something to me in a conversation and their words stung more than anything I’ve ever felt before. I was immediately speechless, tears rolling down my cheeks. I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I was embarrassed, ashamed of my journey, and humiliated by my struggles.

I forced myself to go to the gym. I looked like a mess but, I needed to burn off some of the emotion. So with my face lookin’ like I had cried for 27 hours, I held my head high and walked into the gym. I pounded out 45 minutes of emotional elliptical, crying into my sweat.

I altered between crying and wanting to scream and swear. And, while it sounds funny, as I was on that elliptical going as fast & hard as I could with my legs, I was rapidly typing dramatic words in my iPhone notes. It felt so good to write out everything I felt; to use my words to explain how my feelings had turned into shards of glass and were leaving cuts into the outside layer of my heart. It felt like such the perfect blog post; it was raw, emotional and so in the moment.

When I got home, I showered. And cried some more. I sat on the couch for a few hours completely zoned out. I felt like such a failure and, it felt like someone was confirming that my journey was in fact, a failed one.

Yet somewhere around the late afternoon, I realized that it wouldn’t be fair for me to publish that blog post. Fair to the other person because I really don’t think they meant to say what they said and, they weren’t here to defend themselves. I realized I was bigger than my blog post. I didn’t need to publish it, because I had already written it. I had gotten it off my chest and now, I needed to move on. I needed to accept that sometimes, people say things that hurt. And it is my decision how I react to it. I can throw hurtful comments right back or, I can deal with how it makes me feel and then, pick up the pieces.

I am bigger than my struggles because I fought through them, I didn’t go around them. My struggles are just that; they are mine. And I embrace them, I accept them, and I am proud of them. Because I have overcome them.

And you know what I realized?

Instead of smiling and pretending like it didn’t bother me, I cried.
I let my emotions out on the elliptical
instead of hiding them with food.

I constructively typed my feelings 
instead of using them as daggers to hurt.

That is PROOF that my journey is a success. 

Around 5pm, after two-thirds of a day full of rain, the sun came out of no where. It was as if God was confirming that in fact, it was time to move on. It was as if God was confirming that in fact, I needed to accept that my journey is mine, no one else. And it was as if God was confirming that in fact, after grey clouds, there will always be sun.

Original article: Fighting through it

©2013 Prior Fat Girl. All Rights Reserved.

There were SEVEN summer appropriate appetizers we went through.

I would make all seven of them, they were that good and that easy. My favorite thing about this class is that each recipe had 3-6 ingredients. I also loved that they get us involved in the cooking. Also, a learned how easy it is to make a reduction.

My favorite was the prosciutto wrapped peach – I can’t wait to make this for Carlos! It was the perfect balance of salty sweet.

What is your favorite summer appetizer?

I went right to the class after work, so didn’t eat dinner before I went. I was so hungry, I ate everything (except the shrimp – I don’t like shell fish.) When I got home, I was still hungry but by the time I changed into my pajama’s and caught up with Carlos, it was 9:30. I didn’t want to eat and then just go to bed so I chugged a bit of water and just went to bed.

I was up and at work by 6:30am this morning for a meeting so I didn’t hit the gym – I’ll probably leave around 3:00pm today and then get a workout in.

I’m SO excited because guess who is flying in tonight? Elle, another priorfatgirl! WAHOO! She is coming in for the One Breath, One Step: Moving Toward Healthiness event tomorrow. She isn’t leaving until Sunday so we were thinking of going out to dinner on Saturday night – anyone want to join us? Seriously! We aren’t really sure what time exactly or where but if you are interested, email me and I’ll get you details. We’d love to see you

My goal is to get a gym session in and then a run in this weekend AND also to keep tracking on MyFitnessPal. Healthiness is 7 days a week, right?!

Original article: Everything except the shrimp.

©2013 Prior Fat Girl. All Rights Reserved.

Anyway, back to my lunch time run yesterday. When I went to grab my bag, to change into my running clothes, I realized I had everything…

Except running shoes.

CRAP.

UGH. I was so disappointed. My sister, Heidi, suggested I run barefoot but I’m not that extreme. I knew I was on a deadline to get my run in though, because rain was foretasted. So I asked my boss if I could leave a bit early since I wasn’t getting my run in over lunch. She replied “absolutely, yes!” and just like that, I had hope. I’m so thankful my boss supports me in working out with flexibility.

I left work at about 4pm and the MINUTE I got on the highway, it started raining. CRAP times two! I contemplated just going back to work, thinking apparently it is just not my day to run. But then, I told myself “No, I’m getting this run in, rain or shine. And, skies north don’t look as dark so maybe it isn’t raining by my house.”

Well, it was. Not as hard as by my work; more like misting. So, rain or shine, I laced up my shoes and headed outside. Running in the mist wasn’t horrible. Half way through my run though, the mist turned to sprinkles. I prayed no downpour and turned to make my way back home. As I ran home, I smiled to myself; I hadn’t let anything get in my way of getting a run in. I was determined and accomplished my intent.

Running in the rain = badass!

I’ve run in the rain before, and the truth is, it is actually empowering. I wouldn’t intentionally go out in downpour but, I have to remember a little mist or sprinkle never hurt anyone!

On the weight front, I need to give myself a little reality check. I mentioned on Sunday, my current weight is at 178lbs. Since Sunday, I’ve been tracking my food on MyFitnessPal (feel free to find me – I think I’m monteirojen!) and have been really focusing on losing weight again. And every day, I look at the scale and have only seen a .4lb weight loss.

Okay. Someone shake me.

• First of all, why am I weighing myself every day? No more. I will weigh myself once a week, every Monday morning. That’s it.
• Second, get a grip, self! This is a process, it won’t happen over night. I can’t lose 18lbs in one week!
• Lastly, I have to focus on the habits, not just a number on the scale.

I cannot set unrealistic expectations with myself because if I do, I’ll only set myself up for failure. I cannot expect immediate results. I have to be patient.

Eating has been really delicious this week. Yesterday for lunch, I had eggs, strawberries, snow pea pods, carrots & cheese.

This morning for breakfast, I had eggs w/ tomato & avocado. 

YUM! Maybe I can’t get enough eggs. I’m addicted lately.

I’m going to get a cardio session in over work today and then tonight, I’m going to a cooking class with my friend, Janet, and am so excited. We are learning Light Summer Bites: Easy Appetizers. YUM, the menu looks so good!

Original article: Running: Rain or Shine. CRAP.

©2013 Prior Fat Girl. All Rights Reserved.