Dash Away The Weight

30 Pound Goal Shopping

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 17:54:00 +0000

I hit my 30 pound goal a few weeks ago. And last Friday, I went to get my rewards for reaching that milestone. I did change it up slightly. I decided I didn't need a whole cookware set. So I got the cast iron skillet, the colander, dutch oven, and I completed my table set.

There are two more cups also! I just love this set. It's called Happiness!

I am a huge Pioneer Woman lover! I have been following her blog for about 8 years now. I have made many of her recipes, and watch her show religiously!

In other news, this week has been going great! I have been on track with my eating, and I have exercised every day this week so far. I am making sure to get 250+ steps from 8 a.m-10 p.m. I am shocked that I haven't been doing this before. Looking at my Dashboard and seeing hours that I am not getting those steps in was a wake up call.

This is also looking to be a record breaking week with my Fitbit. I have gotten in 10,000+ steps the last 3 days, including a record high 18,414 on Wednesday (with 8.09 miles, also a record).

The calorie burn is also a record. Almost 3,000!

My highest weekly step record right now is 56,228. Pretty sure I'll break that today, and then there's still 2 more days in the week. My highest active minutes record is 345 from 2 weeks ago. We'll see if I break that one or not.

This morning on the scale I saw a new low, so the gain from Monday is already gone, plus a little more. We'll see what the scale says Monday. This weekend will be active though. My oldest son's birthday is today, and there will be bowling tomorrow, and there is a fair in town he wants to go to. Tomorrow is the last night, so we'll be going then.

Weigh In 4/18

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 15:32:00 +0000

Well, I had my first gain this week.

I did nothing I said I would do in my last post. "Otherwise I'll try to keep my eating in check in this birthday week." Famous (or infamous) last words.

First off, the field trip was cancelled because of weather. It's been rescheduled for next Tuesday. So, I didn't go out with my husband on Thursday, and just decided to go on Friday. I had an Olive Garden gift card so we went there. I ordered the shrimp fritta appetizer, but I only ate 1/3 of it (my husband ate the rest of it later). I ate salad, and yes, 2 breadsticks. My first bread, I believe, in months.

Then we went shopping at Walmart for some stuff. There is a Starbucks right in front of the Walmart we went to. I knew I had a free birthday drink, so I went and got that. I got a Venti White Chocolate Mocha. It was delicious. I have no regrets about it. I struggled a bit at first with "cheating on my diet" guilt, but I reminded myself that not everyday will be a perfect D.A.S.H. day. So I drank it and moved on!

I also worked out exactly 0 times last week. Nope, I wasn't sick; I just didn't. I have no excuse other than I was being lazy. My cycle was on from Tuesday-Sunday as well. Combine all of these things, and it's no wonder I gained 2.4 pounds for the week.

Anyway, I'm moving on and putting it behind me. It's a new week, and it has already started out well. I did an 11 mile bike ride last night. And I've done a 5k this morning. My eating was on point yesterday, too. I was fun to have my splurges on my birthday, but it feels good to be back on track to. I can seriously already tell that the bloat in my belly has gone away.

Onward and downward!

Weigh In 4/11

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 02:57:00 +0000

I wanted to get this up really quick. I lost .6 pounds this week.

I got 5 workouts in- a 5 mile walk, a 4-ish mile hike, twice on the bike (Tuesday/Thursday), and a Just Dance workout Friday. I had rest days on Monday and Sunday.

My baby woke up Tuesday night not ten minutes in, so I stopped once I realized he wasn't going back to sleep.

Yesterday also marked 3 months of Dash-ing. My total weight loss for the three months is 33.6 pounds. I also took measurements and lost everywhere but my neck, which stayed the exact same. My best loss was in my thighs(-1.5).

The main 3:

Bust: -.5

Waist: -.5

Hips: -1

Doesn't seem like a lot, but it is progress (and maybe I was a little bloated, too. AF showed up last night/today!).

My birthday is Friday, and I'll do something with my husband on Thursday. My middle son has a field trip to the zoo on my birthday and I signed up to chaperone. That should be fun, lol. So lots of walking. Otherwise I'll try to keep my eating in check in this birthday week.

Cub Scout Hike

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 23:46:00 +0000

This morning I went with my oldest son on a hike with his Cub Scout group. We went to a hiking trail about 20 minutes from where we live.

This was a requirement for his wolf badge. Let me just say I'm so glad it's over! It was a really good hike, and there was really only one difficult part.

There were four different paths to choose. We originally choose the bottom path and went downhill first. Then the leader realized we were not on the right path, so we ended up doing the top trail backwards.

All was fine and dandy until we had to go up the steep incline back to the top at the end. Now, mind you, we had already been out over 2.5 hours, had eaten lunch, and I was just about to start crawling! My 5 miler on Wednesday had nothing on this. And even after we walked the .6 mile incline straight up, we still had more trail to go. I was so happy to see the end! The boys had fun though, and honestly, I'd love to go out again, but I'd make sure to stay on the bottom trail. Or just go the right way on the top trail.

He was over my picture taking!

The pleasant surprise came when I looked at my fitbit app for stats.

149 active minutes is a record for one day. 2.5 hours. And I reached 10,000 steps before 1 p.m. I'm super proud of myself that I made it. I was hating that hike while doing it, but it is the best feeling to know I did it. And I could just imagine how much harder it would have been a few months ago before losing 33 pounds. Now, I just hope I'm not too sore in the morning.

Lab Work Update + 5 Mile Walk

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 20:48:00 +0000

So I heard my from the nurse regarding my lab draws, and she told me my cholesterol has improved This means I do not have to be put on medicine for it. She said the doctor wants me to continue with the diet and exercise, and we'll follow up at my appointment in 6 months. Great news to start my day!

Yesterday, I never did get to get my walk in with my mom. It was hot yesterday, and the sun was shining directly overhead until it set. Well, today has been overcast and 71*. I knew I wanted to take advantage of it. So I headed off to do some bill paying and then headed to the river walk.

When I first started walking, I was thinking, "Oh, gosh, I am so not feeling this walk." I told myself I would do 2 miles and that would be it. I left my phone in my pocket, and barely checked it. After the first 20 minutes or so, it started to get better. I got into a groove, and I wasn't feeling tired or anything. So I said I'd do a 5k. That came and went and I decided to beat my previous longest distance of 4.26. I went up into the trail one more time and ended up at 4.65. What the heck, why not go for 5 miles? I had time before I had to pick up my son. And I did it! Over 5 miles in fact.

Now I'm sore. But it's good. It hit 10,000 steps sometime in the 4th mile. It's been since last Monday that I got 10,000 steps in. I don't really care to hit it every day, but it is nice when I do!

Perfect negative splits!

Weigh In 4/4 + Dr. Appointment

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 18:51:00 +0000

First off, I was so nervous for my Dr. visit yesterday. I woke up and took my b/p (124/74) and got on the scale.

A loss of 1.6 this week. Then I took my pill, got the kids off to school, the baby off to my mom's, and headed to my appointment that was at 8:15. When I got to the back, I even told the nurse that I was nervous. So she got my weight (193.0 on their scale- fully clothed with shoes, plus I'd had some water). Got in the room for the vitals, and sure enough, my blood pressure was 140/88. Not bad, but I know it was a little of the white coat syndrome going on. Considering what it had been in January though, my doctor was pleased. She told me to just stay on my medicine, and come back in 6 months. Oh, and she was pleased with the 25 pounds (according to their scale) I've lost! They did recheck my cholesterol too, but I don't know the results of that yet.

Last week was great on the exercise front too. I worked out 5 times- 3 on the bike, and two 2 mile walks.

Walk with my mom on Monday

Solo walk on Thursday

On Wednesday, I did my longest bike ride so far. 16 miles! With a 15.7 pace. When I started out riding, I was going at a 11.8 pace. The bike I have has 8 levels of resistance. I've been going at a 4 this whole time. After I realized that I had improved my pace almost four miles an hour over the last few months, I've put the resistance on 5. Indeed that's what it was on for my Sunday night ride. And those calorie counts from Monday and Sunday are NOT the same picture. Apparently, the algorithm set up in the bike spits out 181.1 calories for 7.5 miles regardless of time or resistance. I had a higher resistance on Sunday and went 2 minutes 12 seconds more and still got the same calorie count. Another reason not to eat back my exercise calories. I never know if they're right!

I didn't get in any exercise yesterday, but today I'm walking with my mom, and I may do a 30 minute bike ride tonight.

Goals: Review and New

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 19:00:00 +0000

As predicted, this week has been crazy with my kids out on spring break. We've been out and about, and when we're not, it's still crazy around here. My 6 year old says "he's bored" if he's not doing something practically every minute. Not looking forward to this summer with them now that they ALWAYS want to be on the go or entertained. Funnily enough, the are not content to just sit and watch T.V. I suppose it's a good thing though.

Anyhoo, I set four goals for the month of March, and did pretty well with them.

On the weight loss front, I'd like to lose at least 6 pounds. This is a very attainable goal. And it fits with the experts recommendations of losing 1-2 pounds per week.
On February 29th I was 194.8, and on March 28th I was 189.4- for a total loss of 5.4 pounds for the month. Didn't hit it, but close enough!

With working out, I'd like to get in at least 4 workouts per week. Any combo of walking or biking or dancing. I haven't done the Just Dance in a while now that I think about it.
I worked out 4 times in 3 out of 4 weeks, and the 4th week, I worked out 3 times.

In order to get better sleep, I would like to get 7.5 hours average sleep for the week. My fitbit gives me averages for the week. The past two weeks, I've gotten 7 hr, 27 mins and 7 hr, 46 mins respectively. Plus, the science is clear that you feel better and lose weight when you get enough sleep.
This actually didn't go as well as it should have. I have got to start getting more sleep.

To keep up with my new year's resolution, I need to read two books this month. I just finished The Racketeer by John Grisham, and I'm now reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
I finished up Gone Girl and read Gray Mountain by John Grisham.

I have now gone back to the Mitch Rapp books by Vince Flynn. I read the first six books then had to pause while I ordered the seventh. Well, while waiting, I started reading other books, and am just now getting back to them. There are 14 in all, so they'll probably occupy me through the fall. Currently:

For April, my goals will be the same, plus I will like to add in a few house projects. I'll be redecorating my living room, and I want to do some things in the kitchen as well. Spring is here, and I want some fresh beginnings in this house. So while I'm "spring cleaning" and swapping out clothes and organizing, I may as well do some things I've been wanting to do.

My 3 month doctor's visit is tomorrow. It was the last visit on January 4th that I was hit with the health problems that spurred me to do the diet changes. I hope I don't get hit with white coat syndrome and my blood pressure is good. I'll also be getting new blood work done to check on my cholesterol. I hope that's good also and I don't have to start meds for it. *Fingers crossed.* Regardless though, I'm sure my doctor should be impressed with the fact that I took her advice and am getting healthier.

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 03:25:00 +0000

New Sizes, 30 Pounds Lost

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 15:59:00 +0000

As I mentioned yesterday, I am now 31 pounds down. Sometimes it easy to miss the small things while thinking about the big picture. I have a long way to go with my weight loss journey, but I didn't realize how far I've come since the beginning.

I was scrolling through my phone yesterday and came across some pictures I took of myself on January 5th. This was the day after my appointment, and the day after I ordered the DASH book. The difference from then to now really struck me.

Then I realized that I had taken some pictures on Friday in the same shirt. I recognize that I am losing inches, going down in sizes, etc. And other people are noticing too. I get told a lot lately about how I'm losing weight, and they can tell. I actually always shy away from the attention, mainly because I feel like I've been here so many times. I really want to succeed with my weight loss goals this time.

Anyway, so before and afters.

My middle son picked the flowers and wanted me to wear them in my hair, lol!

It's so amazing to see the difference in pictures! I have such an apple shape, but now I'm getting a waist. I'd forgotten what mine looked like!

And with more weight loss in the past month, I am now in size 15s, down from 18/19 at the start. I've been almost in these jeans for a while, but now I can wear them comfortably. Like sit-down-and-my-midsection-circulation-isn't-cut-off comfortably, haha.

Weigh In 3/28

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 03:40:00 +0000

Well, last week I made the statement that I was determined to have a good weigh in this week (or something like that). And I did it! I lost more last week than the 3 previous weeks combined. It's no secret that I've been bad about going off track with my eating. The culmination came with the pizza and getting sick from it. So I said enough with the BS and got back to basics. I cleaned up my eating big time last week and it certainly showed on the scale today. Funny how that happens.

This is a loss of 2.8 from last week, and 31.4 pounds overall. I have earned my 30 pound reward too!

Speaking of rewards, I finally got my 20 pound pedicure reward done on Friday too. Hence the sock-less weigh in pic, haha. I got it done just in time for Easter.

Messed up the big toe within 10 minutes of getting them done!

My boys and I before church.

My dress- Size 14!

On the exercise front, I got in my 4 workouts, 2 bike, and 2 walks. I also did 10 minutes on my rowing machine.

This week has started out with another walk with my mom and a bike ride tonight. My kids are out of school for spring break this week, so I don't know when I'll get to work out. I'm glad I have two down for the week. Pray my kids don't drive me crazy this week!

Foodie Friday- March Edition

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Sat, 26 Mar 2016 02:02:00 +0000

I just realized that I have not done one of these in four weeks! And so much good eating in that time too! I do post some of my food pictures to my Instagram though. It's just so easy to do it that way.

For lunch and dinners the past few weeks, I've been trying to get creative with foods to fit into my new eating plan. I've discovered new-to-me foods and revamped some old recipes of mine.

One of the new foods I've found (which is all gone now) is Curly's sauceless pulled pork.

Source

And I found a great tangy sugar free bbq sauce to go with it.

Source

Here are just a few times I've had it in the past few weeks. I think I was able to get 6 servings out of the container.

At the beginning at the month I made Chicken Alfredo for dinner. I baked chicken tenders, then cut them up in chunks and cooked them on the stove top with broccoli. I used Bertolli Alfredo sauce (I'm not that good to make homemade sauce. Although I may look up a recipe next time I make this.) I ate mine just as pictured, but I made fettuccine for the menfolk. Amazingly enough, everyone liked this! This will definitely be made again.

My lunches have also been delicious. I made Italian shrimp one day. I adapted it from this recipe at Just a Pinch. I cut the whole recipe down to at least a fourth, because it was just for me. I've eaten this plenty of times in the past though, but it always involved pasta. But this was simple, filling, and a satisfying lunch.

While at Sam's a couple of weeks back, I found this chicken sausage I wanted to try. It seemed like a great choice for lunch. Even though it came in a 15 pack, I decided to buy it anyway. I am so glad I did! It's fully cooked so you just have to warm it though. I decided to cut it into slices so all the little sides would get nice and browned in the pan. There were three flavors in all, but I just went with the one that sounded most appealing to me.

Source

Last, but not least, I made a big crockpot of the chicken taco soup. I got nine 3/4 cup servings out of it, and froze 4. I have eaten the four that were in the fridge (I ate one the night I made it.) The freezer ones will be good for a lunch or dinner on a night my husband cooks burgers or something.

With Mexican blend cheese added on top!

Weigh In 3/21

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 03:49:00 +0000

I swear, it's like clockwork now. Every month this year, I have gotten sick when my cycle is on! I know there's no correlation, but it is crazy. Last month, I bought some Airborne gummies to help keep me healthy. Well they ran out right about the time my cycle started, and I got sick again on Wednesday last week. It wasn't as bad as last month thankfully, and I was still able to eat. Yep, including stuff I shouldn't have been eating.

Confession time: I ate some mini chocolate chip cookies AND 2 slices of pizza on Saturday. That actually made me sick to my stomach, literally. I was up most of Saturday night puking up greasy Little Caesars pizza. Learned that lesson the hard way. It has seriously been so long since I had food like that. Maybe going back to last year. I have been on DASH the past 10 weeks, and my body isn't used to food like that anymore.

I did lose exactly one pound for the week though.

And I only got 3 workouts in instead of four. All on the bike.

This week I have already worked out both days though. I went on a 40 minute walk with my mom yesterday, and just did a 10 mile bike ride. I really am determined to have a good weigh in for this week.

Since I got sick last month and lost over 4 pounds in one week, I have lost 3.8 pounds total the last 3 weeks. That is still great, but I had been eating more and more "off plan" things. But since the incident with the pizza on Saturday, I have really straightened my act up. Not perfect, but much better than I have been this month.

And reviewing my March goals, it's obvious that I will not reach my weight loss set goal. But I am moving forward and learning from my missteps. I know my doctor's appointment on April 4th will be great. My blood pressure has been looking great when I take it, before I've even taken my pill. And I never have to take my "as needed for b/p over 150/90" pill. So I am proud of myself!

So here's to getting back on track!

Weigh In 3/14

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 16:07:00 +0000

Last week was the first week I've really struggled with my new eating lifestyle. Well, I should say, the first half. I did get my butt in gear with eating Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I stayed on plan and I feel so much better today than I did in my post Friday. Hormones, I tell ya.

So a good last half of the week, combined with my 5(!) workouts, and I managed to lose 1.2 pounds this week, for a total of 27.6 pounds lost overall.

I'll take it!

I actually have food plans/preparations for this week as well. My chicken taco soup is in the crockpot so that I can have lunch for 7 days. I will definitely be curbing the snacking from the pantry, and instead going back to my go-to snacks of pecans, cheese, yogurt.

As I've mentioned, my workouts for last week were great. I exercised 5 times- 2 times walking, and 3 times on the bike. In addition to my pace PR walking last Wednesday, my bike average pace has improved so much. My speed has been around 12.1-12.2 mph average for a while. On Friday, my speed was 12.8 mph, and yesterday it was 13.8 mph. I'm able to not take as many breaks while biking now too. Before I couldn't go 3-4 minutes without having to stop and huffing and puffing. Now I can breeze through 10 minutes or more before I stop for a minute.

On Thursday, my mom wanted to go for a walk only on the boardwalk portion of the nature trail. We went the the late afternoon and my sister watched the kids. We were out there for a little over thirty minutes and did a half 5k. According to the Fitbit anyway.

This is something that I hope will become a regular thing!

Pace PR + Measurements

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Sat, 12 Mar 2016 01:09:00 +0000

My eating has not been good this week at all. Way too much snacking- and not on carrots or fruit, which I have in the fridge. No, this snacking is coming straight from the pantry. Definitely not DASH friendly at all. I am T-3 days until AF, and I have struggled with PMS this month. Last month I was getting sick during this time and in January I had just started this lifestyle. So this was my first true test of getting through the "IWANTTOSTUFFMYFACEWITHANYANDEVERYTHING" phase of the month, and I am sad to say I have failed hard.

I have been keeping up with my workouts though, and already have my four done for the week . The weekend will be busy with hubby so I may not get to work out anymore. I may go on another walk with my mom today. We went on a half 5k walk yesterday in the late afternoon, and it was great.

On Wednesday, I went to the nature trail for a 5k. I ended up with a pace of 17'52"! My Fitbit reports stats every 15 minutes. The first report told me that my average pace was over 20 minutes per mile. I immediately roll my eyes and groaned. I had actually been dreading the walk as it was my first one since last Monday when I wanted to set a PR. After that debacle, I was fed up with walking!

Anyway, I decided to keep pressing on, and I started going as fast as I could on the downhill portion of the trail. And even my uphill pace got faster. It helped that I went in the morning, right after I dropped my kids off at school, and there was no sun beaming on me. It was about 60* and perfect.

Super proud of that 3rd mile pace!

Today makes 2 months since I've started the DASH approach. I did not take measurements from the beginning, but I did take them last month on the 11th. I took my measurements again today, and am happy with the results.

Neck: -.5 in.
Right Arm: -.5 in.
Left Arm: -.5 in.
Bust: -1.75 in.
Waist: -2 in.
Hips: -2 in.
Right Thigh: -1 in.
Left Thigh: -1.25 in.
Right Calf: +.25 in. (who knows if I measured the same spot or not?)
Left Calf: Same

I'll really be glad when AF comes because I know I'll be back to normal. And I know this is really an excuse. I need to get it together.

I just got back from Applebee's with my mom and sister for my sister's birthday. I ordered the Bourbon St. Chicken and Shrimp with mixed veggies. It was delicious. I ate about half and will eat the other half later. It was a tad bit salty, but it was about the best looking thing on the menu that I could have. I didn't research beforehand because my sister made up her mind at the last minute. Oh well. Trust me, it's one of the best choices I've made these past few days!

So I looked up the info, and no wonder it tasted salty...

Hello bloat! Not what I need at all, lol.

Now to get through the weekend.

Weigh In 3/7

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 01:27:00 +0000

The busyness rolls on. I actually did get in a weigh in yesterday before I left. I lost .4 pounds.

I put my fitbit on the charger Sunday night in preparation for Monday. But I was so busy trying to get everyone ready, I completely forgot to put it on! Sad face, lol. And I did a LOT of walking yesterday too (does it even count?!?!). My son went to see a scientific circus at the performing arts center in downtown Montgomery. We had to park quite a bit away and walk there. Lots of steps just standing around too. The circus itself wasn't even that good. My 7 year old was not impressed at all, haha!

Afterwards, we went to a park to have lunch. We paid for the kids to have Chick-fil-a as part of the field trip, so us adults went to Wendy's. I got the Chicken Apple Pecan salad in the full size, and only ate half! I could have saved $2 and gotten the half size, because I never got to eat the rest.

I did get my last workout in on Sunday as well. So I accomplished the goal of working out 4 times for the week. My walk last Monday, and biking Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

This week has started out great, so hopefully the weight loss will be more next Monday. Hubby's and my anniversary is Friday, but he has to work. We will be going out on Saturday, but I will stay on plan and not eat anything crazy. Here's to a great rest of the week!

Weekend Wrapup

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 02:39:00 +0000

This has been one of the busiest weekends we've had in a while. We went to birthday parties both days. A friend of my sister's had a Frozen theme party yesterday for her 5 year old daughter, and my cousin's son turned 12 today and they had a cookout for him. The kids really enjoyed themselves. Bouncy house yesterday and trampoline today, so lots of energy expended on their parts.

I was good and didn't eat any cake or anything at the parties. I ate before I went. There was no pressure and no food pushers either. And a couple of people told me they could tell I was losing weight! Woot!

Tomorrow, my oldest son has a field trip, so I probably won't get to post. That will be an all school day affair. Hubby's working, so my mom will keep the baby. Plus Cub Scouts tomorrow night. I'll probably just do my weigh in on Tuesday this week.

I do still need to do one more work out for the week. I may just do a quick 30 minute bike ride.

Well, I'm off to try to get as organized as I can for tomorrow. I am so not a morning person, and tomorrow morning will be crazy try to get ready for the field trip and all.

Monthly Goals- March

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 18:08:00 +0000

I've decided to do a list of monthly goals of all things I'd like to accomplish, weight loss and fitness included of course. Sometimes, me being really pragmatic backfires, so I'm really trying to set goals I think I can reach.

On the weight loss front, I'd like to lose at least 6 pounds. This is a very attainable goal. And it fits with the experts recommendations of losing 1-2 pounds per week.

With working out, I'd like to get in at least 4 workouts per week. Any combo of walking or biking or dancing. I haven't done the Just Dance in a while now that I think about it.

In order to get better sleep, I would like to get 7.5 hours average sleep for the week. My fitbit gives me averages for the week. The past two weeks, I've gotten 7 hr, 27 mins and 7 hr, 46 mins respectively. Plus, the science is clear that you feel better and lose weight when you get enough sleep.

To keep up with my new year's resolution, I need to read two books this month. I just finished The Racketeer by John Grisham, and I'm now reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

So, four great goals to accomplish this month. Let's get it!

Witty Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 16:48:00 +0000

Saw this in my DASH facebook group and had to laugh at how true it was:

Then I remembered I had to renew my license in December, and actually had to go up on my weight. When I renewed my license in 2007, I was pregnant with my oldest son and was about 170, so that's what I put. In 2011, it was left the same (I can't remember what my weight really was). In December, there was no point in still claiming I weighed 170 when the woman looked me up and down and asked, "Weight still 170?" in a disbelieving tone. So even though I was pushing 220 then, I said 195.

What's really funny about the above image now, is that as of Monday (194.8), I'm no longer a liar! Woot!

Spoke Too Soon?

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 17:32:00 +0000

Yesterday, I wrote about how would do a 4 miler for the leap day. Well, of course, I should have known better than to set a pace goal P.R. right?

Right away things went wrong. Because my oldest son has Cub Scouts on Monday night, it would have been hard for me to do the walk in the late afternoon like I would have wanted. So I had to do it before I picked up the kiddos from school. I planned to leave at 12:50 to get there at 1. That way I'd have an hour and 20ish minutes to get it done and still have time to get a decent spot in line.

Well, my baby who normally is up by 12 from his nap, slept a bit longer today. That pushed his lunch back, which pushed my lunch back. I actually didn't end up leaving until almost ten after 1. I got there and started to walk, only to realize the sun was shining directly overhead. And with it being "winter" and all, there was no cover because of bare trees. It was 78 degrees then, with almost no breeze.

Then to makes matters worse, about halfway through the second mile, my left hamstring started hurting. I had already made the decision based on my pace and lateness that I would only do a 5k anyway. And this just sealed the deal. I really struggled to get through the third mile, but did it! I was so relived when that walk was over!

For the first time, I was able to compare my Garmin 10 with my Fitbit.

Pretty stark difference I'd say. According to the Garmin, my pace was over 2 minutes slower, and I went a full 1/4th mile less than the Fitbit says. Weird, since they both use GPS, and they were side by side on my wrist. I didn't realize the difference would be that much! Either way, I definitely have some improvement to do with my pace, lol. Not that I put much stock into calorie counts, but they were vastly different too. 329 for the Garmin (that has my weight stored in) and 437 on the Fitbit (which also has my weight). Anyway, interesting comparison.

I also took some pictures to give an idea of the Nature Trail and it's hills and turns.

Left: Looking up at the biggest incline hill. Right: At the top of the hill, looking down.

Standing about halfway in between the trail. The lake at the bottom and the fence at the top.

Twists and turns.

The Riverwalk/Broadwalk portion.

Today my legs are still sore, so I will be resting!

Weigh In 2/29 + Leap Day Plans

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 16:59:00 +0000

Last week was a good week. I was healthy and sickness free. Fingers crossed this stays this way! My food intake was on point, and I exercised 3 times.

A great NSV from yesterday: I was able to wear size 15 jeans. I started the beginning of this year wearing 18 women's/19 junior's. So I'm down 2 jean sizes! Pretty stoked about that.

It makes sense though because my legs and butt are the first things to go when I lose weight. I so wish I were a pear shape, but alas, I'm not. My boobs have hardly gone down, and my arms need serious work. I wish there was a gym close to me, so that I could do some strength training. I may just have to resort to YouTube videos or something.

Moving on...I lost 1.2 pounds this week for a total of 26 pounds total lost! Happy for a loss after last week.

I worked out twice on my bike last week (Tuesday/Wednesday) and walked yesterday at the Nature Trail. It was my first time back since the day before Valentine's Day. And I FINALLY got to use my Garmin 10! Unfortunately, I didn't realize it was still "getting location" for almost 8 minutes after I started walking. So I can't really compare it to the Fitbit (it picked up the whole walk).

I also went grocery shopping yesterday at Walmart and Sam's and got in a lot of steps. I got my largest daily step count yet in.

Awesome Step Count!

For Leap Day, Katie at Runs for Cookies has mentioned she is doing a 4 mile run. Well, I am not running, but I want to go to the Nature Trail today and get in a four mile walk. I would like to do it faster than 18:30, which is my current record there. I've mentioned before that it is uphill for 2000 feet and then you come back down. It is still a struggle for me going uphill, especially the last winding hill. If I can ever get my speed up going uphill, my pace will be much better. I would love to work on improving my speed today.

I'll report how the walk goes tomorrow!

Foodie Friday

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 18:12:00 +0000

Last week I was sick, and barely ate anything, but this week, I've been enjoying real food again! I've been sticking to my plan for the most part, but there has been maybe a bit too much sugar. I went to Sam's on Tuesday, and instead of getting my usual 2 pounds of plain pecans (they last for at least 2 months!), I decided to buy these:

Because they are so small, and taste sooo good, I usually eat two servings at a time for snack. It's only once a day, but I should limit it to one serving.

That's about all I've been snacking on this week.

For breakfast twice this week, I've had my strawberry banana smoothie. It's very simple, four ingredients. Frozen strawberries, a small banana, tablespoon of turbinado sugar, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. And lots of ice of course. It's a great way to get in some fruit in the morning.

My lunches have consisted of salads. I also bought a 2 pound bag of Romaine lettuce at Sam's to be used up by March the 6th and some DELICIOUS grape tomatoes. So I've been making Caesar salads for lunch with the Jack Daniels chicken strips, lettuce, Parmesan, and tomatoes.

Between the salad and smoothie, I hit my 5 fruit/veggie servings daily goal every day!

My dinners have varied this week. Monday night's dinner was Jack Daniels steak strips, tri color peppers, baby bella mushrooms, sour cream, and white corn and black bean salsa.

My guacamole expired, so that was left off :(

Last night, my husband grilled pork chops on the George Foreman grill. I used Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper to season mine. It was my first time using it, and it was really good. The rest of the family had mashed potatoes, but I paired my pork chop with broccoli and cheese and grape tomatoes. Yum!

Just a sampling of what I've been eating this week as I'm feeling better!

Weigh In 2/22

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 15:50:00 +0000

What a week it has been! Sick for the umpteenth time this winter with a respiratory infection. I did 0 exercise for the first time this year I believe. The last time I worked out was Saturday the 13th, a walk at the nature trail. That was actually a really good day for my steps and all. I walked my longest distance so far, 4.26 miles in 1:18:54 (18:30 pace). I took a rest day that Sunday since I had hit my exercise target for the week. Then last Monday, I woke up with a ragged cough. I thought it would be nothing, but nope.

I am all better now though, and will be back at exercising today! Bike tonight, and tomorrow and Wednesday- nature trail (Hubby's off). I still have yet to use this...

And to ward off any future sickness, I bought these...

Since I lived off orange juice and soup, it's no surprise then that I had a significant loss. Pretty sure for breakfast this morning I have eaten more calories than I ate daily Monday-Friday last week. So these results are definitely not typical, haha.

The best thing about last week and being sick was that I was able to start and finish a pretty lengthy book that I have had on my list for a while. I love to read, and actually my only resolution this year involved reading. I wanted to read 24 books this year, so two a month. One of my favorite authors is John Grisham, and I have yet to read his latest few books. So after finishing up a Nicholas Sparks book (The Rescue- so good!), I started on the "sequel" to A Time to Kill.

Sycamore Row turned out to be very good and I finished the whole book by Saturday, over 600 pages. Now on to The Racketeer.

So onward and back to normal this week!

Sick

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:08:00 +0000

All week. Since my walk on Saturday really. This is why I don't do cold, haha. I need to learn to dress properly I suppose (for this I mean cover my whole face up except my eyes maybe- to keep wind from getting into my lungs). I'll be glad when it warms up and winter is over. Pointless post, but I wanted to remember why I didn't post this week.

I've been living off of orange juice, chicken noodle soup, DayQuil, and antibiotics. Not on plan and definitely not exercising. Hopefully this respiratory infection leaves me soon!

Weigh In 2/15

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 22:53:00 +0000

It's been a busy day today, nice weather (68*, although we are currently under a tornado watch), but I wanted to make sure I got my weigh in posted.

I lost 1.6 pounds this week for a total of 20.6! This means I will be getting my first reward, the pedicure. I am so happy with how this last month has gone. I am thisclose to "ONE"derland!! Here's to seeing it soon!

I did good last week with regard to my food and exercise also, and I will do a recap tomorrow with my goals. I finally downloaded Momentum to track my goals so that's pretty neat.

My husband also got me a Garmin Forerunner 10 for my walks at the nature trail. Too bad it's raining today because he is off. I probably won't get to use it until Friday, but I'm still super excited about it. Of course, because he got me the watch, I need a new reward for 30 pounds lost. I'm sure I can think of something, haha.

Treadmill Walk

noreply@blogger.com (DATW) — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 14:55:00 +0000

I planned on going to the river walk to walk again yesterday, but the temp was in the mid 40s, and I don't do cold. I decided to use my treadmill that I haven't used in almost 2 years (since before I got pregnant with my baby). The stats really boggled my mind. I felt like I was flying going 3.2 or 3.3. It certainly felt like I was going faster than I do outside. I go at a pretty easy pace, even up through the winding trail that's straight up 2000 feet.

The treadmill is mostly flat. A little incline, but nothing serious. It is a cheap Weslo one from Walmart, and the incline can't be adjusted at all. I was breathing hard and sweating pretty good after about 10 minutes. Of course, it's warmer in my house than outdoors, but I did have the fan on. These are my stats:

Splits:

Compared with my walk last Thursday:

So when I was walking, it seems to me, a slower, more relaxed pace outside, I was going 43 seconds faster per mile than on the treadmill? Not only that, outside I was not even tired. This morning I am sore. The place where the top of my thigh meets my bottom is sore. (I'm sure there's a name for that place, but I don't know it, and am too lazy to look it up.) My back hurts also. I really felt like I was going faster on the treadmill.

Plus the calories were very different too. My treadmill asks me nothing about my weight or age. It just has some general algorithm for calculating calories burned in x distance and y time. And the fitbit is probably off as well. I may need to get a heart rate watch sooner than later. That way I'll know a pretty accurate calorie/pace count.